This morning we'll be looking
in the book of Hebrews, both hours, Hebrews chapter three,
if you'd like to turn there. You ever heard someone say God
has a plan for your life? You ever heard anybody say that
before? God has a plan for your life. Did you know that's not
true? God does not plan. God does not
plan. To plan is to calculate. God
doesn't calculate. We calculate. Matter of fact,
we need computers. Everybody in here probably has
a cell phone that does just that. It calculates inputs and outputs.
God doesn't calculate. To plan is to take information
and try to accomplish something. We gather information if we were
gonna go Camping, I would need to think about all the aspects
of camping. What do I need to have in order
for us to have a successful camping trip? We need food, we need water,
we need this, we need that. That's calculating, that's planning.
God doesn't plan, he purposes. Why would he need to plan? He
knows all things. He's everywhere all the time.
He's omnipotent and omniscient. It's his person, it's his character,
it's who he is. What would he need to plan for?
Nothing can take him off guard. He owns everything. By him, all
things exist. We plan and by taking information,
trying to accomplish something, but God's never, when we try,
we try to accomplish something. That's the word. But God has
never tried to accomplish anything. He's never tried to do anything. Everything is by his glorious
design. We try, we contemplate, we calculate,
we attempt, but God orders. God purposes. God declares. God demands. God provides everything
according to his will. God appoints. God commands. A plan can be altered, a plan
can be stopped, a plan can be changed. A plan can be altered,
a plan can be changed. But what does the Lord say? I
am the Lord. This is the Lord speaking, telling
us about his self, about his person. I am the Lord. I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. I am the Lord. I change not.
Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Now, by God's
glorious grace, by his divine providence, he predetermined,
according to his own will, according to his own purpose and grace,
to redeem some people, to save some sinners from their sin.
They're called the elect. They are the called according
to his purpose. They are the ones that are saved
all by grace. How did he do that? He sent forth
his son, didn't he? He sent forth the Lord Jesus
Christ, born of a woman. made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. Doesn't say that he sent him
forth of a woman born under the law to try to redeem them, that
he planned on sending forth his son to try to redeem him. He said he sent forth his son,
born of a woman, made under the law for this purpose, to redeem
them that were under the law. Now, did he do that? He did. On the cross of Calvary, his
final words were, it is finished. He didn't try. He didn't make
an attempt. He didn't offer himself up to
men. He offered himself up to God.
And the veil in the temple was rent entwined from top to bottom.
He was faithful. faithful in all things. And that's
the message this morning. The Faithful Savior is the title.
Let's read our text in Hebrews 3, verse 1. Wherefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high
priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him
that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
Christ Jesus was faithful to him that appointed him. Titles faithful savior. Christ Jesus was faithful. To
him that had appointed him. For the work of salvation, the
one that purposed. For him. To come to the earth
to save his elected centers. Understand something we've. I
don't know if I've ever said these words to you before. The
salvation is by works. Just not my works and your works.
It's by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is by
merits. It's just not the merits of you
and I. It's by the merits of Jesus Christ.
Salvation is about something being accomplished, but it's
not what we accomplished. It's what he accomplished on
the cross of Calvary. Salvation is a choice. Did you
know that? Salvation is a choice. Just not
my choice or your choice was God's choice. He chose to elect. He chose to redeem. He chose
to save. He chose to keep that which he
saved. Salvation is completely dependent
on the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we have
the declaration that He was faithful to Him that appointed Him. He was faithful. Faithful in
all things. That's the good news of the gospel,
isn't it? The Lord Jesus Christ was faithful in all things, all
things pertaining to God, all things in the sacrifice of himself,
all things pertaining to salvation. He was faithful in all things. He was faithful in service, faithful
in sacrifice. Every thought, every motion that
he physically did was faithful unto the Father. He was faithful. Now, this morning I have three
questions that I want to ask. I don't normally go this route
in messages, but it's necessary this morning. The three questions
are this. Why was he faithful? Ask yourself that. Why was he
faithful? Why was he faithful? The second question is, what
did his faithfulness accomplish? What did his faithfulness accomplish?
And the last question, who was he faithful to? Who was he faithful
to? First question, why was he faithful?
Because it's his name. Because it's his person. Because
it's his character. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
19. If you and I are to be found faithful,
it's by grace alone. You and I know in and of ourselves
we do not have the capacity of being faithful unto the Lord
as He requires. You and I see our sin. We see
how so easily we are beset by unbelief. But the Lord Jesus
Christ never once had any unbelief in Him. Why was He faithful? Because it's who He is. Revelation
19 verse 11, and I saw, this is John speaking, what he saw,
I saw heaven open and behold a white horse. And he that sat
upon him was called, what? Faithful and true. Those are capital. Those are
not, um, a description of the noun, a description of the person.
It's not an adjective, or is it a pronoun? I can't remember
which one it is. It doesn't describe the noun. It's his name. That's who he is. His name is
faithful and true. And in righteousness doth he
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. Out of his mouth goeth a sharp
sword, and with it he should smite the nations. And he shall
rule them with a rod of iron. He treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness of the wrath of God. He hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is who the Lord Jesus Christ
is, faithful and true. He is the Word of God. He is
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is why he was faithful.
His faithfulness was not an attempt. He can't be anything but faithful. It's not possible for him to
be unfaithful. Is it possible for you and I
to be unfaithful? Certainly. We know it to be true,
don't we? We don't have confidence in ourself
that we would be faithful in things pertaining to God. We
become mercy beggars saying, Lord, Lord, make me, cause me,
teach me, lead me. May we be found in Christ who
is faithful because we're not faithful. His name is faithful. It's not
just an attribute, it's the essence of his character. It's the expression,
it's the express The expression of his almighty isness. You remember when he said unto
Moses, I am. It's who he is. His isness is
faithful. It's faithful. It was impossible
for him to be unfaithful, impossible for him to fail. Lamentations
221 says this. This I recall to my mind, therefore
have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed because his compassions fell not. They are
new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. This
is why He is our faithful Savior. This is why He was faithful,
because it's who He is. Now the second question is what
did His faithfulness accomplish? I can be faithful and not do
something, If I don't, but what was appointed unto him, he accomplished.
Everything appointed unto him, he accomplished it. Knowing that,
the Lord saw his elected people in Christ before the foundation
of the world. It all hinged upon Christ being faithful. It all
hinged upon the word of God. It all hinged upon who he is.
We've already been glorified, I would remind us what the scripture
says. This is how much confidence the father had in the son. This is, God can't fail. That's
the point, he can't fail. He's faithful. What did his faithfulness
accomplish? Well, many call God's purpose
a plan of salvation, implying this plan that God apparently
has by men's opinions that Jesus Christ really didn't accomplish
anything. If it's just a plan and you have to do your part,
Christ didn't accomplish everything necessary. But the good news
is he did. He accomplished it all because
he is faithful. The truth is he was born faithful,
he lived faithfully in all things, and he died faithful. Everything
about him was faithful. This is what he accomplished
in salvation. Look in Hebrews chapter one.
That's close to our text. Hebrews chapter one. Let's read
verse one through three. We've preached on this recently,
but let's be reminded of this this morning. Hebrews 1.1 says,
God who at sundry times in diverse manners spake in times past unto
the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power. He upheld all things because
he's faithful. When he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
He, by himself, purged our sin. Why? Because he's faithful. That's what his faithfulness
accomplished. He took the responsibility to redeem his people on the cross
of Calvary, the Father's elected people, and he did so because
he is faithful. He faithfully paid for the sin
of his people with his own blood. I love that it's not based upon
our cooperation. Aren't you glad? How much cooperation
would I have to have in order to be sure that I've cooperated
enough that I've made the blood of Christ effectual? Effectual,
that's the question. Well, I can't rest in any of
that. That's nonsense. I need to know
that he by himself purged my sin and then let me know about
it. By grace are you saved through faith. This is what he by himself
accomplished. This is what his faithfulness
accomplished is successful redemption. He alone faithfully was obedient
unto death of the cross. He's the one that drank the cup
of damnation by himself faithfully unto the father for his people.
He drank the bitter dregs of the cup of damnation, the bitter
dregs of the wrath of God. He went to the cross bearing
that sin in His own body so that you and I would be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He was faithful in all of those
things. We don't understand or can't enter in, I should say.
We believe it. We can't enter into the thought that the rocks
rent in too as the Lord Jesus Christ was being crucified, as
the wrath of God was being poured out upon Him. The sun refused
to shine. No man could look upon what was
happening, but whatever was taking place Whenever the Lord Jesus
Christ was made sin for us, when his soul was being offered up
unto his father, he was faithful in doing it. Whatever was taking
place, he was faithful and the father was satisfied. The father
was pleased with his sacrifice. The father was honored by the
death of his son. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Think about the angels that had fallen. They were holy beings. They couldn't have stood in the
presence of God without being so, could they? And yet they
have fallen and now will be in eternal torment. Although they
were holy, even an angel could not have redeemed the Lord's
people because they're not, they're not God. Their blood is not,
they're not born of men, they're created beings. All the angels
could have been sacrificed and it still would not have redeemed
God's people back, but the Son bore our sin in His body. He
successfully redeemed because He's faithful. He's faithful. This wrath that the Lord endured,
we talk about wrath and we don't, I was reading or hearing people
talking about the earthquake that happened this week. I'm
sure everybody's heard about that. It shook my house a little bit.
I didn't know what was happening. Everybody's talking about the
wrath of God. Well, it's because the sin of the world's getting
worse and worse and God's starting to pour out his wrath upon the
world. Did you know in the Old Testament,
the wrath of God was poured out on the whole world one time,
and that was in Noah's time. You want to talk about men said
that during COVID, it was because God's wrath was being poured
out. Men wish that was the wrath of
God. That's not the wrath of God. In wrath, there's nothing
left. Understand what I'm saying. Wrath
completely consumes sin, completely destroys it. completely. There's nothing left and there
would be nothing left of you and I if we were to endure the
wrath of God. We would be obliterated. We would
be non-existent. And yet Christ became the center
substitute on the cross of Calvary, bearing our sin in his body and
absorbed that fire into himself and quenched that fire for his
people so that you and I would be made the righteousness of
God in him, and we would not have to endure that wrath. We
would not have to endure that fire. No, the earthquake wasn't
God's wrath. The Lord on the cross of Calvary
endured the wrath of God. You want to see the wrath of
God, look at Noah's time, what happened. The earth was completely
covered with water. Only ones that were saved were
in the ark. And it is the same today. We must be found in the
ark who is faithful unto God. He is faithful as our ark, faithful
in all things. Our salvation, the Lord's people's
salvation is what his faithfulness accomplished. Till every sin
he was bearing was gone, until every person he was dying for
was redeemed, until God's justice was satisfied forever, he endured
faithfully. You know, it wouldn't do us any
good to endure the wrath of God. That's what hell is, is eternal
torment, because it doesn't do us any good. We can't put away
one sin by the sacrifice of ourself. But he did. He put away all the
sin of his people by the sacrifice of himself. His faithfulness
saved us from our sin, redeemed us back to God, made us the righteousness
of God in Him. What did His faithfulness accomplish?
The full pardon of God's elect. That's what His faithfulness
accomplished. What did His faithfulness accomplish? What did His faithfulness
accomplish? It accomplished you. to have
the right to be called the Son of God because of what He done
alone. What did His faithfulness accomplish?
For you to be made just as holy as God. That's what the Lord's
people are in Christ Jesus, all not because of our faithfulness
or merits or choice or works, all by His own blood, all by
His own work, all by His own merits, all by His own choice.
That's what He's made His people. Now all that there is for wretched
sinners that come to Christ is mercy and grace. He says if you confess your sin,
he's faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse
you from all unrighteousness. No one coming to the fountain
of living water has ever been turned away. You think about those who are
denied water. The rich man lifted up his eyes
in torment and being in hell. And he saw Abraham afar off.
He saw Lazarus being comforted. He said, Abraham, send Lazarus
that he may dip his finger in water and cool my tongue for
I am tormented in this flame. There was no water for the rich
man. On the cross of Calvary, our Lord said these words, I
thirst. Why? Why? Because He was made
a curse for His people. He thirsted so that you and I
would never have to thirst. He was made a curse so that you
and I would be relinquished of the curse, the penalty thereof.
He died so that you and I would never have to die. He put away
our sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
And now the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And whosoever will,
let him come. Take of the water of life freely.
No one that comes to the fountain of living water is ever denied
a drink. This is what his faithfulness
accomplished. Eternal forgiveness of sin. You
ever, we talk about forgiveness of sin. And a lot of religions
talk about forgiveness of sin. But if we stop just for a moment,
think about really having forgiveness of sin. You're not charged with
sin anymore. All you can see is sin in yourself
and around you. But the Lord does not charge
his people with sin anymore. Why? Because they're gone. He
put them away. He absorbed the wrath of God
for the sin of his people until the sin was gone. We have forgiveness. This is the greatest news to
a sinner. I have forgiveness of my depravity,
my guilt, my sin, my wretchedness. There's forgiveness. There's
pardon with him. That's what his faithfulness
accomplished on the cross of Calvary. True forgiveness from
the Father. The Father declares the Lord's
people justified. Not just as if I had never sinned,
but literally never had sinned one time. That's the good news
of what Christ accomplished. That's what his faithfulness
did for his people. We have eternal forgiveness of
sin not merited by us. And not offered to us, not offered
to us received. Received by every one of God's
elected predestinated sheep. Does the cup, think about this,
does the cup boast in receiving the water that's poured into
it? No. The cup was made to receive water,
wasn't it? The Lord's people are made to
receive Christ. Don't you love that? Literally
created for that purpose. Do we boast that we've received
Christ? Does the cup boast that it's
received water? No. No, does the man that's thirsting
in the desert on his last breath, needing water, does he brag as
he drinks of that water? No, he rejoices that he's been
given water, that the Lord supplied water. This is what it is to
come to Christ, to see yourself as thirsting, to see yourself
as an empty cup, beg for his water, beg for his life, his
blood. It would be kind of foolish to
think that a dead man would boast about having his life given to
him back. I remember reading something
about somebody that flatlined on operating table for five minutes
or so. That's a long time. I mean, they're
literally considered dead after the heart stops beating, the
brain activity dissipates. You understand how all that works?
I don't understand it all, but the person came back alive. And
the funny part was is that individual attributed that miraculous happening
to the diet that they had been on for the last two years. Like,
well, if it hadn't been for that, it wasn't a low-carb diet. But
you understand what I'm saying? He said, a low-carb diet I've
been on, that's what helped my heart to be strong enough to come back
from me. And he did that. And it's like,
you were dead. You were, I mean, if nobody touched
that man and shocked him back to, he would have just laid there
dead. Bless the Lord would have done it, but you understand what
I'm saying. And this is so true. And even more so spiritually,
we're laying there dead. Not even, we haven't flatlined.
We've never had a heartbeat. We were, we were born dead. We,
we never, never had brain waves. The Lord says, live. That's what
His faithfulness accomplishes in His people. He says, live
at the appointed time. And we live, and we don't stand
up and say, well, I obeyed His voice. I did this, or I did,
no, that's not the believer's words, is it, ever. No, we just
look to Christ and say, all glory and honor and praise goes to
the Lamb who is faithful, who is faithful. The need given causes grace to
be received. The need given causes grace to
be received. Every sinner that the Lord purposed
to save is made needy of Christ and given the grace to receive
him all by faith. The most miraculous part or one
of the most miraculous parts of salvation is that the Lord
sees his people as faithful because he sees his people in Christ.
That means you've never had a bad thought. That means you've never
said a wrong word. That means you've never. You've
always believed God at all times and in every way. How can that
be? Because we're in faithful Lord
Jesus Christ. The faithful Lord Jesus Christ.
We're in him. It's in him we live. It's in
him we move. It's in him we have our being.
And when he sees us, he sees the blood and he sees perfect
righteousness because of the faithfulness of Christ. This is what his faithfulness
accomplished. Now, lastly, who was he faithful to? Who was he
faithful to? You're in Hebrews 1, turn back
to our text in Hebrews 3. Verse 1, wherefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high
priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him
that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
He was faithful to Him that appointed Him. There is nothing about salvation
that's not appointed. There's nothing about salvation
that's not appointed. Its origin, its execution, its
achievement was determined before time ever began. The destination
of salvation, the recipients of salvation, everything about
salvation is appointed. Everything is purposed. Everything
was accomplished. Everything was determined, then
achieved on the cross of Calvary. Everything's been finished. Everything
about salvation, everything about salvation was appointed. And
it's completely based upon the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Completely based upon the faithfulness
of the Father to elect a people. Completely based upon the faithfulness
of the Spirit to call those people for whom the Son redeemed. Completely
based upon the Lord keeping His people faithfully. Everything
about salvation is appointed It's not my faithfulness, it's
not your faithfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ was faithful
to his Father in all things pertaining to salvation. And now, what is
he called? Our faithful high priest. He's
faithful to the Father, and he's faithful to his people. Faithful
to redeem those given of the father and faithful as our high
priest intercessor, even right now seated at the right hand
of the father, making intercession for us. He's faithful in all
things. Before time, the father trusted
the son that he would be successful. that he would be successful,
wrote their name in a book. You know that book, don't you?
Call it the Lamb's Book of Life. The book that no man could open,
no man could loose the seals thereof. John wept whenever no
man could open it. The elder said, weep not, John.
There's one that will open it. There's one that can, the only
one that can open it. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of Jesse, he hath prevailed. It is purposed
for him to open it and loose the seals thereof. And he did
on the cross of Calvary. Those seals represent the wrath
of God. He endured the perfect wrath of God that everyone in
that book that was given to him, perfectly redeemed back to God. We know He was successful by
His own words. It is finished. He successfully
redeemed His people faithfully. Faithfully. He was and is faithful
to His Father. He was and is faithful to His
people. He is the faithful Savior. And my closing question is this.
Do you believe in the faithful Savior appointed of God or do
you believe in your faithfulness? Do you believe in the faithful,
and there's only one, the faithful Savior of the Lord, the Lord
Jesus Christ? Do you believe in His faithfulness
or do you believe in your faithfulness? There can't be any gray area.
If there's one thing I do as part of my salvation, I believe
that I can be faithful. I believe that I've contributed
to salvation. That's what we're saying, that
the Lord wasn't faithful enough to achieve salvation. I've got
to do my part. Do you believe? Ask yourself,
do I believe? Am I trusting in and am I hoping
in the Lord Jesus Christ and his faithfulness? Or am I looking
to myself in any way, shape or form for my own faithfulness? Are you trusting in your own
will and purpose or his? Are you counting on the promise
that you made to Him? Or are you counting on the promise
Christ made to the Father? I will redeem them. Are you counting
on the Father's promise to the Son? I will resurrect you. Are
you counting on the promise of the Spirit? I will call them
in time. Either we're counting on our
faithfulness or the faithfulness of God found in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Can't be both. Either we believe,
look to, rest in ourself, or we rest in, look to, and believe
on the faithful Savior. The faithful Savior. Let's pray. Father, if we are not believing,
cause us to believe now. Cause us to see you, the faithful
Savior, and forsake ourself. In Christ's name, Amen. Let's
take a break.