Dont Stop Believing

Introduction-

There has been a lot technology developed since I first started coaching in 2002. There was a time when we had meet early Saturday morning with the opposing team to exchange a vcr tape. Then we graduated to dvds and finally we have this system called Hudl.

And this software allows us break up individual clips. We click a button just watch the offense. we can click a button and just watch the defense. We can click a button and just watch the plays of any one player.

So I say what if we put your plays up on the screen from last week when you left church to the moment you entered today.

If we sorted all the things from last week that showed you being Diligent to kingdom business, being patient in kingdom living, and faithful to Kingdom work.

We put it on the screen to display: How much prayed, How much you praised, How much obeyed, How much you read, How much love you showed to least the marginalized and the left out.

What would those clips say about your relationship with the creator?

Historical Background

English Standard Version (Introduction)

The letter to the Hebrews was written to encourage Christians in a time of trial. Hebrews overall message is all about that which is "Greater or "superior"

It does so by focusing on the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ

Overall Hebrew is a General Letter

The Body of the letter uses: Exhortation (strongly urge someone to do something)

Allusion,Old Testament- a reference to a o.t. text that is a partial quote

Exposition-passages that explain the meaning of a text; esp. OT quote

Quotation from OT-

This explains why this has been a hard book to read and understand!!!!

Anonymous letter sometimes attributed to Paul.

It stands between the Pauline and General Letters

In our present English ordering Hebrews stands like a bridge document betweetn Paul's Letters (Romans-Phlemon) and the General Epsitles (James,1-2Peter, 1-3 John Jude.

Its Author and place or origin and date are debated. Its Original recipients and destination are likewise unclear.

However, Author was known to the recipients Hebrews13:24

The author seeks to persuade his recipients regarding Christ’s superiority, arguing that:

• God’s Son is the one in whom God speaks His ultimate word (1:1–3).

• He is therefore superior to angels (1:4–2:18), to Moses (3:1–6), Joshua (4:8), Aaron (5:1–10), and the Levitical order of priests (7:1–28).

• As high priest of an eternal order (that of Melchizedek), Christ holds a permanent priesthood (2:17–13:11).

• Christ is also mediator of a new covenant (8:1–13).

• He did so through the gift of His sacrificial death (2:9–15; 9:11–26).

• He was both the sacrificial victim (9:26) and the high priest who offered it (10:12).

• As victim, His sacrifice is superior to the repeated animal sacrifices of the Sinai covenant (9:1–10:18).

• His sacrificial death is therefore both effective to accomplish salvation (10:12) and unrepeatable (7:27; 9:12, 24–26; 10:10).

• The author also dissuades his recipients from courses of action he deems disastrous.

• They are not to drift away from God’s last word (2:1–4).

• They are not to be hard-hearted and unresponsive to God’s warnings (3:7–4:13).

• They are not to remain spiritually immature (5:11–6:12).

• They are not to be disloyal to Christ (10:19–39).

• Lastly, they are not to refuse God’s word (12:14–29).

• Instead, they are to press on to maturity in Jesus (6:1) and the new covenant He initiated (9:14–15).

• They must press forward in Christ even if it means suffering the same kind of reproach that He Himself bore (13:11–14; compare 5:7–8

Purpose Statement: Members of the congregations should be able to do an assessment of their lives to evaluate rather or not their lives demonstrate Trust in God and the assurance you have in your Salvation.

I. Trust God by staying Diligent

A. Define Diligent- Diligent comes from the Latin diligere, which means “to value highly, take delight in,” but in English it has always meant carefully and hard-working. If you’re are a diligent worker, you don’t just bang away at your job: you earnestly try to do everything right.

Define Slugglish- Slow moving or inactive; Slow to respond or make progress

2. Restatement- The question you must ask yourself, Have I been Diligent or Sluggish when it comes to being the hands and feet of Jesus. Have I been Diligent or Sluggish when it comes to making disciples. Have I been Diligent or Sluggish in Christian Labor reproducing the love of God proving my genuine commitment to Christ.

3. Illustration- Marriage- Their is a commitment that is made and the 2 become 1.

I would argue that 1 way you show trust is by staying diligent one to another. You both make the effort to keep one another happy not because you hope to get something in return but because it is the internal expressing of your love. This love energizes you because you highly value and delight in the person you are married to.

Can you trust someone you don’t love? I’m not just talking about a agopaeo love(sarifical Love) but a Phleo Love: A brotherly or sisterly Love affection.

Can you trust someone you don’t love or have love for?

May the work you do speak for you

EXPLAIN Hebrews 6:9–11 “But even if we are speaking in this way, dear friends, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and belonging to salvation. For God is not unjust, so as to forget your work and the love which you demonstrated for his name by having served the saints, and continuing to serve them. And we desire each one of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end,”

The Author is warning the Readers of abandoning the Faith

So he is explaining to them and us that during the days of Jesus’s Life on earth, prayed and petitioned with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and God heard him because of his reverent submission.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

I don’t know what your house is or was like but in my house I learned obedience from what I suffered.

He wants say some other things, he wants to enlighten them but it is hard for him to make it clear because they no longer try to understand. And the fact is that some of them ought to be teaching by now, yet they need someone to teach them the simple truths about God’s word all over again.

They can’t digest the solid food they need milk and because they need milk they are still infants.

Infants can’t eat solid food, they have no teeth, they can’t chew it. Its hard to swallow.

But as they grow, they grow teeth, There introduced to new foods with new textures.

They get a little older and began to learn how fix a bowl of cereal, Roman noodles

And they mature to a point where not only can they eat the food but they can prepare it.

Its assessment time: should you be still drinking Milk: Is that all you know how do because you choose not to understand.

Have you been Diligent or have you been sluggish

In our text, our first outline the the Author now gives encouragement: He gives some do’s and some don’ts

We can tell by the statement “Even though we speak in this way, beloved (dear Friends), We are confident of better things in your case

That he is not talking about the whole group but that overall there is some good work being done.

What was the writer confident in: There works and love in serving the saints for the sake of Jesus. As a matter he says “as they still do”

And he wants each one to continue with the same diligence.

They have a past and present ministry of concern for the people and trying to live right.

He says do that, Keep doing that

We have to remind ourselves of the historical background of the book and the purpose of the author in writing it.

He is writing to a church make up of saved and unsaved

His concern is with those unsaved Jews who under persecution were in danger of renouncing their faith in the messiah and going back to the sacrifices of the old testament—the law

The warning were mostly for them

In our text he addresses the saved among them as a example to urge the unsaved on the act of faith

We see that by Verse 11

It says And we want each one of you to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. That ye be not Slothful.

That a Word a for us all:

And I want each one of us to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.

Through trial and tribulation, through struggles, Through the ups and the downs

don’t renounce your faith, don’t go back to your old ways but stay diligent thereby expressing your Trust in God.

Peter’s Denial? Phleo/agapaeo

Transition: Not only do you need to Trust God by staying Diligent

But Trust God by staying Patient

II. Trust God by staying Patient

Explain Hebrews 6:13–15 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.” And so, by persevering, he obtained the promise.”

Illustration: When I was younger we would go to six flags in the summer. I couldn’t wait to get on a roller coaster. The Texas Giant was my favorite. I have a hard time doing this now but when I was younger I would stand in line and wait for a 20 sec ride. They would have these signs that told you about how long the wait was before you got to front of line. There were many times I had to stand in the land for 30 to 45 mins.

In the 100 degree temperature with people all around and no breeze to cool me off. But why would I stand and wait. Why would others stand in that long line and endure the heat.

Firstly, It was because we believed when we got on the ride, we knew it would be worth the wait.

Secondly, we trusted that if we just endured a little while , eventually we would find ourselves locked in the seat, ready to experience the exhilarating feeling of excitement and joy.

Thirdly, we would see those who finished the ride react with such joy, and watch a lot them run back to the line to wait to ride it again.

I, just like many others would wait patiently because the ride was reliable to deliver.

That is what the Author was saying in these 2 verses, He is showing us the reliability of God’s Promises.

And to do it he uses another illustration, a Biblical one

Genesis 12:2–3 “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you.””

So God made a promise to Abraham

Then God reinforced the promise with an oath in Genesis 22:16–17“And he said, “I swear by myself, declares Yahweh, that because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only child, that I will certainly bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the shore of the sea. And your offspring will take possession of the gate of his enemies.”

Abraham endured the challenges of the trial concerning Isaac. When God told Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice him.

But just before the knife came down, he said “ Abraham stop, dont lay a hand on him. Now I know who are, because you would not with hold your son from me. You obeyed me, I know you trust me.

Can I tell you that during this waiting time Abraham got some scars and blemishes. Yes he did, there was a persevering period, an enduring period.

Abraham got out of alignment: Him and Sarah by taking the promise into their own hands. When they had Ismael by Hagar the Hand maiden.

Yet God still honored his Word,

Even when we get impatient, Praise be to God because he is Merciful. God will stay true to his word.

And he was true to his word back then, we can be confident that He is still true today.

God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow

What a blessing it is to know we don’t need to doubt God or His promises! He is Faithful! (sunday school pg73)

Its assessment time again: Despite your scars, despite the heart breaks, despite all the Hell you have been through or going through

Are you being Patient and resting on the word of God.

There are lessons to be learn through patience

I read this somewhere:

The difference between school and life:

That in school, you are taught a lesson and then given the test

In life, you are given a test that teaches you a lesson.

Trust God by staying Patient

Be like David who didn’t talk about how dangerous and big Goliath was

When Goliath shows up in your life, Don’t don’t talk about how big your Goliath is

Talk about how Big/great God is— Talk Faith

Which leads to: Trust God by Staying Faithful

III. Trust God by staying Faithful

Explain: Hebrews 6:16–20 “For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, because he wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us, which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast, and entering into the inside of the curtain, where Jesus, the forerunner for us, entered, because he became a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Rapper Master P would say: I don’t even trust my own momma

I reminder when I first heard that:I was like wow. How can you ot trust your momma

We use oaths or statement to get the person we are talking to-to trust what we are saying.

We say: I swear to God

I put that on my momma

I put that on my kids

We do this because just giving our word is not reliable enough to get the person to believe us

Jesus urged his followers in Matthew gospel to be so trustworthy: And not to swear but let your yes be yes and your no be no.

The point is when we offer an oath/promise, we swear by someone greater than our self.

Our name is not good enough

So God catered to the needs of human beings and he supported his word with an oath

And because there is no name greater than himself, he based his oath on his great name.

Just the fact of the strength of God’s promise ought to provide hope and encouragement

Provide Faithfulness

Where do we find this hope and faithfulness?

Firstly- We find it in the certainty of Gods Word. Because when God-who cannot lie-supports his statement with an oath you and i should be encouraged

Secondly- Just keep living

Jesus told us that in this life we would have trouble but to take heart I have overcome the world

So there is a need to understand and grasp the Promises of God

Knowing that in Christ Jesus we can find security and protection from the uncertainty of the world.

Lastly- Trust God by staying Faithful

Because it is only in Jesus- He is our anchor. He is our safe and secure Anchor. He steady's the ship of life.

We remain faithful due the fact that Jesus finished his work on earth and continues that work in Heaven

He is our High priest forever

We have access to God presence forever

Jesus Christ provides uninterrupted access to God

We will never have an outage of Divine power

I do all things through Christ who strengthens me

And with that strength we receive from him, we can find the sustaining power to endure in our walk of faith.

And we trust God by staying Diligent, by staying patient and by staying faithful

Does your life demonstrated you trust God

Does your life depict the assurance you have in your salvation

While it is still called “Today” Don’t harden your heart

Get back in the game of Trust

And let the fruit of your lifestyle say: God is Trustworthy

Closing