We aren’t so unlike the men and women of old.
A. As human beings they had the same temptations.
1. As a matter of fact, the men and women of
old did not have a present and living Holy
Spirit of God in residence.
a. It is this Holy Spirit who empowers us to
rise above so many physical challenges.
2. We hear about a lot of the good that was
accomplished by the people of the Old
Testament period.
a. I am sure that these people also caved in
to temptation....from time-to-time.
1.) Some of this is recorded, but we are
not assured that all of their weak
moments have been revealed to us.
** Some caved while others stood out as beacons of light
for generations to come........some even stand out as
examples for us, in the Christian age.
What amazes me, is the faith that they were able to
display...BEFORE THEY HAD THE EXAMPLE OF
CHRIST TO SET THEIR EYES ON.
Heb, 11:38-40 - 38of whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves
of the earth. 39And all these, having obtained a good
testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,
40God having provided something better for us, that they
should not be made perfect apart from us.
A. How much more sure our faith can be...now that
we have the example of Jesus Christ, the Apostles,
and those Christians who have gone before us.
1. Our faith SHOULD BE stronger than those
of the past who had no such helps (Holy
Spirit, Christ, Apostles, Saints).
a. And yet..........it seems that it doesn’t take
too much to shipwreck our hope andfaith
today.
I wish to look at some examples of real faith at work...from
the Old Covenant period of time, as well as some from the
New....and see if we can be inspired to new hights...to see
ifwe can pick up something from these men and women of
old which could strengthen our faith...our hope...our
resolve.
I. What does one do when he sees his life’s work crumble
before him?
Job. 1:13-22 - 13Now there was a day when his sons
and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest
brother’s house; 14and a messenger came to Job and said,
“The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside
them, 15“when the Sabeans raided them and took them
away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge
of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16While he was still speaking, another also came and said,
“The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep
and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have
escaped to tell you!” 17While he was still speaking,
another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three
bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and
killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone
have escaped to tell you!” 18While he was still speaking,
another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
19“and suddenly a great wind came from across the
wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it
fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone
have escaped to tell you!”
20Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head;
and he fell to the ground and worshipped. 21And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Gen. 19:24-29 - 24Then the Lord rained brimstone and
fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the
heavens. 25So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all
the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a
pillar of salt.
27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place
where he had stood before the Lord. 28Then he looked
toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of
the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land
which went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of
the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out
of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities
in which Lot had dwelt.
A. Our faith is in God.....
1. For those of us who say this, I feel that there
is a powerful lot of value placed on things
other than God.
a. May we never be tested as Job or Lot...
but if we were...could we say,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I
return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”...!!!????
2. Each one of us needs to take inventory of
our possessions and see that we have the
right priorities assigned to them.
a. Better yet, we need to create the mind-
set that NOTHING is really ours...all that
we have has been entrusted to us.
1.) If we have this mind, we will have
the mind of Job, if we should ever
be placed in his position...or even
a small portion of his fate.
B. Our life’s work should be to do the will of God.
1. This extends to EVERYTHING...this
is regardless of our circumstances.
a. Our faithfulness must not hinge on how
we perceive God’s blessings in our lives.
1.) We may well be recipients of very
great blessings from God...
blessings which we will never SEE
through these mortal eyes.
** Understand this........physical things are not always the
blessing of God...it well may be a curse of satan.
1. It will certainly become a curse, if we place undue
importance on it.
II. How should we react when we try to do what is right...
but everything falls apart, anyway.
II Sam. 6:6-7 - 6And when they came to Nachon’s
threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God
and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7Then the anger
of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him
there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
A. It might just be that our idea of “doing what is
right” is not what God wants us to do.
1. Have we become too clever...are we
improvising...are we trying to dictate to God
what we want to do, and expect God to
approve it.
a. I can’t read Uzzah’s heart...I don’t know
what he was thinking....but I can be
somewhat sure that he didn’t intend to
do anything evil.
1.) It doesn’t matter what we think...if
it goes against what God wants...
He will not be pleased with it.
** See also the sacrifices of Cain and Able.
B. We need to seek out God in what we do so that
we can do it with an assurity of faith.
1. If we know that it is his will...we can totally
trust in what we do.
C. We need to be humble enough to hear the voice of
God....be it directly from Scripture, or through His
servants, here on earth.
1. We need to accept the possibility that we are
NOT doing what God wants.
2. We need to accept the possibility that we are
only doing and will only do...what we want.
Acts 9:5 - 5And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the
Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is
hard for you to kick against the goads.”
1. Even great men of the Bible can go off track.
III. Can our faith be sustained...even when it seems that
all are plotting against us?
Esther (the complete book)
Dan. 6:4-5,10 - 4So the governors and satraps sought to
find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom;
but they could find no charge or fault, because he was
faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
5Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge
against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning
the law of his God.”10Now when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room,
with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on
his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks
before his God, as was his custom since early days.
A. We see in these people a confidence that they
placed in their God.
1. They were convinced that their enemies could
not win and they were so convinced...they
trusted their very lives to this conclusion.
** When David went out to challenge Goliath, he had the
same conviction.
2. They knew and we should also understand
and be convinced.....that God KNOWS what
is befalling us!
a. Not only does He know....HE
ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN!
1.) There is a reason and a plan for
everything, and God does not have
to always fill us in....WE NEED
TO TRUST HIM.
** Our reward will not be given to us for what we were
able to avoid....it will be given to us....in proportion...
for how we handled ourselves, in faith...in the face of
danger.
** Please note also, the Apostles in the boat that seemed
doomed to sink.
Matt. 8:23-27 - 23Now when He got into a boat, His
disciples followed Him. 24And suddenly a great tempest
arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the
waves. But He was asleep. 25Then His disciples came to
Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are
perishing!” 26But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O
you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds
and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27So the men
marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds
and the sea obey Him?”
IV. What does God expect us to do when we are the only
one that wants to do the right thing?
I Kings 19:14,18 - 14And he said, “I have been very
zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of
Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars,
and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left;
and they seek to take my life.” 18”Yet I have reserved
seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed
to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
A. A man of faith would not feel this way...a man
of faith would fight on...even if he were the only
one left, on the face of this Earth.
1. This lack of faith, on the part of Elijah...cost
him his job.....his effectiveness as God’s
prophet was over.
a. This is the point at which God tells
Elijah to anoint Elisha as the new
prophet of God.
B. Only a few things would cause a child of God to
make the statements that Elijah made.
1. Fear of man.....Jezebel put out a contract on
Elijah and turned his heart to quivering.
2. Pride, blindness, and provincialism....Elijah
could not.....would not....see the whole
picture.
a. He was too attuned to himself and his
immediate surroundings.
C. If we do not display faith...even when we just
might be the only one...we will be overwhelmed,
just as Elijah was.
1. Imagine....if you really believe it...we’re down
to ME against the whole world.
a. If you haven’t faith in abundance...you
may want to run away, as well
** Even if Elijah was right, he should have remembered
that he still had God on his side.
1. It is so easy to feel alone, when we forget God.
V. What about when God asks us to do the “impossible”?
Heb. 11:17-19 - 17By faith Abraham, when he was tested,
offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son, 18of whom it was said,
“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19concluding that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which
he also received him in a figurative sense.
A. Just what does this word.......”impossible” mean?
1. It simply means that we cannot understand....
we cannot accept truth.
a. We cannot understand how it will be
done.
b. We cannot accept that God would do it.
c. We do not totally accept the fact that
God can do anything.
Luke 1:37 - 37“For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Matt. 19:26 - 26But Jesus looked at them and said to
them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things
are possible.”
B. We must understand that if the, so called,
“impossible” is to be accomplished by us...we
must have faith in God.
Heb. 11:6 - 6But without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE TO
PLEASE HIM (GOD), for he who comes to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.
1. We do not have to understand everything to
place our faith in God.
a. Much of what we trust in.....in this
present world, we don’t fully
understand....and yet, we place
tremendous faith in these things.....
1.) Why is it so hard to trust God...
is it because we can’t see and
we don’t understand...and we
can’t believe and accept the
absolute truth of God’s Word?
C. We need to accept and be convinced of this fact...
when we determine that something that God has
instructed us to do...is “impossible”......our
perspective is flawed!
Matt. 17:20 - 20So Jesus said to them, “Because of your
unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a
mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from
here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be
impossible for YOU!
VI. What about when you can see the course ahead...and
it doesn’t look good?
Matt. 16:21-23 - 21From that time Jesus began to show to
His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many
things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and be raised the third day. 22Then Peter took Him
aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from
You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23But He turned
and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an
offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God,
but the things of men.”
Acts 21:10-14 - 10And as we stayed many days, a certain
prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11When he
had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands
and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the
Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and
deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12Now when
we heard these things, both we and those from that place
pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then Paul
answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking
my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to
die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14So
when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The
will of the Lord be done.”
A. In both instances, faith and trust had to over ride
human reasoning...”common sense”....and fear.
1. Not only do we have our selves to contend
with when we might be facing a difficult
spiritual decision....but we also have men...
men who can be used by satan.
a. We need to “stay the course”, and
have the faith that God will see us
through.
2. A truth comes forth from Jesus in
Matt. 10:38-39....
38“And he who does not take his cross and follow after
Me is not worthy of Me. 39“He who finds his life will lose
it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
a. In trying to hold on to what we have...
in the end, we will lose all.
b. In giving all over to God and trusting
these things in the hands of God...we will
preserve our souls.
** We may be given a glimpse of what is ahead...do not
be terrified....trust in God and He will richly reward
us.
CONCLUSION:
Many of these people that we have looked at, today, did
not have the Spirit of God living within them on a daily
basis........many of them did not have the example of Jesus
Christ.......many of them did not have the example of the
Apostles and the Saints who have gone before them.
A. Our faith and actions are truly challenged by
the men and women of old.
1. They had the same physical bodies as we do.
2. They had the same needs as we do.
3. They were subjected to the same type of
fears as we are........
AS A MATTER OF FACT....THEY WERE
SUBJECTED TO MUCH MORE THAT WE ARE.
a. And yet their faith and actions are an
inspiration to us.
1.) We could not beg off from doing
those things that God has asked of
us without being convicted by the
lives of these men and women of
faith.
