God's Help for Believers

Thank your Bible, if you would, please, in turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 in the last few verses is where we're at today, and I'd like to title today's message, "God's Help for Believers." Hebrews 2, 16 through 18 has a repeated word in there, and the word "help" is repeated, and I would like to extract what that means to us today.

God's help for believers, God's help firstly, is for people to be saved, and it's by God's help that anyone is chosen to be saved, and the saved are the ones who are the descendants of Abraham in the text, and then they will move on to be sanctified, and then they will continue in the faith and serve Christ and deny the flesh, take up the cross, and follow Him, and then they'll lean on God continually for His help as they go through life and depend upon His mercy and aid as we go. And so I'd like to read and explain through Hebrews chapter 2 verses 16 and following, let's just take it slow and kind of go through the text together.

In Hebrews chapter 2 verse 16, it starts off with this wonderful word, "assuredly," or "for certain." So, "for assuredly," He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. And if you would, turn to the text here, I'd like to go with a reference in Isaiah 41, and if you turn to that passage in Isaiah 41, you're going to see that the concepts match in this passage. You see both the help and the mercy. In Isaiah chapter 41 verses 8 through 10, you have the concepts of the descendants of Abraham, and then God helping them.

And so Isaiah chapter 41 and verses 8 and following reads like this, "But you, Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham." Now, there's your allusion from Hebrews chapter 2 verse 16, "The descendant of Abraham, my friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from his remotest parts and said to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely, I will help you. Surely, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." What a wonderful picture of God upholding those of us who have been saved gloriously, saved by His strong right hand. And so we're not to be anxious, we're not to be of fear, and this is an allusion of the text that the preacher of Hebrews is alluding to in Isaiah.

And so back to Hebrews chapter 2 verse 16, "For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham." And so God's mercy is first of all to see that people would be saved. And so if you're taking notes, point number one is that God saves lost sheep. He does. If you have the LSB, the pericope, or one of the headings in the chapter says Jesus, the author of salvation. And so this section is drawing out how Jesus is the author and also the perfecter of our salvation, and then you will be perfected by being sanctified.

So in the text, you see sanctification is connected to salvation. And then as well, Jesus refers to us whom are saved as brothers. Isn't that wonderful? And then as well as children. And so let me explain that just a little bit. So by God's help, His mercy saves us. Okay? And this is seen in chapter 2 verse 10. Read that with me in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10, "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings."

Now the next verse is verse 11, and it has the word sanctifies. "For both He who sanctifies." Okay, I just want you to connect the dots here between salvation and sanctification, and in between all of that, sufferings. God works through these things. It's a custom fit for your life to be perfected through sufferings so that you'd be matured. But the sons of Abraham are the ones who are not only saved and sanctified, but we also see in verse 12 that we're identified as brothers, saying, "I will proclaim Your name to my brethren." That is fantastic to be called by Christ a brother or a sister, and so you're in the family.

And then in verse 13, we are characterized as children, "And again, I will put my trust in Him, and again, behold, I am the children whom God has given me." I must give you just a bit of partiality from my own heart. The words "I" and "thee" are just special to me. It signifies our union in Christ, and so you are no longer your own. Not only have you been bought and paid for by Christ, and purchased by priceless blood, now you've been brought into His family. This is a rich concept to realize that Christ dwells within you, and He is your hope, and He is your glory. So "I" and "thee," and now you're a child of God.

And so in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 16, "For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham." This has a further allusion as the descendant of Abraham is alluded from Genesis 15 verses 5 and 6. And if you would like to turn to Genesis 15, I'd like to read that with you, in verses 5 and 6 and then also 13.

To truly get the heart of the text, you're going to have to get inside of the mind of the preacher, and yet you have to get the "why" behind the "what." Where is this information coming from that the preacher of Hebrews is birthing out of his soul? Well, obviously the preacher of Hebrews is an Old Testament scholar. He knows the law. He knows the Psalms, and He knows the prophets really, really well. Memorization was part of Hebrew culture.

So in Genesis chapter 15 and verse 5 and 6 it says, "And He took him outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'" Then in verse 6, "Then he believed in the Lord and reckoned it to Him as righteousness." This is the salvation of our Father Abraham. And then in verse 13, Genesis 15, 13 says, "God said to Abram, 'No force certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.'" And so this prophecy certainly came true.

Now back to Hebrews. Not only do you see that believers are the descendants of Abraham, but it's also clarified in Romans chapter 4 verse 18, "And so shall your descendants be." Okay? The faith that was granted to Abraham is also granted to believers to believe. This is the reason why Jesus came. So this help by God's mercy to be saved, it's not for angels. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

And so God saves His lost sheep. Mercy here, you see mercy in the text as you go through. Let's read verses 17 and 18 together so we get the whole, "Therefore He had to be made brethren as the incarnation in all things so that He might be merciful and faithful. A merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Okay?" The incarnation was so that He would become merciful and faithful, this qualification to be a high priest.

And so now this is evidenced in that Jesus is merciful. Not only is He faithful, but He's merciful. Mercy is for displaying His compassion towards those who deserve punishment. That's what mercy is. Mercy truly is God choosing to be compassionate towards those who deserve punishment. And when you realize what you truly deserve because you have been born in sin, sin equals death, we deserve hell, we deserve to be separated from God, but God. And His mercy chose to show His mercy and kindness and gentleness towards us so that we may be safe.

So this is God's compassionate love for the world. And He then moved forward to give His only begotten Son so that He would be a sacrifice and provide atonement for those who would repent and believe. And so this is actually a particular sacrifice for whom He would choose to have mercy on. And as you start to study soteriology and you learn more about God's mercy and His atonement and the sacrifice that the great high priest Jesus gave of Himself for His particular people, His sheep of His fold, you will gain confidence in sharing the gospel because it doesn't lean upon your own knowledge and your own ability to change somebody's mind.

It's truly a sovereign work of God and through His mercy, through sharing the gospel, that anybody is saved. And so Romans chapter 9 and verse 18 clarifies this, "So then He has mercy on whom He desires." And so we have confidence that God's in control and He has mercy on whom He desires. In Romans chapter 9 verse 23, "And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon Him, vessels of mercy which He had prepared beforehand for glory." So for God's own glorious, wonderful reasons, He chooses to have mercy on His sheep.

And then in Romans chapter 9 verse 27, it says, "It is the remnant that will be saved." Now you know, just by logical deduction when you look around, that everybody's not saved. And the Bible says it's a narrow road, right? And we understand that it's the narrow road, not the broad road. And so how God works that out is in His court. In our court, we just keep on sharing the gospel. You keep on delivering the gospel. And you have confidence because His particular atonement will particularly save the sheep.

And in knowing this, it relieves all of the pressure and the anxiety from sharing the gospel because you're leaning upon God to save those who He has already foreordained to be saved as descendants of Abraham. And Ephesians chapter 4 talks about this, chapter 1, verse 4 and 5, it talks about how this is something that has happened before even the creation of the world. And so Romans 10 verse 1 says, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God is for them in their salvation. My heart's desire and my prayer to God is for them to be saved."

And so how is that? Well Romans 10, 9 clarifies that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God raised Him from the dead, you'll be saved. So that is the gospel. I want to clarify further if you would in John chapter 10. John chapter 10, turn if you would to John chapter 10.

God's going to save His sheep. You don't have to have any doubt about that. He's the high priest who has offered Himself as a particular sacrifice for a particular people. And His people, the descendants of Abraham, will be saved. And they'll be saved because they believe in the gospel. In John chapter 10 and verse 26 it says, "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep." Okay? That's a clarification.

And then in verse 27, "My sheep hear My voice." How confident is that? I mean Jesus just lays that out in line, "My sheep hear My voice." And so the gospel will be heard. The gospel will save people. By the power of the gospel, people will come to salvation. In Romans chapter 10 and verse 17 it says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And so as you are preaching the gospel, sharing the gospel, the sheep will hear. You have this as a promise, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me."

So the result of salvation is that they follow Christ. And so you see that evidenced in their life. True salvation leads to sanctification, ultimately to glorification. And then in verse 28, "I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." This is a glorious thing when you see in the text sovereign salvation. It is something that you truly can lean upon and be confident in, and that God is in control, and you're not in control.

In fact, the Bible says in John chapter 6 and verse 47, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who has believed has eternal life. And then again, everyone that the Father has given to Jesus will come to Me." So this is something that you can lean upon and have confidence that those who will believe will come to Christ, and those who are saved will be sanctified, and those who are being sanctified will eventually be glorified. And this is God's grand plan of salvation, and this is for the descendants of Abraham.

Back to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 16. You see this, "For assuredly," be assured today, be confident in God's plan of salvation for His remnant, for His sheep. For assuredly, He does not give help to angels. They don't need to be saved, right? But He gives help, merciful help to the descendants of Abraham. And in verse 17, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things." Oh my, this is great. Not only do we have assurance, and this assurance truly means that you do not doubt. You are assured that God's help, His word "help" has the idea of conveying a sudden force, a snatch, a circumvent of circumstances, a rescue from harm. And so God certainly helps His sheep to be saved.

So deduced with me, who then has the assurance of being saved, and who does not? Well, in verse 16, it says that He doesn't give help to the angels, but He gives help to the descendants. But why? Well, angels do not need the help because they are God's helpers, right? God works through His angels to affect His will. And so in this text, you see another indication of what needs to be understood.

In verse 17, it says, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He may become a merciful and faithful high priest." Now, textually, you see that these descendants of Abraham from all the way back from Genesis chapter 15, verses 13 through 15, is the source of this allusion. And then it's further clarified, "Now He has had to be made like His brethren." Well, why? Well, in verse 17, it says this, that He had to be made like His brethren in all things.

But also, this reference to the incarnation is seen in verse 14. Back up in chapter 2, and look in verse 14 with me, "Therefore, since the children share in the flesh and blood, He Himself likewise," okay? He Himself likewise, Christ likewise, "has shared in this flesh and blood, and partake of the same, and through death that He might render powerless him who had the power of death," that is, the devil.

I would like to take just a moment to explain the doctrine of the incarnation. Jesus is God wrapped in flesh, and it had to be this way. And so the particular benefits have been made possible to us through the incarnation. These particular benefits are shared in the passage, but in regards to the incarnation, Matthew chapter 1, verses 20 through 23, help us to see the conception of the incarnation.

So Matthew 1.20 records that Mary conceived a child of the Holy Spirit, and so a child in the flesh that was of the Holy Spirit, God incarnate, and His name will be Jesus, and He will save the people from their sins. In verse 22 in Matthew chapter 1, it states that this foretells the prophecy that was already prophesied from Isaiah, and then as well in verse 23, it says that Jesus is called "Immanuel" and this is translated, "God with us," God in the flesh with us. In John chapter 1 and verse 14, John the beloved apostle informs us that the very word of God became flesh. This is the incarnation.

So John Owen, the Puritan, one of the most scholarly of the Puritans, said of the incarnation that this is human nature, an irrational soul, and a mortal body. These things make up the incarnation. And so what we need to know is that Jesus, yes, being incarnate, being in the flesh, tempted in all ways and suffering in all ways, He was yet without sin. Look with me in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15, "yet without sin." Hebrews 4 and verse 15, "For we do not have a high priest, that being Jesus, who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin." Circle, "yet without sin." God incarnate Jesus, yet without sin, tempted in all ways, but without sin.

And so, yes, Jesus was born, Matthew 2, 1, and He became flesh, John 1, 14. And so the doctrine of the incarnation specifically affirms Jesus' humanity. And we need to know why. So the incarnate part of this doctrine means the act of taking on flesh. So just picture God, the invisible God, the Spirit of God, taking on flesh. And so it is not a reduction of deity. It is adding to who God is by adding flesh. So He's taking on the flesh.

And what we mean, or the Bible means, by taking on flesh is taking on human limitations. It's taking on everything that is testified in the Scriptures that He dealt with. For example, He had to sleep, as testified in Luke 8, 23. He had to eat, as testified in Matthew 4, 2. He bled, John 19, 34. He experienced joy, John 15, 11. He experienced sorrow, Matthew 26, 37. And so God, wrapped in flesh, Jesus, experienced all of what the human limitations bring.

So why? Well, the purpose of the incarnation is manifold. But here in the text, we need to see the necessity of the atonement. God had to become God-man so that He could provide sacrifice. Hebrews 9, verse 22 says that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin. And so God had to become human flesh as well so that He could bleed, so that He could offer Himself as a sacrifice. How could a blood sacrifice be made without the incarnate body? How could the sufficient sacrifice be made without Him being a pure and spotless Lamb of God? So Christ was to be the high priest and to be in that position, the qualifications to meet that was to be incarnate and to be merciful, to be faithful.

Now, this has purpose to this. In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17, it says the words, "So that." That always draws my attention. "Therefore He had to be made like His brethren," okay, incarnate, "in all things so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest." So this term, "so that," connects the two concepts of the incarnation to the propitiation. "So that," Christ incarnate, "so that," He could make propitiation so that He could be the atonement. So this preceding concept of Christ incarnate was so that He could accomplish faithfully and mercifully the atonement.

So yes, indeed, Christ had to become incarnate to die for us. Romans chapter 5 and verse 8 said that Christ died for us. But also, His mercy continues in being merciful to us, "but also," He is able to identify with the sufferings that you go through and help you. "But also from the incarnation," He is able to know how you are. There is nothing that you've experienced that Christ has not experienced. And there's nothing that you are going through or will go through that He cannot truly identify with and help you with because of His incarnate, faithful, merciful ministry.

And so what of these words, mercy and faithful? Well, "rachum" is the Hebrew word mercy. And in Hebrew, it means to actively show compassion, tenderness, and mercy. So God is mercifully relieving your miseries. In God's mercy and compassion, He connects to you. Remember the doctrine of the union of Christ, "I and thee." Christ is not only with you because you are on commission according to the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28, "Lo, I'm with you always," but He is in you. "Christ, in you the hope of glory," Colossians 1.27 says. And so this merciful high priest knows the very tender beats of your heart.

And so the sorrow that you feel, for example, when you want more for someone and yet they go astray and sin, the sorrow that you feel is actually, according to Philippians chapter 3 and verse 10, fellowship with Christ. This sorrow, because in Isaiah chapter 53, it says that He is a man of sorrows. And so this is true fellowship, having a biblical worldview on all things, including our emotions and our thoughts is important so that you comprehend what's actually going on. When your heart is brought low, are you in the wrong?

Hey, sometimes you are having fellowship with the sorrow of Christ when you hope for more for a sister or a brother in Christ and it just ain't happening. So does Christ. I mean, He is actually the one who gave Himself for them to have life in Christ. And if they are hardening their hearts and not responding to the gospel, then Jesus is weeping. Jesus in you weeping. Have you not experienced the same experiences as Christ in you for others?

Well, He's going to relieve you through His compassionate ministry when He gets done. With you also identifying with what's really, truly going on. And so you're going to trust Him through the agony and trust Him through the pain that He is truly working in you, something that needs to continue His compassion in you. Oh, it's easy to have a knee-jerk response to someone who fell into sin or a string away from Christ and quote someone like Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does." And to be uncompassionate, it's easy to do that, but it's hard to truly identify with Christ and to be compassionate with someone who was stooped in sin. It's hard to have a ministry of mercy, but Christ works us over on the inside so that we would shine and be merciful and compassionate and forgiving the same way that He has for us.

I mean, how long is the patience of God? Look through the Bible and you'll see extended periods of time, especially between Malachi and Matthew, extended periods of time of His patience towards people. Lamentations chapter 3 and verses 22 and 23 says that His mercies are new every morning. And as you experience sorrow and the need to grow and compassion and mercy, just know that it's fellowship with Christ. This is a ministry of God in and through you for caring for others. God's mercy to give compassion where there's due punishment.

"So shall you be merciful for those who do not deserve mercy," and you'll be godly. This takes a retraining of the brain because you want vengeance, don't you? You want to punish somebody who did something wrong. You want to strike back. You don't want to love your enemies. You want to hate your enemies or to hate sin. Not necessarily the sinner. We're to love them and have enough compassion and mercy right now so that they would see and feel and know the love of God and that He gave Himself as an atoning sacrifice in their place and paid the punishment for their sin. They repent and believe in Him. They can be saved. This mercy, this ministry of mercy is amazing. It's not just caring for one another.

And as well, the text brings up this subject of faithfulness. And in the Hebrew, this conveys the idea of purity and trustworthiness from beginning all the way through to the end. He is faithful from the beginning to the end and all in between. And that is seen actually in how the word in Hebrew is spelled. Oh, it's interesting actually. It's spelled A-L-E-P-H, which starts with the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. And it also contains the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And it ends with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is to indicate He is faithful and He is purer through and through from beginning to end all the way. He is there in His purity and His faithfulness to minister and to be. He's trustworthy.

So the very word "faithful" indicates that God is faithful and true from beginning, middle, and end. Jesus is God and He is the Alpha and the Omega be dependent upon from end to end. There's this interesting idea of Christ becoming or being perfected in the text that I'd like to address briefly. In verse 17, "Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things so that He might become merciful." Well, is that to say that He was not merciful before? And then in chapter 2 and verse 10, He had to be made perfect is that to say that He needed to be made perfect from a previous imperfect position? Not at all. Actually, to perfect signifies a consecration or a dedication for an office.

And so He has been perfected or consecrated or dedicated for the office of the high priest. And Christ became incarnate. God became incarnate or He was made to be like man with flesh. And so God didn't have a reduction in His deity when He took on flesh. It was an addition. And so He now is sufficient with this addition to make atonement that He has been wrapped in flesh. Christ is perfect deity plus humanity. That is what the incarnation is. Hebrews 13, 8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Now this idea of Him bringing the high priest is fascinating as well in verse 17. The Old Testament high priest was the representative of the people before God. Priest represented the people before God just like Moses was Israel's representative before God. That is clarified in Exodus chapter 18 and verse 19. The high priest or the priests in the Old Testament, they offered atonement on behalf of the people. That was the priest's duty. That was what their job description was. And in verse 17 it states that to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. And so now Christ as our high priest replacing all of the high priests in the Old Testament, all of those temporal sacrifices that would not completely atone for your sin, He now, the perfect high priest, lays Himself on the altar.

No high priest in the Old Testament ever, ever, ever thought about being the sacrifice. As they were sacrificing lambs, goats, dealing with all the blood, burning the carcasses, as they were dealing with that, as they were making atonement, a temporal atonement, they never even thought about the fact that I would lay myself down and do that. It wouldn't have atoned for any month's sin anyway, but it never thought into their mind, but now the high priest, Jesus, now makes Himself both a sacrifice and an atonement. Now the atonement appeased God temporarily in the Old Testament, but Christ in His purity through and through, the Alpha and the Omega, completely faithful, an eternal sacrifice to take care of your sins eternally.

Now that eternal sacrifice goes on to perfect you, and this is a perfecting ministry. In John chapter 17 and verse 19, it says, "To sanctify the people, Christ would have to be sanctified." Okay, John 17, 19 says, "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in the truth." And so He propitiation for you. And when He did this, He did this as a perfect sacrifice, one who was sinless, one who was tempted, but yet now is able to help you through temptation, one who suffered, but now is able to help you through sufferings. And now we always need Jesus. That's the reason why Jesus gave you this comforting statement, "Lo, I am with you always."

And so in your difficulties and in your dangers and your sorrows and your struggles, none of these are greater than God's ability to help you. None of these are greater than God's aid. God has a heart of compassion to bring relief, and one of the benefits of the incarnation is that believers can experience God's comfort, they can have relief, they are offered a way out of temptation, they can have strength for the day, and what I like, inner stability. Paul prayed for the churches to have the power of the Holy Spirit within them to stabilize them in their emotions, to be not irrational, but logical and rational according to the Word of God.

And so if perhaps you have a mind that spins out of control, or if you have emotions that just race every day, I would say calm yourself down in Christ. I would say grab the Word of God and study it slowly. Walk with the Lord. Stop, stop, stop racing. Stop, stop, stop running. Just slow time. Time is on God's side, by the way. We think the world's spinning out of control and everything is not in control, that's in the flesh. In the Spirit, we can walk with the Lord and experience benefits of God's incarnate ministry through Christ and in you.

Now God is faithful to help. I'm going to give you a couple take-home truths today, how God is faithful to help, and you can imagine that there is a whole lot more than these, but one is assurance. Number one, be assured. This is important to have this assurance. In Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 16 it says, "For assuredly," okay, it's only natural to worry about someone's salvation, and two, that I would say godly character is not natural. And so you need supernatural character not to worry about someone's salvation. You need Christ in you to be able to see salvation through His lens and that He is merciful to help the descendants of Abraham to be saved, gloriously saved. So be assured that God is in control. He is the author of salvation and you don't have to worry about these things.

You look around the world, it's easy to worry about so many lost souls. It's easy to handle the things that you are to be a steward of, which is a ministry of reconciliation. It's easy to handle that in the flesh, but God does not want you to handle the ministry of reconciliation. He's why I want you to handle the gospel with stress and anxiety. He wants you to demonstrate the fact that you are confident in Christ. Demonstrate this by the way that you speak and by the way that you are in life. God is in control. And so Proverbs 3, 5 says to trust in Him, lean on Him. Don't lean on your own ways. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.

Not only to have this certainty, but also to be confident in mercy, in His mercy. So number two, take home truth number two, be confident in God's mercy. Not only His mercy to save those who will be saved, but remember God's mercy is for giving compassion to those who deserve punishment. You and I, we sin every day and sometimes we just condemn ourselves. Sometimes we are our we are our own worst enemies. And we would think that we are outside of God's mercy and compassion. Well, that's not being confident in the mercy of God.

You see, where you run out, God's compassion starts in weakness I am made strong, Paul said. When you don't have the answer, when your energy is done, when you have been reduced by fleshly trials and circumstances in life, when you just can't handle it anymore, that's when you're to be confident in God. Because God knows He's been in the flesh. He knows He still is. He has been tempted. He has suffered to the extent and far greater than you will ever. And when you run out, He cranks up. And so be confident in the mercy of God. Depend upon God's mercy.

Oftentimes when we head through life, you just don't even know how you're going to finish the day because of whatever you think may need to be done. Or you're not capable of doing what you believe that God wants you to do. Believe me, walk with Christ confidently. God's will will be done. You see in this text, not only the certainty, but that He saves the descendants of Abraham. He gives them mercy and His faithfulness. Gives them this propitiation. And you continue to walk together.

Now your part, the last take on truth for you today, your part in all of this, if you have anything in your own strength that you have to muster up all of what you can think and be and do. Number three, refuse to sin. Refuse to sin. Hate sin. Romans 12 and verse 9 says that love must be sincere. Hate what is evil and cling to what is good. That's your part. Convince yourself to hate sin.

And as you identify the limitations in your life or the temptations in your life or the sinful areas in your life and you hate that, then you are building yourself up in the Spirit. And you want the Spirit to dominate. You want to continue to crucify the flesh. You want to tear the flesh. You want to identify the flesh for what it is, the lustful desires of this world, the desires of this world, the temptations that come. And you want to identify those as sin and hate them. Identify the source of sin and hate the source of sin, Satan.

And so if you're going to have pure love for a pure God, Romans chapter 12 and verse 9 says that love must be sincere. Hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Hate it and cling to Christ. Hate sin, cling to Christ. Get good at that. Get really good at denying the flesh, denying the self, and identifying it quickly and not allowing sin to linger in your life. But hate it and crucify it. Deny itself, and then you will truly be more like Christ and enjoy the fellowship of Christ. Most importantly, you'll have a biblical worldview on things. You'll have an internal stability on things because you are really building up yourself in Christ.

This is how you're strong in the Lord. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10 says to be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord. Be, strong in the Lord. This is how you do this. Don't reject God's help by trying to do it in the flesh. It's so important for you to realize that when you are striving in the flesh and you are being stubborn like the Israelites, you're actually rejecting the help that is projected here in the text. Three times in this text, God uses the word "help." In the NASB, the last time it's used, He uses the word "aid." Look with me if you would in verse 18. "For since He Himself was tempted in that which He was suffered, He is able to come to the aid or the help of those who are tempted." So that aid and that help is first of all in the salvation. Second of all is to sanctification. And then it continues through suffering unto glorification one day.

And I hope that you would be encouraged through learning a little bit more about the ministry of mercy through God's faithfulness to be able to help people be saved, to bring them truly to salvation, and for you to be a part of that by sharing the gospel, and for you to be faithful as well in sanctifying your life because your high priest has offered Himself as a sacrifice for your sin. So you no longer need to sin and you're not trapped in it. And you can walk with Him and enjoy life more abundant and free.

Pray with me if you would. Lord, we love You. We thank You for Your mercies. And I pray that by the power of Your Holy Spirit that You would draw those who would be saved, gloriously saved unto salvation. And we know that that comes through sorrow. And as one can truly comprehend the fact that they have sinned against You as a holy, holy, holy God, and that punishment is eternal, eternal, eternal hell because of the offense. The depth of the offense merits eternal separation from You, breaking Your holy law. One little sin breaks the whole thing, recognizing that causes one to be sorrowful. God, we're sorry for breaking Your law.

And for one who has comprehended this for the first time, this sorrow, according to 2 Corinthians 7 10, leads to repentance unto salvation. And so let this suddenly sorrow sink in for the one who is not saved and to cause them, dear God, to repent. Grant them faith. I pray, dear Jesus, for them to be able to confess You as Lord and believe in their heart that You raised Jesus from the grave after He was crucified and they would be saved. And then, Lord, as You continue to save, we look forward to participating in Your kingdom building process through guiding them and educating them into knowing what baptism is. And then as well, what it is to belong to a local church and to learn Your word and to participate in the ordinances and in all the means of grace here at the church, then to go and continue to study Your Bible and make disciples.

Lord, this glorious process help us to comprehend these simple steps as we walk with You. Thank You from the bottom of our hearts for Your ministry of mercy unto us, first of all, to save us and to continue to deal with us and to sanctify us and to be patient and loving and kind. May we be good representatives of You and do likewise. God, help us to be Your witnesses to a lost world, to be willing to suffer for the causes of You, to be able to see that people will come to be saved, to be Your ambassadors, to take blows from the enemy and not to blow back at them, but to love the unlovable and to love the enemies and not hate them, but continue to share the gospel. Help us to be Your hands and Your feet, we pray. Lord, we love You and we thank You in Christ's name. Amen.