changeless truths. Someone said, nothing endures but change. They contend that everything is in a state of flux, or everything is in a state of change. All of life does appear, doesn't it? All of life does appear to be in flux or in change. Adding to this endless cycle of change are our fads, for example, and our fashions. Now, if you get to thinking about this, remember when, can you help me? Remember when, and think, stop, remember when. There was the dry look. Remember that? And then there was the wet look. I'm talking about your hair. folks were gone. Remember when the dry look was the look? Come on, hey man, speak to me a little bit. And then there was the wet look, and then the buzz, and then there was Jerry Foose. There were days when you had white socks. Remember days when you came to church and all you had on was white socks? Now, I'm telling you, you look out of place today if you have white socks on. Except if you're from Louisiana, brother, you can do that. I think they wear white socks there. Come on, amen? You know what I'm talking about? Things change. It was the white sock look, man. I mean, all the sports guys, that's all we wore when I was in high school was white socks. Come on, how many remember those days? Yeah, white socks, that was the in thing, you know. You come to school with colored socks on, you were a sissy. You had to wear white socks. Yeah. And then there were dark socks. And then there were no socks at all. There was the twist, the jerk, the disco. Things change. Come on, amen? We have only to drag out our high school yearbook to understand how things have changed. From the length of our sideburns, when I first came to church here, I look back at some of those pictures, I had this whoppy, whoppy do hair with sideburns down to here. I thought I was Mr. Cool. I look back at those pictures now and I say, wow, things have changed, haven't they? Long sideburns, wide sideburns, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, sometimes you need to look at some of the outfits you wore 30 years ago. I had a jacket that I thought was really, really, Brian, really cool. I look at that jacket now and it looks like somebody's bedspread. I thought it was really cool. And then there were the real wide ties. You know, you got these great big old wide ties. And then it went to these little stinky narrow ties. And now we're kind of in the middle ties right now, huh? Don't you understand things? Do you have a way of changing? Sometimes the change comes slowly and other times comes abruptly. Pollsters have determined that we change our jobs every five years. Our friends every four years. our cars every three years, our churches every two years, our styles every year, and our mind every month. Washington Irving wrote this about change. He said this, there is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse. As I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, he wrote, it's often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place. The constant shifting, which is characteristic of the entire human race, demonstrates, ladies and gentlemen, that we are mutable. In other words, we change. Come on, Amen? We change. We're prone to change. We're prone to be inconstant. We're capable of change. That's what mutable means. With occurrence of change washing over and around us so swiftly, I'm telling you this morning it is very comforting to know that there is a boulder in the midst of that river that is immutable. That means it never changes. Go with me to Malachi chapter 3. And look, if you will, at verse number six. The fellows get on the board here. For I am the Lord. Do you see it? I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore your sons of Jacob are not consumed. What's it say in Malachi chapter 3? Now we know, and we all witnessed, we said it already, that we are always in a state of flux, or a state of change. Things are moving, but thank God for the boulder that's in the river of life that never changes, and that is my God. I never change, he says. That's a wonderful truth. Let's look just a moment at the doctrine of immutability. To say that God is immutable. is to say that He never differs from Himself. The concept of a growing or developing God, listen, is not found in Scripture. God is not growing. God is not changing. God is not developing. You cannot find that in the Word of God. God cannot change for the better. You know why? Because He's already perfect. God, listen to me ladies and gentlemen, God cannot change for the better. He is already perfect holiness. He has never been less than He is now. He can never be holier than He is, for He's always been. Neither can God change for the worse. God cannot change for the worse. And a deterioration within the unspeakable holy nature of God is impossible. Indeed, I believe it is impossible for even to think of such a thing that God could get worse. God cannot change. He cannot get worse. He will never deteriorate. and he will not get any better because he's perfect just like he is. The immutability of God, the changing of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the immutability of men. In God no change is possible but in men change is impossible to escape. Neither the man is fixed nor his world but he and it are in constant flux, somebody said, and it's so true. Scripture supports this doctrine of the unchanging nature of God. And it can be found in our text in Hebrews chapter 13. Look down at verse 8, Jesus Christ, it says, Jesus Christ, the same. You tell me now what it says. Jesus Christ, the same. Yesterday and? Today and? Now look, that's what the word of God says. I did not write this, I'm just reading what God has written a long time ago. The word of God, the Bible says, is forever settled in heaven. And so God said, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and for ever. That's a wonderful truth. Look, if you will, in James chapter 1 verse number 17. James 1 verse 17, just a page over. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. In contrast to His creatures, God is not giving. Now we are full of moods, but God is not given to moods. He never changes. Our Lord remains constant in His love for us. He is not, God is not fickle. He doesn't say one thing and mean another. He doesn't change His standards in midstream. He doesn't sign a contract one day and break it the next day. With Him there is, ladies and gentlemen you can count on this, with Him there is no variation. There is no shifting. There is no shadowy work. He's the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let's look at a little warning against heresy please. The immutability of God as articulated there for us in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 8 is what keeps us from being swept away by the swift turbid currents of fluctuating doctrines mentioned in verse number 9. Go back to Hebrews chapter 13 and look at verse number 9. Be not carried away. With divers and strange doctrine do you see this? For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. Be not carried about with divers, pictures of a variety of colors that please the eye, tantalate the senses. They may be bright dots that stimulate our passions, or cool blue ones that appeal to our intellects, as someone says, or bright gold ones that promise us a fortune in the future, or gray ones that maybe make an attempt to compromise the black and the white. These varied or diverse strange teachings attack the principle of grace, which is God's gift of spiritual strength. It is made available to us through what His Son accomplished for us on the cross, not from the foods or ceremonial substances, please, or from the tangible trinkets. And so it emphasizes these externals. Now, you know, emphasizing these externals is like feeding people husk of hollow religion instead of nourishing kernels of truth. We do not need the husk of religion. We need the kernels of truth. The results when we have the husk is we have no benefits. We have no health with husk. We have no strength. Why? Because there's no true substance. There is no grace. Have you ever looked deeply in the face of folks who've been fed a diet of husk? They're hollow, dark. The eyes seem a little sunken. Their cheeks a little hollow. Their skin a little pale. Hardly a health club advertisement, is it? What is lacking? I want you to look carefully at the words in verses 10 through 16. We have an altar. Here is the answer. What is lacking in the diet is the bread of life. I've got to be bathed, ladies and gentlemen, in the grace of God. Now listen, I look out across my congregation this morning and I see eyes looking back at me and faces looking back at me and there are some whose eyes look like you've been feeding on the husk of life rather than the real rich kernels of life. If you've been eating on the rich kernels of life, Your eyes are bright. Your face is shining. There's something going on in your life because Jesus Christ lives there. But if you have not been fed the kernels of truth, but you've been fed the husk of the world. Your eyes will hollow, sunken, darkened, worried look, frustrated, don't know what to do with life. This is what it says in verses 10 through 16. Powerful words here. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts which blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Look at verse 12. that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffer without the gate. Let us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp, bearing this reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not. For with such sacrifice God is well pleased. I have a four-point outline I want to give you very, very quickly. Underscore the pronouns you see in these verses. Pronouns like we and they and us. The contrast is between those who find Christ fully sufficient and those who opt for empty religion. Are you going to find Christ this morning really sufficient for your life or are you going to go through just a ceremony of religion? It's so important. Empty religion, husk. In these verses we can glean a list of four specifics that are involved in the lives of those who embrace truth and grace through Jesus Christ. Look at number one. Four things that Christians possess. Look at verse number 10. Those who abandon their lives to fervently follow Jesus Christ have four things. Number one, we have an altar to use. Thank God we have an altar to use. This verse refers to the cross where Christ's sacrificial offering was made. Those who seek fulfillment by serving the tabernacle, that is, by worshiping in form only, have no right to eat, He says, at that altar. To them the crucified Christ means nothing, but to us He is our altar. I want to ask you a question today. Are you getting so wrapped up in church that it doesn't mean anything to you? Or does Jesus Christ really mean life to you? We have an altar to use. Number two, look quickly, we have a reproach to bear. Verse 11 through 13. This passage makes a connection between the animal sacrifices of the tabernacle and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The point of comparison is that both sacrifices were made outside the community. The first outside the camp of Israel and the second outside the gates of Jerusalem. Christ was crucified outside the gate. He was exiled from men, numbered with the transgressors. There the writer of the Hebrews sees a picture. We too have to see ourselves sever from the life of the world and be willing to bear the same reproach that Christ bore The isolation, the humiliation may come to the Christian as they come to the Savior. You may be laughed at for being a Christian. Some may think you're a little strange, but you have a love for God because God lives in here and He means something to you. You have an altar. You know you're God. How easy it is for us to become comfortable within the community. rubbing elbows, but just being comfortable. Hebrews chapter 11, go back to Hebrews chapter 11 just real quick, let me read for you a beautiful example of a man who knew what it was to take a stand and have a stigma and become a reproach. Remember the man Moses, Hebrews chapter 11, look at verse 24. By faith Moses when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Now here's what he said, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect and the recompense of the reward. Do you see it, ladies and gentlemen? The closer we align ourselves with Christ, the closer we align ourselves with the sufferings of His cross. Taking up that cross we bear His reproach through enduring abuse, misunderstanding, and perhaps even persecution. Number three, a city to seek. Four things. The third is a city to seek. Verse number 13 and 14. of Hebrews chapter 13. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. If we're busy constructing some tower of Babel ourselves to create a name for ourselves, it won't last. Ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you this morning, this dedication Sunday, that this building is beautiful, but we didn't build this for our name. We did not build this as a monument for James Lewis. We did not build this for the monument of the Harvest Baptist Temple people. We built this for Christ. If you are interested only in building a Tower of Babel for yourself, to make yourself look good, to make yourself look better, it won't last. Empires are fleeting. Whether they are personal or political or financial ones, the only city to seek is the city that lasts. It's the city of God. And then last, look at number four, a sacrifice to offer. This is verse 15 and 16. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise. Listen, do you see the sacrifice of praise? We're going to offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not. With such sacrifice, God is well pleased. Since we have no earthly altar, no earthly identity, and no earthly place of citizenship, does that mean we have no sacrifice to offer? Oh no. Verse 15 says we offer a sacrifice of praise. Verse 16 expands that to the list of doing good and sharing. God doesn't want lip service. Listen folks, God doesn't want lip service only. He wants to put shoes on your words. Come on, amen? He wants us to walk our talk. If you're going to talk your way, then let's walk that way we talk. Now if we're not going to walk the way we're talking, then we ought to quit talking. Because that becomes hypocritical. So people say, yeah, we know those folks that go to that church, but they're a bunch of hypocrites. They say one thing, but they live a different way. If we're going to walk and we're going to talk, then let's walk how we're talking. offer the sacrifice of praise unto God. If our walk is to make any difference in the lives of those around us, we must go the extra mile. We must make the sacrifice, whether it's our time, our energy, or our money. Now there's three things I want to wrap up in conclusion here about this particular thought this morning. First, I want you to say, a changing world emphasizes our need for a changeless Christ. Can I get you to look at that first? A changing world emphasizes our need for a changeless Christ. Can I ask you this question? Is our world changing? Speak to me. Is our world changing? Is our world changing in every aspect of life? Frank, I know you're a carpet man. And I'll guarantee you, you've seen things change in the carpet business. in the last few years, last 20 years. Jerry Foose, Brian, Kevin, they're in the funeral home business. And I'll guarantee you they've seen changes, a lot of changes, in how people do things for funerals, how people conduct funeral services, what's being said at funerals, what the music's all about. You know, it used to be when you went to the funeral home, do you remember these days? They went to a funeral home and there was a big organ sitting in there. And every funeral service, Jerry probably remembers that, somebody played the organ. You know, it used to be that everybody at a funeral, everybody had all their obits read all the time. Do you realize today that very few funeral homes have organs? And when you go to the funeral home to plan a service for your loved one, most families don't want the obit read. You know why? Because things are changing. Now whether they're good or bad, I'm not saying that's good or bad. I'm just saying things are changing. And they're constantly in flux. They're constantly in change. But here's the point I want to make. Number one, a changing world emphasizes our need for a changeless Christ to keep from being swept away by treacherous currents. We need a solid rock to cling to, a Savior who is not changing, but a Savior who never changes that we can count on. Now all of you are from different churches, and almost every church you're associated with, things have changed. In their theological thought even, churches are changing. What we used to do is different than what we used to do 50 years ago and what we do today. I want to tell you something. You have somebody who never changes. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, a changeless Christ redirects our desire toward a grace relationship. When we find in Christ all that God needed, then we find in Christ all that we need. When we find in Jesus Christ all that God needed, then we find in Christ all that we need. And when we realize that all we need flows freely from Christ, then we start to operate by grace. Then we start looking at ourselves as recipients of unmerited favor rather than wage earners of works. We have grace. Number three, a grace relationship strengthens our hope to secure eternity. A grace relationship strengthens our hope in a secure eternity. If getting to the city of God were based on works, and by the way, getting to the city of God is not based on works. If it were based on works, none of us would know for certain whether we'd ever get there. Because we don't know how many works it's going to take to get us there. But if the basis is grace, it's like having the key to eternity placed in a safe deposit box somewhere. We don't have to worry about losing our salvation because my salvation is not in my hands. It's in His hands. I never worry when I lay my head down on a pillow at night. If I die at night and Jerry Fuchs takes care of me, am I going to be in hell in my spirit? I never worry about that. Because I know I'm saved. You need to know that too. In an era where families are likely to be scattered across the country, rather than staying in their hometowns, when the jobs you train for for college are already obsolete, Have you ever seen the day in your life? I've trained. You know, I got Joel Petrie back there. He can't find a job. Said, Preacher, I'm trying to find a job. I went to college. Graduated from Bowling Green State University. I ought to be able to get a job somewhere. Maybe his education is already obsolete. I don't know. But he can't seem to find a job. Now, in a day, I'm just saying, in a day when our college education is already obsolete, where the childhood our kids are experiencing looks nothing like the childhood we experienced. Have you ever seen the beat in all your life? My childhood was so different than my grandkids' childhood is today. I look around and I see other people's children growing up and they have nothing like what we had when I was a kid growing up. I mean, we ate supper together. We called it supper. Some of you call it dinner. Maybe you're higher class than I was, but it was the evening meal. It was the evening meal. And you know what? Mama had cooked all day long, or at least the last couple of hours. And you know what? There wasn't a microwave in the house. And nothing got heated up in the microwave. It was cooked on the stove. And when we kids came in from school, mom had either baked a bunch of cookies or made a cake. And she said, now kids, you can have one cookie or one small piece of cake before supper tonight. That's why I can eat cake before any meal and I'm still okay. I did that all my life growing up. I had a piece of cake. I mean, I had a piece of cake every night. My mom had a cake every single day at our house. You'd walk in that house, you could smell the cooking of that cake. Don't you like the smell of cooking cake? Cooking. Baking. Baking cakes, all right. Baking cookies. Don't you like the smell? You know, our kids don't ever get that. Hey, Mom, watch for supper. I don't know. It's in the fridge. Get it yourself. Can I have a witness? It used to be that mama had the meal on, and boy, if it was steak or hamburgers, it was so good. And I love green, not green beans. I like green beans. I like onions and peppers cooking together. Smells so good. I hope we got lunch back there, buddy, just about. Listen, let me say this and I'm done. Ladies, would you come to the musical instruments, please? I'm just saying it's good to know when my family's not experiencing the same kind of family life I had when I was a kid because things have changed. Isn't it good to know there is one thing that will never change? Isn't it comforting to plant our feet firmly on God's steadfast nature and let the current of the world swirl around us, but we can lean hard on the rock that never changes. His steady character, I can cling, I can cling to his never changing love. You know, one of the greatest things in the whole world is that God's love never changes. He loves me, He loves you, no matter what you have done, God still loves you. You can fail, you can mess up, you can talk the wrong way, go to the wrong places, do the wrong things, and guess what? God still loves you. You know why? Because his love never changes. Because he never changes. Now that's not the case with all of us. One day you'll like us, and the next day you won't like us. One day we'll be sweet and wonderful, and the next day we'll be grouchy and frustrated. God's never changing. I don't know about you, but I love my God. And I love Him because He never changes. I can go to Him whether I'm in trouble or whether I'm having a great time and know He's always the same. I want to ask you a question. Do you know Him? You see, I can lean on His rock steady character. I can cling to His never changing love. It's one thing I can count on. And He is my anchor in the swiftly changing waters of the world. He's my anchor. He needs to be your anchor. Let's stand together, shall we?