God's Love and Our Maturity (2)

Introduction:

What quality of life does being a believer entitle us to expect to live?

Given the current trends in our society, would you anticipate the next few years to bring normalcy or chaos? (We answered this last week). We saw that we have reason to be encouraged because of the example of Jesus and the witnesses who surround us. We are not alone.

What if we had to live in under the most extreme possible circumstances as believers in Jesus Christ?

Would you question God’s love?

Why would God want His people to face suffering?

Why wouldn’t Jesus come back to save us from having to suffer? Surely, God wouldn’t want that, would he?

Reckon how Daniel thought about living in Babylon and Persia?

They were foreign lands where his personal commitments to God, especially prayer, were intentionally made illegal. Yet, he still prayed. Would we?

We must pay close attention to context in order to understand these passages.

A run down of headlines from this week to illustrate how the world is changing and potentially moving to something dark:

The Wall Street Journal reported in an article yesterday that church attendance in the United States, which was already on sharp decline before 2019, has dropped between 30-50% from pre-Covid levels. Megachurches in some areas are even breaking up into smaller 10-20 group congregations to better cope with the new normals. This decline is across denominations.

Britain has sent troops to help reinforce Poland’s border.

According to Reuters press service, Ukraine is reporting that 100,000 Russian soldiers are near its border.

Australian news is reporting that China has threatened Australia with “a heavy attack” if it helps defend Taiwan from China.

The Race (Hebrews 12:1-3)

The key thought is “let us be running.”

The writer of Hebrews structures participles to convey thought around that core admonition.

Jesus’ own obedience in the face of suffering provides the necessary motivation to keep us from quitting and abandoning the faith.

The writer of Hebrews uses the metaphor of a contest. Note that we are exhorted to “be running the race being laid out before us” THROUGH ENDURANCE.

The Training (Hebrews 12:4-8)

The writer of Hebrews places their sufferings into perspective.

The attitude they have developed shows they have forgotten the encouragement that God, our Father, gives in His word.

They have questioned why Jesus hasn’t returned.

Some have abandoned, or considered abandoning the faith by returning to Judaism.

Others have considered returning to disobedient lives to “blend in” and escape outside punishment.

The initial quotation in Hebrews 12:5 comes from Proverbs 3.

Notice the focus on attitude, namely to “think little of.”

The goal here is place their understanding of suffering alongside disciple or education.

In Heb. 12:8, we also see that the “education” was something universally shared not individually “doled out.”

The Goal