Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)
What is faith and how do we use it? Here in the UK they classify all religious groups, whatever they are, as ‘people of faith’. This only means that they have a religious faith of some kind. It doesn’t relate to faith as I understand it from the Bible. I’m not going to give you a dictionary definition, but I’m trying to deal with the kind of faith which, for me, is a personal experience which works and sees miracles happening! I’m trying explain what faith REALLY is, how to appropriate it, how to use it, how to put it into ACTION.
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, (Hebrews 11:24-25, NKJV)
I want to pick up from Hebrews 11 with Moses, in vv24-25. When he came to maturity, by faith he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, because he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. We know from the Old Testament that Moses was so concerned for the suffering of his people and the slavery to which they were subjected, that when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he killed him. This became known even to Pharaoh, so that Moses fled the country. He had identified with his people and had chosen to suffer with them, rather than continue in that life of absolute luxury and power he had as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, even to the extent of expulsion from the land of Egypt.
I learnt when I was growing up, there are two kinds of sin: sin of commission, that is, sin that you do; and sin of omission, which is things you ought to do, but don’t. If you look at Moses’ rejection of the ‘pleasures of sin’, it’s not so much the pleasure of committing sin, but the omission if he had failed to support his people. So Moses fled, ‘esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he had respect (a recognition) of the reward’ – that would be his by joining with his people. So, ‘by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, but seeing HIM who is invisible’. Moses made an enormous sacrifice!
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood (Hebrews 11:28, NKJV)
In v28, we see that Moses through faith kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest ‘he that destroyed’ the firstborn of Egypt also touch the children of Israel. The Israelites had to keep constantly under the covering of the blood! It’s a strong reminder to us: we receive the Covering of Blood when we come to Christ, but we need to keep this Covering all our lives!
And v29, the Israelites by faith passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, and the Egyptians who were attempting to follow them were drowned. I’ve heard so many revisionists or modernists who have suggested that the Israelites crossed through some marshy section but didn’t cross through deep water. But the Scripture is clear, they crossed through the water on DRY LAND, not through marsh or shallows! I always remember the story of the school teacher who tried to downplay the story, saying they could cross because the water was very shallow, and the little boy who answered back, “Then it’s an even bigger miracle that the whole of the Egyptian army was drowned in shallow water!” The Egyptian army – crack troops – horses and chariots – all drowned in the sea! And think about it: someone has calculated that with all the women and children, there were two million Israelites crossing the Red Sea, not counting the cattle they had – it was a very great miracle that they could cross! And it didn’t just happen in a flash! How long do you think it took for all those men, women, children, sheep and cattle to cross over?! The army that was chasing them, still seeing that dry seabed, attempted to go in after! They would not have gone unless they were certain they could follow and destroy the Israelites! Which is the bigger miracle, that the Israelites crossed over, or that the Egyptian army was destroyed?!
Think about it, we are talking here about the Old Testament, the stories and miracles of the prophet!
Then v30, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days. Jericho is one of the oldest still inhabited cities in the world. The walls fell down, not by canon balls, not by an earthquake – they fell down by faith! Now what I want to share with you is something quite remarkable. Because it goes on to say that by faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with the unbelieving people of Jericho, because she had sheltered the spies. She received salvation and deliverance through her faith!
Look at how powerful the miracles were, not just in the days of Christ, not just in the days of the early apostles after the coming of the Holy Spirit, but how powerful the miracles in the Old Testament were!!!
And it goes on in v32, ‘What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets who – and this is intriguing to me – through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…’ We’re living in an age where a large section of the Christian Church doesn’t expect miracles, saying that miracles were for the times of the Bible, they happened for the early disciples, how can we expect them to happen today? But look at how powerful the miracles were, not just in the days of Christ, not just in the days of the early apostles after the coming of the Holy Spirit, but how powerful the miracles in the Old Testament were!!!
What was happening? In the Old Testament there is such a level of faith in the promises of God – strongly revealed right through every part of your Old Testament!
Time fails to tell of all these things here Paul says, he’s only using simple illustrations. You know the stories of Gideon, Barak and Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and others of the prophets. What did they do? What they did, they did it by faith – this is key – by faith which becomes ACTION!
Faith is the motive that drives me, faith is the Power that I receive from God to see miracles!
Faith is the motive that drives me, faith is the Power that I receive from God to see miracles! Look, I don’t have time to tell you all the miracles I have seen in my life, incredible miracles. I need to write a book just to detail all the miracles I saw in Russia in the 1990s following the collapse of communism. I think at least ten times we calmed storms. We even saw people who opposed the Gospel die.
But here in Hebrews we see that through faith the elders ‘subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…’ Daniel in the lions’ den! ‘Quenched the violence of fire…’ The three Hebrew children! ‘Escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens…’ All these were phenomenal miracles, and the more you read the Old Testament, the more you are impressed by the extent, the number and the character of all the miracles that occurred!
But these were BEFORE Christ came! BEFORE the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Yes, the Davids and the Elijahs in the Old Testament were remarkable, unusual, and saw powerful miracles. But look what happened after Jesus comes and anoints the disciples, tells them to wait – and 120 of them were in that Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came – there was an EXPLOSION of miracles! I love the Acts of the Apostles because it is the story of the miracles worked, not by the Davids, not by the Samsons, but ordinary men and women were given the Power to do what only the kings, only the prophets, only unusual people could do in Old Testament. Suddenly that Power which we have seen all through the Old Testament is now available to all who will believe – through the Holy Spirit!
Of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, the one gift I chose, the only gift I was interested in was that same gift of faith!
What did that faith do in the Old Testament? Yes, they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire… Women received their dead raised to life… Yes, they were even seeing the dead raised to life… v35. Come on! These miracles were actually happening through the Old Testament period. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection… This act of faith, what they were seeking for, was something that was still to come in the Kingdom! Vv36-38, Others had trial of cruel mockings, scourgings, bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, cut in two, they were tempted, slain with the sword, wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy…
…This describes the phenomenal Power of faith which made these people in the Old Testament so strong, that they were able to overcome everything! Even death. Simply because they saw something more than this life – like Moses, who chose to suffer for God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin. They could do this, one, because their faith was a faith in the impossible, and secondly, because it was faith in a future Kingdom. All these things were done because of the faith that they had in the Coming Kingdom! With Abraham it was the promise that he would be the father of a great nation, and out of Abraham came the whole Hebrew nation. But he himself never saw the fulfilment of the vision. But he lived and died in faith, believing that God would fulfil His Promise.
I want to challenge you, live in faith that God will give you the reward in the Kingdom, that you will be part of the Kingdom… We are not citizens of this world. We’re citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom!
I want to challenge you, live in faith that God will give you the reward in the Kingdom, that you will be part of the Kingdom… We are not citizens of this world. We’re citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom! I’m already living in the anticipation of what is to come, of what will come in the Kingdom. No sacrifice is too great. If we just enjoyed the pleasures of this world, that’s nothing compared to what God will give us in the future.
Vv39-40 is so strong, so extremely unusual: All of these obtained a good report through faith, although at that time they did not receive the promise, God having provided a better reward FOR US so that when WE come into the Kingdom, we will ALL receive the reward – THE SAME REWARD – for that faithfulness.
It’s v39 that so intrigues me. They all obtained a good report through faith! Without faith it is impossible to please God! I have discovered that if I want to please God, I have to let my faith loose, I’ve got to go out and DO these things. That’s what pleases God! Come on! This is what pleases God! To go out in faith and to do the impossible!
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1, NKJV)
Before I close, I have to move on to Chapter 12 v1, ‘… seeing we are compassed about by so a great cloud of witnesses.’ The emphasis is on ‘witnesses’. These things were not secret, this was public, we have the written record, it’s gone down in history, who they were and what they did. We’re surrounded by witnesses, men and women who DID IT! Come on! We’re surrounded by the crowd of witnesses who have gone out and DONE IT!
When I was still a pastor, God one day shocked me by saying to me, “David, I’m tired of listening to you, shut up, go out and DO all the things that you are talking about and you’re telling other people to do. GO OUT AND DO IT – AND DON’T COME BACK TILL YOU’VE DONE IT. That’s literally what happened! Out of my 70 years of full-time ministry, 60 years of them have been out there – DOING IT!
When I’m talking about faith and what YOU can do through faith, I’m a witness – it happened in my life, I went out and I DID IT! I’m not just a preacher, saying look what the Bible says… I’m saying, come on, I’ve taken the Bible literally, I’ve gone out and I’ve DONE IT! And I haven’t finished yet!
In Hebrews 11, Paul is only referring to the Old Testament, before the advent of Christ, before the advent of the Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh. Now that same Power is released into the Church! That’s the challenge! God has ALREADY released that Power into the Church, into YOU – through the Holy Spirit! That’s the meaning of Pentecost.
You know the story why I went to Jerusalem in 1961. I was the first person ever to go overland to Israel, when Israel was only 13 years old. Why did I go? I went because I saw by faith what God could do, and I wanted the anointing and the Power to DO IT, and I came back with that Power, and I am the witness, the living proof that the Word of God is true. Come on! DO IT! God bless you!