INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• You belong to Jesus, WHAT NOW?
• In this new series, we will be examining some of the implications we face in various aspects of our life as a result of our relationship with Jesus.
• For those who have been with Jesus for a long time, this series will serve as a reminder of how a relationship with Jesus should impact our lives.
• For those who have recently or are contemplating a relationship with Jesus, this series will hopefully be a roadmap of sorts to help allow us to be open to the path that a relationship with Jesus will lead you.
• A relationship with Jesus should impact EVERY area and aspect of one’s life as we are allowing ourselves to be transformed into the image of Jesus, more and more each moment.
• I fear that somewhere along the line some of us may have gotten the mistaken impression that Jesus is simply another item to add to our checklist of life.
• With the pace of life and all of the distractions of life these days, it is easy to forget that Jesus is not something we do, but Jesus is who we are.
• We are called to be Christ-like, this requires more than adding Jesus to a checklist.
• Today we are going to examine how Jesus should impact the focus of our relationships. We are going to spend the bulk of message dealing with our relationships with those within the in the church family.
• A relationship is defined as follows- the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.
• Today we will spend the bulk of our time in Hebrews 1:24-25, let’s see what God’s Word tells us today.
• SLIDE #2
• Hebrews 10:24–25 (CSB) — 24 And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works,
• 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Consider one another.
• I love the way the CSB translates verse 24, And let us watch out for one another
• Many translations say it this way, “LET US CONSIDER…”
• Consider is not the main point, the original text has the flavor of CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER!
• We are called to consider one another with the purpose of trying to help provoke one another to love Jesus and to perform good works in our lives.
• This passage is the only place in the book of Hebrews in which the phrase ONE ANOTHER is used.
• So how does this impact our relationships? Understanding what a relationship is gives us a good context from which to start.
• A relationship is defined as follows- the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.
• By definition, a relationship demands a connection of some type.
• Therefore, those with whom I am in a relationship means that I have a connection with them.
• Within the church context, our relationship tie is Jesus.
• This why Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 about not being in partnership with non-believers. The tie of Jesus is not there so our worlds will be on totally different trajectories.
• The way Jesus should impact our relationship with one another is the fact that we are called not to be in our own little selfish or closed off world.
• As a follower of Jesus, I can no longer be selfish, caring for only my own interests.
• SLIDE #4
• Philippians 2:3 (CSB) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
• One area of impact concerning my relationships is the fact that my relationships are no longer about me and what I can get out of the deal, my relationships have to be about you!
• In the context of the church, there is mutual activity expected of those who are a part God’s family.
• We MUST consider one another.
• To be able to CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER, it is incumbent upon me to carefully take into account the circumstances and weakness of others so that I can apprehend what type of support you need to be able to be strong in Christ.
• For my relationships with folks outside of Jesus, those relationships are no longer simply about friendship or fun, I have to take the initiative to know them well enough to be able to prayerfully figure out how to bring them to Jesus.
• The days of knocking on someone’s door and leading them to Christ is rare, to help lead someone we have to know them on a personal level to the point we know what makes the tick, we know which doors to try to lead them to Jesus.
• MY FRIEND STEVE and MUSIC!
• Jesus forces the dynamics of all of my relationships to change.
• For those who we are in a relationship in Christ, our focus is encouragement, for those outside of Christ, our focus should be on showing them the light of Jesus, to help bring them into the family of God.
• By the way, considering one another is a key to solid relationships, it is the key to a solid marriage.
• When we get selfish in our relationships is when the relationships start to deteriorate.
• In your relationships, the relationship should be about the other person, not just yourself.
• If we do not pay attention to one another, we will never know one another well enough to consider one another.
• The focus of your relationships cannot be about the holy trinity, me, myself and I, the focus has to be on the other.
• Let’s look at our passage again.
• SLIDE #5
• Hebrews 10:24–25 (CSB) — 24 And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
• SLIDE #6
II. Encourage one another
• My CSB uses the word PROVOKE, it is a more aggressive form of the word to encourage, and many times it is used in a negative context, but here it is meant to be positive.
• The NET uses the word SPUR one another.
• When you spur a horse, you are trying to motivate it to get moving!
• We are to consider one another so that we know what type of encouragement one needs to do what God is calling them to do!
• Christians must encourage one another.
• These words reveal that Christians are responsible for each other (a similar theme is found elsewhere, see 3:13).
• Christians cannot be concerned just for their own spiritual well-being; they must also encourage others to keep fervent in their love and active in their service to God.
• SLIDE #7
• Hebrews 3:13 (CSB) But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
• We are told to encourage one another in a couple of areas, one is in the area of love.
• Love what?
• Some commentators focus on one specific area, like loving Jesus, or loving one another?
• I do not see the need to narrow the word to a specific area; however, if our love for Jesus is weak, then we will not be able to do much else that God calls us to do.
• The word used for love is the word AGAPE which is the type of love God has for us, it is a love that will always do what is spiritually best for others.
• We all need to be encouraged to love God and others.
• It is not always easy to love, we are also called to encourage others to perform good deeds.
• These deeds are not an attempt to earn salvation, but rather, our deeds should be a reflection of the salvation we have in Christ as well as a reflection of our relationship with Jesus!
• This theme is mentioned in Hebrews 6:10
• SLIDE #8
• Hebrews 6:10 (CSB) For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.
• These are the selfless things we do for others in the name of the Lord!
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• As a shameless plug for our Ministry Team sign-up time, this is an opportunity for you to serve the Lord and serve others by doing some good deeds within the church. ?
• Let’s look at verse 25 once more.
• SLIDE #9
• Hebrews 10:25 (CSB) not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
• SLIDE #10
III. Worship with one another
• In the church at the time of the writing of this letter, folks were already starting to drift from assembling together for various reasons, one reason was the fear of persecution.
• We are called to worship together, because our time together is an opportunity to encourage one another.
• The word NEGLECT of FORSAKE means to abandon, to leave behind or to desert.
• Folks were starting to break ranks from the body of Christ.
• Why would we neglect assembling together? Given the opportunity, many of us would not miss the ballgame or the race.
• Why? Because it is important to us, we get something out of those things, we get entertained.
• Why do people neglect coming together?
• I would venture to say that if the church could tell you that if you are here every week except for let’s say 4 for vacation and sickness, and if you attend 48 weeks out of the year, we would give you $10 million dollars, I bet we would fill the building every week.
• Why?
• I think one of the reasons we see folks neglect the assembling together is they are at a point in their life where they feel like it is not important enough to give one’s time to be here.
• This happens when we come to church with the attitude that we are here to get.
• When our focus is on WHAT DO I GET, our attendance will become more and more sporadic because we think we are not getting anything.
• Now, my prayer is that when you come here, that you always get something for being here.
• But the real focus of our attendance should be on encouraging others.
• Our focus should not be on what we get, but rather, what can I contribute to the assembly as we consider how to spur others to love and good deeds.
• We are here to help each other.
• Folks who constantly complain about anything and everything probably do not have their focus in the right place.
• Folks who are always need things to be their way probably have their focus in the wrong place.
• I am on a preaching forum where ministers share and look for counsel.
• YOUNG GUY GETTING HAMMERED FOR MAKING CHANGES. THREATENED financially. SO SAD.
• Sometimes just your presence encourages others.
• WE are called to come together as the day draws near. This could be speaking of the second coming or until next Sunday.
• I think it applies to both. The Lord is going to return, what better place to be when that happens than to be at church. ?
• There is a vital connection between assembling together and encouraging one another. One function of public worship is the building up of those who come.
CONCLUSION
• Our relationship with Jesus should have an impact of the focus of our other relationships.
• Our relationship with Jesus should lead us to consider one another, to encourage one another to love and good deeds, and to come together to worship together!
