Hebrews 10 - Determined to Serve Christ

Determined to Persevere

My Bible labels Hebrews 10:19-39 as “A Call to Persevere”. It begins with the word “Therefore” and links everything that Hebrews has taught up to this point with what he is about to say. It focuses on what we saw a couple weeks ago:

Hebrews 8:1 NIV

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

The phrase “Therefore, my friends” in essence says, “In light of all Christ has provided, let us …” What has Christ provided? Through his death on our behalf, we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus. The word for “enter” used here in Greek (parresia)means admission, authorization for access. Believers have access to the heavenly sanctuary; that is, they have free access to God. Christ now sits at God’s right hand as our High Priest in this heavenly sanctuary (see 6:19–20; 8:1–2; 9:11–12, 24).[2] We give up too easily. But it pays to be determined. John Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected by twenty-eight agents and publishers. When an agent finally took him as a client, the book’s first press run was only 5,000 copies. Grisham himself purchased 1,000 copies and hawked his work to bookstores from the trunk of his car. Only after his second novel, The Firm, hit the bestseller list did Grisham get his big break. Six of his books have now been made into movies, and the press run of his most recent volume, A Painted House, was 2.8 million copies. Grisham now has more than 100 million books in print in thirty-one languages.[3] Don’t quit! Sometimes we need a strong pep talk, a locker room speech….maybe something like this one to get us fired up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InRA7I7YlvE&t=206s– (3:30)

How Do We Want to Be Remembered?

The boys in that video left that locker room with motivation to make every play their legacy. They wanted to immortalize their last game or maybe their first game into the playoffs. And all of this is for a high school football game. Important, sure; eternal, no. We have all the reason in this world and the one to come to be excited about the Gospel. Hebrews 10 challenges us to move on, to dig in, and stay true to Jesus Christ. In the upcoming chapter, the book of Hebrews will take us to the hall of fame of Christianity where we will see hero after hero who lived by faith. I believe there are 3 powerful truths that the team of Christ, the body of Christ, need to understand from Hebrews 10: (1) draw near to God, (2) hold on to hope, and (3) be one another’s cheerleader. Let’s look at these together -

Go Team!

Draw Near to God

Hebrews 10:19–21 NIV

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

Our relationship with Christ is a living relationship. Christ died but rose and lives forever (7:25). The veil was torn from top to bottom showing us that this was God’s work and not the work of man. His blood gave us eternal access to God, and we need to take advantage of the opportunity. In football terms, it is like the ball is laying on the ground and somebody needs to fall on it to get it. That is simple faith. Believing and acting on it. Faith becomes “strong and resilient, able to cope with the hazards the adversities of life, only if it is nurtured and nourished on the word of God; our faith is in the one who is faithful, who has made and keeps his promises (10:23).[4]

Hold to Hope

Another point that our spiritual Coach is trying to get through to us the value of hope.

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

I’ve been to a few games when the home team is losing. Some fans start getting up early in the 4th quarter because they can’t bear to watch their team lose. Other fans believe that Aaron Rogers or Dak Prescott will lead their team to a game winning final drive and touchdown. These are the same fans who expect JJ Watt, Ray Lewis, or Bruce Smith to cause a fumble that changes the outcome of the game. How much more can we have hope in Jesus Christ? The demoniac becomes an evangelist. The murderer Saul becomes the most influential evangelist and apostle for the new church, the lame man picks up his mat and walks for the 1sttime ever, and the greatest miracle of all - the resurrection of Christ. Our situations are nothing for God! "What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life." Take oxygen away and death occurs through suffocation, take hope away and humanity is constricted through lack of breath; despair and hopelessness set it." Dr. Emil Brunner I think that our personal testimonies and hope are tied together. What is your testimony? What hope is inspired by your testimony? “Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” – What are you professing? Can you imagine being on a team with a teammate who can’t profess his/her hope in their success? Something’s wrong!

Be One Another’s Cheerleader

I was speaking to another pastor earlier this week and I made a statement that ought to always be true of Christian leaders. I said, “I think that we ought to be one another’s biggest cheerleaders!” Why not? We are in the business of the Kingdom, working together. Consider verses 24-25…

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

It seems like just in the past 20 years or so, the competition for the Sunday morning time slot has gotten fierce. Sunday mornings was sacred – now it is open for any recreational attraction to include sleeping in. Hebrews warns us not to give up meeting together, especially as the times get more and more ungodly. Gathering for worship is essential for “finding true life in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit”. We’ve shared the benefits of the church as these:

· A Lifestyle of Worship · Connect to God and Others · A Place to Grow · Saved People Serve Others · His Message, Our Mission – Go We don’t accomplish these only on Sunday mornings but being plugged into what God is doing here on Sundays is a big part of the encouragement we receive as Christians.

Well, briefly, those 3 things are huge for the team of Christ, the body of Christ: (1) draw near to God, (2) hold to hope, and (3) be one another’s cheerleader.

Team Up with Jesus

Do you ever feel like just quitting and giving up? Do you get so tired that you feel you cannot go another step? The Christian believer is not immune to these feelings, but the challenge is to persevere through them. For example …

Ignace Paderewski was Poland’s prime minister and a concert pianist. A mother, wanted to encourage her young son to practice at the piano. So, she bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they sat near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage.

Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When eight o’clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on the bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.

“Don’t quit—keep playing,” he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

Serving the Lord is hard work. Using your own strength will exhaust you and you will be tempted to quit. But using God’s strength as you work hard will produce beautiful music.

The next 5 verses show the mistake of Christians, wearied from waling in their own strength and making mistakes:

Hebrews 10:26–31 NIV

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I see a wearied soldier needing refreshment to get back in the battle when I read those verses. You will be tempted to give up and reject God’s truth (26-28a), spit on Christ’s sacrifice, and insult the gracious Spirit. These are the temptations you will experience when you are living your life. This is what the devil will throw at you.

We Can’t Give Up!

We need to live our lives as though each moment is our last play. Since we are using football metaphors, I’ll add one more. After the Buffalo Bills lost in a Super Bowl to the Giants by a missed field goal, their coach Marv Levy quoted from a poem his mother gave him when he went into the service:

"Fight on, my men," says Sir Andrew Barton, "I am hurt, but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed a while, And then I'll rise and fight again.

The Bills remobilized 3 times in a row to go to the Super Bowl (all lost), but it is remarkable that they had the resilience to make it year after year. I think this is the kind of thing that the book of Hebrews stirs up as chapter 10 ends:

Hebrews 10:32–35 NIV

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

He’s challenging them to remember the freshness of the Gospel message, the difficulties that bought joy, and their sacrifices that seemed so small at the time. All for this Promise….

Hebrews 10:37–39 NIV

For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

What do you need from God right now?

To feel His presence near you? He is here now.

Do you need hope? You’ll find it in the person of Jesus Christ.

Do you need teammates to cheer you on? Look to your left, right, front, and back. They are here for you, and they need you too.

Team up with Jesus! Get up and move on! Live for Christ like it’s your last play! Make it your best!

[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Heb 8:1–2). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [2]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews(p. 158). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [3] Rubel Shelly, “John Grisham: Rewards of Perseverance,” PreachingToday.com [4]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 184). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [5] The New International Version. (2011). (Heb 10:19–39). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.