Christmas in Real Life – Faith

Christmas in Real Life – Faith is the theme of our fourth sermon from our Advent series.

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

It can be described as a sure certainty.

Faith is a wonderful term that can be a little hard to get our arms around.  The writer to the Hebrews defines it in this way.  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  God is saying that faith is assurance.  Faith is sure hope – hope in what?  Let me use Jesus’ words in the upper room.  “Because I live, you also will live.”  Ours is the sure hope of the resurrection of the dead and a heavenly home.  The sure hope that Jesus loves us, that we are his children.  Faith looks ahead to events that haven’t happened yet.  How can you be so sure of the future?  Why is faith absolute assurance?

That brings us to the second definition of faith.  Faith is certainty.  Being certain in what?  Being certain of all of God’s promises: that God made the world, that Jesus died for your sins in mine, that he loves you.  Faith is sure certainty.  The simplest word that I can think of to describe faith is trust.  And so a lack of faith could be called doubt.

Faith is only as strong as the object in which it trusts.

Let me give you an example: There was a man hiking through the northern woods one winter day.  He came to a river.  The river was frozen, but he had heard, and growing up in the northern climates it’s a true statement that ice is technically never safe.  One of the tricks to minimize the risk is to lay flat on the ice and kind of shimmy or crawl across the ice – putting your weight in four points – hands and knees – is safer than two feet.  The man was doing well, he was half way across the river when he hears the sound of a truck coming through the woods.  It drove right onto the ice and right by him, dangerously close I might add.  It drove up the bank on the other side and was gone.

When ice is a foot or more thick you can, in fact drive a truck across it.  There are ice roads that form every winter in Canada where enormous semi rigs drive across frozen lakes and rivers.

As you go through life, the object of your faith, Jesus is rock solid, he will never let you down.  You can go through life on your hands an knees terrified the whole way that Jesus will fail.  Or, why not be the monster truck bounding across life held up by the rock solid promises of your Lord.

That is the sure certainty of faith.  That is Christmas in Real Life – Faith.

Please click HERE to find the paper on the incarnation referenced in the sermon.

To learn more about this Advent sermon series you can find the event page HERE.