Believe In God Or Believe God

Believe In God or Believe God!

Hebrews 11:1-6 (NIV)

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By 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. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 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. 6 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.

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

How do we get it?

Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

What is the benefit?

Hebrews 11:6

6 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.

I want to look at something else about this verse.

Believe

Verb

Accept as true; take to be true;

Be confident about something

Hebrews says that to come to God we must believe that He exists.

Have to accept as true that God exists.

We must be confident that this is fact.

Then the writer goes to say that God rewards those that “earnestly” seek Him.

Earnestly

Adverb

1. In a serious manner;

So we must believe accept as truth that He exists and

We must seek Him in a serious manner then He will reward us.

The question of the day is this…

Do we really believe God?

There is a big difference between believing in God and believing God.

Ann Kimball wrote some book in the 1970’s had a marvelous way of talking about Jesus. She was the dean of women at Eastern Nazarene College in Boston and she would speak all over the country. She flying from Boston to san Francisco to speak she said she was just so tired from the week and she sat down in her seat and ask the Lord to not have her talk to anybody because she was so tired and about that time a businessman comes and sits next to her and the Lord says Ann talk to him. She says Lord no I so tired. The Lord says yes go ahead so she looks over at the man and says Hi I’m Ann. The man says hi Ann I’m Hap. Hap would you do me a favor. He said sure what is it. Can I sing a little song to you? It will be short and quiet and I won’t embarrass you, he said ok but hurry it up. She sang something beautiful, something good, all of my confusion, he understood. You know what confusion is Hap, I do. All I have to offer him is brokenness and strife. You know what brokenness and strife is Hap, I do. He made something beautiful of my life. Hap said, Ann thanks a million I love your song, my wife would love your song she wonderful catholic lady, very religious persons he goes to mass five times a week, she would love your song but I am an atheist. Ann said oh a real live atheist, that’s wonderful, Hap said it is? Ann said yes I’ve never met and real live atheist before. Hap said you haven’t? She no just because you don’t believe in a God Hap, doesn’t mean that there’s not. He said really? She said O yeah. I have a giant of God in me Hap. We’re out to change the world my God and I. We dream great dreams for guys like you. He said you do? They started have this conversation that went on for several minutes and she said I looked at him and he had turned his head away and tears started run down his check onto his shirt. She said I didn’t even know what to do we haven’t even taken off yet. She said the plane finally took from Boston on its way to San Francisco and at 35,000 feet for 5 and ½ hours we talked about the God who is. She said when we landed I like to be the first off, Hap ask if he could write to me and I gave him the address and I told him remember Hap I have a giant of a god in me. My God and me we dream big dreams for guys like and someday when you least expect he may invade your life and with that she got off. Two weeks later back in Boston Ann Kimball got a letter from Hap that said, Dear Ann I have not ask this Jesus that you talked about into my heart yet, but I want you to know that somewhere at 35,000 feet between Boston and San Francisco for the first time in my life I believed that God is.