distinction tonight in our study. It amongst the great heroes of faith that are recorded in the book of Hebrews chapter eleven, that he commends her in this great chapter, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, Sarah by name, and what a joy to recognize the blessed testimony that he gives to this dear woman. And we read, if I may, begin reading tonight. In chapter eleven of the book of Hebrews. And begin reading, if I may, at verse eleven. And read just verse eleven and twelve for the time being. Where we read through faith also. Sarah herself, which is strength. to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child, when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. May the Lord bless the reading of this portion, very brief, but we'll follow on in a few minutes later in the later words. But we have been having a very precious time recognizing the lessons for you and for me to follow in these days of adversity that we're in, from the example of God's dear children whom he mentioned. And what a joy to recognize, first of all, the presentation of Abel, so typical of that blessed beginning of your step of faith and my step of faith. Through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, we began the path of faith. May I re-emphasize with no apology for the repetition, as long as you and I are in this world, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we're the longest short, we're on the path of faith. And we are, according to the word of God, instructed to increase in faith, become stronger in faith. And then we found the following Abel's example. There was the example of Enoch continuing to walk with God for three hundred years as he walked in the days of great disaster and great destruction as well as miserable conditions of wickedness and lawlessness. But he walked with God. May God help you and me to walk with him faithfully. And then we have the example of Noah. As being forewarned of God, of things yet to come, he walked with fear. And he provided the provision of the deliverance, for the deliverance, of his own family and household by the building of the ark. at the same time condemning the guilty world of its sin and guilt and the judgment that was undoubtedly straight ahead for them. And then we had the joy of coming and seeing Abraham in the path of separation to God. And it's in conjunction with the path of Abraham tonight. We have the reading regarding Sarah. So we read a little bit further later on. concerning Abraham and his experience in the path of faith. But God, by his Holy Spirit, writes of his dear woman Sarah, I don't know whether you ever have noticed it in the reading of your Bible. In the Old Testament, I only know of one woman, a child of God who, when she died, God recorded her rage. amongst all the others throughout the realm of the Old Testament. Sarah alone is given a rage at her death of a hundred and twenty-seven years of age. But God takes us in the scripture tonight, as we well know, to the time when you come to the life of Abraham and I would like to bring it before you, there was a time in which God never revealed himself to Abraham for the space of thirteen years. It happened after the birth of Ishmael and the problem that Sarah together with Abraham had in connection with Ishmael and Hagar, which of course was determined later on by the departing of Hagar elsewhere, together with Ishmael. But at that time God did not speak to Abraham for the space of thirteen years. And when you come into chapter seventeen of the book of Genesis, God speaks to him again. He spoke to him particularly of this particular problem that we have before us, even in the scripture tonight, the multiplication of his seed. Some of you may remember that God told Abraham, Look for the stars, count them if possible. so shall I feed me. Then he also told him of another class of seed, an earthly class, who would be in the multitudes of the sands of the seed. And God gave to Abraham the great promise. There would be from his loins a multitude of people of a heavenly character and those of an earthly character who would come from him. And beloved, I say again, as we've done before, we're reading Galatians chapter three, I believe. The apostle writes that we who are the children of God today can be called and are called children of Abraham. He was called the father of the faithful. And I say verily, from the promise of God to Abraham, I'll give you a seed that is heavenly. greater than the number of the stars. I'll give you a seed that is earthly, greater than the number of the sands of the seashore. My beloved, what a promise. And because Abraham believed God, and what he said, it was counted to him for righteousness. He took God at his word, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. My beloved, we have to confess today, You and I only begin the path of faith when we confess that only Christ alone and his redeeming work is the basis of our righteousness with God. And thank God it is, and that forevermore. But I want you to think of something in the life of Abraham as well as Sarah as we go on. Abraham, at that time of which we have mentioned in Genesis seventeen, together with Sarah, they had their names changed. Sarah's name was Sarai before, and God changed it to Sarah, meaning princess. And Abraham is named before God changed it with Abram. Abram. And then God changed it to Abraham. His first name meant exalted man. But its second name, Abraham, meant father of many, father of a multitude. And I want you to think with me of Abraham's situation together with Sarah, when God changed their names. And many may have asked the name what Abraham bore, and he may have told them, Abraham, How many children do you have? One. Though his name meant father of a multitude, he only had one. In the sight of God as well as in the sight of man. To prom both he and Sarah as strong a multitude in the path of faith. Now we may all know the story. As you read further on in the eighteenth chapter of the book of Genesis, the Lord visited Abraham with two angels and communed with him. And in that time, at that time, he told Abraham, Sarah would have a child in the course of nine months, the usual carrying of the child before birth. Sarah laughed within herself. But the Lord heard it. And said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh? And Sarah denied it. But she did laugh. She laughed in derision. But you know, later on she changed her heart. Her faith began to be stronger. And she believed him. In fact, later on she did laugh. When Isaac was born, why did she call him Isaac? Because he meant laughter. And God had brought laughter into the home over the birth of this child by the great miracle that he wrought. Now we look in verse eleven of our chapter in the book of Hebrews and note the emphasize that God places. She believed him. Yes. We may indeed criticize her for her doubts. My beloved, even God can criticize you and me for doubts too. But he acknowledges through faith Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age. Now note the words of commendation. Because she judged him faithful. Who had promised? My beloved, she began to rest, and she did rest, on the promise. And God fulfilled it, as we well know. But she judged him to be faithful, and considered him to be faithful, who had given the promise. And now you and I must do the same. I think it is Paul that has written elsewhere. He is faithful that promise. And my beloved, what can we say but amen to the faithfulness of God and his promises? And let me give the assurance that we need. Well, we often sing the old hymn, Resting on the Promises, Standing on the Promises. I remember a dear old friend of mine said most people instead of standing on the promises, they should sing Standing on the Premises. They don't stand on the promises. You love it, look. She stood on the promise. She rested upon us. And my beloved, you and I can rest upon His promises. In every time of need. In every trial, in every difficulty. In every problem. In every phase of our experience upon the earth. But I want to emphasize one of the greatest promises that we have. We should be resting in and rejoicing in. If I go away, I will come again, said the Lord Jesus. and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know in the way ye know. What a joy to rest upon the promises of God, not only for our burdens of life, but for that blessed deliverance that will come when the Lord Jesus appears and takes his own to glory. My beloved, what a joy it is. Rest upon it. I think of the words of the psalmist. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. And may God help us to realize we have promises. And may I tell you very frankly, show me a word. Show me the proof in the word of God that God will save you. I think of the words in the book of Zephaniah, I think it is, where the prophet writes, he faileth not. And how true it is. The promises of God. Paul writes of them in Corinthians saying, The promises of God are yea and amen through Christ Jesus. And my beloved, what a joy to read that God honored the faith of this woman several long ago. But I want you to know what follows. Oh, I want you to note the blessing that was brought through her as we read through verse twelve. and I'd like to go through verse twelve and thirteen briefly. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead. Meaning, there is no physical power in Abraham, nor in Sarah to produce a child at their great age. But here it takes place, and they sprang there even of one. and him as good as dead, so many, and no, as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. My beloved, let me say frankly, and literally, it is an impossibility for a man to count the stars of the sky in number. It is an impossibility of a man to count the grains of sand on the seashore. Never will I forget the story that I read from a missionary in Arabia many, many years ago. He was on the shores of the Arabian Sea. And he noticed on the sand an old man sitting and doing a very strange thing. picking up the sand in his hands, and then he go back on the ground again, again and again, and again. He called in to be interested. He went to him. What are you doing here? The old man looked up and said, Leave me alone. I'm thinking. Then he was more interested to know, What are you thinking of? And to his amazement. This old Arab, not a Christian, not a Muslim. I'm thinking of eternity. So the happy surprise of the missionary to hear such a statement. Then he asked him another question. What is eternity? The old man said, what is eternity? And he lifted up his hands full of sand and said, If I could count all the grains of sand in the seashore of this world, if a bird could take one grain of sand away just one grain a year, when he had taken the last grain of sand, eternity would be just beginning. One sure thing, he had a firm grasp on the meaning of eternity. But I want you to notice something. This is the promise of God to Abraham and to Sarah. Of their seed. A heavenly multitude. And an earthly multitude. Would be brought to reality. I'm glad I belong to the heavenly seed. But may I say again. The Lord Jesus Christ will have a heavenly body. of believers, the bride, the church, and all through the Christian age. Every believer from Pentecost to the coming of the Lord at the rapture is in that great testimony and will be forever. But then, may I say again, God will yet have a great earthly see. He has had a great number. Some of them are real. Some of them were unfaithful, unfortunately, and some are today. But there will be a great multitude. And my beloved, how we can indeed rejoice. Here's the chapter on faith. But I want you to note something. What we have in verse thirteen, in reference to these people. These all died in faith. Abraham and Sarah lived approximately twenty-five hundred years before the Lord Jesus came to the earth. So that you and I might say today approximately forty-five hundred years have elapsed since God gave Abraham and Sarah the promise. How many children do they have? How many children has God produced? Both of the heavenly seed and the earthly seed are beyond numbering for you and for me. But I want you to note the expression in verse thirteen of the opening. These all died in faith. Oh my beloved, may I say again, what a joy it is to be a believer in the Lord Jesus. And when the end comes of the earthly pilgrimage, to die in faith. I think of the words of the Lord Jesus and let me bring them before your heart as he speaks of the closing days of the age before he comes back to the earth in power and glory. When the Son of Man cometh, he raises the question, shall he find thee faith upon the earth? For may I say lovingly, And seriously, before the end time comes, there's going to be a lack of faith, a departure from the faith, an apostasy from the faith. And I'm reading the Word of God that you and I in the Church today are facing the dangers of the closing date. And one of the great dangers is the destruction of the faith of Christianity. I said before you personally and emphatically into my own heart too, the greatest dangers that are facing the Christian testimony today are spiritual, not physical. Yes, there will be, and there are physical ones. But may I say the greatest danger that faces the Christian today is spiritual. We read Paul writing in Second Timothy chapter three, that in the last day some would depart from the faith. I read in chapter four of that same epistle that they will turn their ears away from the faith, from the truth of God. Beloved, may I exhort and encourage my fellow believers, seek to be faithful. to the truth of God. We need a reviving of that. To our own consciousness and in our own minds. To our own testimony in the assembly as a collective testimony. And it's only contributed to by our individual quality of life, whatever it may be. And I exhort my fellow believers. May God exhort you as well as myself to be more faithful. I think of the words that we've often quoted and we often quoted that the Lord says when he comes again he wants to say well done thou good and faithful servant answer thou into the joy of thy Lord and beloved covered that to be called faithful by him when he comes but I will say it demands the obedience of the heart the obedience of the life and the obedience to the Word of God. I'll give you an example. Our dear brother has called me on the telephone, troubled over the neglect of Christians towards the worship of the Lord and to the Lord's Supper. I wonder if not that could be said of even of here. Do we have every believer and every Lord's day gathered together to worship and to remember that blessed Lord who said, do this, do this till I come. And I say personally, my great joy at the Lord's suffer is when I take the bread and when I take the wine. I'm doing what He asked me to do in loving remembrance. But that's just an example. The beloved, we need to be stirred up, to be faithful. to all that we can do for him and be for him. Let me quote the words of Paul, well, as John wrote them in the book of Revelation chapter two, in chapter two. In chapter two of the Revelation, when he first wrote to the church of Episcopal, and to all those southern churches, he mentioned in chapter two the reason of departure. in verse four of chapter two. Thou hast left, not lost, but left thy first love. Meaning your first devotion to Christ. May I raise the question I do to my own heart. I can recall the days when the Lord first saved me, the joy that was mine, and the thrill and the devotion that was in my soul. for what he had done for me. And I say again, I've got to say what I have often sung in an old hymn years ago. Where is the joy that once I had when first I knew the Lord? My beloved me, I say, I thank God for that first devotion to Christ. And Lord knows that we need it all the time. And may God have us indeed to remember those words. Not that you've lost your first love, but you've left it. For what the Lord saw Was not anything And when you note the letter to the Ephesians And that letter to Ephesus In chapter two of Revelation He never accused them of being unfaithful to the truth They accused them of their heart Beginning to be faith The failure Look All failure begins where? In the heart. And faithfulness is manifested by the obedience of the heart and the faithfulness of the heart. I think of the old hymn and you know it well. We often sing it and why not? More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee. Hear thou the prayer I make on bended knees. Surely we can say that, Lord, give to thy people a greater devotion, a more faithful devotion. Now I want you to notice that along with this verse thirteen, these all died in faith. They kept on in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Oh, beloved, let me please point out to you. These were Old Testament saints. But their eyes, the eyes of their heart, were fixed upon what's coming ahead in the eternal glory. And we read in verse forty, no particularly as you read verse fourteen and down through verse sixteen. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country. That is unheavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. My beloved, I say again, we saw it in Abraham. It was his desire to, as we have in verse ten of this same chapter. He looked for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. And beloved, may I repeat again with emphasis, these dear believers of whom we have read in the lower part of this chapter. They too look for that heavenly city, the city of the living God. And beloved, may I say, as one is well said and now true it is, it is better on before. And beloved, what a joy of knowing. And I would like to emphasize one thing. If I may go back, if I may, to verse thirteen. They were persuaded and they embraced these promises. And note, they confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Now you may call yourself and I may call myself a citizen of the United States, and rightly so. Then may I add, well I think of the words of Paul in Philippians Our citizenship is in heaven. From whence we look for the Savior to come. Even Jesus. And thank God. Here we are to be as strangers and pilgrims. Traveling through. I think of a dear old hymn we often have sung. I am a stranger here within a foreign land. My home is far away upon a golden strand. And after that it be of realms beyond the sea, I'm here on business for my team. And beloved, please may I say again, when it comes to the world and its character and the world and all that's in it, the loss of the flesh, the loss of the eyes, the pride of life, and all that it contains in its riches, its wealth, its science, its knowledge. Look, you and I have a country that is far better. and a city to which we are going, the city of the living God. And let us read verse sixteen again, the closing verse of this section. But now they have, did they desire a better country? I wonder if you've ever noticed the word better in the book of Hebrews again and again. Better. Christ sacrificed a better sacrifice. It's priesthood, a better priesthood, and all the way through the book. You have the repetition of the word better. And here we say, read, we have the better contrary. A heavenly. And wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. Let me repeat in closing the words of the Lord Jesus. The word prepared. I go to prepare a place for you. And beloved, what a joy to realize. The Father's house is a prepared place for a prepared people. And what a joy to belong to those prepared people. Say by His grace. By grace through faith. But don't let me emphasize in closing. What joy to read. These characters of the Old Testament, who began in faith, who went on in faith, may God by his Holy Spirit help you and me to be faithful till he comes. Shall we pray? Our dearly beloved Father, oh Father, we thank thee for these examples. The record of them is all the way through the chapter. And a great example is given in chapter twelve of the beginning. Even our Lord Jesus, who's called the beginner and the finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God. Oh, blessed Lord. Oh, we've got so much that is ahead. Far better. We think of the words of Paul as we close in prayer. How those who have gone to be with Christ, and how him himself long to go and be with Christ, saying, It is far better. Blessed Lord. May it encourage us to be far better, obedient children of thine. on the way home the glory. And may these examples of faith have their repercussion upon our hearts and in our lives and in our testimony for thee. Please, we pray, Lord, again, revive our little assembly to the glory of thy name and to the encouragement of every believer, young and old, and even to the families, Lord, that we represent. to bring our loved ones to the Saviour for whom we pray. We ask it all giving thanks in our Saviour's name and say, Lord, please increase our faith in thy worthy and fearless name for thy glory. Amen.