Christ our companion
Hebrews 13:5-6 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
What does the New Year have in store for you?
Whether they be good things, or bad, or both you can face them because God has promised I will never leave you or forsake you.
Christ will be you companion every step of the way
Prayer
With Christ as our companion we will have:
a life of contentment
a life of companionship
a life of courage
1. A LIFE OF CONTENTMENT
As a rule, Man’s a fool
When it’s hot, He wants it cool.
And when it’s cool, He wants it hot,
Always wanting What is not.
(illustration)-Never Content
A man envious of his friend that had larger and more luxurious home than his listed his house with a real estate firm, planning to sell it and to purchase a more impressive home. Shortly afterward, as he was reading the classified section of the newspaper, he saw an ad for a house that seemed just right. He promptly called the realtor and said, "A house described in today’s paper is exactly what I’m looking for. I would like to go through it as soon as possible!"
The agent asked him several questions about it and then replied, "But sir, that’s your house your describing."
(point)
People are always looking for that which will help them feel a sense of contentment and well being...
When what they need has been with them all along - JESUS!
In Hebrews
Believers were struggling under oppression for being Christians.
According to Hebrews 13:5 they were having a moral struggle about money.
Hebrews 13:5 says "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have"
This is an old moral adage that was commonly repeated in Jewish tradition much like you would say
"a penny saved is a penny earned"
"Cleanliness is next to godliness"
In the KJV Hebrews 13:5 says,
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have.
Many of the believers had been forced out of their Jobs and homes because they were believers…
And they were not content………….
They didn’t have the food they wanted
They didn’t have the money they wanted
In order to encourage the believers the author of Hebrews brings two verses together in what is called in Hebrew a (gezerah shavah) - That is, two phrases are linked together because of a common key word
The two phrases were
Deut. 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Psalm 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
You know what the linking word is that draws these two verses together to become Hebrews 13:5-6
FEAR….
They were experiencing fear because of a lack of money
And further, money had replaced Jesus as the source of their contentment.
They thought if they could only find a way to gain more money they would be content and fear no longer.
Do you ever feel that way?
I think we all understand the feeling
Let me introduce you to an important Spiritual principle
1 Tim. 6:6
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
It means,
Godliness which is ---Holiness + Devotion = good,
But not gain
Plus contentment
Inner God-given sufficiency
= Equals great GAIN (The word means "money getting" or "furnishings")
But in context it does not refer to gaining money...
Its talking about something money can not buy
It’s talking about gaining an inner PEACE that you can carry with you...
When you are rich
When you are poor
When you lose your job
When you find one
When you get sick
And when you are healthy
Where does that Kind of peace and contentment come from?
Only one place.
from Jesus who has promised to be with us and not forsake us.
Philip. 4:11-13
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
He is the secret
Let Him be your source
In Him
You will find financial contentment
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
You will find spiritual contentment
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
You will have peace
No matter what the circumstance
So if you will allow Christ to be your companion in this New Year you will know true contentment
Secondly,
2.With Christ as our companion we will have A life of Companionship - Sounds redundant, but I mean we are not alone...
Hebrews 13:5
God has said, "Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
Jesus said something similar in Matthew 28:20
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
He is your constant companion and most abiding friend
John 15:13-15
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
What are friends!
(Illustration)
Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself.
Your soul can be naked with them.
They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are.
They do not want you to be better or worse.
When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you. Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely.
You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meanness and absurdities, and in opening them up to friends, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of their loyalty.
They understand. You do not have to be careful.
You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them.
Best of all, you can keep still with them.
It makes no matter. They like you. They are like fire that purges to the bone.
They understand.
You can weep with them,
sing with them,
laugh with them,
pray with them.
Through it all-and underneath-
they see,
know,
and love you.
A friend?
What is a friend?
One, with whom you dare to be yourself.
There is nothing hidden from your friend Jesus.
He knows you.
You can neglect him, but he will still be there telling you the truth about yourself.
Be a friend also.
Give him first place in your life.
Let him walk with you through This coming year...
Thirdly Christ our companion will help us,
3. Live A life of Courage
Hebrews 13:6
"So we say with confidence,The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
·He helps us be content in every situation
·He is not ashamed to call us friend and be our companion
He is also our helper and with Jesus by our side we can have courage to face life’s problems and responsibilities
What is courage?
Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.
(illustration)
A condemned prisoner awaiting execution was granted the usual privilege of choosing the dishes he wanted to eat for his last meal. He ordered a large mess of mushrooms.
"Why all the mushrooms and nothing else?" inquired the guard.
"Well," replied the prisoner, "I always wanted to try them, but was afraid to eat them before!"
Interestingly, there would be no need for courage, nor God coming along side to help us have courage if there were not also something to FEAR.
(illustration)
A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26, 1997. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmist practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."
And for plenty of good reasons, since it:
·Can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
·It is a major component in acid rain.
·It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
·Accidental inhalation can kill you.
·It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
·It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.
He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.
Forty-three said, yes.
six were undecided.
and only one knew that the chemical was H20 (water).
The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?" He feels the conclusion is obvious.
Some fears are irrational
They occur because of ignorance
But some fears are very real.
(illustration)
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that 30 years ago, the greatest fears of grade school children were:
1. Animals
2. Being in a dark room
3. High places
4. Strangers
5. Loud noises.
Today, kids are afraid of the following:
1. Divorce
2. Nuclear war
3. Cancer
4. Pollution
5. Being mugged.
There are real fears out their in the world
But we do not have to be afraid for our God is with us…..
I Think Jacob was afraid
Turn to (Genesis 28:10)
You would be to if someone was after you trying to kill you.
Isaac had blessed Jacob
Genesis 28:3-4
"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham."
This of course made Esau angry
Genesis 27:41
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
Jacob it seems had good reason to be afraid
In fact Genesis 28:1 says Isaac sent Jacob away to keep him safe.
While he was traveling he had an encounter with God
Genesis 28:10-15
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Jacob may have had a reason to be afraid, but he had an even greater reason to feel courage
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.What can man do to me?"
Conclusion
The future is unknown to us
But His grace is sufficient for us
We do not know what tomorrow will bring
But we know who hold tomorrow
Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with you
To give you a life of contentment
To give you a life of companionship
And to give you a life of courage
