Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
the hallmark of a hero bravery integrity
selflessness they saved the day ask for
no reward and ride off into the sunset
the Bible also tells the stories of
heroes but they are always brave good or
simplice in many ways they’re people
just like you and me missing the mark or
dropping the ball what is it that in
Abraham or a sermon or a Moses have in
common that we should be telling their
stories even today what makes them
heroes abraham believed God and became
the father of many nations Sara believed
God and became a mother in her old age
Moses believed God and became the
deliverer of the people in bondage
they’re all connected by virtue of their
great faith the harbor
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most people even Christians decide what
they’re going to do by what they see
first and if you decide whether you’re
going to do what God says do on the
front end because you see it then you’re
not exercising faith and you have
canceled out seeing God move so we
regularly cancel out the supernatural
cuz we got to see the natural first many
of us are controlled by circumstances
than the devil because we’re waiting to
see first before we obey first
nullifying the movement of God faith
must precede sight if it’s going to be
biblical faith now having explained this
he now comes to his culminating section
his culminating point in the book he
said if I had some time if I had the
time I tell you about Gideon barracks
Samson just for David Samuel and the
prophets but I don’t have time on time
space to go and all these other folk I
haven’t gone into so since he didn’t
have a time I’m gonna take a minute to
tell you about these folks he didn’t
have time to go into detail on like he
did all the previous people in the first
31 verses of chapter 11 he starts off
with Gideon in verse 32 Gideon was a
judge but Gideon was not scared he was
third he was he was a passive guy and
then God called on him because Israel
was being invaded by the enemy and he
said Gideon I want you to go out there
and I want you to take care of the enemy
of my people so get in as scared as he
was without an amassed an army of thirty
two thousand men to which God said you
may need them I don’t
your arm is too big so I want you to
shrink it down shrink it down again
shrink it down again until you get down
to 300 God you got to be kidding me you
want me to fight an army that’s huge
with 300 men no get in I want you to
fight an army with 300 men and me so
guess what he did he dropped logic what
he could see comparing his 32000 with a
group that he was going to fight he
dropped his logic and he obeyed God when
he obeyed God he routed the army with
300 men because God joined the 300 when
he obeyed what he couldn’t see if you
asked him to logically figure it out he
couldn’t do it he had to do what God
said do even when got what God said you
made absolutely no sense at all so since
the author of Hebrews didn’t have time
to tell you I just thought I’d tell you
that by faith Gideon routed an army even
though he was scared to do it the next
name you get is Barrett if Gideon was
scared
berrak was weak he was a weak man he was
a man who ran from difficulty and ran
from trouble
in fact he got his strength from a woman
named Deborah and with the encouragement
of Deborah who had heard the word from
the Lord and transferred it to Barrett
he believed that word even though he was
a weak man and God used him by faith to
rout the enemies of Israel Gideon was
scared
berrak was weak and samson was a player
samson was a man who had moral dilemmas
when he was willing to operate by faith
God would supernaturally invade him and
use him to take care of the Philistines
so that the Bible says he killed one
thousand men with the jawbone of a
donkey and that is ending days he killed
war in his death that he had killed in
his life because when God got his
attention he would see the supernatural
enter into the natural the man had some
problems
the man had some issues but he still
shows up in Hebrews 11 it didn’t know
about the consequences but what it did
say was when you’re ready to operate by
faith you can see God show up Japheth
let me tell you about Japheth I’m only
telling you because the author of
Hebrews didn’t have time Japheth was the
son of a prostitute he was in a messed
up family situation but when God was
looking for somebody to deliver his
people he went over to Japheth and said
Japheth I know that I know that your
background in the best I know that your
family situation is it preferable but if
you will do what I tell you to do I’m
gonna use you in spite of your past I’m
not gonna let your past control your
present or what I’m gonna do with you
and your future but you got to do what I
tell you to do Japheth obey God and
routed the enemies of God in spite of a
poor background then there’s David
David’s David’s short David small
David’s young David’s inexperienced but
he runs into this mammoth man named
Goliath of Gath and in 1st Samuel 17 he
takes a slingshot
and five smooth stones and brings the
Giant down to his level and below how
did he do that because David said well
everybody else was looking up here and
how tall Goliath was I was looking down
there and notice he hadn’t been
circumcised says that man is an
uncircumcised philistine he hadn’t been
to the doctor
because it’s uncircumcised there is no
divine covering so I got him I may be
smaller I may be shorter and I may be
younger but in the name of God we gonna
turn this thing around so he didn’t let
his size determine where this battle was
gonna wind up so just because the author
of Hebrews 11 didn’t have time I thought
I’d tell you about the dead man Samuel
he says Samuel Samuel had a problem
samuel was weak as a father we find out
something was weaker the farther in and
when he was weak as a father we’re told
in 1st Samuel chapter 8 that his sons no
longer followed the Lord and so Samuel
had some flaws as a dad he didn’t even
win his own sons but when he was willing
to operate by faith the prophet Daniel
would be anointing the king of Israel
setting of the nation of Israel on a
spiritual course that would lead them to
a new direction now why does he go
through those names and why did I go
through those names because each one of
those folks by faith achieved greatness
wound up in the Hall of faith are one of
our heroes and Hebrews chapter 11 even
though they had flaws in their lives
every one of them had weak spots every
one of them had areas that they hadn’t
developed yet every one of them had
places that needed to be shored up and
strengthened but when they were willing
to operate by faith God graduated them
to our Museum the Hall of faith and made
them one of the heroes I don’t know
about your yesterday I dunno if you’ll
live by faith today God can still use
you tomorrow and recognize you for what
you are done and achieved by faith but
it must be by faith and faith must
precede sight if you’re waiting for say
it’s no longer faith when you face it by
faith God joins you in it when you face
it by sight
you take care of it he comes up the
airburst at the other verse 22 and says
and in the profits there’s so many am I
even gonna name him he said but let me
tell you what faith can do verse 33 it
conquered kingdoms performed act of
righteousness obtained promises like
Daniel and the Lions then shut the
mouths of lions like the three Hebrew
boys quenched the power of fire escaped
the edge of the sword and weakness were
made strong became mighty in war put
foreign armies to flight
he says faith watch this it’s
unprecedented in its power because it
can route whole nations it can turn it
can put out fires it can it can it can
make Lions keep their mouths shut he
says you don’t understand the power of
faith but you must be operating by
biblical faith which means faith must
precede sight let me tell you something
else about faith verse 35 women receive
back their dead by resurrection that’s
what Elijah and Elijah did they raised
up the dead sons of the widows they they
they they raised them up now let me tell
you how bad how bad meaning good faith
is faith can flip the natural order of
things
he says by faith God flipped the natural
order of things so that that which died
became alive some of you have
testimonies of what it looks like when
God comes out of nowhere and flips it
and you wonder where it came from the
way the Bible does that is with the word
immediately the God just came out of
nowhere and turned something he says and
others somebody say others verse 35 were
tortured not accepting their release so
that they may obtain a better
resurrection and others verse 36
experienced much
and scourgings yes also chained and
imprisonment they were stoned they were
sawn in two they were tempted they were
put to death with the sword they went
about in sheepskins goatskins being
destitute afflicted ill treated he says
now let me tell you about others this is
not the kind of testimony folk one of
here so let me tell you the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth so
help me God
anybody who tells you okay go live for
Christ and you will not suffer has lied
to you they’ve told you half of the
story
they’ve only told you half because he
says and others there are those who were
penalized for their faith he says
something very interesting that it’s uh
you might miss he says uh not accepting
their release that’s interesting he
talked about all this negative stuff and
then he throws in they’re not accepting
their release well now if you tell me I
don’t accept my release that means one
was offered to me okay if I didn’t
accept something I mean that rejected it
so they could have gotten out of their
torture they could have gotten out of
their mocking and scourging and negative
repercussions but they chose not to get
out of it they chose to say no I’d
rather die I’d rather be sawed in half I
rather be mocked I’d rather be scorned
thank you for offering me released but I
turn it down now why would they do that
nobody wants to go look for persecution
only a fool goes and looks for pain only
a fool turns down the opportunity not to
be in pain but he says they turned it
down two things you need to know they
turned it down one because of the reason
they’re going through
they’re going through it because of
their association with the Lord their
association with the Lord has put them
in this mocking predicament we not talk
about people who are stealing and
cheating and robbing and and and evil
and killing no no they didn’t accept
their release in other words the folks
causing them trouble was saying if you
deny the Lord if you deny your faith if
you compromise your character if you do
that then we will let you keep your job
then we will let you stay then we’ll
give you a raise then we’ll we’ll do
that you just gotta you just got to not
be Christian you got to go along with
the crowd you got to be secular and they
say I ain’t doing that
we’ll make it okay as long as you are no
longer a follower of the Lord no longer
a Christian go to church be religious
but don’t be a follower of Christ and
bring those Christian values in here as
long as you do that everything gonna be
okay they said no not accepting the
release not accepting the compromise
there’s a second reason they said no
they said no watch this now because they
saw a better resurrection okay that’s
what it says not accepting their release
because of a better resurrection what
will give you the ability to keep your
stand as a Christian and keep living by
faith is if you see something better see
one of the reasons we compromised our
faith is we don’t think there’s
something better so we’ll really go and
God will remember these principles we’re
all tempted to do it we’ve all probably
done it on some level or another in our
lives and we’ll do it because we’re
scared there’s nothing but when you
understand that God is a God of
Resurrection then you understand that
that situation does not have final
say-so in your life cuz God knows how to
give you
something better they saw something
better so radically that even the ones
who were threatened with death did not
renege on staying alive because heaven
was so real they were willing to give up
earth cuz they looked up like Stephen in
Acts chapter 7 saw Jesus standing on the
right hand of the Father and said I see
something better so go ahead and take me
up out of here cuz God has let me see
see the reason you’re gonna be able to
or we all ought to be able to die with
dignity it’s cuz at the point of death
he gives you dying grace and dying grace
means he lets you see heaven is for real
why you’re on this side so you don’t
mind crossing over that outside cuz he
lets you see something better that’s why
Paul says whether to stay here or go no
he said cuz to stay here it’s gonna help
you but to leave here gonna help me and
I don’t know which is better cuz he lets
you see something better see see what
the enemy wants to do is not let you
live by faith so you don’t get to see
anything better and as long as you don’t
see anything better you stay stuck where
you are and you stay stuck on what your
20/20 shows you and if your 20:29 show
it to you anymore you’re not gonna risk
it cuz you don’t see anything better cuz
you ever learn to live by faith but what
you learn to live by faith God lets you
see that he can resurrect situations
that you think are gonna kill you if you
make the right decision in it he says
and others are willing to risk being
fired willing to risk losing that
relationship winning the risk because
they they are gonna operate by faith in
their families as women as well as many
of you many of you will never see
financial victory in your family because
you’ve chosen money over spiritual
priority and hope if we rob god of
giving we say to God whenever you give
to me I’ll give back to you that’s not
faith that’s sight that he’s already
given it to you first he says no you
honor me first then you will see what I
will
with your bonds you won’t see it without
faith so you can pick any category it
operates in faith that he concludes here
ya 38 men of whom the world was not
worthy wandering in deserts and
mountains and caves and holes in the
ground okay let me say about folk for
whom the world is not worthy there are a
few people in the congregation right now
who this world is not worthy of what
makes the world not worthy of certain
people because they live so high in the
spiritual realm even though they’re
living physically in the earthly realm
that the physical realm doesn’t even
know what they talking about physical
realm think they’re weird the physical
realm thinks they’re crazy the physical
world thinks they’ve lost their mind the
physical world thinks that that they’ve
become fanatic the physical world thinks
that they’re psychotic it says the world
evening worthy of those kind of folk who
lived this way and the reason why many
of us don’t live this way is we don’t
know anybody who does we don’t hang out
with anybody who does we only live with
folk who live by sight and so we’d never
get to grow the faith cuz we hang out
with folk who the world is worthy of not
who the world is not worthy of because
they don’t live in this world they live
in that world while walking in this
world and what you want in your circle
of influence are some folk who live up
there even though they walk down here
they operate from Heaven’s point of view
consistently faith is how they wrote
it’s not a place they visit and so he
concludes he says and all these having
gained approval through their faith
watch this did not receive what was
promised because God had provided
something better for us so that apart
from us they would not be made perfect
okay
you may not get that when you first look
at it so let me I’m explaining Lucy he
says in all these all these Old
Testament Saints he talked about gained
approval by God by faith watch this
having not all received the promises so
son or many of the Old Testament Saints
didn’t get what they were looking for
Abraham never got to own the land God
promised he got the one door on it he
never got to own it although it was a
promise so they got to see God worked
but they didn’t get to see everything
God said he says the reason that some of
the Old Testament Saints didn’t get to
see everything God said was that God was
waiting on us who’s the US us in the New
Testament Christians that’s you and me
they’re theirs before the Christ before
Christ Old Testament then there’s after
Christ New Testament he said in the Old
Testament they got a bunch of stuff we
see miracles in Hebrews 11 but they
didn’t get it all because they had to
wait on us in other words they have some
stuff we don’t have you and I many of us
would love if we could go back to the
Old Testament and see Lazarus raised
from the dead sea crossing the Red Sea
crossing the Red Sea II see them
crossing the Jordan River see Elijah
raising up they had the dead woman’s son
we would love to see and say I want that
miracle but a lot of them would love to
be what else because you and I get a
freedom they didn’t have living under
the law you and I get some privileges
they didn’t have in the Old Testament so
he says the reason God
I told them and so they they could catch
up with us so the idea is they supposed
to learn from us we’re supposed to learn
from them so that we get the whole
package of what God’s promises are for
his purposes in our lives so you and I
are supposed to learn from Hebrews 11 in
order that we might learn faith so that
we can experience based on their example
much of what they experienced until God
brings us all together around this
throne and men command Abraham have a
conversation you will hook up with Rahab
y’all be talking it somebody gonna be
talking to Sarah and somebody gonna be
talking about David and David oh hey let
me tell you about that David and Goliath
story let me give you some details that
didn’t have time to go over in first
samuel and you’ll be able to talk about
what God did in your life by faith so
we’ll be able to take the Old Testament
Christians and the New Testament
Christians and have a conversation about
the power of faith on both sides of the
cross I don’t know about you but you
ought to be motivated now to live by
faith that’s why we don’t want to see if
I had time the author of Hebrews told me
I don’t have no time but if I had time I
read to you the first line of Hebrews 12
therefore see whenever you see therefore
you got to ask what it’s there for
therefore since we have so great a cloud
of witnesses come on you’ve been in
church long enough to know when the
preacher says do I have a witness as
easy is that
do I have a witness is anybody who can
testify that God by faith responds is
there anybody here who can testify then
I trusted God when I didn’t know the
result and I saw what he could do is
there anybody who can testify
that if you’ll trust God in the dark
he’ll bring you to the light is there
anybody who can testify that the God of
the Bible does not lie and he tells the
truth
the author of Hebrews says do I have a
witness in fact he doesn’t want a
witness he wants to know do I have a
cloud of witnesses that’s a whole bunch
of folk who can testify that if you
trust God God is able to enter into your
situation even when you don’t see the
result and he’s able to turn that mama
out do i heavily is there somebody who
can testify that faith works in the
hands of God’s people
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the Bible abounds with people who
triumph through faith a whole litany of
people who decided to trust God over
themselves over other people and over
their circumstances the beauty of faith
triumph is that you get divine approval
it doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly
but it says of all the others who are
people of faith that they triumph
because they got a divine okay they got
a god stamp of approval and when you get
the highest approval possible in
creation then that means you are
victorious and you are successful
regardless of all the circumstances are
at any given moment I wish I could tell
you that a life of faith means a problem
that’s light but that’s not the world in
which we live that’s heaven on earth
there gonna be ups and downs but you
still can be approved where God says you
did it and there’s nothing that will
make you feel better
or be better than the divine approval of
God so let’s get divine approval because
we’re going to believe him even when
believing him is the last thing we want
to believe walk by faith not by sight so
that you can be part of the others who
are approved of God
the Bible tells stories of people that
today we call heroes they sought to
inspire humanity for over 3,000 years we
also have a story and is connected to
these heroes by virtue of our faith my
CD series heroes of the faith including
twelve sermons and two bodies but you
can have that your gift of any amount
rubbish it’s my way of saying thanks for
helping us with God’s words to a good
indeed visit our website at Tony Evans
org and request your copy today hello
this is dr. Tony Evans inviting you to
join me and my wife and and our ministry
family along with Salem radio for a
wonderful trip to Israel November 7th
3/16 I want you to go online and
register right now so that you can be
with us as we enjoy the sights and
sounds of the Bible coming alive in
Israel
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you
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you