Hebrews 11:24-40
By faith Moses’ parents
hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary
child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
By faith Moses, when he
had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to
be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ (Messiah’s
camp from the Message version) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt,
because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing
the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:
23-27
However,
in Exodus 2:11-15 we read that Moses was afraid.
One day, after Moses had
grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their
hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing
this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the
sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one
in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” The man said, “Who made
you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the
Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become
known.” When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from
Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. – Exodus 2:11-15
Moses
was afraid of Pharaoh then but not after he saw the burning bush. So when we read these verses in Hebrews we
must take them in context. After he left
Egypt and after he saw Him who was invisible, Moses was not afraid of the
Egyptian king’s anger, and he persevered to complete the mission for which he
was sent. Thus he returned to Egypt to
get Pharaoh to let God’s people go. We
pick up in verse 28 of Hebrews 11:
By faith he kept the
Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn
would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the
Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were
drowned.
By faith the walls of
Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. By
faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with
those who were disobedient.
And what more shall I say?
I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel
and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice,
and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury
of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to
strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women
received back their dead, raised to life again. – Hebrews 11: 28-35
We
know from reading the Old Testament that the Lord used Gideon to route the Midianites,
Amalekites and other eastern peoples. The
Lord also used Barak and Deborah to defeat Jabin, a king of Canaan, and his
army. We know that the Lord used Samson
to kill many Philistines after they had blinded him. And the Lord used Jephthah
to defeat the Ammonites. We also know
how the Lord used Samuel to defeat the Philistines at Mizpah. In First Samuel
we read:
Then Samuel took a stone
and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far
has the LORD helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12
We
are all familiar with how David defeated Goliath, the giant Philistine, and how
he later became king over all of Israel and was able to give all the rest of
the Promised Land to the Israelites. But
what of the others not called out by name? Continuing we read in verse 35:
Others were tortured and
refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some
faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They
were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They
went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the
world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in
caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended
for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had
planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be
made perfect. – Hebrews 11:35-40
It
is this last verse that will be the topic of the rest of this message.
Note
that all of the other persecutions appear to have taken place after Christ’s
resurrection and His ascension into heaven.
Those persecuted were commended for their faith yet none of them
received what had been promised because God had planned something better for
them and us. In Zephaniah, chapter 1:
The word of the LORD that
came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the
son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: “I will
sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. “I will sweep
away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish
of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from
the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. – Zephaniah 1:1-3
Many
Christians forget that the day of the Lord is coming, and, worse yet, they
forget what it entails for all of the living creatures including all of mankind
on the face of the earth. He says in Zephaniah:
Neither their silver nor
their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’S wrath. In the
fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a
sudden end of all who live in the earth. – Zephaniah 1:18
This
is not an idle threat. The Lord has
already done this once using the flood in the days of Noah. But He has promised
something different for these whom He has commended for their faith here in
Hebrews 11.
Many
Christians believe that when they die they are going to go straight to heaven,
but that is not what the Bible states.
The thief on the cross was promised on the day of his death that he
would be with Jesus in Paradise that day.
I believe that according to the Scriptures we too will be with the Lord
in Paradise on the day of our death.
These heroes of faith identified in Hebrews that were killed by various
means did not receive all of what had been promised. Yet, I believe they were with the Lord, probably
in Paradise, but they have not yet received the place in heaven that the Lord
was preparing for them. Why? Because like it says in Hebrews:
God had planned something better
for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.—Hebrews 11:40
Paul
speaks of this in 1 Thessalonians:
Brothers, we do not want
you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of
men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we
believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According
to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left
till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen
asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead
in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are
still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore
encourage each other with these words.—1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Some
think that the graves of those who died in Christ are going to be opened and
that their dead bodies are going to arise from their caskets, and if they died
at sea their dead bodies will arise from the sea to meet us who remain in the
air. I don’t believe this is the
case. Why? Paul tells us to die is to be with Christ in
Philippians:
I eagerly expect and hope
that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now
as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For
to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the
body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not
know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which
is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced
of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your
progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy
in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Whatever happens, conduct
yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and
see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm
in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being
frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they
will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. – Philippians 1:20-28
We
shouldn’t be frightened about the End Times and the Day of the Lord. Jesus Himself in Matthew 13 and Matthew 24 eluded
to the prophecy of the end times described in Zephaniah. In Matthew 13:
Jesus told them another
parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the
wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds
also appeared.
The owner’s servants came
to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did
the weeds come from?’
‘An enemy did this,’ he
replied.
The servants asked him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
‘No,’ he answered,
‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let
both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters:
First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the
wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Matthew 13: 24-30
Notice
that the wheat and the weeds will be separated. Matthew 13 continues:
Then He left the crowd and
went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the
parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who
sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good
seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil
one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the
age, and the harvesters are angels.
As the weeds are pulled up
and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will
send out His angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him
hear.” – Matthew 13: 36-43
Jesus
again explains the End Times in Matthew 24:
As Jesus was sitting on
the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said,
“when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end
of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out
that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the
Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but
see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is
still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the
beginning of birth pains.
Then you will be handed
over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations
because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray
and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many
people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the
end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that
causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader
understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.. Let
no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let
no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those
days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not
take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress,
unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled
again.
If those days had not been
cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will
be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’
or, ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that
were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
So if anyone tells you,
‘There He is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here He is, in the inner
rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible
even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a
carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Immediately after the
distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be
shaken.’
At that time the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will
mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power
and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they
will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the
other.” – Matthew 24:3-31
Notice
again that angels will separate the elect from the others. Jesus goes on to
say:
“Now learn this lesson
from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you
know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that
it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will
certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
No one knows about that
day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For
in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is
how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field;
one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand
mill; one will be taken and the other left.”—Matthew 24: 32-41
Again
another example of the separation of the wheat and the weeds (good vs evil).
“Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an
hour when you do not expect Him.
Who then is the faithful
and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his
household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that
servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns”. – Matthew 24:42-46
We
as a church gave each of the graduates of our church this year the book, Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney, with the forward by J. L. Packer: Here is a list of the spiritual disciplines
described in that book:
1.
Reading the Word
2.
Hearing the Word
3.
Memorizing the Word
4.
Meditating on the Word
5.
Studying the Word
6.
Praying
7.
Journaling
8.
Serving
9.
Silence and Solitude
11.
Stewardship
12.
Worship
13.
Evangelism
These
may not be in the same order as the book because I listed them by memory, and I
may have missed one of them or added one.
These are disciplines that we should all be practicing as we grow in
spiritual maturity.
Ephesians
tells us:
It was He who gave some to
be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be
pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the
body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4: 11-13
Now
we are not all apostles, prophets, evangelists; nor are we all pastors and
teachers, but I think we all can and should practice the discipline of
evangelism especially in these end times.
I
was at the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor’s office on June 29th which
was 11 days ago. While I waited to be
seen, an elderly man and his wife who had just seen the doctor came out to the
waiting room. The wife sat down while the
husband went to the receptionist window to schedule his next appointment. The receptionist asked him his birthday so
that she could look up his file. I don’t
remember his birthday, but I do remember clearly hearing him say 1928 . That would make him approximately 94 years
old. He completed his task at the window
and turned to leave with his wife. His
wife was walking with a cane, and he was holding her other arm to help
stabilize her. They both looked very
frail so I walked over to hold the door for them. Before they went out the second set of doors,
he asked his wife to give me one of those papers.
She
handed me a half of a sheet of copy paper and this is what was printed on it:
“THE
MIRACLE PRAYER”
Lord
Jesus, I come before You, just as I am.
I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what
they have done against me. I renounce
Satan, the evil spirits and all their works.
I give You my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite You into my life, Jesus. I accept You as my Lord, God and Savior. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body,
soul and spirit.
Come
Lord Jesus, cover me with Your precious blood, and fill me with Your Holy
Spirit. I love You, Lord Jesus. I praise You, Jesus. I thank You, Jesus. I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen
Say
this prayer faithfully, no matter how you feel. When you come to the point
where you sincerely mean each word, with all your heart, something good
spiritually will happen to you. You will
experience Jesus and HE will change your whole life in a very special way. You will see.”
So
here is a 94 year old man and his wife still practicing the spiritual
discipline of evangelism. Note that it
was obvious that neither he nor she were gifted evangelists, but it was just as
obvious that they wanted as many people to come to know the Lord before the end
times came when it would be too late for them to make a decision to put their
trust in Jesus as their Savior. We
should all have that same attitude. In Psalm 90, titled a prayer of Moses the
man of God, the Psalmist writes in verse 12 of the NIV:
So teach us to number our
days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12 NIV
The
KJV reads: “that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” In the Sandra McCracken song titled “Wisdom
and Grace” she translates it to say “that we may apply our hearts to Your ways”.
It was obvious that this couple had learned and were practicing this verse
regardless of the translation.
That
was 11 days ago. 5 days ago, last
Tuesday, Christine and I visited Lee Bullard. By the way, Lee turned 98 yesterday. While we sat and talked with Lee, she told us
of how she was praying for various members of her family and for the people of
our church. She also showed us her
memory verses that she was still reviewing, and she said that she is still
meditating on these verses as well as memorizing and meditating on new verses. While we talked, Lee mentioned the current
events that she has been seeing on the news each day, and she said that it
looks like the end times are very close. Yet she is still memorizing and
meditating on new and old memory verses. Why? Well it is obvious that she is
still memorizing, meditating and reviewing them in order to apply her heart to
His ways until He returns for her. She
is living proof of someone who has numbered her days. She is applying her heart
to His ways.
So
now here is a 98 year old great grandmother practicing the spiritual disciplines
of prayer, reading the Word, memorizing it, meditating on it and applying it as
she, by faith, is looking forward to the Lord’s return for her. That is true faithfulness and true wisdom.
Jesus
said:
Who then is the faithful
and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his
household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that
servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. – Matthew 24:45-46
For
sure God has something better planned for those who were commended for their
faith in Hebrews 11 and for us. May He
find us faithfully doing His will when He returns.
Let’s
pray.
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