But I don't know of two portions
of Scripture, two chapters in the whole Bible, I don't know
of two chapters that are richer, richer in warnings and promises, in
exhortation and encouragement than Romans 4 and Hebrews 4. I would recommend that you go
back and look at these chapters again sometime this week, that
you get the tape and listen to it again, this morning's message
and tonight's. In these two chapters, issues,
vital eternal issues, Cecil has settled, settled once for There's been enough truth preached
here today, this morning, and I trust will be tonight, to save
a world, a 10,000 worlds, because it's the truth of Christ, the
truth of grace, it's the truth of faith, of faith. Emphasizing God's immutable and
absolute sovereignty in all things, And yet, the complete responsibility
of the creature to lay hold upon those things that are preached. It's just like verse, look at
verse 3 of Hebrews 4. For we which have believed do
enter into rest, as he said, quoting from Psalm 95, they shall
not enter. I've sworn in my wrath, they
shall not enter my rest. Although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. There's man's total complete
responsibility and there's God's absolute sovereignty. It's signed,
sealed and delivered before the world began. Yet men are responsible. They did not enter in because
of unbelief. And the night down in Florida last week when we
had about 15 preachers present in the service last Monday night
down at Plant City. I made this statement. I said,
men, I'm going to give you a little pearl of wisdom. There are many of my friends
who wish, not many, but some of my friends who wish that Romans
8, 29 through 31 wasn't in the Bible. They just wish it wasn't. Romans 9, they wish that wasn't
there. The children being not yet born, neither having done
any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election,
might stand. Not of works, but of him that
calleth. It was said to her, the elders shall serve the young.
For whom he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called
whom he called. He justified whom he justified.
He glorified. The works were finished before
the world began. God is immutably sovereign in
the salvation of sinners. He'll be merciful to whom he
will. Some folks wish that wasn't in there. I have some friends
also that wish John 3, 16 wasn't in the Bible. For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever,
whosoever, that's a big word, a why, whosoever, black, white,
rich, poor, old, young, short, tall, Whosoever, Jew, Gentile,
whosoever believeth on him will not perish but have everlasting
life. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. The Spirit of the bride say come, let him that heareth
say come, let him that is athirst come, and whosoever is athirst,
let him come, take the water of life. Here it is. You go to
hell, it'll be your fault, because the water is flowing free and
plentifully. And I said to them, I said, we
have ceased from our ministry and entered into his ministry
when we can preach both of those things comfortably. I mean comfortably. I mean comfortably. I mean without any strain, without
any apology. Just stand up and say, everyone
that thirsted come to the water and don't explain nothing. Not
a thing. Don't tell them the Spirit has
to draw them. Don't tell them God has to choose them. Just
call on them. Just say, Ho! Everyone that's
thirsty, come to the water. Fellas say, well, I'm not thirsty.
You say, well, I'm not talking to you. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the thirsty. Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you
rest. I'm not heavy laden. I wasn't talking to you. Or just
stand before a congregation and say, God in his absolute, sovereign
wisdom and purpose chose a people in Christ and gave them to Christ
and Christ died for them effectually. If he paid the debt, it's paid.
If he put away sins, they're put away. And if you're saved,
it'll be God's fault and God's glory. And don't apologize for
it. Just let her lay out there bare. Don't defend it. Apologize
for it. Don't compromise it. We have
ceased from our ministry and entered his when we can comfortably
state those both those stuff and We've ceased to try to build
our churches Too many folks are trying to build a church. Don't
do it. God builds churches just cease
To try to build so much. I'm gonna build a witness. No,
you're not if one's built God will build it Except God build
a house, they labor in vain that lay the stones. And we'll quit
trying to build our church and quit trying to reach people.
And just start glorifying God and preach the gospel when we
can comfortably state what God's Word says. Let your women keep
silence in the church. That's in the Word of God. Just
state it. You don't have to apologize for it. God said it. Isn't that
right? God said it. Just keep on going
through. And just don't apologize. There
it is. God said it. I'm not ashamed
of it. Thank God for it. But here in verse 1 of chapter
4, he says, let us fear now. Here's a God who's sovereign.
Here's a God who elected a people. Here's a Redeemer who died for
him, writing through his servant, telling us in the church, let
us fear. Don't be so cocksure. Don't be
so presumptuous. Let us fear lest the promise
being left us of entering into his rest. We're talking about
all kind of rest there now. We're talking about his spiritual
rest. We're talking about that final rest. We're talking about
his rest. We're talking about his kingdom. His kingdom. Any of you should seem to come
short of it. For I tell you this, he said
in verse 2, unto us was the gospel preached. What gospel? The gospel
that glorifies God. I'll call it the gospel of God,
it's the gospel of his grace. It's the free gospel that fulfills
every scriptural promise, prophecy, and picture. It's the gospel
which meets the need of every center, every need of every center. It's the gospel which gives hope
to sinners. We've heard that gospel. You've
heard that gospel. I preached that gospel this morning.
Charlie preached it last Wednesday. Bob and Charlie preached it last
Sunday. It'll be preached here next Wednesday. Next Sunday.
You've heard that gospel. You've heard it. Tom read it
a while ago. He read that gospel. And he prayed
that gospel. And Mike and the boys sang that
gospel. And Mike just sang that gospel.
We've heard that gospel so much, I hope we're not gospel hardened,
don't you? Unto us was the gospel preached. But wait a minute, it was preached
to them too. Who's them? Who's them? The Israelites of the Old Testament. The so-called chosen people.
Those folks that Moses led out of Egypt and started to cross
the desert to Canaan. Those people that perished in
the wilderness, the gospel was preached unto them. Boy, I tell
you, that's news to me. I thought those folks were saved
by the law. I thought those folks lived under another dispensation. Well, I thought those people
were saved by bringing their sacrifices. I thought those people
were saved by following the Levitical pattern of feast days, Sabbath
days, holy days, baptisms, and washing. Oh, no. Oh, no. They were saved by grace through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They believed in a Christ to
come. We believe in a Christ who has
come. They believed in a Christ who would die. We believe in
a Christ who has died. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, if
you to believe Moses, you to believe me. Moses wrote of me.
Everything Moses wrote about redemption, he wrote about Christ.
Everything Moses wrote about the blood, it was the blood of
Christ, typified by the blood of a lamb. They said, well, Abraham's
our father. He said, if you were Abraham's
children, you'd love me. Abraham loved me. Abraham saw
my day. He saw it and rejoiced in his
heart. Isaiah believed in Christ. He
wrote he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for
our iniquities. Yes, the gospel was preached
unto them, those folks who left Egypt in a hilarious attitude
and spirit. But those folks perished in the
wilderness and did not enter Canaan. They did not enter in
because of unbelief. Unbelief in whom? Christ. Let
me show you something from the book of Hebrews. Turn over to
chapter 11. Chapter 11. Listen to this. Chapter 11 of Hebrews, now look
at it, verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was
come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach
of Christ? Yeah, that's right. That's right,
Moses believed in Christ, the reproach of Christ. You see,
Moses called upon, believed in, rested in, a redeeming God, Jehovah,
who manifested himself in Christ. And he chose rather, esteeming
the reproaches of Christ, greater riches than the treasures So this gospel was preached unto
them, and yet they didn't enter in. Why? Look at verse 2 of Hebrews
4 again. Now that's fair now, let's be
careful, give diligence to make our calling and election sure,
lest the promise being left to us of entering into his rest
any of us should come short of, for unto us was this gospel preached
as well as unto them, but the word preached, the gospel preached,
heard, did not profit them a thing. It did not profit them. Why? They didn't believe it. They
didn't believe it. Turn back to Hebrews 3, verse
17, Hebrews 3, 17. But with whom was he grieved
forty years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest? Who was
it? But to them that believed not.
So we see they could not enter in because, like I said this
morning, they didn't believe God. I want to show you something
interesting. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3. The
gospel was preached unto them, just like it was preached unto
us, by the same Holy Spirit. Now look at 1 Peter 3, 18. 1 Peter 3, 18. Now listen to this. Here's the gospel. For Christ
also hath once... He died one time. Though he was
a lamb slain before the foundation of the world, though we had types
of his death, pictures of his death, prophecies of his death,
he died one time. Though we preach his death, he
died once. He suffered for sins, whose sins?
Our sins. The just, he is the just one,
the holy one, the perfect one, and he died for the unjust. The
just died for the unjust. He was made sin for us. Now watch
this. That, in order that he might
bring us to God, in order that he might reconcile the God to
us, in order that he might satisfy the law of God and the justice
of God and reconcile us to God so that God would accept us,
so he could bring us to God. God couldn't have us before this,
before Christ represented us. God couldn't look on us, he couldn't
love us, couldn't touch us, couldn't associate with us, couldn't accept
us. until His law was honored, until
His justice was honored and satisfied, and Christ the just came and
died for the unjust and suffered for our sins, that He might bring
us to God, that He might enable God to be just and justifier
of them that believe. He brought us to God, and He
brought us holy and unblameable and unreprovable and presented
us to God, holy and without blame. He did. All right, let's read
on. being put to death in the flesh. Christ was put to death on that
cross in the flesh. As a man, he was put to death.
I can't explain how God can be put to death. I can't explain
how God can be in human flesh, let alone how God can be put
to death in human flesh. But he was. He was put to death
in the flesh, but he was quickened, he was raised by the Holy Spirit,
by the Spirit. raised from the dead by the Spirit
of God, by the Spirit of God. I don't know a great deal about
this, I just know that Mary was a virgin. There was no life in
her womb, there was no outside influence to beget life, and
the Spirit of God came upon her. And that holy thing is so unreal. an unnatural, so supernatural
that there's not even a name for such a person. It's a holy thing conceived in
her. That holy thing, God said, shall
be called the Son of God. Never before and never again
that that holy thing was born supernaturally without the aid
of the flesh, conceived in the virgin womb, and came forth and
it was a son. And they called his name Jesus.
And somehow, somehow he was, he lived, he grew in favor with
God and me, and I can't explain that. And he grew, he was a real
boy. He was. And he was subject to
his parents. And at his baptism, the Holy
Spirit came upon him. And he had the Spirit, does it
say without measure? Without measure, the Holy Ghost.
And he went about doing good, and he was God in human flesh. But somehow we've got to retain
this, and we've got to believe this, that he was very much a
man. I know they're kicking around
arguing about the impeccability of Christ, and I'll buy that.
the perfection of Christ, the infinite holiness of Christ,
and they say he couldn't have sinned if he wanted to. Something
that bothers me now, that bothers me a little bit, a temptation
that's not a temptation is not a temptation. And I can't figure
that out, but I just know, I just know that his trials were real. I just, I can't, and don't ask
me to explain, I can't explain the incarnation. You say, well,
how could he have sinned and been God? How could he have been
a man and been God? How could he die and be God?
How could he lay in a grave and be God? Well, I don't know the
answer to those things. I just know that Christ was tempted
in all parts as we are, but he never sinned. And it was real
enough and strong enough and holy enough that the Father accepted
it for every one of the believers. Every one of them. And it says
here that the Holy Spirit brought him out of that grave. The same
Holy Spirit that quickened him in the womb, begat him in the
womb. Same Holy Spirit that came upon
him without limit. The same Holy Spirit quickened
him from the womb. And watch this, verse 19, by
which, by which, what are you talking about? By that same Spirit.
I say, you with me? Am I going too fast? It's like
that old boy that was playing football for the University of
Alabama. And they lost a lot of games. And the coach brought them all
into the locker room. And he said, now boys, we're
going to start all over. We're going to start from the beginning. Start from the beginning. And
he held up a football. He said, this here is a football.
And one big old tack on the back said, I don't go too fast, coach. I don't want to go too fast.
But what he says here is that he was quickened by the Spirit,
verse 19, by which, same Spirit, also he who Christ went and preached
unto the spirits in prison. You know what folks have come
up with for that? You know, don't that when Christ died, he went
to hell. He went to Hades, Sheol, and
he went down there and preached the gospel to those folks in
Sheol that had died and been there for 2,000 years. That's
not what that says, not at all. It says that Jesus Christ, begotten
by the Spirit of God, raised by the Spirit of God by that
same Holy Spirit, He preached to everybody who's now in hell. He preached to everybody who's
now in the grave. He preached to everybody who's
now in Sheol, particularly, verse 20, those who sometime were disobedient,
when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls,
were saved by water. In other words, what he's saying
there is this, that that same gospel which you're hearing,
through Noah, the Holy Spirit preached that gospel to the people
for 120 years. While Noah was building the ark,
Noah was preaching the gospel by the same Holy Spirit that
raised Christ from the dead. That's what that scripture's
teaching. So back to our text in Hebrews 4, you see that gospel
is preached unto us. You cannot, I wish I could emphasize
the importance of preaching the gospel. I'm not talking about
this business of just standing up and yelling and this business
of entertaining sinners for a little while. I'm talking about the
preaching of the gospel, line upon line, precept upon precept. the glorious gospel of God's
glory and His grace, for it is the power of God unto salvation. And God hath chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And how shall they hear
without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?
And this gospel that's tonight being preached to you is the
gospel which Christ perfected and which Christ purchased and
which Christ preached. And which the Holy Spirit preached
through every Old Testament prophet. Same gospel. Now the different
degrees of revelation. We're the most blessed generation
that's ever lived. I mean, since the scriptures
have been completed. I'm talking about the most blessed
people in the latter days because we have, think what we have.
We don't, we're not looking at a type. We're not looking at
a tabernacle. We're not looking at just a promise. A promise is as good as a fulfillment
with God, but nevertheless it's a lot harder to read. We're not
looking at a picture. We're looking at a completed
revelation. The explanation of every promise,
prophecy, and picture. We've got... We're more responsible
than any generation. Now you talk about our Lord said,
Hey, Capernaum! Hey, Capernaum! If the mighty
works or words which were done and preached to you had been
preached to Sodom, they would have repented. And I say, what
we have today, if the mighty words and the mighty works, what
if Herod had had a Bible? Instead of just a warning from
an itinerant preacher in a camel's-haired coat. What if a gripper had had
a Bible, like you and I have? Would they have repented maybe?
Our Lord said Sodom would have. Sodom would have, Tyre and Sodom
would have. Verse 3, For we which have believed,
that's us, that's believers who have rested in Christ, we which
have believed, do enter right now into a present rest. We enter into a rest. We who believe the gospel of
Christ do now enter into a rest, a rest of heart, rest of conscience,
a rest of soul, a rest in Christ, a present rest, an enjoyment
of God's presence and promises in assurance and confidence of
our hope in Christ. We've entered into a rest, into
a rest. And he said, I swore in my wrath
that they wouldn't enter into my rest, those who didn't believe.
Now he gives in verse 4 through 8, He gives some pictures of
that rest, typical, typical pictures. He just shows different types
of this rest. For he spake, verse 4, in a certain
place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh
day from all his work. God made the world. Six days
on the seventh day God rested. And that's a picture, just like
the Sabbath day of the Old Testament is a picture. of our entering
into Christ's rest, ceasing from our works and our labors, and
resting in Him. So spiritual, enjoying His presence,
resting in Christ. And then he gives another typical
picture in verse 5 and 6. He talks about Canaan. He said,
And in this place again they shall not enter into my rest,
seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter in, they
must enter in. They to whom it was first preached
entered not in because of unbelief." There were only two who were
over 20 years of age when he left Egypt who entered that Canaan,
and that was Joshua and Caleb. The rest didn't enter in because
of unbelief. And you see, Canaan is a typical
rest. It's a picture. Just like the
seventh day is not the end. It's a picture. Just like Canaan
is not the goal. When Israel got to Canaan, that
wasn't the goal because he said down here in verse 8, if Joshua
had given them rest, he wouldn't have spoken about a rest to come.
Even Canaan, when Israel left Egypt and went into the land
of milk and honey, and God divided it up, and they sat down and
picked big grapes and drank milk and honey, that wasn't the end.
That's just a picture of the rest which we have in Christ.
It's a picture. And he says, "...there remaineth
a rest to the people of God," verse 10, "...for he that is
entered into Christ rests." This is the rest. He's talking about
the person and work of Christ. He that has entered into his
rest. And I and some of you believe
that we've entered into that rest. We've been delivered from
the curse of the law, we've been delivered from the law as a covenant,
we've been delivered from the rules and regulations of the
Levitical law, we've been delivered from all of those things, we've
been delivered from our works, we've ceased from our labors
to attain the favor of God, and we have sat down in Christ and
rested. It's done, the great transaction's
done. I am my Lord's and he is mine.
I have nothing to do to add to it. I have already entered into
that rest. We do, for he that has entered
already into his rest, he has ceased from his works as God
did from his." Now, I've got three pictures there. God made
the world, and he finished it. He said, it's good. On the seventh
day, he rested. There's nothing else to be done.
There's nothing to be added. There's nothing to be done. There's
nothing to be contributed. He made man and set him down
in that garden of Eden. He said, there it is. There's
the birds, there's the sun, there's the sky, there's everything.
There's the water to come from the ground to water it. There's
the fruit trees, there's everything. There's your lovely wife. It's
all... Adam didn't add one blessed thing
to that garden. Not one thing. God finished and
he ceased from it. Second picture, when Jesus Christ
came down here to this earth as a representative person, and he took on himself to redeem
a people, a people given him by the Father. He was born of
a woman as we were, made under the law as we were. All in his
home life he was subject as we were supposed to be and weren't.
under the civil law, Levitical law. He was circumcised the eighth
day. His mother went for a purification.
He went to the temple, to everything. He went to the synagogue on the
Sabbath. He did everything that Levitical law commanded. He walked
through this life, and he was really tempted, tried, but he
never failed. He loved God with all his heart,
mind, soul, and strength, and his neighbors and such. He was
working out. He was working. He said, I work. I must be about my father's business.
I work for the night's coming when no man's going to work.
I'm working. He was working out a perfect
holiness. And when he went to the cross
and went through that agonizing time on Calvary, before he died,
he cried. The scripture said with a loud
voice, it's finished. It finished! And he gave up the
ghost. He went back to glory and sat
down, having finished his work. I tell you, there's nothing else
to be done. Christ has finished it. The work
of redemption is done, and he rested. And those who have been
so highly favored as to be delivered out of a religion
of works and activity and much ado and striving and going about
and trying to establish some kind of platform or some kind
of credit or some kind of ledger book with some good deeds, so
one day God will look with favor upon them. Some of us have been
delivered out of that, out of sin and idolatry and religion. And we have entered into His
rest, into what Christ has done, building upon and trusting in,
resting in, believing in, Him and His work, the person and
work of Christ. And we have ceased from our labor. Brother man, you say you cease
from labor and yet you're preaching somewhere over the country nearly
every night. And some of these men here are
studying and preaching and teaching. You folks come to church on Sunday
morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. This congregation is giving
gifts to support a ministry that's costing a quarter of a million
dollars a year out of this congregation here. and they're witnessing
to people, isn't that working? No, that's not work. That's not
work. That's a labor of love. That's
a work of faith. That's a response. You mothers that prepare the
meals for your little children, is that work? Oh, it's a joyful
work, Preacher. Well, that's what I'm talking
about. Would you quit? Oh no, I wouldn't quit. That's
what I'm saying. Like I said this morning, what
we do is not the cause of our justification, it's because of
our justification. Because we love Christ. Because. We cease. I never give another
dime because I have to. Not another dime. I never walk
another step because I have to. I never do another religious
deed because somebody told me to do it. I do it as a response to His
love, because it's in my heart. You see what I'm saying? We cease
from our works. I've entered into His rest. Nothing I say, do, or give makes
one contribution to that work which he finished. Now, that's
the Sabbath. And that's Canaan. And that's
what he says here in verse 3. Let us labor, therefore. You
say, well, that's the word labor. Well, it's a word so we can understand.
Strive, put forth every effort. Let's give it our diligent concern. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest right now, right now. Because you see, somebody
said, that rest is Christ, and that rest is his person and work,
and that rest is real, and it's enjoyable, and it's present.
And my friends, listen to this now. Heaven is but the perfection
of our present rest. That's right. What I'm saying
is right. Some folks got the idea, well,
Like the woman at the well, she said, well, I'm just going to
rock along here. When the Messiah comes, he'll
tell us. Well, some people say, well, in heaven, I'm going to
love Christ, but I don't love him now. In heaven, I'm going
to love the people of God, but I don't love them now. In heaven,
I'm going to be able to get along with people. I can't get along
with them now. You've missed it now. In heaven, I'm going
to do this, that, and the other, which I don't like to do now.
You've missed it. Heaven is but a continuation
of the present rest. It's a continuation of love for
Christ. It's a continuation and a perfection
of love for one another. It's a continuation of a direction
that we are now walking. And it's the ultimate perfection
of that rest. But brethren, we've already entered
into this rest. That's right. That's right. We've already, he said, we've
already entered into that rest. All right, I'm going to give
you, and quit, I've preached long enough, but I'm going to
give you six things here I believe will shed some light, and I'm
going to give them just outline form. You say, well, if this
faith brings rest, why is there so much unrest in religion? Why is there so much unrest in
churches? There's not here. There's not
here. Do you realize what an unusual
church this is? What an unusual church without
all the bickering and quarreling and voting and business meetings
and folks falling out and all that sort of thing. Love makes
the difference. Love for one another. Why is there so much unrest in
homes? People are religious, but they
fuss and fight like cats and dogs. People are religious, but
their children can't get along. They can't get along. They can't
get along with the people they work with. They're like a sea
in constant turmoil. They haven't entered His rest.
That's right. They haven't entered His rest.
And there's unrest, but you enter his rest. I'll give you six things
here that'll help you. Number one, this true faith that
leads into a present rest, this true faith, draws its hope and
confidence from the Word of God, not from feeling and experience.
That's right, from the Word of God. You see, religious fundamentalism
and religious easy-believerism and religious presumption leans
upon the senses, my feelings, my experiences, my good deeds. And when those good deeds outweigh
the bad ones and when my feelings are on the mountain and when
my experiences are keen and sharp, then I rest. But when my feelings
go sour, and when my experiences are not as sharp as usual, and
when my good deeds aren't very evident, well, I'm not resting. I feel kind of lost. Peter, let me give you this illustration.
Peter had come in from fishing, was washing his net. He'd been
out there all night, washing his net. And Christ came up and
said, did you catch anything? He said, not a nibble. The Lord
said, well, get in the boat and cast it out there. Well, Peter
threw his nets in and he cast it out. He said, now, cast your
nets on the right side. Well, this fisherman of great
ability knew those waters and knew the tides and knew everything
about fishing. He said, Lord, I fished out here
all night. I've been here all night, and
I haven't caught anything. at your Word, I'll let down the
men. Brethren, that's where it is.
That's exactly where it is. And that's, will you believe
God or your feelings? True faith draws all of its confidence
and hope from the Word. You see, like the tabernacle
of old, and the altar of old, and the mercy seat of old, where
Christ dwelt, this Word is the tabernacle. He dwells right here.
All right, secondly, true faith embraces every promise and blessing
and gift as it is in Christ and as Christ is in it. That's what
somebody read in the study. I believe it was Arthur Redd.
We're chosen in Christ, accepted in Christ, loved in Christ, forgiven
in Christ, and redeemed in Christ. Every blessing and promise that
God has in every gift is in Christ, and the believer comes to Christ
for that gift. And the believer is more interested
in the person than he is the gift. Now presumption and fundamentalism
is interested in the blessing. Here's the question. Do you want
to go to heaven? What true faith asks, do you
want to know Christ? Presumption and fundamentalism
talks this way, do you want to miss hell? Faith asks this question,
would you like to be saved from sin? See the difference? There's a difference. Thirdly, true faith looks to
Christ as prophet, priest, and king. Now, the Old Testament
covenant, those offices never met in one man. The prophet Moses,
the priest Aaron, and the king David, none of them ever held
those three offices. The people were taught by the
prophet, the sacrifice was offered by the priest, and they were
ruled over by the king. The believer doesn't divide Christ's office.
The believer comes to Christ as his prophet to reveal God
as his priest to atone and make satisfaction as his king to reign
over him. And fundamentalism and a false
faith will divide those offices and you can't have rest with
those offices divided. There's no way you can have rest. Now fourthly, true faith. Now watch this. True faith maintains its claim
to mercy and grace through Christ, no matter the trial, no matter
the disappointment, no matter the personal failure. A false faith will quit. John
said that. He said if they had been of us,
they would no doubt have continued with us. But they quit, that
it might be evident they weren't of us, because John is insisting
That true faith will continue to believe Christ like Job of
old, when he said, though he slay me, I'll trust him. Or like
Eli, it's the Lord, let him do what he will. Or like this, and
I know I've read this before, but I'm going to share it one
more time. Turn to the book of Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk. And this is one of the most powerful. most powerful portions of Scripture
in the Bible. Oh, this, I tell you this is
something maybe some of you ladies have cut things out of the bullets
and put them on your refrigerator and some of you men put them
on a bulletin board, some of them put them on your desk. You ought
to type this out and put it somewhere where you can see it every day.
Listen to Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 3.17, you got it? Habakkuk 3.17. Although the fig tree shall not
blossom. Now you have to remember what
farming and cattle and these things meant to those people.
They depended on these things. The fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vine, nothing on the fig tree
and nothing on the grape arbor. The labor of the olive shall
fail, nothing on the olive tree, no oil. And the field shall yield
no meat, nothing in the corn field or the wheat field or the
barley field. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, There's
no herd in the stalls, there's not the lowing of a cow or the
bearing of a sheep, nothing out there. Yet, I will rejoice in
the Lord, I will join the God of my salvation. That's rest. Now that's rest. And that kind of rest comes only
through that kind of faith. But that's the rest. And then
fifthly, the higher that true faith is exalted. Now listen
to me. I know I've run into a lot of religious pride. I've run
into a lot of jealousy among preachers. Jealousy. Oh my, so
jealousy. And pride and religious arrogance
among preachers and deacons and folks in religious circles. That's
not rest. The higher true faith is exalted
in blessings, in revelations, in understanding, the lower does
it sink in its own eyes. I believe that. This is not true
of false faith. The more presumption progresses,
the more pride, self-conceit, and self-righteousness is evident. God, I thank you. I'm not like
those of you. I'm holier than thou. Like the Pharisee said
of the woman that washed Christ's feet with tears, he said if he
were a prophet, he wouldn't let her touch him. But I'm glad he
did, aren't you? David cried, O Lord God, who
am I? When David reached his pinnacle
of power, he said, Who am I and what is my house that we should
be brought hither to? I'm telling you this because
it's true. And if you can't detect, I don't
feel holier than I was ten years ago. I feel less holy. I'm perfect
in Christ. We sing that song, I'm pressing
on to higher ground. I never felt that I was pressing
on to much higher ground. I feel like I'm slipping. Take
one step forward and two backwards. But I'll tell you, I'm on as
high a ground as you can get in Christ. Nearer, so near to
God, nearer I cannot be in the person of the Son. I'm as near
as He. I'm as holy as God in Christ. But out of Christ, Out
of Christ, I'm as unholy as any derelict down there on the street. That's right. And you are too. And we need to get some coffee.
God can bring us down, you know. He has ways. He knows where your
bodily feel is. He could set it on fire. That's
why, who was that, Absalom Joab? You remember Absalom, who wanted
to come see him, he wouldn't come? He just set his feel on
fire. And he came in and said, Well, what did you set my field
on fire for? He said, I sent for you. And
I'm telling you, if God wants us down to dust, he knows where
your field is, and he'll burn her down. He'll burn her down. So why don't we just come on
down where we belong anyway? The believer sees himself as
a miracle of grace more every day. What do you have you didn't
receive? That's true faith. That's a risk.
I don't have to put on anything in front of God. I can just be
myself. Isn't that relaxing? You can
go to the Lord and pray and say, Lord, you know me, here I am
again. And he does, that's rest. You don't have to, like that
old boy came in drunk every night, you know, and his wife was real
religious. And he came in drunk one night
and he got religious and he said, pray for me. So she got down,
you know, on her knees and she said, Lord, she said, have mercy
on my poor drunk husband. He said, don't tell him I'm drunk,
tell him I'm sick. Who's letting it all out, isn't
it? I tell you, rest. Rest. Tells you you're drunk. That's it. Rest comes before
God. So this is the way it is, Lord.
You knew it before I did. And you know it better than I
do. And here I am, resting in Christ. All right. Sixthly, the
faith of God's elect is always accompanied by much love to Christ.
I tell you, how can I help but love him when he loved me so?
I much love the Christ. The more I see his glory, the
more I see his holiness, the more I see God's requirement,
the closer I get to that day, the more important he becomes,
the object of our affection, the object of our affection,
Christ the Lord. He's husband, brother, friend,
mother, wife, father. He's my life. Without Him, I
am nothing.