Part II
Hebrews 10:36-39
Purpose: To show the importance of following the Lord whole heartedly.
Aim: I want the listener to determine to follow Christ regardless of the cost.
REVIEW:
Vs.32-35 I. Remember What Your Faith in Christ has Cost You
Vs.32-33a A. Remember what you have suffered for Christ "you endured a great conflict of sufferings"
Vs.33b-34 B. Remember how you helped others who suffered for Christ "sharers with those"
Vs.35 C. Value your faith in God’s rewards "your confidence"
Compare verses 19 & 22
INTRODUCTION: Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow Me." How determined are you to follow Jesus Christ? How did these young Christians become the kind of people who would choose to suffer for Christ? Not only did they suffer for the cause of Christ they did it "joyfully" (Vs. 34). Many of them were willing leave their own comfort and security and risk everything they had in order to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Look again at verse 24. This is what love and good deeds are.
What is the difference between someone who only says they believe in Jesus and the person who really does believe in Jesus?
LESSON:
Vs.36-37 II. Remember and Trust in God’s Promises
The Christians who first read this letter had gone through many difficult trials, but some of them had not received Jesus Christ as their savior.
"They knew the promises, rejoiced in the promises, and even suffered for the promises. But they had not received the promises." John MacArthur [1]
Someone who is in love with Jesus Christ CANNOT stay away from Him for very long. False believers follow the Lord only part of the way. Matt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (NIV) This is why Jesus said, (Luke 14:33, NAS) "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up [claim to] all his own possessions"
If we really believe in God’s promises we will do two things:
Vs.36a A. Believers will be active for God "you have done the will of God"
If we really believe what God has told us in the Bible we will be energized to do anything that pleases Him.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (NAS)
If we believe God’s promises then we will be motivated to obey Him. "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15 NAU). "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:35 NAU).
Instead of just wondering what you can do for the Lord, be doing what you know you can do for the Lord! You can pray, learn more about the Bible, and look for ways to encourage other believers.
Vs.36b-37 B. Believers anticipate Christ’s coming "He who is coming will come"
Look back at verse 34 where it talks about "a better possession and a lasting one." What is that possession?
"What is this "better possession and abiding one"? .... It’s the triumph of Jesus over death (2:15), and the final rest for the saints in the age to come (4:9), and the subduing of all our enemies (10:13) and the perfect purification of our conscience (9:14), and the removal and forgetting of all our sins (8:12), all of which is aimed at the ultimate and greatest reward of all, namely, that we shall be "near to God" (7:19, 25) and know God (8:11) and that he will be our God (8:10) forever." [2]
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (NAS)
That "better possession" is Christ Himself! Jesus is BETTER than anything else in this world and He is ABIDING or will last longer than anything else in this world.
Followers of Jesus Christ are motivated to serve Him and long for Him because of the work that He perfectly accomplished on the Cross and His continuing work of interceding for us before the throne of God.
Jesus has destroyed the power of death (2:15) opened the path to the throne of God (4:15-16) and made it possible for us to be His very own (8:10-11). If we love what Jesus has done for us more than we love the world we can have Jesus and what He has done for us.
If Christ came back today, would your dreams be broken of fulfilled? Would you be thrilled or disappointed?
There will be no hiding our real desires when the Lord comes back: 1 Corinthians 3:13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is {to be} revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (NAS)
Victory is coming soon!! Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (NAS)
Vs.38-39 III. Remember what Real Faith Looks Like
We are saved by faith and we also live by faith.
Vs.38 A. Real faith trusts God constantly "live by faith"
Literally, the text reads, "But the righteous of mine out of faith will live." Faith is much more than just a onetime event. If we are really trusting in Jesus Christ then we will look to Jesus all the time for our very life. We will look to Him and trust in Him for our life every moment of every day.
Our faith is tested when circumstances are hard. For example, Job didn’t know why God allowed him to suffer so much, but he still had faith that God was in control and knew what He was doing. Job 37:5 God thunders with His voice wondrously, doing great things which we cannot comprehend. (NAS) Job 37:16 Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, the wonders of one perfect in knowledge, (NAS)
"Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:1--2 NAU).
When Job was reminded of how great and powerful God is his faith was renewed. Job 42:6 Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (NAS)
Notice that trusting God on a moment by moment basis brings pleasure to God.
Look at Hebrews 11:5-6 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please {Him}, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and {that} He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (NAS)
Vs.39 B. Real faith clings to God at all costs "faith to the preserving of the soul"
Real faith does not give up. There is a temporary cost in order to follow Jesus. Jesus Himself warned us to count the cost before we declare ourselves His follower. (See Luke 14:27-33).
John Piper points out that, "Having God is Better than Money, Sex, Power or Popularity." [3]
James 2:14 17 14 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for {their} body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, {being} by itself. (NAS)
The problem is not just that we may lose out on some of God’s promises; it may reveal that we don’t really have Christ.
1 Cor 15:57 58 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not {in} vain in the Lord. (NAS)
CONCLUSION: The Bible’s call to be a Christian is a challenge to follow the Lord with all of your heart. Anything less is disobedience.
The only way we can gain confidence and joy in our lives is to obey God with all of our heart. Abandon yourself to serve the Lord every day and you will not have to worry about doubting your eternal salvation or any of God’s amazing promises.
Draw back, and there are no longer any guarantees. Hell is at stake here.
To forsake Christ for the world, is to leave a treasure for a trifle. . . . eternity for a moment, reality for a shadow. William Jenkyn [4]
The question you have to answer is this: will you wake up and see that having God is better and greater than all that the world has to offer to you? What does your heart treasure?
[1] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews John MacArthur Page 282
[2] April 27, 1997 Bethlehem Baptist Church, John Piper, Pastor Copyright 1997 John Piper THE PRESENT POWER OF A FUTURE POSSESSION (Hebrews 10:32-39)
[3] April 27, 1997 Bethlehem Baptist Church, John Piper, Pastor Copyright 1997 John Piper THE PRESENT POWER OF A FUTURE POSSESSION (Hebrews 10:32-39)
[4] Thomas, I. (1996). The golden treasury of Puritan quotations (electronic ed.) (47). Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation.
