Sermon
01 "Hold Fast to God’s Son" Hebrews 4:14 | Thursday, August 6, 2026
Publisher transcript
Transcript
-
then go to Hebrews chapter 4. We're
Hebrews 4 chapter mention
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going to begin a new series tonight
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through the book of Hebrews. And it felt
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for a long time uh that this is the
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direction the Lord would take us in our
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midweek as we've gone through Genesis,
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Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Now,
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we've studied much about the Old
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Testament, the Old Covenant, the
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sacrifices, and all of those things. And
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um Hebrews will show us that Christ is
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the complete fulfillment of all of those
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things. And so I think it's going to be
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a very helpful study on the heels of
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being in these uh books about the
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priesthood and the law. But I also want
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you to understand that there's a purpose
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to this book that's very significant to
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your life. And I I have been excited for
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the last several months to get into this
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study. and and I'm so excited for it.
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Well, as we begin a new series, we're
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not starting in chapter 1, verse one, uh
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because what I want to do tonight is to
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give us really an introductory
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uh message about what the entire book is
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about because it will really help set
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the direction for every text that we
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study if we realize the overall aim of
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the book. And so, that's what we're
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going to do tonight. And I think that
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chapter 4:14
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is going to give us a very succinct
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summary of what that purpose is. Have
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your Bibles ready tonight because we are
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going to flip a lot through the book of
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Hebrews because I want you to understand
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that what we preach here does not just
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come from the mind of your pastor, but
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it comes from the scripture. And so I
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encourage you to have your Bible each
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service and to read along and study
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along as we go. So let's read in Hebrews
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chapter 4 verse 14.
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It says, "Seeing then that we have a
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great high priest that is passed into
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the heavens, Jesus the son of God. Let
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us hold fast our profession." Let us
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hold fast our profession. And so the
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title of this first message and of our
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entire series is hold fast to God's son.
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Hold fast to God's son. You may remember
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on June 24th that two massive
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earthquakes rocked the foundation of two
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cities in Venezuela. I remember the
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videos went viral online and was uh
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looking through and seeing that there
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are crowds in the streets that are just
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scrambling as as skyscrapers and
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apartments are rocking back and forth.
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And there were videos of people in
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underground garage and the dust is going
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and everybody's ducking and they're
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trying to find something to get a hold
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of and and as they're, you know,
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stumbling around, they're about to fall
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over. And there were videos of people
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that were swimming in their their pools
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and the waves are just going back and
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forth and they're trying to get out of
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the middle of the pool and get to the
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edge. And what you notice is that when
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the foundations of the earth are shaking
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back and forth, you're either going to
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grab a hold of something that's solid
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and sure or you're going to stumble and
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fall. Can I ask you when it comes to
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your life? What do you hold on to when
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life gets rocky?
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What do you hold on to when your world
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gets shaken? When danger is imminent?
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When doubt sets in and fear overwhelms
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you? What do you hold on to to find
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security and stability?
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Well, let's think about it for a moment.
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When the economy gets shaky,
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what are some things I'm going to be a
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little more interactive here tonight.
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What are some things that you cling to
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when your finances are going bad? What
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do you look to for security, for shelter
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and stability?
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[snorts]
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Your parents. Yeah. If your if your
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parents got money and you're out, you
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ask them, right? What else?
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Door Dash. Yeah. Get another job. Add on
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to that. What else?
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Prayer. Yeah, that's a good place to
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turn.
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People might turn to their 401k,
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withdraw a little bit early there, or
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look to that and just say, "Man,
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everything's falling apart. I've got to
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withdraw my 401k, invested in something
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else." And you start scrambling in that
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way. When marriage gets rocky and you're
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struggling, you might turn to a friend.
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You might turn to a confidant or there
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might be a need that to go to a
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therapist or something like that. When
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the uh world around you is in chaos,
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when your country is in decline, and
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when your state seems to be falling
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apart, what do you look to to be the
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hope to get things turned around?
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[snorts]
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What do we look to?
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November,
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right? Let's have another election.
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Let's try to get somebody else in
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office. Let's try to impeach or get them
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out of office. And so we can look to
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politicians to try to turn things around
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when our entire system gets uh shaky.
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What about when your faith gets shaky?
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[snorts] What about when the world rises
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against your faith? You might retreat to
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the safety of silence. just be quiet
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about your faith. Just go silent.
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Or what about when the word of God
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confronts you with something different
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than you always thought? That you always
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believed one thing, but then you come to
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study the scripture on your own and
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you're you're thinking, did I have that
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right or is there something else that
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God is saying in this text? Sometimes
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that can be shaky in your life and
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you're wondering is what I've always
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believed is it still true?
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Or when churches change or when core
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doctrines of the Bible are forsaken and
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online influencers are gaining massive
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followings that seem to be leading
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others astray. And sometimes you can be
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concerned that you'll be sucked up into
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something that isn't true, something
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that deviates from God's word.
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See, it's in those moments that we seek
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shelter,
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safety, and stability.
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But I want to challenge you tonight that
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you want to be sure that what you're
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holding on to is not something that is
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flimsy, something that is fragile, or
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something brittle, but rather that what
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you are holding on to, what you are
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clinging to is something that is a
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solid, sure foundation.
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one that can truly give you the
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stability and security that you're
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looking for. The author of Hebrews would
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like to tell you that what you need to
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grab on to, what you need to cling to,
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what you need to uh hold fast to is the
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son of God, Jesus Christ.
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[snorts] See, Hebrews, we're going to
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see is much more than a letter. As we
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look at the New Testament epistles,
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that's what the word epistle is, is it's
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a formal letter written by one author to
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a particular audience or group of
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people. But what we're going to find is
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that Hebrews is much more than a letter.
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It's really a sermon. It's a sermon.
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It's a sermon written to a certain group
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of people whose faith was on shaky
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ground. And at the end of his letter, he
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called them to bear with his word of
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exhortation.
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The word exhortation, it it means to to
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coach up. It means to to strengthen, to
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shore up or to uh to encourage.
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And so what it means is that this letter
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was written as a sermon to encourage
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these Christians in their faith in
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Christ.
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This is a written sermon meant to be
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read aloud is what you can tell from it.
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And what it does is it carefully uses
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Old Testament scripture to make
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arguments about Jesus Christ. And all
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along the way it's giving applications
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to those arguments. What we must do with
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what we've learned and what we must do
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according to the author of Hebrews is to
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hold fast to Jesus Christ to cling to
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him when life gets shaky. Thus, the
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title of our series is hold fast to
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God's son.
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The author argues here that every
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believer
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must hold fast when life gets shaky. And
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my prayer during this series on Thursday
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nights is really twofold. Number one is
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that you would come to know and value
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Jesus more than ever before.
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This book teaches us more about the
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person and ministry of Jesus Christ than
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any other book of the Bible. It is all
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about Jesus.
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But then number two is that knowing him
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more
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when when your life goes into turmoil
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that you would cling wholeheartedly to
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Jesus. That's our goal in this
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particular series. And so in this
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introductory message, I want to give you
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what I believe is the sermon of Hebrews
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in one sentence, but we're going to
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unfold it in three movements. First,
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we're going to consider this call to
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hold fast to God's son. And then we're
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going to see two reasons why you should
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do that. And these are coming directly
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from this letter to the Hebrews. And so
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let's first consider the fact that
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Hebrews is a call to hold fast to the
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son of God. To best understand this
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letter, we need to understand why the
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original audience needed to hold fast to
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Jesus. Let's just consider this as you
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go into a new book. Who is the author of
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Hebrews? Now, in my Bible, and and yours
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may say this as well. In my Bible, if I
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go back to the beginning, it says the
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epistle of Paul, the Apostle to the
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Hebrews, there's one problem with that.
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Paul doesn't identify himself in this
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letter like he does in every other
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letter that he wrote. And so, early
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tradition came to accept that the author
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was Paul. But what you find in in
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chapter 2 and verse two is that the
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author claims that they had heard that
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himself included had heard about Jesus
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from those who heard him. The apostle
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Paul and all the other apostles heard
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directly from Jesus. And so that pretty
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much eliminates anyone who had personal
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encounter with Jesus, including Paul
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himself. And so the answer that we're
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going to take is rather simple. We don't
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know who the author is cuz he never
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identifies himself.
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And the reality is there can be all
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kinds of discussion about it. But it
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really doesn't matter because if it did,
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the Holy Spirit would have inspired him
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to identify himself.
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And so what we can gather about this
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author though is number one, he had a
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masterful understanding of the Old
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Testament scriptures. Masterful
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understanding. He knew about all of the
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old covenant practices, the priesthood,
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the sacrifices. He knew very intricate
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details involved in the book of Exodus
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that many of us would not know or would
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glance over if we were just reading it
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on our own. And so he had a masterful
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understanding of the Old Testament. But
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even better was he had a unique gift
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from God to be able to see how they
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directly related to the person and
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ministry of Jesus Christ. We gather that
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about him through this letter. We also
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gather that he has a pastor's heart.
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That what he sees is a particular group
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of Christians that are beginning to fade
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in their faith. They're beginning to
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grow weary. They're beginning to turn
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aside and his shepherd's heart is coming
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to them uh to with the staff to correct
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them and to lead them back in the way
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that they need to go. He has a pastor's
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heart.
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But who is this particular group of
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people that he's addressing? The most
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obvious answer is that they were Jewish
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Christians. After all, the letter is
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called to the Hebrews. And so that tells
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us that these are Jewish people. But it
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because of the Jewish nature of this
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letter, even the special attention to
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the priesthood of Jesus, some have come
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to believe that he's actually addressing
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a group of Jewish priests who had
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converted to Christianity just as we saw
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in Acts 6:7 where it says, "A great
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company of the priests in Jerusalem
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became obedient to the faith." And so
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it's very possible that these are a
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group of priests who are now beginning
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to shrink back from their faith in
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Jesus. Well, why would they do that?
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They have a lot to lose. Because being a
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priest would garner you great wealth,
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great status and prosperity as well as
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uh protection. Because once you come
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under the people of Christ, you become a
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part of people that your people, your
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peers vehemently persecuted.
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They had a lot to lose.
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What we do know is that they were Jewish
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Christians who suffered immensely
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shortly after their conversions. Would
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you turn to Hebrews chapter 10 over just
Hebrews 10 chapter mention
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a few pages to chapter 10 and verse 32?
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[snorts]
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Chapter 10:32 he said listen to what the
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author says to them but call to
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remembrance the former days in which
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after ye were illuminated that's a word
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way of talking about they came to see
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the light of Jesus so they they've
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become Christians now he says after that
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ye endured a great fight [snorts] of
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afflictions partly whilst ye were made a
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gazing stock both by reproaches and
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afflictions and partly
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whilst ye became companions of them that
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were so used. For ye had compassion of
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me and my bonds, and took joyfully the
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spoiling of your goods, knowing in
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yourselves that you have in heaven a
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better and an enduring substance. So,
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you can tell that early on they suffered
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for Jesus immensely. And not only that,
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but they partnered with those, they
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identified with those who were suffering
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for Jesus. And so they were people who
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knew something about suffering. We also
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know that they've been saved for a good
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while because if you go back to Hebrews
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uh chapter 5
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and verse 13
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or verse 12, excuse me, he says this,
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for when for the time ye ought to be
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teachers, you have need that one teach
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you again, which be the first principles
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of the oracles of God. He says, 'You've
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reached a time in your Christian life
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where you should be teaching others, but
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you still have to be schooled in some of
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these elementary principles of Jesus.
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And so, we know they've been saved for a
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good while.
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But we also know that as time went on
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and more persecution uh came and as life
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got rocky, they began to weaken and they
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were on the verge of stumbling in their
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faith. Go back over to chapter 12. Now,
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I told you we're going to bounce around
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a lot. So, have your Bibles ready. Go to
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chapter 12. I want you to see who this
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audience is.
Isaiah 12 chapter mention
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Chapter 12, verse number 12. Look at
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this encouragement he gives him after
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all of this fleshing out who Jesus is.
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He says, "Wherefore, lift up the hands
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which hang down and the feeble knees."
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You get that picture that it's like
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someone who is just downtrodden and
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they're shaky. They're wobbly. And he
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says, "No, no, let's lift up the hands
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that hang down, and let's strengthen the
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feeble knees." In verse 13, he says,
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"And make straight paths for your feet,
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lest that which is lame be turned out of
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the way, and let it rather be healed."
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He's calling them back to Christ,
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because Christ is where they will find
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the strength for their weak knees and
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their broken feet, and where they'll
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find healing from the persecution that
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they have endured.
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We could say that they were experiencing
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similar struggles that you go through
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your life when it gets shaky. That we're
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when you're you're in financial ruins
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and you can't find a job and the car
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breaks down again. How do you feel when
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that's going on? Your hands are probably
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hanging low. Your feet are probably
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getting wobbly in that moment. Or when
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you're going through some serious family
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problems. When it seems like your spouse
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is your enemy or like your parents are a
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train wreck or or or like your kids
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won't have anything to do with you,
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that's how you can feel weakened. Or
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when your faith is shaken by the moral
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failure of a mentor in your life or the
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changing winds of of doctrine or or or
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perhaps when persecution is on the rise.
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See, in those moments, we are tempted to
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doubt. We're tempted to draw back, to go
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quiet, to shrink back from our faith, to
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deconstruct at times, we might say. And
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we often seek safety and security. Think
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about this for a second. We often seek
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safety and security in other places
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because our faith hasn't seemed to
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provide it. That's what can happen. And
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that's where these believers were at.
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They're on the verge of turning away
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from Christ and seeking safety under the
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shelter and protection of the old
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covenant system
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because there under the old covenant
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they were protected from Rome. Under the
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old covenant they were protected from
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persecution.
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Under the old covenant they had mental,
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financial and physical stability in
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their lives. But the author is careful
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to remind them that apart from Christ,
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there is nothing but danger. Would you
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look over at chapter 10 again?
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Chapter 10 and verse 26.
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He says this, "For if we sin willfully,
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after that we have received the
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knowledge of the truth, there remainth
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no more sacrifice for sins, but a
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certain fearful looking for of judgment
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and fiery indignation, which shall
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devour the adversaries. He that despised
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Moses's law died without mercy under two
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or three witnesses. Of how much sarer
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punishment suppose ye shall he be
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thought worthy who hath trottened
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underfoot the son of God and hath
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counted the blood of the covenant
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wherewith he was sanctified an unholy
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thing and hath done despite under the
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spirit of grace. Do you catch what he's
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saying here? that when you come to the
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knowledge of who Jesus is and you have
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seen what he has done for you and you
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have come so close to the new covenant,
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when you turn away from him, all that's
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left for you is fiery indignation.
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Now, one of the things that we're going
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to wrestle with in the book of Hebrews
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is this. Can a believer lose their
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salvation if they turn away from Jesus
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Christ?
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Because what you're going to find is
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there are very real warnings about it in
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this book. Warnings that cause countless
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scholars to wrestle and grapple with it.
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But what I've come to find in studying
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this is that following each warning
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comes an affirmation
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that they are secure if they are
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genuinely in Christ. Would you look at
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verse 38 here of chapter 10? He says,
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'Now the just shall live by faith, but
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if any man draw back, my soul shall have
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no pleasure in him. You see the warning
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there that God is not going to have any
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pleasure in somebody who turns back from
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his son. But notice what he says. But we
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are not of them who draw back under
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predition, but of them that believe to
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the saving of the soul. Chapter 6 is is
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one of the famous passages where he he
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he warns them that if you have come and
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you have tasted of the heavenly gift and
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you have partaken of the Holy Ghost that
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if you fall away it's impossible he says
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to renew them again under repentance but
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then at the very end of that chapter he
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says but we're persuaded of better
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things of you. So what he's
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communicating is that apart from Christ,
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there is great danger.
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But if you are in Christ, you are going
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to stay faithful to him and you have no
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danger to face.
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And so what we can tell is that they
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were struggling. They were drawing back
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from from Christ.
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And the only thing apart from Christ is
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danger. So let me summarize here. This
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audience is made up of Jewish Christians
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who are wavering in their faith because
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their foundations have been shaken by
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the things they've experienced in life.
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That's who they are. And now they are
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seeking shelter, stability, and security
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apart from Christ in an old system that
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only leaves them in the danger of
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judgment if they are not really in
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Christ.
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And so that's the audience. Well, what
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is the author's solution for these
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people?
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It's very simple.
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Hold fast
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to God's son. Hold fast to God's son.
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Yes, life is shaky,
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but don't stop clinging to Christ.
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Yes, you're experiencing pain and
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suffering, but cling to Christ. Yes,
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there's persecution mounting against
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you, but cling to Christ. Yes, there may
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be safety in those other things, but
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cling to Christ. That is his message to
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them. Let's let's see it though from the
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text. The refrain to hold fast to Christ
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is the repeated application to every
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argument presented about Christ's
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identity and his ministry. Go back to
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chapter 2 verse one. This time we'll
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make our way through through the the
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book here. If you look at chapter 2
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verse one, he says this. Therefore, we
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ought to give the more earnest heed to
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the things which we have heard, lest at
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any time we should let them slip. What
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does that sound like? Lest at any time
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what you were holding to should slip out
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of your hands. He's calling to hold
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fast. Look over at chapter 3 verse
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number six. But Christ as a son over his
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own house, whose house are we if we hold
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fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
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the hope firm unto the end. Look down at
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verse 14. For we [snorts] are made
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partakers of Christ if we what does that
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say? Hold the beginning of our
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confidence. What does that say?
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Steadfast unto the end. The idea of hold
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fast means grab on and don't let go.
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That's the idea here. hold and steadfast
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there. Look at chapter 4:14 that we read
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at the beginning of our message tonight.
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Seeing then that we have a great high
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priest that is passed into the heavens,
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Jesus the son of God, let us, what does
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that say? Hold fast our profession.
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Look over at chapter 6 verse 18. Chapter
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6 18. that by two immutable things in
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which it was impossible for God to lie,
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we might have strong consolation, who
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have fled for refuge to what?
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>> Lay hold upon the hope set before us.
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That hope in Christ. Look over at
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chapter 10 now. Verse 23.
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Chapter 10 verse 23.
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[snorts]
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He says, "Let us what? Hold fast the
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profession of our faith without
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wavering, for he is faithful that
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promise. Look down at verse 35.
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What does those first three words say?
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Cast not away. Let me ask you this. If
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something is in your hand
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and you cast it away, is it still in
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your hand? So, you see this repeated
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application over and over and over
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again? What we're going to see is is
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that the author's structure to this
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sermon is this. Here's who Jesus is.
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Here's what Jesus did. So, hold on to
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him. That's what you see time and time
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again. And so, I want to say to you that
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no matter what you're going through, the
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shelter and the stability and the
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security that you need the most is found
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only in Jesus Christ.
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Because when everything is falling apart
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and and when everything isn't going the
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way that you thought it would and when
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everything seems against you and it's
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just pain and suffering and weakness and
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people turn their backs on you, you know
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who's still there? Jesus Christ. He's
-
unmovable. He's eternal. So in those
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moments, do not draw back. Do not shy
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away. Do not drift in your faith because
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the most stabilizing and securing force
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in the entire universe, I submit to you,
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is the one who made it. The one who made
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it, and that's Jesus Christ.
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Now, why is that?
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What is it about Jesus that makes him
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the stabilizing force that you need to
-
cling to? The author of Hebrews is going
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to make two primary arguments.
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Number one is that Jesus is God's
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greater word to mankind. Jesus is God's
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greater word to mankind. At this time, I
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want to draw your attention to our our
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title slide here and explain the
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intentionality
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behind this. The setting here is the
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first century uh temple in Jerusalem.
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But I want to point out that it's
-
looking into the Holy of Holies, which
-
represents the earthly dwelling place of
-
God. But I want you to remember the
-
words that Jesus said, "Destroy this
-
temple and I will raise it up again in
-
three days." The temple of which he
-
spake, it says, was his body.
-
See, I want you to go back to Hebrews
Hebrews 1 chapter mention
-
chapter 1 verse one.
-
Excuse me. Chapter 1 verse uh three
-
speaking of Jesus, it says this, who
-
being the brightness of his glory and
-
the express image of his person. Do you
-
know what that means? Jesus is the
-
dwelling place of almighty God. The
-
fullness of who God is dwells in the
-
body and person of Jesus Christ. He is
-
the temple of God. In fact, that's a
-
point that will be made uh later on in
-
chapter 8, that he's the greater
-
tabernacle.
-
Now, I want you to notice the cross
-
there. The cross represents the identity
-
and the finished work of Jesus Christ,
-
what he accomplished through his death
-
on the cross. And I want you to notice
-
how the cross is positioned above these
-
Old Testament relics. there on the left
-
side you have the angels.
-
Hebrews 1 and two uh says that Jesus is
-
proven to be greater than the angels.
-
And then in chapters chapter 3, he's the
-
greater Moses represented by the two
-
tablets of stone, the ten commandments
-
there. In Hebrews 4, Jesus is greater
-
than a greater captain than Joshua, who
-
leads us to a greater rest than Canaan
-
represented by the grapes there. He's
-
better. He's greater than Joshua. and
-
his rest is greater than Canaan. Then
-
chapters 5-8 show that Jesus is a
-
greater priest than Aaron ministering in
-
a greater tabernacle in heaven mediating
-
a greater covenant in the new covenant
-
and which is represented by the
-
candlestick and the priestly
-
breastplate. And then in Hebrews uh nine
-
Jesus is the greater sacrifice than all
-
the sacrificial animals represented
-
there by the lamb. Hebrews 10 reveals
-
Jesus to be the better, newer, and
-
living way into God's presence.
-
And so here you have the cross. Jesus
-
ranks above the old covenant relics.
-
Notice the the temple veil seated at the
-
foot of the cross. What happened when
-
Jesus cried out, "It was it is
-
finished," and he gave up the ghost. He
-
breathed his last breath. What
-
immediately happened at the temple?
-
Do we remember
-
the veil was torn in two from the top to
-
the bottom? You know what nature does?
-
It would weigh down and tear from the
-
bottom to the top. You know why it tore
-
from the top to the bottom? God tore it.
-
signifying Hebrews is the only book in
-
the Bible that gives us this
-
understanding and analogy that when God
-
tore the temple veil into through the
-
death of c of of the cross he made a new
-
and living way into God's presence and
-
that is through Jesus Christ
-
through Jesus Christ and so now we enter
-
God's presence by faith in him and so
-
what we can see is that [snorts] the
-
primary very reason the author argues as
-
to why uh uh we should hold fast to the
-
son of god is because he's the greater
-
word that he's the the message that god
-
has given in the gospel of Jesus Christ
-
it provides for you a greater minister a
-
greater leader a greater priest a
-
greater atonement a greater forgiveness
-
and not only a greater way to god but
-
the only way to go that is what Jesus
-
has provided
-
See, the son of God provides you with a
-
greater stability, a greater shelter, a
-
greater security, and a greater
-
salvation, not only than Judaism, but
-
over everything else. That he's greater
-
than money. He's greater than your job.
-
He's greater than your boss. He's
-
greater than your problems. He's greater
-
than your bank account. And many of you
-
would say, "Amen." It's not that hard.
-
But he's greater than all of that. He's
-
greater than your health problems. He's
-
greater than your family problems. He's
-
greater than any political power or
-
governors or or presidents or kings.
-
He's greater than any podcaster, false
-
prophet or fallen mentor.
-
See, people and material things, they
-
all come and go. But as the author of
-
Hebrews says, Jesus Christ is the same
-
yesterday and today and forever. Amen.
-
>> In Hebrews chapter 2, he says that they
Hebrews 2 chapter mention
-
shall all change like a garment, but you
-
remain the same.
-
Jesus
-
is the one that you should cling to.
-
He's the greater word from God. [snorts]
-
That's why you should hold fast. But
-
then there's a second argument in the
-
book of Hebrews,
-
and that is that Jesus is not only God's
-
greater word, but he is God's final
-
word. is God's final word. Would you
-
look at chapter 1 verse one? And this is
-
where we'll start here in a couple of
-
weeks. Chapter 1 verse one. God who at
-
sunundry times and in diverse manners
-
spake in time past unto the fathers by
-
the prophets. Question. Do the prophets
-
have some good words from God?
-
Absolutely.
-
God used the prophets to speak to Israel
-
in tremendous ways. He gave them signs.
-
He gave them wonders. They they did like
-
what seems to us goofy little skits to
-
illustrate God's word to him of God. God
-
God rained uh fire from heaven to
-
consume an altar through a prophet to
-
prove that he is greater than the
-
prophets of Baal and then their gods. He
-
He's a God who stopped the rain for
-
three years to make a point here of how
-
desperately Israel needs him. God also
-
prophesied of his son and of the
-
crucifixion and of the resurrection and
-
of a kingdom to come throughout. There's
-
a lot of good words from the prophets.
-
But look at verse number two.
-
God hath in these last days spoken unto
-
us by his son.
-
By his son.
-
God hasn't spoken to you through any
-
ordinary person.
-
He has spoken to you through his very
-
son.
-
We're talking about the message of the
-
gospel. The message that Jesus came to
-
bring redemption by grace alone through
-
faith alone in Jesus alone.
-
A a good a good word that through faith
-
in Christ you can have that everlasting
-
kingdom that is to come. You can have
-
that everlasting inheritance. Your sins
-
can be forgiven. You can be declared
-
righteous before God. That's what God
-
has spoken through Jesus Christ. But
-
notice it says he hath in these last
-
days spoken unto us by his son. You know
-
what that indicates? He's the last word
-
from God. You know what that means? It
-
means that Joseph Smith's another
-
testament of Jesus Christ is a false
-
testament because God did not say his
-
last word would be through Joseph Smith.
-
It also tells us that God did not speak
-
through Muhammad because his final word
-
came through his son Jesus.
-
[snorts]
-
The call of Hebrews then is to hear and
-
heed what God sent through Jesus.
-
The word spoken through Jesus.
-
Go to Hebrews chapter 2:1. Let's do
-
another quick walk through here of
-
Hebrews chapter 2 vers1. Notice this. It
Hebrews 2 chapter mention
-
says, "Therefore, we ought to give the
-
more earnest heed to the things which we
-
have heard." You catch that? God starts
-
off by saying he has spoken through his
-
son. And then right off the bat in
-
chapter 2, therefore, we need to give
-
heed. Do you know what that means? To
-
hear and do what we have heard from him.
-
Look at chapter 3:7.
-
Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith,
-
today if you will hear his voice, harden
-
not your hearts. This is actually
-
repeated again in verse 15. While it is
-
said, today if you will hear his voice,
-
harden not your hearts. And then again
-
in chapter number four, it says the same
-
thing. I'm trying to remember what verse
-
it was. I didn't uh write it down. Uh
-
but it says it again. Verse seven. again
-
he limitth a certain day saying in David
-
today after so long a time as it is said
-
today if you will hear his voice harden
-
not your hearts and so very early on
-
he's getting this across to them because
-
Jesus is the final word you need to hear
-
his voice and do what he says cling to
-
him hold fast to him let's go all the
-
way forward to Hebrews chapter 12 okay
Hebrews 12 chapter mention
-
so Hebrews 1 started with God has spoken
-
to us in these last days by his son.
-
Now, Hebrews is coming to a close of the
-
main theological section before some uh
-
further uh final exhortations. And if
-
you look at chapter 12, verse number 24,
-
look what he says that you've come to
-
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,
-
and to the blood of sprinkling that
-
speaketh better things than that of
-
Abel. See that ye refuse not him that
-
speaketh. For if they escaped not, who
-
refused him that spake on earth,
-
speaking of Moses, much more shall not
-
we escape, if we turn away from him that
-
speaketh from heaven.
-
Do you see the clarity here? God spoken
-
by his son. You need to hear him. See
-
that you don't refuse him. If you
-
ignore, if you reject, if you set aside
-
God's final word, what is there left for
-
you to turn to? That's his point.
-
And so the book begins by saying, "God
-
spoke to us by his son." And it closes
-
with a command not to turn away from him
-
that speaks from heaven. You know what
-
this reminds me of? When the crowd went
-
away from Jesus and Jesus turned to his
-
disciples and asked them, "Will you go
-
away also?" Do you remember Peter's
-
response there?
-
He said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? for
-
thou hast the words of life.
-
That's the call that the author is
-
making to these believers who are shaky
-
in their faith and they're beginning to
-
draw back and to shrink away from and
-
turn away from Jesus Christ. He's
-
saying, "No, if you if you turn away
-
from God's final word, you have no other
-
word to turn to. There's no other
-
sacrifice to to run to that can be
-
greater than the sacrifice that the son
-
of God made on the cross."
-
Hebrews plainly states that if you walk
-
away from the son of God who is his
-
final word, you have nowhere else to
-
turn. Thus, the message of Hebrews
-
becomes clear. Hold fast to God's son
-
because he is God's greater and final
-
word. That's Hebrews in a nutshell. Hold
-
fast to God's son because he is God's
-
greater and final word.
-
[snorts] And so when your accounts are
-
running low,
-
hold fast to God's son.
-
And as you go through the struggles of
-
your marriage, hold fast to God's son.
-
When your parents are a train wreck,
-
hold fast to God's son. When your kids
-
want nothing to do with you and have
-
turned their backs on you, hold fast to
-
God's son.
-
When a when a tremendous mentor in your
-
life falls in immorality, hold fast to
-
God's son.
-
When when the church that you went to
-
changed completely, hold fast to God's
-
son. As you study God's word and you you
-
begin to think, maybe what I always
-
thought isn't what God has said, just
-
hold fast to God's son.
-
Because sometimes in that moment you can
-
feel shaky. You may not know where to
-
go. But what you know is this. What is
-
Chris? There there are so many things in
-
the scripture that we can get bogged
-
down and worried about if we don't have
-
the interpretation right. But let's just
-
stop for a second and consider
-
everything that is clear. And that is
-
this. You need God's son. He did
-
everything necessary for you to be
-
saved. So cling first and foremost to
-
him. Trust in him. Depend on him to lead
-
you into the future. Hey church, when
-
our country goes off the rails, hold
-
fast to God's son. If we get a building,
-
hold fast to God's son. If we don't get
-
a building, hold fast to God's son.
-
Times will change. People will come and
-
go, but Jesus Christ is the same
-
yesterday and today and forever. So hold
-
fast to God's son. He's the greater and
-
final word from God.
-
[snorts] You ever seen those tall I
-
think they're called like guide
-
communication towers? Those they're I
-
mean it it looks like they're like as
-
big as this pulpit, but they go up like
-
a thousand feet. We have one of those
-
that's for K Denver TV that broadcast
-
digitally to this whole uh Boulder
-
County, Weld County area. And it's
-
[snorts] out there in Frederick. And as
-
I drive to take my dog to the kennel out
-
there, I go right by and I look at that
-
thing and I'm like, "How in the world
-
does that thing stand
-
through through the craziest windstorms
-
that we have and through every blizzard
-
and lightning strikes that somehow this
-
huge tower continues to stand there, 158
-
ft tall and really not bigger than this
-
square probably? How in the world does
-
it do that? It's got all these thick
-
gauge wires coming off it on every side
-
going all the way up to the top and they
-
are they [snorts] are anchored to a 15t
-
deep block of concrete and it perfectly
-
in tension form uh keeps that thing
-
standing still through every storm that
-
comes. Can I read one more verse to you?
-
Let's go to Hebrews chapter 6.
Hebrews 6 chapter mention
-
Go to chapter 6
-
verse 18. We read verse 18 earlier but I
-
want you to see what follows.
-
It says that by two immutable things.
-
You know what that word immutable means?
-
Unchangeable.
-
By two unchangeable things in which it
-
was impossible for God to lie. We might
-
have a strong consolation who have fled
-
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
-
before us. Watch this. Verse 19. Which
-
hope we have as a what does that say?
-
Anchor of the soul. Both what?
-
Sure and steadfast.
-
That hope he's talking about is the hope
-
you have in Jesus Christ.
-
that when your soul is anchored
-
completely to Jesus,
-
it doesn't matter what storm comes into
-
your life, you're going to stand firm.
-
It doesn't matter when the cancer comes.
-
It doesn't matter when someone you love
-
dies.
-
It doesn't matter when when the winds of
-
change are going through Christianity or
-
as we go from election to election and
-
from power to power or job to job. It
-
doesn't matter what's going on in your
-
life. When your soul is anchored to
-
Jesus Christ, none of those things can
-
move you. Why? He is both sure and
-
steadfast.
-
So my prayer once again is [snorts] as
-
we go through this study that you will
-
come to know and value Jesus more than
-
you ever have before.
-
And then that knowing him,
-
you would hold fast
-
that no matter what comes, you stand
-
firm in Jesus Christ.
-
Let's pray. Our heavenly father, I'm so
-
thankful for this precious book and I'm
-
so looking forward in my personal life
-
of growing in my knowledge of Jesus
-
Christ, my understanding of what he's
-
done for us and of who he is.
-
And I pray that all of us would grow in
-
our knowledge of your son. But I pray
-
that knowledge would not just remain in
-
our head, but that it would make it to
-
our hearts and [music] into our lives.
-
That we would see that because he is
-
sure and steadfast, [music] he is the
-
place we need to go to for shelter,
-
for safety,
-
security, [music] and stability
-
for whatever is coming in our lives. May
-
we [music] depend wholly on him. In
-
Jesus name I pray.