BROKEN VESSELS, BURNING FAITH (3)

How God Moves Through the Unlikely Heroes of Hebrews 11SAMSON: OUT OF WEAKNESS, MADE STRONGGod called Samson to be Israel’s deliverer from the Philistines. Note this carefully: Samson’s ministry was never based on his worthiness. It originated in God’s sovereign purpose and grace – God chose a deeply flawed man to begin breaking Philistine oppression.And Samson grew up to waste that calling. He spent his strength fulfilling his own lusts rather than pursuing God’s plan. His battles became personal rather than political – driven by revenge for what was done to him, not concern for his people. Yet despite this pattern of self-indulgence, his faith ultimately resurged.Hebrews 11:34 describes those “out of weakness [who] were made strong” — and no one fits that description better than Samson. His story begins with supernatural strength; it ends with a blinded, humiliated, imprisoned man who has no confidence left in himself. And at that moment, he cried out to God.Samson’s faith, at its core, was three things:- A life lived within God’s covenant purpose. Samson was “set apart to God from the womb” (Judges 13:7), and despite himself, his life remained inside that purpose. He “began to save Israel” (Judges 13:5). The deliverance was incomplete – but it was real, and it was God’s work through him.- Cooperation with the Spirit when it counted. The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him repeatedly, and when empowered, Samson acted. His faith, such as it was, consistently moved when God moved.- The final prayer of dependence: “Remember me… strengthen me only this once” (Judges 16:28). In Hebrews’ terms, he “obtained promises” by asking. The eyes were gone, the strength was gone, the pride was gone – and what remained asked God. God heard, and Samson’s final act accomplished more than all his years of strength.Samson and Jephthah stand side by side in Hebrews 11 – the two most compromised judges, both Spirit-empowered, both ruined by presumption and appetite. They are listed not because they were admirable, but because faith – even late, small, and poorly worded faith – is the instrument through which God works, and the one thing He never refuses.RAHAB: THE SCARLET CORD OF FAITHJoshua led Israel across the Jordan, and the first city the LORD gave him to conquer was Jericho. He sent two spies. When the king’s soldiers came looking for them, Rahab – a prostitute, a Canaanite, a woman with no covenant pedigree at all – hid the spies in her house and later lowered them through her window with a scarlet cord. The spies promised her: when Israel came against the city, she was to hang that scarlet cord in her window, and all who gathered inside her house would be saved.Listen to her confession of faith:- “I know that the LORD has given you the land” (Joshua 2:9). Before she ever saw the Israelite army, she confessed the land was theirs. She heard – and having faith, she believed.- “The LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). She had only heard the report that God parted the Red Sea – yet she believed, while an entire generation of Israel that saw it with their own eyes perished in unbelief. Faith comes by hearing, and it is released through speaking and acting.- Faith believes the promise before the wall falls. She acted: she hid the spies, lowered them through the window, and hung the scarlet cord outside the window – a visible mark of an invisible covenant, visible from the street, long before Jericho’s walls showed any sign of falling.James writes: “Was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (James 2:25).She believed God would save her and her household – and her faith had corresponding action. The cord in the window was not superstition; it was faith made visible.And grace gets the last word. In Matthew’s genealogy, Rahab is listed as one of Jesus’ ancestresses – a foreigner and a prostitute, standing alongside Tamar, Ruth, and Bathsheba, women whose stories are marked by scandal and grace. Rahab proves that God’s covenant people are not a bloodline but a faith line: “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). The scarlet cord that saved her house runs straight into the bloodline of the Jesus who saves the world.CONCLUSION: FAITH THAT PLEASES GODLook back at the four we have met.- Barak – the capable commander who refused to go anywhere God was not going. His faith brought God into the battle.- Jephthah – the rejected outcast whom God vindicated, who started in faith but tried to bargain with grace in the middle of the promise – and paid the full price.- Samson – the strongman who wasted his strength on himself, until blindness, chains, and the temple floor taught him the one prayer that moved heaven: “Remember me … only this once.”R- ahab – the outsider who heard one report, believed it against every visible circumstance, and acted on it at the cost of everything – and was woven into Christ's lineage.None of the four was admirable. All four heard something. And all four, in the end, were available – Barak available to obey, Rahab available to believe, Samson available at last, Jephthah available despite his wounds.God is searching for people whose faith is alive: faith that hears the rhema word of God, believes it against all evidence, and releases it through corresponding action.So hear the Word of the Lord today. Faith comes by hearing. Then do what Barak did – refuse to move without God. Do what Rahab did – hang the cord, act on the promise. Don’t do what Jephthah did – never add your own terms to God’s grace. And if you are where Samson was – weakened, humbled, at the end of yourself – know this: that is not the end of your story. It may be the beginning of your faith.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

破碎的器皿，燃烧的信心 (三)

神如何使用希伯来书11章里那些看起来不像英雄的人参孙：出于软弱，变为刚强神呼召参孙，是要他拯救以色列脱离非利士人的手。请仔细留意：参孙的事奉从来不基于他自己配得不配得，而是源于神主权的旨意和恩典 —— 神拣选了一个缺陷十分明显的人来反抗非利士人的压迫。可参孙长大后，却浪费了这个呼召。他把自己的力气花在满足自己的情欲上，而不是追求神的计划。他的争战变成了个人恩怨而非民族大义 —— 被别人如何对待他的复仇心所驱动，而不是出于对同胞的关切。然而，尽管他反反复复放纵自己，他的信心最终还是重新点燃了。希伯来书11章34节描述的那些“软弱变为刚强”的人 —— 没有人比参孙更符合这个描述了。他的故事以超自然的力量开始，却以一个双目失明、受尽羞辱、被囚禁、对自己再无半点自信的人结束。而就在那一刻，他向神呼求。参孙的信心归根到底在于三件事：- 活在神圣约所定的旨意中。参孙“从母腹里就归神作拿细耳人”（士师记13:7），尽管他自己并不争气，他的一生仍然留在这个旨意之内。他“必起首拯救以色列人”（士师记13:5）。拯救并不完全 —— 但它是真实的，是神藉着他所做的工作。- 在关键时刻与圣灵同工。耶和华的灵屡次降在他身上，当他得着能力，他就开始行动。他的信心，虽然也就那样，却总是在神运行的时候跟着去行动。- 最后的倚靠祷告：“求你眷念我……赐我这一次的力量”（士师记16:28）。用希伯来书的话说，他藉着祈求“得了应许”。眼睛没了，力气没了，骄傲也没了 —— 剩下的是什么？剩下的是向神呼求。神听见了，所以参孙的最后一搏，比他一生所有力量加起来所成就的还要多。在希伯来书11章里，参孙和耶弗他并列 —— 这两位妥协最多的士师，都曾被圣灵充满，也都曾因为擅自妄为和情欲而毁了自己。他们被列在其中，不是因为他们令人钦佩，而是因为信心 —— 即便是迟来的、微小的、措辞愚拙的信心 —— 也是神用来动工的器皿，而且是祂从不拒绝的一件事。喇合：信心的红线约书亚带领以色列人过了约旦河，耶和华交给他去征服的第一座城就是耶利哥。他派了两个探子去。当王的士兵来搜捕他们时，喇合 —— 一个妓女，迦南人，在约上毫无家谱渊源的女人—— 把探子藏在她家里，后来用一根朱红线绳把他们从窗户缒下去。探子应许她说：当以色列人来攻打这城时，她要把那根朱红线绳系在窗户上，凡聚集在她屋里的人都必得救。且听她信心的宣告：- “我知道耶和华已经把这地赐给你们”（约书亚记2:9）。在她看见以色列军队之前，她就承认这地是他们的领土。她听见了 —— 并且因着信心，她选择相信。- “耶和华你们的神，本是上天下地的神”（约书亚记2:11）。她只是听说了神分开红海的传闻 —— 但是她相信了；而整整一代亲眼看见这个神迹的以色列人，却因不信而倒毙旷野。信心是从听道来的，并且藉着说话和行动释放出来。- 信心在城墙倒塌之前就相信了应许。她行动了：她把探子藏起来，从窗户把他们缒下去，又把朱红线绳系在窗外 —— 无形之约所立下的有形记号，从街上就能看见，远在耶利哥城墙显出任何倒塌迹象之前。雅各写道：“妓女喇合接待使者，又放他们从别的路上出去，不也是一样因行为称义吗？”（雅各书2:25）她相信神会救她和她的全家 —— 而她的信心也有相应的行动。窗户上的那根线绳不是迷信，而是将信心表明出来。而恩典有最终解释权。在马太福音的家谱中，喇合被列为耶稣的先祖之一 —— 一个外邦人、一个妓女，与她玛、路得和拔示巴并列，这些女人的故事都带着丑闻与恩典的印记。喇合的故事证明：与神立约的百姓不是凭着血脉传承，而是出于信心的谱系：“所以你们要知道，那以信为本的人，就是亚伯拉罕的子孙。”（加拉太书3:7）那根拯救她全家的红线，一直延伸进那位拯救世界的耶稣的血脉之中。结语：信心得蒙神的喜悦让我们回顾一下所讲的四位英雄：：- 巴拉：有能力的统帅，拒绝去任何神不与他同去的地方。他的信心把神带进了战场。- 耶弗他：被弃绝的局外人，神为他伸了冤；他凭信心起步，却在应许成就的过程中试图与恩典讨价还价 —— 他也付上了全部的代价。- 参孙：把力气浪费在自己身上的大力士，直到失明、锁链和庙宇的地板教会了他那唯一能感动天上的祷告：“求你眷念我…… 只这一次。”- 喇合：一个外邦人，只因为听见那一个消息，就顶着一切可见的环境相信了，并付上一切代价去行动 —— 最终被编织进基督的家谱中。这四人没有一个是令人钦佩的角色。但他们都听见了出于神的话，也最终都愿意摆上自己被神用 —— 巴拉被用来顺服，喇合被用来相信，参孙到最后一刻终于可以被神用，耶弗他尽管带着伤痕，但也可以被使用。神正在寻找那些拥有活泼信心的人：那听见神话语（rhema）的信心，那顶着一切相反的证据仍然相信的信心，那藉着相应的行动释放出来的信心。所以，今天你要听主的话。信心是从听道来的。然后照着巴拉所做的去做 —— 没有神同在，就拒绝行动。照着喇合所做的去做 —— 系上那根线绳，照着应许行动。不要跟耶弗他照着学 —— 永远不要在神的恩典上附加你自己的条件。如果你正处在参孙的光景中 —— 软弱、蒙羞、走投无路 —— 那你要知道：这不是你故事的结局，却可能是你信心的开始。张耀光牧师 新加坡信心教会请访问我们的中文播客,faithchurch.sg/牧师手札/#牧师手札 ... See MoreSee Less