Faith's Final Triumph (Hebrews 11:39-40) | Worship Service

Torn men, born now in Bethlehem, once upon a time.

Praise to the King of kings, wonderful King of kings.

As we gather around this table, we remember.

Good morning. Good morning and welcome to Kootenai Church. Would you please stand as we sing,

To God be the glory. To God be the glory, great things

He hath done. So loved He the world that He gave us

His Son, Who healed His life and atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.

For come to the Father through Jesus the Son, And give

Him the glory, great things He hath done. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,

To every believer the promise of God, The pilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus apart and receives.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the

Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the

Father through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things

He hath done. Great things

He hath taught us, great things He hath done, And great are rejoicing through Jesus the

Son. But your word and higher and greater will be,

Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see. Praise the

Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the

Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the

Father through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things

He hath done. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear

His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.

O come to the Father through Jesus the

Son, And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing

Thy praise. Strings of mercy never ceasing, all for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.

Raise a mount I'm fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.

Hither to Thy love has blessed me, Thou hast brought me to this place.

And I know Thy hand will bring me safely home by Thy good grace.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God.

He to rescue me from danger, clothed me with His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor, daily

I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the

God I love. Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

O the day when free from sinning, I shall see

Thy lovely face. Full of raven, blood -washed linen, how

I'll sing Thy sovereign praise. Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, bring

Thy promises to pass. For I know Thy power will lead me till I'm home with Thee at last.

You may be seated. That is a great verse to that hymn.

I'm not sure that we've ever sang that before, that verse at least. But it is fantastic, especially in keeping with the promises that we're looking at in Hebrews chapter 11.

Just one announcement before we go to our scripture reading, which is in Psalm 16, and that is that yesterday our brother,

Bruce Morock, went to his eternal reward, so we can rejoice with him and his homecoming.

And of course, we sorrow with his wife and children who are left behind. But what a blessing it is to know him and to have supported him all these years.

So we will remember them in prayer. Will you please turn to Psalm 16? The pre -script here says it is a victim of David.

And Psalm 16 is quoted by Peter in Acts chapter 2 in his Pentecost sermon, as he makes the case for the

Old Testament teaching on the resurrection of Christ. He quotes here from a passage, which you will see here at the end of the

Psalm. Psalm 16. And will you stand with me as we read? Preserve me,

O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the Lord, You are my Lord. I have no good beside You.

As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who have bartered for another God will be multiplied. I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will

I take their names upon my lips. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup.

You support my lot. The lions have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

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 shield, nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You have made known to me the path of life.

In Your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand, there are pleasures forever. Let's pray together.

Our Father, we rejoice in Your goodness to Your people. You are merciful and kind.

You are great and gracious. Your lovingkindness is infinite, and Your goodness is immeasurable to those who are

Yours. And we thank You that we can delight in Your attributes and in delight in the salvation that You have given to us in Your Son, the

Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to the day when we will be at Your right hand, and we will see all of the pleasures and joys that You have in store for us.

We thank You that Bruce is there now, free from his pain and suffering, the sickness that has plagued him these last few years.

We pray that You would strengthen those who remain here, Linda and his kids and grandchildren.

We pray that the service that memorializes his life may point to the great salvation that You bestowed upon him and his years of faithful service to You.

May he be honored and glorified, not just in through his life, but also through his death and through the testimony of those who remain here, who bear witness to Your grace in his life.

Strengthen Linda and encourage her in the days and weeks ahead as she deals with the new loneliness and new ways of having to deal with life as it comes.

We pray that You would encourage her heart and that You would strengthen her and comfort her, and may she feel that comfort as she draws near to You, draw near to her during this difficult time, we pray.

And we ask now Your blessing upon our worship and our fellowship and our remembrance of the death of Christ and what it has secured for us.

We pray that You would strengthen our faith and encourage us together as well in Christ's name. Find endless stores of grace

The heart that turns to Jesus Is cleansed from every stain

Oh, how deep, how wide, how long Oh, how vast the love of Jesus Oh, how sure, how sweet, how strong Oh, how vast is love for us

So lift your eyes to Jesus Arise from doubt and shame

His blood cries, it is finished Our life is in His name

Oh, how deep, how wide, how long Oh, how vast the love of Jesus Oh, how sure, how sweet, how strong Oh, how vast is love for us

What now can separate us Can death or pain or fear

We have this strong assurance In Christ we've been brought near And in His strength we'll waver

His promises are bold Thus far

His love has led us His love will lead us home

Oh, how deep, how wide, how long Oh, how vast the love of Jesus Oh, how sure, how sweet, how strong Oh, how vast is love for us

Oh, how deep, how wide, how long Oh, how vast the love of Jesus Oh, how sure, how sweet, how strong Oh, how vast is love for us

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend

The agonies of Calvary The perfect Holy One Christ Your Son Drink the bitter cup reserved for me

Has washed away my sin Jesus, thank You The Father's wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You Once Your enemy Now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You Perfect sacrifice

I've been brought near Your enemy You've made

Throughout the riches of Your glorious grace

Your mercy and Your kindness Oh, no end

Has washed away my sin Jesus, thank You The Father's wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You Once Your enemy Now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You Lover of my soul

I want to live for You Lover of my soul

I want to live for You Lover of my soul

I want to live for You Lover of my soul

I want to live for You Has washed away my sin

Jesus, thank You The Father's wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You Your blood has washed away my sin

Jesus, thank You The Father's wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You Once Your enemy Now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You In Colossians chapter 2, verses 13 and 14, it says,

And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all of our transgressions.

Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us,

He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Let's end our music service this morning by singing,

He Will Hold Me Fast. When I fear my faith will fail

Christ will hold me fast When the tempter would prevail

He will hold me fast I could never keep my hope

Through my fearful path For my love is often cold

He must hold me fast He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast For my Savior loves me so He will hold me fast

Those He saves are His delight Christ will hold me fast

Precious in His holy sight He will hold me fast

He'll not let my soul be lost His promises shall last

Bought by Him at such a cost He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast For my Savior loves me so He will hold me fast

For my life Christ will hold me fast

Justice has been satisfied He will hold me fast

Raised with Him to endless life He will hold me fast

Till our faith is turned to sight When He comes at last

My Savior loves me so He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast He will hold me fast

For my Savior loves me so He will hold me fast

You may be seated. We turn now please to Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 39. We're going to read together verses 39 and 40 and we'll open in prayer.

Hebrews chapter 11 verse 39. And all these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised because God had provided something better for us so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

Let's pray together. Our Lord we do ask now for your blessing upon the preaching of your word and upon our hearing of it.

We pray that you would grant to us hearts that are open and mindful of the truth. We pray that your spirit would accomplish the work of teaching us and instructing us helping us to see in your word you and your redemptive plan and your eternal purposes.

Encourage our hearts together we pray in the truth and sanctify us by it. We ask in the name of Christ our

Lord. Well I'm a little bit excited for the sermon today because for the first time since we began the book of Hebrews when

I asked you to turn to a passage 11 verse 39 I can see on my Bible at least the end of the book of Hebrews.

So you see we are up here at the top of this. We have this road to run all the way through here. We get to the end and this is the finish line down here where the white that's like the end zone.

We cross that and we've scored at something at the end of Hebrews. So it's close it's near you can see the end from here.

Of course you can see the sun from here too and it's 93 million miles away. But at least you can take heart in that I can see the end of the book.

These verses verses 39 and 40 are a summary of the faith chapter. It's not the concluding argument of what he's been saying about faith.

That comes in chapter 12 but at the end of chapter 11 in verses 39 and 40 he says something that is true of all of the heroes of faith that we've looked at so far in chapter 11.

And it kind of gives us an example to reflect a little bit on what we have learned and what we have seen.

We've gone back and looked at the definition of faith at the beginning of the chapter. We have seen all of the various examples of faith laid out in chronological order from the right after the fall of man in the beginning with Cain and Abel and Abel's faith and then all the way through the flood in the time of Abraham and to the patriarchs to the end and close of the

Old Testament time. We've looked at all the various examples that he's given to us in depth. And then we looked at the triumphs of faith that belong to those who are

God's people. Then we consider the tribulations and trials that the faithful endure at the end of that chapter.

And now he's just sort of wrapping all of that up to describe what is true of all of the heroes of faith and what it is that is in many ways also true of us.

Then when we get into chapter 12, and not to get ahead of myself, but to kind of give you a glimpse into how all of this sort of fits together.

When we jump into chapter 12 next week, Lord willing, the author is not changing his subject.

He's actually bringing a conclusion to what he has been saying about faith in chapter 11. Notice chapter 12 verse one begins with a therefore.

This is the conclusion to his argument in one sense. He's going to draw our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the supreme example of that endurance that he says back at the end of chapter 10 that we have need of.

Those of us who go through the tribulations of faith and suffer through the afflictions and the reproaches and the seizure of our property and being reproached for the name of Christ, we have, he says at the end of chapter 10, great need for endurance.

And then he gives all of these examples of people who endured those very things and yet persevered all the way to the very end and finished their race in faith.

And then in chapter 12 verses one to three, the ultimate example of one who endured hostility from sinners for the joy that was set before him, that is the reward that is to come.

We've been talking about the reproach of faith and the reward of faith. Well, Christ is the ultimate example of that. He's the ultimate example of one who endured reproach from sinners for the joy of the reward that is to come.

That's chapter 12 verses one through three. And then the author is not switching gears when he starts talking about the discipline of God's people, those who belong to him, because we may get to the end of chapter 11 and we read through all these people who endured these physical afflictions.

Well, in chapter 12, beginning in verse four and following, he talks about the discipline that belongs to us as sons and lest we think that when we go through adversities and trials and tribulations, that these things are wasted or that they are proof that we do not have faith.

He said, no, these are the very things that God uses to refine and to purge us of sin and to bring discipline into our lives.

And that's a good thing. So those adversities, rather than being an evidence that we have no faith, are actually an evidence that we belong to God.

Because if we didn't have those things, we might begin to question whether or not we truly belong to him and whether faith is really something that we even have in this life.

If we don't have the reproach that belongs to faith, then we ought to be questioning ourselves whether or not we even have truly genuine faith.

And then there is in chapter 12, the fifth and final warning passage in the book of Hebrews, and that's connected to faith as well.

We might even say that these last two warning passages in the book of Hebrews, the one at the end of chapter 10 and the one at the end of chapter 11, sort of bracket his discussion of faith in chapter, sorry, the end of chapter 12, bracket that discussion of faith that's in chapter 11.

See, at the end of chapter 10, he talks about those who fall away in whom his soul has no pleasure.

God says that of those who have not faith and shrink back to destruction. Then he goes on to talk about the nature of true saving and enduring faith, the persevering faith that keeps us all the way through tribulations and reproaches and gives us the reward at the end.

And then after applying that and give us an example of that and answering objection to that in chapter 12, we get to that fifth and final warning passage in chapter 12.

And the argument, the purpose of the author is to say, see, this kind of faith that I talked about in chapter 11 that I said you needed to have back in chapter 10, that kind of faith, if you have that, then you are promised the eschatological blessings and not the eschatological judgments.

That's chapter 12. Those who have that faith in chapter 11, they get the eschatological, the end times blessings and not the end times judgments when

God shakes everything, he quotes from the prophets, when God shakes everything, those who have that true faith will persevere all the way to the end.

So that's how chapter 10, chapter 11, and chapter 12 all fit together. But that's something we'll have to cover next week when we introduce chapter 12.

We are now in verses 39 and 40. Here between these two warning passages, right on the heels of all of these examples of faith, read again with me verses 39 and 40.

And all these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised. These Old Testament saints awaited the arrival of God's promise, that's the first thing he tells us of these who have been faithful in chapter 11.

And second, then they also will enjoy with us the fullness of its ultimate fulfillment, verse 40, because God has provided something better for us so that apart from us, they would not be made perfect.

See, he's answering an objection that the reader might naturally raise at this point. And that is, why is it that those in the

Old Testament who had this faith didn't receive everything that was promised in their lifetime? That's the objection that he's handling here.

God has a purpose in this delay. He has a purpose for it, and that's what the author is describing here.

So let's look first at verse 39. These Old Testament saints awaited the arrival of God's promise. All these, he says at the beginning of verse 39, this is the group of faithful from Abel in verse four all the way through to those even in the intertestamental period that he described had a fixed hope on the better resurrection.

All of these heroes of faith that we have listed here, all of them gained approval through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised.

So there's something that they gained. Notice that in verse 39. They gained an approval, but they did not receive what was promised.

So they gained something and didn't gain something else. And the author's point is that their not gaining of something else is tied to our salvation and the grace that God is bringing to us so that with us, they would eventually be made perfect, but not apart from us.

But what they gained was approval. What does it mean that they gained approval? You remember back in chapter 11, verse two, he says, for by it, the men of old gained approval.

That is by faith. Verse one, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it, that is by faith, the men of old gained approval.

And then he goes on to give this list of men and women of old who gained approval. It's the exact same word used at the end of chapter 11 as was used at the beginning of chapter 11.

So that idea of gaining approval is kind of a bracket in the text in which all of these examples fit.

The beginning, the men of old gained approval. Here are the men of old who did that. And you get to the end, all of these having gained approval did not receive what was promised.

So what does it mean that they gained approval? The definition here, the word, sorry, the word, the phrase itself almost suggests some meritorious work, doesn't it?

You're talking about somebody gaining approval through something that they do is kind of how the translation suggests itself to us.

These men gained approval as if faith were something inside of us that we muster up, we create this, we nurture it, we develop it, and then we offer it up to God.

And in exchange for this work of the human soul, God bestows upon us his approval. That there's something about you and I that can be approved of by God and that because of our faith, he approves us.

So the very description here sort of suggests a meritorious work that God approves of us only after we have mustered the faith.

But the word gained approval there is a verb, martoreo, and it means to testify, to bear witness, or to speak well of.

And you can hear the word martyr in that word because a martyr was one who would give testimony by their life and by their death.

Eventually, that's what the word martyr came to mean, not just one who would bear testimony, but one who would bear the ultimate testimony by testifying even with their life and their death.

The word means to be well -spoken of or to have a good reputation. It's used a few times in the

New Testament, Acts chapter six, verse three, therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation.

That's the word, the very same word, men of good reputation. Acts 10, verse 22 says of Cornelius that he was a righteous and God -fearing man, well -spoken of by the entire nation.

That's the phrase, well -spoken of. One who has a good reputation or who is well -spoken of. The same is said of Timothy, that he was well -spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra.

Acts 22, 12 says Ananias, a man was devout by the standard of the law and well -spoken of by all the

Jews. First Timothy 5, 10, put widows on the list only if they have a good reputation. That's the same word.

Third John, verse 12, Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone and from the truth itself, and we add our testimony and you know that our testimony is true.

So it's to be well -spoken of or to have a good reputation, people speak well or approvingly of you, that's what the word means.

But now that raises the question, since these are people who have gained approval or somebody has spoken well of them, who is the one who speaks well of the person of faith?

It's certainly not the world because the world mocks us and reproaches us.

So whose approval have we received? Or who's speaking well of us that we have received their approval?

And the only answer to that is God. By faith, God himself approves of us, he commends us by, with these men who are in Hebrews chapter 11, it is by their inclusion into the

Hebrews hall of faith, by God blessing them, God gave to Abraham a land and blessings and promises, that was a signal of God's approval.

God saved Noah and his family, that was God testifying of the appropriateness of Noah's faith and that Noah was saved on the basis of that faith.

God accepted Abel's sacrifice, that was God bearing testimony that Abel was accepted by him.

Back at the beginning of chapter 11, in verse two, it says that the men of old gained approval and then listen to the way those first few men of old are described.

You can look back there if you'd like it. Verse four, by faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous,

God testifying about his gifts and through faith though he is dead, he still speaks. Who was the one who testified about Abel?

It was God himself. So when Abel by faith brought the sacrifice, God accepted that sacrifice, rejected

Cain's sacrifice and God's accepting of that sacrifice that Abel had offered to him was

God's testimony that Abel's faith was legitimate and God's testimony that Abel was accepted by him on the basis of faith and faith alone.

Verse five, by faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death and he was not found because God took him up for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God.

He obtained whose witness? God's witness. Not everybody gets to be taken up into heaven and not suffer through death, but Enoch did.

Why? That was God's testimony, God's declaration to all of mankind that Enoch had faith.

Verse six, and without faith, it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

God's reward to the faithful is God approving of and granting testimony to them of his acceptance to them on the basis of that faith.

The one who has faith believes that God is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him and when God gives the reward to the faithful, fulfills his promises to them, that is

God's approval, is a demonstration of his approval to them. This is the faith then that is the simple trust that believes

God, trusts his word, accepts what he has said and notice how different this phraseology is from what the world does to the believers.

God approves of the believer, we gain God's approval by faith or approval comes to us from God on the basis of faith and faith alone and how different is that from the world and what they commend and what they approve of.

The world approves of fame and reputation and influence, power, wealth, notoriety, intellect, achievement, ability, accomplishments, beauty, skill, those are all the things that the world lauds and loves and yet all of those things are foolishness in the eyes of God and what

God approves of is faith. The world says, God should accept me because of my accomplishments.

God should love me because I am so lovable. God should approve of me because I am so approvable.

I am spanky, I'm the best thing since sliced bread and God ought to laud his blessings and joys and pleasures upon me just on the basis that I am who

I am and who wouldn't want me in their family? So of course God wants me in their family, in his family.

So that is how the world thinks. The world expects that God should honor those things and God is not at all impressed by those things because God is the one who gave those things to that person to begin with.

So a worldling may say, well God should bless me and love me and approve of me because of my intellect, because of my reputation, because of my skill and to that God would simply say,

I'm the one who gave you your intellect, your reputation and your skill, you owe all of that to me. You would not have that if it weren't for me so give me something else that might be approvable.

Give me something else. Give me some other merit. Mankind has none. That which pleases

God, the world regards as folly, as weakness and as insignificance and that which pleases the world,

God regards as foolishness and useless and insignificant. You can contrast here in verse 39 the world's approach to believers with God's approach to believers.

God approves of us. He loves us but the world heaps upon believers the mockery, the scourging, the scorn, the ridicule, the hatred.

That's all that the world has for those who are faithful to God, to those who belong to him by faith and what does

God say of them? These are the men and women of whom the world is not worthy.

See that, friends, that is God's testimony of his approval. To have him say well done and good and faithful servant, that is the ultimate commendation when we stand in the presence of the

Lord. But to have the Lord say to the world concerning us, my people are the men and women of whom this world is not worthy, that is

God lavishing his approval upon his people, those who are of the faith and who have faith.

So faith then is of utmost value. It is of supreme value. You and I will look back thousands of years from now, we will look back upon all of the reputation and fame and the popularity and the treasures of this world and we will realize that the only thing here that was really of any lasting value to us was faith.

And that is a gift from God. And to say that faith is that which justifies us, faith is that which makes us acceptable to God, faith is that which we express and which we experience and which causes us to endure, that is not to say in any way or to deny in any measure that that same justifying and sanctifying and securing faith is the gift of God which

God gives to his elect people. See, we can talk about that which gives us God's approval, that is faith and faith alone, but that faith is not something that we muster up, it's not something inside a fallen man that you just have to find a way with the right music, the right style of preaching, the right church program to somehow spark and sort of fan those flames up into a faith.

No, man in his sin is dead. We are dead in our trespasses and sins without hope, darkened hearts, darkened minds, darkened eyes, unable to respond, dead in sin, we have no ability to conjure up any kind of faith or belief.

So how is it then if we can't do that, that we are going to be made acceptable to God? It's only on the basis of faith which

Ephesians chapter 2 says is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. So can you and I even boast in our faith that I had faith and this guy didn't?

So this guy's perishing and I get eternal blessing? This guy will perish in the eschatological judgments and I get the eschatological blessings?

What makes me to differ from him? Oh, nothing but my faith. I can't boast in that because that's a gift from God because dead men can't believe.

God must breathe new life into the sinner so that the sinner can believe the gospel, open his eyes so that he can see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ and cause him to see

Christ as precious so that he will turn from his sin. That's God's work as well. Repentance is a gift.

God turns us from our sin, breathes new life into us and gives us the faith by which we are made acceptable to him.

So it is all from God first to last. Now you'll notice that this idea of receiving a promise, we talked about this a couple of times in Hebrews chapter 11 that there are ways in which we receive promises and there are ways in which we do not receive promises.

Remember, if you look up at verse 13, all these, that is Abraham and the patriarchs died in faith without receiving the promises.

And then if you look at verse 33, it says by faith they obtained promises. And now here in verse 39, they did not receive what was promised.

So they didn't get it, but they got it, but they didn't get it. So what are we talking about with those three statements?

The author is not contradicting himself. He's not forgetting what it is that he wrote earlier in the chapter.

It all depends on what promises we're talking about because there are promises and then there's the promise.

So some of the patriarchs received things in their own lifetime that they were promised. And some of them were promised things that have even to this moment not yet been fulfilled.

So we're promised a better resurrection. Have we received that yet? We have not received that, but we most certainly will receive that.

But by faith now we wait for the better resurrection, which is a promise that is yet to come. So there are promises that we receive by faith in the here and now, in this life now.

And then there are promises that we do not receive until we die. And even a long time, possibly after we die, that we receive those promises.

What is the promise to Abraham that he did not receive? The land. But what was the promise to Abraham that he did receive?

A son. So some were promised things that they'd never received in their life. Others were promised things that they did receive in their life, but all of them were given a promise, the promise.

And I think that it's that promise that the author has in mind here in verse 40. Let's look now at verse 40.

The Old Testament saints will enjoy the fullness of this promise's fulfillment. Verse 40, because God had provided something better for us, the because there indicates that he is describing here a purpose.

There is a reason why those Old Testament saints did not receive what was promised in their life. It is because God had provided something better for us so that apart from us, they would not be made perfect.

Now I said there is promises in the Old Testament and there are promises in the New Testament. Then there is the promise.

What is the promise that they did not receive? There's one singular promise that all the

Old Testament saints looked forward to and anticipated that they did not receive in their lifetime. The reason being is because God wanted them and us to be made perfect together at the same time.

And for that reason, so that they would not reach the goal before we get to the goal, God delayed and they did not receive the promise.

Whatever it is that is promised, let me tell you what it is here in just a moment, it's described here as the better. God had provided something better for us.

What is the better in the book of Hebrews? I give you a hint, he's a better priest who occupies a better priesthood, who's offered a better sacrifice and shed a better blood so that he might initiate a better covenant and then give to us a better intercession so that he might grant to us better promises.

There's one individual who is the better thing all the way through the book of Hebrews and that he by his ministry and by his sacrifice brings to his people that which is the better.

So God did not give them the fulfillment of the promises in their lifetime because he had something better for us and that better is the

Lord Jesus Christ. He is the promise that all the Old Testament looked forward to and anticipated. So in Genesis chapter three, he is the one, the seed of the woman who would come and crush the serpent's head.

In Genesis chapter 15, he's the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations would be blessed. He is the prophet like Moses in the book of Deuteronomy.

He is the servant promised to Isaiah who would come and do everything that Israel failed to do and fulfill all of the will of the father.

He is the rock who would give living water to his people, the bread of life who would fulfill the picture of the heavenly manna. He's the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the seed of the woman, the virgin's offspring, the branch, the true vine, the good shepherd, all of those

Old Testament images, all of those Old Testament pictures. He's the king who would rule the nations of whom

David was just a glimpse and he is the resurrection and the life who gives to us the better resurrection.

It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is all the Old Testament shadows pointed to him.

All the Old Testament hope are realized in him. All the promises are fulfilled in him. He is the thing that is better.

So why is it that they did not receive everything that was promised in their lifetime? Because God has a much longer perspective on fulfilling his promises than we do and he delayed in giving them everything so that the

Messiah would come and now we have received the benefit and the blessing of that revelation in him and because God has delayed the fulfillment of his promises, guess what?

All of us who are sitting here who were in Jesus Christ have now been brought into the salvific blessings in Jesus Christ and thus we will experience all of the eschatological blessings that were promised to Abraham in his seed as well.

All because of what Christ has done. Verse 40, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

That idea of perfection is not moral perfection, it's not ultimate sanctification. That idea of perfect or that word translated perfect has to do with bringing something to an end, to a completion, to its appointed purpose or goal.

It's the telios, it's the end result. So what is the goal or the end of faith?

The goal or the end of faith is to stand on the other side of this life and in this world and then to look back and to say with utter confidence everything that God has promised to me and to his people he has fulfilled all of it exactly as he said he would fulfill it.

That's the end result. And we are not brought to completion, they are not brought to completion, we are still not brought to completion even now.

We have not been made perfect, they have not been made perfect, none of his people has reached the goal or the end of their faith.

That is all still yet to come. So that we can see and attain to a better resurrection and stand in our flesh and see

God and look upon him with our eyes and worship him in a new creation. That is the end result of our faith, that's the goal.

That's the telios, that's the completion, that's the perfection. And we have not reached that, they have not reached that, there is still the unfolding of all of God's redemptive purposes and plans until we reach that ultimate state of glory but that is where everything is headed.

So that we will be able to say with David, 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 and in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

That is the grand objective of our faith. To get to the end and to look back and to say that, now

I experience and fully realize everything that God has for me. So why did they not see the fulfillment of that promise in their day?

Why did they not see the heavenly kingdom in their day? Why is it still not perfect or complete or full for them?

So that, verse 40 says, so that apart from us, they would not be made perfect. This is the same idea that Peter expresses in second

Peter chapter three, verse nine when he says, the Lord does not slack concerning his promise. He is patient toward all his people, not willing that any whom he has given to the son would perish but that all would come to repentance.

So as much as we long for the day of judgment, as much as we long for the return of Christ, as much as we might pray toward and anticipate and prepare ourselves for and hope for the ultimate coming of Christ and seeing him face to face and being there with him, as much as we might at times pray that God would wrap up this entire mess down here and accomplish his eschatological purposes and bring everything to completion and everything to pass, every day that the

Lord Jesus Christ does not do that and return is a reminder to us that he is still gathering in his people each and every day.

You know why the Lord has not returned right now? Because right now he still has people whom the

Father has given to him that he is bringing to himself. And once all of his elect have been gathered in, then it's over.

But not before that. What's the purpose of that? So that we would not be made perfect apart from them, those ones who still have to come to the

Savior. And he delayed for our sake so that those Old Testament saints would not be made perfect apart from us.

So aren't you glad if you're in Jesus Christ that he didn't bring in everything before you were born or you had a chance to enjoy this?

Aren't you glad that the coming of Christ was not the day before he brought you to faith in him? So his entire purpose in the delay and in the waiting of the fulfillment of his promises, he's not slack.

He hasn't forgot them. Every promise will be fulfilled in his perfect timing. But in the meantime, he is ensuring that none will perish of those whom the

Father has given to him. None will be lost. None will be forgotten. And none will fall away.

And none will miss the kingdom. So all of the delay is intended for that purpose. So while we wait and while we pray and while we prepare, we do so knowing that every day is a day of grace.

And if you're here today or you're hearing my voice on the live stream and you have not repented of your sin and trusted

Christ for salvation, you have grace right now at this moment. You have opportunity right now at this moment.

And listen, the Old Testament saints, they had a little bit of light. We have a degree of light and revelation that they could never have imagined.

I think it was Calvin who said, the Old Testament saints were led to heaven. They came to heaven by just a little glimmering light. You and I stand in the full revelation of God and his redemptive purposes in the person of Jesus Christ, like standing under the noonday sun on a cloudless day.

We have all of that light. We have all of that revelation. So as the author of Hebrews says in chapter two, how will you escape if you neglect so great a salvation?

Which the Lord himself has made known to us through his apostles, through his prophets and in his word.

And if those Old Testament saints in Hebrews chapter 11 were brought to heaven on just a little bit of light, how much greater will be your accountability on the day of judgment if you neglect the light that you have been given.

So while we wait, we wait and pray, knowing that the delay is purposeful. It is to bring in his chosen ones.

The end is certain. And so by faith, we endure, we hope, we trust and we persevere. Let's pray.

Our Father, we do thank you for the blessed hope that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that even while we wait now as sin reigns in this world, that you are accomplishing your purposes and you are bringing your people to repentance and faith.

You are drawing near to you all of those whom you have chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. And what a gracious joy that is to be included in your salvific plans and to know that you did not accomplish that perfection before we were brought in.

So we do pray that you would accomplish your purposes for those who yet remain to be brought into this fold, that you would call them to the

Son. We long for that day when we will see him and he will appear and we will be made just like him. So we pray that in the meantime that you would give to us a persevering and enduring faith that will look to you and trust you in all of the difficulties of life, in all the trials and the reproaches that this world might heap upon us, that we would be faithful and that we would endure like Jesus Christ has so that we may give testimony and bear witness to your goodness just as you have given testimony to the legitimacy of our faith by its persevering nature.

Be glorified and honored in this we pray in Christ's name, amen. As we observe the

Lord's Supper, we are in many ways, much like the Old Testament, saints said that we are still waiting. They waited for something that was yet to come, that is the coming of the

Messiah. And now that the Messiah has come, we find ourselves waiting for him again, his return. And our communion always looks back to what

Christ has done for those who are his in offering his life and his body and his blood to atone for our sins and we partake of communion looking forward to the time when he comes again.

We always say this, we observe the Lord's death until he comes. So our observance of communion is in anticipation that someday we will eat and drink with him in the kingdom and we will no longer be observing a communion service then.

This will be wrapped up because then we will see him face to face, we will eat in perfect fellowship and our meals together, our observance of the

Lord's table is simply a reminder, a token, a symbol and a tactile one of the fellowship and the joy and the delight and the blessing that it will be to stand in his presence to eat and drink with him at his table someday.

So we do this until he comes. It's always my hope that this is the very last communion that we ever have to have together.

Not that we have to have it like it's a bad thing, but it's the very last communion that we get to have together. How's that?

That's better. My hope is that this is the very last communion that we get to serve together because then that means that before next month at this time, we'll see him face to face.

So before we partake of the Lord's supper, I would want to warn those of you who are not believers here today, if you're visiting us for the first time, you've never repented of your sin and trusted

Christ for salvation, let the cup and the plate pass from before you. This is not for you. This is for those who are in Christ, whose salvation has been purchased by his death and by the shedding of his blood on their behalf.

Your number one aim, your number one priority is not to partake of a communion service.

It is to repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ. Repent and believe in the death of Christ so that you may have eternal life.

I call upon you to do that today. And if you want to talk to somebody about that, talk to myself or one of the other elders after the service, we'd be happy to talk about the state of your soul.

For those of you who are believers in Christ, if you are living in unrepentant sin, you're not turning from it, then communion is not for you.

You would be well served to let the trace pass before you as well. I would encourage you to repent of that sin and confess it to the

Lord, which is what our time of confession is intended to be for. So will the ushers please come forward at this time and then we will pray together.

All right, let's bow our heads. Our Lord, we sorrow over our sin.

We hate the sin that remains in us and with us. We long for that day when we will be in your presence and we will sin no more in thought, in word, in deed, in motive, when every intention of our hearts is pure and righteous and holy and reflects perfectly your nature and your character.

When every action that we do, every motive of our heart, every word that we speak is pure and holy and to your praise and honor, that's what we long for.

While we are here, we are in these bodies of death and sin and we are reminded again of just how much iniquity is heaped upon us each and every day by our sin and our neglect, sins that we commit, sins that we're not even aware that we commit and yet you know them all and we thank you that you have provided a sacrifice in your son that atones perfectly for all the sins that we have done, past, present, and future.

We thank you for the sacrifice of Christ, which also is sufficient to impute to us his righteousness so that we are not just forgiven of our sin, but we are actually righteous in your sight.

What a mercy that is and we thank you for it. We pray that you would remind us now of that sacrifice and that our time spent here reflecting upon that and what

Christ has done would strengthen us and feed us and encourage us and lift our minds and our hearts and our meditation to your throne, to your goodness, as we reflect upon your nature.

We pray that you would be honored through this time and glorified, we pray in Christ's name. I just realized that he did this backwards.

So how's the second one go? Fortunately, there's nothing in the order itself.

So in like manner, after he took the bread, he took the cup and said, this is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. On the night in which he was betrayed, our

Lord took the bread and when he had broke it, he said, take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

Let's pray. All our father, we thank you for this morning that we have had the privilege to gather together as the body of Christ here to sing the glories of Christ and his redemption, to hear the word exposited to us and to be reminded of the reality that it is by faith and faith alone that we are saved and it is of the grace of God that we have such faith.

And our father, you through your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, have accomplished that redemption in us and that he has left to us this ordinance of the church, this means of grace by which when we partake together, we are reminded over and over again like the saints of old that we are waiting for that promise, the day when we will see

Christ face to face. Our father, as we go forth into this week now, may the things we have heard and said and done in this place be a strong tower for our faith.

We ask it in Christ's name, amen. Please stand and let's sing the power of the cross.

Sinful men torn and beaten, then nailed to a cross of wood.

This the power of the cross.

Christ became sin for us, took the blame for the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain written on your face, bearing the awesome weight of sin.

Every bitter thought, every evil deed, crowning your bloodstained brow.

This the power of the cross.

Christ became sin for us, took the blame for the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.

Now the daylight flees, now the ground beneath quakes as his maker bows his head.

Curtain torn in two, dead or raised to life, finish the victory cry.

This the power of the cross. Christ became sin for us, took the blame for the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see my name written in the woods, for through your suffering,

I am free. Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live, walk through your selfless love.

This the power of the cross.

Son of God, slain for us, what a love, what a cost, we stand forgiven at the cross.

This the power of the cross.

Son of God, slain for us, what a love, what a cost, we stand forgiven at the cross.

Amen. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy.

To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, might, and authority before all time, now and forever.

Amen. You are dismissed. Let your gracious love on us and chose us to be saved.

This fleeting life is passing by with all its joys and pain.

But we believe to live is Christ and death is gain.

To live is Christ To live is Christ to die is gain.

In every age this truth remains.

We will not fear we're unashamed.