Heroes of the bible
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Growing up I liked cartoons and superheroes. My friends and I would play for hours pretending to be a superhero. Of course we all had our favourite. Spiderman was always a popular choice, I mean how cool is that you take something most people fear, getting bit by a spider, and you make that the origins of you powers.
Really though who hasn’t dreamed of having super strength or super speed like my man The Flash. Another great story. Struck by lightning now super fast. Fast as the speed of light, faster even.
Then there is the quintessential superhero Superman himself. I mean what power didn’t this guy have. Strength, flight or high jumping, x-ray vision, heat vision, bulletproof. Just avoid the Kryptonite.
Of course with anything this popular there is money to be made so rivalries developed between Marvel and DC Comics. But one thing is certain whether you prefer Batman or Ironman, or whether you are a Superman or Captain America fan, one thing is for sure there are lots of different heroes out there and of all the heroes there is probably one out there that you would like.
As you may have guessed I want to talk to you about superheroes today. There are lots of things that make a hero. For example a longing for Justice to see the innocent protected and the guilty punished. You also need people who put the well being of others ahead of their own.
With that said, We have all probably wondered what it would be like to be a hero, to be the one who saved the day. Running toward what other run from, Maybe without the stupid costumes. I mean who thought it was a good idea to put Superman’s underwear outside his pants.
I regress What if I told you each and every one of you has the potential to be a superhero.
Superhero
Superhero
No this is not a campaign to get volunteer firefighters, truly heroes in our community though. Nor is this an attempt to build a league of vigilantes, although that would be cool, probably not the best use of my influence, nor legal.
No I am referring to a spiritual superhero.
What do I mean. Earlier I mentioned Marvel and DC comics. Well both of there franchisees created a fictional universes filled with superheroes then they had these superheroes join forces within their respected universes.
Marvel created a team of Superheroes that called themselves the Avengers. And DC had what they called the Justice League.
What of I told you that the bible is also full of superheroes. In fact in we are given a list of some of these heroes. Heroes of the faith if you will.
Today I want to look at this list of heroes and try to answer the question...
What does it take to be a Superhero for God?
What does it take to be a Superhero for God?
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.
And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”
Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.
It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.
It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.
By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions,
quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.
Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.
Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.
They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.
For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
What does it take to be a Superhero for God?
What does it take to be a Superhero for God?
Faith
Faith
Me: I believe I told you the story of when I played in a band and we were in Dartmouth… tell story… In this story it was by faith that I laid out my fleece so to speak, but it was by Faith that the speaker heard from God and spoke into my life. In this story the speaker acted as a hero for me, he saved the day. Rightly so you might say no God was the hero, and you would be right, but God choose to work through the speaker who by faith was obedient thus he became for me a hero of faith.
We: When we exercise faith and God works through us we have seen people healed, provisions met, cars started, ask me about that one some time if you haven’t heard that story. Some heroes have been able to read minds, to know details about things they were not there to witness, and so much more. Doesn’t that sound like superheroes to you?
God: This whole chapter is dedicated to remembering the amazing things that these heroes of the faith did, or accomplished and how it was all by faith. When God parted the red sea he didn’t use Aquaman, he is a fictional character. No when God parted the red sea He used Moses a hero of the faith who was obedient to do exactly what he was asked.
You: likewise by faith you have the ability to do, witness and be apart of supernatural events. Be it a divine appointment, praying and seeing the sick healed, speaking truth at just the right time, feeding the hungry, or really a multitude of things. But you have to have faith.
We: We may not be millionaires with a bat-cave, but we serve a God who has filled us with His Spirit through whom we can change the world, at least for some. There is no greater power in all creation than the power of God, and He chooses to work through us. Meaning we have the potential to be Superheroes if we just have Faith.
Next Step: With great power comes great responsability
We are responsible to use the gifts and power God has given us to lead people to Christ, because only through Jesus can people be saved!!!
Over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at the stories of some of these Heroes of the faith and seeing what we can learn from them.
So are you ready to get your superhero on?