Faith That Evokes Action: Be Available to God

The report-card picture sets up the whole thing: results were not really the issue, but the comment at the bottom could make or break the next few weeks. Ability looked massive in that world, and “so much potential” sounded good until the “if only” kicked in. Faith pushes that same pressure into the light and says Jesus is not first looking for ability, but availability. God’s call does not rest on the cleverer, smarter, fancier, better-looking option. God’s choice rests on what Jesus has done, and that makes ordinary people able to say yes.

Faith in Hebrews 11 is not just a nice idea sitting in the heart. Faith shows the reality of what is hoped for, the evidence of what cannot be seen. Sight helps people navigate the physical world, but faith helps people navigate the spiritual world. A bank account, health, a job, a spouse, kids, or experience cannot carry the weight that only God can carry. Faith has to cling to God, rely on God, and then move.

Abel’s offering shows that God is more interested in the giver than the gift. Cain brought something, but Abel brought the fat portions, the firstborn, the best of the best. The issue was not roast lamb versus couscous salad. The issue was heart posture. Obligation can tick the church box, the community box, the religious box, and still miss the heart God is after.

Enoch’s walk shows that faith pleases God. Enoch did not get a long biography, but his life carried this one massive thing: God enjoyed his presence, and Enoch enjoyed God’s presence. Noah’s boat shows faith obeying God about something that had never happened before. Noah was not chosen because he was the best boat builder in the land. He heard God, trusted God, and built what God said, even while it looked mad to everybody else.

Abraham’s obedience ramps it up again. Abraham went without knowing where he was going. Faith does not always get the whole plan, the dotted i’s, the crossed t’s, or the clear map. The astronaut picture captures that step into the unknown, hand out, trusting God beyond the comfort zone.

Faith comes by hearing the word of God, not by replaying negative stories, the news, or anxious thoughts. Faith is not a blind leap, but it is also not the safe option. The final question presses hard: is faith fundamental, or is faith ornamental, like old China in a cabinet that only comes out now and again?

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Availability matters more than ability Faith loosens the grip of self-measurement, where identity rises and falls on performance, skill, or past failure. God’s call does not wait until a person feels qualified enough to be useful. The Spirit gives ability through surrendered availability, not through polished confidence in the flesh. [52:58]
• 2. Faith must invoke real action Hebrews 11 does not present faith as private optimism or religious emotion. Faith trusts, relies, clings, and then moves, whether that movement is a knocked-on door, a softened heart, or an obedient step that looks foolish from the outside. Faith without any change in posture, perspective, or practice needs to ask whether it is really holding on to God. [61:59]
• 3. God wants the giver first Abel’s offering mattered because Abel’s heart came with it. Cain could bring something real and still bring it like a box being ticked. God’s concern reaches deeper than the visible gift, because the firstfruits reveal whether God receives the best or merely the leftovers. [65:46]
• 4. Faith obeys before sight explains Noah trusted God about something that had never happened before, and Abraham went without knowing where he was going. Faith does not require every detail to be settled before obedience begins. God’s word becomes enough to take the next step, even when the circumstance does not yet make sense in reality. [69:30]
• 5. Faith is fundamental, not ornamental Ornamental faith comes out on Sundays or in emergencies, like old China displayed in a cabinet. Fundamental faith sits underneath everything: generosity, witness, prayer, obedience, and courage. God’s people cannot walk into what God has prepared while faith remains decorative instead of structural.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [50:06] - Report Cards and Potential
• [52:58] - Ability Versus Availability
• [54:39] - Faith Says Yes to Jesus
• [56:29] - Holding On for Breakthrough
• [59:20] - Hebrews 11 Defines Faith
• [61:59] - Faith That Changes Action
• [63:51] - Abel Brings the Best
• [67:45] - Enoch Pleases God by Faith
• [69:30] - Noah Builds Before the Flood
• [72:59] - Abraham Steps Into the Unknown
• [76:17] - Faith Comes by Hearing
• [79:12] - Disappointment After Stepping Out
• [80:40] - Fundamental or Ornamental Faith

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1-40
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” [59:25]

Genesis 4:3-5
“In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” [01:06:24]

Romans 10:17
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” [01:16:26]

James 2:14
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” [01:11:03]

Observation questions

1. In Hebrews 11, what repeated phrase shows up again and again in the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, and what does that repetition highlight? [01:04:07]
2. Looking at Genesis 4:3-5, what differences can the group notice between what Cain brought and what Abel brought?
3. In Hebrews 11, what specific actions are connected to faith in the lives of Noah and Abraham?
4. What are some of the things people often lean on instead of God, and how are those things described in relation to faith? [01:03:19]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. What does that mean for a believer trying to follow God when the outcome is still unclear? [01:01:44]
2. Abel’s offering was accepted, and Cain’s was not. If God is looking at the giver as well as the gift, what does that suggest about the kind of heart posture God desires? [01:05:46]
3. Enoch is remembered as someone who pleased God, and Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please Him. What does that reveal about the connection between faith and a life that enjoys God’s presence? [01:08:18]
4. Abraham went out without knowing where he was going. What does that show about how obedience and clarity often relate to each other in the Christian life? [01:12:59]

Application questions

1. Where has identity been tied too closely to ability, performance, or past failure? What would availability to God look like in that exact area this week? [52:58]
2. Faith is not meant to stay private or decorative. What is one action that may show faith becoming more visible right now: a conversation, an invitation, a step of generosity, a prayer for someone, or something else? [01:01:59]
3. Abel brought the first and the best, not the leftovers. In a practical sense, what usually gets God the leftovers: time, attention, money, energy, or obedience? What might firstfruits look like instead? [01:07:45]
4. Noah obeyed God about something that had never happened before. Is there an area where obedience feels risky or even a little foolish because there is no clear precedent for it? [01:09:30]
5. Abraham moved without getting the full map first. Where is the pressure to have every detail settled before saying yes to God? What would taking the next step, not the whole journey, look like? [01:14:06]
6. Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ. What voices have been shaping faith lately: God’s word, anxious thoughts, bad news, other people’s negativity, or something else? How could hearing God’s word take a more central place this week? [01:16:46]
7. Some people have stepped out before and felt disappointed when things did not unfold the way they expected. Where might disappointment be making the heart cautious again, and what would it look like to trust God afresh without demanding a certain outcome? [01:19:12]