371 - The Lord's Prayer Series 12 - The Unchanging God#
371 - The Lord's Prayer Series 12 - The Unchanging God
(JP Text Group - Shalom Compilation)
Dear family, peace in the Lord, welcome to your arrival. Today we will look at the last lecture of the Lord's Prayer, the twelfth lecture.
The topic of the sharing is: The Unchanging God
Matthew 6:9-13:
9 Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen!
The world is constantly seeking change, but our God is unchanging.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you. Thank you for giving us this time to gain strength and provision through your word. You are the unchanging God. We are renewed and transformed by your word because we are willing to become like you, increasingly embodying the stature of Christ. Please help the brothers and sisters to live out the power of Christ in their lives. Live a life that glorifies you, becoming more like you, and be a model for the world in conduct and character. Grant us strength so that we may receive the provision that comes from you. All glory belongs to you. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
The last lecture of the Lord's Prayer: The Unchanging God
People are constantly pursuing change because they are dissatisfied with the present and seek something better, requiring constant change in pursuit of perfection; but our God is unchanging because He is already the most perfect and complete, and therefore does not need to change! At the same time, He is also our loving Lord, and His love is complete. Because of this, we can pray to Him about everything. What do you lack? Wisdom, power, authority, glory, love? He has it all and has reached the peak, becoming complete. When you pray to Him, He is willing to give to you because He has made a covenant with us. This covenant is an everlasting covenant established by Jesus with His blood, and He will surely fulfill our prayers and give us the best! Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father in heaven, telling us that He has power, authority, and glory, and also that He is the unchanging God who will fulfill our prayers, hear our prayers, and answer us forever!
The first point of sharing: Because He is unchanging, we can trust Him.
Psalm 102:25-27:
25 In the beginning, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing, you will change them, and they will be changed. 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
This is the God you pray to, the one you call upon is our Father in heaven. He laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of His hands. Even if the heavens and the earth cease to exist, He still remains. How great is His power? It is like changing an old garment for a new one, and He can change the heavens and the earth as easily as you change clothes. When we wake up in the morning and find our clothes unsuitable, or old and dirty, we easily change them; but if we were to change the heavens and the earth? That would be impossible! But the God you pray to can do it, changing the heavens and the earth as easily as you change clothes!
You know His power, and when you pray to Him, you have faith! Because He is fully capable of doing this, even if the heavens and the earth cease to exist, He still exists; only He is unchanging! This is the central theme of our talk today: He is unchanging. Everything you can see in the heavens and the earth is constantly changing. An object, once it comes into being, is constantly aging until it eventually perishes. But our God is not like that; even if everything visible to the eye disappears, our God remains unchanged! Our God is still here! Hallelujah! He is the one you can rely on, the one worth relying on forever. Hallelujah, thank and praise the Lord.
When praying to the Father in heaven, we must have assurance in our hearts, believing that He has the power and is willing to give you the best. He is willing to give these to you, not because of your great ability or good behavior, but because He loves you. Hallelujah, simply because He loves you. Brothers and sisters, He is unchanging. Once He has made a covenant with you, He is willing to be responsible for His words. This is what we need to understand: He is unchanging and trustworthy! His years have no end. Even if thousands of years pass, this is a human way of calculating time, but our God has no concept of time. We still have past, present, and future, but our God only has the present. He has long since transcended the concept of time, and His love for you, His help for you, also transcends time.
People easily break promises, often speaking contrary to their hearts. They promise others but do not follow through, and sometimes there is deceit even at the moment of promise because they are imperfect and have many things they cannot control. But God is different; His words, the truths He speaks, are unchanging. How He treated sin in the Old Testament is how He treats sin now; how He blessed the people with whom He made a covenant in the Old Testament is the same as how He blesses those who trust Him today! In this regard, God does not change.
Joshua lived his life relying on God and almost never failed. At the end of his life, he advised the Israelites as follows:
Joshua 23:14: "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they have all been fulfilled for you."
Joshua was Moses' successor. After leading the Israelites and completing his ministry, Joshua knew he was going back and advised the Israelites, "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls," advising them to rely on God, the God who keeps His promises, the unchanging God! The words of the Lord your God, which He promised to bless you, have not failed! I hope brothers and sisters remember these words in our hearts. Since God did not fail the Israelites in the Old Testament, and what He said came to pass, God is also fulfilling this in your life today. Even if you do not see your prayers answered now, do not lose heart; believe that His words will never fail! Amen.
Those who trust Him will not be put to shame. Because of God's unchanging nature, He is worthy of our trust. He is a faithful God. The blessings that our God bestowed upon the Israelites bring us hope. God gave us the Old Testament and the New Testament so that we can see how God treated this group of people; it shows us what kind of covenant Jesus established for us, giving us assurance that at any time, our God will keep His promises and is the unchanging God. As long as we are willing to believe in Him and rely on Him, He will surely save us and help us.
The lives of people are full of changes, but our God is unchanging and worthy of our reliance. The Bible shows us that He is the unchanging God, and His love, help, and mercy towards us are also unchanging. Jacob's life was full of ups and downs; he always had clever schemes, plotting against this person and that person, using his own strategies to deal with his family, relatives, and friends. But we see that at every stage, God helped him.
God helped Jacob not because Jacob was good enough, but precisely because God had a covenant with Abraham, and He was willing to bless him. Jacob did not understand that God was a willing God to bless until the latter half of his life. He spent most of his life trying to grab hold of worldly things, using all his methods to grasp them, until he grew old and learned to give. He then realized that this God was the God who blessed him, the unchanging God. No matter what stage he was in, God was always protecting him and helping him.
In our lives, although there are many changes and many things we cannot control, we have a God who is forever unchanging to whom we can pray. Imagine if you had a friend who was particularly capable and treated you very well, and this person never changed; that would be the greatest fortune in your life. We often see on television those who become sworn brothers, willing to fight for each other. When we see such movie plots, we long for such a friend!
In contrast, many people have lost this sincerity and are constantly changing. Today, this friend leaves you; tomorrow, they leave because of financial issues; the day after, they leave because of rumors. We live in such an unstable world because everyone has changed—relationships have changed, marriages have changed, emotions have changed, careers have changed. We lack security, but at any time, if you look up to our Lord, He remains unchanged. Hallelujah! Just like the sun rises every day, perhaps your eyes are blocked by clouds or rain, but in the end, the sun is still there. Amen.
We have a God who can remain unchanged to help us; therefore, do not set your sights on the ground, do not focus all your attention on people, but focus on our God. In any situation, you can pray to Him. Jesus teaches us to pray, first wanting to tell us that He loves you, He does not change, and is willing to help you!
Psalm 46:1-3:
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
The psalmist understands this unchanging God, knowing that God is his refuge, his strength, and his very present help in trouble. Today, in the last lecture of the Lord's Prayer, I tell you that God is the unchanging God. Thus, when you pray to Him, He will remember the covenant made with Jesus and bless you. You can let Him be your refuge, your strength, and your very present help in trouble. He is the unchanging God. "Though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved," this is the most solid thing we can see, but this earth will change. The mountains, which we think should be as solid as a rock and unshakable, will one day also shake, but our God does not change! Hallelujah!
Every time you read such scriptures, you should think of one thing: our God is the unchanging God! Therefore, His promises to me, the promises He gives me, will never change! He loves me and will surely keep His covenant forever. With such a Lord to rely on, when you encounter any problems or difficulties, your heart will be comforted. Hallelujah!
The second point of sharing: He will fulfill the covenant He made with us.
God made a covenant with the Israelites and fulfilled this covenant forever. Sometimes, although the Israelites broke the covenant, God does not break the covenant He made. This is the greatest hope for us. When two people make a contract, if one party breaches it, the contract should terminate; God made a covenant with the Israelites, and one day when the Israelites broke the covenant, God did not change or abolish this contract but continued to wait for the Israelites to return and re-enter the covenant. God blessed them according to this covenant. Amen. Do you know this God, who is such an unchanging Lord?
Deuteronomy 7:7-9:
7 "The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your ancestors that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments."
In Deuteronomy, Moses reaffirms God's covenant with the Israelites. How does Moses say it? "The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you," this is because of the covenant, not because the Israelites were good or numerous, but precisely because they were few and had nothing to boast about. But God loved them, simply because God loved them. God is just keeping His promise, and this promise began with Abraham. God made a covenant with Abraham saying, "I will bless you and your descendants." Because of this word, God has kept it until today and has not given up on the Israelites.
In contrast, the Israelites were fewer than other nations, the least among all peoples, starting a nation from a family of dozens of people. But God loved them, not because they were few or lacked ability, but because of the covenant made with Abraham. God kept this covenant and fulfilled the oath He swore to their ancestors, bringing them out of Egypt and delivering them from slavery. Therefore, Moses tells the Israelites, "Know therefore that the Lord your God is the faithful God."
The name "Lord" means: the God who makes a covenant with you. Every time you mention the Lord, you should think of one thing: He is the God who made a covenant with me. You must center on the covenant; He is God. This covenant is made with our ancestors, for the Israelites, it is the covenant made with Abraham. Therefore, God blesses them, loves them, and shows them mercy. If the Israelites could often realize this, they would not be proud or boastful. The covenant between us and God is the one established by Jesus with His blood, and this covenant is everlasting. For the sake of this covenant, God can bless you, show you mercy, help you, and wait for you! It is all because of a covenant.
This covenant is essentially an agreement reached between two parties. Amen. Let’s see what agreement God made with the Israelites. Because Abraham believed God, a covenant was made between God and Abraham, where God said: "I will bless your descendants." And the Israelites are the descendants of Abraham, so God said this and did it. God did not say, "When your descendants are obedient, I will bless them; if they are disobedient, I will not care for them." God has always kept this covenant. But the problem is that the Israelites breached the covenant many times, unwilling to keep it, wanting to escape from the covenant, wanting to live on their own, wanting to distance themselves from this unchanging God who wants to show them grace.
Let’s look at a passage of scripture, Leviticus 26:43-45:
43 The land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its Sabbath while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sin because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely. I will not break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake, I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord."
Every time God mentions "I am the Lord," it is God once again remembering the covenant made with their ancestors. He does not look at the current situation of this group of people. If He looked at their current situation, He would really not want to deal with them anymore. What have the Israelites done? They have left God, violated His words, and relied on their own ways to live, resulting in their bondage to sin. Sometimes we wonder why the Israelites are so rebellious. Isn’t it good to follow this God? But the fact is that many people think, "If I obey God in everything, how am I different from a puppet? No, I want to live for myself. I want to escape from God's laws and live by my own ways. Isn't that okay?"
During the time when Samuel was a judge, the situation of the people was particularly prominent. God was their God, leading them every day, fighting for them, blessing them; how wonderful! But the people said, "We want a king to rule us, like the other nations." Samuel said, "Don't you know? The Lord is your king!" But the Israelites said, "No, we do not want such a king; we want a king we can see..."
They destroyed the covenant with God with their own hands. Brothers and sisters, when a contract is established between people, if one party breaches it, it should terminate, and the breaching party is responsible. The contract ends, and the relationship breaks. However, the covenant made between God and us is not like that. Even if people breach the covenant, God does not abolish it, always giving people the opportunity to return. As long as people are willing to return to the covenant, God still loves them, still blesses them, and fulfills His responsibilities according to this covenant. This is our God!
Brothers and sisters, the Israelites have repeatedly violated God's words, rejected God's statutes, and abhorred God's decrees. God's statutes and decrees are good for the Israelites; they did not know how to live. God told them how to overcome in the world, but they were unwilling to rely on Him. What a pity!
I have always encouraged brothers and sisters to read the Bible more because the Bible not only tells us how to be saved but also how to live a victorious life! You can live a life completely different from the world. God's words, those statutes and decrees, even if they are requirements for us, we should willingly obey them in our hearts, and then you will be blessed! God does not write anything useless or unrelated to you in the Bible; what remains is definitely helpful to you. Many people do not even read the Bible, and even after believing in the Lord, they live however they want, leading to great failures and repeated failures. They still complain to God, "Why don't you bless us?" Brothers and sisters, it is not that God is unwilling to bless; it is that people have left this covenant and are unwilling to live according to God's words. How can God bless them?
The covenant we establish with God is that we are saved by Jesus into Christ and are willing to live in obedience to Christ. Then our lives will surely be victorious like Jesus in all things. But people are unwilling to do this. Many people, even after believing in Jesus, continue to live according to their past ways, even in violation of God's words. This is serving sin, and serving sin will definitely bring punishment, and this punishment is not from God. The Israelites are like this; if you read the Old Testament, you will see that the Israelites repeatedly violated God's words and ultimately fell into punishment. It is not that God wanted to punish them; it is that they lived outside of God's words, and the punishments that came upon the Gentiles also came upon them because of God's righteousness.
Although the Israelites suffered greatly for violating God's words, God did not reject them or abhor them in the land of their enemies. He did not completely destroy them. What did God do? God did not break His covenant with the Israelites. Every time God thought of them, He said, "I am the Lord their God." I don't know if you can feel God's heart of mercy when I say this. Even if people breach the covenant, God still tells Himself, "I am the Lord," meaning I have a covenant with him. Although he has breached the covenant, I hope he can return.
In the prophetic books of the Old Testament, God continually sent prophets to call the Israelites: "Return! As long as you return, I will bless you; as long as you return, I will care for you!" Why must the Israelites return before God cares for them? This is the covenant. If one person breaches the covenant and is unwilling to listen to God's ways, unwilling to live according to this covenant, what can God do? So God always waits for them: "Return, return to our covenant, and I will gladly bless you." What God remembers is not the current behavior of the people.
Verse 45 says, "But for their sake, I will remember the covenant with their ancestors."
Now God has made a covenant with Abraham, and many years have passed, thousands of years have gone by. Why does God still keep this covenant? A covenant can last for thousands of years; our God has not treated us poorly! But God has not given up. In God's heart, once this covenant is established, our God will forever be responsible for us. The day you believe in Him, until forever, God will be responsible for you, not only for your soul but also for your life forever. What is feared is that people live outside this covenant and suffer! The Israelites are like this, and they serve as a lesson for us. Our God always waits for them to return.
God's heart waiting for the Israelites is like the father waiting for his younger son in Luke 15. As long as he is willing to return, his father is willing to bless him, giving him a ring, clothes, shoes, and a fat calf. But if this son does not return, the father can only wait because this is the covenant! Amen.
Today we are all in this covenant. I hope brothers and sisters, when you encounter any problems, can turn to God in prayer because you have a covenant with the Father in heaven. This covenant is the one established by Jesus with His blood, an everlasting covenant that will never be abolished! God will bless us, show us mercy, and show us kindness because of this covenant. Please remember, brothers and sisters, this covenant is forever valid!
Jeremiah 31:31-34:
31 "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Every time you read such scriptures, "declares the Lord," these words are very important. They are God's promise to help us and bless us. You must keep such words in your heart. "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah." This is a covenant that relates to us. What day is that? It is after Jesus Christ was crucified; the new covenant began. When Jesus shed His precious blood, all our sins were forgiven, guaranteeing that we will never change in God's covenant again. This is a blood covenant, the new covenant.
Believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, this covenant is forever established between us and God! This covenant is different from the old covenant of the law. In the old covenant of the law, when the Israelites breached the covenant, God would wait, waiting for them to return, and then He would bless them. Because they breached the covenant, He could not do anything more. But the new covenant is different; it has some differences from the old covenant.
In the new covenant, verse 33 says, "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time: I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."
What does this refer to? When we believe that Jesus sacrificed His blood for our sins on the cross, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts. God gives us not just ten commandments but the law of love, the law of the Spirit, the law that gives life.
God places the Holy Spirit within us, reminding us at all times, allowing us to often recall God's words. The Holy Spirit will constantly remind you, especially when you go astray or fail. He will remind you that He will not abandon you, will not remember your sins, and has forgiven your wickedness. This is what the Holy Spirit continually reminds us, like the best friend who is always by your side. This is the part we should focus on in the new covenant.
In the old covenant, the Israelites did not have the Holy Spirit, so they would be weak, fall, and violate God's words; but in the new covenant, every believer has the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit always reminds us of the truth, makes us remember Jesus' words, and reminds us of this covenant. Therefore, do not forget that you are living in a covenant.
This covenant binds both parties. Once you establish a covenant with God, He must be responsible for you; when you fail, He will be responsible for you. When you receive glory, He is still responsible for you and rejoices with you. When you suffer loss, He is still responsible for you and will compensate you. This is our God. Because of this covenant, He will be responsible for you forever.
God hopes that we will pray to Him about everything. He will not force us; He is willing for us to turn to Him in prayer. Praying to God is to acknowledge that He is your God and to give your sovereignty to Him. Amen. When we are willing to let God help us, our lives will change. This is the new covenant. You must believe that our God is the unchanging God. Whenever you pray to Him, He will listen and fulfill the best for you.
Isaiah 40:8-9:
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
Brothers and sisters, when these two passages of scripture are put together, they give us great hope. You see, "The grass withers, the flower fades," these are things that happen in a very short time. But the word of our God will stand forever. When you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, from that moment on, until forever, God will not give up on you, God will not abandon you, and He will be responsible for you. Whenever you pray to Him, He will listen and fulfill the best for you. We are like this; the world reports such good news. You should go up to the high mountain and see the majesty and wonders of our God. Hallelujah! "Lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God.'"
In the past, when the Israelites faced disasters, encountered problems, and were captured in foreign lands, the prophets came to tell them, "Lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid." Look, your God will not abandon you; your God will come to save you! I also want to tell you that even if you are very weak, very lost, or if your situation is a mess, I want to tell you: Look, your God! He has not abandoned you; He is the forever unchanging God. You have already established a covenant with Him, and He will not abandon you. Therefore, when you encounter things, we should pray to God. Amen! Read God's words more, and you will know what kind of God He is.
Proverbs 19:20-21:
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. 21 There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel—that will stand.
The Bible has much to say about how to live victoriously in life, such as in Proverbs. Do not interpret Proverbs spiritually and complicate it. Even if Proverbs is read by unbelievers, there is much to gain! Look at Proverbs, and you will see how to live. Just do according to those words, and it will not change. Today I tell you that God is the unchanging God, and His words are also timeless. God's words from thousands of years ago are effective, and thousands of years later, His words are still effective. This is the comfort the Bible brings us. The world changes, people's hearts change, but God's words will never fail.
"You should listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." Reading various books in the world is good; it can increase knowledge, but you must place the Bible first. You can learn many experiences and lessons from people, but you must place God's words first. What people think can be somewhat helpful, but it also has shortcomings. Only God's words are full of wisdom and have no shortcomings.
It is not that I am saying not to pay attention to knowledge and learning in the world; you can pay attention, but remember to place God's words in your heart first. This is why I always encourage everyone to read God's words first. Read the Bible dozens of times, and then looking at the knowledge of the world will become very simple. If you do not have God's words in your heart, reading too much of the world's things will confuse you. Which one is correct? There will be many worries in your heart because many things contradict each other. What one person says is completely opposite to what another person says, and we do not know whom to believe. God's words will not be like this.
Brothers and sisters, you should listen to counsel. You are a person with a covenant with God. Living according to God's words will bring you blessings! Let every brother and sister have wisdom. You should not be more foolish than the world; you should be smarter and be a more successful group of people! We always say that God is the wisest, the most glorious, and the most powerful. However, many Christians do not live out such a pattern because many times they deviate from God's words. Therefore, "Listen to counsel and receive instruction" is very important.
It is not that you have heard this sermon and do not want to hear it again. It is not like that. Even if you have read God's words, you should still read them. Reading yesterday and reading today will have different insights because the Holy Spirit is renewing you. Reading last year and reading this year will also have completely different insights because your life has changed, and the Holy Spirit gives you new guidance and new revelations.
I suggest that everyone read a section of Proverbs or a chapter of Proverbs every day to continuously grow in wisdom and fill you with faith in God! He is the unchanging God. His words do not change, but at any time, God's unchanging words can fully cope with the changing world. Amen! People's hearts can change constantly, but God has long seen through people's hearts. The Holy Spirit will let you easily cope with life in any environment. Hallelujah!
Verse 21 says, "There are many plans in a man's heart; nevertheless, the Lord's counsel—that will stand."
This sentence can be translated into words we often say: "Man proposes, God disposes." Many people do not know who this "God" refers to. This passage has already told us, "There are many plans in a man's heart." You can make plans, and God does not prohibit you from having your own ideas and plans. But remember, if a person's plans contradict God's words, it will definitely fail! People can have many plans, but if these plans violate God's words, there will definitely be problems. Conversely, if a person's plans align with God's words, they will be established and will surely succeed! In this matter, there is no distinction between believers and non-believers.
Let me explain this in more detail. There are many successful people in the world, and we acknowledge their success as blessings from God. Why does God bless them? Because God has established many laws between heaven and earth, and these laws have already been told to us in the Bible. Non-believers who live according to these laws and follow the divine will will succeed. However, believers, if their plans are different from God's words, will still fail.
Many Christians do not understand this point. They say, "I believe in Jesus; why is my business not doing well? Why doesn't God bless me? Why am I still failing?" It is not that God is unwilling to bless you; you need to carefully observe whether those plans and methods contradict God's words. What should you do? You can adjust according to God's words.
Another way to reference is to learn from successful people in the world in this field. You will be amazed to find that the success of these people ultimately aligns with God's words. Amen! That is why they succeed. If they violate God's words, they will fail at any time.
Let me give you a simple example so you can understand. God created fire, and fire has always existed from the time of Eve until the end of the world. The properties of fire will not change into the properties of water. What can fire be used for? It can be used to warm oneself in cold weather. Later, people used fire to create various advanced things and succeeded because they acted according to the properties of fire. If you refuse to listen, thinking you have great faith because you believe in Jesus and have a covenant with God, and you insist on putting your hand in the fire, what will happen? I think you already know the answer.
No one is willing to try this because they know that this has nothing to do with the size of faith. This is a law of life. If you violate this law, you are destined to fail. God is the unchanging God. He not only saves our lives but also wants to save our lives, allowing us to be victorious in all things. Therefore, God is willing for us to live according to His words.
"Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel—that will stand," means that your plans must align with God's words. If your plans align with God's words, they will be established. If they contradict God's words, I emphasize again, failure is inevitable. This has nothing to do with whether one believes or not. Of course, what is the benefit of believing? You know where the problem lies. Non-believers will say, "What bad luck!" Just try a different way until you find a way that aligns with God's counsel, and it will be established. But we do not need to keep trying; God has already told you His words. You do not need to try; just do according to God's words, and it will surely succeed! Therefore, we are blessed people. Hallelujah! Because God is the unchanging God, we must live according to God's words to see the effects brought about by those words.
Let’s look at the last passage of scripture, Hebrews 10:19-23:
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10 tells us that those who believe in Jesus have a covenant with God, and this covenant is established by the blood of Jesus. Because of the blood of Jesus, we can confidently enter the Most Holy Place. In the Old Testament, the high priest had only one opportunity each year to enter the Most Holy Place, to come before the mercy seat of the Most Holy Place to receive God's grace, mercy, and blessings. After the high priest received these blessings from the Most Holy Place, he would come out and convey them to the people, and the people would live in peace and prosperity for a year. This is God's blessing.
Why did they need to enter the Most Holy Place? That was an eagerly anticipated day! But now it is different. We are more blessed than the Israelites; we are under the new covenant. We no longer need to rely on the high priest to enter the Most Holy Place. You no longer need to wait for an opportunity once a year; you can enter every day.
Verse 20 says, "by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain."
What does this mean? You can come to the mercy seat of the Most Holy Place with any problem. Just raise your hand and call upon our Father in heaven, and it is as if you have come into the Most Holy Place. This way has been opened for you by Jesus. It is a new and living way, passed through by Jesus. This is why we pray, and in the end, we say, "In the name of Jesus, we pray." That is because through the body of Jesus, through this new and living way, our prayers can directly reach the Father in heaven.
Jesus is now teaching His disciples how to pray, wanting to tell them that this is a new way of praying. As long as you pray in the name of Jesus, the Father will surely listen. In the Old Testament, they did not have this qualification; they could only go through the high priest. Now Jesus is the mediator for everyone. He is the high priest, governing the house of God. In the future, when we truly arrive at the new heaven and new earth, you will find that Jesus is the high priest, still governing the house of God, and He has solved all your problems!
Before the high priest entered the Most Holy Place in the Old Testament, he had to completely cleanse himself to enter; otherwise, he would die! You can enter the Most Holy Place anytime and anywhere because Jesus has completely cleansed your sin problem, not only the sin within but also your body. Therefore, you can come before the Father in prayer.
Do not feel that you have wronged God because you have just sinned again! You have become weak! Put all of that down! Come before God, and He will bless you and fulfill your prayers, simply because of the covenant established by Jesus! Just like the Israelites, when they called upon God, God did not look at their behavior but at the covenant made with their ancestor Abraham. God blessed the people according to that covenant. Our Lord blesses you according to the covenant established by Jesus. Amen.
No matter how many blessings you receive from God, do not be proud or boastful. This is what Jesus has done for us. Hallelujah! No matter how great our achievements are, we will not boast; no matter how great our failures are, we will not lose heart or despair because there is a covenant here. This covenant is still valid today. You must hold on to this hope and never waver. Our God is the unchanging God. This covenant is forever established between you and God! The mediator is Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Because He who promised is faithful, He will fulfill this covenant and remember this covenant forever because He is the unchanging God. Therefore, we are blessed people. Amen.
Let us pray to the Father together:
Heavenly Father, thank you and praise you. Thank you for loving us so much. You are the unchanging God. We can pray to you in the name of Jesus, and you remember this covenant with Jesus and bless us. You have given us the blessings of heaven through Jesus. You let us not worry or be anxious. Every day, you will provide us with the food we need. You have forgiven our debts and hope that we do not carry burdens but live freely, loving others freely and forgiving others freely. Let our hearts be filled with your words, not with the disputes and noise of this world.
Lord, place such a heart within us, always keeping our eyes on your words. You are the unchanging God; therefore, your words to us are permanently effective. We are willing to hold on to your promises and live by them. No matter the circumstances, we believe you will not abandon us. Even if we are weak and fall into temptation, you will still save us because you do not fail. You are capable and willing to save me in all things. Your name is Jehovah, and you have a covenant with me. I remember this covenant; it is an everlasting blood covenant established by Jesus.
Father, I thank you for blessing me, not because of my good behavior, but because of Jesus. His covenant is everlasting. I believe you are the God who keeps covenants and shows mercy. The new week is a different week because you have prepared the way ahead of me. I am willing to live in obedience to your words. Please help me to see the world with spiritual eyes, to see your wonders, to see your grace, and also grant me strength, so that I may have eloquence and wisdom in my life, bringing the gospel out. Let me also tell the world: Look, your God! What great and marvelous things He has done for you!
Heavenly Father, send more of your children to spread this gospel, telling the world that you are the unchanging God. In the last days, we will not be alarmed because we have a God we can rely on forever. Thank you for loving us so much, Father. Bless all the brothers and sisters who hear the word, that they may fully receive your strength to live, receive your love, and live a life full of love! Thank and praise you. All glory belongs to you. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.