Encouraging Love: Encouraging Positive Talk James 4:11-12

Encouraging Love:  Encouraging Positive Talk         James 4:11-12(NLT)

o  In one of Aesop's Fables he tells of the story of four bulls who were great friends.  They went everywhere together, fed together, and lay down to rest together, always keeping so close to each other that if any danger were near they could all face it at once.

o  Now there was a lion which had determined to have them, but he could never get at them individually.  He was a match for any one of them alone, but not all four at once. 

o  However, he used to watch for his opportunity, and when one lagged the least bit behind the others as they grazed, he would slink up and whisper that the other bulls had been saying unkind things about him. 

o  The lion did this so often that at last the four friends became uneasy.  Each bull thought the other three were plotting against him. 

o  Finally, as there was no trust among them, they went off by themselves, their friendship broken.

o  This was what the lion wanted.  One by one he killed them, and made four good meals.

o  Anytime we speak against someone we are doing the lion's dirty work for him.

o  Not only are we hurting our neighbour, but we are hurting ourselves by putting on negative and judgemental attitudes.

o  James warned his readers about this very thing, and gave them one simple instruction about speaking against our neighbours: "Stop it!"

o  In James' mind any form of speaking against another person is insulting and rude and not acceptable behaviour for a Christian (or anyone else for that matter).

o  The reason James gives his readers is that not only when someone speaks against their neighbour are they judging their neighbour, but they are judging God's law.

o  Lev. 19:18 says, "You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself."

o  So when we say something negative about someone we are taking on the role of judge and lawgiver and placing ourselves above God's law and this one of the two laws which Jesus said was the greatest commandment.

o  That's not the worst part, the worst part is when we judge God's law we are actually saying we know better than God.  We don't like to come right out and say that kind of thing, but actions speak louder than words. 

o  Every time we disobey God's laws our actions say to God, "God, that may be what you say is best for me, but, God, I think I know better, so I'll do what I want. Thank you very much."

o  I don't know about you, but suddenly I'm awfully aware of my own bent toward sin.

o  What are some of the ways we speak against someone?

o  1 Peter 2:1 says, "So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech"(NLT).

o  Deceit, hypocrisy, and jealousy are clear motives for saying unkind things about others.

o  What do we mean by deceit? Deceit is dishonesty, "a habit of trying to mislead others by covering up or twisting the truth" (CGC Dictionary).

o  What's hypocrisy? In ancient times, theatre actors were called hypocrites.  They wore masks, pretending to be someone they weren't, just as actors pretend to be someone else today.  A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something they are not by putting on a false appearance.

o  What about jealousy?  The motive of jealousy can refer to two things:  (1) You are afraid that someone is after the one you love or that the one you love is in love with someone else; and (2) envy, envy is wanting what someone else has, and since the tenth commandment is, "you shall not covet," let's be reminded that coveting is envy.

o  Paul also makes mention of ways we speak unkindly.  2 Corinthians 12:20 says, "For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarrelling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behaviour."

o  Paul mentions two things in this verse that I want to highlight, gossip and arrogance.

o  Gossip, the dictionary says, is idle talk about people.  Now gossip comes from something none of us ought to be and that's idle, that's "i-d-l-e" not "i-d-o-l".  To be idle is to be unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, or lazy.

o  A fruit tree that does not bear fruit for harvest is idle.  An engine that's running and not going anywhere is idle.  A labourer who stands around all day not working is idle.  A tongue that too often wags about other people is idle.

o  Idle talk is talk which comes about from not being occupied with more important things.  We could all accomplish much more if we were rid of gossip and we would all appreciate the end of the rumour mill.

o  What about arrogance?  Arrogance is an attitude of thinking that you are more important than you really are.

o  Arrogance is assuming you will never face personal tragedy in a world filled with tragedy.

o  Arrogance is laughing and throwing a party on the roof of your beach house when you've been warned that category 4 hurricane is bearing down on you.

o  Arrogance is walking across the road, assuming the traffic will stop for you.

o  Arrogance is the attitude that causes us to say all kinds of things about others to make them seem less than they are and puff us up more.

o  When it comes to the motives that stir us up to say unkind things about others we all need more inner work done on our hearts. 

o  Until those changes take root the best thing to do is remember the advice of James and "Stop it!" When we speak under the influence of these things, then we are doing the lion's dirty work by judging our neighbours, judging God's law and judging God.

o   "But your job is to obey the law," says James, "not to judge whether it applies to you."

o  There is one lawgiver and judge and you and I are not him.  Since it is our job to obey the law of love, then it is also our job to exterminate the callous, cruel, critical attitude that revels in fault-finding.

o  God alone gave the law, God alone is qualified to judge, and God alone is qualified to enforce the law.

o  Do we really think that we know better than God when it comes right down to it?

o  As the NLT says, "So what right do you have to judge your neighbour?"  But the NIV captures the full force of the final words of verse 12, "But you--who are you?"

o  Do our actions, or in this case, our mouths, betray what we say we believe?

o  James was trying to get his readers' full attention on this matter so he was very blunt, as if to say, "Really! Who do you think you are?"

o  As Christians who are called to love one another and love God, we have to take seriously the warning of James.

o  If we love each other and love God, then we will stop speaking against one another and get rid of attitudes and habits that cause us to speak unkindly of others.

o  What will we do instead?

o  Encourage one another to speak only good things of others.

o  In the classic Disney movie Bambi, the young outspoken bunny, Thumper, speaks thoughtlessly about Bambi, which his mother overhears.  "Thumper!" she said, "What did your father tell you?"  To which came the timid reply, "If you haven't got anything nice to say don't say anything at all."  Wise words.  But for a people who love God and love one another we must go the extra mile...

o  Encourage one another to speak only good things of others.

“Encouraging Agreement” 1 Corinthians 1: 10 – 17

                                 

- Once again today as we come to another of the NT’s “one anothers” we find the topic of Christian unity. 

- Paul learned from members of Chloe’s household that there were schisms in the Corinthian church.

- They were divided over what appears to be some pretty silly stuff.  You see the church had divided down the lines of whom they were disciples, whom they were following.

- Now if we stop and think about it, everybody’s got a pet topic or favourite high horse or special mentor or some other such thing. It was the same then as it is now.

- So the Corinthians were divided about their favourite mentors in the faith and they were quarrelling about it to the point that it was casting a shadow over the effectiveness of their witness and on the brink of tearing the church apart.

- Paul used the word “schismata” to describe the kind of division they were facing and it means a crack, a fissure, a tear or a gash.

- What would happen if four people all decided that they each had the only right to a piece of fine silk and they all started pulling on it at once? It would tear apart and the silk would be ruined.

-It’s like that in the church with our testimony.  If we do not have agreement concerning whom and what we’re are all about, then there will be division. 

- Everybody’s running here and there doing their own thing and instead of focusing on the main thing, we’re divided.  That can lead further down the path toward quarrelling, and jealousy, and strife.

- When we get focussed on ourselves and our individual little kingdoms and our personal agendas, then our focus gets off the good news of Christ’s cross, off one another, off community, and off fellowship, and our witness and testimony is skewed because we are not united, not in agreement.

- What we need to do instead is focus on Christ first and agree with one another that his kingdom and carrying his love and message to the world is our job.  It’s our only job.

- When there is disagreement in the church about who we are and where we are going then the church is not in tune.  When we disagree we are not in tune with one another.

- A finely tuned instrument plays beautifully.  An orchestra or band that is in tune makes beautiful music, but when they are not in tune they just make an unattractive, displeasing, noisy racket and it’s a real turn off.

- A church that’s not in tune appears to the world as something uninviting, repellent, ugly and nasty. But a church that’s in tune makes beautiful harmonies and melodies that draw people to God and show people that we are who we claim to be.  We are God’s people, and we love one another and love Jesus, and we love you.

- So, how do we get in tune with each other?

- Paul says, “…all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

- How do we get in tune with each other?  Think of others first. Stop thinking about yourself all the time.  Think of yourself less.  Think of others first.

- How do we do that? Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my followers you must deny yourself…”

- If you want to be in tune with God’s people put others before yourself.

- Derek needs to think less about what Derek wants and put others before Derek. 

- That means each one of us personally needs to put others before ourselves

- Practice self-control, self discipline.

- King Solomon talked about this:  

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired…yet…everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
   nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

- We know from Solomon’s life that he was a man whose loyalties became divided.  He served himself, he served his wives and concubines, he allowed them to serve their false gods even doing so himself, and he became deeply dissatisfied later in his life and in deep need of the fresh wind and fire of the Holy Spirit.

- Jesus invites us not to self-discipline for discipline’s sake, but for the sake of staying in tune with God’s people and of staying in tune with God through Jesus Christ.

- How do we stay in tune with Jesus?

- Paul says, ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

- How do we stay in tune with Jesus?  We need to keep Jesus in focus, keep our eyes on him, his message and his love.

- Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be my follower, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

- When we suffer and go through trying and taxing times as Christians we need to bear up under the strain remembering how Jesus bore his cross for us.

- Jesus endured scourging, crucifixion and death for us and we have not yet suffered to the point of death for our faith.  Is it too much to ask that we bear the momentary troubles of this life in exchange for eternity?

- We must die to the selfish lives we used to live, putting to death our old sinful ways of life and living for Christ. He is our only master, savior and Lord. 

- It is Jesus whom we must follow and we don’t follow Jesus by attempting to copy his ministry retracing his exact footsteps.  No, we do it by learning how Jesus would live our lives if he were us and learning to really live that way. 

- How would my life be different if I lived like Jesus was living my life for me?  How would Jesus live your life if he were you?  That famous question, “What would Jesus do?” Doesn’t quite capture what it means to follow Jesus.  A better question might be, “What would Jesus have me do?

- When there is disagreement in the body of Christ, God’s people need to tune in to each other and tune in to Christ and our witness will present a marvelous testimony to the world.

- Tune in to each other and tune in to Christ, and our witness will agree.

Encouraging What's Right 1 Peter 3: 8 - 12

o 8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
o “Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11 He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
o It started at the end of a Sunday morning service in an Ontario church. The choir began the recessional, singing as they marched in perfect unison of the centre aisle to the back of the church.
o The last young lady in the women's section was wearing a new pair of shoes with needle heels, heels that are so slender they slip through any grating. And in the aisle was grating that covered the hot air register.
o Without a thought for her fancy heels, the young woman sang and marched. And the heel of one shoe sank right through a hole in the register grate. Instantly she realized her dilemma. She knew she couldn't hold up the whole recessional while she back stepped to pull out her heel. She did the next best thing in the emergency. Without missing a step she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued up the aisle. There wasn't a break in the recessional. Everything moved like clockwork.
o The first man following that young woman noted the situation and, without losing a beat, reached down and picked up her shoe. The entire grate came with it. Startled but still singing, the man continued up the aisle carrying in his hand one grate attached to one shoe.
o Never a break in the recessional. Everybody singing. Everything moving like clockwork. And then in tune and in time to the beat, the next man stepped into the open register.
o Choirs and other musical groups make great fuel for metaphors and parables. The story that we just heard makes for an excellent parable for not only how well things go in our Christian lives and relationships with one another in the church, but also of how poorly things can go.
o When things are going well and we’re living right with others and with God it’s like singing in unison and marching to the beat, keeping in time and not missing a note.
o But when things are not going so well and we’re not on track with God and others, then it’s like the woman and her shoe stuck in the grate, and the grate coming out of the floor and the man stepping into the whole in the floor where the grate should have been.
o In this brief passage, Peter gives his readers five positive commands to follow, which will help to ensure we stay in step and time and singing the right notes. Peter also gives one negative command to avoid, which he follows with a positive instruction. These will help us avoid serious blunders in our performance.
o The five positive commands which Peter gives to his readers are all in verse eight and have to do with how we treat one another as well as those outside the faith.
o Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
o The first command is: "Live in harmony with one another." The Greek of this phrase may be literally translated, "be completely like minded."
o Harmony in the body of Christ grows out of the knowledge and practice of our Christian faith. Does complete like mindedness mean we will never disagree? No, it means that we will work together to find common ground when we do disagree.
o It also means that we will remain true, having the same mind, regarding the essentials of the faith. Such as, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, that is the key essential of our faith which we must not compromise.
o So unity is about finding common ground, and it's about holding firmly to the essentials of our faith.
o The second command is: "Be sympathetic." The Greek word Peter used here is the word from which we get our word, sympathy. Its meaning is stronger than our English word. It literally means "to suffer with."
o Empathy would give us a closer approximation of what Peter is getting at. As Paul wrote in Romans 12, “mourn with those who mourn.” It is when we suffer with those who are suffering that we show true sympathy.
o We now come to the third command: "love as brothers." Since we have been adopted into God's family, as members of God's household, then we need to learn to treat one another as members of a loving family.
o Expressions of gratitude, encouragement, affection, among other things, should be expected among believers who love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
o The fourth command is: "be compassionate." Believers in Christ need to have tender hearts. Compassion has to do with our deepest feelings. True compassion moves us to act when we see others sorrowing, hurting, or suffering.
o The fifth command is: "be...humble." True humility means to consider yourself with sober judgment, to have an honest estimate of yourself before God.
o The humble person is not down on herself and he is not full of himself. Rather, a humble person is honest with herself about her gifts and character. A humble man can rejoice in the successes of others.
o The imperatives or commands of verse eight are guides for Christians to get along together. These characteristics are qualities which every Christian needs to possess.
o Verse nine is an instruction from Peter to his readers on how to deal with hostile people.
o Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
o What is our natural response when someone is hostile toward us? Why our natural response is to retaliate, to be vengeful.
o But we must learn to respond to aggression, antagonism, and hostility with grace.
o What does it mean to bless those who insult you and commit evil acts toward you? What does it mean to bless your enemies?
o Blessing your enemies means, “to speak well of them.” That is the pattern of Jesus for relating to people who live in a hostile, anti Christian culture.
o This instruction is not merely about being friendly or polite. It is an instruction to active prayer and intercession (that simply means we are prayerfully intervening before God on someone else's behalf).
o Speak well of those who hate you. Speak God’s blessings upon them. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If she is thirsty, give her a drink.
o Our greatest desire for our enemies must be that the Spirit of God would bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ
o The phrase "because to this you were called" refers to our Christian calling to be a gracious and blessing people.
o Wouldn't it be wonderful to be known as: "Those gracious people who bless each other and everyone else too"?
o Peter then backs up his teaching with a quote from Psalm 34.
o "Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from the evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from the evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. For the Lord watches over those who do what's right and listens to their prayers. But he turns his anger against those who do what's wrong."
o If you want a better life, now and for eternity, then do what's right because God is watching you.
o What is goodness but unity, empathy, and love offered to believers and unbelievers alike?
o If we truly want peace in life, then we must seek out ways to live in harmony with others, be sympathetic, compassionate, humble, and especially extend the love of God to others as he has extended his love to us.
o Why does Peter tell his readers to be united and show sympathy and love for one another and bless their enemies?
o Because the Lord watches over those who do what's right and hears their prayers.
o What must our response be to Peter's message?
Encourage each other to unity, empathy, and love because they are what's right.

Generous Giving 2, "Joyfully Generous" 2 Corinthians 9

o A few weeks back, as we looked at second Corinthians chapter eight, we saw how Paul bragged about how the Macedonian churches were able to complete their collection for the Jerusalem church before the church of Corinth in spite of being extremely poor and facing severe trials.
o Now we hear of Paul telling the Corinthians that he's bragging about them to the churches of Macedonia and their eagerness to give. But were the Corinthians really so eager?[Read verses one to two]
o Ah! So we begin to get an inkling, a hint from Paul that what he said about the Macedonians going through severe trials and extreme poverty was hyperbole. Simply put, Paul exaggerated.
o Many times in the Bible we find language that is figurative, such as poetry, and if we don't keep our wits about us we take it literally. Does that undermine the lesson we learned last week? Fortunately, no.
o Now why would Paul exaggerate? Ancient peoples were familiar with the use of rhetoric in speech and in writing. Humour, irony, simile, metaphor, hyperbole aka exaggeration, and meiosis aka understatement were all available to the ancient authors and orators just as they are to us today. Their function is to make a point and make it clear.
o Paul used hyperbole to make his point. Both you and I need to read our Bibles carefully to pick up on these kinds of things.
o So the Macedonians were poor and facing trials, but they were not all homeless and starving, or suffering martyrs' deaths, if they had been, not only would they been unable to give, but Paul would have been the first in line to die for Christ since he was likely with them when he wrote this letter.
o Paul exaggerated to the Corinthians about the Macedonians and to the Macedonians about the Corinthians.
o Did the Corinthians remain as eager to give as they had been the year before? No, if they had been as eager as Paul was bragging them up to be to the Macedonians, then Paul wouldn't have to be encouraging them to finish their gift.
o So Paul used hyperbole in order to encourage both groups in their giving.
o Another reason Paul exaggerated is that he did not want his boasting about the Corinthians' eagerness to give to be for nothing [read verses three to five]. The year before the Corinthians were so eager to give that they became a motivating example for others, however, their enthusiasm did not translate into action, which is why Paul had to address this issue with them.
o Do we ever get like that, enthusiastic at the beginning of a project and then run out of steam at some point? I know I do. How do we follow through and make sure to keep that initial enthusiasm about what we are investing in and get it done? Well, we need to keep alert to the example we are setting and remember that it is Jesus and our fellow believers that we are really doing it for in the first place. That way we don't end up embarrassed or ashamed for not finishing what we start.
o Paul was concerned for the Corinthians also because if they were not ready when the delegates from Macedonia arrived that would be reason enough for no little embarrassment on the Corinthians' part.
o So Paul urged Titus' and company to prepare the Corinthians for his arrival so he could personally supervise the final arrangements for the collection. That way the Corinthians could finish everything up, save face and they themselves would receive the Lord's blessing through the blessing of their generous gift.
o Paul uses the image of the farmer planting and harvesting in verse 6 [read it]. Then Paul tells his readers that giving is a matter of the heart [read verse seven].
o It's not the amount that we give as much as it is the heart attitude of the giver. What we sow, or give out of a generous heart, we will reap, that is, receive back as eternal blessings.
o "Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven," said Jesus, "for where your treasure is there your heart will be also."
o We see in verses 6 & 7 that generosity and joy go together, hand in hand. They belong together. Typically, joyful people are generous and generous people are joyful. Isn't that true most of the time?
o If I find I am not particularly joyful, then I need to evaluate how generous I am with my time, talents, treasure, and testimony. If I want to experience more joy, then I need to exercise generosity.
o Paul then reminds his readers of the grace of God and how God provides for the needs of the generous hearted so that they can continue to live and give [read verses eight and nine].
o Not only that but God will increase the ability of the joyfully generous so that their acts of generosity may continue to flow and grow righteousness in themselves and in others thanksgiving to God [read verses ten and eleven].
o So it's not that joyfully generous people are self-sufficient, but that they are fully reliant on the all-sufficient God who more than meets their needs so that they may continue to meet the needs of others.
o What Paul is talking about is not name it and claim it and it's not health and wealth. Paul is talking about the God who made you right with him by the blood of Jesus can also make your heart righteous so you are able to do good things for others in Jesus name.
o Nothing about our righteousness entitles us to greater wealth because we don't have a righteousness of our own. God doesn't owe me anything, rather I owe him everything.
o God has blessed us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ by his grace.
o God has blessed us with the person of the Holy Spirit by his grace.
o God has provided us with the Holy Scriptures, the Bible to give us guidance by his grace.
o If God never did another thing for us he has still given us enough to live by faith, joyfully and generously.
o What we don't seem to understand, at least sometimes, is that we already are rich. If you have any amount of money in your wallet or your purse, and if you have any amount of money in the bank, then you have more wealth than 90% of the world. We are rich.
o God has made us rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion which will result in the thanksgiving of others to God.
o Not only does joyful generous giving enrich the giver and the receiver, but joyful generous giving glorifies God for expressions of praise and thanksgiving [Read verses 12 to 15].
o What did Paul tell the Corinthians are the results of joyful generous giving?
o God is glorified because generous giving is evidence of faith in Christ.
o God is glorified because generous giving proves the obedience of the giver.
o God is glorified because generous giving demonstrates the privilege of the fellowship of sharing.
o God is glorified because generous giving warms the heart of the receiver toward the giver.
o And God is glorified because generous giving is further evidence of God's matchless grace in Jesus, the indescribable gift.
o In what does our joyfully generous giving result?
o Joyful generous giving brings glory to God, proving we appreciate His indescribable gift.

ENCOURAGING FAITHFULNESS Hebrews 10: 19 - 25

o It has been said that if you can convince a man there was no hope, he would curse the day he was born. Hope is one of life's qualities that we cannot live without. Many years ago off the coast of Massachusetts a submarine was rammed by another ship and sank. The entire crew was trapped in its prison house of death and ships rushed to the scene of the disaster. We do not know what took place in the depths of the sea in that submarine, but we can be certain that the men clung bravely to life as the oxygen slowly ran out. A diver placed his helmeted ear to the side of the vessel and listened. He heard a tapping noise. Someone was tapping out a question in the dots and dashes of Morse Code. The question came slowly: is... there... any... hope?
o Is there any hope? That is the silent question of so many people in the world today. According to the author of Hebrews, there is no greater hope than the hope available in Jesus Christ. As Verse 19 reveals, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19, NIV)
o It is through the sacrifice of Jesus that we may have a new attitude toward the presence of God. Unlike the high priests of the old covenant, we may approach God confidently. We do not have to wait for a special day to enter God's very presence because we may come by faith in Jesus.
o Verse 20 continues, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, the way which Jesus opened for us to the Father is new and living.
o It is new because in Jesus God has provided us with a totally new set of circumstances in which we can relate to him directly.
o It is living because it is permanently and inseparably connected to the person of Jesus Christ. John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
o Jesus opened this way back to God through the curtain of his flesh. The word "opened" is literally "dedicated" as one would dedicate people or things for Temple service and sacrifice with the blood of sacrificed animals. Jesus, however, dedicates himself as the opened way through the sacrifice of his own blood.
o The "curtain" represents both the curtain in the Temple (which hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy place) and it represents the body of Jesus. At their tearing, the way to God was opened. We are no longer confined from God, but may freely come to him, any time, any place.
o Let's go on and read verse 21, and since we have a great priest over the house of God. The term great priest is a literal translation of the Hebrew normally translated as high priest. Not only is Jesus the great high priest, he is also over God's household.
o Jesus, the only begotten Son and High Priest humbled himself in human flesh and made the way back to God for us all. He is the great King over us all, the King who sacrificed his life so we might really live.
o We now come to the three pieces of earnest advice and encouragement of this passage. Three Lettuces from the tenth row of the Hebrews garden.
o First, let us draw near: Verse 22, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
o We draw near to God "With a sincere heart." The heart is our most inward part, it's who we are when nobody's looking or when we think nobody is looking. As we approach God, are we inwardly pure or our hearts right with him? It is important that we are, since our God is holy.
o "Full assurance of faith" reminds us that it is only through trusting in Jesus' high priestly sacrifice on the cross that we may even come to God in the first place.
o "Hearts sprinkled" and "bodies washed" remind us of baptism. If you've been baptised by immersion, you may remember that baptism is an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual truths.
o Baptism represents the cleansing and renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives and when we first turn away from what's wrong with ourselves, our sin, and come to Jesus in faith.
o The sprinkling of the heart also represents the sprinkling of dedication and cleansing. The blood of Jesus washes us from the inside out in preparation for service to him.
o Second, let us hold unswervingly: Verse 23, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
o The author of Hebrews wants his/her readers to have a firm grasp on our confession of hope because God is faithful.
o It is not sheer will of faith which saves us, but our hope in the always faithful God. Hope confidently expects that since God is faithful, then he can be fully relied upon to keep his promises.
o God the great promise maker is also the great promise keeper. He never breaks his word.
o In fact, Paul writes, For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory. (2 Cor. 1:20, NLT)
o Third, let us consider: Verses 24 and 25, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...not giv[ing] up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but... encourag[ing] one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
o In Greek, the word translated "spur" normally means "irritation" or "exasperation." It's hard to imagine using such a word in a positive light. Think of it! Are we to consider how we are to irritate and annoy one another on toward love and good deeds?
o I'm not sure that this is hyperbole because of how unusual that word choice is. I think Hebrews' writer means we are to be provocative in motivating and urging one another toward love and good deeds.
o Do we challenge those whom we love to a deeper level of committment? Or are we soothing and passive, soft and comforting?
o Proverbs tells us, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Prov. 27:6)
o There are times for soothing, comforting words and there are also times for thought provoking, challenging words.
o Since love is a verb, we need to show our love in practical ways, which meet the needs of others, and place their needs above ours.
o Can you recall the last time someone truly spurred you on? Did you let them or did you get irritated? You married people, when was the last time you honestly considered the concerned criticism of your spouse? God instituted marriage partly because two are better than one. Your spouse can often see faults which can sneak up on you and blindside you, so learn to listen to each other.
o Love requires others for it to be exercised. You can do faith and hope alone, but not love. Love needs community.
o The NIV includes a fourth and fifth "let us", but these lettuces are not in the Greek sentence structure. The last two encouragements are also part of "Let us consider."
o Just like today, the early church had its own fair share of problems with people who tried to go it alone, who stayed home from church, maybe they came for Christmas and Easter, but that's about it.
o The problem with skipping out on gathering with the rest of God's people is this: What happens when you take a live coal out of the fire? The coal glows brightly for a few moments, but not as brightly as when it was among the rest of the coals, then the fire within it goes out completely. The only way to bring back the fire is to place it within the center of the hot coals once more.
o That's also true for us. Take us out of the church and it becomes harder to live the Christian life in a culture that, today as in the first century AD, does not support or uphold faith in Christ.
o It is for this reason that we must continue to encourage one another to not give up meeting together, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
o The approaching Day is obviously the Day of Judgement, but in the first century it was also on the minds of people in Jerusalem that their city's doom at the hands of Rome was fast approaching.
o Certainly, it could not have been easy for those early believers to distinguish between the two days.
o What we must take from this is that our actions toward one another need to reflect the knowledge that each one will one day have to give an account before almighty God.
o It is, therefore, vitally important that we encourage one another.
o Why did the writer of Hebrews tell his readers to encourage one another?
o God is faithful to his promises, so they must keep doing acts of love and good works, not giving up meeting together since the day of his coming draws near.
o Why should we encourage each other?
o God is faithful to his promises, so encourage each other to be faithful.