Ephesians chapter 4. He starts out, and you know, we're going to pray first, but he starts out, I therefore, and so we're going to have to back up a verse. Yep, exactly. And so we'll dig into all that, but Theron, why don't you open us in prayer tonight? I do want to thank you for the day that you've given to us, the nice weather. He was the service here tonight. Words that we need to hear in the years for us to. Amen. All right. So he says, you know, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. And I do want to break this down just a little bit, this first verse here. All these things that he went through at the end of chapter 3, you know, these things that he, you know, he bows his knee to the Father for, that, you know, Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, you're rooted and grounded in love. being able to comprehend all those things and that knowledge of Christ, which passeth understanding and all of that, or the love of Christ, rather. And all of these things come through, and then verse 21 says, And that is what we are called to. That's what we're called to. That's our new vocation. We talk about a vocation, and we would often think of it as being just a job. For the majority of John's life, his vocation has been an electrician or something in the electrical field of things. I did a vocational stint as a carpenter. I've done a vocational stint as a factory worker. I've done a vocational stint in the oil and gas industry. We think about those types of things. But this goes far beyond just a job. This is more than just what our job is. And again, I'm talking here to those who are born of God, who are the church. This isn't a blanket statement, again, of all that would be sitting here, because I know there's lost sitting here. But this is what God calls you to once you're born again. So this message is for the entirety of us here. But he says this, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. That vocation is actually the action of calling someone to a way of life. When something is a vocation, it's that action of calling somebody to a way of life. And he kind of settles that in saying that wherewith you're called, it's that word wherewith, it's speaking of, okay, this is the thing that is doing that action, right? You're being called by this vocation. And so that vocation is actually, it's more than just a job, it's more than just a duty that we have. It is the calling that God has called us with. And so that calling is to glorify Christ in the Church, and that we ought to walk worthy of that calling. That is a high and a holy calling. We're going to look at a little bit of that when we get a little bit later on in this. But that whole idea of having a calling from God. that God called you out of darkness into His marvelous light and all of that, that calling is now what we walk in. We walk according to that thing. That is now, it's more than just a title that we have, it's more than of Christian, it's more than just a religion that we have, it is a new life that we walk according to. and walking in Him, and walking with Him, and walking in the way of Him, and in His Word, and all of this, it's a completely different life. So it is going to look different than the life in Egypt, the life in the world that you used to live. It's going to look different. And honestly, the Christianity today that would say, you know, you can come as you are, and you'll leave the same way you came, and, you know, God will save you where you're at, and, you know, don't worry about all the rules and don't worry about all this and you don't need to change and going so far as to maybe not outright preach it but to say that the implication is that when somebody gets saved but they don't really ever change, that type of a mindset. It's contrary to scripture, it's contrary to the word Christian, it's contrary to this passage right here. that we are to walk worthy of that vocation, and it is a calling out to a way of life. This is a different way of life. We've been called to serve the living God. You who were once dead in your trespasses and sins, you who were once the enemy of God, have been called by God to serve Him. to love Him, to no longer blaspheme His name. And that is the reward. That is the great reward of salvation. Yeah, you get a home in heaven. Yeah, He gives you joy. Yeah, He gives you peace and all that. No, you get to serve the living God. And so that's, he starts chapter four right out with a banger. I mean, this is just, this is huge, that we walk worthy of that vocation. How are you walking? We'll shift it into preaching a little bit. How are you walking? You who claim to be saved, are you walking worthy of that vocation? Is your thought life worthy of that vocation, worthy of that calling? Is your speech worthy of that? How you deport yourself to others and how you are interacting with others in your day-to-day life. Is it worthy of that vocation? And these are the things that come out of this and these questions that come and it really I've heard it said before, you know, that God is in those questions. He's in the questions, in the interrogative type of preaching where it searches you and it's, you know, this is a challenge to you, an exhortation. Search yourself on the inward parts to see if these things are so. And then... There's also those questions of you see this and you see that thing of wherewith you're called. How are we called with a vocation? And then you start looking into this and what does it mean to be worthy of that vocation? God is drawing you into all truth. That's what he's doing. He's guiding you into that in those things. You know, Josh had some questions out of Hebrews chapter 1 this week, and we hashed some of that stuff out, and it was good. I was edified by it. I grew through those conversations. And I just love it. You know, John has sent me things like that in the past, Ms. Twyla, and different ones of you who have sent different questions and things, you know, things that you see in the Word of God. God is in those questions. Satan certainly doesn't want those things. He wants you to question the Word of God. not look into the Word of God in question. And there's a huge difference there. It's a big difference. Rather than saying, you know, Satan wants you to say, you know, yea hath God said. Is this really true? Is this really the Word of God? Surely that doesn't mean what it says there. Oh no, you don't question God's Word like that. You take the Word of God and you look into it. Why does it say that? Why is it worded that way? What are these things that it's saying? And he guides you into those things. And so we'll carry on, verse two. He says, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another within love. And I had a list, and I took it out of my Bible, I made a list of different, the men's class heard some of them, those of you who were in the men's class on Sunday, of the different ways that the word forbear is used in the King James Bible. It's the same word. And it carries the same basic connotation, but the denotation shifts from usage. There's times where it's God in His forbearance. It's Him withholding punishment from us. It lines up with longsuffering, but it's slightly different. And then there's other times where somebody would forbear to go someplace. And again, it's a withholding, but the difference is you're withholding yourself from going to that thing. And so you look at all those different things there. And when we're forbearing one another, we are long-suffering them. We are allowing an injury, we are allowing something that should offend us, and maybe rightfully so. Maybe you're justified in being offended in that thing. But you know what? Because you've been called to a vocation that is a higher vocation, it's a higher calling that you have, and you're to walk worthy of that thing, you're just going to forbear that. You're just going to suffer that thing. And then that's where the long-suffering comes into play, and it might take a long time before that person sees that they've slighted you. But you just give it to the Lord. Remember in Philippians 4.6, he says, in everything by prayer. And if we're doing everything by prayer, and in everything, that would include every offense that comes against you. If you were to take that to prayer, and just let the Lord sort that thing out, my goodness, our issues would be so small. They would no longer be issues. You take your issue to the Lord, he's gonna heal that plague, and he's gonna sort the whole thing out. You're gonna come out on the other end of that and say, wow, I could have never orchestrated that, not in a million years. John, you've got things like that in your life right now. You couldn't have orchestrated that stuff in a million years. I think of other things here at the church that have happened, and God worked the whole thing out, and I couldn't have arranged that stuff in a million years. You just give it to God. Just let him do his work. But walk worthy of that vocation. You've got a responsibility in that thing. And it carries on though, but with lowliness, I'm gonna drop back just a little bit. With all lowliness and meekness. Lowliness, it is that lowering of yourself, it is that abasing of yourself, not thinking too highly of yourself. And that, honestly, is where we always get into trouble. When we get puffed up, guess what direction you go? Up. I think of what you said there, that one fellow at work who was challenging you. I'm as big as I'm gonna get. It's a good place to be, honestly. But really, in all seriousness, lowliness and meekness. Meekness is understanding that there's a God in heaven who sees it all. And in Ecclesiastes, it says that we ought not to be astounded in all this when the evil things in the world and evildoers abound and all of this. And he says that you know that because there's a God in heaven that sees and and There there's those that are higher than than them and and that the highest sees it all Okay, and you don't got to worry about it All right that that one that has offended you that one that is has taken offense with you You do everything you can to reconcile that thing and then leave it up leave it up to God Leave it up to God. Let Him do the work. I think of some folks up in Black Creek. There was one young lady that had gotten offended there years and years and years and years ago. She said, I'll never step foot in that church again. I'll never go back there. Well, quite a few years down the road, her life was a mess and she was in a church. I heard somebody preach, and it sounded an awful lot like the pastor that she said she would never go listen to again, but it did something to her, and there was something to it. And she says, this sounds like Pastor Asquith. And come to find out, it was Ronnie Sculton. And he was from Black Creek. And the Lord used all that, brought her back to the house of God, and brought her back under the King James Bible, brought her back under preaching. And just a couple years later, she was born again. and now she's a mother, has a beautiful little daughter, and it's just a precious thing like that. God does that. That's God. You just let God take care of the details, okay? I'm preaching to myself as much as anybody else here tonight, okay? And so, but with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, okay? How do you forbear one another in love? You do it in charity. You do it in charity. You can say you love somebody, but when you forbear them and you just, you just suffer along with them and you just meek with them and, and you just, you're lowly with them. And uh, yeah, maybe it seems like they're getting the upper hand, but I'll tell you what, you don't need to win every argument. I've said that a few different times. You don't need to win every argument. God knows what's right. If God's on your side, if God can be on your side, I'll put it that way, if you are right in the situation and God is on your side in that, He'll take care of it. And if God can't be on your side because you are in the wrong, you're in the wrong. So just let God take care of those things. for bearing them in love. We'll go on to verse 3. It says this, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This goes back all the way to Leviticus. Now we're not going to turn there tonight, but Leviticus, when they're talking about that shelled bread and putting all those things together, and binding that cake together with the oil and all of that. It is that picture of that Holy Ghost, and it's that unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, and it's binding together. Just like the call above the liver, that membrane within that keeps all the innards, all of your intestines and all of your organs, It keeps them lubricated but it keeps them in place. That's that same picture of the Holy Ghost and he's in a church and he's working in people and he's keeping that lubrication. I used to joke when I worked in I could throw a finery and I even heard it said there at Shell when I worked there that 90% of the world's problems is because of high speed and poor lubrication. 90% of mechanical problems is because of high speed and poor lubrication. Engines break down because there's not enough lubrication and there's too much friction and friction causes heat and heat causes things to break down and metal weakens and things blow apart. I'll tell you what, it's the same thing in a church. There's no lubrication, there's going to be friction. If you're doing things according to your carnal mind, there's going to be friction, it's going to cause heat, it's going to cause stress, it's going to cause fractures, and it's going to cause splits. But if that bond of peace is there, if that unity of the Spirit, and if you're endeavoring for that thing, you're working towards that, and you're laboring in that, and that is your goal, is to keep that unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Tell you what, that Holy Ghost, He can make things run just like a Swiss clock. He can make those things run better than a German car. He can make them run like a Chevy. Amen. I just lost some of the folks tonight, but it'll be alright. But I got one man in the back corner that likes it. Amen. But at any rate, that's a little tongue-in-cheek there, but I'll tell you, you know, just walking in the Holy Ghost, praying in the Holy Ghost, letting the Holy Ghost lead you in these things, you know, walking so closely to God that you can hear that still small voice that you can... I'll tell you what, you know, I've had a couple of dogs. I've had three dogs in my lifetime. Four. One we had to give to someone else, and there's a long story behind that. nothing to do with this story so i'm going to keep going cutting some details out all right i'm working on that but Two of my dogs really learned me well. The one we have now, she has a wild side in her, and sometimes when she just wants to do what she wants to do, she's gonna do it, and you can't get her to stop. There was a runner that came out running down the road today, and she was out on the porch, and nothing I could say to her would make her stop running towards that runner. She's barking and everything, but he took it well and everything. I apologized, and he's like, oh no, you're fine, it's fine. She's never going to hurt them. She wants to go see them. She's so excited that there's people. But she's starting to get to the point where I can just point, and she knows what that means. I can just give that look. I think of Camry. You just, and she knows what that means. And we had Toots. Toots was the same way. Man, she was such a good dog as far as that went. She just knew. She just learned. And when we can learn our Lord so well, and we can learn our God so well, and we can walk with our God so well that he has us trained that he doesn't even have to say anything. He just has to give us that look. And we know what to do. We know what not to do. We know where we're supposed to go, where we're not supposed to go, what we're supposed to say, what we're not supposed to say. You feel that leading of the Holy Ghost. And I tell you what, it'll make that bond of peace exactly that. It'll be peace. Exactly. Right. And you know, there's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And there's a way that seems right to you, and there's a way that you think something should be done, and you were in just in this thing, and something happened to you, and your justice system was violated. I think of Jim Shetler, and I love that message he had on Mephibosheth, or not Mephibosheth, who was it? What is it? Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus, yes, thank you. Tremendous message on bitterness. If you ever get a chance, look up Jim Shatler and listen to that thing on Ahithophel. And what is it? Yeah, that was it, yep. Tremendous message. And I don't give a blank statement on the man, but that was a good, the Lord was in that for sure. And I just think of those things, that your justice system was violated and you're offended. Something didn't go the way you thought it should, and you're offended. It'd be better to give it to God. Don't get bitter over that thing. Go to the cross. Look what they did at the waters of Meribah. This was some of his message. God took him to a tree, and Moses took that tree and cast it in those bitter waters, and they were made sweet. And that's what you need to do. If there's bitterness, you just take it to that tree. Take it to that tree that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on. It'll give you a good perspective on your bitterness. How destructive it is, and it's not helping anybody. And again, this is something I've said before. I didn't originate the thing, but it's just that bitterness is that poison that you take yourself to hurt someone else. It doesn't hurt the other person. Most of the time, they don't even know you're bitter. They know there's something wrong, but they don't know what's going on. Some of us don't have a filter, and that's not a good thing. It's nothing to brag about, but you'll tell somebody why you're mad, so that they know. So they know that I'm bitter against them. They might lose some sleep over it, they might not. I guarantee it's destroying you. Just let that bitterness go. And those are things that you need to maintain. Just like you've got to be in your garden, you've always got to be pulling rocks out of that thing, you've always got to be pulling weeds out of that thing. I was talking with Kerry Miller last night and he was talking about crabgrass and how that root of that crabgrass will be three feet long. And sure enough, if you leave any little bit of it, the next day there's going to be another shoot of grass that's coming up out, it's gonna be coming back, and you're just gonna need to keep that thing maintained, okay? And I think that's part of that endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. And in verse four, it continues on, he says this, there is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. And so we're gonna break this down just a little bit here tonight, okay? That one body is that body of Christ, and it's that body that is seated at the right hand of the Father, okay? We're gonna look at a couple of verses in relation to that, but first I wanna go to 1 Corinthians 12. Looking at one body, one spirit. 1 Corinthians 12, look at verse 13. says this, 1 Corinthians 12, 13. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. Okay, so it is one body, but it's not just one member. It is many. And we are made by that one spirit. We're baptized by that one spirit into that one body. It's that body of Jesus Christ, and we're seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It's that body that Moses and the 70 elders and Aaron and his sons, they saw the body of heaven in his clearness. It's that body. The only difference is between the body that Moses saw and the body that's seated at the right hand of the Father right now, is that that body that's seated there now has five wounds. And those five wounds that he received on Calvary, they just settle it. They just settle it. And remembering the context, okay, the immediate context of what's going on right now, is that the Jews are having to reconcile that the Gentile world, those that they were always told were dogs, those that they were told to destroy, those that they were told to not intermarry with, those that they were told to be separate from, those that they were punished for intermingling with, and all of that, are now one with them in Christ. That's the immediate context of all of that. But what we do now, what we look at now, Jew and Greek, that doesn't really mean that much to us because we don't have that Jewish background. We don't have that mindset of those things. But you have your own prejudices. You certainly do. One of the things that's always a prejudice around here, and it's just the fact of the matter in northern Pennsylvania, in the wilds of Pennsylvania, is against flatlanders. John, they'd call you a flatlander. I don't know, it doesn't bother you at all. But that's one prejudice people have to overcome. Other prejudices are things like racial divisions or maybe class division. Maybe your job, maybe you don't work. You know, whatever it may be. Those things of those ones that you would consider the Samaritans of this world. Teenagers. I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but I've experienced it firsthand. I've seen it. Teenagers are the Samaria of the world today in the Christian church in America. The mindset is, well, what can we do with the teenagers to keep them busy during this time so that we can actually have real church? Don't be so foolish to think that that isn't the mindset in most churches today. That's why they're segregated out. That's why they're set aside during that service. I'm all for having a ministry right to those teens, but I'm telling you what, I'm not going to take them out of church. I'm not taking them out of the house of God for that. I think that's foolish. Having a teen service at the same time as a normal service, and then wonder why we can't integrate our teens into the church. That's just something that you keep in mind for these things. And teenagers understand that. They see that. They sense it. They know. They're a lot smarter than you think. Most of their brains have oozed out their ears by that time. They won't crawl back in until they're 25 or 26. But they're smart enough to know. when somebody looks at them with disdain. They don't act right. Yeah, I know. They don't talk right. Yeah, I know. Yeah, you were a teenager once too. And you were probably worse than they were. That's why you're so angry at them. So just keep those things in mind. Somebody comes in here, they don't look right, don't talk right, don't act right. Let's let them into the house of God. Let's make room for the maimed and the blind and the halt and the lame. Let God minister to them. At any rate, in that, it's one body. And so, as we're looking at this thing again here, there in 2 Corinthians 12, 13, for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body. And again, he's laying this out, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. And so, go now over to 1 Corinthians 6, just a couple pages back. Verse 17. Remember in Ephesians 4, he says, there is one body and one spirit. Okay. Here again, we see Paul laying this doctrine out. He says, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. So, as you consider this thing here, in Ephesians 2.6, and I'll turn to that, you don't have to, you can stay right there in 1 Corinthians, but Ephesians 2.6, it says, "...and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Alright, so we've been baptized into Christ. So what part of you is in Christ? Well, Paul tells us here in verse 17, "...he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." It's you in his spirit joined, your spirit joined with his spirit in his body. And it's his spirit joined with your spirit in your body. You are one spirit. And if you are one spirit with the Lord, and you are one spirit with the Lord, and you are one spirit with the Lord, and it's all one spirit, guess what? We are one spirit together. And then when we walk in unison and we walk in that bond of perfectness and we walk in that unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace and all of these things, our spirits are going to be united together and we'll actually be able to worship the Lord. And He'll actually be able to receive praise from us, united. And as we walk in this life and we get at odds with each other, it's because there's carnality involved. Ultimately, it's because there's pride involved. Because the Bible says, only by pride cometh contention. It's only by pride. Contention is there, it's because there's pride. If contention is in a situation, it's because there's pride somewhere, okay? And that'll destroy a church, it'll destroy a people, it'll destroy a home. But when God shows you that pride, and says this is the issue, guess what? It hurts. Your pride get hurt and all of a sudden you get offended, okay? Of course, the Bible does say, you know, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. So again, if you're offended, it's because you don't love the law of God in one spot, at least. There's something about the law of God that you do not love. And it's that law of love, and this law laid out here in Ephesians, more than likely it's one of the laws that you despise. endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. You despise that thing because you were offended and you didn't get your way, or you were offended because somebody said something, or you were offended because the preacher said something, or whatever it is. Don't get offended by those things. Take it to the Lord. Okay? If you have ought against your brother, go to him. Try to settle that out. If you can't reconcile it, give it to the Lord. I know there in Matthew 18, it goes through those things of church discipline and all of that. That's one avenue to take, but I'll tell you what, you just leave things to the Lord. You do what you can, leave the rest to the Lord. It'll be just like when God took the land and when he led them into the land, there were some battles that they had to fight. There were others that the Lord said, you just stand there and see the deliverance of the Lord. Okay. You'll see these things. You'll see these things transpire throughout your life, and it's just part of that walk. It's part of that vocation that you've been called to, okay? That you've been called by, even. And so, we'll go back over into Ephesians 4 now, though. Again, there is one body. It's the body of Christ, and we're seated in that body, in spirit. Spirit of Jesus Christ is in us. We're gonna see a little bit later, you know, there's the Father involved in all that as well. And it says, there's one body and one spirit, and it's the Spirit of God. It's a capital S Spirit, so it's speaking of deity here. But what you also see is it is ministering, okay? You do those cross-references and you can see what aspect of that spirit is doing the work. You dig into that. We'll keep going in this, but it says this, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. Now there's a hope to the calling that you've been called with. There's a hope to that thing. And that is the hope of the resurrection. That's the hope of the gospel. That's the hope of salvation. It's that hope. It's that coming hope. And it's not a hope so, it's not a, boy, I really hope this thing works out for us. No, it is a sure hope. It is what we look to in hope. It's what we know is gonna transpire. It's an absolute knowing that if you're in Christ, that you're gonna go in that resurrection. That is a sure hope. And so looking at this thing, go to Galatians chapter five now. I wanna, I got three or four verses here I wanna look at dealing with this. Looking at that one hope of our calling. Verse 5 in Galatians 5 says, for we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. You know, he's talking about dealing with circumcision and everything and keeping the works of the law and doing all of that. And he just kind of settles it out here. He says, we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness. That hope of righteousness, of walking in absolute perfection of righteousness. We wait for that. We don't wait for it by the keeping of the law. We don't wait for it by the doing of those commandments and, you know, the keeping of circumcision and the respect of unholy day and the keeping of the Sabbaths and the eats and the meats and the drink and all of those things like what it talks about in Colossians chapter two. You know, we don't wait for that hope in that. We wait for that hope by faith. And it's that same faith, and we're gonna talk about faith here in just a second, it's that same faith that we were saved with, it's the same faith we walk with, it's the same faith that we rest in hope with. That faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, that faith knowing that that resurrection is gonna happen. It is a knowing. That's what faith really is. I know Hebrews 11, one, you know, it's the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. And really that faith is more of, it's more of a definition of, you know, let's turn there for just one second. I just want to touch on that. Hebrews 11, look at verse one. Yes, sir. I don't believe so. I believe it is the Holy Ghost. It is one spirit, and so what it would be, it would be that one spirit of God, okay? But who would perform that action out of that one spirit? I believe it would be the Holy Ghost, because he is that spirit spoken of there in verse three, okay? All right, right now that's what I think. There is, oh yeah, you'll see it, where it reckons that spirit of the Father. You see that spirit of adoption, okay? A child doesn't adopt himself into a family, a father adopts a child, all right? So that spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father, I see that as the Father. Capital S, Spirit, yeah. Yeah, there's indication. Sometimes there'll be a particular word, sometimes it's the whole passage. It'll be that there are times where it is a capital S spirit, okay? But every place where it's a lowercase s spirit and it's speaking of deity, it's Jesus. And that plays out without fail in a pure Cambridge text. Yep. Okay. Hebrews 11. Let's see. Let's go back up to verse 35. We're gonna look at this hope that he's talking of here. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 35. It says, cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. For the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Okay, and again, you go over to Romans chapter five and verse nine, and it talks about much more than being justified by his death. We shall be saved from, how does that go? I'm gonna have to turn to it. I've got my fingers everywhere in this Bible tonight. My goodness, five, nine. All right, much more than being now justified by His blood, that's it. We shall be saved from wrath through Him. So that's speaking of that future salvation, being saved from the wrath of God. In other words, if you're born again, you are gonna go in that rapture. You're gonna be caught up. You're gonna meet Him in the air if you're still alive and remain. If you're dead in Christ, you're gonna go in that resurrection, that first resurrection of the dead. And so those things are, it is that surety. And again, speaking of that hope, All right, it's speaking of that resurrection. And so, back in Hebrews 10, let's see. Yeah, we are not of them who draw back on perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul, and that would fall under that believeth, okay? That whosoever believeth shall not be ashamed. All right, they're not gonna be ashamed, it is coming, okay? So chapter 11, verse one, now faith is the substance of things hoped for. the evidence of things not seen. And that, you know, this does work for a definition of faith. Absolutely. It is the substance of things hoped for. Those things that are hoped for, those things that are looked towards, that resurrection, our faith is proof of that. Okay? It has substance. It's real. Okay? God has given you that thing. It is a real thing. And that is that substance of those things hoped for. And it's the evidence of things not seen. You want evidence? You want absolute proof that there is a God who cannot be seen? It's faith. That is the evidence. That is the evidence that God gives you. How do you know you're saved? By faith. How do you know you're not saved? You don't have faith. If you have the faith of Christ, you're born again. If you don't have the faith of Christ, you're not born again. Who does he give that faith to? Every repentant sinner. Whosoever will may come. You yield your will to the will of the Father and you believe the word of God as it has been from Genesis all the way to Revelation. Believe the promises of God and he'll count it unto you for righteousness. You believe those promises, He'll give you that saving faith. And it's a faith that has substance. But really, this substance of things hoped for, it's a definition of looking back. Those things that are hoped for, it's that hope of the resurrection. That really is the entirety of our hope. We go through life and we consider all the things that are going on in our lives and all the hardships and all the pain and all the suffering and all the sorrow and all of that, and in light of the resurrection, my goodness, what are these few 70 or 80 years that we have here on this earth? What are these few 80 to 100 years that you may have on this earth? I had a great aunt that died at 103. What is that in light of eternity? She's been gone for like 15 years now, okay? 15 years in her eternity. I don't know where she's at, I really don't. But in light of eternity, what is that 103 years? It's nothing, just a vapor, gone, okay? And so, but for the born again believer, that hope, that faith, All of that, it's a surety. It is there. It is solid. It's something real. It's something you can't conjure up. It's not something that you can even really explain, because it brings a peace which passeth all understanding. That in the face of death, you have peace. That in the face of adversity, you have peace. That in the face of trial and temptation, you have peace. It's that peace which passeth all understanding, there in Philippians 4 again. That was off of there. For we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Go to Ephesians 1.18 now. Let's look at that. Ephesians 1.18. Oh, evidence. Where's the evidence that you're saved? Well, there's all the outward evidences, okay? I'm talking about inward. Okay. Okay. Hebrews. Yes? 10. Yes? This just has struck me since I originally came across it. Sure. That, you know, people say, well, how do you know you're saved? I don't know, but I know it. Right. Okay. Yep. But here's the explanation. For by one offering, he had, I don't know, with them after those days, sayeth the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. This is how inwardly And the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we're a child of God. This is the verse that verifies that thing that we know that we could never understand. Right. This is it. Yep. And there's that unction, and that's why you know all things. It's because the law of God's been written on your heart, right? And it's all by faith. Yep. And that statement that you made, you know, how do you know you're safe? Well, I don't know, but I just, I can't explain it, but I just know. I don't know how to explain it. What you just stated is faith. That's what that thing is. It is the evidence of things not seen You can't see the law of God written on your heart But you know, it's there by faith Because God gave you that faith to be able to see that see the eyes of faith will see so much farther and Some things have to be believed in order to be seen Okay, there's certain things that God has for you that have to be believed before you can see them faith is one of them But when it's there, you know. And it's that evidence, okay? And you know, there is more, right? You go through 1 John. When we went through 1 John, we saw all of those things. This is what it looks like when somebody's saved. This is what it looks like when somebody's not saved. Some of them were outward evidences. Some of them were inward evidences. But all of that funnels down to that one thing that the Bible says is the evidence of things not seen. It's faith, okay? And that's why, you know, like Charles Wesley, when he was over here, I think it was Charles, it was either Charles or John. If somebody could correct me on that, that would be great. But regardless, Charles West, I'm gonna go with it, that was Charles. When he was over here ministering to the Native American Indians, he realized that he did not have the salvation that the Bible spoke of. He just didn't have it. And so he wrote back to England and asked this one man of God, what should I do? What do I do? I need this very thing that I'm preaching to these Indians. And that man had a lot of wisdom, and he just said, preach faith until you have it, and then preach faith because you have it, okay? But still, it was preach faith. Because if it's all by faith, it's not of works. That same ancient boast. If it's your faith, well, you could boast how much faith you put in Christ. I put my faith in Christ. You can boast on that thing. It's not of works unless any man should boast. You want to say something? I can see it. Because you have to believe Jesus and to have the faith of Christ. Right. I think I have... Yes, I do, I have Romans 3.22. We're gonna get there when we get to faith, all right? We'll press on so we can get there tonight, okay? And the angels marvel. They look at that. They look at that. It's like they're baffled. I don't think it's that they're baffled. I think it's that they stand in wonder. They stand in wonderment, absolute wonderment. Because what they do is they look at the church to see the manifold wisdom of God. They say, that is the manifold wisdom of God. And it's those principalities and powers in high places that look down and they see that thing. We covered that here in Ephesians. I believe that's it. Yeah. They see that. They see Christ. They see the whole work of God. They see that whole thing. And they stand in wonderment at the wisdom of God that He would do that. So, we'll press on though. Go to Philippians 3. I want to get through these, just a couple, and then we'll get to faith. Philippians 3. Look at verse 14. Philippians 3 and 14. He says, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Again, there is that calling. It's the hope of your calling. You were called by God out of darkness into his marvelous light. That call goes throughout all the earth. Okay? That voice has gone throughout all the earth. Day unto day uttereth speech. There's not a single language, Psalm 19, where those things are not known. Okay? That call has gone out to you. Jesus Christ is that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. That call is in that light, shining within you, showing you the light of Jesus Christ, showing you the Savior, showing you these things, drawing you unto himself. And he draws you under the preaching of the Word of God because it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe, not would believe, but that believe. And so, and you look at that thing, that everything that God has given, or rather, let me rephrase that. Everything that you need in order to believe God, God has already given it to you in the Word of God. You don't need anything else beyond this book. in order to believe God. You don't need a sign, you don't need no wonder, you don't need to see mighty miracles. How many of those Jews saw mighty miracles and still died and went to hell in unbelief? It's not gonna do you any good. Abraham told that rich man, they're not even gonna believe even if one come back from the dead. They have those five brothers, they have the law and the prophets, they have Moses. Let them hear them. Let him hear the law, let him hear the prophets, let him hear the testimony of Jesus, okay? That's where it rests, all right? And if all prophesy of that testimony of Jesus, and that spirit of prophecy comes on them, and boy, they're prophesying of the Lord Jesus Christ and showing that testimony in the volume of the book. They're judged of all, they're convinced of all, and thus are the secrets of their heart made manifest, and they'll fall down, and they'll worship, and they'll say that God is in you of a truth. Now all these things transpire, and it's just the goodness of God. Yeah, there in Hebrews 3.14, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There's a prize to it. There's a prize to it, and that prize is Christ Jesus. He is the prize. It's not the home in heaven. It's not escaping hell. It's Him. He is the prize. That's why I'm looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Looking unto Him. 2 Thessalonians, and then we'll shift over to the word faith here. 2 Thessalonians. It's right in there in the Ts. We're in 2 Thessalonians 1. I say the T's, it's the T's of the New Testament. They're all lumped together, and my mom informed me the other night that they're all in alphabetical order. All right, so 1st 2nd Timothy, Titus, you know, all that, 1st 2nd Thessalonians. Only a librarian would know that, right, yep. Librarian's son couldn't figure it out. All right, 2nd Thessalonians chapter one, verse 11. Wherefore, also, we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." There it is. That faith works, and there's power in it. What is the power of faith? What is the power of the gospel? It's the resurrection. That's what it always has been. It's the power of the resurrection. And that's that hope of that calling. He's called you unto life. And that life is eternal life. It's everlasting life. That life that you were brought into, that you came to, that's your everlasting life beginning. That eternal life is the eternal life of Jesus Christ himself living in you. And he is our life now. We are alive in Him who is our living head. You're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Being dead to trespasses and sins, you live unto God. The life of your flesh is no longer in your blood. That's that circumcision made without hands. God came into that blood, cut that life out, and put it in Christ Jesus. That's now where your life is at. And so, you'll just be as long as God is alive. Alive as long as God is alive. As long as Jesus is going to live, and He said, Behold, I am He which was dead, and I live forevermore. You're just going to live as long as He does. If you're in Him. And again, John, looking back to that thing, that whole connection between the Spirit and the blood, there's a little bit more there I see it oh yes yeah I'm still looking into that where there's there's some riches there yeah you know I'm I I'm toying I that's a bad way to put it I'm toying with the idea of preaching a certain something on Sunday. It's just a really bad way to say it. I believe the Lord is leading me, how about that, to preach on the laver this Sunday. The laver and his foot. So, we'll see what the Lord does in that, but... Yeah, I'm hoping so. Let's go back into Ephesians chapter 4, just real quick, and we'll touch base there and then press on. I want to look at this thing of faith here tonight. We're not doing a full exposition of all of these things and digging into them all doctrinally, but just laying some groundwork here. From what we've seen tonight, what God gives you tonight, you can do a further study, but it needs to get you in a direction at least. All right, so he says, you know, there's one body, in chapter four, verse four, there's one body and one spirit. Even as you're called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. All right, there is one Lord. He is the Lord of all. He is the Lord. Now, take this. Your Bible tells you there is one Lord. Capital L, lowercase O-R-D. That means the one that is called Lord in your King James Bible is the Lord. Paul, Peter, John, they all call Jesus Lord. So there is one Lord. Off of this little phrase, one Lord, you can go throughout your entire Bible and you can find a capital L, lowercase O-R-D, and identify Jesus in the volume of the book. How does that present? I and my Father are one. What you have is the eternal Word that was made flesh. But yet, Jehovah God still reigns in heaven. You see Jesus Christ contending with the Pharisees and striving with the Pharisees. And He speaks of those things about the Son of Man which is in heaven. But that's capital L. Small O-R-D. The same as Jesus. It's one Lord. It's one God. And this is where that Godhead, in putting it into a trinity in the cloverleaf, you know, St. Patrick did that, and it kind of falls short a little bit. What it really is, is it's a bubble. It's one God. It's that bubble of God. And when somewhat, But when one of the Godhead desires to show himself forth and perform an action, he'll emerge out and then blend back into that one God. And so it's always still one God, but there are times where either the Word, the Father, the Holy Ghost, they'll come to the forefront and they'll take up that position of performing the action, okay? But they never cease to be one God. Right? And Jesus establishes that where he says, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven, he's in his flesh right now, but yet he's still in heaven. Okay? That's where you see him as the Lord of hosts. That's where you see him as Jehovah. That's where you see him as the Lord God. That's where you see him as the Lord. But then you also see the Father in those things as well. Okay? There is one place here In verse six, though, in Ephesians, and we'll get there next week, okay? One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Okay, we're gonna dive into that because the Father is the highest, okay? Psalm 18, the highest gave his voice. Hail stones and holes of fire. Why? Because it's one God and Father of all who is above all. He's the highest, right? That identifies the Father as the highest, okay? So... And He's in us all. He's in us all. And that's that spirit that the Holy Ghost... Well, it's the Father's spirit. It identifies Him individually as the person of the Father, as His spirit in you, okay? So it's more than just the Holy Ghost. No, what I mean is that the Holy Ghost is performing Yeah. He performs those actions. He's the one that does that baptizing. All of that takes place as Melchizedek the priest. Yep, sure. Yep, I'll take that. All right. One faith. All right, so this is what we want to look at here in the next just couple of minutes. Go to Galatians chapter 2. There's one faith. Not billions of faiths taken and placed in Christ. Okay? It's one faith. So look at this, Galatians 2, you know where I'm going, verse 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. And see, that's where the process is at. You believe God, you believe in Jesus Christ, you believe on Jesus Christ, And He'll give you the faith of Christ. And that's saving faith that will carry you on through. It's that substance and that evidence of things not seen. It's a substance of things hoped for. It's that promise of that resurrection. It's what places you in that. Even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Again, it says the faith of Christ. And again, I love pointing this out because this is where God first confronted me and showed me I did not believe my Bible as it was written. I didn't believe it. Because I saw that and I saw some writing on it. It was the faith of Christ and I contended within myself and I said, no, it says faith in Christ because it's faith in Christ. And I can hear preachers in my mind as I'm reading that thing and hearing them quoting this and saying our faith in Christ. And so I got my Bible and I opened it up and I looked at that thing and I crumbled before the word of God. I just melted because I realized, oh my goodness, that does say the faith of Jesus Christ. That means he had faith. It's his faith that justifies us. And again, I didn't know what that faith was for another two years, maybe a year and a half. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was not my faith that saved me. I knew it was the faith of Christ. I had no idea what that was, okay? And then the Omori, and just one of his, he was preaching here, and just in passing, he mentioned about, you know, Psalm 1610, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. He says, and that's the faith of Christ. And then he just keeps going on. It's like, ha ha, that's it. That's what it is. He knew his father was gonna resurrect him. And that's why we know our father's gonna resurrect us, because it's the faith of Christ. It's always been his faith. Nope. It's his faith. Abraham believed God. He believed the promises of God. He counted on Him for righteousness. What promises did he believe? That Christ was going to die on a cross? No. He didn't see that. What promise did Abraham have? God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Yep, yep, yep. Yeah, before time began, he knew. It was already established and already done. And that's the transcendence of God that transcends all of time and space and what our feeble minds can barely grab hold of and we just barely see. Like even eternity is something that you just can't quite grasp. When we die and we're in eternity and all the things that are gonna transpire in the word of God transpire and we're done and it's all completed and a new heaven and a new earth and everything that is now going off into eternity, there's nothing else after that. That's what we're going to be doing literally forever. There's nothing else. That's the joy of it. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. And I get barely just a glimpse of that and my head starts to spin and I actually get a little bit dizzy thinking about it. It's like, that's too far. That's too much for me. My carnal mind can't fathom that. And honestly, it's that way when you really consider the faith of Christ, and you consider the all-powerful, all-knowing God of heaven. You just can't fathom it. You just barely get a glimpse of it. Like the Godhead, separating out the Godhead, figuring these things out. He's given us a Bible so that we can know Him, even as we are known. And yet, I look at that thing, and boy, my carnal mind, I just can't comprehend it. But He wants to teach me. He can teach us these things if we'd let him. But, all right, let's carry on. Look at verse 20. It says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And the life that I now live, okay? The life I am living in my flesh, I am living by the faith of the Son of God. And so therein, that faith is that evidence of things not seen, because it's now our life. I live by that faith. That is the thing giving me life. And He, Christ, is living in me. How? By faith. It's what it is. It's that thing that God has given me. It's tangible. It's what gives me life now. It's the knowledge that when I die, I don't die. This carnal flesh is going to die, but it's only for a time. It's going to be resurrected. It's going to be made new. Just like this earth is going to be made new and resurrected to a new earth. It's like the heavens are going to be rent, and there will be no more stars. There will be no more sea on the earth. All of these things made new. It's the same stuff. It's the same atoms. It's the same everything. It's just going to make it new. And it's by faith we know these things. It's by faith that we live. And though, you know, he says, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. It's that same thing where he says, for you're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. You had to die spiritually so that you could live spiritually. Die to yourself. It is a death. You die to everything that you are, everything that you've ever known, everything that you desire to be dies. so that you can live in Christ. And when you're on the other side of that, you'll look back at that life that you left behind and you think, why did I hang on to that for so long? Why did I hang on to that for so long in unbelief? Why did I fight against the wooing of the Spirit of God for so long? What a life it is to be in Christ. What joy there is, what peace there is. Oh, there's trials, oh, there's tribulation, there's anguish, there's vexation of spirit, there's hardships, but oh, I tell you what, it's nothing like what's in the world. Nothing like it. All that pain and agony and vexations and the afflictions of this life, and you're lost, it's just, it's agonizing pain, and there's no hope in it. Oh, but there's a great hope in Christ. We live in a fallen world. Okay? You all are going to die. It's going to happen. Your life will cease on this earth. Okay? Whether it be when you're caught up or whether it be when God says, okay, it's time, you're done. He holds the soul in life. The devil no longer has the power of death. God has that power. Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and of hell. Satan no longer has that power. If you're going to die, it's when God says so. Fear him. Fear him. Don't fear those that can just kill the body, but fear rather them, heed, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Fear the Lord in those things. Therefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. They swayed men in tears, and great cryings, and crying out against sin, and crying out against your unrighteousness, just so that you can see God, how much you need God. I'm telling you what, on the other side, it's joy unspeakable and full of glory. Now we'll carry on, just another couple of verses. Galatians 3.22, right there in Galatians still. says this, but the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. It's his faith that gives you that promise. What promise? The promise of resurrection. The promise of forgiveness of sins. The promise of a new life in Christ. The promise of being made right with God. The promise of having all of that that accompanies salvation and being born of God, it's that promise, and it's by faith of Jesus Christ. That's where it originates. It's Him. It's His faith. Ephesians 3.12, we just went over this a couple of weeks ago, but it says this. Let's look at verse 11. That'll help. According to, no, you know what, let's look at verse 10 because this is where John and I were talking here just a little bit ago. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. That's how we have access and confidence and boldness. It's by the faith of Him. That is the thing producing that action. That's why we have boldness. It's by the faith of Him. That's why we have access. It's by the faith of Him. That's why we have confidence. It's by the faith of Him. It's Him. It's Him entirely. It's His faith entirely. Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's what it is. Now, Romans 3.22. Our faith comes from Jesus. Listen, that Bible used to belong to the Church Bible Publishing Company. A price was paid for it. It was delivered to you. When it was given to you, guess what? It became yours. I've given you gifts before. They were really piddly gifts and it was really kind of a slap in the face, but it is what it is. but I've given you things before, things you didn't pay for. They once were mine, I gave it to you, it became yours, okay? When God gives you his faith, when Christ gives you his faith, it becomes your faith. And therein you see that anytime that Christ would talk to those people there in the market square, and the woman that touched the hem of His garment, you know, "'Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.'" Where'd that come from? Where'd that faith come from? Did she work up the faith to do that? No. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. She heard the Word of God. She heard that Jesus Christ could heal. She heard that Jesus Christ could forgive. She heard these things, and faith came to her. And she exercised that faith in belief. And Christ said, Thy faith hath made thee whole. And so that's a little bit more of that process. Romans 3, verse 22. Verse 20, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. All right, so how does our flesh get justified then? Well, it has to be adopted. Romans 8 tells us that. By the deeds of the law, you're not gonna be able to justify your flesh in his sight. So what's gonna happen? How is he going to be able to accept your flesh? He's gonna adopt it at that resurrection, at that rapture, at that calling up, Romans 8, verse 23, okay? For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference." So, here's where it stands. How do we get the faith of Christ? We believe. He gives it to all that belief. That righteousness of God. How do we get the righteousness of God? He was made to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. How? By faith of Christ. By the faith of Christ. That's how. And as you look at this thing, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith, where does that come from? Of Jesus Christ. Unto some, no. Unto a list, no. Unto a certain few, no. Unto all and upon all them that believe. There is no difference. So it comes to you, it comes unto you, but it also comes upon you. Okay? And there's that look in the difference between to and unto. Unto shows that delivery, that completion. Upon shows more than just on, it's upon, it's the same context of those things. So it's not only unto all, but it's also upon all them that believe. How do you get the faith of Christ? You believe. Yep. Is belief processed in our mind? If thou shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou mayest. It is. They are very, very closely knit. But you need both. Belief and faith are not the same thing. Okay? Belief is our requirement. God's given us everything that we can to believe. Sometimes that belief comes just by giving up our own will and just deciding, you know, I'm gonna believe that. God brought me to a point where I had to make a choice as to whether or not this book was only the best God could do for me in my language. Or if it was the actual perfect Word of God, where every word was exactly, every letter, every capitalization, every period, every punctuation, everything was exactly as God wanted it to be. God brought me to that point. I had to make a choice. And I chose to believe that it was perfect. It's a choice God gave me. And I chose to believe it was perfect. I haven't looked back. I can't even imagine going back. Like I can't imagine picking this book up and wondering, I wonder if that's the right word there. I wonder what a better word would be. Like that doesn't even compute in my mind. So you know what God did for me? He changed my mind. He changed my mind on that thing. He gave me repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. And I acknowledge the truth before you tonight. This is the truth. Okay? Without error, without any need for correction. It's exactly what God wants you to know about Him and His perfection. Okay? And I know that, how? By faith. I just know it. Okay? It's a knowing. Faith is a knowing. And that's the solidity of it. Now we could go to Revelation 14, but I don't think it's just another place where it talks about the faith of Christ and all that. So we're not gonna go there. We're gonna be done. We're over a little bit of time. But any closing thoughts on this? We'll jump back into this, like I said, next week and pick up on that. Any closing thoughts at all? Theron, what did you get out of tonight? Give me something that you glean from it. Ephesians, Galatians, Romans. Okay, here, we're going to pass it off. Okay, that's good. Amen. Yep, that's it. You had mentioned about believing every word. And that kind of goes back to who is your authority? Are you going to believe the Word of God? Or are you going to believe what man says? Well, this is just the best that we can do. This is the best that we have to work on. Is it? Or is it the Word of God? Who is your authority? And understanding this and to try to help somebody that might not agree with us. This is a question that you need to reconcile within you. Is there any authority in these English words? Is there any authority in the English words of this King James Bible? Or is the only authority in the Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic words? Okay, where is the authority? If it is in those Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic words, why are you translating it into English to understand it? Well, they try to teach us, okay? Honestly, that's the mindset, and that's what we lived in for many, many years. And they do it with good intentions, because they want to find the deeper meaning, but the deeper things are with God. The deeper things are with God. You get alone with God in this book, and he'll teach you those deeper things. Okay. Who's the authority? Yeah. Yep. Amen. Well, all right. I think we'll close it out then. John, why don't you close us in prayer? I pray for your liberation and your mercy.