Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
We believe that all Scripture is from God, and that no one Scripture is more “inspired than another.” It is all from God. It is all equally inspired. But there are certain words in the Bible that may be more important than all the rest. These words give the Bible it’s authority. God hangs all his Words on “Thus saith the Lord!” We read in this text: “He hath said.” It is God who has made this statement. It is God who promises, and He has never broken a promise. Nothing is more important than that we study what God hath said.
How important it is that we study the Scriptures. There may be a verse in the Scripture today that would give you great comfort and exactly fit your need for this moment, but if you have not searched for it, it does you no good. You are like a prisoner in a dungeon with a pile of keys in front of you. One of those keys will give you your freedom, but if you will not search for it, you will never have freedom. There may be a sickness in your soul, but if you will not search the great pharmacy of Scripture for the very precise medicine of what “God hath said” to you, you will still remain sick!
And this morning we study the Scripture, we find a very powerful promise attached to what God hath said: I will never leave thee! This is my theme today: If you are a child of God, the Lord will never, never leave you, and He will never, never, never forsake you!
Did you count how many times I said never?! Five times, for that is how many negatives appear in our text. Now it may not be proper grammar to do so in Spanish, but when God penned these words, this is what He wrote. You can hear him saying to you right now: I will never, no I will never leave you, and I will never, never, never forsake you!
In understanding the power of this promise. First let us consider who it is that promises us this.
1. It is the LORD that will NEVER leave us, nor forsake us. When you or I make a promise, we try with all our power to keep that promise. But even the most faithful person will find that he has broken a promise. He will find himself unfaithful. The scripture says:
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Romanos 3:4 De ninguna manera; antes bien sea Dios veraz, y todo hombre mentiroso; como está escrito: Para que seas justificado en tus palabras, Y venzas cuando fueres juzgado.
God is the only one that has ALWAYS kept his promises. Man will fail in his words, even if he is the most sincere and honest and upright person, because he is finite. We may forget to do something that we promise, but God cannot forget. God never forgets! The only thing that God forgets is our sins!! He has thrown them into the deepest sea! But man is a liar. Man is unfaithful. How many here today have NEVER lied, please raise your hand? We have all lied; we have all been unfaithful, but NOT God!
Think of how faithful God is to keep his promise. Think of it! He made a promise not to forsake you, and He did all that He had to do to secure it! He said I will NEVER forsake you! But you and I deserve to be forsaken. We deserve to be forgotten of God. We deserve the same fate as the wicked one himself. Have we not sinned the same sins as Satan? Have we not lifted our heart up with pride against God? Haven’t we thought of ourselves on a higher level than we ought to? This was Satan’s sin. This is why God cast him out of heaven! Have you ever thought that God should have done something differently in your life? Think about your position in life, for example. This scripture says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have.” Have you ever thought that you should have a better position in life? Maybe you have said, “Well, I should have a different job,” or “I should have more money,” or “I should have been born into a better family!” Have you ever thought that? I believe we all have. Brethren, that is covetousness. Who is it that gave you your family, your job, and your money? Is it not God that provides all things? Satan’s sin was covetousness. He wanted a higher position. Because of that, he was banished from heaven. Do you understand that you and I deserve the same fate? We deserve the flames of hell!! WE DESERVE ETERNAL, UNENDING, TORMENT IN THE LAKE OF FIRE!!
Wait a minute!! But look at what God has promised! You have put your faith in the LORD. He has made a promise to you. Though you and I deserve the flames of torment, God has made a promise that He cannot break because He is faithful. Do you realize what it took for God to keep his promise? God is holy, and there was a great price to be paid. How can God be holy, and still allow a sinner into heaven? It seems impossible to us, but God has done it and remained holy. Yes, he gave all that he had: He gave His only Son. He sent Jesus to be God in human flesh. He gave His Son as a sacrifice for us. Now think of this. Some horrible mad man has committed a terrible crime against you. For example, let us imagine that Osama Bin Laden, a known criminal, has been found, and we are putting him on trial. Then Brother Juan steps forward, and says, no, do not take this man, instead, take my son, Arturo! This sounds unthinkable, but brethren, look at what God has done for us. He has given his Son for us, we are just as guilty as the worst of criminals. We all deserve the flames of hell. And God has given His Son that He might keep His promise! Jesus Christ suffered pain, agony, and separation from His Father, that He might keep His promise. No, how could he ever leave us with the price that has been paid? God is faithful to keep his promise. It is the LORD that will NEVER leave us!
Now let us look at a second truth:
My second point is really not expressed logically at all, but it perfectly gets my point across. It is this:
2. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!!!
Look at the word “NEVER” in our text. It is a powerful word! God will NEVER leave you! He will NEVER forsake you. We cannot fully comprehend this promise, but let us think about if we were forsaken of God. There is not a worse feeling than loneliness, but nothing is worse than an utter loneliness apart from God. What would it be like if we were utterly forsaken? You and I have never been alone. We have never been forsaken. There has always been the ever presence of the Lord. We see his majesty in His creation. We see His witness in this Book! We have never been alone! Only one man has ever been utterly alone and forsaken! Listen to the words of Scripture:
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Mateo 27:46 Cerca de la hora novena, Jesús clamó a gran voz, diciendo: Elí, Elí, ¿lama sabactani? Esto es: Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has desamparado?
Yes, our precious Lord was completely forsaken! Now he was not just forsaken by man, no that has been the fate of many men. Many thousands of men were crucified in the Roman Empire. Many thousands of men have been forsaken by family, friends, and love ones. But only one man could cry out to God to say that he was utterly forsaken! Only one man has been forsaken of God! Christ knew what it was to be forsaken of God. He said:
Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Salmos 22:6 Mas yo soy gusano, y no hombre; Oprobio de los hombres, y despreciado del pueblo.
Our precious Lord called himself a worm!! A worm! That is what it is like to be forsaken of God. Yes the creator of the Universe, the precious Son of God, said, “I am a worm!” He was forsaken of man, but much worse, infinitely worse, HE WAS FORSAKEN OF GOD.
Aren’t you glad for that word “NEVER!?” Aren’t you glad that God protects you? He says I will NEVER leave you, I will never forsake you!”
My final point is really an application of this truth.
3. Because God will NEVER leave us, we should be content with Him alone!
Isn’t this what the text says? Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
You never have to look further than the Lord for your satisfaction! You can be content. You need no more than what you have today to be happy. All you need is the Lord. BE CONTENT! Brother Andy mentioned several weeks ago that most people are always looking for tomorrow. They live for tomorrow. And others live for yesterday! They are not content. They are not resting in the Lord. Yes, we need to live for today. For NOW. We should not covet yesterday or tomorrow, but live for the Lord TODAY. He is all we need. Do you believe that? Do you trust in Him? Does He satisfy you? You can never know happiness until you have trusted everything to Him! Rest in Him. Trust Him! He will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave you!! You are His possession. He has bought you with the blood of His only Son. He will NEVER leave you. He has promised!!
Let us pray.
