This morning we want to express our love to the mothers who are here. It's a special day for mothers and we're so thankful for the godly mothers that God has given to us, even as our wife is a godly lady. We're so thankful for you. 

Please turn in your Bible now to the scripture that Mark read, to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. I just mentioned this morning that Pastor John is quite ill with COVID, and I'm not sure how long this will take for his recovery, but he's asked me to speak in his place again today. Remember him in your prayers. 

Look at Hebrews 13 please in just two verses right now. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What a great statement that is. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines, for it's good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 

And the title of the message of the Bible study this morning is established by God's grace. Let's begin with a prayer, shall we please? 

Our Father, we thank you so much for your precious word, your grace, your mercy, your promise to us of eternal salvation. Thank you, Father, and we want these minutes together just to be for your honor and for our encouragement from your word, Father. Thanks that you're so faithful. We love you, dear Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

I want to begin with a personal example from my own life that happened 50 years ago. It's a long time ago, but my two daughters and I were visiting my parents in Bemidji, Minnesota, and they lived on the eastern side on a hill looking over the beautiful lake, Lake Bemidji, a gorgeous spot. 

And one evening we were sitting at the table and having dinner and a storm was brewing in the northwest, and it gave me an idea. I had just brought a new canoe and I brought it along to use that week at Bemidji, and I asked Dad if he would take us to the other side of Lake Bemidji, to the northwest side of Lake Bemidji and drop us off, my daughter Joanna and I, drop us off with the canoe so that we could try it out in a storm. 

Well, my mother wasn't too pleased with that idea, but Dad gave in and he took us over there. He drove us around, hauled the canoe over, and Joanna and I, with life jackets on, got in the canoe on the northwest side of Lake Bemidji and we decided we'd go across the lake in the midst of the storm and come back to my parents' house. 

And so we were doing that and the waves were high and the wind was blowing and the sky was getting dark. A storm was brewing, but we found that we didn't even have to paddle. I just sat in the back with a paddle as a rudder and Joanna sat in front kind of guiding a little, and we just drifted across through the storm and through the waves and through the wind, and we arrived safely back at my parents' home even before my dad was able to get back there with his car. 

And the secret of that trip, of that journey, was that right behind my parents' house was a tall tower, a radio tower, with flashing red lights, and all that we had to do was guide the canoe toward those red lights and we arrived safely. 

I want to use that as an example of the scripture that we're looking at today because when the writer of the book of Hebrews tells the first-century Jewish believers to be established by God's grace, it's something like that light that you could set your eyes on, set your heart upon actually, and go through any storm safely and arrive at our destination. 

The final chapter concerning Jesus, our great high priest, and the new covenant is used to teach us how to survive in this kind of an environment, this kind of a stormy environment, and the secret, and if you only remember this this morning, I hope you'll remember these truths, the secret is to be established by God's grace. 

And notice in verse 9 that's our heart, not our emotions; our heart is to be established by God's grace, rooted, fastened, stabilized by God's saving grace. That's the promise of this 13th chapter of Hebrews. 

And now I would like to have you turn to Ephesians chapter 1, and I want us to see a commentary that God gives us about the meaning of grace. We need first of all to talk about this: what is the grace that God is telling us about and encouraging us with this morning? 

Ephesians chapter 1, please look at this carefully, it's important to notice this paragraph. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Now, what is that grace, Paul, that you're writing about? And he begins to tell us in verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; that's grace. 

And here he explains it in detail, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Everyone this morning who is a believer in Jesus Christ was chosen by the Father to be his own, to belong to him. Why did he choose us? Because of his grace. 

Look at verse 5, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. The word predestined is kind of an intimidating word when you see it in the Bible; it just means to mark out beforehand. He had a plan for us and in his plan we would have the position of sons, the full position of his son Jesus Christ. That's grace; that's what grace is. 

To the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the Beloved. Do you ever sometimes wonder if you're accepted? If there’s one thing that Satan wants to challenge for a believer is that we are accepted by the Father even as his Beloved Son. 

I was reading this morning in Matthew 3 about the baptism of Jesus, and the Father spoke from heaven. He said, this is my Beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. You are accepted in the Beloved because of God's grace. 

Verse 7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. We've been singing about that this morning. Redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ because of God's grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. 

Having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself; here's his grace, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth in him. One of these days soon, folks, that event is going to take place and he's going to gather us together to be with him in the Father's house forever. That's grace. 

And then he says in verse 12 that we should, we who first trusted Christ should be to the praise of his glory. In him, this is God's grace, you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, who's the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory. 

Now if you want to understand the meaning of God's grace, come back to this chapter, Ephesians chapter 1, and again, again and again, and let that be the red light that guides you through the stormy waters to your destination. Let his grace be that which stabilizes you in this time of concern and worry and fear. 

Now he tells us three things, and I've gone through this chapter carefully just trying to present the simplicity of this message this morning, and I've noticed three things that will be true when we are established by God's grace. 

First of all, and I want you to see this in your own Bible, when we're established in his grace we will have his contentment, contentment within our heart and mind and soul. Look please again at the first verses of this chapter, beginning of chapter 1 of Hebrews 13, let brotherly love continue. 

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated since you yourselves are also in the body. Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness. 

Now notice this, be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what can man do to me. When we are established by grace, when these promises that we've read this morning from Ephesians chapter 1 dominate our mind and heart and soul, we will experience contentment. 

Our contentment is God's grace as we live through this life. And some things will be true in our life when we're contented with God's grace. First of all, his love will constrain us to love others. That's in the first several verses, verses 1 to 4, we will be constrained by his love. 

In your Bible, turn right now please to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Actually, we'll start at chapter 5 with verse 14, please. When we're contented with God's grace, this will be true for us. 

2 Corinthians 5:14, the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. Therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we've known Christ according to the flesh. Yet now we know him thus no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. That means the love of Christ dominates in our heart. Now all things are of God, who's reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 

That is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself; that's the love of Christ, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Here's what it means to be compelled by the love of Jesus Christ for strangers. 

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 

Here's the truth that God is presenting in his word. When a believer becomes fully contented with the grace of God in his life, then he's constrained by that grace and that love to be a witness to other people about God's saving love. 

Even when we meet a stranger as he's talking about in Hebrews chapter 13, when we cross paths with a stranger, the love of Christ in our heart reminds us that our Savior died vicariously to save that person from eternal punishment in the lake of fire. And so we have an assignment to tell him the only way to be saved. 

I find that often I meet strangers, whether it's at the gas pumps filling my car with gas or taking refuse junk to the dumpyard, I meet strangers often, and I'm moved when I meet a stranger to witness to him, to give him a John 3:16 card. Jesus was moved for strangers. 

When he came to Jacob's well that day, he met a woman who was a Samaritan, and he moved in his heart to witness to her and tell her how to have the gift of eternal life. Because this is the point that Scripture is making. We are confident of God's saving love for us, and we're contented with his grace. 

We are constrained for strangers, for every person that we meet, to believe that same love. Do you know, friends, you and I never meet a man or a woman for whom Jesus did not die. And it's our privilege and our appointment to tell them the good news of the gospel. 

When we're contented with God's grace, this author is saying his love will constrain us to love other people. And when we're contented with God's grace, we're established upon God's grace, then we will believe the truth stated in the word that he will never leave us or forsake us. 

You know, one of the last things Jesus said to his men before he left them, he sent them out to preach the gospel. And he said, men, I want you to know I'll be with you until the very end of the age. I'll never leave you. 

We may say to him, well, Pastor Kearns, what if we stumble? What if we fall? Friends, because we're established and strengthened by his grace, he will never leave us. Did you notice that word? He said, I'll never leave you. And so we hold fast to that promise. The Lord is always present in our life. That's true when we're contented with God's grace. 

And then also, not only will we love and be constrained by God's saving love for other people, not only will we have the confidence that he'll never leave us or forsake us, but we have the boldness that God himself is our helper. God is our helper. 

And notice that, please, in verse 5, I think it is, in Hebrews 13. Verse 5, please. Verse 6, so we may boldly say, I mean, when we're fastened, when we're established to God's grace, we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. 

When we're contented with his grace, when that's enough, we can say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do to me? I was reading recently about the storm that took place on the Sea of Galilee when the disciples were crossing over with Jesus. The storm that came up, and all these men were just terrified and frightened because of the storm. 

They weren't established in the Lord's grace. And in the midst of that storm, dear people, they didn't have the confidence that Jesus Christ is their helper. So they woke him up and said, Lord, don't you care we're going to perish? And he gave them a word of grace. He spoke to the storm. Peace, be still. And the storm subsided. 

When we know God's grace, we're confident in the storms. And we have a word from Jesus Christ that will help us to survive in the midst of the storm and to be confident. When we find ourselves in any place of risk or storm, we need to hold fast to the grace of God. And we'll be contented that the Lord is our helper. 

Now, the second thing I see in Hebrews chapter 13 is that when we are established and tied to the grace of God, we will live our life with confidence. And I want for us to start reading a passage that points this out. Start in verse 7, please, of Hebrews 13. 

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of your conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines, for it's good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no way to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. 

Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore, now watch this carefully. Therefore, by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. 

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give an account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 

Now, this is another blessing of being established upon the grace of God. We will live with the confidence of Jesus himself, because God's grace transforms our heart. Our life will be influenced in three ways that he tells us in these verses. 

First of all, we'll have a sense of security. Those who are occupied, notice that word, with God's grace, will have a sense of confidence that this is only true for the believer who believes in the grace of God. He stands in God's grace. 

Remember Romans 5, verses 1 and 2? It says we're justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access, and we stand in his grace. That's a phrase that's worth taking a hold of in your mind and heart, friends. Where do you stand in this kind of a world? 

And Paul said, as he's moved by the Holy Spirit, he said everyone who's saved and justified by faith stands in God's grace because of the new covenant that Jesus made at the cross. And also, when we have this confidence, we have a sense of worship. 

He described that in the verses that we've just read. We worship him. I love what Jesus said to the woman at Jacob's well when he said, the Father is seeking for people to worship him, to worship him in spirit and in truth. 

And the human writer concludes the new covenant document with this precise commentary concerning the worship of our Abba Father, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to him because of his grace. I was thinking of that relative to Living Hope Church. 

We're almost 30 years old now in existence. Someone asked me about our building when we started to build this place 25 or 30 years ago. And when we built this lovely worship meeting place, we didn't build this to be the means of our worship because the means by which we worship people is with our lips, giving thanks. 

We worship him from our heart. This church is not an altar, but the altar is our lips from which we give thanks to God. And right in the beginning, the conviction in my heart about this church, we only had a handful of people when we started the work, was that God will draw the people that he wants to be a part of this fellowship. 

And I've told you this example before. I compared it in my mind, supposing this building were empty, no chairs, nothing was in here, and a number of men came in with baskets full of junk, leaves and birch bark and nails and pieces of glass and dollar bills and scattered it all over here. 

And then someone came in with a massive magnet and he swept the magnet across. Some things would be attracted to the magnet. The dollar bills wouldn't; the birch bark wouldn't; but metal pieces would be attracted to the magnet. 

And I was reminded as we began Living Hope Church, that's God's plan for this place. It'll be a place of worship and evangelism, but the people who will be attracted to this church will be people who love the Lord Jesus, know him. They'll be attracted by Jesus. They'll be attracted by the written word of God. 

And so the unity and the meaning and the attraction of Living Hope Church, the reason we are people who worship him, is because of Jesus. He is the magnet. And so when we come to know the confidence of God's grace and have that nailed down in our mind and heart, we are worshiping people who are attracted to Jesus, the magnet. 

And also in verses 17 through 19 of chapter 3, he says, not only will we have a sense of security because of our confidence, not only will our heart and our lips be a place of worship, but we'll have an attitude of submission. 

Notice this verse, obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 

And this is right in the same chapter that's talking about being established by grace. And one of the characteristics of a church that's established by grace is it has rulers, overseers in the congregation. Living Hope Church has five elders, and the system of government and operation of Living Hope Church is that these elders lead as shepherds, and they watch over. 

And the role of the believers is to be submissive to the elders. That's not my opinion as one of the elders, but that's what the Bible says. The right way for the local church to operate when we are confident about God's grace is to have elders, shepherds, who lead the congregation in ministry. 

So we've seen two things. We'll have his commitment, his contentment when our eyes are fastened on the red lights, on God's grace. And we'll live with confidence when no one understands God's grace. 

And the last thing he tells us in this chapter is we'll experience his completeness. Let's start at verse 20 and you watch for this. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, whom be glory forever and ever, amen. 

And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in a few words. Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints; those from Italy greet you. Grace be with you all, amen. 

And just look at those words, verse 21, make you complete. That's Paul's desire for the church. I want for us to turn it again to Ephesians, the book of Ephesians, and read his prayer relative to this. In the book of Ephesians chapter 3, please, let's read this prayer of Paul. 

It's beginning in chapter 3 of Ephesians with verse 14. Paul said this, for this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love, we're talking about completeness. 

It's Christ dwelling, indwelling my life. And verse 18, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, to all generations forever and ever, amen. 

That's Paul's extended prayer for completeness. Now in Hebrews chapter 13, he's saying when you're established by grace, when God's grace is established in your mind and your heart, then you're going to experience a different kind of completeness than if you don't have God's grace established in your heart. 

Friends, as I listened to this prayer of Paul, is it actually true that we can live with the assurance of God's infinite, awesome fullness of life at all time? That's what the Holy Spirit said. We can live with the fullness of God's love and life. 

And we're living in a time—I don't need to tell you this, but I'll just remind you—we're living in a time of dismal fear in our world. Is it possible at this time for the love of Jesus Christ, for God's saving love, to be in my mind and heart and to cast out all fear? That's what the Apostle John said in 1 John chapter 4. When we grasp the length and breadth and height and depth of God's love and his grace, it will cast out all of our fear. 

I was reading a message by Max Lucado recently about the option to fear. And he was talking about the story of Jairus, the Jewish leader who came to Jesus and begged for the healing of his daughter. And so Jesus said, I'll go to your home and I'll touch your daughter, and she'll live. 

As they made the way down that winding, dusty road, some leaders came out from Jairus' house and they said, don't trouble the Lord anymore because your daughter has died. And Max Lucado was saying, now, Jairus has a choice. He can either believe what the people are telling him, your daughter has died, or he can believe the promise that Jesus gave him. It'll be well with your daughter. Which will you believe? 

And so it is today, friends. We can make a choice in life about these fearful, distressing times. Will I believe Jesus Christ, my Savior, for the fullness of his grace? And all that includes security; he never leaves me; he's my helper at all times. Will I believe the world? We have that choice again. 

And Paul teaches us. I want you to see one thing in your Bible. Paul teaches that this completeness can be experienced when we acknowledge God's grace. Look, if you will, at Colossians right now. And this is such an important text for us to see in relation to applying this verse today, this truth today. 

Colossians chapter 2, verse 1. Paul wrote these words to the first-century Christians. He said, I want you to know what great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. This was his desire, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to know the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ our Savior. 

This was Paul's desire for the first-century Christians, that they'd have a full understanding of God's great love of his grace. I wondered this morning, is that the passion in our life as an individual, to have full understanding and to acknowledge the mystery? What is the mystery? Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

Paul said, if you'll acknowledge that mystery, then you're going to experience a special kind of a contentment, a wonderful confidence because of the grace of God, and completeness, completeness of the fullness of Christ in your life. If we will acknowledge—and friends, that's something we do every day. We need to do it every day, many times every day. 

Becoming a believer and being saved was a one-time thing with an eternal result. When our heart was turned to Jesus to be saved and we called upon him, that was a one-time experience that lasts forever; we're saved forever. But acknowledging the mystery of God's grace, that's not only once a day, many times a day. 

We need to come back to this truth and give thanks, Father, for the grace of God. Thank you for that red light that guides me through the storm, the truth that Jesus is my Savior, my indwelling life. 

Let's bow together and have a prayer, please. 

Father, thank you so much for your word and for the truth of your word. And thank you, dear Lord, for your grace that you chose us before the foundation of the world for yourself. You marked out in your plan that we would have the full relationship of a son, even as Jesus. 

Thank you, Father, that you declared that we would be accepted in the Beloved in Christ. We have redemption through his blood. We have an inheritance in heaven. We're going to be gathered together to you. And we've been sealed by your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father. 

Cause the truth, the essential truth that we've looked at this morning to be very real and heart-encouraging in the heart of every one of us. Thank you, Father, for loving us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.