Well, please turn with me in the Word of God to the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews and to the chapter number 13 and to the verses number 5 and 6. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. This is one of those exceeding great and precious promises of God's most holy word. If you read through the Letters of the apostle Peter first Peter and second Peter he speaks of Several precious things precious faith the precious trial of your faith Precious blood redeemed by the precious blood of Christ Of a precious Christ unto you therefore which believe he is precious and And he speaks of exceeding great and precious promises. And here in Paul's letter to the Hebrews, we have a precious promise. And it's a promise that is repeated three times in Holy Scripture. That's why I read from Deuteronomy 31, where it first occurs, and why I read from Joshua chapter 1, where it occurs the second time. And here is the third time where this precious promise occurs in God's Word. a threefold witness. And saints down through the ages have drunk the sweet nectar that is found in this choice promise. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Martyrs tossed on the horns of wild bulls in the Roman amphitheaters. Preachers stretched out on the rack during the reign of Mary Tudor. Saints, 384 of them burnt. On the fires of Smithfield and elsewhere, Oxford, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Beckles, and we can go on, 384 between 1555 and 1558 burnt at the stake. Saints in deep, dark dungeons, in forest glades, on isles of rocky solitude, many has been a child of God who has found strength to face a martyr's death from this very promise. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. And I will not fear what man shall do unto me, whether they burn me at the stake, stretch me out on the rack, feed me to wild animals. Whatever the difficulty, whatever the danger, whatever the trial, no matter how painful the affliction, here is a promise to sustain, to strengthen the child of God, to face all the dangers of this present world. In this church, no doubt, some of you sitting here has passed through a period of trial and perhaps there are greater trials ahead. What verse can I bring before you this morning? What word does the Lord have for you? What word of exhortation would the Lord Jesus Christ have me bring to you as a church and to you as individuals this morning hour? What special word of comfort and encouragement and consolation does the Lord Jesus Christ have for you from his holy word? Well, here it is. The Lord Jesus Christ, whose name is precious, says to this church and says to you as an individual believer, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. I want you to observe three things from this promise. First of all, we're going to consider the author of this promise, who it is who makes the promise. Then having considered the author of this promise, we shall then look at the promise itself. then finally we shall look at the context of this promise. First of all, then we look at the author of this promise. Who is it who makes this promise to this church and to you as an individual this morning? Who is it? Well, we read at the end of verse five, for he hath said, He hath said. In the New Testament Greek, it's the verbs in what is called the pluperfect. In other words, the stress is he himself hath said. The stress is upon the one who makes the promise. He himself hath said. In other words, before the Holy Spirit would have us consider the promise itself, he would have us first of all pause, meditate, consider the one who makes this promise. Our attention is drawn to the author of the promise. Who is the author? The whole context of this letter to the Hebrews The whole theme of this epistle is to show us the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It shows us that Jesus Christ is greater than the prophets in chapter 1 verses 1 to 3, greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than Joshua, greater than the priests of the Old Testament. The whole focus is to show us the greatness, the excellency, the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. So who is the author? Chapter one, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners speak in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who, being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. The one who makes the promise is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the brightness of the Father's glory, who is the express image, the engraven image of God the Father. Or as we read later on in Hebrews, he is the one who is so much better than the angels. He is the one whose throne is forever and ever. The one who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. the one who is a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, the one who has made reconciliation for the sins of the people, the one who is the apostle and high priest of our profession, the one who is that great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, the one who is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, the one who is a minister of the sanctuary of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, the one who is the mediator of the New Testament, the one who has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, the one who came to do the Father's will, the one who after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God, the one who is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. It is he who makes the promise, Jesus Christ. who never changes, the same yesterday and today and forever, the one who ever liveth to make intercession for us. And clearly this is a divine promise. Christ, the eternal son, himself is making the promise. And in verse four, he is brought before us in his capacity as judge. But whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge. Christ will judge. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Not as some modern versions have it in Romans 14, the judgment seat of God. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Why? Our Lord said in John five, for the father judges, no man that has committed all judgment unto the son. It's not the father who will judge. It is Christ. He said in John nine for judgment, I am come into the world. In Athens, the Apostle Paul in Acts 17 said, he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance into all men and that he hath raised him from the dead. It is Jesus Christ who will judge all mongers and adulterers. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, Romans 14, 10. Now why do I emphasize this point that the author of this promise is brought before us in his capacity as the judge of the whole earth? Why do I stress that point? For the following reason. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans, he thinks in chapter number four, Sorry, chapter number three. At the verse number four of Romans chapter three, the Apostle Paul makes a very strong point here. God forbid. Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar, as it is written that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged. If our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance? I speak as a man. God forbid. For then how shall God judge the world? If Christ is to be the righteous judge of the entire world, According to Paul's teaching there in Romans chapter 3, then Christ himself must be righteous. He must be the very embodiment of rectitude, of integrity, and of truth, one who cannot lie. And Jesus Christ, of course, is the way, the truth, and the life. The same yesterday, and today, and forever. So the one who makes this promise is Jesus Christ who is to be the righteous judge of all the earth. The one to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ whose very word is truth. Jesus Christ who cannot lie. One who never changes. So that this morning hour, this promise is as fresh and as vital and as abiding as when it was first uttered almost 2,000 years ago. The author of this promise then is Jesus Christ, the righteous judge. That takes us in the second place to look at the promise itself. And you'll note there are two parts to the promise. The first part, I will never leave thee. And the second part, nor forsake thee. Now in the Greek New Testament, there is a glorious conjunction of two double negatives. In my teaching career, I did teach mass occasionally. Two negatives make a positive. And there are two double negatives here in the Greek. It is though Christ would underscore the veracity of this wonderful promise. This changeless, this eternal Christ, Jesus Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh, whose purposes will be gloriously manifest in the day of judgment, literally declares in the Greek, I will not, not leave thee, neither, not, never forsake thee. The hymn writer puts it wonderfully. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. That so the whole hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. And that's the strength of this promise. I will not never leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. Jesus Christ, your Savior, your Redeemer, the one who has loved the church with an everlasting love, Jesus Christ who gave himself for his church, he says, I will not, not leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. We read sadly of young mothers these days, single mothers perhaps, having committed perhaps fornication, giving birth, Then in fear and desperation, abandoning their newborn babies, wrapping the baby in warm clothing and leaving it in a place where she knows it will be found either outside a police station or a hospital. Abandoned. Forsaken. Can a woman forget her sucking child? that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb. Yea, writes Isaiah, they may forget. Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. I will never leave thee. I will never abandon you, forsake you. Increasingly, we read of men who, through lust and lechery, abandon their wife and their children, leaving them without protector, without provider, leaving them alone with none to help, abandoned, forsaken. The Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, says, I'll never do that. I will not, not leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. So that's the promise. So thirdly, we move now to the context of the promise. First of all, we look at the context here in this letter to the Hebrews. And you notice the promise is sandwiched. It comes in the middle of an exhortation. An exhortation, first of all, to avoid covetousness. And then an exhortation to be delivered from the fear of man on the other hand. And the promise comes in between the two. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. So here we have covetousness, the fear of man, and a promise between. And the Lord who has given this promise, never to leave and never to forsake, it's a promise that should deliver us from covetousness, enabling us to be content with such things as we have. but also it's a promise that should deliver us from the fear of man. You see, the promise of Christ's continual providence and protection is a great antidote to covetousness. The Lord Jesus Christ, who has the power to summon out of the grave the whole world of humanity the day of judgment, to vindicate his own righteousness whenever he need, to him shall bow, It is He who says, I am with you in every circumstance of your life. And I will not, never leave thee, neither not, never forsake thee. Nothing shall separate you from my love, not tribulation, not distress, not persecution, not famine, not nakedness, not peril, nor sword. Now these Hebrew Christians, to whom the apostle here writes, My, they had suffered greatly. They had suffered the loss of all their earthly goods. Indeed, we read in chapter 10, we read in verses 32 of chapter 10, but call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were illuminated, He endured a great fight of afflictions. Oh, they had suffered a great fight of afflictions, persecutions. Partly while she were made a gazing sock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while she became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. great fight of afflictions they'd already endured. Persecution after persecution after persecution, driven from home, losing their jobs, suffering the loss of all their earthly goods, knowing in heaven they had a better and an enduring substance. hounded, pursued by the religious and the secular authorities. And yet, when Peter later writes to them, the apostle Peter tells them there is even more persecution to come. First Peter 1 verse 7, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found and to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Or as he goes on in the fourth chapter of his first epistle, beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. Although worse days ahead, They'd already endured a great fight of affliction, losing all their earthly goods where Peter was to write and they said, a fiery trial awaits you. Some of you are going to be taken into the Roman amphitheaters, fed to the lions. Some of you will be covered with honey to be stung to death by bees. Some of you will be tied to chariot wheels and driven around the arena Tortured. What word do they need? They needed a promise that will keep them content. Here they are living like refugees in Asia Minor. A word that will keep them content with a few earthly possessions that remained. The rags that they were wearing. but also they need a promise that will fill them with intrepid courage and make them fearless in the face of martyrdom and bitter persecution. And it is Jesus Christ, the brightness of the Father's glory, the express image of his person, Jesus Christ in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Jesus Christ, the righteous judge says to them, who had endured this great fight of afflictions, who had lost all their earthly good, she says, look, I will not, never leave thee, neither not, never forsake thee. Nothing, no one will separate you from my love. So child of God this morning, fear no want, dread no distress, and have no fears regarding the future. At no time will Christ abandon his blood-bought people. How safe the child of God is, how safe the church of Christ is, how utterly impossible it is for a soul redeemed by his precious blood ever to perish. So that's the first context. in Hebrews. But if you go back to our Old Testament reading, a book of Deuteronomy chapter 31, as Moses begins his final charge to the nation, Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel, Deuteronomy 31, and he said unto them, I am 120 years old this day. I can no more go out and come in. Also the Lord hath said unto me, thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The Lord thy God will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them. And Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said. And the Lord shall go unto them as he did to Zion, and to all kings of the Amorites, and to the land of them whom he destroyed. And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according to all. The commandments which I have commanded you, be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. There's the promise. As Moses gives his final charge to the nation, the children of Israel are about to occupy the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. They have dwelt far too long upon the plains of Moab. The time for conquest and warfare had come. It's a time of disruption. Every man over 20 years of age is going forth to warfare. And Moses gives his final charge to the nation. And he says to the nation at large, be strong and have a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. When the Lord's people are about to embark upon a long and fierce warfare, when the enemy seems so formidable and so fierce, Then the men are told to sharpen their swords upon the sweet assurance of this glorious promise. As the nation stood upon the threshold of all unknowns, in the face of danger and destruction and death, on the very threshold of a period of uncertainty and danger, the Lord says to the rank and file of Israel, you need but know two things. First, I will not fail thee, second, nor forsake thee. Then Moses turns to Joshua, to the leader in verse seven. And Moses called unto Joshua and said unto him, in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage, for thou must go with this people into the land which the Lord hath sworn their fathers to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear not, neither be dismayed. So the promise is repeated to Joshua. The rank and file, the foot soldiers had heard the promise, but now Moses turns to Joshua. Oh, Joshua, there are going to be times of discouragement. Joshua, there are going to be times when you meet with a defeat, when you expected a great victory. Joshua, there will be times when your men are faint hearted, when you were looking for heroes. Joshua, there'll be times when you are disappointed, discouraged, when the enemy looms large, when the blood begins to flow upon the battlefield, times when you despair of life itself. But Joshua, Joshua, all you need to know is this. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Fear not, neither be dismayed. Here was a promise to sustain, to strengthen Joshua with all the additional burdens that were to fall upon his shoulders. And then if you move on to the first chapter of Joshua itself, verse two, chapter one of Joshua, Moses, my servant, is dead. The man who had been a symbol of strength, of wisdom, of courage, of resolute leadership, he's dead. The man who mirrored the very heart of God is dead. Joshua, you'll see my strength, my wisdom, my grace mirrored in the life of Moses, but he is dead. But Joshua, I am not dead. My servant is dead. But Jehovah is not dead. When a man of God dies, nothing of God dies. The God of heaven is not dead. The Savior and our Redeemer is not dead. Nothing of God dies when a man of God dies. I have a friend in Ireland. He goes out distributing scriptures in Ireland two or three times each week. I was with him on one occasion. He was accosted by four Muslims. Very angry, very annoyed they were. We're offended. We're going to report you to the authorities." My friend instantly turned upon them. These four Muslims said, let me tell you something. That boy of yours, Mohammed, he's dead. My savior's alive. What a reply. Your boy, Mohammed, is dead. My savior is alive. Nothing of God dies when a man of God dies. Now, therefore, arise, Joshua. The work is not yet finished. There are battles still to be fought, Joshua. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Perhaps Joshua's already beginning to feel the extra burden of responsibility now that Moses was dead. He no longer had the shoulder of Moses to lean upon. And unlike Moses, the ministry of Joshua had not been inaugurated with miracles. Perhaps Joshua begins to feel his own weakness, his own inadequacy, as he considered the demands that would now be placed upon his shoulders alone, the disruption, the uncertainty. And the Lord again speaks to him, Joshua, remember, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Then again, he says, only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded thee. Again, have I not commanded thee be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the law thy God is with thee with us wherever thou goest. What a promise to Joshua. God will not forsake him. God will not leave him. He will be with him as he had been with Moses. So as I draw to conclusion, let me now seek to apply this promise to you as an individual and to this Church of Jesus Christ, Bethel Reformed Baptist Church. In Hebrews chapter 13, the promise was an encouragement to persecuted Christians who had lost everything, to be content with such things as they had, delivered from covetousness. But also it came to them to prepare them for the fiery trial which was to try them, to be fearless, to be strong, to be of a good courage in the heat of persecution. And then in Deuteronomy, the promise came as a special encouragement in the face of a special need, a time of disruption. And then in Joshua, it came as a promise to a man in a position of unique and solemn responsibility. I do not know what your individual and particular needs are. I do not know what burdens you bear. I do not know what fears you have as individuals. Thankfully, I do not know. But there is one who does know, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says to every individual believer here this morning, listen, He says, I will not, never leave thee, neither not, never forsake thee. Moses, my servant, is dead. Preachers come, preachers go. Now, therefore, arise, a new generation. Arise and go. Yes, there are awesome responsibilities before this church, and no doubt there is that native timidity. And yes, there will be disappointments, discouragements that cause us to be downcast on occasions, and there may even be occasional defeats. There will be trials, hardships, days of severe affliction, The Lord Jesus Christ said, listen, all you need to know is this, two things, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. What word of encouragement then does the Lord Jesus Christ have for this church? Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. I will never leave thee, neither forsake thee, I, to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given, I, the risen, exalted Lord, I, who have loved you to the end, I, your sympathetic, loving, gracious, merciful high priest, I, who have loved this church and gave myself for this church, I am with you always. I will not never leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. Young people here, You're on the threshold, perhaps, of your Christian life and walk with Christ. There are many trials ahead, many battles still to be fought. I have been a Christian since 1968, and I have had to fight many, many battles. I bear the scars sometimes physically. of the battles I have had to fight against liberal theology. Many disappointments ahead, many heartaches, years of sorrow and pain, but listen, here is a promise to sustain, to strengthen you young people through them all. I will not never leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. You who are parents, Perhaps you've entered upon the middle years of your earthly pilgrimage. You look back, and you can see how the Lord has blessed you. You can raise your Ebenezer. Hitherto hath the Lord helped. But the pilgrimage not yet over. There are times, perhaps, when you wish it were. Humanly speaking, perhaps another 20, 30, perhaps even 40 years lie ahead of that weary pilgrimage. Perhaps your heart has grown cold. Perhaps you don't have the zeal that you had when first you knew the Lord. Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord? Where is that soul refreshing view of Jesus and his cross? Oh, to such weary souls, the Lord Jesus Christ would strengthen you. He would say to you, I will not never leave thee, neither not never forsake thee. Some of us carry the scars of many a battle. I'm well beyond my three score years and 10, well beyond. Perhaps I'm approaching, as many are, at my age, the last battle, in that goodly land called Beulah, approaching the final battle, for the last enemy is death. And as we will place our foot in those cold, deep waters that will carry us from this realm of time into eternal bliss, the Lord says, I will not never leave thee, neither not never forsake thee." What a promise! To be delivered from covetousness, to enable us to be content with such things as we have, but also to fill us with intrepid courage as we face the battles ahead and even the last battle itself, death. Amen. Well, we're going to close by singing that hymn I've already quoted, 382. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, it is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you he hath said, you who unto Jesus for refuge have fled. And then that last verse, The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes. That soul though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. The hymn 382, all seven verses.