My dad was recently preaching a message from Hebrews 11 and he focused on verse 38, which says, "(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Of whom the world was not worthy. What does that mean? In the verses prior to that we are given examples of men and women of faith. God writes about the faith of Moses' parents in keeping him alive although it went against the law, the faith of Moses when he did not fear the Egyptians, the faith Joshua had in tearing down the walls of Jericho, the faith the harlot Rahab had when confronted by the spies, and men such as David, Samson, and Samuel are all also listed. Verses 36-37 say that these men and women endured mockings, beatings, scourgings (whippings/lashings), bonds, imprisonments, stonings, temptations, and were forced to face destitute, afflicting, and tormenting circumstances. These were the men and the women of whom the world was not worthy. The world did not deserve to have such incredible men and women of faith! How often do we give up on the joy of our day when one bad thing happens? Each time we do that we wreck our testimony and we aren't using the faith we have in Christ to lift us up and carry us through the storms. Yeah, we are going to have days that are rough. We will face trials and tribulations. We will go through temptations like David, we will disobey authority like Samson, we will face destitute circumstance like Moses, or seemingly impossible battles like Joshua, but God said that the world was not worthy of them BECAUSE OF THEIR FAITH. Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter, and we know from the first few verses that faith is the things we desire or hope for, while trusting the evidence - the true facts, of things we can't see for ourselves. It is believing that God will do as He promised even when we can't have that immediate proof in front of our eyes. A quick Google search of the definition of faith brought this up as the first result for the definition:
faith fāTH/
noun
Do we put our complete trust and confidence in Christ when things aren't going our way? Moses, Samuel, Rahab, Joshua, and all of the other men and women listed in Hebrews 11 were sinners. Each and every one of them had sinned against God yet He says that that by faith they endured all. "Of whom the world was not worthy," is one of the most incredible compliments Christ could ever give because it shows that the only place worthy of these men and women was Heaven with Him. My question is, can this said of me? It should be something we should always wake up and strive to achieve. I should live my life in a way that God could add me to that list next to Moses and Joshua, and through His grace be able to say, "Emilie Paddock - of whom the world was not worthy."
faith fāTH/
noun
- complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Do we put our complete trust and confidence in Christ when things aren't going our way? Moses, Samuel, Rahab, Joshua, and all of the other men and women listed in Hebrews 11 were sinners. Each and every one of them had sinned against God yet He says that that by faith they endured all. "Of whom the world was not worthy," is one of the most incredible compliments Christ could ever give because it shows that the only place worthy of these men and women was Heaven with Him. My question is, can this said of me? It should be something we should always wake up and strive to achieve. I should live my life in a way that God could add me to that list next to Moses and Joshua, and through His grace be able to say, "Emilie Paddock - of whom the world was not worthy."