Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. Before we read, I'd like to look
at verses 9 and 10. But before we do, let's ask the
Lord's blessing. Again, we thank you for the wonder
of your grace that you would bless us with the privilege to
be here. Lord, I ask you, would you bless
this assembly? Would you bless us with a hearing
of your gospel, a hearing with new ears? Cause us to see with
eyes. given from above, eyes to behold
the wonder of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we
pray, may Christ be honored. We ask these things in His name. Amen. I'm going to look at verses 9
and 10, but coming up to that verse, You remember that previously
the apostle had given an example from nature concerning the absolute
impossibility of God's people falling away and the absolute
surety that Almighty God must keep them because if they could
fall away, which they can't, but if they could, it would be absolutely impossible
to renew them again unto salvation. I was thinking on that truth. And you know when we talk about
a man falling away, do you know who would receive
the greatest discredit if a man could fall away? Almighty God. That would be the greatest discredit. That would be saying that God
couldn't keep him. That would be saying that God's
not all-powerful. Christ would be put to open humiliation
if God Almighty couldn't keep His people. He's going to keep
His own. And then Paul gave that illustration
from nature. And he was showing that there's
only one hope. There's only one hope. that any sinner has for eternal
life and salvation. And that's if God Almighty in
absolute power and purpose and grace creates life in a man. Paul gave that illustration in
verse 7 and 8, "...for the earth which drinketh in the rain that
cometh oft upon it, bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by
whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God. But that which
beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing,
whose end is to be burned." This is what he said. We looked at
this last time. If Almighty God, like a farmer, if Almighty God
is the only one to plant seed, the only one, that produces fruit,
the only one that sends His Spirit to bless the Word. If that doesn't produce life,
if after Almighty God has produced life in a man, and some there
is not life produced in a man, the question would be this, where
life was not produced, Where would you go to find life? If God Almighty doesn't create
life, what is a man going to do? Are you going to try tactics?
Are you going to try a man's self-free will? Are you going
to try all of these methods? Is man going to reconcile himself
before God Almighty? by his own will and his own ability
if God can't produce life and keep a man. But the Apostle Paul, having
told these Hebrews of the absolute necessity of God producing life
and keeping life, and if there was some found, In the midst of this church,
let me ask you this. If you know that the Gospel is
the only message that God is going to bless, the message of
God's free grace, the message that sets forth that God Almighty
chose a people before the foundation of the world, the message that
sets forth that Christ alone is the surety of the sheep, the
Lamb of God, the message that proclaims that God Almighty made
Christ, the Father made Christ sin. And as sin, God dealt with
Him in absolute justice and justly. Put away the guilt of that sin. If in this congregation
right here, if men and women sit under that message, a message
that only God Almighty blesses, and if anyone in this congregation
perishes, Where else would you have gone for life? But the Apostle Paul says to
these Hebrews, But beloved, knowing that there are tares,
I know that. I know that there are tares among
the wheat. And I tell you what my prayer
is for me. that God keep me. I pray God keep me. I'm telling you, I've seen, and
you have too, some that sat, some that heard. And I know this, there's been
some that's gone away. Why did they go away? They wanted
to. If Almighty God doesn't keep
them, there is no hope. But Paul the Apostle said, But
beloved, we are persuaded better things of
you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to
forget your work and labor of love which you have showed toward
his name in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister."
I loved the way he started off talking to them. He had told
them the seriousness, the seriousness of salvation, the seriousness
of sitting under the gospel, Going on, growing in grace, looking
to Christ. But beloved, beloved of God and beloved of
God's people. You know, God's people love each
other, don't they? They do. They're thankful for
each other. They defend each other. I know the attitude of false
religion against a believer. But beloved, Paul said we are
persuaded of better things of you. Better
things than being thorns and briars and curses. We are persuaded. Though I have told you, he said,
I have given you proof and I've spoken expressly that if God
doesn't create life by the sending of His Word, the blessing of
that Word by His Holy Spirit, then there's no other hope. No
other hope. I'm reminded of that passage
of Scripture. The Lord asked His disciples
when those had gone away, He said, will you go away also? Let me ask you this, where else
would you go from hearing the gospel? Where else would you
go? What else would you go to? If
life is not found totally under the preaching of the gospel of
God's free grace, where are you going to go? We are persuaded,
better things of you Now this confidence that the
Apostle Paul had, and I know that he had a confidence in it,
we're persuaded, he said he was persuaded because of some things
that Almighty God had taught him. Now if I'm going to have
some confidence in something, it's going to have to be confidence
based on something that I know is so. And Paul was confident,
founded on the principles in the Holy Scriptures. These people, these Hebrews,
they gave an evidence of something. They were persuaded of better
things of view. The Scripture says in Matthew
7, 19, 20, Every tree that bringeth knock forth good fruit, it's
hewn down and cast into the fire, wherefore by their fruits you
shall know them." Fruit is never that which produces life. Fruit is the evidence of life.
You know that. A tree, an apple tree doesn't
produce an apple, and because that apple is there, then the
tree becomes alive. You know that's ridiculous. The
tree's got to be alive before this fruit. So fruit, the fruit
of God's Spirit is the evidence of life. We don't do in order
to be alive. God's people manifest life. So what Paul was saying is that
we're persuaded concerning you, beloved, things that are better. Things, he said in the Scriptures,
that accompany salvation. Now, there are some things that
accompany salvation that do truly give evidence of life. And those things that were evident were not the things that, first
of all, only a believer in God Almighty knows. There are some
things that do manifest themselves, and you absolutely can see them,
but there are some things that only God Almighty in that
believer realizes. You can't see love. You don't actually see the love. There's something that is within
a believer. Love. Love for God Almighty. Love for His honor. Love for
His glory. Love for His Son. Love for His
people. A believer who loves those things
that he never cared for before. Before Almighty God called you
or any other sinner out of darkness. You didn't love Christ. You didn't love His Gospel. You
may have sat under it. You may have heard it. You may
have tolerated it. But you had no love for it. You
had no hunger for it. You had no desire for it. It
was a take it or leave it thing. You did it out of duty. You did
it out of obligation. You did it out of fear of being
exposed. But not because of love. But
you see, For a believer, the love of God is wrought in his
heart. There's life. That which is born
of God sinneth not. That which is born of God is
Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's life. Christ is our life. And the love of God that's shed
abroad in our heart, it's there. But I can't see it. I can't see
peace. But that's a fruit. Fruit of
the Spirit. Love. Joy. Peace. Peace. Peace before God. Knowing that
my sin and my guilt has been put away by the blood of Christ.
You can't see that. You can't see inside me. I mean,
you look at me, but you don't know what's going on. long-suffering,
patience in the midst of trials that works that peaceable fruit
of righteousness. I mean, I could just be sitting
down right here and you don't know if I'm tore all to pieces.
You don't know what you don't know. There's some fruit that
is produced that only God Almighty in that believer sees gentleness
at heart of brotherly kindness that forbears the frailty and
the offenses of others. Listen, we're frail creatures.
I know that. But by the grace of God, we're
able with a spirit of gentleness to love those that are offensive,
sometimes mean to be, sometimes don't mean to be. Goodness, that
grace of God's Spirit that motivates sensitivity to the gospel, to
God's people for Christ's sake. Faith, oh, that blessed grace
by which a man believes God. I'm telling you, that is a marvelous,
marvelous thing. To be able to believe God when
things appear as though that they're in turmoil. This is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning me. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. And for me to be able to wait, wait. Meekness. Meekness. That heart that bows to God's
providence. One of the best examples, I've
told you this, of meekness when Abraham's herdsman and Lot's
herdsman got into a squabble and Abraham got Lot offside and
he said, listen, we're brethren. Let's don't do this. Tell you
what you do, Lot. You take what you want and I'll
take what's left. And Lot set his eyes towards
Sodom. It was well watered. That's meekness. To bow to God's
providence. To trust God. To wait on God. It's the right thing. Temperance. Self-control, wrought by God,
to not be governed or controlled by the things of this world.
Temperance. See, those things that are accompanying
salvation. Those things are truly there.
But those things that accompany salvation that cause a man to
be aware of his helplessness, his frailty, his desperate need
of Christ, those things that give him a sense of his own unworthiness
and a desire for fellowship with the Lord, those things by which
a regenerated sinner hungers and thirsts after Christ's righteousness,
they're there. They're certainly there. But
those were not the evidences that Paul spoke of. You see,
Paul, like every believer, couldn't see. He couldn't see those things
in you. He couldn't see He couldn't see
faith and long-suffering and gentleness and peace, meekness. Well, then what did he refer
to? Well, he referred to the outward evidences. He referred
to those things that manifested. because of what's
inside. You can't see love, but you can
see the evidence of it. Meekness, but the evidence of
temperance, but the evidence of it. Paul said in verse 10, God is
not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which
ye have showed toward His name in that you have ministered to
the saints and do minister. Now, James, in James 2.18, he
said, Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy
works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. James didn't
believe in salvation by works, and we don't either. James never
preached salvation by works, and neither do we. What he was
saying is there's an inward principle that's going to manifest itself
outwardly. And you're going to know them
by their fruit. Whenever we say that you'll know
them by their fruit, we're quoting the Lord Jesus Christ. A good tree doesn't produce bad
fruit. A bad tree doesn't produce good
fruit. Only by the Spirit of God manifested
within a believer Do you behold the outward manifestation? Paul
said we're persuaded. I don't believe these Hebrews
that he was talking to. I don't believe those briars
and thorns and the rejected ones, the cursed ones, those that are
fit to be burned. I'm persuaded of better things
of you, though I've told you of those other things that do
happen if God leaves a man alone. God is not unrighteous. He's not unrighteous to forget
your work and labor of love. James 2, 19, 20. We talk about
true faith. James says, Thou believest that
there's one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead." You know, if a cat is going to
act like a cat, a dog like a dog, there is a
nature in those animals that causes those animals to do certain
things, and they manifest what they are. The manifestation,
the manifestations that's wrought by those animals doesn't make
them that animal. They're already that animal.
And they act that way. I've made this statement before.
I said a believer acts like a believer. They talk like a believer. And
I'll tell you one of the most consistent things that I find
about a believer in the way they talk and walk. Number one, they're
not there to draw attention to themselves. They're there for
the declaration of the glory of God Almighty and the grace
that He's shown them. One of the greatest statements
that you can hear a believer say is that declaration. by John the Baptist, he must
increase, I must decrease. We are here this evening not
to bring glory and honor to ourselves. We are here for the glory of
Almighty God, obedience to His command, assembling ourselves
together. A divine work of grace produces
gracious, gracious outward effects. Gracious outward effects. Effects
not for salvation, but because of salvation. Paul said to these
Hebrews, these things that we're persuaded of, better things for
you. These things that accompany salvation. He said, God is not unrighteous
to forget them. You know why? You know why there
is no unfaithfulness in Almighty God? It is because God Almighty
is not going to forget what God Almighty produced. Though Paul said, God is not
unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, remember Philippians
2.13, for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and do of
his good pleasure." There is a work that is wrought
within a believer that's manifested outwardly. It's a work of faith. It's a
labor of love. It is actually said to be your
work, no doubt, because God works in His people. You know the story of the woman
with the issue of blood. You remember that. Thy faith
hath made thee whole. Well, where did she get it? Where
did it come from? It was given unto her. These
Hebrews, as Scripture said, according to Paul, had ministered to the
saints. And they do minister. They had done so, according to
this Scripture, toward His name for the glory of Almighty God.
And I do know that we struggle with this. I know we do. I know
we do. But God's people, For the sake
and the honor of God's name, for His honor, for His glory,
God's people do for each other. They minister to the saints.
You know, it's amazing when I read a passage of Scripture like that.
It says, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor
of love, You show toward His name in that you've ministered
to the saints and do minister." I got to thinking about, especially
back in the book of Acts and stuff, how many times I read
where Paul and Peter, the different apostles, they would find out,
you know, this one had this need and this one this need. And they would see the need where
Almighty God allow a need to be made known. They would pray
for one another. I mean, that's ministering. God
forbid that I should sin against the Lord in not praying for you. I think of this church daily. Pray for this church daily. I
think of the grace of God that's been shown to this place. I tell you that often, but I'm
telling you, believe me when I say it, I mean it. Ask for God's grace to teach
me, to guide me, direct me, to be a pastor. Give me the wisdom. I think about when Solomon told
you that. It's just been so much on my
heart. You can't see that, but the thing that evidences
it is that we're here together, ministering to one another. Do
you realize the ministry that you have just being here? You
say, well, all I did was show up. I thank God for that. I thank the Lord. But I think
back, reading in the book of Acts, I think of those times
when Almighty God would raise up a need. There's not a list. There's not a list found in the
Scriptures on things to do. There's not a list that a believer
does. Some things that in particular,
here's the way it is, they that are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. Matthew 25, verse 40, the Lord
said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done
it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it
unto Me. There are going to be times when
providentially Things are going to arise. Things will just come up. Things just providentially happen. And Almighty God will place His
people in situations where they have the privilege, the honor,
to minister to one another. Whatever it is, it may be financial. It may be a word of encouragement.
It may be a prayer. Maybe you take them somewhere.
I don't know. But whatever it is, these Hebrews had done just exactly
what every believer taught by the grace of God does for His
namesake. Man, I tell you by nature, let
me tell you how I am. I'm selfish. I am a very selfish
person when it comes to time and everything else. Man, I could
learn a lot from just watching some of you guys, your generosity
and your kindness and your faithfulness. But by the grace of God, God
Almighty teach a man, teach a woman for the sake of Christ for His
name's sake that you minister to the saints and do minister.
Paul said we're persuaded of a better thing. Not doing it
for show. Not doing it for your glory.
Not doing it for reward. Not doing it to get paid back.
I'll do it for you, but you better not forget it. No. No. You just did it. Our love and thankfulness appreciates
you. Paul said we are persuaded of
better things. Things that accompany salvation. God's people act like
God's people and they struggle with it every day. They war within,
war without. And when they have done all that
they have done, this is what they say, we are just unprofitable
servants. We've done that which was required
of us. But they do it with joy. And
they thank the Lord for it. Thank the Lord for the privilege
to be able to do it. I pray that God bless these words
to our heart. Give us understanding. Ask Him
for guidance and direction, help, peace. For Christ's sake, Amen.