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Hebrews Chapter 11, you made reference to it, brother, and your address, and I think there's a lot there that can be a help to us as to faith. And it mentions pilgrims there too that we sang about.
What do you think?
I think that would be very good chapter to take up.
MMM.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness.
That he was righteous God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead, yet speaketh.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. 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.
By faith Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
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By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after.
Receive for an inheritance obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised therefore sprang there even.
Of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. 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. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is in heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.
For he hath prepared for them a city.
By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was said.
That in Isaac shall thy seed be called accounting. That God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel.
And gave commandment concerning his bones.
By faith, Moses when he was born was hid three months of his parents because they saw that he was a proper child.
And they were not afraid of the King's commandment By faith. Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.
Than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
By faith He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King, for He endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them.
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned.
By faith, the Walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days.
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with him that believe, not when she had received the spies with peace.
And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barrick and of Samson, and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant, and fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead, raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, Yeah, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. 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.
Of whom the world was not worthy, they wandered in desert, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
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We go back to the 10th chapter and the 20 of the 38th verse. It says now the just shall live by faith, and if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Kind of is the introduction to this chapter that is about faith.
And it's not so much in verse one, a definition of faith, but it is what faith does.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In the second chapter it says we see Jesus Christ.
Crowned with glory and honor.
How do we see him?
Have we ever seen him with our eyes?
No.
Not with our physical eyes, but with the eye of faith.
And it becomes so real.
What Scripture tells about his occupying that place of highest glory in the presence of God, It is the evidence of things not seen. So it becomes real to us even though we haven't physically seen it and so.
The definition of faith has been given and I think it's helpful in John chapter 3.
And verse 33. Just remember 333.
It says.
In this verse he that hath received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true.
That's faith. That's the definition of what faith is. We believe it. God cannot lie.
There's something we do that God cannot do. God cannot lie. So even though I do not understand.
I believe it.
Because God cannot lie, I said to his seal. That God is truth.
So that is the definition of faith.
Takes God at His word without question, and God values that very much. In fact, just notice the 35th verse of the 10th chapter of Hebrews. And we see how much God values that confidence in Himself and in His Word. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. The story has often been told, but I'll repeat it because it touches my own heart.
Of a brother who was visiting in a convalescent hospital and he was going from bed to bed giving out some gospel tracks as well as speaking to those that he knew who were there as believers and seeking to encourage and the stories told that he came to the bed of a lady who'd been lying on that bed for many years, unable to do to move very much. And she was a true believer, but she looked at this young brother this day and she said, you know.
I've been lying here feeling so bad today because there's nothing I can do here on this convalescent bed that I can get reward for, nothing I can really do for the Lord. Well, this brother very wisely opened his Bible and read to her this verse. Cast not away. Therefore thy confidence, for of such is great recompense of reward, and God values that faith. Maybe there's someone here today and you say I'm facing an insurmountable difficulty, just nothing I can do.
Just seems like there's nothing it's a hopeless situation. Just have faith. Maybe there is nothing we can do other other than just trust the Lord. And just before we launch on this chapter two, I've enjoyed how that faith in this chapter does three things. Faith brings us into relationship with God and you get that perhaps in the first three individuals that are mentioned and in in the in the first 7 verses you have able.
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Enoch and and Noah faith brings us into relationship with God.
But then faith also brings into view the unseen world, things that, as you say, we don't see with the natural eye, but are very, very real to faith. And as we go down these verses and notice some of these individuals like Moses and others, faith brought into view some things that no one else saw in their day. But they were, while they were not brought to view naturally or physically speaking.
They were no less real to the eye of faith. Then at the end of the chapter, we learned too that faith gives the spiritual energy.
To overcome obstacles even in the face of real persecution and martyrdom.
And many of our brethren are experiencing that in a very real way, in ways that most of us here perhaps will never experience in our life. So faith brings us into relationship with God, it brings us into view things in the unseen world, and it gives us the spiritual energy to live for Christ and for his glory in spite of whatever obstacles and opposition there may be in our pathway.
Is based on the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It's not just some vague idea that pops into my mind that I fixate on.
No, it is something that is definitely communicated by God.
And you might say in these first individuals, Able and Enoch and Noah, they didn't have the word of God in their hands yet. There was some communication, I suppose Abel heard from his parents about what God did when they had sinned and how there were animals that were killed so that they could be properly covered.
Before God, and so it's based on some communication from God.
It's important that this not just a vague idea. No, it's based on something very certain. And for us who have the word of God in our hands, God never contradicts His word. So how important it is to challenge ourselves? We say we have faith. Does the faith you profess is it based on the word of God?
That's the faith that God will honor. And like you were saying, Jim, it.
Takes into, uh, recognition that which is not seen with the human eye.
And I often think of David when he faced Goliath.
For David.
The battle was not David versus Goliath, it was God versus Goliath.
It says.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and that word confidence that you read in the end of chapter 10.
Con is where it means with.
C is the word for faith with faith.
O brethren, wonderful to see that strong confidence on David's part as he runs toward the giant. I've often thought if it was me, I think I might have stayed back a bit and taken my shots from there. But David, his confidence was such that he ran.
Toward Goliath and he was not disappointed brethren that's our God we need to take him into the picture like was brought out there's difficulties in the path that we're treading today who doesn't have problems I go around from 1 Country to another I hire the problems they have most of the problems I don't have much of an answer for sometimes I can give a scripture to but.
Sometimes I say to the brethren, can't you tell me?
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About somewhere where I can go, there's no problems.
Sorry, there isn't such a place down here in this world.
But we have a God we can count on in those problems, and sometimes he doesn't deliver us from the problems.
He delivers us through the problems. But Bill was speaking about God. Didn't take away the fiery serpents, did they?
They asked that they would take those fiery serpents away. God didn't do that, but He gave them a way to be healed from the bite of those fiery serpents. So God's ways are different than ours, and that's why we're here in this world, to learn Him. Learn his ways, learn his faithfulness, His power, His love. Oh brethren, what a tremendous God we have. And we learn in here in a way that we'll never be able to get to learn him in heaven.
Right here and now.
I think what we find in this chapter here is that God's school and he gives a report card at the end of it. And, uh, so it's not a case of going to school down here, uh, uh, building a brick and stone and whatnot, but in God's school of adversity. And that's what we find with all these Saints here that are given to us, this, these names and some of them came through it and some of them died in it. And God did not give the same deliverance to all of them.
And so neither with any one of us too. And we all have our, our uh, lessons to learn in this school.
First, tell two tells us that they obtained a good report or a good testimony from the fact that there was practical evidence of faith in in their lives. And I, I just want to echo what's been said because I heard, I've heard people talk about blind faith. I've even heard people say faith is a leap in the dark, But those expressions are not scripturally accurate. There's no such thing as blind faith.
Faith is not a leaf in the dark. Faith always acts on what it knows at the time. It acts on the light that is given for the moment. It may not be light for a long distance ahead, but it takes the step based on what God has said at the time. And so, brethren, we need to, we need the light of God's Word. We need God's Word, but we also need faith. Then to take those steps, we talk about our path of faith.
It's step after step, it's lap after lap as we learn from the next chapter. It's running the race.
With endurance, that which is set is set before us. And so as you say, Brother Ken, they received a good report. They had, there was a good testimony, but it was because, as was said earlier, faith gave substance to their lives. It was evidenced in their lives. You know, in the Old Testament there were those who brought before us and you read their life and you say, oh, there's no doubt that person.
Had faith. Why? Because of simply what they thought. No, you know, I can tell you a lot of things. I can think a lot of things, but if I don't act on it, there's really no testimony in that. And so James takes up practical faith. And there we find that faith without works is dead. We can talk about our faith. We can sit here and we can talk about having faith. We can go over these verses, but faith without work?
Is dead. Why because there's no good report. There's no testimony if there isn't the works the practical evidence of it in our lives. And remember too in this chapter, it's not their failures but their faith that is brought out. None of these men and women were perfect in the sense of the their failure. There were failures. You go back and you read of the failures of some of these ones. But what he's focusing on here.
And what he values here is their faith. So I say that because don't be discouraged as we go through this chapter and say, oh, I could never stand by Noah. I could never stand by Enoch or Abel or Moses or Joseph or the ones that are mentioned at the end of the chapter. I could never stand by them. That's not the point. Yes, they were men of like passion, of passions, like as we are. They were, they were men and women who had failures in their life.
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But God was able to separate the precious from the vile and to see their faith. And when there were failures in their life like Abraham and David and these ones, they got before the Lord about it and they confessed it and there was restoration and always a way back. So I just say that don't be discouraged by reading this chapter and say I could never live up to that. Here we have their their faith and there's a day coming, brethren, when God is going to the Lord is going to.
Go over our lives. He's going to set aside that which is not a faith, and then he's going to reward. Cast not away. Therefore thy confidence for of such is great recompense of reward.
Sometimes I look at the two words in that very first verse I look at.
So we have an assurance, don't we? We have assurance in place of a substance because God cannot lie. Now the faith assurance of things hoped for in our English language, that word hoped automatically carries a question mark with it to us. It does not carry the question mark.
Because of the assurance he has stated it, we will get it and there is assurance of it. So there are question mark is removed. That's what substance is trying to give you. I touch a chair, I say this is substance and it makes it hard for me to. I can't touch substance in a hole physically. But I can think of it now as assurance because God has said it and He cannot lie. So therefore it will take place, doesn't it?
For the evidence of things not seen, and that is the conviction of that. For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I have a conviction of whom I've placed my soul into for safekeeping. And that is the very same one that take care of those things that I have not seen. I have a conviction about the completion of my salvation. I was saved today. I'm currently being saved, but in the future.
I will be saved. I have a conviction about that. That's the and so when if we replace these two and we read it, the faith is the assurance of things hoped for, that conviction of things not seen. We almost can add the word yet in there, can't we? Sometimes the word if in the Bible, I'd like to take it and remove it and change it to when and and this is one of those things.
Because I will. There's no if in it. It's when it it will take place. They won't it I have a conviction of it.
Thank you.
God doesn't it? And that is the wonderful thing about it. If we can see something tangibly, then in that sense we don't have to exercise faith, do we? But what a wonderful thing it is when God gives us something in His Word and we rest on it, believe it, walk in the good of it, How God is honored in all of that.
We had a remark a few minutes ago that there's no such thing as blind faith.
Not in Scripture, but there is in this world, and there are many in this world who are exercising blind faith and who have their faith in that which ultimately has no substance, and they find to their sorrow, no doubt.
That things are not what they expected. I read on the Internet a little while ago about a woman who said when she died, all of those mysteries of life and death that I never understood will suddenly become clear to me.
I immediately thought, well, if you don't know the Lord, they will become brutally clear to you.
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But that isn't real faith as spoken of in the Word of God. Is it real faith?
Seize the Word of God.
Rests upon it and honors the Lord. And that is the great thing, isn't it? When you and I exercise real faith before Him, He gets the glory.
And it's interesting in that regard, isn't it, that before he takes up these different individuals, he speaks of creation?
Because we accept by faith the Genesis account of creation, not because God has answered all our curious questions. And that's true in our lives too, isn't it? I remember one time standing up to address a large audience at a very, very tragic event. And I looked into the faces of many young people who had come on that occasion. And I said, I realized that there are many of us who have come.
From many places looking for answers as to why God has allowed this tragedy.
I said I don't have the answers and I said even if God were pleased to give us all the answers as to why.
He has allowed this in the lives of certain individuals and to affect us all who are here in one way or another. We still wouldn't have peace and we wouldn't need faith if we had all the answers. Now, God does often give us answers, but faith rests on God even though we don't understand everything. And so I accept the Genesis account of creation not because God has answered all our curious questions about how this and that and certain time frames and and so on.
But He has told us enough in His Word to show that He is Creator, and whether I understand it or have my questions answered or not, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God.
And we have to really start there, don't we? Because if we don't understand that God is the creator.
And sustainer of the universe and accept it by faith. We're not going to be able to accept things in our lives by faith as well. If we're always looking for the answers to everything in creation and in the way the universe operates and so on, and why this and why that? How can we bring this down to our personal lives then and accept God's ways in our lives now? Brethren, I know it takes faith to just leave things with the Lord.
In our lives we'd like to have answers, and I'm not saying sometimes God doesn't give us answers. In retrospect, we look back and we say, OK, I see now.
Why that was allowed. But I believe too, brethren, there are many things in our lives we're just going to have to leave for a coming day.
But faith will be answered in a coming day.
Paul said I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed.
Unto him against that day, there is a day coming when we're going to see it all and we're going to understand. But in the mean time.
The just shall live by faith. It takes real faith to count on God and to just leave those things with Him. So there's no doubt other reasons why He brings in creation here. But I suggest again, if we don't start there, it's not going to trickle down to our personal lives.
Corinthians 13 we know in part, and that's the condition we're in today. If I would ask your brother Jim.
You know quite a bit.
Of all the information that can be known, what percent would you say you know?
Put a number on it, please. 0000.00001 Percent, That's probably off. That's way off too. That's true. It's just we know in part, brother. And as much as we might know, I remember speaking to some young people one time in a detention home and one young man says I don't believe in God because of the way things have happened in my life.
And I asked him that question, How much do you know of all that can be known?
So maybe about 30%. Wow, you are knowledgeable.
But here's a God that knows absolutely everything.
And with 30%, do you feel capacitated to judge what God does? I'd say you're pretty on pretty shaky ground. And that draws attention to the the word that you mentioned there in verse three, brother Jim.
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By faith we understand. That's interesting, isn't it? It's not blind. Given the revelation of God that we have in the person of the Lord Jesus, we know that God is infinite. He is eternal. There is no measuring stick that you can put on him as to His knowledge, as to His power.
And given those facts, is there any, uh, question that he could call the whole universe into existence that we live in? Absolutely makes sense. Makes perfect sense. Let's go back to Psalm 33.
I really enjoy what it says there about Creation Notice.
Psalm 33, verse 6.
By the word of the Lord, where the heavens made, and all the host of them. By the breath of his mouth. Verse 9.
For he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast.
Interesting by the word of his mouth, so that God created the whole universe, and as it says here, they were made of things which do not appear. For I'm going to make something. I make say this chair, I make it of things that are already existent. That is not creation. Creation is bringing things into existence.
That did not appear before How? By the word of His power.
Wonderful, tremendous to get a hold of that. And I think it is really basic in our understanding of the Scriptures that we accept God as a creator. God. He made it all and when He made it, He had a purpose. If I make this chair, I have a purpose for this chair. God had a purpose in making this universe to display His glory. To me. It is fascinating that they cannot.
Find the edge of the known universe. And even if they would find an edge, they would probably say what's beyond that? And I, I don't have an answer for those things. The point is that what we can see, what we can know about in our partial knowledge.
Brethren, it is made by the word of his power. He spake, and it was done. What a tremendous God we have been brought to know.
In the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's another thing he's doing by the word of His power too, and you get it in the first chapter of Hebrews, and that is he's upholding all things by the word of his power.
Let's go back to Colossians for a verse for a moment that I have found.
Very remarkable in this regard in Colossians chapter one.
And verse 17 and he is before all things and by him all things. If you notice Mr. Darby's translation, it's not consist but subsist because this chair that you mentioned consists of certain things. It consists of some hardware and plastic and some upholstery and and so on. But to subsist is more than to consist. To subsist is to work to under the direction of another.
And this whole creation works under the direction of the Creator. It subsists by the word of His power. Brethren, to think of it, the Lord Jesus, when he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a Manger.
He was upholding all things by the word of his power when he was asleep in the boat for a few moments of rest during his public ministry.
He was upholding all things by the word of his power when his hands were stretched on a Roman cross.
He was upholding all things by the word of his power. Tremendous to think about. He's the creator. He brought it into existence by the word of his power, but he's sustaining it by the word of his power. If he were to draw his breath back to himself, this creation would perish in a moment. How do we understand it all? Well, science is fascinating. I, I find science fascinating and books on the creation and so on. And God has allowed man.
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To delve into lots of things and to send his probes up into space and to see many things.
But brethren, we have to accept it all by faith. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
And so many, so many today are teaching that he is not, that it all happened by certain theories and certain cosmic accidents in in the cosmos and so on. Young people don't accept that for a moment. Maybe you can't reason it all out. You don't understand it. But we have been given, as Bob has said, we have been given enough.
For lack of a better word, enough information in the Word of God to grasp clearly by faith that God and His Son the Lord Jesus are the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. You and I do not need any more than the testimony of this book. True science always corresponds with the Word of God, but I don't need science to by faith understand that He is the Creator and Sustainer.
The very starting point is that we must believe God and that he is. And if we don't do that, we can't understand because it's through faith that we understand that we don't get faith except from God and he gives it to us. And so the very starting point is that I must believe that God is and the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him so to try and understand anything about the universe as as being mentioned.
There's there's no point in it. It's the wrong, it's the wrong starting point because hi, first of all, I have to believe that God is. And when we, when we really get that into our soul, then we understand all the rest. But we don't have to argue about it. We don't have to question it because God is.
One of the key things in this third verse is through faith. We understand. We tend to think of this chapter about all the worthies of the Old Testament, but actually begins with us.
You know, we might look at some of these examples and as being said and think, oh, I wish I had the faith of, of Abraham or, or one of the others mentioned. We can't even begin to think like that if we at the very beginning, as you have just said, cannot accept that God has framed this world by the word of his power. Another point on faith too, because I think as has already been mentioned, it's so confused in this world. The world talks about faith, but it, it, it is nonsense. It's some nebulous thing that has absolutely no meaning. How faith rests on a rock is the most concrete thing there is.
If faith is accepting God at his word, what's the opposite of that? Well, of course it's not accepting God at his word. Well, then who is whose word are you going to accept? Or my word? And you see, that's why you want to see things. Well, then I can weigh it up. If I see something, I can come to conclusion myself. And that's the opposite of faith. And it says in first John that sin is lawlessness. It's it's, it's acting according to my will, doing what I want to do in independence from God. That is the complete opposite of faith.
So when we speak of faith, this is already being said over and over again. It's simply accepting God as His word and it's all in connection with things we cannot see because as I said, if we could see it, well then we would want to weigh up, weigh it up and come to our own conclusion about it. You know, it's not much different what we're talking about than what we find in Foca Proverbs where it says lean not unto thine own understanding.
That's not faith.
The Pharisees and.
Scribes, when they were standing at the cross, they said, come down that we may see.
And believe, that's the way this world talks about it. But the Lord Jesus said to Martha in the 11Th chapter of John, if thou shouldst believe, thou should see the glory of God. So it's believing to see. Whereas this in this world, like you were saying, it's seen first to believe. If you don't show it to me, I'm not going to believe it.
I sometimes say, have you ever seen your brains?
No, Uh, do you believe you have some? You've never seen them. Uh, it, it doesn't make sense.
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Put a bit of structure on the chapter here and this is what shall I say man made structure and should be taken as such. But there is a reason why the chapter here I would suggest is put the way it is.
We get three men at the beginning here.
Abel, Enoch, and Noah.
And all exercised a tremendous faith in the framework of the day in which they live.
But I believe there's a reason why God picked these three men because.
And I'm just suggesting maybe we need to move on because we have three meeting meetings and a long chapter, but.
Abel showed the absolute need for a blood sacrifice.
Yes, the skins had been offered in that sense already if you refer to them that covered Adam and Eve in the beginning when they sinned, but this is the first real recording of a blood sacrifice.
Enoch is one who walked with God and he pictures for us. The church doesn't. He caught up without going through death.
Noah, he had tremendous faith too, because he believed in something that he'd not seen before. But he pictures, I would suggest Israel being carried through the Tribulation period, coming out on the other side and going into the millennial earth. There you get the whole picture of God's dealings with man.
Then with Abraham and his family you get 7 occasions of faith in connection with Abraham and his family.
And it's remarkable because Abraham is really the father of faith, isn't he? And Paul points that out in both Romans and Galatians that we are in that sense, the children of Abraham. And so he points out aspects of faith in Abraham's family.
Then, in connection with Moses and the children of Israel, you get 7 more occasions of faith in connection with God's earthly people.
Then in verse 32, you get 7 more individuals mentioned or groups of individuals and the real, shall we say, point of faith being brought in that ultimately it will be rewarded, not necessarily down here, but in resurrection. And I know that's an artificial structure on the chapter, but would you would you agree with that, Bob? Is that a reasonable way of looking at the?
Broad picture in it.
And so if we think of it that way, it's not.
It's not exactly everything that's here in the Word of God, but it's, as we would say, in worldly terms. It's something to hang your hat on when you're reading this chapter. And it shows, I believe, why God picked the individuals he did because there were plenty of others in the Old Testament that had faith. We don't see Daniel's name here, for example. He exhibited wonderful faith in a number of others.
But God is using these examples to show His.
Purposes and what he is doing, and of course, ultimately, in the case of the book in which this chapter is contained, to show those Jewish believers the importance of the exercise of faith and not as they wanted to expect a visible Kingdom right away, they weren't going to see it. The real reward for faith comes in resurrection and that's what comes at the end of the chapter.
And so in these first three individuals, it's really the faith that saves, isn't it? And so he brings out Abel first. We might have, if we were writing this chapter, we might have put Adam first because Adam was a man of faith. But it's able showing us that every blessing is based on the death of an innocent victim. There's no blessing for man. We couldn't be sitting here talking about faith in God.
00:50:19
And what is ahead and what we have as our hope, if it wasn't for the death and the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus, that perfect sacrifice.
And all the sacrifices from Abel down, Abel sacrifice down were just pale reflections and feeble foreshadows of what was in the heart of God. And so it's all based on the death and shedding of blood of an innocent victim.
And Abel is one has been said, who passed out of this world, a man of faith who passed out of this world through the article of death. Then Enoch, who was taken out of this world without going through death, and he was saved from that which was ahead by being raptured to heaven. Isn't that as we've been saying? That's what we're looking for. The church is looking for the rapture. We're going to be taken out of this world before the judgment falls.
And then Noah is one who was saved, but in a very different way. And I know we often use this story in the gospel, but I think it's been put in its proper perspective. Noah is saved, but through the flood. The ark is provided and he is saved through the flood. The picture of God's earthly people who will be saved through the tribulation, we're going to be taken out before it, but the God's earthly people are going to be saved through it.
And they're going to come out on a, on a cleansed earth. So however we apply these different stories of these men and, and they can be applied in different ways in the gospel and prophetically and so on. But as we said, it really has to do with the faith that saves.
Recognized what he evidently heard from his parents about the fall into sin, and the only thing that would fit him in the presence of God was the death of an innocent victim.
Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. He did it totally ignoring that God had cursed the ground.
And so he brought the fruit of a cursed earth to God.
And God was not pleased. You cannot act.
Ignoring the word of God and please God, it doesn't happen. God honors His word. And the Lord reasoned with Cain. He said if you do well, there's a sacrifice at the door. He could have gone that same route that Abel had gone, but he didn't. He went out of the presence of the Lord. Sad to think of Cain and where he ended up.
So it's important that.
Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him.
Wonderful. He had this testimony that he pleased God.
And he didn't do any major acts.
He didn't kill a giant like David.
He didn't do some of the major things, like Moses bringing the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
What did Enoch do that was so impressive?
He walked with God.
300 years.
That is impressive, brethren.
I find it hard sometimes to walk with God one day.
300 years. And I've often thought if we would ask Enoch, Enoch, how'd you do it? He would say a step at a time. And that's the secret, brethren, to walking with God. Do it a step at a time. You don't have to look ahead for one day, one year. Just do it a step at a time in the consciousness.
That the Lord is with us. Oh, how wonderful it is. And it was so that then at the end of his life, he walked right into the presence of the Lord. He did not die. He was not because God took him.
00:55:04
I'm sure you've heard maybe of the story of the young girl in Sunday school who told the story of Enoch, and I enjoyed the way she put it.
At the end of one day, the Lord said to Enoch, Enoch, we've come so far today in our walk together. I think you're closer to my house than your house. You come home with me. And he went home with the Lord. I love that walking into the presence of the Lord.
We're going to walk into the presence of the Lord one of these days. It could happen today. Let's take each step with Him, because one of them is going to be the last step, and we're going to go right into the pleasance of the Lord.
That's what's ahead for us.
Going back to your comments about Abel.
So that he was to offer up a sacrifice of blood for redemption. How did he know that? And as you mentioned, he had to have learned it from his father, from it, from Adam. And I think that's encouragement to.
Parents here, our kids need to learn from us about the necessary the the need for a redemption sacrifice, the need for a blood sacrifice, the need for the blood of Jesus Christ.
And so that means the children need to know that they're sinners and so they get it all falls back on the parents to the especially the fathers to teach the children about the ways of God and then the the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Able to do this and to overcome in spite of the family situation. And I say that in a very practical way because sometimes I hear people say, well, it's hard to live for the Lord in my situation, the family I come from, the circumstances in which I find myself. Abel's brother, own brother, rose up and slew him because by faith he offered a more excellent sacrifice than than Cain.
And so faith can triumph. Faith does triumph against all kinds of odds and difficulties. And whether it was able, whether it was Enoch in his day or Noah in his day, or any of the other men and women that are listed subsequent to these three first individuals, remember, brethren, they were not easy times. You know, sometimes we read these stories and we think, well, that was OK Back in those days, things must have been easier.
They were not easy times. This world has always been wicked. From the fall of man right down. Satan is the God and Prince of this world. We're in a world where sin has taken its effects.
And these men, Enoch lived in a wicked day. Noah lived in a wicked day. The thoughts of man's hearts were only evil continually. Violence and corruption filled the earth. There was a man of faith. And not only that, but as you say, Tim, when they went into the ark, he took his family with him. I, I enjoyed a little commentary. And I, I say this, I trust brethren with all humility, but I, I enjoyed a little commentary on Noah.
That he was a man who lived by faith, served the Lord.
And also brought his family under the good and blessing of what was provided for their salvation at that time. I, I, I thought that was that. That was very exercising. But remember, none of these men and women lived at easy times. They faced unique problems and difficulties in their day, just as we did. But the resources that we have in God and Christ today to live by faith.
Are the same limitless resources and supply that have always been available to God's people. And we have far more than these men and these women in the Old Testament have. We have we have the work of Calvary accomplished. We have a man living for us. We have the completed Word of God. We have the Spirit of God indwelling us, and on and on and on. What resources we have, brethren, if these men could live by faith, and if he not could walk for God with God for 300 years.
Can't we seek grace to walk with God for justice the few that are entrusted to us?
If you think about no companionship did he have.
Eight souls were saved. Methuselah probably died the year of the flood, so there was nine, perhaps others also died the year of the flood. But you know, we like numbers. We like lots of companions going the same walk as we are because then we feel good about it. But Noah was, I think, very lonely in in, in a human sense, isn't it? I think that's important.
01:00:29
So you have in verse seven, it speaks of Noah's faith.
But his family is mentioned there, and it's interesting. Through his faith, he prepared the means by which his family could be saved. But each one of them were adults. They had their wives, and they were the ones that entered by faith into that ark as well. But it doesn't mention their faith here. It mentions Noah's faith and I think as it's been.
Brought out, this is a real encouragement to households of faith. Oh, what a blessing it is to be brought up in a Christian home. And God recognizes the family unit, thou and thy house. It's something that runs through all of Scripture. When God saves the person, he's interested in the whole house.
Hold of course, each one in their time have to exercise their personal faith in the Lord to be saved.
But we as parents can provide the means by which they can be saved.
And that's what Noah did. He prepared the ark. He didn't just.
Sit down and cross his arms and say, well if God wants to save my family, he will save them. No, it was getting up and working.
Pretty huge arc he built for the saving of his house.
It had a lot more room in it than just his household, but it was what he built and God used that and he was able through that means that his whole house was saved. I think that's a beautiful encouragement to Christian families. Exercise your faith to include your children. Bring them up for the Lord. In First Corinthians 7, it says that children are holy.
Doesn't say they're saved necessarily until they exercise their own faith in the Lord Jesus.
But they are separated. God looks at him because of the faith of the parents as separated.
To himself act in that, that is faith.
Verse 6 interposed between Enoch and Noah, which to me lends a tremendous emphasis to the whole thing.
Without faith, it is impossible to please him. There it is absolutely clear.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is.
And what that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. That is, God will always reward the one who seeks him out and seeks to walk according to faith.
Do we really believe that?
An old brother, whom some of us can well remember, used to make this statement in very decisive and thundering tones. All our failure, whether as sinners or as Saints, ultimately stems from our unbelief of the goodness that's in the heart of God. Do you remember hearing that, Bob? I do, too.
All our failure, whether a sinner's or a Saints, ultimately stems from our unbelief.
Of the goodness that is in the heart of God.
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And I believe that verse, excuse me, I believe that verse is put in here right at the beginning of this chapter because.
The efforts of Satan, right from the beginnings of man's history, were to say, Yeah, hath God said, and then to try and cast an element of doubt into the goodness of God. But God is a God who is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, whether it was able or Noah or Enoch.
01:05:15
Whether it was Israel in their day, whether it is you and I in our day, the pathway of faith is always a blessed path and a path that pays eternal dividends. So we need to remember that, don't we?
Comment please on that first part. It says he that cometh to God must believe that he.
Is on that part please?
Well, I guess, brother Bob, that verse came to life for me by a brother that you knew better than I, our late brother Eric Smith. And he used to say to some of us young people, he'd say the Lord lives, you know, the Lord lives. And he'd look at us with those piercing eyes and.
I think, well, for a moment, yeah. Well, why? Why do you bother telling us that? Did you think I didn't believe that the Lord lived?
But what he meant was that the Lord, if you could put it this way, he lives, but not merely as some distant God who wound the world up and set it in motion and then sort of took his hands off and let it go. But he's one who lives and moves and takes a real interest in every aspect of your life and mine.
How could you add to that, Bob? How does it come through to you? Yeah, I think that's right. And it shows that faith is based on the revelation of who God is.
And then He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. If you do not know God, you have no basis of knowing who you are yourself. To me it is, it is incredible to see how increasingly in our country here, the United States of America, where Christianity has flourished for a long time, but they're giving up God. They're giving up his word.
And young people are trying to figure out who I am, and I gotta have my own identity. And what impresses me is that they are increasingly lost because they've given up God. And if you have given up God, you don't have any basis to know who you are.
So it's important to know He is and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Christianity, or I should say eternal life, is the knowledge of the true God and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what eternal life is.
Of faith and it brings pleasure to him. You know that was one of the things with Eliphaz who was a friend of Job. He says can a man be profitable unto God?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Yes, it was. It was a great pleasure to the Almighty. And that doesn't mean to say there wasn't a need to be in Job's life. But Alex has completely missed the point. God has an interest in your life and my life, and a walk of faith brings pleasure to God.