Well, turn again this morning, if you would, to Hebrews 11. And I'm going to read beginning in verse 13 through verse 16, and then we'll kind of zero in on verse 13 in particular. So Hebrews 11, beginning in verse 13. All these died in faith without receiving the promises but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own and indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." And let us pray. Father, thank you for this day and the time we have enjoyed already just to worship such a great and glorious and holy God. And as we direct our minds and our hearts towards this section of your precious revelation, I would pray for the help of your Holy Spirit to bring forth your word in a way that is honoring and glorifying to thyself and in a way that represents the intention of your holy revelation. And I pray the effect of considering it would be to prepare our hearts to glory and rejoice in the observing of the Lord's table. And I pray an effect would be to increase our own devotedness and appreciation for the glory of your blessed and pure holy son, and what a great and glorious savior he truly is. So we commit our time to thee, and we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we've been moving through Hebrews chapter 11, this chapter that deals with the triumphs of faith of Old Testament saints, our ancestors in the faith. And verses one to seven brings to mind three examples of those who lived before the flood and actually into the flood or as a part of that time. Then verses 8 to 22, the focus shifts. There's a historical shift to Abraham and his descendants. And then last Lord's Day, we saw that Abraham's faith was expressed or manifested in three different ways. One, there was obedience to the call of God. He immediately obeyed God's call on his life. And then secondly, it was manifested in patience as he was a sojourner or an alien in the land of promise. In the third place, there was expectation on his part. His faith showed itself in expectation. He was looking for a city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And then in verses 11 and 12, we read about the birth of Isaac. He was born to Sarah and Abraham beyond the proper time of life. And then verses 13 to 16, the faith of Abraham is still in view, but these are kind of an interlude, and you get a sense when you're reading this particular section, no specific names are mentioned. The all these in verse 13 most likely has reference to the previous section, and would include Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Jacob. So the all-encompassing fact is that they all died in faith, all these died in faith, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. They all persevered in the faith until they died. And in this theme, we've touched on this recently, this The theme of perseverance is very important because it's evidence of true conversion. He who endures to the end will be saved, as we heard this morning. But also, perseverance, it's a provision of the true gospel that gives peace to the soul. The perseverance of the saints, it's a provision of the gospel that gives peace to the soul. And you see something of its critical importance. Notice verse 39 of chapter 10. It says, we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the persevering of the soul. So you can see just the language in that one text shows us how important and critical it is. So we see something of its importance there. And this morning, I wanna draw your attention to this theme of perseverance. And those who are referenced in this previous verses are laudable because they are examples of those who died in faith, they persevered until death. So I wanna occupy your minds with this theme this morning, the perseverance. And then there will be three helps to persevering that I think arise from the text. So that's the track that we want to travel this morning. So in the first place, just briefly, an example of perseverance and then points two, three, and four will all be helps to perseverance that I think arise out of the text and are in the realm of expectation. So first of all, what have you noticed the examples of perseverance? The text says all these died in faith. As I noted, this has brought a reference to Abraham, and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob, they all died in faith. And this denotes the manner in which they died. They were still trusting in the Messiah, were still trusting in the promises, and what the promises pointed to, they were still relying on that when they died. William Lane wrote, all these people died in accordance with the principle of faith. He comments on the grammar, excuse me, according to faith, which is emphatic by virtue of its position at the beginning of the sentence, signifies their lives were regulated by faith. They were firmly persuaded that God would fulfill the promises which he made to them. And B.F. Westcott's a bit more expansive. He says, that is, under the influence and according to the spirit of faith, inspired, sustained, guided by faith, faith was the rule of their lives. the measure of their growth, even to the end. They faced death as men who retained their hold on the invisible, which offered them in the promises of God, which were offered them in the promises of God. So their departure was transformed into a going home. So to say that these died in faith means that in death, they continued to look forward to the fulfillment of those promises which God had made to them. And there are great illustrations in this sense of the doctrine of perseverance. They persevered, excuse me, until the end. The language of perseverance, in case you're interested, is found in Revelation 14, 12, where it says, here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God, and they keep their faith in Jesus. John Owen wrote on this section we're looking at, there's no doubt but that the apostle commends the faith of them spoken of for its perseverance unto the end, as there is no faith genuine or accepted with God, but what doth and will do so. Their faith failed them not, neither unto nor in the last moments. Now, under this first heading, I want to offer two related thoughts with regard to this idea of faith. First of all, just kind of an expansion of the nature of the faith that perseveres. And I'm pulling here directly from John Owen. I thought he was very helpful. He makes four remarks about this kind of faith that endures to the end. Number one, he indicates it's the firm belief of a substantial existence after this life, without this all faith and hope must perish in death. So it's not just a further existence we could have, there's a belief in a subsistence, excuse me, a substantial existence after this life, but we could add it's a glorious belief in a glorious existence after this life because 1 Corinthians 2, 9 says, just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. A second remark about the character of this faith that endures, there's a resignation and trust of their departing souls into the care and power of God when they understood not how they could continue in their own conduct. It's like the Lord himself. In Luke 23, 46, Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. There's a committing of the soul into the care of God, a trust in God to take care of the soul. And then third, a belief in a future state of blessedness and rest, here called a heavenly country, or a city prepared for them by God. You might remember the words of the Apostle Paul. Philippians 1 in verse 23, he says, He says, I'm hard pressed from both directions. Having a desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better. Well, then in the fourth place, this includes faith in the resurrection of their bodies after death, that their entire persons which had undergone the pilgrimage of this life might be stated in eternal rest. And here he quotes Matthew. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And then a second comment here. would be the nature of perseverance that this faith feeds into. I'm using the phrase perseverance of the faith, and I thought it would be helpful just to take a moment to define what we're talking about here. This is straight out of our confession. We're talking about the perseverance of the saints. "'They whom God hath accepted in his beloved, "'effectually called and sanctified by his spirit, "'can neither totally nor finally fall away "'from the state of grace, "'but shall certainly persevere therein to the end "'and be eternally saved.' "'A. A. Hodge wrote, "'They whom God hath accepted in his beloved, "'effectively called and sanctified by his spirit, "'can neither totally nor finally fall away "'from the state of grace, "'but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved. The Puritan Thomas Watson says, how despairing is the Arminian doctrine of falling from grace. Today a saint, tomorrow a reprobate. Today a Peter, tomorrow a Judas. This must needs cut the sinew of a Christian's endeavor and be like boring a hole in a vessel to make all the wine of his joy run out. And Arthur Pink said, quite impossible is it for a sheep to become a goat, for a man who has been born again to be unborn. And John Owen wrote on this particular passage we're looking at here, it's the glory of true faith that it will not leave them. in whom it is. It will not cease its actings for their support and comfort in their dying, when the hope of the hypocrite perishes. He says, the life of faith doth eminently manifest itself in death, when all other reliefs and support must do fail. And then thirdly, under this heading, just a thought about the need for this kind of faith. I have two reasons why this kind of faith is needed. Number one, This kind of faith is needed because it's the only way to be delivered from the reality of the fear of death, at least the only way that I know of, that one can truly be delivered from the reality of the fear of death. And I'm thinking here back in Hebrews 2 and verse 15. Verse 14 says, He himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil. Verse 15 says this, might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. That's the unsaved condition. There's a fear of death all throughout the person's life. And the only deliverance from that is an interest in the person of Christ and his dying in our behalf. Well, then a second reason for the need for this kind of faith is because all people die, all men and women die in in one of two different conditions. One of two different conditions. People die, as you know, in different circumstances and different ages. But I'm arguing that people die in only one of two spiritual states, either in their sins or in faith. There is no third option. It's one of the two. And Hebrews 9, 27 says, inasmuch as it's appointed for a man once to die and then judgment. Every person has a single life before judgment. Not two lives, not three lives, but a single life before judgment. One commentator wrote, this repudiates reincarnation and any idea that there will be a second chance to believe after death. Since immediately after the reference to the fact of death comes the phrase, after that comes judgment with no hint of any intervening opportunity for a change of status. The Puritan Thomas Manson, excuse me, Thomas Manson indicates the right response to the certainty of death. He says this is the correct response. Let us provide for this hour that we may die in faith. That's his counsel. Let's provide for that hour that we may die in faith. I think probably most people would say to you or we would say to one another, it's a good idea to provide for your retirement, right? We would all say, it's wise for you to provide for your retirement. If you're talking to a younger person, maybe a person a little bit further along, you'd say, it's wise for you to think about the golden years and be prepared for that. We would say that's wise, even though many people, they don't even make it to retirement. We would say that's wise, even though if people do make it to retirement, it's just a very small part of their life, and then they are gone. So Thomas Manton is right. It is infinite wisdom to prepare for the eternal safety of the soul, and right now to make sure that you have a living, saving interest in the person of Christ and the blood that he's shed for sinners. There's infinite wisdom in that. So in the first place, we see here, The example of perseverance with Abraham, with Sarah, with Isaac, with Jacob. Secondly, and this is the first of three helps to perseverance. The first help is the assurance that is connected with faith, the assurance that is connected with faith. It's going to take a little bit for me to make this point, so just kind of hang with me here. It says they all died in faith, that their lives were continually regulated by faith up until the time of their death. And then the text says this, without receiving the promises, without receiving the promises. Now, it's fair to observe, I think this means without receiving the fulfillment of the promises. William Lane, all these people died not having received the fulfillment of the promises. Now, some are persuaded that the substance of the promises here are the possession of the land, the foundation of a great nation, and the blessing of the people of the earth through Abraham's descendants. And there's biblical precedent for that. Genesis, excuse me, chapter 12 and verse one. Now the Lord said to Abram, go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land, which I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12, 7, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to your descendants, I will give this land. So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. These all died before the promises came to fruition. So they did not receive the fulfillment of these promises in a physical sense. William Lane says, the tension between the reception of the promises and the realization was unresolved throughout the course of their lives. Yet these exemplars of faith did not allow even the event of death to call into question the validity of the promises. Let me add two comments in this connection. Number one, if the content of these promises in view, and there's no reason to think that they are not, are the blessing of the people of the earth through Abraham's descendants, the foundation of a great nation, and the possessing of the land. If that's the content of the promises here, it's only insofar as their ultimate fulfillment is found in the return of Christ and the blessings connected with that. And in verses 14 through 16, I think make that point very clear, and says, those who say such things, those who talk like this, make it clear they're seeking a country of their own. And indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out in this world, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country and a heavenly one, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them. And then secondly, the assurance of their hope or their faith is clearly not living in the land of promise in a physical sense in this world. The assurance of faith is the possession and participation in a country of their own, that earthly Canaan only pointed to. It's a country of their own. It's the better country here. And this becomes a reality commensurate with the return of the person of Christ. Let me read you a verse. from the Gospel of John chapter eight, and this is Jesus endeavoring to convince the Jews that he is greater than Abraham. This is what he says to them. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see, this is what Jesus is saying to the Jews. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad, and the term rejoiced It has a sense of to feel extreme happiness or elation, to rejoice greatly, is to be overjoyed. And what caused that great joy for Abraham, it was not that his physical descendants would be living in the land of Canaan. How could that cause him joy? He wouldn't participate in that. It's like somebody who always wanted to take a cruise on the Mediterranean, and now you're dying. And some friend comes along and says, I just want you to know that after you're gone, we're going to take a cruise on the Mediterranean. And you're a memory. We might even take some of your ashes and throw them out over the water. That's no encouragement. I'll be dead. You're not going to participate in that. There's no way that Abraham's great joy was the fact that his descendants would be living in this physical place in this world. His joy resided in the fact that he would participate in the full blessings connected with the return of the person of Christ. That's what caused him great joy. One commentator says, Jesus ultimately fulfills all Abraham's hopes and joys. D.A. Carson indicates, the fact remains that Jesus identifies the ultimate fulfillment of all Abraham's hopes and joys with his own person and work. And keep this in mind too. The previous chapters in the book of Hebrews, they are relentless in showcasing the supremacy and the glory of the person of Christ. He's the radiance of his glory. He's the exact representation of his person. He's the mediator of a new covenant. So the assurance comes with faith in the conviction of these things, hope for it's a future participation connected with the day of the Lord, the return of the Lord. and the institution of the new heavens, the new earth, participation in the heavenly country. Well, a second help to persevering in the faith is not only the assurance of faith, the assurance that goes along with faith, but I think also the affection that goes along with faith. And there's a little bit of overlap here, but I'm thinking of the words, but having seen them, that is the promises, and having welcomed them from a distance. And this phrase kind of expands on their previous one, they have seen them, that is the promises, welcomed them from a distance. And so we're advancing here in the realm of expectation and anticipation. And again, the substance or the content of the promises have their ultimate fulfillment in the return of the person of Christ. And the phrase, but having welcomed them from a distance, expands on the depth and the glory of this expectation, I think. in at least three different ways. Number one, that there is a perception or a sense in the soul of their reality. Notice that the term seen here, it means to understand or perceive. One wrote, in advancing this thought, the writer associates faith with the concept of sight. It's regulated by the principle of faith. The patriarchs were able to see as certain as had happened events that were unseen. There was a perception of them. And then secondly, there's not only a perception, there's an understanding, but in some sense, there's an affection for these future events in the soul. There's an appreciation and an affection. I'm thinking here of the import of the word, that they welcome them from a distance. The term means to embrace or to greet, to express greeting upon. One commentator indicated, welcome here has a connotation of happiness about the arrival of something. A work called the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament talks about the use of the term outside of the scriptures. In a letter of a greeting from a distance which is a substitute for greeting and embracing in a personal encounter It expresses sincere attachment in separation and thus serves to strengthen fellowship Another extra biblical source at one point comments on the plight of slaves. This term was used with respect to the plight of slaves. They were sold into a foreign country. As a result, were unable to dream again of greeting or saluting the soil of their native land, the idea of welcoming it or enjoying it. So the language indicates there's a perception of future blessing, but there's also an affection or delight in this future blessing. And then we notice also that they welcome these promises from a distance. This underscores that these material blessings especially pointed ahead to the day of Christ, ahead to the return of the person of Christ. They accepted them, or they welcomed them from a distance. It's the same sentiment, I think, as verse 28 of chapter 9, where it says, So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation, without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him, those who are eagerly looking forward to the return of the person of Christ. And then, excuse me, a fourth help in perseverance is a confession of their status in this world. How did they think of their standing or their status in this world? Well, the text says, having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, that's how they thought of themselves in this world. A confession is a serious or deliberate acknowledgement of how they viewed their status in this world. Having confessed they were strangers and exiles on earth. Confession is the idea of to profess, to make open and free declaration. So it's not an impromptu, hasty statement. It connotes conviction of mind based on careful, thoughtful consideration. So there's a sense of depth and seriousness. We see that because the term occurs in Romans 10. In verse 9, if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. And the substance of their confession was that they were strangers and exiles on earth. Those are the two words. Now these are synonymous, very closely related to each other. The first term, excuse me, strangers, is a person who comes from a foreign country and does not owe allegiance to your country, frequently of someone who does not speak one's native tongue, person belonging to a sociopolitical group other than the reference group, so someone who would say, I came from another country, I was not known to any of you. And then the second term translated to exiles is very similar, a sojourner, a foreigner, a person who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there with the natives temporarily, residing temporarily. And the only distinction I could see between the two is the second term, exiles, emphasizes the temporary nature of one's stay. It's not just that I'm from another place, but I'm not gonna be here very long. So there are three points about this confession of current status that I would draw your attention to. Number one, have you noticed the place that they regarded, the place of their existence that they regarded themselves as strangers and exiles was on earth. It's here on this earth that they thought of themselves as aliens or strangers or exiles. If you turn to 1 Peter 1, just a few pages to the right, this term occurs again. That is the term translated exiles, occurs as alien in 1 Peter 1. And it says here, verse 1, 1 Peter 1, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, who are chosen. So the idea here is it doesn't matter where they were at in this world. they still thought of themselves as aliens or exiles. It didn't matter what their particular location was. They viewed themselves as aliens anywhere on the planet. And that's true, I think, of any Christian at any point in time. We view ourselves in this way because we don't conform to the values of the world of this present evil age. We don't conform to a world that's in rebellion against the pure, holy, most high God. So anywhere we are at, And we regard ourselves as aliens and or exiles. And so the designation is always applicable because it's like this everywhere that one would go. Now, if we ask the question, what is it that makes a person an alien or a stranger in this world? The answer of 1 Peter 1 is election. It's because we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. That's what makes a person an alien in this particular world. And what is added here is we're chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. That means more than just the fact that God knows that we would be chosen, or excuse me, that he knows that we would believe, but rather he chose to set his affection upon us. There's a delight in him and there's an intention to set his affection upon us. So he knows this beforehand, but it's It's more than this. And then if we ask the question, what is the evidence or what is the indication that one is really an alien or a stranger in this world? The answer is there will be an ongoing deep-seated interest in holiness. Because Peter said, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We're sanctified by the Holy Spirit. That's talking about the Holy Spirit making election operative. And all I'm arguing for here is the way you and I know that we are of the elect, the way that we know whether we're an alien or a stranger in this world, if whether or not there really is a true ongoing desire to be holy because God is holy. And that must be the case because we're sanctified by the Holy Spirit. And the God who is holy says to us, be holy for I am holy. So that's the great indication that we are of the elect, that we are strangers, that we're exiles in this world. And let's pray. Father, I ask that you might take these considerations and apply them to our own soul for your honor and your glory. We thank you for the reality and the power and the glory of the gospel and pray that as we would prepare our hearts to worship you and to partake of the elements of the Lord's table, that you would increase our own appreciation for what you have been pleased to do for us and for our souls in and through your son. And we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.