November 4
Ezekiel 12-13
Psalm 119:97-104
Proverbs 26:18-19
Hebrews 11:17- 12:3
The Promise
“They were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 11:39-12:3 NIV
The writer of Hebrews finds that there are so many examples of persevering faith that he cannot list them all. He gives examples of incredible victories because of great faith, and he speaks of people who suffered terrible tragedies and extreme hardships and yet remained faithful. They were all commended for their faith and yet none of them received the fulfillment of the promise. The promise he speaks of is total and final redemption. They did not receive the promise because the plan had not been completed. There is a plan that God began with creation, carried on through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and continued through the judges, kings, and prophets of the Old Testament. Then Jesus, the Messiah, God’s Son, came to Earth as a baby, lived a perfect life, died, buried, and rose again to purchase redemption once for all. Those of us who have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord have seen the partial fulfillment of the promise. Our sins have been forgiven, and we walk in the newness of life because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. But we have not seen the complete fulfillment of the promise because we still deal with sin and evil. The final fulfillment of the promise is yet to come.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, God’s faithful people throughout the ages, we can run the race set before us. We each have our place in history. We each have a part to play in God’s great redemptive plan. Because we have the examples of so many before us who have endured great hardship, and the example of Jesus Himself, we can overcome the temptations we face, and we can be victorious. By fixing our eyes on Jesus, we can persevere. I love that this verse says Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Pioneer means that He has gone before us and paved the way. And perfecter means that He is perfecting our faith. It is not up to us to be strong and hang in there. He is building our faith. He knows exactly what He needs to do to make us strong. He knows what obstacles we need in our lives to develop faith that will persevere through trials. God has promised that there will come a time when there will be no more sin, no more tears, no more pain, and no more death. When Jesus returns and establishes His millennial kingdom, the Old Testament saints will rise and experience the complete fulfillment of the promise along with all those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. He will present us perfect and righteous to His Father and we will abide with Him forever.
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