What am I to “Believe?”
Hebrews 3:1-19
* Blessed or Busted by God, which is it? If you were standing before Jehovah today, would He give you a word of blessing or would He view your life as unsatisfactory? Today we conclude this series of messages & hopefully, make the decision to live our lives so that God is free to bless.
* (Text Call) Two weeks ago we began this series by asking “What Am I to Be?” Our call was to ‘be sure of our salvation’, ‘be passionate in our worship’, ‘be godly in our priorities’, and ‘be spiritual in our prayers.’ Then last week we asked, “What Am I to Become” and the answers we found were; become a purveyor of grace, an encourager, a walking invitation, and a promoter of unity. All 8 of these calls are practical tools to help us place ourselves in the spiritual position to be blessed by God.
* Today we end this series with this question; “What am I to Believe?” And to glean these truths we begin in Hebrews 3. Let’s read together.
* Belief is a ‘life-changing’ commodity. It was belief that gave Daniel the strength to face the lion’s den, it was belief that gave the 3 Hebrew boys the courage to be thrown into the Lion’s den, it was belief that caused Lottie Moon to leave her home & give her life in China, and it is belief that controls your & my actions. We “DO” what we believe, the rest is just TALK.” If we expect to be blessed by God, then we must believe right. Consider 4 truths;
1. God is able – This is a decisive statement which has no hint of question, God IS ABLE. Written across the pages of the Bible are the truths that God can do anything, He is able! He is able to part the water, bring water from a rock, and He is even able to flood the earth with water. He is able to send down fire from Heaven to destroy those wicked cities known as Sodom & Gomorrah, to hang a fiery cloud in the sky to lead His people, and even to send a fiery chariot to retrieve Elijah. But God is also able;
a. To Create – Our Hebrews passage says it so clearly in verse 4 (Read). The one who built, constructed or created EVERYTHING IS GOD. Genesis says, “In the Beginning God created the Heavens & Earth.” The question of “how He did it” is answered there in the text when it says, “HE SAID”. God creates by the power of His word. While God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, and even humankind, God created, designed, and planned a way for you and me to have a relationship with Him. He doesn’t desire a ‘long-distance’, ‘arms-length’ relationship, but an up close personal relationship. Here’s our problem; we are dishonest, deceitful, and doomed. Candidly, on our own we have no hope of being right with God. We are shamefully sinful beyond our ability to change.
* We are hopeless and helpless – and sadly, we don’t & won’t know it.
* Like the scriptures says, “But God.” Think about those two words in this way, “We are hopeless BUT GOD who is rich in love toward us” created a way for us to know Him. For you & me, it begins with His Holy Spirit.
b. To Convict – It was in the upper room where Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit would come to us to convict. Let’s read John 16”7ff. When He comes, His job is to convict us of our sin. In Acts 2 at the conclusion of Peter’s message, the scripture records, “They were pricked (pierced, or cut) in the heart.” They were convicted by the Holy Spirit about their need for Jesus. They were drawn by the 3rd person in the trinity to a relationship with God through the person of His Son, Jesus. They were convicted and convinced of their need and those who accepted the message & believed were baptized and added to the church. This was only the beginning.
c. To Change – God never comes in and leaves things as they are. Our God is a God who is able, willing, and will change things, these things include YOU. IF God has a place in my life, then my life will be changed. Scripture says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION.” A new creation is different than the old one. God has the ability to change your life, your heart, your desires, your likes & dislikes. He can take the worst situation you face and turn it into something God.
* The million dollar question is; do you believe He is able? Does your life reflect what you say you believe?
2. Jesus is Worthy – Let’s read verses 2-6. Reading these verses we see Moses and Jesus in a comparative listing and we see the word “house” or ‘household’ mentioned at least 6 times. First, understand that the house or household refers to the people of God. Moses ministered to the Children of Israel and Jesus ministers to the Church of God. Moses was the servant in the house and Jesus was the SON ruling over the House. Moses was a member of the house, and Jesus BUILT the house. This means that Jesus is the only one worthy of our focus, attention, & life. His worthiness makes HIM the only one we turn to;
a. To Restore – We need to be restored. God designed us to be in close relation with him. Because of our sin we are separated from Him, & only Jesus can restore our lives into fellowship with the Father. Without the worthiness of Jesus, we have no hope of being restored. Jesus built this house and he can renovate this house. Being restored and reconciled to god is the greatest need that any of us have. Only Jesus has the power and is worthy to restore us. He is worthy!
b. To Replace – This is one of the most practical points will late today. Our text tells us that the one who built the house is worthy of more honor than the house itself. When Jesus comes into a life, he comes not to take his place but rather to take over. He requires first place.
* If he is not Lord of all then he is not lord at all. Do you believe that Jesus is worthy to take first place in your life? Does he have first place in your life? For most of us first place is not something deemed bad, the band part comes from the truth that anything which is placed before God is sin. He comes to replace it. This is perhaps the greatest sin known to believers today. That is, not allowing Jesus to have first place in our lives.
c. To Receive – scripture is replete with examples reminding us that Jesus is worthy to receive. Revelation tells us that he is worthy to receive honor, power, and Glory. He is worthy not because of what he has done he is worthy because of who he is. As you walk through the bible, you discover that Jesus is everything you need (and then some). In Genesis he is the creator, in Exodus he is the deliver and the law giver, in Leviticus He is your sanctifier, in Numbers He is your guide, in Deuteronomy He is your teacher, and for every book in the Bible and more. In the revelation, chapter five, we see a picture of the end time. God is all in his throne, holding a scroll, and looking for someone who is worthy to open the scroll. Scripture says, “On earth and end heaven no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll.” John says, “I cried and cried.” Then one of the Elders said, “John, don’t cry theory is the lamb, he is a lion of Judah, the root of David, and the victorious one.” Now, if Jesus is WORTHI in heaven, then most assuredly, he is WORTHI in your life and for your life, and for this church. Do you believe Jesus is WORTHI today? Whether you believe it or not, He is! If we are to be blessed by God, we must believe.
3. Church is deserving – sadly, this is one of the area’s in the life of today’s believer found in America, that he has found lacking. Please consider how Jesus viewed the church. Ephesians 5 gives us a picture into the heart of Jesus and his feelings about the church. (Turn and read) a suggest we can discover three things of which the church is deserving.
a. Of your Love – The church is deserving of our love because the church is loved by Jesus. In fact, Jesus loved the church so much that he died for her. A submit this is a far cry from the modern day approach to the local church. Too often, we see the church as deserving of our leftovers and not our priority. When you love someone or something, you give them your best, you give them your first, and you give them your all. How can you express your love to the church? Think about it.
* When we truly love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, these last two will become the natural outgrowth of our live. The church deserves;
b. Of your Loyalty – We will never been blessed by god if we neglect his church. Think about the word loyalty and consider the practical ways in our lives that we are loyal.
* It could be to a sports team, it could be to our pet, he could be to our community, or at any of a number of other things; our loyalty is controlled by our love. To Peter, Jesus ask, “Do you love me?” The instructions were to Peter to be loyal to the task which Jesus had given him. That same message is the message for us today.
c. Of your Life –the easy way to communicate this truth is to walk us back in time to a day where the church was the center of life. Today, the excuse is made that there is so much to do that the church is no longer the center of life and the community. While, in a practical sense this is true, in the larger sense this is our excuse. Candidly, we spend our days, our years, and our lives, pursuing the very things which distract us from him. If the church was deserving of our lives 20 years ago, if it was deserving of our life 50 years ago, and if it was deserving of Jesus’s life 2000 years ago, then is worthy of our lives today. The local church is still the hope of the world, all people still matter to God, and the Bible is still our guidebook; it is through the church that the gospel is given. She is deserving of you.
4. God is calling – The callings of God are many. A brief scan of the Bible reveals that god is calling his creation back to himself. God called to Saul of Tarsus, to Abraham, to Noah, and many more. He even called to Adam and garden saying, “where are you?” God’s call continues today.
a. To the Sinner for Salvation – This is the first call a person receives. Until you hear the voice of god in the deep recesses of your heart, his voice will not be heard by you because his first call was always to salvation. God desires that no man spend eternity in hell. As Peter writes, “that all should come to repentance.” Has God called you? Have you answered? If you have, then next call is for you to take the next step. He calls:
b. To the Saved for Sanctification – now we do not use the word sanctification very often, but it is an important word. It speaks to our spiritual growth, our uniqueness, and our Christ likeness. Don’t miss this, god never comes in and leaves things like they are, he is a changer. His desire is to change you and me to be like he is. By the very nature of this type of change, we will naturally the sanctified, separated, and set apart.
c. To the Saint for Service – sadly, this call goes largely unheeded today. The concept of a professional clergy has done much damage to the believer as the clergy is the one saying with the ministry. This concept is never mentioned in Holy Scripture. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and others, teach us that service to god is for everyone who has been born again. If we want to be blessed by God, then we have to accept, respond to, and fulfill this calling to exercise our gifts, perform our service, and fulfill our ministry. This is not optional.
* As God looks at you today, are you in the place that he can bless you?
