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[0:00] Alright, is that on? Can you all hear that okay? Don't look at me like that, okay? I'm waiting on him, alright?

[0:12] You all looking at me, expecting me to fix the audio. No? Gotta wait on him to flip a switch. I just don't have too many jokes to fill that time up, so that's all.

[0:23] Alright, let's go over to Hebrews chapter 11 this morning. Hebrews chapter 11. Get Hebrews chapter 11 and Romans chapter 1 in one hand.

[0:39] Hebrews 11 in the other. And like the pastor mentioned, my name is Joe Biscoe, and I'm here with my family. We're on the road of deputation to the Republic of Georgia.

[0:52] And so we're about a year into deputation, just about 60% supported. And so, Lord willing, we're looking for the day where we can be writing home to you. No, that's wrong, actually.

[1:04] Look, I don't want to be here anymore, alright? I know some of you, like, love the United States and all that. Praise the Lord for you. But I don't hate the United States. It's just, I left my heart in Georgia, and I'm waiting to get back, alright?

[1:17] So home for me is over there. But I can't wait to be able to write back to you folks from a house in Georgia, hearing and smelling the diesel trucks driving by and that Turkish coffee. I just can't wait.

[1:29] But thankful to be here, thankful for the opportunity to address you folks. And usually a pastor feels like he can have a missionary in because of the people in the pew. Usually it's because you folks are mature enough or ready to start having missionaries in, that kind of a thing.

[1:44] So it's a two-way street there. And I want to thank you guys for allowing us to come and be a part of your services for this next couple of days. So this morning, I believe the Lord wants me to teach on something.

[1:56] And so we're going to start. And if you have Romans chapter 1 in one hand, and then we'll go over to Hebrews chapter 11 second. So Romans chapter 1, and let's pick it up in verse 15. And Romans chapter 1 in verse 15, the Bible says, So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

[2:18] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

[2:34] The just shall live by faith. Now you're there in Hebrews chapter 11, look at verse 6. He says this, But without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

[2:47] Now I know that in here this morning, if we were to ask for a show of hands on how many of you wanted to please God, everybody would raise their hand. I don't know if you were being honest if you were to raise your hand or not, but you would raise your hand.

[2:58] So if you want to please the Lord, then this is how you're going to do it. And without faith, you can't please Him. And he says, But without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

[3:15] And so I want to teach a little bit on this thought this morning. Let's pray.

[3:51] You'd please open our eyes and give us the understanding that we need to grasp these things out of your book. And ask now for help for me to give my mind clarity of thought and give my mouth openness. Lord, to say what You'd have me to say.

[4:02] Let me not say anything that would be against Your book. Lord, help me and help us. In Jesus Christ's name, amen. Now, when I said conditional nature, everybody got worried. All right? I'm not talking about losing your salvation, okay?

[4:15] Salvation's a gift. You can't lose that. The Bible tells you in Ephesians chapter 2 that it's given by the grace of God. So you don't have to worry about that, okay?

[4:26] So I'm not talking about losing your salvation this morning. But what I am talking about is after you get saved, you are called to walk by faith. Romans chapter 1. We just read it.

[4:37] Come over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look what he tells you there. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And pick it up in verse 6.

[4:49] 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 6. He tells you this. Therefore, we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.

[5:00] For we walk by faith, not by sight. So you and I are called to walk by faith after salvation. Now, the trouble with Christians is, now you and I, in here this morning, is that being left in this flesh, you and I tend towards getting back under the kingdom of heaven.

[5:18] You and I tend towards living for what we see, living for what you can look at. And sometimes you gauge your salvation on what you can see and feel and sense and all that kind of stuff.

[5:28] And you sense God's will on what you can see, or at least you think you do. But you and I, after salvation, according to the New Testament, we're not walking by sight anymore. And the Christian church is walking too much by sight these days.

[5:42] Walking too much according to the news media. Walking too much according to the neighbors around you. And what the state's doing and what the governor's doing and what all that nonsense is doing. Now, you and I don't have any business making that our first resort for information.

[6:01] You and I are to go to this book. Now, you and I, if your heart in here this morning is to please God, you're going to do it by faith and no other means. That means you're going to have to exercise faith in your life.

[6:13] That means that the Lord's going to ask you to do things in your life where you can't see the outcome. You might not be able to see two or three steps ahead of you, but the Lord's going to say, now I want you to take a step. When you exercise faith with that step, that's giving glory to Jesus Christ.

[6:27] You're trusting Him with what you're doing. Now, when we're talking about the conditional nature of the Christian's faith, first of all, I want you to remember that faith is not what the atheist tells you it is. The atheist tells you that faith is a belief without evidence.

[6:41] That's not what faith is. Modern Christianity tells you that faith is a belief system. So, when you talk to folks about what they believe in, they might come from a charismatic background.

[6:55] They might come from speaking in tongues, the Lutheran church, the Presbyterian church, that kind of a thing. When you're talking to those kinds of folks about faith, they think that it is their belief system.

[7:06] You know, some Catholics will talk that way. But scripturally speaking, that's not what faith is. So, before we go any further, I want to define faith scripturally.

[7:18] And the reason why you need to do that is because God's an author. And you folks would afford any other author the right to define their words the way they want to.

[7:29] You pick up any book out there. It could be Karen Kingsbury. It could be Richard Dawkins. But for you fellas that don't know who Karen Kingsbury is, it's this chick that writes romance novels for Christians.

[7:43] Some of you are like, I know who that is, but I'm not going to say that I know. You can pick up Richard Dawkins, Karen Kingsbury, whoever you want to pick up. I don't know. Who's the guy that wrote the Hardy Boys? Franklin W. Dixon. You can pick that one up.

[7:53] And in that book, that author is going to define the words that they're going to use to convey the information they want to the way they want to define them. And it's only with the Bible.

[8:04] It's only with that King James Bible where people start taking issue with how God defines his words. It's like, you know, you come to the Bible and you get to a word and all of a sudden you have a knee-jerk reaction to that word because of some teaching over here, some doctrine over here going on.

[8:18] And it's like, no, listen, you go through context and how the Lord uses words and that will show you what he means by what he said. And so coming back to Hebrews chapter 11, I want to define it first.

[8:29] We're going to define faith scripturally and then we're going to go on into the teaching. Now, faith, you ought not to shy away from faith. If you're ever in an instance where you're witnessing to somebody and they start mocking your faith, let them.

[8:42] I don't know if I could say this to you because I'm not your pastor. Maybe check with Pastor Wolski after. I'm not going to try to hurt y'all, all right? But I would make fun of their faith, okay?

[8:55] Now, maybe you don't need to do that. Maybe the Lord's got more grace in your heart. But if I'm talking to an atheist, which I have before, and I'm talking to an agnostic, here I am witnessing to a whole group of Marines here. Now, this is the baddest and the toughest and the bravest and the proudest and all that kind of a stuff.

[9:08] Here's a group of Marines. They're downtown Pensacola. They're about to go to the bar scene. And here I got four of their attention. I've got Chick-Tac's in their hands, and I'm talking to them about salvation. And here comes this big old braggadocious fellow, and he comes up, you know, standard Marine, you know.

[9:21] And he comes over and he goes, well, I'm an atheist. No, you ain't. Yeah, I am. No, you're not. No, I'm an atheist. No, that's a cute wall to hide behind, but you're not really an atheist. Now, you may not want to handle things that way, all right?

[9:36] But that's how I handle it, all right? Make fun of their faith and their brain. That's where that stuff rests. But you ought not to shy away from the idea that you have faith and that you put your faith in this book.

[9:47] You put your faith in God. That's where your faith ought to be. Your faith ought to be in the Scripture. It is absolute truth. It is not subjective truth. It is absolute truth. Therefore, your faith in the Scripture is warranted.

[9:58] And so it should be there. So now, in Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now, when you understand what he just said, come help me out.

[10:12] What is substance? It is what makes up stuff.

[10:23] So faith is the substance of things hoped for. So, when you hope for something, and hope is not wishing.

[10:33] The Bible defines hope in Romans chapter 8, which we'll look at in just a moment. That hope is made up of, or at least it seems like what he's saying, that hope is made up of faith.

[10:44] And then he says, it's the evidence of things not seen. So it's almost like the Lord's telling you that because there is faith, there are eternal things. Now, praise the Lord for it, and I believe that, because it seems like what he's saying.

[11:00] So, I just can't grasp it all yet. I don't have all the understanding. But faith is the substance of things hoped for. Come over to Romans chapter 8. Faith and hope here are connected.

[11:11] Faith and belief were connected in verse 6 of Hebrews chapter 11. Faith and trust are connected throughout Scripture. When you look at the word faith in the Bible, it occurs once in the Old Testament, twice, rather, in the Old Testament.

[11:25] And it occurs over 200 times in the New Testament. So you know that that correlation or that contrast there, you have faith in the New Testament. But as you come over to Romans chapter 8, look at verse 24.

[11:40] Romans chapter 8, 24. Faith and hope being connected. Look at what he says here. For we're saved by hope. Now, this salvation in Romans chapter 8 is not salvation from hell. This salvation is saved out of tribulations and persecutions that you go through because you're looking for the adoption of our body in verse 22 and verse 23.

[11:58] And that is the rapture. So you can get through tribulation. You can get through persecution by hoping that the rapture happens that day. He's not talking about salvation from hell there.

[12:10] All right. So we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. So if you see it, you can't hope for it. All right. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

[12:20] But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. So hope requires expecting something to come to pass having never seen it. And you get out in these survival stories. You get on Mount Everest.

[12:31] You get on K2. And they get into these bad situations. And they tell you that if you lose hope, you're going to die. What are they hoping in? That a helicopter will come by. That somebody hears a radio transmission. That hoping is expecting something that can come to pass to come to pass.

[12:45] But you just don't see it yet. So here he's talking about that rapture happening. He's talking about the blessed hope happening. He's talking about that moment in the twinkling of an eye where our body has changed.

[12:57] And so making that connection with hope and faith, faith seems to be trusting and believing in God and what he said based on God's authority, having never seen it.

[13:10] Look at Hebrews chapter 11 again. Hebrews chapter 11 again. To show you this having never seen business, look at verse 7. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 7.

[13:22] Now we saw in verse 6, he says, Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[13:35] Now verse 7. And by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

[13:49] So here in the Old Testament, as you go throughout Hebrews chapter 11, you see where they had faith to trust what God said, but then they had to do something. It is a faith and works set up. They're not saved by grace through faith alone.

[14:00] They have to have faith that what God's telling them is going to come to pass is going to come to pass, and then act on what the Lord's telling them to get out of the destruction. But nonetheless, you see the truth there in verse 7.

[14:10] He says, of things not seen as yet. So he believes God. Now Abraham is our faithful father. He's our father in the faith, according to Paul. And you see in Genesis, when Abraham's coming through that thing, the Lord tells him, I'm going to give you many children.

[14:26] Okay. And it's counted to him for righteousness. That believing God, having never seen it. That's faith, folks. Believing what God said, because it is God who said it, having never seen it.

[14:42] It is taking the authority of the one that told you and believing what they tell you. Okay. So if that's the case, and it seems like it is, let's look at some examples here. I want to show you examples of that definition and see if they work.

[14:55] Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8 in one hand and John chapter 20 in the other. Matthew chapter 8 and John chapter 20.

[15:10] You get into a discussion or maybe you've thought along these lines, but you need to consider this. Folks tell you that you ought not to have faith in the Bible because it's a book written by men. You have faith that Benjamin Franklin lived.

[15:22] Have you ever seen that fellow? But you believe he did. You have faith to believe Abraham Lincoln lived.

[15:36] You have faith enough to believe Mao Zedong lived. You've never seen that stuff. How many of you have ever been to the Republic of Georgia before?

[15:47] Anybody? Anybody? You believe it exists though, don't you? Why? Because I'm standing here telling you it does. The student sits in college and he sits down and the professor begins to tell him that, you know, 13.8 billion years ago, this infinitely dense nothing exploded into something.

[16:06] And in the quantum realm, we can figure that out based on the particles that we have now. And that infinitely dense, as soon as it exploded, went out linearly. And as it went out linearly, it cooled down.

[16:18] And it cooled down enough to accept life in certain places. And out of the billion or so planets that we think that we have now, life emerged on this one planet called Earth in this Goldilocks zone.

[16:29] That has a moon that eclipses the sun where we can study the corona of the sun. And it's so close enough to the sun that we can live here. And after four and a half billion years or so, man shows up on the earth and here you are today.

[16:42] Why do those jokers believe that stuff? Because a professor told them. The guy with the title. See? You sit down, it's like, oh, he knows more than I do.

[16:53] Well, he said it, so there it is. I believe it. He's putting his faith in the professor. Now, you folks, you get up in the morning and you check your weather app. If you have one.

[17:04] And you see it, it's going to be 165 degrees or whatever it's going to be. And, you know, you prepare for that. Or it's going to be, you know, if you're out on the east coast, it kind of, you know, there's this ebb and flow of seasonal weather change.

[17:17] And so you get to the rainy season and the thunderstorms. And you see, it's supposed to rain six inches tonight. And it's just a cloud passes over with a little bit of lightning. Do you know what you do? You talk about the weather.

[17:27] You say, oh, well, it's going to be this degrees and it's going to be that. You prepare for it. Why? Because the weatherman told you what it's going to be. So common man acts in faith every day. And the atheist and the agnostic and you act in faith every day.

[17:41] The key for salvation in the Christian life is your faith starts by placing it in Jesus Christ for salvation. And then you coming to this book and getting what God would have you to do and then acting on it. Now, in Matthew chapter 8, to show you this example here, look at verse 5.

[17:57] Now, we're testing the definition of believing what God said because it's God who said it, having never seen it. You could make a stricter definition, and I often do. I say this. Faith is a confidence, a trust, a belief in someone or something to certainty, having never seen it.

[18:16] You can make that definition. But then to sum it up, it would be believing what God said because it's God who said it. Look at verse 5. When Jesus was entered, Matthew chapter 8, verse 5. When Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

[18:32] And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof. Statement 1. But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. Statement 2.

[18:44] For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another come, and he cometh. And to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Statement 4.

[18:55] When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them that followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. What's going on here?

[19:07] The Lord goes through Capernaum one time previous to this in Matthew chapter 4. And in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 13, you see the Lord leaving Nazareth.

[19:18] He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast and the borders of Zebulun and Naphtalem, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying. And then he goes into the prophecy there. So then he comes through Capernaum a second time.

[19:30] And at this second time, here's this Roman centurion. And he hears about Jesus Christ. No doubt he heard about his first entrance through Capernaum. And now he hears about him coming through again.

[19:41] And he comes up to Jesus Christ and says four things. I'm not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof. Where did he get that from? Then he says, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed.

[19:53] How do you know that? He says, I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, go and he goeth. And to another come and he cometh. And to my servant do this and he doeth it.

[20:04] You know what that centurion understands? Jesus Christ has the authority to heal. And so he expresses faith. He says, Lord, you don't even have to go. You don't even have to come and touch him.

[20:19] The hem of your garment, he doesn't have to reach out and grab. All you have to do is say the word because I understand authority. And I know what that means. And I know you have that.

[20:30] So if you'll just speak, then he'll be healed. And the Lord confesses to you and I that he didn't find his great faith among his own people. That centurion believes what he's heard about Jesus Christ and then acts on it and telling Jesus Christ, you don't even have to come into my house.

[20:47] You have so much authority, you could heal him there. So he's acting on some things he's not seen. And then he makes that that next step in belief to show that he's putting his faith in Jesus Christ.

[20:58] Look at John chapter 20. John chapter 20. And we'll pick it up in verse 19.

[21:11] John chapter 20 and verse 19. Now look at what he says here in verse 19. John 20, 19. The Bible says, Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

[21:31] And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you as my Father has sent me, even so send I you.

[21:42] And when he had said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

[21:55] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. Did they lie? Oh, come on, folks. You guys are acting like you're from the East Coast, man.

[22:06] Come on. Did they lie? No. Thank you, brethren. I appreciate that. No, they didn't lie. And so they say one thing.

[22:17] We have seen the Lord. Now, look at what Thomas says. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side. Here's the atheist.

[22:28] I will not believe. So the atheist makes the decision against the evidence presented to come up with evidence that isn't presented for the reason why he wants to reject Jesus Christ. And Thomas does that right here.

[22:42] Now, Thomas is one of his own. Thomas is a disciple. But nonetheless, he makes the decision to reject the evidence and not believe that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Now, watch how the Lord reacts.

[22:52] Verse 26. And after eight days again, his disciples were within and Thomas with him. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas.

[23:05] Now, you want to get some preaching on the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Right there it is. Thomas rejects the evidence. He decides not to believe that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. And here he stands again. And he looks right at Thomas.

[23:18] And boy, the times you've rejected to speak out for Jesus Christ. And you've failed to give out the tracts. And you've not read your Bible. Not prayed that day. And just rejected your relationship with Jesus Christ.

[23:29] And yet he still oftentimes will come by your way and say, Hey, how's it going? Ready to fellowship now? So he does that here with Thomas.

[23:39] Look at what he says. Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands. Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless but believing. Now, here's why I bring that up.

[23:52] Now, the Lord could have said, Be not faithless but faithful. But he didn't. He said, Be not faithless but believing. So it looks like if Thomas would have acted on the information that he had gotten from the disciples and believed that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead based on their testimony, their eyewitness testimony, he would have been acting in faith.

[24:13] But now because he sees Jesus Christ, he can no longer act in faith. Now he has simply belief. So the Lord exhorts him to believe now.

[24:24] I'm here. I'm standing in front of you. Believe. Believe. Believe. Believe. Believe. Believe. So it's like this. There's belief. That could be something that is seen or not. If it's not seen and you exercise belief in it, then you've taken the next step to faith.

[24:37] Faith is a little bit higher than belief. Faith is a little bit higher than belief. So, scripturally, the definition of faith that the Lord seems to use is that it is a confidence or trust or belief in someone or something to certainty, having never seen it.

[24:52] And by that I say this, believing what God said because it is God who said it, having never seen it. Now, your faith is to be fought for. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 6.

[25:04] After you get saved, Christian, and you're put in the body of Christ, if you're saved this morning, and you know that you're on your way to heaven, you're not on your way to hell anymore, then you got saved by grace through faith.

[25:18] The Lord gave you enough faith to get saved. He brought the man by you to tell you about Jesus Christ. You read it in a track or something like that. But now in your practical everyday life, your faith is to be fought for.

[25:31] And there is an enemy out there. There is the devil and the children of disobedience and the spirit that now worketh in them that is fighting to get your faith off of the Bible, to get your faith off of Jesus Christ, to get your faith off of God when it comes to your practical living.

[25:46] Now, the Lord wants to use you as a vessel, meet for the master's use. But he can't do that if you're not willing to take the steps to be used. And so the devil gets in your face and gives you distractions.

[25:57] Where he gets your faith off the Bible and he puts it over here on the news media, on the political scene, on this, on that, on this. Get your mind off the Bible, see. Once it's off the Bible now, you're just operating like every lost man outside the church.

[26:11] And then the devil's got you. So you do have a fight. You have a battle to fight. And look at verse 10 in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Look at verse 10. The Bible says this.

[26:23] For the love of money is the root of all evil, which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

[26:39] Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. So you're told to fight the good fight.

[26:52] And the good fight, is that that semi-truck leaving? And that good fight that you are to be entered into is the fight of faith.

[27:03] Now that is not only the fight for your faith and keeping it intact against the wiles of the devil, but that is also the propagation of faith. That is you taking the gospel to the outside world, to those that are lost, and you preaching the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ to them so that they can put their faith in Jesus Christ.

[27:20] So your faith is to be fought for. Look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. I apologize, that will be 2 Thessalonians.

[27:33] 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Not only is your faith to be fought for, but it is to grow. It is to grow. Now, naturally speaking, you understand that the Lord wants you to grow anyway.

[27:46] He tells you about the babes that desire the sincere milk of the word. He tells you that you ought to be teachers at some time when you grow up to handle the meat. He talks about you growing over there in Ephesians. So the Lord wants you to grow up. He doesn't want you to stay a babe in Christ.

[27:58] He wants you to start taking those steps to grow. And that's what the Lord wants. He wants your growth. So it is only natural that He also wants your faith to grow along the way. And in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, look at verse 3.

[28:10] We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly. And the charity of every one of you all toward each other abounded.

[28:22] So you're supposed to fight for faith, and you're supposed to grow in faith. And now, the reason why your faith is so important is because of, look at 1 Peter chapter 1.

[28:35] 1 Peter chapter 1. You say, why make a big deal about faith? I mean, we all kind of understand that. And yeah, I kind of understand that everybody gets a decent grasp on faith.

[28:46] But Christian, nowadays in Laodicea, more people are leaving the church because the devil got their faith off the Bible and got their faith off Jesus Christ. Not that they lost their salvation, but their mind and their faith is somewhere out there.

[29:00] And so there's this mass exodus from the church. I'm not talking about just local assemblies. I'm talking about people that won't go around the nation and around the world. I'm going to talk about it tomorrow night and Tuesday night, but there's a book I have out there in the van, and it's called A Manual for Creating Atheists.

[29:19] It's written by a guy up in Oregon. His name is Peter Boghossian. And that fellow in that book says that he tries to talk to one person of faith a day. That puts some of you to shame. Here's an atheist walking around Oregon in the college town up there, and he's trying to get one person of faith a day and talk them out of their faith.

[29:39] And he wrote a book about it. There's a manual out there for creating atheists. And you talk about an atheistic nation and an atheistic mindset. So, Christian, your faith is important, and you're not going to please God unless you have it and act on it.

[29:54] And then there's also a little bit more to that. Look at 1 Peter 1 and look at verse 6. 1 Peter 1 and verse 6.

[30:34] So, unfortunately, as you see in the passage there, your faith is going to have to be tried.

[30:46] And you're not going to get out of it. It's going to happen. You're going to wonder about things and going to doubt some things. You're going to hit some scenarios in your life where your faith has to be tested.

[30:58] And it's done that way because faith and your faith in God means more to him than anything you could amass in this world. And so, he says, the trial of your faith is much more precious.

[31:10] And the reason why he'll put you through those trials of faith is so that when he comes back, your faith, see, your faith might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

[31:22] So, if the Lord wants you to grow in faith, now look at Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1.

[31:44] And in Colossians chapter 1, we'll pick it up in verse 20. Colossians chapter 1, verse 20. We'll pick it up in verse 19. Colossians chapter 1, verse 19.

[31:57] The Bible says, For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.

[32:10] And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death. Why? To present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.

[32:23] If. If. You see it? If. If. If.

[32:37] Ye. Continue. In. The. Faith. Grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, where have I, Paul, and made a minister.

[32:51] So, Christian, after you receive the gift of salvation by faith, then it is up to you. That if is conditional on what you do, not your salvation from hell, your presentation at the judgment seat of Christ.

[33:08] And the Lord wants to make you unblameable. The Lord wants to make you unreprovable. That's the whole reason that he died. In the passage there, look at verse 22.

[33:22] In the body of his flesh through death. Why? To present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. So, at the end of the passage, he gives you Christ in you, verse 27. And he gives Christ in you so that you will continue in the faith and you will grow in that faith.

[33:39] You will fight for that faith. So, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, you can be presented holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. So, the conditional nature of the Christian's faith is, are you going to keep your faith in what God said?

[33:55] Are you going to go through the trials of this life? And come out the other side of those trials still trusting what God said? So that when he comes back, you can give him glory? You're living in a day and time where nobody knows which way is up anymore.

[34:10] So, sometimes even trying to communicate with people is just not even worth it. But at the same time, you're also living in a day and time where people are getting talked out of their trust in that book. So, what do you think is going to happen when Jesus Christ comes back and they stand before him?

[34:27] That ought not to be said of you and I. But it's up to you. It's conditional on what you want and what you're going to do with it. And so, you folks remember that in Romans chapter 10, he tells you that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

[34:44] And so, you hear the message of salvation and you act on that. You get saved and you're saved. You're going to heaven if that's you this morning. If you've ever received Jesus Christ, you're headed for heaven.

[34:56] Now, after that, you're going to grow your faith by getting in this book every day. And then there's going to be things that the Lord wants from you personally to do in your personal life.

[35:07] And you're going to have to start acting on them. And then you grow your faith by experience. But all the way, the Lord's looking for your faith to increase. Increase.

[35:18] To increase. So that you can please him and so that you can stand before him right. So the question comes down to it, what are you going to do with your faith? It's conditional.

[35:28] You know, you ain't going to lose your salvation or anything like that. But would to God you and I would get our hearts right enough to where we would want what God wants for us. Whatever that is for you.

[35:41] And so, Lord willing, that will help you in your practical everyday living. Is that the Lord's going to come up to you at times and he's going to say, Okay, now I want you to do this. Hasn't the Lord ever done this to you at the gas station? Hasn't he ever stopped you and said, Give that fellow a try?

[35:56] Now, how many times have you said no? But if you do it, you know what you're doing? You're acting in faith. All right, Lord, you want me to give him one? There you go. You can't see the outcome of that thing.

[36:07] You don't know where that track will go. You go to the grocery store. You're probably the same one three or four times a week. You see the same cashiers. Hadn't the Lord ever told you, stop, you say, Hey, talk to them about me.

[36:22] Has that ever happened for you? That's the Lord trying to get you to act in faith. And that's just talking about witnessing. We're not talking about your money yet. We're not going to talk about your money.

[36:34] Relax. But really, man, the Lord has specific things for you to do that he wants you to do. You're going to have to start expressing faith and trust in him and what he's telling you to do and start stepping in that direction.

[36:45] And you go that way when you hit the judgment seat of Christ, barring all the regrets you have down here on earth, you'll at least end up better than you would have. And that's what the Lord wants for you. Is that what you want?

[36:58] Father, we come before you this morning. I ask you to please help us to understand these things and their practical application in our everyday life. That you'd find some faithful people in here this morning that are going to keep trust in what you said, keep acting on it until the day that you come back.

[37:11] Lord, Noah had to wait 120 years for that rain to fall as he built that ark, Lord, and so we may have to wait some time before you come back. We pray that you don't wait, Lord. I'm kind of sick and tired of living in the body of this flesh and the body of sin and death and tired of dealing with the things of this world.

[37:26] So if you'd come back even today, we'd sure love to see you. But we may have to wait some time. And if we have to wait some time, help us to be faithful and acting on what you want us to do until you come. In Jesus Christ's name, amen.