OUR discussion today centers on faith
in action: this is faith that conquers! There is faith that conquers Satan and
all his agents; faith that conquers sin and all its consequences; faith that
overcomes the world and the flesh; faith that conquers sickness and death;
faith that conquers Pharaoh and his army; Egypt and all its magicians; faith
that opens a way through the Red Sea; faith that brings permanent deliverance.
This is the faith that arrests our attention today, and it has many instances
in the Bible. The faith of Abel conquered sin and he received
pardon and witnessed that he was righteous. The faith of Enoch conquered
death and he was translated into the presence of God in heaven. The
faith of Noah conquered unbelief and worldliness and he escaped
judgment – saved from the flood. The faith of Abraham conquered
human reasoning and he passed the greatest test of his life. The faith
of Sarah conquered bodily weakness and she received strength to
conceive. The faith of Isaac conquered parental partiality and
he submitted to God’s ultimate plan. The faith of Jacob conquered
human preference and tradition and he acted under divine guidance. The
faith of Joseph conquered attachment to Egypt and he fixed his eyes on
Canaan. The faith of Moses’ parents conquered the fear of a
cruel edict and they preserved the future deliverer. The faith of Moses
conquered Egypt and its pleasure and he shook Egypt to its very foundations.
Faith, indeed, conquers!
Faith strengthens the heart and delivers
us from the fear of man. Faith and fear are opposites, where one is dominant,
the other is dormant. The fear of man is a negative force, a tool of Satan that
weakens and paralyses the heart. Fear makes a man to tremble before a fellow
man and to melt away when faced with duty or divinely appointed responsibility.
Faith enables a man to shun the smiles or frowns of men. A man with God-given
faith refuses to be discouraged by the greatest problems. Faith survives the
fires of satanic assault and flourishes under the dews of the Spirit. “By faith
he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (Hebrews 11:27).
When Moses demanded of Pharaoh to let
God’s people go, he was not terrified by thoughts of what the enraged king
might do. With no army behind him, with no powerful officer in Egypt’s court to
support his request, Mose s made his demand to leave Egypt with all the
children of Israel, “Not fearing the wrath of the king”. He did not fear man;
he did not fear the greatest of men, a king; he did not fear the
wrath of the king. His faith in God expelled all forms of fear of all kinds
of men. “For he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). He
fixed his eyes on God. By faith, he looked constantly at the Invisible One and
all visible things lost their terror. “Seeing Him who is invisible” encourages
and strengthens our faith.
“Through faith he kept the Passover”
(Hebrews 11:28). The “Passover” was an ordinance, the first ordinance, given to
Israel by God. It was called the Passover because God passed over the
Israelites on the night, when all the firstborn of Egypt died under God’s
judgment. “It is the LORD’S Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt
this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt… And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the
blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy
you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:1l-13). That first observance
of the Passover was an act of faith. Moses and Israel acted by faith.
All the firstborn of the children of
Israel were delivered from the Angel of Death because they were sheltered
beneath the blood of the lamb. Today, we find pardon and salvation through
the Blood of the Lamb; we have purity and sanctification in
the Blood of the Lamb, as well as protection and security under
the Blood of the Lamb. “Through faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling
of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them”. “The
sprinkling of blood” has reference to personal application of
the blood of the Lamb, by faith. Believe in Christ and His atoning Blood, then
will you enjoy the fulfillment of the promise: “When I see the Blood, I will
pass over you”.
Further References (King James
Version): Hebrews 11:27-29; Exodus 10:28,29; Proverbs 19:12; 16:14; Exodus
11:4-8; Proverbs 28:1; Psalm 27:3; Isaiah 35:4; 41:10,11; Luke 12:4-7,32;
Isaiah 51:12,13; Psalms 112:7; 56:3,4,11; Isaiah 12:2; Exodus
12:1-7,12,13,21-23,27,28; Psalm 78:49-53; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter
1:2,18,19,5; Psalms 94:4-8; 125:3; Zechariah 2:8,9; Exodus 14:13-16,21-31; 1
Corinthians 10:1; Isaiah 43:2-4; Malachi 3:6; 2 Chronicles 20:17; Jeremiah
32:27,17; Luke 1:37; Mark 9:23.