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port: a door a door : the heart one day a man was riding a horse. the horse stepped on a long stick and within an instant the horse reared up and began running wildly.
the man pulled on the reigns and shouted, "Whoaaa!" but the horse continued to run for about a hundred yards before the man could bring it under control.
why did the horse run?
why did the horse ignore the pulling of the reigns and the feeling of the bit and bridle that should have made the horse stop?
why did the horse ignore his master's commands of "Whoaaa!" which should have made the horse stop?
something deep in the horse's brain sent a message to the horse. a message that was deeper and more powerful than the message of the reigns, deeper than the message of his master's voice.
i doubt the horse had ever seen a real snake, but deep in his instincts there was a message that told the horse: "long slender things that move along the ground are dangerous."
it was a message that was so powerful, so attention getting, that the it overpowered everything the horse knew about riding, being ridden, the reigns and the vocal commands it had learned.
the horse saw the long slender thing moving on the ground
the horse thought, "danger"
the horse believed it was, "dangerous"
the horse communicated with itself and said, "danger!"
and the horse did something,
it ran.
we are discussing the doors of life those doors that usher us into the faith experience the first door we discussed was the door of the mind the role that our thinking plays in our lives.
today we are considering the door of the heart the door of our believing and the role that belief plays in the faith experience.
the story of the man on the horse demonstrates to us just how powerful beliefs can be in our lives.
beliefs are deeply held convictions about who we are, how we relate to the world around us and what that world is like.
the horse was a broken horse -- which simply means that he had been trained for riding.
the horse was a trained horse and knew what the commands of the bit, bridle and reigns meant.
the horse was the man's horse, and knew the man's voice and the man's vocal commands.
but, all of those things were not powerful enough to help the horse overcome a deeply seated belief system in the horse's case this was the instinctual message which God had programmed for its survival "long slender things that move along the ground are dangerous"
when we enter into the door of our beliefs and if we have any hopes of growing in our belief systems then we need to be aware that we are encountering deep forces within our own minds each of us have messages which hold great power over our lives each of us hold on to deeply seated belief systems changing these beliefs is hard it is difficult you might say that it is almost impossible.
that's how the writer of Hebrews 11:6 put it:
"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for the person who comes to God must first believe that God is, and that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him earnestly."
as we saw with the horse, changing thoughts can be done with some effort and work changing and growing in beliefs is another story which brings us to the door of believing.
let us look at 4 common beliefs found in Hebrews 11:6 which are commonly held by people
#1. Please God:
this is a common prayer that is spoken all of the time at the race track -- please God let my horse win!
in the classroom -- please God let me pass this test!
in an airplane -- please God let this plane land safely!
on a date -- please God let him/her like me!
i am certain you could think of another 100 examples of this common prayer!
what is the belief behind such prayers?
a. for some it is that God is like a lucky charm, a lucky rabbit's foot that can be called upon to help in times of need or want.
b. for others it is that God is a last resort, someone to call upon in times of trouble, distress, or need.
c. for some it is that God exists to please them, to help them out when they need him.
God does care about the little details of life -- but this is a limited and limiting view of God, and will certainly hinder our entering through the door of belief into the experience of faith.
#2. Please God = Appease God the image comes to mind of a bad 1950's or 60's movie where the cavemen are carrying a virgin sacrifice up to throw her in a volcano to appease the god of the mountain and save the village.
many people think God is like that this God is always angry and wants us to do something to appease His constant and dangerous anger.
many people live their whole lives with a sense of guilt and oppression because their deepest belief is that God is mad at them.
#3. Please God = the tyrant God Others tend to think that God is more like some tyrant who wants us to please His whims you never know what this God wants you never know what this God desires you never know how to act there are many who think that this God is playing with their lives and toying with the experience of living a full life this God is a spoil sport who seems to derive pleasure out of depriving humans of joy and life!
#4. it is impossible to please God many people have tried and they have come away from the experience feeling that they have failed or that God has failed them or church has failed them the bottom line is there's really no way to please God
#5. God's is pleased with everybody some people think that God just automatically loves everyone no matter what they do no matter what they believe no matter how they live God just is love all paths lead to God there are more belief systems than i could mention here but they are very powerful and they directly effect our ability to enter into the faith experience Hebrews 11:6 says more than simply, "It is impossible to please God!"
the words speak a message of the door of belief the door of faith.
"The person who comes to God must first believe there is a God!"
the first knee bent in the faith experience is the knee that bows and confesses, "God exists!"
"...and God will reward those that seek Him earnestly!"
the picture i like to think of here is of a deer hunter the deer hunter is earnestly seeking one thing and the deer hunter's reward is the deer.
for those who seek God the reward is God Himself.
Here's my version of Hebrews 11:6 "There is a God and you can know Him"
Belief Systems 101 these are the two central beliefs that make up the door of our heart which usher us into the faith experience they are steps of faith steps that each person must take for themselves
1. Is there a God?
2. Can I know this God?
faith is not a force God is not some principle God is a personality the message of the church has been and will always be:
There is a God and you can know Him
* * * * * * * * * * * * * a note about pleasing God i find the usage of this word {please} to be one of the great belief builders God is a being that can be pleased by knowing us God is a being that can please us when we know Him
* * * * * * * * * * * * * So What?
so, if you are on this faith journey you will encounter doors along the way the door of the mind -- and your thinking the door of your heart -- and your believing the door of your mouth -- and your confessing the door of your life -- and your doing when it comes to your believing remember growth and change is possible with faith God is You can experience God.
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