Yet Even Now

Yet Even Now Hebrews 12:1-3 Last year, Ash Wednesday was one of our last services before we had to cancel in-person worship. Because of COVID, we couldn't safely meet for Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and for 21 more Sunday services, if you want to be precise. Who would have thought that since this time last year, we would have experienced so much? Since this time last year, we've experienced, Presidential impeachment, Australian wildfires, canceled sporting events, canceled Olympics, the death of George Floyd, Saharan dust storms, racial protests, murder hornets, the Beirut explosion, west coast wildfires, and, of course, COVID. And those are just the headlines! If you added to the list everything that happened to you, how much longer would that list become? Take a moment and meditate upon that thought. What have you done, and what has been done to you? What mountains did you climb? What mountains are you climbing now? In the midst of everything you've experienced, can you still hear the words, "Yet Even Now?" Can you hear Jesus' voice saying to you, "Yet Even Now, I love you. Yet Even Now, I'm standing at the right hand of the Father interceding for you (Romans 8:34). Yet Even Now, when you pass through the waters, I'm with you (Isaiah 43:2). Yet Even Now, I give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30). Yet even now, I know what you need (Matthew 6:31-330. Yet Even Now, I forgive repentant sinners." Yet Even Now, you "are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness." That cloud of witness is composed of people described in Ch. 11. People such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. People that trusted in the LORD and whose faithfulness, even in the midst of struggle, comforts us. Encourages us. And pushes us along. Yet Even Now are comforting words because trials WILL come to everyone. If you're spiritual, trials will come. If you're carnal, trails will come. If you're worldly, trails will come. If you're a Christian, trails will come. That's just how it works. Whether or not you're spiritual or carnal determines whether the trials will get you. Your spiritual maturity determines whether or not you'll experience victory or defeat when trials come. That's why if you want victory over trials, over habits, over guilt, over sin, then you must "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." And once you throw it off, RUN. But don't run like Lot's wife and turn around, but run like the wind! Run with the breath of God, so you don't get winded. Run like eternity's at stake, because it is! Run by "fixing your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of the faith." God has the race already marked out, so "run with perseverance." But to run that race that God has set before you, you must strip off the excess weight that slows you down. But how can you do that? Well, you can choose your friends wisely. Stay close to those who run the race with you. Be around people who will keep you accountable. Have that time of fellowship. Have Bible studies, prayer meetings, and Sunday worship. Choose your activities wisely because you may need to drop an activity that's been slowing you down from maturing in your faith. Have alone time with God, read your Bible, pray, and confess your need for Jesus every day. The ashes used tonight are a visible confession of our need for Christ. In Genesis, we read how God formed Adam from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). After Adam and Eve were evicted the Garden of Eden, God said, "you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). The Hebrew word for dust is Aphar (aw-far) and means clay, ground, and ash. Throughout Scripture, ashes are a part of rituals when people are seeking forgiveness and mourning their sin. Job 42:6 says, "I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The psalmist was so remorseful over his sin that he painfully said in Psalm 102:9, "For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink." Daniel 9:3 says, "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." Kinda sounds like what Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent is all about, doesn't it? Remorseful and repentant of our sin. A season spent fasting of something to make more time for prayer; more time for God. Ashes symbolize death and repentance. The suffering death of Christ so that you may live. The death of your old self. The death of sin. But with death comes life. The life Christ has when He conquered death and walked outta that tomb. The life you have in Christ as a child of God. The eternal life you have because physical death is no longer your end. Ashes symbolize death, repentance, and life everlasting, for those who keep their eyes on Jesus, throw off everything that hinders them, and trust in Jesus as Savior. The cross of ashes on your head or hand is a wordless sermon preached in every language. Brothers and sisters, the Christian life isn't always easy. It requires you to give up whatever endangers your relationship with God. To live effectively, you must keep your eyes on Jesus because if you don't, you'll stumble. And if you stumble, you'll look away from Christ and stare at yourself and your circumstances and wonder how "I" can fix this because "I" is all you'll see. Tonight, begin Lent by seeing more than "I," but Christ. Lent doesn't have to be a somber time, but it needs to be intense to be effective. "For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." So, why do we have this period of preparation, of fasting and self-denial, of repentance and confession, of putting our spiritual house in order? Simply so that we can be prepared for Easter. Lent is about embracing the Resurrected One with a whole and longing heart. And what we'll discover as we make those preparations is that there are so many things that can get in the way of our true embrace of the risen Christ. Some of those things are external, but many of them are internal. They are habits and preferences and inclinations that clutter our souls. So, the season of Lent comes along to give us space and the appropriate reminders that we need to clean house to receive the One we call Lord. This Lenten season, let this piece of burlap be a reminder that you need to clean house to receive the One we call Lord. That you need to confess anything that clutters your relationship with Christ so you can make room for His Holy Spirit to lead and guide you. Burlap is considered a breathable fabric. It's strong and can hold things. Like burlap, you hold things while remaining breathable. Lent is about throwing away those things you're holding onto that weigh you down and weaken your relationship with Christ. This burlap is cut into strips, signifying that whatever may be holding you back from Christ is cut away. And the only thing it holds is the cross of Christ. Cut away anything that keeps you from clinging to the cross. And as the ashes fade, let it be a reminder that your sin not only faded, but disappeared completely behind the shadow of Christ's cross. And as you journey through Lent, "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." AMEN 2