Others

So this past week marks one of the highlights of my year and it happens every year, but it usually is one of the kind of hallmarks of my year. It's when the first pitch is thrown out in major league baseball. Very, very important time. It's by the grace of Jesus that we have major league baseball, and I'm thankful for that grace that He has shown to us.

But this year in major league baseball is a very important year. It's a significant year. Here's why. Because on April 15th, just next week it will mark April 15th, 1947 so it will be 70 year anniversary where Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. Seventy years. Now, when he did that he started a baseball game on April 15th, 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers and he started at first base, even though he wasn't a natural first baseman actually. He started at first base in that game.

And if you didn't know this, Jackie Robinson was a Christian. Jackie Robinson loved the Lord and his faith was center to who he was and what he did. And also, the man who was the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, was also a Christian. And Branch Rickey decided that he wanted to break the color barrier, but he knew that it was going to require a man of really, really solid faith to be able to do that, because of all that was going to be thrown at a man like Jackie Robinson. They shared a same denomination, they were both Methodists, and they held a faith in Christ and would talk about the Scripture. And Branch Rickey actually said to Jackie Robinson, I need to know that you are strong enough in character not to fight back, because it's the only way that we'll be able to get done what we need to get done. And Jackie Robinson said, by the grace of God I'll be able to do that. And so he faced all kinds of criticism, all kinds of harsh treatment, all manner of terrible things were said about Jackie Robinson.

But today in every single major league organization his number, number 42 is retired. No one can wear his number anymore in any major league organization. And it hangs in every major league stadium as a retired number. And the only time anybody gets to wear it is when on one day of the year, all of major league baseball and every player wears number 42.

It's really pretty extraordinary, I think in terms of the level of impact that Jackie Robinson's life had, and you know, when I read and I've read some of the biographers who've written about Jackie Robinson because I'm interested in baseball and I'm interested in guys like that. And some of the biographers chronicled, and I'm paraphrasing a bit, but they chronicled what Jackie Robinson did to be able to do what he did. And he talked about, Jackie Robinson talked about the people that he considered the people that went before him who endured such trial and tribulation based upon their race and all those kinds of things, he would consider them when he was having to do what he did. He would also, obviously at the center of everything for him, at the core he would consider Jesus, because he knew what Jesus had walked through, and he knew what Jesus had called him to and what kind of life He called him to lead. And then he would consider those that may, by his faith and what he would be able to do by the grace of God, he would consider what the future might be able to look like for other people as a result of what he did. So he really had this idea that he considered those that went before, he considered Jesus in the now for strength and he considered what the future would hold if he walked by faith.

And I'll be honest with you, his faith inspires me and his commitment and his character inspires me and encourages me. Significantly encourages me. If you think about it, what Jackie Robinson did, he did one year before President Truman actually desegregated the military. He did eight years before Rosa Parks sat on that bus. He did sixteen years before Martin Luther King shared the "I have a dream" speech at the Washington mall. This was a really seminal moment from a man whose character was shaped by his faith in Christ and his life, his life of faith really encourages me.

You know, we could all use some encouragement, couldn't we? In the world that we live in, in the day-in-age that we live in we could all use some encouragement. I mean life is challenging. The world that we live in is challenging. And I can promise you that the writer of Hebrews is trying to affect that very thing. He is writing to try and encourage struggling Hebrew Christians that are facing hardship and trial and tribulation and persecution because of their faith in Jesus, and he's writing to encourage them. What he does in chapter 11 that we've been studying week after week after week and if you have a Bible that's where we're going to be again today. And I'd encourage you to pull it out, whether that's a paper copy or whether that's a digital copy, it doesn't matter. But this Hebrews chapter 11 where we've been walking through all of these examples of faith, they are meant to encourage us in our faith. That we would share the same kind of faith in the object of their faith, God Himself specifically in the person of Jesus, that's exactly what the writer of Hebrews is trying to do in Hebrews 11 into Hebrews chapter 12. And I would suggest to you that what the writer of Hebrews is doing is similar to what Jackie Robinson did. In fact, I don't know if Jackie Robinson might have been influenced by the writer of Hebrews or not, it's possible. I have no idea, but what the writer of Hebrews does is he calls us to a place of faith to encourage us.

But if you'll see what we'll see in the text today, we'll see what faith calls us to. You can write it down. You've already heard it. Faith calls us to consider them, in other the ones who've gone before, to consider Him, the power of Jesus in the present and to consider then, what might the future look like as a result of this. That's what we're going to see in our text today, so what I want to do is just unpack it in this way. I want to take each of those in order and I want us to kind of we'll land in a place that I hope that at the end of this message, if there's anything that I want to happen today it's this: For everyone who names the name of Christ, for everyone who calls upon His name who is a child of God, I want you today, hopefully by the power of God's Spirit to leave encouraged in your faith. That the breath of God would breathe on you and you would be actually encouraged in your faith. Because that's really what the writer of Hebrews is trying to get at in all of these stories. That's what he's trying to get at.

So I want us to do this first. Let's consider "them". In other words, some of the ones who have gone before, that's kind of the first piece. We're going to consider "them". Now where will we begin. Here's where we'll begin. In Hebrews chapter number 11 beginning in verse 35, the second portion of the verse it says: "There were what? Others, isn't that interesting? These people are unnamed, right? There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were likely killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated, what a line here. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground." What an extraordinary testimony of these people that we simply know as "the others". That's who they're referred to here, "the others".

Now what we know about these others is that they are just like the ones that have come before them in this sense. That they are people who have existed and lived by faith before the time of Jesus. Because what Hebrews 11 is doing is painting a picture of all those who have come before, and then in chapter 12 we focus our attention on Jesus. He's kind of the ultimate fulfillment of what a life of faith really looks like and we'll get to that in just a moment. So these were people just like the ones that came before them, that had lived their lives prior to the time of Jesus but had lived by faith. So who are these others? Well, I don't know for sure, it could be a number of different people could fit these descriptions but I think if we look closely at the text, we might be able to pick up some clues as to who they were. In fact, in the very beginning in verse 36 and 37 of our text, it says: "Some faced jeers and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning;" If you read much about the life of the prophet Jeremiah you would find that this is fitting because he faced jeers and flogging and imprisonment and he also was killed by stoning according to tradition. So that may very well have been referencing the prophet Jeremiah. As we continue on in verse 37 it says "they were sawed in two;" there were others that were sawed in two. You may or may not know this but tradition holds that the prophet Isaiah was actually killed this way, that he was cut in half. And that he was sawed in two. And I think that's probably what the writer of Hebrews is referencing here. He's pointing out that prophets like Jeremiah and prophets like Isaiah are part of these "others" who walked by faith. But then it goes on in the third portion of verse 37 to say: "they were killed by the sword."

Now if we stayed in this same vein we very well could be talking about, and this could be lots of people for sure, but we could also be talking about somebody named Urijah. Urijah was a contemporary of Jeremiah and he was a prophet just like Jeremiah was. Interestingly enough, Jeremiah escaped the sword of Jehoiakim, but Urijah was killed by the sword Jehoiakim. And if you want to read about Urijah you can read in Jeremiah 26 and find out about him. That may have been referencing him. And then toward the very end of that passage it says this: "they went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground." This could have been fitting for a number of people. It could have been fitting for Elijah. He did that. Elisha, he did that. Isaiah, he did that. Ezekiel, he did that. It could have even been talking about in the time of the intertestamental period when there was a Maccabean revolt, that you don't read about in your Bible, but happened after the Old Testament but before the time of Jesus and the New Testament from about 167 to 160 BC that these people revolted against the oppression of Rome, and some of them were true believers and had faith in God, and they were scattered all over the place and they were living literally covered in animal skin and living in caves, and having to hide out and those kinds of things. It could have been referring to any number of these various people, but what we know about the others is that they walked by faith.

But what's interesting about the others that we read about is that they're in distinct contrast in terms of what happened when they walked by faith to what happened by some other people when they walked by faith just a few verses before that. It's a big contrast because all these people that are called the "others", you're going, this doesn't seem really good, right? They're suffering, they're persecuted, they get sawed in two, they get stoned to death, you know, all of these things, right? They're wandering around everywhere. But the ones you read about just before them? Not like that.

In fact, look what it says, if you back up a few verses in Hebrews 11 to verse 32 it says: "What more shall we say? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, who 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."

Now some of you are thinking to yourself sign me up for the first half. I want that kind of faith, the kind of faith that conquers, but I don't know how interested I am in the second half of that faith, the faith that suffers. You see, depending on what we see when we're reading as Hebrews 11 comes to a close talking about all of these people of faith, what we see is this. Sometimes we see faith in their conquering and sometimes we see their faith in their suffering. You see, if we were kind of summarizing some of what's been happening all along the way in this sermon series, and what we now see coming to the conclusion of Hebrews 11, here's what I can tell you about faith. Faith doesn't promise comfort, but faith does promise reward. Faith does not promise comfort, but it does promise reward.

You see, sometimes our faith is going to allow us to conquer and we're going to be able to be seen as people of faith because of what we've been able to do in the power of Jesus' name and sometimes faith is going to be seen in our suffering and how God allows us to walk in the midst of that still trusting Him all the way and people can view that. Sometimes we see people's faith when they are trusting God and God chooses to heal them of their affliction or their disease, and other times we see their faith as they walk through the affliction and disease and still choose to trust God all the while.

You see, that's what happens, and by the way, I think that it's possible that some of the others that we're talking about in this passage of Scripture, they may have actually fit in both categories. Remember, I told you that it would have been very fitting for Elijah and Elisha who wandered around clothed in goatskins and sheepskins and lived in caves and were destitute and that was a fitting picture of them when you read their lives. So they were on the suffering end, right? But they were also on the victory side because when the passage that we read in the first set of verses that said women received back their dead, they were given their children back, right? They came back to life? Well, Elijah did that in Zarephath and Elisha did that in Shunem and these were all by faith.

See sometimes ladies and gentlemen, our faith is going to be seen in our conquering, sometimes it's going to be seen in our suffering, and sometimes it's going to be seen in both at the same time. Faith doesn't doesn't promise us comfort but it does promise us reward, right? We read about that earlier in Hebrews, that without faith it's impossible to please God, because whoever comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, right? So when we're considering those who have gone before us, we have to take into account the reality that their faith can encourage us because we see their faith, and sometimes we see the victory in it, and sometimes we see the suffering in it, but we're encouraged because we see the outcome, that they continued to trust God in the midst of whatever the circumstance was, they continued to trust God.

You see, the writer is trying to encourage us. That's why he actually says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse number 1 notice what he tells us. He says: "Therefore", in other words with all these things in mind, "since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us." We're surrounded by this group of witnesses.

Now sometimes we get this all backwards because we pull Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 out of it's context and we make it say maybe something that it's not necessarily intending to say. Because we like it, right? And we remember, okay, well, I just pulled it right out of chapter 12 verse number 1 but chapter 12 verse number 1 is there because chapter 11 is there. That's why it begins with the word "therefore", right? Therefore. Whenever you see a therefore in the Bible you ask the question "what is it there for"? It's there for the fact that Hebrews chapter 11 is telling us this whole story about all these people that have come before. We are considering them that have gone before and so the writer says therefore since we are surrounded by such a great host, or a great cloud of witnesses, boy that's a great statement, isn't it?

Sometimes when we talk about this great host or this great cloud of witnesses we end up talking about how all of these people that have gone before us are kind of looking over the banister so to speak of heaven and they're watching our lives. Now that may or may not be true, I really have no idea, I don't know how much interest they'd have in some of our lives but they might. And I'm not really sure if that's the case or it's not, it's a little beyond my pay grade. We'll know when we get to the other side, you won't even have to ask me. Pastor Jerry, was wondering, you won't have to do that. I won't have to answer any of those questions. So can they see us or can they not, I don't really know. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think that's really the point of this passage. I think the point of this passage is that we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, listen, the great cloud of witnesses is not there so they can look over us, they're there so that we can look back at them. That's why they're there.

You see, this is about encouragement. This is about the writer saying I want you to see their lives. And by the way, if you look around you're going to find out that you're completely encircled by all of these people. You're surrounded by people who have chosen to walk by faith in their greatest victories and in their greatest suffering, they have chosen to do that, so look around and think about and consider those who have come before you so that you can begin to be encouraged by what I want to call you to be about. So he says be encouraged, right? Consider Him, Jesus, that's what we'll get to in a moment, but before we get there, when we're considering them, "therefore since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us".

What are the things that hinder us? What are the things that entangle us? What is the sin that overwhelms us and weights us down? Certainly I think this may be talking about specific what some in past ages would call a besetting sin. In other words, that sin that you just can't seem to get by. That sin that you just can't seem to get over. Maybe it's the issue of some type of addiction or maybe it's some issue related to pride or to lust or to whatever, right? You could just name it. And I think that that certainly applies in this context. I don't have any doubt that that is a part of what the writer is writing to us by the power of the Spirit. But when it says let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us, I think that probably the sin that so entangles us is unbelief.

You see, what we're talking about is faith. And anything that would be not consistent with faith this idea of unbelief, no matter how it manifests itself is really what we're talking about. The sin is really unbelief, that we're choosing not to walk by faith but somehow we're walking in our own power and our own strength or we're allowing these things to pile on and weigh us down. I don't know about you, but we've all got a race to run, don't we? We have a race that's marked out for us.

Listen carefully. We've all got a race to run and the race that we're running is all the same, but we run in different lanes. Everyone of us is running the same race and it's a race of faith. That we are pursuing, actively walking and pursuing Jesus. That's the race that we're in. We are racing by faith, trusting in Jesus so that He can work out what He wants to do with us. But, everyone of us, we're kind of in our own lanes, right?

Here's the problem. Sometimes we have lane envy. Lane envy. We have people that are in this lane that want to be in this lane because they think for whatever reason this lane is a lot sexier. That's what they think, right? It's okay, bud. They just think that this lane is better, right? I want to be in this lane. And then this person looks over at this lane and they want to be in this lane, right? Here's the bottom line. We are all walking by faith. It's not as if we look back on all those that have come before and say you know what I'm doing when I leave here? I'm going to wear sheepskin and goatskin and I'm going to live in caves. I think you've missed the point. The idea is to walk by faith and whatever that brings you to, that's your lane. That's what you've got to run in, but it's not about trying to copy the lives of people in terms of what they did because that's their specific lane. But it is about trying to, listen to this, share their faith in the same object of their faith. That means that whatever God calls us to, regardless of what that looks like for us, that's what we're called to do. So we share the same race, but we are running it in our own lanes. Life is hard enough and the race is challenging enough and there are enough obstacles in our life of faith enough to start throwing stuff on our shoulders like sin and unbelief. That's not going to be an asset to you or I at all. It's going to hinder us.

So, I ran in this race, it's one of those adventure races this past August. It's one of those stupid idiot races where you like, you know, it's like ten or twelve miles and it's so muddy and it's hilly and there's obstacles like twenty-something obstacles in there. Stuff like you have to climb walls and you know, swim in water that's you know, grossly freezing and get electric shocks and right, stupid stuff. Only stupid people would do this. But I got talked into it by a friend of mine who also attends this church and is actually sitting in the room. Which means if they talked me into it, maybe they're more stupid than me! Except I'm the one who said yes I'll do it, which makes me more stupid than them. But it's fair to say both of us, very stupid people. So, now that I've settled that, he's in there, he's right, no I'm kidding he's not. I pointed. Here's in this race, I don't know how long it was into the race, right? We're doing all these mud hills and all this stuff and I don't even want to walk ten or twelve miles. Like if somebody says yeah, it's ten or twelve miles away, great, I have keys. And I have a vehicle. That's what I want to use it for. I don't want to put anymore tread on this, I just want, so I don't want to do that, right? And so I'm far enough into this race, I don't remember how far we were into the race, you've gone over all these obstacles, you're tired, you're you know, you're just like come on, ah.

And then you get to this spot and this dude goes, oh, hey guys, glad you made it here. The next part of the race is you have to throw someone on your back and keep going. Oh, okay, yeah, that's stupid. And you sir, are stupid. I didn't say that out loud, because I'm a pastor but I thought it. Or if somebody would have put it on a piece of paper I would have signed my name. But I didn't say it. Put someone on my back? And of course what most people do is they're just standing there waiting for the 4'2" eighty pound girl to come running around the corner, right? Throw her on your shoulder like a milk jug and just start running, right? But no no no, I'm there with the guy that I'm running with. He's 6'10", 400 pounds. I'm kidding. He's not. But he felt like it when he got on. Hops on my back, and I'm thinking, this is what I needed as a 46 year old. I'm really making some headway. And then of course then he's got to carry you, you know, and all of that. I'm a little heavier actually than he was, but nonetheless. And significantly stronger I am than he is. He's in the room by the way, just telling you that. And it's not true. He's stronger.

Here's the thing. The last thing I needed was to throw somebody on my back in a race that already had tremendous obstacles, was way more difficult than I anticipated it was going to be. The last thing I needed was to throw something else on my back. I didn't need additional weight loading me down. And we don't need that in our life of faith. Whatever that looks like for you. We look back at those who've come before us and we realized they were able to strip aside and to put aside those things that would hinder them in saying yes, and following God with all of their hearts and all of their faith. And I don't know what it is for you, but I can tell you this. It is not helping you run the race of faith when you start loading yourself down with things that are based in unbelief.

So the reason I tell you all this is because, when we look back at those who've come before us, we see lives of faith, and it encourages us. Consider them. But also consider Him. We're talking specifically about Jesus when we talk about that. And in fact, in Hebrews chapter 12 verse number two, it says this: "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

You see, when we start talking about the nature of Jesus and considering Him, we've already seen in our survey of the book of Hebrews in the very first message that we did, we already saw that Jesus is superior to so much, to so many, right? We've already seen that. And just as a reminder, we saw that Jesus is superior to the prophets, to the angels, to Moses, to Joshua, to Aaron, to the Old Covenant, to the tabernacle, to the law. We saw that. And thats painted all the way through the book of Hebrews. Jesus is superior to all of those things. Why? Because he is the one who has been perfect in his faith. He is the faithful one.

That's what Hebrews 10 taught us. We read this in our first message. And it says this. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And then notice what it says after this. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.

You see, when we can encouraged by those who we consider those who've come before us, and we're encouraged by their example, and we're surrounded by their witness all over the place. And you know what it causes us to do? To look to Jesus. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. And when we begin to consider him, do you know what enables us to do? We then consider how we can begin to encourage others. That's what the passage is actually teaching us. When we consider Jesus, it enables us to consider how we might be able to spur one another on toward faith.

Notice what Jesus, when we consider him, notice what the passage actually says that he is. Look again in Hebrews chapter 12 verse two. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the what? Pioneer. That's an interesting word. In some of your translations you see it may be registered differently, right? Fixing our eyes on Jesus the author - is maybe what it says in some of your translations. But the word there is a great translation for pioneer. If you remember a number of weeks back when a friend of mine Tim Hawks was here, he talked about being a pioneer, you know, or a settler, right? He talked about one of those two things. That's taken from the text itself. The pioneer idea is one that means to trailblaze, or to go before.

So, listen carefully. The Bible says that Jesus is our trailblazer. He's the one who has gone before the people of God. Now I want to pause you here for just a second. If you're like me, and you begin to think logically about the text, you may or may not be, but if you begin to think logically about the text, your kind of wondering to yourself, wait a minute. All of these people, right, in Hebrews chapter 11 that we've been studying, it all comes, here they all are, right? We're considering them. And then it leads us to Jesus. And it seems as if Jesus is late in the process of the line, not the first, right? It seems as if Jesus is is not the pioneer of the people of God, but instead is just one of, when you look at that. But the writer wants to make sure that we understand he's the pioneer trailblazer. Why? Because even the New Testament teaches us that Jesus has always been the leader of the people of God. He's always been that.

Listen to Jude verse 5. It says, now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jesus saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Then you do remember when that was all occurring, right? In the time of Moses. One of those guys that we talked about his parents last week, right? Jesus was the one helping lead the people out. And guess what? When the people were wandering in the wilderness, do you know who it was it was leading them? Paul talks about in first Corinthians 10. They all ate the same spiritual food, and they drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Jesus has always been the leader of the people of God. And he serves as our pioneer trailblazer in what it looks like to perfectly walk by faith, and to lead us in the way of the faith of God.

But the Bible also says something else. It says that in verse number two. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter. Or maybe your translation says the finisher. In other words, Jesus is the one who has perfectly accomplished what faith actually looks like in God, and as a result of that, listen to this, we can be encouraged.

Now I want you to listen as close as you can listen, alright? Most of the time, we get into a we kind of lapse into this idea. We look at Jesus' life just like we look at all of the other lives of faith in Hebrews 11. Here's what we do. We look back and we go man, Jesus just really inspires me. It's a real inspiration what he did in his life. And we leave it there. Just like we could say you know, Abel's life really inspires me. Abraham's life really inspires me. And then we'll say and Jesus' life really inspires me. Now listen. His life does inspire us, without question, because he is the perfect, faithful one. But he does more, listen, he does more than encourage us in faith. He empowers us in it. You see, we fail to sometimes remember that Jesus Christ is not just an example, he is the living Lord of all. And because of our faith in him, he not only encourages us in our faith, he actually empowers us by his life in us that we can live out his life, and the faith that he has. This is what it looks like to walk by faith. It's not just about an encouraging example, as encouraging as his life is. It is about his present presence living in us, and actually empowering us to live lives of faith. If we think that our life of faith is only going to be in looking back and being inspired, that is going to last for just a period of time. But if we recognize that the living Lord Jesus, the pioneer trailblazer, has torn the curtain, that he has invited us into the presence and power of God, that we are filled with his life, and that he, when we surrender to him, lives his life out through us, that's a different thing indeed. We are no longer living in our own power and in our own strength, and trying to will ourselves toward faith. We are surrendering ourselves to the life of God in us. And it is empowering us to live out the reality of that life. That is a huge difference in the minds of those who claim faith in Jesus Christ. And we have to be reoriented to what he wants for us in that.

So we have to consider them. We consider Him as we look to Him. But we also consider then. So I want to pause for a second as we do that, as we look to the future and consider then. I want us to pay attention to what Hebrews 11 verses 39 and 40 say. It says, these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

God has actually planned something the Scripture says better for us. Now this word better, you're going to have to just stay with me for a second. I know I'm loading you up with Scripture. But I'm going to try and really land this plane in a second, and try and encourage you. This word better is really important to the writer of Hebrews. He uses it all over the place. In fact, when we start looking through Hebrews, I want to just show you a couple of places, alright? I want you to pay attention to this. He talks about a better hope in chapter 7. For the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Then he also talked about in chapter 7 a better covenant. Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. In chapter 8, he actually talked about a better promise. But in fact the ministry Jesus has received a superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. Then he talks about better sacrifices in chapter 9. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these old sacrifices, like blood and of bulls and goats, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, the blood of God's Son, the Lord Jesus. Then it talks about better possessions. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions than what we just had here on the earth. Then he talks about in chapter eleven a better country, right? It says, instead they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. And then later in chapter number 11, it talks about a better resurrection. Remember when we read, women receive back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.

You know, the better resurrection, really apparent isn't it? These women were given their children back who died. But those kids would ultimately live however long they lived, and they would die again. But the better resurrection in Jesus is that when we die, we die never to die again, but that we will live with him. It's a better resurrection.

Now, all those said, the writer says here that God planned something better for us. So in addition to those better promises that we get in chapter 11, he tells us then that there's still something better. What is that? Don't you want to know? I do. Okay, you don't? Good. We're done. You want to know? It's in the text. Let's look at it again. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Only together with us would they be made perfect. Now, we have, listen to this, we have experienced what the Old Testament saints that we have studied by faith, we have experienced what they looked for. They looked for Jesus, and Jesus has come. And that fulfillment is a reality to us. But what the Bible is also clear about is that Jesus promised to the Old Testament saints a new and better country. And he has promised to those of us who have put our faith in Jesus a new and better country. Jesus has something better for us all. Because only together with us will they be made perfect, or fulfilled. Only together with us.

What does that look like? Well I have to untangle something in our minds before I tell you what I'm talking about. Because sometimes the way that we have talked about the idea of heaven has caused our minds to be a little bit tangled. Let me stop for a second and explain what I mean. We have friends, family members, those who've gone before us, those that we read about in Hebrews chapter 11. They have died by faith, and they have now found themselves in the presence of God. And so when we talk, we're like this. Well I can't wait until I die and I go to heaven. I look forward to so and so, fill in the blank right? Sarah. Abraham. Whoever. My mother. My grandfather. I look forward to seeing them. And and they'll even be my tour guide. They'll show me around the place. Okay. As far as that goes, okay. But here's what I want you to understand. That only together with us will we all get this something better. So those Old Testament saints are not experiencing the something better yet, because we're not with them yet, we're not all the way there yet, because we haven't all been made complete yet. They don't have that yet.

Now they're in heaven, don't get me wrong. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That means that our soul goes in to the presence of Jesus and is loved and is cared for and is comforted. Jesus even talked about this place being a beautiful place. He says, I go and prepare a place for you. In my father's house, there's many rooms. You say, well that's heaven. That's a stopping point. It is heavenly in its beauty. It is a stopping point. When you read the Greek language about what's being described there, it's the same language that's actually used when you talk about a temporary hotel on a journey. Same language. You see, this place that's being described there, the father's house with many rooms is a holding spot. Some of you right now are just going what is happening, right? It's a holding spot. Stay with me. It's a wonderful place. So that when we die, and we've had our faith and trust in Jesus, we are in a place in soul that is wonderful and glorious and with Jesus and all of those things. I don't even know what all that reality looks like.

But it's not the final spot. Because to say that it is is to misunderstand the whole outworking of the resurrection of Jesus. Because Jesus in His resurrection ascended back to the Father, and then he made sure that his disciples knew that I'm going to return. Now until I do I'm sending the Spirit, and he's going to lead you, so that so that my own spirit lives in you, and you can walk out this life of faith, and the life of God can live in you. But I'm actually going to return. And when I do, I am going to get up all of my people who have put their faith in me. Those who are from way back here and those who are from now, and I am going to resurrect them in immortal, imperishable bodies, and usher in the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth. Here's what that means. It means that you don't need somebody to show you around the new heavens and the new earth, because we will all be going in arm in arm at the same time, and experiencing the something better of God for our lives!

Here's what that means. That means on that day, Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses' parents, and Moses, and Joshua, and Rahab, and others will be there. It means Paul, and Silas, and Lydia, and Eunice, and Lois, and Timothy will be there. It means Watchman Nee, and John Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon, and Corrie Ten Boom, and Martin Luther King, and Jackie Robinson will be there. It means your friend who trusted Jesus, but has gone on before will be there. Your grandmother or your grandfather that loved the Lord will be there. Your mom, your dad who loved Jesus will be there. Your son, your daughter who loved Jesus will be there. One of my best friends that I lost this year will be there. We will all get the something better together, as the people of God, as the Bride of Christ, as the body of Christ, entering in to experience what it actually means in all His fullness, for God to be among us, and we with God. We will be his people, and he will be our God. This is the testimony of faith. This is what should encourage us.

And not only will all of those people whose names we know be there, but every person who has put their faith and trust in Jesus whose name we have never known, they'll be there. That man who trusted in Jesus and God turned his life upside down, who is in Cambodia knocking down the doors of brothels and saving young ladies from the sex trade. He'll be there. The husband and wife like Lamech and Jasmine, who were just with us in this last service, who are serving among the slums of India because of their faith in Jesus, and wanting to see the image of God that is broken and banished, be restored in the faith of Jesus Christ, they will be there. It doesn't matter if we've heard the names or we haven't, because every one of us that are there will be calling out the same name. It's Jesus! It's the one we fixed our eyes on! It's the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart, because in your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your own blood like he has. Be encouraged. You are surrounded by all of those who have come before you. Look to their example, and share their faith. But when you look backwards, it will cause to look upwards, because you will consider Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And when you do that, you will look forwards, because you will trust into something better that he has prepared for us.

So let me ask you this question. Is your life of such a faith that other people can look to you and be inspired to look to him? That's what we're talking about. This is the encouragement I want you to receive. Be encouraged as you walk by faith. Because I'm telling you even today, on Palm Sunday, in Egypt, they blew up two churches where all of these Egyptian Christians had gathered to worship. Thirt-two people killed. But they knew that they live in a country that persecutes believers. And they still chose to gather, and they still chose to walk by faith. They'll be there. They'll be there. Let the witness of every person of genuine faith inspire you to turn your attention to the one in whom they have put their faith. And may your life be so attuned to the one in whom you've put your faith, that other people would look at you, and as a result, would want to look to him. Let's bow our heads together.

Before we're dismissed, I want to thank you for your kindness and listening through the whole of this series, and even today. And if you're here and you've never come to a place in your own heart where you've turned from your sin and you put your faith and trust in Jesus, would you let us talk with you about that? Just right when we dismissed, would you come across the atrium into the Fireside Room, and just say you know what, I need to to surrender my life to Jesus by faith. We'd love to have a pastor or a prayer partner talk with you about that. Because some of you under the sound of my voice, and I say this lovingly. You are so weighted down with pride, thinking that you can somehow manage your own life and your own eternity better than the Lord Jesus. That must be thrown off, so that in humility you can lay your life before him, and allow Him to strengthen you and empower you, and teach you what it means to walk by faith. So we'll be here for you. We'd love for you to come by.

And for those of you who have settled that heart decision, I know there may be things that are weighing you down in your journey of faith. Be willing to throw them off. Because listening to Jesus and doing what he says, even though it may not be comfortable. Faith is not promised that it will be comfortable. But we will be rewarded. There is no question about that. Listen to his voice. Do what he says.

Father, I pray that you would make us a church that trusts you by faith. We realize God that we are frail and we are human, and that we are prone to wonder, and sometimes even prone to unbelief. But by the power of the resurrected Jesus, would you strengthen us, and allow us to live lives of faith. So much so, that people around us, and the world around us, might look at our lives and as a result, they would look to Jesus, because they would see that's where our trust lies, where our faith lies. So by the power of your Spirit would you breathe encouragement into the lives of people today to walk by faith. I trust you to do that because you're trustworthy. And I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the faithful one. Amen.

Bless you. See you Good Friday and Easter, alright?