HEBREWS Devotional Guide

Transcription

1 HEBREWS Devotional Guide PASTOR KEVIN JORDAN

2 Hebrews 1:1-4 May 07, 2017 God Speaks Hebrews 1:1-4 May 07, 2017 God Speaks Focus: God the Son Spoke The Final Word Begin by looking around. The Son s description follows his introduction as the one who spoke the Word directly to people. In case someone wanted to dispute the identity of Jesus as God the Son, the author outlines his features. His choice of description is beautiful. Verse 2 identifies the Son as the owner and creator of all things. Verse 3 identifies the Son as the person of God and the power of God. His coupling of these qualities is compelling and interesting. The Son is not one to ignore. In fact, his credentials are absolute as owner and creator, he defines what our theology should be. Jesus came to earth as a man but also as the speaking God the Son. The significance of the Son s identity is going to be worked out through Hebrews but for now the impact is more immediate. The Son spoke to us as owner and creator. We ought to listen to all that he says and pay careful attention. The Word is not a series of optional propositions. The Son owns all of life and created it for his purposes. Literally, we cannot fulfill the mission of life or be the people we should be without following the owner and creator of Life. The Son is the means by which life makes sense and takes shape. Our world is wrapped around many attempts to become. The only way to become is to be made by the Son. Since God spoke personally through the Son, I cannot ignore the Word he spoke or the life he offers. Main Idea Today, we want to see what God s expectations are for us when he speaks how we should respond the Awakening of the soul comes in response to a word. The (religious) system is not the problem with our spiritual life. a. The previous word in the OT (given to establish the Jew ish Temple) was a word from God but not the final word. b. The distance of the previous Word was due to personal sin. So the priests stood between people and God c. The (religious) system can prepare the soul for awakening or it can make us lazy toward God. The Son of God is better than the system a. The person of God awakens the soul to matters of faith b. The present, personal Word from God is direct to believ ers in Jesus rather than given through priests and then to us. c. The present Word is near, and demands transformation and obedience. If the Son s word is not Life, you re underperforming a. Sin is atoned for so guilt cannot continue to hold you back from worship and obedience. b. The Son is done with the failures of life and has offered hope and victory through faith rather than law. c. The Son calls directly to you to awaken you - rather than to church you. Your church can guide you but not transform you. Jesus does the transformation.

3 Hebrews 1:5-14 May 14, 2017 The Greatest Word Ever Focus: When God says something through the Son, why would we allow other words to convince us otherwise. Jesus is God but is relationally the Son to the Father. God is explicitly triune. The distinction between the OT conception of God and the NT revelation of Christ is not without precedent in the OT, it was shrouded in mystery. What the people knew was not incorrect but in light of the fuller revelation of Christ, what they now know is better. In the same way, what we knew of life before Jesus need not be jettison wholesale. What we know has to be informed by the new revelation of Christ. All our religious thoughts have to be focused by the revelation of Christ. They all point towards him as the final and eschatological understanding of God. The question on the table concerns the superiority of the Son s authority compared to angelic authority. The trajectory of purpose is aimed squarely at 2:1-4. If his audience trusted the OT, they can all the more trust to NT. The author lines up seven OT quotations to make his point that the gravity of testimony belongs to the Son. The author s purpose is to amplify the authority and credibility of the Son. Throughout Hebrew, his purpose is to encourage, warn, and exhort the reader to continued devotion to Jesus. The threat of apostasy seems real and imminent. People often return to old ways when the path of the new way proves difficult. Hebrews 1:5-14 May 14, 2017 The Greatest Word Ever Main Idea We win through Jesus, and we have no excuse not to win. Its not just The Son unites heavenly rule with earthly rule (vs 5). a. Becoming a man didn t mean Jesus wasn t still the ruler of all b. Winning in life means working within the heavenly dominion on the earthly playing field. Its about doing God s will rather than people s bidding. c. Personal devotions are critical to spiritual health and without them we experience spiritual weakness. The Son, Jesus, mastered physical life without angelic help (vss. 6-9). a. Jesus lived a perfect moral life and perfectly by the will of God. b. In order to master life, you need Jesus as a life coach-he s the best! The Son s rule never ceases (vss 10-12). a. Jesus victory is over sin and death. b. The enemies of God are defeated. c. Your sin struggle is already defeated in Christ. We win, and we have no excuse no to win (vss 13-14). a. Not only did Jesus win without the help of angels, but he uses angels to help believers. b. Turning back to old dead sins, false anxieties, and dead habits interrupts the victory you have through Jesus. Are you following the way of Jesus that leads to victory or pursuing old ways from which you once escaped?

4 Hebrews 2:5-9 May 28, 2017 From Obscurity to Renown Focus: Though sometimes believers do not feel as if Jesus has control of all matters, his defeat of death has given him final victory and provided believers with the ability to endure. The author of Hebrews is concerned people will turn their backs on the legitimized testimony they first believed in. He is working toward his goal of seeing them both survive in their faith and thrive in it. The writer is not first concerned with their salvation, he is concerned with what their apostasy says about their initial conversion. Had they become swept up in the emotion or captured by the new community only to find themselves dissatisfied with the results? God had regularly judged the people for sin in the OT and under the Law. Since Christ has provided another way, a better salvation, a better message, a personal experience, shall they now fail? They will be judged guilty of faithlessness if they now abandon their faith after having claimed to receive it by faith. The angels are not the ones to subject the world. They are not the Savior/Christ. The message delivered by angels was never able to bring the full victory of God. God himself would have to crush all resistance through a personal word. The writer has just issued a strong warning about the temptation to abandon the revelation of Christ in Jesus. Victory ahead is rooted in the revelation of Christ in the past. The sure testimony of the saints of God who first believed, and the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit s testimony assures the subjection of all things. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, still present, reassure us that the future victory belongs to Christ rather than to the ritual. We win by running to a person, not by running to the rituals of the past. Hebrews 2:5-9 May 28, 2017 From Obscurity to Renown Main Idea Hardship is no excuse for losing one s faith. People invest much time and money in an effort to get to God (vs. 5-8) a. When frustrated with attempts to get to God, people make gods in their own image. b. All people will appear before God...not the god they made but the God who made them. c. A failed faith was never real faith. The Son, Jesus, mastered physical life without angelic help (vss. 6-9). a. Jesus lived a perfect moral life and perfectly by the will of God. b. In order to master life, you need Jesus as a life coach-he s the best! The only one to get to God was the one who came to man (vs. 8b-9a) a. There is no ritual that gets a person to Jesus b. Two sees : We don t perceive and experience Jesus rule now, but we do see (historically) that Jesus defeated death c. Present weakness and reliance on Christ results in future and eternal victory over death - this was Jesus way to victory Don t despise your circumstances and jump track on God (9b) a. Jesus won because of his death and resurrection. b. Hardship is opportunity for spiritual maturity - not a threat to it or an aberration of the Christian life. c. Remaining faithful in hardship allows people to gain spiritually through their struggles.

5 Hebrews 2:10-18 June 4, 2017 Because Jesus Knows the Struggle Focus: By becoming in nature human, Jesus joined believers to God and became a high priest who knows how to identify with people. The return to ritual would be a spiritual disaster for these people. It would indicate their faith was never real. Yet, the hardship they are facing is real, and real discouraging. Even so, Jesus used his hardship to win victory over sin and death. His victory ensured our own victory. We cannot fail no matter how difficult life becomes. Solidarity to this source is the key to understanding how identity through Jesus encourages the soul to endure. The author s purpose is to focus the believers on the source of redemption rather than the magnitude of the problems. Yes, they struggle, but in their struggles they are not abandoned nor punished. They are blessed and linked exactly where they need to be. The hardship that came to Jesus is a legacy for the brothers that follow in the same effort. His fate is ours. Hebrews indicates this is a blessing. This passage further amplifies the extent to which God went to identify with people. God came to us to validate the flesh and defeat the enemy of our flesh. Is your faith eroding because of hardship or strengthening because of power from Christ as your source. Hebrews 2:10-18 June 04, 2017 Because Jesus Knows the Struggle Main Idea Faith erosion is the normal state so we need connection to Christ. Because we re joined to Jesus, we re empowered by Jesus (2:10-16) a. Power to overcome sin flows from the source b. Only someone morally and spiritually greater than you can lift the heft Yet, that one had to lift the heft as a human because the weakness affected those that die angels do not die i. So when you sin as a believer you are likely to have problems associated with people who are dying from sin ii. When you are enduring in your faith, you are working hard but you are winning on account of the spiritual source or power. c. Maintain the source of your faith not the ritual of that connection Jesus identifies with you so you can identify with him (2:17) a. He shares in the complexity of human life, frailty, probably had a cold, knew sexual impulse and puberty, knew abstinence. b. He defeated death to make you free from the fears of life all associated with shadows of death c. Introduction of a theme Jesus is our High Priest i. Functional in that he is the go between ii. Merciful in that he knows what its like iii. Faithful in that he accomplished what you were too weak to accomplish Failure is not the future of the faithful (2:18) a. Some promises for your endurance: i. Suffering produces sanctification when it is associated with Jesus ii. Jesus suffered first so he could guide you through your turn. iii. Adjust your attitude Jesus enables you, its not about Christian actions but about Jesus personal empowerment for His mission b. The big temptation in this life is distraction from Christ Jesus

6 Hebrews 3:1-6 June 11, 2017 Together With Jesus Focus: The author charges the people to maintain their attention on Jesus because it is to him they belong and from him that they derive their power. Two chapters of identity building precede this exhortation. The author has gingerly dismantled the OT system as the final and enduring authority on God. Jesus changed the game and advanced people nearer to God. The erosion to faith caused by hardship and struggle the desire to return to the old rituals cannot occur without casting serious shadow on the authenticity of a believer s original confession. Hebrews is concerned the people will return to old ways and abandon the salvation they should have through Jesus. Not only is Hebrews concerned with abandoning Jesus for an old system, he is concerned to better define the role Jesus plays and the consequent role believers play in the work of God. Our salvation is not coincidental. Our salvation is about belonging to God through Jesus Christ. Our endurance and hope is fully vested in the power that Jesus had to overcome death. If we, therefore, hope for anything, we should hope for a oneness with Jesus who authored and founded our faith. Old patterns are deep ditches in our lives with their own gravity on our ways of thinking. In order to escape the gravity of those old ways of thinking, we have to think differently our thinking about Jesus has to reorient so that we can plot a new trajectory of life and hope. In this passage, Jesus is not a second Moses building another ritual system. Jesus is the result the original ritual pointed toward and believers are now the result of the building work Jesus did. Whereas people were prospecting for God through the ritual, Jesus came as the gold, and now advances his people personally. Is your practice of faith centered around the person of Jesus or the practice of the ritual? Hebrews 3:1-6 June 11, 2017 Together With Jesus Main Idea Defeating discouragement requires a focused mind on Jesus faithful and complete work. A Jesus-centered life promises a joy-filled future (3:1-2) Spiritual apostasy is the problem and it often results from discouragement: a. Jesus is literally at the center of the Greek sentence i.attached as Apostle and High Priest of our confession ii.he came to us and he takes us to God ii.defined as faithful to God who appointed him to be the center b. The bedrock of faith always rests in the person of Jesus c. It s impossible to be spiritually mature and not all about Jesus d. Likewise, it s impossible to be all about Jesus and regularly discour aged i.caveat you will feel down sometimes and that s okay. Be Confident in Jesus work and Convinced of His timing (3:5) a.discouragement is the result of frustrations occurring over time i. You don t like something happening in life ii.you get frustrated about it iii. You try to fix it and fail your sin or others iv. You continue to try to fix it but can t v. You conclude there is no hope and get discouraged iii. Sometimes we question our salvation or God s presence because we don t feel something Christ focus brings confidence (3:6) self-focus bring discouragement: a. The natural state of our faith is Christ- he is confidence. b. Salvation is hope, not wishful thinking i. Staying focused in an evidence of salvation ii. Staying in the fight is an act of God s grace c.the confidence we have is that Jesus is working on us so that he can work through us. i. Jesus works according to his own timing so your expecta tions are often wrong ii. Jesus builds you he builds your emotional strength and your confidence Maybe you are actually fighting God and feeling discouraged because God will not get on your plan.

7 Hebrews 3:7-19 June 24, 2017 No More Excuses Focus: The confidence we have in the redemptive and completed work of Christ keeps us not only faithful but urges us to declare this same faithfulness to others. In the background is the context of Israel at Kadesh (Num 14). Psalm 95:7-11 explains God s heart about the people: they always went astray. They never believed for all they had seen. Were they ever believers, then? So it is with this passage. The conditionals ask just how true the initial confession was if such a confession of transformation meets with regular and ongoing unbelief. The people rebelled in that they had seen the works of God and heard his voice. They became apostate in that they rebelled against what they had heard and in the way they refused to follow. Why, then, did some fail? Because they were not empowered to enter after having been locked out of God s rest via God s oath. Israel heard God s judgment and tried, again disobediently, to enter the land only to be defeated soundly (Num 14:45). God has a limit on faithlessness. He will shut the door. While the pressing question remains: when does God reach that limit, its better to ask why God reaches that limit. God reaches the limit when he decides no longer to speak salvation to a people. That can happen in the midst of a culture or in the midst of a speaking testimony. I have met people in church and wondered if they had been hardened to the point that they could no longer hear from God. After all, it was not ignorance that led to Israel s disobedience and unbelief. Why God reaches the limit is clear, persistent unbelief when told the truth of Christ. Is your practice of faith vibrant and encouraging to others or a net of excuses that discourages others. Hebrews 3:7-19 June 24, 2017 No More Excuses Main Idea When we get rid of the excuses, we find out that God is for us, empowers us, and gives us confidence. We go where our confidence goes (3:7-12) a.if you love the ritual, you will have a problem with a Christ-centered church b. Confidence produces expectations i. If your confidence is in Christ 1. You re growing 2. You re changing 3.You re engaging ii. If confidence is in the ritual 1.You re stagnant 2.You re easily unhappy 3. You re apathetic c. Internal unbelief always manifests as disobedience to God. i. Faith is active when obedience is the norm ii. Faithlessness is our standard setting We Are Better Together (3:13-14) a. No such thing as loner faith encourage others and be encouraged by others b. Do we waste days in the practice of our faith? i. Every day counts toward the Gospel ii. Apathy toward the Gospel of Christ is evidence of unbelief c. People who believe never stop believing i. It drives them through the tough patches of life ii. It is not obedience to ritual so much as love for Christ d. True faith takes the form of a tireless optimism i. When you know God has you, you empower others ii. When you are obedient to Christ, you encourage others to do what God demands iii. You encourage obedience to God even when its tough because you know that God can handle the situation Faith overcomes failure (3:15-19) a. So we have no more need for excuses b. Exhortation is powerful...and mandatory c.all our exhortations should steer people toward faithfulness in Christ i. We encourage people to be courageous in listening ii. We encourage people to stop sinning even as we are walk ing toward not sinning iii. We encourage people toward future rest our potential is found in the future that s why God pushes us.