Living by Faith

Opening

Who's there? We have seats available today because of the wedding. As we prepare to come before our Lord, I think one of the famous verses in the Bible is Hebrews 4:16. Let us believers come with confidence before the throne of grace. Why should we come before the throne of grace? So that we might find grace and mercy in time of need.

We often narrow that verse down to prayer, and certainly it includes prayer. But really in Hebrews, it refers to all worship. It refers to coming before God in worship. And that's why we would come this morning—because God is the fountain of grace, and sinners are desperate. So we meet each and every Lord's day so that God might fill our cups again with grace because we are so needy.

Opening Prayer

Our heavenly Father, we praise you this morning that you are the source and dispenser of the favor of the Creator upon His dear children. We come this morning acknowledging that there is one true God, Yahweh, and your Son, Jesus the Christ. When we come in worship for your majesty, we come seeking your grace. I pray that you would be glorified as we worship you this morning. And Lord, I pray that your grace would meet our needs. We thank you in Jesus' blessed name. Amen.

Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:10-17

I will come to reading this morning. Please turn there and follow along. Exodus 34, verses 10 to 17. This is the word of God.

Then God said, "Behold, I'm going to make a covenant before all your people. I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations. And all the people among whom you will see will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I'm going to perform with you. Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day. Behold, I'm going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanites, the Hittite, Perizzite, the Ahiwite, and the Jebusite. Watch yourself. You make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.

But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim. For you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God. Otherwise, you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat his sacrifice. And you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. You shall not make for yourself any molten gods."

This is the word of God. Please be seated.

Worship and Prayer

We have sung this morning: "You are the one who is seated on the throne, exalted and worthy of our worship." The words of Isaiah: "You are the everlasting God. You are the Lord. You are the Creator of heaven and earth. You do not become tired, nor become weary. Your understanding is inscrutable. Yet you give strength to those who are tired or weary. We may fall as a result of our own strength and youth, but it is written that those who wait on the Lord, those who approach Him, those who spend time in Your presence are encouraged and strengthened. They do not get tired."

Father, what a refreshing truth it is as we bow before You in worship, approaching Your throne with confidence at the time of need to find grace, to find comfort, to exalt the Most High God, to be refreshed, to be strengthened here in Your presence as we gather corporately as a body to worship You this Sunday morning.

Father, we also thank You that You put in place this arrangement that we can gather every Lord's day to be refreshed and renewed and strengthened, and that Your graceful supply to us as a corporate body, as a local church, is what You're also supplying to us individually through the Spirit. This is an occasion to celebrate Your greatness, to bow down before You and worship, to thank You for the provisions that You've given us, for the spiritual resources You've given us, and to commit ourselves to being more faithful to You by Your grace, O Lord.

We see in the passage we read in the book of Exodus that You desire Your people to be separate, fully not engaging in any covenant relationship with anybody that does not worship You. That was true then to the Israelites. We know that is true even now, for You are a jealous God, and You do not lie. When Your people engage in idolatry, worship, or entanglements or snares as we read, Father, we desire to be separate unto You.

However, we approached the water. You don't always see the snare. You don't avoid the snare. We pray that You will forgive us and be gracious to us. We pray that the Word of God, which is taught from here, the Word of God that is available to us in our individual lives, will be to us a warning—that we know that Your servants are warned when they come to Your Word. We pray that our eyes will be enlightened to take the warnings from Your Word, so that we will walk carefully in accordance with the desires You have expressed in the passage we read. We believe those desires are the same, because our God does not change. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

We ask for Your strength so that we will see that dedication, faithful allegiance, and loyalty among all of us who have entered into this covenant relationship with You. We pray that You will find faithfulness in us and obedience, O Lord.

We thank You for the many things You're doing in our church—for the grace, for the blessings, spiritual blessings, instructions from Your Word, sanctification that is taking place. We pray for those who are regularly attending our worship services or our meetings and do not know You as Lord and Savior. We pray for their salvation. We pray that You will open their eyes so that they will come to know their sinful condition and their need for a Savior. And when they become aware of that need, that they will quickly turn to You and escape the wrath that is waiting all those who rebel against You.

We pray for the Penitents, Lord. In the fall months, they are teaching the foundational truths about the gospel in their church. I pray that You will be with them, that You will bless that teaching so that their church will grow and produce fruit.

Be with us in the rest of the service. Receive our singing, our worship, our prayer, our speaking of attention to You. And when Your Word is taught, may we all listen attentively as from the throne of God. Please receive the offering that we are about to give You. May all of this bring You great pleasure. Be exalted and worshiped in our midst. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Testimony

We have the privilege again this morning to hear a testimony of God's saving grace. Maria Corona, please come and share what Christ has done in your life.

Good morning, dear brothers and sisters. My name is Maria Corona. Before I share my testimony, I just want to confess that although I've never felt completely comfortable with public speaking, I feel called to share my story with you out of obedience to the Lord. As Acts 5:32 states, "We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." So today, I will lean on the Lord to support me and help me through my reading as I face my fear and remind myself of what Isaiah 41:10 says, which is: "Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Here is my testimony that I have humbly prepared to share with you.

I was blessed with having two earthly fathers who ultimately paved the way in my journey towards seeking my heavenly Father. From early on, I was separated from my biological father at birth, and shortly after I was adopted by a loving father who raised me as his own. He was a simple, kind, gentle, and sincere man who showed me humility, which is a quality that I've learned to love and admire and strive towards.

When he passed away in 2016, I was faced with deep guilt and regret. I wished I had been more present for him towards the end of his life. Yet I struggled with unresolved hurt from a time when I felt unsupported by him. Over time, I grieved the closeness that I lacked with my dad. I grieved over the missed opportunities to express just how much I truly loved him.

Deep down, I was aware that he did the best he could with the limited set of tools he possessed, for raising a teenage girl all on his own after my mother died when I was twelve.

For years, my grief led me to search for peace through various means, including counseling, journaling, yoga retreats, and failed attempts to contact my dad through psychic mediums. None of these pursuits reconciled my grief nor gave me lasting peace.

In my search to find answers that make sense out of things, I turned toward my Bible and began reading it, beginning with the Old Testament. The more I read Scripture, the more my curiosity and my yearning to learn more about God grew. I realized that my deepest need wasn't just emotional healing for the grief I carried, but a need for spiritual reconciliation with my heavenly Father.

Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."

During my online quest to find a Scripture-based church, I found West Hills Baptist Church. Soon after attending my first church service, I met with Pastor Dan and his wife Shirley on a weekly basis in a small group to learn more about God's Word. As Pastor would read through Scripture with us, I learned that God is a perfect, steadfast, faithful, and just Father. I came to understand that salvation was a gift given to us through Jesus' sacrifice and not something that could be earned by my good deeds.

Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

This stirred a desire in me to seek repentance for my sins. And I repented of my sins and placed my trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:9 says, "Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

In Him, I have found a greater peace and security that I've always longed for. I know that I am forgiven not because of anything that I've done, but I'm forgiven because of His love, mercy, and the sacrifice Jesus made when He took on my sins at the cross.

Since I've sought Him faithfully as His child, I have found contentment that has brought about changes in my life. I find I'm less focused on trying to control my environment or overthink and over-plan for everyday events, and instead, I try to keep myself open for God's purpose involved in all I do. I place my trust in knowing that God is working with His will and His purpose through me as He carries out His plans.

Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

I've learned to pray each day for God's guidance and discernment to recognize what is forming from my work as a Christian and what is not. And I ask Him to help guide me to walk more closely in the footsteps of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I no longer feel as though I'm going through the emotions of everyday life, especially at my workplace. But I now walk through life with a greater sense of purpose, focus, and integrity. And when I feel as though my work is becoming taxing or burdensome, I'm reminded to see it as the opportunity that it is to serve others as God would want.

Galatians 5:25 says, "Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives."

And 1 Peter 4:10 says, "God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another."

Maria has met with the membership committee. They have recommended her for membership. I make a motion that we accept her at West Hills Baptist Church. All those in favor, raise your right hand. Praise the Lord.

Hymn and Scripture

"Fear not, be not dismayed. For I am your God. I will still give you aid to help you and cause you to ascend. A, the desert to his fall, the soul through all hell. I will never, never no, never forsake. Be so sweet and to trust in Jesus. Just to take in on His Word. Just to rest upon His promise."

"Do not thus say the Lord. Give us gifts of faith to trust in and seeds of all four graces to trust Him more. All the circle. Give, please, lots, just in the same. We will learn to trust, trust Him more."

Hebrews 11:6 says: "And without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he who comes to God must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

This music is called "Nothing is Green," and that would be the theme of our presentation this morning.

A little over a month ago, God gave me the opportunity to preach on the first five verses of Hebrews 11. That was the first part of the same theme of living by faith that we are teaching today. Today we continue with our study.

As God supplies grace and helps us, we're going to meditate on verse six and draw out three more qualities of what living by faith before our glorious God looks like. In that verse, there are three qualities that become apparent:

• The first one is that faith is necessary to please God.
• The second one in the middle is that faith trusts who God is.
• The final one is that faith diligently seeks God in expectation that God rewards those who seek Him.

I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of our heart so that we will know what is the hope of His calling and the pure faith that is required for His saints.

Would you please follow me in prayer as we seek God's help?

Dear heavenly Father, we come to hear Your voice from Your truth that has been kept for us in these pages. Lord, Your Word has the power and the ability to illuminate truth to our hearts. So we ask for Your care that both us, the speaker, and the listeners will be able to listen to God and that You will communicate to us truth, exaltation of God, and strength, as is appropriate as You see the need in each of our hearts. We thank You for hearing our prayer. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

As I said last time, Hebrews chapter 11 may be very familiar to a number of us. It is also referred to as the hall of faith because it has the names of a number of Old Testament saints—people who trusted God and through that faith received his approval.

There are a number of them mentioned here. Sixteen of them are mentioned by name, but there are many groups that are mentioned. There are individuals whose names are not mentioned. So there are more people than the 16 whose names are here. These are ordinary men and women, people with a nature just like ours, who faced many forms of pressure—debate promises, temptations, torture, persecution, mockery, imprisonment, various forms of pressure.

Yet when faced with all these pressures, as you read this chapter, they responded in faith that pleased God. To the extent that God has put their life in a sort of commentary as a certificate proving what they have done and what their faith is. God himself provides this certification of their faith and their faithfulness. This chapter gives us a very good and vibrant example we can study and follow.

We saw some last time I was here. In verse four, we looked at Abel's example of offering to God an acceptable and careful worship because of which he was commended by God. In verse five, we saw Enoch's example of an acceptable walk with God as a husband, as a father, for three hundred years. After his salvation, at about sixty years or so, he had a child, and then he went on walking with God till he was no more. God just took him.

Today we will see verse six. The writer of this chapter pauses from giving examples and emphasizes something that is a timeless principle: without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Our First Lesson: Without Faith, It Is Impossible to Please God

We will go to our first lesson in this chapter, which is in that first phrase there: without faith, it is impossible to please God. The lesson means faith is necessary to please God. We are going to spend most of our time this morning understanding this important truth. We will try to understand:

• The connection between faith and pleasing God
• What faith is he talking about?
• Is it possible to be a believer and not please God?
• How does pleasing God look like?

We will look at a few biblical examples. Now to put our theme, we would translate this as: impossible to please God without walking by faith. That is our first lesson. Faith is an unavoidable divine condition to win divine approval. Without faith, whatever act or moral or religious service that you do, even good works—if it is not done by faith, it does not mean God's approval.

Hebrews 11:6 says this absolutely. There is no alternative. There is no escape. There is no fine print saying, "Well, here is your other alternative." Which means for us, it becomes really important to understand what this faith means, what this walking by faith means.

In this chapter, the phrase "by faith" is used about 19 times in different places, applying to groups of people. And the same principle is used here: without faith, without walking by faith. We have to understand what that means. Then we can understand how God is pleased.

What Kind of Faith?

What kind of faith is the writer here talking about? Is it the faith that is given as a gift to a sinner at salvation? Or is it the faith of a believer who is saved by grace, and the faith that accompanies him as he grows and matures as Christ perfects—which is the title given to our Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews 12?

We do understand from context that this faith is not limited to the sinner's initial act of believing at the point of salvation. In this context, the faith here describes the continuing life of those whom God has made righteous—and their way of life after salvation: trust God and do not shrink back.

Look at Hebrews 10:38. That is where the conversation about faith begins. In verse 38, it says, "My righteous one shall live by faith. And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4, which is used in two other places in the epistles in the New Testament.

Notice that phrase: "my righteous one." You can also say it: "my just one, my righteous one"—someone who has been justified, somebody who has been made righteous by God, by the grace of God. We refer to such people as those who are saved, those who are born again, who have repented of their sins, have been delivered from eternal punishment, and who are part of God's family in God's church having received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Notice also one more thing. The Lord uses a very warm, endearing, confident word: "My righteous one"—someone who belongs to me, who is in my possession, my child, my delight, part of my family. This implies a believer must live by faith. Now if he does not live by faith—in other words, if he shrinks back—my soul, God's soul, has no pleasure in him. God is not pleased when my righteous one does not live by faith. That is the meaning here.

"By faith" means out of faith. When faith is the source or origin of that relation—of that righteousness that comes because of faith. Faith is viewed as the source from which righteousness is derived.

Faith Originates Through Salvation

Before continuing on the believers' faith, now that we have established that this is written about a believer, we must also understand—we must briefly spend a few minutes on how this faith originates in the life of a sinner. Let us turn to Romans chapter 3, because no one can live by faith without first being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

Why is that so? Because Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God." Without any exception, all have sinned. Everyone born is a sinner before God. That means they qualify for the wrath of God.

So how does righteousness then become a part of anyone, any sinner? Romans 3:24-25 give us this: "Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness because of the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed."

A few things have happened here. Christ Jesus was publicly displayed as the propitiation in his blood, and for those who believe, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ—for all those who believe. So for those who believe, verse 24 and 25 become a reality. What that means is for those who believe, verse 24, the redemption which is in Christ Jesus becomes the basis for God to make that person—that sinner—righteous.

So if you are sitting here and you have never repented of your sins, or you don't know what that means, or if you don't have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ: these words say that everyone has this problem. Everyone is a sinner. Like it happened to our sister Maria, who became aware of her sinfulness—those of us who are born again here became aware of that sinfulness. We were justified as a gift by his grace.

There is nothing that we can do, the Bible tells us, to earn this righteousness. No amount of good works or sacraments or penance or service will earn that righteousness. They all are attached to God if we present them as a way for salvation. Salvation is a gift so that no one can boast, as the book of Ephesians says.

So you are a sinner who has never been born again. Your only way to please God is not by doing anything. You cannot do anything. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ because of his death, burial, and resurrection that you can be justified if you believe. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as the Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. With your heart, a person believes resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth, he confesses resulting in salvation." That is the way you can be born again.

If you are sitting here and you are not saved, now we return to living faith.

Growing in Faith After Salvation

From those who are born again—and I believe there are a number of us sitting here—you are familiar with what I just described. You were a sinner. The first time God's righteousness was imputed to you was at salvation. Romans 3:22: "The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ." That is the definition of "by faith."

So the first time when you and I, as sinners, received this righteous accreditation or were justified was at the moment of salvation. God's righteousness was imputed, was credited, was given to you as an attribute, as a deed. And from that point till our death, till the Lord returns, whichever happens sooner, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:2 that the Lord Jesus Christ is involved in perfecting your faith.

God's plan is not that the faith you had at the moment of your salvation stops. He wants that to grow. In other words, more of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes evident in the life of a believer. That is the Lord's plan. And we will see that in our study this morning.

So faith becomes the channel through which the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ flows toward the believer. So when he says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God" to a believer, what he is really saying is: unless this righteousness is continuing to flow, it will not be able to please God.

We will see examples of people who did both—those who pleased God and those who did not please God. Going back and wrapping up Hebrews 10:38, when it says that the righteous one shall live by faith and should not shrink back, what the word of God is saying is that the expectation from God for a believer is that there must be no shrinking back.

So the question comes: is it even possible for a believer to be born again, be definitely, genuinely saved, and shrink back? Are there examples in the Bible? Now do not misunderstand me as saying shrinking back is losing salvation. No. That does not happen. A person once genuinely saved is saved. But the Bible does say in Romans 10:38 that my righteous one must not shrink back—must not stop growing, must not stop exhibiting the righteousness of God.

We will see that. So if that shrinking back takes place, God is not pleased. If the growing is taking place, God is pleased.

Two Examples: Negative and Positive

We will see two examples. One, a negative example, about people who are saved and who shrunk back. And another example of someone who continued to go forward.

In the first example, I want to bring up Israel in the wilderness, whose unbelief displeased God. And in the second example, the apostle Paul, the good example whose life demonstrated faith in the Son of God.

For the first example, would you please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. This is the negative example—a group of people, the Israelites in the wilderness, who were delivered and redeemed from bondage, from slavery, and who received a lot of spiritual resources, which you will see in a moment, and they did not please God.

Their account is so important to God that this negative example is actually repeated in multiple places in Scripture. You can read about them in Psalm 105 or 106. You can read about them in Hebrews chapter 3. You can read about them in the Old Testament. So there are multiple places where it is detailed as a historical narrative, but there are other places where God brings up the unfaithfulness of Israel as a lesson for us to learn. I will use all three passages to bring to your attention some truth, but we will focus on 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

At verses 1-2: "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea."

The picture is kind of clear. The cloud covered the people while the sea walls were off. You know that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea when Egyptians were in pursuit. The cloud is the pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night. They were in the presence of God, dwelling in the presence of God. So if they came out the front door of their tent and looked outside, right before them they would see this blazing fire rising a few hundred feet, and that is the presence of God. They were dwelling in the presence of God.

In the daytime, the cloud could protect them from the elements, and God provided them during that time food and water and many resources. It is not common for anybody to walk through that horrible wilderness and survive, much less the Israelites who lived there for forty years. That is what he is referencing there as the cloud: "Our fathers were all under the cloud."

Verse 2 says they were baptized into Moses. "Baptized into Moses" describes the Israelites' identification with Moses as their God-appointed leader. Paul uses similar language in Romans to describe the believers of the new covenant's identification with Christ. The similarity is very easy to notice. Of course, Paul maintains the distinction between Moses and Christ. Moses was a child of Christ, and they were delivered by Moses.

Look at 1 Corinthians 10:3-4. "And all ate the same spiritual food. And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ."

Now it's even more clear the similarity between what God was doing in their life in terms of redemption and what we can identify with the spiritual rock, Christ. Same food, same drink, same rock. In that case, God supernaturally provided them food and water for their walk. They had bread come down from heaven every morning, six days a week. They had water from the rock. That doesn't happen in our lives today. In the New Testament, God provides us spiritual food and spiritual drink. We read about that in the gospels, and the spiritual rock, Christ, was following them.

For fourteen years, roughly 100,000 men and women—so a rough estimate of 2,000,000 people—a group of people that God called his own possession, his inheritance. He says that in Psalm 106 in the narrative. God provided to them. They were delivered from bondage, and they were heading to the promised land. The journey shouldn't take forty years. The journey is much quicker—just a few days—and you could walk to the promised land. But because of their rebellion, they were stuck in the wilderness for forty years. We read that in Numbers.

Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased. 1 Corinthians 10:5 reads: "Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased." What was the consequence of that? They were laid low in the wilderness. In Hebrews 3, the same story reads like this: They had an evil, unbelieving heart. The opposite of walking by faith. The same story. It's written in three different places.

So because they had this evil, unbelieving heart, after receiving all the resources, God was not pleased with them. You remember that word? Pleasing God? It was there in Hebrews 11:6, where we started: "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." And these people did not please God.

It is strange to think: How can they have an unbelieving heart? Day or night, when you come out of your tent, you see the presence of God. You cannot avoid it because that was their visible evidence of God. Evidently, even with that, the human heart is so wicked that they had an unbelieving heart. It is easy for us to say, "Back then, you guys could have had it easy." But of course, we have God's word with us. We have God communicating to us through the Spirit. We could be in the same way if we are not careful and do not please God.

What Does an Unbelieving Heart Look Like?

Look at 1 Corinthians 10:6. We look at five things that they did. Maybe we can identify with some of these behaviors.

First, they craved evil things. "Now these things happened as examples so that we will not crave evil things as they craved." The unbelieving heart caused them to crave. There's one place where they wanted meat. There's another place where they said, "Oh, we miss the wheat, the garlic." That's really what they're praying for. They had garlic. They had all these vegetables we needed. They had fond memories of the time before, which was nothing but bondage and slavery. They wanted to look back and sit and say, "Oh, those good old days," talking about Egypt. They craved those things because they had seen them.

Second, they were idolaters. Verse 7 says, "Do not be idolaters. What were their idols? It's written that the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play." Those were their idols. Eating, drinking, and play became an idol, an obsession—an unpleasing obsession before God. In other words, that had taken such a priority that holiness and walking by faith had taken a backseat because they were so preoccupied with these things. They were idolaters.

Third, they acted immorally. Verse 8 says they acted immorally among themselves. They did not trust God.

Fourth, they tried the Lord. Verse 9 says, "Let us not try the Lord." They tested the Lord. They irritated people to no end with complaining, by saying, "Well, are you not providing this? Are you not providing that?" It says there that when they tried the Lord, they were destroyed by serpents.

Fifth, they grumbled. Verse 10 says, "Some of them grumbled." This is what an evil, unbelieving heart looks like: grumbling, trying the Lord, acting immorally, idolatry, preoccupation with eating, drinking, and play, and craving evil things. They were not displaying any growing righteousness. They were displaying these while living in the very presence of God.

So that's why it says in verse 5, "with most of them, God was not pleased." God was so displeased with them that of the roughly 2,000,000 people—600,000 men plus double the amount of women and children—only two entered the promised land. To the rest of them, God was not pleased.

Whenever living in God's presence, having drunk the same spiritual food, the same spiritual drink, having followed the rock which is Christ, so we have no confusion: Psalm 106:40 says, "The anger of the Lord was kindled against his people. They were his people, and he abhorred his inheritance." The ESV says he "detested" his own inheritance. These are not strangers. The Bible says they were his own inheritance.

Israel, this is a warning for us: do not use our spiritual privileges as permission for self-indulgence, which is what they did. They received God's deliverance and provision, yet they allowed craving, allowed idolatry, they allowed immorality and grumbling and trying and testing the Lord. Unbelief to the point that it became displeasing to God—an evil, unbelieving heart.

Galatians 5:13 says, "You were called to freedom, brothers; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh." That is the lesson as we read this narrative. It actually says that in 1 Corinthians 10:6: "These things happened as examples for us. These are being written here as warnings for us." You read Hebrews 3, you see the same thing: "Do not be unbelieving or evil like they were." Your Father's word says immediately, we did the same thing. In Psalm 106, they have become careless and reckless in their walk.

So we, as God's people on the way to the promised land, can do whatever we want. We can let our priorities be our priorities—self-satisfaction. As we just read, self-satisfaction became a priority. Pursuit of holiness was not a priority for the whole nation. What a tragedy.

We read in the scripture portion this morning: God said, "I will do miracles that I have never done anywhere else." So they had firsthand experience of the power of God in a way that no other nation had seen—in Egypt and even after they were delivered. Everything that was not enough. Except for two people, Joshua and Caleb. They were the only people of the original crowd that went into the promised land.

So Paul wants us here. In the previous chapter, 1 Corinthians 10, he says that because they continued like this, look at what happened. At the ending of verse 5, they were laid low in the wilderness. Ending of verse 8, 23,000 fell in one day. Ending of verse 10, some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.

In the previous chapter, Paul used the word "be careful in how you move up, because you will be disqualified." Again, let me be clear: disqualification is not losing salvation. Once a person is saved, they are saved. No question. But God could cause a few things. God could, just like in their case, bring a premature end to life because of continuous rebellion. God could give out a punishment in the present plan. God could cause you and me to lose opportunities to serve him or potentially even lose rewards in eternity, as is mentioned in scriptures in other places.

Walking by faith without belief, without prioritizing holiness in his ways, does not please God. It did not please God in their case. In some of their cases, their lives were cut short. In fact, in 99% of their cases, God made sure they did not enter or possess the promised land. So that they would worship him, so they would live with him—he would establish for himself a nation that would be loyal to him, showing his allegiance. That was the plan the Lord had for these people who were in the wilderness.

And to tell us: God didn't plan originally to keep them for forty years. But because they rebelled, God said, "Come back." And why did he say come back? Because he did not want this group of people to go to the promised land. He waited till they all died. To put it in simple words, it took forty years for them all to die, and two of them from the original lot made it. Of course, their children went into the promised land. God did not want to pollute that land with the unbelief that these people had.

Do we identify with any of these preoccupations with self that is written here? Craving, grumbling, trying the Lord, immorality, idolatry, eating, drinking, playing—are any of these eight habits that we identify with? Maybe not fully, but once in a while. A little bit here and there. Is there a place for these in our culture, in our bones, in our personal lives?

Craving happens in the mind, right? In our minds, we're just missing the good old days, thinking about Egypt and bondage. "Oh, life was so good then." God saw that, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people. So if you identify with any of these habits, even a tear, the warning is from God's word: Turn away. Repent. Repent. That's what he's saying here.

1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall." Or in other words, if you have all these qualities in your life, in your mind, in your home, in your family, in your culture, watch out. God is gracious. He has purchased you with a price. But walking by faith demands pleasing him, and his displeasure should not result in this outcome. Where faith is active, as in the case of many believers here, growing in righteousness must become evident to you, to God, to others.

A Good Example

Now let's turn to a good example. Galatians 2:20. If we look at verse 20, I assume many of you are aware of this verse. This is one of the preeminent great texts of scripture. This is what it says:

"I have been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself up for me."

Here's the good example that we want to embrace. We take a warning from the Israelites in the first part of 1 Corinthians 10. But we look at this example and say, "That is how I want to be." In the middle of the verse is the phrase, "I live by faith." Paul is saying, "I live by faith." But he has met certain conditions. How is he able to live by faith? In what ways is Paul's walk different from the walk of the Israelites about whom we read in 1 Corinthians 10?

Notice the phrase in the first part of the verse: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live." Pay attention to the phrase, "it is no longer I who live." Paul explains that two chapters later in Galatians 5:24, where he says, "Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

In the case of the Israelites in 1 Corinthians 10, we saw their passions and desires—craving, idolatry, immorality, complaining, grumbling. They didn't bother to subdue them or put them to death or take them to the Lord. They just said, "Well, we are heading to the promised land. This is just part of who we are. Let's enjoy. Eat, drink, and rise up to play." That's what it says about them.

Paul's attitude is different. He's saying, "I've taken those desires, and I crucify them." To the point where I put my desires and passions to death. Galatians 5:24 says, "Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and sinful desires." So the flesh with its sinful desires no longer has the right to rule those who belong to Christ. That's what Paul is saying.

In other words, Paul is saying, "Just like I deny these desires, these sinful tendencies that I have—it is a definite past event that I've done it by the grace of God—we believers are also encouraged to deny them just like that."

Compared with the wilderness generation, Paul's life is in the opposite direction. Instead of giving in to cravings—because they're first mentioned in the first command—instead of giving in to idolatrous pleasure, instead of immorality, testing the Lord, and grumbling, he has increasingly denied those passions. And now he's saying, "I have put those things to death."

Isn't that what the Lord tells us in Luke 9:23? "Anyone who desires to come after me wishes to come after me must do three things. He must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." This is what that looks like.

So I have my pet passions, and I can justify them. It could be gambling, could be complaining, could be a whole new set which are my problems, very typical to me. The Lord says, "Deny them. Take up the cross." I go to the Lord and say, "Lord, just like you died on the cross for me, I want you to help me here to deal with this passion, this desire. I want to put an end to it." And I also take steps to make sure that those patterns don't recur.

God has given us wisdom, and the scripture tells us that we have a certain responsibility. The putting to death is my responsibility. Philippians 2 tells us, as Pastor Peter said, "Work your salvation with fear and trembling." There are some of my responsibilities that God gives us. I cannot allow myself to be ignorant to the steps or the choices that I'm taking to allow these passions to come in.

However helpless I still feel, I think of the Lord and pray, and God gives victory over them.

That I have been crucified with Christ, that I can walk like this? Well, look at verse... The next verse. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. He's saying righteousness has been given to me as a grace, and I... It continues. So you see the connection between living by faith and righteousness? He mentions that. And he has gained so much victory at this point in his life. He says, actually, I live. I used to live there. I used to hang up, but I don't. That's why I still live there now. I mean, I knew man is written. I was a believer and over time, the things in my practice and habits have also become new, not just positionally. For them who are in Christ, all things have become new on the day of our salvation. But the things of practice, the sinful patterns of thinking that have their lingering filthiness—as James calls it in chapter one, verse twelve—continuing wickedness has been put to death. I live anymore. I used to be like that. I don't live it. It has been a partnership with the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't live anymore. So demons in me. And my focus now is to live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. And you can turn back to chapter 11 of Hebrews where we were. And verse six? This is what it means. Read that phrase: without faith, it is impossible to please God. We've seen what living by faith is. A believer who has been saved by grace, that the righteousness of Christ was given to us. We have seen what happens when somebody who has access to these resources, drinking from this same spiritual source, does not please God. And what God did to them. And that whole narrative in 1 Corinthians 10 is a lesson for us. You and I. We've also seen the joyful example of the apostle Paul, who lived by faith and pleased God. And the picture they list—I just saw him two years ago. Still alive. Because he says, I live in the flesh, and it's Christ who lives in me. So if faith is the necessary way to please God, which is the first thing we spent all of this time on, what was that faith? That is in the second, in the middle of this verse? That is the next part of Hebrews 11:6. It says there that the one who comes to God must believe that he is. So faith begins to... faith takes increasingly... faith takes God at his word. Trust his character. Trust his truth. His revealed will and his faithfulness to the world. That's what it... that phrase means. The one who comes to God must believe that he is. Now to believe that he is, not just an intellectual acknowledgment of existence. It means approaching him as the living God as he has revealed himself to be—the one who is holy, sovereign, powerful, who is just, who is loving, who is faithful. So our faith is based on this covenant relationship with this God whose nature is unchanging. So this person who is pleasing God not only acknowledges that God exists but also that God transcends my life. He is omnipresent. He is omniscient. And he submits to that authority. That's what this means: the one who comes to God must believe that he is.

As I read Hebrews 11, somewhere in verses 36 and 37, there are people whose names are not mentioned. There are... If you look at verse 36, they experienced mockings and scourgings and chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. As I was reading those verses, my mind came to think of the prophet Jeremiah. He was treated this way. So trusting God, not being treated kindly in life, is one thing. But trusting God when all around the environment is not conducive, when it's not easy to trust in God, that is another. And Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 9:24 that God reminds him that "I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth. Delight in these things." That's what this person said he's doing. Delighting in the things that delight God. The one who comes to God or believes that he is—Hebrews 11 shows us that believers will trust in God even when promises were not realized in their timeline. Their difficult circumstances did not cause them to grumble, to complain, or diminish their walk, their view of God, their high view of God. Look at two more things I want to point out about how consistent they were.

Verse 13—all these died in faith said he, crucified Hebrews 11:13. All these died in faith without receiving the promises. That's not a happy ending with happily ever after. No. They died without their promises being made. Look at verse 39, same Hebrews 11. All these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised. Lord promised them they did not receive what was promised. They were probably praying with expectation. They did not receive what they were praying for. That didn't change their faith. By faith, it says in verse 29, they gained approval through their faith even when friends do not answer. But God... He also said, but God. It just means believers. It's a timeline that none of us can relate to. I don't believe anyone cares. That old duration—when they couldn't... that amount of duration is when they trusted the Lord. That's what I mean in chapter 11. And their stories are written for our encouragement, saying, this is how you and I at West Hills ought to be.

Now they did so without having a complete picture of God. In 1 Peter 1, it says that prophets were pondering the words. Prophets were longing to look at what that Messiah would be like. They didn't know what they were writing. But here today, we have the complete counsel of God. So we actually have lesser excuses to not live well. We have more spiritual resources. We have more encouragement. We have the Holy Spirit residing in us. We have every spiritual blessing because of the gospel, if you are a believer. So, beloved, these things should assure us, should encourage us, and change our perspective on how we should live.

Now the last thing in that verse, and we will start winding down. The last thing: so there is, without faith, it is impossible to please God. In the middle, the one who comes to God must believe that he is. And the last thing there is that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Because God is living, he delights in loving kindness, justice, and righteousness. Trust is not just intellectual. Trust results in obedience. This confidence in God's character should move us into obeying him diligently. That's what he's saying here in the ending of this verse: he is a rewarder of those who seek him. What does it mean to seek God? Evidently, to seek God, there is a peace—so pursue fellowship with him, with his word. You and I have access to, at least in this country, through prayer, through worship, through obedience, through fellowship. Not as an occasional thing, but as the settled, continuous, repeating habit of life. Remember what I said from the expectation from the Lord Jesus Christ. If any man wants to desire to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. Back to Jeremiah, who had all of this opposition. You know how he sought the Lord? His family rejected him. It appears, if you read Jeremiah, that in all his ministry—you know, he spoke on behalf of God, spoke God's word—and God told him in chapter one, the last verse says, "Jeremiah, you'll be my prophet. They will fight you." He didn't say they will listen to you. You'll have a small congregation. What a discouraging promise. They will fight you. They will not help you. It is... It looks like there was one person, an Ethiopian, who probably believes—maybe they only convert in Jeremiah's ministry. In the middle of that, Jeremiah the prophet says in verse Jeremiah 15:16, "Your words were found and I ate them. And your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart." Jeremiah 15:16. So this... these words he found them and he devoured them. And said that became for me a source of joy. In the middle of these impossible circumstances, this is what became his pursuit. That's how Jeremiah was seeking God's word. Even in the midst of oppression, he had that desire for God's word.

The word rewarder here—besides God who faithfully responds to those who seek him—this is different from the gift of justification. Here, this is still God's grace and wisdom. But this is God accounting what has been done in the acts of obedience and walking by faith and recommensing that to people all those needs with rewards. That's what this is about. Why should God even reward any of his children? But that's his nature. That he rewards those who seek him. Some rewards are on this side of eternity, but great rewards await us on the other side of eternity, based on our conduct here for a few years. If you ever read Revelation 2 and 3, there are some of the mentions for those who overcome. The Lord says, I will give you access to the tree of life. I will give you authority to the nations. I will acknowledge you before my father. You will have a permanent place in God's temple. In one case, it says, you will have a place on my throne. I was wondering, who at West Hills will get some of these? Or maybe a number of us there with these rewards and more unthinkable rewards. Isn't that what he says? He has not even entered the mind of what God has prepared for those who love him. He is the rewarder of those who seek him. When God sees believers that seek him with confidence, he sees them living by faith, and that delights him. And he will faithfully reward obedience according to his wisdom and grace.

Living by Faith

So brothers and sisters, Hebrews 11:6 shows us what living by faith looks like. We recognize, firstly, that living by faith is necessary to please God. In the middle of the verse, we trust who God is and his character and who he has revealed himself to be. And then we diligently seek him with confidence, with expectation, because his nature is that he rewards those who seek him.

When God calls you and me to live by such faith, let's hold firm. Dear Father, we bow down before you. Thank you for this truth, that in this one verse we understand your heart's desire for us, Lord. We pray that you would help us to be people who would walk in faith and thus put to death the desires and the passions of the flesh that prevent us from progressing in our faith. Thank you for bringing these truths. Thank you for the encouragement. I pray that your word will produce fruit and that we will walk by faith that delights you. In Jesus' name, I pray.