Hebrews 6:13-20 • Jesus = True Promise • Kevin Perry

Today we're going to be reading going to be starting Hebrews

Hebrews 6:13–20

6:13 through 20, it reads for when God made a promise to

Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by he swore by

himself, I will indeed bless you and I will greatly multiply.

And so after waiting patiently Abraham obtained, the promise

for people swear by someone greater than themselves and for

them, it confirming over. And every dispute but God wanted

to show his unchangeable purpose, even more clearly to

The Heirs of the promise. He guaranteed it with an oath so

that though that through two unchangeable things in which it

is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for Refuge might

have strong encouragement to seize.

The Hope set before us, we have this hope as an anchor for the

soul firm and secure it. Enters the inner sanctuary.

The curtain Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a

forerunner because he has become a high priest forever.

According to the order of Melchizedek, this is the word of

the Lord, when I was in high school, my mother and I had this

running little thing that was going on.

For some reason, the automated portion of my clothes, getting

washed and cleaned and folded and set on the end of my bed

that part was working. And the part that wasn't was

them making it into a dresser or being put away somewhere.

And we kept having this discussion about who was at

fault and my mother was convinced it was me and looking

back on it. My wife would agree with her

most definitely that it was me. And so it went from there just

to close on the edge of the bed to just all sorts of stuff in

the room, you know, it was just a messy place to be.

And so we battled for a while you know, mother would when she

couldn't stand it would just kind of shut the door so she

didn't have to see it. But one day when I was looking

around and realize this place is just awful, I mean there's

everything everywhere in the beds not made and just stuff.

And so I knew I needed to clean it up and I guess it was an

early case of conviction that I wasn't quite time to the Holy

Spirit just yet, but I understood I need to clean it up

but I had Somewhere to go. And I don't even remember where

it was and it was probably something that I had to go do

practice or something. They wasn't like I was just

going to do it for fun. And so I wrote my mom this know

and I basically said, I know the place is a mess and I promise

that as soon as I get home from whatever it was, I was going to,

I will clean this up. And so when I got home, I went

in there and I looked on the note and my mom had written a

return note on the bottom of my note that said seeing is

believing and and that was, you know, one of those early

instances where I realized Promises kind of, you know,

relative on how much, they mean, a lot of it has to depend on who

makes the promise, right? A lot of it has depended on

whether they actually see things your way and there's all sorts

of stuff that goes on with promises.

I mean, when somebody promises you, they go beyond just telling

you something. They promise you.

It's true. Does that actually in cause you

to increase your level of belief and what they're saying?

I mean do you? I don't even know how much stock

I take in making a witness promise in court that they're

going to tell the truth. If this person has decided

they're going to lie, won't they just lie to me when they tell me

that they're going to tell the truth.

What does the promise actually do?

When you hear somebody take an oath of office?

How many of you are sitting there going?

Wow, I really know because what they're saying right now, they

are definitely going to do what they've said Are they are

setting out to I mean oath. Breaking is so common these days

it's almost like what what's all the fuss all about why bother?

I surely don't understand the point of making someone invoke a

spiritual deity. Making someone swear to God when

it is quite obvious from their life that they really care,

nothing about what God has to say, what is the point of having

them swear to that and and when the sworn statement doesn't feel

like enough Ever, since we were kids on the playground, we've

resorting to other things to up the ante.

You know, I don't know how many you remember, pinky swears.

Okay? Like, what the heck is a pinky

swear and why does it make any difference?

I mean, human spit. You remember that one?

I mean come on Cross. My Heart.

Hope To Die. Stick a needle in my eye, okay?

That really going to increase your level of confidence and

what I'm saying, even blood. You remember that one?

That was the scary one. Somebody said, let's take a

Blood Oath. It's like yeah, I know your

blood and my oath that'll work. Okay.

The Apostle Paul had some folks trying to kill him in Acts and

they all took an oath, they weren't going to eat or drink

anything until he was dead. I would love to have been a fly

on the wall for the outcome of that little story.

Okay. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount

actually talking about speaking promises to God, making Oaths to

God. And he basically just says,

don't just say yes or no. Just say the truth, our courts

today have actually kind of come into agreement Witnesses.

Now are only asked to affirm that, they will tell the truth

and to acknowledge the fact that they don't, they could be

charged with perjury and so the real essence of that is just

saying, are you going to tell the truth?

And somebody says yes, With all this mixed information and all

of our past experience being so jumbled.

When it comes to Oaths, and swearing and Promises, what are

we to conclude when God swears? I mean, why does he swear?

I think the preacher of Hebrews answers, three questions and I

want us to consider these today. What's the purpose of the

promise? What's the probability of the

promise? And who is the person of the

promise right now? I don't like that second one the

probability I just couldn't come up with a better p word so I'm

just going to go ahead and fess up.

I did the preacher thing and I put you some peas in there but

I'm not really crazy about the second one.

My name is Kevin Perry and I get to be the pastor for shepherding

here. At new Eden, get to serve

alongside Joel. Who's the one who's normally in

this position on Sunday mornings?

But I thank you for this opportunity.

I'm going to just go ahead and tell you that I met a fellow

named George Guthrie years ago when he was teaching at a

college in Jackson, Tennessee came down and and did something

for us at our church. He later wrote a an application

commentary. He's basically spent his entire

Tire life study in Hebrews. And so number of the thoughts

that I'm going to bring out this morning.

Come from him. So a little review of where we

are in this sermon. You remember we've been we've

been talking about the author and we've been calling the

preacher and it's why is because the whole book is kind of like a

sermon, but when you look at, sermons, preachers are known to

take sidebars for a minute, you know, they're like they got a

direction, they're headed with you, they want to get you there,

but they step aside to I feel something in.

Maybe they're trying to explain why this makes a difference or

why it's important that you understand this.

And so that's essentially what's going on here.

If you all will remember back in Hebrews 4 around, first, 14, the

preacher starts in on a conversation about Jesus, as

high priest, okay? And so, then, as he's kind of

opening up into his topic, he's just getting warmed up.

When it kind of hits in that, you guys are really going to

have a I'm understanding what I'm talking about, okay?

Because you're really immature in your faith.

So let me give you some warnings about immaturity and faith and

recognize this, because when I get back to my subject, when I

get back to talking about, Jesus is high priest.

I want you to come to an understanding of why this is

important. And right now, you're a little

bogged down in some. Some stuff that's infant level

stuff. It's milk level stuff and so he

goes off and So now he's gone through the exhortations in the

warnings that he gave but now he has this issue of well, I went

off on this rabbit trailed kind of explain this and give you a

little understanding of why it's so important that you understand

this next piece. I got to get back to the next

piece though. So our passage this morning is

like the transition, okay, we were off the rails for a while,

talking about something else. We're coming back onto the

rails. Trying to get, to the point that

we're talking about, Jesus is high priest and he decides to

Phyllis and even more on how this came about what what caused

it. So he concluded last week's

passage that Joel presented pointing to the promises that

the hearers had. So let's go back and pick up

verse 11 and 12 from last week just so we can kind of Orient

ourselves. Now we desire each of you to

demonstrate the same diligence for the full Assurance of your

hope until the end. So that you won't become lazy,

but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through

faith and perseverance. So, having brought up this topic

of promises, the first question is, what's the purpose?

What's the point of the promise? Why do it So, verse 13 is

essentially some commentary on God's actions to help us

understand motive for when God made a promise to Abraham, since

he had no one greater to swear by he swore by himself.

See if there's none greater to swear by then why swear it all?

Mean it obviously was not for God's benefit.

That's where we get confused sometimes because generally,

when we're swearing, we're swearing for our benefit.

I need you to believe me. God does not need me to believe

him. God is telling me the truth and

it is what it is. So the only reason he could be

swearing an oath if it was for the benefit of the hearer.

And so his motive wasn't for himself, he didn't need

Abraham's trust. It wasn't trying to manipulate

Abraham into believing him. His motive for wanting Abraham

to trust, was for the benefit of Abraham, the promise God was

making was he was going to place Abraham in this position where

he was forced to trust God. God had a lot of blessings for

him and if Abraham listened and obeyed and followed in what God

told him, then the blessings would come his way.

And if he did not trust, then he would not obey.

That's one of the things that we have to remember if we're

finding that, we're not obey. We really need to answer a

question that comes before that in this.

What's causing you not to be able to trust mean

intellectually. You got it all worked out in

your head, you know, this is better for you, but you're not

going there. And so there's a trust component

that's missing. Abraham believed the promise

listens to what God is declaring about Abraham and verse 14.

I will indeed bless you and I will greatly multiply you.

Now, one of the things that we got to remember, is that when

God said that Abraham didn't just Booth look around, and

there were millions of people standing around him that we're

all from him. Okay.

What God Said was going to happen, did not happen

instantaneously. There's so many of us myself

included who from time to time we ask and we really really want

to trust but we really want it to happen right now.

So the trust don't have to last all that long.

It's let's just get there already.

But Abraham had a wild away. God guaranteed it based on to I

statements that I God will do this.

He made it clear that what was to come, it was going to be his

personal work and it was going to be secured by who he is.

Abraham was 99 when that promise got made, do the first one.

Alright. And portions of the promise were

completed during Abraham's Lifetime and portions of that.

Promise got completed after he was gone and in the other texts

of scripture that we read and what we have to realize is that

promise is still unfolding. The we're going to get to

chapter 11 in Hebrews and realize that that promise goes

right on up until today, and it's going to keep going until

the very end. Verse 15 helps us understand

that there was two components to Abraham's response to this

promise. It's so after waiting patiently,

Abraham obtained, the promise. See.

Promises by their very nature. Demand, patience.

I'm promising this to you because it's not going to happen

right now. It's coming in the future.

So you're going to need to hold on to this promise until it

comes C. Having patience is not a product

of persevering effort on our part.

Now I don't reared that way. That's what that's what I was

told. Patient was patience was

something that you practiced and you practiced and you practiced,

any of you practice long enough, you'd really get good at it.

I'm just here to tell you from my life.

I don't know about four years but for my life doesn't work

that way. Okay, I'm patient based on what

I believe, If I got zero doubt that what has been promised is

coming, I don't have a problem being patient.

It's when I get to doubting whether or not it's actually

going to happen that I began to have a really hard time with

patients. It.

So that means that if I'm not filled up, if I'm not so open to

the holy spirit that I'm just walking in the fact that all

this is just a reality, that's just not here yet.

If that's not where I'm at, then impatience is what will set in

patience is a fruit of God's spirit being unimpeded in me.

It's just what happens. It's what affirms to me that?

Hey, I must be in pretty healthy place with God because, you

know, the world keeps asking me how in the world can I be so

patient and I keep wanting to tell him the obvious answer

Jesus. I believe, I bought in.

Promises. If believed provide hope.

Biblical hopes not the same. We word that we use in Daily

conversation generally we say we hope when we just mean we wish

something would happen. You know I hope this comes about

I hope this doesn't come about. I hope for your sake.

I hope for my sake. We're talking about something

that's being used as a verb. I'm doing it I'm hoping okay I

hope from a biblical sense is different as a student of

scripture. I actually wish we had two

different words, acts wish we had a word hope.

That was a verb. Okay, so all your hope and

something's going to happen, okay, I'm with you, I got you on

that. And then a different word for I

have hope it is a possession. It is a noun, a person place or

thing. In fact, when it comes to the

Bible it's all three. Jesus Is My Hope.

So, my hope is heaven. It is my possession. without

belief in God's promise hope is a noun is just non-existent The

preacher not explains why some people use Oaths in verse 16 for

people, swear by something greater than themselves.

And for them, it confirming oath ends every dispute.

I think it's funny that it's put that way, because I think of how

many disputes only were really getting started when somebody

made an oath or a promise. People's owes are given to

acquire trust from another person for the benefit of the

swearer. The sworn oath is meant to

purchase the trust from the one who's hearing it.

Much of the time though, we swear them for our benefit.

Now, it's possible to swear them for the benefit of others.

You've probably all experienced this, you've been trying to

convince your child to do something.

The child is not quite sure whether they want to do the

thing. All right, there, standing there

at the edge of the pool, and, you know, Dad or mom's down in

the water. And they're saying job, I'll

catch you. All right, you're making a

promise. You're not making a promise

though, for your benefit. You're making a promise for the

child's benefit, you wanted to have fun, you wanted to find out

what it's like to go. Flying into the water and Dad

step out of the way. And you crash into the pool, you

want the child to understand some fun.

So you're promising for their benefit, not your own.

Quite often though, we're trying to end the dispute for selfish

reasons. I need the job and I need you to

buy what I'm selling. I need you to vote for me.

I want something from you so I'll promise something to you to

secure your agreement. Often our words don't feel like

enough. So then we invoke something that

seems to add authenticity to the promise, but that's because

we're arguing from a weak position.

When you're in the place of weaknesses, if weakness, you

really don't have a whole lot of options, you're not the one

holding the cards, you're not the one with the power.

And so, a lot of times we struggle and strain to try to

add a little bit to it. God's not coming from a weak

position. When God makes a promise, he has

no insecurities. He has no doubts.

There's no possibility that his promise is not going to prevail.

He's working in our best interest and he knows that we're

coming from week insecure doubting worries, but he wants

us to believe our answer for believe his answer at for our

own benefit. Reveals more of God's purpose in

verse 17. Because God wanted to show his

unchangeable purpose even more clearly to The Heirs of the

promise. He guaranteed it with an oath.

God's oath is for the benefit of those to whom the promise is

being given. He wants us to understand who he

is. And what his motives are toward

us. His purpose and its promise

they're clearly on display. He wants to show us.

More clearly than we currently understand.

How unchangeable his purpose is. God swears because we need it.

Not him he knows we need to put promises in the we tend to put

promises in the uncertain column because we've experienced so

many human promises and we know how so many of those end.

Hose that he had motives passionate swearing that turned

to ashes the minute. The person had what they wanted.

But this brings us to the second question that the preacher wants

to answer. What's the probability of the

promise? What's the chance?

This is really going to happen? How sure can I be of the promise

that has been made? God's.

Oh sir very different from the Oaths of people see with human

oath long time ago I learned with human knows there's some

questions when somebody starts promising, something there's

some questions that you need to ask to help, make sure that

you've evaluated the person in the promise, will they be around

to guarantee the outcome of the promise?

Ever been in one of those situations where boss promised

you something. But then he got a promotion and

moved on. And when it came time for the

promise, to be fulfilled, he wasn't even there to do it.

So one thing is, I need to know that if you're making me a

progress, I promise you're going to be around to make sure this

thing happens. And also do they have the

authority to do what they're promising?

How many times I've asked that question has done a little bit

of digging and found out. You don't even have the right to

be making the promise you're making.

You don't have the authority to make it happen regardless of

what I do. And then the third one just

straight up are they lying? Like what's the motive for them?

Making this promise? Does it actually include any

concern or benefit of me, or is the motor for the promise,

something that's really purely about them and they have a very

good reason just to tell me something, it's not true.

God covers the first question. Remember the question God covers

the first question about. Are you gonna be around and

Isaiah 43:10 as well as other places in scripture?

Isaiah 43:10

This is just one You are my Witnesses.

This is the Lord's declaration and my servant whom I have

chosen so that you may know and believe me and understand that I

am he no, God was formed before me and there will be none after

me. I've covered it all the way from

eternity, past to Eternity future.

I will be there. I'm the only one that is going

to be there. And what about the authority?

I had to leave job one time because I had been promised some

stuff and then I performed to the expectations, the promise.

And then we got to the point where it was time to be rewarded

for that and was told sorry the board won't let me do it. well,

during the job interview, you didn't talk about you having to

get the board's permission, you made it sound like this for

something that was already approved and agreed upon And so

after a while, when I realized that the board was never going

to move, I did. God covers this to Isaiah 43,

13. Also from today on I am he

alone. None can rescue from my power.

I act, who can reverse it, I have the ultimate Authority.

There is nobody this is just one of the places where we're told

in Scripture that there is nobody not even the nation's

conforte what God decides to do when he sets about a purpose.

He actually has all the authority necessary to bring it

about. And what if they're just lying?

What if the person swearing the oath is untrustworthy, doesn't

have any integrity? God's Integrity is

unquestionable. Listen to what numbers 23:19

Numbers 23:19

says. God is not a man that he might

lie nor a son of man that he might change his mind.

Does he speak and not act or promise and not fulfill.

Those are rhetorical questions in the answers.

No. God does not have the ability to

lie. I mean that sounds kind of weird

to say, right? That's like that whole can't

pick up the rock thing. God doesn't have the ability to

lie. The person who he is actually

excludes it. So why are God's owes so much

different than Irish? Well, he doesn't swear him for

his own benefit. He's Eternal and he's omnipotent

and he cannot lie. That makes his promises

something to be held as a hope of possession.

So let's return back to what God's War.

All right? We've talked about why he swore

but let's talk about what he swore what it means.

The preacher actually Echoes the words of God's integrity and

verse 18. So that through two unchangeable

things in which it is impossible for God.

To lie, we who have fled for Refuge might have strong

encouragement to seize the Hope set before us, The probability

of the promise is 100%. God is unchanging.

He cannot lie. And he says our hope is a noun.

The probability cannot be higher because there is none other like

him. He's in the category unto

himself. Psalm, 115, 3 says he's in the

heavens and he does as he pleases.

How good it must feel to be able to do completely as you please.

and we serve a God that when we look at what it has, what he's

chosen to do, what has pleased him, his two, great us even the

mess we have turned into Even at the expense, he realized it was

going to cost him. It pleased him to create us.

This is hard to fathom. So now we move on to the

question. Who is the person of the

promise? What are these two unchangeable

things? I admit that yeah I read this

growing up as a young person for years and years and years.

And as I would read it, I would always get to this one of the

two unchangeable things and I would go back and forth in the

text. Trying to find the two

unchangeable things, you know, and I couldn't find them.

And I've realized that it was because I had not really thought

through the path to preacher was taking.

I did not realize that he was getting to the point where he

was going. Hey, you know what?

We started talking about back in chapter 44, you remember?

We were talking about Jesus, high priest?

Well, let's go back to what I said to you, then.

He's pointing back to the quote that he has already.

Given us from Psalm 110 for the Lord has sworn and oath and will

not take it back. You are a priest forever,

according to the pattern of Melchizedek.

So what are the two things? Well, Jesus is of the order of

Melchizedek and Jesus is an eternal high priest.

But I mean, what does that even mean?

What does it mean to be of the order of Melchizedek?

It means you should come to church next week because Joel

will tell you that's not what we're talking about today, okay?

There's a lot more to say about Melchizedek and I am so glad

Joel is the one saying it. Okay, but what do we need to do

with these two things today? But where do I land with the

fact that okay? Jesus is of an order unlike any

other and it's eternal. Just what the preacher said.

What do you say it was for? So that I could be strongly

encouraged to seize the Hope set before me.

Those two things. This is strong encouragement

from God, to me, to seize, what I have made available for you.

Grasp. It be greedy about it.

Take it in guard it. Don't let anybody ever tell you

anything. Any different?

Jesus is not like the other high priest.

Jesus is the person of the promise, he's of an order that

sets him apart. He did not enter the order the

way other priest entered. Other priests were chosen.

Other priests went through some ceremony where everything got

declared and maybe they got prayed over.

Maybe it was in a special place. There are all sorts of things

surrounding how they entered the priesthood including who they

were born to. See, Jesus entered the

priesthood differently. He entered through the order

entered into the order through his own incarnation.

And the life that he lived and the torture that he suffered.

In the crucifixion that he went through.

And his very death. His burial.

And his resurrection. How many of the priests are

going to sign up for priesthood? If that's the way you get in one

one and one alone Our faith is built on the God, man.

Jesus Christ, who did the unthinkable, he actually became

our sin. He was willingly crucified and

he died to defeat sin and death and then he declared his victory

by just getting up and walking out of the grave.

And then he goes and he walks around a bunch of witnesses,

long enough that it's going to be really hard to deny the fact

that he was raised. Now he's gone back to his father

and he's taking his rightful place, but he's coming back

here, one day to put all this mess right.

But in the meantime, he's making it clear, he wants us to be

encouraged. We got a promise did his

actually a possession. Did his Irish to keep and he

promises to do all the heavy lifting to help us keep it.

Sometimes it can feel like hanging onto the promise is

exhausting me. Like, I'm my strength is going

to break, and I'm going to drop it.

I'll let it get away from me. See, that's where the really

crazy. Good news comes in.

I'm not the one that has to hang on, even when I fall, he doesn't

even when I let go, he doesn't even when I freaked out and gets

scared. He doesn't let go.

It's that whole image that we talked about and seen before.

I got a kid wrapped around me like an octopus, you know, and

we're out walking and something scares the kid out of his mind.

And he looks like an armadillo in the headlights of a car arms

up and feed out and just scared. He's completely let go because

he's freaking out. He's losing his mind.

He doesn't go anywhere though. Because I had him.

And then we look at Jesus kind of sheepishly and go sorry about

that. And he goes, hey, I know.

I know but I'm still here with you.

I still have you that thing that shocked.

You didn't Shock Me? The thing that's got you worried

and trying to figure out how you're going to deal with it.

Yeah, none of that is bothering me right now.

The only thing I want is for you to have peace and calm.

Right here in the middle of this thing that's going on.

The preacher tells us how to use it in verse 19.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul firm and secure it

enters. The inner Sanctuary behind the

curtain. See our world often just seems

like shifting currents going every which way they threatened

to sweep us away from the rest in the peace and the calm.

But the producers declaring that Christ Priestly order and the

eternality of it. That's our anchor.

Yeah, there are currents and they're pushing and they're

pulling and they do threaten to rip us away.

But the anchor that is Jesus Christ, holes.

I mean, doesn't budge at all? It's not even like those tense

moments in the movies, you know, where the thing is stuck in the

concrete and you begin to see it, right?

A little bit and you know they're trying to decide is this

going to be a disaster? And not know it's none of that

you look around there and all you gets just solid.

There's no wiggle room. Jesus.

Do you have me? Of course, I have you.

See, he tore the veil that separated us from the place of

God's presence. That big ole heavy piece of

carpet. I mean that one, just like a

curtain like we have curtains. This is, this is a heavy piece

of carpet, hang in there in that opening.

Jesus Christ, taught right into and says, hey you're all invited

in in fact, come in boldly. Come in here like you're meant

to be here. Come in here like you're a

child. Come in here like your father's

willing to stop, whatever he's doing and give you his

attention. See once a year, the human high

priest would go into the holy of holies do offer up sacrifices.

This is once a year, one guy gets to go behind that carpet.

And so he goes back in there, but before he goes, they did

something interesting, they tie a rope around his leg.

Because if you have a heart attack while you're in there and

you die, nobody else can go in the holy of holies to get you

out and we don't like the smell. So we're going to tie a rope

around you to guarantee that. If anything goes wrong, we pull

you out. So here's the thing that man's

tether was anchored, outside the presence of God, it was angered

two men standing on the outside who the very best they could

offer him was just to drag him out and bury him.

Jesus. Our anchor, our hope the one

we're tied to. He tethers us into the presence

of God. Are tether runs with him.

The only thing we can do is be drawn closer.

He affirms this when he tells us finally in verse 20, he affirms.

This is what I'm referring to remember that thing, I told you

back and 14, I mean, in chapter 4, okay.

Well here's where I'm going to affirm that.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner because

he's become a high priest forever.

According to the order of Melchizedek, God has sworn his

oath to clarify his promise, the probability of God fulfilling

that promise is 100% because of who he is.

He is that guy. Jesus is the subject and

fulfillment of that promise. Jesus is the true promise.

The hope the preacher wants us to possess is the guarantee of

eternal life with Jesus. And we can have it right now

when we just come to recognize our helplessness and our

inability to solve any of this. How badly we have sinned and

rebelled and the fact that we just we don't have any way to

fix it. And then we cry out to him.

Hey, I can't he said, well, then you're the exact person I'm

looking for the promise has been obtained by those who believe

God. The promise is being obtained by

those who follow Jesus. And the promise will be obtained

by those who inherit the Kingdom.

So it is as it often is with God already, and not yet.

So it is as it often is with God already, and not yet.