Thank you for that. That song
is taken from Isaiah chapter 1. Let's turn in the Scriptures
to Hebrews 13 for our message this morning. Hebrews chapter
13. Our subject is that which is That
which is changeless. That which is changeless. Let
me read two verses to you. Verses 7 and 8. Hebrews 13. He
says, Remember them that have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, that
is, their behavior, their manner of living. And then he says in
verse 8, Jesus Christ, The same yesterday, and today,
and forever. We know that all around us lots
of things are changing. I asked one of the men of our
congregation who is more than 20 years older than
I am. I said, I guess you've seen a
lot of change in your life, haven't you? He said, I sure have. He
said, and you've seen a lot of change in your life, too. And
I said, yes, I have. All around us, things are changing. We often sing that song, Abide
With Me. And one of the verses says these
words, change and decay, and all around I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me." We're just about to finish up
the month of January in a new year. The months seem to be going
faster. But as we look back on January
of last year and several changes that have taken place in our
families, in our congregation, in your lives, changes have taken
place But we know change is inevitable. We're a changing people. We don't
have the same abilities we used to have when we were younger. We don't have the same amount
of strength that we used to have. Our families have changed. Members of the family. Our health,
perhaps, it's changed. Maybe last year you didn't have
an ache or a pain or any kind of problems at all, but now you
say, boy, that has changed, the preacher. It's just, that's the
way life is. And we have to, we endure the
changes. Because we understand these things
that change, They're governed by the God who doesn't change.
The God whose purpose will know no change. Down here on earth,
all things may be changing to us, and they are. But our God is the same. He's
the same. we read in the Scriptures. You
read for us from Psalm 102. It's also stated in Hebrews the
first chapter. God laid the foundations for
all things. And He'll fold things up at last,
but He won't change. He can't change. Oh yes, with
us, there are lots of changes. And I'll tell you a wonderful
There is a song that was written years ago. What a wonderful,
wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came
into my heart. Since the Lord Jesus came to
me. What a change that He wrought
in me. The things that I love now are
different from what I used to love. I now love His Gospel. I love His Word. I love His name. I love the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I love to speak of Him who is
God's sacrifice for sin. I didn't used to be like that
and you didn't used to be like that. Well, what has happened?
You've been changed. So, change can be kind of a negative
thing, but there are also good changes. Good changes. But in this world, Nothing stays
the same. Winter, it changes to spring. Soon, we hope. And spring to
summer, and summer to fall, and then winter is sure to come again
if God's pleased to keep things going as they've been going.
Nothing stays the same. In this world, there's nothing
solid. There's nothing immovable but
our God. That's all that's immovable.
He is the rock. He is our stability. All around
us, things are indeed a changing. But that one on whom we built
our hopes for salvation, He's ever the same. And so we read
here in our text, Jesus Christ, the same. Isn't it wonderful
to know there's someone who is the same? He's not aging like
we are. The writer of Scripture says,
the dew of youth is on your brow. And yet John sees Him in Revelation
chapter 1 as that one who has hair white as snow. He's the Ancient of Days. He's
the Ancient of Days, but yet the dew of youth is upon His
brow. He never changes. His grace never
changes. His purpose never changes. He
in Himself never changes. He who is our steadfast always
sure foundation, He will continue to be that. He's the rock upon
which we built all of our hopes for salvation, and He will never,
never change. And He says to His people, Look
up in verse 5, here in Hebrews 13. He says, let your conversation,
let your behavior be without covetousness, and be content
with such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never
leave thee. I'll never. I'm with you always,
he says. I'll never forsake you. I'm the
same. Our love runs hot and cold. Our
belief most of the time, a good bit of the time, is more like
unbelief. We show a fickleness about us. And yet the one in whom we have
our confidence is always the same. Always the same. Oh, how wonderful. One who is
without change, in this world that is full of change. And all
around us, you know, the scripture says, and this is what Solomon
says in the book of Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, he says, vanity
of vanities, all is vanity. There's nothing to this world. It's just If you grasp after
the things of the world, you're grasping after air. If you build
on anything in this world, you're building on shifting sand. Everything in this world that
gives us joy will someday bring us grief and
sorrow. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity
is what the preacher says. I don't think that's a cry of
helplessness. I don't think it's a cry of despair. It's just a statement of fact.
Isn't that right? It's just a statement of fact.
Everything on this earth that is of this earth is vanity. You can't trust your soul to
anything here. Let me speak to you this morning
about things that are indeed changeless. And I want to stick
right with the context here, because in the seventh verse,
he's spoken about those who speak the Word of God. I'll tell you
what will not change. The Scriptures. God's Word will
never change. You know how important God's
Word is to him? Listen to the scripture, Psalm
138 verse 2. I will worship toward thy holy
temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy
truth, for thou hast magnified thy Word above thy name. That's how vital the Word of
God is to God himself. He has magnified it above his
name. Therefore He says, you better
not add anything to this Word, and you better not take anything
away from this Word either. This Book of God is without change. Ever since the Scriptures have
been written, they have been changeless. Because they present
to us a God who doesn't change. A Savior who doesn't change.
A salvation that doesn't change. The grace of God that doesn't
change. The condition of men that doesn't
change. The Word of God will never, never
change. God will never alter His Word.
The message has always been the same. Right from the beginning, in
the book of Genesis, we're introduced to an event that forever shaped
the history of mankind. That's the fall of man. Our own
sinfulness. And our condition by nature,
guess what? It hasn't changed. It hasn't
changed. As Adam and Eve became in the
Garden of Eden, so we were when we were born. The Word of God
says that Adam, when he sinned, he died. That hadn't changed.
We're born into this world very much physically alive, but we're
spiritually dead. In Adam, we died. That has not changed. For as by one man, sin entered
into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned without fail." Every baby born
into this world is born a sinner. A sinner. Alienated from God. There are no innocent people
in this world. There are no innocent babies.
I know that they haven't deliberately lifted up their hand in rebellion
against God as of yet. But they're born alienated from
God because they have the nature of Adam. They have the nature
of sin. That has not changed. Every little
one born into this world as a result of the union of a man and a woman
ever since Eve gave birth to Cain, every one without exception
is born a sinner cut off from God. That hasn't changed. See, there are some things that
stay the same. The Word of God stays the same. The Word of God says that Adam
and Eve, upon their fall and hearing the call of God in the
cool of the day, they immediately made for themselves fig leaf
aprons. And that hadn't changed. Ever
since man failed, he's been trying to make a righteousness for his
own. Every man is self-righteous. We readily accept this idea that
if we do something good for God, God will do something good for
us. But if we don't do something good for God, He's not going
to do anything good for us. We readily accept that idea because
we're self-righteous by nature and that hasn't changed. Throughout
the years, 6,000 years, men have been on this earth and that hasn't
changed. We're self-righteous by nature. The thing of it is, the Word
of God says, there's none that doeth good, no not one. As we look at one another, as
we observe one another, we say, yeah, she's a good person, he's
a good person, that was a good deed, you did a good deed. But
there's nothing really that God can say is good, unless it's
absolutely perfect. perfect before God will accept
it? In fact, you've got to be perfect
before God will accept you. And Christ Jesus had to be the
perfect sacrifice before God even would accept Him. The Word
of God doesn't change. When Adam and Eve, when they
committed this transgression against God, and of course Adam
was the federal head, When Eve sinned, nothing happened, but
when Adam sinned, his wife fell and he fell also. But when they
did, they didn't seek God. They didn't run after God. They
didn't say, oh God, show us mercy. And that hadn't changed. No man
left to himself. No woman left to their own volition,
left to their own will, will ever come to Jesus Christ for
salvation. If God leaves you to yourself,
you will perish. If God just leaves you alone,
If He were to, as many say, wait for you to take a step toward
Him, He would wait forever. And that won't ever change. Because
we don't ever make the first step toward God. The Scripture
says, no man seeketh after God. In Luke chapter 15, when our
Lord gave the parable of lost things, it wasn't the sheep The
lost sheep seeking after the shepherd is the shepherd seeking
the lost sheep. That doesn't ever change. There's
never a change in that. We don't ever seek after Him.
I know there's forgiveness with Him, there's righteousness with
Him, there's salvation with Him, there's justification with Him,
there's sanctification with Him, there's heaven with Him, there's
acceptance with God through and by Christ Jesus, but we won't
ever come to Him in saving faith if left to ourselves, and that'll
never change. You know, if God just leaves
you alone, then your destiny is sealed. There's no way you'll make it
to God. There's no way you'll make it to heaven. If God, as
some men say, just takes a hands-off approach, there are those who say, you
know, God won't interfere with your will. If that's so, then
you might as well go ahead and pack your bag. You're going to
hell. That's just the way it is. If He leaves you alone, if
God takes a hands-off approach, if God won't interfere with your
sacred free will, then you're a goner. And you see, that never
will change. It never will change. If God
leaves us to ourselves, We will perish. And I put it like this,
if He leaves us to Himself, there is no possibility of salvation. The Word of God doesn't change.
It doesn't change. It sets forth here in Genesis
chapter 3 the necessity of a suitable substitute for sinful people. That's never going to change.
Poor old Adam and Eve. I feel sorry for them, but of
course, it's of their own doing. And there they stand with those
fig leaf garments that they kind of tucked around them, pulled
around them. And they stand shivering in the
presence of God Almighty. And the Lord does something for
them that they can't do for themselves. He takes animals and He kills
them. And then He skins those animals.
He takes those fig leaf garments off them. And He puts those robes,
those skins around them. And He accepts them. upon the
basis of an innocent victim dying in their stead. That doesn't
change. That never has changed. Ever
since right there at the end of Genesis chapter 3. It's the
only way sinners are accepted by God is through an innocent
sacrifice dying in their stead. And of course those animals pictured
the Lord Jesus. and His sacrifice for sin. And
those scans pictured His perfect righteousness freely imputed
to sinners. And we're robed with the garments
of salvation. Who robes us? Well, who robed
Eve and Adam? Who wrapped them in the garments
of these animals? Who was it that shed the first
blood to save them? God did! That hadn't changed. You see, salvation is not what
you do with God or for God or in cooperation with God. It's
what God does for a sinner. And you see this in Adam and
Eve standing before God. What could they do? They're guilty. They're ashamed. They blush. They're naked. And they can't
do anything about it. Death, that's what awaits them
because God said, in the day ye eat thereof, you'll surely
die. They're ready to die. The sentence
of death is going to fall upon them. But wait, God does something
for them. You see, this never has changed
through the years. God's got to do something for
us. The Word of God, this is what
I'm saying, the Word of God has not changed. The Word says, except
a man be born again, he can't see the Kingdom of God. That
hadn't changed. You're not going to see the Kingdom
of God apart from the new birth. You must be born again, but you
can't do anything to bring about that birth. The Bible, the Word of God still
says, but without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. You think
that's changed? That hasn't changed. Before you
can see the Lord and stand before Him and abide in His holy presence,
you've got to have a holiness given to you. And you can't muster
it up. You don't even know how to begin
to figure out how to be holy. What are you going to do to be
holy? We don't even know anything about holiness. We think holiness
has got to do with how you dress and where you go and what you
eat. Holiness doesn't have anything
to do with those things. Holiness is absolute perfection. inwardly and outwardly. Every
thought submissive to God. Every thought, every motive,
every act, every word spoken, everything for the glory of God.
We're talking about holiness now. And you'll have holiness, you'll
be holy, or you'll perish. That hasn't changed. I'll tell
you something else the Word of God says hasn't changed, except
a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone,
but if it die, bring it forth much fruit." That's John 12,
24. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ
was absolutely necessary. God could not save a sinner any
other way except through the substitutionary sacrifice of
Christ. If He could save a sinner some
other way, then you charge God with the murder, the needless
murder of His only begotten Son. You call into question His very
wisdom. You mean God in His infinite
wisdom could save a sinner some other way than sending His Son
to the cross of Calvary to die the ignominious death of substitution
on that cross and shed His blood and suffer in His body and in
His soul and God could have saved a sinner some other way? Well,
you charge God with absolute foolishness. Listen, there was no other way.
There was no other way, except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die. This hasn't changed. Because
you see, God in His justice has always demanded death for sin.
Death for sin. I'll tell you something else,
the unchangeable Word of God still says, A man can receive
nothing except it be given him from above. John 3.27. Just this message, what I'm saying
this morning. You can't receive it. You won't
receive it. It won't get into your mind and
into your heart and become a part of you. You cannot receive it
unless God reveals it to you. I don't care how smart you are.
I don't care how high IQ you've got. You may have made straight
A's and A plus and four point whatever average through high
school and through college and in university. I don't care how
many degrees you might have. You ain't smart enough to figure
out the gospel. Because a natural man cannot
perceive the things of the Spirit of God. It's foreign to him.
It's unnatural to him. We understand natural things. We can't understand spiritual
things. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. That hasn't changed. And you
won't get what I'm saying today. You won't get what the Scriptures
say unless God gives you understanding from above. and the book of God that doesn't
change, it still says this, except the Lord of hosts had left us
a remnant, we'd have been in Sodom and we'd have been in Gomorrah. You know why this world still
stands? And this world is like, especially
in this country, is like Sodom and Gomorrah. You know why it
still stands? Because there's a remnant, according
to the election of grace, they're going to have to hear the gospel.
They're going to have to hear about Christ Jesus. About His
one-time sacrifice for sin. The Spirit of God's going to
bring them by effectual grace to believe Him. But if God hadn't
done that, why, we'd already been destroyed. I'll tell you something else
the Word of God says, and this doesn't change. Psalm 127 verse
1, except the Lord build thy house, they labor in vain, they
build it. Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh, but in vain. Unless God does something for
us, we labor in vain. I preach with enthusiasm. Somebody told me the other day,
he said, you preach like you really believe what you're preaching.
I said, well, I really do believe what I'm preaching. And I'm kind
of excited about it. And I know preachers have different
methods and delivery, and I understand all that, and I don't call into
question whatever methodology preachers, some are loud, some
are soft. I don't call into question any
of that. But as for me, I just put my body and soul into it. Because this is vital to me. I love this message, and I want
you to love this message too. But, unless the Lord does the
work, Won't anything come of my labor? Won't anything come
of any preacher's labor? The Lord's got to build the house. And I'll tell you this, concerning
the Word of God that doesn't change, it still says of Christ
Jesus, no man cometh unto the Father except through Him. That'll never change. I may be speaking to people who've
never heard me before. Most of you I know, a couple
of you maybe I don't. And I don't know who's watching
on the internet. Let me tell you something, Mary
is not the way to God. And some dead saint, Saint Christopher,
Saint John, Saint whoever, They're not the way to God. Does the
Bible mean anything to people today? Our Lord Jesus said, and I preached
from this past Wednesday night, He said in John 14, verse 6,
I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by Me. That is a changeless fact. And if you try to come to God
any other way, You're not going to make it. In fact, you insult
God's Word. You do damage to yourself. You
don't damage God. You're not going to damage God's
purpose. You can't frustrate what He set out to do. But you're
just hurting yourself. Because you put yourself in competition
with God's darling Son. You don't want to do that. God has purposed that every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father. He's the only way to
the Father. And you say there's some other
way? I don't want to even be around you. It'd be dangerous
to be around you. Why do you say that, preacher?
Because God's going to get vengeance on you. He's going to take out His wrath
on you. Because you tried to steal His glory. What do you
think God's going to do to folks who try to steal His glory? The
glory of His salvation all in Christ Jesus. What is God going
to do with people who seek to steal His glory? He's going to
put them into hell. That's a sure fact. I'm telling
you the truth now. And this doesn't change. It doesn't
change. And I'll tell you something else.
Our Lord Jesus Himself, He doesn't change. Look at verse 8. In verse 8. Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday and today and forever. The Word of God doesn't
change. And that One who is the Living Word, who is the Incarnate
Word, The Lord Jesus Christ, He doesn't change. What's His
name? His name is Jesus, that's His
Hebrew name. Christ is His Greek name. Jesus means Savior. Jehovah who
saves. Who is this One who is the same
yesterday, today, and forever? Well, He's Jesus, the Savior. He's always been the Savior of
His people. That has never changed. You know,
there are people who think that in the Old Testament, people
were saved one way, and in the New Testament, people are saved
another way. That's not right. This salvation
has always been in Jesus the Savior. It never has changed. God never has put in another
substitute plan. This is Jesus the Savior. When
He was but an infant, cradled in His mother's arms, He was
Jesus the Savior then. When at eight days old, He was
formally given His name. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. When He was
formally named Jesus. This is Jesus, Joseph said. This is Jesus, Mary said. He was then the Savior of His
people, like He's always been the Savior of His people. I know
when it says, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever,
that doesn't mean His outward circumstances haven't changed.
It means that He Himself has known no change. He's always been the Savior of
His people. He's always been the Lamb of
God. And He has always been smitten
with the rod of God's justice because the Scripture says He's
the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world.
That hasn't changed. Blood redemption. That hasn't
changed. Righteousness freely imputed.
That hasn't changed. Jesus the only Savior. That hadn't
changed. He's Jesus. That's His Hebrew
name. Joshua. Jehovah who saves or
Jehovah who is our salvation. It's just like Moses, he led
the children of Israel out of Egypt, but he couldn't lead them
into the land of promise. That's left for Joseph. Joshua, excuse me. That's left
for Joshua. Joshua led them into the promised
land. And our Lord Jesus, the law of
God, Moses is the law of God. The law can't take us to God.
Only Joshua, only Jehovah who saves, only Jesus who saves can
take us into the land of promise. And he's Christ. That's his Greek
name. He's the anointed one. Anointed
by God. He's the sent one. In the Old
Testament, you had three main offices, and there was an anointment
necessary for each of them. Prophet, priest, and king. That's our Lord Jesus. He's the
prophet. He speaks to us for God. He's
the one who communicates to us the very truth of God. And He is the priest. He's the
one who does business with God on our behalf. He ministers to
God. He meets the needs of God, and
the need of God is a perfect sacrifice. And He rendered Himself
to God, and He's the King. He's Jesus who is the Christ. And He's the same. He's the same. Yesterday and today and forever,
His attributes don't change. His purpose of grace never changes. His great love never changes.
His covenant offices don't change. He's been our surety from old
eternity. He still is. What does that mean?
He stands good for us. The Father gave Him a bunch of
people in covenant elections and said, you take them and you
save them and bring them home safely. He's the surety. He entered
into a covenant. He entered into a vow with God.
He said, I'll save them and bring them to you and glorify them
through my blood and through my righteousness. That hadn't
changed. He's the great I Am. He told
the Jews before Abraham was, I am, not I was, or I used to
be, but I am. He's always I am. He's the same
yesterday, today, and forever. He's our eternal advocate. He's our everlasting Savior. And He's unchangeable in all
that He is to His people. He is to us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. That according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Oh, I tell you,
the Word of God doesn't change. And the Savior Himself doesn't
change. He's the same. And I tell you,
He still saves the needy. He still is the Savior of sinners.
That hadn't changed. We're still needy. That hadn't
changed. We're still poor, old, sinful
people. That hadn't changed. There's
still acceptance with God through Christ Jesus. That hadn't changed. That hadn't changed. songbooks
if you would and turn to 235 past me not