I'm going to talk about faith
this morning and I'm going to talk about it again this evening.
And I'm going to deal today with verses 10 through 22, make a few comments
on them. But I'd ask you, if you could
have anything in this world, If you had the power to say,
this is what I want. If you had this power and the
ability to say, if I could have anything I want in this world,
what would it be? What would it be? Would it be to be wealthy? To have lots and lots and lots
of money? Would that be what it would be?
Would it be to have health? Health, oh what a blessed thing
health is. Oh my, to have good health. Would
that what it be? You say, Lord, I want health
more than I want anything else. Would it be I want to be loved
by everybody and liked by everybody? I'd like everybody just to like
me. To be popular. Nobody to ever not like me. Would it be I want to be happy,
happy all the time? Is that what it would be? And
when you ask folks if you can have anything in this world,
most of them give the answer, and they answer about things. Things. And things are temporary. If you can touch it, if you can
taste it, if you can handle it, it's temporary. If you want it well, you're going
to leave it behind. If you want help, it eventually
is going to fail. If you want to be popular, forget
it. Somebody is going to dislike
you. And there is no way under God's Son that people are going
to be happy all the time. All those things are temporary.
Everything is in moving. You talk about things. I want
things. I'd like to have this thing,
that thing and another thing. Everything in this world is temporal.
Temporal. It's finite. Things that would
give pleasure to a person now, and enjoyment to the flesh, it'll
only last for a season. It'll only last for a little
while. But what about a believer? What
about us? What about us who call ourselves
Christian? What about us who call ourselves
ones who trust the Lord Jesus Christ? What do we want? What would we desire if we could
have it? What would it be? I think that
if he gave much thought to it, I think if he gave much thought
to it all, I believe that there's two things that go on above everything
else in this world. Faith and charity. Now you think
about it. Faith to believe God and the
love of God in your heart. Charity. That's what our Lord said, you
know. Charity is the greatest thing. Faith will cease. If you thought about it, wouldn't
you want to have faith? And wouldn't you want to have
charity? Wouldn't you love to have faith
to move mountains? Wouldn't you love to have faith
that would never fear? Never fear. Wouldn't you love
to have faith that would never doubt? Never doubt. Faith, wouldn't
you love to have faith that would never allow you to complain or
murmur? Wouldn't you love to have faith
that always, always could turn its back on self and the world? Wouldn't you love to have that
faith that you say, deny yourself and also turn your back on the
world at all times? Wouldn't you love to have faith
that would believe God without wavering ever? Faith, wouldn't you love to have
faith that would be perfectly, perfectly content with this lot
in life? Would you love to have a faith
that would have no questions, but would always trust? That's my faith. Oh, it's precious. Priceless. What kind of price
could you put on having faith like that? Beloved, I know, I
do know this, that without faith, no one's going to be saved. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God. to be accepted. And without it, it's impossible
to please God. And I also know this about faith.
Look what he said here in verse 2. I know that where this faith
is, that what I'm talking about, this faith that I believe we
desire and want and need, And God gives to us that the elders
obtained a good report. Wherever faith is, it obtains
a good report from God. For by it the elders obtained
a good report. In fact, God says that where
this faith is, he's not ashamed to be called their God. And our Lord himself said, if
you have the faith of a grain of mustard seed, you could tell
that mountain to move. And I tell you, we've got some
mountains in this world. And I'm not talking about these
great big mountains. I'm talking about spiritual mountains
that we have to come through. Some of them, tough. But let's
look at faith here. Let's look at what faith aspires
to, what the aspirations of faith. Now, it's talking about Abraham.
It says back up in verse 8, By faith Abraham, when he's called
to go out into a place, which he should after receive for an
inheritance. Obeyed, he went out, not knowing
where he was going. By faith he soldiered in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
or tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same
promise. But now look what he aspired
to. And all the time he was in that strange land, soldiering
with his two sons, he looked for a city, which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. Now that's the aspiration of
faith. You see, faith is not satisfied and understands that
God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Faith isn't
satisfied with temples and things of this life. We're looking for
a city. We're looking beyond this world.
We're strangers in a strange country, and we're beyond this
world. And it says, Faith isn't satisfied
with temples made with hands. We're not looking and saying,
boy, look at our big building, look at our stained glasses,
and look at our doctor that's preaching to us. We're not satisfied
with that. In fact, look over here in Acts
17. Faith not satisfied with that. In Acts 17, 24, look here. Oh, a lot of people are satisfied
with their buildings, satisfied with their places of worship. They're more interested in the
place they worship in and in the person they worship. They're
more interested in the preacher that preaches to them and in
the Christ who saves them. But look here in Acts 17 in verse
24. But pause, he's preaching on
Mars Hill. This is what I'm talking about.
He said here in verse 24, And you said, O the unknown God,
we're declaring Him God that made the world and all things
therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, and dwelleth
not in temples made with hands. God's not in this building. God's
not in Westminster Abbey. does not in Rome. God's in his people, Christ's
in his people, look what he said, and neither is worship with our
hands. What can our hands do to worship
God? It can make idols That's why folks
waving their hands and giving, just give Jesus a big wave. God
said He's not worshipped with waves. He's not worshipped with handclaps. He's not worshipped with swaying
hands. That's what He's saying here. As though He needed anything. He gives us life. He gives us
breath. And anything else we got, he
said, he gives it to us. All things. Ain't that right?
Now listen to me. Faith, and that's why I go back
over there to you, look for a city which has foundations. Faith
must have foundations. Faith must have some foundations.
Look what he said. He's looking for a city that
has some foundation. Has some substance to it. All
the seeking signs of this old world and its glamour, it won't
satisfy us. And he's looking for a city whose
builder and maker is God. And that's what we're looking
for. That's what faith is aspiring to. We know that this world ain't
got nothing in it. These buildings don't have anything
in it. Temples don't have anything in
it. We're looking for a building. We're looking for a foundation
and a place that God has made a city. And you know what John
said it was? He said, I saw a new city. Jerusalem. New Jerusalem coming down out
of heaven from God. And that's what we're looking
for. We're looking for that new city. We're looking for that
place where this world here is nothing but sink and sand. And
we're looking for a place that God has set, that God has built,
and the foundations that He Himself has laid. And I tell you, faith,
look with me in 2 Corinthians just a moment. You know, faith
is looking for eternal realities. I feel sorry for people that
this is the only world they got. Oh, I feel sorry for people that
don't have no, that the only thing they've got is what they
can touch and taste and handle. The only thing they've got is,
the only foundations they've got in this world is their own
ideas and their own conceptions and their own opinions. Abraham,
all the time he was traveling, God made him a promise when he
first left to Erechaldes. He says, now listen, every place
you go, I'm going to send you to a place, and I'm going to
bless you, and oh, you're going to be the father of many nations.
And years and years and years later, he said he never did have
a place to dwell. He just went from place to place,
here, yonder, and around. And all the time he was traveling
through that land. All the time he was going, he
kept saying, boy, there's a city around here somewhere. There's
a city that God's built, and I'm not going to be satisfied
until I find it. Well, he found it. You see, faith is looking for
eternal realities. Only things unseen. Now let me
tell you this, only things unseen are eternal realities. If you can see it, it's not eternal.
If you can touch it, it's not eternal. That's what faith is
doing. It's looking for eternal realities. Look what he said
here in 2 Corinthians 4.18. Mary comes this other day and
read and she said, Oh my, why we look not at the things that
are seen. We're not looking at what we
can see. But what are we looking at? We're looking at the things
that are not seen. Oh, grace, life, Christ, new
city, new Jerusalem, a new body, new mind, perfection, no flesh
to ever deal with again, no worries, no fears, no threats, all to
be gone. And the things which are seen,
but the things which are seen, they're just temporal. But the
things which are not seen, you know what they are? They go on
and on and on and on for eternity, for eternity. Alright, let's
go back over and look in our text again. Oh, faith is looking
for a city, looking for a city. And not only that, look at the
fruit of faith. Look what he said in 11 and 12.
Through faith, Also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because
she judged him faithful, who had promised, therefore, a spring
of him, one even as good as dead, though she was good as dead,
many as the stars in the sky and the sand." So you see, through
faith, Sarah received strength. Received through faith, she received
strength. to conceive a child, to conceive
a child. God told her that she's going
to have a total Abraham. He says, now I'm going to come
back at the time of life and you're going to have a child.
You know what Sarah done when she heard God say that? Now the
Lord appeared to Abraham. Lord, and I believe it's the
Lord Jesus Christ. God's only talked to men through
Christ. God's only met with men in Christ. And I want you to
see this. You keep this, look in Genesis
18 with me just a minute. See how she reacts. Again, you
know what they say about one another in the Old Testament.
When you get to the New Testament, none of those things are mentioned.
You know, because God takes all of our past and does away with
it. In Christ, in that, in the Old Testament, they did all these
thoughts just like you and I do. And flesh, and then when you
find them in the New Testament you find them there viewed in
Christ and there's nothing mentioned about anything that ever happened
in those days. You know, look at how God was
and then God, the only thing you hear about Him in the New
Testament, He is a righteous man. Oh my, look what He said here,
look how Sarah reacted now at God's promise. In verse 9 here
of chapter 18. Now the Lord's talking to Abraham. And they said unto him, Where
is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to
the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And
Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him. She was
standing, Abraham was talking, she peeked out the tent door,
she was standing there behind Abraham, and she heard the Lord
telling him, you know that? And watch what happens now. And
he says, certainly, and she was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah
were old, well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah
after the manner of women. Now watch what Sarah does when
she heard this promise. Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself. Ah, oh boy. That just ain't no
way back. Oh, that's a fool. That's a pipe
dream. That's a fool. That just ain't
going to happen. No, listen. After I'm waxed old,
shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also? We're too old. Too old. And the Lord said unto
Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh? You know, she was in the tent,
the Lord was outside, and Abraham didn't hear her laugh, and God
said to Abraham, why in the world is your wife laughing? And oh my, and the Lord said
this, And then the Lord said unto Abraham, work for it, and
Sarah laughed. Shall I be sure to bear a child when I am old?
Listen to what Sarah, look what happened. Is anything too hard
for the Lord at the time appointed? I will return unto thee according
to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Now listen
to what Sarah does right here now. Then Sarah lied. She denied
saying, I didn't laugh. No, no, I didn't laugh. For she
was afraid and said no. And he said, Nay, but you did
laugh. Now look what he says about her
over here. There she is laughing. Ain't no way this is going to
happen. Catch her over there saying, Well, I wasn't laughing.
No, no, no. This is too serious to laugh
about. And look what happens. Through faith, Aaron and Sarah
also received strength to conceive seed. She laughed at God's great and
precious promises. And almost, and I'll tell you,
everybody until God does something for them, almost all laugh at
God's promises when they first hear them. They think naturally
like Sarah did. How in the world can me and my
husband, we just do old. And they're like Nicodemus. He
said, when our Lord said you must be born again, Nicodemus
said, oh, there ain't no way that can happen. How am I going
to do that? Get into my mother's womb and come out a second time?
You know, that's the way they do it. They just can't grasp
it. But oh, she did believe, that's what it says here, she
believed. And you know what she did? She
judged, and look what it says in the last part of verse 11,
but she judged him faithful who had promised. Oh my, that's the
fruit of faith. Faith says we judge him faithful
who promised. We had this promise and God promised
her that you're gonna have one child and through that child
there'll be people come from you that's as many as the stars
in heaven, as many as the sands by the seaside. Now how many
reckon you live there being glory? And that's what he's talking
about. He's talking about spiritual
sin. He's not talking about there never was that many Jews and
never will be that many Jews. You reckon there's as many Jews
as stars in heaven? You recognize as many Jews as
there's only about 2 million of them come out of Egypt when
they come out there as the sons of the sea. So our Lord's talking
about His people. Start out as sons and end up
as daughters. And oh, beloved, I tell you that's
what she said. She said, oh, out of this one
Out of this war, and she judged him faithful. Oh my soul, God
help us to judge him faithful. Has he ever failed us? Has he
ever failed us? Has he ever not been faithful? Has he never heard us when we
cried? Has he never called to us when we needed him? Has he
ever failed to give us grace? Has he ever failed to give us
peace? Has he ever failed to give us
the gospel? Has he ever failed us in any
way? We failed him a thousand times,
but oh, he's never... Oh, listen. Isaac, I'll tell
you something about Isaac. This is the fruit of faith. Isaac
sold one year, and you know what? He said he believed God. He said
God's going to increase him a hundredfold, and the next year he had a hundredfold.
Put in one, got a hundred. That's the way God does. He does
exceedingly abundantly above what we can think. And we think
awful big. And what we think or can even
ask, and we can ask for an awful lot. But He gives us more than
that. Don't He? He has me. He has me. Now look back over here now in
our text and let's go look at the vision of faith now. Here's
the way faith is. We're talking about faith. How
precious faith is. And look what He said in verse
13. The vision of faith. These all died in faith. They
didn't receive the promises. They didn't receive them. Abraham,
you know, and they didn't receive. Oh, these all died in faith,
not having received the promises, which was Christ, you see. But
listen to what it said, having seen them afar off. Having seen
them afar off. You know, I know some of you
fellas got these binoculars, you all go out hunting and you
take them binoculars and you look all over the place trying
to find a deer or a turkey or something. Well, that's what
faith does. Faith is the eyes that God gives
us that enables us to see all the way into eternity. Enables
us to see Christ at the right hand of God. Enables us to see
that city whose builder and maker is God. enables us to see the
promise that when we're going to be sown in corruption, we're
going to be raised in power. We're going to be sown in immortality,
we're going to be raised immortal. We're going to be sown in corruption,
we're going to be raised incorruptible. We're going to be sown flesh,
we're going to be raised spirit. In this faith, haven't seen them
before, that's what our Lord Jesus said. He said, Abraham,
saw by day and rejoiced to see by day. Now how did Abraham see? He said he saw in the far off.
He had faith and he saw Christ in the far off. Faith doesn't do as Moses. It don't have to climb to the
top of Mount Pisgah and view the land in the far off. That's
what it does. It climbs up to the mountain
and sees the land in the far off. You see, we walk by faith
and not by sight. And it says, your faith saw the
promises. Saw the promise of grace. Saw
the promise of life. Saw the promise of eternity.
Saw the promise of forgiveness. Saw the promise of justification.
And all saw the Son of God coming into this world. Saw God and
man coming. Saw it all. And they embraced
every one of those promises. And those promises persuaded
them that there was nothing in this world Worth giving up for
that promise. Ain't that right? And that's
what they said. That's what he went on to say
here. Oh my, we're confessing we're strangers and pilgrims.
They were persuaded there's nothing in this world worth giving up
those promises that I see way out yonder. And then we received the promises.
We do have the promises now. They looked off on them. Huh? Oh, they were persuaded that
God is faithful. They were persuaded that Christ
is all. That's why Noah, the only evidence
he had the promise is that he prepared an ark. And I tell you
what, God gave him a promise and Christ coming and he got
in that ark and was saved in that ark and the only thing that
caused him to build that ark was God making him a promise. And said, I'm going to, whatever
God, He said, God said, Abraham go, Abraham went. And I'm telling
you that those fellas, those men, that they would not, they
would give up their faith for this world and everything, and
I'm going to keep traveling, I'm going to keep building, I'm going
to keep laboring, I'm going to keep, they said, I see these
promises way out yonder, and I'm not going to quit until I
get them. Faith has eyes. And it sees way, way off. You
know what faith sees? It sees a new heaven. It sees
a new earth. It sees a sinless perfect world
that we'll dwell in one of these days. A Christ to be enjoyed
throughout eternity. When we worship Him and gather
around saying praises to His holy name. But unbelief is blind. It can't see. And that's why
it says the pure at heart. Shall see who? God. God. And you see Him now. And look
what a confession of faith. That's a vision of faith. Look
at the confession of faith here. In verse 13 and 14. He said,
look at the confession here now. They embraced Him. They confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they
that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Seek a country where you're living. Well, not where I want to. Not
where I've got a place to live. And oh, where there's faith,
there's a confession. And you know what they confess? I'm a stranger here. I'm a stranger
here. This world is not my home. David
said in Psalm 39, he says, I'm a stranger. I'm a stranger with
you. He said, God, you're a stranger
in your own world. Now, God is a stranger to most
everybody in this world. He's a stranger to them. I mean, when we talk about the
God of the Bible, He's a stranger to this world. His sovereignty, His electing
grace, His covenant of grace, Him being God manifest in the
flesh, being just and justifier, the one who gives us the righteousness
of Christ, and Christ bearing our sins. I mean, listen, the
satisfaction that Christ offers, He's a stranger in this world. You know they talk about he's
able to do all things. And I, just like this morning,
they had on the news, one of these, I told you about them
fellas handling all them snakes and they had this reality shit
thing on TV. They had all these guys handling these snakes. Well,
I've watched one of them. I've watched that stuff. And
one of them, old bald headed preacher and young fella and
he's a, he dressed, oh my goodness, he dressed to the nines and he's
in that little old picture handling snakes. Got bit last week. Died last night. I ain't no faith in that. You
know what I confess? This world's not my home. And I run into snakes all the
time. In fact, I got a little poison of asthma in my own voice
and my own tongue every once in a while. Don't you? But you
know what the scripture says, when we get to be with Christ,
we play on the cockatrice and aspen game. There won't be no
aspens that got any teeth in them. That really ain't going
to happen, but there ain't going to be no aspens again. But anyway,
that's what the, well I'll leave it at that. But where there's
faith, there's a confession. This world's not my home. We
confess that they're strangers and pilgrims. And I tell you,
let me ask you this. Now when you go off and you stay
off going for a while, and when you get home, you say, oh there
ain't no place like home. There just ain't no place like
it. And once you get there, you're not too anxious to take off and
go somewhere else again and stay home for a while. And do you
ever get homesick to go to be with Christ? Do you ever get
homesick, just get weary of this flesh, and weary of fighting
sin? Weary of not having the faith
that honors Him? Weary of just dealing with the
problems, and the worries, and the strife, and yourself? Do you ever say, Oh, Lord, I
just thought, if you'd be pleased to take us home. But I tell you,
remember Ruth? Her mother, Naomi, was going
to go back. She was going to go home. And she told her daughter,
Ruth, said, you just stay here. Stay here with your family. You've
got people here. She said, no, I'm not going to go. Will you go? I go. Will you dwell? I dwell. Your God is going to
be my God. Everything you've got, I want.
And as she said, there was nothing ambiguous about Ruth. There was
no wondering about where she was and what she was. There was
no wondering, well, does she believe or don't she believe?
She said, wherever you go, I'm going. God you worship, that's
where I'm going to worship. The God where you dwell, I'm
going to dwell. I'm going. And listen, the God. You didn't have to say, well,
I wonder if Ruth is a believer or not. Huh? And I said, she declared
plainly that I'm not staying up here. I'm going to go where
God is. I'm going to follow God. I'm
going to worship God. Declared plainly. There's no
guesswork in her heart and mind. I tell you, this is the way...
Let me ask you, do you ever describe people this way? I remember one
time, I was talking about a particular
woman and they said, well who is she? She said, oh that, they
said, well that's that woman that's got all that money. She
got lots and lots of money. And there was two reasons for
somebody to describe them that way. They want you to think that
like that, that they got money. Want to impress you with their
money. Or else, you are impressed with what they have. And either way, I feel sorry for anybody that
wants to be described that way and for anybody that's impressed
with it. I feel sorry for anybody that's
impressed with it. Now, I hear people talking
about how much they make, how many cars they drive. Let me
ask you this, what about their character? What about their character? It don't make any difference.
A car's got doors on it, it's got an engine in it, it's got
a key to it. And sooner or later you're going
to have to fix it. And your money, my soul, oh my God have mercy
on us. If we're impressed with anything
that anybody's got in this world besides faith in Christ, Enjoy life enjoy. I enjoy it
and you enjoy it. I enjoy my home. I enjoy my wife.
I enjoy my cows I enjoy you. I enjoy my friends. I enjoy I
enjoy living I Enjoy wearing nice clothes I'm glad that I've
got enough money that I can go and eat what I want to eat and
go where I want to go I'm thankful for all those things I'm really
am and I enjoy I But God gave them to us and that's not our
life. Our life is Christ. Our life's
not in things. And listen, what about people's
character? What about people's interest
in God? Huh? Better yet, what about your interest
in God? And I'll tell you one thing a
person don't want to do. They don't want to play games
with God in this world. And I know this, I know this,
that's why they said, you know, we're strangers and pilgrims.
I'm telling you, this world's not my home, I'm passing through.
And when people are not faithful, when people are stingy, when
people are ambivalent about the things of God, you know what
they're saying? They're declaring plainly that
Christ is not my life, but just the church is nothing but a convenience
store where I can go and get pumped up and get feel good about
myself and make myself think that I'm doing a good deed for
Jesus by attending church and glad that the folks are probably
glad that I'm there. Now, and I'll tell you what,
beloved, they said, oh, they confessed that they were strangers
in pilgrims. Strangers in pilgrims. And let
me just go over here now and look with me and then again,
let's look at faith, how faith is devoted. how faith is devoted. It says
in verse 15, And truly, if they had been mindful of that country,
now that country that God said they was walking through, they might have had opportunity
to have returned from where they started. Let's go back. You know,
we're halfway. We know God told us to go out
here, but there ain't nothing out here but desert. If I find a well, I've got to
dig it. And I've been looking, looking, looking, and I ain't
found that foundation yet, y'all keep talking about. I ain't found
that city yet, y'all talking about. And oh, listen to what
they said. But they says, but now, if they'd
have been thinking about it, but now they desire a better
country, that is a heavenly country, where God is not ashamed to be
called their God. Oh, listen. But they've been
mindful of that country. I'm going to tell you something.
Everybody that talked about, why did you bring us up out of
Egypt? Because we had such good food up yonder. They forgot about
how hard their taskmaster was. They forgot about how hard Pharaoh
was. And they said, why did you bring
us out here in this wilderness? Let's go back over here. There's
some Greek, there's some onions and leeks. We need to go over
there. And you know what God did? He killed every single one
of them whose heart was still in Egypt. And if you're harsh in Egypt,
you just won't be there. Faith has but one hand. And you know what it does? It
reaches for us. It presses toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Now one man
said, Lord, I'm going to follow you wherever you go. And our
Lord looked at him and said, no man, having put his hand to
the plow, looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. And these
fellas said, if you'd have been mindful of it, they could have
referred, but they never entered their mind, I'm going to go back.
Never entered their mind that there's something better where
I come from. Is there anything better where you've been before
you got to Christ? And to hear people brag about
how mean they were, and how sinful they were, and how many You know,
all the sins, they start enumerating their sins and bragging. That's
like they really enjoy and brag about being a rebel? My soul,
let's not mention the things. We know we were bad. And I tell
you, the worst kind of wickedness there is, is for a person to
be in services and be self-righteous and think that Christ needs them
and it's their righteousness with Christ's righteousness that
makes them acceptable. Huh? Oh my, did you enjoy sinning
against God? Did you enjoy being a rebel? Did you enjoy that slump at the
whole pin? Did you enjoy getting down underneath
that slump? My soul, that's what they said,
be mindful of it. What in the world is that? What did we mean? And I tell you, if there's a
person that's a hog, he'll always go back to his mire. Now, if it's a dog, he'll
always go back to his vomit. God don't make a man a new creature.
And that's what these folks said. Said, they desire a better country. Oh, they desire a better country.
Now, listen. And I tell you, beloved, I am
so thankful. You know, Go back? Go back to where? Go back to
what? Huh? Go back to where? Go back to what? Go back to false
religion? Go back to legalism? Go back
to fundamentalism? Go back to the world? Oh, those folks have thought
about it. They said, we'll go back. But is it ever in your
mind that you won't go back to the world? You won't go back
to your sin? You won't go back to being a rebel? Is that ever
in your mind? Of course it ain't. You know why? Faith. Faith makes
you looking for something better. And then I got two little more
points and I'm done. Look what it said here in verse
17, 19. Look at the trial of faith. Look
at 17. By faith Abraham, when he was
tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten. Of whom it was said, that in
Isaac shall thy seed be caught." Oh my! God said, Abraham take
your son. Then he went on to say, your
only son. Then he said, the son you love,
take him up on the other mountain. And you know what Abraham did?
Never, never entered his mind. He just said, son come on, we're
going to go up on this mountain up here to worship. Go up there
and worship. You see, real faith can abide
the furnace and offer up everything they got. Just give it up. Faith can say, listen, it's not
mine. Here, take it. And all faith can abide the furnace
like the three Hebrew children. But the rich young ruler, he
couldn't. He couldn't even part with his
riches. Abraham could part with his son. Three Hebrew children
couldn't part with their faith. But they'd rather be in the furnace
as to deny Christ. Huh? Abraham put his all, put
his dearest, put the promised seed on the line in obedience
to God. And what caused him to do that?
Out of love for his master. And you know what it says next?
He said in verse 19, accounting that God was able to raise him
up. If I give him, now this is having
seen them promises afar off. He doesn't heard about the resurrection.
He doesn't heard about Christ. He doesn't heard about the promises
in this seed. My Savior is coming through my
son. My Redeemer is coming through
my son. And if salvation is going to come through him, And me,
then God's got to raise this boy back up. And oh beloved, and He did. He
did. He did. Oh my, He accounted God. And that's why faith works by
love. And oh, He accounted that God was all able. And our Lord
Jesus Christ, He says the kingdom of heaven is likened unto A rich
man, a man who sent a treasure in a field. And that treasure
that was in that field, it was hidden in that field. He knew
that treasure was in that field. But what he done, he bought the
whole field to get that one little treasure out of it. And that's
what our Lord, He bought this whole world and the right to
do with it as He is. To get you and me. And you know why? He accounted
that God was faithful. And he said, all that the Father
gives me, what are you going to do? Go come to me. And you
know them that come to me and what I'm going to do with them?
I ain't never ever going to let them be lost. And not only that,
but I'm going to raise them up again the last day. So I'll tell you what, just give
it away. Just give it. and then let me
hurry up and finish up here look down verse 22 the remembrance
of faith look how faith remembers down to verse 22 by faith Joseph
when he died and that's one of these days going to put down
there and Donnie by faith Donnie when he died cause see they all
died in faith by faith Put your name in there. You gonna die
by faith, gonna die in the faith. And by faith Joseph, when he
died, you know what he told the children of Israel? He says,
you know, God, you're gonna depart out of here. You're not gonna
stay down here forever. God promised that you're gonna leave and go
up out of here. You know, remember when God made this promise to
Abraham. He said, Abraham, He says, your
seed is going to go down into a strange country, and they're
going to stay down there, and they're going to stay in bondage
for 400 years. And at the end of that 400 years,
I'm going to go down there, and I'm going to bring them up. I'm
going to deliver them. Well, that was passed from Abraham
to Isaac to Jacob, and Jacob and Joseph, and they've known
all these promises, you see. And that's what it means having
died, not having received these promises. But he said, listen
folks, I'm dead and I'm in my casket and they buried him and
they had a great morning and all went on and on. And he said,
but now listen, God said he's not going to leave you down here
in bondage. He's not going to leave you in Egypt. He said he remembered the parting
of the children of Israel. He remembered the promise God
made to Abraham. He remembered the promise of
redemption that God is going to bring him up. He remembered
the promise of a land, the promise of a seed. And then look what
he said. And don't leave my bone down
here when you go take me out with you. And that's the way
it is when all God takes us up out of this world. He's going
to take all of us. Joseph and all of God. Joseph
is going to go up with them too. When they went down there, they
said, Joseph said, now don't you leave me down here. I ain't
nothing but bones now. But I still don't want to be
left in Egypt. Because this has never been my
home. Oh, remember, listen, the Lord,
the words of our Lord. He said, let not your heart be
in troubles. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's
house, all mansions everywhere. And where I go, I'll come again
and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may
be also. And our Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what we do, we take
somebody to the graveyard and we remember and we walk off and
leave them and they put all the dirt back over them but our faith
remembers when we walk off and leave them that they're not going
to stay there when God takes us up out of this
world they're coming up to ain't that right? that's the remembrance
of faith That's the remembrance of faith, ain't it? Remember
all the folks. See you in the morning. You know
where Joseph sat now? His bones was what they took
up out of Egypt. He done went to be with the Lord.
If any was translated, what do you think he done for the rest
of them? Oh, our blessed, blessed Savior,
thank you for allowing us to honor our Lord today. Oh, for
a faith that will not shrink, oppressed by many a foe, that will not falter even on
the brink of war. Oh, bless your name, Father.
Bless your name. Save your people in this place.
Great faith, like we mentioned today, and if they have it, oh
God, they'll confess their strangers and pilgrims. We bless you for
Christ's name. Amen. Amen.