WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:04.660 It was a moving experience a few weeks ago to 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:08.199 stand with some others of you beside the Western 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:12.019 Wall in Jerusalem. Others of you have visited 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:14.640 that site as well, which is the most holy shrine 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.660 among the Jews in all of the world. The Western 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:21.699 Wall or the Wailing Wall, as it is sometimes 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:28.039 called by Gentiles, It's such a sacred spot because 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:33.039 it is part of the foundation of the wall of the 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:38.039 ancient temple of Israel. As you look at the 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:41.020 wall you see stones that are various sizes and 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:43.439 when you get to the very bottom of what is exposed 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:48.119 today you see two layers of very large stones. 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:54.539 Those stones belonged to part of the foundation 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:57.880 of the wall that was around the temple in Jesus' 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.560 day. The temple, of course, was destroyed in 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.920 70 AD. And the Jews today don't even know for 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.599 sure where it was located there on the Temple 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.500 Mount. There's lots of debate about that. But 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:13.799 in their archaeological diggings, they do know 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:17.099 that these stones were part of that ancient foundation. 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:22.219 We don't usually see the foundation of a building. 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:28.019 It's buried in the substructure. It's down below. 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:32.719 It's invisible. But oh, how important the foundation 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:38.239 is to any structure. If the foundation is not 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:45.040 properly built, the building is in danger. And 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.659 so it is with our lives. If the foundations are 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:54.099 not properly laid or if they grow weak, our lives 00:01:54.099 --> 00:01:58.819 are in jeopardy. And so through the weeks ahead 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:01.799 we want to take a look at the foundation things 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:06.599 of our lives and our walk with God. We want to 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:09.300 firm up the foundation of our lives because frankly 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:13.860 our lives are under attack. We're under attack 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:17.719 from the deceitfulness of sin. I want to tell 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.840 you that there are people all over the Church 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:26.699 of Jesus Christ today who have done things in 00:02:26.699 --> 00:02:29.159 their lives being Christians that they thought 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:35.280 they would never do. And the reason they succumbed 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:39.060 to the deceitfulness of sin was that somewhere 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:43.639 along the way the foundation got weak, and when 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:50.150 sin came against them they fell. Then there's 00:02:50.150 --> 00:02:54.289 the attack of the world. This world system that 00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:59.090 has been created by the devil. It is insidious. 00:03:02.669 --> 00:03:06.509 And so prevalent is the thinking of the world 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:09.210 in the Church of Jesus Christ today that we don't 00:03:09.210 --> 00:03:15.050 even recognize it. We have grown tolerant to 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:23.340 sin. We accept things today. as being okay that 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:26.360 20 years ago we would never have imagined we 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.860 could accept. What's the problem? The foundation 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:37.599 is the problem. And so we need to go to the foundation 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.020 of our lives and do some work there to firm up 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:45.659 our foundations so that we may be able to stand 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:49.060 in this day of attack against our faith and our 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:52.969 walk with God. Today we're going to go right 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:55.009 down to the very bottom of the foundation right 00:03:55.009 --> 00:03:59.210 down to the basics as We think about faith. I 00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:01.770 invite you to open your Bible to Hebrews chapter 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:09.569 11 We're going to look at this somewhat familiar 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:16.589 verse in Hebrews 11 is verse 6 Where it says 00:04:16.589 --> 00:04:20.519 and without faith it is impossible to please 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:28.759 Him, for he who comes to God must believe. He 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:34.379 must believe that God is, and that God is a rewarder 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:43.800 of those who seek Him. Pleasing God requires 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:49.449 faith. Now why is that? Well, it's because faith 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:54.310 honors God. Faith declares that God is trustworthy. 00:04:55.550 --> 00:04:58.750 Faith declares that God is able. Faith declares 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:05.449 that God is wise. Faith honors God, and unless 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:08.750 one has faith, it is impossible to please him. 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:13.670 Warren Wiersbie wrote, faith is not a luxury. 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:19.879 It is a necessity. He's right. That's how important 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:26.139 faith is to us. As we think about faith, I want 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:28.180 you to understand first of all that faith is 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:33.379 the only acceptable way to come to God. He who 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:38.500 comes to God must believe. Must believe. Not 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:47.279 should believe. Not may believe. But must. have 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:52.199 faith. Faith is the only acceptable way to come 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:56.339 to God. We see this illustrated in Hebrews 11. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.220 Now, Hebrews 11, as most of you know, is a great 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:03.160 chapter of the hall of faith of the Bible. It 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:07.939 is the biographical snips of people who walked 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:11.839 with God and walked by faith. One of those is 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.310 Abel. He is the first one identified by name. 00:06:15.449 --> 00:06:19.490 In verse 4 we read of him, by faith Abel offered 00:06:19.490 --> 00:06:24.449 to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:28.730 which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous. 00:06:29.649 --> 00:06:33.310 God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, 00:06:33.889 --> 00:06:38.610 though he is dead, he still speaks. What does 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:41.689 this tell us about Abel? It means that Abel approached 00:06:41.689 --> 00:06:47.199 God By faith, in other words, God had revealed 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:56.000 to man how man could approach him. Abel trusted 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:01.920 that. He believed that. He obeyed that. He came 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:05.180 to God offering an animal sacrifice, shedding 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:10.199 blood. Blood that was necessary for the covering 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:14.769 of sin. It was the only way that God would allow 00:07:14.769 --> 00:07:18.490 sinful man to come. Abel said, I believe what 00:07:18.490 --> 00:07:23.129 God says, and I'm going to do this. Cain said, 00:07:23.129 --> 00:07:26.449 I'm going to bring what I want to God. Look, 00:07:26.449 --> 00:07:29.709 I've worked hard for these crops, these fruits 00:07:29.709 --> 00:07:32.290 of the field. I'm going to bring those to God. 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:37.290 But God was not well pleased and did not accept 00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:42.639 the sacrifice of Cain. Abel believed what God 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:46.980 said when God said, this is the way. And because 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:52.620 of that, he was righteous. Hebrews 11 6 says, 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:55.839 he who comes to God, this word come is used a 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:00.040 number of times in Hebrews. At least seven times. 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:03.839 Sometimes it's translated as it is here, sometimes 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:08.620 it's translated draw near. It is a word that 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:15.509 was used in 200 BC, when some people sat down 00:08:15.509 --> 00:08:18.350 to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into the 00:08:18.350 --> 00:08:24.089 Greek language. It's called the Septuagint. When 00:08:24.089 --> 00:08:28.290 they came to words in the Old Testament that 00:08:28.290 --> 00:08:33.129 described coming to God in a priestly way, they 00:08:33.129 --> 00:08:36.470 chose to use this word that later is used in 00:08:36.470 --> 00:08:41.610 Hebrews 11 .6. To come to God means to come in 00:08:41.610 --> 00:08:46.909 approach to God as if one were a priest. Now 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:49.549 theoretically there are two ways that one may 00:08:49.549 --> 00:08:52.809 come to God, theoretically. Actually there's 00:08:52.809 --> 00:08:57.929 only one. But theoretically one may come to God 00:08:57.929 --> 00:09:01.470 by the works of the law. Now when I use the term 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:06.090 law, I'm talking about the legal, legislative, 00:09:06.330 --> 00:09:09.029 aspects of the Old Testament. We usually think 00:09:09.029 --> 00:09:12.649 of the Pentateuch when we talk about the law. 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:19.289 In the law, God reveals His holiness. He exposes 00:09:19.289 --> 00:09:25.769 His demands for our righteous living. These demands 00:09:25.769 --> 00:09:29.169 are often considered summarized in the Ten Commandments 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:35.470 of the Old Testament. My point is that if one 00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:42.029 can perfectly do the works of the law. He can 00:09:42.029 --> 00:09:47.590 be accepted by God. God establishes the standard 00:09:47.590 --> 00:09:51.490 in the law. And in fact in Romans chapter 2 it 00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:54.350 says, for not the hearers of the law are just 00:09:54.350 --> 00:09:58.990 before God, but the doers of the law will be 00:09:58.990 --> 00:10:05.409 justified. So theoretically one may come to God 00:10:05.409 --> 00:10:09.330 through the works of the law by perfectly doing 00:10:09.330 --> 00:10:15.210 the works of the law Now I would like to know 00:10:15.210 --> 00:10:17.850 this morning if there's anyone here who's perfectly 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:20.490 obeyed even the Ten Commandments Would you stand 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:24.070 please and tell us how you did it? We would all 00:10:24.070 --> 00:10:28.789 love to know we would be delighted to hear you 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:34.669 boast about how you did that Oh, well, there 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:37.970 are no takers. You see, one could come to God 00:10:37.970 --> 00:10:42.990 that way, though, for the doers of the law will 00:10:42.990 --> 00:10:46.230 be just before God. The problem is that once 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:47.850 you're on that treadmill, you've got to keep 00:10:47.850 --> 00:10:53.029 treading, and you can't miss a step. In fact, 00:10:53.190 --> 00:10:56.590 James says that if we even break one of the commandments, 00:10:56.669 --> 00:10:59.470 we've broken the whole law. We might as well 00:10:59.470 --> 00:11:03.460 get off the treadmill. So if one is going to 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:05.320 come to God through the works of the law, he's 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:07.639 got to make every step of the way. He cannot 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:13.720 fail once. That's why I say theoretically one 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:18.080 may come to God this way. Because there's a problem. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.320 The problem isn't with the law. The law is holy. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:24.779 The law is good. The problem is with us. The 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:28.120 problem is with the sin that is in our hearts. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:34.940 And the result of that sin in us is that we transgress 00:11:34.940 --> 00:11:39.000 the law. We break the law, and therefore the 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:45.299 law, as it was set up to do, condemns us. It 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:49.080 condemns those who break it. And that's all of 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:54.179 us. However, the law set up a system of sacrifice 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:59.559 in the Old Testament. God did that Himself. He 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.720 set up a sacrificial system that was to be carried 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.960 out through the Levitical priesthood, that is 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.899 the descendants of Levi, the Levitical priesthood. 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:11.779 And so his people in the Old Testament could 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:16.120 come to God through that system, bringing the 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:21.580 right sacrifices, trusting God that if God said, 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:24.320 you do this, come this way with the blood being 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.740 offered, I will receive you, because they trusted. 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:32.960 they were accepted by God. But there was a problem. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.059 Those sacrifices, as important as they were for 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:42.580 that time period, could not ultimately remove 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:47.200 sin. They could only cover over sin. They could 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:54.419 only provide an atonement for sin. In fact, in 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:56.960 chapter 10, if you'll just turn back a chapter, 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:01.019 And verse 1, it says, for the law, since it has 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:04.600 only a shadow of the good things to come and 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.600 not the very form of those things, the law can 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:12.539 never by the same sacrifices year by year, which 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:16.220 they, that is the Jewish priests, offer continually, 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.440 make perfect those who draw near. There's that 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:25.379 word come. In other words, all of those sacrifices 00:13:25.379 --> 00:13:33.269 could not make perfect. Bring to complete forgiveness 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:42.049 of sin those who came to God. God covered their 00:13:42.049 --> 00:13:45.370 sin, but the sacrificial system wasn't enough. 00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:49.769 Now it says here that the law was a shadow of 00:13:49.769 --> 00:13:52.269 the good things to come. What it foreshadowed 00:13:52.269 --> 00:13:57.309 was the coming of Christ. All of those sacrifices 00:13:57.309 --> 00:14:00.350 of the Old Testament pointed to His ultimate 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:02.649 sacrifice as the Lamb of God, just like that 00:14:02.649 --> 00:14:08.090 banner says over there. And when He offered that 00:14:08.090 --> 00:14:11.629 one sacrifice for sin forever, Hebrews chapter 00:14:11.629 --> 00:14:16.029 10, then God fully dealt with sins. Not only 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:18.070 the sins of the current time, but the sins of 00:14:18.070 --> 00:14:22.490 the past administration as well. Those that were 00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:26.090 just covered over. Read about it in Romans chapter 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:33.629 4. Now if we can't come to God through the works 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:35.889 of the law, what is the one way we can come to 00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:37.950 God? There's only one other alternative and that 00:14:37.950 --> 00:14:43.250 is the way of faith. He who comes to God must 00:14:43.250 --> 00:14:49.690 believe. Faith is a response of trust in God. 00:14:50.289 --> 00:14:54.000 It is committing oneself to the message that 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.279 God delivers. Now in the Old Testament that was 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:58.759 the message that here's the sacrificial system. 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:03.600 You bring the blood of these animals in faith 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:10.159 and you will find acceptance with God. In the 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.679 age in which we live we don't believe in those 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:15.080 sacrifices anymore. We believe in the ultimate 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:18.100 sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:22.750 message of the gospel. But my point is that all 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:25.309 of those people who have been saved in every 00:15:25.309 --> 00:15:27.669 age, whether in the Old Testament or in the New 00:15:27.669 --> 00:15:31.210 Testament, must come to God trusting His promises. 00:15:32.529 --> 00:15:36.029 Must come to God trusting His promises. And now 00:15:36.029 --> 00:15:40.490 God has opened the way to Himself through the 00:15:40.490 --> 00:15:43.029 offering of Jesus Christ. Look in Hebrews 10, 00:15:43.029 --> 00:15:52.299 19. No Jew ever had confidence to enter the holy 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:56.860 place. No Jew could ever enter the holy place 00:15:56.860 --> 00:16:01.320 except the high priest. That's what the law provided. 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:05.580 And he could only come if he had the blood, the 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:07.779 appropriate blood, shed in the appropriate way 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:11.399 with him to sprinkle there in the presence of 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:20.230 God on the seat of mercy. But it says here that 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:23.690 you and I, now that Jesus has died, now that 00:16:23.690 --> 00:16:27.049 he has offered himself as the sacrifice and his 00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:34.129 blood has been presented before God, now we can 00:16:34.129 --> 00:16:36.690 have confidence to come into that place that 00:16:36.690 --> 00:16:39.309 no one before dared enter except the high priest. 00:16:39.690 --> 00:16:42.009 We may come to the holy place by the blood of 00:16:42.009 --> 00:16:48.299 Jesus, by a new and living way. which He inaugurated 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:53.440 for us through the veil that is His flesh. And 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:57.259 since we have a great priest over the household 00:16:57.259 --> 00:17:02.259 of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:06.480 in full assurance of faith. Notice the faith. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:11.059 Faith is the only acceptable way to come to God. 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.759 And now at the end of this chapter in verse 38 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:17.160 he is quoting from the Old Testament and he reminds 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:23.700 us what Habakkuk says. But my righteous one shall 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:26.660 live by faith, or I like the King James better, 00:17:26.859 --> 00:17:30.740 the just shall live by faith. The just shall 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:34.079 live by faith. The only acceptable way to come 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:39.039 to God is through faith. Have you come to God 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:46.930 that way? Or are you like Cain, the brother of 00:17:46.930 --> 00:17:51.390 Abel, who sought to come to God his own way? 00:17:54.769 --> 00:17:57.369 And you're trying to bring to God the works of 00:17:57.369 --> 00:18:01.589 your life, the good things about you, and impress 00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:06.630 God, so that God may somehow find acceptance 00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:12.279 with you. Surely, he'll be proud of you. My friend, 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:17.359 that's the way of works. And if you have committed 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:21.140 one sin in your life, it disqualifies you from 00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:27.900 coming that way. You can't make it. You're guilty 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:30.519 before God. You have transgressed His law and 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:35.220 the law condemns you. The only way to come to 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:39.849 God is through faith in what He's promised. And 00:18:39.849 --> 00:18:42.109 what he's promised is that whoever will call 00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:45.970 upon the name of the Lord, the one who died on 00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:49.490 that cross and rose again from the dead, whoever 00:18:49.490 --> 00:18:52.730 calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:18:53.849 --> 00:18:57.809 Saved from the guilt of sin, saved from the condemnation 00:18:57.809 --> 00:19:02.950 of the law, saved to enter heaven and enjoy eternal 00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:08.309 life with the Lord. If you've not come to God, 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:12.109 in the only way acceptable to him, that I hope 00:19:12.109 --> 00:19:15.910 today you will do that and trust that the sacrifice 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:19.390 of Jesus Christ on the cross was sufficient even 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:24.009 for your sin. However, dark and deep may be the 00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:26.750 stain that that blood of Jesus shed there on 00:19:26.750 --> 00:19:30.849 the cross is sufficient for you. It is. It is. 00:19:34.410 --> 00:19:36.650 Now we learned something else about faith, and 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:38.789 that is that faith is the only acceptable way 00:19:38.789 --> 00:19:46.769 to serve God. We cannot come to God by our works. 00:19:48.150 --> 00:19:51.450 We come to God by faith, but though we are saved 00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:54.849 by faith apart from works, the faith that saves 00:19:54.849 --> 00:20:03.039 nonetheless works. The faith works. The only 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:08.039 way to serve God is by faith. Faith in Hebrews 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.160 has a broader scope than in the letters of Paul. 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:18.420 Faith in Hebrews talks about not merely justification 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:21.859 or the initial faith, but it talks about the 00:20:21.859 --> 00:20:24.819 continuing response of faith, as one writer put 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:30.529 it. The continuing response of faith. of trust, 00:20:30.789 --> 00:20:34.289 obedience, and endurance which results from conversion. 00:20:35.970 --> 00:20:38.210 Faith in the book of Hebrews is oriented toward 00:20:38.210 --> 00:20:42.309 the future. It's closely connected with hope. 00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:45.150 For example, look back in verse 1 of the 11th 00:20:45.150 --> 00:20:49.269 chapter. Faith is the assurance of things hoped 00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:55.769 for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith 00:20:55.769 --> 00:20:58.609 is oriented to the future in the book of Hebrews, 00:20:58.869 --> 00:21:02.329 closely connected with hope. Faith declares God, 00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:10.230 reliable. Faith acts upon what God says. This 00:21:10.230 --> 00:21:15.690 obeying, enduring faith is the basis for serving 00:21:15.690 --> 00:21:21.069 God in this world. What does this faith do? Well, 00:21:21.069 --> 00:21:25.130 notice again from Hebrews 11. that this faith 00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:31.250 worships. We see it in Abel. We might even see 00:21:31.250 --> 00:21:33.650 it in Enoch who walked with God, but certainly 00:21:33.650 --> 00:21:38.950 in Abel. Faith worships. It serves God by worship. 00:21:39.329 --> 00:21:43.009 If you and I do not come into this place to worship 00:21:43.009 --> 00:21:45.970 God in an attitude of faith, our worship is not 00:21:45.970 --> 00:21:52.779 acceptable to God. For he who comes to God must 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:55.880 believe that he is and that he rewards those 00:21:55.880 --> 00:22:01.700 who seek him. When we come to worship God in 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:05.900 private worship or in corporate worship, we must 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:10.519 approach God with faith and worship Him in faith, 00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:15.000 believing Him, not doubting Him, not complaining 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:20.980 against God, not denying God. but giving him 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:25.460 the appropriate place in our lives. Numero uno, 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:31.440 number one. We also notice in Hebrews 11 that 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:35.440 faith works. It worships and it works. In verse 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:39.299 7, we read about Noah, who was warned of God 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:44.480 about things not yet seen. And in reverence, 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.700 he prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:52.019 He had reverence for God. He heard what God said. 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:58.220 He believed it. He had never seen it rain. It 00:22:58.220 --> 00:23:03.400 had never rained. The Lord watered the earth 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.859 differently in those days. It had never rained. 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:09.740 God said, Noah, it's gonna rain. What, Lord? 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.019 What does that mean? Lots of water coming down, 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:15.700 Noah. The earth is gonna flood. There's gonna 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:21.680 be so much water. Noah said well, I've never 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:24.900 seen anything like that Lord But Lord if you 00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:27.799 say that's going to happen I'll go over here 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.440 and get my saw out and some lumber and we're 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:35.319 going to go to work on a boat That's what he 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:41.299 did you see faith works Faith is willing to take 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:45.059 God at what he says and do something about it 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:50.460 Saving faith is a faith that works We see also 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:55.180 that faith waits verses 10 to 13 list Abraham 00:23:55.180 --> 00:23:59.819 Isaac and Jacob all of whom responded to God 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:04.420 in faith by doing things But who were waiting 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:10.200 and what were they waiting for the land? God 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:14.240 said Abraham as far as you can see and let me 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.920 tell you when you stand in those mountains in 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:20.400 Palestine You can see a long long way And God 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:25.599 said, as far as you can see, that's yours. I'll 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:29.500 give it to you and to your descendants. He said 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:33.740 that to Isaac. He said that to Jacob. And it 00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:38.119 says in this context that they died never having 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:44.000 received the promise. They waited. They waited. 00:24:44.380 --> 00:24:49.099 They waited. They waited. They died. Now, does 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:50.740 that mean they're never going to get it? No, 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:53.099 it doesn't. It just means that God wasn't going 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:57.420 to fulfill the promise then. God is going to 00:24:57.420 --> 00:25:00.400 fulfill the promise one day, and the Abrahamic 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:03.420 covenant will be fulfilled, and Abraham and his 00:25:03.420 --> 00:25:06.500 descendants will enjoy that land that God promised 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:09.839 them, and Abraham's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:15.859 is going to be the king. But faith learns to 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:18.289 wait. As I said a couple of weeks ago, we would 00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:23.589 rather God said anything to us than wait. At 00:25:23.589 --> 00:25:28.569 least I'm talking autobiographically. Because, 00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:30.769 you see, we're Americans. We don't have to wait. 00:25:34.029 --> 00:25:36.049 That's why we have drive -throughs at the restaurant. 00:25:42.029 --> 00:25:44.609 We know what we want. We want it now. We want 00:25:44.609 --> 00:25:50.049 immediate gratification. But how often God says 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:55.309 to you and to me, for good reasons, wait. And 00:25:55.309 --> 00:26:03.029 faith says, okay. And faith says, Lord, even 00:26:03.029 --> 00:26:10.910 if I die before I see your word fulfilled, I 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:19.940 believe you. Then we see that faith weighs. It 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:25.319 weighs. Look at Moses in verses 24 to 29. Look 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:29.299 at how Moses weighed things. He chose the invaluable 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:34.119 over the mere riches of Egypt. I say that a bit 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:37.859 with tongue and cheek because Egypt was fabulously 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:42.440 wealthy in Moses' time. I don't know if you've 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:46.920 read about the the recent discovery in Egypt 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:57.079 of the tombs of the sons of Ramses II. They say 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:59.500 it may be the greatest archaeological find in 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:03.500 this whole century. 50 of his sons buried together 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:06.500 in the Valley of the Kings. I've never seen that 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:12.289 area. Someday I hope to do that. They think, 00:27:12.329 --> 00:27:17.109 however, that the graves have been looted and 00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:19.309 probably were looted within the first century 00:27:19.309 --> 00:27:23.230 after their being buried. Now, Ramses II and 00:27:23.230 --> 00:27:25.190 his sons lived a couple of hundred years after 00:27:25.190 --> 00:27:28.109 Moses. You will read some liberals in particular 00:27:28.109 --> 00:27:30.750 who will say that Ramses was the Pharaoh of Moses' 00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:35.309 day, not so. Moses was there 200 years before 00:27:35.309 --> 00:27:38.450 Ramses II, but Egypt was fabulously wealthy. 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:41.539 And Moses was number one in line for the throne, 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.099 probably was going to be the next Pharaoh. He 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:47.660 looked at all of that and he by faith weighed 00:27:47.660 --> 00:27:51.259 it and he said, I don't want this. I don't want 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:54.779 what Egypt has to offer me. I want what Christ 00:27:54.779 --> 00:28:01.019 has to offer. I want what God says. Faith knows 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:04.140 how to weigh things. It knows how to see the 00:28:04.140 --> 00:28:09.039 invisible. It knows how to do the impossible. 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:16.420 You can't walk up to an ocean and strike it and 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:21.019 see it split, but Moses did because God told 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:27.660 him to do it. Let's suppose God told you to walk 00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:30.720 up to a swimming pool out in your neighborhood 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:32.579 and said, you strike that swimming pool, I'm 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:34.460 going to split the water. How would you feel 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:37.480 about that? You say, well, what would the neighbors 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:43.019 think? Moses had two million people looking at 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:48.500 him. And God said, go out there, hit it. Lift 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:52.279 up your rod. And what happened? The water split. 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:56.140 He did the impossible. You can't do that. He 00:28:56.140 --> 00:29:04.390 did it. Faith knows how to weigh things. I don't 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:06.849 know what this means. I don't know how this is 00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:08.529 going to work out. I don't know what the result 00:29:08.529 --> 00:29:10.829 is going to be. But Lord, you say it. I'm going 00:29:10.829 --> 00:29:14.809 to do it. And then we notice at the end of the 00:29:14.809 --> 00:29:18.950 chapter that faith wars. It goes to battle. I 00:29:18.950 --> 00:29:22.089 think that faith tells us which battles we ought 00:29:22.089 --> 00:29:25.130 to fight. And it tells us what our resources 00:29:25.130 --> 00:29:28.369 are. At the end of chapter 11, you will notice 00:29:28.369 --> 00:29:30.410 that there were those who by faith conquered 00:29:30.410 --> 00:29:37.019 kingdoms, etc. And for many, living by faith, 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:40.640 serving God by faith brought great success. We 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.700 read about them in this chapter. They're summarized 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:47.660 in these verses toward the end. Faith brought 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:51.140 great success to them, even bringing the loved 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:55.180 ones back from the dead. But I want you to also 00:29:55.180 --> 00:29:59.720 notice in verse 36 that it says, but others, 00:30:03.320 --> 00:30:06.339 experienced mockings, and scourgings, and chains, 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:09.099 and imprisonments, and were stoned, and were 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:13.859 sawn in two. They were tempted, put to death 00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:18.039 with the sword, etc., etc. To these, the same 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:20.960 faith that brought other success brought suffering. 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:25.440 Now, what about you? I'd rather have the success 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:32.029 than the suffering. But you see, the important 00:30:32.029 --> 00:30:34.289 thing is not God's deliverance. The important 00:30:34.289 --> 00:30:37.890 thing is God's approval. And it says in verse 00:30:37.890 --> 00:30:43.430 39, in all these, those who did the spectacular 00:30:43.430 --> 00:30:46.329 and those who were tortured and put to death, 00:30:46.529 --> 00:30:50.910 all of these gained approval through their faith. 00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:56.190 That's the important thing. Not whether others 00:30:56.190 --> 00:31:00.609 see us as successful. Not whether we've done 00:31:00.609 --> 00:31:05.289 something that's going to stun the world, but 00:31:05.289 --> 00:31:09.109 whether we have believed God. And if we have 00:31:09.109 --> 00:31:12.430 believed God and served God well, we've got God's 00:31:12.430 --> 00:31:16.170 approval. And that's what counts in the end. 00:31:16.589 --> 00:31:21.329 That's what counts. What role does faith have 00:31:21.329 --> 00:31:23.950 in your life? Where is it in the foundation of 00:31:23.950 --> 00:31:29.559 your life? Is it active? in the decisions that 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:36.200 you make in your home, in the job opportunities 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:42.940 that are presented to you, in the service opportunities 00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:49.240 that you have for Christ within the church, what 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:53.420 are you trusting God for? You see, God is never 00:31:53.420 --> 00:32:01.130 going to allow us just to grow old and complacent. 00:32:03.970 --> 00:32:08.170 Now he may allow us to grow old, but he's not 00:32:08.170 --> 00:32:12.670 going to let us grow old apathetically. You see, 00:32:12.710 --> 00:32:16.130 God is the God who leads in the path of life, 00:32:16.369 --> 00:32:22.089 not the rut of death. I don't care how old we 00:32:22.089 --> 00:32:26.390 may be or how young, God today wants to stretch 00:32:26.390 --> 00:32:32.789 us. He wants to grow us. He will not allow us 00:32:32.789 --> 00:32:38.630 to slip into heaven with complacency. Where does 00:32:38.630 --> 00:32:51.029 faith fit in your service for God? The day I 00:32:51.029 --> 00:32:54.029 got out of chemistry was a day of joy, second 00:32:54.029 --> 00:33:04.400 only to my salvation. But I have read that you 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:08.279 can take hydrogen and oxygen and put them together 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:16.099 and what do you get? If it's two molecules of 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:19.980 hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen, what do 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:25.359 you get? Can you get that class? Well, you're 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:27.380 supposed to get water, but the fact is that it 00:33:27.380 --> 00:33:32.750 doesn't happen unless you have a catalyst. A 00:33:32.750 --> 00:33:34.829 catalyst is something else that you insert in 00:33:34.829 --> 00:33:40.509 there to make the exchange happen. You have to 00:33:40.509 --> 00:33:45.109 have a little bit of platinum to make the water 00:33:45.109 --> 00:33:48.670 form out of the hydrogen and the oxygen. You 00:33:48.670 --> 00:33:50.829 can be a Christian. You can have God in your 00:33:50.829 --> 00:33:53.730 life. You can be who you are. But until you have 00:33:53.730 --> 00:33:57.089 the catalyst of faith in your life, you will 00:33:57.089 --> 00:33:59.450 never experience what God wants you to experience. 00:34:03.250 --> 00:34:07.049 Where is faith in your foundation? As we come 00:34:07.049 --> 00:34:09.409 to the Lord's table today, we need to come to 00:34:09.409 --> 00:34:14.309 this table by faith. We don't want to come to 00:34:14.309 --> 00:34:18.670 this table in unbelief. We don't want to partake 00:34:18.670 --> 00:34:23.010 of these elements if somehow we are not trusting 00:34:23.010 --> 00:34:27.110 God. If there's something in us that is displeasing 00:34:27.110 --> 00:34:32.699 to God that only brings condemnation to us. But 00:34:32.699 --> 00:34:35.699 God says, you may come, you may draw near to 00:34:35.699 --> 00:34:41.159 me if you believe. And so let us examine our 00:34:41.159 --> 00:34:46.820 hearts and confess unbelief. Confess whatever 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:50.079 is not of faith so that we may come believing 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:54.119 God to this table. Let's bow together, please. 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:05.719 With the Holy Spirit examining our hearts, what 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:10.019 unbelief may you need to confess to God? What 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:16.260 is it that you've refused to do because you didn't 00:35:16.260 --> 00:35:21.019 believe that God could enable you to do it? Where 00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:26.820 have you said no to the Lord? Because you didn't 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:32.000 have trust that He would come through. You need 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.260 to talk to him about that before you come to 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:38.400 his table. For he who comes to God must believe 00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:45.739 that he is and that he rewards those who seek 00:35:45.739 --> 00:35:52.280 him. We do come to this table, Father, with gratitude 00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:58.139 that the way to you has been opened. Thank you 00:35:58.139 --> 00:36:01.699 for the offering of Jesus Christ. for His blood 00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:07.219 shed for our sins. We remember that as we partake 00:36:07.219 --> 00:36:12.300 of these elements. Thank you for this bread that 00:36:12.300 --> 00:36:16.300 we're about to partake of. Lord, we eat it in 00:36:16.300 --> 00:36:19.639 faith. Not that this bread itself can save us, 00:36:19.639 --> 00:36:24.360 but because we believe that the offering up of 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:28.099 the body of Jesus Christ for us was sufficient 00:36:28.099 --> 00:36:43.079 for our sins. We eat it in faith. Amen. We partake 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:52.360 of the blood of Jesus Christ by faith. And having 00:36:52.360 --> 00:36:56.460 been brought into his family, his eternal family, 00:36:57.500 --> 00:37:00.000 we need to be a part of a local church. Today 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:03.059 we extend the right hand of fellowship to the 00:37:03.059 --> 00:37:07.699 following who are recent new members of our church. 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:09.300 I'm going to ask them to come right over here 00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:11.920 on the organ side and to stand so that we may 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:15.039 greet you after the service and welcome you into 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:29.139 our church. If you're in this service, would 00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:31.480 you slip out right now as I'm closing in prayer 00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:33.199 and we'll look for you right over here in the 00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:37.800 line. Thank you. Let's pray together. Would you 00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:43.179 stand please with me? Lord, we remember that 00:37:43.179 --> 00:37:49.820 the just live by faith. So may we live this week 00:37:49.820 --> 00:37:54.199 that we declare to ourselves and to all the world 00:37:54.199 --> 00:38:02.190 that you are trustworthy. And may the faith that 00:38:02.190 --> 00:38:12.949 we evidence worship, work, wait, weigh, and war, 00:38:15.909 --> 00:38:18.929 so that we may gain approval for our service. 00:38:20.070 --> 00:38:22.230 In Jesus' name, Amen.