The Whole of the Matter

Alright, let's open our Bibles
again to Hebrews 11. I feel impressed tonight to speak from this Scripture, beginning
in Hebrews 11 and going into chapter 12. Now in chapter 11 of Hebrews,
which Brother Trabant read to us, the Apostle Paul, I believe
he's the writer of Hebrews, he calls the role of believers who
have lived before us. And he says in verse 38, chapter
11, verse 38, "...of whom the world was not worthy. They were not
worthy of an Abel, an Abraham, an Enoch, a Moses, a Jacob, an
Isaac. They weren't worthy. You see,
these men believed God. And they believed God's Word.
And they looked for the Messiah. and they preached the promise
of grace in the Messiah. And they dared to be different. They dared to believe God and
be different from those around them. It's summed up here in
verse 23. Verse 24 of Hebrews 11, By faith,
Moses, he believed God, he believed God's Word. He dared to be different. And when he was come the years
when he became a man, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter. Choosing, he made this choice. Choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for
a season. Moses had rather be a doorkeeper
in God's house than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. He
chose the afflictions of God's people rather than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season. What's this now? Esteeming the
reproach of Christ. Did Moses believe in Christ?
Certainly did. He wrote of Him, looked for His
coming, expected Him, rested in Him. esteeming the reproach
of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, the richest
country in the world. For he had respect unto the recompense
of the reward. He knew what was ahead, like
Abraham, who lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, and wandered
in a land, having really owning no land at all, but just
wandering, looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Back to our text, Hebrews 11
verse 38 says, these people, these men of faith of whom the
world was not worthy, they wandered. They wandered in deserts and
in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. These men,
in most circles, were not welcome. In most places they were not
welcome. They were despised like their master, and rejected of
men. And here's the amazing, marvelous
thing about these men, and these all, verse 39, all of them, These all, having obtained a
good report through faith, received not the promise." Do you know
what that means? It's saying two things, that
all of these men, these men who believed God, they obtained a
good report through faith. A good report of whom? Of God. Enoch pleased God. It says of
Enoch, he pleased God, he walked with God, and he pleased God,
and he was not, God took him. These men, by faith, obtained
a good report of God the Father. It says when Abel brought the
sacrifice of blood, God the Father had respect to him. He obtained
a good report of God. What matters what men say about
you, it's what God says about you. They obtained a good report
from God. And then secondly, listen to
this, through faith they obtained a good report and it says, and
they received not the promise. They received not the promise.
What does that say? It's saying this, they did not
see the fulfillment of the promise. Even though they did not see
the fulfillment of the promise, they believed that it would be
fulfilled. Who's the promise? Christ is
the promise. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
1, verse 20. I'll show you that. 2 Corinthians
1, verse 20. Christ is the promise. And these
Old Testament believers rested in the promise of Christ in the
coming of Christ, and He did not come to earth until after
they died. But they believed. They believed. They rested in Him who will come. Listen to II Corinthians 1.20.
Well, all the promises of God in Christ are yes, and in Christ,
amen. to the glory of God. All that
God Almighty has for a sinner is in Christ and always has been.
And these Old Testament believers, they rested in the promise of
His coming. He said, Abraham saw my day. When Abraham was walking up that
Mount Moriah with his son Isaac by his side, God had ordered him to sacrifice
his son on an altar as an offering for sin, and he was on his way
up the mountain to do just that. And he had the knife, and the
boy had the wood and the fire, and the boy said, Father, here's
the wood and here's the fire. Where's the lamb? There's no
coming to God without a lamb. There's no coming to God without
blood. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission.
even under the law. And Abraham said, the Lord will
see to it. My son, the Lord will see to
it. The Lord will provide. Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will see to it. And that's what Abraham was talking
about Christ. He was talking about Christ.
That's the promise. And these men, all the promises
of God are in Christ. And these men, these men of faith,
believed. They believed the promise. And
they obtained a good report of God by faith. Though they didn't
see the fulfillment. Isaiah wrote about him. Turn
to Isaiah 53 and listen to this. Isaiah 53, verse 1. Hundreds of years before the
Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, hundreds of years before Christ
came to the earth, hundreds of years before the Messiah was
born of Mary, Isaiah wrote, Who hath believed our report? Who
hath believed our doctrine, our gospel? Does any man believe
this? To whom is the arm of the Lord,
the power of the Lord revealed? For this is our report, he, and you watch while we read this,
he and him, he, this is the message of a person. Here's our report,
he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root
out of a dry ground, a dead nation in captivity to roam. He hath no farm, no comeliness,
just a man. And when we shall see him, there's
no beauty we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with greed. And we hid, as it
were, our faces from him. He is despised, and we esteemed
him not. But surely he hath borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows. We did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But 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. Oh, we, we like sheep have gone
astray. We've turned everyone to our
own way, and the Lord has laid on Him. Who's Him? The promise,
the Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer, the iniquity of us
all. That's what it's saying here,
these men believe God, Moses, Abel looked for a Messiah, Christ,
the Lamb of God. He showed how we would be redeemed
by blood. Moses looked for a Redeemer,
a Messiah, and he showed how we're redeemed by putting the
blood on the door. all the way through the Old Testament Scriptures.
These men died in faith, not having received the fulfillment
of the promise, not having seen the Christ, but dead sure He
was coming. Simeon, that old man went to
the temple that morning. God had told him, Simeon, you're
not going to die until you see the Christ, the Messiah. How
long he waited, I don't know. But one day he went to the temple,
and there stood a little Jewish maiden with a baby in her arms. She brought him to the temple
to do after the ordinances and the commandments of the Levitical
law in reference to him who opened the womb first. And Simeon saw
him and took him up in his arms and lifted his eyes to heaven.
He said, Let thy servant depart in peace according to your word. I've seen your salvation in this
person." That's the promise, and that's what this... The world
is not worthy of such men. And they wandered in deserts
and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. God had chosen
the foolish things of the world, the base things, the things that
are despised, the things that are not, to bring to naught the
things that are. And in most places these men
were not welcome. In most circles they were not
wanted. And most people wanted nothing
to do with them. But they obtained a good report
where it counts. God. He wasn't ashamed to call
them brothers. He's not ashamed of it. A lot of folks are. I've been places and around folks
that were ashamed of what I preach, and ashamed of what I believe,
and ashamed of who I am. But that's alright. He's not
ashamed of me. That's right. And these men died
before they saw the fulfillment of this promise. Verse 40, what's
this? God having provided, God having
provided some better thing for us, some better thing for us. We see Him. We've heard Him. We have the full revelation of
the God-man that they without us should not be made perfect.
I tell you, all believers of all dispensations are saved by
Christ. Whether it's Moses or me, whether
it's Isaiah or you, we're all saved by the same Redeemer, washed
in the same blood. We're all in the same body, one
body, one church, one fold, the church of the firstborn, the
church whose names are written in heaven, the church which He
loved, the church which He purchased with His own blood, the church
which He sanctified and made without spot or blemish. All believers are justified,
sanctified and accepted in the believer. These fellows back
here had the promise, Christ in promise. We have Christ in
person. But it's the same Christ. These
fellows back here had Christ in type and picture and pattern. Like a serpent lifted up. Like
a rock smitten. Like a priest going into the
Holy of Holies. Like a lamb slain. Like a city
of refuge. They had Christ in type and picture. We have Him incarnate in human
flesh. In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was made flesh. And the Word was with God. And
the Word dwelt among us. And the Word was God, and we
beheld His glory. Surely this man was the Son of
God. Those fellas didn't see that,
but we did. We have. They looked to Christ
who was to come. We look to Christ who has come. Colossians 2. Turn over there
a minute. Colossians 2. Listen to this.
Colossians chapter 2. It says in verse 9, For in Christ,
in Christ, in Him, in Him dwelleth all the fullness, all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. So that he could say, he that
hath seen me hath seen God. I and my Father are one. Thought
it not robbery to be equal with God? All the promises of God
are in Him. All the fullness of God is in
Him. All the grace of God is in Him.
All the mercy of God is in Him. All the righteousness of God
is in Him. All the fullness of God dwelleth
in Him. And you're complete in Him. In Christ you have all that heaven
requires. All that God demands, all that
the law requires, all that justice demands in Christ. Complete. Complete. All right, watch this now. Therefore,
chapter 12, and always remember, this Bible wasn't written in
chapters and verses. It's been translated into chapters
and verses. And it says in verse 40, these
men are not perfect without us, nor us without them. We're saved
like they're saved. Same Savior, same Redeemer, same
covenant, same grace. Therefore, verse 1, chapter 12,
wherefore, therefore, seeing that we are surrounded, we're
encompassed about, we're surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, What is a witness? What is a
witness? A witness, number one, is someone
who's seen something. A witness is not a person who
read about it. He's seen it. He has seen it. He saw it. A witness. A witness
has heard something. A witness has experienced something
and nobody else is a witness. These men are witnesses. That is, they knew the faithfulness
of God. They experienced it. They knew the fullness of His
love. They walked in it. They knew
the advantages of this world. They lived it. They know the
sufficiency of His grace. They partook of it. They know the riches of his inheritance. Moses didn't blindly leave Egypt. He knew what he was doing. And he counted it worth every
hour he suffered. That's a witness. That's a witness. I don't want to listen to anybody
but a witness preach. I know preachers are trying to
stir their people up to witness. I'd rather they wouldn't witness
if they hadn't experienced something. And if they have, they will. I'm not going to try to get anybody
to witness. If he hadn't seen anything, I
don't want him telling something he hadn't seen, do you? I don't
want him telling what he read about. The Lord, when He healed
that demoniac in the land of the Gadarenes, He wanted to follow
the Lord. The Lord said, you go home. You
go home. And you tell him what great things
God has done for you. He could tell him he was crazy
and he had his right mind. That old fellow that the Lord
gave him sight, they started jumping all over him. He said,
now wait a minute, let me tell you something. I was blind and
now I see. I know that. I know that. And you're not going to change
my mind. And I know this, a man named Jesus made me whole. I saw Him. I heard Him. And I experienced Him. I got
something to tell. He didn't tell more than He knew.
He told what He knew. He told what He experienced.
He told what God did for Him. He didn't try to give anybody
a course in theology. He didn't know any theology,
but He knew a person. And we're surrounded, we're encompassed
about with a great crowd of witnesses. Oh, that makes a lot of difference.
Witnesses. And they're not witnesses of
what we're doing. I hear people say, well, you've
got to watch how you're walking. They're looking at you from heaven.
They're not too much concerned about what you're doing. What
they're witnesses of is what He did. They're witnesses of Christ.
Carol, hold on by what you do. They're looking at Him. And they're
witnesses of His glory. Of His glory. We're surrounded
with witnesses. So, watch it now. Let's lay aside
every weight, every weight and the sin which
doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race
that sat before us. Paul the Apostle evidently was
an athlete or had some interest in athletics or Olympics, maybe
the Greek Olympics. Because on one scripture he talks
about shadow boxing. You read that scripture? He said,
I do not fight as one who beats the air. I got a real opponent. That's right. He says on another
occasion, they who run a race, run all but only one, wins the
prize. Remember that? And he said on
another, I keep my body in subjection. Keep it under. Lest while preaching
to others, I become a castaway. And then here, he talks about
runners in a race. Run in a race. Run in a race. Run in a race. What does he say
about it? Alright, three things. Everybody
who runs a race has a designated course. C-O-U-R-S-E. Isn't that right? There's a designated,
the length of it, a mile, certain meters, certain time. There's
a race. You've got to stay on course
if you're going to run this race. And I'll tell you this, every
one of us have a course that is set before us. The runner
running the race He has a course and it's set before Him. It's
not behind Him, it's before Him. He has a goal. He has a certain
course. And Almighty God has set a course
for you and me. God has determined it and Paul
said before he died, I finished what? My course. I've come to the finish line.
There was a place where God met me and I started this race. And
I've kept the faith. And I finished my course. I'm at the end. I'm crossing
the finish line. And you and I have a race set
before us by our Heavenly Father. It's a predestinated course and
way. Secondly, the runner who's running
the race, he lays aside those heavy clothes and shoes and all
the other things that would hinder him from running a good race.
Haven't you ever seen a runner out there with a pair of galoshes
on and a raincoat, you know, and a rain hat and an umbrella
running? No, he sheds all of those things.
He sheds those things that would hinder him, hinder him from running
a good race. And what Paul is saying here,
let us lay aside Don't try to run this race carrying all these
burdens and this load, this flesh. Lay aside all the commitments
and the companions and the associates and the worldly interests that
weigh heavily upon you and hinder you in your stewardship of grace. That's what I'm talking about. Brother Tom Harding went to Pikeville
to be a pastor. He had a job. He had hospitalization. He had
a retirement. He had 20 years service. And
he owned a home. And he laid every bit of it down.
Sold his home. Quit his job. Gave up all these
things. Went in the ministry. Somebody
said to him, what in the world are you doing? He said, I'm entering
the ministry. I'm running a race. And I'm laying
aside everything that would hinder me from running the race. And that not only works for a
preacher, that works for everybody here. There's certain commitments
and companions and associates and worldly interests that drag
you down. They do not contribute to your
growth and grace. They do not contribute to your
relationship with God. They take away from it. And they're
hindering you. And He said, you lay it aside.
You're surrounded by some witnesses that'll tell you, that's not
the way, this is the way. He's the way. They're witnesses
of Christ. You lay aside. Every weight. And watch this next thing. And
there's things a runner, he's got a set course, got a set course. He's got to lay aside these things
that hinder him from running the race. And thirdly, he's got
to run that race with patience. It's a long race. We have a young
boy in our church that is a mile runner. You ever try to run a
mile? You think your lungs are going
to burst. You think I'll never get to the end of this thing.
Four minutes is like four hours. It's a long race. The finish
line is way on out yonder. And it's only after pain and
perseverance and patience and dedication you stay in the race. That's what he's talking about
here. Let's lay aside every waste every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us." What is THE sin? THE sin that doth
so easily beset us. I've heard people say, well,
that's different sins in different people. It ain't no such thing.
It ain't no such thing. It's the same sin in every one
of us. We got one big problem, one big sin. You know what it
is? Unbelief. That's what this chapter is all
about here. Ronnie, where do you read that
word, by faith? How many a dozen? By faith, by faith, by faith,
by faith, by faith, by faith. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. He said to Peter, Peter was going
to deny Him. Peter went to cursing and denying
the Lord. And the Lord didn't pick out
all these little weaknesses. He said, Peter, I prayed for
you that your faith fail not. Your faith! Your faith. Your faith. He that cometh to
God must believe. Israel could not enter in. I know they made a calf, golden
calf. I know they murmured and grumbled.
I know all this and all that, but you know what was behind
every bit of it? Unbelief. They could not enter in because
of one word. Unbelief. Unbelief. And what he's saying is this. Put that course out there. It's
my course and your course. It's set before us. It's set
before us. Lay aside the weights and the
things that are keeping you from running an effective and blessed
race and stay on the track. No matter how much pain you experience,
how much discouragement, How weary, how heavy your legs become. All of these things, run it with
patience. Patience, endurance. He that
endures to the end, the same will be saved. Some of us are three score and
ten, but it's not over till it's over. That's what Yogi said,
wasn't it? It ain't over till it's over.
And I intend by the grace of God to finish my course. Don't
you? Better. Better. Now here's the sum and substance
of this whole thing. I call this message the whole
of the matter. Verse 2, Hebrews 12, 2, looking
to Jesus. There's the secret. Isn't that
the secret? Run with patience the race that's
set before us. Look into Jesus. It's a long,
hard road. It's filled with trials and troubles
and sorrows. It's a race that's set before
us. It's for the glory of God. Let's run it with patience. Look
into Jesus. Not look into my faith. Look
into Jesus. It's not when. I know when I
save. That's all right. Some people
don't. Well, I know where the Lord saved me. Well, some people
don't. I know how He saved me. I do
too. By Christ. It's whom. Looking
to whom. Faith is the hand which takes
the food. Don't eat the hand. Eat the food. Christ is the food. Eat the bread.
Faith lays hold of the bread. Faith lays hold of the water
of life. Faith is not the bread. I'm not
saved by faith. I'm saved by Christ. That's right. And it's faith in Christ that
lays hold upon Him. That's right. So don't look to
your faith. I just don't think I got faith
enough. I don't either. I'll be honest with you. I never
have been satisfied with my faith. Are you? I'm satisfied with Him. It's not my faith, it's Christ.
Look into Christ, not to my faith. Listen, look into Christ, look
into Jesus, not to my morality, or my righteousness, or my works. Any morality I have is because
of His presence. Any righteousness I have is His.
Any works I have is not I, but Christ in me. I'm not going to
let works encourage me nor discourage me. That's right. I'm not going to
let my works encourage me nor the absence of them to discourage
me. I'm not going to allow morality
to lift me up nor take me down. I'm going to look to Christ. Where I am and what I am. Look into Jesus. Looking to Jesus, not to my position
in the church when I'm a preacher. A lot of preachers have perished.
Paul said, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was a Pharisee. I was a member of the Sanhedrin.
I was blameless concerning the law, but I count all that but
dumb that I may look to Jesus when Christ to be found in Him.
Looking to Jesus, not to my brethren. Oh, I just lost confidence in
people. I'm gonna quit. I'm not, I'm
not looking to them. I'm not looking to the best of
them and I'm sure not looking at the worst of them. Put Christ between you and everybody
and look to him. You're my good friend, but Christ
is here. And I love you, but Christ is
here. Christ is right here. And your presence is a blessing,
but your absence doesn't change my relationship with Him, because
He's between me and you. My wife, I love her, but Christ's
between me and her. Whatever she does is not going
to change my relationship to Him, because He's between me
and her. My children, I love them. I weep with them, I laugh
with them, hurt with them, and thank God for them, but He's
between me and them. That's right. And their presence
is a blessing, but their absence is not going to change my relationship
with Him. Got to remember that now. Look
into Jesus. Not to your faith, not to your morality, not to
your works, not to your position, not to your brethren, not to
your loved ones. Look to Christ. He never changes. He'll never leave you nor forsake
you. He never will. They will. He won't. David said,
my mama and daddy might forsake me, but my Lord won't. Friends
come and friends go, but Christ stays. Look to Christ. Isn't that right? Look to Christ. Look into Jesus and not to my
trials. The Apostle Peter got out of
that boat and started walking on the water, and as long as
he looked to Christ, he walked. When he started looking at the
wind, he sank. When he started looking at the
waves, he went down. That's right. And you and I,
if we just let our eyes stray from Him and start looking in
here, or looking at our troubles and trials, we're human and troubles
and trials will hinder us if we start looking at them and
dwelling on them. Look to Him, look into Jesus
and not to the means of grace. Listen to me now, listen carefully.
This is the condemnation of this religious generation right here.
Looking to Christ and not the means of grace. Reading the Bible,
oh, it's important. Prayer, it's important. Worship,
it's important for a believer. Studying the Bible, orthodoxy,
theology. Paul said, Timothy, take heed
to your doctrine, for in so doing you'll save yourself and them
that hear you. Baptism, the Lord's Table, fellowship, good works,
all of these are good means of grace and growth. But only Christ keeps all these
things from becoming filthy rags. That's right. Any of these things
are all up if they get between you and Him. They're filthy rags. What keeps reading the Bible?
Christ said to those Pharisees, you search the Scriptures. You
think in them you have life. Their studies and searching and
theology was filthy rags because Christ wasn't there to make it
holy. My prayers. Don't waste time praying them
if Christ is not the center of them, the heart of them, and
the glory of them. He has to make them acceptable. Now the positive. That's the
negative. Looking to Christ and not these other things. But listen,
verse 2 and I'll quit. Looking to Jesus. First in the
covenant. He's the author and finisher
of our faith. Looking to Jesus. It's which Jesus? I hear people
say, let's all get together around Jesus. Which one? Which one? We'll get together around this
one. Who's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world?
Who's the surety of an everlasting covenant? Who's the great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant?
Who's the shepherd to whom God gave a sheep before the world
began in the covenant of grace? That's the one to whom we look.
The author. What is the author? The beginner. The originator. The one who thought
it all up. The author of a book. It came
out of Him. Your faith came out of Him. Your
salvation came out of Him. You didn't choose Him, He chose
you. You didn't love Him, He loved you. You didn't determine
to come to Him, He determined to bring you. He's the author
of our faith. He's the giver of faith. He's
the keeper of faith. He's the finisher of faith. That's
right. He'll keep me till the river
rolls its waters at my feet. then He'll bear me safely over
where my Savior I will meet. I'm kept by the power of God
through faith. And that not of myself, it's
the gift of God. So that's the one you look to
now, the author of faith, the finisher of faith and everything
in between. Then secondly, who for the joy
that was set before Him. What joy? A people the Father
gave Him. The jar that was set before Him
endured the cross, ignoring the shame, bearing the shame. You
look to Christ, to Jesus in the covenant, you look to Jesus on
the cross. Don't be ashamed of the precious
blood. We're redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. Preach the cross. Preach the
cross. Someone told me just a short
time ago that a group of men and women
came to a pastor of a Methodist church, and I can't remember
where I was when they were talking to me. And they met with the
pastor because they wanted him to adjust his theology and his
sermons. They said, we're hearing too
much about this Jesus Christ. We want to hear more practical
things. Oh my, don't ever quit preaching
the cross, the blood, the grace of God, substitution. I'm determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Look to Jesus in the covenant. Look to Jesus on the cross and
look at here. And look to Him who is set down
at the right hand of the throne. God. The covenant is who He is. The cross is what He did. And
the right hand is where He is. Making intercession for us. Looking
to Jesus. Looking to Him so completely
that our eyes see no other Redeemer. Our ears Hear no other prophet. Our hearts love no other Savior. Our hands embrace no other Beloved. Our minds consider no other Redeemer. Our lips praise no other God. Our feet serve no other Master. And our hope rests in no other
way. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ. Christ, looking
to Jesus. Our Father, for your glory, for
your glory and for our good, our eternal well-being, bless
this word to our hearts tonight. Lord, we can preach and read
and we can listen and we can learn in our heads truth set
forth. But you are the disturber of
the heart. You're the only one who can make Thy Word to be effectual
to changing the heart, renewing the heart, giving us, shedding
abroad in our hearts, Your love, Your grace. And I pray You'd
take the message tonight and use it to glorify Christ Jesus and to
bless your dear people that we might be identified with
these who by faith serve the Lord. In Christ's name
we pray. Amen.

The Whole of the Matter

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The Whole of the Matter

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book