Faith Through the Pain

Introduction

We have seen spectacular things happen through faith. Many great accomplishments done through people having faith in God.

The tone changes significantly as we get to this portion of scripture. God in His wisdom wants us to know there are some “adverse effects” to a life of faith.

[Analogy: “play through the pain” is a statement made in the world of sports. It encourages the person continue in spite of the pain associated with the activity.]

“Faith Through The Pain” suggests that I need to continue on my journey in spite of the painful moments it brings.

I’ll have the same faith in the valley as I have on the mountain top

I’ll have the same faith in the prison as I have in the palace

I’ll have the same faith in the pain as I have in my joy

Our text (Heb. 11:35-40) teaches about this aspect of faith from which we learn ways to apply the teaching.

Can I have a faith that will outlast the pain?!!!

Heb 11:35-40

We see these men and women faced a myriad of circumstances all because of their faith in God. they remained unknown but their faith did not.

The measure of faith is not a great feat, it’s your commitment to God. A commitment that should not shift because of what is happening around me.

A Faith that refuses deliverance (Heb 11:35)

They did not “accept release” because they saw what God was doing. They saw that God would provide a “better resurrection”.

e.g. 3 Hebrew young men (Dan 3:17-18) display this kind of faith, so did Jeremiah (Jer. 9:20). So did our Lord (Lk 22:42).

This means that sometimes remaining faithful is painful (No one said serving God will be easy all the times)

The conjunction ‘hina’ introduces purpose (the better resurrection) They saw beyond their day. The principle of the enduring faith is constant in the bible. (2 Cor 4:17-5:1)

Sometimes we can think that because I have faith in God that things should go well all the time. It doesn’t always result in a “dry land” to walk on. Or that “wall will come tumbling down”. Or that “fire will come down from heaven”.

Notice, this does not describe a situation where they give up, run away, or search for excuses not to function as God wanted.

A Faith that seeks God’s approval (Heb 11:36-39a)

The circumstances listed include : Shame, confinement, physical abuse, death, destitution, and isolation. Most of these people are unknown (“and others” Heb 11:36). Notice you don’t see, (mountain top, applause, recognition, spectacular or prominent). Question: is this what we thought Jesus meant when He said “faith will move mountains”?

“men of whom the world was not worthy” - the world may have said “you are not worthy of us” but God was saying, “the world was not worthy of you”. - Matt 6:2. When you seek God’s approval you will be rejected, mocked, etc.(Heb 11:37), specifically mentioned after this verse.

Not before “they gained approval”. - This phrase originally described a witness; someone who remembered something and could talk about it. The passive mood of the verb means someone gave them the approval; someone saw something they could talk about.

Appl. God saw something He could talk about. - when I think about my faith is it something God can talk about?

A Faith that waits on God (Heb 11:39b-40)

They “did not receive what was promised” - They did not received the fulfillment of this promise. A faith that says I’m not concerned if I do not see the outcome, as long as I see God. We saw this in Joseph commanding that his bones be taken to the promised land. Outcome=No, Faith=Yes!

“they apart from us” - No one on idea side of the cross will be made perfect without the other. This is a ref. to the promise Abraham received regarding

one side heard the promise the other saw the fulfillment

one side things were concealed the other it was revealed

one side saw the shadow the other the object

one side heard “He’s coming, the other heard “He’s here”

This phrase describes a scenario where those before have ran and have now passed on the baton. They now look on with hopes of perfection.

They didn’t see the promised fulfilled yet they maintained “faith through the pain”

What about us who have seen this promised fulfilled. We know that Jesus came, died and was raised. We have experienced salvation, we know about the blessing of His great salvation.

Will we accept the baton, and have faith through the pain?