RADICAL FAITH: Faith pleases God - Hebrews 11:4-6 Sermon Outline (a blog post for a video sermon for Kenwood Church in Livonia, MI, on April 26, 2020)

RADICAL FAITH:Faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:4-6) - April 26, 2020

INTRODUCTION

Radical Faith goes beyond our beliefs and our hopes. Faith is about the trust it takes to start the journey in the first place. Even without knowledge or aspirations, we can trust.

For the next several weeks we will examine faith. We will not primarily be looking at the teachings of the faith or what we believe, but, rather, we will look at what faith looks like itself. What does it look like to trust? How does faith act?

Let us look at Hebrews 11:4-6 for some clarity on this issue.

“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:4-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Keith Miller and Bruce Larson, The Edge of Adventure

The following letter was found in a baking-powder can wired to the handle of an old pump that offered the only hope of drinking water on a very long and seldom-used trail across Nevada's Amargosa Desert:

"This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There's enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You'll git water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you git watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller.

(signed) Desert Pete.

P.S. Don't go drinking the water first. Prime the pump with it and you'll git all you can hold.”

I. FAITH IS DEMONSTRATED IN OUR ACTIONS

“The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are opposite sides of the same coin.” - A.W. Tozer

Genesis Chapter 4

A. Abel’s sacrifice

1. He kept flocks.

2. Sacrificed “the fat portions from some of his firstborn of his flock”

3. The finest, choice cuts

B. Cain’s sacrifice

1. He worked the soil.

2. Sacrificed “some of the fruits of the soil”

3. “Fruits”, not first fruits

It takes faith to give God the first of anything.

II. FAITH PLEASES GOD

“A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. The following conversation ensued:

“Is anyone up there?”

“I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hang on much longer.”

“That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch.”

A moment of pause, then: “Is anyone else up there?”

Bits and Pieces, June 24, 2993, p. 3

A. Abel

1. Faithful

2. Righteous

B. Enoch

1. Faithful

2. Pleased God with his faith

III. FAITH FUNDAMENTALS

“A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things.” - Thomas Carlyle

A. Believe God exists

B. Believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him

CHALLENGE

Make a list of 5 ways you can demonstrate that God exists. Do all 5 of those actions this week and see if anyone notices your faith. Write down on your list the ways in which your faith was noticed by someone else. Praise God that your faith was witnessed by another person to the glory of God.