Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Martyn Lloyd Jones
How were these 7 men of God linked so powerfully to God? It was by the extraordinary principle of faith.
Gideon’s Few
There is no doubt that Gideon was unsure about God at first which was why he put out the fleece to see if God indeed was going to be with him but we cannot be too hard on Gideon because he took a vastly outnumbered force against the armies of “the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance” (Judges 7:12) yet soundly defeated them because Gideon trusted God and that faith linked him to God in an extraordinary way.
Abraham Leaves it All
Imagine how hard it must have been for Abraham to leave his city, his occupation, his family, and all that is familiar to him to go to a place that he had never seen before and had no idea what he would find. Abraham believed God and his faith was accounted to him as righteousness (Gal 3:6). What has God called you to do? Has he called you to step out in faith? Has He asked you, through His Word, to trust Him and not your eyes?
Leaving their Nets
When Jesus “saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (Matt 4:21-22). Much like Abraham, James and John heard Jesus’ calling and they didn’t even stop to think about it…they didn’t try to make an assessment of their decision or how they would make a living. No, they simply “left the boat and their father and followed him.” Once again, their faith linked them to God and in particular, Jesus Christ Who is God, and they left all that they had ever known to follow Someone Who they had no real idea of with no thought of what the future held for them.
Into the Fiery Furnace
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image to worship it, the king was furious and they were warned “if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands” (Dan 3:15c) but listen to the faith these men had in God: “we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan 3:16b-18). We know that God delivered them from the fiery furnace but they didn’t know that at the time. They believed God and their faith in God linked them to the Almighty and they said “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace” but if not, they staunchly responded “we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Conclusion
Today, men and women of faith are still being linked to God by their faith in Him. The extraordinary principle of their faith is only as strong as the God in Whom they have it in.
