From Greenville, South Carolina, we present Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, preaching Christ in all His fullness. Once again, we count it a privilege to welcome you to another broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, featuring the recorded messages of Dr. Alan Cairns, Minister Emeritus of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. On today's broadcast, Dr. Cairns continues his series of studies in the 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, as he brings the next portion of a message entitled, A Great Cloud of Witnesses, based on the opening verses of chapter 12. First of all, we invite you to enjoy this devotional thought from Spurgeon's collection called, Faith's Checkbook. Our devotional for today is entitled, Mark of Divine Approval. The text is James chapter 1 and verse 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Yes, he is blessed while he is enduring the trial. No eye can see this till he has been anointed with heavenly eyesalve. But he must endure it, and neither rebel against God, nor turn aside from his integrity. He is blessed who has gone through the fire and has not been consumed as a counterfeit. When the test is over, then comes the hallmark of divine approval, the crown of life. As if the Lord said, let him live. He has been weighed in the balances, and He is not found wanting. Life is the reward, not mere being, but holy, happy, true existence, the realization of the divine purpose concerning us. Already a higher form of spiritual life and enjoyment crowns those who have safely passed through fiercest trials of faith and love. The Lord hath promised the crown of life to those who love Him. Only lovers of the Lord will hold out in the hour of trial. The rest will either sink or sulk or slink back to the world. Come, my heart, dost thou love thy Lord truly, deeply, wholly? Then that love will be tried, but many waters will not quench it, neither will the floods drown it. Lord, let thy love nourish mine to the end. The day is set, the time has come, the witnesses arrive. The course is marked, the men prepared, all ways are set aside. Positions are assumed and taken, energies now reawakened. Empty thoughts are all forsaken, I must win the prize. I'll run this race with patience. I'll run this race with joy. Fix my eyes on Jesus' face, the one who saved me by His matchless grace. My course is set, my God designed it all for His great cause. I will not live for selfish gain or die for man's applause. My Savior, love, my passion, King, is every blessed word I'll cling. To Him is every wish I'll bring till Jesus calls me home. I'll run this race with patience. I'll run this race with joy. I'll fix my eyes on Jesus' face, the one who saved me by His matchless grace. I have the great provision. The Lord is all I need. He has already won the victory. From sin I have been freed. Oh, Lord, I must be faithful in every word and in deed. Oh, yes, I'll run this race with patience. I'll run this race with joy. It's my eyes on Jesus' face. The one who ran before me. The one who set the goal. The one who saved me by His matchless grace. The one who saved me by His matchless grace. In these troublesome times for our nation, many voices are looking to the government or to social action for the solution. But the only real answer to the human predicament is a true spiritual revival. Many Christians have no idea of what constitutes revival in the scriptural sense. Certainly the greatest revival in the history of the Christian church took place on the day of Pentecost. But down through the centuries there have been remarkable visitations of God during which thousands were gloriously saved. Times such as the Protestant Reformation, the revivals in England under John Wesley and George Whitefield, the Great Awakening in America associated with John Edwards. These were times of genuine spiritual revivals. The common factor in all of these events was an undeniable demonstration of the power of God rather than the ingenuity of man. In the early 1950s, such a revival occurred on the Isle of Lewis, one of the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. In the course of several years, hundreds of people were converted to Christ, and many churches had to be built to take care of them. Again, the Holy Spirit came down in power. The preacher during those days was the Reverend Duncan Campbell. Yet what took place on Lewis was not due to his pulpit skills, but to the overwhelming moving of God among the people. Strong men, hardened sinners, who mocked the preacher, were suddenly struck to their knees by the roadside under conviction of sin. Young people in a local dance hall left their frivolity and ran to the churches, crying for mercy upon their souls. Let the Bible Speak is pleased to make available CD copies of Duncan Campbell's own account of what happened during those Revival times on the Isle of Lewis. There's also a CD containing the personal testimonies of people who came to salvation in Jesus Christ during those Revival times. Either CD is $5, or you may obtain both for $8, which includes postage and handling. To obtain your own copy, you may simply send a check for either or both CDs to LTBS 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. Just request the CDs of The Revival on the Isle of Lewis. If you wish, you may email info at faithfpc.org. That's info at faithfpc.org. Or you may telephone us toll free at 866-877-LTBS. That's 866-877-5827. You will be blessed greatly as you listen to these accounts of the power of God at work. so so you Dr. Cairns now continues a message called The Great Cloud of Witnesses. The spirit of this passage found in chapter 12, verses 1 and 2 of Hebrews, is that of a great sporting event, such as the Olympics, where the saints in heaven are characterized as a great cloud of witnesses. The imagery here is of a group who serve as spectators to a race and who are cheering for those who are running. And from this text we see that believers are called to run a race for God. This is the nature of our calling. And the thought of those heavenly witnesses should inspire us to run our best so that we may obtain what Paul referred to as the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Such a race involves considerable cost to the runner for it demands the utmost exertion and commitment. Unlike earthly races, however, The Christian strength comes not from within himself, but from Christ. We are to run, looking unto Jesus. Now, to continue this message, a great cloud of witnesses. Here is Dr. Cairns. Zeal, regulated by the word of God, is a wonderful servant. But unregulated, just wildfire, will destroy both the man that has it and all that it touches. The big thing about this race is, of course, that it's getting near the end. It's progressive. Now, in a race, you vary speed. In athletics, this wouldn't worry you. I mean, in my race, though you nowadays are getting so good that they nearly run all four laps at the same speed, but in my race, they normally, have some variation of speed. There's a testing out of the opposition. There's the point mid-race where the test is made somewhat more tough to see what the other fellas have. There's the sudden spurt to put distance between you and the field. And then there's the kick for Holden. There's a varying speed, but it's always making progress. always making progress. Christians get worried about this at times. You can't live your life at breakneck speed, but you can live your life constantly making progress. And the varying speed of a Christian's life is going to be determined by many things. Speed varies. A runner may be running into the wind. He may be running with a tailwind. He may be running in traffic. He may be running in the open space. That's the way it is in a Christian's life. There are times, even in the teeth of the gale of opposition and temptation, there are times when, as happens to a runner, I don't know how they do it, when they run through the pain, sometimes with fractured bones, sometimes with other physical disabilities that happen during the race. There are times when in the Christian's life, there are hindrances like that. But with your eye upon Christ and your heart set upon the goal, you must run. You must keep going forward. It is never right for a Christian to stop. Do you understand that? It's never right for a Christian to turn back It's never right for a Christian, even for a time, to seek to drop out. We are called to run and make progress and keep on keeping on and keep on going on. That requires running with patience. The word patience, actually, I think here has the idea of perseverance. It's sticking it out. Now, how do you stick it out? Well, the second thing these people do as they remind us that this race must be run by faith. Sticking it out is tough. Sticking it out is a work. It's an exertion. It calls for vigor. It calls for labor. It calls for many, many things that are hurtful and the flesh doesn't like them. So how do you do it? It's all right for me to tell you, you run with patience. That's not going to make you run with patience. I could tell you all day until I'm blue in the face. You be a man of prayer. That's not going to make you a man of prayer. You could say to yourself, I'm going to do better. You'll not do any better. That's a sad thing to have to say, but it's true. And I have to be honest with you. And so many preachers think that when they have told you what you ought to do, well, that's the battle over. They get you to make a decision to say, is there anybody here wants to do it? And I have no doubt if I were to make an appeal right now and say, are there Christians here? And you haven't been running the race the way you ought to run it. And you're saying, Lord, I want to run the race better. And by your grace, I'm going to run the race better. It's hardly a Christian who's honest with himself who could do anything else but say, yes, Lord, I respond to that appeal. And I have to be the first. The trouble with that approach is, come tomorrow morning, you're back to where you started. The preacher hasn't done his job when he's only gone that far. I think it's the mark of a true Christian that he wants to run the race. He wants to be faithful. He wants to be an overcomer. He wants to stick this out. He wants to overcome every difficulty and every obstacle. And he wants to run through all the elements of opposition and all the pain and weakness of his own frame. But how to do it? How to do it? That's the question. Well, we're to do it. looking unto Jesus. So simple, and yet so far to so many people. Looking unto Jesus, that's faith. And I want you to see the basic doctrinal truth here, that what we believe governs what we do. What we believe governs what we do. And especially what we believe concerning Jesus Christ governs what we do. And I tell you, most Christians are having a hard time running the race because they do not draw any direct line of communication between their belief in Christ and what they're trying to do. It's as if believing in Jesus is what you do to get saved. But that's in the past and now we're left on our own and we've got to go on under our own steam and do the best we can. That's not true at all. What you believe about Christ is what's going to give you a motivation to serve. That's what's going to give you power to serve. That's going to give you heart when everything else would dishearten you. Take it in your own personal life. You run into trouble. Your friends forsake you, they let you down. Now let's be honest, friends, well, the best of friends, will let you down, even when they don't mean to. I get scared when people, doesn't happen to me too often, but strangely enough, it's even happened to me, when people think too highly of me and look too much to me. I've mentioned to you before a very brilliant young woman in my church in Ballymoney. who wasn't showing a lot of sense in this direction. The Lord had used my ministry in her life, and she had come into salvation in the joy of the Lord, and she was really going on well with God. But to her, I became an almost infallible pope, so that what I said was right because I said it. And I remember taking her aside one day, and I said, Emma, you've got to get beyond this. You've got not to depend on your pastor, but you've got to get your eyes constantly on the Lord, because there will come a time when, even unwittingly, I will feel to live up to your idealistic expectation. There's no man can live up to this expectation, but Christ can live up to it and he will live up to it. Get your eyes on him. There are times that your friends will let you down. times when troubles will afflict you and overwhelm your soul, everything is calculated to dishearten you. So how do you go on? How do you run the race when the bottom has fallen out of your world? How do you run the race when your health is failing? How do you run the race when the family's giving you trouble, when money's short, and when the future looks black and bleak? How do you run the race then? You get your eyes on Christ, you realize there are some things that do not change. Christ is my savior. He loved me from all eternity and he loves me still. He gave himself for my salvation and his blood has not and will not lose its power. Day, he's at the right hand of God living, pleading for me, interceding for me. He is my forerunner to glory, and he guarantees my arrival there. And he says, in the meantime, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. And through all the toil and all the trial, I will support you, and I will meet your need. and I will do you good and whatever happens remember ultimately it's for my glory and for your good. I want to tell you when you can see Christ you'll get the heart to go on. You live and run this race by faith looking unto Jesus and what you believe and especially as you focus on the person and the work of the Redeemer you'll run the race and persevere. The third thing these people in the cloud of witnesses do for us is that they warn us of the hindrances we must deal with. We are to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. The word weight has the literal significance, this is going to hit hard the preacher and many listeners, the literal significance of a swelling whatever increases the size and the weight of the body so as to hinder its fitness to run. Did you ever see a marathon runner the shape of some of us? He would not only be an athlete, he'd be an absolute miracle. It's a young lady on the American gymnastic team. She's not a world beater, and I don't think she ever will be. Things just didn't happen at the right time for her. Great gymnasts among men reach the towering height of five foot five or five foot six normally. Among women, women. They're about 14 or 15 years of age. They weigh between 85 and 95 or 100 pounds. And they stand all of 4 foot 11, 5 feet tall. This young woman, her body had the audacity to grow up. And she became a young woman. So what does she do? For years. She lives on the strictest diet that she is like a willow, so that there's not an ounce of extra flesh that would hinder her great goal of pursuing her athletic career. I'm not saying that she's wise in what she does. In fact, to be quite honest, I think that she's very unwise for many reasons. Paul looked at athletes like that and he drew a spiritual lesson. And he says, get rid of every weight, get rid of every encumbrance to spiritual progress. You've been listening to Let the Bible Speak, the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. We hope you've enjoyed and benefited from today's program. We're here as your servants for Christ's sake. If we can be of any further help to you in the things of the Lord, we invite you to contact us. If you would like to receive our booklet, Separated Unto the Gospel, a booklet that sets forth the beliefs and standards of the Free Presbyterian Church, You may have a copy free of charge simply for the asking. Our mailing address is Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. Our email address is info at faithfpc.org. That's info at f-a-i-t-h-f-p-c dot o-r-g. If you would like to learn more about the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, or if you'd like to see if there is a free church in your area, we invite you to visit our website, www.fpcna.org. That's www.fpcna.org. On behalf of Dr. Alan Cairns, this is Charles Kelsch saying, thank you for listening and inviting you to join us again as we Let the Bible Speak.