My God Equip Us

My God Equip Us Hebrews 13:20-21 Context • Author: Nameless but known Jewish leader (“God spoke to our fathers” – 1:1) • Audience: primarily Jewish Christians who were persecuted, scattered, and pressured. • Prayer: 13:20-21 is one, complicated sentence. We need (1) to understand the prayer and (2) explore its ramifications. The Prayer • The Basics – What is God doing? 1. Subject: God of Peace (Peace = wholeness, prosperity) 2. Verb: Equip – mend, instruct, complete 3. Direct Object: You all (pressured believers) 4. Put together, the prayer is built around this statement: The God of peace … equip … you all. The Prayer • The Method – How is God equipping us? 1. He’s already equipped us! a) When He completed His eternal purposes b) By resurrecting our good Shepherd (John 10; Psalm 23) c) Whose blood guaranteed God’s response 2. He continues to equip us! a) By availing us to every good thing b) By creating God-pleasing desires in us (lit, “making in us”) c) As He works out what Christ has accomplished (through Jesus) May the God of Peace, who led our Shepherd from the grave, continually equip you all as he magnifies Christ in our hearts. The Ramifications • God wants to dispel every fear we harbor toward Him. 1. God of Peace 2. Jesus, the Psalm 23 Shepherd, follows and leads. 3. God reassures that His work opens to everything good. • God wants to highlight His sovereign initiative. 1. God’s bloody covenant was formed in eternity past. 2. God took the lead in resurrecting Christ. 3. God works in us all that’s pleasing to Him. • God elevates our actions to incredible consequence.