All right, let's begin our service,
opening our Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. You notice in a bulletin, Brother
Eric Floyd is preaching at College Grove, Tennessee this morning.
And for some reason, he found two willing travelers to go with
him, but they'll be coming back, Lord willing, this afternoon.
We'll remember him in prayer. In this evening, Lord willing,
I'll be preaching at Todd's Road Grace Church and cover your prayers
as we travel and preach. And tomorrow we plan on spending
the day with the kids and having a time with them. So we cover
your prayers and our travels. Hebrews chapter 13. We'll read
the first six verses. Let brotherly love continue.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds,
as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being
yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honorable in all,
and the bad undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content
with such things as you 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." Thank God for his word. All right, let's stand together
as Mike leads us in singing our call to worship. Great God, when I approach Thy
throne, And all Thy glory see, This is my stay, and this alone,
That Jesus died for me. How can a soul condemned to die
Escape thy just decree? A vile, unworthy soul am I, But
Jesus died for me. And Lord, when I behold thy face,
this must be all my plea. Save me by thy almighty grace,
for Jesus died for me. Thank you. You may be seated.
Turn now to Page 281, 281 in our great hymns of faith. Great song. We haven't sung it
that often, but it's got a great message. I've seen the lightning flashing
and heard the thunder roll. I've felt sin's breakers dashing
which tried to conquer my soul. I've heard the voice of my Savior. He bid me still to fight on. He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone. Back, second verse. The world's
fierce winds are blowing, Temptations sharp and keen. I have a peace in knowing my
Savior stands between. He stands to shield me from danger
when all my friends are gone. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. When in affliction's folly I
tread the road of care, my Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy
to bear. Though all around me is darkness
and earthly joys are flown, my Savior whispered His promise
never to leave me alone. Back to four. He died on Calvary's
fountain, for me they pierced his side. For me he opened that
fountain, the crimson cleansing tide. For me he's waiting He
promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me. Never to leave me alone. That's a good song. It's number
283. 283, one page up. Oh, how sweet the glorious mercy
simple faith may claim. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. Blush to save the sinful, heal
the sick and lame. Cheer the mourner of the tempest,
glory to his baptitude. He who pardoned erring Peter
never needs thou fear. He who came to faithless Thomas
all thy doubt will clear. Let the love disciple in his
bosom rest. Mix thee still with love as tender,
lean upon his breast. All may change but Jesus never
Glory to His name Glory to His name Glory to His name All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name! He whom in the raging billows,
Walked upon the sea, Still can hush our wildest tempers, As
on Galilee. In languished in Gethsemane. Drinks with us each cup of trembling
in our agon. Back to four, as of old, he'd
walk to Emmaus with them to abide. So through all life's way he
walketh ever near our side. Then shall we behold him, hey,
sun-lord, the day. But we'll leave him, this Saint
Jesus, as he went away. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. Open your Bibles, if you would,
this morning to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5, we're going to start
in verse 1 and go through verse 16. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved
us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet smelling savor. But fornication and all uncleanness
or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, has become
a thanks. Neither filthiness nor foolish
talking nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving
of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger
nor unclean person, no covetous man who is an idolater hath any
inheritance with the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be ye not therefore
partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness,
But now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For
the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth. Proving what is acceptable unto
the Lord. And have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even. For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things
that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whoever so
doeth maketh manifest his light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are
evil. May the Lord bless his word.
Let's pray. Our holy heavenly father. Come before you this morning,
a thankful and needy people. We're so thankful father that.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can come before your throne
of mercy. Lord, we confess that that we
need thee, that without Christ we're found in darkness. Father,
we pray that you would let the light of Christ reflect
from us, that we might point your children to Christ, that
we might be lights in this world, Lord, We pray that this ministry
that we share here would be a light in this community for many, many
years to come. Lord, leave us, leave us not
alone. Father, give us a word from thee. We lift up our pastor to you
and pray that you leave him not alone. No man is sufficient,
but through thee, We pray that You would give Him a word for
Your sheep. Father, give us hearing ears and receiving hearts. Lord, cause us to rejoice in
love of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we go forth into the world,
Lord, pray that we don't go with that that fervor that isn't true love. But Father, give us the ability
to shine forth the love of Christ. Cause us to tell people of our
need and of their need of Christ the Savior. Lord, protect us
from having pride of grace. You've blessed us above all people. by sending your gospel to us. Cause us to rejoice in the love
of the gospel, not just the facts. Give us the ability to humbly
proclaim the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation found
for sinners only in Him. Father, what we ask for this
ministry, we ask for those who are gathering throughout the
world this morning proclaiming salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, leave them not alone. Bless your people. We pray that
you would look over our children. Lord, we know that thou art able. We pray that you would have mercy
on their souls. that you would reveal Christ
to them. Reveal their need. Reveal Christ
the Savior. Cause them to love Him and run
to Him and cling to Him in love. Father, forgive us our many sins. Forgive us our pride. Forgive
us our Self, Lord, calls us to look to Christ. By service, we
ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I'll teachless and tasteless
the hours when Jesus no longer I see. Sweet prospects, sweet birds,
and sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness to me. The midsummer sun shines but
dim, The fields strive in vain to look gay. But when I am happy with him,
December's as pleasant as May. His name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music His voice. His presence disperses my gloom,
And makes all within me rejoice. I should, were he always thus
nigh, Have nothing to wish or to fear. No mortal so happy as I My summer
would last all the year Content with beholding his face,
My all to his pleasure resigns. No changes of season or place
Would make any change in my mind. While blessed were the sins of
his world A palace a toy would appear And prisons would palaces
prove If Jesus would dwell with me there. Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine,
If Thou art my Son and my Soul, Say, why do I anguish and pine? And why are my winters so long? O drive these dark clouds from
my sky, My soul's cheering presence restore, O take me unto thee on high,
Where winter and clouds are no more. Yes, while blessed with a sense
of his love, A palace, a toy, would appear. And prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there. Alright, let's open our Bibles
again to Hebrews chapter 13. Ever since the Lord has given
me a message from this passage, I've been singing that song to
myself for days and it never once sounded that good. That's
a great song, well sung. I've titled our message this
morning, A Life of Contentment. Our text is found in verse 5
of Hebrews chapter 13. Let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content with such things as you 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. Now the word conversation the
writer uses here means your manner of life. It means the way that
you conduct yourself. Believers strive to avoid covetousness
in the way that we live our lives, covetousness of this world's
goods. And there are several very good
reasons that we should avoid covetousness. Number one, remember
the theme that we're talking about here is still brotherly
love. Let brotherly love continue. Well, covetousness will quickly
destroy brotherly love because if we're covening our brother's
possessions or talents or gifts, They're not going to be peace
between us, but we'll have contentment. If we are content with what God's
given us, if we have, if we're content with those things, then
we'll have brotherly love. Second, we should avoid covetousness
because covetousness leads to so many other sins. Think about
the fallen angels who at one time were in heaven. They constantly
could see the face of God. They constantly could worship
God. You think how wonderful that
must have been to be in heaven, to be able to see God and worship
God, yet they weren't content with heaven, were they? No, they
coveted God's throne, tried to take it, and were cast out of
heaven. God created Adam and put Adam in a perfect garden. And God came to that garden and
walked and talked with Adam every day. You think how wonderful
that that must have been to live in a perfect garden, to live
in a body in a world without sin, to be able to talk to God,
walk, take a walk with God in the evening. Yet Adam was not
content, was he? Adam was not content living in
fellowship with God, having to obey just one rule and a bunch
of rules. One. He wasn't content. Adam coveted
the right to be God and to make the rules himself. And he failed. plunged his whole race into death
and sin because of covetousness. Covetousness leads us to being
selfish and not giving of ourselves to help our brethren. Solomon
said in Proverbs 21, verse 26, that the proud coveted greedily
all the day long, but the righteous, I'm assuming he means the righteous
that are content with what God's given them, giveth and spareth
not. He's not selfish. Covetousness
though leads us to be selfish. It's covetousness that leads
to idolatry or idolatry. Well, idolatry too, but adultery. It's coveting someone else's
spouse. Covetousness makes the false prophet compromise the
gospel. He's making merchandise of men's
souls because he covets their money. This world's good. I mean,
covetousness leads to so many other sins. Thirdly, look in
Luke chapter 12. Don't covet the things of this
world. Because the things of this world
are not your life. And covetousness of the things
of this world will lead you to try to gather up the wrong things.
Luke chapter 12, verse 15. And he said unto them, take heed
and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth, And he spake
a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do.
I'll pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow
all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease,
eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose
shall those things be which thou has provided. So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself is not rich toward God. Covetousness
leads us to try to lay up the treasures of this life for ourselves
and make us not rich toward God. Fourth covetousness makes people
miserable. Covetous people are miserable
people. Look at first Timothy chapter
six. You know, a poor person can be very happy as long as
they're content with what God's given them. But a rich person
who, you know, we think they have everything. They can still
be a very miserable person if they're not content with what
they don't have. First Timothy six, verse six. But godliness with contentment
is great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And having
food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will
be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money, the covetousness
of it, is the root of all evil. Which while some have coveted
after, they've erred from the faith and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, and meekness. See, follow after these spiritual
riches because covetousness of earthly things tends to make
people err in the faith. Covetousness makes a person miserable. And I don't want to be a covetous
person. I don't want to be a miserable person, and you don't either.
But covetousness comes naturally to this flesh. I mean, covetousness
comes as naturally to this flesh as breathing does. The apostle
Paul said, he said, I didn't even know lust until the law
commanded me not to covet. And as soon as I saw the law
told me not to covet, suddenly I coveted everything I could
think of. Covetousness comes naturally to us. Just tell me
I can't have something. That's all I want. I mean, I
didn't even know it existed before, didn't need it, was happy without
it, but tell me I can't have it? Oh, that's all I want. Covetousness is natural to this
flesh. So how can the believer avoid
covetousness? How can we have a life of contentment?
Well, I'm going to give you three cures for covetousness that will
enable us to have a life of contentment. Number one, don't be covetous.
because you already have everything. Verse 5 in our text, Hebrews
chapter 13, let your conversation, your conduct, your character
be without covetousness and be content with such things as you
have. Now, no one covets what they
already have. You can't covet what you already
have. You only covet what you don't have. Well, a believer
already has everything. So a believer has no reason to
be covetous or to be covetous. Now, you know that that's true
spiritually. Believer has everything. But
it's not true with material blessings, is it? Things that we need in
this life. So does that mean? It says, let
your conduct be without covetousness. Does that mean that it's wrong
for a person to work to get a better job? Is it wrong for a person
to work to get a better house or a new car? Is it wrong to
want to have those things? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Not as long as you keep those
things in their proper perspective. It's not long. You know, we have
young couples now. They're building their lives.
You know, they're buying houses. They're building houses. People
remodel their houses to make them more convenient. And that's
wonderful. And I'm all for that. Man, build
a nice home. Build a nice life for your family. Now, as you do that, I have some
advice for you. Count the cost. Count the cost. that you can
pay for it. Don't build something that's
so big and so elaborate you've got to spend every minute of
the rest of your life trying to work to pay for it. Because that'll
make you miserable. If you overextend yourself, you're going to be
miserable. Be sure you give first. Be sure you order your life to
worship God first. And then, enjoy the fruits of
your labor. Solomon said it's good that a
man, you go out and work hard and come home and enjoy the fruits
of your labor. There's nothing wrong with that
at all. Do that. We have young people right now getting ready
to graduate from high school, and they're planning their future
to go get an education or give them a job that, you know, a
job that they think that they'll like. You know, work's always
going to be work, but you try to have a job you think you could
like for the most part, a job you think will provide for your
needs, and you've got to go get training and education for that.
I say good. I mean, I say that's good. You
go do that. Don't be content to be a child
forever. Don't be content to have somebody
else taking care of you all your life. Seek to grow and mature
and improve yourself. It's good that you do that. You
know, this congregation is full of working people. You go to
work and you work hard trying to get a promotion at work. You
just know, I could do a good job at this promotion. And I
say that's good. I say that's good. You ought
to be a good worker. You ought to be. God's people
are told you'd be the best worker in that place. And you ought
to get rewarded for it. I mean, I want you to get those
things, you know. There's nothing wrong with wanting those things.
But pray that the Lord will show you his will in these matters.
Sometimes we want something that's not good for us to have and God
won't give it to us. Pray that the Lord show you his
will in these matters. And if the Lord is not pleased
to give you those things that you want in this life, then you
be content with what you have. Be content with what God's given
you. You know, if God didn't give it to you, you just write
this down. It's best you don't have it.
I'm telling you now. We just read this. Having food
and arraignment, let us therewith be content. Be content with what
God's given us. A child of God should be, shouldn't
we? A child of God should be pleased to be content with what
our Father's given us. But spiritually, Now we're talking
about where the believer has all things. Spiritually, a child
of God doesn't have to strive to be content, to strive not
to be covetous, because we already have everything. We already have
everything. Everything we want, everything
we need. Be content with such things as God's given you. He's given you everything. A
believer has nothing to covet. We already have it all. If I
have Christ, I have it all. because Christ is all. He has
made unto us everything we need, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. If I have Christ, I have all.
So I can't be covetous, can I? The Lord is my shepherd, so I
shall not want. Well, if I don't want, I can't
be covetous, can I? If the Lord's my shepherd, I'm
not going to want for any spiritual good. I'm not going to want for
any spiritual need. If the Lord's my shepherd, he's
given me everything that I need and everything he requires. God's
given his people a perfect righteousness, a perfect holiness that they
cannot lose. He's given us complete forgiveness
of our sin. God's put them behind his back.
They're gone. God's justified his people, made us without sin. God's given his people his love.
He shed abroad his love in our hearts. God's given his son to
dwell in the hearts of his people. Christ in you, the hope of glory. I can be content with that, can't
you? God's given his people all of his precious promises. This book is full of precious
promises for God's children, and they're yours. God's given
them to his people. The sacrifice of Christ has purchased
everything for His people. The Apostle Paul said in Romans
8.32, He despaired not His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all. Because He's been delivered up,
because His blood has purchased for us everything, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? If God's freely
given us all things, we can't be covetous, can't we? He's given
us every spiritual blessing in his son. Look over at 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1. Beginning in verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord
according as his divine power had given us unto us all things,
everything that pertain unto life and godliness through the
knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue, whereby
are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by
these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. God's
delivered us from those things, giving you everything that pertains
unto life and godliness, then it's impossible to covet, isn't
it? Because we have all things freely in Christ. But you know,
just like our children shouldn't want to stay children forever,
a child of God should not be content to stay a babe in Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
12. If you want something to covet,
I'll give you one thing to covet. 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The apostle here in 1 Corinthians
12 has been talking about the different gifts in the church.
One person has this gift, another has this gift, all for the good
of the whole body of Christ. And he says in 1 Corinthians
12, verse 29, are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers,
are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing?
Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? No, they don't.
So he says, verse 31, but covet earnestly the best gifts, yet
show I unto you a more excellent way." Well, what is the best
gift? What is the more excellent way than all these other gifts?
Well, then he goes into chapter 13 and talks all about love.
Love. That's the more excellent way.
That's the best gift. It's love. Love for Christ and
love for your brethren. Now, covet that. Covet that. See, we should covet growth in
these areas of love and faith. Because we can't be content,
can we? Who of us is content with our
growth and grace? No one. No believer is. Who's
content with the strength of your faith? Boy, you just get
the most minor pressure put on you. Your faith is so weak. We're
not content there. We're not content with our love
for God, our love for Christ, or our love for our brethren.
Because it's not perfect yet. So covet growth in those there.
Covet that gift. And if you covet those things,
growth in grace, you know what you'll do? You'll seek them where
they're found. In the preaching of Christ. And
that will tend to make you content. In the preaching of Christ. Hearing,
the hearing of the gospel of Christ our Savior will make a
believer content. It really will. All right, number
two, back in our text, Hebrews 13. Avoid covetousness by trusting
the promise of God. He says, let your conversation
be without covetousness. Be content with such things as
you have. Four. Here's why you should be content
with such things as you have. Four. He hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. I looked up the literal translation
of this verse, and this is the literal translation. For he hath
said, no, I will not leave, no, nor forsake thee. There's four
negatives there. He's stressing thus, no. No,
no, no. I will not leave you. I will
not. The Amplified version says this. He, God himself, has said,
I will not in any way fail you, nor give you up, nor leave you
without support. I will not, I will not, I will
not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you, nor let you
down, nor relax my hold on you. Assuredly not. Now God makes
his promise clear, doesn't he? He will not leave nor forsake
his people for any reason at any time. Well, that's going
to give the believer some contentment. If he's not going to leave me,
I'm content. The presence of Christ makes
the trial to be a blessing. It really does. And earthly blessings
prove to be a curse without Christ. They really do. The Lord is always
with his people. He's always where his people
can see him. And that promise gives his people
contentment. Mike just sang, content with
beholding his face. My all to his pleasure resigned.
No changes of season or place would make any change in my mind.
While blessed with the sense of his love, a palace a toy would
appear. Who cares? And prisons would
palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. And he's
promised his people he will. He's promised his presence will
always be with his people. And this promise of God gives
his people contentment. Contentment because of who made
the promise? God who cannot lie. That he's going to keep his word.
And this promise is repeated four times in the Old Testament.
We're going to look at all four of them because I want to show
you something here. God's promise. to not leave nor forsake his
people means more than just his presence is there. Like he's
just there watching what's going on. It's more than just his physical
presence. Spiritual presence is with us.
It means more than that. Now I'm going to show you, first
turn to Genesis chapter 28. In Genesis 28, Jacob is on the
run from Esau and rightfully so. He's afraid for his life.
He's afraid Esau is going to kill him because Jacob has cheated
him out of his birthright. And what God knows that Jacob
does not know just yet is Jacob's getting ready to go to the house
of Laban where his father-in-law Laban's going to cheat him for
14 years. I mean, Jacob's getting ready
to have a tough time. But the Lord's given Jacob here
a vision of a ladder that goes from the earth and reaches up
into heaven. And that ladder is a picture
of Christ who is the way to God. There is a way that God's people
can come to him and be accepted. Genesis 28, verse 15. And after
that, this is what God says to Jacob. And behold, I am with
thee and will keep thee in all places, whether thou goest and
will bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee
until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. Now,
this is God's promise. I'm not going to leave you. This
is God's promise to Jacob and God's promise to all his Jacobs.
I will be with you and More than my mere presence, what that means
is I will do for you everything I promised. I'm going to do for
you everything I promised. I'm going to give you everything
I promised to give you. Wherever you go, I'm going to
be with you. I'm going to keep you. I'm going
to protect you. And I'm going to bring you back
here to this place, to the house of God. And when your journey's
over, I'm going to bring you to glory. I'm going to do everything
it takes to do that for you. That's God's promise to every
one of his people. Well, I can be content with the
route that I take because I know where the journey ends. I know
where it ends because of God's promise. Now turn to Deuteronomy
chapter 31. Deuteronomy 31, Moses has been
leading Israel for 40 years. You know, everyone under the
age of 20 died in the wilderness. So most people who are in the
Children of Israel at this time, most people, Moses is the only
leader that they've ever known in their whole life. And Moses
is going to die. Remember, Moses is a picture
of the law. Moses, the picture of the law,
cannot lead the Children of Israel into the land of rest. He can't
do it. He's the picture of the law. The law gives no rest. Moses
struck the rock with his rod twice. Remember, to get water
out of it? The first time, God told him to strike the rock,
and he did, and out came water. The second time, God told Moses,
speak to the rock. But Moses, in his anger, struck
the rock twice with his rod. And the rod of God's justice
can only strike Christ once. Once, because that's all it takes,
one sacrifice. And that rock was Christ. So
in violation of that picture of Christ, God told Moses, you're
not going to enter into this land. You'll see it. I'm going
to take you up to the mountain. You'll see it, but you can't
enter in. So Moses is dying. And the people more than likely
are very concerned. Who's going to lead us now? Who's
going to take Moses place now? The respect they had for Moses.
Who's going to take Moses place? Deuteronomy 31 verse five. And the Lord shall Give them
up before your face. When you go into this land, the
Lord can give all your enemies up before your face that you
may do to them according unto all the commandments which I
have commanded you. Now be strong and of a good courage. Fear not,
nor be afraid of them. For here's why you don't be afraid.
For the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee. He will
not fail thee nor forsake thee. Now this is God's promise to
spiritual Israel, his people. He's not going to leave or forsake
his people. He's not going to fail you. See,
God's the one who's been leading his people all along. I mean,
I know he's used Moses, but who's been leading the people all along?
God has, hasn't he? And he's going to continue to
lead them. And the Lord's going to raise up a new leader, a new
under shepherd, Joshua. He's going to raise up this glorious
picture of Christ, the mighty conqueror. Christ who gives His
people peace because He's defeated every enemy. Don't worry about
these enemies now. God's promised you He'll defeat
them for you. And He's not going to fail you.
That's God's promise. Well then, I can be content with
that. Can't you? Because that's God's
promise. Alright, now look over a few
pages. Joshua chapter 1. In Joshua 1, Moses has died.
And now Joshua. is the leader of Israel, this
large nation. And Joshua was concerned about
this job. I mean, he's concerned. He's concerned about following
in Moses' footsteps. He's concerned about leading
God's people into the land that God's promised. This is what
Joshua was thinking. What am I doing here? What do
I think I'm doing here? Who's sufficient for these things?
That's what's going through Joshua's mind right now. And look at what
God says in Joshua chapter 1, verse 5. There shall not any
man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As
I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee
nor forsake thee. So be strong and of a good courage.
For unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the
land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them. This is
God's promise to Joshua. This is his promise to all of
his people in Christ our Joshua. He will not leave nor forsake
his people. I will be with you. See, God's
the one who's going to give his people everything that he promised
to give him. God promised his people this
land, the land of Canaan. He's going to give it to them.
And it's not just so much the physical land. This is what God
promised his people, a land of rest, rest. God's promised his
people rest in Christ, and he's going to divide it out to them
as an inheritance. He's going to give every one
of his people the inheritance. It's incorruptible, it's undefiled,
it fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of faith. God's the one that's going to
give that to you. We're not sufficient to get that job done, are we?
We're not sufficient to go take the land. But God is. Our God is. And he's promised
he'll go with us and he'll accomplish it for us. He will. Well, I'm perfectly content with
that. That gives me perfect contentment. All right. Now look at first
Chronicles. First Chronicles chapter 28.
Here after 40 years of David being king of Israel, David is
dying. Solomon is going to reign in
his father's place and Solomon He's concerned. He's scared about
the job. How am I going to be able to
rule well? He feels a lot like Joshua felt. What am I doing
here? How am I going to be able to do this? In 1 Chronicles 28
verse 20, this is God's promise to him. And David said to Solomon his
son, be strong and of a good courage and do it. You take the
throne and rule. Fear not, nor be dismayed, for
the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee. He will not fail
thee nor forsake thee until thou has finished all the work for
the service of the house of the Lord. God has promised his people
he'll be with them. He'll never leave them nor forsake
them. And he's given them something to do in his kingdom. And he's
going to enable them to finish the work that God has given them
to do. He's going to enable them to do it. We may not, uh, sit
on a throne like Solomon did. We may not be as a public of
a person as Solomon was, but God's given all of his people
something to do in his kingdom, in his house. And if we got any
sense, we're going to say, how am I going to do that? Who am
I? How can I? I can't do that. Well, God's
promise to be with his people means, yes, they won't be sufficient
for the work, but God is and he's going to enable them to
do it. And he will not call his people
home until they have finished the job God's given them to do.
And it won't be one second late or one second early. Well, then
I can be content with that. See, God's promise to be with
his people is more than just his presence. He's promised to
do for his people everything it takes to bring them to glory. See, here's contentment for the
believer because of the promise of God. Our God has promised
He will not leave nor forsake his people. He's not going to
leave them to their own sin and their own corruption. He's not
going to leave them to their own way. No, he's going to put
them in Christ. He's not going to leave them.
He's not going to leave his people to their own strength because
their strength is weakness. He's not going to leave them
to their strength. He'll be their strength. God's not going to
leave his people in temptation. He'll lead them into it, but
he's going to deliver them. Sooner or later, he'll deliver
them. And until he does, what promise do we have? His presence
will be with us. His presence in the valley will
be with us. He's not going to leave his people
to this world, and he's not going to leave his people in this world.
Not forever, he won't. Now, you've got something to
do in the service of God while you're in this world, but aren't
you glad he's not going to leave you in this world for long? No,
he'll bring you out of it, just like he promised Jacob. He will
not leave his people to Satan, Satan's desire to have them that
he might sift them as wheat, but God's not going to leave
his people to Satan. And in judgment, I don't know, somehow people
think that this promise of God means all through our life, all
through our journey here below, God will be with his people.
But now when it comes to judgment, we're going to have to stand
and give account of ourselves. No. In judgment. Our Savior will not leave his
people alone. But when their name is called,
Christ the Savior will stand. And for them, he'll say, Father,
I'm here. I'm here. I'm the advocate. I'm the sacrifice for this one.
Now that gives his people contentment, doesn't it? Contentment. No fear. No fear of death. Contentment
because of the promise of God. And that brings me to the third
thing. Don't be covetous. Because you've got nothing to
fear. If you believe Christ, you have nothing to fear. Verse
6 in our text, Hebrews chapter 13. So that we may boldly say,
the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me. Now the believer can boldly and
confidently say, the Lord is my helper. He's my helper. He's
promised to do everything it takes to bring me to glory. Now,
when the Lord is our helper, that doesn't mean that he only
does the part that we cannot do. When the Lord is our helper,
that means he does everything for us. The Lord has placed help for
his people on one who is mighty. Oh, that's our helper. He helps
when nobody else can help. And he's always been the helper
of his people. Our Lord was our helper. When an eternity passed,
he stood as our surety in the covenant of grace. And he said,
Father, I'll redeem them. Father, I'll pay their debt.
Father, I'll make them righteous. He stood as our surety. He was
our helper. The Lord helped his people. When he stooped to come
to this earth as a man, he did that to produce a righteousness
his people could not produce. He came in the flesh to obey
the law for his people, to obey all the law for his people, to
make them righteous in him. See, that's how Christ is our
helper. He does it all. He is our righteousness. What
a helper that would stoop to make his people righteous. And
then he stooped again as our helper. He went to the tree to
suffer and die, to put the sin of his people away. Now listen
to me, since sin has been put away, you know why God won't
leave or forsake you? He got no reason to. Sin's been
put away. He got no reason to forsake his
people. He already forsook our substitute in our place. If God
forsook Christ for you, he'll never forsake you. He can't,
because that would be unjust. The Lord ascended as the helper
of His people. When He ascended back to the
Father, because what's He doing there right now? He's the helper
of His people. He's making intercession for
them. The Lord has helped His people by setting up a throne
of grace where we can come at all times to find grace to help
in time of need. Oh, what a helper. The Lord helps
His people by reaching way down to the dunghill and lifting his
people out of the dunghill and lifting them up to set them among
princes. Oh, I can be content with that
helper, can't you? Content. And contentment in Christ and
who he is and his promise for his people, what he's done for
his people, contentment in Christ leaves his people with no fear.
No fear. What do you have to be afraid
of? Not sin. He's taking it away. You don't
have to be afraid of death. Christ died for you. You don't
have to be afraid of death. You don't have to be afraid of judgment.
No. Your substitute was already judged for you. You don't have
to be afraid of nothing to be afraid of. And while you go through
this life, in this earth, you don't have to be afraid of what
man is doing to you. All they can do is touch the
flesh. Now, let's just be perfectly
honest. I don't want them to touch my
flesh. I mean, I don't like pain. I got enough of it. I don't want
anybody adding it to it. I don't want them to cause me
pain. I just assume the heathen not get a hold of me. But I don't
have to fear it. I don't have to fear it. Because
nothing a man can do will ever take away what God has promised.
Nothing a man can do can ever undo what Christ the Savior has
already done for us. Nothing. Do not be afraid. And God's promise
that he'll not leave nor forsake his people is not going to fail
now. It never has, has it? It never
has failed. And it's not going to fail now
because God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And that gives
me contentment. You know what gives us contentment?
The cure for covetousness. The thing that will give the
believer a life of contentment. You know what it is? Looking to Christ. Look to Christ. You'll be content because in
Him, you have everything. Everything. All right. I hope
the Lord will bless that too and comfort your hearts. Let's
bow together. Our Father, oh, how we thank
you for your word. We thank you that you've given
us some understanding of the message of your word. It's Christ
the Savior. Father, I pray that you would
cause each heart and each soul here this morning to look to
Christ, to find in him salvation, forgiveness for our souls, cleansing
of our sin, to find in him wisdom and righteousness, sanctification
and redemption, to find in him everything you require and everything
we need. Father, I pray you give us a
heart of contentment, that we be content in Christ our Savior. Deliver us from getting so taken
up with all the goings on of this world, make our contentment
be found in all the spiritual blessings you've given us in
Christ our Savior. It's for His glory and for His
sake we pray and give thanks. Amen. All right, Mike, you come
lead us in a song. Let's stand and sing 295. Adam Carey requested me play
this song as a recessional at their wedding. I remember that. I had all different experiences
associated with each song, and I appreciated that, and it was
a good way to go out. He leadeth me, O blessed thought,
All words with heavenly comfort draw. What e'er I do, where'er
I be, Still tis God's hand that leadeth me. He leadeth me, By his own hand
he leadeth me. His faithful follower I would
be, For by his hand he leadeth me. Forever murmur, Lord repine,
Content whatever lot I see, Since it's my God that leadeth me. He leadeth me, O by His hand
He leadeth me. His faithful follower I would
be, O by His hand He leadeth me. And when my task on earth
is done, When by thy grace the victories won, In death's cold
way I will not flee, Since God through Jordan leadeth me. He leadeth me by His own hand,
He leadeth me. His faithful follower I would
be, For by His hand He leadeth me.