Faith of our Fathers - Living Grace Fellowship

Wednesday 1/14/15

Topic: Patriarchal Faith Pt. 1

Series – Faith of our Fathers.mp3

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:23:15 — 115.0MB)

Scriptures:

Gen. 5: 18-24; 28-29
Gen. 6:8,9
Genesis 7:1, 5
Genesis 8:15
Genesis 9:1
1 Peter 3:1-6
Heb. 11:5, 6
Jude 1:14, 15
…etc.

I deliberately chose to call this series of teachings ‘Patriarchal Faith’ knowing it would generate a kickback from those who reject the notions of a patriarchal society. I do this so that those who are willingly blind to the truth may remain so by being offended at the onset.

The concept of Patriarchs in a world where gender roles are not only being removed but openly criticized as wrong, seems loathsome. This is of course the typical direction any adolescent culture takes when trying to break away from their roots. They claim anything old is therefore wrong BECAUSE it is old.This is supposed to be a solid case of reasoning which supports itself and needs no further explanation. In truth, historically, this is the complete opposite of solid reasoning.

In this series we are taking a look at our forefathers in the faith. This is altogether different than examples of faith. We have tremendous examples of from both females and males alike. The difference is a patriarch is a forerunner – a pace setter – one who leads by example. In the arena of God’s advancement of His kingdom on earth, he has ALWAYS chosen to use men when pioneering a work. This needs no defense it is simply true.

NOTE: This is NOT to say that precious women of faith are not also an example to men for they are! What it is saying is that they are not the founders of a life-style to men per se, but an example of faith! They ARE however, founders of a life-style to other women as is seen in 1 Peter 3:1-6,

“(1) Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,
(2) when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
(3) Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear–
(4) but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
(5) For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,
(6) as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”

Our first example of faith which we used is Enoch

Enoch –

History – Gen. 5: 18-24
Retelling – Heb. 11:5, 6
Enoch’s prophecy – Jude 1:14, 15

Enoch is the Old Testament person of that name found in Genesis 5:18-24), the man who “walked with God.”

The retelling of this story is found in Hebrews 11:5,6.

Finally, Enoch is mentioned in the book of Jude by a quotation taken from the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

This book, known to the Church Fathers of the second century, was lost for some time with the exception of a few fragments, but was found in its entirety in a copy of the Ethiopic Bible in 1773. It consists of revelations purporting to have been given to Enoch and Noah.

Three things we learned from Enoch concerning faith…

He walked with God.
He placed the whole of his relational trust in the God he intimately came to know.
Enoch’s life was a testimony and a witness to the relationship God desires with man.

The net result of all of this was Enoch pleased God!

The phrase “Walked with God” is both literal and metaphorically. Usually it speaks of the pathways (i.e., behavior) of one’s life. Other references for this word as it is used in scripture are Gen. 3:8; 5:22; (Opposite Lev. 26:40).

Noah –

His story is largely found in Genesis 5:28-29; 6:8, 9. We learned three things from Noah…

Noah also “Walked” with God.

Noah obeyed God. Genesis 7:1, 5; 8:15; 9:1

He was a preacher of righteousness.

The net result was God called Noah a righteous man. Examples of this are found in Ezek. 14:14,20; 2 Peter 2:5; Heb. 11:7

Abram –

Excavations in the city of Ur where Abraham lived, reveal the fact that Abraham was not a wild desert sheik, but an educated, wealthy, sophisticated citizen of the world, a man living in and ostensibly partaking of a state of culture and opulence, little dreamed of by the person who is unfamiliar with the ancient civilizations of the past.

Abraham was no ignorant man possessing little more than a gullible faith. With all his cultural background, and in spite of it, he saw that trusting God was a way of life which ultimately led to salvation.

Those who live by a faith like Abraham’s, share with him in the same salvation which he received from God.

NOTE: When Abram decided to take God’s promise into his own control to fulfill it – we have disaster which we are living with even today. That son’s name was Ishmael and it is from them that we have the Arab nations of today. This is why the Arabs are still at war and will always be at war with Israel their brother. Nevertheless, God’s blessing is on them both which is why neither will ever be completely destroyed.

God originally speaks to Abram at 75 years of age as is seen in Gen. 12:1-3.

Abram is impatient – Gen. 15:1-6
Abram heeds his wife at age 85 and has Ishmael– Gen 16:1-3 (Abraham had been in Canaan for 11 years when Ishmael was born – 16:16).
God comes to Abram 14 years later at 99 years of age and speaks again – Gen. 17:1-22 / 18:1-15.

What did we learn from Abram/Abraham?

He walked with God.
He obeyed God as he revealed himself to Abram.
He questioned, but ultimately trusted God.
He learned that God was both the promise and the reward – thus making faith relational and NOT about things!

Gen. 15:1 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

We also looked at…

Isaac & Jacob as inheritors of the possession of their Father.

How Joseph mingled power with love, respect and total trust in God.

Moses – reared as an Egyptian elite, yet forsook it to be in the company of the righteous and in the service of God.

David – began poor and insignificant, yet became rich and powerful – He continued to walk with God.

Solomon – rich, yet became poor (love of women)

Nehemiah – Cup bearer – in the best position he could desire, and yet in His passion for God and His people he forsook it all – never looking back with longing.

The one set of universal truths that set these men apart and made them great in God’s sight was that, even where it does not specifically say it, they all walked with God, learned Who He was by direct communion with Him and they placed all of their relational trust in the God they came to know.

We also read Heb. 11, which is the biblical “hall of Faith” in which both men and women appear as great examples of knowing, loving and trusting God!

We hope you will enjoy the rest of this teaching.

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Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!