HoHum:
The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk; Abraham was too old; Isaac was a daydreamer; Jacob was a liar; Leah was ugly; Joseph was abused; Moses had a stuttering problem; Gideon was afraid; Samson had long hair and was a womanizer; Rahab was a prostitute; Jeremiah and Timothy were too young; David had an affair and was a murderer; Elijah was suicidal; Isaiah preached naked; Jonah ran from God; Naomi was a widow; Job went bankrupt; John the Baptist ate bugs; Peter denied Christ; Martha worried about everything; The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once; Zaccheus was too small; Paul was too religious; Timothy had an ulcer; AND Lazarus was dead!
WBTU:
As we look at the list of people in Hebrews 11 we could be overwhelmed and think that we are nothing compared to these people; Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, Samuel.
As we look at vs. 35 to 38 we notice that many are not mentioned by name who endured terrible sufferings and persecutions for the faith. This list in not exhaustive. Vs. 32.
We can be in roll call of faithful is we have faith like them. Not in Bible but among faithful.
As we begin to let our faith do the talking and walking we will soon discover our weaknesses. Don’t think that this list of heroes of the faith did not have weaknesses. This chapter is highlighting their great accomplishments, not their failures.
2 Corinthians 2:16: Who is equal to such a task? We begin to say, Not I. We must have strength from above, and that strength can only come to us through faith.
James 5:17: Elijah was a man just like us. That can be said of all these heroes. Weak like us
Toast to North Carolina: Here's to the land of the long leaf pine, The summer land Where the sun doth shine, Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to 'down home,' the Old North State! I appreciate North Carolina but NC did not make me strong. NC and situations in life made me dependent on the Lord and the Lord gave me strength.
Hebrews 11:34: whose weakness was turned to strength
Thesis: 2 items for discussion this morning; 1) Faith makes us strong for holy living 2) Faith makes us strong to endure suffering.
For instances:
Faith makes us strong for holy living
The first duty of a Christian is to obey God. Talked about last week with Abraham and Isaac
1. We don’t like to obey. We want to call the shots. We can’t stand to have someone else tell us how to live and what to do.
2. John 14:23: Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
3. How can a holy God come and live with an unholy sinner? Plan of salvation:
A) Believe B) Repent.
C) Confess. Good Confession, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and I want Him to be my Lord and Savior.
That word Lord is an old English word that refers to the Master of the manor. All who lived on the manor were servants to the lord. When Peter was speaking with Cornelius he said in Acts 10:36: You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Notice Romans 10:9-10: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Most people want him to be their Savior but few really want him to be their Lord.
D) Be baptized. Acts 2:38
4. At second coming 2 Thessalonians 1:8: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
5. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith leads us to obey, first the plan of salvation, then the teachings of Jesus Christ.
James 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.
B. Strength to overcome sin.
Bad anger- James 1:20: man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires
Drugs or alcohol- Ephesians 5:18: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Whatever it is, we will never overcome except by faith in Jesus Christ.
Keith Miller- “churches are filled with people who outwardly look contented and at peace but inwardly are crying out for someone to love them…just as they are – confused, frustrated, often frightened, guilty, and often unable to communicate. the people in the church look so happy and contented that one seldom has the courage to admit his own deep needs before such a self-sufficient group as the average church appears to be.”
C. Strength to spread the gospel.
The greatest threat to Christianity is Christians trying to sneak into heaven without ever sharing their faith.
Bill Bright said that only 2% of people claiming to be Christians share their faith with others.
The #1 reason people don’t is because they are scared. Do we think that Moses was scared when he went to Pharaoh? Was Gideon scared when he was told to fight the Midianites?
Strength to do something great for God.
2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
We see exciting victories of the faith in vs. 33-34. We, too, can conquer wicked kingdoms, strongholds of the evil one. We too can perform acts of righteousness, establishing a just environment for people. We too can obtain promises; in fact, we have already obtained all the promises we need. We too can shut the mouth of a lion, for Satan is like a roaring lion. We too can quench the power of fire that burns in hell as we give the gospel to people headed for the flames. We too can escape the edge of the sword, fleeing immorality. We too can put foreign armies to flight, as we resist the devil and he flees from us. We too by the resurrection will receive back our dead, those we love who have chosen to follow Christ.
2. Faith makes us strong to endure suffering
John 16:33: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
One of the Peanuts cartoons starts with Lucy at her five-cent psychology booth and Charlie Brown has stopped for advice about life. Lucy says, “Life is like a deck chair, Charlie Brown, on the cruise ship of life. Some people place their deck chair at the rear of the ship so they can see where they’ve been. Others place their deck chair at the front of the ship so they can see where they’re going.” The good “doctor” Lucy looks at her puzzled client and asks, “Which way is your deck chair facing, Charlie Brown?” Without hesitating, Charlie Brown replied, “I can’t even get my deck chair unfolded.”
Some are called to suffer much in daily life. 1 Corinthians 15:19: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Some are called to bear physical pain. It saddens me to see humble Christians who endure such agony in their bodies. Exodus 15:26: I am the LORD, who heals you.
We pray for healing with the idea that we want God to cure or take away the physical condition that we have. God always heals but maybe not in the miraculous way that we want. IF that is the only way we see a person being healed, that is too narrow or limiting for God. Healing may or may not be a physical cure. God may heal but it may not be physical...I may pray for God's healing or hope for cure but if God doesn't answer with a physical cure it doesn't mean that healing is not taking place.
Laura Story in Blessings- We pray for blessings, we pray for peace Comfort for family, protection while we sleep We pray for healing, for prosperity We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering All the while You hear each spoken need Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life Are Your mercies in disguise?
2 Timothy 3:12: everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted Hebrews 11:35-37
Bear mental depression. Elijah after he had slain the prophets of Baal- Jezebel. End vs. 37
God said that the world was not worthy of these people. Faith enables us to turn from the approval of the world and seek only the approval of God. We must never conclude that the absence of deliverance means a lack of faith on the part of God’s children.
Everything in our society is success oriented. Even the church has acquired the success syndrome. In spite of these defeats, they persevered in faith, knowing that faith’s reward is not always given now. The final outcome on earth is not the measure of victory in the race.
Faith looks to the future. The people here did not receive the promises vs. 39, but they had God’s witness to their faith that one day they would be rewarded. One day all of us shall share that heavenly city that true Christians look for by faith.
God has something better for us. Vs. 40
