Faith Rewarded Tomorrow

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:35-40
December 17, 2023

Sermon Notes

Hebrews 11:35-40, NIV: 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. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:35-40, ESV: Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated — of whom the world was not worthy — wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Outline:

1. True faith may seem unrewarded in this life

• Being confined

• Loss of home or comfort

• Physical pain

• A painful death

• Emotional pain

2. God commends his faithful by contrasting them with the world

• What God condemns

• What God loves

3. God’s great plan for those with faith

• Verse 40 is speaking of Old Testament believers after death

• Verse 40 is also speaking of all believers on the world’s final day

Benediction

Romans 15:13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Faith Rewarded in This Life

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

Sermon Notes

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.

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

Faith at the Walls of Jericho

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:30-31
November 19, 2023

Sermon Notes

Hebrews 11:30-31: By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Outline:

1. The setting

2. Several days earlier...

• Spies are inside the city

• In Rahab's house

3. Jericho vs. Jehovah

• Day one

• Days two through seven

4. Lessons

• True faith overcomes insurmountable odds

• True faith results in doing

• True faith saves even the most unworthy

Moses' Faith Rescues Others

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:28-29
November 12, 2023

Sermon Notes

Hebrews 11:28-29: By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

Outline:

1. The Israelites believed the warning that judgement was coming

• Punishing plagues

2. The Israelites believed Moses' directions to escape the tenth plague

• Only one method of salvation was given

• The people obeyed

• That dreadful night

3. Crossing the Red Sea

• 600,000 freed men and their families march out of Egypt

• God leads them south

• Pharaoh goes after them

• The miraculous parting of the Red Sea

4. Lessons

• True faith benefits not just yourself, but others

• True faith believes not just the Bible's good news, but also the bad news

• True faith always focuses on God as Savior, not on imitating the actions of true believers

The Faith of Moses

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:24-27
November 5, 2023

Sermon Notes

Hebrews 11:24-27: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 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. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he preserved because he saw him who is invisible.

Outline:

1. The life Moses was adopted into

• The food he was served

• The surroundings he grew accustomed to

• The first-rate education he received

2. When he was grown, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter

• He chose one kind of life and forsook another

• What life did Moses choose?

• What life did Moses refuse?

• The result of his choice

3. How was Moses able to do this?

• He was enabled by faith

• He considered the facts

• Fact: Sin brings pleasure -- heaven brings ecstasy

• Fact: Sin's pleasures are brief -- God's ecstasies are forever

4: Conclusion

Faith for the Next Generation: The Parents of Moses

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:23
October 29, 2023

Sermon Notes

Hebrews 11:23: 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.

Outline:

1. Background: Israel's history in Egypt

• Israel (aka Jacob) moves to Egypt with his family

• The Hyksos take over Egypt and enslave the Israelites

• The Egyptians regain control

2. The family of Moses

• Parents, brother, and sister

• "...they saw he was no ordinary child"

• His parents' life-saving plan

• This is what the readers of Hebrews needed to read

3. How God spared Moses

4. Lessons

• It's absolutely necessary for believing parents to trust the Sovereignty of God

• It's the absolute responsibility of parents to raise their children from their earliest days to know the one true God