I pray that this will be a real
help to us. I pray this will really be enlightening. I've been begging the Lord to
allow this to be clear. Very, very clear. What we want
as believers, what we want as believers, we claim to be and
desire to be believers, right? What we want as believers is
we want to believe the truth. Isn't that right? People are happy and content
I believe in all kinds of things. Satisfied. No care. But God's people want the truth. Tell me the truth about God and
tell me the truth about man and tell me the truth about salvation.
Just tell me the truth. Our hope is strengthened When
we believe that God has shown us the truth. Don't you love
seeing in the word of God? Yes, indeed. He has revealed
the truth to me. I see it. I believe it. That's when our hope is strengthened. We want to believe. And we want others to believe. We don't want others to join
our church. I don't want others to join our
church. I don't want to get people in
here with any means that we can think of to start a kids program. You know, that's why most people
go is do you have something for my kids? And here's what I want. I want to believe. Come the end
of this thing, I want to believe God. And I want other people
to believe. I'm so overwhelmed with joy when
somebody else believes. I really am. The reason is because
eternal life, our God has said that eternal life is received
And it is evidenced through a true belief on the Lord Jesus Christ
and His Word. Isn't that what the Scripture
says? So it is of the highest importance
that we believe and that others believe God's truth. Nothing
is more important to us in this life than that. Nothing. I mean nothing. Whatever my children
make of themselves, Whatever they accomplish in this life
is absolutely secondary to them being believers on the Lord Jesus
Christ, as far as I'm concerned. And I'm begging God that one
day that'll be the case as far as they are concerned. Now, as the Lord opens doors,
As the Lord gives us the opportunity, we try to talk to people about
the truth. Please the Lord by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe, right? And as he opens
doors, we try to tell people the truth. And we're in the process
hoping and praying that God would give the faith for them to believe
it. We ascribe all faith to him. Isn't that right? We acknowledge
that faith is his to give. He gives it individually on a
pew. Not in the whole building. He
gives it individually to whoever he wants to give it to, and he
withholds it from whoever he wants to withhold it from. We
don't know who he will give it to and who he will withhold it
from. So we preach the gospel to anybody
who will listen. Anybody. And then we leave salvation
in the Lord's hands. Totally. We turn around, we walk
away. If he is pleased to give a sinner
true faith, we rejoice. We give him all the glory for
it. Now, what is true faith? What do true believers believe? As the Lord opens these doors,
To speak the gospel to others. What makes the difference in
going from, oh, you don't have it. What makes the difference in
going from that to, you got it. Stay right there. Hold on to
that. Hold on to that. You stay right
there. What is true faith? What must a person believe to
be a true believer? Everybody believes something.
People are convinced of something. Everybody is a believer in something. Two people sit across the table
from each other. One person is convinced and believes
this. One person is convinced and believes
that. If it's two different things,
one is a true believer, one is a false believer. There's only
one truth. All right? What must a person
believe in order to be a true believer? The Apostle Paul, very
clearly, I mean, it can't get any clearer than this. He very
clearly spells it out for us. 2 Timothy 1, verse 12, he said,
for the witch cause, I also suffer these things. Now, I will say
first of all, If a sinner ever believes the truth, he will suffer
some things for it. He'll lose the world over it.
He really will. He will lose the world over it.
Our Lord said in Matthew 6, you cannot serve God and mammon. You can't serve God and the things
of this world. The things of this world just
won't have it. You don't have to go cutting anybody off. They'll
cut you off. They just won't have it. Not
if you bow. to the living and true God. But
our Lord said in Matthew 5, he said, blessed are all those who
are persecuted for righteousness sake, for Christ's sake, for
the truth's sake. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So the apostle Paul said right here in 2 Timothy 1.12, for the
witch calls, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not
ashamed. Now, Paul and every other true
believer has nothing to glory in not being ashamed because
Paul wasn't always that way. When he was Saul of Tarsus, he
was ashamed and so were we. So were we ashamed until God
dealt with us. God dealt with him and he knocked
him off of that high horse and he'll deal with every single
one of his people, won't he? He'll knock every one of us.
Thank God. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, thank
God he. Thank God. Glorious. It's his
gift. That's his gift. Gift of God. So verse 12, he said, nevertheless,
I am not ashamed by God's grace. I'm not ashamed for. Now he's about to give us the
knowledge of true faith. He's about to give us the confidence
of true faith. And he's about to give us the
evidence of true faith. This right here is true faith. Here's the knowledge of it. Verse
12, the middle of it. He said, for I know whom I have believed. True faith, as
we go around and listen to people talk and go around and talk with other
believers, will notice this. True faith does not dwell on
what it believes. That is That statement right
there is saving. It's eye-opening. It's a lightbulb
moment. That's the moment that somebody
says, wow, when God opens it to the heart. If we listen to
all these differences of opinions, men and women are dwelling on
what they believe. True believers, you go around
and talk to true believers, they're not sitting there, let's me and
you talk doctrine. True faith dwells on who I believe. Believers will get together and
say, let's talk about Christ. How about me and you sit down
and let's just talk about Christ. True faith dwells on whom. The Apostle Paul did not say,
I know what I believe. He said, I know whom. I heard
this for years and believed it. Oh yeah, great statement. I'm
starting to understand it more and more and more. Doctrine,
any doctrine, any of them, even the right ones. Doctrine never
saved anybody. A person saves sinners. So he's got his doctrine right.
He believes in election. He ought to. He believes in total
depravity. Well, he ought to. A person saves sinners. All error, all false belief is
evidence. The scripture says, out of the
heart the mouth speaks. All faith, all false faith is
evidenced when a person is trusting in and clinging to a what. That's what it is. What saved
you? Why are you saved? Why are you
saved? Why are you saved? Because I
was baptized. That's a what. Walking down an
aisle is a what. Making a decision is a what?
Giving your heart is a what? Abstaining from certain foods
and drinks, the kind you've got to be 21 to buy, that's a what? A certain standard, a certain
level of morality, we don't do that, that's a what? Go with
me if you would to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16 and look with
me at verse 25. This is Paul and Silas were thrown
in prison. Midnight, Paul and Silas prayed
and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them. Suddenly
there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the
prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and
everyone's bands were loosed. God is delivering them. Verse
27, And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and
seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would
have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for
we are all here. Then he called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and
Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do
to be saved? And they said, believe on a person. You see that? Believe on a person. They said it's not a what, it's
a who. That's what they said. God given
true faith is being hung up on who saves us. Now, this is what false faith
sounds like. This is what error sounds like. Okay? Well, yeah, but. Well, now, yes, yes, but. That's what goats do. You know
how our Lord talks about sheep and goats? Goats, but. But. You ever heard that? Yes, yes,
but that's what false faith sounds like. This is what true faith
sounds like. Thank God for Christ. Thank God for Christ. What do
you have to say about all this? What do you have to say about
salvation? Thank God for Christ. The knowledge of true faith is
who? It's who? All right, now go with
me back to our text. The Apostle Paul is going to
give us the confidence of true faith. And I'll say it this way,
what we believe about who? All right, true faith believes
who? Well, what do we believe about
who? 2nd Timothy 1, the middle of
verse 12 says, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded
that he is able to keep. Abraham is known for the faith
that God gave him. He's called the father of the
faithful. The scripture says, Abraham believed
God. He believed a person. Whom? What was his confidence in that
person? What was Abraham's confidence? What did he believe about whom? Look at it with me in Romans
4. The end of verse 16 here in Romans
4 tells us that he's talking about Abraham, the faith of Abraham,
who's the father of us all. Verse 20, Romans 4 verse 20 says,
he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what he had promised He was able also to perform. That's what he believed. What
God has promised, he is able to perform. That's the same thing
Paul believed, isn't it? I know whom I have believed and
am persuaded that he's able. Our girls are getting a little
bit older. And in some ways, it's just killing me. And in
some ways, it's kind of nice. They're getting to a place where
they can start doing some things for themselves. It was a big
deal to us when they learned how to buckle their own car seat.
That was huge. And then they learned how to
tie their own shoes. And Hannah and I are starting to learn,
you know, kids are always asking for something. Hannah and I are
starting to learn, if we'll take a few minutes and teach them
how to do something, we don't have to do it anymore. And the other day, Isabella asked
me if I would make her some grits for breakfast. And I said, nope. But I'll come watch you make
your own grits for breakfast. So I followed her into the kitchen
and I said, get them out of the cabinet. You know where they
are. I didn't get them. And I said, read the label. You're
a good reader. Read the label. How many tablespoons
of grits? How many cups of water? How many
minutes in the microwave? And she did it. I didn't lift
a finger. I didn't touch anything. And
the reason is because I believed she was able. That's why I didn't
move a muscle. I believed she was able." That's
what true faith believes. It does not lift a finger. It does not lift a finger. True
faith believes he's able. Had I not believed Isabella was
able to make grits, I would have stepped in, I would have counted
the tablespoons, I would have poured the water, and I would
have punched the buttons on the microwave. Isn't that right?
That's what false faith does. That's what it does. Men and
women say, oh yes, you'll hear them talk about Jesus Christ
now, death, burial, and resurrection, but we need to do this. Yep, yep, but now you're going
to have to do that now. And the reason they do that is
because they do not believe he's able. That's the reason. It's
a false faith. The knowledge of true faith is
whom? The confidence of true faith is whom Christ is able. He's able. All right, now go
back to the text. We're going to see the evidence.
I'll be quick here. The evidence of true faith. The middle of verse 12 says, I know whom I have believed and
am persuaded that he is able to keep That which I have committed
unto Him against that day. True faith commits. It just does. True faith commits. True faith doesn't just know
it needs to commit. True faith commits, just like
true love. Just like true love, a man and
a woman say they love each other. You're the only one I want for
the rest of my life. If that's true, if it's true
love, they'll commit. Isn't that right? They just will.
True love commits and true faith commits. True faith actually
commits it all. I commit my life. How long would
you have me to live? What would you have me to do
between now and the moment you take me? I commit my life to
you. I commit my sin to you. I'm not going to try to fix it.
I did it. I do it. I will do it. And I can't fix it. You have
to. I commit my family. True faith
commits it all. True faith commits it all. Where? Unto Him. Unto whom? True faith commits
all that I am. It commits all that I have to
Him. This is a statement that I know
to be true. I copied this from someone else,
and it's just true. Where there is no commitment,
there's no true faith. Where there is no commitment,
There's no true faith. You know what, Gabe? It sounds
like you're hinging over on works. It sounds like you're kind of
turning some of that responsibility this way. It sounds like you're
looking for a work out of somebody. This is what James said. He said,
you say you have faith apart from works? He said, I'll show
you my faith by my works. I will show you my faith by my
works. And then if it's true faith,
true faith will give all the works to him. It'll ascribe all
the works to him. He gave me the faith, he's performing
the commitment in me. If there's a commitment in here,
it ain't this sinner doing it. True faith commits and it doesn't
originate with me, he's doing it in me. But it commits. Now I'm going to close this with
one of the greatest examples of true faith we have in the
Scripture. Go with me to Daniel chapter
3. It's just after Ezekiel. Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel. Page 1108 if your Bible
is like mine. Daniel 3. This is King Nebuchadnezzar telling
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that they have to bow down and
worship the idol, the little g-god that this king made. You have to bow down and worship
it. Verse 16, Daniel 3 verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not
careful to answer thee in this matter. We are not full of care
over this. We are not torn. This is not
a hard decision. Verse 17, if it be so, our God
whom? We serve is able to deliver us
from the burning, fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of
thine hand, O King. He may deliver us out of that
burning, fiery furnace. We may go in or may not go in,
but either way, He's going to deliver us out of your hands.
Verse 18, But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast
set up. We commit to him." We are committed
to the one who is able to save us. We're committed. Nebuchadnezzar
said, I'm going to throw you in that fire. They said, throw
us in. Throw us in. Either way, we're
trusting him. Either way. He said he'd never
leave us, he'll never forsake us. He said when you walk through
the fire, I'll be with you, you won't be burned, the flame won't
even kindle on you. And then, well let's read it. Let's just take the time. Verse
22, Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent and the
furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that
took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king said, I want
you to heat that thing seven times hotter than normal. And
the men that grabbed those three men and threw them in died. It
was so hot. Verse 23, and these three men,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell down bound into the midst
of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto
his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst
of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see
four men. Don't you love that? Loose. walking in the midst of the fire,
and they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is
like the son of God." Watch this. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near
to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke and said, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God. See how his language has changed? come forth, and come hither.
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the
fire, and the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's
counselors being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies
the fire had no power, nor was in hair up their heads singed,
neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed
on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and
said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath
sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in
him. They had true faith in him. And
have changed the king's word. They've changed my word. and
yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any
God except their own God. And he said, I'm going to make
a decree. Every people, nation, language which speaks anything
amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, cut him
in pieces. There's one true God. There is one true God. The same faith that those three
men had, that's the exact same faith Abraham had. That's the
exact same faith Paul had. That's the exact same faith every
child of God has. whom He is able. And I commit to Him. I completely
commit to Him. May God give us that faith. Alright,
you're dismissed.