Hold Fast To The LORD
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Matthew 5:9-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets who were before you in the same way.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse(s) is(are):
Romans 12:4-5
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Today we will be reading from Isaiah 56:1-8
There is a phrase in that reading that is repeated several times and that phrase is, “Hold fast to …”
Hold fast to what?
What do you hold fast to?
Some people hold fast to the old style country music. Pastor John Spencer was like that! He despised the newer country music and he didn’t even consider it to be country music at all!
People who own Harley Davidson motorcycles hold fast to the name that is found on the side of their motorcycle gas tank. Many of them will never refer to their Harley as their bike; it is always “my Harley”.
Sometimes the name “Harley” is breathed out in every sentence and spoken with great admiration. I just chuckle inside. My 21 year old Yamaha Royal Star Venture MM Limited which I got for $2,800 is more than what I ever thought I would own and I thank the Lord for it. I guess you could say I’m “holding fast” to it in a general sense of the phrase.
What else do people hold fast to?
The greedy hold fast to their wealth …
The sexual predators hold fast to their perversion …
Those who desire power hold fast to their status …
Those who desire beauty try to hold fast to their youth …
The drunkards and drug addicts hold fast to their poison …
The self-righteous hold fast to their outward holiness …
The self-proclaimed intellectuals hold fast to their educational achievements …
Are you holding fast to something?
What are we, as devoted followers of Christ, supposed to hold fast to?
Let’s read an excerpt from Isaiah 56. This will give us a clue but not completely: Isaiah 56:1-8
(Prayer for help)
In this great chapter we see two “hold fast” references …
Isaiah 56:2 says,
“Blessed is the man who does this - the man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
And, Isaiah 56:4-5 says,
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant - to them I will give within My temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.”
And, in Isaiah 56:6-7 we see two phrases, “hold fast” and “bind themselves” which mean the same thing when it says,
Isaiah 56:6-7a
“And foreigners who bind themselves (or hold fast) to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant - these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer.”
Now, in these verses we see three places that we are to hold fast to the Sabbath and the Covenant, and, we see also that we are to “bind ourselves to” (or “hold fast to”) the Lord and to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD and to worship Him!
Now, let’s just read a few more verses about the action and the rewards of holding fast to the LORD!
Deuteronomy 11:22-23
“If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow - to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him and to hold fast to Him - then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.”
That of course, was a promise to the Israelites and the promise to give the land promised to Abraham hinged on what? It hinged on loving the LORD, walking in obedience to Him and holding fast to Him.
Now, that promise is not intended for us but principle remains the same.
Deuteronomy 13:4
“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him.”
Joshua 22:5
“Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to keep His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Joshua 23:8
“… hold fast to the LORD your God …”
2 Thessalonians 2:15
“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
And, in Revelation 12:17 we read of those who will hold fast to their testimony for Jesus during a time of great tribulation …
Revelation 12:17
“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring - those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”
OK. Are we getting the idea?
We MUST HOLD FAST!
We must hold fast to whom? To the LORD!
And we must hold fast to what? To the commands of the LORD!
Is it possible to hold fast to the LORD but not to His commands? NO, it is not!
Is it possible to hold fast to the commands of the LORD but not to Him? NO, it is not!
How can we know God and His commands? We must know the Bible.
The Bible was given to us so that we can know Him and the Bible was given to us so that we can know His commands!
If we do not know the Bible we cannot know what His commands are.
If we do not know the Bible we cannot know what His commands are NOT! We don’t usually think this way but positively knowing God’s commands, His desires for us, also makes us aware of what His commands are NOT.
If we know the Word of God and we hear something that is not found in the Bible at all it will sound strange to our hears and feel strange to our hearts and we will know to stay away from it!
Both of these thoughts are critical.
We cannot hold fast to what we do not know and we cannot discern what is false if we do not know what is true. Without that knowledge we cannot “hold fast” to anything.
Let me give you an example …
Imagine if Pastor Karenlee left me a note of something she needed me to do. And, imagine if I knew there was a place where it was customary for her to leave me notes of things she needed me to do.
Now, suppose I decided not to read the note of what she needed me to do and I just did what I wanted to do instead.
Would that be holding fast to my love for my wife and would that be holding fast to what she needed me to do for her? Absolutely, positively not!
OK. Suppose I DID read the note of what she needed me to do and, instead, I just did what I wanted to do. And, what if I wrote on the note, “Honey, I love you but I just didn’t want to do that for you. Sorry … (not sorry).”
Would that be holding fast to my love for my wife and would that be holding fast to what she needed me to do for her? Absolutely, positively not!
Now, Suppose I DID read the note of what she needed me to do and I actually did what she wanted to do, BUT, when she got home all I did was grumble and complain that I didn’t get to do what I wanted to do!
Would THAT be holding fast to my love for my wife and would THAT be holding fast to what she needed me to do for her? Absolutely, positively not!
But, what if I DID read the note from her of what she needed me to do and, out of my love for her, I did it immediately and I did it to the best of my ability.
Would that be holding fast to my love for my wife and would that be holding fast to what she needed me to do for her? Absolutely, positively YES!
It is the same with holding fast to the Lord and to His Holy Word.
Do you know what a “game changer” is?
Imagine a football team that is losing 42 points to 0 and it is late in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, the coach of the losing team sends in a guy who is unstoppable. Every time the guy gets the ball he runs for a touchdown. After the touchdown he goes in as the kicker and every time he kicks the ball he runs down the field and personally tackles the receiver. And, then, the next play he scores another touchdown and so it goes, again and again and again until they win the game 105 to 42. Oh, and, incidentally, he also runs the two point conversion after each touchdown.
Now, THAT guy is a game changer.
What’s your life like? Do you feel that you are hopeless? Do you feel defeated? Do you need a game changer?
In the passage we read at the beginning of the message there were two groups mentioned, who, in the eyes of the Israelites, were hopeless when it came to righteousness in the eyes of God. These two groups were not even allowed in any but the outermost courts of the temple.
The groups are eunuchs and foreigners, especially the Moabites.
Deuteronomy 23:1-3
“No one who (is a eunuch, a male unable to have children) … may enter the assembly of the LORD.
“No … Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the tenth generation.”
OK. So, these people seem to be permanent outcasts from entry into a relationship of righteousness with Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. And, yet, Isaiah seems to be opening up the way for them.
Isaiah 56:3-7
“Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from His people.’ And let no eunuch complain, ‘I am only a dry tree.’
“For this is what the LORD says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant - to them I will give within My temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.’
“And foreigners who bind themselves to (or hold fast to) the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant - these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
OK. The Israelites would never have imagined that eunuchs would have, “within the Temple, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters and an everlasting name that will endure forever!”
That seemed impossible but there was a “game changer” and what was that game changer? It was holding fast to Yahweh the Lord God of Israel and choosing what would be pleasing to Him.
And, it also seemed impossible that foreigners, especially Moabites, would be welcome in the temple and would be able to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices that would be acceptable to Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. But … it was possible.
What was the “game changer” that made it possible? Holding fast to Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, ministering to Him, loving His Name and obeying His commandments!
Who is the famous Moabite woman who was welcomed into the nation of Israel and who even was included in the family line leading to the birth of Jesus the Messiah? Ruth!
Ruth the Moabite! Ruth was given what could be the worst advice ever given to a daughter-in-law by her mother-in-law. And, what was that advice? “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” Ruth 1:15
But, what was Ruth’s reply? It is found in Ruth 1:16-17
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
And, here is the key …
“Your people will be my people and your God my God!”
It was that “holding fast” to the God of Israel that was the game changer in Ruth’s life.
And, there are many other examples in the Bible of those who chose to “hold fast” to the Lord, the God of Israel!
These can be found in both the Old and New Testaments.
Think about the Pharisee named Saul. He hated Jesus and he hated the church and he was actively attempting to destroy both of them. He was bound for hell.
What was the game changer in his life? Jesus … he met Jesus!
What did he do with that? He chose to hold fast to Jesus for the rest of his life.
What about Stephen when he was surrounded by an angry mob. Did he abandon the Lord? NO! He held fast to Jesus and died forgiving his murderers and asking Jesus to forgive them!
Over in Afghanistan this very day, Taliban terrorists are taking cell phones from people and checking to see if they have a Bible app on their cell phone. If they do they are beaten until they deny Christ or they are executed. May the Lord give them strength to hold fast!
What if the blood of these martyrs leads one of the terrorists to call on the name of the Lord for salvation? Will Jesus forgive him? Yes, He will. Will that newly born child of the Living God hold fast to Jesus? It is our prayer that he will because he is now our brother in Christ.
What about you? Are you holding fast to Jesus?
How would you describe your relationship with Jesus?
Are you holding fast or are you trying to stay just close enough to keep from ending up in hell? That won’t work!
What if holding fast to Jesus causes me to be persecuted?
What if people insult me, persecute me and falsely say all kinds of evil about me because of my faith in Jesus?
What then?
Well, then … “Rejoice and be glad! For great is your reward in heaven. For they persecuted the prophets who were before you in the same way!” Matthew 5:9-12
Hold Fast. Endure to the end. Great is your reward!
And in addition to the great reward we also have the joy of living in a blessed, communal, love relationship with the Lord as long as we “hold fast”.
Final thoughts and prayer.
