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By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God. (The Message)

The more I see of the brokenness of the world, the more convinced I am that the Bible is correct in its diagnosis of the human condition, and in its prescription of Jesus as the only cure. Nevertheless, most people, even if they admit something is wrong, are desperate to find some other answer, to pick up a different prescription.

It is not that we can’t believe, but rather that we won’t believe. (See John 12:37, 39).

‘The prevalence of unbelief and indifference in the present day ought not to surprise us. It is just one of the evidences of that mighty foundational doctrine, the total corruption and fall of man. How feebly we grasp and realise that doctrine is proved by our surprise at human incredulity. We only half believe the heart’s deceitfulness. Let us read our Bibles more attentively and search their contents more carefully. Even when Christ wrought miracles and preached sermons, there were numbers of his hearers who remained utterly unmoved. What right have we to wonder if the hearers of modern sermons in countless sermons remain unbelieving?.. Man’s obstinate unbelief is one among many indirect proofs that the Bible is true. The clearest prophecy in Isaiah begins with the solemn question, ”Who hath believed?” (Isaiah 53:1).’ J.C. Ryle: ‘Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of John’, p.222.

As Paul infers in Romans 1, it is utterly clear from the created order that there is a God. But this is an inconvenient truth to sinful people, so we deliberately try to suppress it.

 By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn’t touch them.

²⁹ By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.

³⁰ By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat. (The Message).

‘Faith brings us out (Heb.11:28), takes us through (Heb.11:29), and brings us in (Heb.11:30). When we trust God, we get what God can do. But when we trust ourselves, we get only what people can do.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘New Testament Commentary’, p.836.

This reminds me of the A.C. Dixon quote:

“When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. And so on. But when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do.” A. C. Dixon.

I remember a pastor saying that, watching certain things happening in his church, he would have to say again and again, ‘Only God!’

 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn’t touch them. (The Message).

 ‘To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. ‘Thomas Aquinas.

Vance Havner commented that ”Moses chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible”.

 ”Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Moses exemplified this principle.

Warren Wiersbe comments that ”True faith causes a believer to hold the right values and make the right decisions” (New Testament Commentary, p.836). He says that in Moses we see:

• the refusal of faith: He could have had a cushy life in Egypt, but instead he fully embraced God’s will, with all the personal cost this entailed;
• the reproach of faith: He was willing to be despised and mistreated along with God’s people;
• the reward of faith: He kept his eye on the ultimate prize.

Moses saw by faith what ‘natural’ people do not see. He saw the invisible God. This spiritual vision enable him to persevere through all manner of trials and difficulties.

PRAYER: ”Day by day, dear Lord,
of thee three things I pray;
to see thee more clearly,
to love thee more dearly,
to follow thee more nearly,
day by day.” (Attributed to Richard of Chichester).

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

(It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. New Living Translation).

Here is yet another facet of faith – it shows bravery.

In verses 23-28 ‘…faith is portrayed as a force sustaining God’s people in times of opposition and affliction, enabling them to overcome fear and temptation and to fulfil his purpose for them…Faith in God is incompatible with fear of hostile forces.’ David Peterson: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.1348.

Moses’ parents were living in dangerous times. When they recognised that God had a special purpose for their boy, they did what they could to protect him, even though a dark, ominous threatening cloud hung over them, and all the people of God.

‘The account is given in Exodus 2:1-10. Moses’ parents were named Amram and Jochebed (Ex.6:20). Though godly faith cannot pass on their faith as they do family traits, they can certainly create an atmosphere of faith at home and be examples to their children. A home should be the first school of faith for a child.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘New Testament Commentary’, p.836.

PRAYER: Almighty God, I pray today for all my brothers and sisters around the world who live under threat because of their faithfulness to you. Give them, I pray, ever-increasing courageous faith. I also pray for myself. I am ashamed to say that I see so much cowardice in my soul. Lord make me brave in faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left. (New Living Translation).

‘The faith of Joseph was certainly remarkable. After the way his family treated him, you would think he would have abandoned his faith, but instead, it grew stronger. Even the ungodly influence of Egypt did not weaken his trust in God. Joseph did not use his family, his job, or his circumstances as an excuse for unbelief. Joseph knew what he believed – that God would one day deliver his people from Egypt (Gen.50:24-26). Joseph also knew where he belonged – in Canaan, not in Egypt, so he made them promise to carry his remains out of Egypt at the Exodus. They did (see Ex.13:19 and Josh.24:32)!’ (Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘New Testament Commentary’, p.836.)

Faith knows what it knows, and what it knows inevitably leads to action. Without works it is ”dead” (James 2:26). Joseph was so sure that the people of Israel would be delivered from Egypt, he told his brothers to take his bones with them when they left:

” Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ ²⁵ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’ ” (Genesis 50:24,25)

Faith is formed and nourished by God’s Word. Joseph’s confidence came because of what he knew of God’s promises.

“The best praying man is the man who is most believingly familiar with the promises of God. After all, prayer is nothing but taking God’s promises to him, and saying to him, “Do as thou hast said.” Prayer is the promise utilized. A prayer which is not based on a promise has no true foundation.” (C.H.Spurgeon).

By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph’s sons in turn, blessing them with God’s blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff. (The Message).

Jacob was ”still living by faith” when He died (see 13a). As he told Pharaoh when he arrived in Egypt, his 130 years on earth had been ”few and difficult” (Genesis 47:9), but at the end of his days he was still a worshipper of God. Many of his difficulties were self-made. Some were not. But in everything he had learned to trust in the faithfulness of God.

If we look at Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s sons, as found in Genesis 48, 49, we will see that he did indeed bless them ”with God’s blessing”. There was something prophetic about these blessings. God was speaking through him. With Jacob, as with Isaac (20), he saw that God’s saving line would be fulfilled through the younger son.

Furthermore he ”blessed each of Joseph’s sons in turn”. We are individuals. We were not to imagine that we were ‘mass-produced in some celestial factory’ (John Stott). God has a distinct purpose for each of His children. May we know what ours is, and, like David, serve God’s purpose in our own generation (Acts 13:36).

By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.

Faith not only has sight (seeing is believing), it also has foresight. Sometimes it gets glimpses of the future. On occasions a person may have more than a glimpse – more like an open window into the future God is preparing for them, or for others (as was the case here).

When God reveals something to you, there may come a time to appropriately speak about it in the presence of others, but great sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is required. However, it is never inappropriate to talk to God about what you believe He is showing you. When, or if, it becomes time to tell someone else, He will impress it on your spirit.

Meanwhile, we do well to be like Mary, and treasure ”up all theses things and” ponder them in our hearts (Luke 2:19)

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Faith sacrifices.

It was one of those moments you don’t forget. It is etched on my memory. I was sitting in a morning Bible study, in the big top at ‘Spring Harvest’, a Christian festival. This was many years ago and I was a young man in my early 20’s. The speaker was talking about Abraham and Isaac. ‘God never wanted Isaac,’ he said. ‘He wanted Abraham; and when He knew He’d got him, He gave Isaac back!’ That resonated with me, and it’s a principle I’ve seen work out in my own experience more than once through the years.

Faith sacrifices, and sometimes has to be willing to sacrifice its very best.

But faith also believes in the God of resurrection, and He has remarkable ways of bringing back from death what we place on the altar. It doesn’t always happen, and, at the front end, we have to sincerely let go of anything God is asking of us, being prepared to sacrifice it all. However, in the purposes of God, ‘Isaacs’ often make a come-back.

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. ¹⁴ Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. ¹⁵ If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. ¹⁶ But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (New Living Translation).

In an article for ‘the Spectator’ entitled: ‘Now I’m 64: my tips for aging’, Julie Burchill quoted the philosopher Camus who said, ‘In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.’ I think many Christians will identify with this, even though they may find themselves in the ‘winter’ season of life.

I clearly remember one Friday, just a few years ago, when I was visiting Studley Royal, a beautiful deer park next to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. Although I don’t normally tend to be this way, on that morning I was for some reason feeling a bit down about getting older, and maybe just a little depressed at the thought of death.

Then I went into your sanctuary, O God… (Psalm 73:17).

We went inside the beautiful church building at Studley and I saw something there that spoke to me of heaven. I can’t remember exactly what it was. I believe it may have been a verses from one of the the psalms. But it brightly illuminated the gloom within, and I left that church with an altered perspective. The ‘invincible summer’ broke through into my wintry thoughts and feelings.

I believe God wants all who trust in Jesus for salvation to know – to know deeply – that there is nothing to fear. Jesus always keeps the ”best” wine until last (John 2:10).

(By the way, it was Albert Camus who said, ”I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live as if there isn’t and die to find there is.” Now there’s a thought!)