Faith: The Foundation of Hope and Obedience

Devotional

Day 1: Faith Is the Substance—The Foundation We Build On

Faith is not wishful thinking or empty hope; it is the solid foundation, the underlying reality that supports everything we believe, hope for, and dream of in God. Just as a building’s title deed proves ownership and authority, faith is the “title deed” to the promises of God, giving us confidence that what we hope for is already secured in Him. Even when circumstances look unchanged on the outside, faith assures us of God’s unchanging reality and His commitment to us. When you step into faith, you are not stepping into uncertainty, but into the most stable and secure life possible, anchored in God’s promises and presence. [08:42]

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to trust God’s unseen reality more than your visible circumstances? How can you act today as if God’s promise is already yours?

Day 2: Faith Is Faithfulness—A Lifelong Journey, Not a Moment

Faith is not just a flash of inspiration or a single bold decision; it is a lifelong journey of faithfulness, a daily commitment to trust and follow God even when the promise seems far off. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 were commended not because they saw every promise fulfilled in their lifetime, but because they kept believing, kept moving forward, and never turned back to what was comfortable or familiar. True faith is seen in perseverance, in continuing to trust God’s word and character through every season, knowing that He is preparing something better for us. [13:09]

Hebrews 11:13-16 (ESV)
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Reflection: Where are you tempted to return to what is comfortable or familiar instead of pressing forward in faith? What is one step you can take today to remain faithful on your journey?

Day 3: Faith Is Defined by Obedience, Not Results

God measures faith not by the visible results or accomplishments, but by our simple, daily obedience to His voice. The heroes of faith were commended because they obeyed God, even when they did not see the fulfillment of His promises in their lifetime. Obedience is better than sacrifice; God delights in our willingness to do the small, consistent things He asks of us, trusting that He will bring about His purposes in His time. Faith is lived out in the ordinary moments—choosing to obey God’s word, even when it’s hard or when the outcome is uncertain. [22:09]

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)
And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

Reflection: What is one small act of obedience God is prompting you to take today, even if you don’t see immediate results? Will you choose to obey Him in that area?

Day 4: Faith Is the Space Where God Meets Us

The space of faith is where God delights to meet His people; it is where heaven and earth collide, and where God’s presence brings peace, courage, and renewed hope. When we step out of comfort and into faith, God is not ashamed to be called our God—He draws near, removes fear, and ignites faith within us. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, inviting us to live in the reality of His presence and power today. In the space of faith, God’s culture, provision, and presence become tangible in our lives. [24:45]

Hebrews 11:16 (ESV)
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Reflection: In what area of your life do you need to invite God’s presence and kingdom reality today? How can you intentionally create space for Him to meet you?

Day 5: Faith Inspires Future Generations—Occupy Your Place

When we step into the space of faith, we not only experience God’s presence and promises for ourselves, but we also pave the way for future generations to encounter Him. Our faithfulness today becomes the foundation for others tomorrow; as we occupy our place in God’s story, we inspire others to do the same. The “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12 reminds us that we are part of a larger story, and our choices to live by faith have lasting impact beyond our own lives. Let us run our race with perseverance, knowing that our faith can spark faith in those who come after us. [26:58]

Hebrews 12:1 (ESV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Reflection: Who is watching your journey of faith—children, friends, coworkers, or others? What is one way you can model faith today that might inspire someone else to trust God?

Sermon Summary

Hebrews 11 reminds us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Deep within each of us is a longing for safety, security, and permanence—a craving that often drives our decisions and shapes our desires. Yet, the life of faith can seem to stand in stark contrast to these cravings, as it calls us to step out of our comfort zones and trust God beyond what we can see or control. However, true faith is not reckless or unstable; rather, it is the most secure foundation we can build our lives upon, because it places us in the hands of the God who knows and loves us.

Faith is not a fleeting feeling or a one-time leap; it is substantial, the very foundation—the “title deed”—of our hope. Just as owning the title deed to a building gives you authority and security, faith gives you a claim to the promises of God that cannot be argued away. When God marks us as His own, He gives us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee, writing His name on our hearts and our names on His hands. This is the underlying reality that sustains us, even when circumstances are uncertain.

Looking at the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, we see that faith is inseparable from faithfulness. These men and women did not just have a moment of inspiration; they lived by faith until the end, even when they did not receive the fulfillment of God’s promises in their lifetimes. Their faith was not defined by results, but by obedience—by a daily, consistent response to God’s voice. God values simple, ongoing obedience over grand gestures or sporadic acts of sacrifice. It is in the ordinary, faithful steps that we access the blessings and protection He has already prepared for us.

Ultimately, faith is the space where God meets us. When we refuse to settle for comfort or familiarity and instead long for the “better country” God has promised, He delights to be called our God. In that space of faith, heaven and earth collide, and God’s presence dispels fear and reignites hope. We are invited to join the great cloud of witnesses, to throw off everything that hinders, and to run our race with perseverance—occupying the space of faith so that future generations can build on what we have begun.

Key Takeaways

1. The human longing for security is not wrong, but true security is only found in trusting God. Faith is not the absence of uncertainty, but the willingness to step out of comfort and into God’s hands, knowing that He alone is our unshakeable foundation. When we crave permanence, God invites us to find it in Him, not in our circumstances. [03:30]
2. Faith is not just a moment of inspiration or a bold declaration; it is faithfulness—a lifelong journey of trusting God day by day. The heroes of Hebrews 11 were commended not for a single act, but for living by faith until the end, even when they did not see the fulfillment of God’s promises. Faith and faithfulness are inseparable in the life God calls us to live. [13:09]
3. Obedience is the true measure of faith, not visible results or accomplishments. God is more pleased with our daily, consistent obedience than with occasional grand gestures. Simple acts of obedience—responding to God’s voice in the small things—open the door to His blessing and protection in our lives. [22:09]
4. Faith is like holding the title deed to God’s promises; it is the underlying reality that gives us authority and confidence, even when circumstances seem unchanged. Just as title deeds settle questions of ownership, faith settles our hearts in God’s promises, making them unassailable by doubt or opposition. [08:42]
5. The space of faith is where God delights to meet us. When we refuse to go back to comfort and instead long for the “better country” of God’s promises, He is not ashamed to be called our God. In that space, His presence dispels fear, and we become part of the story that inspires future generations to step out in faith. [23:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:00] - The Camping Story: Craving Security
[03:30] - Maslow’s Hierarchy and Our Need for Safety
[05:31] - The Faith Adventure: What Is Your Space?
[06:30] - Faith as Substance: The Foundation of Hope
[08:42] - Title Deeds and the Reality of Faith
[11:14] - Faith Is Faithfulness: The Hall of Fame
[13:09] - Living by Faith Until the End
[15:00] - Faithfulness vs. Flash-in-the-Pan Faith
[17:30] - Faith Defined by Obedience, Not Results
[20:00] - The Power of Simple Daily Obedience
[22:09] - Obedience, Blessing, and God’s Promises
[23:52] - The Space Where God Meets Us
[25:41] - Invited Into the Race of Faith
[26:58] - Occupying the Space of Faith for Future Generations
[28:14] - Closing and Call to Faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1-16 (ESV) — > 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
> 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
> 3 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.
> ...
> 6 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.
> ...
> 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
> 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
> 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
> 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Observation Questions

According to Hebrews 11:1, how does the Bible define faith? What words or phrases stand out to you in this definition?
In Hebrews 11:6, what does the writer say is impossible without faith? What two things must someone believe to draw near to God?
The sermon described faith as “the title deed” to God’s promises. What does this mean, and how does it relate to the story about the church building? [08:42]
What did the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 do, even though they did not receive what was promised in their lifetimes? [13:09]

Interpretation Questions

The sermon says that faith is not just a feeling or a one-time leap, but a foundation for our hope. Why is it important to see faith as something substantial and not just emotional? [05:31]
The passage says the heroes of faith “admitted they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” What does it mean to live as a “foreigner” or “stranger” in this world, and how might that affect our daily choices? [13:09]
The sermon emphasizes that faith and faithfulness are inseparable. Why do you think God values ongoing obedience over occasional big gestures? [17:30]
The preacher said, “Faith is defined by obedience, not results.” How does this challenge the way people usually measure success in their spiritual lives? [22:09]

Application Questions

The sermon talked about our craving for safety and security, and how faith sometimes calls us out of our comfort zones. What is one area of your life where you feel God might be asking you to trust Him beyond what you can see or control? [03:30]
The preacher used the example of holding the “title deed” to a building to describe faith. Is there a promise of God that you need to “hold onto” more firmly, even if your circumstances haven’t changed yet? What would it look like to do that this week? [08:42]
The heroes in Hebrews 11 kept living by faith even when they didn’t see the results. Is there something you’ve been praying for or believing for that hasn’t happened yet? How can you keep responding to God with faithfulness in the waiting? [13:09]
The sermon said God is more pleased with daily, consistent obedience than with occasional grand gestures. What is one small, practical step of obedience you sense God is asking you to take right now? [17:30]
The preacher gave a parenting example about preferring daily obedience over rare, big efforts. In your own life, are there “small things” God is asking you to be faithful in? How can you make those a regular part of your routine? [17:30]
The “space of faith” is where God meets us and fear is dispelled. Is there a place in your life where fear is holding you back from stepping out in faith? What would it look like to invite God into that space this week? [23:52]
Hebrews 12:1 says we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” and calls us to run our race with perseverance. Who has inspired you by their faith, and how can your own faithfulness encourage others—maybe even future generations? [26:58]

Sermon Clips

But, you know, what I learned is in those moments, you're just craving for your bed. You're craving for a roof over your head that's not going to cave in. And you're just craving for something a little bit more stable, safe, and secure, something a bit more permanent. And the truth is that the human condition craves for permanence. We crave for safety and security, just like I was doing on that camping trip. Every one of us, we find ourselves strangers when it's out of the comfort. And we're looking for something just to keep us okay. [00:03:09] (38 seconds) #CravingPermanence

And in some ways, we can kind of feel like the Christian life is the antithesis of that. Because the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, that without faith, it's impossible to please God. And sometimes we have this understanding that faith is always scary out there. It's ridiculous. And so that is the antithesis of safety and security. I want to encourage you today that even though there's an element of that that is true, that the faith life is the most secure and stable life that you can live. When you live on the edge of your humanity and what you can do, that you're actually putting yourselves in the hands of the God who created you and the God who knows you. So the faith life is the most stable and secure life that you can live. [00:04:22] (61 seconds) #FaithIsTrueSecurity

Faith is substance. It's substantial. Something, it's not nothing. Faith is substance. The original Greek language, the word substance that we've translated to, the original language is the word hypostasis, a Greek word that actually means the substructure, the foundation, or the underlying reality behind something. And so when the Bible is defining faith for us, it's saying faith is the underlying reality behind everything that we experience, everything that we see, everything that we can believe for, hope for, imagine, dream of. Faith is substantial. Faith is the foundation that you can build something significant on. [00:06:59] (58 seconds) #FaithIsFoundation

Faith is like owning the title deeds of things that you are believing for or hoping for. It means that it can't be argued away because you know fundamentally I've got the title deeds and when God, when you responded to God and the Bible says that God gave you a deposit of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing your inheritance in Ephesians, it's like God have title deeds on you and he's written his name on your heart and your name is on his hand, the Bible says. And so the title deeds mean that nobody can argue that away. There's a fundamental truth that cannot be talked about, argued away. Faith makes all the difference. Faith is the underlying reality behind the external. [00:10:14] (54 seconds) #FaithOwnsThePromise

And what's amazing to see is that it's every one of their stories is different yet significant. And what defined what was common about all of these heroes is the Bible says they lived by faith. And so what needs to be common for the heroes of the faith and 2,000 years of the church and audacious church today is that we continue to live by faith. [00:12:21] (28 seconds) #LivingByFaith

The Bible helping us to see here that faith is not going back to what's familiar, going back and longing for the comfortable, but faith is looking for a better country. Faith is looking for a better space. Faith is looking for something beyond all that you can think, ask, or imagine, believing that God is able to give you everything according to his word. [00:13:42] (31 seconds) #FaithIsFaithfulness

This helps us to understand that faith is not just having an idea or a dream in one moment and then not living it out the next. No, faith is faithfulness. We can be tempted to think maybe with a wrong understanding or a wrong belief system or wrong teaching or what faith is and what it's not that faith is different to faithfulness and we can even think that if we can just have faith that's all we need and yet through the Bible the word for faith and faithfulness in the Bible is the same word. [00:14:25] (43 seconds) #FaithIsObedience

None of the Bible faith and faithfulness are exactly the same thing and these people are living by faith not just when God illuminated something to them not when God gave them a dream that wasn't just faith. Faith is not just having an image on a screen or a video of a building that we're believing for, wow we've got such incredible faith. No, no, no, faith is seeing the images and seeing it fulfilled. Faith is faithfulness. [00:15:30] (37 seconds) #ObedienceUnlocksPromise

Jesus taught us to pray. May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, Jesus was teaching us to pray and ask for and occupy the space of faith. That Jesus, we want to step out. We want to be in an environment of faith. And in that environment, that space of faith, we want to say, we want to see the kingdom of heaven, the culture of heaven. We want to see it on earth. [00:24:12] (33 seconds)

We don't just want to, you know, our eternal hope is that we will one day step into that environment. We will step into new heaven, new earth, the atmosphere and culture, the way of the kingdom of heaven. But we also have that hope for today. And through the prayer Jesus taught us, well, we want to see that kingdom culture on earth today. We get to see it, ask for it, pray for it, live it out. By being salt, being light every single day. We get to step into the space of faith. And the space of faith is a place that God meets us. God meets us. If you're open to it, then God is able to step into your world today. And He's able to, with His presence, fear is removed. And simply when He steps in the room, fear is gone. And by His presence, faith is reignited in your spirit today. [00:24:45] (66 seconds)

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