Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. Hebrews, chapter
10. I would like to consider the
last three verses of this passage. Before we read, let's ask our
Lord's blessing. Our Blessed Father, how wonderful
it is to once again be able to come and have the privilege to
be able to meet in your name. I pray that tonight, Lord, would
you bless the Word. Help us as we read. Help us as
we hear. Help me, I pray, Lord, as I preach.
Help us to worship. Lord, leave us not to ourselves,
for Christ's sake. Amen. I am going to look at the last
three verses of this tenth chapter, but reflecting on this blessed
chapter, the tenth chapter of the book of Hebrews. to remember those precious truths
that the Spirit of God has taught us. These things that we see
by faith, these things that we know, these things that we behold
through a glass darkly, we know based not only on this chapter
but on The entire Scriptures we know that we stand in a covenant
of grace and not of works. That salvation is of the Lord. That Almighty God has taught
His people who they are in Christ and who the Lord Jesus Christ
is as their Savior. We found in this blessed chapter
that the law, those 1,500 years of those ceremonies, those pictures,
types, that the law was a shadow of good things to come. We know
from this chapter that the blood of bulls and goats will never
take away sins. I know that the people that came
and brought those sacrifices, those priests that took those
sacrifices, offered those sacrifices, that blood that was sprinkled
on that mercy seat that one day a year on the Day of Atonement
when that priest, a picture, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ
went in and sprinkled that blood on that mercy seat. That holy
place, that place that Almighty God would not allow, but only
the high priest one day a year, and not without blood. If anyone
else tried to go into that place immediately, they were killed.
But all of that ceremony, all of that shadow, all of that blood
would never put away sin. Our peace is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And He is the One, the Scripture
says, who came in the volume of the book. The book that was
written of Him. Oh, there's different thoughts. What book? Is it the Holy Scriptures? Yeah. Is it that book that He
took from the hand of Him that sat on the throne? That book
that was sealed with seven seals? That book that no one had the
right or the ability to open except the Lamb? Is that the
book? Yes. The book. The revelation of God's
truth. He came in the volume of the
book and He came to do the will of Him that sent Him. And what
was the will of Him that sent Him? But first I know this, it
was to glorify His Father. I know that. It was to redeem
His people. I know that. It was to have the
curse of the law fall on Him in the stead of His people. This is the Father's will. That of all that He's given me,
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up. in the last day,
the One that fulfilled all the types and pictures, and the One
that took away the first that the Scripture says that He may
establish the second. That's what was in this chapter.
That was what we set forth. This chapter we're taught that
we're sanctified. That is, we're set apart and
made holy through the offering of the body of Christ once for
all. holy before God Almighty in Him. And after He had offered one
sacrifice for sin forever, He sat down on the right hand of
God waiting until every enemy is going to be made his footstool.
Almighty God is by His omnipotent power ruling and reigning in
this universe. drawing His people, bringing
His people to Himself. And by one sacrifice, the Lord
Jesus Christ has completely perfected forever that which God has set
apart in Him. He bore their guilt in His own
body, made sin, and now the Spirit of God is revealing bringing
to Himself all that the Father has given the Lord Jesus Christ. That law has been satisfied.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus.
And the Scripture sets forth that their sins and iniquities
God is not going to remember. That is in judgment. In that
day, standing in Him, All men will stand before God Almighty
at the judgment seat of Christ, but to stand there in the very
person, in the being of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to hear the
Judge Himself, the One in whom we stand, say, Well done. Well done. Now we are to call to remembrance,
Scripture says, the former days. after we were illuminated by
the Spirit of God. And we have endured a great fight
of afflictions. And we know that as the Spirit
of God has taught us, that we have right now in heaven a better
and an enduring substance. We know as we looked at in the
last couple of weeks, we need patience. And after that we've
done the will of God, the will of the Lord Jesus, all the objects
of His mercy are going to receive the promise, the promise of eternal
inheritance. So beholding by faith the glorious
promise of our Lord and seeing by divine revelation His will
for His elect, the Scripture sets forth in 1 Thessalonians
5.21, Hold fast that which is good. Oh, what the Lord has taught
us in this blessed chapter. And now, verse 37, in light of
all that the Lord has set forth, the Scripture says, for yet a
little while, and He that shall come will come and will not tarry. That little phrase right there,
a little while, I looked it up. It said actually it's a very
little while. just a little while. It amazes
me as I contemplate just the frailty and the brevity, the
quickness of this life. I start thinking about things
that I did a few years ago, and in my mind it will just be, well,
it's five or six years ago. Then I'll think, no, wait a minute.
I've been here now nine. And all of a sudden, three or
four years ago, turns into 20. How quickly this life is passing. Yet, a little while, and He shall
come. He will come. He that shall come
will come and will not tarry. Now, I want you to turn with
me to John 14. John 14. Now listen to the words of our
Lord and just stop for just a minute and consider these precious words. John 14, 1-3. John 14, 1-3. Let not your heart
be troubled. And oh, how many things trouble
our hearts. I mean, there's just not a day
goes by that I don't find myself troubled. And I grieve over that. I grieve over being troubled. Why? Because He said, let not
your heart be troubled. Lord, help me here. Lord, the
frailty of my flesh, help me. You believe in God, believe also
in Me. Now listen to this. We just read
it in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 37, For yet a little while, and
he that shall come will come and will not tarry. He's coming
exactly at the appointed time. Not going to tarry. In my Father's
house are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."
What a precious promise. Lord, based upon your Word, you
said, and Lord, by faith, I believe that whatever is needful for
the preparation of God's elect, I go to prepare a place for you. Whatever is necessary, he who
ever liveth to make intersection, It is He who says, in my Father's
house, many mansions. You know what that means? That means that in His Father's
house, there are many mansions. He said, if it wasn't so, I would
have told you. I would go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I am going to come get you.
Because I will, that all that the Father has given me shall
be with me. that they're going to behold My glory. Oh, the anticipation
that He's coming back. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, in a day when you think not, the trump of God is
going to sound and it's going to be over. And immediately,
the judgment. Immediately, God's saints I'm
going to be with Him forever. I'm going to see Him as He is.
I'm going to be changed. I'm going to be like Him. Turn
over to Acts chapter 1. Acts 1. He said, I'm coming back. He said, I'm telling you that
I'm coming back. Acts chapter 1 verse 8 to 11. The Lord is speaking to His disciples
here and He says, but you shall receive power After that, the
Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto
Me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria unto the uttermost
part of the earth." And when He had spoken these things, while
they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out
of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven as He went up, Behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into heaven." Just exactly the way you saw
it. as He was standing there talking
to you, the One that not many days before had risen from the
dead, the One that met with His disciples on the seashore and
ate fish and honeycomb with them, the One that He told His disciples,
touch Me, touch Me. Here, put your hand right here
on this side. Look at My hands. He said, this is Me. They said,
this same Jesus, just like you saw Him. That's the way He's
coming back. That's the way He is right now
before the throne of Almighty God interceding for us right
now, the Man Christ Jesus. Very soon, He's going to receive
us unto Himself. either by our physical passing
or at His second coming. And the Scripture says that at
His coming, He is going to give us according to James 1.12. I
will just read this for you. James 1.12. This is what it says
that God's people are going to have. Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation, for when he has tried, He shall receive
the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love
Him." Almighty God has set forth in
this Scripture that He is coming back in a very little while. It won't be long. Like I said,
it may be for some of us in the physical passing. It may be that
the Lord comes back before this service is over and that we meet
Him in the air. What a glorious reunion. It seems
as it is. But whether He comes tonight
or whether He comes in a thousand, thousand years, He said, I'm
coming back. And God's people look for Him.
And they expect Him. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. And
then the Scripture says in verse 38, now, I'm coming back, verse
37, yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and
will not carry. But right now, tonight, tonight,
right now, brothers and sisters of God, you say, when is now?
It's right now. Now. The just. justified by the grace of God. The just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. The just, those that are
being found in Christ holy, innocent, justified, By grace, by blood,
by faith, by works and by words. That's what Scripture says. You say, how is a man justified?
Well, you can't take one of those five points out. They're justified
freely by the grace of God. There was nothing in us. But we're justified by the blood
of Christ when He died. We're justified not because of
our faith, but faith is the evidence of our justification. Faith is
the evidence to each individual person. Faith. That's how you know that God's
justified you. But you see, No one else can
see faith in you except by your actions. So James says we're
justified by works. Here again, and you know this,
not because of our works, but the evidence of justification
before others is your actions. What you do. God's people walk
before God Almighty in an outward manifestation of faithfulness.
And then the Scripture says, the Lord said, by a man's words
shall he be justified. Out of the abundance of a man's
heart, he speaks. So by faith, the Scripture says. He's coming back. But right now,
we shall live by faith. The believer is not walking by
the works of his own merit or strength. He walks by faith. I have thought on that. I'm getting ready, Lord willing.
We're going to start chapter 11. Not tonight, but we're going
to start chapter 11. And it just goes on. It starts
off by, now faith is the substance of things hoped for. But this
entire chapter goes through and it gives example after example
after example of faith. By faith, Noah. By faith, Abraham. By faith, Rahab. On and on and
on. And I have looked and I've thought
and I've contemplated that marvelous grace of faith. And after I took Robert Hawker's
book And I wanted to see what Robert Hawker had to say about
faith. And after I read what he said,
Carl, I felt a little bit better about myself. This is what I
mean. Hawker said, after you've studied
all that you could possibly study about faith, read about faith,
it's still one of the most elusive things to be able to comprehend
and to explain. I thought, boy, I'm glad he said
that. I was just starting to, you know, I think surely a preacher
of the gospel should be able to explain exactly this thing
of faith. Well, I can tell you this. Knowing that the just shall live
by faith. I know that's the truth. I know
that's the truth. And I know that faith is the grace of Almighty God
within His people whereby they are confident in His promise. They believe God. You say, why? Why do they believe God? God
Almighty has given me faith to believe. Faith. They trust Christ alone for their
hope of eternal life. Faith is that sincere and hearty
consent of the new mind to the being and to the promises of
Almighty God. Faith is the belief in the blessed
truth of our Lord. We read it. We believe it. We read that right there when
He said, I'm coming back. And you know what a believer
says? He's coming back. I believe that. I don't believe
He's going to tear it. And I know that right now that
God's people live by confidence in God. Faith. Faith. Faith gives credit to
the testimony of Almighty God. That inner working of grace. And all the while, God's people
while they believe Him, they are amazed that Almighty God
would give them a heart to believe. Lord, I believe. Help mine unbelief. The just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. Now let me tell you this for
a fact. No believer No true believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, no regenerated believer, no generated
saint ever quits. No one that Almighty God ever
called out of darkness quits. They are kept by the power of
God through faith. They are kept. Do they falter? Yes. Do they stumble? Yes. If the just falls, how many
times will he get up? Every time. Every time. But what happens, though, if
any man draws back? Well, I'll tell you what he does.
He draws back from a profession that he had that was not true. Not true. Not true. The literal
of this is this. He who draws back my soul is
not pleased with. It is evident for all who withdraw
or cease to continue, the Lord never had any pleasure in them.
Almighty God keeps His people. If they are the Lord's, they
are kept by power and grace and they shall remain. They went
out from us. Why? Because they were not of
us. For if they had been of us, they
surely would have remained. God's people are not separated
from the love of God. Who shall separate us from the
love of God? Who shall remove Himself out of the hand of Almighty
God? who has given a man a new heart. And I'll tell you why I know
that's a fact because of the last verse. The Apostle says,
but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them
that believe to the saving of the soul. No believer draws back. Oh, I tell you, I never forget hearing from Brother Henry concerning
the prodigal son and how thankful I am for that blessed truth that
is set forth in the Scriptures. That boy that left and said,
Give me what belongs to me. Wasted all he had on righteous
living. Oh, but those blessed words,
he came to himself. How? By the grace of God. God,
who would not let him go, rehearsed that speech for his
daddy. Oh, he was sincere. I don't doubt it. He was sincere.
I'm not worthy to be called your son. Make me as a hired servant.
I think about reading that and his father saw him afar off looking
for him. This is my son that's lost and
has found. And you put some shoes on this
boy's feet. And you put a ring on his finger. And you put a robe on his back.
And you kill the fatty calf. This is my son. We are not of them who draw back
unto perdition. How is that? Because God keeps
us. Because bless God, he will not
let us go. And how thankful I am for that. The Lord never entrusts the eternal
security of his people to themselves. He does not trust His people. His angels He charges with folly. How much less a man that drinks
iniquity like water. Here we are tonight. Those that
know Him, love Him, You realize this. I'm here tonight by the
grace of God. Kept. The Lord told His people,
without me, you can do nothing. You can't keep yourself. Lord,
keep me. Lord, help me. Oh, what comfort
to know that we're secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen
to the opening verse of Jude. With this, I'll close. Jude 1.1.
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. Oh, may the Lord bless our hearts
in the remembrance of these precious truths that have been taught
in this glorious chapter. Believer, in just a little while,
He's coming back. Just a little while. He that
shall come will come. And He shall not tarry. Right
now, we're going to have to walk by faith. We do walk by faith. We walk believing God. Those
that turn back The Lord never had any pleasure in them. But
for those that are kept, and are kept until the day of salvation,
kept until that very moment when we enter right into His presence
and we leave this world, you're kept by the grace of God and
power of God. You're being kept right now.
You believe in God right now. For faith given right now. Brand
new faith. Like I said, are you living on
yesterday's air? I need a brand new breath of
air right now. I've got to have fresh air. I
can't even live. I'm not even living on what I
just breathed when I first made the statement. I've got to have
more air right now. I've got to have faith right
now. The Lord has got to teach me right now. The Spirit of God
has got to remind me right now. But we're not of those that turn
back Go back. Bless the Lord. Oh, my soul,
bless His holy name that He keeps us by His power and grace. For
Christ's sake, Amen.