Faith Rewarded in This Life

Hebrews
Written By Steve Estes

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-35
December 3, 2023

Hebrews 11:32-35: And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 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. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

Sermon Outline

1. Our author’s approach in chapter 11

2. A general and a judge

  • Barak

  • Samson

3. Four famous faithful foreigners

  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

  • Daniel

4. Two anonymous women

  • The Zarephath widow

  • The Shunammite woman

  • Summary

5. Some principles

  • Many times, God rewards our faith in this life

  • God rewards our faith even in times of national decline

  • God rewards the faith of people whose faith has faltered

Benediction

May God give you grace to persevere in faith, so when you’ve done the will of God you’ll receive what He has promised. — paraphrased from Hebrews 10:36

Steve Estes

Steve Estes has been senior pastor at Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, Pennsylvania, for over thirty-five years. 

Steve’s books and other writings began with his longtime friendship with Joni Eareckson Tada. As teenagers, they grappled with why God allowed Joni’s paralysis in a swimming accident in the Chesapeake Bay. Steve left for college . . . they kept in touch . . . she liked the style of his letters. When her 1976 autobiography Joni spawned thousands of reader responses, she asked Steve to join her in crafting a follow-up. The result was A Step Further in 1978.

Later, Wycliffe Bible Translators commissioned Steve to write the biography of former college friend Chet Bitterman, a Wycliffe linguist who was kidnapped and murdered by political terrorists in Colombia in 1981. Other books and articles followed, including When God Weeps (with Joni) and A Better December (a giveaway book for non-Christian friends at Christmas.)

Steve was educated at Westminster Theological Seminary, Columbia Bible College and Jerusalem University College in Israel. He has taught homiletics at Westminster and is a board member of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation.

But Steve would say his most significant life achievement was persuading college classmate Verna Stoltzfus to marry him in 1974.  They now have eight children and more grandchildren than can fit in a van.

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