Faith Comes by Hearing

A little book right before the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, written by a man named Jude. Most of the scholars attribute the book of Jude to Jesus Christ's younger half-brother. Like his half-brother James, who wrote an epistle, Jude, in the latter part of the first century, wrote an epistle, too. We've talked about his epistle a little bit over the last month, and you know what the gist of it is. We're not going to talk about all of the book of Jude today, but he has a very interesting way that he introduces his letter. I want to start there this morning, so let's go back to Jude and just read verse 3.

In Jude, verse 3, he says, Now, what he's writing there, anyone who has ever given a sermon, et. or a sermon, has had this happen. He sat down to write a letter. But he sat down to write the letter. He had one thought in mind, but then the subject changed.

We often find that when we're putting together sermonettes or sermons. We might think we're going to talk about one thing, but as we put it together, a different subject emerges. It's comforting because it's what God wants his people to hear. So what happened there with Jude? He goes, I was going to sit down and talk to you, Jews and Gentiles, about our common salvation. But you know what?

I'm going to write to you about faith. I'm going to write to you about faith, and I'm going to exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. So at the time that he's writing this, God led him to say, the people need to be advised. They need to look at their faith. They need to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. And we know who the saints are in the New Testament. They're the people who God calls, who repent, who are baptized, who live their lives through the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and endure to the end.

But among the church at that time, as Jude saw, there was something going on, and they needed to think about faith again. And it was once delivered, he says. And we know where faith comes from in the New Testament times. Really, everything points back to Jesus Christ. He was our example of faith. We look at what he did and how he was born, a human.

How he died and laid in that tomb for three days. He had such faith and belief in God the Father and the plan that he was willing to give up life. So that you and I would be able to have our sins forgiven and have the hope of eternal life.

Faith, as he was here on earth, faith was a key subject that he would talk about. How many people, hundreds or thousands, came to him and they were healed because they had faith in him? How many times did he say, by your faith you've been healed? All the time, talking about faith, always having people think about faith. And he goes, and Jude tells us, you know what he tells us today, earnestly contend for the faith because something can happen to our faith if we don't watch.

If we don't watch what we're doing and what's going on in our lives. You know, Jesus Christ is who speaks to us today. Let's turn back to Hebrews. We're going to see that Hebrews has a lot to say about faith and how we might lose our faith and not even realize we've lost our faith and what we can do to gain it back if that's happened to us.

But in Hebrews 1 and 1, it tells us, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time, passed to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. So we know the Old Testament.

We know that God inspired those prophets, people like Moses, people like Isaiah, people like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, all the minor prophets, all the authors of the Old Testament books. God spoke to the people through those prophets in Old Testament times. He inspired those writings. They're here for us today. They're as true today as they were back then, and we see the prophecies of Jesus Christ coming the first time, the prophecies of Jesus Christ in his return. Those things are all valid.

Those were all inspired by God. That's how he spoke to the people in Old Testament times. But today, he speaks to us through Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ. And so we have the New Testament. We have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We have all the epistles of Paul, the other general epistles as well. All inspired by Jesus Christ. Not doing away with the Old Testament, because Jesus Christ was very clear in his sermon on the Mount, the very first sermon that we have recorded where he says, Don't think that I came to do away with the law and prophets.

Those are there. Those are still valid. You'll learn a lot from those. Those are still true, and you can find truth about the end time, even in those laws and prophets. And the law and the way of life that God laid down for the people then, that still applies to us today. He said, Don't think that I've done away with that. That's not why I'm here. But you know what? Listen to me from here on out. Watch my example. See how I do things, because I'm here not to do away with those, not to do away with the Ten Commandments.

I'm here to fill them up. I'm here to complete them. No longer just a physical law, don't kill, don't murder, don't commit adultery, but a spiritual law as well. Now you obey God and you love God, not just in the physical things you do. That's important, but in your heart. The way you think, the way you're transformed. The things that the people of the Old Testament that never had the Holy Spirit were never able to understand.

And so, you know, we have Jesus Christ who speaks to us. And we see His life, we see His words, we have so many of them recorded for us there. And in the Epistles, you know, we read the Epistles of Paul, we read James, we read John, we read Revelation, we read all these books, all inspired by Jesus Christ.

He taught those apostles. They walked with Him for three and a half years. James and Jude, his brothers, were with Him.

You know, Paul, he was trained, he was taught by Jesus Christ, and he wrote what Jesus Christ gave him to read, or gave him to say.

Today, he speaks to us through his words, and as we have our Sabbath services, and as we speak, we speak from the Bible, we speak from the Word of God. Today, God speaks to us still through those inspired writings and through what we hear every week.

You know, Jesus Christ, you know, I mentioned that, you know, His life was about faith. He taught faith by the way He lived, and people learned faith by believing in Him, seeing that when someone was brought to Him, boy, things like blindness could be healed, things like deafness could be healed, and they believed in Him, and there was that faith.

And Jesus Christ, you know, made a comment a few times to people saying, I haven't seen faith like this even in Israel.

I mean, here's my people. They don't even have as much faith in me as some of the Gentiles do.

You know, Paul later wondered about the Israelites, too, why they didn't understand, why they didn't have faith in Jesus Christ.

And when we think about the subject of faith, you know, we could go around the room if I wanted to, and you could probably all tell me a verse that has to do with faith, you know, some of them I've mentioned.

But some of them, well, we're here in Hebrews. Let's look at a couple of them.

In Hebrews 11, we have the whole, what we call the faith chapter.

In it, it chronicles the lives of men and women who lived their life in faith, willing to give up everything for the truth and the faith that they had in God, but also the faith that encompasses the beliefs and the doctrines that we all abide by.

In Hebrews 11, verse 6, to show how important the subject of faith is, it says, but without faith, it's impossible to believe Him.

Well, we better be sure our faith is intact, because if it's impossible to please God without faith, then we better be sure faith is something that we are rock solid in our faith.

For He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In verse 1 of chapter 11, it gives us the definition of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

We can't see those things yet, but we believe it. We know it. We have faith. We don't see the kingdom of God. We haven't seen Jesus Christ returning yet, but we believe it.

We believe it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

You know, back up a few verses into chapter 10. In verse 36, the verses that lead up to that definition of faith, they're kind of telling.

In verse 36 it says, you, and the author of Hebrews here, is talking to a group of people that, and they also say Hebrews was written about the same time as Jude in the latter part of the first century.

And he's talking to people who probably had some faith waning because he talks a lot about faith in the book of Hebrews.

It says, for you have need of endurance, so that after you've done the will of God you may receive the promise.

For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and not tarry, now the just shall live by faith.

But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. The just will live by faith. That's what keeps us going.

We believe, we know, we look forward to that time. All the things that go along with our calling, all the things that go along with our enduring to the end.

We are not, and he says, if any of you draw back, which means our faith can wane as time goes on.

You know, we read in 2 Peter about, you know, there's some who are saying, really? Is Christ coming back? Haven't you been talking about that for 50 years, 60 years? Haven't you been talking about that forever? Verse 39, he says, but we're not of those who draw back to perdition, but we are of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Gotta have the faith. Gotta have the faith.

So we have books written about faith. Faith is a subject we all know. We've all heard sermons about it how many times. You know, we can rattle off the definitions of it. But then we have Jesus Christ making a comment that probably all of us stop and think when we read it.

Back in Luke 18, Jesus Christ, at the times, he says, you know, your faith has made you well. I haven't seen faith such as this in all of Israel.

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to that mountain, move, all these things that he would talk about. Faith.

And the miracles that he was doing on earth and what people saw. In Luke 17, verse 8, now let's pick it up in verse 6.

Of course, the chapter opens up here with the widow who is always pleading to the judge. And finally he listens to her. In verse 6, the Lord says after he gives them this story, this parable, he goes, Well, here what the unjust judge said, Shall God not avenge his own elect, Who cry out day and night to him, Though he bears long with him? Don't you think he's going to do it? He said he would do it. He said he would. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?

Faith is right there at the foundation. It's because of faith that you and I are sitting here today. If we didn't have faith in what we heard, if we didn't have faith in the words of the Bible, we wouldn't be sitting here today.

And Jesus Christ can say, you know, I'm going to return. You people have endured with me, Terry with me. I'm returning.

But when I come, will I really find faith? Will I really find faith on the earth?

Now, just like Jude, who was writing to a church and said, you know what? What I'm compelled to write to you is earnestly content for the faith that was once delivered to you.

Open up your eyes. Something's not right.

The Arthur of Hebrews, who wrote around the same times, had a lot to say about faith and what saving faith is and what can happen to us.

If we allow ourselves to fall in, you know, to the problems that we could fall into in this world. One chapter back in Luke 17, Jesus, you know, was talking to his disciples again. And in verse 5, they turned to him and asked him, you know, a question, or not actually make a request of him.

Verse 5 says, the apostle said to the Lord, increase our faith.

You know, we feel like we need more faith.

You tell us these words, and they all mean something. Increase our faith. How often do we ask God, or even think about, where's our faith?

Increase our faith.

So then Christ goes in, and he, you know, gives them the parable, if you will, of the unprofitable servant.

And kind of there in that, he, you know, he tells them, there's something about faith, what it results in, you know. You're just doing just what's required of you.

There's a problem. And if you really have faith, you'll be a profitable servant. It'll lead you into, it'll lead you into a life of service.

You know, we've talked in our Bible studies, and several times it's come up. Certainly, we're in the book of James, but even in the book of Revelation. Now, faith without works is dead.

And we've been commented that works without faith is dead. You can, you can work all day long. You can serve, you can do everything. You can do every single job that needs to be done at Sabbath services. You can be there every week. All those works mean nothing if they're not mixed with faith.

On the other hand, you can say, oh, I have faith, I believe. But if there's no works to go along with it, it's empty. Faith alone, or saying, I have faith, is empty. If it's not mixed with works, if it doesn't produce action, if it's not visible to people, your faith, then there's something missing. There's something missing, and the faith that God wants us to have, you know, we, we need to look at, we need to examine ourselves.

How do we, how do we increase our faith? You know, how do we increase our faith? Christ gives the parable about serving more. And certainly, you know, we can, we can examine our, our, ourselves and everything. But let's go back or forward, I guess, to Romans, Romans 10. Because Paul, who was inspired by Jesus Christ to write the messages that he did to the Gentile churches that were popping up along Asia Minor, he tells us where faith comes from. In Romans 10, verse 17, he writes, So then, and when we see the word so then, no, it's a summary of what's gone before. So he concludes, So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

You know, I think back to how God called me. My parents were in the church, and I know how God called them.

They heard one of my dad's best friends talking about the church. They would talk about this and that and everything, and as he heard him talk, he would go back and look in the Bible, the word of God, and realize, boy, everything I've been taught growing up and everything I've lived in my life is totally wrong. This is it. And I grew up in that church, or in that family, and I was taught that. But it was one day when we were sitting at a feast of tabernacles that I was listening, and it struck me, and what I heard that day come out of the mouth of Mr. Armstrong, who was the pastor general of the church at that time, clicked. And what I did was go back, listen to what he said, and I went back and looked at the word, and everything, you know, wasn't anything new, but it all meant difference. But I think if all of us, if you go back and look, where did you first come by faith? Was it your parent? A friend? Turning through a radio dial and hearing a voice on there that was talking from the Bible, the word of truth, that caught your attention?

How was it? Oftentimes it's by what we heard, and God inspired Paul to write, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You know, this is the word of truth. This is where we need to have our eyes and our minds most of the time. It's great to read booklets, it's great to read magazines and everything, but boy, don't ever get your eyes and mind off of the word of God. This is where inspiration comes from. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So when you come to church services in a church of God, you're going to hear preaching from the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It's not going to be just, as you can maybe have tuned into a few popular evangelists, and what you hear is story after story after story, and there may be one Scripture reference, but the rest of the half-hour is all talk, and very little reference to the word of God, because faith can come by stories and anecdotes and feel-good things. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. God says it. Let's go back and look at the context of what Paul is talking about here, that he can come to a conclusion that says that. We back up to verse 1 of chapter 10. We see that he's talking about Israel, and Israel who should have known who Jesus Christ was. They had all the prophecies. They said they knew the Bible. They should have seen Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah, but they rejected him. They didn't listen to it. They didn't want to hear it. So he says in verse 1, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to God's knowledge. Oh, man, they do all those things in their church. Look at what they do on the Sabbath. They keep all these laws and all these things. They go to the altar. They do this. They do that. They've got a zeal, but they don't do what God says. They kind of have their own traditions. They have their own things that they do, and that's what they're doing. They think that God is pleased by that, and yet they're missing the thing because they don't have faith. They don't have hearing. They're not looking at the Word of God for they being ignorant of God's righteousness.

Right? It wasn't that they were ignorant of God's righteousness. And seeking to establish their own righteousness. Oh, we'll do things our way. This is the way we want to do it. This is ours. Kind of looks the way God says to do. We kind of are looking at the Bible as our basis, but that was the story of the Jewish religion. And that's a story of religion in the world today. Seeking to establish their own righteousness. Not doing it exactly the way the Bible said. Not adhering to every word. Not watering it down. Not compromising it. Not using human logic to say, well, I think God means this and whatever. But just simply doing what God said. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law. For righteousness to everyone who believes. Christ is the answer. Jesus Christ did it all. And you know what he said? He said, keep the law in the spirit as well as in the letter. And he lived that way perfectly. He's an example for us. And then he goes through some verses here and everyone. But let's things with Moses and everything. But let's drop down to verse 10. He says, For if the heart, or with the heart, one believes under righteousness. And with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Oh, salvation's the issue. Not our will. Or one way. You know, one way to salvation. With the heart, one believes under righteousness. Sees what God says, lives that way. Discounts self. Discounts preferences. Discounts, you know, what I want to do or what I think is the right way. And just kind of looks at the pure Word of God. He hears it, lives it, applies it, puts it in his heart, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. Whoever believes on him. And he quotes from Isaiah there, again, validating the Old Testament. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord, overall, is rich to all who call upon him.

God's calling whoever he will today, all backgrounds, all races, all ethnicities. There's no distinction. And then he says in verse 13, For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How to believe in him? Got a call on him. And then he asks four questions coming up here in verse 14. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How are they going to know what to do? How are they going to know what to do? Right? They're living in ignorance. We have billions of people who have lived and have never heard the word, the name Jesus Christ, who don't know anything about the Bible. How will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And so he gets into what the Church is. And he gets into the preaching. Jesus Christ gave the Church a commission. Preach the gospel into the whole world. Preach the good news of the coming Kingdom. Teach them who Jesus Christ is. Teach them how he lived. Teach them what they must do. That they must come to repentance and give their lives to God because he is returning. He is going to set up a kingdom and they can be part of that. Preach it. And the reason he says, preach it, is because it has to be heard. And so in Ephesians 4, he sets what the standard for his Church is and how it would go. How they shall they hear without a teacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.

So Paul was doing that in the first century Church. They were doing that. Today, it is done. You know, is the gospel of Christ, Jesus Christ, preached to the whole world? Yes. Is it preached in Sabbath services? Yes. Is it preached on the Internet? Yes. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can go to a website and they can hear any sermon they want that would be preaching the good news of the coming of Jesus Christ. It's being preached. So is the problem then that Paul is getting with? Is it with the preacher or the preaching or is it with the hearing? Is it with the hearing? Because in verse 16 then he says, but they haven't all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who's believed our report? You know, it's like, okay, we've said what you said, God. They're not doing anything. They're not changing. You know, Jeremiah would say the same thing. You know, I'm preaching exactly what you say to say, but look, they may be hearing what I have to say, but it is not being mixed with any kind of reaction whatsoever. They just keep doing the same thing. What's wrong? And so people who preach will often ask themselves, you know, and ask God, give me the words, but also pray, you know, that let it be heard, and I often pray, let it be heard in the language people need to change their lives. To draw them to Christ, to wake up if we need to wake up, and find, you know, find God and get ourselves back on the road to salvation. But they haven't all obeyed the gospel. Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So Paul answers, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. They have to hear. They have to hear what's going on. And he says in verse 18, but I say, haven't they heard? Yes, indeed. Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. But I say, didn't Israel know? And then he says, I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I'll move you to anger by a foolish nation. Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found by those who didn't seek me. I was made manifest to those who didn't ask me.

And to Israel, he says, all day long, I've stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

Man, I've been preaching it. I've been saying it. They're not hearing.

Now Paul is talking about Israel here, Israel and the Gentiles. We can bring this home to us today, right? Because all of us, I've said, are teachers. You don't have to be standing in front of an audience to be a teacher. We all teach at home. We teach our spouses, we teach our children, we teach our neighbors, we teach our family members what the way of God's life is like by the things we do. So, you know, as we read through that, and maybe you want to go home and read through Chapter 10 again later today, think about your family. Do any of us have children who haven't believed our report? Do any of us have family members who might have been in the church? Do any of us have friends who used to be in the church? But, you know what? Somewhere along the way, they stopped hearing. Somehow it didn't have the effect anymore on there. Was the problem with the preaching? Maybe. That's the minister's problem. He's accountable to God. Or was the problem with the hearing? Was the problem with the hearing? At the end time, when ten virgins are there and five of them, you know, are just soundly asleep, was the problem with the preaching, or was the problem with the hearing? When one is taken, when two are in the field and one is taken to the other left, was the problem with one, or was the problem with the hearing? You notice we've gone through the book of Revelation. You know, Jesus Christ ends the message to each one of those churches with, He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Let him hear. Here's the words, Are we listening? Are we getting it? Do we know? Are we paying attention to what is going on? You know, we are to listen to Jesus Christ.

When Jesus, during the Transfiguration, you know, it is noted that, you know, when Peter, Paul, and James, Peter, James, and John, were there, God said, Here's my Son, who is in whom I am well pleased. Remember what He said? Hear Him. Hear Him. There's something about the word hearing that means more than just the fact that when you talk, I can hear you in my ears. And that's a key to faith. Let's go back to Matthew 13 and look at Christ's words about hearing.

Matthew 13 and verse 10. Here He's given them the parable of the sower and the seed. And in verse 9 of chapter 13, He says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do you speak? Why do you speak to them in parables? And then He says this. He says, Because it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. It's not their time to understand. But you know, I will tell them truth, and they'll hear the words, but it won't be mixed the way it should be with you. It's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it hasn't been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever doesn't have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don't see. Their eyes are looking right at it, but you know what? They're not perceiving anything. They're just kind of, oh, that's nice. That was a nice story. Kind of, kind of interesting. Because seeing they don't see and hearing, they don't hear. Well, that was a nice story. Okay, yeah, that made me feel good. And hearing they don't hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear, and hearing you will hear, and shall not understand. And seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Man, they're not hearing the way they used to. They're not hearing the way they did when they first came into the church. They're not hearing. Their hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing. It's filled with earwax. Maybe they've got some stoppers in there. I don't want to hear that. I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm good with God. He's good with me. And, you know, my understanding is fine. I know what's right. Maybe not exactly the way I did it back 20 years ago when I came to the church. Maybe not exactly the way I thought it should be done then. But over the years I've come to understand that I've got this logic and this reasoning now, and I kind of know what God wants, but... And so I don't have to hear that. I'm tired of hearing it. Their ears are hard of hearing. Their eyes, they have closed. Lest they should see with their ears and hear with their hearts. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears. Lest they should understand with their hearts. And turn so I should heal them.

Boy, we don't want to be people who have become dull of hearing or dull of hearts. We don't want to be people that the words just kind of float over us anymore and it's like, Nah, yeah, that's fine, that's fine. Not a big deal. Verse 16, he says, what he says to you and me, but blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears for they hear. Assuredly I say to you, many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see. They didn't see it, and to hear what you hear, and they didn't hear it. It's a great blessing to see what God would have us see. It's a great blessing to hear what God would have us hear. We don't want to become people who the words just go right over us and it's like, Doesn't apply to me, don't have to listen to that. I can do what I want and carve out my own way of righteousness. That's not at all what God has called us to. If we go back to the book of Hebrews, we see Hebrews talks about this hardened heart as well that Jesus Christ was talking about. Back in Hebrews, chapter 3, you see me looking at my phone here. It's not because I'm checking texts. I forgot my watch, so I'm checking time. That's what I'm using that for today. Hebrews 3. Let me just read through the first 13 verses here of chapter 3 because it's kind of instructive. First one, He was a great prophet. He led Israel. He was a friend of God. He obeyed God implicitly.

And then he says, beware.

Let me pause there and I'll read 13 in a minute. Beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. That Greek word is apistis. Pistis is the word translated Greek, or from Greek translated faith. Most everywhere you see it in the New Testament. But apistis is like without faith. Here's these people that are out there, and the Hebrews author is telling us, beware that any of you might be like those scouts in Israel who heard God say, I'm taking you to the Promised Land.

I'm going to give it to you. You've seen what I have done. You see that I have the power to do it. But then when you look at it and survey it, you don't come back and say, oh man, the people are too tall. There's these walls and these cities are just huge. There's no way we can do that. What did they lose? They lost their faith in God. They didn't believe He could do what He said He could do.

And so they came back and they gave in evil report. Well, we can't do that. We can't do that. That's too much for us. Even God can't conquer Jericho. Even God can't look at these sons of Anachor or giants. How on earth could we ever slay a giant and go past that? Somewhere along the line they lost their faith and belief in God.

They used and looked at it through human eyes and said, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that that would happen that way. And the author in Hebrews here says, beware to you and me. Let there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Unbelief could be translated faithlessness. Make sure there's not a heart of faithlessness in you. Because as you go through life, as you go through times, depending on what you will do, you can lose your faith.

It can be watered down. It can lead to you becoming dull of hearing. In verse 13, he gives us something that he says later on in Hebrews 10 as well, that tells us we have to be together. But exhort one another daily. Encourage one another. Be with one another. Congregate with one another. Know one another. Pat each other on the back in days, I guess, that aren't COVID days, we might say, and exhort one another daily. Well, it's called today. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Ah, there's sin.

If sin comes into our lives, and sin can be adultery, sin can be lying, sin can be, you know, we're told in James, sin is just if we don't do what we know to be right. And if we consistently do this, we can find ourselves our faith waning. Because as human beings, we're going to go to what satisfies us.

If we start giving in to our, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, if we start believing our own, you know, our own thoughts and thinking, hey, I've got it all together, God knows who I am, and whatever, you know what? That pride can blind us. The deceitfulness of sin, the deceitfulness of pride, and all of a sudden, we're looking more to ourselves than God. We're not interested in the Word of God because we're interested in what our thoughts are.

We're interested in what our being is. You know, we can look at, you know, something like pornography. We can look at something like alcohol. We can look at something carousing in the world. And what do we do?

Our entertainment. What is it that we spend our free time in? Where do we gravitate? Is it ever to the Bible? That we thirst for the Word of God? That we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Or, you know what? I've got this video game, this movie I've got to watch. I've got to have my entertainment time. Oh, you know, there's this pornography I just can't stay away from. And pretty soon, the deceitfulness of sin will start us justifying. Oh, God knows I need that time. You know, I can give you examples of people that I've seen things happen. And what they do is justify God's okay with that.

He knows I have that proclivity. I'm doing everything else right. I go to church every week. I tithe. I serve. I do all these things. And, you know, there's this one little thing, but you know what? That one little thing just keeps growing and growing and growing. And the deceitfulness of sin, where God's okay with me, he understands all of a sudden faith is gone. Dullness of hearts sets in. Hearing stops, and people are gone. And they've become exactly what the Bible says.

They've lost their faith. They no longer want to hear the Word of God. And even things that, you know, they used to take pleasure in. If you talk to them later, comments could be like, I can't believe I ever did that. I can't believe I ever found any kind of, you know, pleasure in that, or I put my kids through that, or any, anything.

What happened to them is they let a heart of unbelief come in because they let sin, the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or just the enamourment with the world. You know, we're told to come out of the world.

But if we find ourselves still engrossed in the world, you know what? Faith can be in danger. Down in chapter 4, verse 2, it says, For indeed the gospel was preached to us. I mean, the Word was preached to us. The gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the Word which they heard didn't profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. All those people, they heard the same messages that you and I heard. Those four, those scouts, they heard the same message that Joshua and Caleb did. But Joshua and Caleb came back with faith.

The others came back with a lack of faith. We can't do it. It doesn't make sense. It's not logical. Hearing has to be mixed with faith. Chapter 5. Begin in verse 9. Having been perfected, speaking of Jesus Christ here, and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say, the author says.

We can talk about Melchizedek. I can kind of show you where he was in the Old Testament and talk about him. He says, And it is hard to explain. You're going to have to sit down, and we're going to have to go through this together, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain since you've become dull of hearing. You don't want to hear it. You don't want to put all those verses together. It's like, okay, fine. You know, Melchizedek, what do we want to hear about that for? It's hard to explain.

You've got to take some time with it. But you don't want to anymore, he says, since you've become dull of hearing. For by this time, you ought to be teachers.

You need someone to teach you, again, the first principles of the oracles of God, and you've come to need milk and not solid food. There is a progression, you know, that we are called to. God expects us. We start off as spiritual babes, and we grow through time. As we exercise the spirit, exercise the tools that God has given us. Now, we can see and see how the Bible fits together and what God's plan is. By this time, you ought to be teachers, but you need milk, again, and not solid food.

Verse 13, For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. A solid food belongs to those who are of full age. That is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

It's a continual process. You have to be diligent. How many times in the Old Testament that God through Moses instruct him, diligently and carefully obey what I tell you to obey? Diligently. You know, most of us could rattle off the Ten Commandments. Is that diligently and carefully obeying them? Or is that just memorization? By reason of use have their senses exercised. How you exercise the Spirit is by putting to practice what you know to be right. And not just going along and doing the same thing and saying, I know it, I know it, later on, later on.

It's by doing it. By studying, by hearing the Word of God, but then going back and looking at it and applying it. Verse 1 of chapter 6 says, Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and so on and so on. Well, we do need to lay, maybe, you know. Maybe we do need to look at our faith.

Maybe we do need to look, are we dull of hearing? Are we getting it? Are we doing what God said? Is our faith mixed with the works that God wants us to do? Is it producing in us the works and the attention that God would have us do? Or do we hear and we think and we kind of just brush it on off? Verse 11 of chapter 6. We desire, the author says, that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. It takes work. It's not just you know it once, then you just kind of coast through life until the time Jesus Christ returns. We're called to a life of work and growth and not stagnation as long as we live.

We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That you don't become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Now, five chapters ahead, look at the people who through faith and patience inherited the promises. Look at people that lived in the Old Testament. Look what they gave up. Look what they were willing to sacrifice. Look at the people of the New Testament. Look at the apostles. Look at Paul. Look at Jesus Christ, who demonstrated faith and patience and they inherited the promises. Well, a couple of books back in 2 Timothy.

We see Paul instructing Timothy, a young minister. Some of the things that he was going to encounter as he was working with people. In 2 Timothy 2, verse 15, he gives what all of us would probably recognize as a memory verse. Let's read down to the next few verses after as well. 2 Timothy 2, verse 15.

Here we find the word diligent again. The key to not becoming dull of hearing is be diligent. Be diligent, he said. We talked about that in a Bible study on Bible study. It means you work hard. You have to dig into the Scriptures. There's a time to read the Scriptures. There's a time to hear the Scriptures. There's a time to dig into the Scriptures and take them one by one and tear them apart and understand what they mean. They inspire you. That will motivate you. That will develop your faith. All those things together, be diligent to present yourself approved to God. A worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Looking at it word for word, looking at it and understanding what God says, he means. He didn't mean a watered down version. He didn't mean if you do it 75% of the way, that's good enough. He meant the passing grade is 100%. That's what the goal is. To live by God's way 100%, not something that any of us have adhered to at this point. He says, rightly dividing the word of truth, look at it for what the Bible says. Hear the word of truth. Don't go on the Internet and get every church's interpretation of it and confuse yourself. Look where the church of God is. Know where the true church of God is. Read the Bible and rightly divide it so that you can glean the truth from it. He says, shun profane and idle babblings. People are going to want to get up this. They're going to want to talk about this. What about this? They can throw out some comment or idea that isn't in the Bible at all. Shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that their resurrection is already past. And they overthrow the faith of some. How they could have said that and reasoned in their mind that the resurrection had already come is beyond understanding.

But somehow they convinced themselves, because of whatever it was in them that took their faith and the truth away from them. Verse 19, Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Keep yourself pure. Keep yourself unspotted. Get yourself unspotted. Don't, you know, or do believe the word of truth. Be diligent. Let's go back to 1 Timothy 4.

1 Timothy 4.

Verse 1, Now the spirit expressly says that in latter times, most of the times you and I live in, now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith. They'll lose their faith. They'll lose their belief. They'll depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

Somehow they lose the truth. I'll believe this instead. This makes more sense to me. This appeals to me more. Look at all this reasoning on the Internet that's there. You know, wow, I want to believe this. It's all about what they want as opposed to the truth of God. Giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Because they keep going back. And it's like, I want to believe that. And you know how it is when you sear your conscience, right? If we do something over and over and over again, if we have some sin that we have a proclivity toward, and we know it's wrong, but time and again we give into it. And then we start justifying ourselves and thinking it's just too hard, it's okay, it's not that big a deal, it's not hurting anyone. We can sear our conscience. And no longer when we sear our conscience, or if we are seared our skin, is there any feeling there at all? And so the deceitfulness of sin, if it's not overcome, if we don't recognize it, all of a sudden there's no feeling. So when you hear the words, you're just kind of numb to them. They don't even affect me anymore. So you can hear something that may be specifically, you know, not be addressed to you, but talk about what you're going through. But you would say, no, not me, it's fine, I'm fine, I'm just going to keep going the same way. Our hearing can become seared, our consciences can become seared. And when we are out looking for the other things to please self and to pat ourselves on the back and say, look how smart I am, and look at what knowledge I have that might be apart from the Bible, we don't want to do that. We want to learn the Bible and live by it. You know, here are these people, he says in verse 3, they forbid to marry. We've got a whole church that's extant to the world that says, you know what, we'll just forbid our priests to marry. Where do they get that from the Bible? Forbidding to marry. Commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received from thanksgiving. Down in verse 7. In verse 6 he says, If you instruct the brethren in these things, Timothy, you'll be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. Encumment on all of us to carefully follow the doctrine of Christ. He says, but you, reject profane and old wives fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness, for bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance. Exercise spiritually. Diligently search the Scriptures. Diligently study. Diligently hear. Diligently apply. Diligently review. Through the words of God, the words of truth. Don't make excuses for yourself. I try not to make excuses for myself. Be honest with God, and He will give the strength to overcome the things that keep coming back at us time and time and time again. Let's go forward to 2 Timothy again. 2 Timothy 4. 2 Timothy 4.1 When they won't endure some doctrine. Isn't that sad? People who once knew the time will come because of lawlessness, getting enamored with the world, getting so involved with the politics of the world, or the cares of the world, or whatever it is that the love of many wax cold, and with the love of many wax cold, the faith is gone. My faith is no longer with God. My faith is invested in this or that or whatever it might be. But the time will come when they won't endure some doctrine. But according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves, teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

It's a sad situation. A sad situation. But it will happen to God's people who aren't paying attention. Who aren't paying attention to faith and just thinking, you know what? Everything I do is okay. God's okay with it. You know, live by every word of God. From time to time, we'll hear things that say, you know, from others maybe, that that doesn't sound like the word of God. And you might want to go back and look at the Bible and say, what does God really say about that? And just because you hear it out of your friend's mouth or any mouth, if it sounds not right, go back and check it out and do what God says. Prove it in the Bible and follow that spirit.

Okay. Looks like I wanted to read a few more verses in 1 Timothy. Let's go back to 1 Timothy 4.

Now, these words, he's writing to Timothy, right? But he's writing them to all of us, you know? He's not just writing them to ministers. He's writing them to all of us because we are all teachers and one day we will be teachers. 1 Timothy 4, verse 11. You know, he says, he says, you know, he's talked about being diligently, exercising, you know, godliness. In verse 11, he says, these things command and teach. Verse 13, he says, till I come, Timothy, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Put your time and effort into that. Don't neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Doesn't mean you quit your job. Doesn't mean you don't ever talk to anyone in the world again. It means you live in the world, you live the way of God's life in the world, but you know where your calling is and what you are to do.

Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all.

You know what? We'll see. People will see those whose faith is living. People will see those whose faith is growing because it will be manifest in the things that God says will come about in us.

It won't just be laziness. It won't be marked by, I do what I have to do and no more. It will be marked by all those fruits of the Spirit. And we'll see. We'll see as God sees. Verse 16, Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them. For in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Isn't that a great thing? Do that. Be part of the kingdom. Be part of what it is that God wants you to be.

Diligently follow Him. Don't become dull of hearing. Wipe out the sin because it will kill you in more ways than one and in different ways than you might think.

Develop that faith, that living faith again. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Revelation 21.

Revelation 21 talks about the New Heaven and the New Earth coming down.

Very encouraging and inspiring set of verses.

Verse 7 of Revelation 21 says, It's a tremendous verse. That's what's in store for you and me if we continue to the end. If we continue with diligence.

If we continue to grow. If we continue in hearing the Word of God and applying it into our lives.

But then He says the type that's not going to be in that kingdom, but the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, whatever that means in this day and age, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Now we understand murderers sexually immoral, sexually immoral, sexually immoral, and idolaters, but look at that word unbelieving.

Those without faith. When Jesus Christ says, will I find faith, will I really find faith on the earth?

Something we should take to heart. We want that answer to be a resounding yes. Because those who are apistos, or apistos is this word, without faith, faithlessness.

But the faithless, the faithless God puts in the same group as murderers, sexually immoral, sexually immoral, wow, sexually immoral, idolaters, and all liars.

Well, it impedes us to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to us, as Jude said.

So as we look at our lives and as we see things happening around us that certainly indicate where the world is going, however long it takes to go there, let's not neglect, as it says in Hebrews 2 verse 1, don't neglect what God has given us. He's given us something so valuable.

Don't neglect it, grasp it, hold on to it, and earnestly contend for that faith that was once delivered to all of us.