We all have had our heroes growing up. Im not talking about fictional characters…superheroes with powers and capes. No, I am talking about real life heroes. People who inspired you to dream and strive and hope. Maybe it was a sports star that you had posters of hanging in your room and you practiced harder and longer, perhaps even mimicking their demeanor on the court or field. I remember watching kids playing basketball sticking out their tongues like Michael Jordan as they pulled up for jumpshots or soared to the rim for layups. Maybe it was a singer that styled their hair a certain way and wore a certain style of clothing and you would stand in front of the mirror with your brush in hand, singing out their latest song like Jeff, dreaming he was a rock star. Perhaps a movie star, or even one of your parents. You probably remember kids arguing at school about whose dad was better, stronger , smarter, etc. Not so with my daughter, she feels embarrassed by me up here preaching with my bald head! We are working on that! Yet for Jewish children, especially in the first century, Moses would have been at the top of their hero charts, and rightly so. Just think of all the incredible things Moses accomplished and experienced.
• Turned from the luxury of Egypt because of his love for his own countrymen.
• Spoke to God in a burning bush – selected to be the deliverer of Israel.
• Looked the tyrant Pharoah in the eye and said, “You let my people go or else…” (They probably longed for a hero like that as they saw their parents scraping together all they had to pay the Roman taxes).
• He called down plagues by the power of God on the enslaving nation of Egypt. Incredible plagues, plagues of blood, locusts, hail, boils, frogs, darkness, etc.
• In the face of Egypts fierce army, he was bold and called the people to be strong. He was used by God to split the Red Sea so the people could pass on dry land and it was closed and washed away their pursuers.
• He went up on the mountain and spoke with God, he saw part of the glory of God which left his face shining brilliantly, so much so they had to cover his face because people were frightened by its brilliance.
• He interceded for Israel, when God wanted to wipe them out and start over, he pleaded with God and changed his mind.
• He spoke with God face to face as a man speaks with a friend.
• He received the Law from God and delivered it to the people.
You can imagine how shocking it must have been for the Israelite to hear exhortations such as those written in Hebrews 3. We are going to look focus on three of them:
Fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Jesus is not only greater than angels, God’s messengers, Jesus is greater than their hero of messengers, Moses, the one who brought down the holy Law of God to the people. Jesus is worthy of greater honor than Moses. Moses as great as he was, was just a servant, a worker, a slave…a faithful one….in God’s household, but Jesus….Jesus is the Son over God’s household. Moses served God’s people, Jesus is Lord over God’s people. And you, are part of that people…part of God’s household…IF you hold on to your courage and hope of which you boast.
It is clear from the book of Hebrews that those who are being warned and are in danger of falling. Some may say that those being warned are not actual Christians (although calling them "brothers who share in the heavenly calling" leave little room for doubt in my mind) we can at least say they are closely knit with the fellowship of believers. They those who are very near. The word used for describing those who “turn away” from the living God is a word which indicates one who was at one point very close. Someone who deserts. Such as John Mark who deserted Paul on their missionary journey, this same Greek word is used in both instances. The author warns the reader, “See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. “ Guard your heart. Watch your faith and your doctrine closely. Be careful of the hardening power of sin and its deceitfulness. Many times I have seen those who have started on the right track and then end up turning away, following their lusts or being deceived by worldly philosophies. I recall attending a service at a church with my wife. Many of these people were passionate, committed church-goers. Years later, after losing contact with many of them due to our marriage and moving from place to place, my wife went on Facebook to reconnect with these friends. She was shocked at what many had written as their "Religious preferences." Words like Buddhism, New Age, Athiest, etc...appeared on many of their profiles. It looked as though things had started well for them, they seemed to be on the right track…but somewhere along the line they opted out of the race and took their focus off of Jesus. We are exhorted to fix our thoughts on Jesus above all.
The author of Hebrews gives us another exhortation, “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. ” (Hebrews 3:14, NIV84)
We are exhorted to hold firmly to our confidence in Christ! Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter how we catergorize people, whether we say they were saved and then fell away, or whether we say they were never REALLY saved..that they had faith, but not SAVING faith. The only thing that matters is that hold firmly to our confidence in Christ! This passage is not an explanation, but an exhortation to hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first. The point is not to draw lines and try to figure out who is in or out, but to spur us on and call us to spur on one another to become even more rooted and confident in the words and works of Christ. We are charged to finish! It is not about them, its about you. Are you going to hold firmly to Jesus as your life preserver thoughout the storms and waves of life, or will you decide to try to find refuge elsewhere? You know how important it was to hold to the message of Moses, how much more to hold on to Jesus.
You can imagine a young Jewish boy hearing the stories of his hero Moses. Moses the mighty! Moses taking on Pharoah! Moses relying and trusting God in the face of death. Moses leading the charge out of Egypt, plundering their captives in the process. But the story of Moses is more of a tragedy than a happily ever after. It turned out that the Egyptians were not the only enemies Moses would face. He comes down from the mountain and what does he see? The people, his own brother Aaron, have erected calf idols and are engaged in all kinds of evil, within months of being miraculously delivered from Egypt. The people, after being miraculously fed with manna from heaven start complaining and snapping at Moses for better food. Some are complaining, wanting to go back to Egypt. The people fuss and complain about water, Moses said they were about ready to stone him! Factions rise up to oppose Moses and undermine his leadership. And when he takes them to the Promised Land, they say, “YOURE CRAZY!” No way we are going in there! And the people Moses led out of Egypt in victory…their bodies slowly fall in the desert one by one…in defeat.
Imagine being a young Jewish boy or girl hearing stories about your hero Moses. Moses the mighty. And then hearing these stories of the bickering, the complaining, the rebellion, and the disbelief. I imagine about every single of those children and even parents…said to themselves, “If I had lived in those days, I would have …” I would not been among those who turned back. I would not have been among those who disbelieved. I would not have been among those who rebelled!
Yet the Word of God here exhorts both them and us today”
“As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”” (Hebrews 3:15, NIV84)
Do not harden your heart.
Do you realize that you are living in an even greater moment than those Israelites in the wilderness because we are to be followers of Jesus which is even greater than being a follower of Moses? Just as the Israelites were baptized by Moses in passing through the Red Sea, so you have been baptized into Christ.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”” (Hebrews 3:15, NIV84)
Just as they were called out of slavery by Moses, so you have been called out of slavery to sin by Jesus Christ. Just as they were brought to the mountain and became partakers in a covenant with God by the sprinkling of blood from bulls and goats, you have been invited to a new covenant in Christ’s blood. Just as they were fed with bread from heaven and living water which came from a rock, so you have been given the body of Christ, true bread from heaven and the Spirit of Christ to drink and be satisfied forever.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”” (Hebrews 3:15, NIV84)
Just as they sought a rest in the Promised Land, we have the ability to find an even greater rest in Christ.
This verse applies to every day….today…today….if today you hear his voice…let his words penetrate and touch your heart…do not rebel…do not disbelieve.
“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. ” (Hebrews 3:16–19, NIV84)
The ones who had the greatest opportunity let it slip through their fingers. The ones who heard the words of God spoken through Moses were the ones who died because they disbelieved and disobeyed. How could that happen? Here’s my guess. I think they just got drowsy. As the days rolled by they began to fail to recognize the incredible opportunity, power and grace they were receiving. God was reaching out to them. He was saving them from slavery, providing for them everyday with food and water, and he was speaking to them through Moses. But the moment lost its majesty in the eyes of most of them. Somehow Egypt began to look appealing, the food tasted too bland for their liking and God’s words through Moses became boring. They fell asleep at the wheel and failed to see and grasp the incredible significance of their journey.
The author of Hebrews challenges us to not allow that to be us. Do not let your hearts grow hard to the Word of God spoken to us in Christ. How much more should we wake up recognize this great opportunity we have been given in Christ. How much more should we enjoy our freedom from the slavery of sin, the provision of life through Christ’s death and the Good News of the Gospel of God’s Son…how much more should we cling to it and cherish it.
As a child I used to play tug-o-war with my dog. She would grab hold of a rag and bear down with all her might. With growls and determination she would shake the rag, to get it away from me. As I tried to pull it from her, she would latch on from time to time to gain an even better grip with her teeth. With all her might she sought to hold on to that rag.
The message we have recieved in Christ is so incredible, our salvation so great, we are called to bear down on it and cling to it with all our might. Like my dog clinging to that rag with fierce determination, so we should clutch the Gospel. Cling, hold on, chomp down on this grace with all of your might and strengthen your grip on it every chance you get. And let us encourage one another so no one in here grows weary, loosens their grip…or falls asleep at the wheel. Let us wake up…wake up and renew our confidence..and be filled again and never lose our focus and grip on our freedom and joy in Christ.
