Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. I like to look at verses 35 and
36 this evening. Before we do, let's ask our Lord's
blessing. Our Father, it's so good to be
able to call on You. And Lord, we know unless You
bless the Word tonight, Lord, it's just words. But Lord, if
You bless it by Your Holy Spirit, we hear, we perceive, we rejoice. Lord, we know that there is in
that life Lord, I pray that Christ might be honored. Help us to
worship. For it's in His name we pray,
Amen. In the last study that we had
in this chapter, the Apostle told the Hebrews, call to remembrance,
that's verse 32, the former days. Now put in mind, think back. Think back. It's good to remember. It's good to remember what the
Lord has done for you. It's good to remember the grace
and the mercy that He's shown us. And we can look back and
see. I think of things for myself
I look back on now and when I started going through them, they were
grievous. That wouldn't have been what
I would have picked. But I look back now and I see, oh, that
was such a blessing. How that caused me to call on
the Lord. How that caused me to cry out
unto Him at anything that He brings our way causes us to cry
unto Him. It's for our good. It's for His
glory. Call to remembrance those former
days. The reason that we call to remembrance
is because Almighty God has given us the grace of faith. Now that faith, that grace, that
is Almighty God working in you to believe Him. That faith. God working in you both to will
and to do of His good pleasure. We think back how we fought with
a great fight of afflictions and believers are afflicted Right
now. You're warring right now. There's
warrings within, warrings without. Boy, I'll tell you, this world
is just not our home, is it? This is not the land of promise. This is not the land of final
peace and comfort and joy. Believers know that they've been
made gazing stocks. That's what the Apostle told
them. Partly while, verse 33, you were made gazing stock both
by reproaches and afflictions and partly while you became companions
of them that were so used. People stared at you, laughed
at you, mocked you, made fun. Paul said you had compassion
on me and my bonds. took joyfully the spoiling of
your goods. I know that the Hebrews, obviously,
it had cost them greatly. There's no telling what they
went through. There's no telling what they were having to give
up. But the thing about it is for
a believer right now, as you call back to remembrance, former
days and you think how the Lord has brought you through all that
you have, what would you not give up right now if you had
to? Now, I know this. Not every believer
is called to give up all the things that he has. I know that.
But if you had to, if you were brought to a point to where truly
you believe that the Spirit of God convicting you of something
that you were doing. And you're going to have to just
give it up. You're going to have to just
say, you know what? I can't continue that. Would you do it? Sure you
would. Yeah, you would. Yeah, you would.
In time, you would for sure. Ask Jonah. Yeah, you would. He's going to cause us to be
brought around But what was it that enabled those converted
Hebrews to bear up under their sufferings and trials and tribulations? Verse 34, latter part, knowing
in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring
substance. What a believer knows, he knows
personally. You are witnesses. A witness
is one that has seen personally what he says. If you go to a
courtroom, a judge or a jury is not interested
in you telling what somebody else told you that they saw.
A witness, a martyr, that's what it is. Martyr, saint, witness.
Personal, one that has personally been taught, one that's personally
seen. The Spirit of God, the Scripture
says, bears witness with our spirit. His Spirit bears witness
with our spirit that we are the sons of God, that we're God's
people. Knowing in yourself what you
know concerning God's mercy and God's grace to you, you know
it. You know. Paul said, 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. Knowing in yourselves what that
you have, that you possess in heaven, a better and an enduring
substance. Everything here is temporal.
Everything is fading. Everything is falling apart around
us, isn't it, Neal? It's not lasting. Our health. Our families. Everything is fading. One day be gone. But there, the
Scripture says that we have an inheritance that is incorruptible
and undefiled, and it fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you." Whatever a believer is called upon to lose in this
life for Christ's sake, for the gospel's sake, is great gain. Great gain. Listen to this, Mark
10.29, and Jesus answered, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, there is no man that hath left home, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my
sake and the Gospels, but he shall receive a hundredfold now
in this time houses brethren, sisters, mothers, children and
lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life. Great trials, trials of the heart
are evidenced when we must choose between temporal loves and Christ,
families, possessions. What if you were called upon
and you had to make a choice between the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ and your family? That would be tough, wouldn't
it? But you'd do it. You'd do it. You'd do it. No man having left
home, brothers and sisters, for the gospel's sake. I heard Brother
Henry say this one time. He said, for a believer, he said, a believer has brothers,
sisters, houses. Brother Henry said, I can go
all over this world. And he said, I have a house. He said, there's people that
I can go and I can stay. He said, I'm welcome there with
brothers and sisters. family, mothers, fathers. He
said, no man ever loses anything when he forsakes all, if need
be, for the sake of the Gospel. So call to remembrance those
former days. And then he says, and here's
where we'll look for just a few minutes. Verse 35, cast not away
therefore your confidence. which hath great recompense of
reward." Don't be disheartened. That's what he's saying. Don't
be discouraged. Don't be timid. Oh, how we must seek our Lord who
is our strength. How we must call upon Him. How great is it to know that
all of our security is in Him. And His faithfulness to us, He
keeps us. He keeps us. He keeps us by His
power, His grace, His love. And He does all things well.
He orders all things for the good of His people. It doesn't
matter. It doesn't matter. Let me tell
you what's going on in the country right now. That which is good for God's
people. That which is honoring to our Lord. That's what's going
on in this world, this country, this state, whatever. He's ordered
and ordained our lot in this life, in this world, for His
good, for our good, His glory. So be steadfast. Cast not away,
therefore, your confidence. Be unmovable. Always abounding,
the apostle says, in the work of the Lord. Why? For as much
as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It's
not. I think about the work, the things
here. I was telling one of the men
the other day, he was talking about the newspaper articles
How thankful I am that we run them a lot. Somebody said, I
wonder if anybody responded. I said, that's not the question.
The question is faithfulness. Put the Word. He said, My Word
is not going to return void. It's going to accomplish the
purpose for which it was sent. For as much as you know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord, I know that evil is
present. I know that we're weak and powerless
without Him. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence which hath great recompense of reward. Paul said in Ephesians
6, 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
How, Lord? How is it? What is it to be strong
in the Lord? I've said before, make much of
the means of God's grace. He's given us a place to worship.
Make much of hearing the gospel preached. Ask. Ask. before you get here. Lord, would You bless the preaching? Lord, would You bless the Word
to my heart? Lord, would You save my kids? Lord, would You
save my mama? Lord, would You allow the Gospel
to be here? Make much of the Word of God
being preached. Seek the Lord in prayer. These are evidences of life.
This is not for life. Make much of the Scriptures.
Read. Search the Scriptures daily to
see if what your pastors say is so, and other men that are
faithful to preach the Gospel. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence. It has great recompense of reward.
Now, let me ask you this. Where does that confidence, how
does it manifest itself? Cast not away your confidence. That confidence is given, you
know this, by Almighty God. And let me tell you three things
that I jotted down that I can tell you that a believer rests
upon concerning his confidence. Here we are. We're frail creatures
of the dust. And we know, we're convinced
that this life is but a vapor. We know that. Now, what is it
that a believer has confidence in? Wherein lies your confidence? Where are you going to stand
and say, I don't want to deviate from
this right here. Let me tell you what the first one is. Number
one, I'm convinced that the gospel that we preach is true. I believe that. I believe that
this gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I believe that
Almighty God blesses this message the message that totally honors
the Lord Jesus Christ, that message that is all of grace, I believe
that Almighty God, based on His Word, I believe that God Himself
chose to show mercy to whomsoever He would. I believe that, Gary.
I believe that God elected a people. He said He did. He said He did. I believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ laid down His life for His people. I have confidence
in that. I believe that that blood that
was shed at Calvary put away the guilt that God's people were
justified before the foundation of the world totally by grace,
based upon the Father who first trusted in Christ that saw the
blood. I believe that the Spirit of God
is going to effectually call out of darkness every one that
the Father chose and the Son redeemed. I believe that. I believe
that man was totally ruined in the fall. I believe that he is
absolutely helpless. To do anything to reconcile himself
back to God based on his own merit, I believe that God Almighty
is going to save His people. I believe that. Cast not away
your confidence. Be strong in the Lord. Here's
the second thing I believe. This is what gives me some confidence.
I believe that I have a personal interest in this. I truly believe
that the Lord has saved me. I believe He's called me out
of darkness. I see the frailty of my flesh
and it grieves me. I'll try to seek the Lord. I'll try. Somebody will say,
pray for me. And I'll tell them, I'll say,
I'll try. I'll try. As the Lord brings you back to
my memory, I'll try. But I absolutely believe that
Almighty God has given me a heart for this Gospel. It's Christ
set forth in this Gospel. And I believe the reason that
He that I have some confidence is because based on His Word,
He said, He that believeth on the Son, that looks to Him totally
for life and salvation apart from anything that I can do.
He that believeth on the Son hath life. I believe that. I have confidence in that. I have no confidence. I know
I don't. I have no confidence whatsoever
in a profession of faith that I made or any other work of self-righteousness
that I've done. I have no confidence in that.
Cast not away your confidence. Here's the third thing. I believe
that Almighty God is going to do what He says He's going to
do. I believe that when He said,
I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go away, I will come
again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there you may
be also." I believe that the trump of God is going to sound.
I believe the dead in Christ are going to rise first. And
I believe that those believers that are on this earth in that
day, I think they're going to meet Him. I believe that. They're
going to meet Him in the air and they're going to forever
be with the Lord. I believe in the day of judgment I'm going
to stand before God Almighty Just like every other man, every
other woman is going to, too. And I believe in that day, the
only merit that I'm going to have in that day is being robed
in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and being found
in Him. That's going to be all my hope.
That's it right there. It's not going to be anything
that I've done. It's not going to be any pleading. It's not
going to be any plea bargaining. I believe that Almighty God is
going to answer. His blessed Son is going to answer
for me. That's all my hope. That's what
David said. This is all my salvation. This
is all of my hope. He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, ensured. Paul says, cast not
away your confidence. When the Lord told Abraham, Genesis
15, 1, fear not. Don't be afraid. I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. He is my confidence. If I can
say that the Lord would say to me that I believe by faith, Marvin,
don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. And oh, how
fearful I can be. How frail I am. Frail creature. Don't be afraid. I am thy shield
and thy exceeding great reward. You have need of patience. And
boy, don't we. You have need of patience. That
after you've done the will of God, you might receive the promise. After you have done the will
of God, what is that? Going through this world, believing
God, believing Christ, cleaving to Him by faith, holding on to
the end because He kept you by the power of God. Not because
of any ability that I have. I want to hold on. I do. But
I know this, if He doesn't keep me, I know what's going to happen
to me. I need patience. I need a hopeful
endurance to remain. That's what I need. That's what
I need. I need for Almighty God to cause
me to abide, and not to flee. I don't want to go. I don't want
to go. I want to stay. And I see within
me that is in my flesh, I know that rebellion that I see is
still present. I know this, if Almighty God
were to allow man to do what He wanted to do, I know where
He would go. He would run. He would run. But knowing that
this patience is never found within myself, I need to be reminded
by the Spirit of God through God's Word, my God shall supply
all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul said to the
church at 2 Corinthians 9, 8, and God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may abound to every good work." This world is full of
conflicts and afflictions and trials. Oh, we need patience. I need endurance. That's what
it is. Endurance to stay. To stay. To continue. We stand when Satan himself questions
the Lord's loving chastisement. When God sends chastisement,
do you think that anything that has happened to you, is that
a strange thing? No. He who loves you more than
you could ever love yourself or your spouse or something,
graciously has sent. We need patience. These light
afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Almighty God is going
to cause patience to be brought within us. We need patience,
and He knows how to give it. And here's how it's going to
be. Paul says we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulations
work with patience. I need to endure. I need to cry
unto Him. I need to call unto Him. And
I never call as I ought until He sends chastisement. And then
I call. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, Lord, if you lead me. Lord, if you're not here. Hebrews
6.12, that you be not slothful, but followers of them who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. What promises? In closing,
here it is, 2 Corinthians 1.20, for all the promises of God in
him, promises that are yea and amen. in Him unto the glory of
God by us. I need patience to endure, to
not cast away my confidence. Things that I know are so that
God has taught me and He's going to keep me. He's going to keep
me following after Him. And the way that He's going to
keep me following after Him, for whom the Lord loves, He chastens. You want your children to follow
after you in obedience, don't you? Well, you tell them where
the lines are. It's where the lines are. Almighty
God is going to keep us and give us a place within us, that patience
through tribulation and these promises. Promises. of God made through Christ Jesus
that pertain to pardon of sin, sanctification of the Holy Spirit
set apart by God's Spirit for Almighty God, support in the
trials that we face every day, His guidance in the ordering
of our steps, peace in the hour of our death. Oh, may the Lord
give us patience that we might, by grace, realize I am what I
am by the grace of God. He's kept me. Lord, we need patience. We need endurance. I can't endure
myself. Lord, help me for Christ's sake.
Amen.