Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost ~ August 11, 2007

Today we continue in our series of seeing how God comes into our lives and renews us. We will explore Hebrews 11, the chapter in which we hear about famous Old Testament people and their “faith.” Our first verse records, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV) Let’s focus in on faith and how God can renew us by faith.

We often hear the word faith being used not only in the church but in society too. And often faith is described as having trust in something. Trust is built on the idea that we know something to be true either by experience or knowledge of the facts. We trust the sun will come up tomorrow because science tells us it will and by experience that it does each day. I believe faith does have a matter of trust as part of it but I believe faith, especially Biblical faith, goes much further than just mere trust. Our open verse seems to indicate something even greater than trust in experience or knowledge.

I love the internet and Google. It always me to find so many things I would have been able to find just a few years ago. I often use the internet to do some basic study for preparation for my sermons. Often there isn’t much I can use but occasionally something will get me thinking in new ways about a text. This week I came across a sermon by a professor of Luther Seminary in Minnesota named David Lose. He had a sermon on this text he preached earlier this year so I thought I would check it out.

Professor Lose began his sermon with a comment that he believed the Gospel to be fantasy. “Oh no!” I thought this isn’t starting out well. In my mind fantasy was fiction that was beyond possibility. But I was intrigued so I read on. Then he stated that he also believed the Gospel to be true. Again, my idea of fantasy was that it was the opposite of truth. But that is not the correct idea of fantasy. Here is what Professor Lose had to say, “I believe the Bible not because it tells me of things I have seen and know for myself but precisely because it describes a reality that stretches beyond the confines of my finite, mortal existence and therefore has the capacity to redeem me, and you, and this life and world we share.” (Quoted from “The Faith Journey” sermon by Rev. Dr. David Lose for 30 Good Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Program #5017, first broadcast February 2, 2007)

I think Professor Lose is right on here. The Gospel is something greater than our own reality, and in that sense a “fantasy”. And that is what makes it so wonderful, so much more the Gospel. Just take a look at our reality. When we see our world we see violence, illness, destruction, death, heartache, etc… Just watch the news and it is enough to make you wonder can there be any true good in this world. Our reality is filled with sin. When the world looks at our reality and then hears about the Gospel, that a loving God cares enough for us to send His Son to die a horrible death and rise again to give us forgiveness and new life, it often says, “that is too good to be true.” And on an earthly side of things in our reality that is true. But the Gospel breaks into our reality and transforms our brokenness and sin into forgiveness, healing and life eternal.

And that is where Biblical faith steps in today in our text. If faith was based on mere trust in our reality then we have little to hope for. But faith goes beyond and clings to a “fantasy” that is more true than our reality. God loves and cares for us and has something bigger than this world’s reality in mind when comes to us in faith. The impossible become possible in God. Faith is the gift of God given to us to believe the impossible and know that beyond this reality we see with our limited minds there is something greater found in Christ Jesus.

When we look at Hebrews 11 with our finite minds and using human’s reason alone we tend to focus in on the actions of these ancient people and say it was by “their” faith that God worked in their lives. But that isn’t correct. It was never “their” faith but the faith that God gives to us to cling to the impossibility that ultimately saves us. It has been said nothing “possible” can save us; it is the impossible that is needed to redeem us from this sinful life and world. So what we see in Hebrews 11 is the impossible being made possible only through faith, a gift of God, given to His people.

We begin with creation and the faith we have been give to believe that God created the universe out of nothing. That is the impossible, that everything that is in existence came from nothing. Only by faith can we cling to this truth. Human reason can explain a lot of things in our universe but it can’t accept that everything can from nothing – that takes faith.

By faith Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God. At first this seems to be Abel’s actions until we realize that because of sin nothing we do is acceptable to God. Only by faith can the impossible be made possible and Abel’s sacrifice can be made acceptable.

By faith Enoch did not face death, impossible in our reality. We know that everyone will face death. And yet Enoch did not die but was taken by God to heaven because of the faith God had given to him.

By faith Noah accepted God’s direction to build an Ark because of a great flood that was coming. Noah took over 100 years to build the Ark for a flood that seemed impossible (it still does today to archeologist as they down play a world-wide flood). And yet God gave Noah the faith to trust and persevere through the building of the ark and the great flood.

By faith Abraham, who was doing well in his own country, was called by God to go to a place he didn’t know. No map, no plan, just follow God. It took faith, given by God, to trust that His plan was the right one and to move to a new place.

By faith Sarah, probably in her 80’s, gives birth to a son promised by God. That is even impossible in this day and age with the technology we have. But God, through the gift of faith, made the impossible possible and through Sarah’s son a lineage was formed that leads to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

So what does faith have to do with renewal? When we speak of renewal we often talk about working harder or smarter at something to make it better. And while that is part of renewal, I think renewal can be even greater when we rely on God in faith to renew our lives. Renewal on human terms will only go so far. We said already that in our reality of sin it seems that no truly good thing can happen. But, by faith given to us in God, the fantasy of renewal, real renewal, becomes a reality in our lives. When things seem hopeless, by faith, we can cling to God and know His word to be true. In spite of what the world throws our way God’s reality in Jesus is that we have a new life, a better life, in Him. And that ultimate true fantasy is eternal life with God. When this life is ended, and in faith we have believed in Christ, we will see a world that goes beyond any fantasy thought up by man. Heaven is our true place to be. We will pass through this broken reality to a true reality found in Christ. Fantasy? Yes, beyond our wildest dreams! Truth? The greatest truth there is that we can find by faith given to us by God. Amen