our faith in God. I have four outlines for us this morning. The first outline is the life of faith, the life of faith, the warriors of faith, the Matthias of faith, and be a person of faith. So I'll start with the first one, the life of faith. When the book of Hebrews was being written, Bible scholars have never really said who wrote the book of Hebrews exactly, but they were written to a people who were contemplating of losing their faith. When I say losing their faith, it doesn't mean losing their salvation, but there were people who were shrinking back from Christ. The writer was imploring them to continue in faith and not to be a people of fear. So, if we look into that part of Hebrews 11, we will see the reward of faith. We will see Abraham, Abel, Enoch, Noah, they all got God's approval and received righteousness because of faith, because they trusted in God. and they all got the reward of faith. We will see the focus of faith from Abraham, a man who believed in God for a child for 25 years, and God blessed him. We'll see Sarah, we'll see Isaac, we'll see Jacob, we'll see Joseph. They all stayed focused on God's promises, even though none of them received it in this life. Everything God was promising them, they were believing in it. But the last one promise God gave them, they longed for it. We'll see later as we go on in our study. They never received it. We'll see the courage of faith by Abraham and Jochabed, the parents of Moses. We'll see Moses himself, he had courage. We'll see Israel, we'll see where the prostitutes They all demonstrated the courage it takes to face life's scariest moment and push through in any way. One thing we must agree up in life is that life is hard. Life is hard. And we must face it as a people. And that's the reality. Ever since the fall of man in the garden, life has been God told Adam in Genesis three, 17 to 19. He said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and you have eating of the three, which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cause is the ground because of you. In pain, you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistle, it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the plants. of the field. By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground. For out of it you are taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." So this is God talking to Adam. So life has been hard right from the fall of man. Even to Eve, God also spoke to her, I would surely multiply your pain in childbearing. In pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall have rule over you. So, life is hard, and that is what we must all agree on. There's no part of life that is easy. Every stage of our life is hard. It's hard to be a kid. I hear my daughter say every time, I want to grow up. And I always wonder, there's a popular song they sing now in Nigeria that adulthood is a scam. So I always wonder that you want to grow up, adulthood has its own problem. So to be a kid is hard. You are too little to do what you want to do. Even families are not even guaranteed anymore. Husbands are separated from wives. To be a teenager is also hard. There are temptations at every corner. You become busy. There's the pressure to succeed. To be a young adult is very hard. Most of you seated here fall into that category. You are trying to get your first job. You are trying to think about who to get married to. You are trying to Sort out your life and the future. And to be married once, marriage is also hard. It takes two people who are unselfish, meeting each other's needs. Even having a baby is very hard. I remember when I had my second, my son, my second child, and Pastor Andrew visited and he said, Mbola, I think you are sleeping very well now. And my eyes just popped at him that, what's this man saying? Then I understood the joke. You long to have a baby for nine months, and immediately the baby comes, you experience some hardship. You start having uncalled-for videos. Raising a teenager is also hard. They are rebellious, demanding, sometimes ungrateful. They feel they know their part in life, and they want to tell you, this is how life should be lived. Even letting your children leave your arms is hard into this world. Let me make a joke. When I went to Pastor James' house some times ago, I said, Pastor James, they've all left. How do you feel now? I was cracking a joke at him, and he looked into me and said, brother, you'll soon be there also. So letting your children leave your arms into this world is also hard. Turning them loose on the ward, hoping that they may make good decisions is also hard. Getting old is hard. I'm not old yet. But the little I am, I know I cannot. Sometimes I'm on the treadmill, and I'm trying to run as fast as I am, and I tell myself, don't deceive yourself. You're no longer 17 years old. Getting old is hard. The body doesn't respond to healing as it used to be. You can't do the things you want to do normally. You have doctor's visits. You have medication. So in any part in which you are, life is not easy. And that's what we must come to. There is not an easy phase of life. It is just life. And that's where we are on this part of eternity. And the things you will learn If you want to go on, is that you need endurance. You will need endurance. Hebrews 10, 35, 36 says, for you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what he has promised. So we need to get that into our system. We need to get that settled for every young person. looking for an easy life. Life is hard. As long as we're on this side of eternity, life is hard. So, for you to move on in this hard life, and for you to be a Christian, you need to live a life of faith. You need to live a life of faith. You need to live a life that believes in God and trust God. Michael made my job easy this morning. How many of you checked your chair before sitting on it? You just trusted it, you sat in it. You travel in the plane, did you go into cockpit to go and ask the pilot, where did we get your license from? Are you sure you'll fly well? You just trusted him and you hoped in God. That is what God wants us to act, to have in the simplest form. Have faith in God. Have faith in God. So for you to be a Christian in this hard life, you need to have faith in God. So that settles my first point. The second point, if you look through that book of Hebrews 11, which we read, You would find some set of people who are named Elias. They were the warriors of faith. Obviously, everyone on this list feel that mighty warrior role. They represent some of our various victory stories we learned from childhood. We learned of Gideon. Gideon was a judge in Israel. During the days, the Midianites were always oppressing the Israelites. The Medians were like, they were said to be like locusts. They were innumerable. There were so many. They were beyond the power of the Israelites to deal with. Because of the Medianites, the Israelites actually abandoned their house. They started living in caves. They were living in holes on the side of the hill. The Midian would come in and destroy all they would produce. The Midians would come, destroy all their produce. And God raised Gideon up to face the Midianites and to be a deliverer. And if you look into the story of Gideon very well, Gideon, actually before he learned faith, He actually put a fleece on God, like trying to test God. But God moved away from fleece with him to make sure he actually walked in the right path by making him have faith in him. And what did God do? God make sure that Gideon learned the necessity of faith by trusting in God. When he was to go to battle, he had the amount of armies he was supposed to use. But God made sure to do what? To whittle down that army to nearly nothing so that he can learn the necessity of faith and learn to trust God, knowing that the battle and the victory which he had was not based on the amount of armies that he took to the battlefield, but because God In that part, we also learn of Jephthah. Jephthah trusted God that God had given the land to Israel by faith. And by faith with God, he defeated the Amorites. Jephthah is probably the most remembered for promising to sacrifice to God. He told God that if he would Help us in this battle, I will sacrifice to you. The first thing that walk out of my house, I will give to you. One of the funny commentaries I was reading says, maybe Jephthah was even yelling the name of his mother-in-law, so that she would be the first person, so that would be the sacrifice. But at last, his daughter, his own very own daughter, was the very first person that came out. And Jephthah carried out his vow unto the Lord. Nonetheless, Jephthah walked by faith in defeating the Amorites. Another good story of the mighty warriors of faith is the story of David. The stories of David are everywhere. And most notable was his confrontation with the giant Goliath, in which David boldly defeated these unthinkable foe with nothing but faith in a sling and a stone. The Bible says that Goliath cursed David in the name of his God. So it was a battle of gods. But it was a victory. David would go on to be the king of Israel, subdue many nations who surrounded Israel. But something that we must learn about the life of David as a mighty warrior was that he trusted God, he believed God, he walked with God. Another mighty warrior, if you look into that chapter, is Samuel. Samuel was the last judge and the first prophet. It was Samuel who anointed both Saul and David. Samuel was a man with an intense view to obedience and holiness. He's remembered as a man who obeyed God in righteousness, that when Saul was told to go and destroy the Amalekites. Is it the Amalekites? Okay, the Amalekites. And he left their king, Agag, only. And he even took some calf, some sheep, and left them. Immediately, Samuel saw Agag, the king. He was so moved to righteousness from God that he had Agag into pieces. after Saul has disobediently spared the life of Agag. So, in the life of these common warriors, David, Jephthah, Gideon, Samuel, one thing we would find is that there's a common trait in that all these men faced mighty battles in the name of the Lord. They faced giant opponents. They faced innumerable armies. They faced terrifying opponents. But they faced them in faith, and God gave us victory. If you look into Hebrews 33 to 34, as we read this morning, who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. They are remembered because their faith produced some of the greatest victories in all the Bible. Satele, Gideon, Barak, Samson, those ones conquered kingdoms. Samuel performed the act of righteousness by arcing Agab to pieces and obedience to God. David in no doubt obtained promises that God had made to him regarding his reign as the king. Daniel shot the mouth of lions. God helped him, like we learned last week. He was delivered into the lion's den. God shot the mouth of lions for him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they quenched the power of fire. Esther, for my weakness, was made strong. It was a list filled with the most amazing victories. from the most amazing warriors. The common trend is that every one of them had faith and they had trust in God. They are the type of victories that teach us to look at our obstacles as tremendous opportunities for God to do something amazing. You could look into the obstacles you're going through in your life could look at them in the face, and you could remember the God of the Bible, that as he has given these ones a victory, he is also able to help you and see you through and give you victory. You can remember that with God, nothing, nothing is impossible. And that is the God which we've come to serve. We won't remember all the stories if the odds were so small. If the Gideon army were one million and they were so mighty that they would defeat the opponent flat. If Barak's enemy were only 20 chariots. If Barak's army, sorry, enemy were only 20 chariots instead of 900. who won't remember this victory. If Goliath was just a short man that wanted to come and fight David, it would have been the common thing, it's normal. Or if Daniel was just thrown into a overnight solitary confinement. But the big issues, the big problems they were involved in made us, to remember these victories, knowing that they were not man-made, but God-made. And they were able to get these victories because God helped them. But one thing is common to them, they had faith in God. So those stories remind us that there is no enemy too big for our God. And that with God, anything is possible. From there, we learn to view the most difficult moments of our lives. If you are going through any big challenging moment of your life, God is calling you this morning, have faith in Him. They are the mighty warriors, but they were not the only one listed. They were not the only one listed. The third part of my sermon this morning is that some other people were also listed. They were called the matires of faith. In Hebrews 11, 35 to 38, we'll see these matires. While the first segment was one that has victory after another, this segment represents one tragedy after another. It is true that the first ones ended well. If you look into Hebrews 11, 35 to 38, it said, women receive back their dead by restoration. An example was the Shunammite woman. She received back a child which was dead. Elisha raised him up from the dead. That one ended well. But the woman still had to endure the agony of losing the child. She lost the child for a while. She went through the agony, through faith, God, using Elisha, brought the child back to life. But in this list, that is the only one that seems to end well. Others were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might obtain a better reservation. There were people who could have been free, they would have said, would choose to be free, not to be people of faith. They would have denied the Lord, and yet they refused to do it. They stood through horrific circumstances, but would not deny the faith. They were looking at the next life. They weren't looking at this one. Others experienced mockings. I don't know, maybe you could be experiencing one mocking in one area of your life. They experienced scourging. They experienced chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. To be sawn in two, let's explain it to ourselves. They were cut into two. That's what it means. They were tempted. They were put to death with sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute. They were afflicted. They were ill-treated. They were men of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts. They wandered in mountains and caves. and oars in the ground. The stories we read, we're reading are real stories. They are not fictions. Men lived this life and are still living this life till now because of their faith. They could have been chosen to refuse the faith, but chose to go through this. Do you remember the story of Elijah and Jezebel? Let's recall a little bit. How many prophets that lost their life under the wicked reign of Jezebel? 400 survived though, but so many were forced to flee to caves. These are not glamorous stories. Even as we hear the victories of faith of the mighty warriors, we also look at the matires of faith. They're having the stories of faith we like to hear, we like to hear the good ones that ends in victory. They are the ones that look like tragedies, and yet these stories are so true, genuine, and they are so real. They are the mighty Matthias of scripture. Multitudes of people will face opposition, just as terrifying as those in the first part of this list. but people who were not delivered in this life. So, their stories was like the story of Gideon battling the Midianites and they lost. Or Barak or Samson or Jephthah not being granted victory. It would be like Goliath killing David or the Hebrew boys perishing in the fiery furnace. One thing I want us to note this morning, the outcome would not have changed the fact that their faith was genuine. In fact, you remember those Hebrew boys which we mentioned, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I'm sure that they were very grateful for the outcome, but their faith was there regardless. How many more had faith just as strong and were not deluded? Let's go into the story of Paul and Stephen in the Bible. Paul was stoned. Stephen was stoned. Stephen died while doing the persecution after being stoned. Paul was delivered. Paul went through shipwreck. He went through beatings. He went through imprisonment and God delivered him. Both of them were stoned, but God delivered one. But both of them had faith in God. So Stephen was a man of faith. He's a man that was bold. What am I trying to say this morning as we go on? As we look at the first group of people, as they remember of our greatest obstacle, that those are our greatest obstacle could be greatest, great opportunities for God to deliver us. And that God can do anything which he desires to do. And that we know that with God all things are possible. We also look at our second group of people. And remember that faith is just as necessary when things are not going as you hope. When things are not going the way you desire it, faith is also necessary. There is a movement of the church today that try to teach people that faith is only real if it ends in miraculous victory. No. doesn't end in miraculous victory. God is still sovereign, and God is still God, and our faith in Him is as real as when the victory comes. Amen. So, their faith was so real, And their deeds were mentioned in the Fates and in the Hall of Fame of Fates, even though they were not delivered in this world. And yet, they didn't get the great deliverance. So, let no one tell you that the problems you are going through is because you lack faith. You have faith, you trust in God, God is sovereign, your faith is as real as when the victories come, and when the victories don't come, it's not the produce of your faith. Have faith and trust in God, because he himself knows just where and how to meet you at the point of your needs. So you look and sit down and say, oh, maybe it's a mistake. Maybe the way things are going, I've seen people say, maybe what I'm going through in my life is because I do not have faith in God. You're a Christian, have faith in God. The circumstances of your life and the issues that is going with it, is not showing that because you do not have faith in God. These Matthias had faith in God, but they were not delivered in this world. So, as I tie up my message this morning, and I go to the fourth edit, be a person of faith. Be a person of faith. The point for these two groups, both the mighty warriors and the martyrs of faith, is that life requires faith. In life, you will face all sorts of situations. You will face hard things in life. You will face painful things. You will face scary things. Preaching the scriptures, I'm not a motivational speaker. It's a motivational speaker that will tell you, you keep going up and up and up and up and up, and there'll be no problem. That is a lie. These are the scriptures. He is the God of the mountain, and he's also the God of the valley. He's the God of the morning, and he's also the God of the night. You will face unexpected things. You will face unexplained things. You will face unexplainable things. But you need faith to continue. So there is no way to live this Christian life apart from exercising faith. Because there are promises to believe. There are dangers to face. their hardship to endure, their decisions which we would make and we'll make them by faith and our trust in God. So if you think that you can skate through this life as a Christian and never have to walk by faith, you are sorely mistaken. That is the point to which the writer was trying to make to the Hebrews and that is what God is telling us this morning. Was there a tight spot for the Hebrews? And if there's a tight spot for you now? Yes. Was life hard? Yes. Was it expected? Most likely not. They weren't expecting it. But this was their time and this was their battle. It was time to endure and it was time for them to have faith. So can I encourage you as well this morning Do you suppose that in this life, all the struggles you face is some sort of mistake? I've seen someone, I always talk with her, and says, no, what I'm going through is because of my mistake. I'm not saying that you can't be having issues in your life because of mistakes. But even in your mistakes, God is sovereign, and he knows it all. God knows what he's doing. He knows all about the things you will face. He's asking for faith from you. Trust in God in the midst of all this. That is the message to the struggling Hebrews. And that is the message to you this morning. Do you suppose that your situation is other than Gideon? Do you suppose that you are more afraid than David when he faced the giant Goliath? Do you suppose that your struggle is any greater than those who are sworn into two? They didn't shrink back. They didn't give up. They had faith. And that is what God wants from you. He wants the endurance of faith. Everyone listed in Hebrews 11 have two main things in common. Every one of them gained approval because they had faith in God. Every one of them did not receive what was promised. You won't find a single person in the history of this world, not one single person in the history of this world, who ever pleased God apart from coming to God by faith. It is the universal requirement for us to please God. Let's open our scriptures this morning to Hebrews 11.6. I want us to open together. Open your Bibles. If you have them on the tab, I want us to open them together and we'll read together. Are we there? So let's read together in chorus. And without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is any one of those who seek him. Amen. Every person on this list gave God faith. Some of them had some pretty significant hiccups in their life, too, just as you admit. But God wasn't measuring them by their failures. He was measuring them and responding to them by their friends. Some of them did have great victories, but none of them received the promise. The writer alludes to the promise he is referring to by telling you the outcome of the main promise. And that promise was alluded to in verse 40. At the end of verse 40, he tells you that the main promise is talking about God's promise that will make everyone perfect, that will make us righteous, that will make us be able to come to Him. Have you received that promise? And that promise is the promise of His Son. If this one could face giants without knowing who Jesus was, then surely we can face our struggles, having known who he is, if you are a believer. The implication is huge on us. You have received the greatest promise God has ever made, and now you are contemplating to walk away from it because of the struggles you are facing in North Cyprus. The saints of old, certainly, they never did. By all means, you are encouraged this morning. Stand firm. By all means, have faith. By all means, cling to Jesus. Don't walk away from him. Be a person of faith. He has promised us he will never leave us nor forsake us. Amen. Let's bow our heads. Our father, we thank you for your word this morning. We thank you because you've called us to live a life of faith. And only in that, we can work with you and please you. Lord. Is there anyone among us this morning? We don't know that promise. We ask so god that you whisper into their ears and show them the promise of your son. Lord, we ask for so many people who may be seated here who may be weak in faith. Lord, we ask that you strengthen the feeble nails. We ask that you strengthen challenges of life, direct buffeting of the enemy, that you'll help their faith to stand strong. Because as we sang this morning, Christ is our hope in life and in death. In Jesus' precious name, we are praying.