HOLD FAST TILL I COME

Key Text: "But that which ye have already hold fast till I come." Revelation 2:25

Introduction: The early New Testament Christians loved the Scriptural teaching of the great blessed hope (Titus 2:13) of our Lord’s return. In fact the two tremendous themes of their Bible studies were the gospel of the grace of God and the return of Christ.

Let us look at these five verses having to do with the end time and the blessed hope:

1. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." I Thessalonians 5:21

2. "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Hebrews 3:6

3. "Seeing then that we have a great high Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Hebrews 4:14

4. "Let us hold fast the Profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" Hebrews 10:23

5. "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Revelation 3:3

HOLD FAST TILL I COME: What does it mean to hold fast till our Lord returns?

The coming of our Lord is certain. His return is a fact. It is assured and founded on the sure Word of God, the sure word of prophecy; therefore we can have courage, comfort, faith, and hope. WE can have joy in the fact of His return and we can have peace at His actual coming.

"That time will soon come, and we shall have to keep hold of the strong arm of Jehovah; for all these great signs and mighty wonders of the devil are designed to deceive God’s people and overthrow them." Early Writings, Page 60, E. G. White

Now is the time to take a New Hold on God and hold fast His great truths and good works for our generation. Surely, the end is near.

In these six verses, I want us to see four great truths having to do with holding fast till our Savior comes.

"But that which ye have already..." Verse 25

Through the ages God has had a people holding forth His Truths for their time. In every age there has been a constant testimony of positive truth. Truth has stood in opposition to apostasy. God’s plan has not changed. Faithfulness to what we have heard, learned, and believed has always been sufficient. God requires His people to obey what they understand.

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17

1. We have already the knowledge of His Coming

"...till I come..." Verse 25

Every generation since Jesus ascended back to heaven, through the printed page and the spoken word, the message of His Second Coming has been given. All the New Testament writers wrote about it and Jesus, Himself talked about His return the second time for the people of God.

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I Will Come Again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:3) Now, friends, what we have is what we are to hold fast. Christians, today, have the knowledge, the understanding and belief in our Lord’s return and that is a point of belief that we can hold fast. His return has been present truth since He left and went back to be with Father. (See John 17:5)

Just as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West; the Savior is coming again. In the early morning we see the sun rise in the East and we cannot stop it. Late in the afternoon we see the sun set (go down) in the West and we can not stop it. When the time comes for our Lord to return, He will come and all the systems in the world cannot stop it.

2. We have already the knowledge of His redemption

"And he that overcometh..." Revelation 2:26

Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death;"

In all the seven literal Churches and in all seven different Church ages the Gospel has been taught. The Gospel co-equals the second coming and that is because there would be no need of a second coming without having the Gospel first preached and a people called out of the world and converted through the power of the Gospel. Romans 1:16

3. We have already the knowledge of Steadfastness

"...Hold Fast..." Verse 25

There are those who will not listen, to the truths of the Bible and there are some who will listen and then not believe what they hear. Then there are those who will listen, and believe and hold on for a while. Then give it up. The Scripture says, "...hold fast..."

This steadfastness, holding fast is to cling to Christ. He is worthy of our holding fast. At the end we will not be disappointed. Joy comes in the morning and Heaven will be worth it all.

"...and keepeth my works unto the end..." Verse 24

The keeping of works, works that reflect the life and character of Christ. This is a love for God and love for people.

Romans 13:10 "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Holding Fast in Verse 26

1. Redemption through overcoming: This overcoming is given to us in Christ. We have overcome because of His Grace, the power of the Gospel and the blood of Christ.

2. Reasonable service: Christ’s works are reasonable and pleasant. They are a joy and not a burden. Those who serve the Lord are happy.

Romans 12:1-2 "I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

3. Rewards in the end: "...and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." Verse 26

In the context of Matthew 16:24-28 Jesus giving instruction as to the disciples following Him. They are to deny self, take up His cross and follow in His steps. They are to follow on to the end. Those who follow are REWARDED.

Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels. And then he shall REWARD every man according to his works."

"And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall be broken to shivers..." Verse 27

Jeremiah 18: The potter works the clay into the form desired. The potter was in charge. So, it is with the King (Jesus, Son of God) when He returns.

1. Potter’s Will: "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make." Jeremiah 18:4

It is a great truth for us to learn that the potter is in charge of the wheel and the clay. And when a lump of clay that he designed to form a certain way came out to be too stiff or had a rock in it or perhaps marred in his hands, he turned it into another shape. If it will not serve as a vessel of honor, it will serve as a vessel of dishonor.

2. Potter’s Way: God used similitudes by His servants to teach His people lessons. He used the potter and the clay to teach Jeremiah and His people, Israel a lesson. That same lesson is being taught to the Church in Thyatira and down through the centuries it has been given to every generation. The lesson is God’s work as a potter. We are clay and the lesson is "Hold Fast Till I Come."

3. Potter’s Work: The message given to Jeremiah was twofold.

A. God has complete authority, power, and control to rule the nations of the World at His will.

"O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." Jeremiah 18:6

B. As the clay is in the hands of the potter to be molded and shaped as he pleases, so are we in the hands of God, the King of all potters.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." I Corinthians 15:10

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." Verse 29

Revelation the second chapter ends with the usual command of attention. "He that hath an ear to hear in the seven churches, the call is to Hold Fast Till I Come. Revelation gives us two great themes:

1. The signs of His return given to the Woman in the Wilderness, the Church.

2. His actual and literal return where every eye shall see him.

It is no wonder Jesus admonished the Church to listen, learn, and obey His word. He is coming again. Hold Fast Till I Come, were the words of the Savior. Multitudes are waiting to hear the good news of God’s love. In the Church and out of the Church, people are hungering for the bread of life.

"A godly woman once made the remark, ‘O that we could hear the pure gospel as it used to be preached from the pulpit! Our minister is a good man, but he does not realize the spiritual needs of the people. He clothes the cross of Calvary with beautiful flowers, which hide all the shame, conceal all the reproach. My soul is starving for the bread of life. How refreshing it would be to hundreds of poor souls like me, to listen to something simple, plain, and scriptural, that would nourish our hearts!’

"There is need of men of faith, who will not only preach, but will minister to the people. Men are needed who walk daily with God, who have a living connection with heaven, whose words have power to bring conviction to hearts. Not that they may make a display of their talents and intelligence, are ministers to labor, but that the truth may cut its way to the soul as an arrow from the Almighty.

"A minister, after preaching a Bible discourse which brought deep conviction to one of his hearers, was accosted with the question, ‘Do you really believe what you have preached?’

"‘Certainly,’ he answered.

"‘But is it really so?’ asked the anxious questioner.

"‘Certainly,’ said the minister, as he reached for his Bible.

"Then the man broke out, ‘O, if this is the truth, what shall we do?’

"‘What shall we do?’ thought the minister - ‘we’? What could the man mean? But the question forced its way to his soul. He went away to plead with God to tell him what to do. And as he prayed, there came to him with overwhelming force the thought that he had the solemn realities of eternity to present to a dying world. For three weeks his place in the desk was vacant. He was seeking an answer to the question, ‘What shall we do?’

"The minster returned to his charge with an unction from the Holy One. He realized that his past preaching had made little impression on his hearers. Now he felt upon him the terrible weight of souls. As he came to his desk, he was not alone. There was a great work to be done, but he knew that God would not fail him. Before his hearers he exalted the Savior and His matchless love. There was a revelation of the Son of God, and a revival began that spread through the churches of the surrounding districts."

Gospel Workers, pp. 32-34, E. G. White