JESUS THE BETTER WAY: JESUS ENSURES A BETTER PEACE
HEBREWS 9 &10
Big Idea: Temporal things will try and rob your peace but there is something deep and stabilizing about knowing Jesus that can help you with panic, unrest, and bewilderment.
Supporting Scripture:
• Reading from the Old Testament: Isaiah 43:1-7
• Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 23
• Reading from the Epistles: Ephesians 2:11-17
• Reading from the Gospels: John 14:25-27
INTRO
Have you ever taken time to analyze the things that disturb your peace?
• What causes you to lose sleep at night?
• What makes you worry?
• What is that that causes your mind to race and keeps you preoccupied?
• What is it that removes the smile from your face and replaces it was a look of austerity?
When something is nagging at you it brings unrest. It can even subtly produce insecurity. The catalysts can be myriad and the triggers may be camouflaged but, in some way, there is always a "tell" when we are robbed of tranquility.
Let me ask it differently; Have you ever looked closely at the factors that indicate peace is present within you?
Sometimes the source of unrest is not something temporal (like money problems or health issues) but, rather, a deeper issue. The core issue is more weighty. The surface issues are superficial and merely mask the problem. In some cases the surface issue might even bring the deeper issue to light ... reveal or expose it, so to speak.
As I read chapters 9 and 10 I see some of this at play. There are some superficial issues mentioned at the end of the reading (10:32-34) that might appear to be the cause of unrest but those are easily addressed and navigated. The real cause of unrest and the real portal to peace and joy are deeper and given much more attention in 9:23-28.
HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD:
9:23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.
9:25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
9:26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
9:28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
SHALOM: PEACE WITH GOD IS THE FORE-RUNNER OF THE PEACE OF GOD.
This little church would have been very familiar with the term “shalom.” It is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wellbeing, or completeness.
It is most certainly one of the most significant theological terms in scripture.
• It has personal and communal aspects. It is the idea of completeness, wholeness, and peace.
• It starts from within a person (or community) and its impact is understood to spread from that starting point outward.
• It is, in fact, one word that can describe God’s objective for Christ’s salvation.
• It is also a common greeting and departure.
I invite you to turn to the people around you and say “peace be with you?”
When the soul is not a rest with God (shalom), peace is unattainable. When there is distance between us and God it is because sin has not been addressed and where sin abides peace cannot. The solution is … forgiveness. Until we seek forgiveness, any attempt to find real peace will be a Band-Aid at best and an illusion at worst.
Family therapists have a little saying; "hurt people hurt people." The point of the saying is that that which resides inside shows itself in how we live and interact. The pain always finds a means of destructive expression. Whatever resides within the human heart will reveal itself in one’s life. In Hebrews, the writer is going to the core of the problem ... we have no confidence in our relationship with God because sin has never been pardoned. When that major relationship finds solution, wellbeing follows and then peace within and peace with others follow suit. The scriptures illustrate this throughout its pages. When sin is present hostility, violence, discord, and unrest reign at every level of human interaction.
The argument the writer is making comes to a head in 10:19-25. It even connects our relationships with others to peace within. Listen closely,
10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
10:20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
10:21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
10:25 Let 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.
The writer of Hebrews is showing us that some of the expressions of unrest and disharmony within a life and church are signs that there is no rest within … no shalom.
When there is no peace with God ... we cannot truly be at peace with ourselves or with each other.
And that makes me wonder, if it is true that "hurt people hurt people" then can it not also be true that "healing people help people?"
That makes me all the more eager to seek peace as a person and as a member of Christ’s Church. Because it is only when we are being transformed by the savior that we have any spiritual resources to enrich others; much-less to invite them to experience the forgiveness and peace we have found.
Chapters 9 and 10 show us how to have peace with God. The answer is two-fold.
1. In Chapter 9 we look to Jesus Christ who alone has made a better way to God (9:11) by offering a better sacrifice (9:23). This is where it starts … its starts with you having a personal relationship with God through Jesus.
• ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CAN CLEANSE AND HEAL THE CONSCIENCE (9:14)
o “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
o While Vickie was in Guatemala she and the team visited Antiqua. She took this picture while in a cathedral there. The back-story is that this man makes regular visits to the cathedral with his wife. He brings a bar of soap and sits in the pew, cries, and wipes the bar of soap over his body.
o People try many different things to heal and cleanse their conscience … we may not be as overt but my fear is that many of us, too, have never found that healing we are looking for. It is only found by being washed clean in the blood of Christ.
• ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CAN QUALIFY US FOR HEAVEN (9:15)
o “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
• ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CAN TAKE AWAY SIN (9:26)
o “Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
o How are you trying to take away your sin?
• Do you have a list of do’s and don’ts?
• Is by the reading you Bible and praying?
• Only Jesus can “do away with sin” – nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
• ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CAN GIVE US ACCESS TO GOD (9:28)
o “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
2. In chapter 10 we are invited to seize the confidence (hope) that Jesus offers. You must let God’s work transform you from the inside-out (10:10).
This is what turns hurting people into healing people.
• LET HIM REPLACE FEAR WITH JOY (10:19-22)
o “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings ...”
o Do you dread meeting God someday?
o Do you feel condemned?
o Jesus and Jesus alone can turn you fear into joy.
• LET HIM REPLACE INSECURITY WITH CERTAINTY (10:23)
o “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
• LET HIM REPLACE FATIGUE WITH FORTITUDE (10:24-25)
o “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Wrap-Up
Alanis Morissette once said, “Peace of mind for five minutes, that's what I crave.” I think she speaks for the world when she says that.
Did you notice in the video how many of the things that brought unrest were superficial and temporary? So many times we fail to look deep enough to find the real kernel of turmoil … or the real source of peace.
Temporal things will try and rob your peace. The urgent may side track you ... even derail you. But there is something secure and stabilizing about knowing Jesus that can help you weather storms and can serve as a deterrent to unrest and bewilderment and bring an greater perspective.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
First Church of the Nazarene
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
www.banazarene.org
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Communion Segue:
And this peace is made available in the sacrament of communion. It is here that we highlight and emphasize the work of Christ on the cross … that which makes Shalom possible.
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
The Lord himself ordained this holy sacrament. He commanded His disciples to partake of the bread and cup, emblems of His broken body and shed blood.
This is His table. The feast is for His disciples. Let us not forget that we are one, at one table with the Lord.
So, let all those who have with true repentance forsaken their sins, and have believed in Christ unto salvation, draw near and take these emblems, and, by faith, partake of the life of Jesus Christ, to your soul’s comfort and joy.
And let us also remember that this is the memorial of the death and passion of our Lord.
It is also a token of His coming again.
Father God,
In remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Jesus’ offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith; that
Christ has died
Christ has risen,
Christ will come again!
Say that with me:
Christ has died
Christ has risen,
Christ will come again!
Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and cup.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,
until Jesus comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Amen
Today we remember one special meal, a foretaste of the banquet that is to come, that Jesus ate with his closest friends.
Gathering them together in an upper room to share the story of grace, he prepared them to be people of grace.
At the end of the meal he took bread, blessed and broke it, then passed it to them saying: Take and eat. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
After that he took the cup, blessed it, and passed it to them saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
I invite you to make your way to the front and receive the communion elements. After you return to your seats, if you would just hold on the elements and wait until everyone is ready, we will partake of the bread and cup together, as one.
If you have special dietary needs, we have gluten free wafers for you as well.
Song:
The Bread we break is the Bread of Life.
The Cup we share is the Cup of Promise.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was broken for you, may it preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Take and eat this, in remembrance that Christ died for you.
< The cup>
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, may it preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this, in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for you, and be thankful.
Let’s pray together:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever.
