Faith Exemplified - More Examples of Faith and their Experiences

Well if you would take your Bible turn back to Hebrews 11, we will be in verses 32 to 38, but just like with all of the messages that we've been in here in Hebrews 11, I will reference quite a few other Old Testament scriptures. Now last week we saw how the author made a shift in his examples of the life of faith seen right here in chapter 11. We saw how he moved from specific individuals to the Exodus generation, but notice he turned back around and he ended up with a specific example that surprises some of us. But in that Exodus generation we saw faith in deliverance. In verse 29, the Israelites were delivered by faith through the Red Sea.

God actually did all the work in their deliverance. So the people simply walked through the Red Sea after their unbelief was turned into faith. So by faith the people of God were delivered and of course the Egyptians were destroyed. And we saw faith in conquering in verse 30. The Israelites conquered by faith in the battle of Jericho. Jericho was an impossible battle to fight, but God required simple obedience to fight with what seemed to be a foolish faith and a foolish plan. So by faith the people of God obeyed without complaint or doubt and God gave them the victory. And then last we saw faith in salvation in verse 31.

Rahab was saved by faith and she proved that through her works even though she was a Canaanite and even though she was a prostitute she believed God so she did not perish with all of Jericho because she hid the spies. So by faith she risked everything to obey God and to follow God and she became a part of the people of God in a surprisingly great way. And for some it may be a big surprise to find Rahab the Canaanite prostitute in this list of saints. But notice God saw otherwise. She is a great example of the life of faith worthy to be in the Hall of Fame of the saints of God. So think about it like this church.

In men like Noah, in men like Abraham, in men like Moses we see great flaws, great sins, even great and gross disobedience. But we do not see that in Rahab. Think about that. Of course she wasn't perfect by no means. But look church, she was and is a great example of the life of faith not because she was perfect and not because she was a prostitute and not because she was a Canaanite prostitute who was redeemed. Rahab is a great example for two reasons. First because she is a great example of the saving power and grace of God. And then second because she obeyed God. She obeyed God in the life of faith that God had planned out for her.

She obeyed God. Now this morning we will see that the author makes another shift. Starting here in verse 32 he really took a big step back and he made this broad observation back into their Jewish history. And last week I said that King David kind of got this honorable mention in Hebrews 11 while Rahab did not. Now think about it. The author really highlights the faith of Rahab but then he says he does not have time to give us much about the faith of David. But as we will see and we should know David was more than an honorable mention.

David's faith and the faith of others mentioned here in verse 32 and following, their faith was not some kind of a subpar faith. It was not that their faith was not deserving of exceptional merit, not deserving of top honors. The author just ran out of time. It's almost like he's saying I don't have enough paper and pen. Now what's my point here? What am I getting at? All these examples of the life of faith are worthy examples. Perfect examples? No. Worthy examples? Yes. All of them are worthy examples of the life of faith who were certainly worthy of our study and our emulation. Again go back and study these examples.

Now this morning the author tells us that he simply cannot go on indefinitely. So he takes a step back. He gives this broader description of the life of faith from a broad list of examples. I'd like us to go back and read those verses and then I'll explain how we will cover them. Verse 32, down to verse 38. Notice the shift. It's obvious. A question. And what more shall I say? Again it's almost like he's saying I just don't have enough paper and ink and time. For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. If you complain about your name don't complain here. You could have been named Jephthah.

For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and David, and Samuel, and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, and obtained promises. They stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. They were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign enemies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn into.

They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Now I want us to make three observations out of the verses. First we see more examples of the life of faith. Verse 32, that's obvious. And then second, we see their experiences. Some scholars call these exploits. I call them experiences in their life of faith. Verses 33 to 34. And then third, we see obviously their sufferings in the life of faith. Verses 35 to 38. So let's get started.

Number one, the author gives us more examples of faith. Right there in verse 32, more examples of faith. Here the author says that he just does not have time to go on with more examples like he had done before. So what does he do? He backs up and he gives this seemingly random list. Now I say random because the list he gives is in no logical order. The names are not in chronological order like the ones in verses 1 to 31. We'll see that when we reference them in the book of Judges. And if we put them in pairs, the second in each pair was before the first.

Also if we look at the list as ascending or descending in importance, it just makes no sense. So what's the point here? This has no bearing on the point that the author is making. It just shows us that he got to a place where he had to stop so it seems that he just rattled off six examples to finish things off. Or we can say it like this, even though it seems random, this is how the Spirit of God brought these examples to his mind. Now this is what we will do. I will take each one and I will point out what they are most remembered for, the good. Now I won't be exhaustive. And I will point out what they are remembered for, that is the bad.

Some of you have already started thinking about the good and the bad when we read through those names. Of course I won't be exhaustive at all. But first we have Gideon. Now the story of Gideon is seen in Judges, chapters 6 to 7. And Gideon is remembered as a judge and a military leader in Israel. After God reduced the army from 32,000 to 300 with that 300 Gideon won the victory over the Ammonites who had a superior force in the time when they terrorized Israel. And Gideon's victory was remembered for centuries among the Israelites.

But by faith and through faith Gideon won that victory in the battle that God had for him to fight with only 300 men. But also we see that Gideon was seriously flawed. He was very very slow in taking up arms. Warren Wiersby says he was a frightened farmer whose faith did not grow strong right away. That's a great example or a great way to describe him. Second we see Barak. Now the story of Barak is seen in Judges 4 to 5. We see that under the leadership of Deborah who was a judge in Israel at the time, Barak assembled 10,000 men and he faced superior odds against the Canaanites and the text says they had 900 iron chariots.

One commentator that I came across kind of put it in modern language to help us see the imbalance here. He says this victory was like a band of almost unarmed foot soldiers who fought and won against 900 tanks. An iron chariot was the equivalent of a tank in that day. But by faith or through faith Barak won that victory in an impossible battle against impossible odds along with Deborah's help. But we also see that Barak was flawed as well. He hesitated when he was called to go and he only went forward to fight when Deborah stood with him. Then third we have Samson. Now we see the story of Samson in Judges 13 to 16.

Of course Samson is remembered for his great physical strength. Samson was a judge in Israel who was given the special job of opposing the Philistines who at the time ruled over Israel. By faith and through faith Samson won many, many victories and he won the ultimate victory over the Philistines but we know that victory cost him his life. But this was only after much defeat because he was led astray by Delilah or we can turn it around we can say that he was led astray by his own sin and foolishness.

MacArthur says that he was gullible, immature, self-centered and unable to cope with his miraculous powers that God had given him and I would add to that by saying he was prone to sexual immorality. And then fourth we have Jephthah. Just like with these others we see the story of Jephthah in Judges 11 to 12. Jephthah was an illegitimate child who rose to precede Samson as judge over Israel and he was given the responsibility to subdue the Ammonites, one of Israel's greatest enemies. And through faith, by faith, Jephthah was able to be victorious in the power of the Lord but he was flawed as well. Some of you remember his flaw.

He made a foolish vow to sacrifice his own daughter. We see this in Judges 11 verses 30 to 40. And then fifth we have David. Of course David is seen as one of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament and David is known for so much. I will just give us a couple of big picture statements here. David was the shepherd boy who killed Goliath with a stone and a sling and Goliath was the Philistine giant and the greatest warrior of the Philistines. He was the shepherd boy that God raised up to be king over Israel and he was a true servant of God who won many, many victories for God and he was even a man after God's own heart.

And by faith and through faith David killed Goliath and won many, many victories for God. But David was flawed as well. Many of you know these flaws. He took Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his soldiers. And in an effort to cover up his sin and sinfulness, David had Uriah killed so that he could take her as his wife. Well his plan didn't work out. God exposed him. Then six we have Samuel. And just like David, Samuel is well known and he can be seen as one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. Actually he was the last of the judges as well because after Samuel they had a king.

And notice that he was not a warrior or a military leader. He fought the battle against idolatry and immorality in the land. And he fought the battle against the corruption of the priesthood in the day. And he fought the battle against the corruption of the king. MacArthur described Samuel's battle in war saying his severest opponents frequently were not the Philistines, the Amorites or the Ammonites, but his own people. It often takes more courage to stand up against our friends than against our enemies. Let me restate that. That's good insight.

MacArthur says it often takes more courage to stand up against our friends than against our enemies. And by faith and in faith Samuel fought for the Lord and he fought well. And then last notice the author lists the prophets. Now here we see the author takes a bigger step back. Notice he's listing the prophets as examples. He doesn't mention any names. This is a broad category. And these prophets were the Old Testament prophets excluding Samuel. He's just mentioned Samuel. But the prophets just like the men listed before they risked everything to serve God and to obey God.

Prophet after prophet accepted God's call and God's commands on their life. They fought every battle the Lord brought their way and they made great sacrifices in the life of faith. And like Samuel these prophets did not fight on the battlefield like King David but they fought and won many victories for their Lord. And notice how they won their victories again by faith and through faith. So what do we see here? More examples of faith. Six specific men and you can't overlook Deborah because she's right there in the mix and a general reference to all of these Old Testament prophets.

And notice all, all fought the battles that God led them to fight. They fought and they won many victories by faith and through faith. And remember now faith has substance. It's not out there in the hope so. Their faith had substance. Their faith, the faith of all of these named and mentioned men rested in. It was rooted in the person of God and the call of God on their life. First their faith rested on the God that they loved, the God that called them, the God that they served and then second their faith rested on the work that he called them to do. But notice one more thing we need to come back to.

In my study more than one commentator that I read quoted John Calvin here speaking of these examples. Calvin said and I'm quoting, "In every saint there is always to be found something reprehensible. Nevertheless although faith may be imperfect and incomplete it does not cease to be approved by God." Let me restate that. In every saint there is always to be found something reprehensible. Nevertheless although faith may be imperfect and incomplete it does not cease to be approved by God. Let me give you an example. David sinned in taking another man's wife and having her husband killed that was and he is reprehensible.

And look church, we should not use their reprehensible sins and flaws as excuses for our sins and flaws. Don't do that church. Don't do that brother. Don't do that sister. Don't look at the grievous sins of men like David and excuse your own sin, excuse your own flaws. But I have to ask you what sins, what flaws are in your life, what sins, what flaws are in your marriage, in your home that can hinder you in the life of faith that God has for you. Do you think their sins and flaws hinder them? It sure hindered Samson. But I also want to turn it around.

God can and will use you in the life of faith that He has marked out for you even though you are flawed and more sinful and more flawed than you realize. Let me say that again. You need to see that God can and will use you in the life of faith that He has marked out for you even though you are flawed, even though you are far more sinful and flawed than you realize. I love what Leon Morris says here and I'm quoting, "The great ones also had defects, but that did not stop them from living by faith, nor should it stop us." This reminds me of what we've been studying on Wednesday nights through our study of the book of Acts.

We saw how the great ones in the church at Antioch had such a sharp disagreement that they split up. Paul and Barnabas split up. The great were not always the great. And what I'm trying to show you is this. In both the Old and the New Testaments, we see the reprehensible flaws of the saints of God. Now, I call you to read and study these examples, like I say, over and over. But I call you to another verse, Ephesians 2.10. We'll come to this verse next week, but Ephesians 2.10 is our verse for the life of faith that He has marked out for us. Some of you are nodding your head so you see where I'm going. So more examples of the life of faith.

The next number two, their unique experiences, verses 33 to 35. Their unique experiences. I want to read these verses. We'll see the change from what the author says here. Who, through faith, conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, who were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Then received back their dead by resurrection. Now the events and experiences that we have here in these verses, notice they are quite extraordinary. But this is really easy to understand.

And we will see that these events and experiences relate to two different groups, two different peoples. First, the experiences here in verses 33 to 35 are the experiences of the peoples that he listed out in verse 32. But second, the experiences can be connected to others not mentioned in verse 32. This will be easy for you to see. And again, I will not be exhaustive here. But simply this is what the author is saying. I'm putting all of this in my words. What more can I say? I don't have time. I don't have paper. I don't have ink to continue.

But Gideon, Barak, Samson, Japheth, David, Samuel, all these Old Testament prophets and many other saints of faith as seen in the Old Testament by faith and through faith had some unique experiences and exploits. So let me tell you about them. Now I'll take them one at a time. I'm referencing the English Standard Version. Your copy of God's Word could read a little different. We see they conquered kingdoms. Now think about it. We certainly can see that Joshua and David and many others conquered kingdoms. The Jewish historian Josephus used this term here speaking of King David. He says they enforced justice. This is simple.

This especially is applied to the judges who certainly have the responsibility to administer justice in the land in the time in which they reign. But we can say that the kings. Kings like David and Solomon and many others, they were remembered for reigns of justice. Not perfect justice, but justice and righteousness. They obtained promises. Now some say these promises obtained could refer to the covenants that God made with the people such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and so on. But we know that God made many promises to his people and especially to all those men and women listed in Hebrews 11. They stopped the mouths of lions.

I believe most think of Daniel when they hear this. Of course Daniel was thrown into the lions then in Daniel 6. Chapter 6 and the mouths of the lions were shut up or stopped. But this can refer to others. David was delivered from a lion. Benania killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day and Samson was delivered from lions. We see they quenched the power of fire. Of course the ones that come to mind here are the three young men that Nebuchadnezzar threw into the fire furnace. But they came out unharmed. Of course those men were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They escaped the edge of the sword.

Now if we know our Old Testament, we know that many of the Old Testament saints escaped the sword. Elijah escaped Jezebel who wanted to have him put to death. And then Elijah escaped the king of Syria. But we must not forget that David ran for his life when King Saul wanted to kill him. But they were made strong through weakness. Actually when we think of who this refers to, there are just too many in the Old Testament to count. I love what Leon Morris says here. I'm quoting him again. He says it is one of the basic features of serving God that He supplies those with little strength with whatever strength is needed. That needs to be restated.

It is one of the basic features of serving God that He, that's God, supplies those with little strength with whatever strength is needed. But think back to David when he was the shepherd boy. With a stone in a sling, he went up against Goliath the giant who was a professional warrior and soldier and we can truly say that David was made strong in his weakness. Then they became mighty in war. Again this can be applied to so many. Many were given what William McDonald calls strength beyond what was natural and enabled them to overcome in the face of insurmountable odds. Think about it. What about Samson?

Was he given strength beyond what was natural? Was he enabled to overcome in the face of insurmountable odds? Of course he was. They put forward armies to fight. Again this can be applied to so many. Many men of faith and women we think about Deborah. They were ill trained, ill equipped, greatly outnumbered, yet they won victory after victory because the opposing armies they were thrown into confusion and simply sometimes they just ran away for their lives. And then women received back their dead by resurrection.

If we know our Old Testament, we know that the widow Zarephath seen in 1 Kings 17 in the woman of Shuma of 2 Kings 4 both received back from the dead children raised by Elijah and Elijah. These mothers and both the prophets had the faith to believe in God for the resurrection from the dead and he did it. So what do we see here? These are great and exciting experiences that so many of these men and women of faith lived through and lived in the life of faith and lived as they fought the life of faith. Listen to the verses in the Amplified. It blessed me.

Who by faith that is with an enduring trust in God and his promises subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promise blessings, closed the mouths of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became mighty and unbeatable in battle, putting enemy forces to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. And I know the Amplified is alluded to this fact, but it must be stated. These Old Testament saints lived through those great, fearful and life-threatening experiences by faith and in faith in God. Their faith had substance now. It was in God.

Think about Daniel. Daniel was not comforted there in the lions den by some fuzzy feeling about God. He was comforted by the fact that he trusted in God. He knew God and he knew God was there with him. Think about David when he confronted, he faced Goliath. Listen, he was not comforted by some feeling that he got from some so-called Christian song. He was comforted by the strength and the fact that God was with him. God called him. He trusted God. God was with him right there when he went toe to toe with Goliath. But how does this apply to us? Well we may never conquer kingdoms.

We probably will not be thrown into a fiery pit or into a lions den. But we will go through trials and tribulations. We will have certain unique experiences and circumstances that are unique to all of us in our walk with God. And we do not have the spiritual power, spiritual strength, spiritual ability and wisdom to make it much less go through these experiences and come out alive and say much less victorious. But by faith and through faith in him our weakness can be made strong. I was sharing this with Keith and some of the other men earlier.

Like in my seminary days I had a professor that used to say, "Boys," he always called us boys and it was a room full of grown men. But he was in his late 60s so he could do that. He said, "Boys, the Pentecostals and Charismatics have made us Baptists afraid of the Holy Spirit." And it's true. But I kind of piggyback off that. The Charismatics and Pentecostals have made us afraid of a term like spiritual victory. We shouldn't be afraid of that, church. These men, these women won spiritual victory after victory, victory after victory.

And you know when I look across the congregation, when I think about men and women in our congregation, families, I have a list here. I see victory after victory, victory after victory through difficult circumstances, victory after victory. And some of you are right in the middle of those battles and you are winning the victory. So just keep on keeping on and use these unique experiences of the life of faith before us as motivation. Next, number three, they're unique sufferings. They're unique sufferings. Let's look back at those verses. We'll see the transition. Starts in the middle of verse 35.

Women received back, they're dead by resurrection. And notice the transition. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn into, they were killed with a sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wondering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and the caves of the earth. Now here the author again makes another shift.

He did not want his readers to believe and make a mistake that if they followed Christ savingly, they would always be delivered. Remember that original audience? He wanted to show them that many of the Old Testament saints did suffer some horribly, unimaginably. And just like with those great and exciting experiences, he ran through these great and horrible sufferings. I will take them one at a time. Again, I'm referencing the English Standard Version. Your version may read a little different. Some were tortured. Here the author simply says that some of the Old Testament saints of faith were tortured.

And although the author does not explain what this torture was or what it looked like, the language here speaks of severe torture. But notice how they reacted. They refused to be released. Finally they did not fail to remain steadfast and true to God and the faith. They did not waver in their faith so as to be relieved. And notice why they did so. They believed by faith and in faith that God would not fail to raise them up to the promised land. Some were mocked and flogged. Here the author says that some endured something better than severe torture, mocking and flogging.

One commentator pointed out how the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah endured emotional abuse as he was physically abused, which is one of the reasons he was referred to as the weeping prophet. But of course Jeremiah did weep for the people, but he certainly did endure all sorts of flogging and mocking. Some were stoned. Now stoning was the most common form of Jewish execution. The Old Testament teaches us that fact and we see that in the New Testament as well. Now this may surprise you, but Jesus tells us the same thing in Matthew 23, 35.

He confronted the religious leaders with the fact that their ancestors murdered the prophet Zechariah by stoning him between the sanctuary and the altar. Then some were sawn in too. Now to understand what the author is referring to here is this. Now to understand what the author is saying here, we must look outside of scripture to Jewish tradition, very reliable Jewish tradition tells us that Isaiah was sawn in too because the people were so tired of his powerful preaching of God's Word. Some were killed by the sword. Here the author goes back to a more common way of execution.

The prophet Uriah was killed by the sword for the same reason as Isaiah, proclaiming God's Word to the king as seen in Jeremiah 26. But notice how the author seems to make another shift from explaining the specific sufferings that many of the saints suffered in faith to giving a general description of how they lived. Look back at verse 37 and 38. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. Now normally the Old Testament saints lived and dressed very, very simple.

Very few of the people were wealthy, but here the author says that some were clothed in sheep skins and goat skins. And for many we are reminded of Elijah in 2 Kings 1.18 where Zechariah refers to Elijah saying he wore a garment of hair and had a belt of leather around his waist. But the language does not restrict this only to the prophets. This means that many of these Old Testament saints of faith dress this way. Now this is the point the author is making. He says that many of the Old Testament saints of faith dressed in animal skins which reflects their very humble, very impoverished and rejected position in life and society.

And he says they were destitute, they were afflicted, they were mistreated. William McDonald describes this by saying they suffered poverty, probation and persecution. Poverty, probation and persecution. That's accurate. They were mistreated. They were singled out for persecution and their persecution led them to a life of poverty and probation. And notice the author has shown us how the world saw them, but notice how God saw them. Look back at verse 37 and 38. Again how the world saw them versus how God saw them.

They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted and mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. Robert Barnes explains this beautifully saying these poor, despised and persecuted people living as outcasts and wanderers were of a character far elevated above the world. You see that? They were of a character far elevated above the world. He goes on to say it is at once a statement of their imminent holiness and of the wickedness of the rest of mankind. The author goes on to further explain how they lived. They seem to have no homes.

They seem to live isolated in lonely places wherever they could find shelter and protection in the deserts, in the mountains, in the caves. Now what do we see here? The author is showing us that not only did the Old Testament saints of faith live through great experiences, great exploits in their journey of faith such as conquering kingdoms, receiving loved ones back from the dead, but many of these Old Testament saints suffered terribly, suffered horribly.

They were mistreated, persecuted and executed in the worst of ways and they lived not as the wealthy and respected, but in animal skins and caves worthy of heaven and not worthy of this world. And look at what this says to us. None of us have suffered in our life of faith like these saints. You see that? Not one of us here this morning, none of us have suffered in our life of faith like these Old Testament saints suffered. I've been mocked, but I've never been flogged. I've been mocked, but I've never been tortured and stoned. Have you? Have you even been mocked?

I do not believe any of us have been persecuted out of our homes and we're living in a tent on the back 40 to escape persecution from society. The last time I checked in our community, we are more likely to be respected for our Christianity rather than tortured, flogged, stoned and sawn in two. I don't have to tell you, but my wife ran for a political position here a few months back and I had the privilege of helping her in her campaign and we found ourself in home after home, home after home. And many times I couldn't tell if I was making a church visit or a political visit.

And even in the homes of people who clearly did not love the Lord, they respected us for our Christianity and even my position as a pastor. But what I'm trying to show you is this, the last time I checked in our community, we are more likely to be respected than persecuted. And to me, this tells me we should be doing two things. First, we should be praying for those who are living in these kind of circumstances. There are Christians who live in these kind of circumstances. And second, we should be using our freedom and our prosperity to do kingdom work. So the unique sufferings of the Old Testament saints of faith.

Now next week we will finish up chapter 11 by looking at verses 39 to 40 and the promise made to those who live by faith. And we will see how we are included in this promise along with those Old Testament saints of faith. And again, I will use some other verses to make some great application for us, unique application in our day to wrap up this chapter. But in closing, look at what we have before us. The author has been giving example after example, example after example from Abel to Abraham and Sarah to the Exodus generation and then to Rahab.

And the author finishes off this list by simply saying, I don't have time to go through all of the examples of the life of faith in the Old Testament. I'll just mention a few and I'll mention their experiences and then I'll mention their sufferings. Look church, we do. We do. We do have the time to study the great examples of the life of faith seen in the Old Testament and the New Testament. You see, we do have the time. And look church, the saints of faith, both Old and New Testament should motivate us, encourage us, even convict us to be the men and the women of faith in our day. Now remember the key to it all.

The key to living the life of faith is possessing true saving faith. If you're not a born again Christian, you cannot live the life of faith. You cannot live the life of faith. But I want to add to that by telling you, revealing to you what I call the secret sauce to it all. The secret sauce to living the life of faith is living the Spirit-filled life. Paul says in Ephesians 5, 18, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." Be filled, be controlled, be motivated, be guided by the Spirit. That is the secret to it all.

So verses 32 to 38, they're all about faith exemplified, more examples of faith and their experiences, more examples of faith in their experiences. Let's pray as we always do and commit these things to our Lord.