These All Died In Faith

I want you to turn in your Bibles
to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, and let me read two or three
verses of Scripture, beginning with verse 13. Now I'm speaking
today on the subject, These All Died in Faith. These All Died
in Faith. And the Scripture reads in Hebrews
11, 13, These All Died in Faith. not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth, they plainly declare that they seek a country,
a better country. Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. These are died in faith. It used to be the custom, years
ago, to write an inscription on the tombstone of a departed
friend in memory of his life or in memory of his faith. I've
always enjoyed walking through the old, old cemeteries and reading
these epitaphs on Charles Haddon Spurgeon's tombstone, which I
visited in London, England, several years ago, you will find these
words. Ever since thy faith, I saw the
stream thy flowing wounds supply. Redeeming love has been my theme
and will be till I die. Another marker which I saw in
an old cemetery in which is buried John Newton and John Bunyan and
Isaac Watts and some of these great old hymn writers, I found
another marker on the tombstone which read, Till He Comes. That's all. It had the name of
the departed believer in three words, Till He Comes. They buried M. T. Martin, one
of the great preachers of the state of Mississippi, many, many
years ago, almost a hundred years ago. On his tombstone they wrote
his name in five words, a bondslave of Jesus Christ. Now that tells
a lot, doesn't it? A bondslave of Jesus Christ. Job, in Job 19, verse 23, wanted
these words written on his marker. He said, O that my words were
printed in a book, O that they were graven with lead in the
rock forever. I know my Redeemer liveth, and
on this earth shall stand. And though worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh I'll see the Lord, whom I shall see for
myself and not another. I know my Redeemer liveth." I
read a story one time about a terrible, devastating flood which took
place in one part of our country in which many people were killed.
and the body of a small boy they found later on after the flood
was over. They found the body of this little
fella, three, four, five years of age, and he was never identified
and no one ever claimed him. So they took him and buried him
in a grave and someone erected a tombstone over his little body
and wrote two words. It didn't have a name, but they
wrote two words, God knows. God knows. And I believe in our
text today we have the believer's epitaph. The epitaph which God
has written for every believer. Now God Almighty presides over
the death and over the burial of all his people just like he
did over the death and burial of Moses. Precious in the sight
of the Lord, the scripture says, is the death of his saints. He
seems to erect a giant mausoleum over the bodies of all his people
who sleep in Jesus and seems to write these words over that
mausoleum, these all died in faith. All of them in the same
faith. There's one Lord, one faith,
one baptism. And these all died in faith. The poem goes something like
this. We shall sleep, but not forever. There will be a glorious dawn.
We shall meet, depart, No, never, on that resurrection morn, from
the deepest caves of oceans, from the desert and the plain,
from the valleys and the mountains, all his sheep shall rise again. We shall sleep, but not forever,
in a lone and silent grave. Blessed be the Lord who taketh,
and blessed be the Lord who gave. In that bright eternal city,
death shall never, never come. And in his own good time, he'll
take us from this world to his eternal home. I want to be honest
with you. I want to keep back nothing that
is profitable unto you. I have not shunned and declared
unto you the whole counsel of God. I want to be true to your
soul, because God called me to preach the gospel, not to please
men, but to preach the gospel. And I want you to listen carefully
to me while I preach to you today on the subject, the believer's
epitaph. These all died in faith. I heard a story back years ago
about a lawyer in Memphis, Tennessee. A man who belonged to a church
there, a prominent church. He belonged there for many years.
He attended every Sunday morning and every Sunday night. He was
there ten or twelve or thirteen years. He was stricken with a
fatal heart attack. They put him in intensive care.
He was dying. He knew it. His wife knew it.
The doctor knew it. And he told his wife to send
for the pastor, the pastor of his church. Been his pastor for
ten, eleven years. They only permitted the pastor
to come in intensive care for a few moments. But he came in,
and this man, the lawyer, was lying there on the bed, and the
pastor came in, a liberal pastor. One who, like many today, did
not preach the word of God faithfully. One who was more interested in
entertaining people than edifying people. One who kept back much
of the scriptures because it would cause controversy and maybe
lose membership. But he came and stood by the
bedside of this dying lawyer, and the lawyer looked at him
and said, Pastor, I've listened to you preach now for ten years.
I've attended every service, every Sunday. I didn't expect
to die this soon. And I want you to know that I'm
on the threshold of eternity, and I want you to know this.
You have not prepared me for this hour. You have failed me. I don't want to fail you, and
I want you to listen to what I'm going to say on this subject
today. I'm going to deal with three
things. First is this. These all died in faith. What was the faith in which they
died? And then thirdly, how did this faith affect their lives?
Now he's talking about Abraham and Enoch and Abel and Moses
and Noah and Sarah. These all died in faith. Hebrews
chapter 11. The roll call of the faithful. God's hall of fame, so to speak. These all died in faith. The
first thing I note about this, listen to it. Abel, Abraham,
Moses, Noah, Sarah, these all died. Even though they had faith,
they died. And faith is not going to keep
you from dying. Faith is not going to keep you
from illness or from dying. Abel died as well as King. Moses
died as well as Pharaoh. David died as well as Saul. Jacob
died as well as Esau. Peter died as well as Judas.
And believers die as well as unbelievers. These all died. Abraham died. Moses died. Noah died. Faith is not going
to keep you from illness or from death. Scripture tells us that
one of Paul's companions was a man named And one day Paul
wrote this letter and said, I have left Trophimus behind because
he was very sick, very sick. And then he talked about a paphroditus
who was sick now unto death. That was another one of his companions.
And the scripture tells us the Lord loved Lazarus, but he died. And unless Christ returns soon,
you're going to die and I'm going to die. The first thing we learn
from this text, these all died in faith, is these all died. It is appointed unto men once
to die, and we need to consider it and think about it. Another
thing I notice about this, these all died in faith. That means,
and what I'm going to talk about now is vital, and you listen
carefully to These all died in faith, that is, they continued
in faith all their lives, and when they died, when they came
to the hour of death, they were still in that faith of Christ. They were confident in that faith
until they died. It seems to me that present-day
religion, I see these programs on television where the hundreds
and thousands walk down the aisle and and recite a little prayer,
and that's supposed to fix them up for eternity. That's supposed
to take care of everything and make sure that they're ushered
into the presence of God one of these days, no matter whether
they continue in the faith or continue in Christ or continue
in love or continue in faithfulness or not. But that's not true.
Our Lord tells us, he that endureth to the end, the same shall be
saved. Now, I have no hope for the individual
who does not die in faith. I have no hope for the individual
who does not continue in Christ, holding fast the profession of
his faith firm unto the end. That's what the scripture says.
Listen to Paul's testimony. I am now ready to die, to be
offered. The time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith. henceforth has
laid up for me a crown of righteousness." Now, my friend, the great object
of faith is Christ, but the great mark of faith is perseverance. The Scripture says, "...the righteous
shall hold his way, and he that hath clean hands shall grow stronger
and stronger." Now, you know what I'm saying is true. You
go to any church in this city or any other city and read their
And you'll find hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of names
on the church road who never darken the door of the church,
who never pray, who never read God's word, who never worship
God Almighty, who live very evil, sinful, worldly lives, who have
no interest in the gospel. They made a profession of faith
in a revival meeting or a high-pressure campaign or something like that,
and they claim that they're saved. And John said this. John in 1
John 2 says, "...they went out from us, but they were not of
us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us." These all died how? In faith. They didn't die looking
back to an old experience that stayed old. They didn't die claiming
when they were ten years old they joined the They didn't die
claiming there was some water sprinkled in their face when
they were 8 days or 10 days or 20 days old. They didn't die
claiming they got some kind of religious experience in a high-pressure,
Hollywood-type, evangelistic campaign. They died in faith. They died in faith. Now, the third thing about these
people, they died in faith. That is, they never got beyond
faith. They never got beyond faith. This is important. Abel,
Abraham, Noah, read that 11th chapter of Hebrews, Moses, my,
what a roll call. Wouldn't you like to have walked
with that crowd? Wouldn't you like to have belonged to that
group, that inner circle? Abel, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Enoch,
all live by faith in the promises of God. And they died believing
and embracing those promises, and they never got beyond trusting
God, and they never got beyond looking to Him by faith. They
died in faith. They died in faith. We walk by
faith, not by sight, the whole journey. The just shall live
by faith, the whole journey. These died in faith. I'm suspicious
of people who are forever demanding signs and wonders. They said
in Christ's day, show us a sign, show us something marvelous,
some miracle. Do the miracles here you did
in Capernaum. Christ said no sign shall be
given, but that of Moses, Jonah, that's the Word of God, that's
the only sign. I'm suspicious of people who claim visions and
dreams and new revelations. to supersede faith, to go beyond
faith, is not faith enough? We're justified by faith, we're
saved by faith, we're redeemed by faith. Someday I shall see
him face to face, but now I see through a glass dimly. Someday
I shall know, as I am known, faith is going to give way to
sight, faith is going to give way to reality. But now I know
in part. I prophesy in part. When that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be
done away. But until that which is perfect is come, until I see
my Lord face to face, I walk by faith. And I never get beyond
faith. I believe. You believe. And this
faith in him is sufficient. It's sufficient to live by, and
it's sufficient to die by. Abraham died by it. Moses died
by it. Abel died by it, Paul died by
it, he said, I believe God that it shall be even as he told me. That's sufficient. These all
died, but they died in faith. They died in faith. They didn't
die out yonder somewhere pouting on the side of the hill, they
died in faith. They died on the firing line,
they died trusting Christ, and they died in faith, believing
the word of God. They didn't have any visions
and signs and telegrams from heaven, they died in faith. Now
watch this. What was the faith in which they
died? Now this is important. You read on down in Hebrews 11,
13 there, and it says, these all died in faith, not having
received the promises. What does that mean? It means
this. Not having received the fulfillment of the Now, they
had received the promises, but not the fulfillment. Adam had
been told by God that the seed of woman shall bruise the head
of the serpent, destroy the power of the serpent, shall redeem
and deliver his people from the power of the serpent. But Adam
never did see that seed. Talking about Christ, Christ
came 4,000 years later. Adam never did see that seed,
the fulfillment of that promise. He had the promise, but not the
fulfillment. He accepted it by faith. Abraham
did not see his seed as the sands of the seashore, as the stars
of the sky. God said, Abraham, I'm going to give you a son.
And through that son, you're going to have so many seeds,
so many people, there'll be more than the stars of the sky or
the sands of the seashore. He never saw that come true.
He had the promise, but not the fulfillment. did not see Shiloh, in whom all
nations would be blessed. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, for Shiloh comes, the king of peace." Jacob never
saw him, but he had the promise. Isaiah never did see him who
was wounded for his transgressions. He wrote about him, he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The
chastisement of my peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we are healed. He never had the fulfillment
of that promise, but he had the promise. That's the faith in
which they lived and in which they died. And you and I have
not seen the coming of Christ yet. He says, I go away, but
I'll come again and receive you unto myself. You haven't seen
that. You have the promise. And I shall
raise you from the grave, because I live, you shall live. They'll
bury your body, but I'll bring it out of the grave. That's a
promise. You haven't seen it. And I'll take you to glory, and
you shall forever live with me." You haven't seen that fulfilled
yet. So you see, like them, we have the same faith. We have
a greater revelation than they have. We have a more extensive
revelation, but we live by promises, too, just like they did. Same
faith. They saw them afar off. Christ said, Abraham saw my day. He saw my day. Just like I see
his day, his second coming, the resurrection, the day of glory. I see it, not with these eyes. I've never had, I've been preaching
30 years and Christ never has come in my bedroom and sat at
the foot of the bed and talked to me. He doesn't need to, I
have his word. I believe him without that type
of thing. Moses wrote of me, Christ said. He never saw Christ,
but he wrote of him. Job saw his Redeemer with eyes
of faith. And if our faith is the faith
of God's elect, we'll see afar off every promise as if it were
already fulfilled with eyes of faith. I've never heard his voice. I've never seen his form in the
flesh. But with a heart of faith and
with eyes of faith and was so confident in his word, him who
can never lie." I believe it. I've seen it. And then it says
this, and actually, did you know faith is better than sight? If you had a choice between seeing
a vision of the Lord and having his word, which would you take?
Now think, don't answer too quickly there. You think a minute. Do
you know what Peter said in 2 Peter 1, 18 and 19? Peter told about
going on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was with James and John and
our Lord when they went on the mountain. When Christ was transfigured
right in front of their eyes, his glory shone all about them,
and Moses and Elijah appeared to them. And Peter was telling
about that. He said, I heard the voice of
God speak, and I saw the Lord transfigured before my eyes. But he goes on in the next verse,
2 Peter 1, 19, says, But we have a more sure word of prophecy,
wherein to you do well if you take heed, for the scriptures
came not in old times by the will of God, by the will of man,
but by the will of God. Holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Peter says, you
are better off with the scriptures than you are with visions, because
your eyes can deceive you. and your ears can deceive you.
Now, people who take drugs and dope will tell you that. They
see things that aren't there. They hear voices that aren't
there. And Satan can give you a vision, and Satan can give
you voices, but Satan can't give you God's word. And God's word
can never lie. I'd rather have the word of God
than a vision. That's scriptural. Peter says, but we have a more
sure word of prophecy. The word of God is better than
any dream, vision, or voice you've ever seen or heard, because it's
true. The glow of man is like the flower
of the field, it fadeth away, but the word of God endureth
forever. Another thing about their faith, they saw afar off
and they were persuaded of these promises and embraced them. Now
listen to me, this is important. Their faith was not mere lip
service. Christ said, you call me Lord
with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. Their faith
led them to act on the promise. They had the promise of God,
they believed it, they were persuaded of it, and they embraced it.
Abel embraced the promise and offered a more excellent sacrifice
than King. Moses embraced the promise, went
to Egypt, and delivered the children of Israel. Noah embraced the
promise, he believed God, and he prepared an ark. Abraham embraced
the promise, he believed God, and put his boy on an altar and
raised a knife to slay him. And this is the faith that saves.
It's a faith that not only receives the promise of God and believes
the promise of God, but acts on it. If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart, God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Believe,
confess, act on your faith. It's not faith if you don't act
on it. Now watch this. How did this
faith affect their lives? And we close with this. They
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth. They
sought a better country. They were strangers on this earth
by birth. They were born of They were not
of this world, even as Christ is not of this world. We are
citizens of the heavenly kingdom. They were strangers in interest.
What shall we eat? What shall we drink? Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? These things the Gentiles seek.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God. They were strangers as to
continuance. They knew that their lives on
this earth would not be long at the longness. I read about
a little girl who was born blind or an accident happened at birth
and she was rendered blind. She was blind for many years.
The family was very poor. Finally they took her to a doctor
when she was up to nine or ten years of age and they found out
through a special operation that her sight could be restored.
So they somehow got the money and the operation was performed
and the little girl stayed in the hospital for a long time
and finally it came time to take off the bandage. And the doctor
said to the mother, I'd like for her to be at home when we
remove the bandages. Now, I'm not sure the operation
was a success, but I hope so. So she was home, and they took
her out in the backyard. The doctor was there, and the
mother and father and some friends, and they sat the little girl
down in a chair, and the doctor stood behind her, and the mother
and father went over and stood in front of her, and back behind
them was a beautiful red rosebush, framed by one of those white
lattice affairs and the blue sky and the floating white clouds
and the green fresh cut lawn and the doctor stood behind the
little girl he took the scissors in great anticipation and he
cut the bandage that covered her eyes and it fell away and
she blinked a few times and her eyes watered a little bit and
she shielded them against the light and then she opened them
gradually and she looked and tears started streaming down
her cheeks And she said, Mom, why didn't you tell me it was
so beautiful? Why didn't you tell me? And the
mother ran and grabbed her and said, Honey, I tried to, but
you were blind. You couldn't see. You couldn't
see. My friend, you can only see that
better country, that beautiful country, God's country, by faith. By faith. You're blind and you
can't see. I wish I could tell you how beautiful
it is. but God will have to give you eyes to see. I hope you'll
join us next week for the broadcast. Until then, this is Henry Mahan
bidding you a very pleasant good day.

These All Died In Faith

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These All Died In Faith

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