Don't Give Up Now!
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Introduction
Introduction
Several years ago a man reported his observations of the effects of a hurricane on a southeastern Gulf Coast town. As he walked up and down the ravaged streets, he observed that the palm trees had been uprooted and flung about. Once tall and majestic, their root systems were too shallow to withstand the hurricane force winds. But as he proceeded, he came upon a lone oak tree. The leaves had been blown away and some of the smaller branches ripped off, but the roots had gone deep, and the tree held its position. And in due season it would again produce leaves.
So it is with us. If we are to endure in times of great stress and difficulty, we must beforehand have put down a depth of character that will sustain the blows of the trial.
Transition To Body
Transition To Body
Context of the book of Hebrews is Christian Persecution being seen and experienced under the rule of Emperor Nero (1st century Roman emperor)
Nero (a.d. 54–68)
Tutored by the Stoic philosopher Seneca and ably assisted by the Praetorian prefect Burrus, the young Nero gained favor with both the Senate and Rome, despite the meddling of his dominating mother, Agrippina. Nero’s Hellenism, demonstrated in his fondness for the arts and athletics, surfaced in these years.
In a.d. 59 Nero murdered his mother and began to pull away from his close advisors. He became a tyrannical despot who ruled with increasing terror. Under the sway of his mistress, Poppaea Sabina, Nero jettisoned Seneca and turned to a prefect, Tigellinus, who catered to Nero’s vanity. Nero crushed opposition in the Senate while pressing his claims to divine status, yet he maintained favor with the common people by staging lavish entertainments.
He frequently toured as an actor, musician, and charioteer, entering (and winning!) numerous contests.
On July 19, a.d. 64, a fire broke out in Rome that consumed much of the city and afforded Nero the opportunity to rebuild Rome on a grand scale. His new palace, the “Golden House,” was the epitome of opulence.
Suspicions grew, however, that Nero had purposely set the fire to carry out his grandiose scheme.
In an effort to place blame elsewhere, Nero pursued a brief but intense persecution of the Christians in Rome in the aftermath of the fire (perhaps a year or more later). Christians were burned alive or savaged by animals in spectacles before a Roman audience.
They died by methods of mockery; some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and then torn by dogs, some were crucified, some were burned as torches to light at night … .
Whence [after scenes of extreme cruelty] commiseration was stirred for them, although guilty of deserving the worse penalties, for men felt that their destruction was not on account of the public welfare but to gratify the cruelty of one [Nero]”
Blaming others for your problems:
Blaming blacks & people of color
Blaming immigrants
Blaming the LGBTQIA+ community for the moral decline within our culture, nation, & world
Blaming single mothers
Blaming the poor
Used to be a war against poverty, now it’s the war against the poor
Blaming people with substance abuse issues
(Well you are in good company with the first audience of the book of Hebrews)
(The author of the book of Hebrews wants to give the audience one word…)
Body- Don‘t Give Up Now, Instead...
Body- Don‘t Give Up Now, Instead...
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
Recall
Recall
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 29.10 ἀναμιμνῄσκω; ἐπαναμιμνῄσκω; ὑπομιμνῄσκω; ὑπόμνησις, εως
to cause to recall and to think about again—‘to remind, to cause to remember, to cause to think about again
Endured
Endured
to maintain a belief or course of action in the face of opposition, stand one’s ground, hold out
Remain instead of fleeing
You have endured...
The former days
After you were enlightened (life got harder after you got saved)
You endured a
hard (great, upper range of a scale of extent, but not the worst)
struggle (fight against people & dealing with temptations)
with sufferings (inward experience of an affective nature
experience pain, to be in pain
Sometimes Exposed publicly to
publicly exposed= publicly exhibited as an object of shame or disgrace by insults & mistreatment i.e. You’ve been outed!
reproach- to speak disparagingly of a person in a manner which is not justified
affliction-
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Affliction
Anything causing pain or distress; suffering; calamity. From the biblical viewpoint, affliction began with the entrance of sin into the world.
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
It is so bad that I have seen and observed it with my brother & sisters in Christ
Sometimes (at hand, near to me, it is personal) partners with those so treated i.e. I have seen my brothers & sisters in Christ experience it too, so it’s not just me so I ought to have some level of sympathy (feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune)& empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another)
(You’ve gone through some stuff but Jesus has brought you through…You’ve gone through the storm and rain…)
Illustration: Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation God’s Property album “More Than I Can Bear
I've gone through the fire
And I've been through the flood
I've been broken into pieces
Seen lightnin' flashin' from above
But through it all I remember
That He loves me
And He cares
And He'll never put more on me
Than I can bear
(you can bear it, you can endure it now)
{
{
so Don’t Give Up Now! This is the time to
so Don’t Give Up Now! This is the time to
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
and as you recall, remember that you
}
}
Perceived Your Prominent Possession In Christ (v34)
Perceived Your Prominent Possession In Christ (v34)
34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Compassion= to have or show sympathy
Knew= to be aware of something, perceive, notice, realize,
Better= to being of high status, more prominent, higher in rank, preferable, better
Possession= that which one has
Abiding= to continue to exist, remain, last, persist, continue to live,
Compassion flows from the empathy & sympathy of being with & being able to self-identify & affiliate with those on the margins of society.
Illustration: Jesus and the disinherited by Howard Thurman
Illustration: White America’s inability or ability to understand the #BlackLivesMatter & various racial injustice issues across the USA & the World directly related to their participation in the pain & suffering of the protests
That’s Why Hebrews a few verses before in Hebrews 10:24-25 it says...
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.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
{
{
so Don’t Give Up Now! This is the time to
so Don’t Give Up Now! This is the time to
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
Recall What You’ve Experienced In Christ (vv32-33)
and remember when you
and remember when you
Perceived Your Prominent Possession In Christ (v34)
Perceived Your Prominent Possession In Christ (v34)
}
}
Don’t Draw Back From Jesus Christ (vv35-38)
Don’t Draw Back From Jesus Christ (vv35-38)
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Throw Away
Throw Away
to get rid of as undesirable or substandard, throw away, reject
Confidence
Confidence
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.158 παρρησία, ας
a state of boldness and confidence, sometimes implying intimidating circumstances—‘boldness, courage.’
Here joyousness, confidence is the result or the accompaniment of faith
Confidence is measured by going through some difficult & intimidating circumstances
Illustration: Invitation To World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology For The 21st Century by Timothy C. Tennent
“The scandalous particularity of the Christian message was increasingly unacceptable to those at the center of the culture. Tragically, the mainline churches were all too willing to accommodate those concerns in order to remain at the center.
Through a long series of shifts that continues to the present, the mainline churches quietly abandoned their confidence in the trustworthiness and authority of Scripture, which led to an erosion of confidence in the supremacy of Jesus Christ and in the universal relevance of the gospel message.”
“However, the evangelical churches were just as unprepared to respond to the collapse of the cultural center as the mainline Protestants. They have not known how to respond to the loss of confidence in the gospel in many of their youth, who are growing up in a relativistic, pluralistic, entertainment-oriented culture.”
Illustration: Deacon Ministry by Richard Dresselhaus, Chapter 5, The Deacon As Person, Page 81
Be yourself
Don’t “act like a deacon,” however some people think one is to act.
Just be God’s person—yourself—free, relaxed, and confident in His grace. People will love you for it. Don’t forget, God has made you. Be pleased with His work and have confidence in yourself. Know that you can just be yourself and please God. God’s glory is best reflected in the lives of people who are confident of their standing in Christ; who know that all God wants is obedience and that the life of simple trust is enough to fulfill His plan.
Endurance
Endurance
the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance
Shrink Back
Shrink Back
to be hesitant in regard to someth.
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1041.
Do not loose your confidence in Jesus Christ
Do not loose your confidence in Jesus Christ
God’s Righteous One Shall Live By Faith
God’s Righteous One Shall Live By Faith
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
It’s my faith that’s keeping me alive...
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Transition To Close
Transition To Close
Illustration: Albert Goodson created 16 songs and only one of them became famous. However, as a pianist he has few equals. Once when being interviewed, Albert Goodson said “I was living in Chicago, alone. I was never married, and I didn’t have a relative or a close friend in that city. I became very discouraged. One day, during a depressed state, I sat down at the piano in a friend’s home and began to play a melody running through my mind. As I played the Lord seemed to speak to me saying,
’We’ve come this far by faith,
Leaning on the Lord,
Trusting in his holy Word
He has never failed me yet.′
I immediately knew that I had found words for my melody.”
″...the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Don’t Give Up Now!...
Keep The Faith...
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Close- So Don’t Give Up Now!
Close- So Don’t Give Up Now!
Because I know someone else who did not give up
He was the righteous one who lived by His faith
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Seek First The Kingdom...
Seek First The Kingdom...
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
We Rejoice In Our Sufferings
We Rejoice In Our Sufferings
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For God So Loved...
For God So Loved...
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But Thanks Be To God...
But Thanks Be To God...
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Let Us Not Grow Weary...If We Do Not Give Up...
Let Us Not Grow Weary...If We Do Not Give Up...
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.