Mystery of faith

If you have a marker, I have two things I'd like for you to mark. One is my text in 1 Timothy 3. The other marker, and I won't be reading this, but I want you to mark it and read it when you get home. I'm just gonna tell you what it says. But that's Numbers chapter 19. I want to say how much I appreciate you having me here this evening for your sacrifice to come out here and hear me. And I want to say thanks to your pastor and his wife for putting us up in his home.

My past experiences with the gospel were not They were quite the opposite of that. The Lord called me out of rank Arminianism. And oh, how they hated the gospel. I was preaching and asking questions about this and that. And my cousin said, I'd like for you to come and hold a meeting for us. And I said, I knew what kind of church he pastored. just a free will Baptist church. And I told him, I said, you know, this might not be a good idea. Oh, he said, yeah, he said, they'll be okay as long as you stay between the covers of this book. And I said, well, I don't have anything to preach outside of that. So I preached from Romans chapter nine.

Between the two covers, right? The next morning before daylight, I hear somebody walking out on my porch, and I look out the window, and it's my cousin. This was the first night of the meeting. It was Friday night, Saturday morning. He was pacing back and forth. And I opened the door, and I said, what's going on? And he said, well, the church told me if you come back, I can't. And I said, well, what did you tell them? He said, well, I guess you better stay home.

But since then I've met so many dear souls all over the world who love this gospel, hope in this gospel, rejoice in this gospel. And I sure appreciate it and thank God for it. I believe they truly love God, they love Christ, they love his gospel, his people, and his word. And I don't see how you can love one without loving the rest of it. It all goes together, don't it?

May the Lord be pleased to use me to encourage this little assembly and your pastor and honor our Lord and Savior and the messages that I hope to bring. In seeking the messages for rescue and for here, I came across this passage in 1 Corinthians 4. Your pastor quoted chapter 3, the last verses, all things are yours. And then he says in this first verse of chapter 4, let a man sow a count of us. That sow refers back to that all things being yours. He said, let a man so account of us. This is God's ascension gift is what Paul is saying.

Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ, bond slaves, bond slaves of Christ. Set apart for the ministry. What ministry? 2 Corinthians chapter 5 says it's the ministry of reconciliation. He hath given us the ministry of reconciliation. Not the reconciling of men to God. Christ did that. He reconciled, as Paul said, in the body of His flesh through death and presented us unblameable and unreprovable in His eye. That's not what he's talking about. Our ministry is, in fact, to reconcile men and women to that reconciliation. That's what we're doing. We're trying to tell folks this is the way, the only way. There is no other way.

Be you reconciled to God. This is God. He said, to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. What world? What world? Gentiles, heathens, pagans, that's us. Idolaters, a world of fallen, depraved sinners, yet chosen, beloved, and made full provision for in Christ.

Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ. takes that glorious gospel, Paul said, and he puts it in an earthen vessel. I was preaching one time, and I got a little carried away, and I was with Brother Mahan in that meeting, and I said, Brother Henry, I said, would you like to go back a few years and take back some things that you said? He said, I'd like to go back this morning and take back some things that I said. But this treasure, it's a treasure. There's nothing wrong with the treasure. The treasure is perfect, but he puts it in earthen vessels.

And there's a reason for that, that the excellency, the power might be of the Lord and not of us. I began to look into his word and I discovered that he speaks of the mysteries of God. We're ministers of Christ and, see that and there? We're stewards of the mysteries of God.

Mysteries, I have not seen, isn't that what Paul says in chapter two? I have not seen or heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things that God had prepared for them that love him. These mysteries, you're not gonna read this book and figure it out. That's not how it's gonna come, it's not God's way.

He anoints men and makes them stewards of these mysteries. He reveals things to them that this world has never even imagined. Not in their wildest imagination have they ever had a thought of these things. And he reveals it to them and they declare it.

The mysteries of God's stewards. The mystery of his will. The mystery of God himself. The mystery of Christ. The mystery of the gospel. And this evening, Lord willing, I want to speak on the mystery of faith. The mystery of faith. Deceived and unlearned men use words like saving faith. I've done that. Universal faith. Simple faith. Natural faith. Turn with me now to 1 Timothy chapter 3.

Paul's giving to Timothy, this is a pastoral epistle, and he's giving to Timothy the qualifications for deacons. Very similar to the qualifications that he gives for pastors. And in verse 9, he mentions a qualification that I don't very often hear. It's very often overlooked during ordination services. They want to talk about him being the husband of one wife and his children being in subjection and his wife being in subjection and they go down this big long list of things. But here it says, Holding the mystery, verse nine, holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience. This mystery. He holds this.

Now, I want to say this before I get into the message and forget it. The conscience, if I understand how it's used in Romans chapter one, tells us that we're guilty. When we do something wrong, your conscience bothers you, don't it? It tells you that this is wrong. You're not doing right. But here, the conscience says you're doing right. That's the difference. That's the difference. And I believe it's 2 Corinthians chapter 4. He said he submits his message to your conscience in the sight of God.

And you know what happens when he does that? When his people hear the truth, they say, that's right. That's right. I used to have an old logger, he's dead now of brain cancer, but I used to, he'd come in, had wood chips on him. He'd come in on Wednesday night, right out of the woods, because he didn't want to miss the Bible study. And he'd listen and when the Lord revealed something to him, he'd say, that's right. And he'd point his finger.

I like that because that's exactly what happens. That's exactly what happens. Holding the mystery of faith and a pure conscience. He reveals those things to you and that conscience sees the harmony. His mind and heart sees the harmony of these things in the character of God and in the word of God. And it has to be right. It has to be right. And he says that this deacon is to hold these things.

What's he talking about? He's talking about holding them as something given to him of God. God hands you something and you take it. Lay hold, he said, of eternal life. Well, you can't do that if God don't give it, but when he gives it, you lay hold. So hold it as a gift given of God, and you hold it as something that you don't intend to lose. It's precious, come from God. Hold it in such a way that others can see it. and hold it because without it you don't have a ministry.

So what makes faith such a mystery? This whole religious world says that it's not. It's just common. I don't know how many times that pastors have told me, well, just believe, just believe. As though I could reach in my pocket and take out faith. What makes faith Such a mystery. Well, it's a mystery as to what it is. Men and women don't know what faith is. I didn't know what faith was. I'd heard the term, even used the term, but I didn't understand what it was.

In Hebrews 11.1, it says faith is. You ever read that? Not faith ought to be, faith is. Well, what is it? It's the substance of things hoped for. And it's the evidence of things not seen. As far as I know, this is the only definition given of faith in the Word of God. He pictures it. He examples it. He points to Christ who's faithful. But this is the only definition. You can't see it with the natural eye, yet it's the substance of everything we hope for. It's invisible to men, yet a viable evidence of things freely given to us of God.

Well, how do I know the truth about the fall of man or the promises of God or the counsels of God The Christ of God, I believe. What do you believe? I believe God. I believe God. Faith is a mystery as to what it is. And secondly, faith is a mystery as to how it's acquired. Where's faith come from? Faith is the gift of God, isn't that what it says? By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves.

Well, if it's not of ourselves, why do men keep telling us to look in here to find it? It's not in there. I'll tell you what's in here, a black hole, a bottomless pit. You'll search and hunt and search and you won't find anything. Darkness, that's all you're gonna find.

Faith is the gift of God. It's not of works lest any man should boast. Give him one thing to do in salvation and for all eternity that man would stand in the corner of heaven and brag on that. One thing I can say. Oh no, not one thing. He's not gonna let you have one thing. And listen to this, four. Here's a because, here's a four.

We're his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. He's not talking about how much money you give here. He's talking about these good works, faith and repentance. Charity. James tells us this, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above And comes down from the Father of light, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Does God give gifts? Yes.

Well, he gave them back then, but this is today, so everything's changed. Now what this is, this is nothing's changed. He don't change. There's no reason for him to change, he's all wise. Nobody can thwart what He does. He's almighty. There's no reason for God to change, and He don't change. And I can tell you the truth.

You know, we talk about the revelation of the Spirit. Do you understand that the revelation of the Spirit comes through the preaching of the Gospel? That's the revelation of the Spirit. We don't stand here and preach and give you some options and then you go home and get in your closet and the Holy Spirit opens your head and starts giving you all these answers. The revelation comes through the preaching of the gospel. That is the revelation.

That's why He's a steward of these mysteries. These mysteries all together are the gospel. The mystery of God and the mystery of Christ, Godliness, mystery of marriage. This is a great mystery. And I can tell you the truth and I can point you to Christ, but only God can give you faith. And then thirdly, here's another thing that makes faith a mystery. The union of faith and of the mind and hearts of men. I can't, I can't, I've hunted for years. You cannot find where God stops and man starts.

So much so that Paul looked at those Philippians and he said, he's pinning this letter out inspired by the Holy Ghost and he's pinning it out and he said, work out your own salvation. That's exactly what I tell our folks when I'm done. Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling. For it's God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now, when you believe, you're gonna call it your faith. And rightfully so, it is yours. But you didn't have it till God give it to you. Oh, Paul thanked the Father, didn't he? That he made us meat. to be partakers of what? Enlightened saints. Or saints in light, it's the same thing.

There's an intertwining with the hearts and minds of men by the spirit, and you can't explain it. It's just so. One day you don't know something, the next day you do. And you try to backtrack. Well, what happened? What made the difference? The spirit of the living God, that's who made the difference. I've had two, I got two letters one time in the mail. One was thanking me so much and rejoicing over the gospel that he heard. The other one, I wouldn't even tell you the words he used. It was awful, it was awful. I've let a few men read the letter. It's just horrible what he had to say.

How can two men hear the same message and one of them rejoice and be thankful before God and the other one absolutely despise it? Because God gives them, he makes them meet to be partakers of enlightened saints. He opens their minds and hearts. And then fourthly, faith is a mystery as to men's need of it. The reason this place ain't packed tonight is because people don't have the need. They don't see the need. That's the mystery.

Why is your master sitting there with public... Boy, if he knew who that woman was, he wouldn't be sitting there and she wouldn't be touching him. And why is he eating with publicans and sinners? Our Lord heard it. And he went to him and he said, let me ask you some questions. He said, first of all, the whole don't need the physician, the sick. If you had a need, you'd understand why I'm down here. You don't even know you have a need. I'm not coming to call the righteous. I'm coming to call sinners to repentance. Now he said, you go learn what this means. I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. Faith is a mystery in men's need of it. False religion has convinced this present evil world that faith is something common in all men. They don't need anything. I can be saved anytime I want to. I've actually had people tell me that. I can be saved anytime I want to. I said, do you want to?

No. No. Isn't that something? 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 2, Paul prays that we might be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for all men have not faith. You know who has faith? Those that he gives it to. You know why he gives it? Jesus Christ. He bought the right for you to hear, didn't he? And here's something that men, I just can't get over it. Faith is a miracle of God. Do you know that? It's a miracle. It's a miracle. I'm truly, after many years of preaching, still awed at the faith of God's elect.

I had a man, you've met him, Larry Combs, kind of heavyset man. And Larry came and he left. Oh, he was madder than a wet hornet. He went to school with one of our members and he invited him and he came. He was going to Cowboy Church. I don't know if you know what that is, but you really don't want to. Anyway, that's where he was going. He got invited. He came and he was madder than a wet hornet. He went home stomping. He called Gene up and he said, I just, I'm never going back there. And Gene said, well, wait a minute, Larry. He said, they don't charge admission. You can come back. It's not going to cost you anything. Why don't you come back?

Maybe you misheard something or didn't hear enough. And he came back and he sat there and he was still pretty angry, but he listened. And this time he listened and took notes. About the fourth time I looked back there and Larry was sitting there in a big tears. He don't miss a service. Aren't you awed by that? I'm telling you, I'm awed when I see it. Because I've experienced it. I know what it is.

There was some folks in the Bible, they saw the miracles of Christ. They saw this little lad, Had a little lunch bucket, had a few fish and loaves in it. And there was 5,000 men besides the women and children. He fed them all with those few fishes and loaves. And then he disappeared out of their sight. They found him the next day and they said, what can we do to work the works of God? What can we do? Who can we feed? Who can we, what can we do?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, now watch this. This is the work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent. Here, you want to see a miracle? You want to experience a miracle? Here it is. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how awesome and wonderful it is to see a chosen sinner turn loose of this world and lay hold of Christ. And then fifthly, faith is a mystery as to how it's dispensed. How do men and women acquire faith?

Well, you ain't gonna find it in your app store. Turn with me to Romans chapter 10. I know you're familiar with these verses, but I want to drive this nail one more time. Romans chapter 10, Paul's talking about how faith is revealed and what it does and how it works. In verse 8, he says, the word is nigh thee. It's even in your mouth and in your heart. This is the word of faith which we preach. And he said, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, verse 13, shall be saved.

But how you gonna call on him in whom you have not believed? And how you gonna believe in him of whom you not heard? And how you gonna hear without a preacher? I'm not asking these questions, God is. And how's he gonna preach? He don't know anything.

We were doing a study on Gideon over in the book of Judges. And the Lord, he said, I'm with you. He said, with us? We have to hide behind the rocks up here to plant wheat, to make a loaf of bread. What do you mean you're with us? And he said, you're a valiant man and I've appointed you to save Israel. He said, save Israel? I'm from the weakest, least tribe in Israel. How am I gonna say? And finally the Lord looked, he said, Gideon. Surely I go with you. You don't think I was gonna send you by yourself. Surely I go, same thing he told Moses, wasn't it? Moses began to question, I can't talk clear, I can't do the, I can't, been there and done that, haven't you?

How am I gonna pastor a church? How am I gonna preach? How am I gonna do, how am I gonna understand this book? This book's a mystery. Surely I go with you. How they gonna preach except they'd be sent. So then, verse 17, Romans chapter 10. So then, here's the conclusion, faith cometh by hearing. Now I want you to notice something here. He didn't say it came, he said it cometh. Faith continues to come. It has a beginning. I won't argue that. It does have a beginning and it's a glorious thing when it does. But you soon find out you can't chew on that bread. You're gonna have to have more bread. And it cometh. How does it come?

Same way it came the first time. By hearing. Hearing. And hearing by the word of God. Peter said this. He was talking about men being born again. He said they're born again Not a corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the word of God. Verse 23, 1 Peter 1. But then in verse 25, he said, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. That's how faith is born. And then he goes on down in the next chapter and he said, if so be you tasted. And you'll taste. If he gives you faith, you're gonna have to eat again.

Faith is a mystery as to how it's acquired. He calls them ministers by whom you believe, stewards, Paul said. If you've heard of the stewardship of the grace of God given me to youward, having made known unto me the mystery of Christ. And then sixthly, faith is a mystery as to its nature. All true faith is saving faith. There's no other kind. No other kind. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Isn't that what it says over there in Ephesians chapter four?

Now there is in the book of Numbers, that's where I had you mark your place, And you can read it and check me out when you get home. But the people were commanded to bring a red heifer, a female cow. As far as I know, it's the only female sacrifice that I've read about in the Old Testament. I could be wrong, but I don't recall another. But they were to bring a female cow, a red heifer. And it was to be without spot and blemish, Never under a yoke. Wasn't by her own works. Simply put, they never did anything, no kind of work. And the red heifer was given to the high priest. Man brought it, said, here it is, hand him. Then the high priest would lead the heifer outside the camp. Not to the tabernacle, not to the altar, but outside the camp.

Then she is slain before his eyes. He stands and watches and she's slain. And then he takes his finger and he dips it in the blood and he goes over where the tabernacle is and he sprinkles it before the tabernacle. The tabernacle is the tent in which salvation is accomplished. He sprinkles his blood seven times.

Means complete or perfect. And then she was put, thrown into the fire. Her skin, her flesh, her blood, even her dung, everything thrown into the fire. Burnt until nothing was left but ashes. Now hear what I'm gonna tell you. You know what ashes mean? It means the fire's gone out. The fire's gone out. Not gonna be any more burning. Not gonna be any more condemnation. The fire's gone out. And while she was burning, they were to add cedar, cedar wood.

Why? Because this sacrifice was gonna be a sweet smelling savor to God. And they were gonna take hyssop and throw it in. Why that? That tells you something about what this sacrifice was gonna be, how it's gonna be, it's gonna be sprinkled. He sprinkles with hisses, didn't he? And scarlet, though your sins be like scarlet, I'll make them white as snow. And then the ashes, the fire goes out, the ashes were gathered up and put in a clean place.

Outside the camp. Where's that? Well, to me, that's speaking of the local church. The local church. Puts it in a clean place outside the camp. So what's this picture showing us? Well, I see in this the testimony of our death in Christ. Isn't that what Paul said? I was crucified with Christ. He's my high priest. I'm not worried about what men think, but I was crucified before his eyes. That's what's important. It's his seeing what took place, not so much mine. It's his confidence, his satisfaction, not mine. I see the testimony of our death in Christ outside the camp, and the ashes speak of what's left after our death in Christ. The evidence.

These ashes were a testimony of the death of the defiled. The death of the defiled. They were unclean. And then watch this, these ashes, now somebody touches a dead person or they touch the grave in which a dead person lay, you can read the account there, there's a whole list of things, unclean, they were defiled. And they were to put these ashes in a clean place.

And then when the defiled come, to be cleansed, a clean man. Who's that? That's a man sanctified by God and called to handle the ashes, which is nothing in the world but the gospel. And he calls a man, he ordains that man, he sanctifies that man, and he gives him, he puts the ashes in the vessel. But that's not where it ends. He puts water in there. He tells us what the water is. It's the water of the word that washes, isn't it? But that's not sufficient either. That's not enough yet. It has to be running water.

That's the spirit of the living God, working in that vessel. Here's the ashes, here's the running water, the sweet savor, it's all there. And he takes it and sprinkles it. When does he do it? On the third day. You know what that means. That's speaking of the resurrection of Christ. But that's not the end of it either. He has to wait till the seventh day. The seventh day. What's that? That's the day God rested in him.

This sprinkling's gonna be sufficient and you're gonna rest. Now, if you get sprinkled on the third day, but not on the seventh, you're still unclean. That's what that says in Numbers 19. You're gonna be sprinkled on the third day, and you're gonna be sprinkled again on the seventh. You're gonna be sprinkled once for your defilement, and secondly for your rest.

And it's sufficient. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, Paul said, I live. I live. Peter wrote a letter. He addressed it to God's elect. And then he qualifies his greeting. He said, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. And then your pastor read this to you. If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified to, it purified the flesh. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead work to serve the living God? So where does the gospel fit in?

Well, Paul tells us over in 2 Thessalonians 2.13. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel. That's the sprinkling, isn't it? Oh, I love what he told the Corinthians. Yvonne and I was talking about that today. That'd be the last place I'd go to start a church. That little isthmus where Corinth was, man, that was a rowdy place. What they practiced there, I don't even think they would practice in Galatia or anywhere else. It was horrible.

And Paul describes it. You can read it over in the book of I Corinthians. He describes it. And he said, you need to know this. He said, you drunkards and harlots and idolaters and abusers of yourself with mankind. He got a big long list. There goes two or three verses. And then he says this, and such were some of you but you're sanctified. You're sprinkled. You're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. You're washed, you're clean. And then lastly, and I'll hurry, faith is a mystery as to its power.

As many as received him, John said, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. He didn't say he gave them power because they believed. He said they believed because he gave them power. Gave them power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name, which were born, not of blood, not because they were Jews, nor of the will of the flesh, no free will in men, nor of the will of man, not because somebody else wanted me to, but of God, of God. Paul said to those saints at Corinth, he said, we're not sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves.

Our sufficiency is of God who has made us able ministers, how? by the power of his spirit. The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. You ever just sit and think about this? The spirit is God. It's God. It's not God giving us a nudge. That's how religion talks about the spirit. It's not God giving us a little evidence. This is God. But what you do, He takes up His abode in us. How do I know that? Because He speaks of Christ. He won't speak of Himself. He's not in here saying, I'm the Spirit. You hear some man talking about the Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit. He don't know the Spirit of God. When He comes, He's not gonna speak of Himself. He's gonna take of the things of mine, and what's He gonna do? Show them to you. Gonna take these mysteries and say, that's it. That's it.

As best this preacher can tell it, this is the mystery of faith. And we hold it in a pure conscience. We see these things as they're accomplished in Christ, see these things as they're given by a perfect God. We see these things not only given to us, but given to us of one who calls himself our father, our father. and we see Him in perfect harmony with His character. There's no compromise. God hasn't compromised. We see Him just and justifier, don't we? Oh, my soul, may the Lord have mercy on us and teach us something about these mysteries. Thank you.

Mystery of faith

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Mystery of faith

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