Hold Fast To The Lord

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.”