Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
13. Hebrews chapter 13. Paul in the previous chapters has spoken of the doctrine of
Christ. He's finished his doctrinal instruction. Who Christ is, that's the place
to start, isn't it? and what He's done. God, who
at sundry times spoke by various means, Paul says in chapter 1,
has now spoken to us by His Son, by whom He created the worlds.
And speaking of His Son, Paul wrote, who, when He had by Himself
purged our sins, He spoke of what Christ has already done.
He's already obtained eternal redemption for us. and what he's
doing. Now he said it in the heavens
is our great high priest making intercession for us, saving to
the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Now Paul in chapter
13 makes application of what he's taught. He makes application
to our living in this world. Look, if you will, at verse 5.
We want to begin here. You have in this one verse the
precept in the first part of the verse, and then you have
the promise. What the precept is based on,
the promise of God's presence, His everlasting presence. It's the very motive for the
precept. Let's briefly consider the precept
in the first part of the verse. Paul says, let your conversation
be without covetousness. and be content with such things
as ye have. That's the precept. Conversation,
as it's used here and in most other places in God's Word, it
doesn't mean our speech. It doesn't mean talk. It refers
to our walk. It refers to how we live in this
world, the manner of our life. This is what conversation means. And covetousness, we all know,
means to want what we don't have. To want it to the point of even
being greedy for it. And then content. Well, that's
the very opposite, isn't it? That's the very opposite of covet.
To be content. To be content. To be satisfied. To be satisfied. This is so contrary,
isn't it? Contentment to this world's attitude. As John read from Isaiah 55 a
moment ago, why do you spend money for that which is not bread.
Why do you labor for that which can never satisfy? This world's
attitude is, it's never enough. It's never enough. It seems like
more and more on television there are commercials by lawyers, just
it seems like one after the other, exhorting people, begging people,
call me. You've been in an accident? Somebody's
hurt you? Call me. I can get you more. I can get you more. I can get
you everything you deserve. Of course, the more they get,
or rather, the more they can get, the more there will be for
them. But it just seems like it's indicative
of this world's attitude. They're never satisfied. And
that doesn't surprise the child of God, does it? You remember
what our Lord told the woman at the well? Whosoever Whosoever. It doesn't make any difference
who it is. Whosoever drinketh of this water,
this world, whosoever drinketh of what this world has to offer,
whoever tries to find fulfillment in the things of this world shall
thirst again. They have to. They have to. They'll
never be satisfied. That's the world, and that's
really not surprising. One old writer said this, all
the trees in this forest, speaking of the world, all the trees in
this forest are marked for destruction. Don't build your nest in them. They're marked to be cut down.
As Peter wrote, the end of all things is at hand. The end of
all things is at hand. If that's true, and it is, as
believers, Peter asked this question, if that's so, the end of all
things is at hand, what manner of person ought we to be? Don't
build your nest in any trees of this forest. They're all marked
for destruction. Paul is writing to God's children,
and that's who we are. Isn't that a blessed thought?
We're God's children. He's our heavenly Father. Turn back, if you will, to Isaiah
chapter 49. Isaiah chapter 49. How often we're reminded of this
throughout God's Word. Isaiah chapter 49 verses 14 through
16. But Zion said, God's church,
God's people, Zion, the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord
hath forgotten me. And God responds. and tells them
that's not so. That's not possible. Can a woman
forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget. Yea, will
I not forget thee? Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. And you remember our Lord's Sermon
on the Mount? He said to his disciples, those
who profess faith in him, he said, don't be like the world.
Don't be anxious. Don't worry and fret about what
you will drink or what you'll eat or wherewithal shall you
be clothed. He said, your heavenly father
knoweth. Your Heavenly Father knows what
you have need of. Your Heavenly Father knows all
what comfort is bound up in those blessed, blessed words. Our Heavenly
Father. And how honoring, how honoring
to our God, to our Heavenly Father, to calmly trust His providence,
His provision, and the promise of His presence. Paul, in writing
to Timothy, said, Godliness, With contentment is great gain. Oh, to be content! just satisfied,
have need of nothing, because I have Christ who is all and
in all. But Timothy wrote, we brought
nothing, or rather Paul wrote to Timothy, we brought nothing
into this world, and it's certain, it's certain we can carry nothing
out. Therefore, having food and raiment,
let us be therewith content, satisfied, our heavenly Father
knoweth." And now Paul comes to the second part of the verse.
Look what he says there. He bases the precept in the first
half of the verse upon this blessed promise. Do these things. Be content, don't covet, for
or because he hath said, that is, the triune God has said,
I will never, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. That's the reason, and the only
reason Paul gives to be content, and it's reason enough. The promise
of his presence. Again, God spoke to the prophet
in Isaiah 40 and said, comfort. Comfort ye my people. Speak comfortably
to Jerusalem. And these words to me are some
of the most comforting in God's Word. I'll never leave you. As a young believer, I remember
the first time I read this. And I thought, oh, that is sweet.
He'll never leave me? He'll never forsake me, and there's
no qualifications attached to the promise. Nothing dependent
upon me. And I like that. As Brother John
prayed a moment ago, I'm weak, I'm frail, I'm just a man. But the promise of His continual
presence and provision and providence is not contingent upon anything
I do, but upon His everlasting faithfulness. Oh, no wonder the
word here is so full of promise. It seems to contain all the promises
within it, does it not? They all seem to fall within
the circle of this one promise. It contains all and includes
all the rest. Note, first of all, in this blessed
psalm, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Child of God,
this is a promise to you this morning. This is God's Word to
you this morning. Take it to yourself personally.
Is God your Father? Are you a believer? Are you a
child of God? Then God says to you, I'll never
leave you and I'll never forsake you. God has been fulfilling
this promise for over 6,000 years to His people. Every one of them
throughout the history of this world, God has been fulfilling
this promise. When I make a promise to someone,
And I've learned not to do that too often because it doesn't
take much to make me not able to fulfill my promise. But when
I do make a promise to someone, and after I've kept that promise,
brother-in-law, I consider it done. It's finished. It's fulfilled. I don't have
to do it again. But not so with this promise
of our God. This is a heavenly check that
can be cashed over and over and over again. Notice what we read
in verse 8 of Hebrews 13. Jesus Christ. Now think about
that. Jesus Christ. Jesus, Savior. Christ, the anointed. Or we could
Pitch 10 there as the expression is, Jesus Christ, the same. Always the same. Oh, we're fickle. We change. We blow here and there. But Jesus
Christ, the same. Yesterday, today, forever. The God of immutability, by that
very attribute, by His very nature, our unchanging God, by that very
fact, the promise is strengthened, is fortified. I will never leave
you. How could He? How could it? That
would involve change. And God cannot change. All that
we know about God, all that we can understand with our little
minds about the all-glorious God says the same thing to us. I'll never leave you. All that
His people have ever experienced proves that it's so. Does it
not with you, child of God? Does it not with you? And we've
all been in places in our life where like the church of old
that we read of a moment ago in Isaiah said, I've been forgotten
of God. I've been forsaken of God. God's
forgotten me. And we've all been there. We
don't like to admit that. We don't want to confess that.
And we don't to one another. But in our hearts of hearts,
we know there have been times we've sat in despair, heavy trial,
heartbreaking burden, and we thought, where's God? Where's
God? I don't see the good in this.
And we try to grasp the promise and we think, oh, but I just
don't see it. I don't feel it. Where's God? But He's there. And when the
time is right, the best time, God's time, He comes to us. He comes to us. Always has, hasn't
He? Always has. And then we can look
back and say, oh yes, that was the best time. That was the very
best time. My Heavenly Father came to me.
He came to me where I was. And just like I used to do my
children. Pick them up in my arms. Cradle
them. Comfort them. Wipe away their
tears. Our Heavenly Father comes to
us and says, I've never I'm never going to leave you. I'm never
going to forsake you. And all is well with our souls. And he speaks this to you at
this moment, child of God. In whatever circumstance this
moment may find you, your heavenly father knows. And he brings this
sweet promise to you. I will never leave you nor forsake
you. There's one of Mr. Spurgeon's
sermons. He used this illustration to
exemplify or illustrate what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ.
Mr. Spurgeon said, a benevolent person
gave Mr. Rowland Hill a hundred pounds
to dispense to a poor minister and asked him to do it just a
bit at a time, sent him so much at a time. So Mr. Hill forwarded
five pounds in a letter with only these words within the envelope,
more to follow. In a few days, the man received
another letter, anonymous, but with those same words, five pounds
included, but with more to follow. Until the whole sum had been
received, the astonished minister was made familiar with the cheering
words, more to follow. When he'd received that, more
to follow, he knew what was within. Mr. Spurgeon went on to write,
or rather to say, every blessing that comes from God is sent with
the same message, and more to follow. I forgive you of your
sins, but there's more to follow. I justify you in the righteousness
of Christ, but there's more to follow. I give you grace upon grace,
but there's more to follow. I've helped you even to your
old age, but there's more to follow. I like that. I would uphold you in the hour
of death. And as you're passing into the
world of spirits, my mercy shall continue with you. And when you
land in the world to come, there shall still be more to follow. I'll never leave you, nor forsake
you. Now notice another word in the
promise. The second note is this, I, I
will never leave you. I will never forsake you. That
is our God. Who says so? Who gives this unconditional
promise? Who makes this promise to triune
God? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There's the grounds of contentment. That's the reason we can lay
down on this solid rock. Put all your weight on it. All
your weight. It'll sustain you. It'll hold
you up. It's God the Father that says
this, who loved me with an everlasting love, who chose me in Christ
before the foundation of the world. He says, I'll never leave
you. I've loved you everlastingly.
And God the Son, Jesus Christ Himself, who loved me. This is what we'll do in a moment.
We'll observe the Lord's Supper as he commanded. And by his grace,
we'll remember him who loved me. He loved me and gave himself
for me. He comes this morning with this
blessed promise, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Remember what he told his troubled
disciples that night? Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God? Believe also in me. In my Father's
house there are many mansions, and none of them are going to
be empty, child of God. They'll all be occupied. Every
one that they're reserved for, every one that they're prepared
for, every one of them will be brought to glory. There'll be
no empty tables or rather empty chairs at the table of our great
King. They'll all be brought to glory.
And he said in that same passage in John 14, if it were not so,
I would have told you. If this wasn't true, if this
wasn't sure and steadfast and certain, if you can't bank on
this, I wouldn't be telling you. I'll never leave you and never
forsake you. And then our great and faithful
shepherd said, I'll tell you this, in the world you shall
have tribulation. but be of good cheer. I've overcome
the world and so shall we through Him. And God the Holy Spirit
that quickened us, that gave us life, will never leave us
or never forsake us. Every attribute Every attribute
of the triune God stands behind this promise. Omnipotence, all
power. Omniscience, all knowledge. Omnipresence, everywhere present. Stands behind this blessed promise
to the child of God, I'll never leave you. Is that enough? Do
you reckon that's enough? Is all grace enough? Is all mercy
enough? Is all sovereignty enough? Is
all God enough? Paul, in writing to the church
at Galatia, said, Christ is all. It's pleased God that in Him
should all fullness dwell. But Paul didn't stop there. And
you're in Him, in which is all fullness, all completeness. You're in Him. Therefore, you
must be complete as well. Is that enough? Come into this
ark. O child of God, come again into
this ark, though the storms will come and the winds will blow."
Christ said, you will have tribulation. And the waters will rise. This
ark will bear me up. God, our eternal refuge. Christ
won't lose any of his own. I've heard the wind blow, haven't
you? and howl at times, heard the thunder, seen the lightning. But I'll tell you this, and you
can tell me the same thing. Amidst the thunder, the waves, I've also heard this
above it all. It is I. Be not afraid. I've heard that, haven't you?
just as he did that night on that stormy sea. Remember what
he tells us here? I'll never leave you forsaken.
There's nothing. There's no one or nothing that
can keep me from you. He comes walking on the water.
Walking on the water. Whatever is necessary, he comes
to his own with his blessed, blessed word. It is I Be not
afraid. I think there's an old hymn in
our book. When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me, Lonnie. When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. When this world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea, thou who rulest wind and water, stand
by me. Me. Who else would we want? Who
else would we want in that hour? Who else could help us? Who else
do we need the most? When I die, I want Him who's
promised I will never leave you or forsake you. And when I stand
before God, when I stand before God, who else would I want? Who
else would be an advocate and a mediator? Who else could bring
me to God with these blessed words? I'll never leave you.
And I'll never forsake you. And God the Father says, enter
into the joy. Prepare for you before the foundation
of the world. Paul in this verse quotes from
the Old Testament. I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee. And we won't turn to them all,
but these words were first spoken to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28.
He's leaving home. His brother Esau wants to kill
him. And shortly he'll be faced with, listen, 14 years. 14 years of a constant severe
trial due to the treachery of Laman, 14 years. But before that happened, he
laid down to sleep. And God spoke to him and said,
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you until
I fulfilled every word that I've said to you. And he speaks these
same words to Israel by the mouth of Moses. In Deuteronomy chapter
31, Moses said, I'm 120 years old, he tells the children of
Israel. And God's shown me that I'm not going into the promised
land with you, but you will go in. You will go in. And in the same passage, he turns
to Joshua and says, God will lead you in. God will lead these
children of Israel in by your hand, Joshua. Don't you be afraid. Don't you be dismayed, because
He'll never leave you nor forsake you. He gives the promise again. to Solomon in 1 Chronicles chapter
28 concerning the building of the temple. And then he gives
it again in Isaiah chapter 43 to all of his afflicted children. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. And that brings us to the next
word. Never. Never. I will never leave you
nor forsake you. Do you know what a more literal
translation would be? I will never? No, never. No, never. Leave thee nor forsake
thee. Five times. I don't know if the
hymn writer had that in mind when he wrote How Firm a Foundation,
but the last verse of that hymn, The soul that to Jesus has fled
for repose, he will not desert to expose. That soul, though
all hell should endeavor to shake, he'll never, no never, no never
forsake. Glory to His name. And notice
this promise. It's unqualified. It's without
conditions by us. There's no need to search for
small print. You won't find a disclaimer.
No, no, this is an unqualified promise. The promise sweeps away
every suggestion to be depressed in my mind. Even if my own mind
should get into such a state to convince me God has left me,
it will be a lie. It won't be so because God says
that can never happen, that cannot be. And I've been there. I've been there. That can't happen. That can't happen. Being in such
a state of mind to suggest God's left me. God's left me. But it wasn't true. It wasn't
true. And it never will be, thank God. Never. Never. At no time. Not for a moment. No interruption. How can there be an interruption
to everlasting love? If there's Sixty seconds of interruption,
then it wouldn't be everlasting. No interruption to that. Turn,
if you will, to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. This is what the psalmist
speaks of at verse 5. And this is true of every child
of God. Verse 5 of Psalm 139. Thou hast
beset me behind than before, and laid Thine hand upon me."
He says, such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. It is high. I could not attain
unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? And whither shall I flee from
Thy presence? If I ascend up to heaven, Thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the earth, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right
hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness
shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea,
the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as
the day. The darkness and the light are
both alike to thee. And then look down at verse 17. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God! How great! How great is the sum
of them! If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, When I awake, I
am still with thee. I'll never, no, never, no, never
forsake thee or ever leave thee. Our Lord told the disciple, you're
going to leave me. And they all said, no way, no
way. Peter said, I'll die with you.
My disciples will leave me. But Christ said, I'll never leave
them. They may deny me, but I'll never deny them. I'll never be ashamed to call
them my brethren. I'm ashamed so much of the time
with my love devotion to him. But he says, I'm not ashamed
to call them brethren. They may be locked up or laid
up, but I'll never be locked out, the great shepherd says.
I'll come to them. I'll come to them. And I'll give
them songs in the night. Oh, amazing grace. You may put
his chosen in the furnace of affliction, but I'll still be
with you. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar
commanded that Meshach and Shadrach and Abednego be cast into the
fiery furnace because they wouldn't bow down to his golden image.
They wouldn't deny their God. So he commanded that the furnace
be heated seven times hotter than usual and those who took
them to cast them into the furnace, they died from the heat and they
cast them in. Nebuchadnezzar looks and says,
how many did we cast in there? How many was it? And they said,
three, O king. And he said, I see four. I see
four. And that fourth one, that fourth
one, he's like unto the Son of God. When thou passest through
the fire, I will be with thee. The waters shall not overflow
thee. I'll never leave thee or never
forsake thee. And when that time comes to depart
out of this world, we may realize, I suspect, that we will then
realize the promise much more than we ever have before and
hear him say, I'm here. I'm here. Don't be afraid. Joe, he'll hold hold to my hand as
over this river I go and say I will be in beautiful heaven. I know he'll hold to my hand. After this, John said, I've beheld
and lo a great multitude which no man can Look at this as a proof, a demonstration,
a glorious picture of God's amazing grace and the fulfillment of
the promise. These are they which came out
of great tribulation. And it's all due to the faithfulness
of the shepherd, not the sheep. Glory to His name. Glory to our
great and faithful shepherd. Look at the text one more time.
Look at this promise. For he says to you, I will never
leave you, nor forsake you. Never. No, never. No, never. Is this not a garden for the
sweet fruit of contentment to grow in? Is this not reason to
be content? This is bread from the Father's
own table. Here's a staff on which a weary
pilgrim can lean, and it'll hold all his weight. I remember after God first saved me. Oh,
it seemed so easy in those days of first love before the wonder,
the wonder of these blessed words, thy sins are forgiven thee. had
ceased to be a wonder. God forgive me. But when they
were still fresh in my heart, I thought, is anything too hard
for God? He saved me. Is anything too hard for him? Do I need any further proof?
Oh, it was so easy to trust him and to be content. This promise
is like the one who gives it. The same yesterday, today, and
forever. I remember Years ago, I've referred
to it before, when I lived in that little coal camp, they
called it, and all my friends and my father
and their fathers worked in the coal mines. On Friday night,
down by the company store, they had an old movie theater. The
coal mines owned that too. They owned everything. But my
friends and I would get a little money from our parents and we'd
go to the theater down there. I think one of my, they referred
to it as the house of two sticks. You have to take two sticks in
there, Todd. One to prop up your chair and
one to beat the rats off with. But they'd have some old cowboy
movie on. Oh boy, it was exciting. Exciting.
And just as it was at a most exciting point, John, the film
would stop. It stopped. And there'd be these
words on the screen, to be continued. Come back next week. Oh, that
burned me up. You mean I have to come back
next week and pay another nickel to watch this? To be continued. When I read this promising God's
Word, and know that this is so to be continued, that doesn't
upset me. Oh no, I'll never leave you and
I'll never forsake you. It will be continued until we're
all safe in glory. I will never leave you. No never,
no never, no never, nor forsake you. Amen. Amen. God bless you.