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#284.
Yeah.
00:05:15
Uh-huh.
Lord, help our God and Father.
Forgot to open thy word again and we would ask thy help to.
Understand it to apply it in our lives.
Praise out, warm our hearts as we read it. Think on Thy things for the next little while.
Thanks and ask these things. Never. Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
The brethren want to go on with the 10th of Hebrews.
Rather have another exercise.
Maybe it would be good to.
Start down verse 23 and.
No, it's not our custom, but if we pick it up in a more summary manner, we might be able to get down to the end of the chapter.
Hebrews, chapter 10.
Beginning at verse 23.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith with our wavering, for He is faithful with that promise. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of your of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exalting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth.
There remained no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despise Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorrow punishment suppose he? Shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God?
And have counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified and unholy thing, and have done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that that hath said Vengeancey is belongeth unto me. I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But call to remembrance the former days in which after you were eliminated.
He endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst you were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while he became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that.
You have in heaven a better.
And and enduring substance cast not our way, therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise for yet a little while. And he that shall come will come, and will not tarry now that just shall live by faith. For if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
00:10:22
But we are not a family who draw back into partition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
My remark that, uh.
The Passage.
The earlier part of the chapter.
Deals with the, uh, subject of sanctification.
Which we have in uh.
Verse 14.
Whereby one offering he has perfected forever. Them that are sanctified.
It's in other passages too.
But sanctification in the book of Hebrews has the positional absolute aspect.
It's not the thought of progressing in the holiness as some other scriptures are.
Sanctification is looked at in two ways in Scripture, basically as a position that we have been brought into through the, uh, the finished work of Christ.
Which does not change. It doesn't. There's no growth in the sanctification that is mentioned here. It's our position before God as separate.
Uh delivered from judgment.
Perfectly fitted through the, uh, work of Christ, never to be brought into condemnation. That's the sanctification that Hebrews looks at. Now, there is an aspect of sanctification which, which really means separation from evil, that is progressive. That's first Thessalonians 5. Pray God that your whole spirit, soul and body be sanctified. We should be more sanctified from the world.
And from sin this year than we were last year. That is something that is ongoing, but not the aspect that the apostle deals with in our chapter here. That is perfection, perfectly fitted, sanctified for the very presence of God. You're not more fit for heaven.
Now after being a Christian for 40 years than you were the night that you were saved, at that point you were sanctified, set apart for glory. That's, uh, it's a in Hebrews, you have a perfect work done by a perfect person to give the believer a perfect standing before God. That's that you could say sums up the book of Hebrews.
And so the perfection we have here, as our brother mentioned as to our guilt, uh, we're perfectly justified. We're, uh, we have a standing before God that is perfect through the work of Christ and umm, and that's what uh, the Spirit of God would have us to enter into and to enjoy.
And uh, another point that we might mention, the incarnation is brought before us in the earlier part of the chapter.
Which we didn't comment on this morning where it says that.
Umm inverse umm 5 Sacrifice and offering thou would is not but a body. Hast thou prepared me? So the Lord Jesus took a perfect, perfectly human body that was capable of death, but it was not subject to death.
And in that body, which we call the incarnation, the Lord accomplished the will of God and he accomplished the work of redemption in that body. But we are not saved through the incarnation of Christ. It was necessary, and it's marvelous to know that the Lord Jesus stooped and became a man. That's the very, very essence of salvation, redemption through the the work of Christ and through his.
Entrance into this world.
But we are only saved through that sacrifice that put away sin from the sight of a holy God.
00:15:07
Going back to the, uh, Day of Atonement that was brought out earlier, the high priest had special garments that were given to him called garments of glory and beauty. And in the New Testament, in Hebrews chapter 2 speaks of seeing the Lord Jesus by faith crowned with glory and honor. And it's really the same words there in Greek and Exodus. It's, uh, in Hebrew, garments of glory and honor, glory and beauty, the same thing.
But he laid aside those garments on the Day of Atonement, and he put on linen garments because it was going to be a special work. So not only has this brought out earlier, the sacrifices are a picture of the Lord Jesus and His work, but the priest there as well.
Is a picture of the work of Christ, and so the priest, High priest would go in with the blood.
Of the sacrifice he would go in and take a sensor filled with coals from the altar, burnt offering, and he would put incense on those coals, and in the cloud of that incense, and with the blood of the sacrifice he would go into the most holy place with those linen garments. And it speaks of the work of Christ presented before God, and all the fragrance of His person in that instance, and his atoning death and.
The Israelites would wait outside.
For the priests to reappear. And you know, if he didn't reappear, then he had met the same end as those wicked sons of Aaron who offered strange fire before the Lord, and they were consumed before the Lord. But if he reappeared again, then they knew that that sacrifice was accepted, and so he would go in, in the way prescribed in Leviticus 16.
And come back out again after that work was done. Well, the Lord Jesus has entered into the holy place is not made with hands, we read in Hebrews, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. But he hasn't come out again.
And in a certain sense, Israel, uh, saw him. The last they saw him was on that cross. And, uh, he's gone back into heaven itself. And they have not yet seen him again. And they will not know until the day that he appears in this world again.
The fullness of the work that he accomplished at Calvary and the blessing that they're going to be brought into because of it. But what about us?
God is not satisfied for us to wait until that day He appears again in this world, but we're brought into the holy place itself as well. And so the need for sanctification being set apart in holiness, as we have in verse 22, let us draw near why He wants us near to him for the satisfaction of his own heart. And so through that work of Christ, we're sanctified. We're set apart.
And in a priesthood that each one of us has been placed in, were brought into that most holy place, into the very presence of God by faith. And so verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience in our bodies washed with pure water, there is not only the sprinkled blood, but there was a labor in which the priest was to wash.
And if we would look at the first epistle of John and the 5th chapter, we read that this is he that came by water and by blood, not by water only, but by water and by blood not only or moral purification. That's what the water speaks of, our bodies washed in pure water. That's one aspect of the work of the cross. There's moral purification not by water only though, but by water and by blood, because the blood is put away our sin from before the sight of God.
That water is for moral cleansing in our own eyes and before others.
Both are part of the work of Calvary. And so when that spear pierced his side, it says there came forth blood and water. And through that finished work we've been fitted, sanctified, set apart. Romans takes up justification Hebrews or justification Hebrews is sanctification made fit to go into that holy place. He wants us near to him.
00:20:01
We used to hear more about the difference that.
That John just laid out for us a few minutes ago between.
That which is true of every believer as to our standing and our everyday state.
And it would be good for us to keep this more in mind because the pattern in scripture.
Is 180° different from religions? Religion says you do these practical things and maybe you can get to be this.
Uh, but the gospel of the grace of God, unlike the law, hasn't come looking for something in man, and it has come to bring something to man. The grace of God which brings salvation hath appeared to all. And so the gospel is such good news because it brings something to me that I never could have had.
And through the laying hold by faith of the work of Christ I made, I'm given a standing of righteousness. I'm I'm giving given a standing of guiltlessness before God. I'm justified. And as John put so nicely, I've been set apart into a place of blessing. That's what each one of us is. We don't have that more than each other. We all have that same standing, each one of us the same. It can't be improved upon.
It can't be less. And as we get hold of that more and more, it constrains our hearts really. The love of Christ constrains us in response to this wonderful position we've been given into to give us a desire that in practical things our life would be different. So, and you'll notice this pattern in the New Testament. This is what you are, the Lord would say to us. This is what I've done for you. Now therefore, and the practical side flows out.
In their life and from the heart, once we get established in the wonderful position we've been given by grace. I love the way it says in that hymn. I can't remember which one it is in the little flock, but we stand accepted in the place that none but Christ could claim. He won. A place he won. As a victorious man, He won.
A profound place. As a man before God, we are assigned that place.
And it's in the sense of that that Christian exhortations are given to us of a practical character and the.
Portion of the chapter that we started into with verse 22 and 23 and 24 as at least in the English language, these lettuces and these are our response to the position we've been brought into through grace. Let us draw near as Steven elaborated on in verse 23. Let us hold fast in verse 24. Let us consider one another.
So it's important to get that order right and.
A Christian can fall back in their conscience to the old way because naturally we say, ah, the old wine is better. We all tend to have legality in our hearts and even as a Christian, and we're established and we understand the gospel. But in our practical life we can put ourselves under law. Oh, God is not gonna be very good to me because I haven't been very good myself. And we put ourselves under the law and we and we and we.
Go backwards that way.
You know, we, we don't wanna go back there anymore and we want to go forward. And the way to go forward is to as I used to listen when I was building my, one of my houses, I listened to these old tapes of brothers that went to be with the Lord before I was even saved. And this one brother, his name I won't mention. He said, he says don't try to love the Lord any more than you do. Sit down and realize how much he loves you. Well, that's the spirit that and other comments like that that he made is the spirit that will propel us forward.
Happily, in a happy and a fruitful Christian life, walking in liberty before God.
Those exhortations that you mentioned let honestly do not have a legal connotation.
Uh, the apostle is really drawing a contrast between the whole legal system that the Jew was under. Do this and thou shalt live.
Uh, were not brought to, uh, Mount Sinai with all its fiery indignation, but we now have liberty, not liberty to, uh, to sin. God is still holy. His nature hasn't changed. But now we have liberty, as the apostle says here to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, liberty to serve God, liberty to worship because we have a divine nature that loves to do those things.
00:25:21
The old nature cannot keep the law, the new nature doesn't need a law. So we are brought into this place of nearness, liberty of soul, not liberty for sin. Let us underline that. No, God doesn't, doesn't.
Consider, contemplate a believer wanting to sin that we that we are called upon to judge unsparingly in our lives, but to allow the new nature to to operate to to be active in our pathway.
Brings liberty and joy in debt and Christian Christian position. We have that position, but to enjoy it in our souls practically is what, uh, God would have us to do.
LED us these words of exhortation here are action words aren't they Christianity is faith but faith has to go along will work at the same time but I believe here too. It also give us the godly order. There are quite a few things that they mentioned here and it's like many things in life when we take things out of order then chaos happens. Let's go back and look at this I believe in verse 19 the first thing that we have to have assurance in our heart.
To essentially having therefore, brethren.
Boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Is there any souls here this afternoon do not have that assurance? The assurance that the Lord Jesus has finished the work on the cross for us and that is blood has washed your way our sins and that we're no longer under the law. Where we have been reminded how the high priest can only go in to the Holy of Holies once a year. Do we have the assurance that now the veil has been rent?
And then now.
We can have our sole draw near until that we, we must have that as our foundation, believing that now we can join. I then in verse 21 is this and having, uh, a high priest over the House of God, Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Well, the rest is secondary, isn't it? Here's the 1St and fundamental that we must have that assurance. Are you still doubting about the eternal security of your soul if you are the rest?
Is not is is going to be harder to live up to and you might say, well, I believe in this. Oh, I'm glad that you are because the word of God give us that assurance. Well then what's next? Now that you fully believe in your heart, The first thing is to let us draw near what a true heart. Then the next one is that let us hold fast.
Then the one after that is let us consider one another. Well, hold fast.
Well, you have to have something before you can hold fast to it. Otherwise what are you holding fast to in this particular case here with hole to hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering. Do we believe that and it tells us in brackets that he is faithful that promise. Do we believe that? How often do we tell other people and encourage other and say, you know, miracles do happen. The Lord do take care of us.
And then when circumstances come into our lives, then we find that it's so difficult to believe that for ourselves. What do we truly hold fast to this profession of faith? And then once we have that, then it's easier to say, let us consider one another to provoke and to love and to good work. You know, often we only look at the other person and say.
Well, I don't know why he's not behaving the way he ought to. Well, we pick fault, but we forget that if we only look at that as the first object.
Then the thing that should have come back to our own hearts, that we're provoking one another in July into good work. Love begins from our heart. In fact, let's turn over to the next chapter in Hebrews chapter 13. We find that in that chapter.
00:30:05
The apostle tells us this is that lead brotherly love continue. Well, again, for it to continue, it must have been there first. And I remember another brother of Osed. If you don't feel that there is love where you are, then the responsibility is on you. You're the one that should show love rather than saying, well, there's no love in that assembly. There's no love in that place. What about you? It's interesting too, in this particular passage.
We find that these divisions of chapters and verses have been added by men is another pro brother put it if you were to read the last verse of chapter 12 and the first verse of chapter 13 together, then you'll see how important this this love is. Now let's let's read that together. Let's see if we can see a different context here. Verse 29 for our God is a consuming fire that brotherly love continue.
Oh, what a difference. We have a God who is a consuming fire, but yet he demands us to let brotherly love continue. Now then, there's one more order. So you may say, well, I understand that I now have full access into this only place behind the veil. We can hold fast to the professions of this faith and we will consider one another. And then what is the next thing? And the next verse in verse 25. Perhaps a lot of us would have to bow our head in shame as we read this verse because collectively.
Our testimony may not reflect that.
Not forsaking.
The assembling of ourselves together as the manner of summits, but exhorting one another, and so much to more as you see the day approaching.
You know, it's sad, isn't it? As we look at the assembly meetings, it's sad when we go to a prayer meeting and find that perhaps there are a lot less people at the prayer meeting than there are on Lord's Day morning. Is that isn't it?
But why is it so? Why our hearts often grow cold? Or perhaps our heart gets so occupied with the cares of this world. Now, if we think back of this as a process, then often we can look back and see the result of not following the godly order. Perhaps we've forgotten the preciousness of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps we are wavering with our faith. Perhaps.
We haven't been considering one another, and the result is perhaps that lead us into forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Or how much more we need to look to the Lord and realize that we, by ourselves, cannot do any of this. We need His help.
And we need to be before Him, to put that desire in our hearts to seek after Him.
It's very important to see that, uh, Hebrews develops also the priesthood of all believers. In the Old Testament, that was not the case. There was a family set apart family of Aaron who had the privilege of ministering in the sanctuary and no one else on pain of death could enter that office. But this is not so in Christianity. Every believer here.
In the uh assembly.
Sisters as well as brothers are holy priests. We are a holy priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices to God. It's not a question of gift or ability or office or anything like that. You are a priest with liberty, allness to enter into the holiest. And we have one who, uh, uh, to all our prayers and praises, He adds his sweet perfume.
So to offer a word of thanks or prayer in the assembly is the exercise of your priesthood. Young brothers don't need to have that a lot of years of experience before they stand up and give a a word of thanks in the meeting. It's not a question of gift or experience. You are a priest and fitted for the very presence of God through the work of Christ in prayer or in praise. You have that privilege.
Now there is gift in the assembled, most definitely, but that's a different subject. Gift has been given by an ascended Christ. We recognize those who have a gift, they minister publicly. The Sister isn't given that position publicly, but that is gift and office are not the same as priesthood. I just thought I'd mention that I remember Brother Gordon Hayhoe who gave the best illustration that I know of in connection with.
00:35:22
Boldness to enter into the holiest or I think he was commenting on the 4th chapter.
The 4th chapter and the last verse of the 4th chapter, it might be a help to the younger people. Uh, let us therefore, verse 16 of the 4th chapter. Let us, uh, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Chapter four, he said that a young boy.
He may, uh, come to a neighbor's house.
Rather hesitantly. He's not going to.
Mark opened the door and come in because that's not his home. He knocks and he waits until he is invited to come in. That's politeness, but he doesn't do that in his own home. He pushes the door open and he walks right in. This is my home. This is my where my parents are. He feels perfectly at home. That's the way that God would have you come into the throne of grace. It's a place of fellowship, but it's a place that belongs to you.
And it's home, as it were. You have that liberty.
To enter at all times. And there's no closing hours with the Lord, 24 hours a day, uh, seven days a week. We have that privilege of entering the holiest, uh, in prayer or in praise. We have a high priest over the House of God.
Bearing in mind the, uh, analogy we kind of thought of this morning.
About the difference between the passing over of sins under the old order of things before the Lord Jesus came, we likened that to say.
Have to go in to get medical treatments on a continuous basis.
With perhaps if someone, a scientist or a medical doctor said I have found the cure for your disease and we know for a fact that it's the only cure for your disease and I'm offering it to you. You just have to take it. And if you take it, it will be effectual and it will work for you once and for all and forever.
Well, that's quite a thing and I think the comparison between the two things as we took up this morning helps us understand these next couple verses, verse 26 and on what does it mean there if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth.
Is there a young Christian here who says, well, I wonder if I've done that? You know, I knew better than to do what I did last week and I did it anyway. And I feel ashamed of myself. But is there, have I done something to lose my salvation or will these verses apply to me? Well, again, think back to that analogy. It's one thing for a person, just a sick person to say, I'm just so tired of going to the clinic. I'm just not gonna go and take my dialysis today. I'm I'm just gonna go for a walk in the park. Well.
They probably won't feel very, I don't know much about it, but I assume they wouldn't feel very good the next day. And there was a certain issue with that. But to reject a remedy that was full and final and the only remedy, and to reject it completely would bring doom to the person. It's a big difference. And so in this series of verses here, starting with verse 26, if we send willfully after that, we have received the knowledge of the truth.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. We shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy.
Under two or three witnesses of how much sore punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who shall trodden? Who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith He was sanctified an unholy thing?
And so I think to understand this passage, it helps to step back and look at what is really being compared here by the Spirit of God.
The failure under the law is one thing. The failure to reject the full and final offer of salvation is a whole more serious thing. Once in the end of the age has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, He's not going to come again in that way anymore. His hands are outstretched in love to whomsoever will.
00:40:07
And if that offer is rejected, grace is slighted and rejected. Only judgment remains.
Well, I think that perhaps can help some if they're never pondered these things, rather than jumping to conclusions that the scriptures wouldn't lead you to about your the salvation you've received to see it in its context, in the contrast with the law.
The sin referred to here it has to do with that it's a willful sin after having received the knowledge of the truth.
Going back to Judaism, but not just in the say, by the way, you know, I, I still believe in the Lord, but just in case I'm going to offer sacrifice. Some people are like that, you know, they can save and and for a little while they carry on with their religion because they want to make sure cover every angle, you know, but what does it develop into and, and it's given to us here. Here's a man who despises the law of Moses, two or three witnesses. He died without mercy. He read the numbers the man he went and he picked up some wood for a fire on the on the Sabbath day.
He ended up getting stoned.
What was the sin? Disobedience of Allah? Moses. No mercy.
Will fully disobey the nuisance and have done it. And he was funny and it's contrasted here.
What did the man do? 12 verse 29? What punishment is going to merit the one? What did he do? Did he go and pick up wood, or, you know, got drunk or falling and didn't know? This is what he does. He draws under foot the Son of God. That's the sin that is being reproached here, and a seeming unclean of blood by which he was sanctified.
So this is really sitting against the message of the gospel is refusing really the Lord In Hebrews chapter six, he says, I think crucify unto themselves as Son of God. So here living out what had happened before, the people said we don't want this man to reign over us, crucify him. I hear these people, they heard the gospel, they got baptized, they followed for a while and said, you know why? They said I set up with all this Christianity, what are we going to do? Crucify him? That's the same condition of heart. They've gone through the knowledge of the truth. They've heard about him.
But in the end, this is what they're rejecting. They're rejecting him and there's no salvation out of him. It's not the question of a believer falling into sin at all. It's somebody who professed you knew the Lord. And now he says, I don't know, this man is the dog that vomited and swallows up what he vomited before the sound that was washed goes back wallowing in the mire. I know the Lord, but then he goes and he blasphemes his name. So it's really, I believe that's the context here.
It is sanctified that as he was put in a place of privilege, uh, outwardly, but there was no work in this person's soul. A divine work was not there. But outwardly he was in the place of the opportunity. He had heard the gospel. He had been presented with the Son of God.
And he was in a place where he he could have received the gospel, but he turns his back on it all and goes back into Judaism. That's the willful sin. And he's an apostate. It's not a believer that has backslidden here, as our brother Michelle explained.
Paul says, I mean the 2nd Corinthians said if any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed. That's a measure. Why can you not love him? I mean love him more. But if you meet up with the Lord Jesus and you kind of perceive who he is and what he's done for you, how can you not loving that? Only if you don't know.
Well, it's helpful for those who are younger here to see the wording. 4.6 It doesn't say that. Umm, if we still, uh, we think willfully after we've received the truth doesn't say that because after we've received the knowledge of the truth. So there's a difference between receiving the knowledge of the truth and receiving the truth.
And the fitting locally has two points to it, one is.
That a person who has received the knowledge of the truth, here they they trot under foot the Son of God and discounted blood. And two they do death fights to the spirit of grace. Those two things they characterized by not someone who has received the truth, but simply someone who has received the knowledge of it.
00:45:10
Rather than that portion in Hebrews 6, it ends that passage there that Michelle was referring to with these comforting words. Verse nine of Hebrews 6. But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
That should be helpful to the soul that is, uh, troubled needlessly by that passage. So in our passage, the apostle brings them back after this warning of the rejection of God's offer in Christ to remind them of what they had endured after they had made a profession or confession of Christ.
Verse 23 We we read the exhortation, let us hold fast the profession of faith without wavering.
Think that word wavering Is is is the same word used elsewhere in the New Testament for staggering?
Says of Abraham that he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but being strong in faith, gave glory to God. And though he was 100 years old, he, he trusted God, was able to perform what he had promised, and God did. And so these believers were encouraged not to think, to hold fast. The confession. Don't waver, rather.
And then in verse 35 of our chapter, cast not away therefore your confidence.
While there were some that the Spirit of God must have discerned, as David was saying, only had a knowledge of the truth, the truth didn't enter into their hearts.
But others?
Had really entered in with real faith towards God, but we're in danger of giving up, of casting their confidence away through discouragement and the apostle reminds them of what they had been through. Call to remembrance verse 32. The former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great flight of afflictions.
And in the next verse, they also were willing to stand by those who had been receiving reproaches. Uh, you became companions of them that were so used, and then even of the apostle themselves. Verse 34. You had compassion of me in my bonds.
And then took joyfully the spoiling of your goods. Why? The truth that entered into their hearts and says, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
So God doesn't place put before us empty platitudes. You know, other people, they don't know what to say. They you know, you're going through a trial as well. Good luck. I hope it works out well, you know.
Man feels so empty. What does he have to give to another? What can a man do for his brother?
But when God gives us an exhortation, it's based upon a reality that he's made good to us.
Or else he soon will.
And so he gives us a hope that's a delayed certainty.
And he gives us to possess an inheritance. You say, well, an inheritance is something I don't get to later, but you have the promise of it now.
You have an eternal inheritance. Now we get we'll enter into the full good of it later. Knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an ignoring substance pure this word better. If you've read the book of Hebrews, you know you've seen it before. It's a a common word in the book of Hebrews, the book of contrasts.
I think this morning someone walked us through some of those. But this is what establishes us to bear up to things, to take joyfully. The spoiling of one's goods takes much grace. Why could a person do that? Or why could you do it if called upon to do it? Because you know in your heart that you have in heaven a better substance than one is not temporal, not here today, gone tomorrow, but one that will endure. God gives us that they can give in and, and and seeks to encourage and comfort our hearts.
Something real and solid that he's given us to hold on to.
That word India, last part of verse 27, adversaries. They were adversaries of the Lord, connected with Judaism, the Pharisees and the scribes. They were opposing the Lord. They were His adversaries when He was here.
00:50:12
But you know, there were many, uh, who believed the law and then they embraced the gospel and they went to the temple daily. But here we find that some who had done that adversaries again, they were going against the teachings of the Lord. So we had in Hebrews chapter 6.
That what happens to a land that you use less than you, uh, you're looking for fruit from it and all it produces its thorns and verse eight of Hebrews 6 that was there at thorns and briar is rejected and is nigh at the cursing. He was added to be burned.
Now those that wanted to go back to the sacrifice as well, Lord, take care of destroying the temple. There was no place to offer a sacrifice. There was no holy place. There was nothing that happened that was left. The Lord destroyed, took them out of the land and He was going to judge the adversaries, the ones who were responsible for the rejection of Christ, whether when He was living or after his death and resurrection, affecting those that were believing in Him truly. And the Lord here uses these scriptures to comfort them and encourage them, though there were some of their own countrymen who were becoming adversaries and giving up the truth.
Someone has seen the truth and then rejects it, and apostate is far more bitter against the truth than someone who's never seen it. They really become adversaries.
So when the Pharisees accuse the Lord of casting out demons by the Prince of the demons, umm.
They had really seen that it was the Spirit of God acting in power, and they stubbornly set themselves against it. They became adversaries and the Lord said there's no forgiveness for that. They really put themselves in the same place.
That was the unpardonable You cannot be committed today because the Lord is not here in person.
But an apostate is possible today.
I think that some of those who, uh, are connected with these evil sects that we are prevalent in the country are probably in that category. They have had the truth presented to them, they turned their back on it and God judicially has allowed them to be blinded and ensnared by these, uh, evil doctrines. But, umm.
The the believer, umm, which is thinking also, uh.
The Believer has a uh.
A wonderful resource in the person of the Lord Jesus as our great high priest. That's another subject that is dealt with largely in the official to Hebrews, that Christ is our high priest at the right hand of God, living to make intercession for us. He is a man. The Lord didn't become a high priest until he had died and rose again and entered the glory in manhood. The Lord wasn't a priest on earth.
But uh, after his resurrection ascension, there he is varying our names upon his breast and upon his shoulders. Remember there was 2 Onyx stones on the shoulders.
But there were 12 Stones, different ones on the breastplate. Each one of us have a, uh, a place of nearness, a special place on the heart of Christ. He knows our weakness. He knows our personality. He knows all about our infirmities. We have a place of special love and interest on the heart of Christ as our great High Priest at the right hand of God. And that will go on until we no longer need that service.
Which, uh, will be, of course, when we are raptured to glory. We will not need the Lord's service as High Priest in the ironic character.
Of course he will be high. He will be preached after the Melchizedek character in uh, in, uh, the Millennium. I was thinking also Bruce made reference to verse 35. That's not a way. Therefore their confidence, which has great recompense and reward. There are many things in our lives we can't understand, trials, afflictions, disappointments, sorrows. We just cannot under realize or see the point of the Lord in these.
Umm.
Uh, various, uh, afflictions that come into our lives, but the Lord values our confidence when we cannot understand the reason. It doesn't say that we're going to down here understand the reason for all the trials that come into our lives, but the Lord values our confidence that we just look up to him in, uh, in, uh.
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Confidence and trust, knowing that He doeth all things well, and that He has a purpose of blessing in that trial, and needs be on our part, the purpose of blessing on his part at the judgment seat of Christ. That confidence we have in the Lord in the difficult, dark dispensations of life will be rewarded.
Was brought before us in the address this afternoon to exercise us as to how we use our time, our resources and so on. Time is short and we only have a little time to make our lives.
Count and all will be reviewed at the judgment seat of Christ, but the shortness of time is also brought before us to encourage and comfort our hearts in that.
We don't have to hold on and and endure forever. And so the cast is not away there for your confidence with great recompensive reward for you have need of patients who really, uh, often think the translators put it endurance, not just, not just for today or tomorrow, but the next day and the day after and the day after that.
Most everybody who starts out on the job and hire somebody, you expect them to be a ball of fire the first couple of days or you expect a guy in, uh, six o'clock 7:00 in the morning before the sun gets hot to be, uh, to be, you know, all over it. But, uh, as the day goes on and the sunsets and the day gets long, whereas, you know, the things stretch out over time is where the real proof is that someone have endurance. Do I have endurance in my spiritual life?
I thought it was a good exhortation that in the practical things, how am I compared with how I was last year?
But that's this is a wonderful exhortation. You have need of patience. After you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise for yet a little while.
He that shall come will come and will not tarry. Well, people, other of our brethren go through trials, and you think about their life and you think about what they're going through, and you say.
Boy, I haven't seen them for 15 years and all in the interim time they've been going through that physical trial or that other kind of trial every day. I can think of brothers I know who live in painting every day.
Year after year.
But what a hope that has sustained them in the meantime and will turn all this sorrow tears into joy when the Lord comes. So time is up, but perhaps we just touch on that verse 38. Now the just shall live by faith.
In the meantime, this is what the Lord leaves with us. While we're waiting for that, in this little while, we live by faith.
**** Gorges used to elicit a chuckle from everybody, because when **** would bring out a passage of skip scripture that was precious to him or made precious to him, he would tell you who it was that brought it before him. Where they were, maybe what time of day it was, what street they were on. And you could look around and see his relatives and others who knew him well kind of chuckling. But I understand where **** was coming from because.
He remembers when a certain the Spirit of God brought something home to his soul and made it precious. He remembers the vessel that brought it. He remembers the whole.
Situation and perhaps you're that way. I know I'm a little bit that way and I read a verse and I can remember a person or a brother just where I was and that brother bringing that verse before me and I and I haven't forgotten it 25 or 30 years. And I won't go on to give you any of those right now, except to say that this is a precious verse that the Lord leaves with us in the meantime that just shall live by faith.
And I can remember our brother, says Bruce. Brother Bruce, I was 2324 years old.
Look me square in the eye and make sure you have my full attention. Say, Brother Bruce, how did you receive Christ Jesus the Lord? Oh, by faith.
And then he would quote that verse, As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. So Brother Bruce, how do you walk in him?
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Guess it's by faith very good and then he would briskly walk away. Well that was probably almost 30 years ago and whenever I read such exhortations of like this I I think of that day and that brother and it's a it's a wonderful and it's it's stabilizes it's a buckler establishes our souls in the meantime, the just shall live by faith. I look out here I came in here this morning and I think the average age.
And the prayer meeting started in this room was about 18 1/2 or 19.
And I look into the Lord. It's like, wow, I'm starting to feel older and there's a lot of young people. It's encouraging. I say, how many of these young brothers are going to grow up and, and, and gain a love for the truth that they have a desire to pass on to others?
And what's, what is it? What is Lord? What is it? What are these? Most all of them are saying We went around row by row, the young people. Yes, I know the Lord is my savior, but what's next? What do I do now?
Well, this New Testament is filled with what to do now, but you could put it under a heading. Adjust. You're just now the just shall live. You have life by faith.
Not a book of rules. Not what the brethren will accept or won't accept.
But by faith.
They get #173.
'S that they continue talking all know so how the recommendation the suffering of this new 173.
Moving God and our Father, we thank Thee.
By sovereign love that picked each one of us up, drew us from our hiding places, took us as blind beggars from the dunghill instead of with Princess. And we thank you for the wonderful justification, Robin Calvary, for our souls before the forgiveness of sins, to be brought into a place before the that was only occupied.
Before of our thy beloved Son, and then to find in this chapter that we've had before us that we have been sanctifying and that we have liberty and boldness to enter into thy holy presence and, uh, to, uh, find as it were there the home of our souls. We do, uh, thank the Lord Jesus for that mighty work. We think of that body prepared for the which audits lay down line.
From thy youth, Lord Jesus, appointed to death.
We thank you, oh Lord Jesus, we thank thee. Thou hast fitted us for service within the mail and in that holy place.
May we, uh, abide as brethren, Lord Jesus, and encourage one another and pass the faith to assure one another. And so much the more as we see that day of reward and glory approaching, when that will appear once again. Lord Jesus, before this world unto thy earthly people, Israel's race shall now behold thee full of grace. Majesty, Lord Jesus, we look forward to that day and I'll come forth. It's uh, Melchizedek of old, bearing bread in line, blessing and sustenance.
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For this whole earth, Lord Jesus, we shall be with you and see thee.
And thy glory and in thy beauty, I always thank Thee for the faith our God, our Father thus given us even now to, uh, lay hold of these things. May we enjoy them in reality, in our hearts, not to turn back, having put our hand to the plow. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on my beloved Son until he come for us. Until we do. Thank Thee for this chapter, and freshmen, for our souls in the past.
Commit ourselves to the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.