One once said, the grave, the
grave is an awful leveler. That is, people in the cemetery
are all the same. They're all dead. In the cemetery
out there in Rose Hill, there are no Jews and Gentiles, there
are dead people. They're no rich and poor. A man
may have been buried in great wealth, but he's still dead. A man may have been buried in
a grave provided by someone else in clothes provided by someone
else, but he's still dead. And out there in the cemetery,
they're no learned or ignorant, they're just dead. They're no
black or white. They're all the same. They're
dead. Now this may be true. There is some truth to that.
But there is one distinction out there. There's one distinction. And
it's the most important distinction. And it's one that matters a great
deal to the one who matters a great deal. The Lord God. The one distinction. There's
one distinction. Whether they're short or tall,
old or young, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, black or white, whatever
they are, they're all dead, I know that. But there is a distinction,
a distinction that matters a great deal to God Almighty. Among the
dead out there in that cemetery, and in every one in this world,
there are those who died in faith. There are those who died in faith.
Men die in sin. And Christ said, if you die in
your sins, you cannot come where I am. Men either die in sin or
they die in faith. And that's the only separation
between men and death, is to die in sin or die in faith. Let's
turn back to the scripture that Jay read a moment ago, Hebrews
chapter 11. This is what verse 13 says, and
this is my text. Verse 13 of Hebrews 11. And all there is talking about
Abraham, Enoch, Noah, Abel, Moses, Sarah. These all died in faith. Now the Holy Spirit puts the
believer in a special class. The Holy Spirit makes a distinction
right here in God's Word. We make these distinctions between
men. Jew and Gentile. Isn't that a
shame? Black and white. Isn't that a crime? Rich and
poor, old and young. Some we hold in favor and some
in contempt. That's a shame. God's no respecter
of a man's merit. God's no respecter of a man's
person. God's no respecter of a man's color. That's for sure.
But God does honor this distinction. The Holy Spirit makes this distinction. The Holy Spirit says these died
in faith. These died in faith. They're
in a special class. Now Moses and Pharaoh both died,
but Moses died in faith. There's a difference. Goliath and David both died,
not at the same time, but they both died. But David died in
faith. There's a difference. Herod and
John. Herod the king, John the baptizer. They both died. They'd been dead
a long time. But John died in faith. There's
a difference. There's nothing left of Herod
or John, either one, except that which made the difference, faith.
They've both gone back to the dust from whence they came. They've
both gone back to the earth. But faith, that's the distinction.
John died in faith. Agrippa and Paul both died. But Paul died in faith. You see
what I'm saying? Judas and Peter both died. They
both died. Judas died when he jumped off
of a mountain and his bowels gushed out. Bursted himself open
in suicide. But Peter died crucified upside
down. while the mob hooted and mocked
and ridiculed. But they both died. But Peter
died in faith. These all died in faith. And when believers come to die,
they don't have to seek faith. It's too late then to seek faith,
generally speaking. Somebody said there is a thief
on the cross who was saved in the eleventh hour. There is one.
Go through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you'll only find
one. There is one. Of the multitudes who died, there's
one. There's one who on his deathbed
repented, on his deathbed believed, on his deathbed was gloriously
saved. One thing. There is but one that
no one may despair. God is almighty to save in the
eleventh hour or the first hour or the ninth hour or the third
hour. But remember, there is only one that none may presume. These all died in faith, they
lived in faith, they died in faith. Men die like they live. I hope you'll accept that warning.
I hope you won't get angry with me as Paul said, am I your enemy
because I tell you the truth? If men live by the sword, doesn't
the scripture say that's the way they die? Isn't that the
way they die? If men live by hate, they die
in hate. If men live in rebellion, they
die in rebellion. If they live in indifference,
they die in indifference. I can't change that. That's just
so. Men who live in faith, Charlie,
die in faith. That's the way they die. They
die in faith. That's the way they live. That's the way they
die. They lived praising God, they died praising God. They
lived trusting Christ, they died trusting Christ. They lived worshiping
God, they died worshiping God. And the folks out there today
who are not worshiping God are going to die not worshiping God.
That's the way they're going to die, the way they live. They may wait until some doctor
says, son, your heart's so bad you don't have six months to
live, and then go seeking the Lord. Most of the time it's too
late. Most of the time it's too late.
Men die like they live. The death sentence has already
been pronounced, the death instrument's already been discovered, the
cause has already been revealed. Your motive's all wrong now.
You're seeking God to stay out of hell. That's the wrong motive.
You're seeking God now because you don't have anything to give
to the world. You'll give God the leavings. You'll give him
what's left over. He says, first fruits. That's what belongs to
me. That's what belongs to me. Serve the Lord in the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not, when your heart shall
say, My soul hath no pleasure in these things. But these people
died in faith. And they died even though they
had faith. Are you with me? They died even though they had
faith. Faith will not keep you from
dying. It'll keep you from the judgment. It'll keep you from
the wrath of God. It'll keep you from condemnation.
It'll keep you from eternal damnation. But it won't keep you from dying. Catherine Kuhlman, the unfortunate
individual who made a fortune as a hookster of religious miracles,
the woman who had the program, I believe, in miracles. When
she got sick, she was in a hotel, and the ambulance came to get
her. And she was so, so sick, so terribly, terribly ill that
they brought the stretcher in to put her on the stretcher and
to take her out to the ambulance. And she begged them to help her
walk out. I can't go out in front of the
people on a stretcher. I've preached faith. I've claimed
faith. I've claimed miracles. I've claimed
healing. If I go out of this place on a stretcher, people
are going to lose their faith. Yeah, that's right. If your faith's
in the strength of the flesh, you'll lose it when that flesh
fails. If your faith is in any wisdom of men, when that wisdom
fails, your faith will fail. But I'll tell you this, if your
faith and confidence is in Christ alone, And you know that this
frail flesh will wither. It's a result of sin, my friends. When Adam fell, God said, in
the sweat of your brow you're going to eat bread, and dust
to dust thou shalt return. You're not going to change that.
Faith's not going to change that. That's judgment on the flesh.
And the flesh shall return to the earth from whence it came,
and the soul to God who gave it. And the woman, God said, I'll
multiply thy sorrow, thy sorrow in the flesh. We shall have tribulation
and sorrow. They that would live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. The man who believes, his eyesight
grows dim just like the man who doesn't believe because they're
both made out of the same clay. The man who believes gets sick
just like the man who doesn't believe gets sick. That's the
flesh. That's the body we're in. My
kingdom's not meat and drink, Christ said. My kingdom's not
wealth and health. My kingdom is righteousness and
peace. Wish we could see that. If some
of the American people could see it, these religious hucksters
wouldn't be getting wealthy on people's emotional and sentimental
tendencies, making a fortune on people who are sick, and people
who are frail, and people who have infirmities. It's true,
God heals all healers of God. God is able to heal anyone. But
if God healed everyone, no one would die. To live is Christ,
to die is gain. Death's not your enemy. Death
will usher you into the presence of the Lord, if you know Him.
And brethren, sickness is good for me, David said, that I've
been afflicted. It's good for me. It's good for me that I've
been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. It's good
for me. All things work together for
good to them who love God, even the affliction, even the infirmities,
even the weaknesses, even the sicknesses. Beloved, count it
not strange when fiery trials come upon you. You're there to
try your faith. Paul says, I know how to abound
and I know how to be abased. How did he know how to be abased?
He'd been abased in sicknesses, in prisons, in stonings, in persecution,
in mockings, in troubles, in trials. The apostle experienced
those things. His friend Epaphroditus was very
sick, now unto death. Another one was sick. These all
died in faith, even though they had faith, they died. Some of
the greatest preachers of the gospel who ever lived, preachers
that these present-day fellows couldn't carry their briefcases,
have died relatively young. Charles Spurgeon was 58. Augustus Toplady, who wrote Rock
of Ages, was only 35 when he died. David Brainerd, one of the greatest
missionaries who ever preached the gospel to the Indians of
North America, dying, he's 29 years old, so young, so tender,
but so loved of God. Robert Murray McShane, 29, I
could just go on and on and on naming John the Baptist, 33. Huh? 33. I know he was God's
messenger. I know he was. So these people
all died in faith. Even though they had faith, they
died. And watch this. They died in faith. They persevered
in faith. Faith to them was not a theory.
They were in faith. Faith to them was not a myth,
faith to them was not a profession only, faith to them was not a
religious persuasion. What is your denominational preference? That's been on every one of these
census cards that these churches take. What is your denominational
preference? I never saw a question on there
yet. Do you know Christ? Do you know Christ? I like what that old boy said
lying in the hospital when the chaplain came by with his Bible,
you know, and so pious and holier than thou, and he came by to
visit up and down the ward, you know, and he stopped by one fellow
and said, what is your persuasion? And the man looked at him and
said, sir, he said, I said, what is your persuasion? He said,
I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principality
shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ. I'm
persuaded. That's my persuasion. They died
in faith, smack in faith. They died involved in faith. They died embracing faith. They
died resting in faith. They died in faith. They were
in faith in Christ and therefore in God. In faith. In faith. And let me tell you
this, hold on to your pew there a minute. These all died in faith. That is, they never got beyond
faith. Now, brother, it names some stars
here. It names some folks that excelled. It starts out with a fellow named
Abel. You know about him? Old Abel.
Then it comes to a fellow named Noah, old Noah, and then it comes
to a fellow named Enoch, who walked with God. Then it comes
to a fellow called Abraham, and then it comes to a fellow called
Isaac, and a woman named Sarah, and it says they died, watch
it, in faith. It doesn't say anything
about them dying. in the second blessing? Huh? It didn't say anything about
dying in the higher life, or the victorious life, or the baptism
of the Holy Ghost. It says they died in faith. They
never got beyond faith! They never got beyond faith! That's where they started, and
that's where they wound it up. In faith! Faith in Christ. The
just shall live by faith. He never gets beyond trusting.
He never gets beyond believing. He never gets beyond resting.
See what I'm saying? They died in faith, the common
faith. The only faith. There's one Lord,
one faith. One faith. They all had the same
faith. They died in faith. Look to Christ,
and they did. And he died looking to Christ
Jesus. He never got beyond that. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He did. And that's the way he died. Believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Cast your soul on the mercy of
God. And he did. And that's the way
he died. Still casting his soul on the mercy of God. Look to
the Lamb of God. And he did. And that's the way
he died. Looking to the Lamb of God. They never got beyond
faith. They died in faith. In faith. Look at the next line. These
all died in faith. Not, not having received the
promises. Oh, they'd received a whole lot.
Abraham, the Lord had called him. Brother, the Lord had called
him. The Lord says, Get thee out of thy father's
house and from the land, from thy kindred, and go to land I'll
show you." God called him. He knew God called him. He'd
heard God's Word. God spoke to him. God providentially
led him, protected him, washed over him. God blessed him. Yes,
he'd received a whole lot. But Abraham had not yet seen
his seed as the sands of the seashore and the stars of the
sky. He didn't see that promise. Abraham knew that through his
seed would come Shiloh, but he'd never seen Shiloh. Abraham knew that through him
would come one like unto Melchizedek, a high priest forever over the
house of God, but he'd never seen him. Not having received
the promise of God. Not having received the promises. Not having received. Oh, he received
a whole lot. Not having received. He died
in faith. You see, look at verse 1 of chapter
11. Faith is a substance of things hoped for. Hoped for. The evidence of things not seen,
but hoped for. He hadn't received the promises.
But he'd received a whole lot. And you and I, we've received
a lot. We've received, God's called us by his word. When Jay
was reading this word while ago, my heart was blessed. I found
in this word assurance. I found in this word confidence
and hope. When Jay and Shirley were singing
while ago about that precious blood of Christ that would never
lose its power, My soul was made glad. Our dear dying lamb, thy
precious blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed
church of God be saved to sin no more. Made me glad. And when
Lord was standing here praying a moment ago, I tell you, that
blessed my soul. I rejoiced in my spirit. when
this man whom I've known for 34 years preached to and been
his pastor and chairman of the board of deacons of this church,
the vice president of Ashe and all, stand here before a congregation
before the Lord God of heaven and talk about him who loved
us and died for us and was buried and rose again. And all our hope
and trust is in him. Didn't that make you glad? When
he left the platform, I said, thank you for that prayer. I
received a lot. I've received a lot, but I haven't
yet received the fullness of the promises. Not yet. I haven't
either. Abraham had not received it since
they died in faith, in hope, not having received the promises. I haven't seen a vision. Some dear lady came in Bob's
gallery the other day and wanted to know if I had any pictures
of the Lord. I don't think she asked you. She asked somebody
else. I'm glad she didn't ask you. You might have got ugly. She said, you got any pictures
of the Lord? No, I ain't got no pictures of
the Lord. Have you? God's a spirit. I've never seen a picture of
the Lord. I've never seen a vision. Have you? Never have. I've seen Him right here, though,
lots of times. I've seen Him with these eyes
of faith. I've seen Him. That's what the
next line says. They haven't received the promises,
but they've seen Him! They've seen Him. They've seen
Him afar off. Faith had touched the eye of
Abraham and he had seen the Lord. Yes, he had. No, he had never
seen a vision. He didn't have Solomon's head
of Christ hanging on the on the wall of his tent. He didn't worship
idols. He didn't have a cross hanging
around his neck. He didn't have any crucifixes
to bow before, but faith had touched the eye of Abraham, and
he saw my day, Christ said. He saw my day, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off, afar off. Time has a way of revealing things
as they really are. I've seen folks get real religious
and get weary of it before too many years pass by. I've seen
others come to know Christ and see the promises afar off and
hold to them to their reality. Yes, sir, Abraham saw my day. Did he not see Christ when he
met Melchizedek? Oh, yes, he did. He saw Christ,
the High Priest, the great High Priest, without beginning of
days or ending of days, without mother or father having neither
beginning or ending. He saw Christ. Melchizedek appeared to him,
and he paid tithes to that man whom he'd never seen. He knew
he was God's High Priest. Did not Abraham see Christ in
the miraculous birth of Isaac? Here his wife is, ninety-some-odd
years old, and him a hundred. And he hears crying from the
tent door of that wife's tent, the wail of a baby boy. Huh? Woo! Abraham, miracle! God's
miracle. Birth from a womb, now dead.
And that's the way Christ came. Miracle. Did he not see Christ
on Mount Moriah when He took the realm and sacrificed Him
in the stead of His Son? Did he not see Christ as He watched
in the plains of Sodom and the fire of God fell and the wrath
of God destroyed that city while God delivered Lot and his daughters? Yeah, Abraham saw. It was with
the eye of faith. It was with the eye of understanding.
It was with an eye of revelation. It was an eye to the truth of
God. He saw. He saw things afar off. And you and I, I've seen some
things. I see some things as clear, clearer than if I'd seen
them with these eyes. Because my friend, you doubt
these eyes sometimes. And a vision or a dream, don't
trust it. You can take a powerful medicine
and hallucinate. You better not put any stock
in a dream or a vision or a special revelation. You put stock in
God's revelation, His Word. If they speak not according to
the law and the prophets, it's because there's no light in them.
Turn to Isaiah. I want to show you something
over here. I believe it's Isaiah. I think this is where it is.
Isaiah chapter 8. I want you to look at this. Now, let me warn you. Let me
warn you. Any religious leader, who claims
to have a new revelation, stay away from him. The book's closed,
the book's complete, the revelation's complete. Any religious leader,
male or female, who claims to have any dealings with the spirit
world, in the sense that they can bring back the dead, or they
can predict the future, listen to me, or that they have special
powers, medium powers, you better stay clear of them. I'm warning
you, anybody who prophesies, any fortune teller, any person
with that type of ministry, puts his hand on your head and says,
your name is Floyd Burns, and you're 49 years old, and your
doctor's name is Dr. Paul Jones, and you've got a
cancer in the colon, you'd better run from that burden. You'd better
run from it. Now listen to this Scripture.
Verse 19, Isaiah 8, And when they shall say unto you, Seek
unto them that have familiar spirits. Let's go to that fellow
because he knows your name and the address, and he's in touch
with the spirits. My friend, he's in touch with
the spirits, all right. Demon spirits. Fearful demon
spirits. You say, can he really do that?
Does the devil know your name? Well, he can tell his buddy your
name then. Huh? Well, sure he can. He's trying
to make you, he's trying to reach you for his own forces and power
to keep you from Christ. He don't play fair. He doesn't
let you draw first. He's not one of the good guys,
John. He doesn't wear a white hat. He's going to deal with
you where you are vulnerable. I'm telling you, familiar spirit,
and unto wizards, fortune tellers, What do you think of this, what's
her name, Dixon? Demon possessed, no question
in my mind about it. Read on, that's the truth. And
it mutters, should not a people seek unto their God? Do you go
for the living to the dead? What's this next verse? To the
law! That is the word of God. The testimony! If they speak
not according to this word, it's because there's no light in them.
Can God be clearer? You want anything else? Better
be careful. King Saul went to a wizard that
peeped. Found out some things he didn't
want to find out, too. And I'm telling you this, you
go to playin' with that spirit, And you'll be hurt. You go to
seeking demon spirits and demonology and demon understanding, and
you go to playing with the forces of the evil world of darkness,
and you'll hardly get what you're looking for. That's right, isn't
it, Charlie? You'll get what you're looking
for. I tell you where you better go, my friend, for any answer
is right here to the Word of God. Go to the Word, and go to
that, if you hear a preacher, Get the book open, and he's going
verse by verse through the Word. If he's staying true to who God
is and who man is and who Christ is, give him a hearing. Give
him a hearing. This is where your confidence
is. They saw, he said, they saw them afar off. We see Christ
in every page of prophecy, promise, and picture. We see Christ in
the flesh as our surety. We see Christ on the cross as
our substitute. We see Christ on the throne as
our king. We see Christ before the Father
as our mediator. We see Christ coming again. Coming
again. not having received the promises
or the reality of them or the fullness of them. I don't have
a new body yet, but I'm going to. I've still got a body of
the flesh, so have you. I haven't received
a likeness to Christ yet, but I'm going to. I haven't entered
into his glorious presence forever yet, but I'm going to, not having
received the promise. See how akin we are to Abraham? We see the heaven-born child
in human flesh arrayed. Praise to God and peace on earth
proclaim aloud for such a birth. We see one hanging on a tree
in agony and blood, who fixed his languid eyes on me as near
his cross I stood. I see thee in thy table, Lord,
my faith with great delight. Oh, how blessed these joys will
be when my faith has turned to sight. I see him coming, glorious
King, who wants a cross upbore. Let saints redeemed, his praises
sing, and angel hosts adore. I see, I see. Not like men of the flesh, see,
but I see. That's what it says here. These
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off. I see them clear back yonder
to the council halls of eternity, Christ my surety. I see them
back yonder 4,000 years B.C. in the offering of Abel. I see
them back there 2,000 years B.C. in the calling of Abraham. I
see them back there in Egypt. In Joseph's time, in Moses' time,
I see them back there 2,000 years ago on the cross when Christ
died. And I see them as I look ahead.
He's coming back. I see them. I read on. And we're
persuaded of them. These died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them by faith, and we're
persuaded of them. I am persuaded, Paul said. He's
able. I'm persuaded. Turn to Romans
4. Romans chapter 4. Let's read
about Abraham and his persuasion. I kind of like that word, persuasion.
I got on that this morning. I'm persuaded. It says in Romans,
and this is the reason I think we like it, Romans 4, 21, look
at it. Talking about Abraham, verse
20, said he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.
was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what God had promised God was able to perform. And therefore
it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now then, it was not written
for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also
to whom it shall be imputed if we, what, believe on him. that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead who was delivered for our offenses and raised for
our justification. Do you believe? I do believe. I do. I believe. I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him.
I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded that there's nothing
that the philosophers can do for me. I'm persuaded there's
something Christ can do. I am persuaded that there's nothing
I can do for myself. I am persuaded there's no merit
in my flesh. I'm persuaded of that. But I'm
persuaded that in His flesh there was merit. He perfectly obeyed
God's law. I am persuaded that if God Almighty
let me go, I'd spend eternity in hell. I'm persuaded of that. I am persuaded by His grace in
Christ and through the sacrifice of the Son of God, not because
of anything I've done or given, but because of what He's done
and what He gave, I'll spend eternity in glory. I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded that there's nothing
of any eternal good in what we call religion per se today. I
really am. I'm persuaded of that. I'm persuaded
that most of what we call religion is covetousness, is a vain show,
is an intellectual display, is emotionalism, sentimentalism,
superstitionism. I'm persuaded of it. I'm persuaded that they that
worship God worship Him not by carrying candles and dressing
in robes and making fancy noises and speaking in unknown tongues.
And going through all sort of gibberish, I'm persuaded that
they that worship God, worship Him in spirit and truth. That
they're an ordinary people, a common people with a common faith, who
look to God from their hearts, who know their sins and their
inability and their failings and failures and infirmities. And they say, God be merciful
to me, a sinner, and rest in Christ alone. That salvation
is not in ceremony, it's not in ritual, it's not in legalism.
Salvation is not in superstition and making all kind of funny
signs. Salvation's in Christ Jesus and resting in Him alone,
whether I'm at home or in church or on the job. If they know what to do, you
know good to go to what they call a holy land. You need to
go to a holy Redeemer and rest in Him. And we've made religion fancy,
we've made it special, we've turned it over to preachers and
hooksters and folks making merchandise of the souls of men. Salvation
and faith is yours! A relationship with Christ is
a personal relationship that you have! You don't get it from
some preacher shaking his hand or parading down some aisle or
going through some ordinance. You get that redemption and that
salvation as a gift of God! by believing on Christ. And he
who is least in the kingdom of God is greatest in the kingdom
of God. And he who is a nobody is somebody
by God's grace. And every child of God is a saint.
Every child of God is a king. Every child of God is a priest.
Christ is our great high priest. And there is no clergy and laity
in God's kingdom. That's an invention of men. They're
pastors, people who are anointed of God to take a message. But
I'll tell you, it's a dying man preaching to a dying man. That's
right. God help us. Oh, we're in such
a mess today. We've got a commercialized religion,
we've got commercialized holy days, we've got commercialized
covetous competition among preachers. God help us, and I don't think
he's going to. I think somebody's going to have
to have the nerve and grace and boldness to come out from among
them and say, I will not participate. I'm not going to participate
in your phony religion, I'm not going to participate in your
phony shows, I'm not going to participate in your phony works,
and I'm not going to promote your phony leaders. I'm going
to look to Christ, I'm going to find somebody who has a kindred
spirit, and we're going to sing praise to God from whom all blessings
flow. They were persuaded of them,
I'm persuaded! I'm persuaded. Look at the next
verse, the next line. And they embraced them. Oh, here
we are. They embraced them. I can't do
this for you. We're coming to the place where
it's personal. Oh, how personal. This word embraced
is used, Jay and I looked at this yesterday, it's used five
times in the Bible. Embraced. Four times. You know what it is? Well, it's
right here. It says, when Jacob saw his grandsons,
the sons of Joseph, what did he do? He embraced them. He embraced them and kissed them. Oh, he loved those boys. Joseph's
boys. He said, Joseph, I never thought
I'd see you alive again, and here I've not only seen you,
but I've seen your boys. He embraced them. Paul was leaving,
Acts 20, verse 1, he was leaving never to see these men again,
these elders, Antioch. What did he do, Charlie? He embraced
them. I bet they clung together there
for a long time and wept. Embraced them. And this is what
it's saying here, it's to enfold in the arms, it's to lay hold
upon, and I'll tell you this, my hungry soul sees in this book
a hope, and I embrace it. My thirsty, weary soul sees in
Christ the living water, and the healing
balm, and the blessed atonement, and the fountain of blood. And
let me tell you something, this old sinner, this old weak, wicked,
worthless sinner, ragged, bankrupt, broke, and homesick is going
to lay hold on Christ. I ain't going to let him go.
I'm going to embrace Him. I know the word to some is salute.
You go ahead and salute. I'm going to lay hold on Him.
You go ahead. You go ahead and salute. You
go ahead and acknowledge. I'm going to embrace Him. I'm
going to engulf Him in my arms. I'm going to enfold Him in my
arms. And I don't care what others do. Me and my house are going
to lay hold on Christ with all we've got to embrace Him. Embrace him. And then last of
all, and they confessed. What did they confess? Two things.
They confessed, first of all, that they're strangers and pilgrims
on this earth. We're not here to stay. Some
of you are going to have to stay. You're mortgaged for 30 years.
Isn't that foolish? They confessed they're pilgrims,
strangers on this earth. This is not where I'm going to
stay. Some of you must be planning to stay. You're driving those
stakes awful deep. Awful deep. You're driving them
awful deep. And when you have a decision
to make between those things that lay hold upon you in this
life and those things for which you've been laid hold of, you
make the wrong decision sometimes. Some of you must be figuring
on staying here because these things are awfully important
to you. But these folks here, they confessed. publicly, personally,
privately. They confessed. This ain't my
home. This is not my home. That's what
they confessed. What else they confessed? They
said plainly. They declared plainly so that
everybody could understand. They declared plainly. They were
identified. They let it all hang out. We're
looking for a country. You just can't reach out here
and take one of these statements, you gotta have them all. These
died in faith. They died in faith, not having
realized the fulfillment of the promises, but they saw them!
They saw them. And they were persuaded of them!
And they embraced them! And they let everybody know,
this is not my home. This is not my home. We're strangers
here, we're living in tents. Living in tents. Pilgrims on
this earth. And we're looking, we're looking.
We're seeking plainly. I want you to know and everybody
to know, I'm looking for a country. Look at this next verse. Truly,
if they'd been mindful, if their hearts and minds had still been
in that old country from whence they came out, they could have
gone back. Ain't nobody holding you. Christ said to his disciples,
will you also go away? Abraham could have packed up
and went home, but his mind wasn't at home. His mind was in that
land that God had promised him. He could have gone back. God
Almighty doesn't put a chain around His people's necks. He
puts love in their hearts. God Almighty doesn't put a chain
on His people's arms and legs and drive them along against
their wills. He puts a motivation and a love
in their hearts. Yeah, if your heart's still in
Sodom, go back. If your heart's still down there
in Moab, go back. If your heart's still down there,
if that's where your mind and heart dwell, go on back. But, look at verse 16, now they
desire a better... See the word country? Italics,
isn't it? The translators put it in there
hoping to help us, but they didn't help us too much. It's they desire
a better life, a better country, a better family, the better presence
of Christ, the better blessings, the better everything. They desire
better.