Hold Fast

When was the last time you heard anyone tell you to ‘hold fast’? It’s not something we say too often in our culture is it? A synonym for it might be adhere or bind; more than likely, we’d here, “Stick to it kid!” When I was in culinary school…back when I never finished anything in my life, my family always told me to “Stick with it!” Sure enough, I did…but if we are to ‘hold fast’ or ‘stick with it’, what are we really telling them? In a nutshell, we’re telling them to continue on the path their on despite the circumstances or perhaps to correct their course. ‘Hold fast’, ‘stick to it’ , because it’s hard to do!

Today we are going to read out of Isaiah 56:1-8. This particular section is where Isaiah is talking about how the Gentile’s will be included in Israel’s blessing. A little background for this text, midway through Isaiah’s ministry Israel went into exile. Judah continued on for another 120 years or so before their exile, but Isaiah is prophesying at this point. Let’s read. Isaiah 56:1-8.

1 This is what the LORD says:
Preserve justice and do what is right,
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.
2 Happy is the man who does this,
anyone who maintains this,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

3 No foreigner who has converted to the LORD
should say,
"The LORD will exclude me from His people";
and the eunuch should not say,
"Look, I am a dried&nbhyph;up tree."

4 For the LORD says this:
"For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose what pleases Me,
and hold firmly to My covenant,

5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls,
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters.
I will give each [of them] an everlasting name
that will never be cut off.

6 And the foreigners who convert to the LORD,
minister to Him, love the LORD's name,
and are His servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and who hold firmly to My covenant—

7 I will bring them to My holy mountain
and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on My altar,
for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations."
8 [This is] the declaration of the Lord GOD ,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
"I will gather to them still others
besides those already gathered."

Isaiah isn’t just prophesying; he’s prophesying about Jesus. Verse 7 is quoted by Jesus in the temple when he is upsetting the carts because they are doing business there. Matthew 21:12-13 speak of this. The entire set of verses here when read with Jesus in mind, speak directly to what is going to happen within 700+ years. Let me read this scripture again, this time, I want you to continually keep Jesus in the forefront of your mind while we read.

It made a huge difference didn’t it?! Did you see all the places where Christ pops out! (Point out all the places in the Passage that point to Jesus). Just as a future note, the next time you read the OT, keep Christ in mind through the whole thing. It’ll make a difference in how you understand it all.

Within the context of these verses comes a message from the first and last verses. A message in which is supposed to encourage us to keep on keeping on, to stick to it, hang on, or, “Hold Fast”.

You know, in life there is no guarantee that things are going to be easy. There are consequences to our sin and what’s more, there’s a curse on the earth as a result of The Fall. Prior to The Fall, Adam and Eve’s relationship with God was perfect. A fine mist fell every morning to water the plants…there was no straight-line winds, tornadoes, drenching rain pours, droughts or even earthquakes or volcanoes. It was paradise. But then, they decided to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Ooops. Only after the fact did they really realize the consequences of their sin. Now, we have to battle with the consequences of it. Our relationship became instantly strained with God because of the choice to sin. Because of this, our relationship with creation…plants, animals and nature, is now strained as well. Now we battle drought, flood, weather, weeds, mosquitoes, asian beetles, Emerald Ash Borers, gnats, fleas, ticks and it all is because we chose to sin. It’s so depressing isn’t it?! We could have had it so good but we had to go and mess it up.

Well, my friends, there’s good news. God wants a relationship with us so badly, that he sent Jesus into the world. Our Scripture today speaks directly to this fact. Jesus was sent so that we could believe and be called to him.
Despite our circumstances, God still loves us. Have you ever heard the song “Hold Fast” by MercyMe? It’s such a great song. But the song itself talks about how difficult life is. We’re undeserving; we’re hurting; we want this season to pass, but the chorus says this:

Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He's come to save the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast

Help, my friends, is not only on its way…it’s here…and help is coming back for us. That’s what some of the prophets of ancient Israel were getting at…not only will he come once, but he will come again.

Life is not easy. Life is rough…we hit spotty patches and our faith is shaken. Our future is uncertain, just like in the economic and political times of our nation now. We really aren’t sure what tomorrow is going to bring. Stocks are up and down, the economic outlooks are sketchy; we have debt that our politicians can’t seem to agree on how to eliminate it, and the moral compass of our country is now Hollywood and News Media rather than God. So what are we to do? Give up? Move overseas? Despair and wallow in our situation? No. We are to encourage each other to Hold Fast…stick with it…hang on…because it’s a bumpy ride friends…and as Christians, we are in it together.

There is a story about a pilot back in 1987, who was flying from Lewiston, Maine to Boston. His name is Henry Dempsey and he and his co-pilot, Paul Boucher, took off with no passengers on board. After take-off, he and his co-pilot heard a strange rattling noise coming from the back of the plane, so Dempsey handed the controls over to Paul so he could go check it out.

As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise, as the door flew open. He was instantly sucked out of the jet.

The co-pilot who saw the red ‘open door’ indicator light radioed the nearest airport, which was Portland, and requested permission to conduct an emergency landing. He reported that the pilot had fallen out of the plane, and he requested a helicopter search of that area of the ocean.

After the plane landed, they found Henry Dempsey…holding onto the ladder in the back of the aircraft. Somehow, as he was sucked out, he grabbed a hold of the ladder and held on for 10 minutes as the plane flew nearly 200 mph at 4,000 ft and then kept his head from hitting the runway as they landed…which was a mere 12 inches from his head.

It was reported that it took the airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey’s fingers from the ladder. That, my friends, is called holding on for dear life. Talk about ‘holding fast’. Whew!

My friends…like Henry Dempsey hanging on to the ladder for dear life out the back of an airplane going 200 mph, we need to be hanging on…holding fast to our Savior, Jesus Christ as we go through this life. It is guaranteed to be a bumpy ride. It is guaranteed to be hard as nails. It is guaranteed that we will have a rough time…things will not be all peaches and cream. However, if we hold fast to Jesus, if we can manage to stick to it through the difficult circumstances, we will realize the prophecy from the words of Isaiah (vs 1 & 8)…the Second Coming of Christ comes closer with each day that passes. Be encouraged…hold fast to him so tightly that airport personnel won’t be able to break your hold on Jesus.

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