The Unchanging God of Justice (Hebrews 10:30-31)

Kootenai Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

12:05

He leads me

14:48

As a dear

15:01

Test Okay, we're gonna get started this morning

15:23

I'd like to welcome you all to Kootenai Community Church Sunday school adult

15:30

Sunday school and We are continuing in the book of Samuel First Samuel 12 and we'll be looking at verses 19 through 25

15:48

Just a moment, please if you would beginning with verse 19 of 1st

16:09

Samuel 12 Then all the people said to Samuel pray for your servants to the

16:16

Lord your God so that we may not die For we have added to all our sins this evil by asking ourselves for ourselves a king

16:30

Samuel said to the people Do not fear You have committed all this evil

16:36

Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord but serve him serve the

16:42

Lord with all your heart You must not turn aside For then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver

16:53

Because they are futile For the Lord will not abandon his people on account of his great name

17:01

Because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for himself

17:07

Moreover for me Far be it from me that I should sin against the

17:14

Lord by ceasing to pray for you But I will instruct you in the good and right way

17:21

Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart

17:27

For consider what great things he has done for you But if you still do wickedly both you and your king will be swept away

17:42

So let's open in prayer Father we just thank you this morning for your word we thank you that your

17:51

Holy Spirit can illuminate your word and as we Open up this text in 1st

17:57

Samuel 12. I just pray Lord that you would minister through your word to edify us to strengthen us to reprove us to correct us and also instruct us in righteousness and Father we recognize that we are

18:15

Merely men and yet we are your people all those that have called upon you in faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ and we pray this morning that you would be glorified and that we would be edified and Most of all father that we would put into our lives

18:34

The truths of your word that we might serve and obey you all our days

18:40

We just pray this in Jesus name. Amen so Samuel in the first part of chapter 12 because many of you here have not

18:52

Been with us in 1st Samuel at this point so Samuel has remained judge

19:00

Over Israel and he does so all his days as we remember back in the early chapters of Samuel in chapter 7 verse 15 we read

19:15

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life So he was a dedicated by Sarah his mother

19:23

I mean by Hannah his mother and he lived for the Lord not perfectly all his days

19:32

So Samuel remains judge over Israel, however, all the affairs of the military and Civil life are entrusted to their new king

19:43

Saul So they have gathered in Mizpah or Gilgal and they gathered together along with the king and Samuel gives his longest address of any passage in 1st or 2nd

20:01

Samuel So we understand that this address had multiple intent one

20:11

He wanted to clarify That he had walked in a manner of serving the

20:17

Lord. He took nothing from anyone So he the first portion he states that and the people

20:28

After hearing it they responded in verse 4 by saying this You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything

20:39

From any man's hand he said to them his anointed is witness this day

20:45

That you have found nothing in my hand and they said he is witness so as we think of that his anointed as David later refers to is

20:58

King Saul At this point he was anointed by God in this position

21:05

So also back in first first Samuel verse 9 we look in Excuse me.

21:17

Let's go back Samuel now is going to remind him of What's happened and what their fathers have done so then all the people said to Samuel After they have acknowledged

21:33

Samuel has called upon the Lord to bring a miracle. He did so this was during the harvest season.

21:40

They were all gathered Samuel called down Thunder and rain upon the people

21:47

This was not an anomaly because on occasion that had happened but on this occasion it was a miracle because it was direct result of Samuel praying to his

22:01

God Jehovah and they knew it and When he performed this great miracle

22:09

They recognized how sinful they had been Against their

22:14

God their true King it was Jehovah that was their

22:20

King Yet they had demanded an earthly King So Samuel continues in verse 19

22:36

Pray for your servants to the Lord your God so that we may not die For we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king

22:48

So Samuel said verse 20 To the people do not fear you have committed all this evil yet Do not turn aside from following the

23:00

Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart now

23:06

He was not telling them in this context not to fear God in This context they had recognized their sin and he was telling them you do not have to fear

23:19

God For the consequences right now of the sins you have committed

23:25

So it wasn't that they were to fear God We're all called to fear

23:31

God He was just simply telling them not to fear that God at this time, even though he had brought this miracle and Displayed his awesome power even over the elements

23:48

Verse 21 you must not turn aside For then you will go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver because they are futile so they

24:03

Were following what those of you have been with us? What were the Israelites doing prior to their repentance?

24:12

What are some of their sins that they had committed against God? Did you hear that?

24:23

They Insisted upon having an earthly king to rule over them like all other nations

24:33

There were no different than the Pagans at this point They're actually apostate what else did they do?

24:40

What kind of sin were they continually committing? idolatry

24:51

That's key here because they not only abandoned God, but they embraced all the idols of the pagan nations

24:59

What a disgrace for these people of God to turn from the living

25:05

Holy God to idols fashioned with men's hands clay objects objects made out of bronze and Precious metals they worshiped them and What good would that do?

25:23

These idols fashioned with hands could do nothing but one thing Bring upon themselves the wrath of God So the

25:36

Israelites now have recognized their grievous sins against the Holy God Following the great display of God's power the people also acknowledged their whole history

25:49

Was one of disobedience and rebellion and they had entered into an ungodly line like all the kings of the pagan nations

26:03

Now they also are showing their fear of their Holy God Jehovah, so what do they do?

26:14

They're in such a state of sin That they can't pray But they need an intercessor

26:22

One who is a follower of God? So they don't pray But they call upon Samuel to pray for your servants to the

26:32

Lord This is another indication of just how low they were spiritually and morally

26:43

Complete apostasy They next request for this intercessor who is

26:51

Samuel but that likens to one thing that we can recall in Exodus When God had brought destruction and sent his death angel that would

27:09

Kill all the firstborns The Pharaoh had enough in an

27:15

Exodus chapter 12 we read this in verses 29 through 32 Now it came about at midnight that the

27:23

Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the firstborn of the

27:29

Pharaoh who sat on his throne To the firstborn of the captive who is in the dungeon the firstborn of the cattle

27:40

Pharaoh rose in the night he and his servants and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry and in Egypt There was no home where there was not someone dead then

27:55

He called upon Moses and Aaron at night and he said quote rise up Get out from among my people both you and The sons of Israel and go worship the

28:11

Lord as you have said take Take them both your flocks and your herds as you have said and go but he closes with this and Bless me also

28:28

Pharaoh He recognized he wasn't a follower of God. He couldn't pray

28:35

But he's asking Aaron and Moses to pray These were the people who were following God so he interceded what difference is there between the people of Israel at this point and What happened when the

28:54

Pharaoh came under God's wrath? Pharaoh had no basis for approaching

29:04

God So he asked for an intercessor in verse 19 all the people of Israel through their own

29:15

Idolatry and wickedness had degraded themselves to the status of Pharaoh as we go through 20 and 21

29:27

When Samuel was trying to calm their fears because they had repented and God had heard their prayer of Repentance Now Samuel tries to calm their fears

29:47

In verse 21 You must not us turn aside Then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver

29:56

Because they are futile for the Lord will not abandon his people on account of his great name

30:04

Because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for himself imagine the

30:13

God that created the universe the God that sustains the universe and the one true

30:22

God who can deliver them and They wanted to pray to idols see any parallels today

30:32

For those professing to be Christians So as we continue this we recognize once again that Samuel was in that right place with God indeed.

30:49

He could intercede Samuel's instruction to the

30:56

Israelites is direct and it's concise He told him to put away the futile things the vain things is better translated and To turn to God and obey him

31:13

Obedience is always God's desire for his people in the Old Testament He provided the

31:19

Israelites with the law and the prophets though. They could never fulfill the law

31:25

Because they hadn't not the capability they would only be able to serve

31:31

God by following his commandments and by doing

31:36

This they were rewarded God had made a covenant with them through Moses in chapter 28

31:42

If you do this if you read and obey God's law, you'll be rewarded with this

31:50

But then the caveat if you do not This is what will happen to you, of course, we know that we're under the

32:01

New Covenant no longer under the law but under grace Those of you may have read

32:07

John MacArthur's Book on the gospel according to Jesus.

32:13

He has a quote in there that I thought very appropriate for this text it was by Lewis Perry Schaefer.

32:21

He was the Theologian that started Dallas seminary Back in the late 1800s and He lived till mid 1900s

32:34

That's when they were actually following sound doctrine God's grace is not static began quote.

32:43

It's an attribute whereby he passively accepts hardened unrepentant sinners

32:51

Grace does not change a person standing before God Yet leave his character untouched real grace does not include as Schaefer claimed

33:11

Christian liberty in other words, it doesn't permit us to be like the antinomians set aside

33:18

God's Word and Because of his grace to allow us to sin It doesn't do that but it's to deny the power to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and the power of God to fulfill our

33:37

New Covenant duties grace is Inconsistently We obey at times

33:48

Clearly grace does not grant permission in the flesh. It supplies the power to live in the spirit

33:55

Faith like grace is not static Saving faith is more than just understanding the facts and mentally acquiescing it is inseparable from repentance

34:11

Surrender and a supernatural longing to obey None of those responses can be classified exclusively as a human work

34:22

Any more than believing itself is solely a human effort So we cannot come to God and our own merit our own ability

34:33

God has to be the one to initiate our faith To grant us faith to be able to be turned to God from our sin remember

34:45

In the book of Ephesians, we were dead in our trespasses and sin.

34:50

Yes Mm -hmm

35:34

Amen, did you all hear that? Nathel is just reflecting on all the times in the

35:42

Old Testament Even in the Pinnituq as we read of Israel being led by men such as Moses and Aaron and As we look at the continual message they had

35:58

Was to read the commandments to follow the commandments and to serve their true

36:05

God That is no different than today. No, we're not in the

36:11

Old Testament economy but we're called by God's grace to be able to resist sin and To be able to follow

36:21

God and we have that capability through Christ I want to read one of the

36:27

Psalms if you would in Psalm 99 in Verse 6 we read this and Samuel was among those who called on his name

36:40

They called upon the Lord and he answered them so even the psalmist refers to the faithful prayers of Samuel That God heard him another text in Jeremiah chapter 15 verse 1

37:04

Then the Lord said to me even through Moses and Samuel Were to stand before me

37:13

My heart would not be with this people send them away in my from my presence and let them go so God was speaking to through Jeremiah and He had that capability and he recognized that Moses and Samuel also were able to be intercessors for God Samuel goes on in verse 23

37:44

Moreover as for me far be it from me that I should sin against the

37:49

Lord by ceasing to pray for you But I will instruct you in the good and right way perfect address

37:59

This is instructive for us and Christ Here come the

38:06

Israelites at this point just freshly repenting basically from Idolatry to turning to the

38:14

Lord. They come to him in this weakness and Asked Samuel to intercede to pray for them

38:22

What a privilege How often do Christians have that same opportunity a neighbor knows you're a

38:30

Christian They don't want to hear the gospel, but when something happens Pick up the phone.

38:35

Hey, would you pray for? We have a perfect open door to give them the reason why we can pray

38:47

Through the gospel of Jesus Christ What a grand opportunity Samuel points out that the sovereign and mutable

38:58

God would not abandon his people on account of his great name The one

39:04

God who had chosen and set apart the nation for himself Was known by all the nations his might his power

39:14

That he brought forth Not only to guide but he revealed his miraculous and sovereign power over all things

39:24

God is sovereign. He's the same God today yesterday and for always

39:32

We have to understand that We serve a sovereign Immutable God he never changes

39:40

He is all -powerful today

39:46

How many Christians are waiting for the midterms? how many Christians are waiting for the 2024 election putting their hope in men

40:02

Who fail there's no hope in this world this world isn't going to get better It's only going to get worse

40:09

The people of the world we don't look to them There they're nothing before God They're the enemies of God.

40:18

Why would we look to the world? Satan's domain and put our trust and hope in the man

40:25

Hoping for a little better comfort Certainly Paul didn't

40:33

He didn't live in comfort at all Yet he never appealed to the governing authorities for comfort or provision

40:46

He only looked to God. That's what we're called to In the

40:56

Apostle Paul demonstrated his love for those Whom God saved as an intercessor in Colossians 1 verse 9

41:04

We read this for this reason also since the day we heard of it we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

41:20

So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God first Timothy chapter 1 verse 3

41:37

I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience The way my forefathers did as I constantly remember you in my prayers

41:48

Night and day this is Paul interceding on behalf of the church on behalf of Timothy who is ministering in Ephesus he knew that he had the responsibility to intercede

42:05

These were young believers They were in a horrible place many of them

42:12

The Romans were brutal They were vile in their behavior and yet throughout all the epistles

42:22

Paul's Great desire was to build them up to further their faith in God's Word To protect them from false teachers as we look back in the early portion of first Samuel We recognized that Hannah was barren and That she had prayed fervently for a son

42:51

She did so But she did so with a promise If God would give her a son

42:58

He would serve the Lord all his days

43:04

So what does she do? God grants her prayer and as a young Boy she takes them where to Shiloh to Assist and be raised up by Eli the high priest now, of course, we know

43:23

Eli turned out to be a failure in many ways because of his sons

43:31

Hophni and Phinehas who were perverts They desecrated the temple they were supposed to be priests offering at the temple

43:41

They not only stole the food that was presented for offerings

43:48

But they also perverted their lives by Sexual immorality for those that came there the women that came there to bring offerings for the temple

44:02

So that was Eli's history But in the early part of that Samuel actually has a theophany perhaps more a

44:13

Christophany Christ appeared to Samuel not visually but in his presence at night

44:20

He gave Samuel a prophecy of what was going to have happen to Eli as well as his family

44:31

So he was told by God to Inform Eli. He was fearful.

44:38

Here's the high priest and he just basically condemns him And gives him a direct message from the

44:47

Lord, but he did so Even though he was in fear and trembling. He was able to deliver the message to Eli Eli's Family would never hold the priesthood

44:59

Because of his great sin So as we think of that how powerfully

45:06

God worked in Samuel early on But the first portion of that passage it says that Samuel did not know the

45:15

Lord that is he did he was not a follower of God but during this interchange during this process he became a

45:27

Follower of God a believer and in chapter 3 verse 20, it says thus

45:33

Samuel grew and The Lord was with him and let none of his words fail so through this interchange

45:44

Samuel had come to know Christ or came to know God and Served him

45:52

God revealed himself. He responded obediently Once Samuel agreed to pray

46:07

He did this Moreover as for me far be it for me that I should sin against the

46:14

Lord by ceasing to pray for you But I will instruct you in the good and right way

46:22

So if we are aware as Christians somebody comes to us and prays asks us to pray for them

46:28

They're in a bad way with the Lord What things should we consider doing to help them in the restoration process

46:38

How would a Christian respond to this you have a loving brother or sister who is struggling in a snare?

46:46

What do we do? Yes, as Nathal says we

46:57

We minister to them through God's Word and follow the directives of Galatians 6 we who are spiritual

47:05

Restore some one as such a one but in the spirit of meekness looking to yourself lest you to sin

47:12

So we have to realize that yes, we are called to come alongside a brother and Christian women come on us alongside a sister and they help them realize their sin and help them

47:27

Follow God to repent and turn and follow God. So we're able to do this

47:34

Intercession and as we are asked to pray by someone is

47:40

Struggling not just physically or other ways, but if they're in a true snare of sin

47:46

It would be Not only our desire, but we're commanded to do so In verses 24 and 25

48:00

We read this Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for consider what great things

48:09

He has done for you So what is Samuel telling the Israelites at this point?

48:17

He tells them to only fear the Lord that is a reverent fear and a desire to obey him and Serve him how would they serve him?

48:31

in obedience to his law That's what he's directing them to I will show you the way

48:39

The way of what the way is a law That you may follow him in obedience

48:47

So he was not only trying to intercede on their behalf, but he was also directing them back to God Directing him back to God's law and directing them back to a life of obedience

48:59

It'd be a big void there if he didn't direct him to follow and serve Jehovah it would just be a matter of God saving him delivering him from the hands of the

49:13

Ammonites and Return to their folly once again to vain things

49:19

No, he didn't want that. He wanted him to be built up to serve God to follow

49:25

God and to follow his word that's the type of Exhortation he was giving but then in verse 25

49:36

He ends this exhortation in this great Edifying message that he has given with a strong admonition

49:44

Okay, I've asked you and I've directed you back to God you've repented Turned from the vain things follow

49:51

God serve him verse 25 But if you still do wickedly both you and your king will be swept away

50:05

That was pretty direct concise but direct They knew because at this point they could hear

50:14

They could hear Samuel command He wasn't telling him.

50:20

Well, God saved you now. You just go on your way. God loves you. No We show our love to God by our obedience, that's what he directed him to and if they'd fail to Then the consequences would be both you and your king will be swept away

50:46

That is the result the consequence if they don't Do this you'll be rewarded rewarded.

50:53

Oh, they're gonna have many battles to face Wait till we start in chapter 13

51:00

Saul faces the enemy once again right off first the Philippians then

51:06

Edomites the Moabites all their enemies battle after battle after battle

51:13

When they were obedient God would give them victory and they knew their victory was from the

51:20

Lord When they're disobedient not so Of course

51:28

Following his reign We look forward to seeing the reign of David and the

51:37

Davidic Covenant so we have to understand. This is where Israel was.

51:42

This is the point of repentance This is the point where they've been turned around. That's what repentance is turning from our sin turning to God and Following him

51:55

I would like to Close with a quote from John MacArthur.

52:10

I already read it Okay, that was the one by Lewis Barry Schaefer but the point that John was communicating here was the same thing

52:23

We have the grace of God now. We have God's Word and we have the ability to resist sin

52:32

Though we fail daily we still live in this fallen flesh

52:39

But we do have the capacity to turn from that on a regular basis which we all do to serve him

52:49

Not only to read his word Not only to meditate on his word But to obey him that is the way we show our love for Christ If you love me

53:03

Obey my commandments simple. No, it's not we all know that we battle it every day

53:10

But our trust is not in man Doesn't matter what happens in the world.

53:15

That's Satan's dominion. Oh, yeah, we're gonna have the impact of it but we don't put our trust and men here on earth our trust is only

53:28

Directed to the God our creator and Savior Father we thank you for this day and father we recognize

53:37

That these truths are eternal We recognize that you gave us very instructive understanding lessons through Samuel your servant your faithful servant

53:52

One who loved you one who served you one who prayed to you and one who interceded on behalf of your people

54:01

Father we thank you that you're sovereign and we ask today that you would once again

54:08

Be honored and glorified as your word is brought forth to build up to reprove to correct all of us and to instruct us in righteousness

54:22

And Lord, we thank you that we have this privilege to gather collectively to worship you and may you be glorified

54:30

To the remainder of our worship time together in Jesus precious name. Amen And good morning everyone, thanks for coming today

01:31:31

Welcome to Kootenai Church, please stand as we sing this morning come Christians joined to sing

01:31:46

Come Christians joined to sing Loud praise to Christ our

01:31:56

King Rejoice Gracious choice

01:32:13

Amen Oh lift your hearts on high

01:32:23

Amen let praises fill the sky Amen he is our guide and friend to us

01:32:37

Condescend his love shall never end Hallelujah Praise our

01:32:50

Christ again Life shall not end the strain

01:33:03

Sure Oh Saved by the blood of the crucified one now ransom from sin and a new work begun

01:33:33

Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son Saved by the blood of the crucified one say

01:33:45

Say My sins are all parted my guilt is all gone say

01:33:55

Say I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one

01:34:07

Saved by the blood of the crucified one the angels rejoicing because it is done a

01:34:16

Child of the Father joined there with the Son Saved by the blood of the crucified one say

01:34:28

Say my sins are all parted my guilt is all gone say

01:34:37

Say I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one

01:34:52

Oh Saved by the blood of the crucified one

01:35:07

My sins are all parted my guilt is all gone say

01:35:18

Say I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one

01:35:40

He leadeth me Oh blessed thought

01:35:45

Oh What Where I be still

01:35:59

He leadeth me He leadeth me

01:36:04

He leadeth me By his own hand

01:36:09

He leadeth me His faithful follower

01:36:15

I would be for by his hand he leadeth me

01:36:23

Lord I would Thy hand in mine Content whatever

01:36:37

I see since I am He leadeth me

01:36:49

By his own His faithful And when my task on earth is done when by thy grace the victories won

01:37:17

In death's cold way. I will not flee since God He leadeth me

01:37:28

He leadeth me He leadeth me

01:37:33

By his own hand His faithful follower

01:37:42

I would be for by his hand he leadeth me

01:37:49

Let's do that a cappella. He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

01:38:02

He leadeth me. His faithful followers. You may be seated.

01:38:24

Today, after our service, today after our service, we still got sound there coming through, any time?

01:38:31

Today, after our service, we have a baptism class. In this classroom back here, I'll speak loud enough so everybody can hear me without the sound.

01:38:38

We have a baptism class today, about 12 .15 in this classroom right off the back corner here. We have three people who have said they'll be at that baptism class.

01:38:46

So if you have not said anything to me about that till now, you can still come to the baptism class, sit in on that if you want to know what baptism is and what the meaning of it is and why we baptize.

01:38:57

And then our church campout is July 21 to the 24th. You can check the newsletter for details, but there are two sign up sheets on the table out in the foyer next to the offering, no, not next to the offering box, on the other table, the welcome table.

01:39:10

There are two sign up sheets. One, if you plan on joining us for camping at any time during that weekend, the 21st to the 24th is a

01:39:17

Wednesday through a Saturday. And the second, if you plan on being there for the potluck on that Saturday and the baptism that is to follow.

01:39:25

We need to know how many people are planning to join us for camping as well as how many people will be there for the potluck. So please make sure you sign up on those sign up sheets.

01:39:33

Will you please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 95. Psalm 95, the end of this psalm, the last few verses will sound familiar to you because we have covered this in one of the previous warning passages in the book of Hebrews chapters 3 and chapter 4.

01:39:56

This psalm is quoted, and that is in the second warning passage, Psalm 95, beginning at verse 1.

01:40:06

O come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving.

01:40:14

Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. For the Lord is a great

01:40:19

God and a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth.

01:40:25

The heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it. And his hands formed the dry land.

01:40:32

O come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. For he is our

01:40:37

God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day at Nassau in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

01:40:54

For 40 years, I loathed that generation and said, they are a people who go astray in their heart and they have not known my ways.

01:41:01

Therefore, I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. You stand with me as we pray. Let's bow our heads.

01:41:12

Our father, we are so grateful to you for the privilege and the blessing of this day, that as your people called by your name and called out of darkness, we get to gather together as members and citizens of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of light, and that we get to praise and worship you, our awesome

01:41:28

God. You are worthy of our praise, worthy of our adoration, and so worthy of our obedience.

01:41:34

And so we pray that you would create in us soft and tender hearts, hearts quick to obey, hearts ready to understand your word, and hearts that are filled with affection and joy for you, our great

01:41:45

God, for the great salvation that you have purchased for us and that you have procured on our behalf.

01:41:52

We thank you for the blessing of salvation in Jesus Christ. Our hearts are full of joy just because of what

01:41:57

Christ has done to redeem us for you. So we pray that you would help us as we sing praises to our great

01:42:03

God, as we lift our hearts and our voices to you, we pray that our minds and our hearts may be forgetful of all of the things that this week past and the week ahead has for us, that our hearts and minds may be focused upon you, our great triune

01:42:17

God, that we may behold in our mind's eye the glory of Christ and be appreciative for the work of the spirit of God, that we may give praise and glory to our great

01:42:26

Father in heaven, and that our triune God may be glorified as a result of the salvation and praise of his people.

01:42:34

We ask this in the name of Christ, amen. ♪

01:42:50

My heart is filled with joy ♪ ♪ With thankfulness to him who bore mine ♪ ♪

01:43:03

The depths of my disgrace and gave me life again ♪ ♪

01:43:11

Who crushed my curse of sinfulness ♪ ♪

01:43:17

And put me with his light ♪ ♪ And broke his law of righteousness ♪ ♪

01:43:27

With power upon my heart ♪ ♪

01:43:37

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who was mine ♪ ♪

01:43:47

Who floods my weaknesses with strength ♪ ♪

01:43:52

And causes fears to fly ♪ ♪ Whose every promise is enough for every step

01:44:04

I take ♪ ♪ Sustaining me with arms of love and crowning me with grace ♪ ♪

01:44:21

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who reigns above me ♪ ♪

01:44:30

Whose wisdom is my perfect peace, whose every thought is love ♪ ♪

01:44:41

For every day I have of him is given by the king ♪ ♪

01:44:51

So I will give my life, my all to love and follow him ♪ ♪

01:45:00

For every day I have of him is given by the king ♪ ♪

01:45:10

So I will give my life, my all to love and follow him ♪ ♪

01:45:20

To love and follow him ♪ In Colossians chapter two, verses 13 through 14.

01:45:32

And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him, having graciously forgiven us all of our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us.

01:45:51

He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Let's sing this morning that it is well.

01:45:59

It is well with my soul. ♪

01:46:09

When peace like a river attended my way ♪ ♪

01:46:19

When sorrows like sea billows roll ♪ ♪

01:46:28

Whatever my loss, thou hast taught me to say ♪ ♪

01:46:39

It is well, it is well with my soul ♪ ♪

01:46:49

It is well, it is well with my soul, with my soul ♪ ♪

01:46:58

It is well, it is well with my soul ♪ ♪

01:47:09

Though Satan should come, though trial should come ♪ ♪

01:47:19

Let this blessed assurance control ♪ ♪

01:47:29

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate ♪ ♪

01:47:38

And has shed his own blood for my soul ♪ ♪

01:47:48

It is well, it is well with my soul, with my soul ♪ ♪

01:47:58

It is well, it is well with my soul, with my soul ♪ ♪

01:48:08

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought ♪ ♪

01:48:18

My sin, not in part, but the whole ♪ ♪

01:48:28

Hail to the cross, and I bear it no more ♪ ♪

01:48:36

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪

01:48:46

It is well, it is well with my soul, with my soul ♪ ♪

01:48:58

It is well with my soul, with my soul, with my soul ♪ ♪

01:49:06

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sighed ♪ ♪

01:49:16

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll ♪ ♪

01:49:26

The trump shall resound, and the

01:49:31

Lord shall descend ♪ ♪ Even so, it is well with my soul, it is well, it is well ♪ ♪

01:49:57

It is well, it is well with my soul, it is well, with my soul, with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.

01:50:28

♪ You may be seated. And now please turn your

01:50:36

Bibles to the book of Hebrews in the 10th chapter, Hebrews chapter 10, and we're gonna begin reading together at verse 26, and we'll read through the end of verse 31.

01:51:01

Hebrews chapter 10, beginning of verse 26. If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

01:51:16

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

01:51:23

How much severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace?

01:51:34

For we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people.

01:51:40

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Let's pray together. Our Father, you are the giver of every good gift, and we pray that one of your good gifts to us today would be that you would grant us understanding in your word and that you would strengthen our hearts and encourage us together in your word by the power of your

01:52:00

Holy Spirit, and that that grace may attend all who are listening and I who am speaking.

01:52:06

We pray that you would be honored through all that is said here today and that your spirit would use it to teach us and instruct us and to unite and knit our hearts together in faith and in faithfulness.

01:52:17

We pray in Christ's name, amen. One of the gravest delusions with which men deceive themselves is the delusion that they will somehow be able to escape the judgment of God if they are outside of Jesus Christ.

01:52:30

And unbelievers have a myriad of ways in which they convince themselves of this and a number of lies that they tell themselves, and I'll give you a few of them.

01:52:38

Sometimes men just simply convince themselves that God himself is going to forget their crimes, that they're going to get to judgment day and all of the horrible things that they have done, many of them will simply be lost to God's memory and that he will overlook them because he has so many crimes to account for, so many injustices to make right, that he will certainly forget some of their wrongdoing, some of their wickedness.

01:53:02

Or sinners convince themselves that God is probably going to change sometime before judgment day.

01:53:08

I mean, after all, he has changed from the Old Testament, he's no longer that vindictive, angry, wrath -filled

01:53:15

God of the Old Testament, he's much more gracious in the new, and now he's softer and more gentle and kind of like a doddering old man in the sky, and Jesus has sort of smoothed out all of the rough edges of God's character, so he's probably going to change again before judgment day, and so he's probably not going to be as severe as he has said he was going to be, as he has promised he will be in Scripture.

01:53:40

Or men convince themselves that the threatenings that are promised in Scripture are really only metaphors and analogies and poetry.

01:53:47

You've probably heard people say this, that all those descriptions of hell in the Old and New Testament, well, that's a lot of poetic imagery, that's a lot of metaphors and analogies, and so they're probably, hell's not going to be really like that.

01:53:59

When Jesus speaks of the fire that is never quenched and the worm that is never satisfied, those are just pictures, and so hell's not going to be quite that severe, and what they fail to recognize is that if the analogy is that severe, that the reality that the analogy is attempting to picture is going to be even more severe.

01:54:18

Or pagans will try and convince themselves that the Old Testament and New Testament writers got it wrong, that they were looking through a glass, a dimly as it were, and they're trying to understand these eternal verities, but they really didn't accurately describe what hell and heaven is actually going to be like, and so when you read the descriptions of God's judgment, the

01:54:39

New Testament and Old Testament writers, just they weren't really all that accurate about it, they got it wrong. Or sinners will convince themselves that their sins are really not all that bad, and so if they do meet with justice, they'll deal with it on that day.

01:54:51

You probably heard sinners say this. No, going to hell really doesn't concern me because, well, that's where all my friends are going to be.

01:54:56

I had a friend in high school say to me that why would you go to heaven and serve when you go to hell and rain? And he said, all my friends will be in hell.

01:55:04

It's gonna be a big party. That's where everybody that I like is going to be, so I'm not really worried about going there. However bad it's going to be,

01:55:09

I'll just deal with it when the time comes. Or there is the atheist objection where the atheist just simply says there is no eternal judgment whatsoever.

01:55:17

We're all just meat in motion with no transcendent value, no ultimate purpose, no guiding goal, no moral law above us, that all that we have is what is in this life, and there is no life to come.

01:55:30

So when you die, there is no eternal judgment. There is no afterlife. There is no day of reckoning at all.

01:55:37

You're just going to go into the grave and become worm food, and that will be the end of you, and there will be no eternal judgment or justice at all.

01:55:44

That's what the atheist convinced himself of. And in spite of all of the screamings of the conscience of the sinner, that their conscience bears witness to the fact that they are guilty, and in spite of the fact that Scripture condemns them with clarity, and in spite of the fact that Scripture calls them to repentance and the gracious offer of salvation in Jesus Christ calls out to sinners, they do not heed the warnings of Scripture and they ignore all of these eternal verities.

01:56:13

Even in spite of the fact that their conscience bears witness to Scripture, in spite of the fact that they have been called to repentance, men go through this life and they ignore it, and apostates do the exact same thing.

01:56:23

And the result is that men, by their own choice and as a result of their own rebellion, end up plunging into hell and eternal judgment and destruction, and Scripture is very clear and very accurate as to the nature of that eternal judgment.

01:56:39

And so what all of those denials of God's justice amount to, they really are one of two things, either a denial of the certainty of God's justice or a denial of the severity of God's justice.

01:56:53

Pagans, in their deluding themselves concerning the day of judgment, will either convince themselves that the day of judgment is not all that certain or they will convince themselves that it is not all that severe.

01:57:04

Either way, they do not need to worry about it, they'll deal with it when the time comes. Well, the warning passage that we've been looking at here in Hebrews 10, which we just read, verses 26 through 31, deals with those two doubts.

01:57:16

It also deals with the potential objection that the severe judgment of God upon apostates who walk away from the faith, that that judgment is too severe, that it is too stern, that hell is overkill for the judgment that an apostate deserves.

01:57:31

And what we saw in verses 28 and 29 is that God's judgment is just, that the trampling underfoot the

01:57:36

Son of God and regarding as unclean the blood of the covenant by which the Son of God was sanctified and that insulting of the

01:57:43

Spirit of grace that this sin of apostasy is a crime against the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is spurning of their character, their grace, and their work and so therefore, eternal damnation is perfectly just, it is perfectly suited to the sin of apostasy.

01:57:56

So now we deal with the next objection, which is that God's judgment is not all that certain. So if there was an apostate reading this passage,

01:58:04

Hebrews 10, 26 through 31, and he wanted to begin to doubt whether or not this judgment that is described here is really a certainty at all, the author deals with that in verse 30 when he says, we know him who said, vengeance is mine,

01:58:19

I will repay, and again, the Lord will judge his people. He is there describing the certainty of that judgment and in case any apostate were wondering about the severity of the judgment, he deals with that objection in verse 31.

01:58:31

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God's judgment against apostates is just, it is certain, and it is severe.

01:58:39

Not more severe than it warrants, but no less severe than it warrants either. It is just, it is certain, and it is severe.

01:58:47

So we pick it up now at verse 30 with that cheerful and uplifting introduction. Beginning of verse 30, you're probably, you're probably wondering yourself, is this ever gonna end like Ecclesiastes?

01:58:58

Is this ever gonna come to an end? We will be done with the judgment passage soon. Not today, but soon.

01:59:05

I want you to notice that there are two quotations in verse 30, two quotations from the Old Testament, and the author is highlighting, look at verse 30, for we know him who said, vengeance is mine,

01:59:15

I will repay, and again, the Lord will judge his people. Two different quotations, and they are from the same passage in the

01:59:20

Old Testament, and the author is highlighting here the person who spoke those words. When he says, we know him who said, he's not just identifying the person, but saying something specific about that person, and the quotation is significant, and we're gonna see the significance here in a moment, but I don't want you to miss the fact that the author is calling to mind what the reader or the hearer of these words would have understood about the

01:59:45

God of whom he is speaking. When he says, we know him who said this, he's not simply saying, we know that God has said this, it's more than that, he is saying, we know the

01:59:55

God who has spoken this, not just who it is, but who in terms of his character and in terms of his nature.

02:00:02

He is calling to mind a specific warning from the Old Testament, and he is saying, we know the identity, we know the character, we know the attributes of the one who has said this, and then he quotes those two passages.

02:00:14

We have a knowledge of this God, and by the way, this would be true even of the apostates. It could be said of the apostates that they had full understanding of who

02:00:22

God is. That's one of the graces that God had shown to the apostate in bringing them close enough to the truth that the apostate could see the truth and understand the truth.

02:00:31

So when it says in verse 26 that they go on sinning willfully, remember, that is a intellectually astute, a well -considered, well -thought -out rejection of the truth.

02:00:42

The apostate himself knows this God, not in a saving sense, but in an intellectual sense.

02:00:47

He knows who it is who has said this. He is familiar with God's character, familiar with his attributes.

02:00:54

He knows who this God is, and he knows what kind of a God has said this. He knows, for instance, that this

02:00:59

God is an omniscient God who knows every thought, word, and deed ever spoken or thought or done by everybody who has ever lived.

02:01:08

He knows that this God is unchanging and immutable. He is transcendent. He knows that he is just and holy and righteous and that his anger burns against sin.

02:01:17

He knows that this God is omnipotent and that no one can say to him, what have you done, or ward off his hand, that this

02:01:24

God rules among the affairs of men. He rules over the nations and that the destiny of every person who has ever lived rests in the hands of this

02:01:32

God. The apostate knows that because the apostate has been enlightened to a point where he understands exactly who this

02:01:39

God is and what his character is. And one of the graces that is given to the apostate is he has been brought close enough to that revelation to know intellectually who it is who is given this warning in the

02:01:50

Old Testament. And this same God who is revealed in Scripture so that we might know his unchanging nature, his omnipotence, his immutability, his character, his wisdom, his justice, his goodness, even his offers of grace, that God is not only revealed in Scripture but he has manifested his works and his deeds throughout all of human history so that we see how this

02:02:11

God has himself judged in the past, apostates, and this God has judged the nations and we have every right and every reason to believe that this

02:02:20

God who is never changing and has worked in history will be the same God with whom the apostate has to do on the final day of judgment.

02:02:28

We know him who has said this. And so the author is calling to mind all that the apostate would know concerning this

02:02:34

God. So would you then, or would we, or would the apostate make the grave mistake of misjudging or denying

02:02:45

God's omniscience in thinking that oh, he'll forget my sins, he will overlook them?

02:02:51

Would the apostate make the grave mistake of questioning or denying God's righteousness, that God would simply turn a blind eye away from my sin and just overlook it and not require a reckoning, a payment for the price of my sin?

02:03:06

Or would the apostate make the grave mistake of denying his justice, thinking that without any payment of that sin, that God would let him into heaven anyway?

02:03:15

Or would the apostate deny God's word and say that it's not correct, that there is no coming day of judgment, that we are all just molecules in motion, and so therefore there is no day of reckoning after this?

02:03:27

The apostate, the atheist, the sinner, whatever their level of knowledge, we know him who has said these things, who has warned of this judgment.

02:03:35

This is both a terror to the apostate and a comfort to the believer. I'll show you why that is the case at the end.

02:03:42

Notice in verse 30 that he is quoting the Old Testament as if it was reliable revelation of God's nature. He's once again reminding us that God who said this in the

02:03:49

Old Testament, we can know him because of what he has said, we know how this God has worked, we know how this

02:03:55

God has revealed himself in the Old Testament. So far from unhitching our Christianity from the Old Testament or disregarding the

02:04:01

Old Testament revelation, this author quotes the Old Testament as if it is reliable and authoritative, and a reliable revelation of God's nature and his character and his eternal purposes.

02:04:11

And these two quotations are both from the same passage in the Old Testament from Deuteronomy chapter 32 and they are back to back in Deuteronomy 32.

02:04:20

He's quoting both of these places so as to remove any doubt of what passage the author has in mind when he quotes this.

02:04:27

Now before we go back to Deuteronomy 32 to catch the context of that, I just want you to notice, particularly the second quotation, but let your eye look at both of those statements.

02:04:36

Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people.

02:04:42

Notice that reference, the Lord will judge his people. I want you to take that statement, file it away in the back of your mind for a moment because when you get toward the end of this sermon, when it does come to a merciful end,

02:04:51

I'm gonna ask you to drag that statement out again so we can examine it a little bit in light of what we see in Deuteronomy 32.

02:04:57

So those are the two quotations. Now I want you to turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 32 and the purpose of this is so that we may go back and look at the context because it is very instructive of what is going on in Deuteronomy 32 as to what the author is driving at here in Hebrews chapter 10.

02:05:12

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament, the book of Moses and Moses' last book, and I'll give you, while you're finding your place there, actually, to be honest with you, you're gonna need to go back to Deuteronomy 27.

02:05:26

I know that sounds horrible because you're thinking we're gonna go through five, we are gonna go through five chapters. So Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of Moses.

02:05:36

This records the death of Moses. It is a collection of sermons and addresses and even a farewell address that Moses gave to the nation of Israel.

02:05:46

It happens and it is written at the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. So you remember that the previous generation who was brought out of Egypt was brought right up to the cusp of the promised land and the 12 spies went in and two of them,

02:05:59

Joshua and Caleb, came back and said, look, we got this, no problem. The other 10 said, no, the people are big and yeah, it's a land flowing with milk and honey, but we could never overcome them.

02:06:08

Joshua and Caleb pleaded with them, let's go in and take the land as the Lord has told us, as the Lord has promised us, and the 10 people's opinions prevailed and the people rebelled in the wilderness and would not enter into the promised land.

02:06:20

Now, if all of that sounds familiar in terms of the book of Hebrews, it's probably because we reviewed all of that back in chapter three and chapter four when we talked about the generation who would not enter his rest.

02:06:30

And Psalm 95, which we read at the beginning, describes that at the bottom of it, at the end of that Psalm, which is why

02:06:36

God says, I loathed that generation for 40 years. So as a result, as a punishment for not entering into the promised land like they were commanded and being fearful instead that God would not bring them in and fulfill his promise,

02:06:49

God cursed them with 40 years of wandering around on the Sinai Peninsula when he allowed everybody who was part of that generation to die off and then all of the children, their children, who had not been responsible for that rebellion, grew up and watched the judgment of God upon that previous generation as all of them died.

02:07:06

And now, 40 years have passed and it is time for Moses to die. It is time for Joshua to bring them into the promised land.

02:07:12

The only three people alive when they had come, still alive by this point, when they had come out of Egypt, were Joshua, Caleb, and Moses.

02:07:18

Everybody else was dead. There are only three people who have seen the Red Sea crossing and the signs that God did in the land of Egypt, but this generation that has grown up now and is about to enter into the promised land, they have likewise seen

02:07:31

God's goodness. They have seen God provide for them and protect them in the wilderness during their wanderings.

02:07:36

He has given them manna to eat every day. He has given them water to drink out in a desert land. He has provided manna,

02:07:43

I mentioned manna. I'm hungry, I must be hungry. I'm talking of food twice. The soles of their feet did not wear out.

02:07:50

Their clothes did not wear out during all of that 40 years. God has lavished his goodness upon them. They've seen his works, and now they're about to enter into the promised land, and Moses is giving them this series of farewell addresses at the end of Deuteronomy.

02:08:03

There is a restatement of all of the covenant that God had made with the people when he brought them out on Mount Sinai, when he gave them the law, and he gave them the civil law, the ceremonial law, as well as his moral law.

02:08:15

There is a restatement of all of that covenant, and he is also reciting in the book of Deuteronomy the judgments that God had inflicted upon a generation that disobeyed him and walked away from him, a whole generation of apostates, if you will, people who had seen the good hand of God and turned away from it.

02:08:35

All of that is fresh on their minds, and now they're about to do what their parents and grandparents were not allowed to do and were unwilling to do, and because of their unwillingness to do it, they suffered death in the wilderness.

02:08:48

So they have seen an entire generation of apostates perish before God in judgment for them not being obedient, and that is the context.

02:08:58

Look at chapter 27. We're not gonna go through this verse by verse, but I will draw your attention to several passages.

02:09:06

Beginning in verse 15 of chapter 27, Moses is here reciting before the people, the elders of the people in the nation of Israel, he is reciting to them the curses that would befall them for not keeping the commandments.

02:09:18

Look at verse one of chapter 27. Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, keep all the commandments which

02:09:24

I command you today. So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime and write on them all the words of this law so that they may obey it.

02:09:34

That was the point. Then there would be blessings, obviously, if they obeyed the voice of the Lord their

02:09:40

God and were faithful to the covenant. God would bless the nation. That was the terms of the covenant. Look at verse 15.

02:09:45

There is a series of curses. Cursed is the man who makes an idle or a molten image, an abomination to the

02:09:52

Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman and sets it up in secret. Verse 16, cursed is he who dishonors father or mother.

02:09:59

Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary, verse 17. Verse 18, cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.

02:10:05

So these are all violations of the ceremonial and civil law that God had given to the nation and he is calling them to account and reminding them that disobedience to this law would result in the nation and the people who committed these sins being cursed.

02:10:18

And that cursing goes all the way through the end of verse 26. Verse 28 is a recitation of the blessings that would come if they were to obey the covenant that God had made with them.

02:10:28

So chapter 28, beginning in verse one. Now it shall be if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which

02:10:35

I commanded you today. The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the

02:10:43

Lord your God. Verse three, blessed. Verse four, blessed. Verse five, blessed. Six, blessed. And on it goes all the way through the end of verse 14, a series of blessings.

02:10:51

Notice what Moses is doing. You remember the covenant. If you don't do this, you're gonna be cursed.

02:10:56

If you do this, you're gonna be blessed. And back and forth between curses and blessings, Moses goes. Verse 15 through the end of the chapter is one long list of the curses that would befall the nation if they disobeyed

02:11:08

God and violated his covenant. But it shall come about, verse 15, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe and do all his commandments and his statutes which

02:11:15

I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed you shall be in the city.

02:11:20

Cursed in the country. Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl. And on it goes, you can pick almost any verse at random out of that passage and you're gonna read about a curse.

02:11:29

Look at verse 45. So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed because you would not obey the

02:11:36

Lord your God by keeping his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder on you and on your descendants forever.

02:11:44

Again, he restates at verse 58. If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book to fear this honored and awesome name, the

02:11:55

Lord our God, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues and miserable and chronic sicknesses.

02:12:05

That's the rest of the chapter, chapter 28. Chapter 29 is the restatement of the covenant that God made with them at Mount Sinai.

02:12:13

Now he mentions in verse 29, verse one, these are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab besides the covenant which he had made with them at Horeb.

02:12:23

Horeb was Sinai. At that mount where they had received the law, there was a covenant made there. And so this is a restatement,

02:12:29

I think, of that covenant and the terms of the covenant and he's given them all of this law for a second time. That's what chapter 29 is about.

02:12:36

Chapter 29, he relates again the goodness of God. You see in verse five, I have led you 40 years in the wilderness.

02:12:41

Your clothes have not worn out and your sandals have not worn out on your foot. You've not eaten bread nor have you drunk wine or strong drink in order that you might know that I am the

02:12:49

Lord your God. This recitation of the blessings that he had poured out on the nation in chapter 29. And then in verse 30, or chapter 30,

02:12:57

I should say, in chapter 30, after again reciting the curses that would come upon them as a nation if they disobeyed.

02:13:04

Look at chapter 30, verse one. So it shall be when all these things have come upon you, the blessings and the curse which

02:13:10

I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. This is one of the curses, where if they disobeyed, they would be banished out of the land and run out of the land.

02:13:21

And the nation of Israel's history is one of being banished and run out of the land. The Assyrian captivity, the

02:13:27

Babylonian captivity, destruction of other nations, the book of Judges is a record of their disobedience and their apostasy followed by God bringing in foreign armies who would put their armies to flight and occupy them and conquer them and pillage them and take all of their goods.

02:13:41

But, chapter 30, verse one, so it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which

02:13:47

I have set before you, and you call them to mind in the nations which the Lord your God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and your soul according to all that I command you, you and your sons, then

02:13:56

Lord your God will restore you from the captivity and have compassion on you and will again gather you from all the peoples where the

02:14:02

Lord your God has scattered you. That's a promise of restoration. Now look down at verse 15.

02:14:07

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity and death and adversity in that I command you today to love the

02:14:15

Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments that you may live and multiply and that the

02:14:21

Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess. If your heart turns away and you will not obey but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,

02:14:30

I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you're crossing the

02:14:37

Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, and I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.

02:14:46

So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by holding fast to him.

02:14:55

For this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

02:15:01

Notice verse 20. By loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by holding fast to him. Have we heard that language before in the book of Hebrews?

02:15:10

What does this sound like Moses is describing here for Old Testament Israel? Sounds to me like he is warning them against apostasy.

02:15:19

You have seen all of God's goodness. You have known this God. He recites all of the good things that God had done for the entire nation, and for peoples in that nation.

02:15:30

And he says you have seen his good hand, you have known his good hand. If you obey him, he will bless you.

02:15:36

If you turn away, if you disobey, he will curse you. God asks you to love him, to obey him, and to hold fast to him.

02:15:45

That language is, well the book of Hebrews language about holding fast almost seems like it's taken right out of this large warning passage.

02:15:53

Moses is telling the nation do not turn away, do not walk away, do not apostatize.

02:16:00

Chapter 31 is a prediction of apostasy. Chapter 31 is Moses' last counsel, and then

02:16:07

I want you to look at verse 14. We are getting to chapter 32. Look at verse 14. Then the

02:16:12

Lord said to Moses, behold, the time for you to die is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.

02:16:20

Verse 15, sorry, still in verse 14. So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.

02:16:26

The Lord appeared in the tent in the pillar of cloud, and the pillar of the cloud stood at the doorway of the tent. The Lord said to Moses, behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers, and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land into midst of which they are going, and will forsake me and break my covenant which

02:16:41

I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, is it not because our

02:16:55

God is not among us that these evils have come upon us? But I will surely hide my face in that day because of the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.

02:17:06

There he is. The Lord is predicting their spiritual apostasy. In verse 19, the

02:17:11

Lord wants Moses to write a song. Look at verse 19. Now therefore write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel.

02:17:18

Put it on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for me against the sons of Israel. For when

02:17:23

I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn me and break my covenant.

02:17:33

Then it shall come about when many evils and troubles have come upon them that this song will testify before them as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants, for I know their intent which they are developing today before I have brought them into the land which

02:17:47

I swore. God is there saying, I know their hearts, and even while you stand before them today and warned them of this,

02:17:54

I know of the sin that they're plotting when they get into the land of Israel, the land that I've chosen them.

02:18:00

So he says to Moses, write a song and put it on their lips and teach it to them and to their children.

02:18:06

Make them memorize this, so that when I do judge them for that apostasy, the words of this song will come to their mind as a warning and a reminder of their great sin.

02:18:17

Verse 22, so Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel.

02:18:22

So what is this song? It is chapter 32. It's called the Song of Moses. This is the song that the

02:18:27

Lord told Moses to write and the people memorized it and it was intended to be a witness against the people. If they rebelled, they would remember all of these things because it would be in a song that they would recite.

02:18:39

You understand how easy it is to remember song lyrics, right? I remember lyrics from songs from the 80s.

02:18:46

They just come on the radio and they come back to me just like I was listening to them yesterday, which I might have been, but I still understand.

02:18:52

I still remember all of the lyrics of those songs, songs I haven't heard forever. They come back just real quick.

02:18:58

There's something about putting something to music and memorizing that that just sticks with you forever. Same thing with Psalm 32.

02:19:04

Originally put to music, this is the Song of Moses. This the people would memorize and remember forever.

02:19:09

That was the intention. Verse 23, the Lord commissions Joshua to follow Moses and to lead the people into the land.

02:19:16

Verses 24 through 30, it came about when Moses finished writing the words of this law in the book until they were complete that Moses commanded the

02:19:22

Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord saying, take this book of the law and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the

02:19:27

Lord your God that it may remain there as a witness against you for I know your rebellion and your stubbornness.

02:19:32

Behold, while I'm still alive with you today, you've been rebellious against the Lord. How much more than after my death?

02:19:38

Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them for I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which

02:19:49

I have commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the

02:19:55

Lord, provoking him to anger with the works of your hands. Then Moses spoke in the hearing of the assembly of Israel the words of all this song until they were complete.

02:20:04

And then chapter 32 is the song. How discouraging do you think it must have been for Moses? He was part of a generation of people that perished, all of them, except for Joshua and Caleb and Moses.

02:20:16

All of them perished in apostasy. Now there's this whole new generation that have seen the good hand of God. They saw that judgment of God upon those apostates.

02:20:24

They're about to enter into the land. God renews the covenant with them and says, these are the terms. And then the

02:20:30

Lord says to Moses, the good that you set before them, they will not choose.

02:20:35

Instead, they're going to play the harlot as soon as they get into the land. And Moses has to, in honesty, look out over the company of these millions of people and the elders and the leaders and all the various tribes and say to himself, these people are plotting evil even while I stand here in their presence.

02:20:51

And as soon as I'm dead, they're going to play the harlot. This was a whole new generation of apostates in the making.

02:21:02

Well, there's a song that the Lord gave to Moses to warn him of that apostasy and to remind them of the dangers of apostasy, and that's chapter 32.

02:21:10

So now we get to our text this morning. It's chapter 32. I'm going to read through it and I'm just going to briefly comment on a few things so that you can see the flow of the argument as we get toward the quotation that is found in Hebrews chapter 10.

02:21:26

Chapter 32, beginning at verse one. Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

02:21:31

Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.

02:21:38

For I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God. The rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just.

02:21:47

A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is he.

02:21:52

What a way to begin the song, right? To remind them of God's character. All his ways are just.

02:21:59

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Every decision that he makes, every act of justice is just and it is righteous and it flows from his unchanging character as a

02:22:11

God of faithfulness without any injustice whatsoever. So as you describe the judgment that he warns about in chapter 32, we have to begin by understanding we cannot think, oh, that's unjust.

02:22:22

No, this is a God without any injustice. Verse five, they have acted corruptly toward him.

02:22:27

They are not his children because of their defect, but are a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus repay the

02:22:33

Lord, oh foolish and unwise people? Is not he your father who has bought you? He has made you and established you.

02:22:39

Remember the days of old. Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father and he will inform you.

02:22:44

Your elders and they will tell you. He's now going to recite all of the blessings that God had given to the nation.

02:22:50

In verses five and six, he describes the rebellion. Now he describes the goodness that God had lavished upon these people.

02:22:56

Verse eight, when the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.

02:23:04

For the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is the allotment of his inheritance. He found him in the desert land and in the howling waste of wilderness.

02:23:12

He encircled him, he cared for him, he guarded him as a pupil of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest that hovers over its young.

02:23:19

He spread his wings and caught them. He carried them on his pinions. The Lord alone guided them and there was no foreign

02:23:25

God with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth and he ate the produce of the field.

02:23:30

He made him suck honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock, curds of cows and milk of the flock with the fat of lambs and rams, the breed of bation and goats, with the finest of the wheat and with the blood of grapes you drank wine.

02:23:42

List of God's physical and spiritual blessings of protection and provision. How did they respond to that, the nation of Israel?

02:23:48

Verse 15, but Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. You are grown fat, thick, and sleek. Then he forsook

02:23:53

God who made him and scorned the rock of his salvation. He made him jealous with strange gods with abominations they provoked him to anger.

02:24:00

They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately whom your fathers did not dread.

02:24:07

You neglected the rock who begot you and forgot the God who gave you birth. And then verse 19 and following describes the judgment that God brought upon the nation.

02:24:16

The Lord saw this and spurned them because of the provocation of his sons and daughters. Then he said,

02:24:22

I will hide my face from them. I will see that their end shall be for they are a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness.

02:24:28

They've made me jealous with what is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people.

02:24:35

I'll provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. Look at the imagery in verse 22.

02:24:40

For a fire is kindled in my anger and burns to the lower parts of the shield and consumes the earth with its yield and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

02:24:49

I will heap misfortunes on them. I will use my arrows on them. They will be wasted by famine and consumed by plague and bitter destruction and the teeth of beasts

02:24:58

I will send upon them with the venom of crawling things of the dust. Outside, the sword will bereave and inside, terror, both young man and virgin, the nurseling with the man of gray hair.

02:25:10

I would have said I will cut them to pieces. I will remove the memory of them from men had I not feared the provocation by the enemy that their adversaries would misjudge that they would say our hand is triumphant and the

02:25:20

Lord has not done all this. Verses 26 and 27, he is saying, I would have wiped them out completely and completely destroyed them, except their enemy, who would be the instrument of that destruction, would say these people are not

02:25:29

God's people. The Lord had not done this. In other words, God is saying, I would have wiped them out completely, but I'm keeping back a remnant so that my name may be glorified in preserving those people and not allowing the enemy to wipe them out and think that he had done this and it had not been an act of God.

02:25:43

Verse 28, for they are a nation lacking in counsel and there is no understanding in them. In verse 28 through 33, he is describing the useless idols of the people that they had worshiped in contrast to the

02:25:54

God who had lavished them with goodness. Verse 29, would that they were wise that they understood this, that they would discern their future.

02:26:01

How could one chase 1 ,000 and put 10 ,000 to flight unless their rock had sold them and the Lord had given them up? Indeed, their rock is not like our rock.

02:26:08

Even our enemies themselves judge this. For their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of poison.

02:26:15

Their cluster is bitter. Their wine is the venom of serpents and the deadly poison of cobras. He just describes there the idols of the nations in contrast to God's provision.

02:26:23

God lavished us with good grapes and good produce and the gods of the nations, which is a rock not like our rock, has given them grapes from the fields of Gomorrah and bitter grapes and nothing good at all.

02:26:33

Comparing the goodness and the providential protection and provision of God for the nation of Israel to that of the idols, that's what you get in verses 29 through 33.

02:26:41

Verse 34, is not this judgment laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries,

02:26:47

God says. In other words, my way of dealing with this nation, this is what I do for my name's sake and that both the provision and the judgment on the nation for their disobedience, both of these things are stored up with me.

02:26:59

Verse 35, vengeance is mine and retribution. That is what is quoted in Hebrews chapter 10. That was a long walk for a short drink of water, wasn't it?

02:27:08

By the time we get to verse 35, that is the passage that is quoted in Hebrews chapter 10.

02:27:15

And not only that phrase, but also the beginning of verse 36 for the Lord will vindicate his people. And you'll notice that chapter 10 of Hebrews says the

02:27:24

Lord will judge his people. We'll get to that in just a moment. Verse 35 is

02:27:29

God's promise that his judgment rests with him, his vengeance and his retribution. This is his to dole out upon an unfaithful people.

02:27:37

Verse 35, vengeance is mine and retribution. In due time, their foot will slip for the day of their calamity is near and the impending things are hastening upon them for the

02:27:46

Lord will vindicate his people and will have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and there is none remaining bond or free.

02:27:53

In verse 26, it says the Lord will vindicate his people. Look at the next phrase and we'll have compassion on his servants.

02:28:00

Now, if you were amongst the children of Israel that day and you were a pious believer in Yahweh and you loved him and you were faithful to him and wanted to be obedient to the covenant.

02:28:09

And then you have this warning that these are the people, this is what the people are gonna do. They're all gonna be apostates and God is gonna pour out his indignation.

02:28:15

The fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries on these people. And this is, I'm like a lone duck amongst this generation of people who are all rebelling against the

02:28:24

Lord. One of your concerns would be, am I gonna be swept away in the judgment of that? Or will the

02:28:30

Lord recognize me as his person and spare me in the midst of that, be faithful to me in the midst of that?

02:28:36

The answer is in verse 36, the Lord will vindicate his people and will have compassion on his servants.

02:28:42

All of this judgment notwithstanding, yes, the entire nation might be judged, but the Lord knows those who are his.

02:28:49

And he will have compassion on his servants, even in the midst of the judgment that has been described in this passage. So verse 35 is quoted in Hebrews 10, vengeance is mine in retribution.

02:28:59

Verse 36, the Lord will vindicate his people. Verse 37, and he will say, where are their gods?

02:29:05

The rock in which they have taken refuge. Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering?

02:29:11

Let them rise up and help you. Let them be your hiding place. See now that I am he and there is no

02:29:16

God besides me. It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal.

02:29:22

There is no one who can deliver from my hand. Look again at verse 39, the last phrase, there is no one who can deliver from my hand.

02:29:31

In Hebrews 10, verse 30, what's the very next verse say? The last verse of the warning passage.

02:29:37

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So the author quotes

02:29:44

Deuteronomy 32 in verse 30 of Hebrews chapter 10. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and the

02:29:50

Lord will judge his people. And the very next thing he says is, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living

02:29:56

God. I believe that the author of Hebrews has in mind a reference to verse 39.

02:30:02

I have wounded, it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand. Do you know why it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living

02:30:09

God? Because there is no one who can deliver you from his hand. And if he is going to judge you, and that is his intention, if his hand is moving to judge you for your apostasy, no one can deliver you.

02:30:23

That is your last appeal, that is your last chance. There is no higher court.

02:30:29

So look at verse 40. Indeed, I lift up my hand to heaven and I say as I live forever, if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on justice.

02:30:39

Look at the imagery of God's hand taking hold of justice. I will render vengeance on my adversaries and I will repay those who hate me.

02:30:49

You can see how the author of Hebrews is borrowing language from this, right? The hand of God, the quotation, the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries in verse 26, you see how the author is borrowing all of that language right out of Deuteronomy chapter 32.

02:31:03

Verse 42, I will make my arrows drunk with blood and my sword will devour flesh with the blood of the slain, the captives, from the long -haired leaders of the enemy.

02:31:11

Now you say, what is the response of the people of God? What would be a good and godly response to the word, to the message that God is gonna judge apostates?

02:31:21

God's people respond, verse 36, or sorry, 43. God's people respond to verse 43.

02:31:26

Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance on his adversaries and will atone for his land and his people.

02:31:37

There are people who think that you need to be nicer than God and you should never rejoice when God executes judgment in this world or in eternity.

02:31:44

That is not true. When our government fulfills its responsibility to execute vengeance against evildoers and to punish evildoers with the use of the sword, the last thing

02:31:57

I do is clutch my pearls and worry and seethe and think, oh, I should feel compassion for this.

02:32:03

Instead, I say, this is the thing that God has commissioned governments to do is to execute evildoers like this.

02:32:10

And when that happens, we ought to rejoice because they are doing what God has called them to do. And when God in this world executes justice and judgment upon people who deserve it, the last thing we should do is try and apologize for God or to say

02:32:23

God didn't mean to do that, he didn't intend to do that, that's really not what God is like. No, after describing his justice in verse 42, he says that we are to rejoice with his people.

02:32:32

Why? Because he has executed vengeance upon his adversaries. And we ought to rejoice in that and to delight in God's work of justice.

02:32:39

That is very difficult to swallow, I understand that, because sometimes the objects of his justice are the people we love.

02:32:46

I get that, they're the people that we love. But in eternity, when we have

02:32:53

God's perspective on his justice, we will not mourn that. We will rejoice in it and say the

02:33:01

Lord has done that which is good because he is the judge of all the earth and he has done that which is right. God takes delight in all of his works.

02:33:08

And there is part of God that takes delight even in the vindication of his name in judging his adversaries. God does not wring his hands and apologize for judging those who deserve to be judged.

02:33:19

And when we try to apologize for God and appear nicer than God and kinder than God, it does nothing but encourage further apostasy and further sin.

02:33:28

We need to be honest about what scripture says concerning the judgment that comes to those who deny God. All right, now that is the quotation.

02:33:35

Back to verse 36, not to Hebrews 10 just yet, but back to verse 36. You'll notice verse 36 says the

02:33:43

Lord will vindicate his people and in the quotation from Hebrews, it says the Lord will judge his people. So one may discern from that that his people are the objects of his justice and judgment and that God would judge people and that these might be

02:33:55

Christians who are being judged. The word that is translated judge in Hebrews 10 is a word that, it comes from the word krino, which means to make a discrimination or an assessment or a determination to make a judgment based on correct information, to carefully and rightly examine something and then to make a discerning discrimination on that thing, testing it and examining it in light of what is true and in light of reality, in light of known facts.

02:34:20

So in Hebrews 10, when the author translates that, not the Lord will vindicate his people, but the Lord will judge his people, he's describing a word for judgment there that really has the idea of vindication even in Hebrews chapter 10.

02:34:34

In other words, the assessment, the sense is the same. The Lord can discriminate and he knows and he can examine a collection of a body and he knows those who are his and he knows who is not his.

02:34:47

The Lord is able to discriminate that. The Lord is able to discern that. So Christian, if you are wondering, am

02:34:53

I gonna be caught up and swept away into eternal judgment because my entire family has apostatized, the answer to that is no.

02:34:59

The Lord judges or vindicates his people. The Lord examines his people, he knows his people. He's not going to be confused as to who belongs to him and who does not.

02:35:08

So that's a similar idea. So now what has the author done here with quoting Deuteronomy chapter 32?

02:35:14

What is the intention of the author? He is quoting from a passage that warns about apostasy. You and I may well say that Deuteronomy chapters 27 through chapter 34 is the longest warning passage in all of scripture.

02:35:27

If you think this warning passage is going on forever and ever, you should be thankful that I'm not preaching all the way through Deuteronomy 27 through 34.

02:35:35

The author is seeing the parallels between a new covenant community of people among whom there were apostates, people who didn't really know the

02:35:44

Lord but had experienced all of his goodness. He sees a parallel between that and old covenant

02:35:49

Israel, this group of people who were apostates in the making with rebellious hearts even though there were believers in their midst.

02:35:57

And that Old Testament community of people had seen God's clear revelation of his goodness. They had enjoyed his provision.

02:36:03

They had known of his mighty works. They had heard of his good deeds. They were offered life and they were among the covenant people, the covenant nation.

02:36:11

So they were among an elect nation even though some of them were unbelievers and apostates in the making. And they had seen the judgment that God had poured out on a previous generation.

02:36:20

They knew the results of apostasy. They had watched their parents and their grandparents die before their eyes, unable to enter into the land of blessing.

02:36:28

They had seen God's judgment on apostates. So they were without excuse. And then this passage describes

02:36:34

God's justice on apostates. Israel was an example of God's judgment against apostates over a long period of time.

02:36:41

The Assyrian destruction, the Babylonian captivity, them being run out of the land during the days of the judges over and over again,

02:36:48

God had demonstrated his righteous indignation against people who saw the truth and knew the truth and yet perished in unbelief, even in spite of clear evidence.

02:36:57

They went on sinning willfully, if you will, even after having received the knowledge of the truth.

02:37:03

And so the Jewish readers, instantly by hearing these two quotations, would go back to the warning passage of Deuteronomy 32 and they would remember, oh yes.

02:37:12

Yeah, God warned the people back then who saw his goodness that if they continued in unbelief and hardened their hearts and would not turn and obey, that they would be destroyed.

02:37:21

And what did we see in the nation of Israel? What we have seen in the entire history of the nation of Israel is one long sad tale of generation after generation after generation of apostates who knew the truth and perished in unbelief.

02:37:36

God has a long and faithful history of judging apostates and damning them. That's what the entire history of the nation of Israel demonstrates.

02:37:44

So for the author to quote Deuteronomy 32 and refer to that passage and say to them, you know him who said this.

02:37:52

Oh yeah. He is an unchanging and omnipotent God, infinitely wise and good, who says to us, choose life that I may bless you.

02:38:01

And if you do not, I will destroy you and I will set my face against you and you will get exactly that which is coming to you.

02:38:08

Damnation and judgment. We know the God who said this. And then we know the God who, for the next almost 4 ,000 years, judged an apostate nation over and over and over again, showing to them that he sets his face against his adversaries.

02:38:26

How certain can we be of God's judgment against apostates? He has a pretty good track record, doesn't he?

02:38:34

Generation after generation, a good track record. He's faithful to his word. Come to him in repentance and faith.

02:38:41

He will forgive your sins. He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness. He will make you his child. He will take you to heaven. He will save you, sanctify you, and secure you everlastingly.

02:38:49

But turn from him and you will perish. If there is anybody sitting here who thinks that you can skirt around the edges of Christianity because you grew up in a

02:38:58

Christian home and you made a profession of faith and you were baptized when you were six, and that you are therefore secure and everybody rejoiced over your salvation, and you think that you can come and play church and you can play this game and you can be part of God's people visibly, experientially, and outwardly, but never have an inward conversion and never bow the knee to Jesus Christ, I promise you that God who said this has a long track record of judging people like you and damning them for knowing the truth and turning away from it.

02:39:27

So apostate, apostate to come. Turn from your sin and if you will come to Christ, you will find him loving and gracious.

02:39:34

Choose life that you may have life and that he may bless you with eternal life. Turn from him and he will destroy you.

02:39:44

This passage is an encouragement to believers. You will not be swept away in God's judgment of the unrighteous. He discerns his people.

02:39:51

He discriminates for his people. He knows who are his and he is faithful to them and he will not destroy you along with the wicked, but this passage is a terror to the apostate and to the unbeliever because it reminds us that God has set his face against his adversaries and if you will not repent and believe, you will perish just like an enemy of God which you are.

02:40:10

Come to Christ, repent of your sin, turn to him today for he made an atonement and a sacrifice that is sufficient to forgive your sin if you will come to him in repentance and faith and believe on him today.

02:40:20

Let's bow our heads. Father, we do thank you for your goodness in saving a people for your own name.

02:40:27

We thank you for the warnings of scripture, the promises of scripture and we thank you for passages, long ones like we have looked at today that demonstrate your willingness to save, your love for your own, your willingness to shower people with goodness and grace if they will come to you in repentance and faith, but we are also warned of the destruction that comes to those who will not turn and embrace salvation in Jesus Christ.

02:40:51

We pray that we may heed these warnings, that they would encourage and steal the hearts of those who are your people and that they would prompt in us obedience and loving grace to reach out and to warn others and we pray that your word and the preaching of the gospel may accomplish its purposes in the hearts of any who are hard -hearted and impenitent and do not want to turn to you.

02:41:12

We pray that you would break down that barrier and draw them to Jesus Christ, that they may be saved. May all that was said here today be clear in our hearts and minds, we pray in Christ's name.

02:41:23

Would you please stand? ♪

02:41:35

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:41:42

When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:41:50

I would never keep my hope through my tearful path ♪ ♪

02:41:57

For my love is often cold, He will soothe me fast ♪ ♪

02:42:07

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:42:14

For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:42:29

Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:42:36

Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:42:45

Let my soul be lost, His promises shall last ♪ ♪

02:42:51

But by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:01

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:07

For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:23

My life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:29

Justice has been satisfied, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:37

Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:43:44

Till my faith is turned to sight, when He comes at last ♪ ♪

02:43:53

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:44:00

For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪

02:44:10

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast ♪ ♪