Let us turn in our Bibles tonight
to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I'd like to read one verse, verse
number 18, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 18. While we look not at the things
which are seen, But at the things which are not seen, for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. I realize tonight that all of
us have heavy hearts and we're much like our Lord's disciples
when he told them that he was going to go away. He said, sorrow
hath filled your hearts. Since we met together last Sunday,
many things have changed because of one event. Relationships have
been ended and things have changed that will never be the same again. But tonight I would impress upon
us and like for us to remember that everything that has changed,
everything, Everything that has changed since last Sunday morning
are all things, as Paul says, which are seen, and they are
things which are temporal. All things that have changed
are things which are seen, and they are all temporal. Everything
we can see tonight is temporal. You look at me, I look at you,
These bodies are temporal. They're going to wear out. They're
going to lay down in the dust one day. We all recognize that. Everything we see, the chairs
that you're sitting upon, the podium here before you, everything
that we see is temporal. It's all going to be burned and
destroyed one day. So Paul here says, well we look
not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Things which we do not see. Things
that we cannot see are eternal. And I say unto us tonight that
not one thing, not one thing that is eternal has changed since
last Sunday morning. Not one thing. And I'll mention
some things to us tonight to look upon by faith. These are
things that we can only see by faith because they are eternal. They're not visible to the human
eye, but they are eternal verities, eternal realities. First of all,
God has not changed. I want you to turn back with
me to the last book in the Old Testament, to the book of Malachi. Here are things which we cannot
see. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son of God
hath declared Him. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6. And I would like for us to remember
that this is the last book in the Old Testament. And there
is that period, that intermediary period between the Old Testament
books and the New Testament books with the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. 400 years. Think of the time
before Malachi puts a period to the end of his prophecy. God had spoken by sundry means,
divers means, the writer of Hebrew says. prophets but now when Malachi
closes his prophecy there's going to be 400 years that the nation
of Israel would be without a word a new word from God a prophet
speaking to them directly as he had done through Moses through
Samuel through Isaiah through Micah, through Malachi. It's going to be 400 years. A lot changes in 400 years, doesn't
it? It's God preparing His nation,
His people, in this last book in the Old Testament, before
this time begins, by declaring unto them, notice what He says
in chapter 3 and verse 6, I'm the Lord. I change not. I change not. Now this is a truth
that we cannot see. And we accept it, we see it by
faith because everything that we've ever been connected with
or involved in tells us about change. We've changed. We came into this world just
to spend long, and now we've grown, and we've grown older,
and some of us have, and all of us have, from when we first
came into this world. We've seen our friends change.
We've seen many things change. But those things are temporal.
Everything that we may see is temporal. But Paul tells us here
in our text, we look not at the things which are temporal, but
we look at those things which cannot be seen. And what a comfort
it is, and what a bedrock foundation it is for God's people to know
this wonderful truth in the midst of the storm. In the midst of
trials and difficulties, we sang that hymn just a few minutes
ago that went something like this. Is there trouble anywhere? And I could not help but think
there's trouble everywhere. You can't look anywhere where
there's not trouble. And if you find a place, stay
there for a few minutes, and there will be trouble. But God
Almighty, our God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
He changes not. For I am the Lord, I change not. God has not and God will not
change. You can't say that about anything
else, anyone else. In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse
8, The scripture says, Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today and forever. He is God. Because He is God, He changes
not. He is the same. When we think
about the fact that He is the same, He's the same tonight as
He was yesterday. He's the same tonight as He was
when He walked upon this earth. And you read through the Gospels
and you see how he was touched. The writer of Hebrews says he
was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. We see how
he was touched as he looked upon the suffering and those who came
to him in need. Did he ever turn anyone away?
Did he? I don't believe he did. Everyone
who came to him. He's the same tonight. And he'll
be the same tomorrow. So that's the first thing that
I would mention to us tonight. And when we think about the fact
that he was touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
that's the scripture that the apostle uses in Hebrews when
he speaks about our high priest. We have an high priest. We have
not an high priest, rather, which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, whatever they are. Now, we use that word
today, infirmities, usually with sicknesses, bodily sicknesses. And that's certainly included,
but that word's changed its meaning, hasn't it? Any kind of infirmity
that is common to man. He may be touched with the feelings
of our infirmities, those afflictions and trials and sorrows and sadness
that we experience just because we are men and women. Here's the second thing. First,
God has not changed. Second, God's covenant has not
changed. We speak a lot, I suppose, about
the covenant because it's very important. Very important. It's called an everlasting covenant. The reason it hasn't changed
is because it is everlasting. And it was made by God before
the world began. When no one existed, nothing
existed but God. This everlasting covenant was
made. And we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ agreed in this covenant to be the surety for those fallen
sons of Adam that He was given in this covenant. They were chosen
by the Father and given unto Him as their surety. And He agreed to do everything
in this covenant to satisfy God's holy requirements. to restore,
to bring back his bride that had fallen in our head, Adam. This covenant, it hasn't changed
and it's not going to change, is it? Look back with me to 2
Samuel. David, you know where I'm going,
I'm sure, but when David came near to the end of his life.
He'd been blessed of God. You know, he's the only man in
the scripture that God said he had found David, a man after
his own heart. David wrote many of the Psalms. And yet, you know, when we mention
David, do you know what pops into the mind of so many people?
It's not that he was a sweet psalmist of Israel, that he was
chosen by God. Remember when God sent Samuel
down to his father's house, Jesse, and God told Samuel he was going
to make one of his sons the king. And the first son, the oldest
son, came and God told Samuel, he's not the one. The next one,
next one, next one. Samuel asks Jesse, are these
all of your sons? Well, there's one. The youngest
one, he's out keeping my sheep. What an appropriate occupation
for the one who would be the progenitor of the Lord Jesus
Christ who is. the good shepherd, the great
shepherd, the chief shepherd of the sheep. He's out tending
the sheep. Bring him in. Remember God told
Samuel, don't look on the outward appearance. Isn't it strange
that God, not many mighty, not many noble, not many wise, but
God has chosen the foolish things of the world. Things which are
really nothing. That's what that text says. God
chose David. And if you're one of his children
tonight, God chose you. Not because of any good that
he saw in you. He chose you because he would
choose you. He loved you because he would
love you. And he named you in this covenant. And he gave his
son to be your surety. And he agreed to come and to
do everything that was necessary for your salvation. This covenant
hasn't changed, and it's not going to change. And when David
came to the end of his life, I started to say, you know what
most people think of when they mention David. They don't think
of him necessarily as the psalmist of Israel, but what always pops
into men's minds is Bathsheba. Uri, adultery, murder. But our God is so gracious, isn't
he? So loving, so merciful, that
even this saint who fell, he was restored. But when he comes
to the end of his life, read it with me here in 2 Samuel,
chapter 23, in verses 1 through 5. Now, these be the last words
of David. David the son of Jesse said,
And the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, Notice he says
the God of Jacob. He didn't say the God of Abraham
or the God of Isaac, did he? He is the God of Abraham and
the God of Isaac. But I wonder if David didn't
mention Jacob because Jacob had his faults also. And don't we
all. Don't we all. The Spirit of the Lord spake
by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light
of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without
clouds. as a tender grass springing out
of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house,
my family, my life be not so with God. Yet, in spite of me,
in spite of the mess I've made out of things, He hath made with
me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Why is it sure? Because of the
surety. Jesus Christ is the surety of
this covenant. And yes, it's ordered in all
things and not one, not one thing shall fail. Not one. For this is all my salvation
and all my desire although he make it not to grow. So first,
as I said, things have changed. But those have been temporal
things. But we look on eternal things. God has not changed. God's covenant has not changed. And third, Christ's blood has
not changed. It cleanseth from all. A-L-L.
All First John 1 and verse 7. We think about the Lord Jesus
Christ dying, shedding His blood unto death just a little over
2,000 years ago. But His blood was efficacious
and cleansed the sins of men going all the way back at least
to Abel. We know that. I trust to Adam,
but we know to Abel. And Abraham. and Moses what about
Moses what about him killing that Egyptian what about him
when he lost his temper the meekest man the meekest man and yet he
lost his temper you bunch of fools must I fetch water for
you out of the rock bang bang God said you speak to that rock
The rock had already been smitten before. Christ only suffered
one time for sin. Christ is a rock. Moses smote
the rock twice. And God said, you're not going
to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. You can
see it, but you're not going to go in. But the blood of Jesus Christ
cleansed him. And isn't it amazing, I can point
out these things, and you're familiar with them, these prophets
in the Old Testament, and men, men of God who were used, but
they had their failures like we all do, their sins. But they're
never mentioned in the New Testament. The men are mentioned. You read
about Moses in Hebrews chapter 11, you won't read about the
fact that he smoked that rock twice. You won't read about the
fact that he killed that Egyptian, but what you will read about
is the fact that he forsook Egypt, esteeming the reproach of Christ's
greater riches than all of the riches of Egypt. But the blood
of Jesus Christ has not changed, it cleanseth from all sin, How
many found that fountain open in their day? We sing that hymn
sometimes. The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day. And there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away. How many sinners have plunged
in that fountain before Christ shed his blood? But remember,
he is as a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.
And the efficacy of his blood flowed back as well as forward. And here we are tonight, over
2,000 years later, and every one of us who look to Christ,
we know that he is the Lamb of God that bears away the sin of
the world. And you know, if you would like
to turn to Hebrews chapter 10, we think about the blood of Christ.
It hasn't changed. It hasn't lost its power. And
it never shall, as the hymn writer said, till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
12. But this man, Contrasted with
all of those priests that had served at the altar, in the tabernacle,
in the temple, all of those sons of Aaron, the Levites. But this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down. The work's finished. Those Old
Testament priests, those who ministered in the tabernacle,
in the temple, they never sat down. They were not allowed to
sit down because that would symbolize the work was finished. The work
was never finished until Christ cried, it is finished on the
cross. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. And look at verse 14 in that
same chapter. He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Fourth, Christ's promise of the
Holy Spirit abiding with us has not changed. In John chapter
14 and verse 16, He told His disciples and thus He promised
all of us, all of His church, all of His people, I will pray
the Father and He shall give you another comforter that he
may abide with you forever. Remember this promise in Hebrews
chapter 13 in verse 5. It has five negatives. You know
in our language, English language, two negatives nullify the statement. But in the Greek language, negatives
only intensify the statement. And this promise could read like
this. This would be a literal translation
according to Charles Spurgeon. I will never, never leave thee. I will never, never, never forsake
thee. And Spurgeon said that's a literal
translation of the Greek, but it doesn't really convey all
the truth in this promise. I think about the five negatives
there, and I know that in Scripture, I don't put a lot of stock, but
I do believe there's something to numerology, biblical numerology,
and five is the number of grace. And isn't it God's grace, and
isn't God gracious to promise us, I will never, never leave
thee. I will never, never, never forsake
thee. So that the hymn writer said,
the soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will
not desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord. is laid for your faith in His
excellent word. And number five, God has not changed, His covenant
has not changed, the blood of Christ has not changed, has not
lost its power, His promise of abiding with us forever has not
changed, and lastly, Heaven has not changed. It's still a real
place. Never have seen it, have you?
No, I know you haven't. Never have seen it. And why? Because it's eternal. You can't
see these things that are eternal. Well, we're used to seeing our
temporal things, and they're all going to be consumed one
day, burned up. But that which is eternal, we
see by the eye of faith. Some of us, let me say this first,
our Lord called it my father's house. Heaven has not changed. It is still a real place. It's not just some would-be or
mystical somewhere. It is a real place. Our Lord called it my father's
house. Some of us here tonight had childhoods
where we felt safe in our father's house. Now I realize that's not
the case with everyone. I'm not saying it's not the case
with everyone here tonight, but I know that there are people
in this world who were afraid of their father. They never felt
safe in their father's house. But some of us, thank God, we
We had childhoods where we felt safe in our father's house. I
did. And I know many of you would
say you did too. And I never worried. I never
worried about food. I never worried about clothes.
I just didn't worry. Why? Because I was in my father's
house. He took care of that. That's
just what fathers are supposed to do, isn't it? But what a blessing to be in
our Father's house, our Heavenly Father. Many things our fathers
maybe wanted to do for us, but just did not have the ability.
That's not the case with God, who is the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Let me close with this. This
is by an old English preacher that I like to read sometimes.
His name was Robert Trail. He lived in, I believe, the late
1500s and early 1600s. But I quote, There is no man
ever will be in heaven, and no man walks in the way to heaven
but he that loves the way. There is a perverse love of heaven,
and a mistaken love of the way to it. And if people would examine
their hearts and find the matter thus with them, I may say in
a word, there is a determination about your state. A Christian
loves heaven because Christ is there. And there he is seen and enjoyed. And a Christian loves the way
to heaven because it is through Christ. I live, he concluded
that statement with, I live by the faith of the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me. I pray that the Lord would
comfort all of us with these five truths. You know, there
are many, many more that we could look at tonight. But in a world
of change, isn't it comforting to know there are things that
never change? My soul is built upon the solid
rock. All other ground is sinking sand. Where's your soul tonight? Is
it built on Christ? Or is it built on some sinking
sand? I trust that it is only upon
Christ, Christ alone, Christ alone. Let's sing a few verses
and we'll be dismissed.