RADICAL FAITH: Faith trusts even when the promise takes longer than expected - Hebrews 11:9-12 Sermon Outline (a blog post for a video sermon for Kenwood Church in Livonia, MI, on May 10, 2020)

RADICAL FAITH:  Faith trusts even when the promise takes longer than expected (Hebrews 11: 9-12) - May 10, 2020

INTRODUCTION

Radical Faith trusts in the One who promised, not the timeline in our mind.

Have you ever had to wait to get what was promised to you. Last Christmas Paula and I both had to wait for our Christmas presents because they both arrived later than they were supposed to arrive. Even though they both arrived late, we both knew we would receive gifts because we trusted one another.

“By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:9-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I. FAITH TODAY DEMANDS FAITHFULNESS TOMORROW

“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

A. Abraham left to go to a country that was not his own.

B. Abraham lived like a nomad in his own land.

C. Abraham trusted God would fulfill his promise.

1. A city whose architect was God.

2. A city whose builder was God.

II. FAITH DEMANDS FAITHFULNESS IN THE LIGHT OF DISAPPOINTMENT

“God delights to increase the faith of His children . . . I say, and say it deliberately—trials, difficulties and sometimes defeat, are the very food of faith . . . We should take them out of His hands as evidence of His love and care for us in developing more and more that faith which He is seeking to strengthen in us.” - George Muller

A. Disappointing situations do not determine destiny.

B. Disappointment is the fertile soil in which faith can grow.

C. Disappointment is the garden of God’s greatest victories.

D. Disappointment is often the harbinger of fulfillment.

III. FAITH WAITS

“Triumph and failure always go together in the wait of faith.  They are the head and tail of the same coin.  Show me a person who has had no struggle with waiting, whose faith has known no swings between victory and defeat, and I’ll show you a person who has never really trusted God with his or her life.

To wait on God is to struggle and sometimes to fail.  Sometimes the failures teach us more than the successes.  For the failures teach us that to wait on God is not only to wait for his mercy, but to wait by his mercy. … The success of our waiting lies not in who we are, but in who God is.  It is not our strength that will pull us through to the end, it is God’s amazing grace and mercy.”

Taken from Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent by Ben Patterson Copyright (c) 1989 by Ben Patterson. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

A. Faith does not have a calendar.

1. Sarah and her failure.

2. Abraham and his failure.

B. Faith keeps trusting.

1. Paula’s kidnapping

2. Our wedding

CHALLENGE

Make a list of 2 times you gave up on faith because “it was just taking too long.” Write down how you can reengage your faith with God in these two items. Pray for guidance in how you can actively demonstrate your faith in the God who has not fulfilled your wishes yet.