A Systematic Expository Study on the book of Hebrews

STUDY 33: FAITH THAT CONQUERS

Hebrews 11: 27 - 29

Our study today reveals faith in action. This is faith that conquers! There is faith that conquers Satan and all his agents; faith that conquers sin and all its consequences; faith that overcomes the world and the flesh; faith that conquers sickness and death; faith that conquers Pharaoh and his army, Egypt and all their magicians; faith that opens a way through the Red Sea; faith that brings permanent deliverance. This is the faith that arrests our attention today.

Faith conquers. The faith of Abel conquered sin and he received pardon and witness that he was righteous. The faith of Enoch conquered death and he was translated into the presence of God in heaven. The faith of Noah conquered unbelief and worldliness and he escaped judgement - saved from the flood. The faith of Abraham conquered human reasoning and he passed the greatest test of his life. The faith of Sarah conquered bodily weakness and she received strength to conceive. The faith of Isaac conquered parental partiality and he submitted to God’s ultimate plan. The faith of Jacob conquered human preference and tradition he acted under divine guidance. The faith of Joseph conquered attachment to Egypt and he fixed his eyes on Canaan. The faith of Moses’ parents conquered the fear of a cruel edict and they preserved the future deliverer. The faith of Moses conquered Egypt and its pleasures and he shook Egypt to its very foundations. Faith conquers!

PREVAILING OVER FEAR BY FAITH

Hebrews 11: 27; Exodus 10: 28, 29; Proverbs 19: 12; 16: 14; Exodus 11: 4-8; Proverbs 28: 1; Psalm 27: 3; Isaiah 35: 4; 41: 10, 11; Luke 12: 4-7, 32; Isaiah 51: 12, 13; Psalm 112: 7; 56: 3, 4, 11; Isaiah 12: 2.

Faith strengthens the heart and delivers us from the fear of man. Faith and fear are opposites, where one is dominant the other is dormant. The fear of man is a negative force, a tool of Satan, that weakens and paralyses man. Fear makes a man to tremble before a fellow man and to melt away when faced with duty or divinely appointed responsibility. Faith enables a man to shun the smiles or frowns of men. A man with God-given faith refuses to be discouraged by the greatest problems. Faith survives the fires of Satanic assault and flourishes under the dews of the Spirit. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king (Hebrews 11: 27). When Moses demanded of Pharaoh to let God’s people go, he was not terrified by thoughts of what the enraged king might do. With no army behind him, with no powerful officer in Egypt’s court to support his request, he made his demand to leave Egypt with all the children of Israel. Not fearing the wrath of the king. He did not fear man; he did not fear the greatest of men, a king; he did not fear the wrath of the king. His faith in God expelled all forms of fear of all kinds of men. For he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11: 27). He fixed his eyes on God. By faith he looked constantly at the Invisible One, and all visible things lost their terror. Seeing Him who is invisible encourages and strengthens our faith.

PASSED OVER AND PROTECTED BY FAITH

Hebrews 11; 28; Exodus 12: 1-7, 12, 13, 21-23, 27, 28; Psalm 78: 49-53; 1 Corinthians 5: 7; 1 Peter 1: 2, 18, 19, 5; Psalm 91: 4-8; 125: 3; Zechariah 2: 8, 9.

Through faith he kept the Passover (Hebrews 11: 28). The Passover was an ordinance, the first ordinance, given to Israel by God. It was called the Passover because God passed over the Israelites on the night when all the first born of Egypt died under God’s judgement. It is the LORDS Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt,...And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Exodus 12: 11-13). That first observance of the Passover was an act of faith. Moses and Israel acted by faith. All the firstborn of the children of Israel were delivered from the Angel of Death because they were sheltered beneath the blood of the lamb. Today we find pardon and salvation through the Blood of the Lamb, we have purity and sanctification in the blood of the Lamb as well as protection and security under the Blood of the Lamb.

Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. The sprinkling of blood has reference to personal application of the Blood of the Lamb, by faith. Believe in Christ and His atoning Blood, then will you enjoy the fulfilment of the promise: When I see the Blood, I will pass over you.

PASSAGE THROUGH THE SEA BY FAITH

Hebrews 11: 29; Exodus 14: 13-16, 21-31; 1 Corinthians 10: 1; Isaiah 43: 2-4; Malachi 3: 6; 2 Chronicles 20: 17; Jeremiah 32: 27, 17; Luke 1: 37; Mark 9: 23.

This is faith, living faith, mighty faith, faith that overcomes the devil and escapes evil. O for a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by many a foe, That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe! Lord, give us such a faith as this, And then, whatever may come, we’ll taste, even here the hallowed bliss of an eternal home. - (The Broadman Hymnal #277)

What an obstacle, what a difficulty, what a problem Israel had before the Red Sea. Hedged in on all sides, the Sea in front, a blood -thirsty army behind, the nation of Israel found herself in an impossible situation. By faith they passed through. They could not fight - they had no strength nor weapons; they could not fly - there was no natural way of escape. Yet they passed through. When all natural means fail, there is a supernatural means - faith - that provides a way of escape.

Observe Moses’ language of faith: (1) Fear ye not. (2) Stand still. (3) See the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today. What was the result of having implicit faith in God? God led them by the right hand of Moses with His glorious Arm, dividing the water before them (Isaiah 63: 11-13). By faith we can pass through any Red Sea before us. Fear not; stand still and consider what God can do; see the salvation of the Lord by faith; then go forward in obedience to His commands. He has opened the Red Sea. He never fails those who fully trust and unreservedly obey Him.

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