Heroes of Faith (#Encounter series 4) Heb 11

Rachab
We want to talk about rachab who was willing to sacrifice all she had by sacrificing her life to house spies from Israel, she turned her brothel into a spy agency. Her faith grew from the stories she heard of God's dealings with Israel and she had longed for His salvation secretly, praying that God would some day come and deliver her, for she had anticipated that the way Israel where journeying, her city was the next to be conquered and this faith made her to to remodel her house for Israel's espionage. Strangers who were trained killer's, who would not have hesitated to kill her had something gone wrong, by her act of faith she was able to save her family and prevent their destruction along with the whole of Jericho. Her act of faith qualified her to be recognised as a patriarch of faith, a reference, we now refer to. She willingly risked all because she had developed feelings for God, this growing faith made her to withstand her king, because through the eye of faith she had seen the destruction of Jericho and had warned her nation but they put their hope in devices of men, and their great wall. She was not scared of being found out because Faith had prepared her before hand  She was so convinced in the ability of the God of all flesh and she saw this as her deliverance from sin, for I doubt that poverty made her practice prostitution, for it had become a career.

I just wonder how can one with such a darkened and reprobate mind begin to develop feelings for God? The answer is faith.

Ruth

Ruth gave herself away to become another's property even Naomi, preferring to go childless and husbandless all her life just because she wanted to meet with Naomi's people and God, for she desperately lunged for the faith she saw in Naomi which she couldn't find in her own people, with all the tragedy that befell Naomi yet her faith remained unwavered, for she had grown to love God during her marriage and she was not ready to continue living without him, Naomi was a great influence on her, how she was able to weather through the storm, she wondered what kind of a thing is her hope anchored on.

When Naomi decided to go back to Israel it was not hard for Ruth to make her choice, because she knew that moab was no place to nurture her growing faith, it was not an option for her to stay back in moab because she had concluded in her heart, that anywhere her mother-in-law went she would go, because in her mind after her husband's death she started to see herself as Naomi's daughter even though there where nothing to tie her to her again, not even an issue. Her resolve to follow Naomi came with certain sacrifices to her, her record in moab would be wiped out and she stood a chance of being an outcast in Israel. With no source of lively hood, she was prepared to face all these. Unknown to her God had other things in store, her salvation was in Naomi in the form of Boaz a kinsman redeemer.

Should we talk about Stephen,who by faith gave up the ghost.