Welcome to the preaching ministry of Tri-City Baptist Church in Chandler, Arizona. Our desire is that God would be magnified through the preaching of His Word, and that Christians would be challenged, strengthened, and edified in their personal walk with Christ. I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11. If you are using the Bibles there in the chairs, we'll begin on page 835, goes into the next page, but considering the aspect of investing for eternity. This is our theme for the year for our church and want to conclude our study of this in really hoping to keep it before us, not that it's no longer a concern, but that we keep it before us, but understanding the importance of investing in such a way that God would be pleased with our lives. Not because we've earned favor with Him, but that we are demonstrating a living faith. That we are living by faith in the very practical aspects. You know, can you recall a time when someone else has embarrassed you by their actions, their words, maybe their attitude? If you're a parent, there's probably a list of some of those that happens. You know, there are certain situations, and we mentioned in our parenting class, it's not what our kids do, it's what we do about what they do. But you know, there are times that other people do things and it embarrasses us. When I was an upperclassman in college, we had a group of friends, or a number of guys, we worked together, we had a good friendship together, which was great for the fellowship, but it created some problems if one of us had a date. The dining common at that time had very long tables, and so the seating was really not conducive for couples. And my friends were such that if one of us had a date, the rest of us would join them. So I found it was probably wise if I had a date not to go to the dining comma, but to go to the snack shop instead. And it wasn't that they wouldn't stop by, but the tables were much smaller, it was usually crowded, and they didn't want to buy something and be able to stay. And so it definitely helped out in many ways. Well, one day, I was with a girl, this was not my wife before, I had met Judy, and I'd gone to the snack shop. for a date, and we ordered the lunch special. Hamburger, french fries, and a large drink. And the drinks at that time came in the 32-ounce cups. So, you know, great for a meal. And we sat down, we put our meals on the table, and as my date sat down, she dumped that 32 ounces of Coke into her lap in the chair. These were molded plastic chairs, not the kind where things can go through, but where, you know, a chair like that can actually hold 32 ounces of soft drink. And to complicate the situation, as she sat there with it soaking into her skirt, she was a town student who had a class the next hour. which meant she was gonna have to leave the snack shop, go to her car, drive home to change so that she could get back for class. I'm trying to help as best I can, getting napkins, but, you know, much of the 32 ounces had been soaked up by her skirt. So she left after laughing hysterically, and there I sat with two hamburgers, two orders of fries, one large soft drink, and my friends came by. And it was a rather embarrassing, though humorous, situation as a result of that mishap. You know, there are situations where we're actually embarrassed, but they are funny. And we laughed about that later, and when I walked out of the snack shop later, I could find this little trail of Coke going down the sidewalk to where her car had been parked. But you know, sometimes there are situations that cause us more than embarrassment, they cause us shame. And it may be because of what other people have done, it may be because of what we've done, but there's also a wrong shame. The Bible speaks of a wrong kind of shame. There are several passages, in Romans chapter 1, verse 16, the Bible tells us that we are to not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That it is the power of God unto salvation. In 1 Peter 4, 16, it says, if you suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed. 2 Timothy 1.8, Paul is admonishing Timothy, he's writing to him and saying, Timothy, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or of me as his prisoner. Because Paul was imprisoned because of his faith and then he's telling Timothy, that is not something to be ashamed about. We should not be ashamed to identify with the gospel of Jesus Christ or with fellow Christians. But you know, sometimes there are things that we do that do bring shame. And sometimes the way we live, we are ashamed of that. Have you ever stopped and wondered, though, if God would be ashamed of us? There's an interesting verse in Hebrews chapter 11, where we've turned this morning, in this chapter that lists the heroes of the faith, that there are many examples that are given of those who have lived by faith, but there's an interesting statement where it says God is not ashamed to be called their God. And so the question I want us to consider this morning is, is God ashamed to be called your God? Is He ashamed to be called my God? Look with me at chapter 11 of Hebrews. We're gonna read the first three verses, then we're gonna jump down a ways, but we're gonna consider the verses in between, but not read all of them at this time. Follow with me as I begin reading in verse one of Hebrews 11. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. And then dropping down, there's several individuals mentioned here, but look at verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Father, as we look into your word this morning, we pray that we would be encouraged and motivated to live in light of eternity, to invest in eternity. And to demonstrate a living faith to a world around us, that we would bring glory to your name, that you would be pleased and not be ashamed to be called our God. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. What I want us to consider from this passage this morning is that when you live by faith, you will not bring disgrace upon the Lord. It brings it out in that negative that God is not ashamed to be identified with them. And when we talk about living for eternity, living with eternity in view, it really does necessitate living by faith. Because it takes faith to direct your attention from that which is earthly to that which is heavenly. To set your mind on things above rather than on things below. To live in light of the invisible rather than simply the visible. and to live for the eternal rather than temporal. That's what we mean when we speak of investing for eternity and living by faith. Living by faith means living in light of eternity because it will impact how we make decisions. It impacts how we spend our time, and we've talked about that. It would impact how we choose jobs. It impacts how we invest in relationships with others. It impacts how we use our treasure. that we're laying up treasure in heaven that can't be lost. And so where can we find examples of that kind of living? Well, we have a number of them listed here in Hebrews. Hebrews 11 gives us examples of people, men and women, who invested with eternity in view. They lived it out in their daily lives. Men and women of faith that had a different perspective from the world around them. And if we're gonna have a different perspective, it's gonna show up because we will see the invisible, we will believe the implausible, and perform that which seems impossible. We are gonna see examples of people who believe what the world thought was crazy, and that they did it by faith, and the way they lived. Because faith allows you to see what others cannot, and comprehend what those who live by sight fail to grasp. What we find in the first three verses is really a faith described, that it's not an empty wish. You know, we hear a lot about faith today, and having faith in faith, or you just gotta have faith. Well, faith has to have content. Biblical faith has proof. It's the substance, it's evidence, it's the realization of confident certainty in that which is unseen. So genuine faith is confident certainty in an unseen reality. And that's the characteristic of somebody who's put their trust in Jesus Christ. That we have that assurance. That there is, it's not an empty wish, it's not some distant hope. It's a steadfast assurance that is the substance of things that are hoped for, anticipated. It's evidence, that's fact, of things not seen. So there's a certainty that there are certain things then that an unsafe person really cannot comprehend. They cannot learn them. The Bible says the natural man, the unsaved man, does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. In fact, it says they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. It's the work of the Holy Spirit that teaches us. So we have to have spiritual life. And it's the Holy Spirit that turns on that light to bring us to a knowledge of Jesus Christ in a saving faith. And I say this because biblical faith is not an emotional wish, but a confident certainty. It's an inner conviction, and it's founded on the Word of God. That's what we see in these verses by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed how by the Word of God That in the beginning God and that God created that God spoke and brought the world into existence and we believe that by faith and whatever somebody believes about the origins of life and of the universe it's a faith system and And so we believe this by faith. So we see it described in verses one through three, and then demonstrated beginning in verse four. In the verses that precede the statement in verse 16, we have individuals mentioned. We have snapshots of their lives. And what we see really is, this morning I want us to consider these points of assessment to determine is God ashamed to be called my God? And while each of these individuals listed really could be a separate message, I want us to consider the summary overview this morning for our instruction. And what I want us to see is that when you live by faith, you will be able to live like an Abel. See, Abel worshiped in a way that brought the pleasure of the Lord. And when you live by faith, like Abel, you will worship to please the Lord. It says in verse 4, by faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead, still speaks. What we see, first of all, is that we need to strive for righteousness, not for mere religion. First John 3 verse 12 Abel isn't actually even mentioned but Cain is It says don't be as Cain who was the wicked one and murdered his brother Why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous Abel's works were righteous. He had a right heart. He desired to please the Lord now now Cain went through real he came did religious activity and He brought an offering, but he was just going through the motions. His heart was not right. And I find it interesting that Abel isn't mentioned in chapter 3 of 1 John, but he's contrasted to the wickedness of his brother. Cain was religious, but he was not righteous. He brought an offering, but his works were evil. I mean, how many people today think if they check religious boxes, go to church, get baptized, give money, join a church, do good works, that then God's pleased? And yet their attitudes, their actions do not please God. That's what we see with Cain. And those that would do that are really walking by sight rather than by faith. They're making decisions based on what is seen. And that's why sometimes we hear, well, I think if my good works outweigh my bad works, I'm okay. Because they're living by what they see rather than what biblical faith is. They're walking by sight. And they make the decisions based on that rather than doing that self-examination in light of the Word of God. And what we need to understand is we have to humbly respond to God's instruction and correction. And we find that in the Word of God, that God's Word will instruct us, it will correct us, that Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is the Word of God breathed out. And it's profitable for doctrine, that's teaching. For doctrine, reproof, that's the correction, the instruction and correction. Doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness. It bring it makes us wise to salvation and then it it equips us for spiritual maturity Well, if you go back to Genesis chapter 4 and we're gonna see a number of these examples in the opening chapters of Genesis But in Genesis chapter 4 verse 4, it says that Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock They're they're bringing gifts. They're bringing offerings and of their fat and the Lord had respect to Abel and his offering It goes on and says, but he did not have respect to Cain in his offering. And so Cain gets upset. He's ticked. And we find in verse six that God comes to him and says, so the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? Why is your countenance falling? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. God is telling Cain look if your attitude is not right sin is crouching ready to pounce on you See God had respect unto Abel and his offering but not Cain and Cain's response toward authority and correction really reveals his heart attitude So God asked him. Why are you angry? Why are you upset? Why has your countenance fallen? Have you ever noticed when somebody is in sin, when there's a struggle, and where there's a struggle with authority, it shows up in their attitude and countenance? Sometimes we have that with young people, and there's a sullenness, they're angry, they're unsociable, they're ungrateful. That's what you see in Cain. And God confronts him, he's asking questions, trying to bring him to that repentance, and what does Cain do? He kills his brother. And then God comes and says, where is your brother? And he says, am I my brother's keeper? How would I know? Well, you should know, you killed him. And when God asked the question, yes, you are your brother's keeper. And then when God judges Cain, he said, it's not fair. My judgment is too hard. And he blames God, saying it's too harsh. And what you see is he was self-centered, demanding and ungrateful. When God's word will not change a person's heart, they are in trouble. If God's word will not change your attitude, you are headed for difficulties. And that's what we see with Cain. That there was not an attitude of teachability because that requires a spirit of humility. So no, not everybody does have a teachable attitude. And you find that resistance and argumentation. That was Cain. He's arguing with God. Well, am I responsible for my brother in this case? He was and Then when God judges him, he says it's too great. It's too hard. That's not fair You know not everyone will listen to the Word of God the preaching and teaching not every child listens to his parents This is why Proverbs says my son hear the instruction of your father. Don't forsake the instruction of your mother. I So we need to be like Abel and come with a heart of surrender and humility in worshiping the Lord. We worship in spirit and in truth. The second illustration, though, we have that we're gonna live by faith is that we need to be like Enoch and walk in a way that will please the Lord. Back in Hebrews chapter 11, verse five, we see this. By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. and was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." Enoch had that testimony. We need faith to please God But what we see in Enoch is he was a person who walked consistently in personal fellowship with the Lord He had this reputation going back to Genesis chapter 5 we find this in Genesis chapter 5 verse 24 We find that that Enoch was walking with the Lord and it's it's it's interesting. He's an interesting individual and Because in the verses preceding this, it says that when he was 65 years old, he had a son. The son's name was Methuselah. Now, Methuselah will be the person, the record that we have in scripture of the person who lived the longest. He's going to live 969 years. But it's interesting because it says that after he begat Methuselah, Enoch walked with God. I don't know what happened then, but something took place that really changed his focus. Whether it was a traumatic experience, whether there were problems and difficulties in the birth of his son, whether he realized the responsibility he had as a father, we don't know. But what the Bible does tell us is that he walked with God for 300 years. And in verse 24 of Genesis 5 it says, and Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. Now, wouldn't you love to see how that conversation went? Here's a man whose testimony is walking with God, and somehow, and in my mind's eye, I picture they're walking along, and he's fellowshipping with the Lord, and Enoch said, well, Lord, I need to go home now. And God says, why don't you come to my place? Instead of going to your home, how about coming to mine? And he was not, for God took him. One of the Puritans made the statement that Enoch changed his location, but he did not change his company. Because he fellowshiped with the Lord. And so when he went, he still had the same company. He walked with God. He had a testimony that he pleased God. But more than that, he had a life that proclaimed the holiness of God. In the little book of Jude, in the New Testament, it's only one chapter long, but it mentions Enoch in verse 14. In Jude 14 it says this, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Things were bad in Enoch's day. And his life and proclamation confronted the wickedness of his day. telling that God is going to come, God is going to judge. And what we need to understand is we need to speak consistently to warn others of God's righteous judgment. This is a responsibility that we have as believers. God was not ashamed to be called the God of Enoch because he proclaimed the goodness of God, but also the judgment of God. See, a person who walks with the Lord will seek to warn others of his coming judgment. their wickedness they're concerned about them if they don't go that way so he confronted the ungodliness of the world by his walk and by his word he he prophesied he preached he warned them so he had a testimony Hebrews 11 and 5 says that he had this testimony he pleased God What is your testimony today based on your life and your speech? Enoch had the testimony because of his walk that he pleased God. Is God pleased with our speech? Is God pleased with our life? There's a third individual that's mentioned here that we see as well, and that's Noah. And if you live by faith like Noah, you will work in a way that will please the Lord. So in verse 7 of Hebrews 11, it says, by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. If you were here for our Tri-City Christian Academy Grandparents Day, we looked at these verses very briefly, and really with our young people, a number of them going to the Ark Encounter later this year, but the example of a living faith in Noah. One of the things that we see is Noah takes God's words seriously, and he acts accordingly. If you're going to live by faith, you're going to do that as well. We read of Noah in Genesis 6, 7, 8, and we find that Noah obeyed it. We saw in these verses and here in Hebrews that he was divinely warned. God told him of the judgment that is coming. When you read in Genesis chapter 6, you find the world was wicked. The thoughts of humanity, every thought was only evil all the time, is what the passage tells us. And you know, we look at the world around us, we look at the way our nation is headed, and we say, we live in a bad time. Things are horrible today, and they are. But it was worse in Noah's day. There were only eight that were saved out of probably millions that were alive. We have a whole lot more than eight Christians in our nation. We have more than that in our small groups. And so we have fellowship that Noah didn't have. But he obeyed the Lord, and it's interesting because in Genesis 6.22 it says, Thus Noah did. According to all that God commanded him, so he did. He obeyed. He worked in a way that honored the Lord. And Noah demonstrated his faith by a practical obedience. He was a just man, he lived in integrity, is what Genesis 6.9 tells us. He walked with God in that generation, and God told him, Noah, build an ark. Now this isn't something he could hide. You're not going to build this ark in your garage or your basement. It was 450 feet long. It was 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. When I was a kid, my dad and I built a canoe in our garage. And we could do that without anybody knowing it. We did a lot of it during the winter, kept the door closed so it would warm up the garage, and we worked in there. But you wouldn't know it. You can't build a 450-foot boat without your neighbors noticing. Without them complaining to the HOA. You know, where is this in the covenants for our neighborhood? I mean, you can't hide this. Maybe he tried to hide it on the back 40 acres, but after you start cutting down that many trees, or buying the wood, or the pitch, or whatever he was having to buy from other people, people are going to ask questions. And they're going to come by to look at it. And what we see is that he didn't hide it. In fact, it says that he was a preacher of righteousness. So what we have to do is we have to allow our life and our words to testify of our faith That's what Noah did and we see that in 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 5 That it's talking about the judgment of God and says God did not spare the ancient world but saved Noah one of eight people a preacher of righteousness bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. He didn't hide it. He was a preacher. And you've got to know that people would come by and say, Noah, what are you doing? It had never rained up until this point. He wasn't living on beachfront property. The atmosphere was different. The Lord watered the ground. There was a dew that would come, and so things would blossom and bloom and grow, but it was like a canopy. And we read that the earth broke up at the flood and water came up from below and from above. There was a deluge that came, but it had never happened before. And I'm sure as Noah started telling people, look, there's gonna be a flood, it's gonna rain, and God's gonna, it's like, Noah, trust the science. Look at meteorology and geology. None of that has ever happened before. No, he trusted God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And he didn't hide it, and what we notice in Noah are really the three elements that are necessary for genuine salvation. We see it here in Hebrews 11. He was divinely warned, it affected his mind. Faith has to have content. Saving faith has content. It's faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. And it affects our minds, but it has to go beyond that. Sometimes there are people, oh, I know all that, I believe all that, I've got it in my mind. But the second thing that it does, it affected him emotionally. He was moved with godly fear. There was a personal awareness. That applies to me. If I'm going to be saved, I need to, and then the third thing, act accordingly. It impacted his will. He was divinely warned, that's the mental aspect. He moved with fear, that's the emotional aspect. And he prepared an ark, that is the volitional, the act of the will. The practical response to revealed truth. All of that is necessary for saving faith. And so you can know that Jesus died on the cross, but has he been your personal savior? Have you personally put your trust in him? Saying, I'm a sinner, I need a savior. Noah's godly fear resulted in practical obedience. It had never rained, but he believed the Lord. Saving faith responds to the revealed truth of God's Word. And that's what we see in the life of Noah. As I shared on Grandparents Day, can you imagine some little boy coming home and going to his dad, and a group of us stopped by, and we were visiting with Noah, and one of his sons came out and was talking with us, and he was telling us God's gonna judge the world, and you know, that ark is almost done. And there's some animals that are showing up. It's like this giant petting zoo. And it was really interesting, but Shem, one of Noah's sons, kept telling us, there's coming judgment, and if we don't trust the Lord and get in the ark, we're gonna be killed. And his dad saying to him, said, son, Noah told me that same story years ago. He's been building that ark for 100 years. Noah's just kind of crazy. And his boys are crazy. I don't know if it runs in the family, but it hasn't rained. None of that's happened. It's been over 100 years. Don't worry about it. And then they enter the ark. God closes the door. And nothing happens for seven days. And then it starts to rain. What were they thinking then? Saving faith responds to the revealed truth of God's word. Say, well, it hasn't happened yet. Faith believes that God will do what he says. And understanding how important that is. And the last one that we see in this passage in Hebrews that we can look at this morning is Abraham. That when you live by faith like Abraham, you will wait in a way that will please the Lord. Waiting for that patiently for God to work, but while we wait, we also work persistently. We wait patiently for the Lord, but we work, and I don't know about you, but waiting is difficult. I hate waiting. We were driving recently, and we're coming down the 202, and my phone says there's an accident up ahead, but you're still on the fastest route. And all I see are brake lights. I don't think this is the fastest route. And even if it is, I don't want to sit in traffic. So I took, there was an exit right there, I got off, I said, I know Jermaine is just a quarter mile down, I'm getting on Jermaine. It may not be faster, but I'll be moving. And I went a couple of miles, and then I got back on the 202, and I was like, okay, now, I hate waiting. But you know, there are times spiritually we have to wait. Waiting is difficult, but waiting on the Lord is a statement of our trust that he will do what he says and Abraham is an example of that and it wasn't without failures God had promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son and it didn't happen from years and years and so they tried to take matters into their own hands and But what we see is that he lived by faith. Look at verse 8 of Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 verse 8, it says, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Abraham lived in tents, but he looked for a city. He was a stranger in the land, but he was an heir of heaven. The Scottish preacher George Morrison said this, the important thing is not what we live in, but what we look for. A tent or a cottage, why should I care? What am I looking for? I'm looking to be in His presence. They lived in tents by faith and looked for a heavenly home, that city to come. And so what we see is we need to trust God to fulfill His promises in His time. that God will be faithful. Dr. J. Oswald Sanders, who wrote the book Spiritual Leadership, said this, faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as the present and the invisible as seen. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. See, by faith, we can see what others cannot. Well, I don't see how that's going to all work out. No, but I trust God that He does see it. I trust His Word, that we will grasp that. And when you look at Hebrews 11, you find over and over the example of these are people who saw what others could not comprehend. You see that in verse 1, verse 3, verse 7, and then here in verse 13, we find it again. Look at verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the fulfillment of the promises. They had heard the promise, but they hadn't seen it coming to fruition. But, really through their eyes of faith, having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. Truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out they would have had opportunity to return If Abraham had wanted to he could have gone back to his home But he walked by faith he he never truly received the promises in this life But he saw them He never he was not the one entering the promised land and possessing the promised land He didn't see how all the nations of the earth would be blessed by by his offspring But he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness See those who live in faith also die in faith Our faith grows, but it's a dying faith. It gives us that confidence that when we come to death, we have that hope, that assurance, that it grows, but it's secure. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. In these four examples, and there are many more in this chapter, but in these four, what we can see, what we can learn is that God is not ashamed when you worship with a pure heart, a righteous life, when you walk in a way that pleases the Lord, when you work with a practical obedience of godly fear that is demonstrated to those around us, and when we wait patiently for God. When we do that, it testifies that we are investing for eternity. We're looking for a heavenly country. You know, if you're living for another country, then you understand that this world is not your home. We're just passing through. And we're living for another home. We're investing in the future. Henry Morrison was a missionary. He went to Africa in the latter part of the 1800s, and he served the Lord there for 40 years. At that time, it was very difficult to go back and forth, and so he never got home to see family, but he would receive letters from supporters, and for those that were concerned about their ministry, but over the 40 years, those people died off. And finally, it reached a point where Morrison and his wife needed to come back to the United States. He just couldn't make it through the jungles anymore, the difficulties, and so the mission board provided for passage for him to board a ship, and he and his wife would return to the United States. And as they were on that ship, as they got closer to New York Harbor, he began to wonder, will anybody remember us? It's been 40 years. Will anybody recall who we are and what we've been doing? Will anybody come to meet us when the ship docks in New York? And as the boat began to pull into New York Harbor, he looked out and he saw more people than he could ever count. There were thousands of people lining the shore. They were cheering. There were bands playing. There were banners and billboards saying, welcome home. And he got excited, but as Henry and his wife started to come off the boat, unbeknownst to the Morrisons, Teddy Roosevelt was also on that ship. The welcome was for Roosevelt. He had been on an African safari and was returning. And as Morrison and his wife walked down the plank, they went through the crowds, nobody recognized him. They checked into a hotel, and he was very discouraged. With heavy heart, he sat there on his bed, and he said to his wife, he said, honey, I don't get it. We've served 40 years, we've poured our lives and ministry into serving, and no one was here to greet us when we returned. And his wife very kindly looked at him and said, sweetheart, we're not home yet. This isn't our home. What about you? Are you at home in this world? Or are you investing for eternity? Is your heart content here, or do you desire a better, that is an heavenly country? Because if you do, God is not ashamed to be called your God. So the question for all of us this morning is, is God ashamed to be identified with you today? Do we live with eternity in view, desiring a heavenly country? Because when we live in that way, it's gonna impact how we worship. It's gonna impact our work and our waiting, our witness, and all of these aspects of our life. When you live a life by faith, investing for eternity, you will not bring disgrace upon the Lord. And we can hear, well done. When you think of Job, the Bible says, God said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? God was not ashamed to be identified with Job. Is God ashamed to be identified with us today? Oh, that we would live by faith, that we would enjoy the smile of God. Not because we're earning His favor, but we're demonstrating a living faith. Let's pray together.