JESUS OUR ANCHOR OF HOPE: MILK OR MEAT HEBREWS 5:11-6:2 FALL 2017
KEYS TO BIBLE STUDY A. PRAYER Ask God, Himself to be your teacher and to guide as you seek to understand what he has to say. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:12, He is very interested in your growth in faith and in your knowledge of Him. Pray with expectancy. You can be confident that He will reveal Himself through His word. B. DESIRE Our life in Christ is more precious than Gold. We must be nourished to be healthy and to grow. God s word is our spiritual food. 1Peter 2:2 tells us, As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Many Christians are weak and starving because they are not reading and personally studying. Jesus said, Thou shalt not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 As with any loving Father, God has so much that He wants to teach us. He wants to assure, guide, warn, enlighten and encourage. Stop and pray that you will have a desire and hunger to feast on His word. C. COMMITMENT King David once said, I will not give to the Lord that which costs me nothing. There is absolutely no doubt that there is a price to pay when we commit ourselves to spend the time for study. There will be days or weeks when many other things will distract us and vie for our time. Our commitment must be from our heart and given unto God. Choose this day whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15 Find a certain time that is best for you to set aside each day. Early in the morning, before responsibilities of the day begin, alone at lunch time, or in the quiet of the evening are best for most. The enemy of our souls will make it his goal to distract. Pray and persevere! The rewards will be great. 2
JESUS OUR ANCHOR OF HOPE: MILK OR MEAT Hebrews 5:11-6:2 Ladies, last year we raised our anchor and set sail to many different ports on a historical fact finding journey. Everything we uncovered in our travels proved to be very useful in understanding the impact of this letter and how it affected those early Christian Jews. It would pointedly address these new believers ability to endure impending persecution, as well as the hope required to continue their difficult journey of faith. Once again I d like to welcome you back to our Fall 2017 Bible Study. It is with heartfelt joy and great pleasure to know that we are about to drop our anchor here and resume our study in the book of Hebrews. As I mentioned before, I am confident that this book will challenge us to the very core of our Christianity, and exhort us to stop waffling in our faith. It is imperative that we have a proper understanding of the journey ahead, and that all our navigation systems are in place, before we set sail again through the book of Hebrews. In preparation for this year s study, we began with an extensive background research, on Melchizedek. Over the last two weeks we looked at Melchizedek and we reviewed Hebrews chapters 1:1-5:1-10. This week our tour guide will begin charting our course through the Book of Hebrews once again, where we will meet our writer. So, let s raise our anchor and set sail on a new journey along Mediterranean Coast. Ladies in order for us to move forward it is important to go back where we ended during our Spring session. It was chapter 3, that our writer sought to persuade his listeners to Consider Jesus Our Apostle and High Priest. Our writer conveyed that his audience was to See This Jesus, Consider This Jesus and Fix their/ours gaze upon This Jesus. He also conveyed how they were to do this by believing through faith that God would perform all that He had promised. Joshua 21:45, states, Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. NJKV 3
Once again looking back from the therefore in chapter 4: to 3:16-19, we learned that they had heard and knew the truth, yet, they rebelled. We have learned that those who came out of Egypt were rebellious, disobedient, and full of unbelief, and because of the hardness of their hearts, they could not enter the rest that God had prepared for them. Now moving forward our writer begins with an exhortation that we would look at Israel s example and not follow the same. Furthermore, he introduced us to God s rest, which we find in verses 1-10 as three different kinds of rests: Vs.3 Israel s rest; Vs.4 God s Sabbath rest and Vs.9-10 the believer s rest. We know that it is important for our bodies to get a proper night s rest, and if we don t, there are unpleasant consequences. If physical rest is important to our physical wellbeing, then spiritual rest is even more important to our spiritual wellbeing. The lack of spiritual rest results in failure to enter God s rest, due to unbelief, a hardened heart, and disobedience. Jesus says to all in Matthew 11:28, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Before he speaks of their Rest, it was our writer s intention for them/ us to understand, that the gospel was preached, that Good News of redemption would come to us all; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. In other words, when the twelve returned from spying out the land those who doubted gave a negative report causing the people to distrust God, unlike Joshua and Caleb who sought to encourage the people to remember all that God had done. So, it did not profit them because of their lack of faith. 4
DAY ONE: OBSERVATION. from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit. Read Hebrews 5 6:2 OBSERVATION FACT: WHO ~ Who is the author? Who is speaking (the author or another character)? For whom are these verses written? WHAT ~ What is happening? What examples (good and bad) are being presented? What warnings or commands are offered? WHEN ~ When was the book written, and what is the historical/cultural environment? When did (or will) the events in the verses take place? WHERE ~ Where is the author? Where are the key characters of this passage? Where is the audience/recipients of this Scripture? WHY ~ Why were these verses written? Why are the people, events, and/or places being discussed? What doctrine or practical guidance (how to live in Christ) is given? HOW ~ How are people behaving? How is God responding to that behavior? KEY WORDS: What words or synonyms are repeated and /play an important role in conveying the author s key message? KEY VERSES: What verses capture the most important theme(s) of the Scriptures? 5
DAY TWO: INTERPRETATION from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit? Read Hebrews 5:11 6:2 INTERPRET FACT: The most important principle to interpreting God s Word is to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. So as you consider the meaning take into account: The verses before and after The whole passage & chapter The entire book The whole Bible What is happening? Why is this occurring? What do these verses mean to you? 1. List 2 Old Testament references that relate to this section of scripture: 2. 6
DAY THREE: INSTRUCTION from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit. BACKGROUND VERSES: Hebrews 2:17 Hebrews 4:15 Hebrews 8:3-6 Hebrews 10:11-14 Read Hebrews 5:11 6:2 WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT GOD THE FATHER, JESUS, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT? HOW DID YOU SEE THEM IN THESE SCRIPTURES? 7
DAY FOUR: APPLICATION from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit. Read Hebrews 5:11 6:2 BACKGROUND VERSES: Numbers 16:40 1 Kings 2:9 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 1 Corinthians 15:3 WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT LIFE? Is there a sin you need to confess and repent of? How does the passage help you focus on God or impact your Christian walk? What new commands, truths, promises, exhortations, prophecies, or warnings have you learned? Whose example can you follow or avoid? WHAT DID THE LORD REVEAL TO ME ABOUT MYSELF? What does this passage teach you about yourself? About your desires and motives? What thoughts, attitudes, motives, or actions do you need to change? What false understandings (about God s Word) can you change? 8
DAY FIVE: PRAYER from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit. Read Hebrews 5:11 6:2 BACKGROUND VERSES: 2 Chronicles 26:18 1 Peter 2:2 Ephesians 4:15-16 John 16:12-15 Philippians 3:12-14 PRAY BACK TO GOD: A Specific Scripture Intercession on behalf of someone else. Thanksgiving and Supplication Worship Answer to Prayer WHAT CAN I TAKE FROM THIS SCRIPTURE AND PRAY BACK TO GOD? HOW WILL I APPLY THIS TO MY LIFE? Does this passage require that you take action? If so, what is it? 9
DAY SIX: SUMMARY from his heart and to be refreshed and filled by the Holy Spirit. Read Hebrews 5:11 6:2 WRITE A 2-PARAGRAPH SUMMARY FROM THESE VERSES OR SECTION OF SCRIPTURE OF WHAT PERSONALLY SPOKE TO YOU THE MOST? What are you thankful for? HOW AND WHY? 10