Men's Conference 2018

Introduction

Think about something as we get started this morning.

You have a finite amount of time left on this planet. (Average life expectancy is 78.6 for men in the US)

Hopefully you have all come to terms with that at some point prior to this morning, and I’m sure for many of you it has changed the way you live.

Perhaps it’s changed the way you eat wanting to make wise choices and extend your years as long as you are able.

Perhaps it’s motivated you to join the gym for the same reason.

For some of you it’s impacted your financial investments wanting to leave something behind to your children and grandchildren.

Hopefully for most of you, if not all of you, this concept has impacted your eternity. You’ve made that all-important decision to repent from your sins and place your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ’s atoning death.

Those are all wise ways for us to respond to the reality that our time left on this planet is limited. But there’s one more area that I’d like us to focus on this morning: Has your finite future made an impact on your relationships with your brothers in Christ? Has the reality that your time is fleeting changed the way you relate to other believers? Has it put a drive within you to see a brother sharpened in his walk with Christ as a result of his friendship with you?

Our text this morning as we wrap our conference is .

In this passage the author, in expounding on the glories of our salvation, commands us that we need to be intentional with the time we have remaining, to see our brothers-in-Christ spurred on towards a greater degree of Christ-likeness.

Body

Think about something as we get started this morning. You have a finite amount of time left on this planet. Hopefully you have all come to terms with that at some point prior to this morning, and I’m sure for many of you it has changed the way you live. Perhaps it’s changed the way you eat wanting to make wise choices and extend your years as long as you are able. Perhaps it’s motivated you to join the gym for the same reason. For some of you it’s impacted your financial investments wanting to leave something behind to your children and grandchildren. Hopefully for most of you, if not all of you, this concept has impacted your eternity. You’ve made that all-important decision to repent from your sins and place your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ’s atoning death.

Those are all wise ways for us to respond to the reality that our time left on this planet is limited. But there’s one more area that I’d like us to focus on this morning: Has your finite future made an impact on your relationships with your brothers in Christ? Has the reality that your time is fleeting changed the way you relate to other believers? Has it put a drive within you to see a brother sharpened in his walk with Christ as a result of his friendship with you? Believe it or not this is actually commanded by God. Our text this morning as we wrap our conference is . In this passage the author, in expounding on the glories of our salvation, commands us that we need to be intentional with the time we have remaining, to see our brothers-in-Christ spurred on towards a greater degree of Christ-likeness.

Let’s get a running start so that we can make sure we understand the flow of the author’s argument. Pick up with me and read .

(ESV) — 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great 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 with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Prior even to this, in the rest of chapter 10, the writer has been reflecting on the glories of our all-sufficient Savior whose single offering has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

(ESV) — 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

So then in 19 what we have is his transition to the effect that Christ’s sacrifice should have on our lives signalling this shift from theology to the application with that big “THEREFORE” right at the start of verse 19.

This application is given in three parts: 1) Let us draw near in full assurance of faith (verse 22) - this pertains to our vertical relationship with the Lord; 2) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope (verse 23) - this pertains to an inward resolve to remain steadfast in our faith; 3) Let us consider how to stir up one another (verse 24) - this pertains to our horizontal relationships with one another.

In other words, the gospel has an all-encompassing impact on our lives. It impacts us vertically, inwardly, and horizontally.

As men I think we get the vertical and even the inward parts of the gospel’s impact on us. “I’ve been made right with God, I have a relationship with him, and there’s an inward conviction that I will hold on to with all of my resolve.”

But it’s this last element, the horizontal relationships that we have with one another, that drove the vision for this conference. This is an area I feel that we can all grow in, and if we will, I believe it will have resounding effects on the spiritual health and vitality of our families and of our church.

As a result of our relationship with God through Christ and our inward resolve and steadfast hope our relationships with one another are to be different.

(ESV) — 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Right away a word that should jump out at us is the word “consider.” “Let us consider..”

It’s a first-person-plural command. In other words, the author was putting himself and his audience in the way of the command. This isn’t a suggestion or the author’s own feelings.

This is a direct order, backed by the authority of the Word of God. We should, we must…CONSIDER

“consider how to stir up one another...”

Consider. Not a big action verb is it? Not, “go, do, be, change, fight, say, defend…”

Consider—To consider is to give intentional concentrated thought to something. No one stumbles into this.

Consider. Not a big action verb is it? Not, “go, do, be, change, fight, say, defend…”

Consider—To consider is to give intentional concentrated thought to something. No one stumbles into this.

Consider—To consider is to give intentional concentrated thought to something. No one stumbles into this.

(ESV) — 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Solomon here is instructing his son to pay special attention to the ways of an ant. Why?

Because after considering these things he wants his son to do something.

Consideration is intentional, it’s a ruminating, a marinating of the mind wherein we intentionally contemplate, fix our thoughts on something usually with some action as the intended end.

So the author of Hebrews commands us that we are to consider…what? Consider what? We are to consider...how to “stir up” one another. There’s another phrase to pause and look at more closely, to consider, “stir up.”

Even in English we get the imagery at work here, don’t we?

To stir up is to provoke, to incite, to rouse.

It’s an unexpected word in this context. The normal use of this verb isn’t positive.

(ESV) — 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, Conclusion

Conclusion

In other words, the picture here is that we’re to be an irritant that won’t allow our brothers to stagnate spiritually.

Be the burr in the saddle, be the pebble in the shoe for the sake of your fellow men.

Illustration: For a long time my dad struggled to get involved with the local church, to get involved in relationships like these. Until he finally sat down with a pastor and opened up to this passage and told him, “This is what I need. I need to be stirred up.”

To what end? To the end that they excel in “love and good works.” It’s point number one for us today...

Plan to provoke righteousness in your brothers.

“Love” for one another suggests a call to unity, something that may have been lacking among the original recipients, and “good works,” which is the natural product of a biblical love () You might ask, “What are these good deeds? How do I do this?” That’s why the command is there for us to consider, to give intentional thought to this. Answering the call of biblical friendship is not easy, it’s going to take work, it’s going to involve intentional thought and planning on your part.

What are some ways for you to do this?

Step 1 is to make sure you are a part of a small group (Compass SG, MBS, Thrive). You have to be turning the chairs in with other men.

Get to know some men outside of the small group (breakfasts, coffee, family dinners, vacations, golf).

Pay attention to prayer requests. (Use an app, write them down, don’t ignore that email)

Schedule time to give thought/prayer to these men and their requests.

The men in your inner-most circle, plan before you see them how specifically you want to be a burr in their saddle to see them excel in love and good works.

If a guy asked for prayer for a struggle in his life, find time to ask him specifically about how he’s doing.

If a guy tells you about an opportunity to evangelize, ask him how it went.

Ask him about his time in the Word. Are you doing the DBR? What did you take away from the DBR this morning?

Ask him about his prayer life. What are you praying for right now?

Ask him about his marriage. How has your patience been with your wife? How have you been pursuing her? Have you had a date night recently?

Ask him about his kids. How has your patience been with your kids? Have you been reading the Bible with them? Have you been praying for them?

Illustration: That pastor responded to my dad that day and modeled what we’re talking about here. He asked him, what are you doing right now? Then he drove him over to the church and walked him into the worship center and then to the ABF classroom where he teaches on Sundays, and he told my dad, “This weekend, this is where you’re going to be.” Then he said, “What are you doing Friday morning?” “This week, I want you at our men’s Bible study breakfast that we have every Friday. You need to start building meaningful relationships.”

Men, this is what we’re after. This is what it looks like to “stir-up,” to be intentional, to pursue, to refuse to allow a brother to be stagnant.

The key with this is that we must be intentional. Our default is not to stir-up, our default is to need to be stirred-up.

Our default is to ask one another, “How’s it going?” And to be satisfied with whatever the answer may be whether we hear it or not.

Unfortunately, many of our conversations on the patio go no deeper than they would with the TSA agent as we wait to get through the security checkpoint.

The writer of Hebrews is telling us that we have an onus upon us to actively care for one another and our spiritual fervor.

So let’s provoke, let’s incite one another, let’s be irritatingly sanctifying in one another’s lives.

Let’s change that be planning to provoke righteousness in our brothers.

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But that’s not all we must do, he continues in verse 25.

(ESV) — 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Let us (we should, we must)…not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some.

To “neglect” is to abandon, to withdraw, to cease attending.

But it can also mean to lack consistency. See, meeting together isn’t just about the physical act of gathering in one specific place. Otherwise we could fulfill this command by showing up to the Ram’s game or the USC game. No, there’s something distinct about the gathering of the church.

(ESV) — 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Men, if we’re going to be true men of the Word who are engaged in one another’s lives this way, if we are going to let the word of Christ richly dwell within us, if we are going to “noutheteo” one another, we must be consistent and committed to the local church.

The gospel drives us into community because it drives us into relationship with one another. When we are saved, we are baptized into the body of Christ. We become part of the church. There’s no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian. It’s a team thing (PM’s message). This is Paul’s whole argument in ! As believers we are compelled to be involved in one-another’s lives stirring one another up to love and good deeds. We can’t do this if we’re not consistent, if we’re not making the local church a top priority in our lives.

This isn’t just about our attendance or good standing with other believers, this is about our spiritual health. There’s a very real sense in which a failure to heed these words might reveal a failure to truly understand the gospel. Look at where the author goes right on the heels of this passage in verses 26-27.

(ESV) — 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

It’s no accident that this stern warning is in the immediate context of our passage.

Some may claim that they can hear better preaching on the Internet or that they are too busy to attend church, but these excuses reveal the reality of a disobedient heart. - Al Mohler

Men, the local church can’t be an add-on to our lives. It can’t be something we work-in when we have the time. We need to make being a consistent and intentional part of the community of believers a non-negotiable part of our lives and the lives of our families. It’s point number 2 today...

Make the local church a top priority.

Here’s what that might look like:

Remind yourself of the why before you go. (Why Compass Night, Why MBS, Why Thrive, Why Small Group?)

Go expecting something (To learn, to be challenged, to be convicted, to be prayed for, to pray for, to worship)

Think about eternal value of your time (Sleep, sports, vacation, etc.)

Be there on time (Plan and prepare so that you are there and ready to go from the beginning)

Invest in relationships

Plan to stir-up your brothers-in-Christ.

Invest in the church

Give to the church: not only is this commanded in Scripture, but it also is one more way to be all-in and fully-committed to the local church.

Pray for your church, your pastors, your ministry leaders, your friends

Serve: put the gifts that God has given you to work for the benefit of your fellow believers.

Plan: a lot of this comes back to this simple foundation of being prepared, thinking ahead, and planning to make this happen.

This is important, and its more than just showing up. To meet together is intentional. It’s purposeful, it’s active. If all I do is show up sit passively and go home, I’m not fulfilling this command. I’m still neglecting the true gathering of the local church. The author of Hebrews wants us, and God commands us to be all-in when it comes to the gathering of the local church.

Men of the Word, Men of the Gospel, are Men of the Church.

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Verse 25 continues:

(ESV) — 25b but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

When you read “encouraging” it can sound a little soft. We can think of encouraging in a feminine manner—saying nice things to each other, giving a hug, giving the “knowing grimace”—That’s not what this word means.

This is the encouragement like a fellow competitor in a race.

It’s exhorting and pleading with one another to keep pressing on.

It’s grabbing the brother slowing down and pulling him back in, encouraging him until he gets his second wind.

It’s not a passive empathy, or hollow words.

It’s helping a brother to see the goal and imploring him to keep going.

Th

This is the stirring-up of one another that we covered earlier.

But notice this final command is framed within the context of the approaching “Day.”

This is a clear reference to the coming return of Christ.

(ESV) — 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Christianity isn’t something we just do to pass the time until we die. There’s a purpose to everything. And here we’re reminded that there is an eschatological urgency about our relationships. There should be an urgency about our involvement in each other’s lives because the Day is closer today than it was when the author of Hebrews wrote this, and yet, the stakes are just as high. What are the stakes? The warning passages in Hebrews would lead us to conclude that what’s at stake here is ensuring that we are all holding fast to our confession, that we are all genuinely followers of Christ, that no one, being self-deceived, will fall away and fail to enter the rest that awaits those who are truly in Christ. There’s also the sense of urgency that Christ could return at any moment and we want to be sure that our brothers are found doing his work, ready for his return. It’s point number 3 today...

As the Christian recipients were facing the tension and temptation of returning to Judaism to escape some of the difficulties they were enduring, this message of continuing to endure and of encouraging one another to do the same was much needed.

There should be an urgency about our involvement in each other’s lives because the Day is closer today than it was when the author of Hebrews wrote this, and yet, the stakes are just as high. What are the stakes? The warning passages in Hebrews would lead us to conclude that what’s at stake here is ensuring that we are all holding fast to our confession, that we are all genuinely followers of Christ, that no one, being self-deceived, will fall away and fail to enter the rest that awaits those who are truly in Christ. It’s point number 3 today...

Don’t waste your friendships!

There should be an urgency about our love for one another, men. We shouldn’t be content with men who are stagnate, with men who aren’t leading at home, with men who aren’t showing up at church, with men who aren’t praying, who aren’t reading the word, who aren’t stirring-up or being stirred-up.

For some of the men in our midst on a weekly basis, eternity is at stake.

They’re here because their wives brought them or their girlfriends brought them, or they just have always gone to church.

That’s not enough! We need to be on the move looking for men who need to be encouraged, exhorted, pressed into a zealous pursuit of Christ.

(PL’s Message) All of us need that brother who is going to challenge us to refocus on what really matters. We need that guy who we see coming on the patio and know that he’s not going to let me get away with a simple hello. And we need to be that guy in each others’ lives.

For some that’s going to look like bringing them face-to-face with the reality that they don’t know Christ. For others it

How?

For some that’s going to look like bringing them face-to-face with the reality that they don’t know Christ.

We need to be asking other men about their testimony on a regular basis.

If you meet someone on the patio make that one the questions you ask after their name and how they heard about us.

For others that’s going to be having the hard conversations that Pastor Lucas talked about last night.

For others still it’s going to involve patiently working with them, taking them through Partners, inviting them to your small group, inviting them to MBS, inviting them to the same weekend service you attend.

Don’t waste your friendships. Don’t let that Day come and realize that your relationships were spent on golf and sports and cars and work and fishing. Those things aren’t bad, but if these are the foundations of our friendships as Christians we have chosen horrible substitutes for true godly relationships. Get to the hard questions, get to the challenges, get to praying with one another, get to talking about your time in the word, get to talking about the sermon this week, get to it. Don’t waste these relationships that God has put in your life because the Day is coming, and when it comes we won’t get a second chance at it.

Conclusion

It’s not time to slow-up, let-up, or give-up on these things because the Day is drawing near. It is coming. We don’t know when, but we must keep pressing on.

For others it

For others it

It’s not time to slow-up, let-up, or give-up on these things because the Day is drawing near. It is coming. We don’t know when, but we must keep pressing on.

Time is fleeting, you and I have less time left on this earth now than we had even at the start of this conference. What are we going to do with the time we have left? How are we going to invest in the horizontal relationships that the gospel creates? How will you plan to intentionally provoke your brothers to righteousness?

Noutheteo one another. It’s a far more significant investment in your future than eating healthy, joining a gym, or investing in a 401K.