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Run with Endurance: Faith, Discipline, and the Unshakable Kingdom (Hebrews 12–13) · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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Hope everybody is having a good week.
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Surprise, I'm back again. See, Andrew feigned being sick
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on Sunday, so he didn't have to listen to me preach.
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Because of that, Brent asked me to teach class tonight.
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No, I don't think that was the reason.
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No. Brent wound up double booking
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himself, not remembering that he was supposed to be teaching in
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here tonight. He obligated himself to teach
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the kids or the teenagers on how to prepare a topical sermon this
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evening. So he's a cross in Bratton Hall
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educating them on sermon preparation and delivery.
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And you're stuck with me. So what we're going to do
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tonight is we are going to pick up in Hebrews chapter 12 and
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we're going to do our best to scoot our way through the last
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two chapters of the book of Hebrews this evening.
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And obviously with that being our goal, we're not going to
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spend a lot of time in any one particular place tonight.
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But there's there's a lot of things for us to consider,
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especially here in chapter 12, which is where we're going to
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spend the bulk of our time. But we are going to try to get
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through some things in chapter 13 as well.
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For those of you that were not in the Sunday morning class
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because you had other obligations and were in other
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places, you have my profound apologies.
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I'm not going to recap the entire 1st 11 chapters of the
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Book of Hebrews. However, suffice it to say, Book
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of Hebrews being written to Jewish Christians is intended
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for the purpose of showing them why they can't quit, they can't
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give up, they can't try to go back under the old law and try
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to live under that because that was done away with the cross and
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with the coming of Christ. And, and that's been the
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emphasis of chapters 9 and 10. Our last class we started at the
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end of chapter 10 and went all the way through the 1st 2 verses
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of chapter 12 and the entire point of Chapter 11 as well as
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as it stated at the end of chapter 10 and into the start of
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chapter 12 is look at all of the examples.
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Look at all of those who lived and died by faith in God and who
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were completely devoted to being what God wanted them to be and
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doing what God wanted them to do, no matter the cost.
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He goes back at the beginning or at the end of chapter 10, in
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chapter 10 and verse #36 he says for you have need of endurance.
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And that's really the, the focal statement that leads into
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Chapter 11. You have need of endurance so
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that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the
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promise. And then he's going to talk to
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them in Chapter 11 about what faith is and how it is
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illustrated. And in the end of Chapter 11, he
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says, And all these, having obtained a good testimony
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through faith, did not receive the promise.
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God having provided something better for us, that they should
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not be made perfect apart from us.
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Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud
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of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which
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so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race
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that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author
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and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
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Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat
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down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Even when you look at all of these other individuals of
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faith, which He he says it's not the type, as we talked about a
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couple weeks ago, where they're being placed on a pedestal of
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these are the best of the best. And you can never be like them.
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They they are the Hall of Fame and nobody else is going to be
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able to match their faith. That's not the point at all.
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Instead, the point is, these are people of faith.
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These are people who endured great trials and tribulations.
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They overcame a great deal, and their faith stood strong.
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And you can be just like them. But even beyond all of that,
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Chapter 12 begins with let us lay aside every weight, all the
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struggles, all the fear, all the doubting, and the sin which so
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easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance
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the race that is set before us by looking to Jesus, the author
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and finisher of our faith. Because He illustrated the
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devotion, the love, the compassion and the endurance
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that we need to have in our service to Him in what He was
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willing to do for us. As we consider chapter 12, He's
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going to move from this and, and, and he's going to have a
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couple of other statements in, in verses 3 and 4, but he's
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going to move from this into a discussion of discipline.
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And we'll see why in just a couple moments.
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But let me show you how he follows up the statements of the
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1st 2 verses. In verse three He says, For
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consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against
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himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
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You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
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He says, Remember who it was that endured such hostility from
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sinners against himself. Who was that Christ?
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All right, our Lord who endured all of these things, and yet he
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still saw it through to the end. He saw it through to its
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conclusion. He says you have to remember,
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you know, it's easy for us to forget what somebody else has
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done on our behalf when we start only looking at ourselves,
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right? We start looking at what we're
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going through, what we see, what we endure, what we're struggling
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with, and we don't pay attention to what anybody else is doing
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around us. So many times it's the case that
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even while we're going through those struggles and those
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trials, there's usually somebody else who's right there.
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And they're trying to help us. They're trying to help move us
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the right direction. They're trying to encourage us
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and to strengthen us. But sometimes we're just too
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enveloped in ourselves to see it.
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And then we'll come around in our pouty face and our broken
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heart saying I'm having to do this all by myself, when the
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reality is there have been people there trying to help us
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all along. The writer here is trying to
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encourage these Christians not to quit.
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And he says, remember who you serve, and what he has already
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done for you, what he has already endured from you, lest
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you become weary and discouraged in your souls because you have
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not yet resisted to bloodshed. There were some that had.
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There were some that had lost their lives, that had had their
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blood shed for the cause of Christ.
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These to whom this was written had not yet had that happen.
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You've not had to endure to that cost yet, but now He tells them
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something else they need to remember.
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As you come into verse 5, He says, and you have forgotten the
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exhortation which speaks to you as to sons.
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My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be
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discouraged when you are rebuked by Him for whom the Lord loves.
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He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.
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Verses 5 and 6 are quote from Proverbs chapter 3, verses 11
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and 12. But here the speaker in Hebrews
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is going to use it as a reminder of what they've forgotten and
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what so many times we forget. Don't you love being able to
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call God our Father and to have the relationship and to be able
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to say that we are children of God?
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That's a special relationship. It's a powerful relationship and
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it helps us to endure a lot of things.
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But you know, that relationship also carries with it a set of
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responsibilities. When I look to God, and I speak
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of God as being my father, there's something else that's
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associated with that, right? It's the fact that I'm a child
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of him. Well, guess what?
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A parent has authority over a child, don't they?
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They have a responsibility over the child to prepare, to train,
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to teach, to admonish, to rebuke, to chasten discipline
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the child. What is the book of Hebrews?
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It's a book of discipline. Now.
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It's not beating them over the head with it necessarily, but it
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is certainly making a strong case for what God wants them to
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do and why God wants them to do it.
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And there have been a lot of hard statements that have been
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made over the course of the book of Hebrews to this point.
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And he says you have forgotten the exhortation.
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My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be
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discouraged when you are rebuked by Him for whom the Lord loves.
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He chastens and scourges every son whom he receives.
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We've all seen the children who, when they're told by their
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parents, know, or when they're given orders by their parents as
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to what it is that they're supposed to do, or worse yet,
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when they're told not to do something that they want to do.
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Respond with you don't love me, why don't you like me?
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Doesn't have anything to do with that, does it?
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It's about trying to teach and to train and remind you of
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what's best for you. Do not despise the chastening of
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the Lord. We often respond like that
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little child when it comes to God telling us what to do and
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what not to do. You know why?
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Because we want to do what we want to do.
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Sounds a lot like the three-year old, doesn't it?
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And when I don't get my way, I'm not happy.
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But if God didn't love you, He wouldn't care what you were
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doing. And He certainly wouldn't be
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trying to do what was best for you.
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Whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son
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whom he receives. Verse 7.
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He says, if you endure chastening, God deals with you
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as with sons. For what son is there whom a
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father does not chasten? But if you are without
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chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are
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illegitimate, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human
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fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.
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Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father
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of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days
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chastened us, as seemed best to them, but He for our profit,
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that we may be partakers of His Holiness.
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Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but
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painful nevertheless afterward. It yields the peaceable fruit of
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righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
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Who likes being trained? I, I did not ever go into the
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military, but I have a lot of friends and those that I have
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been associated with over the years that have.
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And if there's one thing that has been universally stated, it
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was how much they absolutely loved and would go back through
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again. Boot camp.
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Everybody loves boot camp. I don't know who you talk to.
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Nobody likes training. As a matter of fact, you find
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that one oddball every once in a while that absolutely loves
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training and the only thing everybody else can do is laugh
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because it doesn't make sense. And yet at the same time, as
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Christians, it requires training, and just as much on
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the spiritual side as it is on the physical side.
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It hurts when you're going through that training.
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It hurts when you're training your heart what to focus on.
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It hurts when you're training your spirit on what it is that
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is acceptable and what it is that's not acceptable.
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It hurts when you're training your conscience not to lash out
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at every little thing the way that you used to.
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It's not easy, it is painful, but nevertheless, afterwards he
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says it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those
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who have been trained by it. He's reminding these Christians
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of the importance of listening and actually letting it sink
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into your heart. Because there's a lot of people
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that will hear the words of God and they'll go in one ear and
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out the other, and they'll never actually have an impact on their
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lives. But if we're truly going to be
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the children of God, that means we have to go through the pain
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of hearing that we're wrong and being willing to do something
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about it, being willing to work on it and to struggle through
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it, He says, Therefore, because of that, verse 12, strengthen
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the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make
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straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be
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dislocated, but rather be healed.
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What's he saying when he talks about strengthen the hands,
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which hang down in the feeble knees and make straight paths
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for your feet? Have you ever seen somebody who
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has been running and running and running and they've given it
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everything that they've got and they've just about reached that
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point of collapse? I mean, everything's hanging
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down here. The knees are getting wobbly.
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You just can tell by looking at them.
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They're done. There's not many steps left to
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take. That's the picture that he
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describes in verses 12 and 13. He says, strengthen the hands,
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which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths
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for your feet, so that what is lame may not be notice, may not
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be dislocated. In other words, stop and patch
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yourself up so that you can keep on going.
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Don't get to the point where you're broke down, where it
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doesn't work anymore, where it's dislocated, but instead be
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healed. We're not talking about some
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miraculous healing of Jesus where he just says go your way,
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but rather this is going through the process of healing and it's
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going to take time and it's going to take work and it's
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going to take effort, but it can be done.
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But you've got to be willing to put the focus in and not break,
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but rather be healed. He tells them in verse 14.
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Pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one
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will see the Lord, looking carefully lest anyone fall short
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of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up
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cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.
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Lest there be any Fordicator or profane person like Esau, who
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for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
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For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the
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blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for
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repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
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Don't be like Esau. Don't give up what you got.
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Because just like Esau, if you give up what you got now, when
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the time comes, when you realize everything you've given up, you
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won't be able to get it back. You know why?
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Because when are you going to realize what you gave up?
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After it's too late. When you're standing before God
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on the day of judgement. Too late to buy it back then,
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just like it was too late for Esau after the blessings had
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already been given and the the the inheritance of the first
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born had every already been passed over, he said.
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Don't be like Esau. Don't be willing to sell
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something that is so valuable for something that is so little,
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for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and
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that burned with fire. And the blackness and darkness
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and Tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words,
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so that those who heard it begged that the word should not
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be spoken to them anymore. What's he talking about?
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Mount Sinai, Exodus chapters 19 and 20.
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You realize Exodus chapter 20 is one of the few locations where
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all of Israel actually heard the voice of God speak.
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Those 10 commandments were given not by Moses to the people, but
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by the voice of God himself. And you know what the people
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said after God was finished speaking?
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We don't want to hear anymore Moses.
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You talk to us because it scared him to death.
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They did not want to hear the voice of God anymore.
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Writer of Hebrews says you haven't come to the mountain
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yet. For they verse 20 could not
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endure what was commanded. And if so much as a beast
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touches the mountain, it should be stoned or shot with an arrow.
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That is a quote from Exodus 19 verses 12 and 13.
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And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am
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exceedingly afraid and trembling.
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That's not the mountain you've come to, but you have come to
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the Mount Zion verse 22 and to the city of the living God, the
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heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
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to the General Assembly and Church of the first born who are
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registered in heaven. To God, the judge of all to the
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spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator
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of the new covenant and the blood and to the blood of
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sprinkling. That speaks better than that of
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Abel. No, you didn't go to that
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mountain. You went to this mountain.
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We talked about on Sunday the the mentality of being in the
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throne, being before the throne of God when we come together to
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worship. That's the picture that he
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paints here, he says. That's the mountain you came to.
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You came to Mount Zion. You came to the city of the
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living God. You came to the heavenly
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Jerusalem. You came to an innumerable
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company of angels. You came to the General Assembly
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and Church of the first born who were registered in heaven.
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You came to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of men made
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perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant, and to the
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blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
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So which one is greater? Mount Sinai terrified Israel.
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You remember the statement over in chapter 10 verse 31.
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It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
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God. You didn't go to that mountain,
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you came to this mountain. He continues in verse 25.
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And he says, See that you do not refuse him who speaks.
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For if they did not escape, who refused him who spoke on earth?
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Much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks
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from heaven? Whose voice then shook the
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earth? But now he has promised, saying.
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Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven,
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which is a quote from Haggai. 26 Now this yet once more indicates
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the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of those
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things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken
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may remain. Therefore, since we are
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receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by
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which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
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godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
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You're talking about going back under the Old Testament or
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trying to going back to the Law of Moses.
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Guess what? It won't work.
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And the giving of the Law Moses terrified those who heard it who
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were present when it began to be delivered.
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You've come to Mount Zion, so see that you do not refuse him
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who speaks, because if you thought it was bad for them,
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think about where you are. Think about his response to you.
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If we turn away from Him, we need to be those who cannot be
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moved. And so he says verse 28, Let us
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have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence
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and godly fear. There are so many things that we
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should learn from the Old Testament, and to be honest, we
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spent far too little time studying the Old Testament for
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the most part. But the very first thing that we
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should be learning from the Old Testament is that number one,
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there is a God who is responsible for my existence and
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#2 He is worthy of my reverence and my fear over and over again.
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That is the message that God proclaims throughout the Old
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Testament. But you know, it's not just 1st
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century Jewish Christians who were fighting this battle over
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whether or not to go back under the Old Testament law.
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We've still got folks today who would much prefer the Old
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Testament law than the New Testament law.
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They spend all kinds of time trying to convince us to uphold
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the statutes and the ideologies of the Old Testament.
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It's where we are forced to remember the book of Hebrews and
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the fact that the Old Testament was what God intended it to be.
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It fulfilled the purpose that God intended it to fulfill, but
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it was never intended to be the law for us.
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Our law is the law of Christ. Our law is the law that was
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bought by the blood of our Savior.
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But it is just as important for us to be faithful to the law
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under which we live as it was for those under the old law to
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be faithful to the law under which they lived.
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As you come into chapter 13, we've got about 10 minutes left.
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We're going to try to get through as much of chapter 13 as
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we can. There have been some that have
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questioned, you know, we've talked about it throughout our
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study of Hebrews, that much of Hebrews reads and presents
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itself like a sermon. As a matter of fact, it it reads
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quote UN quote very differently when spoken orally as opposed to
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just being read because the language is not the way you
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would normally see it for written word is instead spoken
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word in in the in the way that it's presented.
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There are some who have come to the conclusion that the actual
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sermon probably ended at the end of chapter 12.
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I don't know whether that is the case or not, but as you come to
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chapter 13, there's several closing thoughts that are going
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to be brought in by the writer of the book of Hebrews, and
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there's going to be several quick rapid fire bullet points
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and then some finishing admonitions.
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So as you come into chapter 13, on the heels of talking about
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the importance of serving God acceptably with reverence and
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godly fear, he says, let brotherly love continue.
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Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some
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have unwittingly entertained angels.
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Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are
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mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also.
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Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but
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fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
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Let your conduct be without covetousness.
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Be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has
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said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
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So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.
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I will not fear. What can man do to me?
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Remember those who have rule over you, who have spoken the
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word of God to you, whose faith follow considering the outcome
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of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same
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yesterday, today and forever. Do not be carried about with
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various and strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be
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established by grace, not with foods which have not profited
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those who have been occupied with them.
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In these first 9 verses he's going to hit a whole bunch of
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things. You've got the the importance of
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letting brotherly love continue, not forgetting to entertain
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strangers, remembering those who are prisoners, and these are the
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idea here is prisoners for the cause of Christ, as if chained
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with them that marriage is honorable.
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Let your conduct be without covetousness.
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Be content with such things as you have.
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Remember those who rule over you, and do not be carried about
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with various and strange doctrines.
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All of these things make up the core of who we are and how we
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act and what we do as Christians, do they not?
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The importance of brotherly love, watching out for one
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another. The importance of not forgetting
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to entertain strangers. In other words, we're not just
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worried about those we know, those who are a part of our
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circle already, remembering those who have been mistreated,
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those who are struggling, remembering our commitments and
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our oaths in marriage and not defiling that which God has
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created, letting our conduct be without covetousness, being
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content with what we have. Sometimes that's not just about
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the physical things, is it? Sometimes we get covetous about
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what those before us had or about the opportunities that
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were presented to them. And I think in some ways that's
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what he's talking about here. When it comes to these Jewish
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Christians, they miss the old days for some of them.
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For others, they just want it to be like it used to be.
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Be content with such things as you have.
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For he himself said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
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That's Joshua chapter one verse 5.
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So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.
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I will not fear. What can man do to me?
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That's Psalm 118, verse 6. Verse 8 talks about Jesus Christ
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as the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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What does that mean in the context of what he's talking
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about here at the end of the book of Hebrews?
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Is the Jesus that they serve now the same Jesus that they began
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to serve when they first became Christians?
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Yes, he is. Is he ever going to change who
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he is, what his expectations are, what he has done or is
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going to do for us? Nope.
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All of that remains the same. It's not going to change.
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It's persistent. It is consistent, so do not be
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carried about with various and strange doctrines.
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For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with
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foods which have not profited those that have been occupied
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with them. The idea of those who have not
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profited from the foods with which they have been occupied is
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the idea of the people that have been eating from these various
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and strange doctrines. Guess what?
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They're never filled. They're never content.
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You always got to go on to something else.
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You've always got to go a little bit further.
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You've always got to go a little bit more.
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Don't get wrapped up in that. Understand the truth.
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He's going to follow it up in verse 10, he says we have an
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altar from which those who serve the Tabernacle have no right to
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eat. Going back again to those who
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try to follow the old covenant for the bodies of those animals
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whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for
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sin or burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He
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might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside
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the gate. Therefore let us go forth
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outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
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For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to
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come. Therefore by Him let us
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continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the
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fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
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But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such
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sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey those who rule over you and
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be submissive, for they watch out for your souls.
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As those who must give account, let them do so with joy and not
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with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
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In verse 13, He says, Therefore, let us go forth to him outside
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the camp bearing His reproach. As a Christian, you're never
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going to fit in, and that's the point.
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It's never going to match what the rest of the world is doing
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and what the rest of the world wants and what the rest of the
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world is looking for. You've got to be content with
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that. As a matter of fact, you should
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be thankful for that. We have here no continuing city,
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he says verse 14. But we seek the one that is to
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come. Therefore, let us continually
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offer the sacrifice of praise to God.
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Obey those who rule over you. Here's a statement pertaining to
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elders specifically. Obey those who rule over you and
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be submissive, for they watch out for your souls.
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As those who must give account, let them do so with joy and not
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with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
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He closes by saying, Pray for us, for we are confident that we
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have a good conscience in all things, desiring to live
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honorably. But I especially urge you to do
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this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
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Now may the God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus from
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the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of
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the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work,
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to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His
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sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
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Amen. And I appeal to you, brethren,
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bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written
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to you in few words. Know that our brother Timothy
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has been set free, and who with whom?
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I shall see you if he comes shortly.
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Greet all those who rule over you and all the Saints, those
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from Italy. Greet you.
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Grace be with you all. Amen.
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I find the confidence that is declared in the final statements
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refreshing in the face of everything that has been
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discussed in the book of Hebrews.
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He says, may the God of peace, verse 20, who brought up our
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Lord Jesus from the dead, make you complete in every good work
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to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his
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sight through Jesus Christ. That's the desire, that's the
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goal, and that's what God is willing and able to do.
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It only requires one thing. It only required one thing from
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them. It only requires one thing from
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us. You know what that is?
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Our obedience, our willingness to be faithful to Him.
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We said that the great question of the book of Hebrews is, is
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Jesus enough? The answer from the writer.
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Is an unequivocal yes. Thank you so much for your
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attention. Thank you so much for your kind
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comments as through our study of Hebrews and hopefully this helps
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put a little bit of the icing on the cake.