SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 11
MEMORY VERSE:
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
BY FAITH (vs. 1-39)
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (v. 1) By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
BIBLE PEOPLE WHO HAD FAITH IN GOD:
- Abel – He offered God a better sacrifice than Cain and he was commended as a righteous man. And he still speaks even though he is dead. (v. 4)
- Enoch – He was taken by God without experiencing death. (v. 5)
- Noah – He built an ark to save his family and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (v. 7)
- Abraham – He obeyed and went to a place he did not know. He believed in God’s promise to have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. He was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God. (vs. 11-19)
- Isaac – He blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. (v. 20)
- Jacob – He blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. (v. 21)
- Joseph – when his end was near, he spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. (v. 22)
- Moses – His parents hid him for 3 months after he was born. When he grew up, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He persevered and kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to pursue them, they were drowned. By faith, after the people had marched around the wall of Jericho for 7 days, it fell. (vs. 23-29)
- Rahab – She was a prostitute who welcomed the spies and was not killed with those who were disobedient. (v. 31)
- Gideon – He willingly obeyed and trusted God’s strength and strategy to overcome his enemies, the Midianites.
- Barak – He obeyed God’s call to fight against the Canaanites and trusted God’s plan for victory.
- Samson – He relied on God’s power to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines and his final prayer for strength in the temple which led to his death and the death of the Philistines.
- Jephthah – He demonstrated faith by seeking divine intervention and advanced against the Ammonites.
- David – He accepted the courageous confrontation against Goliath by focusing on God’s power rather than the challenge.
- Samuel – He was a prophet who fought against corruption of Eli’s son when they abused their priestly authority and position to take more than their rightful share of sacrifices. He encouraged people to follow God’s commands.
- Other prophets through faith had conquered kingdom, administered justice and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. (vs. 33-34)
- Women who received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might again have a better resurrection. (v. 35)
- Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground. (vs. 36-38)
THOUGHTS:
Faith means trusting in God and doing what he wants regardless of the circumstances or consequences. True faith is listening to what God says and demonstrating in what we do. Faith in God gives you the ability to endure when others are giving up.
Definition of faith by the great theologian John Calvin:
“Faith is a steady and certain knowledge of the Divine benevolence towards us, which being founded on the truth of the gratuitous promise in Christ, is both revealed to our minds and confirmed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Faith is founded on divine truth with God’s promise and is witnessed by the Spirit in the heart. It has both objective and subjective aspects, and both are essential.
According to D. L. Moody, “Faith makes all things possible; love makes all things easy.”
Among the lives of the great men and women of faith, some experienced outstanding victories even over the threat of death. But others were severely mistreated, tortured and even killed. Having a steadfast faith in God does not guarantee a happy carefree life. On the contrary, our faith guarantees us some form of abuse from the world. While we are on earth, we may never see the purpose of our suffering. But we know that God will keep his promise to us.