Steadfast and Sure

God made a promise

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.””

Genesis 22:18 ““In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.””

Abraham trusted that promise

Abraham obtained that promise

Isaac saved from Mt. Moriah Gen 22.

married Gen 24.

had children Gen 25.

ultimately through the seed - which is Christ

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed (God promised and he cannot lie)

God made an oath = guarantee or surety

Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”” Jesus priest and king forever

the two unchangeable things are the oath and the promise - Jesus is the fulfillment of both the promise and the oath

have you trusted in the promise and the oath that God has made?

Who have fled

those in Judaism fled the incompleteness and hopelessness of Judaism

Everyone leaves something in order to embrace or follow Christ (Judaism, paganism, materialism, atheism, watered down evangelicalism, self.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEFT FOR JESUS?

We leave to take hold of something - the hope set before us (unshakable hope in christ)

Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

Hebrews 7:19 “(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;”

through Jesus we have taken hold of a better hope (God promised and made an oath and Jesus is the fulfillment of this)

Anchor of our Soul - sure and steadfast

when the storms of peer pressure, doubt, and suffering come for our faith this hope holds us an anchor.

are you tied on to Jesus - secure and stable in Him

Hope = inner place holy of holies

Exodus 26:31–35 ““You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. “You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver. “You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. “You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies. “You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.” Yom Kippur atonement

forerunner = scout - Jesus has entered on our behalf

Hebrews 9:11–12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Jesus is our scout keeping our relationship with God secure and safe John 14:1–4 ““Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. “And you know the way where I am going.””

Hebrews 8:1–2 “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.”

Jesus is sitting next to God ministering on our behalf (speaking to God on our behalf) keeping us safe and secure in our relationship with God.

Is Jesus sitting next to God speaking to him on your behalf? If you have not put your faith in Jesus through belief, confession, repentance, baptism then you do not have that hope and God Jesus is not speaking on your behalf to God

Jesus is at God’s side

But on our side - if we are Christians holding fast to Jesus