September 11, 2016
Morning Service

Heb. 12

 

            Chapter 11 of Hebrews is a chapter to mark in your Bible, for often reading.  Run reference on the people mentioned, pray about the idea of all God’s people being made perfect at the same time.  Understand that without faith we cannot please God, and that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  All we have, and hope for is by faith, the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.  Today we want to continue, and finish up chapter 12 of Hebrews.

            Last week we saw that if needed God will bring chastisement on His people, and the reason being, He loves us, and wants us to line up with His teachings, which brings happiness, and joy to all who will abide in them.  This morning we will begin with verses 12 of ch.12.

 

After encouraging us to accept the chastisement from God with a repentant, and good attitude, the writer says this:

Heb 12:12-29  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;  (13)  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 

·        Lift up the hands, in praise, and make straight paths for your feet.  We sing that chorus, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path.” 

·        After we receive the chastisement from God, thank Him, because He loves you, and cares enough to bring you back into His fold.     ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

·        He mentions that which is lame, or not willing to follow His teachings, will be turned out of the way.  He will cast away anyone that is not willing to be led by Him.

(14)  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 

·        This statement in itself is very challenging.  I see I must be a peacemaker, and strive for holiness, if I am going to see the Lord one day. 

·        Jesus said, “Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

·         AND HOLINESS?  (Act 3:12)  And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

·         (Rom 6:19)  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  (Fruits of the Spirit Eph. 5:22-23).

·         (Rom 6:22)  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.   Again Gal. 5:22-23, fruits of the Spirit.

·         (2Co 7:1)  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

·         (Eph 4:24)  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

·         (1Th 3:13)  To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

·         (1Th 4:7)  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

·         (Heb 12:14)  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

(15)  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 

·        It appears that one can fall from the grace of God.  Beware of bitterness in your life, it will destroy you, and some of those around you.

(16)  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 

·        Remember just a little while back, the writer told us to put out of our lives the weight, and the sin which doth so easily besets us…….  There could be that one sin that we are struggling with, and God knows it needs to be out of our lives, in order to be pleasing to Him.   Our God is a delivering God, He will help you if you call on Him.

(17)  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

·        This should be a serious warning to all Christians, you can trample the mercies of God, to a point where God will turn His back on you.  Esau sought repentance with tears, but to no avail.  God did not grant it to him.  He had sinned away his day of grace.

(18)  For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,  (19)  And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:  (20)  (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:  (21)  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 

·        This was the beginning of the Law of Moses, the covenant that God made with the children of Israel upon their deliverance from the land of Egypt.  A fearful description of the law, and God’s expectations.  THEY COULD NOT ENDURE IT.  And thank God we are not expected to endure it.  Listen to the writer.

(22)  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  (23)  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  (24)  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 

·         Do you see what we have to look forward to Christian?  Such a glorious thought, and promise.

(25)  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:  (26)  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.  (Hag.2:6) (27)  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

·         Peter said, (2Pe 3:10)  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

(28)  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  (29)  For our God is a consuming fire.

·         We find this admonition throughout our Scriptures, serve God acceptably with reverence, and godly fear.  It’s a growing life we have with God, every day we should be trying to please Him a little bit more.   GROW IN THE GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

ALMIGHTY GOD, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU THAT WE LIVE IN A TIME OF GRACE AND TRUTH.  HELP US TO STRIVE TO SERVE YOU ACCEPTABLY AND WITH REVERENT FEAR.  AMEN.