Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews 11. Before we begin, let's ask our
Lord's blessing. Our Father, we are so thankful
of this blessed time that we have. Lord, a time to meet with
You, to worship. Help us. Help us, we pray. May Christ be honored for the
comfort of Your people, we ask these things. Amen. I'm going to look, Lord willing,
at verses 15 and 16 in just a moment. Last time we looked in the book
of Hebrews chapter 11, we considered those that knew themselves and
owned themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They knew. They are not of this
world. They don't go along with the
world's religion. They knew that Almighty God had
called them out of darkness. And the Scripture says, verse
14, For they that say such things, declare such things, own such
things, declare plainly that they seek a country, a fatherland. Now, like every regenerated child
of God, by obedience, and that's how
God's people declare plainly, they struggle. We've talked about
that so many times. They struggle in this world. They struggle within. There are
struggles without, but I'm telling you the struggles are within.
They struggle with the presence of sin. And they long, they desire
to be with the Lord. They think upon that. with anxious
anticipation, and all the while struggling, knowing that this
old flesh doesn't want to leave. And that's a true feeling. There's
two different desires. There's a desire to leave by
that new man, and there's a desire to stay by that old man. Now today, I want us to consider
these that the Scripture sets forth. There were strangers and
pilgrims, and those that declare plainly that they do seek a country. Verses 15 and 16, Hebrews 11,
and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they
came out, They might have had opportunity to have returned,
but now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city."
Now the scripture that we've been This passage that we've
been considering. We've looked at the faith of
different ones. The faith of Abraham, the faith
of Sarah, the faith of Noah, Enoch. And the scripture sets
forth that these that Almighty God had called out of spiritual
darkness, And whenever the Lord does call one out of spiritual
darkness, there's a new man. There's a new creation. There's a new birth. There's
one born from above. And that old man is left just
exactly the way he was. Remember, nothing has changed
concerning the old man. that we were born in Adam. That old man, that old nature
is there. That which is flesh is flesh. That which is spirit is spirit. That old man, that old rebellious
nature is there. But, though the same desires
against God, and that old man remains. And they do. I want
you to turn with me. Hold your finger right there,
but turn back to Romans 7. Now here's the Apostle Paul. Now here's what we deal with. Here's what we have. This is
every believer. Romans 7. Let's read verses 19
to 23. If you want to know why. You struggle the way you do.
Why? You feel the warrings within.
Here's the reason right here. Romans 7 verse 19, For the good
that I would, I do not. But the evil which I would not,
that I do. If I do that I would not, it's
no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then
a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members."
A believer, Doe's, struggles with. The presence of sin, but
you that believe. The scripture sets forth that
sin, and this is Romans 6.14, shall not have dominion over
you. Almighty God has dethroned. He said, I'm going to remove
that heart of flesh. As I've said before, though the
presence of sin is still there, you would hear that, I will remove
that heart of stone. It doesn't rule anymore. But
the effects are still there. The effects of sin is still there. The stench of death is still
there. Nothing is more certain. Nothing
is more assured than this. In this world, you're going to
have tribulation. You're going to have warrings
and strivings within. You're going to know that that
old nature is not going to leave until we leave this world. But we, if we were left to ourselves,
We would be just like Abraham and Sarah, and the Scripture
sets forth, if they had been mindful, verse 15, if they had
been mindful, if they had a heart, if they thought upon, if they
longed after, if they had been mindful of that country from
whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned. Now, here's what I want to speak
of. Two points. the perseverance of God's saints. Here's the first thing. God's
people persevere in the faith. If they had been mindful of that
country... Now, the thing that we know is
that Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees, out of the
city. Ur was the city that he lived
in. Chaldea was the country. Ur of the Chaldees. And Almighty
God called him out of that country. The Scripture says in Hebrews
11, God called him and he obeyed. That's what Scripture says. God said he obeyed. We went back
and looked in Genesis what happened. Almighty God said he obeyed. Oh, the mercy and grace and longsuffering
of God Almighty when He sees us in Christ and we realize in
Him, God says, Well done. Well done. The Scripture says
that he came out of this country. But this word, country, right
here, is that which God has called us out of. And I'm telling you,
for every believer, every believer, God Almighty called us out of
our false hope, false religion, I told you there's many of you
here that grew up. I mean, you've never been anywhere
else except here. But you've not always been converted.
There was a time when Almighty God called you out of darkness. I came up under false religion. It was a false religion. But
I, just like you, was called out of a country of false hope.
You could place false hope sitting under the gospel like anybody
else under a false gospel. You could be sitting under the
gospel of God's grace and think, well, I'm converted because I'm
sitting under the gospel. Abraham was called, the Scripture
says, out of a country. God's people are called out of
that false hope that they have. He was there worshiping the false
gods? I had false hope, you had false hope. Now, the Scripture
says if they had been homesick for that country, if they had desired the gods
that they worshipped, they'd have plenty of opportunities
to go back. I think back on what I once believed. I think back on what I placed
all of my hope in. What was the difference between
Demas and Paul? What was the difference between
Lot and his wife? What's the difference between
you and those that would not remain, stay under the sound
of the gospel. What was the difference? The grace of God. Many that followed
the Lord when they heard the truth said this, this is a hard
saying. Who can hear it? And from that
time, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with
Him. Why? Why did some go? Why did some go and some stay?
1 Peter 1.5 says, speaking of God's
people who are kept, who are hemmed in, protected, watched
over with a guard by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Jude 1-1 says this, Jude,
the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them that
are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ
and called. My friend, don't think that if
you were mindful to go back that you wouldn't. If you had a heart
to go back, you'd go. There's been many that the Scripture
sets forth, left, that old man is there. And that old heart
would go back. That man would retrace his steps
right back to false men honoring false religion. And you would
find that there would be many that would just welcome you back
with open arms. I'm so glad you came to your
senses. I'm so glad you didn't stay in that mess. Boy, I'm telling
you, I had a friend of mine, and I consider him a friend,
not an acquaintance. Let me say it like that. And
years ago, the Lord began to deal with me on the truth as
it is in Christ Jesus. And I began to hear some things
concerning the gospel of God's free grace, Christ, God's electing
grace, predestinating grace, choosing grace, keeping grace,
salvation that was of God, salvation of the Lord. And I asked him
about this. I said, tell me something. What about these Scriptures?
I show him Ephesians 1. Show them 2 Thessalonians 2 verse
13, we're bound to give thanks. I said, what about this? He said,
oh, let me tell you something. He said, that right there. He
said, that's a damnable heresy. He said, I'm going to tell you
something if you're not careful. You're going to open up a can
of worms. See, this is a quote. You're going to open up a can
of worms that you're not going to be able to close. Never a
truer statement made. It wasn't a can of worms. But I tell you what, it was a
truth that couldn't be closed. Almighty God is going to keep
His people. If they had been mindful, the
Scripture says, if they'd had a heart for that country from
which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned. You know why they didn't go?
Here's a double answer. Same truth. Number one, God kept
them. God preserved them. God hemmed
them in. But here's the truth too. They
didn't want to. They didn't want to go back.
Can you imagine going back? You that believe. Can you imagine
going back and sitting under a false gospel? A gospel making
God Almighty to be a beggar? Proclaiming that the Lord Jesus
Christ died nowhere in Scripture. Nowhere in Scripture. Can you
find the Lord Jesus Christ dying for the sins of the whole world
without any distinction whatsoever? If that's true, then Almighty
God and His blessed Son is a failure. He's a failure. You say, yeah,
but He made it possible. And then you have to make the
decision, now you're going to get into salvation by works,
by your works. It's not going to work. It's
not going to work. Either Almighty God saves His
people totally by grace, or it's by works. You don't find it. If they were mindful, God's people
are going to be willing. In the day of His power, God's
going to keep them. Turn with me to Jeremiah 32.
Jeremiah 32. Listen to the blessed promise
of Almighty God. If you want to know why God's
people don't leave, why do God's people stay? Jeremiah 32. I want
to read verses 38 to 40. Now you listen. Here's the Word
of the Lord. This is God speaking. Look at
these words that we're about to read and realize this. They
were penned at the hand of a prophet. I understand that. Holy men of
God wrote as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. These
are the words of Almighty God. Listen to God speaking. This
is God Almighty speaking. Jeremiah 32, 38, And they shall
be my people, and I will be their God, and I will give them one
heart and one way, But they may fear Me forever for the good
of them and of the children after them. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts that they
shall not depart from Me." You want to know why God's people
don't leave? God Almighty keeps them. If they had been mindful,
the Scripture says, if they had been mindful to go back, to leave
and go back into that country from which they came out, there
would have been an opportunity to go, no doubt about it. But God kept them. They didn't
want to. The Lord has a people. He has
an elect people. A people that He will not leave
to themselves. He doesn't leave His people to
continue by themselves without Him. I will not leave you. God is going to save His people. These are His people that He
has everlastingly loved. Gave them to His Son. And they're
not robots. They're not robots. God makes
a new person created in righteousness and true holiness. It's a new
man. A new man that has a new thinking,
a new way, a new love, a new desire. He longs after God. He wants to fellowship with God. He wants to hear Almighty God
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, honored. He wants to
hear Him and seek Him. He wants to meet with Him. He
wants to talk to Him. He wants to hear His voice in
the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit of God direct in Him.
God's people are what they are by the grace of God. They're
willing. They see by divine knowledge
and light that death is the end of this world. God's people are
faithful. But here's the second thing.
Here's their expectation. God's people, number one, persevere. God calls them out of darkness,
they stay. And here's what they expect.
Here is what they look for. Verse 16, But now they desire
a better country, that is, in heavenly, wherefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them
a city. They desire a better country,
that is, in heavenly. I was looking at that Scripture
just a moment ago, and I thought to myself, that is a miracle
of God's grace. That Almighty God would give
a man a heart to desire a better country than
where they are right now. A better state. I've got people in my family,
and I'm convinced by the witness that they give, they don't even
think about it. They don't even think about it. There's no speaking of it. There's no evidence of it. that we are completely outdone
with the comforts and the gifts and the graces of this world.
We're thankful for them. I thank God for the provision
that Almighty God has bestowed upon this country, this world,
for the sake of His elect. I was talking to Brother Carl
yesterday. And we were talking about this
very thing. God Almighty has raised up this country and sent
the gospel to this country. Look back in history and I can
see where there were times in England or Germany, there's different
places where the gospel was preached. It was prevalent. And it has
been by the good pleasure of God that Almighty God has raised
up this country the United States, and raised up some faithful preachers
like Brother Scott and Brother Henry, different ones. And given
a people a heart to want to hear on them. And to praise God Almighty
that God has shown mercy in this. I thank the Lord for that. I
do. I do. But God Almighty has set
forth that they desire a better country. A heavenly country. One that Almighty God has set
forth for His people. That new heart that God's people
possess. They want to be where Christ
is. They want to be with Him. I think of that Scripture that
we've quoted so many times. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man. Everything
I read about heaven in the Scriptures. And the Scripture says you've
never even thought about it. They desire a better country.
And God is not ashamed to be called their God. Wonder of wonders. God is not
ashamed to be called my God. Not ashamed. Only in His blessed Son, Will
He look upon me in pleasure? Only in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that Almighty God owned Himself, gave Himself toward
His people in His Son. He said, I'm your God. You're
my people. I'm the God, He said, of Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob, one with Him. Hebrews 2.11 says, for both
he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one,
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. I thank
the Lord. Thank you. Thank you for your
kindness to me. Lord, save for being found in
the Lord Jesus Christ, what hope would I have? I've never been
consistent one time. Lord, You chose to show mercy
to me. You gave me to the Lord Jesus
Christ. You set me apart because it pleased
You to do so. They desire a better country,
that is, a heavenly. Wherefore, God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. He made heaven. for His people
to dwell with Him, made that eternal provision that we might
behold the glory of His blessed Son that was given Him as the
God-man mediator before the world began. Thanks be unto God, it's
not a shame to be called our God. Lord, preserve me. Lord, keep me that I might not
be ashamed of You. And by the grace of God, and
only by the grace of God, I want how many that I read about that
left and walk no more with Him. And I'm thinking the only difference
between them and me is the grace of God.