A Call to Endure

Having said that, would you open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

! And we continue on in our series in the book of Hebrews.

! Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

And I'm going to be reading verses 19 through 39.

Hear God's word.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God

and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified

and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said,

Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

And again, the Lord will judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened,

you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,

sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction,

and sometimes being partners with those so treated,

for you had compassion on those in prison,

and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property

since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence,

which has a great reward,

for you have need of endurance,

so that when you've done the will of God,

you may receive what is promised for yet a little while,

and the coming one 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 and are destroyed,

but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

Jesus said this in John 16 to his disciples.

In the world, you will have tribulation.

And so if you're a follower of Jesus Christ,

you will experience hardship as a direct result of following Jesus.

Maybe it's because we're claiming that Jesus is the only way to heaven,

and in so doing, we're saying that all other claims on all other religions are false claims.

That can be offensive to people.

Certainly unpopular.

When we claim that the Bible,

every word is God-breathed in all authoritative on all matters,

that can sound archaic to people.

We can catch some heat for that.

Particularly nowadays on issues of sexuality.

It is pride month.

And so when we make the claim that God's design for marriage,

biblically,

is only between one man and one woman for life,

that's starting to show up as hate speech for people.

We can catch heat for that.

When we say that there's a real hell

where people will experience eternal conscious torment

as a just punishment for their sins,

that can land you in some kind of charge of emotional abuse.

If you are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ,

seeking to live for Christ,

you will regularly experience hardship.

Whether it's from your family, extended family,

whether it's from your workplace,

whether it's from the school you attend,

on your team,

to be faithful to Jesus

will cost you

in the eyes of the world.

Now, the original recipients of this letter,

the book of Hebrews,

they were Christians

and they were experiencing hardship for Christ.

We get a sense of that in verse 32.

You endured a hard struggle with sufferings

in their former days.

They were becoming weary and faint-hearted.

And when you are regularly catching heat

for being a follower of Jesus from the world,

the temptation is to throw in the towel.

The temptation is to blend back in to the culture.

And for the original audience,

it was going back to Old Covenant Judaism.

That was a safe place to go.

So, for us,

the temptation is just to blend back into our culture.

Just to give in,

not stand against.

To give up,

instead of pressing in.

To check out,

instead of pressing on.

what we need,

brothers and sisters,

when we encounter hardship,

and we will,

we will need endurance.

Christian endurance.

Eugene Peterson wrote a book

with the title,

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

It's a great definition of endurance.

A Long Obedience to Christ

in the Same Direction of Holiness.

It is a really good definition.

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

Christian, you need endurance.

You need to persevere.

So there are three points this morning

from this text I want you to see

regarding endurance.

Christ is the foundation

of our endurance.

Apostasy,

number two,

is the opposite of endurance.

And three,

faith

is at the heart of endurance.

So we're going to look at

Christ the grounds,

apostasy the opposite of endurance,

and faith which is at the heart of endurance.

Brothers and sisters,

we need endurance.

Faith fueled endurance.

So if you come into the room,

you've been catching heat for Christ,

feeling a little burnt out,

on the verge of giving up,

maybe just want to blend in,

it's good that you're here.

So let's look at this first point,

Christ the foundation of our endurance,

in verses 19 through 25.

The writer begins this particular call

to endure with a reminder

that Christ is the foundation of our faith.

And he does it with what's called

a since-then argument.

He's saying,

since this is true,

then you need to do this.

So let me unpack that for you.

In verse 19,

we see the first since.

Therefore, brothers,

since we have confidence,

since we have confidence

to enter the holy places

by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living way

that he opened for us

through the curtain

that is through his flesh,

what he's talking about

is the once-for-all sacrifice

of Jesus Christ,

his death.

Christ's death has opened up a way

for us, his followers,

to come into God's presence

all the time.

Since that is true,

so that's the first foundation.

There's a second foundational truth.

There's another since.

Verse 21,

And since we have a great high priest,

great priest over the house of God,

not a Levitical high priest

who needs to sacrifice sin for himself

and then die,

this is Jesus,

totally God, totally man,

the priest in the order of Melchizedek

who ever lives

to make intercession for us.

And so what we have here

in these two senses

are two foundations

that we will endure from.

The first is Christ's once

and for all death

which gives us access

to God's very presence.

And second,

Christ's ongoing priesthood,

his interceding for us

to give grace to us

in time of need.

These are two foundations

in which we live from.

When I was in high school,

I built decks during the summertime.

And I was the post hole digger

and I would take post hole

and dig down about 42 inches

and then I would mix concrete,

pour it in,

and we would come out with a footer

that you would build the deck on.

And oftentimes,

these decks had two footers

and you would build the deck

upon these foundations.

And so what we're being given here

are two foundations

in which we live out our lives.

Christ's once and for all death

that gives us access

to God's presence

and Christ's ongoing intercession

as our ever living priest.

In fact,

these are the two unique features

of the new covenant.

So now let's turn

to talking about

the since then.

If this is true,

if these are true,

then we are being urged

to live a certain way

in this section.

And they show up

as three let us statements.

You ready?

First one is in verse 22.

Because this is who Christ is,

because the new covenant

is the now covenant,

let us draw near

with a true heart

and full assurance of faith,

with our hearts sprinkled clean

from an evil conscience

and our bodies washed

with pure water.

In other words,

because Christ has done this,

let's draw near to God

because we can.

So the way that we live out

these foundational truths

is by actually drawing near

to God through Christ.

Now this is why

this matters for endurance.

You need grace

to endure.

And when you draw near to God,

you draw near to the throne of grace,

Hebrews 4.16,

to be given help

in time of need.

The second let us statement

is let us hold fast.

Verse 23,

for you hold fast

the confession of our hope

without wavering.

For he who promised

is faithful.

That word hope,

let us hold fast

the confession of our hope.

Hope is a forward-looking faith.

In chapter 11, verse 1,

if you just look over

to the next chapter,

we read this,

now faith is the assurance

of things hoped for.

The conviction of things

not seen.

Hope is being confident

of what God has promised

and being confident

in God's character

that he is faithful

to his promises.

The confession of our hope,

what's being talked about here,

is having to do

with a particular day.

You can see it down

in verse 25,

the last clause,

and all the more

as you see

the day drawing near.

The confession of our hope

has to do with that day.

Down the line.

If you turn back

in your Bibles

to Hebrews 9.28,

we get more clarity

of what this confession

of our hope is.

So Christ,

having been offered once

to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time,

not to deal with sin,

but to save those

who are eagerly

waiting for him.

The confession of our hope

is the coming of Christ,

the promised return of Christ.

And then we see that

played out

in the rest of the passage

in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

We see it in verse 34.

At the end,

since you knew yourselves

had a better possession

and abiding one.

That's talking about

a future possession.

Verse 35,

at the end,

which has a great reward,

a reward that's going

to be given to us

at the coming of Christ.

Verse 36,

after you've done

the will of God,

you may receive

what is promised.

And then look at

verse 37,

get a little while

and the coming one

will come

and will not delay.

The confession of our hope.

There's a number of truths

we can confess

when it comes to our hope.

A number of promises.

I'm going to give you one

that is five words.

And this is Jesus speaking

at the end of your Bible.

Now,

surely I am coming soon.

That's a confession of hope

where you're saying,

yes, Lord Jesus,

come Lord Jesus.

We're confessing that

as our hope.

We are saying,

I believe that.

That Jesus is going to come

and he's going to return

and when he does,

he's going to judge,

he's going to make

all wrongs right,

he's going to reward

those who've been faithful

to him.

this hope

fuels endurance.

So grace,

we draw near

to the throne of grace

because we are in need

of grace to endure

and hope

puts something

in our hearts

that will help us

to endure

and the last let us

is in verses 24 and 25.

We need each other

to endure.

Let us hold fast

the confession of our hope

without wavering

for you promises faithful.

Then in verse 24,

That word stir up,

some English translations,

they translate it provoke,

just to spur on.

Have you ever been

at a stoplight

behind somebody

and you can see

that they're on their phone

in the stoplight

goes from red to light

to red to green

while they're on their phone?

What do you do?

Here's what I do.

I give them a honk.

I say,

let's go.

We got places to be.

It's gone from red to green.

I spur them on.

I stir them up.

I provoke them.

So this idea

of stirring each other up

is giving each other a honk.

telling us to move forward.

Let's go.

Stop drifting.

Press in

to encourage one another.

We can't lose sight

of that day.

The day that Jesus returns

and judges all

and gives out rewards

when we see him face to face.

We encourage one another

with that day.

We give each other a honk.

Surely,

I am coming soon.

It prods us on.

What's interesting

about this particular,

these particular verses,

we're told how.

And let us consider

how to stir one another

to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together.

In other words,

we stir one another up

by gathering together

on a regular basis,

by coming together

every Sunday.

It is a way

we encourage one another.

It's a way we hold fast

to the confession

of our hope.

It's a way that we

draw near to God together.

This gathering

is an encouraging

gathering.

It's an enduring

gathering.

It's together

following Jesus.

It presses us on.

We need each other

to stir one another up,

to give each other

a honk from time to time.

Let's go.

Let's not get distracted.

Let's stay on target

with that day.

When we take these

all together,

when you see this,

let us draw near.

Let us stir up.

Let us hold fast.

When you take them

all together,

you realize

these are ways

of talking about endurance.

How we endure together.

And so we've seen

the since,

and now we've seen

the then.

Since Christ's

once and for all

sacrifice

and his ongoing

priesthood intercession,

then let us do this,

and let us do this,

and let us do this.

And we will endure.

Christ is the foundation

of our endurance.

But now,

let's talk about

the opposite

of our endurance.

It's called apostasy.

And we see this

in verses 26 through 31.

Apostasy

is something

that the writer

of Hebrews

has been talking about

all throughout the letter.

He's provided

a number of warnings.

This is the fourth

warning of five

in the book of Hebrews.

And apostasy

is a frightening

spiritual condition.

You can see it

in verse 31

where we read,

it is a fearful thing

to fall into the hands

of the living God.

It is a fearful thing

for someone

who is apostatized

to fall into the hands

of the living God.

If you're wondering

what apostasy is,

it's the phrase

in this section

talking about it

is if we go on

sinning deliberately.

And that word

apostasy

actually means

no faith.

It refers to

people who once

professed Christ

and then

deny Him.

it's the opposite

of endurance.

When Jesus spoke

the parable

of the soils

in Matthew 13,

He described

a sower

sowing seed

and that seed

falls on

four different soils.

One was

a path

and the birds

come and take up

the seed.

The next soil

was this kind

of rocky soil

that the seed

kind of roots

very shallow,

shoots up

and then the heat

just makes it shrivel.

Doesn't produce fruit.

The next soil

is weed soil.

It gets choked out.

Doesn't produce fruit.

The fourth soil

is the soil

where that seed

it shoots up,

lays its roots

and it produces

a harvest

30, 60, 100 fold.

That's the Christian.

Every other soil

is a non-Christian.

And in verse 26

through 31

what we have

is another kind

of an argument.

An if-then argument

where the writer

is saying

if this case

is true,

if you go on

sinning deliberately

after you receive

the knowledge

of the truth,

then this is

what is going

to happen.

This is going

to be the result

of that.

So let's look

at this

if-then argument,

this warning.

In verse 26

we read,

if we go on

sinning deliberately

after receiving

the knowledge

of the truth,

the knowledge

of the truth

of course

is the gospel.

The gospel

of Jesus Christ,

the new covenant

that's been established

in Christ

through His once

for all death,

sacrifice,

and His ongoing

priesthood.

sinning deliberately

is actually

not talking about

after you become

a Christian

you gossip

or you struggle

with lust.

It's not that.

What's being talked

about here

is going back

to an old covenant

sacrificial system

in priesthood

and tabernacle.

Going back

to something

that can't save.

Rejecting

rejecting

the knowledge

of the truth.

That's what the sinning

deliberately is getting at.

And it happens

uniquely

when there's hardship.

When we start

suffering,

people start suffering

for Christ

and they professed Christ,

that can just

shrivel them

and it shows

they were never rooted

to begin with.

Jesus actually

describes it Himself

in Matthew 13.

Let me read it to you.

This is Him

explaining,

interpreting

the second soil.

As for what was

sown on rocky ground,

this is the one

who hears the word

and immediately

receives it with joy.

Yet He has no root

in Himself

but endures

for a while

and when tribulation

or persecution

arises on account

of the world,

He immediately

falls away.

What we're talking

about here,

this warning

is somewhat

hypothetical,

describing someone

who has professed

Christ

but then the heat

comes

and they fall away.

Now,

they were never

a Christian

to begin with.

And what

results from that

is we see

in the rest

of the section.

there no longer

remains a sacrifice

for sins.

They remain

in their sins.

They've rejected

the once for all

sacrifice of Christ

and therefore

they're under

God's wrath.

That's why we read

in verse 27,

no longer remains

a sacrifice

but a fearful

expectation of judgment

in a fury of fire

that will consume

the adversaries.

God's wrath

poured out.

Did you notice

that the one

who professes

Christ,

who's received

the knowledge

of the truth

but goes on

sinning deliberately,

they're being

equated with

an adversary

of God here.

This is serious

business.

And in verses

28 and 29,

what the writer

does is he

compares,

makes a comparison

of punishments

from lesser

to greater

in order to

make his point

that the rejection

of Christ

is a terrible

thing

in God's eyes.

Here's how he

does it.

Verse 28,

anyone who has

set aside the law

of Moses

dies without mercy

on the evidence

of two or three

witnesses.

What he's saying

is this,

hey,

even back in

the Old Covenant,

if you rejected

Moses' law,

then you would

die without

mercy.

Severe

punishment.

And then he

goes to verse 29

and he goes

from lesser

to greater

and he says,

how much

worse punishment

do you think

will be deserved

by the one

who has

trampled

underfoot

the Son of God

and has

profaned

the blood

of the covenant

by which he

was sanctified?

Quote unquote

sanctified?

And has

outraged

the spirit

of grace?

You see,

what he's saying

is,

hey,

it was stiff

punishment

for the Old

Covenant.

It is even

worse

if you reject

Christ.

If you have

professed him

and reject him,

it is far

worse for you.

trampling

the Son of

God.

God,

totally God,

totally man,

trampling him

underfoot.

Do you know

what you

trample

underfoot?

Things you

don't care

about.

Profaning

the blood

of the covenant

that we're

profaning

just to make

common.

It's just like

anything else.

No big deal.

It's you're

making common

the blood

of Jesus.

The one

who's totally

God and

totally man

who shed

his blood

in order

to establish

this new

covenant,

you just

make it

into no

big deal.

And then

outraging

the Holy

Spirit,

the Spirit

of grace,

the one

we read

in 914,

we read

this,

how much

more will

the blood

of Christ

who through

the eternal

Spirit

offered himself

without blemish

to God

purify our

conscience

from dead

works to

serve the

living God.

It is

outrageous

to the Holy

Spirit.

to profess

Christ and

then reject

him.

We're moving

into the

category of

Mark 3,

a blasphemy

against the

Holy Spirit.

This is

terribly

serious.

Apostasy

is outrageous

to God.

God.

And just

to further

make his

point,

what we

see in

verse 30

is the

writer of

Hebrews

quoting from

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 32:35

32,

verses 35

and 36,

saying,

vengeance is

mine,

I will

repay.

Saying,

the Lord

will judge

his people.

And what

he's doing

there is

he's saying,

those who

claim to

profess Christ

and then

reject Christ

will be

judged by

Christ.

He can't

pull one

over.

He sees it

all and he's

going to keep

his people

pure.

more.

So we've

got to ask

the question,

why is this

warning here?

I believe

this warning

is here to

function like

it did in

chapter 6.

This is a

real possibility

but this

church was

not there

yet.

So he's

warning them.

Saying,

hey,

if you

continue down

this road,

it's like

a dad

whose

teenager

has started

spending time

with some

just outright

fools.

People who

just don't

fear God.

And that

wise dad

sits his

son down

and he

says to

his son,

son,

I love

you.

I don't

want you

going down

this path

with these

people because

it's only

going to

harm you

because the

scripture says,

he who is

wise walks

with the

wise but a

companion of

fools will

suffer harm.

So here's

this wise

dad saying

to his

son,

don't go

down that

way.

The author

of Hebrews

is doing

something similar

with that

church he

wrote to

in God

with us.

If you're

starting to

drift,

if you want

to throw

the towel

in,

if you're

starting to

feel kind

of like,

I'm not

sure if I

want to do

this Christianity

thing anymore,

this should

sober you

up.

Don't go

down that

road.

Here's the

obvious statement,

apostasy is

the very

opposite of

a long

obedience in

the same

direction.

It's the

opposite of

faith enduring

to the end.

It does not

please God,

it provokes

God.

And so we

can't think

lightly of

apostasy and

we can't just

write it off

quickly theologically,

we got to

take it

seriously.

The stakes

are high.

I mean,

we're talking

about trampling

the Son of

God.

Here's what

this should

do.

Here's how

this should

motivate those

who are

eagerly awaiting

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

It should

make you say

something like

this,

apostasy is not

an option.

no matter

how hard it

gets,

apostasy is

not an option.

I'm not

going to

trample my

Lord.

I'm not

going to

profane His

blood.

I'm not

going to

outrage the

Holy Spirit.

So if you've

been drifting,

if you've been

wanting to

blend in,

if you've been

thinking about

giving up on

Christ,

heed the

warning.

You don't

want to go

down that

road.

But instead,

instead of

letting

hardship for

Christ drive

you away from

Christ, let

hardship for

Christ drive

you to

Christ, to

press into

Him.

And that's

where faith

comes in.

Third point,

at the heart

of our

endurance is

faith.

And we see

this in

verses 32

through 39.

The opposite

of an

apostasy that

leads to

falling away

is a

faith that

endures to

the end.

And we

must endure.

What is

faith?

Just look at

11.1.

Now faith is

the assurance

of things

hoped for,

the conviction

of things

not seen.

Faith is

actively,

not

passively,

actively

trusting in

who God

is and

His promises.

You're

actively

trusting in

that.

Think of

your heart,

your inner

being,

that part of

you that

does your

thinking and

where you

trust from,

where you

believe from.

Think of

your heart

as an

engine of

endurance.

confidence.

And what

your heart

needs is

fuel.

It's like a

combustion

engine.

You need

gasoline.

And the

gasoline that

will fuel

your engine

of endurance

is the

truth of

who God

is and

His

promises.

promises.

But you

also need

faith,

trust.

It's a

spark.

When your

faith meets

God's

truth of

who He is

and His

promises,

it combusts.

strength is

given,

hope is

born,

and now

you're able

to endure.

So when you

think about

those five

words,

surely I

am coming

soon,

when those

in your

heart are

met by

faith,

you're like,

let's go.

This

explosion

this

combustion

is of

hope

and it

endures.

You know

what?

When you

are trusting

actively in

God's

promises,

you can

endure just

about anything.

There's a

then and

now to

this passage.

The then

starts in

verse 32

and goes

through

34.

The

writer points

this early

church to

something he

knows about

them.

He says,

but recall

the former

days when

after you

were enlightened,

after you

became Christians,

you endured,

you pressed

on.

A hard

struggle with

sufferings.

He knows

they've done

it before.

Sometimes

being publicly

exposed to

reproach and

affliction,

that means

they were

humiliated

publicly for

their following

of Jesus,

and sometimes

being partners,

the word is

koinonia,

sometimes being

partners with

those so

treated,

you just

weren't kind

of publicly

humiliated

yourself,

but you

were associating

with those

who were

being publicly

humiliated.

How so?

Look at

verse 34,

for you had

compassion on

those in

prison.

Here's what

was going

on in this

church.

They were

suffering.

There were

people who

were being

arrested and

put in

prison.

And so

now you

have some

church

members

visiting

other

church

members

in

prison,

and they

were starting

to catch

heat for

it.

It doesn't

end there.

And you

joyfully

accepted the

plundering of

your property.

You

joyfully

accepted

the

plundering

of your

property.

Their

hardship

and their

struggle

was reaching

to a

point

where

their

private

property

was

being

taken

from

them

because

they

were

followers

of

Jesus.

And they

joyfully

accepted

that.

How does

that work?

Since

you knew

that's

faith

language,

that

you

yourselves

had a

better

possession

in an

abiding

one,

that's

promise

language.

They

joyfully

accepted

the

plundering

of

their

property

because

they

were

exercising

faith

in

God's

promises.

They

had a

better

possession

and

abiding

one,

a

heavenly

one.

That

was

them.

And they

had been

suffering a

long time

and now

they had

grown weary

and discouraged

and they're

thinking about

throwing in

the towel.

And so

this writer

says,

hey,

I know

that was

true of

you.

Verse 35,

he moves

from then

to now.

Therefore,

do not

throw away

your confidence.

Don't

throw away

your confidence

in what

Christ has

done.

Don't

throw that

away,

which has

great

reward.

Promises

of God.

God.

He's

affirming

the

genuineness

of their

faith and

saying,

don't throw

it out.

Don't let

hardship for

Christ cause

you to give

up on

Christ.

Rather,

let the

hardship drive

you to

Christ,

to trust

more in

his promises.

What we're

learning here

is this.

What he

puts his

finger on

is 36.

Don't

throw away

your confidence.

You need

endurance.

That's what

you need.

To this

weary church,

he says,

you need

endurance.

You need

a long

obedience

in the

same

direction.

Don't

give up

on Christ.

Pressed

into

Christ.

Endure.

And what

he does

is he points

them to a

promise.

For you

have need

of endurance

so that

when you

have done

the will

of God

by faith,

you may

receive what

is promised.

And so

what he

does here

is he

shows us

how to

endure.

He quotes

a passage

from Habakkuk

2,

3 and

4.

And he

adjusts it a

little bit

to apply it

to Christ.

He says,

yet a little

while and the

coming one

will come

and will not

delay.

That's a

reference to

the coming

of Jesus.

But my

righteous

one shall

live by

faith and

if he

shrinks

back my

soul has

no

pleasure in

him.

In other

words,

here's the

promise.

Jesus is

coming back

and the

call is to

exercise faith

in that,

to believe

in that,

to trust

in that,

and you

will endure

as a

result of

that.

In

verse

39,

we have a

summary,

glory,

but we

are not

of those

who shrink

back,

those who

sin deliberately

after receiving

the knowledge

of the

truth and

go to

destruction,

but of

those who

have faith

and preserve

their souls,

those who

endure by

faith.

We trust

in God's

promises.

Here's a

pop quiz.

Can you

identify right

now in

your head

a promise

God has

made to

you that

you've yet

to receive?

Can you

name something?

Can you

say something

like, yeah,

yeah, yeah,

right there.

Resurrection

body, it's

coming.

I can bank

on it.

Or you

go, yep,

yep, yep,

treats of

gold, it's

coming.

I want to

give you

one.

I've been

giving it to

you.

It's a

five-word

promise.

Surely, I

am coming

soon.

Let that

promise

sink into

your heart

and meet

it with

faith and

let it

combust

so that

you endure,

so that you

press on to

the end.

God's

need it.

You will

need it.

You will

not be

able to

endure

hardship for

Christ without

regularly

reminding

yourself of

what is

true about

God and

his promises.

You need

it.

We need it.

And we do

this.

We do this

together.

There are a lot

of promises

you can tuck

away in your

heart.

Start with

that one.

How about

this week?

You just

spend time

this week

thinking of

those five

words.

Surely, I

am coming

soon.

As you're

walking into

your place of

employment,

as you're

walking in a

variety of

different

contexts,

!

Jesus said

it, in

the world

you will

have

tribulation.

As

followers of

Jesus, we

will suffer

for him

and we

must

endure.

Christ is

the foundation

of endurance.

Apostasy is

the opposite

of endurance.

Have nothing

to do with

that.

And faith

is at the

heart of

endurance,

trusting in

who God

is and

his promises.

Surely, I

am coming

soon.

And in

just a couple

weeks,

you're

going to

get to

see the

greatest

example of

endurance.

Jesus, who

for the joy

set before

him, endured

the cross.

Let's pray.

God in

heaven, would

you fuel our

hearts with the

truth of your

word and would

you stir up

faith in us

to endure

to press

on.

God, thank

you so much

for Hebrews.

Thank you for

your desire

for us to

hold fast to

Christ all the

way to the

end.

Lord, we

want to as

well.

Would you

help us this

week to do

just that?

To endure

by faith

for your

name's sake.

Amen.

amen.

Thank you so much,