And then our next one is one
page over, 113. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb. And
that's going to be sung to the tune of Take My Life and Let
It Be. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb Ransomed
souls, your voices raise. Sing your great Redeemer's praise. Praise Him, God the great I Am. Praise the sin-atoning Lamb. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb, sinner
saved by God's decree. Praise the Lamb of Calvary, praise
Him for His dying blood. Praise the Lamb enthroned above. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb, Jesus,
Savior, blessed Lamb. We would ever praise your name. You redeemed us with your blood,
laid us kings and priests to die. Thank you. Father, we're thankful, so very
thankful that you called us together, Lord, with an interest and a
desire to hear your son preached today, Lord. We pray that you
give us sight, Lord. We're dependent on you. We're
blind, and we need that gift, Lord. We pray that you give Eric
the words this morning, that you bless his sermon today, Lord,
that it will glorify you. In the name of Christ, amen. Okay, this morning, let's turn
to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Last time I was here,
we looked at the first five verses, so this one we'll look at the
next two. 1 Peter 1, 6 and 7. Peter writes, Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor,
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Before we really look into these
verses, something that, there's a few things I'd just like to
say about this. Just put us in remembrance that
our God is working all things together for His glory, His honor,
and His praise. And He's working all things together
for the honor and the glory and praise of His Son, Jesus Christ.
And so we can be confident and rest, brethren, that the Lord
knows exactly what He's doing. He's saving us. And I think we
do oftentimes not realize just how sick and vile and sinful
and wretched that we are by nature. So it's a work that is no easy
work, but it's not impossible for our God. And so He's working
all things according as it pleases Him, according to His good pleasure.
He's working all these things out and He's bringing us through,
bringing us to Christ by Christ, in Christ, through Christ. That's
how He's saving His people. So, in all these things, through
that salvation that's by Christ, it honors and glorifies Him.
So brethren, we go through trials, and we go through pretty grievous
trials, but the Lord is using and working all these things
to His glory and His praise, and you can be certain it's for
your good, your good and my good. So turn to Ephesians chapter
1. I just want us to look at a few things and just cement
these things and stand upon these foundational truths. Ephesians
1 verse 3 is where we'll pick up here. Because we're going
to see in Levi, this is exactly what we were talking about last
night, we're going to see that our God meets us in Christ His
Son. That's where God is pleased to
meet with us in mercy and in truth and in kindness. All right,
verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. That's where God will meet us.
You know, vain religion of this world, they stop right there
when they say, he's blessed us with all spiritual blessings.
You know, and that's where the world seems to stop. But true
religion goes on to say it's in Christ. In Christ is where
God blesses and meets his people. Verse four, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, that's where
he meets with his people, by Jesus Christ, to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in
whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace, verse 11, in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of Him
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,
that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted
in Christ. And brethren, who is it that
first trusted in Christ but God the Father? in trusting all salvation
to His Son. And if it pleased the Father
that Christ would do it, then so it pleases us who are sinners
that have no hope of saving ourselves, we ought also to trust in Christ
and rest there. If it's good enough for the Father,
then it's surely good enough for us. And that's where God
meets His people, in Christ. So it's all to His praise, all
to His glory. All right? so that if he's glorifying
himself and he's saving us by Christ, brethren, we can rest
right there because we worship a successful Savior. And that
seems to be a term I'm hearing more. I know I've used it before
and I've heard some other men that I've never spoken to before,
so I know that the Lord is pressing it upon the hearts of his people
to know and to confirm to the hearts of his people that Christ
is successful. He's done the work. He's saved
his people. We can rest there. Don't fear.
Don't fret. The Lord is saving his people
through Christ. And Christ said this in John 10, 28, I give unto
them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." And
because of this, you don't need to fear. Trust. I know that we
think when we see our sin, when the Lord allows us to see what
we are by nature, we fear and say, well, maybe no other man
is going to pluck me out of his hand, but maybe I'll pluck myself out
of his hand. But no, you're not greater than
the Father. The Lord knows how to keep those and reserve those
that are His. until that great and final day
when we stand before him. And that's why Paul could say,
for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom
be glory forever and ever. Amen. All right. Now, the other
thing that we want to see here is that faith, it's critical
to our salvation. Faith is critical to our salvation. In Hebrews 11, 6, it says, but
without faith, it's impossible to please him. It's impossible
to please God without faith. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. And it's precious, brethren.
Faith is precious. And the reason why is because
all men have not faith. That's what Paul told the Thessalonians.
All men have not faith. faith. Unlike what Disney tells
you, all men have not faith, not the saving faith which God
alone can give. As he said in Ephesians 2.8,
for by grace are you saved, through faith, and that, that faith is
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Some men try to
say, oh he's talking about grace there, that's not of yourselves.
Well, no duh, no duh that faith is not of yourselves. I mean,
no duh that grace is not of yourselves. It's faith. Faith is the gift
of God, whereby he's revealing what Christ has done for us and
our need of Christ. So faith is very important and
it's very precious because all men have not faith. Alright,
my title this morning is The Trial of Faith. And Peter here
in these two verses that we're going to look at, he's speaking
of manifold or various temptations that come upon us that try our
faith. And we'll see in these two verses
that there's a need, there's a purpose for the trial that
comes against our faith. It's to show us, one, that not
to think lightly of faith, but it's also to reveal that God
has given us faith. Trials don't produce faith. Trials
reveal faith that God has given to us. That's what the trial
does. It doesn't give, it doesn't produce faith. It just reveals
that which God has worked in us by His grace through Jesus
Christ. All right, our first point here.
It says in 1 Peter 1 6, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now
for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations. Look at that phrase there, if
need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.
So brethren, these trials and these temptations that we go
through, they are needful for us. They do press upon us. They
do put us in very uncomfortable situations sometimes that show
and reveal to us just how weak we really are. But they show
us how mighty and strong our Lord and our Savior is. They
show us, brethren, you see just how when the world goes through
trials, Maybe, and I'm sure we've all known people, that for a
while, for a time, they believed until they were persecuted or
went through a hard time, and quickly, they just died out,
and they left, and they never returned again. And then you
go through trials. It's not like you haven't been
put through the wringer and gone through some very hard and difficult
times. And yet, what did it do? It drove you to the arms of Christ.
So you see the difference there. That trial, when the Lord's worked
it in His people, they're not driven from Christ, they're driven
to Christ. So that's a big, big, big difference. In John 16, 33, Christ said,
these things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. So
there's various trials, various temptations that we go through.
There's sickness and sorrow. There's poverty. There's even
wealth and there's health. Those things can be a challenge.
I mean, how many of you really have prayed ever when things
were going well? And when I think about when things
are just going well, yeah, I thank the Lord. But when you look back,
you think, I don't know if I ever really prayed. to the Lord. But
you know when you were smitten and broken and brought low, that's
when you're like, that may have been the first time I've ever
prayed in my life. Just really trusting God, that I needed God
and trusted in Him. There are successes and failures,
there's disappointments and frustrations that we all go through. These
are all things that break us down and they bring us low and
then there's persecutions from unbelievers. But Paul told the
Romans in 828 We know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. The world likes to use that verse
for all people, but it's not for all people. All things are
not working together for good to those who are outside of Christ,
but all things are indeed working together for our good, to them
that love God. We love Him because He first
loved us and put that love in us and drove us to the arms of
Christ. And so we can be sure that all
these things are working together for our good. If you turn over
to Luke 6, Luke 6, 21, we'll see how Luke records a few of
these things. Luke 6, 21. Blessed are ye that
hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now,
for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall
hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil for the
son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap
for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for in the
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto
you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation. Woe
unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that
laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all
men shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the
false prophets. So all these trials that we go
through, they do, it's by grace. It's by the hand of the Lord.
It's according to his grace that he brings these things. And it's
specifically to try and to prove the faith which he has given
to us. Have you ever noticed that in
the scriptures, a lot of times it does, we're reminded of our
inheritance. And if you look back there in
1 Peter 1, right before he talks about the trial of our faith,
what does he speak of there? It says in verse 3, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Here it is. to
an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time." So the scriptures are reminding us, they're putting
us in memory that there's an inheritance for us. Don't look
to this world for your peace. Don't look to this world for
your joy and your comforts and any of those types of things
because you're not going to find it. Not if you're the Lord's.
He's not going to allow you to just find it so completely that
you don't have these troubles. If you did, worry. If everything
that you touch turns to gold and everything works out well,
worry, because that's not a sign or a mark that God is graciously
dealing with you, because he's going to bring you low in yourself. And then for you who I mean,
have you ever wondered and just said, well, if God is God, and
He's true, and we're His children, and we believe in Him, why is
it that He doesn't just make it so much more obvious to us?
Why isn't it so much more clear and plain to us that God really
is God, and that it's Jesus Christ, and that He's dealing with us,
and that He loves me, and is being merciful to me, and being
kind to me? Why isn't it more obvious? Right there in verse
5, it actually tells you, who are kept by the power of God,
through faith. If He made it plain, so plain
for you, so obvious for you, that it didn't require faith,
well that isn't what the Lord chose to do. He chose to keep
us by His power, working in us through faith. So if it's hard,
if your days are hard and troubled, and you're constantly being reminded
how much you need the Lord, bless him. It's not easy. It's not
meant to be easy because faith pleases him. The works of the
flesh don't please God. He's not pleased by those things.
He's pleased to save his people by Christ through faith. That's
how he's doing it. He's constantly He's bringing
us through that so that we're constantly relying on Him by
faith, not by seeing everything work out that we thought would
be a good idea if it just worked out this well this one time.
The Lord keeps us from that. He's saving it. He's saving us.
He's keeping us from us. Keeping us from things just working
out the way the world says good things are, the way they should
work out. Habakkuk 2.4 says, the just shall live by faith.
And you read the New Testament, you see that phrase repeated
a number of times. The just shall live by faith.
That's how you know that you're just, because you're constantly
trusting God, leaning on Him, staying upon Him through faith. Not because everything just worked
out the way you thought it should work out. All right, so in verses
six and seven, God's trying or He's proving that faith which
He's given to us that we live upon and stay upon Him. He's
demonstrating to us over and over that He's keeping us, He's
doing all things. Everything isn't gonna work out
the way we think it should work out because we're gonna constantly
be forced to look back to Him, constantly crying out to Him.
As He said in another place, for all these things I shall
be sought of by the house of Israel. He's going to bring his
people to seek him and to beg him and to stay upon him and
not get confident and cocky in themselves because that's not
faith. That's just living in the flesh there. So these trials
he blesses to work in us humility, strip us of our pride, bring
us low in ourselves, see what we are by nature that in that
the vanity of this life. I mean, when I was a young man,
The world seemed like a pretty awesome place, but as I've gotten
older, I'm thankful that the Lord has stripped me of things
and put me through some very painful trials. The flesh doesn't
love them. The flesh does not like the trials that we go through.
I don't ask for those things. I don't want to go through those
things, and they're painful when you go through them, and sorrowful,
but each time it drove me back to the arms of Christ. And that
is a mercy, brethren, because that's all I have is just Christ.
Christ. This world constantly lives up
to its promise to disappoint you over and over again. And
that's a good thing. That's a very good thing. So
Christ, he overcomes that sin. We see over and over again how
it's hit him through this gospel. He overcomes our sin and our
corruption. He turns us so that we don't
need a synod and we don't need somebody to tell us You need
to start doing this or doing it this way or doing that. The
Lord will guide His people. He gives His people the Spirit
and He gives us a hunger and a thirst for His righteousness
through Christ so that we serve Him and live upon Him that way.
He says, if need be, and that tells us that some will be going
through trials and some won't be going through trials. In Lamentations
3, I think, yeah, 31, for the Lord will not cast off forever.
But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according
to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men." So we don't go through continuous
trials over and over. It doesn't always go on, though
there are some trials that we go through that don't ever seem
to end. And I, you know, that's true.
Don't think just because you've been in a trial for years and
years and years that somehow you're just a leper cut off from
God. The Lord uses those trials that we should never grow confident
in ourselves, but there are certain trials that just are not always
there. There's times and there's seasons for them and then they
come and they go, but always, whatever it is, if it's driving
you to Christ, then it's a good thing. It's a mercy. He's given
it to you in mercy and in grace. In 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3 he
tells us this, another reason why we go through trials, that
we might be a comfort to our brethren. Blessed be the God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and the God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth in Christ." And that's another way in which the Lord
teaches us not to be judges of our brethren, right? Because
we've all been brought low. And we're reminded, you know,
It's not because my brother is a wicked man or any more wicked
than I am. I've been there and I know this brother needs words
of comfort and be reminded of Christ and to pray for him and
to just weep with him if that's what it takes. The Lord does
that. He breaks us so that we're not
so high and cocky and arrogant towards other people that are
suffering that we too might have empathy and a heart for them
and care for them and learn how to care for and provide for others.
So it's not just all about me, me, me, but that we would think
of one another. And that's a good thing. That's
why we don't sit at home alone, but sheep were made to be among
other sheep and to go through that struggle and those trials
and those high times and those low times. So that's why the
Lord does this and does it the way he does it. So these trials
that we go through, they come by the hand of God, therefore
are good, and that we ought to be patient in them. James said
it this way, My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. All right, now
let's look at our second point, the preciousness of faith. He
says in verse 7, 1 Peter 1, 7, that the trial of your faith
be much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it
be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Now you know when gold,
you've heard this, when gold is tried, it's to, when it's
put in the fire, it's meant to purge out the dross, those metals
that are not precious, that are not pure and good for the gold,
so that it's purged out. Well, so the trial works against,
you know, the trial of our faith is meant to purge out those things
that are not precious. It purges out those works of
the flesh. I've mentioned that before, those
things that that are just vile. Those things where we think of
ourselves more highly than we ought to think. They strip us,
they humble us, they remind us that what we will is not always
done. And what, you know, what we think
is right isn't what's always worked out. And that there's
just various things that strip us of self-righteousness and
pride and arrogance. Because we really are very proud
and arrogant. Even when we're talking humble,
you know, there's like, there's an element of pride to us and
there's an element of self-confidence to us that is not conducive to
the things of God. It's not profitable to other
men. It puffs up and it just keeps us looking to ourselves
and trusting in ourselves rather than in Christ. And our faith
is precious because it never, it never diminishes. Rather than
gold, you know, if you have a pile of gold and you start spending
it, it gets smaller and smaller, you know, as you spend your gold. But with faith, the more you
use it, it never diminishes. You know, it never runs dry.
When it's of the Lord, He'll keep it going. He'll keep you
stayed upon Christ. You may feel like you're on empty,
but the Lord knows, and He's always able to fill it back up
and do what He will. But what I really want us to
see is that our faith is precious, brethren, because of what it
costs our Savior, Jesus Christ. This faith is not by nature.
It's not something that we just exercise, you know, like a muscle
of our flesh or something like that. This faith came to us by
the precious blood of Christ being spilled for us. It's a
gift which He gave, like it said there in Ephesians 2.8. It's
a gift of God. Christ is the one who purchased
us. Christ is the one who cleanses
us of our sin. Christ is the one who brought
us so that now we are the adopted sons and daughters of God. and
that we are in the Beloved with Christ, received of God by Christ,
rejoicing in God by Christ, having peace with God by Christ. Christ
did all this work for us. We didn't work it for ourselves.
though he attributes these works to us and says well done, but
we know that this flesh didn't do anything to profit God. Christ worked all this, given
us his spirit so that now we do fulfill the righteousness
of the law just walking in Christ because Christ fulfilled it on
our behalf. And He enables us by His Spirit to continue to
see Him more and more, and rejoice in Him more and more, and rest
in Him more and more, so that we're willing and able, not by
this flesh, but just willing to serve Him and serve one another,
brethren. So Christ did this work, and
now even Paul says that we are, it's amazing, that we're laborers
together with God. And in that same area of Ursus,
I think it's in Corinthians, that we are laborers together
with him, that we're his husbandry, that we're his building, and
he's fitly framing us and assembling each of us together all to serve
him. I mean, I'm amazed that there's
certain similarities in the brethren here, you know, how God has gifted
each of you brethren to just serve one another. And, you know,
I see certain similarities, you know, in our own church with
the different men that have just different gifts. And you can
just see how the Lord fits each one. to minister in the capacity
that they can. And I'm not just talking about
the men, but even the women are enabled and willing to serve
and to help in any way that they can. And that's a mercy. And
we're not perfect in it, but it's not supposed to be perfect.
It's so that we just learn to love one another and accept one
another as we are with the gifts that we have and just pray and
be there for one another. It is such a comfort, you know,
just to show up, just to come and to hear the gospel is such
an encouragement to the brethren. right? You're sad. Sometimes
people can't be here and there's various reasons, but never think
that they won't miss me. That's not true. The Brethren
do miss you and it's important. The Lord gifts us and blesses
us in that way, but it says in... Well, what I want to say is that
faith is precious because it was brought for us by Christ.
If you turn to 2 Peter 1, we'll see this. 1 Peter 1. It says, Simon Peter,
a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ. We obtained faith, brethren. We don't have this by nature.
It's not something that we can work up and just muster up from
our faith. We've obtained it, just like
the apostles obtained it, so we have obtained it. And then
it goes on to say in verse three, according as his divine power
had given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness
through the knowledge of him that hath called us unto glory
and virtue. So that, brethren, is faith necessary
to salvation? Is faith important? Is it critical
to salvation? I mean, the scriptures teach
us that, yeah, that's how you please God is through faith. Well, he's
given that to us. It's according as his divine
power hath given that to us so that we don't think and that
we don't Imagine that somehow faith is something that comes
of the flesh. Paul told the Ephesians in 2.1, he said, we were dead
in trespasses and sins. And dead man doesn't have faith.
Dead man doesn't do anything to please God. And then it says
that in Ephesians 2 too, that we once walked according to the
course of this world so that we have nothing to boast in.
We too were sinners. We didn't please God so that
he gave us these things. All these things come by the
riches of his grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. So we come
into possession of faith in spite of our deadness, in spite of
the fact that we are children of wrath and just were enemies
of God. and hateful, hating of Him, hating one another, and
of no profit to Him. He gave us these things. He gave
us life, raised us up in Christ, washed us in the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, so that when we see Ephesians 2, 4, it should
ring with us to see, oh, it's not by me. But Ephesians 2, 4
says, but God, in spite of you, in spite of me, in spite of our
deadness, and in spite of the way that we walked in this world,
because we didn't do anything that God looked on us and said,
oh, look, he's really trying hard now. No, it's of God's mercy
alone, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, by grace you're saved, and hath raised us up
together and made us sit together in heavenly places, in Christ
Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved, and
that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God." So brethren,
we do well to remember God wouldn't have dealings with us were it
not for Christ. And that was, I think, one of
the biggest elements. I think that I was just dead
in religion because I just didn't see that. I never understood
that it's in Christ. Christ was just sort of like
this figure on the side. Maybe he was the gate and you
kind of came in through him, but then you just forgot about
him and you went on to religion. All you were in on to was dead
letter religion that didn't profit anybody, and God certainly wasn't
pleased with it. So Christ isn't just something
that you pass by and then you go on to super maturity, you
know, in faith, but Christ is always essential, he's always
needful, and he's the one who is most precious. You think of
the humility of Christ, Brethren, and what he did in taking upon
him the likeness of our simple flesh to do for us what we cannot
or could not do for ourselves. Psalm 113 said, Who is like unto
the Lord God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to
behold the things that are in heaven and in earth? And you
think, well, if it's a humbling of God just to look down on what
you and I are doing day-to-day, then imagine, if it's just for
God on His throne to look down and it's a humbling, a condescension,
think of Christ who left glory left the father to take upon
him the likeness of our sinful flesh and do and fulfill all
righteousness, to submit himself under the law and to live, stayed
upon the father always against the contradiction of sinners
against himself. And he still remained faithful
through that. Christ Jesus, Paul wrote to the
Philippians in chapter two, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross, so that when he was here in the flesh
and he set his face to go to Jerusalem to do that work for
us that needed to be done in putting away our sin, the scriptures
say the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all. If you
have a Cambridge reference, a Cambridge Bible, it says there in a reference,
and I love this, it says that he made the iniquity of us all
to meet on him. And when you think I know when
I think of the things that I've done, there's a few things that
just stand out to me, things that I'm ashamed of now, would
never, you know, want to speak of these things, you know, just
disgusting, they're sinful, they're vile, and they're wretched, that
those things that I've done, and each of you have things that
you've done, to think that those things, plus all the other things
that we don't even think about, all came together and met together
on Christ there, as it says in the scriptures, and he bore that
stinking awful load of guilt and shame and sin, and he stood
before the Father there on the cross, gonna die, and he bore
that wrath so that he was faithful and trusting God, knowing that
God is able to raise him from the dead, and that God who put
the sin of his people there wouldn't leave him there in the grave
and wouldn't let him corrupt in the grave, but that God knew
exactly what he was doing. When he put away the sin of his
people in a perfect sacrifice, through a perfect righteousness
of Christ, he never sinned. He trusted God through it fully,
perfectly. And what a mercy that he would
do that for us, brethren. So that Christ is our mediator.
You know, when he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? He was in anguish. He was suffering
under the wrath of God for my sins and for your sins who hope
in Him and look to Him and trust in Him. That's what he was doing
there. He put those sins away. Isaiah said, He shall see the
travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with
the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and
he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. And so that that
trial which our Savior went through, he wrought for us all those gifts
necessary. That faith given to us, that
faith which we have obtained by God's grace and mercy, Christ
wrought that by shedding his own precious blood, doing for
us what we could not do for ourselves. Wherefore he said, when he ascended
up on high, he led captivity captives, and he gave gifts unto
men, as it says in Ephesians. For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of
the knowledge of the Son of God." So this is why I say, brethren,
understand that this faith, it's precious. It's precious because
not all men have it, and Christ did it for specific people. He
wrought that work, brethren. That faith that you have is no
worthless thing. That's a precious thing because
it was purchased for us by Christ's shed blood. Him, what He went
through for us, brethren, don't ever forget it. That faith is
precious and God gave it to us as a gift that we might look
to Him and trust Him and be pleasing to Him in Christ, in Christ. Alright, our last point, faith
found. 1 Peter 1.7 says that the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than a gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Brethren, we know that we have
faith when faith is being exercised, right? You don't know that. You
don't think about faith really, but when you're going through
it and others are leaving Christ and you're saying, Lord, where
can I go? You alone have the words of eternal
life. I don't know what else to do but to believe in you and
just trust in you and just wait patiently for your deliverance,
Lord. That's a trial that is finding
faith. It's revealing that faith which
He gave to you. He's showing you. He's proving
to you that you're His. He's showing you that. He knows
that you're His, but He's showing you that you are His. Our Savior spoke this parable
about an unjust judge and a widow in Luke 18, verses 1 through
8. It says, He spake this parable unto them to this end, that men
ought always to pray and not think, saying, There was in a
city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. And
there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while,
but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God,
nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said,
Did you hear what the unjust judge said? Did you hear what
he said? And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day
and night unto him? Though we bear long with them,
I tell you he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when
the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth. So things didn't look good for
the widow, She wasn't even acknowledged by this judge. Finally, she was
acknowledged. And so it is that our Lord, He
hears His child. He knows what you're going through,
but He's doing it all for your good, to bring you to seek Him
and to cry out to Him. And that's why Christ said it,
that men ought always to pray and not to think. And so brethren,
you can just trust him. He knows what he's doing and
he's doing the perfect work to bring you to himself, to secure
you, to fit you in Christ where you'll never be taken away or
never removed. He's got that. Don't fear that. He knows exactly what he's doing.
So our faith is the evidence of things not seen, that Christ
has indeed saved our souls. As it says, now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,
for by it By faith the elders obtained a good report. And then
our Savior, when He went through His trial, doesn't He have a
good report? Don't we rejoice and worship
Him and praise Him for what He has done? Brethren, how He, bearing
our sin, is no sinner. He, bearing our sin, did a perfect
work, always looking to the Father, never doubting Him, never cursing
Him, never cursing us always remained faithful to do for us
what we could not do he did it perfectly and he remained faithful
to the father through that while he was bearing our sin going
under the wrath of god and now what a good report we have of
him and how we rejoice in him and just are so glad and thankful
wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every way Let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him
who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. And then he says, lest ye be
weary and faint in your own minds. Look to him. Trust him. He went
through a mighty trial. And he did that for you and me
who believe in him and hope in him. Cast not away, therefore,
your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye
have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God,
ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just
shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who
draw back unto perdition, but of them that will lead to the
saving of the soul. And I know, brethren, some of
you, when you hear that, that comes from Hebrews 10, 35 through
39. I know when you hear that, you
think, I don't have any confidence in myself. I think I am one that
will draw back to perish in my own sin. But brethren, it's not
about you. Be encouraged, as Peter wrote
in verse 5, 1-5, he said, you are kept by the power of God
through faith. So yeah, you're always, when
you're looking at yourself, you're always going to think, I don't know
if I'm going to be one of those that makes it to the end. Because
if it depends on me, I'm doomed. I'm dead. I'll be cut off. The
Lord should have chucked me away long ago. And yet here you are,
looking to him, keeping you. He's gathered together this little
flock here in Missouri where there was nothing. And yet he's
blessed you. He's brought you together, and He's keeping you.
He's giving you the gospel, and you have faithful men that come
and preach the gospel, and you have faithful men that preach
it there on the TV. Trust Him. He'll establish you.
He'll keep you. He's doing all the work. There's
nothing that you need to fear. Just keep serving Him. Keep coming
together. Keep doing that which He's revealed
to you to do. do that and just trust God's
doing he's bringing that all together it's all by his spirit
and his work let me just say this one thing in Zechariah 13
there's a prophecy about our Lord and it says in 13 7 a Waco
sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow
sayeth the Lord of hosts smite the shepherd and the sheep shall
be scattered and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones."
So Christ is stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, and all
the sheep were scattered. And we know we were all scattered.
And yet the Lord says that he'll bring back his sheep, gather
them together from far and from wide and from all different places
and all different backgrounds, He gathers them together. In
verse 8 it says, It shall come to pass that in all the land,
saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and died, but
the third shall be left therein. And in Ezekiel 34, it's sweet,
if you have time, I would encourage you this week to read 34, and
it just talks, you just see how sweetly the Lord is just leading
His sheep, gathering together His sheep, And there's the wicked
in the world just making it hard and difficult and doing evil
things against the sheep. And the Lord's saying, I'm going
to deal with them. I'm going to deal with them. And he just
keeps gathering together his sheep. And he says that he'll
divide cattle from cattle, cattle from cattle, the sheep from the
goats, right? And he says there in Zechariah
13, 9, and I will bring the third part through the fire. And we'll
find them as silver is refined. And we'll try them as gold is
tried. They shall call on my name and I will hear them. I
will say, it is my people and they shall say, the Lord is my
God. So you can just see there, just
a sweet picture of how Christ brought for us faith. And the
Lord teaches us and gives us his spirit, gives us faith to
trust in him and to rely on him. And the Lord looks at that as
we go through those trials that he's pleased to bring us through.
And he says, that's my people. and as a good fruit, not a fruit
of the flesh, but we go through these trials, being burdened
and pride stripped away and humbled and to see the vanity of this
life, and we say, the Lord is my God. That's a good fruit,
brethren, that the Lord works in us. That's a good fruit, that
we can confess, that's my God, I trust him, though he slay me,
yet will I trust him. That's a good fruit of the Lord.
And that's what Peter says, that the trial of your faith might
be found unto praise and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And then, in that final day,
when we stand before him, he says, Then shall the king say
unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. And isn't that a praise and an
honor and a glory at Christ's coming, when we shall be glorified
together with our Savior and rejoice and know, yep, he did
all this. If it were me, I would have left
and gone away, but he did all this work. And we praise him
forever and ever. Amen. All right, let's close in prayer,
and then we'll have the Lord's Supper. Lord, Father, we thank you for
the work that you have done. Lord, that you did this for unworthy
sinners who are not worthy of your grace and kindness. And
Lord, though by nature we're your enemy, Lord, you turned
us. You gave us a new heart, and
you give us your spirit. and you have made us friends
of God, all met together in Christ our Savior, that he has established
for us peace with God Almighty, and that you are pleased to be
our God, and that you bless these lips, Lord, that we can confess
and rejoice and say, the Lord is my God. Lord, we thank you
for this. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for
what you have done. Son of David, that you brought
for us our righteousness, you gave us these gifts, and you
brought together this people here together. And now, Lord,
we meet together to remember you, to remember what you did
for us. Lord, we ask that you would help us to see you, to
see Christ, and to rest in him alone, and not in the works of
our flesh, nor be discouraged by the works of our flesh, but
to continue to be encouraged by what Christ has done in us
and in our brethren. We pray this in Jesus' name,
our Lord and Savior. Amen.