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SERMON SERIES Hebrews
SERMON TITLE What Makes faith Unforgettable
SERMON DATE 06/22/08
SPEAKER Jeff Paschall
TEXT Hebrews 13:1-40
Last week we posed that the 18 commands presented in this last chapter are here because 1) of the real needs these people were facing at the moment. And 2) to plead with them to exercise their faith! He wants them to persevere… GO FORWARD in the face pressure! He wants them to NOT QUIT GOD! And so the commands are meant to make their faith SOLID… and show how faith shows up unforgettable! Last week (v. 1-6) he said it shows up in our relationships. In our 1) love for others, 2) for strangers, 3) for suffering, 4) and marriage, 5) and in NOT LOVING money…
But it ALSO ought to BLEED THROUGH… in our relationship with GOD! And you know what’s interesting to me when he turns to our relationship with God… THE VERY FIRST AREA he looks at… is in our relationship with spiritual LEADERS. And he says, 1) Learn from your leaders! 7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. You look at the three… decisive commands here… “remember” (your leaders), “consider” (the outcome of their way of life) “imitate” (their faith). It’s possible he’s speaking of leaders who have been on the scene now they’re gone. But I think it refers to the leaders in their midst… who were FAR ENOUGH ALONG… so they become a model and an example! They’re life BLAZES A TRAIL… to where you can look at them and say, “Okay… I can see where this is going! This guy (woman) is going to finish strong! They may be ending… but LOOK AT THEM… they’re ending well!” And “consider their lives” DOESN’T MEAN… dress like them…drive the same car. What we’re supposed to do is to imitate their FAITH! The POINT IS… find someone you admire SPIRITUALLY… and spend your spiritual journey… trying to get under their skin!! Ask them regularly, “For what are you trusting God?” “How do you handle trouble?” “How do you stay hungry for God’s word?” …and imitate their FAITH!
Now, two things are true about earthly examples… a) even godly people die… and b) even godly people… fail! So if they DIE… go AWAY… or FAIL… it’s the unchangeable constant of Jesus… Jesus is the eternal God… He’s the SAME… He’ll never change! 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. He’s saying this because… you know 40 years had gone by since Jesus died… our leaders who lived with him have mostly died… what will keep us from going seriously wrong? Over two millennia there had better be some FAIL-SAFES in this plan! Well there is… GODLY LEADERS… who mimic Jesus! (significance increases as you get older)! Genuine godliness perpetuates because of GODLY LEADERS… who STILL FOLLOW JESUS… who is the same today, yesterday, and forever! So the point TO YOU is… follow godly leaders… your faith will become unforgettable.
Second in our relationship with God 2) we should rely on grace. 9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. In other words, we’re to resist being carried away (picture a sailboat drifting at sea) by strange teachings. Be aware of ANYONE who tries to MAKE UP RULES and put you under them. …what you EAT… when and how you WORSHIP… how you DRESS… if you should MARRY. Stay away from people who tell you how specific RULES… MAKE YOU acceptable before God. Listen! THEY DON’T! They DON’T! He says, bad teaching comes in “all kinds” (“many colors”). But the TRUTH… is always dressed up the grace of God in the death of Jesus. It’s “the only altar” WE SUBSCRIBE TO… the only sacrifice that REALLY WORKS… Grace through the blood of Jesus! So when you’re troubled about your own sinfulness… DON’T GO TO RULES! GO TO JESUS! You say, “My guilt is paid for! What he did was ENOUGH… to make me right before God. You go ahead and keep your spiritual rulebook.” And, get this, your faith… SURFACES as you dwell on your FAILURES… and the GRACE… that covers them completely!
3) Accept the DIS-grace of being an outsider. 11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. (now, this is the point) 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. He’s referring to the day of atonement where a special sacrifice was made for the sins of the people. The high priest would take blood, and splatter it on the ark in the temple. But the carcass… was taken outside the city and burned. And it foreshadowed the cross. And the fact apparently wasn’t lost on them that Golgotha… was also outside the city gates. And here’s the point: Outside is where rejected and expelled people go! Outside is where lepers went. Outside is where criminals were executed. And outside is where… YOU GO… if you align your faith in Jesus.
When you accepted Christ… you by definition reject the world. Those things are mutually exclusive! And we’re not sadists… THERE’S a GOOD REASON WE ENDURE disgrace… It’s because we LOOK AHEAD, “you seek a city… that’s lasting!” No city in the world… has a permanent future… NONE! ALL CITIES… pass away… under revolution… wars… global disaster… THEY ALL FOLD… EVENTUALLY! Nothing on earth… has an eternal future! But for those who have faith in Jesus… THERE IS A CITY… a city to come that will be FOREVER! And it will be EVERYTHING that we’ve always looked for but never found! And when you HIT DISGRACE… and flirt with going back… LOOKING AHEAD IS JUST CRITICAL! C.S. Lewis puts it this way, “We are half hearted creatures fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum…” Clinging to the world is like clinging to mudpies in a slum! Believers are not insiders in the world, we’re outsiders waiting for something better. And it’s a carefully weighed and calculated decision… because with it… you’ll bear disgrace from other people! And when you do… and you say, “Well, okay, so be it!” …your faith… shows up!
4) Resolving to Love God, love others, make an impact. 15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. The fact is… the only sacrifice God accepts now… are THROUGH JESUS. And once a person TRUSTS CHRIST… our hearts are free and forgiven… we’re right with God… THEN we can offer sacrifices. But not before! You try to offer any sacrifice to God before you’ve accepted the sacrifice of Christ… it’s not going to do a thing! But if you HAVE accepted the sacrifice of Christ… THEN… WORSHIP BEGINS! And sacrifice… is doing something… not for yourself… but in response to God!
Let me just show you the three sacrifices we can make that are REALLY COOL! a) Love God! “a sacrifice of praise” And it’s continual! Continually offered means “in every circumstance” and situation of life. We’re to verbally and expressively… clearly express that Jesus is our Savior and THANK HIM for all He’s done. And so how about making a commitment to regular worship! I know sometimes you come in here and you sit here and think “Oh boy! What am I doing here? Do I really FEEL LIKE BEING HERE? Okay, there’s coffee… there’s nice people… okay, we’re going to sing this song… I’m sure it’d be better if I FELT LIKE singing… la la la… I can’t seem to get my hand up there… my body might be standing but I’m as responsive as a vertical corpse… maybe I’ll go to the bathroom… (no, during the message… [nobody is going to go now… “now I gotta hold it the whole time”]).” It’s a sacrifice… a commitment… to offer to God… regular worship! (6WWC)
The second sacrifice is just b) love others “share your life”! Some of us are willing to DO STUFF for other people… but not OPEN UP to other people. And the idea is to share your life in a small group! It’s the sacrifice that ties us one to another! And again, this DEEPLY PLEASES GOD! When YOU… open UP… and share your LIFE with other people… God says, “WOW! I am DEEPLY pleased with that!” (Why do think we BANG AWAY… at iGroups. …it’s not because we think it WORKS to GROW A CHURCH… BANGING AWAY AT iGROUPS is SIMPLY IN YOUR BEST INTEREST… and it GREATLY PLEASES GOD!!) So why not open up to someone? “Nobody’s asked me yet!” You ask THEM! “I checked the iGroup box once already. Nothing happened.” Well the iGroup checkbox checker was on vacation. Check it again! “I don’t do good in small grops… I think I’ll just stick with liking everybody in general… and nobody in particular.” But… IT PLEASES GOD!??! “Yeah but…///” Okay, wait a minute… how many excuses do you got?? SHARE YOUR LIFE… it’s a COMMAND! And it’s a SACRIFICE THAT PLEASES GOD! WHY NOT?
The third sacrifice is c) make an impact “doing good”! At IC… we simply call this… serving others. Look for good things to do… and you see a need… MEET IT! Serve in the Jr. high ministry or in the children’s ministry! JUST DO SOMETHING GOOD! So why not sign up to serve? And it’s not limited to what we do here on Sundays… Buy someone’s coffee! Someone’s meal! Mow someone’s yard! And HERE’S THE MIND BLOWER!! When you take initiative and serve others… God says, “THANK YOU!” GOD TAKES IT PERSONALLY!!! What? I take action and do good and You feel praised? That’s what it says! “for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
And he ASSUMES you’ll hesitate because you don’t “FEEL like it…” so he bookends it by restating the first point… “If you don’t FEEL like it…” respond to the urging of your spiritual leaders ANYWAY! Look at verse 17. 17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. (Reach a point where you stop asking questions and making up excuses… and respond to their urges to lead you spiritually!) They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. It’s a sacrifice to God to “obey them”. The word means to “place confidence” in them… and so follow their directions. It doesn’t say AGREE with them all the time! It doesn’t say respond this way even if they are jerks (it assumes that they’re godly). And I’m not telling you to just blindly let someone with a pastor’s badge BOSS YOU AROUND? Notice it says that these leaders are “keep(ing) watch”. Literally, they’re AWAKE when others are asleep. It’s a GOOD LEADER who is on the lookout! And if you’re BLESSED with a GOOD leader… doing a GOOD JOB… taking care of the flock… recognize, respect and respond to them! And so a GOOD CHURCH… one that PLEASES GOD… has GODLY LEADERS… and RESPONSIVE FOLLOWERS… so when the LEADERS SAY… we need to get into iGROUPs… serve… people say… OKAY…!
This scares me, but one day, I will give an account of my leadership! Not to you! But to God Himself! Someday… I must do this… for Impact Church! You don’t think that this makes me think twice about how I lead God’s flock! And here’s the kicker… YOU’LL have to answer for how you responded… or FAILED TO RESPOND… to your spiritual leaders. GOD… TAKES… IT… THAT PERSONALLY! (overseers… stand up!) These are overseers. I can’t tell you the frustration… the energy expended… the depth of concern… and how serious they take… watching over your spiritual journey… They get paid NOTHING! See the word “burden”… its the word “sigh”. It means TO GROAN. So… you know… you can have that affect on leaders… the Q: is… do they feel… JOY!… or they go, <sigh!> <whew!> “Not again!” “They did what?” <hgchcgah!> “Okay!” “She said what?” <sigh!> “Alright! I guess I gotta wade in there again… probably take in on the chin.” Think about this… each one of these men will have to give account for how they LED… you. They are sticking their necks out… and held to a high standard… before GOD… FOR YOU! … … “THAT KIND OF COMMITMENT… SACRIFICE… deserves and demands your respect!”… you should PRAY for them! …ENCOURAGE THEM… and GOD EXPECTS… you to RESPOND to them!
Okay, (we’re going to go real quick here in about 3 minutes. …you don’t believe me! You’re laughing at me… I can’t believe that <sigh!>) Okay lastly, Faith shows up personally in our encouragement of others. 1) through transparency 18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon. He’s one of the leaders and he’s being very transparent! I don’t know WHY EXACTLY or FROM WHAT he needed to be restored… for some reason he’s unable to get back to them. All I know… is this leader is being transparent. I love leaders who show transparency. I love leaders who can admit that they don’t have everything together… that they too desperately have to rely on God… that they’re in the same boat as everybody else. YOU SHOW TRANSPARENCY TO ANOTHER PERSON… you really encourage them. And this guy is saying, “Look… I need you to pray for me!”
And then, HE PRAYS! It’s an unbelievable prayer too! It touches on the major themes of the entire book. And we encourage others 2) when we pray for them! He prays, 20May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us (All of us! Leader’s! Me too! He’s being transparent!) what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. One of the best things we can do in encouraging another person is to PRAY! To pray REALLY GOOD PRAYERS! To ask God to EQUIP! To ENCOURAGE! To STRENGTHEN! To CHALLENGE us! WE NEED THAT!
And we can encourage another believer 3) by exhorting them 22Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter. Well, it’s a little longer than what he let’s on (13 chapters). But it’s not only LONG… it’s full of DIFFICULT CHALLENGES… and DIRECT ORDERS… and CHALLENGING TEACHING… and SKY HIGH APPLICATIONS… and SEVERE WARNINGS that they can’t go back! But that’s why he urges us to bear with him. Exhortation is a direct challenge! (Shannon C “breed certainty”) YOU CAN TURN THE ENTIRE DIRECTION OF A PERSON’S LIFE AROUND… with a DIRECT CHALLENGE TO THEIR FACE! If you LOVE another person… if you DEEPLY LOVE another person… sometimes you tell them… THE TRUTH! And BELIVE ME… you take the risk… to exhort… even if they don’t listen… they’ll never forget it!
This next verse is not a throw away verse. We can encourage another 4) through a visit. 23I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you. Timothy has been JAILED. He’s being RELEASED. He and the writer will soon visit which will ENCOURAGE… EVERYBODY! Sometimes… nothing else encourages as much as your desire to see another person or your showing up on their doorstep.
5) through recognition. 24Greet all your leaders and all God’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings. It means to salute! We’d say, “Say, ‘Hi’ to so and so.” When we LOOK PAST the inside of our own eyelids… we recognize one another… in makes people feel like they belong… that they’re important! Acknowledging… is the most basic thing you could ever do! We have a big distance from the parking lot… to the worship auditorium. Greeters in our church close the gap… of awkwardness and weird feelings… simply by seeing you… and acknowledging that you are there. (Why don’t you join?)
And lastly 6) through a blessing. And that’s what we all need most. And so… he asks God… to give it to them… Grace. And I… ask God now… to give it… to you! 25Grace be with you all. And all God’s people said, Amen.