A. I want to begin by sharing some actual excuse notes sent by parents that were collected by the University of Texas and include the original spellings.
1. “My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.”
2. “Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.
3. “Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.”
4. “Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.”
5. “Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.”
6. “Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.”
7. “Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.”
8. “Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was not his fault.”
B. Excuses, excuses, and excuses…we all have them, right?
1. We have excuses for why we missed school or work.
2. We have excuses for why we are late paying our bills.
3. We have excuses for why we got off our diet and exercise program.
4. We have excuses for why we haven’t been in touch with a friend.
C. We also have excuses regarding spiritual things.
1. We have excuses for why we have been missing worship or Bible classes.
2. We have excuses for why we don’t give more money or time or effort to the Lord.
3. We have excuses for why we can’t take on a responsibility like teaching a Bible class, or serving in a ministry, or visiting a shut in.
D. Now, some excuses are legitimate, but most excuses aren’t very good ones, are they?
1. Ultimately, God doesn’t want to hear excuses, rather He wants to hear confessions and resolutions.
2. God wants to see genuine repentance and faithfulness.
3. And one of the things that God definitely doesn’t want to hear is excuses why we didn’t attempt to do something about Church members who are excusing themselves from active participation in our assemblies and ministries.
E. Okay, let’s have a quick show of hands…How many of you think it is important to be nice to people at church? Okay…that’s good.
1. Now here’s a follow-up question: How many of you think that being nice to people at church is the most important thing we should do?
2. Most of us know that being nice isn’t the most important thing, and yet we know it is important to be a very welcoming, loving, accommodating church family.
3. At the same time, we also realize that being the kind of church family that God wants us to be requires more than just giving people a comfortable place to worship and to call home.
4. We are called into an adventure of discipleship and ministry that is demanding and requires our full attention and effort, but also requires the encouragement and correction of others.
5. And so we find ourselves challenged by this tension of being nice and understanding, while at the same time being confrontational and holding people accountable.
F. I want to draw your attention to the passage we read for the Scripture Reading.
1. It is from the New Testament letter called Hebrews.
2. In some respects, Hebrews is not so much a letter, as it is a sermon.
3. The Hebrew preacher was using every means at his disposal to grab the attention of his first century readers.
4. His readers were Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and were abandoning their commitment to Christ.
5. Hebrews was written to persuade them to come back to Christ and stick with Christ.
6. The Hebrew writer tells them how to do that and how to help each other do that.
G. Let’s look at Hebrews 10:23-25 in two translations – NIV and CSB.
1. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let 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. (NIV)
2. Here’s the Christian Standard Bible’s translation: 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order 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.
3. Those are three power-packed verses – Amen?!!
4. In verse 23, the Hebrew writer starts with the challenge to hold on the hope we profess.
a. We are to hold on to our hope without wavering; unswervingly.
b. The reason we should hold on to our hope is because we are hoping in the promises of God and our God is always faithful to His promises.
c. Sometimes we put our hope in people who are unreliable and they disappoint us.
d. But God never disappoints, because God is altogether trustworthy and reliable.
e. We can count on Him, and therefore we should never give up our hope in Him.
H. Then in verse 24, the writer challenges us to figure out how to motivate each other to love and good works.
1. Let’s look at verse 24 in these different translations:
a. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (NIV)
b. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works. (CSB)
c. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (NLT)
d. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. (NAS)
e. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out. (The Message)
2. The word in that verse that I want to focus on is the Greek word paroxysm (par-ock-ism).
a. It is an interesting word that is used only twice in the NT.
b. The other place that it is used is in Acts 15:39 where Paul and Barnabas were having a disagreement about whether to take John Mark with them on their 2nd missionary journey because Mark had deserted them on the first.
c. The Bible says: “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”
d. The word translated “sharp” is the word paroxysm (par-ock-ism).
3. When we look back at the different translations of Heb. 10:24, we notice the different English words used to translate paroxysm (par-ock-ism) and they are: to spur, to motivate, to stimulate, and to provoke.
4. Usually, when we think of provoking someone, we think of doing so in a negative sense, rather than a positive sense. Right?.
a. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word provoke as “to anger, irritate, or annoy; to create disputes.” That’s the negative side of provocation.
b. But that’s not the only definition Webster gives. The additional definition for provoke is “to excite to action or feeling, to stir up, call forth, stimulate, to influence.”
c. That’s the positive side of provocation and that’s the point of this one another command to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
I. Another interesting thing about Heb. 10:24 is that we are commanded to be creative in our provoking.
1. The different translations say things like: let us consider, let us think about, and let’s see how inventive.
2. It’s important to give thought to this because all of us are different and the things that motivate us are different from one person to another.
3. What might motivate one person may not motivate another, and visa versa.
4. I like the story told of the man who took his little child to see the circus.
a. The clowns were particularly good and the last one of them was a little fellow wearing a wonderful tall top hat.
b. While he was bowing elaborately to a dignified woman, his hat fell off and an elephant sat on it.
c. The clown gestured wildly at the elephant, but the beast sat still upon the hat.
d. He waved and shouted again and again, but the elephant never budged.
e. Angrily the clown stepped behind the elephant and kicked with all his strength and then hopped away with a sore foot in his hands.
f. Then, frantic with anger, the little clown turned back to the elephant and tried to lift him off the hat, but that didn’t work.
g. Defeated and in complete despair, the clown sat down and started to eat some peanuts.
h. As you could have guessed, the elephant was interested in the peanuts, so the elephant got up, ambled over, and begged for some of the peanuts!
i. The clown dropped the bag of peanuts and ran for his hat.
5. And so, just like the clown with the elephant, we have to be inventive and figure out how to motivate each other – we have to figure out how to get each other moving in the right direction.
J. The final part of verse 24 points out what it is that we are looking to motivate people toward – it is love and good deeds.
1. We aren’t just trying to provoke people in general – many of us do enough of that without trying!
2. No, we are to work toward provoking each other toward love and good deeds.
3. There are people to be loved, there is service to be performed, and there is justice to be done.
4. And if you are anything like me, then you need some encouragement to get going and to keep going.
K. So, I think you would agree with me that all of us need some spurring and provoking, right?
1. It’s so easy to get a little lazy or distracted at times, and we need someone to nudge us in the right direction.
2. The wise and spiritual person welcomes the nudging, spurring, and provoking from others.
3. We need brothers and sisters in Christ who will help us to become more and better than we would be without their prompting and encouragement.
4. Think for a moment about the people who have made the biggest difference in our lives…who are they?
a. They are probably our parents, teachers, mentors, or friends.
b. And they all have one thing in common: they pushed us farther than we wanted to go.
c. They didn’t let us get away with being less than we should be or could be.
5. When we are being true brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are doing the same kinds of things – we are spurring each other on toward love and good deeds.
6. And sometimes this sort of “provoking” means giving up being “nice.”
L. But that’s okay, isn’t it? “Niceness” is overrated – it’s a fairly thin virtue.
1. Niceness is something best-suited for people you don’t know very well – like strangers, other drivers on the highway, and new acquaintances.
2. Deeper and more meaningful relationships require something more than just niceness.
3. Deeper and more meaningful relationships require prodding and provoking.
4. Any close relationship that can’t tolerate mutual provoking isn’t really a relationship worth having. Is it?
5. The last thing we need is a bunch of people who flatter us, who never disagree with us, and who never challenge us when we are wrong.
M. As a preacher, I can tell you that there is a temptation to stand in the pulpit each week and speak sweet nothings to the congregation.
1. It’s not hard to come up with positive and pleasant messages that never challenge or correct.
2. Some preachers say that they avoid preaching tough sermons on tough subjects because they want to be loving and don’t want to upset people.
3. But how is it loving for any of us to not help each other see the truth about ourselves and not help each other become all that God wants us to be?
4. Certainly, we should come to worship looking for encouragement, but we should never be encouraged to stay where we are if it is not where God wants us to be.
N. And so, God has called us to provoke, to stir up, to disturb, to motivate, and to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
1. Did you notice that this verse wasn’t written exclusively to preachers and leaders, but was written to all Christians?
2. It doesn’t say: “Elders consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
3. It doesn’t say: “Deacons consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
4. Rather, it says “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
5. All Christians are equally responsible for provoking one another to love and good deeds.
6. This is your job and it’s my job – it’s everyone’s job – not because we are preachers, or elders, or Bible class teachers, but because we are Christians, disciples of Jesus, brothers and sisters.
O. The big question now becomes – HOW? How can we motivate one another on toward love and good deeds? Let me offer three ways…
P. First of all, we can provoke people by our PRESENCE
1. The first thing we must do is faithfully gather with the church as a whole and with each other individually.
2. The Hebrew writer said, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…” (10:25)
3. We can’t positively influence others if we are not engaged with them personally, and we can’t be positively influenced by others unless we are present with each other.
4. We must be together and spend time together in order to encourage and be encouraged.
5. I like the story of Otto Appleton.
a. He was nearly 90 years old when a young 25-year-old man became his preacher.
b. Otto had been a lifelong member of the church.
c. But now his crippling arthritis had bent him over to the point that to even lift his head was painful, and his walk was a mere shuffle.
d. Otto’s hearing was almost completely gone and his eyesight was so poor he could no longer read.
e. Nevertheless, every Sunday, Otto made his way to church.
f. After observing this for about a year, the young preacher asked Otto, “Why do you make this monumental effort each week to come to church even though you can’t see or hear what is going on?”
g. Otto smiled and said, “I come for the children. I want them to know it’s important.”
6. I had heard a similar story about Diana’s 90 year-old uncle, Owen, who was upset when he couldn’t get a ride to Wednesday class one Wednesday.
a. When he called the preacher to see if he could pick him up, the preacher said, “Owen you’re spiritually strong and it won’t you to miss one week.”
b. Owen said that he personally didn’t get anything out of classes anymore because he couldn’t hear the teacher or the other class comments.
c. The only reason Owen came was to encourage others.
7. While it’s true that just showing up is important and is encouraging in many respects, forsaking the assembly is more than just not showing up, rather it is also the failure to be engaged with one another.
a. Just showing up and being present isn’t enough or isn’t the goal, the goal is to be involved with each other, to be connected to each other as a spiritual family, and to spur one another on.
Q. Second, we can provoke people by our EXAMPLE
1. In my sermon on encouraging one another, I talked about how encouraging our faithful lives are for each other.
2. We are spurred on toward love and good deeds when we see other people’s example of love and good deeds.
3. And we are so inspired when we see the obstacles others overcome to be faithful in their love and good deeds.
4. So let’s continue in our faithfulness and allow it to be a powerful example that spurs one another on.
R. Finally, we can provoke people by our WORDS
1. We have talked many times about the power of our words.
2. Proverbs 18:21 says: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
3. I like the story of a math teacher named Helen who gave her students an unusual assignment one day.
a. The students were struggling to understand some math concepts that she was trying to teach them and they were becoming mean and short with one another.
b. So, she instructed them to take out a blank piece of paper and write the names of each of their classmates and then next to each name they were to write the nicest thing they could think of about each person.
c. She collected all the lists and complied them over the weekend.
d. On Monday she gave each of the students his/her list.
e. Before long the entire class was smiling and comments were being made, like: “Really? You think that about me?” “I never knew that I meant anything to anyone.” “I didn’t know others liked me so much.”
f. Several years later, Helen learned that one of those students, named Mark, had died in Vietnam.
g. She attended his funeral and then afterwards gathered with others at his family’s home.
h. Mark’s parents approached the teacher and said, “We want to show you something.”
i. With that, the dad opened his wallet and removed two worn pieces of paper that had been taped, folded, and refolded many times.
j. The papers were the ones on which the teacher had listed all the good things that each of Mark’s classmates had said about him.
k. Mark’s mother then said, “Thank you so much for doing that. As you can see, Mark treasured it.”
l. Other classmates listening to the conversation then spoke up.
m. A former classmate named Chuck smiled and sheepishly said, “I still have my list too. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.”
n. A former student named Marilyn, reached into her purse, took out her wallet and showed her worn list to the group, saying, “I carry mine with me all the time.”
4. The words of encouragement that we give to one another are so powerful and memorable!
5. There is a time for warm, encouraging words, and there is also a time for corrective and challenging words.
a. There’s a time to ask: “Are you sure that is a good course to take?”
b. There’s a time to say: “I love you, but I can’t agree with what you are doing.”
c. There’s a time to express our concern for a person’s soul and for their lack of follow-through in their life of discipleship.
6. Of course, we must be careful how we share our challenging, critical words, but sometimes love demands that we share them.
7. I love the question Paul asked the Christians in Galatia: “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16)
8. Proverbs 27:6 says: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
9. Our words of correction and motivation can spur people on and get them moving in the right direction.
S. Today’s sermon serves as the concluding sermon in our series about loving one another and how all the one another commands help us to have relationships God’s way.
1. I hope and pray that through this study, we have grown in our ability to:
a. Be devoted to one another. g. To bear with one another.
b. To honor one another. h. To encourage one another.
c. To submit to one another. i. To pray for one another.
d. To accept one another. j. To bear one another’s burdens.
e. To admonish one another. k. And finally, to spur one another on to love
f. To serve one another. and good deeds.
2. All of these one another commands help us to reach our ultimate goal of loving one another and each one expresses a part of what love really is.
T. Look again at our passage for today from Hebrews: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let 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.
1. That DAY is approaching – that day is the day when Christ will return and time will be no more.
2. As each day passes, we are one day closer to the coming of Christ.
3. Jesus told us to be ready because none of us know on what day He will come.
4. We need not be anxious about His coming, but we do need to be ready for His coming.
5. Are you ready?
6. Is there someone you need to encourage and provoke to get ready for His coming?
7. Remember no excuses will be accepted at that time when Christ returns.
8. Are you ready? I hope and pray that all of us are ready and will help others be ready.
Resources:
“Go Ahead, Provoke Me!” Sermon by Mike Bennett
“Becoming Provocative Christians” Sermon by D. Paul O. Boger.
“Stimulate One Another to Good Deeds” Sermon by Edwin Crozier
“Spur One Another On” Sermon by David Owens
