Advent of Authority
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Hebrews 10:19-39
Hebrews 10:19-39
Pray
Remember, this season of Advent, we are looking at aspects of this first appearing of Jesus.
What He has brought to us.
Last week we talked about the advent of fear.
The advent of reverence to a loving, compassionate God who chose to Redeem us by sending us Jesus.
This week we are going to look at the advent of authority.
Look at Hebrews 10:19-22
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
There is so much we can talk about in these few verses.
First of all, the text tells us that we have a great High Priest.
This great High Priest resides over the House of God.
There is so much history and meaning we can talk about with this concept, but we will have to save it for another time.
Jesus is this Great High Priest.
Jesus appeared to us.
God in the flesh to become the perfect Priest preciding over the House of God.
Because He is both the Priest and the Sacrifice, it is by His blood that the veil in the Temple was torn.
It was by His blood that we have been both Redeemed and and covered under the authority of a Priest who is without sin.
Because of Jesus, we can have confidence.
Becasue of Jesus, as our Great High Priest, we can have the full assurance of faith.
It is only by His power that we can have our hearts sprinkled clean and our bodies washed with pure water.
Look at verses 23-25
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Because of Jesus.
Because of all the things listed above.
Becasue of His authority, let us hold fast to our hope.
Let us hold fast to the hope of our Lord and King.
Let us hold fast because HE is faithful
He is faithful to upohold His Word, His promises to us.
He does this by His own authotiry and for the sake of His own Name.
Becasue we have been Redeemed by a Great High Priest, who is perfect we have been covered in His authority.
The writer of the text tells us then to consider how to spur one another on.
Spur one anothetr on under the authority of our Savior toward love and good deeds.
This is where the concept of authoiirty begins in us.
We are Redeemed, saved and dlivered from sin.
Therefore we can have confidence to walk in His authority as we declare the truth in this world.
We are to spur one another on.
To walk in faith.
To apply faith to our lives and our thoughts.
Verses 26-28
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
The text is addressing our authority.
We have been given a gift.
We have been given the gift of Salvation through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Not only have we been given this gift.
Jesus, this very moment stands in the authoriuty f our Great Hioghr Priest offering us the opportunity of choice.
We have His authority to choose.
To be delivered from sin.
The writer is saying becasue we have been given such a great gift.
Becasu ewe are not only given the gift, we are covered by the authority of Jesus to be able to use this gift effectively, do not throw it away.
Don’t squander the gift.
It is a just thing to tell us that anyone who disrespects this gift of Grace stands in the fearful expectation of judgement before Almighty God.
This is ot talking about those who are saved.
This verse is addressing those who have purposefully disregarded the gift of Jesus.
Verses 29-31
How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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Verses 32-35
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
The verse are addressing persecution.
In the historical context tey are addressing persecution that eaerly believers had to endure as they proclaimed the turht of Jesus.
In our context tey address the persecuton of conformity.
All of us face the burden of conformity.
The world wants us to let our guard down.
To give up and give in.
To not stand in boldness in reverence to His Word.
Just like the encouragement found in theses verses where the people persisted even in the face of tiral, we too must persist.
Don’t allow the difficulty to cause you to throw away such a great reward.
Don’t forget the glory that was revealed to you when you recieved the Light of truth.
Don;t forget what Jesus has done for you.
Don;t forget the heritage of all those who have gone before and the struglgle they endured to proclaim the truth.
Don;t forget the authority we have in Christ to endure as He endured.
This will help us not to throw away or disreguard the gift of grace given by Jesus Himself.
The first advent of Jesus brought Salvation.
We can cling to that hope.
But Jesus, in His first advent also brought authority.
He brought with Him the authority to be delivered from sin.
He brought the authority to stand upon the Word to reject temptation.
I think of the time Jesus spent in the desert.
He was tempted in all ways, yet without sin.
Jesus stood in authority upon the Word of God.
Jesus extends to us that same authority.
We too can stand upon the Word so that we are not tossed to a fro by the waves of the storm.
We can stand upon the Word to reject lies, tempation and sin.
Verses 36-39
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Perevere
Persevere for your family.
For the next generation.
Persever in an effort to declare the hope of the Lord to a fallen world.
Persevere becaue He is coming back.
We have this hope.
Becaus eJesus has come to bring Salvation and hope.
Becasue He will return to establish His everlasting Kingdom,
let us be a people of faith.
A people who stand in righteousness in reverence to our King.
Verse 39
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
In Christ, we do not belong to those who shrink back.
We do not belong to those who cower in the face of trial.
We do not give up when difficulties arise or our faith is challenged.
We do not cower before those who scoff at us.
Rather, we are a people of faith who declare the glory and mercies of God.
And becasue we are a people of faith, we are saved.
We are saved by His power.
We are saved by His authority.
This is the point I want you to take home with you.
Jesus came to us to demonstrate His authority.
He came to show us how to wal kin the authority of God as we declare truth.
This is not something to boast about, but to give glory to God about.
He does not leave us without hope.
He does not leave us without recourse.
He came to demonstrate to us how to walk out our faith.
Turn to Roman 8
Read the NASB version. I like this wording.
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We can overwhelmingly conquer all that comes against us through Him who loves us.
Have confidence then. To go forth in His authority.
Benediction: 1 John 5:1-5
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?