1145-Hold Fast to the Way You Believe#
1145—Hold Fast to the Way You Believe
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Lord's Grace)
Hebrews 4:14-16
Since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Let us pray:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for Your special grace. Today is the day we gather to worship You, to praise You with our hearts and mouths, and it is also the moment we receive Your grace. We come to look up to You, to look up to this great high priest Jesus who sits in heaven, the Son of God. We look to the grace of Jesus, for grace and truth come through Jesus Christ! This time will surely be guided by the Holy Spirit, and God's blessings will be upon us, and we will receive double blessings! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray! Amen!
The topic we are sharing today is called: Hold Fast to the Way You Acknowledge
Verse 14 says: Since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.
These two matters are directly related because Jesus has ascended into heaven and has become our glorious high priest. We can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, from which flows God’s grace.
People can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence because Jesus is our glorious high priest. What kind of impact does the high priest have on us?
In the Old Testament, the quality of the high priest determined whether the people of Israel would be blessed. There was a Day of Atonement in the Old Testament, on the tenth day of the seventh month each year, the high priest would take the blood of bulls and goats into the Most Holy Place, which is before the throne of grace we just mentioned, to atone for the sins of the people with the blood of bulls and goats. From the throne of grace, he would receive God’s abundant grace.
After he left the tabernacle, he would bless the people with the grace he received. Therefore, if the high priest was accepted by God, the harvest of the people would increase that year. If the high priest entered the Most Holy Place and was struck dead by God because of his sins, then the people of Israel would lose that blessing for the year. No matter how hard the people worked, they could not change this situation. Even if today you say, "Lord, I am bowing down before You, confessing my sins, and working hard," if the high priest is bad, there may be no rain this year, and no effort will help. If the high priest is good and accepted by God, then the harvest will be good, and there will be peace all around.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is our high priest. He is always accepted by God, and we can continually receive His abundant grace from God.
Why is it said that we are more blessed in the New Testament? Because the high priest is different. Moreover, this high priest does not need to be replaced; Jesus Christ is our eternal high priest. He has no sin, so we can approach His throne of grace with confidence and live receiving His blessings.
Jesus is the unique, sinless high priest. Unlike the high priests of the Old Testament, who had to cleanse themselves first before offering sacrifices for the people, Jesus has no sin, so He is pleasing to God. This guarantees that all who seek God can approach Him with confidence.
The high priest entering the Most Holy Place does not do so with confidence. In the Old Testament, any high priest who approached God’s throne of grace was filled with fear and trembling! Because he did not know if he had fully recognized his sins, if God discovered his sins, he would be struck dead. Therefore, they approached the throne of grace with great fear and trembling, but because our high priest is named Jesus Christ, who is pleasing to God, we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence. What do we come for? Not to provide something for God, not to offer a little something, or to put a bun or a pig's head before God, but to approach God’s throne of grace to receive mercy, find grace, and get help in time of need. And all of this is supplied to you from the throne of grace. This is our grace, so you must hold fast to the way you acknowledge. You must hold fast to the belief that Jesus Christ is my high priest, for He is always pleasing to God, and therefore I am also always pleasing to God.
Let us share the first point: Hold Fast to the Hope of the Scriptures
Hebrews 10:19-23,
Brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body.
On what basis do you approach God’s throne of grace? It is through the body of Jesus Christ, not on your own. And we have a high priest over the house of God. Jesus Christ is the head of the church; He governs the house of God. And our hearts have been sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. What does a guilty conscience refer to? Because Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice, you no longer feel guilty. The guilty conscience should no longer exist.
How can a person have honest and sufficient faith? We are children of God, and we all hope to have faith like Jesus and faith like Abraham. But how can we possess such faith? When you understand that Jesus is your high priest and that He has paid the price for your sins, you no longer feel guilty, and you can have sufficient faith. Amen!
Our guilty conscience has been washed away. Your guilty conscience has been washed away by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Do not let others condemn you, do not condemn yourself, and do not condemn others, because such condemnation only reminds people of sin and does not increase their faith. If a person still approaches God with a guilty heart, then what Jesus has done seems ineffective. You must believe: Our hearts have been sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.
Many Christians still say: "I owe God, I am guilty..." No matter what you do, you always owe God; there is not a single person in the world who does not owe God. But here it says, your guilty conscience has been washed away, not by our actions, but by our high priest. Because of Jesus, we have a clear conscience. If your conscience still feels guilty and unworthy to approach God, you insult what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross.
You possess the righteousness of Christ; you are pleasing to God. Why can you approach God with confidence? There is not a hint of fear in this; it is like your child asking you for food. They have no fear because they have no guilty conscience. No matter what the child asks of their parents, they do not feel indebted. Amen!
Your child does not think that they must do something to get something to eat. Little children never have this idea. We are the same; we can approach God with confidence because Jesus Christ has opened this new and living way for us. What must we hold fast to?
Verse 23 says: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.
When you believe in Jesus, you say: "Lord, I believe in You, Jesus Christ is my Savior. He shed His precious blood on the cross for me, died, and rose again three days later." When you declare this, this is the way you acknowledge, because you declare and believe in this way, you are justified by faith.
Where does hope come from? Hope comes from the Word of God. You can hold fast to such a way and maintain such faith because you have the Word of the Bible as your foundation and basis. Our faith and hope come from the Word of the Bible. When you hold fast to the hope of the Scriptures, your faith can be released.
Let me give you a biblical example. There was a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years and had sought many doctors, spending all her money. As a result, her condition worsened. She heard the good news about Jesus, which you can understand as the gospel. She heard that Jesus healed many sick people, and she wanted to receive this blessing from Jesus.
She said to herself, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." When that woman thought this, she had not yet touched Him. This is called the hope of the Scriptures. Hope is something that has not yet happened; you can also understand it as expectation because these two words are synonymous. This woman said, "If I just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, I will be healed!" This was her hope; she sought Jesus with hope. She not only expected good things to happen to her but also firmly believed that this good thing would definitely appear! Hallelujah!
People in the world also have hope. During the New Year, many people say, "I hope my business will be better than last year." This is hope. "I hope my relationship with my husband will improve a little," or "I hope my child can pass the exam; what if they keep failing?" This is all called hope. But the hope of the world has no foundation.
When they say, "I hope I will be healthier," they have no evidence. When faced with these situations, we have a distinction from the world. We also say, "My health will improve," and we have hope. The foundation of our hope is in the Word of God, but what the world says has no basis. They do not know whether it can be realized. But what we say through Jesus can become a reality.
After this woman heard about Jesus, she said, "If I just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, my illness will surely be healed." Amen! Her hope was in Jesus. Do not be like the world, establishing a hope without foundation. We should be like this woman, placing our hope in Jesus Christ.
When she had this hope, she went to touch the hem of Jesus' garment in the crowded crowd. When her hand touched the hem of His garment, a miracle happened. What she had long hoped for finally came to pass. Therefore, the Bible says that the source of her bleeding was immediately stopped.
She sought Jesus with hope. When her hope was fulfilled, it was actually when her faith was released.
Many people also pray, "Lord, heal me of this illness." They keep praying until one day they say, "Lord, my illness is completely healed." That is when your faith is released. If this woman had kept thinking at home, "If I just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, I will be healed," but delayed taking action, she would not have seen her faith released. We must first have the hope of the Scriptures and hold fast to the hope of the Scriptures.
The Bible tells us: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That is the hope you are about to see. So at the beginning of the new year, everyone should have a biblical hope. Before this woman touched Jesus, she saw the substance because she said, "As long as I touch the hem of Jesus' garment, I will surely be healed." She believed before she saw the event happen.
At the beginning of the year, I asked many people to write down their prayer requests, the things they most wanted to achieve, and then put them in a box. Many people wrote down what they wanted, and I have seen some of them already accomplished. Some said, "As long as my husband's salary is 5,000 yuan, that is what I want to achieve." Now it has been realized. This is your hope. Why do you have such certainty that it will be realized?
The Bible tells us that God is faithful. Today we must come before God with honesty and sufficient faith, and hold fast to the hope we profess without wavering. This is because He who promised is faithful; faithful means He will not deceive you. When you declare with the Word of God, you must be assured that this matter will surely come to pass. God’s Word has spoken to me like this, and it will surely be accomplished!
You may make promises to people, but sometimes you cannot fulfill them. But what our God has promised you, He can surely do. We are talking about hope; how can you release your faith? First, you must have a biblical hope within you. Our church's elder brother had heart disease. He declared, "By the stripes of Jesus, my body is healed." When he believed this, there was an unwavering hope within him. He would wake up in the morning and say, "My body is healthy." When he went to the hospital for a check-up, he found he was completely healed. When he fully believed, this matter happened to him, and the moment it was accomplished was actually the effect of faith being released. If it has not yet been accomplished, you continue to declare! Until you see the result, Hallelujah! This is called biblical hope.
You must hold fast to the hope you profess. At the beginning of this year, many places have reported that: "This year, business is going to be tough!" Perhaps many of us in business are facing this situation, saying, "Where have all the customers gone?" When you see this bleak situation, do not prophesy negatively. Do not say, "This business is terrible! Business is hard to do! Money is hard to collect!" All of this is negative. Do not make such hopeless declarations. Instead, declare the Word of God over your current situation.
Acknowledge the Lord you believe in. When others say, "This business is getting harder," you should declare with the Word of God, saying: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, although it is not very good yet, God will surely grant me double blessings, and the losses I have now will surely be doubled!" Do not doubt what you declare. Declare in this way, and see how God accomplishes great things for you! Amen!
You do not know what kind of customers will pass by your door, how their hearts will be opened to buy your things. This is what God is doing. You just need to make such declarations: "Lord, let such people come in and buy things here!" You must rely on what you do with your hands to support your family, and pray to God in this way, not asking for something unreasonable. Because you are doing something legitimate, boldly declare with your mouth. Do not look at how the current situation is; speak out the results you want to see. Even if the current economic situation is not good, you are a child of God. God is still in control today. He does not supply you based on the current world economic situation; He supplies you based on God's abundance. You must believe that there is never an economic crisis in the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen!
God will bless you in His way; this is the hope you must believe in. Even if your current situation has fallen to the bottom, you must still believe in our God according to the hope of the Scriptures, for He who promised us is faithful. You must believe that God will bless you with thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold blessings. This is not something we say casually. Some may ask, "Teacher, why are you so certain?" Because He who promised us is faithful; He will never deceive us.
Let us share the second point: Rejoicing in Hope for God’s Glory through Jesus
Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
How are we saved? By believing in Jesus Christ, who died for my sins on the cross and rose from the dead three days later. I receive His righteousness; I am justified.
Since we have been justified by faith, it is mentioned that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus. In God's eyes, your identity has been changed and will not be reversed. Today, in God's eyes, we are righteous. Tomorrow, if we sin, are we sinners again? No. In God, there is no shifting shadow; His meaning is that you are righteous. It is not based on your efforts or performance, but on the gift you receive from God.
Thank God for giving us this gift, which is Jesus Christ, who bore our sins on the cross. He gave us His righteousness. We are clothed in the robe of Jesus Christ to receive God’s blessings. This is why you can approach God with confidence. Because you are wearing the robe of Jesus Christ, you are qualified to come before God. No matter how you are inside, when you wear this robe, you are reconciled with God. In the past, you were an enemy of God; now you have become a friend! The relationship has changed.
No matter how people evaluate you, you have been reconciled with God. Therefore, what God gives you is His abundant blessing! This is a very important biblical basis. When you know you are reconciled with God, you can have sufficient faith to seek Him because you are friends. You can come before God at any time to tell Him your matters. Amen. He is always willing to listen because your relationship with God has been reconciled through Jesus Christ.
Verse 2: Through Him, we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
This passage is very important! We stand in grace through Jesus Christ. The reason you can stand in grace is that through Jesus Christ, we were previously under the law and under a curse, but now a great change has occurred. Through Jesus, we can now enter and stand in this grace. What is grace? It is a gift freely given.
You are now in grace, and God wants to supply you with many gifts. And it is not based on your actions or good performance. It relies on faith. Where does this faith come from? It comes from knowing Jesus and the work He accomplished.
What is different about those who stand in grace? Let me give a few biblical examples. In Genesis, there was a man named Noah. He was a man who stood in grace. God said that in 120 years, a flood would destroy the world, and he was to build an ark to bring in the animals and his family. Noah believed God’s words, no matter how incredible they sounded. God did not prohibit anyone outside of Noah’s family from entering. As long as people were willing to enter this grace, God would accept them. The door of grace was always open.
Many people hold a skeptical attitude toward God’s words, saying, "Is this true? Will my business really get better if I pray like this? Will my family really turn around if I pray like this?" In reality, it is that simple. Amen!
Jesus Christ has already prepared all grace for us. What you need to do is enter into this grace. Just like Noah’s family, when the ark was built, what he needed to do was enter the ark. As long as he entered, he already possessed God’s salvation and blessings. No matter how great the storms outside were, God would protect him and his family.
Another person is Ruth, a Gentile. By rights, she had no qualification to enter the genealogy of Jesus. But Ruth believed that her mother-in-law’s God was her God. Ruth followed her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem. She did not worry about how they would live in the future. She believed that this God would surely make a way for them.
At that time, Naomi said, "You two go and find someone to marry; there is no hope for you to follow me." But Ruth believed in the God Naomi spoke of, so she followed her mother-in-law to Bethlehem, and God began to prepare the way for her. When she stood in Bethlehem from Moab, she was already standing in grace. Bethlehem means "house of bread"! Wasn’t there a shortage of food? Now that you have entered the house of bread, are you still afraid of lacking food? In the end, she married a very wealthy Boaz. Amen!
The greatest blessing is that her name entered the genealogy of Jesus Christ. By her own merit, it was impossible for her to receive such a blessing, but because she believed that the God of Israel would take care of her, God’s grace came upon her. She stood in grace and became a blessed woman. Hallelujah!
The second half of verse 2 says, "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Why do we hope for the glory of God?
In the past, someone asked a question: After Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sinned, they first realized they were naked. Why did they not see their nakedness before they sinned? Some said it was because God blinded their eyes, so they could not see their shame. Before Adam sinned, he was filled with the glory of God.
The Bible specifically mentions that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The original Hebrew means losing the glory they were supposed to have. The glory God gave to Adam and Eve was from head to toe. We cannot imagine what this glory is like, but the Bible records a few instances. One day, when Jesus took three disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was transfigured, and His whole body shone white. That light was brighter than the sun. You can understand it this way: Before Adam sinned, they were filled with the glory of God. Amen!
No clothing in the world can achieve such an effect because they were surrounded by the glory of God. But when they sinned, that glory disappeared, and the whole person was exposed. They not only lost that glory but also became weak. Just like many people have caught colds at the beginning of this year, this tiny invisible virus can destroy a person's life. People lost the glory they were supposed to have and lost their past strong authority and power.
Jesus came. This is good news; He restored what we lost. In the latter part of the Gospel of John, it particularly mentions that the Father has glorified His Son, and I have glorified You because You have always glorified me. Many times, glory is mentioned because Jesus, with His body and life, manifested the glory of God.
He overcame nature, overcame diseases, and overcame death. Jesus restored the authority, power, and glory we were supposed to have. You can rejoice in hope for God’s glory through Jesus Christ.
Verse 3: Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings.
Many people say it is easy to rejoice when happy and at peace. The problem is that it is difficult to rejoice when we are in suffering. David’s characteristic, which is different from ours, is that he never lost hope in suffering; he always believed that God would save him.
Psalm 23 mentions, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil." Why does he not fear? Because he believes that God’s rod and staff comfort him. Even in suffering, David still believes that God will surely save him.
We should also believe this. Do not lose heart and weaken as soon as you see suffering. Even in suffering, you should rejoice and be assured of one thing: whatever happens to me, God is in control. No matter what happens to you, know that it is my Lord who is in control. Pray to God and let Him turn your situation around! He will surely save you.
Some things indeed make us uncomfortable and even painful. But the Bible says: "All things work together for good to those who love God." You can understand it as "for your benefit." No matter what happens, it ultimately works for your benefit! In this way, the Bible comes alive.
Believe that you are already standing in grace, so "all things work together for good," not for God’s benefit. When we serve in the church, it is for your benefit. When you come to the meeting, you benefit. Look at this person on stage, sweating profusely in the middle of winter; who benefits? You benefit! Thank the Lord. You must believe that we receive benefits from God.
Think of it this way: Serving God in the church, I benefit; participating in the choir, I benefit; coming to clean the church on Saturday, I benefit. Similarly, when we give to God, it is also for your benefit. For example, in the Old Testament, there was a man named Joseph. To others, it seemed that he faced continuous suffering. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him. He worked hard to rise from slavery to the position of steward, but then his master’s wife seduced him. To uphold his faith, he was thrown into prison. These were definitely sufferings. While in prison, he was very eager to help others interpret dreams, and when the dream of one man came true, Joseph said, "When you go out, remember me." The man said, "Sure, don’t worry! I will not forget you!" But after he went out, he forgot him. Wasn’t that suffering?
He stayed in prison for a long time, but God did not forget him. When the world forgets you, remember that all things work together for good, and Joseph benefited. Even if that woman seduced him, even if the cupbearer forgot him, it was also for his benefit. In the end, he rose to the position of prime minister of Egypt.
Why should we rejoice in suffering? Because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope; and hope does not put us to shame. How do we understand this passage? A person’s character is developed in perseverance. If a person cannot even endure, how can they receive greater blessings? If they immediately jump up at the slightest unpleasant word, how can they become a blessing to others?
When suffering comes, you must rely on God’s words to endure, pray to God, and see how God opens a way. Joseph was like this; in Potiphar’s house and in prison, God was shaping his character throughout all these processes. The sufferings he experienced were all stepping stones for Joseph to rise to a high position. If any link in the chain had gone wrong, or if he had given up, he would not have reached that position. Therefore, we must rejoice in hope even in suffering.
The salvation we receive also began with an act of betrayal. In the Old Testament, Joseph’s brothers sold him, and he became prime minister. The people of Israel sold Jesus and rejected the salvation of Jesus, so salvation came to the Gentiles. All things work together for good for me. Hope does not put us to shame; the original meaning is that you will not be ashamed. Your hope in the Scriptures will not be in vain.
In the second half of verse 5, it says, "Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
When you accepted Jesus, the Holy Spirit has already dwelled in your heart. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into your heart every day. When you think of God loving you, and God’s words become our strength, we are filled with faith.
So whenever you feel that God loves you, no matter what happens, you will not be disappointed because our hope does not put us to shame; God will surely accomplish it for me. Therefore, every morning when you get up, you should declare: "Heavenly Father, I know this is a beautiful day; Your love surrounds me! Your grace envelops me! Your shield protects me all around!"
Why is Abraham called the father of faith? It is because he showed great faith in his child, and before his faith took effect, there was first hope.
Romans 4:17-21
Abraham believed in the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him: "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Verse 21 is a passage I want the brothers and sisters to reflect on: "Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."
Abraham believed in the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Even when it seemed there was no hope, he still believed that what God had said would surely come to pass. Brothers and sisters, do you believe this week will be a blessed week? Do not look at how the world is now; believe that what God has promised you will surely come to pass. Your foundation is in God’s Word; you must believe that God’s promises to you will surely be fulfilled. Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank You for Your special grace. Lord, our hope is rooted, grounded, and filled with faith. The faith we hold fast to is built on Your Word. Even if the results have not yet appeared, I still hold fast to the biblical hope, looking forward to the fulfillment of all these things. No matter how many negative things happen in the world, I do not stand in this curse. I stand in Your grace!
You do not bless me according to this world; You bless me according to the Kingdom of Heaven, according to Your abundance! You are a faithful Lord. We are Your children, and we rejoice in hope for Your glory to be manifested in my life. Even in suffering, let me have hope, rejoicing in the hope of Your glory.
Jesus Christ is our high priest. Every day, from the throne of grace, Your abundant blessings flow upon me. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love upon us every day. When we are weak, thinking of God’s love upon us gives us the strength to stand up. You care for us today! Protect our church and our brothers and sisters in what they do, so that they may see Your glory in what they do. We look forward to good things happening to us this week. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!