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[0:00] Please take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 32.

[0:12] We're going to read from verse 32 into chapter 11 and verse 3. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.

[0:28] Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. At other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

[0:50] So do not throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

[1:01] For in just a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.

[1:15] But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

[1:31] This is what the ancients were commended for. 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.

[1:46] Let's begin this morning by making a visit to Mrs. Withrow's Sunday school class and asking a couple questions of the two- and three-year-olds.

[2:00] The first question, who made you, children? And they answer, God made me. And we say, what else did God make? And they said, God made all things.

[2:16] And then we ask, how do you know God made you in all things? Now that one might stump them for a minute. The how question. And so we go across the hall to Mrs. Webb's class or down at the end to Mrs. Cryan's class.

[2:33] And we ask the students there, how do you know that God made you in all things? And I'm sure that more than one would tell us because the Bible tells us so.

[2:45] And then I would ask, where in the Bible does it tell you so? And again, they would know that it's found in Genesis 1.1.

[2:58] And I would ask, can you say that verse? And all the way down from the two- and three-year-olds right on up through, they would tell me, God created the heavens and the earth.

[3:11] In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Do you believe that, children? Yes, God cannot lie. Now we go to the secular university, and we have an interview with the leading professor in the science department.

[3:27] And we ask this question, how did the universe begin? And she tells us, what? Don't you know about the Big Bang?

[3:40] And she goes on to explain how that 13.7 billion years ago, there was nothing and nowhere. And then suddenly, in a single moment, out of nothing, a whole universe exploded into existence.

[3:57] But we say, where did the stuff come from that exploded? Because nothing comes from nothing. And we get no satisfactory answer, for there is none.

[4:10] Man's ideas about the origins of the universe are continually changing. What you heard when you were a child, moms and dads, is no longer the current theory.

[4:26] Something else has found its place because the old one could not stand up to the evidence. Now some think that our universe was created by the collision of two other universes.

[4:37] But where did those other two come from? And again, there's no answer. The proponents of the string theory suggest that the universe is not really what it appears to be after all.

[4:53] That it may, in fact, be a flat halogen, halogram, projected onto the surface of a sphere. Isn't that interesting? Or it could be a completely digital simulation in a really big computer that's being run by real intelligent aliens.

[5:14] And we say, where did they come from? And again, there's no answer. You need a good imagination for some of the views on the origins of our universe.

[5:25] In fact, the more that you read of man's ideas, the better Genesis 1-1 sounds. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

[5:37] Now we've just begun a study of the faith chapter in Hebrews chapter 11. And in this chapter, verse 1, we were given a working definition for faith.

[5:48] Faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see. Faith is that inner certainty of unfulfilled promises, of unseen realities.

[6:04] And then verse 2 told us that this is what the ancients were commended for, for their faith. That God was so pleased with their faith that he's gone on record to praise them for it.

[6:16] And the rest of the chapter is full of the names of these ancient people who are examples to us of living by faith. And we'll find out how that by faith they obeyed very difficult commands.

[6:30] By faith they endured great suffering. By faith they accomplished great feats. And by faith they received blessings from God. And having been introduced to the ancients who were commended for their faith in verse 2, we're ready now to meet them.

[6:50] We're ready to start reading that by faith Abel, and then by faith Enoch, and by faith Noah, and right on through the Hall of Fame. But that doesn't start until verse 6.

[7:03] Before we get there, we have verse 3. And it's not talking at all about any of these ancient examples of faith. Rather, we have a statement about the origin of the universe of all things.

[7:19] By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made of what was visible. And we say, what's going on here?

[7:30] You just introduced us to the ancients. We're ready to hear, and now you step back and say something about the origin of the universe? Why is this verse put in just when we're expecting to meet the ancients?

[7:42] Is this verse out of place? Is it an interruption of the flow? Is it a mistake? As some neoliberal scholars have suggested, it's a verse out of place.

[7:58] No, not at all. God has his reasons for putting verse 3 here at the beginning of this faith chapter. He's making some very important points about faith, and they belong right here where they're found.

[8:12] I want to make five lessons from verse 3 this morning. First of all, he's giving us here a personal illustration of faith's definition at work in us.

[8:23] A personal illustration of faith's work in us. Now, he's just told us that faith is being sure and certain of what we do not see. Here's an illustration how this works.

[8:36] So let me ask you, believers. Do you know for sure that God created the universe? Are you absolutely certain that it was formed at God's command?

[8:50] And you say, yes, I'm sure of it. Well, then how do you know that? Were you there? Did you see it? Did you hear God's command and see the universe spring into being out of nothing?

[9:07] You say, well, no. Well, then how do you know it? By faith. Right answer. By faith. We understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[9:21] Precisely. By faith. We did not see the event of creation. But that's no problem. Because we just learned that faith is certain of what we do not see.

[9:35] We can know something and be certain of it, even though we've never seen it. Because that's how faith works. Blessed is he who is not seen and yet believes.

[9:50] So faith is a valid way of knowing things. It is a valid method of gaining important information and truth about things unseen and otherwise unknown.

[10:01] But notice the order in God's method of knowing. Faith comes first. By faith, we understand. Understanding comes through faith.

[10:16] We first take God at his word. And then we understand. Faith is God's way to knowing and understanding.

[10:29] Now that's exactly backwards to the secularist unbeliever whose motto is ever, First understanding, and then I'll believe it.

[10:41] I'll only believe something if you can prove it to my understanding. By principle, they refuse to take anything on faith.

[10:53] They're too proud for that. Though some of their theories on origins do take more faith than even creation to believe them. But it's understanding first.

[11:07] If you want me to believe it. And so they're ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. How far they roam on origins.

[11:20] Because they refuse to humble themselves and start with faith in God's word. And that's the sin of unbelief.

[11:31] And God regards it as rebellion against him. Unbelief is rebellion against God because it sets up man's own mind.

[11:43] Man's own reason and understanding is the judge and the determiner of what is true and false. Whether it's God's word or something seen in the world.

[11:53] My mind, my understanding will be the measure of all things. Rather than letting God tell me what is true, what is good and evil.

[12:07] True and false. Truth and lies. And that was no small part of Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, wasn't it? She refused to take God at his word.

[12:22] She refused to let God's word determine truth and lies, good and evil. And came to say, in essence, that I'll only believe what you say and I'll only do what you command if it makes good sense to me.

[12:36] And after listening for a while to the devil, it no longer made sense in her mind to obey God.

[12:47] To not eat of the forbidden fruit. She leaned on her own understanding and placed her own mind above the word of God.

[12:58] Instead of vice versa, putting herself under. And letting God be God. And letting God tell her what is true and false. Good and evil.

[13:12] And is that not at the heart of many of our sins? That we, instead of trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts, are found leaning on what?

[13:24] Our own understanding. And our own understanding begins to be the measure of all things. Now this statement in verse 3 on faith and the origins of our universe is critically important for us living in the age of unbelief that we do today.

[13:44] I think when I was a boy, it seemed like everybody I met at least believed that God was the creator of the universe. And not so anymore. Today a six day creation by God out of nothing is laughed at in the classroom.

[13:59] It's vilified in the textbooks. It's mocked by the media. They don't need God to explain the universe. Natural processes will do just fine.

[14:12] And so we're in the minority. But you know, so were the ones who read Hebrews 11 for the first time. The first century Christians. You know, the Greeks believed that matter just existed forever.

[14:26] And what they were being told went dead against the prevailing ideas of the origin of the universe.

[14:36] It's just always been here. It's what they were told. There was no beginning. Well, you see the Bible confronted that. And so it's good for us to remember we're not the first Christians to live in a society that rejects our view of origins.

[14:49] God has held his people up quite well in such societies. And has glorified himself in them.

[15:00] But we're a minority today. And so we can be getting, we can have self-image problems. We feel inept and we feel so uneducated besides these PhDs and besides their journals and their experiments and all their books and articles.

[15:20] And we feel completely out of our league. How in the world are we going to prove to them that God created the universe? And Hebrews 11, 3 says, you don't need to.

[15:35] In fact, you can't. You can't. You can't prove that God created the universe. It's only known by faith.

[15:47] That's the only way you know it, believer. And that's the only way any unbeliever will come to know it. By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[16:00] When dealing with the origins of the universe, we're outside of the realm of science. Everyone is. Believers, unbelievers.

[16:13] Origins takes us outside of science. By definition, science is supposed to be observable, repeatable, and measurable. Those are the operative words of science. But we can't observe the creation of the universe.

[16:29] It was over before we arrived on the scene. I mean, that was true of Adam. Even the first man. How did he learn the origin of the...

[16:40] It was by faith. He wasn't there to see it. No. It's beyond man's investigation.

[16:53] And creation is certainly not repeatable. We can't make anything out of nothing. And if we can't observe it or repeat it, we certainly can't measure it. So the world's most brilliant minds and all their resource, if you could pool it together, would never come to know this, that the universe was formed at God's command.

[17:16] So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. That is beyond science. But it is not beyond knowing.

[17:30] That's the point. For by faith, we know. By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[17:41] So that's the second lesson. Faith is God's way to true knowledge. We've seen the illustration of how faith works. Now, faith is God's way to true knowledge.

[17:53] It's God's method. And it's a valid way of knowing things. Of gaining information. Of understanding. Because, you see, God was there at creation.

[18:06] He did see it all happen as he spoke it into being. And he's told us about it. And so the creator himself is a credible eyewitness to the event of creation.

[18:19] This is a viable way of gaining information. From eyewitnesses. Credible eyewitnesses. In fact, the Bible itself says that at two or three witness, every matter is this.

[18:33] Two or three witnesses will establish every matter. And there are three persons in the Godhead who were present at creation. There are three witnesses. The one God.

[18:45] To how the universe was formed. And so we learn by taking him at his word. By faith, we understand. That the universe was formed at God's command.

[18:56] So our understanding of the origins of the universe comes by faith. Not by science. Comes by faith in God's revelation.

[19:07] It's the first thing he tells us in the revelation that he's given us. Turn back to the first page and you'll find in the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth.

[19:19] And the Bible then goes on further and explains that the universe was formed at God's command. Now that's interesting. Children, when you create things, when you make things, you start with raw materials.

[19:35] Maybe you start with popsicle sticks and glue and glitter and construction paper. And you start putting all those things together in a very creative way.

[19:51] And you make something for your mom. Not God. He starts with nothing. When somebody made this pulpit, they started with a tree.

[20:07] And they reshaped the tree. And they made it look like this. But when God made the tree, he didn't start with anything. If you go back far enough, he started with nothing.

[20:23] And he created just from his word. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[20:34] That's divine fiat. That's his word so clothed with such power that when he spoke, nothing obeyed and became something.

[20:47] Exactly what he wanted it to be. His word creates, carries creative energy. And so Genesis 1, 3 says, And God said, Let there be light.

[20:59] He just spoke and there was light. And you know, you have that formula. Seven, at least seven times in the first chapter of the Bible. God's revelation. And God said, And it was so.

[21:12] God said. And so Psalm 33, 6 and 9. Make this a cause for worship. That by the word of the Lord were the heavens made.

[21:23] Their starry host by the breath of his mouth. For he spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm. So if we believe all that God tells us, we can know for sure how the universe was formed.

[21:40] We can know how the universe began. That's how, that's the reason why some of you young children can have a better understanding on the origins of the universe than many scientists and university professors.

[21:55] It's because you have a different way of knowing. By faith, you understand.

[22:07] Faith understands what the most brilliant minds do not. Faith is humble enough to listen and to be taught by God.

[22:20] Faith is a very humble thing. It's not the world's way to truth, but it is God's way. We start by listening to God and taking him at his word.

[22:32] That's where faith starts. And faith in God, faith is God's way to true knowledge. So don't be ashamed to believe things just because God told you so.

[22:47] Don't ever be ashamed in this unbelieving age to believe things just because God said so. You're wise to do so. You're a wicked fool not to.

[23:00] Now I want you to notice in verse 3 the we. I think it's significant. The we of verse 3. I think we see in the we not only the writer to the Hebrews.

[23:16] He puts himself into that word. And all the believers in the church that he's writing to. And by logical deduction, all believers here will find yourself in this verse.

[23:36] We. By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[23:49] He is saying that all true believers, every recipient of this letter, that he sure has true saving faith. He says to them, we, by faith, understand this, that the universe was formed by God's command.

[24:06] Don't miss that, believer. You're included in that. How important is the belief of divine creation? Well, there's no true religion without it. True religion begins, how?

[24:19] With a clear statement of origins. Of God creating. And true religion in the heart affirms what God says is true.

[24:30] Faith takes God as his word. We believe because he told us. Faith is able, you see, then to look forwards to the things that he says are going to happen and to look backwards at the things that he tells us did happen.

[24:46] Faith can look either way. And by faith, we can understand things that we have not yet seen. We never have seen. Past or future. It's God's method.

[24:59] It's God's way to knowing truth. And we all, in Christ, by faith, understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

[25:18] You see, for faith, God's word defines reality. What's the real world? What's the way things really are? The way history really happened? It's right here. And faith rests upon God's word.

[25:33] So I trust we can see, then, why verse 3 falls where it does. It illustrates our own faith in something that we've never seen. That before we hear about Abel's faith and Enoch's faith or Noah's or Abraham's faith, consider your own faith.

[25:48] Consider your own faith in giving you understanding of how the universe was formed. Now, our third lesson is that God's creation is foundational, then, to the whole life of faith.

[26:01] God's creation is foundational to the whole life of faith. Even before pointing us to the Old Testament examples of faith, he first takes us to creation.

[26:14] Because here's faith's first hurdle in coming to the Bible. The challenge to faith. The challenge to humble ourselves and believe God meets us on the first page, the first verse of God's revelation.

[26:30] In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. There it is. Now, are you going to believe it or not? And Hebrews 11, 3 puts us on notice that God's revelation then requires faith.

[26:45] It is only by faith that we understand that God created the universe. We need faith when we come to read the Bible, when we come to read the first verse, when we come to read the last verse.

[26:59] And, you know, the doctrine of God's creation is foundational to all that follows. If you can believe this first word of God, then you can believe all the rest that it says.

[27:16] If you can believe that God made all things out of nothing by his own powerful word, you'll have no trouble believing that an axe head floated in the river. Or that the Red Sea opened and people walked through on dry ground.

[27:30] Or that a flood once covered this entire globe. Or that Jesus was born of a virgin. That he walked on water. That he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and is coming back to judge all men and to create a new heavens and a new earth where the righteous will live.

[27:47] You won't have any trouble with believing those things if you can believe that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And he created it out of nothing.

[27:59] Just by his spoken word. It's foundational to the whole life of faith. That's why I believe we find it at the top of Hebrews chapter 11.

[28:11] Even before we start learning of the examples of faith. This is foundational. Creation is first base. If you don't go here with God, you can't get to second base.

[28:22] You can't get to third base. And you definitely can't get home. If you don't believe God here, you probably won't believe him elsewhere. Creation faces us with the importance of getting first things right.

[28:37] Of humbling our intellect and putting it beneath the word of God and believing all that he says is true. You see, here's where the rub comes.

[28:52] If you don't believe that he created the universe, how will you ever believe that he controls the universe? Now that's important for you today.

[29:05] You live in this universe. Is it out of control? Or is there someone at the helm? Well, the Bible claims he controls it. But if you don't believe he created it, how will you believe that he controls it?

[29:19] The two are found connected in the word of God. And if you can believe that he created it by his word, then it will not be hard for you to believe that he also upholds all things in the universe by his powerful word.

[29:34] Turn back to Hebrews chapter 1. This is something the writer to the Hebrews told us at the very outset of this letter. He tells us that Christ made the universe and that he sustains all things in it.

[29:50] In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he's spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things.

[30:04] Here it is. And through whom he made the universe. The son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

[30:22] See how creation and providence are linked together. The one who made heaven and earth governs and controls and sustains all things in heaven and earth.

[30:33] The creation that heard his powerful word in the beginning and obeyed. When there was nothing and leaped into existence. That same creation still knows his voice and obeys.

[30:51] In his control of all that happens in this universe. So Christ's disciples are at sea and there's a storm that blows up. And he's Jesus is sleeping in the boat and they go and they wake him.

[31:05] And he gets up and he rebukes the waves and the sea and says, Be quiet, be still. And all is calm. And the disciples are very, very amazed.

[31:21] And they say, even the wind and the waves obey him. Why do they obey him? They know their maker when he speaks.

[31:34] He created them. And they respond to their maker. There's a connection between the creator. And the sustainer and controller of the universe.

[31:46] So there's that Gentile centurion in the Gospels. He understood something of these things. This relation of creation to its maker. And so his servant's sick.

[31:59] But he does not feel himself worthy to even come and see Jesus. Just sends a delegation out and he says, Jesus, you don't even need to come to my house. I'm not worthy to have you come into my house.

[32:10] Just speak the word and my servant will be healed. Because I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And I tell this one, go.

[32:20] And he goes. And that one, come. And he comes. And I say to my servant, do this. And he does it. Now, Jesus, you just speak the word. And my servant will be healed.

[32:32] You see, he understands how the universe operates. It obeys its maker. And here is this man standing on the earth claiming to be God.

[32:46] And here is a centurion. And he has the understanding that Jesus has this unique relationship to creation. To sickness in the body.

[32:59] And you figure that out, you medical people. Inside the body, the cellular structure of that servant of his. And he believes that Jesus, miles away, can speak.

[33:12] And those elements in the body of his servant will respond in obedience. And you know what Jesus says?

[33:25] I have not seen such great what? Faith. That's what we're studying. Faith in all of Israel.

[33:37] As I've seen in this Gentile. Faith realizes that creation obeys.

[33:49] Its maker. And all through the Bible, we see this connection. Of his creating heaven and earth with his providential rule over heaven and earth. And everything in it. Acts 17 and verse 24.

[34:00] What does Paul say on Mars Hill to these pagans? These philosophers. He says, I'm going to tell you about this unknown God. You don't know anything about him. But I'll tell you what's true of him.

[34:11] The God who made the world and everything in it. There's his creation. That's the first thing he told them. The God who made the world and everything in it. Is the Lord of heaven and earth.

[34:26] That's two different things. He's the maker. And he's also the master. And because he's the master.

[34:39] When he speaks, it reigns. And when he speaks, you breathe. Everything in the universe is under his lordship.

[34:53] His control. His mastery. The God who made the world is the master. The Lord of heaven and earth.

[35:03] He rules over it all. And so he commands a fish to swallow Jonah. And keep him alive for three days. And transport him back to land. And it obeys. And he commands a den of lions.

[35:17] And tells them to keep their mouths shut. And not to harm his prophet Daniel. And they obey. And he says to some ravens. Instead of you gobbling up that meat.

[35:28] I want you to take it over here. And feed my prophet Elijah. Down by the brook Cherith. And they obey. And the king's heart.

[35:39] Is in the hand of the Lord. And he turns it. Like a water course. Wherever he wants it to go. Proverbs 21.1 So complete is his control.

[35:54] Of what he has made. That all things. Are made to fulfill his purpose. Everything. Down to the casting of a lot. The throwing of a dice.

[36:05] It's every decision. Is from the Lord. Proverbs 16.33 He who is maker of heaven and earth. Is master. Of heaven and earth. So in your life.

[36:17] In your life. Is the thing that troubles you. And causes you to stay up at night. Worrying. Does it have anything to do with God's creation. Is it anything that's in heaven.

[36:31] Or on earth. Does it have anything to do that. That problem that. That causes you such consternation. Does it have anything to do with people. With tempting demons.

[36:44] And devils. With the weather. With wealth. With health. With governments. And nations. Is it anything to do with anything in heaven and earth. Well that's where your God reigns.

[36:57] Dear sister and brother. He's the maker. He's the maker. Of heaven and earth. The whole shoot and match. The whole universe. And he's master of it too. And he has promised.

[37:10] That his mastery of it. Is so perfect. That. In all things. He will. Work for your good. Or it won't happen to you.

[37:21] He'll not let anything. Happen to you. But such that will bring about his good purpose. Romans 8. 28. Yes. He is the. The master. Of creation.

[37:33] He really does have the whole world in his hands. The whole universe. You can trust him. Creation teaches us the power of God's word.

[37:45] That just. By speaking. Nothing becomes something. And it's the same with his words of promise. Have you found a promise in the book?

[37:57] Then you can know. That there is divine energy and power. That will bring that word about. Just as certain as when he said. Let there be light. And there was light.

[38:08] Every promise. When he says it. It will happen. It's the same power. That created. The universe. Out of nothing. Faith is being certain.

[38:21] Of unseen realities. It must happen. And so that's the third lesson. The creation. You see. Is foundational. It's fundamental.

[38:31] To the whole life of faith. If we can believe. That he made heaven and earth. We'll see. That he controls. Heaven and earth. And then. Fourthly. Knowing God created the universe.

[38:43] Is a faith strengthener. In our trials. And so there's. Yeah. You say. Why is this verse three here? Because God has come to us.

[38:56] In this chapter. To strengthen faith. And one of the things. That he is designed. To strengthen our faith. Is the knowledge. That he created. The universe. By his command. And he is.

[39:07] So there's. Hezekiah. And he's king of Judah. And Sennacherib. The king of Assyria. Is a tyrant. On a roll. And all nations. Are being smashed. By his army.

[39:17] And he comes into Judah. And he captures. All the fortified cities. And he makes his way. Right up to the walls. Of Jerusalem. And he's got his army there. And he's ready. And he's threatening.

[39:27] To come. And to destroy. Jerusalem. The capital. And he. He sends messengers first. And then a letter. And he's telling the.

[39:40] The people of Jerusalem. Don't let your king. Hezekiah deceive you. Into trusting in your God. To deliver you. What God of the nations. Has been able to deliver. Those people.

[39:51] From my hand. He had a point. There was not one. God of the nations. Who had delivered. The peoples. That worship them. From the hand.

[40:01] Of Sennacherib. Well. Hezekiah's reaction. Was to take the letter. Into the temple. Temple of God. And to spread it out. Before him. Lord. See what they're saying.

[40:12] About you. And here's Hezekiah's. Response. It's to pray. Hezekiah responds. To the threat. With prayer. And we have his prayer. Recorded for us. Oh Lord.

[40:22] God of Israel. Enthrown between. The cherubim. You alone. Are God. Over all the kingdoms. Of the earth. You have made. Heaven and earth.

[40:37] What does God. Being the maker. Of heaven and earth. Have to do. With. The Assyrian. Horde. Of threatening. To destroy. Jerusalem. God.

[40:48] Well just this. That he's not some. National God. That exists in. Little pockets. Here and then. He is. The Lord.

[40:59] Over all the kingdoms. Of the world. Why? Because he made. Heaven and earth. He's the maker. And therefore. He rules and reigns. Over all. In. Heaven.

[41:09] And on earth. And so. Hezekiah. In his prayer. Lays hold. Of the fact. That God. Is the maker. Of heaven and earth. He's the one.

[41:21] Oh God. You're the one. Who controls. All things. And if you could make. Heaven and earth. Out of nothing. Just by speaking. Then you can do anything. Have mercy. And come and help us.

[41:32] And God. Goes out. In the night. And. Kills 185,000. Assyrian soldiers. You see.

[41:44] All God has to do. Is not give them. The next breath. Because it's. It's only from God's hand. That they live. And breathe. And have their being. All God had to do. Was just. Not give.

[41:55] The next breath. And there were 185,000. In the morning light. That were. Corpses. And the army. Ran back. To Assyria. God.

[42:06] Is the maker. The master. Of heaven and earth. You. Does. Does the truth. Of God making. Heaven and earth. Ever get into your prayers.

[42:18] Does it ever make. Its way into your prayers. Has God ever heard you. Address him. As the maker. Of heaven and earth. You see. It's to your own loss. If you don't pray. That way. Oh.

[42:29] What a faith booster. It is. That to know. That the one. That I am calling on. Just speaks. And. And things happen. He doesn't need.

[42:41] Promising circumstances. Things to look good. Before he acts. There's nothing there. And now there's something. There's no love for Jesus. And he's able to create it.

[42:52] There's no faith in Jesus. No repentance. And he can say. Let there be spiritual light. And light shines in the hearts of sinners. And they repent and believe. He's got that kind of creative power.

[43:06] Oh. Let us not diminish our faith. By forgetting this critical. First base lesson about our God. He's the maker of heaven and earth. And Hezekiah teaches us.

[43:18] That that's meant to. Find its way into our prayers. And strengthen our faith in trials. It's the rich theme of the Psalms. Isn't it?

[43:29] No wonder David is mentioned. In Hebrews 11. As one of the. The hall of famers for faith. And you find this in the Psalms. I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?

[43:41] My help comes from the name of the Lord. The maker. Of heaven. And earth. Where does David go? He runs to the maker.

[43:52] With his problems. Do you. Do you run to the maker of heaven and earth? Or do you just forget that. And just God this. God that. Remember he's the maker of heaven and earth. Remember his power.

[44:04] Remember his reign over everything. That concerns you. My help comes from the name of the Lord. What is it worth in your troubles to know that?

[44:17] My help comes from the name of the Lord. Jesus what a help in sorrows. While the billows o'er me roll.

[44:32] Even when my heart is breaking. He my comfort helps my soul. Is Jesus the maker of heaven and earth. Our helper in sorrows.

[44:44] What a privilege to call upon this helper. In all our troubles. Small and great. To know his arm is not too short. That it cannot save. This is the God who speaks.

[44:58] And things happen. Nothing is too hard. If he can create a universe out of nothing. There's nothing he can't do. So don't put your trust in princes.

[45:10] In mortal men who cannot save. When their spirit departs. They return to the ground. And on that very day. Their plans come to nothing. But blessed. Happy is he. Whose help is the God of Jacob.

[45:20] Whose hope is in the Lord. Is God. The maker of heaven and earth. The sea and everything in them. The Lord who remains faithful forever. Happy. To have.

[45:31] The maker of heaven and earth. As your helper. Remember that. When you need help. Call upon him. Trust in him. Rejoice in him.

[45:42] Rest in him. The last lesson is. That faith grows. By focusing on the object of faith. Why is verse 3 put right up. At the top of the chapter. I believe for this reason.

[45:55] That faith does not grow. By merely talking about faith. It does not grow. By simply defining faith. Focusing on faith. And even we might say.

[46:06] By lifting before our eyes. Examples of faith. Rather faith grows. As we focus on the great object. Of our faith. The living God.

[46:16] The maker of heaven and earth. And that's what. Verse 3. That's the service. It does for us. It reminds us. This is what will strengthen our faith.

[46:28] Yes examples of faith are helpful. But only as they point us. To the object of faith. God. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit. It's as we are directed in our faith. To them.

[46:39] That we find faith strengthened. So before looking at human examples of faith. Verse 3. Would first have us look at the one. That they trusted in. And it's none other than the one.

[46:50] Who spoke. And the universe was formed. This is the one who's unseen. It's the one who Abel trusted in. Enoch. Noah. Abraham. David. That they trusted in.

[47:00] The one who made all things out of nothing. This is the one. Hebrews chapter 11. Is calling you to trust in. And he meets us early in the chapter.

[47:11] That we might learn that lesson. That seeing him. We might have faith strengthened. We do not live upon faith. But upon God. The object of our faith.

[47:22] And he's most clearly revealed to us. In Jesus Christ. As we saw. In the first verses of this letter. That God has spoken in many ways. At different times. Through many different ways.

[47:33] But in these last days. He's spoken to us. By his son. And the son. Then. Is everywhere. In the book of Hebrews. He's the exact representation of God to us.

[47:45] Would you know the father? Look at the son. And who is he? He's the one that made the universe. The father says to the son. In the beginning. O Lord.

[47:56] You laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands. Hebrews 1. 10. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. The radiance of God's glory.

[48:09] It's Jesus Christ. Who is preeminently set forth in this letter. For faith to gaze upon. Indeed when. Right through the letter. You find him. He's the great high priest of his people.

[48:19] The great. Apostle. The one who's sacrifice alone. Can. Can take away our sins. And make us right with God. It's Jesus.

[48:30] Jesus. Jesus. All the way through the book of Hebrews. And when we come to the end of these. Old ancient examples of faith. Where. Where does the writer end up? Hebrews 12.

[48:40] 2. Telling us. To run the race. Not looking to Enoch. To run the race of life. Not looking to Moses. Or Abraham. Or David. But to run the race of life. With our eyes of faith.

[48:53] Looking. Unto Jesus. To Jesus. Because faith grows. As it fixes. Upon the object.

[49:04] Of our faith. So every day this week. By faith. Let us make use of our helper. Jesus Christ. The maker. Of heaven.

[49:14] And earth. If you're lost this morning. Your unbelief is inexcusable. This is the testimony. That God has given us. Eternal life.

[49:25] And this life. Is in his son. He that has the son. Has eternal life. He who does not have the son. Does not have eternal life. And anybody.

[49:37] Who does not believe. God has made him out. To be a liar. Because he has not believed. The testimony. God has given. About his son. God says.

[49:48] His son. Is the way. To eternal life. Every other way. Is death. Destruction. And until you. Believe on Jesus Christ.

[49:58] You call God. A liar. You say. I don't believe you God. I think I've got. A different way. A better way. There's no excuse. If you've heard. The testimony.

[50:10] That God has given. About his son. Embrace him. Right now. Repent of your unbelief. Your rebellion. Against God. And take him. At his word. Cast yourself.

[50:20] Upon him. And he will save you. And you will see. That yes. God's testimony. Indeed is true. By faith. You will come.

[50:31] To understand. That he is indeed. The way. The truth. And the life. Let's pray together. Our father.

[50:45] We confess. That there is enough. In the Bible. To make us. To be the best believers. Perfect believers. Because how could we ever doubt you.

[50:58] The faithful God. The God who cannot lie. And so we bow our heads. In shame. And we confess. Our unbelief. There are many things.

[51:10] That we have called into question. About you. That you've said. Forgive us. And thank you. That you know our frame. And you remember. That we're weak. In our unbelief.

[51:21] Help us. Oh Lord. And. Teach us. To believe. And to believe. Everything that you've said. Starting with. You forming the universe.

[51:32] By your own command. And you ruling over it. Oh. Thank you Lord. That. We're not left. To the silly notions of men.

[51:43] About origins. That we can know. What is impossible to know. Except by faith. And so help us then.

[51:53] To believe everything. That you tell us. About the unseen. And so may it be. That we glorify you. By our faith. Thank you Lord Jesus.

[52:06] For. Setting yourself. Before us. In the gospel. That faith might look. And see. And believe. Be the one. That fills our vision. All this day.

[52:17]  And help us to honor you. By taking you. At your word. Some for the first time. Some for the thousandth time. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.