Triumphs and Tragedies of the Faithful
Notes
Transcript
introduction
Before we start again, let’s take a true/false test:
Christians never wrestle with doubts.
Christians never stumble into sin.
Christians are free from imperfection.
Christians are always shielded from hardship, suffering, and tragedy.
Christians take hold of God’s promises without wavering in hope.
Christians never suffer failure or defeat in their faith-walks.
If you answered true to any of these statements, you are wrong. These are all false.
These ideas, which are false, plague all believers at some point and some even hold on to these lies.
Believing these lies and false expectations lead to disappointment in some believers, themselves and God.
We need to remember that authentic life in faith is a constant war with temptations. Every war has battles and we don’t always win. We stumble, fall, and get back up. Believers can be bothered by lingering doubts and fits of unbelief. They can fail their friends, families and fellow believers. They back down when they should be standing up; they lose hope when they should be looking to the Lord in confidence.
The reality of the Christian life becomes even more sobering when we see that those who are the mature, obvious faithful believers face devastating trials.
They deal with financial disasters, accidents and injuries, suffer from sickness and disease, become victims of violent crimes and walk through valleys of deep despair and depression.
Nothing can protect a Christian from the effects of a fallen world or from the suffering of their own mortality.
As we finish this chapter, we will see a big difference between the triumphs that have been enjoyed by people of faith and the tragedies they endured. We look at Moses, Joshua, David and Gideon, but we should remember that none of these people had constant victories. A long list of these people did not receive what they were promised but all endured these hard times as they waited for the day in the future when all men and women of faith would finally be made perfect.
By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.
After talking about Abraham and seeing what was accomplished by faith, we move to Moses and the Law.
His life began with an act of faith.
By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.
When Pharoah became extremely paranoid, he ordered the slaughter of male Hebrew infants as a group of population control. At this, Moses’ parents defied the king’s edict.
By faith-and willing to face the consequences-they chose to obey God rather than a man who thought he was god. They hid the baby and sent him down the river Nile trusting that God alone would take care of him.
This act of faith set off a series of events that eventually led to the rescue of the Israelite people from Egypt and the ordering of the nation under the law. It all began with faith.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.
This demonstrates that the lawgiver himself, Moses, was also a man who epitomized a life of faith. He accomplished everything by faith which wa illustrated by 3 key decisions he made.
First, by faith Moses refused to go with the flow of a sinful society.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
We have to remember what he left when he responded to God’s call. He was raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter. This meant that he had the best that Egypt had to offer.
Think about how difficult it was that Moses, who knew that he was Hebrew, put on the appearance of an Egyptian, a royal Egyptian. Making the decision to turn away from all the benefits of his position and turning to his people was a huge act of faith.
He wouldn’t have known how to live like them, but he made up his mind to do it and endure the hardships that came with identifying with God’s people. He considered God’s heavenly reward of greater value than anything
Egypt could offer.
This decision wasn’t made on a whim but were acts of faithfulness inspired by a deep trust in the character and promises of God.
Second, by faith Moses left the familiar to venture in to the foreign.
By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.
Moses knew Egypt better than anywhere on earth. All of the buildings, smells, sights were his home. Yet, he left Egypt either after killing an Egyptian or when when he lead the people out. He was able to survive the traumatic exit from something so familiar to something so foreign because he kept his eyes on the Good who is unseen.
Instead of backing down at the thought of Pharaoh’s wrath, he stood firm, trusting God.
Third, by faith Moses was willing to swallow his pride and do the unusual.
By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.
After all the signs and wonders and on the eve of the exodus, God commanded Moses and the Israelites to do something unusual. They were to put the blood of an unblemished goat on the doorposts of their houses.
This was the beginning of the “Passover” observance.
All the Jews probably looked at him like he was crazy or just mad because he wanted them to sacrifice a valuable commodity.
Yet Moses obeyed this command. The judgment of God came and passed over those who obeyed and took the firstborn of those who did not.
Moses’ obedience to the seemingly absurd led to the release of the Israelites from the land of Goshen. Isn’t like God to test our faith by demanding from us what seems ridiculous.
Noah and the Ark
Having a baby when you are a century
or painting blood on your door to save your families lives.
God seems to pair faith with the unusual.
If he hadn’t done any of this in faith, then the procession of faith that we are reading about would never have happened.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.
When Moses was faithful to God, his faithfulness led to an explosion of signs, wonders and miracles.
The first of these miracles was what?
The parting of the Red Sea. This act of faithfulness wasn’t only Moses’, it was the men, women and children who walked through the sea in faith. Imagine this happening in front of you. The walls of water on either side with you walking in between them. It would take alot of faith for me to do something like that.
When the faithless Egyptians attempted to do this what happened?
The walls of water gave out and drowned them in the sea.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.
The second miracle involved the battle of Jericho.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.
Forty years after the Red Sea miracle, the Israelites finally crossed over the desert into the promised land. Instead of Moses it was Joshua, who was the new leader of Israel.
Now, God had promised them this land but it was occupied by evil people in Canaan. The day came where they were standing in front of the city of Jericho but they had decisions to make:
Follow God’s instructions for toppling the city...
Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”
or go back to the wilderness.
By faith, they obeyed and conquered the city God’s way.
Finally, we look at an unexpected hero....Rahab. She was the one person who came to the assistance of the Hebrew spies. Where else do we see her outside of the book of Joshua?
In the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The fact that she became an ancestor of David indicates that, when she was miraculously delivered from God’s judgment of Jericho, she converted to the faith of the one true God.
By faith she preserved her life and wisely chose to side with the people of God.
And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
The author could have gone on and on with more legacy-makers from the OT, he chose to finish it up with a few names in rapid fire.
He mentioned the judges Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah; King David, and Samuel along the line of the prophets.
If WE were to continue this line of heroes of the faith, who could we add to the list from the NT?
Mary, Peter, Paul, James or John? What about in church history? Polycarp of Smyrna, Justin Martyr?
How about early reformers like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Edwards, John Calvin or, my favorite, Charles Spurgeon?
If the author could list all the heroes of the faith, imagine how large that book would be?!?
Once he finishes this list of the faithful, he lists the feats of faith.
But it goes from great things to not so great. Look at the contrast:
PUT THE CHART HERE
All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.
so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The faithful are not exempt from the trials of life and this world. But, neither the good or the bad are the end of the story.
Remember, faith isn’t about what we see, feel, experience or accomplish in this life. What is it?
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
The closing verses put everything into perspective. He clears up the scenes of triumph and tragedy. He summarizes it all with these words:
“All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.”
Approval was granted-not because of their personal merit, pedigrees or perfection, but because of their faith.
When they were living their lives whether good or bad times, they were longing for the unseen, to catch a glimpse of the future.
With the eyes of faith, they saw the Lord Jesus Christ-the One who is superior for pressing on. They looked towards the future where things will finally be made perfect.
These men and women represent our spiritual ancestry. They aren’t mere relics of the past, they are an ever-living presence to motivate us to do as they did: to look into the future by faith and to live faithful lives in the present.