Guaranteed By God

Take your Bibles this morning if you would turn

to Hebrews chapter 6 we're gonna Look at these

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

last few verses of Hebrews 6 before we move on

into our formal study of the Melchizedekian priesthood

of Jesus that begins in chapter 7 Which the writer

has already said are hard things to explain But

we look forward to tackling these hard things

in the weeks ahead and so be in prayer for us

as we prepare these messages that will come.

But today, as the writer kind of wraps up this

pastoral word of encouragement to his people,

who he has harshly, firmly... warned about their

sluggishness, their ears having become dull through

their neglect of the things of God, the word

of God, he writes to encourage us. And I think

sometimes we really need to be reminded of the

many encouragements that God gives us throughout

scripture because life is hard, right? There

is difficulty that we have to deal with throughout

our lifetime. It seems more for some than others.

And so we just simply need to be reminded of

the faithfulness of God. That's what we sang

about this morning, God's faithfulness and the

fact that we can trust God's word. We can trust

in the purposes and promises of God. That's really

what we're gonna be talking about today. So in

Hebrews chapter six, these last few verses that

Neil, dealt with a couple of weeks ago, we were

urged to be a people who have full assurance

of hope to the end. I mean, that's what he said

to us there in that 11th verse of chapter six.

We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness

and to have the full assurance of hope. until

the end. We're to be a people whose lives are

characterized by hope. And as we know, we've

said many, many times before, that word hope

in the New Testament is not just wishful thinking,

but it is confidence, a confident assurance that

we can trust God, we can trust the Word of God,

we can trust in the purposes of God for our own

lives and for our lives as a congregation. we

can trust that God is at work and that he is

going to accomplish all that he has set out to

do. So we're to be a people of hope and not only

that, but he goes on to say that we might become

imitators of those who through faith and patience.

inherited or inherit the promises. So again,

our lives are to be characterized not only by

hope, but by faith, belief, belief in the Lord

Jesus Christ, belief in God's word, and we are

to patiently endure these struggles that we go

through as human beings, knowing that God is

in control, that God has a plan for our lives,

again, a plan, as Jeremiah says, for our good,

and that he is at work. even as we sang today,

whether we can feel it, whether we can see it,

God is at work on a thousand different levels,

working things together for our good. And we

just need to trust that. And then of course,

as we begin the next verse and the final paragraph

of Hebrews 6, Abraham is identified as one of

these. men that we should imitate. Again, a life

that was characterized by faith and patience

as ours should be. And of course, when we look

at the life of Abraham, I just want to kind of

go through kind of a historical purview just

to kind of give you an idea of the patience that

this man endured throughout his life. And again,

we read in scripture, in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

the very first time that God speaks to Abraham.

And again, you know, and if you don't, you will,

Abraham was not a man of God. Matter of fact,

his family, they were worshipers of the moon.

And yet God speaks to this man, chooses this

man for himself, calls him to leave his home.

and to travel to a land that God would show him.

I always think it's so interesting when I read

those verses. God didn't say, I want you to go

to such and such a place. He just said, I want

you to go and I'll show you where you're going

as you go. Isn't that how life kind of feels

sometimes? We're on this road and we're really

not certain completely of where this road will

lead throughout the years of our life, but what

we can be certain of, as Abraham was certain,

is that God would show him. the place that he

was going to, we can be confident that God will

guide us. And again, that's really what this

whole passage of scripture is about. So God first

speaks to Abraham there in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

and he promises Abraham at that point, he says,

I will make of you a great nation, and I will

bless you, and in you all the families of the

earth shall be blessed. Now that's a pretty great

promise. What we need to understand is that Abraham

was already 75 years old. when God spoke to him

and made this promise. All right, 75 years old.

And then in Genesis 15, quite some time has passed,

we're not exactly sure how much time, but Abraham

begins to grow a little impatient and he expresses

his concern to God saying this, he says, oh Lord

God, what will you give me? For I continue childless.

The heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.

And it's at that moment that God assures or really

reassures Abram, he said this man will not be

your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir.

So God has promised to make of him a great nation

to bless him, to bless all the families of the

earth through him. Abraham knew that that would

involve him and Sarah having a child and here

they are after these many years still childless.

wondering how God's purposes can possibly come

to pass under these circumstances. He doesn't

even have an heir to pass the promises onto that

is in his bloodline, and yet God reassures him,

you will. You will have a son, your very own

son. And then God instructs Abram with these

words, words we're familiar with. He says, look

to heaven and number the stars. And if you're

able to number them, and then God again renews

his promise by saying, so shall your offspring

be. So you're not only gonna have offspring,

but you're gonna have offspring as numerous as

the stars of heaven. And it's here, of course,

that we read of Abraham's faith. It says he believed

God and he counted it. God counted it to him.

as righteousness. So the years are going by,

concerns are coming up, and every step of the

way God is assuring and reassuring Abraham of

his faithfulness. Then when Abraham is 99 years

old, that's when God changes his name from Abram,

which means the father of many. To Abraham the

father of a multitude again Abraham doesn't have

a single child at this point God promises Abraham

again. He says Sarah your wife shall bear you

a son and again Abraham and Sarah were both physically

speaking Beyond the age of childbearing even

in their day in time So God was making this seemingly

impossible promise, but of course Abraham believed

the Lord. And of course it was the next year

when Abraham was 100. So 25 years after first

calling him out of his homeland, Abraham now

has a child, Isaac is born. And of course we

know it was some years later. We don't know exactly

how old Isaac was. He was an older teenager,

perhaps even a young man. God... tests Abraham's

faith at this point, and this is what he says

to him. He says, take your son, your only son,

Isaac, who you love, and go to the land of Moriah

and offer him there as a burnt offering on one

of the mountains, which I shall tell you now.

Can you imagine God asking you to do or commanding

you to do such a thing? But Abraham responds

with no hesitation whatsoever. The next morning

he arises early, he calls his son, and off they

go. to do exactly what God had commanded him

to do. And of course, it is there, and we know

what happens as Abraham begins to go through

the whole process to offer his son Isaac as a

sacrifice. God stops him, and of course the lamb

with its horns caught in the thicket becomes

the lamb that God had provided for Abraham. It

is there in that moment when all of this is taking

place that God again renews his promise. He reassures

him once again, and it is there where he swears

by himself, as we're about to read. He swears

an oath, and of course, because there's no one

higher than God that he can swear to, he swears

by himself. It's here on Mount Moriah that he

does that. And he says this. He says, because

you have done this and not withheld your son,

your only son, I will surely bless you, and I

will surely multiply your offspring as the stars

of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.

And of course, again, this promise of a multitude

of offspring, and yet Abraham has but one child

of promise, Isaac. It's not too many years that

go by. Sarah, Abraham's wife, passes away. She

dies at the age of 127. 12 years later, when

Abraham is 140 years old, it is then that Isaac

marries Rebekah. And then Abraham, of course,

dies at the age of 175. having lived what the

Bible characterizes as a life of faith and patience

and having inherited the promise of God. Now

we know if we go back and we read those texts,

and certainly as we read about those texts in

the New Testament, we know that not every promise

that God made to Abraham had been fulfilled in

time. Obviously Abraham received the promises

of God. That's what verse 15 says, Abraham having

patiently waited obtained the promise. But I

believe that this life of Abraham, this example

of Abraham is given to us because when we really

understand the life that Abraham lived, the difficulties

that he confronted, we understand a little bit

more about how our lives are going to go and

why it is necessary for us not only to be people

of faith, but to be people who patiently wait

for the promises of God to be fulfilled in our

lives. I don't know about you, patience is one

of the struggles in my life. Is that true for

anybody else? I've told this story before, you

know, years ago when you used to go through the

drive -through. I guess some banks still have

drive -through lines. I don't see them as much

as I used to, and I certainly don't go through

them when I do my banking anymore. But, you know,

I would have everything written out. My deposit

slip, my check will be signed with the account

number on the back. I'm all ready to go. If I'm

getting any cash back, I've got that all laid

out so that all these teller has to do is look

at what I've written and... and deposit my check

and give me my cash. And I'm on my way, I'm out

of there. It won't take me two minutes. And inevitably,

when I would pull into the drive -through line,

no matter which lane I picked, and there were

usually three, it would be the slowest lane.

And I would wait and wait and wonder what the

people were talking about as they conversed with

the teller. I'm like, what are you talking about?

And then the person in front of me, I'd finally

get in that last car, I'm almost there, and I'd

see the hand go out and press the call button,

and the drawer open, and they reach in and grab

a deposit slip, and I'm thinking, you've been

sitting in line all this time, and you don't

have a deposit slip. Patience, often not our

strong suit. Not only must we be people of faith

when it comes to God, our walk with the Lord,

but we have to be people of patience. God's at

work, but he's not at work on our schedule. And

often, our schedule, which we grow impatient

with, is designed by God for our good. Abraham,

perfect example of how God works throughout the

life of an individual that he has called to himself

and faithfully fulfills The promise, Abraham

obtained the promise because the promise was

guaranteed by God. That's really what I want

us to focus on today. The promise of God is a

guarantee. God doesn't make promises that he

doesn't keep. God doesn't say things that he

doesn't mean. God doesn't call you into some

area of ministry where he does not equip you

to perform that. Our God, as we sang today, is

faithful. And that's what the writer of Hebrews

is going to remind us today. Yes, life will be

difficult. Yes, following Jesus is not always

easy. It was never intended to be easy. It wasn't

easy for Jesus to fulfill his role in coming

to this earth to die for us on the cross, and

it will not be easy for us to fulfill the role

that God has called us to. That's why we rely

on God's faithfulness and God's strength and

the support and encouragement of our brothers

and sisters in Christ, because the Christian

life is not an easy life. It is a life to be

lived faithfully and... And so let's read together

these last few verses of Hebrews chapter six,

beginning in verse 13. It says, for when God

made a promise, and if you don't have your Bible,

they're right up here on the front, you can read

along. For when God made a promise to Abraham,

since he had no one greater by whom to swear,

he swore by himself, saying, surely I will bless

you and multiply you. And thus Abraham, having

patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people

swear by something greater than themselves and

in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.

So when God desired to show more convincingly

to the heirs of promise the unchangeable character

of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.

So that by two unchangeable things in which it

is impossible for God to lie, We who have fled

for refuge might have strong encouragement to

hold fast to the hope set before us. That's really

the thrust of this text. God gives us this assurance

so that we might live faithfully, patiently,

hopefully, again clinging to that hope that God

has set before us. And he says we have this as

a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. A hope

that enters into the inner place behind the curtain

where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf,

having become a high priest forever after the

order of Melchizedek. Let's pray, and we're gonna

look at these evidences, proofs of God's faithfulness

that ought to cause us to leave here rejoicing

and looking forward to not only this life, but

the life that is yet to come. Hopefully, let's

go to the Lord. Father, we are thankful today

for God's word. Father, God's word is what we

need. God's word is what we can build our lives

upon. It is faithful as he is faithful. It is

true as he is true, Father. It is sure as he

is sure. His promises for us will indeed be fulfilled,

Father. Though they may not always be fulfilled

in the time that we Prefer and so we just acknowledged

today father help us to understand that your

timing is perfect You are never late You are

always right on time You always do the right

thing in the right moment And again, I pray that

we would just believe that today because the

circumstances of our life will put that that

belief to the test. But Lord, you prove yourself

time and again faithful. And so I pray that we

would heed the encouragement, the hope that is

being portrayed here and that our lives, Lord,

would be characterized by that hope as we serve

you now and as we look to an eternity of service

in glory. And so we just ask all of this, Lord,

in Jesus' name, amen and amen. The first thing

that we need to deal with here is this whole

idea of God making a promise. When God made a

promise to Abraham, when he had no one greater

to swear by, he swore by himself. And here's

the reality that we all know is true. God makes

promises, right? And not every promise in the

Bible is a promise that we can claim personally,

all right? But when God makes a promise, he fulfills

that promise. And the example of Abraham here

is assuring us that just as God made a promise

to Abraham and after many, many years and after

doubts and concerns on the part of the one to

whom the promise was made, God ultimately came

through and did what he said he was going to

do. And the idea here is that that is how he

always does. God always keeps... His promises,

and of course a promise is simply a declaration

of intent. When we promise to do something, we

are promising to carry out the intent of our

heart. That's what a promise is. And so the question

that is before us today is this, how certain

is a promise when God makes it? Can we trust

God to fulfill his promises to us and I know

these sound like basic questions and they're

not hard questions everybody out there I hope

is saying well of course we can trust God to

keep his promises of course we can we can believe

that God will do what he has said he will do

but I want us to think for just a moment as we

as we say that how obvious this might be is that

how often in your life have you come to the place

where perhaps you've doubted God a little bit

Where you've wondered is Abraham wondered look

God you made this promise and it's been many

many years since you made this promise And I'm

still childless Are you really going to do what

you said? I'm getting older every day The physical

likelihood of Sarah and I having a child is becoming

Well less and less with each passing year. Are

you truly going to fulfill this promise? We get

that way in our lives about some things don't

we God are you really gonna do what you said?

Are you really gonna work this thing for my good?

How could you possibly work this thing for my

good? What good could possibly come from this?

You ever had those kind of thoughts? Well, this

passage of scripture is for you. When God makes

a promise, let me tell you, he keeps his promise.

In Ezekiel 12, 25, we read these words. Now,

they're the words of God, but it's God speaking

about himself. He says, for I am the Lord. I

will speak the word that I will speak. and it

will be performed. In other words, when I say

something, you can count on me doing what I have

said. That's what God said in Ezekiel 12, 25.

And then just a few chapters later in 17, 24,

God makes a very similar declaration. He says,

I am the Lord, I have spoken, and I will do it.

Again, he is reminding his people of his faithfulness.

tend to get our eyes on the faithfulness of men,

primarily ourselves. And we learn very early

on in our Christian life that as much as we may

desire to be faithful to God, it's hard for us

to always be faithful, isn't it? We fail, we

falter, we stumble, we fall. God never does.

And so again, when we think about faith, we cannot

limit our faith to faith in ourselves or faith

in others. Often, once we realize, okay, well,

I'm not the guy that I should be looking to for

this, we find somebody else that we can follow,

that we can kind of hitch our wagon to. And then,

what inevitably happens? Well, he falls. We hear

about it all the time. These great men of God

who... who have these setbacks in their lives.

And then we begin to wonder, who can we look

to? Who can we have faith in? And God says, look,

it's me. I'm the one that you should put your

faith and trust in. I'm the one who alone have

spoken and will do it. I will never go back on

my word. My promise is just that. It is my promise

and it will be. fulfilled, and so as we think

about the Word of God, and that's really what

we're talking about today, and we're talking

about our salvation. God's promise to Abraham

was of generations of offspring, and of course

Paul lets us know in Romans that if you're in

Christ, you're the offspring of Abraham. So when

God made this promise to Abraham way back in

the beginnings of Genesis, He was talking about

me and you. We are, in a certain sense, the fulfillment

of God's promise to Abraham. We are offspring

of Abraham because we are in Christ. Of course,

the promise, as it is explained in Scripture,

was of Christ himself. Christ was the offspring

that God promised to Abraham, but now all of

us who are in Christ... have become further fulfillment

of that great promise. So God makes promises.

He made a promise to Abraham which he fulfilled.

Abraham having patiently waited, obtained the

promise. And then God does an unusual thing here

that we don't see very often in scripture. Matter

of fact, I'm not sure that there's any other

place in scripture where he does this. But after

he makes this promise to Abraham, he ensures

his promise by making a pledge to Abraham, an

oath. He swore by himself. He guaranteed it with

an oath, is what the writer of Hebrews says.

Now, a pledge or an oath is meant to confirm

or to bind one to their promise, all right? And

we do this in life. Oaths or pledges are a guarantee.

We are assuring someone that we are going to

do what we've said. We're going to fulfill the

promise that we have made. Jesus, of course,

tells us in John 17, 17 that God's word is truth.

So the reality is, there was really no need for

God to confirm his promise with an oath. He had

made the promise, that was enough. He is God,

as he says in Ezekiel. I'm the Lord, and what

I've spoken, that's what I'm going to do. So

there was no need for God to confirm his promise

with an oath, and yet, he does. Of course, Numbers

23, 19 says this, God is not a man that he should

lie. or a son of man that he should change his

mind, has he said and will he not do it? Or has

he spoken and will he not perform it? Writer

of Hebrews of course simply says it's impossible

for God to lie. However, because of the nature

of this promise, again, the eternal nature of

this promise, the significance of this And because

God's desire, as we read about there, God's desire

for His children to absolutely be assured of

its fulfillment, He follows up this promise with

a pledge. He swears an oath. So we have God's

promise, and then we have God's pledge, the two

unchangeable things that the writer of Hebrews

speaks of here. These two things combined are

intended to fill us with that hope, that confident

assurance that our future is secure in Christ.

Now, I don't know about you, but I bump into

people every now and then who struggle with the

security of their salvation. You ever have struggles

with that? You ever find yourself involved in

some activity and you begin to wonder to yourself,

you know, these are the kinds of things I used

to do when I was lost. Could I really be saved

and do this thing? Or maybe you ask yourself

something like this. Maybe it's not some big

sin in your life that you've fallen back into,

but maybe it's just a lack of following after

the Lord. You think, well, you know, where am

I serving God? In what way am I loving the people

of God and serving the people of God? You know,

maybe I'm just not doing that the way that I

should. Am I really saved? I've had people over

the years of my ministry ask me on countless

occasions about the genuineness of their salvation.

Could I really be saved and live a life like

this or do these things or not do these other

things? And again, this passage of scripture

is written for all of you who may be having doubts

like that. God has promised us that all who call

upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And

of course, through this promise to Abraham, he

has pledged to us that I will fulfill my promise.

You can count on it. I will complete the work

that I have begun in you. You know, one of the

things you always need to remember when you find

yourself in questionable territory is this. You

know, God's not finished with you yet. God's

still at work in your life. God's still conforming

you to the image of Christ. You're a long way

from where you will be one day. Long way. God's

still at work. That ought to give you confidence,

assurance. Now that doesn't mean that we ought

to just go out and live any old way that we choose

to. Certainly we should be concerned when our

lives begin to characterize the life that we

left behind when we confessed our sin, repented,

and came to Christ in faith. But we should never

let temporary failures cause us to doubt the

promise of God. God has promised and He has...

He is guaranteed, your salvation is guaranteed

by God. Because it was God's purpose from the

very beginning. When God desired to show more

convincing, and I love this because it speaks

to the heart of God. When God desired to show

more convincingly to the heirs of promise, the

unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed

it with an oath. God wants you to be sure. You've

heard that before, right? He wants you to know

that you know. How does he do that? Well, he

guarantees his promise with an oath. He speaks

of his purposes as being unchangeable in character

because God's character is unchangeable. You

know, that's one of the attributes of God, right?

Immutability, we talk about, you know, being

a big word church, immutability is a big word.

It just means that God doesn't change. He never

changes. God's purposes are unchangeable in their

character because God is unchangeable in his

character. So again, swearing an oath, God swearing

an oath indicated an even greater determination

on the part of this one who has made the promise

of himself to fulfill what he has declared as

his intent or his purpose. God wants us to be

thoroughly convinced. He wants us to be thoroughly

confident. He doesn't want us to have doubts.

So he strengthened his promise by swearing an

oath. Well, the supreme oath in Israel, right

up to this very day, is if you want to swear

an oath, you swear an oath on Yahweh, right?

As Yahweh lives, as surely as Yahweh lives. That's

a typically Israeli or Hebrew oath. In American

courtrooms, of course, Witnesses pledge or swear

to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but

the truth. So help me God. And often we put our

hand on a Bible when we do that. Again, that's

the idea here. We are intensifying the very promise.

It is an implied promise when you step into that

witness box that you're gonna tell the truth.

But to intensify that, to make it even greater,

we swear an oath that we are here and we are

going to tell the truth. the whole truth and

nothing but the truth. So the addition of such

an oath simply intended to strengthen the force

of the guarantee or the trustworthiness of one's

testimony, putting an end as the scripture says.

to all argument. It's the final confirmation.

It puts an end to all disputes. And so that's

what God is doing here. He's wanting us. His

desire is for us to be confident that He will

keep His promise, that He will do what He has

said. And He goes to this length. He didn't have

to. His word is truth. But He swears by Himself,

intensifying this promise that He has made. And

again, all for the purpose of encouraging the

heirs of the promise. And again, that's us. We're

talking about Abraham imitating his life, how

God kept his promise in Abraham's life. And of

course, in the day, Abraham was the heir of the

promise. But now in Christ, we are the offspring

of Abraham. We are the heirs of promise that

the writer of Hebrews is talking about here.

So God wants us, his children, to live lives

of confidence, courage. He desired to show more

convincingly to the heirs of promise the unchangeable

nature or the unchangeable character of his purpose.

So again, God wants us to be thoroughly convinced

that his promise of eternal life will be completely

fulfilled in our lives. And again, he sought

to demonstrate this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And again, the word unchangeable. God is unchangeable.

His word is unchangeable. And it means exactly

what we think it means. Not capable of, not subject

to change. So God's purpose to save His people

is unchangeable. God will not fail in this purpose.

God doesn't fail in any of His purposes. Paul

rejoices in Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 6. I

Ephesians 1:3–6

want to read this to you. He says, blessed be

the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who

has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual

blessing in the heavenly places. Now think about

that for a minute. Paul is praising God for the

blessings of God. He has blessed us with every

spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And

then he continues, even as he chose us in him

before the foundation of the world. Now that

ought to always blow your mind when you read

those words. That God's choice of you, the establishment

of his purpose for you took place before the

foundation of the world. Pretty remarkable. So

that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons

through Jesus Christ according to the purpose

of his will. Again, this was God's plan. This

was God's intent. This was God's purpose, God's

desire. God's will was to save you to the praise

of his glorious grace with which he has blessed

us in the beloved. God's purpose for his children

is to preserve them through this life right on

in. to the next life, and let me tell you, he's

gonna keep that promise. And if that isn't enough

of an argument to make you say, okay, I believe

you, I trust you, I'll live my life with confident

hope as I await the return of Christ, then God

gives us one more proof, one more evidence, one

more thing that we should know and think about

as we contemplate the difficulties of life and

the sureness of his word. Well, it's Jesus Christ,

our priest. We have this he says as a sure and

steadfast anchor of the soul a hope there's that

word again a confident assurance that enters

into the inner place behind the curtain this

picture of the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies

Where Jesus has gone once and forever? Again

as our forerunner on our behalf having become

a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek

Jesus Christ Our great high priest has entered

into this heavenly holy of holies, the real holy

of holies. You know, the tabernacle in the wilderness,

the temple in Jerusalem, these were man -made

replicas of the true holy of holies. Jesus is

in the true holy of holies, seated at the right

hand of the Father, where the Bible says that

he always lives. to be our intercession, to give

us access to the Father. Not only has Jesus entered

into this place behind the curtain, but because

He is there, we are there, seated with Him in

the heavenlies, assured of our eternal salvation.

That's the picture that's being painted for us

here. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor

of the soul, the soul representing our whole

life. Our whole life is secure. in Christ, not

just our eternity, but our present life. Whatever

it is that you may be going through, we can trust

that God is at work and that he's gonna complete

his purposes. He's gonna keep his promise. Jesus

Christ, our eternal high priest, has taken our

anchor. Remember we talked about this a few weeks

ago, this word forerunner. speaks of a small

boat that was carried by the big ships, and what

would happen is, is occasionally a ship would

arrive at its destination, and because of the

tide, they would not be able to enter the harbor.

But in order to... to secure the ship, the forerunner,

the small boat, would be lowered into the water.

The anchor would be placed into the forerunner.

The forerunner, who could manage the shallow

waters or the rocky waters, would go into the

harbor, secure the ship's anchor, and even though

the ship was not yet in the harbor, it was safe

because the anchor was set in the harbor. And

that's the idea here. Of course, Anchors on ships

sink into the depths of the sea. The anchor that

we're talking about now has ascended into the

highest of the heavens. That's where our anchor

is. It's in the heavenly place Christ has secured

for us. We're not in the harbor yet. But it's

absolutely certain that we will be. And because

our anchor is secured there by Christ himself,

we are safe now. That's the idea. We are secure

because he has secured it there for us. It says

that on our behalf as a forerunner on our behalf.

Christ has done this for us. He has entered once

and for all into the presence of God. Because

of that we have this hope, this confident assurance

that we too will one day take possession of this

great promise. And for now we wait with faith.

and patience for Christ's promised return. So

can we trust God to fulfill his promise? Are

our lives secure in Christ? Is our hope for an

eternal future with the Father in heaven a reality?

Absolutely. We are spiritually, we're already

there in Christ. We are anchored there because

he is our forerunner, has tethered us to the

very throne of God. We are safe. and we will

forever be safe in Christ. So the question is

this, are you in Christ? Has there come a time

in your life when you've realized that you're

a sinner who needs a savior? Have you come to

Christ repenting of your sins, placing your faith

and trust in him? If you've not done that, you

can do that this very moment. So again, God has

promised that all who call upon the name of the

Lord will be saved. That promise is for you if

you're in Christ.