Ordinary Faith?
Hebrews 11:20
The past 3 weeks we have read and learned about some great men of faith. We read some pretty amazing stories of their journeys. We learned all the obstacles that they had to overcome, by drawing on strength from God. There are still so many to learn from in the Bible as well. We think about their lives and the calling that they answered. Moses, David, Joseph and so may more. They were chosen by God to fulfill their destinies. What amazing stories they are!
There are many more stories about people of faith even today. People that risk everything to do His will and deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ to third world countries. People that go through many hard times to make a major impact on the world, and how people perceive God and His plan. We have all heard about missionaries dying, risking death and going back for more. All as part of God’s plan.
When we hear about these stories, and these great people of faith, it sometimes makes us feel as though the small part we play is insignificant. We are not leading thousands of people to the promised land. We are not leading thousands to Christ. It would seem as if we were VERY small fish in a big pond.
Today, we are going study about a man whose life seemed to be very MUNDANE in comparison to those around him. Just another person living with his family, and servants in some tents on a plain. There did not seem to be anything impressive about this. The surprise is how God looked at this ordinary life, one that was lived by real faith.
If you were to rate your life on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the most boring, or humdrum, and 10 being interesting and exiting, how would you rate your life? All things considered in your life, would you say your life is very exciting? Maybe it is just ho-hum? Or just flat out “snooze-bar” boring!
Let’s turn back into Genesis chapter 25, verses 19-28 where it says, “This is the story of Isaac’s children: Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddam-aram. Rebekah was the sister of Laban.
Isaac pleaded with Jehovah to give Rebekah a child, for even after many years of marriage she had no children. Then at last she became pregnant. And it seemed as though children were fighting each other inside her!``I can’t endure this,’’ she exclaimed. So she asked the Lord about it. And he told her, ``The sons in your womb shall become two rival nations. One will be stronger than the other; and the older shall be a servant of the younger!’ And sure enough, she had twins. The first was born so covered with reddish hair that one would think he was wearing a fur coat! So they called him ``Esau.’’ Then the other twin was born with his hand on Esau’s heel! So they called him Jacob (meaning ``Grabber’’). Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As the boys grew, Esau became a skillful hunter, while Jacob was a quiet sort who liked to stay at home.
Isaac’s favorite was Esau, because of the venison he brought home, and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob.”
Verses 20-21 say, “Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddam-aram. Rebekah was the sister of Laban. Isaac pleaded with Jehovah to give Rebekah a child, for even after many years of marriage she had no children. Then at last she became pregnant.”
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. And when he realized that she had not had any children, he did what any man of faith would do. He asked God to bless them with a Child. And God did. Can you see why this is so important? Can you see where this is showing faith? He knew that if he were to ask God, that God would be able to “make it happen.” Just as when you or I want God to bless us, we ask. Don’t we?
You know I have seen so many times when people refuse to ask God to help. They say things like, “It would be wrong to ask for help, if he wants it this way, then that’s the way it will be!” Now, don’t take me wrong, I do not believe you should pray to God, “Please let me win the powerball!!!” But I do know this, when you need strength, you need to ask Him, and he will strengthen you. If you ask in faith.
But I also know of several stories where God has intervened with matters of the world due to a beckoning from faithful believers. Such as when Joshua asked him to stop the sun, so that His people could win a battle. Joshua 10:12-13 says, “As the men of Israel were pursuing and harassing the foe, Joshua prayed aloud, ``Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and let the moon stand in its place over the valley of Aijalon!’’ And the sun and the moon didn’t move until the Israeli army had finished the destruction of its enemies! This is described in greater detail in The Book of Jashar. So the sun stopped in the heavens and stayed there for almost twenty-four hours!” Do you think God cannot, or will not intervene if it will help complete His will?
You see, if you remember, Isaac was a fulfilled promise to his father, Abraham. His mother, Sarah, was barren, and yet Isaac was given to Abraham and Sarah as a blessing! I would imagine that Isaac had this faith in God because he knew about his own father’s answered prayers. Himself. He probably even remembered his father ready to sacrifice him for God. So I would safely assume that Isaac knew about the power of faith, and how faithful to live.
We read in verse 22-23, “22. And it seemed as though children were fighting each other inside her! “I can’t endure this,’’ she exclaimed. So she asked the Lord about. And he told her, ``The sons in your womb shall become two rival nations. One will be stronger than the other; and the older shall be a servant of the younger!’’ And sure enough, she had twins.” Why do you think God would have told her this? I believe God was reassuring a mother in pain.
In chapter 26:1-6 we read, “Now a severe famine overshadowed the land, as had happened before, in Abraham’s time, and so Isaac moved to the city of Gerar where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. Jehovah appeared to him there and told him, ``Don’t go to Egypt. Do as I say and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you, and I will give all this land to you and to your descendants, just as I promised Abraham your father. And I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars! And I will give them all of these lands; and they shall be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. I will do this because Abraham obeyed my commandments and laws.’’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.”
Does this sound familiar? It should. Last week God made a very similar promise to Abraham, Isaac’s father. By doing this, he was keeping His promise to Abraham. He chose this particular time in Isaac’s life to make this promise to Isaac because Isaac was going through a difficult time in his life. Sometimes, this is when God tests our faith. When we are in the middle of some personal issues. You see, The philistines were going to become one of Israels fiercest enemies. God knew this, and he knew what would eventually happen to His people if they were to leave, and go to Egypt. Although the philistines were friendly to Isaac, this small group was the forerunner of the nation that would plague Israel during the times of Joshua, the judges, and David. God was working His will out in advance.
We do not know God’s will for our lives, and for our descendants. He does though. He knows all, right? That is why we need to be faithful to Him and His will. Sometimes we tend to put our will ahead of His, but that is not showing our love for Him, is it?
Now notice Isaac’s response of faith. Verse 6 says, “So Isaac stayed in Gerar.” He did not question God. He did not ask God to justify his directive. He just did as God asked him to. For he knew that God was going to keep good on His promise. He knew that God had a plan for him, and his descendants.
Why do you think the writer in Hebrews added Isaac to this “Hall Of Faith?” Hebrews 11:20 says, “It was by faith that Isaac knew God would give future blessings to his two sons, Jacob and Esau.” He could not see the blessings as of yet, but he still lived a life of faith. We cannot always see the “end-result” but we need to have confidence in God, and trust that His will is going to be done. We need to have faith in Him.
And not just in the parts of our lives that we feel most comfortable in ‘letting go and letting God’, but in all areas of our lives. We need to have faith that he will take care of us. That he will reward us. Not always in the ways that WE want, but in the way that he wants. There is one place in the scriptures that tells us that we should test Him. Anybody know where that is? Malachi 3:10. It says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in!``Try it! Let me prove it to you!”
I know this is not a message on tithing, but I know that is an area that I have learned time and again that God is faithful to those that show their faith to him. There have been so many times in my life that I had no idea how the bill were going to be paid, but somehow they were. How so many times I felt afraid, but stepped out on faith ad he blessed me more than I can say. Test him! He really does reward the faithful.
Not always with finances, but in so many other ways. I believe if we really think about it, we can all think of the blessings that we received when we walked by faith. We all can share testimonies of His great love, can’t we?
This Church is a prime example. We are being blessed everyday. We have been given blessing after blessing because of our faith. Though our faith may seem so ordinary to others, God sees it as a way of showing our love for Him. We have been allowed to gather here to worship. Blessing. We are now going to be moving into a school library in the middle of a neighborhood that seeks God. Blessing. We all have problems, but we give them to Him, and he comforts, heals and gives peace. He is our comforter and counselor. Blessing. We just need to pray to Him with our concerns, and He takes care of them.
And when you pray for something, don’t expect overnight results just because you want it. Pray that if it be in His will, that it be done. Have faith in His promises to take care of you.
You have to be willing to work for things too. Some people think that they can just believe and have faith and then God will take care of the rest. Not so, is it? Here is an example of just that,
“There once was a man who very adamantly believed in living by faith. He believed that, so long as he prayed in Jesus’ name, believing in faith that God would provide his need, he would receive whatever he asked for. One day he stood up in church and declared that from that day forward, he was trusting God to supply all his needs. He quit his job as a high-ranking official in a fairly large company and moved into a dingy little house on the rougher side of town. The first night he prayed very fervently for God to send him some food, because he was beginning to get hungry. The next morning he walked outside, expecting to find food, but nothing was there. Figuring that he didn’t pray fervently enough, he dedicated the whole day to praying for God to provide food for the next day. The next morning came, and still no food. That day he prayed even more fervently for God to provide nourishment, for by now he was growing ravenously hungry. "God, you must provide me with food, or I will die out here," he prayed over and over again. The next morniong he walked outside, and still no food. By this time he was beginning to get angry with God for not providing He promised in His Word. That afternoon and evening he redoubled his efforts, wailing and rocking back and forth and beating his breast as he prayed. "Dear God, I’m going to starve to death unless you feed me. I haven’t eaten or had anything to drink in 4 days!" When he had prayed all he could pray, and was exhausted he fell back on the bed and stared at teh wall. In the silence, he heard a small voice calling out his name. "Bill! Bill!"
"I’m here Lord," he cried. "Are you finally answering my prayer?"
"I’ve been answering your prayers," the voice replied. "You’ve just been looking in the wrong direction."
"What do you mean Lord? I don’t understand," he exclaimed, exasperated.
"Walk outside," said the voice.
Bill walked outside, looked all around on the dirty porch, but still found no food. "There’s nothing here, Lord. I don’t see any food."
"You’re looking in the wrong direction. Look up."
Bill looked up, and there right above his head, pasted onto the building next to him, was a huge billboard with big black print that said, "DAY LABORERS WANTED! LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED."...
Do we just come out and look for the reward? The reward without the work? I believe that sometimes we all do that. Faith is what saves us, but without action, we are just sitting around expecting Him to do it all. He wants us to “do” as well. Being a Christian is not a passport to a life of luxury. Troubles and strife are still there. Problems don’t go away. We just have a very mighty and loving counselor to go to in that situation!
And as far as our Faith? Our faith is by no means “ordinary faith.” Not at all. God rewards our faith just as though we were building that ark, or leading thousands through the desert. You see, all sin carries the same weight, and all faith carries the same weight. God respects and loves your faith today, in the middle of these days just as he loved the faith that Moses showed, and Abraham and Paul and so on.
You do not love one child more than the other because they do as you say more than their siblings, nor does God! Our faith is our way of showing our love for Him, not to receive His love.
This Church is founded on Walking by Faith, not laying around with faith. Walk is a verb, an action word. Let’s take action and walk by faith.
