BROADCASTS.com

b'It is often good to hear the bad news along with the good but it is rare that we are given the gift of hearing the rest of the story. The author of Hebrews did not want his readers to get a distorted view of life by hearing only a portion of the truth. Therefore, in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the author purposes to tell all who read this great letter that living a life of faith does not always lead to great victory, success, and prosperity. So far in this chapter, we have read of such well-known biblical heroes as Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. These men were used by God to do incredible acts and are remembered thousands of years later for their faithful obedience. Now, as we near the end of this chapter, the author wants to continue to list even more notables with similar victories of faith in the Old Testament. However, if the author of Hebrews had simply listed more victories and then moved on to his next topic at the conclusion of this lengthy recitation of names and events, his readers would have learned only a small portion of the story. Not every day brings a victory. Some individuals are never rescued, even though they lived their lives in obedient faith. No one likes to read such accounts but to fail to hear of individuals such as these would have led to great tragedy in the lives of the original readers. Sadly, many ministers and churches today teach only half of the same story and their listeners pay the price for their neglect in preaching the whole counsel of God. As we will see in the final section of this chapter, we must hear and heed the rest of the story.'