Welcome to Living in the Light with Bible teacher Ann Graham Lotz. When the Lord calls your name out. Wonder what you'll have to show for your life lived on Earth. What kind of award will it give you? You're listening to Ann Graham Lotts and the introduction to her message today, reminding us that we may just be watching the parade go by.
Here's Anne with her message from Hebrews chapter 11. The story is told of a little boy who heard that the circus was coming to town. And he was so excited, and he was just dying to go to the circus. And he read the articles in the paper, and he looked at the advertisements, and he saw the posters. And oh, he was so intrigued, and he wanted so much to go, but his parents couldn't afford a ticket and didn't look like he would be able to.
And then one day, the mail came, and there was a special letter with his name on it. And his grandmother had heard that he wanted to go to the circus and she'd send him a ticket. And he was so excited, and the day for the circus came, and so he went downtown and he stood beside the road, and the train pulled up, and the big door opened, and all the animals began coming off the train. And there were great big elephants with funny little silk satin hats and monkeys dancing on their back. And then came the horses that were bareback with the beautiful girls in ballerina costumes doing their dance on the bare back of the horses, and little dogs that were walking on their hind legs, dressed in little clothes, and people on stilts, and lions and tigers in cages roaring.
And then came the clowns, all the funny clowns, you know, some with funny faces and some with sad faces and big red noses. And as one clown came to the Little boy and stuck out his hand. And the little boy gave him his ticket. The clown went on down the road. And the little boy was thrilled.
He was so excited. And he went home that night and he was telling his parents about it around the supper table. He said, You won't believe what I saw-the big elephants and the horses with the dancing girls and the little dogs walking on their hind legs. And the father said, Well, what did you think about the trapeze artists? And he said, Trapeze artists?
And he said, Yeah, you know, the people that swing through the air and they do flips and they catch each other. And the little boy said, I didn't see anything like that. And then the mother said, Well, what did you think about the lion that jumped through the hoop of fire? And he said, Well, I didn't see anything like that. And they said, Well, what did you see?
So he explained how the train pulled up and all the animals got off. And finally, the father said, Didn't you go into the tent? And he said, What tent? And he said the tent at the end of the street. And then the father said, son, you never went to the circus.
You were just standing watching the parade go by. And I thought about that story and thought about a lot of people within church today. And we talk about knowing God, and we get excited when we hear beautiful music, and we go and we hear a sermon and all that, but how many of us? are just standing on the sidelines watching the parade go by. And we don't have our own experience with God.
We're reading somebody else's book, somebody else's testimony. Thrilled that somebody else's experience, but do you have your own experience with God? Are you experiencing God? How do you experience God? Jesus is enough to not only know God exactly as He is, not only enough to know God personally in a right relationship, but Jesus Christ is enough to know God by experience in your life through a faith-anchored, purpose-driven, glory-bound life.
So, you open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11 and let's look together. These characters, and before we do, the writer to the Hebrews just introduces it and says, if you want to experience God, you need to have a faith-anchored life, faith that's anchored in the Word of God. And faith is absolutely essential to experiencing God because 1 John 5, 6 says, the victory that overcomes the world is your faith. You'll have no victory without faith. Matthew 9, 29, Jesus said, according to your faith be it unto you.
You won't have answers to prayer unless you have faith. Romans 4:3 says, the just shall live by faith. You won't even be able to live in a right relationship with God without faith. And then, of course, Hebrews 11, 6, it says, without faith, it's impossible to please God. No way you're going to live a life pleasing to God unless you have faith.
And the faith we're talking about is faith that is anchored and rooted in the Word of God. And so the writer of the Hebrews says, when your faith is anchored in the Word of God, you can be totally certain of hope. Verse 1.
Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see. And biblical hope. Is different from the kind of hope that you and I think of. When I think of hope, I think of, well, I hope so. You know, I really hope this happens.
It may not, but I really hope it will. And biblical hope is not like that. Biblical hope is absolute certainty. You know it's going to happen. It just hasn't happened yet.
It's like, I hope I'm going home this next week. And it doesn't mean I may not go home. It means I'm going home. I just haven't gone yet. And that's biblical hope, that you know something even though you don't possess it, you don't see it yet.
So some of the things that biblically I hope for I hope that all things work together for good in my life. It doesn't mean they might not. It means that they haven't worked together for good yet. Not all the things in my life haven't worked together for good, but I know they will. I'm certain they will because of Romans 8:28.
My faith is rooted in God's Word. I hope. That I will reap if I faint not.
So if I don't grow weary and well-doing, I'll reap if I faint not. That doesn't mean I may not reap. It means I know I'm going to reap. I just haven't reaped yet. Because my faith is anchored in Galatians 6, 9 that says I will.
And I hope that God's word will not return void. As I share it with you, I hope that it will bear fruit and won't return void. It doesn't mean that it may return void. It means I haven't seen it come back yet, but I know it's not going to return void because my faith is anchored in Isaiah 55, 11. And I hope that there's the power in the cross to change lives.
It doesn't mean there may not be power in the cross to change lives. It means I know there will be. I haven't seen everybody's life changed yet, but I know it will be because of Romans 1.16. It says there's a power in the gospel to change lives. I hope that Jesus is coming back to receive me to himself.
It doesn't mean that he may not come back to receive me to himself. It just means I haven't seen him come back yet. But my faith is anchored in John 14, 3. I know he's coming back to receive me to himself. And I hope that my father's house is being prepared for me.
It doesn't mean maybe it's not being prepared for me, it means I just haven't gotten there yet to possess it. But I know it's being prepared because of John 14:2. You see, your faith is anchored in the Word of God, not in your feelings, not in your emotions, not in your circumstances. And when your faith is anchored in the Word of God, you're absolutely certain of hope. The things that you haven't experienced yet, the things you don't possess yet, the things that haven't been fulfilled yet, that you haven't seen yet, but you know you will because God's Word says so.
So you're certain of hope. Hebrews 6, 19 says, We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
So you can be absolutely certain of hope. When your faith is anchored in God's word. And secondly, you can be absolutely certain of honor. And in verse 2, it says, This is what the ancients were commended for. And in verse 4, it says they're commended.
In verse 5, it says they're commended. Verse 39, it says they're all commended. And so these people that are listed in chapter 11, they all lived for the purpose of bringing glory and honor to God. And they had that sense of God's approval. God was pleased with them.
They had his blessing in their lives. And it's because they were purpose-driven, as we're going to see in a moment, but they were absolutely certain that when they live their life in obedience to God's will and in accordance to his way and in obedience to his word, that God would honor them and they would have a heavenly reward. It's Paul in Timothy. Do you remember the last thing that he wrote? In 2 Timothy chapter 4, he says, I'm already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure.
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I've kept the faith.
Now, look at him being certain of. The honor to come.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, not only to me, but also to all those who have longed for his appearing. And there's something in scripture that sometimes we don't talk that much about, but it's when you live your life for the glory of God, in obedience to his word, in accordance with his will, doing things his way, you're going to be rewarded. You can be certain of honor to come. And that's important because then in this life, We are tempted to live for the world's honor and the world's glory and the world's pleasure and we care about the opinions of other people. But when you're certain of honor to come, somehow what this world offers just doesn't seem as important anymore.
And you begin to set your sights on things in eternity, and you live for the well-done, good, and faithful servant that will be the honor that the king will bestow on you for living a life for him. And maybe it involves more than that. Who knows what the honor is going to be? But in Revelation chapter 22. One of the last things that Jesus says to us, chapter 22, verse 12, he says, Behold, I'm coming soon.
My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. You know, when I was a little girl, my daddy traveled all the time. And when he left home, my mother sort of ignored his goings, and so it wasn't a big deal when he left. And oh, your daddy's gone again today. And so she just, you know, really played that down.
But when he came home, it was a big deal. And we went out to meet him at the train station and we brought him back home and we all went through his bags because he always had something for us. And so, and maybe was the wings that the pilot had given him on the plane or a little stuffed animal he had picked up in the airport at the gift shopper. But he always had a gift for us. And we couldn't wait for him to come home to see what the gift was.
And when Jesus comes back, he says, I'm coming and I'm going to bring my gifts with me. And I'm going to reward you according to what you've done. There's going to be a wonderful awards ceremony in heaven. And we think of people that are going to be awarded. We think of people like Billy Graham, maybe Pope John Paul, maybe Mother Teresa, maybe somebody who's just lived an exemplary life.
And I wonder when we get to heaven, the first ones called up for their award will be some missionary in the jungles of Colombia just struggling to serve the Lord there, or a man who had escaped from these death camps in North Korea, and he had escaped to Seoul. And it said that he had placed his faith in Christ because when he was in the death camps in North Korea, there was a person who had professed faith in Jesus Christ, and he was threatened that they would kill him if he didn't recant his faith, and he refused, and they killed him. And that so impressed this man that he gave his heart to Christ and he escaped to Seoul to give his testimony. And I think when we get to heaven, God's going to single out of the huge crowd that person who gave his life in the death camp and said, I saw what you did and you gave your life for me because you did. Here's someone who came to faith because of you.
And, you know, it's going to be people that are called up that with. Never heard of. People that are faithful where God's planted them, seeking to live their lives for the glory of God and to make Him known where they've been planted. And there'll be some people I know who have big names because they've been faithful to it. And I don't mean to put people down like that, but I think it's going to be amazing.
It's going to be a wonderful time. When the Lord calls your name out. Wonder what you'll have to show for your life lived on earth. What kind of award will it give you? And I don't know, I wonder if maybe if we've been faithful in service down here, if he'll give us more opportunity to serve him up there.
Maybe it'll just be more responsibility. You know, one of the things I want him to give me, I want to see the pleasure on his face when he sees my children. Just the joy of living for that. Maybe it will just be the smile on his face as he sees me. Or as he sees you, And we just know that our King is pleased.
Maybe that's all the reward it will be. You know, Corinthians tells us that our life, when we live it, is either like wood, hay, and stubble, and it passes through the fire of God's holiness and it's burned up because we've wasted our lives, still saved, but as oh by fire. Or our lives can be like gold, silver, precious stones pass through that fire of God's holiness, and we have something to show for a life lived down here because we've lived it in obedience to his word, in accordance with his will, doing things his way. And it's like gold, silver, precious stones. And then the Bible says that it's like a crown that he gives us in reward for a life that's lived for him down here.
And I wonder if our honor is is going to be a crown that then we can place at his nail-pierced feet. I can't think of any higher privilege when we see him and all that he's done for us, to be able to have something to give him back in return. And maybe a crown that's been given to us in reward for a life lived for him down here would be something. to give our Saviour when we see Him. But the Bible teaches that we're going to have a crown, that there's going to be an honor, that there'll be a reward for life lived for him down here.
And you can be certain of that. When your faith is anchored in the word of God, you can be absolutely certain of the honor to come. And so, whatever this world offers, it's temporary, it's fleeting. You know, the world is very fickle. They can be pleased with you today and dump you tomorrow, and it just all comes and goes.
Who cares? We're not living for this world's treasures. We're living for the honor that's going to come when God Himself will give us a sense of His approval.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant, and reward us in a way that perhaps we can then turn back and give Him as our gift of love. for all that he's done for us. We can be certain of honor to come. We can be certain of hope. We can be certain of Him when your faith is anchored in God's Word.
Certain of His power. Verse 3: By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. And when our faith is anchored in the Word of God, we're absolutely certain that He has power to create change. And isn't that going back to Genesis chapter 1 when we see that He created everything with the power of His Word? And His Word went forth and He transformed the world.
And He is our Creator. And I'll just digress for a moment because.
So much evolution is being taught today, and it's accepted in our schools almost as facts. And yet, evolution actually is an expression of rebellion against the Creator. Because if you believe in evolution, that you just evolved from some amoeba in some prehistoric pool or some cell or some big bang or whatever, then really you're saying that your life is a cosmic accident, that you don't belong to anybody, that you don't have to give an account of your life to anybody, that you just sort of come in the beginning and that you snuff out in the end, and your life has no purpose and no meaning, and that's totally contradictory to the Word of God. And the Word of God tells you and me that we were created by God in His image. You know what that means?
That means that you are created with the capacity to know your Creator. That's what sets us apart from the animals, isn't it? That we can know God exactly and personally and experientially. We have a capacity to have a relationship with our Creator that's unique. And you can be absolutely certain of him.
That he is your creator, but I think certain also of his power, not only to create you and me, but his power to change through his words. And I think as we're concentrating on reading, studying, teaching the scriptures, you need to nail that one down. That you're absolutely certain of the power of God to go through His Word and clothe His Word to change lives as you give it out. And people come to me and say, Ann, how can you be so confident in God's Word? And how can you be so confident it's going to make a difference?
How can you be so confident that the power of the cross is there to change life and to cleanse of sin? And how can you? Because my faith is rooted in the Word of God. And I know this is God's Word. He's a gentleman.
He doesn't lie. He keeps his word. And I take him at his word. And his word says those things. And his word, because it's inspired by the Holy Spirit, it's clothed with its own power.
And so when you give out God's word, you're not just giving out nouns and pronouns, you're giving out eternal truth that has the life of God in the word, so to speak. And it doesn't return void when you share it. And I'm absolutely certain of the power of his word to change lives. It changed planet Earth back in chapter one. Remember, through the preparation of the Spirit, every day His Word going forth, every day there was a change until planet Earth that was without form, void, and darkness, a fluid-like condition, was totally transformed into a place that brought God.
Pleasure, a beautiful place, a place in which he could see his own image reflected through man who lived on planet earth. And if God could do that back then, Through the proclamation of his word and the preparation of the Spirit. Why do you think he can't do it today? Not only with planets, but with lives. People whose lives are without form, they have no purpose, no meaning, that are in darkened condition, depressed, no joy and fluid-like condition, they're not going anywhere and inconsistent and just.
Existing And then the word comes into their lives and the Holy Spirit begins to hover as we pray and God has the power through his word. The change lives today. And I know that because his word says so, and I know that by experience at this point. I've seen him do it. And you all yourselves can give testimony to that.
We know we're absolutely certain of his power, the power of his word, and absolutely certain of his presence. Dropping down to verse 6, without faith it's impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. And when my faith is anchored in the Word of God, I'm absolutely certain. that I can come to him. Don't you love that thought?
You can come to him believing that he exists, that he is who he says he is, that he's exactly. As he reveals himself through the person of Jesus Christ, exactly as he reveals himself through the pages of your Bible. And you believe him exactly as he's revealed to be through the person of Jesus Christ, and you come to him and he'll reward you. And you know what the reward is? That you can know him.
That not only does he answer your prayers, but he gives you a personal. experiential relationship with the living God. And I'm absolutely certain Of His presence, that I can come into His presence, that I can know Him in a personal relationship through Jesus Christ, that He will reward my seeking by revealing Himself to me, and I can enter into that kind of relationship.
So when my faith is anchored in the Word of God, I'm absolutely certain of hope. and I'm certain of honor, and I'm certain of him. And what is your faith anchors? If your faith is anchored in your circumstances, If your faith is anchored in your feelings, if your faith is anchored in what somebody else says. If your faith is anchored in what you've been taught, Your faith is anchored in your pastor's sermons.
It's not going to stand up, is it? And you're going to have deep down doubts. And when the crunch comes and the crisis breaks and disaster hits, it's not going to be strong enough to carry you through. You need your faith anchored in the Word of God. Get it into God's Word for yourself.
And use getting into God's Word for yourself as the tool of the vehicle that plants your anchor down deep into God's Word that you might be certain. of hope, and certain of honor, and certain of him. You want to experience God, means that you need to have a faith-anchored life, and secondly, you need to have a purpose-driven life. And I'll look at each one of these characters in chapter 11, and I see each one of them as driven by a purpose. And I think they all had the same overarching purpose.
And I'll describe it this way: when I was a little girl, I was raised in the Presbyterian church, and at a certain point, I had to memorize the shorter Westminster Catechism. I don't know if any of y'all had to do that, but the only thing I remember from the shorter catechism is this question: what is man's chief end? And I remember the answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That the overarching purpose in our lives is to glorify God and enjoy Him in the process.
And so that's our purpose, to bring glory and honor and blessing and praise to God. But we express it through different ways. He calls us to specific purposes in our lives, and that specific purpose is the means to the greater end of bringing glory to God.
So each one of these characters had a specific purpose that God had outlined for them, but they all achieved the greater purpose of bringing glory to God. The first one in the list is Abel in verse 4. And I see him as expressing his specific purpose through dedication to the gospel. And let me explain it this way, because Abel was the son of Adam and Eve. And he had an older brother, Cain.
And Cain and Abel were both seeking to worship God. And it must have been when Adam and Eve were separated from God and driven from the garden. And God clothed them in the skins of animals that he must have taught them at that point that in order to come back into his presence, there had to be the shedding of blood. There had to be a sacrifice to take away sin in order to have a relationship with him. Because we find in the very next generation, with Cain and Abel, we find them sacrificing.
And Abel sacrificed a blood sacrifice, coming back into a relationship with God through a blood sacrifice. Cain, on the other hand, was a farmer. And so he thought, well, I'm not going to come through a blood sacrifice. That's a messy old thing. And I'm just going to come the way I want.
And so he sacrificed some of his fruits and vegetables and his grain. And God came to him and said, Cain, that's not acceptable. And Cain got angry. And instead of just saying, God, thank you for pointing it out to me. And thank you.
If you want a blood sacrifice, that's what I'll do because I want a relationship with you. Instead, Cain, in the pride of his heart, was offended. That his way wasn't good enough. And he got so offended, and he let the anger build up in him. He so resented his brother, who was accepted by God, that he took his brother out in the field and he slew him.
Cain murdered Abel. And Abel, whom I'm sure was aware of the rising tension and anger and bitterness and resentment, instead of backing off and just deciding, well, I'm not going to sacrifice in front of my brother and I'm not going to approach God this way. It's so offensive to him and I don't want to offend my brother. Abel just kept right on sacrificing, knowing that that was the way to enter into a right relationship with God and it cost him his life. And so I see in Abel someone who was willing to stake his claim in the gospel.
even when it was offensive to his brother.
Now who is your cane? Abel gave his life. for the truth, that the only way to come to God is through a blood sacrifice.
Now here's Anne with this final word. Abel made the decision to live in a contrast to the rest of the world of his day. A fact that was evidenced by the sacrifice he brought to God. A blood sacrifice when his brother gave God whatever he felt like giving. In so doing, Abel revealed a submissive obedience to God's word.
And Abel's attitude toward the grievances in his life, when his brother reacted with anger and bitterness, revealed a sweet acceptance of God's will, even when it included hardship and suffering. While his brother rebelled against God, Abel turned to God. As a result, his life was different from Cain's life in the civilization that followed. Jesus described the powerful witness of a life that's different when he described it as the light of the world. The primary value of light rests in the fact that it's so different from the darkness.
And Jesus described a powerful witness as being like the salt of the earth. Salt is also very different from whatever it's placed on. It not only draws out flavor, but it makes people thirsty. How much of a contrast is there between your life and the life of your neighbor who doesn't know God? Are you so afraid of offending those around you that your salt has lost its savour?
Your light is hidden under a bushel? Are you basically denying who you are? The Bible says, by faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offering. And by faith, he still speaks, even though he's dead.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if, like Abel, you're remembered throughout all the generations as one who lifted up the light of truth and made people thirsty for God? Living in the Light is a weekly study in God's Word with teacher and author Ann Graham Lotz. Learn to listen to His voice. Then start making the choice to keep on going and believing and trusting who God is. Go to anngrahamlots.org.
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