Mountain Movers

One of the most amazing chapters of the Bible is Hebrews 11. It is filled with examples of ordinary people who saw their dreams fulfilled beyond their wildest imaginations when they performed faith-filled services for God. Each one of them has left a legacy that has impacted millions of people throughout thousands of years. More than that, what they have accomplished will last throughout eternity. These are heroes and heroines with powerful stories that have had spots reserved for them in the greatest book ever written. All of these people have one thing in common- all of what they've accomplished was through faith because they wanted to please God.

There are many reasons why I have decided to write a book on Hebrews 11. One reason is because those written about in the chapter deserve to have their stories told. In Hebrews 11:32ff, the author mentions, "there isn't enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets." Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away.

The author whets our appetite for the amazing things that these people did. But for the sake of brevity, he only gave his audience a brief glimpse into their remarkable lives. While he didn't have time to go into details about their impressive feats, I do. And I will. I don't want to merely retell their stories. I want to investigate deeper into what spurred each one of these titans to endure the adversity, overcome the obstacles, and ultimately triumph powerfully for God. I will also for the various lessons that God teaches us through this chapter and how we can apply them to our lives.

Many of the characters mentioned in Hebrews 11 have entire Bible books written about them. I will use the verses that mention these particular heroes as a springboard for discussion into their lives.

Faith is such a widely encompassing topic that I could easily write a thousand pages on it. When looking at the various examples of faith, it is important to tackle two questions before proceeding. One is, what relevance does this particular chapter have for our lives? The other one is, how should we respond to what we read?

As for the relevance of this chapter for our lives, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16ff that, "everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God's Servants to do all kinds of good deeds." For those who don't claim to be followers of Christ, Hebrews 11 is just a collection of interesting stories. However, for those who are disciples of Jesus, it is much more. Hebrews 11 (along with all of the other chapters of the Bible) is absolutely useful for our lives to train us in everything we do. What we read are not merely stories to encourage us-- they are the stepping stones to further adventures of faith that we will experience in our lives.

As far as how we should respond to what we read in Hebrews 11, it is interesting how the author, through God's inspiration, ends the chapter: "All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us." This passage teaches us several things. First, these people pleased God with their acts of faith, yet they went through their whole lives missing something that we have: the promise of Jesus. It's amazing to realize that these people did such incredible things without knowing anything about Jesus. How much more can we do knowing that if we are the baptized followers of Christ we have the Holy Spirit working powerfully through us, as well as the examples of Jesus to refer to. Having both is encouraging and convicting!

God didn't want these heroes of faith to reach their goal of faith without us. In fact, in the NIV, it states that "only together with us would they be made perfect." Who is the "us" referring to? Certainly to the Hebrew Christians at the time, but also to disciples in general. The Hebrew Christians were struggling with faithlessness at the time. It's almost unthinkable that the incredible characters of faith need us "ordinary Christians" to reach the goal of their faith.

Of course, faith alone will not change our lives. In Galatians 5:6, it states that, "the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." And "...if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing" Paul states in 1 Corinthians 13:2. Faith and love work hand in hand. In fact, faith cannot be true faith without the rest of the fruits of the Spirit present.

It is my prayer that reading this book will help you grow to a higher level of faith than you've ever experienced as you reflect upon the great examples portrayed in the Bible. I hope that you will be spurred to develop deeper convictions of faith and inspired to set an example for those around you. Come with me inside the Scriptures and become a part of the lives of the men and women of faith who have changed the lives of those around them both in their lifetimes and for thousands of years afterwards. Let's allow God's powerful Word to transform our lives in ways we could never have imagined!