Good morning, thanks.
Got a green light.
To begin, if we could turn to the book of Hebrews. We are going to read a couple of Scriptures to get warmed up.
Turn to Hebrews 13:22, as a way of reminder. I am going to be reading out of the New American Standard Version for the most part.
But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
That word bear can also mean endure. We find the same word in 2 Timothy 4:3:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.
Turn also to Hebrews 3:1.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
And lastly, in the same chapter, Hebrews 3:12:
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Let us read that again:
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Let us just have a word of prayer.
Lord, as we come to consider Your word together, we say, “Who is adequate to handle Thy word?” Lord, we thank You that You have given us Your Holy Spirit.
And now we pause and trust and rely on Him to lead and guide us in this matter of speaking and hearing. Lord, it is our desire that we not just fill this time with words, but, Lord, that You would speak.
Lord, that You would be lifted up, that You would be magnified and glorified. Lord, I commit this frail vessel to Thee. I pray You enable me, Lord, to speak as I ought to speak.
And I pray, Lord, for those that listen, that they would have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. In Jesus’ name.
In review of what we shared together last time, you may remember that we said we had a burden, and that burden was to have ears to hear.
When we speak about having ears to hear, we simply mean not just the accumulation of information in our mind, but a hearing that is a hearing with the heart, so that when we hear there is a response of faith. Or, you could say it in another way: there is a response of obedience.
You know, in the parable of the sower, and in particular in Luke 8:15, it says:
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart,
and hold it fast,
and bear fruit with perseverance.
Now, we said we wanted to look together into the book of Hebrews in addressing this matter, and in particular at five major exhortations that we find in this book.
We mentioned last time that this word exhortation has mainly two meanings to it. It is like a coin that has two sides. On one side, you find the meaning is to encourage; and on the other side, we find it is to warn.
We said we wanted to mainly focus on the warnings of these exhortations, but that we have to include the encouragements to have a balanced perspective.
Now, these five warnings, or exhortations, out of Hebrews: the first one we find in Hebrews 2:1-4. That is the warning of drifting.
The second one we find in Hebrews 3:12. It is the warning of unbelief.
The third one we find basically in Hebrews 5 and 6. It is the warning of not pressing on to maturity.
Number four, we find in Hebrews 10. It is the warning of shrinking back.
And lastly, number five, in Hebrews 12, we find the warning of refusing Him who speaks.
Now, last time we mentioned that these warnings are interrelated, and they are progressive in nature. We find that they start with a warning about being indifferent to the word—that is, having no interest or concern—which leads to drifting due to our neglecting Him who speaks.
Then, as we drift, we find there is no response of faith to the word, because it has found no solid ground in the heart. That leaves us in a condition of being dull and sluggish, and growth is stunted.
Consequently, we find that we are not pressing on, but in reality we shrink back when we are in this condition, which ultimately, if not reversed, can lead even to a falling away or a departing from the living God.
Now, you may recall last time we considered this first warning together: the warning of drifting, or the danger of neglect. We mentioned how we have to pay much closer attention to what we have heard.
The reason for this is because of who it is that has spoken to us. Formerly, God spoke to us in the prophets, but in these last days God has spoken to us in Son—the Son who is the very reflection and image of God.
This Son is greater than the angels, as they are created beings and He is the Creator of all things. This Son has made propitiation for our sins and sits now at the right hand of the Father.
It is He who has won back the title deed to this earth, which the usurper had taken.
This Son has spoken to us of so great a salvation. This so great a salvation comprises spirit, soul, and body. But we find in this letter to the Hebrews that the subject of the salvation of the soul is primarily in focus.
When brought to fruition in the believer’s life, it enables him to be in that position to inherit that for which he was commanded to do in the beginning, which is to have dominion on this earth.
Now, this dominion for the disciple will be entered into in the age to come, the millennium. There, the Son and the joint heirs will reign together.
This salvation of the soul is worked out through our denying of self, our taking up the cross, and following the Lamb wherever He goes.
It requires one to go the way of discipleship, to be yoked with the Son and learn Him. It says in Hebrews 1:14, it is a salvation to be inherited.
So we need to heed this message and not neglect it, thus finding ourselves drifting from what He has spoken.
Well, today we want to move on, and we want to look at the second warning. We find that the second warning is in the context of Hebrews 3 and 4. So we want to look together at some portions there, to hopefully see a little clearer what this second warning in Hebrews is addressing.
So let us turn to Hebrews 3:1.
Now, as we look into these two chapters, keep in mind what 1 Corinthians 10:11 says:
Now these things happened to them as an example,
and they were written for our instruction.
The “them” referred to here are the children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses.
Now, Hebrews 3:1 reads:
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
We see that the writer addresses these believers as holy brethren. Is that not wonderful? We talked about that this morning. That was the opening: how that in Christ we have a position before God that includes acceptance, that includes being justified, and that includes being holy.
So the writer writes to these believers and says, “Holy brethren.” But we know surely in experience there is a difference in this matter of practical holiness with them.
But thank God, all believers have been placed into Christ, and He has become their holiness. This is what we would call positional truth, or objective truth.
We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. They are ours, and God wants us to draw upon them by faith from this resource of blessings, which is Christ Himself.
Now, we do so by faith, by appropriating that truth into our lives, making the positional or objective truth real in our experience.
Now, I want you to keep this matter of objective truth and then subjective truth in mind as we look through these verses here in Hebrews 3 and 4.
Now we see in Hebrews 3:1 that the writer goes on to say that these holy brethren, which includes all believers, are partakers of a heavenly calling.
Wuest uses the word participants for partakers, or it could be translated companions. We are going to find the same word again later in Hebrews 3:14.
So we are to be participants in the heavenly calling. The children of Israel were called with an earthly calling. They were called to come out of Egypt and to enter into the promised land.
We have been called out of Egypt, a type of the world, and called unto possessing the land, a type of Christ. When God calls, He is looking for a response.
That calling is to become our life’s occupation, our life’s purpose. As we said in Hebrews 3:1, this goes out to all believers; it is not just for a select few.
Now, what specifically is this heavenly calling all believers are called unto? Look in Hebrews 3:2. Let us read on:
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.
For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later.
Now really focus on Hebrews 3:6:
But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are.
Here we find an aspect of the heavenly calling: called to be the house of God. You know, from the beginning God has desired to dwell among men.
We find in the earthly calling of the children of Israel that His purpose was to dwell among them. Thus, He gave Moses, as you recall, the pattern of the tabernacle and commanded him to build it, so that through that tabernacle and what it represented, God could dwell in their midst.
That is our privilege and honor today: that this holy and righteous God has called us to be the house of God.
But notice the verse goes on to say:
If we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm unto the end.
So why does this verse contain the word if here? It is simply because the calling to be the house of God is not automatic.
According to Strong’s Concordance, this word if in the Greek is a conditional participle, which makes reference to time and experience, introducing something future but not determining before the event whether it is certainly to take place.
You can take, for example, the truth that Christ died for our sins. He died for the sins of the whole world. Does that mean that all are automatically saved?
You know, there is a teaching like that, that all are automatically saved through the redemption of Christ. But we find the word says:
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes shall have eternal life.
In our position, we are the house of God, but as we said earlier, we are to enter experientially into all objective truth. Truth not entered into is just merely facts.
But when we enter into it, it becomes life. So the question is: how are we to enter into this truth of us being called to be the house of God?
The verse tells us we are to hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm to the end. So what does this mean? What is our confidence? Or maybe I could put it this way: what is not our confidence?
You know, the Scripture says that we are not to put any confidence in the flesh, but in Christ Jesus. You know, it is He who said, “I will build My church.”
But you might say, “Well, I am a mess. I am a living stone, but I have a lot of sharp edges. I seem to cut everybody around me. I seem to have a hard time fitting in. I seem awkward.”
Yes, you know, when a house is being built, there is certainly a lot of work that goes on. There is lots of sawing, there is hammering, there is chiseling, there is dust flying everywhere, and there is junk on the ground.
The process can be rather long and laborious. But when it is done, it is glorious. It is something that you can move into.
You know, when that process is going on, we can certainly become frustrated. We can get weary. We can get discouraged. We can even maybe want to give up.
But we need to remember what Paul said in Colossians 1:27. Let us turn and look at that so that we can all just see it too. We need to stand on this verse.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. That is how all this is going to get worked out in our lives. That is how the house is going to be built.
It is simply by Christ being formed in you and Christ being formed in me, until it leads up to the building up of the habitation of God in the Spirit.
So, as we hold fast to Him who said, “I will build My church,” and we believe our hope in this process is Christ in us, the hope of glory, then we will find that the building of the house will take place.
You know, these words hold fast mean to get possession of and to keep firm possession of. So, as we cooperate with Him and keep firm possession of the truth that Christ will build the house, then the building can be done.
So we have to keep possession of these promises that His life will do the work. You know, He is the faithful One over the house.
And what is our boast? You know, the King James Version says rejoicing here for boast. What is the boast of our hope? Is it not found in Titus 2:13?
Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.
That is our hope: that though He is away now, He will one day come back. He will come back for those who are watching and waiting, praying, and faithfully engaged in this house.
But we need to be careful not to be like the children of Israel. You remember when Moses went up to the mountain? He said, “I will come back. I will return to you.” But he seemed to delay his return.
As he delayed, the children of Israel did what? They gave up hope, and they fell away into idolatry.
We need to hold fast the confidence and boast of our hope that our Lord will build His church and return back for her.
Now, the writer then goes on to quote a passage out of Psalm 95. Previously, we had read in Hebrews 3:2-5 that Christ and Moses were faithful to Him that called them.
In Psalm 95, we see the unfaithfulness of the children of Israel at the time of Moses. The writer wants to warn us how they erred so that we can be careful not to fall into the same error.
Hebrews 3:7 says:
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
Today if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me,
as in the day of trial in the wilderness,
where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
and saw My works for forty years.
And said, “They always go astray in their heart,
and they do not know My ways.”
As I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”
You know, the children of Israel provoked the Lord at Meribah. That is in Numbers 20:13, and that was toward the end of their journey.
They also tested the Lord at Massah. You see that in Exodus 17:7, which was toward the beginning of their experience of following the Lord.
So we find in their experience, from beginning to end, they questioned and doubted the Lord’s ability and motive in leading them to the promised land.
Though God proved Himself to them time and time again, they continued to do what? They complained. They murmured, and they questioned His provision for them.
They did not believe He was able to bring them into the promised land, to bring them to that place that He had called them to.
Because of their lack of trust in the Lord, there was no growth in their lives. They had stagnation. Yes, they trusted Him to take them out of Egypt, but they did not trust the Lord to take them into the promised land.
We find, sadly, that their hearts were still set on their own interests. They desired to be freed from the hardships of Egypt, but they wanted the pleasant things of Egypt.
You know, in their heart they were still very much in Egypt. Psalm 78 says that they were a generation that did not prepare their hearts. They did not believe God or trust in His full salvation. Thus, they fell short of their calling to go into the land.
Now let us look at Hebrews 3:12:
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Now, the writer is addressing believers here. He is speaking to Christians. Can a Christian have an unbelieving, evil heart?
I think we all know the answer to this question. You know, the Lord led the children of Israel into the wilderness to test them, to see what was in their heart.
And what did we find? We found that instead of allowing these circumstances to show them their tendency of complaining and rebelling, they just murmured and complained.
They refused to obey the Lord and trust in Him. These circumstances should have been used in their lives to prepare their hearts before the Lord, so that they could look to Him, trust Him, have hope, and be fully engaged in His purpose.
But we see they murmured. They rebelled.
So when we read this, we need to be careful not to have the attitude that these children of Israel are something so unique and evil. You know, do we not see these tendencies in ourselves?
Do we not find that when we are in trials, often we want to complain and murmur and rebel, and sometimes almost get offended with the Lord?
It is sad. You know, the Lord had supplied the same provisions for them over and over again. They would not learn the lessons.
But lo and behold, we can see these tendencies in ourselves: that tendency to question, complain, and rebel.
You know, we need to ask the Lord to create in ourselves a clean heart, a heart that is sensitive to Him, tender, ready to respond when He speaks.
But thank God, the Lord has provided a way for us to guard against this danger of an unbelieving heart. It is found in Hebrews 3:13, and this is one of the most important building principles of the house of God.
But encourage one another day after day.
This word encourage is the same base word as exhort that we found in Hebrews 13:22.
How often have we found that we have been in a situation or circumstance and we find ourselves struggling? We find ourselves weighed down. We find ourselves possibly at the brink of being offended in the Lord.
Then someone came alongside and encouraged us. Someone came and gave a little word. Someone came and gave a little drink of water.
You know, this is a critical ministry in this matter of pursuing the heavenly calling. Often we do find ourselves weighed down, discouraged, and frustrated.
But thank God, the Lord can use one to draw our eyes away from our own circumstances, from our own selves, and put them back on the Lord Himself, just through a timely word.
You know, there is too much tearing down in the house of God today, even indignation. Let us rise above these things. Let us be vessels of encouragement to one another. Let us show forth the grace of God to our fellow saints.
Hebrews 3:13 continues:
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,”
so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
You know, sin is very deceitful. It promises a lot, but in reality the payment it gives is guilt and death.
It may start out as a very small thing. But if it is not confessed, if it is not repented of, it is going to grow bigger and bigger like a callus.
You know, I used to play a lot of tennis. I developed this callus on my hand right here. Through that irritation, that continual irritation, that thing got so big.
I could sit there and dig it with a knife, and I could not seem to get to the bottom of it. It had built so big. It just became this incredibly hard callus.
That is what sin can do. It comes in and it will build and build if you let it. It can start out as a very small thing, a teeny thing.
That is what sin will do. It will cry out and say, “Just this one time, just this one little thing.”
But, to take an example from the world, you ask an alcoholic what got him to be an alcoholic. It was that one first drink that started him down that road.
And so, if sin is left unconfessed and unrepented of, it will start a hardening process. Before long, you will have a calloused heart that is unable to hear, and that is a very dangerous condition.
Now look at Hebrews 3:14:
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.
Here we find the next aspect of the heavenly calling, which is to become a partaker of Christ. We saw the same word in Hebrews 3:1, “partakers of the heavenly calling.” It means to be an active partner in something, to be a participant.
We are to be active with Christ in His will and in His interests. If we enter into this now, we will in turn become a participant with Him later in the age to come.
You know, last time we read out of Hebrews 1 and 2 when we talked about the warning of drifting. In Hebrews 1:8-9, which quotes Psalm 45, it speaks about the marriage of the King and His queen.
There we see the same word partaker in Hebrews 1:9. The NASB translates the word companions:
But of the Son He says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
This verse tells us that the Son is going to have companions at that time. And when is that time? It is in the kingdom age.
These fellow companions have been those like their King who have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, have entered into His business, and gave themselves unto His will in this age of grace.
Thus, they were able to be companions with Him in the time of His rule, the millennium.
Hebrews 3:15 goes on and says:
Today if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.
For who provoked Him when they had heard? Hebrews 3:16 says:
Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
So how did the children of Israel provoke the Lord? It was through transgression and disobedience.
Transgression refers to a positive offense: doing what we are not supposed to do. Whereas disobedience refers to a negative offense: failing to do what we are supposed to do.
Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” So we find here the children of Israel transgressed. They murmured and complained against their circumstances. They were unthankful. They continued in idolatry, and were disobedient.
They refused to trust God and to hearken to His word. Hebrews 3:17 goes on to say:
And with whom was He angry for forty years?
Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Does it say angry here? The Lord was angry with them. But we would say, “Sure, they were under the law, not under grace.”
But did we not see, when we looked at the first warning in Hebrews 2:2-3, that it said:
For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
how shall we escape?
Can we cause the Lord to become angry? Do you remember what He said to the church in Laodicea?
Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Hebrews 3:18 goes on to say:
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?
The Phillips translation says, “Those who refused to trust Him.” The Sacred Name Bible says, “Those who were obstinate.” Darby says, “Those who had not hearkened to His word.” Wuest says, “Those who were non-persuadable.”
And we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief, says Hebrews 3:19.
Now Hebrews 4:1 goes on to say:
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
Therefore, let us fear. You know, this is a missing ingredient in the house of God today: this matter of fear.
When we speak of fear, we mean a godly fear. We are not talking about a fear in the sense of the world.
We are talking about a fear that is afraid to displease Him who has bought us with a price, that we may bring dishonor to Him, and we may come short in satisfying His heart.
That is the type of fear we are talking about here: that we would regard lightly who He is and what He has done for us. Are you fearful of that? Is that your concern?
You know, the Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
It says, “Let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you”—notice that this is directed to individuals—“may seem to have come short of it.”
So we find here the last thing mentioned of the heavenly calling, of which we are to become partakers: entering His rest.
What is this rest, of which a promise still remains that it can be entered into? The rest the children of Israel were to enter into was in the land of promise. There they were going to find their peace, their security, and their full provision.
But we find that they did not enter in because of unbelief. They refused to believe and obey the Lord. They questioned the Lord’s motives, questioned His direction, and hardened their hearts toward the Lord.
Now notice here that it says, “Enter His rest.” It does not say, “Our rest.”
When will this rest take place? It is in the age to come, the millennium, when the Lord will set up His kingdom on this earth.
That is when there will be true righteousness. That is when there will be true peace. That is when there will be security.
But notice again: if is once again included. We see again that it is not an automatic thing that we enter into His rest.
We see in Hebrews 4:2:
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also;
but the word they heard did not profit them,
because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
And also in Hebrews 4:6:
Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it,
and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time,
“Today if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. This is the third occurrence of this now. We need to take careful attention to things that are repeated in the word.
So we see the children of Israel failed to enter into His rest because of unbelief. But Hebrews 3:18 and Hebrews 4:6 actually reference disobedience.
That is because these are two sides of the same coin. On one side you have unbelief, and on the other side you have disobedience.
God had spoken to them to go into the land, but the word fell on the poor soil of their hearts. They refused to believe the Lord, and they focused on the report from the spies.
The spies said there were giants in the land. They said they would not be able to go in and possess it.
You know, we have had good news preached to us that we are to enter into His rest. Are we allowing any giants to hinder us from entering in?
Giants called fear, anxiety, indifference, stubbornness, offenses, and laziness.
You know, they all can be summed up in one thing, and that is the self-life.
But we do not want to be those that come short of the promise. You know, the word come short has two meanings to it here.
It means to come late. You remember the five virgins who were late in Matthew 25? Or it can mean to be left behind and fail to reach the goal.
You remember what our Lord said in Matthew 24:40:
Two will be working in the field, and one will be taken and one will be left.
So what are we to do?
You remember our Lord’s words in Matthew 11:29-30. Let us read those—very familiar verses:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
We find the word rest occurs twice in this passage. Firstly, “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” Secondly, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, and you will find rest for your souls.”
This first rest here is synonymous with justification. The second rest is synonymous with sanctification.
The first rest we receive when we initially come to the Lord. The second rest we enter into as we follow the Lord in discipleship, which has to do with the salvation of the soul.
The first rest has to do with our established position as His child. The second rest has to do with Him establishing His will in and through our lives.
We initially come to the Lord in faith, and likewise we are to follow the Lord in this matter of discipleship by faith. How so?
The word here says by taking His yoke upon ourselves and trusting Him to lead accordingly. You know, He is the One who has gone this way. He is the One who could say:
Not My will, but Thine be done.
No matter what the circumstances, no matter what the consequences, He desired God’s will no matter what the cost.
And now He is calling you and me to be yoked with Him. As such, when we are yoked together with Him, He can break us of our stubbornness, our resistance, and our waywardness.
He can lead us into His will, which will not only enable us to find rest for our souls, but it will also prepare us to enter into His rest with Him in the age to come.
Thus, He calls us to come, take, and learn. On our part, this requires what? Diligence.
Look at Hebrews 4:11:
Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest,
so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience.
So here we find the encouraging side of the exhortation. The writer is encouraging us to be diligent. The word diligent means to have an intensity of purpose.
How are we to be diligent? It is in presenting ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice.
You know, there is one thing the Lord will not force you to do, and that is presenting yourself to Him. You have to do that.
Now, do not misunderstand me. He will supply grace. It does say in the word, “For it is He who works in you both to will and to obey,” but you must respond to that grace.
And look at Hebrews 4:12. Interesting verse to come on the tail end of Hebrews 4:11:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
You know, as we find ourselves being diligent in presenting ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, we find here how our great High Priest is able to do that necessary work of dealing with the self-life: through His word, which is living and active.
You know, the self-life, if it is left undealt with, is going to hinder us from entering into His rest.
But the word is able to work. The word is able to do that work even to the core of our being, even to the dividing of soul and spirit.
We are out of our soul if it is not dealt with and brought under the subjection of the Holy Spirit. Then you will find you are going to have thoughts, feelings, and desires that are going to be contrary to His will.
So we need to allow the Lord to use that word to do that dividing work. And thank God, He is a great High Priest who applies that knife in sympathy.
It says He can sympathize with our weaknesses. He knows exactly what needs to be cut.
His intention is to bring us to a place of rest, where there is no more struggle, there is no more resistance, but we are brought into that place of total trust and reliance on Him.
And we can become vessels fit for the Master’s use within His house. So let us let Him do that work, so that we can, in experience, become partakers of this heavenly calling.
Let Him do that work of dividing soul from spirit. Because you know what? It is going to be done. This work is going to be done.
The question is when. It can be done now, or it is going to be done later. The choice is up to us, but it is going to be done.
But if we allow it to be done now, there is much we can gain. If not, there is much we can lose. Much is at stake in the timing of this work.
You know, our text began in Hebrews 3:1 with, “Consider Jesus.” This word consider means to gaze upon, to concentrate on.
It says we are to consider our Apostle and High Priest. You know, it was His mission as Apostle to bring God to us, and it is His mission as High Priest to present us to God.
So let us allow this High Priest to do that work in us by His word.
As He uses that word to cut and divide, there are going to be things that are revealed that are going to shock. There are going to be things that you are going to see that are going to make you want to step back.
You remember Peter? When he was in the presence of the Lord that one time, he said:
Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
But you know, the Lord already knows what is in every man. He is not shocked like we are. And He knows the importance of this cutting, if you will.
He is a faithful High Priest. He has made full provision for us by His blood and by His life.
So that we can indeed heed the last verse of our text:
Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace in time of need.
And I just want to close by saying, if there is one thought I can leave with you today, if there is one thing you will remember out of this scrambled bunch of words, we pray that it would be that today, if you hear His voice, you will not harden your hearts.
But that you will have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying, thus preparing the way for us to become, in reality, partakers of the heavenly calling.
And Lord, we do want to just give this word back to Thee.
Lord, we thank You that You are our great High Priest. We thank You that You have called us unto this heavenly calling.
Lord, we do want to be those that would cooperate with You. We do want to be those that would go on and satisfy Your heart, those that would be a testimony unto Thee.
Lord, we realize this is only a work You can do in Yourself, and we do want to present ourselves to You.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.