Let me read my text again, Hebrews
11, verse 13. Paul said, I've mentioned all
about whom we've read died. in Christ. These all died in
Christ. It used to be the custom. I remember even in my boyhood
it was still the custom to write an inscription on the
tombstone or the grave marker of a friend or a precious loved
one in memory of that person's life and faith. I regret that this custom has
passed. I think it's a good one. I have
enjoyed visiting many old cemeteries and reading the things which
people have recorded and written on grave markers. Years ago I visited a cemetery
in London, outside of London, where a number of old timers
are buried, and I stood beside the grave
of Susanna Wesley, the mother of Charles Wesley and John Wesley. And they wrote on her grave marker
the fact that she was the mother of these well-known preachers,
but also it said she gave birth to and raised 19 children. And then I visited in the same
cemetery where Charles Spurgeon is buried, and on his marker
they wrote the verse there in the song, There is a Fountain.
Charles Spurgeon, the date of his birth and death, and these
words, Ever since by faith, I saw the stream thy flowing wounds
supply. Redeeming love has been my theme
and will be till I die." And it was the theme of his life
till he died. In a cemetery out in the western part of our
country, I read about grave of an unknown child who had drowned
in a flood. They didn't identify the child,
but they buried the little one, erected a monument and wrote
on it two words, God Knows. I like that, God Knows. On the grave of M.T. powerful preacher back during
Civil War days down in Mississippi. When they buried him, they chiseled
on the tombstone a servant of Jesus Christ. On another believer's tombstone,
these words, three words, till he comes. I like that, till
he comes. But Job said, Oh, that my words were now written
in a book. Oh, that they were recorded on
my tombstone with lead in the rock forever. And here are the words, I know
that my Redeemer liveth. And in the latter day he shall
stand on this earth, and though worms destroy my flesh, yet in
the flesh I'll see God, whom I shall see for myself and not
another." There's not room on a tombstone
for these words, but I think they would make a good memorial
for our believer. We shall sleep, but not forever. There shall be a glorious dawn. We shall meet, depart, no never,
on that resurrection morn. From the deepest caves and oceans,
from the deserts and the plains, from the valleys and the mountains,
all his sheep will rise again. We shall sleep, but not forever,
in a lone and silent grave. Blessed be the Lord who taketh,
blessed be the Lord who gave. And in that bright, eternal country,
death will never, never come. In his own good time, he'll take
us from this world to that eternal home. Well, those are good epitaphs,
grave markers, but God chose this one, Hebrews 11, 13. God chose this one. The Lord
wrote these words for our markers, for our tombstones, and they
never change regardless of what generation, dispensation, or
age. a believer may live and die,
we die in Christ. These all die in Christ. Let's see what these words are
saying. Well, first of all, it says these all died. They died. This is the way of all flesh,
and it will be our way, my way and your way someday. God said
it's appointed unto men what's to die. What is your life? Well, James says it's a mist,
a vapor that appears for a little while and then it's gone. Job
said it's like a shadow that fleeth. He said it's like a flower
that's blooming beautifully for a while. but then it's faded
and gone, and the place I of will know it no more." He said,
in a few days, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
I know many of us are hopeful that we're in the last of the
last days. And it may be so. It certainly
appears that way. But I'll tell you this. If the
Lord's not pleased to come soon, we're going to die. These all
died. These all died. And they always
have. And they always will. So that
scripture is fulfilled. The last enemy to be destroyed
is death. That's the last enemy. and we're
going to die. But notice the next two words.
Here's the difference. But these died in Christ. It says faith, preacher, they
died in faith. But the object of faith is Christ. Christ is our faith. Christ is
the author and finisher of our faith. Christ is the giver of
faith. Christ is the object, the lone
object of faith. We look to Christ. These all
died looking to Christ. They believed God, but they believed
God in reference to Christ. You see, my friends, there's
no relationship with God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, none
whatsoever. No man knoweth the Father save
the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." Let me show
you that. Turn to some scriptures here. 1 John, chapter 2. There's no coming to God apart
from Christ. There's no knowing God apart
from Christ. There's no believing God apart
from Christ. There's no relationship with
God apart from Christ. In 1 John 2 verse 1, my little
children, these things write unto you that you sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Mary? No. The saints? No. Jesus Christ. I must have an advocate. I must
have an advocate with the Father, and there's only one. And he
must be righteous, or the Father can't deal with him on my behalf. So if we see it, and we do, and
we have, and we will, thank God we have an advocate with the
Father, and it's Jesus Christ, the righteous one. Turn to Hebrews
10, verse 21. Hebrews 10, verse 21. And having a high priest. I must
have a high priest. Verse 19 says, having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which he hath made, consecrated for
us through the veil into the Holy of Holies, that is to say,
his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God,
let us draw near, near to God, but not without a high priest.
I must have an advocate. I must have a high priest. And
that high priest must have an atonement. He must have some
what to offer. Righteousness and blood. Or don't
come. Come if He's your priest, but
if He's not, don't come. Turn to 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5, there's one God. We
don't have any trouble knowing that, believing that there's
one God. And there's one mediator, one between God and men. And that's the man, God who became
a man, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, the federal head,
the representative of his people. That's the man Christ Jesus. I've got the dying Christ, my
advocate, my high priest, my atonement, my mediator. Colossians, look at Colossians
1. This is the theme of the Bible. In Colossians 1 verse 19, it pleased the Father. It pleased the Father. It was
His will. It was His covenant, His purpose, His doings. It pleased the Father that in
Christ should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through
the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things to Himself,
by Him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in
heaven, that were sometimes alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now has He reconciled. I need a reconciler. I need a friend in the highest
places. I need an advocate. Is Jesus
Christ the righteous? I must have a high priest with
a suitable atonement. I must have a mediator. I must
have a reconciler. who will reconcile me to God."
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Somebody's got to reconcile these
enemies. In John 17, look over here, I
need someone to pray for me, an intercessor. Scripture says,
who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
ever liveth to make intercession. That's what the thief on the
cross asked of the Lord. You're coming into a kingdom,
God's kingdom. Would you remember me? Call my
name. People on this earth put their stock and hope in some preacher
praying for them or calling their name. A close friend of mine
said one time, I hope you've got enough faith for both of us. I don't have enough faith
for me. Mary, the Holy Spirit. We need someone that the thief
said, you're coming into the kingdom. You're going to the
right hand. You, would you call my name? In John 17, verse 9, I pray for
them. I pray not for the world. I pray
for them which thou hast given me. and all mine are thine, and thine
are mine, and I'm glorified in them." Oh, thank God. He's my
intercessor. And that's what, back to our
text, Hebrews 11, Abel, Noah, Abraham, these people died looking
to Christ. our Mediator, our High Priest,
our Atonement, our Intercessor, our Reconciler. Look into Christ. Look back at the text. These
all died, but they died in Christ. They died believing in Christ. They died in faith, but faith
didn't keep them from dying. Cain died, but so did Abel. Pharaoh
died, but so did Moses. Saul died, but so did David.
Esau died, so did Jacob, whom God loved. Judas died, but so
did Peter. And faith is not going to keep
you from dying. Faith will keep you from the sting of death. Death won't be to you a fatal
sting like it would have been had not Christ died for you. The strength of sin is the law,
but the sting of death is sin, and we in Christ have no sin.
Faith will keep you from the sting of death. It will keep
you from the judgment of sin which follows death. It will
keep you from the fear of death. Actually, for the believer, death
is to be desired. If we didn't have so many attractions here, I believe every believer here
this morning would say, with Simeon, now let me die. according
to your word. I've seen your salvation. I've
got enough of this." If we didn't have so many attractions here,
so many, we suppose, dependents and people who expect of us and
draw from us and feed upon us and need us maybe. But for the believer, death is
gain. That's what Paul said. I'll read
it to you over here in his own testimony. He said, for me to
live is Christ, to die is gain. If I live in this flesh, this
is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I should choose, I know
not. But I'm in a wandering. I'm in a straight betwixt two.
I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
But to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Not
for me, he said, but for you or whomever. But faith didn't
keep them from dying. Let's go back to the text. But
thank God, listen, they died in faith. They died in faith. Very carefully right here. Even
these great men, Moses, Noah, Abel, Abraham, they never got
beyond faith. It doesn't say they believed,
they had faith, and then they died in their works, and they
died in their merit, and they died in their success, and they
died in their faithfulness. No, sir. They died in faith. They began by believing God and
they died still believing God. Only God, only Christ. They began
looking to Christ and they died looking to Christ. The believer
walks by faith, not by sight, the entire journey. The just
shall live by faith all the days of their life. They never change.
They never demand or seek a sign or confirmation of their salvation
other than Christ. Never. Always be suspicious of those
who demand or seek a sign other than Christ. His word is sufficient. Nevertheless, at thy word. These men died. They died in
Christ. That faith didn't keep them from
dying, but that faith delivered them from the sting of death
and the fear of death, and they died as they began the journey
still believing. Still believing. I shall not be moved off Christ
the Rock. They persevered in faith. They
died in faith. They lived their lives believing
Christ and they died believing Christ. Someone said this, threefold
statement. The great object of faith is
the Lord Jesus Christ. The great object of faith. Christ is my only rock, my only
refuge, my only redeemer, my only salvation, my only hope.
The great object of faith is Christ. Looking to Christ, not
with these eyes, but with eyes of faith. Him, we're completing
Him. Secondly, the great evidence,
the great evidence of saving faith is love, love for Him. love for his word, love for his
people, love for his gospel, love for his commandments, love
for his presence. By this shall all men know you're
my disciple, you love one another. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. That's the great evidence. The
great object of faith is a person, not a creed, not a catechism,
not a confession of faith, him. And the one great evidence, indisputable
evidence, of saving faith is love. And thirdly, the great
test of saving faith, the ultimate test is time, perseverance. Faith will be tried many, many
ways, ups and downs, prosperity, adversity, poverty plenty, days,
bads come and go, but the man who's in faith will die in faith. The woman who's in Christ will
die in Christ. The person who loves the gospel
will die in the gospel. That's the way they'll end their
days. The way they start them, that's the way they'll end them.
And John said that in 1 John 2, 19. They went out from us. But they weren't of us. If they
had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that it might
be made clear they were not of us. That doesn't change. That does
not change. We do. Things do. The world does. Everything associated with life
does. But this never changes. The one
great object of saving faith is Christ Jesus. And the one great evidence of
my being in that faith is love for him and all that's identified
with him. And the great evidence is perseverance. You see, if I'm going to be his
forever, how in the world would 10 or 15 years alter it? You see what I'm saying? His forever? Here's during this short space
of time, too. Back at the text, let me give
you something else here. These all died in faith. Does
this verse give us a definition of faith? Yes, it does. Look
at these things one at a time now. Watch it. They died in faith.
What kind of faith? Well, what was their faith? Not
having received the promises. Now let me word that, it says
it like it is, but it's not the way that this man operates. They did receive the promises.
In promise, God promised Abraham a seed. He received the promise. He believed the promise. He believed
God was able to do all that he promised. So what this is saying,
they received the promise, in promise, but not in fulfillment. Abraham never did see his seed
as the stars of the sky. There were just a handful of
them when he died. He never did enter and own the
land God promised him and his people, but he believed it. Jacob
never did see shallow, but he said, the scepter will not depart
from Judah till shallow comes. He didn't receive the fulfillment
of that promise, but he had the promise, didn't he? In promise. David never did see the line
of the tribe of Judah, but he sure did write about him, sitting
on the throne forever. He never saw that person. Isaiah
never, in his mind, visualized the cross about which he wrote. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. By his stripes we're healed.
That's the cross. Isaiah wrote that 800 years before
the cross. He had the promise, but he didn't
see the fulfillment. Did he? But he believed. They had the promise in promise,
but not in fulfillment. Secondly, but having seen them
afar off by faith." They didn't see them with these eyes, but
they saw it by faith. Christ said, Abraham saw my day,
the coming Redeemer, and he rejoiced. I think he saw Christ's day when
Melchizedek met him. I think he saw Christ's day when
he took Isaac off that altar and put that ram in his place
and watched the blood of that ram trickle down that altar and
his son stand over there whole. He saw the substitute. He saw,
my day, not with these eyes, he saw it
by faith. Not having received the fulfillment
of the promises, but they saw Moses Wrote of me, Christ said. Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth. Job is the oldest book in the
Bible. He came before Moses and Abraham. He talked about a Redeemer who
was going to stand on the earth. He never saw Him stand on the
earth. He had to promise. That's faith. Actually, the Word is better
than eyesight. Your eyes will deceive you. I ran out in front of a car the
other day and I turned to Arthur and I said, I never saw him.
I didn't see him. My eyes, I looked that way, but I see things I don't see and
I don't see things I ought to see. But the Word never changes. That's right. Your eyes will
fail you, but the Word of God will never fail you. had not
received the promises fulfilled, but they had the promises on
the Word of God. And they saw them afar off. And
watch it now. Watch it, watch it, listen, and
they were persuaded of it. Abraham was persuaded that what
God had promised he would do. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed and I am persuaded. He's able to keep what I've committed
to him. I am persuaded, he said, that
neither height nor depth, nor length, nor breadth, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor any creature can separate me from the love
of God. I'm persuaded. and they embraced them. They
were persuaded of these promises and they embraced them. Abraham
embraced the promise and left his home. Noah was persuaded of the Word
of God and built an ark. Moses was persuaded that the
riches of God were greater treasures than the riches of Egypt, and
he left Egypt. I'm persuaded. Convinced. And listen, and they confessed
them. They hadn't received them full
fill, but they'd seen them. I haven't seen the resurrection,
but I'm persuaded of it in Christ. I haven't seen the third heaven,
but I'm persuaded of it. I didn't see the cross, but I'm
persuaded of it. I've embraced it. And I confess
that this world is not my home, and the people of this world
are not my family. We're strangers and pilgrims
on this earth, and we seek, and they say such things plainly,
declare that they're seeking another kingdom. another home,
another life. Now listen, verse 15, this faith
is not forced, it's not a coercion, it's not
unwilling. Abraham could have gone back
Truly, verse 15, if they had been mindful, if their minds
and hearts were not on this country they seek, but rather were still
back there where they were, from whence they came out, they could
have gone back. They had plenty of opportunities
to go back. Moses, you can go back to Egypt if you
want to. Abraham, you can go back to early Calvary if you
want to. Go right on back because it's
not forced. But our people are willing in
the day of our power. Mindful. You see over here in
Romans 8, it will give you a clue to that mindful. If they had
been mindful of the country from which they came out, they could
have gone back You see, in Romans 8, verse 5,
the people that are after the flesh, they do mind the things
of the flesh. That's their interest. The world
and the things of the flesh, that's their interest. But they that are after the Spirit,
their interest is the things of the Spirit. This is their
interest. A person may come to a worship
service and not interested, but he finds plenty of other things
in which he's interested. He may come here out of habit,
forced to do it for appearance sake, a lot of reasons, whatever.
But that's carnal mind. He's really interested in this
or that or the other, not in this. The carnal mind Those that
are after the flesh, they are interested, they are mindful
of the flesh. But they that are after the Spirit
are mindful of the Spirit. Now to be carnally minded is
death, eternal death. To be spiritually minded is life
and peace. Because this carnal mind that
dwells on the world and the things of the world and the riches of
the world and the influence and love of the world is enmity against
God. It would put God out of business
if He could. It's enmity against God. It doesn't
say, let God be God. Let all the world adore Him and
worship Him and bow to Him. Let Christ reign. All hail the
power of Jesus' name. No, it's enmity. It's not subject
to God's law, neither indeed can it be so. They that their
minds and interest is in this world and of this world and upon
this world, they cannot please God. And these folks who make
professions and who join religion and move with a religious group
and get swept up in their family's traditions and worship services,
and they go that way, but their minds are back yonder. Their
hearts are back yonder, like when Lot left Sodom with his
wife. Her body was moving this way,
but her heart was back yonder. She was with Lot. but not really. And that's a horrible danger. They're with us in body, but
not in spirit. And I tell you, if you're really
of God and know God, even when your body's not here, your spirit's
here in the worship. See what I'm saying? A man who
does not know God, his body can be here. and his spirit enters somewhere
else in mind, mind the things of the world. But a believer,
even when his body is so weak and frail he can't worship with
the believers, he's there. Like John on the Isle of Patmos,
wasn't anybody there but him, but his spirit was with the people
of God, his thoughts. So it says, if they had been
mindful of the country they came out of, Their bodies came out
of it. They could have taken their body
and gone back, because they might as well, their heart was back
there. But not the believer. Not the believer. If he whom it is said in verse
16, he desires a better country, and a heavenly country, an eternal
God, the Heavenly Father, Not ashamed to be called their
God. And he hath prepared for them
a city.