Ron Dunn Podcast - Faith Is Substance

Episode Date: August 7, 2019

From the sermon series "Faith: Life's Master Key"

Life's Master Key. Life's Master Key. A salvation is like a big house that sits beside a road. And as you travel down the road, you come to this house sitting over to the side, and you recognize it as the house of salvation. And every person who's saved has come to this house. And over the outside door are written these words, whosoever will may come. And I was a young fellow when I saw that, and I went up to that door and tried to open the door, and it was locked. And I banged on the door and kicked the door and tried to pick the lock and pleaded with it to open, but nothing would work. The door was locked. And yet I knew that if I could get inside that house, I would be saved.

But I did not know how to get in. After a while, the Lord spoke to me and placed in my hand a key. And that key had written on it one word, and that was the word faith. I took the key, inserted it in the lock, and the door swung open. I walked across the threshold, and I was saved. And I was saved by grace through faith. And that salvation is the house that grace built, and the key that opens the door is faith. And that's how everybody is saved. There's no salvation any other way. For by grace are you saved through faith. Now, after I entered the house, I wasn't there long until I realized that I was only standing in the foyer, that the house of salvation is a house with many rooms. And I, along with a

lot of other people, were simply standing in the foyer. Over here was a door marked victory over sin. Over here was a door marked answered prayer. Over here was a door marked answered prayer. Over here was a door marked fullness of the Spirit. Now, I don't know about you, but when I move into a house, I want access to every room. I don't want to live in the foyer all my life. I want to be able to go in the bedroom for rest and the den for fellowship, and most of all, the kitchen for food.

I don't want to live in the foyer. But you know, I think that I can safely say today that a great many Christians have spent most of their Christian life living in the foyer. And this foyer was extremely crowded, and I noticed down at one end, they were building and enlarging the foyer. It reminds me of the story of a mother who took her little girl upstairs and put her in bed

and tucked her in, kissed her goodnight, and went back downstairs. And about 15 minutes later, she heard a loud thump on the floor. She ran upstairs and she went into the daughter's bedroom and there she was in a heap on the floor sobbing. Obviously, it had fallen out of bed. So the mother picked her up, gently put her back in bed and tucked the covers up around her and said, Honey, what in the world happened? And the little girl sobbed and said, I don't know, Mommy, unless maybe I went to sleep too close to where I got in. And that's a pretty good description of a great many people as far as their salvation experience is concerned. I went to sleep too close

to where I got in, and most of us, I'm afraid, have been living in the foyer and will die in the foyer without ever going through all the houses and experiencing everything that God wants us to experience. So there I was standing there in the foyer, And as I said, I don't want to live there all my life. So I decided I would go and investigate what was behind those doors. And I looked at that particular door marked answered prayer. I thought that would be a pretty good place to start. After all, I'd heard a great deal about God answering prayer, and I wanted to be able to have my prayers answered. And so I went over to the door and it was locked. I went over to the next door, victory over sin, it was locked. I went to the next door, fullness of the Spirit, it was locked.

And every door in that house was locked. Now, I can't explain this, but even though I'd been saved only a short time, I had somehow acquired an unusually large key ring. And so I fished out that key ring and began to try some keys to unlock the door. The first key I tried was the key of self-effort. I just thought if I would just work as hard as I could and do the best I knew how, that God would answer my prayers. But that key wouldn't open the door.

I next tried the key of Christian service. I decided what I needed to do was take on a few more jobs at church, and if I would just serve the Lord a little bit harder, well, then he would reward me by answering my prayer. That key wouldn't work either. Then I next tried the key of rededication. I figured I must have sinned somewhere along the way, and so I rededicated my life, but that key wouldn't open the door either. Next, I tried the key of tithing. I was getting desperate by now, and that key wouldn't open the door either.

And so there I stood, locked out of those rooms, confined to the foyer with everybody else. And after a while, a voice spoke to me, and it was the Lord, and this is what he said, Son, do you remember the key I gave you when you entered this house? And I said, Yes, Lord, I remember. He said, What was it? I said, Well, Lord, it was the key of faith. And the Lord said to me, Son, the key of faith is the master key that unlocks every door in the house. And I would have to say to you today that one of the greatest discoveries I have ever made in my Christian life was that discovery,

to discover that the key of faith is the master key that unlocks every door in the house of salvation. Everything you get in the Christian life, you get by grace through faith. No other way. You live the Christian life the same way you entered the Christian life. God's method of operation never changes. And salvation, all of salvation,

not just the initial act of salvation, but all the way through our life until we stand in him complete, is a grace through faith operation. And everything, I repeat, we get in the Christian life, we get by grace through faith. Grace means that God provides it. Faith means I accept what God provides. Grace is God's part, making it available.

Faith is man's part, taking what God has made available. Grace is God offering it. Faith is man taking it, you see. Grace is the house, and faith is the key that opens the door. And I want to hammer this down this week, that unless a man or a woman knows how to live by faith, he's going to be shut out of every one of those doors. The Bible says in Habakkuk chapter 2, also says it in Galatians and Romans and chapter 10 of Hebrews, the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith.

Now, when you read the Bible and you find God saying the same thing four times, you sort of get the idea he's trying to tell you something. And I think what God's trying to tell us is this, that the just shall live by faith. You notice he says they live by faith. He doesn't say they're saved by faith. He says they live by faith. Those who are justified will live. That's a very practical word.

They will not sit in church, but they will live by faith. There is only one way that the Christian is enabled to live, and that is living by faith. There's another verse, Hebrews 11, 6. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. Now, that's a remarkable statement. If I had been writing the Bible, I think I would have written something else.

I think perhaps I might have written something like this. Without service, it is impossible to please him. Without tithing, it is impossible to please him. Without tithing, it is impossible to please him. Without reading your Bible, it is impossible to please him. It would have been much easier if that's what God had said. But notice what God says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Now, what the Lord is telling us is this, that there's only one way that you can please God. Only one way that your life can become a pleasure to the Lord, and that is by faith. And if you are not living by faith today, and we'll explain as we go by what that means,

if you're not living by faith, then your life is not a pleasure to God. One more verse before we get into our message. Romans chapter 14, verse 23. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Now, that's a very disturbing definition of sin. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. I can think of a lot of definitions I'd like better. Drinking is a sin. Cursing is a sin. But he says whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

The only alternative to a life of faith is sin. So you put these three statements together, the just shall live by faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please him. And whatsoever is not of faith is sin. And that makes faith an indispensable item in the Christian life. It's not optional equipment, it's an obligation. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that I as a Christian learn what faith is and learn how to live by faith. The second absolute imperative is that we cut the heat off before I burn up. Am I the only one that's warm?

Well, I shouldn't have said that because they're never as hot as I am. But anyway, I think I'm right under the vent because nobody, they're never as hot as I am. But anyway, I think I'm right under the vent or something, and I noticed two or three people getting sleepy out there, and I know it certainly can't be my message that's putting you to sleep. It must be the heat. But anyway, where was I? All right. Now, what I want to do in these sessions, during these four sessions we have together, is to discuss with you the life of faith, the master key of the Christian life. And we're going to use Hebrews chapter 11 by and large for our subject material.

And this morning I want to read one verse, just verse 11, or rather verse 1 of chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. Now this is an introduction to the great faith chapter. And this is the only place in the Bible you'll find a dictionary-type definition of faith. There are a lot of places in the Bible that describe faith and show faith in action. But as far as a dictionary definition, this is the only one we have in the Word of God. The writer of Hebrews says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Now, we're going to take the first part of that this morning, and the first part of our definition is this. Faith is substance. Faith is substance. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. In other words, those things you and I hope for. And in the Bible, you know that hope never has the idea of maybe so or perhaps. But it's those things that you're assured of, but they are yet future.

They are not yet in your possession. But you are certain that God wants you to have them. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. Now, do you know what I consider to be the most important word in that statement? It's the little word is. Faith is the substance. It doesn't say faith obtains the substance. It doesn't say faith will get the substance.

It says faith literally is the substance. I call that the Wizard of Iz. And I've been having a great deal of fun with the Wizard of Iz lately, and we're going to point out some of these Iz's in the Bible. They're very remarkable. And they change the whole complexion of the Christian life. Most of us live in the was and the will be. Did you know that?

We're either living in the was or the will be, and yet we're supposed to live in the is. Now, notice, faith is the substance. Now, let me illustrate what I'm trying to say. Let's suppose that we need substance, and let's put that substance in the term of money. Let's substitute another word for substance. Let's say money.

Let's say you need a sum of money now to meet a financial obligation. And God has promised in Philippians 4.19 that he'll meet all your needs and Matthew 6.33 that he'll take care of all the necessities of life. So you say, all right, I'm going to believe God. I'm just going to trust God. So I believe God. And here's what we usually say. We say, I believe, God, that you're going to supply

that money. Now, where is it? I'm waiting for it. Isn't that the way we usually believe? Now, notice he doesn't say faith will get the substance. He doesn't say faith will obtain the substance. He says faith is the substance. Faith is the substance. Faith isn't hoping. Faith is having. Faith isn't saying, I'm going to get it. Listen. Faith is saying, I already have it.

Faith is the substance. In other words, whatever it is you're hoping for, faith says you already have it. Faith is the substance. Faith literally becomes the object it embraces. So that a man can say when he has a need and he believes God has promised to meet that need, and he takes the position of faith and he says, not I'm going to get it, not God is going to provide it, but he says, I have it already. That's faith. Faith is saying, I have it now, not I will get it later. Now, let me amplify this.

I think I could classify three types of faith. There are those that say faith is saying God can. Now, that's a type of faith. When we say God can, God can do anything. And I think most people have this kind of faith. We're used to saying a little chorus, God can do anything but fail. He can save, he can keep, satisfy with joy complete. God can do anything but fail. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Nothing is impossible with the Lord. God can do anything.

Now that is a type of faith, but folks, that is not real scriptural faith. For instance, here's a man that walks into a service, he's lost. He sits back yonder during the service and he believes that God can save him. Is he saved? No, sir. He could be lost forever believing that God can save him. Believing that God can really doesn't solve anything and really doesn't do anything. So let's move on to the second kind of faith. And it is a faith that says not only God can, but it says God will. God will. Not only God can meet my needs, but God will meet my needs.

Now that sounds so good, doesn't it? God will meet my needs. And I think that a great many of us have this kind of faith. We believe God will solve this problem. God will come through in this situation. God will supply the need in this area. But again, that is not the kind of faith of which the writer of Hebrews is writing. That's not the kind of faith that pleases God. That's not the kind of faith you live by. Here again, this lost man in the service believes that God will save him, but he's lost. He's still

lost. And that man could die in that lost condition, believing someday God was going to save him, but God never did. A person may have a financial need, our illustration, and he may believe God is going to do it one of these days. God will meet my needs, but in the meantime, he's sitting around driving himself into a nervous frustration and everybody with him, worrying and fretting and wondering when God's going to meet that need.

God can, God will, that's still not what we're after. There is a third category of faith. It says not only God can, it says not only God will. You know what it says? God has. God has already. Now, there's something that you and I have to understand. We usually believe that God creates provisions in order to meet our needs.

And when suddenly a need arises in our life, we begin to pray and then wait for God to come up with a solution. But I think you'll be amazed to discover that is not the way it works at all. That God already has the provision before the problem ever arises. For instance, you remember in the book of genesis this is the way god operates before god made fish he made water he didn't make the fish and then tell the fish to flop around on the dry ground while he made water for him to swim in you look at creation every one of those creative acts god had the provision made before he ever made the need. He didn't create man and say, now hold your breath while I make some air for you to breathe.

And yet that's the way we usually treat God in this matter of faith. We say, all right, Lord, hurry up and meet my need before I choke to death. God always has the provision long before the need ever arises. Which came first, the first Adam or the second Adam? Somebody? The second Adam. Well, that doesn't make sense, does it? Which came first, sin or Savior? The Bible tells us in Revelation that Christ was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. Folks, long before there was a garden, even there was a cross on Calvary. Man didn't sin and catch God by surprise, and then God say, all right, now I've got to find a Savior.

No, sir, long before man ever sinned, God already had a Savior. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were simply a foreshadow, a preview of what God was going to do. But actually, it was more than that. It was an indication of what God had already done. That's why Abraham could be saved. Why could Abraham be saved before Jesus ever came? Because in the mind of God, he was slain before the foundation of the world. Why do you think Isaiah 53 is written in the past tense? Listen to Romans chapter 8 verse 30. He says,

those that he called he also justified, them that he justified he also what? Glorified. Past tense. Now you may not know, but you're looking at a glorified preacher this morning. I mean in the mind of, I'm already glorified. What I'm trying to get you to see this morning is this, that God has already, now listen carefully, God has already created provision for every need you'll ever have. It's already there. Let's look at a verse that I think amplifies this a little bit

Mark chapter 11 verse 24 this is a great promise that we've quoted many many times therefore I say unto you what things soever you desire when you pray believe that you receive them and you shall have them now let's look at that carefully Jesus says, what things wherever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them. Now the tense of that

verb indicates something that is already done. Believe that you receive it. Believe that you have received it and you shall have them. That's future. Now, the Williams translation, which I consider to be one of the finest translations of the New Testament, Charles B. Williams, which most Greek scholars agree is the most faithful to the Greek text of any translation, reads like this, believe that it has been granted you, and you shall get it. When do you get it? When you believe you've already got it. Now, that's exactly what Jesus is saying.

He's saying, when you pray for something, believe you've already got it, and you'll get it. You say, well, it'd be easier to believe I had it after I had it. Well, listen. Without faith, it is impossible to please him. What is this faith? This faith is saying, God has already supplied every need I'll ever have. You see, anybody can believe they have something once they have it.

Once you have it placed in your hand in a visible concrete form, a lost man can believe he has that. That kind of faith doesn't please God. There's no virtue to that. What faith is, is believing the Word of God to such an extent that you believe you have it when you can't even see it. That's exactly what Jesus is saying. You remember in John chapter 9 when Jesus and his disciples came to a man born blind, and the disciple says, Lord, who sinned that this man should be born blind, his parents or himself?

Now, the disciples were operating on a certain level, and they were saying that this man's blindness was the result of his sin or his parents' sin. And notice what Jesus said in John chapter 9, Now why was that man born blind? That man was born with a problem that the glory of God might be manifested. In other words, long before that man's problem ever arose in his life, before he was ever born blind, God had already settled it in eternity that that man was going to be healed for the glory of God. Long before any of your problems ever arise, God already has the solution. As a matter of fact, every temptation that you're going to face today, Jesus has already overcome. You know when he overcame it 2,000 years ago on the cross?

When God told Joshua it was time to go into the promised land, what did he say to him? He said, when you go in, every time you put your foot down, I have given that land. Notice he did not say, I will give it to you. Not future tense. He said, I have given it to you as I swear to Moses, I have given it to you. And when Joshua and Israel walked across Jordan, they were walking on land that God had given to them years and years before.

God met the need long before the need ever arose that's why the writer of Hebrews says faith is substance faith is substance now this is what enables a person to live what is called the rest of faith the rest of faith R-E-S-T

resting in faith the only way I the rest of faith, R-E-S-T, resting in faith. The only way I can rest in faith is with the assurance that God has already met my need. If I am believing that God someday is going to meet my need, that someday God is going to supply the provision, then while I'm waiting, I'm nervous and uptight and fretful, and I make my wife nervous and I make the kids nervous and I snap at them and I get irritable. And I act like I have coffee nerves. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It is only when I understand that faith is substance and when God has promised in his word he's going to do something and I come up against that need, I recognize that long before I was born, God knew

I was going to have that need. God knew I was going to have that need. I think Joseph in the Old Testament is such a good illustration of this. You know the story of his brother selling him into slavery. He ends up in Egypt. He ends up in jail. And through a series of circumstances that Joseph could not have possibly arranged, he ends up prime minister of Egypt, second in command. And 17 years later, when his brothers come to buy grain so as not to die during the famine, Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, and he makes a remarkable statement. He says, you meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it unto me for good to bring about this present result. Now, long before Joseph was ever cast into the pit by his brothers, God already had

everything planned out. God is never caught off guard. God is never caught up short. He's never taken by surprise. And every problem you have today, every need you have today, has already been met. It's behind one of those locked doors. And if you could just get out of the foyer into that door, you'd find it has been met. And faith is the key that

does it. Now, I want to illustrate this as best as I can, because we're talking about intangibles. I'm conscious of that. We're talking in abstract terms. We're talking in terms that's contrary to our way of thinking. Oh, by the way, let me just insert this. Have you noticed where faith operates? Have you noticed the environment of faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. You say, Preacher, I want to live in faith. I want to learn how to trust God. All right, then you're going to have to let God take you into some areas of things hoped for and things not seen.

And that's exactly where we don't want to live. We want to be able to see everything, don't we? We want to be able to understand everything. We want to be able to put everything in a test tube. We want to be able to patiently explain everything. We want to see it in our hands. We want to be able to feel it and taste it and smell it, right? No, sir, you can't do that and live in faith.

If you're going to say, all right, Lord, I want to learn how to trust you, I want to learn how to live a life of faith, then God is going to carry your life through some things hoped for and some things not seen. You're going to have to be willing to live in the area of where you don't understand

what's going on. And there are some things you can't explain in your life. And there are some things that you don't have and some things that are not in your possession and you can't prove it. But that's where faith operates. That's the realm in which faith operates. And we wonder why it is sometimes God seems to withhold some things from us. We wonder why it is God takes us in some circumstances that we can't explain and we can't prove. Well, it's because God is bringing you into the proper atmosphere where you can learn to trust him. Now, I want to illustrate this with a personal thing. When I first began to understand this, and long before

I even really began to understand it, I had what everybody has from time to time, a financial need. Now, you may be wondering, why in the world does that preacher use so many illustrations about money? Well, I'll tell you what I've learned. I've learned that if God's people can be convinced it works in the area of money, they'll believe it works anywhere. Well, I had a desperate need I needed five hundred dollars I didn't have it I couldn't go to the bank because I'd already been to the bank I that well was dry for me I didn't know what to do about that time time I got sick. It's one of those good kinds of sicknesses, you know,

where you're not so sick you don't enjoy staying home. But you're just sick enough not to have to go to work. It's that kind of sickness. Well, I thought to myself, this is of the Lord. And God has prepared this so that I can pray down that money. Now, I had great visions of locking myself in my room and imploring the Lord and begging God and finally just wearing God down,

chewing him down, if you don't mind, until the Lord would give me that $500. So I went upstairs and I locked the door to my bedroom, opened my Bible to Matthew 6, 33, got down on my knees, and I read that Matthew 6, 33, but seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. What things? Well, the necessities of life. And I read that four or five times,

and I prayed. And this is exactly the way I prayed. Lord, meet my needs. Lord, meet my needs. Lord, are you going to meet my needs? Lord, give me some sign. Give me some evidence that you're going to meet my needs. I'd stop praying and I'd read that verse again and again and again. You know, just trying to make faith rise to the surface by osmosis. Most of us think that faith is this. Now listen, most of us believe that you pump yourself up to believe. You know, you psych yourself up and you talk yourself into believing and then quick, before it melts, you pray.

You know, right there when you're in that twilight zone of believing and you've psyched yourself up enough to where you can believe God, you hurry up and make that prayer and turn in that petition. That's not faith at all. But that's what I was trying to do. I was trying to talk myself into believing God, read myself into believing. I went on like that for about 30 minutes.

The Lord spoke to me. And when I say spoke to him, I mean, you know, he spoke to me inside, you know, intuitively. And he said, read that verse again. And I read it again. It said the same thing it said the other 33 times. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

And here's what the Lord said. He said, Don't you wish your banker had said that to you instead of me? And I got to thinking about it. If the president of that bank had written me a note and said, Now, Ron, I don't want you to worry about what you'll eat or drink or what you'll wear. You just seek first the kingdom of God. You just concentrate on doing the will of God, and all these things I'll add unto you.

Do you believe I'd have been down there on my knees begging and pleading and worrying? Absolutely not. do you believe I'd have been down there on my knees begging and pleading and worrying absolutely not when that need arose I simply would have got on the phone called that banker and said hey you said you'd meet all my needs and here's the need and thank you very much isn't that right

isn't that what you'd have done and then God said to me your problem is you have more faith in the word of a man than you have in the Word of God. And that's right. And I saw something there that day. I saw that when God has already promised to do something in the Bible, I don't need to beg and plead for him to do it. All I need to do is to bring the need to the Lord, thank him that

he's met it, and go on my way. Faith is substance. And I got on my knees, and the first thing I did was to confess my unbelief to the Lord. You know all that praying. You know what my praying was. My praying was simply unbelief expressing itself. And did you know the great many prayers that we offer to God are nothing more than expressions of unbelief? By my asking God to do something He'd already promised to do, I was telling Him that I didn't believe Him. For instance, if I were to ask Brother Cardin to take me to lunch, he said, I'm going to take you to lunch.

I'd ask him again, I'd say, are you going to take me to lunch? Every two or three minutes, I'd say, are you going to take me to lunch? You know what I'd be saying? I'd ask him again I said you're gonna take me to lunch every two three minutes are you gonna take me to lunch you know what I'd be saying I'd be saying I don't really believe you well now when God has already promised that he's going to do something and I continually asking to do what he said he's going to do I'm simply expressing unbelief so I got on my knees I confessed my sin of unbelief and here's what I said I said Lord you promised to meet my need. You've said it. I have a need. Here it is.

I thank you that that need is met. And I got up off my knees and stopped praying for it. I said, the need is already met. I have it now. Couldn't see it. Couldn't look at it. Couldn't see it. Couldn't look at it. Couldn't handle it. But I had it.

Why? God said I had it. And two days later, I got it from an unusual resource. When I believed that it had been granted me, that's when I got it. Faith is substance. Faith is substance. Well, I made a little vow to the Lord that day. Now, I want to caution you. I'm not telling you

that this is the way you ought to do with your finances. I'm just simply telling you how God dealt with me. Don't make my experience your standard. I'm just telling you how God dealt with me. Well, I made a vow to the Lord that day. I had been the type of person that would always, you know, overextend myself financially. I had too much month left at the end of my money. And I'd run down to the bank, you know, every 30 days and sign a new note. And I'd consolidate my consolidations. You know, I'd try to keep up with the Joneses. About the time I'd catch up, they'd refinance. And I'd have to start all over again I made a vow to the Lord that day

I said Lord from now on I will never again go to man for my needs and I'll never again go to the bank to borrow money to catch up on my bills I'm going to trust you now that involves good stewardship of what God gives

but I said from now on I'm going to trust you. Now that involves good stewardship of what God gives. But I said from now on I'm going to trust you. And like I say, you deal with the way God deals with you, but this is the way God dealt with me. And I don't mean now when we buy a car or a house where we make a loan, but I'm talking about paying off my Sears bill and all these other

things. I said from now on I'm just going to trust you. Well, you know the Lord will always test you to see if you're just preaching or you really mean it. And about three weeks later, we had another one of these notes come due. We had to have $700. But it was different this time. I wasn't worried at all. I just went to the Lord and I said, Lord, here it is. I have this need, $700. I have to have it in five days, and I thank you that I have it. You've met my need.

Lord, I know that need is met. That money was there long before I ever came around. Lord, faith is substance. I believe I have it right now. Thank you very much. I wasn't worried at all. That was Wednesday. And that night I preached on Philippians 4.19.

Where God says he shall supply all of our needs. I made a statement. I coined a little phrase out of that sermon. I repeated it about six times. Here it is. What you do not receive, you do not require. What you do not receive, you do not require. What you do not receive, you do not require.

If you required it, you would receive it. If you don't receive it, that means you don't need it. Well, I was standing there that night after church, and God said to me, you have that $700. I said, I know I do, Lord. Faith is substance. I believe it. He said, no, I mean you have it. You have it.

I said, well, where in the world is it? He said, it's in mutual funds. Now let me explain something, and I'm not going to make it by 10 to 1. If you have to leave, just go ahead and leave. We'll understand. Let's see, where was I? About a year before, we had taken out a mutual fund.

You know, that's where we put in about $50 a month, and that's for the kids' education. You know, we'd never been able to save any money. I'd try to start a savings account. It'd get up to about $4, and I'd take it out and spend it on something and So when when we started this mutual funds I had to swear to my wife that no matter what happened. We'd never cash this in see this was our children's future Well, we had seven hundred and forty dollars in that built up and the Lord said you have it right there in that built up. And the Lord said, you have it right there in that mutual fund.

Now, I'm telling you exactly what I said to the Lord standing at the back of that church on that Wednesday night. I said, well, Lord, that's all right with me, but you'll have to talk to my wife. I wasn't about to walk in

and tell my wife I was going to cash that in after I had sworn to her I wouldn't do that. Well, about 10 o'clock that night we were sitting at home watching the news, and after it's over she said, you know, I had a thought today where we can get that money. I said, where? She said, let's go ahead and cash in that mutual fund. So I said, well,

thank you, Lord. Next morning I got on the telephone and I said, I called them up at the office and I said, I need to cash in that mutual fund and I need that money by the end of this week or by the middle of the next week. It wasn't five days. They said, well, the check will be mailed today and you ought to have it in the next day or two. Well, the next day or two came, but the check didn't. The fifth day came and the check didn't. I began to get a little nervous now. You know, my faith was beginning to sag a little bit in the middle. And I called them up and I said, where's that check? They did some looking around. They said, well, the check was mailed the day you called. It should have been there. I said, well, it's not. Well, I got off the phone. I was really getting nervous

now. Old devil was coming up, you know, and maybe you misinterpreted those verses. You know, maybe that first time was just lucky. And so I had a bright idea. I knew I couldn't go to the bank and borrow money. I knew I couldn't borrow money because I'd break a vow. So I had a great idea. I had a friend in that church, a very well-to-do man,

and we were great friends, and I knew that I could make an arrangement with him. Here was my idea. I'd call him up, and I would get some interim financing. I would ask him just to give me a check that day for $700 and let me meet that obligation, and when my check came in the next day or two, which it was certain to do, why, I could just, you know, that wouldn't really be borrowing, sort of, you know, that really wouldn't be borrowing. So I called him up, and his secretary't really be boring, sort of. You know, that really wouldn't be boring. So I called him up and his secretary said he's out of the office. I said, well, call him as soon as he gets back.

I had to go to the Baptist bookstore and driving back, a phrase began to run through my mind. What you do not receive, you do not require. What you do not receive, you do not require. What you do not receive, you do not require. Now, folks, you just don't realize how strongly I believe that. I believed it then. I believe it now. And I had to face it.

Listen, I haven't received that check. I must not require it. What you do not receive, you do not require. And literally, I begin to think, well, why wouldn't I need that check? What circumstances would happen that I wouldn't need that check? I thought, maybe I'm going to die. I'm serious. I'm serious.

It wasn't funny to me. I said, maybe I'm going to die today. Well, that couldn't be it because my wife would still be responsible for that debt. Couldn't be it. You know, the only thing I come up with, I know this sounds silly to you, but the only thing I could come up with, the Lord must be going to come back that day. That's the only conceivable situation I could imagine where I wouldn't need that. What you do not receive, you do not require.

And I thought, well, my soul, wouldn't it be awful if the Lord came back and I met him with that broken vow? I went back to the office and my friend called up. He said, what do you need? I said, not a thing. Not a thing. About three o'clock that afternoon, the phone rang in my office.

I picked it up and it was my wife. And she said, guess what happened? I was afraid to guess. She said, guess what happened? I said, I don't have the slightest idea. She said, an what happened? I said, I don't have the slightest idea. She said, an officer from that company just now left our house having delivered that check.

It was sent to a wrong address and sent back and they knew we needed it and he brought it out and hand-delivered it himself today. Now, you know that's just like the Lord. He's never late, never early either. But he's always right on time. And I tell you, I was so grateful that I hadn't broken my vow.

You see, the Lord knew what he was doing. He was testing my faith. Well, that's not the end of the story. The next morning, I was in my office, and my secretary said, somebody out here wants to see you. And it was the friend that I had called the day before, you know, I was going to borrow the money from.

He and his wife came in, and we sat down. He handed me a white envelope. On the outside was written, Galatians 6.6 written Galatians 6.6. Galatians 6.6 says something like this. He that is taught the word ought to share his goods with his teacher. He said,

we closed a deal yesterday on some land, construction work that we did, and we wanted to share some of the money with you. I opened up that white envelope, and would you care to some of the money with you. I opened up that white envelope and would you care to guess how much money was in there? Seven $100 bills. And I saw that I said well I've just got to tell you something. I

said you know when I called you yesterday and I told him the whole story that's exactly the amount I was going to borrow from him. And when I told him that he said well I've got to tell you something. He said, originally, we were going to give you just $600. But he said, this morning, I was brushing my teeth. And as I brushed my teeth, a number seven kept running through my mind. And I told my wife, I feel we ought to give the preacher $700. And he says, here it is. That's the exact amount that I'd believe God for. Now, folks, you can call that a coincidence and be miserable if you want to. But I'll tell you what it was. It was God rewarding a man's faith. Faith is substance. That's the first part of faith.

If I'm going to live a life that is pleasing to God, I must understand that faith isn't hoping. Faith is having. Faith isn't saying, I certainly hope God will do this. Faith is saying, God has done it. God has already met every need. The Bible says that Christ has already paid for the sins of every man. Did you know that?

Did you know that every lost person in Tuscaloosa, his sins have already been paid for? He says he'd take away the sin of the world. 1 John 2 says that Jesus is the covering for our sins and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Did you know a lost man doesn't go to hell because of his sins? Jesus said in John 3, verse 18, He that believeth on me is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already.

Why? Because he drinks, murders, lies? No, because he hath not believed. He didn't, by faith, accept what God had already provided. You see, the only way anybody can ever be saved is the fact that God has already made the provision. What is faith? Faith is saying, I have it. Faith is substance. Faith is walking into the provision God has already made. So let's close here. Every need you have today, God's already met that need. What you do not receive, you do not require.

I tell you what I'm learning. I'm learning that God sometimes shows me that some of the things I thought were needs were not needs. You know? But if I need it, God says he'll provide it. And faith is substance. Now we're going to look at the rest of that definition and some more tomorrow and the next two or three days. And I hope that you can be with us. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification,

not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages, visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn.

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