Rejecting Faith (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Contents
Title: Rejecting Faith
Text: Hebrews 11:24-26
Because human nature is evil, if we live according to our nature, we will inevitably perish and fail. (Romans 8:13) "If you live according to the flesh, you will surely die; but if you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit you will live."
Failing to reject people's unchanged desires is like giving them food that makes them sick even though they are sick and the disease is deepening. The Bible goes on to tell us that there must be a firm and unequivocal refusal to claim the demands of fallen human character.
There are studies that show that there are two types of rejection when people hear a sermon. One is the rejection of those who have not changed. Those who are not changed when they hear the word of God will have a sense of rejection and even hostility towards the word of God.
If I love something now and the Word rebukes it, I have a rejection of the Word in my heart. When Stephen preached to the early church, those who were not changed threw stones at him with a repulsion, and this kind of rejection is often expressed in the Bible.
The next one is the reluctance of those who have been changed. People who have been changed have a resistance to life that has not been changed. Those who have been changed have a resistance to even the favors and considerations of the world for me.
It is as if a person who has been cured of a disease has an aversion to food or harmful habits that cause disease. This reluctance means always having a reluctance to try to take away the Word of God. A person like Daniel's three friends clearly expresses their reluctance to do things that don't matter to others.
It is very important what kind of objection we have while living in the world. Those who live with a sense of rejection that have not been changed always oppose God's grace because of that rejection, and the words of God become words that have nothing to do with them.
If you analyze the antipathy of modern society, you can strangely feel that the rejection of God's word is too strong. Saints must heal this rejection in order to live as the Lord's people.
Conversely, believers must have a changed sense of rejection. We must have the kind of rejection that the Lord has shown in the world. We must have the same rejection that people of faith had. You have to have the rejection that Joseph had, the rejection that Moses had.
People who have been changed have a sense of resistance to the life they were familiar with when they were not changed. Changes in rejection are the most specific changes. When defining people of faith, he said that they had the courage to reject unworthy things.
1. It requires faith to reject the temptations of material things.
Moses said that he regarded reproach for Christ's sake as greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. In order to obtain God's treasures in life, an experience of refusing material temptations is absolutely necessary.
Because of this, we must realize that we have lost the kingdom of God and lived. When he rejects the temptations of material things, he sees a new world. It is the kingdom of God and the reward of God.
The saints often see the appearance of the kingdom of God through the experience of rejecting material greed. Zacchaeus was such a person. He is a life driven by material greed. He was a man who saw everything in terms of money. After he met Jesus, he gave up his greed for material things. The moment he put down his greed, the kingdom of God was seen in his eyes.
He was able to find the life of a child of God. Through Judas Iscariot, it shows that if we do not reject the temptation to material things, we will never see Christ.
Even today, many people are obsessed with material greed, that is, the treasures of Egypt, so they cannot see the kingdom of God and have faith in God's reward. In the story of a young man who came to the Lord, the young man asked the Lord a question about eternal life. At that time, the Lord told this young man to put down his greed and follow the Lord because the kingdom of God could not be seen unless he gave up his greed for material things. But when the young man heard these words, because he had great wealth, he went away grieved.
Abraham, the father of faith, took 318 home-trained men to rescue Lot from captivity by King Shinar and his allies, and rescued all the wealth that had been plundered, his nephew Lot, and the captives. At this time, the kings of Sodom and Salem met Abraham who returned victorious. When the king of Sodom told Abraham to take all possessions except men, Abraham took nothing but a tithe to give to God.
The Bible records it this way. After this the word of the Lord came to Abraham, saying, Fear not, Abram, for I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward. He showed Abraham what the real reward was for, who had rejected his greed for material things. It was God's reward for him.
Lincoln said, "I am what I am today because of my angelic mother, who has already passed away." What remained in Lincoln's mind was the Ten Commandments lessons his mother taught him in a log cabin as a child.
Afterwards, when asked how he was able to refuse the bribe, he said that it was because Exodus 20, which his mother had taught him, was always in his ears. As the British writer Benson pointed out, Lincoln was also a pristine lawyer for the poor.
2. It requires faith to reject the temptations of the opposite sex.
Joseph was sold to Potiphar's family and spent his youth there. There was a man who seduced him, and that man was the wife of Potiphar, his mistress. Potiphar's wife has come up with a detailed plan to seduce Joseph and approached him. Potiphar's wife daily tempted Joseph. There is a saying in our proverb that there is no tree that cannot be climbed after ten times. Nevertheless, Joseph had the faith to reject the temptations of the opposite sex.
In all ages, believers must have faith to reject the temptations of reason. There are too many avenues of temptation. A believer must be a person who shows his faith in the face of the temptations of the opposite sex. Many families in modern society cannot resist the temptations of the opposite sex, so they are shaken, hurt, and relationships are destroyed.
The most terrifying weapon of the seduction of the opposite sex is in the secret. He told Joseph that no one knew. However, Joseph's confession of faith is that God knows. The seduction of pleasure has a terrible destructive power. We know the story of Yushin Kim and Gwannyeo Cheon. By refusing the temptation of the opposite sex, Yushin Kim became a person who accomplished the history of the unification of the three kingdoms.
3. It requires faith to reject the temptations of honor.
The book of Judges tells the story of trees. The trees go to the olive tree, the vine, and the fig tree to make him king. It is to be our king. At that time, the trees consistently reject the offer. Overcome the temptation to dominate others.
Humans have a desire to be superior to others. A person must be able to reject his lust for honor to become a person worthy of God's use.
Jesus told Satan to turn away, Satan. The secret that a person can overcome the lust for fame lies in realizing his or her mission.