37) By Faith - Palm Sunday
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Turn with me to Hebrews Chapter 11 starting in verse 30.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed. 32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 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. 35 Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.
Let us pray.
Today we come to the end of Chapter 11. The entire chapter is written to help the struggling Christians to see what faith really is.
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
So far we have seen how Abel’s faith was demonstrated in worship and by Enoch’s faith he walked with God. By faith Noah built the ark in obedience for 120 years preaching the entire time. The author continues to bring example after example demonstrating God’s approval of their ancestors. That his approval was because of their faith and not because of their works.
So we now come to Joshua.
Faith Obeys the Unimaginable
Faith Obeys the Unimaginable
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.
Jericho. Who here has heard the account of Jericho? As this is a common children’s lesson, this probably one of the more familiar accounts in the old testament. But before we get into the event specifically. Who is Joshua? He was born in Egypt and Numbers 11:28 really sums it up.
Numbers 11:28 (CSB)
28 Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, ...
After Isreal leaves Egypt Moses tells Joshua to gather men go and fight against Amalek in Ex 17.
Exodus 17:9–13 (CSB)
9 Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. ... 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.
He was a trusted warrior and leader. He would be by Moses side at Mount Sinai.
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.
He is likely the only person who was not in the camp during the worship of the golden calf. He was there when Moses recieved the ten commandments.
He was one of the 12 spies that went into the promised land to spy out the land and came back with one of the two positive reports.
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
He would be with Moses through the 40 years in the wilderness. He would be there again when they faced the Jordan river to enter into the promised land. He was Moses successor and leader of the Nation of Isreal as they crossed the Jordan during flood season on dry ground. Then the first obstacle was the town of Jericho. But after this he would continue to lead them until the promised land had been conquered and the land had been distributed to the tribes.
His entire life is a testament to a dedicated life to God and to serve God in all that he was. He believed in God, obeyed God and lived for God for the majority of his life. So why would Jericho be the event in his life that the author of Hebrews includes here.
Joshua knows that after they cross into the promised land that Jericho will be the place of the first battle. He sent two spies into Jericho to spy out the city and to bring back a report.
He then leads all of Isreal cross the Jordan. The camp for awhile and then he sets out for battle with his 40,000 fighting men.
13 About forty thousand equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.
He marches forward. To a city that would have been described as impenetrable in its day. It was fortified with walls thick enough to be lived in. It is clear in the scriptures that Joshua still fully believes that God will lead him to victory in this battle. He is unwavering and he is ready for war. He is a trained and successful commander of this army and has seen victory before. Like any good commander he most likely has plans and counter plans in his head. Contingency and contingency for how the battle may develop.
But something unexpected happens.
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.
The Lord gave him these instructions
1 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 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. 5 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.”
Imagine these scene in you mind. You are marching to war. 40,000 strong and a man stands there with a drawn sword. Joshua approaches, seeming on his own, to speak with this man. He is not afraid because he trusts in God’s promises to him. He recognizes the Lord and simply asks what does my lord want to say. He receives the instruction without question or concern.
And returns to the troops. He walks back and calls out to his leaders, pass on these instructions… I can just imagine the responses. and they have to pass on the information. What does 40,000 look like.
44,626
This is 44,000 thousand at bloomsday 2014. Obviously they cannot hear Joshua. Not only are we not going to fight. But we are going march in silence.
10 But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.”
It is amazing that they actually did this. they followed the instructions. they marched for around once a day for six days and 7 times on the seventh day. Then they let out a shout and down came the walls.
Why is this the event the author uses, because it is a complete act of faith. As great of a leader and commander that Joshua was, none of his great skills would be used this day. This is not how to fight a battle in the world’s eyes.
40,000 men armed with shields and swords. With a reputation that cast fear into the people of the city. All of their training and weapons were not what God wanted to put on display. For his glory they walked silently and shouted once with the blow of the trumpet. They carried the arc and for God’s glory only one thing they brought to the battle field that day that made any difference was their faith.
The promise of victory and the only method available could only be accomplished in by obedience by faith.
This entire event was summarized in Hebrews as
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.
Jericho was a demonstration of faith verses unbelief. They believed the reports of the spies but did not have faith in God when they came to the promised land the first time, they had unbelief and were not allowed to enter the rest of the promised land. But here we have God demonstrating his fulfillment of the promise that he would go out with them and they would have victory.
Faith Chooses God
Faith Chooses God
In a similar way that the event of Jericho is a great example of faith and shows the power of faith in an unlikely event, Rahab shows faith in an unlikely person.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.
Joshua had sent two spies into Jericho before they crossed the Jordan river.
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.
The men are known to be at this house and word is sent to the king and the king responded with
3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”
Here is a woman of poor reputation and status. She is a Cananite woman more specifically she is an Amorite. One of the peoples that God promised to defeat for the promised land.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hethites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
This woman has taken in foreigners into her home and the king sent word to her to bring the men out. Rahab’s choice is simple. Give up the men to the king. There is nothing to lose if she gives them up. She may even be rewarded for doing so. But instead she does something that could cost her her life. She hides the men and sends the messengers on a false path.
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!”
What compels a woman to betray her king for men she does not know? For men from another country. Why would a woman risk so much? Why? because she had faith in God that he would come and she had no doubt in her mind that the God of Isreal was a great God and one that would conquer the city that she lives in.
9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
Through the reputation of the nation of Isreal and more importantly the reputation of God’s hand on the nation, the city of Jericho found itself in terror of what was to come. When they heard this reputation it says they lost heart and their courage failed them. Why? Because the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
By faith she opposes her king. Why does she oppose the king? Because she has a greater fear of the true king the Lord the God of Isreal. She knows that the only path to salvation by requesting it from these men. She asks for protection and lets the men out her window down the outside of the wall and they tell her to gather her family in her home and tie a scarlet cord to her window and for her entire family to come into her home.
Little would she know that in a little while the great army of God would appear in the distance. As they approach she must have been thinking this is it. She called all of her family in and then waited. They march to the wall and do something unexpected, in silence they march around the city. And then stop and wait.
The same thing happens for six days she watches and waits. and on the seventh day she is likely to be watching out her window as they marched not just once this day. It was close to three miles around the city and probably took between an hour to 2 for them to march around the city. In silence they go around a second time, then a third, each time the silent army marches, I can only imagine what they were thinking. For somewhere between 7 and 14 hours the army plods forward. After a week the anticipation must be thick and a the end of the seventh trip around 40,000 men shout and there is a giant crash as the entire wall falls down, … except for a part that has a scarlet cord hanging out of the window. Remember that Rahab’s home is in the wall that just came down.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.
She did not perish with those that were disobedient. God had provided enough evidence that the entire city except one family was destroyed because of disobedience.
She is a very unlikely person to be in the list of great Jewish leaders from Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua… and Rahab. This woman performed an act from her faith and she was approved.
2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Rahab demonstrates that by faith and faith alone any person can be approved by God. But not all will, like the remainder of Jericho.
Faith Accomplishes
Faith Accomplishes
32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 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.
Each of these men would be faced with great challenges in their lives and God would test their faith. Gideon would put together an army of 32,000 nearly the size of Joshua’s and God would widdle it down to a mere 300. With pitchers, torches and trumpets God would lead him to victory of an enormous army,
Barak would lead an army against a king with 900 iron chariots. Even though there are 12 tribes God only had 2 participate in order to show God’s power. The result was a devastating win for the Israelites.
Samson is always interesting to read because we see much in his life that is selfish and he is definitely not someone you read about with your son and say look to this guy as an example. Even with all of his faults and weaknesses he never wavered in his faith that God had given him strength. He is approved by God not because of his strength but because of his faith.
Like the author says what more can I say? Each of these men who accomplished great things for God but it is not the actions that are promoted here but the faith that caused them to behave in these ways.
33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 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.
Faith Endures
Faith Endures
Then comes people approved that don’t even have their names detailed.
35 Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
Life was not and is not always easy for the faithful. To be honest it usually the opposite. Faith in God puts a person at odds with the world and the result is usually pain, comfort, and hurt. The author goes from the greats of Isreal to those who’s names are not even included. And all were approved.
Faith Looks Forward
Faith Looks Forward
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.
They were all approved through their faith. Oh what an encouragement and challenge that is for the church today. We live in a time where only works matter, status, prestige. How big is your church? how many events do you have? How many baptisms? In the end, these numbers is not how people find themselves approved by God. It is the faith that is present in each person as they gather for church, worship together, pray for each other, and to see the lost come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior to be baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy spirit. Proclaiming the faith that they have though the act of baptism.
A believer lives in the hope of the promises of God. We have been provided something better. We have seen the substance and the reality of what was promised. There faith was based on a hope that a savior would come and in God. They faithfully obeyed, not perfectly in life but in faith.
Hebrews: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Counting on Salvation
God has provided this “something better” for us, that is for those under the New Covenant, which is why apart from us they should not be made perfect. That is, not until our time, the time of Christianity, could their salvation be completed, made perfect. Until Jesus’ atoning work on the cross was accomplished, no salvation was complete, no matter how great the faith a believer may have had. Their salvation was based on what Christ would do; ours is based on what Christ has done. Their faith looked forward to promise; ours looks back to historical fact.
Yet, though their salvation was not completed in their lifetimes, these were not second-rate believers. They were believers of the highest order. They courageously struggled, suffered, and counted on salvation. They believed all of God’s Word that they had, which is what counts with Him. How much less faith do we often have, in spite of our much greater light. “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).
Conclusion
Conclusion
We have come to the end of chapter 11. A chapter that has many names such as the “Faith hall of fame” and “The Heroes of Faith” These are titles that we have given this chapter over time.
The Author has been very careful in the entire book so far to elevate Christ and Christ alone. From verse 1:1 he has continued to demonstrate who Jesus is, what he accomplished on the cross, and where he is seated in authority as a mediator for those that believe in him as Lord and savior. Though I don’t necessarily have any opposition to the titles we have given this chapter over time, I wonder if the author would agree fully.
This section on faith comes as encouragement and care from the author to a struggling group of christian believers.
35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
He stands before his struggle brothers and sisters and says, brethren do not throw away you confidence, your boldness. It has a great reward. you deeply need endurance. You need the power to withstand hardship and trial. So when it is all done and you have done God’s will, you will receive the reward promised. Eternal salvation of your souls.
Remember the words of the prophet Habakkuk:
4 Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.
It is faith that is the qualifier of the righteous. Nothing else. Faith is primary not the righteousness. It not about how righteous you works looks. It does not matter how well your behavior conforms to the Law. It does not matter how many sacrifices you make. For this can not save you or make you righteous.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
but
12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
The author says we are not those that who drawback but those who have faith and are saved.
The author’s focus of chapter 11 is not the heroes, the champions, the great and almighty men, his focus is their faith and that it was their faith alone that made them righteous, that made them approved before a holy God.
I maybe over critical here but I think we can look at these examples and when we call them heroes and fall of famers. In our minds we elevate them based on who they were as supper believers. That some how they are better people. But this chapter gives examples of kings, prophets, judges, deliverers, it lists the bold and strong but it also includes the weak and fearful widows and gentiles. It included people like you and me.
The focus is not the people themselves but the faith that each person had in God.
The examples are not to elevate the people but to elevate and demonstrate what faith looks like in those that have been approved.
It is living today with boldness not based on what we see here but what is unseen tomorrow.
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
It is how a person pleases God.
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
by faith a person become an heir of righteousness
in faith a person recognizes they are not citizens of this world.
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
and because of this God is not ashamed to be called their God.
You might be asking why such a detailed summary. Two reasons. The first is that I do not want us to miss as a church what is really at stake here. About once a week a meme will float across my Facebook that says “If Paul were alive today, many churches would be receiving letters”. Would Paul be concerned with the state of many churches today. I believe the answer to that would be yes. But I also think Jesus would also flip tables among other things. One of the reasons it the focus that the church today has on elevating the man made and the works of men well over the faith of the church.
The second is that, as Palm Sunday is a day that we turn our attention to the resurrection of Jesus, it is all about faith. And faith in the work of Jesus on the cross and the redemption of fallen man by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
This week is about faith, it is about the belief in the claims of God though his Word and the promise of redemption though trust and belief in the resurrection of Jesus.
So where do we do if we are struggling in faith? We must ask where to we put our trust?
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
We must hear God message and believe in it. No by proof and evidence but by faith and faith alone.
8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 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. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
If you have never called on Jesus to be saved, if you have recognized that you are a sinner and deserve God’s judgement but now want to be saved, you simple must believe, must have faith, that if you call on his name to be saved you will be saved. If this is you today please reach out to a friend, a family member, or myself so that we can celebrate with you and walk with you as a believer.
This week is a great week to sit down for anyone who has been a beleiver far awhile and ask youself “What is my faith in? Where do I put my trust? Is it the things of this world or the promises of the next?”
I think we all have areas that we need to trust less here so that we can trust more there.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.