Stories of Endurance and the Motivations that Got People Through
—Hebrews 11 & 12 (Part 29 of Seeing Jesus in the O.T.)
Andrew Fountain – Sept 12, 2021
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1. Future Joy: Heb 12:2–3
keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
Stanford Marshmallow Experiment (1970)
Used children age four to six as subjects
The children could eat the marshmallow, but if they waited for fifteen minutes without giving in to the temptation, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow.
Only 1/3 managed to wait.
10 years later they followed up the children: those who had waited were doing significantly better.
Reasons/Motivations to Endure
Anticipated Joy
Faith
2. Faith developed & rewarded
Faith is like a muscle that needs developing
A step of trust
Abraham developed his “faith muscle”
Abraham’s growth in faith
Stage 1 —leaving his homeland:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
Stage 2 —not putting down roots:
By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham’s growth in faith cont’d
Stage 3 —waiting 25 years for a child:
By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to have children, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.
So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.