Hebrews 9 Who’s life?

Hebrews 9 Who’s life?

1.         [1 – 7] The first covenant was earthly… a copy of the heavenly/eternal.

            a.         The copies were impressive. [vv 3 – 4] BUT there was no direct access to God. [v 8]

            b.         RESULT: The old covenant had no direct access to God. [v 9]

            c.         Why?  BECAUSE the eternal is powerless [v 10]

2.         The internal (symbolized by the “Most Holy Place”).

            a.         The heavenly reality is seen in the copy [v 12]

            b.         The presence of God was denied in the old covenant by the curtain (veil) [vv 7, 15]

***** Never a sacrifice for willful sin. *****

           

3.         Christ is there now… [v 24]

            a.         What does that mean? [v 15]

                        1.)        Jesus died for us.

                        2.)        Jesus paid the ransom.

                        3.)        Jesus set us free.

            b.         RESULT [v 14]

                        1.)        Conscience cleared…

                        2.)        We are now free to serve the living God…

4.         The legal proof… a “will” [vv 16 – 17]

            a.         The death of the owner must be proved.

                        1.)        The first covenant is established by a living person.

                        2.)        The death of that person releases the will.

                        3.)        When Jesus died He ended the first covenant.

            b.         [v 18] Death was symbolized (proved) by the blood.

                        1.)        [v 19] Moses sprinkled the blood to sanctify everything.

                        2.)        [v 23] This blood was symbolic of the heavenly reality.

                        3.)        [v 22] Blood cleansed and provided forgiveness.

***** The old looked forward toward the real, eternal, heavenly… Jesus. *****

            c.         [v 24] Jesus is alive.

                        1.)        NOW there is a new covenant in place.

                                    a.)        There is direct access to God (curtain torn at the crucifixion).

                                    b.)        We have direct access through Jesus.

                        2.)        [v 28] RESULT: Jesus will one day return.

                                    a.)        Jesus died… ransomed us… set us free: conscious is cleared and we can now serve the living God.

                                    b.)        Jesus will one day return… verifies and enforces the new covenant.

***** FACT: You are alive spiritually BECAUSE Jesus blood now runs in your veins. *****

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [Galatians 2:20]

Three tools for Success (Hebrews 4:11 - 16)

Hebrews 4:11 – 16
Three tools for Success

Verse 11 starts with a warning… “Let us strive… so
that no one may fall…” Israel did not enter the rest
because of disobedience (“unbelief”).
In this chapter we have seen a promise coupled
with a warning. Whether we like it or not, God’s
promises are conditional. God takes the initiative
but expects us to respond. God gives grace but we
must react in faith. God does the heavy lifting but
we are expected to invest ourselves in obedience.
Why the warning? Because of the very real
possibility of failure… but we are given three very
powerful tools to achieve our goal.


I. Tool #1: We are given the Word of God.

A. What is the “Word of God?”

1. The Bible

“But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
mouth of God.” [Matthew 4:4]

2. Jesus Christ

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1]

B. What makes the “Word of God” special?

1. It is “living.” [v 12]

a. It is not a “dead language.” (It is
not unchanging.)

b. Jesus came to give us “abundant
life.”

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly.”
[John 10:10]

1.) Jesus as the “Word of God”
reveals God the Father, His
expressions, thoughts, and
passions.

2.) In the Bible we hear, find, and
receive Jesus.

2. It is active. (It is the word we get
“energy” from) [v 12]

a. This power is not necessarily what
we think or want it to be!

b. 1 Kings 19:9 – 13

C. How does the “Word of God” work?

1. In the “Word of God” we find identity,
power, and purpose.

a. It exposes us for who we really
are… (“discerns” is the image of the
head pulled back to expose the
neck.)

1.) Thoughts (MIND)

2.) Intentions (HEART)

b. It has the healing power of the
surgeon’s scalpel.

1.) The word “sharper” conveys
the image of one clean cut (as
opposed to “hacking.” It was
the advantage Roman soldiers
had over their opponents…
steel that remained sharp.)

2.) It is the power of the spoken
word that the word that
created and chaos is turned to
cosmos at the cross.

“By faith we understand that the universe was
created by the word of God, so that what is seen
was not made out of things that are visible.”
[Hebrews 11:3]

2. In the “Word of God” we are
confronted with a choice: live or death.

a. The image of the sword either kills
are guards…

b. It is the image of sacrifice… we will
see this again in Hebrews.

c. Which side of the sword do you
want to be on?

II. Tool #2: A sympathetic High Priest

A. Jesus has gone before us… What?

1. Explain the “day of atonement.” (The
one time of the year anyone, and only
the High Priest, could enter the “holy of
holies” behind the veil.)

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is
for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and
do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull,
sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the
mercy seat.” [Leviticus 16:15]

2. God eliminated that wall of separation
between Him and us when Jesus died.

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and
yielded up his spirit. [51] And behold, the curtain of
the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”
[Matthew 27:50 – 51]

B. That is what we call a “game changer.”

1. Because of Jesus, everything changes…

a. God sympathizes with our
weaknesses.

b. While Jesus is God in every way, He
was also human in every way… His
humanity AND sinlessness adds up
to the perfect sacrifice AND perfect
representative.

2. God has become not only our judge but
also our advocate.

a. Even though Jesus was not a sinner,
God treated Him like one.

b. Jesus took our place, took our
whipping, took our death sentence,
took our damnation to hell… THAT
IS LOVE (and believe it or not it
offends people).

“My little children, I am writing these things to you
so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.” [1 John 2:1]

a. Once we were against God… now
God shown Himself to be for us.

b. Once we were separated by a veil
that represented our uncleanness…
now God has exchanged Jesus
righteousness for our uncleanness.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no
sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]

C. What difference does this make?

1. We have our identity in Jesus.

a. He is our King.

b. We are co-heirs with Jesus.

"So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son,
then an heir through God.” [Galatians 4:7]

[Roman law of adoption: A person was privately
adopted… eventually there was a public ceremony
before the civil authorities. It was not uncommon
to have many years in between the private and the
public ceremony. It was not legal until the public
ceremony.]

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the
revealing of the sons of God.” [Romans 8:19]

Here is the “already but not yet” principle we see
throughout Scripture.

2. We have power through the shed blood
of Jesus.

a. One way to understand this is what
Jesus gave us:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth.” [Acts 1:8]

b. Another way to understand this:

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they
loved not their lives even unto death.” [Revelation
12:11]

III. Tool #3: Our confession [v 14] and confidence
[v 16]

A. What confession?

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with
the heart one believes and is justified, and with the
mouth one confesses and is saved.” [Romans 10:9 –
10]

1. “Confess” means to tell others… (new
fangled word “witness.”)

2. Faith is expressed by the content of our
words.

B. What confidence:

1. If we need mercy, what do we do?
[RUN]

“The man answered, I was naked, and when I heard
you walking through the garden, I was frightened
and hid!” [Genesis 3:10 CEV]

“People who do evil hate the light and won't come
to the light, because it clearly shows what they have
done.” [John 3:20 CEV]

a. Think about it: when do you need
mercy and grace?

b. When you have sinned…

2. Repentance depends on God’s loving-
kindness.

a. Do you really think that God does
NOT want anyone to perish?

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some
count slowness, but is patient toward you, not
wishing that any should perish, but that all should
reach repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9]

b. If God really does not want anyone
to perish (go to hell) then why do
we act like God is the mean bully?

3. Mercy is for the past, grace is for the
now, hope rules tomorrow.

a. This is all give WHEN it is needed.
(“in our time of need.”)

b. Without doubt or fear, you can
approach God in repentance.

C. What does this mean?

1. We have free access to God…

2. We have right relationship with God…

3. We have the responsibility to “strive”
(with all diligence and effort).

4. We are not working FOR our salvation…
we are acting like we are saved.

Floating or Fighting

Hebrews 2:1 – 4

Floating or Fighting

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [2] For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, [3] how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, [4] while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” [Hebrews 2:1 – 4]

A law of nature is atrophy. Unless effort is put into something it will degenerate, become less effective, and die.

This happens spiritually. It is the key to the book of Hebrews. How do we lose energy so gradually that we miss were we are?

Let’s give this some serious thought today.

I. We must know where we are in relationship to where we are.

A. Warning signs... when these go bad:

1. How much time do we spend in prayer?

2. How much time do we spend reading the Bible?

3. How often to we attend or skip church?

B. Physical truth that illustrates spiritual truth:

1. It requires energy to move...

2. It requires more energy to move from a dead stop...

3. It requires the most energy to reverse course...

II. We must be honest with ourselves about our condition and direction.

A. Ignoring warning signs does not get us out of the condition we are in.

(Ill. Before World War II Joseph Stalin ignored two of his most accurate spies who told him that Hitler had moved 4.5 million soldiers to the Russian border. Stalin even issued orders to have these spies punished for what he called “lies.” AND he ignored intelligence that America presented to him to the same fact. Why? He wanted to believe he had a deal with Hitler and that Hitler would never break that deal.)

B Ignoring the possibilities does not make them any less important.

***** Fact: most people tend to discount unpleasant or negative possibilities. *****

(Ill. While stacking his army on the Russian boarder, Hitler believed the war with Russia would be short one. He refused to listen to his advisers who told him to prepare the German army for the brutal Russian winter. As a result, when winter hit his army became bogged down and eventually routed by a less advanced Russian army. Why? Hitler wanted to have peace of mind, so he simply refused to listen.)

III. How do we drift?

A. We discount the importance of what we are hearing.

1. Sermons (and Sunday School lessons) are not taken seriously.

2. What is said and happens is for someone else.

(Ill. We want the alter to be used BUT we don’t use it ourselves.)

B. We perceive the value of spiritual things to be less than practical things.

(Ill. A church in Joplin MO that was destroyed by a tornado this week. The pastor said that the church was not just a building where people met it was the people as they met and served others.)

1. Trouble is that as Americans we tend to focus on stuff... what we have as the perceived value.

2. Denominations count people NOT impact.

(Ill. I know of a church that over 30 years set out 14 pastors and missionaries FROM the children that grew up in that church. You might be tempted to think it was a large church... and you would be dead wrong. That church never averaged more than 20 people. It was closed by that denomination [NOT the Free Methodist church] because it was considered to be to small. How do I know this? My aunt and her co-worker were the pastors of that church.]

C. Simple neglect sets in with time and opportunities.

1. What happens is simple. We just don’t think about it.

2. Think about it. When was the last time you cracked open your Bible and read it to get something out of it?

D. We become distracted.

1. It seems more needful or profitable to spend our time doing something else.

2. Here’s the killer: most of these things are either necessary, useful, or good.

***** So we let the “good” and the “better” replace the “best.” *****

E. We find ourselves B.U.S.Y.

1. We begin to feel forced to put energy and attention on other things.

2. B.U.S.Y “Burdened Under Satan’s Yoke” (Dr. David Jeremiah)

F. Before we know it we become indifferent to spiritual matters.

1. Spiritually we start going through the motions but it is only superficial

2. We make no effort to grow spiritually or stay currently maintained.

(Ill. How many of you have thought of something else in the last few moments? The house, the kids/parents, the lawn mower, the Jeep. Yes, this has been an interesting week for all of us. But this is a serious warning sign... miss this and who knows what you will miss.)

G. Spiritual things become “optional.”

1. Following Jesus, seeking the love of God poured out in our hearts, keeping in step with the spirit becomes just one more thing on the “to do” list.

2. While it’s good those things are still on the “to do” list. We miss the fact that they are the “to do” list.

***** Take our eyes off Jesus, lose spiritual energy, stop listening to God and we die spiritually.*****

Listen to Jesus: “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [35] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. [36] For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? [37] For what can a man give in return for his soul?” [Matthew 8:34 – 37]

Do you hear what Jesus is saying? We must deny ourselves... set those things that control us aside and follow Jesus. What are those things going to profit you if you forfeit your soul? How are you going to get your soul back?

You have to understand, one of the constant themes of the book of Hebrews is that there is a point were this drifting becomes fatal, irrecoverable, final.

Do I have your attention yet? What follows is even harder if not impossible to recover from.

H. We fall in love with the world.

1. The pleasures of this world draw us more than Jesus does.

2. The emotions are stirred by the world, not the Holy Spirit.

I. We begin to rely on a false optimism and self-reliance.

1. Laodicea said “I need nothing.” Jesus said, “you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.” [Revelation 3:17]

2. We twist our theology into something about “eternal security.”

***** Understand, in right relationship with Jesus we are have assurance of salvation. Step outside that relationship and there are no promises. In fact, we are going to run into progressively more serious warnings in Hebrews than receiving “just retribution” [v 2] *****

J. We die spiritually.

1. We have deliberately moved so far away from God that we either cannot hear Him speak to us or will not respond when we do hear.

2. Response to this: “whatever” or “no way” or “this is for someone else” or “Pastor, you’re an idiot.”

IV. Reality check and Response.

A. Fact every person has TWO personal enemies:

1. First, there is the ancient serpent, the devil, who is either crouching at the door of your life or prowling/stalking you.

2. Second, there is a sinful nature aided by a deceitful heart. God never takes that nature away from us (according to John Wesley).

B. So are you going to let those enemies win or are you going to put some energy into your spiritual life?

Re-start today by responding to God today? Walk away will just make it that much easier next time until you won’t remember when the last time was you came forward to meet God in a special way.

Just remember, when you choose today... your soul may be at stake... and there are no guarantees of another chance.

(Alter call)