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. Today, 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 called The Cure for Fainting. First of all, please enjoy this devotional thought taken from Faith's Checkbook by the great 19th century English preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Today's selection is called, Work is Done, Rest in Him. The text is Hebrews chapter 4, verse 9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. God has provided a Sabbath, and some must enter into it. Those to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. Therefore that Sabbath remains for the people of God. David sang of it, but he had to touch the minor key, for Israel refused the rest of God. Joshua could not give it, nor Canaan yield it. It remains for believers. Come, then, let us labor to enter into this rest. Let us quit the weary toil of sin and self. Let us cease from all confidence, even in those works of which it might be said, they are very good. Have we any such? Still, let us cease from our own works as God did from His. Now let us find solace in the finished work of our Lord Jesus. Everything is fully done. Justice demands no more. Great peace is our portion in Christ Jesus. As to providential matters, the work of grace in the soul and the work of the Lord in the souls of others, let us cast these burdens upon the Lord and rest in Him. When the Lord gives us a yoke to bear, He does so that, by taking it up, we may find rest. By faith we labor to enter into the rest of God, and we renounce all rest in self-satisfaction or indolence. Jesus Himself is perfect rest, and we are filled to the brim in Him. God has made me gaze upon thee, and thy beauty fills my soul. ♪ Where the lift I place upon thee ♪ of my Father's glory. in the joy of what Thou art. I am finding now 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 As Dr. Cairns continues this series of studies in what is known as the Hall of Fame of the Heroes of Faith, chapter 11 of Hebrews, he has come to verse 3 of chapter 12. The text says, For consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The emphasis in the 11th chapter is upon living by faith. Dr. Cairns has been showing that it is by faith in the finished work of Christ that Christians receive the grace and the strength to endure in the race that is set before us. In the scriptural sense, fainting is a great weariness that comes upon God's people as a result of their battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Often, adverse circumstances that never seem to have an end can cause the Christian to think of giving up. Yet, in a great declaration, the text exhorts us to consider Christ. That is the key to overcoming fainting. Now to continue the message called, The Cure for Fainting, here is Dr. Cairns. The men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us. Slack not thy hand. When that came to be translated into Greek, the very word that is used here for faint, in your mind. Faint is the word that was used. Slacken not your hand. Do not relax your hand. In other words, Joshua, do not let your resolve be weakened. Do not let your vigilance be relaxed. Do not let your promise be broken. Do not let your strength be exhausted. Joshua, slacken not your hand to come and help us. Now that's the very thought that Paul is expressing here when he says, lest you become famed in your mind. lest you become, and notice the repetition, I said the first word has in it the idea of mental exhaustion. This one doesn't necessarily have in it the idea of mental exhaustion, so therefore he adds the words in your mind. He's dealing specifically with the area, the sphere of the mind of the child of God. And he's saying that you can become tired out You can become enfeebled through exhaustion. Remember what he wrote to the churches of Galatia in Galatians chapter six and in verse nine. He says, let us not be weary in well doing for we shall reap in due season if we faint not. or quite literally, for not fainting we shall reap in due season. This, then, is the danger to the people of God, that they can become weary, tired, exhausted, become despondent, become faint-hearted. This is the danger. Notice it's a danger that is located first and foremost in the mind. Then it will travel to the will. And then it will be seen in his actions, in his everyday life. Paul is warning us about such a mental and spiritual weakness or staleness. as is going to sap our vital energy and our ability to run the race. I have given you numerous examples in the past, especially as I looked at verse one of this passage of scripture, that in athletic competition on the physical level, bodies may be finely tuned. The muscles may be at their strongest. And yet if the athlete is not strong in mind, he cannot possibly compete effectively. Paul knows this is even more true in the matter of running the race. Let's be very, very down to earth about this. We have in the church, this church and every other church, some great strong men. Bodily, they have tremendous energy. But that doesn't mean it counts for anything spiritually. Now, it can count for something spiritually. But you know, I have been in places, I've been in tough spots where we have had to take a stand for God, where the force of hell has been already against us. And really, I could pick out some weak-bodied women that I would rather have had there beside me in those occasions than many a strong man because they had the spiritual, moral, and mental power to do something for God. You see, it's possible in the spiritual life to have no mind, No heart, no spiritual strength to be so spiritually steel that even your natural abilities count for nothing in the work of God. You think of this. Maybe I'm speaking of somebody here today. In fact, let me change that. I have no doubt I'm speaking of a lot of people here today. And I'm speaking from experience. I'm not talking down to you from the heights of Mount Everest to say, you poor souls, I'm glad I never have to experience this. There's not one of us here, but has this in his own experience. We have had such a mental and moral and spiritual stillness about us. that it has sapped our ability to serve God. It has led us to give up doing our plain duty. How many a time we know what we ought to do and we just don't have the energy to do it. We know that we should pray. We know that we should be rejoicing in the Lord. We know that we should be witnessing. We know what we ought to be doing. But we don't have the energy to do what our plain duty is. This staleness saps our energy also so that it causes us to take a different attitude to sin than we know we ought to take. We, instead of putting the finger on sin, recognizing sin, confessing sin, repudiating sin, and turning away from sin, we begin to come up with reasons why sin is not so sinful. We become to come to the place where we begin to rationalize. We become the greater hypocrites. Because we put our finger in the same sin in somebody else's life, we have no doubt as to its sinfulness there, but my, once it comes home to our own lives, it's altogether different. This steelness sapping our energy also ensnares us in compromise with the world and with the devil. Now this is the danger. It's a real danger. Paul says, lest ye be weary and faint in your mind, lest you become mentally, spiritually exhausted and so enfeebled that you can't do your duty, you can't take a stand against sin, and you just slide into compromise. That's the danger. Now, follow him carefully. because he makes also a great declaration. Watch it. Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be weary. Notice the force of the lest. Consider him lest ye be weary. What's he saying? Consider him and you will not become weary and faint in your mind. That's the plain meaning. Consider him, Paul says, and it is impossible for you to become weary and faint in your mind. That's one way of putting the declaration. Let me turn it around and therefore put it in another way. What Paul is declaring here is that Christians become weary and faint in their mind when they forget the Lord. That's what he's saying. When they get their mind off Christ. Oh, while they have their minds firmly set upon the Lord Jesus, They cannot become weary and faint in their mind. They may become weak in body. They may become physically drained because Christians are still in the body, the greatest preachers, the greatest missionaries. Even the apostles themselves found that their physical resources were drained. The Lord Jesus said, come ye apart and rest a while. That's perfectly natural and normal. but they do not become faint and weary in their mind. But once God's people get their eyes on circumstances, not on the Savior, then they do become weary and faint in their mind. Let me give you a couple of outstanding examples. I suppose in the New Testament, the most famous example is Peter walking in the water. He walked toward the Lord. I've often said when I refer to this passage of scripture that I'm not among those who want to berate Peter for his great failure, because I don't think there's one of us would have been any better than the other 11 who were still stuck inside the boat. At least Peter did get his leg over the side of the boat and he did get on the water and he did walk on the water by faith in Christ. But then he saw the rims and the wheels, boisterous. And he saw his danger. He saw his circumstances and he began to sink. The presence of Christ had not changed. The power of Christ had not changed. The promise of Christ had not changed. But Peter wasn't looking at Christ anymore. Peter was looking at the wind-tossed waves. So he began to sink. Not only that, but as he looked at those wind-tossed waves, Peter began to reason as a carnal man. You see, when he was in the boat, he saw the same waves. He was a Galilean fisherman. Nobody knew the treachery of the Sea of Galilee better than Peter. Nobody knew the impossibility of walking on top of the water better than Peter. He saw those waves, but you see, as he saw those waves in the boat, Peter was looking unto Jesus, he was considering Christ, and he was thinking as a spiritual man. And he said, Lord, bid me. come to you." In other words, Lord, give me your word and I stand in your word and not a thing in heaven, earth, or hell can ever overcome the word of God. He was thinking right. And as he thought right, he walked in the water at the Lord's command. When you have the Lord's word for something, you can defy anything and anybody. When the Lord bids you, God's command implies a promise. You can take it with both hands and trust Him. But when Peter got out in the water, he began to think as a carnal man, began to think, what I'm doing is impossible. What I'm doing can't possibly be true. What God expects of me cannot possibly be done. He began to sink. This is a very real danger for every Christian. 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.