Hebrews 13:9-16 — Established by Grace

Reminder: Where is insert for Yet Not I?

Welcome:

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Revelation 22:17, ESV)

Welcome in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him. To Him be glory forever.

Announcements:

Ladies’ Night on Friday @ Daphne’s — Lauren is teaching hand lettering

Youth movie nights will pick back up in Feb.

Lunch today

Hymn of Preparation #

†CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 27:4, 8

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: People of God, the Lord calls out to you: "Seek my face."

Congregation: One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

Minister: Seek his face!

Congregation: Your face, Lord, we will seek.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord our God, who art worthy to be praised and to be had in reverence of all those who are before you; Grant unto us, as we come to you in worship, the gift of thy Holy Spirit, that being cleansed and sanctified we may serve you with gladness, and find our joy in worshipping thy glory.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #288

“We Come, O Christ, to You”

†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 1:7-14

Minister: Christians, we are called not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, that by testing we may discern the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Congregation: But we have failed to discern and failed to do God's will. We have much to confess.

PASTORAL PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Gracious Father, to the praise of Your glorious grace, You have blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Yet we confess that we have not lived as grateful heirs of such mercy.

You have redeemed us through the blood of Your Son, but we often return to old sins as though we were still slaves. You have forgiven our trespasses according to the riches of Your grace, yet we harbor pride, bitterness, and unbelief in our hearts.

You have made known to us the mystery of Your will, but we resist Your purposes and trust our own wisdom instead. You have called us to live for the praise of Your glory, but we seek the praise of others and the comfort of this world.

You have sealed us with the promised Holy Spirit, yet we grieve Him by neglecting prayer, despising Your Word, and walking in ways that do not reflect our heavenly inheritance.

Father, forgive us for forgetting who we are in Christ. Cleanse us by His blood. Renew us by Your Spirit. Restore to us the joy of our salvation, that we may live as a redeemed people— holy, grateful, obedient, and full of hope— to the praise of Your glorious grace.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Inheritance. Amen.

Assurance of pardon

Minister: Hear the gospel: In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us. Christians, your sins are forgiven.

Congregation: In him we have obtained an inheritance, sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it—to the praise of his glory. Thanks be to God!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 130

Elder Paul Mulner

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #226

“O the Deep, Unbounded Riches”

SERMON Hebrews 13:9-16 // Established by Grace

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Heavenly Father, may you grant us to comprehend your holy Word according to your divine will, that we may learn from it to put all our confidence in you alone, and withdraw it from all other creatures; moreover, that also our old man with all his lusts may be crucified more and more each day, and that we may offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice, to the glory of your holy name and to the edification of our neighbor, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

TEXT Hebrews 13:9-16

Hebrews 13:9–16 ESV

9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

Established By Grace

Hebrews 13:9–16

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The prophet Jeremiah once stood before the people of Israel and accused them of something that sounded almost absurd:

"My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

— Jeremiah 2:13

It is a picture of spiritual insanity.

God offers His people a fountain—living, fresh, endlessly sufficient. And what do they do? They turn away from it and begin digging holes in the dirt. They build containers they can carry around with them. Perhaps it feels safer that way. Perhaps it feels more controllable. Perhaps they fear the fountain might someday run dry.

But the tragedy is this: those cisterns cannot hold what they were made to carry. They leak. And so God's people keep pouring water in, watching it drain out, feeling frustrated, anxious, restless—and instead of questioning the cistern, they simply dig deeper and try harder.

That image becomes a guiding picture for Hebrews 13:9–16.

It is about restless hearts. Hearts that are trying to steady themselves with something visible, measurable, controllable—and discovering that it keeps leaking. Hebrews offers a simple but confronting truth:

Restless hearts are only stabilized when Christ alone becomes our altar, our righteousness, and our confidence before God.

That raises uncomfortable questions.

What am I using to steady my heart instead of grace?

Why am I drawn to things that promise spiritual security but leave me anxious?

And if I keep drifting, is it because Christ is not truly satisfying to me?

What am I missing? What am I not seeing?

John Calvin once described the human heart as an idol factory. It constantly manufactures replacements for God. Even mature believers must wrestle with this reality. We do not drift into faithfulness. We drift into substitutes.

So how do we establish the heart? Hebrews does not answer with techniques. It points us to Christ.

The Subtle Danger of an Unstable Heart

Hebrews warns:

"Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings."

— Hebrews 13:9

That warning does refer to cults or obvious heresies. But the danger can also be subtler. The audience of Hebrews was tempted to supplement Christ—not replace Him outright, but reinforce Him with old religious systems.

They were tempted by food laws. Dietary practices tied to spiritual confidence. Hebrews responds:

"It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them."

Food laws promised structure, control, visible markers of righteousness. But they never strengthened the heart.

The same temptation is alive in our time.

We build modern cisterns. They do not look religious on the surface, but they function spiritually. They promise safety. They offer reassurance. They give us something tangible to hold.

First: Cisterns Built From What We Do

Some of us steady ourselves through performance.

We build moral systems that promise security. We lean on spiritual routines to reassure ourselves.

Consider something as ordinary as food. You choose healthier options. That can be wise. But slowly the language shifts. It becomes more than "this is better." It becomes "I am better."

Or think about work. You send that early email. You notice the timestamp. You feel quietly superior. Discipline is good. But when diligence becomes identity, it becomes another altar.

Even spiritual disciplines can become cisterns:

• Bible reading streaks

• Prayer consistency metrics

• Quiet time productivity

The heart subtly whispers: "Christ saved me, but now I maintain myself."

And when failure comes—and it always does—the question reveals everything: Do I run to Christ? Or do I simply promise to try harder tomorrow?

Second: Cisterns Built From What We Identify With

Others build stability through belonging and alignment.

We anchor ourselves to:

• Family values

• Sexual restraint

• Political identity

• Cultural positioning

Respectability becomes a form of righteousness. Suffering becomes spiritual currency (I’ve suffered more and therefore I am superior). Being "on the right side" becomes assurance.

Sometimes this shows up not as pride, but as fear. When your schedule collapses, when illness comes, when productivity drops—what happens to your peace? Where does your heart run then?

These are diagnostic moments. They reveal what we actually trust.

Ask yourself honestly:

What do I instinctively reach for when I feel spiritually insecure?

What, if taken away, would make me feel exposed before God?

Where am I strict to feel righteous?

Where am I indulgent because I excuse myself?

What steadies me when I fail?

What reassures my conscience on bad days?

What convinces me right now that God is pleased with me?

Grace teaches us to rest. But we often self-medicate our restlessness instead.

Our generation has its own strange doctrines. We distrust institutions but idolize influencers. We question churches and elders while giving uncritical loyalty to online voices. We reject ancient wisdom and embrace unaccountable authority.

Beneath all of this is a quiet hypocrisy many believers carry:

Trying to become holy without Christ is not maturity; It is hypocrisy.

And Hebrews exposes this reality: these cisterns always leak.

Why Only Christ Can Stabilize the Heart

Hebrews gives a simple answer:

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

— Hebrews 13:8

An unchanging Christ means you do not need constantly changing strategies. When Christ feels insufficient, novelty becomes necessary. But when Christ is steady, the heart can finally rest.

Grace does not assist Christ. It replaces every competitor.

Scripture describes this as being "strengthened in the inner man." You may feel weak externally. You may lack control over circumstances. But inward stability comes not from structure, but from grace rooted in an unchanging Savior.

And if grace establishes the heart, the question becomes practical: Where does that grace meet us?

Hebrews answers: at an altar not built by human hands.

Christ: The Only Altar That Gives Instead of Takes

Hebrews declares:

"We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat."

Every religious system asks something from you. Performance. Payment. Contribution. Proof.

Christ's altar gives everything to you.

You do not approach God through discipline, ritual, morality, or self-improvement. You approach God through Christ Himself.

By ‘altar’ I mean Christ Himself—and He ordinarily meets and strengthens us through His appointed means: the preached Word, the sacraments, and prayer.

Why were the priests unable to eat at this altar? Because they kept returning to the old system. They preferred the structure of shadows to the simplicity of substance. They kept going back to the temple instead of coming to the Source.

Christ was crucified outside the camp. To drink from the fountain, you must leave the old systems behind.

We often keep membership at old altars while claiming Christ. We carry around broken containers—performance, identity, reputation—and keep trying to fill them.

Hebrews forces the question: How do you eat grace?

You eat grace by faith.

You come empty-handed. You abandon rival altars. You stop bringing contributions and start receiving mercy.

To cling to systems as necessary is to confess that Christ still feels insufficient.

On the Day of Atonement, the remains of the sacrifice were burned outside the camp. The message is unmistakable: out here, there is nothing left but grace.

God does not offer better cisterns. He offers a fountain.

And that fountain flows from blood.

What Actually Makes You Clean

Hebrews continues:

"So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."

This is definitive cleansing.

Not moral progress first. Not behavioral improvement as the foundation. Blood before obedience.

You are not made clean by what you avoid. You are made clean by what Christ endured.

Two altars stand side by side. One is endless. Always more effort. Always more sacrifice. Always more work. The other is finished.

Christ's blood has been shed. Nothing remains to be added.

The purpose is simple: move assurance away from the self and anchor it in the cross.

If your confidence rises and falls with your performance, you are still standing at the wrong altar.

The Cost of Following Christ Outside the Camp

Grace does not leave us stationary. Hebrews calls us forward:

"Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured."

This is not metaphorical comfort language. It is costly discipleship.

‘Outside the camp’ is not a call to leave Christ’s church; it is a call to leave our old confidences and self-made altars.

The camp offers belonging without truth. Acceptance without sacrifice.

Today it looks like cultural approval, moral superiority, therapeutic spirituality, and political belonging.

The camp offers applause. Christ offers a cross.

And yet, Christ was cast out so that sinners could be brought in. The clean One was treated as unclean so the unclean could be made holy.

Following Him means leaving places of comfort. It means losing certain securities. It means bearing misunderstanding.

But it also means drinking from a fountain that does not run dry.

What Grace Produces: Praise and Love

Hebrews closes with fruit:

"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise…"

Notice the order. Through Him. Not apart from Him. Not instead of Him. Through Him.

Praise is not the price of grace. It is the product.

Worship realigns the heart. It stabilizes perspective.

Worship is where we see the grace. Worship is where we comprehend and feel the gravity of the grace. Worship is where those hunger pains subside because we drink in all that we have in Christ.

You can eat well with gratitude. You can eat poorly with joy. (someone needs to eat some of that ice cream that Paul puts out on the table with great confidence and joy today).

We can often think of worship as a dedicated time, and that would be to miss the importance of the frequency of worship. We are to continually offer up a sacrifice of praise. That is the sacrifice. Worship in the nervousness. Worship in the fear. Worship in the pride.

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We also might not grasp the potency of worship. Why do we run after these novelties? These cisterns that hold no water. It’s because we aren’t settled with the sufficiency of Christ — we don’t see it. But do we worship? When we are anxious or feeling thin, what is the first thing to go? When we are rushing out the door and you wake up late, no matter what there are a few things that we are still going to make sure that we do before anyone sees us — what about prayer?

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God is seeking worshipers—not performers.

And grace also produces outward fruit.

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have…"

Good works are not payment. They are overflow.

Christ redeemed us to be a people zealous for good works—not to earn salvation, but because salvation has already been secured.

This answers a crucial question: what makes conduct real instead of hypocritical?

Faith.

Without faith, obedience becomes performance. Without faith, generosity becomes image management. Without faith, love becomes self-justification.

But when action flows from a heart established by grace, it becomes worship.

Conclusion

You do not need a better diet. You do not need stricter routines. You do not need more impressive discipline.

You need a better Savior—and you already have Him.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is enough for your guilt. Enough for your weakness. Enough for your obedience.

Earlier in Hebrews we are told He will never leave us nor forsake us. Because He does not change, you can endure hard seasons. You can obey difficult commands. You can bear reproach. His grace will not fail you.

So stop carrying leaking cisterns. Stop digging holes that cannot hold water.

Come again to the fountain.

Drink deeply.

Do not be carried away.

Be established by grace. Worship continuously – see the grace and seize it by faith.

Go to Him outside the camp.

Offer your life—not to earn His love, but because you already have it.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE (Insert)

“Yet Not I, but Through Christ In Me”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH -

The Nicene Creed (p.852)

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

In his earthly ministry Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink." Now here, for us, is the bread of life given; let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine, poured out for us; let all who thirst come and drink. Here is where we eat at the table of grace.

This table welcomes all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not trust in Christ alone for your salvation, you must not come. But if you confess your sin and rest in him, come and be satisfied.

Let’s pray together:

Congregation: Most righteous God, we remember in this meal the perfect sacrifice offered once on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world. United with Christ in his suffering, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the power of God to triumph over evil, we wait in joyful hope for the fullness of God's reign. Send your Holy Spirit upon us, we pray, that the bread which we break and the cup which we bless may be to us the communion of the body and blood of Christ.

Grant that, being joined together in him, we may attain to the unity of the faith and grow up in all things into Christ our Lord. And as this grain has been gathered from many fields into one loaf, and these grapes from many hills into one cup, grant, O Lord, that your whole Church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Congregation is seated.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND SHARING OF THE SUPPER

“Eat and drink.”

Mark 14:22-25

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

†OUR RESPONSE #248

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

“May the God of peace, who has secured you by the blood of the eternal covenant, establish your hearts by grace, preserve you in faith, and make you fruitful in every good work, until Christ returns. Amen.”

Grace Notes Reflection

Hebrews 13:9 calls us to strengthen and establish our hearts by grace and not by foods. This temptation to find a bit of stability in a tangible and functional savior is perennial, what this text calls all sorts of diverse and strange teachings. They are often subtle: a choice of diet, or habit, or association that moves from a diligent choice or a choice of desire (to eat healthy or to do something that you like) to one that carries a moral freight—not only “that was better,” but because I make that choice, “I am better.”

These little cisterns ultimately hold no water. They are the things that drive our nervousness, frustrations, and dictate how “good” our day will go. We like these little markers that prove to us that we are doing the right thing or are associated with the right people. And yes, these decisions and groups may be just fine! But when they become moral supports, they can never deliver on their promises. They reduce your dependence on Christ.

He is a jealous God and will not give you over to idols. Instead, strength comes when we go to Him alone outside the camp. Here, the sacrifice is burned up, the text says. That means there is no food to eat. There is nothing to receive except Christ Himself.

Here is where you must look and live—where our perspective is aligned aright. Here is where we see the fullness of our salvation and the deep bedrock foundation that would never need a piddly substitute for stability. Here is where we are strengthened by grace—in worship.

Worship takes the irritating and hard days and brings in the perspective of gratitude. Worship takes the hospital bedside devastation and brings the hope of resurrection. Worship is where the heart is strengthened. Worship turns whine into wine.

We don’t need these broken cisterns. Yes, they promise a tangibility of stability, but worship is always tangible too. It is always at hand—in the car, when we wake, in the hard moments. Worship is not to be seen by us as limited to certain times or reserved for when we overflow with joy in the rare moments. Worship is to be seen as daily warfare—a constant battle for seizing hold of the grace of God.

We go to Him outside the camp no matter what may tempt us to stay behind and cling to the comfort of the temple’s food. As long as we stay there, Hebrews says that we have no right to eat from the altar of Christ. It is Christ or nothing—He will not be shared. And we cannot be supported except by grace.

If you will not worship, you will have no rest. Read that again. If you do not worship (and parents, leaders, if you do not cultivate worship and vision) the people will perish.

We must seize hold of the grace of God seen, experienced, and believed in worship. There, and there alone, in offering up our continual sacrifice of praise, are we strengthened and established by grace.