Faith Exemplified - Faith Unto Death and Beyond

Well, if you would take your Bible, turn back to Hebrews chapter 11. We will be right there in those three verses, verse 20, 21, and 22. Of course, I'm going to reference quite a few other scriptures. And honestly, I will be pointing you to go study those Old Testament scriptures that pertain to these three individuals before us. There is a lot in the book of Genesis about these men, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And I do encourage you to go study and get the full picture of what we have here. Now, we're moving along in our study of chapter 11.

I know I have said this over and over, but I do see chapter 11 as the Hall of Fame of the Saints of God. If you do some study and listening on your own, you'll run across others who use that type of language. But we're about halfway done if you count the verses. But so far, I believe we are clearly seeing how these men and women live the life of faith and how each of their unique examples do relate to us.

Although they lived in an entirely different time and place, although their walk with God looked much different than our walk with God in our day, there is quite a lot that we can learn from their examples if we spend the adequate time with these saints. Now, at this point in the chapter, we find ourselves in between what can be called the greatest and the second greatest of these Old Testament examples, where in between Abraham and Moses, again, I want to be careful saying these are great saints because I never want to give the impression that they were perfect saints. This morning, we're going to see just how imperfect some of them were.

We have finished up with Abraham, who was and is the greatest example of the life of faith from Genesis 12 on throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament. It is clear to see that the Jews saw Abraham as the father of the Jewish faith and the father of the Jewish people, and he definitely was. And within the New Testament, Abraham is esteemed as the first true man of faith. And that is because all who believe and trust in God by faith are truly spiritual children of Abraham.

It is safe to say that in the minds of the Jewish people and in the Old Testament scriptures, right after Abraham stands Moses, right behind Abraham stands Moses. It is safe to say that Moses is the second greatest example of the life of faith all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. We will see that from verses 23 to 29, the author presents Moses as a man of faith specifically and how he made decision after decision by faith and in faith. We will see that Moses was able to make those many decisions in faith because he knew faith was a way to life and faith was a way to live.

Just like Abraham and the rest of these Old Testament saints, Abraham or excuse me, Moses knew that faith was a way to life and faith is a way to live. But we cannot get started with Moses quite yet. In verses 21 and 22 right here, the author gives us three short verses that speak to a specific part of living the life of faith. And these examples that can be overlooked if we're not careful are very, very important. Again, I mentioned this in our scripture reading. There are some who just kind of zoom over these verses. But here the author shows us that Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, all three live the life of faith unto death and beyond.

In the scriptures we see that all three live the life of faith in their own unique way according to their unique circumstances with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. But Isaac, Jacob and Joseph live the life of faith all the way unto death and beyond. All three possessed and lived a future looking faith all the way to death and beyond. Now I know I'm jumping ahead to make application before we get into the verses, but look at how all of these saints really speak to us. We've seen the call to worship God by faith. Just like our great, great grandfather in the faith able. The call to worship God by faith.

We've heard the call to walk with God by faith like Enoch. He walked with God by faith. We've heard the call to obey God by faith like our great, great grandfather Noah. We're hearing the call to obey God's commandments, God's scriptures by faith. We've heard the call to live the life of faith all the days of our life. Just like Abraham. And this morning we will see the call to live the life of faith unto death. The call to live the life of faith unto death and beyond. We will see the call to live the life of faith unto death optimistically looking to death and beyond death. That might surprise some of you. I thought about it like this.

Maybe we should be planning our own funeral. Maybe we should be making physical preparations for our own funerals. Maybe we should be planning our own funerals spiritually. Well that's what this pertains to folks. We should be thinking about death and planning for death spiritually speaking. And I think you will see what I'm aiming at when we get into the message. So the title of the message this morning is all about faith exemplified, faith unto death and beyond. Faith exemplified, faith unto death and beyond. Let's read our three verses and then we'll take these individuals one at a time.

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau, his two sons. By faith Jacob when dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph, that's his grandson's, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph at the end of his life made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. So let's take each of these three individuals one at a time. Number one, let's look at the faith of Isaac. Number one, the faith of Isaac. Now I want to make three observations here with Isaac. First who he was. Second what the author is getting out or pointing out here in this verse.

And then third I want us to look at some strengths and weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses. Of course this will not be exhaustive. So first who was Isaac? According to Genesis 17, 19 and Genesis 21, 1 to 3 Isaac was the miraculously born and much loved son of Abraham and Sarah who was the child born of the promise through whom God's covenant with Abraham would continue. We'll see that this morning. What we know of Isaac and his life is seen mostly from the book of Genesis. His life was characterized by a submissive obedience to his father when he was willing to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah. We saw that last week.

Of course God intervened and provided a ram as a substitute. We read of that event in Genesis 22 verses 1 to 14. In the Old Testament Isaac is seen as a man of God who lived a long successful and obedient life in the land of Canaan according to God's command and promise. Not perfectly though. He fathered twins Esau and Jacob. Esau being the father of the Edomites and Jacob the father of the Israelites. We see that in Genesis 25 and Genesis 26. In the New Testament Isaac is seen as an example of great faith. Even foreshadowing Christ Jesus. Last week we saw how Isaac was this willing participant in God's plan for Abraham's life.

The Apostle Paul presents the great contrast between Isaac the son of promise and Ishmael the son of Abraham and Sarah's sin and flesh. And he gives this contrast to illustrate the difference between the covenant of grace and the law. We see that in Galatians 4 22 to 28. The New Testament also speaks of Isaac's act of blessing his sons Jacob and Esau by faith concerning the future. We're going to study that this morning. And James in his letter uses Isaac's story to demonstrate that true and genuine faith is made complete by and through actions and obedience. So we see who Isaac was. Of course this is not an exhaustive biography.

So maybe you take some time this week and read about Isaac and take note of how he lived the life of faith. Of course he was not perfect as we will see. But then second the point the author is making here in verse 20. The point of this verse. We need to make sure we understand that the author is pointing to a particular facet or a particular part of Abraham's life of faith. He is pointing to how Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. But he does not even mention the first thing that pops into our minds if we know this story.

It is not an overstatement to say that there were all kinds of deception lies and selfish motivations mixed up in all of these events. Even Isaac did not seem to be the great man of faith in all of these events. But basically this is what happened. Before Jacob and Esau were born in Genesis 25 23 God told Rebecca Isaac's wife and the twins mother that through each son God would birth two different nations. God told her that the older son Esau would serve the younger son Jacob. Now to further complicate things Isaac had a favorite son Esau.

And as the oldest son he would have normally received the best portion of the inheritance from his father Isaac according to Genesis 25 28. But Genesis 27 1 to 29 tells us how Rebecca and Jacob tricked Isaac. At the end of his life Isaac was basically blind and they used his blindness to trick Isaac into bestowing the best blessing upon Jacob. Genesis 27 33 tells us that when their trick was exposed Isaac was rather angry.

But according to Genesis 25 23 and later on in chapter 27 in the end Isaac did remember God's word that the older would serve the younger and in spite of his love and favoritism for Esau who was the older Isaac submitted to God's will and died to his desires. Now what is the point. What's the point. The author is pointing out how by faith Isaac blessed his sons according to God's will and plan not his. He is pointing out how Isaac blessed his sons in faith and divorced himself from his desires and any other person's desires. Of course it took some time and some working in Isaac. And this all pertain to God's promises given to Abraham.

At the end of his life Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing that he nor his father Abraham ever received a blessing that neither he nor his son Jacob nor his sons ever received. Isaac simply and truly blessed Jacob with a blessing from God pertaining to the promises God made to Abraham believing that God certainly would fulfill his promises in his own way in his own time even if he could not fully understand or understand at all what was taking place here.

Now we may not see it yet but there certainly are things here that we can learn and there certainly are things that do apply to us and we'll get to that as we go through the message and really especially in the conclusion. The third I want to point out his weaknesses and strengths. This is Isaac. Some of his weaknesses and strengths. Of course there's quite a lot we could get into here. I will not be exhausted but I'll start with some weaknesses. First Isaac had a problem with favoritism in the family. Isaac had a problem with showing favoritism in the family. He loved and favored Esau over Jacob according to Genesis 25, 27 to 28.

I'll read those two verses. When the boys grew up, this would be Jacob and Esau, Esau and Jacob. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. While Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents, Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game but Rebecca loved Jacob. And we need to see the consequences of Isaac's favoritism in the family. Well that led to family conflict. Lots of family conflict. Family conflict that played a major part in the deception, the lies and the tricks surrounding the proper blessing upon the sons, which was all tangled up in God's purposes and God's plans here. Now there is a lesson here folks.

We can never show favoritism in our family. We can never show favoritism in our family. And we're going to see that favoritism is a lot of consequences and ramifications. But then second, Isaac was passive in his leadership in the family. According to what we see in Genesis 27, Isaac was really disengaged in this family crisis and conflict. And this passivity and his lack of leadership led to the escalation of these events.

Instead of asserting his leadership in the family, according to God's will and God's promises and de-escalating a crisis and conflict according to God's will, he was passive and he allowed the situation to get worse and worse. Now, dads, I'm speaking straight to you. Are you passive in your leadership? Do you sit back and let mom take care of things? Isaac should have stepped forward and led according to God's will and God's purposes. Now dads, it is your responsibility to lead. Don't be passive. If you're passive, there will be consequences and ramifications later down the road that you may not see until it's too late.

But Isaac also had a few strengths. I want to point out just two. First in his early life, he demonstrated great, great faith and obedience. I'm referring to when he allowed his father to offer him up on the altar before God to be offered as a burnt offering to God. Now this is simple. This is great and hard to believe, but this is simple. In the toughest test of his faith, Isaac obeyed God and it could have cost him his life. He allowed himself to be bound and put on the altar before God to be offered as a burnt sacrifice to God. We read the story. He did not argue or resist. The lesson here for all of us is this. We sang about it last week.

Is our all on the altar of sacrifice? Is our all on the altar of sacrifice? But Isaac in his later life demonstrated a great faith even unto death and beyond. That's what we see here in Hebrews 11 verse 20. Even though he certainly did struggle, ultimately he demonstrated that he was a man of faith in death and beyond. He blessed his son Jacob believing by faith that God would fulfill his promises through Jacob. Like I said, all this, this all pertain to God's promises given to Abraham. At the end of his life, Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing that he nor his father Abraham ever received.

A blessing that neither he nor his son Jacob nor his sons would ever receive. Isaac simply and truly blessed Jacob with the blessing from God pertaining to the promises God made to Abraham, believing that God certainly would fulfill his promises in his own way, in his own time, even if he could not understand at all. So here the author gives us the faith of Isaac. And notice he's highlighting one facet, one side of Isaac's faith. Isaac believed God by faith unto death and beyond with a spiritual optimism. He had a future looking faith unto death and beyond pertaining to the fulfillment of God's plan. I like how the Amplified says it.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, believing what God revealed to him, even regarding things to come. And at the end of the verse, it references Genesis 27, a few verses. Now what do we need to take here and apply at this point in the message? This is simple. Just like Isaac, we are to live the life of faith all the way to death and beyond with spiritual optimism. Spiritual optimism. By faith and in faith, we are to live a future looking faith unto death and beyond pertaining to the fulfillment of God's plan. At the conclusion of the message, I will unpack that a little more. Next number two, I want us to look at the faith of Jacob.

The faith of Jacob. It's obvious. It's right there in verse 21. Now I'm going to approach Jacob the same way. First I want us to see who he was. I want us to see what the author is pointing out here. And then third, I want us to look at some of his strengths and some of his weaknesses. The first, who was Jacob? It should be obvious to us, but Jacob was the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah. But if we do some study, some of the first things we see about Jacob are not very pleasant, not very Christian. Some of you know this, but Jacob was a selfish, was selfish and devious.

Genesis 25, 29 to 34 in chapters 27 verses 1 to 19 tell us that he gained his older brother's birthright and his father's blessing through devious deception. But God chose to pursue and love Jacob. As seen in Genesis 28, 1 to 10, God met with him at Bethel with a covenant of promise concerning the land, his descendants and a blessing. And God used some difficult times and experiences in his life to humble Jacob. His years with Laban humbled him greatly. And his dramatic wrestling with God turned out to be a tremendous spiritual change and turning point in his life.

According to Genesis 32, 24 to 30, these are the events in which God gave him a new name, Israel, which means one who struggles with God. Through his 12 sons, Jacob became the patriarch of the nation of Israel, seen in Genesis 35. And as one writer put it, his life showed both man's sin and weakness and God's persistent grace, forgiveness and love. That's true. Just like with Isaac, the New Testament has a good deal to say about Jacob. The New Testament presents Jacob as a great example of God's sovereign choice and an example of persevering faith, even through sin and failure.

In Romans 9, 10 to 13, the apostle Paul used Jacob to illustrate God's electing purposes, showing that God chose him over Esau even before they were born and not based on human works, but only according to God's purpose and plan. And we are seeing that the writer of Hebrews lists Jacob here in the Hall of Fame of the saints of God. And in Matthew 22, Jesus referred to Jacob when affirming the reality of the resurrection. He called God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the New Testament, Jacob is seen not as a model of perfection, but as a testimony of faith, the promises of God and God's unfolding story of redemption from man and man.

And just like with Isaac, there are quite a few lessons to learn here from Jacob's life and we will get to that as we go through the message and especially at the conclusion of the message. But second, the point of the author, the point the author is making here in this one verse. Actually the author shows us two things about Jacob. One's more important than the other, but they're both related. First and foremost, like Isaac, Jacob lived the life of faith unto death and beyond in that spiritual optimism. He had this future-looking faith. And notice what he does in his dying.

He blessed not his sons, but he blessed his grandsons according to Genesis chapter 48 verse 21 and here in Hebrews when Jacob was dying, he blessed his grandsons. And there are some different things going on here in this blessing. First off, he treated his grandsons like his sons and right after, he changed the order and the ranking of the grandsons. When he went further, he made the younger grandson more important than the oldest, just like Jacob and Esau. Now what's the point here? Actually the author's point is the same with Isaac. The author is showing us how in faith Jacob blessed his grandsons according to God's will and God's plan.

He is pointing out how Jacob blessed his grandsons by faith and in faith. And all this pertain to God's promises given to Abraham. At the end of his life, Jacob blessed his grandsons with the blessing that he nor his father Isaac nor his grandfather Abraham ever received. And again, we'll come back to this, how it applies to us later on. But third, let's look at some of his weaknesses and strengths. Jacob had many weaknesses, but I want to touch on two. First he had a devious way. He had this devious and deceptive way about him and Genesis 27, 1-29, we see that he cheated his brother Esau out of his blessing. Yes, he cheated him.

Now what do we need to see and apply to us right here today? Look, church, there's no room for lying, deceiving, and cheating in the lives of God's people. You see that? There's no room for lying, deceiving, and cheating in the lives of God's people. Trusty, truthfulness, straight dealing in business and taxes and with people is God's way. That's the Christian way. This is when the part of the message may seem like I'm in the book of Proverbs, but it does relate. But second, he showed extra love and favoritism for his youngest son Joseph.

We see in Genesis 37, 3-4 that the favoritism that he showed Joseph caused great jealousy and division among his older brothers, and the result, the brothers betrayed Joseph and they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Now I wonder, where did he learn favoritism in the family? Where did he learn favoritism in the family? Now look brothers, look sisters, notice something. Your dysfunction in your family, my dysfunction in my family, our unhealthy ways in our family, our sin in our family, if we allow these things to linger and to grow, then we pass them down to our children and our grandchildren and more.

Look, we just may be modeling to our children sin, dysfunction, and unhealthy ways in the family that we inherited from our parents and our grandparents. And just think, our sons and our daughters, when they become adults with their own families, they may live out sinful behavior that came from our grandparents that we knew and their great grandparents that they never knew. Let that sink in. We're seeing generational sin and dysfunction. Jacob had a few strengths as well, I want to point out too. First he transformed, he was transformed in a very big way through his struggle with God.

In Genesis 30 we see that Jacob encountered God and he had a great, great struggle with God and he lost. Look folks, any time a man struggles with God, they always lose. And through his struggle with God, he was changed forever, both physically and spiritually. He truly went from a self-centered, self-reliant, scheming deceiver to being a humble servant of God. He truly was transformed which led to a new capacity for repentance and spiritual growth and maturity and useless for God. Now this is where I have to ask you, have you been transformed by God? Are you still dead in your trespasses and sins?

At best do you have a covering of Christianity and religion? Have you been transformed from the inside out? Second, he remained true to God's covenant, the covenant he inherited from his father and grandfather and the covenant he would pass down to his grandchildren. In Genesis 28 and here in Hebrews 11, 21 we see that Jacob loved and cherished God's blessing on his life and the covenant promises of God. He truly trusted God to fulfill the promises he had made with his grandfather, Abraham and his father Isaac. And just like with his father Isaac, all this pertained to the promises of God given to Abraham.

At the end of his life, Jacob blessed his grandsons with the blessing that he nor his father Isaac nor his grandfather Abraham ever received. Jacob simply and truly blessed his grandsons with the blessing from God pertaining to the promises of God that he made to Abraham, believing that God certainly would fulfill his promises in his own way, in his own time, even if he could not see or understand them. So here the author gives us the faith of Jacob and he emphasizes one side or one facet to Jacob's faith. He believed God by faith unto death and beyond with a great spiritual optimism.

Just like Isaac, Jacob had a future looking faith unto death and beyond. Again I'll read this verse in the Amplified. My faith Jacob as he was dying blessed each of his sons Joseph and bowed in worship leaning on the top of his staff. But there's one more thing I want to point out with Jacob that we do not see with Isaac or Joseph. I've just read about it. The author points out that Jacob was a man of worship, just like his great-great-grandfather Abel. You see that? Now there is some confusion in the language which describes Jacob leaning on his staff and there's some discussion of the order of these events.

This actually took place before he blessed his grandsons but the author of Hebrews reverses the order but we have to overlook those things to see what the author is telling us. This is simple. The author is telling us that Joseph was a man of worship. Joseph was a man of worship and that he blessed his grandsons and he worshiped. In Luke Church we must be preeminently a people who worship God. We must be a people of God who faithfully and consistently and resolutely worship God just like our great-great-grandfather Abel. Now what do we need to take and apply at this point in the message? This is simple.

Just like Isaac, just like Jacob, we are to live the life of faith all the way to death and beyond with a spiritual optimism. By faith and in faith we are to live a future looking faith unto death and beyond pertaining to the fulfillment of God's plan. I promise I will unpack that here in a moment. Number three, the last of the three, the faith of Joseph. This obvious is right here in verse 22, the faith of Joseph. Just like with Jacob and Esau, I want to make three observations. First I want us to see who he was.

Second what the author is pointing out here in verse 22 and then third I want us to see some strengths and weaknesses in Joseph as well. So first who was Joseph? According to Genesis 37, Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob and Rachel. As we have seen, he is portrayed as a young son who was loved and highly favored by his father above the other brothers. Joseph was gifted by God with prophetic dreams that told of his future greatness. We see that in Genesis 37. He was despised and betrayed by his jealous brothers, sold into slavery and taken to Egypt even though he was falsely accused and imprisoned as seen in Genesis 39.

God elevated him to the second in command in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh after he interpreted dreams that predicted years of plenty and years of famine for Egypt. In the end, Joseph was enabled by God to use his great position to save Egypt from ruin and to save his own family who had betrayed him. As we see in Genesis 45, he was able to demonstrate great forgiveness for the wrongs committed against him by his brothers and he saw and understood fully God's providential plan in all of his sufferings. The New Testament presents Joseph as a great example of faith and God's sovereign guidance.

And in Acts 7, Stephen retells the story of Joseph, highlighting the rejection and sin of his brothers, God's presence with him all the way to Egypt and his rise to great power as a part of God's redemptive plan for his people. As we are seeing, Joseph is commended for his faith unto death here in Hebrews 11, even giving clear instructions that his bones be carried out of Egypt when God delivered Israel out of captivity. Simply, the New Testament clearly elevates Joseph as a man who trusted in God and God's assigned sufferings for his life and God's providential plan for his life.

But then second, the point the author is making here in the verse. Here in verse 22, we do not see Joseph blessing children or grandchildren. Here we see that he was commended for two things. At the end of his life, as he faced death, by faith he saw and spoke of God's deliverance of Israel, God's people, out of Egypt into the promised land of Canaan. He was so sure, his faith was so certain, that he gave instructions that his bones be carried out of Egypt and to be buried in the promised land of Canaan. One writer pointed this out. It is interesting that after the age of 17, Joseph spent all of his life in Egypt.

But by faith, he saw that Canaan was the land God had promised and he gave instructions that his bones be taken out of Egypt and to be buried in the promised land, a land that he spent very little time in. Now what's the point the authors make in here? It's the same. The same as with Isaac and Jacob, but different. The author is showing us how, by faith and in faith, Joseph believed in and spoke of how God would come to rescue his people from Egyptian captivity. He believed in and spoke of the Exodus.

And he proved that he understood Canaan as the promised land of God and that he gave special instructions that his bones be carried out of Egypt and to be buried in the promised land. And all these things pertain to God's promises given to Abraham. At the end of his life, Joseph spoke of that which God had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but that which they never saw and never fully understood the promised land. But third, some of his weaknesses and strengths. Believe it or not, Joseph had some weaknesses. First, youthful pride. Yes, Joseph struggled with pride in his youth.

From Genesis 37, 5 to 11, we can see that Joseph bragged pridefully about his dreams and foretold of his ruling over his family. Didn't really go over very well either. If you look at those events in Genesis 37, it really appears that Joseph's pride in his youth added fuel to his brother's jealousy. Look folks, this is a lesson here. Pride at any age is sin. Pride always alienates and divides. Pride always poisons and ruins. Pride always leads to father's sin and especially in youth.

But then second, although this may not be clearly seen and this may not have been all on him, it does appear that Joseph enjoyed and even relished in his father's love and favoritism. And one could say that the way in which he relished in his father's favoritism and the unique love his father had for him in that favoritism added to the brother's jealousy and anger. Again, the sin and dysfunction that is handed down through the family has wide ranging effects and it goes down through the years and even down through the generations. I will repeat what I said earlier.

Our dysfunction in our family, our unhealthy ways in our family, our sin in our family, if we allow those things to linger and to grow, then we pass them down to our children and our grandchildren and more. We just may be modeling to our children sin and dysfunction and unhealthy ways in the family that we inherited from our parents and grandparents. And just think about it. Our sons and our daughters, when they become adults with their own families, they may well live out sinful behavior that came from our grandparents that we knew and their great grandparents that they never knew. A question, what are we going to do about it?

Family sin and dysfunction, what should we do about it? Of course, Joseph had some strengths as well. I'll point out two. First is moral integrity and honesty. Joseph had great moral integrity and honesty. When he had the opportunity, Joseph refused sexual sin with Potiphar's wife, even though that decision cost him position and freedom. He demonstrated not just doing what was right, he demonstrated that he had moral integrity even in the face of great temptation when he was miles and miles away from home and he could have believed that God had abandoned him. A question, do we need moral integrity now?

We need moral integrity more than ever now. Second, his great and seeming faultless faith in the faithfulness of God. From the time he was sold into slavery by his brothers until his brothers appeared to him before him in Egypt, Joseph was faithful to God. He was steadfast in his faith. And we see this one statement from Genesis 5023. In this one statement, near the end of all these things, it shows us that he was steadfast. Joseph said to his brothers, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." And using Joseph as a great example, we see that Abraham lived the entire life of faith, yes.

But Joseph lived the life of faith, enduring faithfully the full gamut of rejection and repudiation, trials and tribulations, all that one could endure. So here the author gives us the faith of Joseph and he highlights one side, one facet of Joseph's faith. He believed God by faith unto death and beyond with a spiritual optimism. He truly had a future-looking faith unto death and beyond pertaining to the fulfillment of God's purposes and plans.

Again, the Amplified says, "By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and bestowed worship, leaning on the top of his staff." Now what do we need to take and apply at this point in the message? This is simple. Just like Joseph, we are to live the life of faith all the way to death and beyond with spiritual optimism. By faith and in faith, we are to live a future-looking faith unto death and beyond pertaining to the fulfillment of God's plan. Now at this point, I want to take a step back from the verses and I want us to look at the point the author is making here.

He was using all three of these men to make one point in their own unique way, living in their own unique God-ordained circumstances, facing their own personal struggles and sins, all three exemplified faith unto death and beyond. They all had an optimistic future-looking faith to death and beyond that was tied to a faith and belief that God will fulfill his promises and plans through them. But what in the world does this look like for us? We're not Jews. We don't live in Canaan. We're certainly not in Egypt. So how does this relate to us and what does this look like for us?

In the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, he promised them a land. He promised them descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and he promised them a redeemer. He promised them the land of Canaan, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and a redeemer that we know Jesus. And for us, the promised redeemer has come and he has promised to save law sinners today, sanctify law sinners that become saints today and to build his church.

And he has promised that he would provide for his people a home in heaven after death and that he will return to judge all sin and all unredeemed sinners and to make all things right. So as God's redeemed people, people of faith, just like our great-great grandparents, Abel, Enoch, and Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and we cannot forget Sarah, as God's redeemed people, we are to live the life of faith believing that God will fulfill his promises and that he will save the lost in our day, he will sanctify the saints, and he will grow and spread his church, and he will use us to do these things.

And we are to live the life of faith and believing that God will fulfill his promises of heaven after death for us and he will return to judge all sin, all unredeemed sinners, and to make all things right. So this message is really simple. We are to be God's people of faith, living the life of faith unto death and beyond. We are to have a future-looking faith, an optimistic faith, and get this church, this faith is to be passed down to our children just like Abraham did to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, and so on. How are we doing at passing this down to our children? Now I want to close with a quote from a Bible scholar named William Barclay.

I certainly don't agree with everything that Barclay believes, but honestly I couldn't get away from this in my study, and I think it drives home some application here. It did for me, I pray that it does for you. I will probably make comments along the way. Barclay says, "There is something of permanent greatness here." Think about that. "There is something of permanent greatness with these saints of God. The thought in the mind of all these men was the same.

God's promise is truth, for he never breaks a promise, 'I might not live to see it, death may come to me before that promise becomes fact, but I am a link in its fulfillment.'" You see that? These men believed they were a link in the fulfillment of God's promises. He goes on to say, "Whether or not that promise depends on me." He goes on to say, "Here is the great function of life. Our hopes may never be realized, but we must live in such a way that we shall hasten their coming.

It may not be given to every man to enter into the fullness of God's promises, but it is given to him to live with such fidelity as to bring near the day when others will enter into it. To us, all is given the tremendous task of helping God make his promises come true." Do you see that? God depended on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph to bring these promises true, and he's depending upon us to bring these promises in our day and for us, true. This is all possible because we know faith is a way to life and faith is a way to live. Let's pray. We'll commit these.