Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Do I have faith? Do you have faith? Important subject. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. All right, the Apostle is going
to tell us what faith is. And a wise person, young and
old, a wise person, young and old,
matter how long they've been sitting here, or how short, would ask themselves, Do I have
faith? Do I have this faith? Peter said, Give diligence. I want to. All right? All right. We can't just start
in Hebrews 11 because he says now. Now. He's going to conclude, you see,
what he's been saying for ten chapters. Now, faith is. What does it say? All right,
look back at chapter one, OK? Don't let me lose you out of
the starting gate, please. Like I said, this is life. Now, do I have faith? Do you
have faith? Young people, everybody look
at your Bible. You got a Bible in front of you, look at it.
Let's find out whether or not we have faith. Let me say this, if you're not
interested, I know you don't. Just flat and know you don't.
Here in Hebrews chapter 1, look at verse 1 through 3, God, God, who at sundry times and
divers manners spake, God spake, God spake, God spake. in time pass unto the fathers,"
grandfather so-and-so and so-and-so and so on and on back to the
grandfathers, by the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
on and on backward, "...hath in these last days," that is,
since the prophets' last day, just a few more days. Spoken
unto us by the Son, the Son of God, who was with God from the
beginning, the Son of God. The Son of God came to earth
and spoke. God walked this planet. God this planet. God walked this planet. One major planet came down and
walked on it and said—looks like men be hanging on his every word,
doesn't it? Looks like I would. Whom he hath appointed air of
all things, by whom also he made the world." Who be he? Who is the Son of God who came? Who be he? And then he spends
ten chapters telling us who he be. Who be this? Why, he be. And on and on he says. Who is? what he did. And in verse chapter
11, he says in verse 1, Now, after having declared who Christ
is, what he said, what he did, who he is, who he be, is being
now. Faith is. Faith is. Read it here, with Hebrews 11,
verse 1. Faith is the substance. The substance. Not a shadow. You remember, Nancy,
him talking about a shadow? Not a shadow. Substance. Real. Not a shadow. Person. Person. Not a mere profession. person. We talked about in chapter 10,
laying hold of. You can't lay hold to a doctrine.
But I hold to the doctrines of grace. You do. Brother Maurice, you know, always
said, huddle up. That's his definition of laying hold, hug
up, hug up to the Lord. A person, a person. All right. So let's all examine
ourselves, see whether we know this person, have this person. All right? How important is faith? We've already said without faith
it's impossible to please God. It's impossible. How many have
it? How many have this faith? Well, there's not as many as
we would think, as people think. When our Lord said this, he said,
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith? on the earth. Do you remember
that? That's striking, isn't it? Many are called, a few chosen. Isn't that solemn? When the Son of Man comes, oh,
but one out of two adults is a believer. I'm just sure everybody
in here, will he find faith on the earth? Well, he says here,
faith is the substance. Now, listen carefully. Faith
is not an act. Faith's not an act. It's just
a substance. Faith is not believing. Our Lord said in John's Gospel,
He that believeth on the Son hath life. Everyone who has faith believes. Faith is not a work, although
faith without works is dead. Faith is a God-given life within. Up there in chapter 10, verse
38, it says, The just shall live by faith. Paul said, The life I now live,
the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Do you see that? Faith is not
believing, though everyone who believes has faith. Faith's not an act. Faith's not
a work, although it causes the work. I'm trying to sound smart. I'm
not at all, but I'm trying to clear this up. This misconception
by most that because so-and-so believes in God, believes in,
believes, believes, believes, he has faith, you know. No. The devil believes, doesn't
he? You reckon the devil believes
that that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Do you reckon he believes
he's Lord? Do you reckon he believes that
this gospel is the power of God and salvation? Do you reckon
he believes that? He's doing everything he can
to keep people from hearing it. He knows. Do you reckon he believes
that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to people? Do you
reckon he believes that, Rick? He knows. He knows. Do you reckon
he believes that the blood of Christ His payment for the sin
of God's people? He sure does. So you see, the devil believes. Does he say? Faith is substance. Substance. Christ in you. If I could shorten this whole
message, and some may wish I had, Christ in you. If faith be in
you, Christ in you. Faith is a life that just shall
live by faith. Faith's a person residing in
a person. It's a living, we just sang it,
a living fire. My faith looks up to the living
fire, which motivates. What is it that Faith is the soul of the new
man. It's the new creature. It's new
life. It's Christ in us. The unbeliever doesn't have it.
The Spirit of God. Faith is the Spirit of God residing
in a human being. The world doesn't have the Spirit
of God. It's dead. They don't live. They're not
living. They don't have faith. Do you see what I'm trying to say? This faith is this person And
Romans 8 talks about it, who causes us to believe. This faith
is what causes us to believe, repent, call, walk, talk. That
1 Peter, 2 Peter 1 really did clear this up to me. As I was
studying this and read other men on it, and they made statements
such as I just made, you know, I kind of at first thought, well,
that sounds, you know, When I read this just now with you, it really cleared it up. It says in verse
1, it says, Them that have obtained like precious faith, faith with
us through, how does this faith come? Believing the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ. And he goes on to talk about
The divine power has given unto us this life and this godliness
through the knowledge. See that? The knowledge. We have
the knowledge. Why? We have faith. We've obtained
this faith. He's given us this faith, this
life, new life in us. Well, then he goes on to say,
well, add to your faith virtue and the virtue. Well, if you
add to it, well, he says, add to it knowledge. He said, you
already had it. Well, yeah, we grow. Our faith
grows, he said. Well, if I'm confusing you, I'm
sorry. It's very clear to me. But to merely say faith is believing,
that doesn't describe it. Faith is so much more. One of
the old writers said faith is like the hand. If you don't have a hand, you
can't lay hold of anything. Faith is like a hand. If anybody's
got hands, they'll lay hold. Anybody the Lord gives faith
to, they'll lay hold on Christ. It's like the inner being. It's hunger and thirst. It's
inner workings. Faith is the body. Whoever hungers
and thirsts after Christ. If you don't have this faith,
then you don't hunger and thirst. Faith is like the ear. Substance. We're talking about
substance here. Faith is like the ear. Christ said he would
have ears to hear. Let him hear. But he said some don't have ears
to hear. Faith is the eye. Christ said
if your eye be single, You see, you have faith. You see clearly,
don't you? You don't have double vision.
Single vision. Do you see that? Faith is feet.
Like feet, it's a substance. Faith is feet. We walk by that. We walk by that. Faith is a substance. All right? Not just believing in the head,
just not a theory, not a principle, not a doctrine. You see what
I mean? It's a reality. It's a person. Listen to all
this. Faith is believing, yes. Trusting, yes. Looking, yes. My faith looks up to thee. Yes,
faith looks. It's the eye. Living life, loving, walking,
watching, waiting, worshiping, wanting. This is all faith. He
said, the life of faith. Now, faith is substance, and
these two lines go together. It's a substance of things hoped
for and evidence of things not seen. They both go together.
They're inseparable. You don't have one without the
other. I hope you're with me. Let's look at these two things.
Faith is a substance, substance of faith, and faith is evidence. You with me? It's important. Do I have faith? Our faith is a substance. And
do you have a marginal reference there? What does it say there
besides substance? You're not women. Say it. Ground. The ground is substance. Ground is substance. There's
some people that are moved by every wind of doctrine. There's some people that are
grounded and settled. Rock? Now, that's substance. Substance. Now, we're not talking
about theories or principles or doctrines here. We're talking
about a person. And to get a little more clear
here, ground, look at this. Rick, you'll appreciate this.
It says, faith is the ground. You know what? I looked that
up a little more fully, and it says concrete. Concrete. Well, that sounds like
a rock, and it sounds like it's in the ground. That sounds like
a foundation to me, doesn't it? You heard of the substructure,
Rick? Substructure of a building. He built a bunch of it. Substructure. That's foundation. That means
it's what's under the earth. It's not seen. Once that's built,
it's not seen. But she's there. It's there.
Substance. It's there. If it weren't there,
the whole building would come down. My house wasn't built on theory. Lots of sweat and blood. But
that didn't do it. There's some substance under
it. This study back here in the nursery
and all that, 12 yards of concrete in the footer. Rick, they kept
digging that footer, you know, and looking for some solid ground
and digging and digging. They finally hit something. You
know, I saw field dirt back there, Henry, when y'all... It's field
dirt. And they kept digging and digging.
Finally, they hit a pathway. And they poured 12 yards. If you go to build a house, I
hope it doesn't take you. With a footer, you're already
in big debt. Six dollars a yard. Well, that
thing back there is not coming down. I don't know how much concrete's
in the footer of this big plate, but this gonna stand when this
one doesn't. It has substance. A footer. Twelve yards of concrete. Concrete. Concrete evidence. Concrete evidence. Do you have concrete evidence
of this? I sure do. Concrete evidence. You see how they go together?
But you can't see the substructure. Well, it's there. I've got evidence. Substance of faith. Substance.
Look over at Psalm 39. Psalm 39. He said there in Hebrews
11, verse 1, it says it's the substance of things hoped for. The substance. the ground, the
confidence, what causes one to stand, what the
whole thing is built on, concrete reality, is the faith is, that substance
of things hoped for. And this question right here
will prove that there's no substance to a lot of people, this question
right here. What do you hope for? Young and old alike, what are
you looking forward to? Things hoped for, wished for,
wished for. You hope, you wish. You want,
you desire, things hoped for. What do you hope for? Now that question right there
immediately, when us, immediately, we ask every one of us in here,
examine ourselves whether we be of the faith. Every one of
you ask yourself, what am I really wanting and wishing and hoping
for? Right there it will tell you
if you have this substance. See what I'm talking about, Jenny?
Right there. It's a substance. It's not just believing. It's a substance. Things hoped for. What do you
hope for, Will? Riches? Don't have a substance. Being
happy? I sure hope to be happy. Don't have a substance. Getting retired? Being retired.
Well, if it's retired from this, from your sins, but being retired,
I don't have a substance. Look, here's a man of faith.
Would you say that David is a man of faith? Deborah, would you
say that with me? David is a man of faith. Let's see what he hoped
for. Psalm 39, look at it, verses
4 through 7. David said, Lord, make me to
know mine end, the measure of my days, what it is. that I may
know how frail I am, or what time I have, so I can devote
it wisely. Verse 5, Behold, thou hast made
my belly as a hand-breadth, mine ages as nothing before thee.
Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a
vain show of shadow. Surely they are disquieted in
vain, and troubled and upset. He heaps with up riches, every
man that heaps with up riches and just doesn't know who's going
to gather them. Now, Lord, what was I for? My hope is in the Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. I remember I said, I believe
Fanny Crosby knows the Lord. Because that last line of her
hymn she was quoting from the Psalms, it said, Whom have I
in heaven but thee? And there's none on earth I desire
besides thee. That's faith. Substance. It's real. See what I'm saying? It's real. It's real. Why? She's looking for a real person.
Not a doctor, not a fire escape, not joining a church. A person. A rock. You're not going to go to the
stake and have somebody burn your body up while your family
looks on. Trust in a doctrine. You're not going to sit in a
jail cell like John Bunyan did and have your wife and blind
daughter come to you and say, please, daddy, please, daddy,
please renounce or just agree you won't preach anymore. Please
just tell them that you don't have to preach and just come
on home. Please. You're not going to sit
in that jail cell for 12 years. Believe in the doctrine. It's
got to have substance to it, doesn't it? You see what I'm
saying, Brother Joe? You see what Paul is saying?
It's substance. It's person. Not thing. Things hope for. Oh, in him dwelleth all spiritual
blessings in heavenly things, places. Christ Jesus. things hoped for. Oh, my. A worldling, quite simply, a
worldling hopes for the world. A child of God hopes for God. Very simply. A person who is
of the world, they speak of the world. That's what they're out
there. And our Lord said, and John laid where the rubber met
the road and laid it all bare and naked and said, they, they're
of God. They look for God. They're after
Christ. That does not mean that they
don't love their family. That does not mean that they
don't enjoy things. But did you read the quote in
the bulletin, the bottom of the bulletin? I thought that was
wonderful. Wonderful. Did you understand
it? Understandest thou what thou readest? That quote said, then, the true
believer, the true faith, They're rich. Even though they're rich,
they have lots of things, yet they enjoy God in it all. They see the hand of Ecclesiastes,
and that's what the whole book of Ecclesiastes is talking about.
Oh, you don't remember who gave it to you. You see God in all
that you have, and you give him a—but it's all taken away. Though
poor, they enjoy all in God. They don't need to have God.
They get it, that's good. Thank you, Lord. Take it away,
that's good. Thank you, Lord. That's what
old Eli did. That's what old Joe did, didn't
he? Roberta the Joe had a lot, didn't
he? Said he's a man feared God. He
enjoyed his God. God took it away, he said, and
the Lord gave him. The Lord took it and blessed
him. He enjoyed all his God. And all
his friends and everything, everybody. Listen, we're talking about substance
here. You see what we're saying here? We're talking about substance. Real. Do I have it? What is it? It's not a what. It's a who,
like I've been saying. Who? Well, faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. When we read there in Hebrews
1, well, God has spoken. God creates this faith, this
life, this new creature in Christ in us by the word. What I'm doing
right now, this is how God has, please God, I've got to finish
this preaching, this treasure. This life, oh, if you despise
a day of small things, or common things, common, he uses common
things, doesn't he? Common old things, like a jackass, and a fellow, a donkey, a fellow
was riding a trough, and he's still using them. But that doesn't
diminish from the truth. It's his power. God's word is
his power. It's his voice. Just as God spoke
back in the beginning, and this is what he said in 2 Corinthians
4. He said, God who caused the light to shine out of darkness,
one day God said, Let there be light. And it was light. There was light. Well, it wasn't
theory. It was light. And God, who caused
the light to shine out of darkness, had shine. God spoke one day
through the gospel. All these people have faith.
Everyone has this faith. God one day spoke through the
gospel, said, Let there be light. And there's light. I mean, understanding. These are things not seen, but
it's real. It's that substance. And things
hoped for, a hope for more understanding. And God opens the eyes, ears,
gives ears, gives eyes, gives a heart. In Ezekiel 36, and we're
not going to have time, I can see right now, I wanted to turn
there. But Ezekiel 36, he keeps saying, this is what I'm going
to do, I'm going to give him a new heart. I'm going to clean them up,"
he said. I'm going to wash them. He said, I'm going to call for
the corn. They're going to eat. They're going to be hungry, and
they're going to be filled. And all along he keeps going.
He said, I'm going to gather them from the nations. I'm going
to separate them. They're going to leave. That's
real. That's real, to leave the father
and mother. It's real, isn't it? It's concrete
evidence. Remember, I proved that I loved
that woman when I left my mama and daddy to cleave unto her. That's real. Why? She's a real person. Faith itself is real. The Word. God speaks by His Word. The preaching
of the Word. Preaching the Bible. The Word. The Word, you see, was made flesh
and dwelt among us. Nobody would know God unless
God became a man. And God did. And the ground, the confidence,
the substance of faith, like those disciples on the road
to a maze, we thought, we thought, we thought, we trusted, we hoped,
we believed, we believed. They had their beliefs, didn't
they? But when they saw him, it was all figured out. Why, when the prophet said, the
prophet in Christ opened and revealed the word himself to
them, oh, oh, now we see the light in the light of his word. A person, a person, not a doctor,
a person. God became a man, and everything
he is is the ground of my faith of my life. It's my confidence. Everything he is, is evidence. He has the evidence proven. But
things not seen, I'm justified. How do you know? You can't see
them, but they're there. Evidence. Things not seen. Everything he said is my hope.
Everything he said, I hope to be in glory some day. I hope
to be in glory. I like to call heaven glory.
Why? Because Scripture says Christ
is our hope of glory. Christ is glory. When I shall stand and shall
look on his face, that will be glory for me. Whom he did foreknow, he did
predestinate. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified by faith. Whom he justified,
he glorified. Past tense. See Christ. See Christ. I see. I see. A person. Ground and confidence. Mark,
write it down. You look it up yourself sometime.
verses 3 through 6, he talks about, oh, the gospel, the hope
of our glory, Christ, Christ, the hope of our glory. He asked
Paul what he hoped for. And you could go to Philippians
3 and Paul would say, the things he hoped for, he said, oh, that
I might win him, win Christ as a person. Oh, that I might know more about
him. Oh, that I might be found in
him, not having mine own righteousness. Oh, that I might know the power
of his resurrection, and be made conformable to his death." See,
that's personal. I hope to be in glory some day
because my hope is in glory. Get that? I hope to be in glory
some day because my hope is glory. My hope's in glory and is glory.
Glory is my hope. Christ is my God's is holy. Christ
is my holiness. My sins have separated me. Christ
reconciled me. Christ in me, Christ for me,
Christ with me. Christ, Christ, Christ is the
ground of my hope, the evidence of things not seen. What things
don't we see? The evidence of things not seen. Well, I don't see the blood. Anybody see the blood? Children of Israel. Got to talk about the blood first,
don't we? Because that is salvation. Children of Israel sitting in
those houses, not a one of them saw the blood. Not a one of them. Moses didn't see the blood. Sitting
in the house, who saw the blood? God saw the blood. He said, when
I see the blood, I'll pass it on. I don't see the blood. Oh,
but it's there. It's there right now on the mercy
seat. What's the mercy seat? It's not
a what, it's a who. It's a person's blood, not lamb blood of bulls
and goats. It's a person. Seated right there. I don't see him. He's there.
But there is evidence. There's evidence of things not
seen. Righteousness. You don't see these things. Listen,
you don't see these things. You don't see righteousness.
You don't see God. You don't see Christ. You don't see the
Holy Spirit, do you? Is there no evidence? Oh, yes,
there sure is. Evidence of things not seen.
Holy Spirit evidence? Oh, there's fruit everywhere.
You can see it. Tree, there's fruit. Can't see
the tree, but you can sure see the fruit. The branches. Can't
you? Can't see the roots, but you
can sure see the fruit. Oh, there's evidence. Righteousness, peace,
joy, affection, these are things not seen, yet they are things
that are seen. Righteousness, we just read in
2 Peter chapter 1, can you see righteousness? Christ is my righteous,
imputed to me, my hope of heaven. Is Christ him, who he is and
what he did? And Peter said in 2 Peter, One,
that through this righteousness of our God and Savior, He's given
unto us, He's made us partakers of this divine nature. I see
the righteousness of God in some of you people. It's evident. It is. It's evident. It's evident
you're not trusting your own righteousness, but you're trusting
Christ, and it's evident that you're walking like Him. Oh,
you're not like y'all do, but you are. I see that. Life of Christ. It's real. You
see what I'm saying, Sherry? What he's saying here? When God
said, I'm going to clean them up, does he mean just in theory? Huh? Doctrine? I'm going to clean them up. That's
just a legal term. Is that what he meant? Huh? Is
that what he meant, Ed? Just a legal term. When God cleans something, my daughter and I, yesterday,
my wife went on one of her tears, her cleaning tears, you know,
she gets on those every now and then, just, oh man, and we try
to help her and it's, she likes things like she likes them, cleaned
up and all that. And when she cleans things, they're
clean. When God cleans something, when God says, I'm going to clean
them up, Does he do it? Or is it just
in theory? He makes a new man. A new man. So much so, you don't even recognize
him. That's reality. That's substance.
That's evidence. That's evidence. Peace. Peace
is not a theory. Like we were saying, you can't
face death on a theory. There's going to
be a real person sitting on the bed beside you. Yes sir, yes ma'am. Stephen,
I love this story. Don't you, Stephen? They were
burying his brains out with rocks. Boom, boom, it was hurting him.
He was hurting, bleeding. And he, he said he looked up
and I see Christ standing there. At my theory, somebody was saying,
I'm here. Stephen said, throw the rocks. I'm in the rock. Throw them with me. Hasten me
to the rock that is higher than I. He couldn't say, well, I believe
in sovereign grace. Could he? That wouldn't do it.
Oh, there's the sovereign Christ. Sovereign grace won't keep you. I've seen too many people leave
that bleed sovereign grace, much as I love the term. Much as I
stand up here and say, I believe sovereign grace, I've seen far
too many people leave, but not any who believe the sovereign
Christ. Joy. Can't you see joy? Or can you? Can you? Oh, you know, I preach
the gospel sometimes. I have some people say to me,
I appreciate it, or it was a good sermon. Then I see some people in the
course of preaching it, joy. That's what I look for. You ask
me what I look for in people? If I believe God's done something
for me while I'm preaching this gospel, that's what I look for. I look for light in the eyes,
recognition. I see what you're saying. I look
for just a little, just a hint of joy. You know, when you see
somebody you love, you can't help but smile. And there he
is. Damn it! Can you see joy? Well, yes and no. I see Christ's
preacher. I see Christ. There he is. Oh,
how I rejoice in the gospel. Affection. Affection. Love. Can you see it? Is love a theory? Is love a theory? They are supposed to quit. Is
love a doctrine? No. Love's a life. Love's a life. And you don't quit loving until
you're dead. Is that right? That's the reason
I say. It's not believing Doctrine and
theory are in principle, it's its substance, evidence, a thing
that's fruitless. Faith is substance and faith
is Christ, the person, the ground, confidence, hope. Faith is evidence,
it has evidence, clear evidence, just real clear evidence, shows
itself. All right, Joe, what's that?
388, 388, saying the first, second, and
fourth verses, first, second, fourth verses, let's I am. I am. I need my living day. Quiet and
tender, only a bed. All of my prayers, only a bed. Have I no labor? Have I no will? I said in faith, here with my
spirit, here I shall be, for I know He always lives in me. Thank you and you're dismissed. That's what I get for being a
son of a bitch.