Choose That Good Part Which Will Not Be Taken Away!

One day during the ministry of Jesus Christ, as he was out traveling the roads of Judea, he and his disciples came to the town of Bethany, and ultimately to the door of his good friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. And it was approaching mealtime, and as Martha greeted Jesus at the door, she invited him inside, and it would seem likely his disciples were invited along inside as well.

And this really wasn't an unusual occurrence. Bethany was located about 40 minutes walk from the Mount of Olives, so it was a route that Jesus Christ frequently traveled through. And his good friends were here, again, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. He'd like to stop by, and in my mind, I guess I think of it as a place that was maybe could be described as home away from home.

You know, I hope I'm not stretching that too far, but these were his friends, and this was a place he could come to maybe have a little bit of peace and comfort and relaxation, get a little bit out of the fray of when he was out and about, and the multitudes were oppressing him, and not oppressing, but pressing, and pushing in on him, seeking help, seeking miracles. Jesus Christ was human, and there was time you maybe even needed a break to catch, you needed one to catch his breath as well.

So he stops in here on this particular day, Bethany, and sees his friends. However, on this day, something took place which was a little bit out of the ordinary, and it leads to a concept being recorded for us in Scripture that's instructive. You know, an interaction took place that actually hit the radar to the level of being recorded in Scripture for us, and it's a lesson that's found in Luke chapter 10 and verse 39, at least starting in this section.

Luke 10 verse 39, if you'll turn there, please. We're going to take a look at an interaction which took place between Jesus and Martha on this day. Luke chapter 10 and verse 39, it says, And she, Martha, had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached him, approached Jesus, and she said to him, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. Martha's busy. She's scurrying around, and if anybody's ever had a house full of guests, you know, they didn't have cell phones in that range, so I don't know if he necessarily set word ahead, but he's there, and now she's trying to serve, and there wasn't the microwave, and there wasn't the oven, electric oven. So this was rather intensive work.

And she says, tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, and in my mind I can kind of maybe imagine how he said this here, you know, Martha, Martha.

Right? Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. He said, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her. So we have here a lesson in priorities. Martha was doing her due diligence. Okay, she's taking care of her guests, she's cooking food, she's going around trying to make sure everybody is comfortable, and it's not like there was something wrong with that. That is indeed what you would expect. That's eastern hospitality. That's what you do when you open your home up to somebody.

So she's doing these things which are important, but Mary, on the other hand, wasn't helping her. Not like Martha thought she should be. And, you know, maybe even to some people at first glance it might seem like, well, Mary was just sort of being lazy and shirking her responsibility. But she wasn't helping like Martha thought and said she was sitting at Jesus' feet. She was listening to the conversations, she was listening to the teachings and what it is that he had to say, and she was learning from him.

And from Martha's perspective, here comes the Messiah, the Savior. You know, by this point, those who interacted with him regularly, I think, were starting to get a little insight as to the magnitude of who this was. And Martha was busy, but Mary was sitting at his feet. She's hanging on every word, and she wants to learn everything the great teacher has to say. And so Jesus essentially just said, you know, it's okay, Martha. It's okay. In fact, you know, perhaps you're the one who's become a bit distracted.

You know, Lord, ask her to help me. I think sometimes we can maybe give Martha a little bit of a bum rap. She wasn't frittering away her time either, but Christ says, there are priorities here, and what you're doing, okay, that is important, but there is one thing that is even more important than that. And Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her.

And sometimes it's easy to read past this. I've read past this so many times, but I think Jesus' words are instructive, brethren, because they draw contrast between the things that can be taken away from us and things that will not if we choose to grab hold of them and never let them go.

To me, this was the focus that struck me in a little different way this week as I read this passage. There are things that can be taken away from us easily, but things that will not be if we choose to grab hold and never let go. The title of today's message is, choose the good part which will not be taken away. Choose the good part which will not be taken away. Indeed, it is a choice. The world that you and I live in has a long history of taking many things away from many people, and I just maybe put out the example of warfare. You know, through the history of warfare, people live in a land or in a place that maybe seems secure, is prosperous. They've built their home, they've had their families, and they've planted their crops, but then war breaks out, and suddenly those things that they felt secure in, their lands, their homes, their family, suddenly they find themselves in a circumstance where they're separated from those things, and frankly, sometimes brutally, and oftentimes to the point of being completely dispossessed from them entirely. So you have what seems secure, what you've spent your life's focus on building up, and it can be just suddenly taken away and gone. You know, in our present and modern age here, in the COVID age, we've experienced not to that degree necessarily, but we've experienced a bit of distress, and we've seen things taken away from us as well. In fact, we've seen an environment in this country that we've considered relatively peaceful. It's been secure. We've gone about our business as usual, you know, for decades. Worked your job, traveled when and where you wanted to, and suddenly under the banner of virus protection, there's certain things that took place.

Right? Government mandates that were established. Certain freedoms were suspended for a time. Suddenly you weren't permitted to go into a restaurant, sit down, have a meal with your friends, relax in that environment. The doors were closed. There was a change. Businesses were shut down or severely restricted. People lost their jobs. Free travel was restricted. I know we live right on the border of Washington and Idaho, and for about, I think it was about two months, you had this restriction where only essential personnel were allowed by law to travel between Washington and Idaho, and you had a list of who those essential people were. And if you weren't on that list, you weren't supposed to cross even the border. So we had all these things that sort of popped up that very suddenly, what we thought we had from grasp on and was part of day-to-day life was suddenly taken away from many people. And it's just a very small drop in the bucket compared to some things that are truly drastic, but for us it can be an example of just how quickly things can be taken away. And it's not my point to argue the constitutionality behind these things. I rather thought there would be certain discussions at government level about them, but everyone seems to have gone on with business as usual. But the point is, certain liberties can be revoked, certain mandates can be put in place, and the reality in the world in which we live is that change can happen very quickly. And things that we thought were secure, and ours, can be taken away without much notice. In the Gospel account, Mary had a choice, okay? And she chose to embrace that which would not be taken away from her, that which was enduring, that which wasn't subject to the conditions on the ground. We might ask ourselves, what exactly is that good part that she chose? Because Christ commended her for that. He says, that's not going to be taken away. Well, in a nutshell, Mary chose to receive the words of wisdom that her Savior had to offer.

You know, to hear the words about the soon-coming kingdom of God and the part that she could have in it. I'm sure she hung on every word because, you see, the Jews, they weren't completely free either.

You know, they were under the rulership and dominion of the Romans, and they had a certain level of freedom, but they weren't certainly the model nation to the world that they hoped that they would be. That's what they looked for the Messiah to restore. But they lived under the boot of the Roman oppression, so Mary is hearing about the kingdom. She's hearing about the rule of righteousness that would come and her part that she could play into it, and the freedom and the liberty that would go out to all of mankind. She was learning about the relationship she could have with God and Christ that was offered through the word of truth, and that was her priority.

And that's what she grabbed hold of, and that's what Jesus said would not be taken away from her. No matter what happened in Mary's life, that spiritual treasure would never be lost, not if she held tight to it. No person could come along and take that from her. No circumstance, no obstacle. As long as she chose to continually embrace it, this treasure would be hers.

So we have the example. Christ said that, again, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. There's one thing that is primary above all else.

Mary has grabbed hold of that, and it won't be taken from her.

The good part of that Mary chose would stay with her throughout the horror of witnessing the crucifixion of Christ. She got to witness that. She got to consider what it was that she maybe was losing in a friend as he died, but she had insight to what was coming. She'd heard the gospel. This would see her through the joy of the resurrection. It would be a contributor to that joy with an understanding of what was indeed taking place. And that good part would see her through the challenges of the persecutions that came upon the early church of her day. And so even if every possession that Mary owned was stripped from her, that would not be. Christ said this would remain a part of her, this which would not be taken away. She has chosen that good part. Her relationship with God, his Son, and the kingdom to come.

That was the good part. And that was the treasure.

The Bible describes the kingdom of God as a pearl of great price, or being like one. And when you find that, you grab hold of it and you don't want to give up at any cost. And in fact, you will go to whatever lengths necessary to possess that, because it is a treasure. Matthew 13, verse 44.

Again, we find the words of Jesus Christ and the emphasis He places on the importance of grabbing hold of that good part, and the emphasis we should have as well, and how we view these things.

Matthew 13, verse 44.

It says, and again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. I don't got this word like underlined in my Bible, because it's a relational word, and it ties together the kingdom of heaven and the treasure in a field. And it's not saying that it's literally a treasure in a field, but it says it's like a treasure in the field. And I just draw attention to that, because in recent discussion is conversation of relational words in the Greek. And as you're reading and dissecting the Greek, which the New Testament is, how do you compare things that are like one another, or how do you see things that are just is as they're stated? So this comparative word like says, all right, there's relation between the kingdom of heaven and being like a treasure in the field. There's other places in the scripture it just says as it is, you know, thy word is truth. God's word is not like truth, God's word is truth. All right? God is spirit.

It's not saying God is like spirit, God is spirit. Right? Jesus Christ is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. He is not like the king of kings, he is in Lord of lords, he is the king of kings and Lord of lords. And so in the Greek, when you have these relational words that actually draw a comparison, there is a word for that, and it's clear and it's here. So again it says, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. And I understand, again, I'm just going back to discussion that was had so that we're clear on these terms. But it says, which a man found and hid for the joy over it, and he goes and sells all that he has and he buys that field. And this is a parable. So he finds this treasure and suddenly the field becomes so important to him because the treasure is there. And he sells what he has and his focus is grabbing hold of that field and hanging on. Verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. And when he had found one pearl, a great price went and sold all that he had and he bought it. And again, it's a value to him that is above all else. His life's focus is now set on obtaining that good part, grabbing hold of that treasure and holding on to it because he realizes no one can take it from him by force, but he can let it go. He can let it slip through his fingers.

So this treasure, though, is the good part and is that which no one will take away.

So the question then becomes for you and I, what about us? Have we chosen fully in our life that good part? Have we dedicated ourselves to making it a priority, the kingdom of God, the righteousness of God above all else? And will we partake of that good part which will not be taken from us? No matter what the conditions on the ground are, no matter whatever losses we might incur in the flesh, you know, job, finances, home, whatever it might be, will we seize that good part that will remain throughout any other loss? I hope we will. Indeed, it's what we've been called to do.

You and I must grab hold of that relationship of God before everything else, never letting go, no matter what else the world might throw at us, because we are facing a challenge, brother, in the future of this world. Many people can see the handwriting on the wall in the time of Jacob's trouble is coming. And there's going to be a lot of changes that the people God will live through and endure, and frankly, probably a lot of losses physically. But how we endure that will depend on if we are clinging to the things that can be taken away, or for clinging to the things, the good things, that good part which will not be taken away. You must grab hold of the relationship of God and with your Son before all else, never letting go, never releasing, because it only can be taken if you allow it. So let's grab hold of this, and as the Bible shows us in so many ways, grabbing hold is a choice. Right? God told Israel, I said before you life and death, blessing and cursing, but choose life that you and your descendants may live. So grabbing hold is a choice, but you see letting go is a choice as well. You choose to embrace the truth of God in that relationship, or we can choose to let it go. And the beauty of the Bible is that it gives us real-life examples of others who had their priorities straight. You know, other people who lost so much personally, literally everything personally, but it came down to the point that what made them who they were was that which they still retained, that good part which would not be taken from them. Let's go to Acts chapter 8 and verse 1. These things are recorded for our learning and for our encouragement. Acts chapter 8 verse 1, again, the emphasis and focus is just grabbing the good part, never letting go, and if you hold tight, you have that which will never be taken from you. Acts chapter 8 verse 1, this is early on in the history of the New Testament church. Persecution had begun to arise against the church because the name of Jesus Christ is being preached. The Jewish leadership that had put him to death, they didn't like that name.

They didn't like the message that he is risen and God has made him Savior and Lord in the Master of us all. They thought they had, you know, closed the book and silenced this name forever, and now he's being preached, and there's a following. And persecution came against the people of God. Chapter 7, Stephen gives his defense, and we see the stoning of Stephen that falls in place.

Acts chapter 8 verse 1 says, now Saul was consenting to his death, to the death of Stephen.

And we understand that Saul was the one who became the Apostle Paul. He struck down on the road to Damascus and Jesus Christ revealed himself to him. Suddenly he goes from being the destroyer of the church to the builder of the church. But this is during his time of persecution against God's people.

Saul was consenting to Stephen's death, and at that time a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem. And it says, and they were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. So we have the circumstance where the Christians are literally losing everything. If you lived in Jerusalem and you were known, Saul came after you or someone came after you. And it was literally like taking a hammer and, you know, smashing a plate glass mirror, and it just shatters in all directions. And people were running for their lives.

And as a result, they were going out. Various directions. Verse 2, it says, And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, dragging off both men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere... Notice what they did. Preaching the Word. They went everywhere preaching the Word. As a result of the persecution, the church was scattered in every direction, but notice what they took with them. They took the gospel message.

They took the words of the kingdom of God. They took the good news of Jesus Christ and the future and the part that you could have to play in that kingdom. So even though everything else had been lost, what remained with them and when with them was their identity of who they were as God's people and that good part that they held to that would not be taken away.

Again, I don't think any of us that I'm aware of personally have ever lived through an oppression such as this. You know, just bail out of the home in the middle of night and run for your life. Maybe it was just the clothes on your back. Most of us have probably never woken up in the night, heard somebody pounding on the door and men come in and drag your mother and father off to prison because of their religious practices and their beliefs. None of us have probably had our property seized because of how we worship God. We have certain freedoms at this point in time that are in place.

They lost these things and they lost them very suddenly, but the things that they still possessed when they were scattered was that highest priority in their life. Again, the relationship with God the kingdom of God and the message that others can be part of it as well.

And so to me, when I read this, again just verse 4, therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. It's encouraging to me because it sets a precedence for our life as well.

It shows us that no matter the opposition that we face, whatever we may at some point in time lose in the terms of the physical possessions or the things that we think are within our control, whatever might be taken from us, no matter what men may do, they can't strip away that good part which only comes from God. Again, these early Christians went everywhere preaching the word, spreading the hope to others, and through it all God was still working his plan.

In fact, this was God's plan. To take the gospel out up to this point, it was a Jerusalem base work primarily. The apostles were there, the message was there, and by this scattering, people went everywhere and they took it with them. And the gospel was being spread now to the surrounding regions. So God's purpose was still being fulfilled, but the oppression that they faced and the loss of everything, you just jump up and run out in the middle of the night with the clothes on your back, all you have, they never lost what it was that was that good part.

At the end of the day, brethren, physical things are just that. They're physical things.

And stuff is stuff. And understand we like our stuff. We build our houses bigger to contain our stuff, and then when our house can't contain it, we rent storage sheds so we can have, you know, places to put our stuff when it won't fit in the place that we keep our stuff. Right? So that's just kind of the, maybe I'd call it a blessing of our abundance, but it's just who we are as people.

But again, stuff is stuff. But the calling we've received from God is something that becomes a part of who and what we are, if we choose to embrace it.

Receiving God's Holy Spirit means we become partakers of the divine nature, God living in us, and it means our character now is being molded into the likeness of God.

And so people can take away what you own and what you possess, but they can't take away, hopefully, who you are. They can't just reach in and rip your character out of your life unless you allow them. Our character, indeed, is developed over time by grabbing hold of that good part and never letting go. Another fascinating example was found in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10, it's always been interesting to me to just read in the Bible circumstances of hardships that people faced, and then you see their outcome of faithfulness and you think, wow, that's incredible. I've personally never experienced something like that.

And yet, I think part of preparation for the end time, brethren, is we have to understand what it means to face that because many of us will be facing that ourselves. Many may walk out with simply nothing left in this physical realm of earthly possessions, but hopefully we never walk out without the truth of who we are and that important part that will never be taken from us.

Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 32 says, but recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you know, you have enlightenment, God's word, his spirit, understanding came upon these individuals.

After you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly where you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. Verse 34, for you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. I mean, what a perspective these people had to joyfully accept the plundering of their goods. I mean, just think about that for a moment. What does it take to come to that point?

You believe this way, so somebody breaks into your house in the middle of the night, thrusts you out on the street, and seizes your possessions, and you joyfully accept the plundering of your goods. Well, it takes, as the scripture finishes up, saying, knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourself in heaven. They were persecuted for the gospel message, and they suffered the affliction right alongside others that were afflicted as well.

But again, how do you come to accepting that joy? You come to it, brethren, by embracing the good part that will not be taken away from you. You come to that point by possessing the truth of God that sustains you, believing that it's enough to carry you forward even as everything else around you may come tumbling down. And I don't mean for this to be a downer sermon, but we need to realize the things that are seen are temporary, as Godward tells us. The things which are not seen are eternal. And it's that level, the eternal focus, that we need to keep our eyes. Because the things of the flesh and the things of the physical realm will ultimately pass away, until all that is left is the spiritual reality that God intends for us forever.

So we hold on to the spiritual things of God. We appreciate the physical, but this isn't where we're putting down roots. So you come to embrace that good part which won't be taken away from you.

And you possess the truth that sustains you. And you understand it is enough to carry you through the difficult times. And these early Christians lost everything, and they could still rejoice because the reward they were seeking and the kingdom they were seeking was something that would never be taken away. Probably the closest I've ever come to that in my perspective would be when we experience as a family the mudslide that we had in 2017. You know, I was thinking, how do you joyfully accept plundering of your goods and move on? I remember that day, it was June 1st, 2017. It was a Thursday. Some things happen that you don't really ever forget. And you know, there's the hill behind our house gave way. And you know, there was snow melt, all the water was coming through the hill and just saturated it, and it turned into essentially like lava that was mud. And it cut loose, and it took out trees, it took out buildings, and just barely missed the house. I mean, it took a slight turn. If you looked at it down from the top, it angled, and it missed the house. I believe that's God's protection, because you could put one hand on the house and one hand on the debris field. But I wasn't home when it happened. I came home from the store. I was in route probably two minutes after it happened, but my family was there. They were in the house, and I came up the road, and I couldn't see whether the house was standing or it was gone. I just saw all these trees and debris and all this strewn across the road, and from my angle, I didn't know if it was there. I didn't know if my family was dead or alive. So, you know, that was like five seconds of heart-stopping, you know, it plays out in slow motion.

But see, the family was okay. They were in the front yard. Things were fine in the physical standpoint. Everything else just sort of fell in place, and it wasn't like there was anything else that was all that important. Fire department came, and they said, we need to evacuate you because there's water's running everywhere. The hill could be unstable. It's running under the house. It's starting to collapse the foundation, and they said, you have five minutes to go back in your house, grab whatever, you know, is essential, and take that with you. And I remember, I just walked in the front door, and I walked around the different rooms of the house, and I walked back out to the front door, and I had nothing in my hands. It was like, what is really of value here? My family's safe, and you know, it's not like you're gonna start to grab the TV off the wall and all these other things. I remember I went back, and I had a sermon. I said it was Thursday. I had a sermon on Saturday, so I grabbed my laptop. I had to have my sermon, and I grabbed my passport, and Darla said I grabbed our wedding album and pictures, and that's what we walked away with. But again, everything else was just stuff. To me, it was easy in that moment, in that circumstance, to walk away. And I'm glad, ultimately, we didn't lose it all, but we might have. But the point was, what was the most important things in my life at that point? Family's safe, and we have our relationship with God. And I would say that's the closest I've ever come to saying, okay, you know, I can joyfully walk away from all of this knowing what's really important to me is secure.

And these people could walk away, accept the plundering of their goods, and go, you know what? It's just stuff. The kingdom cannot be replaced, and that is what we look to as our joy and our fullness. Brethren, God must be our true value and our true joy in this life, along with those He's given us to share it with, right? Our fellow brethren. But He is that good part which won't be taken away, and He is the one that brings us fulfillment. Carrying on to verse 35 with these individuals. These Hebrews, verse 35, it says, therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise. It says, for yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, says, my soul is no pleasure in him. Verse 39, but we are not of those who draw back unto perdition or destruction, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Again, He is grabbing hold of the good part.

The good part is a choice, because He says, you could draw back, but that's not us as God's people.

We're not of those who would draw back unto destruction. We are those who hold on unto salvation. So the instruction is, grab the good part. It will never be taken from you if you lay hold of it. Never let go. Endure and hold fast to that which has been given to you by the blessing of God. Because in the end, brethren, it will be well worth it when everything else around us falls apart. Everything does eventually. This is a temporary system. Things that can be seen are temporary. The things that cannot be seen are eternal. So we need to keep our priorities straight.

Just as Christ told Martha, and He pointed out about Mary, He says, you're distracted by many things, and these are important things. You have guests in your house. They're important things. We have to work a job. We have to provide for a family. But He says, choose the good part, which will never be taken away. And the end of that is something, brethren, that will never be a disappointment to us. Now, this section of Scripture we read through Hebrews 10. It leads into Hebrews 11, and that's the cloud of witnesses, right? Some pretty big heroes of faith in the Bible that have walked through circumstances similar to what we've described, where you essentially walk away from everything to go where God is taking you, and you do so faithfully. And last week I read through Hebrews as part of my sermon. I want to go back to Hebrews 11 and verse 35, just again to give us a little reminder of how quite a number of God's faithful lived down through the centuries, and what was their focus and priority. This certainly wasn't a big house and a shiny car. They sacrificed to serve God, but they chose the good part. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 35, women received their dead, raised to life again, one of the blessings coming from God. The others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. These are things they were willing to endure, knowing the good part God had in store. Verse 36, still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth, all these having obtained a good testimony through faith did not receive the promise. God, having provided something better for us, they should not be made perfect apart from us. God has a plan by which each will receive their reward at the same time, at the first resurrection of the faithful. So if we hold fast to the end, we will be there as they are there, and it will be a blessing together. This good testimony that these individuals obtained stems from the fact that they held fast to that good part, in spite of the obstacles they faced. In fact, the record describes many of them as losing their worldly values, right? If you're dwelling in a cave, living in the rocks of the hills, wandering around in sheepskin and goatskin, and that's your possession, they lost that in this world.

By the physical standards, these would have been the failures, but by God's standards, these are the heroes of faith and those who had achieved a righteous perspective.

So all throughout the scripture, we're told to hold fast. And if you do a study of the scriptures in the Bible of hold fast, what you're going to find is it'll say, hold fast, and you have the rest of the scripture. And in most cases, it's describing something that is related to that good part, to the pearl of great price, to the treasure that God desires to give us all.

Hold fast means to be diligent, to cling to something, to grab hold of firmly. And it's based on the idea of gripping so tightly that an object will never be pried out of your hands. Again, it's that good part which can't be taken away unless you let go. Unless you allow it.

The principle is these things of God are so well worth the effort, fighting to the very end for them will be what leads to the reward.

So we have those scriptures of hold fast, but you know we have the other scriptures alongside that as well that reminds us there's opposition to that. And there is an adversary.

Satan the devil, we don't want to forget about him, and he knows what that good part is, at least what we seek to obtain, and he is active, he is malicious, and he is crafty in the world around us. And it's the adversary's goal to get us to loosen our hold on those things which will not be taken from us by force. Remember, Mary went after that good thing which, good part which would not be taken from her, but you know if she turned her back on it and just let it go, she would lose that good part that that could not be taken by force if she was holding tight. And that's what Satan seeks to do. He seeks to separate us from that which we will not let go of by force.

He is the adversary. Understand, if he can get us to release our hold on eternal life, he's one.

So time and time and time again in the scripture we see the admonition, hold fast.

Endure to the end. The struggle is worth it. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 10, just back a page. I want to look at just a couple of brief examples of holding fast in the precious treasure that's associated with it. Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 22, breaking into the context here of the blessing we can approach God's throne boldly under the blood of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10 verse 22, it says, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Verse 23, let us notice, hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. It's a promise, brethren.

It's a promise we hold on to. We never let go of it willingly. In the world of uncertainty, there's only one source of true and enduring hope, and that is God. There's only one source of true faithfulness that will not be broken, and that is God. So our relationship with God and the effort we put into it is something that builds towards a sure foundation that will never be taken from us. We are the weak link. Right with God, we're in a covenant, so it's God and us in an agreement.

God says, you will do this, and I will do this, and eternal life will be the result. And just like any covenant, it's essentially like a a contractual agreement, and if we desire to walk away, we have that choice. We can't break it, but you see, God will never walk away. He is faithful, even if we step off. So the New Living Translation here, it gives us a translation that I believe is not only easy to read, but pleasant. New Living Translation here of Hebrews 10.23 says, let us hold tightly without wavering the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.

God can be trusted to keep His promise. Man breaks promises that they make. Man takes away things that they've given you, but God makes a promise, and He is good to His word, and He says, hold fast. You can count on that. It is indeed a great comfort. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 15. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 15, writings of the Apostle Paul. Again, it's dramatic to see, you know, he was all in in whatever he did. He was all in on persecuting the church because he saw that he was serving God. He was all in on serving the church once he knew that was in service to God. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 15. Paul says, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good. Now grab hold of that good part and make that your pursuit.

Pursue what is good for yourselves and for all. Make it your priority.

Verse 16, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. He says, test all things, hold fast to what is good. So there's an evaluation that has to take place, and we have to test all things and determine what is good and what is that good part to grab hold of and what is not. But again, he says, grabbing hold of the good is what we must do. And brethren, that is a choice. Just as letting go again is a choice. Holding fast to what is good takes consistent work on our part and daily dedication. It's prayer on our knees before God. It's studying His word to receive back His mind and His words to us. It's fasting to draw near to Him, and it's meditating on these things. It's not just, okay, I open myself up and wait for this good part to fall on me. It is offered, but we have to pursue it. We have to do the things that are required to receive those good things of God. Again, there's many scriptures on the topic of holding fast.

I encourage you to study into those in your personal time because it is rewarding.

Hold fast to what? It's the good part. It's that which will never be taken away unless we allow it.

I want to conclude today in Revelation chapter 3 because Jesus Christ's letters here to the churches are instructive, and we won't be going through all of them today. I just want to zero in, actually, on one point. But if you read through them, you find admonition like, stand fast, remain faithful, endure to the end, hold fast. And there's one specific point that I want to look at that I think is, what can I say, it's of great interest to us all.

Revelation chapter 3 and verse 11, these are the words of Jesus Christ. He says, Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

That's a pretty big verse for us to understand, brethren. Hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown. In this passage, holding fast is an exhortation that's accompanied by a conditional promise of life. In other words, if you hold fast, you will live. Right? If you never let go of this crown, you will live. But if you loosen your hold, if you let go, then the consequences of that will be on your shoulders as well, and the loss will be yours. And the question that often comes up when reading this verse is, how can someone take your crown? Because isn't that what Jesus indicated? He said, Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown. So we may wonder, how can someone take the crown from us? I think we understand the crown is representative here of salvation, of eternal life, of what God is offering us. How can somebody take that away?

I think we understand no one can steal your relationship with God.

Okay? Nobody can come in like a bank robber in the middle of the night and just sort of clear out the vault and you woke up not realizing what happened. So no one can destroy your relationship with God. Nobody can come in and take these things away from you. No one can destroy your righteous living by force. But you know what? You can allow someone to deceive you into believing the lie. It's one way someone can take your crown. Even unwillingly, you think you're holding on, but you allow someone to deceive you into believing the lie. You can lose your crown by allowing someone to offend you to the point that you simply walk away. I didn't like what they said, I didn't like what they did, and you just throw up your hands and you walk out and you turn your back.

You can allow somebody to take your crown by some offense. Maybe they take you and they lead you down a path that is of disorder, living in a way that denies the calling you've received from God.

You can allow someone to take your crown through what the Bible calls the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. There's all kinds of ways men can take your crown, but brethren realize nobody can take it from you unless you allow them. Because this eternal salvation is the good part which will not be taken away if we wholeheartedly hold on, grab hold of that, and make it our life's commitment.

You can lose your crown if you allow yourself to be discouraged by the actions of others.

You can lose your crown if you allow yourself to become bitter and angry, and you separate from that which God has called you to. Simply, you turn your back and walk away. These are just a few examples. The New Testament is full of bewarers. I gave a whole sermon series on bewarers.

There's bewarers and there's holdfast. We're going to put it all together as a package so that nobody takes our crown. Indeed, we are holding tight to what it is God has promised. Now, there is an accountability that goes both ways with this as well because, indeed, Jesus Christ said if somebody was to cause someone else to stumble and essentially miss out, it's better if a millstone was hung around their neck, the offender, and they were drowned in the midst of the sea than to cause somebody else to stumble. So, there is accountability here that goes both ways.

The Bible says we are not to be easily offended and we're also not to give offense.

We all need to understand the part that we have to play. Ultimately, though, brethren, it's incumbent upon each and every one of us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. That is an individual responsibility. Before God, we stand alone and accountable for ourselves, not our spouse, not our neighbor, but we work this out with God's individual responsibility to hold fast what has been given so that no one ever has an opportunity to take your crown.

So, brethren, we're moving into dangerous times. The world we live in is a dangerous place, and I think what we've seen over the last year and a half, frankly, is just a drop in the bucket. Okay, it's nothing compared to what is coming. The Bible describes the time of Jacob's trouble, describes then leading into the great tribulation, the day of the Lord. There's going to be things that happen in this world that it's like a woman who has begun labor, right? Labor pains has come upon her. They start out lightly to begin with, but they intensify, and they intensify, and they do not cease until all is fulfilled. We're in the early stages of labor pains, I believe, and if we're not careful, brethren, we could run the risk of losing out on the most important parts if we're willing to let go, become distracted, or put our focus on that, which may seem important and could be important temporarily, but is not important in the internal scheme of things. God has called us to be children in His kingdom. He's laid the crown of life before us. Salvation, brethren, is the goal. God is there to be with us, to guide us. Jesus Christ is our example. So, I encourage us all, as we consider our lives and the circumstances in which we're all living, prioritize responsibilities, prioritize what is truly important, grab hold of that good part, never let go, as the blessing of God to us and to salvation.