SOMETHING BETTER

Hebrews 11: 24 – 40


What have you endured?
I mean what have you had to get through that made you call on your faith to make it through?
Were you successful?
We all have things in our lives that we have to go through. Some are harder to hold up under than others, but we all have to at least try to endure. Faith can help us tackle such things.

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 ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

I am prayerful that I have that amount of faith.
I am sure that we all know a veteran. They have gone through many more things than we can imagine, but I'll bet that when you talk to them,they never talk about what they went through. They sacrificed, they endured. They had something that helped them get home. I choose to call that faith. Why? Because with faith we can endure anything

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
37 They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Those are some strong folk!
They had a whole lot more to handle than we seem to today. I say this not to diminish the things we struggle with, but that if people from the past can be written up by God, then why can't we? We may not make it into the New, New Testament, but, God knows what we are doing.

Keep at it, don't give up. Climb that hill. Fight that fight.
There is a story of Gentleman Jim Corbett, who was a boxer and was taking on the champion of the world. Round after round, Jim took the beating of his life, his manager wanted to throw in the towel at the end of each round to save him from the beating. But, Jim would say; No just one more round.
By not giving up. By withstanding the blows. Round by round, Jim Corbett became the next champion of the world.
If a guy with the nickname of Gentleman Jim can become champion, well so can a guy named Roadblock.
How 'bout you?