HEROES OF THE FAITH
ARE WE WORTHY OF THEM?
MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE



Lesson: Heb 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:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 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.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 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;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.


Introduction; [Memorial Day Message.] One of the first steps in preparing soldiers, is to instill in them the 'esprit de corps' and sense of honor which will sustain them in times of trial. This training is usually based upon the deeds and heroism of those who have gone before.


Our freedom as Americans is made more meaningful by the knowledge of the suffering of the men at Valley Forge. Our liberty is made more precious by the blood which was shed on the fields of Flanders, the beaches of Normandy, Pacific Islands and jungles and on the decks of ships and the planes shot down in battle. Somehow the Stars and stripes seems to wave a little more bravely as we contemplate the battles in Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq, and others .


When all these are taught in the proper way, there can only be a surge of patriotism. When they are forgotten, national pride seems to slump and Americans seem to become more and more introverted as each looks only to his own self interest.


The same holds true for our churches. The 'departing from the faith' of which Paul warns is caused, at least in part, by a lack of knowledge of the price paid by our forefathers, to preserve that faith.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.


If one’s heritage as a Baptist begins and ends with his or her own experience, it is not likely to be thought worth suffering for. But when the full price of our present possessions is known, then the very act of opening the building for services, the singing of each hymn, the prayers, the lessons and sermons and even the business meetings, must make us wonder,"Am I worthy of such a priceless heritage?"


I. Consider our Baptist Heritage;
It did not come to us from a birthing place of featherbed luxury, carried through perfumed gardens in sedan chairs of ease, accompanied by the dulcet tones of the soft songs of dreamers, BUT:

Out of the anguish of the cross, bearing the smell of burning flesh from the martyr’s flames as they prayed for their executioners between screams of agony until they expired with hymns of praise on their lips.
The background music was the roar of wild beasts as they advanced to feed upon the flesh of our spiritual forefathers and the roar of the maddened crowd as they screamed for more and more bloody entertainment!


Our faith came to us born on the bloody feet of men and women who were driven from their homes in the midst of the harshest of winters and those who were abandoned in the desert’s heat. It comes accompanied by the groans and prayers of men who have watched their families suffer and die on the mission fields of foreign lands.


Yet all these have endured, singing praises as they died, praying for their persecutors, encouraging one another and winning the lost with their testimonies as they, "loved not their lives unto death." This, they were willing to do in imitation of him who, "for the joy which was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame--"


II. A Few Specific Examples;
A. Those with a willingness and a vision to sacrifice, that works might be established. Tabor, Blalock, Dozens others of my own personal friends, many of whom are now with the Lord.


B.Brother W.S. Goulding, buried some of his family in South and Central America and still Loved those for whom they suffered!.
C.Men of the recent past and their willingness to suffer for the faith. Bogard, D.B.Ray, J.R.Graves, etc.
D.John Clarke, founder of the First Baptist Church in America at Newport, R.I. in 1638 , imprisoned with Crandall and Obadiah Holmes in Boston and sentenced to be publicly whipped in July of 1650 for the crime of witnessing that "None should be baptized, but believers only"!
E. Obadiah Holmes in a letter to his brother, Robert; "For this faith and profession I stand, and have sealed the same with my blood in Boston, New England."
F.John Myles, Pastor of the Baptist Church in Swansea, Wales, saw his church ordered to be closed by authorities there, migrated to the American colonies in 1663 along with most of the members and the church records. It continued in the new world at Swansea, Mass. It thus became the OLDEST church in America, though not the first! It had begun in Wales centuries before!
G.Time will not permit us to rehearse all the dungeons, Iron Maidens, beheadings, drownings, exiles, the burning at the stake, and cruel deaths suffered by our forefathers at the hands of soldiers and executioners and inquisitors. Nor those who perished from exposure to the elements.


No part of the earth has been hidden from the testimony of those who have suffered for the faith, once delivered to the saints. Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Africa, Turkey, Greece, India, China, Portugal, the middle east, the islands of the sea, North, South and Central America; All have been enriched by the blood of men and women who have, "loved not their lives unto death."

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.


III. The Greatest Hero of all time!
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.


The tales of great men's bravery and the mighty deeds they've done quicken our pulse and stir our souls when we hear of battles won.
The four hundred men of the Light Brigade, the spirit of John Paul Jones, and countless other heroes,their names live on and on!
But the greatest hero and bravest heart that ever the world did see was the one who fought the hosts of hell at the Battle of Calvary!
He fought death single handed; Alone, with hell he fought!
Yet so great his love for sinful man, even there, their souls he sought.
No other man ever fought like this. Like him, none other died.
Yet my hero won the war for me when he was crucified!
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