Sermon 39
Sermon
by Liz Tilley on Sunday 20th August 2006
Hebrews Chapter 3
Think back to a time
when you took on a new job, or a new responsibility – something you were
looking forward to even if a little scary.
I imagine you started out with great enthusiasm and energy/drive. Think back to when you first realized what
the Christian faith is all about, you first met Jesus and started to follow him
– excitement and enthusiasm. But it’s
one thing to start well, it’s another to keep going and finish well. It was exciting to hear of Andy Murray
beating Federer, the World No 1 tennis player this
week. Next round he’s knocked out by
someone he’s beaten before. He needs to
keep going, developing and maturing with his eyes on the goal.
No 3 in our series on
Hebrews, and those of you who were able to be here for the first two will
remember how we considered that Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish
Christians who were drifting away from their faith back into Judaism and were
in danger of giving up their distinctive Christian faith altogether. We noticed also how the writer gives a
mixture of teaching, challenge and warning - usually based on a passage from
the OT, to encourage them to stay on course.
Chapters 3 and 4 – part of which was read to us, continue to do this.
In Chapter 3 there are two
“Ifs” that jump out at me as I read Chapter 3:6b,14. 2 important “Ifs”
We are part of God’s house
– IF we hold firmly to the end. Those
first readers needed to be reminded that they had to hang in there and keep
going. The writer warns them from their
history, back in the time of Moses. In
those days God’s people, who had seen so many great acts of God, the way he
rescued them from the grip of Pharaoh, brought them safely out, miraculously
got them over the Red Sea, fed and guided them on the way, refused to continue
on their journey of faith with him. They had often grumbled but God had gone on
caring for them and providing for them, but then when they were within sight of
Canaan, the land God promised to give them, they rebelled, they said, NO, we
can’t go in there – the people and their cities are too strong (Read it for
yourselves in Numbers
13 and 14) – it would have been better to die in Egypt – we should go back
there now - they blatantly refused (apart from Joshua and Caleb) to believe
that God would be with them, and would take them into that land – they forgot
all that he had done for them in the past.
So God said that not one of them would enter the promised
land, the rest he promised, and they wandered around for 40 years until
that generation had died out. Psalm
95 picks this up and makes it a warning for the people many years later,
and the writer to the Hebrews again uses it as a warning for his readers not to
miss out on what God’s promised rest.
They started to experience that rest when they first believed, 4:3, and
knew real peace and contentment deep within because of all that Jesus had
gained for them in dying on the cross, but there’s still so much more to come,
its culmination when at the end of this earthly life, the fullness of God’s
rest becomes a reality – in heaven.
Firstly
here, a warning, based on Psalm 95.
Then encouragement to keep going – v13, 4:1a, 11. It requires effort. Don’t slacken off, but keep going and keep on
encouraging one another. Keep focused on
the goal, keep looking to Jesus, the apostle and high priest we confess
v.1. Don’t look back to Moses, great
though he was, He was the person chosen by God to lead his people at that
crucial time, the one who received and passed on to the people God’s promises,
his covenant with them, his laws about how they should live and worship him.
No, he’ saying, don’t go back to the Jewish faith and to the old arrangement
set up in the time of Moses - BUT fix your thoughts on Jesus, he is the
greatest – we’ve heard this a couple of times already in this series, greater
than Moses, that faithful servant – but still a servant – Jesus is the one and
only Son and Heir. Can you hear the
writer saying – how can you go back to those old ways?
God’s words come with such
a challenge to us today. God is faithful
and will not let anyone go – his grip on us is strong – father and child. But we need to hang in there, trusting and
believing when the going is tough – we’re still on the journey, and we have our
part to play too in keeping on track.
Let’s never take God’s word, his promises for granted – but go on
listening to what he has to say and believing.
We have his word – may we also have hearts that are always open to learn
from it, to let it penetrate and take root in our lives.
As well as God’s promises,
his word, we have one another – and these chapters bring out the importance of
encouraging one another, the importance of meeting together and helping one
another keep alert and keep going. See
to it that no one among you has an unbelieving heart, encourage one another
daily – we all have a responsibility and part to play in helping one another –
v.13 = while still today. It is a joy to
have Lucy and Adrian, Sam and Holly with us today with their friends and family
and to witness them starting Holly off on a journey, a journey of faith within
the family of the church. We welcome
her, we pray for her that she will continue to grow in faith, and one day say
her own yes to the promises made on her behalf today. She’ll need a lot of encouragement to keep
going, the prayers, example and teaching of parents and godparents, the help
and support of the church the family attend.
God will play his part in her/our growth – he has provided the resources
we need - we have the responsibility and challenge to play ours.
We have God’s word and his
promises, so much to look forward to, we have one another - We also have Jesus,
the greatest, greater than all who have preceded, or have/will follow, and he
has gone before us. The writer to the
Hebrews calls us too to keep focused on Jesus, the one God sent and who is our
high priest, the only one who can bring us into the presence of God and can be
our true representative before Him – but you’ll need to come back next Sunday
for the fourth instalment to hear more about that!