I please God to bless us together
this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the book
of the Hebrews, chapter 13, and we'll read verses 7, 8 and 9. The epistle of Paul to the Hebrews,
chapter 13, reading verses 7, 8 and 9. Remember them which
have the rule over you, and have spoken unto you the
word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and
forever. Be not carried about with divers
and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart
be established with grace, not with meats which have not profited
them that have been occupied therein." As we read through the various
letters that the Apostle Paul wrote when he was here on the
earth, we recognize that one thing stands out And that is
that his constant desire is for Christ to be exalted, for Christ
to be central, for Christ to be in the midst. And as we read
his letters, we can see that all the exhortations that he
gives is to direct us to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's really
to turn us away from ourselves, to turn us away from man, to
turn us away from the things of this corrupt world, to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Because in Christ are all the
blessings that you and I will need. They are eternal blessings. They are not things that fade
away. They are things that remain.
And perhaps in our own hearts, they may grow stronger and brighter
as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. They may become more precious
and more real. What a blessing that is. Because
as we journey on, we don't want to go backwards. We want to go
forwards. We want to be found living nearer
to the Lord Jesus Christ. not far off, not far off. We know how easy it will be to
fall and to go away if we're walking far off. What a blessing
then to be concerned that we may be kept close to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, we have here in these verses
we've read together, this wonderful statement that the Apostle makes,
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. It surely must be a comfort to
the Church of God that we come to a God who is unchanging. God's promises will be fulfilled. They will come to pass. We read
in Malachi, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed. The Lord does not change. Blessed
be his holy name. Those things which he has said
remain true. And those things which he has
prophesied and spoken of will come to pass. We know how many
things have come to pass. Those things that have been prophesied,
have come to pass. How many times do you read in
the Word of God, and it came to pass? We are left so often, aren't
we, to think, well, that won't come to pass, and that's impossible.
You know, faith laughs at impossibilities, and says it shall be done. We
have a God with whom nothing is too hard. And it's a good
thing if we really understand that, and appreciate it, and
that we're given faith to believe it, and to therefore hold fast
that which is good. And the Word of God is good. The promises of God are good.
And may we be able therefore to hold them fast, even sometimes
when they appear almost to be fading away, almost to be disappearing
over the horizon. We must not let them go. May
we hold them fast. Now then, the central theme is
then, this blessed Lord Jesus who is the same yesterday. Right from, we know of course,
He was eternal. But we know also, He made the
worlds. He created this world. And therefore,
He was the same yesterday. when he created the world, and
it's been the same right up to the present day, and it will
be the same right to the end of time, and indeed, as we know,
through eternity. Well, I wonder tonight if such
a statement is encouraging for us, or whether we just read it
and listen to it, and it doesn't have any real effect upon us.
But we're here tonight to worship the ever-living and true God.
And this is a God who we've come to worship. The God who doesn't
change. He is the same. And therefore, may we be enabled
to trust Him at all times. To trust His promises. Now the
Apostle gives us encouragement. He tells us to remember them.
which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the
word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation, those perhaps who have gone before us, those who
perhaps are now amongst that heavenly throng, and we may remember
them, remember those who perhaps did have the rule over us, and
who spoke to us the Word of God. The truth of God and the Word
of God is of course really centered, must be on the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, we read recently, and
it just bears referring to again, the opening verses in John's
Gospel. How full of wonderful truths
they are. In the beginning was the Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was in the beginning. He created
all things. And the world was with God. The Lord Jesus Christ was with
God. And the Word was God. The Lord
Jesus was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. This is the
great God who we come before tonight. It's not a transient
God. It's not a God who fades away
and disappears. It is the God who is the same
yesterday and today and forever. All things were made by Him.
And without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." Who was
the light? Jesus Christ. He tells us, I
am the light of the world. This great and blessed Lord Jesus
who was the light and is the light and will be the light. Well, what a blessing is this
light. The Lord Jesus Christ has shone
into our hearts, so that we have the blessed favour
of the application of the Spirit's work, showing to us that this
God who has looked upon us in love and mercy was from the beginning. And He is the same yesterday
and today and forever. And He is the One who we've heard
spoken about. Remember them which have the
rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God. You know, that's a wonderful
blessing. If we're able to look back and remember occasions in
our life when God has spoken to us through the preaching of
the gospel. I spoke to an old lady recently and I said to her, can you remember
any sermon that you listened to through your long life? And she hesitated and she said,
not really. Well, I hope there's no one here
tonight. If you're asked, can you remember
anything that's been spoken for the preaching
of the Word through all the years you sat under the Gospel? But
you are able to recall, to God's honour and glory, a word here
and a word there. A time of favour, a time of blessing. So says the Apostle, remember
them which have the rule over you and have spoken unto you
the word of God. A blessing is that word has been
spoken and it's abounded in our hearts. And it's been a time
of favour and a time of encouragement. A time of instruction, perhaps
a time of correction. But nevertheless, a blessing
if the Lord has spoken to us and we have the evidence of the
blessed word of the Lord. We don't want to be found, those
who spend their life in just a form of religion without the
power. So here, the Apostle says, whose
faith follow? This was the faith of God. The faith that God gave. The
faith they received to believe the truth of God. To believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe the Word of God that
speaks about the Saviour. Whose faith follow? This is not
a false faith. This is a true faith. This is
the faith of God. This is the faith that the Apostle
Paul speaks about when he addressed the Hebrews. And he tells us
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen for. By it, the elders obtain a good
report. Well, I wonder whether we receive
and have obtained a good report for the faith that God has given
to us. He goes on, through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
To have faith, believe, the Lord spoke the world, the universe
into being. This is this Jesus. This is that one who gave those
who we remember living faith, God-given faith. So the Apostle
says, that faith which God has given to them, that's the faith
which we are to follow. Whose faith? Follow. And it's not a blind
faith, because it's a faith which brought them safe home to glory. It wasn't a false faith, it was
a true faith, a real faith. whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation. It's always good to consider
those who've preached, those who've testified of the blessing
of the Lord, and to consider their conversation. Consider
the end of their conversation. Consider perhaps some of the
last words of their conversation. to realise they did emanate from
the work of the Holy Spirit. They weren't of the flesh. They
could not have been of the flesh. They could only have been of
the Spirit, the glorious work of the Spirit. And therefore,
it must be, and surely is, an encouragement to us today to
consider such, and so he says, considering the end of their
conversation, What did they say? What were the words that they
spoke? The end of their conversation.
You know, we have that wonderful illustration, don't we, of that
man that we've been meditating on in our prayer meeting, Stephen. You know, what were his last
words that he spoke? You know, they were glorious
words, weren't they? in that 7th chapter, as we come
to the end, we read, and this is what Stephen said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on
the right hand of God. That was a wonderful and blessed
revelation. Very few people perhaps have
a revelation like that, but they do have revelations like that.
I do know people in our day who have had revelations like that. So we should be encouraged to
know, and we should consider therefore, their conversation. And so, what was the result? Well of course, those that weren't
Christians, those who were evil, they hated that statement. They
didn't want to hear words like that. And they rebelled. And
they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran
upon him in one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned
him. And the witnesses laid down their
clothes at the young man's feet, whose name was Saul. Of course,
it was Saul of Tarsus, that was Paul. And no doubt, he never
forgot that occasion. And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he
fell asleep. Again, it's a good evidence of
the life of God to forgive everybody. Here were his enemies stoning
him. And when he did, he prayed that that sin may not be laid
to their charge. What do we observe? The grace
of God. And my friends, in our lives
today, we need to observe a similar situation, that we are always
willing and always concerned to forgive everyone. Those who may appear to be our
worst enemies, Yes, we need to forgive. And you may say, why
do we need to forgive? Very simply, Christ has forgiven
us. And we never deserved to be forgiven
our sins. Because we've sinned against
light and knowledge. We turn our back upon a gracious,
loving, merciful God. And yet that God has forgiven
us. What a favour, what a blessing.
Consider the end of their conversation. The end of their conversation.
We make mistakes in our lives. We say wrong things in our lives.
We're not to remember all the wrong things that are said. We're
to remember the end of their conversation. Sometimes we do make wrong statements,
but you see the grace of God directs us to the wonderful desire
and concern to forgive. So here we have this statement,
remember them which have ruled over you and have spoken unto
you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their
conversation. Well, the end of their conversation
would have been directed really in one way or another to the
Lord Jesus Christ. It may not have been necessarily
a deathbed confession, but I believe in the latter days of one's spiritual
life, if we are the children of God, there will be a good
testimony, a good example of the grace of God. If there is
not that testimony, and not that example, we have to question,
really, the rightness of such a person. We know that, of course,
the Lord is in control, the Lord is sovereign, but nonetheless,
we do have a gracious and godly pattern, and that pattern is
for the honour and glory of God. We cannot really believe, can
we? Someone who is unforgiving and hard-hearted is really in
a fit state to enter into that place of glory as a forgiven,
as a sinner washed in the blood of Christ. Can't really put those
two things together, can we? So, blessing then, if we have
the Word of God which directs us in a right way, Whose faith
follow, considering the end of their conversation? And of course
we have many examples, don't we, of the faith that God gave. In the Old Testament, in the
New Testament, there's wonderful evidences of faith. Yes, to believe
that the Lord would appear I often think of that occasion
in the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, those three
servants of God, who would not bow down to the graven image,
although the punishment for not doing so was death. They came before the king and
they told him, we are not careful to answer the old king. No, they
were more concerned to do that which was right in the sight
of God than to obey the commands of a king, important as he was. And what a blessing that was.
They possessed wonderful faith. Here we have the testimony whose
faith followed. And they believed that even though
they might be flung into that fiery furnace, God could deliver
them. Now you might think, well, having
reached that stage, surely then the king would say, OK, well
we'll stop and we won't actually cast you in. No, they had to
be cast in. They had to be cast in to that
burning, fiery furnace. And remember those words that
we referred to recently in the epistle of Peter, when he said,
Beloved, think ye not strange concerning the fiery trial? The
fiery furnace wishes to try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you. Well, they had a test of their
faith, didn't they? They weren't allowed to just
stand on the edge, ready to be cast in. It was indeed a fiery
trial. But the Apostle goes on to say,
and it's important to notice what he says, but rejoice inasmuch
as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, partakers of Christ's sufferings,
that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad with
exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name
of Christ, happy are ye, for the Spirit of glory and of God
rested upon you. On their part He is evil spoken
of, But on your part, he is glorified." Well, those three men, weren't
they blessed? What did Nebuchadnezzar say?
I see four men walking, and the fourth is like unto the Son of
God. They weren't alone. And in the
fiery furnace, we're not alone. In that fiery furnace, what is
the benefit? The benefit is this, that we
are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Now, recognise that in the accounts
of the Hebrews, of all those worthies we read of, they all
had to endure. They all had tremendous testing
times. It wasn't just mere theory. It
was a true walking it out. We should not believe that the
Word of God has changed. The Word of God remains the same.
And Christ remains the same. And if you and I are to be blessed
in a similar way that Peter is able to describe it, I believe
then as we consider these, Words, remember, men which have the
rule over you have spoken unto you the words of God, whose faith
follow. They no doubt had great testing
times in their life. The Christian man is seldom long
at ease. As soon as one troubles o'er,
another doth him seize. The Word of God is true, my friends. And those words of the poet are
true. And how has the Church of God
proven to be true? Because the blessing is, it directs
us to the Saviour. What a blessing it is that the
Lord's work in our lives, in our souls, is
to direct us to the Saviour. so that we will be able to come
and say. And whatever that means, it is good that I have been afflicted. And it may not be afflictions
of body, it may be afflictions of mind, it may be afflictions
of soul. But nonetheless, it's a blessing
to know that the Lord has taken us by hand and is leading us
and is bringing us into those times of conflict where our faith
is tried for his honour and for his glory and for our encouragement. So here we are given this statement.
Whose faith follow? Considering the end of their
conversation. Jesus Christ. The same yesterday,
today and forever. We can look back, can't we? And
we can see the Lord's work right from Genesis, right up to date. Can we not see the Lord's work
up to today? Wonderful, isn't it? If we can
trace out the work of the Saviour going on in our heart, perhaps
in our brethren's hearts, our brothers and sisters in Christ,
we can see the work going on there. And we rejoice in it. We bless God for it. Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today, and forever, will never vary. The faith he gives will never
fail. The strength to believe he gives
will not disappear. because of his great love. Having loved his own, he loves
them unto the end. And so, if once the love of Christ
be felt, my friends, it is an eternal seal. It's a seal of
our sonship. It's a seal that we're one of God's chosen
ones. It's a seal that we are one of
those for whom Christ died. Indeed, we might say it's a seal
that the Lord created the world so that we might be saved. so
that we might be one day found in glory with Him, singing His
praises. The Lord created all things,
so that His people might be saved in everlasting salvation, and
might praise and honour and glorify His name, not only in time, but
in eternity. Let's ponder such a consideration. The greatness of our God, Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday. Yes, the blessed Saviour, He
never hesitated in fulfilling the work that His Father gave
Him to do. He was aware of the consequences
of that life he was living and the cost that he would have to
make in order for that salvation to be procured for his church,
for his people, for those who he was willing to lay down his
life. This same Jesus. Bless God, Jesus is the same
today. He is indeed, as we read in the
twelfth chapter, the mediator. And to Jesus the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of evil. Yes, the Lord Jesus' blood is
sufficient. Oh, my friends, what a blessing
it is to be able to think on this same blessed Lord Jesus,
who is the same yesterday. And He is today, as He's now
that great and glorious Mediator, in heaven above. In heaven above. How humbling to think of that.
He intercedes for us, as our Advocate with the Father, Perhaps
we come sometimes, we often come and feel our prayers are really,
well, very poor. In and of ourselves they are.
But if they are presented by the Lord Jesus to His Father,
you see then, they are blessed, they are real. They're true,
and they receive answers of peace. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is the same yesterday, today
and forever. What a wonderful thought that
is. He will never change. Through our endless eternity,
As by the grace of God we are found with him, he will never
change. He will always love us. And we
shall be there to praise and glorify his grace and holy name
forever and ever. And so then the apostle goes
on and says, Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. Again, the apostle directs us,
you see, to be aware of the many strange and false doctrines which
will arise, and they have, and they will, and they do. But, says the Apostle, we're
not to be carried about with them. No, we're to turn away
from them. He says, for it is a good thing
that the heart be established with grace. That's the only way really our
heart is established, with the unmerited favour of God. And
what is that unmerited favour? It's to receive His mercy, it's
to receive His love, and it's to direct us to none other than
this same Jesus, who is the same yesterday and today and forever.
This is the heart be established. with grace, established in the
things of God. And those things of God, my friends,
must centre in Christ. There is no real establishment
outside of Christ. The hymn writer says, To know
my Jesus, crucified, by far excels all things besides. And my friends,
that is being established, the heart being established, the
grace. And it's not just the mind, not
just the head, not just a theory, it's a blessed effect of the
work of the Spirit of God, showing to us His amazing grace, His
wonderful favour towards us, and we are established in that
fact that it's not of self, it's all of His Spirit, it's all of
grace. Ye have not chosen me, But I
have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. It's not something
which fades away and passes away, because the fruit is the knowledge
of Christ, which is more precious than gold. For it is a good thing
that the heart be established with grace. Oh, my friends, what
a blessing it is to be established in the things of God. so that
all these other divas and strange doctrines may come upon us. We
may be tempted, we may think, is that right? Or is that one
right? We have the word of God, honour
O, that the blessed spirit establishes us by his grace in the truth
of it. And he comes on then. Remember
he's speaking to the Hebrews, the Jewish nation, who were very
reluctant to give up their traditions. were very reluctant to give up
all their ceremonies, which they had been so careful to maintain
in accordance with the righteous holy law of God. But it was now
just a mere outward performance. There was no life in it, because
the Lord had come and fulfilled the law. There was no need anymore
to offer those earthly sacrifices. And so the Apostle comes and
says, not with meats which have not profited them that have been
occupied therein. Quite clearly, they have been
occupying with those sacrifices, those meats. After the Lord Jesus
Christ had been crucified and had risen from the dead, he still
carried on with this form of worship But it was just an outward
form that by the temple had been rent in twain. Access was now
not through the natural high priest. Access to the Father
was through the living Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Lord Jesus
Christ, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ. That was where the blessed
access was. So the Apostle says, not with
meats which have not profited them, that have been occupied
therein, nor let us not be found occupying ourselves with things
which do not profit, things which are just an outward performance
of religion. The great thing is to be established
with grace. My friends, as we look into our
heart tonight, if we are established with grace, you know what it
will be? It will be this, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and
today and forever. There's our place of hope. There's
our foundation. It's not in our works, it's in
Christ's work. That's the foundation. That's
where we rest our soul. We don't rest it in meats which
are not proper to them, that have been occupied therein. We
rest our soul upon the finished, glorious work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. And I believe you see, then you
see what does it do? It directs us, doesn't it, to
those things which are to come. And the Apostle, you know, he
gloriously speaks, doesn't he, in this chapter. He says, Wherefore,
Jesus, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood,
suffer without the gate. Calvary's cross. Let us go forth,
therefore, unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For
here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Where
does that worry us, that we're not going to continue living
here forever? Well, the Apostle said, for here we have no continuing
city, but we seek one to come. Therefore, it should be our wonderful
privilege as we are serving this Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
same yesterday and today, forever and forever, to go to Him without
the gate. 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. But to do good and
to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well
pleased." And it's important to note that from a statement
like that, it is not easy, naturally, to speak forth the praises and
the things of God. That's why it's phrased like
this. Let us offer the sacrifice. Sacrifice means it's a cost. And it will be a cost. But my
friends, it will be for God's honour and for God's glory. And
when we think of the enormous cost of our salvation, how the
Blessed Lord is so willing to suffer and to bleed and die for
such unworthy wretches, As we are, surely, as we consider these
things and consider Him, the same yesterday and today and
forever, our desire should be to offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to His name. Well, tonight, may we be thankful
to God that we have a word like this, an encouraging word, to
know that we have a Lord Jesus Christ who will be alive forevermore
and by His grace as we're seeking that city which is yet to come,
one day by His grace we shall be with Him forever, in heaven,
in glory, to go out no more. No more sin, no more sorrow,
no more tears, but eternal happiness in that eternal place of heaven,
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Amen.