June 6, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: Hebrews 10:19-25
Subject: Perseverance
Title: Beating the Summertime Church Blahs! – A Sermon for Your Pastor
Summer is officially here - not according to the calendar but according to the annual exodus from church to the Lake, vacation, pool, golf course etc… When I first began pastoring it was something that really troubled me. You see, I can only speak from my experience, but I’m pretty sure that the Holy Spirit desires to move just as much in the summer as any other time of the calendar year. After years of experiencing the same summertime conditions, it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. And since it has become an annual ritual I thought that this morning we might just have a good time with it and see if we can get a laugh.
Here are my top ten reasons to skip church in the summer.
10. I know I need to be baptized so I’ll practice at the pool until I get good at it.
9. There isn’t enough room in the parking lot for our bass boat.
8. I prayed that I would catch fish today. That oughta count for something.
7. If I paid a tithe there wouldn’t be enough money for gas for the boat.
6. Hey, I’m sending the kids to VBS.
5. If God had wanted us to be in church during the summer He would have given us pork steaks for communion.
4. Saturday nights in summer are party nights and I need my beauty rest on Sunday.
3. What the preacher says on Sunday makes me feel bad about what I did on Saturday.
2. My kids get all the moral values they need from cable TV.
And the number one reason for skipping church in summer…
You mean they have church in the summer?
I’m going to preach this sermon this morning for myself and you can listen in if you want.
I am going to show you how you can persevere even through the summer months.
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. PERSEVERE BY DRAWING NEAR TO GOD. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God… The writer of the book of Hebrews has spent much of the first nine chapters comparing the work of Christ and the new covenant with the old covenant and its commandments, and explaining why the new is so much better than the old. One of the reasons is that we don’t have to have someone else enter into God’s presence for us (the high priest) but now a new and living way has been opened for us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Did you ever stop to think what God intended with the old covenant? If you look at what it had become for the Jews on the surface it seems as though it is a very impersonal form of religion. There is a God who created and set forth laws, which His people should abide by. And that’s it. But I want you to look at a comparison made by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 3. 7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Go back to Hebrews 10. Look at the ways we are to draw near to God. 1) sincere heart in full assurance of faith… The word “sincere” in the Greek means to be true as in not concealing anything. “Heart” refers to the innermost part of a man or his spirit. If your heart is pure before the Lord you can come to Him in full assurance of faith… 2) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water … This is not a reference to water baptism since it is just an outward sign of an inner change. It refers to the inner change itself. If you belong to Christ you can draw near to God.
II. PERSEVERE BY HOLDING ON TO THE FAITH 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful… I want you to understand something. When I said at the beginning of the sermon that it didn’t bother me as much when summer rolls around and people drift away, I didn’t mean that it didn’t bother me at all, because it really does. But I have grown accustomed to it and have grudgingly accepted it as a fact. I really want people to know that the God of the fall, winter and spring is also God of the summer. I want people to see that they can’t do what they do in the summer without God and the church in their lives and expect everything to be all right. That is what our passage is saying right now; Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess… the word translated unswervingly means, to possess and retain. What kind of faith do you have in God? Is it unswerving? Do you trust in God always? Are you a Proverbs 3:5-6 believer? Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Jesus said in John 14:13-14, 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. But that only happens when the believer holds unswervingly to the hope he possesses. James 1:4-7, 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord… You have to hold on to the truth of the scriptures. There have been a lot of religious “fads” come and go over the years. Many of them are associated with what you would have to call cults. But even in mainline Christianity there have been and still are fads – false teachings. For instance, many are teaching that church must be promoted as a piece of merchandise to be sold rather than a safe haven to be sought out. Teachers like Tony Campolo are telling us that seminary students should be taught marketing and business rather than theology and bible. Others have begun to teach the doctrine of love where they say that all will go to heaven (universalism). But our scripture today doesn’t tell us to hang on to the latest thing or the newest doctrine. It tells us to hold unswervingly to the hope we have. That hope is the return of Jesus Christ that is proclaimed throughout the whole word of God. Listen, what part of unswerving don’t we understand? There is only one reason we can hold on to our faith that way and that is because … he who promised is faithful… God has never told a lie. He has never led you down a wrong path. He will never take you to places He doesn’t want you to go and He and His word never changes. The doctrines of many so-called “churches” have changed so many times over the centuries that it is difficult to know what it is they believe. Our hope, however, is in the central truth of the bible – Jesus and Him crucified, resurrected and returning.
III. PERSEVERE BY ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER… 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds… That’s a curious phrase isn’t it; spur one another on… The KJV says to provoke one another… When you think of a spur you have to think of that little shiny metal thing a cowboy wears on his boots to “encourage” his horse. It is motivation to do what you may not have the strength to otherwise do. Forty thousand fans were on hand in the Oakland stadium when Rickey Henderson tied Lou Brock’s career stolen base record. According to USA Today Lou, who had left baseball in 1979, had followed Henderson’s career and was excited about his success. Realizing that Rickey would set a new record, Brock said, "I’ll be there. Do you think I’m going to miss it now? Rickey did in 12 years what took me 19. He’s amazing." The real success stories in life are with people who can rejoice in the successes of others. What Lou Brock did in cheering on Rickey Henderson should be a way of life in the family of God. Few circumstances give us a better opportunity to exhibit God’s grace than when someone succeeds and surpasses us in an area of our own strength and reputation. Our Daily Bread, June 19, 1994 Paul addressed this as to how it relates to church in Ephesians 5:19, Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. How often are we to do this? Hebrews 3:13, But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Every day! That’s something that each of you can do. Look outside your four little walls and speak words of encouragement to one another. We hear prayer requests made every week in Sunday School and on Wednesday nights. There are prayer needs on the back of your bulletin. How many times do you hear or read and then do nothing? Do you know what encouragement you could be to another just by a phone call? How many are missing from church this week? Could you make a difference? The bible says you can.
IV. PERSEVERE BY CONTINUING TO MEET TOGETHER. 5Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. This verse connects encouragement and perseverance with “meeting together”. When you became a Christian did you do it alone? The truth is you probably did it with the encouragement of another – whether it was a friend sharing Christ with you or your response to an altar call. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul likens the church to a body – that what we are - the body of Christ. But each person is a part of the body and each person is equally important, so that when one part of the body is absent the whole body is lacking. Even if you have not found a ministry to be involved with in the church you are still part of the body and you are needed. The gifts of the Spirit will flow through you if you will allow them to and this is for the purpose of edifying the whole church. If you choose not to attend church you are cheating others out of the edification or encouragement they are seeking. The church needs you and others to be faithful and help it grow, both spiritually and numerically.
There’s an old rock and roll song from the seventies by “the Who” called “Summertime blues”. The refrain goes like this,
Sometimes I wonder what am I gonna do,
Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.
Well I’ve got good news for you. I’m not going to base my doctrine on a seventies rock song but on the word of God.
I don’t have to wonder what I’m gonna do…
I’m going to get up on Sunday and go to church. I’m going to come back on Sunday night refreshed and looking for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit. I’m going to be there on Wednesday to study the word and I’m going to live each day in between being and encouragement to someone else, to let them know they are missed and how much we need them in church.
So as you look around this morning and notice who is gone make up your mind that you are going to make a difference in their lives this week. Call, send a card, go by for a visit – do whatever you can to get them back to the place where they need to be.
5Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Together we can persevere as the body of Christ.
