Venture of Faith: Calvary Distinctive

Let me ask you a question that humanity has been asking since the beginning: What is the chief end of man? In other words, what is the purpose of life? Why are we here?

The Westminster Catechism famously answered: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

And that's beautiful. But it raises a pretty challenging question: If we're here to please God, then how do sinful people like you and me please a holy God?

That's exactly what Hebrews 11 answers.

The writer tells us plainly: "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" (Hebrews 11:6).

I want to talk to you today about ventures of faith. Because throughout Scripture, God calls ordinary people to step into extraordinary things. Not because we're qualified, but because He's faithful.

And here's what I've learned: as long as you're breathing, God is not done with you. He has an adventure for you. Not a war story from twenty years ago, but something for today, tomorrow, and the next step.

So let's open our Bibles to Hebrews 11 and discover what it really means to walk by faith.

– "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen... But without faith it is impossible to please Him."

Hebrews 11:1 – "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Before we talk about stepping out, we need to understand what faith actually is.
Faith is not wishful thinking. It's not blind optimism where you just close your eyes and hope for the best. No — biblical faith is a confidence in the character of God.

Faith says: "Even when I can't see the outcome, I know and trust the One who holds the outcome in His hands."

Think of it like putting your full weight on a crutch. When you're injured, you don't just tap the crutch on the ground and hope it holds. You lean on it. You depend on it. You transfer your weight to it.

That's faith. It's dependence. It's surrender. It's trusting God with your life, your future, your career, your marriage, your kids, your finances — everything.

And here's the hard truth: you can be moral and not have faith. You can come to church and not have faith. You can serve in ministry, preach the gospel, and even lead worship — and still not have faith. Because faith isn't about what you do. It's about who you trust.

Hebrews 11:6 doesn't say it's difficult to please God without faith. It says it's impossible.

So here's my first question for you this morning: Do you trust God fully and completely?
Not partially. Not when it's convenient. Not when you can see the outcome. Fully.

Hebrews 11:6 – "For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Did you catch that word "diligently"?
It means to search for, investigate, and pursue earnestly. It's not a casual, "Hey God, if You're up there, give me a sign" kind of attitude. It's a passionate, intentional pursuit.
Here's what that looks like in real life:
•Prioritizing prayer, even when you're tired
•Opening God's Word and digging into Scripture yourself, not just listening to sermons
•Obeying when He speaks — when He says wait, you wait; when He says go, you go
And here's the beautiful thing: when Jesus died on that cross, the veil in the temple — that four-inch-thick curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the people — was torn in two from top to bottom. God was saying, symbolically, "There is nothing now that hinders you from coming to Me."
So if you're not diligently seeking God, you're not taking full advantage of your Christian faith.
But here's what I've noticed: God doesn't force His way into your life. He's looking for hearts that are available. He's not going to put the desire on your heart for you — He's already placed it there. He's waiting for you to take the first step.
You don't need a sign from heaven. You don't need a burning bush. You need to open your Bible, get on your knees, and say, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"

Here's something that totally changed how I read Hebrews 11.
We call it the "Hall of Faith" or the "Honor Roll of Faith." And when we think of these heroes — people who called fire from heaven, raised the dead, parted the Red Sea — we think they're in the Bible because they did these massive, extraordinary things.
But read it again.

Jacob is honored in Hebrews 11 because he worshiped on his staff and blessed his grandchildren. That sounds like a grandpa, doesn't it?

Rahab is honored because she hid spies and lied to protect them — a simple act of faith in a moment of fear.

Abraham is honored not just for sacrificing Isaac, but for leaving his home when God said, "Go."
The point is this: ventures of faith aren't always huge. They're not always church plants in Manhattan or mission trips to Sudan. Most of the time, they're much smaller — but they're just as significant to God.

A venture of faith often looks like:

• Sharing the gospel with a coworker
• Discipling someone who's younger in the faith
• Giving sacrificially when it hurts
• Forgiving someone who has deeply wounded you
• Praying publicly when you're nervous
• Serving quietly when you want to be the center of attention
• Stepping into leadership when you'd rather be an assistant
• Simply obeying God in an area where you're afraid

Every single one of these requires one thing: you.

God doesn't need your ability. He needs your availability. He's not looking for superheroes. He's looking for surrendered, ordinary people.

Galatians 2:20 – "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

If you've surrendered your heart to Jesus, you are no longer your own. That means you don't get a final say in what God wants to do with your life.

Now, that might sound scary. But here's the freedom: God gives you the choice. You can either step into His faithfulness or sit on the sidelines.

This world is crazy right now. It's absolutely and utterly wicked. And it desperately needs people who will stand up for truth, who are unashamed to proclaim God's glory, who have a faith that cannot be shaken — even when it doesn't make sense.

Charles Spurgeon, who pastored a church of over 10,000 people every Sunday, said this:
"Do what you may. Strive as earnestly as you can. Live as excellently as you please. Make whatever sacrifices you choose. Be as eminent as you can for everything that is lovely and of good repute. Yet none of these things can be pleasing to God unless they are mixed with faith."

Faith is not just your starting point — it's the atmosphere in which you live every single day.

Let me share a personal story.

When my wife Loretta and I felt called to move to New York City from California, it didn't make sense to almost everyone we knew. We left our family. I left an amazing job — I mean, who wouldn't want to get paid to worship Jesus? And we moved 2,300 miles away to plant a church in Lower Manhattan.

A friend tried to encourage me — in the New Yorker way — and said, "New York is the preacher's graveyard. I wouldn't be surprised if your church doesn't last longer than five years."

Thanks. Appreciate that.

My mom — I'm her youngest, and in Filipino families, we're very close — had to surrender us leaving. She's never had us more than a city away. Now we're 2,300 miles away. Mother's Day just passed, and it was her birthday on the same day. You want to be there. But you know that what God has called you to, you have to be faithful to.

It didn't make logical sense. It looked reckless to some people.
But here's what I've learned: faith is not irresponsibility.

Pastor Chuck Smith used to say a little precaution is always wise. There's a danger when all we do is plan, plan, plan — when your prayer meeting looks more like a board meeting than a prayer meeting. If you're more careful about having the right amount of money and the right team and the right timing than you are about seeking God's face, something's wrong.
If you're waiting for the perfect time, the perfect opportunity, the perfect season, the perfect team — like you're waiting for the Avengers to assemble before you take a step — you're going to be waiting forever.

God rarely gives us the entire map.

Psalm 119:105 says His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. That word "lamp" literally means a flickering candle. You can see the first step in front of you. That's it. But that's enough.

*Pastor Chuck famously said: "Where God guides, God provides." *
He probably got that from Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, who said: "God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply."

Let me give you a recent example.
God put on a couple of people's hearts at our church to start a prayer meeting in Midtown Manhattan. Renting space in Midtown is nuts — thousands of dollars for just a few hours. As stewards of God's money, we can't just spend it recklessly.

So one of the guys at our church, a visionary brother I love, found a space for $2,800. I thought, "There's no way we can do this."

But Jim and I started praying. And God put it on both our hearts: "Do it."
So we pulled the trigger. Put the money down.

That same week, out of the blue, a friend from California — not part of our church, never been to New York — called me. He said, "We were in our board meeting and realized we have some money for missions. We look at you as one of our missionaries. We're sending a love offering."
It was $2,000.

Now we only needed $800 more.

Then another brother called separately and said, "I'm so for this. I'm sending $500."
Now we needed $300.

At the prayer meeting itself, a brother from New Jersey came up to me at the end and said, "The Lord put this on my heart to give you guys." He handed me a check and ran to catch the PATH train.

I opened it later. It was $400.

God not only provided the 2,800"-" He gave us 100 extra to buy pizza for everyone.

That's how God works. He doesn't just meet the need. He delights to show off a little.

One of the greatest lessons I've learned in my venture of faith is: never force a door open.
If God has closed a door, He's closed it for a reason. If He hasn't opened it yet, He hasn't opened it for a reason. Don't manipulate. Don't weasel. Don't strive in the flesh.

Read Acts 16. Paul had a heart to preach the gospel in Asia. He went — and the Spirit forbade him. He tried another way — the Spirit forbade him again. He tried a third time — still closed.
Finally, he sat down and said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"

That night, he had a vision of a man from Macedonia. So instead of going north, he went west. And an entire region — Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi — was opened up. A Philippian jailer got saved. Churches were planted.

If Paul had forced the door to Asia, he would have missed God's best.

So if you're praying about a step of faith, and the door is slammed shut, don't keep pushing. Wait. Pray. Listen. God will open the right door at the right time.

Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is confidence in God's character, not certainty in the outcome.
Hebrews 11:6 - Without faith, you cannot please God — period.
Galatians 2:20 - You're not your own anymore. Christ lives in and through you.
Psalm 119:105 - God gives you just enough light for the next step, not the whole journey.
Acts 16:6–10 - Sometimes closed doors are God's protection, not His rejection.
Revelation 4:11 - You exist because of God and for God.

Maybe you've been delaying your venture of faith because you feel inadequate. You don't know enough Bible verses. You don't have enough money. You don't have the right connections. You're afraid of what people will think.

Listen to me: faith never depends on you. It depends on God.

It doesn't depend on human sufficiency. It depends on God's faithfulness.

Pastor Chuck's closing words in his book on the venture of faith are these:
"Be led by the Spirit, and don't be afraid to follow. Having begun in the Spirit, don't seek to be made perfect in the flesh. Discover the will of God and then jump into it. Get your heart in harmony with His, and you'll be amazed at what God will do."

That's my prayer for you today. Not that you'll be perfect — but that you'll be faithful. Not that you'll have all the answers — but that you'll take the first step.

Let's pray together:
Father, thank You that You invite ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Thank You that faith isn't about our ability — it's about Your faithfulness.

Lord, some of us have been waiting. We've been afraid. We've been making excuses. We've been forcing doors You never opened. Forgive us. Help us to take that first step — not when it's perfect, not when we're ready, but today.

Remind us that You own the cattle on a thousand hills. The streets of heaven are paved with the precious metals we hoard down here. You don't need our resources — You just want our hearts.

Give us boldness, Lord. Not recklessness, but the kind of faith that trusts You even when it doesn't make sense.

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

God often places a desire, a restlessness, or a burden on your heart that aligns with Scripture. It will usually require you to depend on Him — not your own resources. Pray, seek counsel from mature believers, and step out when you have peace, not when everything is certain.

Faith is obeying God's clear direction even when it's hard. Foolishness is making reckless decisions without seeking God. If your "step of faith" requires you to ignore your family, break biblical principles, or act impulsively without prayer, it's probably not from God.

Yes — but not always in the way or timing you expect. "Provision" sometimes looks like a job, a gift, a new opportunity, or simply enough grace to endure. God's provision is guaranteed; your comfort is not.

Read Acts 16. Paul had three doors close before the right one opened. Failure is not final. Get up, learn, pray, and try again — or go a different direction. God is more concerned with your faithfulness than your "success."

Absolutely. Fear is not the opposite of faith — unbelief is. Many heroes of faith were terrified (Gideon, Moses, Peter). Faith is stepping forward even when you're afraid, because you trust God more than your fear.

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