How to Keep On Keeping On

HOW TO KEEP ON "KEEPING ON" Spring Valley Mennonite; June 7, 2020; Hebrews 13:7-25 Yesterday was a "three-shirt" type of day. By this I mean I had to change my sweat-soaked shirts three times as I went in and out of the house while working on a back-yard project with my next-door neighbor. The wooden fence between our properties had been blown over by the wind, snapping the old posts. It took most of the day to dig new post holes, concrete the new posts and replace some rotten wood. It was a temptation to wait for a cooler day to complete the task, but we persevered and finished the job, even though it took most of the day. We've come to the last portion of the Book of Hebrews, and I'm sure the author stopped and pondered on the best way to summarize and end such a profound letter. Remembering his target audience was Christians who had been raised under the Jewish Levitical Law, he encourages them to persevere and "keep on keeping on." After writing instructions on how to practically express love in relation to others, the author encourages these believers to complete their exodus from Judaism and concentrate on living and serving exclusively within the Christian community. There could be no compromise with their old way of life and the sacrificial system as it had been completely replaced by their new life in Christ. Likewise, we have been made new in Christ, and we are now to turn our backs on the sinful ways of the world and live wholly for Christ. These last sentences of this letter provide principles enabling us to persevere in the faith. We begin this last study in Hebrews in verse 7; Read v. 7-8. I. FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR MENTORS I have a special place in my heart for a man who spent his life serving as a missionary to the native peoples of Alaska. He had a profound impact on my life as a 10-year-old when I attended a week of Bible Camp in the Ozarks. Will Krauss was the camp missionary that week and after an evening meeting he explained the plan of salvation to me and led me to the Lord. I also remember Pastor Bowers and Pastor Bashaw of my home church, as well as my Sunday School teachers and many other believers in my small country church. These all served as my mentors as I was growing up, older believers who provided spiritual support in my early years. They were always there to encourage and nurture a young man in the faith. I have continued to be blessed by mature believers who served as mentors through my years with Campus Crusade, Seminary and within the churches I've served. Each of us who have had the extreme privilege of growing up and being part of gospel believing churches could produce a list just like this. The ones addressed in verse 7 could have provided a list of mentors also. We are reminded not only to remember these ones, but more importantly, we are told to follow in their footsteps, to imitate their faith. What a valuable and practical lesson! We are to remember them and their faith and imitate their spiritual walk. We are to follow in the footsteps of our mentors. But the problem is that, as we grow older, so many of our spiritual mentors are now in heaven. We have our memories, but even memories fade over time. But we have a resource, a spiritual mentor who will never leave us nor forsake us: The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus never changes and in contrast to those leaders who are gone, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Purely human leaders and mentors are imperfect, and sometimes disappoint us, but we are to fix our eyes on the One who will always be there, always available, already present. (Read Verse 9-10.) The next principle which we are given to enable us to persevere in the faith is: II. DON'T WAVER FROM THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL BY "SEDUCIVE COUNTERFEITS" Just as Christ never changes, so the truth of the Gospel never changes. Our enemy Satan is very creative in presenting counterfeit gospels. Error is usually packaged very well, perhaps on the surface more attractive than the plain simple truth of the Gospel. Counterfeits are like a brightly packaged box, but after the paper and ribbon are removed, the box is found empty. For example, consider how alcoholic beverages are advertised: happy, laughing and attractive people obviously enjoying life are what we observe. If advertising showed the drunk in the gutter I doubt if many people would be attracted to the bars. Anything that contradicts or adds to the simple truth, the "varied and strange teachings" are to be avoided. It is not wrong to try and understand what the cults and other religions teach, but caution is advised as our curiosity may lead us into accepting error OR questioning our faith. In the early days of the church, a number of deviations from pure Christian doctrine arose; as I said earlier, Satan is infinitely creative. Some false teachers advocated the worship of angels, other heresies like Gnosticism elevated personal and mystical knowledge above the doctrine of sin and repentance. A group called the Docetists claimed Jesus was fully God and therefore could not be human. The Ebionites took the opposite approach saying Jesus was fully human and therefore could not be God. Arianism taught that Jesus was the highest created being, but not God. The modern day Mormon and Watchtower Society cults all have faulty views of Christ. The author uses food as an illustration to represent the danger. For the Jewish person, only certain foods were acceptable-we would call them "Kosher." Things like pork, catfish or lobster were forbidden. The ceremonially acceptable foods represented the Jewish law and traditions. Ceremony and tradition do little to produce spiritual maturity. Traditions which try and replace the Word of God do not benefit, but they do produce conformity. Such traditions can soon become elevated above and take on more importance than the simple truth of the Gospel. Some church traditions which exist today are things like the formal church calendar and lectionary, special "Holy days" which the church celebrates, patterns of worship services, age-graded Sunday School, and so forth. People love rituals and traditions, and truly there is nothing wrong with doing things the same way-until we begin thinking that this is THE Way things are to be done and judge other believers who do things differently. Or when we cling to our non-biblical traditions so tenuously that we get upset if things are changed! Verse 10 speaks of an altar which is unique to the church, making a contrast with the altar of the Jewish Temple. As believers, our altar represents our place of worship and sacrifice. Romans 12:1 tells us that we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Our altar represents the sacrifice Jesus offered, perhaps in the heavenly dwelling of God, which atoned for our sins. As the Jewish priests ate from their altar Jesus' sacrifice continually nurtures us spiritually. As we offer the sacrifices of worship and service on this altar, we receive spiritual nourishment. As our physical bodies need daily food, we need to be worshipping and serving our Lord continually. This is how we grow and persevere in the faith. No matter the circumstances of our lives, no matter what life throws at us, we come to this precious altar with praise and worship and go away satisfied. Within the Levitical Law, the priests were given a portion of the animals that were sacrificed from certain of the offerings. The sin, guilt and peace offerings each had parts of the animals which were designated for the priests and their families were to eat. This was their food source. But there was one offering which was handled differently; the once-a-year sin offering from which the High Priest took blood and sprinkled it upon the Mercy Seat covering the Ark of the Covenant was not burned on the altar, but was taken outside the city walls of Jerusalem and completely burned up. Read vv. 11-13. To help us to persevere in the faith we are to: III. CONSIDER OURSELVES TO BE COMPLETELY IDENTIFIED WITH CHRIST As the yearly sin offering was taken outside the city walls and burned, so Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. We are to join our Lord outside the system established by the Old Covenant, the rituals and sacrifices and ceremony associated with the Levitical Law. Think of the impact this idea has to a new believer from a Jewish background. This was a call to make a clean cut with Judaism and all Jewish ritual. It was to completely identify with Jesus Christ. Herein lies the application for us: we are to be ready and willing to cheerfully bear the reproach which comes from our identification with the Lord Jesus. As Jesus was rejected by the Jews as a whole, so we and our message of the Gospel will often be rejected. As Jesus was persecuted, so we will experience persecution, either personally, or by sharing in the suffering within the church. Just as these Hebrew believers were to forsake their reliance on sacrifices demanded by the Law and all that the earthly city of Jerusalem represented, we are to forsake the world and place our allegiance to the Heavenly city and upon the Father and the Lord Jesus seated enthroned. We are to live as pilgrims, for our citizenship is in heaven. Colossians 3:1-4: "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Read v.15-16. To keep our focus where it should be: IV. WE ARE TO CONTINUALLY OFFER THE SACRIFICES OF PRAISE AND SERVICE We no longer are required to offer blood sacrifices, but one main method of valid present-day sacrifice is that of praising God. As we realize the freedom we have through grace, we should be continually praising God for His mercy, compassion, and lovingkindness. Our future is secure. Nothing that the enemies of Christ can do can alter our eternal salvation. The trials of life, though troubling, will soon be past. And often, the trials within the body will give opportunity to "do good and sharing our resources" with those in need. We serve others by coming alongside and rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We are to focus on action which benefits others. This has been the way our church has served since the very beginning. We are to put the interests of others ahead of ourselves through our service and generosity. These actions are sacrifices well-pleasing to God. And, as we focus on doing good and sharing, it will take our eyes off ourselves and our petty wants and issues, things which distract us in our Christian walk. Many times, the best medicine for feeling "blue" is to serve others. We are made anew for such things. V. WE WILL PERSEVERE IN THE FAITH AS WE OBEY THOSE LEADERS GOD HAS PLACED OVER US. Read v. 17. This is one of the most troubling verses in the New Testament for a Pastor. It says that I will give an account for you who are in this congregation. To "give account" is "to give or do something in fulfillment of an obligation or expectation." Leaders in the local assembly have been given an obligation from God-a task, a job description-and will be held accountable for you and the opportunities given to you. We are not responsible for your actions, but if those actions are sinful, we are to challenge those actions and encourage repentance. Our part as leaders is to lead carefully and prayerfully. Your part is to allow yourselves to be led and directed. As your Pastor, God has some expectations for me: I am to faithfully preach the whole Word of God, not avoiding controversial issues. I am to protect this congregation against doctrinal error and advise against harmful associations, both personal and church-wide. We are dealing with such a troubling association right now with the denomination regarding the homosexual issue. I also-and this is perhaps the most difficult-I also am to exhort you personally if I see you doing something the Bible defines as sin. I dislike confrontation, as do most of us. I and the other leaders of the church are to lead and rule with joy and not grief. We are to approach our task with a deep feeling of fulfillment, not with resignation, but with eagerness and enjoyment. I would add that the American church is difficult to lead, for we expect the church to be a participatory democracy. This many times (I am speaking in generalities, not specifically of Spring Valley) means that the sheep are leading the shepherds. The business of the church is too important to be left in the hands of those who can't or won't hear God's voice. These heavy obligations from God are the reason your leaders need your prayers, as verse 18 pleads: "Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this, (and the author adds) that I may be restored to you the sooner." We don't have the details about the particular situation the author was facing, perhaps he had been imprisoned, or had been sidelined by illness. The principle remains that I and the elders covet your prayers as we lead this congregation. Pray also for the leaders of the South-Central Conference of which we are now a part. VI. CONCLUDING BLESSING AND EXHORTATION Read vv. 20-21 (the blessing) Read vv. 22-25 (the exhortation)-give "careful consideration to all these things", realizing we have been redeemed from our former way of life and any obligation to the requirements of the Old Covenant. Jesus Christ has fulfilled every part of the Law, as the Lamb of God, and through His indwelling Holy Spirit is writing God's standards of behavior on our hearts, giving us the ability to willingly love and serve God and others. Along with the author, we would do well to give careful consideration to the truths presented in this book, as we take the written Word and let it be written on our hearts. Faithfully following these words will enable us to "Keep on keeping on." 2