Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
(Hebrews 12:1-29)
I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
The author reminded us
That our lives here are very short
In just a little while
Jesus will come for us (10:37),
And that while were here
God wants us to live by faith (v. 38)
To believe Him,
To trust Him,
To follow Him
If we dont have faith,
We cant possibly please Him (v. 38);
If we dont,
We will have to face His judgment.
But if we do,
We will be able to please Him
To live the life He calls us to live
And we will finally enter heaven (v. 39).
Well know:
Where we came from,
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Where were going,
And what we are to do
While were here:
Set our faces towards heaven
And head that way until we arrive.
B. Preview.
How do we do this practically?
Thats what the author now tells us.
II. Sermon.
A. First, you need to purpose to live this life
With the same kind of effort
You would run a race.
1. The authors says
You must first
Lay aside every encumbrance
And the sin that so easily entangles.
Encumbrances are the things
That arent necessarily sinful,
But that weigh you down
That weaken you,
That make it harder for you
To do what God calls you to do.
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2. And you know what sin is
Everything the Lord tells you not to do
Everything hateful
And everything youre not doing that you should
Everything loving.
You are to lay aside both the encumbrances and sins
And run the race
Live the life God calls you to live
The life that glorifies Him,
That moves His kingdom forward
And you are not to give up
But live this life to the end (v. 1)!
3. The Lord has given you the perfect example in Jesus.
He lived only for His Fathers glory
The Father sent Him,
That He might give you faith.
He looked ahead to the glory
The Father would give Him,
And the joy He had prepared for Him
To be with Him in heaven,
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And to have the pleasure of your company
And He endured the cross
The pain and the shame of crucifixion
And received the reward
He was crowned King over all (v. 2).
He fixed His eyes on heaven
On doing what the Father
Sent Him into the world to do
And didnt waver.
God wants you to fix His example in your eyes
And do the same
To look forward to what God has promised you,
To the joy, to the glory
To look at what Jesus was willing to suffer for you,
And not to tire or be disheartened
If He should call you
To suffer for Him as well
In living the life
He calls you to live (v. 3).
B. How far should you be willing to go?
1. The author says, You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in
your striving against sin (v. 4).
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You should be willing to die rather than compromise/sin.
What sin is he talking about?
The sin of apostasy in particular,
But every other sin as well.
2. Why should you be willing
To die rather than sin?
a. First, because sin is why Jesus
Was nailed to the cross:
Can you really love Him,
If you want to continue to do
The things that caused His suffering and death?
b. Second, because God hates sin
Every sin is infinitely offensive to Him.
If you love Him
Its something you should avoid like the plague:
Paul writes, Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh with regard to its lusts (Rom. 13:14).
c. Third, because if you continue
To practice sin, knowing this is true,
You only prove that you really dont love/know Him,
John writes, Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin
is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins;
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and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who
sins has seen Him or knows Him (1 John 3:4-6).
Perhaps understanding this
You can better understand
Why Thomas Brooks wrote, [Its] better to bear than to swear, and to die
than to lie.
d. But theres a fourth reason
You should be willing,
To suffer, even to die, rather than sin,
And thats because
Of what God has promised to do
If you dont repent of your sins (vv. 5-6).
He is a faithful father
Who will make sure
You do the right thing
Because He loves you
Parents, you know that to get your children
To go the right direction,
You have to discipline them.
God has to do the same (v. 7).
Thankfully, He loves you enough to do this.
He has made a promise to you:
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That you will be like His Son (Rom. 8:29)
And so Hell make sure
That you grow in that direction (vv. 10-11)
In your thoughts, words and actions.
How does God discipline you?
He does through His Word
By telling you what sin is,
And what it deserves
Through your conscience
By convicting you by His Spirit
By reproof, admonition, correction and instruction
Through a parent, brother or sister, or elder;
Through church discipline.
And even more directly in your life
Through various hardships.
Never forget that when He does discipline you,
Its because He loves you.
Parent dont let their child do things
They know will hurt them,
Because they love them.
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The same is true of God.
If He doesnt discipline you when you sin
Thats when you need to be concerned.
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then
you are illegitimate children and not sons (v. 8).
If you can sin and get away with it;
If God doesnt put His hand out to stop you
Or correct you,
Then youre not His.
You need to repent
And trust Jesus Christ.
If you will,
He will help you to stay on the narrow path
And bring you safely to heaven.
e. What should you do
When He disciplines you?
First, dont take it too lightly (v. 5).
On the other hand,
Dont be crushed (v. 5).
Instead be thankful
Its a mark of adoption
And repent
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Because Hes working in your life
To help you do the right thing (v. 13).
But if you dont,
He will turn up the heat
Until you do.
The author writes, Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the
knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb
which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed (vv. 12-13).
He loves you too much
To let you go on
In the things that will destroy you.
C. What else can you do
To fortify yourself against sin?
The author gives us two things
Something specific and something general:
Pursue peace and holiness (v. 14).
1. First, as much as it depends on you
Be at peace with everyone around you.
Why?
a. First, because the Lord commands you to.
b. Second, this is why Jesus came into the world
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To bring peace:
To reconcile you to God
And with the members of His body.
c. Third, because there needs to be peace
Between you and your brethren,
If youre not to quench the Spirits work in your heart
And gain the additional strength
That comes from fellowship
With that brother or sister.
d. And fourth, because unrighteous anger
Eventually becomes bitterness,
And when it does,
It affects those around you
And turns them against the person or persons
Youre bitter against as well
Which works against the peace
The Lord is trying to bring.
And so if you are at odds with anyone
Not just believers
Though particularly believers
But also unbelievers
If theres any friction or animosity,
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Whether you caused it or not,
You are to do what you can
To reconcile that relationship.
Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9).
He also says, before you worship Him
You should seek to be reconciled
With those youre at odds with (Matt. 5:23-24).
He takes division in His church very seriously.
2. Second, you are to pursue holiness in general
The author writes, Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without
which no one will see the Lord (v. 14).
The author already told you
To lay aside every sin
Because it will get in the way
Of your living for Christ.
Here he reminds you again
That if youre not doing this
If youre not seeking
To become more like Jesus
You will not see heaven.
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He gives us another example
Of what may be the unpardonable sin:
Esau had the right of firstborn
He was first in line to inherit the blessing
Which included being in the line of Messiah
And yet he gave it all up for a bowl of soup.
He despised Gods blessing
And so lost it he missed out on the kingdom of God.
The author reminds us again
When you sin against great privilege,
You can easily pass the point of no return (vv. 16-17).
Make sure that you dont despise Gods Word
And end up being shut out of His kingdom.
Turn from your sins, and trust in the Lord.
D. The author ends
With some encouragements and warnings.
1. First, an encouragement:
In the New Covenant
The Lord holds out so much more grace.
The Old, contained so many displays of Gods wrath
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A mountain they couldnt touch (v. 18)
On pain of death (v. 20);
A blazing fire on that mountain
With smoke reaching to heaven (v. 18);
The blast of the trumpet and Gods voice
That were both so terrifying
That not only the people (v. 19),
But Moses was terrified (v. 21).
That isnt the mountain youve come to in the New Covenant:
The author writes, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general
assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the
mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better
than the blood of Abel (vv. 22-24).
Thats quite a different picture,
As Newton writes,
He has hushed the Laws loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinais flame.
We know that picture He gave on Sinai
Was for our good:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Still, we prefer the revelation of His grace.
Thats what He holds out to you
If you will only trust Him.
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2. If you dont,
You will see Sinai/judgment.
For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth,
much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven
(v. 25).
He is coming again in judgment.
When He does, He will shake heaven and earth (v. 26).
He will destroy the old creation
And bring in a new one
That cant be shaken (v. 27).
Dont be destroyed with the old creation,
But turn away from your sins
And trust the One
Who will gladly give you His kingdom.
Serve Him in fear and awe (v. 28)
And do all you can
To encourage one another to do the same
Remembering that the God you serve
Is a consuming fire (v. 29). Amen.
http://www.graceopcmodesto.org