Jesus, Our Anchor

We’re going to get started. Before the Christmas season, we were talking about the incarnation, and before that we were in a study of the book of Hebrews. We’re going through the book of Hebrews verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and really allowing the Lord to speak to us through that. And there’s such a clear picture that I believe the Lord has been giving us of who He is and what He is doing even right now: that the Lord Jesus is our great High Priest. He’s the one that goes before us and is making intercession for us right now in the heavens. It’s been a great revelation.

And I want to actually go back a little bit. We’re going to go back to Hebrews chapter 6. There’s a portion that we didn’t go through, but I believe it’s timely for today, because it’s really meant to bring encouragement to the believers.

Written to discouraged believers

For those of you that don’t recall, the book of Hebrews was written to a church that was living discouraged. Anybody ever get discouraged? Yeah, every now and then. They were discouraged because they had given their everything. They had given their all to follow Jesus. And how many of you know that’s exactly what’s required? You can’t follow Jesus without giving Him everything. You can’t follow Jesus one day a week and say, “I know the Lord,” or, “I know what it means to follow Him.” To follow Him is to give your life to Him. That’s what it means when we call Him Lord. Jesus is Lord. Lord means He’s our Master. He’s our decision-maker. He’s the one that we follow. And so the only way to follow Jesus is to give Him everything.

And that’s what these believers had done. They had given Jesus everything, and yet there was persecution beginning to start, and they were beginning to question, “Is this even worth it? I gave everything to follow Jesus, and things don’t seem to be going better. They don’t seem to be going well.” And the author of Hebrews is writing to encourage them to stay the course — that Jesus is so much better than anything they had before. There was a temptation to go back to what they knew, to go back to their old ways, to go back to their old habits. But the author is writing and saying, “No. Do you realize the treasure that you have in Jesus? That He really is a better promise? He’s better than anything this world has to offer. He’s better than anything that you can earn or anything that you deserve.” Amen. Jesus is better. Say, “He’s better.”

And so we are going through Hebrews, and we’re discovering how, no matter what we face, no matter what we feel, Jesus is the answer. And I know that’s more than just a saying. Sometimes we hear that and we just think, “Oh, you’re just saying that. He can’t really help me with my marriage. He can’t really help me with my career. He can’t really help me navigate through life.” But that’s exactly what He came to do. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

And so whatever it is that you brought in, whatever it is that is weighing you down, I want you to know, before anything, Jesus is the answer — for you to have a better marriage, for you to have better relationships, for you to grow into who He’s called you to be. Jesus is the answer. Look no further than the person of Jesus. That’s why we are always saying, “Look to the Lord. Look to the Lord. Look to the Lord.” Why? Because when we come in with our stuff, it’s hard to get our eyes off of that, right? We just get stuck looking at all the bad and the negative, the things that are going wrong. And life isn’t easy. In fact, sometimes it’s even worse than you think it is. But Jesus is bigger than any problem you could ever face. And so He really is the answer.

So we’ve been going through this book, and I want to go to Hebrews chapter 6 and start at verse 9. We’re going to read verses 9 through 20 this morning. We’re going to have the scriptures on screen, but I would recommend, especially through this study, bringing your Bible, because we’re going to go through it piece by piece, and it’s good to look at it and make notes. I’m going to be jumping around a little bit, and I don’t want you to get lost. I want you to stay with it. I think the Lord has something for you this morning. Amen.

So, Hebrews chapter 6, and we’re going to start at verse 9. And I’ve got to read off my screen, because my eyes are — I’m getting old. We’re not made for this world, did you guys know that? Age is a weird thing. I’m like, “What? I can’t do that anymore?” I was listening to something with those high frequencies, right? And I was playing it and I was like, “Is the volume up? I can’t hear it.” And my kids, from the other room on the other side of the house, go, “What’s that noise?” I was like, “I can’t hear a thing.” All right. Oh, the life.

So, Hebrews chapter 6, verse 9. Before we do, can we close our eyes and just invite the Lord? Lord, we ask that You would speak to us through Your Word. We don’t need to hear a person. We need to hear from You. So Lord, we open our hearts and we ask that You would speak to us today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Verse 9 says: “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.’ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Now, right before this — and we spoke about this several weeks ago — the author was coming off of a strong warning to the church, saying, “Listen, be sure that you do not back off of this. Don’t back away. Don’t fall away from Jesus, because it is impossible for those who fall away to return to Him.” And so there was this serious warning. And I love how immediately after, the author comes back and brings encouragement.

How many of you know, when you’re training someone or teaching someone, there needs to be a level of correction sometimes, right? You need to know when you’re getting it wrong or when you’re getting off track. But being led by the Spirit, the author comes so lovingly and brings this exhortation, this encouragement, saying, “Remember that God has not forgotten you, that He has called you. Don’t let your foot off the gas. Keep going.” Look at the person next to you and tell them, “Keep going.”

And so the author is bringing this encouragement to these discouraged believers. And in reality, one of the greatest reasons that many believers fall away from Jesus — there are several, but one of the big ones — is discouragement. They begin to wonder, “Is any of this actually worth it? Lord, don’t You realize that I’ve been faithful? I gave my life to You. I’ve tried to honor You. I’ve tried to walk with You. I’ve tried to follow You. And yet things don’t seem to be going right.” And what happens is this discouragement tends to creep in, because there are promises that God has spoken in His Word that you don’t see yet, that haven’t come to pass yet. But how many of you know God wants to bring encouragement to our lives to stay the course? Amen.

God has not forgotten you

And I believe there are three points of encouragement that the author is bringing to the believers in this scripture. Number one: don’t be discouraged, because God has not forgotten about you. I really believe that some of you needed to hear that today. God does not forget about you. You may be doing your own thing. You might have forgotten about God, but God has not forgotten about you. You may feel like God is far off. You may feel like there’s no hope. You may feel like it’s all unraveling and things are falling apart. But I want you to hear: God has not forgotten about you.

We see this in verse 10. It says, “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name.” Sometimes there is nothing more discouraging than being forgotten, than being overlooked. But notice, God is not unjust to forget. If God would forget, it would be unjust of Him. If He would forget the good things, the things that you’ve done, the ways that you’ve honored Him, the ways that you’ve served — Scripture is saying it would be unjust if He forgot the sacrifice, if He forgot the victories, the wins. But God is not unjust. He is fully just. So for Him to forget the good things would be contrary to who He is. It is not who He is. He has not forgotten.

Verse 11 says, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.” And this is important, because if God has not forgotten the good things from your past, He’s not going to forget the good things you will do in your future. There is this encouragement to keep it going, to not let go, to not let your foot off the gas, but to press on.

Now, there’s a pastor that I love and follow, and something he said is so true. He said this is the only life in which you will be able to make sacrifice to the Lord. You see, when you get to heaven, when you spend eternity with Him, all you’re going to want to do is be by Him, be near Him, worship Him. Being in His presence will demand it. It’s what you’re going to want. So when we come into our gatherings here and we say, “Let’s lift our worship,” sometimes that’s a sacrifice. Did you know that? That’s why Scripture calls it a sacrifice of praise. Because guess what? You’re not always going to feel like giving praise. You’re not always going to feel like singing or giving thanks, because you look at your life and it’s like, “Man, I don’t know if I have a whole lot to give thanks for. Things are not going so great.” But how many of you know, if you never received another blessing from the Lord, He’s already done enough? It’s already enough.

And so there is this calling: there is a sacrifice that can be brought, and you only have this life to do it. When you picture this life in the reality of eternity — Scripture calls this life nothing but a flash in the pan. One moment it’s there; the next moment it’s gone. And so there is this opportunity that we have to make sacrifice to the Lord.

I actually thought about this. We just entered the new year, and as we were closing the year, I was bringing my offering to the Lord, and I was like, “This is the last time I’m going to bring an offering to the Lord this year.” Life just goes. And we can either live for ourselves and live a consuming lifestyle where we become lords unto ourselves — and when we do that, we jeopardize even following Him — or we can say, “Lord, I bring my sacrifice to You. Lord, I give my worship to You.” And so there is this call to stay the course, to keep worshiping, to keep praying. The author is saying, “Listen, you can make it to the end. You can live your life as a testimony to the Lord.” Look at the person next to you and say, “You can do this.” By the power of the Holy Spirit, you can do this.

Not sluggish: faith and patience

And so the author says, “Do not become sluggish.” Don’t you love that word? Is discipline hard for just me, or is it hard for you? A disciplined life is difficult. It is difficult to live in a disciplined way where you can stay the course. But just like any athlete that is training to be the best that they can be, just like any musician — you can have the most talent in the world, but if you don’t have discipline, you’re not going to see the results.

And I think it’s interesting how sometimes we expect significant moves of God in our lives, and yet we can hardly be disciplined enough to spend time with Him daily. I think of the disciples who were in the garden with Jesus. Jesus was praying, and this was a big deal. Some big things were about to happen, and there was so much pressure, so much crushing, that He was sweating blood. And as He was praying, as He was interceding, He looks at His disciples, and they were asleep. And He said, “Could you not watch and pray with Me for one hour?” You know, sometimes I think we live our life like that. We expect these awesome things and for God to move in significant ways, and yet we don’t spend time with the one who brings those things. You see, there is a disciplined life that we’re to have, and that is where the reward is.

We all know what it’s like to not feel it, where that fire that you once had seems to have faded. That love and that passion for the Lord just isn’t the same as maybe when you first encountered Him, or first heard Him speak to you, or first responded to the gospel. And I would just encourage you, if your fire has dwindled, the best way to rekindle that fire is two things.

Number one: get into the Word. You’re not going to want to. You’re not going to feel like it. But get into His Word. Why? Because He is the Word. You want to know Jesus? Get into the Word. And when you see the Lord, you can’t help but burn for Him. Okay? Number two: worship at His feet. There is this posture of surrender — when we surrender everything to Him, when we give everything to Him, we empty ourselves, and He fills us with Himself. And He is the consuming fire. Amen.

And so it says, “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” I don’t know about you, but aren’t you thankful for those people in your life that, no matter how difficult things get, continue to pray and continue to believe? What an encouragement. Amen. We need people like that.

And the author is pointing out this biblical example of Abraham, who is known as the father of faith. He endured. He had received these promises, but those promises did not come to pass easily. And there is a lot of discouragement in between the receiving of the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. Do you guys know what I’m talking about? There’s this space where you hear the word, you hear the promise — maybe it’s through Scripture, or maybe something the Lord spoke to you — and you get this promise, but then you don’t see it right away. You guys know what I’m saying? It doesn’t happen right away. And there’s this period of waiting and enduring that needs to happen until the fulfillment of the promise.

And the author is writing and saying, be like those who endured. Who didn’t just believe and then forget, who didn’t believe and then let go, but who had faith and patience. Oh, this is what you needed to hear in the new year. You need to have faith and patience.

There are many people who will have faith for a little bit, but they don’t have the patience to endure. They come to church, they hear a good word or they hear the promise, and they get fired up. But then they forget, and they go back to what every other day has looked like before. But then there are those who have patience. They are willing to live life getting beat up, beat up, beat up, but they have no faith. There is power in the combination of faith and patience. If we can live our life hearing the good news, receiving the promise, laying hold of the hope set before us, and continually giving thanks — in the highs and the lows, in the good and the bad — putting our trust in the Lord at all times and continuing to follow Him, that is where the promise comes to pass.

And I love how it says you will inherit the promise. How many of you know we don’t earn the promises of God? They are freely given to us by God. Amen. So do not be discouraged, because you serve a wonderful God who loves you, who sees you, and who cares for you. Amen.

God’s promises are reliable

The second point of encouragement: don’t be discouraged, because God’s promises are reliable. Everybody say “reliable.” In verse 13 we are reminded that God made a promise to Abraham. That is referring to Genesis chapter 22, when God is repeating this promise that through Abraham a seed would come — through his lineage, the Messiah. And that promise was perfectly fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

But it didn’t come easy. Verse 15 says it came after he had patiently endured. In other words, things got difficult. Things weren’t coming to pass. So much time had gone by. Sometimes we think God’s going to speak and then the next day the answer comes. And praise God when that happens, but that’s not usually the case. There are probably things that you have prayed for that haven’t been answered. There are things that you’ve asked where you feel like you haven’t heard. And my encouragement to you would be: keep praying. Keep asking. Keep coming to the feet of Jesus and saying, “Lord, this is my heart, but not my will, but Yours be done.”

How many of you know God knows what’s best for you? He knows better than you do. Scripture says that before He formed you in your mother’s womb, He knew you, and He said, “I have a plan for you — a plan to prosper you, a plan to give you a future and a hope.” And sometimes we become lords unto ourselves and we say, “No, but I know better. I know what I really want. God, I’ve got this.” But there is a way to live submitted to Him, a way that says, “Lord, not my will be done, but Yours be done.”

And so the promise comes after he had patiently endured. And then verse 17 says this: “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel” — immutability means the unchanging, unwavering nature of His counsel — “confirmed it by an oath.” In other words, God is willing to put His reputation, His perfection, His faithfulness on the line. He swears that His Word is true. He swears by Himself.

Have any of you ever said, “I swear. I swear to God”? How many of you know there is no other name above His that He can swear by? And so He makes an oath and He swears by Himself, and He says it is impossible for Him to lie. It is impossible. That is why we can live with faith and an understanding that everything God says in Scripture is true, because He cannot lie. If this is His perfect Word, if this is the word of God, then He cannot lie. And what God promises is greater than what you feel, greater than what you think, greater than what you see. He cannot lie.

So what are the things that God has spoken to you? And maybe you’re here and you’re like, “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard God speak to me.” Every time you come to the Word, God will speak to you. And you may not fully understand everything you just read. That’s why we ask, “Lord, would You teach me?” Right? Jesus said, “I’m going to send the Holy Spirit, and He will teach you all things about Me.” He’s our teacher. In fact, Scripture won’t make sense unless He teaches you. And so when we come into His Word, we ask, “Lord, would You teach me Your Word? Would You teach me Your promises?”

Every time you get into Scripture, that is God speaking. It says all Scripture is breathed by God. Scripture is the very breath of God. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Every time we come to the Word, it is Him speaking to us, and what He says is true. He cannot lie. It is impossible for God to lie.

Strong consolation

Now listen to this, verse 18: “That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation.” The absolute reliability of God’s promises should blow us away — that we might have strong consolation. Think about the things that people do in life to have consolation. Think about the things that people turn to. Think about the ways that people give themselves away to other people, that they might have some consolation, some sense of worth. They feel so worthless that they turn to anything to feel some level of value — maybe somebody cares. Or there’s so much pain that we begin turning to substances and addictions and all these other things.

And I want you to hear this: there is little or weak consolation in everything that the world has to offer. It might feel good for a moment, but it’s a weak consolation. You see, in Him we have strong consolation. Do you want to know what it’s like to truly be loved with an unfailing love, an everlasting love? Look no further than the Lord Jesus Himself. Do you want to know what it’s like to actually have full satisfaction in your heart and your soul? Look no further than the Lord Jesus Himself. You see, it is impossible for God to lie. His Word is so true that we can put our full hope, our full assurance, in it, that we might have what? Strong consolation. Amen.

There’s a song — the world behind me, the cross before me. In order for you to fully experience the strong consolation, it will require you to leave the world behind and to look to the cross. If you look to anything as your hope, as your source, look to the cross, because in the cross there is strong consolation. You are so much more valuable than anything that this world has to offer. In the Lord’s eyes, you are so precious, and you are so loved. He gave Himself.

And I think we sometimes get it confused, and we think, “Well, Jesus just came and He died on a cross. It’s no big deal.” Now think about this. Jesus is God, and He has been since before the world. He’s been forever. He put on human flesh not just to live on this earth and die on a cross, and now He’s God. No, He is God as man right now in heaven. We think Jesus is now just some spirit. No, no, no. Jesus is a man who is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, who is making intercession for us. And so when He put on flesh, this was not just a temporary 30-year period. He put on flesh forever.

And His flesh was pierced. It was whipped. It was beaten. It was spit upon. This is the Creator of the universe. He was mocked. His beard was pulled from His face. Because He loves you. What kind of king would die for his enemy? None other but Jesus.

And you might say, “Well, I’m not an enemy of God.” No, no, no — for all have sinned. Sin can have no presence with the Lord, because He’s a holy God. But because Jesus died for us, whoever receives Him, His blood washes us and cleanses us as the perfect sacrifice. That’s what we’re going to celebrate and receive in just a moment when we receive communion. We’re receiving the body that was broken, the blood that was shed. And it is by the body and by the blood alone that we are made right with Him.

You see, He is our strong consolation. He is the only thing that satisfies. And He’s saying, “Look, I have given Myself completely, and I’ve given you Myself so much. I want you to regularly partake of Me.” How many of you know when we receive communion, we are partaking of Him? We are filling ourselves with Him — the body that was broken, the blood that was shed. Amen.

This is so important. The world behind me, the cross before me — it is the only way to live the Christian life. Do not be deceived. There are many people who go to church, who do the church thing, but they have not given their life to the Lord. There is a difference. You cannot live for the world and live for the Lord. You must choose Him. Amen. It’s all or nothing. Don’t be deceived. It’s all or nothing. But when you give it to Him — listen, there’s no better consolation. There’s no better life. There’s nothing better than to live a life that is dead to the world and alive in Him. The world is already dead, whether you realize it or not, but in Him we have life. Are you with me? What time is it? We’re good.

Jesus, the anchor of the soul

The third point of encouragement, and this is so key: don’t be discouraged, because Jesus is your anchor. He’s the one who will keep you tethered. That’s verses 19 and 20: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” — it’s talking about heaven, the heavenly tabernacle, the tabernacle we get to join into — “where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Friends, the hope that you have, and the surety of God’s promise, is Jesus Himself. And when we put our confidence in Jesus, He is an anchor for your soul. How many of you know an anchor isn’t very effective if it’s sitting on the boat with you? If you can see the anchor, it’s not doing much good. It’s not until you take the anchor and plunge it into the depths that you become secure and it does its job.

Anchors are interesting, because not only do they keep you in place when the winds get rough and the storms come — they keep you tethered so you don’t start spinning out of control and get shipwrecked on the land or hit a rock — but how many of you know an anchor also actually helps you make progress? Because you can move forward, but then the winds and the storms come and push you back. And how many of you know the storms will come? They all come. But when the storms come, we have an anchor for the soul. And unlike an earthly anchor that has to be plunged into the depths, we have an anchor who lives in the heavenlies, who anchors us to heaven. Somebody say amen.

Jesus is the anchor of your soul, and you need to be connected to that anchor. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” This is talking about heaven. This is where our true anchor is. Do not tether yourself to this world. Do not tether yourself or put your hope in the wrong things. Jesus is our anchor. Say that: “Jesus is my anchor.” He’s our anchor.

And so, friends, get connected to the heavenly anchor, the Lord Jesus Himself, and you will have stability. One of the things that breaks my heart is when I see someone whose life is an everlasting storm, and rather than being anchored, they are spinning, they are thrashing, and there is no peace. Aren’t you thankful that we serve a Lord who can calm the storm with a word? That even when the storms rage, we can have peace, because we are tethered to the anchor?

And it says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus.” Jesus is our forerunner. He has entered into heaven before us. That’s why we just sang it: the firstborn from the dead. He is the one who entered heaven before us, and because He has gone into the heavens, we will follow Him.

And so when you look at it in the light of everything, we really have no reason to be discouraged. That doesn’t mean life isn’t difficult. In fact, your life might be worse than you even think it is. The problem could be bigger. But no matter how big the problem, there is nothing in life greater than Jesus. He’s our hope. And so Jesus is even greater than the greatest difficulty.

And this is why we can be encouraged. Number one, because God has not forgotten about you. Number two, because God’s promises are reliable. What He says is true; everything else can be considered a lie. What God says is true. And because Jesus will lead you to glory. Be encouraged. Be encouraged.

The Lord will provide the Lamb

I read out of Genesis 22 a couple days ago, and I sensed the presence of the Lord so strongly. I want to bring you all into it. This is what I was referring to, when God repeated the promise to Abraham. I think we did put this on screen. Genesis 22. In fact, I’m actually going to ask that we put our Bibles away. We’re going to receive communion in just a moment. If you can come and play for us, that’d be great. Thank you.

Can we close our eyes, bow our heads? I want to read this to you, and I want you to allow the Lord to speak to you this morning. Genesis chapter 22. It says, “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’”

Now, for those of you that don’t know, Isaac is a representation, a type, of the Lord Jesus. God had given Abraham a promise, saying, “Through you I will bring salvation. All the nations of the earth will be blessed, because through your lineage will come a Savior, the Seed, the Messiah.” And Abraham had waited a long time for this promise to come to pass, and he had gone through a lot of stuff. And here was Isaac, the fulfillment, the first step of this promise. And God says, “I want you to take your son, take him to the mountain, and sacrifice him to Me.”

And we read that as though it’s rough, as though that is tough. But how many of you know that’s exactly what God did with His own Son? You see, sometimes the promise of God can become an idol in our heart. And the Lord, who wanted to bring this promise to pass, knew that it was going to be an idol for Abraham unless he was willing to give it all for Him. And there are so many things that we hold on to in life — they can be from God Himself — but they have taken His place as the Lord of our life, rather than the Lord Jesus Himself. You see, when the promise becomes the idol, things get twisted.

And so here is God saying to Abraham, “Take your only son and offer him there as a burnt offering on the mountain which I shall tell you.” “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey.” I can only imagine the heartbreak, because Abraham had set in his heart that he was going to do this. He was going to give back the promise that he had received.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day” — everybody say, “the third day” — “Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’ So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son.”

How many of you know Jesus took the wood, and it was laid on Him with a cross? Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, “and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’” — just like Jesus cried out in the garden, “My Father, take this cup from Me, but if not, not My will but Yours.” Isaac spoke to Abraham and said, “My father!” “And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ Then he said, ‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’”

You might be here and you might be wondering, “Where is the Lamb? Where is the peace? I come empty. I come broken. Where is my healing? Where is the Lord in my brokenness?” And I sense so strongly that the Lord is saying, “Look for the Lamb. Turn your eyes to heaven and look for the Lamb.”

“And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’” How many of you know Jesus is that Lamb? He is the perfect, spotless sacrifice that washes every sin. And it’s not by what you’ve earned. It’s not because you just played your cards right. It’s because God gave Him for you. He says, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

“So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.” Just as Jesus was lifted up on the altar of the cross. God placed Him there to take the punishment, to take the beating for all of our sin, that whoever would look to the Lamb would be healed.

Abraham built an altar. He placed the wood in order. He bound Isaac his son, just as Jesus was bound. He laid him on the altar upon the wood. “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God.’”

In other words, there was this opportunity for that idol, that promise, to take the first place of the Lord in his heart. He had slain that idol in his heart, and because he had slain it, he could receive the full promise. Friends, whatever is in your heart that you are holding above the Lord Himself, I encourage you, lay it at the feet of Jesus. Every idol, every dream, every hope — lay it down, because the Lord wants to bring His full promise to pass in your life. And sometimes we take the shortcut. Sometimes we take a part of the promise and we say, “That’s good enough.” But God has so much more for you.

“The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham!’ … And he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad … for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its thorns.” How many of you know Jesus wore a crown of thorns for us? The crown of this King wasn’t made of gold and jewels. It was made of thorns, and it was placed on His head so that our minds could be renewed. Jesus is the healer of our heart and our mind.

“So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day.” “Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: ‘By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed’” — talking about Jesus — “‘all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’”

Receiving from the Lord’s table

With our eyes closed and our heads bowed, I’m going to invite you to just lift your hands to the Lord this morning. We lift our hands in a posture of surrender. We lift our hands in a posture of receiving. I believe that the Lord is saying, “I want to pour Myself out for you. I have been poured out. Would you receive what I’ve done?”

And as we receive these elements today, we’re receiving the bread, which represents His body that was broken. We’re receiving the juice, which represents the blood that was shed for us. And I want you to know that we celebrate an open communion, meaning if you are here today and your heart is, “I want to receive of the Lord Jesus Himself,” then we want to invite you to receive from the Lord’s table today.

So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to close here in just a moment, but I’m going to ask that we come up in a line and receive the elements — receive the juice, receive the bread. We’re going to keep this an atmosphere of worship, but I believe that the Lord wants us to receive of Him. And so as you come up, just say, “Lord, I receive. It’s not what I’ve earned, but Lord, I want to receive of You.”

And there is one thing that I want to make sure that we do, because if we don’t receive from the Lord’s table with a correct heart, there are unnecessary consequences. I want to give every person here the opportunity: if you have not made Jesus the Lord of your life, this is the time to receive Him. This is the time to choose Him and to say, “Lord, I give my life to You. My life is not my own. My life is Yours. I’ve been bought at a price.” That you would come and say, “I’m choosing Jesus today, and I will follow Him.”

If you want to give your life to Jesus, and you want to be saved by what He’s done, with every head bowed, I want you to look at me and just quickly raise your hand, and we’re going to say a prayer together. So if you are here and you’re saying, “I want more of Jesus. I want to receive Him,” raise your hand. Every head bowed. This is the biggest decision you’ll ever make, because it’s an eternal decision.

With your head bowed and your eyes closed, I’m going to ask that everybody pray this out loud. Scripture says if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. And so I want everybody to repeat after me. Say:

Lord Jesus, I give my life to You. I’m not living for myself. I’m not living for this world. I’m living for You, Jesus. Come into my heart. I receive what You’ve done. I thank You that You love me so much that You died for my sins, that You defeated death, and that You have been raised to life so that I can be raised to life with You. And so Lord, I confess You as the Lord of my life. I reject the world and I look to the cross. You are my resurrection. You are my hope, and I give my life to You. I repent of all sin. I repent of all the things that You said not to do. I turn from them, and I turn to You. I receive You, the one who gives Himself so freely.

And then, Lord, I pray for every person here. Lord, I pray that You would fill them with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, this isn’t just about going and living a better life. This is about being filled with You. And You said, “I will send another Helper, and He will teach you and show you things to come.” And so Lord, we need Your Spirit. Fill us now. Fill every person to overflowing, Lord, that we don’t go and live in our own strength, but Lord, we live empowered by Your Holy Spirit. That we live righteously, not by our own efforts, Lord, but because of who You are and Your Spirit in us. Strengthen us. Fill us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Amen. Can we thank the Lord this morning? We’re going to receive communion. I’m going to ask that you come up, receive the elements, go back to your seat, and receive together with three or four people. Thank Jesus for what He’s done, pray over one another, and then you are dismissed. Go ahead, come on up.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.