Living Like He's Returning (Hebrews 10:24-39) (Aucilla Baccalaureate 2023)

Dad Jokes

I’m a Dad…and I tell jokes…therefore...

I really like telling Dad jokes. Sometimes he laughs.

If my male child was being stubborn before a flight could I check him with my luggage? Or would I have to carry on my wayward son?

The rotation of earth really makes my day.

Last night, my wife asked me if I'd seen the dog bowl. I said, "I didn't even know he could."

Lance isn’t a common name these days, but in medieval times, people were named Lance a lot.

When Josha’s new girlfriend showed up in a white suit, covered in bee stings and smelling like honey, I told Joshua “she's a keeper.”

As we roll into Summer I have several events I’m really looking forward to.

I’m looking forward to the impact of camps - like this one.

I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks of vacation.

I’m looking forward to seeing family as they come in for my son’s graduation

And finally…I’m looking forward to FOOTBALL SEASON that kicks off in just 3 months.

You likely have something you’re looking forward to as well. But there’s something that very few people seem to talk about, and I wonder how many look forward to -

the return of Jesus. Now, I know we can’t circle the date on the calendar, but we can trust the promise that Jesus WILL return - maybe before you and I die. Either way, within a few short years either…Jesus will return OR you will close your eyes on this side of eternity with Jesus in heaven OR without Jesus in hell.

With that TRUTH in mind, today we are challenged to people who are Living Like He’s Returning.

Catch the Context

Let’s dive right in the deep end and talk about something you likely haven’t considered lately…

sacrifices made to God during the time of the Old Testament/Covenant.

Have you ever wondered why many of the Old Covenant sacrifices were so bloody? Thousands and thousands of bulls, goats, and lambs were sacrificed. WHY?

Bloody sacrifices are a visual reminder that SIN brings DEATH. Every time an animal had its throat slit and the blood sprayed, the people were reminded that Sin brings death. Sin destroys the soul and destroys relationships between God & people. Sin can’t go unpunished by a just judge. Yet the Just Judge is also full of mercy? So... instead of people dying for their sin, a substitute would be sacrificed in their place.

Yet, the writing we call Hebrews makes it clear that it is impossible for animals to take away our sins for all time, which is why these sacrifices had to offered year after year, over and over again (Heb 10:3-4).

Those were all shadows that pointed to our Perfect, Permanent High Priest Who OFFERED HIMSELF, as The Better Sacrifice! It was on a Roman cross, that Jesus - God in skin - was treated like a criminal, dying one of the most brutal death sentences known to man…to make the FULL PAYMENT for our sin!

And because of that great sacrifice, we have GREAT HOPE! And here it is...

Hebrews 10:21–23 (CSB)

and since we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful.

Those who TURN from sin and TRUST in Jesus are FULLY FORGIVEN! And people who are LIVIN’ FORGIVEN, should be loving God, loving people, & becoming disciples who develop disciples. The author of Hebrews reminds us that although we have the victory in Jesus, the race is not yet over.

Hebrews 10:24–25

And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 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.

We are to provoke love and good works - other translations use “stir up (ESV), spur on (NET, NIV), or motivate (NLT)”. Followers of Jesus are to model and motivate one another to love and serve.

QUESTION - How are YOU doing that? How are YOU modeling and motivating others to love and serve? If you don’t know HOW to do that, hang out with believers who do - watch what they do and say…and then copy that!

Model and motivate one another to love and serve - This is what we MUST DO.

And here’s what we MUST NOT DO: we must not stop gathering together, as some are in the habit of doing - that good word was 2000 years PRE-COVID! This was a danger for the ancient audience who was facing persecution. But what about us? Is the reason we neglect gathering with other believers because of PERSECUTION? NOPE! Most of us face very little persecution.

Yet, this passage hits some of us between the eyes, because some of us ARE getting into a habit of neglecting to gather together.

As you get older and have more freedoms, I hope you will stay plugged into a Jesus loving, people valuing, Bible teaching church!

Sadly, there is a HUGE dropoff when students graduate from high school, and often around the time students get a vehicle and get tied up in year-round sports.

Americans stop gathering with the Church for a few reasons:

We get lazy and rather stay home and relax. Funny how we don’t do that with work, school, & sports. How about we quit making excuses and start prioritizing meeting with our Church family? It has been said, “Sunday mornings are Saturday night decisions.” If you stay up too late on Saturday nights, don’t act surprised when you don’t feel like getting up early on Sunday.

We get hurt and it’s easier to RUN away than do the hard, but important work of trying to reconcile relationships. But that’s not how a FAMILY should act. When family members mistreat each other, they don’t leave the family and go join another family. Sometimes families fight, but families should make things right!

We get distracted and rather do something else with our time. The beach is calling, the fish are biting, and the ballgames are rolling!

It doesn't’ take long to think that …that Church isn’t VITAL, it’s VOLUNTARY; That Church isn’t a family gathering, it’s a weekend event…that isn’t nearly as exciting as the other weekend events (like movies, boats, fishing, and camping).

If you don’t spend consistent time WITH your local church…something is WRONG.

You show me people who rarely gather with Christian brothers and sisters who talk about spiritual things, and I’ll show you people who will drift off course and become influenced by our godless culture.

Further, when we go through difficult times it sure is different when we go through it alone. It’s during tough times that we learn the truth - we NEED each other!

Redwoods and Interlocking Roots

The average redwood tree is 275 feet tall, nearly 38 feet in diameter and weighs 2.7 million pounds. That’s about as tall as a 26 story building and wider than a New York City street, and weighing more than 100 elephants. One tree!

What’s strange is that they have a relatively shallow root system, often only 5 or 6 feet deep that spread out over 100 feet in all directions.

They thrive in thick groves because their enormous weight is supported when the roots of the trees intertwine and even fuse with the other trees around it. This allows them to survive high winds. But...redwoods do not survive alone…ever.

So too, followers of Jesus need each other. Christians very rarely survive and NEVER thrive, ALONE.

Turn to Someone and say, “Sista & brotha...We need each otha!”

So…instead of neglecting one another, we should be encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. What “day” is that? That’s the day that Jesus returns “to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him,” as the author wrote back in Heb 9:28.

People who actually believe Jesus will return should ACT like Jesus is returning. So, here’s the BIG QUESTION for us today?

BIG QUESTION: Are we LIVING like He’s RETURNING?

What would our world be like if everyone who called Jesus “Lord” started living like He was returning?

Would we LOVE more graciously than we do now? Wouldn’t we be more likely to love the unlovable, even forgiving our enemies? And how about how we love one another?

Would we SERVE more purposefully than we do now? Wouldn’t we take the time out of our schedules to serve others? I don’t know about you, but I WANT Jesus to find me serving Him by serving others when He returns, rather than just serving myself.

And would we OBEY more passionately than we do now? Obeying Jesus is much easier if we actually believe He sees all we do! If we really believed that Jesus was returning THIS WEEK, I would think that our daily decisions - like what we look at with our eyes, what comes out of our mouths, what our hands touch, and where our feet walk - would be much more focused on obedience and purity.

Ultimately - HOPE GROWS when we’re LIVING like He’s Returning!

BUT...the question must be asked, but what about those who claim to follow Jesus who AREN’T living like He’s returning?

Buckle your seat belts, because this one’s gonna get bumpy!

Hebrews 10:26–27

For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

Many Christians might counter - wait a second, “Isn’t Jesus’ death enough to pay for our sins?” Surely God won’t hold us accountable for what has been forgiven…will He?

Where did we come up with the idea that we can pray a prayer, be forgiven, and then live like Jesus ISN’T returning - where we live in sin and still think we’re forgiven? That concept didn’t come from Jesus.

Luke 12:35–38

Be ready for service and have your lamps lit. You are to be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them. If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, blessed are those servants.

And then Jesus fires this warning shot.

Luke 12:43–46

Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

Put another way, the one who claims to be a servant who isn’t living like the Master is returning is going to be treated like an enemy when He returns. And that comes from the mouth of…JESUS!

If you say, “Well that’s not MY VERSION of Jesus”…then I need to remind you, this isn’t ‘build-a-bear Jesus’ - this is the Jesus of Scripture, not the Jesus of culture.

Now, back to our text in Hebrews:

Hebrews 10:28-31

Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who has said, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Does that SCARE you…or have we somehow lost the FEAR of God? Knowing that God is the Righteous Judge who has given Jesus to pay the full payment for our sins should drive us to bask in God’s grace rather than taking His grace for granted!

Which are WE doing? Basking in God’s grace or taking God’s grace for granted?

BIG QUESTION: Am I LIVING like He’s RETURNING?

If we aren’t, then here is the warning shot fired across our bow. It’s time to TURN from sin and RUN to Jesus! We need to remember that the eternal prize of following Jesus is worth the temporary price it costs - including all the frustrations and persecutions. That’s what the author reminds the audience of as well.

Hebrews 10:32–34

Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

Why did these believers endure those difficult days and not quit the race? It’s because they KNEW they had a better and enduring possession at the finish line - eternal life with our Eternal God!

So while their EARTHLY STUFF was stolen, their ETERNAL SOULS were secure in Jesus. With our eyes on THAT PRIZE, we can run the race even when it’s difficult - because the difficulty is temporary while the prize is ETERNAL!

Hebrews 10:35-39

So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.

Stay in the race! encourage others running beside you! Remember what and WHO awaits you at the finish line! We live by faith - trusting Who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He WILL do.

James Dobson & “Pistol” Pete:

“Pistol” Pete Maravich is an NBA legend.

He was college basketball’s all-time leading scorer averaging 44.2 points per game.

He went onto the NBA and had a Hall of Fame career, including 5 All-Star appearances & 5 seasons of averaging 24 points per game over his 10 years in the NBA.

Further, he is considered by many to be the best ball-handler of all time.

Pete became a passionate follower of Jesus in 1982. He had learned and shared that, “Money will buy you anything but happiness. It’ll pay your fare to every place but heaven.”

On January 5, 1988 - Dr. James Dobson was going to interview Pistol Pete. Dobson invited Pete to an early morning basketball game with some other men. The 40 year-old Pistol Pete moved at about 1/3 speed taught the others a thing or two. They took a break after playing 45 minutes. Dr. Dobson walked away to get some water and then turned back to see Pistol Pete having a seizure and then stopped breathing.

CPR didn’t work & Pistol Pete died in Dr. Dobson’s arms. It was later determined Pete died of a a congenital heart malformation which makes his basketball career even more incredible. Listen to what Dr. Dobson later wrote:

“During our basketball game on the morning Pete died, he was wearing a T-shirt that read, “Looking unto Jesus,” which is a reference to Hebrews 12:2. That says it all, doesn’t it? You’ll read a lot about basketball and trophies and fame in this book, and there’s no denying the remarkable achievements of one of America’s truly great basketball players. However, in the end, I believe the simple message contained on that T-shirt tells you all you need to know about Pete Maravich.”

Although his body ultimately failed, Pete Maravich was spiritually fit - he loved Jesus, ran the race, & trained himself for godliness. At 40 years old he breathed his last, on this side…living like Jesus was returning.

BIG QUESTION: Am I LIVING like He’s RETURNING?

Where does that find us today?

Many of us are livin’ forgiven, living like He’s returning - and we need to be reminded to 2 things -

what Jesus HAS done - paid for our sins;

and what Jesus WILL do - welcome us into His kingdom!

Some of us are trying to ride the fence - but that’s never comfortable. You need to make a decision - follow Jesus…or don’t. It’s time to consider whether Jesus is worthy of your life.

And some of us might feel like - after all you’ve done, God doesn’t want you or isn’t willing to forgive you. But that is SIMPLY NOT TRUE. No one here has gone TOO FAR for GOD’S GRACE. How do I know this?

Ultimately - HOPE GROWS when we’re LIVING like He’s Returning!