Hebrews 11:1,6 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The challenges we face in life can take the form of a trial, test, or tribulation. We need to distinguish between them and know how to handle each, but one common factor is that we must respond in faith to all of them.
You might wonder how you can tell whether it is a trial, tribulation, or test. The only person who knows is you, because every Christian is supposed to live a consecrated and sanctified life. No one else knows whether we are living a consecrated and sanctified life except ourselves and God.
Tribulation is thlipsis in the original Bible text. It means to crush, press together, squash, hem in, compress, or squeeze. It is a strong term that does not refer to minor inconveniences but real hardships.
We need to understand that God is not the source of our tribulation, nor will He bring persecution upon believers. Instead, it is the devil who uses various ways to steal the Word from us. His main goal is to make you let go of the Word you have just been taught or are excited about! He doesn’t want you to develop any conviction or faith in the Word of God! His way is to throw tribulation into your life to make you offended by God and steal His Word from your heart. He wants you to believe in his lies and distorted view of God, and make your life miserable. It is the Word of God that will help you to resist, take authority, and defeat the devil. Therefore, you need to know the Word and use it appropriately to exercise your faith in God.
We learnt from the opening passage that the way to please God is through faith. It is simply believing in God. Faith is established when the Word of God is spoken, and we take God’s Word for it. God and His Word are one. He backs up every Word that He has spoken and watches over it to perform it in our lives. We can take God’s Word for it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and faith will continue to grow when we listen to His Word.
Sermon Series：We Need to Have Simple Faith
凭着信心胜过挑战
希伯来书 11:1,6 信就是所望之事的实底，是未见之事的确据……人非有信，就不能得神的喜悦；因为到神面前来的人，必须信有神，且信他赏赐那寻求他的人。
我们在生命中所面对的挑战，可能表现为试炼、考验或患难。我们需要分辨它们之间的不同，并学会如何在每种情形中正确应对；但有一个共同点，那就是——我们必须以信心来回应这一切。
你或许会想：我怎么知道自己经历的是试炼、患难，还是考验呢？事实上，只有你自己知道，因为每一位基督徒都应当活出一颗分别为圣、奉献给神的心。除了我们自己和神，没有人知道我们是否真正过着分别为圣的生活。
“患难”一词在圣经原文中是thlipsis（θλῖψις），意思是“压迫、挤压、逼迫、困住、压紧或挤在一起”。这是一个强烈的词语，并非指生活中一些轻微的不便，而是真实的艰难与重压。
我们必须明白，神不是患难的源头，祂也不会将逼迫带到信徒身上。相反，是魔鬼在使用各种方式来夺走我们心中的话语。祂的主要目的，就是要让你放弃刚刚领受、并且感到兴奋的神的话语！祂不希望你在神的话语上建立信心与确据。祂的手段，就是将患难带入你的生命，使你对神产生误解和冒犯，从而偷走神的话语。魔鬼要你相信祂的谎言，接受祂对神的扭曲形象，并让你的生命陷入痛苦。然而，正是神的话语帮助我们抵挡魔鬼，行使权柄，并得胜。因此，我们必须认识神的话语，并正确地使用它，在每一个处境中操练我们对神的信心。
从开篇的经文我们看到，讨神喜悦的途径就是凭信心——简单来说，就是相信神。信心建立在神所说的话语之上，当我们听见神的话并选择相信，它就成了我们生命中的根基。神与祂的话语是一体的；祂必信实地成就祂所说的一切话，并亲自看顾祂的话语在我们生命中成就。因此，我们可以完全信靠神的话语。信心是从听神的话而来的；当我们持续聆听祂的话语，信心就会不断增长。
讲章系列：我们需要简单的信心