Verse 8 of Hebrews chapter 13,
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
and today, and forever. What a glorious and wonderful
promise that we have here. What a real promise, what reality
is in this verse of scripture. Always the same, unchanging. That, my brother, my sister,
is a glorious character. a character which he alone, Jesus
Christ, deserves, who is, as we would like for you to know,
is the very Lord from heaven. He is the very Lord from heaven.
It is well that there is one person in all the universe who
remains the same, is it not? It is well that there is one
person in all the universe that remains the same, one stable
rock amidst the changing billows of the sea of life. Now I would
this morning, brother, sister, that all of us could feel the
full force and blessedness of the character that the Apostle
Paul has given here to our Lord and Savior in this text. And in order for this to come
to pass, the thing I think of first importance is to establish
in your heart and mind this point of truth, and that is that there
is nothing There is nothing on earth of which you can say or
I can say is unchangeable that is always the same yesterday,
today, and forever. There isn't anything that you
and I can say is going to remain the same yesterday, today, and
forever. First of all, what of this world
in which we live and move and have our being? What about this
world? Has it been the same from the very beginning? Beloved,
this world has stamped upon it the marks of a tremendous change.
It is no longer the same as it was in the beginning. The world
is not what it once was. It is no longer the same, no
more the same than the gallant ship. which yesterday sailed
the waters like a thing of life, and today is dashed high on the
beach, and lies there erect, dismasted, shattered, and forsaken. It is no more the same. It is
like the ruin of some ancient house of God. which in days gone
by was set apart and hallowed for religious services and now
stands desolate and silent and alone with weeds and briars creeping
over its floor, ivy hanging over its walls like a widow's garment. Now, I have seen a few church
buildings that that aptly describes, and that's the way this world
is. So just this world has gone through a blighting, withering
change. This world is not the same as
it was, and that is why we see so much of lust, unbridled tempers,
ungoverned passions, unrestrained intellects that are degraded,
affections that are misplaced, and God-neglected and dishonored
and lightly esteemed, and the diseases which devour their thousands,
and the wars which cut off their tens of thousands, and the graves
of infants that are aborted babies snatched away in the springtime
of life, and the tears, and the distresses, and the troubles,
and the sorrows, and the afflictions which God never placed in the
Garden of Eden, but of which we now hear continually, and
all these tell the same tale. The world is no longer the same
as it was created. All these are the handwriting
on the wall to remind us that man has marred and spoiled his
maker's handiwork by his own sin and his rebellion. Yes, beloved,
there has been a change and none can deny it. This old world is
not as it was and the creation groans and prevails awaiting
that time when the Lord will raise it up and when the Lord
will renew it. Next, I thought about the empires
and the nations of this world, how they continue and not the
same. Not all the victories which mighty
conquerors have won, not all the blood which they've spilt
to cement and to make firm their thrones, not all the gold and
treasures they have heaped together, not all the territory that they
brought under their authority, not all the laws they have carefully
framed. for their subjects have ever
availed to build up one single kingdom that has stood firm and
been undestroyed. All the kingdoms of this world
have changed. Some now have endured for a longer
time than others, and some have appeared likely maybe to remain
until the end of time. But sooner or later, all will
waste away. They have decayed and will decay. They have passed on and will
pass on, and their place will be found no more. I'd like to
say this morning, and I know it's true, that there is a worm
in the core of the strongest nation on earth. And our nation,
we believe, is the strongest nation on earth. But there's
a worm at the core of it, and it will change. And don't you
ever believe that we're firmly fixed, and we will never, ever
suffer decay and destruction. It's coming in the time to come.
Next, and I think of man, who in his best state, the Bible
says, is altogether vanity. The works of his hands are like
himself, are they not frail and short-lived? With all his boasted
wisdom, man can make nothing that is lasting. He cannot secure
his work against change. There's no way he can paint it,
varnish it, do whatever he want to. He cannot secure his work
against change. But I want to bring this closer
home. Have you not observed that men's circumstances are always
changing? They're never long the same.
Many have learned this, I believe, by bitter experience. It is not
true that our own, is it not true that our own life is full
of changes and is a testimony to the fact that nothing stays
the same very long. Man is a poor, frail, he's a
perishable creature and never continues long in any one condition. There is nothing about our earthly
condition that is certain and fixed and immovable and sure. Hear me my friend, there is nothing
about our earthly condition this morning that is certain and fixed
and immovable and sure. And we must understand that because
if we do not, it will not allow us in our own souls to think
rightly and soberly about our soul and where it will spend
eternity. We never know what a day may
bring forth. We are not able to see one inch. in front of our noses. We know
nothing about the future and about time. We only know that
when we, as men and women living in this world, we only know that
things will change They will change in our lives and in the
lives of those around us. We never know when we part, do
we, from those that we love, that are very dear to us, that
we shall ever meet them again in this world. We have no way
of knowing that. We never know what alterations
at time may work. before we once more, if God spare
us, meet face to face in this church just like we are here
this morning. We may part rejoicing and meet
sorrowing. We may part with laughter and
meet with tears. We may part with many around
us and meet next week with very few around us. It is and will
be strange indeed, beloved, if we ever part and then meet again
exactly the same. It'll be a very strange thing
indeed, will it not? Well, this is a changing world. Nothing is so certain as change.
Miserable indeed are those who look upon this world as an abiding
habitation. If you think this world is going
to be your home and that this is an abiding habitation, my
friend, when reality strikes you one of these days, it's going
to bring misery to your heart. who think themselves in this
world to be anything but strangers are going to be miserable one
of these days when they realize that we're just creatures for
an hour. We're just here for a little time. We're like the
scripture says, we're like a vapor that appears just for a little
time and then it just vanishes away. If we give anything the
title home but heaven, we're going to wind up miserable one
of these days. Well, bless God, the people of
God have heaven as their home. This world is not our rest. We're just passing through here.
It is not our rest. It is polluted. And we need to
anchor fast to one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Look at men's minds. They're
not always the same, are they? Well, their wives can tell you
that. The mind of man, when trained
and educated and polished, as it may be, is a very beautiful
thing. But that's no proof against decay, is it? Often we see the
most brilliant minds become a mere wreck. The eye becomes dim. The natural force abated. Memory
fails. Senses are deadened. And onward
and onward we could go this morning. There is no standing still, beloved. There is no standing still. We're
changing. We're fast changing. We're in
the vestibule of eternity, and we shall soon be gone. from this
world. There is no standing still, and
you may grab hold, and you can fasten yourself to the most fixed
thing around you in your life in this world, but you will not
stand still, my friend. You are moving on. You had no
choice as to coming here, and you'll have no choice as to your
exodus. You're going to move on out of
this world. The time is coming. Well, the
infant will soon be a boy, And the boy will soon be a man, and
the man will find gray hair upon him long before he expects to
find it. Suddenly he looks in the mirror,
and there it is. There it is, the gray hair. And
then the grave will be ready. The grave will be ready, my friend,
probably before we're ready for it. That's right. Every one of
us know that our time is fast passing away. We know that. And
men plant and build and labor and toil and plan to continue
and often never see all of their schemes completed. They end this
life before their schemes are completed. For we never know
what is before us, what tomorrow may bring forth. It may be, as
the marriage vows say, better or worse, richer or for poorer,
sickness or in health. We may find our path toward heaven
full of sweet flowers, but for more likely, for more likely,
thistles and thorns. We may have seasons of sunshine,
but far more often, darkness and clouds will overshadow our
lives. But still, whatever happens,
we're rolling onward towards the end. And this we may be sure
of, we shall never be long without some change. We shall never find
our state very long the same, as long as we're in this changeable
world. Anyone who tells you different
is blind. Anyone who tells you different
is ignorant of the Word of God. If you know the Word of God,
you know the Bible says and teaches that our days are few and they're
full of sorrow and they're full of trouble. There's but one account
of everything that we see around us. It's all fleeting. It's all
perishing. It's all passing away. The sun,
which has shone on so many births and lighted so many graves, shall
one day be darkened. The hills, which have looked
down on generation after generation and walked on by one short life
generation after another, shall finally and suddenly melt away. And the glorious heaven above
us, it shall be rolled up like a scroll. All these things speak with one
voice. This is a changing place, my
friend, and do not anchor to it. Open your eyes, open your
ears, and hear, my friend, what this text says this morning.
And the question is, where are we to look for comfort and rest
for our souls, seeing that this is a true situation that we've
established this morning already in our message? Seeing that this
is all true, where, my friend, are we going to find comfort?
Where are we going to look for rest in our souls? We want to
need a sure and lasting foundation, do we not? Well, I want a hope
in which there's no variableness. and neither shadow of turning.
I want a steadfast hope. I want something to be able to
trust in and rely upon. I want something solid under
me. I want a hope in which there's
no variableness. Well, mark it down, my friend.
This cannot be on earth. They who search for it here will
search in vain. A sure hope for the soul is not
to be found in the land of the living. It's not to be found
here looking at the things of time and sense, the things of
carnal reasoning. They cannot be looked and depended
upon. The depth says it's not in me. Don't look to me for hope. The sea says it's not with me.
And it cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed
for the price thereof. But God says Jesus Christ, my
son, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus Christ is
immutable. Jesus Christ is unchanging. Well,
beloved, what does it imply when God says, Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever? It implies that He is, number
one, that He's God. That's what it implies, that
he's God. Immutability, unchangeableness
can be the attribute of none but God himself. Remember that. Jesus Christ is God Almighty. Number one, he's the same in
his person. The Lord Jesus. Now this is very comforting.
He's from everlasting to everlasting, but He's the same in His person. We change perpetually, but He
never gets old and dies. We get old and we die, but He
never. He never. Jesus Christ remains
the same. The Bible says, Thou hast the
dew of thy youth. He is young as ever. We came
into this world ignorant. We must study and we must be
taught. We must be enlightened. But the
Lord Jesus Christ perfectly foreknew all mortal, all eternal things
from before the foundation of the world. He knows all things
now and forever. Is He the same in His omniscience? He is all-knowing. He is all-knowing. He knew everything, known unto
Him all of His works from the beginning of the world. He knew
everything then, and He still knows everything. There ain't
anything He don't know. He's God. He is omniscient. He is all-knowing. We're one
day strong, the next day we're weak. We're one day resolved,
and the next day we're wavering. We're one hour, we're constant,
and the next hour we're as unstable as water. We're one moment holy,
kept by the power of God, with the next moment sinning, led
astray by our own lust. But Jesus is forever the same. He is pure. and never tainted,
firm, never changing, everlastingly omnipotent, unchangeably omniscient. The Lord Jesus Christ, my friend,
is God. Anchor your soul to the Lord
Jesus in and through faith. From him no attribute ever passes
away. Isn't that comforting? Isn't
that wonderful, glorious? No attribute ever pass away. My, how we have changed ourselves. My, my, my. The natural forces,
how they abate, how strong at times we have been in our lives. But that changes. That changes. But no attribute of God will
ever pass away. He's without variableness. He
does not vary and there's no shadow. He does not cast a shadow
by turning around or by any change. Second Jesus is the same with
regard to his father as ever. He's the same. He was with his
father. He was his father's well-beloved
son before all worlds. It's a great comfort to me to
think about how the Lord Jesus, how the Father loves him. The
Bible says in John 3 and verse 35 that The father loved the
son and put all things into his hands. He loved the son. And the father loved the son
before all worlds. The father is in love with his
son. I mean, the father highly treasures
his son. The father would do ten million
things for his son's sake. He would. I tell you what he'll
do, he'll save all of his people for the son's sake. He loves
his son. He loves him. Now, you talk about
his love for me or his love for you, that's another thing. However,
if you trace it back in the Word of God, you'll find it's one
and the same. Really, it's another subject, but it's nevertheless
one and the same. I'll say a little bit about that
in a minute. He was as well beloved as baptism. This is my beloved
Son when the Spirit came down upon Him. He was as well beloved
on the cross. Even when he was being smitten,
afflicted, when the Father was pouring out his wrath upon him,
he was the Father's well-beloved, and the reason he was suffering
there was because we had been accepted in him, and one must
pay the debt, and he, our representative, painted in our room and stood
in place. He is not less the object of his Father's infinite
affection now than he was then. We are loved immutably in him,
And that's a great thought. Give Him your cause to plead.
The Father will always hear Him. Yesterday, today, and forever,
the Father is always going to hear Him. So whoever you are,
whatever your case may be, give Him your case to plead. because
the Father loves Him, and He would do anything for His Son,
anything. Now, you know, you and I couldn't
lay claim saying God's gonna do just anything for me, but
as I stand in Christ, that's why I petition Him in Jesus'
name, because the Father loves Him, and that's not gonna change.
He is near to the Father's heart as ever. He will prevail. Thirdly,
Jesus Christ is the same to His people as ever. He loved us when
we had no being. He has been true to us. Oh, how
true He's been to me. I must say to you that the Lord
has been faithful to me. Christ has been faithful to me
as He in old times was faithful to His people. And He has blessed
me with the favor wherewith He has blessed His people throughout
the ages. And so He has been true to us
in all our trials. True to us in all of our difficulties,
in all our adversities, and He never failed us yet. The scripture
that our brother read, he read this chapter clearly. And it
said, He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
I will never leave. He said that to every generation
of believers that ever lived on the face of the earth. And
it goes far past us to every generation of believers that
will ever live on the face of this earth. He has said, I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that you may boldly
say, the Lord is my helper, and you need not fear what man shall
do unto you. And so, my friend, we keep that
in mind, that the Lord is going to remember us as He has remembered
us in times past. He has never failed us yet. And
it's glorious, you know, as you read, and we do read a great
deal, and we never come across the testimony of any child of
God who ever said God failed him. Whoever said that Christ
ceased to be toward him what he had pledged himself to be
in his holy word. And so my friend, I can say to
you that he's never failed us yet. This one thing I know, if
Jesus sets his love on me, it will never change. It will never
change. You say, well you mean it won't
change when I change? Nope, it won't ever change. You
see, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus said, as the Father hath
loved me, even so have I loved you. John 15 and verse 9. So even as the Father hath loved
me, even so have I loved you. He cannot love you more, and
beloved, bless God, He will not love you less. Isn't that glorious? He's the same. That's the point
I'm trying to make. And so as you're struggling through
this world and you have your ups and downs, you have your
difficulties, you have your what you call good days, and then
you have what you call bad days. You have very difficult maybe
periods in your life. when you think, well, everything
has gone to pot, everything has changed, but thank God the Lord
doesn't love you less because you got a bad day or because
you got some little problem that's come up in your life. He knows
about it, my friend, He knows about it. Well, the poet said
it this way, immutable, that word is unchangeable, His will. Though dark may be my frame,
his loving heart is still unchangeably the same. My soul through many
changes goes, his love no variations know." And so I like that. I like that. Fourthly, he's the
same to sinners today. as he was when he saved Saul
of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, when he saved old wicked Manasseh
in the Old Testament, oh, and 50 years ago when he saved old
sinful John Mitchell, over 50 years ago. And when He saved
me, He's still the same today. Isn't that glorious? Still the
same as when He saved the woman at the well. That's right, still
the same. Exactly the same. Still the same. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He's been doing it ever since.
Ever since, ever since, from before the foundation of the
world, the everlasting covenant, He's been saving sinners. Saved
sinners in the Old Testament, saved just like he does now.
Saves them exactly the same. And so he's saving sinners, and
he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Well, I thought
he would cast me away. I really and truly believed for
many years that he'd cast me away. I really, for many, many
years, did not think that he... I did not clearly understand.
Comrade, I did not clearly understand that he knew as much about me
before he started with me as he knew about me after he'd been
in my life for a while. I just somehow or other felt
like maybe that he just didn't know that much about me. But
I thought he would surely, surely cast me away. I thought he would. How many of you thought that?
That surely, somewhere along the line, the Lord would just
cast you away. But no, he's the same. He took
our case, bless God, and when He took our case, He knew everything
there was to know about us, because He knows all things. And in John
6, 37, and it's still true today, that all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and they that come, they that get to me,
I will in no wise cast out. I'll never cast them out. Make
no difference, come hell or high water, whatever the situation
is, I will never, never cast them out. And so, you that are
lost today, and you that are undone, you come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. You who are empty, Christ is
as full today as he ever was. He fills the hungry soul and
the rich he sends empty away. Come, hungry soul, come fill
yourself here. The banquet table is set. Come. The Lord Jesus still sets. He's
the host of that great banquet of salvation and you come. You that are thirsty, the stream
is still flowing, isn't it? It's still flowing. He said,
I'm the water of life. I'm the water of life. You just
come and you drink. If you're thirsty, come and drink.
Come and drink of this water. You that are black, the fountain
still can purify. It can still purify. There's
still a fountain drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And you that are naked,
remember the wardrobe that Mike spoke about in Isaiah 61 and
verse 10? Remember when he talked about
or quoted that verse this morning? Well, that wardrobe's not empty,
is it? No, there's a garment of salvation in God's wardrobe
for every one of the elect. Every one of His people that
He chose before the foundation of the world. Anyone who can
come believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a garment in
that wardrobe to fit you, my friend. And so you come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. The poet said, come guilty souls
and flee away to Christ and heal your wounds. Still, it is the
gospel's gracious day And now, free grace abounds, free grace
abounds, and so come Jesus Christ, the same towards sinners as He
always has been. And so listen, fifthly, Jesus
Christ is the same today in His offices. And number one, He's
a prophet. Just two words, hear Him, hear
Him, hear Him. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever, told you. Knowing, omniscient, hear Him. He's the priest. By one offering,
He hath perfected forever them that are set apart unto Him.
He's the priest. If you want a priest, you need
a priest to represent you before God. Christ is the one. And He
will always remain the priest of God. High priest of God. King of kings and Lord of lords. That's one of His offices. He's
our King. And I often hear the brother
talk about that. And on Wednesday night we talked about Psalm 20.
And that last verse mentioned that the King hear our petition.
He's our King and He is our King. Lord of Lords, King of Kings.
And I try to bow before Him. I think you do. I think you do. We try to bow before Him. One of these days we'll be able
to bow maybe better than we can now. But the intent now is to
bow before Him. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. My friend, what are you waiting
on? He's already King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Glorious
One. And sixthly, Jesus Christ is
the same today as He was yesterday in the teachings of His Word. They tell us in these times, you know, in this ninth verse
here, I like it, Hebrews 13, 9, Be not carried about with
different and strange doctrines. That's a warning to God's people
about divers, different doctrines. Don't be carried away. It's a
good thing that the heart be established with grace. Testimony
of the Word of God is salvation. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 is by grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. It's a good thing the heart be
established with grace, not with meats, not with things which
you can do, not with what you can eat or not eat. Because those
things have never profited those who have followed those kind
of traditions. But they tell us that the times
require and the age requires improvement in theology. But hear me, you future leaders
of this church. No, sir. The time does not require
that we improve theology. It does not require that. We're
not to do so. The old gospel is the same as
it was. Not one of our stakes must ever
be removed. Not one of our cords, remember
it, must ever be loosed. The Word of God is the same.
Christ is the same. Paul said, hold fast in 2 Timothy
1.13, that form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in
faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. The preaching of Christ
and the apostles, it must be our preaching. I cannot and must
not and will not by the grace of God ever shape the truth. The truth is as it stands in
the holy word of God. Let it be faithfully proclaimed. We cannot par off the rough edges
of the doctrines of Christ. He's the same in his teaching.
He preached election when he was here, and we will too. You cannot be sure if Christ,
you can be sure that if the Lord Jesus Christ was here today,
that he would preach the same as he did in the Sermon on the
Mount. Do you have any question about that? I say he would. I'd
say he'd preach the same. Men may laugh at this, but the
doctrine of Christ must never be removed. It must never be
altered. This is just as true of his promises,
brethren, as it is of his person. And it's also true, not only
of his promises, but also true of his threatenings as well.
He is the same in all of this. Well, I've tried to open up this
text a little, maybe just a little bit, enough to at least excite
our interest to look further into this depth, which one old
brother described as without a bottom, because there is no
bottom to this truth. The immutability of Christ the
Lord is what we've been talking about. The unchangeableness of
our Master and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. I've come to a
conclusion. I want to exhort your heart and
my heart and my soul and your soul. If you'd be the same today
as yesterday, my soul, my soul, set not your affections on these
changing things, but set your heart on Him. Set your heart
on Him. Don't build upon the sandy pillars
of a world that must soon pass away. I know you don't believe
it. There's many of you that don't believe that. But don't
build your hope on the sandy pillars of a world that soon
must pass away. But build your hopes upon this
rock, which when the rain descends and the flood shall come, shall
stand immovably secure. Oh my soul, lay not up for yourselves
treasures in this insecure place. Put it in Christ. Love Him. Hope
in His glory. Trust His blood. Let your joy
be in His presence. Remember, my heart, oh remember,
oh heart, that this time is coming when you must part with all. The time is coming when we must
part with all. Death will put an end It'll put
out our sunshine. It's gonna put it out. Death's
dark flood must soon roll between you and all that you have. There was a preacher by the name
of Wilson, Walter Wilson, and he was talking one day to an
atheist. He said, I don't believe what you're preaching, Mr. Wilson.
And Mr. Wilson said, I've told you what
I believe to be the truth. Now, he said, perhaps you'll
tell me what you believe. And the man replied, I do believe
that death ends all, Mr. Wilson. So do I, Wilson said. What? He said, you believe that
death ends all? I certainly do, the preacher
said. Death ends all your chance of
doing evil. Death ends all your joy, my friend. Death ends all your projects.
It ends all your ambitions. It ends all your friendship.
Death ends all the gospel you will ever hear. Death ends all for you, and you
go into outer darkness. As for myself, The preacher went
on to say, death ends all my wanderings, death ends all my
tears, all my perplexities, all my disappointments, all my aches
and pains, death ends it all, and I'm going to be with the
Lord in glory. And the atheist said, well you
know, I never thought of it that way. And the preacher led this
man to Christ. simply by saying, I agree with
you, death ends all. And my friend, we need to be
sobered by that fact that death's dark flood will roll between
you and all that you have. Alas for our changes, but hallelujah
for him who changes not. Put your heart with him who will
never leave thee. Trust yourself with Him who will
go with you through the black and surging currents of death
stream and who will walk with you up the steep hills of heaven
and make you sit with Him in heavenly places forever and ever. My heart, I charge you, trust
all your concerns with Him who never can be taken away from
you and will not let you be taken away from Him. Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today and forever. Isn't it wonderful
to be in eternal union with Him? There was a man by the name of
Dan Crawford, and I'll close with this. He had the difficult
task of following in the steps of David Livingston, the missionary
who gave his life ministering the Word of God in Africa. And
Crawford, he didn't have the same personality as his predecessor. So at first he had a great deal
of trouble on the mission field, winning the loyalty of the tribal
members and also even of the church back home that wasn't
sure that he could carry on the work that he was trying to do.
But with God's help, he did a good job. He was faithful to the Lord. But when he died, there was a
well-worn copy of the New Testament that was found in his pocket.
And there was a poem there that he had written on the inside
of the cover, and I believe it revealed the secret of his being
able to carry on that great work on that mission field. And here's
what he said, I cannot do it alone. The waves dash fast and
high. The fog comes chilling around,
and the light goes out in the sky. But I know that we too,
T.W.O., shall win in the end. Jesus and I. Coward and wayward
and weak, I change with the changing sky. Today so strong and brave,
tomorrow too weak to fly. But He never gives in, so we
too shall win, Jesus and I. It's wonderful to be in union
with Him, and all believers are in union with Him. One with Jesus
Christ, the eternal unchanging one. May the Lord bless the message
this morning. I appreciate so much your prayers.
I've had a little adjustment this week in my medication and
so I'm feeling some better. Still don't have quite the umph
that I would like to have and it was obvious I'm sure this
morning but nevertheless God willing we'll Somebody said,
I was telling Mike yesterday, somebody said 80% of life is
showing up. And so at least we showed up
this morning. May God bless you. And Mike's
going to lead us in