Good morning. Shall we get started here? Let's take our gold hymnals, stand and turn to page 46. Page 46. Let's do all verses. Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon its throne, and hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, ♪ And hail him as our matchless king through all eternity ♪ ♪ Crown him the lord of love, behold his hands and side ♪ and by His eye never, never fail, through all eternity. Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave, who rose victorious to the strife for those His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring, And lives and death may die. Ground Him, the Lord of heaven, One with Thy Father known, One with Thy Spirit through Him giv'n, From yonder glorious throne, To Thee be endowed praise, For the new now has done, Good singing there. Let's all remain standing. Turn back to page 34. Page 34. Let's do all verses and me and you come on the last. O Lord my God, when I am awesome wonder, consider all Thy hands Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art When through the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds swing sweetly in the tree When I look down from lofty mountain gander And hear the bird and feel the gentle breeze ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burdens gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art When Christ shall come with shattered acclamation And take me home while Georgia fills my heart Then I shall bow in humble adoration And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art ♪ Have great power ♪ Brother Morley, would you ask the blessing on the offering? Dear Lord God, we thank you this day. We thank you this beautiful day that you've given us. We pray, Lord, now that as we take up this offering that it will be used to glorify you and see souls saved. Bless our pastor as he brings the word this morning. We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. We may be seated. So, Good morning. Our scripture reading today is in Hebrews 6, 15-20. Hebrews 6, 15-20. Stand when you find it for the reading of God's word. And so, After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Thank you, and you may be seated. All right. It's good to see everybody out this morning. Let's just take just a brief moment here to pray and just kind of get our mind and hearts kind of dialed in and in tune for the rest of the service and the message coming up. And Lord willing, we'll finish Hebrews chapter six this morning and looking forward to that. So let's go ahead and pray and then I'll close this up. You. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much today for just a beautiful day that you've given us, beautiful sunshine and warmer temperatures today. We're so thankful and grateful for that. Thank you for the place we get to meet and a place we can come together and with all of the accoutrements and things that we don't even think of at times and they're just so commonplace. Your blessing is just so over the top and so commonplace at times we miss so much. We just want to thank you today for all that you do and all the little things that we miss. We thank you for those. And Lord, we thank you for your word this morning and we thank you for the passage where we are this morning and the great hope that we have, this anchor of the soul that we're going to look at today. We thank you for Jesus. And Father, as you endeavor to do the work in us through your Word today and by the work of the Holy Spirit, Father, would you just help us by your grace, Lord, to be attentive, to be listening, to be intentional about the receiving of your Word today, and Lord, you've brought everybody in here today under this Word today, for a purpose. None of us have arrived, none of us are perfect, we all need to be challenged and changed some way in our life. And I just pray as you do that work today, Lord, that we'd allow you to do that and we'd leave here just with the joy of the Lord and obedience and just more to conform to the image of Christ. And so, Father, we pray that everything that is said and done here would glorify You, and then we'll ask You just to remove distractions, and Lord, we ask You just to bind Satan and just keep away any opposition here to the Word today. And we'll thank You for what You do, in Jesus' name. Amen. Before Brother Allen comes, the first song we sang, the second song we sang, have you ever tried to visualize what it would be like to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, right? What an incredible thing. You know, when John saw Him in Revelation, The Bible said he saw Jesus in all of his glory and his judgment. He fell at his feet as he were dead. And the angel had to come and tap him on the shoulder and tell him to get up. It's OK. And I don't know. It's just an incredible scene one of these days that we're going to see. And I'm I'm thankful for that. And we're singing about crown him with many crowns. Could you do this for me? Could we sing that first verse again? Because it sounded like this to me. Crown him with many crowns. I think you got a lot more in you. And if you listen, if you just think that through about what that actually means, crowning Jesus, right, who he is, I think we can get a little more volume. We'll just do the first verse. How's that? And if it's good enough, we might do the last verse. I don't know. And then we'll do the last verse. Because we don't have anybody for special music. Martin reneged. He was supposed to have it today, and he said no. And so let's sing that first song. Let's sing the first and the last verse again. And I think you got more in you. I really, really do. Because it's going to be a great day when that happens. It really is. Stand one more time and turn to page 46. Clad in with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavy and the dreadful music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him ♪ And hail Him as thy matchless King ♪ ♪ Through all eternity ♪ ♪ Crown Him the Lord of heaven ♪ ♪ One with the Father, Lord ♪ ♪ One with the Spirit, through Him ♪ ♪ Give gloom, yonder glorious ♪ And turn on over to page 264. Page 264. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest faith, but only lean on Jesus' name. On Christ's solid rock of sin, All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. When darkness fails his lovely grace, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my ankle holds within the veil. Precious solid rock or sand, Overground in sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. His oath is covered in His blood, Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He that is all my hope and stay. On precious solid rock ascends, All other ground is sinking sad. All other ground is sinking sad. And he shall come with trumpets out, O may I then in him be found, Dressed in his righteousness Thank you, you may be seated, pastor. Doesn't it just feel better to sing out? That was good. I like that. You're like, no, I hurt now. Amen. Good to see everybody. Good to see Davidson's daughters and his grandson with us today. Brother Davidson, you just look like a... Hey, thorn among roses. I was going to say a happy man. That too. Amen. A happy man. Amen. I have nothing to say now. You just said it all. I like that. I like that. I'm taking notes on that one. I've got to remember that. All right. If you notice in your bulletin here on December 8th, we'll be having a Christmas slash Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving, because it comes first, Thanksgiving slash Christmas dinner here on the 8th after the morning service. And so if you'll be preparing for that, and if you have any questions on food, don't ask me about it. I just know the church is going to provide the meat and the drinks and things like that and you all can talk to my wife about whatever else you need to do. I don't know, don't ask me. Alright, Hebrews chapter 6 this morning, Hebrews chapter 6. If you found your place there, Hebrews chapter 6, Brother Jim has read our text for us this morning. If you'll remember there's five warnings, five warnings in the book of Hebrews written to these Jewish Christians. We've already seen two of them were in the middle of the, or at the end of the third one. And the first warning was found in chapter two, verses one through four. It is a warning against drifting away from our relationship, our fellowship with Jesus Christ. The second warning was found in chapter three, verse seven, all the way over to chapter four in verse 13. And it is the warning of falling short of entering in to the rest that God has for us. We are saved. Remember the promised land? The Canaan land is not a picture and a type of heaven. It is a picture and a type. of God's will for us, and God's place for us, and God's purpose for us in this life. And it's possible that some people come to Christ, they get saved, they put their faith in Jesus Christ, but they never enter into the rest that God has for them, the rest in His will and His desire for their life. And there's a warning here to these Jewish Christians to beware Be careful that as you drift away from the Lord Jesus Christ, that you never find that rest that God has for you. And what a wonderful thing it is to live in the rest that Jesus has. Amen? If you desire the rest, maybe you're at that place, but I pray that everybody in this place has found in their life that place of rest. You're right in the middle of God's will. You know exactly where you're at. where He wants you to be at this stage in your life. In chapter 5 verse 11 through 6 and 12 there's another warning of becoming dull of hearing. The writer of Hebrews wanted to go on to dig deeper into Melchizedek and that relationship and that typology between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ and he said, I can't not because it's too deep for you. It's not too deep for you. The problem is you're too dull of hearing and you're still eating a bunch of milk. You're still puking up milk and you can't handle the meat of the Word of God. Some people come to the Word of God and say, well, that's far too much for me here. And well, can I remind you that God, the things that God has revealed unto us are for us, Deuteronomy 29, 29. And for our children, you know, let me get it right, the secret things belong unto God, but the things that He's revealed unto us belong unto us and to our children. And we have the help of the Holy Spirit of God and we can understand the things of God, but the only reason It's many times, sometimes, that we don't understand the things of the Word of God. Some of it is growth period, right? We haven't grown in the Lord yet, might be a young Christian. But sadly, some of it is people have been saved 30 and 40 and 50 years and they still cannot handle the meat of the Word of God because they have become dull in hearing. and that is a warning to all of us. It is a warning to all of us that we don't ever want to get to that place that when we should have been the ones teaching the Word of God, that no, rather than that, we're the ones that are still needing to be taught because we're just not receiving the Word and applying it to our life and living by it. That was the third warning. The fourth warning is found over in Hebrews chapter 10 which deals with the consequences of willful sinning and then the fifth one is over in chapter 12 and it's the warning of becoming indifferent to the Word of God. I've heard that. I've heard that message. I've heard that topic. I've heard that application. I've heard that. I've heard that. I've heard that. And we tend to shut it off and tune it out and to walk away from it and there's a warning for us. And so I want to remind you this morning that the book of Hebrews was written to believers, not unbelievers. it was written to immature believers who have not matured past the basics and boy this book is gonna get into some real deep waters here but because they have not matured it was hurting the relationship with Jesus Christ and so here we have these Jewish Christians they were being sucked back into Judaism they're being sucked back into the works of the law they're being sucked back into their old life and their old religion and the writer here who I tend to think was Paul was trying to right this ship and turn it around and get them pointed in the right direction again. So the call from God was really to move what? To move onward and upward. This is the call of God on their life. This is the call of God on our life. And if you'll notice this in verse 3 of chapter 6, it says here, This is a pivotal phrase right here. If God permit. Now think about that. You think, well, hold on a minute. God wouldn't want us to grow in knowledge. God wouldn't want us to grow in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. God wouldn't want us to be able to get into the deeper things of the word of God, which as the writer says here in chapter five, it's not really deep, deeper. It's just that you're dull. I mean, God doesn't want us to move onward and upward if God permit. What does that mean? What's really pivotal to the rest of chapter 6? But over in Numbers chapter 22, or Numbers chapter 14, you remember what happened, right? They got right to the edge of the promised land. We were looking at this the other night. I mean, it was exactly as God said. It was exactly as He has promised. They come out, and the spies came out of the land and said, yeah, just like He said. Look at the grapes. Look at the figs. Look at the pomegranates. It's a land flowing with milk and honey. But, you know, the problem was the giants. They lost faith and they refused to obey God and to move forward, except for Caleb and Joshua, obviously. And what happened? Because of unbelief, God did not say, well, we'll try it tomorrow. Okay, well, we'll put it off the week. Let's try it again. God said, no, you're not going in. You're not going in. Here is the promised land, I promise you. This generation that, from 20 years old and upward, that has said, no, no, you're gonna die. You're gonna die in the wilderness. I will bring up the next generation, led by Joshua and followed by Caleb. They will bring you into the promised land, but you, you are not going. God did not permit them to go into the land, and that whole generation died, never knowing the rest that God had for them in that land that He had promised them. They never saw His fulfillment of getting the inhabitants out of the land and the things like that. They never saw any of that. And so the warning to everybody in this room is that, listen to me please, it is possible It is possible to die in your wilderness and never know the rest that God has for you because you refuse to believe and move forward in your life where God wants you to move forward. It's possible. This is the warning here. If God permits. Right? If you refuse to obey, if you refuse to grow, if you refuse to beg God, beg God for His enabling grace to change your heart and to make you like Jesus Christ, if you refuse to ask God to reveal what is in your life that might be keeping you from drawing closer to Him, I'm telling you, we say, no, no, no, no. God says, okay. You're not going to, I will not permit you to enter into the rest that is available for you. Listen to me this morning. The only thing that keeps us or the only thing I should say that keeps God from allowing us to mature and to grow in Christ and to get to that place of rest. The only thing that hinders that is unbelief and disobedience. That's it. Amen. Or you're like, oh, me. Yeah. So there's this move for maturity in chapter six. Number two, though, he tells this group, but beware of falling away. Now, we know what this doesn't mean. We've already gone over this. Not falling outside of Christ, but falling alongside, that Greek word there, falling alongside of, falling, tripping up inside of. Hey, see, every word used in verses four through five is used elsewhere to express a real, literal relationship with Jesus Christ. I was of the opinion years ago that this could no doubt have explained somebody who had tasted of the heavenly gift, they had experienced the conviction of the Spirit of God, they had been They had been exposed to seeing the miracles of God. They have seen the goodness of God in other people's lives. They've heard the Word of God. They've fallen under conviction. And like a cake, they just said, yeah, I tasted it, but no, I don't want it. And they walked away. I don't think that's where that's going at all because unfortunately all of these, not unfortunately, fortunately all of these terms used are all expressing elsewhere in the Word of God. I don't have time to show you all of them and that can be your homework this week and go look that up. But you can see where the word enlightened and tasted and a partaker are always used of those who are in Christ Jesus. He is talking to those people who are saved. They are born again. And when he talks about this of falling away, it is not falling outside of, because we know you can't lose your salvation. Do I have to go into that today? Can I just move on from here? Can you say amen? How many believe you? Okay, wow, that was good. You're like, please go on. Don't stop here. Yeah, we're not. We can't fall outside, but we can fall inside. Falling away is not the word apostasy. It is not that Greek word for apostasy. It is a different word. And if you fall are in Christ, you may have fallen seven times and got up again like the righteous man does. But you will never fall outside of Christ. It's not possible. Amen. OK, we're good. So the danger in falling away, away in that fellowship, falling away in disobedience, falling away in a lack of faith and unbelief, the danger is you'll never get where God wants you in His will and the danger is the next meeting is at the judgment seat of Christ. We don't preach this very often. It's not preached enough. But if you're in Christ here this morning, I and you who are in Christ are going to appear before the Lord Jesus Christ and we'll answer to Him for our life. We're going to give an account for our life. We're going to be judged and there's going to be rewards given out and sadly there are many that will come out of the judgment seat of Christ with absolutely nothing but their own selves. We sang crown Him with many crowns and I cannot imagine the scene of standing before the Lord Jesus Christ and coming through the judgment seat of Christ and the fires of the judgment seat of Christ and having not one thing in my hand to give back to the lover of my soul Not one thing to give back, but hands black with ashes of my works that were burned up because they were nothing. They were nothing to the will of God. They were nothing that bore any fruit in my life to the gospel. I would hate to be there, and it's possible. it is possible. This is the warning of falling away. Eventually there is the judgment seat of Christ. Look again verse 7 and 8, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh upon it, and bringeth forth herbs, meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God. But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned." We have the same ground, you have the same rain, one has been nurtured unto fruitfulness, the other one has been allowed to just remain stagnant and bring up briars and thorns and nothing. And the only good thing left of the crop on this ground is that it could be burned up and got out of there and hopefully might be useful for a different crop later. And I'm telling you, we have the judgment seat of Christ ahead of us and the danger in falling away in Jesus is not ever, the danger is never hell. But I think in some ways to the child of God, I don't want to say it's greater than that, but I'll tell you what, it's a heavy thing to think of looking in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ someday. Yeah. And just going, I don't have anything. I don't have anything. Sorry. It's pretty heavy, folks. It absolutely is. This is the warning that Paul is giving, the writer of Hebrews is giving. You'll miss out on the rest that you could have. You'll miss out on the rest. See, salvation rest is free and instantaneous. Yeah, Acts 16.31, "...believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." It's an immediate thing that happens. But the sanctifying rest, that progression in our life, that life of a response of obedience that produces the rest in Jesus Christ, well that's brought about by our own will and labor. We're not working to be saved, right? I don't need to go over that anymore. We understand that. But listen, we are working as children of God in obedience. Jesus said, My Father works and I work hitherto. Why on earth would we not have something to do if we are in Jesus Christ and we absolutely do. Sanctifying rest is brought about by our own will and our own labor. It is personal, listen, it is personal labor to have an honest prayer life. It is personal labor to be a student of the word of God, to live in a moment by moment obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, to put aside the excuses and get to the house of God whenever the body is assembling. It is a personal labor and work to live a life like Jesus lived, but that's where the rest comes. Rest comes from obedience. Jeremiah 6.16, this is a favorite passage among some. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, what is the point of the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and therein shall you find rest for your souls. Rest. It can be done. You can have rest. You can live and rest. We can walk a faithful life. We can labor and live a life of rest and obedience. And God has given us help to do it. This is the wonderful thing at the end of chapter 6 of Hebrews, is what God has provided for us to live a life of obedience, to live a life of love and obedience, which brings about a life of rest in Jesus Christ, and that He has enabled us, not only over in 2 Peter, giving us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, but He has also aided us another way that we can live this life. I love the encouragement of God in verse 9, to these Jewish Christians. They're not in a really good place, but he does go ahead and insert here in verse 9, But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. were persuaded, the writer said. The Holy Spirit of God wanted them to know, listen, we know your labor of love. We know you have an evidence of salvation. We know that you were in Jesus Christ. And listen, maybe you're drifting away. Maybe you've gone back into Judaism. Maybe you are living a life that the rest of Jesus Christ is evading you. But it is possible. It is possible to live that life. It is possible to get back there. and God has enabled us to do so. I love this. You know, you don't have to live a fruitless life. as a Christian. I don't know any true child of God that says, I just want to be, I just want to be a bum for Jesus. I just want to do nothing. I just want to, I just, I just want to, I want my life to be just a bunch of weeds and horse thistles. And I hate horse thistles, right? Autumn olives, autumn olives, those are awful. You know, we have to get those up. And I just, I just want to be, I just want, I just want my life to look like, like a mess. I just, nobody really wants that. How many in here go, you know, I just hope I can fall away from Jesus? That'd be really exciting, right? Nobody plans it. Nobody gets up, you know, they've been saved for three weeks and they're like, alright, I'm bored. I want to fall away. That'll be way better in this life, right? Nobody does that. No. The writer is saying, God saying to these people, I know that's not what you want, but you've gotten here. God knows all of your labor towards the saints. He sees your prayers. He sees your giving. He sees your obedience. He sees the afflictions that you have faced to be obedient to Him. God has seen your faithfulness. Over in 2 Thessalonians 3.13, we're reminded, brethren, be not weary in well-doing. God sees it. He sees it. And He has enabled us, He has helped us, He's given us something that helps us to live this life. He's given us something and aided us to get to the place of rest. Can I remind you, I don't think I need to spend a lot of time on this. How many, you could, you could say amen, okay? This is not yet, hold on. How many would agree with an amen that the Christian life is not easy? It's not. It's a joyful life. It's a fulfilling life. It's a satisfying life. I mean, listen, when you lived in the world, when you're unsaved, that wasn't an easy life either. But the Christian life adds another layer on it. No doubt it does. Why? Well, when you live for Jesus, the world doesn't like it. Your flesh doesn't like it. Mine doesn't. Mine's like, what are you doing? Dope. This is no fun. Let's go have fun. Fun, fun, fun, right? And then you're an idiot and you listen to it and then you're like, well that was dumb because now it's no fun. You're a liar. But then you'll listen to the lie again. I mean it's a battle, isn't it? It really is. Your flesh revolts against the will of God. The devil is constantly lying to you so you'll quit the will of God and walk away and fall away. Living the Christian life is not an easy life and really it seems like a paradox, but God has given us a way that we can have rest while the world, the flesh, and the devil is raging against us. Isn't that a wonderful thing? No, he doesn't, listen, it's like with the Hebrew children. He didn't take them out of the fire, but he got in the fire with them, and he doesn't always take you out of the trials and the tribulations, and he doesn't always take you out of the results of living for Jesus Christ and the way the world responds to you, but listen, he gets in with us, and he enables us, and he's provided us a way that we can obey him. Look at verse 11. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end, that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit thee promises." God has given us a way. He's encouraged us here. Don't be a sloth. Have you ever seen a sloth move? They're ugly. Could you imagine a pet sloth like, come here, might as well go to work and come back before it gets to you. It'll be alright, things are slow. Don't give it a bath, you'll hurt it. Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promise. It's labor. It's labor in Christ to receive what God has for the child of God. He's provided us a way to obey. What is that way that He has provided us to obey? Well, let me say one thing it is, it's hope. Hope. How does hope help us and aid us to walk the Christian life so that we can find the rest that God has for us? How is it hope? Well, let me give you the definition of hope. There's a lot of them out there. I kind of, I mean, it's same thing. I added a little bit to it. But hope is an unmovable expectation of receiving what God has already promised. You know it, right? And watch, it's a confidence that is so sure that you'll live your life in connection to the promise. You'll live your life in tandem with the promise. You believe it so well. I've said it so often, what was Peter's problem? How could Peter, who had seen so much of the Lord Jesus Christ, be so confident, so confident that what he was going to do and what he was not going to do, when Jesus said, no, you're going to do this, and he says, no, I'm not. Yes, you are. No, I'm not. Yes, you are. I mean, back and forth, right? And Peter did, of course he did, because Jesus is God, and he knows what was Peter's problem. Well, one of the problems was he just didn't believe Him. He just didn't believe Him. See, one of the things about when we understand what hope is, hope is that unmovable expectation of receiving what God has already promised. And when we live in that way and we believe that, listen, it's gonna show up in the way we live. Notice God's promise. What is the promise? Look at verse 13. He obtained the promise. So God made a promise to Abraham all the way back in Genesis. He promised him a land. He promised him a lineage. He promised him a blessing that he was going to come. He said, look at your eyes, Abraham. I'm going to give you all of this land. I'm going to give you a son. And from that son is going to come a lineage. And from that lineage is going to come the Messiah. And from that Messiah, all of the world is going to be blessed. He goes, that's what He promised Abraham. And not only did God promise this to him, but watch this, He swore an oath. He swore an oath, look at verse 14, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. You know, it's one thing to promise something, it's yet another thing to swear to it. It's one thing to promise, and some may still not believe, right? You might say to your your kids, I promise, we're going to go on vacation next year. I promise. And they go, yeah. In year five, they're like, are we ever going to go on that vacation? And you'll say, I promise. And they go, OK, we'll see. And then they say this, I swear. I probably shouldn't say that, but somebody may say, I swear. I swear an oath before God. That's what you're doing when you swear. We ought to be awful careful about saying things like that, right? I swear an oath to God. What are you doing? You're attaching your promise to the character of God. You are attaching your promise to an understanding that you would invoke God's judgment on yourself if you renege on what you have sworn. And you are saying that you accept the consequences. when you don't fulfill what you've sworn. That's a pretty big thing to swear, right? They go to court and they pull out the Bible, you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God. You know, I know some Christians that will not even do that. They will say, I affirm, they will not swear. And that's legal in court, you can say that, you can say I affirm. Because they don't believe they ought to swear. But see, watch, God made a promises to Abraham, and then God swore an oath by himself that he was being truthful. Not only did Abraham get the promise, but he got the sworn oath as well. Right? What was it based on? Well, it's based on God's immutability. He swore on himself, because there's nothing greater to swear on. When we go before a court, they may put a Bible and say we are swearing before God, we're making an oath before God, that our word is as true as the Word of God, and if it is not as true as the Word of God is true, then we understand the consequences and the judgment of God upon us if it's not. So who is God going to swear to but by himself because there is nobody greater, right? So it's based on God. Watch this. It says it's based on his immutability. That means God can't change. Everything God does flows through his attributes. His attributes are who he is, right? So the two immutable things God gave Abraham Why? Wait, everything that God speaks, everything that God says, everything that God thinks, everything that God has created, it all flows through Himself, who is immutable, who is unchanging, who is holy, who is omniscient. I mean, just go through all of the attributes of God, of what we understand of Him. So the two immutable things that God gave Abraham was His promise and His oath, and they are secure. Look at verse 18. Why? Because God can't lie. Why? Because He's holy, because He's immutable, because He's omniscient, because He is love. Love doesn't lie. Self lies. So verse 18, look at it. That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the, what's the next word? Hope. Say it again. Hope. One, two, three. Hope. There we go. On the hope set before us. So watch, this is the hope that moved Abraham to believe God to leave his home. He came home and said, Sarah, we're moving. Well, why are we moving? Well, God spoke to me. What God? Well, the Creator God. Well, who's that? Well, He spoke to me today. I mean, these were pagans, right? They're worshipping the Moon God. They didn't know who Jehovah God was, but God came to them and He said, I want you to get up from your land of Iraq and Iran. I want you to get up from the Ur of the Chaldees and I want you to move. And so, Sarah, we're moving. Okay. Where are we moving? I don't know. He didn't say. Okay. Yeah? What caused Abraham to do that? Hope. Hope. An unmovable expectation of receiving what God had already promised. Hope. This is the hope that caused Abraham to believe God for his son. 25 years after the promise was made, he didn't even waver. He knew he was coming. Well, he had a little problem with Ishmael, right? And that was an issue. But he still believed God, that Isaac was coming. And you want to see how confident Abraham was in the expectation of receiving the promise of what God had already made to him? You can see it in the hope that anchored Abraham to believe God when God had asked him to give Isaac back after He had given him to him. Father, we have the fire and the wood, but where's the sacrifice? God will provide Himself the Lamb. I don't know how old anybody thinks Isaac was. I've heard 18. I've heard older. I've heard younger. I don't know. He was old enough to have a will of his own to say, you know, Dad, as he's laying down on that altar, I don't know if I like this. Maybe Abraham began to reveal to Isaac what it was to have hope in God. while he's tying them up. Maybe he didn't even have to tie them up. Hope. This is the hope that moved Abraham. Abraham had an unmovable expectation of receiving what God had already promised. Watch. And it was evidenced in his confidence that he was so sure that God was going to do what he said, that he lived his life in connection to the promise. That's hope. Notice verse 19, this is our help. This is what helps us to live the Christian life. This is what helps us to live the life where we can find the rest that God has for us on a day-to-day basis. This is what God has given us, is this hope. In verse 19, he goes on to call this hope an anchor of the soul. I mean, I know everybody knows what anchors are. I don't know, Brother Earl, how big of anchors you saw on ships. You were on ships. Yeah, Brother Chuck, were you on ships? You got to be on boats, didn't you? What about Chuck Pease? You were Navy, right? Anybody know what the biggest anchor in the world is, what ship it was on? Brother Jim, are you going to let me down today? This is the first time. Well, you got the Internet, brother. The largest anchor in the world was on a tanker ship called the Sea Wise Giant. This anchor had a 23 foot long shank across the fluke side to side was 14 feet. It was four feet thick of material, of steel material. And each link of the chain that held that anchor weighed 500 pounds, each link. This anchor was huge. And if they ever, off the coast of Iran, they would drop this anchor off the coast by this island, and that anchor would drop to the bottom of the ocean floor, and it would settle down onto the ocean floor, and we know what it would do, it would keep that ship from moving anywhere it needed to go. It was a way that protected the ship. And so watch this in verse 19. This hope is an anchor of the soul. The hope that God has given us to live how we ought to live, verse 19, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. This hope enters, it's an anchor of the soul, but this hope entered into the veil. What is that? Most of you know what this is. The high priest every year would go into the Holy of Holies. There was a big veil, remember, that they made. It was of one piece and there was the angel that was embroidered in it. And the priest went through there one time a year to offer the Passover lamb. And man, it had to be done just right. If he died in there, they'd have to pull him out. If he did something wrong, I mean, this is a big deal. But every year, year by year, year by year, every year, they had to go in there to offer the Passover blood to cover the sins of the people. But this hope that we have as an anchor of the soul, this hope enters within the veil. Well, what is that? Well, that is our great high priest who has entered within the veil. What happened on the day of Calvary? Anybody remember on the day of Calvary? I mean, we know Jesus was crucified, but more specifically, what happened in the Holy of Holies? The veil was rent. Where? from top to bottom, right? What was the significance of that? The picture and the illustration is now that all in Jesus Christ have access directly to God. Praise the Lord for that. The only reason today I can say, Father, Father, my Father, Father, the only reason I can approach to God and call Him Father is because of Jesus Christ and the work of Calvary and Him saying that I am able to approach Him as His Father, I can approach Him as my own Father. What a wonderful thing that is. That was the work that was done at Calvary and that was the work that happened as he entered within the veil, right? And notice what it says, it was entered at Calvary, it was entered one time. One time. No, why? It was once for all. One time for all, right? Not one time for, well, whoever God decides to choose and whoever He decides to kick out and we don't have time for that. Let me go on. Once for all. Absolutely. We have access to God. The hope enters within the veil. We're in the presence of God because of this hope. Not only this hope in the veil, look at verse 19 again. Notice this, I don't want to go past this. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, in which entereth that within the veil, I'm sorry, verse 20, whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus. Now, not only does this hope enter within the veil and give us access to the Father, right? But this hope is like the anchor that is set in a harbor. You notice that word forerunner there? Some of the ships were very large and they couldn't necessarily enter into the harbors on their own. Sometimes the channels were narrow and they had to be navigated in such a way to get into the harbor and it was hard for these large, large ships to do that. Sometimes the weather just wasn't right and what they would do, they would drop anchor on this little forerunner on a little boat. They would drop that anchor and that boat would going to the harbor, right, with that big anchor, and they're letting it go, and they're bringing the anchor into the harbor, and that ship would let that harbor, the little boat, the forerunner, would let that anchor off into that harbor, and it would set anchor in the harbor. And what they would do is while that ship was out at sea, they would slowly take that, they'd slowly take the, what's that big thing I've been talking about? Anchor. They'd take that anchor in, yeah, and they'd pull that ship into the harbor from the anchor. And we see here, not only is our hope the anchor of the soul, which has entered the veil, but this anchor has entered into the harbor. I know this is obvious, but I've got to say it. Where the anchor is set is where the ship will end up. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even specifically, namely, Jesus, made in high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Oh, the writer of Hebrews wanted so badly to get back to Melchizedek. It was so rich. There's so much here we're going to see in chapter seven, but he had to lay some things down first here in chapter six before he could get back to Melchizedek. But we see that our hope, our hope is anchored in a harbor. Watch this. Jesus is not only our great high priest who has given us access to God, but he is our great high priest is also our anchor. He's our anchor. Amen? So watch, we're anchored in two ways. We're anchored in His presence and we're anchored in heaven. We're seated already in the heavenlies by Christ Jesus. We're kings and priests unto God. We are anchored in His presence, we are anchored in the presence of the Father, and we are anchored in heaven. And we live, watch, we live in hope, we live in hope because our hope is our anchor. Our hope is the anchor. Listen, there is no one who can pull up that anchor from the Holy of Holies, friend. There is nobody that can go into the Holy of Holies and say, well, you know what, I know you're flailing out here in life, and I know you're battling the world, the flesh, and the devil, and I know you're not quite living the way you ought to live right now, so we're just gonna cut anchor and let you drift off and you're done. No, nobody can do that. Nobody can come into the Holy of Holies and take that anchor up and get you out there and there is nobody or no thing that can pull your anchor up from heaven. There's nobody taking you out of there, friend. You're secure. Whether you believe it or not or understand it or not, you are secure in Jesus Christ. And this is the hope that we have, the constant expectation that God is going to keep His promises. This is the hope that we have so that allows us to live and to labor in obedience. so that we can enter in that relationship of rest that God desires us to have. You say, oh, the Christian life is just so hard. Man, I just don't get victory over the flesh. Man, I tell you, I'm just struggling. It just doesn't look fun. It doesn't look right. It doesn't look like anything I want to do. And God says, hey, Listen, no, I provided you something. It's an anchor of the soul, and you're anchored into the holy of holies. You're anchored in heaven. You are steadfast. You are sure. It doesn't matter what comes up in this life. It doesn't matter what you face. You are going nowhere except going home someday. That's it. Amen. So what do we do when life gets tough? What do you do when you're trying to live for God? It just seems like you're battling the whole time. Well, I don't know. Why don't you just be like Job and keep trusting? Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Can you imagine the depth of soul that those words had to come out of with what he was living through? Why could he say that, Hope? A constant expectation. It blows my mind. I get so excited when Job says, I know my Redeemer liveth and shall stand on the earth someday, and in my flesh, though the worms eat my flesh, in my flesh I shall see God. He knew that. What was it? Hope. A constant expectation that God was going to do exactly what he said. The oldest book in the Bible, Job says, I know my Redeemer is going to stand on earth someday. How did he know that? Well, somewhere he got the promise of God and he was completely sure about it. So just be like Job. Be like Abraham and just keep believing. Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4.18, Romans 4 What was that? The declaration, the two immutable things, where it's impossible for God to lie. The promise, the promise of a lineage that he was gonna come. So shall thy seed be. How did Abraham live this way? How did he against hope believe in hope? Because he believed God. Watch, it was the hope that he had. He was confident, completely confident. God was gonna do exactly what he said he was gonna do. And it altered the way he lived his life. be like David, rejoice. Psalm 16, listen to Psalm 16, 8 and 9, I have set the Lord all way before me, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices, my flesh also shall, listen to this, rest in hope. Rest in hope. Rejoice. Rejoice. You know what you could do? You could be like the Apostle Paul and you could abound. You could abound. Romans 15, 13, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, and believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost of God. You know, you can abound in hope. You can abound in that confident expectation that God is going to do exactly what He said He was going to do. And you know what we need to do? We just need to do what He's told us to do. And you know what happens when you rest in the anchor of the soul and you just live a life of obedience before the face of God with a heart of desire and obedience? You know what you find? You find rest. Rest and joy and peace. See, if our anchor is hope, then the more that we grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we grow in hope. And the more we grow in hope, the greater the security that we have from being a fruitless ground whose only end is judgment. He's enabled us. But notice, lastly, this hope is eternal. 1 Corinthians 15, 19, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Can I tell you God has way more on the plans than we know? I get very concerned of people who believe like, you know, as believers, as Christians, they are saved, they are born again, they are in Christ and they believe like this is all we have and then we just go to heaven and float around. Friend, your faithfulness may alter some part of your eternity, I don't know. We're going to be judged. I'm not sure that every believer is going to heaven. I don't know if everyone's going into the millennial reign with Christ. Another subject, another day. But listen, the hope that we have is eternal. What God has said, what the immutable, unchanging, eternal God has said is settled forever. And we can have hope in that. But finally look here it says it is the anchor of the soul. This hope, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest, not the priest of the Old Testament, but Jesus, our great high priest. He is the anchor of the soul. It says here, He is sure. Speaking of the quality of the anchor, He is steadfast. Speaking of the ability of the anchor, He is set in place and where He has set that in heaven, where He has set it, gone into the Holy of Holies. Speaking of the quality of the location where it's set, it's not coming up. Amen. It is not coming up. Nobody's bringing it out of there. It is set. You know what your ability to live the Christian life? You know what your ability is to live a fruitful life? You know what the ability is in your life to have ground that produces fruit and fruitfulness and a life that brings rest to your life? You know what it is? It's Jesus Christ. That's our hope. It's Him. It's a person. It's a person. It's a person. Yeah. So believe Him. I mean, it's hope, right? Believe them. Believe them. Trust them. Trust them. Can I ask you this morning, where's your hope? No, where's your hope this morning? You know, so many people have confident expectation in their job. Isn't that laughable? No, some have really good jobs. And they may retire from there, and they may do great. But it's still a really poor place to put your hope. Because you know why? Because it's always changing. Every election year, you don't know what's going to happen. Some people put their hope in relationships. Those don't always turn out. Some people put their hope in their own ability. I can pull myself up by my bootstraps, and I can get her down. I can do this, man. Until you can't. Right? Yeah. Where's your hope? What are you anchored to? Are you anchored to the Lord Jesus Christ this morning? Do you know, sadly, there are some believers who will never experience the rest that God has for you. And sadly, there are some that will die in the wilderness, never getting to that cane and rest that God has for you in your life, because you just will not trust the anchor and follow God in obedience. It's unfortunate, it really is. And all of us, every one of us have to deal with that in our own life. Are you at rest today? Are you at rest where God has you? Are you confident that you're exactly where God wants you to be? It's available to you today. Child of God, that rest is available to you if you just realize who you're anchored to. and trust Him in obedience. Oh, I know God, God put some things in our life and He put some things ahead of us and we go, boy, I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I can say that. I don't know if I can stop that. I don't know if I can start that. I don't know if I can. Hey, if you realize who you're anchored to, you can. I might lose my job. Well, that's all right, you're anchored to heaven. What does that job have anything to do with your position in heaven? Well, I might, you know, lose a friend. I mean, that's sad. We don't want to go out just throwing friends off, right? They need the gospel if they're not saved. But what does that friendship have anything to do? How can it alter anything of the location of that anchor that you're attached to? The one who's reeling you into the location that it's set. Thankful this morning for God has given to us to enable us, to help us, to remind us that it's possible to trust Him based upon who we're anchored to. Do you know those big ships? When they get out in the sea, the seas can be awful rough. Those anchors will keep them steady, they'll keep them from the hulls slapping up and down against the waters too heavy in the big swells. They do all sorts of things that I am totally unfamiliar with. I just read about it and I know they do all sorts of things. And if you would anchor yourself and realize who you're anchored to, those guys in the ships, they may have some nervous, a little bit of nervous. Actually, when they're on there long enough, they get used to it. A little more used to it. But listen, there's a little more rest when you realize, you know, it takes a pretty big storm to move the anchor of this ship. And we're not going, because if you get out to sea just willy-nilly and you're off anchor, you're in trouble in a storm. You're in trouble. Can't direct that thing right where the piece, can't direct that thing. I mean, it's just flopping all over the place. But if you're anchored, man, it can go crazy and you're not moving. You're not moving. Trust Him today, would you? Whatever He's telling you, wherever He's been moving you, whatever His Word has been challenging you with in your own personal life, trust Him. Why? Because you're anchored to Him. And you're going to be okay. You're going to be fine. Yeah. Our Father, thank You for the rest of Jesus. Thank You for the rest that You've provided for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank You to who our anchor is and who we're anchored to. Lord, I'm thankful that Lord, You've given us so much, as the Apostle Peter said, all things that pertain unto life and godliness. We're thankful for that. And our Father, we just ask you today, whatever work you're doing in the lives of your people this morning, that today they would make a response of trust and faith and hope, hope in that anchor, and that they would get out and move as you've told them to move, that they would follow in ways that you've told them to follow. Only you know the things you've been working on the hearts of your people in this place. And I pray that as you do that work in their heart again this morning, as the Holy Spirit of God brings back maybe another time, One more time, that step of faith, that move that needs to be made, that today they'd find that great confidence in your word, great confidence in your character, in who you are, and great rest and confidence in who they're anchored to and where that anchor is set. And they would step out today in obedience and move forward where you've been having them to go and they would trust you today and find that rest that you have. Father, we'll thank you for what you do in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand this morning, if you would please. Every head bowed, every eye closed. Piano's gonna play. However the Lord has spoken to you this morning, the invitation is open. Are you living in rest today or have you been putting your back against God? Have you been pushing against the will of God in your life? God has been trying to move you somewhere in your life, and you've said, no, no, no, no. I don't want to do this. I don't want to go that. I don't want this. I don't want to step out with this much faithfulness. I don't want to step out with this much. I don't want to do it. Listen, friend, you're never going to know the rest that God has for you. You need to step out today and say yes to God, knowing who you're anchored in, knowing where the anchor's set. You can trust Him. You can trust Him. There may be somebody here today, it may be somebody watching online, and the reason you don't have rest is because you're not anchored to the Lord Jesus Christ. You've never been born again of the Spirit of God, you've never been saved. If you would come this morning, we have people trained in the Bible, they can show you from the Word of God how you personally, personally can know that you can have your sins forgiven and be anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be on your way to heaven. You'll be saved today. If that's you, would you come? You come now. If you're watching online, you can email, you can write, you can text. We'll get together and we'll show you how you can know. How you can have the hope who is the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, we're going to be dismissed here in a word of prayer and just get around and greet one another and say hello to our guest today. And so glad you're able to be with us and have a good afternoon if you would. And even if you don't want to go have a good afternoon. And so anyway, well, praise the Lord. All right. Brother Davidson, would you close us in a word of prayer, please?