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Faith and Winning

June 11, 2023

Faith and Winning | Hebrews 11:32-40 | 6.11.23

 

Main Idea: By faith, Christians, of all people, will experience both temporal and total triumph. 

I. Temporal Triumph (v32-35a)

32 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— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 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. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection.” 

  • And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of…” (v32). 
    • ” defeated the Midian army of 135,000 with only 300 men, equipped with torches and clay jars (Judges 7:1-25). 
    • ” led an Israelite army to defeat a Canaanite army which boasted 900 chariots (Judg 4-5). 
    • ” on multiple occasions defeated the Philistines single-handedly (Judg 13-16). 
    • ” was a warrior who led the Israelites to the defeat of the Ammonites (Judg 11). 
    • ” exhibited faith as a young boy when he slayed the giant (1 Sam 17:45), became king, opposed idolatry, showed valor in battle, or modeled repentance. 
    • ” was the final judge and first prophet of Israel; he interceded on behalf of Israel at Mizpah, which led to God’s intervention and defeat of the Philistines (1 Sam 7:5-14). 
    • The “prophets” whose names will be immediately recalled. 
      • All of these men “through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; (v33). 
      • Temporal wins aren’t the goal. Trusting God in the temporal is.
  • We are then led to recall others who experienced temporal wins by faith:
    • The prophet , “who shut the mouths of lions” (Dan 6:24).
    • Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego who “quenched the fury of the flames”.
    • David, Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah who “escaped the edge of the sword”. 
    • Samson and Gideon “whose weakness was turned to strength”.
    • Most of the men mentioned “who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.” 
    • One  final victory in v35a: “Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” 
  • 1 Ki 17:17-24 and 2 Ki 4:18-37. 
  • Think about how your temporal victories merely point to the greater victory you have in Christ.

 

II. Total Triumph (v35b-40):

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,[a] they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

  • There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.” (v35b).
    • “For me to live is and to die is gain.” (Phil 1). 
  • Those who “faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.” (v36).
    • was mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and ultimately killed by stoning in Egypt which also puts him in the next category: “They were put to death by stoning” (v37a). 
    • whom the Jewish historian Tertullian tells us was “sawed in two” (v37) by King Manasseh.
    • There were those who “were killed by the sword.” (v37): i.e. Uriah in Jer 26:23. 
  • In every way these people experienced severe temporal hardship, including going “about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—” (v38). 
    • The animal skins that prophets like Elijah and Elisha donned were a sign and symbol of “their distinctiveness from the world and of their impoverished condition,” – Lane. 
  • Still others “wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” (v38).
    • Either to escape enslavement or persecution, God’s people were always on the run. 
  • But “the world was not of them.” (v38). 
    • Do we measure success by whether or not we are accepted by the world? 
  • Ultimately, all of it comes back to : “These were all commended for their faith,” (v39). 
    • They trusted God in their suffering, not avoiding it, even at times embracing it, for the sake of receiving the greater reward. 
      • none of them received what had been promised,” (v39). 
      • They all suffered and died without the exact specifics of Jesus and his work on Calvary. 
  • This all culminates in v40 “since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” 
    • The saints of old only saw in glimpses; this would be perfected through Christ’s single offering and now shared by us. 

At the Cross, the way up is down; the way to get is to serve; the way to wealth is to give; the way to win is to lose.” – Keller

 

Reflect: How can our ultimate victory in Christ give us hope in our circumstances right now?

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