Hebrews 13:18-25 - Powerful Perseverance
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Physical fatigue is a difficult thing to fight through. I’m sure there are some here who could amen that even this morning!
However, spiritual fatigue can be even more difficult.
The late William Carey - referred to as the ‘father of modern missions’ - spent some 40 years serving India as a missionary.
While serving abroad, he ran into many trials. He struggled with frequent illness, financial difficulties, and local opposition to his mission work. He also suffered the loss of his first wife and second wife while he was on the mission field.
To make matters worse, after decades of work translating the Bible into the native Indian language, a fire destroyed a printing facility that contained his manuscripts that he had spent years preparing.
At this point, no one would have blamed Carey for packing it up and going back home.
Despite all of these adversities, Carey said that although the loss was great, the work itself was not lost. God had given him the ability and opportunity to do it once, and He could help him do it again.
His translation and printing work eventually ended up contributing to the translation of the Bible into 35-40 languages and dialects of the Indian subcontinent.
As we read our final exhortation from the author of Hebrews today, may we remember the importance of perseverance. Where can we find the power to persevere? Let’s read today’s Scripture and find out.
Read Full Scripture:
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.
Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.
Grace be with all of you.
Prayer
Today we will see three ways that are to powerfully persevere. The first is…
I. Embrace the Power of Prayer (18-19)
I. Embrace the Power of Prayer (18-19)
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
Interestingly, this phrase in the original Greek is literally keep praying for us. He is asking them to continue in prayer for him and other church leaders. They need their prayers!
As your pastor, I must say that I covet your prayers, Church. I fully realize that no power comes from within me. Any power from my preaching of the Word only comes from God.
Charles Spurgeon once completed a sermon on May 26, 1855 and said the following:
“My people! shall I ever lose your prayers? Will ye ever cease your supplications?… Will ye then ever cease to pray? I fear ye have not uttered so many prayers this morning as ye should have done; I fear there has not been so much earnest devotion as might have been poured forth. For my own part, I have not felt the wondrous power I sometimes experience.”
Spurgeon got real with his church. He felt that the power of the Holy Spirit wasn’t moving the way he had sensed before. And where did Spurgeon turn? He turned the people of God and asked them to intercede on his behalf.
What glorious humility shown by Spurgeon here. He didn’t go to a conference on how to become a more powerful and dynamic speaker. He didn’t turn to self-help books. Instead, he humbly asked for prayers.
Church, I plead with you to pray regularly for me and Pastor Adam. Pray regularly for CrossPointe Family Church. Pray regularly for Bible believing churches and missionaries around the world. Because there is power in prayer.
If you want your pastor to preach better and lead better - pray for him! In fact, if I might be so bold - I ask that you silently say a quick prayer for me even this morning - that God’s Word is preached clearly and powerfully!
(Pray a prayer asking that God gives us a heart of unceasing prayer towards Him)
I meet a lot of people that don’t seem to understand their need for prayer. When I ask how I can pray for them, they state that other people need prayer far more than them, and they don’t really have a prayer request for the day.
We can all understand the sentiment here. It even sounds humble at first glance.
There are certainly people far worse off than we are. There are people out there that seem like they might need some divine intervention more than we do at the moment.
However, this understanding of prayer is wrong for at least two big theological reasons.
Why Should We Ask for Prayer Regularly?
1 - God isn’t limited by time or power. He can answer your prayer request without taking time from someone else. He is limitless. He doesn’t have a finite amount of time or energy to carry out hearing and answering prayers!
2 - We must understand our complete helplessness apart from God. The author here knows that he has no abilities apart from God. If God doesn’t come through, his work will never be accomplished.
If we look at the Lord’s prayer - especially focusing in on Matthew 6:11, we read the following:
Give us this day our daily bread,
Do you hear the dependency in this prayer? Your very life depends on the kind mercy and grace of God. The air that you breathe depends on Him.
Paul, writing to the church in Thessalonica reminds us of the need to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Now we need not be one-dimensional in our prayer lives either. We must balance supplication with praise, thanksgiving, and intercession for others. But we must always remember that God wants us to request things - albeit for righteous reasons! Philippians 4:6-7 states:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We are to lift up our supplications to God with thanksgiving. A supplication is a formal, humble, and earnest request lifted up to the Lord. We see that we are to let our requests be made known to God. And when we do this, we can have peace no matter what the answer to our prayer is.
Why? Because it is a gracious gift that God gives those who come to Him in prayer. We can have peace knowing that God is in control. He is sovereign. We don’t need to be anxious. Instead we can be thankful that our Heavenly Father hears us, loves us, and cares for us.
Looking at the second half of verse 18 the author states:
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
We see that the author and those with him have a clear conscience. They have lived above reproach and honorably. Were they perfect? Absolutely not. But they were in a right relationship with God.
Do you have a clear conscience?
In fact, what exactly is a clear conscience?
A clear conscience involves having integrity between yourself and God and yourself and others.
In order to have a clear conscience, you must be living according to God’s will - namely obeying the Word of God. Having a clear conscience doesn’t mean that one is sinless - which is impossible. Instead, it means that one has confessed his sins and is standing forgiven and justified before God by the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Hebrews 10:22 states:
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.
We can have a clear conscience because Jesus has offered us forgiveness through His atoning sacrifice on the cross.
Moving forward, the author illustrates the true power in prayer in verse 19…
I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Now the author turns to this young church and charges them to pray earnestly that they may reunited soon. Although we are not exactly sure who wrote this wonderful book, we know that he was known to this young church in Rome. He had been there and taught there before. Perhaps he was one who helped plant this young church.
And now he was away from them. Perhaps he was ministering in another area, planting another church. Something was preventing him from being restored to them, and he urged them to pray that they might be reunited.
There is an important point to note here.
There are things that happen because of the prayers of the saints. Though God is sovereign, He uses our prayers in His sovereign purpose.
This is huge, Church.
There are things that will happen because you prayed for it to happen! This is no name it and claim it idea. It is a truth that anything you pray according to the will of God will happen (1 John 5:14-15). The key there being according to His will. He uses your prayers and His sovereign will as He works in this world.
This past week, we lifted up a young lady’s infant who was struggling after being born. The request was placed in our GroupMe chat for the church. By the way - if you are a regular attender or member and not on that - see one of us and we can get you added. It is a great way to fellowship and keep community going even when we are apart. A few hours after lifting up this prayer request for this infant, we got an update that he was doing well!
Do you want to participate in the work of God?
Yes, you should serve and get involved. But you should also be active in prayer! That is something that all of us can do! In fact, it is something that all of us must do to see the Lord move in a mighty way!
Friends, embrace the power of prayer. Next, we see that if want to powerfully persevere, we must…
Scripture References: Matthew 7:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 10:22, 1 John 5:14-15
II. Embrace the Power of His Presence (20-21)
II. Embrace the Power of His Presence (20-21)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
God is the God of peace. This young church needed reminded of the peace of God during this time of hardship. Persecution was about ramp up, and they needed to rely on this peace that God offered them.
The peace that God offers is far more than merely serenity. It is much deeper than just a feeling. Instead, it is a fact.
We were enemies of God (Romans 5:10), yet God has offered us a blessed peace.
How did God provide this blessed peace?
Through the death and resurrection of His Son - Jesus Christ.
Through the blood of Christ - the blood of the eternal covenant mentioned here in verse 20 - we can have peace with God forever.
Jesus has covered our sins by His atoning sacrifices . Those who have repented and placed their faith and trust in Jesus alone for salvation are able to experience true peace in this life and for all eternity!
I pray that each of you here have repented of your sins, placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose three days later defeating death and the grave. And I pray that each of you have experienced and continue to experience this peace of God. If you don’t know peace like this with God, I’d love to talk with you after the service about what it means to be a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters - we are now approaching vacation season - it’s almost summer time. The world likes to sell you the idea of a peaceful vacation. There is nothing wrong with an occasional peaceful vacation by the way. Yet, we know that this peace is just a feeling that doesn’t last. We come home and get back to the grind of work, school, or whatever is going on at the time and realize that we are still anxious and worried - we are still stressed. The world’s peace is no lasting peace. However, the peace the Jesus offers lasts forever! Listen to Him speak of this peace in John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Here we see that the peace offered by Jesus is an everlasting peace.
Looking back at verse 20 we see Jesus called…
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
I find it interesting that Jesus was called the Good Shepherd in John 10. And that He certainly is. However, in His resurrected state, the author of Hebrews now calls Him the Great Shepherd.
Who is Jesus the Great Shepherd of? His sheep. Namely us, if we are believers!
My wife and I just picked up a couple of small baby doll sheep last week. And we have learned one important thing about sheep raising - they struggle finding peace.
As animals of prey, they are constantly on the lookout for what might harm them. You have to move slowly toward them and methodically. Any fast movements and they will be running from you quickly.
That is because they lack any self-defense mechanisms. They can’t bite, they cant kick hard, they can’t ram you as they have no horns. When it comes to animals, they are toward the bottom of the food chain!
Because of this, they need a good shepherd. They need someone who will keep them fenced in, fed, and safe.
After hearing this, it might be a little offensive to hear that Jesus is our great shepherd - because that means we are being compared to sheep!
But, if we take a step back and realize how we naturally lack any defense against the enemy of our souls and his demons - we should quickly realize our weakness apart from Christ.
If you want to see our powerlessness in the flesh apart from Christ, look at Acts 19:13-16.
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
I can’t help but chuckle a bit each time I read this account. I can see these men pridefully strutting in. They were sons of a Jewish high priest - likely exalted as righteous among their people. Despite the fact that their people had killed Jesus, they saw there was some power in His name as the Apostles continued doing miracles. Seeking to showcase some of this power, they decided to step into the ring with a demon possessed man and show their own authority.
However, as we see here, these unregenerate men had no power over Satan and his demons. And apart from Christ we have no power either.
However with Christ, there is nothing we cannot overcome or accomplish according to His will (Philippians 4:13).
Though we are naturally weak like sheep, our Great Shepherd will protect His flock. He cares for His flock. He tends to our wounds, provides for our needs, comforts us in our fears and anxiety, and grants us peace and protection.
In fact, John 10:28 reminds us that no one can snatch us out of His hand.
Which brings us to the final beautiful statement here in verse 20:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
His covenant is an eternal covenant. It is marked by a guarantee that we read in Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and 2 Corinthians 5:5. His guarantee, or seal, is an everlasting one. For those who are in Christ, they are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They are born again (John 3).
May we forever praise Jesus for His eternal covenant of salvation.
After this powerful theological verse in verse 20, we come to the practical outworking of this truth in verse 21:
equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
For those of us in Christ, following Him can seem daunting. How can we stand firm in the evil world in which we live? How can we serve Him faithfully? How can we do His will? How can we persevere?
Verse 21 gives us two wonderful truths to hold on to…
1 - God will Equip Us
In our fallen state, we are broken. We can’t do anything truly good.
The Greek word translated equip here had an interesting application within the Roman medical community. The word katartidzo (caught-are-teese-oh) was used by a doctor who would set a bone that was dislocated.
I do this in the emergency department fairly regularly. Someone comes in with a dislocated shoulder as seen on this x-ray on the right. After some mild sedation, we use maneuvers in order to put the shoulder back in its appropriate position as seen on the x-ray on the left.
In the same way, our natural self is unable to do the will of the Lord, my friends. Like this dislocated shoulder seen here, we are weak, broken, and unable to persevere or do what the Lord has called us to do. But the Lord promises that He will equip us. He will put us in good order and restore us to do His will. He will renew our minds as Romans 12:2 tells us. He will give us wisdom beyond our natural abilities. And He also provides us with the armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-20 to further equip is in the battle.
Not only does He equip us - but He also empowers us!
2- God Will Empower Us
God works in and through us to accomplish all that He purposes.
If we look at Ephesians 2:10 - we see that God has prepared good works for us even before we get to them. And not only does He prepare these good works, He does them in and through us as well!
This way God gets all of the glory forever and ever - Amen.
Before going on to our next point, I don’t want to miss this beautiful prayer that the author has offered up for this young church. This is a prayer of benediction. It is a prayer of blessing to the church.
He has prayed for their peace, their productivity, and their power. And all of this comes from the Lord.
We have seen that if we want to persevere, we must embrace the power of prayer, embrace the power of God’s Presence, and finally - we must…
Scripture References: Romans 5:10, John 14:27, John 10, Acts 19:13-16, Philippians 4:13, John 10:28, Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 3, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 2:10
III. Embrace the Power of His People (22-25)
III. Embrace the Power of His People (22-25)
I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
This is our final and 31st sermon through the book of Hebrews.
I find it rather comical that the author states that he had written briefly! There is a lot of meat in this ‘brief’ letter!
However, if one were to read the entire letter in one sitting, it would take around an hour. If we consider how long this letter could have been had the author expounded even further on the 93 allusions and references to the Old Testament or the doctrinal depth provided in the new covenant, this book could have gone on forever!
Note that he asks that they bear with his word of exhortation. This shows the sermon-like nature of this letter. The same word was used in Acts 13:15 where it used to distinguish a sermon.
Biblically speaking, a sermon is preached in order to accomplish a few purposes.
It is to be instructive (teaching).
It is to be encouraging.
It is to be motivating.
It is to provide correction and rebuke.
It is to proclaim the Gospel.
Ultimately, the sermon is preached to bring about change in the heart of the hearer.
It is obvious that the author has accomplished all of these purposes in many ways.
He has taught, encouraged, motivated, corrected, and preached the Gospel.
He has dropped some difficult theology and difficult charges throughout this book.
He has challenged this young church to have right theology and to live righteously. He has warned them of the coming persecution that was going to be worse than what they had seen before.
And he has charged them to persevere.
In closing this letter, the author writes…
You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.
Verse 23 has led to many believing that Paul wrote this letter as he was very close to Timothy. This doesn’t necessarily prove Paul’s authorship, but it does show that Paul and Timothy were at least close to the author of this great book.
Timothy, we are told has been released. It appears that Timothy followed in his spiritual father’s footsteps who had spent a good deal of time in prison for the faith.
If you recall back in 2 Timothy 1:6-2:12 as well as 2 Timothy 3:12-14, Paul had encouraged Timothy to stand strong in the faith and endure persecution without fear. This letter was likely penned not too long after 2 Timothy showing that Timothy did in fact stand strong under his coming persecution.
Looking at verses 24-25, we come to an abrupt end to this wonderful letter. Greetings to the leaders, saints, and a greeting passed from those who were from Italy. It is likely that some of these who were from Italy - possibly from this young church plant - were actually with the author at the time sending greetings back to their brothers and sisters from their home church fellowship.
We see the importance of God’s people at the close of this letter. We absolutely need the power of prayer as well as the power of the presence of God. But He also has made us to be in community. We also need to embrace the power of His people.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:20:
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
In context, this Scripture applies to church discipline. However, it also shows the power of the gathered body of believers. The Holy Spirit indwells each believer. However, when we gather together, we are a group of temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are one body with many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). And God uses the local church and the people that He empowers to do His will on earth.
May we make Sunday mornings and other church functions a high priority and attend as regularly as well as we can. We need to do life together as a body of believers. We need to embrace the power of His people. We need to be sharpened by one another in order to grow in our faith (Proverbs 27:17). We need to encourage one another and be encouraged by one another as we serve the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
And finally, he ends the letter with the following statement: grace be with all of you.
What great grace the Lord offers us! Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. And salvation is not something any of us deserve. May we praise God for His great grace.
Scripture References: Acts 13:15, 2 Timothy 1:6-2:12, 2 Timothy 3:12-14, Matthew 18:20, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Proverbs 27:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, may we be encouraged to powerfully persevere.
Yes, this life can be difficult. Yes, there are spiritual battles raging all around us.
But we can powerfully persevere as we embrace the power of prayer. We have 24-7 access to the King of kings and Lord of lords!
We can powerfully persevere as we embrace the power of His Presence. He indwells all believers with His Holy Spirit. We don’t fight this battle alone!
And we can powerfully persevere as we embrace the power of His people. He has given us the local church to encourage and strengthen us as we battle against darkness and evil by shinning the light of Christ in our world - sharing the good news of the Gospel so that souls may be saved.
