The Currency of Heaven By: Rev. Teja Smith
The Currency of Heaven
Hebrews 11:1-6
Triumph Baptist Church
1648 W. Hunting Park Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19140
December 1, 2020
Rev. Teja Smith
“1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 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 11:1-6, (NKJV)
I mused inwardly as I overheard my two oldest daughters (21 yrs. old and 22 yrs. old) discussing their finances as they plan to rent an apartment together in the new year. They went from discussing what they wanted, to what they could afford. “Ugh!” C’mone exhaled when Autumn reminded her that she forgot to account for the utility bills. Exasperated and deflated, she sat back in her chair and said, “Do I even make enough to move out?” At some point in the conversation, C’mone also said, “Good grief! You need money for everything!”
Long after their conversation ended, I was still thinking about currency. My mind turned heavenward and I began to think about how faith is the currency of heaven. In the economy of God, “you need faith for everything!” What money is on earth, faith is in God’s kingdom. One cannot expect to have a transaction with God without faith. It is the currency by which all things move. You can’t even get to heaven without faith! Yes, Jesus paid the price. He shed His blood and secured the antidote for our diseased souls, but it is only through the “syringe of faith” that His grace is applied to the wicked, sin-sick heart.
As I grow in my personal relationship with the Lord, I realize more and more how important faith is. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that it is impossible to please God without it. So, I have found myself, like the disciples, asking God to show me how to increase my faith. Let’s explore a few things that God uses us to grow and develop our faith in Him.
Luke 17:5, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” (NLT)
God uses our life experiences. Whether it is work, marriage, raising children, or going to school, God has a way of using life to teach us about Him. An excellent illustration of this is the story of a centurion in Scripture.
Matthew 8:5-13, “Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.” (NKJV)
Jesus marveled at this man’s faith. Jesus knew that He didn’t have to be there to heal this man’s servant, but He didn’t know the man knew that He didn’t have to be there. This man was both in authority and under authority. His life experience in the military helped him understand how authority worked, and consequently, not only did he believe Jesus could heal, but he also understood that if Jesus could do it, He need not be present for it to happen. His faith set him apart, but it was his work experience that fueled his faith, because it helped him understand and believe what God could do.
God uses hardship, sickness, and pain. No one wants to suffer. I think we all can agree that we’d like to try this whole faith thing absent of pain. But the Bible is clear when it comes to what sorrow does for us.
Ecclesiastes 7:3, “Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.” (NLT)
We see a clear illustration in the well-known story of the woman with an issue of blood. We aren’t told why she tried so many physicians before she tried Jesus. We don’t know if she was just hearing about Jesus at the time of the text, or if perhaps she had never been in close proximity to Jesus before, or if, like some of us, had to have everything else fail first. All we know is that she came, probably crawling, up on Jesus and touched the hem of His robe. She had her currency, believing the transaction was sure to take place if she could just touch His robe, which is exactly what she repeated to herself as she made her way to Him.
What I love most about this miracle is that it is the only miracle in the Bible where Jesus divinity acted and His humanity had to “catch up!” Without so much as a conversation with the Master, she touched, and her transaction was “approved.” Her faith secured her healing. She had enough currency – faith, the currency of heaven.
God uses His Word. Perhaps I should have started with this point because it is the point that we have the most control over. If you are reading, wanting to know how you can get more of this currency of heaven, keep reading.
Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (NIV)
The Bible tells us plainly that we grow in faith by the Word of God. Child of God, if you want your faith to grow, study God’s Word. Read it. Meditate on it. Sit up under the Word of God in Bible study and on Sunday mornings. Soak it up like a sponge. How can we believe what God has promised if we don’t know what God has promised? Let me give you a perfect example from Scripture of a man whose faith grew as he listened to a sermon being preached.
Acts 14:8-10, “While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting 9 and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. 10 So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.” (NLT)
Now, we must understand that we are talking about a man who had never walked. He had been crippled from birth. But, he sat and listened as Paul preached. I don’t know Paul’s text, topic or title, but I know that he was preaching the gospel and this man was soaking it up. He believed what Paul was preaching. When Paul looked at him, and he perceived that this man had enough currency to secure his transaction. So, Paul became the point of contact, the kiosk, for this man to use his faith to secure his healing. Paul told him to stand up, and the man did something that he had never done before because he believed he could. This passage is so powerful to me as a preacher of the gospel because it proves that it wasn’t the anointing on Paul that healed that man. It was that man’s own currency. God simply used Paul to be the kiosk – the point of contact, but that man’s own faith secured his healing.
So, let me ask you, what’s your heavenly bank account looking like? How much currency do you have? Do you have enough currency for your transactions with God to be approved? We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God. I want to encourage you today, child of God, to read, study, and meditate on the Word of God. I want to encourage you to hide His Word in your heart so that you won’t sin against Him. Be intentional to build up your currency so that you can get from God those things that you desire. Then, with expectation, take your faith to God and expect your transaction to be approved!
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