Sermon Tone Analysis

2008-06-01pm LD 12 Q&A 32; Hebrews.

11:4-12:12 God the Son: We’re Christians

 

            Now, I read that long passage of Scripture so that we can go through it verse by verse, this evening.

I hope you’re calendars are free for the next 22 hours.

No, seriously, I read that passage so that we would be able to put ourselves into context.

What does it mean that we’re Christians?

What does it mean to share in Christ’s anointing?

What can we learn from those who have gone before us?

Why does the author of Hebrews produce this great cloud of witnesses for us?

How does this knowledge impact our living today?

Now, the first thing we have to acknowledge is that we are far better off than any of those people listed in our passage today.

Well sort of, seeing as how they are in heaven with Christ, now they are far, far better off than we are.

No, what I mean to say is that presently, as we live, we have it much better than they did.

They had a much harder struggle with faith than we do.

Sure, we have our struggles, but there is one major difference between them and us.

They did not yet know Christ.

They hoped for him, but they did not yet see him.

They longed for something that was better, that was greater.

Indeed, we must understand that though they looked forward to the Promised Land, that is, the land that became Israel, they also realised that it was nothing more than a shadow land.

And they hoped for the one who would usher them into it, a true Joshua, a true Jesus who would bring His people into the Promised Land.

The true Promised Land is in heaven.

That’s what they were living for.

Now, we have it much better.

Why?

Because we’ve seen Christ!

We’ve seen the one who came from heaven.

We’ve received the Holy Spirit, who is the promise of everlasting life.

We have everlasting life coursing through our veins, even now.

Have you thought of, meditated on, the lives of these people?

They trusted God.

They believed in God’s promises.

They believed and yet they had so much less to trust than we do!

          Abraham is an outstanding example.

It is astounding, really.

God promises to make him the father of many nations, the blessing of many nations through his son Isaac, and then later, when the boy is but 12 years old, God demands Abraham sacrifice is one and only son.

Can you imagine how heart-wrenching that must have been?

Can you imagine the prayers, the questions, the distress, the sleepless nights?

His own son, given to him at such an old age!

Such a precious gift!

And so it goes for all of them.

We have to understand that their faith was costly.

It challenged them.

It forced them to stand up, to do the difficult thing.

And yet, they did it with less knowledge to go on!

It is remarkable!

I’m going to pause here for just a moment.

I want you to picture these people in your mind.

Pick one of the examples.

Think about what life was like for them.

Try to put yourself in their shoes.

Go on, it’s not weird, just do it.

Now, the reason why I asked you to do that is because you are in their shoes.

We are in their shoes.

We are anointed, we are Christians.

We serve Christ, just as surely as they did.

Yes, throughout their lives, they were living for Christ.

Their righteousness came through Christ.

The Holy Spirit worked in them through them, on Christ’s account.

And we share in that anointing.

We confess Christ’s name.

We present ourselves as a living sacrifice of thanksgiving.

We work hard, with a good conscience against sin and the devil, in this life.

And that’s exactly what the ancients did.

And that’s exactly what they, what the scriptures, what Christ calls us to do.

Since we have such a chorus of witnesses, let us run and run hard.

Those ancients ran hard.

They trusted God.

They had faith.

Faith is action.

It is standing up for what you believe!

How are you doing with your faith?

Are you running hard?

I ask myself that question all the time, and mostly I think I’m either standing still, sometimes going backwards, sometimes crawling.

We all need the strength of the Spirit who is already within us, to do the will of God, to be bold and courageous.

How are we bold and courageous?

Is it when we make pithy little comments about our faith?

Is it when we demonstrate our faith through a bold proclamation of God’s word?

Isn’t it when we faithfully do what God requires of us in our everyday lives?

I mean, unless God is calling you to pack up all your belongings, load up the family, jump into the truck and trailer, or the motor home and head out to an unknown destination, how are we living sacrificial, courageous lives?

Isn’t it constantly trusting God in the face of opposition?

Opposition comes through difficulties in life.

Difficulties are God’s means of disciplining us.

And God disciplines us because He loves us.

So, part of life, part of being a faithful Christian is trusting in God, believing that everything that happens to us, is actually for our benefit.

I’m so glad that this passage is full of reality.

Discipline at the time seems painful.

That’s putting it mildly.

Discipline sucks.

It hurts, it causes us to question.

Questioning isn’t a bad thing.

David was one of those guys holed up in a cave.

He questioned God a lot.

He continually asked God why?  “Why do my enemies, your enemies prosper, God?

Why haven’t you saved me?

Why haven’t you delivered me?

Why is Saul still trying to kill me when I’ve proven my faithfulness to him several times?”

And yet, always, at the end of the questioning, always there is a statement of faith, an action of belief.

“Still I will follow, still I will trust.

For the Lord is God, faithful, holy and righteous.

He neither slumbers nor sleeps, he watches over us.