Hebrews chapter 11 is designated the spiritual hall of fame. We read about the men and
women of faith in this chapter and we notice that each of them is listed as doing their heroics by
faith, simply by believing what God had said.
Taking a look at these people, we see a variety of them. There is Abel who seems to be the
obedient son, Enoch who stood out in the crowd as one of the few who walked with God, along
with singular men such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Listed are men such as the boastful
Joseph, the meek Moses, and even the wayward Samson. David is listed, being everyone’s
favorite son, and Jephthae who is the unknown to many. The point of this being that each of
these was used of God for a specific purpose at a specific time. We see men who are of
different backgrounds, different manner of lives, personality, and even method. Yet God used
each and called them men of faith. We have majored on turning out clones when the Lord
saves and uses individuals. So what does it take to be a man of faith?
I. Faithfulness in the Situation.
Each of these men were faithful in the situation they were in. Gideon, Barak, and Jephthae
were faithful in the battle. David was faithful first in the sheepfold and then in the throne room.
Samson was faithful in the judgment on the Philistines, and Samuel was faithful as a prophet.
We deceive ourselves when we think we have a separate life from our Christian walk. We do
not clock in and clock out on our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever the situation we
find ourselves in, we are Christians in that situation. Gideon, Barak, and Jephthae each fought
the battle a different way, but they believed what God had told them, and fought the battle
accordingly. Samuel and Samson were both Judges of Israel, but their terms were severely
different from each other. However both believed what God said and acted upon it.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man
…” - I Pet. 3:15. We do not have to wait upon the perfect situation in order to show faithfulness.
Peter found himself at the gate of the temple in Acts 3:1-6, and while there he met a man who
was a cripple and in need of some help. He did not necessarily go looking for a man in need,
but while he was being faithful in doing what he was supposed to do, Peter ran across a
situation in which he found that man. The same can be said about Jesus speaking with the
woman at the well [John 4], Stephen preaching to the Pharisees [Acts 7], and Phillip with the
Ethiopian Eunuch [Acts 8]. Faithfulness to God will produce enough situations to keep you
busy. We probably pass by 100 places and opportunities to witness looking for the “open
door”. If we will be faithful in our everyday situations in regard to being Christians on the job, at
school, or at the ball game, then the “open doors” of witnessing will be available.
II. Faith in the Scripture
This may sound like a strange thing to say, but we need to actually believe what we are telling
folks. These heroes of faith actually believed in the incorruptible words of God [I Pet. 1:23].
They did not believe in the incorruptibility or infallibility of themselves, but of the words of God
Each of these men had grievous sins in their lives. Abraham laughed at the prophecies of God
about a son from him and Sarah, and Moses killed a man and hid the body in the sand. Noah
messed up shortly after getting off the ark, and we are all well aware of David’s sins. So it
would have been very difficult for any of these men to stand up and proclaim the authority of
their own minds. However, that is not what they did. They boldly proclaimed what the Lord God
had told them, and even in the times they did not seem very victorious in their Christian walk,
they still trusted in the words of God. Gideon put the fleece out, but he was willing to believe
and act upon what God finally showed him with that fleece. David was anointed king, but then
was forced to flee the kingdom. He waited for years to finally be made king of part of the
kingdom, and then had to wait again for years more before being made king of all of Israel.
Samson did not do much right in his life, but he did sacrifice himself for the honour of self,
country, and his God.
We need to act on what we believe. Each of these men attempted something for God. The
leading of God is not to “do nothing”. Even at times when God tells His children to “stand still”,
they are told to watch [Exo. 14:13 - “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord], they are told
to listen [Num. 9:8 - “Stand still and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you”],
and they are told to speak [Acts 5:20 - “Go, stand, and speak in the temple”].
We need to be passionate about what we tell others, and our lives need to be able to back that
claim. God is not as interested in the seemingly failures or accomplishments, as He is in the
efforts and motives of His people.
If there is a genuine faith in the Scriptures then it will definitely make a difference in how we look
at others. Do we believe in a literal and real Heaven and Hell? If so, then we also realize that
every person has a soul that is going to spend eternity in one of those places. Do we really
believe in the power of God as stated in I Corinthians 1:18? If so, then we need to make sure
that we give them the words of God, and not our own thoughts or ideologies. We need to be
able to see people as souls, rather than as numbers to add to our attendance lists. Our
purpose is to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and to show these people there is help and
hope for their condition, not just to put another notch on our spiritual belt or for bragging rights
in the competition between churches. If we truly believe these things, then we need to continue
to sow, and let God bring forth the increase [I Cor. 3:6].
III. Faith in the Spirit
Anytime we do a work for God, we must realize that it is God that does the work. Isa. 55:11
states the words of God will not return unto Him void. It does not mention the messenger, nor
the building, talent of the congregation, or the bank account. It is the word of God that is the
agent of the new birth [I Pet. 1:23], and it is the word of God that brings about our faith [Rom.
10:17]. The Spirit of God gives the word of God life [II Tim. 3:16].
In doing the work of God, we need to trust the Holy Spirit to do His job. The Lord promised to
give light to every man [John 1:9], that it is not His will that any should perish [II Pet. 3:9],
regardless of what the Calvinist say. It is the Holy Ghost that regenerates and renews us [Titus
3:5], and this same Spirit that leads us into all truth [John 16:13].
The Lord has never failed to do the work that He is supposed to do, the failure has been ours.
It is our place to present Him with the proper materials to work with. The Lord should be given
the material of a believing heart and willing spirit. That is why we are exhorted to give of
ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to the Lord [Rom. 12:1].
In a recent sermon, I made the point that God uses people. When we give of ourselves as that
living sacrifice, then God is able to use us to reach others. So we present Him the proper
material in ourselves, then we are able to present Him with the material of repentant sinners as
we find them in others. The Spirit of God does bring the light [understanding] and conviction,
but they hear it from us [Rom. 10:13-15]. God chose by the method of human instruments to
reach other humans. It is something they can understand and see the work of God in the lives
of those witnessing to them.
The Bible describes the preachers of old as “men of like passions with you” [Acts 14:15]. What
made these men such heroes of faith? Their everyday lives did so. They believed what God
said so they were faithful in the everyday situations they found themselves to be in. They
believed what God said, so they had a zeal for the word of God and believed in the power of
those words. They believed what God said so they had faith that God would take care of His
part if they would just take care of theirs.
A common answer when asking folks to do something is, “Lord willing …” He is willing, the
question is, do we really believe it or not?
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The following is an article from the July/August 2008 issue of our bi-monthly church newsletter.
What It Takes
by Pastor Steve Hays