Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

What is and was born in God, including our faith, will keep working even when we are long gone from this earth. Today, we enjoy the tangible results of people’s faith from centuries past. We benefit from the act of faith that Abel demonstrated to God by bringing the acceptable sacrifice that was required at the time. Even though Able lost his life because of his obedience to God’s will, he still left us an example and a reason to believe and follow God’s heart. Heb. 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith, he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

The Bible was written by men who were drawn by the Spirit of God and had developed their faith in God, then allowed the Lord to lead their hearts to record the oracles of the Holy Spirit as they were led. 2Pet. 1:21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. We who own Bibles have been given this privilege because of the sacrifices and living faith that the martyrs gave their lives for. The hope-filled faith that they offered to God in their day is a gift that keeps on giving to our generation to this day. No wonder the enemy of our soul does everything in his pathetic power to bump us off our stride in growing in our faith through our Lord and Saviour.

Some might ask how they can bring the faith of God along to the next generation. Simeon, who was looking for the Messiah by faith, drew the attention of God, and the declaration was made that Jesus was the consolation of Israel. Luke  2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. By the Holy Spirit, Simeon was prompted to pray and declare a coming Messiah who would save man from their sins. Luke 2:27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. What amazing words of faith. “Lord, You fulfilled Your promise as You have had me believing for by the faith that You have placed in my heart. I can now go on to eternity and be with you!”

While Simeon was prophesying by faith over Mary, the mother of Jesus, the prophetess Anna, who had been actively praying day and night in the temple, also believed by faith that the Messiah would come, and she declared the sovereignty of Jesus as being the Saviour of the world. Luke 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Throughout history, the faithful have set their faith before the Lord’s feet and believed God for better things of the Spirit to manifest in this world. We are benefiting from all the faith that has been released through the Holy Spirit, which has prepared a way for our faith to join in the work that the Kingdom of God is doing on this earth.

Christ is the cornerstone of the church. We are the stones God uses to build His church upon the foundations of Christ’s eternal work. It is the living faith of those who have passed on and our Holy Spirit’s inspired faith that keep what God is building standing firm in God’s will. 1Pet. 2:5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. Again, no wonder Satan hates us all to death. Not only does the devil not have any understanding or illumination of righteousness, but he cannot have faith because everything in him is formed from fear. Therefore, everything he tries to build will be burned up in the eternal fire of death, where the devil will be thrown into as well. Our faith in Christ will outlive the devil’s reign of historic terror.

Our living faith will last the tests of time because the Infinite One is alive in our hearts. When we declare our genuine, heart-filled faith, the Lord’s life-giving hope comes forth into that faith and through the name of Jesus that faith remains forever. As we are in Christ and He is in the Father, our faith is alive in the midst. John 17:21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. The next time you feel like you are not much of anything in the Kingdom of God, you need to repent and realize that you are carrying the faith of generations that the Holy Spirit has built up in His church, which you are part of. Even when we are gone, our legacy that was created in faith will live on to the glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.