Hebrews – Encouragement for a life of faith
Part 17
“That’s all folks”
Today we are going to wrap up our Hebrews series
As with many of our other sermon series
This one has been quite a ride
When we began this series
I figured we would be here about 6-7 week then move on
But with God’ guidance we have gone a lot deeper
As you know our Sunday morning sermon series
Unlike the Wednesday night’s
Do not go verse by verse
But
Instead
I try to hit the high spots
The key concepts
And we dig a lot deeper in the Round pens
Once again
I encourage you to pray about attending
Discipleship is the key to fulfillment in our Christian life
And we have made a serious commitment
To focus on spiritual growth
Yours and mine
Though that aspect of our ministry
Our the last 4 months
The writer of Hebrews has mashed on us
He has stomped on us a bit
He has encouraged us
And he has shown us over and over again that Jesus is the way the truth and the life
He has showed us his superiority
He has showed us a path to our own spiritual growth
And
Prayerfully he and I have applied enough pressure
To at least make us look at and pray about our weaknesses
And make efforts according to God’s word to improve
We started the series with a sermon called the
“Real deal”
In Hebrews chapter 1
Our writer began the process of showing us Jesus as supreme
As The standard we should be striving for
He showed him as greater than the Angels
Greater than the prophets
Greater than the law
And Greater than human Priests
Hebrews 1:1-4
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
The next week we moved on to chapter 2
With a sermon called “drift proofing your life”
The key verse here was Hebrews 2:1
“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.”
In thi9s sermon I through the writer of Hebrews gave you
6 warning signs of drifting
And then a few simple solutions to set the anchor
These 6 signs were
Loss of Focus
Loss of priority
Loss of passion
Loss of discipline
Loss of commitment
Loss of compassion
The next week we addressed purity with a sermon called “Pure Hearts”
Hebrews 3:12-14 were the key verses here
“Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.[a] Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”
The writer once again shows us Jesus as the model for purity
And we looked at ways that we can avoid allowing sin and evil to corrupt our hearts
We looked at how we must cling to our belief
Cling to our faith
How we must work at keeping our hearts pure
And that when we do
We will reap many rewards
Both here and in the afterlife
The next week we moved on to another toe stomping
In the sermon titled “ Sharper than a two edged sword”
In this sermon
Hebrews 4:12-13 were the key verses
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”
We saw how God’s word
Is designed to show us our sin
Convict us of our sin
And then give us the tools to make changes in our lives
In this sermon
We saw how there are no gray areas in God’s word
And how we can find the truth about our choices
In the written
Infallible
Inerrant
Living word
The next sermon in this series
Was a sermon titled
“Stunted”
The key verses were Hebrews 5:12-14
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
In this sermon I took you to Africa
To look at a comparison to the starvation that is so prevalent in that area
And how that is a perfect picture of becoming stunted spiritually
I and the writer began down a path through this book
Focusing on personal spiritual growth as well as Spiritual growth as a church
Our writer encouraged us to listen to God’s word
And showed us several reason for lack of growth
Failure to listen
Allowing God’ word to become a burden
Making excuses for the lack of growth
Refusing to make changes when God’s word shows us the need for change
Choosing worldly wisdom over Godly wisdom
And pride which makes us think we have grown enough and no longer need to grow
In this sermon
I challenged you
To move from just coming to Church
To truly experiencing the Christian life and all that Jesus has to offer
The next week
The sermon was titled
“There has to be a pony in here somewhere”
The key verses were Hebrews 6:11-12
“ Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.”
I took you back to Africa again and used my young friend David as an example of optimism
In this sermon we looked at ways that
We can move from being a spiritual pessimist
Into becoming a spiritual optimist
We studied about how we can stand on the promises of God
And how we though Christ
Can develop more faith which leads to peace, endurance and hope
The next sermon in the series was titled
“I may not be perfect but I know the one who is”
The key verses were Hebrews 7:23-28
“There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save[a] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.[b] 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.”
In this sermon we took another look at the perfection of Jesus
And shined a light on the character of Jesus
The position of Jesus
And the sacrifice of Jesus
And how we should strive to be more like him in all of our interactions with others, God and ourselves
We saw how Jesus’ character is prefect because he is Holy
Because he is blameless
Because he is unstained by sin
And how he is perfect in his position
Because
He has been set apart
And he holds the highest position in Heaven
Next we saw his perfect sacrifice
And that his sacrifice was perfect because no more where needed
Because it was for us
And his sacrifice was the final sacrifice
In part 8 of this series
Titled
“Now what”
I used Hebrews 10:23-25 as the key verses for this message
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
This was a rubber meets the road sermon
we had been looking at principals for 7 weeks and now it was time to apply some of them
You may remember that I used Honking as my illustration
I talked about how the wrong kind of honking is irritating to say the least
But honking as to say hello
Or as the geese honk to encourage their fellow geese is a good thing
The writer of Hebrews encourages us to encourage others in this chapter
We learned that we also receive encouragement when we encourage others
Ways we can encourage each other and many and varied
But
I covered just a few examples
They were
Our Words
Our Actions
Our Prayers
Our Fellowship
In this message we learned that as believers, the world is watching
And prayerfully we learned how to let them see Jesus when the look at us
Next
We moved on to sermon 9 titled
“Endeavor to persevere”
Hebrews 10:35-36 was the focus of the study
“Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ.[a] Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.”
In this sermon I use the movie “The outlaw Josey Wales “as an illustration
Lone Waite from the movie was telling Josey about the hardships he and his people had faced
And then he said
They told us to Endeavor to persevere
This study took a closer look at how we as Christians are sure to have hardships and persecution in our lives
But how we as Christians should consider with Joy these hardships as James says in James 1:1-2
“Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”
So that we can view times of storms, wrecks and tough times as an opportunity to grow and a chance to show the world Jesus through the storms and our reactions and responses to them
We also looked at how false prophets are trying to lead us astray
But how when we keep our thoughts and focus on Christ
That we will develop patience in all areas of our lives
And patience brings rewards in this life as well as the next
Then we moved to sermon Number 10
Titled
“Hall of fame of faith”
I used a big passage of scripture for this sermon to show men and women of faith throughout all time
Hebrews 11:1-34
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”[a] For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[b] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.
30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.
31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
These men and women show us that living a life of faith is possible and that if they can do
We can do it
The next sermon brought with it some baggage
More specifically some weights
If you remember I had several item stacked up here that represented the spiritual burdens we carry that keep us from becoming all we can be in Christ
The sermon was titled
“Unencumbered”
Hebrews 12:1-4
A favorite verse of mine was the theme of this message
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.”
Our writer started out reminding us of the hall of fame of faith people in our lives
Those who had successfully lived the life and are living the life
Running the race
He tells us to beware of things that can and do hinder us in our spiritual walk and our spiritual growth
And he tells us to get rid of them
I covered just a few of possibly hundred if not thousands or even millions of things that can hinder us
Hobble us
Fear is a big one
Bitterness
Anger
Unforgiveness are huge weights
As are
False teachings
I spent quite a bit of time on this last one
As I want you to know the truth and also to be able to spot a lie
Then we talked a bit about sexual immorality, dishonesty, apathy, apostasy, idolatry
More things that hinder us
And more things we must rid ourselves of to get where Jesus wants us
The next week brought another message from chapter 12
This one was titled
“That’s three”
Hebrews 12:5-11 was the focus
And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?[a] He said,
“My child,[b] don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the LORD disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”[c]
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?[d]
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
And we saw that God disciplines those he loves and the purpose of his discipline is to mold more into the image of his precious son Jesus
We continued our study of Hebrews with more from chapter 12
This sermon Number 13 was called” Peace, love and Jesus”
Hebrews 12:14-15 were the key verses
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”
And in this passage of scripture our writer encourages us to try to live at peace with everyone
We talked about how this is sometimes not possible
But also how we as believer should so everything in OUR power to achieve this
And how bitterness can grow like a cancer and steal peace from our lives
We learned that to find true peace we must become more and more like Christ our perfect savior
As hard as I tried
I just could not move on from chapter 12 the next week
So the sermon “ Whole lot of shakin goin on “ was the result
Hebrews 12:26-29 was the focus
When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”[a] 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.
28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.
In this sermon we look at the shakable things of this world and the unshakeable things of God
The shakable things are relationships, religion, governments, money and things and our health
The unshakeable things of God are
God’s word
God’s love
God’s promises
God’s faithfulness
I ended this sermon with Hebrews 12:28
“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”
Finally after several weeks in chapter 12 we moved to chapter 13 with a sermon titled
“The mirrors of our faith”
Hebrews 13:1-6 was the mirror of scripture we used to look at ourselves
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.[a] 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”[b]
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The LORD is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
I and the writer encouraged us to take a realistic and sober look at ourselves
Our lives
And our faith
And to use the images we should see
To continue to grow in faith
For the last sermon of this series beside this wrap up
We continued in chapter 13 with a sermon titled
“Follow the leader”
Hebrews 13:7 was the key verse and topic
But we continued to the end of the chapter and book
Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
In this sermon I continued to use the mirror of scripture to show us what a leader should and should not look like and how when we find a true leader that follows the true word and the true savior we should not only follow them but pray for them and encourage them to serve with joy
I titled today’s sermon
“That’s all folks”
Simply because today’s sermon finalizes our series
There is much more we can learn from this great book
I believe the key is to as the writer ends his book in verse 22
“I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,[f] to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.”
He says in simple cowboy terms
Keep studying
Keep growing
Read and apply God’s word to your lives
Close from the heart
Pray
