In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of studying and learning from great men of faith described in Hebrews chapter 11. He encourages revolutionary Bible study that challenges and transforms hearts. The speaker mentions Stephen Alford's powerful message at Pilate and emphasizes the need for everyone to have a Bible. He briefly touches on the concept of faith and gives examples from the stories of Abraham and Moses, highlighting their obedience and trust in God.

In the background on this recording you may be able to hear other voices and this is because there were people present from several nations and their friends were giving simultaneous translation to them because of language problems. Often we hear stories of great men of God. I hope tonight that I can whet your appetite to study about some great men of God, men of faith, described in Hebrews chapter 11. You can turn there in your Bible. I believe in revolutionary Bible study. You say, what's that? That's any kind of Bible study that will turn you upside down and that will take a real revolution. Some of us have had our hearts challenged today by Stephen Alford as we watched him on television, television tape, listening and watching him give his final message at Pilate. What a challenge it was. I don't have opportunity to get in on all the meetings but I didn't want to miss that one. Hebrews chapter 11. I have two Bibles in front of me. One is the King James Authorized Version. The other is a paraphrase known as the Living Bible. Many of you have copies of. You can always get one. Very good to hear Stephen Alford push Bibles at Pilate. He really told everybody to go get a Bible which was very good since we were the only ones selling them at Pilate. I'm not going to read this whole chapter. I'm going to leave that with you. Just the first few verses. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. The living paraphrase it says, what is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it up ahead. Men of God in days of old were famous for their faith. By faith, by believing God we know that the world and the stars, in fact all things were made at God's command. That they were all made from things that can't be seen. Then we have this very long chapter of 40 verses describing men of God. And I want to challenge you and ask you to take time in the days, months to come to study each one of these men of God. I hope that this Bible study tonight can just get you started because these are exciting men. These are men of faith. These are men the likes of which we desperately need today. It's important to look at one of the last verses in this chapter, verse 40, the last verse, to just show a very important thing. God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us could not be made perfect. These men did not have what you and I have. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. They did not have that. We know Calvary. We can know resurrection life. We know Pentecost. These men could only look forward to such things. So it seems that we should be able to have even more faith than they. Seemingly that's what the last two verses of this chapter say. They live the kind of life that we're describing tonight, having never known Christ as you and I know him, or the Holy Spirit. So easy to talk about these things, isn't it? So easy to talk about Jesus. So easy to talk about the Holy Spirit. But why is it that we don't have more men like we read about in Hebrews chapter 11? That's my question. Stacey Woods, a great man, one of the early pioneers of inter-varsity Christian fellowship, distributed a booklet once speaking about spiritual unreality. If a man has the words and has the hymns and doesn't have the life, he has spiritual unreality, the deadly sickness. So we're going to look at some of these men of faith. Last night we spoke about cost of discipleship, what it is to forsake all and follow Christ. Now everyone will want to come tomorrow night. You'll especially want to be here tomorrow night because I won't be here. And two brothers, one from Spain and one from very difficult to tell where he's from, Brother Dale Rotom will be speaking. But oh my, how I yearn in my heart for spiritual reality. Last night we spoke about the commands and the demands of Christ regard to discipleship and forsaking all. But I'll tell you, you can't do it without faith. John says, this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith, even our faith. You know that verse? It's a very important one. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. We often sing in OM, that little chorus, faith is the victory. It's very easy to sing, but another thing to know it in reality, faith is the victory. If there's something bothering you tonight, faith is the victory. If you're afraid about where you're going, faith is the victory. If you're confused about something, faith is the victory. If you think you can't possibly forsake all and follow Christ, faith is the victory. One of my favorite authors is Martin Lloyd-Jones. If you want to read something interesting, you read his book, I believe it's 73rd Style, I'm not sure. I actually was reading in his daily devotional book, that's why I'm not sure what book it's quoted from. Get some of his material, get his books on the Sermon on the Mount. He's one of the few remaining prophets alive in Britain today, one of the few remaining men that's not afraid to speak the truth, even when he feds on our evangelical corn. May God give us such men, men of faith. I'm reading his book about the preacher and his preaching, rather expensive book, I hope it comes out in paperback, but my oh my, the thought in that book. Faith, this is it. Greatest of these is love, but faith is in the same verse. And though love is more important, faith is absolutely essential for a victorious Christian life. Some of you are trembling about what we've been challenging you to believe God for. Some of you have been reading George Muller and thinking that's not for me. Some of you have been reading some other books. Faith. Now here we have the story of some men of faith that starts way back with a man named Abel. Abel ended up getting killed because of his faith. You know, when you start moving in spiritual revolution and you start going forth as a disciple, it may cost you your life. The American publishers, for some strange reason, changed the title of my new book and called it Come Live Die. Well, it's got some truth in it. Come Live Die. Abel offered a proper sacrifice to God. It was an act of faith. It was a belief in the blood, which already spoke thousands of years before of that day when Jesus Christ would shed his precious blood. Abel's sacrifice was pleasing to God. Cain's sacrifice was not pleasing because it was the works of his own hands. And when you try to live a Christian life in your own power, that's the work of Cain. When you live by faith and appropriate the reality of the cross, that's Abel. Which life are you living? Cain? Or Abel? It gets even a little more revolutionary in John when it describes the man who has any unloving thing in his heart and puts him on a level of Cain. Not a very pleasant verse that one at all. So important is it that we have love for all the brethren. I'm sure some people don't think I love them. Sometimes just before the meeting I walk around and I just get people, I say, why aren't you in the meeting, brother? And it's always an interesting reaction. It's amazing how people don't like to be told what to do. And I've had people that have built up resentment against me for more than a year simply because, one, I just came and I said, brother, you know, that's not right. You should be there or you should do that. We don't like to be told what to do. We don't like somebody correcting us and we build up resentment. And Cain had built up resentment against Abel. He didn't like what his brother was doing. What a strange resentment. Why? Simply because Abel was offering a better sacrifice. And this resentment came in his heart and it wasn't out until he killed him. How ugly resentment is. How terrible resentment is. Maybe I can't understand it because it hasn't been one of my battles up to now very much. My problems are in other areas. But to me, holding resentment against anybody, anywhere, regardless of what they've ever done, even if they punched you in the nose, is complete folly. Complete folly. And yet I meet young people with resentment against their parents, against some pastor from some years ago, against this person, against that person. This Cainish trait, resentment linked with jealousy, can store your spiritual conscience until you really come to the cross. You know, it's a beautiful thing to be able to forget. I've had other people come to me that felt they had done me wrong and felt that I was holding it against them. They let months by. They finally got the courage to come. I couldn't even remember what it was, much less have it against them. What a crazy thing for Christians to hold a grudge against another brother. Yet it's easy to do that, isn't it? Do you know the spiritual life of the cross? For some it's harder than others because of psychological problems, because of background. I've seen that young people from unstable homes have oftentimes more resentment. Oftentimes in counseling people I see this ugly resentment and I want to tell you, if there's resentment in your heart you will not be able to believe God. It will drain your spiritual life. It will be like a hole in the bottom of a bucket. So you fill it with scripture verses and a lot of other things that will drain out. You know, in one way I don't like preaching. I like to stand here and just look at you. Some of you don't understand. Some of you misunderstand. It's been such a blessing today. I've spoken with so many people. Personally it hasn't been always very long, but it's so good to just get to see you face to face and realize you're human. I'm human. Jesus is wonderful and I hope you'll pray for all those who come here trying to speak. That's why we have discussion groups. That's why we have questions and answers and you've been throwing it at us. That's good. Keep it coming. But don't, don't let resentment build up in your heart. It happens every year on OM Team. Deadly resentment against the leader. The leader has got the job to do. Sometimes he has to correct. Sometimes he has unpleasant work. He's not always in the best of moods. He may have just had a row with his wife. Then he's got to come out and talk to you. So he's lost two rounds with his wife and sees if he can win one with you. How deadly it is to presume on one another. And how dangerous it is to build up resentment against anyone, anywhere. Cain killed Abel because he resented his brother. He resented the fact that his brother and his offering was accepted of God and his was not. How, how many lessons we can learn from Cain and Abel. Lessons of faith. Way back there, written or taking place 4,000 years ago. Then we go to Enoch. Enoch. Now we don't read much in the Bible about Enoch. But we read enough to give us all a guilty conscience. He walked with God. He walked with God. You know, if we would get back to such simplicity, we'd all go much further spiritually. Sometimes we read so many books, so many manuals, we got so many questions, we feel we've got to get all of our theology sorted out, all of our ideological questions sorted out, all of our strategy questions sorted out. Not Enoch. He just walked with God. He just walked with God. So simple. Never even went to Bible school, poor chap. Much less seminary. He just walked with God. Where do we find such men today? Simple men, humble men. I'll tell you where I found a few out in India. More than I found in the West. We got a couple brothers on that ship. One of them, I tell you, he's not very clever. Got one of the crummiest, dirtiest jobs on the ship. He must put at least 15 hours a day in every day. He never complains. He never grumbles. He's always smiling. But he's walking with God. Walking with God. Men of faith. One of my greatest burdens today is to go back to simplicity. I believe we're making it all too complex. We produce books that thick on spiritual life. How to get sanctified. 48 ways to get sanctified. Books thicker than that. 600 ways how to overcome your emotional hang-up. And within a few years the books are fatter and fatter. Encyclopedias on spiritual life. Reading, reading, reading, reading, reading. Not Enoch. No evidence he read anything. Just walked with God. Walked with God. We go to more conventions, see more films, have more slideshowings, get more challenges, more pep talks, more discussion groups, more question and answer sessions than have ever gone on in history. But that will never be a substitute for just in simple faith walking with God. Some people are crying out for intelligent men. We need more intelligent men in the church. We need more PhDs. We need more doctors of psychology. God is probably crying out, give me more ignorant men. Most of Jesus' disciples were not exactly PhDs from the University of Jerusalem. They knew how to fish. Mind you, when things get hard, there's no food around, I'd rather have a fisherman than a PhD. Enoch walked with God. What about you? You know a great mistake if you come to OM is you try to walk with OM. You'll end up with a nervous breakdown. You try to keep up with this, with this movement. Try to keep up with people. Try to run after men. Try to imitate man. You're going to be like so-and-so. You're sort of like him. You're going to be like him or you're going to be like her. Of course, when he tries to be like her or she tries to be like him, it really gets confusing. But God's word is that you may walk with God. Walk with him in simplicity and fellowship. May God show us the truth of that. May we learn something from Enoch. Because he walked with God, he was translated. People are all jumping up and down these days. Oh, America's put a man on the moon. Soon we're going to Mars. These ships, boom, they go so fast. Everybody's watching. I want to tell you, when Enoch took off, nobody even saw him. He went so quick. And he went further than man has ever dreamed on going. And someday, those of you who love and know Jesus Christ are going to go as well. Enoch was translated. He was taken. The other testimony he had is found right here. He pleased God. He pleased God. This is so simple but so beautiful. Puts a knife in my heart. He pleased God. And you have got to ask the question in these days, am I a man-pleaser or a God-pleaser? Am I a leader-pleaser or a God-pleaser? Am I living for OM or for a movement or for people or for my girlfriend or for this person or that person or am I living to please God? My one heart cry is God, even if I do misunderstand you. Suppose I see you or some other leader sees you doing something. Maybe we misjudge. We think you're just fiddling around and you were doing very serious work. So if we do misjudge you, you don't live for us. So if your leader doesn't understand you, so if he doesn't appreciate you, are you living for him or are you living for God? Do you work for OM or do you work for God? Are you here for man or are you here for God? That's the question we've got to ask and it will revolution our lives if we dare to. You say, but so-and-so offended me. So what? You've offended God. God doesn't hit you. God doesn't resent you. God doesn't hold it against you. He's willing to forgive you. Do you live for man, to please man or to please God? Of course, there are other passages in the Word that show us that loving submission, those over us, as much as our conscience will allow us, is a biblical principle. But there's one, it's greatly different submitting unto men in leadership as unto the Lord and living for the praise of men. Two completely different things. The spiritual person has to discern between the two. Enoch walked with God. Enoch pleased God. Then there was Noah. Now if I could get a hold of it, I'd show you the film called The Bible. Very, very interesting film, mainly all Bible verses. And we wrote a special book with permission of the people who produced the film with the same pictures in it. It's all hard-hitting gospel. We sold them by the thousands in front of the film places and all over India when the Bible came to India. And in that film, there's a scene with Noah. He's quite a character. Of course, that scene is very criticized because all the dear Christians feel that Noah couldn't have possibly had a sense of humor. Well, I want to know how anybody existed in that ark without a sense of humor. Well, I may never find out when I get to heaven, but I'll tell you one thing. You'll never exist in that ark without a sense of humor. So if you don't have one, you better not come to the logout. Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the staving of his house by which he condemned the world, became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. Oh, what a picture of faith. What a picture of faith. A man living in a day when they had never really seen anything like a flood. It had never really rained before Noah's day. Did you know that? And God tells him you're going to build a boat, gives him the dimension, and he believed God. It was eight years ago we announced that we were going to pray in a ship. That's nothing compared to what Noah did. It's absolutely hardly any comparison. And you should have heard the skeptics roll and roar and the letters came in. Many Christians, a lot of people had thought O.M. was a bit crazy, a bit mad before then, but after that they were sure of it. And yet the same God that was with Noah in his great project was with us in this tiny project. Someone suggested that we name it Noah's Ark, but we felt that was a little bit too much. What faith! Here he was, going against the crowd, going against the culture. Hardly anyone with him. This is what Muslims are going to face when they come to Christ. You better take him and show him, Noah. Muslims, by the way, believe in these passages. A good place to start. Noah, what would you do? God gave you orders like that. Then there was Abraham. Abraham had his own little operation, mobilization. God told him to get up and go out of Ur of the Chaldees. It was a nice place. He had a good deal, had a good business. He had lots of money, lots of everything. God said, get going. Just what some of you are battling in these days. Do you like things here in the West? Do you like certain things about your situation? God is telling you to get up and go. Get up and go. It's so amazing. All that God had to do was tell Abraham to get up and go. You and I, it's a little different. God says, go, and we say, excuse me, could we have a panel discussion on that? And who is supplying the funds? And who is supplying the funds? And who's going to be my leader? And can I come back early? And do you think I can come back by plane? You see, my grandmother is getting married. I don't know why you laugh. That's not uncommon in these days. But Abraham was told to go, and he went by faith. Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance to pay, and he went out not knowing where he went. We've got to keep our duplicating machine going night and day to give you descriptive material, tell you how Iran is challenging, beautiful, wonderful place to work. Endless information, and you still bombard us with questions. Of course, we don't mind. Can you just imagine if we didn't tell you where you're going? Every one of you is trying to find out where you're going. Some of you come to us as if we had some kind of a spiritual Ouija board. Or as if we had revelation. It's going to take time, so be patient. But I can just imagine taking you over to Zabington, and you're still asking, where am I going? Don't worry, just get in this truck right here. But, you know, where is it going? What are we going to do? What's it going to be like? Just get in, lady. I'm not sure we have too many volunteers. What do you think, Jonathan? He went not knowing where he was going by faith. These were men of faith, and you and I must learn from them. You and I must study their lives. Hebrews 11 is in the New Testament, but it challenges us to go back into the Old Testament and to read and to study and to learn the secrets of these men of faith, even though they lived without so much that you and I have today. It says in verse 10, he looked for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Then there was Sarah. Sarah. Way past the age you could ever have a baby if you believe God. Now, most of you are not having that problem. Not even married yet. But some of you are getting to feel that you're way past the age when you're going to get married. That's a big thing. Oh, we don't talk about it so much. We all know the sufficiency of Christ, don't we? This is the area where the girls can really, really be Little Miss Pony. Somebody asked them about this, they sort of smile, oh, well, isn't Jesus wonderful? Get together and we have our little discussions on all the blessings of not being married. Then we go back to our room and weep it out on our pillow. And I'll tell you the thing that can carry you through a couple of years of single life on O.M., I'll tell you what it is. It's the faith that Sarah had. God wants you to get married, you'll get married at 60. To get into hunger for God's will, that's what counts. To have the faith that God can show you and give you the right man at the right time if you'll just follow him. I tell you, we've seen some amazing things in O.M. in the last year. Confirmed my theology more than ever before in the history of the world. When Billy Jones and Pauline Hillquist hit the altar, I will raise a mighty high banner. Because Billy is not exactly 28, he's more like 60. Yet every one of us who know Billy Jones know if there's ever a brother who for 10 years has rejoiced and plodded and plodded and rejoiced and praised God every day and never groaned or never mumbled, Billy Jones. All that time he had that little secret prayer. He used to share it with me about every third month. Lord, give me a wife. Now the Lord's given him a young, a young wife. He'd be married by now if I hadn't told him to be a little patient. We're going to get married in Indonesia. We need people who are willing to wait on God. We need women like Sarah who are willing to live by faith. Ten minutes of unbelief can get you on a side road, take you 20 years to get back. I tell you, you marry the wrong man, you marry the wrong woman and you'll know what I'm talking about. Believe God. We had a girl in O.M. named Hannah. She was passing 20, moving toward 40. You could blame it all on O.M. We made her our girl's leader, kept her running so fast no boy could catch up with her. She wasn't exactly a beauty queen, slightly short. In God's amazing grace, perhaps the best leader this movement has ever been able to near produce falls madly in love with her and they're married. Faith. Faith. It doesn't just happen in the Bible. It happens today. The leader of youth for Christ in India, his name is Victor Monogram. His wife is very old. Everybody said she'll never, never, never, never, never have a baby. They prayed and two years ago God gave her a baby. Believe God, such women are hard to find in the 20th century. Then we go on and we read about Isaac and Jacob. Abraham had a son, Isaac. You remember the faith that day when Abraham took Isaac? Verse 17, up to the mountain. I spoke about this the previous evening. I guess it was another conference. What a story it is. How Abraham in absolute obedience, in absolute faith, took his only son. After that first miracle of faith, Sarah has a son. And then God says, okay Abraham, take your son and offer him to me. You see, here's a great mistake Christians make. Listen to this. God gives them something and then they squeeze it. They hang onto it. You know, God often gives you something that you may have the greater blessing of giving it away. Once I was giving away something that I had just received. Someone came to me and they said, what are you giving that away for? You were praying for that for several months. Now the Lord has given it to you. You're so silly. You're turning around and giving it away. You see, that's what God often does. He gives you something. Because He loves to give, He loves to bless. Some of you have such warped ideas, you think God's running around with a big stick to hit you every time you do something wrong. God wants to bless. God wants to give. He says it's more blessed to give than receive. But when He gives it to you, then He watches to see what you do. God may give a man a lot of money. What, so he can waste it? No, so that that man can have the joy of turning around and giving it. So Abraham took Isaac, his only son, the most beautiful gift he'd ever had on earth. And he took him up and he was ready to offer him to God. And God intervened. It was a test of faith. And God is going to test your faith in the days to come. Then Isaac blessed Jacob and he saw concerning things to come, verse 20. And by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff. Men of faith. And if you read their live stories, you'll understand what those few verses mean. Then there's Joseph. Joseph is one of the most challenging people for me in the whole of the Old Testament. Because Joseph had a tremendous trial. And a lot of young men will have thrown in their direction someday. You know the story of Joseph. It says here, when he died, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bone. When I think of Joseph, I think of the faith he had, the trust he had in God, even though he made some mistakes. You remember that day when probably one of the best looking women in the whole palace offered herself to Joseph. Have you ever tried to picture that situation? Here he was, away from home, lonely. He had no wife. One of the most beautiful women in all of Egypt says, Joseph, I want to go to bed with you. And Joseph, by faith, said no. Cost him prison. She accused him falsely. Suffered. Oh, the suffering that comes for righteousness sake is always a beautiful thing. Down to the prison. Could have had the most beautiful woman in all of Egypt, but he chose the prison by faith. What about you? Many of you will be tempted in this way someday in your life. May you remember Joseph. I'd rather be in a prison cell with purity than in the palace with a pig. Then there's Moses. He again had everything a man could ever want. He again was offered pleasure. He was offered Egypt. He refused, it says in verse 24, to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. Some of you are young in the Lord. You're having a lot of temptation. Even some of the attractive things, so-called, the devil's tinsel here in Birmingham, cracks your eyes. All around us, you know, Moses was in the middle of Egypt. You know what Egypt was like in those days? So immoral, so rotten, so filled with adultery and immorality. You know, we think that we have a new morality today. This new morality is an old immorality, trying to put on a new dress that doesn't fit anyway. Oh, may we see this faith that Moses had, refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God. Notice 26, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. These days, one of God's burdens for you is that Egypt may be crucified in your life, that you may be crucified to the world and that the world may be crucified to you. And I would ask you, if you're having a problem with the world, if somehow you're slipping back into the world and you haven't got free from Egypt, why don't you share that with some brother or some sister and deal the death blow by faith in these days? Don't pretend. Moses, a man of faith, esteemed the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. By faith he forsook Egypt. Forsaking all and faith must come together. Don't you dare forsake all unless God gives you the faith and you believe you will have the faith to keep going. That's why we don't expect everyone to go out and do the same thing or sell everything immediately when they hear a challenge about forsaking all. God must work in your life. God must mature you and that love and that faith must burn in your heart and then you can forsake all in reality. Forsaking all and faith must come together with love as a foundation. I want to say that again because I believe it's important. Forsaking all and faith must come together with love as the foundation. Anything else will lead to a tangent. Some of you are married men. Forsaking all and a lot of these other things is not so simple. And you've got to start where you are. You've got to begin where you are. You're a married man. You've got some responsibilities. You may have some children and God is going to have to build up your faith before you take some of these steps. Somewhere you'll have to take it. But there's many a young person that got a little confused between foolishness and faith. Foolishness and faith is like someone who prays for a thousand souls that's never led one to Christ. May God show us the talent. By faith he forsook Egypt. Not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured it seeing him who is invisible. Keeping his eyes on God. Living for God. When things were rough. When it seemed impossible. When his guilt complex moved in about the Egyptian he murdered. He kept his eyes on God and he moved. There's the story of the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood. Then there was that great day when Moses began his operation mobilization and this one was really big. Over a million. Some of us leaders in these days we've been trembling. So many people here. When I look out over you I like to think of those words in Isaiah or is it Jeremiah. Be not afraid of their faces. Some of you give me such an interesting look. Of course every time I think of some of you having to look at my face night after night I can only claim the sovereignty of God. And that television camera that sometimes brings close-ups and when it comes out on the screen all they get is a large nose. Be not afraid of their faces. Anyway Moses had his operation mobilization. They were coming out of Egypt. Over a million. They were standing by the Red Sea. Can you picture that day? A big river in front of him. He looks behind him and he hears chariots. And he hears the Egyptians pressing in on him. Talk about operation impossible. Makes what we have here seem like certainly a rather small game in the nursery. And yet at that moment Moses believed God. And it says in verse 29, by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land. Which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned. Oh my give us that kind of faith. Some of you are trembling about the Muslim world. That's the faith you need. Trembling about India or the ship. Trembling about whatever you may be trembling. That's the answer. By faith. You may not have the faith of Moses. It took him 40 years after he got started. You know one thing that sparks our generation. You know what it is? We're all in a hurry. We're all in a hurry. One thing I noticed about Jesus, he was never in a hurry. We're always rushing around. Oh that's very hard for me. Someone asked Billy Graham, if he could live and start all over again, what would he do? He said, I'd pace myself more. I'd pace myself more. 40 years in the wilderness, getting his faith tested, learning from God. This is why I refuse and our leaders refuse to allow this to be a mission society. You are not ready for a mission society. You must not think of yourself as a Moses yet. You must think, at least coming out of Egypt, in that sense. But you must think of yourself as someone in training. Someone in the wilderness of God's training program. Being prepared. We have people who want to climb Mount Everest, who hardly know how to get out of bed yet. We have people who want to preach great sermons, who haven't memorized three verses. Oh, we've got to slow down and get into God's routine, into God's training program. And then maybe someday you'll have your army and you'll march across the Red Seas and you'll do great exploits in His name. You may do a few in your training as well. Some of us think we've been in the Muslim world a long time. We go around telling people we've been in Turkey 12 years. Look, that's nothing. We need to understand God's economy concerning time. As far as God's concerned, it's worth 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years to make you a man of God. Something more than a spiritual juvenile delinquent. Learn to understand God's economy of time. He's not in a hurry. He's a God of quality, which is obvious by the way He's worked for 2,000 years. Some of you feel you must rush out here this year. You couldn't possibly wait a year to go to that field. Next year you've already got something else planned. You're going to run off and get your PhD or something. God's economy of time is very unusual. Moses spent 40 years wandering around the wilderness, learning, learning, suffering, bending, breaking, submitting to his father-in-law. Then God sent him out in his mobilization and he led a million people in miraculous faith across the Red Sea and became one of the mightiest leaders of all time. Though his unbelief later on kept him from the promised land. Last year's victories, last week's victories do not guarantee anything tomorrow. Every day is a new day with new possible failures as well as new victories. Moses, by faith. Then Joshua. Joshua was given by God and by his leader one of the most crazy strategies that had ever been dreamed of. He was told to go marching around the wall for seven days. What kind of an insane idea is this? Then he was told to blow his trumpet, told that God would take care of the wall. Too many of us in our Christian life are trying to tear down all the walls instead of blowing the trumpet of praise. Do you know the reality of blowing the trumpet of praise in your life? Or are you one of those Christians who's always trying to pull down all the walls? You got this problem and you're attacking it this way and that way and getting a hold of it. You're overwhelmed by all the difficulties and you're carrying around all your problems, trying to figure out exactly how it's going to work. Some of you are not only getting all worried about how you're going to get out to India, some of you are getting a headache trying to figure out how you're going to get back. We need men of faith who will blow the trumpet of praise and say, I don't know how it's going to happen, but it's going to happen. I don't know how Turkey is going to come, for Turks are going to come to Christ, but they're going to come and blow your trumpet of praise. Hallelujah. I believe the praising heart is a heart that can be easily filled with faith. Where the negative, groaning, complaining heart can so easily be filled with unbelief and every other terrible thing. Are you blowing the trumpet of praise? Oh, may God give us men like Joshua and then Rahab. Ooh, how did she get in that story? She was a prostitute. I'm not supposed to say that in an evangelical meeting. Oh, excuse me. But she was, you know. The Bible, I think they refer to her as a harlot. How did she get in this chapter? What is she doing here? This is a mistake in the copying. So often we evangelicals are so dignified, so churchy, so nice, so dainty, so untouchable. We might as well put a badge on, sinners do not get near me. Especially if you smoke. You get on the train in Bromley and you can't get in the no smoking compartment where all the evangelicals are pushing their way in. And oh, drugs. We must study drugs. But to let somebody hooked on drugs into your front room where he may make things a little untidy. Don't want that. Sinners don't come near me. Prostitutes. And yet this woman, because of this strange act of faith that I don't even understand yet, is listed here in the annals of great people of faith. God honors faith. That's why there's many movements and many individuals that may not have some of your biblical principles, some of your deep principles, some of your toes or knee, who know more about faith than you do. And they find themselves in the front rows of glory. You're in the back stairs draping the paint. Faith brings glory to God I don't understand. Faith honors God. He loves to see his children trusting, believing, dependent upon him for the impossible. Even if they make mistakes in the process. May God give us such reality. Verse 32 is one of the best verses in the Bible when you've got someone like Verwer preaching. And what shall I more say for time will fail me. So I'll just read just like it does here without comment. To tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Japhia and of David also and Samuel and the prophets. And for verse 33 on I'll go to the living Bible. These people all trusted God and as a result won battles over through kingdoms, ruled their people well and received what God had promised them. They were kept from harm in tens of lions and in a fiery furnace. Some through their faith escaped death by the sword. Some were made strong again after they had been weak or sick. Others were given great power in battle. They made whole armies turn and run away. And some women through faith received their loved ones back again from death. But others trusted God and were beaten to death. Preferring to die rather than to turn from God and be free. Trusting that they would rise to a better life afterward. Some were laughed at and their backs cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons. Some died by stoning and some by being stoned in two. Others were promised freedom if they would renounce their faith. They were filled with a sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats. Wandering about in deserts and mountains, hiding in dens and caves. They were hungry and sick and ill-treated. Too good for this world. And these men of faith, though they trusted God and won His approval, none of them received all that God had promised them. For God wanted them to wait and share the even better reward that were prepared for us. May God in this age of unbelief, in this age of spiritual fog, give us men and women with such faith. May you be among us. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, You know our hearts tonight. You know how unbelief can trick us and send us down the wrong road. Forgive us for unbelief and lack of faith. Teach us, O God, that faith is the victory that overcomes the world. That we may join in the annals of heaven with this great army of men of faith. From Moses and Abraham to Rahab and Gideon. That we may go in faith. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.