Standing on the Promises - 25

Standing on the promises of Christ my King, through eternal ages let his praises ring.

Glory to the highest I will shout and sing. Standing on the promises of God. That's what our text for today in Hebrews chapter six is about. Standing on the promises of God.

Why we should hold tightly to God's promises until we are safely home in heaven. You recall that this book called Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians, Hebrew believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they were under great temptation and some of them were being tempted to return back to the old covenant after having come to Christ in the new covenant, which of course would be fatal to the welfare of their soul, to their eternal destiny. And so the book of Hebrews is written primarily to demonstrate the superiority of the new covenant to the old, the superiority of Christ to everyone and anything that is represented in the old covenant other than Christ. It shows us prior to the section we have come to today how Jesus Christ is superior to the angels. He's superior to Moses and to Joshua and to Aaron. He's a better high priest than Aaron and likewise throughout the early chapters of this book.

And there is, as we move into chapter six, a sober warning against apostasy. You recall that the rite of Hebrews came up in the end of chapter five to mention Melchizedek because he was comparing Christ as a superior high priest to Aaron and therefore showing that Christ is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, not after the order of Levi, not a descendant from Aaron. And then the writer paused after the first mention of Melchizedek to say something like, folks, I'd like to tell you more about Melchizedek, but you are so sluggish.

You are so dull of hearing. You are so lazy in your application of yourselves to the word of God that I don't know if I can proclaim to you the truth about Melchizedek. They're a little more complicated than some of you are prepared to understand. And so moving into chapter six, he reminds them of some of the basic foundational truths of which they were familiar, but then warns them about apostasy. There are some who have had wonderful blessings, wonderful visitations from God in various ways, and yet have fallen away fatally. So much so that it's impossible to renew them to repentance because they have so dishonored the Son of God. Now, he's saying, don't you do that.

Don't you do that. And he goes on to encourage them in the regard of his own estimation that they are demonstrating better things that pertain to salvation than those who have fallen away into apostasy. And so he thereby helps us understand what are the things that attend to salvation as opposed to many religious experiences that do not necessarily involve salvation.

And that's a very helpful section. But after that, he says, now, in effect, folks, hold on to God's word. Those who fell into apostasy stopped believing the word of God. They stopped clinging to the scriptures, the promises of God that had been given to them.

Don't you do that. That is fatal to your soul. And sitting before them, Abraham is an example of one to whom God gave the promises and one who held on to the promises against all odds. The promise that he would have a son given 25 years before that son came and the years marched on and on and on and on. And Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90 and still no son. And then God came to him and said, again, I will give you a son.

Next year at this time, you're going to have a son. What was Abraham's response to this unbelievable, incredible, impossible promise of God? Abraham believed God.

And that's why righteousness was counted to him by God. The son was born. And after the son had reached his teenage years and everything seemed to be going well, and Abraham was saying, praise the Lord, I've now received the promise that God has given to me. I clung to his promise by faith.

The promise was given to me exactly as God said. And then the word of God came to him and said, take your son, your only son far away up on Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice, a burnt offering to God. And what did Abraham do? He believed God. He obeyed God.

He must have said something like this. God has promised me this son. I don't know what God is doing now. But it's not my responsibility to know what God is doing now.

It's my responsibility to believe him, to trust him, to obey him. And so up on the mountain, he marched and he prepared his son for sacrifice and he raised the knife to plunge it into the body of his son. And at the last minute, the voice from heaven said, stop, don't kill your son. If Abraham had been a little slow in obeying, if he'd been accustomed to thinking things over before he obeyed the word of God, his son would have been killed at his own hand, but instantly he obeyed and God restored to him his son. And following that came the promise that the writer of Hebrews is talking about. As God reiterated to Abraham his promise that he would give to him a great seed, much blessing, multiply his seed until he became a great nation.

And he now confirmed that promise with an oath. God swore by an oath to Abraham that he would surely bring these things to pass. And that brings us now to our text for today in verses 16 through 20. And in this section, we will see, number one, the reason for human oaths, verse 16. Secondly, the reason for God's oaths, verses 17 and 18.

And finally, the beneficiaries of God's promises in verses 17 through 20. But first, the writer of Hebrews takes a moment to explain the purpose for oaths in general. Why are there oaths? What is the reason for this thing called an oath? Why do men speak oaths? Verse 16, for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. The reason for human oaths are, number one, to confirm our words and number two, to settle disputes. To confirm our words by appealing to something greater than ourselves, something outside of ourselves, someone outside of ourselves, a higher object, a higher symbol, another person. We as human beings will often appeal to something greater than ourselves to assert that what we have said is absolutely true.

And of course, the highest appeal that it's possible for us to make is to make an appeal to Almighty God. And so if you are called into a court of law and are asked to testify in those proceedings, they will still, in the United States of America, will still hold out a Bible and ask you to put your hand on the Bible, a Bible which we have largely ignored and rejected, but nevertheless, it's useful in a court of law. They'll hold out a Bible, put your hand on the Bible and swear to tell the whole truth, all the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God. Do you so swear? And most people are willing to make that oath and they say I do. And that's a human oath made by an appeal to God Almighty.

And thus, the highest appeal is to God, for He is the highest of all beings in the universe. And so we say things sometimes. I swear this is true.

You hear all kinds of foolish things sometimes. I swear on my mother's grave. I swear on this. I swear on that. We read in the words of Christ that in that day, it was customary for the Jews to say, I swear by the temple. I swear by the altar in the temple and so forth. But when we get really serious, we say, as God is my witness.

I swear by Almighty God, so help me God. And we do this to certify that these words that we just said attached to the oath are true. What does that indicate about some of our other words? It seems to indicate that we sometimes speak words that are not true and we know we do and we acknowledge we do. But these are true because I'm attaching an oath to them to certify that they are true. And so the reason for human oaths is to confirm the trustworthiness of our words. It is for confirmation, as verse 16 says, to make our words more solemn and certain and in effect, to call down severe judgment upon ourselves if we fail to keep our words. That's what we're doing when we appeal to Almighty God.

So help me God, as God is my witness. If I'm not telling the truth, may God strike me dead or something like that. And so to confirm our words and to settle disputes and end to all disputes, because when we've made such a solemn claim of integrity that stops challenges to our words, unless there's some kind of external evidence that proves that what we're saying is wrong. But a solemn oath is the highest appeal to the trustworthiness of human words. And when those words are sealed with an oath, disputes cease unless there's further evidence that speaks to the contrary. That's the reason for human oaths, to confirm our words and to settle disputes. But secondly, what is the reason for God's oaths, verses 17 and 18?

Yes, God. Determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath. That by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. What is the reason for God's oaths? Well, in the first place, it is to confirm God's words. The reason for human oaths is to confirm human words. And the reason for God's oath is the same. That's why we have that word, thus God, at the beginning of verse 17.

In the same way, God is a way other Bibles translate this. In the same way that human beings speak an oath to confirm their words. In the same way, God has also at times added an oath to confirm his words.

He does that determining, as we read in verse 17, to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel. And so to confirm his words, God's oaths are a concession to human practice, to human reasoning. Human beings swear oaths to confirm their words more solemnly. God adds an oath to make a concession to our way of thinking. In the same way that we swear oaths, God makes an oath. God swears an oath as a confirmation, determining to show more abundantly, more abundantly. If God said it, that should settle it.

But sometimes it doesn't, not because there's any problem with God, but because there's a problem with us. And so God sometimes confirms his infallible, immutable word by adding an oath after the human pattern to reinforce what he has said in the minds of men. He does this in order to confirm a decree, to show more abundantly the immutability of his counsel, the unchangeability of his counsel or of his decrees. His counsel is what is agreed upon between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

God does not invite the counsel of men to help him make decisions. God doesn't say, now here's what I think would be a good idea. What do you think of that? Do you agree with that?

Do you approve of that? No, God is God. He doesn't do that. But we do find evidence in scripture that there are agreements, there are conversations, there are agreements within the Trinity. And so when it talks about God's counsel, it's talking about his eternal decrees. And God's eternal decrees are settled forever and ever.

Amen. But sometimes God will add an oath to confirm the immutability, the unchangeableness of his decree, as if there were any possibility of change in his decree. And of course there isn't, but because of human weakness, he will sometimes add an oath.

God's oaths are a pledge confirmed by an oath. One commentator said it's something like an engagement ring. Two people can agree to get married because of the agreement between themselves, because of the promise they have made one to another, because presumably each one trusts the other to keep his word. Their agreement to get married is settled by the conversation and declarations that they were going to give themselves each to the other in marriage, but it's customary to add to that an engagement ring. It's kind of like an oath added, a confirmation to what has already been agreed. So that the prospective wife can look at that ring and remind herself of the agreement that has been made. So the prospective groom can look at that ring that is on the finger of his beloved and remind himself of the agreement that has been made and the fact that it's going to take place at the proper time. And if perchance the bride chooses to show that ring to anyone else, probably not of course, but if perchance she shows that ring to someone else, it's a confirmation to all of them that an agreement has been made. It really doesn't add anything to the agreement that hasn't already been agreed upon, but it's an additional confirmation. It's an additional reminder. And then after the wedding, on both husband and wife, there goes a ring to remind each one, you are married, you made pledges, you made oaths to one another before Almighty God.

Don't forget that. Keep the oaths that you have made. This ring is a reminder of what you have pledged.

It is added to what you have said. And so what we are recognizing in this section is that God's word is always absolute when it is spoken. And to doubt God's word is a sin, but to doubt God's word that has been confirmed with an oath is an even more serious sin. I wonder how much unbelief all of us have in our relationship with God. That in itself would be enough to require the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

Just unbelief in the word of God. We ought to believe it without a doubt, without a question, without hesitation, but many times we don't. And so God sometimes adds to his word an oath to make it doubly certain. And so it is given by God to confirm his words, verse 17, but it is given by God to reinforce our faith, verse 18. It is confirmed by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope that is set before us. God gives an oath upon occasion to reinforce our faith in order that by two immutable things, by two unchangeable things, what are those two things? Number one, his word.

Number two, his oath. His word is unchangeable. It's not like the words of men that are often broken. His word is certain. His word is sure. His word is unchangeable.

His word ought to be enough. But then when God adds an oath to it, it is doubly certain. Two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, either to break his word or to break an oath. That's given so that we might have strong consolation, so that we might have strong encouragement to do what?

To lay hold of the hope that is set before us. God's oath adds nothing to the certainty of his promise, for God does not lie. God cannot lie. It is impossible for God to lie. But God graciously adds an oath upon occasion to strengthen human faith. The weakness is not in the word of God as it is with humans.

Yeah, what I said before, I may not fulfill, but if I swear with an oath, then you can count on it. God isn't that way. If God says something, it's absolutely secure. So the problem is not with God. The problem is with human faith.

The problem is with human frailty. The weakness is in humanity, not in God's immutable word. But when God does this graciously, gives his word and then seals it with an oath, it's because he wants us to believe it. And it's because he has graciously extended something to our weakness to help us believe it because he knows we're weak. That's the reason for God's oaths.

Now, after having covered that, the purpose for human oaths and the purpose for God's oaths, which are similar to a human oath, he's just simply accommodating himself to human thinking and to human weakness. Following that, there are listed what I have identified as seven different descriptions or identifications, identifying factors, of those who will receive the promises of God. Clearly, it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, verses four and five, to fall away, to not receive the promises of God.

They can forfeit them. So who will receive the promises of God? That ought to be something of interest to every one of us.

So here we go. I've got seven words to describe the phrases throughout these verses that help us understand that. Who receives the promises of God? Number one, the heirs, heirs of promise, verse 17. Thus God determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise.

The immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath. The heirs of promise. What is an heir?

Well, again, we have to think in human terms. We all know what an heir is. An heir is one who has been designated to inherit something.

Often it's because of a birth relationship, but not always. People outside the family can be designated in the will as an heir. Someone that is named in the will, and in human practice even, it is illegal for anyone except the person who made the will to change the will.

Right? Sometimes it goes to court. Sometimes people who think they should have been in the will and find out they're not named in the will, or they don't receive in the will what they expected to receive in the will. They are indignant and they think they'll take it to court and will turn over the intent of the one who made the will, who gave things to other people that they thought shouldn't get them. And those kinds of appeals, those kinds of lawsuits very seldom ever succeed unless they can show that somebody other than the person who made the will altered it. They can prove that, that somebody messed with the will, somebody forged a name, somebody changed something in the will that wasn't the one designated, the owner of the property that is being named in the will, going to the people named in the will.

Unless they can prove that somebody has tampered with this legal process, then sorry, this property goes to the ones that the person who made the will names as the beneficiary. So who receives the promises of God? The ones whom God Almighty names as the beneficiaries. You can't change that. There's a lot to ponder on that.

There's a lot we could expand upon on that thought, which I won't take time for. But who receives the promises of God? The heirs of the promise will receive the promises of God. Who else? Number two. Refugees and only refugees shall receive the promises of God.

Verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation. Who? Who's the we here? Who have fled for refuge? Who have fled for refuge? Fleeing is an act of desperation. Fleeing is recognition of serious danger. Fleeing is getting out of the way, out of harm's way, and getting to a place of safety. That's what fleeing for refuge is all about. Some think that there may be a reference here to the cities of refuge in the Old Testament.

There may be, but it really doesn't affect the understanding of the passage, whether there is or isn't, because the point is clear. People who flee for refuge are people who understand their danger. They know that if they don't flee, they are in trouble. To flee is an act of desperation and a recognition of serious danger.

Refuge is a place of safety. And so the heirs of promise, or the ones who receive the promises of God, in addition to being the heirs named by God, are those who recognize their danger apart from Christ and flee to Christ with the confidence of his ability to save. Have you seen your danger? Have you felt your danger? Have you felt the weight of your sin? Have you felt the just condemnation of God that is due you because of your sin? Have you acknowledged that I am a sinner and deserve eternal condemnation? Have you ever said, I deserve to go to hell and I know that's where I will go unless I flee from this danger to the only one who can give me safety from this danger, the only one who can protect me from this danger, the only one who can guard me in a place of safety from this danger?

Have you ever been a refugee from sin and condemnation who has fled for safety to the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, you will receive the promises of God. Number three, believers.

This is the one we usually think of, but there's more to it as our text shows us. But believers will receive the promises of God. Again, verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. And then verse 19 goes on to say, this hope we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus. We have to read all the way to verse 20 to be certain what this hope is that is set before us. And the hope is Jesus. The hope is Jesus. God has set before us a wonderful hope, a wonderful promise, a wonderful assurance that those who flee from the wrath to come in recognition that their sins deserve condemnation, if they flee to Jesus, no place else will give you refuge. But if they flee to Jesus, in other words, believe in him, believe the gospel, believe the gospel when it tells us we are sinners, believe the gospel when it tells us that Christ came to live the righteous life that we did not live and to die the ignominious death that we deserve to die, he took that judgment upon himself for all who trust in him. Those who believe, described here as those who lay hold on the hope will receive the promises of God. Have you laid hold upon Jesus? Have you put your hope entirely in him, your hope of salvation? Well, what else? Another word to describe those who receive the promises.

They are, number four, secure. Well, we read in verse 19 this hope we have as an anchor of the soul. And now the writer of Hebrews begins to move towards some metaphors to help us understand this better. As I said, refuge may have been a metaphor. It may have been a reference to the cities of refuge.

We don't know that. But this is a clear metaphor. A metaphor is something that is like something else, but without the use of the word like or as. It just simply sets it before us as a similarity to help us understand it.

It's an illustration. And he says we have an anchor for the soul, and the metaphor is clearly to a ship anchored upon the water. Everyone in that day would have understood that immediately.

I think we understand that immediately as well. It's a very good picture. Water is not firm. Water is not secure. A boat on the water is always moving, never still, never firm, never feels firm. Some people can hardly get on a boat without getting sick.

Why? Because it's moving, it's moving, it's moving. It's not still. There's this moving motion all the time. It never feels secure, but if that ship has an anchor down beneath the waves, fastened to a secure location, even though you can't see the anchor, and can't even see most of the rope or the cable that attaches the ship to the anchor, nevertheless, if it is a strong anchor and a strong rope in a secure place, that ship will not blow away. That ship will not be destroyed by the waves. That ship will be secure because it is anchored.

It is secure. The anchor secures the ship. Even though when a ship is anchored, it's still moving, isn't it? You might not even know it's anchored, but if it is, it is. If it is, the ship is secure.

It is securely fastened to an immovable foundation, perhaps to a rock down below, and therefore, the ship is secure. This is the language that caused the songwriter, the hymn writer, to write, Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, When the clouds unfold their wings of strife, When the strong tides lift and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift or firm remain? It is safely moored, Twill the storms withstand, for it is well secured by the Savior's hand.

Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow, Not an angry wave shall our bark overflow. When our eyes behold through the gathering night, The city of gold, our harbor bright, We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore, With the storms all past forevermore. We have an anchor that keeps the soul, Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, Fastened to the rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love. Who receives the promises of God? Those who are secure because they are anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ, Holding firm to Him as their hope. Who receives the promises of God?

Number five, those who are accepted. It's the word I've chosen to describe this phrase in verse 19, Which enters the presence behind the veil. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, And which, this kind of, should I say, strange the metaphor a bit, But this anchor is not fastened to a rock beneath the seas. This anchor is fastened to God in the holy place in the temple. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, Which enters the presence behind the veil.

Now the metaphor shifts again. And it shifts to the high priest who in the old covenant on the day of atonement, And the only on the day of atonement, Would go behind the veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies, And there behind that veil is the ark of the covenant, The ark of the testimony, And upon that ark the high priest would sprinkle blood, Which was accepted by God as a covering for the sins of the people, Whom the high priest represented. And whom did he represent? All the people of Israel.

How do we know that? Because he wore on his chest, on his breast, A plaque, I guess you'd say, That had the twelve tribes of Israel on it. And he bore on his shoulders also objects, Which had the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on it. And therefore if you are a descendant of Abraham, And belong to one of these twelve tribes, You are represented by the high priest as he goes behind the veil.

And so when the proper God prescribed sacrifice is made, And the proper representative goes behind the veil, He as it were takes you with him behind the veil. And you are therefore accepted by God, In that case, for one more year. You've got a year. And next year he's going to have to do the same thing again. But if he does it again, you've got another year. And next year on the day of atonement he must do it again.

And if he does it again, you've got another year. All those that are represented by the high priest when he goes behind the veil, Are accepted by God. Their sins are covered. They will not be remembered against them.

They are accepted. And Jesus as we have seen is the hope that is set before us. And Jesus is the anchor of our soul. And Jesus takes his people into the very presence of God. And we are accepted there because he is accepted there. And we are forever safe because unlike the Levitical high priest, Jesus doesn't ever leave once he goes there. He's there forever.

Aaron went behind the veil, did his work and left. Jesus went into the Holy of Holies behind the veil, And he sat down and there he is. He's still there in the presence of God, Representing everyone who trusts in him, Everyone who's laid hold of the hope that is set before us, the gospel. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is represented by him. And thereby because of his sacrifice, he is accepted. We are accepted by almighty God. We are accepted into the presence of almighty God. So we who are guilty, vile sinners, who deserve eternal condemnation, Because of the one who represents us, because of who he is, We're accepted.

That's who receives the promises. Number six, we are guided. There's reference in verse 20 to a forerunner. The presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us. There again the confirmation that what Jesus is doing in going into the presence of God is not for himself, It is for his people.

It is for us who have believed in him. Where the forerunner has entered for us. A forerunner is one who goes before. Some translations say pioneer. Pioneer is the one who forges the way for others to follow. A forerunner is one who goes before, one who leads and others follow.

And Jesus is the forerunner. He goes first into the presence of God. He has every right to be there. But he's not there only for his own right. He is there to represent everyone who is attached to him by faith. Everyone who is attached to him.

Now back to the ship and the cable, back to the anchor that we read here is behind the veil. Everyone who is holding on to that anchor, which is Jesus Christ, who is behind the veil in the presence of God. Everyone is there because of Jesus. And so because he's there and because he's our forerunner, he is leading the way for us to come there after him. The sinless, spotless Lamb of God is admitted into the presence of a thrice holy God. But in doing that, he's just going before all the people who trust in him.

And they are also accepted in the presence of Almighty God. He shows us the way. He guides us. He points the way.

He tells us where to go. If we follow him, we'll arrive at the right place and we'll be welcomed there. When we get there, we'll know we're finally home. Finally home. Finally back in the presence of our maker. Finally back to where Adam was before he sinned in the garden. Finally back to a face to face relationship with Almighty God.

Finally back in the presence of God, where Adam was before he sinned. We have made it back there by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, laying hold of him, that great hope. And he has gone before us. He has prepared the way for us. He has guided us.

This is the way. And if we follow him, we're going to make it safely home. Those are the ones who receive the promises. And number seven, those who are represented, because verse 20 says, Having become high priest forever.

Forever. Aaron was high priest for a few years and then he retired or died and was replaced by the next high priest, who then came along and likewise was replaced by the next high priest, who was replaced by the next high priest, who was replaced by the next high priest. And as I've already said, Aaron would go into the presence of God once a year, and then he would depart coming back the next year. But Jesus has risen from the dead. He lives eternally. He will never die. Jesus is in the presence of God Almighty forever. He will never leave.

Jesus is our representative. He is our high priest, not after the order of Aaron, but a better priest, a better priesthood, a better order of Melchizedek. He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and he will never die.

He will never leave. And so we are represented by Jesus having become the high priest forever. The function of a high priest is to represent his people. The high priest represents his people before God. Jesus represents us before God. The high priest represents his people before God as long as God determines that he qualifies for that representation. In the case of Levi, it was a limited time, but in the case of Jesus, it is forever.

It never ends. And because he is in the presence of God forever, we are in the presence of God forever. Because he is in the presence of God forever, secure, we are in the presence of God, completely secure.

Because he's a priest in the order of Melchizedek, then his priesthood never ends. No wonder another songwriter wrote, More secure is no one ever than the loved ones of the Savior, Not yon star on high abiding, not the bird in home nest hiding. God his own doth tend and nourish, in his holy courts they flourish. From all evil things he spares them, in his loving arms he bears them. Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever. Unto them his grace he showeth, and their sorrows all he knoweth. Little flock, to joy then yield thee. Jacob's God will ever shield thee, rest secure with this defender. At his will all foes surrender. Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne'er forsaketh.

He has the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy. I don't know about you, but when I dwell on these verses I feel pretty secure. I'm pretty confident in the promises of God, that he will do what he has said, and what he has said means he will secure all who have laid hold on Christ by faith, and those who have laid hold on Christ by faith have been designated in his eternal councils to be in his will, and that can't be changed by anyone but the one who made the will, and so I think I'm pretty secure. How about you?

That sounds pretty good to me. And so we are reminded of the absolute certainty of God's will. God does not lie, God cannot lie, therefore you can trust him.

God does not lie, God cannot lie, therefore you must trust him unless you are willing to suffer eternal condemnation. And what a kindness and mercy of God, not only to provide a perfect salvation for such sinful rebels as we are, but to strengthen the faith of frail humanity so that we might be enabled to lay hold upon Christ. We wouldn't even have the strength to do that, but God enables us to do that. Praise his name. Shall we pray? Father, how wonderful are your promises. We thank you for them. Oh, how we thank you that we have need of nothing to fear as long as we trust you to the end, as long as we do not let go of these wonderful promises, as long as we continue to believe, we know that we shall be secure forever and forever and forever. Therefore, O Lord, strengthen our faith. Help us in our weakness. Certify by the work of your spirit and by enlivening your word the promises that by the work of your spirit, we have come to believe that we might have all that you have promised as we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.