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“Hall of Faith” (Mess.#16) “The Unknown Others of Faith”
Text: Heb.11: 36-40 Intro.: “And Others” - Most everyone knows about David, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, Joshua, Daniel etc., but there are many, many unnamed and unknown “others” who have experienced the same trials and enjoyed the same triumphs, yet no one knows about them, but God. This is the category most of us fall into – the “unknown others.” But though we might be “unknown others,” we are loved, recognized and will be rewarded one day by God! He sees us in all of our loneliness, rejection, persecution, temptations and afflictions and one day He will make it all worthwhile! AMEN! Let’s take a closer look at these “unknown others” and allow them to challenge our faith and keep us in the race!
A) Their Woes: (vs.36-37) 1) Persecuted in their reputations by mockings, in their persons by scourgings and in their liberty by bonds and imprisonment. 2) Cruel Mockings - To ridicule, jeer, insult, to treat with scorn or contempt to imitate in derision. Words hurt! A) 2 Chr.36: 16, “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” B) Jer.20: 7c, “I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.” C) Neh.4: 1, “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.” D) Christ was mocked - Mt.27: 29, “. . . and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” E) Jude 18, “How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” 3) Scourgings - Lashings on the back, like Jesus and Paul suffered. 4) Bonds and imprisonment - Bonds kept them from fleeing from their captors. Imprisonment - like poor Jeremiah and Paul 5) Stoned - Like Zechariah, who was stoned in the court of the court of the house of the Lord at the commandment of king Joash (2 Chr.24: 20-21). 6) Sawn asunder- Like Isaiah - sawed in half by Manasseh. 7) Tempted- Offered liberty at the price of compromise and apostasy! 8) Slain with the sword - Eighty-five priests slain by Saul (1 Sam.22: 18). Elijah said that Ahab and Jezebel had slain the Lord’s prophet’s with the sword (1 Ki.19: 10, “for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword . . . ”). 9) But praise the Lord none of these “woes” shall separate us from the love of God! (Ro.8: 35-37). We see their “woes” and . . .
B) Their Wanderings: (vs.37-38) 1) They had no place to call home, kept from comforts, lacking the barest necessities of life, yet this suffering was to their glory! 2) In sheepskins and goatskins - Like Elijah and Elisha - Not clad in robes of royalty and splendor! 3) Their wanderings led to them being . . . A) Destitute - Needy and abandoned, lacking necessities of life. B) Afflicted - Troubled, harassed, humiliated and distressed. C) Tormented - Subjected to excruciating pain - The rack, being drowned, burned alive at the stake, crucified, beheaded, etc. 4) It was an honour for them to be unfairly treated for their Lord’s sake! 5) We too ought to be willing to suffer shame for His name!
A) Mt.5: 11-12, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” B) Ac.5: 41, “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”
C) Their Worth: (v.38) 1) This is God’s estimate of them! The world was not worthy of them!! Though they were rejected by the world, they were of more value than the entire world!! 2) “Worthy” has the idea of scales. Put the prophets and “unknown others” on one side and the world on the other and the former far outweighs the latter!! 3) They had this estimate from God because their faith overcame the fear of man and the love of the world! How does your faith measure up?
D) Their Wait: (vs.39-40) 1) “These all” refer to all of the “heroes of faith” listed in Chapter 11. 2) God is selective in this. Ex. - Ham was in the Ark with Shem, Ishmael in the family of Abraham with Isaac, Esau in the same womb as Jacob. Only those whose faith had God as its object are listed. It takes more than intellectual assent to be saved! Make your calling and election sure! 3) “Obtained a good report” - That is they received a “passing grade,” they received God’s stamp of approval because of their faith. 4) “Received not the promise” - None of them lived to see the ultimate fulfillment in Christ, the messianic promise. Abraham in faith saw Christ’s day and rejoiced, Moses by faith suffered reproaches as Christ did. But none of them lived to see Christ and His redemptive work! 5) “better thing” - O.T. saints had only the types or shadows. They had only the promise, but we have not only the promise, but the divine reality, the full inheritance. The indwelling of the Spirit! 6) “That they without us should not be made perfect” - All these others who went before us have finished their part of the race. But if we fail to run ours then the race will be lost! Of course God will find others to carry out His purpose. But like Israel at Kadesh-barnea the purpose would be delayed. In order for those who went before to see the overall purpose completed every generation must by faith win its segment of the race! 7) ILL. - A relay race. Four runners run, but the race is not won until the last runner crosses the finish line. 8) If these heroes of faith could accomplish all that they did, having only the shadow and the promises, how much more should we be able to accomplish since we have the substance and the full revelation?
Conclusion: The “unknown others” had their woes and wanderings - We will as well. They had great “worth” in God’s eyes - So too do we (if we have faith like they did). They had to wait - You don’t have to wait any longer for the Messiah to come, but you will have to wait for your reward! It will be worth it all! How are you doing in your race? Will you let down these heroes by dropping out of the race? Keep running - You’ll be crossing the finish line very soon!
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