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View of the situation in which we all live. I'd like to suggest with the if the Lord.
Be in mind with it the 11Th chapter of Hebrews, the chapter of faith. We need that in these closing days of this era of our scene here on earth.
I trust I have the Lord's mind in that Hebrews Chapter 11.
Should I make a suggestion, since we've got a problem of lack of seating, that there's two rows up here on the front and lots of our young brother in in the back, maybe are not shy enough that they could occupy those seats?
To give place to somebody in the back or somebody else that you can't sit up here.
00:05:34
Read the whole chapter brother.
We'll probably read the half of it to start with and if we have the opportunity to finish it.
It certainly would be a good.
Breaking point at the.
End of the 22nd verse.
Hebrews Chapter 11 to the 22nd verse.
Give it 11 from 1 to 22 one now fee is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen for bias. The elders obtained a good report through faith. We understand that the world were framed by the word of God.
To the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice and change, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God has defined of his gift, he being dead yet speakers. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found, because God has 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. Diligently seek Him by faith. Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet moved with fear, prepared an art to the savings of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of righteousness, which is by faith. 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 whether he went by faith. He's adjourned in the in the land of promise, as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same prominence. For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builders and maker is gone through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive sins, and was delivered of a child which he was past age, because she judged him faithful.
Who had promised Deborah springs there even of one, and him as good as dead. So many of the stars in the sky multitude, and that's 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 returns.
But now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be their call, their God, for He hath prepared for them a city by faith. Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had, and he that had received the promises offered up His only begotten Son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall they see. Recall according according accounting, that God was able to raise money even from the dead, from whence also He received them in a figure.
By faith Isaac bless Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, bless both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaned upon the top of his staff. And by faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandments concerning his phones.
In the day in which we live, there's a propagation throughout the systems of this world that there is no God, that creation is not a historical fact. But here we have true faith. We understand that the world were framed or mended by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
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When God created in Genesis 11, it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth He spake and it came forth. And there are some very competent scientists in this world today that have done a lot of research and they have found that what Scripture has said is true. There's no such thing as a Willy nilly situation in this world. There was a creator.
There was a designer and he designed this creation and there are many that believe that. Of course, there are many that don't.
And the reason I think that we have this chapter is to encourage those that are in trial and sorrow. We haven't come to it at the end of the chapter, but as you go through that, you'll notice that everyone had a trial, a sorrow or difficulty, and they overcame it only by one thing, and that was faith for the person of Christ, and they didn't realize it then. That's true. But nevertheless, that's still the case.
And so today we have that same character and we have that same support and we have that same power that is able to keep us through faith.
It's interesting that the word for Genesis, the beginning of Genesis one in the beginning God, that word is a plural word. Its meaning is more than one involved.
In the creation of the whole world, and of course that includes God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
So that the whole creation was conceived in the mind of the Father. It was performed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we get that in the first chapter of John's Gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the same was in the beginning with God.
And the 14th verse, all things were made by Him. The Lord Jesus without Him was not His name made. That was made. And the Holy Spirit was the power of it all. It took the free God, free of the Godhead to bring into being the entire creation.
I personally am comfortable more comfortable with a young earth than a ancient earth, but then I have to say, well, I may be wrong there.
We had an interesting experience about five years ago meeting a man from Mongolia who at the time had been, he was actually an evangelist. He had come to know the Lord, but he told us that in his youth, and this goes back to creation. In his youth he was in the communist country and closed tight as no visitors were allowed in and they were taught atheism and they were taught evolution because they didn't want to believe in creation.
But he told us this, He looked around and he said somebody had to make this and somebody is maintaining this. And I just read you Romans 120.
It says for the invisible things of him, God from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.
So that they are without excuse. And I have that verse, but it was interesting to have the experience of meeting someone who actually lived out this verse. It was out the knowledge of the Word of God without anyone telling him. He recognized that there was a creator for this creation and not only did he create it, but he's maintaining it.
There's a wonderful thing, you know, you don't need that to confirm the word of God that it's sure nice to see it work. And so that's what we have here in this chapter. These people couldn't see the end and none of them really achieved what they were waiting for says that, but they had faith and God valued their faith. And so we have faith. We've never seen the Lord. We have never.
00:15:11
You know witnessed the create the truth of crucifixion.
Rid of it and the Scripture, we believe it and it's real to it. Just before we take up these verses and these individuals, it might be helpful to just say that this chapter, which we often refer to as the faith chapter, it brings before us a list of individuals from the Old Testament, men and women and young people who lived by faith. And I was struck when our brother Dave introduced this chapter, suggested this chapter.
As to his exercise, because we find, as we will find as we go down this list, some we have various comments made about them, others are just mentioned in passing, Some later on are just alluded to as to circumstance. Their names aren't given. But all these men and women and young people, brethren, they live by faith against all kinds of odds and difficulties. And I believe one great lesson we learned from this chapter is.
That it's never been easy to live by faith, whether it was able or whether it's right down to our day in 2006, it's never been easy. We're still in a world that is full of the trials and difficulties of life. We're still in a world where Satan is the God and Prince. We still have the flesh. And so God encourages us to go on and to live even in days like we find ourselves through giving us these examples.
And what has encouraged me is to realize that God not only teaches us in His Word by precept, but He teaches us by example. He brings before us these individuals to show that with faith in God, we can go on, no matter how dark the day. And if we get the if, if we have that before our souls in what is taken up in these readings, then we're going to be encouraged, brethren, if the Lord leaves us here.
To go back into our homes, to our work situations, to the little assemblies we come from. And we're going to be encouraged to press on in the path of faith and service. And I'd just like to make a comment about the first statement of this chapter. When it speaks about the faith is the substance of things hoped for. I believe really what the writer is bringing before us by the Spirit is that it was faith that gave substance to their lives. And I think that's something to think about.
If a person is going to have real substance to their lives, then they must live by faith. Faith isn't a leaf in the dark Faith. It always has life. Faith always has something to act upon. It's true. Faith is one step at a time. It's true faith is taking God at His word and acting on that word without seeing what is ahead, or in the case of creation, without having all our curious questions answered, but nevertheless.
Faith, I say, is not a leap in the dark. Faith always has an object before it, and when it does then there's substance to the persons life.
Memorized the sixth verse. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. If you don't have faith, you have nothing, nothing of any substance of any value at all. faith in God is the very foundation for our living our life and everything, isn't it? And we do not need confirmation from science, as interesting as it is.
We don't need confirmation from anything else but what God says. True science always confirms his faith. False science denies it. And there's nothing more. Stupid, idiotic, ridiculous. I could go on and on and on. Then evolution it. It just didn't, couldn't happen that way. It doesn't take. I mean, it was said science has come to that conclusion. True science.
I don't care if it's true science or not. A kindergartner.
Can come to that conclusion. I remember having a little walk when I was in second or third grade and we had a deep theological discussion, you know, does God exist or not? And we came to the conclusion, yes, he does. Just a little boy and anyone that looks around and sees it.
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And it looks. I always look at the newborn child. We have a lot in our meeting. I always count their fingers.
You know, every little detail is ordered of God. And if you don't, if you think that just happened, it's absurd. It's absolutely absurd. And it's so wonderful to realize that the very foundation of your living and everything you do is faith in him. And faith is based on the word of God. We're we're we're not just talking about believing something without reason. God has spoken.
He told us how he made the world. He's not told us all the details, but he's told us how he spoke and it came to pass. And so it, it's a question of whether you believe God or not what he said. That is faith. Faith lays hold of what God says and believes it and counts it true. This is what we're Speaking of. That's Romans chapter 10. I think I'd be good to read that, Doug, because it's very.
Important to see that faith is not just some fuzzy feeling I have inside.
And that's based on that.
Romans chapter 10 and verse 17.
So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
That is very important, that we have what is written out for us today in black and white, and we have reason to believe that it is the word of God and God is God. One of his attributes is that He is true. He cannot lie, and for as much as I may not understand what he says.
If he says it, I believe it. That is faith that is trusting him because of who he is. And I think that is really good to see. It's not just some idea that popped in my mind that I have faith about that. Sometimes what people think when you talk about faith and somebody has said that the definition of faith we have in John chapter 3.
Do you remember John 330-3333 is a definition of what faith is.
First verse of our chapter is what faith does. It gives substance to life like you say. But let's read John 333. He that hath received his testimony.
Hath set to his seal that God is true. God said it, I believe it. That settles it. That's faith. And we have another verse in.
Two Corinthians chapter 5 that says we walk by faith, not by sight. We are living in a materialistic world and you're taught young people how to guide yourself in a materialistic world by sight. Look where the opportunities are.
Let me tell you.
You and I necessarily are short sighted. We do not see as much as we need to see if we're going to be guided by our sight. But here in the word of God, God has given us his wisdom. And if you base your life not on mere sight doesn't mean we close our eyes when we're walking. No, it means we use whatever faculties we have, but we don't base our lives.
On what we see, we base them on what God has given to us in His Word. That's faith, and we walk on that principle. We have a tremendous example in the Old Testament of two individuals that live together. One was Abraham, the father of the faithful.
And the other was his nephew Lot. Abraham lived by faith. God called him out of his land, his native land, and he went out not knowing whether he went.
In this chapter.
That seems strange. When you go on a trip, don't you know where you're going?
He had the call of God and he obeyed it. He deemed that God was faithful in what he said. But Lot was, even though a real believer as to his sole salvation, a man who looked around and when it came time for Lot and Abraham to part ways because.
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Their substance was too great. Lifted up his eyes and looked.
And he chose according to the sight of his eyes, and he went towards Sodom, and he pitched towards Sodom, and then he was in Sodom.
Lot ended up losing everything. Everything. Even lost his he lost the majority of his family, perhaps in Sodom got out with his wife and his two daughters.
And he lost his wife because her heart was still in silence.
Then he lost his integrity too. I mean, it is sad. It is a tremendous example that's painted for us. Young people, don't live by the sight of your eyes. Live by faith in what God has said in this book. You won't regret it. Tom was suggesting there that not only God made the world by His word, but He also sustains the world by His word.
It says in Hebrews chapter one, sustaining all things by the word of his power. The scientists look at the world and they they look at the laws that allow the planets to stay in orbit and all this is sustained by the word of God. Right now God said something and there it was for the believer. Now through faith God says something and there it should be in our life, the same word, same power and it is effective if you put it in practice in your life.
That third verse? The world's were framed by the word of God.
Just that one verse disproves the theory that the evolutionists have that there was a Big Bang and it produced what we see about us. This says that God is the God of order. He puts everything in proper order. He frames it, so to speak. There's two ways to build a house. You can hire a architect and and then you get the workers together and.
Different to ones that are needed and everything has to go in in its proper place and finally the result is a completed home. Or you can you can have the lumber yard deliver all the material and put sticks of dynamite there and then blow them up and you got a house.
Everyone laughs, everyone laughs. It's it's so ridiculous.
You every time you see anything that's got ordered to it, there's got to be someone that framed it.
Someone that ordered it and that's our I hope everyone can say this, everyone can say this. Can you? That's my God. That's my God. We're talking about my God. Can you say that? Is there anyone in the room that can't say he is my God, my Lord, my savior? She can't say that. You have no faith and you can't please him no matter how hard you may try. In Colossians one, I think it's the 17th verse it says.
You notice Mr. Darby's translation by him. All things not just consist, like it says in the King James, but subsists. The subsist is more than to consist. This chair in front of Maine consists of various commodities, some hardware, some plastic, some upholstery, and so on. But the substance is more than that. The subsist is to work under the direction of another. And so, as our brother said a few moments ago, not only did he frame the word of the the world by his word speak and.
The creation came into existence, but He upholds it by His word. All this creation works under His direction and He keeps all the planets in their orbit. The pull of gravity on the Earth is maintained. Not only that, but bring it right down to ourselves. He give us to all life and breath and all things. As we take one breath after another, as we move our limbs and what whatever we do, do, we realize that He's sustaining the very breath that we breathe.
But I would like to go back for a moment to something that Bob brought up earlier in connection with these ones that live by faith, because I think it's important to get on to these individuals. We're going to be governed by a clock here at these meetings. And it's good to get on to these these individuals for our encouragement. But to notice that, as we said earlier, not only did they have an object, but an eye to the future. If I can illustrate it this way, well, perhaps before I use my illustration.
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I'll just quote a verse in the 29th of Proverbs again in Mr. Darby's translation. It says where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. And so faith always has vision or an eye to the future. Why would you give up present advantage if you didn't have something in the future ahead of you? Why did Abraham answer the call of God? Why did he live by faith for all those years? Because he looked for a city which has foundation whose builder and maker is God. Later on we're going to take up Moses.
Why did he give up the court of Pharaoh? Why did he give up being the heir apparent to the throne of Egypt? Because he endured as seeing him who is invisible. At the end of the chapter there were those who didn't accept or receive deliverance. They suffered trials of cruel mocking. They were thought asunder. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins and so on. Why did they do it? They looked for a better resurrection. They had an eye to the future.
Sometimes illustrated it this way, a young person may go off to college or university and maybe they give up present advantage. They give up perhaps the advantage of living in their parents home. They get they live on very little. They their rooming conditions aren't exactly what they would like. They live in a small space. They don't go out with their friends when they would like to. They give up certain things. Now why do they do that? Well, they've got an eye to the future.
You talk to that young person, you say why do you drive an old junker of a car? Why do you live in that one room dorm? Why do you eat something out of a can twice a day? All a young person says, I'm looking forward to the day I get my degree and when I graduate and I get a job then things are going to be different.
But if the young person loses sight of the end of the course, why he's not going to be encouraged to study hard. That's going to be encouraged to give up present advantage. And Brownman, what is it that's going to help us or cause us to give up present advantage? What is it that's going to help us to not be like lost and to lift our eyes above the horizons of this bad world? It's to realize that there is something far better ahead. It's to have an object and a goal. It's to have Christ before our souls. It's to have the glory before our souls.
And so everyone of these ones that live by faith, they had an eye to the future. They gave up certain things at the present because they knew that there was a better future ahead. That's the thought of the promise. The promise is always given with an eye for the future.
And we have in God's Word exceeding great and precious promises that we can enjoy by faith, and faith lays hold of these promises and can enjoy them just as though they had already taken place.
And it's a wonderful thing because we have the word of God, and this is that which sustains us and encourages us.
It reveals to us the future, the bright prospects of the believer, how wonderful they are. And I found encouragement in Joshua chapter 23. These are beautiful verses in Joshua chapter 23.
And verse 14, here we have Joshua speaking to the people.
And he says.
He hope this day I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed. All the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed. Early continues to repeat the fact that not one good thing has failed.
What God has promised took place.
Verse 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that is, all good things are come unto you, which the Lord that God promised you. So shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from walking. His good land explored to God He has given you, and that took place too.
God is not a man that he should lie. That's another verse. In Numbers 23 and verse 19 it says God is not a man that he should lie, neither the Son of man that he should repent have to study, and shall he not do it?
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Or have you spoken, and shall he not make it good?
One of the great things that these characters that are that are depicted here in the 11Th chapter is that they believe. They believe what God had said. And if if you look at them carefully and we won't be able to do it. We don't have time. But take a look. Enoch. Enoch lived in probably the most violent time this earth has ever seen.
Genesis 6 says that the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually. And that's the time in which Enoch lived. He left just before that the Lord took him. But he walked in a place and in a time that was probably 10 times more difficult than anything we know. And he walked with God. And that's the the secret of Enoch's life. And that can be the secret of your life.
And my life, do we really walk with God? We can we have his word?
We have this direction we can walk with him, go along with what our brother Jim was saying that this chapter could be called the chapter of the great cloud of witnesses. You see if you go to the 12Th shaft in verse one, he says wherefore seeing also we are compass about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Then he goes on great cloud of witnesses are these Old Testament Saints that had walked in the path of faith and had honored God and God had supported them and kept them.
And so in the development of the doctrine of the book, we find that he has really been setting before the the Hebrew Christians that they are heavenly people for the heavenly calling with heavenly hopes and heavenly blessings. And they're called in the end of the 10th chapter, verse 38, to walk by faith. It says the just shall live by faith. And so Romney says that these things are all new to them. One thing is not new. God's ancient people always lived on the principle of faith.
Until he brings up in this 11Th chapter this great cloud of witnesses that have a one girl gone before and have walked the path of faith as a means of encouraging these Hebrew Christians to carry on. And as we look at these various individuals, really what we're seeing is various aspects of faith being exercised in the life of a child of God.
Let's take that as an encouragement for ourselves. If these passes, these, these various individuals should encourage us.
To live by faith, to walk by faith. Someone said the chapter could be divided into three parts. And the 1St 7 verses or so, we see the faith that really draws near to God and escapes the judgment that has become a space that's saved. And then from verse 8, which marks the new paragraph in J and Darby's translation on truth to above verse 22, we have the face that lays hold of the world to come.
And that energizes the sinks to live by, live by strangers and pilgrims in this world. But then in the latter part of the chapter, perhaps from verse 23 on, we have the faith that really overcomes this present world and is willing to suffer. So we have the faith that saves, the faith that sees, and the faith that Supper, these ones all walked in that path and received.
A good report.
And so we should take courage and be willing and ready to walk also in that same path. It is a good path. Reminds me of the the Jeremiah 6 where it says I stand in the way. Yeah, let me turn to that in Jeremiah 6.
And verse, I think it's about verse 16.
Yes, it is. You're on my 616. Let's dance the Lord stand in the waves and see and ask for the old path. That's what we're looking at this morning, some of the old paths.
Where the ancient ones of God had walked, asked for the old path, whereas in a good good way, and walk there in and he shall find rest for your soul. Isn't that beautiful?
It's not that they didn't have failures, but their failures aren't recorded in this chapter. I say that because perhaps you say, well I could never be like many of these Saints of God that are listed here. Tremendous to think of some of the ways that they triumphed against the odds and difficulties of life, the work of the enemy and so on. And you say I could never stand by them. Well, when we go back to the Old Testament of many of them, at least we read of some of their failures. Moses, we read of his failures. He lost his patience with the people of God. He called them rebels. That was a failure in Moses life.
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But what he lists here, as I say, is not their failures, but he lists their faith, showing us that even amidst our failures, brethren, there is a way that you and I can live by faith for God's glory. I want to just jump ahead again to the 12Th chapter that Bruce alluded to to make the point because I don't believe in Scripture. We ever find that our brethren are given to us as the object for faith. We've spoken of the object for faith.
And these ones here that are listed, while they are listed for our encouragement, they are not given as the object for faith. And that's why as soon as the list is completed, then he lifts our eyes, takes our eyes away from that list. He says, therefore your encouragement, but he takes our eyes away from that list and he lifts our eyes by faith into the open heaven. And he says, now I'm going to give you the object for faith.
I'm going to give you the only man whoever walked through this world and began and completed the path of faith in perfection. Nobody else could ever claim to have begun and completed the path of faith and perfection. And that's why he says in verse two of chapter 12, looking at well, let me back up to the end of verse one, he says, and let us run with patience or endurance.
The race that is set before us. We have a race, we have a path of faith, just as all the previous ones, the cloud of witnesses, each had. But what is the object for us? Is it able? Is it Noah, Is it Moses? Is it Abraham? No. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher. It should read not so much of our faith, but of faith, because, as I say, He began and completed the path of faith and perfection.
And having done that, God has set him at his right hand as the object for you and for me as we run the path of faith here. And so let's remember this, brethren, will be preserved in the path of faith, in the race of faith, in the measure in which we have Christ before us as our object. Not only are the ones listed here as an encouragement, but our brethren that we know and love or have known and love, they are an encouragement too.
Paul could even say be followers of Maine, even as I am of Christ. He said that by inspiration.
But nevertheless, is Paul the object for our faith No are the are our brethren that we're sitting here with the object for our faith We just laid to rest our brother Charlie Little if anybody ever encouraged me in the path of faith that was brother little and the trips and the times we had together were tremendous encouragement and I looked back and I'm thankful for it. If someone like that the object for faith. No Christ is the object for our faith a glorified Christ at the right hand of God.
But our brethren, whether they're listed here or brethren we know or have known in our personal lives, they are given to encourage us to press on.
The first verse where it says now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. One way that you have evidence and substance for faith because how can you see it if it's inside your mind and your heart? You can see it when it's lived out. How do others?
See it and be encouraged. Well, if it's given something, because I see in this my face that it's in their life, I see it. I see it in my mother and father. I see it in older ones. I see it in others. Then it has substance. It is something I can look at. I can see, I can lay hold of. That person has faith. And when they say it, they mean it because they live it. It's in their lives. It's lived out of it. It's real. It has substance to it. It's something that's very real. That's the only way that people can see it.
Mr. Faith, one brother read from Romans chapter 20. What if, and I looked at that statement of brother Bob, Tony said, if God says it and I believe it, that settles it. Well, we ought to be that way. And I love that, that saying, but what if you don't believe that God said.
00:45:09
I tell you the first gospel that many see is the gospel in creation around us, like Romans verse 20, in Romans verse 20 that was read. That's the first gospel that men see. And let me tell you this, there are young people amongst us that aren't sure that God said it. Well, it is important that we point out things. One brother said here today that we don't have to depend upon science to prove the word of God. But I'll tell you this, there are men and women that have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and their Savior because somebody pointed out to them.
That when true science agrees with the Bible, it's a reason to believe that this book is the truth. Someone asked me once, well, you say all these things and I know you believe what you believe, but why do you think this book is true? Because I can't not believe it now. I have seen too many things in this book come, come to pass, not only in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the life of people that I have grown up with. It works. It's real in people's lives.
That's one reason that you can say and give for why is Christianity that true Christianity? Why is it better than all the other religions that are on the earth? Because it's the only one that works. And when you see the real thing in the lives of men and women that walk on this earth, whether they're young or old, when you see it, you know it and it agrees with this book. So when you you may have opportunity to speak to somebody, the greatest attack of the enemy in the world today is to undermine this book we hold in our hands.
He's attacked that. He's attacking that amongst the Lord's people wherever they're found to question whether God really said that. Did he really say that?
It's the first fly that Satan brought into the garden and he gave God said that attack. There are things that are in creation and things around us that we can point out to people and say it is a reasonable thing to believe that God wrote this book because of this and that. You know, I told somebody once talking to a Jewish fellow, I said, how in the world could your ancient people write things like, how did they know to wash their hands in running water? And it wasn't until science and medicine discovered that it was a good thing to do to get rid of the germs on your hand. How did they know those things?
How did they know that things our scientists know or how do the people who wrote this book know that in Hebrews Chapter 11 verse three, that the very solid things that we sit on like this chair are made out of things we can't see. Science now knows and teaches that there are atoms, there are particles that are small that we can't see. The Bible tells me that that those who wrote this by the inspiration of God knew that. How did they know those things? How did they know to write those things down? If we point that out, if we go to the word and point that out to those that we give the gospel to.
Or those that are being raised up amongst us, if we point those things out, it becomes reasonable to believe that what God has done before, what he has done in the lives of men and women around me, what he has done for the Saints that are in this chapter in the past, that He can do in the lives of us today. And it gives substance to it. But don't, don't forget to point these things out to the young people, to your children, that it is a reasonable thing to believe that this book really is what God has said.
And that we can then believe it and act upon it because it really, really works. This is the only book, religious book of all the false religions in the world, the only book that gives us prophetic utterances of future events that have now been literally fulfilled. The coming of the Lord Jesus. Daniel 9 told us He would come, and He came at the exact time that it says He would come. So the Jews that are still looking for their Messiah.
Have missed it totally because he has come and the Bible is the only book that has fulfilled prophecy hundreds of them fulfilled by the the word of God. And that's a tremendous truth. It's not just that it's reasonable. Some of the things that we have in Hebrews 11 were not reasonable. I mean, Abraham was shown the stars of the heavens. So shall thy seed be the sand that was on the sea so shall thy seed be.
But Sarah was barren. She couldn't have children. How could that be? How could that be? God said it was going to be that way, but the facts were facing him. It's not reasonable. She's barren, but so he so he takes things into his own hands. Sarah does he thinks of well, I'll give you know, you go into my maid Hagar and you can have children with her and then.
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We know that was not God's thought and it happened and Hagar had Ishmael and.
That was not fulfillment of what God had said to Abraham at all. Abraham was the father, but Sarah was not the mother until God gave him, and she was 90 and he was 99.
100 years old when Isaac was born. Unreasonable, but we have to wait God's time. I I like it. It's been said if God says it.
I believe it and that settles it. Well, whether you believe it or not, if God said it, that settles it. You don't have to believe it to make it good. It's good because God said it and it will come to pass in his time. Not what is my time and you it. You said it, Jim. I was just going to bring that out.
Don't get any of their failures in Hebrews 11, but there's plenty of them if you read Genesis. Plenty of failures. Things that are just unreasonable. How can that prophecy that my seed is going to be like the stars of heaven and I can't even have a single child from Sarah? Well, God made it come to pass.
Chuck, just to mention, in the Old Testament, St. Andrews 11.
Romans Chapter 11 I say then have God castaway his people, God forbid. For I also am in this real life of the seat of Abraham, of the tribe of engineers. God hath not castaway as people which he poor knew what you not what the Scripture said, but he lies you how he maketh intercession to God against Israel. So he that was not a good place to have to talk with testimony of what he did at that time, make an intercession against the people of God.
Just want to I just want to add one thing and the first in Hebrews 12 verse one. I want to read that carefully. I'm reading it from Mr. Garvey. Let us also therefore having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us. That's the Old Testament worthies that are mentioned in the 11Th chapter.
Laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, what is that sin? Well, it's the failures of the Saints that didn't walk by faith. They have the example of a cloud of witnesses that believe God. But what is that sin that's so easily entangles us? Is that some of the things that are written in this book? It just doesn't seem reasonable.
When Abraham was told that after he got Isaac, then he's told to put him to death to slay him.
I would have failed that test. Probably you would have, but Abraham had faith that God would bring to pass what he had said and but that's not normal for us. The sin which be so easy if he sets us is not believing God.
Not believing what he said and shame on us but.
It's just not reasonable.
Well, yeah, if God said it, it's going to happen. Faith is not reason, but faith is not unreasonable.
And if God has said it, let's think of who said it. If it was Chuck Hendricks that said it, I might have questions. Good, good, good, Jasmine.
I do trust you, Rusty. I can say the same thing to you.
But when it is God that says it, I believe it.
Who is God? You think of the vastness, the greatness, the understanding, the power.
Of the attributes of God, is it any difficulty to him to speak the universe into existence? Absolutely no difficulty. Why do people deny the creation because they don't know God?
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And that's why it's so important. Faith is not reason, and I think it's important for young people.
Sometimes when you engage people who don't believe in creation, don't be moved away from your faith.
Don't take the ground of reason with them, because they may be smarter than you. And maybe, and I've seen young people that have been totally undone by smart professors and they can prevent present evidence that seems to prove what they say. But who is smarter, that professor or the God of the universe?
Necessarily, that professor has.
Very small percentage of even knowledge. He has no power, but he has some knowledge. He may have more knowledge than you, but he doesn't have the knowledge that God has.
So it makes sense. It is reasonable to believe God. I think it is really important to see that there are two principles entirely different.
Remember when I worked in a hospital in Chicago?
One lunchtime I was having lunch and a Jewish doctor sat down in front of me and he saw a gospel tract in my pocket. And I gave him the gospel tract and he gave a few glances at it and then pushed it back across the table at me. And he said, the problem with you people is you're blind. You believe what you don't understand.
I said excuse me, Doctor, I'd like to ask you a question.
I'm just a normal person, but supposing you have the fame in this hospital of never making a mistake in the diagnosis of a disease and in the.
Treatment of it. And I come to you. I have no knowledge of disease or medicine or of remedies. But I only understand one thing. You don't make a mistake. And so you tell me. I have such and such a disease. And here's the.
A prescription I'll give you to take care of that. And I don't understand anything about that. Am I blind to blind to believe you?
And he said no, I said, neither. Am I blind to believe a God who can't lie?
He gets kind of shuffled his feet and said we'll talk another time about this. But it is the IT is the truth of the matter. It's where we stand. Is God true? If he's true, I can believe him. And like someone that said, I think you said check.
God will answer, but in his own time He doesn't answer in our timeframe. We think he should answer in this time frame, and when he doesn't, we get all upset. And sometimes we think, well, he didn't perform. For me, I think of Abraham walking along with Isaac to Mount Moriah. Isaac says, and they went, both of them together. And Abraham is no doubt thinking this is the child of promise. Whenever I read Genesis 22, I go back to chapter 21.
I forget the verse 12. I think that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, and he knows that this is the promised child and he's not going to have another. It's got to be Isaac. And Isaac shall I see? Because and he's thinking I'm called on by God who miraculously gave me this child. He tells me now I'm to sacrifice him. I'm going to put him to death. I have the knife and I have the fire. And the only way this can work is if God brings him back to life again.
And you can think that out when you read Genesis, but we're not left in doubt because it tells us right here in this chapter he counted.
By faith, Abraham verse 17, 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 once also he received him in a figure. Isn't that marvelous?
To think that he not only trusted God about the child, but he trusted us about putting him to death, that God must raise him again. Because in Isaac shall I seek be called. It's the only way it'll work. And he believed it. Let me give another thought. It's I've often heard it said that God created the worlds out of nothing. There was never nothing. There was always God.
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There was always God. Let's go back to the time when there was nothing else. Now The Big Bang theory requires that there has to be some material there to explode.
There has to be something. Let's go back to the time when only God existed. Nothing else existed. How was he going to make the universe?
The word of God says he's fake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. He said let there be and there was. How else could he have done? It had to come from himself. It came out of himself. He just had to speak the word. Do you believe in that God? I do, because that's the only way we got here is that he said it and it happened and anything else is.
Unreasonable.
To reason that's the most reasonable thing is that God spoke the world's into existence. There's nothing else that makes any sense.
The wonderful thing about faith is it brings us into relationship with our God and we we've spoken about Abraham and Isaac in the test that they went through and as Abraham obeyed God, going through that experience rather than think of the.
The joy that Abraham can now have in sharing with God, having both of them gone, going through a similar experience. And this is the ingredient that those who do not believe God, that do not obey in faith, miss out on in life. They miss out on relationship with God. They want it that way. They believe this because they want to live their lives without God. And so this has been.
This theory has been concocted in order to give them a reason to live their life without God. Poor souls, they are living a life in a marvelous creation that's made for them and they're missing out on the very purpose that God had in making us because he made us to have a relationship with them. And so our chapter, to me, it's wonderful to see how he begins the chapter with.
How the world was made, the formation of things, that is God's purpose.
He in in starting the whole thing. He tells us here he's the one that started it. But they're made with things which do not appear. Didn't say it's made with nothing. It says it's made with things that do not appear. He didn't tell us what those things were that do not appear. If he'd have told us, I'm afraid we everybody that got hung up on that thing.
And then they would have missed the point again. The point is.
We must have faith and obedience in what he said, and then we reap the good of the the course that God designed there and planned and began in whatever way he began. And so how wonderful it is for us to look at these trials of faith that we our experiences of faith where our faith is tested.
We see it in these ones that are given us as demonstrations and the different aspects. If we look at our experiences then as we go through life as means for God to prove to us brethren, His goodness, His plan, whatever it may be, test whatever way He may test us, as long as we look up to Him in faith, we are going to reap the benefit of the purpose of God.
In His allowing these things that happen to us in our life, believing in Him, in them, as sure as He gives you faith, He's going to test it and you can't imagine.
A more fiery tile of faith than what Abraham went through.
Took Abraham out and showed in the starry heavens, and he said, So shall I see be? What does it say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.
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Young person, believe God. You will never regret it if you simply believe God. All the outward evidence that you see may be stacked against you. Believe God because he's always true. May not be in our lifetime that we see it happen, but he is always true. You can trust Him. That's the kind of God we have. John the Baptist was the greatest prophet. The Lord says so, doesn't he?
And yet here is in prison.
He was the one that heralded the coming of the Son of God, of behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And he pointed to him, and he sends messengers to the Lord. Art thou he that should come or look we for another? Come on, John, you know better than that. I wouldn't have done that. Oh, yeah. So would you hear? Everything is going wrong. The Lord was being rejected. He hadn't set up his Kingdom.
And here he, the herald of her, of her, of him, is in prison about to have it head cut off. How can that possibly be? Because because it wasn't God's time, it didn't fit in with his thoughts, didn't fit in with my thoughts or your thoughts. It's got to happen thus and so this way. It didn't happen that way.
God hadn't revealed the fullness of his plan to John the Baptist. God had other plans to bring in the Gentiles and have a heavenly Kingdom, which John didn't know anything about. And so he just looking at it naturally by sight, you could only judge by certain things that he was unaware of. And so there are many things, brethren, in our lives that even though God has come out in the fullness of his plan now, but there are many details that we don't know about. And that's where it's a question of trusting God.
Yeah, I just wanted to read those verses you referred to, Chuck, because I think it's important for young people to get it from the Word of God, and they're in Psalm 33. Let's just read them because it's so important that we get it from God.
Psalm 33 and verse six says.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth.
Verse 9.
For he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. Beautiful.
Beautiful. I got a question brethren, if we compare John the Baptist and Abraham, Abraham had some revelation to to him from God because God spoke to him. He did not have the word of God. John the Baptist had the word of God. He says I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness of fulfillment a part of that word of God. Now the question is in comparing these two, we don't have any revelations from God directly anymore. We do have the book that the brethren, please feel free to comment on that.
I don't think brothers that are approved.
Grounds and thoughts to conclude here towards the end that this chapter we have in front of us is Cloud of Witness.
What is the application of of this faith that we see when we see that we haven't present the proportions of their failures, but if we want to, we can take that up on our own time. But I think it's Fast forward this a little bit here to the first chapter of Peter.
Where we get to see disease instances which we've been reading our chapters applications towards us and the first Peter Chapter 7, then the trial of Georgia that's being us being much more precious than a global terrorist facility trying to fire might be found and see the praise of honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
These folks that we read in our chapter, we're looking for an appearing of this toward Jesus. We have them and we have them. You having not seen you love and whom so now you see him not yet believing that faith that we've been talking about believing.
We rejoice with joy unspeakable in both glory and for my also hands that.
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Verse 12 to the Saint Catherine reading, and we're Speaking of this cloud of witness.
The people of the Old Testament, the prophets, unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us.
They did Mr. Things which were recorded unto you, and preached God.
With the holy good, sit down from heaven with the things that ain't guards, Olympians, brothers and God. Wonderful faith. And that is the end of citizens for our employment and our trial and our encouragement. I'd like to answer the question that was just put before the last speaker.
I'd like to answer it. We have the complete word of God more than any of the apostles had, more than any of the worthies of Hebrews 11 We have at the end of the of this present day of grace, we have everything that God is going to redeem command. That's the greatest thing we have. We have the tremendous advantage over anyone else over these that failed. So we have no reason to fail. We have it all.
Written down here. And there are so many fulfilled prophecies. We've already mentioned that. How can we doubt it? And the unfulfilled ones will be fulfilled in time, just as the fulfilled ones were fulfilled in time, Brother Chuck. Does that make us more responsible? Oh, absolutely.
Because not only do we have the complete Word of God, but as Peter brings before us, we have all things that pertain unto life and godliness. We have the Spirit of God as our Teacher. We have divine life. We have the as Chuck has been bringing before us the complete Word of God. Brethren, we have everything we need to live by faith in this world, no matter how dark the day gets. But isn't it a wonderful thing to consider too, in light of what has been said?
That God never tests us or puts a trial before us that's greater than the faith he has given us. I think that's beautiful. If I fail, if God puts a test in my pathway and I fail, can I say I didn't have the resources? No, He's given us the resources. Even the faith to believe is a gift from God. By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves? It is the gift of God. Now, I'd just like to say this to I don't believe.
It's really an intelligent prayer for a Christian to pray and ask the Lord to increase their faith.
Now our faith does grow, but the disciples said to the Lord, Lord increase our faith. But I believe if you notice what the Lord said to them, he what he taught them was that the way their faith was going to grow was to put it in operation.
You are mentioning, Brother Chuck, about Abraham and when he took Isaac, and what a great test that was. Would I have come up to that? Would you have come up to that? I don't know but what a great test it was. But I don't. I want to be careful in using this illustration, but we'll suppose for a minute that when Abraham was first called out of UR the Chaldees, God had put some great test before him like that. Would Abraham's faith have been up to it? I doubt that his faith would have been up to it.
But as Abraham from day-to-day and year to year proved God in the little things and the everyday circumstances of life, his faith grew day by day. So that when the great test came, his faith was such that he we know from he had faith by what he did in the Old Testament, by his actions. And his brother Tom said, we know he had faith by what he thought given to us here in Hebrews Chapter 11. And so our faith does grow. But young people and all of us.
Our faith is not going to grow if we don't put it in operation.
If you've known me a little while, you might feel you can trust me at least to some degree. But if you've known me for many years and I've never let you down, I'm not saying I would never let you down. But if I never let you down or failed you, then your faith in me grows. You say I want more faith in him than I had when I first met him 10-15 years ago. Your faith has grown because I have proved myself to be worthy of your confidence. Now if that is true in earthly things, isn't he worthy of our confidence? Will he ever fail us? Maybe you have great faith in me because I never failed you for 15 years and then all of a sudden you commit something to my trust.
And I fail, you say, oh, my faith is smashed in Jim Highland. I thought I could trust him in anything. Now my faith is smashed. Will you ever come to that point with the Lord? No. The more you put your confidence in him for every circumstance of life, the more your faith is going to grow. So that when the great difficulties come, then you can say I've got one that I can trust in any circumstance. What do you say about the faith healer that says, well, you prayed and you said you had faith and it didn't come to pass.
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So it didn't come to pass. You were here because you didn't have faith. Now that's trying to make faith a healer. God's the healer. And and they, they always have a way of getting out of it. These faith healers getting out of it by saying, well, you just haven't didn't have enough faith. That's why it didn't happen, right? But Chuck this, go ahead, go ahead. I think you get the answer in the end of this chapter because there were those who didn't accept deliverance, You say, did they have any less faith?
Did the ones that were sawn asunder have less faith than the three Hebrew children who were delivered through the fire? Did the ones that suffered trial of cruel mockings and death? Did they have less faith than Daniel or these ones that are listed previous? It's interesting what it says. These all die in faith, but God has something better for them.
Think it is important to pay attention to exactly.
What God says and when I look at verse four brethren Abel and Cain are focused on they had no written scriptures on what was their faith. What was Ables faith-based on by the communications they did have from God and God had said to Adam and Eve after they had sinned that the ground was cursed.
And He also had clothed them with coats of skins. All those things have significance. When God gives instruction in any way, He gives it and we have His Word, His complete revelation. Now pay attention to it carefully. Sometimes my faith fails because I have based my faith on what I thought, my understanding of Scripture, and I go back and I see what it really says.
Now, Abel, he had heard evidently from his parents, that.
The fruit of the ground was cursed. King brought of the fruit of the ground. He ignored what God had said.
He probably brought beautiful fruit. The earth was in its prime at that time. Even though it had been cursed by sin, it was still probably a lot better than we have it today. And the fruit he brought must have been tremendous. Why wasn't God pleased with that?
Because he did it in putting aside something of what God has said, and God was not pleased with his offering. He put himself instead of God. That's right. And I think that is so important that we.
We pay attention, close attention, to what God says.
Another example, when the Lord Jesus told Peter after he had used his boat to preach from, to cast out the Nets for a haul.
The Lord or Peter probably thought, well, the Lord is a Carpenter, he doesn't understand much about fishing. And I've been fishing all night and I haven't caught anything. But at thy word, Lord, I'll let down the gnat. Lord said, Let down the Nets. He let down one net. And what happened? It filled up so full that it broke.
He didn't pay attention carefully to what the Lord had told him, and that's so important. That's why it's important that you read the scriptures for yourself.
I'm explaining something here. Look at it. Is that what it say? Don't base your thoughts, your faith on what I say about it, based on your faith on what God says in His Word. That's so important. Sometimes young people base their thoughts on what? Oh, that brother said. It must mean that and it must be the truth. But that's not faith. That's not real faith. Get it for yourself. That's why you got your Bibles open in front of you. Look at it.
What it says or are we twisting it? Get it for yourself because we live in a world where your faith is going to be tested. Young people just like OK, something in connection with.
Faith in the Word of God and trust because we've used the word trust. We have faith in the Word of God. We don't trust the word of God. We trust the Lord Jesus. We trust the person. That's the confidence is I'm sure I have confidence in the Word of God, but the two are connected. So we have all the word of God. Now God has given us all the resources. Why is there failure?
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The Lord Jesus said without me he can do nothing and.
Even if we have all these resources we can boast of and know and preach about it and expound on, lest we're connected with the person that is spoken of and presented to our souls in this book, we're going to fail. Without me you can do nothing. So we trust the person and it's His word that's brought to us in these pages. We can read the Word of God with our intelligence and know many things, but it's not connected with the Lord. It's not going to be problem.
Reference was made to Peter.
I appreciate what has already been said that.
Along with God's command is always His enablement to fulfill that command. Now, Peter, when he saw the Lord walking on the water, he didn't just step out of the boat instead of the water.
Come to you until come to you on the water well, he recognized that unless the Lord is in the command, humanly speaking is a possibility of water. But when the Lord says calm the daughter.
When the Lord said come to Peter, Peter asked you an obedience, knowing that he would be able to do what the Lord asked him to do, and he steps out of the pole. Of course, he gets his eye off the Lord and he begins to sink.
As we often do, I think difficulties of life sometimes become so overwhelming that we wonder, how do you survive? I'm going to see, but we need to keep your eye on the door. Next chapter, looking unto Jesus, you author and finisher, you are faith now, the Lord said to Peter.
We'll eat little faith. Let's get some cow. You know he didn't rebuke him for leaving the ship because he's supposed to do it. Didn't Peter do something, Wally? When he started to sink, didn't he say something?
Yeah, short prayer wasn't immediately.
But he looked at the wind and the waves, and as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord, he walked on water. Could we sing #184?
I'll tell you what, we're I for 1:00 AM. Thankful that Peter's saying.
I knew what you would think.
Brother, he didn't. He didn't sing. He began to sing. He began to sing.
184.
It sounds like.
You're taking our.
Most we have.
It tells us.
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Praise the Savior.
Gladly.
Render to him all we have.
And all.
Jesus, I say, it's a sinus heart.