“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:8,9. This second chapter of this study will be centered upon two prominent figures that have decorated world history and have become champions of “faith at work” whose lives we are compelled to admire and even emulate. I have spoken publicly in sermons a number of times, that faith cannot exist upon nothing. It cannot produce anything of value from the edge of “nothingness.”

 Indeed! God spoke from the edge of nothingness and said: “Let there be” and there was. The difference in this case is that God sent his word into the deep dark void of eternity and creation took form and shape, and in fact, all that we see, enjoy and study came out God himself. Thus, we read: “For of him (or out of him) are all things, and through him, and to him (or back into him) are all things to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11:36. So, we can safely conclude that there is no emptiness in God, for he fills all in all.

 We are going to showcase two men: Namely, Abraham and Moses. We will scrutinize their normal life style from their humble beginnings to becoming stalwarts of faith and righteousness. In the case of Abraham, he was a native of Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) and it is believed that Abraham was well off and was a part of the local government. He was so wealthy, that on his journey in obedience to God’s call upon his life, his wealth combined with that of his nephew Lot, made it impossible for the land to accommodate both. “And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents, and the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together.” Genesis 13:5,6. We now turn the spotlight upon the man called Moses and see him at his peak or prime in Egypt.

 Listen to the profile of this man in Egypt. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” Acts 7:22.From our vantage point concerning Moses, there is little or no reason for him to listen or obey anything God would later say to him. He was an full bloom, at the pinnacle and prime of his life. At this point, when he rides into the palace compound soldiers stand at attention. Guards rush forward in obedience to his command. Let us not take it lightly when the bible said that Moses was mighty in words and in deeds.” However, later on he told God that he could not speak.

The life of Moses was spread out over three distinct period of 40 years each. He spent the first 40 years learning the Egyptians and became well learned in all aspects of Egyptian life and culture. As a fugitive from justice, he spent another forty years at the backside of the desert, undoing and unlearning all aspects that pertained to Egypt. When he told God that he could not speak, he was not lying or looking for excuses. By this time, he was emptied of all that pertained to Egypt. At eighty, he returned to Egypt to stand before the Pharoah saying, “Thus saith the Lord God, let my people go.” He spent the next 40 years leading the people towards the promised land. He died at a hundred and twenty years old, and even at that age, he was full of strength and vigor and did not need to wear glasses.

 But, by taking an overall view of this mighty man in Egypt, the question becomes: At what point in time, and under what set of circumstances, did Moses go from being a mighty man in Egypt, to the great leader, raised up by God to free the Israelite slaves? Is there any record of God meeting with Moses in a dream, or vision, or by angels to let him know that God had chosen him for a specific work? The legendary story is that one day Moses came across an Egyptian fighting with an Israelite, at which point he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. For fear of being found out, he ran to the desert as a fugitive. But so far, there is no information of how he came to recognize God’s call upon his life. Let us take a closer look into the deep workings of the heart of Moses as outlined in the Book of Faith. As can be noted from his early contact with a fighting Egyptian that he killed and hid in the sand, little, or no expansive narrative is offered of those days and those events.

 To look into the very heart of Moses, we have to take a stroll along the Gallery of Faith and linger at the exhibition featured for Moses. This important stop will bring us into the very heart of Moses, thus, allowing us to walk with him in his early days in Egypt. Let us begin at the beginning of the baby Moses. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, AS SEEING HIM WHO IS INVISIBLE.” Hebrews 11:23-25,27.

 But we are faced with a big problem in patting the correct pieces in this story where they rightly belong. The original account of the early days of Moses as a mighty man in Egypt does not allude to any sense of a Divine Call upon his life. From our vantage point in seeing the big picture concerning this man, from him being a mighty man, learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, mighty in words and in deeds, we cannot imagine where abouts in his inner being he had connections with the God of the Hebrews. But taking into consideration the account we just read above, Moses must have lived with a very deep conviction within himself, of a power that tugged at his heart, that seem to pull him in paths unknown to him.

Many times, we go about our daily lives, doing what everyone else does, and in many cases, with little or no interruption from the Divine. For many of us, it is only after we have lived for many years, and looking over the path we took in retrospect and are left in total amazement when we say: “Look where He brought me from.” After reading the account of the man Moses in Hebrews 11, we can reasonably assume that all through his early days as a prince in Egypt, he must have been aware of an unseen hand guiding his path. He must have lived with the sense of a higher calling upon his life. He must have constantly, or from time to time, been aware of an unseen hand that was guiding his life, and an inner urge seemed to tug at his heart from day to day.

 Among the glitter, pomp and legacy of Egyptian life, Moses must have always been conscious of another voice that seemed to speak from within. Like a caged eagle who always keeps his eyes up toward the blue sky where his home is, among the rocks, there must have been another voice that spoke within, with cords that tug at his heart, and seemed to draw him into paths he did not know and for reasons he could not discern or explain. Obviously, it took a murder to send Moses on the run as a fugitive that would culminate into him being at the backside of the desert for forty years. It should be understood by this and similar circumstances that at times, what seem to unravel our world and turn our world upside down, only serve to shape and mold the perfect vessel that God intended for us in the first place.

 Deep within and even under the vesture of that mighty man in Egypt, God knew that he possessed qualities that would go well in the hands of the Almighty. (Because it was God who placed within the man the wherewithal to do God’s bidden to begin with.) When we take the cover off the Egyptian façade of the original Moses, we discover a different person all together. “Now the man Moses, was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Numbers 12:3. That is saying a mouth full. He came to the fore and spoke this prophetic word: “For the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken.” Deuteronomy 18:15. As it pertains to faith, let us lean more distinctly upon the word of scripture.

 “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae ; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets. WHO THROUGH FAITH subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.” Hebrews 11:32-35. The point I like to raise and emphasize, is that all of these people listed, and the abundant numbers over time, not listed here, were ordinary people, going about their daily life in the fashion and circumstances known to them. They did not seek to excel beyond the ordinary, to mark personal spots in history.

We just read that some women effused deliverance, so that they might obtain a better resurrection. Perhaps, while the masses understood the concept of a general resurrection, some women believed that “a better resurrection” was obtainable to them who could believe to that end. To write the whole story of Abraham would need a large amount of time, space and material. So we will offer mostly the highlights that tie in with the New Testament narrative of the same stories. We begin the story of Abram that happened in about the year B.C.1913. Abraham had just left his hometown along with Lot, his father, his wife and great wealth. The biblical narrative said: “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together.” Genesis 13:2-6.

 About 23 years after the separation from Lot, the Lord appeared to Abram (he was now 99 years old.) In this consequential meeting, God brought some good news to Abram. He said: “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be called Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come of thee.” Genesis 17: 1-6. It was during this personal encounter did God introduced the concept of circumcision. According to the biblical narrative, God appeared to Abraham in personal fashion seven times. These appearances are called theophanes or bodily appearances. In about the year B.C.1898, God appeared to Abraham in the lanes of Mamre; as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground. We’ll paraphrase mush of the story, hence, to save space and time.

 Abraham suggested that he would have a kid ready, have his servants bake a cake for his guests to refresh themselves and be rested for the rest of their journey. During the meal, they asked: “Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. (She ceased to have her monthly cycles the required process in child-bearing.) These “parents to-be” were now approaching 90 and 100 years of age. We will see Paul’s view of this very matter. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:6,7. The statement that grabs

Me totally is this: “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised he was able to perform.” Romans 4:19, 21. These stalwarts of faith left behind a blazing trail that cemented their exploits as it were, in the sands of time. But as long as we have the written words of scripture that showcase their acts which was their actual “life-style” their testimony endures through ensuing years, and we have their acts of faith to act as our bastion and rampart of our faith. Yet, we can ask, and wonder even in our bible studies if their witness to faith has been diminished in any way.

The scriptures have provided for us an opening for us to take a stroll through the realm of the unseen. From that vantage point, we are given an update regarding these mighty people of faith. We will notice that in spite of the valor and determined faith that they possessed and displayed, they did not inherit the grandeur and excellent rewards that heaven had promised. Thus, we read: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39,40.

 Having said that, we are exhorted to take a step farther in our study, in a practical way. “Wherefore (or because of the witnesses shown in the previous chapter) seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1. This, in itself, would seem to project before us a required effort to arrive at what seems to be a daunting task: so let us bring the reality to whare we are standing right now—in this our day. In the forthcoming biblical texts, we are brought completely to reality itself, which applies to us in the present tense. It is important for us to grasp this truth, because the Church has willingly put so many biblical truths in the far-off future.

 Here, we read: “But ye are come to mount Sion, and unto the city of the Living God (The same city that John saw coming down to earth, out of heaven) the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24. These scriptures have brought to our very fingertips the truth concerning those champions of faith, who turned the world upside down. By the same token, and by applying the same scriptures in our study, we see clearly that those children of God, who served in whatever capacity, but left the scene and sad hearts behind, have joined the multitudes on Mount Sion and the general Assembly and Church of the first born written in heaven, to the spirits of just-men made perfect (or being made perfect.)

 As we take our place in this grand company of angels, departed saints, we are joined by Christ the Judge of all. When we link these truths with the closing remarks in Hebrews 11:39,40; we see that nothing is lost, and not one of God’s faithful son or daughter will be “shortchanged” or robbed when God shall reward his saints. I am deeply committed to teaching the present realities explicitly outlined in Hebrews 12:22-24. It is easy for us to lose or miss the mark by reason of “default” on our part. This means that our victory and testimony of us being overcomers can be lost because of our failure to complete the task and claim the prize. Think of being in a worship service and the choir is singing in harmony “We are marching to Zion, the beautiful city of God.” Soon, the preacher announces” Ladies and Gentlemen; here are some good news. “We are presently at mount Zion the city of the living God.” No sweat! No struggles! Glory to God in the highest!

Royce O. Kennedy