By Faith VI Hebrews 11:32-40

-Our faith in God finds its fulfillment in the promise of Christ

Faith can be a wonderful thing. The important words in that sentence are can be. Let me explain. Having set her trusted TomTom GPS, Belgian Sabine Moreau was going to pick up her friend at the train station. The train station was about 38 miles away. Moreau trusted that little device. She trusted her GPS when she had to stop and fill her car with gas. She trusted her GPS when she noticed the writing and language on the road signs changed. She trusted her GPS when she crossed the border ... when she crossed a number of borders. It was only when Moreau reached Zagreb, Croatia, that she thought things might not be quite right. Back home the police were about to begin a manhunt for the missing 67-year-old. When asked if she didn't have her doubts about her drive or her GPS during her 900-mile wandering, Moreau said, "I was preoccupied."

I. Faith Sees the Victory vv. 32-35a

After walking through the Hall of Fame of faith, the author seems to go through a sort of honorable mentions list, that provides some quick hits

It turns out, there are countless examples of great Old Testament faith:

Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah who were judges that delivered the people of God

Samuel, prophet, priest and judge who led the people of God

David, the king over the people of God

All of these men led by faith in God and watched God do miraculous acts of deliverance and provision

They conquered other kingdoms, enforced justice, and obtained promises

They stopped lions, quenched fires, and escaped the sword

They were personally made strong, became mighty in war, and put whole armies to flight

Perhaps most stunning of all, women received back their dead by resurrection

All of this points to a very genuine hope that we can rest in:

Faith sees real victory

We can trust God to do the kinds of things that only His power can accomplish in us and through us

It is right and good to believe that God will intercede on behalf of His people; in fact, this belief is utterly critical to the life of faith

We must trust God’s ability to bring victory

Hebrews 11:6

[6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (ESV)

There are no victories at discount prices. 

General Dwight Eisenhower.

II. Faith Endures the Defeat vv. 35b-38

There is a turn here, right in the middle of v. 35

After all of the great victories that were described, we find out that many of the faithful endured terrible defeat

Some “refused release”. They could have escaped, but they were wiling to endure suffering because of the promise of resurrection life

Some endured all sorts of persecution

Torture

Mockery

Poverty

Injustice

Death

The examples here are drawn from throughout the Old Testament

There is a very clear pattern of defeat that is just as important as the pattern of victory:

Both experiences are part of the life of the faithful

Faith is sufficient to carry us through both the victory and the defeat

I think that we miss this:

We can understand the reward of faith when we are winning

We miss it completely when we are losing, but God is faithful in either circumstance

How do we see beauty in the loss?

We remember that suffering is not indicative of faithlessness, but of faith

It builds endurance

It shapes character

It glorifies Christ

We remember that faith in God overcomes the challenges of the world

The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him. 

1 John 5:4

[4] For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (ESV)

III. Faith Waits for the Promise vv. 39-40

All of these faithful are commended for their faith

We rightly regard these heroes of the faith

Yet, we also need to remember something important about them: they did not receive the promise of God

By faith, they were looking forward to the promise of God

The promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus

What they believed, we have received; everything that they looked ahead to, we look back on

We must never forget that our faith has an ultimate object:

Faith is not the object, we don’t believe in faith

Jesus is the point and the promises of God are fulfilled in Him

Through faith in Jesus, we are made complete, no matter the circumstance we endure

We can trust Him completely!

David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by him mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman's prognosis was devastating: "He has a 50-50 chance." The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain--the mother's ordeal can be almost as bad as the child's because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself.  David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of him mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. 

When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap--a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. "If it hurts, remember it's because he loves you," Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, "Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting."