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

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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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”

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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?

23. 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

24. 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”

25. 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

26. 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”

27. 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

28. 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”

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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!

32. 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

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