X-alt July 2011: Heroes of the Faith - Rahab

As Hebrews 11 tells us, Rahab was a prostitute.  Is this really what we've been building up to?  How can a prostitute be a hero?  Why is she even included in our list of heroes?

Her story is found in Joshua 2 and 6, and her faith is shown in the second part of verse 11.  Because she had come to know that God rules the heavens above and the earth below, she realised that if she was to have a future she shouldn't stand in God's way.  Because of this belief, she put her life on the line.  That's faith in action!  The book of James tells us that it was this faith being lived out that made her right with God.

As well as having great faith, she is included because she isn't one of God's people and because she was a prostitute.  Basically, the message is that anyone can be used by God - despite their flaws.  In fact, this is pretty much the summary of this whole series - you don't have to be perfect - God uses people despite their flaws!  What is it that makes them heroes?  Is it their great holiness or that their lives are sorted out?  Apparently not!  It's because God has done something great through them.

We should be encouraged that this means that God can use us despite our failings.  If he can use someone involved in prostitution, then he can probably use us too!  We can never be too bad for God.

That doesn't mean we should carry on sinning.  Rahab's faith made her right with God.  Sin stops people from being right with God.  In James, Rahab's example is of faith in action, but faith that isn't lived is worthless.  All this suggests that Rahab put prostitution behind her.  Whilst God can use us when we sin, this will stop us being right with him, so we need God to help us work at being holy and pure.

To finish we read the rest of Hebrews 11.  Verses 39-40 point us back to Jesus and the promises that are found in him- something better than what these heroes received.  Forgiveness of sins, freedom to live, eternal life are all ours!  Jesus will live within us by the Holy Spirit, and in that there is hope and purpose for us!  The tales of adventure didn't end with those mentioned in Hebrews 11 - they continue with us!  We need to know that no matter what anyone says, God can work in us and use us in amazing ways!

X-alt June 2011: Heroes of the Faith - The People

Up until now we've been looking at some impressive individuals who did great things for God.  But Hebrews 11 goes on to big up the people and to commend them for their faith.

Both stories that are mentioned - crossing the Red Sea and the walls of Jericho falling down - are about overcoming obstacles.  If our God can deal with these, then he can deal with anything!  Whatever the obstacles in our lives - whether physical, emotional, or spiritual - he can overcome them!

But we also need to remember that when they faced these things the people were together.  When we face obstacles in our lives we should remember that we are part of a community.  As Phil was saying last Sunday morning, we should bear one another's burdens and cast them onto Jesus.

We have a role to play in the obstacles that one another face.  That's why it is so important to use spiritual gifts to encourage one another and pray together.  We also need to be careful that we don't celebrate the wrong things - we should seek to spur one another on to great things, not to drag one another down into the gutter!

Together we can have faith that will see some amazing things happen!  We're in this together!

X-alt May 2011: Heroes of the Faith - Moses

The next hero mentioned in Hebrews 11 is Moses.  You may have heard about him from films like this...

The problem is that the Hollywood image of Moses isn't what the Bible paints!  Moses is not an action hero.  He is basically a murderer who has been forgotten about, is getting on a bit, who can't speak clearly, and who makes excuses.  If you played "Testament Trumps" like we did, the real Moses would be a card you only used if you had to!  (Testament Trumps are available here for those of you who would like some).

Moses was an unlikely hero - he didn't have a whole lot to offer!

We read Exodus 3:1-14.  The core of the teaching for this session was nicked from Louie Giglio's talk at Soul Survivor a few years back.  If you want to borrow the DVD and hear the full thing then just ask!

Even though Moses had been forgotten about, God knew his name.  Even when we feel insignificant and unimportant we need to remember he knows our name - we are not insignificant to him!  Moses responds by saying "here I am" which is a pretty good response to make to God when you feel he is saying something to you!

God recaps the situation in Egypt with his people in slavery and says He's going to do something about it.  He's going to take his people to a land that has everything they need - even though it was occupied by the "ites" who were basically the worst people on the planet.  And then He drops a bombshell and says, "So now I am sending you to the king of Egypt.  Go!  Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt!"

When Moses points out that this is a bit beyond him, God simply says, "I will be with you".  If you're not sure that you have what it takes to follow God then you need to know that God will be with you.  Through faith in Christ He is with us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  When God asks you to do something the wrong response is to ask "who am I?"  Instead ask "are you going?", because if God is going there's nothing to worry about!

Until then God was generally known as the Most High God.  He was far above and distant.  Moses asks His name, and He reveals it to be "I Am".  Or to give it the full version "I Am who I Am".  This may seem weird, but it is God's name, and it says in verse 15 that this will be the name by which God will always be known.

It is amazing that we can be on first name terms with God!  But if God is "I Am" then Moses is "I am not" - we share that name with him.  Hello, "I am not", pleased to meet you!

I am not God.  I am not in charge. I am not in control.  I am not the owner of anything.  I am not the centre of things.  I am not the saviour or restorer or rebuilder or all wise or the solution or the deliver.

God can say: I Am God.  I Am in charge.  I Am in control.  I am the owner of everything.  I am the centre of all things.  I Am the saviour.  I Am the redeemer.  I Am the restorer.  I Am the rebuilder.  I Am all wise.  I Am the solution.  I Am the deliverer.

Too often we get this mixed up and get our name wrong - when we think we are in control, or that we own something, or when we think it should all be about us, etc.

When we know we can't, we need to know that God can.  We can control and manage things, rather than depending on God.  But when we do get to a point of depending on him we can say this:

"I am not, but I know I Am.

I know, and hang out with, and talk to, and am on first name terms with I Am.  What is there in your life that is greater than that?

Jesus revealed himself as I Am, and his promise is that by his Spirit he comes and lives inside of us.

I am not, but I know I Am and He lives in me!  We need to remember that and live it too!

X-alt April 2011: Heroes of the Faith - Moses' Parents

Hebrews 11 doesn't have all that much to say about Moses' parents, but they are still included as heroes of the faith!

When they hid Moses in the reeds of the Nile this was a desperate act (see Exodus 2)!  What if the basket had developed a leak, or if there had been a rise in river level that washed him away, and what about these...

Even though they were desperate they had faith - they saw something about that baby that made them know that God had plans and purpose for him and they knew he would survive.  Did they know that he would lead a nation and still be famous thousands of years after?  Probably not!  But their action was a faith filled response to God's leading - not knowing what would happen, but trusting God to come through for them.

It has been said that the safest place to be is in the centre of God's will.  There is some truth in that, because being separated from God is a horrible place to be.  It is also true though, that being in God's will is the most dangerous place to be!  If we want to be at the centre of God's will we should expect it to be dangerous and scary at times!  But we can be full of hope that even in the hardest times, God is with us and will eventually lead us to a place without pain or suffering, where we will dwell in his presence and know nothing but joy!

To get to that place we need to be desperate.  We need to realise that there's nothing we can do to earn it.  Our sin separates us from God, and what we deserve is for this separation to last for eternity.

At Easter we remember the story of Jesus dying on the cross.  He is the supreme example of what it means to be at the centre of God's will and how dangerous that can be.  Before he was arrested, we see a desperate man under so much stress that he sweated blood, asking his Father if there might be another way.  But there was no other way, and Jesus was more concerned with doing his Father's will than playing it safe.

Jesus went to the Cross and died in our place, paying the penalty we deserve, so that we might live.  This is the basis of our hope.  We need to be desperate enough to throw ourselves on God's mercy to be saved - there is no other way, and we can't do it ourselves.  Part of that involves letting Jesus be in control rather than us - then we will follow him into all sorts of adventures where we won't know what the outcome will be!

What we can see from Moses' parents, and from Jesus, is that when we follow God into desperate situations he will come through for us in spectacular ways!

Are you desperate for God?  Will you follow him, no matter what desperate measures are required to do so?  What is your hope for the future that will sustain you through the desperate times?

X-alt March 2011: Heroes of the Faith - Joseph

We watched a clip from Toy Story 2 and considered the responses to the challenge of crossing the busy road.  Apart from Buzz, they're all put off by it!  Our response can be similar when confronted with obstacles.  We can give up or let fear get the better of us.  This is true in all sorts of ways - particularly with the promises God has made and the dreams he has given us.  Joseph's story has something to say about all this.

I retold the story of Joseph was told using some images from the Brick Testament.  You can find it, with all the additional pictures, here.

Joseph's life was a rollercoaster journey - full of ups and downs.  Just as things are going well, it all falls apart.  Where we might have given up, he keeps on going.  I suggested the following lessons to bear in mind which can help us to persevere...

1. The importance of vision - even though he might not have been wise about how he shared his dreams with his family, he obviously knew God had special plans for him.

2. He didn't give up - even when things became ridiculously tough!

3. He was able to get to a point of seeing God at work in his circumstances - Genesis 50:20.

4.  He knew that there was more to come - he had hope.

Hebrews 11:22 shines a bit of light on this last point.  Even when he was getting ready to die, he knew that there was more to come.  He knew that God's plans didn't end there, and he knew God's people would return to Israel.  When that happened he wanted his bones to be taken and buried there.

We need to listen to God and what he has to say about our future - whether through dreams or other ways.

We need to keep going even when it is really tough - don't give up!

We need to understand that God can use all things for the good of us and others - even when we don't know where he is.

And we need to cling to the hope that there is more to this life than our current experience.  In Jesus we have a hope for an eternal future with God, where we'll never have to wonder where God is because we'll be able to see him, and where there won't be hard times or evil.

To persevere through the hard times, we need to keep hold of all of these things.

The following video was used to consider our lives as a rollercoaster journey, and to give it all to God...

Rollercoaster

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X-alt February 2011: Heroes of the Faith - Jacob

Jacob was characterised by trickery and deceit - basically it was all about being in control.

Then God turns up and wrestles with him, and he's never the same again - read it here.  His limp is a reminder of that, but so is the new name that God gives him: he is to be called "Israel".  That is "God contends" or "God fights".  No longer does he have to take things into his own hands, but he will know that God will fight on his behalf.

Hebrews 11 tells us that he blessed Joseph's sons and leaned on his walking stick and worshipped God.  At the end of his life he passes on the promise that had been given to Abraham and passed onto him via Isaac.  And he worships.  One way of seeing worship is what happens when we know who we are, and in contrast also know who God is!  Expressing that difference is worship!  Passing the promise on, and worshipping show that he had accepted his new identity.  And it was that faith which meant he could be included as a hero in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame!

We often have issues of control in our lives.  We like to be in control in all sorts of ways - some serious, some not.  Sometimes God wrestles with us about these things.  When we find faith a struggle, when we have big questions to ask, when we know things are just not right - then we are wrestling.  In those situations we need to let God use them to show us who we are and who he is.  It's not easy, and it's not comfortable, and we'll never be the same!

The starting point in all this is to know that when we are in control of our lives rather than God, that is sin.  When we sin, we step out of God's best for us and deserve death.  But God came into the world as Jesus, died in our place on the cross, and rose again defeating sin and death.  At the cross, God fought for you and won!

There's nothing we can do to earn the salvation that comes through this - it is God's gift to us which we can only surrender to and receive with his help.  Whilst we can't earn it, we can still respond to his love and grace by saying sorry, changing the direction of our lives, and living for him (all with his help).

Having a God who fights on our behalf doesn't take away our responsibility.  We are still responsible for how we live.  But we know we have the Almighty Warrior God on our side who will help us, and lead us, and fight for us.  We need to let him be in control, rather than trying to control things ourselves!  That's not easy, and at times will be hard to get our heads around what he wants us to do, but it will be worth it!

Soul Survivor 2011 Promo Video!

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