Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Hebrews 11:23-40

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 In Part 1, we discussed Faith Biblical Faith What Biblical Faith does

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Something we believe in Things we live by each day

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Biblical Faith Believes God when He tells us there is a reality we cannot see Rather than the circumstances, we keep our eyes on God who controls the circumstances

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Biblical Faith Not a blind leap in the dark Not that we can make God do anything we want Not knowing all the right facts and rules

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 What Biblical Faith Does Worship In song, scripture, sermons, and offerings with all of our heart mind and souls Walk Communicating with - having God be a part of all of our daily activities

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 What Biblical Faith Does Work Hard in the assignments God has given us, for the Kingdom of God Wait With confidence in God

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 What Biblical Faith Does And while we WAIT in faith, we continue to WORSHIP, to WALK with God, and to WORK in His Kingdom

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 In the second part of Hebrews 11, the author gives us two great aspects of faith: Great Victories of Faith Enduring Virtue of Faith

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith Hebrews 11:32 suggests that the author realizes time constraints will not allow him to continue a detailed account of the heroic exploits of faith – “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets” These men who are mentioned are intended to be suggestive of a host of men and women who had lived for God in a hostile world

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith Gideon, the first listed, is a powerful example of faith, in that he and three hundred select men routed the Midianite army with torches and empty jugs (Judges 7:7-25) Barak, when the judges ruled Israel, was a military leader who along with Deborah, led Israel to defeat Sisera and the Canaanites (Judges 4:8-16)

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith Samson, is usually remembered for his great strength, not his faith, yet in spite of his weaknesses, he was a great champion of Israel during the period of the Philistine oppression (Judges 13-16) Jephthah, often remembered for his foolish vow, placed his faith in God and relied on His power to overcome the Ammonites (Judges 11)

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith David, a man who could and did make tragic mistakes, was first and foremost a man of faith – He is called “a man after God’s own heart” because of his faith and his desire to do the will of God Samuel was the first of the prophets and the last of the judges – He started as a young boy and continued always through his life serving God

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith The prophets, who remain unnamed except for Samuel, all served God cheerfully, courageously and confidently accepted God’s commands and faced whatever opposition came along “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” (Hebrews 11:33-34)

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith In these verses, we see a broad overview of the results of these believers faith They saw political victory in that they “through faith subdued kingdoms” They achieved moral success in government as they “worked righteousness” They achieved spiritual reward in that they “obtained promises”, they had received words of promise from God

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith In addition, these believers also saw various forms of personal deliverance Those who “stopped the mouths of lions” seems to be a reference to Daniel who was thrown to the lions and left overnight but was unscathed “because he trusted God” (Daniel 6:23) It was Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who “quenched the violence of flames” when thy were thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to worship false gods (Daniel 3:8-30)

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Great Victories of Faith Many of the prophets including Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah “escaped the edge of the sword” Stories such as David’s defeat of Goliath with a sling and Gideon’s victory over the Midianites demonstrated that “out of weakness were made strong” The Old Testament contains many examples of groups who “became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens”

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith If the faith of God’s people could boast of spectacular achievements in the form of military victories, miraculous deliverances and the raising of the dead to life, it is no less inspiring than the willing endurance by others of horrible torture and cruel death The description of the accomplishments through faith assumes a much different tone beginning with the word “some” in the second half of verse 35 of Hebrews 11

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35b-38)

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith The transition we see here is important Not all men and women of faith experienced miraculous deliverances Some of them were tortured and died Others were not only physically tortured but they had to endure the “mocking” of those who hated them

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith If verses 33-35a sound like a good dream, verses 35b-38 sound like a nightmare Many of us can identify more with the last part of the text We do not seem to be conquering any kingdoms – evil seems to be having its way with us

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith What distinguishes the people in the first half of our text from the people in the second half of the text?

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith What distinguishes the people in the first half from the people in the second half of the text? In some cases nothing In some cases, the same people are listed in both halves of the text – they saw wonderful victories and at other times endured defeat

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith The people in both parts are characterized by faith – “all these” had faith (Hebrews 11:39) These “others” had faith, but God did not see fit to deal with them in the same way He dwelt with those who had experienced victories – yet God honors their faith And verse 39 continues that “though commended through their faith, they did not receive what was promised”

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith These believers died without having possessed the promise In spite of their empty-handedness, they persevered in faith, knowing that faith’s reward in not always given now The final outcome on earth in not the measure of victory in the race

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith John Piper says it this way: “The common feature of the faith that escapes suffering and the faith that endures suffering is this, both of them involve believing that God Himself is better than what life can give you now, and is better than what death can take from you later. When you have it all, faith says that God is better, and when you lose it all, faith says that God is better”

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith A modern example of this kind of faith is Dietrich Bonhoeffer He left his prestigious position as professor at the University of Berlin to join the ranks of those within the church who stood against Hitler and Nazi He was arrested and imprisoned He was eventually hung in the Flossenburg Concentration Camp His body was tossed aside into a pile of corpses and burned

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The Enduring Virtues of Faith A modern example of this kind of faith is Dietrich Bonhoeffer His death came only two days before the Americans liberated the Flossenburg Camp As he faced the fury of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer said, “The ultimate question in not how can I heroically make the best of a bad situation, but rather how the coming generation can be enabled to live”

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The author of Hebrews brings to a conclusion his list of the heroes of faith saying, “God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:40) Notice that the words are “that apart from us they should not be made perfect” When he uses the word “perfect” it means complete

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 He is saying that this story – God’s great story of faith – is not complete without you You and I - are part of God’s story of faith God looking down through the ages foresaw that our lives would be part of His great story of faith

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 He is saying that this story – God’s great story of faith – is not complete without you We are part of God’s story of faith God looking down through the ages foresaw that our lives would be part of His great story of faith WHAT A PRIVILEGE!

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 The testimony of these witnesses in Hebrews 11 is that: A life of faith is not something reserved for a few “elite” saints A life of faith is possible to all kinds of believers in all kind of situations A life of faith is possible to all God’s children

Those Who Exercise Faith, Part 2 Are you living a life of faith?