I Will Never, Never, Never, Never, Never.

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.