Community

Introduction

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Hebrews 10:19-25

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Opening

As we continue this sermon series called Closer, I cant express to you how excited and hopeful I am for this church

I see the Lord doing a work here and he is doing the work through you

So I am grateful for each and every one of you, I am grateful for God’s calling, I am grateful for his purpose for us

That he would bring us together to continue to do his work

And so, as we seek to do his work and to reach and disciple others, we also want to continue to grow closer to HIm

2 weeks ago we talked about the Bible and how it is God’s spoken word for us

We strive to start our day with God and to read his Word

Last week we talked about prayer and that if we can believe that he loves us and that he knows best

Our God wants us to talk to him and to bring our requests before him

And today we are going to talk about community

Sports Team Chemistry

The best teams dont always win

However, what I do love about team sports is that when a player messes up, other players can rally around the person who messed up

That players are in sync

That their personal lives are balanced

That theres no drama in the lockerroom

They practice hard together, they go out to eat together

Theres no room for selfishness but plenty of room for trust

And they rally around a common goal

Most often the goal of course is a championship

But that means that you have to x amount of games to make the playoffs

And the season is a little long so you have time to build your chemistry

And its ok if you get off track a bit but you have to get it back on track

And you need to be on track when it comes to playoff time

and you need to be at your best to win the championship

And look, I am not going to stand here and say that the church is a sports team

But, we can admit that the church is full of people and so there has to be chemistry

There has to be a common goal

There has to be peace

Everyone has to do their part

And we should do life with one another

We should not be content only seeing each other on Sunday and calling it a week

And when new people come, how do we include them and get to know them

And not make them feel like they arent a part of our chemistry

But its hard to have chemistry with new people if there isnt chemistry with the current chruch

And what we are going to find today is that the author of Hebrews tells the church what their chemistry is

And he exhorts them to build upon it

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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 with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

This is the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated

Verses 1-18

What we just read is a continuation of the teaching that Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins

Jesus, God’s one and only son, went to the cross and died for our sins

What we find all throughout the Old Testament is that the priests would offer sacrifices for the sins of the people

And the priests would do this over and over again

But Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice where we would never again need another

The body and blood of Jesus that was pourd out for us covers all of our sins

17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

What the author is doing is referencing the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah where there is a clear prophetic promise of a new covenant

A new covenant that will be superior to the first

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

And we know this covenant as the Covenant of Grace

That by the grace of God, he sent Jesus

Hebrews 7:22 “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”

(Gospel Message)

And in the chapter after this one the author talks about faith is the assurance of things hoped for and certain of things unseen

And so we have faith in Jesus that he has assured for us salvation and even though we cannot physically see heaven or God, we know and believe and are certain that he is there

And so what we have because of Jesus is confidence

Some of you may know that I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and that my wife is a Green Bay Packers fan

And so many of you know that they played each other two weeks ago

And if I am being honest, I was confident that the Cowboys were going to win the game

Before the game I was trash talking asking my wife if she wanted to do something else besides watch the game because we know that the Cowboys were going to win

I was confident that at least for this game, the Cowboys should win

And as we all know now, the Cowboys defense got destroyed and Dak Prescott threw two pick 6

And the Cowboys got whipped

And at the end of the game I was no longer feeling confidence - I was in depression and disbelief - I was dissappointed

The Cowboys let me down

And really we can apply this to all aspects of life that we can be confident in our finances, we can be confident in our job, we can be confident in our relationships, we can be confident in our technology

But what happens if/when the market crashes

Or you lose your job

Or your friend hurt your feelings

Or the wifi is down

You are left dissappointed

The things of this world can and will disappoint you

But the one sure thing we can be confident in is Jesus

That Jesus is the great priest over the house of God

And what I love about this is that this is that starting in verse 19, the author is beginning a new section where he is calling for the believers to persevere and his first great exhortation is to

draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

We can draw near to God in full confidence and in full assurance of faith because of Jesus who, in his perfection, makes us clean

Historical Context

Now a little bit of history, that as the author was writing this

The church was being persecuted and was scattered

There was fear,

There was temptation to abandon the faith

There was questions about who God really is

And in the midst of this chaos and fear

The people are exhorted to remember who Jesus is

The people are exhorted to draw near to Jesus

And then in verse 23 it says

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

The people are being exhorted to hold fast to the faith because Jesus is faithful

And if we are being honest that can often be easier said than done

And the author address this as well

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

In the midst of fear, and chaos, and uncertainty, and suppression of the truth -

The author exhorts the people to to remember who Jesus is

To draw near to Jesus

To hold fast

And to not do it alone

That the believers/the church is not to be scattered

But rather they are to stir up one another to love and good works,

They are to encourage one another

And lets remember that the ultimate goal is

Is this not what happens still?

While the church may not be persecuted the same

We still experience fear, chaos, uncertainty, anxiety,

And what tends to happen with each of these is isolation

The tendency is to retreat from what is scaring us

We retreat from chaotic or uncertain circumstances

We retreat from things that make us anxious

And when we retreat, we dont want others to know that we are retreating so we retreat alone!

But the authors encouragement and charge for the believers who were persecuted is also applied to us!

The church is a family - and our local church is a family

It is a group of people that live close in an area

That have a common faith and confidence in Jesus

That have a longing to grow closer to God

That are called to live as Jesus has instructed

And because the church is a family or a community

The church is to uplift, encourage, love, serve, and live amongst each other

It is not God’s intention that we do life alone

From the very beginning God said that it is not good for man to be alone and so he gave him woman!

Can we see what God does?

God brings us into community with Him and then he calls us into community with others!

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

And so we meet on Sunmdays to gather together and glorify God

And as we do that we stir up in love and good works and encourage one another

(Church is encouraging)

What is the posture of your heart?

Singing - Prayer - Sermon

(Life Together is encouraging)

Talk - Hang Out - Get into God’s Word

Application

Know and Love Your Community

Build Your Community

As a church - We are not a country club

As an individual

We are not a country club

Living and Serving the community

The day of heaven (living in heaven)

until that time comes, we have work to do

Using your gifts to uplift the body and the lost

Community Groups