By Faith

By Joel Siegel

Hebrews 11 highlights the lives of many Bible heroes, revealing that they each accomplished great things by faith. Since we, too, are commanded to live and walk by faith, we do well to follow their example. By faith, we speak as God directs, act as He leads, and possess what He's promised. God doesn't work in our lives without our involvement, and our involvement always includes faith. Like Bible heroes of old, your faith will cause walls of impossibility to fall and will slay the giants that stand in your way. Be inspired by the accounts of God's people of faith, and see yourself alongside them doing great things too. You can do anything—by faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joel Siegel
• Release date: Mar 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224638673

Joel Siegel

Faith in God’s Word, and constant reliance on the Holy Spirit have been the keys to success in the life and ministry of Rev. Joel Siegel. Raised and educated as a Jew, Joel Siegel, at age 18, had a life-transforming encounter with Christ that brought him true purpose and fulfillment.  Rev. Siegel began preaching and teaching the Word of God soon after he was saved in 1986. He entered full-time ministry in 1990, serving for three years as the music director for the gospel music group Truth. Truth’s road schedule took Joel and his wife Amy worldwide to over 300 cities a year, ministering in churches and on college campuses. From 1993 to 2000, Joel was the musical director for Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin’s RHEMA Singers & Band. In addition to assisting Rev. Hagin in his crusade meetings, Joel produced many music projects for the ministry, including his first solo release, Trust & Obey. From 2000 to 2011, Joel and Amy served as founding pastors of Good News Family Church in Orchard Park, NY. During this time, they were frequently asked to host shows for the TCT Christian Television Network. Joel regularly hosted their popular Ask The Pastor program. Rev. Siegel spends his time ministering to congregations in the U.S. and abroad, passionately endeavoring to fulfill his assignment to help lead this generation into the move of God that will usher in the return of Christ.  The Siegels make their home in Colorado. Joel oversees Faith Church Colorado in the town of Castle Rock, where Amy is lead pastor.  For music recordings, audio teaching series, books, and other resources, or to invite Rev. Joel to minister at a church or event, please visit siegelministries.org.

Book preview

01 Abel

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can still have a relationship.

One can only wonder if the Lord spoke such words, but it seems likely that God, in some way, reached out to His creation after the fall. Yes, things had changed. The Garden of Eden was now in the past, and the Earth was an undeniably different place, but God was still God. He still loved the people He had made, still desired closeness with them.

Perhaps guilt and condemnation got the better of Adam and Eve, for we really don’t see further interaction between them and God; we don’t see the vibrant, personal relationship they once enjoyed. God’s love, however, would have continued to reach out. And He didn’t just reach out to them. He reached out—love reached out—to their children. One of them responded.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Hebrews 11:4

When I think of the Bible’s greatest examples of faith, Abel’s name doesn’t usually come to mind. But here he is, topping the list of faith-people in Hebrews chapter eleven.

There’s much to note here. First, Abel’s faith is mentioned in connection with an offering. He brought a gift to sacrifice to the Lord but didn’t bring it mindlessly. He was aware that offerings are spiritual transactions that create spiritual connections. His heart was involved, not just his mind. He didn’t just give; he gave in faith. Offerings today must also be given in faith. How we give to God affects how we receive from God. 

This was no ordinary pass-the-plate offering. This offering had eternal significance. Through this sacrificial act, our text says Abel was commended as righteous.

Abel, I’m sure you’re aware, was only the fourth person to live on our planet. He and his brother, Cain, were unique. More than just the first two people born on Earth, they were the first two born in sin. When their parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin and spiritually died, they became a different class of being, one God never intended should exist. They were severed from the divine nature they once possessed and became merely human. In place of the nature of God was a corrupt sin nature. When Cain was born, he inherited this sin nature, as did Abel and every other person born since, except Christ.

God dealt with sin as soon as it entered the Earth.

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Genesis 3:21

In fashioning these garments, God didn't just cover Adam and Eve’s bodies. He covered their sin. The skins by which they were clothed came from one or more of the animals God had created. Adam had named these animals and interacted with them. He knew each one.

Innocent blood was shed to cover their sin and provide a measure of righteousness. Centuries later, Christ, the Lamb of God, shed His blood—not to cover sins, but to remit them—rolling them back as though they had never existed. In doing so, He imparted His righteousness to us.

Although we’re not told as much, it’s clear that God instructed Adam regarding these blood sacrifices. Innocent blood would be required, not just for Adam and Eve, but for every other person who followed them, including their children.

But blood, by itself, doesn’t make a person righteous. To become righteous, there must not only be the shedding of blood, but an appropriate response to that blood. The sinner him or herself must recognize the necessity of the blood sacrifice, turn from sin, and see that blood as the substitute for their own. Then, by faith, that individual must receive their forgiveness and cleansing from God. Cain and his brother, Abel, surely would have been taught that a sacrifice—a blood sacrifice—was necessary to cover sin.

Let’s read the account of this offering in Genesis:

In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Genesis 4:3-5

Both sons brought an offering; however, Abel’s differed from Cain’s. Abel’s offering pleased God, while Cain’s was displeasing and unacceptable. Why? One obvious reason is that Cain’s offering of fruits and vegetables was bloodless, and therefore couldn’t appease God’s wrath toward sin. But there were other issues as well. Cain’s offering wasn’t just bloodless, it was faithless.

Cain’s offering revealed his heart. To bring an animal would have come at a cost, but, to Cain, that cost didn’t seem worth it. To Cain, this was a waste: something he thought he could just as well do without. Like many today, Cain failed to recognize the value of spiritual things, dismissing them as unimportant. Remarkably, God gave Cain the opportunity to correct his misjudgment, adjust his attitude, and make things right. As before, Cain ignored this second chance also.

You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." Genesis 4:7 (NLT)

Like his brother’s, Abel’s offering revealed his heart. Notice what kind of sacrifice Abel brought:

Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift. Genesis 4:4 (NLT)

Abel didn’t just meet the minimum requirements for a sin offering. He brought the first and brought the best. This is significant on many levels. It shows Abel’s faith—his ability to see past the natural into the unseen realm. He recognized the holiness of God and the value of this offering to cover sin. He saw that, through this offering, he could not just appease God, but could actually please God.

Through his offering, Abel’s faith was on full display, and it continues to speak today. He understood what his parents had lost through sin and believed that level of intimacy with God could still be enjoyed. He didn’t wait for the future—the day when God’s Son would make righteousness available to all. Abel believed he could have it now. From his heart—by faith—he reached into God’s heart as he unselfishly sacrificed the best parts of his flock. God received not just Abel’s offering, but Abel himself. And Abel received God. Abel’s faith-offering connected Him to God. In response, God reckoned Abel as righteous.

By faith, Abel received what wouldn’t be universally available until the day of Christ. What great things will your faith receive?

02 Enoch

Although we celebrated the faith of righteous Abel, his Earth-story didn’t include a fairy-tale ending. He perished at the hands of his brother. Cain was not only the first person born on Earth; he was also the first murderer. This sin thing was real.

Cain was exiled by the Lord for his crime, effectively leaving Adam and Eve childless. Then, their son Seth came along and, in time, had children of his own. It appears Seth followed the ways of his brother Abel more than his brother Cain, for following the birth of Seth’s children, this statement appears in Scripture:

At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26

This was the first revival, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Although sin was in the world, so was the knowledge of God. People were calling and God was responding. To what degree people pressed into the things of God is unknown until a man named Enoch came on the scene. He shatters all previous records of spirituality and becomes a serious God-pleaser.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. Hebrews 11:5

What did Enoch do that pleased God? He believed God. He trusted God. He walked with God. He was a person of strong, consistent faith. The next verse in Hebrews—a classic—reveals how important faith is to our Father.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Genuine faith leads to a joyful expectation of reward. You’re not wondering if God will answer. By faith, you already have your answer.

Notice, this verse speaks of drawing near to God. That’s exactly what Enoch did. He kept inching closer to his Maker. By faith, he’d take a step, and God would take a step. He and God grew so close, their lives became intertwined. James chapter four speaks of this mutual merging.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8

How do we draw near to God? We respond to God, acknowledging all He’s done for us. We remember how He saved us and thank Him for it. We recall His deliverance and praise Him that we’re no longer bound. Our expressions of praise, worship, and thanksgiving are all steps in His direction. These heartfelt expressions of devotion continually draw us to the Lord and His presence.

The closer Enoch drew, the more of God He experienced. God shared more and more of Himself and His plan with Enoch, and Enoch shared it with others. In fact, the New Testament writer, Jude, speaks of Enoch as not just an early believer, but perhaps the first prophet. What did Enoch preach? Not just what was happening in his day, but that which would occur in millennia to come. He spoke of events far in the future that pertained to the Second Coming of Christ!

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones. Jude 1:14

Talk about being ahead of your time.

Speaking of time, Enoch lived in the day when people would live an extraordinarily long time. Enoch’s son, Methuselah, boasts history’s longest recorded lifespan: nine hundred sixty-nine years. Enoch, on the other hand, lived a relatively short life: a paltry three hundred sixty-five years. Had he actually died at that age, we might call him a poor young fellow, but Enoch never died. He still hasn’t. Notice again Hebrews 11:5, this time in The Amplified Bible.

Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God.

Now notice this important passage in Genesis:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons