The Only Way to Live | Part 2

What's the purpose of this life of faith we live?

Listen to Adrian Rogers. The life of faith, the only way to live, is a life that has a destination. It is like a race. It has a goal. Now faith helps us to find that goal which is the will of God. Do you know what life is all about? It is to find, to follow, and to finish the will of God. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the truth of the gospel found in the practical messages of Adrian Rogers. The book of Hebrews describes the heroes of our faith and explains how they exemplified the only way to live. In part one of today's message, we learned that faith is not blind superstition, positive thinking, or a feeling of optimism. Rather, it is confidence that rests in hope, conviction that sees the invisible, and communication that comes from heaven. How does faith take its full effect in our lives? How do we fulfill our purpose?

If you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews chapter 10, look at verse 38 as Adrian Rogers shares more about the only way to live. What is faith? Well, he tells us here that faith is three things, and I want you to get these words down in your heart. First of all, confidence, conviction, and confession. First of all, it is a confidence that rests in hope.

Look at it. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The word hope in the Bible means rock-ribbed assurance based on divine revelation. Now, faith, therefore, is the title deed, the confidence that what God has said is true and God will perform it.

Secondly, now think not only of confidence, but conviction. Faith is a conviction that sees the invisible. Now, here we read it here, faith is the evidence of things not seen. But actually, this word evidence literally means conviction. Now, what it means is that if you have faith in your heart, there is a conviction of something that you've not yet seen.

But it is there. It is an absolute confidence that leads to a conviction even though you've not yet seen it. Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen. Now, the Bible says you're to live by faith.

And then the third thing is it is a communication that comes from heaven. Now, Hebrews 11 and verse 2 says, for by it, that is by faith, the elders received a good report. That doesn't mean they made straight A's. As a matter of fact, it doesn't talk about what they did at all. It talks about what happened to them.

They received a good report. The good report means that they heard from heaven, that God spoke to them. It is not their reputation but God's revelation that is spoken of here, that God speaks to them.

They were conscious of God testifying to them. Now, when you put these things together, then you're going to understand, first of all, that faith should not be altered by appearances. Faith should not be altered by appearances.

Look again in 11, verse 1. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When you live by faith, you live above sea level.

Now, you live above the level of what you can see. We live in a world that says seeing is believing. The Bible says believing is seeing.

Put this verse down, John 20, verse 29. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.

That's you, friend. Thomas there examined the nail prints in Jesus' hand, the wound in his side. Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed.

First Peter 1, 8, put that down. Speaking of Jesus, whom having not seen, ye love. You see, by faith we see the invisible, so faith should not be altered by appearances. Number two, faith should not be fettered by feelings. Faith is confidence that goes beyond emotions. I've told you before that your emotions are the shallowest part of your nature. Faith is the deepest work of God, and God doesn't do the deepest work in the shallowest part.

Don't live your life under the tyranny of emotions. I'll tell you something else about faith. Faith is not limited by logic. Faith just goes beyond logic. When Jesus was there with those people following him and they were tired and hungry, and he called Philip and he said, Philip, how are we going to feed these people? There are 5,000 there.

How are we going to feed them? Philip got out his pocket calculator. He said, well, it'd take a laboring man a year's wages to feed these. Technically he was right, but any good red-blooded atheist could have done the same thing. You see, if you're adding up an equation, you're never going to get the right answer if you leave out one of the elements. What Philip did, he left out God. He just figured without God. Now, logically it was right, but faith is not limited by logic.

Bring God into your calculations. Now, we've talked about the description of faith. Let's talk about the dynamics of a life of faith. Let me tell you how dynamic faith is. You see, we live by faith. First of all, faith is the dynamic of spiritual wisdom. They're things that you will never understand apart from faith. Now look, if you will, in verse 3, through faith we understand.

Don't you like that? Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Plain English, the visible was made out of the invisible. Now, God in the Bible is not explained. God is not argued. God is just simply presented, and God must be accepted by faith. Go down to verse 6, Hebrews 11 and verse 6. For without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is.

We're talking about wisdom now. The skeptic will say to you, prove there's a God. Don't ever try it. Never.

Why? Because the finite cannot prove the infinite. And you say, well, I can't do it, and he will smirk.

But it's not over yet. And you say, now, friend, prove there is no God. Of course he can't prove there is no God. He accepts by faith there is no God. All people are believers.

There are those who believe in God and those who believe there is no God. Now, faith, we're talking about the dynamic of faith. Faith is the dynamic in spiritual wisdom. It is the dynamic in spiritual worship. Look again in verse 6, but without faith it is impossible to please him. Worship is pleasing to God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is. Now, you say, God, you prove yourself to me and I'll serve you.

No, no, no, no. God's not going to prove himself to you. He's not under any obligation to prove himself to you. Faith is not a response to proof.

That's what Thomas demanded. And Jesus said, Thomas, you've seen and you've believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, but they believe. What is faith?

Faith is the heart's response to the character of God. When Jesus Christ came to this earth, he left all of the splendor, all of the glory, all of that in heaven and came to this earth and came in a very ordinary, nondescript way. The Bible says when we see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him. What do you think Jesus looked like? Do you think Jesus looked like the paintings that the painters paint, like he just stepped out of a beauty salon, white flowing robes moving around with a dinner plate behind his head? Do you think that's the way he looked? If that's the way he looked, why did Judas have to point him out so they could take him away? There's no beauty that we should desire him. Very ordinary, nondescript person, but yet there was in him all of the glory, all of the serenity, all of the dignity, all of the majesty, all of the purity, all of the character of God in human flesh. But not because of outward extravagance.

He didn't come in a jewel chariot down to this earth, born in a palace, born rather in a stable. And when he did miracles, they were not publicity stunts. Often he would say, don't tell anybody about this. Now, friend, if we did them, we'd hit the road, wouldn't we?

Don't tell anybody about this. I don't want that kind of fellowship. Oh, he did miracles that attested to the fact that he was who he said he was. Why did he come as he did? Because he wanted what he wanted, which is faith.

Without faith, it is impossible to please him. He could buy us. He could bribe us. He could convince us. He could take the roof off this building and say, boo! You'd say, I believe.

But he didn't want that. Faith is the heart's response to the character of God. When your eye is right, it responds to light.

When your ear is right, it responds to sound. When your heart is right, it responds to God, and that response is called, F-A-R-T-H, faith. Faith. And so, faith, friend, is the heart's response to God. That's the reason the Bible says, beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. Unbelief never comes out of the head.

Unbelief comes out of the heart. Faith is the dynamic of spiritual worship. Faith honors God, and God honors faith.

Now, here's the third thing. We're talking about the dynamic of faith. And we say it's the dynamic in spiritual wisdom, it's the dynamic in spiritual worship, and it is the dynamic in spiritual wealth. In spiritual wealth, look again in Hebrews 11, 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, now watch this, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Why do you seek him? By faith. Jesus said, be it unto you according to your faith.

Not according to your fame, not according to your feeling, not according to your future, not according to your fortune, not according to your friends, not according to your fate, but according to your faith, be it unto you. Faith is the medium of exchange in the kingdom of heaven. If you pray without faith, you don't get an answer. What things serve you desire? When you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them. Pray, believe you'll receive.

Pray in doubt you'll do without. Now, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Faith is the dynamic of spiritual wealth. How spiritually strong are you? How wealthy are you?

How many, what kind of reserves do you have? Well, it is all according to your faith. Now, let's move to the third and final point. Now, we've talked about the description of faith. We've talked about the dynamic of faith. Let's talk about the destination of a life of faith. You see, life is a journey. We're headed somewhere, and it is not a casual journey.

It is a race. Now, notice here in Hebrews 12, let's go and we're gonna skip all of these champions of faith because we're gonna come back and take them one by one. All we're doing now is just laying the groundwork, okay? All right, now, here in chapter 12, it's kind of a conclusion to all of this, verses 1 and 2. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, now watch this, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now, the life of faith, the only way to live, is a life that has a destination.

It is like a race. It has a goal. Now, faith helps us to find that goal, which is the will of God. Do you know what life is all about? It is to find, to follow, and to finish the will of God. To find, to follow, and to finish the will of God. That, my friend, is the destination of faith. That is what faith is all about. Now, how are we going to do that?

Well, very quickly, I want to mention some ways. First of all, we are to be motivated by the saints around us. We are to be motivated by the saints around us. Listen, he says, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. There they are.

You can't see them. All around us, in the heavenly gallery, there in the stands, a great cloud of witnesses. These are the champions of faith who've gone before. Now, there they are in the ring of honor. Up there, looking down, and we happen to be on the field, being watched by the gallery of the great. And they are cheering us on as we run the race.

Abraham, Moses, Daniel. They're up there in heaven saying, go, Adrian, go, go. Cheering us on. And that's the reason I'm going to bring this series of messages on these champions of faith.

And so they can encourage you. We're to be motivated by the saints around us. Number two, we're to be separated from the surplus upon us. Now, many of us are carrying extra weight. The Bible says we're to lay aside every weight. Now, these are not sins.

These are weights. In the olden days, I used to be on the track team to run. And when I would run, I would get the lightest shoes I could get and just a pair of very light shorts to wear and a shirt that didn't even have sleeves in it. Now, one thing I did not do, I never ran with an overcoat on. Anything wrong with overcoats? Not a thing in the world.

Nice to wear in cold weather. But if you're in a race, what do you do? You lay aside every weight, everything that is superfluous. If you want to be a success in life, don't get in the kindergarten stage of saying, is this right or is this wrong?

Is this lawful or is this unlawful? Forget that. You ask yourself, is this thing a weight or is it a wing? And friend, never exchange wings for weights. There are some things that are not bad in and of themselves, but you just have to say, that's not for me. Not if I want to run this race. There are certain things that I am going to do without. I am to be motivated by the saints around me. I am to be separated from the surplus that is upon me in extra baggage. Number three, I am to be liberated from the snares beneath me. We are to be liberated from the snares beneath us. The Bible also mentions, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. All of us know what a besetting sin is. It's something we've been wrestling with for a long time.

Actually, this word beset means to entangle you. It's something that would trip you up. When you're running a race, ask what it is that keeps tripping you up.

Where do you keep falling? Now, notice what it says. It says, lay it aside. Come to grips with it.

Be done with it. Do you know what the great enemy of faith is? It is sin. Beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. You say, I have intellectual problems.

No, you don't. That's pretty rotten sin. I told you that your heart will respond in faith when your heart is right. Now, if you're having trouble with faith, try repentance. In the Bible, it always comes this way, repentance and faith. Never faith and repentance. Repentance and faith. Try repentance.

Get your heart right. Get the sin out of your life, and you'll be surprised how quickly the flowers of faith will grow when you get the sin out of the soil of your life. Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.

What do you say? You know, this little sin I have is so precious. Is it? Is it worth God not answering your prayers? Is it worth a right relationship with God? Is it worth not being a mighty power for God?

Is it worth it? No. Lay it aside. Be done with it. Now, next, friend, we're to be activated for the race before us. Notice, he says we're to run with patience the race that is before us.

Patience means determination. God does business with those who do business. God has a course for you. God has set a race before you, and you're to get on the track. Last of all, be dedicated to the Savior above us. Look, if you will, in Hebrews 12 to looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, looking unto Jesus.

Friend, listen to me. It's not great faith in God that you need. Oh, we all want great faith in God, but that's a byproduct. It's not great faith in God that you need. It is faith in a great God.

Did that sink in? It is faith in a great God. Do you know what faith is? It is the byproduct of looking unto Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of our faith. He's the Alpha, the Omega. He's the one that fires the gun. He's the goal to which we run.

He is the coach that coaches us as we run. Put your eyes upon Jesus Christ. If you needed to cross a bridge, you're not sure it could hold you. You could tremble and try to screw up your courage.

That would be one way to do it. Afraid the bridge might fall. But on the other hand, you could step back and look at it and see semi-trucks, 18-wheelers going back and forth, and automobiles.

You could see the great pylons and the steel and the girders. Then you don't have to make yourself believe. You just go across the bridge because you see what it is and what it can do. Look to Jesus. Fall in love with Jesus. Study Jesus.

You'll find Him in the Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And we're going to be talking about champions of faith. Now, you're going to live by faith, and you will not live without faith.

Do you know Jesus? Well, you can exist without faith, but you will never live without faith. Jesus said, I've come that you might have life. You put your faith where God has put your sins on Jesus Christ. And I want to lead you in a prayer now. God will give you all the faith you need to trust in Jesus.

You don't even have to manufacture it. You just say, Lord, help me to believe, and He will. Are you ready to pray?

Pray this prayer, dear God. If you're not certain that you're saved, pray it right now, dear God, I know that you love me, and I know that you want to save me. Jesus, you died to save me, and you promised to save me if I would trust you.

I do trust you right now. This moment, this moment, now, right now, this moment, I receive you by faith. I don't ask for a sign.

I don't look for a feeling. I do it by faith. I trust you to save me because you died for me. You shed your blood for me. You paid my sin debt with your blood on the cross. You were raised from the dead.

I believe it, and I receive it. You're now my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my friend. Begin now, Lord Jesus, to make me the person you want me to be. Give me the courage to make it public. In your name I pray.

Amen. And if you prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, God bless you, and please go to our website. We have a page just for you.

Find God's love. There you'll find answers you might need about your newfound faith. Click on the tab that says Find God's Love when you go to lwf.org slash radio. Welcome to God's forever family.

We can't wait to hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD to order The Only Way to Live. This message is also part of the insightful series, Champions of Faith. For that complete collection, all 18 powerful messages, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD, or you can order online at lwf.org slash radio, or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also purchase our new Bible studies, much like this message, in our online store at lwf.org slash radio. Is your faith real, growing, and developing through wisdom and worship?

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