May I please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Word. Let us turn to the epistle of
Paul to the Hebrews, chapter 11, and we'll read verse 16.
The epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, chapter 11, and reading verse
16. But now they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. It is a great blessing that the
Lord in his wonderful providence has granted that we have this
11th chapter to the Hebrews which speaks so very clearly and very
importantly about the great and wonderful gift of faith. And it's so easy to just carry
on in our lives without comprehending the truth of this great blessing. The sixth verse in this chapter
tells us, but without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a reward of them that diligently
seek him. So we have a very clear statement
that all of us need the blessing of God granting to us the gift
faith and it is a gift and we're thankful it is and as often remind
you in the Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 we have this important
statement where again the Apostle Paul directs us and said for
by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves
it is the gift of God So let us realise the importance and
the value of receiving from God himself this gift of faith. And so although it is impossible
to please God without it, Let us realise that we receive it
from Him through His goodness and mercy toward us. What a blessing
therefore tonight if we have the evidence that we are possessors
of living faith, true faith. Faith which says all things are
possible with God. Those things which seem impossible
to us. are possible to God. And then of course we have in
this chapter a glorious list of many whose lives are recorded
in the Word of God and they're recorded to show forth praise
of God and they're there to show to us now that it was their position
was what it was through God-given faith. Now the truth is that
we today still come before that same God and that same God still
dispenses faith. Wonderful blessing, wonderful
favour to be the recipients of this true faith given by God. And so as we've read through
this chapter, which is really very comprehensive in its statements
about those who've gone before. And as he tells us in the 13th
chapter, 13th verse rather, in this chapter, these all die 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. So that's a wonderful testimony
and it's an important testimony for us to notice because it's
clear that all those who receive the gift of faith are partakers
of this like blessing and what a mercy it is if therefore we
are partakers of the like blessing and receive that these all died
in faith not having received the promises but having seen
them afar off and were persuaded of them when it's good when God
persuades us of the great and glorious blessings that are laid
up for the true Church of God. All those who've received this
gift of faith. It's very wonderful, isn't it?
It's really something to look forward to. It's really something
to consider. I know we have young and middle-aged
and old amongst us this evening. And perhaps the young think,
oh, I've got my life to live. and I want to enjoy my life and
I want to do this and I want to do that and I'm planning this
and I'm planning that but it's a blessing if we are able to
look beyond our natural life to graciously anticipate the
glory which is to come Let us realise that God has gone. He's
gone to prepare a place for us, as he's told us. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto myself where I am, that ye may be also. And that's the
14th of John, of course. What a blessing to think of that.
To realise the wonderful favour of God's people. And what a blessing
if you and I are blessed with faith to believe these truths
and therefore to be able to come and look forward to that which
is to come. And the apostle goes on to say,
for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek
a country. That's a word of exhortation
for us, isn't it? All of us today, if we are believers
and we do pray that we all may be amongst those who are true
believers as we read in that sixth verse, for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. We do believe the great and glorious
truth of God, for they that say such things declare plainly that
they seek a country. You know, there's many people
today who don't declare plainly, and they make excuses. Well,
let us not be amongst those who make excuses, but may we be blessed
with God-given faith, to know that God has given us faith.
It's not something that we've drummed up, something that we've
produced. It's the glorious gift of God
to believe the gospel. What a mercy that is, and yet
how essential it is for every one of us to be brought to that
condition where by faith we repent of all our sins truly, truly
not just a myth, it's a reality we realize we're by nature a
lost and ruined sinner and yet have received this gift of faith
to come to God and to repent of our sins and be amongst those
then who truly declare plainly that we seek a country. What
that means is this. This world is not our home. This world is not our rest. What
a poor thing it is if this home is our rest. if we're content
to live in this world? Well, I hope we're not. I hope
we realise there is a great and glorious heaven to be entered
into, which is so, so far superior to anything this world brings
before us. You know, this world is fading,
this world is passing, one day this world and all it contains
will be burnt up. but to think that glory is before
the church of God. And so may we, as God gives us
grace and desire to do this, to declare plainly that we seek
a country which is a heavenly. And again, that we might have
grace and the evidence that we are amongst those who are truly
on a journey We're passing through this world, this vain world,
and we're looking forward to that glorious inheritance, which
is incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away. And so we come down to this word,
but now, but now perhaps have been many times in our life when
we haven't desired a better country. And it's a great blessing if
there is, in our life, a but now. Well, you have to answer
before God whether that is so in your life. It's come to this
situation where, but now, there's been a change. But now, by the
grace of God, you, we desire a better country, That is unheavenly. Well, what a mercy it is if God
has given us grace, his unmerited favor to set our hearts and our
affections, indeed, truly upon things above. What a mercy that
is. You know, again, Paul in this
same epistle to the Hebrews, he tells us in the 13th chapter,
and the 14th verse well, perhaps we could read the 13th verse
let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp Jesus went
out without the camp He was crucified on that hill Calvary outside
Jerusalem's gates let us go forth therefore unto Him without the
camp bearing his reproach. You should not think that to
do that doesn't bring with it any reproach. Because the Word
of God clearly tells us it does. But we should be exceedingly
willing to bear such a reproach. And then he tells us, for here
we have no continuing city. but we seek one to come. And all of us need to be able
to see whether that describes us, whether we can say, well,
this is no continuing city for me, but by God's grace, I seek
one to come. And then he comes on to say,
by him therefore, that's by the Savior, By him, therefore, let
us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the
fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. If the Lord has
given us this great gift of faith to believe that we are amongst
those who he has called out of the darkness of nature into the
glorious light of the gospel and to be amongst those who are
able to confess here we have no continuing city but we seek
one to come. What a blessing then if we offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually The truth is that
any sacrifice, going back to the Old Testament sacrifices,
any sacrifice was costly. It wasn't something which just
occurred without cost. To offer up animals, to offer
up the fruits of the earth, it cost something. They had to give
that which was theirs. It didn't just arrive. It costs
them something. And my friends, the sacrifice
of praise to God today costs us something. Because we have
to prove that we're amongst those who possess this great and glorious
gift from God. This gift of faith and this gift
of eternal life and this blessing to be found amongst those who
therefore are truly seeking this country. And therefore, as Paul
says, by him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually. You know, you and I might do
it once, and we think, well, we've done well, and we pat ourselves
on the back, and we think we've done a good thing. Here, the
word says continually. not something we just say and
forget about or think we've done that and needn't do it again
because it costs us something, no, to do it continually because
we want and we need the continual mercy of God the continual favour
of God the continual love of God we need all these blessings
and here then we have an exhortation to offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually and we're told what it is it's not silence
Some people hide under that and say, well of course my walk testifies
of what I believe and what I think. No, says the Word of God. The praise to God continues.
That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. There
is a confession by our lips and we should not ignore that. It's
the last thing the devil wants you and me to do. But let us
always come back to the cost of our salvation. What it cost
the Lord of life and glory to redeem our souls that painful
crucifixion. He gave his all. What are we
giving? What are we doing? Well, it's
good to take notice of these great and wonderful truths and
to realize of what it cost the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do
have an evidence of that, and it's just worth speaking about
it perhaps, and it's in the second chapter of this same epistle. And the ninth verse tells us,
the second chapter, the ninth verse. But we see Jesus, who
was made a little lower than angels, the suffering of death
crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should
taste death for every man that means every true believer for
it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. How humbling, isn't it, to think
that the blessed Saviour is not ashamed to call us brethren. Well, are we ashamed to call
Jesus our Saviour? Are we ashamed? to testify of
what he's done for us. Are we ashamed to recognise the
great truths that we have here in this verse? To realise what
a favour it is and to bless God for those things which he has
done for us. Well, the Lord knows where we
are and what our condition is and what our standing is. before
God, but may none of us be ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
we don't want the Saviour to be ashamed of us, do we? I'm
sure you don't want that. So let us not be ashamed of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so we have these words then,
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. Well, it's wonderful. to think
of that city which is to come. And John, in the book of the
Revelation, the Lord revealed these things in measure and what
a glory it was. And we can read of these things
in the seventh chapter. We have a view of this in the
seventh chapter of the Revelation. And we can read this. Well, it tells us about the glory
and perhaps from verse 13. And one of the elders answers
saying to me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes
and whence came they? That's a wonderful prospect,
isn't it? And I said unto them, so thou
knowest. And he said unto me, these are they which came out
of great tribulation. Note what that says. and have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The only way of true salvation
and true forgiveness. Therefore are they before the
throne of God and serve Him day and night, in fact that's figurative,
but in glory there is no day or night of course, in His temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them any more,
nor any heat, because there won't be any sun nor moon. For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, the glorious Saviour,
shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters, and God shall wipe away all tears. from their eyes, a
place of perfect happiness, perfect bliss, nothing to destroy the
glorious harmony of heaven. Well, it's hard for us to imagine,
isn't it? It's hard for us really to appreciate
the glory of Emmanuel's land, but nonetheless, there it is
set before us, and we should be thankful that it's there for
our encouragement. And again, John said in the 21st
chapter, from verse two, and I, John, saw the holy city. New
Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men
and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and
God himself shall be with them and be their God and God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes And there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he
said unto me, Write, for these things, these words are true
and faithful. He said unto me, It is done.
I am Elphra and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto
him that is a thirst of the water of the fountain, of the water
of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things and I will be his God. and he shall be my son. And remember, they overcame through
the blood of the Lamb. We don't overcome by our own
strength. We overcome through the blood
of the Lamb. Well, what a glorious and wonderful
consideration It is. And so the apostle was able to
encourage us today and tell us all those who've gone before,
but they desired a better country that isn't heavenly. The Lord
greatly blessed Abraham with many things in this life, many
riches, many favours. The father of the faithful, greatly
blessed, but it's true of him. It's true of him. Indeed, he
desired a better country that is a heavenly. And so tonight,
as we ponder these things, let us ask ourselves the question,
are we desiring a better country? God knows whether we are or whether
we're not. The Lord knows whether you and
I are satisfied and content with the poor things of this world,
the things which perish, the things which will all be burnt
up, and to realise that God has blessed us with faith to believe
in the great and glorious home prepared for the Church of God. and to believe that there we
shall see His face, the Saviour, and never, never sin. There from
the fountain of His love draw endless blessings in. A time of complete blessing. As we're on this earth, because
of our sinful nature, it's impossible for us to really enter into the
glory of Emmanuel's land. But it is a glory to look forward
to and to have the wonderful realization that this is not
something which is void, not something which is vague, not
something which may not be. It is true. It is true. and we're thankful for the evidence
we have of those who've gone to glory the testimony they left
behind of the favour of God to them and it was evident where
their heart was yes, what a blessing it is for us today to have that
reality in our souls reality of true religion which sets us
apart from those who just mock God with a mere pretense. Many people have come and gone
and they've sat in chapel week by week and have never been blessed
with a gift of faith, have never been looking forward to that
eternal inheritance. have never desired a better country,
but were content with the things of time. It was just a mockery. Let us not be hypocritical in
the things of God. And as I have said, and as I've
said recently, and I just repeat it because it's very true, you
may be in that place, in that condition where in reality you
don't really want heaven on the other hand you may be in that
place where you definitely don't want hell so you're in a place
you might say in no man's land you're in the middle perhaps
you don't know what to do well let me encourage you to come
in prayer to God to pray for a spiritual desire
after spiritual blessings and then to be the recipient of that
and to realise that God has heard your prayer because what would
have happened really unbeknown to you you would have come with
faith to God praying that he may give you this wonderful favour
of truly desiring a better country. What a mercy that would be. You
have to acknowledge it's all of grace. It's not that which
you produced in your life, in your ability. Because we don't
have any ability. We're sinners of the earth. We're
carnally minded. And as the Apostle says, to be
carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. What a difference. What a vast
difference. Well, may you and I, all of us
desire to be spiritually minded and not earthly minded. The devil
wants you and me to be earthly minded. He wants us to set our
hearts and affections, not on things above, but on things on
the earth. But may we know the power of
the work of the Holy Spirit, God, in our hearts, directing
us to this better country, which indeed is a heavenly, wherefore
God is not ashamed. That's a great statement, isn't
it? As you and I consider ourselves
and think perhaps, the years perhaps when we've been ashamed to take up our cross and follow
a despised and crucified man. And to think the Lord hasn't
cast us off. He's been long-suffering. He's been merciful. He's waited
to be gracious. The time has come. The glorious
time of spiritual freedom. of freedom given by God. And remember, it's because he's
given us that living faith to believe the promises of God. Yes, what a mercy then. If you
and I can look into our hearts and find the evidence of the
work of grace there, it's so important. We live in a dark
age, an evil age, but my friends, God is still the light of the
world. What a blessing if he's the light
of your soul and my soul, so that we can rejoice indeed in
what he's done and what he's said and what he's doing for
us. May we look forward then to that
time when we should have finished our course on this earth, And
to go and to be then, as the Apostle tells us, he had a desire
to go and to be with Christ, which is far better. If we don't have that desire,
May we pray for that desire and may it be evidenced by the words
we say so that his name may be honoured and glorified. And we
may declare plainly that we're not ashamed of our God and we
can praise him because he's not ashamed of us. God is not ashamed
to be called their God. What a blessing to know that
he is your God and my God. He's not the unknown God of the
Athenians. He's the God that you and I know
through faith, and the God that you and I worship through faith,
the God that you and I adore through faith. Well, may we know
and be blessed with these wonderful favors and never underestimate
the cost of our salvation, it costs the Lord Jesus Christ His
life in order that He might redeem our souls and that in so doing
He shed His most precious blood in order to prove to us that
without shedding of blood there's no forgiveness, there's no remission,
but there was through that shed blood to us. And as Peter says,
we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Well, may all
of us, every one of us, be able to value the blood of Christ
in that way and to recognize to us it is precious blood. Well, says Paul here, but now
they desire a better country. That isn't heavenly. Wherefore,
God is not ashamed to be called a God, for he hath prepared for
them a city. Amen.