Sample Chapters

Preface

Are you a man of faith? If you are, you stand out against the crowd. The Bible teaches us that “not every man has faith” (2 Thess. 3:2). So, in this sense, you exist among a select few who possess an extraordinarily rich, rare, and satisfying gift, something the apostle Peter considered precious (2 Peter 1:1)

Notice the word gift. Although you possess faith, you do not have it because you have done anything great to deserve it. In fact, there is much in your nature that isn’t so great at all. How can you know this? God tells you (Rom. 3:23). You and I are flawed beings in desperate need of repair and reconciliation with God.

Yet that’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it?

In the same way this stubborn, sin-filled world never deserved Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it will never deserve to have faith in the Son of Man, also God’s present to sinful mankind. God holds out the precious gift of faith to violent men, drug addicts, sexual predators, adulterers, thieves, abusers, murderers, and liars. Men who lust, hate, curse, swear, and arrogantly condemn others can receive it. God offers faith to all men through His awesome Word of Life, Christ Jesus. And for the few people in this world willing to receive His handout (Matthew 7:14), the benefits are amazing.

Let the following pages show you how truly favored by God you are as a man of faith. Take some time to examine six other men who were as flawed as they come but whom God selected to lead His people, Israel, in remarkable ways. Walk with Abraham, the nation’s founder, and with Moses, its greatest judge. Journey with Elijah, Israel’s most awe-inspiring prophet, and with David, its bravest earthly king. Travel with Peter and Paul, apostles of Jesus most instrumental in proclaiming God’s new covenant for Israel and the rest of the world established through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Perhaps these six men’s stories are not new to you; in fact, you may have read them many times over. If so, that’s a good thing. This time, however, as you read their stories, I’d like you to place your focus on the benefits that God afforded them, benefits He still affords to the rare man of faith in the world, the imperfect one in whom God delights.

Let’s stand here among the giants, our heads bowed with theirs in praise and gratitude for God’s incomprehensible love.

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Introduction

In the Bible, the number seven represents something perfect or complete; six falls just short of that perfection. Kind of like us, isn’t it? With God in our lives, we’re being made perfect, complete, or whole (Hebrews 12:22-23; Jas. 1:4; Col. 2:10). Live short of Him, and we’re left undone in our sins.

It’s fitting, then, that this book examines the lives of six men of faith from the Bible, men who, like us, were far from perfect. Three of them committed murder; another three used serial lying to save their necks. One of them deserted his wife; another one stole someone else’s. Three ran for their lives to the wilderness, one feeling so abandoned he could die. All of them struggled with waiting for God’s plan.

Yet despite their imperfections, the hearts of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, and Paul are worthy of our imitation. Their life journeys teach us that, regardless of our flaws, mistakes, failures, and outright sins, it is our faith in Almighty God that can transform our relationship with Him into something deeply meaningful. With Him, we can become great.

Want to know one of the most intriguing facts about these mighty men of God? Their works totaled nothing but filthy rags, trash, or manure considering who God is and what He does. (Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:7-10). Zilch. Nada.

I am amazed at this fact! Men and women of God throughout the history of the Bible have performed spectacular deeds: killed giants, stopped the mouths of lions, raised dead folk, brought thousands to righteousness, and endured reprehensible torture (Genesis 11:32-40; Hebrews 11). They performed impressive acts I could not even picture myself imitating, if I’m honest. The world certainly was not worthy of believers like these (Hebrews 11:38).

Yet God did not hold these six standout men in esteem because of their deeds (nor is He impressed with any of ours, just so you’re aware). Not at all. He was the One accomplishing amazing acts through them, anyway. God was impressed by something else, something that made Him do a double take as He observed how these six servants lived.

What caught God’s eye and pleased Him most wasn’t so much what they did but why they did what they did. These men achieved such feats because they ultimately believed God could accomplish in them what they were supposed to achieve, deliver, receive, endure, or overcome. They recognized they were weak and powerless without God but that with Him, they could do the unbelievable (Psalm 18:29). They were men of faith.

If you haven’t caught the focus of this book yet, here it is: Having faith matters greatly to God. In fact, without faith, it is impossible to please God with any good deed or noble feat we might complete in this life. (Hebrews 11:6). And can’t we agree that humanity has accomplished some pretty impressive achievements and philanthropy? Nonetheless, all of mankind has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); in our natural state, we’re separated from God, broken. So, if you desire to be truly great, walk closely with God, and court His favor, become a man or woman of faith. Faith, not personal goodness, is paramount to receiving the notice of God.

Let these men and their examples of faith teach you that notwithstanding your own mistakes, sins, and weaknesses, your faith in Almighty God can transform your relationship with Him into something beautifully meaningful. As He did for these men, God desires to walk you through your dark valleys, prosper you, and through His loving Son, Jesus, cancel your death sentence and give you a new name.

God lovingly favors today’s flawed yet faithful Christ-follower

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Part 1 – Called to Lead

1 Flawed Yet Faithful ’til Death

[…]

As I sat at my computer one day, I asked Microsoft’s Copilot app to tell me about the apostle Peter, and one of the details it gave that struck me the most was that Peter was “deeply human.” “Well, that’s a nice euphemism for ‘flawed’,'” I thought. Still, I appreciated the descriptor; I felt grateful for the Bible’s descriptions of Peter’s “deeply human” character; in fact, his character made me relate much more to being a Christian than did Christ’s other apostles.

Peter had a burning desire to be all that His Master wanted him to be. Yet he fell so short of fulfilling this desire that, on more than one occasion, he needed help from Jesus to stand up again, literally and figuratively. Recognize anyone like that? I do (whenever I look in the mirror).

First, let’s look at three not-so-strong qualities of this Christ follower with so strong a faith, he was first among Jesus’ apostles to openly profess Him as the Son of God (Matthew 16:16):

Jockeying for position. I imagine that being given the nickname “rock” by the Son of God has got to carry some weight of temptation on the ego. I also imagine that, because of his assumed status among Jesus’ followers, Peter was among the first to get in a huff over James and John’s request to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in His kingdom (Mark 10:37), even if their mom put them up to asking for that grant (Matthew 20:21).

Yet Jesus made it clear to Peter (and to us) that serving, not seeking position or status or to be served, defines the heart of a true Christ-follower (Luke 22:24-30).

Lying. To be fair, there was a lot of pressure on Peter (read: fear) as he stood with the crowd the night Jesus was taken, falsely accused, and tortured by the Jewish rulers.

[…]

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3 Leading Despite Your Sin Stains
 One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:5-6

The six men described in these pages possessed it: one faith anchored in its architect and finisher, Yahweh, the Only True Lord, God, and Father of all. Their faith was of a single thread: They all trusted in Yahweh to see them through their difficult challenges.

And what challenges they had! They were made to journey to and through hostile, unknown territories. They slept in prisons and caves. They were threatened with death for what they believed, some of them victoriously taken by death. Why victoriously? Their deaths only served to proclaim further the faith they held in God and His Chosen One, whom they served. Yes, these six had great faith.

Yet even a mustard-seed portion of faith would have been enough for them to accomplish great deeds for God (Matthew 17:20). It can be enough for us, too.

They were also true leaders. Some shepherded entire tribes, while others steered small bands of believers, armed only with the hope of God’s promises. Nonetheless they led, believing God would fight their battles, and they were not disappointed; He did as they believed.

They were men. They carried themselves with integrity and grit. Even when they were afraid to lead, they pressed on, calling out to God for the strength to carry out their missions.

You and I can do the same with whatever we are facing in our lives. We can believe, ask God to increase our faith and bless us, then stand still (wait on Him, filled with His Spirit) and see the wondrous working of God for our good and His glory. […]

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