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There’s Always Room for One More… God always invites people to show up, step up, and speak up on His behalf.
Maybe He’s calling you to join this list of Heroes of the Faith Pt 2…. Welcome back to HEBREWS 11 as we take a closer look at the men and women who stood out as great examples of FAITH in a world that appeared far from God. This week we have 5 more (Mon thru Fri) to examine a little more closely. May the Lord use their example once again to inspire us, and may He find US faithful to inspire others around us for His glory! Here we go…. MONDAY….Hebrews 11:21….JACOB
“It was by FAITH that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.” (NLT) We pick right up passing the faith along from father to son beginning with Abraham to Isaac last week and now to Jacob. Next week we’ll finish the family line with Joseph, but Jacob is PIVOTAL. He’s the one who had his name changed to Israel and that’s a big deal. But he was a sneaky guy with “Dad issues”, since his brother, Esau, was the favorite of his father. That didn’t play out real well, but God, as only God can, “worked it together for good”, long before Romans 8:28 was written by Paul. Just as He has, and still can do for those of us doing our best to “finish well”! Now the account this passage is referring to is Genesis 48, where he passes “the blessing” on to Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. If you take the time to read that passage today, you’ll see the beauty of a patriarchal father reflecting with his son on the FAITHFULNESS of God, recalling when God appeared to him with the promise of multiplying his descendants and becoming a great nation. That was the same promise God initially gave Abraham in Genesis 12, which would lead to “blessing all the nations thru you”. Isaac “substituted”, if you will, Joseph’s sons for him, and since he was nearly blind, he had the sons move closer. He then put his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, to which Joseph objected since he was not the firstborn. But Jacob insisted, knowing God intended to change things up a bit by making the younger the greater. This was a moment of “passing the faith along”. It involves a time of reflection. A time of being in each other’s presence AND the presence of the Lord. And if you know much about Jacob’s family’s life, you know they had been through a lot of grief, deception, pain, dysfunction and yet they are passing this precious faith on! No matter what you and your family have been through or are going thru at the moment, God is here to remind you that He has NEVER left you and never intends to. But today just might be a good day to remind EACH OTHER of the FAITH we are all called to have! TUESDAY….Hebrews 11:22…JOSEPH
“It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.” (NLT) Now this seems like an insignificant request by a person on not only “where he’s to be BURIED, but where he’s to be CARRIED”! Why in the world would this be such a big deal to Joseph? Because he had FAITH! That’s what this whole list is about. Those who had incredible faith. Not just in God to deliver them in the moment, but what He had planned over the long haul! You see, God used Joseph to DELIVER His People TO EGYPT. Tomorrow, we’ll see how God used Moses to DELIVER His People FROM Egypt! Joseph knew he’d lived in Egypt, married into Egypt, ruled the nation of Egypt, but Egypt was not his HOME. He was an ISRAELITE. His great grandpa was Abraham himself. And at Joseph’s time of death, he makes the request (more of a command) that his bones would NOT BE LEFT in Egypt, but carried on WITH them when the got to the Promised Land! That wouldn’t be for another 400 years! But he believed. He had seen the hand of God do great things in preserving the 70 Jewish people alive, all who were his relatives. All who were SPARED because Joseph had been God’s chosen servant who gave credit to the God of all creation, whether by dream interpretation or by ruling through “feast or famine”. In the classic movie, “The TEN COMMANDMENTS”….the one with Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston produced by Cecil B DeMille, they actually have a scene of Joseph’s bones being carried, as the priests carry his coffin during the Exodus, singing a chant as they went. They honored his request that showed his “big time” faith. Now today, I don’t think we need to be as concerned about where we’re buried as Joseph was. Faith and identifying with God’s People isn’t necessarily determined by that as much as the “passing our faith on” to our kids and grandkids, no matter their age or ours! Please indulge me with a song by Michael Card today. It’s not directly about Joseph, but when I heard it years ago, I immediately thought of it being appropriate, since the title is “I Will Bring You Home”, which is perhaps what Joseph was saying….don’t leave me behind with the Mummies of Egypt! Bring my bones to where God’s People will be rejoicing with Him! Here are the lyrics….. VERSE 1….“Though you are homeless…though you’re alone…
I will be your home…
Whatever’s the matter…whatever’s been done…
I will be your home CHORUS…..I will be your home….I will be your home
In this fearful fallen place…
I will be your home VERSE 2…..When time reaches fullness….when I move My hand…
I will bring you home
Home to your own place…in a beautiful land….
I will bring you home I will bring you home…I will bring you home…
In this fearful fallen place…I will bring you home….
I will bring you home Michael Card "I Will Bring You Home" Song May we “finish well together”….til He brings us all home….Love you guys….. WEDNESDAY…Hebrews 11:23-28…MOSES
Rather than take up 6 verses of our text today, take a moment and read the passage from your Bible (hard copy or on your phone…we are a spoiled generation aren’t we!) Let’s line out the things mentioned about Moses’ life and faith that put him on this list….. 1. VERSE 23…..Moses’ parents hid him for 3 months. They knew he was an “unusual” child. They also had FAITH and courage as they “disobeyed” the king’s command (Pharaoh). Once again FAITH is handed down by parents! They intuitively knew God was calling him AND THEM in some special way. 2. VERSE 24….All grown up and now Moses refuses to be called Pharoah’s grandson….our spiritual identity many times is based on who we’re NOT before we declare who we ARE! 3. VERSE 25….Now here’s a key verse on a couple of levels. Choosing “oppression” with God’s People took strong conviction and willingness to sacrifice. It took a lot of FAITH that his folks had instilled in him. But notice the last part of the verse…..Moses chose oppression over the enjoyment of the “fleeting pleasures of sin”. Note to self, as if we didn’t know it…sin is perhaps enjoyable, but only for the moment. Proverbs 9:17 says “stolen water is sweet and food eaten in secret is delicious”. But the next verse says it will take you to death and the depths of Sheol (like Hades….the abode of the dead). Moses made a tough choice in “PREFERRING” to identify with God’s People over his adoptive Egyptian culture. 4. VERSE 26….he chose suffering for the sake of Christ (the promised Messiah) rather than the lucrative royal line of Egypt, because he was full of FAITH looking toward the reward of simply being God’s Children! 5. VERSE 27…Now we get to the Exodus! Moses didn’t fear Pharoah’s anger like he had 40 years ago! He kept right on going as they packed up the whole country as Moses “KEPT HIS EYES on the One he couldn’t see! (Now that’s a cool way to say it!) 6. VERSE 28….the Passover was such a huge event ushering in the exodus and deliverance of Israel from slavery. The blood on an “Old Rugged Cross” would one day remind the Jewish people of the BLOOD ON THE DOORPOSTS that Moses commanded on the dreadful night of the “death of the firstborn”. All this took incredible faith, once again. And Moses, though he had a couple of anger issues. OK, he had 3 moments. One with an Egyptian bully, one coming down the mountain with the 10 Commandments seeing the corruption and idol worship of the people facilitated by his brother Aaron, and one when after 40 unnecessary years in the wilderness he “MISREPRESENTED the Lord as unholy” and teed off on a rock! But bless his heart, haven’t we all been impetuous and stupid on more than one occasion! And yet God used him as He uses us even in our imperfections! So if today you have a frustrating issue you’re dealing with, take a moment to step back and realize the heroes of our faith dealt with many a frustration on a huge scale. But they did it with incredible faith in the God who promised….the God who delivered….the God who calls us to believe in Him EVEN WHEN we doubt ourself! THURSDAY…Hebrews 11:29-30…the PEOPLE of ISRAEL
“It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.” (NLT) I love the story of the Red Sea. I love the songs associated with it. As a kid it was “How Did Moses Cross the Red Sea” to the tune of the chorus of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Later on in youth ministry, someone put these words to the tune of “LOUIE, LOUIE”, which is from our generation….so here goes….gotta keep you all awake out there! No need for the link…everybody knows this tune! CHORUS…I said, Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Whoa, let My people go, Huh! Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah (repeat) VERSE 1….Well a burnin’ bush told me just the other day
That I should come over here and stay
Got to get My people out of Pharaoh’s hand, and lead them all over to the Promised Land VERSE 2….Well, all of God’s people came to the Red Sea
With Pharaoh’s army comin’ after me
I raised my rod and stuck it in the sand
And all of God’s people walked across dry land VERSE 3…..Well all of Pharaoh’s army was comin’ too
So what do you think that I did do?
I raised my rod and I cleared my throat
And all of Pharaoh’s army did the dead man’s float I may have spent WAY too many weeks at church camp…but I’d do it all over again! Now we won’t be going into “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho”, but that too is a classic! But honestly and all frivolity aside, what kind of FAITH would it take for you to “walk across on dry land” with the Israelites? And what kind of faith would you need to “march around the city 7 days”, thinking all the while, what good is this going to do? It would take ENORMOUS FAITH! Faith in the God who had demonstrated miracle after miracle. And faith in leaders like Moses and Joshua, who walked closely with the God who LED them! In a day when we struggle with TRUST ISSUES with those in high ranking government, may we be the People of God who trust in HIM more than any other entity! I resonate with Bob Russell’s blog 2 weeks ago calling for the Church to be committed to praying for spiritual revival as our only hope. “Revival for Survival”, if we could coin it that way, perhaps. That’s how God has led His people for centuries….through the conviction that He is Who He says He is….and if His people believe in faith and follow, then there is blessing and deliverance. He can do incredible things…if we believe in HIM over all other earthly powers and structures. But before I totally go in to a “CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY whom you will serve” in Joshua style, we better wind down. It’s Thursday and Friday is coming, with a lady mentioned tomorrow that might have caught people off guard at the mention of her name. Praying it’s a great day for you. And maybe God has you “up against a Red Sea” with ENEMIES APPROACHING….or “circling a city” you need to conquer. May He empower you to TRUST and believe that He is in the process. And may He deliver us according to our FAITH and His will! FRIDAY…Hebrews 11:31…RAHAB
“It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies”. NLT) I believe Rahab and the thought of her occupation probably troubles more Pharisees in the Church than it did the people of Israel. They knew her story. They weren’t preoccupied with judgment on her previous lifestyle, but they knew her as the one who God used to facilitate the spies successful trip to the land of Canaan. Recorded in Joshua 2, it takes a whole chapter to tell her story. Let’s notice a few things that stand out….. 1. Joshua picks only 2 spies, not 12, like Moses did. Being one of the good ones, he knew if you pick the wrong guys it can cost everybody 40 years, so he carefully selected. Now how they came to Rahab’s house doesn’t matter and no need to speculate, but it was an ordained moment. 2. Somehow the King finds out there are spies in the city, so the search is on! Rahab graciously “hides” the men saving their lives, but before they go to sleep that night she shares her faith and the public opinion with them of THEIR God! 3. In verse 8, she acknowledges to the spies the fear that all the people have of their God. They’d heard how He dried up the Red Sea and destroyed other armies. Rahab said all were afraid of them and their hearts had “melted in fear”. The people of Jericho believed the spies’ God was the SUPREME God of heaven and earth. 4. And in expressing her faith in their God, she then asks that her family be remembered for her kindness when Jericho is conquered, to which the spies gratefully vow to protect her. 5. So she lets them down through the window by a rope and instructs them how to safely avoid being discovered on their way back to the Israelites. The spies give her instructions as to how they will rescue her family when the time comes by hanging a “SCARLET ROPE” out her window so they can tell which house is hers. 6. They all agree on how this will play out and the spies return telling everyone that the Lord has given them the whole land because the people are terrified of them. And when Jericho falls in chapter 6, Joshua reminds the spies to keep their promise to Rahab and they did. She was known by all of God’s people as a friend. 7. And get this, in the “Ancestry.com” of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1, Rahab is mentioned in verse 5. She was in the lineage of Joseph, Mary’s husband. She actually was the mother of Boaz, if you know the story of Ruth and Naomi. And to put that all together, Rahab was the Great, Great Grandmother of King David! So she was not just a “token collection from the Land of Canaan”. She wasn’t a foreigner who was treated as an appendage because of doing a good deed. She was in the lineage on the Joseph side of the Messiah! You see, her FAITH was equally incredible. And she wasn’t even Jewish! But she was brought in to the family of God. If she would’ve kept quiet and not helped the spies or not asked for reciprocal grace, her family would have missed out on the blessing! My ”Finishing Well” friends, let’s not miss out on the blessing of God using us to assist others in their quest of faith! May we be heroes on some small level to our families and those who God graciously puts in our lives! May we live a life of FAITH that becomes noteworthy to those around us, and helps them develop a holy fear and respect of the God who has made us all in His image, and who has sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Let’s make it a great week of FAITH…..
Love you guys, george
Just a reminder…if you interested, you can catch two live streams where I’ll be preaching in California and Indiana.
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