Purpose Series #2
(Six Sessions on God’s Purpose for Your Life)
Let-us Salad
Hebrews 10:22-25
SCRIPTURE READING: Hebrews 10:22-25
INTRODUCTION:
We live in strange times. There are more than 6 billion people in the world, but (at least in the USA) very few feel like they have any real friends.
· People are more mobile than in the past, often staying in any one place less than 5 years. So long-term friendships are becoming rare.
· It’s rare not for people to actually know their neighbors. With garage-door openers and busy work schedules it’s possible to live somewhere for years without even knowing what your neighbor looks like.
· An article by Timothy Morgan put it this way: “Proximity is a lost cause as Americans are drawn into tag-team parenting, commuter marriages, and distance learning.” (Timothy Morgan, “Making Webheads of us all.”)
· People are increasingly “cocooning” themselves into isolated worlds where their only daily contact is with “cyber buddies” in “cyber communities.”
· If people have any close relationships at all, it’s a cyber-relationship in a chat room. In fact, E-mail, and Instant Messaging are changing the rules of civil discourse.
The problem is that we weren’t created to live in virtual isolation. God made us for relationships--- real flesh-and-blood relationships --- face to face, up close and personal relationships--- the kind of relationships that make room for things like a hug and a pat on the back, a tear and a prayer, or maybe a good joke and a shared belly-laugh.
And this is exactly why Jesus established the Church. You can read the Bible backwards and forwards, but you won’t find any Cyber-church in there. What you do find is a Greek word that is repeatedly used in scripture for the church’s fellowship. The term is Koinonia, and it means shared life. In the church we are to SHARE LIFE together. In fact, if we don’t SHARE LIFE, we are not being the church at all.
But the truth is that developing real relationships is not easy. That’s why Hebrews 10:22-25, gives 5 specific calls to action. Each one is preceded by the words, “LET US.” (Another preacher called this a recipe for Fellowship Salad --- because it contains so much “Let-us” (get it?) … So let us look at these 5 kinds of let-us…)
1. Let us Draw Near Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith … Hebrews 10:22
The idea of drawing near to God probably sounds normal to most of us. But we need to understand that this was a revolutionary idea to the Jewish converts who first read these words. They were used to the Jewish Levitical Law where only the High Priest could “draw near” to God. Only the High Priest could enter the “Holy of Holies” --- and he could only do that once a year. The High Priest went into that sacred room once a year to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the altar in order to atone for the sins of the people. In preparation for this, the High Priest would first wash himself thoroughly with water.
Now we are ALL invited to enter the Holy of Holies. But we don’t just stroll in. This is still sacred ground. Listen to the preparation we need to make if we want to “draw near” to God: 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. Hebrews 10:22
When Jesus died on the cross, the Curtain that closed off the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. That meant something. In fact, it meant everything. Jesus is our final and ultimate High Priest.
We can now draw near to God because our hearts have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Because of Him our conscience is clean, and in obedience to Him, our bodies have been washed with pure water. This refers to our Baptism. Baptism is our washing with water. We don’t have to do it over and over like the Jews did. We are commanded to be Baptized once as a symbol that we have joined into the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is the One who keeps us continually clean so that we can go daily into God’s presence.
Drawing near to God is not something to be taken lightly. We need to take time for preparation when we approach the throne of God. That’s why our prayers need to include Praise, Thanksgiving, and Confession of sins instead of just jumping immediately into our list of requests! Let us draw near --- with the right attitude. And then, Let us Hold On.
2. Let us Hold On Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
The interesting thing about the Greek word used here ( katexo) is that it is actually a nautical term. It’s the word used for steering a ship on a straight course. Today pilots guide planes by steering the plane according to vectors, which are straight lines. Their instrumentation warns them if they begin to steer left or right of the vector. Staying on vector will line them up with the runway for a safe landing. That is why pilots can steer a straight course even if visibility is zero. They can literally land a plane blind if they will just stay on vector.
If we hold fast to the hope we profess, we will not drift away from our connection to Christ. We will not drift away from the Biblical teachings. When we connect to Christ and study His word, we are confronted with the mandate to relate. The Bible makes it clear that we aren’t free to connect with God and ignore His people. Other Christians become our family when we enter God’s family. Jesus is faithful to us and he calls us to be faithful to each other. Hold Fast! To God and to His people! To the end! This is your mandate!
We’ve been told to draw near and hold fast. Next we are instructed to consider.
3. Let us Consider How Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
The word translated spur comes from the Greek word: Paroxusmon. This is actually a Greek noun that the medical world uses to describe a fever or an attack of an illness. The medical term is paroxysm. In other words, it’s like a fever: not necessarily pleasant, but it serves a purpose. It might be something like the actions taken to get someone out of the bed in the morning. How many of your moms used to shout for you to get up --- or yank off the covers --- or even pour some cold water? --- All to spur you on to the good work of getting to school on time.
The point is that that if you notice that the folks here aren’t loving enough or aren’t doing enough “good deeds” then don’t complain about it. And don’t criticize them. Provoke them! Spur them on to better behavior and nobler actions. This is the job every one of us is given --- not just the church leaders. We are all to provoke love and good deeds out of each other. The church is meant to be full of people who are ALL sharing in the work of ministry. But in every church there are a few “pew warmers” who need to be prodded a bit. Consider what you can do to incite a riot of love and good works.
Let’s see. So far we have read Let-us draw near, Let-us hold fast, Let-us consider how to spur each other on. What next? Let us not give up!
4. Let us Not Give Up Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing … Hebrews 10:25
When these words were written, the church had barely started. But already some people had given up meeting together! Why?
Well, sometimes it’s as simple as this: people stop coming to church because they have been hurt by --- or at least irritated by --- someone in the congregation. How likely is that? Well, I’d say it’s 99-100th percent sure. If you are IN a congregation, someone, somehow, sometime WILL cause you grief. How do I know? Because every church is full of PEOPLE.
The only church where no one will frustrate you is a church with only one church member – you. (And, eventually that church will have ZERO members because you’ll make YOURSELF mad and quit!)
It saddens me to see people who get hurt by a person in the church and stop showing up because of that hurt. Obviously, there are important things they don’t understand about their connection to Christ and His church: The church becomes our family when we enter God’s family. And, yes, it is true that sometimes you will rub up against some church people and either inadvertently hurt them or be hurt by them.
Do you know why that is? Because in the church are hurting people. And here is an axiom to remember: Hurt people, hurt people. I try to remember that myself as I pull out quills from some porcupine-like Christians that come along.
I had a wise preacher tell me how he looks at difficult people. He calls them E.G.R. : Extra Grace Required. Next time someone irritates or frustrates you, ask yourself, Hasn’t God poured out enough Grace on you that you can spare some Grace for this hurtful person? Heaven knows that before any of us were hurt by another, Jesus himself suffered torture and death at the hands of people who betrayed and forsook him.
It’s true that some people get mad and quit, but by far, the majority who quit going to church give this excuse, “We just got out of the habit.” Evidently, the writer of Hebrews had his finger on the problem of absenteeism from church when he wrote, “…as some are in the habit of doing.”
Let’s face it, church-going is a habit … and a good one at that. But church-avoiding is also a habit. The one who really cares about the fellow believers in his church will not give up on meeting together because he knows that just his being there with the others is in itself an encouragement.
5. Let us Encourage One Another Hebrews 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. Hebrews 10:25
This verse makes me think back to Susan’s aunt Thelma who was an encouragement to everyone at the Arcadia Christian Church when we lived there. Aunt Thelma was almost completely blind and deaf. But even though she could see and hear very little of the service, she wanted to be there every Sunday. She wanted to encourage everyone else by her presence. She was like a cheerleader for the congregation and a constant source of encouragement for me.
Don’t underestimate the importance of just being here. Just by coming to church, or Sunday School, or Pueblo Group, or 5- STONE, --- just by being there --- you are an encouragement. But along with your attendance, you should also verbally communicate your encouragement to others. I am glad that one of the ministries I see constant evidence of in the church is the Care Corps. I get the e-mail sent out by Sonja each week, to the Care Corps members, and I regularly hear from visitors that they were pleasantly surprised to get cards and letters from members of the church. Several have said to me, “We expect to get a letter from the church office, but to get cards from church members is more than we expected.” (By the way, if you’d like to join in the Care Corps, let Sonja know!)
Let’s face it: encouraging others does not come natural. Many of us are so anxious to RECEIVE encouragement that we forget to GIVE encouragement. I’ve noticed that people who get in the habit of encouraging others tend to stay in the habit of coming to church. There’s a great satisfaction that comes from knowing you have lifted the spirits of those around you. It makes you want to be around those people every week.
If there is anything that should flow freely and abundantly in the church, it is encouragement. And I’ll admit that I appreciate it when it flows my way as well. Just like Home on the Range, “…where the deer and the antelope play” The church should be a place “…where seldom is heard a discouraging word.”
CONCLUSION:
This week, try to remember the verbs in these 4 verses. If we want to make a tasty fellowship salad it takes 5 kinds of let-us.
· Let-us Draw Near to God
· Let us Hold Fast to our faith
· Let us Consider how to spur others on to love and good works
· Let us Not give up meeting together
· Let us Encourage one another, and all the more as we see the Day approaching.
These five exhortations --- if you do them --- will keep you connected to God and to God’s people until that day. What day? The day when Jesus comes for His Church.
Here at Castle Hills Christian Church, Let us
· Draw Near,
· Hold Fast,
· Consider How,
· Not Give up, and
· Encourage One Another
--- all the more as we see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
