Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discus Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Hebrews 11:17-40.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discus Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Hebrews 11:17-40.
Bobby: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Bobby Gilles, and I am joined by Lindsey Blair. This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Hebrews eleven, versus seventeen through forty in our series called A Life Worth Living.
Lindsey: Pastor Jonah said that by faith, we choose to live for God's tomorrow, even when that means suffering today. But if you missed the sermon or need help remembering, let’s do the Midweek Checkup.
Bobby: Jonah began by saying that each of the people in this Bible passage were tested by suffering. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses’ faith all led them into periods of significant hardship. The scriptures celebrate their faith, but we must realize their faith was forged in hardship. If you are interested in a life worth living, a life that endures until the end and remains tender-hearted, you must learn how to suffer in such a way that your faith is strengthened, not stifled.
Lindsey: Jonah focused on Moses. He said that Moses chose to live for God's tomorrow even when it meant suffering today. Remember who the Preacher is saying this to...people who are daily suffering, daily being tested, constantly exposed to the weariness of discouragement and sin. It’s easy to wonder if your life would be easier if you weren’t a Christian. That’s the temptation of Moses in us. He accepted present suffering because he was confident of God’s future.
Bobby: Moses was a real human. He committed real human sins. But he pressed into God’s mission for his life. He learned faith in God. Christian Faith is not a pie-in-the sky blissful ignorance. Faith does not mean we do not pretend there is no pharaoh. We do not pretend there is no infertility, or there is no spot on the scan. Faith does not say "you don't have scars" or "they didn't actually do that to you.” Faith see all of it.
Lindsey: Our text says “It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.” Fortunately for us, a second Moses came. A second liberator. One who would spend his childhood as a refugee fleeing another another king seeking to kill male Hebrew babies, One who would spend time wandering a wilderness, one who would suffer and be tempted in every way. But he would not offer a lamb to protect God's people from judgment. He was the lamb.
Bobby: The blood of Jesus, shed for us on the cross, not only keeps us safe from the angel of death, it purifies us down to the soul and marrow so that we can be touched by God. We have a promise that, one day, God will wipe away all of our tears. So with faith, we choose to look for that day.
Lindsey: Next Sunday, we’ll continue our series called A Life Worth Living. And in Bible Fellowship, we’ll discuss a passage in First Peter, a letter that the apostle Peter wrote to groups of Christians who had been scattered throughout Asia Minor. Join us and bring a friend.