Confiants que Dieu agira

Being a follower of Jesus Christ was never supposed to be easy. In recent times, it may have seemed easier outwardly, but to those who believed that it was easy, it probably seemed to be easy because they had lost sight of the truth that we are in a spiritual battle.

As the thermostat of persecution and opposition seems to have been turned up in recent days, the temptation is real for many to flee to the apparent safety of compromise.

The Epistle to the Hebrews was written primarily to Jewish believers who were also facing cultural, social, and sometimes even physical oppression. The temptation for them was to leave the gathering of God’s children and return to the Jewish synagogue, where they could at least benefit from the tolerance of the Roman state. If they went to church, they might be persecuted; if they went to the synagogue instead, they could live with a measure of tranquility.

This is what the penman of Hebrews is getting at in his epistle and it is also a key to understanding some of the difficult passages in the book, passages which are twisted by some to attack the eternal security of our salvation. These verses do not teach that you could lose your salvation - it cannot be lost - but they do teach that if you try to retreat from the Lord Jesus Christ, you really have nowhere to go!

In the sixth chapter of Hebrews, the penman brings up the idea of hope three different times. His desire is clearly that this hope will be manifested both by faithfulness and stability in the lives of the readers.

Illustation de remplacement: Un couple très craintif sur l’avenir de leurs deux filles qui étaient prêts à tout vendre pour les couver.

Illustration: A lady came to my office about three months ago, and I felt bad for her - she was an emotional mess. Even though I knew her name and she had often commented on sermons on our Facebook page, I did not know her that well. She wanted to ask what our church’s position was on the vaccine, on government restrictions, etc. I don’t engage on those subjects very much outside of our church family, because I would rather lead that lady to Christ than convince her of my views on this. But I was unable to speak much, because she launched into a two-hour explanation of everything that she had “discovered” on the internet. She told me that what she knows cannot be found on Google, but you have to go on the “dark web” the “deep web” to find this “knowledge” as she called it. She wanted to impart this knowledge to me, so that our church would not be destroyed. I asked her, why do you think our church will be destroyed? She said, “The Bible says that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’.” I reframed that verse in its context for her, but she finally broke down and said, “Pastor, I can’t sleep; I am a Christian, but I have no peace.” I prayed in my heart for what to say, and I asked her, “Do you have hope?” She said that she did not. I asked her, “Do you believe in the promises of God? Do you believe in the Lord’s return? Do you believe in His grace and strength for every trial?” I tell you this story to get to this: She asked me a key question, “What is hope?”

You know, that is a great question. As I pondered that, I remembered a definition that I had highlighted in a counseling book years ago. The author defined it like this, and it has helped me many times: “Hope is the expectation that God will work.”

Hope is the expectation that God will work. It is the confident expectation that God will not leave us; He will not abandon us; He is not making us go through hard times without a purpose. Having hope means that we sincerely believe that God is up to something, and that this “something” is great and glorious.

Psalm 78:7 NEG

Afin qu’ils mettent en Dieu leur confiance, Qu’ils n’oublient pas les œuvres de Dieu, Et qu’ils observent ses commandements,

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 325: Trees of Hope

In the darkest days of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, God asked Jeremiah to go out and buy a piece of real estate—complete with witnesses, a deed, and money (Jeremiah 32:6–15). This act seemed to make no sense, since Judah was about to be conquered and its people taken into exile. But in seventy years, as God reminded Jeremiah, the people would be set free and return to the land to rebuild homes and replant vineyards. Jeremiah’s purchase of land was to provide a beacon of hope during the long years of captivity.

My father, at age seventy-five, planted a number of small fruit trees. “What an optimist,” I said to him, somewhat mockingly. Dad passed away a few years ago. Now when I return to the old homestead, I have an option. I can go to the grassy cemetery on top of the hill and brood over his grave, or I can eat the fruit of his trees and reflect on a man who knew a great deal about hope.

—Bob Seiple, “The Gospel Blimp Revisited,” Princeton Seminary Bulletin, vol. 27, no. 2 (2006)

Notice with me how this theme of hope is fleshed out in the passage:

I. Dieu sera l’oeuvre jusqu’à la fin v. 11

There are two kinds of Christians: those who will inherit the promises of God and those who will retreat and quit before the end.

The writer’s fear was that the persecuted Jewish Christians would quit on the Lord Jesus, but his desire was to see them be diligent until the end.

I believe that this same danger and this same opportunity lie before us again today. I find that more and more churches and Christians seek to find a way that will be easier or, in their eyes, safer. To commit to this other way, they must cease to be diligent in the stand that Christ expects of those who call themselves his disciples.

The concern was that these believers would become “slothful”. That word meant “to be slow to engage in an activity”. Thus, their fear of hardship, their recoiling from it, could cause them to be uncommitted, costing them the beautiful rewards that the Lord had in store for them. (Two preacher friends in Quebec just took leaves of absence from the ministry after hardships associated with ministry in COVID times.)

In order to motivate them, the writer reassured them of a precious truth, and backed it up with an example that all Jews would have appreciated, and that we can appreciate today also.

A. Ses promesses s’accompliront pour vous. v. 12

We believe that God is at work. He was at work in the first century when this epistle was written, and He is at work in the twenty-first century when we are reading this.

God will fulfill His promises to you if you do not recoil from the hardships inherent to Christian living in this generation. God is at work. He is at work in you. He is at work through you. We must be confident of the fact that God is working and that He will work.

The result of His work is going to be the fulfillment of His promises before our very eyes. For some, the fulfillment that we seek is the Rapture of the church and the end of our hardship; I believe that we all anticipate that day.

But in the meantime, His promises of provision, grace, and sustenance will continue to be evident to all who follow Him with a pure heart.

Illustration: During the COVID months, a person asked me to be like Joseph, in the book of Genesis. I said, “OK I’ll bite, what do you mean?” The person explained that the world would soon run out of food and other necessities and that we should stock thousands of dollars worth of rice, lentils, and other things in the church building. I did not want to scoff, as I don’t know the future and believers in other parts of the world live in those conditions. However, I did not feel that we were at that point yet.

More important that stockpiling is trusting. Believing that God is at work, and that those who continue to patiently trust and obey will inherit the promises of God, both here and in Heaven.

B. Ses promesses s’accomplissent toujours pour ses enfants. v. 13-15

The readers may have asked, “How can we know that this is true?” The writer of Hebrews provided them with a potent example. That example was Abraham.

God had made a promise to Abraham, and He delivered on that promise. The wait was not easy for Abraham; it was discouraging. He tried to go about it differently with Hagar, rather than wait. But in the end, Abraham received the promised son, and he was multiplied millions of times.

Adoniram Judson, who had a very difficult time in the early days of his ministry in southeast Asia, when mocked about how things were going in missions (different versions): “The future is as bright at the promises of God.”

II. Cette espérance est un puissant encouragement v. 18

Fear has been a dominant theme in the lives of many people for over a year now. Fear to leave the house. Fear of meeting people. Fear of getting sick. Fear of coming to church.

I am not going to discuss the political or even sanitary side of things today, but whatever one may believe about being cautious or responsible, one should not live in fear.

Now the fear of the original readers was not a pandemic, it was persecution. It was loss of employment for the name of Christ, loss of social standing, and other related losses. They were legitimate concerns for anyone. But the promises of God, and the fulfillment of these promises in the lives of the Old Testament saints should give them hope. It should cause them to confidently expect that God will work in their generation also.

Our reality is not shaped by the news. Our reality is shaped by the Word of God.

A. Christ est le seul refuge. v. 18

The world today loves to create rage and create fear. Yet, the world offers no refuge.

Saying “a storm is coming! a storm is coming!” is only helpful if you offer a refuge.

Illustration: A few weeks ago, we were camping and there were tornado warnings in the area. One tornardo touched down and tore through a section of a nearby town, causing loss of life. My wife asked me what we should do, I said well we are sitting ducks here with a tent, and the way home would go right through the area where the tornado warnings were the most intense, so the alert was concerning was not very helpful!

But there is a refuge. God is our refuge. He is our hope. We confidently expect that He will work just as we know that He has worked in the past and is at work today.

In a world of fear, panic, and distress, where else will we run to?

John 6:68 NEG

Simon Pierre lui répondit: Seigneur, à qui irions-nous? Tu as les paroles de la vie éternelle.

There is only one place to run: to Christ. And this running to Christ involves prayer definitely, but the context of the passage indicates more than prayer. As he speaks to these believers, he encourages them to imitate Abraham, to imitate those who inherited the promises. In other words, live the Christian life because that life, the Christ life, is your refuge. The life that ceases to trust and obey is no refuge at all.

I can’t help but think of Ruth when i read the words “who have fled for refuge”.

Ruth 2:12 NEG

Que l’Eternel te rende ce que tu as fait, et que ta récompense soit entière de la part de l’Eternel, le Dieu d’Israël, sous les ailes duquel tu es venue te réfugier!

Boaz was testifying that Ruth had fled Moab, a cursed land and come to find refuge under the wings of Almighty God. Her works testified of this trust, of this confidence that she was placing in the God of Israel.

There is no hope other than in God. Christ is our Hope. His coming our Blessed Hope. And we hope in Him: that is, we confidently expect that God will work in this generation.

B. Christ est la seule source d’espérance. v. 18

Please notice that the word “hope” is singular. Jesus is not one of the hopes set before us. There is only one hope set before us.

Too many believers are busy looking for other hopes. Will the government give hope? Will extra income give hope? Will a move to a different community farther from the city give hope?

Hope is singular. You can’t browse various hopes and pick the one you think will work. There is one source of hope and His name is Jesus. When you stray from Jesus, you are straying from the only source of hope that there is.

III. Cette espérance nous garde stable. v. 19-20

If I had to put a word on the last year and a half, one word that comes to mind is the word “uncertainty”, speaking of circumstances.

However, the uncertain life is not usually a joyful life. The uncertain life is certainly not a peaceful life. The uncertain life is not the Christian life.

Now, of course, we cannot be certain of events and circumstances that will come our way. But we are not looking for hope in those things anyway.

God is offering us certainty. The certainty that He will work and that His promises are true.

Notice the words in verse 19: “sure” and “steadfast”. That is the Christian life. That is the life of hope.

Notice also what this hope stabilizes or anchors: it anchors our soul.

Our emotions don’t need to be all over the place. We don’t need to check our phones all the time for the latest statistics and bad news. We don’t need to panic.

When our soul is anchored, sure and steadfast, we won’t make rash decisions that put our family’s spiritual health at risk.

When our soul in anchored, our will will be remain directed towards obedience to Christ.

That lady that came to my office was lacking exactly that: an anchor. She had none. She was frantic, panicked, and restless. That is not the Christian life, and my heart broke for her.

A. Cette espérance est ancrée dans la présence de Dieu. v. 19

We have seen in recent days that police will go into churches. We have seen police in our community go into homes. They approached my family at the park to see why we were playing there. They have driven down my street to make sure that we followed the curfew.

However, there is one place where nobody can go and intervene. Nobody can waltz into the presence of God and make changes. And that is where our hope is anchored.

The anchor is not outside of the Temple where anyone can kick at it or pull on it to try to break it loose. The anchor is behind the veil, in the Holy of holies, in the very presence of God.

B. Cette espérance est liée à l’activité de Christ. v. 20

Christ is in Heaven today and He is very busy. He is our High Priest, interceding for us. He is not oblivious to our plight and He is not turning His back on any of His children.

Jesus is very aware of your circumstances. He is very aware of mine. He is aware of what is facing your church and mine. He is not ignorant, nor is He insenstiive. He knows and He cares.

Because He knows, because He cares, and because He has all power, we can have great hope. We can have absolute confidence that, in this generation, He will be at work.

Conclusion

What is the state of your soul? I am speaking not only of salvation, but of stability. Are you looking to make great changes in direction, in affections?

Is your soul hopeful? Is it confidently expecting God to manifest Himself in your life at this time?

Is your soul stable, anchored, steadfast. Or is it driven into the waves, panicked and fearful?

1001 Illustrations that Connect (Illustration 327: Seeing Jesus in the Dark)

When I was a student at Harvard Divinity School, I learned preaching from Dr. Gardner Taylor, a pastor in New York City. I’ll never forget those lectures. I remember him telling a story from when he was preaching in Louisiana during the Depression. Electricity was just coming into that part of the country, and he was out in a rural church that had just one little lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling to light up the whole sanctuary. He was preaching away, and in the middle of his sermon, the electricity went out. The building went pitch-black, and Dr. Taylor didn’t know what to say, being a young preacher. He stumbled around until one of the elderly deacons sitting in the back of the church cried out, “Preach on, preacher! We can still see Jesus in the dark.”Sometimes that’s the only time we can see him—in the dark. And the good news of the gospel is that whether or not we can see him in the dark, he can see us in the dark.—Timothy George, “Unseen Footprints,” Preaching Today Audio, no. 290