WE ARE CONVINCED OF BETTER THINGS
HEBREWS 6:9
Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. {Hebrews 6:9}
PRE-SERMON QUESTION:
Hey do you have your phones with you today? I have a text question for you. We have a number on the screen that will route to my phone. Send me a text answering the following question:
“Name one person who has been very influential in your spiritual development?”
Please keep the answer to 2 or 3 words. I know this is going to excite you but I need to be able to read them out loud to everyone later in my sermon so brevity in important.
INTRO:
Have you ever heard the saying, “Jesus did not come to make bad people good but to make dead people alive”?
Well I understand the intent behind the adage – namely that Jesus came to save us – and I have even said it myself, but the truth is it is not entirely true.
If Jesus came to give New Life he also came to give Abundant Life.
The book of Proverbs is all about making us better people. It starts, of course, with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs’ imagery for having a relationship with God) but it moves from there to simply showing us how to live an enriched life.
Paul’s epistles and the book of James also give us input into how to be better people.
If we miss this we will fail to experience the best of what God has to offer us. You see, He believes in you and He wants to help you grow and he wants your life to be meaningful.
1. The truth is … the closer we draw to Him to better life can be.
2. The more we assimilate the mind of Christ the better life will be.
3. The more we walk in His Spirit the better life can be.
These three things trans end circumstances in your life and enrich life beyond measure.
This does not in any way assume life will not be hard or you will not be responsible for your successes and failures, but it does mean God’s best for you can be realized.
The writer to Hebrews is talking to people whose lives are hard and hard things are being demanded of them and right here in the midst of one of his sternest warnings he says, “Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.” {Hebrews 6:9}
I cannot tell you how many times God has encouraged me with those words … how many times they are brought to my mind during times of failure or discouragement. I believe what they do for me they can do for you.
With this in mind I just want to encourage you this morning with some simple truths. Some truths that, if you’ll start to meditate on them and apply them, your life will be enriched.
I think these truths lie in the background of what the author in Hebrews is telling he people. I know these truths are in the background of my life … they are imbedded within my philosophy of living.
I told you some of them when I first arrived and I will, from time to time, remind you of them because I believe they have relevance for you too.
They certainly have relevance regarding how I lead Christ’s church.
1. WHAT GOD SAYS YOU MUST DO GOD KNOWS YOU CAN DO.
Move the dirt to get to the gold!
Andrew Carnegie once talked about the process of gold mining. He said that, in this industry you know and expect to move a lot of dirt. There is no need to complain about the debris because it is part of the task. It goes with the job. But what you must keep in mind is that moving the dirt is not the job ... finding the gold is the job. We move dirt to get to the gold! We are looking for the gold!
Finding the gold in life can be hard. But it will become easier of you are focused on the gold.
Zig Ziglar says, “Life is hard. But if you will be hard on yourself life will be infinitesimally easier.”
Now our Heavenly Father does not always make it easy either – but He knows you and he knows you can do what He calls you to do.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. {Philippians 4:13}
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. {1 John 4:4}
God never asks us to do more than we can – we often think we can do less than we can.
God believes in you!
It grieves me when I see people who have never risked following God. It grieves me when I see those who run from “the gulp factor.”
May I take the verse from Hebrews and interject a personal pronoun? Please know … like the pastor to the Hebrew church … “I am convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.” {Hebrews 6:9}
2. YOU ARE GOVERNED, EVEN DOMINATED, BY WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF.
As a man thinketh in His heart so is he. {Proverbs 23:7}
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. {Romans 8:37}
When you fail to live up to the potential your creator designed you for you are living in bondage – something other than God’s best is determining your destiny. You are missing his fullness.
For most people, however, known bondage is more comfortable that unknown freedom. Let’s change our thinking patterns … our thinking behavior.
Self-Determining Self-talk
I was on my way to work one morning and in a bit of a hurry to get started. As I approached the light at Hwy 51 and Oneta Road I thought, “I’ll turn right on 51 and go down to Evans Road and cut over to 101st. That way I won’t have to sit through the light. Well wouldn’t you know it … the car in front of me got really far over to the right (hugging the white line) and I could not get into the turning area. I had to wait for the light. As I sat there I though to myself … “She did that on purpose so I would not turn!” It’s a destructive head game I have to rebuke myself about over and over … if I am not careful I start thinking “Everybody is picking on me!”
Well, you know what … she had no way to know I wanted to turn. None whatsoever; you see it was a last minute decision on my part and I didn’t even have a turn signal on. But that self-talk began to affect me. I got irritable and impatient. When the light turned green I almost laid on my horn even though she actually left the stop immediately. You know what happened when I got to Oneta Road and 101st? Again she hugged the right side of the road … right up against the white line. That’s when I knew my self-talk was lying to me again … she was oblivious to me and that was just what she does when she comes to a stop sign. When I told myself to “shut-up … no one is thinking about you” I was able to once again settle down and have a peaceful trip to the office.
That’s just a simple example of what our self-talk can do. You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything:
• I will be tired in the morning
• I cannot do this!
The little engine that could is sound advice. Realism is required not naivet̩ Рbut you talk yourself out of a lot of things that you could do.
But please know … like the pastor to this little church the Hebrews attended … “I am convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.” {Hebrews 6:9}
I will never forget the day this truth dawned on me and I began intentionally changing my self-talk. Now I often say to myself, “if other people can do it I can too” and it makes all the difference in the world.
The other day I was doing something that, for my skill set was particularly challenging. Vickie was with me and observed my saying to myself, “You’re so stupid! You cannot do this!” Vickie stopped me and reminded me of a saying she hears from me a lot “Do hard things.” Vickie reminded me that I intentionally place myself in positions where much is required but that if my self-talk does not match my challenge I will defeat myself before I get started.
Never forger that “As a man thinketh in His heart so is he.” …. That YOU ARE GOVERNED, EVEN DOMINATED, BY WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF.
3. YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW … SO SOW GOOD CHARACTER AND A GOOD LIFE
Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: … A man reaps what he sows.”
When I was in my 30’s I met a man who had big big dreams. He used to tell me that he was going to be rich some day. I would ask him how he planned to become rich but he could never give me strategy. It was just gonna happen I guess. You know what, to this day he lives hand-to-mouth. He’s not rich because he did not have a plan.
A few weeks back, while looking at Hebrews 11, I reminded you that God has designed you for something. I challenged you … even dared you to discover what that is and do it. So here’s the other side of that coin … if you don’t find it and do it you will never reach you designed potential. You see, just because God designed you for something does not mean it will happen … you have to act on that. You have to hone the skills God imparted to you and you have to work at it with all your heart.
Last month there was a very interesting story about James Harrison, a football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The story is about how he is endeavoring to raise his two sons to become fine, true men.
Harrison posted on his Instagram page that his sons returned home with “participation trophies” from their school – and he’s going to immediately return them. Here is his epic response:
“I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I’m sorry but I’m not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I’m not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best…cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better…not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut you up and keep you happy.”
Harrison gets it … you reap what you sow.
If you want good character you have to work at it.
If you want a good life you have to work towards it … it will not be handed to you.
But please know … “I am convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.” {Hebrews 6:9}
4. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. GROWTH IS OPTIONAL.
Jesus said, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” (Mark 2:22)
You are changing even as we speak. How will you capitalize on it?
Keys to making a life-change:
1. Change requires humility … a proud man justifies and rationalizes his behavior only a humble man will seek change
2. Change requires new thinking about old problems
3. Change requires support, determination, and encouragement to offset the distractions, obstacles, and temptations
4. Change requires dissatisfaction with the status-quo and the familiar
5. Change requires us to visualize a “preferred future” that we wish to attain.
6. Change requires decisive action with high yet realistic expectations.
I know change is hard. I know it gets harder the older we get too. But I also know it is inevitable so rather than bellyache I choose to grow.
And please know … “I am convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.” {Hebrews 6:9}
5. YOU WERE NOT DESIGNED TO NAVIGATE LIFE ALONE
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
I was listening to MLB radio this week and the hosts were interviewing Tyler Duffy, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.
They asked him about his transition from closer to starter because which is a difficult and significant role change. One of the questions they asked was “Who helped you with that?”
They asked him about a unique breaking ball he throws. One of the questions they asked was “Who helped you with that?”
Later they talked with another player about his “character coach” and the books his character coach gives him to read.
It just reinforced for me this simple principle that I try routinely to instill within each of you. Everyone needs to have at least three different types of relationships.
1. WE ALL NEED A MENTOR.
You may call them a coach, a spiritual director, a discipler, an advisor, or a trainer but we all need someone to whom we can look for insight and spiritual formation. No one is exempt or immune from the need for this basic relationship.
We are all unfinished souls and we all need the help of those who have gone before us.
I gave you a text question before the sermon, “Name one person who has been very influential in your spiritual development?”
Let’s look at your responses.
Those are good.
I simply asked you “Who helped you with that?” and you gave good answers.
You see, you didn’t make all that progress without someone speaking love, encouragement, truth into your life.
And even if you did … How much further along could you have been if you had a mentor that you shared your walk with?!
We were designed by God to for others to influence us … you do yourself a great disservice when you do not humbly seek the counsel of those more spiritually advanced than yourself.
2. WE ALL NEED A FELLOW TRAVELLER.
We all need someone (s) with whom we can walk. You can call them friends, companions, whatever but we need someone (s) that we have spiritual things in common with and with whom we can enjoy life, encourage, challenge, etc.
The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). And we all need the sharpening and encouragement that a friend can bring.
But the Bible also gives us two more pieces of insight related to this.
First it tells us to be discerning in the friendships we make. They need to be genuinely wholesome and healthy. 1 Cor. 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
And second, the Bible tells us that we need to take the initiative in developing these relationships rather than waiting for someone else to do it or using that as an excuse. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.”
• If you want friends you need to take the initiative to find them.
• If you need a mentor you need to take the initiative to find one.
I am going to ask Pastor James to come up here for a second and share his vision about discipleships .. “each one disciple one.”
3 WE ALL NEED A MENTEE.
There are many people who could benefit from having access to observing your walk with God. In fact, there are people we are desperately seeking someone to show them a better way to live.
I have asked our ministry leaders from “Light in Darkness” to come and share how they are influencing women in the strip clubs they attend each week.
We all learn from others and you have something to offer. And trust me … people are watching you!
Who have you befriended? Who are you helping to grow in Christ? It is your duty as a follower of Jesus to help others to grow.
WRAP-UP
Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. {Hebrews 6:9}
Hear me … I AM CONVINCED OF BETTER THINGS IN YOUR CASE. I believe in you and so does your heavenly Father.
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
First Church of the Nazarene
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
www.banazarene.org
