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00:01Ten signs Jesus isn't enough for you, even though He is.
00:07You've stopped being amazed by Him.
00:10Your time with Jesus feels more like a check-in than a relationship.
00:15What used to move you spiritually doesn't anymore, and you aren't sure why.
00:22You trust Jesus with eternity, but not with today.
00:27Your spiritual life is getting busier, but not deeper.
00:33You're more focused on what Jesus hasn't done for you than what He already did.
00:40Your walk with Jesus feels like it's stuck on repeat.
00:45Minor stress feels like a full-blown crisis.
00:50You don't expect Jesus to do anything big in your life.
00:55You're no longer living like Jesus could return at any time.
01:01Stop living like He's not enough.
01:05He is.
01:07Jesus is enough.
01:12Coming up today on Turning Point.
01:14Here we are in our turbulent lives, in the sea, in the storm, and all the uncertainty.
01:20And the Bible says if you want to maintain your stability in life, make sure your anchor is connected to
01:28the Lord Jesus.
01:29He's the anchor.
01:31Deep roots, strong branches, abundant leaves.
01:35This is the flourishing life God designed for you.
01:39A life firmly planted, growing strong, and unshakable through any storm.
01:44In his new book, Five Psalms for a Flourishing Life, Dr. David Jeremiah invites you to step out of a
01:50faith that feels like just getting by,
01:52and into an active, growing faith rooted in the unchanging truth of God's Word.
01:57In this powerful study, Dr. Jeremiah explores five key psalms that have nourished God's people for generations.
02:04Psalms with the power to revive your soul and transform the places in your life that feel dry, barren, or
02:10stuck into meaningful growth in God.
02:12These aren't self-help strategies or positive thinking techniques.
02:16They are time-tested truths that have sustained God's people through millennia of both triumph and trial,
02:22teaching us how to sink our roots deep into eternal resources while bearing fruit that blesses the world around us.
02:29Dr. David Jeremiah will send you five psalms for a flourishing life in appreciation when you give a gift of
02:34any amount in support of this program.
02:36Or for your gift of $75 or more, request three books, one to keep and two to share.
02:42Five Psalms for a Flourishing Life, new from Dr. Jeremiah.
02:45Contact Turning Point Ministries today.
02:56Historians and social scientists are telling us that we have fewer resources to draw upon today
03:05than perhaps in any other generation in history.
03:09Our Western culture, say some, has forsaken its spiritual roots.
03:15And we live in an overtly secular culture without even the pretense any longer of spiritual values.
03:23Many young people, some that you and I know, feel like their cultures no longer provide answers to the questions
03:31of meaning and destiny.
03:35We often watch the news and we hear the stories of people who are not even yet out of their
03:42teens who take their lives and we say,
03:44why would anyone do that?
03:45Why would anyone with their whole life in front of them cut short their existence if there's anyone around them
03:53who is helping them understand the value and the importance of life?
03:57And yet, for so many of them, they see no hope, they see no reason for existence.
04:04And so, the hopelessness and depression takes over in their life.
04:09We watch it on the news.
04:12We see it in the newspaper.
04:13It's evident in the ever-growing internet programs.
04:18And today, we are living in the midst of a war for hope that's being waged in an age of
04:24despair.
04:26And that describes the setting of the lesson we are about to look at in Hebrews chapter 6.
04:32In a much different way, but with the same intensity, the Hebrews to whom the writer is addressing these words
04:39are going through a time of despair.
04:42Even though they are Christians, they are foundering in their faith.
04:49They feel lost.
04:50As we learned last time, some of them are stuck at start, and they've never been able to get in
04:56gear to go forward.
04:57And so, they're really closer to where they've come from than where they're going.
05:02They're constantly in turmoil and the turbulence of life around them because of the pressure they're feeling because of their
05:10faith.
05:11And driven many of them to the very edge, the writer of Hebrews is writing this letter to them to
05:18encourage them.
05:19And especially in this passage, he wants to lift up their spirits and help them understand that there is a
05:26way to go forward,
05:27that they don't need to be stuck where they are, that there's hope and there's encouragement and there's a promise
05:33from God.
05:34And if they will get engaged with God in this journey and not try to do it on their own,
05:39as often we are tempted to do,
05:42they will find their way, their way back to hope.
05:46The writer begins by saying some very encouraging things to them in the ninth verse.
05:51He says,
05:52Beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation.
05:59Better things than what?
06:01Than their inability to figure out what they're doing with their life.
06:06He believes there are Christians.
06:07In fact, he calls them beloved.
06:10These are genuinely born-again believers who are struggling with their maturity.
06:17And so, the writer says, Beloved, we have great confidence in you that you're going to go on to better
06:23things,
06:23things that pertain to salvation.
06:25And then he makes a little list of them.
06:27And that's how the chapter begins.
06:30He's persuaded, first of all, in this new pattern of faith, that their faith will be clearly defined.
06:36He says, Beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you,
06:41yes, things that accompany salvation.
06:45Even though he has issued one of the strongest warnings in the Bible to these people in the last section
06:51that we studied,
06:52he now comes back, as a parent often does, after they have punished a child
06:56and encourages them to go on to better things.
07:00And he says these better things begin with a clearly defined Christian life.
07:06He calls this confident of better things concerning you,
07:10things pertaining to salvation.
07:13In other words, he wants them to know that their life is beginning to take on shape,
07:17and he wants to see it clearly defined.
07:20Part of that new shape in their life is a faith that is consistently demonstrated.
07:26Notice verse 10.
07:28For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love,
07:34which you have shown toward his name,
07:36in that you have ministered to the saints and you do minister.
07:41Here's what he's saying.
07:42He's saying, I've observed you, beloved.
07:45I've observed you, young Christians.
07:46And one thing you're getting right, one thing you're doing that's very evident,
07:50is you really do care about each other.
07:53You love one another.
07:54You're showing love to one another in the name of Christ.
07:57You have a kinship, a fellowship with one another that's observable.
08:01How many of you know that one of the real signs that you're truly born again
08:05is you have a newfound love for other Christians,
08:08a faith that is consistently demonstrated?
08:11Then thirdly, one that's carefully developed.
08:14And we desire that each one of you, verse 11,
08:16show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope.
08:19Now, here's the argument of the passage.
08:21The writer of Hebrews says,
08:23I've noticed in you, young believers,
08:25that you really get into this thing of loving one another.
08:27Now, I'd like you to take some of that same energy
08:30and put it into learning what the Bible says
08:33and growing in your faith.
08:35This is not all about touchy-feely religion.
08:37This is about intellectual religion as well.
08:40How many of you know that some people live in the touchy-feely world
08:43their whole life, they don't know anything much,
08:46but they're just happy to be here, you know?
08:51I want to tell you something.
08:52That'll work if you're not going through trouble,
08:54but if you get into turbulence,
08:56it's what you know that holds you strong.
08:59And so, the writer to the Hebrews says,
09:01take some of this same diligence, this same energy,
09:05this same drive that you've put into ministering to one another
09:09and caring for one another's needs
09:10and redirect some of it toward knowing what the Bible says
09:16about today and tomorrow, about your future.
09:19A faith that is carefully developed
09:22and then one that's consciously diligent.
09:24Notice verse 12, that you do not become sluggish.
09:29Now, let me help you with the word sluggish.
09:33It means lazy.
09:38Lazy.
09:39Say the word.
09:40Lazy.
09:41Now, I know nobody here is lazy,
09:44but it's easy to become lazy in your faith, isn't it?
09:49He says here that you do not become sluggish.
09:54It's the same word that was used in chapter 5
09:56when we talked about those people who were dull of hearing.
10:00They had no energy in their faith.
10:02They had no desire to go forward.
10:04And while we are not saved by good works,
10:07it is through personal discipline that we grow in our faith,
10:11and sluggishness doesn't work well in the formula.
10:15So, he warns these readers who are struggling in their faith
10:19not to allow themselves to move into a spirit of entitlement
10:24about what they have and lose their vision for going forward.
10:30Faith that is consciously diligent.
10:33And then, here's one that's kind of a surprise.
10:36Faith that is critically duplicated.
10:38Did you know he urges these believers
10:41to imitate those who through faith and patience
10:45inherit the promises?
10:48The positive side of this promise
10:50is that they would imitate those
10:52who through faith and patience are going.
10:55Now, let me just break this out for us.
10:57He's writing to the Hebrews, and he's saying,
10:59one of the things you can do to encourage your growth in Christ
11:02and to build up these things
11:04that go along with being a Christian
11:05is to look around and find some people
11:07who have figured it out and are living the Christian life
11:10and attach yourself to them and begin to learn from them.
11:13It actually uses the word imitate.
11:16Now, that's an interesting concept for one reason.
11:19I've grown up in the church,
11:20and I've heard this over and over all my life.
11:22I might even have said it myself in my more ignorant days.
11:27People come to you and they say,
11:29you know, Pastor, so-and-so is my friend
11:32and they're supposed to be all this,
11:33and they've done this and this and this,
11:35and I'm so disappointed.
11:36And if that's what Christianity's all about,
11:38then I don't know if I want to be one.
11:41So, what do we usually say to that?
11:43Well, here's our pious answer.
11:46You need to keep your eyes on Jesus, right?
11:51Don't look at the people around you.
11:53You will be disappointed if you look at the people around you.
11:56So, just keep your eyes on Jesus.
11:58He never fails.
11:59Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
12:04If you keep your eyes on Jesus, you will never be disappointed.
12:07Now, that's true.
12:11But how do you see Jesus?
12:13You see Jesus in the Scripture,
12:15and you see Jesus in the lives of other believers, don't you?
12:18And so, it's really difficult to be a Christian
12:21and walk around with a set of blinders on saying,
12:23I'm never going to watch what any of these other sorry Christians do
12:26so I don't get disappointed.
12:27I'm just going to keep my eyes on Jesus.
12:30And I don't believe that's what the Bible teaches.
12:32In fact, right here in this text,
12:34here we have the writer of Hebrews telling these young believers,
12:39imitate those who you see who are living their lives
12:44with faith and endurance.
12:47Imitate them.
12:48In fact, if you go back to the writings of Paul,
12:51especially in the book of Thessalonians,
12:54Paul writes to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3
12:58and verse 7, he says,
12:59For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us,
13:03for we were not disorderly among you.
13:05In other words, watch what we do.
13:082 Thessalonians 3, 9 says,
13:10Because we do not have authority,
13:12but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
13:15Here is Paul telling his readers,
13:18if you want to know how to live the Christian life,
13:20just follow us.
13:21And when it comes to people who teach you the Word of God,
13:25which is what I do,
13:26I say this carefully and in a measured statement.
13:31You have every right to expect that I live what I teach,
13:38that my conduct matches up to what I tell you the Scripture says.
13:44Now, don't hold me to a perfective standard
13:47because I can't do it perfectly.
13:50And I have many flaws in my life.
13:54But if I stand here and preach the Word of God to you
13:57and go out and live in such a way that denies what I am teaching,
14:01you should get another preacher.
14:04Now, don't get too careful with that.
14:09You got to know that's the first amen I got all day,
14:11so I'm going to take it.
14:15And I say that with the realization that I am a flawed human being
14:21and that I am capable of things that would totally undermine the ministry.
14:29And I pray every day that God will keep me close to Him
14:32and centered in His Word because, you see, the Bible tells us
14:36that it's not just what we say,
14:37but it's how we live that communicates the faith.
14:40And so, He writes to the Hebrews and He says,
14:42listen, I know you're struggling, but here's what you need to do.
14:47Find some people who are living their life in faith
14:50and they're living with endurance
14:52and attach yourselves to them and imitate them and walk with them.
14:55Yeah, it's true that we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.
14:58He's the only perfect model.
14:59But the Bible says Christ is in us, the hope of glory,
15:03and everybody has the right to look at us as Christians and say,
15:07if you're a Christian, you better act like one.
15:12Well, that's what He says in the first part of this chapter.
15:14He goes to these believers and He says, listen.
15:17He says, beloved, I have persuaded that there's a lot of great things
15:21going on in your life, better things than what you've been living
15:25in your immaturity back here in chapters 5 and 4.
15:31I'm persuaded of better things, and here are the things.
15:34Now He's going to switch gears and help us know
15:37that this pattern of faith which He's laid out
15:40is accompanied by a God of faithfulness.
15:42He's going to help us understand that God hasn't called us
15:44to live like this in our own power.
15:46He's called us to this life, and He's given us a promise
15:49of His own faithfulness to us.
15:51And He gives us this information by telling us a very interesting story
15:56about the man Abraham from the Old Testament.
16:00He begins in verse 13 by talking about Abraham
16:03and God's relationship to Abraham.
16:06And let me give you the overview before we look at each verse.
16:09What He's going to do in these next verses is remind the Hebrew readers
16:13about Abraham, who they knew very well.
16:16He was one of their heroes.
16:18He's going to say, there was a time when God came to Abraham
16:21and He made a promise to Abraham
16:22that He was going to do certain things for him.
16:25And those promises were not fulfilled for a long time.
16:28In fact, from the moment He gave the promise to Abraham
16:31until it was ultimately fulfilled in Isaac, 25 years went by.
16:36Abraham was 75 when he got the promise.
16:38He was 100 years old when Isaac was born.
16:44And it's about what happens between the promise
16:46and the fulfillment that's going on here.
16:49It's the fact that he had a promise,
16:51that God gave him a promise.
16:53And what happened from the promise to the fulfillment,
16:56that's where the journey is.
16:59Now, notice the swearing of the promise in verses 13 and 14.
17:04For when God made a promise to Abraham,
17:06because he could swear by no one greater,
17:10he swore by himself, saying,
17:13Surely blessing I will bless you,
17:15and multiplying I will multiply you.
17:19God has set out a plan for Israel,
17:21and He's made promises to Israel.
17:23And those promises were made, as you know,
17:25in Genesis 12, 1 to 3.
17:26God said, I'm going to bless you, Abraham.
17:28I'm going to bless those that bless you.
17:30I'm going to curse those that curse you.
17:32And in you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
17:36He promised him a land.
17:38He promised him a future.
17:41In Genesis chapter 22, where this passage
17:43I've just read from Hebrews finds its roots,
17:47Abraham has just offered Isaac up to God as a sacrifice.
17:51God, as you know, reached into the midst of that
17:55and rescued Isaac.
17:56And then in chapter 22 of Genesis,
17:58he makes another affirmation of this promise to Abraham
18:02concerning the future.
18:05And I want you to understand something this morning
18:07that maybe you haven't quite understood,
18:09or perhaps I haven't been as clear as I should be in teaching,
18:12that God's promise to Abraham concerning his future,
18:16concerning Isaac, concerning the modern-day Jewish nation,
18:20God's promise to Abraham was not a conditional promise.
18:24It was totally unconditional.
18:27A conditional promise says,
18:29if you do this, I'll do this.
18:31And unconditional promises says,
18:33I will do this no matter what you do.
18:38Now, when you relate this back to the book of Hebrews
18:40and you see the swearing of this promise
18:43and the significance of it,
18:45and you see the sacredness of it in verses 16 and 17,
18:49where we read,
18:50for men indeed swear by the greater,
18:52and an oath for confirmation is for them
18:55an end of all dispute.
18:57Thus, God, determining to show more abundantly
18:59to the heirs of promise,
19:01the immutability of his counsel,
19:02confirmed it by an oath.
19:03Look up.
19:04Here's what God is saying.
19:05I don't need to use an oath to speak out my truth.
19:09I don't need an oath.
19:10How many of you know God doesn't need to raise his hand
19:12and say, I swear?
19:14I mean, who's he going to swear to?
19:15Who's above him?
19:16Nobody.
19:16But the answer to this question is this.
19:19God said, I didn't need an oath,
19:21but I thought maybe it would help you if I made an oath,
19:23so I'm going to condescend to your human frailty,
19:26and along with my word,
19:28I'm going to raise my hand and say,
19:30this is true.
19:31It will always be true.
19:32I swear to you that I will keep my promise.
19:37God's word is enough,
19:39but because he cares about his children,
19:42he condescends to us to make us feel the sense of his truth.
19:50It says in chapter 6, verse 17,
19:53thus God, determining to show more abundantly
19:56the heirs of promise, his unchangeableness,
20:00he confirmed it with an oath.
20:04And then the strengthening of this promise in verse 18 says
20:07that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God
20:11to lie, we might have strong encouragement
20:14who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope
20:17that is set before us.
20:20Here's where this comes down to our hearts today.
20:23How many of you know we have some promises from God,
20:26don't we?
20:26This book is filled with promises.
20:30Many and most of these promises
20:32are not conditioned on anything.
20:36They're just God's promises.
20:38For instance, God said,
20:40I will be with you always,
20:41even unto the end of the age.
20:43He doesn't say, and if you do this,
20:45then I'm not going to be with you.
20:47God says his love has been set upon us
20:50and nothing can interrupt his love.
20:52God has promised to be faithful to us.
20:54Over and over and over in the Bible,
20:56we have these promises from God.
20:57Just like the promise that was made to Abraham.
21:00And even though sometimes we don't see
21:02that promise being fulfilled in our time,
21:05we don't see it on our schedule,
21:06we must remember that God does not lie.
21:09He has taken an oath to fulfill his word.
21:12And whether you see it or not,
21:13you can count on it.
21:14It will happen.
21:15Abraham had to wait 25 years.
21:18But in due time, God kept his word.
21:22Now, when you come to the end of this chapter,
21:26you see a visual,
21:28and I don't know how you people are.
21:29I'm a kind of a visual person.
21:31I like to see,
21:33and when I'm getting ready to do a project or something,
21:34I get somebody to come in
21:35and make a picture of it for me so I can see it.
21:38When I'm going to write a new book,
21:40even before I write the first word,
21:42I get somebody to design the cover,
21:43and I put the cover on my desk
21:45so I can look at the cover.
21:47Gives me hope that one day I will finish the project.
21:50I like to see things in pictures.
21:53How many of you know the Bible is a book of pictures, isn't it?
21:56And here is a picture I will never forget.
21:58I've really never saw this in this context before,
22:01but let me try to paint it for you the best I can.
22:05In verses 19 and 20, we read these words.
22:09This hope we have.
22:11This hope, what is that?
22:12The promise.
22:13This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
22:16both sure and steadfast,
22:18and which enters the presence behind the veil
22:22where the forerunner has entered for us,
22:25even Jesus, having become high priest forever,
22:29according to the order of Melchizedek.
22:31Now, you might think,
22:32what are those verses gonna say to me?
22:34But don't look away
22:35and don't go on a little mental trip right now.
22:38Stay with me.
22:41The word hope in the New Testament
22:43is not like our word hope.
22:45When I say hope, I mean, I say something,
22:48I hope I'm gonna have dinner when I get home.
22:51Or I hope my kids will do better in school next year.
22:56Or I hope I get a better job.
22:59Hope in our culture is a mental attitude
23:02about something that's going to happen in the future
23:05that we don't know the outcome of,
23:07but we hope it could be better than we think it might be.
23:10But hope in the Bible is not like that at all.
23:15Hope in the Bible is not like ordinary hope.
23:18In the New Testament hope,
23:20there is no uncertainty whatsoever.
23:23Hope in the Bible is not a state of mind.
23:26It is a fact upon which you can lay hold
23:29and which in turn will lay hold of you.
23:32Hope is what we keep in our minds
23:34when we face difficulties.
23:36Hope is what we know to be true.
23:38It is this hope that we have.
23:40And the Bible says Christ is our hope
23:43and he is in us the hope of glory.
23:46Now, with that in mind, notice,
23:48in these last verses,
23:49our hope is likened to an anchor.
23:52Here we are in our turbulent lives,
23:55in the sea and the storm and all the uncertainty.
23:58And the Bible says if you want to maintain
24:00your stability in life,
24:02make sure your anchor is connected
24:06to the Lord Jesus.
24:07He's the anchor.
24:09And what the writer of Hebrews wants them to understand
24:12is that when you know that for sure,
24:15it enables you to stay calm
24:18in the midst of the storm.
24:20Do you get it?
24:21You can go on in your life.
24:24Even while you don't know what's happening,
24:26you don't understand it,
24:27you can say with the old hymn writer,
24:29my anchor holds.
24:31He is our anchor.
24:33He is our anchor.
24:34If you throw an anchor into the water
24:36and it's not where the ship is
24:37and you need to get to the anchor,
24:39you pull the rope
24:40and you pull yourself closer to where the anchor is.
24:43Here's what I want you to do.
24:45Help me do this.
24:46Let's pull on the rope
24:48that draws us closer and closer
24:50to the anchor we have in heaven.
24:52Amen.
24:53Let's tug on that rope every day.
24:55Let's ask God to find a way
24:57to get even closer to him than we are now.
25:00He is our anchor
25:02and he never fails.
25:05I don't know what storm you're going through.
25:06I don't know what turbulence you're facing in your life,
25:09but I'm here to tell you today,
25:10you have an anchor if you're a Christian
25:13and he is steadfast and he never changes.
25:16He is going to be where he is
25:18no matter what happens down here
25:19and no matter what you do,
25:21he will not change.
25:21He is a faithful God
25:24and he loves you more than you can ever know.
25:34Thank you for watching Turning Point.
25:36Dr. Jeremiah would like to offer you five psalms for a flourishing life.
25:40In his new book, Dr. Jeremiah invites you to step out of a faith
25:44that feels like just getting by
25:46and into an active, growing faith
25:48rooted in the unchanging truth of God's word.
25:51In this powerful study,
25:52Dr. Jeremiah explores five key psalms
25:55that will help you experience life as God intended
25:57to the fullest.
25:59Dr. Jeremiah will send you five psalms for a flourishing life
26:02in appreciation
26:03when you give a gift of any amount
26:05in support of this program
26:06or for your gift of $75 or more,
26:09request three books,
26:11one to keep
26:11and two to share.
26:13Thank you for your support.
26:15Request five psalms for a flourishing life
26:18new from Dr. Jeremiah
26:19when you contact Turning Point Ministries today.
26:25Thank you for joining us today
26:26as Dr. Jeremiah shared
26:28how Jesus is enough for everything we need.
26:31To help you start or deepen your relationship with Christ,
26:35Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you two resources.
26:38The first is a booklet called
26:39Your Greatest Turning Point
26:41which will help you begin your relationship with Christ.
26:44And the second is our monthly devotional magazine,
26:47Turning Points
26:48to give you encouragement and inspiration
26:50throughout the year.
26:51These resources are yours completely free
26:54when you contact Turning Point Ministries today.
26:59David Jeremiah and Turning Point
27:00are making a global impact for the kingdom of God,
27:03but we can't do it alone.
27:05That's where Bible Strong Partners come in.
27:08Bible Strong Partners form the foundation of Turning Point,
27:11allowing Dr. Jeremiah to reach the world with the gospel
27:13and enabling you to share
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27:17In return, we want to support your faith
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27:29Next time on Turning Point.
27:32Because we have this new priest who never dies,
27:35who doesn't have to quit after 25 years,
27:37who's always there, who's never changed,
27:40he's there making intercession for them,
27:41and the Bible says he's able to save us to the uttermost.
27:47Thank you for being with us today.
27:49Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his message,
27:53He is Able.
27:56Here on Turning Point.
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