Hebrews W7 (Draw Near)
Notes
Transcript
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—21 and since we have a great high 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 in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Our Response to who Jesus is and what he has done
Our Response to who Jesus is and what he has done
We spent the first 6 weeks understanding who Jesus is. The last few weeks are going to be about how we respond according to who he is. We all have a decision to make. Our understanding of Jesus fuels everything that we do in this life of faith. Hebrews is teaching us that our primary response to who Jesus is, is that we should be drawing near to him. Hebrews gives us a list of steps that lead us closer to him. But it all starts with dealing with a problem that lies in the lives of many believers. and it is a spiritual maturity issue.
An Immaturity Problem
An Immaturity Problem
11 We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. 12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. 13 Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
Many of the gaps you experience in your walk can be closed and bridged by pressing on to a more mature faith. Each level of faith requires a new level of maturity in order to graduate. There is a certain expectation at a new believers life of faith. And that expectation and requirement grows as you grow. Again, however, the issue is as many believers never grow beyond the very beginning issues of faith. We stay where we start. And we don’t ever really leave the starting line. Hebrews Is speaking to a group of believers that are stuck in the same spot. They have not put any real effort into their own growth. He says you should be teaching, but you’re still busy staying stuck on baby food. When you should be eating solid food. At a certain age, and at a certain point, if you don’t transition a child from the baby food and milk to solid food, that child will be malnourished and not be able to survive. Malnourishment stunts growth it stunts development and It’s stunt mental ability. Not having proper nutrition, affects every aspect of life. This is true in the spiritual as well. We have a lot of malnourished starving believers. And it’s very important to understand that at some point, you have to stop waiting for somebody else to feed you and learn how to feed yourself. No Child can rely on their mother to feed them forever. If they never learned how to feed themselves eventually they will starve. Again, this is true in the spiritual. We have to move on from where we are and grow into maturity and learn how to feed ourselves. So that we can have the nourishment that God wants us to have and has designed us to have in our spiritual lives.
Hebrew six goes on to tell us four ways that we can grow and be fed.
Grow in your knowledge
Grow in your knowledge
1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
First, we have to grow in our knowledge. Most Christians can tell you the basic fundamentals of Christian faith. That we are forgiven of our sins that we have to repent of our sin that we lay hands and pray for people, and that someday we’re gonna stand before God and be judge. However, there is so much more to be known. There is so much more of Jesus to have. But we have to move on from the elementary basic teachings that got us started and brought us into faith, so that we can grow in our faith. And this starts with knowledge. We have to be committed to knowing God and his word more. You are only going to gain limited knowledge growth if you only come on Sunday morning. You’ll get a little bit more if you come on Wednesday nights. But you get the most when you dedicate time every day to your own personal growth and the knowledge of God in his word. You will be led into a life a very fruitful living. You’ve heard it said that knowledge is power. The statement is very true. The more you know the more power you have at your disposal, the more faith you can have. The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. The more word you have heard and know, the greater your faith will be. Many of us struggle to believe and wrestle with different issues, that if we just had the knowledge of God’s word, we would be able to navigate through because his word is a lamp into our feet and a light onto our path, but if we do not read the map we will never know how to walk the path.
Grow in Holiness
Grow in Holiness
Secondly, we must grow in holiness.
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 in pure water.
There is an expectation that we have a cleansed and purified mind and body. Your conscience is not just something that lets you know when you’ve already done something wrong, but it is a warning light that goes off when you are faced with tough decisions. When the temptation comes, the conscience speaks. And if it has been sprinkled clean Like Hebrews tells us that it’s going to lead you to righteousness. And when Hebrew says our body should be washed and pure water. It means that our actions should be pure. Holiness is not just some old time word. Holiness is not wearing the right clothes, having modest jewelry and hairstyles. Holiness is not saying the right things. Holiness is consecration to God. It is allowing your life to be set apart, and to live under a greater standard that comes through God’s word. When God works in your life, he purifies your heart and your mind, and he writes his word on your heart as you grow in your knowledge. And you become more consecrated and more separated and more pure. Holiness has been turned into a scary word because of legalism. But I’m here to tell you that holiness does not come by whether or not you wear makeup, what you eat, or any of the other ritual things that you might even see in the Old Testament and that some denomination still adhere to today. Holiness only comes by a transformed heart that is fully devoted to God.I promise you when you are fully devoted to him. Your heart will be totally changed and you will not have the affections and the love for the sinful ways that you used to walk in. Instead, you will love righteousness and you will walk according to God’s word because you love him and you want to. Holiness comes from drawing near the closer you get to Jesus, the further you get from sin.
Grow in faithfulness
Grow in faithfulness
23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
Faithfulness is loyalty and devotion to God. We must strive to be more devoted to him each day. To grow in our commitment to our faith. God has been faithful to us, we should be faithful to him. Faithfulness means that no matter how difficult circumstances may get, We never abandon our faith.
It is choosing to trust God when you cannot see the outcome, obeying Him when the path is difficult, and remaining devoted to Him when emotions, circumstances, or people may tempt you to walk away. Faithfulness is not proven in moments of ease; it is revealed in moments of endurance.
Throughout Scripture, faithfulness is seen in ordinary people who simply kept walking with God. Noah kept building when there was no rain. Abraham kept believing when there was no child. Joseph kept serving when there was no freedom. Daniel kept praying when there was a den of lions. Their greatness was not found in extraordinary talent, but in extraordinary faithfulness to God.
The beautiful truth is that faithfulness begins with God Himself. The Bible repeatedly declares that God is faithful. He keeps His promises, never abandons His children, and remains steadfast even when we struggle.
Faithfulness is often found in the small things:
Praying when no one is watching.
Reading God's Word when no one is applauding.
Serving when no one is recognizing.
Loving when it is not being returned.
Continuing when it would be easier to quit.
One day, every believer longs to hear the words of Christ:
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." — Matthew 25:21
Notice that Jesus does not say, "Well done, successful servant," or "Well done, famous servant." He says, "faithful servant."
Faithfulness is a daily "yes" to God. It is a life that remains anchored in His promises, unwavering in His truth, and committed to His purposes. It may not always attract attention on earth, but it always captures the attention of heaven.
These other areas of drawing near show us how to get close to Jesus, this area keeps us close to him.
Grow with Each other
Grow with Each other
24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
We will not be able to make it alone. Coming together in the house of God to worship, hear the word, pray and encourage each other is vital to us getting closer to Jesus.
