If you'd like to open your Bibles
to Matthew chapter 11, now that I can correct myself a little
bit, welcome. Those of you who have joined
us in the middle there, iPhone, I think that's Tim Burnett, Amber,
good to have you with us. Sarah, good to have you as well.
Jimmy and Jamie, good to have you too. We begin tonight where
we left off last week, and I want to read with you, if you would,
Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 through 30. Our Lord says, after
he had been teaching and preaching, and communicating directly to
those who have ears. Let them hear, as he reads back
in verse 15, after he had said such things, he said these in
closing, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light." We'll begin now with our handout, page one. The Son
of God, the Savior of those loved of God, commands, invites, persuades
sinners to come to Him. promising salvation and eternal
life to all who do. He says, come unto me. This is
our subject for tonight's study. The Lord Jesus calls sinners
to come to him. He does not call us to come to
an altar. He does not call us to come to
the church building, a priest, a preacher, a baptistry, the
Lord's table, the law of Moses, or even to his doctrine, he says,
come unto me. Folks, this is important. We
try to come to all kinds of things. Oh, I'm a five-point Calvinist. That's coming to a Calvinist
point of view. Oh, I've been baptized. That's
coming to your baptism. Or the Lord called me out of
darkness at such time. That's coming to when the Lord
did something to you. He says, come unto me. So the
Lord says, come unto me. Not to other things, but come
unto me. Not to the church, not to priests, preachers, baptists,
or the Lord's table. What does that mean, to come unto me? What
is it to come to Christ? He does not leave us to guess
about that. And I shared this with you last
week. He explains this, the meaning, over in John chapter 6, verse
35. Now read these words carefully,
folks. This is the meaning of what it
is, to come unto me. Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. And he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. To come to Christ is to believe
on. That's what he says in John 3.16,
whosoever believeth. And so many other places about
believing in Christ. Let's not get too far with that.
But to come to Christ is to believe on him. It's an act of faith,
an act that only a child of mercy from the most high can do. To
believe the truth of who the creator is, what he has accomplished,
and the results of what he has accomplished only comes to one
for whom God has given the gift of faith. For by grace are ye
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. The apostle
John recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said,
He recorded, it's in John, to search the scriptures. For in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are which testify
of me, and ye will not come to me that ye might have life. So we see the only ones who come
to God, the only ones who come to Christ, are those who Christ
has given the ability to come. I want to stop there for a moment
and think about Lazarus. Did Lazarus Did he? Was he sitting there waiting
for the Lord? When the Lord said, come, that's the same thing he's
telling you and I. That's the same thing he says
to all of his people. That's the same thing he says
to all those who have ears, to hear. When he says, let them
hear, he says, come unto me. Come. Lazarus, come forth. That's coming unto me. And Lazarus
did what? He came forth in a miraculous
way. So we see here that without the
love of Christ, none can come unto Him. If not for grace, then none would
come unto Him at all. The dead can do nothing. Is that
not what the story of the woman with an issue of blood is all
about? Did she not try everything known to mankind? Did she not
spend all of her worth, yet God and the flesh passed by her way,
causing her to come unto Him? She thought to herself, if I
could just come along, if I could just If I could just touch the
hem of his garment, maybe he'll save me. If I could just read
a little bit of his word, maybe he would save me. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Come, it says, unto
me. Page two. Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden. Well, the word translated here,
labor, means to toil with weariness. It means to toil, to work, to
assert with weariness. Things that are wearing down
on you as if you're pulling a chain. All who toil with weariness and
are heavy laden, burdened down with a load they cannot get rid
of, are bidden, are called. They're called to come to Christ. Some labor and are heavy laden,
seeking salvation with their own righteousness, by their own
works. They are engaged in impossible
tasks. Some are worried with their own
sinfulness. It's too much, surely I cannot
be a child of God with all this impurity that resides within. I believe, but that brings no
love for Him in my heart. No love for His gospel. I believe
the truth. Surely the state I am in now
is because of the depth of my depravity, my unbelief. Surely
God is not with me. Is that what your case is? I
say quit trying to save yourself and come to Christ. But if we
walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
his son, cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's 1 John 1, verse 7 through
9. Brethren, my heart's desire,
writes Paul, to the Romans, he says, brethren, my heart's desire
and prayer for God and for Israel is that they might be saved.
For I bear them a record that they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Did you catch that? They've not submitted themselves. Folks, we need to submit ourselves
only. There's no righteousness at all in any of us. And if we're
looking at ourselves to see if there's any, we're going to find
nothing. We're going to find that we're
just a worm before the creator of all creation. They're not
submitting themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that what? Believeth. And that's Romans 1, verse 10,
verses 1 through 4. For as many are the works of
the law are under the curse of it. For it is written, cursed
is everyone that continue with not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. but that no man is justified
by the law and the sign of God, it is evident. For the just shall
live by faith. And the law is not of faith,
but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For
it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." That's
Galatians 3, 10 through 13. So I tell you again. Are you struggling tonight? Are
you struggling today with wondering where the Lord is taking us,
where we're to go next, what to do? Here's the story. Come
to Christ. Go to Christ. To some it is a burdening load
of guilt. Are you laboring and heavy laden
with temptations of the devil, inward corruption, unbelief,
or worldly care, the answer has come to Christ. For in that he
himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to secure them that
are tempted. That's in Hebrews, page 3. I cut that. Oh, no, I didn't.
Here it is, Hebrews 2.18, page 3. The Lord Jesus Christ promises
that he will, without exception, receive all who come to God by
him. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And then he says these very important
words. We say those first words there
a lot. And then we just kind of skip
right past this last one here. But, and him that cometh to me. Did you catch that? Are we coming
to Christ? Folks, this is not talking about
one time. This is talking about every hour.
I was talking about this with Pastor Gene this morning, and
we both started singing that song at the same time. I need
thee, Lord. I need thee every hour. I need
thee. In him that cometh unto me, I
will in no wise cast out. Says then, he says, I will give
you rest. This word rest expresses much more than relaxation. It
also has in it the idea of refreshment. This is the rest our Savior gives
to sinners, both a rest from labor and a reviving of life. It's a given rest. He gives it
freely. He earned it, bought it for his
people, and now he gives it freely to all who believe and trust
in him. It is a present rest. All who
believe do, when they believe, enter into that rest, the rest
of faith. Listen to Hebrews 4, verse 3.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said,
as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest,
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. It's a satisfying rest, because
it's a rest from all guilt and fear. It's a rest from toil and
legal work. It's a rest from the curse. It's
a rest from the condemnation that hangs over the flesh. It's a complete rest from the
law is what it is. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ. That's Romans
7 verse 4. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ. Romans 8, 1. For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Romans
10, verse 4. And the rest promised in this
passage is also a future rest. Listen to these words. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that
is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own
works, as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest. Let us any man fall after the
same example of unbelief, for the word of God is quick and
powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
ascender of soul and spirit, and the joints and the marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.
Page four. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4,
9 through 13. It is a rest beyond all that
can be experienced here. It is a perfect rest of complete
salvation. Is there any question in your
mind that salvation is of God and that that salvation is complete
if it's in Him? Do you believe God's word when
he says, come unto me? It's a rest from all sin. It's a rest from all afflictions.
It's a rest from all temptations, a rest from all sorrow, a rest
from all unsatisfied desires. And you say to me, well, John,
what about those things I'm going through right now? What about
the things we're going through? as a group, or as a family, or
as an individual. What about those things there,
John? I'm not feeling very rested at those. Is God not in control
of that? Has he not purposed all things
for the good of his people? Do you believe the truth of his
word? That's coming to Christ, folks.
We come to him only because God has given us the gift of faith
to believe his word and to come to him. And that's coming to
Christ. Are we still going through sorrows?
Absolutely. Folks, any man who tries to convince
somebody that religion is going to make your life better is full
of it. And I hope I didn't offend anybody
by saying that, but that's exactly what it is. They're full of it.
Baloney. God is very clear that we will
be troubled in this world, if not by the world itself, with
the sin and all the stuff that plagues us, this flesh and this
body. He tells us that. Do you believe
it? Well, the only reason you do is because God has given you
the gift. Take my yoke upon you, he says. This is simply a call to voluntary
submission and obedience. It is something that we must
do. We must bow and slip upon ourselves the yoke of his profession. the yoke of his precepts, the
yoke of his providence. We must bow to him as Lord, Lord
of all that is, Lord of us in every shape, way, and form. He is sovereign God. We bow to
who he says he is. He says, I and my father are
one. He says in John 1, he says he is the creator, the creator
who is manifest in the flesh. We bow to what he says he has
done. As being in the flesh, as being
God in the flesh, he established righteousness for a people. He
not only established a righteousness by doing everything God the Father
had asked him to do and did it willingly. He established. He satisfied the wrath of his
father instead of his people. He took what we deserve, death,
because the wages of sin is death. He took our death upon himself. He took it as his own. We bow to him as he is right
now. Death couldn't hold him. He's
the master of everything, folks. He's God of all things. He's
the master of Earth. He's the master of everything
above the earth, and he's the master of everything under the
earth. That's his word, and I believe it. Death couldn't hold him. He was perfect. He knew no sin. God had to make him sin that
we could be made the righteousness of God in him. And that's what
this is about right here. We bow to him right now, sitting
on his throne, where God has raised him up. To have a name
that is above all names. Did you know He's only called
Lord in the hearts, truly Lord, in the hearts of those who the
Spirit has done a work in. Do you call Him Lord? Do you
know Him to be the Lord of all things? I'm not asking you if
you know if you're saved. I'm asking you, do you know him
to be Lord of all things? Well, if you're shaking your
head and your heart, that's a gift of God. And only the dwelling
of the Spirit in your heart could you do that. calling him Lord. Next it says there, and learn
of me, for I am meek. We're about halfway through page
four. I am meek and lowly in heart. Now here's the appointed
means by which sinners are enabled to bear this threefold yoke that
I just spoke of there. We bow to who he says he is. We bow to what he says he's done. We bow to him as he is right
now. He has given us an example to
follow. He endured great hardship for
us. Isn't that true? Listen to Hebrews
12.3. For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself. This is God
Almighty, who is so holy that he cannot even look upon sin. Manifest his Son. the Son of
God, who is the eternal Son of God, manifest him in the flesh
for you and I." This is what he says. He says, consider him
that endured such contradiction of centers against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds. He became obedient. Here's our example. He was obedient
to God to save us. Let this mind be in you, which
also was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and made in the likeness
of men. And being found in the fashion
of the man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross, Philippians 2, 5 through 8. He
submitted to the will of God for us. Then said Jesus unto
Peter, put up thy sword into the sheep. The cup which my father
hath given me, shall I not drink it? Remember when he was on the
cross and he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
He said, if you could remove this cup from me. And then he
said these words, nevertheless, thy will be done. Oh, brothers
and sisters, we have some cups to drink, don't we? But they're
nothing compared to what our God and our Savior has drank
for us. Page five. In all these things,
our Redeemer has left us an example that we should follow his steps.
1 Peter chapter 2, 21 through 25, we read these words. For
even here unto you were you called, because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.
who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when
he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to that judgeth righteously, to
him that judgeth righteously, who is his own self, bear our
sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed.
For ye were a sheep going astray, but now are returned unto the
shepherd and the bishop of your souls. He says next to us in
his word there in our text, and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. Trusting Christ alone as our Savior and the Lord God's
elect, find rest for our souls in him. We echo the words of
the Apostle Paul to the saints at Philippi, for we are the circumcision
which worship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. Folks, that's not just no confidence
in your hands. That's not just no confidence
in your feet. That's no confidence in this
mouth. There's no confidence in this brain that thinks. There's
no confidence in anything that we might do. Our confidence is
only in what the Lord Jesus has done and what he's done for us. In him, trusting his obedience
unto death as our only righteousness and redemption, we obtain the
rest of a good conscience. following his steps, trusting
and obeying his revealed will. Well, what's his revealed will,
John? I can tell you this for sure. His revealed will is what
just happened a second ago. Other than that, pretty much
most of the time, we're walking around going, Lord, what is your
will for us? When he opens and closes doors,
we presume it's his will until after we step through. Our only hope is to be on our
knees at all times, saying, Lord, show me thy will. We obtain the
rest of a faithful servant, trusting his providence. We obtain the
rest of a believing heart, is what it is. He says next, for
my yoke is easy and my burden is light. All who come to Christ
find that to be so. The easiest, most pleasant, most
tranquil existence in this world is the life of faith in and submission
to and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. All it takes is sitting in a
chair, believing God. I've seen smiles go from ear
to ear when we talk about the rest that we have in just sitting
there believing God. We obtain this rest of a faithful
servant. Oh, I skipped back too far. I'm
sorry. Christ's yoke to a believer is
no more of a burden than feathers are to a bird. His commandments
are not grievous. Oh, I'm not telling you that
I can't do them. I'm just telling you, they don't
bother me as badly as they used to. They're not grievous. His ways
are the ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace.
That's Proverbs 3.17. Oh, for the grace to be always
coming to Christ. Always looking to Him. Always
free, yet always bearing His yoke. Always having the rest,
yet always looking for more. This is the experience of those
who are ever coming to Christ for everything. Oh, the blessedness
of grace, and it's ours in and by our great God and Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Page 6. In Hebrews 12, one through two,
we read these words, wherefore seeing we are also compassed
about with so great a crowd of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight and sin, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Running
with patience, waiting for the Lord to either take us from this
life and take us home to the bliss of heaven? Well, let's just go on. Running
that race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God." Looking unto
Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Did you know that
coming to Christ is no less than looking unto Jesus? The Holy Spirit is urging us
to go on in faith, to persevere to the end. running with patience
the race that is set before us, enduring the hardships, overcoming
the difficulties, resisting the temptations. I said resisting. I didn't say
we're capable of resisting them all. I know temptations can beset
us at times. I know many of us fall into the
besetting sins of our flesh. But folks, God has forgiven us
for His Son's sake. There's only one sin that is
unforgiving, and that's the sin of unbelief as you go through
that doormark death. running the race, overcoming
the difficulties, resisting temptation, laying aside every weight of
care that would hinder us, and the sin that so easily besets
us. In a word, the Lord God here
calls for every believing sinner to make whatever sacrifice is
necessary and to do whatever it takes, no matter what the
cost may be, and come to Christ. I said follow it. I meant to
put come there. and come to Christ. Look to Christ. The claims of
grace are universal. The Lord God claims dominion
over our whole life. If we would follow Christ, nothing
could be held in reserve. Either He is Lord of all, or
He's not Lord at all. upon what grounds can such sacrifice,
such commitment, such consecration and devotion be expected? How
can reasonable men and women be expected to live such a life?
What will inspire such devotion? What will effectively motivate
a person to such wholehearted consecration? Well, we find the
answer in Hebrews 12 verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. The only way we can run that
race set before us, the only way we can live in this world
by faith, the only way we can enter into glory and bliss of
eternal life with Christ is by looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. Oh, may the Lord our God give
us grace to ever be found looking unto Him. Salvation is looking
unto Jesus. If we would persevere in faith,
if we would continue in grace, in the grace of God, we would
keep our hearts in the love of God. We must ever be found looking
unto Jesus. Lastly, I want you to consider
with me the object of our faith. It's not our faith, I can tell
you that. It's not anything to do with
this flesh. Remember what we read a moment ago. We have no
confidence in this flesh. Our only confidence can be in
the one who is the object of our faith. And the object of
our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ, the very one who is the author
of whatever little bit of faith that he gives us. Did Abraham always have such
strong faith to take his son up on a mountain and kill him?
We know that's not true. He lost faith at one point and
slept with Sarah's handmaid. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
solitary object of our faith. Brother Don Fortner, he wrote
this. He says, these three words, looking unto Jesus, are much
fuller than the English translation suggests. They are immense. The words would actually be more
accurately translated, looking away unto and into Jesus, looking
away from whatever it is you see with these eyes in the flesh,
looking away from whatever it is you feel within this body
of flesh that we walk in, and looking to Jesus. Salvation is
looking unto Christ. Salvation begins in the experience
of it, and with looking to Christ. Look unto me, he says, and be
ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there
is none else. Isaiah 45.22. Salvation is here,
described in its continuance as looking unto Jesus. And it
ends in the exact same way, looking unto Jesus. Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall
be. But we know that when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him. You can't expect yourself to
be like Christ now. But there is a day we will be.
For we shall see him as he is, 1 John 3, 2. It is written, and
they shall see his face, Revelation 22, 4. Folks, the Holy Spirit
calls for us to turn our eyes away. I wrote form. I should have said from. Sorry
about the misspelling there. I will counsel myself tomorrow.
The Holy Spirit calls for us to turn our eyes away from everything
else. and fix them upon the Lord Jesus
Christ alone. If we would be saved, we must
look to Christ, and I repeat, with strength alone. Let nothing stand between. Look
away from that great cloud of witnesses that Christ spoke of
in the book of Hebrews there. They will be a hindrance to faith
if they keep you in any way from looking to Christ. Look away
from yourself to Christ. Looking to yourself will keep
you from looking to Christ. Look to Christ for eternal life,
for redemption, Justification, faith, repentance, mortification,
sanctification, preservation. Look away from the course that
you must run unto Christ. If you spend your soul's energy
looking at the course, you'll soon be overwhelmed. Look away
from other runners in the race of Christ to Christ. Anything,
anyone to whom you look to any degree takes your eyes off of
Christ. Look to Him alone and look to
Him always. These words, looking unto Jesus,
suggest that we run a race. Looking to Christ alone, we must
always be looking unto Him, setting Him before us. We must look to
Christ with the eye of faith, ever gazing into His infinitely
glorious person. Page 8. Faith begins with but
a glimmering revelation of the light of glory of God in the
face of His Son, Jesus Christ. The more we look unto Christ,
the more fully we see Him. And the more fully we see him,
the more we see into him and perceive who and what he is.
Scriptures tell us, grow in grace. And what? In the knowledge of
him, the author of our faith. Let us always be found looking
unto Jesus, the author of our faith. Again, the word translated
author is another word that is full of meaning. It is one of
those Greek words that has no exact equivalent in the English
language. And this is the word that is
used in Hebrews 2.10 when Paul calls the Lord Jesus Christ the
captain of our salvation. He's the author. He's the one
our faith comes from, originates in. It originates in him. It comes from a root word that
means Commence. He commences it to his people.
Here Paul holds the Lord Jesus Christ before us as that one
who is the author of faith. He is the one who commences faith.
We would have no faith if he did not give it to us and work
it in us by the omnipotent power of his grace. Folks, I'm telling you, I don't
care if you truly believe God. If your faith is as small as
a mustard seed, it's God-given faith. And if it's God-given
faith, it's faith in the truth. It's belief of the truth. Ephesians 1 verse 19, And what
is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe according
to the work of His mighty power? The exceeding greatness of His
power to us who believe. Why do we believe? According
to the working of His mighty power. You know, we don't look
at Ephesians 119 enough. I refer to Ephesians 2.8, which
I listed next, more often than I probably should, because there
are many other scriptures that say the same thing. In John chapter
3, when the Lord is talking to Nicodemus, He says, Don't fret. Don't get all worked up over
the fact that I told you you must be born again. The wind
list us where it lists us, and you can't. This is the power
of God. This is the Spirit of God moving
about in God's people. Or as we read in Ephesians 8,
chapter 2, verse 8, For by grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, but of God. Well, here's another
one, Philippians 1, verse 29, For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake. Folks, that's not talking about
people who don't believe God. That's talking about you and
I who believe Him. We're also to suffer for His
sake. That's not just persecution from
without. That's our own persecution of
this flesh, this body of death. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death, cried Paul. I thank God through my Lord Jesus
Christ. That's who. How about Colossians
2, verse 12? buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead." Where is our faith
from? It's from the one who's the author
of it. It's from the one who gave himself
for us because he's loved us from before the foundation of
the world. Again, I quote from Brother Don. Notice that word
our. Our faith. Notice the word our
is in italics. No, I didn't put the italics
in there. Normally I do. I apologize for that. It's in
italics, indicating that it was added by our translators. Without
question, the scriptures universally teach that Christ is the one
by whom we have that faith that looks to him alone as its object. But the intent of the Holy Spirit
here is to teach us that Christ is the one who is the great pioneer,
the great example of faith. That is to say, if we would know
what it is to live and walk in this world by faith, we must
look to Christ as the pioneer, the one who went first, who struck
out the path and blazed the trail before us. Page 9. Multitudes
lived by faith in the Old Testament. Multitudes have lived by faith
since. Multitudes live by faith today.
But if we would find a man who truly and perfectly lived by
faith, we would find an example to follow. If we would find an
example to follow, we must look away from all others looking
unto Jesus, the pioneer of our faith. Yes, our blessed Savior
lived in this world as a man by faith, ever trusting God. Let us follow Him, His perfect
example. He said, concerning the Lord
our God and His God, I will put my trust in Him. That's Hebrews
2, verse 13. God the Father put His trust
in His Son as our surety in the covenant of grace. That's in
Ephesians 1, verse 13. And God the Son put his trust
in the Father as a man while he lived in this world. What
an example he is. What a pioneer trail he has blazed
for us to follow. He walked with God, looking always
unto the Father, speaking and acting in childlike dependence
upon the Father. By faith, he looked away from
all discouragements. all difficulties and all oppositions,
committing his life and his cause to the Lord his God, who had
sent him to the Father, whose will he had come to fulfill.
By faith he resisted and overcame all of Satan's temptations. By
faith he entered all the trials that were brought upon him. By
his father's wise and good providence, by faith he performed all those
signs and wonders in which the power and love of salvation of
God were symbolized in. Before he raised Lazarus from
the grave, he thanked God who heard his prayer. By our Savior's
example, we are taught what it is to believe God, what it is
to live by faith. Let us ever be coming to and
looking unto Jesus, the author of our faith. Amen.