What a thought! The few more
rolling suns at most shall land me safe on Canaan's coast. There I shall sing of sovereign
grace to Jesus Christ, my hiding place. The gospel is about God giving
and us receiving. I want to repeat that. The gospel
is about God giving and us receiving. James said every good gift and
perfect gift is from above. and cometh down from the Father
of lights, in whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning." Why,
faith itself is the gift of God. It's not something you conjured
up. It is His gift. Now, when God gives something
to somebody, they always receive it. And if you don't receive
it, it's because He never gave it. Everything God gives, whoever
He gives it to, they receive. The Gospel is about God giving
and us receiving. I've entitled this message, Faith,
The Receiving Grace. It is faith that receives what
God gives. Notice verse 11 says, through
faith also Sarah herself received strength. She received strength
to conceive seed. Now in this wonderful chapter,
we find out that it is through faith we obtain a good report,
and this is God's report. Verse 2, for by it, by faith,
the elders obtained a good report. Verse 3 says through faith we
understand. There's no spiritual understanding
apart from God-given faith until I believe. I won't have any understanding. Verse 4, By faith, Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than gain, by which he obtained
witness that he was righteous. It's through faith that everyone
who receives it and believes, they're righteous before God. Every single one of them. Through
faith, we are righteous. Verse 5, By faith, in it was
translated that he should not see death, and was not found,
because God had translated him. For before his translation, he
had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith, it's
impossible to please Him. Now, do you hear what that says?
By faith, through faith, everybody who possesses this faith being
spoken of, pleases God. If I believe right now God looks
at me, and He's well pleased, and that's enough to make you
want to believe, isn't it? Verse 7, by faith, Noah, being
warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear and prepared
an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith,
we see things that other folks don't see. He was warned of God
of things not seen as yet. We see things that other folks
don't see. And we become heir, an heir of
God through the righteousness which is by faith. Verse 8, by
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which
he had asked to receive for an inheritance, obeyed. You see,
it's faith that obeys. There's no obedience without
saving faith. By faith, verse 9, he sojourned
in the land of promise as in a strange country. It's faith
that makes us dwell as a stranger and a pilgrim here. You have
a different view of this world if you have faith. This world
is not your home. You're only passing through,
waiting for that time where you're brought into the presence of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what faith does. Verse
11, through faith also, Sarah herself received strength to
conceive seed. and was delivered of a child
when she was past age because she judged him faithful that
had promised. Now, she received strength to
do that which was impossible. She had already gone completely
through menopause. It was impossible for her to
have a baby. And the scripture says regarding
Abraham, he was as good as dead. And you know what I thought of?
I thought of me and Lynn. Why did you think of me and Lynn?
Well, Lynn has had a complete hysterectomy. It would be impossible
for her to have a child. And when I took chemotherapy,
I became completely sterile. If you ever wonder why I only
had one baby, that's why. After that, there was no other
option. Now, if Lynn and I had a baby, what would it be? It would be a complete miracle
of God. Now, let me ask you a question.
Is God able to make us have a baby? I don't want one. Is God able to make us have a
baby? Is he able to create the universe?
Did he create the universe? Did he bring about something
from nothing? Of course he did. For Abraham and Sarah to have
a baby, it would be like me and Lynn having a baby. It would
be a miracle of God. Now, she received strength to
do that which was impossible. And the scripture says she judged
him faithful who had promised. God promised he would do it.
And is there anything too hard for the Lord? He asked that question.
Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Could God cause Lynn
and I to have a child? Of course he could. Of course
he could. He's God. With God, nothing should
be impossible. And she judged him faithful.
He's utterly faithful. She judged him faithful. Verse
12. Therefore, scream there, even
of one, and him as good as dead, he was an old man. So many as
the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the
seashore, Now, this word, therefore, is very important. This wouldn't
have happened if she didn't believe. Now, do you hear what I said?
It would not have happened if she did not believe. Now, it
didn't come to pass because of her faith. It happened because
of the power and faithfulness of God. But He always works through
faith. By grace are you saved through Now, it's not the faith that
saves, it's the grace that saves. Grace saves through faith. And you know, Abraham had the
same type of faith. Turn back, hold your finger there, and turn
back to Romans chapter 4. Look what's said of Abraham. Verse 17. Romans chapter 4, verse
17. As it is written, I have made
thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believeth,
even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things
which be not as though they were, who against hope, who would not
even hope that Sarah would have a baby. believed in hope that
he might become the father of many nations according to that
which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in
faith, he considered not his own body, now dead when he was
about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb,
he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded
that what God had promised. He was able also to perform. Now, I think it will be interesting
to put the Old Testament and New Testament accounts side by
side and look at them. Let's read Hebrews chapter 11,
verse 11. Once again, then I want to turn
to Genesis chapter 18. Through faith, verse 11. Through
faith, also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and
was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she
judged him faithful who had promised." Now, there's the New Testament
account. Now, turn to Genesis chapter 18. Genesis chapter 18, beginning in verse 9. Now, this is when the Lord appeared
to Abraham. with two angels before they were
going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Verse 9, And they said unto him,
Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
And he said, This is the Lord Jesus speaking to Abraham. And
he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time
of life. And lo, Sarah thy wife shall
have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him. And Abraham and Sarah were old
and well stricken in age. And it ceased to be with Sarah
after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed within
herself, saying, After I'm waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my
Lord, being old also? And this is the laugh of being
incredulous. This was not the laugh of joy.
This was the laugh of doubt. This was the laugh of unbelief.
This was the laugh of cynicism. And let me show you why I know
that so. Let's go on reading. Verse 13, And the Lord said unto
Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety
bear a child which am old? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? You see, he knew what she was
doing. She was laughing in unbelief. She was incredulous concerning
this thing taking place. He said, at the time appointed,
I will return unto thee according to the time of life, and Sarah
shall have a son. And look here, then Sarah denied.
Say, I laugh not. She lies right to the Lord, right
in His presence. She said, I didn't laugh. But
she was afraid. I reckon, I understand, I would
have been afraid too. She was afraid. And he said, nay, But
thou didst laugh. I've got a question for you.
Is this the same story? If you read the account in Hebrews
chapter 11 and if you read the account in Genesis chapter 18,
is this the same story? Yes. The Old Testament gives
the story from our perspective. And the New Testament gives the
story from God's perspective. Both of them are true. The Old
Testament gives the story of the old nature. The New Testament
gives the story of the new nature. Both accounts are true, although
they seem to be very contradictory, don't they? Both accounts are
true, One is the count of the new nature, and the other is
the count of the old nature. Now, don't be too hard on Sarah. She's a whole lot like me and
you, isn't she? Now, here's a fact. When we believe,
quite often it cannot be seen. The flesh covers it up. When
you read this account of Sarah in Genesis chapter 18, you wouldn't
see any faith here, would you? Kind of like Lot. When we read
of Lot in the Old Testament, if the New Testament didn't tell
us he was a believer, we'd think he wasn't a believer by what
we see. Now, the Old Testament is the flesh's account. And quite
often, even when there's true saving faith because of the flesh,
it cannot be seen. But Sarah had faith, and God's
account is accurate. What God sees, when God says
something, this is the way it really is. Through faith, Sarah
received strength. She was given grace to do that
which is impossible. Through faith, she received strength
to conceive seed. She received the strength to
do the impossible. And that's what faith does. Now
look in Mark chapter 9 with me. Mark chapter 9. Beginning in verse 14. And when he came to his disciples,
he saw a great multitude about them. And the scribes questioning
with him. And straightway all the people,
when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted
him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with him? And
one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought
unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit, and wheresoever
he taketh him, he teareth him, and he foameth and gnasheth with
his teeth, and pineth away. And I spake to thy disciples
that they should cast him out, and they could not. He answered him and said, O faithless
generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer
you? Bring him unto me. And they brought
him unto him, and when he saw him, straightway the Spirit tear
him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming And he
asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him?
And he said, of a child, and oft times it hath cast him into
the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if thou canst
do anything, have compassion on us and help us. If thou canst do anything. That's
not the way to address the Lord. If thou canst do it. He's speaking
to omnipotence. He's speaking to the one who
spake the world into existence. He's speaking to the one who
controls everything. If thou canst do anything. And look how the Lord answers
him. And Jesus said unto him. He turns the tables. If thou
canst believe. all things are possible to him
that believeth. There's the problem. In straight
way, the father of the child cried out with tears and said,
Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. You ever prayed that prayer?
Lord, I Help thou mine unbelief. It's always there. Let's look
at Matthew's account of the same story in Matthew chapter 17.
Verse 18. And Jesus rebuked the devil and
he departed out of him and the child was cured from that very
hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said, why
could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, because
of your unbelief. That's why the reason you were
unable to cast out these demons is because of your unbelief. You see, unbelief makes the impossible
stay impossible. But all things are possible to
him that believeth. Look with me in Mark chapter
6. Verse 2, And when the Sabbath
day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing
him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these
things? And notice the word man is in
italics. They don't think he's even fit
to be called a man. And what wisdom is this which is given
unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
Is not this the carpenter? the son of Mary, the brother
of James, and Joseph, and of Judah, and Simon, and are not
his sisters here with us. And they were offended at him.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in
his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands
upon a few sick folk, and healed them, and he marveled because
of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages
teaching. Now did you notice there, it
said in this place of unbelief, it says, He could there do no
mighty works. Now what does that mean? He was
unable to do. Hear of this bunch of unbelieving
people. They were so skeptical. They
said, is not this the carpenter? Where did these works come from
him? They were filled with unbelief. And the scripture says he there
could do no mighty works because of their unbelief. Now, does
that mean that his hands were tied and he was unable to do
what he wanted to do because of their unbelief? Now, if you
know who he is, you know better than that. As a matter of fact,
turn with me to Luke chapter one. Let me show you that. Luke chapter 1. Now, the angel has appeared to
Zacharias to tell him that he is going to bear John the Baptist,
the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we read in verse
18 and Zacharias, Luke chapter 1, and Zacharias said unto the
angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife
well stricken in years. And the angel answering said
unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God,
and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.
And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak unto the
day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest
not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. Now,
he was filled with unbelief. And the angel says, you're not
even going to be able to speak, because what I said to you shall
be performed. So that lets me know that this
thing of him not being able to do mighty works in that thing
of unbelief was not because his hands were tied and he was unable
to do it. What's it say? The Lord is saying
he will not work through unbelief. He won't do it. I think if you
go on reading that passage in Mark chapter 6, he marvels. He marveled at their unbelief.
Unbelief is an amazing thing. Not trusting the Son of God?
Not trusting His providence? Not trusting His power? Not trusting
His righteousness? Not trusting His grace? That's
amazing! That's amazing that we could
be unbelieving. He marveled at their unbelief. Now remember this message, faith,
the receiving grace. Faith the receiving grace. The gospel is about God giving
and us receiving. Who makes you to differ from
another and what do you have that you did not receive? Now receiving is a grace. It
takes grace to receive grace. Did you know that? You can't
even receive grace unless God gives you the grace to receive
it. John 3, 27 says a man can receive
nothing except it be given him from above. You and I cannot
even receive the grace of God unless God gives us the grace
to receive it. That's how dependent we are upon
His grace. First Corinthians 2, 9 says the
natural man, that's what we all are by nature, receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. For their foolishness unto him,
neither indeed can he learn them." He can't. He can't receive them. I can't receive unless he gives
me the grace to receive. Now, if you give me something,
I receive it. And if I don't receive it, you
never really gave it to me. You know, the Scripture says
it's more blessed to give than to receive, and God's the more
blessed one. He gives and we receive. Now, there's no merit in this
act of receiving. I remember talking to a fellow
one time, and I was trying to tell him about the grace of God,
how salvation is all of grace, and it doesn't have anything
to do with works. He said, oh, wait a minute. We've got to receive. We got to receive. I mean, that
counts for something. We got to receive. I mean, it's
God. And the way he's looking, God
offers his grace to everybody. He throws it out there. He died
for everybody, wants to save everybody. Shedded blood for
everybody. But it's up to you to receive
it or reject it. And your salvation is dependent
upon your reception or your rejection. That makes salvation the act
of your reception rather than what he did. That's foolishness. That's foolishness. For one thing,
if there's a man, let's say he's guilty of all kinds of crimes
against humanity, and he deserves to be destroyed, and he's on
death row, and the president, in his mercy, decides, I'm going
to pardon that man. What if that man said, well,
at least I received it? That's got to count for something.
At least I received it. No, I tell you what, if somebody acted that
way, I'd take away the pardon. You know, if I gave a beggar some
money and that beggar said, well, at least I received it, I'd take
it back. That is foolishness to think that the act of reception
is the act of salvation. I mean, that's just, men will
make a work out of anything, won't they? They're always trying
to make salvation by works, but that's not the way it is. It
takes the grace of God to receive grace. Now, all that being said,
Faith does receive. And if I don't receive what God
gives, He never gave it to me. Faith receives. John 12 and 13 says, but as many
as received Him. To them gave ye power to become
the sons of God, even to them which believe on His name. Now
you see they receive Him. What's it mean to receive Him?
It means to believe on His name. If you believe on His name as
your only way into the presence of God, you've received Him. That's what people who receive
Him do. Just like Sarah, she received strength. The reason
she was enabled to do what she did was she received strength. Look in John chapter 1, verse
16. verse 16, and of his fullness. And let's talk about his fullness
for a minute. In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There's fullness of righteousness.
There's fullness of holiness. There's fullness of acceptance.
There's fullness of beauty. There's fullness of love. The
Father's love to him. Oh, the fullness. There's fullness
of deity. There's fullness of humanity.
All the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him dwells all
the fullness of the Godhead. I don't even know what all that
means, but it's glorious, isn't it? In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. Now, of His fullness have all
we received. I'm completing Him. You want the evidence of me being
saved by His righteousness? I receive it. I take it. I'm glad to be saved by what
He's done. I don't reject that. Being saved
by grace, I don't reject that. I'm glad it's that way. I receive
it. Of His fullness have we all received. Now, if you haven't received
it, He never gave it to you. If He gives it to you, You will
receive it. There's never an unrequited gift
by the master. Everything he gives, he never
gives something to somebody and says, I'm not going to take that.
No, if he gives it, you will receive it. And if you don't
receive it, he never gave it. John chapter 7, verse 37, we
read of receiving the Spirit of God. Acts 1.8, we read of
receiving power. If you believe, you receive power
to believe. Romans 1.5 says we receive grace for obedience.
You know, if you obey, it's because you received grace to obey. It's
because He gave you the grace to receive the grace to obey.
It's all Him. Acts chapter 10, verse 43 says
we receive the remission of sins. And Acts chapter 26, verse 18
says we receive the forgiveness of sins. We receive the forgiveness
of sins. This thing of forgiveness. I've
heard people say, you know, my problem is I just can't forgive
myself. Y'all can't get my hands grasped around that. Everything
that I felt bad about, I'd forgotten about. I always managed to forgive
myself. That's not the point. But I received
His forgiveness. His forgiveness. The fact that
He's actually blotted out my sins. I believe that. I believe
I stand before God right now. I receive this. It's to believe.
I receive His righteousness as my righteousness before God.
I receive His grace. Romans 5, 17 says we receive
abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. I receive this
abundance of grace. I receive, I'm glad, I love sovereign
grace. I love salvation being all of
grace, complete unmerited favor. I receive this as good news to
me. I receive the gift of righteousness. Righteousness. His righteousness
is a gift. I receive it. I am plumb satisfied
to be saved by the righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ. I
love to be saved that way. I don't want to be seen any other
way. We receive this. Galatians 4, 5 says we receive
the adoption of sons. Romans 8, 15 says you've not
received the spirit of bondage, again to fear, but the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 511 says
we receive the atonement or the reconciliation. God, listen to
me, God is reconciled in Christ. Everything that He requires of
me and expects of me, I have in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
reconciled. He doesn't have a reason to be
mad at me. In Christ, I receive it. I receive it. It comes as good
news. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse
12, you receive not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which of God that we might know the things freely given to us
of God. Now, this is this is what the
spirit of reception does. It receives the things freely
given. Do you receive free grace? Free, that means there's not
a reason that you forgot to give it to you. It's absolutely free. No strings Do you receive the
freeness of His grace? Do you receive the freeness of
His righteousness? The freeness of His salvation? When He died, He accomplished
the justification of His people. That means I'm not guilty. He
accomplished the complete sanctification of His people. I'm holy in Christ. And He accomplished the glorification
of His people. Whom He justified, then He also
glorified. Now, I don't experience it. But in Christ, I've got it. Because
if Christ is glorified, I am too. Do you receive that? Do you embrace that? Does it
come as good news? Now, she did that which is impossible. She received strength to conceive
seed because she judged Him. I tell you what, faith has got
good sense. She judged Him faithful who had
promised. You see, my salvation The salvation
of all God's people is according to God's promise. Not by our
works, but his promise. I'm saved because God promised
he'd save me. Not because of anything I've
done, but because he gave me to Christ. He said, I'm going
to save him. She judged him faithful. One to be utterly relied upon. She judged him faithful. Who
had promised. Sarah received strength. Now do you believe the gospel
right now? Do you? If you believe the gospel,
it's because you've received strength to do that which is
impossible. You believe God. It's impossible
for you to do that unless God gives you the grace to receive
it and to believe it. Sarah receives strength. He's thankful. I promised. Now remember, faith is the receiving
grace. Whatever God gives, you receive
through faith. Now, I don't know how to say
this the way I want to. I reckon the The best example
that comes to my mind is Romans chapter 6, verse 11, where Paul
says, Reckon yourselves. Talking to me, talking to you.
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, in my experience,
Sin doesn't seem very dead to me. But God says, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin. And if God says, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, there's only one reason. Because you
are, in fact, dead indeed to sin. And the only way you can
receive that is by faith. Believing what God has said. Believe God. That is what receives
all he has. Faith is the receiving grace. Now, we're going to observe the
Lord's table together. Bread and wine. The bread represents
his broken body, the wrath he endured. The wine represents
his blood, the forgiveness he procured. And so what we're doing
as we observe the Lord's table together, we are celebrating. I'm celebrating. And this is
for believers, it's only for believers. An unbeliever ought
not take the Lord's table. To eat and drink unworthily is
to bring damnation on yourself, the scripture says. It's not
discerning the Lord's body. To eat and drink unworthily is
to have no understanding of what you're doing. It's just to go
through a religious ceremony. But when I take the Lord's table,
I understand that his body was broken. because of my sin. I understand the reason God's
wrath came upon him was not because of his own sin. He had none. My sin became his. And he suffered wrath, the wrath
of God for that. But also understand that his
precious blood actually accomplished my salvation. It wiped away all
my sin and through his blood I stand perfect before God. And that's something to celebrate.
That's something to rejoice in. And I love this. You can't take
the Lord's table by yourself. It's something you do with his
people. It's an act of worship. It's corporate worship, whatever
you want to call it. It's God's people meeting together
and celebrating the life the death and the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Who's to take the Lord's table?
Everybody who believes. Period.