Hanging On
Notes
Transcript
Read: Hebrews 10:23
Read: Hebrews 10:23
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
If you turn back a little to Hebrews 4:14 you find the same exhortation--
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
To hold fast put into our terminology means to HANG ON!!!
Humans can be extremely strong. I was reading recently of a WW2 hero Joe Rollino.
He lived to be 104 years old and during that time was known as a strong man.
In his prime he weighed only 150 lbs, but could lift 635 pounds with his fingers and 3,200 lbs with his back.
What really brought him into stardom though was when he served in the military.
He recieved a Bronze and Silver star for his bravery and service in the Pacific,
plus three Purple Hearts for his battle injuries.
He is best known for pulling his wounded comrades from the battlefield, two under each arm, and then going back in for more, because they left no one behind.
Strength is not always according to muscle, I have heard countless stories of a mother seeing her child, husband, or father run over by a vehicle and pick up this thousands of pounds machine to free their loved one.
SKIP THIS QUOTE
In our text this morning Jesus is telling the Church at Philedelphia to "Hold fast" or today we would say "Stay strong," or "Hang On"
This was in the original sermon -
The Text in Hebrews says to “Hold Fast our profession”
This is what I want us to do this morning, I want to encourage you to HANG ON - TILL HE COMES!!!
While it may sound cliché I want to remind you to
"HANG ON" The darkest hour is often before the dawn
"HANG ON" The darkest hour is often before the dawn
I can only imagine how dark things must have been for the disciples, as they struggled to process what had happened to Jesus, their deliverer, their king and now he was buried, in a borrowed tomb, sealed fast by the Romans - Gone.
How dark that must have been. If only they could have seen, that night had to be for morning to come.
There came that dawning to the two on the way to Emmaus,
Mary in the Garden,
The Disciples in the Upper Room
And I promise you there is coming that time for you - whatever your dark time is, Hang on till He comes and He always comes.
It may be dark now, but HE WILL COME and the SON will rise on your night.
The Psalmist reminds us weeping may endure for the night, BUT JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING.
"HANG ON" God is still God
I love that sermon by S. M. Lockridge "MY KING" and every once in a while I will go and listen to it to get fired up but my favorite part of the whole message is when he is trying to describe his king and he says, "You Can't Impeach him and he's not going to resign." I want us to never never forget that no matter what, no matter what GOD IS STILL GOD. We can hang on to that.
I want to remind you of Hebrews 6:18-20 (KJV) 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Hebrews 6:18-19 (NET1) 18 so that we who have found refuge in him[19] may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,[20]
That idea of the anchor that has entered into the veil, is speaking of Jesus the forerunner, the one who goes before. I was raised on the Mississippi and watched many a tug boat push and pull those huge barges up and down the river but this is talking about an anchor that goes beyond what we can see and pulls us through to safety. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, God is Still God - He's not going to change, He's still the same today, and he's still pulling us to Heaven - hang on hang on hang on
"Hang On" God always Comes through
Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to China, was deeply distressed by many burdens that weighed him down. As he prayed for strength to carry on his ministry, Psalm 55:22 suddenly came to his mind: "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you."
Springing to his feet, he cried, "This fear-allaying truth has evaded me too long! I see it all now. If we are obeying the Lord and still run into difficulty, the heavy responsibility rests with Him, not with us!" Then he prayed, "Lord, You shall have all the burden! At Your bidding I will go forward, leaving the results with You." With lightened heart, Hudson Taylor went on to establish a great work in China.
What ever your need this morning - loneliness, finiancial problems, family issues, stress, health problems I want you to know you can HOLD FAST you can HOLD ON GOD's Got this and GOD ALWAYS COMES THROUGH.
They used to sing:
Have you a river you cannot cross
A mountain too hard to climb
Have you a valley you can't go through
Hold on till Jesus Comes
Hold On
Hold on
Hold on to the old Rugged Cross
For someday, someday, someday
Hold on - Hold on
Jesus will come.
Revelation 3:11 (KJV) Church of Philadelphia
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.