STEADFASTNESS
Isaiah 28:16; Hebrews 12:1,2 (to “faith”);
I have an impression, beloved friends and brethren, that in the presence of death, and despite the great sorrow, the Lord would encourage us to continue in the pathway steadfastly. Steadfastness was a characteristic of our brother, and many have commented on that to me in these last few weeks. But this was not in his own strength, he would have been the first to admit that; he remained steadfast in dependence on his Lord and Saviour, and I am sure our brother’s desire would be that our Lord Jesus, that blessed Man, would be the One before us as we are together.
I wondered if these three scriptures would give both comfort and strength to each one of our souls that we may be steadfast in the pathway for the time that remains to us. In Isaiah we are told what God has done: He has laid “for foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation”. That is a prophetic reference to the Lord Jesus, beloved: He is the sure foundation, He was the foundation for our brother’s soul while he was here, and He is the foundation for many in this room. I would ask the question, is the Lord Jesus your foundation? Is He the foundation for your soul salvation? As our brother has said, in the presence of death we are powerless, but we speak of One who has triumphed over death. This foundation that has been laid depends on the love of Jesus and that Man can be with you. Are you resting on the foundation of the precious work and the great love of our Lord Jesus? It never changes and it can never be taken away; the love of the Lord Jesus for His own is never broken, and our brother is with Him now. What a wonderful hope we have. Do you have that hope? Is He your foundation, and is your soul resting on the precious blood of Jesus, and on His wondrous work at Calvary, and in knowing Him where He now is? We can put our faith and trust in Him, and as it says in this verse “he that trusteth shall not make haste”; or, as the note says, ‘shall not hasten with fear’. So despite the power of death, we can be assured there is One who has been through death and come forth from it triumphantly.
That is why I read the scripture in Hebrews, where the writer is encouraging us to run with endurance the race. The race is completed for our brother, He is with his Lord and Saviour, but to those of us that remain, I would encourage each one to continue in the race for the time that may be left to us. We do not run alone, we have One who is before us, it says “looking stedfastly on Jesus the leader and completer of faith”. What a Saviour He is, what a Man He is who has gone before, there was none so steadfast as our Lord Jesus. It says “he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem”, Luke 9:51. Death awaited Him there and He knew that. Our Lord and Saviour never took a backward step, He personified steadfastness in the perfection of His walk, and thus the writer speaks of Him as a model for us to follow. May we be encouraged in doing that, as seeing Him before us and conscious that He is no longer in death, as we have sung together in our opening hymn (152). He has come forth triumphant and we can by faith have a view of Him where He is, that blessed, glorified, risen and exalted Man in the heavens above. Do we have our eyes on Him? If we do, we can continue with steadfastness in our souls. Not only can we see Him by faith, but He companies with us. Not only can we say we will see Him at the end of the race, but He is with us every step of the way. May we prove, beloved, that He never leaves us. Our relations with Him may get cold sometimes but He is always there. What a mighty Saviour He is!
I read the scripture in Thessalonians because, having spoken of a foundation, and the necessity of having a view of the glorified Man, in this scripture we have the assurance of the hope of His coming. What rejoicing of heart this scripture gives us. The apostle desired those to whom he wrote to encourage each other with these words. The Thessalonians were concerned that those who had died were missing something. Not so, beloved: it says that those who have fallen asleep – the dead in Christ – will be brought with Him. What are we waiting for as we walk here? Dear friends and brethren, what are your eyes fixed on and what is your hope? Is it in the Man who has conquered death? Is it in Him who has given His precious life for each one of us? If your faith and trust are in Him, you have a glorious hope before you. It is the Lord Himself that is coming, and we shall be changed. I think that is wondrously touching. It says: “for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them”. What a hope that is! Is your hope in Him? I trust it is. Our brother’s hope was in Him, and I believe the things that we have spoken of enabled him to be steadfast in his commitment to his Saviour here. I would encourage each of us, myself included, to continue in steadfastness in the time we have left to us. We have a foundation, we have a view above, and we have a sure hope in our glorious, coming, living Lord.
May it be so, for His name’s sake.
Richard Smith