September 15, 2022
Hebrews 11: Examples of Faith!
What does Hebrews 11 teach us about Faith?
The book of Hebrews gives us so many nuggets when it comes to understanding Biblical faith. Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition of faith when it states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” When we dig deeper into this verse of scripture we can see that the Lord is teaching us that faith is directly parallel to the Word of God which is the promises of God.
Romans 10:17 gives us a little bit more of an understanding; the Apostle Paul writes, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The more that we are consuming the Lord’s Word, the more faith is automatically being established. It is about living a life of faith and not just knowing that faith exists. The Bible is filled with so many promises that the Lord has given us that show God’s power, and when we begin to stand on those guarantees we will start to see the things that we hoped for manifest.
Hebrews also lets us know exactly what God thinks about His children having faith. Hebrews 11:6 goes into detail by saying, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” This verse of scripture is pretty straightforward. There is no way that we can make the Lord happy without having faith. He expects us to gain the knowledge of the Scriptures that He has provided us with. True faith is what is going to help you overcome when those hard times hit, and it’s not a matter of if but when!
Why is it so important to God? We have to keep things into perspective; the Word (Bible) is actually Jesus Christ. John 1:14 explains, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is the Word that became flesh so what this means is that every single Word written in every verse of Scripture is describing Christ in one way or another.
The Holy Spirit will bring the Scriptures to your remembrance when you need them the most. When you proclaim His Word over your life, you are expressing the faith that you have in Him to give you your desired outcome. As long as what you are asking Him for isn’t contrary to what the Bible says or what His will is for your life, you should expect a favorable result. Give the Lord back His Word, it is the currency of heaven and it is what God expects to hear. The Lord’s Word will never come back void, Isaiah 55:11.
Faith, Jesus Christ, and His Word go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. Being a Christian and living this Christian life with all of the battles that we will have to face on a daily basis, there is no way that we can make it without having faith in God’s word, God’s promises, and in Who He is. There is an assurance of many things that the Lord provides His children. He guarantees us and the whole world eternal life with Him in the kingdom of God if we follow what the Holy Scriptures are directing us to do.
Never forget the fact that He is the Author, Finisher, and the Perfecter of our faith, Hebrews 12:2. He will finish what He started in your life regardless of how difficult that truth may seem right now, Philippians 1:6. The bottom line is that you don’t want to allow your circumstances to get you discouraged for the purpose that God has for your life! The Bible is full of faithful men and women of faith; so if you are struggling with developing your trust in God, study the lives of these men and women. Below I have listed some heroes of faith that disclose so much insight when it comes to establishing your confidence in the Lord.
Abraham’s Faith:
When we think of someone that had tremendous belief we automatically think of Abraham. There is so much to dissect when it comes to the faith of Abraham. One example of faith is when the Lord spoke a Word to him regarding a land of promise, a foreign land that He would show Him. Without hesitation he went on the journey obeying the voice of God. Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Abraham had no idea where he was going but stood on the promises that the Lord had given him.
Genesis 12:2 gives some examples of those promises when it states, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.” Abraham didn’t know how that would come to pass but he believed God’s Word as the absolute truth because it is. As people of God, we need to learn how to hear His voice so that we can understand what He is saying when He is giving us direction or insight on something specific.
The Lord spoke uniquely in those times. The difference between the Lord speaking then and the way that He speaks now is the delivery of His promises. To Abraham, the guarantees were spoken directly to him and to us; His promises are given through His Word (Bible) and the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us. That is why it is imperative to be in tune with God so that we never miss what He is saying!
Another example of Abraham’s great faith is when he was told by the Lord to sacrifice his cherished son Isaac. Genesis 22:2 details, “Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Even though Abraham loved his son more than words could express, He trusted the Lord even more! He knew that God would not lead him astray regardless of the outcome of that particular situation. He trusted in every single one of His promises. What a tremendous act of faith!
Imagine if you had that kind of trust in God? A faith so radical that all you had to hear was one word from the Lord to move with obedience. Often times we find that we become hesitant and doubtful when God gives us clear instructions about the path that He has for our lives. Let us be the kind of Christians that the Lord can use as His vessels as we move in complete obedience simply by one of His words being spoken to us!
Moses’ Faith:
It was clear from the moment that Moses was conceived that he was special and would be used mightily by the Lord. He was supposed to have been killed in the early stages of his life but God preserved him, shaped, and molded him so that he would be ready to bring the Israelites out of bondage. Hebrews 11:27 states,” By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” The faith of Moses has to be great in order for him to trust the Lord and His Word enough to gather up the courage to come against a powerful adversary like Pharaoh. He was one of the most arrogant and hard hearted kings that lived during that time.
Now here is Moses a man of stammering speech having to be the one to tell this pompous king to let God’s people go. Exodus 4:10 describes, “Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” This would make anyone nervous, doing the unthinkable; giving God’s command to someone with such high authority all the while having a stuttering problem!
The Lord had a plan already in place; He was going to use Aaron (Moses’ brother) to be his mouthpiece, Exodus 4:16. This was just the beginning of the seemingly impossible task that Moses and Aaron had in front of them. Moses had a stuttering problem and was now having to go through Aaron to speak the words that the Lord had given them.
They were facing a giant! Their task was to ensure that Pharaoh was going to listen to what they had to say and actually take heed to God’s command to let His people go! It was going to take the unwavering faith of Moses and the faith that Aaron had in the Word that God gave them to initiate the boldness needed to persevere! They were determined to make it happen one way or another.
It took some time, but they were finally able to get Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go. The Lord had to strike him with various plagues because of his stubbornness. He refused to listen. One plague after another that produced a great amount of damage to Pharaoh and the Egyptians; you would think it would’ve ended there! No, this king was so determined and hard-headed that he pursued them after he set them free.
This is a primary example of someone that was steadfast on not wanting to obey the voice of God. Moses had to have enough faith to know that the Lord was going to make a way out of no way. He did just that when He parted the red sea making their way of escape onto dry land away from Pharaoh and his army, Exodus 14:21-22!
The kind of faith that Moses was able to exhibit is truly inspiring! That is why Hebrews 11:1 is so significant when it comes to the description of what faith is supposed to look like. It is the inability to physically see the evidence of what the Lord is promising yet still choosing to believe anyway. It is having Trust in His Word and in Who He is so much so that you are able to believe for a miracle even though you can’t see it yet! God’s word is True and will never lie, Numbers 23:19.
Noah’s Faith:
Another example given in the book of Hebrews regarding a person carrying tremendous faith is Noah. Hebrews 11:7 goes into detail, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” Can you just picture having so much faith in a Word that the Lord gave you that you are willing to believe the unimaginable!
Noah was told by the Lord to build an ark or large boat big enough for him and his family because He was going to bring a flood that was going to wash away the entire human race, Genesis 6:13-17! Without hesitation and without even questioning what the Lord was asking Noah to do, he just said yes and had faith in the Word that was given to him.
He was given the exact measurements and instructions on how to build this ark exactly as the Lord wanted him to. You can just envision how crazy he would’ve looked to the other people that lived around him. Here Noah was building this ginormous ark to save him and his family from a supposed flood that was coming to drown all of humanity! He didn’t care, being a righteous man that he was, all Noah knew is that he received a Word from the Lord and by faith believed what He said wholeheartedly.
Had Noah not headed to God’s Word and His promise, we wouldn’t be alive today. We have to allow our Christian faith to be as strong as Noah’s faith was. Don’t forget that the Lord’s promises are yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20. As long as we follow what God’ Word is telling us, we can never go wrong!
Jacob’s Faith:
Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham was a man of great faith. Hebrews 11:21 says, “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.” This verse of scripture shows the great amount of faith that Jacob had in the Lord. However, that wasn’t always the case. He lived most of his life wanting to gain blessings his own way instead of relying on the Lord to bless him. He struggled to trust in God’s Word as many of us do today.
Some examples of him forcing his own blessings are:
- He took advantage of his brother Esau during a time when he was extremely hungry making him sell him his birthright in exchange for food, Genesis 25:29-34.
- He stole his brother Esau’s blessing away from him after tricking his father; making him think that he was Esau, Genesis 27:2-41.
- He became very skillful at animal breeding and used it to his advantage against his own father in law Laban, Genesis 31:31-43.
It wasn’t until the moment he wrestled with God throughout the entire night and saw him face to face that he understood where his true blessings were supposed to come from. He did not allow the Lord to let him go until He blessed him, Genesis 32:22-32. Recognizing that his faith had to be established through God and God alone was a turning point in his life. He was given the name Israel by the Lord because of the fact that even though he struggled with God and people he was still able to overcome, Genesis 32:28.
Jacob is the perfect example of what can happen if you don’t give up on God. He knew that a true blessing can only come from the Lord but he was unwilling to fully submit. How familiar does that sound? Don’t allow pride to get in the way of your relationship with the Lord like Jacob did. He had to learn the hard way after many attempts at trying to do things his own way only to fail every time. Learn from Jacob’s mistakes and surrender your heart to God and your life will never be the same!
Enoch’s Faith:
Enoch is another person that is highlighted in the book of Hebrews regarding one who has great faith. He was considered to be a righteous man by God. Hebrews 11:5-6 describes, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” He is clearly an example of what the Lord means when He says that it is impossible to please Him without faith, Hebrews 11:6.
Although there is not very much information regarding Enoch in the Bible we do know that he walked faithfully with the Lord for 300 years and then was caught up by the Lord alive. He never saw death. Perhaps we can view Enoch as an example of what will happen to some Christians that will be taken in the rapture alive. Whatever the reason is, we know that Enoch is an important figure when it comes to having great faith or he wouldn’t have been recognized in the book of Hebrews amongst other faithful men and women of faith.
There are so many examples of men and women of God that exhibited radical faith throughout the Bible. Hebrews 11 distinguishes some of these great illustrations to show us what it looks like when faith is put into action. One of the similarities between the stories of faith among the people highlighted in this chapter of Hebrews is the fact that they all heard a Word from the Lord and that was all that was needed. Christian faith is centered on hearing the Word of God, Romans 10:17. I cannot tell you how important and vital it is to read and study your Bible daily!
As you step out in obedience to what God is saying to you; it will activate the gifts that He wants to give every one of His children. Your belief in God’s power would increase tremendously if you had the ability to see it put into action in your own life. Remember, God did not save us so that we would keep Him all to ourselves and tell no one about our Lord Jesus Christ. No, that is so far from the truth! He saved you and me so that we would share our salvation with as many people as we possibly can. In order to have the boldness to do so, we need to have our faith completely activated as these men and women of God in the book of Hebrews did.
These people that you would include in the hall of faith moved with a sense of urgency and obedience. Can you visualize what your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ would look like if you moved and obeyed as they did? We would cause such a dent in the kingdom of darkness that the devil wouldn’t know what to do! Never forget the fact that one can chase a thousand and two can put ten thousand to flight, Deuteronomy 32:30. Let us marinate on the examples of faith in the powerful book of Hebrews so that we can use them to help us take our faith to the next level!
Below I have listed some more blogs pertaining to this topic:
What does it mean to Walk by Faith and Not by Sight?
Also don’t forget to check out the positive weekly messages below:
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started off Right! September 12, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started off Right! September 6, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started off Right! August 28, 2022
Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started off Right! August 22, 2022