to two spots. Colossians chapter
1 and 1st Timothy chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1 and 1st
Timothy chapter 1. But we'll go to 1st Timothy chapter
1 first. And then we'll go to Colossians
chapter 1. The name of the message is the
Lord Jesus our hope. The Lord Jesus our hope. 1 Timothy
chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, and we'll go over to Colossians chapter
1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God, our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope. Unto Timothy, my own son in the
faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father. And Jesus
Christ our Lord. Look at that. And the Lord Jesus
Christ, which is our hope. Now turn if you would to Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Verses 4 to 6 first, and then
we'll look at verses 25 to 29. Colossians 1, 4 to 6, since we
heard of your faith, and Paul's writing to believers, the believers
at Colossus, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and
the love which you have to all the saints, for the hope which
is laid up for you in heaven. Where have you heard before?
In the word of the truth of the gospel. The hope which is laid
up for you in heaven. And how did we hear? In the word
of the truth of the gospel. Which is come unto you, now note
that, is come unto you. It's not by chance that God's
people were where they were when they heard the gospel. No, it's
all by God's divine providence. Every one of us who are here
today is by God's divine providence. Which is come unto you as it
is in all the world and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in
you since the day you heard of it and knew the grace of God
in truth. And then look at Colossians 1
verse 25 to 29. Paul speaking of him being a
preacher of the gospel. Whereof I am made a minister
according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me
for you to fulfill the word of God. Now look at this marvelous
verse. Even the mystery which hath been
hid from ages, from ages and from generations, but now is
made what? Manifest to his saints. This
is speaking of Christ, to whom God would make known what is
the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which
is Christ in you, the what? The hope of glory. The hope of
glory. Whom we preach. Gospel preachers
get up and we preach. We preach Christ. Whom we preach,
warning every man. And teaching every man in all
wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Where into I also labor, striving according to his working, which
worketh in me mightily. God working in the believer.
What a glorious hope the believer has in the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a glorious hope the believer has in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now this is a sure hope. It's not some cunningly devised
fable. It's a sure hope, beloved. It's
a sure hope. And our hope in Christ is sure,
a good hope, a solid hope. an enduring hope, an eternal
hope. Oh, what a Savior we have. What
a Redeemer. And this is a hope which the
believer has heard in the truth of the gospel. We saw that. It's
not something man's drummed up. It's truth. And the believer's
heard it in the truth of the gospel. Man hasn't drummed this up. Man
drums up all kinds of things. Trying to give hope where there's
no hope. Oh, what hope the believer has in Christ. What hope the
believer has. What hope is laid up for us in
heaven. Where have you heard in the word of truth of the gospel,
which has come unto you? We weren't looking for it, were
we? We weren't looking for Christ. He came to us. As it is in the
whole world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth in you also,
since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in
truth. Now here's a question for every
one of us in this room. Do you have this hope? Do you have this hope? And I
pray if you don't, I pray that God will give it to you. And he'd grant you faith to believe
on Christ. And that you'd know this precious
hope that we who believe have. It's a precious hope. Because
it's all in Christ. But do you have this hope? God gives his people, his sheep,
here in ears. To believe this precious truth. And now the believer has hope. Hope. There is hope for the hopeless
in Christ. There is hope for the hopeless
in Christ. This hope is sure and steadfast. It's sure and steadfast because
it's anchored in Christ and Christ alone. It's anchored in Him. Now before we heard this precious
truth, we had a hope in something or someone, maybe ourselves. People can't live without hope.
They despair. But we had a hope in something. Everyone has hope in something
or someone. You may be hoping in yourself. Many people in this world make
money with their hope. Lots of people do. Lots of people
make their strength their hope. I'm strong. I'm going to live
for a long time. I'll be fine. Brother Matt's told me many times
young people that just come in the hospital and they're gone. You don't know when you're going
to die and neither do I. But some people hope in their
strength. They think, I'm young. I've got lots and lots of life
left. Some make their families their
hope. Some look to their friends as their hope. And all these
things have, in their proper place, are good, but when people
rest their hope in these things, Proverbs 13, 15 says, hope deferred
maketh the heart sick. Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick. Take hope away from people and their despair, they may even
die, they wither away. And the hope of the wicked, though,
think of this. The hope of the wicked, either their strength
or their money or someone who they love or they look up to, the hope of the wicked will prove
to be a false hope. The lamp of the wicked shall
be put out. So if someone was to ask a believer,
What is your hope? What is your hope? We answer
one word. Christ. Christ. Christ is my hope. Is he yours?
He's my hope. One grace believer was dying
in the hospital and an Armenian works-based preacher was making
his rounds because they make the rounds and try to win souls
supposedly and Try to make people give debt-bed professions and
all this stuff. This dear saint was in the hospital
dying in this army and a preacher came up to them and asked this
dear saint if she was ready to die. And she said, yes, I'm ready
to go. And he asked her, what's your
hope? She said, Christ. And he said, is that enough?
This is a true story. Grace Preacher told this story.
That guy asked her, is that enough? And you know what her answer
was? I love this. She said, if he's all you got, he's enough. What an answer. If he's all you
got, he's enough. He's more than enough for the
believer. So if anyone asks believers,
what is Christ to you? We would reply, he's our foundation,
wouldn't we? Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
chapter 2. He's our foundation. All our hope is founded in him. All our hope, all our salvation.
People say, put all your eggs in one basket. That's what the
believers have done, really. Brother Donnie mentioned that
in the message. I said, we don't put all our eggs in one basket.
That's Christ. He's our hope and our rest. That's it. Him
alone. No one else. No one else. No
one else. Ephesians 2, verses 19-22. Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners. We were once
strangers to the things of God, but we're not anymore. We've
seen that in 1 Peter study. Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
in the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. He's our foundation. He's our
hope. He's the foundation of our hope.
He is our hope. In whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord. In
whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through
the Spirit. So we would fly. He's our foundation. And then Christ is our spiritual
food and drink. He's the bread from heaven, isn't
He? He's our manna. He's our heavenly
manna. Christ is our root. We're rooted and grounded in
Him. He's the vine and we're the branches. And what does John
say? John says, without Him, the Lord
Himself proclaims, without Him, we can do nothing. We can't do
nothing. Christ is our head. We're vitally
united to Him. He's the head. We're the body.
Can you live without your head? No. No. No one can live without their
head. Christ is our defense and our
shield. He's our defense and our shield. He's our life. We
who were once dead in trespasses and sins are made alive in Christ.
He's our life. This would be our reply. He's our rest from all our labors. All our labors. He's all our
merit before God. He's all our merit before God.
He's all we need. We live and move and have our
being because of Him. We breathe every breath because
of Him. And when He wills it to be the
time when we breathe our last breath, we won't breathe one
more breath. He controls everything. And He's our hope. He's our hope. He's our hope today. And if the
Lord lets us tarry here on this earth, we who believe, He'll
be our hope tomorrow and every other tomorrow that comes. He's
our hope. He's our hope. So Christ is our
hope is what I'd like us to look at more closely today. If you
have Christ, you have everything. You have everything. Now here's a truth that believers
can cling to. They have a hope which will never
be deferred. A hope which could never make our hearts sick. Because
our hope is in Christ and Christ alone. No matter what happens to the
believer, they rest and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
It's our only hope. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Let us consider two hopes and
scriptures. There's the grace of hope. Let's turn to Romans
5 to see this, the grace, the hope. Look at this. And this
hope is given to us by God. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 to
8. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations work in patience,
in patient experience, in experience hope. And hope, make it not a
shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Hope, hope won't make
you ashamed. It makes you trust and rest. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet paraventure for a good
man some would even dare to die. But God commanded His love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The grace of God gives us a hope. A hope, a confident
hope, an expectation of some good to come, and it's all in
Christ, in Christ alone. Note in verse five, God has put
this hope in the hearts of his people. The love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts. And hope, make it not a shame,
because the love of God is what? Shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. This is a hope we never had before. Proverbs chapter 10, turn there
if you would. Proverbs chapter 10. The believer's hope is in Christ
and Christ alone. And it brings joy, doesn't it?
It brings joy. Look at Proverbs 10, verse 28. The hope of the righteous shall
be gladness. Oh my, we marvel in the things
that Christ has done for us. It brings us great joy to consider
the things that he's done for us. That he purchased me with
his own precious blood. That he fulfilled the law for
me. That the justice of God is satisfied. the believers justified
the hope of the righteous shall be gladness but look at this
but the expectation of the wicked shall perish those who have a false hope those
who are hoping and something else other than Christ shall
perish shall perish And the believer's not ashamed
in our trials and tribulations. Lots of people get mad at God
when they go through hard times. Some people just quit because
things did not go their way. Because God didn't work it out
the way that they thought He should. Well, they're disproving
that they didn't really know God. Evidence that they did not have
this love spoken of in Romans chapter 5 and hope make it not
a shame because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts By the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us Now when trials come God's people are kept by the
power of God no matter what happens he keeps us And our hope is in Christ And
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. And again, it's
a sure hope, isn't it? It's a sure hope. The second
hope from Scripture I'd like us to consider is the object
of our hope. And this being Christ. Paul brings
forth that in our text in 1 Timothy 1, verse 1. Turn there if you
would. The believer's hope is Christ
and Christ alone. Christ and Christ alone. Christ
is God, and Christ is the Savior of His people, and the Redeemer
of His people, therefore He's our only hope. 1 Timothy 1, verse 1, Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Savior,
now notice that, Christ is God, our Savior. The Scriptures declare
that Christ is God, He's God, our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope. Christ is God and Christ is our
Savior and Christ is our hope He's our hope And he's Lord Notice that God
our Savior Lord and our hope Christ is God incarnate in the
flesh He was God incarnate in the flesh and for the believer. He's our only hope How can I
tell if I have the grace of hope, if I have this hope? If you have
the grace of hope, which we looked at in Romans chapter 5, then
you will have hope in the blessed Savior spoken of right here. And He alone will be your hope.
He alone. Everything we look for in this
world, all the good we look for as believers in this world, we
look for only from Him, and by Him, and through Him, because
the Lord Jesus Christ alone is the object of our hope. He's
the object of our hope. This world will not treat us
good. We know that as believers. It
won't. It won't. Our flesh is not going to treat
us good. We battle it every day, don't we? Every single day. But Christ is our hope. He's
a sure hope. The enemy is not going to treat
us good. He wants to destroy believers,
doesn't he? But he's on a leash. He can only do what God allows. We're no match for him, but oh,
our mighty Savior. He's conquered him and crushed
him at Calvary's Cross. He's a defeated foe. And the believer looks for nothing
but good which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter
our circumstances, knowing that he will work all things together
for good to them that love God, to them who are recalled according
to his purpose. Now let others make what they
want to be their hope, but we as believers must make the Lord
Jesus Christ alone the object of our hope. He is the one we
look to. He is our only hope. Two ways that we have hope through
the Lord Jesus Christ. We have hope through Him for
life. The life which we now live, even
right now, we have hope in Him, don't we? Yesterday, Christ was our hope
for the believer. He was our hope yesterday. Today,
Christ is our hope. And again, if the Lord allows
us to live another day, Christ will be our hope as long as we
tarry on this earth. As long as we have breath to
breathe. What is our hope in good times?
What is our hope in sickness? What is our hope in times of
serious health problems? What is our hope when we're faced
with death? What is our hope in this life right now? Ponder that. All of us. The believer cries out with Paul,
Christ is my hope. Christ is my hope. In life and
in death. Christ is my hope. We don't look to any man or creature. We don't look to second causes.
We don't look to the doctor when we're sick. No, we ask the Lord
to grant the doctor wisdom. Give him wisdom, Lord, please.
When we hear someone going in for surgery, what do we pray?
Oh, Lord, guide the doctor's hands. The believer looks to the God
man, the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. We don't look nowhere
else. Because we only have one hope.
And that's Christ himself. Turn if you would to Psalm 146.
Psalm 146. Again I ask you, examine yourself
here, every one of us. What's your hope? What are you
hoping in? What are you hoping in? Ponder that as we look at this
scripture here. Psalm 146. The scripture declares
in verse 3 to 5. Put not your trust in princes.
Don't put your don't put your trust in our leaders. And now
we pray for them, don't we? But we don't put our trust in
them. We we we thank God for putting whoever he puts in power
and we thank God for for ruling. And but but they're not our hope,
are they? They're not our hope. nor in
the son of man in whom there is no help." Don't put your hope
in one another in the sense that, well, you know, I'm just, I'm hoping
that in that person. When I was a kid, I idolized
my brothers. Just thought they were the cream of the crop. I always wanted to be like them. Then we grow up. Oh my. And then the Lord saves his people.
And our hope is in Christ and Christ alone. Not in people.
Not in our rulers. Put not your trust in princes
nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. His breath
goeth forth. And this speaks of every one
of us. Our breath goes forth. He returneth to the earth. In
that very day his thoughts perish. When a man dies without hope, his thoughts perish. And he goes to his eternal doom.
And he finds out if he's not trusting Christ, if Christ is
not his hope, then whatever hope he was trusting in, be it his
works or his strength or his money or whatever, was a refuge of lies, a false
hope, a false hope. Some people, so you got people
who trust in their intellect, people who hope in their intellect,
well I'm, you know, I'm going to do things. It's good to be
ambitious, there's nothing wrong with that, thinking you want
to do things, but that's their hope, or their strength. Well,
like I said, people think, well, I'm going to live for a long
time. So their hope is set in themselves. His breath goeth forth, he returneth
to the earth, in that very days his thought perishes. But look
at verse 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his
help. Happy is the one whose hope He's
Christ. He's Christ. Whose hope is in
the Lord, is God. Oh, happy is the saint of God.
We can go through trials and tribulations, and we're still
hoping in Christ, aren't we? Because He keeps us. And it's
wonderful. And He's our hope. And we're
happy and joyful amidst times that would normally crush us.
How? How do we get through those times?
By His grace, beloved. By His grace. And by His strength,
He keeps His people going through whatever they go through. And
He's our hope. He's our hope amidst all the
trials and tribulations. He's our one hope. Our one hope. What a hope the believer has.
In all our wants, in all our needs, we look to Christ in Him
alone. We look to Christ in happiness
or in sorrow. Psalm 34, 19, the scriptures
declare this. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous. Many, not just a couple. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous. That's why old Scott Richardson, I love that preacher.
The Christian's either in trouble, going into trouble, or coming
out of trouble. Many are the afflictions of the righteous.
Many. But the Lord delivers him out
of them all. He does. Just look back. Remember? We've been talking
about that. Look back at what the Lord's delivered you from.
Oh, my. Cast your care upon Christ, for
He careth for you. The Lord is our shepherd we shall
not want. In dangers and in our troubles,
Christ is our only hope, and we cast ourselves upon Him and
Him alone. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
55. Psalm 55. Christ is our hope for our children
and for our family members. We cry out to our great God and
King, Lord, please save them if it's your will. Don't we?
We do. Save them if it's your will.
Give them hope. Give them the hope that we have
if it's your will. Christ is our hope for this life and He's
our eternal hope. Look at Psalm 55, 22 and 23. Look at this. Cast thy burden
upon the Lord. Cast it upon Him. Are you heavy
laden? Cast it upon Him. And He shall sustain thee. Oh
believer, are you going through trials and troubles and tribulations?
We all do, don't we? Cast your burden upon the Lord.
Cast it upon Him. And He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved. He keeps His people. Oh, that's
wonderful. That's joyous for the believer
because we know left to ourselves, well, we're in a heap of trouble.
But He'll not suffer the righteous to be moved. He watches over
us. He guides us. But thou, O God,
shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction, the wicked,
those who do not trust. Bloody and deceitful men shall
not live out half their days. But I will trust in thee, the
believer proclaims, I'll trust in you, Lord. Though you slay
me, I'll trust you. I'll trust you. No, we have no
hope but Christ. Christ is our hope for spiritual
things and eternal things. Christ must be our hope, or we
have no hope at all. He sanctified us. God the Father
sanctified us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And it is Christ alone,
in Christ alone that we're accepted. Now let us remember that. The
forgiveness of our sins and the justification of our persons
is all through Christ, in Christ alone. We are only accepted in
Christ. Only in Him, who is our hope.
Turn if you would to 1 Peter chapter 2. And I'll read Hebrews chapter
13 and John chapter 16, verse 23. All our sacrifices,
all our prayers are worshiping here as a spiritual sacrifice,
and they are only accepted by God through Christ. They're only
accepted by God through Christ. I'm actually going to have you
put your finger in Hebrews 13, too, because it's important we
look at that one, too. 1 Peter 2.5 and Hebrews chapter 13. All
our sacrifices, all our prayers, all our worship here is a spiritual
sacrifice and they are only accepted by God through Christ alone and
for Christ's sake alone. Look at 1 Peter 2.5, "...ye also
as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
God only accepts His people and their worship and their prayers
in Christ. That's it. Look at Hebrews chapter
13, verse 15. Hebrews 13, 15. By Him, therefore, let us offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit
of our lips, giving thanks to His name. So it is in Him And
by Him we live and we can do nothing without Him. All our
prayers, all our worship is only acceptable to God through Christ. Through Christ. You see now why He proclaimed
without me you can do nothing. You also see why He's our only
hope. He's our only hope. If we have Him, we have a good
hope. We have a good hope. Eternal life. If we do not have
Him, we have no hope. No hope at all. And we do not have eternal life. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 8. Victory over spiritual enemies, the corruptions of our
flesh and temptations in the world, the flesh and the devil,
is only through Christ. Only through Christ. Only in
Him are we more than conquerors. Only through Christ, who is our
hope. You see why He's our hope? Because
outside of Him, we're in a world of trouble. He's the believer's hope. Look
at Romans chapter 8, verse 37 to 39. Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities,
nor powers nor things present nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We
cry out with Job this, for I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know
that my Redeemer liveth. He shall stand the latter day
upon the earth. How can the believer and how
can Job cry that out? Because we have a hope. We have
a good hope, a sure hope, and it's only found in Christ, in
Christ alone. The Holy Spirit coming to be
our comforter is for our sakes and on account of Christ. Turn,
if you would, to John 14, verse 16. The Holy Spirit coming to
be our comforter is for our sakes and on account of Christ and
Christ alone, preserving graces from Him. We are kept by His
power, the one we hope in. Look at John 14, 6, and I will
pray the Father that He shall give you another comforter. He
may abide with you forever. Where does the Holy Spirit point
us? We saw that in Sunday School. Where does He point us? Where
does He guide us to? Christ. Christ alone. Christ and Christ alone. Our great God and Savior keeps
us from falling all through this life and one day He'll present
us faultless before His throne. What a blessed hope the believer
has in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then shall the king say unto
them, on his right hand, who are these? These are they who
hope in Christ. Come, ye blessed of the Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Oh my, what a hope the believer has in Christ. The resurrection of our bodies
in the last day is because of him. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
11. John chapter 11. I know I have us going around
a lot here. Our hope is laid up for us in
heaven. And our hope is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And Christ is a great Savior
who can answer all our hopes. He has all power to do this. John 11, verses 23 to 27. Jesus
saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Martha say unto him,
I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last
day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
There's our hope. There's our hope, beloved. Whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? There's a question for every
one of us in this room. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which hath come
into this world. What a hope she has. What a hope
the believer in Christ has. This cause I bow my knee unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according
to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by
his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth
and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ,
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. that ye may
be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think
according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the
church by Jesus Christ. By Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen. What a hope. What a hope the believer has. Men are fools who do not come
to Christ. Is there hope for this life and the life to come? Why do
believers make Christ our hope right now? And if we live tomorrow
and if He lets us live longer, why will He still be our hope?
Why do believers make Christ our hope? Because of who He is
and because He has made it so. He has made it so. He is the
Lord of Glory. The Lord of Glory. He's our Savior. He's our Redeemer. He's our God. And He's our only hope. Our only
hope. He is God who came to die for
the sins of His people. God Himself. The believer can cry out, God
Himself has died for me. Hallelujah! What a Savior! We know whom we believe. And
we know whom we hope in, don't we? He's revealed Himself to
us. Turn if you would to Hebrews
chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. We know whom we have believed
and we know whom we hope in. He's revealed himself to us.
Hebrews chapter 6 verse 18 and 20. That by two immutable things
in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation. Who have fled for refuge. Have
you fled? Have you fled for refuge? Believers fled for refuge to
Christ. To lay hold upon the hope set
before us. Which hope we have is an anchor
of the soul. Oh, he's our anchor. Both sure
and steadfast. Note those two words there. In
which entereth into the veil within the veil. Whether the
forerunner is for us entered. Even Jesus made a high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. God's will is immutable, beloved,
and His promises are immutable. And note, we who believe have
fled to Him. We're made willing. And we flee
to Christ, don't we? And as we were talking about
yesterday, we never stop fleeing to Christ. We come to Christ
and we keep coming. We don't stop. And He's made
it so. And He's compared in that text
there to an anchor. An anchor. An anchor is used
to keep ships steady in storms. What kind of anchor is Christ
to the believer? Well, the text proclaims He's
an anchor that is sure and steadfast. He's sure and steadfast. He's
a rock, beloved. Christ and Christ alone, the
believer proclaims, is the anchor of my soul. And He's sure and
steadfast. Here are three things that we
who believe have in Him. Three things we can lay our hope
upon, beloved. Three things. The price He paid
to purchase our eternal souls. Christ Himself has redeemed His
people with His own precious blood. He gave to God the price that
God demanded for the souls of his people. He alone satisfied the justice
of God. He alone lived the perfect life
as our substitute. He alone to fulfill the law of
God. And he is the perfect spotless
lamb of God, absolutely sinless. And He dies on the cross to give
life to His people. To give life to His people. To
purchase their eternal souls. And the believer can, what a
hope we have in that, eh? What a hope. What a hope believers
have. What a Savior to rejoice in Him. He who has obtained eternal redemption
for us. What a hope. The second thing
is the promise He has made to those who come to Him. Turn if
you would to Matthew chapter 11. The promise He has made to
those who come to Him. And we saw in Hebrews, right?
The believer flees to Christ. Flees to Christ. The only refuge
of our soul. Matthew 11 verse 28 and 30. Look
at this. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.
Are you heavy laden? Are you heavy laden by sin? Come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden. I pray that God would show you
your need for Christ if you don't know Him. You'll never come to Him unless
you see your need. And this is our prayer. Oh come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. Oh he left the glories
and splendors of heaven condescended to this world. died on Calvary's
tree for the sins of his people. He's meek and lowly in heart. And ye shall find rest unto your
souls. Not only rest from your labors
and your works, but eternal rest for your souls. Rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy. In my burden is light. So Christ
proclaims, come to me and I'll give you rest. Come to me and
you will find rest. Come unto me and I'll give you
life. What a hope the believer finds in this text. What a hope
we find. Can we trust him? Only him. Only
him. He's a nail in the sure spot,
place, nail in the sure place. Is He faithful? Oh, beloved,
He's faithful. He's the only one who's truly
faithful. And we can faithfully rest our eternal souls in Him,
in Him alone. We have His oath and we have
His promise that all who come to Him will find rest. All who
come to Him will find rest. Rest from our labors. rest from
our works, and rest for our souls. The third and last point I'd
like us to consider is, for the believer, what a hope we have
in Christ as He ever lives to intercede for us. He ever lives
to intercede for us. He ever lives to make intercession
for His people. He's our Savior, He's our Redeemer,
and He's our Advocate. He is our advocate. And He is able to save to the
uttermost those who come to Him. And He lives to make intercession
for us. The last scripture I'd like us
to look at before we close is Hebrews 7.25. And we will see
what a blessed hope the believer has in Christ. In this life,
in death, He alone is our hope. And He lives to make intercession
for His people. Hebrews 7.25, Wherefore He is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him. Look at that marvelous scripture.
Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by Him. Seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession, Our God is in the heaven, beloved.
He's in heaven right now. And we rest and we trust in Christ
and Christ alone. What a glorious Savior. What
a wondrous Redeemer. The believer cries, is Jesus
Christ, my Lord. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
thank Thee again for allowing us the privilege to gather together
in Your name. Oh, we pray that these messages
which we looked at today, the scriptures, would give us hope
and strength for this week. And we pray, Lord, that if one
of your lost sheep is here, that you would give them hearing ears
and seeing eyes, and that they would flee to you for refuge,
just as every one of us who believe on thee has, because you made
us willing, and we are so, so very thankful and grateful. And
what a hope we have in thee, O Lord. What a hope we have in
Thee. Give us strength for this week,
we pray. Keep us and guide us, in Jesus' name, amen.