The Apostle and High Priest of Our Confession

We shall now be instructed out of the Word of God by Dr. James White. If you'll take your

Bibles please and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3.

We will continue our study through this tremendous book. A book of encouragement, a book of warnings.

A book that opens up for us the work that God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews chapter 3. As we look to the Word of the Lord let's pray together.

Indeed our Heavenly Father we ask now during this time that you would protect us from distraction. You would focus our minds upon your truth.

That we might meet you in the pages of Holy Scripture. That your Spirit would open our hearts and our minds to understand and to apply your truth.

We pray in Christ's name. Amen. As we have been studying through the book of Hebrews we, as Reformed Baptists are wont to do, are flying through the text all the way to the third chapter now.

I do recall back in what seems like a former life now when as a

Sunday school teacher in an adult Sunday school we received our quarterly.

Some of you don't know what a quarterly is. But you would get it each quarter which is why it was called a quarterly.

But it was Sunday school material that you were supposed to follow along with. And as the teacher you would get a bigger version than the students got.

Not much bigger but somewhat bigger. And I remember once I was so excited to see that we were going to cover

Romans. The problem was when I started looking at it we were going to cover Romans.

Unfortunately in about eight weeks. Now if you think about that that's not even a survey.

That's not even enough time to actually read Romans during the time period you were given. We had to cover for example chapters 8 and 9 and 10 in one lesson.

Well we as Reformed Baptists don't quite do that. We're going a little bit more slowly through Hebrews.

Not as slowly as I recall according to all the tape boxes in the back room as Pastor Fry went through Matthew.

But still hopefully somewhat along the same lines. And that study has taken us now to the third chapter of this book.

And again we are following the arguments of the author. We want to understand what the author intended to communicate to his audience.

It is impossible to claim that you are representing the Word of God aright.

That you are speaking God's words. God's inspired words. If you do not pay close attention to what those original writings intended to communicate.

And so with that let's look at the third chapter of the book of Hebrews. Therefore holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider diligently

Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who had appointed him, just as Moses was in all of his house.

For this one, that is Jesus, has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself.

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of the things to be spoken of later.

But Christ is faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and hope in which we boast.

Therefore just as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the provocation.

In the day of testing in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me and saw my works for forty years.

Therefore I was angry with that generation and said, they always go astray in their hearts. They have not known my ways.

As I swore in my anger, they will never enter into my rest. See to it, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart in falling away from the living

God. But encourage one other daily as long as it is called today, so that none of you might be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

We have become partakers of Christ, if indeed we hold fast our original confidence, firm to the end.

While it is said, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation.

For who provoked him when they heard? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses? And with whom was he angry forty years?

Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And whom did he swear that they would not enter into his rest, but those who were disobedient?

So we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.

Now we enter into a section here where I struggle a little bit to know exactly how to divide our material properly, because as you saw from what

I just read, there is a lengthy citation from the 95th Psalm. And we are going to see that that same 95th

Psalm will be applied in chapter 4 as well. So at some point we're going to have to sort of step back from the verse to verse for just a moment, take a little bit larger view, and see and hopefully learn something important from the use of the 95th

Psalm. But we're not quite there yet. I want to especially look at the first six verses in our time this morning.

If we can get past that and start into the next, well, that will be good. But I recall that last

Sunday morning I thought I would get a whole lot farther than I did, so we don't want to be overly ambitious.

We saw the argument of the second chapter, and now in light of that the author says,

Therefore, holy brothers partakers of a heavenly calling.

Now once again, we are faced with an important aspect of really all apostolic preaching, but especially this book of Hebrews.

And that is the writer is speaking to the gathered body. And so there are times when we speak to the gathered body and we recognize that even as today,

I cannot look into the hearts of every individual that is before me. And so I will speak as to Christians, but I will also give warnings recognizing that there are those amongst us who have not truly yet bowed the knee to the

Lord Jesus Christ. And so here you have an address of the audience as holy brothers.

Now again, remember this is the book of Hebrews. What is something that is holy? It is something that has been set aside.

It is something that has been marked off in a particular way. As we get into Hebrews, we are going to have a discussion at some point where we are going to have to sort of stop,

I would imagine. And for most of us, we are going to have to spend some time going back to the Old Testament and looking at the tabernacle.

Because that is the focus of the writer of Hebrews once he starts talking about the tithes and shadows.

And he starts talking about the things that were in the tabernacle and where they were located. Let's face it, for most

Christians today that is, yeah, I remember reading that when I went through Numbers or Leviticus or something like that at some point.

But real intense familiarity with these things that God had commanded to be done in a specific way isn't something that is at the forefront of most of our thinking.

So we are going to have to do that. But something that was set aside for the service of God would be very familiar to the

Hebrew people. Especially if they had ever gone to the temple in Jerusalem and they had seen the worship that was taking place there.

The whole precinct of the temple was considered to be holy. Remember what happened when Paul was accused of bringing a

Gentile into the temple precinct, specifically past the point where you had signs.

Non -Jewish people, you're not allowed in here. You have to be a Jew to enter past this particular point.

And as you may know, archaeologically they've actually found that sign in the digs in Jerusalem.

And Paul was accused of bringing someone in. And the uproar that resulted from that, they would be familiar with holy things.

We are not as familiar with holy things in that sense. And so when the writer speaks to his audience as holy brothers, he's not saying brothers who have a particular level of behavior.

We tend to see that primarily in a moral sense. And there certainly is that element within the

Scriptures. But there is in the book of Hebrews this discussion of what it means to be made holy.

To be, as we use the term, sanctified. And I think one of the areas of confusion that's come up over the years is to assume that the use in Hebrews is identical to every place else.

We have to allow Hebrews to use its own language and to recognize that there is a setting apart.

There is a making of things that are holy. And here the people of God, remember we saw the church in the preceding chapter last week?

We saw the church being spoken of there. Well, here is the gathering of holy brothers who have been set aside.

They are partakers of a heavenly calling. And so you have here the writer, really without directly refuting it, addressing one of the temptations that these

Hebrew Christians would have been facing. And it's one that I think in some ways we face as well.

Well, what do I mean? Well, think about it. What would it have been like to have been a

Christian at this day and age? Especially a Hebrew Christian. You're gathering with small groups.

You're gathering in homes. You're frequently having to hide to do so because of persecution.

As a Jewish Christian, you're now cut off from your family. And look at that temple over there in Jerusalem.

Oh, it's beautiful. And look at the high priest, how he's dressed.

Most of the people you gather with, they're slaves. They're servants. And even if there's someone who gets up front to speak, one of the elders, he's not really a powerful man in the world's perspective, the people you're gathering with.

Is this Messiah thing really true? Because look at what was so glorious in the temple.

And the worship that's going on there. It's beautiful. And all the things associated with it.

And now, have I made a mistake? And so, the writer writes to the

Hebrew Christians and he says, you are holy brothers. You have been set aside.

A special mark has been placed upon you. Remember that in the book of Matthew, when

Jesus gives the baptismal formula that we use there, it is interesting to note that being baptized into the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, into the name, there is a setting apart.

There is a setting apart for God's use that is seen in that activity.

Holy brothers, set apart. The Spirit of God has come upon you. Set you apart. And you are partakers of a heavenly calling.

Though on earth you might be despised, though on earth you might be persecuted, yet you are partakers, sharers in a heavenly calling.

It is a call that is marked by its origin and its source. It is heavenly. It is not of this world.

It is not of the making of men. It is not that there is a group of super -Christians that gets together and chooses who is going to get to be a

Christian and who isn't. It's not like the Gnostic religions that were in that existence in that day that were just starting to have an impact upon Christianity.

It would be a battle for a long, long time. No, none of that. It is a heavenly calling.

If you are truly one of the saints, the holy brethren, then the calling that you are a partaker of does not come from this world.

It is a heavenly calling. And so, the writer,

I think in a way, helps us to resist the temptation that might be ours today.

Let's face it. Look around. Are there not places you could have gone today that are much, from the world's perspective, more snazzy?

Oh, you could have gone places today where you would have had special music and you would have had all sorts of things going on and they would have entertained your socks off.

And from the world's perspective, so many people going there, the parking lots filled to the brim.

It doesn't take much to fill our parking lot to the brim. And you know, there is a temptation to look at the outward experience.

And I've known many people. You know what I do. And you know that I have to deal with a lot of people who have left the faith and joined others.

And there is a call. Oh, look at all this outward trappings. Look at all the things that those people do in liturgy.

Look at how those people look so much more successful in the world's eyes. But you see, if we would just recognize that to be part of the holy people of God, those who are set aside, there is only one way of entrance.

It is to receive a heavenly calling. It is to be partakers of a heavenly calling.

And when you start thinking about what all those religions teach that have all the pomp and circumstance and the gold and the huge buildings and the flowing robes and the incense and all the rest of it, what unites so many of them?

The loss of the holy, heavenly calling. They become focused upon works, righteousness.

Oh, God does this. God makes it available. But God doesn't save anybody by Himself.

It's really up to man. God tries. He makes the availability there. That loss of that heavenly calling that is the price to have all the accoutrements.

I understand the temptation, the lure, the draw.

What can keep us from succumbing to such things? A recognition. Partakers of a heavenly calling.

If that's not enough for you, then you need to do a heart check. If it is not enough for you that God has extended to you this heavenly calling, that even in the midst of your rebellion and your sin,

His mercy has been demonstrated to you, if you need to have something beyond that,

I suggest that maybe you haven't really considered the privilege that is that of the child of God to be called with a heavenly calling.

To be called in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The redemption and forgiveness that is yours by grace alone.

It is only when people start losing sight of how precious that possession is, that's when the eyes start wandering after these other things.

And so we begin with a call to the holy brothers.

Partakers of a heavenly calling. That's the church. Here is the command.

Consider diligently Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

Focus upon Jesus. Any child of God that can ever become bored in focusing upon Jesus isn't a child of God.

Anyone who can contemplate Jesus and think, well, I've learned everything there is to learn.

I've seen all the connections that can be seen in God's truth and all the glory and all the beauty.

I've seen it all. You've seen nothing if you think you can come to that conclusion.

We are called to consider diligently, not just once in a while, not just for a few minutes on Sunday morning, but it is to be a part of our life to consider diligently

Jesus, here described as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

The Apostle and High Priest of our confession. The one who is sent by God.

That's what an Apostle is. A sent one. He has come.

His authority is just as heavenly as the calling we've received. He is the

Apostle of our confession. He is the one who announced it. He is the one who preached it.

It is by His authority that we preach it to this day. He is the Apostle of our confession.

He is the High Priest. The only High Priest of our confession. The one who has intimate communion with God.

The Jewish Christian will understand it was the High Priest and the High Priest only who entered into the holy place.

So as an Apostle, He has the authority to announce. As the High Priest, He has worked out the very foundation of this, our confession.

What does it mean to have a confession? Some of you have come from a

Roman Catholic background. You hear that word and you sort of hmm. You bristle a little bit. Because very often when a word has been abused and misused, it's difficult for us to fill it with a proper meaning without still having some of those emotions connected with it.

Think of a beautiful word in the New Testament. Thanksgiving. The Greek term is

Eucharisteo. The Eucharist. But for a former Roman Catholic, Ah.

And yet it's a beautiful word. Sometimes those things are somewhat stolen from us. Here, confession.

Oh yeah, boy, I hated doing that. And it all depended on what priest you ended up talking to, what you're going to get.

You know, one priest thought you were just terrible and had to do all these penances. And another priest, you know, one Hail Mary and it was all over with and I had robbed the store.

You know, who knows? You just never figured it out. But that's not what the term is referring to here.

This, our confession, that which we as the gathered body, those who have received this

Heavenly Father, what we confess or profess, our faith, we confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, that Jesus Christ died on the Pontius Pilate, He was buried and He rose again the third day.

He's returning again to judge the living and the dead. This is our confession. And in those days, it was that confession that could get you killed.

Saying, Jesus is Lord, Gesus kurios, when Rome says, say,

Caesar is Lord, Kaiser kurios. It was that confession that could get you killed.

Jesus is the one who is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. It is focused upon Him.

We're not just simply repeating things that men have come up with. Jesus is the source of our faith.

Jesus is the one who has brought this faith to us. So we are to consider diligently

Jesus. Not just once in a while. If you feel yourself fading spiritually, if you feel yourself in the midst of apathy, what do you need to do?

Turn to Jesus. Focus upon Him. Not upon yourself, but upon Him.

You find yourself, when you consider what God has done in Christ, you consider His perfect life, you consider

His holiness, you consider His death, His resurrection, His reigning to this very day.

When you consider these things, it shines light upon your life. The Spirit will use that to convict you.

Yes, that is true. But we first begin by looking to He who is the author and finisher of our faith.

We consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. It continues on to say, who was faithful to Him who appointed

Him, just as Moses was in all his house. Now we've had Jesus shown to be superior to the angels.

Now we're having a discussion of Moses. Moses was faithful in what

God appointed him to do. But can you see why this would be emphasized by the writer of the

Hebrews? Because many of the Jewish people saw and even misrepresented falsely.

Remember with Paul? Oh, he preached against Moses. Believe me,

I hear that one all the time. Just yesterday I was directed to a website.

And a man that I was involved with, it really wasn't a debate, but back in 1995,

I was on the John Ankerberg Show. Some of you may have seen those videotapes or now

DVDs. I had big glasses and thinning hair. And it was 1995.

Very skinny. And one of the King James Only advocates was a man by the name of Dr.

Sam Gipp. And Dr. Gipp is pretty radical along those lines of King James Onlyism.

Since that time, he's put two YouTube videos out calling me a liar and all these things.

But one of the terms he uses of me, I just saw it yesterday on his website, was a Bible hater.

I hate the Bible, according to him. And I just can't help but think of how many people will, no matter how firmly your profession is very clear,

I love the Bible. He just obviously means, well, if you don't believe what I believe about the

King James Version of the Bible, it's the only English Bible that ever, you know, it's the only inspired thing. Greek and Hebrew is irrelevant and all the rest of that stuff.

Then you hate the Bible. Well, people misrepresent you all the time.

And even Paul was misrepresented. You're preaching against Moses. He wasn't preaching against Moses. He was preaching the truth about Moses.

But when people have elevated Moses to a position that Moses is never supposed to have, then they think you're preaching against him when you correct their abuses.

And so you know that one of the things that was being said to these Hebrew Christians is, but what about Moses? What did

Moses ever do to you for you to reject him? And of course, the Christian has to say, well, what did

Moses ever say that he was supposed to be my Savior? Moses was appointed by God and Moses was faithful in all the things that God called him to do.

But so was Jesus. Jesus was faithful to him who appointed him.

It's sort of hard to understand these texts if you're not a Trinitarian. If you're one of those modalists, then

Jesus was faithful to himself who appointed himself. But that's obviously making mishmash of the text, as many people do, unfortunately.

Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him. Jesus was faithful to everything that God the

Father called him to do. You say, we all know that.

Yeah, but do you ever rejoice in it? What if there was even one slight question about Jesus' faithfulness?

One failure during his life. Any question that Jesus, even if he was faithful in his life, might now not be faithful as the

Savior of his people, where would your salvation be? Where would your hope be?

It wouldn't exist. You would have no grounds for hope. So, the faithfulness of Jesus, a tremendously important thing.

For this one, that is Jesus, has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself.

You see, Moses, he's a servant. He's a servant in the house of God.

But this Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself.

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now, that could just be, and there are many who interpret it this way, this could just be a basic statement, a sort of transitional, where he's saying, look, every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is

God. So, recognizing that mankind does his activities, but he does so under the sovereignty of God.

It is only God that enables him to do so. It would be sort of hard for man to build anything unless God had created first, and so on and so forth.

Maybe that's what's being said, but there's also the possibility that when it says, for every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is

God, that the reason that Jesus has more glory here is because of who he's being identified with here.

That last phrase, the builder of all things is God, could be in reference to Jesus. This could be a place where Jesus is being identified as God.

It wouldn't be out of place, given what chapter 1 did, but it might not be. It's hard to say.

What is being emphasized is, now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of the things to be spoken of later.

I think that phrase, things to be spoken of later, is either saying, we're going to talk about these things a little bit later, so he's talking about the giving of the law, the things that are types and shadows.

I think that's probably what he's speaking of there. Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of the things to be spoken of later, but in contrast to Moses, Christ is faithful as a son, not as a servant, but as a son over his house, whose house we are if we hold fast our confidence and hope in which we boast.

And so what is the contrast? It is not that Jesus, quote -unquote, replaces

Moses. These Hebrew Christians undoubtedly were hearing, and they hear to this day.

You may have never heard of them, but especially if you went back east, you'd hear Jewish apologists.

There are Jewish apologists, rabbis and others, who are vociferously anti -Christian.

And they know the arguments, and they know the Old Testament, and they've studied Hebrews, and they know how to attack each and every point of these things.

And there aren't many of them, but they're out there. And they're tough to deal with, there's no question about it.

But what those ancient Christians were hearing was, you've replaced Moses, you've rejected

Moses, and the answer being given is no. I recognize what Moses was assigned to be a faithful servant of, and he was faithful.

It was through that giving of the law that we have all the types and shadows that point us to Christ. I'm not rejecting

Moses, I'm just recognizing what Moses' real role is. And you see, if you would just understand what

Moses revealed, if you would just understand the law, if you'd look at these signs and shadows and things like that, you would see they point to a greater fulfillment.

And that greater fulfillment is going to be in Jesus. So while Moses is a servant of God, Jesus is the

Son of God. And as a Son, He is faithful over His house. What is

His house? The people of God. The people of God. Whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and hope in which we boast.

Now once again, there is a phrase, there is a encouragement or a warning, depending on what context you want to put it in.

And you can sort of find out where someone is coming from in their theology and their beliefs as to how they read something like this.

I was listening this week to a presentation by a Roman Catholic apologist on Purgatory.

There are few doctrines that have less biblical foundation than the concept of Purgatory.

And so we had purchased this set of CDs and lo and behold,

I start listening and my name is all through it. This person is attempting to respond.

Hadn't told me that, but I'm discovering, attempting to respond to a few pages in my book,

The Roman Catholic Apologist. So I found that interesting. But as I was listening to this man speaking, a former sort of Protestant, he went to Jimmy Swagger Bible College.

So is that a Protestant? I'd have to look that up. It's a scholarly literature to find out if that really counts for being

Protestant. But anyway, he is reading from texts of Scripture.

And of course he's making a claim, oh, nothing could be more clear. Nothing is more biblical. And as I would listen to his citation of Scripture, and I'd think about the context that was originally there, every time

I was just... Thankfully, there's still a part of my heart that is pained. I've heard this over and over again and for so many years now, you'd think

I'd sort of get used to it after a while, but thankfully, I haven't become insensitive to being pained to hearing people taking the words of God and they are so focused upon themselves.

They're so focused upon what man does and fulfilling of sacramental theology and my doing this and I have to use grace to do this and so on and so forth, that anything they read, they don't see

God as accomplishing anything. They can only see

God trying and it's all up to us. And so, they'll look at something like this and go, see, see, there it is.

Don't you see that? You have to hold fast your confidence and hope in which we boast.

See, there's works. God can't save you unless you do this.

How do you respond to something like that? Is that what it's saying? Well, it certainly does have a tone of warning to it.

If we hold fast. Yeah. Didn't Jesus say, he who endures the end shall be saved?

Well, there's one of two ways you can look at that. There's one of two ways you can look at this. Why are any of you sitting here today still holding fast to your faith in Jesus Christ?

And some of us have been around here a while. I remember first running into old

Brick. Brick wasn't as old back then as he is now. Neither am

I. I was back about 83 -ish.

Somewhere around there. I wasn't here yet. It took me a while to get here. I know, I'm slow. It's okay. But, why is

Brick still here? He's gone through some rough times. All of us who've been here for a while have gone through some rough times.

Is it because we are somehow stronger? More holy?

And of ourselves? Have a better understanding? You see, all of man's religious systems that refuse to recognize the absolute freedom of God in glorifying

Himself by saving a particular people unto His own honor and glory. All of us who say, no, no, no,

I'm not going to worship a God like that, but I'm still going to try to read this Bible, are going to have to in some way, shape or form, insert human righteousness into the equation.

Somehow, we've got to be better than somebody else. Somehow, we've got to have...

I just work up more faith out of myself. And that's why I've survived as long as I have.

And if I hold on to the end, I'll be saved. They have to throw all the texts in the

Bible, including the book of Hebrews, out, that talk about how God is the One who doesn't just make salvation possible.

He actually saves perfectly. John tells us in John 6,

Jesus, the will of the Father for Him, is that He lose none of those that are given to Him. He has to have the authority and the power to accomplish that.

Here in the book of Revelation, Hebrews, we're going to be told what? Jesus is able to save completely those who draw nigh unto

God through Him. He has that power. He has that authority. Well, if He has it, then it doesn't belong to man.

So then, what did Jesus mean when He said, He who endures the end shall be saved? Well, it's not my enduring that saves me, but the faith that God gives to His people endures.

That's why it endures. It's divine. It's a heavenly calling. It's not because of me.

It's because of the fact that God is intent upon glorifying Himself in His elect people and saving them.

So in the same way, here the writer, speaking to the whole congregation, says, whose house we are.

You want to know if you're truly the household of God? Well, the only ultimate way of seeing that in this life,

God does not give us the ability to look into hearts. But what is the real definition of the true household of God?

We hold fast our confidence and hope in which we boast. We endure to the end.

That's the nature of saving faith. That's the nature of the Spirit of God working in His people. And so you can either have a

God -centered way of viewing things and accept all that Scripture says, or you can throw out all those texts that talk about God being able to save completely and read these as if, well, better hold fast our confidence and hope this week.

It's going to be rough. A lot of difficult times coming up. Not sure I'm going to make it.

The elect person looks at this and says, Yes, O God. I know that the only reason

I've arrived to this point is because of Your Spirit's work within me. I know that.

And O God, I love the confidence I have in Jesus.

I love the hope that I have that comes from Him. It's the only hope anyone could ever have.

This is the confidence and hope in which I boast. I don't boast in myself. Not to us,

O Lord, but to You be the honor and the glory. That's the song of the people of God, is it not? If the

Spirit of God changes our hearts, makes us new creatures, then our confidence, our hope, does not waver and does not change.

And our prayer to God is, May it grow. May it be so precious to me.

But there are others. And that's why these warnings have to be there. There are others in the congregation.

And they don't really know what we're talking about when we talk about confidence and hope. They just know they've done religious things.

Hey, I figure I've done what I need to do. And I'm not going to worry about these things.

I'm not going to look diligently to Jesus. I'm not going to consider diligently Jesus, the

Apostle and High Priest of our confession. I don't really have a concern about those things. I've got a life in this world, you see.

I've got to take care of number one. I've tipped my hat to Jesus. He'll take care of that religious stuff.

Those people need to be warned. There is no salvation in hypocrisy. There is no salvation in a false faith.

These texts cause us to examine our hearts. Do we want to consider diligently

Jesus? Do we take seriously the fact that we are partakers of heavenly calling? Or even as I'm speaking right now, is our minds more focused upon the things of the world?

What's coming up in the next week? This, that, or the other. Only you can examine your heart.

Only you know what fills your heart. Only you know what you're truly passionate about. The believer's passionate about having confidence and hope in Jesus Christ.

About diligently considering Him, Jesus. Rejoicing in the fact that we as holy brothers and sisters are partakers of a heavenly calling.

A calling that no one on this earth can ever rescind and take away. And that should be a treasure.

A treasure to us that consumes our thinking so that the things of this world always pale in insignificance in comparison to the great treasure that has been given to us.

Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we once again consider the call of Your Spirit by Your Word to give due diligence to consider the truths of our confession, our faith, to look to Jesus.

And Father, we do ask that You would help us to understand that it is only by Your Spirit, it is only by Your Word that You have revealed to us

Your truth. You have caused us to be born again to a living hope. And that we are to be diligent in maintaining and being steadfast in our confession of faith.

We thank You for the truths of Your Word. We ask that You would, even this day, apply them to our hearts.

And if there be any amongst us who have heard these words and yet they do not make a true confession of faith, they have not turned from sin,

Lord, that You would reveal Jesus Christ to them, that they would know that He is the only

Savior of sinners, that there is only salvation to be found in Him. Once again, we rejoice in Your Word and ask that You would help us to remember and to live in its light.