ArticlesOf Whom The
World is Not Worthy Ofby Maurice Perry
Printable Version
Hebrews
11:32-38
32 And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell
of Ged’-e-on, and of Ba’-rak, and of Samson, and of Jeph’-thae; of
David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith
subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped
the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women
received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured,
not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and
scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not
worthy of) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth.
What does it possibly take to be a man or woman of whom the world
was not, or is not worthy of? How can this awesome status be the
label of a person, people, or more specifically, the body of Christ?
“To be a man or woman whom the world is not worthy of” is something
that every Christian and the church of today should be striving for.
It should be the declaration of the world (secular society) about
us, the precious bride of Christ. And what is the world saying about
the body of Christ at this very moment?
I believe the world is looking at the body of Christ as a disjointed
entity that will never live up to the true message of Christianity.
With the differences of biblical interpretation, due mainly to
man-made denominational groupings, the body of Christ has become so
segmented over the past 300 years that the body has become detached
like “Voltron pieces”! (for those that are too young or too old to
remember what Voltron was, it was a cartoon and action figure in the
1980’s in which five different pieces came together to make one
massive body or structure).
However, denominational struggles and disagreements is another
subject matter in itself. What I want to focus on are the things
that made the group of people mentioned in the scripture above men
or women whom the world was not worthy of. Only then will we know
the pattern or ways in which we too can also be seen as men or women
that the world is not worthy of.
The first thing that we notice is that there was a level of faith
that had to be within each and every one of the individuals that
were mentioned in order to be able to become kings and prophets, and
to subdue kingdoms. They were so overly consumed with pleasing the
Father that their faith was never on the brink of disintegrating and
failing. These men loved God more than their own souls, placing
their lives on the line in warfare and in the midst of severe
persecution. And because of their total obedience and surrender to
the will of God, verses 33 and 34 were able to come to pass.
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness
were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the
armies of the aliens.
We, who carry the call of being Christian in this world that we live
in must replicate this same kind of bold faith in order to
persevere, conquer and take dominion and authority over the kingdom
of darkness, principalities and powers that try to hinder our growth
in the Lord, shake our faith, and hinder the flow of blessings that
God has stored up for us. We must be consumed with being a blessing
to God with the act of our faithfulness unto him, rather than being
consumed with receiving a blessing. The kingdom of God is an
upside-down kingdom, meaning, that its characteristics are the
absolute opposite of the characteristics of this world. One trait of
the world, for example, is the “get mine” mentality, a selfish trait
that leads to covetousness and inevitably, idolatry. The Kingdom
mindset is “give, and it shall be given unto you.” The notion that
“God blesses those who blesses themselves, or helps those who help
themselves” is a lie straight from the pits of hell! If you have
been using this saying, please stop, because it is not biblical. It
is a selfish statement that is full of confusion and it is
anti-Christian, rhetorically. The truth of the matter is that God
helps those who help others… God blesses those who bless others. It
is the selfless act of humility giving which God honors and blesses.
Another very important reason why the individuals talked about in
verse 32 (and Hebrews 11 in its entirety) were men and women whom
the world was not, and is not worthy of is the fact that they lived
a life of separation and sanctification, being totally devoted to
ministering unto God and doing His will. And likewise, we, in the
hour that we live in, must be totally separated unto God in
Holiness, righteousness and sanctification as living sacrifices.
Living holy, pleasing and acceptable unto the Lord is what separates
us from the things of this world. Actually being counter-cultural,
radical and going against the grain of secular opinion is what we
are called to become and do. When the Holy Spirit begins to
transform our mind and ways of thinking, our thoughts will then
affect our actions, and our actions will become subliminally
counter-cultural and Holy Spirit driven! The taste, aroma and mere
presence that we leave with people or in a room will definitely
create separation from the things of this world. We need to become
reprobate to the things of the world, just as sinners are reprobate
to the things of God (Romans 1:28).
To be worthy is to be valued or prized. If we think of ourselves as
being of monetary value, we must ask ourselves, “Where do we spend
ourselves?” What makes us different from the world is how we handle
“our money” and what we do with it. Again, let’s think of ourselves
as being with monetary value. Are we spending ourselves on the
things of the world, or on the things of God? Are we giving all we
have and all of ourselves to the things of the world, or are we
investing our time, talent and treasure, wholeheartedly, into the
things of the Kingdom of God? We must always make sure that we are
giving God all that we have, and use our money, and ourselves for
the advancement and glorification of His Kingdom.
… where your treasure is, there also is your heart…
Another thing that we must know and understand is that this world is
not our home and final destination. Our final destination is New
Jerusalem (heaven, Revelation 21) with our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ for ever and ever. We must make sure that we do not allow
ourselves to become complacent with the ways of this world and
comfortable with the environments that we live in, in which are full
of strife, envy, jealousy, murder, violence, immorality, sexual
perversion, all of which are amongst other sinful actions that are
contrary to the Word of God. The faithful individuals spoken of in
Hebrews 11 may have wandered in the deserts, mountains and caves of
this earth physically, but their hearts were always fixated on God,
His commandments and promises for them. When we get to the point
where we begin to live a life that is fixated on the things of God,
this is when we will finally be delivered from the things and ways
of this world and finally begin to walk completely in the ways of
God and receive His provision, providence, promises and blessings.
Revelation 12:10-11
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation,
and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused
them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they
loved not their lives unto the death.
Becoming over-comers is only possible through the name of Jesus and
His blood that was shed on the cross, by our testimonies and stories
of deliverance from past strongholds and pitfalls, and not loving
the life that we live on this earth, but possessing a burning
passion and desire for the life that we will live in heaven with our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews states that there simply isn’t enough time in
the earth to talk about the many blessings that were bestowed on the
people mentioned in Hebrews 11. Will our loved ones, family and
friends be able to say the same thing about us when we die? Will
they be able to say that there isn’t enough time in the world to
talk about all of the wonderful things that we did for the Kingdom
of God while we were alive?
Are you a man or woman of whom the world is not worthy of?
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Maurice Perry is the owner of
Sak-Kloth Company, a Christian Online Resource Center that caters to
the needs of all Christians. Visit Sak-Kloth Company today at
http://www.sak-kloth.com
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