All right, let's take our Bibles together and turn to Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter three, verses one to six. Last week, I noticed as I was driving several very tall, slender trees, and they were blowing like crazy in the wind. Essentially, they had no branches on the way up, and then at the top, just a little bit up at the top of the trees there. And as the wind was blowing like crazy, they were bending significantly to the point where I thought, how do they endure like that without breaking? Many trees probably snapped that day. I'm sure some did. But the ones that I was observing appeared to endure. Sometimes we get thrashed about by the winds of life, and just like serious winds tend to reveal the internal health of a tree, spiritual winds tend to reveal the health of our hearts. When the storms come, they reveal what kind of heart we have. Some hearts are very fragile. Some hearts are hard and calloused, unhealthy, maybe even dead, while other hearts, you might say, are full of faith. Just like the people receiving this letter, the letter of Hebrews, you might be feeling the pressure, and maybe life is deeply shaking your faith right now. Something's going on that just has you rattled. Maybe you're tempted to walk away from Jesus. Maybe you're tempted to go back to what feels safe to you. Maybe you want your old life back. Let Hebrews chapter three, verses one to six, encourage you under pressure that Jesus is far better He's infinitely more satisfying and sufficient than anything else you could be tempted to turn to. And so what do you and I need to do? Well, you need to fix your eyes on Jesus and hold firm in your faith. That's what these verses are about today, and as I read them, Hebrews 3, one to six, you're gonna see the word house being used repeatedly, and just to give you a heads up on that, that's a reference to the people of God. So Hebrews 3, verses one to six. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who is faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as much more glory as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant. To testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting and our hope. Today we're gonna look at three threads of Christian living and kind of consider them strand by strand and then see them all threaded together. Three threads of Christian living. Here's the first one. Remember who you are. Look back at verse one. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, you consider Jesus. If you want to endure, it's imperative that you know who you are, which is why the writer of Hebrews here slows way down again to remind you of who you are. And remind us all of what he spelled out back in chapter 2, verses 10 and 11. If you look back at verse 11 of chapter 2, it says, for he who sanctifies, the idea is there, he who makes holy. Who is that in the Bible? Well, that's Jesus. He who sanctifies, Jesus, and those who are sanctified or made holy, who's that? That's us. Jesus and us all have one source, that's God the Father, which is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. That's amazing. By his death on the cross, by his resurrection, Jesus has made us holy and he's brought us into God's family and now he's not ashamed to call us his holy brothers. So who are you? Well, according to verse one here, you're holy. You've been sanctified or set apart to God, not so that you could live in sin, not so that you could carry on with your old life, but so that you could live for God. You are holy and you are Jesus' brothers and sisters. You are Jesus' older, or Jesus is your older brother. The writer of Hebrews here is going out of his way to highlight you are part of the family of God. part of the household of God. You're not some stranger. You're fully in the family. You're not some distant relative. Also you share in a heavenly calling. That was chapter two, verse 10, and now in chapter three, verse one. You've been called and destined for glory. In other words, to rule and to reign with Jesus. That's what you've been called to. And so the writer of Hebrews is reminding you, listen, you are a citizen of another country. Your life is not about the here and now. As one person put it, rather than living with an earthbound perspective, as we're prone to do, the Christ follower responding to God's call lives in light of a heavenly orientation. Have you ever watched an athlete score for the wrong team? You often see it as little kids are just learning to play sports. Think about hockey, or soccer, or basketball, and some kid gets the puck or the ball, and off he goes. And he scores, and everybody in the crowd's like, no, no, wrong way. And he scores for the wrong team. You got confused. You need to know what color jersey you're wearing, what team you are on, and which direction your goal is. Remember who you are because identity fuels endurance and it helps you stay the course. And so we're pausing here in verse one to remember who we are. Paul Tripp, if you're familiar with him, speaks of Christians having something called identity amnesia. Basically, we forget who we are. We forget what our identity really is. Boots on the ground, what identifiers are shaping your life? Maybe you don't primarily conceive of yourself as a holy brother or sister who shares in a heavenly calling. Maybe you've misplaced your identity elsewhere and you primarily see yourself as a sinner who's forever enslaved and struggling and dominated by sin. That's who I am, that's what I do. Maybe you think of yourself as a distant relative or a strange member of God's family. There are all these people that God really likes, and I'm technically in the family, but I'm like a distant, long-lost relative who God's really upset with and disappointed with right now. He probably hates me, doesn't even want me to come around. Or I'm just another person here on earth like everybody else. Or maybe you view yourself as a hedonist. You're pursuing every pleasure of this life. However I can get pleasure out of this life, I'm going to try to do that. Or maybe you see yourself as one given to earthly enterprises. I am here to go conquer this and conquer that and take this and do this and accomplish that. Maybe you think of yourself primarily as a citizen of a particular country. There are so many ways that you can get your identity wrong. I think we all do this. We can root our identity in performance and how good we're doing at any given moment versus the grace of God. You can define yourself by your sin or your past. Okay, whatever I did back then, that defines me today. That's who I am. You can base your identity on your career, your role or title, and the successes and failures that come along with that. Well, look what I've done. Look what I've accomplished. This is who I am. I am this. You can find your identity and validation through social media. You know, you post something and how many likes do you get? How many people are paying attention to you? Who's viewing you as somebody special? You might even find your identity in suffering or victimhood. You know, on the one hand, we can find our identity in our accomplishments and successes and all the things that go right. And on the flip side, we can find our identity in all the things that go wrong. And the ways we've been wronged and hurt and sinned against in ways that we are maybe legitimately victims. You can identify with a church tradition even over Christ. And at the outset here, God says, you need to get it straight. Who are you? In Christ Jesus, you are holy. You've been set apart from your sin. In Christ Jesus, you are part of God's family. You are Christ's brother. And with that, you are God the Father's son. And there's no shame in that. Jesus delights. He's not ashamed to call you brother. And you are a citizen of heaven, not earth. You need to remember who you are. That is the first thread of Christian living that we see in this text. And if we turn our attention to a second, it would be this. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Remember who you are and then fix your eyes on Jesus. Verses one and two. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus. the apostle and high priest of our confession who is faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. Consider Jesus. This is a call to focus intently, to focus deeply and continually on Jesus. This is more than, hey, you're kind of walking by and you see Jesus and, hey, wave and on you go. More than a passing glance at him, this is a call to fix your gaze and your full attention on Jesus. Stare, look, gaze, consider, focus. You know when you go and get your eyes checked and they've got this machine that shoots you in the eyeball with a bullet of air? My favorite part of going to the eye doctor. I hate that, right? They're like sit in the chair and then they tell you, okay, put your head in the chin and stare at that little green or red dot, which it's the only thing to see in that little black tunnel, but it's surprisingly hard to stare at because you know you're about to get blasted in the face. Probably by the sweet individual on the other side who just blank face, but it's probably evil grin on the inside. Got him. Nailed him. Another one's crying. I hate that. But you've got to sit there and you've got to focus. God is telling you, hey, sit in the chair, okay? And put your chin in the rest and look, focus. And unlike the eye doctor, I promise this is not gonna hurt, quite the opposite. If you will sit there and put your chin in the rest and you will focus and fix your eyes on Jesus, it will be your life, your healing, your strength, your help, everything. Focus on Jesus. Verses one to six invite you to fix your eyes on Jesus, particularly as he stands right alongside Moses. So that you might understand how truly glorious Jesus is. Jesus is far better than Moses, and one of the reasons Moses is probably being brought up here is because these Hebrews really felt this pull, maybe to go back to Judaism and turn away from Jesus, back to Moses, the law, and everything else. Jesus is far better than Moses. Fix your eyes on Jesus as the faithful mediator in God's house. According to verse one, you've got these two men side by side, both Moses and Jesus are faithful apostles and faithful high priests. They both are. Moses, you might think of him almost like a prototype that prefigured Jesus. The word apostle means sent one. That's the basic idea of the word. And both Moses and Jesus were sent. They were both sent by God to do what? Well, to deliver the people of God. As high priests, both Moses and Jesus functioned on behalf of the people of God. So we read about them both being apostles. So when you think apostle, think about from God to the people. As you think about them both being high priests, think about from the people to God, mediators. One person wrote, Jesus has two functions. One, he represents God to humans as apostle, and two, he represents humans to God as high priest. And so this passage here, it starts on a note of similarity. It starts with having us look at two very similar men, Moses and Jesus. But the one is obviously superior, far superior to the other in every way. And so why don't we just start for a moment here by looking at Moses. Moses was a faithful apostle and high priest. Think about Moses the apostle. Kind of a weird way to think of him. The language of God sending Moses, the apostle language, is used five times in Exodus 3, 10 to 15. That's the burning bush passage. I'll read you part of that. Then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, what's his name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. God sent Moses to the people to set them free from bondage. Moses was a faithful apostle. God sent him and he went and he let God's people out. Think about Moses, the high priest. One writer says it so well, Moses was an apostle of God to his people. It is equally true that he was his people's most effective intercessor with God. It was his brother Aaron and not he who was high priest of Israel as far as title and investiture were concerned. But it was Moses and not Aaron who was Israel's true advocate with God. You remember the Golden Calf incident? And Moses comes down from the mountain. He's been up there with God, and he comes down, and it is a chaotic, sinful disaster. The nation is in a state of idolatrous uproar and rebellion against God. I mean, it's a sexual, nasty disaster down there below the mountain. And Aaron, the high priest, is right at the heart of it all. In fact, you might even say, well, he led it. And in Exodus chapter 32, the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff necked people. God is angry. And so he says, now therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation of you. God's ready to wipe his people off the face of the earth and start over with Moses. And what does Moses do? Exodus 32 11 says that, but Moses implored the Lord his God and said, Moses goes to God on the people's behalf. Oh Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you've brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? He goes and he pleads on behalf of the people. And then later in the chapter, we find that Moses comes back to God and he pleads some more. He comes back a second time, so Moses returned to the Lord and said, alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They've made for themselves gods of gold, but now if you will forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written. Here he is, Moses, a faithful high priest, so to speak, and he's offering himself up in the place of the people. As apostles and high priests, Moses and Jesus are strikingly similar, and yet, though they are so similar on the one hand, They are not the same. Someone very kindly passed several Tonka toys along to us several years ago. Metal trucks, bulldozers, excavators. One of the things that's awesome about Tonka trucks is that they do the exact same thing that a full-size piece of equipment will do. My kids have spent hours playing with those toys on a pile of gravel in our backyard. If you're playing with Tonka toys, what are you doing? Well, you're moving real sand, and you're moving real dirt, and you're moving real rocks. You're having a great time moving all that stuff around with heavy equipment. It does everything the big stuff does. OK, well, picture if we took those Tonka trucks, and we took those toys, and maybe we go out to one of these big developments where they're putting up a whole neighborhood at once, and they've got all their heavy duty equipment out there. And we take those toys, and we set them on the ground right in front of one of those massive dump trucks. They're the same. They're similar, but they're not the same. That's the kind of similarity between Moses and Jesus. Both are faithful, both are reliable, both do the same kind of work, but they are not the same. When it comes to dealing with the filth and dirt of our sin, the one is far superior, far more reliable, far more sufficient. In fact, he can actually do the job. and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the faithful apostle and high priest. He is the one that we confess according to this passage. Think about Jesus, the faithful apostle. Jesus, like Moses, he's sent from the Father to the people. By the Father to the people to deliver them from slavery and bondage, and like Moses, to provide an exodus for the people of God from their sin. Moses was faithful as God sent one, but Jesus is an even greater apostle with an even greater mission and an even greater deliverance. It's the Gospel of John that repeatedly speaks of Jesus being sent, the apostle language. John 3.17 says, For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world. but in order that the world might be saved through him. That's the mission of Jesus, sent from God. God sent his holy son, Jesus Christ, to come from heaven to earth and die on the cross for our sins so that you and I could be saved, so that we could be delivered, so that we might have a true exodus. John 8.42 says, Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me. For I came from God, and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he, God, sent me. Aren't you so glad that God sent Jesus, the apostle Jesus Christ? Fix your eyes on Jesus as that, as the faithful apostle. And in addition to that, consider him as the faithful high priest. We marvel at Moses. I mean, you read the passage of the burning blessing and you go, wow, I cannot believe Moses would stand between the people in God like that and intercede for them as their advocate. This is remarkable, but Jesus is an even better high priest with even greater pleas, and he makes a greater offer than Moses made. Hebrews 7.25 says of Jesus, but he holds his priesthood permanently. Because he continues forever, he's eternal. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. We are sinners. You see the children of Israel hanging under God's wrath in Exodus 32. God is ready to move towards them and unleash all of his anger upon them, wipe them off the face of the earth, and yet Moses steps in. And here we stand, us and a holy God as sinners. With every reason for God to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth, judge us, condemn us for eternity. And Jesus Christ steps in on our behalf between us and God and pleads our case. and offers up himself in our place to satisfy God's anger. He stands between us and God. He's paid for our sins in full. In this passage, the writer of Hebrews says, you've got to fix your eyes on Jesus. Consider Jesus, the faithful apostle and high priest, the perfect, your perfect mediator. He's representing God to you, sent from God to you, and representing you to God. The faithful and high priest of our confession. Consider that Jesus is faithful in those roles. And it's his faithfulness actually that makes our own faithfulness possible. If you sit here and maybe you've never really understood how great and awesome Jesus is or what he's done for you, I hope it's really clear to you based on the verses that we just read that God sent Jesus to die for you. God sent Jesus to satisfy God's anger over your sin and plead your case on God's behalf. Pay for all of your sins in full through his death on the cross and his resurrection. There's nothing left for you to do other than to accept the work of Christ. To repent of your sins. I'm a sinner. I deserve God's judgment. Jesus saved me by your work. Will you save me? Jesus is not only the perfect mediator, you must also fix your eyes on him as the glorious builder of God's house. Look at verses three to four. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. And what's the comparison here? To what degree? Well, as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. If verses one to two highlight some kind of similarity between God and Moses, verses three to four draw a sharp contrast. Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses because unlike Moses, Jesus is the builder of God's house. Jesus is the builder of the people of God. God's the one who creates all things. Jesus is God. He's made the house. The builder is worthy of more glory and honor than the house. Moses, you think about him, he's part of the house. He's a fellow member of God's house. Jesus is the creator of the universe. He's the creator of God's house. He's built God's people. The house, God's people, is built upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who leads people out of slavery to their sin and bondage and makes them new people, God's people. He's the builder. And when I was growing up, my family went on a tour of a 38-room historic mansion in our community that was built in 1895. It was called the Oliver House. It also had another name, Kapshom. If your house has a name like that, it's probably a nice house. Who does that except for the extremely rich? If you're familiar with the Oliver Plough, this mansion was the residence of the president of Oliver Chilled Plough Works. And the house, it was amazing, especially for its time. I remember being struck as I walked through a hallway, what's this? Well, this is an elevator for the servants. Cool. You walk through a house like that, and you think this is remarkable. But at the back of your mind, you're kind of, I wonder who built this place. Quite an amazing architect and builder. Now this particular house was designed by a New York architect by the name of Charles Alonzo Rich. You think if this house is amazing, then the architect, the builder, is that much more amazing. Moses is a member of the people of God, the house. Jesus is the one who built it. He built the people of God. He raised up the stones. He brought them together. He made them beautiful. Jesus has been counted worthy of far more glory than Moses, and Moses is pretty incredible. The contrast between Jesus and Moses continues. We see as well that Jesus, in contrast to Moses, is the ruling son over God's house. Look at verses five and six. Now Moses was faithful in all God's houses, what? As a servant. To testify to the things that were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful, not in God's house, but over God's house. And not as a servant, but as a son. And we are his house. Moses is a servant in God's house. Jesus is the son over God's house. Moses' role, if you look at the end of verse five, was basically to testify and to point forward to Jesus and the gospel. And that's what Moses and the Old Testament do. In their entirety, they point to Jesus. So why go back to something that just points forward? Why would these Hebrews want to go back to Moses when Moses just points forward to Jesus Christ? Jesus has come and he's proclaimed the gospel, he's the ruling son over God's house, he sits enthroned in the heavens. Jesus is God, Moses is just a man. I was driving down a range road the other day with my son and we're cruising along, there's hardly anybody else on the road and all of a sudden we became a little bit nervous because the oncoming truck and trailer making its way towards us was swerving out of its lane over into ours and seemed to have no idea. We were wondering if it would hit us. Thankfully, shortly before that was about to occur, it swerved back into its lane. And as it did so and it drove by us, I realized, oh, obviously, that's the problem. The guy was still looking down at his phone and had been, I mean, like staring at it. And as we passed, I noticed that, and he continued to look down. Well, no wonder we had a problem, right? If you take your eyes off the road for very long, I mean, most of us, we can go look out in a field for a while, or we could glance down at something or adjust something. We're probably fine for a moment. But if you take your eyes off the road for very long, you're in danger. And the same is true with Jesus. If you take your eyes off of him for very long at all, you are in huge danger. You might not stay on the road. You might even crash. In fact, it's likely that you will. Fix your eyes on Jesus. What does that look like? How do I fix my eyes on Jesus? Well, what that means is that you're gonna meditate on this person at work. You're gonna go, okay, I'm gonna look at Jesus. I'm gonna think about him. I'm gonna meditate on Jesus and who he is and what he's done and his work. I'm gonna give thought to the fact that he's sent from God to deliver me and that he stands here interceding for me. I'm gonna study Jesus and his work. I'm gonna give myself to knowing who Jesus is. It means to intentionally turn your thoughts and attention back to Jesus. You know, all throughout your day, your mind's probably, it's over here, it's over there. You're focused on this, you're focused on that. Next thing you know, the day is gone. We're being called here as often as you can. You look at Jesus and you gaze upon him and you think upon him. You meditate on him. How? Well, on a very practical level, we do that by immersing ourselves in God's word. If you could just think about the rhythms that are built into your life, I think this would be really helpful. On a personal level, can I just encourage you to get in the daily habit of reading God's word for yourself, personally, reading it by yourself, you and God, and also reading it together as a family or as a couple. What might that look like? Well, you probably would be greatly helped if you had a consistent time, place, and plan. Sometimes I think when it comes to our personal Bible reading, we're like, yeah, you know, I hope it happens, and it kind of goes OK. But could I encourage you to think in those terms, time, place, and plan? I want to be in these habits because I need to look at Jesus. This is my life, and my hope, and my stability, and my endurance. Okay, so what's my time gonna be at? Maybe it's first thing in the morning before the house wakes up. Maybe it's after all the kids go to bed. Maybe it's nap time. Maybe it's your lunch break at work. Okay, but what's that time gonna be every day where you sit down and you open up God's word? And you think about a place, okay, what place can I do this consistently every single day? What's my plan? Maybe your plan you could just start with, I'm gonna start in the Gospel of Matthew, and I'm gonna read one chapter every single day. I'm gonna read two chapters every single day. I'm gonna have a time, place, and plan where I'm gonna prioritize in the daily rhythms of life, I am gonna look at Jesus. This is your life, it's your stability, it's your endurance in the Christian race. Think about the larger rhythms that God has designed for your life. Prioritize gathering to hear Christ preached, like you're doing right now. This is God's good plan for you and for me, that we would gather like this. What have we done over the last hour? We've considered Jesus. Some of you may not be prioritizing gathering with us as you are. And I don't know when I start talking about this, I don't know what swirls through your mind. Maybe right away you think, ah, legalism. Please don't hear that. Please hear love and life. This is God and his word speaking to you, saying you must consider Jesus. And I have built into your life every single week a plan for you to do that. And it's far bigger than just the preaching of the word. When God's word is preached, we're all sitting here considering Jesus. That's what we've been doing for 30 minutes now through the preached word. But that's what we've done in this entire service. You came in and we started singing songs together where we were considering Jesus. We were singing of Jesus. Our minds were going there. We opened up God's word and we read how Jesus saved Paul the apostle. As God's word was read, we considered Jesus. You think about what happens when we celebrate the Lord's Supper together and we come to the bread and the cup. And we are reading those passages and you're holding that cup. What is it that you are doing? You're considering Jesus. You take the bread, what is it that you are doing? You are considering Jesus. This is God's good plan for us every week on the Lord's day. This is the day when we gather together and as a people, we consider Jesus. Don't trade that for lesser things. Also, I wanna encourage you to shift the way that you pray. What happens when the winds of life blow, when the storms of life come, and things are difficult? You and I can spend a lot of time praying to God, and we say, God, can you give me some answers? And can you fix this problem, and can you resolve this? And I need some kind of explanation. Can you make this go away, and will you do this for me? And this is how we pray, right? And we should make requests like that to God. We're privileged to do that because he's our high priest and so we come boldly into his presence. But I think there's a prayer that we should probably be praying that most of us don't pray. What if when things get hard and as difficulties arise in our life, what if even before we pray about God resolving everything, what if we pray and we say, God, show me Jesus? Again, we ask God to give us answers and solve problems, but what if our prayers shifted? God, what I need for you to do for me right now more than anything else, even more than you solving this problem for me, is to show me Jesus. I must see Jesus. What if you and I started praying that way? I need to see Jesus. I need to behold Jesus. God, I don't know what you're doing right now, but would you please show me Christ? And what will happen if you fix your eyes on Jesus? Well, you will see that he is better than all the alternatives. And you will see the utter folly of turning anywhere else. This passage has put Jesus and Moses side by side because these people seem to be drawn to Moses. You put those two men next to each other and it is Jesus who shines above all else. Maybe you're sitting here and you're considering all manner of religion and spiritual leaders and you realize Islam has nothing to offer you. Buddha has nothing to offer you. Catholicism has nothing to offer you. A priest has nothing to offer you. Put it all up next to Jesus and it's worthless. Your old way of life, what does that actually have to offer you? Life without God made me think, well, I'll just, you know, I'll be done with Jesus and then I'll just have, I won't turn to any other religion, I'll just live and it'll be peaceful, it'll be good. Life without God at all, how could that be good when Jesus is the apostle and high priest of our confession? Also, when you consider Jesus, it really helps you get your bearings right on spiritual leaders in general, right? They're looking at Moses. Moses was awesome. Moses is remarkable. But as we fix our eyes on Jesus, we're not then prone to Moses worship. And sometimes I think what happens in Christianity is God's people get enamored with men and spiritual leaders and go, wow, that guy's amazing. I mean, that pastor, This man or this leader, that's the guy. No, he's not. Jesus is. We look at Jesus. What will happen if you fix your eyes on Jesus? You'll see that he's better than all the alternatives, and you'll also be able to endure. A look at Jesus is a look that is full of grace. God's strength comes to us through the channel of the eyes. To see Jesus is to be strengthened and so God in love is trying to say, you must slow down and you must fix your eyes on him because it is in so doing that I will pour out my grace and strength to you. Remember who you are, fix your eyes on Jesus and one final thread of Christian living, hold firm to the end. At the end of verse six states, and we are his house, we are God's people if. If indeed we hold fast our confession and our boasting and our hope, in short, we are God's people if our faith endures to the end. And the book of Hebrews just hammers this fact. Continuance in the faith or endurance is the test of genuine Christianity. Genuine Christians persevere in their faith all the way to the end, no matter what comes. Come whatever may. Those trees that I was watching last week as the wind was just howling and ripping through the trees. They were bending in the wind, not breaking. Why was that? Because they were alive. They were healthy. They were firmly rooted in the soil. If your faith is firmly fixed upon Jesus Christ, you'll endure. Hold fast to the end. We've looked at three threads of Christian living this morning, and I hope what you've seen is they're not three threads hanging there in isolation from each other. They're actually three threads that are intricately woven and tightly woven together. It's like this. By remembering who you are and fixing your eyes on Jesus, you can, by the grace of God, hold firm to the end. That's how these three threads come together. So what do we do? What do you need to do? Fix your eyes on Jesus and hold firm.