“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By
faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so what
is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (vs.
1-3).
Hey Gang: I have come up with a great revelation,
although I have really known it for many years, namely, that the teacher is the
greatest benefactor of what they are teaching. Preparation is indeed a
blessing that keeps my focus on the Word. If you really want to grow in
the Lord, find someone to mentor. It keeps your mind alert seeking new
revelations you can share with the one you are mentoring.
The next few mornings I would like to share with you four
Godly principles someone, along the line, shared with me. Each message is
very easy to understand, but also very deep when you dig in and let the Holy
Spirit do the driving.
Folks who have spent much time in the Word know the
eleventh Chapter of Hebrews is often referred to as the ‘faith chapter’.
Note the writer begins the chapter by commending the people and ends in like
manner.
He lays the foundation for what he is going to say
about each one with, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith
we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so what is seen
was not made out of things which are visible. (vs. 1-3).
Paul also gave us the prerequisites to faith when he
wrote, “… if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the
heart a person believes, resulting in salvation. (Rom. 10:9-10). Now,
drop down a couple verses and note Paul’s words, “So faith comes from
hearing and hearing by the word of Christ”. (v.17)
Principle number one: These Faith Giants Were Just Like You and Me! Really?
‘Ya bet ur sweet bippy they were!’
The first Godly principle that stands out in this the Faith Hall of
Fame is that all were normal people, just like you and me. I once heard a
pastor say that when God has something He wants done, He looks for a broken
vessel and smashes it and molds it into the image He wants.
Each of those mentioned here had doubts, fears, and
I suspect were discouraged at times. Gideon had them. When God came
to Gideon and said, “Gideon, thou mighty
man of valor, I want you to take an army out and beat the tar out of the
Mideonites, Gideon’s response was “You want me to do what?” Who am I,
Lord? I come from the least and am the smallest, etc, etc.
Sound familiar?
Gideon had a whole barn full of excuses as to why the
angel needed to go down the road to Jake's house and recruit him for this
task. I mean, like King Saul was a head and shoulder man and better
equipped for great things for the Lord....but!. Surely Moses did not
follow Gideon's example when God laid the task of going to Egypt and taking on
the power structure of Egypt.
When the angel told Sarah she would have a bambino,
Sarah laughed - perhaps hysterically for she was far beyond the child
bearing time in her life. Isaac lied to the king, Jacob was called a
deceiver. David murdered and committed adultery.
Soooo, as you read this Faith Chapter, remember
they had doubts just like you and me. The common denominator shared by
all of the people in the Hall of Faith is- they were normal every day people
–just like you and me. Keep that in mind when you make a wrong move and
say the wrong thing today, or if you sense the sky falling – they were normal
and so are you. So sing a verse of the ‘Joy of the Lord is my strength’
and be a blessing to someone who really needs your encouragement.
Blessings,
Gramps
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