The Patriarchs' Faith, Part 3

As we prepare our hearts this morning to partake at the Lord's table, I wanna remind you that back in September, we did a series called Expanding Self-Examination. And the very first point of the 10 points that we gave you was examining the reality of our faith.

One of the ways you can do that is by looking at Hebrews 11, 13 to 16, because the patriarchs give us the pattern of faith. They show us what it means to have a real faith. And so as we prepare our hearts this morning to partake at the Lord's table, it once again allows us to examine our own lives in light of what the word of the Lord says. What does faith look like? Well, we've told you that the faith of the patriarchs was a persistent faith. They all died in faith. It was what the Bible calls a persevering kind of faith.

In our study on Wednesday nights, as we talk about the believers in the tribulation and what they go through, the Bible defines for us what perseverance looks like. Hebrews chapter 14, I mean, sorry, Revelation 14, verse number 12 says, here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. That is the perseverance of the saints. Those are the ones that are persistent. They keep their faith in Jesus. They don't lose their faith. Why? Because their faith is granted to them by God.

They are persistent. The Bible tells us that, Romans 15, verse number five, that perseverance is a gift granted to us by God. He allows us to persevere. He motivates us to persevere. It says over in Revelation 13, it says this in verse number seven, it was also given to him to make war with the saints, that is the Antichrist, and to overcome them. And authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him. Everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who has been slain.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes. If anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. Once again, the spirit of God emphasizes the fact that true believers will persist in their faith. They will persevere all the way till their death. They do not give up on what God has given to them. And so the patriarchs, they all died in faith. They had a persistent faith. It was persistent because it was a patient faith.

It was a faith that was able to bear up under pressure. The Bible says very clearly they died without receiving the promises, but that was okay because they had in their possession the one who gave the promises.

They had the God of Israel in their possession. So the one who granted them all the promises they had. And so they were able to be patient until the end, bear up under all the circumstances, all the pressure, all the negativity that came their way. That's the kind of faith the patriarchs had. It was a persistent faith. It was a patient faith. And on top of that, it truly was a perceptive faith. They were able to see what others could not see. Bible makes it very clear. They kept looking, they kept seeing, they could understand, why?

Because they could see with a spiritual eye the things that others of the natural mind could not see. And so because they were able to see that which they did not possess, because God told them what they would have, they could see it with a spiritual eye, they were able to have the faith that needs to be patterned after. And so they had a persistent faith, they had a patient faith, they had a persistent faith, and they had a passionate faith. There was something that they desired. They saw themselves as aliens and strangers in a foreign land.

And because they did, there was something that they granted, that they desired more so than what the world could give them. And there was a passion that drove them to follow their God. They had a passionate faith. And the question comes to us, do we have that kind of faith? I love what Thomas Carlisle said when he said these words, he who has no vision of eternity will never, never get a true hold of time. That's a good phrase. Moses said it this way, Psalm 90 verse number 12, teach us to number our days that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom.

So that's what we've covered up so far. And then we concluded last week with number five, and that is that they had a perspicuous faith. That is a clearly seen faith, clearly visible. Perspicuity is a great word because we don't use it normally. But it tells us that something's clearly seen, clearly visible, and it's so clear, it's unmistakable. That's the kind of faith that patriarchs had. That's the kind of faith that you and I need to have, that is so clearly seen. The Bible makes it very clear, Hebrews 11, verse number 14.

For those who say such things, make it clear, make it obvious. And isn't it true that Abraham is used by the Apostle James by explaining to us that Abraham had a kind of faith that was seen. That's why he says, faith without works is dead. He even uses Rahab as an illustration because she too had a clearly visible faith so all could see that she believed. And so therefore, because faith is perspicuous, we are able to understand that everything that we do is seen by everybody around us. You can't hide your faith.

It's clearly seen. And the patriarchs in Hebrews 11 clearly demonstrated that they were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they followed Him, served Him, and honored Him. And that's why it's so important for us to have the kind of faith that's seen. Isn't it interesting that our children really do see what we believe? They do see it, even at a very young age. We need to stop thinking that when they get older, they'll see some things, but while they're young, they don't necessarily see them.

No, they see them very clearly. They understand what you and I believe. And we told you that over the last two years, it was two years ago this week that we came back from Israel and we were one of the last planes to leave Israel because everything was shutting down. And we came back on a plane that was virtually empty. We could stretch out and sleep on the way home. It was great. When we got back to America, everything had changed. It was like we were in the twilight zone. Everything had shut down.

Everything had closed down. Unlike 13 days earlier when we left and we came back to a whole new country that was shut down. That was two years ago. But you know what? During that time, there was an opportunity for you as a father and a mother to make your faith clearly visible to your children and to everybody around you. It's so important to realize that crises demonstrate true character. That amidst a crisis, what you believe about God is very clearly evident. We forget that. We told you last week about inflation and the high cost of everything around us.

I filled up last week right across the street. 4.17 a gallon. That was on Tuesday. Today it's Sunday, it's 4.97 a gallon. Things are just shooting through the roof. But it's an opportunity for you to trust the Lord and to live by faith and to show your children how it is during difficult times financially, we still walk by faith and not by sight. We still trust the Lord. That's why we challenge you in your giving patterns, right? Because sometimes we think that if we hold on to more money, that the better off we're going to be.

But listen to what the Bible says in the book of Proverbs, the third chapter. It says these words in verse number nine. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce, so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Honor the Lord with the first fruits of your increase. Now, we understand that because that's the pattern for giving. We give at the first of the week, at the first of the month.

We don't give at the end of the month. We honor the Lord with the first fruits of what we have. Why? Because if you wait to the end, you might not have enough. And so you do it at the very beginning, whether it's the month or the week, you honor the Lord with the first fruits of your increase.

God says, he who honors me, I will honor, right? And yet we read Proverbs three, verse nine, Proverbs three, verse number 10, but we forget about Proverbs three, verse number 11, which says this. My son did not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe his reproof. For whom the Lord loves, he reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Isn't it interesting that those verses follow versus about honoring the Lord with the giving patterns? Because so many times the Lord has to get our attention by disciplining us when we refuse to honor him with the first fruits of our increase.

How many times has that happened in your life and in mine? Not just in our giving patterns, but in our living patterns. You know, our faith needs to be clearly evident by everybody around us, clearly seen. There should be no hypocrisy, no duplicity in our faith. It should be obvious to everybody that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we trust him to what? Supply our needs. We trust him to take care of our needs. We trust him to give us this day our daily bread, right? We trust him to forgive us of our sins.

We trust him for everything that we have because we are giving our life to him. And the patriarchs modeled what they believed about God. Their faith was very clearly seen. Isaac would see it. Next week, we talked about Abraham and Isaac. We're gonna go back to Abraham's faith again. And you're gonna see what he truly believed about his son because he was asked to sacrifice his son. Didn't question God, didn't argue with God, didn't debate with God, just did what God said because he believed in truth.

He believed, although he did not understand everything, he believed it and followed. That was a faith that was clearly seen, clearly obvious to everybody around him, including his son, Isaac. And Isaac would be a type of Christ and Isaac would follow in his father's footsteps. Same would be true with Moses. And Moses was at a very young age, right? But his parents didn't fear the king's edict. And you'll notice that Moses, when he grew up, didn't fear the king's edict.

Why? Because at a very young age, his parents took a stand on truth. They took a stand against the king, against Pharaoh and what he wanted every young Hebrew boy to be drowned in the river. They weren't gonna do that. And how did Moses learn all that? His parents' faith was clearly evident to everybody. Mom and dad, I wanna encourage you. Your faith is seen by your children. What do they see? Are they embarrassed? Are they ecstatic about your faith? Do they respect you because of your faith? Do they realize that you take a stand on God's word and don't compromise?

The patriarchs of old, that's what they did. And their faith was clearly seen. A perspicuous faith is one that is unmistakably clear. And that's the kind of faith that they lived. Number six, they had a precautionary faith. A precautionary faith. Listen to what the Bible says in Hebrews 11, verse number 15.

And indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. That is a precautionary faith. If they had set their mind on the way things were, if they kept looking back at the place they came from, they would have had opportunity to return. But they didn't do that. Because they would take the necessary precautions to keep that from happening. Whenever Israel was in trouble in the Old Testament, they were always bemoaning the fact that they were taken out of Egypt.

They were taken from a place where they were being fed out into a place where there was no water and there was no food. And they wanted to go back to Egypt, see? Because they kept thinking about all the good things they had there. Even though they were in slavery, they wanted to go back there. And yet it was something about the patriarchs who didn't set their mind on thinking about the way things used to be. Because they had their minds focused on the way things are going to be. Very important. That's why the Apostle Paul can make it very clear in Philippians chapter three.

He said, not that I've already obtained it or have already become perfect, I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet. But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize, the upper call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude. And if anything you have a different, or if anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.

However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Paul said, I keep looking forward, not looking backwards, looking forward to what lies ahead. That's what the patriarchs did. They lived their lives. It's what we call a precautionary faith. The opportunity to return to the old life, the sinful life, the worldly life, the passions and temptations from before. Easy to think about those things. And yet we need to understand a precautionary faith. So let me give you some principles that will help you understand this.

Some principles that will help you take the right precautions. If you don't think about the way things used to be, say you might wanna go back to those things, that you'd always keep looking ahead for the things that God has for you. Paul said it this way in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter four, he said in verse number 17, so this I say and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer, just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, and because of the hardness of their heart.

They become callous, having given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity and greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way. If indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you'd be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Paul says the same thing to the Ephesians. Look, don't walk the way you used to walk. Walk by putting on the new life, by following Christ, by honoring him. Don't go back to the old way. Stay true to what God has called you to do. How do you do that? It's easy for us to read the verses and say, well, that sounds good, but how do I do that? Let me give you some principles that will help you live a precautionary faith, okay?

Number one, decide to submit to the will and word of God. You know, every day you make a choice. Every day you get up, you choose what you're going to wear, right? You choose what time you're going to leave for work. You choose what you're going to do when you get to work. Some of you get to choose when you go home from work. Some of you get to choose what you have for dinner after work. You choose when you're gonna go to bed or if you're gonna stay up and watch the late news. Your whole day is filled with choices, right?

And the choices you make in one moment will always affect the next moment and the next day and the next week. So make wise choices in the moment. So you always choose to make a choice that submits to the will and the word of God. James, James chapter four says it this way in verse number six, but he gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit therefore to God, resist the devil. Unless you submit to God, you won't resist the devil. So you decide to submit to the word of God and you decide to submit to the will of God.

You don't know the will of God, but you know the word of God. So you make a constant choice. I'm going to choose to submit to what God says or you make a choice not to submit to do what God says, right?

Those are your two choices. Obey God or disobey God. You choose to obey God and the will of God. That's why the psalmist said in Psalm 40, verse number seven, I delight to do thy will, oh my God. We should delight to do the will of God. So if you're gonna live a precautionary faith, you must decide to submit to the word and will of God. You make the wrong choice, you won't have a precautionary faith. You're gonna look back at the old life and go back in that direction and wanna engage in sinful behavior.

You gotta decide to submit to the word and the will of God. Number two, once you decide to do that, you must disconnect from sinful behavior.

You gotta disconnect. Instead of being connected to sinful behavior, you gotta disconnect from sinful behavior. You can't do that unless you make the right choice. If I decide to obey God, I will automatically disconnect from sinful behavior. But if I decide not to obey the word of God I will engage in sinful behavior. So I've gotta now disconnect from that. And you can use that as a modern term. We're gonna disconnect from our phone or disconnect from our computer or disconnect from our television.

We live in this high tech arena in which we engage every single day. And sometimes because we're so connected to social media, so connected to what's happening on the internet, we can get lured into those sinful passions. But you gotta disconnect from sinful behavior. You must, but you can't do that unless you decide to submit to the word of God. Listen to Romans 13. Paul says, do this knowing the time that is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep. For now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

The night is almost gone. The day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sexuality, not in strife and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust. Notice how Paul says that.

He focuses you on the fact that the time is at hand, the time is near. For what? Christ is coming. Why? Because the clearer you see the future, the cleaner you stand in the present. And so he tells you, look, the day is at hand. Time is drawing near. You gotta put off all these things. You gotta disconnect from the sensualities of the old life. But you're gonna do that once you decide to submit to the truth of the living God. So once you decide to submit to the word and the will of God, number two, you simply disconnect from sinful behavior.

And number three, you disassociate with sinful people. You disassociate with sinful people. You know, you can tell a lot about a person by who he hangs out with, right? As parents, you can tell a lot about your children about who they wanna hang around with. Bible's very clear that bad company corrupts good morals. Book of Proverbs tells us, Proverbs chapter 13. Proverbs chapter 13, verse number 20, he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. You gotta disassociate with sinful people, people that are gonna lead you down the wrong path, people that are gonna influence you the wrong way.

The Bible says over in the Book of Proverbs, 22nd chapter, verse number 24, do not associate with a man given to anger or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.

Well, there's good words of wisdom. You don't wanna associate with that hot-tempered guy, the angry person, it's gonna affect your life. Then over in Proverbs chapter 24, Proverbs chapter 24, it says these words. My son, fear the Lord and the King. Do not associate with those who are given to change, for the calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them? The Bible speaks a lot about the people you associate with, the people you follow. So Paul would give the exhortation, follow me as I follow Christ.

So once you decide to submit to the word and the will of God, you can disconnect from sinful behavior and disassociate from sinful people. Number four, you have to depend upon the Spirit of God. God has given us a spirit, right? Let me give you just a little hint here.

The church is not an AA program, okay? The church is not Alcoholics Anonymous. The church is about the Spirit of God. Whatever happened to the Spirit of God in the lives of people who claim to be Christ? Does he really live there? Are you really a new creation? God has given us a spirit to depend on. We find it so easy to depend upon somebody else outside the Spirit. You know why? Because we can fool somebody else, we can't fool the Spirit. But you can't fool the Spirit, so depend upon the Spirit.

Walk in the Spirit so you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5. How much clearer can it possibly be? Walk in the Spirit, take each and every step, dependent upon the Spirit of God that you might live to the glory of God. But if you don't depend upon the Spirit, but depend upon someone else or something else, you'll fall back into sin. But to depend upon the Spirit who leads you into righteousness and holiness is so important. That's why you live a life of prayer. Pray without ceasing.

Trusting in God, believing in God. So once you decide to submit to the word and the will of God, right? Now you disconnect from sin and disassociate with sinful people, but you can't do that unless you depend upon the Spirit of God to strengthen you, to energize you, to make that choice. That's why we're to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, be at home in our hearts. Don't let it become a stranger to you. Because the Spirit of God works in conjunction with the word of God that the more of the words you know, truly know, the more the Spirit of God convicts you of your sin.

And therefore you depend upon the Spirit of God. Number five, you must deny yourself daily. Remember Luke 9.23? If any man come unto me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, right? No. If any man come unto me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. We forget about the word daily. There's a daily cross bearing. There's a daily dying to self, to all my ambitions and all my aspirations. We all have them, right? We all have these great dreams and aspirations for our lives and we live for those things.

But the Bible says you gotta deny yourself. Why? Because now everything about your life is God's life. You live in God's dream, not your dream. You're following his desires, not your desires. You wanna do what God says, not what you say.

You want what God wants for you more than you want for yourself. So Christ made it very clear, follow me. How? Deny yourself and take up your cross daily and you'll follow me. And everybody will see that not only is your faith clear, but your faith takes all the necessary precautions that you might truly honor my life. What did Paul say? I am crucified with Christ. I've died to self. Christ lives in me. That's the life I'm now living, Paul says. I'm living Christ's life. And so you deny yourself daily.

Next, you defend your heart and soul from Satan's schemes. You gotta defend your heart and soul from Satan's schemes. Proverbs four, verse number 23. My son, guard your heart for out of it flow all the issues of life. You gotta defend your heart, gotta protect your heart. That's why we have what is called the armor of God, right? The breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the spirit, the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth. We have to understand the equipment that God has given to us to defend ourselves from all of Satan's schemes and all of his desires to get us off track.

You must set your heart and protect it. Watch over it, guard it because from it flow all the issues of life. He says in Proverbs 4, 23, guard your heart diligently for out of it flow all the issues of life. Be diligent in protecting your heart. Be diligent in putting on the armor of God. Be diligent in defending that which is so true to the inner being, protect yourself. And then determine to serve your fellow brothers and sisters. Determine to serve your fellow brothers and sisters. The Bible's replete with admonitions to serve.

Why do you do that? Because service gets your mind off of you and onto others. Whenever we isolate ourselves and put ourselves in a box, it's very easy to think about where we've come from and the opportunity to return. I'm all for silence, I'm all for solitude, great disciplines of the spiritual life. But if you isolate yourself from your church, do not serve your fellow man, it's very easy for you to think about things the way they used to be. But when you're serving your fellow man, you're anticipating the giving of your life away to coming to grips with how I can better meet the needs of those around about me.

And listen, when you determine to serve your fellow man, within that service, there is a realm of accountability, self accountability. That is so important. But we forget that, that without that service, there's not that self accountability. But when I'm engaged in serving my fellow man, in order for me to come alongside of you, my life must be right with the Lord. In order for me to stand and preach before you, my life must be right with the Lord. There is a self accountability every day in my life, knowing that when I get to preach, my children, they're not here now, but they're in the second service.

The two that I have left, well, they're going, kid, where are you going? There's one of my sons, he's walking out on me right there. My children sit in the church that I preach in. And so they know the real dad. And they know if dad is saying things, he doesn't live out at home, right? There's a self accountability in that, that I'm accountable to the God. I respect the ministry enough to be held accountable to God for how I live my life. There needs to be that kind of respect for the ministry that when you're determined to serve, you are serving your fellow man, that Lord, when I get before these people, when I come alongside these people, I want to represent you clearly and cleanly.

Help me to do that. That's why you're determined to serve your fellow man. And then devote everything you have to the Savior that you might delight in nothing but the Savior. Listen to Psalm 16. I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will dwell securely for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. That's a precautionary faith. The patriarchs lived that kind of life. Was it, again, a perfect life? No. But they progressed toward Christ-likeness. They progressed in their walk with the Lord, and that's the way God wants us to live our lives. Do you have a precautionary faith? A faith that is determined not to go back to the way things were, but to live for the glory and honor of God as you press onward to the upward call in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

So important. And lastly, not only was their faith a persistent faith, a patient faith, a passionate faith, a faith that was clearly perceived because it was a perceptive faith, a perspicuous, curious faith, not only was it a faith that was precautionary, but it was a pleasing faith. Listen to what the Bible says.

Hebrews 11, verse number 16. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Isn't that great? God is not ashamed to be called their God. He granted them the faith to believe, right? And then they lived that faith every single day, and God is not ashamed to be called their God. That's a pleasing faith. Hebrews 11, six, without faith, it's impossible to please him, right? But with faith, your life is pleasing to him.

And so he's called what? The God of Abraham. He's called the God of Isaac. He's called the God of Jacob. Why? He's not ashamed to be called their God, because they live the life of faith, trusting obedience, believing in all that he said and behaving accordingly to what he said. That's how they live their lives. And so, listen, with that faith, with that faith, a pleasing faith, not only are we acceptable to God, we are accountable to God, we are available to God. They made themselves available at his disposal, forever and however he wanted to use them.

But God was not ashamed. He was so pleased with them, he prepared a city for them. He prepared a city for them. And that's what God's doing, a heavenly city. You saw earlier with Abraham's life, he desired to be at home where the architect and maker was God himself. That was the best home. God prepares a city for them. That's why I smile every time I read John 14, that the Lord says, I go and prepare a place for you, because in my father's house are many dwelling places. And so when you read the book of Revelation, this is so great, you read these words, and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city.

John got a vision of the holy city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like very costly stone. Verse 16, the city is laid out as a square and its length is as great as its width. And he measured the city with a rod, 1500 miles. Its length and width and height are equal. Verse 18, the material of the wall was jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass. Verse 21, in the street of the city was pure gold. Notice it says the street of the city was pure gold.

There are no streets, plural, in heaven. There's only one street in heaven. We talk about the streets of gold, nowhere in the Bible does it say there are streets, plural, in heaven. It just says there's one street in heaven and it's pure gold. And the city, verse 23, has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it for the glory of God has illumined it and its lamp is the lamb. That's the city that God has prepared for those who had the faith granted to him, granted by him to them to live accordingly.

The patriarchs have given us a pattern of faith. What real faith looks like. And for three weeks, we spent our time and he was 11, 13 to 16. And the only question is, what about your faith? Is the faith as demonstrated by the patriarchs that you might pattern that to your children and to your grandchildren, to those at work, to those in your church, they might see it? That's what God would have us do for his glory and for his honor until he comes again, as he most surely will. Let's pray. Father, thank you, Lord, for today.

We are so grateful for the patriarchs of old. We read about them, we study them and realize, Lord, that they had not nearly the information that we have concerning you. And we thank you, Lord, that you patterned for us a life of faith. May we live that way. May we serve you and honor you. Glorify your precious name because we've learned from your word how to walk by faith and not by sight. In Jesus' name, amen.