Take a person's place.
So I hope you'll get it all out
of your mind real quick.
Because I'm sure the problem will be within
you.
Now, before I get started recording and all
this stuff, I want to say a couple
of things.
I brought a few books.
Learned that I was going to be able
to function.
I mean, if you can get it out
of order.
But I had initially had...
And in Carolina there, I just...
Country Church.
Begin to find my...
And I'll tell you...
And we started seeing the glory...
Checking on blood pressure, and I didn't have
any.
We understood
that my blood pressure was caused.
We were aware that my blood pressure was
caused.
And when I went on the dialysis, we
felt...
Kidney problem...
Infected blood pressure would be solved.
But the hypertension problem that caused the blood
pressure would not be solved.
But here it was being solved.
So I began to ask the Lord, you
know, what it was.
My doctor, she couldn't explain it to me.
And the Lord showed me and said, well...
And also my faith.
That we're going to have a revival.
Breaking up the ground, planting the seed.
And I...
So I was in this area.
And I couldn't tell Jimmy.
And worked out some things.
You have possibly...
But if you got it...
And so I just brought...
Just three books.
And we just wanted to see.
I didn't bring many.
But I'll tell you what.
If you have never read...
The story of Samuel Marsh.
This copy.
You have missed half of your Christian life.
How many of you have ever read it?
Raise your hand.
And you...
You can't possibly be as saved as you
ought to be if you read this book.
I'm not kidding you.
If you've never read this Billy Bridges.
Lord God's Son.
You'll tell...
East Texas if you read that book.
It is...
I don't know but this...
From there on you might come up...
Thinks he talks about a one nation.
A little devotional book.
That had a leather back on it.
And you know she's still using it today.
Now a lot of you got the regular
copy of this.
But you're going to wear this one out.
Now...
That we might work the works of God.
Now I'll tell you what Jesus said to
them.
And challenged my life.
You know what Jesus said to them?
He said this is the work of God.
That you believe on him whom the Father...
Isn't that interesting?
He said this is the work of God.
That's not on the surface there.
And of course if you ever read the...
But it's a life of faith that works.
And so this morning I want you to
turn to the book of Hebrews.
And we're going to start with the 10th
chapter of the book of Hebrews.
And I realize that...
That men made these divisions in these chapters.
And I don't always agree or disagree with
them.
But I'm going to start with what I
think is a constant.
But if any man draw back my soul
shall find no pleasure in him.
But we are not of them who draw
back unto perdition.
See we're not.
But of them that believe to the saving
of the soul.
And I think you'll find that word soul
there indicates more than being.
The evidence of faith.
Now you might get somewhat of a definition.
And for by it in talking about faith
the elders...
Now I want you to jump with me
to...
Therefore sprang so many as the stars of
the sky in multitude.
And as the sand which is by the
seashore innumerable.
These all, these all, what all?
These all died in faith.
Not having received the promises.
That means absolutely experienced the total full.
But now watch this outline in the King
James.
But having seen them afar off.
What did they see?
The promises.
And were persuaded of them.
What?
The promises.
And embraced them.
What?
The promises.
And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth.
Now this passage, this message.
Some Christian.
I don't think you have to read this
book.
Long to realize that they are in some
kind of...
And he is telling them.
Saying that you have need of patience.
That if you stand true.
For the just.
To this crowd under affliction.
He said the just.
Meaning I believe having victory in your life
and overcoming.
And then he says.
That statement of faith that we are so...
Is the substance.
They obtained a good report.
The elders obtained a good report.
And then we jump all the way over
to...
And a promise.
While he is talking to Abraham.
Is he talking about Abraham?
Abraham you are as good as dead.
And I'm going to bless your seed.
Well sometimes you wonder.
In a literal sense is talking about Isaac.
Out of Isaac's seed.
You see whoever it was.
Whoever seed it was.
It says they all that
are what?
Believers.
Now you know Abraham wasn't a Jew.
Something went off.
Something went out.
I just don't want to mess up the
recording.
Do you have batteries in this wireless?
Somebody answer me.
I mean when Brother Gordon was preaching with
it.
Sound like you...
Sound like...
It was the batteries going bad in it.
But this is one of those new ones.
So I thought maybe he didn't do that
stuff.
Technician.
I get a tour.
You're not really a Jew.
But you really are.
What are you talking about?
The seed.
That Abraham is talking about.
Is the seed.
That.
Discovered.
The only way.
God.
In his economy has learned.
That man relates to God.
There is only one way man relates to
God.
I don't know why we can't get this
straight.
Romans 4.16 says it.
It says it has to be.
It has to be of faith.
That it might be of grace.
In other words the only way.
For a person to receive.
The grace of God.
Is.
By.
Faith.
And the seed.
That God promises Abraham to bless.
As beyond the stars of the sky and
the sea of the seashore.
Or sands of the seashore.
Is the seed.
That discovers the truth.
And lives by the truth.
That it is of faith.
That it might be of grace.
And a person that does not discover that
truth.
Is not a child of God.
And if they have discovered it.
In the new birth.
And they do not know how to live
by faith.
They are a displeasure to God.
They are not righteous before God.
And my dear friends their religion is a
religion of works.
Not a religion of Christianity.
And he plainly says it here.
I'm going to bless your seed.
Beyond the stars of the sky and the
sands of the seashore.
What seed?
These all died in faith.
Now listen I'm going to define it.
The seed.
These all died in faith.
Not having received the fulfillment of the promises.
But now watch it.
It defines faith.
Here's your definition of faith.
They saw the promises of God.
Faith always originates from discovering the truth.
Faith cometh by hearing.
And hearing by the word of God.
The truth.
These all died in faith.
Not having received the promises.
But having seen them.
The faith was born out of the fact
that they discovered the truth.
They discovered the truth.
They all discovered the truth.
About God and about themselves in relationship to
God in every given situation.
They not only discovered the truth.
But they became persuaded of the truth.
That this is the truth indeed.
They not only became persuaded of that truth.
But they embraced.
They acted on.
They believed.
They responded to that truth.
Not with their spirit.
Not with their soul.
But with their whole being.
For when you make a decision in your
will.
Your inner being.
Your whole body responds to that truth.
And your whole body becomes a confession of
what you believe.
Your whole body becomes a work.
According to your faith.
So I'm going to bless you with a
seed that outnumbered the stars of the sky.
And the sands of the seashore.
That seed will be a people.
My dear friends who have learned to discover
the truth.
Be persuaded of the truth.
Embrace the truth.
And confess it.
And upon that basis.
I have always worked.
And he said I will work and will
always work.
And no other basis.
If you don't believe that.
Look in the 11th chapter of the book
of Hebrews.
And see.
He said by faith.
Now remember that.
By faith.
Now what are we talking about?
They saw the truth.
They were persuaded of the truth.
They embraced the truth.
They confessed the truth.
That's what we're talking about by faith.
So by faith.
What?
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice.
Amen.
He's going to give us a whole history
of the Bible right here in the 11th
chapter of the book of Hebrews.
And what was the economy from the beginning
of the Bible right up to today?
By faith.
Through faith.
Amen.
It says by faith.
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice.
It says by faith.
Enoch was translated that he should not see
death.
Can you imagine.
A man running around believing he's not going
to die when everybody's dying about it.
Amen.
Now if you brought that back in the
context of our day.
You bring it in the context of hope
not faith.
But it wasn't hope but the Bible says
it's faith.
He was persuaded of the truth.
He embraced the truth.
And he confessed the truth when everybody's dying.
I'm not going to die.
Enoch walked with God.
It was by faith my dear friends.
It was by faith that it happened.
Listen.
By faith Noah was warned of God of
things not seen as yet.
Noah said prepare Enoch for the saving of
his house.
I mean my dear friends this man saw
the truth.
He was persuaded of the truth.
He embraced the truth.
And he confessed the truth.
And he confessed it by going out there
and billing Enoch when there had never even
been a rain.
Oh what a stupid man you are.
Sure he's stupid to the world.
But my dear friends he was confessing something
he had embraced.
And he'd embraced something he was persuaded of.
And he had persuaded of something he had
seen nobody else had seen.
That is a lack of faith.
I preached so much on faith back in
past years and everybody thought I was stupid
and they wouldn't listen to me.
When I got a hold of this I
said my Lord God I don't see why
you didn't kill me if I ain't doubting
you.
Walked by faith.
Brother Abraham when he was called to go
out into a place which he should have
to receive for an enhancement so bade he
went out not knowing where he went.
How did it happen?
It wasn't a leap into the dark.
It was a leap into the light.
He saw the promises.
He was persuaded of them.
He embraced them.
And he confessed them by his obedience.
And he shook in the middle of it.
But I'll tell you one thing he still
came through on top.
I mean this man this land man walks
this bunch of people completely through Bible history
and shows them be patient.
Stand and believe that just shall live by
faith.
It's always been by faith and it's going
to be by faith.
So you stay in there by faith.
Pastor Abraham walked by faith.
Tested by faith.
It says in the 17th verse.
By faith him he was tried that he
had received the promises offered up for his
only begotten son.
It's by faith.
My dear friends when he hit that crisis
he saw the truth.
He was persuaded of the truth.
He embraced it by his obedience.
Confessed it.
By what he did.
It's by faith my dear friends.
He went through that trial.
Not only brother Abraham but brother Isaac.
Our sister Sarah let's don't leave her out.
Amen.
Faithful.
I mean she didn't go in on Abraham's
faith.
If you'll study her life carefully she had
to get to the place that she had
faith herself.
What does that mean?
She was persuaded of the truth.
She embraced the truth and confessed the truth.
That's faith.
Isn't that amazing?
Old man missing his sons.
And he saw concerning the thing.
He saw something.
He was persuaded of it.
And he embraced it.
And he confessed it.
This is going to happen.
Amen.
By faith.
When he was done said boys.
When you leave this place.
Take my bones out of here.
He wasn't hoping.
He had seen something.
He had become persuaded of it.
And he was embracing it.
And he was confessing it.
It may have taken God 400 years to
get to it but he got to it.
Of the children of Israel.
And concerning his bones he also said take
mine will you.
Amen.
Don't leave me down here in this land.
Because one of these days you're going to
march out of this place.
You're going to leave this place.
How did he know?
He saw the promises.
He was persuaded of the promises.
He embraced the promises.
And confessed them.
He didn't experience the fulfillment of it.
But I don't think he mind.
Because when you get to the place of
faith that's the victory whether you experience the
fulfillment of it or not.
By his parents.
And obviously it was his parents faith.
The laundry bill.
To the right place at the right time.
He forsook the wealth and the power of
Egypt.
To suffer the afflictions of the people of
God.
And it was because he saw the truth.
He was persuaded of it.
And he embraced it and he confessed it.
And my dear friends.
By faith he forsook Egypt.
Not fearing the wrath of the king.
By faith he kept the Passover.
Isn't that something?
By faith they passed through the Red Sea.
Amen.
My dear friends by faith the walls of
Jericho fell down.
And what do we mean by faith?
It means when they discovered the mind of
God.
They were persuaded of it.
They embraced it.
And they acted on it.
Before it was so.
In order for it to be so.
Because with God it was so.
He's not through yet.
Tell me about something.
He said Rahab the harlot got saved.
In the city of Jericho while God destroyed
the rest of it.
And confessed them.
And hung the little old thread out.
And everything went but that.
That was covered by the Lord.
What shall I say more?
Or must I more say?
For the time will fail me to tell
of Gideon.
David, Samson, Samuel.
Prophets.
Who through faith subdued kingdoms.
Wrought righteousness.
Obtained promises.
Sucked the mouth of lions.
Quenched the violence of fire.
Escaped the edge of sword.
Out of weakness were made strong.
What's violent in fight.
Turned fights to armies.
To fight the armies out of the airlines.
Women received their dead.
Raised to life again.
And others were tortured.
Well, they were tortured by faith.
Why brother manly I thought the faith would
keep you from being tortured.
Who told you that?
One of these television preachers trying to raise
ten million dollars?
Or one of these preachers that's preaching on
faith that doesn't know faith from feeling?
By faith they were tortured.
What do you mean?
They saw it.
They were persuaded of it.
And embraced it.
And walked into it.
Acting like a saint of God.
And in the midst of that torture.
Gave such testimony of the glory of God
that I guarantee you the world is still
shaking.
It says that they might attain a better
resurrection.
My goodness how they do that by faith.
And others had trials of cruel markings.
And scourging yet more over bonds and imprisonments.
They were stoned.
They were stoned asunder.
They were tempted.
Tempted and were slain with a sword.
They wandered about in sheep skin and goat
skin.
And being destitute, afflicted and tormented.
Of whom the world was not worthy.
How did they do that?
They were even sawed apart.
How did they do it?
They did it by faith.
By faith.
What do we mean?
As they faced life in its given situations.
In redemption and sanctification and service.
And that's the only three areas you have
any responsibility in.
By being persuaded of it.
By embracing it.
By giving their life.
And confessing it with their life.
And by this my friends they were able
to go through.
And God said.
He said.
Because of this crowd.
He said we're not worthy.
Yes sir.
Oh we're not worthy.
For they all obtained a good report through
faith.
Yes sir.
God having provided some better things for us.
That they without us should not be made
perfect.
In other words folk and some
of those.
That's the only way there's ever been to
live.
And relate to God.
That's the only way.
And it will always be.
And you have to let explain what's going
on.
And if they happen to cooperate with what
God is doing good.
I'm honest I'm not playing games with you.
I said it's some of it but it's
not all of it.
They said why?
I said you don't have the faith.
Well as soon as God sends it we
can believe it.
Sure.
The devil didn't believe it then.
To that place.
Where you've seen the truth.
And you persuaded of it.
And you embrace it.
And confess it.
That assurance.
To where you confess it.
That it's happening folk.
And this is not making believe.
This confession comes out of an obedient act.
This obedient act comes out of a blessed
assurance.
Has spoken about that given situation.
There's only one way to walk with him.
It has to be of faith.
That it might be of faith.
Another day of it.