Faith is the Victory!

Encumbrances to F.A.I.T.H.

This is the last lesson in our series on Faith from Hebrews 11.

Introduction:

1. The book of Hebrews (thus, chapter 11) was written to believers who were considering going back
to their old ways.
a. Thus, Hebrews 11 teaches us about people who understood it is not where you come from but
rather, where you are going that is important.
1) Towards this end, ( Heb. 12:1 ) says, “Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance , and the sin which so easily besets us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
2) Notice there is a difference between an “encumbrance” and “sin.” One slows us down the
other destroys us.
b. Today we are going to look at five men who faithfully laid aside their encumbrances and
became heroes of faith!
c. Today's lesson is entitled, “Encumbrances to F.A.I.T.H.”


I. Faltering Faith = Gideon

A. He did not start out as a “great man of faith!”

1. Apparently his self- image was not that of a great man!
a. ( Judges 6:14-15 ), “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from
the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?' And he said to Him, ‘O Lord, how shall I deliver
Israel? Behold, my family is least in Manasseh, and I am youngest in my father's house.'”
1) This appears to be a common problem for God's people. They always seem to begin with a
low self-esteem.
2) When they spied out toe Promised Land, ( Num. 13:33 ), “… we saw the Nephilim (the sons
of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and
so we were in their sight.” “The “Nephilim” were giants, e.g. “Goliath.”
b. So Gideon required “proof” that God would use him “…as He said.”
1) ( Jdgs. 6:36-37 ), “Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you will deliver Israel through me, as You
have said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the
fleece only, and it is dry on the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through
me as you have spoken.'”
2) It happened just that way! ( v. 38 ), “And it was so. When he arose early the next morning
and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water.”
3) He still needed reassurance: next night dry fleece & wet ground. Later, he & servant
overhear enemy talking.
c. Those of us who are mature in our faith need to be supportive and encouraging to our brethren
who falter!
1) ( Quote Heb. 3:13; 10:24; Rom. 15:1-2 ), “Now we who are strong ought to bear the
weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. Let each one please
his neighbor for his good, to his edification.”

II. Additional People Required = Barak

A. Barak's faith was dependent upon other people.

1. When asked to lead the army of Israel into battle Barak demonstrated his lack of faith by needing
others to be there!
a. ( Jdgs. 4:6-7 ), “Now Deborah sent for Barak said to him, ‘Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel,
has commanded, “Go and march on Mount Tabor & take with you 10,000 men from the sons of
Naphtali & from the sons of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the commander of Jabin's
army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon; and I will give him into your
hand.”'”
1) God promises the victory. What could be better? We, of course, have the same promise,
( Rom. 8:31 ), “Since God is for us, who can be against us?”
2) But Barak was afraid, ( v. 8 ), Then Barak said to Deborah, ‘If you will go with me, I will go;
but if you will not go with me, I will not go'”
b. Go knows how much we DO need each other. This is way He added us to His family, ( Acts
2:41, 47 )!
1) Even our Lord had need for others in His life, ( Matt. 26:37-38 ), “He took with Him Peter
and the 2 sons of Zebedee; and began to be grieved and distressed. And He said to them,
‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.'”
2) Having additional people around is only an “encumbrance” we refuse to do anything by
faith unless they are there to support us! Notice, Barak reaches the point of faith where he
does not require Deborah…
3) ( Jdgs. 5:15 ), “As was Issachar, so was Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels …
there were great resolves of heart.”

III. There's No “I” in Faith = Samson

•  His life was ruled by his “EGO”! When our faith is about “self,” then our ego becomes an
encumbrance.

1. His ego was his down fall from the beginning to the end of his life.
a. The first recorded words we have from Samson, ( Jdgs. 14:2 ), “…Samson told his father and
mother, ‘I saw a woman of Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get
her for me as a wife.”

b. ( Jdgs. 16 : 15-16 ), “Then Delilah said to him, ‘How can to say, ‘I love you,' when your heart is
not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great
strength is.' And it came about when she pressed him daily … his soul was annoyed to death.”
c. Doing what was right was not high on Samson's list.

2. And if his ego wasn't being driven by his lust then he was being ruled by his anger.
a. ( Jdgs. 15:4-5 ), “Samson went and caught 300 foxes, tied each pair of foxes tail to tail, and put
one torch in the middle between the two tails … he released the foxes into the standing grain of
the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards
and the groves.”
b. ( Jdgs. 15:15 ), “And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and
killed 1,000 men with it.”

 
3. But at the end of his life Samson finally put his trust in the Lord and gains his greatest victory!
a. ( Jdgs. 16:28, 30 ), “Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God, please remember
me and strengthen me just this time … Let me die with the Philistines!' And he bent with all his
might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he
killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.”
b. Our faith will only be as strong as whatever we plug it into; if “self” (powerless!), if “God"
(POWER-FULL)!!!

VI. Tough Up-Bringing = Jephthah

A. One of the heaviest “encumbrances” we need to lay aside is our family history!

1. Jephthah had a rough start…
a. ( Jdgs. 11:1-3 ), “…Jephthah was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And
Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said
to him, ‘You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another
woman.' So Jephthah fled from his brothers.”
1) “Blended families” (we used to call them “step families”) have their own share of
difficulties in assimilation.
2) How many people here today come from a “blended family?” This will probably become
more frequent.

b. Yet in spite of how he had been treated (by those who were supposed to be “God's people”) he
was willing to lead them in the fight against their enemies!
1) ( Jdgs. 11:7, ), “Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Did you not hate me and drive me
from my father's house? So why have you come to me now that you are in trouble?' … Then
Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over
them.”
2) In spite of his up-bringing Jephthah put his faith in God and He delivered the people through
Jephthah.
3) “While our past may explain us, it doesn't lock us in!” No matter our past we can still
choose faith in God!!!

V. Human Weakness = David

A. God called David, “A man after My own heart,” (I Samuel 13:14). Yet David succumbed to human
weaknesses!

1. ( II Sam. 11:2, 4 ), “…David walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw
a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful … And David sent messengers and took her,
and when she came to him he lay with her.”
a. As a consequence the woman conceived a child. Later, to hide his sin, David had the woman's
husband murdered.
1) In this one incident we find all of the temptations of the world, ( I Jn. 2:16 ), “For all that is
in the world; the lust of the flesh [adultery], the lust of the eyes [lustful staring], and the
pride of life [fear of discovery and losing his position], are not from the Father, but are
from the world.” This from a man who is called, “A man after God's own heart”?

Yet 2. David didn't continue in to his weaknesses. But by faith, he called on God to help him with them!
1) ( Psa. 32:1-7 ), “ ?? How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! -
How blessed is the man to whom the Lord ??does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit
there is ??no deceit! When ??I kept silent about my sin, ??my ??body wasted away through my
????groaning all day long. For day and night ??Your hand was heavy upon me; my ????vitality was
drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  I ??acknowledged my sin to You, and my
iniquity I ??did not hide; I said, “??I will confess my transgressions to the Lord ”; and You
??forgave the ??guilt of my sin. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ????in a time when
You may be found.”

CONCLUSIONS:

1. Everyone struggles with “ encumbrances.” But instead of excusing them we need to, “…lay them
aside,” ( quote Heb. 12:1 ).

2. If you are a guest = then become one of Gods own, ( Acts 2:41 )!