So how are we doing?

All these people were still living by faith when they died. Hebrews 11:13

This is my new favorite verse from Hebrews 11. It tells us something incredible. I think of the Old Testament characters as those who had the Spirit of God come upon them only for certain tasks such as the ones mentioned here in this famous chapter on faith — like crossing the Red Sea, smiting the Midianites, shutting the mouths off lions, conquering kingdoms, administering justice, enduring torture, etc.. But we rarely think of them as living or walking by faith all the time. This indicates that their faith continued even after their mighty acts, so that they were able to “live by faith” all the time, and did so right up until their death. They lived by faith even though they did not have the Holy Spirit as a permanent possession. Now that’s something. How much more are we, who have the eternal Spirit of God living inside us, able to experience the power of God in our lives continually?

And here’s the thing: They were living by faith when they died! Right up to the end. For those of us who are Boomers, this kind of statement gets closer to home every day. Like my favorite line from the classic movie, Bladerunner: “How long have we got?”

How about you? Are you dead yet? Then what’s your excuse? Have you wrestled any lions lately? Brought down any kingdoms? Endured persecution? Seen anyone raised from the dead? Brought an army up from a field of dry bones? Have you already succumbed to Boomeritis, or are you, like Caleb when he was 85, calling out the giants in the land as your preferred target? If not, you need to show up at our Zoom revival meeting tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. Pacific where we are going to seek an awakening of the Spirit in our lives.

We need this revival. If the men and women of faith in the Old Testament were still living by faith when they died, how much more can we who have the Holy Spirit experience the power of our faith every moment of every day? Maybe I’m the only one, but I’m far too often giving in when I could be overcoming.

So how are we doing? As you ponder this question, let’s think about the lions in our lives? Where is the enemy getting through our defenses? Who are the giants we face in our world? Be thinking about that in preparation for tomorrow.