Matthew 9, and I want to begin
reading in verse 27. And when Jesus departed thence,
two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on us. And when He was come into the
house, The blind men came to him, and Jesus said unto them,
Believe ye that I am able to do this. They said unto him,
Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were
opened, and Jesus straightway charged them, saying, See that
no man know it, but they when they were departed spread abroad
his fame in all that country. My text is here in verse 28. The Lord Jesus said to these
two blind men that came to him to be healed, Believe you that
I am able to do this. And that's the title of our message
this afternoon, Faith in Christ's Ability. That's true faith. Faith in the ability of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Faith is a mysterious thing,
isn't it? A mysterious thing. You know,
it's one of the six mysteries that Paul lists, the mysteries
of godliness, He lists it right alongside of God being made flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh
and believed on in the world. What a mystery that is, that
anybody believes God, believes his word, believes him savingly. It's a mystery. Enough can't
be said about faith if it comes from the Scripture, because the
Scripture is full of the doctrine of faith. Faith will save you. Now, ain't that a mystery? Faith
will make you whole. The Lord Jesus spoke to this
woman here, just above our text, and said, Thy faith has made
thee whole. Paul said we're saved by grace
through faith. Another scripture says that faith
will justify you. Now, that's a mystery. Ain't
that a comforting mystery? That we're justified by faith
without anything else we do. Before we lift a finger to do
anything, any kind of work, our hearts believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and by faith in Him, we are justified from all things. Paul said we have believed in
Christ that we might be justified. Now what a comforting doctrine
that is if you have tried the most of your adult life to justify
yourself. By what you're doing, what a
relief of conscience it is to find out by faith in Jesus Christ
you're justified from everything. You're justified from everything. The Lord Jesus said all things
are possible to him that believeth. And what has been accomplished
because men believe God. You know the walls of Jericho
fell down because they believed God. By faith the walls of Jericho
fell down. Hebrews 11 tells us that they
subdued kingdoms through faith. They escaped the edge of the
sword through faith. They stopped the mouths of lions,
and out of weakness were made strong. Faith is a mysterious
thing. Paul said, we live by it. You got up out of your bed this
morning, and every spiritual step you've taken today has been
by faith. I live by faith in the Son of
God. We walk by faith. We stand by
faith. And we'll die in the faith. If
the Lord has given you grace to believe the Lord Jesus Christ,
then you know something? You'll die in that grace. You'll
die in that faith. He's all died in the faith. Faith pleases God. Without faith,
it's impossible to please Him. Faith pleases Him. No faith,
no pleasure to God. And here's an amazing thing,
in Acts 15, verse 9, Peter said, God put no difference between
us and the Gentiles, purifying their hearts by faith. You'll never get any purer in
this life but when you simply believe God. That's as holy as
you'll be, as pure as you'll be in this lifetime. The Bible says that faith glorifies
God. You say, boy, I want to live
a life to glorify God. Then believe Him. Abraham was
not weak in faith. He was strong in faith, wasn't
he? Giving glory to God. Up here just above my text, this
woman, We're told something here about her, something else about
faith, how it draws virtue out of the Savior. She said, if I
can only touch the hem of his garment, if I can touch his garment,
I'll be whole. W-H-O-L-E. She was sick, bleeding
to death for twelve years. She said, if I can just touch
his garment, I'll be made whole. And when she touched him, the
Lord Jesus said, Virtue is gone out of me. Something went out
of him. Strength went out of him. Merit
went out of him. Healing went out of him into
her. What was it that drew it out?
The touch of faith. Woman, your faith has made you
old. There is something, brothers
and sisters, so mysterious about faith, but it goes to Christ
and sucks from Him or draws from Him His grace and His merit. It is a mysterious thing. When
I was a kid growing up, we had this whale. It was a deep whale.
And it had a chain in the bucket. Some of you little children have
no idea what I'm talking about. Lately, you have no idea what
I'm talking about. But we used to have a deep well, and it had
a rope or a chain, and on the end of that chain, we'd have
this water bucket, and we'd let it down in the well. Remember
that? Then you'd hear it gurgle. And you'd pull that chain back
up. And boy, there was that fresh water coming deep out of that
well. And you know what? You couldn't
get water out of that well if you didn't have that bucket.
You could stand out there with your little dipper and reach
down as far as you could and bring it back up dry. And there's one way to draw this
merit, this worth out of the heart of Jesus Christ, and that's
by faith. Faith sucks it out of Him. It
draws it out of Him. Virtue has gone out of Me. Merit
and power has gone out of Me. And she drew it out of Him by
that touch of faith. What a mystery faith is. And
you know there's no other way to get it out of him. There's
no other way to understand. There's no other way to see the
glory of Jesus Christ, to comprehend anything of His love, anything
of His goodness and His kindness to poor sinners, but by this
bucket of faith. If any man thirsts, let him come
to me and drink. But the only way to draw that
water out is by faith. Ain't that amazing? Faith is the free gift of God. It's the free gift of God. When it was said that Apollos
came to Corinth, he helped them much who had believed through
grace. By grace, or you say through
faith and not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. It's given
you in the life of Christ to believe on Him. We're not born
with faith. It doesn't lay dormant in a lost
heart until it's exercised. We're born without it. We live
without it until God gives it to us as a free gift to whom
He's pleased. And you know it's upheld by Him. Who was it that read that passage
this morning? One of my favorite passages in
Ephesians 1, verses 18, 19, and 20. You believed according to
the working of His mighty power. You know, really, I don't know
for sure when I first believed. I used to think I did. But now
I wonder. Look at this lady. I keep referring
to her, but she keeps coming to my mind. Look up here in chapter
9. Verse 20. Did you ever wonder
when this woman first believed? Verse 20. And behold, a woman
which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind
him and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within
herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole." Did
she believe there? She must have. If she didn't,
did she believe here? But Jesus turned him about and
said, Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith has made thee whole.
The other parallel passage that I was thinking about, she first
said within herself, If I may but touch his garment. And then
she came through the press. Did she believe then? And then
she touched the hem of his garment. Is that when she actually believed?
That's when she was made whole. But when did this work start
in her? That's my point. Do you know
when you first believed? Whenever you did, I tell you
this, it was the good work that God begun in you. Jesus Christ
is the author of that faith. And He's the increaser of it.
And He sustains it and He'll be the finisher of it. That's
why it will never die in your heart. The disciples said, Lord,
increase our faith. We tell people all the time,
we encourage people to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
you shall be saved. We tell everybody that. But we
know this all along, don't we? that no man has ever believed
in Jesus Christ or the saving of his soul, neither can any
man believe apart from God granting him faith. It's so mysterious. And then when he gives it, he
starts trying it. When he gives it, sometimes he
marvels at it. What a mystery that is. When
He gives it and works it in you, why would He then look at it
and marvel at it? But He does. That's in Tyrian
that said, Lord, this speak the Word only, my servants shall
behold. And Jesus Christ said, I have
not found so great a faith. No, not in Israel. And He marveled. Why would He marvel? Because it's His work. You say,
oh Bruce, it's a heart work. Yes, but it's His work in the
heart. When he created everything and
he looked on it and says, ìItís very good.î And when he creates
faith in the heart, he looks upon it and he marvels and he
says, ìWhat have I wrought in this heart? Faith.î And then
he starts asking faith questions like this, ìDo you believe that
Iím able? See what a mystery it is. He
gives you faith and turns right back around and asks you, Do
you believe I am able? Do you believe in my ability?
Yea, Lord. Yea, Lord. I want you to turn
your Bibles to some passages where we learn what the Lord
is able to do. As we turn to these different
passages, in Daniel chapter 4, I want us to ask ourselves this
question. When we see this little word,
able, I want you just to stop and ask yourself this question.
Do I believe that he's able? If he's giving you faith, then
really and honestly, he's still asking that today. Do you believe
that I am able? The first one is found in Daniel
4, verse 37. Do you remember the context of this
passage? Daniel chapter 4 and verse 37. Let me read to you, just to bring
you up here on the context. Look in verse 20. This was probably up until this
time, at least the greatest heathen king that ever lived. His name
was Nebuchadnezzar. He was king over Babylon. They
say he had built walls that six or seven chariots A breast could
go around that wall. He had hanging gardens that looked
like clouds from a distance. Who he would, he pulled up, and
who he would, he pulled down. Who he would, he kept alive,
and who he would, he killed. He was a great king. And notice
what is said about him here in Daniel 4.20. He had dreamed this
dream, and Daniel was going to interpret it to him. The tree
that thou sawest, which grew and was strong, whose height
reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the
earth, whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and
in it was meat for all, under which the beasts of the field
dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their
habitation. It is thou, O They are grown
and become strong, for thy greatness is grown and reached unto heaven,
and thy dominion to the ends of the earth." I can't even begin
to relate what a mighty man this was. And he had a dream that
the tree was going to be cut down and all that was left was
the stump. And Daniel interpreted the dream.
He said, God is going to drive you out. Seven times are going
to pass over you and some bad things are going to happen to
you. You're going to go crazy for a while. Well, he may not
have believed that to start with. If he did, he forgot it. But
look in verse 29. At the end of twelve months,
he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. And the king
spake and said, Is not this great Babylon that I have built for
the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power and for
the honor of my majesty? And while the word was in the
king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee, and they
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the
beast of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass
like an oxen. Seven times shall pass over thee
until thou knowest that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and he giveth it to whomsoever he will." In other words, God
is going to humble you, man. He is going to bring you out
of your kingdom and lay you low. Seven times passed over this
man. And then his reason returned to him in verse 36. Look what
he said in verse 36. The same time my reason returned
unto me, for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and brightness
returned unto me, and my counselors and my Lord sought unto me, and
I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added
unto me. Now, I never can answer. praise
and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all whose works are
true, and His way's judgment, and those that walk in pride,
He is able to abase." Do you think He is able to abase
whom He will? You find the proudest, you find
the most mightiest, the richest, the most noble. You find the most wretched and
hateful and meanest man in this world. And you stand before that
man and you consider his greatness and his meanness. And then ask
yourself this question. Do I believe that Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory, the sovereign Lord, has the ability to humble,
to abase that man? And what's the answer? What's the answer? Are you going
to say, Yea, Lord? Yea, Lord? I tell you the best evidence
is that the Lord can humble a man and bring him out of his pride
and arrogance and foolishness. Look at yourself. You know, one
of the proudest looking men I've ever seen up until the time the
Lord saved him. He's sitting there and you're
on the second row. I still sometimes see a picture of Clarence when
he's young and had his afro and he hadn't been out in the Marines
and he was modeling clothes. He was pretty arrogant, weren't
you? And I saw him get on his knees
one night. Remember that, Clarence? Who
put him there? Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. What condition, brothers and
sisters, were you in when Jesus Christ the Lord began to work
on you? Yet He abased you, did He not? Did He not bring you low in your
own eyes? And when He was finished with
you, were you not willing to come and bow before Him and on
Him as your salvation and your only life and hope? I've often said this, if God
dealt with everybody the way He dealt with me, He'd save everybody. Do you agree with that? About
your own experience? He just didn't come to me and
beg me. He didn't come to me and offer
me. He didn't come to me and invite
me. He come to me and broke me. He
broke in upon me and broke my will. He humbled me into the
dust. Do you believe that He's able
to do that? Remember Manasseh? Boy, if there was ever a proud
and arrogant king, he was an arrogant fool. Burn his children
in the fire. He had a godly father. And boy,
he rebelled and the Lord sent prophets to say, Manasseh, turn
from your wickedness. And you know what he said? Nothing.
He said nothing. In other words, no, I ain't turning. And the Lord said, oh yes, you're
turning. Don't you love it when the Lord takes the initiative
and says, Lady Malone, I'll turn him. And he sent the enemy with
bras, caught him out in the bras, and made handcuffs and leg holds
out of bras, and took him and threw him off into the dungeon.
And the Bible says, in his afflictions, he sought the Lord. And then
he knew that the Lord, he was God. Shall the conscious? killing
Christians, seeking to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus Christ. But in the time of love, in the
time that God had ordained before the world was to save that rebellious
man, the Lord Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road,
and he found himself face down in the dust, saying, Lord, what
will you have me to do? Do you believe in the ability
of Jesus Christ? We do, don't we? Do you believe
that I'm able to do this? Yea, Lord. I believe you. I believe. Look back in Daniel 3 while you're
there. This is a very familiar story,
too. Isn't it something how you find salvation and the glory
and the power of God in these stories? That's why we should
tell our children these stories. I learned about these stories
when I was just a little kid growing up. I didn't know what
they meant. I just know that Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego were snowed into the fiery furnace, and the Lord
went in there with them, and he delivered them. That's all
I knew about it. But we see something else in it. Look here. Remember
Nebuchadnezzar? Same old Nebuchadnezzar. He had
made this image and set it up. And everybody was gathered to
worship this image. And these three guys, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, they wouldn't bow. They were Hebrews. They
were Jews. And everybody else bowed, and they just stood there.
They just stood there. And somebody ran and told the
king, King, they're not bowing. And boy, he got furious. He called
them up. And he said, I'm going to give
you one more chance. When you hear the music playing, and everybody
else has bowed, if you bow, then I'll forgive you. But if you
don't, do you see that furnace there? I'm going to put you in.
And here's what happens. Look in verse 15. Now, if you be ready at that
time, you hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp,
the saltary, the clamor, and all kinds of music, you fall
down and worship the image which I have made well. But if you
worship not, you shall be cast the same hour unto the mist of
the burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that shall deliver
you out of my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered
and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer
you in this matter, be it if it be so, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us." from this burning fiery furnace, and
he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King. 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." What an amazing
thing this is. We can be awful presumptuous
ourselves and say, Boy, that's what I would have done. I would
have stood there too, boy. It's easy to say that in the
comfort of this building, ain't it? You look in the mouth of
that furnace. You look at those big muscular
soldiers that are going to bind you and throw you in there. And
then say, God is able. You stand there in front of that
furnace and hear the Lord Jesus Christ say, do you believe that
I am able to do this? Boy, that puts faith to the test,
doesn't it? He threw them in the furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. He said, did we not throw three
men in this furnace? They said, yes, O king. He said,
I see four in there. And one of them is likened to
the Son of God. He was able. And Nebuchadnezzar
said, the Lord that they trusted in has come and delivered them. Now, I don't know what all these
ropes that bound these men, the adeptide, I don't know what all
these represent. I don't know what this fiery
furnace can represent. But I'll say this much. What
are these ropes that bound these men compared to the sin that
bound us? There's a bondage in sin, is
there not? A bondage for the conscience,
and I tell you, you can't get loose from it. And what's this
fiery furnace compared to the judgment of God upon sin? He'll thoroughly purge his floor,
he'll gather the wheat into the garden, but the chaff he'll burn
with fire unquenchable. What's this furnace compared
to the awful judgment of God? Can you stand looking your sins
in their face? Looking the judgment of God in
its face? And can you say, I believe that
He is able to deliver me? Can you say that? This law that
binds your conscience, that accuses you and curses you, Can you look
at that law and say, I believe that He is able to deliver me? Can you say that? Isn't that
what Zechariah said? The father of John the Baptist.
When John the Baptist was born, he was rejoicing because he knew
the promise was fulfilled. That He would grant unto us that
we've been delivered out of the hand of our enemies. Boy, we have them, don't we?
Not man, but boy, we have sins, don't we?
We have the judgment of God upon sin. We have the wrath of God.
We have death. He would grant unto us being
delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve Him
without fear. Who delivered us from the hands
of our enemies? Did not the Lord Jesus Christ
by his dying? Paul said, You are waiting for
the Son from heaven who delivered you from the wrath to come. Who delivered you? Yea, Lord, I believe, I believe
that you are able. Those ropes and fiery furnaces,
that is nothing compared to what he delivered us from, is it?
He's able. Do you believe it? Do you believe
it? That He's able? Look in Hebrews
chapter 2. Let's go over to the New Testament
for just a few minutes. Hebrews chapter 2. Here's another. He is able. Look in Hebrews 2. Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he, the Lord Jesus, also himself
likewise took part of the same, everything but our sin, our depravity,
our corruption by nature, that through death he might destroy
them that have the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in thanks pertaining to God,
to make reconciliations for the sins of the people." for him
that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succor, to secure, to aid, to help them that are tempted."
He is able to aid and help and deliver them that are tempted. William Jay had four little points
on this verse here about the Lord's been able to deliver us. And the first one he said was
this. How does he deliver us? How does he exert his ability?
By his atonement. He delivers us from the fear
of death. He delivers us from our sufferings,
our temptations, first and foremost, by his atonement. Aren't you glad that when you're
under God's chastening rod, He's not whipping you to atone for
your sins? Wouldn't that be unbearable?
He doesn't chasten you to atone. That's been done. Two thousand years ago, brothers
and sisters, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered Himself. And by His
suffering, He atoned for our sins. One dear man said the only
way that a saved man is allowed to consider his sins. Now listen,
what a wonderful statement this is. Even as we confess our sins,
sometimes we weep over our sins. But in all reality, the only
way we are allowed to consider our sins is that they have been
purged. They have been put away. The
Lord chastens us because of our sins, but He doesn't chasten
us to atonement. That's already been done. The
Lord delivers us by His atonement. And if you'll remember that,
next time you're on the chastened end of the Father, that will
really help you. Secondly, Mr. Jay said this,
He secures us, He is able to secure us by His example. How does He aid us in our sufferings
and in our temptation? We don't know how to suffer,
do we? What's the first thing we do when we begin to suffer?
Is complain. We get down in the mouth, don't
we? And if somebody else is at fault for it, we get mad at them
and we start striking out. Why do we do that? By nature,
we don't know how to suffer. But the Lord Jesus aids us by
being our example in suffering. Listen to this. When he was reviled,
he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not. He never struck out at other
people. He never got offended or mad.
And the Scripture says he is our example that we should follow
His steps. How patiently He suffered. And
when we look to Him as our example, we are helped. We are aided. Next time somebody does something
to you, instead of getting offended, take it like the Lord Jesus did.
He took it patiently and committed Himself unto God who judgeth
faithfully. And you know something else he
taught us about suffering? And he is our example. Never
go out of the way to avoid the cross. If you do, you get yourself
in trouble. And he never did it, did he?
Not even to death on the cross. Thirdly, Mr. Jay said this, Christ
aids us and secures us and helps us by his sympathy. He himself suffered being tempted. Therefore, he's able to help
those who are tempted. I tell you, when you and I are
suffering, one thing we want is somebody to sympathize with
us. But it's just not anybody. We
need somebody that's been there. that can come alongside of us
and say, listen, brother, listen, sister, I've been there. I know
where you're at. I can sympathize with you. The
Lord Jesus Christ knows where we've been. He knows where we're
at. He's experienced it. He didn't
send an angel down from heaven and said, go and see what's going
on and bring me a report. Let me know what they're suffering.
He came Himself, didn't He? Look what He said in chapter
14. Look what he said in chapter
4, verse 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14,
14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14 Do you believe He's able to comfort
you and aid you in all your sufferings and all your temptations? If
He looked at you tonight, dear suffering saint, and He said
to you, do you believe that I'm able to do this, what would you
say? Lord, I believe you're able. I believe you're able. Is He
able? Don't despair. He's able. He's able to deliver
thee. The fourth thing Mr. Jay said
was this. I don't want to cross-sympathize
because he suffered it himself. Suffered poverty, suffered bodily
pain, soul pain. But he says he also delivers
us by his efficiency. We need more than just somebody
to sympathize with us. We need somebody with the power
to deliver us, don't we? We need someone. Not only that
can say, I sympathize with you, but somebody that says, I'm going
to deliver you from your suffering. I'm going to deliver you from
your temptations. It wasn't just sympathy that
the three Hebrew children needed. They needed power. They needed
power. And if the Lord Jesus, all He
could do was sympathize with us, after a while that would
get old, wouldn't it? But He is a power to deliver us. Two precious verses that have
been a help to me down through the years. It is found in Ephesians
3. Paul's prayer to these Ephesians,
he said that he would grant you, according to the riches of His
grace, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner
man. Strengthened with might. in the
inner man. And then he said in verse 20,
Now to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above
all that we ask or thank according to his power that worketh in
us. Do you believe he's able? He's sufficient. He's efficient. He has the power. He has the
grace. to deliver us. When the question comes, do you
believe I'm able? What are you going to say? Yea,
Lord. Yea, Lord. You're able. Look
in Hebrews chapter 7. I won't keep you much longer.
Look in Hebrews chapter 7. Look in verse 23. Look in verse
23. And they truly were many priests. Under the old Jewish economy,
boy, the one priest would die and they'd get another one. They
weren't suffered to continue by reason of death. Don't you
know this was frustrating to some of those older Jews? Just
every few years, one of their priests would die. And they knew
that their old priest was so experienced Man, he knew what
to offer. They trusted him. And here he
died and they had to break in a new priest. And don't you know
sometimes they wondered, reckon he'll get it right. When he goes
into the most holy place, reckon he'll sprinkle the blood seven
times or will he lose count and sprinkle it six? When I come
to him and I confess my sin, will he offer the right offering?
when they get it right. But that's what they had to contend
with. You know the priesthood of Christ
isn't that way. Look what he said in verse 24.
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. He'll never relinquish his priesthood. He'll never get old and die.
He'll never leave it to someone else. He's a priest forever! And you know something? He knows
exactly what God requires, doesn't he? He knows exactly how to satisfy
God, and he knows what you and I need. He's wise. And he continues forever. And
therefore, verse 25, wherefore, therefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost forevermore, that cometh to God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercessions for us." He is able to save them
forevermore to the uttermost that come to God by him. Is he able? Do you believe he
is able? When you got up this morning,
you faced the gates of hell. You faced this frowning world.
You faced a weak flesh. Can you say this? Lord, I believe
you're able. I believe you're able to keep
me this day. I trust you to keep me. Do you say that to him? Paul
said that. Paul believed that with all of
his heart. Listen to what he said. Paul said, I'm suffering.
And man, he was. But listen to what he said. Nevertheless,
I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
to him. Do you believe he's able? Paul
believed it. Abraham said it like this, I
stagger not at the promise of God through unbelief, but I'm
strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded
that what He has promised me, He is able to perform. Do you believe he's able? Jude believed he was able. Listen
to how he says it. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Unto him that
is able to keep you from falling. Unto him that is able to present
you faultless. Do you believe he is able? If
he came to you and asked you this question, do you believe
that? You, poor, fallen, felon, you, before the presence of His
glory with exceeding joy, not with fears, not with trembling,
but with joy. Do you believe He is able? Can you say and have God to bear
witness to it? Lord Jesus, I believe. that you're
able to abase me or anybody else, you will to abase. You've done it. Can you say,
Lord Jesus, I believe that you're able to deliver me from all my
enemies, all my sin, all the judgment and death, all my enemies. I believe that you're able. Can you say, Lord Jesus, I believe
that you are able to secure me in the midst of my sufferings,
in the midst of my temptations. I believe that you are able.
And can you say with the Apostle Paul, Lord Jesus, I believe you
are able by your intercessions and your merit, save me now and
forever. Where is your faith at? Is it in yourself? Is it partly
in your ability and partly in the ability of Christ? Then you've
got a bad faith. The Lord Jesus examines us with
this question, doesn't he? Do you believe that I am able?
Faith turns its eyes away from itself. Faith is not self in
action. Faith is self put down. Faith
is looking to Christ and His ability. And if it's not there,
then it's a false faith. It's of the devil. It's worldly.
Throw it away. And the sooner the better. And
look to the Lord Jesus Christ and say, Lord, I believe that
You're able. I believe that You're able. May God help us all to
do it. Let's pray.