Sermon #75 Hebrews
Notes
Title: Some
Of My Heroes
Text: Hebrews 11:32-34
Readings: Rex
Bartley – Buddy Daugherty
Subject: The
Faith of the Judges
Date: Tuesday Evening – February 5, 2002
Tape # W-83b
Introduction:
We live in a generation that has produced very few
heroes. Instead of producing heroes, the trend of our day is to tear down the
heroes of the past. I grew up in a day when boys were encouraged to honor and
emulate heroes. George Washington, Patrick Henry, and George MacArthur were
names honored and revered. Even our fictional heroes (The Lone Ranger,
Hop-along Cassidy, and Matt Dillon), all wore white hats (except for Zorro) and
stood for right.
I have a confession to make. I still like heroes. I
fully intend to do what I can to embed in minds and memories of my grand
children the names and deeds of those people I would like for them to look upon
as role models, people I want them to emulate.
Tonight, I want to talk to you about some of my
heroes. You will find their names and deeds inscribed in a monument like none
other, in Hebrews 11:32-34.
(Hebrews 11:32-34)
"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of
Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David
also, and Samuel, and of the
prophets: 33 Who through faith
subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths
of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of
fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed
valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."
“And what
shall I more say?” Paul tells us had said enough to prove the definition of
faith he had given in the opening verses of this chapter. He had said enough to
demonstrate clearly that the elders had obtained a good report by faith. Though
much more could be said to prove his point, no more needs to be said. Indeed,
it is not possible for one man to fully expound the great deeds of faith set
before us in the Book of God.
“For the time
would fail me.” – Perhaps Paul is simply using a hyperbole. Perhaps he is
telling us that he did not have the time, if he was going to finish this
Epistle, to enumerate all the instances of faith that he might and explain
them, and that do so would be needless.
“And what
shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak,
and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.”
Gideon was a man of humble birth and training. His
family was neither wealthy, nor well known. He was a farm boy. He was from a
poor, uneducated, insignificant segment of Jewish society. He was a man of
acknowledged weakness and infirmity. Though he is here highly honored as a
believer, even in the act of faith for which he is honored, his weakness was manifest.
Still, he is commended for his faith and
faithfulness. He was a “mighty man of
valor” because he believed God. – This man, Gideon, was greatly used of God
to destroy the worship of Baal and turn Israel back to God. He began by tearing
down the altar of Baal his own father had built, and proceeded (from that
point) to establish the worship of God again in Israel. He recognized that both
the former mercies Israel had enjoyed and their present distresses were the
work of God’s wise and good providence.
The Lord God told him that he would save his people
from their enemies by the hand of a weak man, by his own weak hand; and Gideon
believed God. Believing God, he against the huge Midianite army, with only
three hundred men (300 weak men!) and put them to flight (Jud. 6:1-8:35).
Gideon was
a type of Christ.
·
He was the promised deliverer of God’s chosen people.
·
He was a man no one expected to be a deliverer.
·
He was an effectual deliverer!
·
He accomplished deliverance by destroying the enemies of Israel.
Barak, who lived before Gideon, was also a man
greatly used of God. He, too, was a man who believed God. Yet, like us, he was
a man whose faith was mixed with much unbelief.
All these great people of faith were people, “of whom the world is not worthy.” Yet,
they were not all equally strong in faith. They were not all equally
courageous. They were not all equally great. They were all, like us, sinners
saved by grace. They were sinners saved by the free grace of God in Christ:
chosen, redeemed, called, and sustained by grace.
I love what old John
Trapp said in commenting on verse. – “Christ carries all his, of what
size or sort soever, to the haven of heaven, upon his own bottom, as a ship
doth all the passengers that are therein to the desired shore.”
Barak may not have been the man Gideon, or David, or
Samson, or Samuel was; but he was God’s man. He was accepted of God in Christ,
just like they were. And his usefulness was by the hand of God’s omnipotence,
just as theirs was. God can use a twig as well as a tree, a jackass as well as
a man, to accomplish his work.
Though he was hesitant and timorous, yet Barak acted
in obedience and faith, engaged Sisera’s vast army with a small number, and
gave the glory of the victory to the Lord God alone (Jud. 4:1-5:3.
Let us
never be discouraged in the work of Christ, because we are small, weak, and
insignificant. God uses the small, the weak, and the insignificant, so that he gets
the glory and not the instrument he condescends to use.
(1 Corinthians 1:26-29) "For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his
presence."
(1 Corinthians 3:5-11) "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye
believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth
any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his
own labour. 9 For we are labourers
together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye
are God's building. 10 According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed
how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
(2 Corinthians 4:7)
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency
of the power may be of God, and not of us."
Samson was a child of promise. He was, like Samuel,
devoted to God by his parents. He was most famous for his great strength. Yet,
like the others, he had his infirmities. Still, he was a man who believed God
and did much for the glory of God and the good of his people.
Without question, the last act of Samson’s life was
his greatest. Mighty as he was in life, he was mightier in death. He laid down
his life for his people, calling upon the Lord to strengthen him and avenge
him. But do not imagine that he did so as a private person. Samson was acting
as a judge, a deliverer) of Israel in his death. He acted not in malice, or for
personal revenge, but for the glory of God and the salvation of Israel. His
intention was not suicide, the destruction of his life, but the destruction of
God’s enemies, the honor of God’s name, and the salvation of God’s people.
Samson was
a tremendous type of Christ.
·
A Child of Promise.
·
Devoted to God as An Infant.
·
Stronger than Any
·
A Divinely Appointed Deliverer
·
Achieved Greatness by the Sacrifice of Himself!
Jephthah was born in shame, the bastard child of a
harlot. He lived as a rebel, leading a band of vain men, until the Lord God
lifted him up. From that time on, Jephthah was a man marked by faith in the
Lord his God and by faithfulness to him. He was the instrument by whom God put
to flight and conquered the Ammonites (Jud. 11:1-40).
That for
which Jephthah is most commonly known today is his vow to God and the fact that
he kept it conscientiously (Jud 11:30-40).
Most look upon his vow as a weakness, and consider his keeping of the
vow a matter of greater weakness still. The fact that Jephthah is here
mentioned, and that he is held before us as an example of faith, convinces me
that this is the very thing for which this remarkable man is commended to us.
You cannot separate Jephthah’s vow from his victory over the Ammonites. Let’s
look at this for just a minute.
(Judges 11:13-40)
"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt
without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of
my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall
surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the
children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his
hands. 33 And he smote them from
Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even
twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great
slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of
Israel. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter
came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had
neither son nor daughter. 35 And
it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my
daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble
me: for I have opened my mouth unto
the LORD, and I cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My
father, if thou hast opened thy mouth
unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy
mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said unto her father, Let
this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down
upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her
away for two months: and she went
with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of
two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed:
and she knew no man. And it
was a custom in Israel, 40 That the
daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the
Gileadite four days in a year."
David was a man after God’s own heart, raised up to
fulfill his will. He was a type and picture of Christ in more ways than any
other Old Testament character, except perhaps for Joseph.
His faith was manifest in his dependence upon his God, when he fought with Goliath. – In this David was great a type of Christ.
When he was in exile and distress, David yet
believed God, encouraging himself in the Lord his God. – So, too, our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of David, encouraged himself in his God, ever turning to
him, and casting himself upon him in hope.
David’s faith was manifest when he was seated as
King upon his throne in Israel, when his enemies were put under his feet. –
Here, too, he was typical of our Redeemer.
That which stands out most prominently in my own
mind, as an example of great faith in this great man is his confidence of faith
when he lay dying (2 Sam. 23:1-5). -- In this, he is held before us by the Holy
Spirit, both as an eminent example of faith and as an eminent type of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
(2 Samuel 23:1-5)
"Now these be the last
words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up
on high, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet
psalmist of Israel, said, 2 The spirit of the LORD spake by me,
and his word was in my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of
Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be as the light
of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as
the tender grass springing
out of the earth by clear shining after rain. 5 Although my
house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things,
and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my
desire, although he make it not
to grow."
Samuel, Hannah’s son, was a child given in answer to
prayer. When he was just a boy, Hannah took to the temple and gave him to God.
While he was still a boy, the Lord God revealed himself to him, called him, and
put his word in his heart. – Oh, how God used Samuel! All the days of his life,
he walked uprightly with God and before men. – What a man Samuel was! – What a
great prophet! – Even when Israel despised him and rejected him, desiring a
king to show rather than a prophet to hear, Samuel was faithful to God and to
the souls of his people (1 Sam. 12:22:24).
(1 Samuel 12:22-24)
"For the LORD will not
forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his
people. 23 Moreover as for
me, God forbid that I should sin
against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart;
for consider how great things he hath done for you."
Paul ends this list of faithful men by lumping all
the prophets; from Samuel to John the Baptist together. It appears that he
would have us to understand that…
·
All God’s prophets have one faith—the faith of the gospel!
·
They all have one message—Christ!
·
They all have one hope—redemption by Christ!
·
The all serve one purpose—the glory of God!
·
As Isaiah puts it, all God’s prophets all see eye to eye!—They are
truly one!
(Isaiah 52:7-12)
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice;
with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath
redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD hath
made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the
earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be
ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will
go before you; and the God of Israel will
be your rereward."
There, you
have a list of some of my heroes. These are men whose names are honored of God because
they honored God. Their deeds I want, by the grace of God to emulate, for the
glory of Christ and the good of his people. – This is what I want for myself
and for you. This is the reason God the Holy Spirit has inscribed their names
in this great eleventh chapter of Hebrews.
1. Believe God. – Trust Christ. – Trust the wisdom,
purpose, providence and grace of God.
2. Believing God, let us subdue kingdoms, not by the
sword, not by political power, not by civil laws, but by the gospel.
3. Trusting Christ, let us work righteousness. – Walking in
the righteousness God has given us, and promoting righteousness in the earth,
gospel righteousness, the righteousness of faith in Christ.
4. Believing God, we shall yet obtain promises. – All the
promises of God in Christ Jesus.
5. Just in proportion as we
believe God, we shall stop the mouths
of lions. – The lion of hell that roars against us (Rom. 8:33-34). –
The lions of the earth that would devour us. – The lions of guilt that would
destroy our peace.
6. Believing God, we shall yet quench the violence of fire. –
The flame shall not kindle upon thee.
7. Believing God, we shall escape the edge of the sword. –
The sword of divine justice. – The sword of the persecutor.
8. Believing God, we shall yet out of weakness be made
strong. – His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
9. Just in proportion as we
believe God, we shall wax valiant in
the fight of faith. – It is one thing to fight, but another thing
altogether to be valiant in fight.
10. Believing God, we shall put to flight the armies of the
aliens. – All who oppose the gospel! – All the powers of hell! – All
the enemies of our God and his Christ!
Like Jehosphat
of old, we must confess, "O our God,
wilt thou not judge them? for we have
no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither
know we what to do: but our eyes are
upon thee" (2 Chron. 20:12) But let us hear, even as we
acknowledge our weakness and utter inability, what Jahaziel spoke by the Spirit of God (2 Chron. 20:14-15) to
those whose eyes are fixed on their God. – “The battle is not yours, but
Gods!”
(2 Chronicles 20:17-21) "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle:
set yourselves, stand ye still, and
see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be
dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18 And
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face
to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the
LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19 And
the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the
Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 20 And they rose early in the morning,
and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me,
O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so
shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And when he had consulted with the
people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty
of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for
his mercy endureth for ever."
Amen.