Sermon in Ishpeming 19.09.2010

Let us pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Dear Heavenly Father, with grace, children have heeded the call of the Spirit to come here today into the hearing of Thy holy and precious Word. We ask that Thou would again be with us through Thy Spirit, that Thou would bless our services, that Thou would give unto each of us that which we need, that morsel of grace, of the bread of life, that we might be encouraged to continue in faith and make this journey towards heaven's shore.

We pray, dear Father, that Thou would continue to call those who do not have this hope into this Thy kingdom through that means of repentance and the forgiveness of sin. We pray for all people, for our friends and neighbors who are next of kin. We pray for our community and for our nation. We ask that this time of visitation of Thy Spirit here would continue to be fruitful and that there would yet be many that would want to come unto Thee through Thy Son and through Thy kingdom.

Dear Father, our cares, our temptations, the adversities that we face in life are all known by Thee. Thou knowest all things and we ask that Thou would speak unto us through Thy Word that we could receive this Word into our hearts and that it would bear fruit in our lives so that we would not be hearers only but doers also of Thy Word.

Dear Father, many are the temporal blessings that Thou hast given unto us. We raise our thanks for all of these gifts and we also ask that Thou would teach us to be content with those gifts that Thou hast given us, even those temporal gifts. We live in a stressful time for our nation, for this world. Yet we seek for that rest and peace that is found in Thy kingdom and through Thy words of consolation.

Dear Father, we thank Thee for Thy kingdom. We thank Thee for Thy dear Son who has gained the victory for us so that we need not do anything but believe upon Him whom Thou hast sent into this world to make the payment for sin. Reveal, dear Father, Thy kingdom unto those of this world who seek for a gracious God, who are troubled by sin, who have the guilt of sin upon their conscience.

Dear Father, we pray also for those dear brothers and sisters who cannot be with us today because of infirmity, weakness, or because they must be at their workstation. We pray that Thou would yet keep them and preserve them even as we here in this begun faith. Speak unto us through Thy word as Thou knowest our needs.

Dear Father, we pray, even as Thy Son has taught us, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

We shall read a text that is the theme for the seniors camp where I was able to be last evening for a presentation and as I was telling one of the brothers this morning that it would be hard to not think of all those thoughts and discussions. The words are found in the 10th chapter of Hebrews verses 23-25. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. Amen. And so much more as we see the day approaching. Amen.

Before we would study this text through the light of God's Holy Spirit, I would want to bring greetings from the children of God there in Alaska where I was able to be there with them for about a week and to be at the services with them. It was a very good experience and I know that some here together with me have children there, but the congregation seems to be a very loving and caring congregation and one that we can feel good to be present with and if need be to be part of.

This book of Hebrews was written to the children of God as we can see that are Hebrews, those that were Jewish Christians, those that were scattered about as there was a large scattering of the Jews called the diaspora, which meant that they went to different areas. I have read some of the background thoughts that some have had when they have studied this book and especially in Jerusalem there was a great persecution of the Jewish Christians. But there was a persecution that was more broad against the Christians, whether Gentile or Jew, wherever they lived in that part of the world at that time.

So, there was a great pressure we can imagine both by external forces of the government who considered it a capital offense to be a Christian, in other words, one who was a Christian could lawfully be put to death. And likewise, we can imagine that there were friends and family members of these Christian Jews who, when their next of kin had become believers, they became upset and they began to apply pressure of words and threats and so forth, that you should not have done this, you should have remained where you were, and remained believing in the salvation by the law of Moses.

I recall on one of my trips to Africa, a somewhat similar incident where a young man who had been in a certain Christian faith and even worked at a place where all of his co-workers were of that same faith. And when he received the grace of conversion, he said that people would call him at home, they would question him at work, that why have you done this? Why have you joined another church? And they applied such pressure that we can imagine for a new convert that it could have been very stressing to have loved ones and family members put doubt and fear and questions into one's mind that why now this?

And so we can somewhat then understand the background and setting that the writer to the Hebrews had when he wrote to them of these matters of not wavering in faith and of loving and caring for one another and of not forsaking the assembly together as some of them literally began to withdraw from the fellowship of God's children some perhaps thought that they had all that they needed after a short time in the services and others feared for their life that if I am caught in the fellowship of God's children or if I am caught with those that are Christians that I will be put to death so these kind of heavy burdens and weights were upon those believers of that time as we discussed at the camp last evening and as can be found here in the same letter.

The letter contains many warnings against giving up faith very pointed warnings and we can understand there again because of the setting why it was so necessary to again and again remind of this calling that we have in Jesus Christ but yet also of the dangers that face us in this world and how these dangers and pressures can and in some instances have been able to break individuals down and they have denied their faith.

I looked at some of these dangers again this morning when I was looking through the list of texts and it seemed that all of them related to this kind of central matter that what is our relationship to God and what is our relationship to his word because one of the dangers was this that we would let these words that we have heard slip by us and we hear that same teaching in other parts of the scriptures very often even in the parable of the sower that when the seed was sown some of that seed was immediately taken away by the raven or the fowl of the air that wouldn't allow it to remain in the heart of the listener that came right away and was snatched up and many other parts of scripture.

But we believe that God speaks unto us through his word and that he does put his word into the mouth of his servants to speak to us and even though the servants are only that they are servants yet that word of life that word of instruction comes forth and is an effectual word meaning that it has effect in our life. We cannot leave from the services from the hearing of God's word without being affected by God's word. It speaks to our inner person even one who is not in faith cannot leave from services once having heard the word of God and walk away and have no effect because God's word testifies of itself that it shall not return unto me void shall accomplish that which it is intended to do.

So one of the warnings that the writer to the Hebrews says is that when we have heard this word that we would not just let it slip away or drift away and miss its mark because this word has been come from heaven and it has been given that witness of many miracles and many other things behind we could say all of this is that matter of unbelief so there is that danger of unbelief and that warning against it that was given to the Hebrews and is equally applicable in our time.

We hear the word but do we believe the word just again like that sower of the seed and that seed that was sown there is nothing wrong with the seed seed as the word of God that is not to be found at fault but when we receive that word or hear that word we are challenged by the enemy of the soul we are challenged by those things that we collect in our memory and our being from society and living here in this world the norms the what's acceptable in our time.

We are challenged by that and so it is that conflict that began with the Adam and Eve when Eve was encouraged to take that truth and she said that it cannot be so and the enemy of the soul said has God really said that is that really what he meant when he gave warnings.

So we have this conflict your brothers and sisters because we have two parts that of the spirit and that of the old portion constantly in conflict constantly battling till the day that we close our eyes to this life that will be the time that the battle stops and that will be the time that sin can have no effect on us anymore.

So that was also a warning given to these Hebrew believers that they would not be overcome by a heart of unbelief. Of course we know from experience perhaps in our own life perhaps in the lives of our friends or former travelers in God's kingdom that it starts when one is disobedient to the word of God which was another warning that the writer gave that we cannot be disobedient to God's word and expect that we would make it to the promised land.

This writer mentions in more detail if we had time to study this how those ones that were released from bondage in Egypt and made that journey most of them died on the way never made it there because they were disobedient. It did not take so much time to make it to the promised land if they had been obedient but for 40 years they had the journey because of their disobedience and they wanted to go back some of them and they thought it would be better that this way of believing in this journey is becoming too much too difficult and it would be better if we had stayed in Egypt we would have food to eat and so on and then they raised up false gods and golden calves and so forth so that they would worship them instead of the living God.

So because of their disobedience they fell in the wilderness and their scripture says even in such a graphic way that their carcasses remained there. Likewise the writer had that kind of warning that that one would not be dull of hearing or hard of hearing and as the Hebrews apparently were in danger of doing they had come into faith they had learned as we to be the children of God and the ABCs or the alphabets of what it means to be a believer but then they started to sway away from that and wanted something more perhaps something more substantial and the writer compares it to the eating of food that they wanted to eat meat they weren't any longer satisfied with the eating or drinking of milk but they wanted something different maybe something more intellectually challenging or to hear that same message was for some of them difficult.

We know the same thing happened in the congregation of Corinth where they were in their worldly setting they were very close to this matter of earthly wisdom and they looked to that and when that message of the gospel came to them and they understood and received that message into their hearts and they wanted to believe but then after a while they wanted something more substantial that basic message of the gospel that speaks of repentance and the forgiveness of sins and the warnings of the way and the journey all of a sudden it didn't seem like it was maybe it was too bland of a food for them so they began to want something that stimulated them intellectually also.

One of the dangers also that the writer spoke of was that of being a despiser of the grace of God and he speaks very forcefully of those that once knew this way once believed once lived by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus but then in the face of temptation and face of persecution and they denied that they were followers of Christ and what a difficult situation that would be that if one of us were here part of God's kingdom and to save our earthly life we then denied that no I wasn't part of that group I was I never I might have got to the service but I never believed as they believed and so crucified as the writer says Christ anew.

So we can see how difficult the situation or at least in part that the Hebrews were in and how they needed also to be comforted with the comfort of the gospel and needed to be encouraged to continue in faith to stay the course to put away sin as sin attaches and to put their trust in the gospel the forgiveness of sins.

So we read these short little we could say almost like a snapshot of the overall writing that let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that promise and we have to say that it is possible to waver in faith because we carry flesh and blood we're not we could say Christians that are unaffected by temptation or doubt or fear but we are those that we can begin to waver so we too need this admonition that we would hold fast to our faith and that we would not begin to become staggering or wavering or in danger of fainting or becoming weary on this journey but it is true that it can happen.

And so we know that the mystery of salvation is contained in the message of the forgiveness of sins but that is where our power comes from we doubt and we fear we fall into sin but the answer is always and the advice is always the same that we would put away sin as sin attaches or if we have doubts and fears that we would speak one to another of the way and the journey even of the weaknesses and of the defeats.

We know that the gospel message is as close as the next believer as the closest believer that we can turn in confidence and turn in that assurity that we can speak of those matters that press against the heart those wounds that have come those defeats that have overtaken us in this warfare and that we will not be rejected at the mercy seat as one who is unfit or too corrupt or too sinful but what we will hear is that dear brother or sister believe your sins forgiven in Jesus name and blood and that is the power of God unto salvation.

We read also that let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. We talked about this at the camp briefly but we could say that let us consider one another or let each consider the other in this journey of faith that has a very broad application where we're not in this journey by ourselves our deeds and actions affect others for one thing and we need to be sensitive to our brothers and sisters in faith.

We must not do that which would cause them to fall or grow weary in faith to offend them in some way or if we do we need to correct matters by discussion and the preaching of the gospel but also we spoke of this to provoke unto love and good works and we mentioned that that's for us a different word when we think of provoking our first thought is one is provoked into anger or someone provokes or eggs one on in some kind of a way that results in tempers flaring and so on and so forth but here the base word if we wanted to chase it back to its original tongue is more that we would encourage one another unto love that we would stimulate that we would do those things that would be a fruit of faith and Christian love so that others would likewise then be we could say motivated to love by action as well as in spirit and word.

We often time travel with our own needs we would want to speak to someone and we would want to speak of the way and journey but we don't have strength always to do that yet on the other hand someone may recognize that this brother or this sister seems to be more quiet than usual or seems to be downtrodden or depressed or however it may be and that's when it means that we should reach out to a brother or sister ask a question are all things well it seems like things are you're burdened or we could be completely wrong of course but it's I think what the sense of this verse is is that that we would have love one for another care for one one for another which is difficult to do without speaking at some point of the most precious matter of life conversation.

Then we come to the verse that the seniors had chosen for their theme for the camp this year not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another so much more as we see the day approaching.

So we ask that kind of question of our self, that what day does the writer speak of? What does he mean that when you see the day approaching? What day is that day? And of course, in the setting of the Hebrews and their conflicts and persecution, they awaited for that final day, that day when the Lord would come. And we do too. We await that day.

They also perhaps could see the destruction of their country and the destruction of Jerusalem because this letter was written just a few years before the prophecy of Jesus took place where Jerusalem would be sacked and not one stone would remain upon the other and therefore they must flee unto the mountains and so on and so forth. So they could perhaps see this coming. And they knew it would be a time of trial and distress.

And so maybe that is it. But we also understand that in our personal life that we are faced with particular and special trials and temptations, when we age, when we are out of work, when we suffer with some sort of illness or loss of health, we also see that day approaching when we must depart from this life or we will depart from this life.

So on a personal basis, we can say that there are such days that approach unto us. Maybe it's just such a simple thing as when we can feel those waves of doubts and darkness coming over us and we can feel that emptiness that we have. But the admonition is that we would gather together as we see that day approach and not forsake it as apparently some did in Hebrews, but rather we can feel that when we are doubting, when we feel very distressed in ourselves, even depressed in ourselves, that our tendency is to be alone and to want to kind of crawl into our cave or something. I'm speaking of myself.

So, but yet at that very moment or that very mindset is when we should be gathering together with the children of God. However, that gathering may be at services or song services or just going to visit someone and speaking of the way and the journey. That's the very time when we should gather together is when our minds tell us that when I feel better or I feel more human or something that I will be in the fellowship of God's children.

So, we have many personal reasons to gather together. And here we could even say in such a special way that when one is tempted and has yielded to sin and has been overtaken by sin that fellowship with God's children becomes less. And one stays away from the services for that reason or from the fellowship because something in the world has attached and something has become more important than being a child of God.

And the devil, of course, and the devil does his sermons too. He can preach such good sermons also that you should stay away from the fellowship of God's children because now you have done this and this. And you don't belong there. It's only for those who are strong in faith and so on and so forth.

But even if there should be such a one today at the services that is so tempted by the enemy of the soul with such kind of thoughts, this is the best place to be is at the assembly of God's children. To find the strength to speak of the way, even the defeats that have come upon the conscience.

We can here also remember that instruction that exhorting one another that we would be such kind of travelers that we would help one another through the word of God. We would not be so timid that we would let a brother or sister perish in their faith. But rather we would approach unto the one who is weak and struggling and offer the words of support and the words of the forgiveness of sins.

So these words have come to mind, I trust, through the light of God's Spirit, even for us today as we studied them last evening. They are for us who journey today as well as for those that traveled under the time of persecution. But it speaks unto us about life and God's kingdom. Nothing new, nothing different than you have heard before. But the matter of persevering in faith, the matter of putting away sin that sin attaches, the matter of trusting in the power of the gospel.

And even a poor child of God, even one who feels themselves to be the least of all, such a one can at this moment believe all sins forgiven. In Jesus' name and precious blood, you can believe unto peace, freedom, and unto joy. Amen.

And dear brothers and sisters, I live of the same gospel that says the power of God in my life also. And I desire to hear this for my own part. I promise to believe together with you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let us unite our hearts into the benediction. The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.