WEBVTT 00:00:14.369 --> 00:00:16.710 Take your Bibles this morning if you would turn 00:00:16.710 --> 00:00:20.089 to Hebrews chapter 6 we're gonna Look at these 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:23.109 last few verses of Hebrews 6 before we move on 00:00:23.109 --> 00:00:28.769 into our formal study of the Melchizedekian priesthood 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:32.689 of Jesus that begins in chapter 7 Which the writer 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:35.890 has already said are hard things to explain But 00:00:35.890 --> 00:00:38.429 we look forward to tackling these hard things 00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:40.869 in the weeks ahead and so be in prayer for us 00:00:40.869 --> 00:00:43.990 as we prepare these messages that will come. 00:00:44.310 --> 00:00:49.490 But today, as the writer kind of wraps up this 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.270 pastoral word of encouragement to his people, 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:57.789 who he has harshly, firmly... warned about their 00:00:57.789 --> 00:01:02.090 sluggishness, their ears having become dull through 00:01:02.090 --> 00:01:04.689 their neglect of the things of God, the word 00:01:04.689 --> 00:01:07.870 of God, he writes to encourage us. And I think 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:11.930 sometimes we really need to be reminded of the 00:01:11.930 --> 00:01:14.909 many encouragements that God gives us throughout 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:18.629 scripture because life is hard, right? There 00:01:18.629 --> 00:01:21.829 is difficulty that we have to deal with throughout 00:01:21.829 --> 00:01:28.069 our lifetime. It seems more for some than others. 00:01:28.370 --> 00:01:31.230 And so we just simply need to be reminded of 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:33.849 the faithfulness of God. That's what we sang 00:01:33.849 --> 00:01:37.349 about this morning, God's faithfulness and the 00:01:37.349 --> 00:01:41.170 fact that we can trust God's word. We can trust 00:01:41.170 --> 00:01:43.890 in the purposes and promises of God. That's really 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:47.409 what we're gonna be talking about today. So in 00:01:47.409 --> 00:01:51.430 Hebrews chapter six, these last few verses that 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:55.430 Neil, dealt with a couple of weeks ago, we were 00:01:55.430 --> 00:01:59.030 urged to be a people who have full assurance 00:01:59.030 --> 00:02:02.189 of hope to the end. I mean, that's what he said 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:05.549 to us there in that 11th verse of chapter six. 00:02:05.849 --> 00:02:09.689 We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:14.020 and to have the full assurance of hope. until 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:16.240 the end. We're to be a people whose lives are 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:18.080 characterized by hope. And as we know, we've 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.599 said many, many times before, that word hope 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:23.580 in the New Testament is not just wishful thinking, 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:27.740 but it is confidence, a confident assurance that 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:30.620 we can trust God, we can trust the Word of God, 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.000 we can trust in the purposes of God for our own 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.150 lives and for our lives as a congregation. we 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:40.270 can trust that God is at work and that he is 00:02:40.270 --> 00:02:44.009 going to accomplish all that he has set out to 00:02:44.009 --> 00:02:46.469 do. So we're to be a people of hope and not only 00:02:46.469 --> 00:02:50.650 that, but he goes on to say that we might become 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:53.449 imitators of those who through faith and patience. 00:02:54.090 --> 00:02:57.770 inherited or inherit the promises. So again, 00:02:57.889 --> 00:03:00.389 our lives are to be characterized not only by 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:03.810 hope, but by faith, belief, belief in the Lord 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:06.990 Jesus Christ, belief in God's word, and we are 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:10.250 to patiently endure these struggles that we go 00:03:10.250 --> 00:03:14.389 through as human beings, knowing that God is 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:18.050 in control, that God has a plan for our lives, 00:03:18.189 --> 00:03:20.990 again, a plan, as Jeremiah says, for our good, 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:25.159 and that he is at work. even as we sang today, 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:27.400 whether we can feel it, whether we can see it, 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:30.099 God is at work on a thousand different levels, 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:34.840 working things together for our good. And we 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:36.939 just need to trust that. And then of course, 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:40.300 as we begin the next verse and the final paragraph 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:46.840 of Hebrews 6, Abraham is identified as one of 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:51.120 these. men that we should imitate. Again, a life 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.560 that was characterized by faith and patience 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:59.780 as ours should be. And of course, when we look 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:01.360 at the life of Abraham, I just want to kind of 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:07.039 go through kind of a historical purview just 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.680 to kind of give you an idea of the patience that 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:13.159 this man endured throughout his life. And again, 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.750 we read in scripture, in Genesis chapter 12, 00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:20.389 the very first time that God speaks to Abraham. 00:04:20.610 --> 00:04:23.750 And again, you know, and if you don't, you will, 00:04:24.129 --> 00:04:28.470 Abraham was not a man of God. Matter of fact, 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:32.230 his family, they were worshipers of the moon. 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:37.069 And yet God speaks to this man, chooses this 00:04:37.069 --> 00:04:40.389 man for himself, calls him to leave his home. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.259 and to travel to a land that God would show him. 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.000 I always think it's so interesting when I read 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.360 those verses. God didn't say, I want you to go 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:50.740 to such and such a place. He just said, I want 00:04:50.740 --> 00:04:53.420 you to go and I'll show you where you're going 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:55.740 as you go. Isn't that how life kind of feels 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:59.439 sometimes? We're on this road and we're really 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:02.500 not certain completely of where this road will 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:04.420 lead throughout the years of our life, but what 00:05:04.420 --> 00:05:07.199 we can be certain of, as Abraham was certain, 00:05:07.639 --> 00:05:10.149 is that God would show him. the place that he 00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:13.529 was going to, we can be confident that God will 00:05:13.529 --> 00:05:16.089 guide us. And again, that's really what this 00:05:16.089 --> 00:05:18.730 whole passage of scripture is about. So God first 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:21.269 speaks to Abraham there in Genesis chapter 12, 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:24.149 and he promises Abraham at that point, he says, 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:27.730 I will make of you a great nation, and I will 00:05:27.730 --> 00:05:30.949 bless you, and in you all the families of the 00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:33.290 earth shall be blessed. Now that's a pretty great 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:36.250 promise. What we need to understand is that Abraham 00:05:36.250 --> 00:05:40.300 was already 75 years old. when God spoke to him 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.540 and made this promise. All right, 75 years old. 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:47.600 And then in Genesis 15, quite some time has passed, 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:50.680 we're not exactly sure how much time, but Abraham 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.699 begins to grow a little impatient and he expresses 00:05:53.699 --> 00:05:56.759 his concern to God saying this, he says, oh Lord 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.680 God, what will you give me? For I continue childless. 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:05.519 The heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.790 And it's at that moment that God assures or really 00:06:08.790 --> 00:06:12.769 reassures Abram, he said this man will not be 00:06:12.769 --> 00:06:17.050 your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir. 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:19.689 So God has promised to make of him a great nation 00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:22.149 to bless him, to bless all the families of the 00:06:22.149 --> 00:06:24.610 earth through him. Abraham knew that that would 00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:28.230 involve him and Sarah having a child and here 00:06:28.230 --> 00:06:31.329 they are after these many years still childless. 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:34.470 wondering how God's purposes can possibly come 00:06:34.470 --> 00:06:36.730 to pass under these circumstances. He doesn't 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:40.089 even have an heir to pass the promises onto that 00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:44.009 is in his bloodline, and yet God reassures him, 00:06:44.949 --> 00:06:50.750 you will. You will have a son, your very own 00:06:50.750 --> 00:06:53.490 son. And then God instructs Abram with these 00:06:53.490 --> 00:06:55.329 words, words we're familiar with. He says, look 00:06:55.329 --> 00:06:59.310 to heaven and number the stars. And if you're 00:06:59.310 --> 00:07:02.189 able to number them, and then God again renews 00:07:02.189 --> 00:07:04.949 his promise by saying, so shall your offspring 00:07:04.949 --> 00:07:09.209 be. So you're not only gonna have offspring, 00:07:09.310 --> 00:07:13.089 but you're gonna have offspring as numerous as 00:07:13.089 --> 00:07:17.629 the stars of heaven. And it's here, of course, 00:07:17.709 --> 00:07:20.930 that we read of Abraham's faith. It says he believed 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:24.170 God and he counted it. God counted it to him. 00:07:24.670 --> 00:07:28.250 as righteousness. So the years are going by, 00:07:29.189 --> 00:07:35.529 concerns are coming up, and every step of the 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.370 way God is assuring and reassuring Abraham of 00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:43.790 his faithfulness. Then when Abraham is 99 years 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:47.329 old, that's when God changes his name from Abram, 00:07:47.589 --> 00:07:51.430 which means the father of many. To Abraham the 00:07:51.430 --> 00:07:54.089 father of a multitude again Abraham doesn't have 00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:59.709 a single child at this point God promises Abraham 00:07:59.709 --> 00:08:03.110 again. He says Sarah your wife shall bear you 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:09.589 a son and again Abraham and Sarah were both physically 00:08:09.589 --> 00:08:14.029 speaking Beyond the age of childbearing even 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:19.089 in their day in time So God was making this seemingly 00:08:19.089 --> 00:08:23.009 impossible promise, but of course Abraham believed 00:08:23.009 --> 00:08:26.790 the Lord. And of course it was the next year 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:30.149 when Abraham was 100. So 25 years after first 00:08:30.149 --> 00:08:33.470 calling him out of his homeland, Abraham now 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:36.889 has a child, Isaac is born. And of course we 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:40.090 know it was some years later. We don't know exactly 00:08:40.090 --> 00:08:42.210 how old Isaac was. He was an older teenager, 00:08:42.269 --> 00:08:46.620 perhaps even a young man. God... tests Abraham's 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:49.080 faith at this point, and this is what he says 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:51.639 to him. He says, take your son, your only son, 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:55.399 Isaac, who you love, and go to the land of Moriah 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:57.879 and offer him there as a burnt offering on one 00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:59.799 of the mountains, which I shall tell you now. 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:04.080 Can you imagine God asking you to do or commanding 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.379 you to do such a thing? But Abraham responds 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:09.720 with no hesitation whatsoever. The next morning 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:14.000 he arises early, he calls his son, and off they 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.710 go. to do exactly what God had commanded him 00:09:18.710 --> 00:09:21.889 to do. And of course, it is there, and we know 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:26.309 what happens as Abraham begins to go through 00:09:26.309 --> 00:09:28.710 the whole process to offer his son Isaac as a 00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:32.090 sacrifice. God stops him, and of course the lamb 00:09:32.090 --> 00:09:35.330 with its horns caught in the thicket becomes 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:41.250 the lamb that God had provided for Abraham. It 00:09:41.250 --> 00:09:44.990 is there in that moment when all of this is taking 00:09:44.990 --> 00:09:50.960 place that God again renews his promise. He reassures 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:53.480 him once again, and it is there where he swears 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:56.399 by himself, as we're about to read. He swears 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:58.460 an oath, and of course, because there's no one 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:00.399 higher than God that he can swear to, he swears 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:04.179 by himself. It's here on Mount Moriah that he 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:07.240 does that. And he says this. He says, because 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:09.600 you have done this and not withheld your son, 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.419 your only son, I will surely bless you, and I 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:15.480 will surely multiply your offspring as the stars 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:18.960 of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.539 And of course, again, this promise of a multitude 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:28.840 of offspring, and yet Abraham has but one child 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:32.159 of promise, Isaac. It's not too many years that 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.419 go by. Sarah, Abraham's wife, passes away. She 00:10:35.419 --> 00:10:38.639 dies at the age of 127. 12 years later, when 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:42.299 Abraham is 140 years old, it is then that Isaac 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:46.100 marries Rebekah. And then Abraham, of course, 00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:51.809 dies at the age of 175. having lived what the 00:10:51.809 --> 00:10:56.909 Bible characterizes as a life of faith and patience 00:10:56.909 --> 00:10:59.850 and having inherited the promise of God. Now 00:10:59.850 --> 00:11:01.769 we know if we go back and we read those texts, 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:04.049 and certainly as we read about those texts in 00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:06.649 the New Testament, we know that not every promise 00:11:06.649 --> 00:11:09.590 that God made to Abraham had been fulfilled in 00:11:09.590 --> 00:11:14.909 time. Obviously Abraham received the promises 00:11:14.909 --> 00:11:19.799 of God. That's what verse 15 says, Abraham having 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:25.100 patiently waited obtained the promise. But I 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:27.620 believe that this life of Abraham, this example 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:30.740 of Abraham is given to us because when we really 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.500 understand the life that Abraham lived, the difficulties 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:37.320 that he confronted, we understand a little bit 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.919 more about how our lives are going to go and 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.379 why it is necessary for us not only to be people 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:47.070 of faith, but to be people who patiently wait 00:11:47.070 --> 00:11:49.470 for the promises of God to be fulfilled in our 00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:51.929 lives. I don't know about you, patience is one 00:11:51.929 --> 00:11:54.750 of the struggles in my life. Is that true for 00:11:54.750 --> 00:11:58.259 anybody else? I've told this story before, you 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:00.440 know, years ago when you used to go through the 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:01.899 drive -through. I guess some banks still have 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:03.659 drive -through lines. I don't see them as much 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:05.200 as I used to, and I certainly don't go through 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.799 them when I do my banking anymore. But, you know, 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.080 I would have everything written out. My deposit 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.200 slip, my check will be signed with the account 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:15.840 number on the back. I'm all ready to go. If I'm 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:17.820 getting any cash back, I've got that all laid 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:21.139 out so that all these teller has to do is look 00:12:21.139 --> 00:12:23.879 at what I've written and... and deposit my check 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:25.799 and give me my cash. And I'm on my way, I'm out 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:29.440 of there. It won't take me two minutes. And inevitably, 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.500 when I would pull into the drive -through line, 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:34.240 no matter which lane I picked, and there were 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:37.360 usually three, it would be the slowest lane. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:44.460 And I would wait and wait and wonder what the 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:46.559 people were talking about as they conversed with 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.480 the teller. I'm like, what are you talking about? 00:12:50.029 --> 00:12:52.370 And then the person in front of me, I'd finally 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:56.490 get in that last car, I'm almost there, and I'd 00:12:56.490 --> 00:12:58.570 see the hand go out and press the call button, 00:12:59.129 --> 00:13:02.710 and the drawer open, and they reach in and grab 00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:04.769 a deposit slip, and I'm thinking, you've been 00:13:04.769 --> 00:13:08.230 sitting in line all this time, and you don't 00:13:08.230 --> 00:13:13.289 have a deposit slip. Patience, often not our 00:13:13.289 --> 00:13:16.659 strong suit. Not only must we be people of faith 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:18.759 when it comes to God, our walk with the Lord, 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:20.740 but we have to be people of patience. God's at 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:25.200 work, but he's not at work on our schedule. And 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.600 often, our schedule, which we grow impatient 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:35.279 with, is designed by God for our good. Abraham, 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.620 perfect example of how God works throughout the 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:40.899 life of an individual that he has called to himself 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:44.610 and faithfully fulfills The promise, Abraham 00:13:44.610 --> 00:13:47.269 obtained the promise because the promise was 00:13:47.269 --> 00:13:49.169 guaranteed by God. That's really what I want 00:13:49.169 --> 00:13:51.850 us to focus on today. The promise of God is a 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:54.330 guarantee. God doesn't make promises that he 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:57.809 doesn't keep. God doesn't say things that he 00:13:57.809 --> 00:14:01.450 doesn't mean. God doesn't call you into some 00:14:01.450 --> 00:14:04.870 area of ministry where he does not equip you 00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:10.220 to perform that. Our God, as we sang today, is 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:12.500 faithful. And that's what the writer of Hebrews 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:15.600 is going to remind us today. Yes, life will be 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:19.639 difficult. Yes, following Jesus is not always 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:22.730 easy. It was never intended to be easy. It wasn't 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:25.710 easy for Jesus to fulfill his role in coming 00:14:25.710 --> 00:14:28.169 to this earth to die for us on the cross, and 00:14:28.169 --> 00:14:30.590 it will not be easy for us to fulfill the role 00:14:30.590 --> 00:14:33.149 that God has called us to. That's why we rely 00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:35.370 on God's faithfulness and God's strength and 00:14:35.370 --> 00:14:36.970 the support and encouragement of our brothers 00:14:36.970 --> 00:14:39.490 and sisters in Christ, because the Christian 00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:43.769 life is not an easy life. It is a life to be 00:14:43.769 --> 00:14:49.190 lived faithfully and... And so let's read together 00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:51.649 these last few verses of Hebrews chapter six, 00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:55.970 beginning in verse 13. It says, for when God 00:14:55.970 --> 00:14:57.850 made a promise, and if you don't have your Bible, 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:00.710 they're right up here on the front, you can read 00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:03.049 along. For when God made a promise to Abraham, 00:15:03.190 --> 00:15:06.350 since he had no one greater by whom to swear, 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:10.289 he swore by himself, saying, surely I will bless 00:15:10.289 --> 00:15:14.090 you and multiply you. And thus Abraham, having 00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:17.169 patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people 00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:19.570 swear by something greater than themselves and 00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:23.649 in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:27.350 So when God desired to show more convincingly 00:15:27.350 --> 00:15:30.169 to the heirs of promise the unchangeable character 00:15:30.169 --> 00:15:32.750 of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath. 00:15:33.309 --> 00:15:36.149 So that by two unchangeable things in which it 00:15:36.149 --> 00:15:39.610 is impossible for God to lie, We who have fled 00:15:39.610 --> 00:15:42.889 for refuge might have strong encouragement to 00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:46.769 hold fast to the hope set before us. That's really 00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:50.429 the thrust of this text. God gives us this assurance 00:15:50.429 --> 00:15:54.110 so that we might live faithfully, patiently, 00:15:54.690 --> 00:16:00.750 hopefully, again clinging to that hope that God 00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:03.590 has set before us. And he says we have this as 00:16:03.590 --> 00:16:07.000 a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. A hope 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.980 that enters into the inner place behind the curtain 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:15.720 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:18.899 having become a high priest forever after the 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:21.580 order of Melchizedek. Let's pray, and we're gonna 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:25.759 look at these evidences, proofs of God's faithfulness 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:29.139 that ought to cause us to leave here rejoicing 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:31.360 and looking forward to not only this life, but 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:35.429 the life that is yet to come. Hopefully, let's 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:37.250 go to the Lord. Father, we are thankful today 00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:42.570 for God's word. Father, God's word is what we 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:45.710 need. God's word is what we can build our lives 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:50.049 upon. It is faithful as he is faithful. It is 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:53.629 true as he is true, Father. It is sure as he 00:16:53.629 --> 00:16:58.929 is sure. His promises for us will indeed be fulfilled, 00:16:59.190 --> 00:17:02.580 Father. Though they may not always be fulfilled 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:07.779 in the time that we Prefer and so we just acknowledged 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:10.779 today father help us to understand that your 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:16.039 timing is perfect You are never late You are 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:19.980 always right on time You always do the right 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:23.980 thing in the right moment And again, I pray that 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:27.440 we would just believe that today because the 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.599 circumstances of our life will put that that 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:34.480 belief to the test. But Lord, you prove yourself 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.839 time and again faithful. And so I pray that we 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:42.779 would heed the encouragement, the hope that is 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:48.099 being portrayed here and that our lives, Lord, 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:52.200 would be characterized by that hope as we serve 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:56.680 you now and as we look to an eternity of service 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:01.680 in glory. And so we just ask all of this, Lord, 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:08.460 in Jesus' name, amen and amen. The first thing 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:10.539 that we need to deal with here is this whole 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:14.240 idea of God making a promise. When God made a 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:16.220 promise to Abraham, when he had no one greater 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:18.980 to swear by, he swore by himself. And here's 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:21.220 the reality that we all know is true. God makes 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:23.980 promises, right? And not every promise in the 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:27.180 Bible is a promise that we can claim personally, 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:31.799 all right? But when God makes a promise, he fulfills 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:34.720 that promise. And the example of Abraham here 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.339 is assuring us that just as God made a promise 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:41.319 to Abraham and after many, many years and after 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:44.119 doubts and concerns on the part of the one to 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:47.259 whom the promise was made, God ultimately came 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:49.420 through and did what he said he was going to 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:52.059 do. And the idea here is that that is how he 00:18:52.059 --> 00:18:57.309 always does. God always keeps... His promises, 00:18:57.450 --> 00:19:00.049 and of course a promise is simply a declaration 00:19:00.049 --> 00:19:04.890 of intent. When we promise to do something, we 00:19:04.890 --> 00:19:09.390 are promising to carry out the intent of our 00:19:09.390 --> 00:19:13.690 heart. That's what a promise is. And so the question 00:19:13.690 --> 00:19:16.809 that is before us today is this, how certain 00:19:16.809 --> 00:19:21.269 is a promise when God makes it? Can we trust 00:19:21.269 --> 00:19:24.369 God to fulfill his promises to us and I know 00:19:24.369 --> 00:19:26.109 these sound like basic questions and they're 00:19:26.109 --> 00:19:28.309 not hard questions everybody out there I hope 00:19:28.309 --> 00:19:30.289 is saying well of course we can trust God to 00:19:30.289 --> 00:19:33.069 keep his promises of course we can we can believe 00:19:33.069 --> 00:19:35.670 that God will do what he has said he will do 00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:37.650 but I want us to think for just a moment as we 00:19:37.650 --> 00:19:40.910 as we say that how obvious this might be is that 00:19:40.910 --> 00:19:42.950 how often in your life have you come to the place 00:19:42.950 --> 00:19:45.269 where perhaps you've doubted God a little bit 00:19:46.299 --> 00:19:48.660 Where you've wondered is Abraham wondered look 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:50.559 God you made this promise and it's been many 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.680 many years since you made this promise And I'm 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:56.660 still childless Are you really going to do what 00:19:56.660 --> 00:20:00.799 you said? I'm getting older every day The physical 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.599 likelihood of Sarah and I having a child is becoming 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:06.779 Well less and less with each passing year. Are 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:10.019 you truly going to fulfill this promise? We get 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:11.880 that way in our lives about some things don't 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:13.779 we God are you really gonna do what you said? 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:18.759 Are you really gonna work this thing for my good? 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:22.700 How could you possibly work this thing for my 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:24.539 good? What good could possibly come from this? 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:27.000 You ever had those kind of thoughts? Well, this 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.480 passage of scripture is for you. When God makes 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.619 a promise, let me tell you, he keeps his promise. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.440 In Ezekiel 12, 25, we read these words. Now, 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.279 they're the words of God, but it's God speaking 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.119 about himself. He says, for I am the Lord. I 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.160 will speak the word that I will speak. and it 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.920 will be performed. In other words, when I say 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:50.519 something, you can count on me doing what I have 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.819 said. That's what God said in Ezekiel 12, 25. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.700 And then just a few chapters later in 17, 24, 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:59.460 God makes a very similar declaration. He says, 00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:04.900 I am the Lord, I have spoken, and I will do it. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:10.799 Again, he is reminding his people of his faithfulness. 00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:17.069 tend to get our eyes on the faithfulness of men, 00:21:17.950 --> 00:21:21.250 primarily ourselves. And we learn very early 00:21:21.250 --> 00:21:23.529 on in our Christian life that as much as we may 00:21:23.529 --> 00:21:25.549 desire to be faithful to God, it's hard for us 00:21:25.549 --> 00:21:29.150 to always be faithful, isn't it? We fail, we 00:21:29.150 --> 00:21:33.589 falter, we stumble, we fall. God never does. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:36.940 And so again, when we think about faith, we cannot 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:40.460 limit our faith to faith in ourselves or faith 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.299 in others. Often, once we realize, okay, well, 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:45.319 I'm not the guy that I should be looking to for 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.200 this, we find somebody else that we can follow, 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:51.559 that we can kind of hitch our wagon to. And then, 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:56.539 what inevitably happens? Well, he falls. We hear 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.619 about it all the time. These great men of God 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:02.589 who... who have these setbacks in their lives. 00:22:02.730 --> 00:22:05.470 And then we begin to wonder, who can we look 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:08.029 to? Who can we have faith in? And God says, look, 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:11.490 it's me. I'm the one that you should put your 00:22:11.490 --> 00:22:14.450 faith and trust in. I'm the one who alone have 00:22:14.450 --> 00:22:17.650 spoken and will do it. I will never go back on 00:22:17.650 --> 00:22:21.490 my word. My promise is just that. It is my promise 00:22:21.490 --> 00:22:25.039 and it will be. fulfilled, and so as we think 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:27.079 about the Word of God, and that's really what 00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:29.000 we're talking about today, and we're talking 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:34.259 about our salvation. God's promise to Abraham 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:40.339 was of generations of offspring, and of course 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:44.359 Paul lets us know in Romans that if you're in 00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:48.099 Christ, you're the offspring of Abraham. So when 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:50.680 God made this promise to Abraham way back in 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:54.339 the beginnings of Genesis, He was talking about 00:22:54.339 --> 00:22:58.599 me and you. We are, in a certain sense, the fulfillment 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:02.500 of God's promise to Abraham. We are offspring 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:05.579 of Abraham because we are in Christ. Of course, 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:09.559 the promise, as it is explained in Scripture, 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:13.559 was of Christ himself. Christ was the offspring 00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:15.900 that God promised to Abraham, but now all of 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:20.960 us who are in Christ... have become further fulfillment 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:24.420 of that great promise. So God makes promises. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:27.900 He made a promise to Abraham which he fulfilled. 00:23:28.579 --> 00:23:32.599 Abraham having patiently waited, obtained the 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:35.400 promise. And then God does an unusual thing here 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:37.440 that we don't see very often in scripture. Matter 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.500 of fact, I'm not sure that there's any other 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:42.240 place in scripture where he does this. But after 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:47.339 he makes this promise to Abraham, he ensures 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.980 his promise by making a pledge to Abraham, an 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:54.819 oath. He swore by himself. He guaranteed it with 00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:57.359 an oath, is what the writer of Hebrews says. 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:01.119 Now, a pledge or an oath is meant to confirm 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:04.640 or to bind one to their promise, all right? And 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:10.380 we do this in life. Oaths or pledges are a guarantee. 00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:16.140 We are assuring someone that we are going to 00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:18.539 do what we've said. We're going to fulfill the 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:20.859 promise that we have made. Jesus, of course, 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:24.500 tells us in John 17, 17 that God's word is truth. 00:24:25.789 --> 00:24:28.589 So the reality is, there was really no need for 00:24:28.589 --> 00:24:32.130 God to confirm his promise with an oath. He had 00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:34.789 made the promise, that was enough. He is God, 00:24:35.170 --> 00:24:38.250 as he says in Ezekiel. I'm the Lord, and what 00:24:38.250 --> 00:24:40.529 I've spoken, that's what I'm going to do. So 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:43.509 there was no need for God to confirm his promise 00:24:43.509 --> 00:24:49.549 with an oath, and yet, he does. Of course, Numbers 00:24:49.549 --> 00:24:52.789 23, 19 says this, God is not a man that he should 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:55.960 lie. or a son of man that he should change his 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:00.039 mind, has he said and will he not do it? Or has 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:03.839 he spoken and will he not perform it? Writer 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:05.980 of Hebrews of course simply says it's impossible 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:12.079 for God to lie. However, because of the nature 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:15.680 of this promise, again, the eternal nature of 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:24.309 this promise, the significance of this And because 00:25:24.309 --> 00:25:28.430 God's desire, as we read about there, God's desire 00:25:28.430 --> 00:25:31.509 for His children to absolutely be assured of 00:25:31.509 --> 00:25:35.329 its fulfillment, He follows up this promise with 00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:38.950 a pledge. He swears an oath. So we have God's 00:25:38.950 --> 00:25:43.710 promise, and then we have God's pledge, the two 00:25:43.710 --> 00:25:45.829 unchangeable things that the writer of Hebrews 00:25:45.829 --> 00:25:50.880 speaks of here. These two things combined are 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:53.900 intended to fill us with that hope, that confident 00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:59.339 assurance that our future is secure in Christ. 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:01.440 Now, I don't know about you, but I bump into 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:05.359 people every now and then who struggle with the 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.960 security of their salvation. You ever have struggles 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:10.299 with that? You ever find yourself involved in 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:12.200 some activity and you begin to wonder to yourself, 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:13.720 you know, these are the kinds of things I used 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:17.680 to do when I was lost. Could I really be saved 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:22.839 and do this thing? Or maybe you ask yourself 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:24.680 something like this. Maybe it's not some big 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:26.579 sin in your life that you've fallen back into, 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:29.859 but maybe it's just a lack of following after 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.539 the Lord. You think, well, you know, where am 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:35.799 I serving God? In what way am I loving the people 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:37.819 of God and serving the people of God? You know, 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:41.019 maybe I'm just not doing that the way that I 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:45.579 should. Am I really saved? I've had people over 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:47.680 the years of my ministry ask me on countless 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:51.559 occasions about the genuineness of their salvation. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:54.359 Could I really be saved and live a life like 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:56.420 this or do these things or not do these other 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:59.180 things? And again, this passage of scripture 00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:02.640 is written for all of you who may be having doubts 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:08.640 like that. God has promised us that all who call 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:12.000 upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.970 of course, through this promise to Abraham, he 00:27:14.970 --> 00:27:20.049 has pledged to us that I will fulfill my promise. 00:27:20.069 --> 00:27:23.049 You can count on it. I will complete the work 00:27:23.049 --> 00:27:24.789 that I have begun in you. You know, one of the 00:27:24.789 --> 00:27:26.529 things you always need to remember when you find 00:27:26.529 --> 00:27:29.049 yourself in questionable territory is this. You 00:27:29.049 --> 00:27:31.930 know, God's not finished with you yet. God's 00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:34.470 still at work in your life. God's still conforming 00:27:34.470 --> 00:27:37.170 you to the image of Christ. You're a long way 00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:40.990 from where you will be one day. Long way. God's 00:27:40.990 --> 00:27:44.529 still at work. That ought to give you confidence, 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:45.970 assurance. Now that doesn't mean that we ought 00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:47.930 to just go out and live any old way that we choose 00:27:47.930 --> 00:27:50.650 to. Certainly we should be concerned when our 00:27:50.650 --> 00:27:54.029 lives begin to characterize the life that we 00:27:54.029 --> 00:27:57.890 left behind when we confessed our sin, repented, 00:27:57.930 --> 00:28:01.589 and came to Christ in faith. But we should never 00:28:01.589 --> 00:28:06.009 let temporary failures cause us to doubt the 00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:10.390 promise of God. God has promised and He has... 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:14.539 He is guaranteed, your salvation is guaranteed 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:19.539 by God. Because it was God's purpose from the 00:28:19.539 --> 00:28:23.359 very beginning. When God desired to show more 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:25.839 convincing, and I love this because it speaks 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:28.400 to the heart of God. When God desired to show 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:31.059 more convincingly to the heirs of promise, the 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:34.759 unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:39.460 it with an oath. God wants you to be sure. You've 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:41.880 heard that before, right? He wants you to know 00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:47.359 that you know. How does he do that? Well, he 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:50.559 guarantees his promise with an oath. He speaks 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:54.519 of his purposes as being unchangeable in character 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:56.259 because God's character is unchangeable. You 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:57.980 know, that's one of the attributes of God, right? 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:00.019 Immutability, we talk about, you know, being 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:02.160 a big word church, immutability is a big word. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:06.140 It just means that God doesn't change. He never 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:12.950 changes. God's purposes are unchangeable in their 00:29:12.950 --> 00:29:15.890 character because God is unchangeable in his 00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:19.630 character. So again, swearing an oath, God swearing 00:29:19.630 --> 00:29:22.849 an oath indicated an even greater determination 00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:27.589 on the part of this one who has made the promise 00:29:27.589 --> 00:29:31.269 of himself to fulfill what he has declared as 00:29:31.269 --> 00:29:35.029 his intent or his purpose. God wants us to be 00:29:35.029 --> 00:29:37.509 thoroughly convinced. He wants us to be thoroughly 00:29:37.509 --> 00:29:40.230 confident. He doesn't want us to have doubts. 00:29:41.430 --> 00:29:45.650 So he strengthened his promise by swearing an 00:29:45.650 --> 00:29:50.869 oath. Well, the supreme oath in Israel, right 00:29:50.869 --> 00:29:52.990 up to this very day, is if you want to swear 00:29:52.990 --> 00:29:54.869 an oath, you swear an oath on Yahweh, right? 00:29:54.869 --> 00:29:59.970 As Yahweh lives, as surely as Yahweh lives. That's 00:29:59.970 --> 00:30:04.630 a typically Israeli or Hebrew oath. In American 00:30:04.630 --> 00:30:08.849 courtrooms, of course, Witnesses pledge or swear 00:30:08.849 --> 00:30:10.930 to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but 00:30:10.930 --> 00:30:13.349 the truth. So help me God. And often we put our 00:30:13.349 --> 00:30:15.970 hand on a Bible when we do that. Again, that's 00:30:15.970 --> 00:30:20.190 the idea here. We are intensifying the very promise. 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:22.890 It is an implied promise when you step into that 00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:25.029 witness box that you're gonna tell the truth. 00:30:25.670 --> 00:30:29.589 But to intensify that, to make it even greater, 00:30:29.809 --> 00:30:32.990 we swear an oath that we are here and we are 00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:36.779 going to tell the truth. the whole truth and 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:39.220 nothing but the truth. So the addition of such 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:42.200 an oath simply intended to strengthen the force 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:45.819 of the guarantee or the trustworthiness of one's 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:47.960 testimony, putting an end as the scripture says. 00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:52.180 to all argument. It's the final confirmation. 00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:54.900 It puts an end to all disputes. And so that's 00:30:54.900 --> 00:30:57.660 what God is doing here. He's wanting us. His 00:30:57.660 --> 00:30:59.900 desire is for us to be confident that He will 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:02.140 keep His promise, that He will do what He has 00:31:02.140 --> 00:31:03.940 said. And He goes to this length. He didn't have 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:07.720 to. His word is truth. But He swears by Himself, 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:12.799 intensifying this promise that He has made. And 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:17.799 again, all for the purpose of encouraging the 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:21.319 heirs of the promise. And again, that's us. We're 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:25.759 talking about Abraham imitating his life, how 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.160 God kept his promise in Abraham's life. And of 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.240 course, in the day, Abraham was the heir of the 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:33.599 promise. But now in Christ, we are the offspring 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:36.480 of Abraham. We are the heirs of promise that 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:38.440 the writer of Hebrews is talking about here. 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:43.039 So God wants us, his children, to live lives 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.240 of confidence, courage. He desired to show more 00:31:47.240 --> 00:31:49.480 convincingly to the heirs of promise the unchangeable 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:52.559 nature or the unchangeable character of his purpose. 00:31:53.140 --> 00:31:55.920 So again, God wants us to be thoroughly convinced 00:31:55.920 --> 00:32:00.099 that his promise of eternal life will be completely 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:03.880 fulfilled in our lives. And again, he sought 00:32:03.880 --> 00:32:06.420 to demonstrate this beyond a shadow of a doubt. 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.480 And again, the word unchangeable. God is unchangeable. 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:12.140 His word is unchangeable. And it means exactly 00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:15.400 what we think it means. Not capable of, not subject 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:19.500 to change. So God's purpose to save His people 00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:24.980 is unchangeable. God will not fail in this purpose. 00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:30.839 God doesn't fail in any of His purposes. Paul 00:32:30.839 --> 00:32:33.420 rejoices in Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 6. I 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:35.140 want to read this to you. He says, blessed be 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:37.519 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.859 has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual 00:32:39.859 --> 00:32:42.240 blessing in the heavenly places. Now think about 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:46.900 that for a minute. Paul is praising God for the 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:49.740 blessings of God. He has blessed us with every 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:52.420 spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:55.599 then he continues, even as he chose us in him 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:57.740 before the foundation of the world. Now that 00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:59.680 ought to always blow your mind when you read 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:03.240 those words. That God's choice of you, the establishment 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:06.640 of his purpose for you took place before the 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:11.019 foundation of the world. Pretty remarkable. So 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:16.799 that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:33:18.509 --> 00:33:21.869 In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons 00:33:21.869 --> 00:33:24.569 through Jesus Christ according to the purpose 00:33:24.569 --> 00:33:26.650 of his will. Again, this was God's plan. This 00:33:26.650 --> 00:33:29.569 was God's intent. This was God's purpose, God's 00:33:29.569 --> 00:33:34.490 desire. God's will was to save you to the praise 00:33:34.490 --> 00:33:37.450 of his glorious grace with which he has blessed 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:43.450 us in the beloved. God's purpose for his children 00:33:43.450 --> 00:33:47.309 is to preserve them through this life right on 00:33:47.309 --> 00:33:49.960 in. to the next life, and let me tell you, he's 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:52.700 gonna keep that promise. And if that isn't enough 00:33:52.700 --> 00:33:55.759 of an argument to make you say, okay, I believe 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:58.819 you, I trust you, I'll live my life with confident 00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:02.539 hope as I await the return of Christ, then God 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:05.240 gives us one more proof, one more evidence, one 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:08.639 more thing that we should know and think about 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:11.360 as we contemplate the difficulties of life and 00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:14.599 the sureness of his word. Well, it's Jesus Christ, 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:18.219 our priest. We have this he says as a sure and 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:21.119 steadfast anchor of the soul a hope there's that 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:23.579 word again a confident assurance that enters 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:26.320 into the inner place behind the curtain this 00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:30.239 picture of the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:35.179 Where Jesus has gone once and forever? Again 00:34:35.179 --> 00:34:38.119 as our forerunner on our behalf having become 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:42.340 a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:50.099 Jesus Christ Our great high priest has entered 00:34:50.099 --> 00:34:55.460 into this heavenly holy of holies, the real holy 00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:58.059 of holies. You know, the tabernacle in the wilderness, 00:34:58.219 --> 00:35:01.579 the temple in Jerusalem, these were man -made 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:07.000 replicas of the true holy of holies. Jesus is 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:09.159 in the true holy of holies, seated at the right 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:10.900 hand of the Father, where the Bible says that 00:35:10.900 --> 00:35:15.389 he always lives. to be our intercession, to give 00:35:15.389 --> 00:35:19.010 us access to the Father. Not only has Jesus entered 00:35:19.010 --> 00:35:21.289 into this place behind the curtain, but because 00:35:21.289 --> 00:35:24.130 He is there, we are there, seated with Him in 00:35:24.130 --> 00:35:28.869 the heavenlies, assured of our eternal salvation. 00:35:28.949 --> 00:35:31.250 That's the picture that's being painted for us 00:35:31.250 --> 00:35:34.449 here. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor 00:35:34.449 --> 00:35:38.730 of the soul, the soul representing our whole 00:35:38.730 --> 00:35:42.880 life. Our whole life is secure. in Christ, not 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.619 just our eternity, but our present life. Whatever 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:49.500 it is that you may be going through, we can trust 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:51.880 that God is at work and that he's gonna complete 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:55.159 his purposes. He's gonna keep his promise. Jesus 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:58.360 Christ, our eternal high priest, has taken our 00:35:58.360 --> 00:36:00.000 anchor. Remember we talked about this a few weeks 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:05.139 ago, this word forerunner. speaks of a small 00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:08.219 boat that was carried by the big ships, and what 00:36:08.219 --> 00:36:10.219 would happen is, is occasionally a ship would 00:36:10.219 --> 00:36:13.599 arrive at its destination, and because of the 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.159 tide, they would not be able to enter the harbor. 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:20.190 But in order to... to secure the ship, the forerunner, 00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:22.150 the small boat, would be lowered into the water. 00:36:22.269 --> 00:36:24.110 The anchor would be placed into the forerunner. 00:36:24.130 --> 00:36:26.610 The forerunner, who could manage the shallow 00:36:26.610 --> 00:36:29.090 waters or the rocky waters, would go into the 00:36:29.090 --> 00:36:31.809 harbor, secure the ship's anchor, and even though 00:36:31.809 --> 00:36:35.349 the ship was not yet in the harbor, it was safe 00:36:35.349 --> 00:36:38.150 because the anchor was set in the harbor. And 00:36:38.150 --> 00:36:41.670 that's the idea here. Of course, Anchors on ships 00:36:41.670 --> 00:36:43.929 sink into the depths of the sea. The anchor that 00:36:43.929 --> 00:36:46.349 we're talking about now has ascended into the 00:36:46.349 --> 00:36:49.389 highest of the heavens. That's where our anchor 00:36:49.389 --> 00:36:53.650 is. It's in the heavenly place Christ has secured 00:36:53.650 --> 00:36:58.369 for us. We're not in the harbor yet. But it's 00:36:58.369 --> 00:37:00.210 absolutely certain that we will be. And because 00:37:00.210 --> 00:37:02.409 our anchor is secured there by Christ himself, 00:37:02.449 --> 00:37:07.710 we are safe now. That's the idea. We are secure 00:37:07.710 --> 00:37:10.590 because he has secured it there for us. It says 00:37:10.590 --> 00:37:15.829 that on our behalf as a forerunner on our behalf. 00:37:15.929 --> 00:37:20.630 Christ has done this for us. He has entered once 00:37:20.630 --> 00:37:23.570 and for all into the presence of God. Because 00:37:23.570 --> 00:37:26.429 of that we have this hope, this confident assurance 00:37:26.429 --> 00:37:30.110 that we too will one day take possession of this 00:37:30.110 --> 00:37:35.829 great promise. And for now we wait with faith. 00:37:36.170 --> 00:37:39.809 and patience for Christ's promised return. So 00:37:39.809 --> 00:37:42.469 can we trust God to fulfill his promise? Are 00:37:42.469 --> 00:37:45.929 our lives secure in Christ? Is our hope for an 00:37:45.929 --> 00:37:48.550 eternal future with the Father in heaven a reality? 00:37:49.090 --> 00:37:52.630 Absolutely. We are spiritually, we're already 00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:56.190 there in Christ. We are anchored there because 00:37:56.190 --> 00:38:00.750 he is our forerunner, has tethered us to the 00:38:00.750 --> 00:38:05.630 very throne of God. We are safe. and we will 00:38:05.630 --> 00:38:08.949 forever be safe in Christ. So the question is 00:38:08.949 --> 00:38:11.969 this, are you in Christ? Has there come a time 00:38:11.969 --> 00:38:13.909 in your life when you've realized that you're 00:38:13.909 --> 00:38:17.369 a sinner who needs a savior? Have you come to 00:38:17.369 --> 00:38:19.789 Christ repenting of your sins, placing your faith 00:38:19.789 --> 00:38:21.510 and trust in him? If you've not done that, you 00:38:21.510 --> 00:38:26.170 can do that this very moment. So again, God has 00:38:26.170 --> 00:38:28.050 promised that all who call upon the name of the 00:38:28.050 --> 00:38:31.809 Lord will be saved. That promise is for you if 00:38:31.809 --> 00:38:32.590 you're in Christ.