Title: True Faith Desires Something Better
Meta: If you have a desire for one thing then you are discontent with the other thing. For the Christian they desire Christ and therefore are discontent with the world and with sin.
Tags: faith,salvation,better,endurance,heaven,Jesus Christ

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For true faith

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and this is the test

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of true faith.

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What is it, when things get hard

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and there's an opportunity to go back,

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what is it that prevents somebody from doing that?

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What stops you from doing that?

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What does true faith do at that point?

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And listen,

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the fact is

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you can lay it down right here,

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there is a discontent with true faith.

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You know what leads me to say that?

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Is this word,

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in 11:16,

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"they desire..."

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They have a desire.

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Faith is driven by a desire.

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And the inverse of that is faith is driven by a discontent.

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You have a desire for that; you're discontent with that.

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Right?

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And you know what's interesting?

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In verse 16 it says, "a better country" in all of our translations

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but you know in the original there is no country there.

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They just supply it.

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I mean unquestionably that's what he's talking about.

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But in the original it's just this,"They desire better."

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You see that's the desire of faith.

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Faith believes

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that what it is past the finished line is better.

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That's true faith.

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Because it really believes it's better.

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You can say it's better,

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but if you don't continue running the race

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you don't show that you really believe it!

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When you're running along

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and you look over there and you see

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the folks sitting around and meandering at the shops,

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and you're running in the marathon,

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and you're thinking, "oh that sure would feel good.

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Cool drink in hand. Not running. Not out here.

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Not in this blazing sun.

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Not working like I'm working.

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I'm hitting the wall.

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My body's shutting down.

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My knees are weak and I feel like I'm going to fall.

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And oh it's shady over there,

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and it's nice over there."

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You know what keeps you going?

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You know that there's a Glory at finishing that finish line.

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That those people aren't going to have.

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And you start looking over there,

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and you recognize that in comparison,

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with this eternal weight of Glory that's at the end,

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what they've got...

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if you can see it,

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if you can put your glasses on,

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and see

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Ah! There really over there chewing on pig husk.

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That's all it is.

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And to the Christian that's what it is.

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We look around at the world

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and it tries to entice us.

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It's this great big Vanity Fair.

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And it's saying, "buy, buy, buy."

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But the Christian is running along in this race and saying,

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"I don't want to buy what you have to sell,

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because I know it doesn't really satisfy.

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My heart is yearning and desiring a better country!"

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Now listen.

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It's not just a better country because it's another country.

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It's not just a better country because God built it.

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It's a better country brother,

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because it's Immanuel's land!

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It's where Christ is!

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If you read about the City of God in Revelation,

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what is it that's so glorious about it?

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God is there!

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God is in their midst!

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God is the light, the lamp is the Lamb!

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It's that!

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Their throne is there!

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That's where the abiding place,

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the abiding place of God is with men!

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That's why they want to get there.

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That's why they want this City.

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Brethren!

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When Andy says, "Onward."

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What does that mean?

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It means,

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"Brother, we're headed to the Temple to look into the face of Christ!"

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That's what it means.

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That's where we're going.

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And we can look over at the martini sippers over here

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and we say, "I don't want that!"

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"I want the face of Christ, it's better!

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I desire that!"

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And it drives us forward.

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And that's what true faith is!

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It looks at that and it says,

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"I see a Christ in the pages of this Book,

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and I want Him!

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I want His Glory, I want to see Him

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and I'm not going to be satisfied until I have that.

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I've tasted of this world

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and I've caught a glimpse of that City

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and a glimpse of the Christ of that City.

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And just a glimpse,

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just causes this to pale."