Yahweh – Judge of Evil – Refuge for His People - Nahum 1

Nahum is one of the Minor Prophets, meaning he has a shorter message, not a lesser message Nahum, in many ways, is simply the continuation of Jonah’s story. Jonah was sent to Nineveh about 100 years earlier to warn them of God’s judgement, but the king and people of that time repented and God withheld his judgement then, but Nineveh returned to its cruel and barbaric ways, filled with pride in its power, and now God sends Nahum another vision of judgement against Nineveh. Not many of us read Nahum because of his theme of God’s wrath and judgement.   

Nahum is a prophet to the people of Judah after the Assyrians destroyed Israel in the north, scattering the people of Israel through the Assyrian empire to make sure that they couldn’t rise up in rebellion against Assyria. These are what we now call the 10 lost tribes of Israel. Nahum is likely during the time of the wicked king Manasseh or the good king Josiah, along with the prophets Zephaniah and early Jeremiah, sometime between 663 and 612 B.C as Nahum’s vision references the fall of Thebes in Egypt in 663 B.C and Nineveh’s fall in 612. Nahum’s name means “comfort,” and he brings a fierce message that is one of comfort to Judah, while bringing judgment against Israel’s oppressors.

God sends Nahum this vision to remind Judah that he sees Nineveh’s wickedness and will hold them accountable for their evil; God’s judgement from the time of Jonah still stands. John Calvin writes, “God is not to be rashly judged of on account of his delay, when he does not immediately execute His judgments; for he waits for the seasonable opportunity. But, in the meantime there is no reason for us to think that he forgets his office when he suspends punishment, or for a season spares the ungodly.” Peter later reminds his readers, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Yet there does come a time where God will no longer allow evil and wickedness to continue and will hold people to account.

Judah’s been paying tribute for Assyria ever since the time of King Hezekiah. We read in 2 Kings 18, “So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” This tribute only got heavier over the years. Nahum’s vision shows a God who is slow to anger, but also a God who cares for his people and his honour who punishes the guilty, the wicked, and evil.

Miroslav Volf, a Christian theologian from Croatia, used to reject the concept of God's wrath. He thought that the idea of an angry God was barbaric, finding it hard to fit his idea of a God of love. But then his country went through a brutal war. Volf writes, “My last resistance to the idea of God's wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry. Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators' basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them? Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God's wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn't wrathful at the sight of the world's evil. God isn't wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.”

Nahum’s vision reveals that God cares about his people and is their protecter. God will not allow evil empires to stay in power forever. As Judah heard this vision, they would have remembered their time in Egypt and how God led them to freedom and defeated Egypt’s gods. This is a vision of hope for the Jews in Judah. God reveals himself as a jealous God, echoing back to Mount Sinai and the giving of the 10 Commandments, where God tells the people, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

God demands an exclusive relationship with his people, he’s not willing to share us with any other god. Because God’s so committed to his people, he will avenge his people for the evil done against them. Psalm 32:7 captures this hope, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” God has allowed the Assyrians to punish Judah for failing to trust him and honour his, “Although I have afflicted you, Judah, I will afflict you no more. Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.” God allows suffering to come into our lives, but it will be only for a time, and God means for it to draw us back to him.

God has used Assyria to punish his people, however Assyria has punished Judah above and beyond, plotting evil and devising wicked plans. Nahum reminds us that there will be justice from God. This is an uncomfortable God for many people today, a God who gets angry over injustice and holds people and nations to account. The Lord pronounces a three-part judgement and consequences on the Assyrian king leading to a complete and devastating defeat. The king will have no descendants to follow him on the throne, the pagan temples will be destroyed to show the power of Yahweh; and he will be buried in shame. This vision brings good news and hope for Judah.

We often underestimate the power our sin has over us, the strength of the chains that bind us to our sin ways. Our sin can take away our hope, it shapes our image of who we are, telling us lies, telling us Jesus could never forgive us, that his sacrifice isn’t really for us, that we’re not worthy. Slavery to our sin is more powerful than any physical slavery a person can do to us. This is why so many slaves and poor people became followers of Jesus early on, because the salvation Jesus brings is freedom of the heart and mind, reminding us of who we really are as children of God, created in God’s own image! In their slavery to people, the slaves found a refuge in Jesus, a master who loves them so much he’s willing to give up his life so they can experience freedom and hope. Nahum reminds us, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”

Now comes powerful words of hope, “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.” If the first part of this verse seems familiar it’s because Isaiah uses this same image to point to the coming Messiah, to Jesus. When God gives Nahum this image, God’s using the military image of a watchman standing on the heights of a mountainside overlooking the battle, ready to send news back to the city and its people. God’s revealing that the battle is over and the Lord has defeated his enemies, even though there has been those who plotted against him. The people will be free again to celebrate the festivals God gave Israel back at Mount Sinai; festivals that called the people to gather at the Temple, festivals revolving around atonement and forgiveness, God’s providence, and God’s joy in freeing his people from oppression; leading them to freedom. The festivals remind the people of who their God is.

Isaiah uses this same image in 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah’s pointing to Israel’s return from exile in Babylon that still lies in Judah’s future after Assyria; they also point to the coming Messiah, who is Jesus. Jesus delivers us from the oppression of our sin and leads us into the freedom from sin; freedom accomplished through his sacrifice for our sin on the cross. Jesus’ deliverance gives us the freedom to be his people and call others to experience the freedom and deliverance from sin that Jesus offers.

Mark Roberts writes, “The middle section of Isaiah 52 celebrates the coming of God’s salvation to the whole world. Verse 7, using the idiom of “beautiful feet,” rejoices in the “good news” of peace and salvation… the core of the good news announced to Israel: “Your God reigns.” … When he reigns, and only when he reigns, all things are made right. Jesus reiterated the good news of Isaiah 52, but with a stunning twist. His message, in Mark 1 is, “The time promised by God has come at last! . . . The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” In Jesus, God had come to reign on the earth… when we put our faith in Jesus, we begin even now to live in the peace and power of God’s reign. The good news we embrace as Christians is not only that we get to “go to heaven” after we die, but also that we can begin to experience heaven now.” Good news indeed!

How Shall We Live - Hebrews 13

                       

This morning we’re finishing up our series on the letter to the Hebrews. The writer ends with a flurry of last-minute instructions and encouragements for his readers. The chapter begins with an encouragement to keep on loving one another. The word used is “philadelphia,” meaning brotherly love. The Christian faith is a faith built on the foundation of community; being family with God as our father. Pastor Chelsea Harmon pulls together the keys to a strong community found in this chapter: “loving fellow Christians as though they were your own flesh and blood; hospitality for people known and unknown; empathy that leads to care for the prisoner and others in distress; keeping respect for others’ relationships in the community; trusting in God because it keeps the heart protected from greed; learning from the cloud of witnesses; and worshipping God with praises and deeds.” Family takes care of each other.

Building others up and caring for them happens naturally when we lean on God’s promise to “never leave you; never will I forsake you.” When we put a priority on being present in each others’ lives, especially during difficult times, helping others, even if it comes at a cost to ourselves, this reflects who God is; he’s always there and he provides. Dallas Willard noted in his book The Divine Conspiracy that “we often forget what the goal of discipleship is: we really are supposed to live like Jesus. To become Jesus. To be generous and sacrificial like Jesus.” We remember that Jesus came to sacrifice himself in order to reconcile us to God, to bring new life and restoration to all creation, and to point us to his kingdom of justice and mercy where the Holy Spirit equip us to develop fully into who we are as images of God.

God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us, shows us a God who’s invested in us, who’s present, even when we can’t always recognize his presence. Just as God is present in our lives, just as he refuses to give up on us, we’re called to be his image and be committed to one another, loving each other as Paul calls us to in 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” This is a love that reflects God’s relationship with us, a relationship of presence.

The writer of the letter offers a second word of reassurance to his readers, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Fear prevents us from becoming who God is calling us to be as his people, keeping us from completely trusting Jesus and his call to us to walk his way rather than our own way or the way of the world around us. Jesus calls us to trust in his way; in his values and what he teaches, which differ from many of the values and beliefs of our culture. It takes trust and courage to be who he calls us to be as his followers and friends. Here, we’re reminded of another aspect of who the Lord is, he’s our helper, he’s there for us. The word for helper in the Old Testament is “ezer” and God uses it several times, especially in the Psalms such as 54:4 and 30:10, to describe his relationship with Israel as their helper. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to help us as Jesus tells us in John 16, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Then there’s this rhetorical question the writer asks, “What can mere mortals do to me?” This is a question where he’s not expecting an answer, for him the answer is obvious, mere mortals really can’t do anything to us, or at least anything that we should worry about. We might answer, “A whole lot!” They can mock us, reject us, hurt us, persecute us, and even more; but the writer’s point is that the Lord’s with us and he’s our helper, so we shouldn’t be afraid or worry. No matter what’s going on, no matter how hard things are, how much suffering or persecution is going on, the Lord will not abandon us, he’s there going through it with us through the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians work in places that, as the writer describes are “outside the camp,” in jobs and businesses where faith has no influence or place, where the name Jesus is simply another curse word. In these jobs and businesses, there may be ethical challenges you have to navigate, there may workplace culture that tears certain people down while favouring others because they’re the “right” kind of people, there may be hostility because of your faith, maybe even persecution. Jesus warned us that when we follow him, we will be persecuted just as he was persecuted.

When we decide to follow Jesus, we’re not choosing a life of easy success, we’re choosing a life where we’re witnesses to a kingdom rooted in God’s shalom or peace, in justice and righteousness for all. We remember that Jesus’ blood makes us holy by suffering outside the camp, an image of the scapegoat who carries the sin of the people away. Jon Laansma, on the website, Theology of Work, talks about being a follower of Jesus in the workplace, “To follow Christ fully is to follow him to the places where his saving help is desperately needed, but not necessarily welcomed. Doing the work of Jesus’ kingdom entails suffering along with Jesus. The phrase “bearing his disgrace” echoes the faith of Moses, who chose the “disgrace of Christ” over the honor and treasures of Egypt,” as we reflected on a couple of weeks ago in Hebrews 11. “This “disgrace” was the loss of honor and possessions mentioned earlier in the book. Sometimes, sacrificing our possessions, privileges, and status may be the only way we can help others. Yet help­ing others is precisely why God sends us to work “outside the camp” in the first place. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God,” as verse 16 reminds us.

Following Jesus may lead us into times of suffering for Jesus, yet it’s during those times that the Holy Spirit reminds us that the Lord is with us and he’s our helper. The Holy Spirit helps us and guides us with his wisdom when we turn to him. We walk in the world carrying hope, living into the hope we have in Jesus, offering God a sacrifice of praise because we live with a big picture view of the world and time, knowing that Jesus is returning to fully set up his kingdom over all creation; until that time, we live faithfully where we are.

Nancy Matheson Burns, CEO of food distributor Dole & Bailey, describes reconsidering her career choices when she became a Christian. At the time, she was a fish buyer for her company. She spent her days up to her ankles in fish guts, as she describes it, contending with guys blasting her with foul language, surrounded by calendars with pictures of naked women. “I’ve got to get a job doing something holier,” she thought. “This is no place for a Christian.” So, she applied for a job selling advertising for Christian radio stations. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that God put her in the fish guts for a reason. When she read passages such as this one in Hebrews, she noticed God usually kept Christians in difficult places, rather than whisking them away from them. So she decided to try an experiment. She bought a bunch of calendars with decent pictures. She took them on her rounds, tore down the girlie calendars, and put up the decent ones right in front of the guys’ faces. “Now you have something better to look at,” she said, “I hope it helps you have a better day.”

The fish guys began to like her and respect her. Some days she was the only person who treated them with respect. She found she liked them too. She appreciated their work, and she enjoyed supplying her customers with fresh, safe, quality fish. Over time she rose to become CEO, and she turned the company into a workplace where all people are treated with dignity and respect, and leaders are selected and trained for the ability to serve employees, customers, and suppliers. When we trust that we can really depend on the Holy Spirit as our helper, it opens doors to be the presence of Jesus in every day ordinary places where most of life is lived.

The third word of reassurance to us in this chapter is, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow.” This is why reading Scripture is so important, so we can know who Jesus is, seeing how God is always for us and not against us; that even the times when he allows hurt into our lives is all about drawing us back to him again. Grateful living in God’s grace requires intentionality on our part. We’re called to point people to leading generous lives as Hebrews 13 talks about, trusting in Jesus consistent love and presence in our lives. The writer to the Hebrews’ intention is to reveal to us a Jesus who is superior to every creature and human, a Jesus who takes the sin of the world on himself to draw us back into a holy relationship with the Father, a Jesus whom we can trust every moment of every day, no matter the situation, a Jesus who we’re called to follow and imitate so the world will glorify him. This is the journey we’re called to walk together, are you ready?

 

God - A Consuming Fire - Hebrews 12:14-29

I wonder if C.S. Lewis had Hebrews 12 in mind when he told the story of when Mr. and Mrs. Beaver told the children about Aslan the Lion. Lucy responds, “I think I should be quite frightened to meet a lion. Tell me, is he a safe lion?” “Safe?” Mr. Beaver answers. “’Course he’s not safe. But he’s good.” Those who meet Aslan or hear his earth-shaking roar are filled with awe. They know Aslan has the power to hurt them badly. Yet when Lucy and those on the side of good look into Aslan’s eyes, they see a kindness and tenderness that’s fiercely determined to show them love.

God’s holy. He’s pure, right, and just. He’s so against sin and evil, that nothing stained by sin is allowed to come close to him. We know that we have no real hope of ever being able to come close to God the way we are. In Leviticus, God calls us to be holy because he is holy. Nothing that is less than holy can see God, as the writer here reminds us. He offers a few examples of what unholiness looks like: bitterness, sexual immorality, or godless and focused only on what they want right now. The writer to Hebrews is connected to the temple and holiness is part of his day-to-day life and work and he reminds us that holiness is important to everyone who follows Jesus. Lance and Mikenna, this is an important day in your faith journey with Jesus as you have decided that you want to follow Jesus, to walk on his way. Part of following Jesus is becoming holy, so what is being holy then?

Holiness is about being set apart as God’s people. We’re created in the image of God and holiness is about being God’s image. The writer of the letter takes us back to Israel at Mount Sinai after they left Egypt. In the Bible, mountains often were considered significant sacred places where the people would go to meet God and Sinai becomes a huge moment in Israel’s relationship with God. God covers the mountain with a dark cloud and his voice rolls out from the cloud like thunder. Within the cloud flashes lightening and the sound of thunder warns the people to stay back. God tells Moses, “Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.  He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.”

The people are told to make themselves ready to be in God’s presence. It’s no casual thing to be in the presence of God. Israel had just seen God destroy the Egyptian army after opening a path through the Red Sea. This is a God of power and majesty on the top of Mount Sinai. Even Moses is affected by the power and majesty of God, “I am trembling with fear,” he says as he prepares to go up the mountain to meet with God. Moses knows this is a living God who has decided that he’s going to build a relationship with this group of people. Moses realises that he’s nowhere near holy enough to be in the presence of God, but he trusts God’s mercy and grace and heads up the mountain to talk with God. On the mountain, God gives them the Law to show them who he is and who he’s calling his people to be.    

Mountains draw people’s eyes upwards. As our eyes are drawn upwards, they look beyond the top of the mountain and the universe itself is displayed before us. It begins to dawn on us what it means that God is the Creator of everything we see, and much more beyond that. We’re called to look at God through eyes that recognise that God is a royal, powerful, awe-inspiring God. We talked about wonder being part of our faith journey in our Profession of Faith classes. Here at Sinai is a call to worship a God of holiness and majesty. He’s no ordinary God, this is the creator of heaven and earth, the defeater of powerful empires and their gods.

Mount Sinai is time of change and transformation for the people. The people hear God’s voice and are given laws that will shape how they live with God, each other, and the nations around them that also show them who God is. Bryan Whitfield writes about worshipping God with reverence and awe as, “an encounter with God in which God’s people hear God’s voice and are, by the Holy Spirit, transformed. God, after all, accepts us as we are. But God never leaves us as we are.” Profession of Faith recognizes that this is simply another step in following Jesus, another step in becoming who God is calling us to be. Following Jesus as we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is a life-long journey, a journey we call sanctification, a journey of becoming more like Jesus. We walk this journey together as a church family, as part of the family of God.  

Mount Sinai is often associated with fear and trembling, but the writer to the Hebrews doesn’t want to leave us trembling in fear. He takes us from Sinai to Zion. We move from a barren frightening mountaintop in the wilderness to a city on a hill, the heavenly Jerusalem, the place of the living God where the people of God gather. John gives us a wondrous picture of the heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation 21. John writes, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

On two other mountains we meet God in Jesus: The Mount of Transfiguration, where he’s revealed in his holiness as the Son of God in whom God the Father is pleased, and Golgotha, where Jesus takes away our sin by becoming our sin, as he comes before the God of Sinai and the Law. Jesus takes our place and enters the place of judgment in our place. Jesus is the only one who can keep the Law of Sinai; his sacrifice for us allows us to approach the God of Zion now. We’re called to come into the presence of God, to come close as a child draws close to their parent. God is a consuming fire, not to destroy, but to purify us, make us clean so that we will not be destroyed as we come close. God’s consuming fire brings out the image of God in us by burning away the sinful parts of us, like fire help the gold and silver smiths burn away the dross so that the pure silver and gold are left behind. God’s worthy of our praise and we approach him with reverence and healthy awe inspired fear because of his love and commitment to us.

On Mount Zion there’s an awesome awareness of the power of God as thousands of angels worship the Father. God is the great judge, but our presence there is guaranteed because of Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Revelation 4 gives us a picture of the throne room of heaven, an image that echoes Sinai and the theme of worship that flows through the Old Testament and this letter, “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God…. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back…. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

The writer pulls together the different things he’s been talking in his letter, bringing us into the presence of God. Jesus takes away the fear of Sinai as we worship in the throne room on Mount Zion. We come into the presence of God as a child draws close to their parent. God’s a consuming fire; not to destroy, but to purify us, make us clean. God’s worthy of our praise and we approach him in worship with reverence and healthy awe inspired fear because of his great love and absolute commitment to us.

Worship is at the heart of Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, shaped by the mountains of Transfiguration and Golgotha. The Message translation of Romans 12: gives us a picture of what that can look like, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Danny Quanstrom writes, “God’s consuming fire burns up our old selves in order to reveal our new selves as children of God as we begin “to forgive and to take responsibility for the wrongs we may have committed against others.” What is God burning away in you so that your life can truly be a life of worship for Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? 

Faith – A Way of Life - Hebrews 11:1-12:3

            

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been given a deeper picture of who Jesus is and now the writer of the letter encourages us to place our faith in Jesus. He reminds us of what faith is, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see.” Paul, in his letter to Rome, taught that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Yet faith doesn’t always come easily, as John shows in Thomas’ doubts that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus even tells Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” For the writer here, faith is trust in God’s promises and how they shape our lives, so he tells us stories of faithful men and women in the past.

Faith acknowledges that everything is in God’s hands, beginning with the creation of the universe itself. As we saw a few weeks back, universe encompasses all of space and time. Since no one was there to witness creation, it’s a matter of faith that God directed it all through and in Jesus. Faith places great value on all creation and on the gift of life, especially human life. Value comes from the creator so creation and life are precious. In the stories that follow, there are many stories where faith is small; it doesn’t have to be great; it simply needs to be directed towards God. We live in a sceptical age where trust and faith are limited, leading to a culture too often shaped by fear and anger instead of fullness and joy.

The writer reminds us of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, people who lived by faith even when it wasn’t easy. Jesus talks more about crosses and suffering than about easy. Abel’s killed by his brother, Enoch’s taken straight to heaven without dying, while Noah builds a huge boat in the middle of nowhere because God told him to. It took faith to trust that what God told him to do wasn’t craziness.

God tells Abraham to go to a different country; he goes. That’s faith. He lives the rest of his life in tents like a vagabond, a nomad in the Promised Land. It takes faith in God, who’s just beginning to reveal to Abraham who he is; to look to the future with confidence that God will do what he has said he will, even if Abraham never benefits from it, “For Abraham was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Faith helps us to look forward with trust and hope because we know God’s with us. When there are setbacks, and even failures, we trust God and keep looking forward, knowing God’s in control and he’ll use us, though maybe not in the ways we’ve planned. Abraham’s story continues. He has a son with the slave Hagar, but God tells him, “No, Sarah is going to have the baby of the covenant even though she’s barren, showing that it’s all about me, not about you.” Sure enough, a year later, when Abraham’s 100 years old, Isaac is born. Then, years later, God tests Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice Isaac. “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God has said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned,’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. And figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead.” Abraham obeys God, showing his faith.

Faith creates a willingness to take some risks to do what God calls us to do. We can’t see every step of the way ahead of us, but faith gives us the courage to take at least the next step and work at listening and figuring out where God is calling us next, even if we don’t yet know the full costs of following him. Mark Buchanan describes these stories of faith as calling us to “live boldly, joyfully, dangerously, dying to self yet fully alive. Each of those lived for something that nothing on earth could provide. For all of them, the world was not enough. Only heaven held out that prospect.” James says, “I will show you my faith by what I do” and points to Abraham as an example of how faith and action work together; our actions make our faith complete.

Moses chooses Israel over Egypt; to be identified with slaves. Faith aligns ourselves with God, trusting that God’s rewards and blessings are greater than what the world offers. The writer remembers the Passover; how it took faith for the Israelites to believe that blood on their door frames will save them from God’s anger, to be ready to leave their masters and follow Moses. It takes faith to walk between walls of water through the Red Sea while being chased by Pharaoh’s armies, trusting that God will protect them. When Israel finally makes it into the Promised Land, their first battle is fought with faith, trusting in the Lord to defeat Jericho using trumpets instead of weapons.

Faith is a community thing. This offers us greater strength and more abilities to draw on as we encourage each other and build each other up. As people of faith, we remind each other that God is a God of justice and mercy. Jesus brings justice and grace. Jesus calls us to obedience and the Spirit showers us with blessings. How does our faith in God’s promises and in Jesus lead us into trusting living in Jesus’ way? In the lists of people and stories, we see people who mess up, people who even fail sometimes; people who have times of weaknesses and doubt and keep trusting God’s promises. These are stories of pain, suffering, and sacrifice and yet their faith and trust in God remain. They trust that God has a long-term plan in place and they have a role to play in it, even if they never see the benefits themselves.

We’ve gotten out of the habit of remembering and telling the stories of the heroes of faith. Because of that, we find it difficult to make the sacrifices Jesus calls us to make. We miss out on a great source of strength, that the Lord is with us. Many of us no longer remember people like Rev. Albertus van Raalte, Johanna Veenstra, William Carey, and others in church history who stepped out in faith, trusting completely in God, looking to the future, not the right now. Faith is something we learn by hearing the stories of others who lived by faith. We find meaning and hope as we work for God’s kingdom for our children and grandchildren, not ourselves.

I’ve been asked by those who doubt Christianity how I can believe in God. I tell them stories of some of the great thinkers in history and today; how they were willing to suffer for what they believed. Many of these great thinkers and doers never sought their own good, but taught and fought to build strong communities based on the foundation of Jesus’ teaching and life. I share how the teachings of Jesus compare to other faiths, including those faiths rooted in science, rationality, philosophy, humanism and show how Jesus’ way builds stronger and healthier lives, even if it comes with suffering. I tell them I believe Jesus’ way is a greater way, trusting his call to live with grace and love to all people, even loving those I consider enemies, believing that God truly does not want anyone to be lost. This is why sharing the gospel story is so important! This means studying the culture with a mind open to learning, and a heart open to loving our neighbours and our enemies.

Erik Heen gives us a picture of a lived out faith, “What if God’s way of speaking in Christ crucified and risen does not lead to the stoning of animals (and people) who are a threat to God holy purity, but is rather “proof” (11:1) of the legitimate faith  in a God of justice who hears the long suffering cries of innocent blood shed (11:4), in a God of tender-hearted compassion toward mothers whose children who die too young (11:35),  in a God of hospitality to homeless wanderers in search of hope and consolation (11:9), in a God of favor to those bound to a life of humiliating shame (11:31)? What if the Word that God speaks from the cross is such that it is truly heard only when it responds to human need? What if God’s Word simply falls silent when all it is perceived to contain is the threat of holy, transcendent judgment upon all that is impure, unholy, and profane?” Hebrews 11 tells us of people living in hope, living forward, trusting in the promises of God.

In the stories of the heroes of faith, we hear and see God bringing the message of hope. We hear the stories of faith and our own faith is strengthened. The good news of Jesus is best shared as the great story of the world, speaking into the stories of humanity. How is the gospel story intertwined with your story, how is the Holy Spirit speaking to you, leading you, guiding you? Are you being called to go into missions, or work for a non-profit, or being open to how the Spirit is using you in your business or place of work, or school? Are you called to be more open about talking about Jesus, are you being called to focus less on your own wants and more on supporting and building up a local mission instead?

Are you willing to take hard steps of faith, willing to trust God when it’s not always completely clear on what exactly God is calling us to do or be? Are you willing to live sacrificially for Jesus? Faith is a way of life. We’re part of the cloud of witnesses, walking Jesus’ path in faith, and even if it leads to sacrifice or suffering; let’s embrace that life.