The Courage of Faith – part 3 (Overcoming Your Fears)
Hebrews 11:23-31 (30-31)
February 21, 2016

Someone once noted that there seems to be 4 kinds of faith.

There is the faith that RECEIVES
It is the kind that comes to Jesus empty-handed for salvation.
There is the faith that RECKONS
It is the kind that counts on God to do things on our behalf.
There is the faith that RESTS
It is the kind that sits back with confidence in the midst of hardship or pain.
There is the faith that RISKS
It is the kind that moves forward in God’s power daring to do the impossible.
(sited in: MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. 1985] pg. 362-363)

Obviously we are currently dealing with
The type of faith here that RISKS

We are discussing the type of faith that requires great courage.

The writer of Hebrews is writing to a group of Jews
Who are literally risking everything to follow Christ.

We already read back in chapter 10
• How some were in prison
• How some were ill-treated
• How some had their property confiscated.

THAT IS RISK.

We can almost hear the logic of the nay-sayers in that situation.
• You better not become a Christian you could lose your farm.
• You better not become a Christian you could go to jail.
• You better not become a Christian, you’ll be a laughing stock.

Throughout history the risk of following Jesus has always been very real.

And indeed you face very real risks for following Jesus even today.
Granted, you may not be thrown in prison or have your home seized
If you decide to follow Christ; at least not yet.

• But I’ve seen firsthand the call for some to go and live as missionaries in
countries where that could happen today.

• I’ve seen men and women choose to follow Christ and their unbelieving
spouse not share that desire, and life becomes difficult.

• I’ve seen men and women and teenagers wake up every day and go to work
places or school filled with non-believers who seemingly crave the
lowest forms of depravity and carnality and suffer the antagonism and
reproach that comes with not going along with the flow.
THERE IS ALWAYS A RISK INVOLVED IN FOLLOWING JESUS.

Jesus Himself said:
Matthew 10:21-22 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

And that means that if you are going to be serious about following Christ then YOU WILL NEED COURAGE.

You will need the type of courage that COMES ONLY from genuine faith.
And that is what we are currently talking about
Here in the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

• We’ve seen the REWARD OF FAITH
• We’ve seen the FOCUS OF FAITH
• We are currently looking at the COURAGE OF FAITH

To illustrate it the writer has taken us back to a time of slavery.
He has taken us to a time when God asked the weakest of the world
To defy the most powerful nation on earth and move on to a new land.

Everything asked of those people
Would require the courage that only comes from faith.

We’ve seen a few already
#1 THE CHOICE OF A SLAVE
Hebrews 11:23-26

• We saw Amram and Jochabed defy a king’s order and spare the life of their son simply because they saw God’s hand on the child.

• We saw that child 40 years later choose to leave the comforts of the king’s palace and embrace the life of a slave simply because he believed the reward of God to be greater than the reward of this life.

They were both scary decisions and yet these had the faith to make them.

Last week
#2 THE COMMITMENT OF A SERVANT
Hebrews 11:27-29

• There we saw Moses, 40 years removed from Egypt, be commanded by God to go back and confront Pharaoh.

Moses was obviously afraid, and yet he overcame his fear and
Stood before Pharaoh 12 times before he actually led the children of Israel out.

• We saw that nation partake in the Passover and maintain the faith that if they would paint the blood on the door post then God’s death angel would pass over them.

• And we saw that nation have the courage to walk through the Red Sea even though the sight must have been terrifying.

God’s salvation required facing their fears and walking by faith,
And that is precisely what they did.

They didn’t give up just because it was scary,
They pressed on and saw the Lord’s deliverance.

This morning we move on to the third example of the courage of faith here.
#3 THE COMPLIANCE OF A SOLDIER
Hebrews 11:30

• The first example dealt with a time of slavery
• The second dealt with the event of the Exodus
• Now we have obviously moved on to the Conquest

For those of you who know the history of Israel,
You know that the writer has again fast-forwarded 40 years.

And the reason he had to do that
Was because again there was a hiccup that occurred.

If you’ll remember he also skipped 40 years between verses 26 and 27.
In verse 26 Moses walked out of Pharaoh’s court.
In verse 27 he stood before Pharaoh and demanded Israel’s release.

But there was 40 years between those two events
Because Moses acted in fear.

He took matters into his own hands and killed an Egyptian and then ran for his life.
It delayed the deliverance of God for 40 years.

Here we find that history has repeated itself.
Israel demonstrated great faith by leaving Egypt and passing through the Red Sea, but then they also operated in fear.

• God led this nation directly to the border of this new land of promise.
• And when they reached the border God commanded that 12 spies be sent out
to survey the land.

When the spies returned, here is what they said:
TURN TO: NUMBERS 13:25-33

It is not hard to recognize the fear that swept over the nation of Israel.
“we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

They threw their faith out the window and decided to shrink back in fear.

We learned in Ch. 10 what God thinks about those who shrink back.

Hebrews 10:38 “BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”

And God was true to His word.
His response to their fear was severe.

Numbers 14:20-23 “So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.”

God caused Israel to wander in the wilderness for 40 years
Until that entire congregation died off.

We were even warned early on in the book of Hebrews
Not to be like those people.
TURN BACK TO: HEBREWS 3:7-4:2

The faith they showed initially was great,
But the fear they fell in to was extremely costly.

Well, here we are once again back at the border of the Promised Land.
Once again they are facing the giants.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that courage is required.

In fact, listen to the charge given to Joshua as their leader.
Joshua 1:1-9 “Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. “From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Did you pick up on the encouragement?
“be strong and courageous”

GOD DID NOT REMOVE THE GIANTS.
God promised to deliver them when they faced the giants.
Courage would be required.

Well, here we are.
40 years later facing the same challenge
That caused their parents to run in fear.

Israel entered the land and the first challenge they faced was JERICHO.

You all know about Jericho’s infamous wall.
Jericho was a frontier type city and so a wall was a necessary line of defense.
Historians have told us that this wall was thick enough to drive two chariots
on it side by side.

Defeating this town (if possible) would take years.
Typically the means was to surround a city like this,
Cut off their supply, and starve them out.

And that only worked if you actually had the manpower to win the battle.

This was not the opponent they were hoping to meet
Right off the bat.

(Because we know people)
Don’t you know everyone had an idea as to how they were to defeat them?

But God has His own plan.
Joshua 6:1-5 “Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. “Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. “It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.”

THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT
Anyone remember how much trouble this congregation gave Moses?
• They grumbled at everything.
• No leader in the history of the world was second guessed more than Moses.

And now you have a new leader.
• He’s just now trying to earn his stripes.
• He’s the man with the plan for taking the Promised Land.

And his first plan is to march around this city for 7 days and the walls will fall down?

Do you think it took courage to pitch that idea?
IT CERTAINLY TOOK COURAGE TO OBEY IT.

Listen, circling a wall was not a safe thing to do.

Perhaps you remember this story:
Judges 9:50-53 “Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the leaders of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower. So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.”

That incident became notorious in Israel.

Later when David was on a mission to make sure Uriah died in battle:
2 Samuel 11:18-21 “Then Joab sent and reported to David all the events of the war. He charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, and if it happens that the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ‘Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ — then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'”

In order to make sure Uriah was killed in battle, Joab drew near to the wall,
But it caused the death of many other soldiers.

Joab expected to have such a tactic questioned,
Because frankly it wasn’t good military procedure.

And that’s the point.
Not only is this command far-fetched, it is dangerous.

And yet the writer of Hebrews reveals
The faith of Joshua and the children of Israel.

(30) “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.”

These soldiers obeyed the commands of God.

OBEYING GOD TAKES COURAGE.
When God says “go and make disciples of all nations” it takes courage.

Jesus told His disciples:
Matthew 10:16-20 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

Think about your relationships:
1 Peter 3:1-7 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

• Peter there speaks of a Christian woman married to a disobedient man.
• He speaks of a Christian man married to a contentious woman.

He asks the wife to submit and
The husband to lead in an understanding way.
That takes enormous faith and courage to obey commands like that.

What about when God asks you to give sacrificially?
What about when God asks you to confront a sinning brother?

Remember a couple of weeks ago Paul telling Timothy that he left him in Ephesus to stop those men from teaching strange doctrines…courage.

2 Timothy 1:6-8 “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”

There was nothing easy about what Paul asked Timothy to do.

Faith is absolutely necessary if you are going to obey God.
Because obedience is often times a scary proposition.

Now think about these Hebrews who were receiving this letter.
What they faced was scary.
And the writer asked them to face it anyway.
You must demonstrate the courage of faith.

The Choice of a Slave
The Commitment of a Servant
The Compliance of a Soldier
#4 THE CONFIDENCE OF A SINNER
Hebrews 11:31

I have to tell you that of all the stories listed in the faith chapter
This one probably blows my mind more than any of them.

That is not to make light of Noah’s boat building or Abraham’s excursion
Or even Moses’ rejection of Egypt.
But I must say I am really amazed at this story.

We have here a woman known as “Rahab the harlot”

Just let that name sink in for a moment.
We don’t even know her last name.
Imagine being known by the worst sin you’ve ever committed

Well, that’s “Rahab”. She is “the harlot”

She is a prostitute.
She is a woman who makes her living off of sexual immorality.

And to make matters worse she is a harlot in a “disobedient” city.

She lives in a city full of sinners and she is one of the worst.

Jericho, as you know, had the wall.
You may not have known that they were a pagan city who worshiped false gods.
They also placed live babies in jars and mortared them into the wall as sacrifices to the wall gods.

They were backward, they were corrupt,
And Rahab was a hooker in that city.

Well Joshua, prior to the siege of Jericho, had sent spies into the land.

And the writer of Hebrews reminds you that Rahab
“welcomed the spies in peace.”

Not only did she welcome them, she hid them.
TURN TO: JOSHUA 2

(READ 2:1-7)

It is one thing to welcome these men,
But she actually put her life on the line in order to hide them.

One might wonder why she would do such a thing.
Her answer is remarkable.
(READ 2:8-11)

Did you catch her motivation?
• She had heard about God.
• She had heard about what God did.
• She had an enormous amount of fear regarding Him.

And she found herself caught in a moment of decision.

She could either give in to her fear of God and help His spies,
Or she could give in to the fear of the men of Jericho and expose them.
SHE FEARED GOD MORE

This fear also led her to an enormous request:
(READ 2:12-14)

This is amazing to me.
She was one of the most immoral people in a notoriously immoral city
And yet she stepped out in faith that this God who had ravaged Egypt
Would be merciful to her.

Scripture reveals that the courage of her faith paid off.
“Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient”

When faced with a scary dilemma she chose to fear God more.

It is from incidents like this that we get the concept of being
“God Fearing”

“He was a God-Fearing man” or “She was a God-Fearing woman”

Well I think I can confidently say that in our world today
This is a disappearing sentiment.

Romans 3:18 “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

In Romans 1 Paul said:
Romans 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

It is one thing to be immoral.
It is quite another thing to know God disapproves and still not care.

There is a level of audacity and arrogance there
That is absolutely unthinkable.

To know God strictly forbids something and yet simply not care.
To know God promises to punish something and yet do it anyway.

That is what it means to not fear God and our society dwells there.

BUT NOT RAHAB.
She feared God more than those around her.

And it was actually her fear of God
That gave her courage to face a scary situation.
She was so afraid of God that she no longer feared men.

Jesus spoke to this type of attitude:
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Do you hear Him remind you that the Son of Man is coming to judge?
• Yes you will lose this life, but that isn’t what you should fear.
• He is telling you what you ought to really fear.

Listen to His parables on the kingdom.
(we read a couple two weeks ago)

Matthew 13:36-43 “Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Both of those are parables of certain judgment.
• The tares may currently think they are safe, but they don’t even realize judgment is on the way.

• Those fish are already caught in the dragnet and it is already being pulled to land, the fish just don’t know it.

JUDGMENT IS COMING.
Jesus asked people to understand and fear judgment more than hardship.

RAHAB DID

She feared God and this caused her to throw herself at His mercy.
And it payed off!

Is it hard? Yes.
Is it hard to turn your back on your culture? Yes
Is it hard to be the lone person of faith in your city? Yes

But the courage of faith is required.
1 Peter 4:1-5 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Peter could have been writing that to these very Hebrews here.
He could have been writing it with Rahab in mind.

Yes it’s hard to leave a life of sin, other sinners tend to frown on it.
But have courage, fear God more, run to Him in faith.

And so this morning, we conclude this section on the courage of faith,
AND I’M ASKING YOU TO DEMONSTRATE IT.

• TRUST GOD’S PLAN like Amram and Jochabed even when obedience could be costly.

• CHOOSE GOD’S REWARD like Moses, even if it means leaving the comforts of this world behind.

• TRUST GOD’S SALVATION like the children of Israel did when the painted the blood on the doorpost and walked through the Red Sea, even when God’s salvation could prove to be costly.

• OBEY GOD’S COMMANDS even when they don’t seem to make sense, or seem like it could put you in danger.

• FEAR GOD’S JUDGMENT more than you fear the wrath of humanity, knowing that God rewards those who trust in Him.

This is what the writer of Hebrews wanted from the Hebrews
And it is what God wants from us.

It takes courage to live for Jesus in the midst of a corrupt society.
Place your faith in Christ
And demonstrate the courage that comes along with it.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Job’s Final Word – Part 2
Job 26-31 (29-31)
February 14, 2016

Well tonight we are going to hit a rather large portion of the book of Job.
We are in the section that we are calling “Job’s Final Word”

LAST WEEK we saw that Job finally silenced his friends.
They had no more answers for Job’s logic or his questions.

And when Job realized he had silenced his friends
He really pointed both barrels at them and let them have it.

He let his friends know:
• They didn’t understand comfort
• They didn’t understand God
• They didn’t understand integrity
• They didn’t understand judgment
• They didn’t understand wisdom

It was no wonder they were such sorry counselors to Job.
They showed up with worldly wisdom and a limited theology
And accomplished nothing for Job.

And Job let them know it.

Well tonight Job is finally able to get back to the very thing
He first set out to do and that is to air his lament.

You will probably remember that
As soon as Job’s initial suffering was completed he sat among the ashes for a while and when he finally did open his mouth it was simply to air his complaint.

He wanted to lament
He wanted to grieve
He wanted to express his pain

His friends quickly interrupted him and so he was forced into a debate,
But now that they have been silenced Job resumes the lament he began.

You will see as we read through this segment that
Job’s words are not difficult to understand.

What makes the passage difficult to preach is that
Job really doesn’t offer any theological or practical application here.

These chapters don’t tell you what to do or how to do it.

They are just chapters filled with the honest complaint of a righteous man
In the midst of his suffering.

But man will read these chapters and identify with Job’s statements.
I don’t think any of us would claim to have suffered to his degree,
But there are many who will know exactly where he is coming from.

What we also know is that when Job is finished
God is in fact going to answer him and it won’t be pretty.

So we can easily say that Job did not deserve his suffering
But he will deserve the coming rebuke.

And as I’ll show you tonight,
It is not uncommon for people to respond to suffering
In such a way so as to receive a rebuke from God.

It happens much more than you think.
Throughout the Bible in fact we find instances of people who suffered and responded with such an attitude that God had to correct them.

SO, while we may not gain any instruction from Job tonight,
We are going to look at a few other examples of people who responded like Job and see precisely where they got it wrong.

It is going to be a large portion of text tonight,
But as I said, it isn’t difficult and it will go rather quickly.

So last week we saw the first point to Job’s final word.
#1 JOB REBUKES HIS FRIENDS
Job 26-28

Tonight we move on to the second point.
#2 JOB RESUMES HIS LAMENT
Job 29-31

And we can obviously break this down a little further.
Each of these three chapters in fact makes a specific point.

1) MY SUFFERING WAS UNEXPECTED (Job 29)

(READ 1-11)

One can easily hear Job here talk about “The Good Ole Days”
He remembered what it was like before all this started.
He really felt like God was pleased with him.

Well, there is an explanation for that.
God was pleased with him, and the enemy was kept away from him.

Remember what Satan said to God?
Job 1:9-10 “Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

The only difference now is God is still pleased with Job,
But the enemy has been allowed to afflict him.

But Job remembers those good ole days.

HE ALSO REMEMBERS THAT:
He didn’t use prosperity as a means to grow apathetic (as many of us do)

Job actually used his prosperity as a tool for ministry.
(READ 12-17)

• Job knew that God was for him and he was for God.
• God was allowing him to prosper and he was using his prosperity for God.

Job felt like he and God were in really good relationship,
And were tracking in the same direction.

And that leads to this very telling statement:
(READ 18-20)

“Then I thought…”

Job looked into the future and saw how he expected things to turn out.
He had no reason to assume that
It would be anything but more of the same.

• God was pleased with him
• God was prospering him
• Job wasn’t giving God any reason to change His mind
• So God probably won’t
I’ll go to my grave in peace and prosperity

And incidentally, Job wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

Everyone recognized this about Job and so
It is no surprise that they sought out his counsel and advice.

(READ 21-25)

I mean it is clear that Job saw absolutely no warning signs
That his life was headed for this at all.
JOB’S SUFFERING WAS UNEXPECTED

Maybe you can identify with it in your life.
You would have expected a little suffering if you had been running against God, but you were doing everything in your power to please God.
You might have expected persecution from the world,
But you certainly didn’t expect affliction from God.
That was Job.

2) MY SUFFERING IS UNEXPIRED (Job 30)
That is to say, IT WON’T LET UP.

Notice here the suffering Job speaks of IS PRESENT SUFFERING..
• He doesn’t lament the loss of his livestock
• He doesn’t lament the loss of his children
• He doesn’t lament the pain of his boils

Job has a whole new adversity now – IT IS REPROACH

(READ 30:1-15)

Job speaks of worthless men.
• Men who have no right to reprove anyone.
• Men who have no right to look down on anyone.
• Job speaks of the dregs of society.

And the problem?
(9) “And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.”

It is true that Job’s initial pains and problems have not gone away,
But Job is now experiencing even new affliction.

And notice what he has to say about it.
(READ 16-31)

Do you hear him?

(20) “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me. You have become cruel to me;”

(24) “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?”

Do you hear Job?
• Why won’t you help me?
• Why won’t you deliver me?

(26) “When I expected good, then evil came; when I waited for light, then darkness came.”

Job is not there talking about his initial affliction.
He is talking about how he expected God
To come to his aid after his affliction and God didn’t do it.
I was hurting
I was in pain
And I cried out to God and I expected Him to come through, and He didn’t.

• My suffering just keeps on going
• My pain just keeps on happening
• It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse
• God has not shown up to help

And we’ve talked about this many times as well.

Sometimes it’s not the initial suffering that is the hardest.
Many of us have come to understand that we live in a fallen world that is prone to the curse and so we know that bad things sometimes happen.

What gets difficult for us to understand is
When God doesn’t just swoop in and instantly make it better.

I mean, after all, our child may fall and scrape their knee, but as soon as we see it and hear their cry, we instantly swoop down and pick them up and try to make it all better.
And it confuses us that God doesn’t seem to do the same.

Sometimes it feels like we fall and are crying
And God just sits there and watches us.

That is what Job is saying.
Not only was my suffering expected,
But it is also unexpired; it just keeps on going.

3) MY SUFFERING IS UNEXPLAINED (Job 31)

And this is another difficult one for us.

If we did something stupid and suffered for it,
At least we’d know why it happened.
What confuses us is when we suffer and don’t know why.

We will rack our brains looking for the reasoning.
That is what Job does here.
You can actually hear him crossing off all the things that he knows it isn’t.

(READ CHAPTER 31)

Do you hear him?
• Am I liar? (no)
• Am I immoral? (no)
• Am I a thief? (no)
• Am I an adulterer? (no)
• Am I unjust? (no)
• Am I stingy? (no)
• Am I greedy? (no)
• Am I without mercy? (no)
• Did I fail to be hospitable? (no)
• Was I a hypocrite? (no)

It’s as though Job is saying, “If I’d been any of those things, then I’d fully understand why God was doing this to me, but I wasn’t.”

And try as he may he could not get an explanation from God
Regarding why all this was happening.

HIS SUFFERING WAS UNEXPLAINED AND THAT BOTHERED HIM.

And again you can probably identify.

Most believers I know, when suffering hits,
Almost immediately go in search of what they did to make God so angry.

They’ll examine themselves like crazy to find it.

That’s what Job was doing,
And he couldn’t come up with anything.
And it bothered him that God wouldn’t explain this suffering.

THIS IS JOB’S LAMENT.

He is upset because:
• His suffering was unexpected
• His suffering is unexpired
• His suffering is unexplained

Now, we aren’t to God’s response to all of these complaints yet.
That is coming in a few weeks.
However Job is not the only person to have these frustrations.

So tonight I want to just quickly examine some others with these exact same issues and see how God answered them.

So, if you’ve felt the same way, you can know what God expects.

FIRST – WHEN SUFFERING IS UNEXPECTED

TURN TO: MATTHEW 11:1-6

You are familiar with this person.
He is none other than the greatest man born of woman.

This is John the Baptist.
This is Mr. SoldOut himself.

No one in the history of the world
Had ever been more devoted to God than this guy.
(Not Job, Not Abraham, Not Joseph, Not Moses, Not David, No one)
Jesus said John was the greatest.

All John ever did was exactly what God expected.
• He turned his back on the world
• He turned his back on the comforts of life
• He stared heresy in the face and boldly confronted it

If there was ever a man who was going in the same direction as God,
It was John the Baptist.

AND HERE WE FIND JOHN IN PRISON
And while John was in prison he heard about all that Jesus was doing.

And John has a question for Him.
(3) “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

There you have it.
John wasn’t getting what he expected.
It just didn’t add up for John.

Now Jesus, in His compassion, quickly worked all the miracles that needed to be seen for John to know Jesus was exactly who He said He was.

And then Jesus had a rebuke for John.
It’s subtle, but a rebuke none the less.

Jesus says, “blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Another way to read it:
• “Happy is the man who doesn’t fall away on account of Me”
• “Happy is the man who doesn’t stumble because of following Me”

John wasn’t expecting that his life of obedience
Would end up in prison.

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hardship cause you to turn on Me”

And that is really good advice for us all to understand.

Suffering can be shocking
Suffering is most certainly hard

But there are no circumstances
Where we can ever let our suffering cause us to question
If we should continue to be devoted to God.

“Whatever you do, don’t fall away, just because it’s hard”

Suffering can indeed blindside us at times,
But our hardship does not change who God is, or what He deserves.
SO WHEN SUFFERING IS UNEXPECTED, PUSH ON

SECOND – WHEN SUFFERING IS UNEXPIRED

That is to say how we should respond when
Our suffering goes longer than we thought it should.

For that we look to the man named Jeremiah.

Now you should know that JEREMIAH COULD NOT CLAIM
That his suffering was unexpected.

God made that clear to Jeremiah out the outset.

Jeremiah 1:14-19 “Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. “For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. “I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. “Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. “Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”

From the day the LORD called Jeremiah he knew difficulty was on its way.

Jeremiah’s problem was that he thought it was lasting a little too long.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 15:15-21

You can hear Jeremiah talk about the hardship
And it even reads like he was ready for it initially.

But in verse 18 he asks, “Why has my pain been perpetual and my would incurable, refusing to be healed?”

It wasn’t the presence of suffering that bothered him,
It was the continuation of it.

He couldn’t figure out why God didn’t just swoop in and take care of it.

God’s rebuke of Jeremiah is pretty intense.
“extract the precious from the worthless”
If you want to be My prophet.

In short, you’d better let go of the pity party and get over yourself.
This mission you are on, is not about your comfort,
It’s about My glory and you’d better get your head right.

I’ve read that passage on numerous occasions because I am prone to the pity party.

I don’t mind sitting down and feeling sorry for myself,
But you had better know that God will not have it.

God had every intention of taking care of Jeremiah,
But whining about it was not the answer.

James said:
James 5:7-11 “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

And so the advice in the midst of suffering that never seems to expire?
PERSEVERE

What about WHEN SUFFERING IS UNEXPLAINED?

Here we look at a man named ELIJAH.

Remember him?
• He was just certain that revival was coming.
• He’d seen God’s fire fall from heaven
• He’d seen the 450 false prophet of Baal slaughtered
• And he just knew God was doing big things.

But instead of revival he found a death threat
And Elijah took off running into the wilderness
Ultimately ending up a Sinai ready to give God a piece of his mind.

TURN TO: 1 KINGS 19:9-18

There you hear Elijah basically asking God what He thinks He’s doing.
• I’ve been faithful
• I’ve been zealous
• WHY IN THE WORLD IS THIS HAPPENING?

And God’s answer is profound.
(READ 15-18)

I’m doing something bigger than you here.

We are often prone to think that we are the center of the universe
And God’s total redemptive plan revolves around our life and ministry.

Not so.

God was in the process of purifying Israel
And Elijah was but a piece of the process.

God’s answer was basically for him to get over himself
And realize that He had a plan and Elijah should just trust it.

So when suffering is unexplained – PERCEIVE
Perceive that God just might be up to bigger stuff than you could comprehend.

That was certainly true in Joseph’s life wasn’t it?

Many times we are just told to
Rejoice in suffering or to embrace suffering
Simply knowing that God is up to things that we may not understand.

And all of these pieces of advice would have worked for Job.
• I know your suffering was unexpected – PRESS ON
• I know your suffering is unexpired – PERSEVERE
• I know your suffering is unexplained – PERCEIVE that God is doing something bigger than you.

And there is our answer.

We often feel the same frustrations as Job,
But God directs us regarding how we are to handle it.

• Happy is the man who doesn’t fall away because it is hard.
• Extract the precious from the worthless and do your job.
• Trust that God knows what He is doing and it’s bigger than you

There is the answer for suffering.

The Courage of Faith – part 2 (Overcoming Your Fears)
Hebrews 11:23-31 (27-29)
February 14, 2016

We have finally returned to our study of the book of Hebrews.
And we are currently in the middle of what is called “The Faith Chapter”

The writer is doing everything he can to encourage struggling Jews to not shrink back from their commitment to Christ.

He wants them to cling to Jesus,
To endure for Jesus,
And to encourage others to do the same.

The only possible way they will succeed here is if they exercise their faith.
• The immediate cost is high
• The immediate danger is real
• The immediate opposition is intense

It is precisely what Jesus promised:
John 16:32-33 “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus told His followers that it would soon get rough.
But in the midst of these hardships they were to “take courage”
And trust that He had “overcome the world.”

John said:
1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.”

And that is precisely where we are in this study.
The writer is asking them to live by faith
And he is giving one example after another
Of precisely what that faith looks like.

We saw the saints of old and THE REWARD OF FAITH.
Namely that God grants righteousness in response to faith.

We saw the patriarchs and THE FOCUS OF FAITH.
These who continually looked past their present circumstances to the promises of God.

And now we are looking at the THIRD SET OF EXAMPLES in this chapter.
We are looking at the slaves of Egypt and THE COURAGE OF FAITH

Many times our church has had the privilege
Of serving on mission in Zimbabwe.
And in doing so we have seen the reality
Of people living under a godless dictator.

• This man has seized farm land from some and given it to others only to require
them to sell it to him at his price.
• This man has threatened and beaten and murdered and maimed people who
opposed him politically.
• This man has wrecked the economy and impoverished his nation only to live in
the lap of luxury.

Some have wondered why his people don’t revolt.

But if you look at the situation you would have so say, “With what?”
• He controls all the resources
• He controls all the military
• He controls everything

Are these people to rise up with sticks and take back their country?

WELL THAT IS A SIMILAR SITUATION TO WHAT WE FIND IN EGYPT.
• Joseph is an afterthought.
• His reign has ended nearly 400 years ago.
• No one remembers and no one cares.

Now Joseph’s descendants are enslaved.
• Pharaoh controls the resources
• Pharaoh controls the military
• Pharaoh controls everything

Are these helpless Israelites supposed to rise up and defy Pharaoh?
That is exactly what God is about to ask them to do.

What manner of courage would be required
To defy the most powerful man in the world?

It had better be courage rooted in faith that God is on your side,
Because otherwise you are sunk.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE COURAGE OF FAITH.

We actually saw the first point last week.
#1 THE CHOICE OF A SLAVE
Hebrews 11:23-26

It was really the choice of three slaves.
The first was Amram and Jochebed (Moses’ parents).

• These people adamantly defied Pharaoh’s specific order to kill all male Hebrew children.
• Certainly they had to know they would face severe and most likely lethal discipline for such a decision.
• But when they looked into the eyes of their baby boy they could see that the hand of God was on him for something great and they chose faith over fear.

God certainly rewarded them.
• Not only by protecting them from Pharaoh, but also by protecting the baby and even allowing that baby to be given back to his mother for a time until he was weaned.

• Beyond that God obviously rewarded this couple with another son (whom they also spared) because Moses has a brother named Aaron.

The next choice was seen when that baby grew up at the age of 40.

THAT WAS NONE OTHER THAN MOSES.
• Moses wasn’t a slave.
• He was raised as a child of Pharaoh’s daughter.
• He had ever luxury and privilege that he could imagine.

MOSES CHOSE SLAVERY.
Moses chose to leave Egypt and join his people all because he could see that reward of being a child of God was greater than all the riches of Egypt

It would take courage to make a decision like that, but Moses made it.

WE SAW COURAGE IN THEIR FAITH.
This morning I want to move on to the next examples the writer of Hebrews gave us.

The Choice of a Slave
#2 THE COMMITMENT OF A SERVANT
Hebrews 11:27-29

The first point of this segment dealt with a period of slavery.
This segment obviously deals with the event known as THE EXODUS

And it begins also with Moses.
(27) “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”

Now I need you to understand this verse clearly
So that you gain the proper perspective here.

The common consensus is to read this verse and to want to apply it to
The day Moses left Pharaoh’s court, killed the Egyptian
And then fled into the wilderness.

That is NOT the even the writer is referring to.

Yes it took faith for Moses to leave Pharaoh’s court,
We already talked about that up in verse 24.

But this is a different event.
IT IS NOT WHEN MOSES LEFT EGYPT THE FIRST TIME.

That event was actually not about faith at all.
Scripture is clear that Moses’ first leaving was all about fear.

Exodus 2:11-15 “Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”

Did you catch Moses’ response when he realized that his murder had been discovered?
“Then Moses was afraid…”

That fear then drove Moses out into the wilderness
And delayed the deliverance of God by 40 years.

That is actually an example of the danger of following fear instead of faith.
If you’ll recall the children of Israel would later delay their entrance into the Promised Land by 40 years because they also operated by fear instead of faith.

MOSES FLEEING FROM EGYPT WAS NOT AN ACT OF FAITH.

The event the writer is referring to in verse 27
Was the SECOND TIME Moses left Egypt.
That event required enormous faith.

Think about it for a moment.
• Moses decides to leave Pharaoh’s court.
• He takes matters into his own hands and kills an Egyptian.
• He is found out and flees for his life.

40 years (count them FORTY YEARS) passes.
That’s a lifetime.
I’m supposing that Moses never intended to return.
He had found a new life in Midian.

But what happened?
TURN TO: EXODUS 3:1-10

God tracked Moses down (not that he was ever lost)
And told him that he was going back to Pharaoh.

Imagine the emotions this would conjure up in Moses.
I can guarantee you Moses was afraid.
Not many fugitives are asked to go and confront the authorities.

Moses was not excited:
Exodus 3:11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

That’s Moses’ way of saying, “Wouldn’t you rather send someone else?”

And you’ll remember there was quite an argument that took place between God and Moses.
• (Exodus 3:13) but I don’t know Your name
• (Exodus 4:1) what if they won’t believe me
• (Exodus 4:10) but I’m not a good speaker
• (Exodus 4:13) please send someone else

And to this God grew angry.
Exodus 4:14-17 “Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

God told Moses he was going.

But do you see where Moses will have to overcome an enormous amount of fear to pull this off?
• Return to Egypt
• Tell the Israelites I’ve heard from God
• Tell Pharaoh to let you go
• Then lead you all out

THERE IS ENORMOUS FEAR THERE

You can even hear the “what ifs” of Satan attacking Moses’ faith.
• But what if they want God’s name?
• But what if they won’t believe you?
• But what if you have to speak?

It is that fear which is always the opposite of faith.

And honestly to make matters worse God promised Moses that
Pharaoh wouldn’t be too keen on the idea.

Exodus 3:19-20 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.”

Are you filling in the blanks?
• This is going to be hard.
• It is going to take a great deal of courage to pull this off.
But Moses went back to Egypt and he stood before Pharaoh.
And the battle was on.

TURN TO: EXODUS 5

(READ 1-4)
Moses tells Pharaoh and Pharoah says “NO” and then he makes work even harder on the people and if you’ll remember the people became angry at Moses.

And if you’ll remember Moses was ready to quit again.
(READ 22-23)
• God then reminds Moses that He is the faithful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and he will surely deliver the people.
• And God tells Moses to go tell the people of Israel that God is going to deliver them.
• But the people won’t listen to Moses.

And Moses is still afraid
(READ 6:10-13)
• Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
• You can feel his struggle
• It is fear vs. faith all the way.

(READ 6:28-30)

LOOK HOW MANY TIMES MOSES HAS TO GO.
• In 7:20 Moses goes back to Pharaoh again and turns the Nile to blood, but Pharaoh won’t listen.

• In 8:1 Moses returns to Pharaoh again and promises frogs.

• In 8:8 Moses is called back to Pharaoh to make the frogs stop and Pharaoh says you can go, but in 8:15 Pharaoh changed his mind.

• In 8:16 God sent gnats throughout Egypt and Pharaoh wouldn’t respond.

• So in 8:20 God sent Moses to Pharaoh a 4th time to warn him about insects.

• In 8:25 Pharaoh calls Moses back to stop the insects and says you can go worship and in 8:28 Pharaoh again changes his mind.

• In 9:1 God sends Moses before Pharaoh again with a promise to kill livestock. And Pharaoh ignored it.

• In 9:8 God sent boils across Egypt and in 9:13 God sent Moses before Pharaoh a 7th time to warn him about hail.

• In 9:27 Pharaoh called for Moses to make the hail stop and promised they could go and in 9:34 Pharaoh changed his mind.

• In 10:1 God sends Moses to Pharaoh a 9th time and warns Pharaoh about a locust invasion.

• In 10:8 Moses was called before Pharaoh to stop the locusts and promised they could leave, but in 10:11 Pharaoh changed his mind.

• In 10:21 God sent darkness and in 10:24 Moses is called before Pharaoh for the 11th time with a promise they can leave and in 10:27 Pharaoh again changed his mind.

Only this time the stakes were raised.
Exodus 10:28 “Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!”

And of course you know what is coming next.
The death angel and the Passover.

But what you need to see is the tremendous endurance it took
For Moses to continually stand before Pharaoh.

• This is not something Moses wanted to do.
• He was afraid.
• But he chose to walk by faith and do it anyway.

When the writer says in verse 27 “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king”

He was talking about the entire situation.
That Moses had to stand up to Pharaoh 11 times in order to be able to leave.

And it would be on the 12th time that Moses stood before Pharaoh t
Hat he actually succeeded.

Exodus 12:31-33 “Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. “Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.”

Do you see the tremendous amount of courage that was required there?
Do you see the tremendous amount of faith?

• We are amazed when David stands before that giant…
• We are amazed when Esther goes before the king…
• We are amazed when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow before Nebuchadnezzar…
• We are amazed when Daniel continues to pray…

But do not overlook that this Moses stood before Pharaoh 12 times
Before he was allowed to leave Egypt.

HOW DID MOSES DO IT?
(27) “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”

Moses knew that Pharaoh wasn’t the biggest king in the room.

Many have commented on the David and Goliath incident
And noted how David looked past the giant to see a giant God.

That is precisely what Moses did.
He feared God more than he feared Pharaoh.

Jesus said:
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

And Moses chose to trust God.
That is faith that overcomes fear.

And yet that isn’t the only thing Moses did.
(28) “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.”

• I already read to you how the last time Moses had seen Pharaoh that Pharaoh had threatened to kill him.

• We already know that the children of Israel are not real keen on listening to Moses since they reckon that he has only made their lives harder.

But that doesn’t stop Moses from issuing a command
To the children of Israel and obeying it himself.

He had to overcome fear just to obey it.
But he also had to walk by faith to obey it.

TURN TO: EXODUS 12:1-13

The wrath of God was coming.
Now some would instantly want to know:
Why the children of Israel were in danger.

I mean God was delivering them, it looks like God would have just said,
“Stay indoors and you’ll be fine”

Why the blood?
Because the holiness of God was about to walk through that land and God’s holiness is absolutely impartial.

God doesn’t just judge sinners He doesn’t like
And spare sinners that He does like.
You know in west Texas we sort of have this “good ol boy” mentality.
• so an so may not go to church
• He may cuss a little
• He may drink a little
• He me mess around a little
• But he’s hard worker and a good ol’ boy

And some even think that for some strange reason good ol boy sinners
Are more acceptable to God than the real thuggy sinners.

There is no such distinction.
• When God’s holiness enters the equation every sinner will die.
• When God’s holiness enters the equation every sinner must die.

The only thing that would save the children of Israel
Was if they smeared blood on their doorposts.

WHY BLOOD?
Because the life of an animal is in it’s blood.

Blood signified death.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

The only thing that is going to cause the holiness of God
To pass by is when sin has been paid for.

Moses was told to take the blood of a lamb and paint it on the door post
And this would appease the wrath of the death angel.

(28) “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.”

And there is obviously an application to us there as well.
• We identified last week as Moses was called to choose between the
comforts of this life or the benefits of the next.
• We saw that Moses forsook this life that he might obtain the reward of God.

Here we learn that like Moses we not only must choose to follow Christ, but we are also in desperate need of Christ.

That blood on the doorpost was a picture of Christ.
1 Corinthians 5:7 “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

Jesus is in fact our Pass-Over.
It is His blood shed on our behalf
That protects us from the wrath of a Holy God.

We take His sacrifice and place it on the door frames of our heart.
We trust in His sacrifice to satisfy the wrath of God.

It’s not just that we must choose which life we want to pursue,
If we don’t choose correctly we will be under the wrath of God.

Do you see what happened in Egypt?
• Moses chose to leave Egypt and identify with Israel.
• But 40 years later do you see what God did to Egypt?

What if Moses had chosen Egypt?
What if Moses had chosen not to leave the courts of Pharaoh?
He would have been dead.

Today we offer Jesus to people as a sort of choice.
In some sense we give them the choice of whether or not they want to follow Christ, but the reality is there is no choice.

You either follow Christ or you suffer the wrath of Holy God.

That is what Jesus meant when He said:
Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it…”

Moses understood and he walked by faith.

AND WE SEE HIS COURAGE CONTINUALLY.
• He had the courage to choose slavery over Egypt.
• He had the courage to confront Pharaoh continually.
• He had the courage to trust God’s provision totally.

Now, there is one more example here regarding
THE COMMITMENT OF A SERVANT.

Moses wasn’t the only servant of God who had to be courageous.
God required that same courage from the entire nation of Israel.

• After the death of the firstborn Pharaoh finally did let Israel go.
• In fact Israel even plundered the Egyptians as they left.
• So Israel packed up to leave.
• But God hardened Pharaoh one more time and Pharaoh pursued Israel where they stood trapped at the banks of the Red Sea.

• The people grumbled at Moses
• Moses prayed to the LORD
• The LORD parted the Red Sea

Exodus 14:21-22 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.”

The writer of Hebrews said:
(29) “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land;”

And our immediate response is, “what’s so courageous about that?”

Think about it
• Half of you in here won’t ride a ride at Six Flags.
• Could you imagine what this must have looked like?
• Could you imagine the perceived danger?

If you are confused about the danger, read the rest of the verse:
(29b) “and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.”

THIS WAS DANGEROUS.
BUT…
THIS WAS THE LORD’S SALVATION.

If Israel was going to be delivered from the hand of Pharaoh this is what had to occur.
• Two slaves had to agree to defy a king and spare their baby.
• That baby had to choose to leave the comforts of the palace and accept the life
of a slave.
• That slave had to overcome his fear and agree to stand once again before
Pharaoh (which he would end up having to do 12 times)
• These slaves would then have to trust the ordinance of God through the
Passover so that God would not kill them.
• And in their deliverance they would have to obey one of the scariest forms of
deliverance the world has ever seen.

THE POINT?
FAITH REQUIRES COURAGE

And make no mistake about it, it takes courage to follow Jesus.
Being a Christian is not for the faint-hearted.

In fact Jesus spoke of those type of IMPOSTERS.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

Those are the type of people who run to Jesus when it is easy and run from Him when it is hard and they prove that their faith is not genuine.

In fact, listen to what is said about people in hell.
Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

We kind of expect the unbelieving and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and liars to be on the list…
But did you notice the very first person? “the cowardly”

It is those who let fear overcome their faith.

Is this not what the writer of Hebrews has been warning against?
Hebrews 10:36-38 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”

Don’t be one of those who lets fear keep him from Jesus.
Don’t be one of those who lets fear turn him from Jesus.

I KNOW IT’S DANGEROUS, I KNOW IT’S SCARY
BUT THIS IS THE LORD’S SALVATION.

YOU MUST HAVE FAITH AND YOU MUST HAVE COURAGE.
After all, courage is a bi-product of genuine faith.

John MacArthur wrote:
“Faith is the source of courage. We do not have great faith by having great courage, we have great courage when we have great faith.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews; Moody Press, Chicago, ILL, 1985] pg. 361)

And this is precisely the point to the recipients of this letter.
You claim to have faith in Jesus.
You claim to believe.

SO WHERE IS YOUR COURAGE?
Because if your faith was real then your courage would be evident.

And so we come back here this morning and once again ask:
Where do you stand with Jesus?

• Forget that these Hebrews might go to prison for Jesus.
• Forget that these Hebrews would have their property seized for Jesus.
• Forget that these Hebrews would be ostracized for following Jesus.

Today we have people who won’t follow Jesus
Simply because they are afraid of what people might think.

This sort of fear is unacceptable to God.

Matthew 10:22-39 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

Do you hear Him calling you to overcome your fears and trust in Him?

Because as we found with Moses, it’s really not a choice at all.
Someday this life will come crashing down just like Egypt did.

Today you must face your fear and choose Jesus
Before God’s wrath is poured out on all who don’t.

It really is that simple.
Have faith.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Job’s Final Word – Part 1
Job 25-31 (25-28)
February 7, 2016

Well obviously we aren’t going to cover all 7 chapters tonight in our study,
But because it is all one thought,
I think it is best to keep it in tact as we work our way through it.

Tonight we’ll begin looking at Job’s final statement.

JOB FINALLY RETURNS TO THE LAMENT
He began way back at the beginning of this book.

• After the initial onslaught of suffering Job began to air his complaints regarding
his situation.

• Before he could ever really fully express those, he was confronted by his three
friends who sought to silence him and to condemn him.

• They came armed with the prosperity gospel, and the blind certainty that Job
must have done something terribly wicked for such adversity to fall upon him.

• So, Job has taken somewhat of a break from his lament in order to debate his
three friends.

Tonight we’ll see that Job has finally silenced his friends
And will return to the lament he once began.

Now before we get to Job’s statement
We do have one final statement from his friends.

Bildad responds to Job’s last statement.

If you’ll remember Job had maintained that
• If he could only get to God and stand before Him and present his case to Him
• Then he knew God would be forced to vindicate him and he would come out as gold.

Job held fast to his integrity
And belief that justice demanded his acquittal.

As you might expect Job’s friends didn’t like such beliefs
And so once again rise to confront him.

The only difference is that it is clear they are now at a loss for words,
For Bildad only responds with a weak and shallow argument.

(Job 25) “Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, “Dominion and awe belong to Him Who establishes peace in His heights. “Is there any number to His troops? And upon whom does His light not rise? “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman? “If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!”
If you are going to try and read what Bildad says and shoot holes in it,
You are going to have a very difficult time,
For everything Bildad says here is true.

“Dominion and awe” do belong to God.
• God is sovereign over all things.
• It is God who illumines all things (that is all things at their best only radiate His
glory)

And Bildad’s questions are right on.
“How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”

His point is clear.
Man is sinful, fallen, corrupt and yet God is holy, perfect, and sovereign.

How could man ever expect that he can measure up \
And be righteous before a holy God?

And in truth we talk about this reality quite a bit.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

We can read Psalms 51 about how David was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity and we agree that man does not measure up to God.

So there is nothing Bildad says here that we would disagree with.

The revelation here is that Bildad’s answer
Totally sidesteps the issue.

Job has been talking about the propensity of the wicked to prosper
And the reality that at times the righteous suffer.
And Bildad has no answer for that.

All he (or any of Job’s friends) seem to be able to do
Is reduce their responses to simple and bland truths.

It would be like
• If you come to me in the middle of your suffering and explain how you are suffering,
• But you know you didn’t do anything wrong to deserve it,
• But you are still uncertain as to what God desires…

And I look at you and say, “Yes, but God is love.”

Well you would agree with me because it is true,
But my answer would not have addressed the issue at all.

So it is here.
• Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad have run out of answers.
• They have been unable to cope with Job’s wisdom or his answers.
• They are now at a loss.

In fact, after Job finishes his discourse the Scripture will reveal this.

Job 32:1 “Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.”

These men have no answer.
They tried and they tried and they tried to expose Job and to condemn Job
And they could not.
JOB’S FRIENDS LOST.

And now, Job is about to take his victory lap.
He has finally silenced his friends
And so Job delivers his closing arguments.

And that is what we find in chapters 26 through 31.
It is Job’s final word.

And when you look at this section in in its entirety
It actually only comprises of two main points.

1) Job rebukes his friends
2) Job returns to his lament

So let’s begin working our way through this section.
#1 JOB REBUKES HIS FRIENDS
Job 26:1-28:28

Three chapters here entail Job’s response and rebuke to his friends.

And in these chapters Job is about to tell his friends
5 things they don’t understand anything about.

We want to pay attention here because we don’t want to be Job’s friends
When we seek to comfort those in pain.

1) YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND COMFORT (26:1-4)
“Then Job responded, “What a help you are to the weak! How you have saved the arm without strength! “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided! “To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?”
If you are picking up on the sarcasm there,
Then you’re reading this section correctly.

Job is certainly not congratulating or even thanking his friends.
He is mocking them for their utter ineptness as it pertains to comforting him.
• “What help you are…”
• “What counsel you gave…”
• “What helpful insight you have…”

Those are statements meant to humiliate and embarrass.
These men were not a help, these men did not give good counsel,
The insight of these men did not help.

We are not going to hash all back through everything they said,
But certainly you do remember the gist of it.

These men traveled to the home of a friend who was suffering immensely.
• This man had lost his possessions
• This man had lost his children
• This man had lost his health
• This man had lost his reputation

AND NOT ONCE DID HIS FRIENDS EVER PICK HIM UP.

All they did was go on an unwarranted investigation
To find out what Job must have done wrong.

When Job said, “Nothing”. They said, “We don’t believe you.”
• They accused
• They attacked
• They slandered

All for the purpose of exposing Job’s presumed sin.

When you slice it right down the middle,
We realized they didn’t really care about Job,
They just wanted to make sure they were protected
From what happened to Job.

And Job here calls them on it.
You guys were no help at all, you know nothing about comfort.

2) YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND GOD (26:5-14)

This section actually humors me just a little,
Because it is a classic “one-upping” of Bildad.

Bildad just tried to express the greatness of God in chapter 25.

He talked about how God has dominion and awe and how it is his glory that illumines all things, and how man cannot be pure in His sight.

Job here one-ups him.
It’s as though Job says, “You don’t even know the half of it”

And then Job goes on a rant about the real greatness of God.
(5-6) “The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants. “Naked is Sheol before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.”
• “Sheol” was the place of the dead.
• “Abaddon” was the place of punishment or utter ruin.

Bildad said that dominion belonged to God,
Job takes it a step further.

Yes, God has dominion in life, in death, in judgment, in everything.
• So much so that “the departed spirits tremble”
• Everything man has ever done lays bare before God, “Sheol” is “naked”.

God sees all and knows all and judges all.

Job is expounding on Bildad’s simple statement.

Bildad also said, “And upon whom does His light not rise?”
It was a simple expression of God as creator.
God created all things and His light shines on all things.

Job carries it farther.
(7-10) “He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing. “He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them. “He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it. “He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.”

Bildad called God the creator of light,
Job responds as if to say, “You’re in way over your head here.”

• Did you know that God stretched out the north over empty space?
• Did you know that God hung the world on nothing?

There’s a thought for you.

What did God create the world from?
Nothing, because there was nothing for God to create the world from.

God looked into empty, brought forth something,
Hung it on nothing, and told it to stay there.

You can actually hear Job telling Bildad, “You don’t even have a clue!”

Bildad then expressed that creation was not “just” before God.
He said that even the stars were not pure before God
And certainly man was not.

And again Job responds as if to say,
“You don’t even know what you don’t know”

(11-13) “The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke. “He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab. “By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.”

It’s not just that creation falls short of His standard,
It’s that creation sits on pins and needles at the thought of His rebuke.

Nothing in creation dares defy Him.
Not the sea, not the sky, not the lightning.

Creation is terrified of His holy rebuke.

And Job then ends this short lesson
With these words to really pierce his friends.

(14) “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

Job just expounded on their simple view of God and then said,
“And even what I’ve told you barely scratches the surface.”

His point to his friends is simple – YOU DON’T HAVE A CLUE

You arrived at my house to give comfort; at which you stink.
You tried to explain God’s working to me; of Whom you know nothing.
Pretty harsh rebukes that Job has here for his friends.

You don’t understand comfort You don’t understand God
3) YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND INTEGRITY (27:1-12)

All along one of the main issues between Job and his friends is that
Job maintained his integrity while his friends continually attacked it.

• They argued time and time again that there is no way that Job could be a pure man and suffer like he was suffering.

• Job maintained that he was a pure man and that he did not deserve this suffering.

Well here Job is going to tell them that
They don’t know what real integrity looks like.
He starts with a simple declaration (an oath even)

(1-6) “Then Job continued his discourse and said, “As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils, My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit. “Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.”

As God lives, I will not let go of my integrity.
I am holding fast my righteousness.

“My heart does not reproach any of my days.”

In other words Job just said, “I’ve got a clean conscience”

It is similar to the statement of Paul:
Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”

2 Timothy 1:3 “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did,”

I am suffering because God “has taken away my right.”

Next Job is actually going to show them
What they have been thus far unable to see.

Job is going to show them evidence of his integrity.
He is going to show them why they should have known
He was in fact an innocent man.

(7-12) “May my enemy be as the wicked And my opponent as the unjust. “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, When God requires his life? “Will God hear his cry When distress comes upon him? “Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? “I will instruct you in the power of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal. “Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you act foolishly?”

Job is here revealing that the response he has demonstrated since his affliction are not the response of the wicked.

Job says “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off..?”

That is to say a godless man has no hope.
• He doesn’t expect vindication.
• He doesn’t have hope for anything better.
• Because he knows he is wicked.

He may lie about to those around him,
But in his heart he knows what he is and therefore has no hope.

But you will remember, that certainly isn’t Job.

Remember Job’s great statement of hope?
Job 19:25-27 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”

Job was confused as to why he was suffering,
But he wasn’t without hope.

Job says, “That’s not normal for the godless”

Job goes on to ask (10) “Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times?”

The obvious answer is “No, he won’t”
When God afflicts wrath on those who are living in sin,
Their first reaction is not to stay in close commune with God.

And yet if you’ll remember this book,
That’s the only one Job has wanted to talk to.
At times he has been forced to debate his friends,
But all he has really wanted is to draw near to God.

That is not a response of the wicked.

Jesus said:
John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

In the Revelation we see:
Revelation 6:12-17 “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The godless and the wicked and those without integrity
Don’t naturally cling to God when they are under divine wrath.

Job ends this section by saying:
(12) “Behold, all of you have seen it; why then do you act foolishly?”

Job was describing simple fruit.
• You don’t spot a man of integrity by whether or not he suffers.
• You spot a man of integrity by how he responds when he suffers.

Those who are righteous run to the light; they run to God.
They cling to God. They cry out to God. The hope in God.

Job is telling his friends that they obviously do not understand integrity.
They obviously do not know the marks of a genuine believer.

You don’t understand comfort
You don’t understand God
You don’t understand Integrity
4) YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND JUDGMENT (27:13-23)

Job’s friends saw Job’s suffering and made a foolish assumption.
They assumed that what Job was experiencing
Was the wrath and judgment of God.

But it wasn’t.
Job was experiencing the wrath and torment of the enemy,
Not the divine wrath of God.

And Job wants his friends to know that there is a major difference.
(you should know there is a major difference)

Job is about to explain it.
(READ: 27:13-23)

Job says, “This is the portion of a wicked man from God…”

Here is what God gives the wicked.
And certainly there is some temporal affliction here.
• Job mentions how he is destined for the sword.
• Job mentions how he won’t keep his silver
• Job mentions how his house won’t stand

But Job takes it a notch farther.
Job talks about what this man receives in the next life.

See in verse 19 the wicked man dies. Job says he “lies down rich”

That is he dies still in prosperity, but when opens his eyes on the other side of death, he will not like what he sees.

(20) “Terrors over take him like a flood”
• (22) He will be in unsparing pain
• (22) He will try to flee, but will not escape

Job tells his friends that they have no clue about the judgment of God.

God’s judgment on the wicked
Is not limited to poverty and sickness in this life.

In fact there are many wicked whom God allows to prosper in this life.

The judgment of God is what occurs to the wicked
In the next life for eternity.

There is a major difference between the affliction of the enemy and the affliction of God.

Jesus spelled it out clearly for us:
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Job’s friends came with the assumption that
What Job was receiving was the wrath of God
Job says, “You have no clue about the wrath of God.”

Can you see why Job’s friends were such sorry counselors?
• They didn’t understand comfort
• They didn’t understand God
• They didn’t understand integrity
• They didn’t understand judgment

5) YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WISDOM (28)

If you will remember these men continually appealed to history
As their source of wisdom.

Bildad said:
Job 8:8-10 “Please inquire of past generations, And consider the things searched out by their fathers. “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow. “Will they not teach you and tell you, And bring forth words from their minds?”

Eliphaz said:
Job 15:17-19 “I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare; What wise men have told, And have not concealed from their fathers, To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them.”

These men walked under a VERY COMMON MISCONCEPTION.
Namely that wisdom comes with age.

There was a lady who used to attend church here who told me that all the time.

Can I burst your bubble?
“Wisdom SHOULD come with age, but it is not automatic.
Wisdom comes with a fear of the Lord.”

Listen to Job explain that very thing.

In the first 11 verses Job is going to explain to you how you can acquire any precious commodity that the earth has to offer.
• You want gold?
• You want diamonds?
• You want silver?

Job will explain how to get it.
(READ 28:1-11)

But then he poses a commodity that can’t be found like this: WISDOM
(READ 28:12-22)

Wisdom is not automatic.
It can’t be found, it can’t be bought.

But there is an answer.
(READ 28:23-28)

God alone possesses wisdom and God gives it to those who trust Him.

The implication to Job’s friends is that they don’t have wisdom.
• It isn’t found in experience
• It isn’t found in history books
• It isn’t found in universities
• You can’t dig for it
• You can’t pan for it
• You can’t purchase it

Real wisdom only comes to one who trusts God.

Real wisdom doesn’t bank on its own understanding or knowledge
Wisdom recognizes the One who does know and trusts them.

Jesus said:
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

A wise man is not the man who knows all the answers.
A wise man is the man who believes that God does.
And thus we’re back to Job.

• All he’s wanted to do is appeal to God.
• All he’s wanted to do is speak to God.
• All he’s asked of his friends is that they pray for him.

Job has yet to presume why any of this has happened to him,
His only request was that God reveal it.

Job’s friends on the other hand reached deep into their own experiences and their own logic and sought to explain the situation to Job.

And to that Job responds – “You don’t have a clue about wisdom”
And there you have Job’s rebuke of his friends.
• You don’t understand comfort
• You don’t understand God
• You don’t understand integrity
• You don’t understand judgment
• You don’t understand wisdom

No wonder they were sorry counselors and no wonder Job silenced them.

I would think before we ventured to step into the role of Job’s friends
We had better make sure we understand those things better than they did.
All they did was wound Job and earn a rebuke from God.
If you want to offer real comfort and encouragement then:
• Know the truth about God’s person and purposes for our lives before you speak on His behalf.

• Know what real integrity looks like before you accuse someone of not having it.

• Know what real judgment is before you tell someone they are under it.

• Know what real wisdom is before you offer something less to someone else.

These were the blunders of Job’s friends
And Job here rebukes them for it.

The Courage of Faith – Part 1 (Overcoming Your Fears)
Hebrews 11:23-31 (23-26)
February 7, 2016

Well, I know it has been several weeks since we were able to study Hebrews together having taken a month to refocus on missions.

But this morning I want to return to that study together
And continue looking at this amazing book.

Let me quickly pull you back in to focus regarding this letter.
If you will remember the book of Hebrews was written to struggling Jews.

They were those who had at least made a public profession of faith in Christ,
But now because of persecution were considering defecting from Christ.
The writer of Hebrews has been pleading with them not to do that.

He started with the theology of the issue.
Reminding the Jews that Jesus was greater than anything they ever had in Judaism.
• Jesus is greater than the prophets
• Jesus is greater than the angels
• Jesus is greater than Moses
• Jesus is greater than Joshua
• Jesus is greater than Aaron
• Jesus is greater than any sacrifice ever made
• Jesus’ covenant is a greater covenant than the old one

When you study the first 9 ½ chapters
It is clear that Jesus over Judaism is the obvious choice.

But that really sums up the problem.
THERE IS STILL A CHOICE TO BE MADE

Knowing Jesus is the right way is one thing,
Choosing to follow Him is a different issue altogether.

There have been many throughout the ages
Who have known the truth about Jesus and yet chose not to follow Him.

So having proven the facts the writer is now calling for ALLEGIANCE.
To be more specific the writer is calling for faith.

His basic request was seen in chapter 10

Hebrews 10:19-25 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

That is really the main request of the writer of Hebrews.

Jesus is the real deal so:
• Draw near to God through Him
• Hold fast to Him no matter what
• Encourage others to do the same

However to make that decision
These Jews would need one weapon in their arsenal above every other.

THAT WEAPON WAS FAITH.

Hebrews 10:36-39 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

And then the writer set out to describe exactly what he meant
When he asked for faith.

He followed with what we call “The Faith Chapter”

As I told you when we began the study, it easily breaks down into four main points.
1) THE REWARD OF FAITH (11:1-7)
NAMELY THAT FAITH OBTAINS GOD’S FAVOR.

Abel, Enoch, and Noah were all people who were justified because of their faith.
They were granted righteousness.

2) THE FOCUS OF FAITH (11:8-22)
NAMELY THAT FAITH OBSERVES GOD’S PROMISES

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were all people who were given a great promise from God and none of them ever received it.

Yet, despite having not received it, they continued to focus on the promise.

THIS MORNING we continue this study with the third reality of faith.

3) THE COURAGE OF FAITH
NAMELY THAT FAITH OVERCOMES YOUR FEARS

There is a foundational reality about your Christian walk
That every believer ought to know, and it is this.
FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH

• This is why Jesus comes down so hard on the disciples for panicking when He slept in the boat.

Matthew 8:26 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”

• This is why Jesus came down so hard on things like “worrying”

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

• This is why the Bible says over and over, “Do not fear…”

Fear is the opposite of faith, and I can almost guarantee you that
Any time God asks you to walk by faith
The enemy will almost instantly counter attack with fear.

God says, “Do this”
Satan says, “But what if”

We are called to be those who DO NOT LOOK at
The present circumstances, the possible dangers or the potential failures. We are called to simply trust that God can handle all of those things.

This was the epitome of what Paul meant when he said,
“We walk by faith, not by sight”

And we could really scour the pages of Scripture with example after example after example of this crisis of faith where people had to choose to either walk by faith or give in to fear.
It is everywhere.

But the writer of Hebrews has already given us
The examples he wants us to examine.

When he wanted us to see the REWARD OF FAITH,
He showed us the saints of old and how they were made pleasing to God by their faith.

When he wanted us to see the FOCUS OF FAITH,
He showed us the patriarchs and how they kept believing even without seeing.

And when he wants us to see the COURAGE OF FAITH,
He takes us to a group of slaves living in Egypt and how He called them to rise up and trust Him for deliverance.

So let’s look at the courage of faith.

We can easily divide this section into three periods or three separate actions.
#1 THE CHOICE OF A SLAVE
Hebrews 11:23-26

When you read these 4 verses
They are all set during the period of Israel’s slavery in Egypt.

Exodus 1:8-11 “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. “Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

The glory days and prosperity of Joseph are but a faint memory.
There is a time period of nearly 400 years between
The end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus.

Joseph is in afterthought.

We lament today how people are forgetting the values of our founding fathers, and that was only 240 years ago. Let’s see where we are in another 160.

Israel is now bound in slavery.
And there is a king who so fears Israel that
He has actually hatched a plan to strip them of their power.

His first plan was to contact the Hebrew midwives and to tell them that when the Hebrew women give birth, if it is a male then the midwives should kill him.

But the Hebrew midwives feared God and did not do it,

So the king went with plan B.
Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

It was a universal law for all the Hebrew people.
And I should also remind you that
The life of a slave was not all that valuable
So the penalty for disobeying such an order was almost always death.

And in steps Moses’ parents.
Amram and Jochebed

Exodus 2:1-2 “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.”

Now certainly every mother would have had affinity for their baby.
Every mother thinks their child is beautiful.
But that is not what the writer of Exodus was insinuating.

Steven makes it clearer for us in his speech to the Sanhedrin.
Acts 7:17-20 “But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH. “It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. “It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.”

Moses was “lovely in the sight of God”
That is to say, Moses was chosen
Moses was God’s deliverer

Amram and Jochebed could see that God had plans for this boy.
It was far more than just the normal and natural heartaches
Of being commanded to kill your child.

And they had a decision to make.
Trust God and defy the king or obey the king and stay safe.

It is a big decision.
(23) “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”

They chose not to fear “the kings edict”
But to trust that God knew what He was doing.

That may not seem like a big decision,
But on the day that you face the death penalty for obeying God, you’ll understand the enormous amount of faith Moses’ parents demonstrated.

• These two slaves had absolutely no leverage on their side.
• They had nothing to protect them from the punishment of Pharaoh.
• AND YET THEY CHOSE FAITH OVER FEAR.

They are a tremendous example
For the recipients of this letter and for us as well.

But that wasn’t the only slave the writer of Hebrews highlights.

He also fast-forwards 40 years to the day when this Moses grew up.
(24-25) “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,”

This Moses (as you know)
Grew up as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He had all the comforts of Egypt on a silver platter.

But somehow (an explanation that isn’t given in Scripture)
Moses knew that he was a Hebrew.

In fact Moses seemed to know that he was God’s deliverer.
Acts 7:23-25 “But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.”

Somehow God made it clear to Moses that he was not to be an Egyptian,
But that he should be a Hebrew.
AND HE HAD A CHOICE TO MAKE.

Keep the comforts of Egypt or seek the blessings of the people of God.

The Rich Young Ruler had the exact same decision
And he chose to stay rich.

How hard would it be to walk away from the life you’ve known?
The comforts you loved; the plans, dreams,
And aspirations that have been yours?

That is the very decision Moses is making.
Will you leave your reputation, your comforts, your opportunities, and trade it all for the life of a slave?

Moses said “Yes”

Exodus 2:11 “Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren…”

And I want to stop here for a second
Because the application is just too evident.
The writer of Hebrews is writing to a group of Jews
Facing precisely this dilemma.

They’ve been enjoying the life of Judaism
And all the privileges associated with it.

Now they are being asked to forsake all of that
(and to potentially put themselves in harm’s way)
To follow Christ.

THIS IS THE VERY CALL OF SALVATION.
Leave your life, to become a servant (slave) of Christ.

Jesus said:
Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

What a question! What a thought to ponder!
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

Jesus was saying, “How much would you take to go to hell?”
And of course you answer – NOTHING!

But then look at the other question.
“Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

There He asks, “Then what would you give to stay out of hell?”

People assume they are already headed to heaven
And as long as they don’t sell out to the devil then they’ll be fine.

But that is not true.
People are already slaves of sin and are already condemned
And therefore must consider the cost of having their debt paid.
They must consider how much it would cost to redeem them from hell.

That’s what Jesus wanted to know.
How much would you pay to not have to go to hell?

• Would you pay $100?
• Would you pay $200?
• Would you give up your job?
• Would you give up your friends?
• Would you give up your relationship?
• Would you give up your reputation?

Well, it’s important that you answer because those are exactly the stakes.

Let me read it again:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

Jesus was reiterating that following Him costs you everything.
You don’t get to keep anything.

That is why salvation is explained through the euphemism of death.
That’s why we baptize,
It symbolizes the death of the one who came to Christ.

Paul said:
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Romans 6:3 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?”

The decision to follow Christ is the decision to surrender all.
It is the decision to yield total control to Christ.
It is the decision to turn your back on you.

And let me emphatically say, any decision less than that
IS NOT SALVATION.

CHURCHES ARE FILLED WITH PEOPLE
Who make sentimental and shallow decisions regarding Jesus.

They believe He exists
They believe He died
They believe He can take them to heaven
But they refuse to totally submit their lives to Him.

Such sentimental and shallow faith is not salvation.
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

Moses faced the decision of genuine salvation.
Choose this life or the next.

Can you feel the fear he must have been confronted with?
• What will Pharaoh do to me?
• What is like to be a slave?
• What will I do without these comforts?

Oh I’m sure Satan hit Moses with every fearful thought in the book,
BUT MOSES OVERCAME WITH FAITH.

The writer of Hebrews gives us insight into his thought process.
(26) “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”

When Moses looked at the hardships of serving God,
He saw the value in the end.

Namely because “he was looking to the reward.”
(that is back to that focus of faith we talked so much about)

The point is that Moses saw the true value.

Jim Elliot (the missionary speared to death in Ecuador) said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

There lies Moses’ logic as well.

And incidentally I remind you again that this is the message of Jesus.

Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Those are such powerful parables from Jesus.
And they are so fitting.

First we have a TREASURE HUNTER
• In those days banks were not reliable so your greatest treasure you buried in the ground and gave yourself a map to be able to find it.

• The problem was that during the Old Testament Israel was exiled to Babylon for 70 years.

• A lot of treasure was buried and forgotten or lost.

This was a man who made his living looking for buried treasure.
And if you want more proof that this is so, just realize that he is looking for treasure in a field he does not own.

And on this day he hit the jackpot.
He found a great treasure and immediately hid it again.

Then what did he do? (he bought the field)
How much did it cost? (everything)

Do you see the parallels to salvation here?
It cost him everything.

But let me remind you,
• We are not dealing with a philanthropist here.
• We are not dealing even with an honest or admirable man.
• We’re dealing with a man whose only objective is to get rich.

Now it doesn’t make sense that a man who loves money that much
Would so quickly give up everything he has.

Unless that treasure is worth far more than everything he already has.
This calculating man saw that it was
And couldn’t make the decision fast enough.

Get the point?
Following Christ will cost you everything, but if you’ll just look to the value, you’ll see that it is more than worth it.

Next we have a TRAVELING SALESMAN
We find “a merchant seeking fine pearls”

What was he? (“a merchant”)
• He was not a collector
• He was not a museum curator
• He was “a merchant”

His goal was to buy pearls that he could sell for a profit.
He, like the treasure hunter, was after money.

And I promise you he knew the value of a pearl.

My dad was a horse trader, and it really was quite amazing to watch him on the job.
• He could spot a defection on a horse before it was even fully out of the trailer.
• He could tell you if a horse would ride or not before you ever put a saddle on it.
• He knew if it had been shot up with bute
• He knew if it had signs of cancer

And it would blow me away, but he could tell you what that horse weighed within about 5 pounds just by looking at it.

He knew horses, that’s how he knew how to make money on them
When he bought and sold them.

This man knew pearls.
And he finds one “of great value”

So what did he do? He “sold all that he had and bought it.”

Why would a man whose goal was to make money,
So freely get rid of everything he had?
Because the pearl was worth more than the total sum of his entire life.

THE POINT?
If everyone could clearly see the value of Christ’s offer,
Even the wicked would instantly jump on it.

So what’s the problem?
Instead of operating by faith they operate by fear.

• All they see is the cost…
• All the see is the danger…
• All they see is the inconvenience…
They never look to the payoff.

I’ve had conversation after conversation
With people who have taken this road.

I had two ladies in my office at separate times last week
Seeking benevolence help.

• Both of them admit they don’t go to church.
• Both of them admit they live with men who aren’t their husbands.
• Both of them admit their life is not the life that God desires.

I told them each about Christ.
I told them each about these parables of Jesus.

And I asked both of them if they would be willing
To give up their relationship in order to gain Christ.

And to my knowledge, neither has.

Jesus said, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
I asked, “Would you give up your relationship in exchange for your soul?”
And they said, “No”

It is fear of the unknown
It is fear of the “what if?”

THAT WAS THE DECISION MOSES WAS FACED WITH.
And Moses chose faith.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”

And here we are back to the Hebrews of this letter.

Which will it be?
• Do you want Christ, who is clearly greater, or do you want
Judaism because it is more comfortable?

And everyone in here would give sound advice to these Hebrews.
Everyone in here would tell them, “Take Jesus!”

BUT HERE IS THE KICKER.
• You don’t get to make the decision for other people.
• You only get to make the decision for yourself.

What is your Egypt?
What is it that Christ threatens to cost you?

• For James and John it was their father’s fishing business.
• For Matthew it was his tax collector’s booth.
• For the rich young ruler it was his money.
• For Paul it was his reputation.
• For the Hebrews it was their tradition.

What is it for you?

In order to follow Jesus I’ll have to…
And that is when the fear rushes in.

• Do you suppose Amram and Jochebed thought about the cost of defying the king?
• Do you suppose Moses considered the cost of leaving the courts of Pharaoh?

INSTEAD OF GIVING IN TO FEAR, THEY CHOSE THE PATH OF FAITH.
We see the choice of a slave.
Next time we’ll look at the next examples of the courage of faith.

This morning I simply want to encourage you
To NOT allow fear to dictate your life,
But to instead trust God.

• Trust that He can do what He says.
• Trust that He will do what He promises.
• Trust that His reward is worth it.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”