People Too Good for This World is a sermon teaching us that what sets these people apart from the rest of the world is their faith and their faithfulness to God.

Key verses:
Hebrews 11:32-40

Hebrews chapter 11. If you will, turn to Hebrews chapter 11, and Lord willing, we’re going to look at verses 32 to 40. But before we get into all of that, I want us to read verses 37 to 39 because that’s really the theme of what we’re talking about this evening. We’re talking about people too good for this world. Now, maybe when you hear that, you think maybe these are people who have a tremendous amount of pride and very proud of themselves and very interested in themselves. They’re not interested in other people. That’s not at all what we’re talking about once you take a look at it. Look at Hebrews 11:37, it says:

Hebrews 11:37: “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;”

Hebrews 11:38: “(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Hebrews 11:39: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:”

Go back to verse 38 if you would. “Of whom the world was not worthy,” – people too good for this world. The world was not worthy of them. Well, who are these people? They must be very perfect people. They must be people who have no faults at all and certainly not sinners. Well, that’s not exactly the case. So, how does the Bible say the world was not worthy of them? Well, we’re going to look at that this evening.

Pointing to the Savior’s Coming

We’ve been for some weeks now going through the book of Hebrews and a few verses at a time, and Lord willing we’ll finish chapter 11 tonight. Maybe somebody’s tired of going through Hebrews. I’m not. I hope you’re not, but we’ve got two more chapters to go and there’s a great deal in those chapters.

But throughout this study of Hebrews, we see recurring themes, and there are a number of them. One of those themes is the concept that the stories, events, and people of the Old Testament, while there are real people and their experiences are real, and the stories are true, they all point to better things in the New Testament. Now, that is to say that everything in the Old Testament points us to the Savior, who was coming, and as far back as the third chapter of Genesis, is coming, is promised. So, the Old Testament points us to the Savior who was coming. The New Testament tells us about the Savior, who has come.

One of my mentors said that people in the Old Testament looked forward to the cross, and we look backward to the cross because the cross is really the center of all history. Now, unless you get led astray here, and I don’t want you to do that, I’m not saying the number of years between creation and the cross and the number of years between the cross and the end is going to be equal, that’s not what I mean when I say the center of history. What I do mean is it’s the focal point. Think of a target, and you think of all the rings on the target, but the one in the middle is the one that counts the most.

Now, a wonderful and important thought to consider is that these folks look forward to the Savior who is coming, but it’s better to know the Savior has come. Therefore, the key word in the book of Hebrews, and we’ve seen this all the way through, is the word “better.” And that’s in this passage again. We’ll come back to that in a little bit.

But Hebrews 11 is a record of the testimonies of people in the Old Testament who were motivated and equipped for great accomplishments of faith. Now, there are 31 verses, or I should say, the first 31 verses of chapter 11, tell us stories that we’ve already gone through. And they are stories of people who most would recognize. A few of these names aren’t as well-known as others, but most people are going to recognize these names.

Abel was the first son of Adam and Eve. He was also the first person to ever be murdered. I’m sure that wasn’t his goal in life, but he has that distinction. Then Enoch was lesser known to some people, but a very important character. Noah, most people know of Noah. Some people think the story of Noah is a myth. Some people think the whole first 11 chapters of Genesis are a myth or an allegory, and some people think the whole Bible is a myth. I do say to those people they haven’t taken an honest look at the evidence. I don’t say they haven’t looked at it; they may have looked at it. They haven’t taken an honest look at it.

Then there’s Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and last week, we looked at Rahab.

Servants of God

Verses 32 to 40 tell us of servants of God, some of whom are also famous on Earth, some of them are not, and some of them, their names aren’t even given. So, we don’t know exactly who they’re talking about. Part of this passage, you may think, could refer to New Testament characters, such as John the Baptist, but you have to understand at the time this was written, John the Baptist had been around, but the New Testament, for the most part, had not been written, I’d say for the most part. It’s possible that some of it had been, but not very much, and certainly not what we have today. But verses 32 to 40 tell us of these servants of God. They all accomplished the will of God in their life, and they all brought glory to God. They did it because they were people of faith.

Gideon

So, let’s take a look at it. In verse 32, the writer of Hebrews says:

Hebrews 11:32: “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:”

Now, if you’re familiar with your Bible, this is spelled differently in the New Testament than it is from the Old Testament. “Well, why is that? Why did they do things differently?” Well, in the Old Testament, the words and names that you see there are translated directly from the Hebrew. In the New Testament, they’re translated from the Greek language. So, there’s going to be a little difference between them. The name is spelled differently here, but it’s the same name. It mentions Gideon.

In Judges 6:12, it says, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him.” Let’s stop there for a second. Whenever you read “the angel of the LORD,” with “LORD” being in all capital letters, it’s the salvation name of God, Jehovah, or Yahweh when it says the “angel of the LORD.”

Now, there are a couple of places where it says, “an angel of the LORD.” There’s a difference. “An angel of the LORD” could mean any angel the Lord sent forth. But “the angel of the Lord” is mentioned a number of times, and some would not agree with this, but I think it’s right that when you read about the angel of the LORD, the messenger of Jehovah, literally, is what it’s saying. “The angel of the LORD” – that is most likely a Christophany or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Now, whether you agree with that or not, listen to what it says about the angel of the LORD. Again, this is in Judges 6:12:

Judges 6:12: “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him [Gideon], and said unto him, The LORD [all capital letters again] is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” Just over 30 times in the Old Testament, somebody is called a man of valor. It is not applied to everybody. It’s mostly applied to men who are going to battle. But not every man who goes to battle is called a man of valor. The word “valor” comes from the Hebrew word “chayil,” which means courage and strength. But it means more than courage and strength. It means courage with honor and strength with virtue. As a matter of fact, it’s the same Hebrew word in Proverbs 31:10, where it says:

Proverbs 31:10: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”

In Hebrew, that’s the same word, “chayil.” So, valor, when it’s translated regarding a man. Virtue when it’s translated regarding a woman. But in both cases, the four characteristics of this person of valor or virtue are the same: courage and strength with honor and goodness, or virtue. So, these are people who are not only strong and brave, they are people who have character and they are people who love God. So, the angel of the LORD appeared unto Gideon and said, “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

The story of Gideon covers chapter 6, 7, and 8, of the Book of Judges The story begins with the state of Israel before the Lord called Gideon to lead them, and then throughout the Book of Judges, most of you are familiar with it. It’s an up and down, up and down, situation.

After Joshua passed off the scene, the people of Israel turned away from the Lord. They were under persecution. They got in trouble with their surrounding neighbors, and eventually, they called out to God. God sends them a deliverer, or in this case, a judge, who gets rid of the persecutor and restores things as they should be in the nation. That’s all great, and it’s all going in the right direction until that person, that leader, that judge, dies. Then it goes back down again and up and down, up and down throughout the entire book.

By the time you get to 1 Samuel, the next book, the people are calling out for a king. Now, that’s a story in of itself, but Judges 6:1 says, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD.” This isn’t the first time in chapter six, this rollercoaster ride I just described to you started in chapter one.

But in chapter six, it says again, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD.” They got in trouble, they called out, and God sent the angel of the LORD to Gideon. Now, Gideon was a man. “Well, I already figured that part out, preacher.” I’m sure you did. But I’m telling you that to tell you that Gideon, being a man, was not perfect. But God used him. “Well, as you read through the story of Gideon, is there anything there that shows you he’s not perfect?” Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. But Gideon was used of God, and the story in the Book of Judges – this up and down, turning away from God, being chastened, then being delivered, and then turning back to God – Gideon is the great deliverer.

He delivers them from the Midianites. That’s one of the easiest ones to remember. When I was in school, we were studying for the ministry. We had to remember all the judges and who they delivered the people from, and the ones that are easy to remember are Gideon and the Midianites. The Gideon Midian – that one’s easy. Some of the others aren’t as easy as that.

But the sad ending to Gideon’s story is found in Judges 8:34-35:

Judges 8:34: “And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:”

Judges 8:35: “Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.”

After Gideon passed off the scene, they forgot about him. They forgot about his family, and they forgot about God.

Barak

The next person named in this list, here, if you’ll look at it, verse 32:

Hebrews 11:32: “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:”

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak,” – and it is Barak. You may have heard that name in the last 20 years. But this man named Barak actually lived before Gideon. “So, why isn’t his name listed before Gideon?” I’m not sure. We’re just reading it as it is, but he actually lived before Gideon.

Barak’s story is found in Judges chapters four and five. He was teamed with Deborah. We usually would say Deborah, but it’s actually pronounced “Deb-o-rah.” And if you meet somebody named Deborah, most likely they’re Jewish. Not 100% of the time is that a guarantee, but most of the time, that’s going to be the case because that’s where the name comes from. So, Barak is teamed with Deborah, and she is the only female judge of Israel. “So, why isn’t her name mentioned here?” Again, folks, I don’t know. The Lord had a reason for putting it the way He did.

Samson

The third in this verse is one that I think most people if you know anything about the Bible at all, will know as Samson. I was reading about Samson today, and it talks about him being in Ashkelon. Ashkelon is over in that territory that the Palestinian folks lay claim to now. It was Philistine territory then. “Well, isn’t that the same people?” Actually, it isn’t. But there’s more to that story.

It’s not in my notes; it just popped into my mind right now. I think I’m going to throw this story in there. We were at Ashkelon in a tour group, and I was asking our tour guide some questions about what we were seeing there. He corrected me on some things, and I’m thankful he did help me to understand.

While we were there, there was a group of Israeli school children, elementary-age children, and they were obviously there for a picnic. They had two male teachers with them, and each one of the teachers had on his shoulder an automatic rifle. One of the ladies in our group, an American lady, walked up to one of those men and said, “Sir, doesn’t it traumatize these children to see their teacher carrying a rifle like that?” He looked at her very calmly, very politely, looked in her eye and said, “No, ma’am. It makes them feel very safe.” Now, that ought to sober you just to hear that, and that, folks, was more than 30 years ago.

But Samson, one of his great stories was a victory at Ashkelon, and his story is in Judges chapter 13-17. You know the story of Samson. We’re not going to spend much time on it. But Judges 13:24 and 25:

Judges 12:24: “And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.”

And listen:

Judges 12:25: “And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.”

“The spirit of the LORD began to move him at times,” – one of the first things we learn about Samson is the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times. There are four different occasions in the three chapters that Samson was talked about. There are four different occasions where it is said the spirit of the LORD came upon Samson. Every time he did one of his great feats of strength, it says the spirit of the LORD came upon him.

I don’t know what Samson looked like. I’d never seen him, never seen an accurate portrayal of him. Some people think he was just an average-sized guy and nothing special in appearance. That could be, but I doubt it. He was probably a pretty big man. He probably was a well-built man, probably strong in and of himself. But that’s not how he did his great feats of strength. He did his great feats of strength when the spirit of the LORD came upon him.

And there’s a lesson to be learned there. You start back in the books of the law, back when they were building the tabernacle, and you’re going to read all the way through the Bible, and you’ll find every time the spirit of the LORD came upon someone, or it says they were filled with the Spirit or any similar language, is always so they can do a task that God has called them to do, always. There’s not a single exception to that. Always, so they can do God’s will for their life. So much more we could say about that, but we need to move on.

So, obviously, Samson was known for his strength, but that was the result of being filled with the Spirit. Now, the next one in the list is Jephthah, and Jephthah actually predates Samson. So, again, I’m not sure why the order is as it is, but Jephthah is found in Judges chapter 11. And Jephthah is most often remembered for a sad vow that he made before God. I believe, and I’m sure he believes now, that that was a very sad mistake that he made. There’s much more to his story than that. You see, like Gideon, the Bible says in Judges 11:1 he was a mighty man of valor.

Let me just tell you a little bit about Jephthah. Jephthah’s father was not married to Jephthah’s mother. I was trying to think how to say that Jephthah’s father was not married to Jephthah’s mother. Now, Jephthah’s father had a wife, and he had children with his wife. But Jephthah was not of that mother. And so, the other sons of Jephthah’s father didn’t like Jephthah. They considered him an outcast. He wasn’t part of their family, even though they had the same father.

As a matter of fact, they asked Jephthah to leave town after the father died. They said, “We don’t want you around here. Why don’t you just get out of town.” And he did. But then they came under attack, and when they came under attack, guess who they went and got? Jephthah. Why? Because they knew he was a man of valor.

He comes in and he gets things together and he rescues not only his family, but he rescues the whole area, and then they were through with him. Now, that’s more of the story of Jephthah. There’s more to it than that vow that we hear a lot about. But Jephthah was a man of God. He loved the Lord, and he was used of God. Now, that’s all in verse 32.

David

And then, there are two more names in verse 32. There’s David. I don’t think I need to spend a lot of time telling you who David was, but he’s the first one on this list who was not one of the judges. As a matter of fact, he’s the only one in this verse who was not a judge, but he would be a king. He wasn’t the first king; he was the second king.

But God had a special love for David, and David had a special love for God. Now, you know David’s story. You know he wasn’t a perfect man either. He did some things that were wrong, and he knew they were wrong. He did them anyway and he paid a dear price for that on more than one occasion. But he is the most famous king of Israel. To this day, the symbol of Israel is the Star of David. Did David use that symbol? Actually, I don’t know that he did, but it’s used today.

Samuel

Now, what I’m trying to tell you is that David is the king in this verse, but the next name is Samuel. Now, Samuel predates David, but Samuel plays very heavily into David’s story in life. It says Samuel is of the prophets and certainly he was, but did you know Samuel was also one of the judges? He was the last judge of Israel. The truth of the matter is that out of this first verse, the only one who is not one of the judges is David. But he lived during the period of the judges, so he knew something about that, and God used him. Samuel was used greatly of God.

None Were Sinless

Now, look at verse 33. We talked about all of these, and there’s a colon at the end of verse 32. So, “who” there, refers to all the people named in verse 32:

Hebrews 11:33: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”

Hebrews 11:34: “Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Now, there’s a period there, so we can stop there. Now, I can’t resist this. Do you ever wonder why you don’t ever see any? You know, people think that people from other planets came and set up things in this world a long time ago, and then you don’t see them around anymore. Do you know why? Well, if you look at the end of verse 34, these people stopped the aliens. Okay, somebody liked that. Alright, I’m sure you know that’s not what that’s talking about.

But isn’t it interesting, all the things that it says here, that the people did and yet, what it doesn’t say, it doesn’t say that any of them were sinless. So, if these people are nowhere presented as sinless, why are they held up as people of whom the world was not worthy? Why are they held up as great examples of faith? Well, that is exactly the point. They had their faults, and they had their failures, but they were people of faith. Do you know people of faith sometimes mess up? Did you know that? Did you know people of faith sometimes backslide? Did you know people of faith sometimes, dare I say it, sin? Now, I’m not proud of that, and I don’t think anybody else is either, and they certainly shouldn’t be, but the truth is the truth.

A Better Resurrection

And in verse 35, it says:

Hebrews 11:35: “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:”

“Women received their dead raised to life again.” I think of Elijah and Elisha, “and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance,” – now, think about that statement for a minute. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance, in other words, there was a way they could have not been tortured if they had just given their torturers whatever it was they wanted, most likely deny the Lord. Others were tortured “that they might obtain a better resurrection.”

Now, think about that: a better resurrection. Is there a better resurrection? Well, we know that there’s the first and second resurrection, and there’s a resurrection of the believers, the resurrection of the saved dead, and there’s a resurrection of the unsaved dead. We know that and we know that the unsaved dead have their resurrection after the saved dead have theirs.

“Where do you get that?” The end of Revelation 19, the beginning of chapter 20. But you’re going to find that, and yet, I don’t think that’s what it’s talking about here. What is this “better resurrection”? Well, all of these were people of faith, and there are some, as we said earlier, who are not listed by name here, but they’re certainly recognized by the Lord. God knows who they are, and again, they had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings. It’s going to tell us that. Verse 36:

Hebrews 11:36: “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:”

And “bonds” here means to be placed in chains or stocks. I think of Jeremiah, who was put in stocks, and that has nothing to do with Wall Street. Folks, they’re the kind you’ve seen in old movies where they put your hands through, and they put your neck through, and you’re just locked in there, and you can’t move. They did that to Jeremiah. They did. That’s not all they did to him. They put him in a pit, but it says they, “others, had trial of cruel mockings, and scourgings,” – being whipped as the Lord was whipped, “yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:” Again, Jeremiah was placed in a pit. In verse 37:

Hebrews 11:37: “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;”

What does being destitute mean? It means not having the basic comforts of life and not having food all the time when they need it. “Oh, I thought God took care of his people.” He does. “Well, you just said they sometimes didn’t have food.” That’s right. See, God takes care of his people, but God’s people still go through hard times.

Maybe you and I haven’t gone through as hard a time as we might think. Other people have, but there are Christians right now, and maybe some of them, within the sound of my voice, are going through a hard time. Now, if you’re sitting there thinking, “Well, if that’s the case, I don’t think I want to be a Christian.” Well, I tell you what. Hard times are a lot worse without the Lord than they are with the Lord.

Let me give you an example. When the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the fire, Nebuchadnezzar looked in there and said, “I thought we put three men in the fire.” And his people around him said, “Yes, sir. That’s right.” He says, “I see four, and the form of the fourth looks like the Son of God.” And you find all that in the Book of Daniel. Let me ask you a question. Who was in the fire with those three men? Jesus. So, would you rather have been in the fire with Him or without Him? Yeah, with Him, absolutely. See, they still went through the fire, but He went with them. That’s the difference.

So, they were afflicted and tormented, slain with a sword, wandering about in sheep skins and goat skins, and want, not able to live up to what would have been considered a normal standard in the day. Afflicted under pressure and hardship. Tormented means to be treated in an evil manner.

A Divine Honor

But then, in verse 38, we’ve already read this: a divine honor is awarded. Let me say that again, a divine honor is awarded because, in verse 38, it says:

Hebrews 11:38: “(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

“Of whom,” – speaking about not only the ones we just read about but all these people in Hebrews chapter 11, from Abel on down. “Of whom the world was not worthy” – and that statement does not mean that the planet could not sustain these people in their earthly lives. It’s not talking about the physical planet. That statement is that the people of this world were not worthy of living with those folks. Now, why is that? Let’s think that through for a little bit because it’d be easy to misunderstand.

In Acts 10:34, Peter states that God is no respecter of persons. You know what that means? That means you can come before the Lord and you can say, “I am the founder and CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world,” and God is not impressed. You can say, “I am the leader of a major government in the world,” and God is not impressed. You can come before the Lord and say, “Look at all the diplomas and awards and certificates I have,” and God is not impressed. Everybody stands on level ground when they come before the Lord. Now, that’s Acts 10:34.

James writes in James 2:9: “But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”

Again, God’s not impressed with our status in life. He’s not impressed with our accomplishments or the awards we’ve earned. The idea here is that God rewards people based upon His evaluation, not ours. His evaluation of their faithful service to Him, that’s what counts. That’s what it’s talking about here, the basis for all of this is faith, and that’s made clear.

A Good Report

And we finish this verse. Go on to verse 39. Look at 38 again:

Hebrews 11:38: “(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Hebrews 11:39: “(And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:”

All of these people obtained a good report. Where did they have this good report before God? How did they have this good report? Start verse 39 again, “And these all, having obtained a good report,” – what are the next two words? “Through faith.”

How did they have a good report for God? Well, Samson, he went out and he slew many men. He did. David won many victories, and he built a kingdom. He did. But that’s not what God’s looking at. Do you remember when Samuel was sent to anoint the first, or the second king, I should have said. Not the first king, it was Saul. God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem and meet with Jesse. Jesse parades his sons before Samuel, and evidently, from what we read there, not a great deal is said about them. But from what we read, evidently, they were a good-looking group of boys, probably tall and strong and handsome. As each one went by, God seemed to say not him, not him, not him.

I’m probably not much like Samuel in very many ways, but I think I would have been like him in this. I would have seen someone and said, “That guy looks like he could be a king.” God said, “Nope,” to the point that Samuel turned to Jesse and said, “Don’t you have any more sons?” And Jesse said, “Well, I got one more, but he’s out watching the sheep.” Samuel said, “Call him.” He did. David comes, and God speaks to Samuel and says, “Man looks on the outward appearance.” God looks on the heart, and that’s what we see in this chapter.

See, we can read through there, and you don’t really read anything bad said about Abel, and there’s not much bad said about Enoch, if anything. There’s not very much bad said about Samuel. For the most part, the rest of them, they have black marks on their record, and I’m sure those other fellas did too. We’re just not told of it, but that’s not what counts the most.

I’m not saying it doesn’t matter. I’m not saying you can go out and sin and live like the devil if you want to, and God doesn’t care. I’m not saying that at all. That’s far from the truth. What I am saying is God looks on the heart. He knows what’s in here. And so much more could be said about that, but the basis of it all is faith. These all have a good report through faith.

They didn’t receive the promise. It tells us that they received not the promise. Now, what promise didn’t they receive? Well, they believed in the Savior who was going to come. We said that in the beginning of the study. None of them live to see Him. All of them died centuries before He came. But they were all looking for Him.

What sets these people apart from the rest of the world is their faith and their faithfulness to God. Let me run that by you again what sets these people apart from the rest of the world is their faith and their faithfulness to God. They’re given to us in this chapter as examples for us. Their faith was proven by their actions. They trusted in God and because they trusted in God they serve God.

Something Better for Us

Now, let’s finish the chapter.

Hebrews 11:40: “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

“God having provided some better,” – and I told you that better was in this passage here. It is “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” What does that mean? It means they needed us to be made perfect. No, it doesn’t mean they needed us to be made perfect. It means they’re not perfect in a different way than we are. We’re made perfect the same way they are and how is that? By faith.

He says there’s some better thing for us. What’s better? Well, at least 58 times in the New Testament, you’re going to read the phrase “might be fulfilled,” and whenever it says those 58 times, “might be fulfilled,” it’s talking about a prophecy made in the Old Testament that we’re told happens in the New Testament, that the prophecy might be fulfilled. At least 58 times it says that, but that’s just the beginning. Each one of those is a definite statement that something happened in the New Testament prophesied in the Old Testament. But those 58 times are just when the wording precisely states that. The thing was done as the Old Testament said it would be.

There are in addition to that, hundreds of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament. For example, and this isn’t the limit of it either, 311 times the New Testament uses the phrase “it is written,” and whenever you read “it is written” in the New Testament, it means it was written in the Old Testament every time. In each of those references, something was said in the Old Testament that is plainly brought out in the New Testament.

So, what is better is that the first book of the Old Testament was written thousands of years before the first book of the New Testament, and the last book of the Old Testament was written 400 years before the first book of the New Testament was written. And yet, the truth of the Old Testament is made clear in the New Testament. So, what’s better? What’s better is that the Old Testament is explained in the New Testament. What’s better is that the Savior who was coming did come, and we have proof of that.

So, what made these people too good for this world is that they believed God, and they believed His promise of a better world. I want you to go back and look at two verses, if you will, and we’re finished tonight. I want you to look at Hebrews 11:6:

Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

And that’s what you see in this chapter: people who believed, and He was a rewarder of them who diligently sought Him. Then look at verse 13, and we’re finished.

Hebrews 11:13: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

Of whom the world was not worthy.

~~~~~~~

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you, that what you desire most from us is our faith in you, our trust in you, our belief in you, and then, our submission to you, our willingness to follow you, and to serve you, to grow to be the people who you’d have us to be. Forgive us, Lord, where we’ve faltered and failed. Forgive us where we willfully sinned. Help us, Lord, to always return to you by faith. Now, Lord, bless us as we go our separate ways. Help us to grow stronger in faith and help that faith to bear fruit in our lives. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

Watch the prerecorded live version of the entire service and sermon, People Too Good for This World, on Facebook.

People Too Good for This World — Related Sermons

You may also want to listen to or view these sermons:

Internet Preachers

Walking with Jesus at the Graveside