Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. I would like to read one verse,
verse 13. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13. The scriptures say, and this is concerning all
those that the apostle had spoken of in this chapter, these all
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Let's pray together. Our Father, this evening we come
and ask You, would You bless the Word tonight? Lord, it's through the preaching of
the Gospel You said, Your Word, the Gospel that we're not ashamed
of. Lord, this is what you're pleased to bless in the salvation
of sinners. Lord, would you have mercy tonight?
Lord, I know your Word's not going to return void. It's going
to accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Lord, we thank
you and bless you. For Christ's sake, amen. When it comes down to the last
thing that's said concerning somebody, that's what we call an epitaph. It's something that
is said. It's a good thing. It's a remembering
thing. It's an inscription. whereby we try to sum up somebody's
life. A lot of times, a life is summed up. I never
cease to be amazed how quickly you can read an obituary and
how quickly you can sum up somebody's life. Sometimes they're just
real short. Sometimes it's just a little
bit longer, but you read it. I think it was you, Gary, that
told me about a dash. This is what sums up somebody's
life. Born this year. Dash. Died this year. Much to say. It's just so quickly. What do you say? All these things
that happen every day, day in, day out. It comes down to just
summed up in just a few words. But having considered some of
these Old Testament saints, spoken of in this blessed chapter, Hebrews
chapter 11. Here's the way that the Lord
summed up their life. These all died in faith. Of all the things that could
be said, nothing, nothing, Toss that. Nothing. They were rich. They had lands untold. They had
this. They were this politician. That they were. So what? But to come down to the final
It can be said about somebody. This is the only thing that matters.
They all died in Christ, the object of their faith. In spite of all the workings
of unbelief, and we all have them, I say that the corruption
of that old nature. We were born in this body, and this is the body that we're
going to have to walk the rest of our life in. And nothing has
changed about this body as far as its old nature is concerned.
It's still just that old nature. Sin is right there with us. Now, the Scripture says that
that stony heart that ruled, the Lord has removed. It doesn't
rule anymore. There's a new heart there. But
the corruption of that old nature is still there. There's a new
man that has been put in. Something has been added. And
that new nature, that which is born of God, that does not sin. There's a new nature there. And
that new nature believes God. There's a new principle that's
put in. It's called the law of faith. the law of faith, and by faith,
by that principle that is put in there, a believer believes
God. He believes Him. He acts like
a believer. How is that? He believes God.
Now these that are said to have died in the faith, What actually happened was they
did not apostatize. They didn't leave. They didn't
walk away. They were kept by the power of
God through faith. And they walked by faith. They
believed God. Struggling all the while. Now
everything that you see in yourself, you that believe in, Everything
you see is inconsistent. But there is a characteristic
of a believer. And that characteristic is this. They believe the Lord. They love Him. They struggle,
but they know Him. And that characteristic being
there means that there's a principle there called faith. Life. Now while they're walking in
this world, they're walking in the light that God has given
them. I heard Brother Henry Mahan say
one day that every generation of believers that come along,
they've got more light. There's more light. And they
walk in the light that God's given them. There's some things
that we know. As the Lord now has come into
this world, there's some things that we've actually seen written
for us. Now, there were some that actually
saw Him. But now we read it in the Scriptures,
and we walk believing what God has said concerning Himself.
There are some things that were told about the Lord Jesus Christ. Conversations that He had between
different ones. Years ago, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
they didn't have that light. They didn't know. But they walked
in the light that they had. The Scripture says, 1 John 1,
6 and 7, if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk
in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. 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. God is light. God is the manifest. That's where the word lies. He
is the manifest, and in Him is no darkness, there's no obscurity. And if we say we have fellowship
with Him, and we walk in sin, in unbelief, in the sin
of unbelief, the Scripture says that we're false professors. And we do not possess a true
profession of faith in Christ. But if we walk in the light that
God Almighty has revealed in His Word, the revealed light,
the truth of the Gospel, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
as He is in the light. That means in the light that
God has revealed. We have fellowship with Him.
who walk with him will know him. These, the scripture says, that
have been spoken of and those that will follow. And for God's
people right now that leave this world in death, they die in faith. Now the first thing I know is
that they died. They died. A believer is not going to bypass unless the Lord
comes back. I said before, somebody's going
to be here when the Lord comes back. But if we're not on this
earth when the Lord returns a second time, we're going to die. Believers
die just like unbelievers. Regeneration does not eliminate
the surety that we're going to die. All men are going to die. But the wonder of God's mercy
and grace is that there are some that die in faith, believing
Almighty God. Now this scripture sets forth
five things concerning those that died in Christ. Died in faith. Died, remember
when I told you last week, when we were talking about faith,
through faith, through the object of our faith. Through Christ,
who is God's object of faith to his people. And through faith,
these died with a resignation. I am absolutely trusting the
Lord of glory. And I'm trusting my eternal soul
unto Him. Now there's some things that
these didn't have. Five things that they didn't
have. Some of these we have. And you'll see the difference
in just a minute. Here's the first thing that these that died
in the faith didn't have. Here's the first one. The scripture
says they all died in faith, not having received the promises. Now they had the promise of God. They had God's word on it. It
wasn't as if God had not promised them anything. The Lord had given
them a promise of life and redemption in the Messiah. They knew that
God had promised that there was going to be a Messiah. This started
in the Garden. Genesis 3.15, here's what the
Lord said. Adam and Eve, I will put enmity
when Satan had caused Eve, beguiled Eve. Here's what the Lord said. In the Garden, I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, between thy seed, her seed. It shall
bruise thy head, thou shalt bruise his heel. That's what God told
Satan. There's going to be a Messiah. He's going to come. And He's
going to crush your head. You'll bruise His heel. But He'll
crush you. They look for the promised Messiah. They believe God. But these did
not receive the fulfillment of that promise. They believed what
God had said concerning the seed of the woman bruising the head
of Satan. They laid hold by faith of those
things that were promised before they actually saw them. They didn't see them. They were
not brought to fruition in their eyes. They had God's Word that
life, eternal glory, was going to come through God's Lamb. They knew that. God gave them
faith. He gave them that principle of
faith, that law of faith. It was in them. And when God
put faith there, God regenerated them. Gave them faith to believe. And they believed God's Word.
They just, they believed it. They did exactly what faith does. Faith. Belief is gone. These didn't see. The Lord Jesus
Christ actually come into this world, put away their debt. They died before He actually
came into this world. But they died in faith, not having
received the promises, but the second thing, but having seen
them afar off. They saw by faith, with the eyes
of understanding, They had eyes to see and ears to hear. Their
eyes had been divinely enlightened, and they knew the hope of His
promise, calling, was by grace they believed the Lord, to believe
the promise of Almighty God. These things are far off. They
knew that God, by His Lamb, would be their wisdom and their righteousness
and their surety before Almighty God. They saw it. They saw it
by faith. We see that. We've had the fulfilled
promise. The Lord has come into this world.
We read it. Somebody says, well, I know you're
reading it, but how do you know that it was just like this? Faith,
verse 1, is the substance of things hoped for. It's the proof
of things that are not seen. When we looked at that verse
a month or so ago, how do you know that Almighty God chose
a people before the foundation of the world? How do you know
that? By faith we believe Him. That is a surety to us. That's
not speculation. We know. That's right. That is
so. When the Lord Jesus Christ went
to the cross, was He actually made sin? Yes. How do you know that? Almighty
God has revealed it by faith. And that's the evidence. Faith is the evidence. It's the
proof. That's so. I absolutely believe
when Christ died upon the cross, I absolutely believe He knew
me. That's so comforting. Paul says,
I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded that He's able
to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. Is
that not comforting to you to know that just as that high priest
in the desert? I brought this up before. When
he went in with those twelve stones on his breastplate, there
were the twelve tribes of Israel represented by that high priest
when he went in. That tabernacle bearing their
names upon His heart. Bearing their names. In that
stone, this stone right here, six names, six names. There He
was. The government was on His shoulders.
It was His responsibility. It's picturing the Lord Jesus
Christ to intercede for those people and meet with God Almighty
for those people. Do you believe that? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I absolutely believe that the
trump of God is going to sound. I believe that the dead in Christ
are going to rise. They are going to meet the Lord
in the air. We that remain on this earth
will meet Him and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And immediately
the judgment of God will happen. And He will separate the sheep
from the goats. The sheep, He'll say, enter in
that which has been prepared for you from before the foundation
of the world. The books will be opened. And
the men will be judged that knew not Christ. They'll be judged
out of the books. You believe that? Yes, I do.
Yes, I do. Yes, I do. When do you think
it's going to happen? I don't know. I don't know. It
may happen before I leave this world, but I may leave this world
before it does. I don't know, but it's going
to happen. It's going to happen. Having seen them afar off, God's
people believe God. They see it by faith. The Scripture
says, the Lord speaking concerning Abraham, that didn't receive
the fulfillment of the promise. Abraham didn't. He saw it. He
believed it. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it, and he was glad. He was glad. I believe that the totality of
the Lord's humiliation, He came into this world, born of a virgin,
lived this world, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.
He went to the cross, died under the judgment of Almighty God,
bearing the wrath of God Almighty for all of God's sheep. There's
the day of the Lord. That's the totality of redemption. But I know also, when Abraham
met Melchizedek, coming back from the slaughter of the kings.
He saw. He saw. I believe Melchizedek
was a pre-incarnate visitation of the Lord himself. Melchizedek. No beginning of days, no ending
of days, no lineage, no mama, no daddy, nothing. Abraham saw. The high priest. Whenever Abraham took Isaac up
from that mountain, going to sacrifice that boy, Abraham saw
the substitute. Whenever Isaac was born, Abraham
saw life from that which was humanly impossible. Abraham saw
my day. He saw it and he was glad. The Scripture says, Moses, by
faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king,
for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. You that know
Him, by faith, you see Him. You hear His Word preached right
now and you see Him. You see Him. Someone says, I
don't understand how you see. God's people do. They see Him. These that died in the faith,
the Scripture sets forth. They did not receive the fulfillment
of the promises, having seen them afar off. And here's the
third thing about them. The Scripture says that they
were persuaded of Him. They were persuaded. They were
convinced. You know, I have no ability,
I have no ability to be able to convince anybody of anything. It's so hard, I know it's right,
I know it's right, but it just seems so hard When somebody cannot
see. Nothing, nothing, Brother Henry
said this, no one is so blind as those that will not see. They
will not see. They cannot see, they will not
see. You read the scripture, 2 Thessalonians
2.13, one of my favorite scriptures. But we're bound to give thanks
to God always. For you. Brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and the belief of the
truth. Now, you'll ask yourself this.
How can you not see that God chose from the beginning those
that He purposed to show mercy to? How could you not see that?
But do you know this? Unless the Lord gives a man a
new heart, he doesn't see it. He just doesn't see it. I just
don't see it. No, I don't see that. By faith. These that did not receive the
fulfillment of the promises, but they saw by faith afar off. And they were convinced of it. Convinced. Persuaded. by the work of God's Spirit,
imparting life to them, imparting faith, giving them faith, a new
heart to believe God. John 3.33, he that hath received
his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. He's true. I faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The believer, in his heart, he says this, God does not lie. God is true. And oh, what peace
and joy there is when Almighty God gives a heart and settles
it. It's a settled persuasion. If you believe that all is well
with your soul, come what may, it's okay. It's okay. It's alright. I'm persuaded. I'm convinced. The Lord has said,
I'll never leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
I'm not going to forsake you. But what if I'm sick? I'm not
going to leave you. But what if I'm not going to
leave you? I'm not going to forsake you? Lord, I can settle down
with that. I know, Paul says, whom I have
believed, persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've
committed unto him against that day. These saints, they died
in faith, persuaded of God's faithfulness And though we see
through a glass darkly, though we don't know the fullness, we
know. We know. God's people. There's some things that we know.
I know. I know. Scripture says we know
that we've passed from death unto life. We know. But all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. They didn't receive the fulfillment,
but they saw them afar off. The Scripture says they were
persuaded of Him. And here was the fourth thing,
and embraced Him. Embraced Him. They greeted Him. They welcomed Him. They drew
Him. These promises to themselves. I'm His and He's mine. He held
them. When Jacob wrestled with the
Lord, the Lord told him, He said, let me go unless you bless me. embraced Him, held Him. This
is all of my hope. This is all of my peace. This
is all of my comfort. I'm going to die. I'm going to
leave this world. I'm going to stand before God. And here's God's Word. Here's the promise of Almighty
God concerning the Messiah. Concerning salvation. All of
grace by the blood. Oh, you think about when they
were in Egypt. It was down there. The Lord told Moses, you tell
the people, you take the lamb, you set him aside, you watch
him take that, kill it. The night I tell you, on the
night of the Passover, kill it. Take it. Put the blood on the
lintel. Get inside. Get behind that blood. Get in
your house. Don't come out. I'm going to
pass through tonight. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. I believe, I believe, I believe that. I believe that.
Lord, help my non-belief. I believe right now that that
blood, the fresh blood that was shed today, today, the day of
salvation, everything with Almighty God is right now. The I Am. He said that blood was shed years
ago. The freshness of that blood.
He said, when I see the blood, and I need for Almighty God for
me to see it right now. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. Lord, hide me. Hide me in Him. Only a believer that's hidden
in Him would ask that. Lord, hide me. They embraced
Him. The last thing it says, they
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They acknowledged the strangers. It's just not from here. Not that new man. That new man
is born from above. That old man, he's from here.
He loves the things of this world. The cares of this world. The
silliness of this world. It's what he wants. It's what
he desires. It's what he's satisfied with. But those that Almighty
God has given a heart of faith are strangers. Lord willing, in about a month,
we'll try to go down to Mexico. I look forward, I was talking
to Cody today, and look forward to going down there. Love them.
Appreciate them. Appreciate what Almighty God
has done for His people, calling out in these little churches
around. I enjoy going down and it's just,
It's a week of nonstop stuff, but just, oh, how I enjoy it. But do you know while I'm down
there, I'm not looking for a piece of property. I'm not looking
for, you know, I'm just a sojourner. I'm just down here for a week.
Lord willing, I'm going to get on an airplane and fly back home. You know, this is where I live,
right here. But you know, while I'm down there, though I can
readily admit, I enjoy being down there with God's people,
but I just don't ever have the sense that I can settle down
like I can here. That's the way a believer is
concerning this world. This world is different to a
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. They're in this world. I'm living
in this world right now. But we're not of it. We're not
of this world's religion, this world's customs, this world's
disobedience before God, God's people. They're just pilgrims. Just a journey, just a short
journey. And the God of all grace, this world doesn't love Him.
The Lord said, they hated Me before they hated you. And we
love Him. We don't think the same way. Not able to fellowship. There's
no fellowship unless it's with another believer. Not in this
world. But by the grace of God, there's
a taste of home. There's a taste of home here
in this world. The Lord has raised up some places.
where he's raised up some believers. And they're family. They're family. You're my family. And they fellowship together.
They talk about going home. Abraham looked for a city that
had foundations. A city of builder, maker, sustainer. was Almighty God. These all died
in faith. And by the grace of God, God
Almighty, who was called out of people, out of darkness, had
given them a heart for the Lord, given them faith to believe.
They see these things afar off. They see them. They see them
by faith. And they embrace them, convinced
of them, and all readily admit We're not from here. We're not
from here. By God's grace, power, and mercy,
we're going home soon. So shall we ever be with the
Lord. For Christ's sake.