In my last blog titled "Birth Pains" I wrote to encourage all of you to see the earth-shaking events of today as the in-breaking Kingdom of God. My encouragement is meant to keep building up our faith, so that we can endure to the "end" as Yeshua exhorts us to do. But I was challenged when my friend Judy wrote and said, "Go to Hebrews 11 and dig a little deeper." I am never one to turn away from a challenge! So, I've been pondering the words of Hebrews 11 for several days - and I have heard the Spirit ask me, "What is required for your faith to be effective?"
Good question! Hebrews 11 is the great "Hall of Faith" chapter, recalling for us all the men and women of great faith in the Bible, and how they overcame horrendous persecution and trials by their unwavering faith. But what can we really glean from this that will make our faith as enduring and effective as theirs was?
Here is what I found as I studied this chapter:
Hebrews 11:6: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
Hebrews 11:8: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Hebrews 11:11: "By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age - and Sarah herself was barren - was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise."
What does it take to make our faith enduring and effective, as we too approach a time of tribulation and persecution?
1. Belief
2. Obedience
We are told in verse 6 that first we must believe that God exists. That is His very Name - YHVH - which means, I AM! Then we are told that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him, which is another way of saying that He desires His creation to be in relationship with Him, learning to know His Voice. Then we are told in verse 8 that we must be obedient to do what He tells us, even if it makes no sense to us. And finally, in verse 11 we are reminded that Abraham's faith was made complete because he believed the promise.
The way I see it, belief = Spirit because we are only able to believe by faith, through the power of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit); and obedience = Truth because Torah is Truth, and when we are obedient to Torah, we are keeping the faith. So, if this is true, and we have both the Spirit (belief) and Truth (obedience), then we are the worshipers Yeshua said the Father is seeking (John 4:23). And as true, obedient worshipers of YHVH, the Holy One of Israel, we join together with Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the ancient ones of faith, in believing the promise.
What promise? The promise of the Covenant God made with Abraham; the promise that all people on earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3), because through his seed would come the Messiah. And in the conclusion of Hebrews 11, vss 39-40, we are told, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
What? Abraham and Moses are not made perfect until you and I endure to the end?! No. To be sure, Abraham and Moses and many others from the Tanakh had their own encounters with the living Messiah Yeshua! And the redemptive, atoning work of the Cross reaches both backward and forward in time to keep all those who believed in YHVH. So what does this verse mean? I believe it means that our faith (belief + obedience) in the coming days of terrible tribulation, combined with their faith in past days of tribulation, will reveal the PROMISE in the fullness of His Glory! Messiah will return to establish His earthly kingdom, and all things will finally be restored - all 12 tribes reunited - Ephraim and Judah as one stick in the Father's hand! "I will make them one nation in the Land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one King over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms." (Ezekiel 37:22).
We who have the testimony of Yeshua - and keep His commands - will overcome. Our solid belief in the atoning blood of our Messiah is the "better plan" that comes together with the unprecedented obedience of those who have gone before us.
Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!
