Looking For A
City
The
churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
Text: Hebrews 11:8-10
Scripture Reading:
Genesis 28:10-19
Intro.
- God has blessed us
once again to assemble together
- so that we can
call upon His name
- and
study His Holy Word.
- We continually thank
the Father for His goodness and mercy.
- I personally
consider it a joy to be able to write this lesson for you to read.
- We hope that someone
reading,
- who is not yet a
member of the church of Christ,
- will
seriously think about becoming a Christian (Acts 11:26).
- Our lesson is
designed to encourage you to believe in Jesus,
- repent of your
sins, and accept Jesus as your Savior
- by
putting Him on in the watery grave of baptism (Gal. 3:27).
- You will then be
saved by His blood and added by the Lord to His body,
- the
church of Christ
(Acts 2:47).
Lesson
Hebrews
11
- We want each of you
to turn in your Bible to Hebrews chapter 11.
- This chapter
contains what most scholars call “God’s Hall of Faith.”
- Please read with us
verses 8-10:
8By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should
after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he
went out, not knowing whither he went.
9By
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise:
10For
he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God.
- From this reading we
will speak on the subject, LOOKING FOR A CITY.
- In Hebrews 11:1-11,
we find the Holy Spirit dealing with those patriarchs
- who
are known as pilgrims and strangers on this earth (Heb. 11:13).
- They are also
called sojourners.
- As sojourners they
emphasized endurance, hope, and faith toward God.
- Their faith was an
obedient faith that pleased God (Jam.
2:14-26).
- We know this
because they have been included in this list.
- In this lesson we
want to examine the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- We want to
especially see what it was about them that caused them
- to
live above this world and look for that eternal city called heaven.
- Now when we look at
Hebrews 11:8-10 we see Abraham.
- Abraham was the
father of the faithful.
- He will serve as
the focal point of our lesson.
- We plan to divide
this lesson by looking at vs. 8, then verse 9, and then verse 10.
- We will comment on
Abraham living in UR of
the Chaldees.
- Then we will
comment on him living in Canaan,
- and finally we
will see how that city which has foundations
- whose builder and
maker is God
- influenced
his life, and we hope it will influence your life.
Prosperity
Gospel
- As we get into our
text, keep in mind how popular some preachers have made
- the
so-called prosperity gospel.
- This teachings
places the majority of its emphasis on the here and the now.
- These prosperity
movements appeal to the carnal man,
- and
many thousands of people are flooding to there ministries.
- Their teachings
are not emphasizing heaven,
- but
they are emphasizing individuals having something on this earth.
- They speak of
blessings we should have NOW
- because
God doesn’t want to see us go without.
- Now we accept what
God’s blessings are,
- but I’m afraid too
many of the teachers and followers of this doctrine
- are
not looking for a city whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11:8
“By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place
which he should
after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went.”
- Notice now that the
Holy Spirit says Abraham was a man of faith.
- The Bible says “BY
FAITH…”
- You see, faith is
important, for Hebrews 11:6 says,
“Without
faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to
God must believe
that He is and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.”
- So we see that faith
is important. But what is faith?
- Well verse one of
this eleventh chapter tells us: “Now
faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen” (Heb. 11:1).
- Now Abraham had
never seen Heaven but he was looking for that city.
- Some might ask, how did Abraham know about the city?
- Well, it was BY
Faith.
- And faith comes by
hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
- So Abraham was a man
who pleased God,
- because he
listened to God and obeyed God
- and
thus, was looking for the city of God.
Ur
of the Chaldees
- The Bible says God
called Abraham
- from
his home in Ur of the
Chaldees (Acts 7:1-4).
- History reveals
that Ur was a significant
place.
- It was the largest
city of that area.
- It was a political
power, an industrial community, and
- a
commercial and educational center.
- The Garden of Eden
was believed to have been located in that area.
- The ancient cities
of the Babylonian empire were known to have been there.
- Today, modern IRAQ
is located in that same area where Abraham once lived.
- Because of the
geographic location the city had fertile soil
- and was the
perfect place to irrigate the land and raise productive crops,
- as
well as domesticate sheep, goats, and other animals.
- Trade was one of its
great resources.
- This gave the
people access to other cultures.
- The main items of
their trade were copper, ore,
- ivory,
grain, and even wood.
- So we know UR
was a very popular and productive area in which to live.
- This was a place
ideal for Abraham and Sarah to raise a family.
- However, God had
bigger and better plans for them.
Genesis
12
- Go with us to
Genesis 12:1, 4:
1Now
the LORD had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will shew thee…
4So
Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:
and Abram was seventy and five years old when
he departed out of Haran.
- God spoke to
Abraham, he heard God, and then he responded to God.
- That’s why he made
the list of those we read about in Hebrews 11.
- You see not everyone
in the Old Testament times made the list.
- Why not?
- Because many did
not listen to God, and thus did not obey God.
- Abraham, however,
was a special individual.
- When God came to him
in Ur of the Chaldees,
- a
productive place, a place where any family could be successful…
- God called him and
said go to a place where I’ll show you.
- God didn’t give
him an itinerary or tell him where he was going.
- Here is a man that
was going to leave the known and go to the unknown.
- Now why would he
do that?
- Simply because God
told him to do it.
- Abraham first went
to Haran after leaving his
stable home in Ur.
- By the time he
left Haran he was 75 years
old.
- To us this would
be pass the age of retirement.
- He has lived 75
years and now God tells him to get up and leave.
- It took a very
special man to obey that command.
- But again, why did
he leave?
- He left because he
was looking for a city with foundations,
- whose
builder and maker is God.
Sarah
- We wonder how Sarah
felt about this move.
- Surely there was
some discussion about this relocation.
- Can’t you just
picture Abraham saying to Sarah, We’re leaving?
- And Sarah asks,
“Where are we going?”
- He says, Well I
don’t know where we’re going.
- She says, You mean we are just going to pack up and go?
- He says, Yes. She asks, WHY?
- Abraham says,
Because God told us to go.
- You see, Abraham was
a man who took God at His word.
Hebrews
11:9
- Now let’s go back to
Hebrews 11:9
- and
see what happened when they got to Canaan (read
verse 9).
“By faith he
sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise:”
- By faith he
sojourned…A sojourner is a temporary resident,
- which
means he has no plans to stay there permanently.
- Abraham didn’t
come to Canaan to stay.
- You see, from time
to time your preacher may go back East
- to conduct a
Gospel meeting,
- but
he doesn’t take a lot of clothes because he’s sojourning.
- He’s stays in a
hotel because his stay is only temporary.
- And while he’s
back there he can put up
- with
a lot of inconveniences because he didn’t go there to stay.
- He’s just a
sojourner.
- Now Abraham decided
to leave that which was permanent;
- he would leave
that which was established,
- and
then go to the land of Canaan
and live as a sojourner.
- You see, Abraham was
a man of faith.
- The record says he
died at the age of 175 (Gen. 25:7).
- So Abraham lived
in Canaan as a sojourner in tents for 100
years.
- During that time God
made him extremely rich.
- He had enough
money to buy some property;
- maybe
even some good lake front property.
- Don’t you know that
Sarah could have said to Abraham…
- This looks like a
good place to settle down.
- You’ve already
uprooted me from my home and family
- and
now you have me over here in no mans land living in a tent.
- But Sarah was also a
woman of faith.
- Here is a woman
who allowed her husband
- to take her from
that which was stable and known
- to
that which was unknown, and to live in a tent.
- That’s why she also
made the list.
- She was a woman of
a faith,
- and
with her husband she was looking for a city.
Isaac and
Jacob
- Now when Abraham and
Sarah were about 100 years old
- they
had a son who they named Isaac.
- Isaac died at the
age of 180 years (Gen. 35:28).
- Like his father,
he lived in a tent as a sojourner for those 180 years.
- If that’s not
enough, here comes Jacob, Isaac’s son,
- who lived 147
years (Gen 47:28);
- He too lived in a
tent as a sojourner.
- So we see three
faithful generations living in tents about 430 years.
- Why? Because they
were sojourners…
- they were looking
for a city with foundations,
- whose
builder and maker was God.
Faith is
the Key
- Now we’re afraid
that many of us today do not have their kind of faith.
- You see, most
of us really don’t want to leave here.
- Yes, we want to go
to Heaven; but Heaven can wait
- until
after we have lived good long lives and accumulated many goods.
- You see, we are
not looking for heaven right now.
- It can wait until
after we die, and the longer we live the better.
- So the difference
between us and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
- is that every day
of their lives
- they
were looking for that city.
- Wouldn’t it make a
lot of difference
- if
we had more members of the church like these patriarchs of old?
- When we look at
our generations,
- we are building
homes and refinancing
- and
getting bigger and better homes.
- We are driving
hummers and the nicest cars that money can buy.
- But when we look at
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
- we
don’t see them trying to keep up with the Joneses.
- We don’t see them
building bigger and better homes
- or
buying the latest model chariot.
- It seems that they
got by with the minimal.
- Why? Because they
knew they were not going to be there forever.
- They were
sojourners.
- They were looking
for a city.
- The churches of
Christ all across America
are weak
- because we don’t
have enough people within the church
- who
are operating by faith.
- We don’t have
enough people who are looking for a city
- which
has foundations, whose builder and maker is God! AMEN?
Hebrews
11:13
- Let’s skip down to
verse 13 of Hebrews chapter 11. The Bible says:
“These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them,
and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth.”
- “These all died in
faith…”
- Wait a minute now.
- Faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
- So if Abraham died
in faith, he died not seeing the promise of God Almighty.
- Since “all” died
in faith,
- then
Isaac and Jacob died without seeing the promise.
- We thank God for
giving us these examples of people who died in faith.
- There are just too
many Christians today
- who
have to see something or experience something to believe God.
- Those are the weak
members of the church.
- Those are the ones
who can’t help the church to move forward,
- because
they are a generation of people who have to see something.
- They never would
have made it in Canaan.
- Their families
never would have made it
- for
nearly 430 years, all of them dying in faith.
- Loved ones, even
though we don’t see it,
- even though we are
not able to experience everything
- that
God has promised we must still hole on to our faith.
- Jesus said, Blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed
(John 20:29).
- Christians of faith
are the kind of people that make a home strong.
- They are the kind of
people that make the church leadership strong.
- They are the kind of
people that will make a preacher strong.
- They will make a
congregation strong. Why?
- Because they are
people who are living by and ready to die in faith.
- They have their
trust and faith in the living Almighty God.
They
Were Persuaded
- So again the Holy
Spirit says in Hebrews 11:13, “These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but
having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them….”
- Watch it now!
- Somebody will ask, How could these patriarchs live 430 years in Canaan
in tents?
- Answer: They were
persuaded!
- This means they
didn’t hesitate.
- They were not wishy washy.
- They were confident.
- They could say, I
haven’t received it, I haven’t experienced it,
- but
I know it is there.
- They were
persuaded there was a city, and that city had foundations,
- whose
builder and maker was God.
They
Embraced the Promises
- So they were
persuaded…but the Holy Spirit didn’t stop there.
- Verse 13 goes on
to say, “And embraced them.”
- Embraced means
they held it close to their bosom.
- You see, when you
know God and you trust God
- you’ll
hold His promises close to your bosom.
- You won’t let
anyone pull them away from you.
- Things may not go as
you desire from day to day,
- but
you’ve got the promises of God in your bosom.
- Your spouse may
suffer from this disease or that disease,
- but
you’ve got the promises of God in your bosom.
- Your child may be
still born, but you’ve got the promises of God in your heart.
- Your friends in
school may laugh at and make fun of you,
- but
you’ve got the promises of God in your heart.
- You see, when you
live by faith and you are willing to die in faith,
- and you are fully
persuaded,
- and you embrace
the promises,
- you
won’t let anything or anybody turn you around.
They
Confessed
1.
Still the Holy Spirit had more to say on this matter…
2.
Verse 13 goes on to say, “They
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth.”
3. They
were persuaded or confident, they
embraced the promises,
- and then confessed
their understanding
- of
their relationship with this world.
4.
If you are sojourning, living in tents so to speak,
- somebody is going
to say to you,
- “You have all that
money so why are you living in a tent?
- Well the
patriarchs confessed it.
5.
The reason they were not trying to make Canaan
their permanent home
- is because they
were looking for a city with foundations,
- whose
builder and maker was God.
- Wouldn’t it be great
if you could get all the members
- of
your congregation to have this kind of faith…
- to be persuaded,
to embrace it,
- and
be willing to tell others?
- They could confess
that they don’t have to have a new car every year,
- because
they can still drive the old one.
- They don’t have to
build a new house,
- but
can live in their old house, because this world is not our home.
- We’re just pilgrims
passing through this place.
- We are sojourners
looking for a city.
- We’re not here to
stay.
- Loved ones, if we
can get a wife and a husband
- to understand that
they are just pilgrims and strangers on this earth,
- a
whole lot of trouble that goes on in the home would never take place.
Hebrews
11:14-16
- Verse 14: “For they that say such things declare plainly
that they seek a country.”
- You see, we are
trying to secure ourselves here and get a portion here.
- Why are we trying to
anchor here?
- Don’t we know that
one day we are going to die and leave it all?
- Listen, we came
into this world with nothing
- and
we are going out of it with nothing (cf. Job 1:21).
- A rich man was about
to die, so he told his wife,
- I want all my
money to go into the casket with me.
- He made his wife
promise to fulfill that request, and she promised.
- At the funeral she
walked up to the casket
- and slid under his
cold lifeless hands
- a
check for all his money.
- Verse 15: “And truly, if they had been mindful of that
country from
whence they came out, they might have
had opportunity to have returned.”
- The Bible says if
they would have been mindful of where they came from
- they
could have returned.
- But Abraham was so
steadfast in looking for a city
- That he didn’t
want to go back to Ur.
- That’s not the
city.
- Hebron
wasn’t the city.
- Bethel
wasn’t the city.
- Why go back when
you know that’s not the city.
- So they kept moving
from place to place,
- because they were
looking for that city with foundations,
- whose
builder and maker is God.
- Verse 16: “But now they desire a better
country, that is, an heavenly:
wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for
them a city.”
- They desired a
better country; a country better then Ur,
better than Canaan.
- Friends, we
need to start looking for a place better than Portland.
- Now Portland
is all right, but there is some place better. AMEN!
- The heavenly city
is better.
- Because of this God
was not ashamed to be called their God.
- When God was
asked, “Who are you?”
- He was not ashamed
to say, “I Am the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.”
- God was saying, if
you want to know who I Am,
- I want you to
associate me with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- God was so pleased
with them
- (that they would
be willing to live by faith and die in faith),
- that when asked
who He was,
- He said I’m the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Do we have anymore
Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs in the church today?
Genesis
28:10-19
- Loved ones, God
didn’t let that generation die
- until
He proved to them that there was a city.
- You remember the
story in Genesis chapter 28
- about Jacob
running away from his brother Esau (Read verses 10-19):
10And
Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11And
he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night,
because the sun was set; and he took of the stones
of that place,
and put them for his pillows, and lay down in
that place to sleep.
12And
he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth,
and the top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it.
13And,
behold, the LORD stood above it, and said,
I am the LORD God of
Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed;
14And
thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth,
and thou
shalt spread abroad
to the west, and to the east, and to the north,
and to the south: and in thee
and in thy seed shall all the families of the
earth be blessed.
15And,
behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places
whither thou goest, and
will bring thee again into this land;
for I will not leave thee, until I have done
that which I have spoken to thee of.
16And
Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said,
Surely the LORD is in
this place; and I knew it not.
17And
he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is
this place!
this is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven.
18And
Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had
put for his pillows, and set it up for a
pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19And
he called the name of that place Bethel:
but the name of that city was called Luz at
the first.
- Again, in verse 17
Jacob recognized that this place
- where the angels
were ascending and descending
- on the ladder
reaching from earth to heaven
- was
the house of God, and the gate of heaven.
- He recognized that
ladder as the way to get to the city.
- He recognized that
ladder as the way to get to God.
- If a man can ever
find Jacob’s ladder
- then he can make
it into the city that has foundations,
- whose
builder and maker is God.
- Well, when we turn
over to the New Testament, to John 1:47ff,
- we
read the story of Jesus calling Nathaniel to be His disciple.
- After speaking
with Jesus, Nathaniel understood, believed, and confessed
- that
Jesus was the Son of God and the King of Israel.
- In verse 50:
50Jesus
answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee,
I saw thee under the
fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see
greater
things than these.
51And
he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall
see
heaven open,
and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of man.
- Jesus here
identifies Himself as that ladder that Jacob saw in the long ago.
- That ladder
represented the house of God and the gate to heaven.
- Friends, if you
are looking for that city,
- then the way to
find it is upon the steps of that ladder,
- and
that ladder is Jesus the Christ.
- Jesus is the way,
the truth, and the life; no man comes to the father… (John 14:6).
- You say, brother
preacher, I want to go to that city.
- Well, you can’t
come to that city unless you come to Jesus.
- Jesus said, “I am the door, by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9).
- Again, “He
that entereth not by the door…but climbeth up some other way,
the same is a thief
and a robber” (John 10:1).
- Jacob realized that
when you find the gate you also find the house of God.
- Jesus is the gate
and Jesus built the church,
- the house of God,
- whose
house are we (Heb. 3:6).
- The only way to
heaven is through Jesus,
- and
the way to Jesus is in His church.
- Jesus only built
one church, the church of Christ
(Matt. 16:18).
- Someone says, well
brother preacher,
- going
to heaven is like going to New York.
- We beg to differ.
- You may make many
ways to New York,
- but
there is only one way to heaven.
- Jesus Christ is
that one way and being a faithful member of His body
- is
your only way to make heaven your home (Read Heb. 12:22-23).
22But ye are come unto mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23To
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect.
- So to accept Jesus
is to come into His church.
- Remember, Hebrews
11:16 said, God has prepared
for them a city.
- Jesus also said
(Read John 14:1-4):
1Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me.
2In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you.
I go to prepare a
place for you.
3And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also.
4And
whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
- Well someone says, I
can go to heaven in a Baptist church
- or
a Methodist church or a Presbyterian church.
- But again, we beg
to differ.
- Jesus didn’t build
those churches.
- He only built His
church.
- So loved ones, we
don’t want you to miss Heaven.
- We want you to
make Heaven your home.
- This earth is not
your home.
- You are just a
sojourner on your way to the city.
- Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob were looking for a city.
- They all lived by
and died in faith.
- I plan to do the
same while I live here on this earth.
- I will not put my
affection on things of this earth,
- but
I’ll put my affections on things that are above (Col. 3:1-2).
- I will not love
this world, neither the things of this world.
- I will no longer
be driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
- or
the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:15-17).
- I’m going to love
God Almighty and lay up my treasure in heaven
- where there will
be no thief to break in and steal
- and
no moth or rust to corrupt (Matt. 6:19-21).
REVELATION
21
1. God is so good brethren.
2. He did not close out His
written record
- without
letting us know there truly is a city.
- In the book of
Revelation we see John exiled to the Island
of Patmos.
- But while there
God brought him in the Spirit
- and
showed him that wonderful city. John said (Read Rev. 21:1-4):
1And
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first
earth
were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God.
4And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away.
3. No more tears, no more
hospitals, no more medicine, no more death, Praise GOD!
- Read Revelation
21:10-16:
10And
he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high
mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending
out of heaven from God,
11Having
the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12And
had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates
twelve
angels,
and names written thereon, which are the names
of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13On
the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three
gates;
and on the west three gates.
14And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb.
15And
he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16And
the city lieth foursquare, and the length
is as large
as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed, twelve
thousand furlongs.
The length and the
breadth and the height of it are equal.
- Loved ones, God’s
city…our city…has 12 foundations and 12 gates.
- There are three
gates on the East, three on the North,
- three
on the South, and three on the West.
- God has made it
possible that every nation everywhere
- can
have access into this city.
- God has an angel at
each gate to welcome us into the city.
- The city is four
square and someone estimates it has enough room
- for
more than 200 billion souls.
- Are you looking for
this city?
- You cannot get to
this city by accident.
- You must follow
God’s road map as revealed in His word the Bible.
- You must make your
calling and election sure and so “an entrance shall be
ministered
unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ”
(2 Peter
1:10-11).
Conclusion
- Loved ones, are you
really looking for this city?
- Or are you just
trying to make everything convenient
- down
here on the earth?
- Do you really want
to go to heaven?
- If you really have
that desire it will make a big difference
- in
all your relationships down here under the sun.
- If you are living as
a sojourner, looking for a city,
- you will be able
to put up with all kinds of trouble
- and
heartaches down here on the earth.
- Children, you will
be able to put up with your peers in school,
- your
teachers, and even your parents.
- Parents, you will
be able to put up with your children,
- your bosses at
work, your spouse,
- your
in-laws, and even your enemies.
- Members of the
church, we’ll be able to put up with the preacher,
- the
deacons, the elders, and even each other.
- We’ll be able to
put up with all these things
- because we know
this world is not our home,
- we’re
just a passing through.
- God has a better
place prepared for me and you.
- No one on this earth
can keep us from receiving what God has in store for us.
- We just need to
live by and die in faith.
- We need to live
and die as pilgrims and strangers on this earth.
- We need to live
and die as sojourners looking for a city with foundations,
- whose
builder and maker is God.
- The lesson is yours
tonight.
- Do you believe it?
- If so, make the
decision right now to stop living for this world.
- Set your eyes of
faith on that city that has foundation,
- whose
builder and maker is God.
- If you believe these
things make the decision right now
- to
turn from your sin and confess the name of Jesus.
- Come up front and
let us help you obey the word the God.
- If you need to be
baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins
- we
will do that tonight.
- If you need
someone to cry with you, we will cry with you.
- If you want someone
to rejoice with you,
- come
up and let us rejoice with you.
- If you need
prayer, we will pray for you tonight.
- Whatever your
need, come right now while together we stand and sing.
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