Heb. 11:35-38

35 Women [gune] received [lambano] their [autos] dead [nekros] raised to life again [ek] [anastasis]: and [de] others [allos] were tortured [tumpanizo], not [ou] accepting [prosdechomai] deliverance [apolutrosis]; that [hina] they might obtain [tugchano] a better [kreitton] resurrection [anastasis]:

36 And [de] others [heteros] had [lambano] trial [peira] of cruel mockings [empaigmos] and [kai] scourgings [mastix], yea [de], moreover [eti] of bonds [desmon] and [kai] imprisonment [phulake]:

37 They were stoned [lithazo], they were sawn asunder [prizo], were tempted [peirazo], were slain [apothnesko] with [en] the sword [phonos] [machaira]: they wandered about [perierchomai] in [en] sheepskins [melote] and [en] goatskins [aigeos] [derma]; being destitute [hustereo], afflicted [thlibo], tormented [kakoucheo];

38 (Of whom [hos] the world [kosmos] was [en] not [ou] worthy [axios]:) they wandered [planao] in [en] deserts [eremia], and [kai] in mountains [oros], and [kai] in dens [spelaion] and [kai] caves [ope] of the earth [ge]. KJV-Interlinear

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. NASB

Resurrection here is not the same as the resurrection that we think of as in the Rapture. Here it is more of a resuscitation, or a restoration back from being dead to ones former condition. Probably one of the better known examples of this is when Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. He was not resurrected into a resurrection body, but came back into his former body of flesh, lived out his normal life and died again.

Elijah brought back to life the child of the widow of Zarephath, 1 Kings 17:8-23. Elisha, did the same for the Shunammite woman's son, 2 Kings 4:18-37. In view here is not the children who died, but the suffering through grieving that the mothers had to endure when they lost their children.

Life is full of suffering of many kinds. This is the devils world. As such this world will never be a perfect world. Man has in him, a sin nature. This sin nature drives people to all sorts of evil, from idle gossip to more horrendous acts against life.

This is one of the first things that a person, who has believed in Christ, has to come to terms with. Suffering in life.

Mothers lose their children in death. People face prejudice in all sorts of situations. Some are beaten. Some are tortured. Many are simply ostracized socially. But these are not all of the problems that we can face in life.

Many folks have medical problems. A lot of medical problems come with old age. Some medical problems we are born with. Some medical problems we get when we are involved in an accident. Some problems we get from the life style we have chosen for ourselves.

We can lose arms and legs. We can get cancers in many of its varieties. We can get social diseases from being a little too loose with our life, or just by making the wrong choices. Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and things like that can have an impact great and small, in our life.

We can even acquire problems that are not our fault. Maybe they were caused by someone else and we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The writer in this passage lists many problems that people have had to endure because of their life in this world, and even because of their chosen faith.

Being a Christian is no guarantee of a perfect life, in this life. Our guarantee comes in the next life. This life is more or less a training ground for the construction of our faith.

God gives you all of the ingredients to become a spiritual giant in this world. It is simply for you to decide to study, and learn, and grow up spiritually such that you can go down in heavens history books as one of the greats of history.

Becoming a spiritual giant is not dependent on your ability or talent or luck, it is dependent on the doctrine resident in your soul. God provides all of the ability and power for you to endure anything, and to cope with a relaxed attitude through whatever ordeal God presents into your life.

Without doctrine in your soul, then this prospect of life can be terrifying. Of Lord. Please don t make me face this or that difficulty. I just want to live comfortably and die in my sleep.

That is what most folks want out of life. And that is probably what most folks will receive.

But from time to time, there comes along a special person in history who will become an example for the rest of us. Not that we will be forced to follow in his trauma, but to show us all that God can deal with the most extreme situations in anyone s life and bring them to the point of victory in life, so anything that we will face is a walk in the park by comparison.

Whatever your problems are, there is someone out there in the world with far worse problems than you will ever see in your life.

God gives you the power, through faith, to see your way through your problems, not to escape them.

A very big part of your spiritual growth, is your application of what you learn to your daily life. This almost always means that suffering of some sort will come along in your life. It could be a bad marriage, a hurricane, a crippling accident, or just cancer from smoking.

Sometimes the problems will go away. You get laid off and you find another job. You divorce and you get remarried.

Sometimes the problem lingers on for a while. You have a stroke and you have some paralysis which take a long time to recover from.

Sometimes you have a problem which God will keep with you for your entire life. You get aids. You lose a leg in an accident. You are born with some kind of handicap.

The world is full of examples of problems that people can get or will have in their lives.

No matter what your problem, God gives you the opportunity to overcome it, spiritually, and to become a winner in life. Faith is not dependent on your physical, or financial, or social circumstances. Faith is totally dependent on your will, to grow up in your spiritual life.

Rom. 8:18

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. NASB

1 Peter 1:4

4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, NASB

Dan. 3:17-18

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. NASB

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego s primary concern was not for the safety of their lives, but for the safety of their faith. Physical deliverance or not, they would not forsake their trust in God for anything that the world has to offer even life.

What God has to offer in eternity, is far greater than anything any human being can even imagine. To acquire it, Gods promise, we need only to persevere in our spiritual life. Suffering may occur, yes, but to the spiritually mature person, there is nothing in this world that can destroy your faith.

Daniel faced lions, others faced death too, and they never made these problems an issue in their life. Many people face social injustices but they should never make their injustices an issue in their life. Those who look to excuses have a lot of growing up to do. Those who look to God (without complaint), have come a long way toward their own personal spiritual victory.

Now is the time to post a prayer.