WEBVTT 00:00:13.710 --> 00:00:17.589 You ever been driving late at night on a long 00:00:17.589 --> 00:00:21.410 road and suddenly realized you are far more tired 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:25.350 than you thought you were? Your eyes get heavy, 00:00:25.629 --> 00:00:29.449 your reactions slow down, you stop paying close 00:00:29.449 --> 00:00:32.890 attention and before long maybe you begin to 00:00:32.890 --> 00:00:36.090 drift without realizing it. Maybe you hit those 00:00:36.090 --> 00:00:38.729 rumble strips that shake the car on the side 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:41.770 of the road. Maybe your tires cross over the 00:00:41.770 --> 00:00:44.429 yellow line for a second. Maybe you jerk the 00:00:44.429 --> 00:00:48.369 wheel back in panic Because you suddenly realized 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:52.770 I am tired, and I'm not paying attention Now 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.829 imagine that happening on a dangerous mountain 00:00:55.829 --> 00:01:00.869 road The road is narrow the turns are sharp the 00:01:00.869 --> 00:01:05.549 fog is thick and beside the road is a steep cliff 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:09.370 and All along the road there are warning signs 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.280 Sharp curve ahead, dangerous shoulder, stay alert, 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:16.120 do not cross. There are those rumble strips that 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:19.060 maybe you've run over. Reflective markers and 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:23.140 guard rails. Now, why are all those warnings 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:28.040 there? They're not there because the designer 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:34.670 of the road wants to watch people crash. They're 00:01:34.670 --> 00:01:37.670 there because the danger is real the warnings 00:01:37.670 --> 00:01:42.349 are there meant to keep drivers alive and If 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:46.209 a sleepy driver ignores the warnings ignores 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:50.629 the rumble strips keeps drifting Refuses to wake 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:55.010 up eventually they may drive straight off that 00:01:55.010 --> 00:02:00.420 cliff I think that imagery helps us understand 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:03.819 exactly what the author of Hebrews has been doing 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.959 over the last several passages that we've been 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:09.759 looking at. As Brother James preached about Hebrews 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:14.500 5 -11 through 6 -3, the author is looking at 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:17.439 Christians and he's saying, you have become dull 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:22.419 of hearing. You have become sluggish. You have 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:26.180 become slow. You have become spiritually sleepy. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.000 These are people who should be mature by now, 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:36.039 but they can't eat meat yet. They're still drinking 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:39.900 milk. They should be teachers and they're still 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:43.860 students. In other words, they are beginning 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:47.620 to drift spiritually. Their attentiveness to 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:51.560 Christ is weakening. Their maturity has stalled 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:56.379 and the author knows something dangerous. Nobody 00:02:56.379 --> 00:02:59.900 suddenly drives off a cliff without drifting 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:03.879 first. And then comes the warning that we looked 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:06.539 at last week, Hebrews 6, 4 through 8, where the 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:10.139 author essentially says, if someone continues 00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:13.599 to drift, they may eventually harden themselves 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.740 against all the warnings, refuse to wake up, 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:23.419 and reject Christ altogether. The Cliff of Apostasy. 00:03:24.930 --> 00:03:29.909 is real. The cliff of rejecting Christ is real. 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:33.129 And some people can experience the blessings 00:03:33.129 --> 00:03:36.349 around the people of God, hear the truth, see 00:03:36.349 --> 00:03:39.289 the power of God, taste the realities of the 00:03:39.289 --> 00:03:42.330 new creation and the kingdom, and yet still ultimately 00:03:42.330 --> 00:03:47.449 reject Jesus. And after hearing all of that, 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:50.930 you can almost feel the tension in the text. 00:03:52.169 --> 00:03:56.810 Maybe these original readers read this and asked, 00:03:57.210 --> 00:04:03.629 so what about us? Is the author saying that he 00:04:03.629 --> 00:04:07.490 believes we're doomed? Does he think we're already 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:12.349 headed off the cliff? And that is what makes 00:04:12.349 --> 00:04:17.389 Hebrews 6, 9 through 12 so beautiful. Because 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:20.800 after all the warnings, After all the alarms, 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:24.180 after showing them the danger of the cliff, the 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:29.399 author now lovingly turns to them and says, though 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.819 we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:36.980 we feel sure of better things, things that belong 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:40.480 to salvation. In other words, I gave you the 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:42.959 warnings because I want you to make it home. 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:48.290 The warnings aren't there. to drive people off 00:04:48.290 --> 00:04:51.149 the cliff. The warnings are one of the ways that 00:04:51.149 --> 00:04:54.290 God wakes his people up from their sleepiness, 00:04:55.009 --> 00:04:58.790 keeps them persevering safely all the way to 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:01.529 the end. And this morning, we're going to see 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:04.129 that true believers are not people who never 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:09.269 grow spiritually sleepy, never grow tired, never 00:05:09.269 --> 00:05:12.610 need the warnings. True believers are people 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:18.300 who heed God's warnings. who wake up, who keep 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.759 their eyes fixed on Christ and continue driving 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:27.100 until they reach home. So if you will take your 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:30.420 Bibles, Hebrews chapter 6, verses 9 through 12, 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:37.620 it's kind of this third part to these last three 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:40.160 sermons that we've been. Looking at he says though 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:42.259 we speak in this way yet in your case beloved 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:46.180 We feel sure of better things things that belong 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:51.180 to salvation for God is not unjust so as to overlook 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:53.839 your work and the love that you have shown for 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.360 his name in serving the Saints as you still do 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.180 and We desire each one of you to show the same 00:06:01.180 --> 00:06:03.800 earnestness to have the full assurance of hope 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:07.720 until the end So that you may not be sluggish 00:06:08.460 --> 00:06:12.100 but imitators of those who through faith and 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:16.040 patience inherit the promises. The first thing 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:18.459 I want us to look at is found in verse 9. It's 00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:24.620 this idea that faith, faith that wakes up after 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:27.500 this powerful warning that we looked at, this 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:31.019 verse sounds shocking because he has just been 00:06:31.019 --> 00:06:34.259 using phrases like falling away. We've talked 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:38.589 about rejecting Jesus. He talked about land that 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:41.490 bears thorns in judgment and now suddenly his 00:06:41.490 --> 00:06:44.810 tone changes and he says, yet in your case, beloved. 00:06:46.009 --> 00:06:49.449 That word beloved matters. This is not the language 00:06:49.449 --> 00:06:53.269 of a cold, harsh judge ready to strike down a 00:06:53.269 --> 00:06:55.750 sentence and condemn. This is the language of 00:06:55.750 --> 00:06:59.509 a loving pastor speaking tenderly to his people, 00:07:00.569 --> 00:07:05.649 people that he deeply, deeply cares about. John 00:07:05.649 --> 00:07:08.110 Calvin referring to these warnings in the previous 00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:12.790 verses, he says they're like thunderbolts. And 00:07:12.790 --> 00:07:16.209 they were meant to be. They were severe because 00:07:16.209 --> 00:07:20.769 the danger is severe, but now the author is reassuring 00:07:20.769 --> 00:07:24.370 them. He's saying, listen, though I warned you 00:07:24.370 --> 00:07:27.149 strongly, I'm persuaded that there are better 00:07:27.149 --> 00:07:29.550 things concerning you than flying off the cliff. 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:34.000 In other words, I don't believe the cliff is 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.279 the end of your story. And this is where we need 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:43.480 to understand what all of these warning passages 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:48.579 are for. They are meant to drive true believers 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:55.720 not to hopeless despair, but to drive them further 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:01.860 into the hands of Jesus. to wake spiritually 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:08.240 sleepy Christians up. Like the rumble strips 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:10.920 in our illustration, when a tired driver begins 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:14.720 to edge off the road and toward the edge, those 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:18.060 rumble strips violently shake the car. Why? Because 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:20.740 they're trying to wake the driver up, to warn 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:24.180 them of the danger and to get them safe. And 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:26.259 that is what Hebrews does with these warnings. 00:08:27.609 --> 00:08:30.709 shake the soul back to attentiveness to Christ. 00:08:32.190 --> 00:08:34.529 And this theme runs throughout the entire book 00:08:34.529 --> 00:08:36.470 of Hebrews. I said last week there are five, 00:08:36.690 --> 00:08:40.149 possibly six warnings. Hebrews 2 .1 says, therefore 00:08:40.149 --> 00:08:43.149 we must pay much closer attention to what we 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:46.330 have heard lest we drift away from it. The Christian 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:49.529 danger in Hebrews is often, is not often just 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:53.309 this sudden rebellion. It is drifting, neglect, 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:57.100 sluggishness, slowly falling asleep. Hebrews 00:08:57.100 --> 00:08:59.820 312 says, take care of brothers lest there be 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:02.779 any evil in you, unbelieving heart leading you 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:06.200 to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 313 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.519 says, but exhort one another every day that none 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.899 of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:16.179 sin. And that is why the warnings keep coming 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:19.500 again and again and again in the book because 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:25.529 true believers are gonna grow weary. True believers 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:30.870 are going to struggle. True believers are going 00:09:30.870 --> 00:09:36.289 to need warnings to wake them up. And here's 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:42.190 the key. True people of God hear God's warnings 00:09:42.190 --> 00:09:48.629 and respond to them. The people who have false 00:09:48.629 --> 00:09:53.149 testimonies or false faith hear the warnings 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:59.309 of God and it does nothing to them. But true 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:01.889 believers, when God's Word confronts them, they 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:04.450 listen. When the Spirit convicts them, they wake 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:07.350 up. When the warnings shake them, they grab the 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:10.009 wheel again and they fix their eyes back on Christ. 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:12.639 And that is one of the differences between a 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.080 temporary false faith and genuine saving faith. 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:20.500 Temporary false faith can sit under the warnings 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:24.039 and eventually harden itself against those warnings 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:29.159 and against Christ. Temporary false faith eventually 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:33.639 ignores all the signs completely. But genuine 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:37.899 faith hears the warnings, hears God's word, wakes 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:42.000 up. And that is why Hebrews constantly says, 00:10:42.340 --> 00:10:44.480 take care, do not drift, do not harden your heart, 00:10:44.820 --> 00:10:47.440 hold fast, do not throw away your confidence. 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:53.580 The guardrails are not proof that the road designer 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:56.720 wants people to crash. They are proof that the 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.879 danger is real and the designer wants travelers 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:03.320 to make it home safely. And the author says something 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.399 really important here. He says, we feel sure 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:09.179 of better things concerning you. Things... related 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:14.679 to salvation. All of those things we talked about 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:19.240 last week, those four things that he said you 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:21.779 could be a part of and that you could experience, 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:24.080 those things aren't related to salvation. You 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.620 can have all of those things and not have genuine 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:28.720 salvation. You can taste, you can hear, you can 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:33.379 experience, you can participate. But now the 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:37.730 author is distinguishing from those things which 00:11:37.730 --> 00:11:41.429 are just merely being exposed spiritually to 00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:45.909 stuff, to those who have genuine faith. He says 00:11:45.909 --> 00:11:50.409 I see something different in you. I see better 00:11:50.409 --> 00:11:54.230 things in you. I see things belonging to salvation. 00:11:54.470 --> 00:11:57.490 And notice he doesn't say I see sinless perfection. 00:11:57.870 --> 00:12:02.990 Of course not. He doesn't say I see flawless 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:08.559 theology in you. I see outward religious performance 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:12.759 in you. Now what he does is he points to the 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.960 evidence that God is truly working in them. Evidence 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.340 of a changed heart and evidence of persevering 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:22.120 faith. Evidence that the Spirit of God is continuing 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:26.039 to wake them up and keep them near Christ. And 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:28.659 church, this is one of the most, one of the beautiful 00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:31.759 balances in the book of Hebrews. The author refuses 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:35.440 to give false assurance. but he also refuses 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:42.799 to leave believers drowning in despair. He warns 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:48.019 severely, and then he comforts tenderly. Because 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.019 the goal of the author of Hebrews is not to cause 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:55.700 a panic, it is to cause perseverance. We talked 00:12:55.700 --> 00:12:57.759 about this last week, we're gonna continue to 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.519 talk about it today. In fact, one of the evidences 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:04.580 of genuine salvation is not that you feel convicted 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:11.820 when God warns you, it's that you wake up to 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:16.659 those convictions and turn back to Christ. What 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:18.860 does Jesus say in John chapter 10 when he's talking 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:21.899 about being the good shepherd? He says, my sheep 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:26.480 hear my voice and they do what? Follow me, church. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:31.820 They follow me. They don't just hear me talking. 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:34.820 They don't just hear the warnings. They don't 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:38.700 just hear the words. They then follow me. That 00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:42.279 is evidence that they are my sheep. True sheep 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:44.659 hear the shepherd's voice. They respond when 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:47.220 Christ speaks. They wake up to the warnings. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:49.879 And some of you this morning, maybe you have 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:53.259 felt the weight of Hebrews 5 and 6 a little bit 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:55.860 over the last couple weeks. I hope you have. 00:13:57.920 --> 00:14:01.120 Maybe the passage that Brother James preached 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:04.120 from about you've become dull of hearing, maybe 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:08.159 last week the warnings that apostasy can be real, 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.960 maybe that unsettled you, maybe that shook you, 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.879 maybe that exposed some areas in your own life 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:19.440 where you have become sleepy. But I would argue 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:24.460 the very fact that those warnings have awakened 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:29.600 you, that those convictions have stirred in you 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:33.620 an attentiveness back to Christ, I would argue 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:39.419 that is evidence of your salvation. I had one 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:43.220 person come up to me and say, started having 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:47.879 to wonder, well, how am I living? But see, that's 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:52.879 how a Christian reacts to the text. The Christian 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.559 reads Hebrews 5 and Hebrews 6 and doesn't go, 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:00.240 well, all right, I'm good. They read that and 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.559 go, where do I need to wake up? Where do I need 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.340 to focus in? Where in my life have I drifted? 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:08.980 But that is evidence of the persevering faith 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:11.360 that follows after Jesus, that hears the voice 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.539 of Jesus and then follows. Does that make sense? 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:18.600 See, the lost person reads 5 and 6 and it doesn't 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.370 move them. It doesn't unsettle them. It doesn't 00:15:22.370 --> 00:15:26.269 shake them. But the Christian gets shook by this 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:28.509 and we grab the wheel again and we go, I gotta 00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:30.450 get back on the straight and narrow. I gotta 00:15:30.450 --> 00:15:33.149 get back. I've been sleepy. I've been dull of 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:35.269 hearing. I've been sluggish. No more of that. 00:15:35.330 --> 00:15:37.169 Thank you Jesus for waking me up. But that's 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:41.649 what a Christian does. That's the kind of faith 00:15:41.649 --> 00:15:44.049 that makes it home. A .W. Pink says the warning 00:15:44.049 --> 00:15:50.740 should stir us up to earnest examination while 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:54.039 the promises should encourage us to constant 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:58.820 and patient diligence then we get to verse 10 00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:01.820 after reassuring the believers that he sees better 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:06.029 things in them the author now explains why What 00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:09.350 evidence does he see in them that gives him this 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:12.350 confidence? What are the things related to salvation? 00:16:12.429 --> 00:16:14.750 And I'll be honest with you, when I read commentaries 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:17.409 this week, and I read theologians much smarter 00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:20.070 than me, they didn't actually all agree on what 00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:22.149 the evidence is of the Christian. Some went back 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:24.649 to the beginning of Hebrews and started quoting 00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:26.710 all the things. Some just stuck right here to 00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:32.740 the text that we're dealing with today. And I 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:35.080 think I want to stick right here in this text 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:36.940 because there's a couple things that he says. 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:41.279 He points out their continuing love and service 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:47.480 to the people of God. You see that in verse 10? 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:51.000 For God is not unjust to overlook your work and 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.799 the love that you have shown for His name in 00:16:53.799 --> 00:17:00.700 serving the saints as you still do. He doesn't 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:05.079 point to emotional experiences. Listen, emotional 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:10.079 experiences are good. It is good to have your 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.259 affections stirred. That is a good thing. But 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:16.420 those are not what we point to, to give us reassurance 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:20.680 of our salvation. Because I can promise you, 00:17:20.859 --> 00:17:23.140 you can be manipulated by how good the music 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:26.839 is to feel something. You can be manipulated 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:32.150 by the preaching to feel something. And he doesn't 00:17:32.150 --> 00:17:36.569 point to that. He points to not these dramatic 00:17:36.569 --> 00:17:40.690 spiritual moments. He points to a persevering 00:17:40.690 --> 00:17:44.670 love expressed through sacrificial service for 00:17:44.670 --> 00:17:51.190 the church. And he says, for God is not unjust 00:17:51.190 --> 00:17:54.170 to look at your work and your love. Now, we have 00:17:54.170 --> 00:17:56.809 to be very careful. He is not saying, and we 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:00.000 know this, that God looks at your work and it 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.920 is your work that then gets you the salvation. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:08.039 He is not saying that God owes them heaven because 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:10.299 they serve the church. That would contradict 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:13.119 the entire message of Hebrews and the entire 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.000 gospel message completely. We know that we are 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.960 saved by grace, through faith, not of ourselves, 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:23.900 not of our works, so that no one can boast. But 00:18:23.900 --> 00:18:27.940 Hebrews 2 10, The very next verse, so we have 00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:33.079 Ephesians 2, 8 -9, by grace you have been saved. 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:37.440 Then in verse 10 of Ephesians chapter 2, as Jessica 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:40.640 quoted in her portion of the video, we are his 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:44.140 workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:47.539 works. In other words, good works do not create 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:51.160 salvation, but good works reveal salvation. And 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:53.640 that is exactly what Hebrews is saying here. 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:58.130 The author sees evidence that God's grace has 00:18:58.130 --> 00:19:01.750 truly taken root in them and they have been doing 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:05.529 these good works. Loving, sincere, persevering 00:19:05.529 --> 00:19:09.329 service for the church. Notice how personal this 00:19:09.329 --> 00:19:14.049 becomes. The love that you have shown God's name 00:19:14.049 --> 00:19:17.069 in serving the church. We've said this before. 00:19:18.289 --> 00:19:23.549 How do you serve Jesus? Jesus is not physically 00:19:23.549 --> 00:19:26.809 in this room right now, is he? The resurrected 00:19:26.809 --> 00:19:28.910 body of Jesus is not in this room. He has not 00:19:28.910 --> 00:19:31.769 walked through those doors. So the way that we 00:19:31.769 --> 00:19:34.470 serve Jesus, the way that we serve God's name 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:40.450 is by serving his church. The ministry of the 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:44.230 saints is ultimately ministry unto Christ himself. 00:19:44.730 --> 00:19:47.509 A love for God's people is a love for his name. 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:50.750 Matthew chapter 25, Jesus says, as you did it 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:52.490 unto the least of these, my brothers, you did 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:55.069 it unto me. I would argue that if I had the time 00:19:55.069 --> 00:19:58.829 this morning to go and exegetically break down 00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:02.309 Matthew 25, we think the least of these are like 00:20:02.309 --> 00:20:06.349 the weak people. I would argue that Matthew 25, 00:20:06.450 --> 00:20:08.650 the least of these, are the children of God. 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:13.480 And he's saying, When you serve my people, you're 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:18.039 serving me. 1 John 3, 14 says, we know that all 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.299 have passed from death into life because they 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:25.380 love their brothers. So one of the clearest evidences 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:29.279 of genuine salvation is a growing love for the 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.420 people of God. And church, that is important 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:38.420 because many false faith, false testimony, temporary 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:43.950 declarations, Could participate externally in 00:20:43.950 --> 00:20:47.190 the covenant community without ever truly loving 00:20:47.190 --> 00:20:52.829 Christ by loving his people But a genuine faith 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:57.289 The heart has changed it produces love it produces 00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:00.670 outward service and notice notice this line at 00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:04.009 the end of verse 10 It says as you still do there's 00:21:04.009 --> 00:21:07.009 perseverance again In other words, this isn't 00:21:07.009 --> 00:21:11.970 about one time you serve the church He's not 00:21:11.970 --> 00:21:14.609 pointing out just one thing that they did like 00:21:14.609 --> 00:21:16.309 hey you guys remember that one thing that y 'all 00:21:16.309 --> 00:21:17.950 did that was great I'm glad you served the church. 00:21:18.190 --> 00:21:23.250 This is a continuous moving a continuous driving 00:21:23.250 --> 00:21:28.089 a a continuous serving of the church this is 00:21:28.089 --> 00:21:31.269 persevering language and it fits perfectly with 00:21:31.269 --> 00:21:33.809 our illustration the sleepy driver who wakes 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:36.529 up does not merely jerk the wheel for one second 00:21:36.529 --> 00:21:39.809 and then fall right back asleep immediately He 00:21:39.809 --> 00:21:43.869 keeps paying attention, correcting course, driving 00:21:43.869 --> 00:21:46.769 carefully toward home, and spiritually, that 00:21:46.769 --> 00:21:50.950 is what genuine faith does. It continues. You 00:21:50.950 --> 00:21:53.650 have served. God has seen how you have served 00:21:53.650 --> 00:22:01.369 the church as you still do. Of course, this is 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:05.890 why the New Testament constantly emphasizes endurance 00:22:05.890 --> 00:22:12.539 and continuation. Colossians 1. He has now reconciled 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:16.200 If has now been reconciled if indeed you continue 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:20.460 in the faith stable and steadfast Jesus says 00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:23.000 in Matthew 24 13 the one who endures to the end 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.720 will be saved Hebrews 3 14 for we have come to 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.240 share in Christ if indeed we hold our original 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.079 confidence firm to the end If you grew up Baptist 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.240 you probably heard the phrase once saved always 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.720 saved right you ever heard that that phrase once 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.220 saved always saved It's a decent phrase. If you've 00:22:40.220 --> 00:22:43.440 truly been saved, you will always be saved. But 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:45.759 historically, Protestant Christians have used 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:51.039 the term perseverance of the saint. That if you've 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:55.279 truly once been saved, then the true saint of 00:22:55.279 --> 00:23:00.160 God perseveres to the end. They will make it 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.319 to the end without rejecting Jesus, without falling 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:07.000 away. That's what Hebrews is laying out for us 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.039 It's really what the entire New Testament is 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:11.420 laying out for out for us because the Christian 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:14.940 life is not merely about beginning it is about 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:18.400 continuing and That doesn't mean that and what 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.960 that means is that true Christians will stumble 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:23.460 at times They will grow weary there will be seasons 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:26.980 of sluggishness, but genuine faith keeps returning 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:30.740 to Christ Keeps repenting keeps serving keeps 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:34.940 loving keeps moving forward And I love that God 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:38.059 is not unjust to overlook this perseverance. 00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:41.799 God remembers. God knows every act of love that 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.359 is done in His name. Even the unseen things that 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:49.220 nobody else sees. God sees them. The quiet faithfulness. 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.819 God sees that. The unnoticed service. The work 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:56.220 that you do that nobody applauds. God sees that. 00:23:56.700 --> 00:24:01.220 He knows that's part of your persevering. And 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:03.869 it's not that God is... This is important. It's 00:24:03.869 --> 00:24:10.170 not that God is tallying up merits. In actuality, 00:24:10.230 --> 00:24:12.369 you know what God is seeing when he sees you 00:24:12.369 --> 00:24:17.109 do things in his name? He's seeing his own grace 00:24:17.109 --> 00:24:22.869 at work in you. So it's not as if God is standing 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:27.049 back and going, I'm just looking for objective 00:24:27.049 --> 00:24:31.650 work. No, what he's doing is he's looking for 00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:37.210 the workmanship that he is creating in you. He 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:41.130 is seeing his own graces in you. Calvin said, 00:24:41.289 --> 00:24:44.569 God does not so much look upon our works as upon 00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:49.849 his own grace in our works. People can come in 00:24:49.849 --> 00:24:53.869 the church and work, but what he's looking, what 00:24:53.869 --> 00:24:57.569 God is looking for is his own grace in your work 00:24:57.569 --> 00:25:03.259 to show that you. truly belong to Him. Because 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:06.279 ultimately your perseverance is sustained by 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:10.240 God's grace. You don't persevere in your own 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:14.859 power. You persevere because God is gracing you 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:24.720 to persevere. Maybe you're in here today, you 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:29.859 feel weary. You feel spiritually tired. The road 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:34.799 has been difficult and you feel exhausted. One 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.839 of the evidences of God's grace in your life 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:40.779 is that despite your struggle, you're still here. 00:25:41.819 --> 00:25:43.660 You're still serving. You're still loving. You're 00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:45.559 still ministering. You're still clinging to Christ. 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:48.900 You're still driving home. Because the faith 00:25:48.900 --> 00:25:50.880 that makes it is not a perfect faith. It's a 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:56.819 persevering faith. That's what he's saying in 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:00.640 verse 10. A .W. Pink again says, a living faith 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.519 is a working faith. And where the heart has really 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:06.339 trusted Christ, love and obedience will continue 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:10.279 to follow after him. And then we get to verses 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.799 11 and 12. We're looking at a faith that makes 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:18.039 it home. Now the author moves from reassurance 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.519 to celebration. He's encouraged them. He's pointed 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.500 to them the evidences of grace in their life 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:27.960 and now in essence He says keep going continue. 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:33.039 Don't stop and Again, I love the personal nature 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:35.519 of his appeal in verse 11 because he says we 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:40.079 desire each one of you so he's not just throwing 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:45.099 this out as a Hole over the church. He's calling 00:26:45.099 --> 00:26:49.339 each individual to persevere Your perseverance 00:26:49.339 --> 00:26:52.960 and your faith must be personal. Every believer 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.660 must remain awake spiritually. Every believer 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:58.640 must keep pressing on to Christ. As he says in 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.940 verse 11, show the same earnestness. That word 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:06.640 earnestness speaks of diligence. Steady intentional 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:10.920 effort. The opposite of carelessness. The opposite 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:16.039 of spiritual drifting. And notice in verse 11, 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:23.089 the connection Back to Hebrews 5 11 There the 00:27:23.089 --> 00:27:25.890 author said you have become sluggish in hearing 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:28.910 and I'm sorry in verse 12 and chapter 6 He says 00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:33.990 so that you're not sluggish Right, so he starts 00:27:33.990 --> 00:27:36.450 this little section off by saying you've become 00:27:36.450 --> 00:27:41.630 sluggish So here's the warning Then he comes 00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:44.769 back and says But I've given you all of this, 00:27:44.829 --> 00:27:47.250 I've told you all of this so that you won't be 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:50.450 sluggish. I've told you all of this so that you 00:27:50.450 --> 00:27:54.250 will keep going, that you will keep persevering, 00:27:55.150 --> 00:27:58.609 that you won't just coast half awake, that you 00:27:58.609 --> 00:28:04.289 won't be spiritually careless. Spiritually careless 00:28:04.289 --> 00:28:09.170 people are dangerous people. It's what happens 00:28:09.170 --> 00:28:13.559 on dangerous roads, you get careless. And a moment 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:15.980 that a driver stops paying attention is the moment 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:18.680 they become passive and the moment they become 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:22.319 careless in their alertedness and the danger 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:25.420 increases immediately. And that is what he's 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:28.119 been saying in this section. The Christian life 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:32.619 is not passive. It's full of watchfulness, endurance, 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:37.079 perseverance. Why? Notice the goal in verse 12. 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:40.539 To have full assurance of hope until the end. 00:28:43.930 --> 00:28:46.609 Verse 11, I'm sorry, the full assurance of hope 00:28:46.609 --> 00:28:53.170 until the end. What a beautiful phrase. The author 00:28:53.170 --> 00:28:56.329 does not want fearful, uncertain, constant, panicky 00:28:56.329 --> 00:29:01.809 believers. He wants believers who are deep, settled, 00:29:02.470 --> 00:29:05.250 and have this enduring confidence in the promises 00:29:05.250 --> 00:29:12.269 of God. But notice the context of the assurance 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:18.660 is in the persevering faith. Okay? You need to 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:22.279 catch this. The confidence in the assurance, 00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:29.160 the context is this persevering faith. As believers 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:32.519 continue to trust Christ, they continue to follow 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:35.539 Christ, continue clinging to Christ, their hope 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:42.700 becomes steadier and stronger. Right? When you 00:29:42.700 --> 00:29:44.980 follow Christ through the hard times, when you 00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:46.960 follow Christ through the difficult times, when 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.380 you've fallen kind of sluggishly asleep and then 00:29:49.380 --> 00:29:51.799 God wakes you back up and you persevere through 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:54.079 that and you keep going and you keep going and 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:58.160 you keep going, that perseverance builds a steadiness 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:01.099 and a discipline in you and that is what God 00:30:01.099 --> 00:30:03.799 uses to assure you that you belong to Him. Look 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:06.660 what I've already brought you through. Look at 00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:11.109 how you've persevered through this. Look at where 00:30:11.109 --> 00:30:16.029 you're at now. That is the context of this full 00:30:16.029 --> 00:30:20.170 assurance of hope. Like a driver keeping his 00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:23.650 eyes fixed on the road instead of wandering distractions 00:30:23.650 --> 00:30:26.529 all the way to the end. That is one of the most 00:30:26.529 --> 00:30:32.230 important phrases in Hebrew. Until the end. Finishing, 00:30:32.450 --> 00:30:36.759 not just beginning. Paul says in 2nd Timothy 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:40.160 4 -7, I have fought the good fight. I have finished 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:43.019 the race. I have kept the faith. The Christian 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:49.200 life is not a 110 meter sprint. It is a lifelong 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:58.039 marathon. It is a lifelong road of faith. And 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:00.460 I love how he encourages them to persevere here. 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:04.220 He says be imitators of those who through faith 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:07.839 and patience inherit the promise. The Christian 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.059 life, this kind of perseverance is not meant 00:31:10.059 --> 00:31:14.500 to be lived alone. We've all seen these videos 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:17.059 online of somebody running a marathon and they 00:31:17.059 --> 00:31:19.700 get to like the last 50 meters and their legs 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:21.299 are giving out because they're exhausted they 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:23.359 can't run anymore and they get like the jelly 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:24.519 legs, you all seen that right, where they're 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:26.200 just kind of like wobbling all the way to the 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:29.789 end and what inevitably ends up happening? Somebody 00:31:29.789 --> 00:31:34.230 along that way stops, gets them up underneath 00:31:34.230 --> 00:31:37.569 them. They don't carry them all the way across. 00:31:38.430 --> 00:31:41.390 Those legs still move. Those legs are still jelly, 00:31:41.650 --> 00:31:44.589 but they're helping them persevere across that 00:31:44.589 --> 00:31:47.329 finish line. And that's what the church is here 00:31:47.329 --> 00:31:52.049 for. We're not to be living this perseverance 00:31:52.049 --> 00:31:57.119 alone. We can't. God has given the body of Christ 00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:00.500 to us to help us persevere. We imitate one another. 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:02.519 I loved Andy's letter. I didn't know what she 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:04.220 was gonna say. I didn't know what she was gonna 00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:06.539 write, but I love that she pointed out family 00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:09.079 members and said, I see this in you and I wanna 00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:11.019 be like that. I see this in you and I wanna be 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:13.119 like that. That's what the author is saying here. 00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:17.509 Be imitators of those who are persevering. Watch 00:32:17.509 --> 00:32:20.369 how they've persevered. Learn from them. Be a 00:32:20.369 --> 00:32:23.210 part of their life and you too will make it through 00:32:23.210 --> 00:32:25.809 suffering and waiting and exhaustion and trials 00:32:25.809 --> 00:32:31.369 and difficult roads. Even when the road seems 00:32:31.369 --> 00:32:40.450 very, very long. Maybe many of you feel so tired. 00:32:41.869 --> 00:32:45.500 You're tired on your journey. Suffering has exhausted 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:47.799 you. Trials have worn you down. You feel spiritually 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:50.420 weak. Hebrews would say to you, the author of 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:55.819 Hebrews would say to you, do not stop. Keep going. 00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:59.819 Don't fall back asleep spiritually. Keep your 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:02.460 eyes on Christ. Keep trusting His promises. Keep 00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:05.500 walking by faith. Keep driving toward home because 00:33:05.500 --> 00:33:08.359 the faith that makes it home is not a faith that 00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:11.839 doesn't struggle. It's just a faith that keeps 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:15.509 going. You ever you ever heard that phrase well 00:33:15.509 --> 00:33:18.309 done my good and faithful servant and and you 00:33:18.309 --> 00:33:20.950 think you read that and you think well That's 00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:23.990 just for the that's just for the elite Christians 00:33:23.990 --> 00:33:27.769 You know that's just for the ones that crossed 00:33:27.769 --> 00:33:33.829 the finish line in a dead sprint It's not true 00:33:33.829 --> 00:33:37.849 It's for everybody that crosses the finish line 00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:41.930 Even the one that's crawling across the finish 00:33:41.930 --> 00:33:45.759 line The good and faithful servant is the one 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:52.680 who perseveres to the end. We're not all guaranteed 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:58.819 to make it to the end the same way. Many Christians 00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:01.700 have made it to the end with their head getting 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:06.299 cut off, being persecuted, being tortured, being 00:34:06.299 --> 00:34:11.010 killed, dying in some tragedy. Not everybody 00:34:11.010 --> 00:34:13.630 dies a peaceful death on a bed surrounded by 00:34:13.630 --> 00:34:18.070 their family With their hand up in the air going 00:34:18.070 --> 00:34:24.469 I'm coming home Lord We all make it to that finish 00:34:24.469 --> 00:34:27.769 line in different ways But the thing that we've 00:34:27.769 --> 00:34:29.550 talked about over and over and over again in 00:34:29.550 --> 00:34:32.429 Hebrews is we make it across the finish line 00:34:32.429 --> 00:34:35.659 with the same kind of perseverance Some running, 00:34:35.739 --> 00:34:38.559 some crawling, some being carried limping along 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:41.340 the way, but we make it and God says, well done 00:34:41.340 --> 00:34:44.099 my good and faithful servant. I have seen my 00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:49.559 grace at work in you. N .T. Wright says, what 00:34:49.559 --> 00:34:52.159 matters is not simply starting the Christian 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:55.559 journey, but continuing on in faith and patience 00:34:55.559 --> 00:35:01.340 until the journey is thoroughly finished. Today 00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:04.880 we celebrated Andy. her graduation from high 00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:10.320 school. And honestly, I couldn't think of a better 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:13.619 fitting message for someone who is standing at 00:35:13.619 --> 00:35:17.940 the beginning of adulthood than this passage 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:24.480 right here. Andy, life is going to feel a lot 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:27.139 like that road that we've talked about today. 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:30.500 There will be moments that the road is going 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:35.110 to be clear. and it's gonna be beautiful. And 00:35:35.110 --> 00:35:36.769 you're gonna be listening to your favorite music 00:35:36.769 --> 00:35:40.610 all the time, all the way there. There are gonna 00:35:40.610 --> 00:35:42.710 be moments where you feel confident and you feel 00:35:42.710 --> 00:35:46.670 very strong. But there's also gonna be very long 00:35:46.670 --> 00:35:52.349 nights, difficult roads, times of exhaustion, 00:35:54.469 --> 00:35:56.710 time where distractions are gonna pull at you, 00:35:57.309 --> 00:35:59.650 times where the world is gonna tell you that 00:35:59.650 --> 00:36:06.500 drifting away from Christ, is just easier. One 00:36:06.500 --> 00:36:09.400 of the great dangers in your life will not be 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:15.000 this dramatic rebellion. It's going to be simply 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:18.400 slowly falling asleep spiritually and drifting 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:22.980 and losing your attentiveness to Jesus. But one 00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:24.860 of the greatest gifts that God gives His children 00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:27.500 are passages like these, the encouraging of His 00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:30.219 Word, the encouraging of the church and His Spirit. 00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:32.940 to coming back to Christ. And Andy, your mom 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:35.699 and I are not praying for a perfect life for 00:36:35.699 --> 00:36:40.380 you. That'd be wasted prayers. We know that's 00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:43.219 not what God's gonna have planned. What we are 00:36:43.219 --> 00:36:48.139 praying for is a persevering faith. A faith that 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:51.699 wakes up when God speaks to you. A faith that 00:36:51.699 --> 00:36:54.460 keeps going when life gets hard. A faith that 00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:56.960 keeps loving Jesus when the road gets long. A 00:36:56.960 --> 00:36:59.059 faith that keeps serving Christ and loving his 00:36:59.059 --> 00:37:02.519 people. A faith that keeps returning to the gospel 00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:05.900 again and again and again, and a faith that keeps 00:37:05.900 --> 00:37:09.119 driving all the way home. Not home in the house 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:12.579 that you were raised in, home to that finish 00:37:12.579 --> 00:37:17.199 line where Jesus awaits. And in a lot of ways, 00:37:17.340 --> 00:37:19.480 Andy, especially this year, we've already seen 00:37:19.480 --> 00:37:22.440 you have to do that. We just want to encourage 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:26.679 you to keep going. My beloved daughter, keep 00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:30.900 going. Finish well. Remember Paul's words that 00:37:30.900 --> 00:37:32.780 we quoted earlier, I have fought the good fight, 00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:34.739 I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, 00:37:34.760 --> 00:37:37.500 and that is our prayer for you. Not merely a 00:37:37.500 --> 00:37:40.320 success or accomplishment or comfort, but that 00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:43.139 years from now, when you have children of your 00:37:43.139 --> 00:37:45.320 own and grandchildren of your own, if the Lord 00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:47.880 wills it, you'll be still holding tightly to 00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:51.659 Jesus. And church, that is not just our prayer 00:37:51.659 --> 00:37:56.639 for Andy. That is our prayer for all of us in 00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:59.789 this room. Because the faith that makes it home 00:37:59.789 --> 00:38:03.789 is the faith that keeps following Christ until 00:38:03.789 --> 00:38:05.230 the very end.