Hebrews

Throne Of Grace 

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Hebrews 4:16
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

It seems the Apostle Thomas sometimes spoke what the others were thinking. On one occasion, when Jesus spoke of where He was going, Thomas replied, “Lord we don’t know where You are going or how to get there” (John 14:5). To which Jesus stated, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). It was through the cross that Jesus made a way. On the cross He bore our sins and their penalty, opening a doorway, for any and all who trust in Christ, to have access to God. That access to God has two applications. First, when we die, we attain heaven. Jesus was declaring, as emphatically as possible, that heaven is awarded to those, and only those, who trust Christ for salvation. This is not the only time this truth is declared.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

Acts 4:12 “Nor is their salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

But there is a second application this doorway into heaven provides. Hebrews 4 states, while we live, we have access to the throne of God. For the Christian, this is not a throne of judgment, where we are penalized for the things we have done wrong, or things we have neglected to do. Instead, it is a throne of grace, where we are able to receive from God the things that we need while here on earth. The word grace speaks of the giving nature of God. Because of His love for us, and our relationship with Him, He desires to give good things to His children. He will not hold back anything from us that would help us to become more like Him, or assist us in making it to the end of our journey and enter glory. Notice, at the throne of grace, we receive two things. First, there is mercy provided for the failures of the past. Second, there is grace given to help us not fall into those same snares in the future.

The way has been made to a throne of magnificent grace. All that remains is that we come boldly, consistently, and expectantly. I want to encourage you to take some time right now to sit before the Throne of Grace, pouring out your heart and receiving mercy and grace to help.

Pastor Jim

 

A Hard Heart 

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Hebrews 3:12-13
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Life is dangerous and filled with pitfalls. We are constantly warned to be on the lookout for danger. We see signs warning us that the road is slippery, the coffee is hot, there is a low beam, animals may cross the highway; riptide, sharks, jellyfish and high surf face us in the ocean. Paul reminds us of a hazard that is far more dangerous because it has taken many more away than any riptide ever has. He warns us against having a hardened heart. Biblically speaking, a hard heart could be defined as being unwilling to do what God asks. This was the primary issue with the pharaoh in Moses’ day. He clearly heard the word and will of God, yet he was unwilling to submit to it and fought against God. This proved costly to him, as it always will to us. Our text reveals three things we must avoid because they will result in a hardened heart.

First, we are warned against unbelief. Unbelief is simply not trusting the Word of God, whether it is warning, instructing, or providing us with promises. Israel in the wilderness is cited as an example of unbelief. God promised them victory as they entered the land, yet they cowered in fear and refused to enter. Looking at their circumstances, instead of looking to the Lord, resulted in unbelief that led to a hardened heart. We can avoid our hearts hardening by taking God at His word and doing what He asks.

Second, we are warned against departing from the living God. Departing means to move away. The closer you are to Jesus the easier it is to trust Him. Mark records the story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast, where the host had run out of refreshments for the guests. When word came to Jesus, he sent his disciples to fill large contains with water from the local well. Upon arriving back at the party, the water was served but had miraculously been turned into wine. The guests were unaware of what had been accomplished, but those closest to Jesus experienced the miracle. Close proximity to Jesus is always beneficial to walking with Him. James exhorts us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

Finally, we are warned against our hearts becoming hardened by sin. Sin is doing what God has forbidden. We often sin because, from our limited perspective, we cannot see why something is bad. This is very common in relationships. We see many Christians get involved with someone who is not pursuing the Lord, but is a very nice person. They cannot understand why that is forbidden. Others cross the line physically, because they believe they are in love and convince themselves that sexual activity is acceptable. In every case, sin leads to a hardened heart and must be avoided. Be very careful that you do not cross verses out of your Bible, in order to justify your behaviors.

Let us not harden our heart, but keep it soft to hear all the Lord has to say to us.

Pastor Jim

Drifting Away 

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Hebrews 2:1
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

Sadly, we have all seen Christians fall by the wayside. People who at one time were walking with the Lord, but have fallen back into the life from which they were once delivered. We see this happen to new believers and old. We may have even been victims ourselves. How does that happen? I can think of at least four things that result in a person finding themselves away from the Lord.

First, we are warned against falling away. This is caused by giving into temptation instead of resisting it. One of the necessary elements of success in your Christian life is to deny the flesh’s desire for sin. When we let our guard down, or think we are mature enough to handle a little sin, we will fall captive to its snare.

Second, we are warned against walking away. Sometimes, the difficulties of life can cause us to accuse God of wrong doing. Soon, we become embittered toward Him and deliberately turn away, going back into our old life. This was a constant problem for Moses in the wilderness. As the people faced the struggles of wilderness living, they attempted, on numerous occasions, to turn back to Egypt.

Third, we are warned against being led astray. Jesus told us to be on the lookout for wolves, false prophets, false teachers and false christs. The Christian walk has no shortage of people claiming to know more than the Bible, and leading unlearned Christians away from the Lord.

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

Our text warns of a fourth danger; drifting away. We are told drifting is caused by neglect. Drifting is the danger faced by those who travel by sea. Since the surface the ship sits upon is constantly moving, and often not moving in the direction the pilot wants the vessel to go, constant attention must be given to avoid drifting into pitfalls like rocks, reef or even other ships. Anchors play an important role in keeping a ship from drifting, but another key is moving. A moving vessel will be less likely to drift into danger than a stationary one. If we want to avoid ending up on the rocks, one key is to keep moving forward with the Lord. This is possible only by keeping the first things first. If you are like me, when you first received Christ, you were told to read the Bible, pray, fellowship with others, and tell someone about your decision for Christ. Now that I have been a Christian for almost 30 years, I still need to read the Bible, pray, fellowship and tell others. The faster you are moving forward, the less likely you will be to drift away.

Pastor Jim

 

Prescription That Works 

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Hebrews 1:3
“…and upholding all things by the word of His power…

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God supernaturally provided for their needs. Each morning, as the dew settled on the ground, a substance known simply as “manna” would appear. Manna was similar to a pastry sweetened with honey, and contained all the nutritional needs of the children of Israel, throughout their wilderness journey. When the kids arose and were hungry, they were given manna, at lunch time, manna, after school snack, manna, dinner, manna. No matter what the hunger, the answer was “manna”. For those who lost site of the miraculous nature of this “Angel Food”, this may have become somewhat monotonous.

A similar thing often happens with believers. We face a fear, struggle, temptation, disappointment, challenge, or trial, and when we seek counsel, we are told to read the Bible. We might even be given a prescription of a couple of key verses, and told to memorize them, and meditate upon them. There are times when we may feel like “Come on man, I am in real trouble and need some real help, how is a Bible verse going to help me?”

“…and upholding all things by the word of His power…

Hebrews 1 describes the value of the Word of God and why, no matter what the diagnosis, the prescription is more of the Word. We are told the entire universe is held together by the Word of His power. I remember learning that within the nucleus of an atom, are two opposing charges that should repel one another but are being held together with what scientists refer to as “atomic glue.” Two thousand years ago, the Bible described the atomic glue holding all things together, as the Word of God.

The reason we prescribe the Word to be ingested daily, is because there is no substance in the universe which carries the kind of power that the Word of God does. It has the power to reveal to the sinner their need for a Savior, leading them to Christ. It has the power to transform the life of the struggling Christian, giving him strength to withstand temptation, and follow after Jesus. It has the power to equip the saint for service, providing him with a “sharp, two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), with which to influence others for the kingdom of heaven.

Don’t get tired of the Word. Don’t think because you ate from it yesterday that you can skip your meal today. Like Manna, we must arise every morning and partake of the Word if we are going to benefit from its miraculous power.

Pastor Jim