Go ahead and turn with me again this morning to Hebrews chapter 13, if you would, please. We'll begin in verse five this morning, Hebrews 13, verse five. In verse five, the apostle writes, let your conversation, that word means character, Let your character, let your way of life be without covetousness, without greediness, without love of money and possessions. And be content, peaceful, happy, satisfied, pleased, and fulfilled with such things as you have. For he, meaning Christ, hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. You know, it's a very natural thing for us to covet. Comes very natural to us. It's very natural and common to be greedy for lucre, for money and possessions. And I've been with and I've been without, and I'd rather be with than without. And even though many times it's best to be without than with. Sure causes us to lean a little more on the Lord, I think. And it's not easy for a man or a woman or a sinner to keep their heart clear of covetousness. While we are in this body of flesh, we might say pertinent or impossible. The words to be without covetousness here in the revised version reads, be free from the love of money or let your mind be turned from the love of money. After all, it's not money that's the root of all evil, it's the love of money that's the root of all evil. And in the same verse, Paul went on to tell Timothy, he said, which some have coveted after, speaking of money, and they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. It's easy to make possessions and things your God. Now the lesson here is this, it's impossible to covet what you already possess And in order to covet, there must be someone whose possession you covet. It's got to be something that you covet or that you want that you don't have. And covetousness is centered in the principle of envy. It's to believe that a person ought not to have what they have and that you ought to have it. And it's also comprised of the principle of jealousy, which holds that a person should rightly possess what someone has. Both have to do with a personal sense of entitlement. Discontent is nothing but anger against God's sovereignty and providence. All that we have is given to us by God, and if God has given someone more than he's given us, that's God's business. He said, be content with what you have. Covetousness is the absence of contentment, and contentment is the absence of covetousness. Content. Be content with such things as you have. After all, it's God who gave them to you. And contentment is not if we had a little more, we'd be satisfied. If I just had a little more, I'd be happy. I've used that a lot with my wife. If I could just get this, that'd be all I'd ever need, and only to want something more later. Contentment is not if we had a little more, is it? It's being content with what we've got right now. When I was younger, I can remember thinking on more than one occasion, if I just had a million dollars, I could and I would be satisfied. Well, you might think so, but I see now that that's impossible because I realize that someone has one million dollars is unable to see any reason why they shouldn't have two or 10. And that's just the natural tendency of mankind in their fallen status. And how many times has Providence proven that the rich man is never satisfied and is usually the most miserable. You see the rock stars, the country music stars, the movie stars, the rich businessmen that have everything that you could possibly have. And yet they're the ones that are the most miserable and commit suicide and get into drugs and alcohol and all that. What a precious pearl we find here in the treasury of God's word. There's no room to be covetous, no excuse for being, for Christ said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's what he says right here. I'll never leave you or forsake you. What else could you want? If we have God's presence, if we have God's help, if we have God's covenant favor, if we have God's gracious providence, and we do, then everything is working together for our good. What more could we want? We gripe and we complain about the most ridiculous things. Yep, we do. But He will never leave us nor forsake us. What more could we want? Covetousness is rebellion against God. And the reason that a believer is to let his way of life to be without covetousness is simple. It's to be content with what he or she has. Content. Boy, that's a precious word. I wish I was more content. Help me, Lord, to be more content. While we have the Lord, the believer does, we have his promises. In Christ, all things are ours. Nothing has been withheld from us. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. What can be added to all? Christ is all and in all. If we have him, we have everything. And none of these earthly things are we gonna take with us. And if we did, what good would they do us? The fountain and source of contentment is that the Lord has promised that he'll never leave us. He'll never forsake us. What more could we ask? He lives to make intercession for us. He is our advocate with the Father. He is the one mediator between God and man. He's pleading our cause and our case before God. He's our wisdom, He's our righteousness, He's our sanctification, and He's our redemption. Now look at verse six. It says, so that we may boldly say, boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. And here we see the result of contentment, which is a clear denouncing of covetousness. To be malcontent is to be a complainer, a murmurer, one who gripes constantly about their lot in life. And if we're not careful, that's what we'll do, about the littlest and most ridiculous things that we have no control over. And such a life speaks ill of God, and it denies the goodness of His grace. One who is free doesn't walk as if he's still in shackles and in bondage. We walk around like our feet are shackled together, you know, and our heads are down. When we're free, free from the bondage of the law, free from the law, oh, happy condition, Jesus has bled and there is remission, remission of sin. They boldly say, the Lord is my helper. To speak any other way is to mock God's sovereignty and providence. That word helper means to call. I thought that was interesting. It doesn't mean that we have any power to help ourselves or that God just kind of helps us along as we plug along on our own. No, that's not what it means. It means that we constantly call on him to help us. And that's what a child of God does. Sometimes I find myself almost unconsciously saying, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. I need help. The Lord's my helper. I don't fear what men can do unto me. The Lord's not going to allow anything to happen to me that He hasn't ordained to happen to me. In the same sense of the word, He's working all things together for my good. So why fear? It's going to be for my good and my glory. And even if it's the thing that does me in, that's a promotion and I'll be with Him. And as we see here in verse six, the only way that a man or woman can boldly say that the Lord is their helper, the only way they won't fear what men can or may do unto them is to say it from a place of contentment. To murmur and to complain is to deny that the Lord is our helper, for he cannot fail. I know we're gonna doubt ourselves, I doubt me all the time, but we should never doubt him. Yet in our malcontent we're declaring that he's unable to provide for us as he's promised. May the Lord give us the grace to see what we've received from his good and gracious hand. If we really know that Christ is with us, then we can boldly say the Lord's my helper and we will not fear at all because he is with us always and he will never He'll never leave us and never forsake us. If we truly know who Christ is, if we truly know that He is with us, what is there for us to fear? Now, it's imperative that we read the next two verses together, verses seven and eight, and I think you will see why in a moment. Let me read the verses first, verse seven. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. That's speaking about the goal and objective of their ministry. It says, which is, verse eight, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Now, no doubt that verse 8 is probably one of the best-known verses in all the Bible, and we're so guilty about carelessly lifting verses out of context. We do. Matter of fact, many religions have been built upon the foundation of doing just that. They take a verse here and a verse there, and you can about make the Bible say anything you want if you do that. But we need to read the scriptures in context, and especially these epistles, because they're letters. Linda, if you write me a letter, I don't start in the middle of it. I don't read the end and then the middle and then the beginning. No, we start at the beginning, dear David, and we read to the end. And we could take things out of context very easily if we didn't read it in the context it was written. Brother Mahan used to call that, he called it a sickness called versitis. Taking a verse here and a verse there and proving pretty much anything we want. But verses seven and eight here go together and they need to be considered together. And the first thing mentioned in verse seven, that the believer is to love, is the preacher of the gospel. And I'm not saying that because I want you or need you to love me, even though it means a great deal to me if you do. But the word rule here might be easily twisted and abused by someone, especially a vain preacher. Now, you know, it says right here that I've got the rule over you. That's not what it means at all. That word rule actually means leader or guide. We know that the Spirit of God is our guide unto all truth, but God has chosen that by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And how shall they preach? How shall they hear without a preacher? That's God's ordained means. He raises up men to preach his gospel, to lead his people, to guide his people unto the truth. And we know the Spirit of God is our guide, but the child of God is admonished to remember those who God has sent to them, who have spoken the word of God to them. And it's here that every preacher and pastor sees the true matter of the ministry. You know, seminaries today have initiated courses for the duties of pastors. which cover everything from being a community organizer to being a visiting counselor. Men and women today, they feel as though they pay the preacher to visit the sick and they themselves don't visit them at all. The preacher of the gospel is to do just that, preach the gospel. Our Lord makes it crystal clear that the pulpit and the ministry of the word, the gospel should be the preacher's dominant concern. You don't support a preacher so he can just stay home and not do anything. You support a preacher so that he can study and seek God for a message. And any preacher that doesn't do that is in disobedience to God and his calling. The true preacher's and pastor's concern is to glorify Christ through the preaching of the word of God. The believers admonished and strongly urged to follow their guidance and lead the saints to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. That's what we're doing here this morning. We're opening God's word and we're pointing men and women to Christ. And we're saying that in Christ is the only way we can grow in the knowledge of him. That's how we grow. That's how we're being conformed to his image. We're to believe the truth that this holy book proclaims through the God called man who proclaims it. And we live in a day where hirelings, those who preach believing they're preaching to be a job or an occupation instead of a calling, that's what a hireling is. One who's hired. They've changed the message of God. And that's why the apostle here talks very candidly about the end and the goal of our ministry. They're one in the same. The message is the same. The message is still Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It's never changed. The message of the gospel is what God's done for us, not what we're doing for God. It hadn't changed. The message is still Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's never, ever changed. And the Pharisees, they told the Lord, they said, we have Moses. And he said, you got to go back further than that. You got to go back further than Moses. And they said, well, you're not even 50 years old. And the Lord said, if you'd believe Moses, you'd believe me, what Moses wrote of me. If you had believed Moses, and if you believe Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote of me. What Moses wrote is about Christ. I think we've seen that very well in the study of three of the five books Moses wrote. The only hope Moses had of eternal redemption was in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as you. He's a sinner just like you. God used him mightily, yes, but he's a sinner nonetheless, and he's gotta be saved the same way you and I are. Moses saw Christ in picture and type. Moses wrote of the Lord Jesus. You know, there was another time that the religionists of that day, they said, well, we have Abraham to be our father. And the Lord said, if you were the sons of Abraham, you'd love me. Because even Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he sought and he was glad. He said, before Abraham was, I am. He's before everyone. He's the great I am. Always has been, is, was, and always will be. The Lord Jesus said, what think ye of Christ, whose son is he? And they said, well, he's the son of David. And the Lord asked them, he said, why did David call him Lord if he's his son? If Christ is the son of David, why did David call him Lord when he said, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. He's the son of David and he's the Lord of David. Jesus of Nazareth is David's Christ and Moses' gospel and Abraham's redeemer. And nothing new about the gospel. Verse eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning, the scripture says. He declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not even done yet, saying, my counsel shall stand. God doesn't change. If a preacher says, I've got a new message. If a preacher says, I got a new revelation from God. Let me tell you something. He's a liar. And you're a fool if you listen to it. Why? Because God didn't change. God didn't change. I don't know why men try to look for new revelation when we don't have believed the ones that God has revealed. When the Holy Spirit finished the writing of the Word of God, He said, if any man adds to this book, I'll add to him the plagues of this book. And He said, if any man takes away from this book, I'll take his name out of the book of life. Why? Because God never changes. And because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that's where I find great comfort and peace. I change like the weather, but not Him. One day I'm up and believe and got strong faith and the next day I'm down in the dumps and I'm walking like that shackled man with my head down. But he doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. His message never changes. The gospel never changes. True preachers all preach the same message. We was talking about that Friday night. It doesn't matter who preaches it. whether it's Moses, Abraham, David, Isaiah, or Gene Harmon. It doesn't make a bit of difference. The message is always the same. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Sin is still the same. And Adam all died. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Sin hadn't changed since Adam sinned. People say all the time, well, the world's getting worse. No, it's no worse than it was when Adam fell. Sin is sin. Now, it may be more in your face. That's what you said Friday. It may be more in your face, and you may see it like you never saw it before, but sin, the world ain't getting worse. There's nothing new under the sun. Things were pretty bad in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, and things are pretty bad today. But they hadn't changed. Man's heart hadn't changed. Rebellion is rebellion. Darkness is darkness. Sin is sin. And men and women and their sin has not changed a bit. Men are no different and sin is no different. Death is the same. Folks are still dying. It's appointed unto men once to die. Do you know anyone that's lived that did not die? Now, I know in the olden times, men lived 900 and some years, but there are many that have not died yet, but they will. No matter how old they are, they'll die. Growing up, I had many aunts and uncles. My mother had I think there was five or six in her family, and they all had spouses. I had many aunts and uncles. And as of the first of this year, 2022, I had one aunt left. And January 12th, 12 days after the first of the year, at the age of 92, she died, and I officiated her funeral service. You see, we're not gonna get out of this life alive. We're not. Not unless the Lord returns before we die. But death hasn't changed. Judgment hasn't changed. Judgment's the same. God said, I'm gonna judge the world in righteousness by that man, Jesus Christ, whom I have ordained. Judgment hasn't changed. It's appointed unto men once to die, and after that, the judgment. We'll all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. All of us. We're gonna be judged in the light of our relationship with Jesus Christ. That's true of all of us. Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, David, Peter, John, even Judas, Paul. Me and you. We're gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ and gonna be judged according to the things that we've done in this body. And the only hope that any of us have is that if Christ is our advocate and our mediator stands on that day of judgment and says, Father, I died for that sinner. That's the only hope that any of us have. Faith is the same. Is it not? Faith hasn't changed. When God defined faith, he went all the way back to Abraham, and he said, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. And this was not written for his sake alone, but it was counted to him for righteousness, but it was written for our sakes also. To whom it shall be imputed as righteousness if we believe like Abraham believed. You mean I gotta have the faith of Abraham? You gotta believe God. Not just believe there is a God, not believe that God is God. You just gotta believe God. You gotta believe what he says in this word. You cannot worship him unless you worship him in spirit and in truth, according to this word. What about the blood atonement? It's the same. You can go back to Leviticus chapter 17, verse 11, where God says, I have given you the blood upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul. It's the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. The blood of God. And that was at least 4,000 years ago, and it's the blood that maketh atonement still. Paul came along 1,600 years later, and he said, without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin. You see, it's the same message. It's the blood, the blood of God that makes atonement for the soul. Mercy, mercy's the same. Mercy hasn't changed. Way back in Exodus chapter 33, a long, long, long time ago, God said to Moses, I'll be merciful to whom I'll be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious. And then years and years and years later, Paul wrote a letter to the Romans and he said the same thing. Because it was the same spirit in Abraham's day and Moses' day as it is in Paul's day and Peter's day and in our day. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. We don't have any new Bible. We've got new translations and many of them aren't worth reading. They attempt to change the meaning of the scriptures, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. We have no new messages, no new revelation. We have the unchanging gospel of the unchanging God. Well, what happened in the Garden of Eden? God created man in his own image. God made man upright and holy. God breathed into man the breath of life. Man became a living soul. Man walked with God and God walked with man. They were in fellowship one with another. They were in communion with one with another. And God gave man authority over all the animals. The man named them. He gave him authority over the fish, everything. But God was still God. God was still in control. Everything that man had, God gave to him. God gave man one commandment, obey me and live. Don't obey me and die. And it was a covenant of works and man disobeyed God and man died spiritually, though he lived 900 plus years. And Adam, all die. We died with Adam. What causes all death on this earth? What causes the tears? What causes the heartache? What causes the sickness? What causes disease? What causes war and rumors of war? The answer is sin. Sin. Sin's left its mark on everything. Man wasn't just slightly wounded when he fell in the garden. No, man died. What happened in the Garden of Eden? That's what happened. What happened at the cross at Calvary? Well, in the garden, man fell. On the cross, God's chosen people were restored. And Adam all died. In Christ, we were made alive. The first Adam of the earth is earthly. The second Adam, the Lord Jesus, is from heaven. Through the first Adam's disobedience, we were made sinners. Through the second Adam's obedience, we were made righteous. That hasn't changed. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the same. Same yesterday, today, and forever. And what happens when God in mercy and grace saves a sinner? They believe God. They believe in Christ. They believe that Christ put their sin away. I have great confidence this morning that my sin is put away because I know who put it away. And I know he cannot fail. I have doubts about a lot of things concerning myself, but I don't have any doubt at all about what he's done. He cannot fail. He that believes on the Son has life, and he that believes not the Son hath not life. What happens when a man believes they become new creatures? They're born again. God quickens them and gives them life. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. They have eternal life. They really do. Life eternal, life everlasting. This is the record. God hath given us eternal life. This life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life. They love God, they love God's Word, and they love God's people. Everyone that loveth is born of God. They are not born of God because they love. They love because they're born of God. And they're not born of God because they believe. They believe because they're born of God. That's where a lot of folks go wrong. These things will never change. This is the message. This is the gospel. This is the Christ. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And every one of God's people gonna say, amen, so be it. That's so.