The Just Shall Live By Faith

It is very exciting and encouraging reading through Hebrews 10 and 11 about the saints of God living by faith. God works miracles in the lives of His saints as they live in obedience to His will. We read that by faith Noah built an ark and saved his house, that Abraham sojourned and God multiplied his seed as the sand of the sea, that Moses forsook the pleasures of Egypt and lead the Nation of Israel into Canaan land, and that the walls of Jericho fell down because Joshua trusted God and obeyed His command. But all the stories of people living by faith do not end this way. There are those who believed in the promises of God just as much as Abraham did but their story turned out different. There are saints of God who forsook the pleasures of this world, not to lead a nation to victory, but to live a life of poverty and obscurity. These are the real heroes of faith, those who followed God no matter how bad the outcome. They were willing to follow Christ straight into the valley of death. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:36, “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned they were sawn asunder, were tempted were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented”. In the eyes of the world and sadly many Christians, these people missed the will of God and were definitely not living by faith. Although it is hard for us to comprehend, the saints in Hebrews 11:36-37 had just as much faith in the Word of God as the men and women mentioned the verses 1-34.

I don’t claim to know why God would deliver Peter from prison and then allow others to be sawn asunder. I can’t explain why God would allow some women to receive their dead raised to life while some women had to receive their dead. To say that the group delivered from death and prison had a greater faith in God than those who perished would be in direct contradiction to the Scriptures. There is no way that we with our finite understanding can comprehend God’s infinite wisdom. We simply have to trust Him. We must trust Him because “without faith it is impossible to please him”. It takes faith to say “God knows best” at the same time that the fire that will consume your body is being kindled at your feet. It takes a measureless amount of faith to say “I will still go with God” while burying a loved one who died for the cause of Christ. No, we may not be able to explain all that God may put us through but we are not expected to understand or give an explanation. We are called to live by faith however, and often times the darker the trial and the deeper the valley, the more real our faith becomes, and the sweeter our God becomes.

No one likes trials. No one especially wants to end up like the “and others” mentioned in the ending part of Hebrews 11 with the trials of cruel mockings and being sawn asunder. But we read in Hebrews 11:38 that the world was not worthy of these great saints. These people’s faith was so great that no matter how dark things looked and no matter how bad things got, they were going to remain faithful to God and to His Word. They knew that God’s faithfulness was not dependent on the outcome of His will.

Key Components to a Successful Ministry

Often times people want large churches with many facets of ministry without any dedication or involvement in the work. There is no secret formula for preachers to adopt that will turn their ministry into a success. There are no magical steps that, if followed, will turn an outreach into a global program; but there are two major components that must be applied to any ministry if it is to be effective in reaching souls.

First of all, it is vital that a ministry be operated by a person who has a vision. The only way the work of God can go anywhere is if there is a Christian who has a vision of where it is going. A person would be crazy if he or she sat behind the wheel of a car and just started driving hoping to arrive at a particular destination without any foresight or planning on how to get there. The same works for the ministry. God has given us a job to do. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” This is the vision that God’s people are to have. Although there may be some specific visions that God gives to some people, such as in the area of teaching young children in Sunday School and having the vision of seeing those kids grow up learning about God, or it could be something in the area of printing and a person in that ministry having the vision of printing tracts to see people get saved. The example could even be given of a missionary going out on the field with the vision of establishing churches. Regardless of the ministry, if it is a Biblical ministry, it must be guided by a vision. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” If a ministry is to be successful, those involved in serving must have a vision.

Secondly, it is vital that a ministry be operated by a person who has a burden. This burden can be applied in two areas. First of all those laboring in the work of God need to have a burden for the specific area that they are serving in. It would be destructive to the work of God to enlist in the work those who have no burden or concern about the success of the ministry. When a Pastor needs someone to fill a particular position at the church he does not look for someone who is indifferent towards the ministry of the church. The pastor does not look for a person to teach Sunday school that has no burden over training people from the Word of God. A ministry cannot be successful if the people involved in the work are not burdened over the work. Additionally, those laboring in the work of God need to have a burden over souls. This whole thing is about souls. The “Great Commission” is about the evangelization and discipleship of souls. Paul said that he had become a debtor to the Greeks, Barbarians, and to the wise and unwise. Paul believed that he owed it to a particular group of people to preach to them Jesus. Until those involved in God’s work see that they are debtor to those that God has placed them over, then they will not be successful in their ministry.

God’s people have a work to do. God has empowered us to do it. If God’s people are unsuccessful in accomplishing God’s work, it is not God’s fault. If a ministry is not operated by people who have a vision for the facet of the ministry that they are laboring in or if a ministry is operated by people with no vision and no burden for souls, then the work of God will be crippled from the very foundation.