Are you rejoicing this morning having just awoken to a glorious day to be alive? Are your affections set upon Him who called you and saved you? Rejoice this morning if you name is written down in glory! Has the Holy Spirit quickened you to feed your life the Spirit filled Word Of God, that ye might be a partaker of that which is ordained of all believers to be the sustenance to sustain us in this world of sin and death? Listen and rejoice this morning. We have a tendency to consider those in the Bible as super hero’s of faith, when in actuality they were and are men and women just as we are. Listen to these words this morning! God gives us an example in Hebrews 6 that is profitable for us today. “For the earth which drinks in the rain the comes oft upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by which it is dressed, receives blessing from God. But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected and is nigh unto cursing: whose end is to be burned.” I love each time I read the word and come to a little three letter word that introduces hope and faith to the soul of men. “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence in the full assurance of hope, unto the end.” We as believers are called to an eternal position in Christ, with the eternal Word of God as a provision, that we might fulfill the will of God in our lives, going forward daily, and not retreating into the fleshly living of those who reject the faithfulness of God, and are lost in a dying world. Our call is individual, one by one, into the same hope of the gospel that Christ revealed to the disciples, both when he was alive and after he was offered up as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God.

This morning I want to concentrate on the result of diligence in our walk with God. ‘That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The same Spirit of God that inspired those who were men of faith, and diligent to fulfill the will of God, speaking forth those words spoken unto them, before Christ came, and testified to the truth of God operating in the hearts and minds of men, through prophesy, instructions given as received from God, of ordinances for sacrifices, of building the tabernacle in the wilderness. And the list goes on, and we too, men and women of faith, move forward receiving with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls, as James said in James 1:21B. Hearing promises and inheriting them is actually two different things. Men heard Christ speak but never gave heed to what he said. Others heard and were quickened by the Spirit and received and believed in Him. Listen to verse 13 of Chapter 6: “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.” All the promise of God in Him are yea and amen. Not nay, but yea! “Whereby are given unto us, exceeding great and precious promises that we might be partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2nd Peter 1:4 Through the promise of God, Abraham went forth and yes, he fulfilled the will of God. Did he err, of course, but was God faithful unto him and brought forth a son of promise, hallelujah! Yes! Listen to His Word and believe. “And so after he patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by and oath: That by two immutable things, in which is was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for a refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” These are powerful verses in Chapter 6 of the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews.

Actually this morning in Hebrews 6:18, God made a promise and will stand by that promise, recognizing that the Triune God brought forth this counsel to the effect that the soul might find a sure refuge in the Lord Jesus. This counsel is immutable. It does not change. And God in wisdom confirmed it with an oath. In other words, God confirmed the immutability of his promise as one who would come forth having made a promise and confirmed it by the highest authority. In other words God swore by the authority of Himself, who cannot lie. This presents to us the reality of not just a hope, but a refuge type of hope. One we can rest in and be assured of, knowing of whom the promise was made. The writer puts it this way. “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. Which hope we have as an anchor for the soul both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Jesus entered into death, and rose from the dead, the entered into heaven as our High Priest. Have you ever invited Christ into your life? If you have, do you have the confidence of your salvation, by growing up in Him, through His Word? I invite you to receive Christ today. All the promises of God in Him are yea and amen. Come to Christ today, and ask Him into your heart, believing He died for you and paid the payment for your sin. It is glorious to know Him, Jesus, and to walk each day of our life with Him, knowing that He holds us in His hands and sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Say a simple prayer this morning, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart and save me. I ask you to forgive me sin and receive me today as one of your own, in Jesus name, Amen!