29 April 2018
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we
have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new
and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and
since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God
with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our
hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies
washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for
he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are
in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see
the Day approaching.
-- after
work the other day, I went to pick up some lettuce for supper -- and, when I
went to the produce section to get it, I was surprised -- there was none on the
shelf -- the sign was there -- it had the price on it and everything -- but,
there was no lettuce to be found
-- I
found out later that the reason was because Romaine lettuce had been recalled
because of an E Coli scare -- and, apparently, there was a run on the rest of
the lettuce -- I couldn’t find any lettuce at any of the stores I went to
-- so,
you can imagine my surprise when I began studying for this week’s message and I
found the pages of Scripture filled with lettuce -- albeit, not the leafy,
green kind, but the “let us” encouragements from the writer of Hebrews
-- we
just finished up the sermon series on the five purposes for churches and
Christians, where we looked at our calling and what we were supposed to do --
just to remind you, the five purposes were worship, ministry, evangelism,
fellowship, and discipleship
-- it’s
one thing to know them -- it’s entirely a different thing to apply them -- we
live in what is known as the “information age” -- we have more information at
our fingertips than any generation that has ever lived before -- we have more
computing power and more knowledge right here in our smart phones than NASA had
when they put a man on the moon -- but, what are we doing with this
information? -- are we just acquiring information, or are we actively putting
it to work?
--
that’s a concern I have -- there’s a lot of people who read the Bible daily --
who know God’s word -- who go to Bible study and have pages and pages of notes
about the Bible -- but who aren’t doing anything with what they have learned
-- it’s
not enough to know about Jesus or to know His word -- we must apply it to our
lives -- it’s like living in a house filled with electricity, and never
plugging anything into the socket to make use of that electricity -- we need
more than knowledge -- we need wisdom -- the application of knowledge in our
lives -- doing something with what we have learned
II. Scripture Lesson (Hebrews 10:19-25)
-- this
morning, we’re going to look at a passage here in Hebrews where the writer
encourages us to do just that -- to boldly step out in faith in action based on
our knowledge and understanding of Jesus and the Scriptures
-- look
back at Hebrews 10:19-21
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we
have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new
and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and
since we have a great priest over the house of God
-- notice
that verse 19 begins with the word, “therefore” -- and, just to remind you,
when you see the word “therefore” in Scripture, the first thing you should ask
yourself is “what is ‘therefore’ there for?” -- in other words, what is it
referring to?
-- in
this case, the writer is referring back to the earlier verses from Hebrews 10, where
he expanded on the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross -- he pointed out
that Jesus’ death atoned for our sins once for all time -- how by the one
sacrifice Jesus has made us perfect forever through His imputed righteousness
-- this
sacrifice of Jesus was not like the sacrifices offered up by the Jewish
priests, who could only offer up temporary sacrifices that had to be repeated
over and over again -- in fact, the writer says that those sacrifices were just
annual reminders of our sins, because it was impossible for the blood of bulls
and goats to take away sin -- and they served merely to point us to the One who
would come and be our true and final sacrifice, Jesus
--
therefore -- because of this -- we have confidence -- the KJV says that we have
“boldness” -- to enter into the Most Holy Place because Jesus has opened for us
a new and living way to come before God through His own blood -- and, the
writer goes on, because we have Jesus as our great priest over the house of God
-- we are compelled to action -- we have no fear -- we can boldly go where no
man has gone before and do great things for God because we are empowered with
His Holy Spirit
-- the
writer goes on to give us five exhortations in this passage -- the "Let
us" passages -- which show us our purpose as Christians and move us
forward in Christian maturity as we apply our knowledge to real life
-- one
thing we need to recognize before we being looking at these is the author’s use
of the term, “let us” -- in other places in Scripture, God’s word is a command
from Him directly to us -- He tells us individually what to do -- but, here,
the writer says “let us” -- this is recognition that we are one together in
Christ -- one body with one purpose -- one body who works together as Christ’s
hands and feet on earth -- this isn’t someone standing up telling you what you
should or shouldn’t do -- but someone who says, “come join me and let us do
this”
--
that’s something we should consider in all our spiritual endeavors -- we’ve got
too many people who want to tell others how to live -- rather than telling
someone what they should do, show them through your actions -- rather than
telling someone to go to church, we should bring them to church with us --
rather than trying to live this Christian life alone, we should be living it
together -- Christianity is meant to be lived out in relationship -- and the
author makes that clear when he includes himself in these exhortations by
saying, “let us,” and not, “you go do this”
-- so,
let us look at these exhortations together now
A.
Let Us Draw Near to God
-- verse
22
Hebrews 10:22 -- “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart
and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to
cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure
water.”
-- the
first exhortation in this passage is to "Let us draw near to God"
-- the
first thing we need to do to actively live out our faith and grow in grace is
to draw near to God -- to seek His faith -- to come before His presence boldly
and with confidence
-- this
is a privilege that we so often take for granted -- to come before the Lord God
Almighty was not something that was granted to many people before Jesus -- to
come into God’s presence unprepared meant certain death
--
throughout the Old Testament, we read of how the patriarchs and the prophets
were in fear for their lives when they realized they were in the presence of
God -- in the Book of Judges, when Gideon realized he had been speaking to the
Angel of the Lord -- a term for the preincarnate appearance of Jesus -- he
exclaimed in Judges 6:22, “I’m doomed”
-- when
Isaiah appeared in a vision before the throne of God, he cried out in Isaiah
6:5, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a
man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord Almighty”
-- to
come before God in our sins was to invite certain death -- that’s why the
Jewish priests could only come into the Most Holy Place once per year, after
they had been prepared to do so -- even then, the priests would wear a robe
with bells at the bottom and with a rope around his leg leading out of the Most
Holy Place -- so that if the other priests quit hearing the bells, they would
know the High Priest had done something wrong in the presence of God and had
been killed, they would be able to pull his body out of the Most Holy Place for
burial
-- yet
here, the author tells us that we should eagerly draw near to God with sincere
hearts -- that we can do so without fear -- confidently and boldly -- because
we have the full assurance of our faith -- our hearts have been sprinkled with
the very blood of Jesus and have been cleansed -- the righteousness of Christ
has been imputed to us -- so we can come before the presence of God as holy and
righteous saints
-- this
is a high and mighty privilege, and we shouldn’t take it lightly -- we need to
keep this in mind every time we call upon God -- whether it’s in prayer or in
our devotions -- in Scripture reading or in our worship
B.
Let us hold unswervingly to our hope
-- verse 23
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to
the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
-- probably
like most of you, I had to study Greek and Roman mythology when I was in school
-- and I have forgotten most of the stories I learned -- but there is one story
that has always stuck with me -- the story of Pandora's box -- do you remember
that?
-- Pandora
had been given a box as a wedding present but had been told to never open it --
one day curiosity got the best of her, and Pandora opened this box and released
evil into the world -- out of the box flew the spirits of sickness and disease
-- hate and envy -- and all the bad things people had never known -- Pandora
slammed the box shut, but it was too late -- the evil had gotten out
-- in tears
she told her husband what she had done -- the evil she had unknowingly released
-- and as she opened the box again to demonstrate her actions, she found that
one thing remained -- the spirit of hope was in the bottom of the box -- and
Pandora and her husband watched as hope entered into a world gone wrong
-- hope is
the basis of our faith -- as it says in Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is being sure
of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" -- what is it that
keeps a single mother going through the hard times? -- what is it that keeps a
terminal cancer patient's spirits up? -- what is it that sustains us through
the storms of life? -- hope -- the hope of a promise -- the hope of eternity
-- for
those who have been sprinkled with the shed blood of Christ -- who have drawn
near to God -- we are told, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we
profess" -- what is that hope? -- it is the hope of eternal life with
Christ -- it is the hope of salvation -- the hope of sanctification -- it is
the promise that no matter how bad things might be here -- no matter how good
things might be here -- better things await
-- for
those who hope in Christ the things of this earth hold no power -- for those
who hope in Christ the storms of life cannot buffet -- for those who hope in
Christ no evil can condemn -- that is why the author tells us to hold on to the
hope we have in Him
C.
Let us spur one another on in love and good deeds
-- verse 24
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds
-- Robert
Schuller tells a story about a banker who always tossed a coin in the cup of a
legless beggar who sat on the street outside the bank -- But, unlike most
people, the banker would always insist on getting one of the pencils the man
had beside him. -- "You are a merchant," the banker would say,
"and I always expect to receive good value from merchants I do business
with."
-- One day
the legless man was not on the sidewalk -- Time passed and the banker forgot
about him, until he walked into a public building and there in the concessions
stand sat the former beggar -- He was obviously the owner of his own small
business now.
-- "I
have always hoped you might come by someday," the man said. -- "You
are largely responsible for me being here. -- You kept telling me that I was a
’merchant’. -- I started thinking of myself that way, instead of a beggar
receiving gifts -- I started selling pencils -- lots of them -- You gave me
self-respect -- you caused me to look at myself differently."
-- this
third exhortation to spur one another on towards love and good deeds is a call
to discipleship and accountability -- it is a call to push people towards their
God-given purpose in life
-- when Kim
and I started going to Morven Methodist Church, we have been Christians for
some time, and we had a pretty good foundation in the Scriptures -- we had both
been involved in Bible Study Fellowship -- we had grown in our faith -- and we
were comfortable in our walk with Christ -- we went to church every Sunday
morning and evening and then again for mid-week Bible study
-- but,
thankfully, our pastor knew this verse -- I could have spent the rest of my
Christian life just sitting in a pew doing what I had been doing, but my pastor
pushed me out of my comfort zone -- this verse says to "spur" one
another on towards love and good deeds -- the Greek word for "spur"
can actually mean "provoke" -- and my pastor spurred and provoked me
into teaching a Sunday School class -- I had never done that before -- I had no
desire to do that before -- and, truthfully, I just did it to get her off my
back -- but it's just what I needed -- she saw a calling in my life that I
didn't see and she spurred me on to start living out that calling
-- that is
our responsibility as Christians -- not only are we to pick up and grow in our
own faith -- to do the things Christ has called us to do -- but we are to
disciple those around us -- to spur them on -- to provoke them -- into doing
what we see God is calling them to do -- it might be the only way some people
ever realize their true potential in Christ, much as the beggar in Robert
Schuller's story would never have realized his true potential apart from the
provoking by the banker
D.
Let us not give up meeting together
-- verse 25
Hebrews 10:25a -- “Let us not giving up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing”
-- this
fourth exhortation really hits home for me -- I can't tell you the number of
times I've heard this same excuse for why people don't go to church --
"You don't have to go to church to be saved"
-- I've sat
in men's living rooms and listened to them time and time again tell me, "I
can worship God just as good from my deer stand as I can in a church pew"
-- and I tell them the same thing every time, although most don't listen --
"you don't have to go to church to be saved, but you can't be a Christian
if you don't go to church"
-- the
heart of Christianity is relationship -- relationship with God -- as in
"Draw near to God" -- and relationship with others -- Christianity is
about living love, and love can only be lived and experienced in a relationship
with someone else
-- I read a
fantastic book one time called, "Love Does," by Bob Goff -- and I
think this statement from Donald Miller in the introduction sums up what the
author of Hebrews is trying to get across to us here -- Miller wrote, "The reason Bob has impacted my life is because he loves
me."
--
you can't love another person from a deer stand -- you can't love a fellow
believer if you aren't with them -- you can't be impacted by another person
unless you put yourself in a position to be loved by them
--
no, you don't need church to be saved -- the thief on the cross showed us that
-- but you do need church to live out the love we have in Christ -- it is in
church we experience our truest selves -- it is in church we come to know and
to be known -- to love and to be loved -- the deepest relationships I have in
my life, other than with my family, revolve around people I know from church
--
we need the church -- not the building -- not the music -- not the preaching --
we need the people -- we need the church -- we need the deep relationships and
love and trust and accountability we receive from other Christians if we are to
succeed in our Christian lives
--
there's a sermon illustration that has been used so often it's become a cliché
-- but the things about clichés is that they are that because they are so true
--
a pastor went to visit a church member who hadn't been to church in quite a
long time -- when he got to the house, he found the man sitting in front of a
fire in a rocking chair, so he took the chair next to him, not saying a word
--
after a few moments, the pastor picked up the fire tongs and reached in the
fire and pulled out a glowing coal -- he set upon the hearth and the men
watched as the glowing ember cooled and turned dark and cold -- the pastor then
reached out with the tongs and put the ember back in the fire -- within
seconds, it became alive again -- red and glowing and flaming up
--
without a word the pastor got up to leave -- the man spoke out as the pastor
left, "Thank you for your fiery sermon -- I'll see you at church on
Sunday"
E. Let us encourage one another
--
look at the second part of verse 25
Hebrews 10:25b -- “but encouraging one another—and all the more as you
see the Day approaching.”
--
Keith Miller, in his book Passionate People, which he co-authored with
Bruce Larson, describes two kinds of people -- "basement people" and
"balcony people."
--
"Basement people" are the discouragers in our lives -- They may be
people from our past, or present, but their words go with us everywhere we go
-- They are the negative influences in our lives and their words go something
like this -- "You can't do that." -- "That's a stupid thing to
do." -- "When are you going to get it right?"
-- Basement
people divert us from our hopes and dreams -- they constantly point out what is
wrong, rather than what is right with us -- Basement people cause a room to
light up when they leave.
-- In
contrast to them are the "Balcony People." -- They are people who are
full of love and cheer us on. -- they
encourage us to be loving, courageous followers of Christ. -- They sit in the
balcony of our lives like a heavenly cheering section, saying, "You can do
it." -- "We believe in you." -- "You are special to
us." -- Balcony people are the great encouragers in our lives and we all
need them!
-- Balcony
people try to lift people up to where they are, but basement people try to drag
people down where they are.
(From
a sermon by David Owens, Encourage One Another, 11/3/2009 -- Illustration downloaded
from Sermon Central:
http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/scripture/illustrations-on-hebrews-10+23-25.asp]
-- if there
is one thing I would like to be known for it would be that I encouraged others
-- I can think of no higher calling -- when I read of Barnabas in the Book of
Acts and see that he was known as the "son of encouragement," it just
makes me want to be like him
-- all of
us in here have someone in the past who encouraged us -- someone who was a
balcony person in our lives -- a teacher -- a pastor -- a parent -- a friend --
someone who spoke life into us and told us we could do it -- they believed in
us
-- the
author of Hebrews tells us here that we should be balcony people -- we should
encourage one another -- we should applaud baby steps of faith and spur people
on to greater things in Christ
-- people
need encouragement -- they need someone who can bring out the best in them --
right now we're in the middle of college football season -- think about the job
of a coach -- what is it the coach does? -- he looks at the gifts and talents
of his players -- he looks at what they are doing -- and then he challenges
them and encourages them to reach out and do even more -- this is what we are
called to do as Christians
-- too many
Christians are negative -- we don't like the music -- we didn't like the
preaching -- we don't like the way that person sings or dresses or whatever --
we speak negativity into their lives
-- but our
calling is to be encouragers -- to speak life and love and purpose into the
lives of others, especially as we see the Day -- the end of the age --
approaching
-- people
want to know they are loved and appreciated -- and that is our job as the
church
III. CLOSING
-- to
summarize, the writer of Hebrews has exhorted us to join together to do five
things:
-- let
us draw near to God
-- let
us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess
-- let
us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds
-- let
us not give up meeting together
-- and,
let us encourage one another
-- this
five exhortations are practical steps of faith that help us to live out the
purposes to which we have been called -- they encompass our worship of God --
ministry to others -- evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship
-- if we
would just join together with each other and the writer of this book and do
what he has encouraged us to do, our lives would be enriched and we would see
others around us transformed and changed by the very power of God
-- we
may be small in number, but big things have small beginnings
--
through one man -- Moses -- God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt
--
through one man -- Joshua -- God led the Israelites into the Promised Land
--
through one man -- David -- God established His kingdom
--
through one man -- John the Baptist -- God prepared the world for the coming of
His Son
-- and,
through One Man -- Jesus -- our sins were atoned for and we were reconciled to
the Father
-- one
small step of faith can result in great things -- by trusting in Jesus -- by
relying on His Holy Spirit -- by doing what He has called us to do -- let us
begin to do great things together today -- let us change this world through Him
-- let
us pray
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