Hebrews 11:12-13 (NKJV) 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude–innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
In our last few posts we have been studying the Hall of Fame faith of Abraham. We have found some important qualities. Abraham believed what God said even though he did not know where he was going or how God would fulfill the promise. Our faith in God must not be hindered by what we do not know. We must, like Abraham, obey what we do know, and God will eventually show us more.
Abraham was willing to wait for God’s best. At times we all give in to the temptation to settle for less than what God has said to us. God knows and understands that we are human beings with human weaknesses. You will not always hold out for God’s best. However, if we begin to cultivate the persistence Abraham showed, we can walk in a faith that will not only bless us but will also bring much glory to the Kingdom of God.
From verse 12 through 16 there is much said about both Abraham and Sarah. We will come back to Sarah in a later post. We see that Abraham wanted a country, or a homeland. This homeland was not for him alone. It was for future generations. In verses 17-22 we see some of his descendants listed. Each of these people did things that were Hall of Fame worthy. Yet they all died, including Abraham, before the fullness of what God intended was manifest in the earth.
The next characteristic of Hall of Fame faith is to understand that our faith affects the future. I spent nearly 40 years as the pastor of 3 local churches. One of the most distressing things that I had to witness was the damage done to children when parents failed in their faith. Many times, people came to me offended and upset at me or the church. When they left, if they did not find there way into another good church and a walk of faith and forgiveness, their children would often end up falling away from God.
On the other hand, we have seen generations continue in their walk with God because of the faith of their parents. In our church, we have a number of 3rd and even some 4th generation believers that are still walking with God because of the example of faithful parents and faithful believers in their lives. I often share with people to whom I am ministering for the first-time certain things that I believe are important for them to know. I do not give them my ministry resume. I tell them that my wife and I are still married, still in love and we even like one another after 47 years of marriage.
I tell them that all my six children are serving God today. I tell them that my 16 grandchildren are serving God. Some are too young for us to know how their lives will play out, but so far so good. We are not by any means perfect. We have had our challenges as have our children. However, I believe that the example of faith they saw in us has been a major factor in their serving God. We did our best to obey God and stand for his best. They are doing the same and teaching others to do the so.
That is not to say that some faithful parents do not see their children stray. Many do and that does not mean their faith is invalid. I do believe that our consistent life of faith gives those who follow us a better chance of walking in their own salvation. They will have examples to follow. They will have those who have both failed and succeeded to counsel and encourage them. In the end they must make their own choices. We cannot be condemned if they do not make the right ones. We can do our best to see that they are equipped to make them.
Not only does faith that looks beyond ourselves help both our natural and church families, but we do not know how that faith may affect the future. Abraham never saw what God really did through his faith. His immediate descendants did not see it. Many generations passed without seeing the fullness of what God was doing in Abraham. We must realize that we do not know and will not know until we stand before the Lord, what affect our faith has had.
Abrahams obedience to go to Canaan without knowing the details of God’s will had ramifications far beyond his journey. It produced a homeland for a nation that did not yet exist. His obedience to trust God for a child in the midst of impossibility produced more than a son. It produced a supernatural nation who would live in that homeland and through whom God would move to bless all people. His faith and obedience set in motion the process that would produce the Messiah of all God’s family for all of eternity. Abraham did not really understand all of this. In doing his part to walk in faith, he changed the course of the eternity of humanity.
Your walk of faith will not produce the Messiah. However, you do not know what God is doing through you that will affect the future. There was an evangelist named Mordecai Ham who had some meetings in North Carolina in 1934. He was a well-known evangelist at the time. He was busy walking by faith in what God had called him to do. As the story goes, he had a meeting in a church and had only one convert. The convert was a 16-year-old boy. It did not seem like much of a meeting at the time, but Mordecai Ham was faithful to obey.
I suspect few of my readers will recognize the name of Mordecai Ham. I do believe many will recognize the name of the boy who was converted in those meetings. His name was Billy Graham. Mordecai Ham had many meetings that were more successful when viewed by worldly eyes. He never had a more successful meeting in heavens eyes. Billy Graham probably saw more people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ than anyone who had ever lived.
Whose faith is responsible for that? Certainly, Billy Graham’s faith was involved. However, there may have been no Billy Graham without the faith of Mordecai Ham. I am not just talking about the faith he showed by going to that church. I am talking about the faith of his whole life that led him to become what God needed him to be. We do not really know Mordecai Ham. Heaven knows him as well as heaven knows Billy Graham. Every soul won to God by Billy Graham goes to Mordecai Ham’s account as well. It also goes to the faith of all those who influenced Mordecai Ham, and on and on.
We all have needs. God knows that. Matthew 6:31-32 tells us that we need not worry about our own needs because our Heavenly Father knows what they are. We must believe for those needs to be met by applying faith in that Father. However, every time we walk in faith and see God move, we do not just affect ourselves we affect those around us. We touch people who will touch people. We change the world in some way every time our faith allows God to intrude upon it. You may not receive credit here for those acts. Nevertheless, there is a record in heaven. You can count on that.
Abraham never saw what God really was after in his life. He saw Isaac and others of his descendants. All of that was important to both God and Abraham. However, the greatest effect of Abraham’s faith was Jesus the Messiah. Because Abraham obeyed by faith and would not settle for less than God’s best, there are multiplied millions who know God as Father and will live through eternity with him.
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