Faith Matured

Hebrews 11 – February 7, 2010 AM

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The Evidence of Faith

Hebrews 11.1 – January 31, 2009

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The Evidence of Faith (Hebrews 11.1-3)

The following sermon was preached at FBC Benbrook on Sunday morning, January 31, 2010

Hebrews 11.1-3 NIV

¹Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ²This is what the ancients were commended for. ³By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11.1-3 NKJV

¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

One of the passages that we read so often in weddings is from 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter.” After describing love with powerful poetry, Paul concludes with these famous words, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13.13). Faith, hope, and love from a foundational triad that was not only important to the apostle Paul, but also to the apostle who wrote the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 10, the author of this book that we have been studying for the last few months used this tried of faith, hope, and love to encourage the Christians in Rome to draw near to God with the full assurance of faith, to hold unswervingly to the hope they profess, and to consider how to spur one another on towards love and good deeds (Hebrews 10.22-24).

Faith, hope, and love are the basic building blocks of the Christian faith, and it would appear that they are so simple and foundational that their meaning is clear. But we live in a culture that has radically altered the meaning of these basic biblical words. “Love” has become little more than doing what feels good to me instead of something that “is not self seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs…delights in the truth instead of evil…always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13.5-7). Hope has become little more than wishful thinking rather than the biblical idea of “confident expectation.” And faith, what is faith?

Undoing the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1.10-17)

The following sermon was preached at FBC Benbrook on Sunday night, January 24, 2010.

Imagine with me that you are the leader of a church that is having multiple problems. The members of your church are arguing over which minister is the best preacher. They have even started little groups with posters and t-shirts. They are in such conflict that they are suing each other in court. At least one of your more prominent members is engaged in such gross immorality that it makes a sailor blush with shame. You got one group that thinks celibacy is the only way to go, and another group that sees no reasons for any boundaries regarding sexuality. There is major social class division going on in your worship services with a sharp divide between the rich and the poor, and the fellowship meals have turned into drunken parties. Certain spiritual gifts have been elevated above others, and many of them don’t even believe that Christ was raised from the dead.

Don’t Throw It Away

Hebrews 10.26-39 – January 24, 2010 AM

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Don’t Throw It Away (Hebrews 10.26-39)

The following sermon was preached at FBC Benbrook on Sunday morning, January 24, 2010

Without a doubt, the most difficult parts of the book of Hebrews to deal with are the “warning passages.” Five different times, the writer of Hebrews issues a warning to the Jewish Christians in Rome. While Hebrews is full of difficult to understand passages, the warning passages are the most difficult not only to understand but to accept. There are some truths in Scripture that are so foreign to our fallen mind that they are simply hard to swallow. We find ourselves saying, “Surely it can’t mean what it seems to be saying.” And sometimes our minds have to be renewed, and at various points the truths of God come in direct conflict with the assumptions of mankind. So the challenge is to both understand and to accept.

Where Was God in the Beginning?

Exodus 1.1-8 – July 29, 2007

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Set Apart (Ordination Service)

1 Timothy 3.1-13 – January 17, 2010
Ordination Service

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Daily Reading

Quotes from Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper. These quotes are from the chapter, “Brothers, Let us Pray” (53-58)

Prayer is the coupling of primary and secondary causes. It is the splicing of our limp wire to the lightning bolt of heaven. How astonishing it is that God wills to do His work through people. It is doubly astonishing that He ordains to fulfill His plans by being asked to do so by us.

A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit, which is the only kind that matters, knows neither God nor himself. A pastor who does not know the rhythm of desperation and deliverance must have his sights only on what man can achieve. But brothers, the proper goals of the life of a pastor are unquestionable beyond our reach. The changes we long for in the hearts of our people can happen only by a sovereign work of grace….We are called to labor for that which is God’s alone to give. The essence of the Christian ministry is that its success is not within our reach.

It is un-American to be so impractical as to devote oneself to prayer and meditation two hours a day.

Daily Reading (The Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper)

Quoted from The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper, 45-46.

We should also rely on the Holy Spirit for help in interpreting the Word. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2.13-14 that he is “interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual (that is, those who posses the Spirit). The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him.”‘ In other words, it takes the Holy Spirit to make us docile to the Bible. The work of the Holy Spirit in the process of interpretation is  not to add information, but to give us the discipline to study well, and the humility to accept the truth we find without twisting it, and often a desperately needed discovery or insight in his providential guidance of our work.