Hebrews 11:35 – 12:1

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.  And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.  And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.

• Still others – mockings, scourgings, chains and imprisonment.
• Great people – the super giants of the faith – poverty, destitute.  The world was not worthy of them.
• All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith – did not receive the promise – YET WERE FAITHFUL!

Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

• Those who were faithful in the midst of trials
• Those who went through difficult situations
• Those who endured to the end

They are looking over the balcony of heaven cheering us on.

Hebrews 12:1 – Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls.  (The Message)

Hebrews 11:40 – God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

God has provided something better for us?  What about them?  They were not any different from us. 

• They were not always successful.
•  They were not always delivered
• They were not always victorious

Or were they?

• In their weakness they were made strong
• They were the real heroes

They failed in their battle – Or did they?

• Not always successful in the eyes of man – but a great success in the eyes of God
• Faithfulness counts for everything
• Being faithful in adverse conditions will cause one to triumph in God!