Scripture to Read: Hebrews 11:7-16
God begins to lay before us, and of course,
He put this before the Jewish Christians that this letter
was first written to, the saints of old who walked by faith
in the Old Testament. God reminds us of Noah; because of
Noah’s reverence for God and his faith in God, Noah prepared
the ark for the salvation of himself and his family.
Noah put his faith into action by obeying God and building
the ark. Because of Noah’s faith being put into action
Noah became an heir of God’s righteousness. Then God
reminds us of Abraham (Genesis 22:1-10), who God called
to move to a place Abraham had never been before.
God had told Abraham that He would give him this land
and that his descendants would be heirs to this land as
well. We must not miss in Hebrews 11:10, the reason why
Abraham obeyed God. We read that Abraham was looking
forward to his heavenly home, “whose architect and
builder is God.” We also learned about Sarah trusting God
for a child even though she was way beyond the years of
bearing children, and that Abraham was considered, in
Hebrews 11:12, “as good as dead” but that God gave him
descendants too numerous to count. What is incredibly
humbling is that all of these saints died, never experiencing
the promise of Christ. These saints of old desired a
heavenly city, and because of their faith in God’s promise,
“God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has
prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16)
Challenge & Application
1. We have God’s promises through His Word and we
also know the fullness of all Christ has done for us!
So, how are you living out your faith in comparison to
the saints of old who only had the promise of Christ’s
coming?
2. Who can you share your faith with this week and when
will you share your faith with them?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!