Names of Heroes of the Faith Excerpt:

Heroes

Hero. The very mention of the word conjures up images of larger than life personalities, hearty souls who never backed down from danger. No mountain is too high, no foe too fierce for them. Others run away, ordinary human beings like you and me, but heroes stand their ground.They refuse to surrender even in the face of impossible odds. History is filled with true heroes. Lewis and Clark overcame rivers, mountains, record cold, and hunger to cross an unexplored continent.Winston Churchill rallied a nation and a world against the Nazi war machine and emerged victorious.Neil Armstrong did what men dreamed of since the beginning of time as he stepped on the surface of the moon.Amelia Eirhart, Luck Lindy, the Babe, all were heroes, larger than life personalities, fearless individuals who did the impossible.

When we begin to explore the lives of the heroes of the Bible the picture becomes even more impressive. Throw in the dimension of faith and we find not just heroes but superheroes, world changers, miracle workers. Men like Moses and David did more than heroic deeds, God performed the supernatural through them.Just think of the feats of the heroes of the faith. Some slew giants, others defeated kingdoms with nothing more than a shepherd’s staff.Rivers and seas parted, fire fell from the sky, horrible diseases disappeared, all at the hands of men and women filled with the power of God.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very intimidated by this crowd.When I look at their lives I feel small and weak.Several years ago I met one of my sports heroes,Tom Landry the legendary former coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Standing before him I could hardly force words to come out of my mouth and when I did I embarrassed myself with what I said. He took the Cowboys to five Superbowls, winning two. Standing next to him made me feel small and insignificant. I can only imagine what a fool I would make of myself if I could meet the apostle Paul in person.Or Noah, or Abraham, or Joshua.I’m sure I would plant my foot firmly in my mouth or become so tongue tied that I could only manage strange, gurgling sounds rather than words. After all, these people are more than celebrities, they are in the Bible!

I look at the characters whose lives fill the pages of the Bible and wonder how I can ever relate to them. They seem so strong, so committed; I feel so weak, so easily distracted from the tasks God gives me to do. A man like Daniel risked death in order to pray, I struggle to conquer sleep during my quiet times.And these people really lived.Their stories aren’t the work of a novelist trying to amaze us with superhuman tales.Every story in the pages of Scripture is true, from the tale of Cain and Abel to Paul’s missionary journeys.Fictional characters I can deal with.Their exploits entertain me, some even inspire me, but knowing that Moses actually walked into Pharaoh’s palace armed with nothing more than a shepherd’s staff and demanded the release of several million Jews utterly astounds me. Who can relate to a man with such courage?

Through the pages of this book we will explore the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews, a very intimidating place for those of us who become tongue tied in the presence of the fearless. Every paragraph of Hebrews 11 brings us face to face with another hero, another person who overcame giant obstacles to do the impossible.It is a who’s who of Old Testament saints: world changers, giant killers, saviors.We shrink in their presence, we wonder what if anything these heroes of the faith have in common with frail creatures of dust like you and me.

When we look closely at their stories we don’t find super men and women leaping tall Pharaohs with a single bound. Instead we find very ordinary individuals, people exactly like you and me.They wrestled with doubt and struggled to overcome their own inconsistencies. Their feats may be larger than life but the characters who fill this chapter are extremely human. In fact, we can share with them the very thing that made their feats possible: faith.Listen to how the writer of the book of Hebrews begins each one of their stories:

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice....

By faith Enoch was taken from this life....

By faith Noah in holy fear built an ark....

By faith Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice....

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau....

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons....

By faith Joseph gave instructions about his bones....

By faith Moses’ parents hid him....

By faith Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh....

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea...

By faith the walls of Jericho fell....

By faith the prostitute Rahab welcomed the spies....

By faith, by faith, by faith, each person listed was commended by God for what they did by faith. The Lord did not stand back in awe of the mighty deeds they accomplished. He wasn’t impressed by their daring and courage. Without faith they would have shrunk back in fear. Their names and their exploits would have faded from memory long ago but because they were willing to trust God in spite of the evidence to the contrary, they were commended by God.

What is this thing called faith that allowed ordinary human beings to do extraordinary feats?Listen to the definition the writer of Hebrews gives us as an introduction to the list of giants: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). I find this to be an incredibly simple definition for such a powerful force.Faith is being sure of that which we hope for.Don’t make the mistake of assuming that faith is some sort of force ignited by positive thinking.Being sure of what we hope for does not mean that if we will believe hard enough all of our hopes and dreams will come true.Instead faith focuses upon God and the fulfillment of the promises He makes. All of those listed in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews hoped to see the promises of God come true.They hoped for salvation, for deliverance, they hoped to draw closer to God and enter into His rest.Most of them never lived to see the fulfillment of their hopes, yet by faith they pressed on, never giving up.

Faith also assures us of that which we do not see. Very few people have actually beheld God. The angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham, Moses was given the privilege of seeing a glimpse of the glory of God.These two were the exception.The vast majority of Bible heroes were like you and me. They never saw God, nor did they ever hear His voice audibly. Most of them did not even have access to His word in a written form. Yet each one was convinced that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Being certain of the existence and goodness of God was no easy thing in light of the trials many of them endured. They faced obstacles that screamed out to them that God had forgotten all aboutthem. It is easy to talk about God’s goodness when life sails along trouble free but it is a different matter entirely when you are mistreated because you take a stand for God.In spite of the opposition, in spite of the heartaches and pains, by faith each of these heroes of the faith persevered.

Rather than walk away from their stories as an ideal that we can never live up to we need to stop and listen to their timeless messages. The writer of the book of Hebrews chose a broad assortment of characters in order that we can all find someone we can relate to. I find myself in awe of the writer’s genius. Every character, every story, sheds a different light on how God relates to creatures of dust like you and me. None of these heroes are perfect.Some of their stories are almost embarrassing. Yet each one takes us back to the same place: faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

As we look closely into the live of the heroes of the faith we will come away with a new appreciation for the extraordinary possibilities of what God can do with ordinary human beings who are willing to cling to Him by faith.We may even walk away from some of their stories muttering to ourselves, “If God can use him then surely He can do something with my life.”All that is required of us is faith, the willingness to entrust our lives to God no matter what we may face.By faith we carry on the legacy of the heroes of the faith.

O Lord, I want to entrust my life to you, I want to walk by faith, but it is hard. At times you seem so far away.If only I could see you, if only I could catch a glimpse of your glory like Moses beheld in the wilderness, but I know that You don’t work that way. You call me to place my faith in You even though my eyes and ears have never beheld You.I believe, help me through my unbelief.By faith I entrust my life to you.

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