Our Journey of Faith series takes an interesting turn on the path this week as we look into the life of Moses. We need to be reminded that the book of Hebrews is written to a group of Christians facing opposition and even persecution for their faith in Christ. Moses, and his parents are commended for their faith in times of opposition, and even though it was centuries before the life of Christ, Moses looked to the promised Messiah in faith. It was that faith in the promise of God that caused Moses to despise all the things he could have had from living in the Egyptian palace, seeing a greater value in what God was offering him.

We will do everything in life motivated by one of two things: Love or Fear. The love that believers in God show is an expression of their faith in God to provide in the now, and to fulfil the future promises he makes to us. In Exodus 1 & 2 we see the love for God that the enslaved Israelites had and that Moses himself had, which led them to a vibrant and bold faith in God to do only what God can do. While they had a lot of reasons to live with fear, they chose not to because they loved God and trusted him to meet their needs. That is the kind of faith we all need to have as we walk life’s journey. Join me this Sunday as we see Faith that Dispels Fear.

This Sunday the Journey of Faith takes us to the life of Joseph, and in particular the concluding comments on his life in Genesis 50. Hebrews 11 devotes only one verse, Verse 22, to the rather lengthy record of his life in the book of Genesis, and that one verse references the last two things that are said about him. Joseph stands alone in the account of the patriarchs of Israel in that he lived his entire life above reproach. Joseph is actually considered by many to be a type of Jesus in the Old Testament because he is one of the few people that nothing negative is recorded about him. Joseph was not perfect like Christ but there are many comparisons between his life and the life of Jesus in the New Testament.
Joseph lived with what I would call a growing faith in that he always lived with faith, but we see that faith grow tremendously throughout the ups and downs of his life. What was Joseph’s secret to experiencing a growing faith? It is really quite simple: Joseph knew what his place was in relation to the place of God in his life. Join me this Sunday as we trace some of the places where we see Joseph’s faith grow and perhaps see the way for our faith to grow through the ups and downs of our lives.

Sometimes life can be exhausting! Life has so many demands and expectations to be met that sometimes there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to do them all. Part of the reason this happens to us is because we seek the meaning and significance of life in those things that we can do in our own strength. When we do that, we will be exhausted not only physically but we will become jaded spiritually. The Journey of Faith will bring us true rest. First rest spiritually, which will lead us to finding rest in all the other areas of life.
This week we look at the life of Jacob who was commended for his faith, even though he lived a good portion of his life in self-sufficiency and seeking significance apart from God. Jacob is another example of, “it’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters.” Hebrews 11:21 reminds us that toward the end of his life, Jacob rested on his staff and worshiped God. That means he learned to rest on God to provide, stopping his self-efforts and finding his significance in God alone. Join me this Sunday as we see how the journey of faith can bring you true rest.

As we continue through the Hall of Fame of Faith this Sunday, we are looking at the life of Isaac, the son of Abraham and father of Jacob. Isaac is one of those people that flies under the radar. There is not a lot written about him compared to others in the Hall of Fame and he seems like an inconsequential figure, until you really start to look at his life.
The writer of Hebrews devotes one short sentence to Isaac that commends him for blessing his two sons for their future. Isaac was not a passive person, nor was his life inconsequential. Isaac was a strong-willed person who resisted God in the pursuit for the things he really wanted in life – things that were contrary to God’s revealed will. At the end of his life Isaac finally repented of his determined rebellion and acted in faith. Isaac is a classic example of “it’s not about how you start in life, it’s about how you finish.” While I don’t recommend waiting until the end to surrender to God’s revealed will (it caused a lot of problems for Isaac), it is never too late to make a fresh start with God. In an act of faith, repent to trust God in a deeper way that leads to your growth. Join me this Sunday as we gain valuable life lessons from Isaac.