Hold Fast The Confession Of Your Hope - Hebrews 10:23

Our text for exposition today is going to be

verse 23. Let us hold fast the confession of

our hope without wavering, for he who promised

is faithful. Now all of us in this room who know

the Lord Jesus Christ, I know with certainty,

because of the Bible, that all of those in this

room who know Christ have yet reached perfection.

We have yet to be fully and completely sanctified

and conformed to the likeness of Christ. We have

yet to enjoy the depths of God's grace that are

available to us in Christ. We have yet to reach

the heights of Christian faithfulness and godliness

in our own lives. And I know for those of us

who are pilgrims in this world that God has saved

and given faith repentance to that we must hold

fast because we have this hope that's been given

to us in Christ we have the truth of the gospel

we have the work of the gospel in our lives we

enjoy it and we experience it but brothers and

sisters there's still a desperate need in each

of our lives to press on to persevere To hold

fast the confession of our hope There are times

when it seems like everything's against us When

it seems like everything is opposed to us There

are times when it seems like everything's coming

out of everything comes out of the crack Just

to get you There are times brothers and sisters

there are seasons there are periods in our lives

When it is tempting not to hold fast the gospel

of Jesus Christ. When it is tempting, when we

are pressured to forsake the confession of our

hope. And it's significant that the author says

that we are to hold fast the confession of our

hope, because it is so easy to become hopeless

in this life. It is so easy to despair and to

be brought low and to get into a rut in the Christian

life. Brothers and sisters, that's what the devil

wants. That's what the greatest enemy of God's

people desires. That's what sin works toward

in our souls to keep us in hopelessness and despair.

Those who dwell in hopelessness and despair and

convey to the unbelieving world around them that

there's no hope in Christ. Brothers and sisters,

That's a sad place for a believer to be. That's

a sad place for one who knows Christ in all his

glory to be and it ought not to be. So the author

really crystallizes everything that he is working

towards, all of his argumentation, all of his

rhetoric, all of his writing in the book of Epistle,

in the book of Hebrews. He's crystallizing it

all and he's putting it all in this one verse

in verse 23. Let us hold fast the confession

of our hope without wavering. For he who promised

is faithful. This is what he wants the Hebrew

Christians to do. He doesn't want them to forsake

Christ and the hope they have in the gospel.

He wants them to hold fast. to the confession

of their hope. The first thing we're going to

consider this morning is the Christian's confession

of hope. The text is exhorting us, and it says,

the confession of our hope. When we consider

this idea of confession or profession, It's an

outward display of or an outward expression of

an inward conviction or believed convictions,

believed truths. So there's the heartfelt convictions

in the heart and they make themselves known and

they come out publicly and they are witnessed

and they make themselves known, they express

themselves. But it can also mean a body of doctrine

or a body of beliefs, a set of beliefs. I think

the author is referring to both in this case

when he is urging them to do this, when he's

urging them to hold fast. In the book of Romans,

we read In chapter 10, we learn about confession

to God, what a genuine confession of faith, a

genuine confession of our hope, or what a confession

is. Chapter 10, verse 9, we read these words.

Isaiah 10:9

We'll start in verse 8. But what does it say?

The word is near you in your mouth and in your

heart That is the word of faith which we are

preaching that if you confess with your mouth

Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that

God raised him from the dead you will be saved

for with the heart a person believes resulting

in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses

resulting in salvation. So there's two things

taking place with regards to this personal confession

of faith. There's convictions and beliefs in

the heart that are believed, and that makes itself

known. They are professed. They become audible,

or they become public in a sense. They're made

known to others. It comes from the heart and

it results with the mouth communicating that

it identifies with Christ and His Word. The author

is urging the Hebrew Christians to maintain and

hold fast to their distinctly Christian confession.

not to return to the Old Covenant ceremonial

system, the Jewish way of worship. He's urging

them to maintain their confession of Christ and

Him crucified, the effectiveness of His sacrifice,

His priesthood, and so on and so on. He's not

urging them to an initial confession. He's urging

them to the maintenance of their personal confession

in their lives because the pressure was so great

around them that was seeking to get them to forsake

that confession. He's saying maintain it, keep

it, hold it fast, sustain your personal confession

of faith in Christ. in these new covenant realities.

The reality is that Christianity has always been

a religion that requires a personal confession

of faith. That someone professed that they believe

in Jesus Christ. Christianity has always been

a religion that requires a valid or an authentic

confession of faith. In a sense, if one is to

be a true evangelical Christian, they must have

the adequacy and the ability to articulate what

the gospel of Jesus Christ is. How can you believe

the gospel if you don't know what the gospel

is? Christianity is always held that the believer

must be able to articulate. confess or profess

what they believe. But that in and of itself

does not mean that that's a valid, a legitimate,

or a credible profession of faith. Just saying

words that agree with the body of doctrine or

truth of the Scripture does not make a person

a Christian. There are any number of people that

are secular scholars, that are unbelieving men,

that can articulate the gospel of Jesus Christ

very, very clearly. They can say it out loud,

they can explain it to you, they can wrap their

mind around all the technical aspects and all

the technical parts of that truth, but that does

not mean that that is a credible profession of

faith. Do you know why? because it's not believed

in the heart. The realities they are speaking

are not heartfelt convictions and heartfelt beliefs.

What makes it valid is the truthfulness of it

or its agreement with the Scriptures and the

belief in the heart that is trusting in those

realities. confession has to be present. Every

true Christian will make an initial confession

and every true Christian will maintain and sustain

their confession of faith. Every sinner at some

point in time that comes to know Christ will

come to the point in their life where they say,

I am a believer in Jesus Christ. Whether that

be with their mom and their dad, whether that

be with their friends or with the people they're

hanging out with, whether that be a church or

whether that be out in public, every born -again

believer that has a regenerate heart, brothers

and sisters, and is a professing Christian will

come to that point. where they say, I believe

in Jesus Christ. He's my Lord. He's my master.

He's my Savior. They will publicly align themselves

with Christ's purposes, with His people, and

with His Word. So as a Christian grows, as they

mature, as they develop, as they increase in

their knowledge and their understanding of the

Scriptures, as the work of the Spirit of God

continually renews them and changes them and

transforms them, they will strengthen and solidify

their confession of this hope throughout their

life. As they grow in boldness and holiness and

godliness in their life, They will look for ways

to own their confession of faith, to lean into

it in a sense. There are several ways that believers

own their confession of faith. The first is through

baptism. They're owning their confession of faith

in baptism. They're publicly identifying with

the death and the burial and the resurrection

of Jesus Christ. They are saying that I'm no

longer my own. I associate and I affiliate with

the lordship of Jesus Christ. I'm with him. It's

a public act. But they also own this confession.

through a church membership and public or publicly

associating with a distinct Christian community

that adheres to a distinct set of doctrines.

Publicly associating, publicly affiliating with

that body of believers. The world knows and it

ought to know what churches are, why they exist.

They ought to know that the people to gather

together there in that building and that place

every week, they're not like everybody else in

the world. They ought to know That the people

to get together in that building at that place

they don't act like everybody else in the group

Their language and their attitudes different

these individuals they have hope These individuals

they have contentment these people have joy these

people have peace these people are genuinely

and truly kind to all men These individuals truly

love me. The world looking on ought to know that's

what the church is. But in reality, brothers

and sisters, it's a public thing to associate

with a church. You being here is a public act.

You are associating with this church. You are

associating with this people and guess what?

Our beliefs, our doctrines that we adhere to

are unique and distinct from even other churches.

So your public identification with this body

sets you apart from the world. It's a form of

owning your personal confession of faith. But

there's another way that believing Christians

own their profession, and that's on a regular,

ongoing basis. That's through the ongoing association

and identification with Christ's crushed body

in the Lord's table. Every time that believers

stand up and get out of their pews and walk forward

in the presence of everyone present. You are

claiming and you are proclaiming that Christ

died for me. He is my Lord. He is my sacrifice

and I believe in Him. I'm trusting in Him. It's

a public association. and identification with

Jesus Christ. And there's another way that believers

own this. And this is the natural outworking

of a godly life. It's living a godly life and

performing good deeds or good works in the world,

in the public square. Letting men see and know

and understand and grasp. that you love God and

you love men and that you are a fruitful believer

in Jesus Christ. So the author of Hebrews is

exhorting his readers to hold fast without wavering

to their convictions, to their beliefs, to their

personal confession of these truths. But he's

also saying this. Remember this is to the Jewish

believers. Keep up, maintain, and sustain your

public ties with Christianity. He's saying keep

up, maintain, and sustain your duties and your

responsibilities as those who have given themselves

to the Church of Jesus Christ. That's what Christ

is saying. That's what they're saying. That's

what the author is saying. He's saying, continue

to publicly adhere to your public confession

of faith, your identification with the people

of God. He's saying, don't shrink back away from

Christianity and the church to the Jewish ceremonial

sacrificial system. Stand up proudly and confidently

as a new covenant believer in Jesus Christ associating

with his death and his people. That's what it

means not to forsake, and that's what it means

to hold fast. Brothers and sisters, is there

any relevance in that for us? Is there any relevance

in that for you? Is there any relevance in that

for your heart and your mind? Does anything prick

you in that? Brothers and sisters, the same expectations

that the author of Hebrews had for his readers,

he has for New Covenant Christians today. Remember,

with these great and blessed privileges, Come

great responsibility Because of the work and

the sacrifice of Christ We ought to do our best

to persevere and holding fast the confession

of our hope Meaning you and me Us as a body we

have to forsake we must not forsake We must persevere.

This leads us to the second thing we have to

consider in this text, the hope of the Christian's

confession. The author says, the confession of

our hope. In other words, we also need to try

and understand what the substance of the author's

conf... what the recipient's confession is, what

the nature and character of the hope is, or we

could say what the content of their confession

of hope is. Now, we know with certainty that

the author is talking about biblical hope. And

if the author is talking about biblical hope,

brothers and sisters, then he's not talking about

something that's ambiguous and uncertain. He's

not talking about wishful thinking. He's not

talking about likely probabilities. He's not

talking about things we just really want or desire

to take place. That's not biblical hope. And

that's not how the term is used in the Word of

God. The hope that the author is referencing

is something that gives and encourages and aids

believers in their perseverance and in their

holding fast. It's something that gives steadfastness

and joy. It's something that gives peace. It's

something That enables them to enjoy that hope

in this life as they're weary Pilgrims So he's

not talking about some uncertainty He's talking

about certain sure true realities Now when we

think about biblical hope and as it's used in

this context There's a broad spectrum that we

have to reference, and there's also a narrower

spectrum of hope. I think sometimes it's helpful

to understand what they're not talking about,

what he's not speaking of, in order to more clearly

understand what he is referencing. So we know,

without a shadow of a doubt, because of the book

of Hebrews, that he's not talking about any sort

of hope that comes from the ceremonial law. He's

not talking about any kind of hope that comes

from ritualism. He's not talking about any kind

of hope that comes from self -righteous endeavors

or self -righteous works or labors. He's not

talking about any kind of hope that originates

with sinful man at all. He's not talking about

hope that comes from the moral law, the civil

law, or the ceremonial law of God in the old

covenant. He's not even speaking about hope that

was in form substance or in form type. He's talking

about new covenant. realities in Christ. He's

speaking of realities which are secured, accomplished,

and realized and brought about because of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember the context.

He's urging his readers throughout this book,

and especially this section, 10, 1 through 18

in particular, to remember and to hold fast to

the truth about Christ. His sacrifice, not the

old covenant sacrifice. The new covenant that

is Christ's covenant, not the old covenant that

was associated with Moses and the old covenant

priesthood. He's talking about the effective

work of Christ in His sacrifice, His priesthood,

His promised rest, His salvation, brothers and

sisters. He's talking about hope that is only

found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's talking

about hope that can't be separated from the Lord

Jesus Christ. We could say in the broad Broadly

speaking, that this hope is the whole work of

redemption which has been accomplished by God

in Christ and is applied by the Spirit of God.

This would include Christ's atoning death as

a substitute, propitiation of God's wrath. This

would include the forgiveness of sins, justification.

This would include sanctification and progressive

growth in sanctification, the work of the Holy

Spirit, adoption, everything, brothers and sisters.

It would include all of redemption. And this

is the broad spectrum of hope. But there is a

narrower section of hope as we think about what

the author means by this. understand fully what

this hope is, I believe, here in a few moments,

but I want to ask any unbeliever here, any of

those who don't know Christ, any of those who

haven't had a supernatural work of God take place

in their heart where they have been transformed

and made a new creature in Christ, answer this

question for me. What are you believing in in

your life that gives you hope? What are you trusting

in in your life? That gives you hope. I'm not

talking temporary satisfaction in this life.

Hope beyond the grave What are you looking to?

What are you going after? that gives you lasting

permanent eternal future hope that sustains you

in this life. The only hope that's effective

and that truly is to be enjoyed in eternal sense

is found in Christ. The only way you can genuinely

enjoy, the only way that you can sincerely know

hopefulness in this life and not despair is by

giving yourself fully and freely to the Lord

Jesus Christ and trusting in Him and forsaking

your sin. That's the only way you will ever know

hope in this life, and that's the only way you

can face your death with utter confidence knowing

what is to come by looking to Christ and the

hope that he has accomplished. So this narrower

aspect of hope is particularly designed to aid

those in need. This narrower aspect of biblical

hope It is particularly designed to strengthen

us in perseverance, and diligence, and trials,

and suffering, and pain, and an ever -changing

fallen world, and ever -changing fallen bodies,

the hope that we have in Christ, the narrower

it gets. the stronger it gets, the more effective

it gets in our souls. So what is it? The narrower

aspect of hope has to do with things that are

to come. The narrower aspect of hope has to do

with the return of Jesus Christ, the blessed

hope. The narrow aspect of hope has to do with

his eternal kingdom or his heavenly kingdom,

the resurrection and the new heavens and the

new earth. This hope is referenced throughout

the book of Hebrews and it's referenced throughout

the Bible. We could say that this is the tip

of the spear. When it comes to hope for the believer

brothers and sisters Hebrews 11 verse 10 says

Hebrews 11:10

this Speaking of the city which has foundations

whose architect and builder is God Hebrews 11

also says that they were seeking a country of

their own what country are they seeking a better

country that is a heavenly one. And listen to

this. This is Hebrews 11, 16. Therefore God is

not ashamed to be called their God, for he has

prepared a city for them. That's hope, brothers

and sisters. God himself has prepared a dwelling

place for the people of God. He himself has taken

on the task of building a place for us to dwell

with him in eternity. That's the tip of the spear,

brothers and sisters. We read in Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12 of Mount Zion. We read of the heavenly kingdom,

the unshakable kingdom, which will outlast everything

because it will not be shaken, while everything

else will be the eternal kingdom of God. This

hope is referenced in Hebrews 9 verse 28 when

Hebrews 9:28

we read this. So Christ also, having been offered

once to bear the sins of many, will appear a

second time for salvation without reference to

sin to those who eagerly await Him. That's hope.

Then we read in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 13 of

Hebrews 10:13

the same event waiting from that time onward

until his enemies be made a footstool for his

feet. The hope spoken of begins at the next great

redemptive historic event in the world, the return

of Jesus Christ. Isn't it amazing? how something

we eagerly wait for, we eagerly long for, something

that is the source and basis of hope for thousands

around the world, brothers and sisters, can also

be the source of great dread and the source of

great terror for many, many others. The hope

of the Christian at the return of Christ is the

dread of the unbeliever. The hope of the believer

when Christ comes in the sky with his flaming

angels, brothers and sisters, and he calls back

the saints and they're caught up in the air with

him, that's the hope. But that is not hope for

the unbelieving man who does not know Jesus Christ.

That is fear and that is dread. So what does

that mean for you? That means look to Christ

now before he comes. Look to Christ now before

you die. Look to Christ now while you have the

opportunity. While the gospel is still proclaimed,

look to the Lord Jesus that you might look upon

that great day as hope. and not dread and not

terror. This is the promised hope of the believer.

According to Hebrews 6, 9 -20, the Christian

hope is promised and future, yet it's fully and

completely secured by the work of Christ. and

his entrance into heaven as our forerunner, in

our place, as the pioneer for the believers,

we could say. This is why the author can say

in Hebrews 6 19, this hope we have as an anchor

of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and

one which enters within the veil. The Hebrew

Christians are being exhorted to hold fast and

maintain their personal convictions, their personal

beliefs, their personal confession of faith,

and their public identification with these doctrines

concerning Christ Jesus, His sacrifice, and those

realities which He has secured and He will bring

about. in that great and coming day. This is

the hope of the believer. We're not talking partial

deliverance. We're not talking partial salvation,

brothers and sisters. We're not talking sin remains

in us and we continue fighting and battling with

sin in us. Brothers and sisters, what we're referring

to is consummate salvation. Full and final deliverance

for the people of God. Full and final redemption.

That means the removal of suffering. That means

the removal of hardship. That means the removal

of pain and tears. That means the removal of

the affliction of sin and death, brothers and

sisters. This is the hope of the believer, full

and final redemption. And that comes with Christ

when he appears in the sky. The Hebrew Christians

are exhorted to cling to this hope. Nothing else.

Don't look to another escape. Don't look for

an easy way out of your hardship and your difficulty.

He's saying cling to the hope. Cling to what

is to come. Cling to what Christ has promised.

Hold fast to these realities. Don't look for

other ways of making it easy on yourself now.

It's only a little while that we have to endure,

brothers and sisters, and then Christ will come

for us. Or we will go to Him. Cling! Hold fast!

Persevere! Endure, brothers and sisters! A grand

future awaits the people of God. If you know

Christ, persevere! Press on for what is to come.

Christianity is a religion of hope, is it not?

Praise God! Christianity is made up of people

who are hopeful people. Be hopeful! Look to the

hope that is in Christ. Christianity is the only

religion of true hope. We have to understand

that. And that should impact our view of our

lives and how we live in a hopeless, dark, and

fallen world. Christians are those who have been

given hope in Christ. They've been given faith

to rest on that hope and to look to it. Someone

might say, well, then why does it seem and appear

that there are so many hopeless Christians. Why

does it seem that there are so many despairing

Christians? Well, it's either because they're

unaware of what their hope is, meaning they're

unaware of what the scripture teaches, Therefore,

they aren't believing what they ought to believe,

or they are not holding fast to the confession

of their hope. Apathy and sluggishness are antithetical

to the enjoyment of hope in the Christian's life.

We have to get that burned into our souls. Nothing

good comes from being slothful in the Christian

life, brothers and sisters. Nothing comes from

being apathetic and complacent with regards to

the Word of God and with regards to prayer. Nothing

good comes from it for your soul. You will not

be more helpful. You will not be more joyful.

You will not be more satisfied. You will not

be more content by neglecting the Word of God

and neglecting the face of God in prayer. The

Christian who tells the world There is no hope

in Christ as a poor specimen of Christianity.

The Christian ought to be a shining light of

the gospel and what Jesus Christ has promised.

The Christian ought to be a luminary in the darkness

because of the work of Christ. So one might also

ask another question. How does a Christian come

to enjoy this hope in a greater way, in a greater

extent? You just told me that apathy is not good.

That slothfulness is no good and no helpful.

So how do I remedy that? by growing in your knowledge

of the Scriptures, by growing in your understanding

of the Word of God and saturating yourself in

it, by meditating on the Word of God in your

heart, by praying to God and asking Him for help

and for strength and stopping and stop depending

on the flesh and carnality. It's by living...

It's living by faith. Brothers and sisters, it's

by growing in our understanding and our grasp

of the Scriptures and then believing those promises

and trusting those promises and living an obedient

life as a result of those promises. Ignorance

is not bliss in the Christian faith. I don't

say that to be mean. I don't say that to be harsh.

I say that to stir up something in you so that

you will understand that God has given us a full

revelation of His Word. He has given us the Word

of God. He has revealed Himself. He has revealed

His works. He has revealed... Christ has revealed

redemption. He has given us the means, brothers

and sisters, to more fully enjoy the hope that

Christ has given to us. Don't just be okay with

not knowing. Seek out the scriptures. Seek out

to understand what they say, what they mean.

And don't just read the portions that you like

and it makes you have a positive feeling. Read

the whole of the Bible so that we have the hope

in Christ, but we have the hatred of God against

sin. We need to know the Bible and we need to

believe the Bible, brothers and sisters. And

we need to hold fast to the Bible if we are to

be a hopeful joyful people in this world. This

leads us to the last thing we have to consider.

The reason Christians ought to hold fast the

confession of their hope. The text says, for

he who promised is faithful. The focus of this

part of the text is on the faithful character

of God who gives, performs, and accomplishes

all His promises. I want to look at Numbers 23

19 very briefly here. I'll just read that. Numbers

23 19 says this, God is not a man. Now, when

we think about that statement, just immediately,

we all too often project what we think about

God on God, when in reality that's not actually

true of the living God. We make him to be more

like a man than he is God, who is spirit and

divine and sovereign and powerful. So God is

not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man

that he should repent or change. Has he said

and will he not do it? Or has he spoken and will

he not make it good? Men, as moral creatures

who are finite, have the capacity to change.

Men who are moral creatures and who are finite

have the capacity to lie and to deceive. But

brothers and sisters, God does not have that

capacity. God is a spirit. He is infinite. and

eternal, he is sovereign, he is immutable and

unchanging, and he is faithful because of his

character, because of who he is and what he has

promised. Consider the faithful character of

God as we've seen it in the book of Hebrews in

our study so far. Because of his faithfulness,

redemption has been accomplished. He has made

a new covenant with us in Christ, and he will

be faithful to that covenant. Because of his

faithfulness, Christ died as a perfect once -for

-all sacrifice on behalf of sinners. Has he not

forgotten? our sins? Has He not atoned for our

sins? Has He not removed our wrath? Was Christ

not bloodied on the cross when He gave up His

Spirit? He will continue to faithfully treat

us as justified men and women who are free from

condemnation and guilt because of Christ's sacrifice.

Because of his faithfulness, the sacrifice of

Christ is applied to each one of those whom that

sacrifice was intended for. He cleanses their

hearts by the waters of regeneration and he purifies

their conscience through the blood of Christ.

Because of his faithfulness, brothers and sisters.

We have been reconciled to the Living God and

we have free access to that God because Christ

has prepared the way for us. We can enter into

His presence. Why have these things come about?

Is it because I'm faithful? Is it because you're

faithful? Brothers and sisters, it's because

God is faithful. These promises that he has accomplished

are by his own power, his own might, and his

own zeal. He has done these things himself, in

his own being, his own character, and his own

purposes. And if he's been this faithful in Christ,

mustn't we conclude that he will be faithful

to his people in this life? as they seek to hold

fast the confession of their hope. As we live

by faith in this world, mustn't we conclude that

He will strengthen us, that He will aid us, that

He will be with us, that He will edify us? Will

He not be good to His promise of sanctification?

Will He not be good to His promise of justification?

Will he not discipline us because we are legitimate

children whom he loves? Will he not comfort us

in our times of need and distress? Brothers and

sisters, God will be faithful to his people in

this life. Is that not cause or motive for us?

to be faithful in our lives unto that God. The

author of Hebrews adds this word. He adds this

portion of the text, for he who promised is faithful.

Why does he add this? Because he wants his readers

to understand that God is faithful and true to

every single redemptive promise he has ever made

to his people. That's motive for perseverance,

for endurance, for strength, for holding fast

in our lives. The author wrote earlier, for when

God made the promise to Abraham, since he could

swear by no one greater, He swore by himself,

saying, I will surely bless you, and I will surely

multiply you. In the same way, God, desiring

even more to show the errors of the promise,

the unchangeableness of his purpose, interposed

in oath. That was Hebrews 6, 13 -14 and 6, 17.

Every promise of God is built on the strong,

sturdy foundation of God Himself. This includes

our hope, brothers and sisters. The hope the

believer has depends not on man not on man's

faithfulness, not on man's perseverance, but

it depends on the divine, unchanging, faithful

character of a sovereign, good God. That's the

foundation of every promise, and that's the foundation

of the hope the believer has. Friends, if you

know Christ, cling to the Lord Jesus Christ by

faith. If you know the Lord Jesus, give everything

you have to knowing Him more. Grip Him like you've

never gripped anything else. and all the while

be sure, be confident that His hand will never

ever let go of you. These two things, our faith

in Him and His grip on us are what get us to

the hope that we so long to enjoy as believers

in Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of our hope

is not dependent on us. Our future enjoyment

of the hope is not dependent on us. But brothers

and sisters, our enjoyment of it in this life

is dependent on our faith in that hope. That

means that our joy and our contentment, our satisfaction,

and our hopefulness come to us through faith.

We must believe the unchanging promises that

are given to us by an unchanging God. Then we

will be steadfast, hopeful, and joyful people

in this ever -changing world.