Focal Point

Dave Drewy: Today on Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: God wants us to be encouraged. Encouraged by the fact that what he said is true and no matter what makes you think it's not going to happen, you ought to be encouraged because God's telling you the truth. No matter what the promise is in scripture—and we said there's some 7,487 promises—great. God, when he makes a promise, he's going to keep it. God is a God who is faithful to his promise and because of that, he wants us to be greatly encouraged.

Dave Drewy: Today on Focal Point, Mike Fabarez says it's the promises of God that hold us up when life does its best to knock us down. It's confidence in the faithfulness of God that allows us to stand strong. Now, before we get started with today's lesson, if you're a first-time listener, we want to send you Pastor Mike's free booklet titled *Promises, Promises*, a perfect companion for what we're learning about God's faithfulness. Get in touch today at focalpointradio.org. Now, here's Pastor Mike with his message, "Impeccable Promises and Divine Character."

Pastor Mike Fabarez: I've gotten to the place where it's a little harder to get out of bed in the morning. Putting on your shoes, you get down there, you want to see if there's anything else that you got to do while you're bent down there. Just aches and pains that I have never felt and they don't go away right away. You're getting older and you recognize you're not getting younger. You wake up in the morning, you look in the mirror, and you think, "That's not the guy I remember." It's just different and you know it's not moving in the right direction.

I remember the Apostle Paul in dealing with his trials, which not only dealt with his fatigue of getting older, but the increased repetity of his trials and difficulties and opposition. He gave some insightful words to us in 2 Corinthians 4, the end of the chapter, when he said, "Even though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day." And then he said this, and here's why: he said because I know that all these light and momentary afflictions, they're producing for me an eternal weight of glory.

Then he ended with this big perspective, the last verse in the chapter. He said, "The things that I can see, like the bruises and bumps and pains and aches of an aging body, those things are temporal. But the things you can't see, those things are eternal." Now, how does a guy who is discouraged, not only because like us he's getting older and achier and tireder, how does this guy who's getting people throwing rocks at him, who's getting run out of town, who has all kinds of problems in his life, how is it that he can sit there and say, "I can be getting worse on the outside, but on the inside, I'm being renewed every day"?

How do you get to that place? Well, the text tells us right there: he's hanging his hat on some promises. Promises that all these problems I'm facing, ultimately God's keeping track and one day he's promised it's going to seem like a blip on the screen compared to the eternal glory on the other side. The only way the Apostle Paul can have that perspective of encouragement in the midst of his discouraging circumstances is that he is hanging his hat firmly. He's standing firmly on the promises of God without wavering. So much so that the things he can't see, think about the faith here, he says those things are the things that matter. Those things are eternal.

I don't know if you make that connection, but sometimes it's the problems we like to attack in our lives and we think they're the real issue, like discouragement and anxiety and worry and timidity. We think, "Those are the issues I got to deal with." But really those are symptomatic. Even as Paul's paradigm there in 2 Corinthians 4 tells us, they're symptomatic of a real problem that maybe we don't believe the things that God says the way that we ought to. Because for Paul, eternity was so real to him that he said, "I can look at the physical bruise on my body and recognize, 'No big deal because I'm going to a place that's so much better.'" It was real to him because he had faith in the promises of God.

We've been in the middle of a series talking about God's promises from Hebrews chapter 6. If you haven't opened to that text yet, I'd like you to open your Bibles right now and turn to the middle of the book of Hebrews, chapter 6, and take a look one more time at the second half of this chapter as the writer of Hebrews is giving us reasons to be assured that what God says is true. And the point of it is this: if you will get to the place where the writer of Hebrews is, to get to the place where Paul is in 2 Corinthians 4, you'll find your attitude, your life is totally turned around. As a matter of fact, you will be, as the text is about to tell us, greatly encouraged.

Take a look at it. We're coming off the heels of the story of Abraham who becomes for us a template of how God fulfills his promises. We see that there and we found out last week that he doesn't answer right away all the time, but you can be sure he's going to come through. If he said it, he's going to do it. So much so that in the middle of Abraham's life, he gave him a promise and confirmed it with an oath. And here's where the text picks up, verse number 16.

The Bible says men swear by someone greater than themselves and that's still going on today when people lay their hand on a Bible in a courtroom and say, "So help me God." Truth, whole truth, nothing but truth, so help me God. What's the point there? You've got to have somebody that you're saying, like the Bible does often, "Hey, if I'm lying to you, may God strike me, may God hurt me. God is my witness and if I'm lying to you, I'm saying let him get me." That's the oath, the "I know I've said it, but I'm telling you right now, I'm calling in someone greater than me to put me in my place if I'm not telling the truth."

God doesn't have anybody greater to swear by. Who's he going to say "So help me" who? Well, he's got to swear by himself. Which is exactly what he did. And when he did that, much like an oath in a courtroom, it should be a place where people say, "If he's doing that, then I guess we'll believe him." All the disputing, if that's what he's saying, if he's willing to commit to it on oath, okay, fine.

The Bible says God went to that extent with Abraham because, verse 17, he wanted to make the unchangeable nature of his purpose very clear. Not just to Abraham, here's the interesting part, to the heirs of what was promised. Now that's not just Abraham and it's not just singular Isaac. This is, as the New Testament continually says, everyone who falls under the umbrella of the Abrahamic covenant, which is not only the nation of Israel, but those who through the coming of the son of Abraham, the ultimate son of Abraham, Jesus himself, would be brought into this promise of the blessing.

Therefore, the writer of Hebrews sees us, not just Jews but Gentiles as well, as heirs of the promise. And that's why, the Bible says, God confirmed his promise to Abraham with an oath. He did this, here's the purpose clause, verse 18, so that by two unchangeable things—what are they? Draw a line back: the promise and the oath. "I promise, Abraham," he promised in chapter 12, he promised in chapter 15, he promised in chapter 17 of Genesis; he confirms it on oath in chapter 22. "I swear," he says, "by myself. Solemnly swear. I'm not lying to you, Abraham. You've waited for years, but I'm telling you, your promise of offspring through you and all the world being blessed, that's going to be true."

He did this so that by two unchangeable things, in which it's impossible for God to lie, the writer says, so we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. That's what he wants. God wants us to be encouraged. Encouraged by the fact that what he said is true and no matter what makes you think it's not going to happen, you ought to be encouraged because God's telling you the truth.

No matter what the promise is in scripture—and we said there's some 7,487 promises—great. God, when he makes a promise, he's going to keep it. God is a God who is faithful to his promise and because of that, he wants us to be greatly encouraged. Paul could say, "Look at my life. It's falling apart. I got all kinds of enemies, people throwing rocks at me, they don't like my preaching, they're running me out of town. But you know what? All this stuff doesn't matter because I know where I'm going, I know who I serve, and I know what's on the other side. And to me that's real because I'm banking on the promise of God."

That's a good attitude in the midst of bad times. Paul experienced the great encouragement and in this text, the Bible says he wants all the heirs of Abraham, spiritual heirs as well as physical heirs, to receive that strong encouragement. The whole point of these three verses is, number one, to be encouraged by God's promises. Be encouraged. Greatly encouraged.

Now here's a little Greek study real quick. You've heard this word before. The word here that is used as a noun is a word that is used often in scripture in various forms. One form of it is the name that was given to the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room Discourse where Jesus was telling his disciples, "I'm going to leave you, but I'm going to send another. I'm going to send the Paraclatos." I'm going to send the Paraclatos to you.

And we learn about that in Sunday School or in church somewhere that *para*—this is a compound word—*para*, the first part of that Greek word, is a preposition and it means "beside." A parable. *Ballo* means "to throw." A parable is a story I throw alongside the point. *Paraclatos*, *para* means "something alongside," and the second half comes from the verb *kaleo*, and *kaleo* means "to call." Someone called alongside to do what? Well, to help. That's why some translations in the text call the Holy Spirit in those verses where he's called the Paraclatos, they translate it "the Helper." Some old translations call him "the Comforter."

This text uses this word in a little different form. It translates this word "encouragement." You're going to receive encouragement in this text, not from the Holy Spirit himself, but by the promises that the Holy Spirit has made. And if we can put our hope in that and grab on that and not have any doubt that God is a God of truth and what he says is going to come true, we can be greatly encouraged. Which, by the way, it's not the word *megos*, "greatly encouraged," it's a different word. It's the word "strong," strongly encouraged. We can be strongly supported.

And here's the problem. Much like Paul, and I don't know what your problems are, he had a lot. We can get discouraged. And the text is telling us there is something that can prop us up. Cleaning out the garage lately, that's a fun task, isn't it? Going through all the junk. And we have all the stuff. You find all kinds of stuff. You want some, come over, get some. Bring your truck, we'll give you all kinds of junk we found. One of the things I found is a set of crutches. That was a fun memory. Not just my set, I got big dad-sized crutches, I got kid-sized crutches, remembering all the knees blowing out and the ankles blowing out and the broken foot and all the stuff, and there are all the crutches.

Crutches, think about it, a great example of *paraclatos*. *Para-clasis* is this word here. It means "something that comes alongside me on both sides." It holds me up when I'm weak, right? I'm laying on the couch, I got my broken foot in a cast, and there's the refrigerator 25 feet away. Slide that over here. It's the refrigerator and the bathroom, those are the two things you got to have. And you can't get there easily because you need to reach over and find those little aluminum crutches and pop them under your armpits and then you got to stand up. I don't care how bad you want to get to the refrigerator, which is bad sometimes. You got to have help because you're messed up. Your leg's all messed up. Your foot's messed up. Your foot's broken. Your knee's blown out.

Sometimes in our life, we get discouraged because of circumstances and God says, "I got some crutches for you." And they're going to pop right under your armpits, they're going to hold you up, and you'll be able to keep on going. They will greatly, strongly encourage you. He'll come alongside of you and support you. It is the thing that will keep you going. And I'm telling you, when I look at Christians' lives, including my own, and we're discouraged and we're angry and we're disappointed and we're frustrated or we're timid, what we need sometimes is not to read a book on anxiety, but we need to start saying, "Do I really believe God and what he says?" I have to or I'm going to be discouraged.

This text, remember, is talking about Abraham's promise. And I'd like you just to put a couple sub-points under this number one if you would. But let me give you the big one that Paul is referring to in 2 Corinthians 4. Turn with me if you would to John chapter 8. And let me just make the connection real quick between the Abrahamic covenant, the promise to Abraham and what we are saying is going to be our hope in the hundred-year plan. Because all of us should have a hundred-year plan. We're not going to make it. No infants in the room that I can see. We're not going to be here. This life's going to end at some point. It's going to end on a hospital bed, in our sleep, in a car accident, whatever. We're checking out. Where are we going to be a hundred years from now? We better make sure we know with certainty that the things that we do not see are eternal, if not you will be discouraged, you will be frustrated.

So, what about that? How does that connect? Take a look at Jesus talking about it. He simplifies as he so often does in the records in the Gospel of John. Look at verse 51, John 8. "I tell you the truth." He's always saying that, by the way. Remember in your old translations he would start his little verbage, he'd say, "Verily, verily, I say unto you." Our translations say, "Truly, truly." It's a little Greek word *amen*. In the Greek, it's *amen*. Truly, I'm telling you the truth. Amen, amen. I'm going to tell you what I'm going to say is true.

And here's what he says. Here's the punchline that means everything, should change everything about our thinking and our lives and our attitudes. "If anyone," he says, "keeps my word," which is what? Trust in the Son. "He will never see death." To Lazarus, when he's sitting there at the funeral of Lazarus, he says the same thing. He says, "Even if you die, you're not going to see death. Even if you die, you're going to live and you're not going to die eternally." So if you can figure that one out, it's going to change a lot of things. As a matter of fact, we often talk about the place where God makes everything right. Sin, by the way, is where everything is wrong. That's what sin is. Something's not right.

And God's saying, "I'm going to take all the things that are wrong and I'm going to make them right and I'm going to welcome you into that place. Not because you earned it, not because you're right, because I've made you right." And I'm going to say to you one day, "Blessed are you. Welcome into this place, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Welcome to this perfect place and you get to live here." God is going to do that for us, take all the wrongs, make them right. I said it last week: crooked straight, rough places plain. He's going to do that for us. That changes everything about how we weather the storm here.

They heard this, the Pharisees respond next verse, just like a lot of people today do. At this, the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know you're demon-possessed. You're crazy. You're telling us we got to keep your word and we get to go to a place where there's no more death? Don't think so." And they bring up the most important promise for anybody living in first-century Israel. It's all about Abraham. And Abraham died, and so did the prophets. Those guys died and we're listening to their words. What do you mean that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death? "Are you," verse 53, "greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

And Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. But my Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I didn't know him, I'd be a liar like you." No, it's called truth. "But I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham," check this out, "rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day." Why?

Remember Genesis 12. What's the Abrahamic covenant? You've got all these things about making you a great nation, blessing you, so much so that if people bless you, I'll bless them. If they're bad to you, they curse you, then I'll be bad to them, I'll curse them. But there's one more phrase in the Abrahamic covenant. What is it? "And through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed." There is something about the lineage of Isaac that would come from that lineage, someone who would bless all the peoples of the nations. Not all the peoples without exception, but all the people without some exclusion. The point is this: that there are people in the Book of Revelation who fulfill that promise where God sees the great throng before the throne and he says people from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

And through who? Through Abraham's descendant. Now, how's that going to happen? Well, we got to come on with the person who's going to somehow reverse the curse. Because the problem of Genesis 3 is we got to pay for our sin. And if we're going to pay for our sin, we can't go to a place that's perfect and we will experience death. How do we reverse all that? Abraham's lineage. Someone's going to come and fix the problem. And look at this, verse 56, "Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day." Now remember, here's someone pre-existing before their birth saying, "Yeah, I hung out with Abraham and whenever we would talk about me coming and doing this thing and reversing the curse, it was like he smiled, he rejoiced thinking about me coming here and doing this stuff." He was happy. Can you imagine what these people were thinking at this point? "You are nuts. You're crazy."

Verse 57. He saw it. Somehow Christ is saying from the rails of heaven, Abraham saw me here doing my work, accomplishing redemption, living the life they couldn't live that would be credited to sinners, and he did see it and he was glad. Amazing comment. And they responded, as many people today respond: "That's nuts. You're not yet fifty years old," verse 57 says. The Jews said to him, "And you've seen Abraham? What are you, crazy?" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered. "Before Abraham was born, I AM." Now that's really bad grammar. What do you mean "before Abraham was"? What are you talking about?

Well, I existed. I've always been. Which, by the way, for the Jews, that was just the height of blasphemy because the root of God's proper name, Yahweh, in the Old Testament, is a form of the verb "to be." The verb "to be." Yahweh. I AM. That's why that whole discussion at the burning bush was really clear. I'm Yahweh. I'm the one. I'm the existing one. The ever-existing one. I AM the I AM. I AM. Tell them I AM sent you. That's what Yahweh's name means.

And Jesus says, "Yeah, before Abraham was born. Who else can claim that kind of pre-existence? I was hanging out with Abraham, we were talking about me coming and he was happy. And you know what? And then I've been here and he saw it and he was happy. Oh, and yeah, before Abraham was even born, I AM." Huge blasphemy. And though today theologians can't understand that statement, it seems liberal theologians can't understand it, the Jews in that day understood it perfectly clear. Look at verse 59. They picked up stones to stone him. Why? It's blasphemy. But Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

What's the point? Abraham was promised that he, through his lineage, there would be the reversal of the problem. The curse of Genesis 3 would turn into a blessing for people from every tongue, tribe, and nation. People of all the earth. Needed Christ. Christ is the fulfillment of it all. And if we can say, "I trust in him," as we started in verse 51, we're fixed. The curse problem is fixed. That's why evangelism is so important. That's why the message of the gospel is so important. That's why we call people to trust in Christ. And though people today are willing to kill you because you say the exclusivity of Christ is the only way you're going to get to heaven, they'll shoot you for that in the back for people just even associating themselves with Christianity.

The point, though, is we're saying it is true. And you're either going to believe that, you're going to be bullied off that position, you're going to be liberalized to the place in your theology where you're off that position, or you're going to say, "No, I believe it and it's true." And I've put my faith in him and because of that, I'm okay. My hundred-year plan is taken care of. That's big. The five-year plan may fall apart, but the hundred-year plan is intact if you have strong faith in the promises of God.

The book of Hebrews has a lot to say about Abraham. I'd like you to go to the end of the book. And I know you know chapter 11, but there are so many things said about Abraham himself and how he showed faith and resilience. And on the flip side, how God showed himself to be faithful to the covenant. Even in the crisis of faith on Mount Moriah when he was told to kill his son Isaac. When it was all said and done, who was there? God was. Providing a ram caught in the bush. "I'm with you. I'm going to bless you. I'm going to be with you. I'm going to strengthen you. I'm going to be your paraclatos. You're going to be okay."

Bottom of the book, end of the book, chapter 13. Final exhortations in the book. He says this, look at verse number 5. "Keep yourself free from the love of money. And be content with what you have." Now that seems totally unrelated, but it's not. Because here's the thing, some people having financial problems, we already found out in the book of Hebrews that their property was being seized and they're going home without stuff that they'd worked hard for. And he says, "Don't worry about it." Why? Because there's a promise, Abrahamic promise being fulfilled, not just a hundred years from now but even right now. And here it is: "I will never leave you and I'll never forsake you."

That's true for us, he says, verse 6. So we can say with confidence: "The Lord is my helper," my paraclatos. He props me up. He helps me through this. "I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Paul's going to say, "Lots. Sit down and I'll tell you a story of all the things they've done to me." Oh, but they're inconsequential ultimately because my hundred-year plan is solved and between here and there he's never going to leave me and he's going to help me. In the midst of my trial, he's going to give me grace. You've got to have faith in the promises of God to get to that place.

Dave Drewy: Few things will impact our lives more than embracing the promises of God. You're listening to Focal Point and a message from pastor and Bible teacher Mike Fabarez called "Impeccable Promises and Divine Character." Pastor Mike's got a special announcement coming up, so stay with us. Focal Point is a nonprofit radio ministry dedicated to sharing clear, unwavering truth from God's word. And today, when you give a donation of any amount to support Focal Point, there's a powerful resource we'd like you to have. It's a timely book designed to help you gain a whole new confidence in God's faithfulness.

It's titled *All the Promises of the Bible* by Herbert Lockyer. This resource catalogs promises by topic, helping you understand their context and discover how they apply to your walk with God. Whether you're seeking encouragement during difficult seasons or wanting to know God's character more deeply, this book will become an indispensable tool. Request Lockyer's *All the Promises of the Bible* when you support Focal Point with a gift today. Call 888-320-5885 or donate online at focalpointradio.org. Now, Pastor Mike has something special he wants to tell you about.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Thanks, Dave. I'd like to invite you to join me September 19th through the 26th, 2026, on a Christian cruise through New England and Canada. We'll sail Holland America's *Zuiderdam*, known for its elegance and exceptional hospitality, to historic cities like Boston, Halifax, and Quebec City. We'll gather for devotional times in God's word, followed by thought-provoking Bible teaching throughout our journey.

Grammy-winning musicians Keith and Kristyn Getty will lead us in worship. You'll enjoy the stunning autumn landscapes as we explore charming coastal villages, all while building friendships with like-minded believers. It's a unique opportunity to deepen your faith and see some of the most beautiful scenery on the Eastern Seaboard. Space is limited, so don't wait to sign up. Secure your cabin today at focalpointradio.org.

Dave Drewy: Again, go to focalpointradio.org for all the details. I'm Dave Drewy. We'll pick up where we left off in our study of Hebrews tomorrow. Join Mike Fabarez for more Bible teaching Wednesday on Focal Point.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Pastor Mike here. You know, we live in a culture where every point of view demands affirmation. It'd be easy to tell people what they want to hear. But we must teach the Bible accurately, unapologetically, and without compromising and without editing it. God's word is truth. If you want to send me a question, I encourage you to get in touch with us at focalpointradio.org.

Dave Drewy: Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.