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[0:00] Depending upon the help of the Lord, dear friends, I invite your prayerful attention, your prayerful attention to the 13th chapter of Hebrews.

[0:12] And the words in particular are the 8th verse, verse 8, chapter 13 of the Hebrews. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.

[0:35] What a blessed anchor of faith this word is to the Lord's dear people. What a sure anchor it is to the people of the Lord.

[0:48] Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. We see and we live day by day in a world of constant change.

[1:07] Ridiculously fast change in many things. So much so that in many walks of life it's difficult to keep up with the change.

[1:18] Where is it all leading us, dear friends? Well, it's not going to be any benefit to our eternal souls, that's for sure.

[1:30] It's a hindrance. I believe it's the devil's invention to try to divert our thought from meditation where it concerns the Lord's people very often.

[1:41] He fills them with so many legal responsibilities, needless ones, half the time, to fill their minds and rob them of the time of gracious meditation.

[1:53] I know of what I speak, dear friends, having attempted to run a business for 36 years. So many things can press on us to rob us. And you know, Satan is a robber and a spoiler.

[2:07] And my friends, in this day, when another hymn writer's words come to mind, change and decay in all around IC, change in a downward direction, decay of morals, of standards, of godliness, of respect in society.

[2:27] Yes, and in the church, sadly, in some places. And where is it all leading? It's leading away from Christ. That's where it's leading, dear friends.

[2:38] And that's what we must be aware of if we're the Lord's people. And so, otherwise, we come to know our leanness of soul. And again, I speak from experience.

[2:51] I know what it is to know something of leanness of soul. Oh, my leanness, my leanness, one said. And so, we find that there's a word like this is such a blessed comfort and such an anchor to faith.

[3:05] And you say, well, I wish I had more faith. Yes, and so do the disciples, dear friends. And so does every believer, I believe. They want more faith.

[3:16] Those who've got a little faith, they cry oft times daily, certainly regularly, for faith increase. Because they feel their lack of faith. And that faith, which is already implanted, is there.

[3:33] And it may be very, very low. And it may be very, very slender. And it may seem as if it's like a spark that's been extinguished. And yet, still in the midst, there's a little heat. And there's just a little combustion left there, which comes to life.

[3:46] Illustrate with Jonah. Jonah in the whale's belly. I often use this, I know. But far away from light and hope, as it's possible to be on this earth, in the belly of the fish, in the depth of the sea, with reeds wrapped around his head.

[3:59] And any man, looking on, with normal common sense, would say, there's no hope for him. How can he be rescued from such a plight? No hope for him.

[4:10] And yet, there's one thing that saved Jonah. What was it? In his soul, though Jonah had been obedient, though he'd run the opposite way, as we do, believers still do that.

[4:22] We're still the subject of that disobedient spirit, friends, that rebellious spirit. I know again a bit about that. And so do some of you. A rebellious spirit.

[4:32] But he's run as far as he can. He will not go on the Lord's command. So he ends up being cast overboard. And this fish is prepared. And he's now in the belly of the fish.

[4:44] But he's got that living faith in his soul. And what does he do? He prays. And that's what that grain of faith gives, my dear friends. At a time of great extremity.

[4:55] At a time when you seem to be right at your wit's end. I suddenly think of the, is it the 107th Psalm? Are they, the mariners are cast up and down on the sea.

[5:08] Are they real to and fro like drunken men? And they're brought to their wit's end. And all their wisdom is swallowed up. What happened then? Then. Not till then.

[5:20] Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. And when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, then he delivered them out of their distresses. Dear friends, some of you, perhaps you older ones, have known what that is.

[5:31] To be brought there. Jonah knew. Now Jonah's prayer was offered. He cried again. He looked toward the heavenly court again. The Lord heard Jonah's prayer.

[5:45] And he spoke to the fish. Did he put him out? Where? In the depth of the sea to perish? No. On dry land. Right where Jonah could survive.

[5:55] He couldn't survive in the depth of the ocean, could he? But he could survive on dry land. So the God of mercy rescues him and causes him to be put out on dry land.

[6:08] And Jonah has to collect his thoughts. And what does he then do? He begins to be obedient to the command. Is there anyone here who the Lord's dealt with over a period of years and has been very gracious to?

[6:27] And yet not told the people the Lord's goodness? Not come to the church? I no thought of mentioning this at all tonight. It was far from my thought. But is there anyone here in that disobedient state?

[6:38] Well, dear friends, if there is, you be obedient and go forward if the Lord's commanding you to go forward. If you have a love to the Lord in your soul and he's done great things for you, don't forget to tell those things to sinners round.

[6:56] Give him all the honor and all the glory and all the praise. Unless he bring you into a deeper depth before you're brought there. My old pastor used to say, don't let the gold now slip by because it may be a long time before it comes again.

[7:14] And we could also say it might be deep trouble before you're brought to it again. And so I put that point of view. I had no thought of that at all tonight. But the reason is Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

[7:30] That's why we can come to him because he's an unchanging God. He has fulfilled his purposes. What a blessed anchor then of faith that is. And he doesn't change.

[7:41] His promises he gives to his dear people, they're steadfast. They're rock solid. And when he promises his people that he will help them, he will help them.

[7:55] He's not one to give promises as men are and break them. When they'll pass this through the waters. He doesn't say, I might be with thee.

[8:07] He says, I will be with thee. And I'll humbly say this, my friends, I prove that. He will not forsake us in that dark hour of great affliction or temptation.

[8:27] He knows our wants. He knows our needs. He knows our weakness. He knows that we need to be upheld. We spoke going back, I think from Sunday school, about something that had come to my attention not very long since.

[8:47] And that was, we often refer to the love of God as the everlasting arms. And to the believer, those everlasting arms are always underneath us.

[9:02] But we only feel them when we come low enough to sink into them and drop into them. And I've only heard that a little while back. And I've thought about it though, how very, very true that is.

[9:14] It's only when we're brought low enough that we feel those everlasting arms. They're there all the time. Because they're the precious promises of Christ. But when we're brought low into the depths, it's then we feel them and feel the security of them then and prove them.

[9:35] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. His nature is the same. His nature is everlasting love.

[9:49] It was from everlasting to everlasting. And when the Son of God was in the bosom of the Father in eternity past, you read that in John 1, don't you?

[10:02] About verse 18, 16 or 18. And we read the Son being in the bosom of the Father. And what the Holy Spirit has given us, a beautiful picture there that we poor humans can understand a little of the gracious teaching which that contains.

[10:22] Where is the babe the most secure? In the bosom of his mother. Where is the comfort, the security for the babe in the bosom of the mother?

[10:36] And in that same way, or in the bosom of the Father, in that same way, an earthly example is given us with our poor minds, for our poor minds to understand just a little of what the oneness of the Godhead is in close union and communion and was in eternity past.

[10:59] So that it gives us an illustration that he, Jesus, was in the bosom of the Father in eternity past, in total and utter security, enjoying the love of the Father and the love of the Son enjoyed by the Father in that beautiful union.

[11:19] And in and over all this, the Holy Spirit was hovering, as it were. And there was a covenant formed, a covenant of grace formed, that there would be a people and they would be called the covenant of grace.

[11:36] And that people would be born for a purpose. And it says this, this people shall show forth my praise. This people have I formed for myself and they shall show forth my praise.

[11:51] We see there that in the bosom of the Father in eternity past, in eternal counsel, unchangeable counsel, that love was set upon a number. And that number is a great number.

[12:03] It's a number which no man can number, that will both be brought in this life's journey, to begin to praise him just a little, and in eternity will fill and swell the heavenly chorus with the hallelujah chorus, as it were, in glory.

[12:22] Worthy is the Lamb. And the purpose was for this people to be saved by grace. And that purpose, my friends, is in Christ Jesus. And that purpose is as unchangeable as Jesus himself.

[12:36] Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. What a blessed anchor I say then, for the soul of the Lord's dear people in this changing world, amongst all the change and decay.

[12:52] His eternal purpose remains the same. His purpose is the same, the salvation of his people. His promises are the same.

[13:06] Oh dear friends, once the Lord gives a promise to his people and he's given us precious promises throughout the scripture, they're not withdrawn from the people of God.

[13:17] They're there for their comfort. Someone did say how many fear nots there was in the Bible, I must say I've forgotten the number. It's a great number of fear nots.

[13:27] Well, why do you think that is? It's because the Lord, in his great wisdom and foreknowledge, knew what was in man.

[13:44] When I say man, I mean man and women, the whole human race. He knew that there was a doubtful, unbelieving heart in man, a fearful heart in man. And therefore, in his mercy, he strewed fear nots through the word.

[14:02] One blessed fear not reminds me of a subject which I have endeavored to preach from once or twice and that we see so well illustrated in the kingly office of David to Mephibosheth.

[14:15] Mephibosheth, you remember, was a descendant of Saul and he was called, to be brief on the subject, called to stand before King David and poor Mephibosheth thought surely, as the custom would be in that day, that he would be put to death because he would be the remaining heir of the previous king, you see, and therefore he would fear his life was in jeopardy.

[14:43] You just imagine how poor Mephibosheth felt when he was summoned to come to the king and he would have gone in great fear and trembling but to cap all that he was a lame man he couldn't walk himself and he had to be brought and the poor man was very afflicted in that way and so he comes here in all his weakness and his affliction and he comes before David and he fears for his life but what does he hear?

[15:12] Fear not. Fear not. For Jonathan thy father's sake You see, Jonathan had shown mercy to David in years past and whether Mephibosheth knew anything about that it's perhaps doubtful but for Jonathan's sake David would spare his life and so a sigh of relief would have gone through the poor man as just like a poor sinner who comes feeling lame of any ability to walk in things divine in him or herself that's just how a poor sinner feels as if they should be cut off from God and they scarcely like to approach to God as Mephibosheth would have done and yet he came and yet what does he hear?

[16:02] Fear not. And that's what approaching sinners find my dear friends. They come feeling their sin and all their unrighteousness but when led by the Holy Spirit to a sincere confession of sin what do they get?

[16:15] Instead of cut him off and throw him in the dungeon it's a fear not. And then just continue that I hadn't thought of mentioning this tonight but continue that thought along in David's case.

[16:28] What a mercy what a relief to Mephibosheth his life had been spared but what an amazing thing that when he said he commanded that he should be fed at the king's table and should come as one of his sons one of David's sons to the king's table what?

[16:47] A poor lame beggar like he was he actually used the words dead dog as I am you'll recall in scripture and he's amazed by the grace that David shows in favour to him and so it is that the poor sinner is amazed by the grace of God to such a poor unworthy sinner but look what he's saved from saved from certain death his life is saved he's brought in to the kingdom he's brought in to feast at the master's table and my friends that's exactly what the Lord Jesus has done for poor wretched sinners he's brought them in from a deserved hell he's saved them from hell he's saved them from their sin but more he's made them sons and daughters by adoption as we read heirs of God joined heirs with Christ amazing grace isn't it amazing grace well might Newton have written that hymn amazing grace how sweet the sound which saved a wretch like me

[17:48] I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see oh how is it with you dear friend do you know anything about this saving grace and mercy because you've come to Jesus the same yesterday today and forever his promises are yeah and amen and never were forfeited yet his love is eternal in its nature we live in a day of what people call love well it seems to me it's a passing infatuation of five minutes duration pretty often someone meets someone the next thing they're married and the next thing they're divorced well it's all completely contrary to what the Lord is to his people it's exactly the opposite to that blessed union of marriage which that marriage represents in the permanence of it as it should be that marriage is for life and it should be for life and we see there a heavenly picture of that marriage of the bridegroom and his bride his church he's an unchanging

[19:10] God he's an unchanging bridegroom my dear friends his love is upon his bride he's given his life's blood to redeem her from her sins never was a bride purchased with such great price his church Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever the verse before remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever it's always been the conversation my dear friends of the saints of God of the people of God down through the ages the conversation of Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever oh my dear friends if you forget everything I've said tonight you go home and if you can just remember that

[20:15] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever his mercies endure forever his unchanging love endures forever a debtor to mercy alone one of the writers says doesn't he yes his promises are yea and amen and never were forfeited yet that's a lovely hymn one of my favourites and dear friends have you proved it have you been in varying scenes of life and proved that yes his love is the same you can come to him he's an unchangeable God he's not here today and gone tomorrow although at times you may find that you can't feel his presence as you would there is that right trial of faith at times in the path of every one of the Lord's dear people I believe there are those times when we rightly come to God in prayer and yet he hides his face and we feel that prayer goes no farther than the ceiling and we can't find the access in prayer that we have found at times and I like to look at it this way

[21:27] I believe as absence makes the heart grow fonder between two people that love one another and as that weekend comes forward when they hope to see one another again and that fondness and that love grows as it were and is kindled in fondness and so at times the Lord withdraws his felt presence from us for a little season to make us even more fond of him to break out of our cold routine and bring us through a trouble or another into him in prayer to prove once more that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee you know dear friends that word is a a word which is the the source of which is Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever that causing to approach is the method in his hands of causing a soul who otherwise wouldn't approach in prayer in the same intensity and urgency the causes are various blessed though is the man the woman the girl the boy whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee the cause is various

[23:04] I say sometimes it's in great difficulties and we cry to the Lord to deliver us out of great difficulties sometimes it's in deep affliction and we cry and we haven't got many words to say at such times when we're in the depths is God be merciful to me a sinner Lord have mercy on my soul and not long prayers friends when you're in the depths but when you're in the depths it's then those cries go up with such fervor that's the cause he uses to bring us to those real prayers those wrestling prayers as I believe I mentioned this morning with Jacob it was when Jacob was in dire straits and he wrestled with that one toward the break of day and in that wrestling he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me and we read in the next verse and he blessed him there and that's what we need and that's in those wrestling prayers when the blessing does come my friends

[24:04] I want to just balance it out with another experience which parallels to it though in I believe I don't think I'm wrong in this but I believe in the lives of the majority of the Lord's people sooner or later they find there's something in their life that they have to pray for and they have to pray for it for years and years and years it can be many and various in the calls sometimes it's the concern of the eternal state of the eternal souls of one near and dear or more than one near and dear and they take that to the throne of grace every night with their evening prayers and every morning with their morning prayers they pray for a loved one and they go on for years and years and there seems to be no answer to that prayer well you pray on my dear friend because I believe this very much that there have been many of the Lord's dear people who had one major concern to pray for and it was the trial of their faith it kept them down and it kept them looking up all through life's journey and they died not seeing the answer to it but on that glorious resurrection morning

[25:16] I believe they'll wake up as it were and find those they've been praying for with them in glory now what do I mean by that I mean this that we often find that at the grave of one the Holy Spirit works and begins to work in the heart of one of the offspring or one near and dear and those prayers as though their prayers are ended we read in the prayers of David are ended and I believe when the saints of God are called home to glory their prayers are ended but they're not all answered but they may still well still be answered in the mercy of God because I believe the prayer of faith as faith is given will be answered in due course in accordance with his predestinating love and mercy and electing love and mercy but you see when the Lord lays something the Holy Spirit lays something upon us you know

[26:17] I believe it's then that we can look for an answer hope for and rely upon in a way in faith humbly for that answer because you see we're then coming to him in spirit and in truth and I was just thinking about what we thought a little of this morning has just come back to my mind there justified by faith there is therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit it's the spirit that quickness it's the spirit that gives this constant need to pray that I believe is the gift of God as surely as anything it's not as I said this morning something we inherited from our first father Adam it is something which is the gift of the spirit of the last

[27:19] Adam in his precious promises the spirit of prayer or may we each have been able to use it more and benefit from it more his promise his promises then in perfect truth and faithfulness he is faithful to his promises and they're in truth today we're told many things which turn to be lies especially from those in authority over us and yet we must not allow those thoughts to come into our mind when we think of the precious promises of Christ because he's not like that he's the same yesterday today and forever he is faithful he is truth he is the truth he is the essence of truth itself he is spotless and sinless in his purity and in that he changes not there's no change in him there

[28:24] Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever as the foreshadowing of that selected sacrifice in under the ceremonial law it must need to be a lamb which is perfect it must be spotless nothing which was lame or torn would be accepted for the sacrifice so Christ Jesus himself came as a lamb without spot and without blemish jump God so so that is already obtained the work is done my dear friends when and I speak with great reverence when the Lord at Calvary's cross said it is finished it is finished dear friends that's salvation's work in gathering is not complete but the work the redemption is complete for everyone whom by his eternal foreknowledge knew would be his people and who would be brought by the Holy Spirit under the conviction of sin and dealt with in the sanctifying influence and work of the Holy Spirit and brought to repentance and given the gift of faith and grace in life's journey that appointed time appointed when the son was still in the bosom of the father as I said earlier yes but above all this one other thing that doesn't alter one other thing which Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and that is in the pleasure of his father this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased the law has been satisfied in Jesus the father is satisfied with his beloved son and that robe of righteousness of which I spoke just a little as I closed this morning is full spotless full now it's free it's free to poor sinners but oh what a cost what a cost

[31:07] I say the cost of his own heart's blood at Calvary my friends came the robe of righteousness to cover the sins of poor sinners oh what great cost but oh how free to sinners do you know anything about it my dear friends have you proved that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever what a mercy if you have do you have a desire to I say do you wish is it something you wish to prove is it a desire in your heart where you keep pressing on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus I said in Christ Jesus as I tried to emphasize this morning we must be found in him the apostle Paul's ambition and I know I mentioned it this morning but I'll mention it again this evening that I might win

[32:07] Christ he said he counted all things but dung and dross all of his knowledge which he gained at the feet of Gamaliel being probably one of the most educated men of his day he counted it as dung and dross it had a use mind it was very useful to the apostle because I believe the fact that he understood the law as he did so enabled him to write under the influence of the Holy Spirit's instruction the opening up of the law and grace as he has in the chapters we read this morning in the 5th and 6th and 7th chapters of Romans and it's wonderful really to see his understanding but he says all those things which I learned he counted as dung and dross why?

[32:58] that I might win Christ and be found in him that was his whole ambition that because as I did say this morning he came in with that hymn writer only the hymn writer came afterwards give me Christ or else I die that's the spirit as I see it that the apostle was showing us there Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever and then there's another thing about his precious promises I wanted to just mention before I close he says this because I live ye shall live also dear friends if we're his whether we live we're his or whether we die we're his that came so sweetly to me in the hospital you know if we have a good hope through grace that we're his now we want to live unto him if it comes to death we want to die unto him we should be with him forever in that case why?

[34:13] because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever the Lord's people don't suddenly not become the Lord's people when they come to the valley of the shadow of death there they learn just how dear their Lord is to them and the word perhaps to the younger ones when you're brought close to the valley of the shadow of death you don't look round for ways of robbing God of his glory my dear young people or older ones too come to that when you realise the Lord has been gracious to you he's been near to your soul and he's healed your body and brought you back from the valley of the shadow of death again your desire is best put in better words than mine the Gatsby's beautiful hymn in immortal honours the last verse oh that my soul could love and praise him more his beauties trace his majesty adore live near his heart upon his bosom lean yes obey his voice and all his will esteem that's your desire then you won't be looking round to see if you can by using some lesser language in addressing him in prayer rob him of his rightful glory and honour oh friends be on your guard about modernistic views and you analyse them and you'll find they are set in action by the enemy of souls they are to rob

[36:01] God of his glory may I just say this that in the garden of Eden I had no thought of speaking about this but in the garden of Eden Satan came to Eve and he says hath God said and that was an attempt to rob God of his glory now there's other many many instances through the prophets that we could look at and see a similar motive of Satan but to come to our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord Jesus Christ in the temptation in the wilderness in every one of those temptations you see Satan is endeavouring to rob God of his glory that's his prime design to do that and I believe in the 50s there was some men got together and they were known to be now we know we didn't know at the time they were known to be liberalist and they denied the deity of

[37:05] Christ and the virgin birth and when we read what the scripture has to say about such men they're not the people of God because it's very clear as we read various scriptures about those who deny that Jesus is the son of God and there's plenty of scriptures to show us the solemnity of that and in the translation where they translated the new testament into several the new English language versions they have addressed Jesus as you robbing him of his deity approaching him as if he was just man but he was God man and there in Satan my friends is put in unless I misunderstand it very much he's robbing God of his glory in that so subtle and you know I remember when I was a little lad my late pastor and that was before 1967 some years before he said

[38:10] I believe that as the children's children that's my generation grow up they will witness the Satan or the devil appearing as an angel of light and he used to say in these words causing no wreaking much havoc which means causing much havoc in the church of God as appearing as an angel of light and I would warn you all about misunderstanding how great God is we come to God he's the king of kings and the lord of lords and the angels vowed their faces in heaven and bear before him and they haven't sinned how then can sinners approach unto God in a familiar way not giving him the honour and glory due to his holy name my friends we should tremble when we come in prayer to God and the only way we can come to prayer in God is in the precious worthy all prevailing name of his dear beloved son by his mercy and by his grace as I say if we realise just a little bit of the cost of redeeming love through this

[39:25] Jesus the same yesterday today and forever there may be someone here who says why for me why did the king of king's son the prince of glory leave heaven to come to save poor sinners from their sins and lay down his life a ransom for them why well we come there I believe to an understanding if we look at it in the understanding that the omniscience of God is total and it's absolute he sees the end from the beginning when he was still in the bosom of the father he knew what the eternal counsel was the eternal counsel stands firm and sure and the redeemed of the Lord will be redeemed in glory and it was we read for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross despising the shame and he sat down at the right hand of his father in heaven in the bosom of the his father in that oneness and then my dear friends

[40:36] I must close but then we come to that precious word which we read and I may mention it before I do mention it sometimes in the 17th chapter of John which seems to me to be such a wonderful revelation in that prayer which the Lord prays in praying for his disciples he says neither pray for these alone that's the disciples that were with him on the earth at that time but for them also which shall believe on me through their word that is through the preaching of the word in the day of grace right down to our day but shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one as their father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us isn't that amazing have you considered it sit down friends when you get home and look at that 21st verse and see if you can understand it because I believe it's beyond understanding it's a wonderful word it's beyond what we can understand in the mercy and the greatness of the love of

[41:45] God the Father and the love of God the Son in it and in the work of the Holy Spirit in performing it and then in the 22nd verse and the glory which thou gavest me listen I have given them that they may be one even as we are one oneness dear friends can we understand it I can't understand that it's beyond my natural understanding but my friends I believe it by faith I believe it what a wonderful God we have my dear friends Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever it changes not when all around my soul gives way one says doesn't he one hymn writer everything around us will give way but it's then we should prove the solidity of the permanence and the unchangeable nature of Christ of the unchangeable nature of his promises

[42:48] I will be with thee when thou pass us through the water as I will not fail thee nor forsake thee all friends go forward go forward in that one way you can go looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith it is him who gave us faith it is him who will bring it to a completion and bring the souls of everyone to glory to be with him may we among his saints be found and with eternal mercies crowned Amen people gain Thank you.