Transcription
[music] Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. How many can testify there's no one like our God? Amen. Come on, one more time. Let's just give him the best praise this morning. We thank you, Lord. There's no one like you, Lord. No one like you, Lord. You've been good to us. You've been faithful to us. We give you praise and glory. Amen. Amen. Smile [music] at someone for your seat and tell them, "God's good. God's good. Amen."
Now, just say something nice to somebody next. Say they look good today. I know. Tell them, "You look good today." Amen. Praise the Lord. I know people always ask me, "Pastor, why you make me do that?" Bible says, "Call those things that be not as though they are." Amen. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. That's a misuse of scripture there. I was just smile. I had to. Come on. It's one of those rainy Sundays. Got to smile a little bit. Amen. God's not anti-sense of humor. How many knows that? Amen.
>> Amen. Praise the Lord. Okay, go with me if you have a Bible. Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. We're going to start with verse 9. We left off with verse 9, but I didn't finish the full verse. So, we're going to connect them together. And I I just want to come back to we we've been in Hebrews 6 for a while, and it just seems like we've been inundated with those warnings of Hebrews. There was some strong warnings. Amen. How many's picked up on that? Because he's writing to believers. He's not writing to people that are far from faith. So, he's saying, "Hey, be warned not to drift. Be warned of spiritual complacency." And we felt it. I mean, even as I was teaching this, I was like, "Wow, this is this is a strong warning." But this morning, we're going to we're going to see a little bit of a shift. Amen. It's going to be a good day. Amen. It's going to be a great day. But as we read, you're going to hear a shift in the tone of the writer. So, if you're in Hebrews, go with me to verse 9. and we're going to read verses 9-12. And as we do every Sunday, if you are able to, because we have some that aren't. If you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word and we won't be long there. We'll sit back down in just a second, but we always want to honor his word. His word is the final authority. Amen.
>> There's no one like our God. And this is him in written form. This is a big deal. Amen. I hope you sense that. I hope at home you sense that. Go to this. This is the final authority. This is the final authority in this house. And I hope he's the final authority in your house. Amen.
>> I can testify that when you get that right, he seems to work everything out together. Amen.
>> Doesn't mean everything's perfect, but he'll work it out all together for the good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes. Amen.
>> So, let's look together. Verse nine here, the writer says these words. He says, "Though we speak in this way." Remember what was the way? It was a strong warning in chapter six. He says, 'Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, speaking to the listener, beloved, we feel sure of better things.' Now, that's where we left off. But you might think, well, what are those better things? He goes on to say, things that belong to salvation. Or here's what he's saying. He's saying things that will reveal themselves to you through your salvation. So, because you are saved, there are things that will come through your life. Your life will change because of salvation is what he's saying. Verse 10. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do. Verse 11. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end. So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. That's good news this morning. Amen.
>> Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Lord, your word is the truth. It's not just a truth. We haven't come to hear a self-help talk, but it is the truth. It's the truth of our life that we plant our lives upon. We build our lives upon. So Lord, we thank you for your word that you would give us your word. Lord, we're reminded of the promise and the declaration in the book of Proverbs that in all of our gettings, we should get understanding. So Father, I pray for a spirit of understanding to be released in this room. A spirit of revelation and understanding, Lord, that there would be a moment of illumination, Lord, where the light would turn on and we would say, "Aha, that's an area of my life that you are transforming." So, Father, we thank you and by faith we receive what you'll say to us even today and this morning. Now, Father, I pray that you would think through this mind and you'd speak through these vocal cords. All of you, Lord Jesus, and none of me. And Father, we are careful in this house to always give you the glory. Jesus, you're the big deal at this church. And our attention is on you today. And we pray all these things in the strong and mighty name of Jesus to the one who does all things well. We say amen. And amen. You may be seated.
Hebrews chapter 6. This morning we're going to tackle 9 through 12. And I I want to take a few minutes and talk to you about the better things that will accompany our salvation. Now, as I've already mentioned in Hebrews 6, the author has pressed really hard on the danger of spiritual complacency. I I'm not going to revisit that, but it's there and we've read it and we were leaned in for the last few weeks. He also talks about the cost of what it what takes place when we walk away from everything that Christ secured on the cross. But then in verse 9, I hope you picked up on it. The tone of the author shifts completely. And I want us to look at verse nine again. He says, "Though we speak in this way," he says, "Yet in your case," he says, "beloved, we feel sure of better things." He says, "But the things that will belong or the things that will be the outcome of your salvation." Now, again, the author basically is is is you felt like coming out of chapter six that you're spiritually grounded, like you got a spiritual whooping. And now he says, "But yet there's going to be better things because I can see evidence." He's confident of the listener that there is evidence. This isn't wishful thinking. The writer here isn't going, "Uh, you know, they have perfect theology, so I can say that." Because no, no, that's not what he's saying. And he's not saying, "Oh, because they're impressive spiritually. Wow." No, no, no, no, no. He is saying, "I can see tangible works. I can see tangible love. I can see I can see the faithfulness and this ongoing service to God's people." He is saying that is the evidence of salvation. This is what the author is saying. This is why he could say, "Beloved, there are better things because there's evidence to prove that I can say these words." He's talking about a fruit that faith produces in a life that's alive. He gives us three evidences. So, I'm going to give us three points. And this is all rooted in the same source because here's what I want you to hear. We're talking about a salvation that doesn't just change what you believe. It actually changes how you live. True salvation doesn't just change how you believe. It'll actually change how you live. So, if you're taking notes this morning, number one, and we like to take notes here because many people take them home and they follow up and they ask great questions and they keep learning, learning, and growing. Number one, salvation will produce loving service. Salvation will produce loving service. Now, look at verse 10 again as we go line by line. Hebrews 6:10 says, "For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work." That's a big deal. Nothing gets overlooked by God. He says not to overlook your work and the love he says that you have shown for his name in serving the saints. Now, it's so important you catch this as you still do. Again, the author is pointing to evidence and there's a reason why the author is so confident. There's a reason he's not just saying this to blow smoke. He's not trying to flatter. He's not trying to say, "Hey, I know I've been real harsh, so let me hit you with a You know, sometimes we get that in our world. Someone's real harsh and then they're like, "But I like your shoes." I mean, you're just demoralized. And they're like, "But your your outfit looks really clean today. Real nice." You're like, "Oh, don't talk to me now. Don't try to hit me with that." This is not what he's doing. No, he's actually pointing to a specific and a behavioral evidence. He's not confident because they're perfect. He's saying, "I actually see your tangible work." He says, "I see how you love and I see how you have served God's people." and watch. He says, "And how you are still doing it." Meaning that word still is a big deal. It's a great word to lean in on. He's saying this isn't a one-time thing. This is an ongoing pattern. This is a lifestyle because anybody can serve once, but he says this is a lifestyle. And he says this is what has produced under pressure and weariness. Now, all of us can serve when everything's good, right? You walk into church a little bit better when you get a promotion the week before. Come on. We've all done that before, right? You get that bonus at work and you're like, "Hey, how you doing? I think I will get a couple donuts this morning." Hallelujah. Praise God. God is good. Amen. You get your hands up in worship. YOU'RE LIKE, "WOO, I FEEL HIM TODAY. JESUS." He's not talking about those moments. Those moments are wonderful. They're euphoric. And we wish that upon everybody, but how many know you don't live there? He's talking about, "No, no, I saw you serve even when you were weary. I saw you press through when I knew your story." Here's why. Because real salvation changes priorities. Now, all of us can experience this. If we can remember back, some of us can remember, it's not been that long, but we remember before we were in Christ, our life revolved around us, ourself. We were like little ants running around. Everything was me me I I I I. That's You run into people like that and you're like back up me planet. BEFORE CHRIST, EVERYTHING WAS ABOUT US. BUT AFTER CHRIST, everything begins to re revolve around God. And it should revolve around others. We're to put others first. And it's not that you have to force it, but because something has shifted at the root level. Watch this. What grows from that root is love expressed in action. Love is more than a phrase. It's more than a word. If it's real, it's expressed in action. This is why Jesus said in John 13:35, he says, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples." And then he doesn't leave us hanging. He says that you will love, you will have love for one another. Now, I know in your Bible it might say you'll have love for people that are like you, but in the original it says you'll have love for one another. And he doesn't qualify who the other is because it's supposed to be for everyone. Amen. I want you to write this down. Love is the visible evidence of an invisible transformation. Love is a visible evidence of an invisible transformation. For example, you cannot see faith directly, but you can see what faith produces. Let me say that again. You can't naturally see faith directly. Like you don't go around going, "Oh, I saw your faith today." Nobody says that, you know, hey, I saw your faith. It's a little off today, is it? No, I No, no. You can't see faith directly, but you can see what faith produces. So, what does it produce? Well, let me say it this way. It'll start to produce in how one treats other people in how one gives of their time and to whether they show up for someone even when it costs them something. Let me illustrate it this way. I think we should use the teachings of Jesus. They're the best illustrations, aren't they? Matthew 10:42, Jesus is teaching and he says these words. And whoever gives one of these little ones, even a cup of cold water, because he is a disciple truly, he says, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. Now, I've read that for years. And you go back to that little phrase, short phrase. Jesus says, "Even a cup of cold water." Now, I would have thought he would have said, "When you do a big miracle or when you're on the platform AND YOU HAVE A PLATFORM MOMENT." NO, Jesus says, "Even in the small, ordinary." And a cup of cold water. Come on. Very unheroic. I mean, who can't do that? Here's a cup. Why does he say that? Because something inside the giver has been changed by Christ. And Jesus says even those small overlooked, unseen, unheroic moments are never overlooked by God. Think for a moment. Think of any of you young parents in this room when you handed your precious gift to one of our nursery workers. Sometimes parents will I I'll interact with them and they're like, "I just needed a break at church and you have free child care." I don't know how to take that when they tell me that. They're like, "We don't have a clue what you said. We're not even But you have free child care." But think for a moment. Think of that incredible nursery worker that loves your children, sings worship songs, and at a young age is praying over them, and a lot of times they go unapplauded. Or how about this? This morning in first service was an easy win. How about the parking lot team in the pouring rain helping people in? Some of them are in this room right now. And I know it's it's prettier now outside, but the first service crowd, everybody came in like a wet dog. It was pouring. And I was like, "Wow, we Lord, we've got enough rain. Send that rain to those fields that need it. We're we're good." How about getting that text message from someone that didn't know anything that was going on in your life, but it was at the right time? How about that volunteer that stays after even when they're not required? Here's what the writer is saying. Here's what Jesus is saying. He's trying to say this phrase. He's trying, this is the principle. He's saying people might forget, but God never does because our salvation will produce a loving service. We don't do it for the for the pats on the back. They're nice and they're needed, but here he's saying even that unheroic moment of a cup of cold water, people might forget, but God never does. Every act of service done in love in his name is seen and remembered. And what is he trying to say to us this morning? It's actually rewarded by the one whose record actually matters. So here's the insight here. Here's what I want you to hear. I want to make sure we're clear on this. When when we think about a tree, a tree is not alive because it has fruit. No, it produces fruit because it is alive. What am I saying? Works don't create salvation, they reveal salvation. You see the difference? We don't work so that we are accepted. No. No. Our works actually reveal who lives in our life. Works are a revelation of the Christ in us. So we have to ask ourselves and this is a great way to apply this this morning. Just who who am I actively serving right now? I want you to think about this. Don't point. Just keep looking straight ahead. But who am I actively serving right now out of no obligation? And not because someone's watching or BE BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE CHRIST IS IN ME. It could be a co-worker that you're helping out on the side that NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT, BUT IT'S THE CHRIST IN you that is propelling you that direction. When nobody else steps up, you're the one at work that STEPS UP. THAT'S NOT BY ACCIDENT. That is the Christ in you. See, here's what I want you to hear. Salvation that changes the heart will eventually change the hands. Salvation that changes the heart. What does that mean? One of the ways I know that his transforming work, God is not transactional. Sometimes churches treat salvation like a transaction. You said yes. You said yes. Okay, we'll see you in eternity. That's terrible. No, there's a transforming work that when salvation, the Apostle Paul says, one must work one salvation out. He works from the inside out. As I'm growing in Christ, there will be some outward things that will manifest because of my salvation. When he really gets a hold of my heart, he changes what I do with my hands. You tracking with me? When he really gets a hold of my heart, he begins to change what I do with my hands. So, salvation produces loving service.
The second thing I want you to see this morning is that salvation produces diligence. Salvation produces or one of the outcomes of the transforming work of Christ will produce spiritual diligence. Let's look at verse 11 together. Chapter 6 verse by verse. Here we go. Verse 11 says, "And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness." That same word in the in the King James is the word diligence. I like diligence better because you you can use that in a sentence. You have been very diligent. I don't hear many people going around and going practice earnestness. People like do what? You don't go around going I can see your earnestness. You know what he I don't maybe you do but you will use the word dil. It's the same word. So he says and we desire each one of you to show the same diligence and to have watch what he says the full assurance of hope until the end. So what is he saying? Diligence speaks to being intentional, consistent. He's saying I you're showing consistency. You're showing a sustained effort, not occasional enthusiasm. Sometimes in the church you can get caught up in occasional enthusiasm, you know, because there's a lot of activity and there's energy and you're like, "Yeah." But it's not the occasional enthusiastic, well, I'll serve. No, no. There is a sustainable enduring faithfulness that comes from the salvation that gets a hold of our life. Now, notice the same phrase as he was saying in there. He says, "And we do this until the end." A lot of times when you speak to Christ followers, um, you have to remind Christ followers, wherever you are on your journey, and some of you are brand new at it, and some of you have been around a long time in it. You have to remind yourself that the Christian life is not a sprint. If it's a sprint, then all of a sudden, we think in the intensity of a sprint, that'll carry me to the end. No, no, no, no. Let's let's think about when you got out of your driveway and you pushed the pedal down. How many know you had to keep pushing the pedal down to get here? It'd be great with gas prices like they are if we could touch the pedal once and we would just arrive at the church. Wouldn't that be great? But you got to keep applying pressure because the intensity of the first press will not get you to the end. It's the same principle in our Christian walk. That intense moment or that encounter with God or that euphoric moment that we have at church. That's wonderful, but that won't carry you to the end. Wouldn't it be great if you could receive one prayer that would carry to the end? See, again, the danger that the author has been warning against. Remember, he's been talking about be careful of drift, be careful of one's heart cooling, be careful of what he calls the gradual loss, and then we'll use our language of urgency. The gradual loss of urgency. Understand this that doesn't happen in a moment of dramatic failure. You don't just wake up one moment and moment and just lose all urgency. No, it happens through the slow erosion of diligence over time. This can be applied to every area of your life. You lose urgency in your marriage, you'll start to grow cold in your marriage. you'll get on cruise control. How many know in a marriage the intensity of the first moment doesn't carry you to the end of the marriage. Amen. Some of you going, I'm not amening that. I'm in one of those p I'm in just I'm not doing that. But that that intensity of that that honeymoon period, it doesn't carry you to the end. You have to stay in urgency. Right now, watch what he says. He talks about and he uses this two-word phrase. He says full assurance and that comes from the Greek word plearia and it simply means a complete confidence. He says having a complete confidence or being fully persuaded or having a settled conviction. Now he's not talking about the anxious constantly checking whether I'm good enough Christian. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about having a settled confidence, a rooted confidence. And what's it rooted in? It's rooted in what Christ has done and what God has promised. Now, we talk about diligence. That's hard to sustain, right? So, he doesn't leave us hanging. He says the assurance you have is what makes the diligence possible. So, whenever, see, again, we got to really unpack things. Sometimes people lack consistency. They lack diligence and we always want to hey fix that do better do better. But what we need to understand is there's a belief behind this behavior and it's YOU WILL ALWAYS STRUGGLE in diligence when you don't have full assurance. You will. Well, what does that mean? Well, why pray if he never answers? See again, someone will struggle in their prayer life and we'll just say you need to pray more. Wait a minute. The reason prayer is inconsistent is because they don't have full assurance that God is listening. AND UNTIL I WALK in full assurance that not only does he hear me, but he's answering me, I'll treat prayer casually. So instead of going around just kind of thumping Christians and telling they need to pray more, pray more, maybe we should realize there's more behind it. Because if I'm not in full assurance, I'm never going to be diligent in my prayers. See, assurance is what makes diligence possible. Write this down. Having full assurance is actually the fuel that keeps diligence burning all the way to the end. I must know who God is and what he says about me. And I need to be fully persuaded that he's talking to me. If not, I will eventually cool down. I will eventually that sprint. I will eventually slow down. I will begin to coast. I'm still moving, but I'm moving to coast. But if I have full assurance that becomes the fuel for my diligence. So watch this. Anywhere you are lacking consistency or diligence. The root of that is there's something in your life that you don't have assurance of in that area. Well, I don't know. I believe God, but I don't believe he can heal. Yes, you do. Let me show you. Every winter we see on the news they say these words. It's flu season and you believe them. But come to a church that goes, "No, it's healing season." I don't know. YOU BELIEVE THE OPPOSITE. YOU GOT FAITH. YOU JUST GOT IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. >> You run into Walgreens to get that flu shot. How about run to the word and get the healing shot? [cheering] Anywhere I lack consistency is an area I'm not fully assured or I'm NOT PERSUADED YET. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE A BAD CHRISTIAN. IT MEANS I NEED TO GET IN THE BOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE UNTIL I'M FULLY PERSUADED. JUST LIKE I MOVE WHEN THE NEWS SAYS DO SOMETHING. I NEED TO MOVE WHEN HE SAYS DO SOMETHING. [cheering] I know I'm going to get an email about that, but remember it's Jefffirstbaptist.com. I don't mean to step on toes. I'm not and I'm not. Again, you can use it for any subject. You know, the world says the economy is crashing and you act like it. But we don't serve an economy. We serve a king. His name is Jesus. So if I'm reacting to an economy, I'm not fully persuaded that he can get me through this economy. See, I don't want to step on I'm trying to move it around. So let me move on. Let me illustrate it this way. All of us have seen this because here we are going into June and July, but back in the spring, all the farmers in our area, they planted seeds and for weeks now we're seeing it come out of the ground, but they didn't just plant it yesterday. I saw I drive by them all the time. So, I see when they're planted, it's in the beginning of spring right there. They start planting and here's what I've noticed. For weeks, I drive by the same fields and for weeks there is nothing above the ground. But I noticed something. The farmer keeps working. He keeps watering. He's out there every day. He shows up every day. You know why? Watch this. Because he believes that something is happening beneath the surface that is not visible just yet. The Christian life is the same way. You pray and the answer's not fully visible just yet because God's not a vending machine. You serve faithfully and sometimes the fruit isn't just where you want it to be. It's not as apparent. And the temptation in those seasons is to slow down or stop. But you've got to get a hold of this. Something is happening beneath the surface always. When I pray, something is happening beneath the surface always. Here's what I want you to hear. The surface of your life doesn't tell the full story. That's why you got you got people come around go, "Well, your God ain't answering." Oh, you're just looking at the surface. Something is happening beneath the surf. You can't see it. BUT DON'T DON'T JUDGE ME BY THE SURFACE BECAUSE THE SURFACE DOESN'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY OF MY LIFE. Something is happening beneath the surface. See, spiritual maturity doesn't happen on mountain tops. I wish it did. I wish again we could have one encounter at church and we all walk around spiritually mature. What happened to you? I got spiritually mature. I received prayer and [snorts] everything. I've just I get in traffic and I just bless people. People at work lie and I say, "Well, MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU TODAY." NO. SPIRITUAL MATURITY ISN'T A DRAMATIC MOMENT. LISTEN, spiritual maturity only happens in a slow accumulation of daily decisions. To keep doing it daily, to keep stepping one foot in front of the next. Again, I want to come back to this. I say it all the time. I get around new Christians AND THEY'RE LIKE, "WOO, I'M GOING TO TAKE A GIANT LEAP OF FAITH." THAT'S NOT IN THE BIBLE. LEAP OF FAITH IS NOT IN THE BIBLE. In Proverbs, he says, "Thy word is a lamp unto your feet." It's the strangest verse when you read it because you think, "I don't put flashlights." The other night when the power was going out, I didn't put flashlights around my feet. We better put them up here so we can see. You turn a flashlight on, you can see to the end of the hallway. You put it around your feet, you can only see a small radius. The word of God isn't for you to see the end just yet. But it is for you to put one foot in front of the next every day. I'm going to keep praying. I'm going to read the scripture. I'm going to do it because inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life gets hard. I just got to put one foot FROM THE NEXT. I'M NOT TRYING TO leap the Grand Canyon, but baby, I'm still moving 1% a day. Here I come. See, that's how spiritual maturity happens. I go to the word even when it doesn't make sense. Even when I don't and I I got degrees in it. Some days it don't make sense. But I keep going every day, inch by inch, I keep showing up even when showing up costs something. So here's the question. Here's how we apply it. We got to ask ourselves, am I still growing spiritually or have I settled in a comfortable plateau? I'm not drifting, but I'm not pursuing because here's please understand, we're not anti-comfort. You have to have seasons where you take a reprieve. I remind you the number one selling chair in the world today isn't called the Risky Boy. See, some of you will get that on the way home. Some of you are googling that there's a chair called the risky boy. No, the number one selling chair on the planet today is the lazy boy. And I have two of them, and I'm the only boy in the house. We're not built to live on the edge at all times. So, the temptation is is in my pursuit. When I get to that comfortable plateau, there's a temptation to settle. I'm not drifting, but I'm not pursuing. So, only you would know that. So, you have to ask that. Am I still grow? See, because because again, some of us in this room, again, Hebrews isn't written to someone who's brand new or far from faith. It's written to the long-term believer really. And many of us in this room, we've been around the block. We've been in church. We serve. We give. We're praying daily. AND AND IT'S SO EASY TO get on that comfortable plateau and go, I'm not drifting, but something inside me tells me I'm not pursuing. Here's what I want you to hear. Diligence today creates confidence tomorrow. My diligence today produces confidence. See, see again, when you when you when you get in there and pray, even if you don't need it today, the Lord knows you're going to need it tomorrow. My diligence today is what creates confidence in my tomorrow.
Number three, salvation also produces patient endurance. Catching the theme, consistent, diligent, patient endurance. Look at verse 12. He says, "So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." I love this because the author is bringing this passage to a close with a final contrast. Two postures, two outcomes, sluggish or faithful. Now, the word sluggish, I want you to hear this. It shares the same root as in when we were in Hebrews 5:11 just a few weeks ago when the author said that do not become dull of hearing. It's the same passivity that produced dull hearing that produces spiritual drift. Here's what you got to hear. Sluggishness, which again, it's summertime. Pastor, why are you harping on sluggishness? It's my summer. I walk around sluggish. I go to Walmart in my sluggish outfit. It's summer. Get off me. Watch this. Sluggishness is never a dramatic rebellion. It's not and it's not even sinful. There's no there's again it's a quiet settling that happens when urgency fades and comfort fills the space that urgency left behind. Now I made that principle broad because you can apply this to every area of your life. Look at your marriage. If I don't stay on my toes and I get sluggish in the marriage, urgency fades and comfort fills the space that urgency left behind with my business. See, some of us, we've been doing what we've been doing for a long, long time, 20 plus years, and we got muscle memory. But if I get sluggish, it's not a dramatic rebellion. It's not going to announce itself. It's not a 90-degree reverse course. No, it's a quiet settling. I've learned the rhythms of work. So, I quietly settle. And where urgency used to be, comfort fills that space where urgency once was. This is what he's talking about when he says, "So that you may not be sluggish, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience." I love it that he says faith and patience. In most churches, you hear a lot of talk of faith. And I love it that he doesn't just leave us hanging and says just have faith. There's a lot of scriptures just talk just have faith. But he reminds us that faith has to have patience. A faith without patience is what creates anxiety. And I'll explain in just a second. But we have to faith works with patience. Let me explain. These both are necessary. And here here's what I want you to say. Faith always believes that God can, but patience waits for God, too. You see the difference? You have to have both. Faith believes that he can, but it's patience that waits for God, too. See, both are necessary. And as I just mentioned, faith without patience creates anxiety. For example, if I've only got faith and I don't know how to exercise patience, every delayed answer, I'm praying, but I feel like the answer's been delayed. It'll feel like broken promise. Every season of silence because we all go through those moments. I remind every believer that always remember when the teacher goes silent is because the teacher is testing. And you'll have seasons of silence. BUT IF I DON'T HAVE PATIENCE with my faith, when my kids are with me, we're traveling, especially if you're at O'Hare, I always remind them, pack your patience. I have to remind me because they're usually chill. I'm like, "Pack your patience, Rusty. This person's in the wrong line. Pack your patience." I can clearly see they're in row 72J. This isn't your line. Pack your patience. Pack your patience. Because faith without patience will make you feel like in seasons of silence that God's abandoned you. Many times you have this feeling. Why does God not speaking? You got to have patience. Your faith is working. But without patience, you will feel like God has left your life. Patience without faith will produce a resignation in your life. Here's what that means. A person that has stopped expecting God to move will actually spiritualize it and say, "Well, I'm just in a surrendered position." Faith and patience produces what I call active settled trust. Active meaning I'm moving but I'm settled in my trust. What does that mean? I'm moving forward even when I can't see anything happening. I'm staying steady when everything around me says, you know, just it's chaos. I'm going to stay steady. I'm trusting the one who made the promise. Speaking of promise, in the Bible, God gave Abraham a promise. What was the promise that God gave Abraham? God spoke to him and said, "I'm I'm I'm going to give you a son." Now, to bring it in great context, God told him, "You're going to have a son." And and he was 75 years old. Now, I don't first service, they they related to this a little bit more. There was many I mean, when you're that age, the last thing you're thinking is another kid. Some of you are not even near that age and the last thing you're thinking about is another kid. Some of you thinking, "Pastor, if that promise is handed on, I'm going to a different church." But just imagine for a moment, God said, "I am going to give you the promise of a son." He's 75 years old. Isaac doesn't appear until Abraham is 100 years old. Now, that makes no sense. I'm of the nature. I'm like, God, if you're going to promise me something, give me about a 12-month window. I got faith for 12 months. 25 years. I can't even I don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, let alone trying to project 25 YEARS INTO MY F. WHO'S WITH me on that? YOU'RE LIKE, GOD, HOW ABOUT YOU? JUST DON'T TELL ME UNLESS IT'S UNLESS I GET IN THAT WINNING SEAT. LET LET ME JUST GET IN THE SEASON AND THEN YOU TELL ME 25 YEARS. HOW MANY KNOW GOD COULD HAVE DONE IT IN 25 MINUTES? WHY? When you read that, my first question is, why'd you make THE POOR GUY WAIT? HE'S 75. THEY DON'T LIKE TO WAIT AT 75. 25 years. And then it hit me. And here's what I want you to see. Because God was not only producing a promise, he was producing a man capable of carrying a promise.
>> Here's what I want you to hear. God's promises are yes and amen. But when they don't become tangible or something that I can see, don't be discouraged. He's building in you the capability of carrying what he's promised to you. A lot of times we get flustered. God, you said and you are saying it right. But remember, faith without patience is what gives you anxiety. I pack my patience and realize if he's making me wait, it's because he's doing something in me so that I don't miscarry what is supposed to be on me.
>> Here's what I see in culture. We don't like to wait. I don't like to wait. I'm so glad whoever invented the microwave. Pop-Tarts in 20 seconds. Who wants to wait five minutes? Not me.
>> Yes. 20 sec. By the way, it is 20 seconds. 19, it's not good. 20 gets the gets it. Ain't 21. 25, you can't put it in your mouth right away. 20. Pow. And that's free. Write that down in your notes. Try it. Send me an email. I promise you, you're going to go. I watch a lot of people because we don't like to wait in our culture. God gives us free will, gives us choice. And a lot of people will jump into something without waiting and they're not able to carry what they jumped into and it causes collateral damage.
>> I just sent a text to a friend who jumped into something that was way beyond his capacity and he self-ejected. Well, why would God do that? Wait a minute. God gives you free will, free choice. A lot of times, instead of waiting on the door, we jiggle every handle out there. And the enemy can open just as many doors as God can. And we jump into seasons that God says you're not capable to carry. But you'll learn if God is making you wait, it's because he's forming something inside you. The waiting for Abraham was a forming season because later on the Bible speaks a lot about Abraham and says his faith was tested. His faith was proven. And what does it talk about Abraham's faith? He had so much faith and patience that it says it was counted unto him as righteousness.
>> Now look at James 1:4 real fast. Now this will make a little bit more sense when we read what James says in chapter 1 verse 4. He says, "And let steadfastness," again, not a word that we run around using. Hey, how's your steadfastness? Be like, "Is that a plate of something? What is that?" He's talking about your diligence, your consistency, your endurance. He says, "And let that have its full effect." Meaning, work the process. Don't get ahead of God. Stay in sync with God because that you may be after it's done its work after the forming season after the the earnestness the steadfastness I've stayed where I need after it's done its work it says that you may be perfect and complete and watch what it says and lacking in nothing here's what I need you to hear because many of you you've been waiting on God and we have this terrible phrase in the church well God is in delay season hogwash your waiting is not a delay it's actually formation God doesn't delay nothing like like God's got it on back order. I would get you this promise, but your friend down the street, they got the last one. So, I got to work on this. God doesn't do layaway. God doesn't have a shipping problem. You're ne God is never in delay. You are never in delay. you're always in formation. I hope that helps us change because a lot of times when you think God's delaying, the enemy likes to whisper, "Well, what's wrong with me? Maybe I didn't pray enough. Maybe I didn't fast. Maybe I didn't serve enough." And we get into that works thing, right? Because works don't cause salvation. Works are a revelation of salvation. So, we got to understand. And if I'm not fully assured of who God is and what he says about me, I'll wide over. I'll get over here and start thinking, "What did I do that God is that?" No. No. God is not in a delay season. God is always in a forming season. Because what God is producing in you while you are waiting is as important as what he's producing for you at the end of the wait. We've got to learn to trust the process because the God who holds the promise also holds the timeline. And we got to be careful because we like to rush the timeline because we have this feeling as Americans, we know better. We're Americans, we know better. And we end up in places we shouldn't be because we forget not only is God promised, but God controls the timeline. Here's the insight I want you to hear. The promise that you're believing God for is often closer than it appears. Because what God is doing in you during the waiting, he's actually moving you towards the promise in ways you can't see yet. And while you feel like you're standing still, you're actually just being prepared. I got to remind something today. The promise you've been believing God for, you're actually closer than you think. Here's how you know. The enemy of your life is a spirit being. So he sees in the spirit world. So sometimes people are like, "Pastor, I've been believing God and it feels like hell has broken out upon my life." You're in a good place because the enemy sees things before you do. Because anything that's released from the spiritual realm into your natural realm, he sees before you see. The enemy does not know your future. He doesn't He's not omnipresent. He's not omniscient, but he can see in the spirit realm. And so when God has dispatched what you've been waiting and praying and believing for, the enemy is reactive to what God has released. He's not proactive. He's reactive. So when you're in a headwind season, look up. When you're in a headwind season, STAND STEADY. WHY? HE HAS SEEN SOMETHING YOU CAN'T SEE. GOD HAS RELEASED something and you're closer to the promise than you even know. That's why we got TO BE STEADFAST. THAT'S WHY WE GOT TO ENDURE. THAT'S WHY WE GOT TO HOLD PATIENCE WITH OUR FAITH SO THAT WE DON'T MISS. THE HEADWINDS WILL SHOW UP. OH, HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE. THAT'S A GOOD SIGN. I KNOW you don't hear many preachers say that, RIGHT? RESIST THE DEVIL and HE'LL FLEE. BUT SOMETIMES YOU'RE IN THAT MOMENT AND HE'S COMING AT YOU AND YOU GOT TO REALIZE, OO, I'M GOING TO STAND STILL. MY FEET ARE GOING TO BE LIKE CONCRETE BECAUSE I KNOW HE SEES SOMETHING I DON'T SEE. I MUST BE CLOSER TO THE PROMISE THAN I EVEN KNOW. I'M CLOSER TO THE BLESSING THAN I EVEN KNOW. I'M CLOSER TO THE ANSWER THAN I DON'T EVEN KNOW. AND NO DEVIL IN HELL. NO DEMONIC ACTIVITY IS GOING TO GET ME TO SELF-EJECT THIS TIME. I DID IT YEARS AGO. I JUMPED THE WAGON YEARS AGO. BUT THIS TIME, I'M HOLDING STEADY BECAUSE I'M IN FULL ASSURANCE THAT GREATER IS IN MY PATH. THAT BETTER THINGS ARE IN STORE for me. THAT HE HAS GOT A BETTER PLAN, A BETTER WAY, A BETTER PROMISE. AND I STAND STEADY KNOWING IN FULL ASSURANCE that I'M CLOSER THAN WHAT I EVEN KNOW. So, how do we apply? Where are you waiting on God today? Some of you in this room have been praying for a a son or a daughter that's far from faith and you've been waiting a long time and it seems like God isn't answering. And the enemy likes to whisper, "You've done something wrong. Maybe maybe you just need to pray more or serve more. There's something that you No, no, no, no. What do you just What? Maybe it's a healing. Maybe everyone around you is getting a healing, but you and you feel like it's getting worse and you're waiting on God. Or maybe it's that door that just hasn't opened just yet. Could be a relationship that you've been believing God to be restored and it hasn't. It could be a promise that was spoken over you when you were a child. Here's what I want you to do right now. Write it down. Name what you're waiting about. You can't direct your faith to that which you won't acknowledge. You got to lay that out there. What am I waiting on God for right now? What have I just put on the back burner because it's been a long time, but I'm still waiting on God? I want you just write that down. Name whatever you are waiting on God for. And I want you to hear this. Do not quit in the waiting season. Keep believing that not only God can, but you got to learn to keep trusting that God will. Let me say that again. Not only do you got to believe that God can. See, that's the easy part. But then I've got to engage my faith that not only can he, he will.
>> There's a big difference. God can do
all things, but you got to get it in your heart that he will do these things for me.
Look at verse nine as we close. I want to come back to where we left off. Now you understand after that severe warning. He says these words, "Yet in your case, beloved," he gives a severe warning. Don't drift. Look out. Don't let your hearts get hardened. Don't get to the place where even your heart doesn't believe it needs forgiveness. That was the severe warning that was like, "Whoa." He says, "But in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things, things that belong to your salvation." And we talked about those. We just did. Loving service. That's a great sign of the transforming work of God in your life. Faith that works through love. I'm not forced to. I'm doing it because my faith works through love. Spiritual diligence, having that full assurance, my hope is secure. I'm gonna keep pressing forward even, listen to me, in unseen seasons. Then it talks about patient endurance. We just hit on that. Faith and patience have to work together. It's that long road of trusting God's promise while he forms me into the person who can actually carry the promise. I don't hear many preachers talking about that. But God is forming in you the capacity to carry what you're believing God for. I'm reminded that these are not the causes of salvation, but they are the evidence of my salvation.
The Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:9 says these words. He reminds us, "Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season." Somebody say, "Due season." In due season, we will reap. Watch what he says. If we do not give up. Let me say that again. He says, "And do not grow weary of doing good. For in due season, the God of the promise is also the God of the timeline in due season." I don't get to pick that. Why? My job is to keep sewing. His job is to work beneath the surface. I don't have to see it to believe that he's working beneath the surface. I just got to stay in faith and hold to my patience because in due season, I'm going to reap if I don't quit. So, let me say this to you. Don't you give up. Don't you give up. Don't you give up. Keep serving. Keep pursuing. Keep trusting. KEEP SHOWING UP TO YOUR devotion time EVERY DAY. EVEN IF YOU DON'T FEEL IT, keep showing up because God is watching and God does not overlook the faithful work done in love in his name. Beloved, I am sure of better things. So should you be. I just believe that when I read this, I said, "He's writing to us because I see the same thing about my congregation." I am sure of better things. There are better things for you. Some of you are so close to the promise, you can taste it. There are better things for you this year. There are better things for your family, better things for your children. He has not stopped working. I am sure of better things. And so should you. Stand with me.
Some of you are you're so close to the promise. That's why the attack has been so severe. That's why the attack has been so severe. Some of you are looking at me like, "Pastor, it's been one thing after the other. I come out of one season of a storm and a storm hits me again." Listen to me. That is a sign that the enemy is reacting to the promise about to be revealed. God has you right where you need to be. He is forming in you the capacity to carry what he wants to release around you. That's the good God we serve. I get it. I wish that I could wave a magic wand and everybody would just stay happy. But that's not the world we live in. We go through seasons where it feels like our prayers, God, I I feel like they're hitting a ceiling. I'm gonna keep praying though. I'm not going to give up because I know he sees every prayer. He hears every prayer. He knows the heart behind every prayer. I just won't give up. See, the enemy wants to whisper to you, "Just stop praying. Just stop serving. You don't have TO SER NO, NO, NO. I'M GOING TO keep showing up even if it costs me something. Even in the middle of a headwind, I because he said, remember, it wasn't that they had a mountaintop moment." He says, "YOU STILL DO IT EVEN WHEN YOU'RE WEARY. YOU STILL DO IT EVEN WHEN ALL HELL IS BROKEN LOOSE against your family because I'm pressing in. I'm closer than I know. I'm closer than I know. I'm on top of this promise. I'm not giving up now. I'm going to stay steady. I'm not going to move with every wind and fad, but I'm going to stay steady because I'm closer than [music] I know. I'm there. I'm there. I'm there.
Father, as we close today, I pray a greater [music] grace upon these wonderful people. I feel just like the writer of Hebrews. I am sure of better things for these people. I am sure of better things for the I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE this morning that he who began a good work, he shall bring it to completion. He shall bring it to the end. I AM FULLY persuaded of the goodness of God [music] and the faithfulness and of the answers that have been released for these wonderful people. So I pray even now for a new level of endurance. Lord, maybe a new steadfastness would come and they begin to feel that in their prayer time. A new level of diligence would begin. they they they would feel that that consistency matters to God. Consistency matters to even if I don't feel like it, I'm still going to press in tomorrow morning. I'm not going to let comfort set in. I'm not going to get to this plateau and think I've arrived. No, I'm going to keep sewing because something's happening beneath the surface. I might not see it, but I know something is happening. [music] So, I keep showing up. I keep serving. I keep sewing. I keep speaking life. I refuse to stop because I'm fully persuaded. I walk in full assurance that I'm close. I'm closer than I even know. Because in my waiting, God is not delayed. He's forming. So Lord, right now all over this room, may we get out of our head that some reason the heavens have been delayed. No, he's forming capacity because what he wants to release to me is bigger than what I can hold right now. Woo, that's good news. That's good news. He's got a form in me because what he wants for me is bigger than what I can currently hold. So, I'm not going to buy the lie that he's abandoned me or stopped talking to. No, no, no. If he's quiet, he's teaching. HE'S GIVEN A TEST. I'm going to pass the test. I'm going to pass the test because he's forming. He's forming. He's for me. I'm going to be able to carry something greater something. There's something that he wants to release that I must be able to carry. So I thank you for this forming season that victory city is in. I thank you Lord for the forming season. And I thank you Lord that we will be able to carry what you have in store for us. We will carry it to fruition. [music] We give you praise and glory now.
Father, as we get ready to go, I pray your divine grace upon these wonderful people. Mercy is for our past. Grace is for our future. So, I pray [music] a new level of grace upon them as they go into this week. Many have had a tumultuous week, Lord, with all the storms and the activities at work and the power and it's just been a very stressful week. So, Lord, I just I speak peace over them right now. Peace over their homes. peace over their situations, peace over the storms that they've walked into in the name of Jesus. I just pray Lord today they would they just pick up that new measure of grace and with boldness they would come into their tomorrow knowing with full assurance that he has better things for me. There are better things for my family. He's not done working on me. I have assurance today. So Lord, even if I feel like I'm waiting, I realize you're just for me. And I receive that today, Lord. I [music] walk in that today. And I thank you, Lord, that I'm every day I'm growing more spiritually mature. As I put one foot in front of the next, inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life tends to get hard. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thank you, Lord. I will walk in faith and patience this week. I've already got my faith, but I got to pack my patience because something is happening beneath the surface. And I am fully assured of that. I'm fully confident of that. He will complete what he has started. And I thank you for that, Lord. Can we thank him all over this room? Can you just Yeah, just thank you, Lord.
Before [applause] we go, whatever you're believing God for, will you just just be with your own words all over this room? Just begin to thank him. It's coming. He hasn't forgotten you. Just thank him. See, some of us, we we remember what we're praying for, but we've been so discouraged because it hasn't happened the way we thought it was going to happen. Why don't you just resurrect