1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,800 Thank you for listening to the river. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,700 Bend Church podcast Reverb in church exists. 3 00:00:06,700 --> 00:00:09,800 Delete all people to know love and live New Life in Jesus 4 00:00:09,808 --> 00:00:12,300 Christ. We hope that you enjoy this 5 00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:19,500 message. We are in week 3 of our series, 6 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:23,900 anchor, for my soul, this journeying through the book of 7 00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:27,500 Hebrews with us in the Bible. Hebrews is a relatively short 8 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:31,300 letter in the Bible about Thirteen chapters that has been 9 00:00:31,300 --> 00:00:35,800 broken down into a down into for us, but we already touched 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,600 briefly on the text. We're going to look at today in 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,800 week one and what I mean, is, I read it. 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,000 We didn't talk a lot about it, but today we're actually going 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,100 to unpack kind of what I consider the center point of the 14 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:50,100 book. But also this been the Centre 15 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:53,800 point of the of the big idea. As we walk through this, that 16 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:58,000 Jesus is an anchor for our soul, but here's what today is about 17 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,800 more than maybe any other week so far. 18 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,200 Practically. What is it look like to Anchor? 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,300 Your soul. How can you wake up in the 20 00:01:05,300 --> 00:01:08,800 morning and say today, I, this is what I'm going to do to 21 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,200 Anchor, my soul in Christ. What does that look like 22 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:14,200 practically? So it's not hypothetical or 23 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,700 doctrinal just high and lofty. It's practical because it 24 00:01:17,700 --> 00:01:19,900 actually is. And so I want to give you the 25 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:25,100 big idea of this message today, the Practical outworking of 26 00:01:25,100 --> 00:01:27,600 anchoring, your soul to Jesus. So if you're taking notes, 27 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:28,800 there's notes right there in your. 28 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,500 In your note, guys. Why but here's the Practical out 29 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:36,600 working God's promises lead you through when the hill blocks 30 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,200 your view, God's promises lead you through when the hill blocks 31 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,700 your view, have you ever been in a situation where you had to 32 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:46,700 believe? Someone else has promised that 33 00:01:46,700 --> 00:01:50,000 that you were going to be, okay? Even if you couldn't see it at 34 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,200 the point in time, that things were going down in your life. 35 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,300 The hill was kind of blocking your view, if you're scared of 36 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:01,100 storms, when you were a kid or maybe as Don't and you need 37 00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:03,500 somebody to comfort you because your anxiety rose up, but 38 00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:05,900 especially me think back as a kid. 39 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,900 You would go maybe to Mom or Dad and they scoop you up and say, 40 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:11,500 hey, it's gonna be okay. And something about their words 41 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:14,500 comforted you you couldn't see that you were going to be okay 42 00:02:14,500 --> 00:02:16,300 through the storm. But Mom or Dad's words or 43 00:02:16,300 --> 00:02:18,200 whoever it was in your life, they comfort you. 44 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,600 Or maybe if you've ever had a surgery in here, maybe one of 45 00:02:21,608 --> 00:02:24,800 the biggest illustrations would be you trust that 46 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,800 anesthesiologist? That's about to run drugs into 47 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,800 your veins and render you. Conscious and then they're going 48 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,100 to take a knife and cut on you. Come on, man. 49 00:02:34,100 --> 00:02:36,200 We put our hope in people. A lot of times in it. 50 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:38,800 I mean, you have to pick the right doctors and try to be wise 51 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,200 but you can't see the hill that blocks your view is the fact 52 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,400 that you're going to be asleep. I don't know if I'm gonna be 53 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,400 okay or not. But we trust the doctors word 54 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,300 and we trust the fact that he wants good for us and he or she 55 00:02:50,300 --> 00:02:53,300 is going to do everything. They can to bring healing to her 56 00:02:53,300 --> 00:02:57,700 body this past week. I had to go to to the dentist 57 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,100 and I thought about it when I when I Down willingly and open 58 00:03:01,100 --> 00:03:03,700 my mouth and let somebody come at me with a 3 foot long needle. 59 00:03:03,700 --> 00:03:06,400 That's how long it feels. Okay, they come at you, this 60 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,600 bigot, it takes a lot of. I can't see that. 61 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,800 I'm going to be okay. I know I'd licks and I turn into 62 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,700 the biggest wimp when they bring all these drills and tools out. 63 00:03:13,700 --> 00:03:15,200 I'm like, man, just hit me in the face. 64 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:16,800 I'd rather. That than, instead of you 65 00:03:16,808 --> 00:03:19,700 putting all these shots in my gum, literally this process. 66 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:21,600 I went through last week, it was three hours long. 67 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:22,900 It's supposed to be a 45 minutes. 68 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,100 He had to numb me three times and he drilled into my gum for 69 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:29,800 in listen, I was about ready to fight somebody up in the lose my 70 00:03:29,900 --> 00:03:32,600 - in the dentist office, this week, by the way, and it wasn't 71 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,400 doctors fault. I mean, they just kept finding 72 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,400 that I hadn't taken care of my teeth, as well as should have 73 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,600 said, he's drilling. He's like, man, I'm so sorry. 74 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:39,700 I know. I'm like, sorry, man. 75 00:03:39,700 --> 00:03:42,900 You're killing me here, but I trusted him. 76 00:03:42,900 --> 00:03:45,800 I kept laying on the table and trusting him and his big plastic 77 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,800 thing over my face. One of the, the lady who cleans 78 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,700 my teeth she walks by and says, well, looking good today, pastor 79 00:03:51,700 --> 00:03:54,400 and I was like, thanks has big plastic Shield draped. 80 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,600 All over my face. And so I thought though you know 81 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,300 when I got done I put my hope in him. 82 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:03,100 I trusted him as far as getting the dental work done and I came 83 00:04:03,100 --> 00:04:07,100 out fine on the other side. So often we believe and put our 84 00:04:07,100 --> 00:04:09,500 Faith and Hope in the promises of people. 85 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:12,000 And that's not always bad. You need to be careful who you 86 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,600 believe, but I mean, not our Eternal Soul hope. 87 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,500 But I mean, the the hope, for whatever the situation is, we 88 00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:21,399 put our faith in them. But often God, who created 89 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:24,600 everything who gave everything for you, we don't anchor our 90 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,700 soul to him by believing his Thomas's, that's what the writer 91 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:32,600 of Hebrews is really getting at. You go, through heels, you climb 92 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,900 Hills, you go through. Valleys you go through storms, 93 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:38,200 and many times that he'll blocks your view and people give up on 94 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,000 God, how do you get back there? How do you make sure if you're 95 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,600 in a good place with the Lord? How do you make sure that you 96 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,800 stay Anchored In God? Well, that's what the writer of 97 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,300 Hebrews actually gets that in the center of this book. 98 00:04:50,300 --> 00:04:53,200 Hebrews chapter 6, if you have your Bible, and so here's what 99 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,000 he says, I'm going to back up and read the last verse. 100 00:04:56,100 --> 00:04:59,300 Verse that we read last week. Follow the example of those who 101 00:04:59,300 --> 00:05:02,100 are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith 102 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:05,200 and endurance. So he gives us this example, 103 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,100 there are people who have believed in Jesus so much, they 104 00:05:08,100 --> 00:05:10,900 put their faith in him and even though they have died and they 105 00:05:10,900 --> 00:05:14,100 have passed on their faith and endurance right now, they are 106 00:05:14,100 --> 00:05:17,500 realizing the promises of God. And so what he gets that 107 00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:20,400 throughout this book, some of the promises God come to pass 108 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,600 while we are still breathing on Earth, every single promise of 109 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,000 God comes to pass after we leave this earth. 110 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,100 And go to be in love with him in heaven, but here's what he says, 111 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:31,700 it was their faith and endurance, faith and endurance. 112 00:05:31,700 --> 00:05:34,300 In other words, faith, that didn't give up the kind of 113 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:36,100 faith. That said, I'm not turning back. 114 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,000 I'm going to keep on leaning into Jesus. 115 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,100 And so, it says, for example, now he goes Old Testament, 116 00:05:41,100 --> 00:05:44,500 remember, he's talking to the Hebrew people, which had would 117 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:46,700 have understood. The first part of the Bible very 118 00:05:46,700 --> 00:05:48,600 well, they would have known it since they were kids. 119 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,900 They would have most of it memorized and so he uses to the 120 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:54,500 Hebrew Believers. He's trying to use Old Testament 121 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:57,400 scripture to bring. Them to Christ to bring them 122 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:58,900 back to their foundation in Jesus. 123 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,600 So he says, let me talk about Abraham. 124 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,300 Now, there was God's promise to Abraham since there was no one 125 00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:08,100 greater to swear by God took an oath in his own name. 126 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,700 And so here's God going, I swear to me, you know, how people say, 127 00:06:11,700 --> 00:06:14,200 you know, like, sometimes it's even slang and could be even 128 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,600 used wrong. Like, I swear to God and 129 00:06:16,608 --> 00:06:20,200 sometimes it's just, it's a really heartfelt promise. 130 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,000 Like, I'm just telling you the truth here. 131 00:06:22,100 --> 00:06:23,800 I swear. We'll God actually takes us 132 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,300 where in his name. He says, I swear to me, he An 133 00:06:26,300 --> 00:06:28,000 oath in his own name. And here's what he said to 134 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,100 Abraham many, many years ago before Jesus walked the earth, I 135 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:33,800 will certainly bless you Abraham. 136 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,800 I will multiply your descendants be on number and then Abraham 137 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,900 waited patiently and he received what God had promised. 138 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:45,600 And so I'll talk a little bit about Abraham because a lot of 139 00:06:45,608 --> 00:06:47,900 this understanding, you have to know a little bit about who 140 00:06:47,900 --> 00:06:50,700 Abraham to understand this text. You have to understand, Abraham 141 00:06:50,700 --> 00:06:55,400 God promises this guy Abraham. He said I'm going to give you so 142 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:56,800 many decisions. Pendants. 143 00:06:57,100 --> 00:06:59,600 Which was a big deal in that day that your bloodline would be 144 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:01,100 carried on. I'm Gonna Give You So Many. 145 00:07:01,100 --> 00:07:03,700 Descendants are going to be like the sand on the seashore. 146 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,200 No one would even be able to trace your family tree. 147 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,500 They'll be so many people that's going to descend from you. 148 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,600 But you know what? The hill that blocked his view 149 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,200 was he was 80 years old and he had no kids. 150 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:18,200 And so his wife wasn't much younger and it says his wife, 151 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,800 Sarah laughed, when the angel came and said, hey Abraham, 152 00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:24,400 you're going to have a baby instead his wife laughs now I 153 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,100 know sometimes we read right over that but 80 year old in the 154 00:07:27,100 --> 00:07:29,300 room today and if Angel showed up and said you, you're about to 155 00:07:29,300 --> 00:07:33,800 have a baby laugh cry. I don't know what you do, but 156 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,100 you go not me. Lord remove me from the world 157 00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:37,100 right now. Here I come. 158 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:40,100 Jesus not me. There's 50 year-old to say, Not 159 00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:41,900 Me. Jesus even 40 year, olds say, 160 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:47,000 Not Me, Lord, Aion no more kids for me and here, they are 70 and 161 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,700 80 years old. In the angel says you're going 162 00:07:49,700 --> 00:07:52,900 to have a baby and you're going to have and in fact you're going 163 00:07:52,900 --> 00:07:55,900 to have so many descendants from your kids that you won't even be 164 00:07:55,900 --> 00:07:57,300 able. Able to count them, they'll be 165 00:07:57,300 --> 00:08:00,900 countless. And so, here was another hard 166 00:08:00,900 --> 00:08:03,500 thing and Abraham's Ivan said he waited patiently, why does it 167 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:05,900 say that? Well, Abraham received this 168 00:08:05,900 --> 00:08:07,800 promise somewhere around 80 years old? 169 00:08:07,900 --> 00:08:10,300 Do you know when he actually had Isaac? 170 00:08:10,300 --> 00:08:15,500 His first son, 100 years old, 20 22, 23 years later. 171 00:08:15,700 --> 00:08:19,900 He finally has his first son that God's promise was Abraham. 172 00:08:19,900 --> 00:08:23,400 You're going to have so many descendants but right now at 80 173 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,300 you have none at 100 you had one. 174 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:28,600 Do you know that? In his lifetime, he only got to 175 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,800 see, Isaac, born, and a couple of grand kids. 176 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:33,500 That's it. That's all he got to see in his 177 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:38,299 life but it says that he was, he was faithful and he was patient 178 00:08:38,299 --> 00:08:40,900 and he waited. Now, when we read this where God 179 00:08:40,900 --> 00:08:43,000 said, I'm going to give you the sentence, it's actually the 180 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 reaffirming of a promise because if you back up a little bit, God 181 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,300 first said this before Abraham had kids, if you read it now, 182 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,500 where we read it in Genesis 22 is where this is. 183 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:57,000 It's God reaffirming the promise after his On Isaac is born. 184 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,200 But God wanted to test Abraham's Faith. 185 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,900 So he came down, he told him, he said, I want you to take that 186 00:09:01,900 --> 00:09:04,200 only son that you have, and I want you to take him up on a 187 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,900 hill and build an altar, like you were going to sacrifice a 188 00:09:06,900 --> 00:09:09,300 lamb to me, but I want you to sacrifice your son to me. 189 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,200 You can imagine how difficult that is. 190 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:14,100 First of all, he wants him to kill his son. 191 00:09:14,100 --> 00:09:16,200 That doesn't make any sense. Second of all God said, I'm 192 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,800 going to give you descendants and this is the only kid he has. 193 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,700 God was assessing his faith to you really believe that my 194 00:09:21,700 --> 00:09:24,100 promise will hold true to you. So what does he do? 195 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:27,600 He loads up Isaac as a maid. 10 11 year-old boy, he loads him 196 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,500 with the wood and they walk to the top of the hill, build, an 197 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:31,800 altar? And he puts Isaac on that altar, 198 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,500 he raises a knife. And at that moment, an angel of 199 00:09:34,500 --> 00:09:38,700 the Lord shows up stops. His hand shows them as a ram 200 00:09:38,700 --> 00:09:40,300 caught in the thicket, they sacrifice him. 201 00:09:40,300 --> 00:09:42,500 And God says, really. Here's what in essence, what the 202 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:45,200 Lord said I would, never ask you to actually sacrifice your son. 203 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,700 I wanted to test your heart to see if you really, really 204 00:09:47,700 --> 00:09:48,900 believe me. God didn't want a human 205 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:50,500 sacrifice. He was wanting to see. 206 00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:53,600 Well, you hope in the promise even when it seems hopeless. 207 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,400 And so here God, Eames the promise to him where he says, 208 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,100 I'm going to give you descendants if you go back and 209 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:03,200 read the rest of the promise, it was that not only will I give 210 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,200 you many descendants in quantity. 211 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,000 I'm going to give you a descendant that by the whole the 212 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,500 whole world will be blessed by well follow Abraham's bloodline. 213 00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:15,300 This one child. He had Isaac, you follow it all 214 00:10:15,300 --> 00:10:17,000 the way down. You come to the bloodline of 215 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:18,700 King. David King, David was from 216 00:10:18,700 --> 00:10:20,800 Abraham. You follow a King, David all the 217 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,800 way down. Guess who else came from that 218 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,200 bloodline Jesus Christ. And so you can trace it All the 219 00:10:26,208 --> 00:10:28,500 way down. And so God's promise came true 220 00:10:28,700 --> 00:10:31,500 to bless all people of the world through the descendants of 221 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,100 Abraham. And we're told that Abraham 222 00:10:34,100 --> 00:10:37,100 waited patiently for all this to happen for those 20 years. 223 00:10:37,700 --> 00:10:40,000 I actually find hoping that because that's a gracious 224 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,800 statement because if I read it I would go. 225 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,600 Wait God Abraham didn't really wait patiently. 226 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,100 Let me give you three things that I think we wait for the 227 00:10:49,100 --> 00:10:51,300 promises sometimes in our lives just like Abraham. 228 00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:52,900 Here's the first one, pretty obvious. 229 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,900 We wait with some Faith Abraham here. 230 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,700 It says he waited for the promises of God and we wait to 231 00:10:58,700 --> 00:11:02,400 with some Faith you ever get frustrated with yourself because 232 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:03,900 you don't feel like you have enough faith. 233 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,100 I wish I had more faith or I will. 234 00:11:07,100 --> 00:11:09,800 I wish I was like, so and so you know, I wish I had that kind of 235 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,200 Faith to just step and walk on the water like Peter. 236 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,200 I wish I had that kind of Faith but sometimes, let's just be 237 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,500 honest, our faith is not huge and great is just enough. 238 00:11:19,300 --> 00:11:22,300 It's just enough and, you know, I think God welcomes any amount 239 00:11:22,300 --> 00:11:23,800 of Faith. He doesn't say how much Faith. 240 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:25,200 He said, you have to have faith in me. 241 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,100 Faith in me. Enough to put your Just 242 00:11:28,100 --> 00:11:31,600 Surrender Your Life over to me. So, Abraham waited for Faith, 243 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:33,600 even though some faith is stronger. 244 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,900 Some Faith seems to be weaker anyone who has placed their 245 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:39,000 faith in Jesus is going to receive the promise. 246 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,500 But you know what? Abraham also did he waited with 247 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:45,200 some failure he waited with some failure in his life and so this 248 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,800 is not letting you off the hook for unholiness. 249 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,300 It's not I'm not looking You said no matter how you live 250 00:11:50,300 --> 00:11:52,200 live, how you want know the Bible is very clear. 251 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,600 We should work towards Holiness in our life, anchoring to Jesus 252 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:00,100 leads us towards a holy Life Style, but Abraham is said he 253 00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:03,800 waited patiently but actually, if you go back to after 254 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,900 receiving that promise, he got frustrated because there was no 255 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:11,100 baby coming and so his wife, Sarah said, why don't you sleep 256 00:12:11,100 --> 00:12:16,000 with my young servant Hagar and he did? 257 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:20,200 And then had a baby and then as you can, imagine things turned 258 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,600 sour in the family. The end up running Ishmael was 259 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,300 the child that was born, then they end up running them out of 260 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:30,400 town and God still takes care of Hagar and Ishmael and Ishmael 261 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,200 was blessed as well. Except for the fact that that 262 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,700 cause pain and division, if you can't race today, the division 263 00:12:36,700 --> 00:12:40,100 and wars in the Middle East, all the way back to these two kids. 264 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,500 Isaac, who would be the child of promise, and Ishmael was the one 265 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:46,500 that Abraham took it into his own hands. 266 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,000 Sharon said, you know what, God's really not gonna give us a 267 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,300 kid. We're going to go ahead and 268 00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:54,200 choose to have a kid through one of our servants and so you find 269 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,300 that Abraham waited with some failure that wasn't the only 270 00:12:57,300 --> 00:12:59,500 failure. But yet God says, through the 271 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:00,700 writer Hebrews that he waited patiently. 272 00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:02,800 You know what? That get tells me that sometimes 273 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,900 when I really blow it because God saying, wait on me, wait on 274 00:13:05,908 --> 00:13:08,900 me, but then I don't God still loves me and I might have some 275 00:13:08,900 --> 00:13:11,700 consequences there was consequences but God's promise 276 00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:13,900 is still helped even when I blew it. 277 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,600 The enemy will come along behind you and tell you. 278 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,700 You that once you've blown it, they God's promises. 279 00:13:18,700 --> 00:13:22,400 Don't ring true for you anymore. There may be consequences from 280 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,100 your sin but God's promises will never return void in the New 281 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:27,700 Testament, his new testament promise. 282 00:13:27,700 --> 00:13:30,600 And so there's Grace for us, even in Failure. 283 00:13:30,700 --> 00:13:33,200 But also here's the last that way, that Abraham waited, he 284 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,900 waited with some fulfillment He didn't see millions of 285 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:39,800 descendants, but he did see Isaac. 286 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:41,400 And he did see a couple of grandkids. 287 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,700 And so, here's a little bit of Hope for you. 288 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:46,600 If a hill is blocking your view in life, maybe you want to get 289 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,400 married, maybe you want to have kids, maybe you have a career in 290 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:50,800 mind. Maybe you want to get out of 291 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,400 debt, maybe you? You just want to be more like 292 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,000 Jesus, whatever it is. You got that goal and you got 293 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,400 that calling in your heart but the hill blocking your view 294 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,500 seems impossible. Sometimes God will give you just 295 00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:04,700 enough fulfillment that you can handle right now as he works on 296 00:14:04,700 --> 00:14:06,400 the greater fulfillment in your life. 297 00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:10,100 But now, the writer talks about this power and validity of God's 298 00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:12,000 promise. Look at verse 16, he says, when 299 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,100 people take an oath they call on someone greater than themselves 300 00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:19,400 to hold them to it. Without any question, this oath 301 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,900 is binding, so he goes to people's, oh, these connected. 302 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,900 When you go to the bank, when you purchase a home, you don't 303 00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:29,800 just go to the bank and sit down with the loan officer and say, 304 00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:32,900 hey man, just trust me, I'm gonna pay you back. 305 00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:34,900 I'm just coming here today to tell you going to give me the 306 00:14:34,900 --> 00:14:37,500 house and just For me I'm gonna pay you back. 307 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,900 Know what happens there's all kinds of legal documents and you 308 00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:43,900 have to sign away, sign all kind of thing. 309 00:14:43,900 --> 00:14:46,300 Why do you do that? Well, that oath is bonding. 310 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:48,200 It's not just based on your word. 311 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,500 It's actually member. God said that he took an oath in 312 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,800 his own name, something a higher than us the same way, it gives a 313 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,700 higher authority, a power to hold us accountable, when you 314 00:14:57,700 --> 00:15:00,200 buy a car and you take out a loan to buy a house and you take 315 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,500 out a loan and so people take a note, they call on someone 316 00:15:03,500 --> 00:15:05,800 greater, there's a higher accountability and without any 317 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:07,200 question that. Oh, Earth is bonding. 318 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:08,600 And so, here's what it says about God. 319 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,800 God bound himself with an oath in his own name and in his own 320 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,300 character. So that those who received his 321 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:18,800 promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his 322 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,500 mind. Now, why would he have to point 323 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,700 out that God would never change his mind? 324 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:26,700 It backs up again, to that Old Testament. 325 00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:30,400 Covenant, whenever the law was given, you may know as the Ten 326 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,500 Commandments which The Ten Commandments are really just the 327 00:15:32,508 --> 00:15:36,000 table of contents for the law of God was much more detailed than 328 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,100 that. But God gave this law. 329 00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:40,600 In The Book of Leviticus, you can read all of it. 330 00:15:40,700 --> 00:15:43,900 And he says, if you'll live in this way, then, I will bless 331 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:46,100 you. Your relationship is, it is by 332 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:48,100 faith. You have to believe me, but it 333 00:15:48,100 --> 00:15:51,700 seemed way more, it seemed to me more conditional. 334 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,300 You, you follow me. I will bless you. 335 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,300 You obey me? I will bless you. 336 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,600 And so, what happened a day or two into getting the log odds? 337 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,200 People begin to disobey? And so at that point, they 338 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,000 violated their into the Covenant. 339 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,000 And so God wasn't obligated to hold up his end because he said, 340 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,000 I will bless you if you will obey me. 341 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Now sometimes we still feel like we live underneath that law 342 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,700 today. That the only way to go to 343 00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:18,300 heaven is to live, right? And actually living, right? 344 00:16:18,300 --> 00:16:21,200 Is the fruit of what takes us to Heaven, which is full surrender 345 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,500 to Jesus Christ, as Lord. But it says there that God would 346 00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:27,000 never change his mind. What does he mean? 347 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,600 Well, under these, this New Testament law that we live under 348 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,200 or new testament Grace. Where Jesus said, if you will 349 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,300 put your faith in me, I will never leave you or forsake. 350 00:16:36,300 --> 00:16:39,700 You You'll believe in me if you will surrender yourself to me 351 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,300 then I will make sure that I'm with you for the rest of your 352 00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:44,000 life. I will never let you go and 353 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,200 you'll go to heaven forever and it says that he will never 354 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,800 change his mind about that one. Do you know why this covenants 355 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,000 not based on what you can do, it's based on what his son Jesus 356 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,800 has already done. That's why the Covenant. 357 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:58,900 That's why it says God will never change his mind. 358 00:16:58,900 --> 00:17:01,300 Jesus lived a sinless, perfect life. 359 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,599 He allowed them to nail him to a cross where he bore the wrath of 360 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:09,000 God for all The sin of the world, he was put into a grave 361 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,300 and he raised by the power of the spirit from the dead again. 362 00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:15,500 Now he sits at the right hand of God, the Father in heaven and so 363 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,400 This Promise is based on the fact that the sun is sitting 364 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:20,599 beside him. When we blow it, he looks over 365 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:24,300 at Jesus and Jesus says, that's mine, that's the blood that I 366 00:17:24,300 --> 00:17:25,900 paid for, that doesn't seem fair. 367 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:28,400 Does it the truth is? It's not fair. 368 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,200 It's Grace. The rider says, the New Covenant 369 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,000 Grace is based on not what you can do, but what Jesus has done, 370 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,700 therefore God is never going to change his mind to look at this. 371 00:17:37,900 --> 00:17:40,800 So God has given us both a promise and a note, these two 372 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,700 things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. 373 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,800 So a promising, I was based on the character of God. 374 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:53,300 If you look at historically, if you look biblically God did what 375 00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:56,200 he said he was going to do. His character says that he is 376 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,500 Flawless and he never told a lie, he never let down his head 377 00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:02,500 and so His character is the highest character that there 378 00:18:02,500 --> 00:18:06,900 ever has been or will be. And so, what is the promise that 379 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:11,400 God gave us? I would challenge you to look up 380 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,600 Promises of God in scripture and I would, especially if you want 381 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,300 a place to start would be the life of Jesus. 382 00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:21,300 What did Jesus promised us? As his followers? 383 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,600 Look, specifically what Jesus Promised want to take you to 384 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:29,600 what I think is the foundational promise that every that's almost 385 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,600 true. Trump's every other promise that 386 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,600 Jesus made to us and this is really famous verse. 387 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,500 Is this one says, this is how God loved the world. 388 00:18:37,700 --> 00:18:40,300 He gave his one and only son, and here's the promise. 389 00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:43,300 So that everyone who believes, and we've talked about this 390 00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:46,000 before, it's not just the nodding of the Hat. 391 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,200 It's the kind of belief where you say I'm willing to re around 392 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,000 range, my life around him as my Lord. 393 00:18:52,300 --> 00:18:54,800 I'm not just going to tip my hat and say, yeah, I'm a Christian 394 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,900 or yeah, I want to go to heaven when my life if you look at my 395 00:18:57,900 --> 00:19:01,100 life, my life alive. Live Like Jesus lived. 396 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,900 I love like Jesus, loved him. When I don't I get back up and 397 00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:05,600 do it again. I keep striving to live like 398 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,100 him. That's the kind of belief that 399 00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:09,400 he's hot when you believe and you submit to him. 400 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,300 It says you will not perish but have eternal life now Parish. 401 00:19:14,300 --> 00:19:16,700 Does it mean that your physical body won't die? 402 00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:19,700 That's not the promise. The promise is that you'll have 403 00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:22,100 life, like you've never had before on this Earth with the 404 00:19:22,100 --> 00:19:25,200 Spirit dwelling in you. But also death will be the 405 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,800 doorway to the best thing that's ever happened to you. 406 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:30,200 The best thing, eternal. Life forever. 407 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,500 So you won't perish another thing to think about with parish 408 00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:37,400 as everyone who doesn't call on the name of Jesus Christ will 409 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,200 spend eternity apart from God. So the as best The Good As It 410 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,500 Gets in that person's life is on this Earth. 411 00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:47,700 And then when they go into eternity, they go to a devil's, 412 00:19:47,700 --> 00:19:51,000 hell prepared for Satan himself, that is perish forever. 413 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,600 They won't perish though. If you believe but have eternal 414 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,700 life with the greatest Promises of Jesus Christ is a look at us 415 00:19:56,700 --> 00:19:59,600 and say if you will truly believe and align your life. 416 00:19:59,900 --> 00:20:02,600 I'm the submit your soul to me as Lord. 417 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,900 I'll give you this promise, you will not perish, but you will 418 00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:10,000 have eternal life. And so God gave us a promise and 419 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,300 an oath. And this is really the 420 00:20:12,300 --> 00:20:14,800 foundation in the New Testament of what Jesus said. 421 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,200 And so is Faith Blind Faith. When we're trying to hold on to 422 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,600 the Anchor or we really blind. Can we can we see anything in 423 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,500 our world? Or is it just Jesus? 424 00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:29,000 This, this through the clouds and he's sitting at the right 425 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,400 hand of the father We're just having a book. 426 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:32,400 Did he give us anything tangible? 427 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,300 Yes, he did. Just like a promise and an oath. 428 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,900 There are tangible, promise and oath for us today. 429 00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:39,300 And I want to talk to you about what they are. 430 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:42,600 Here's the promise, the promise is the holy spirit. 431 00:20:43,900 --> 00:20:47,400 So, just like, when you, when you go to the bank, to buy a 432 00:20:47,408 --> 00:20:50,100 house, or by car whatever you're doing, usually have to take it 433 00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:53,900 down payment with you. And that is your promissory and 434 00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:56,400 you sign your name and you give some money and then you begin to 435 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,700 make payments. Well, here's what Jesus did. 436 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,600 He didn't just ask us to have blonde for you just believe in 437 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:03,800 me. I'm not gonna give you any 438 00:21:03,900 --> 00:21:05,200 substance. I'm not going to give you 439 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,100 anything tangible. No, he gave us some promise in 440 00:21:07,100 --> 00:21:09,800 an oath that extends today. He said that, I'll send you to 441 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,100 his disciples. I'm gonna go away and I'll send 442 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:14,600 you what the promised Holy Spirit. 443 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,400 He'll be your advocate, he will be your helper, he'll be your 444 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,600 comforter, he's going to give you God living inside of you. 445 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,600 Jesus. And you so the promise that we 446 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,700 have today, the guarantor of the fact that if we believe in Jesus 447 00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:29,700 will go, is the presence of the Holy Spirit. 448 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:31,500 Spirit. Now I don't want to get too 449 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:35,800 weird in this because it's not always about a feeling of God. 450 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,800 Sometimes you come to church and you feel God, sometimes you come 451 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,500 to church and you felt like you know I just learned something 452 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:43,800 about God today. Sometimes you come to church and 453 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,500 you go you know, I'm just glad I came today but the truth is 454 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,400 there is a possibility. Actually, the Bible says, you 455 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,100 can't experience the presence of God and your soul. 456 00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:56,600 You could actually experience affirmation of your salvation, 457 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,600 Paul talks about that that the spirit will cry. 458 00:21:59,900 --> 00:22:04,000 In your spirit in resonate with Heaven, that I belong to Jesus. 459 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,300 And so there is no such thing as an experience of God, when you 460 00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:11,200 feel the presence, when you come into the house of God, when you 461 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,400 gather with God's people to worship and whatever you feel, 462 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,300 sometimes in your heart, you go, man, I just feel something 463 00:22:17,300 --> 00:22:21,300 almost tangible around me today. It is possible to feel God. 464 00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:25,300 And so the promised Holy Spirit, The Promise he gives us in the 465 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,200 tangible. Evidences, there is a feeling 466 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,600 there's a spirit of God, but then there's another hand. 467 00:22:29,700 --> 00:22:32,200 Held one because that one's internal, here's the oath. 468 00:22:32,300 --> 00:22:34,900 Do you know what the oath of God is it is the written word that 469 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:37,100 you have in your hands, maybe on your phone. 470 00:22:37,100 --> 00:22:40,600 It may be in your scripture, but God gave us a promise in an oath 471 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,300 just like he did the Abraham. Today we have the written word, 472 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:49,000 he preserved, the written word of God, throughout thousands of 473 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,800 years. He preserved the story of Jesus 474 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,800 through over, you know, about 2,000 years now for us and not 475 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,400 only, it wasn't just one copy, there's thousands upon thousands 476 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,100 of Piece of manuscripts of different bits and pieces where 477 00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:04,300 they've been able to align scripture. 478 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:09,000 And so the Bible the Bible, the reason that we treasure it so 479 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,300 much is because it is actually God's o to us. 480 00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:15,500 You want to know what God says to you today, look how Jesus 481 00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:18,600 lived. Look at the letters of Paul and 482 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,200 Peter look at the the letter that John wrote called 483 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,900 Revelation you can learn so much and if you study the history and 484 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:28,200 often intensity of this Bible, what you'll find out there is no 485 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,200 other book like it. God has given it a promise that 486 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,100 you can hold in your hand right there. 487 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,800 And so the word and the spirit promise are promised an oath to 488 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,400 us that what we hope for will actually come to pass. 489 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,100 That's how we know the promises of God. 490 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:45,300 So let me Define hope for you because we have before but I 491 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:46,700 want to go back. What is Hope? 492 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,300 What is holding two? Hopewell hope is confidence that 493 00:23:50,300 --> 00:23:52,700 the good thing God has promised will actually come to pass. 494 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,400 So Christiane hopes a little bit different than just kind of 495 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,600 hoping in the world, we say a lot of things. 496 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,800 Like I hope I don't get it. Being ticket when you're driving 497 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:06,800 really fast dum dum you know I hope you know and like me if you 498 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,800 like ice cream I hope when I eat ice cream. 499 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,200 I don't gain weight. You know like yep too bad. 500 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,800 I'm going to I love it cake man, bring me bring on the birthday 501 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:19,400 cake, but hope in Christianity, hoping Christ has confidence 502 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,700 that what God has promised you will come to pass. 503 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:23,800 So, how do you know what God has promised you? 504 00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:28,700 Well, back to the spirit and the word when you turn to God's word 505 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:31,400 and I would again, I would especially encourage you to open 506 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,500 to the the life of Jesus and see what Jesus Promised, You look at 507 00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:38,600 the early early church, and look at the promises that Paul talked 508 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,000 about the church, like, Romans 8:28 that God is working all 509 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,300 things together for your good. Even the painful things, even 510 00:24:46,300 --> 00:24:49,100 the things you don't understand that God somehow is working them 511 00:24:49,100 --> 00:24:52,100 together. And so it's confidence in that 512 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,100 the fact that even though I can't see it because I've never 513 00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:58,400 died before I have enough. Evidence through the spirit and 514 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,600 the word that right now. I know if God takes me out of 515 00:25:01,608 --> 00:25:03,800 this world, I'm going to be with him forever and Eternity. 516 00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:07,500 There's a confidence in that there is a power in a person's 517 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:10,600 life that begins to live with confidence in the scripture 518 00:25:11,100 --> 00:25:15,800 confidence in the promises of God. now, here's the center 519 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:20,900 point that we anchored this entire series on This is 520 00:25:20,900 --> 00:25:24,500 therefore, we who have fled to him for Refuge. 521 00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:26,100 How do you flee to God for Refuge will? 522 00:25:26,100 --> 00:25:29,900 Again, it's a simple turning from your ways and turning to 523 00:25:29,908 --> 00:25:32,400 him, I run to you. God, you are my Lord. 524 00:25:33,100 --> 00:25:37,600 We can have great confidence as we hold to the hope. 525 00:25:38,300 --> 00:25:40,500 And so, so far, I've never really told you what the chain 526 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:43,600 is in the story, right? We talked about Jesus, we've 527 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,300 talked about us and this is the anchor, this is what anchors are 528 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,200 sold to him. It says, as we hold to the hope, 529 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:51,900 Let me give you something really clearly. 530 00:25:52,100 --> 00:25:54,800 I'm not saying you have to hold onto your salvation. 531 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,800 Jesus saves you, and he doesn't let you go. 532 00:25:57,900 --> 00:26:01,400 But we all know people who you can see the promises of God 533 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,800 active in a person's life. You can see faith in their life 534 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,300 and then there's others who claim it, but you never see it. 535 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,600 They even show up at church and maybe give a little money, maybe 536 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,000 serve some. But when you look at their life 537 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,300 you don't really see. Power of God, you don't see 538 00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:16,400 faith in their life. But it says here that we are to 539 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:18,300 hold on to the hope that lies before us. 540 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:20,200 We can have confidence as we hold to the hope. 541 00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:22,700 We can't see all of it. Fulfilled white there's a hill 542 00:26:22,700 --> 00:26:27,300 blocking the view but it says this hope is a strong and 543 00:26:27,300 --> 00:26:29,500 trustworthy anchor for our souls. 544 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:33,200 It leads us through the curtain. Into God's inner Sanctuary right 545 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:34,800 now. God is through a curtain that we 546 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,600 can't see. Jesus is sitting at the right 547 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,000 hand of the father. So what is the chain now? 548 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,900 It says, Jesus already gone in there for us, he's become our 549 00:26:41,900 --> 00:26:45,100 Eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek. 550 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,900 And so what is this immovable? Steadfast anchor will. 551 00:26:48,900 --> 00:26:52,300 It's Jesus Christ. But how We anchor ourselves to 552 00:26:52,300 --> 00:26:55,600 him, we choose to connect by faith. 553 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:59,800 But you know what the chain is, this is the promises of God in 554 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,300 your life. There are some people who claim 555 00:27:03,300 --> 00:27:05,400 it and there's some people who are holding onto it. 556 00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:08,800 The chain is this, the promises of God in your life. 557 00:27:08,900 --> 00:27:11,600 When the writer says hold to the hope we don't hold the 558 00:27:11,608 --> 00:27:14,200 Salvation. We continue to walk out and live 559 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:19,700 in Salvation but we do hold to the hope the promises often 560 00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:22,800 those that turn Turn away from God, for whatever reason. 561 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,400 When you're in pain, I'm not judging you. 562 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,700 I've been there. But those that turn away and we 563 00:27:29,700 --> 00:27:32,500 just go, you know, I still know God's, my anchor, he's out there 564 00:27:32,500 --> 00:27:34,300 somewhere. But we if you look at my life, 565 00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:35,700 I'm not really holding onto hope. 566 00:27:35,700 --> 00:27:38,600 I'm just living my life. I know God's with me. 567 00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:41,800 Hope I'm gonna go to heaven when I die because I did put my faith 568 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,800 in him, but I'm just kind of walking through this life right 569 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,400 now. Often those that turn away or 570 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,300 just simply ones. Who let go, they let go God, 571 00:27:50,300 --> 00:27:53,100 didn't let go of you, but you stopped living in faith. 572 00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:54,800 It's why people get out of church. 573 00:27:54,900 --> 00:27:56,700 It's why people disconnect from Community. 574 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,700 It's why old sins that you had beaten for so long. 575 00:27:59,700 --> 00:28:03,100 They come back in your life. Again, this is because we let go 576 00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:05,400 of Hope. Do you know why we let go of 577 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:10,100 hope it's because life is hard and the hill blocks, your view, 578 00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:13,700 Storms, Come relationships, get ugly, people get sick. 579 00:28:13,700 --> 00:28:15,800 We lose people, we love, and it's not fair. 580 00:28:16,500 --> 00:28:18,400 It's not fair. What sin and death due to this 581 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,600 world? This is not, here's the thing. 582 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,800 God is working. He's not silent or absent. 583 00:28:25,500 --> 00:28:27,200 Me, take you back to where we started the day. 584 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:32,200 God's promises leads you through when the hill blocks your view. 585 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,100 If you're watching online today, only take just a moment and 586 00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:37,800 talk. Just to you this week. 587 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:42,900 I was in my neighborhood gone for a jog and going up and over 588 00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:45,600 a hill that I'd been over many times, and I go really slow 589 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,300 over. Over that Hill, not fast at all 590 00:28:47,300 --> 00:28:48,600 subs. Going over going down. 591 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:51,900 And on the way back, assign caught my attention that I 592 00:28:51,908 --> 00:28:54,700 hadn't really noticed before. I know that I'd seen it many 593 00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:57,600 times maybe a hundred times, but it never really caught my 594 00:28:57,600 --> 00:28:59,600 attention. But I, as I look at the sign, 595 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,400 the Lord began to speak to my heart. 596 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,000 Here's the sign right here. Look at this, it says, he'll 597 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,700 blocks view. Now I know that this doesn't 598 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:10,200 look like much of a heel in the picture but it is. 599 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,100 It's a big hill. It's a lot bigger than it looks. 600 00:29:12,100 --> 00:29:15,100 I kind of embarrassed when I looked at how flat it looks but 601 00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:17,200 it's a big hill. In the thing is, you can't see 602 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,300 when you go over the sill, it's really steep down and you can't 603 00:29:20,300 --> 00:29:23,400 see the driveways across. And so the sign is warning that 604 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,300 that the heel is blocking the view. 605 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:28,900 And did you know that there's so many times in our life that the 606 00:29:28,900 --> 00:29:32,600 hill blocks our view, and what I mean by that we're trying to 607 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,600 hold on to the promises of God. I mean God I believe that you're 608 00:29:36,608 --> 00:29:38,900 going to work in my marriage and I'm praying. 609 00:29:38,900 --> 00:29:41,400 Lord, you say you're working things together for good. 610 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,200 God. You say you hear my prayers? 611 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:46,400 You say that if I keep on asking and seeking and Knocking the 612 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:48,700 that you're going to come through and so you're trying to 613 00:29:48,700 --> 00:29:51,400 hold on. But the problem is you can't see 614 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,200 over the hill that God can see over. 615 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,300 He knows what he wants to do. He knows what he's already done 616 00:29:56,300 --> 00:29:57,000 in your life. What? 617 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,300 He's already begin to answer, but so many times we let go 618 00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:02,500 because the heel is blocking our view. 619 00:30:02,900 --> 00:30:06,100 We pray for our adult kids and when we're trying to hold on, 620 00:30:06,300 --> 00:30:08,600 you know, you go, man. I don't know where I went wrong. 621 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:11,100 Many parents have felt that way. I pray for my kids and now 622 00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:13,400 they've gone down a different path than we're trying to hold 623 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,700 on and believe but the hill is blocking our view. 624 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:20,000 Can't see what God is doing. Sometimes it's about sickness. 625 00:30:20,300 --> 00:30:22,300 I pray God, that you would heal me. 626 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:24,800 And right now, all you can see, you have a sign, right for the 627 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,100 hill, is blocking your view, because your body is sick, or 628 00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:31,300 because some may be someone that you love or maybe the finances. 629 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,900 Maybe you've been trying to do better with budgeting and you're 630 00:30:33,900 --> 00:30:36,300 trying to be more generous person in the hill. 631 00:30:36,300 --> 00:30:38,800 That's blocking your view. As you found yourself in debt, 632 00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:41,800 or maybe medical bills have mounted up in your life, or 633 00:30:41,900 --> 00:30:44,100 maybe it's anxiety. You're praying about maybe your 634 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:46,900 guilt or shame, or regret. It can be Many things about the 635 00:30:46,900 --> 00:30:49,900 hill that blocks your view. So many times is the reason we 636 00:30:49,900 --> 00:30:54,500 bail on God, we bail on God. Sometimes I believe sometimes. 637 00:30:54,500 --> 00:30:57,400 Just before we get over the hill, we've been holding on and 638 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,300 holding on. We're going, Jesus, you're my 639 00:30:59,300 --> 00:31:00,600 anchor. And we're trying to stay in the 640 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,100 word, it would trying to believe him for for his for the good 641 00:31:04,100 --> 00:31:07,000 things, you know, Romans 8:28 that he is working. 642 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,400 All things together for our good and we try to hold on to that, 643 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:16,100 but we get so tired. And so, if you're tired, Tired 644 00:31:16,100 --> 00:31:22,100 of holding on today or maybe you've let go of God's promises. 645 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,700 You got out of church, you got out of your calling in life, you 646 00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:28,500 just walked away and you said you know what, the the hill that 647 00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:31,800 was blocking your view just got too hard to see passing. 648 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,500 You just gave up. Only give you a verse that's a 649 00:31:35,500 --> 00:31:39,100 little bit later in Hebrews. And here it is. 650 00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:40,800 Hebrews 12:12. I love this. 651 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,600 I've come to love this verse. Here's what the writer says, you 652 00:31:44,608 --> 00:31:47,800 know what, you got to hold on to hope and sometimes when your 653 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,500 hands get tired or sometimes, when you let go, here's what he 654 00:31:50,500 --> 00:31:55,000 says, take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your 655 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,800 weak knees. Mark out a straight path for 656 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,300 your feet, so that those who are weak in Lane will not fall, but 657 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:01,400 become strong. And so I got fixated on this 658 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,400 first part. Take a new grip with your tired 659 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,600 hands. Maybe you've never grabbed onto 660 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,800 the hope of Jesus by faith. Maybe you let go, you know, God 661 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,200 is with you, but you let go of believing him and you stop 662 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,800 seeing the presence of God manifested in your life, he got 663 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,400 out of the body of Believers that God had called you too and 664 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,700 you stepped out of your calling. And so maybe all you need today 665 00:32:22,700 --> 00:32:26,800 is a friend to come alongside you and say hey man ma'am, it's 666 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,700 time for you to grab. Hold take it. 667 00:32:29,700 --> 00:32:33,400 Take a nuke. Adjust your hand and grab onto 668 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,100 God's hope again. Start believing his promises 669 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,200 again. Ember, all the things where he's 670 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,500 already come through in your life, that one heel that 671 00:32:41,500 --> 00:32:44,400 blocked, your view, start praying about it again, come 672 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,700 back to the Lord, maybe for the very first time to come and 673 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:51,500 believe that Jesus Christ is your savior to put your faith in 674 00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:53,000 him. And say, you know what, I'm not 675 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:54,700 taking a new grip with my tired hands. 676 00:32:54,700 --> 00:32:57,400 I'm taking a grip for the first time when my tired hands, 677 00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:01,500 wherever you are in that Journey though, it really is that 678 00:33:01,500 --> 00:33:03,700 simple. I'm not saying simple as easy, 679 00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:06,400 but if you're tired and your hands are tired and your feet 680 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:07,500 are tired. And you feel like a man going 681 00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:10,600 down the path. This is so difficult and you've 682 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,300 given up on Hope and if you giving up on faith, this is your 683 00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:16,300 call back today. Will you come back to him? 684 00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:18,600 How do you do that? How do you take a new grip? 685 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:20,900 Well, I think it starts with surrender. 686 00:33:20,900 --> 00:33:22,800 You may want to get down wherever you are if you're 687 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,100 physically able or maybe just in your heart, just kneel down 688 00:33:26,100 --> 00:33:27,800 somewhere. And just go, God, I'm ready to 689 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:31,000 come back to you. If you've never surrendered to 690 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,200 Jesus and you've been feeling a calling just cry out to him, say 691 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,500 Jesus, I Surrender my life to you today. 692 00:33:36,500 --> 00:33:38,700 Here it is. God, you don't have to 693 00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:41,300 understand everything, you don't have to have huge Faith. 694 00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:43,900 All you have to do is add have enough Faith to get you to this 695 00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:46,200 place. A God, I'm ready to follow you. 696 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:52,700 I'm ready to take a grip on on Hope and what happens is, then 697 00:33:52,700 --> 00:33:55,200 you begin to take his word and you begin to look at the 698 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,900 promises, read the promises of Jesus, find the one that claimed 699 00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:03,000 that that sticks for your life, the promise that he's working 700 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,500 things together for your good, the promise that he will never 701 00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:09,000 leave you or forsake, you the promise that it, whenever you 702 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,699 become his child, you become a son and a daughter of a king and 703 00:34:12,699 --> 00:34:14,900 intercessor. That's in heaven interceding for 704 00:34:14,900 --> 00:34:16,500 you. But listen. 705 00:34:16,500 --> 00:34:18,500 All I I can do is tell you about the hope. 706 00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:21,000 I can't make you. Grab hold of it but the 707 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:22,600 invitation today, grab hold of that. 708 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,699 Hope by faith get up from this time and start believing God at 709 00:34:26,699 --> 00:34:31,100 his word again and see what the Lord wants to do in your life. 710 00:34:31,100 --> 00:34:34,800 Listen, you are loved, you matter and if you're wrestling 711 00:34:35,100 --> 00:34:37,600 their people right here at this church at Riverbend church, that 712 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,600 will pray with you and pray for you. 713 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:44,400 And we'll listen to you reach out, you reach out to send us a 714 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,199 message, email, shoot us. Message on Facebook drunk. 715 00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:50,600 Drop a comment right now and just say hey I'd love to talk to 716 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,199 one of the pastors will follow up with you but you know that 717 00:34:54,500 --> 00:34:57,400 you matter. I pray that you take a new grip 718 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,000 with your tired hands on the hope of Jesus today. 719 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,700 God bless. Thank you for listening to the 720 00:35:03,700 --> 00:35:05,300 river. Bend Church podcast. 721 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:08,200 Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect you 722 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,300 can head over to our website where ribbon Church dot life.