Keeping On

 

Text: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Focus: perseverance

Function: to be inspired by the examples of the OT

²⁹By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

³²And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched 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. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

12:¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

I don’t know if I have ever preached a sermon on these last two verses of our text.

I have preached several sermons on Hebrews Chapter 11, the great chapter of faith. I find the examples of faith that are listed there to be inspiring.

The author of Hebrews is trying to explain, in chapter 11, what it means for us to live by faith. He starts out with a definition of faith in the first verse of Chapter 11. He says: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

And then he goes into this great litany of Old Testament saints whose lives were lived trusting in what God can do for them.

There are heroes in the list.

And when you read the chapter, there is a cadence to it that is exciting as one person’s accomplishments build upon another persons success and God is shown to be present in the lives and affairs of those who trust in God.

And he speaks at the end, as he is wrapping it up for us to remember time after time the stories of people who did great things, or, and here is the important part of our lesson, or, they endured tribulation in faith.

When I think of faith, I think of stories like Daniel who continued to pray to Jehovah despite the King’s order to pray only to him for 90 days. He was thrown into a pit full of hungry lions and the Lord closed the mouths of the lions and he survived the night.

What faith!

He didn’t know if God would deliver him or not. But he knew he would be faithful to God.

It is the same with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, the three colleagues of Daniel who refused to bow down to the golden statue and the King threw them into the fiery furnace and they walked around inside the furnace with a 4^th person, probably Jesus Himself, until the King called them out.

The King said to them: “What God can deliver you out of my hands?”

And their answer was this: We don’t know if God will deliver us, but we know this, God is able and if we die or survive, we will not bow down to any other God but Jehovah, the God of the Jews.

Again, great faith! They lived on principle and trusted God for the outcome. They knew that they would witness to God whether they lived or died.

In our text this morning, the author switches from those who performed great miracles, proving the faith, to those who endured great suffering without any release.

Both groups bear witness to God.

Jesus Himself was in both groups. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and yet He allowed Himself to endure the pain and cruelty of the cross to show us that we do not have to fight back. With the power of the resurrection, unconditional love conquers overs a multitude of sins. Even the sins committed against us.

Jesus died in faith trusting that God the Father knew what God the Father was doing.

And He entrusted His soul to God at that last moment when said, “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.”

Jesus showed us how to live, and also, how to die in faith.

1 Corinthians 15 argues for faith in the fact of the resurrection. He paints a beautiful picture of a similarity between the how a plant and a seed look completely different. The seed is buried, he says it symbolically “dies” when it is buried and it comes to life again as something that looks completely different, and beautiful.

That, is how he describes the spiritual bodies with which we will be resurrected.

It is a passage of hope in the fact of the resurrection.

And, it is a passage of hope in the love and the justice of God.

I want God to be merciful to me when I die and get to the pearly gates.

And when Jesus explains the Lord’s prayer in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told us that if we want God to be merciful to us, we must be merciful to others as well.

Forgiving them and loving them without condition. What a powerful message about forgiveness when Jesus, from the cross, as God, forgave the men who were torturing Him.

Jesus died in faith knowing the God would vindicate His death by raising Him from the dead.

We too, are called to live and die, in faith.

And let me finish with the thought expressed between chapter 11 and chapter 12.

Those OT saints did not receive the promise, according to the author of Hebrews.

It wasn’t until we become NT saints that the promises are completely fulfilled.

And my theology classes have taught me that the big difference is the atoning sacrifice of Christ which provides a way for the Holy Spirit to live inside of every believer.

Jesus alludes to this when He speaks of John the Baptist being the greatest that came before Him, but the least in the new kingdom is greater and all of the OT saints.

And we learned the difference was that since Jesus cleansed our hearts and forgave us when we trusted in Him to restore us, to save us, to help us, to heal us, when we first placed out trust in Him, His cleansing power made it possible for Him to take up residence in our souls in the form of the Holy Spirit.

This chapter of faith is meant to inspire us to even greater works since the Spirit of God dwells in us. God expects great things from us.

Or better, trust God to be the power to love unconditionally.

And we can by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us constantly pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit.