29 Days of Promise
I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
Hebrews 13:5-6
Great Commission Church
Intro: How does the world judge Christians? Not on their teachings, but on their lives. What qualities of life will favorably influence the Muslim family down the street, or the Mexican man who moved into the neighborhood, or the young unmarried couple who live together in the apartment downstairs, who are turned off by church and know next to nothing about the Bible?
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
“I will never leave you” = I will not withdraw My presence; “I will not forsake you” = I will not withdraw My help.
This promise is especially emphatic – “He Himself has said…”
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
John Brown – “What is all the wealth and honor and pleasure of the world, if He is not with us? If He leaves us, what matters it what is left behind? And if He does not leave us, what matters who or what forsakes us?
HOW DOES THIS PROMISE HELP US?
(1) This promise shows us why we can live a satisfied life.
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.”
covetousness – an undue regard for anything present, sensible, seen, and temporary.
Coveting is a love commitment to worldly wealth. It is loving money. “The menace of materialism” – Donald Guthrie
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
We forget this warning every time we ask, “What is that man worth?” – when we really mean, “How much does he own?”
What is the opposite of coveting? Contentment (literally, “be content with present things”) based on the character of God.
1 Tim 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Tim 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1 Tim 6:8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Is contentment passively accepting the inevitable? No. It is understanding clearly that money is relative.
It is always spiritually dangerous to grow financially discontent.
A man influenced by the love of money was in danger of employing means of obtaining it inconsistent with his Christian duty.
He was in danger of sacrificing his good conscience to retain material wealth. And when he was deprived of it, he was in danger of mourning its loss as if it were a loss of happiness.
1 Tim 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
A highly materialistic society like our own, with all the pressures of godless secularism, needs this instruction/warning.
Is it wrong to want to improve our present circumstances? No.
Is every ambition for success and promotion contrary to God’s purpose? No.
Every believer should bring his best to his work, recognizing that whatever he does in life can be presented as an offering to Christ.
He does his utmost to be a first-rate employee, but he does not desire moving up for its own sake. He is content to leave that in the hands of his loving God who knows what is best for him.
Colossians 3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
Colossians 3:24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
Material things can always be stripped away. The promise of God’s unending presence can never be stripped.
A restless concern for money is a betrayal of trust in God.
What do you truly “have?”
Heb 10:34 for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
Heb 10:35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
(2) This promise reminds us that we are not alone.
So we may boldly say, “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.”
God is not my personal assistant for the plans that I have made. Instead, He is the one who responds to my desperate call for aid.
“The Lord is the one who comes to my help.”
The Christian believes that because God is good, the Lord will give him what is good for him. He will work hard, be generous with his possessions, and leave the rest with God.
He certainly does not spend his precious time fretting about how he can collect more money, or how he can acquire more valuable things. This is the way the godless live.
The believer’s heart is set on the riches of the next world, not on the perishable things which have no value beyond death.
(3) This promise protects us from the fear of man.
“What can man do to me?”
It is possible to covet popularity and be prepared to make almost any sacrifice to acquire it.
Believers know that the fear of man is just as enslaving as the love of money. When the Lord is their helper, they are released from such tyranny.
Joshua 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
God promised to constantly be with Joshua in all his difficulties and trials as he led the children of Israel into and throughout the promised land. In the same way, the Lord will be with his people in every age in all their difficulties and trials.
illus: Athansius, theologian and bishop of Alexandria, Egypt in the 4th century, valiantly defended the biblical doctrine of the Trinity against the Arian heresy that Jesus was not fully God, but a created being. He was such a polarizing figure that his excellent 45-year ministry was interrupted by exile 5 different times totaling 17 years. He was nicknamed Athanasius Conta Mundum, “Athanasius Against the World.” The Roman Emperor Constantine respected Athanasius and considered him a counselor. “The Magic Hand of Arsenius” is a story about Athanasius that illustrates why Christians need not fear man when God is with us. During the time that Constantine was trying to restore Arius to the fellowship of the Alexandrian church, Athanasius, then bishop of Alexandria, refused Arius readmittance, as Arius had not repented. Eusebius of Nicomedia and others made numerous attempts to defame Athanasius and have him removed from leadership. A ruthless example was when Eusebius' faction gained hold, somehow, of a human hand. They declared publicly that this was the hand of one Arsenius, a Melitian bishop, and that Athanasius had been using it to perform magic rites. When Constantine heard of this, he ordered Athanasius brought before him. He also declared that Eusebius and his friend Theognis, the other bishop who refused to sign the Nicene Creed, should be present at the trial. When Athanasius heard about this, he sent scouts all over Egypt to find the mysterious Arsenius, whom he had supposedly murdered. He was able to find that he existed and was alive, but he was not able to have him brought to Antioch, where the trial was to be held. When, due to his travels, Constantine ordered the trial moved to Tyre, Arsenius could not resist. He went to Tyre to see what would happen. Socrates called this "the special providence of God." The servants of Archelaus, the governor of that province, heard some rumors from a nearby inn that Arsenius was not only alive, but present in the area, and they informed the governor. He immediately arranged for a careful search and found and captured Arsenius. Rather than expose the fraud immediately, the governor decided to have some fun. Athanasius was brought before synod to be tried, and they quickly produced the hand and pressed their charges. Athanasius was ready. He repeatedly asked his questioners whether they knew this Arsenius. When several said they did, Athanasius had him brought in. It was an act of great drama. Arsenius was brought in with his hands covered by a cloak. Athanasius asked, "Is this the man who has lost a hand?" As it turns out, very few of those present knew this was a setup. The rest assumed the accusation was quite true, and they were astonished that Athanasius was bringing his victim into the courtroom. Athanasius played the drama perfectly. First, he lifted the cloak from one hand. Then he waited. Some in the room were still quite certain that Arsenius' other hand was the missing one. Athanasius let the tension build. Finally, completing his drama, he exposed Arsenius second hand and announced, "Arsenius, as you can see, has two hands. Let my accusers show us the place from which the third was cut off!"
Application:
What can man strip away from me? What can man never touch?
My confidence is not in my comfort in life – it is in God who has promised never to leave me or forsake me.
Isaiah 43:4 Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life.
Isaiah 43:5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west
“I will be with you” means “I love you”
