Sermon Tone Analysis

; ,

Hewbrews

;

After demonstrating what true faith looks like in chapter 11, the writer now brings it full circle.

What is your duty and reasonable response to what has been said?

Well, they have become our example of godly living!

Anyone who thinks this to be unimportant to their salvation, is misguided in their assessment of what it means to be “born again”.

There are couple of things I need to point out:

The correlation between suffering for righteousness sake and being chastened by God.

Hebrews

A most bizarre transition, as we see suffering and chastening from God seamlessly intersecting.

But when we remember that God is sovereign and as verse 29 of our text says, “our God is a consuming fire”, it seems to make more sense.

I don’t think you will hear much of this preached in other churches, as i believe we have lost our appetite for doctrinal truth, holiness, responsibility, and the like; and seem to have a preference for feeling good type messages that only encourage us where we are.

And so, the correlation between suffering and chastening are present in the fact that we suffer for a purpose, which is growth; and we are chastened for a purpose, which is growth!

The second thing I want to point out is...

The idea and fact that children of God are poised against the children of men, and that the differences are so great in the nature of both, that it is both unpleasant and weird for us to coexist in this present world system.

Our nature is so incredibly different from the unregenerate, that we appear to them as the strangest of creatures.

Both of these things need to constantly be at the forefront of our minds, otherwise we digress to a form of Christianity that is not recognizable to God!

I. Take off the ball and chain.

A. You can’t run the race with it on.

Imagine if you would that you had qualified to run the Boston Marathon.

You have been training for years and now the big day has arrived.

You have the best running shoes, you are wearing the shorts and shirt that has been provided for you by one of the top sports apparel companies in the country, as a sponsorship.

You just finished a PR session on camera as one of the favorites to win this year, and when you get to the line, you strap a 25 pound weight to each leg, and wait for the gun to go off!

Why is it that Christians think they can run the spiritual race doing the same thing?

There are also two things here.

One is the weight.

Things in our lives that weigh us down.

They could be:

our lifestyle

our preoccupation with hobbies, jobs, etc.

our filling up our time and our kids time with every activity we could possibly squeeze in.

our priorities!

The second is sin.

is sin

Sin keeps us out of the race altogether.

It disqualifies us from being a contender.

So yes, you need to take off the ball and chain, and...

B. You need to do away with it, once for all.

You don’t pack it up and take it with you.

C.

C.

You don’t mail it ahead so it will be there when you arrive.

So, we don’t only need to take off the ball and chain, but -

II.

Maintain a kingdom attitude.

It is a kingdom attitude that allows us to think according to our new nature!

It is difficult in this world to live a righteous life unto God if we are setting our minds on this world!

The right mindset is so essential to living the Christian life, and without which we will fail!

Here are some scriptural examples.

Romans

These are just a few!

So, we maintain a kingdom mindset by focusing on the promises and blessings of God.

Here in verse 28, the writer tells us that since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace.

I take that to be the graces of salvation.

That is, the attitude of a quiet and humble spirit.

Having grace comes with the understanding of what we are receiving in Christ.

When we properly understand what God gives, there is a change of mindset which leads to a change of action.

A. That results in holiness.

Our holiness is the fruit of the Spirit playing out in our lives, as we surrender to His Lordship, His commands, and His example.

If anyone has no visible sign of holiness, he is not Christ’s!

B. That honors God.

Should we not honor God?

Is He not worthy of our praise?

Is He not a consuming fire, that will burn up everything that is not righteous?

If we say we have reverence for Him, then why do we not live for Him?

The hour has come that true disciples of Christ must stand out!

Our testimony and lifestyle should give away who we are and to whom we belong!

There are far to many imposters in the Christian church today.

If we have been prepared because we belong to Christ, then we must run this race set before us with endurance!