Let us hear the word of God once again from the letter to the Hebrews, reading in chapter 11, the first 16 verses. As before I do, let me say what a privilege I always counted to be here with you in covenant I'm grateful to your pastor and elders for their always willingness to have me. I've enjoyed greatly over the years getting to know these men. I esteem them highly in the Lord. You're a blessed people and I hope in some measure you appreciate that. We can often just take for granted the ministry and the oversight that we have week by week, but We live in dark times and it should be a daily cause for thankfulness to the Lord that he has raised up among you faithful men who seek before God to minister his word to you and to shepherd you in the paths of righteousness. I'm very, very thankful to Peter and my other brothers for their kind welcome. I trust the church will continue to prosper. And I trust that in coming days you might know blessing beyond even your asking. Well, this evening we turn to the 11th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews. For those of you who were here this morning, and probably that means the majority of you, I'll simply say that This letter has been written out of an intense longing to see these Christian believers who are being tempted to return back to Judaism because of hostility and pressure and antagonism, that this letter is seeking to anchor these deeply exercised Christians in the grace and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of the letter he says, I appeal to you brothers, bear with my word of exhortation. As I mentioned this morning, it's difficult quite, I think, to capture in one word. It's a paracletic epistle. It's a letter of encouragement. It's a letter where the writer has come alongside these men and women, these boys and girls, and has sought to stand with them, as it were, and to minister to them, as one who is alongside them, the grace of God in Jesus Christ. For that was their great need. As the pressures of the world around them were seeking to overwhelm them, to turn them away from Jesus Christ and to bring them back into a life of shadow. The writer wants above anything else to say to them, behold your God, see how great He is, how could you think of turning back from such a God who has given you such a Savior. And so although I'll be thinking of the latter half of verse 16 in particular, let me read from the first verse of Hebrews 11. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken up, so that he should not see death. And he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith, it is impossible to please him, For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear, constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants, as many as the stars of heaven. and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland, If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. May God bless to our hearts and lives both the reading and the ministry of his word. We read in the latter half of verse 16, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city If you were asked the question tonight, what do you consider to be the greatest hindrance in your Christian life? I wonder how you would begin to answer that question. Maybe you're thinking, well Ian, there are a multitude of hindrances in my Christian life. But if you were to pinpoint one hindrance, what is it, do you think, that most holds you back? that most hinders your growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the greatest hindrance in your life as a Christian believer? John Owen, the great English Puritan, had no doubt at all as to what the greatest hindrance was, not only in his own life, but in the life of all of God's people. He wrote, our greatest hindrance in the Christian life is not our lack of effort, but our lack of acquaintedness with our privileges. Our greatest hindrance in the Christian life is not our lack of effort, but our lack of acquaintedness with our privileges. And if we were to look at the letter to the Hebrews and stand far enough back to survey the landscape of what the writer calls this brief word of exhortation and encouragement, I think we would see that that is precisely what he is seeking to convey to these deeply exercised, hard-pressed and persecuted Christian believers. He believes that the very best thing he can do for them is to remind them to reacquaint them with their privileges in Jesus Christ. One of the great incessant works of the devil is to dull or even blind the hearts and minds of God's people to their privileges in Jesus Christ. and we so often live below our privileges. And I think that the whole Bible, in a sense, is one glorious exposition of the vastness of the privileges that are ours by virtue of the grace of God in His Son, Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. And the Christian life is really an exploration of the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth of the vastness of the privileges that are our present possession in Jesus Christ. Outside of Jesus Christ, God has got nothing to give to us. And in giving us his Son, Jesus Christ, he has given us everything that he could give us. And I think one of the great necessities of the Christian life is day by day to remind ourselves of the vastness of the privileges that are our present possession. We live in a world that seeks to dull our minds and hearts and our sensibilities to the richness of our privileges. And too often we simply take for granted those privileges. And John Owen says that our great need is to be constantly reacquainted with our privileges. And this, I think, is very much to the fore in what the writer to the Hebrews is impressing on these hard-pressed Christian believers when he says to them, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Now this 11th chapter to the letter to the Hebrews is perhaps the best known of the various segments within this letter, but very often I think we miss the force of this 11th chapter. It's part of this great exposition that the writer is giving of Jesus Christ, whom he has introduced in the very opening verses of his letter as the one God's last and final word, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. He upholds by the word of his power the universe. He's made purification for sins, and now He is sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And from this point, he is saying in a multifaceted way, now let me show you this dimension of your great Savior. Now let me show you this dimension, and allow me to show you the multifacetedness of the grace and glory of your Savior. And this is not abstract theology. This is not someone who, in some ivory tower, is penning a theological epistle that the churches might thereby be blessed. Here is someone who understands that he's writing into the very fires, into the very cauldron of Christian experience. But he understands this, that nothing will more bless God's people, nothing will more nerve their faint endeavors, nothing will more galvanize their souls than fresh views of the grace and glory of their Savior. I remember as a young Christian reading a book on Christian doctrine. It was a very fine book, but there was one sentence in it that struck me then and has continued to strike me throughout the years. The writer said, when a young Christian realizes that doctrine matters for life, it is a seismic moment in their Christian walk. And I was gripped by that and I thought immediately how right that is. The great doctrines of the gospel are not brute chunks of fact that we are merely to rehearse and confess and teach and write books about. They are the manner of God to feed our souls and to fuel our lives. and this 11th chapter is part of that great panorama of Jesus Christ and the glory and the grace of God that the writer is seeking to set before these hard-pressed Christians. He's not simply reminding them of people like Abel and Enoch and Abraham and Moses and so on, as if to say to them, do you know your history and your heritage? Well, in measure he is saying that. But the great point of Hebrews 11 is not faith. The great point of Hebrews 11 is God. Faith always, if not grammatically, certainly theologically, faith always takes a direct object. The glory of faith, it's not its quality, but its object. It's not really Enoch and Abel and Moses and Abraham and the others that the writer is actually writing about. And if you think that, you've missed the whole point. He's saying, behold your God. Behold His faithfulness to His fallible, enfeebled servants. Behold His constancy. See how mercifully He dealt with them. See how graciously He upheld them. See how gently He bore with them. He wants these hard-pressed believers, not, not, to become taken up with faith, but to be taken up with God. Faith grows as it gives glory to God, as Paul puts it in Romans 4 verse 20. Faith is nourished as we glory in God. And so the writer wants these believers to grasp, if only a little, what God is to them and what God has prepared for them. There are two things in particular in these closing words of verse 16 that the writer wants these hard-pressed believers to grasp and to take to heart. The first is this, that God is not ashamed to be called their God. God is not ashamed to be called their God. Now he's speaking of those men and women who, in the midst of trials and troubles, continued trusting in their God. And the writer says, I want you to understand this, that God was not ashamed to be called their God. Now, many commentators, I think, tell us that actually what the writer is doing here is that he's using a figure of speech called Laetotes, meaning God is actually proud to be called their God. And that's possible, I think. But I actually think we are to read the passage as we read it, mainly in our English versions. It's not that God is proud to be called our God, but that He is not ashamed to be called our God. You see, the back cloth here is that these Christian believers were looked upon as the off-scouring of the world. The world considered them nobodies and non-entities, just like the world thinks of you and I. We are ciphers at best. were considered deluded. Who in their right mind would want to give up one day in seven to hear someone proclaiming truths from the Bible and singing praises to an invisible God? Who in their right mind would do that? These Christians are deceived, they're deluded. They might even be demented. People pity Christians today. And these ancient Christians were no different from us, and perhaps even more exceedingly so, they were considered the very refuse of the world. And the writer says, I want you to know, this world may think you're nobodies and non-entities, but the great God of heaven is not ashamed to be called your God. I think that's the great point that Paul is making in Romans 1.17, when he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I don't think he's saying, I'm proud of the gospel, though he was. I think he's saying to the Romans, I'm not ashamed of this gospel that the world considers nothing. I'm not ashamed of my bloodied, bruised and broken Redeemer. I'm not ashamed as the world is ashamed of a nail-pierced Messiah. I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. Paul is aligning himself up against the verdict that the world had placed on the Gospel. Who in their right mind could possibly believe that a nail-pierced, spit-dripping, bloodied man on a Roman cross was given by God for the salvation of the world? You would have to be out of your mind to think that. Wouldn't you want to avoid the very thought of it, of being aligned in any way with it? And Paul says, I'm not ashamed. of the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. Let the world damn it if it will. I'm not ashamed of it." And the same word is used in chapter 2, verse 11. In one, at least for me, is one of the most moving, the most magnificent, the most profound verses in the whole of the Bible. where the Lord Jesus Christ says that He is not ashamed to call us His brothers. I can never read those words without being deeply moved by them. He is not ashamed to call the likes of me His brother, a joint heir with Him of the glory of God. But who are we that He should call us brothers? We are, in one respect, nobodies and non-entities. At best, we're a footnote in history. And the Son of God says, I'm not ashamed to call you family. He brothered us in the Gospel. Here am I and the children God has given me." And the writer is saying, do you see, do you see what this world cannot see concerning you? That you are the very people of God. Chosen in times eternal, redeemed in time and space by the blood shedding and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. indwelt by the Spirit of God, God placing his name upon you in baptism. You bear the name of the sovereign Lord of the heavens and the earth. And when this world derides you and mocks you and vilifies you and considers you as the offscouring of the world, think on this. God is not ashamed to be called your God. The Son of God is not ashamed to call you His brothers. And do you see the force of that for these people as they contemplate the prospect of apostasy? We would be turning away from such a God as this. I wonder if we realize just how rich the doctrines of the gospel are in terms of practical daily living. I think you see it most magnificently actually in John 14 through 17. Jesus' disciples, remember how John 14 begins, Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled. Their hearts are being torn asunder. The prospect of Jesus leaving them is leaving them bewildered, confused. How does Jesus minister to these men in their confusion and bewilderment? What does He do actually? Well, again, if you stand far enough back and follow the panorama of John 14 through 17, in essence, Jesus is saying this, I know you're hurting. I know you're bewildered. I know you're troubled. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going for some time now to tell you about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I'm going to introduce you in the profoundest of ways to the Holy Trinity, who is your God by your union with me. The Holy Trinity, isn't that for the theological colleges of the world? Isn't that for the pastors to wrestle with? No it's not! No it's not! Nothing would do more good to our souls. Nothing would more enrich our daily walk with God. Nothing would more nerve our faint endeavors than to spend time meditating upon, pondering and marveling and glorying in the triunity of God. I was reading to my students this past week some words of Gregory Nazianzen, late 4th century Greek church father. You know the church fathers didn't get everything right, but my, they got something spectacularly right. And in one of his baptismal orations, baptismal oration 40, chapter 41, Gregory is instructing a young catechumen. He's preparing him for baptism. And Calvin quotes some of this baptismal oration in book one of the Institutes and said, it vastly delights me. And I remember reading Gregory thinking, what was it that vastly delighted John Calvin? Calvin wasn't known or noted for overstatement. And I thought, what was it that vastly delighted him? And he quotes these words of Gregory, when I think of the three I think of the one. But when I think of the one, I must think of the three. They are an undivided torch. And the more I think, tears well up within me. My mind is overwhelmed. I need to stop, turn aside, and worship. I remember reading the whole baptismal oration once. and thinking, when did I last, as I pondered who God is, when did I last bow down and worship? When was I last overwhelmed by the doctrine of the Trinity? You see, it's not recondite. God reveals Himself, not simply to inform us, but to transform us. He reveals Himself, not least so that as we in measure come to know Him, that when this world comes with all its seductions, and when Satan comes with all his well-laid plans and blandishments, we would stand with Joseph and say, how could I do such a thing and sin against such a God? and sin against such a God. And so the writer is saying, God is not ashamed to be called your God. But the second thing he says here, not only does he want them to know what God thinks of them, he wants them to know what God has prepared for them. God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. Why is God not ashamed to be called their God? Well, here is one reason for He has prepared for them a city. God has prepared a place for this people. He has beautified it. He's perfected it. He himself, we're told in verse 10, is its designer and builder. From beginning to end, he has been at the very heart of this city. This is the city that Abraham looked forward to. Abraham knew that God's promises did not terminate on a little piece of real estate in the near Middle East. He understood that he and those from him were to be the heirs of the cosmos, as Paul puts it in Romans 4. And the writer is saying, God has prepared for his people a city. And the Bible, as it proceeds, gives us hints here and hints there and larger pictures here and larger pictures there, although the half has not been told. We know it is a city with foundations. We know that God is its builder and maker. We know from the first letter of Peter that it's an inheritance, undefiled, that will never fade away. We know from Revelation 21, it is the very dwelling place of God, where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, where death will be no more, where sorrow will be no more. All the former things will have passed away, and there will be in that city that God has prepared for His people. There will be unending bliss. And the Lamb of God will be all the glory in Emmanuel's land. And the writer, I think, is saying, yes, I know life is hard for you. I know that this world is pressing hard against you and pulling you back into its thralldom. But look what God has prepared for those who go on. Look what God has Himself personally designed and built for those who don't turn back, but who go on. You see, not only has God prepared for His people a city, He has prepared a people for that city. Remember Jesus' words in John 14, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself that where I am, you may be also. This prepared place is for a prepared people. And there is one note of that preparedness that shines out in this 11th chapter. All of it, of course, is predicated upon the finished and continuing work of Jesus Christ for us. He has prepared us, fitted us, by his obedience and blood for that city. But one of the great notes, the great note that shines out in this 11th chapter is this, that a prepared people are a persevering people. One of the great marks and notes of being prepared by God for the city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. One of the great notes that we are a prepared people for that prepared place is that we are going on bruised, bloodied, maybe battered, maybe at times barely able to crawl but going on, refusing to turn aside, resisting the temptation to turn back, because we have become acquainted again with what God has prepared for His people, a prepared city for a prepared people. Some years ago, I'm telling my students this, so you can bear with me if I'm repeating myself. One of my dearest friends in the ministry, Eric Alexander, now in his mid-80s, one of the finest men I've ever met, probably the finest preacher, if you can use language, I've ever heard, told me when he was a young man, a friend took him to Westminster Chapel to hear Martin Lloyd-Jones preach. Eric didn't realise that after the doctor finished his ministry that the chapel in London would try twice to get him to be their pastor. But they went to hear the doctor and Lloyd-Jones was one of those gifts of God to the church in the 20th century. He had a ministry that was just remarkable. And they listened with great delight. And at the end of the service, Eric Alexander's friend who knew Dr. Lloyd-Jones said, let's wait and talk to the doctor. So they joined the queue of people who were waiting to speak with Dr. Lloyd-Jones. They were a queue of people. They wanted to thank him for his ministry. They wanted to ask him for prayer. They wanted advice. And slowly but surely, They proceeded up the queue and Eric said to me, he said, you know Ian, as we got nearer Dr Lloyd-Jones, I thought to myself, he's only saying one thing to these people. Go on. Go on. And I thought to myself, he said, is that all the great man has to say? These people have been queuing up. They've been thanking Him, and He says the same thing to every one of them. And then I realized, what better thing could He say? What better thing could He say? Go on. And the writer is saying that. He's saying, therefore go on. Later he will say, looking unto Jesus. Both the author and the perfecter of faith. And that's how we go on. Looking unto Jesus. Looking to the God who is not ashamed to be our God. Looking to the God who has provided for us, for us, a city that He Himself designed and built. A city where he himself is the very centerpiece, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our greatest hindrance in the Christian life is not our lack of effort, though God knows we need all the effort we can muster. Our greatest hindrance is our lack of acquaintedness with our privileges. If you know church history at all, it will have struck you, I'm sure, as you have read, that those men and women who have most made a mark for God in this world were men and women who gave themselves to knowing God better. And that's what Paul does in Ephesians 1 as he writes to a church that's in one of the great centers of the ancient Roman Empire. It was the very center of the worship of Diana, great as Diana or Artemis of the Ephesians. It was a center and a cult of idolatry. It was noted for licentiousness that would make the great cities of this world pale into insignificance. And Paul says, you know what, I'm praying for you above all. As he begins to pray for them in Ephesians 1, 15 through 20, I'm praying that you'll know God better. I'm sure he prayed that God would help them in their struggles, that God would provide employment, that God would grant them healing. But he says, you know what your great need is? Your great need is to know God better. It's the people who know their God who are strong and who do exploits. Daniel 11. That's my great lament. I know the Lord so poorly. Would that we knew Him better. Would that we were daily reacquainted with our privileges. Not least this, He's not ashamed to be called our God. It's a staggering thing. And that He's prepared for us a city. Something special. So go on. looking unto Jesus. That's the only way to go on. The author and finisher of faith, may God give us the grace in the midst of all the troubles and trials that this world will yet throw at us, may God grant us the grace to go on Maybe there will be times where you'll think, Lord, I can hardly move forward. But by your grace, according to your promise, and with the help of your spirit, I'll crawl until I can crawl no more. And you bring me from this world into the city that you have prepared for those who love you. May God accomplish it in all of our lives. Let us pray. Father, we thank you. We thank you that you are not ashamed to be called our God. When we look at our lives, Lord, it seems almost, indeed, Lord, it is impossible that it should be so, but with God all things are possible. And because you have united us to your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not ashamed to be called our God. Help us to live, Father, in the light and in the good of our blood-bought privileges. Help us to live our lives out of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we ask it in his name. Amen.