To Him Who Equips Us
Doxology • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro: My lawnmower needed the blades replaced badly. This was the first time I have done this. I got the deck off, flipped it upside down. Began to try to take the nuts off the blades. The nut was tightly on, probably a bit rusted. I had tried just about everything I could. Bought a bigger socket for my handheld wrench. Put some WD-40 on it. Did everything I could with my own strength, which aint much, and could not get it off. I was not equipped to be able to take it off.
I needed help. And thankfully, my neighbors were outside. Richard and A.J. I went up to them and asked if they had the tools to get that nut off. And of course, I knew they did. Another realization that I am not a handyman and need to learn and buy some more tools for situations like these. A.J. got his handheld impact driver and easily got it off. The power needed was there.
The power of God is necessary for the Christian for us to do the will of God. the praying doxology of the author of Hebrews reminds us who has power and who alone can equip us to do this.
CTS: Because of the power of God through Jesus, you are equipped to live a life that pleases and glorifies God!
I. God’s Gospel Power (20)
I. God’s Gospel Power (20)
Whom is the subject? Again, it’s God. If we haven’t got that down yet, we haven’t paid attention to the doxologies, and really, the entirety of Scripture. Let’s remember that this again is His story. And this doxology has not only a purpose of praise, but also of prayer. And the writer of Hebrews here is praying for the church.
The God of peace.
The God of peace.
I love this. In a world of turmoil, an even in turmoil within ourselves and one another, we have a God who brings peace.
· Our first and greatest need, peace with God
· Our first and greatest need, peace with God
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
· We also have peace with one another
· We also have peace with one another
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
Who rose Jesus:
Who rose Jesus:
The God of peace brought by his power the Lord Jesus from the dead. It is said many times that the Father resurrected the Son, the Son also is to have said to resurrected himself, and the Spirit is also attributed to have rose Jesus from the dead. We also know that the triune God is the means of the work of the Gospel in all aspects. This God is powerful, able to raise that which is dead back to life. Able to conquer that which ails us because of the Fall, because of our own sin. Though its been said many times and many ways, we cannot forget this powerful act of God. It is the most significant and powerful act of God, to raise that which is dead back to life.
- But why Jesus?
- But why Jesus?
Jesus is described as the one who brings his sheep back into the fold, the lost sheep of Israel and also the lost sheep of the world. He is the shepherd that leaves the 99 to go after the
1. He is the shepherd who fights the Enemy, the wolves away to protect His sheep.
2. He is also the shepherd that gives His life for His sheep. That was the purpose of Christ’s ministry and mission.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
3. He also shepherds his sheep not only at the beginning of salvation, but through their lives. (Psalm 23).
A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
He gives all we need. He brings us to the perfect place of rest. He leads us beside still waters in a world of turmoil. He restores us. He leads us in righteousness for the sake of his name. He leads us through the darkest and deepest of valleys. He comforts us. He takes care of us when the enemies surround us. He anoints us.
4. He will come again to gather His sheep. (1 Peter 5:4).
- But how did He do this?
- But how did He do this?
By the sacrifice of Jesus, the penalty of death was paid for. The book of Hebrews declares the supremacy of Christ in His person and in His sacrifice. It is through the perfect, sinless, sacrifice of Jesus and His perfect high priestly work that the sin debt we owed is paid for. The penalty of death was paid for at the cross. His blood was the eternal covenant promised to give life, to give peace to us who were enemies of God. (Ezekiel 37:26, Zech 9:11).
26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
This is the power of God, the establishment of the prayer of the author Hebrews. Now may the God of peace who did this, who purchased salvation through the blood of His Son and rose Him from the dead who cleanses sin and defeats death, who perfectly offers salvation through Himself and His work alone, not our own. This is the basis of what He will do, the ask of the author. What a marvelous powerful God, a gracious and self-giving Lord and Savior!
II. Equips You to Do His Will (21)
II. Equips You to Do His Will (21)
The God whom the author addressed is now asked this very thing: May this God of peace who saves by incredible resurrection power, equip you.
The command to equip makes the assumption that there is something that the believer is called to do. At least one thing, and there are many things commanded in Scripture. But here let us focus on the two aspects.
He equips you with every good thing:
He equips you with every good thing:
The reality that we must understand is that God is the God of goodness. The life found in God, His purposes, are so that your life would be good to reflect His goodness to those all around us. To live for God is to live the good life. What are those good things? We’ll apply that from the Scriptures as a whole in a moment. But let’s look at what those good things are meant to do…
- To do the will of God:
- To do the will of God:
God has two overriding purposes clearly laid out by Christ. First, we must understand that the basis of our lives is to do the will of God, and not our own. The Lord’s Prayer itself makes this clear, as Jesus taught us to pray, that God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The means by which His will is done is through His people, the church. Ultimately, the will of God is found in this Bible we hold in our hands at this moment. This Bible points us to many things, but Jesus sums it up in two commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That is the will of God for all mankind. That will is only made possible though by Jesus, for our natural disposition is to reject God and go our own ways in sin. We are to repent of our sin, look to Jesus, believe and trust in Him by faith alone, and he regenerates us to live a life that glorifies Him, also known as, doing His will.
- To please God:
- To please God:
Coupled with this is that the life that does the will of God pleases God. We are to be reminded that though that we cannot please God by ourselves. We do not please God in order to be saved, but because we are saved! The demeanor and desire of every Christian is to first and foremost please God with our lives. Yet we often decide that our pleasure and our own self comes first before God. But know this, this is working in us. The Christian life is one of growth, a long obedience in the same direction. Step by step, God working in us daily to kill sin and to live the good life that honors Him. A slow working of the Word into our hearts, applying it to daily life. The consistent work of prayer. The submission of our bodies towards God in the practice of fasting. The mindful work of meditation on the Word of God and memorizing Scripture to help us life the life of righteousness and combat temptation. And God is pleased as He does this in us, slowly making us more like Jesus.
Through Jesus Christ:
Through Jesus Christ:
Again, over and over again, we see who the means of this work. Through Jesus, He does this. Through Jesus He saves us. He sanctifies us. And He will glorify us. Not in us is this ability found. Not in anyone can we be made more like Jesus. Not through a pastor, a church member, your mom, your dad, your wife, your husband, your children. No one can help you, transform you, and make you the person you are called to be, no matter how important they are to you. Only through Jesus.
And the application becomes clear. If we were to go back in Scripture, here are some clear commands to do the will of God. I hope this application can be helpful to you, to keep it within a text of Scripture. that will help us all remember and a good place for us to go back to to meditate and remember what Christian is called to do in light of their salvation.
CONCLUDING APPLICATION:
CONCLUDING APPLICATION:
Romans 12:9-21 (READ FROM BIBLE)
Do you see this? How will God equip you? There are many applications throughout the Bible, but here, let us rest in here for a bit and see some clear applications that will help all of us:
Loving Each other in the Church:
Loving Each other in the Church:
- Love genuinely: Love God and love others. Remember that your love to one another is a means to unity, which is a means to which we are witnesses of God’s work in His people.
- Hate sin: Kill sin in you, and hate sin that destroys one another. Gossip, slander, backbiting,
- Love each other like family
- Outdo showing one another in honor
Work Hard to Serve Jesus:
Work Hard to Serve Jesus:
- Don’t be lazy and be fervent to serve the Lord: Look to live your life in service of the King!
- Rejoice in the hope that you have and is coming: Life in Christ is one of joy, because your hope is secure in the eternal covenant of God, bought and purchased by the blood of Christ!
- Be patient in tribulation: The trials of life, when the many hours at work pile up, when the words of others bring you down, when it seems like the world is falling apart, your hope and patience is provided by the one who endured it all, the worst of all tribulation for us.
- Pray hard and constantly: Be at spiritual watch, praying for one another and praying that we would be delivered from the temptations of sin. Pray for the good of others, the salvation of souls, the greater following of Jesus in His disciples.
- Help each other and show hospitality: Help one another out, physically, monetarily, emotionally, and spiritually. Invite each other into your lives. Eat with one another, grow together as a body of believers.
- Love Your Enemies and Humble Yourself
- Pray for and work for the good of your enemies, that they may turn to Jesus
- Be there for everyone, whether in good seasons or bad: Be there when its easy, be there when its hard. Don’t get jealous when someone succeeds. Don’t ignore the hurting amongst us in our world.
- Live in harmony with one another: In the world and in the church. May our attitudes and our lives never be a barrier to the gospel.
- Associate with the outcasts, the unpopular, the uncared for: Don’t cozy up to certain people to gain power. Love the one who cannot give or help you. Love when you know nothing in this life will come from it. You were the same before you came to know Christ. Humble yourself.
- Never think yourself wiser than anyone else: Humble yourself and know that it is only by the grace of God you are what you are. Rely on the wisdom of God, which seems foolish to the world.
- Never take vengeance. Let God handle it: The easy response is to say” Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Payback is needed. Instead, turn the other cheek. Let God handle it. You may not get to see it. That’s ok. Let God handle it.
- Instead, overcome evil with good: Instead of sin and hatred, bless them. Feed your enemy. Give them something to drink. Help them when they are in need. The expected response is to hurt them. Instead, do good. It will shock them. Maybe shock them into repentance! Its easy to do the wrong thing in response. That’s the thing that may feel good now, but unhelpful and sinful in the long run. Transformed lives in the Gospel do good in place of evil. This leads to greater Gospel witness, which is the will of God!
That’s a lot of hard applications! All in just the span of twelve verses. That’s just scratching the surface of the will of God for His people. We didn’t talk about evangelism. Discipleship. You’ve heard me preach a lot on those areas. That is the will of God for His church. But maybe right now, for us to day, we need to be reminded of our attitudes and our actions to one another. If we don’t address this here and now, its going to be hard to witness to lost people who may hate us, despise us, and want nothing to do with. It will be hard to be the church God wants us to be when we distracted by hatred and disunity instead of love around the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But God, the God of peace, through the power of the Gospel, promises to equip us to do His will. To do what pleases Him. Is that our heart cry today? Would we pray this for ourselves and for one another here today? Would we repent where we have fallen short of these things we just spoke about? Would we repent for sin and turn to Jesus, who powerfully works in us to change us and redeem us?