Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
What would you have to accomplish to make you happy before you die? At what would you have to be successful? What would you have to do or ambition would you have to fulfill? A better question is, “What would you have to accomplish to make God happy?” Many people think you have to accomplish some great, amazing thing in order to please God. What we are going to say is not against ambition that God would provide, but what we are talking about is what does it take to actually make God happy?
In Hebrews 11 we have a variety of “heroes of the faith,” people who lived by faith. You read about Caleb, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Jacob, Joseph, Rahab, and Joshua. These people did a number of things and their accomplishments were varied. They did not all do the same thing. So, what is it that they all have in common? What they have in common is not what they accomplished, but whom they trusted. The smile of God comes from whom you believe and not what you accomplish. What you accomplish is a function of whom you believe.
Hebrews 11:2 says, “For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report.” That is, they have a good standing in God’s sight because of their faith, not because of their accomplishments. Verse 39, one of the bookends of this chapter, says “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith.” Verse 6 puts it this way, “For without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
So, you don’t please God by what you do, you please God by whom you trust. Now, do you think you have greater ambitions than God? Do you think God’s ambitions would be inferior to your own? Who has greater vision, you or God? The answer is obviously God. God is not lacking for ambition or vision for your life. What you need to do is not accomplish great things for God, but to trust Him and let Him accomplish everything and anything He wishes through you.
What does faith actually do for such a person who is living by it and trusting in God? First, it provides understanding. Verse 3 says, “Through faith we understand.” Specifically, we understand the past. It continues, “The worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” So, through faith we understand.
Many people have such misunderstanding about life and the universe. The reason for that is not so much that they are insufficient in knowledge, but that they are insufficient in wisdom that comes from knowing. They are insufficient in wisdom that comes from knowing God. I know God, and God knows everything. I don’t need to know everything. I need to know God, and if I know God, then I am in touch with the One Who knows everything. So, by faith we understand.
Second, it provides foresight. It provides not just understanding about the past, but foresight into the future. Verse 7 says, “For by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet.” So, faith is the evidence of things not seen in the past and it gives foresight of things not yet seen in the future. It continues, “[Noah] moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” So, I don’t know the past, but I know God and God knows the past. I don’t see the future, but God knows it and I know God.
Faith provides understanding and it provides foresight. I can know things I would not otherwise know because of what God has said about the future. God has been correct about His prophecies in the past and indeed He will be correct about what He has said about my future.
Finally, faith gives us discernment, the ability to distinguish one thing from another. A lot of times things look like they are exactly the same, but they are not. Years ago, Edmund Burke, quoting someone else, said that humor is largely a matter of comparison of things that are alike. If I say that a guy eats like a horse, I don’t mean he literally goes down on all fours and eats grass. I mean that he eats a lot. The picture is humorous because it is an exaggeration of some similarity.
Discernment, on the other hand, is the ability to see distinctions where they may not otherwise be seen, to see between good and bad, and even between better and best. One of the themes of Hebrews is “better,” a better covenant, Jesus Who is better than the angels and prophets. In verse 16 it says that Abraham sought a better, heavenly country. He lived by faith and followed God’s guidance in his life. The verse goes on, “Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
In verse 26 we read about better riches. Moses chose rather to suffer “affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” So, what you lose depends on what you choose. Moses lost the wealth in Egypt, but gained something far greater. He knew this by faith.
Verse 35 talks about those who obtain a better resurrection. From start to finish, we please God not by what we accomplish, but by what we allow Him to accomplish in us by faith. Faith in God provides understanding, foresight, and discernment. In short, is provides a powerful life now and certainty into the future.