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For this Communion Sunday, if you will, turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews,

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chapter 6, verse 19.

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Hebrews, chapter 6, verse 19.

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Now often in the academic world we say that the professors live in ivory towers and they

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have no understanding of what goes on in the real world.

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And I think some of that is true.

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But not when it comes to our understanding of Christianity.

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Christianity is not an ivory tower religion.

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It is a religion that deals with life in a fallen world.

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And I just think about that verse from the hymn we just sang.

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Through many dangerous toils and snares I have already come.

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Which is grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

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We need to have hope.

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We need to have encouragement from God's Word because we live in a sin-filled world where

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things don't go our way.

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And that was true for believers in the book of Hebrews who were tempted to fall away from

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the true faith.

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And Paul gives them hope.

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And that's what we want to read about.

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In verse 19, we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

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It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

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And I'm going to go on and read verse 20, where our forerunner Jesus had entered on

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our behalf.

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He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

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Let's pray.

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Our Lord Jesus this morning, encourage our hearts with the stability of the gospel.

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Love us to have hope, eternal hope, one of the great virtues of the Christian religion

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along with faith and love.

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Give us hope this morning.

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I'm going to be praying his name.

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Amen.

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If you have been reading the local newspapers, you have probably heard we're getting a cruise

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ship.

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It's going to be the cruise ship that's going to take you to the Bahamas.

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Now they're going to sink it.

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It is the USS United States.

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If we get it, it's going to be a tourist attraction so that divers can go down and see what is

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really a famous ship.

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I mean, it holds the world record for crossing the Atlantic.

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You know where that ship has been for more than a decade?

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It has been anchored in Philadelphia, rusting away through storms, changes of seasons.

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It's been right there, securely anchored.

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It has gone nowhere.

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And that is what an anchor does.

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It keeps vessels secure, tied up.

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Now that's not the only way we use the word anchor, is it?

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For example, if you go repelling, that is where you do that crazy sport of jumping off

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the side of a cliff, what keeps you from falling to your death is a metal stake that is stuck

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in the ground.

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It anchors you so that you do not plunge to your death.

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And those repellers put a lot of faith and hope into a very small metal stake that gives

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them security.

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Do you realize that's how Scripture describes the security and salvation that we have?

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It's like an anchor that keeps us secure.

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And what the author of Hebrews is telling us this morning is that you too can have that

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type of secure relationship with God.

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We have security like an anchor.

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You will not be moved, despite the doubts that you may have.

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And let's be honest, ancient world, time when this book was written, there were certainly

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hardships for God's people.

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There were multiple religions and cults.

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Probably many Christians were saying, why should I believe in Jesus when there are all

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these other religions around?

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There was persecution, challenges to the faith.

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But what this passage is telling us, if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you have faith

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in Him, you have security like an anchor.

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Now there are some here today who may question that.

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You may say, oh, nothing challenges my faith.

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Blowny.

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If you live in a fallen world, you're going to face challenges and doubts.

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We all do.

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Stop denying your humanity.

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That's why this passage was written.

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Or there may be Psalm who say there's no such thing as eternal security.

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That's what you Presbyterians believe.

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That's not what the Bible teaches.

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But if you read what we just read, it points out that God's people are secure in the hands

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of God.

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So this morning, let's explore this passage to see what it says about our anchor.

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The anchor of our soul.

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And when you think of an anchor, think of God's holy word.

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That is certainly an anchor for our soul.

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It's something we can believe in.

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I got to take today.

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Words are cheap.

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People will take vows and they will not uphold those vows.

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People will take marriage vows till death do us part.

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And if you're paying to the text of the news, I guess that does not apply to Ben Affleck

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and his former wife.

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Or we have the diplomat who will say, oh, our country is not going to invade this other

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country than what do they do?

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They invade.

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They invade vows, promises, criminals who will go before the judge and say, I'll never

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do that again.

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But then they turn around and break their word.

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It's hard for us to think that our words can mean anything.

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But what this passage tells us in context is that God's word is the source of our security.

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And what kind of words are these?

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Well, let's look at verse 13.

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That's what it says, when God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater

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for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, I will surely bless you and give you

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many descendants.

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The author of Hebrews brings this up because if you go back into the book of Genesis, Abraham

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was promised in chapter 15 to be a great nation.

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He's an old man and his wife is old as well.

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How are they going to have all these kids?

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Because God took an oath in Genesis chapter 15.

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Later on, that promise is repeated when his one son, Isaac, was taken to a mountain to

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be sacrificed.

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When God provides the ram and Isaac lives, and once again the promises of descendants

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is repeated.

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And as we look at biblical history, God did fulfill his promise.

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He took an oath.

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He said, this is going to be what happens.

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And if you look in verse 16, notice what it says there.

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People swear by someone greater than themselves, and that oath confirms what is said and puts

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all arguments to an end.

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And you go down to verse 18.

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God did this so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie,

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we have fled to take hold of a hope set before us, maybe greatly encouraged.

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What is the source of our hope?

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It's the word of God.

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How can you trust all that God says because God doesn't lie and God made an oath, an oath

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to redeem you, to save you?

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God can't lie.

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That is the promise that is given here.

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And we think of taking an oath, when you and I take an oath or make a promise, we're sinful.

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We're imperfect.

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But when God takes an oath, there is no one greater, no one who is more holy than him.

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So you can trust him because of his greatness and who he is.

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And I can't find this story.

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I don't know if it's true or not.

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I think it is one of these things that they talk about in a police precinct.

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One time the Pope came to New York City.

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And the Pope wanted to drive in New York City traffic.

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So he hops in a car and drives the wrong way down one of the streets.

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There was a rookie police officer.

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And he radiated it in to the chief of the police.

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He said, look, we've got a problem here.

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There's a very important person.

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They're driving the wrong way on one of our streets.

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And the police chief says, well, is the president?

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No.

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Is it the mayor?

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No.

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Is it a city councilman?

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No.

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Well, who is it?

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Policeman said, I don't know, but the Pope is driving him around.

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Now, why do I tell you that silly story?

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Because greatness, greatness, it's something we can look at and admire.

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And it is also something that we can trust in as well.

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And here's the implication of what I'm saying to you.

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Now, why is it that we endure?

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Why is it that we can have hope?

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Because we trust in the Word of God.

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Now, you may say to yourself, but I want something tangible.

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I want some sort of evidence.

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Maybe if I had a dream, that would convince me.

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Well, remember what happened in Scrooge when he has a dream?

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After the dream, he says, well, maybe it was just some potato soup I had that didn't sit

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well in my stomach.

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If you had a dream from God, you'd dismiss it.

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What do you want, a letter?

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But he has given you a letter.

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It's called the Bible.

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But I'll tell you, he's given us something else as well, his promise, the promise of

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a holy God.

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He has given us that and he won't change his mind the way you and I do.

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Think about what Scripture says.

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In James, for instance, he doesn't change like shifting shadows.

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In Malachi, it says, I the Lord do not change.

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Why are we told that?

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Because people do change, but not our Lord God.

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The words that he spoke have come true.

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And I want you to think about that for a minute.

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I want you to think about original promise to Abraham.

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Look at Christianity today, millions and millions of followers throughout the world.

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The church, despite its weakness, continues to go off.

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Despite challenges from science to the enlightenment to unbelief, sin, it continues.

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Why?

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Why has it gone the way of all the other ancient religions?

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Because of the promises of God to his people.

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He's not going to forget his word to you.

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He makes a promise and he acts.

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But let me tell you one other thing we've got to keep in mind before we come to the

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table of the Lord.

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It has to do with a holy priest as well.

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Holy word?

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Holy priest.

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And we are tied to the Lord Jesus Christ just as much as the ocean liner is tied to its

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anchor or to a dock.

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And here's what it's talking about here.

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In chapter six, we're given a picture of the holy of holies in heaven.

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Now the earthquake, temple and tabernacle were merely copies and pictures of what was

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going on in the heavenly realms.

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And you may remember that in the Old Testament, the high priest once a year would go into

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the holy of holies, making sacrifice for himself because he was sinful and for the people of

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God.

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But all that was to show God's people what really was going to happen.

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That Jesus Christ was going into the holy of holies.

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He was there as our high priest to enter seed for us.

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And why could he do that?

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Because he lived a perfect life and he died a perfect death.

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And so he could go into the throne room of God.

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And here's what we've got to keep in mind.

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When he died on the cross, he sanctified us and then he went into the heavenly realms

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where he now dwells with God.

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And do you realize that right now we have our high priest in heaven who is interceding

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for us and is made away into heaven?

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And now back in colonial era times in early American history, Lewis and Clark forged away

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into the West.

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So Jesus Christ as our high priest has made a place for us in the heavenly realms.

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And we sometimes think that God is not for us.

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God despises us.

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But do you realize Jesus Christ is in the holy of holy of heaven interceding for you

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saying they are my people.

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I love them and they're going to make it to be here with me.

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I am not going to give up on them.

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You have an advocate.

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You try to get a job today.

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It's almost as if you got to know someone.

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Have the connections.

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You got the connections.

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You got the son of God.

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And he is saying have good courage people of God because you're mine.

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And the new heavens and the new earth is yours.

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That is the security that we have and that God is not going to turn his face ever against

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us.

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Yes, you may be disciplined for your sins, but you are not cast off.

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God is for you.

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And think of that hymn that we sometimes saying, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

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Oh, what a taste of glory divine.

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Well, now as we come to the Lord's table, you can have that blessed assurance, that

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hope, that anchor of your salvation who gave his body for you and is now ascended into

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heaven and is there interceding for you along with the Holy Spirit.

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And if you want any confidence, focus on what is true.

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Let's pray.

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Our Heavenly Father, we ask now that you will be with us as we come into your presence.

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May we remember as we take the Lord's Supper that this is not just an average, everyday

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meal, but it is a sign and symbol of the security we have because of Jesus.

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In our hearts, may we come before you, confessing our sins, our God, realizing that you will

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not give up on us.

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Encouraging us though to come to you just as the prodigal did to his Heavenly Father.

245
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,800
Be with us now, O Lord.

246
00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,360
Protect us and encourage our souls.

247
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:26,360
Amen.