Living by faith moves us....

Hebrews 11:8-12 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
This "faith chapter" is a historical illustration of what the preacher here is saying about living by faith.  It is evident in the decisions and choices we make.  It causes us to move, to live in tents, have children, be parents, and take responsibility - not only for ourselves, but for others.  The faith God gives also has with it the grace to take those steps along the way of our lives. 

Being serious about living by faith

Hebrews 10:35-39 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,“Yet a little while,and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith,and if he shrinks back,my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 
This chapter is an exhortation to remain faithful- to keep on drawing near to God in repentance, to keep on gathering together for mutual accountability and encouragement, and to keep on serving Him despite some of the trials of this life.  He is coming; He will keep this promise as He does all others.   May we keep our promise to follow and trust in Him.

Able to do what we cannot do...

 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:10-14 ESV)
We are able to live the life of faith the same way we are able to receive new life - through Christ alone.  Our living up to God's standard is impossible, but He has done it. And in Him we have the Holy Spirit Who not only seals our salvation, but guides our hearts to live the life He wants us to live. So often we fall back into relying on ourselves instead of Him.

Crucified

 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20 ESV)
Paul is the one God used to emphasize and explain our identification with Christ.  When we put our trust in Him, we identify with His death on our behalf; we are receiving the salvation He has offered.  But it is much more than a past event with a future hope.  It has everything to do with now.  We live by faith in Him.  Our desire for His righteousness causes us to make decisions and act differently; we allow Him to live out His righteousness in us.  Just as we were not able to be good enough to receive salvation and eternity with Him; we are not good enough to live righteously without His presence in our lives.  May He shine through today.

Unashamed...

 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”(Romans 1:16-17 ESV)
I'm not good enough.  I'm not good enough to earn my salvation; I'm not even good enough to live the life of faith on my own.  Even my faith is a gift from God, so living by faith requires His grace. It's not all about comparing myself to those around me, because as we saw in Habakkuk 2, those around us are wicked.  We do not compare to them; we live by faith despite the way they live.  And we hope and pray they respond to the gospel too.  Righteousness does not behave in a snobbish way.  To be truly righteous is to be saved by faith, live by faith, and share our faith, unashamed to trust in Christ.

The righteous shall live by faith...

 And the LORD answered me:
 “Write the vision;
  make it plain on tablets,
  so he may run who reads it.
 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
  it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
 If it seems slow, wait for it;
  it will surely come; it will not delay.
 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
  but the righteous shall live by his faith.
 “Moreover, wine is a traitor,
  an arrogant man who is never at rest.
 His greed is as wide as Sheol;
  like death he has never enough.
 He gathers for himself all nations
  and collects as his own all peoples.”
(Habakkuk 2:2-5 ESV)
Sandwiched in between everything that was going on around this prophet was this truth that sticks out in bold print: "The Righteous shall live by his faith."  Troubled about the rampant sin in his society, he had cried out to God to do something.  God answered, but not in the way Habakkuk liked: God was going to use a more pagan society to chastise Israel. (Sometimes we feel that way, don't we?)  Now the prophet is even more troubled: How could God do that? This is God's answer: despite all of the wickedness, greed, pride, deceit and injustice going on around us, we are to live by faith.  Do we really believe that God is great and God is good, and the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him? Let us live by faith and trust in Him, no matter what.

Who has the right to tell me what to do?

 The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:11-12 ESV)
This is the conclusion of the first of Jesus' seven "Woes" on the Pharisees.  He is upset with them, but He also is concerned about them because "they just don't get it."  They were into knowing the things of God so they could look better and tell others how to live.  But they are not alone. Many of us are into the comparison game, and we don't like anyone telling us how to live. We have a pride problem. The first step in true spirituality is humility, and humility is demonstrated in serving others, not telling them what to do.  It is living by the verse before these:  Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. (Matthew 23:10 ESV). Yeah, He has the right to tell us all what to do.