becoming champions of faith: endurance

We continue our summer series of Becoming Champions of Faith. We are on the verge of the Olympics. These athletes have trained for years, if not all of their lives for this singular opportunity to win a gold medal. Will the prize be worth the effort? Absolutely! After years of training, investment, discipline, and deprivation of a “normal” life, most Olympians would contend it was worth it. The question for the rest of us who are not world-class athletes is whether the prize is worth our devotion. This is exactly where we struggle. We long for deeper meaning and purpose, but life becomes a grind of meaningless activity. We invest our energy, discipline, and effort toward a worthwhile goal, only to be disappointed and wondering if it was truly worth the effort. In the sermon Endurance, we return to Hebrews 11:20-29. The Holy Spirit is seeking to help these early believers to thrive, not just survive. One of the great resources they have is the power of faith, especially in those moments when they were confronting the question of, “Does it matter?” The answer comes back in the form of another question, “What will last?” If we have a “good life” that is still an accomplishment, but God says there is a greater more enduring prize that is possible in our lives. We have an exceptional life that can fill us with hope, joy, meaning, and purpose. There is a part of us that longs for this greater, exceptional prize because God has built us for it and wants to share it with us. As you read about the champions of faith found in Hebrews 11:20-29 notice how some of them risked everything because they realized that it mattered tremendously and it was worth everything in order to win this prize. We do not win it because we work harder and we are better than everyone else. These verses and this chapter remind us that we are fragile, temporary creatures but we serve an eternal, empowering God who meets us in every circumstance of life. These verses also help us to find an amazing strength that can only come through a living faith. Our most sincere prayer is that you will be filled with the living strength of our Lord as you read Hebrews 11:20-29. 

Hebrews 11:20-29 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. ²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. ²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. ²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. ²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. (NIV)