I recently read a story ... about a traveler who was having a conversation ... with a farmer ... from upstate New York.
They both were discussing the weather, ... and the farmer assured the traveler ...that he could tell what the weather was going to be ... by watching the behavior ... of his cows.
"When the cows are standing, ... that means ... no rain ...for the next 24 hours.
When they are lying down, ... Well that means it is going to rain."
The traveler asked, ... "What does it mean when half the herd is standing ... and the rest are lying down?"
The farmer smiled and replied, ... "That means that half of them are wrong!" (Pause)
Predicting the weather... and predicting the future ... is as old as mankind.
Well beloved ... today I am going to predict Your future.
And I am convinced ... that What I will tell you ... is completely accurate.
Why am I so sure?
For I am only going to repeat ... what God has already stated.
So, ... I Predict ... and give you assurance ... that God will be with you ... throughout this year.
And I can predict this ... with 100% accuracy.
For God declared "I will Never leave you ... or forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
God has promised all believers ... all followers of the Christ ... that He Will do what?
He will Never leave you ...and ... He Will Never forsake you.
What caught my attention when I was studying this passage ... is that it was in quotations, which normally indicates ... that it had been stated previously ... in the Scriptures.
And when I investigated ... I discovered ... it had actually been said ... many times before.
God stated this promise to the nation of Israel: BIBLE "The Lord himself goes before you ... and will be with you; ... he will never leave you nor forsake you. ... Do not be afraid;... do not be discouraged." END (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Again God spoke these words to Joshua ... as he prepared to lead God's people ... into the Promised Land.
God promised: BIBLE "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. ... As I was with Moses, ... so I will be with you; ... I will never leave you nor forsake you." END (Joshua 1:5)
This promise ... appears to be a constant theme ... throughout the Old Testament.
God's people were repeatedly assured; ... that God would not leave them.
And Now, ... God makes that same promise ... to You ... His people,
He will never leave you... or forsake you!
Now some may hear or read this promise ... and convince themselves ... that if God is going to always be with me ... and never leave me... That They will never encounter ... difficulties.
Life will be smooth sailing.
That they will never be frustrated or face troubles of any kind. ....... So is that true?
Remember our Lords words .... BIBLE Your Father who is in heaven .... makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, ......and sends rain on the just ... and on the unjust. END (Matthew 5:45)
Circumstances .... that befall a believer .... are no worse .... and are no better .... than they are.... for anyone else.
Paul shares to the believers gathered in Rome these words: BIBLE "What then will separate us from the love of Christ? (7 Fingers) Will .... hardship, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril or sword?" END (Romans 8:35)
Beloved.... These are not good things.... These are terrible things.
Paul is saying these things ... will happen ... to those who love God.... and they can ... and will happen to you ... and to me.
But take heart: ... God will never leave us or forsake us.
The theologian Adam Clarke notes that in the original Greek ... there are no less than 5 five negatives .... in this short statement.
Literally it states: "No, I will not leave you; no, neither will I not utterly forsake you." (Adam Clarke's commentary)
In the Greek language... the more negatives there are in a sentence ... the more emphatic that negative statement is.
And in this case there are 5
I will (5 Fingers) ... Never ... Never ... Never ... Never ... Never... leave you or forsake you.
In the first verses of our text today .... we as believers ... are encouraged ... to not neglect certain things.
In verse 1 God says, "To Love one another" ... to let mutual love, continue.
In verse 2 He tells us: .... "Be good to strangers"
Thus, .... we should be known ... not just for how well we treat each other ... or how well we love one another ... but for how we treat strangers.
Verse 3 -- we are called to "remember those in prison" ... both those that are in prison for The faith .... as well as those .... that the world would reject.
Verse 4 we are commanded to: "Honor our marriage vows ... and to not commit adultery
We need to be people who take our vows seriously.
We need to be a people that seek God's presence ... in their marriage.
Verse 5 continues "Don't put your faith in money. Instead be satisfied with what you have"
We are to be good stewards ... with all that God has given us.
But we are also warned ... throughout the Scriptures ... to not put our trust in money, .... but place our trust in God.
Then ... suddenly ... God declares that wonderful promise ... I will never leave you or forsake you.
God is asking his people to: ... "Do the right thing"
To do the right thing ... even when facing difficulties ... and even in the midst ... of frustrations.
Why? ...... For I will never leave you nor forsake you.
The famous author and theologian ... C.S. Lewis noted:
"I didn't go to religion to make me happy.
I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. (Pause)
He went on ... If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, ... I certainly don't recommend Christianity."
Why would Lewis say that?
Because you will not Always be comfortable ... or feel comfortable ... as a Christian.
He is the vine ... and we are the branches.
And our Lord prunes ... even the good branches ... so that they will produce more abundantly.
We are each being pruned by the Father .... pruned in order ... to be transformed ... into the image of his Son.
God promises is clear ... crystal clear ... "I will never leave you or forsake you.
So does that mean God has never forsaken anyone who belonged to Him?
That God ... never left someone He cared about?
Well yes, ... there was a person ... who was forsaken by God.
We are told in the Scriptures that The crowds mocked Jesus while He was on the cross.
Remember their cries, BIBLE "He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" END (Matthew 27:43)
From the sixth hour ... until the ninth hour ... darkness came over all the land.
And the Scriptures tell us ... that About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ... "Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani?"... which means, "My God, my God... why have you ... forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
Jesus was quoting Psalm 22 ... a well-known Psalm of the people ... so there could have been little doubt in the minds of those who were standing there ... as to what Jesus ... was saying.
Those in the crowd saying, "This man is calling for Elijah," ...was not speculation about what He said .... but was simply an extension of their cruel, ... cynical mockery.
In this unique ... and strange miracle, ... Jesus was crying out in anguish ... because of the separation He now experienced ... from His Heavenly Father.
Separation ... For the first ... and only time ... in all eternity.
This passage ... is the only time in the Scriptures... that Jesus did not address God ... as the Father.
Why? ... Because the Son had taken sin upon Himself, ... And ... the Father ... turned His back.
In some way... by some means, ... in the secrets of divine sovereignty and omnipotence, ... the God-Man ...was separated from God ... for a brief time ... at Calvary.
Separated ... as the furious wrath of the Father ... was poured out on the sinless Son, ... who in matchless grace .... became sin ... for those who believe in Him.
The Prophet Isaiah ... spoke of Christs appearance on the Cross ... as he paid the ransom ... for the sins of the world:
Hear God's Word:
BIBLE "... his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness." END (Isaiah 52:14)
He no longer looked human.
Your sins ... my sins ... entered his very being.
Jesus did not die as a martyr ... to a righteous cause ... or simply as an innocent man .... wrongly accused and condemned.
The Father could have looked favorably ... on such a selfless death.
Yet since Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice ... for the sins of the world, ...... the righteous heavenly Father ... had to judge Him ....... fully.
The Father forsook the Son ... because the Son took upon Himself .... "our transgressions, ... our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5).
Jesus "was delivered up because of our transgression" (Romans 4:25) and "died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3).
He "who knew no sin ... became sin on our behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:21) and became "a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13).
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24), "died for sins once for all, ... the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18), and became "the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
Jesus not only bore man's sin ... but actually became sin ... on our behalf.
Jesus Himself declared, .... the supreme reason for His coming to earth was not to teach or to be an example ... but "to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
When Christ was forsaken by the Father, ... He did not in any sense ... or degree ... cease to exist as God ... or as .... a member ... of the Trinity.
Yet Jesus was forsaken for a while ... ceasing for a while ... the intimacy of fellowship ... with His Heavenly Father.
He did not cease to be the Son, ... any more than a child who sins severely against his human father ... .... ceases to be his child.
Beloved ...This true story ... may help bring this wonderful truth ... into perspective.
A revival was held in a small town.
The crowd had dispersed, ... a woman came down front and asked to speak with the preacher.
She cried uncontrollably ... as she explained to the pastor ... that she wanted to become a Christian, ... but she felt she had sinned too much ... for God to ever forgive her ... and accept her ... as His own.
Searching for a way to help her with her grief, ... the preacher asked ... "Is there a verse from Scripture that you know?"
She responded that, ... yes she did remember one:
"For God so loved the world... that He gave us His only 'forgotten' Son."
The preacher was a little shocked at her misstatement of that verse, ... but then he realized .... God had given him a perfect opportunity ... to reach her.
He asked ...... "Do you know why God 'forgot' His son?
He forgot His son... so He could remember you."
Jesus was forsaken so that God might (Five Fingers) never, never, never, never, never ... leave you ... or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:31-39)
Beloved ... Jesus was forsaken .... Jesus was forgotten ... so he could remember .... you.
Amen and Amen!
Much of this Message is based on a Sermon by Jeff Strite Titled "I Predict God Will Be With You This Year" which I commend to you.
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal donation: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead" (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings in Christ. Jeff
