Our reading today from God's word is in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. We will be starting at verse 30 and ending at verse 40. Hebrews 11, verse 30, let us listen to men and women of faith. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith, the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me. to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms. worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom this world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts, and mountains, and dens, and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God, having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Amen. You may be seated. Let's bow in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, you have loved us with an everlasting love. Before the mountains were formed or ever the sun's rays warmed the earth, there you were sitting upon your throne in the heavens in purity of perfect holiness. And yet you're pleased to dwell by your Spirit, abiding within the heart of each believer, making us a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit individually and a temple of the Holy Spirit collectively. And so, Father, as those bought by the blood of Jesus Christ reconciled unto you, We who knew no righteousness are reconciled by the one who knew no sin. And we seek your face, Father, desiring to worship you, yes, in spirit and in truth, but also. We know your Holy Spirit convicts of sin, convicts heart and mind of your truth. And so, Father, as the word is opened before us, before us all today, That we would find here, Father, your words to be those that are a challenge to us individually and as a church. That we would know, Father, that our faith does not rest upon cleverly devised fables, as the scripture would say, but upon your revelation in word and spirit. by your apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone. Increase our faith and remove any shadow of doubt and cause us to take heed to your word, your sure mercies, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts. Sanctify us by your truth. Add to our faith virtue, knowledge, and love. Strengthen our confidence in the anchor that lies within the veil, our Lord, our mediator, our Savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, in whose name we pray. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning By faith won people through the ages. When we began this chapter 11 of Hebrews, we started with that great verse 1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. We've seen that unfold before us beginning with Abel. Abel, the one who was the first martyr for the faith, murdered by his own brother. And we see in each case, as we look at those who rested in the promises of God, who put their faith in the substitutionary atonement of the sacrifice, who believed what God had said in his covenants, who rested in the one true God, having no righteousness of her own but resting in his provided by the substitute, and followed pilgrims who journeyed and followed the call of the Lord. And as we've gone through each case, we found by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith they did. And we learn that each of these We have solidarity with them. We are one with them. We have one Messiah, one Lord, one God, one spirit. And we are one covenant people of God from beginning to end. Next chapter, we have that driven home by the city that is the city of the redeemed, the city of God. But as we look through these things, we found each step of the way there were challenges. There was opposition. There were those who would seek to quash the message that was spoken and preached of those who opposed the people of God at every turn, of those who denied the truth that was there in God's revelation. There were those who would even desire to do harm to the people of God. And so as we come to that which is before us today, Beginning in verse 30 and going through verse 40, we see this list of believers that go throughout the times covered from law through the judges to the time of the kings and prophets and going on through that list and finding solidarity once again. And that it was through faith they overcame. And so to begin with, I'd like for us to look at pilgrims found that there was no obstacle for God. Beginning in verse 30, it says, by faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. God had led Israel out of the clutches of Egypt and Pharaoh as slaves. And by his outstretched arm, ten plagues he brought against that land. And Pharaoh was arrogant and resistant. And when he was approached by Moses, he says, who is the Lord that I should obey him? These are my people. I will not let them go. Yahweh or Jehovah says they're mine. And he shows it to be true. He humbles him. You find it time and again, Pharaoh hardening his heart, hardening his heart, hardening his heart, his heart was hardened, and then you see the Lord hardened his heart, the Lord hardened his heart, etc. And God said, I raised you up that I might demonstrate my miracles through you. Through his stubbornness and resistance and refusal to obey the word of the Lord through his prophet Moses, God multiplied his his miracles and wonders in the land of Egypt, that all there in the Middle East might know, there is a God in Israel. The exodus having been done, brought through the Red Sea as we saw last time, we finally came to Jericho. As they approached the promised land as the way they were coming in, they're coming across the Jordan river. And there, the first thing that they would meet was this large walled city. That was an ancient city. And it was strategically located for, you see, there, unless you go into the wilds of the desert or you go into the Dead Sea, you see, it is one of those places where for a large group like Israel to come into the land, Jericho stands imposing before them. And so how do you conquer this city? The Lord said he would conquer the city. And so you have the Ark of the Covenant carried by the priests once a day, day after day after day. And finally, you have the Lord saying, okay, now they're going to go around seven times. The whole time they were going around, the Lord said to keep silent. Don't say a word. You have the people of Jericho jeering and making fun and ridiculous what you're doing here. You can't do anything. And then with a shout, on the seventh time, on that last trip around, God says, give a shout. And the walls collapsed, and Jericho was conquered. You see, beloved, they found that it was not by might nor by power, nor by spear nor sword, but it was through the power of God. And it was resting and trusting in His power and believing in His promise that He made. That's how the walls fell down. There's a lesson for us. You see, it is the sovereign salvation of our Lord. He will complete what He's promised. They were set free from the past, a tyrant, a tyranny, a slavery. And here we find that the walls that barred their entrance into the promises being fulfilled collapsed by the power of God. Beloved, the same God collapses walls barring our way today. They believe God and God performs. And so when we see this to begin with, you see the second thing that it brings up in the next verse. As it develops this in 31, by faith, the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she received the spies from the place. You see, you know the whole account of Rahab and that she was an innkeeper, you know, that hid the spies of Israel. And she had heard about the Lord God who had conquered the Egyptians with his power, and she believed. And she hid the spies at risk of her own life, by the way. And she only said, would you, when you conquer this city, would you save me and my family? Notice she believed God was the one doing it. And she believed secondly, they would conquer the city and that they would come into the land. And with this faith, they gave their commitment, their promise. And so there was the red cord that was hung out the window. You know, the account. And when the walls collapsed, her family was not killed. And fascinating here is this Canaanite woman living in Jericho, who believed here in the time of their entering into the land. And if you look in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, you find that Rahab is an ancestor, is in the line of Jesus Christ, according to the flesh. And God here showing a trophy of his grace in all of it through faith. And so in the midst of all of this, you see, faith is that which God demands, and certainly he honors. But in verse 32, we see a list of things. In verse 32, we come to the time of the judges. Remember, there was a time of 450 years, I think it was, where after they came into the land, it rises up and then it just kind of fizzles. And more and more, you let the pagans back into the land, or you don't destroy them as they were ordered to do. And they start absorbing the works of the idolatrous works, the immoral works, and other things of those that they had come to conquer and replace. Instead, they are subsumed into them. And there's something you find repeated throughout the Book of Judges. And these are people that are mentioned here, you know, like Barak and Jephthah, and you've got Gideon, you know, these men who were judges. Samson. Instead of kings, they were judges. And it says, every man did that which was right in his own eyes. In other words, they were lawless, they were narcissists, they were anarchists, if you will. You know what autonomy means? You know, autonomy, and it's a Greek word, really two Greek words put together that we use in English, and it means, I am independent, I am autonomous, I'm not dependent on anyone, I don't listen to anyone, et cetera. Auto, or autos, means self. And namas is law. I'm a law to myself. And the problem with this is every man did that which was right in his own eyes. What was right in their own eyes was not right in God's eyes. And so in the time of the judges, you see that God brings in armies to conquer. He brings in plagues. He brings in problems for them. And so the people cry out to God. They remember him suddenly. And so the Lord would send a deliverer in the form of a judge. And you see this cycle. And then they would forget all over again. And then once again, they would go back to their old ways. And you see it just like a circle that keeps repeating itself in the time of the judges. And so when you look in these names here, these men were part of that, part of the deliverance that was done. And you see, finally, it comes to the mention of David. But if you look at a straight line at the history of Israel, it didn't go directly to David, did it? And if you look in this list, you'll find that besides David, you have Samuel and the prophets mentioned. Now, a number of things can be brought up about this. In the time of the judges, you know, the remnant was saved by faith alone, and you have these few that are mentioned. You know, when you had Gideon, had this great army of followers that came with him, and God said, that's too many. You remember the account, don't you? And so the Lord says, everyone who's got both hands scooping up water and drinking out of the stream, get rid of them. Okay. And the Lord dwindles it down until he finally has only 300 men with him. And so Gideon is a man who leads these men to victory. They've got these torches and pots and they've got the horns and they come into the camp of the enemy in the middle of the night, blowing the horns and throwing these pots down that break and fire goes all over the place. And the enemy panics and runs and there's a great slaughter. And the Lord delivers the enemy into the hands of the people. Why? Because they believe God and did it his way. But notice he dwindled them down to few. Fascinating in the history, you find in the Old Testament how often it is the remnant, the few that believe. Elijah, remember him? When he was confronted by God and he says, what are you doing here? When he ran, you know, he thought he was the last one left, the last believer, the last prophet. And the Lord said, I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. You say, well, that's a lot. Not in a whole country it isn't. It was a remnant that God kept, and they by faith followed him. And so when we're looking at this list, let me just camp, if I may, on the kingdom of the true God and Lord and his righteousness. Let's deal with Samuel first of all, because he and David are intrinsically linked. Samuel, remember the Lord called him? You remember how old he was when he was called? You know, it was an old man, you know, like Moses, you know, 80 years old at a burning bush. No! He was a mere child. Remember, Hannah had prayed for a child. You remember the account in the Lord Blessers says, if you give me a child, I'll give him back to you. And so this little boy, weaned, probably three years old or so, is delivered to Eli, an old priest. And here, he's the one who's serving and raising up with the family and under the authority and learning to be an apprentice to Eli. And in the middle of the night, remember, the Lord called And he thought it was Eli calling him. So he goes and he responds. He says, I didn't call you, son. Go back to bed. So that happens two or three times. And finally, he says, it's the Lord. And you find out the Lord is calling Samuel from this tender age. And Samuel is, if you look in the scripture, you can find several places. And I'm not going to track it down for you. I'm sorry. I could give you all the references, but we're already behind. But he's the first of the prophets. If you look at the Hebrew Bible, the first prophet mentioned is Samuel. And that's why it's Samuel and the prophets. You find it listed that way also like in Acts chapter three and other places. And so the whole point here is Samuel. And Samuel became not only a priest who could offer sacrifices. Remember Saul could not offer sacrifices. He was the one who anointed him. And so here's a man who's both a prophet and a priest, but also a judge. And in all of these offices, you find Samuel being used of God mightily in a time of the judges to bring order where there was disorder, to bring people to the Lord and declare his truth. But what do they do? You're old. We want a king like all the other lands. They learn nothing. They want to be like the other countries. And so the Lord gave them a king like they wanted. And the Lord told Samuel, he said, the Lord, the people haven't rejected you, they've rejected me. A theocracy that God would speak to them through his prophet and have this man as his priest. And so Saul, the one like the world would have, tall, dark, and handsome, you know, the guy everybody'd say, oh, there's a leader. He's good looking, he's tall, he's powerful, all of these things. And he was none of the things that would make a great leader. And it was this young fellow by the name of David, you know it well, that God set his love upon. And so when we look at the kingdom of the true God, you see it as a man after God's own heart, David, one who would be a prophet as well, a king and a prophet. And so he's the one who wrote so many of the Psalms. Many of the Messianic Psalms, by the way. And he was a type of Christ. And so here we see one who was to, God would rule over his people, over his kingdom through his appointed king, his chosen king. And so here's how the kingdom of God would work. And so it was trusting in him that it was actually God ruling through his man, but it was a nation and a kingdom and a people that belonged to God. And so the kingdom of the Lord. And so faith is described here or explained like faith's commitment and loyalty to the true God. When all other earthly powers are commanding otherwise to be unrighteous and anti-God in their ways, those who are believers are loyal to the one true God. It's interesting, you find in the covenant promises of God, these phrases used sometimes. See if it's familiar to you. I will be your God. You will be my people. And I will dwell in the midst of you. You see, beloved, that's the kind of loyalty we're talking about. That's why the Lord uses the analogy of a marriage. You're my bride, you're my wife, and I'm your husband, and there is a loyalty here as one man, one woman, so this is the kind of relationship. You're my people, and I am your God, and I will bless and dwell in your midst." And so that was the trust. Well, it lists prophets. As you look through this list of things, and we can only hit the high points, It says that, verse 33, through faith they subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, etc. If you think of also the dead were raised, and as you look at these miracles that were performed and wonders that were done, the prophets. It was Elijah who was, by the way, a great prophet indeed, wasn't he? And yet there was a death warrant by Jezebel, by sundown I'm going to have you dead. You can think of it like Isaiah. It mentions him, and we'll get to him in a moment. Son and two executed in that horrible way. Jeremiah was imprisoned by the king himself. You see, in a cesspool, as it were, Daniel was thrown into a lion's den by a king because he would not submit unto the decree. Remember, the whole thing was about, you will pray only to me. as the one God, and know I will, even under pain of death, pray to the one true God and pray towards his sanctuary at that time, Jerusalem." Faith that says, I will believe in the one true God. May the outcome be what it is. It's in his hands. And it says also, quench fires. It was also with Daniel as they were in exile and under the pagan king. Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonian king, said, here's the image of me, the one he had dreamt of. And when you hear the music, you fall down and you worship this or you'll be cast into a fiery furnace. You know the account. And they didn't do it Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so what happened is they believed God. And when they were confronted by him, he says, I'll give you another chance. When you hear the music, you bow down and you worship the image. And they said, we don't have to be careful about this to answer you, O King. Remember this in Daniel chapter 3? Our God is able to deliver us from the power of the fires. But even if he doesn't, their faith being in the true God, we will not bow. They're cast into the fiery furnace so hot it kills the soldiers that put them in it. And we see the three men walking around inside, and one like the Son of Man, or Son of God, rather, walking with them, unharmed by the fire. And so you see the faith to preach righteousness, the call to call kings and nations to repentance, faith that witnesses to tyrants, and even stands in the face of threats and dangers. stands true to the living God. That's the list we have here. These are the people that you and I are one with as God's people. His people throughout the ages. Verses 35 and 36. It talks about, still others had trials of, excuse me, women received their dead raised from the life again. Others were tortured and not accepting deliverance, they might obtain better resurrection, still others trials and mockings. The dead raised. Think of the time of Elijah. Here's Elijah, you know, the drought he prayed for, he decreed would take place by God's power. And remember what happened is God says, you're going to go to the widow of Zarephath and there she's going to support you. Remember what happened. He comes to her and she is gathering a few sticks to cook with. And he says, would you please bring me some water and a morsel of bread? And she says, I'm not lying to you. I'm telling you the truth. I have enough flour and enough oil to make a cake for my son and myself and die." And what did Elijah say? Take that flour and that oil and make a cake for me first. And then you will have flour and oil. She believed it. She did it. And you know what happened. From then on, the flour and the oil never diminished, God provided. But then a terrible thing occurred. The little boy that was the son of this widow died. And Elijah calls out, Lord, have you brought disaster upon this household, even though they were kind to me? And he stretches out himself upon the little boy. in the upper room where he was staying. And it says, the spirit of the boy returned into him, and he was raised from the dead. We have it repeated with Elisha. Remember, Elisha was one who was the apprentice to Elijah. And he had similar circumstances, a little different, but you find that in 2 Kings chapter 4, you have the Shunammite woman, they'd seen him going by, she and her husband had seen him going by so many times, and they would offer him hospitality, and finally they built a little room for him, and they said, why don't you stay here when you're going by? Okay. And he said, what can I do for you? And she says, and nothing, we're fine. And finally, his servant said, I noticed that her husband's old and they have no child. And he says, this time next year you're going to have a son. Sound familiar? And they believed him. And sure enough, the next year they had a boy. But what occurred after that was another tragedy. The boy grows and you find the boy dies. Once again, Elisha, he sins, he's far away from the place, and he gives his staff to his servant, and he says, run, go put the staff on the little boy, bring him to life. He does it, nothing happens. And so finally, Elisha rises, stretches himself out, and the boy was raised from the dead. Women receive their dead, but there's another one, we remember, who is a little later on, by the name of Jesus the Christ. Four days he waited after the news that Lazarus had died, but when he went back to it, there he had been in the tomb for four days, Jesus as Lazarus come forth. But before he did that, you look in John 11 and you see Jesus interacting with Martha and Mary. He is the resurrection in the life. He didn't have to stretch himself out. He commanded Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus came forth four days after dying. And they set him free. You see, death's cold curse was conquered. The Lord always started with faith in smaller things with these other prophets. But here Jesus Christ confronts us. with faith that he is the life and has the power of life and death. Well, as you go through this list, You find that all of these things talk a point as to the fact that these were believers who were believing and trusting in the Word of God, in the prophets of God. It is the law and the prophets after all. It is the gospel, the law and gospel in the New Testament by the prophets and apostles, Christ Jesus, the cornerstone. But in 36 to 38, notice further. A faith of the saints that's steadfast through suffering. It starts out with these, they're talking about, if you look in verse 36, it talks about others and trials of mocking and scourging and chains and imprisonment. There were stones sawn in two, tempted, slain by the sword, et cetera. First of all, it begins with Old Testament by, we think of those who followed the truth of God, that it was the Jews who were the ones who would frequently be persecutors. The very ones who should be able to count on, to trust in, and be a part of. You see, we're blood, that we should be those who are fellow believers, but it's so often it was they who were corrupted, infiltrated. compromised and they became like the others. Zechariah is a man's name. You can read it in 2 Chronicles 24 verses 20 to 22. Zechariah, you remember Joash, the boy king? And he had them cleaning out the temple. You remember this, right? Jehoiada, the priest, the high priest was the one, and they brought the, they found the law. It had been so long, they lost it. And so they found the scriptures, and they bring them to Jehoiada, and Jehoiada brings them to Joash the king. Remember all of that? Some of you don't look like you do. Anyway, Second Chronicles. Anyway, as you go through there, Jehoiada was a great high priest, and he died. And Zechariah, his son, took his place. Well, Joash, after Jehoiada died, turned from a good king to a bad king. He turned away from the things of God. He turned to false gods. He turned his faith with apostasy. And so Zechariah stood by faith and called the king and the people. He was there by the altar, you know, between the altar and the temple, you know, raised up higher as a, as a there and, and preaching to all the people there in Jerusalem to repent and their wickedness and their idols and everything. And the king sent people to go and stone him to death and killed him. Zechariah by faith. preached in the midst of apostasy, even to the king. And it says he died for his faith. Jesus spoke about him. You find it in Luke 11, also in Matthew 23, where Jesus is talking about, he said that all the righteous blood from Abel to Zechariah, son of Berechia, who is also son of Jehoiada, he said, this is the one. This blood, the guilt is coming upon you and this city, and that you'll be destroyed. You read it, that's the context that leads into 24. And so Zechariah died for the faith. If you look in the early church fathers, Justin, Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, and Jerome, in case you're wondering, all record that Jeremiah was stoned to death in Egypt. We have the Elephantine papyri that talk about it, where there this group fled during the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. And they fled to Egypt, and they dragged Jeremiah against his will with them. And he was preaching to them, and they didn't want to hear it either. He's praying, repent and turn to the true God, and turn away from these false gods. And they stoned him to death. Are we getting a pattern here? We'll have to bring it to a close on this and pick up next week. But there's one last I'd like to bring up, if I may. And that is, of course, we've already mentioned Isaiah. He was sawn in two. Early church fathers, even the Talmud, another book that's called The Martyrdom of Isaiah, all record how they took a wood-cutting saw, you know, kind of like our two-man saw, and they cut him in half lengthwise. You see, none of these repented of their faith. But they believed God. Why? Remember what the first verse says of the chapter. Assurance of things hoped for. Hope is future. And conviction of things not seen. They could look all around them and look at the circumstances. And what I see looks like God's abandoned me. A few weeks ago, three weeks ago I guess it was, our brother John preached to us out of Romans 8, 31 to 39. He says, what shall separate us from the love of God in Christ? And he goes through all of these things like persecution and famine. And even, you know, the principalities and powers and all of these things, what can separate us from the love of God in Christ? Three times it says it in the text, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Of those who trust in him. That was the faith these prophets had. And you're probably thinking, yeah, but they're prophets, they're super saints. These are the heroes, you know. If there's anything this list is driving home, is there are a whole lot of people here that were flesh and blood people just like you and me. Sinners, say by grace, like you and I. And the fact that they were weak and that they were sinners is the very thing that's being driven home. That it was faith was not in their power, not in their intellect, not in their abilities, not in anything other than the power of God. And he keeps his promises. I know that which is promised, he is able to deliver. And so as these died in faith, it says at the end, they died in faith, not receiving the promises, they were looking ahead. And so, beloved, as we end on this rather difficult note, look at what it teaches us. You and I serve the same God. You and I are called to repent, believe in the same gospel. It was always gospel, by the way. The law taught the gospel. It leads to the gospel. You don't think so? We've talked about the Passover lamb. We talked about the atoning goat. We talk about the high priesthood in the temple. But you got to put all that together, their types and shadows, and we don't understand it fully until you see Jesus Christ. But knowing them now, we see all of those things are about him. And that's what these look forward to. And so may we draw our courage, our instruction, and get a firmer grasp on hope. a firmer grasp on seeing that by faith, which is unseen, that we too may stand. I doubt very many of us to be threatened with being sawn in two. But you see, we should be those who are bowing before our Lord and saying, Lord, it's in your hands. Whatever you do is right. In closing, let me just say this. as we wrap it up and pick up where we've left off next week. We live in a volcanic area. I'm not teaching you anything you don't already know. I'm the foreigner here. But when is the time to prepare? You know, they talk about earthquakes and they talk about volcanoes or earthquakes, right? When is the time to prepare for an earthquake? Well, when you feel the things rocking back and forth, right? A little late then. The time to prepare is before. The Lord gives us his word for us to be they who bow before him and on our face before him and in the word and say, prepare our hearts, our minds for whatever the cost may be that we would follow him. And so may today be a time where we take stock Where we look at what he says here, and he gave it for a reason. He says, I want you to realize this is what all your brothers and sisters went through in the past. Peter said, don't think it's strange, this fiery ordeal that is among you. All those who live godly will suffer persecution, scripture has told us. Jesus said, in this world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Do we believe it? Then that's the faith we seek, to have God strengthen in our very bones, that we may follow Him no matter what the cost. May God grant us the grace for it. Amen. Let's pray together. Righteous Father, We bow before you now, having heard your written account that you had written through a man, an account of all of these who lived by faith, not by sight. And so we pray that we might do the same preparing our hearts and our minds that no matter the cost, we trust in you with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding, but acknowledge you in all of our ways, knowing that whatever you do is right. So may we trust you in a way that is beyond our own comprehension or ability, that we would trust you with all of our life, no matter the cost, no matter the situation. As was said, and as your scripture says, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. So it is, O Lord, we pray, that we would keep our vision not on this world, but our vision looking up to the one in whom we trust, to the one in whom all of the promises are yes and amen. May we place our total dependence upon you, just as a baby rests in the arms of a mother, We pray we would rest in your arms this day. In Jesus name. Amen. Now receive the benediction of the Lord. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.