[0:00] church for doing that. We are in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 26, will probably take us to the end of the chapter, verse 39. I say probably because I read this text last week as well with the full intention of completing Hebrews 10 all the way through verse 39 last week. But after the first point, the Lord told me to stop. So we stopped.
[0:21] So we're going to pick that up. And I'm thankful he did. I told my wife just the other day, I said, and I'm so thankful God stopped me halfway through that message because it gave me an opportunity to revisit and to look again at the text. And if there is a text that is of utmost importance, I mean, all of them are, but if there is a text probably which we need to pump the brakes and slow down and possibly if your pastor could read it slower, it would be Hebrews 10 verses 26 through 39. And this is not something that we want to run through in a very rapid fashion. Rather, this is something which we must pause and take consideration of. This is the text, by the way, that was used to spur one of the great awakenings in our nation. This is the text in which Jonathan Edwards got his message, sinners from the hands of an angry God. And you will see it in this text.
[1:15] And that message was not a very eloquent message. It was not one which was full of charisma. As a matter of fact, it was a message in which Jonathan Edwards, who was known for his scholarly renown, who was known for his academia, who was known for all of his, at least, well, really not very charismatic, but he was known for things. He stood before the congregation with trembling and fear and much, say, with much trepidation. And he read from a manuscript that he had written the night before on his knees. And it was from this text. And God used that text to spur, along with another, a series of other events, the great awakening in our own nation, in which many people came to faith in Christ, in which many people turned and generally gave their hearts and their lives to Jesus Christ.
[1:57] And the church did what only the church should do, right? With that, about six months later, they fired Jonathan Edwards and told him he was no longer the pastor there. And they sent him on his way. I was laughing about that. He ended up becoming president. They did fire him just a little bit after that. I'm not saying that churches should do that. Don't do that. So he preaches a text.
[2:14] Let's fire him. That's not what I'm saying. I'm trying to lighten you up a little bit. But they did fire him. They got rid of him. They voted him out. And he went and became president, I believe, of Yale University after that. So anyway, it's a text in which a number of people came to Christ. But what's amazing is the people who came to Christ were church members, church members. It wasn't an outreach text. It was an in-reach text. And it was, as Jonathan Edwards preached, some would say that the members of the church were grabbing the back of the pews and white knuckle holding on. And the report goes that while he read that message and read the text, people were crying out in the congregation saying, stop, stop, stop, because they felt as if the portals of hell were opening up underneath them and they were going to get sucked in. What a text, right?
[3:03] And you'll see it if you just pause and you slow down. So I'm thankful God gave me another week to come back and to look at it. Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 26 and reading down to verse 39.
[3:16] This morning, we're going to look at the dangerous ground of denial. The dangerous ground of denial. There are a lot of warning passages in the book of Hebrews. If you remember, the author of Hebrews is writing to the Hebrew people who have considered Jesus. Many of them are kind of caught between two considerations. Do I go all in? Do I commit fully to the person and work of Jesus Christ? Or do I forget about Jesus and go back to practice in Judaism? Do I go back to sacrificial and temple worship?
[3:46] Which one should I do? These were people who were near to Christ. They had heard of Christ and many of them had even seen some of the great works done in Christ's name. Yet they were not, at least wholesale, fully committed. We can think that some of the original authors of the text probably were fully committed followers, but not all of them. The author is writing for the purpose of spurring and pushing and moving them forward to a full commitment to Jesus Christ. To casting off all works of the flesh, casting off all hope and dependence upon themselves and even upon the law and the legalistic keeping of the law and showing them that Jesus Christ has fulfilled all of that. And he is urging them and pleading with them and really prodding them to put their hope and faith and trust in Jesus Christ and Christ alone. There are a number of warning passages through the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1 through 8 is one such warning passage. But probably the greatest warning passage that we have in the book of Hebrews is the one before us this morning. Hebrews 10 verses 26 through 39. And this is given to us in light of the fact of everything that the author has built up to this point. If you remember last week we looked at that. No longer is the discussion that Jesus is better. No longer is there any talk of
[5:06] Jesus is greater than Moses or Jesus is greater than Abraham or Jesus is greater than the angels or Jesus is greater than anything. Jesus is the great high priest. No longer is there any discussion about the greatness and the superiority of Jesus Christ because that is a settled fact. That is a settled matter in the mind of the author. Now he is saying, but since Jesus is better, what then will you do? And he is urging them to move forward. He began this application section here in Hebrews 10 with the verses that precede this with the invitation that comes because Jesus is better. We are invited into the Holy of Holies. We are invited into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. And we are to go forward in full assurance and confidence that what Jesus has done, we are welcome. But now we come to the warning passage.
[6:04] And then there's this warning of, if you will not accept the invitation of going full into the presence of God, if you kind of pump the brakes and say, well, I don't know if the death of Jesus is good enough to bring me into the presence of God. If you say, well, I believe that God is holy and God is good and God is right. And I believe that man is sinful and man falls, but I'm not so sure if Jesus is the only one. See, there's a big difference. There's a big difference. There's this thing called theism, which acknowledges the existence of God, acknowledge the existence of a creator God, acknowledge the existence that there is a God in the sky and acknowledges the fact that that God is good and is holy and is right and is perfect. And they will even go so far as to acknowledge the fact that man is imperfect. See, the crux of the matter is this. What is man relying on to get him into the presence of holy God? And that really, that matter really is settled in one of two things. And this does not only apply to the Hebrew people. This is something that also applies to your life. So it has direct application to us. The reality that there is a great God who is greater and mightier and holier than us. And the knowledge that each of us can fully understand. We mess up.
[7:24] We fall. We're not perfect, right? We don't need anyone else to tell us that. We don't need someone to point that out to us because our conscience testifies to us. So we are between one of two things. Either we will trust in ourselves to reach the standard, or we will trust completely in Jesus Christ.
[7:45] See, if you just add Jesus to your works, you're still trusting in yourself. If you're hoping that Jesus picks up where you fall off, you're still trusting in yourself.
[7:56] I don't even want to fall off. I just want Jesus to take it all. And it is this reality of coming to full and final commitment of Jesus Christ. And if we don't, we're on that verge. Here's where the author is telling us we stand. We're standing on the dangerous ground of denial. So if you are physically able, and if you desire to do so, will you join with me as we stand together and we read the text, Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 26. Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 26.
[8:31] The text says, For if we go on sinning willfully, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve, who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace. For we know him who says, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But remember the former days when after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith. And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
[10:15] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this day. We are so thankful for the text that you have put before us. Lord, we pray that now by the power and the presence of the Spirit, that the text would be opened up to our eyes. Lord, we pray that we would see your truth and your truth alone, and that that truth would grip our hearts and minds, that it would be that which transforms and changes us and conforms us more to your image. And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 through 39. We are looking at the dangerous ground of denial. The author is no longer begging. The author is no longer asking. The author is no longer trying to convince any of the readers that Jesus is better. Now the author has come to the point where he is calling for a decision. He is calling for a vote from the people, if he will. He is calling for a decision to be made. The discussion is over. Anytime you go to a business meeting that is operating according to Robert's rules of order.
[11:13] I saw it this year at the Southern Baptist Convention, where there were many people who would stand up, stand up, and they want to discuss a point of order, and they want to discuss a topic. And when you're in a room with 15,000 messengers, think about that for just a minute, people.
[11:26] 15,000 pastors and laymen from Southern Baptist churches. That can be a lot of talking going on at those microphones, right? And they want to talk about this and talk about this. And just as the number of talk can go on, so too could a little bit of animosity and a little bit of bickering going on between microphones. And I was so thankful that at one point in a heated moment, someone made their way to the microphone, and they made one simple declaration. They said this, I call for a vote.
[11:56] And what that did is it stopped all discussion. Someone tried to talk about the matter later, and the moderator said, I'm sorry, we can no longer talk about that. The vote has already been called.
[12:07] Now we must vote. Now we must cast our ballots. Now we must make a decision because we can no longer share our opinions. We can no longer talk about what's good about it or what's bad about it.
[12:19] Now we must make a decision. Friend, what the author of the book of Hebrews is doing is he has called for the vote. He said, that's enough discussion. That's enough talk. That's enough chatter. Now it is time to make a decision. Now it is time for you to decide where you stand with Jesus Christ.
[12:35] Will you cast your all upon him because he is better than anything else? Or will you move forward trusting in your works and hopefully letting him pick up where you leave off? What he is saying is you are standing on the dangerous ground of denial. Because until you go all in with Jesus, there is always, friend, listen to me. There is always a way to go all outs. We see it over and over again. The people who will play church or play with Jesus and hang out with him just a little bit. And they love Jesus in the good times. As a matter of fact, this isn't unique to the book, to the Bible in the book of Hebrews. Jesus speaks about this in the parable of the soils, right? Jesus speaks about this when the parable of the four different soils, I don't mind so much the first soil and even the last soil.
[13:18] I can wrap my mind around that. The first soil, if you remember, is the one that was scattered on the stony ground. And the birds of the air came and took the seed away. And what he says is this is when the gospel is scattered and Satan's so much at work in that individual's life. Satan comes in and takes the seed of the gospel away and therefore the gospel has no effect. Friend, let's just go ahead and say, there are some people you're going to share the gospel with. And I say, you may. I said, you will.
[13:43] That you will share the gospel with. You will declare the greatness of Jesus Christ to them. And they will not respond at all. And it has nothing to do with you. Nothing. Because you're declaring the greatest news that has ever been told. The problem is, is that Satan has such a foothold in their life. He takes the seed of the gospel away and they never have the opportunity.
[14:04] What you must pray is that Satan would be bound, Jesus said, until you bind the strong man, then you can go into the house, right? That's the one I can understand. The last one is glorious. It's when the gospel is sown and the people bear fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold. Which means if you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you're fully committed to him, the gospel seed is growing in your life, you will be fruitful. We read that over and over and over again. And we can understand it. It is the two in the middle that give me problems. It is the two. The one that accepts the gospel and it sprouts up, but then it gets choked out by the cares and the concerns and the pleasures of this life. That means even the good things of life, because there are people, and the reason it concerns me is I've seen it over and over. You share the gospel with someone, they're like, yes, that's exactly what I need. Yes, I need this Jesus. And the gospel seems to be bearing fruit. It seems to be growing. But until you see the fruit come, don't say that they're genuine believers, right? Just because it looks like a corn stalk, you don't call it a corn stalk until you see corn on the stalk, right? We see it growing and it's there and you're like, oh, that's corn, that's corn, that's fruit, that's fruit. They've accepted the gospel. And then before you know it, Jesus says the trials and the concerns and the pleasures of this world choke it out.
[15:28] It means it has no effect. And then there are those that when the trials and the tribulations and persecutions, they cast it off. So what Jesus is saying here is that half of the people who hear the gospel, half of the people who hear the gospel will not receive it. They will have a part in it.
[15:49] They will walk close to it, but they will never be fully committed to it because the problems of this life or the pleasures of this life will take them away. That's the dangerous ground of denial.
[16:03] Just because it looks right doesn't mean it is right until you see the fruit coming out right. And we understand this. And this is what the author is saying. For if we go on sinning willfully, we need to understand, number one, there is a word of caution. There is a word of caution.
[16:23] Sin. If we go on sinning willfully, this should call to your mind the high-handed sins of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, when you sin, there's a sacrifice for that sin, right? If you do this, offer that. If you do this, offer that. If you do this, offer that. If you do this sin, then this is what you do to be forgiven of that sin. And the Hebrew people would have understood that. But there was that high-handed sin. And namely, that is the sin that looks at God and says, God, I don't care what you say. I'm going to do it anyway. The Bible says in the Old Testament, there is no sacrifice for that sin. There's none given. You don't have a sacrifice. There's no way to be forgiven for that sin.
[17:04] That is that high-handed sin that says, I know what I should do, but I'm choosing not to do it because I would rather do it my way. And I would rather do it the way I think it should be done. God says, well, then there is no sacrifice. Now let's bring that to the New Testament. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, here is the dangerous ground. I want to go ahead and put it out there because I know from me personally, I wrestled with this passage for a number of years.
[17:33] And I don't want to cause any undue concern for the genuine believer. Let me put it that way. But I want to cause all kinds of concern for the fake believer. Okay, let me, or the make believer.
[17:44] But for the genuine believer, listen, this isn't speaking to the times you mess up. This isn't speaking to the times you fall and you stumble and even when you backslide.
[17:55] Hey, I have not met a sincere believer yet who does not sin every now and then. Because we are, as Paul says, not yet what we should be. And we can all testify to that, right?
[18:07] We can testify to that reality. We can testify, but listen, it is not a willful sin. Sin, the word there is intentional. It is a falling sin. To willfully sin is to say, I don't really care.
[18:24] It doesn't matter. To be a genuine believer and to enter into sin, all of a sudden it begins to matter because the conviction of the Holy Spirit will not let you go. And the conviction of the Spirit makes you sick to your stomach.
[18:39] And you know to the depths of your being that there's something wrong and you shouldn't be here. And you understand that you shouldn't be doing that. This is not what it's talking about. In a word, this is talking about apostasy.
[18:51] Now, apostasy are those who drew near to Christ, who come near Christ. They like the benefits of Christ. They even have a good time with Christ. They like being around the people of Christ.
[19:02] Who doesn't like being around a group of people who had all things in common? Read the book of Acts. The believers sold their possession and had all things in common. That attracts some people, right? Hey, if I'm on the fringe of society, if I'm kind of an out from the in crowd, if I'm not necessarily one of the higher crust of society, and here's a group of people that have all things in common, I mean, they're selling their land, they're giving to the poor, they're feeding the hungry, they're clothing the naked, that's a good place to be, right?
[19:31] Because when the church is really the church, the world loves to be around it. Understand that, okay? Understand that. That's not a bad thing. Jesus declares that we should do that.
[19:43] But because of that, there's always this, what we see in the book of Exodus, this mixed multitude. There's always these people who are really Jewish people in the book of Exodus, not really believers in the New Testament.
[19:54] They're always gathered around it because they like the benefits. We can understand it in the book of Exodus. If I was in Egypt and I was a mixed multitude and, hey, Egypt was a good place to live until the Jewish people plundered them and walked out, well, the Jewish have all their gold, so I'm going to go with them, right?
[20:09] I want the benefits of the community. I don't want the regulations of the society. And this is exactly what they're talking about. They're hanging out. And what he says is these people, when they're there and they know the truth, because here is the reality.
[20:24] Friend, you need to understand this. When you genuinely accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, people are going to be drawn to you. And the reason they're going to be drawn to you is because you're going to love like nobody else loves.
[20:38] You're going to give like nobody else gives. They're going to ask you to walk one mile and you're going to go two miles. They're going to smack you on the right cheek. You're going to turn on the left cheek. You're going to give to whoever asks of you. These things are hard.
[20:49] They're not easy to do. I understand. But the love of Christ begins to well up inside of us. And all of a sudden, what we used to be, we are not that way any longer. And people are drawn to you.
[20:59] People are drawn to us. And sure, in my family, we call them limpets. You know what a limpet does? This may offend some of you, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. I'll run the risk of getting in trouble.
[21:10] A limpet is that little fish that hangs on to the side of the shark and all it does is suck the blood out of the shark. It's living off the shark, right? It's a limpet that clings. And every now and then, and it's okay, because it does good things to the shark, too.
[21:24] It cleans the bacteria off the shark scales. So it's good for the shark, right? But he's getting his life from the shark. Every now and then, God puts people around you that are just limpets. You have to carry them along.
[21:35] Now, they're going to sanctify you and make you a little bit better because you're going to learn you need to love and you need to give, and the Spirit will break you, and you're like, oh, man, I shouldn't have done that or I shouldn't have done this. And they're going to kind of hang on to you every now and then, but they're just going to be there to take, and that's okay.
[21:49] Because this is what the Bible says. The Bible says that when they're around the church, they know the truth. They know the truth. So the people that God draws to you will now have the opportunity to know the truth.
[22:07] You know what a limpet knows? A limpet knows you don't swim in the shark's mouth. That thing eats stuff. It knows the truth, right? And people who hang around believers, they know the truth.
[22:17] So if we go and sin and willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, this is speaking to those people who it is the word of caution, who have been around the things of Christ, have seen the truth of Christ, have understood the things of Christ, and yet decided they didn't want to go all the way, that they still wanted to do it how they saw fit.
[22:44] They still wanted to walk. Now here's the word of caution. If that is true, the author says, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. So here it is.
[22:55] I know I'm giving you a lot of information, but I'm going to put you just so we can slow down right here. When you hear the truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ is the only way, from that moment on, you are now responsible to respond to that gospel because it is the only hope you have for the forgiveness of your sins.
[23:21] It is the only hope. Now it's the only hope for the world. I understand that. It's the hope for all mankind. But how much more for those who know the truth and yet do not want to fully commit to the truth.
[23:37] They want to do it the way they've always done it. This is what he's talking about. They want to go back. There no longer remains. What he's telling them, you can't go back offering sacrifices. You can't bring a lamb back to the altar.
[23:48] Don't bring a red heifer there and try to be cleansed of that. Don't go back to the altar and do this. Don't go back to the sacrificial system and do that because you've already denied the better one.
[23:59] And if you turn your back on the best, you can never go back to the rest, right? You can never go back and do what you used to do. You can never go back and hope for there's forgiveness because you are denying and walking away from the one true sacrifice which God has offered up.
[24:14] He says when you know the truth and you turn around, there no longer remains. This is for the apostate. They speak of this quite often in the New Testament. Those who know the truth yet reject the truth and walk away from the truth, the Bible says the only thing that is waiting them is a terrifying expectation of judgment.
[24:37] A terrifying expectation of judgment. Now I know I'm spending a lot of time on this word of caution, but I think that it is only fitting. Friend, listen to me. If you are not fully committed to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you are not putting all of your hope and trust and all of your ambitions, all of your realities upon him and him alone, if you are no longer trusting in yourself and you've cast it all upon Jesus, you're great.
[25:02] If you're trying to let Jesus just be a piece and a part of your life, the Bible says the only thing you have to look forward to is a terrifying expectation of judgment because the Bible says vengeance is mine, says the Lord, and I will repay.
[25:15] You say, well, that doesn't seem right. Well, it absolutely seems right because if he says this is what you need, this can get you out and you walk away from this, then the only thing over here is judgment.
[25:26] And this is where the author says it is a terrifying thing. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God. I pray that we never, ever, ever lose the wonder of the severity of God's judgment.
[25:47] Because if we ever belittle the wonder of the severity of God's judgment, if we ever begin to see God as a big teddy bear, if we ever begin to see him as someone that we control, if we ever lose the severity of his judgment upon the sinner, then we will belittle the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
[26:11] Only as we magnify how terrifying it would be, at times I tremble with the reality of just how awful it would be to fall into the hands of a living God apart from Jesus Christ.
[26:25] only then do we fully grasp what Jesus has done for us. Because if we convince ourselves it wouldn't be that bad, then my friend, I would say you have not read the Bible that I have read.
[26:42] Because as bad as you think it would be, it is so many more times worse than that. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God.
[26:54] But the great news is, the good news is, and if any, by the way, if anybody ever tells you, just a complete side note here, if anybody ever says, oh, the God of the Old Testament is a big mean judging God, and the God of the New Testament is a big loving God, I want you to open up Hebrews chapter 10 and show them this.
[27:11] And then I want you to go to the book of Revelations and show me how big loving God is there. And then I want you to go to all the times where Jesus speaks of the dividing of the wheats and the tares and the lambs and the goats. I want you to go to all the places of judgment in the New Testament where it reminds us that there is a day of accountability.
[27:27] And that the Old Testament shows us his severity, and the New Testament shows us man's opportunity, and then it ends with God's judgment based on what we did with that opportunity.
[27:38] And the reality is, we can never, ever belittle the fact that God will judge the sinner. And but for Jesus Christ, that's me. Now I can only answer for me.
[27:50] But for the blood of Jesus Christ, that right there is me. And the only thing I would have to look forward to is a terrifying expectation of falling into his hands, standing on my own merit, which is never enough.
[28:05] That's the word of caution. Number two, we see the call to consider. How do we move forward from that? We see the call to consider. And I'm going to be making my way very quickly through these next two.
[28:15] But the call to consider. He says, but remember the former days. This is how we know they were around the church. This is how we know they at least had a part in the church. He says, but remember the former days when after being enlightened, that is coming to an understanding of the things, you endured a great conflict of suffering, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
[28:36] Here's the sad news. Some of these people had suffered for the things of Christ and yet were willing to leave Christ. So he's taking them time to stop.
[28:49] He said, think about it. Think about the times you suffered. Think about the times you paid with your bodies. He said, you were made a public spectacle. And he says, how did you do that?
[29:00] He says, for you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted, listen to this, you accepted joyfully the seizure of your property. These people had let their houses be taken away from them. These people had let their possessions be taken away from them simply because they were professing Jesus Christ.
[29:15] And he said, you did it joyfully knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. What he's saying is, wait a minute, don't you remember when you first came to the understanding of the things of Jesus Christ?
[29:27] You were so on fire. You let people mistreat you. You let people take things from you and you did it with joy because the truth you were hearing, the things you were seeing were showing you that what was before you was so much better than what was around you.
[29:43] He says, so now, what's changed? What's different? Maybe you're used to the things of Christ. Maybe you're not so enamored by the price that he's paid with you.
[29:58] Maybe you're not so excited about the things of Jesus Christ. Maybe now the things of the world are beginning to take a little bit more hold of you and there's no longer any joy because you're letting them go.
[30:09] He said, what's changed? You know what I've found? It's when someone first is enlightened to the truth of Jesus Christ, they are so on fire. I mean, they would give up everything.
[30:21] If this is really true, I'll give up everything. And you know what I have found? They don't have to know all 66 books. When they come to just the understanding of who Jesus is, they're like, man, that is amazing.
[30:35] You know what I want to tell them to do? Then do it. Give it all up. Go. I don't ever say, settle down. Wait, wait, wait a minute. Let's slow down. Let's pump the brakes a little bit. Don't pump the brakes on any new believer.
[30:48] Don't ever pump the brakes. By the way, if you're excited about the things of Jesus Christ, do not pump the brakes. And don't let anybody step on your brake pedal. If they try to step on your brake pedal, kick them in the shin.
[30:59] And I'm saying that with all loving compassion. You tell them, leave you alone. If they tell you you're being a Jesus freak, you say, this is a good place to be. If they're saying you're going nuts there, that's all right. I'd rather be crazy for Jesus now than being fit in with the world and then being judged with the world later, right?
[31:13] Don't let anybody step on your brakes. Don't let anybody slow you down. Don't let anybody tell you you're going overboard. Listen, these things have all happened to me. Every single one of them, oh, you're taking this too far. Listen, I have yet to find in scripture where you can ever take the truth to Jesus Christ too far.
[31:28] I've never seen it. The worst thing you could do is go so far somebody kills you and then you're in his presence. You're like, wow, that was a lot quicker than I anticipated, but hey, all right, now we got eternity, right?
[31:42] And you're hanging out with him. I mean, that's so much better. If it's true, it's so much better. Don't let anybody, listen, there are brake pushers all around your life. There are.
[31:54] Some of them may be your boss. Some of them may be your place of occupation. Some of them may be your hobbies or your habits. There are things that want to pump the brakes in your faith all around your life.
[32:05] And I know it's hard and I know it's difficult, but this is what I say. I say, be so on fire about Jesus that you cast all that aside. If you have to change occupations, you have to change friends, you have to change habits, if you have to change hobbies, if you have to change where you live, if you have to change all those things to stay motivated for the things of Christ, then change it.
[32:23] He said, that's too radical. Yeah, it is. But it's biblical too. It's not popular, but it's biblical.
[32:40] Because what happens is that then you fall into that, remember that rut? Brother Billy Howe used to say a rut was nothing but a grave with both ends knocked out.
[32:55] Remember that? That rut of just going through the routine, the author saying, stop and think about how excited you were. Don't ever get over the excitement of your salvation.
[33:09] Don't ever get over the excitement of the fact you're forgiven. And if there's anything in your life trying to let you get over that, move that out of the way rather than you moving Jesus out of the way.
[33:22] Because if you're not, you're treading on dangerous ground. Dangerous ground. Third and finally, how do you move forward with a life of confidence?
[33:35] There's this word of caution. There's this call to consider. Now here is the encouragement to move forward in confidence. How do you do that? He says, verse 35, therefore, because of these things, because of the truth, because of the excitement from the truth, therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
[33:57] First thing, we need to be confident of. And this is why I say, you can leave jobs, you can leave friends, you can leave, you know, Jesus said, you can leave family. You can leave everybody. You can leave everything and follow Him. And Jesus says this with great confidence.
[34:08] He says, you're blessed if you do that. He says, you're blessed if you take radical steps. And the reason you can do this is because the Bible tells you, and this is where I take it literally, you know, you can, if you want to, we can divide for all cares if we so choose.
[34:20] But I just like a little reading of scripture because I think it was meant to be understood by the average man. But what we say is, Jesus says, there's a great reward if you do that. He said, if you go all in with me, there's a great reward.
[34:31] As a matter of fact, Jesus said, in the life to come and in this life. You may not look like you're being rewarded according to the world standards. He said, but you will be rewarded. And he says it over and over again. So here's the first way to move forward in confidence.
[34:43] Understanding that moving forward with him, moving forward, there is rewarding. It is rewarding. So much more rewarding than anything the world can give you.
[34:56] Anything the world gives you is going to perish. Anything the world gives you is going to diminish. Anything the world gives you is going to be outdated tomorrow. But Jesus gives you a great reward. I love verse 36.
[35:09] You know what the author says? He doesn't say you need to make a decision. He says, you have need of endurance. Now he's calling on them to make a decision. But he's not saying, just decide now, let's move on.
[35:19] Let's raise our hands, let's say a prayer, let's go to the altar, let's make a confession, and then let's just go about the rest of our life. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say, decide once for all and once you get it settled, we'll sign your name on a card and we'll move on.
[35:31] All I need you to do is make this profession. That's not what he says. What he says, you need endurance. He said, this is going to be a lifetime. This is going to take you the rest of your life. He said, you need endurance so that when you have done the will of God, it is trust completely in Jesus Christ, that is fulfill everything that God has intended for you.
[35:47] Listen, none of us have done the will of God completely because we're still here. So there are things that God wants us individually and corporately to do. So we're not through. He said, you need endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
[36:01] He said, this is going to be a marathon. It's going to take a long time. This is not something you're just going to do once. You want to live a life of confidence? Then pray that God gives you the endurance to do so. Understanding there are going to be things, there are going to be trials, there are going to be temptations.
[36:15] And then he quotes two passages from the great book of Habakkuk. The minor prophet Habakkuk, which not many of us know anything about. It's a really good book, by the way.
[36:26] You need to go read it. My wife's favorite verse is there at the end of the book of Habakkuk. I don't tell it to you, but that's her favorite verse. It's a great book. One of the minor prophets in the Old Testament.
[36:37] He had two quotations from the book of Habakkuk. For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. So here we go. The Old Testament speaking of the second coming of Jesus Christ. It also speaks of living by faith.
[36:48] I mean, Habakkuk, right? Their sacrificial system, time in the Old Testament. But my righteous one shall live by, not sacrifices, not offerings, not whole burnt offerings, not contributions, but my righteous one shall live by faith.
[37:04] And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. Here is how we move forward in confidence. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
[37:18] How do you move forward living in confidence? Walk off that dangerous ground of denial by moving forward in faith. Living completely in faith.
[37:29] Now, what does that faith look like in daily application? That's what all of Hebrews chapter 11 is about. But this is the encouragement. Quit living by sight.
[37:43] What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? Start living by faith and moving forward so that you are not of those who shrink back. Walk off of that dangerous ground of denial and move forward into that life of abundance with Christ.
[37:59] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much. Thank you for this day and thank you for your word. We pray that your word would have its perfect work in our lives and our hearts.
[38:10] We pray, oh God, that the truth of it now would be that which calls us to you. I pray that it would not be the opinions or the thoughts of man. It would be the very word of God. I pray that that word, Lord, would be working and moving in our life until you come again.
[38:27] And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
[38:43] Thank you.
[39:43] Thank you.
[40:13] Thank you.
[40:43] Thank you.
[41:13] Thank you.
[41:43] Thank you.
[42:13] Thank you.