02 19 10 22-25 -- Family Privileges

Intro:·         We celebrate the Lord’s Supper this morning*

o    Bread – reminding us of the death of His body

o    Juice – reminding us of the shedding of His blood

·         Usually we go to the 1 Cor 11 passage to discuss this

o    Today Hebrews

·         Hebrews is a book written to show how Christ is superior to angels, Moses, to the sacrificial system...to everything.

o    In this section (9-10) there is comparison between the OT sacrifices and Christ’s sacrifice

o    Vs 12 – Christ did this once for all

o    Vs 15 – Brought us the New Covenant (More in a moment)

o    Vs 22 – Shed his blood – reminded it is needed for forgiveness

o    10:11-12 – Superiority of Christ

§  Took away sin

§  Did this once

o    10:15-17 – Blessings of New Covenant

§  Salvation puts God’s Word in our heart –in the real us

·         Gives us the ability to move forward

§  Salvation brings forgiveness of sin

·         Gives us the ability to forget the past

o    10:19-21 – Two “since” statements

§  Since we have confidence

·         To come before God

·         Because of Christ’s blood

§  Since we have a great high priest

·         That being Christ

·         Who is over the house of God

§  We have a Father/Child relationship with God

·         IOW – we are in His family

·         And with that family relationship come privileges!  (22-25)

I.       we can draw near to God

A.    What Does This Mean?

1.       To come close to someone understanding the are welcoming that closeness

2.    There is no barrier between you and God

a.       He is not angry

b.       He is not distant

c.        He is not too busy

d.       You are not too insignificant

B.    When Can We Do This?

1.       Present tense verb — continuous action – ALWAYS!

2.       No waiting list

3.       No queue

a.       @ Santa Clause – wait — get the photo —requests – away you go!

C.    How Do We Do This?

1.    With a True Heart

a.       True = real — honest — open

b.       Heart = the real us

c.        IOW

(1)    Draw near to God completely open

(2)    No posing — manipulation — fear

2.    In Full Assurance of Faith

a.       Completely assured that what you believe is true

(1)    2 Timothy 2:13 - Our faith may fail, his never wanes— For thus he is, he cannot change!  (ISV)

(2)    Numbers 23:19 - 19God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

D.    What Makes This Possible?

1.    Our hearts have been sprinkled

a.       In the OT, the high priest went once a year into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat as a picture of cleansing from sin

(1)    Had to be repeated every year

(2)    It did not in itself actually cleanse people

b.       But Christ offered His own sinless blood as a sacrifice

(1)    He sprinkled it once

(2)    When you receive Christ, that blood cleanses you from sin

2.    Our bodies have been washed

a.       Baptism?

(1)    NO - @ There were no pure water – animals!

(2)    Besides that, baptism does not have any part of making you clean before God – it too is a symbol of what happens at salvation

b.    What is it?

(1)    The cleansing from sin that happens at salvation

(2)    Baptism is used to show the completeness of the cleansing

(a)     IOW — inside and outside — up and down — all around — we have been cleansed!

c.        Perfect Tense Verb

(1)    One-time action in the past with ongoing results

(2)    Salvation is not just a past experience

(3)    We enjoy the benefits every day!

E.    Application

1.    Have you put your trust in Christ for salvation?

a.       If not – you CANNOT draw near to God!

b.       No peace — joy — assurance — confidence — expectation — etc

c.        But ask for forgiveness — commit your life to Christ

2.    Christian – are you enjoying this benefit?

a.       Are you taking advantage of fellowship with God?

b.       Do you realize He invites you to come to Him, to know Him, to ask from Him, to depend on Him, to receive comfort from Him?

II.    We can hold fast (23)

A.    What Does This Mean?

1.       To hold onto and believe something without letting go

2.       What do we hold onto?

a.    The confession of our hope

(1)    All we know to be true about our relationship with Christ

(2)    All that the relationship does for us past, present, future

3.    IOW — b/c of salvation, nothing can shake our confidence!

a.       Nothing can shake us out of God’s family

b.    Our hope – expectations – are

(1)    not based on what we do, but what Christ did

(2)    not based on our strength, but His

(3)    not based on our dependability, but His

B.    What Does This Look Like?

1.    Continuous

a.       Present tense verb

b.       Whatever kind of difficulty we face

(1)    Physical trials — Worries — Bad news — etc

(2)    We are able to hold fast because of our family name!

2.    Without Wavering

a.       Standing firm without giving in

b.       @ Strong wind — people blown all over the park — newspapers – hats – but in the middle is a bronze statue – not even a wiggle

C.    What Makes This Possible?

1.    He who promised is faithful

a.       Titus 1:2 – God cannot lie

b.       Malachi 3:6 — For I the Lord do not change

c.        Job 42:2 - I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

2.    Because of this:

a.       Psalm 18:2 - The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer...

b.       Psalm 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

3.    Application

a.       When God falls away, then we will not be able to hold fast

b.       But as long as God stays God,

(1)    And as long as we are in His family

(2)    And as long as we draw near to Him

(a)     The we can hold fast!

III.   We Can consider one another

A.    What Does This Mean?

1.       To be intensely concerned about someone else

2.    We are not naturally built to be this way

a.       @ A baby cries in the middle of the night because it has needs.  It does not care about your need for sleep

b.       Jesus taught us to love God and love others. 

(1)    But nothing about loving ourselves – we already do that

c.        Isn’t selfishness ugly?

(1)    Don’t you hate it when you see it in yourself?

3.    BUT we CAN be selfless, caring people

a.       Because of the family we are in

b.       @ Friend in high school – very kind – well-liked – selfless – his whole family was that way – a family trait

B.    When Can We Do This?

1.       Present Tense – all the time!

2.       Even when people are unlovely –you are tired –you feel used — etc

3.    Our ability to care for others is not dependent on circumstances

4.    Our ability to love is dependent on the strength God supplies to us on an ongoing basis

a.       We don’t love people because WE love people

b.       We love people because God loves people

C.    What Is The Purpose of This?

1.    To Stir Up One Another to Love

a.       To encourage — to push towards

b.       Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40 that everything in the Bible hangs on two commands:

(1)    Love God with everything you have

(2)    Love your neighbour as yourself

c.     Do you consider this as a ministry for you?

(1)    Do you encourage others to love God? — How?

(2)    Do you encourage others to love each other? — How?

2.    To Stir Up One Another to Good Works

a.       The outward expression of the love we have for God and others

b.       Love without feet doesn’t get anywhere

c.        We need to encourage each other to not just talk about love, but to show it!

D.    How Is This Done?

1.    Not neglecting to meet together

a.       @ Church whose Wednesday night attendance was packed.  Asked about Sunday morning, he said same attendance there.

(1)    He discipled people along the Navigator’s Wheel

(a)     Bible — Prayer — Witnessing — Church Attendance

(b)     Most impt was church attendance b/c there you would be encouraged, taught, and strengthened to do others

b.       If you are going to do the above and have the above done to you, it fits that you need to be around other believers

(1)    John 13:35 - By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

(2)    That love is expressed in the church

c.     Part of being in God’s family is being at the reunions

(1)    @ Some families have reunions once every 25 years, some once a year. 

(2)    We have ours every week – at 3 separate times

(a)     Why?

i.         So we can study God’s Word together

ii.        So we can participate as family members

d.       Make family reunion time a priority.

2.    Exhorting One Another

a.    Definition

(1)    Literally: called along side of

(2)    Coming next to a person – supporting from the side

(3)    Not standing above an intimidating

(4)    Not standing behind and pushing

(5)    Not standing in front and dragging

b.    No room for judgmentalism!

(1)    We are all on the spiritual journey together

(2)    Let’s encourage and support each other!

Conc:

·         In a moment we will be observing the Lord’s Supper

o    Make sure you are spiritually in tune with what is going on

§  You must be in God’s Family

§  You must be right with God’s Family

·         Right with God

·         Right with others

o    Make sure you are mentally in tune with what is going on

§  Remembering what Christ did so you can be in God’s Family

§  Understanding that these elements are symbols of Christ’s love for us and His great sacrifice

§  Determining to enjoy the benefits of being in God’s family

·         Drawing Near to our Father

·         Holding Fast to all that it means to be in His Family

·         Demonstrating the intense concern and love for other members of the family