Jesus is the WORD OF FAITH: He shows us
a better kingdom!
KEY
VERSES:
·
12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
·
12:22 But you have come to Mount
Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and
to the assembly of the firstborn
who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of
the righteous made perfect, 24 and
to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that
speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
·
12:28 Therefore let us be grateful
for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God
acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Notes
·
Read 12:1-28
·
Mirror
12:3 “Ponder how Jesus overcame all the odds stacked against him; this will
boost your soul-energy when you feel exhausted.”
·
God’s grace does not fail, but we can fail to
take advantage of His grace or fail to depend on His grace.
Running
the Race
·
Get rid of any heavy weights that are slowing us
down.
·
It’s a long haul and we need patience (Parable
of Sower – Matthew 13).
·
Keep your eyes on the finish line (Jesus).
·
(NTW)
Hebrews is keenly aware that the readers are in danger of being weary with all that
they are facing, day after day, in terms of threats, persecution, intimidation
and mockery from their contemporaries, their neighbors and perhaps their former
friends.
Discipline?
·
Some discipline, as one of genuine love and
care, can be vital for growth.
·
I’d rather be disciplined by a loving Father
than a distant, faceless, careless, unknown being.
·
In the midst of suffering (persecution), we
mustn’t blame God. We need to hear the voice of the Father urging us to trust
Him more fully, to love Him more deeply.
Growth
·
When people are outwardly part of the church,
but inwardly are not open to God’s grace and leading, they are capable of
producing fruit that can disgrace themselves and the church.
·
3rd Warning of Hebrews (6:4-8 and
10:26-31).
·
Isaiah 35:3
Hebrews
is making a strong contrast between law and gospel. The old is gone now that
the new covenant has been established in and through Jesus. It is better in
every way and what the old had in mind all along.
·
You need to come into the promised land (chapters
3-4)
·
You need to benefit from the ministry of the
true high priest (5-7)
·
You need to realize that you are within the new
covenant, where the ultimate sacrifice has already been made, through which you
can approach the presence of God himself (8-10)
·
Those in the city are those in whom the lavish
grace of God has worked such cleansing, such transformation that they now
belong (11-12)
The
advantages of being in Christ consist of:
·
Living already in the new Jerusalem
·
Joining already in praise around the throne of
God
·
Belonging already to the body of Christ
·
Having already no fear of God’s judgment
·
Sharing already with the OT believers in the
hope of the resurrection
·
Possessing already in Jesus a new life
The
true God is not tame. He is like a fire. The holiness of God, emphasized
throughout the OT ritual, is not undermined by the NT reality that we are
invited into his presence. It isn’t that God stopped being holy. The point is
that Jesus has opened up a new way… right up to Him. When we remind ourselves
of God’s holiness, we begin to fully appreciate the significance of what Jesus
did for us.
Parallel
Passages:
·
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees
before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be
strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded
in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
·
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him
who strengthens me.
·
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we
stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not
put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
·
(Mirror 241) If Jesus is the crescendo
of God’s final message to mankind, you cannot afford to politely excuse
yourself from this conversation. Consider the prominent place that Moses plays
in the history of Israel: if you think that Moses or any of the Prophets who
spoke with authority on earth deserve honor, how much more should this word
that God declared from heaven concerning our Sonship, and our redeemed
innocence revealed in the Messiah himself, deserve our undivided attention!
Jesus is the WORD OF FAITH: He
shows us a better way to live!
KEY
VERSES:
·
13:5 Keep your life free from love
of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never
leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So
we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper;
I will
not fear;
what can man do to me?” 7 Remember
your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of
their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
·
13:16 Do not neglect to do good and
to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
·
13:20 Now may the God of peace who
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by
the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip
you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Here
in the closing chapter, we find sex, power, money, suffering, and Jesus. Jesus
is the one who makes sense of all the rest. He is the same yesterday, today and
always. If your faith is firmly rooted in Jesus, then none of the forces that
blow people off track need harm you.
Notes
·
Read 13:1-25
·
Enjoy spiritual fellowship (13:1-6)
o Loves
shows hospitality
o Love
expresses concern
o Love
remains pure
o Love
finds contentment
·
Honor spiritual leaders (7-9, 17, 24)
o Remember
them
o Obey
them
o Greet
them
·
Gather for spiritual worship (10-16, 18-19)
·
Let’s get outside of the old city.
o There
was an increasingly tense situation brewing up for the followers of Jesus in
and around Jerusalem itself.
o The
followers of Jesus should be okay to leave the city and it’s temple.
o Jesus
(Matthew 23:37-24:2)
·
Mirror
13:22 “My brothers, I have written to you briefly, reminding you or your
original identity in order to increase the volume of its resonance in your
hearts.”
·
(NTW)
Here we are at the heart of the mystery of Christian living, Christian
leadership and Christian work in the Kingdom. The letter makes it clear that to
engage in such work requires effort, determination and patience. The fact that
God is at work within us doesn’t take that away. But, as we prepare for the
work, engage in it and thank God when it is done, we must never forget that it
is, ultimately, something that He does, mysteriously, in and through us.
Parallel
Passages:
·
Romans 4:25, 8:1, and 8:34
Jesus
was a fresh revelation of God. The OT was like a letter or a phone call, now we
see him face to face.
If
we get our picture of Jesus right, the huge issues in the rest of our life and
theology will begin to fall into place.
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