Heroes of the faith ... now and then

"It's just enough to be strong

In the broken places, in the broken places

It's just enough to be strong

Should the world rely on faith tonight"

Jars of Clay, 'Faith Enough', 2003

We just finished a series at CITV called 'Heroes of The Faith', from Hebrews 11. I have previously heard part of this series at a weekend away in 2010, and it resonated with me then also, so much so that I had already drafted most of another blog entry where it was mentioned. Today though, I thought I might reflect briefly, through my notes (because it has become exceedingly important to maintain notes - God put it on my heart to do this last year and I can really see the blessing now!), on how I saw its message and application between the two occasions:

- The idea of the heart being an 'idol factory' stood out to me originally in the sermon on Abraham sacrificing Isaac (Isaac being a kind of idol to Abraham). I remember clearly thinking that work was my Isaac and that I had to run away from it. This time around, the idea of understanding God's tests, and that we need to see that tests have arrived when obeying God feels foolish or that it will not bring blessing, was more obvious. I have maintained the same job. God seems to have granted me some abilities to not see work as something worth idolising or being a slave to, but a test for my own good where I can truly demonstrate my allegiance. I also remember feeling this time that consumerism may now be more an idol to me, something I have expressed elsewhere recently in this blog.

- Originally I missed both the sermon on Noah and the closing sermon, but I heard the whole series this time. It was really concise yet thorough on what faith is, how that faith can last, and how we can also be a hero of the faith ('a faith that doesn't need success is the ultimate success'). In 2o10 I have noted that faith is a choice and that its sincerity is rewarded, but I may not have grasped the simple fact that it is reasonable and starts from our thoughts.

On a side note, several of the slides in this series were titled 'We Can Be Heroes', which reminded me of the Chris Lilley series of the same title. It was called a mockumentary because that was exactly its purpose - it was mocking us and what we deem heroic/significant in the lives of ourselves and others - and it was pretty funny! But should we really be laughing when as sinners it's not really so far fetched??

My sincere thanks go out to the minister whom God directed to so carefully put together this series so it can be used for my instruction, both as it has been and as it will continue.