🎵Music🎵
Great singing. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church and the Wednesday evening Bible
study. Let's open up and order prayer. Father God, thank you so much for this
church, Lord. Thank you for these people who come out here on a Wednesday evening to
serve you. I pray that our singing would glorify you, Lord. Pray that you'd bless the
service and the preaching to come. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Alright, turn to your song books, page number 37. We're gonna sing
and there'll be no dark valley, page number 37. There'll be no dark valley
and let's go ahead and sing it out on the verse. There'll be no dark valley
when Jesus comes. There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes. There'll be no
dark valley when Jesus comes. Together his loved one's home. Together his loved one's
home. Together his loved one's home. There'll be no dark valley when Jesus
comes. Together his loved one's home. Page number 37, on the second verse. There'll be no
more sorrow when Jesus comes. There'll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes. There'll be glorious
sorrow when Jesus comes. Together his love wants home. Together his love wants home. Together his
love wants home. There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes. Together his love wants home.
There'll be no more weeping when Jesus comes. There'll be no more weeping when Jesus comes,
but a blessed reaping when Jesus comes. Together his love wants home. Together his love wants home.
Together his love wants home. There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes. Together his love
wants home. Let's finish it strong on the last verse. There'll be songs of greeting when Jesus
comes. There'll be songs of greeting when Jesus comes, and a joyful meeting when Jesus comes.
Together his love wants home. Together his love wants home. Together his love wants home.
There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes. Together his love wants home. Great singing.
All right, well welcome to Verity Baptist Church tonight. We're glad that you are with us for
the midweek service. Let's go ahead and take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements
real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers
can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for
you. The verse this week of course is an Easter verse. Romans 14 9, for to this end Christ
both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. And that's a
good verse there. We like that if you open up your bulletin you'll see our service time Sunday
morning service 10 30 a.m. We do invite you to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's day
for church Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. And then of course we are glad that you are with us
for the midweek service. And if you look at our soul winning times, our main soul winning
times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. and we have additional soul winning times for now
Thursday and Friday are postponed but Sunday at 2 p.m. And if you are a first-time guest,
if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we are so glad that you are with us and
we have a special gift I'd like to give you as you walk into the church building tonight. If
you go out the main foyer you'll see a little table set up and on that table you'll see
our little gift bags. Please make sure you grab one of these on your way out as a gift from us
to you for being our guest tonight. And there are several resources in this bag that we'd like
you to have. The one I like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's
called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting. We think you'll like it.
Want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you don't leave here tonight without grabbing
one of these gift bags on your way out. And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take
a moment and fill out the communication card which is inserted in your bulletin.
If you need a pen, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by
a Verity Baptist Church pen as well. And we would love to have a regular attendance.
We actually would like to send you a little gift but we need your information to do that.
So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcement,
we're going to sing a song. When we're done singing, we're going to receive the
offering. And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate.
And if you look at the announcements there, we of course are a family integrated church.
Children and infants are always welcomed in the service. And we have mother-baby rooms and daddy
rooms. If you have a child who's been distracted during the service, we encourage you to use
those. If you need to be baptized, you can let us know on your communication card on
the back. Let us know that you'd like to speak to somebody about baptism and we'll follow
up with you. And we do have a baptism lined up for tonight after the service, after the
preaching. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course we had our Easter
service on Sunday and a grand opening of the new building. And that was a great success.
We do want you to be aware. You should have one of these cards in your bulletin.
And on Sunday morning, we're starting a brand new sermon series called Emotional Intelligence.
We're going to learn from the Word of God how to raise your EQ in all areas of life.
Awareness of self, awareness of others, awareness of context, social skills, conflict resolution.
And if you think I don't need this series, you are probably the person that needs it the most.
So I want to encourage you to be here for that. And that'll be good. You see what I just said?
That was not emotional intelligence. So anyway, we're all learning together.
Next generation youth rally. We've got 80 teenagers signed up for the youth rally so far.
And it's next week, Tuesday and Wednesday. So just be aware of that. There's other things
there for you to look at. Children's choir. They've got, they're starting on Sunday,
April 14th at 515 in the playroom. They're going to be practicing for Mother's Day.
And then of course we have the ladies' tea and Mother's Day service, May 11th and May 12th.
That's several weeks away. We just want you to save the date. Be aware of that.
Homeschool group. They're supposed to have PE tomorrow, but that is canceled. All right.
So please make a note of that. Homeschool moms. There's like a 90% chance of rain.
It's going to be cold, possibly thundering. So we're just going to go ahead and cancel that.
Sorry about that. But make sure you make a note of that, that that is canceled.
Ladies' weight loss and accountability group. They meet on Wednesdays at 615. If you'd like to
be a part of that group, they meet in my wife's office. So you're welcome to be a part of that,
of course. And then don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent
during the service, that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at
the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of March,
this week was Valor Roldan's birthday, March 31st. Anna Puris had a birthday,
April 1st. Johnny Cervantes III, April 2nd. Brother Anthony Kofni, April 2nd. Brother Joshua
Gastelum, Sr., April 2nd as well. And then later this week, Warren and Brittany Lauterman
have an anniversary on the 6th, and Brittany Lauterman has a birthday on the 6th. Praise
Report, Money Matters, all those things are there for you to look at. And I think that's it.
I do have several of these baptism certificates, and I'm going to go ahead and read one. We'll
give these out. This one says Certificate of Baptism. This certificate is awarded to Edgar
Eduardo de Dios II in recognition of his baptism on the 24th day of March of the year 2024,
presented by Verdi Baptist Church. With the verse, Romans 6-4, therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. And we have some pictures here
for Eddie to remember the day of his baptism. And let's go ahead and hand that out and give
him a round of applause. And then I've got another certificate here. This one is Certificate
to Noah Deakins in recognition of his baptism on the 13th day of March of the year 2024
with the same verse. And we've got pictures here for Noah to remember the day of his
baptisms. I think we've got several of these.
And then this one is to Madeline Gonzalez on recognition of her baptism on the 17th day of
March of the year 2024. And we've got pictures for her to remember her baptism as well. So
we're just trying to make Brother George have a workout here. Thank you. Appreciate it. All
right. Praise the Lord for that. And I think that's it for all of the announcements. So
we're going to go ahead and take our song books and go to page number 116.
And we're going to sing He Leadeth Me as we prepare to receive the offering
tonight. 116, He Leadeth Me. Sing it out on the first. He leadeth me, O blessed thought,
O words with heavenly comfort brought, What e'er I do, where e'er I be,
Still tis God's hand that leadeth me. He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me, His faithful follower I would be,
His hand He leadeth me. 116, sing it out on the second. Sometimes with scenes of deep
as gloom, sometimes where Eden's powers bloom, My waters fill o'er troubled sea,
Still tis His hand that leadeth me, He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me, His faithful follower I would be,
His hand He leadeth me, Lord, I would cause my hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor refine, Contend whatever what I see,
Since tis my God that leadeth me, He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me, His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me. Good singing out on the last.
And when my task on earth is done, When by Thy grace the victory won,
In death's cold wind I will not flee, Since God through Jordan leadeth me,
He leadeth me, He leadeth me, His faithful follower I would be,
By His hand He leadeth me. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys
come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads
and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love You. We thank You for allowing
us to gather together tonight. Lord, we pray that You'd bless the offering, the gift,
and the giver. We ask that You'd meet with us as we take time to pray and, of course,
as we study the Bible together. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
All right, well, let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets tonight, and we'll have,
of course, time for prayer like we normally do on Wednesday night. And if you do not have
a prayer sheet, just raise your hand, and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a prayer sheet, just put your hand up, and we will get one for you. And, of course,
want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your
communication card on the back of the card. There's a place for you to write a request. Make
sure you mark whether it's private or public. If it's private, only I will see it. If it's
public, we'll put it on the prayer sheet. If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure
it out, but we usually don't add those. When we do add them, they are added, of course,
in the order that they are received, and they are removed after a couple of weeks. So if you'd
like it to be longer, you'll have to fill out another prayer sheet. And I'm going to go ahead
and pray out loud for these prayer requests. And I ask that you would bow your head and pray
with me in your mind and your heart, and let's go ahead and pray together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church
family. And, Lord, we begin with these requests regarding health. We pray here. We have a
request here, of course, from Ms. Michelle Scott and Brother Graham, praying for Brother
Graham's father, Joe, whose cancer has returned, and praying for wisdom and strength as he's got
decisions to make and things to decide regarding this cancer. And, Lord, we pray that you would
give him wisdom and direction and discernment. We also pray for Roshina Madox, who's praying for
her personal health, praying for Ms. Jessica Jones for healing from her migraines, and
Ms. Celeste Berzins for healing with stomach issues she's having. And we pray for Heidi
Nelson, praying for healing from arthritis and diabetes. Brother Ron, praying for his health
and for a potential heart surgery that he might have coming up, and just wisdom and discernment
in regards to that. Ms. Christine Ortiz, praying for her health, also for her sister Judy's
health as she battles cancer. Brother Salvador, praying for his personal health and also
recovery from a leg injury that he had. And Ms. Docma, praying for her pain and relief of
pain there. Brother Edgar and Ms. Alina, continue to pray for Uretzi, for her to be healthy and
strong. And for missionary Dave Gomantala's wife, Angel, dealing with breast cancer. Lord,
we ask for all these individuals. We pray that you would put your healing hand over them.
We ask that you'd give wisdom to the doctors, the nurses dealing with them. Lord,
we pray that you'd heal them, that you'd help them. We also pray for these ladies in
our church that are expecting Ms. Taylor Marin, Ms. Esther Davidson, Ms. Ariel Chaboyan,
Ms. Rizelle Lee Wilson, and Ms. Rebecca Lunsford, praying for their pregnancies. Lord,
that you'd give them healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications, that you'd help
them to be healthy and strong, help the babies to be healthy and strong. And Lord, I do want
to pray specifically for my wife, that you would help her as she recovers from her blood clot
in her leg, and just praying for just continued healing, no complications, no issues. And Lord,
we pray that you just continue to help her with regards to that. And we pray, Lord,
for these that have requests regarding their families. Ms. Rosina praying for her family.
Brother Salvador praying for his family as well. And also for these that have requests
regarding their walk with the Lord. Ms. Rosina praying for her faith and God's strength and
wisdom in her life. And Ms. Christine Ortiz praying for her faith. Brother Salvador,
for his walk with you as well. Lord, we ask that you would help them. And we pray for
these that have financial requests. Ms. Rosina praying for her finances as well.
Ms. Heidi Nelson praying for the financial stability of her children. Brother Brandon
praying for future job prospects and promotion application. And Brother Salvador praying for
his finances and work as well. Lord, we ask for these individuals. We pray that you'd help
them and meet their needs, open the right doors for them, and help them, Lord, in regards to
these things. And then, of course, we pray for these that have salvation requests. Ms. Natalie
praying for her husband's salvation. Ms. Maria Cudalima praying for the salvation of Roma and
Skylar, Pete, and Svetlana. Ms. Christine Ortiz praying for her family's salvation. And
Ms. Docma praying for her daughter and her family's salvation. Lord, we ask for these
individuals. We pray that you would help them and be with them, Lord. We ask that
your Holy Spirit would work in their hearts, Lord, and that you would do whatever
needs to be done in their hearts to help them to be ready and willing to hear the gospel. And
then, Lord, we pray that a soul winner would communicate the gospel clearly to them
that they might be saved. We also pray for these that have unspoken requests. Ms. Andrea McQueen
having an unspoken request. Ms. Natalie having an unspoken request. Brother Salvador
having an unspoken request. Ms. Docma having an unspoken request. And, Lord, we ask for
all these individuals. We pray that you'd answer their prayers and make it apparent and
clear once you've answered. And then, Lord, of course, we pray for our church and we pray that
you'd continue to help our church and bless our church. We pray for the prison ministry.
We pray for the admissions work being done in the Philippines and Manila and Pampangan. Be cool.
We pray for this upcoming next generation youth rally, Lord. Just a few days away, we've got 80
teens coming from all over the place. And, Lord, we pray that you would help things to go well,
help everybody to have a good time. And, Lord, specifically, I pray that you would
work in the hearts of these young people, Lord. Even as they prepare to come, I pray that your
Holy Spirit work in their hearts and that they would be ready to not only have a good time,
but to receive your word, Lord, and that they might draw close to you as a result of this
conference. I pray for the preachers that will be here for those couple of days,
speaking to the young people. Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would direct them,
that you'd give them clarity to know what to preach and what to say. Lord,
we ask that your word be done in this. And then, of course, we just pray for
our church so that you'd continue to help us as we have still much work to be done here in this
building and all the upcoming projects, air conditioning, and all sorts of things that need
to happen. Lord, we just pray that you would help us, guide us, be with us. We ask that you
meet with us tonight as we open up your word, as we study the Bible together. In Jesus' name,
we pray. Amen.
Please open your mouths to Hebrews 11.
Hebrews chapter number 11. If you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand,
and unless you can read your Bible. Hebrews chapter 11. Just keep your hand up unless you
will come by. Hebrews 11. We read the entire chapter as our custom.
Hebrews 11, beginning of verse number 1. Now faith is a substance of things hoped for.
The evidence of things not seen. For by it, the elders obtained a good report.
Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,
so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts,
and by it, he being dead yet speaketh. By faith, Enoch was translated,
that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him.
Before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God.
But without faith, it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world,
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, and the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed,
and was deliberate of a child when she was past age,
because she judged him faithful who had promised, and therefore sprang there even of one,
and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude,
and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable.
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.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country,
and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,
they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly.
Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he hath prepared for them a city.
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac,
and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
of whom it was said, but an Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead,
from whence also he received him in a figure.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph,
and worshiped leaning upon the top of his staff.
By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel,
and gave commandment concerning his bones.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hit three months of his parents,
because he saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God,
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt,
for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king,
for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
Through faith he kept Passover and the sprinkling of blood,
lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
By faith he passed through the Red Sea as by dry land,
which the Egyptians are saying to do were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,
after they were compassed about seven days.
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them,
that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
And what shall I more say?
For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson,
and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets,
who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness remained strong,
waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight, and the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead, raised to life again,
and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance,
that they might obtain a better resurrection.
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings,
yea moreover bonds and imprisonment.
They were stoned, they were saunasunder,
were tempted or slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins,
being destitute, afflicted, tormented,
of whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and in caves of the earth.
And these all having attained a good report through faith,
receive not the promise.
God having provided some better things for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening.
God, I thank you for your word and for our church.
I ask that you please meet with us tonight.
I ask that you be their pastor.
Please strengthen him and fill him with your spirit.
We love you.
In Jesus' name, pray. Amen.
Amen.
All right, we're there in Hebrews chapter number 11.
And of course, on Wednesday nights,
we have been going through the book of Hebrews,
verse by verse, chapter by chapter.
And tonight we are continuing our study in the book of Hebrews
for our Wednesday night Bible study, of course.
And tonight we find ourselves in this very famous chapter
of Hebrews chapter number 11.
And this chapter obviously is a long chapter.
But also there's just a lot of content,
a lot of good content in this chapter.
So we'll probably spend a couple of weeks,
maybe a few weeks in this chapter.
And this chapter is a very well-known chapter.
Of course, it's known as the Hall of Faith.
It's often referred to as the Hall of Faith
because it outlines multiple different Bible characters
and their great faith.
And of course, in the Bible,
you sometimes notice that there'll be certain chapters
that have certain themes.
For example, we were just in 1 Corinthians 15
on Sunday morning for Easter.
And 1 Corinthians 15 is a long chapter as well
that deals with the theme of the resurrection,
very well-known chapter in the Bible
that also has a theme as 1 Corinthians 13,
deals with the subject of charity.
And every verse deals with that subject.
Well, Hebrews chapter 11 is a verse
that deals with the subject of faith.
It's the faith chapter.
And like I said, it's got this list of names,
these multiple characters.
And I feel like it might just be me, I realize that.
But I feel like I've just got some echo or something.
If you could help me with that, I'd appreciate it.
Maybe one of the staff guys, if they're not asleep,
could help him hear that as well.
I'd appreciate it.
When it comes to faith, this chapter is referred to
as the Hall of Faith because of the fact that it deals
with all these different characters
and all the great things that they did regarding faith.
And we're going to look at that.
We're not going to look at that tonight.
We're going to look at that next week.
But what you find in this chapter,
especially in the first part of the chapter,
intermingled with those stories is you just find
these general verses dealing with faith.
And you've got these verses that deal with the subject
of faith, not specifically dealing with these characters,
although there's lots of those verses as well.
But you've got these chapters dealing with this idea
of faith.
So what I'd like to do tonight is I'd like to just highlight
those verses.
And we're going to begin at verse one,
but we might skip a little bit.
And we're going to just go through the chapter
and look at all the verses that deal with faith in general.
And then next week we will get into what's known
as the Hall of Faith, where we'll start going through each
one of those characters and looking at the different things
they did and why they are listed here in this,
not Hall of Fame, but Hall of Faith.
But tonight we're going to focus on the verses that deal
with faith in general.
And I'm entitled to a sermon tonight,
A Theology of Faith, because we're really going to learn
about what the Bible teaches about the subject of faith.
And I don't know that there's any more important subject
for us to study.
If we're going to study a subject,
if we're going to study a person,
the most important person to study is the Lord Jesus Christ.
But if we're going to study a subject,
I think faith is probably up there as one
of the most important subjects for us to study
because of the fact that, of course,
we know that we are saved by faith,
but it's not just that.
We also live by faith.
The Bible says the just shall live by faith.
So I'd like you to notice there in verse number one.
And if you're taking notes,
and I do encourage you to take notes
on the back of your course of the week,
there's a place for you to write down some things.
I'd like to give you four thoughts
from this passage regarding the idea of faith
as we look at this theology of faith.
And I do encourage you to maybe jot these things down.
The first thing I'd like you to notice,
we see that there in verse number one,
the Bible says this.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
And what we see in this very first verse
of the faith chapter, the hall of faith,
is we see a definition of faith.
And if you're taking notes,
and then maybe you can jot that down.
The first thing we see is point number one here,
the definition of faith.
And this verse really is giving us a definition
or a description of the subject of faith.
Notice what it says.
It says now faith is the substance of things hoped for.
The word substance means the matter
of which something consists.
And the Bible tells us that faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Now this is a definition of faith,
but I feel like in order for us to understand
the biblical definition of faith,
we need to understand the biblical definition
of some other words that are found here as well.
So let's run a couple of verses,
and I'd like you to see a couple of things
from this passage.
You're there in Hebrews chapter 11.
Of course, keep your place there.
That's our text for tonight.
But if you would go with me to the book of Titus,
Titus chapter number two.
If you go backwards from Hebrews,
you're going to go past the very small book of Philemon
into the very small book of Titus.
You'll go past Hebrews.
If you go backwards, you'll go past Philemon into Titus.
And let me just give you a couple of definitions
while you turn there,
just so you understand the biblical definition
for the word faith.
And this is a definition that I came up with
based off what I understand of the subject
of faith in the Bible.
But the biblical definition of the word faith is this,
complete trust or confidence,
complete trust or confidence in God
based on his word, not physical evidence.
And when the Bible uses the word faith
and the Bible uses the word faith
and the Bible uses the word believe interchangeably,
we need to understand that the definition of that
is trust or confidence.
So when the Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shall be saved,
it's not saying believe like he existed.
That's a different type of belief.
The Bible says in the book of James
that the devils believe that there is a God.
The Bible says that the devils believe in God and tremble.
But when we're talking about faith,
the word believe being used as a synonym for the word faith,
the idea is that you're putting your trust or your confidence.
When the Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's saying to put your trust or confidence
in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
So faith is a complete trust or confidence in God
based on his word.
And I'm giving you a biblical definition.
Based on his word, not physical evidence.
What we see in this verse, Hebrews 11 one,
is that faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Again, it might just be me,
but I feel like it's messing with me.
So if you could help me with that,
I really don't see.
Can you go over there and help him?
I appreciate that, thank you.
Titus 2 13, look at these words.
Looking for that blessed hope.
I want to define the word hope for you first.
The word hope in the Bible,
see the way that we use the word hope
in our modern vernacular is when we say hope,
we mean the way that it's commonly used,
we use it as a form of the word wish.
Somebody says, well, I hope so and so happens
or I hope this happens.
And what they're really saying is
they wish that that'll happen.
In the Bible though, when we see the word of hope,
the word of hope is used with this word faith
because it's a confident expectation.
It's a confident expectation of what God has promised.
So when the Bible says the word of hope,
it doesn't mean like, I hope it happens.
It's like, I have an expectation
that this is going to happen.
And I'm giving you a proof there.
Titus 2 13 says this,
looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our savior Jesus Christ.
The Bible here in Titus 2 13
refers to the second coming of Christ
or the fact that he's coming back for us.
It calls it our blessed hope.
But when it says blessed hope,
it doesn't mean like we hope he comes.
The idea is that we have a confident expectation
that he is coming back.
We are looking for that blessed hope,
that blessed confident expectation
and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ.
Go to Romans chapter number eight, if you want.
Romans chapter number eight.
If you start from the beginning of the New Testament,
you go past Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans.
Romans chapter number eight.
And I want to show you these
because you need to understand the definition.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for.
The word hope is not like we hope so,
but things that we are expecting.
Faith is an expectation.
It is a trust or a confidence
in something that we are expecting.
But the reason that it requires faith
is because it is the evidence of things not seen.
See, in order to have faith in something,
it must not be seen.
If you can see it, if you can hold it,
if you can have it in your hand,
then you don't need faith for that.
And this is a theme taught throughout the Bible
regarding faith.
Romans eight, look at verse 24.
The Bible says this, Romans chapter eight, verse 24.
For we are saved, notice the word here, by hope.
And again, hope is not like I hope so,
but it's a confident expectation, a trust.
I expect this to happen for we are saved by hope.
Notice what it says,
but hope that is seen is not hope.
For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
He says, if you can see it,
then you don't need to have hope for it.
You don't have to have faith for it.
Look at verse 25.
But if we hope for what we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it?
So I want you to understand that the Bible teaches
that faith is this confident expectation,
this trust based on God's word
and not based off of physical evidence.
Now do me a favor, keep your place there in Romans.
We're gonna come back to it
and go back with me to the book of Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter number one.
So we see the definition of faith.
Faith is a confident expectation.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
It's a confident expectation.
When it comes to our faith
and the things that we believe are going to happen
based off the word of God,
it's not a hope so.
I'm not hoping tonight that I make it to heaven
based off what the Bible says.
Based off what the Bible says,
I can have a confident expectation
that my name's written in the Lamb's book of life,
that I will spend eternity in heaven.
Based off what the Bible says,
I can have a confident expectation.
I can trust in the word of God
and even if I've not yet seen it with my eyes,
faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
So we need to understand what faith is.
Faith is the substance of that which causes you to believe
and it's on something that you've not yet seen.
I notice there, Hebrews 11, look at verse two.
For by it, the it there is referring to faith,
for by it the elders obtained a good report.
And I'm not going to deal with verse two tonight,
we're actually going to come back to it
probably in a couple of weeks
when we are at the end of chapter 11.
But look at verse number three,
the Bible says here,
through faith we understand.
Through faith we understand that the world
were framed by the word of God
so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear.
Now in verse three,
what the writer of Hebrews does
is he brings up a subject
that really truly does require a lot of faith
and it is a subject of creation.
He says through faith we understand
that the world were framed by the word of God
so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear.
And if you're taking notes
or maybe you're writing in the margin of your Bible,
next to verse number one,
you might have wrote the definition of faith.
Next to verse number three,
you can write these words,
the inception of faith.
Because when it comes to faith
and faith in the human heart,
where does it begin?
Where must we begin with faith?
And the writer of Hebrews is correct
when he begins with this idea of creation
because that is where faith begins.
Through faith we understand
that the world were framed by the word of God
so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear.
The things that we see
were not made by things that can be seen.
How do we understand this?
Through faith,
the world were framed by the word of God.
Now let's just run some verses real quickly
and let's develop this idea.
First of all, we understand this,
that creation must be accepted by faith.
Creation must be accepted by faith.
Go, you're there in Hebrews 11,
flip back to Hebrews chapter one,
verse number one,
the very beginning of the book of Hebrews
deals with the subject.
Let's look at it real quickly.
Hebrews chapter one in verse number one,
Hebrews 1 says this,
God who at sundry times
and in diverse manners spake in time past,
notice the words here,
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son
whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
notice the words,
by whom also he.
The word whom there is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ,
remember God who at sundry times
in diverse manners spake in time past
unto the prophets
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son.
The Lord Jesus Christ is his son.
The whom there is referring to his son,
whom can be replaced with him,
if you remember we learned about that back in Hebrews 1.
By whom also he,
that's God the father,
God who at sundry times and in diverse manners
made the world.
So the Bible teaches that God the father made the world
through his word
and through the second member of the Godhead,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
and I don't have time to develop this,
which also happens to be the word of God.
So we accept this and we understand this by faith.
You're there in Hebrews 1,
flip over if you would to 2 Peter chapter number 3.
2 Peter, you're there in Hebrews,
you're going to go past the book of James,
past the book of 1 Peter into 2 Peter.
2 Peter chapter number 3,
Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter.
2 Peter chapter 3,
look at verse number 5,
the Bible says this,
for this they,
why don't you notice it,
for this they willingly are ignorant.
And by the way let me just say this,
because sometimes when you bring up subjects like this
or subjects like creation,
people who think they're smart will say,
well this is a problem I have with religion.
You're telling me that I have to accept
the account of creation from the word of God by faith,
and they'll act like we're buffoons
or we're ignorant or we're uneducated,
but let me explain something to you,
is that the account of creation
that is put out there today
by government institutions like evolution
or like the big bang theory,
those must be accepted by faith as well.
You say, well you must be uneducated
if you're relying on a book
and you're just reading a book
and you're accepting that creation account by faith.
Well then what are you doing?
Aren't you just opening up a textbook
and reading it, were you there?
Was anybody?
And the interesting thing to me
is that people say,
well no that's science.
No, excuse me,
science is something that can be observed,
science is something that can be tested,
science is something that can be repeated,
science is something that can be predicted,
and evolution, the big bang theory,
and every other sort of story
that they've made up
to try to replace the Bible
can neither be observed,
can neither be tested,
can neither be repeated,
it can't be predicted,
it's faith.
So before you get on some high horse and say,
well this is a problem I have
with the faith community,
that you guys believe that
the worlds were created
and you have to accept it by faith.
Well every sort of belief
that has to do with creation
is accepted by faith,
period.
And the fact that they call it science
is just them stealing our tax dollars
because it's not.
Because the science formula,
because the way that science works,
real science,
look Christians aren't against science,
but we're against fairy tales
that tell children
that they came from monkeys,
they came from apes.
Science can be observed,
can be tested,
can be predicted,
you can formulate a hypothesis
and you can test it
and then it can be recreated.
It can be redone over and over and over again.
None of those things apply to
the big bang theory,
apply to evolution,
apply to the creation of the world.
2 Peter 3.5
Notice what it says.
For this,
they,
who's a they?
They who say no it's not God.
They willingly are ignorant of
that by the word of God
the heavens were of old
and the earth standing out of the water
in the waters
and it goes on to talk about
the Noahic flood.
But I want you to notice
that the Bible says
hey today people are willingly ignorant
of that fact.
So how can you say
that they're willingly ignorant
of that fact?
And the reason that we can say that
is because of this.
Go back to Romans
if you kept your place in Romans
and I want to take a little bit of time
to help you understand this.
We talked about in verse 1
the definition of faith.
What is it?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is a confident trust
in the word of God
on things that we've not yet seen
but we believe it
because it's in the Bible.
Then we saw in verse 3
or we're seeing in verse 3
the inception of faith.
And I use that word very specifically
the inception of faith.
Why?
Because creation must be accepted by faith.
We understand it.
Look we're not lying to you.
We're transparent.
I'm telling you
if you're going to believe
the genesis of the kind of creation
you must accept it by faith.
What the evolutionists are doing
is they're lying to you
when they tell you it's science
and it's not.
When they tell you
that evolution is real
they point to micro evolution
little changes in a species
or in an animal
and then they point to that
as evidence for macro evolution.
Look open up a textbook.
Every they like to talk about Darwin
and the Galapagos Islands
and the finches
and the size of the beak
and on one island it was this size
and other islands it was this size.
Okay no problem.
Here's the thing though.
They're all birds.
Dogs come out in different sizes
and the cats come out
in different colors
but they're still cats.
Show me where and they can't.
You know they want us to think
that the dinosaur evolved into a chicken
and I think to myself
well that doesn't even make sense.
I thought evolution was getting better.
You know the T-Rex evolved.
Children we are evolving.
We're getting stronger.
We're getting better.
Oh really?
Yeah the great Tyrannosaurus Rex
evolved into a chicken.
It doesn't really make sense.
I just stick with the Bible.
And people say well this is not,
it's not reasonable.
Well hold a minute.
Faith may go beyond reason.
No doubt about it.
No argument here.
But faith never contradicts reason.
In fact our faith is a reasonable faith.
It's an informed faith
because isn't this true?
When something is obviously designed
isn't it reasonable to assume
that there is a designer?
And when we look at our bodies
and we look at the universe
when we look at the solar system
when we look at the way
that our nature has been set up
and the intricacy of it
all you can do is realize
that somebody had to put this all into motion.
So it's a reasonable faith.
What I want you to understand is this
in Romans chapter one,
excuse me not Romans one,
Romans chapter 12.
We're going to go to Romans one in a second.
Go to Romans 12 first.
Look at verse three.
There's a phrase here
that sometimes Baptists get a little squirmy about
and you ought never get squirmy about the Bible.
But it's because the Calvinists have taken it over
and sometimes they don't know how to answer it.
Let me show it to you.
Romans 12 three.
For I say through the grace given unto me
to every man that is among you
not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think
but to think soberly.
Notice the words.
Last part of verse three.
According as God had dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
And here the Bible tells us
that there seems to be a verse that indicates
that God has given faith to individuals
according as God had dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
Now the Calvinists,
they'll take a phrase like this
and they'll just run with it.
And they'll say see,
salvation's not something you decide.
You don't choose to be saved
which obviously goes against the plain reading
of so many texts.
I mean the most famous verse in the Bible,
John 3 16.
For God so loved the world
that he sent his only begotten son
that whosoever,
whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
But they'll say,
no, salvation's not something that you control.
God gives you the faith.
And they'll point at a verse like this
and say see,
according as God had dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
Now let me just again,
I'm not preaching on Calvinism
but since you brought it up,
let me just help you understand it.
Number one,
the Calvinists teach that God gives faith
to some people and not to others.
This verse says,
God has dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
So you can't take this verse
to prove Calvinism
because this verse says
that God has given it to every man.
But then the question is this,
then what does this verse mean?
What is this talking about?
The fact that God
has dealt to every man
the measure of faith.
And by the way,
whenever the Bible uses the term measure,
it's a reference to the fact
that he's given a small amount.
The Bible talks about
God did not give the Holy Spirit
to Jesus Christ like he gave it to us.
He gave it to him without measure.
He gives it to us by measure.
We get sealed with the Spirit.
You can get more of it
if you're filled with the Spirit,
if you consecrate your life.
But every believer
gets some of the Holy Spirit.
You're sealed with
the Holy Spirit of promise.
And here he says
that he gave to every man
the measure of faith.
So the question is this,
how is it that God
has given to every man
a measure of faith?
How is it that God has given
everyone a little bit of faith?
And the answer to the question,
go to Romans Chapter one,
is this, that not only
does creation have to be accepted by faith,
but creation intuitively generates faith.
Let me show it to you.
Romans one, verse 18.
For the wrath of God is revealed.
Now, I want you to notice
that the Bible here
is going to tell us
how God is revealed,
but please understand this.
It's the wrath of God.
It's not the grace of God.
The message of salvation,
the message of the grace of God,
the message of the mercy of God
cannot be revealed through creation.
That must be,
it cannot be revealed
through general revelation.
It must be revealed
through specific revelation,
which is the word of God,
which is why the Bible says
that faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God.
But I do want you to notice
that God though,
his specific plan for salvation
is not revealed by creation.
The Bible does tell us
that God himself
and his wrath and judgment
is revealed by creation.
Look at Romans 1 18.
For the wrath of God is revealed.
The word revealed means
to be made known,
to disclose, to reveal.
The wrath of God is revealed.
How is it revealed?
Look at it, from heaven.
This is a reference to nature
against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men.
Notice the words,
who hold the truth
in unrighteousness.
Every man has been given
a measure of faith
because every human being
can look at the heavens
and can look at creation
and there is something in you
that tells you
that God did this
and God has given everyone
a measure of faith.
They hold the truth
in unrighteousness
but they are,
we saw it in 2 Peter 3 5,
willingly ignorant of that truth.
They choose to look away.
Look at verse 19.
Because that which may be known
of God is manifest.
The word manifest means
made known, made apparent.
That which may be known
of God is manifest.
Notice this word,
in them.
What is that talking about?
In them?
We'll see it here in a minute
it's referring to their conscience.
Because there are two things
that God did
in order to provide
a measure of faith
for every man,
for every human being.
One thing is outside of us
it's creation.
We can look up at the stars
and we can look at the universe,
we can look at nature,
we can look at ourselves
and other human beings
and realize that somebody
created us.
But then also inside
he gave you a conscience.
Your conscience doesn't come
from Jiminy Cricket,
it comes from God.
Because that which may be known
of God is manifest
in them for God
has showed it unto them.
Look at verse 20.
For the invisible things,
remember faith is a substance
of things hoped for,
the evidence of things
not seen.
For the invisible things
of him from the creation,
from nature,
of the world,
notice the words
are clearly seen,
they're manifest,
being understood
by the things that are made
even his eternal power
in Godhead
so that they are without excuse.
So the things that are made
can clearly see,
can clearly understand
the invisible things
of creation.
See, God has revealed himself
through creation.
Not only that,
but God has revealed himself
through conscience
because God is manifest,
verse 19,
Romans 1.19,
in them.
Go to Romans chapter 2
real quickly.
Look at verse 14.
Romans chapter 2
and verse 14.
Romans 2.14.
For when the Gentiles
which have not the law,
it's talking about
heathen Gentiles
in the first century
who did not have access
to the word of God.
They did not have
the specific revelation of God.
For when the Gentiles
which have not the law,
notice these words,
do by nature the things
contained in the law.
And look,
isn't it true
that all of humanity,
whether they've had
the word of God,
whether they've had
Christianity or not,
in general,
all of humanity
has pretty much
came down
on certain truths,
certain things,
like murder is wrong,
like stealing is wrong.
I mean,
by and large,
most cultures have accepted that.
Yeah, there are some
reprobate cultures out there
and cannibalists or whatever,
but those are the exception.
Those are the exception,
not the rule.
In fact,
the exception proves the rule.
The fact that we are all
horrified about some island
where people eat other people
proves that that's not normal.
That's not the norm.
The exception
proves the rule.
What's the rule?
That by and large,
by and large,
throughout human history,
people have believed in a deity
and people have followed
a certain moral code
in general
that tells you,
hey, adultery is wrong,
murder is wrong,
stealing is wrong.
Where did that come from?
It came from God.
Because God revealed himself
through creation.
I'm not saying that
every human tribe
has believed in the Jehovah God.
No, no,
that comes through
revealed revelation,
specific revelation,
but general revelation,
creation and conscience
tells you
there is a God.
Here's what I'm saying.
Every human being
by themselves,
on their own,
will believe in God.
You say,
well, how do we find people
today like atheists
or evolutionists
or things of that nature?
You have to be taught that.
In fact,
not only do you have to be taught that,
you have to be
untaught creation,
which is why these
college professors
make it their life's mission
to take some little freshmen
and make sure they destroy their faith
by the time they graduate college.
Why?
Because there's something in you
that already believes in God.
And they have to attack your faith,
destroy your faith,
unteach your faith,
and teach you
a non-creation,
evolution,
know God,
you're a primate type of idea.
Why?
Because there's an inception of faith.
And look,
this has to give us
some confidence in knowing
that there's a little bit of faith
that God has put in every man.
Now, not a reprobate.
Obviously, a reprobate
has their conscience seared.
They're done.
But every normal human being out there,
there's something in them
that God put in them
that tells them
there's more to this life.
I mean, intuitively,
every human being knows
that I'm not what evolution teaches.
Evolution teaches that I
am a body.
But every human being knows,
I'm not a body,
I have a body.
Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
Evolution teaches that
consciousness
and the awareness of self
is just something that we develop
to help us
to have society,
and blah, blah, blah.
No, no, that's true.
Every human being knows,
intuitively,
I'm not a body.
I'm a soul.
I'm housed in a body.
There's something
in me that was created
by Almighty God.
Go to Psalm 19, if you would.
Keep your place in Romans.
We're going to come back to it.
Go to Psalm.
If you open up your Bible
just right in the center,
you're more than likely
found the book of Psalm.
Psalm 19.
Look at verse one.
Psalm 19, verse one.
The Bible says to the chief
physician, a psalm of David,
or that's the heading.
Here's what the Bible says.
Psalm 19, one.
Look at these words.
Psalm 19, one.
The heavens declare
the glory of God
and the firmament
showeth his handiwork.
I want you to notice
the words here, declare.
The heavens declare
the glory of God.
Firmament is talking about heaven.
The heavens, the sky,
not just the sky,
but the stars, the moon.
The firmament showeth
his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech.
Every day that the sun comes up
and the sun goes down
and the moon comes up
and the moon goes down.
I understand, you know,
we're moving
and we understand that.
But every day that we are able
to look up at the sky
and see this phenomenon,
day unto day
uttereth speech
and night unto night
showeth knowledge.
See, the Bible says
that creation is God's divine
show and tell.
He showeth us.
It says that he
showeth his handiwork.
The firmament showeth
his handiwork.
The night unto night
showeth knowledge.
And he shows us
and he tells us.
It says that the heavens
declare the glory of God.
Day unto day uttereth speech.
Look at verse three,
Psalm 19-3.
There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard.
The message of creation
is heard in every place.
So we can't get into the deep
parts of the Middle East,
where Islam is in control
and we can't send missionaries.
And that may be true
and praise the Lord
that now we can access
places like that
through the Internet
and things like that.
But the point is this,
that the handiwork of God
was there.
There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard.
What voice?
The message being preached
by creation.
It's heard everywhere.
It's seen everywhere.
Look at verse four.
Their line is gone out
through all the earth
and their words
to the end of the world.
See the message.
I'm not talking about
the message of salvation.
That has been entrusted to us
and we are to take it
to the world.
But the message of creation,
that there is a creator God,
that you have a conscience
and that you will meet
your creator one day.
That has been delivered
to the entire world
through creation
and through conscience.
This is the measure of faith.
There's an inception of faith.
And look,
faith can be generated.
It's generated through these things.
Obviously, it can be generated
like we talked about already.
Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God.
Go back to Romans just real quickly.
Look at Romans chapter one
and verse 20.
Romans chapter one and verse 20.
Keep your place in Psalms
if you would
and also keep your place in Romans.
We're going to be coming back and forth.
Romans chapter one verse 20.
For the invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world
are clearly seen
being understood by the things
that are made,
even His eternal power in Godhead.
So that here's the one
and here's what I want to show you.
Last part of verse 20.
So that they are without excuse.
No one will stand up
and have an excuse and say,
Well, I didn't know.
No, the heavens declare
the glory of God.
God put a consciousness in you.
Now they might not know
the name of Jesus
or understand all those things
and understand salvation.
We need to bring that to them.
We understand that.
But as far as not knowing
that there is a God
or that there there is
a measure of faith
that has been put into every man.
So the inception of faith
begins with this idea of creation,
which is, by the way,
why there is such an attack
on the message of creation.
The world needs,
the devil needs the world
to not believe that God created
the heavens and the earth.
Because if God created you
and He probably has a plan for you
and He probably has a purpose for you,
He probably has a will for you
and you should find out
what that purpose is.
Go back to Hebrews Chapter 11.
So we see there in verse number one
the definition of faith.
And then we see in verse number three
the inception of faith.
Now I'd like you to notice
thirdly tonight in verse number six,
remember we're skipping a little bit
because we're skipping
the specific stories.
Next week we're going to come back
and look at the whole of faith
and we'll start going through
that outline of all
the different individuals,
Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham
and all and their great faith.
But for now we're just looking
at the verses, the generic,
in general, verses regarding faith.
We saw the definition of faith,
Hebrews 1-1,
faith is a substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
We see the inception of faith
there in verse number three
that we understand.
How can you understand creation?
Through faith we understand
that the worlds were made,
they were formed,
they were created
through the Word of God.
Then in verse number six
we see the stipulation of faith.
The stipulation of faith.
And I use that word specifically as well
because the word stipulation
or to stipulate something
means a condition or requirement
that is specified or demanded
as part of an agreement.
See, there is a stipulation
to come to God,
Hebrews 11 verse six,
notice what it says,
but without faith it is impossible.
Gotta just underline that phrase.
But without faith it is impossible.
It is impossible.
This is a stipulation.
But without faith it is impossible
to please Him.
For He that cometh to God,
look at it,
for He that cometh to God
must believe that He is.
You cannot come to God
if you do not believe that God is,
that He is what?
That He is God.
You must believe that He is
and that He is the rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him.
So look, you can't please God,
you can't,
people sometimes they get,
they don't like it.
Well why does God have these stipulations?
It's how it works.
By the way,
salvation is the same way.
The Bible says
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and if thou shalt believe in thine heart.
It doesn't say if thou shalt believe in thine heart
but the idea,
it says if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and shalt believe in thine heart.
There's an if there.
If thou shalt believe in thine heart
that God is raised from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
That's the stipulation.
The stipulation is
you must come to God in faith
but without faith it is impossible to please Him.
For He that cometh to God
must believe that He is.
And I'm not going to even give you
a cross reference for this
because honestly Hebrews 11 and 6
is the best proof text
to prove this point.
That if you're going to come to God
you must come to Him in faith.
You say well what if I struggle with faith?
Remember the father who brought Jesus,
his child for Jesus to heal
and Jesus said if thou believeth
He said I'll heal them
and he said I believe
and then he said help thou might not believe.
You know you don't need a lot of faith.
The Bible says just the faith
just the size of the grain of a mustard seed.
You can ask God to help you develop your faith.
Faith can be developed.
Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God.
The more you hear the word of God
the more you understand the word of God
the more it's taught to you and explained
the more you read it and understand it
it will increase your faith
but you need to understand
that you must come to God in faith.
It's a stipulation.
Without faith it is impossible to please Him.
For He that cometh to God
must believe that He is
and that He is the rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him.
So here's what we see.
Verse 1.
The definition of faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for
the evidence of things not seen.
Verse 3.
The inception of faith.
Through faith we understand
that the world were framed by the word of God
so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear.
Then verse 6 we see the stipulation of faith.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him.
For He that cometh to God
must believe that He is
and that He is the rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him.
And then fourthly tonight
I'd like you to notice the manifestation of faith.
Manifestation of faith
and we actually begin this in verse number 13.
Remember we're skipping around a little bit
but before we look at verse 13
let me just remind you of verse number 1.
Let me just say a couple things
about the manifestation of faith
because manifestation means to see something.
The manifestation of faith
and first of all let me just be clear
faith does not need to be seen.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for
the evidence of things not seen.
And we do not believe here
at Verity Baptist Church
that well if somebody really believes
then they're going to have works.
The Bible doesn't say that.
Now they should have works
and we want them to have works
but people often
well there needs to be evidence of their salvation.
If they don't produce fruit
and they don't even understand what that means
because they're talking about the fruit of the Spirit
and whatever
but they'll say there has to be evidence for salvation.
Well let me tell you what the evidence for salvation is.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for
the evidence of things not seen.
You want to know what the evidence for salvation is?
The evidence for salvation is faith
and the thing about faith is that you cannot see it
only God can see it.
So well then how do you determine if somebody is saved?
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
We don't look at their lives
to determine whether they're saved
we look at what they believe
and the only way you and I can determine
what somebody believes
is what they tell us.
So what if they lie to us?
Well good thing you're not in charge of
the Lamb's Book of Life.
You know if they lie to you
and give you a fault
you're not Saint Peter standing at
and neither is Saint Peter by the way
but standing at the pearly gates
checking you know IDs or whatever.
They might lie to us
but they're not going to lie to God.
God knows their heart.
The point is this what saves you is faith
and faith does not have to be seen
but there's these extremes
because we preach that and we teach that
faith doesn't have to be seen
and I believe that faith is the substance of things
hope for the evidence of things not seen.
What do you need to be saved?
You need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What about works?
Hey you don't have to
we want you to have good works
but you don't have to have works to be saved.
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done is what the Bible says.
The Bible says but to him that worketh not
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly
his faith is counted for righteousness.
So look the Bible clearly says
somebody can do no works and have faith.
So faith does not need to be seen.
With that said though
I hope I made that clear
let me make this statement
faith does not need to be seen
faith however that is acted upon can be seen.
Let me just give you a couple verses here
James chapter 2
you're there in Hebrews just flip over to James
we're going to go to James
it's just write the next book after Hebrews
then we're going to go back to Hebrews
and we're going to be done all right
James chapter 2
yea a man may say
now understand the context
James is telling us what people are going to say
not what God says
yea a man may say
because remember the Bible says
that man looketh on the outward appearance
but God looketh upon the heart
and we often emphasize it to say
well God looks on the heart
amen
but man looks on the outward appearance
so with that understanding
that man looketh on the outward appearance
and God looketh upon the heart
when you understand that
all we can see is the outward
God is the one that can see the inward
with that understanding
James says this
yea a man may say
thou has faith and I have works
show me thy faith without thy works
and I will show thee my faith by my works
and again you do not need works for salvation
but to him that worketh not
but believeth on him that justified the ungodly
his faith is counted for righteousness
but if you want to show someone your faith
you're going to have to act upon it
now you don't have to show anybody your faith
because faith is the evidence of things not seen
but you know that God wants us to act upon our faith
in fact that's what Hebrews 11 is all about
this whole chapter 40 verses
is just example after example after example
of things people did
things they did in their lives
as they were exercising
the invisible faith that could not be seen
they performed these great actions that could be seen
they showed us their faith through their action
and here's what we need to understand
faith for salvation is what is needed
we are saved by faith
right?
for by grace are ye saved through faith
and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God
not of works lest any man should boast
I don't know how people can read that verse
and walk away saying
yea but you got to do good things
it's not of yourselves
it's the gift of God not of works
we understand that
but however do you also understand that
once you're saved
God wants you to live a life of good works
before we're saved what we say to the unsaved person
as for by grace are you saved through faith
and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God
not of works lest any man should boast
that's what we say to the unsaved person
but then when they get saved
you know what we say to the saved person
we say the just shall live by faith
God wants you to live a life of faith
you don't just need faith for salvation
you need faith every day
God wants you to exercise faith and live by faith
that's what Hebrews 11 is about
I want to encourage you to come back next week
we're going to begin in this faith
this hall of faith
and begin to look at these examples
these individuals
and how they acted upon faith in the great act
but just as we finish tonight look at verse 13
we'll look at these four verses 13 through 16
and they are within the context of Abraham
and we'll look at that next week
but I want you to notice that they're not about Abraham
they're about faith people in general
Hebrews 11 13
these all died in faith
it's not just Abraham
actually the context about everyone he talked about
leading up to Abraham
he talked about Abel and Enoch and Noah
and here he says these all died in faith
not having received the promise
but having seen them afar off
you know what's interesting
is that there's this play on words
that we see throughout Hebrews
we're actually going to see it in Hebrews 12 as well
and it's this
that faith is something that cannot be seen
but faith causes you to see what cannot be seen
these all died in faith
not having received the promise
but having look at it seen them afar off
and notice here's you said
what does a life of faith look like
what does faith being acted out look like
acted upon look at look like
notice what it says
and were persuaded of them
and embrace them
and confess that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth
is that what does a Christian who's living by faith
what does their life look like
their life looks like someone
who's not getting too comfortable here
you understand what I just said
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth
the word stranger
is the word we would use today would be foreigner
pilgrim
think about a pilgrim like thanksgiving
what's a pilgrim
someone that's on a journey
someone that's just passing through
the idea is this
that you say well how does faith
and the life of a believer
what does it look like
it looks like this
they're not anchored to this world
they're not too connected to this world
they're not that worried about this world
they are just a pilgrim
they are just a stranger
they realize that this is just a journey
I am just a passing through
my treasures are laid up
somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
that's what the life of a Christian
who's exercising faith looks like
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth
verse 14
for they that say such things
look at it
declare plainly that they seek a country
and truly
this is a problem with most Christians
if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out
they might have had opportunity to have returned
what about all the brethren who go back to their old life
what about all the brethren who go back to drugs and alcohol
go back to
does it mean they weren't saved
no it doesn't mean that
it means that they were mindful of the country
from whence they came out
it doesn't look
you should never look at an individual say
based off how they're living
I don't think they're saved
now if they become a very zealous Mormon
then yeah we might be like
yeah I don't know
I don't think they were saved
if someone goes from independent final Baptist
Christianity faith in Jesus Christ
and they become a very zealous Muslim
then yeah we should question
I don't think they were ever saved
that has to do with what they believe
but just because somebody gets vaccinated
and goes back to the world
goes back to drugs or alcohol or whatever
it doesn't mean they weren't saved
but it does mean that they were mindful
this is why Jesus said that look
he that taketh his hand to the plow
he said he said don't look back
you're not fit for the kingdom of God
you can't look back
if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out
they might have had opportunities of return
look at verse 16
but now they desire
remember the theme of Hebrews
what's the theme of Hebrews
the theme of Hebrews is that Jesus is better
remember Jesus is better
we've been looking at it
then the angels
then the prophets
then Moses
then the tabernacle
then the old testament covenant
then the priest
and here he brings the word up again
but now they desire a better country
that is in heavenly
where for God is not ashamed
to be called their God
for he had prepared for them a city
let me just make this point real quickly
and we'll finish up
we talk a lot about not being ashamed of God
not being ashamed of Christ
not being ashamed of the men of God
and there's definitely verses that deal with that
and that's something that should be dealt with
but have you ever thought about this
that God might be ashamed of you
look at it
but now they desire a better country
that is in heavenly
when a Christian lives the faith life
and they're not too attached to this world
look I understand we work in this world
we live in this world
we have to make ourselves
we have to be concerned with the things of this world
but when everything you do
everything you are
is all about this world
you're not walking by faith
but now they desire a better country
that is in heavenly
where for God is not ashamed to be called their God
and here's what I'm telling you
is when a Christian lives too anchored to this world
too concerned about this world
only concerned about the temporal
not the eternal
the visible
not the invisible
the carnal
not the spiritual
it makes God ashamed
he says but when they desire a better country
that is in heavenly
he says where for God is not ashamed to be called their God
for he had prepared for them a city
yes we're saved by faith
but without faith it is impossible to please him
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is
and that he's the rewarder of them
that diligently seek him
but that's just the start
then the bible tells us over and over again
the just shall live by faith
let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer
heavenly father
lord we do love you
and we thank you for this chapter
and this portion of scripture
and the things we can learn here
help us to understand and have a thorough understanding of the concept of faith
lord help us to have a good definition of faith
understand that God has given to every man a measure of faith
the inception of faith has been given us through conscience and creation
the stipulation of faith that we must come to God in faith
and the manifestation of faith
that though we are not saved by words
we should show our faith through our works
and we should live out our faith
and lord I pray you'd help us to live in such a way
we love you
in Jesus name we pray
amen
all right we're gonna have brother Moses come up and lead us in a song
as we prepare for baptism tonight
please enter your song books page number 102
page number 102
we're gonna sing he hideth my soul
page 102
and let's go ahead and sing it out on that first verse
a wonderful savior is Jesus my lord
a wonderful savior to me
he hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
where rivers of pleasure I see
he hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land
he hideth my life in the depths of his love
and covers me there with his hand
page 102 on the second
a wonderful savior is Jesus my lord
he taketh my burden away
he holdeth me up and I shall not be moved
he giveth me strength as my day
he hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land
he hideth my life in the depths of his love
and covers me there with his hand
with numberless blessings each moment he crowns
and filled with his fullness divine
I sing in my rapture oh glory to God
for such a redeemer is mine
he hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land
he hideth my life in the depths of his love
and covers me there with his hand
on the last verse when clothed in his darkness
transported I rise to meet him in clouds of the sky
his perfect salvation his wonderful love
I'll shout with the millions on high
he hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land
he hideth my life in the depths of his love
and covers me there with his hand
and covers me there with his hand great singing all right amen today
we have miss rachel wheeler coming for baptism
and miss rachel's been coming with david for a while and we're excited for
her to be baptized tonight and miss rachel have you accepted the
lord jesus christ is your personal savior
all right by your profession of faith i baptize you my sister
in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost buried in
the likeness of his death raised to walk in newness of life
god bless you
and all of god's people said amen all right well thank you very much for
being here tonight we appreciate you uh coming out just a couple of uh
announcements before we go first of all don't forget if you're part of our
homeschool group pe class is canceled no pe tomorrow there's
like a 90 chance of rain it's going to be real cold there
might be thundering so there's no pe make sure you are aware of that
and also i just want to remind you of course
that we have our big soul winning rally on saturday morning at 10 a.m we
want you to come out slowly with us and we'd
love for you to join us of course for soul winning
and then on sunday morning we're starting a brand new sermon series
on emotional intelligence so make sure you're here bring somebody with you
invited guests if there's anything we can do for you please let us know
i'm gonna ask brother moses to dismiss us with a word of prayer
let's pray father god thank you so much for this church lord
thank you for the service i pray that uh we would remember the things that
pastor preaches i pray that you'd uh keep us safe
until we meet again in jesus name i pray amen
so