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[0:00] In the epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 11, and verse 6.

[0:13] Hebrews 11, verse 6. But without faith, it is impossible to please him.

[0:27] For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[0:44] This chapter is the faith chapter. And wonderfully, we are reminded of those worthies of old, who through faith and by faith were enabled to do such exploits.

[1:08] To endure so many things. To overcome so many things. This chapter is a testimony to the faith that God gives.

[1:22] And the faith in exercise, which accomplishes so much through his mercy. And within the context of this chapter, we are reminded of what faith is.

[1:41] Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. And then Paul goes on to confirm this statement.

[1:58] By the evidences. By the witnesses. Of former generations. Now, as the Lord may help us this morning, I want particularly to look at this verse.

[2:13] And to look at four things which appear to come from it very plainly and very clearly. Firstly, to consider faith.

[2:26] Faith. Because that is what the chapter is about. And that is what we are enabling to think about this morning. The fact of faith.

[2:38] The necessity of faith. The effect of faith. And the reward of faith. That's it, isn't it? Faith itself. Just to consider it.

[2:49] Then to consider the necessity. Without faith. It is impossible to please him. That is God. And the effect of faith.

[3:02] And the reward of faith. Now, in the first instance. As we consider faith itself. What do we mean?

[3:14] By faith. What do we mean by it? Firstly. Firstly. He that cometh to God. Must believe that he is.

[3:28] That he is. That is to say. That the first step. In faith. Is to believe in God.

[3:38] That is in the existence. Of God. God. That is vital. That is important. That we believe in God.

[3:50] In that sense. Yet many may. Make an assertion. That they do believe. In God.

[4:01] God. And yet that assertion. Is very far removed. From the biblical standard. Of faith. As it is defined clearly.

[4:13] In the scriptures. Yet there are people. That have a vague. Concept. Of the being. Of the eternal creator. They believe.

[4:24] They say. In God. Yet they have no specific. Understanding. Of who he is. Or what he is like. Or what he has said.

[4:36] You see. The Bible solemnly. Tells us. That the devils. Believe. And tremble. They believe. In the existence. Of God.

[4:46] They believe. Who the Lord Jesus Christ. Was. And yet. Cried out. Art thou. Come to torment us. Before. The time. So that faith.

[4:58] Must certainly be. A belief. In the existence. Of God. He that cometh. Unto God. Must believe. That he is.

[5:11] But a mere assertion. Of that. Does not constitute. Saving. God given. Faith. We go further.

[5:22] Believing in God. Believing in him. That is. Having. Confidence. In him. Putting our trust.

[5:35] In him. Now you see. We are going a little further. Here and then. Yes. We must believe. In his existence. But. We must confide.

[5:47] In him. That is. Put our trust. In such. A God. I put it to you. This morning. I'm sure.

[5:58] There's no one. In this chapel. Does not believe. In God. Do you confide. In him. Do you. Trust. Him. That is.

[6:11] That is the second step. The divine ability. You see. That is. Most important. But then. Not only believing.

[6:23] In him. In his existence. Having confidence. And trust. In him. But the biblical standard. Of faith. Goes yet further.

[6:34] Abraham. Abraham. Believed. God. That is. He believed. What God. Had said.

[6:45] He knew. A God. That spoke. He knew. A God. That promised. He knew. A God. That had purposes. That he would fulfill. And.

[6:56] Abraham. Believed. God. And. It was accounted. Unto. Him. For. Righteousness.

[7:08] Believe in him. You must. And I say. Speak of a triune God. When I speak of believing in him. Father.

[7:19] Son. And Holy Spirit. He that cometh unto God. Must believe. That he is. Have confidence in him. You must.

[7:30] God. Have you any other confidence? Could you trust in any other person? Any other thing? Vain is the health of man. It is vain.

[7:41] To have confidence in man. But our confidence. Must be. In God. The eternal God. Is thy refuge. Underneath. Are the everlasting arms.

[7:54] Surely you have confidence. In such. A God. Believe him. Do you believe. His word.

[8:05] His promise. What he has spoken. You know. If we don't believe him. We make him a liar. Don't we? Solemn thing there.

[8:19] Then. My fourth point. On this line. Is this. Believing in him. Confiding in him. Believing him.

[8:30] And then. Casting all your care. Upon him. To commit everything to him.

[8:43] I know. I know. Whom I have believed. And am persuaded. That he is able to keep. That which I have committed.

[8:55] Unto him. Against. That. Day. Such is the standard.

[9:06] The biblical standard. Of faith. Which covers. I believe. In my poor observation. I trust. I'm sure there was more.

[9:17] That might be said. Which covers. In measure. The definition. Of the faith. Of God's. Elect. Now this faith.

[9:31] Is. Of gift. Peter. Calls it. Precious faith. He speaks. Of those. Who have. Obtained. Like. Precious.

[9:42] Faith. With us. If in your heart. At this moment. There is just. That little grain. That mustard seed. As it were. Of faith.

[9:53] You've got the same. Precious gift. That Peter had. And that the apostles had. And that all the election. Of grace. Have ever had. You see. Like.

[10:05] Precious. Faith. With. Us. It is a gift. Of God. And a mighty gift. Paul speaks.

[10:16] Of those. Who believe. According to the working. Of his mighty. Power. Which he wrought. In Christ. When he raised him. From the dead. If you're a believer.

[10:29] This morning. You know you're a miracle. Of grace. Don't you. The human heart. Will never come. In living faith. In and of itself. The believer.

[10:42] However. Unworthy. Sinful. Weak. And unable. He or she. May feel to be. Is a miracle. Of grace. It is great.

[10:52] A miracle. As the resurrection. When a soul. Is brought. To saving. Faith. In the Lord. Jesus. Christ. This precious gift.

[11:10] Is brought down. By certain means. And we do well. To consider. The means. Whereby faith comes. Because.

[11:21] It is plainly stated. By the apostle Paul. Under the guidance. Of the Holy Spirit. In Romans chapter 10. That faith. Cometh.

[11:31] By. Hearing. And hearing. By. By. The word. Of God. So we have a gift. A precious gift.

[11:43] How precious. Its value. Is beyond description. There is no more precious gift. Than this. Than precious faith. In a precious Jesus.

[11:54] And in exceeding great. And precious promises. And that gift. Is given. Through means. Normally. The preaching.

[12:05] Of the gospel. You can read. Romans 10. And you will see. The process. How shall they hear. Without a preacher. How shall they preach. Except they be sent. And so on.

[12:16] I'm sure you are familiar. With that passage. I remind you. Then. That the place. To find faith. The place. To receive faith. Is.

[12:26] As you come. To the word. Of the living. God. God. Now this. Precious faith. This mighty principle.

[12:38] God given. Is. Is the means. Whereby. Sinners. Appropriate. What.

[12:48] Is called. The faith. The faith. Once. Delivered. To. The saints. That is received.

[13:01] It is appropriated. I like the word. Here. Used. In. Hebrews 11. Embraced. They embraced. The promises.

[13:11] They laid hold of them. As it were. They threw their arms. Around them. You know. Faith. Is not. A cold. Statement. Of saying. You believe.

[13:22] In certain. Doctrine. It comes. From a personal. Vital. Knowledge. Of a person. A receiving.

[13:33] And a believing. These things. Are linked. To them. As many. As received. Him. To them. Gave he the power. To become. The sons of God.

[13:43] Even as many. As believe. On. His. Name. Is your. Is your faith.

[13:54] Just a profession. Or is it. A possession. Of you. Embrace. Promises. Of God. That are.

[14:05] Manifest. And fulfilled. In his. Dear son. The Lord. Jesus Christ. Think about. Him. For a moment. His.

[14:16] Person. We. Believe. And are. Sure. Says. Peter. That thou. Art. The Christ. The son. Of the living.

[14:27] God. The hymn writer. Says. What. Think ye. Of Christ. Is the test. To try. Both your state. And your scheme. You cannot. Be right.

[14:38] In the rest. Unless. You think. Rightly. Of. Him. Is he. The son. Of God. Is he. The co-equal.

[14:48] Co-eternal. Son. Of God. Scripture. Says he is. The world. Link. Says he's not. The modernist. Drags him down.

[14:59] From the throne. That he over. Witnessed. The Unitarians. And so on. They will not. Have this man. To reign over them. But faith. It looks.

[15:10] Upon this. Blessed. Person. And remember. That was said. Concerning. Peter. Flesh and blood. Not revealed this. Unto thee. But my father.

[15:21] Which is. In. Heaven. Is your faith. Resting. In that. Blessed. Person. Upon this.

[15:31] Rock. I will. Build. My. Church. And the gates. Of hell. Shall not. Prevail. Against it. God is just. And the justice. Will of him.

[15:42] That believeth. In Jesus. I believe. That Jesus Christ. Is the son of God. Said the Ethiopian. That was his testimony.

[15:54] That was his testimony. His person. The life. That he lived. Here below. The miracles. He wrote. The words. That he spayed.

[16:05] All these things. Are relevant. To faith. The death. That he died. Upon Calvary's cross.

[16:17] What does Calvary. Mean to you? What does the precious blood. Mean to you? What does that suffering. Dying lamb. Mean. To you.

[16:28] To some. An object. Of derision. Of scorn. And content. End. The preaching of the cross. Is to them. That perish. Foolishness. But. To them.

[16:40] That believe. Power of God. Unto. Salvation. There is no salvation. In none of it.

[16:51] There is no other name. There is no other way. But faith. Embraces. Receives. Delights. In what God has done in Christ.

[17:03] Without faith. It is impossible. To please. Him. But I would take you. A little further. As I consider. The great teachings. Of the resurrection.

[17:14] And ascension. The exhortation. The mediation. Of this blessed Savior. Together. Together. With all the promises.

[17:25] Of the gifts. Of the Holy Spirit. In his saving grace. With wondrous mercy. The prospect. Of his ultimate return.

[17:37] And glory. When he shall descend from heaven. With a shout. With the voice of the archangel. And with the trump of God. All these things.

[17:47] Are relevant. To the faith. Once delivered. To the saints. And. Living faith. Saving faith. Embraces.

[17:58] And lays hold. Of these truths. Not. In a mere ascent. Not by a mechanical. Annual remembrance. Of certain things.

[18:08] Like Easter. And Christmas. And so on. Not. By rituals. And festivals. That are performed. In so-called churches. And certain aspects.

[18:19] Of the Christian faith. Are supposedly. Done. Through the office. Of priests. And so forth. All these things. Have nothing to do.

[18:30] With the scriptures. But there is a receiving. Of these things. In precious. God-given faith. In the light. Of the new covenant. And the work of grace.

[18:42] In the heart. And the receiving. And the believing. Of these things. Is the very. Essence. Of. Faith. Now.

[18:54] Let us proceed. From this point. I have tried then. To outline. Briefly. I know not. Very adequately. Or fully. Something. Of what faith is. And the object.

[19:05] Of faith. Which is Jesus Christ. And him crucified. But then. Having said that. Here we are told. Of the necessity.

[19:17] Without faith. It is impossible. To please. Him. In verse 38. Of chapter 10. Where we commenced. Our reading.

[19:28] This morning. We read this. The just shall live. By faith. But. If. Any. Man. Draw. Back. My.

[19:39] Soul. Shall have. No. Pleasure. In. Him. Concerning. Enoch. It says. Before his translation.

[19:51] He had this testimony. That he. Pleased. God. Do you want to please God? Do you want to do those things.

[20:03] Which are pleasing in his sight? You know. He was pleased with his dear son. Wasn't he? This is my beloved son. In whom. I am.

[20:14] Well. Pleased. And the only. Place. Where you can please God. Is if you are found in him. And you can only be found in him.

[20:26] By. Faith. We have before us. In verse 38. Now the just.

[20:37] Shall live. By faith. Paul is here. Quoting. Habakkuk. And this. Particular verse. Appears three times. In the New Testament.

[20:48] Once. In Romans. Once. In Galatians. Once. In Hebrews. And faith. Is shown to be. Far above. Works.

[20:59] Of any son. By grace. Are ye saved. Says Paul. Through faith. And that. Not of yourselves. It is the gift. Of. God.

[21:10] Why is. Faith. Essential. Why is. Faith. Essential. Essential. If you go home. And read the epistle. To the Romans.

[21:21] Again. You will find. That faith. Is set. Against works. Of righteousness. Which we have done. That is to say.

[21:32] That however. Good. However. Righteously. You may try. To live. You cannot. Please. Cannot. Please God. Because your righteousnesses.

[21:44] Are as filthy rags. Because there is none righteous. No. Not one. You cannot. Put God. In your debt. You see.

[21:55] Now that's what Romans. Is all about. There is none. Righteous. No. Not one. And then. Paul goes on. To expound.

[22:05] The doctrine. Of justification. By faith. Of faith. That. That has no works. To plead. But embraces. The God given. Righteousness.

[22:16] Of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Romans then. Dismisses. Works. Of righteousness. And commends.

[22:28] The righteousness. Which is. By faith. Of Jesus. Christ. Are you resting. On any. Works. Are you thinking. That you can.

[22:39] Contribute. Anything. Cease. From your own. Works. Says the hymn writer. Bad. Or good. There is only one righteous.

[22:53] And there is only one righteousness. And that is the imputed righteousness. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. The epistle to the Galatians.

[23:04] Deals with something called the works of the flesh. Works of righteousness in Romans. Works of the flesh in Galatians. Circumcision is the great issue.

[23:16] Something. That. A ritual. That was done. By hand. That. And when you consider. The teaching of that particular. Epistle.

[23:26] You will find. That a great conclusion. Is reached. It says this. In Christ Jesus.

[23:37] Neither circumcision availeth anything. Nor circumcision. But. A new. A creature. And earlier on it said.

[23:47] Circumcision. Or uncircumcision. Circumcision availeth nothing but faith. That worketh. By. Love. Some people.

[24:00] Practice. Infant baptism. You know. The Church of England prayer book asserts. That. The child that's baptized. Is a child of God.

[24:13] And an heir of heaven. What a solemn statement to me. My friends. Is an error. Is a heresy. Nothing like that.

[24:26] That make a sinner. A new creature. It is faith. That embraces. The personal work. Of Christ. That makes a sinner.

[24:38] An heir. Of God. A child of God. An heir. Of heaven. Whosoever believeth. On. Him. That.

[24:49] Is a standard of scripture. Works of righteousness. Works of the flesh. Yes. Oh but. We're baptists. We don't believe in infant sprinkling. Well you remember this.

[25:02] An unregenerate sinner. Can go down into the waters of baptism. And be baptized. By the most godly minister. That ever walked this earth. And that sinner.

[25:12] Will come up out of that water. Just as unregenerate. As when they went down. If they are. Without. Faith. See.

[25:23] It's by faith. By faith. Not the works of the flesh. Paul goes on to pour contempt. Upon the works of the flesh. As he comes to the close.

[25:34] Of the Galatian. Epistle. And shows that. That which is of the flesh. Is flesh. Are you depending on your own fleshly nature. Upon your human will.

[25:46] Upon your best endeavors. Forget it. Forsake it. Turn your back upon it. And lift your eyes to cover it. That is the only hope.

[26:01] In Hebrews. It's dead works. Dead works. That are referred to. That we should cease from dead works.

[26:13] To serve the living God. And there. We are told of all the offerings. And the sacrifices. And ceremonies. And services. Which were. Offered under the old covenant.

[26:25] And we are told that these things. Were types. And shadows. At the best. And that Christ being come. And high priest of good things. Is to come. All these things.

[26:35] Have been fulfilled in him. And that they are no longer. Any. Have no relevance. It is in the context. Of this. Very text.

[26:46] And subject this evening. That we find this. The law made. Nothing perfect. The bringing in. Of a better hope. Did by the which. We draw nigh. Onto.

[26:57] God. Without faith. Without faith. All your good works. All your attempts.

[27:09] It's self-reformation. All your attendance. Upon so-called ceremonies. And services. Is utterly worthless. You might go to chapel.

[27:20] Twice or three times. On a Sunday. You may never miss. One service in the week. But if faith. Is not there. It profiteth. Nothing.

[27:31] But necessity. Without faith. It is impossible. You know. With God. All things are possible. Oh. Here is something.

[27:42] That is impossible. Without faith. It is impossible. To please. Him. Oh.

[27:53] Doesn't that cut us down to sides? Doesn't that show us what we need? Then. Turning from the necessity.

[28:05] For a moment. May I remind you. Now. Of the. Effect. Of faith. The effect.

[28:16] Of faith. If any man draw back. In Hebrews.

[28:27] 10. 38. If any man draw back. But earlier in the chapter. Let us.

[28:38] Draw. Near. Yeah. The Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking. In John's gospel.

[28:50] And in chapter. Six. The great bread of life. Chapter. Said this. I am that bread of life.

[29:04] He that cometh to me. Shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me. Shall never thirst. Coming. And believing.

[29:17] Are the. Same thing. You see. He that cometh. He that. Believing. No man cometh unto the Father.

[29:27] But by me. All that the Father. Has given me. Shall come unto me. And him that cometh. Unto me. I. Will. In. No.

[29:38] Rise. Cast. Out. Faith. The effect. Of faith. Is drawing. Near. Of coming. To the Lord. Jesus Christ.

[29:49] Our great. Melchizedek. Our great. Intercessor. Our great. Mediator. And advocate. With the Father. Coming to the Lord. Jesus. Who by one offering. Hath perfected forever.

[30:01] All them that are sanctified. Coming to the Lord. Jesus. Who is made unto us. Wisdom. Righteousness. Sanctification. And. Redemption. Have you come?

[30:15] Have you come? Come unto me. He says. All ye. That labor. And are heavy laden. And I will. Give you.

[30:27] Rest. And the coming. Is the coming. Of. Faith. Our faith. Is feeble. We confess.

[30:37] We faintly. Trust thy word. But wilt thou pity us. The less. Be that far. From thee. Lord. Lord. May I give you.

[30:50] A little encouragement. Think of the centurion. And his servant. He felt utterly unworthy. That the Lord should come under his roof.

[31:03] He said. I am a man under authority. I say unto my servant. Go. And he cometh. To another. Cometh. He cometh. To this one. Do this. And he doeth it. And so on.

[31:15] Speak a word. Speak a word. Speak. The Lord commended. The man's faith. Believest thou.

[31:28] That I. Am able. Do you know. He's able to save unto the uttermost. He's able to do exceeding abundantly. Above all that we can ask.

[31:38] Or even. Think. Our God who we serve. Is able. That dear man's faith. Was honored. That dear man's faith.

[31:49] Was effectual. What of the woman. That touched him. In the press. And healing. Virtue stone.

[32:02] She made no great boast. Of her perfection. Did she. What was real. Was her need. How wonderfully. The head writer. Puts it.

[32:13] All the fitness. He requireth. Is to fill. Your need. Of him. This he gives you. Tis the spirit. Riding. Beam.

[32:24] If I may. But touch. The hem. Of his garment. Like her. With hopes. And fears. We cut. To touch thee.

[32:35] If we may. Is that your desire. What of the. Philophanousian woman. The crumbs.

[32:47] That fall. From the master's table. Of faith. Again. Commended. This is biblical faith. This is God given faith.

[32:58] This is faith. That will not be put off. By the press. Will not be turned aside. Even when the Lord. Seem to shut the door. In the face of her. Even the dogs.

[33:11] The little dogs. That is. Eat of the crumbs. At four. From the master's table. Have you ever had a crumb. Of mercy. You don't want to boast.

[33:24] Great things. Well don't try. Where is boasting. It is excluded. Faith. Tastes.

[33:36] Faith. Feeds. Faith. Receives. Faith makes whole. Go in peace. Well faith has saved thee.

[33:47] He said it on more than one occasion. Bartimaeus for example. The blind man. Crying for mercy. You say well Jesus did a miracle. Yes he did be a miracle.

[33:59] And then turned to those. Who were the recipients of such grace. And said by faith. Have saved thee. What a mystery.

[34:11] Here is a divine act of sovereign grace. And here is a poor sinner. The recipient of such grace. The faith. The faith. The faith. Is commended.

[34:23] Believest thou. That I am able. Do you believe that? I don't know what your case is. What your condition is. What your need is.

[34:34] All I know is this. That without faith. It is impossible. To please him. It's a vital necessity.

[34:45] But the effect of faith. Is pleasing. To him. And then. We must come finally. To this aspect. Of the subject. And that is.

[34:56] To the reward. Of faith. The reward. Of faith. The necessity of faith. Is vital.

[35:08] The effect of faith. It is that which brings the sinner near to God. And that. By which. God. Brings his blessing. To fulfill his promises.

[35:20] For the poor needy soul. But then. The reward. The reward. He is a rewarder. Of all them.

[35:32] That diligently. Seek thee. Now what is the reward. Of faith. The reward. Of faith. That be summed up. In one word.

[35:45] Righteousness. Righteousness. Oh you say. But there must be a lot more to it. But that. I read. Of so many blessings.

[35:55] That are the portion. Of God's dear people. That are received. By faith. Through grace. But righteousness. Lies at the heart of it. Abraham believed.

[36:09] God. It was counted. To him. For righteousness. Imputed. Righteousness. Now you go through your Bible.

[36:20] The Old Testament. And the New Testament. And discover. As you may. The blessings. Of the righteous. As opposed to the wicked.

[36:31] The idolatrous. And the ungodly. And you will soon find that. If you are made righteous. Then everything else. Will fall into place.

[36:43] If you are righteous. Then. You are a child of God. If you are righteous. You are one of his dear people. If you are righteous.

[36:54] You have a good hope through grace. If you are righteous. You may. Grow near to God. And be accepted of him. And this righteousness.

[37:05] Is bowed up. With this vital. Principle. Of. Faith. Faith. What an amazing gift.

[37:19] How vital and necessary. It is. By this. We draw nigh unto God. Acceptably. By this. Our poor prayers.

[37:29] And praises are accepted. And by this. You know. It says. Of Moses. He refused to be called. The son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather.

[37:41] To suffer affliction. With the people of God. Than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. For a season. Esteeming the reproach. Of Christ. Greater riches. Than the treasures in Egypt.

[37:54] For he. Had respect. Unto the recompense. Of. Of. The. Reward. You know.

[38:07] You'll never be rewarded. For anything you've done. But how great is the reward. Of faith. Justification. Eternal life.

[38:19] All those exceeding. Great and precious promises. That God has made. To his people. Are the portion of. Those. Who truly.

[38:31] Believe. Without faith. It is impossible. To please him. For he that cometh to God. Must believe that he is.

[38:43] And that he is the rewarder. Of them. That diligently. Seek. Him. Are you a seeker.

[38:56] Are you a diligent seeker. Seek ye the Lord. While he may be found. Call ye upon him. While he is near. Let the wicked.

[39:07] Forsake his way. And the unrighteous man. His thoughts. And let him return. Unto the Lord. And he will have mercy. Upon him. And to our God. And he will abundantly.

[39:19] Part. The rewarder of them. That diligently. Seek him. And that is just what faith does. Diligently. Seek him.

[39:30] And our dear Savior himself. Said this. Seek. And ye. Shall find. May God in his mercy. Give us that lively.

[39:41] Principle. Of faith. So vital. So essential. Indeed. If we have this faith. Then. We have all that heart could desire.

[39:54]  Oh it will be tried. It will be tested. It will be proved. But. It must remain. For it is his spirit's doing. Amen.