Origins (of the Kingdom Mindset)

'Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that — heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.'

Taken from the letter to the Hebrews

[This is the 13th message of this series]

The excerpt above is the   Message paraphrase of this biblical passage on faith.

This was taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The writer of this letter was extolling the early Jewish heroes of faith, giving us a glimpse of where their faith came from.

Prologue

In the preceding message we learned about Abraham and how he became the father of many nations. We will continue on how this came to pass by reading more into the passage where the excerpt we read above was lifted from.

They Were Kingdom Thinkers

The people mentioned were those who lived by faith and not by sight (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Rahab, including Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets).

These people looked at this faith thing from afar (or above), looking at the whole picture and not on the current situation they were in -- if we do this then we become like Peter who quickly sank into the deep waters when he took his eyes off of Jesus and at the circumstances going on around him.

The ones who kept the faith going had a Heavenly Kingdom Mindset (not an earthly/temporal one), thinking about and longing for a far better place and forgetting (not looking to go back to) the place where they were coming from.

Faith

God credited them for their faith.

These people kept a flicker of faith and hope alive enough for the next generation, and up until the last of the prophets came around -- he who finally saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears the fulfillment of God's promises and the Messianic Prophesies.

Jesus of Nazareth was that promise, in the flesh. And the Holy Spirit was the title deed who believers then and now are holding on to as their visa and passport to the heavenly country, their birthright.

The Holy Spirit wants everyone aboard this modern Noah's Ark. We are again back to the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

We are not to look back, but to look forward and up to the Author (Source, Originator, Founder, Pioneer) and the Finisher (Perfecter, Completer, Goal) of our faith.

Christ Jesus is our Ark. He is the Way.

Origins (the Series)

Church of the Lost Sheep 2012

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