Lavish Grace

 Promises, Promises

lavish grace

 

A sermon given at LCM Anglican Churches

Sydney, Australia

1 November 2020

By Bob Mendelsohn

Bible readings: Jeremiah 31.1-34, Ephesians 1.7-8

 

Salutation to the pulpit

“…in Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, in accordance with the richness of his grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight…”

Shalom to my friends here at LCM and to those for whom this is your first-time meeting or hearing from me, I hope this will be a useful time for you also to consider Jewish people and the Gospel. And for each of us, may this be a significant time in the Word together. Thanks to Darren and all the staff for this kind and annual invitation.

Let’s pray….

Have you ever gone to the movies and arrived late? You have the feeling that some of the opening scenes might be crucial as you walk in and try to find both your assigned seat and the rhythm of the movie. Most of the time, missing the openings are not going to ruin it for you, but still, there’s something you wish you knew.

That’s the feeling I have this morning as I share with you from the two Bible verses that the pastoral staff here have assigned me. We enter into the middle of an apostolic sentence, of blessing and joyful recounting of God’s provision. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll read the opening and get to our text in its place. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ, ⁴  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵  He has predestined us for adoption as his own sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his good pleasure and will, ⁶  to the praise of the glory of his grace with which he has highly favored us in the Beloved, ⁷  in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, in accordance with the richness of his grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight.” By the way, the sentence keeps going, so I’ll have to let others who preach next week decide how much to retrace these steps.

Today we will talk about promises. My outline is: 1) The making of promises, 2) the fulfillment of promises, 3) the prevention of receiving promises and 4) the joy of extending promises to others.

Introduction 

Paul is full of thanksgiving and joy as he recounts the many blessings that God has given him and all of the Body of Messiah. This sermon is being given here in Sydney during November, and whenever I, as an American, reach this month, it means two things every year. One is my birthday, which is much less significant to celebrate as the years turn to decades. The other is American Thanksgiving. The fourth Thursday in November is marked with a feast like no other, as well as being the most traveled weekend of the year. Not this year, of course, but usually.

Oh, and every four years, a third thing happens in November. Americans stop and vote, not out of compulsion like we have here, for their favorite candidates for president and other offices in state and local government as well as any propositions on the ballot. You may have noticed that this year, over 75 million have already cast their votes. Amazing energy about this election. And yes, Patty and I already voted. Done and dusted. 

1.     The making of promises

Just like we have here in Australia, during the more reasonable five-week campaign cycles for public offices, politicians tend to make promises by which they hope to gain the favor and the requisite votes of the listeners. Promising a new tax cut or a new relief package, promising something to make everyone feel safer in their suburb or to make the environment a better place. American politicians are no different about making promises, and although some are laughable, others garner major network news beyond the 24-hour cycle in which they are spoken.

Here in both of our Bible readings, Jewish men pronounce promises to the Jewish people as if God himself were speaking through them. Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed God’s truths from about 620 BCE to just past 586 BCE; that’s about 30 years. Paul, who wrote the Ephesian letter ministered about the same length of time in Israel, but in the First Century. And yet, neither of them thought their own ministry was their own. They saw themselves as mouthpieces for the Almighty, so any promises they made were actually God’s promises to his people. That’s something not to miss.

Not that everything God promises to his people is to be desired. Jeremiah addressed judgment and God’s annoyances with Judah probably more than any other ancient prophet. Phrases like “I will pronounce my judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken me and have offered sacrifices to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.” (1.16) and again “Why has this people turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit and refuse to return.” (8.5)

But that same prophet says in today’s reading, “the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness” and “you will take up your tambourines and go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.” (31.2, .4) Jubilation and forgiveness, a serious reparation has taken place. At least the promise of repair is given and that’s an encouragement to the people of God. Later on in the chapter, beginning at verse 31 we hear how this will take place. God says, “I will make a new covenant with the [Jewish people], not like the covenant when they left Egypt…I will put my law on their hearts…I will be their God and they shall be my people.”

What a promise. More on that later.

Let’s talk about the Newer Testament promises as well.

2.     The fulfillment of promises

Back to Paul’s letter. He says we are being promised “according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight” Amazing grace. How sweet the sound. God’s riches, some say, the word GRACE, can be an acronym representing God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Pretty amazing. 

And Paul says that grace is lavished on us. Ponder that word lavish for a moment, will you? Lavish. Extravagant. Superb. Sumptuous, luxurious, lush, costly, opulent. You get it. It’s over-the-top. The hymn writer called grace Amazing. I get that. 

What other promises has the Almighty given us through Paul? Last week you learned about some in verses 4-6. And next week, more to come. Chosen. Predestined. Every spiritual blessing. Made known the mystery of his will. Obtaining an inheritance. 

The promises are fulfilled in Messiah. That’s what the text says. But exactly how does that work? What are the mechanisms? And what prevents those mechanisms from their purpose? 

I believe the answer is clear in the Bible. It’s our faith that welcomes the promise and which causes the promise to activate. Without faith, it’s impossible to please the Lord (Heb. 11.6), and faith is available for everyone, which makes the impossible possible. (Romans 10.17) We can experience chosenness and predestination by faith. We can have every spiritual blessing by faith. We obtain our inheritance by faith. You get it.

How did the promise of grace get enacted? What sealed the deal? 

Back to Jeremiah, verse 34 of chapter 31 nails it on the head. “For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.” That’s it! That’s how we secure this heavenly promise. We are forgiven of our sins and receive God’s Holy Spirit in us. 

And how are we forgiven? Paul joins the Jewish chorus which would have understood the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle and later the Temple, where an animal’s blood substituted for the death of the sinner. Paul said 

^“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1.7) We are forgiven because a sacrifice has been offered, once for all, and atonement was secured by that better blood, the blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel. It’s the death of Yeshua that made the covenant available.

It’s the blood of Jesus, the Jewish messiah, who suffered in Jerusalem at the hands of Roman sinners, that brought about the riches of God’s grace summed up in “the forgiveness of our trespasses.”

That’s what Jeremiah meant, and which would deliver the promise of the new covenant. 

Lavish.

I’m reminded of the story from England of a large prosperous suburban church that had planted three mission churches in some very tough, bad, city neighborhoods. Every January, the mission churches were invited to join with the posh mother church for a celebration communion service. The makeup of the mission churches was often criminals of all sorts, who had been converted after being in jail for a while. 

On one such occasion, a wealthy magistrate was seen taking communion at the rail right next to a former burglar. The judge had actually sentenced the thief to prison years before. Neither seemed to recognize each other. After the service, the magistrate was sharing with some others from his homegroup. “I was amazed at the grace of God this morning.” 

One of his home group said, “Yes, isn’t it amazing how the sinners from the slums can get saved?”

The judge replied, “I was not thinking of that burglar. I was thinking of me. Even though I had a great education and always attended Scripture in school and have been faithful in church attendance all these years, it took God’s amazing grace to forgive me of all my pride and self-deception, to get me to admit I was no better in the eyes of God than any convict that I had sent to jail.”

3.     The prevention of receiving promises

Grace is lavish. And yet, it’s able to be prevented from reaching us. How? By our pride like the judge said. By our self-centeredness. Jeremiah said, 

“ ‘Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. ¹⁰ Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,’ declares the LORD.” (3.9-10)

That’s it. If we don’t return to God with all our hearts, that’s how we prevent the promises making their way into our lives. I’m ever amazed at God, the Sovereign of the universes who offers himself to us, who does not dominate us and mandate our submission. He offers us to love him with all our heart and soul. And we can stop that love. We can prevent those promises from being enacted. Wow. No wonder you hear the aching appeals of the Almighty throughout the Scripture. Consider the loving and longing of the Prodigal Father watching daily for his wayward son to return from his riotous living. Grace ready to be poured out, and the prevention of that grace by selfishness and pride. That was finally removed by an act of surrender to the Lord. That’s how I got in on the abundant and amazing grace of God. 

4.     The joy of extending promises to others

Finally, today we think about the joy of extending God’s promises to others. Jeremiah said, 

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” (31.34)

The community of faith will be in relationship to the Almighty and to each other. We will all know him and his word of promise. We will all be beneficiaries of his blessings and promises. 

Jeremiah said it like this, “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD — over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life will be like a watered garden, and they will never languish again. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together,” (31.12-13)

That’s mishpochah; that’s family; that’s community. Lavish grace. A society sinner and a society standard all under one roof, sharing in God’s love and grace. Prodigal father and prodigal son eating the fattened calf rejoicing together. 

Dear friends, today, that happens when we not only experience God’s grace by welcoming his forgiveness by the blood of Jesus and also when we pass it on to others. The house of the Lord is not a single-family home; it’s all of us together. Let’s be about sharing this message with others. Each of us who knows the Lord has had many people, significant people who helped shape us, who taught us the Word of God, who helped us see and appropriate God’s promises. Please, I urge you, as Paul tells the Ephesians that they and we are ‘his workmanship, created in Messiah Jesus, unto good works... that we should walk in them’ (2.10)

Let’s share this message.

Let’s share his promises. 

Let’s ask others to enter into the new covenant. 

If today, you are hearing this talk and this idea for the first time, if you haven’t yet received Jesus as your Lord and Messiah, please, right where you are seated, welcome him into your life. Repent of your own sin and receive Jesus as your Saviour. And please tell me or someone else here at church and let us help you walk this out with others in COVID time and long beyond.

Final thoughts

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been a missionary with Jews for Jesus for 41 years and privileged to be working in Sydney the last 22 years. You have a white card on your pew [For those watching online or reading this online, just write me at bob@jewsforjesus.org.au ] and if you don’t mind, please fill that out, tear off the perforation, and give me the larger section so that you will either continue to receive or begin to receive our newsletter. We also send much more via email if you prefer things that way.

We have a resource table with books and CDs and such, great gifts for Hanukkah and Christmas, and some free literature also. And I have a Square by which you can either donate to our cause without cash, or you can buy products as well. 

Thanks, Darren, and Andy, Michael, Ken and all of you on staff… and all who volunteer and all of us at the parish who are recipients of God’s lavish and amazing grace, and who want to pass that on to others. 

Let us exalt his name together. Amen. Shalom.

Jeremiah 31

 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

 

Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness — Israel, when it went to find its rest.” The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness. Again, I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again, you will take up your tambourines, and go forth to the dances of the merrymakers. Again, you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the planters will plant and will enjoy them. For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’”

 

For thus says the LORD, “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.’

 

“Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labour with child, together; a great company, they will return here.

 

“With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

 

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

 

For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD — Over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; and their life will be like a watered garden, and they will never languish again. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD. (1-14)

If I could speak with.... Mel Brooks

Over the years I've met some significant people. First things, first... my wife, my kids, you know, the typical (and proper) Jewish notion of significance. No mention of the rabbi from my youth; obviously. But I've also been lucky enough to spend time with Ed Charles, former third baseman for the KC Athletics and winner of the World Series in 1969 with the Amazin' Mets. I've met former NY Mayor Ed Koch and then-Senator Joe Biden while handing out leaflets respectively on the streets of NYC (at the re-opening of Carnegie Hall)  and BWI airport (I guess he skipped the train that day).  In this continuing series of "If I could speak with" wishes, today I mention Mel Brooks. He's 94 years old and lives in California although he grew up in the Depression in Brooklyn. His real name was Melvin Kaminsky, youngest of four boys; his father died when Mel was two.

As a Jew who grew up in the US in the 1950s and 1960s, I was influenced by his comic genius. Early on it was his writing on Sid Caeser's Your Show of Shows, then his comedy came to the front in Maxwell Smart's character 86 in Get Smart. However, it wasn't until The Producers in 1967 that his shtick and outrageous brilliance hit me. Who else but a Jew could create a show called "Springtime for Hitler" and self-mockingly make it a Broadway hit?

If I could talk with this older man today, what would we speak about? He's very forthright about comedy and tragedy. I'd like to hear what he thinks today about God, and matters of eternity. In an interview with Andrew Denton given in April 2004, and collected into the book 1001 interviews you must read before you die, Denton unveils the real Mel Brooks and helps us get to know the man, the comic, the legend. There Mel said, "Fame is the enemy." (page 348) I wonder if that's still his impression.

Four days ago, with less than two weeks before the US election, Mel made a political video. According to his son (he has four children, but only Max from his former wife Anne Bancroft), Max on Twitter said, "he has never made a political video. Until now." It showed Mel inside his home with his son and grandson outside separated by the large sliding glass door. Mel blamed Mr Trump for the coronavirus and said, "Trump is not doing a damn thing about it." Mel used his platform to encourage us to vote for Joe. 

Mel said, "Why do I like Joe (Biden)? Because Joe likes facts. Because Joe likes science." I graduated the University of Kansas with a degree in mathematics and a minor in biology, so I'm with Mel in this regard. Something Mel said to Andrew in 2004 sticks out. He was saying that comedy is everywhere and everything goes better with comedy. "I think The Passion (of the Christ, the movie by Mel Gibson) needed a few jokes...anything can use comedy, any subject needs comedy. Comedy leavens the bread. The bread rises through comedy." Andrew asked where Mel would have placed the comedy in the movie about Jesus, Mel: "Well, I think before he got to the cross. Once he's there, forget it. Then you're fooling around with too much; it's too big." (page 352)

I think Mel and I would need to discuss this. Why is the cross so significant? Why is it 'too big?' It's not that I disagree with him. Certainly, the Monty Python satire of the messianic claims of Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name) might have gone too far with Brian Cohen as the pseudo messiah in Life of Brian. Peter Sellers' Chauncy Gardener's walking on the water at the end of Being There also comes to mind. 

What else would we discuss? Mel and Carl Reiner made famous the 2,000-year-old man and there are so many men from that era we could discuss. The Jewish rabbi Saul, who became Paul the apostle comes to mind, but honestly, the only other such character I would want to continue to discuss is Yeshua himself. 

Mel, who do you think Jesus is? Is he good for the Jews? You put yourself as the waiter in the Last Supper by Da Vinci during the Passover seder in History of the World Part I and I found that brilliant. Someone had to serve, of course. Can you imagine yourself being one of the fellows there partaking of the story and the meal, and not being the Judas character, whom you call out recommending the wine? 

One day let's chat. Maybe on Twitter, Zoom or the trusty telephone. I probably won't ever be in your 1001 interviews book, but I'd be happy to discuss the turbulence of the world, the answers offered us by the media and politicians, and maybe you would be able to meet the best secret agent "1", The One, The Holy One, the real messiah who really did walk on water.  His answers may surprise you. They certainly have a place in our lives. 

Stay safe. All the best.

What's love got to do with it? Hebrews 13

 Shalom to each of you here on the Zoom call and those who will watch this class lecture on YouTube later. I hope you will feel welcome and when this section ends in about 25 minutes, that you will be a participant in the rest of the questions and discussion time. This letter to messianic Jews was written before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.  Today we study chapter 13, and if you haven’t yet read it, please, those of you on YouTube, pause the playback, read the chapter, and then press play again to re-join us. Thanks.

(To watch this as recorded live, click https://youtu.be/Ebx0qKmKFhs )

Our overarching themes in the reading and understanding of this letter have been twofold: 1) to listen up, that is, to listen to the word of the Lord, really hearing what God has to say, over against what everyone else might say. And our second theme is “This is better.” The author has made it clear time and time again that because Yeshua and what he designed and made is better than anything anyone else has on offer, we should listen to him and acknowledge the betterness of his realities.

 Remember in chapter 11 we saw men and women of faith who are examples to us all of the behaviour God requires of each of us. Last week we studied chapter 12 and were seriously encouraged in our faith, having come to Mt Zion and not to Mt Sinai. Now today we are called to live this faith out as the book concludes and we deal with lofty, albeit ongoing personal matters like marriage and hospitality. These aren’t pedestrian; they are what the author wanted us to consider when she wrote about our pursuing peace and holiness. It’s got to be a daily pursuit and therefore work out on the bus, at our desk, in front of the television, in chats online, and on the pickleball court…wherever we are in sport, in voting booths, …it’s our personal lives reflecting the better one, the Messiah, Yeshua himself.

1.     What’s love got to do with it? (13.1-6)

The author starts the final chapter with brotherly love. Philadelphia, originally in Asia Minor, but to most in America, simply a city in Pennsylvania, is the city by definition of Brotherly Love. If anything characterizes the people of God, it should be love. Over the centuries people have tried to define religious people, to make us into a recognizable and often dismissable group of citizens. They all believe such and such. They all look like or dress like such and such. Those people practice this kind of thinking. But at the end of the day, they’ll know we are believers by our love, the love that gives. The love that represents the Living One. The love that is sacrificial. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3.16)

That sacrificial love that Yeshua evidenced is how we ought to live. That’s what John reported and that’s how we are to represent. 

So verse one tells us that this brotherly love ought to continue. Then the author fills in what that might look like. Defining love without definition is like saying, “You ought to be nice” or “Behave yourself.” Without more definition, each individual may well think they are right when they are dead wrong. 

Thus verse 2 fills in the first part of the definition. Show hospitality. Welcome strangers. If you’ve ever been lost or disoriented in a middle Eastern town, say in Israel, you know that if you rock up to the bookshop or the local tavern and say you have nowhere to stay, that in all likelihood, you will be offered something to eat or lodging for the night. That’s commonplace. It’s not so common in the Western world, which is to our shame. To be fair, we often are maxed out in our dormitory situation, but honestly the fear of the unknown has prevented such generosity since the 1970s. As believers, we need to depict this kind of giving in our lives and in our homes. 

Paul wrote to Timothy, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim. 5.8)

We hide behind this “take care of our own household” to a fault at times. God, help us to be more generous than the unbelievers out there and well represent you. And please, guard our children and grandchildren by your grace.

Next the author highlights prison ministry. That’s not surprising as so many epistles, that is, letters to many cities and regions that eventually found their way into the Newer Testament, were written by Paul from prison. To be fair, prisons then might have been more like modern minimum-security jails, with visitation rights available, but others were worse than anything Shappelle Corby or Jeffrey Dahmer ever could imagine. 

I’m actually thinking today of David Berkowitz, famed in the US, in New York especially, as the Son of Sam. He murdered at least 8 people in cold blood and was found guilty in 1978 and sentenced to 25-year sentences for each. He has been brought up for parole a few times but denied such each time. Why am I thinking of Berkowitz today? Because in the 1980s when Patty and I were serving in New York City, when Jews for Jesus won a Supreme Court ruling brought by the Los Angeles Airport, when our ministry was being touted fairly widely, Berkowitz actually gave his life to the Lord Yeshua. He remains faithful to this day.  When the author of Hebrews says, “as though in prison with them” I hear that in relation to David. I’ve thought of that when Rene Rivkin was incarcerated at Silverwater, and I tried to visit him. I’ve visited an Israeli man out at Parklea a couple of times as last year ended and ponder what else I can do to help any other Jewish prisoners. “As though in prison” may not mean anything to you, but I’ve been in jail a couple of times in my life, once before I got saved and another as a believer. Let me tell you that there is not a jail anywhere which might feel like home to a person. Freedom to leave really matters, even if you have nowhere to go. 

How else is love manifested? Verse 4 says it has to be shown at home. I like that prisoners and homeless are mentioned before the home. Not that I diminish the home, not at all. But so many make a simple triad of “God, family, others” that we border on idolatry with family. I do understand and think it’s silly that a man would have a ministry to everyone except his own household. That doesn’t make sense to me. But by the same token, a family has to depict and represent the Almighty and his sacrificial giving. So don’t make your home an idol, and let your home be a place of hospitality and service to others.

That said, back to the home. Marriage bed, sacred. The 7^th commandment against adultery is clearly in view. And rightly. And looking at our world today, it’s one of the least observed. Yeshua made the ‘second look’ into something as bad as adultery itself, (Matthew 5.27) but Paul indicated that having sex with sex workers made the other person split into pieces. (1 Cor 6.16) If you want integrity; if you want to keep the peace in the community of faith; if you want to evidence love and faith in action, stop the madness of sexual conquest mentality. It’s addictive and useless. It’s painful and doesn’t represent the Lord. (As an aside, and for those seeking help in this regard here in Australia, we recommend Sexaholics Anonymous (saoz.net) as a good starting point of help. It’s an international 12-step organization with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.)

The next listed sin which goes against the grain of God’s love is the love of money. We might quote the 9^th and 10^th commandments about coveting. (Exodus 20.17) The antidote to money loving is contentment. Being content with what you have and obviously what you don’t have. Listen to these words of adverts being played just now on the local media. Are you being looked after by your boss? Do you want more of your fair share? Is it time to leave your current job and get more from your career? Friends, each of these sound more like the snake in the Garden than the advice of a friend. Paul wrote to Timothy about exercise being worthwhile, but, he said, godliness is actually a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” (1 Tim. 6.6) Yeshua spoke about the love of money and the dangers of it, (Luke 16.13) but Paul nailed it on the head with the concept of contentment. God’s love is represented well with contentment. In you. And in me.

And on what do I base that? The way the author does… because we have God! “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13.5, Joshua 1.5) His presence is the comfort. That presence is the basis of our contentment. 

2.     Submit to the leaders (13.7-9, 17, 24)

The author then turns our attention to the leadership of the community of faith. We have three responsibilities toward our leaders. See how well you are doing in these, ok?

a.     Remember them (7-9)

This sounds like these leaders were dead, much like the Hebrews 11 list. They are also designed to lead us, to encourage us, to still ‘speak’ to us. This is in part an ‘in memoriam’ to help us remember their examples and their words. 

These leaders (note: not particular like elder or deacon) preached and that was their ministry and their reason for being called to mind for the Hebrew believers. Again, listen up is sounded. 

Do you ever wonder about the will of God? What does he want from you, or what should you do the rest of your life? The author suggests that we should check in with those who led us in the past, and “considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (v. 7). I like that. Sometimes you might be challenged by a debater who takes on your favourite believer. Then you listen to arguments and are rattled. I use this verse to help me. Look at the result of their conduct, what’s their life like…. Are they the kind of people I want my kids to grow up to be? Consider their end. If that’s a good ending, then imitate their faith. If not, then cash this whole thing in.

Into this ‘leadership’ section, the author writes that Yeshua is the Messiah and the same no matter when you investigate. This probably relates to our own relationship to leaders. I’ve had a few who were significant in my life. Hal Mallett in Lawrence Kansas. Ernie Gruen in Shawnee. Moishe Rosen for 30 years long-distance mostly. Each would have told me that I should keep my eyes on the Lord. And if you know of a Bible teacher who doesn’t do that, then walk away sooner rather than later. No matter what those leaders from the past said or taught, or how they lived, they pale compared to The Leader of Leaders, Yeshua himself. People come and go, but the Eternal One is here forever. 

b.    Obey

Later in the chapter, the author says we should ‘obey our leaders.’ (v. 17) There is rarely a week that goes by when I don’t receive an email or letter asking for my advice about a biblical passage or theological concept. I’m usually happy enough to answer the questioner, but I often add to the conversation: “What did your pastor say about this passage|idea?” Most of the time, the questioner doesn’t have a pastor. Dear friends, that may be ok for a very short time, but this season in which we find ourselves, and this spirit of the world which attacks all manner of religion, require you to have and be known by your pastor. Please, go against the spirit of the age and get a pastor, be known, obey. This is not a suggestion.

The author says that “they will give an account.” If you end up in leadership in your faith community, buckle your seatbelt. God will ask you what you did to supply good shepherding to the people ‘under’ you. Aspire to leadership; that’s a good thing but know that you will be judged more severely. (1 Timothy 3.1, James 3.1)

3.     Outside the camp

The next section, verses 9-15 speak to me as the whole letter has been speaking. We are outsiders, and will be rejected, even as the ancients rejected the prophets and many said of the Hall of Faith. Our mind has to push us to say we are insiders; the opponents of our lives and faith say, “Messianic Jews are not us.” This is a dialectic with which we deal regularly. We welcome everyone into our book shop. No one is excluded. We see ourselves as insiders in the Jewish community, taking classes and reading newspapers; praying prayers and keeping holidays, but many with whom we have controversy do not see us that way. I’m responsible for MY view, not anyone else’s. 

When it comes to the outer religion, however, the author says we must go ‘outside the camp’ reminding us to take Yeshua as our boss, our hero, our model template. There will be persecution; some will simply reject us out of hand and actually seek to diminish our effectiveness. Some enemies of the Gospel sent my family subscriptions to adult magazines, that is, sent to my three-year-old son at the time. Some have thrown cans of paint onto our private car to dissuade us from remaining in country. I remember a man knocked over one of my colleagues on the footpath and urinated on him to stop him from handing out our leaflets.

We must be willing to go outside the camp. We have an altar (Not the one in the Temple). We have a messiah (not the ones the others in Messiah-less Judaism offer). We have the victory. Bearing his reproach (v. 13) is what remains for us, no matter what they say about our messianic life being Jewish enough or not.  Outside the camp means outside of what "THEY" say is inside. We are going to be excluded; that's just the way it is. Go meet Yeshua there. They counted him as an outsider. We have good company.

And at that altar, we offer our own sacrifices, this time, one of praise. (.15)

4.     Final thoughts

Pray for us, she writes. For ease of travel and for continuing ministry opportunities. I hear myself asking for such in my ministry letters. Pray, I ask people, for our faithfulness. Pray, I ask people, that the Lord would give us more Jews to speak with. Pray, I ask people, and they do so. And God answers, amen?

Then the final benediction. Verse 20 gathers many of the themes of the book into a final blessing.   “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (13.20-21)

Look what’s included. Covenant, eternity, blood, Shepherd of the sheep, God of peace, resurrection, our doing God’s will, God’s pleasure, God’s glory in Yeshua. Forever. 

That’s how this all works for the believers in the First Century. That’s how this works for you and for me in the 21^st Century. Our faithful Messiah gave his life for us, shedding his blood on Calvary’s cross, then God raised Yeshua from the dead, and established the eternal covenant. Yeshua is now Lord and equips and strengthens the believing community to live it out in his spirit so that he receives all the glory and kingdom on his throne. (Daniel 7.13-14)

Dear friends, the point today is to help you hear God’s word again, and to live it out by faith with others in each of your circumstances of life.   You are not alone and it’s because the Messiah has settled the situation with God once for all. This whole arrangement is better. Our job is to listen to him, and to receive his love and grace. And to stay the course…to keep meeting together. We need others to survive and to thrive. Maybe that’s one of the great lessons of COVID-19. We thought we could make it on our own. Not true. You cannot. And thank God for zoom and other online methods of sharing life. Our own D-Groups highlight that weekly. 

If you’ve never received Yeshua as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to do so now. Right where you are. Receive him who gave his life for you. Say a prayer of thanks. Say a prayer like “I need you, Lord Yeshua” … he loves to give to you of his life. 

If you want to write me with a question, I’m happy to try to answer. Just write me at the address on the screen, it’s bob@jewsforjesus.org.au and I’ll give it a go.

The 11 directives and the cloud of witness... Daniel? and Hebrews 12

 “Listen up: this is better” -- A study on the Bible book of Hebrews

A 13-week series given in 2020

To watch this given live click this YouTube link:  

Lesson Twelve: The commands to follow

Shalom to each of you here on the Zoom call and those who will watch this class lecture on YouTube later. I hope you will feel welcome and when this section ends in about 25 minutes, that you will be a participant in the rest of the questions and discussion time. This letter to messianic Jews was written before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.  Today we study chapter 12, and if you haven’t yet read it, please, those of you on YouTube, pause the playback, read the chapter, and then press play again to re-join us. Thanks.

Our overarching themes in the reading and understanding of this letter have been twofold: 1) to listen up, that is, to listen to the word of the Lord, really hearing what God has to say, over against what everyone else might say. And our second theme is “This is better.” The author has made it clear time and time again that because Yeshua and what he designed and made is better than anything anyone else has on offer, we should listen to him and acknowledge the betterness of his realities.

 Last week we looked at historical celebrities whose roles were significant in their days, and who are being called, almost to a witness stand, to help the messianic Jews in the First Century, and dare I say, those of us 2 millennia later, to be encouraged to stay the course. 

Today we see 11 more directives from the author to the Jewish recipients of the letter. I list them here and we will unpack those in a moment.

1)     Let us lay aside entanglements and sins (a soft commandment including the author)

2)     Let us run with endurance (another soft one)

3)     Consider Yeshua who endured

4)     Strengthen the hands/ knees [Bring others along]

5)     Pursue peace with all people [Compare modern argumentativeness in conversations about politics and/ or sport]

6)     Pursue sanctification [sounds individual]

7)     See to it that no one comes short [bring others along]

8)     No root of bitterness [between saints]

9)     See to it that no godless “Esau-type” person remains in your community

10)  See to it that you don’t refuse me who is speaking (again the audible is highlighted)

11)  Let us show gratitude (the final soft command)

Proverbs 10 says, “The wise of heart will receive commands,” and the author is hoping that the messianic Jews will be similarly teachable.

Verse one tells us we should do something ‘since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses.’ Those 19 people we mentioned last week (if you didn’t hear or read the lesson, please check the link here:  https://bit.ly/HebrewsVideos ) are described as a cloud. I find that term very helpful in my understanding both of the departure and the return of Yeshua. 

Remember the prophet Daniel said that he saw a dream or a vision while he was lying down one night. (Chapter 7) There were four great beasts that came one-by-one, but they were not the main attraction. He kept looking and in verse 9 we read,

“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, and the books were opened.” (Dan. 7.9-10)

 

What a tremendous scene of biblical proportions, that showcase the Almighty, nicknamed here “The Ancient of Days.” But wait, there’s more. 

“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him and to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” (Dan 7.13-14)

I believe this scene took place after Yeshua was killed and rose again. This momentous scene of victory reminds me of an Olympic ceremony. The winner of the decathlon or the ski jump, the equestrian or any sport ascends to the platform and the accolades begin. The crowd cheers; the national anthem is played; every eye is focused on the #1. The winner is in view. So, it is in Daniel’s vision. The Son of Man ascends to the Ancient of Days with the clouds of heaven (v. 13) and the Father presents him with dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that all the people may notice and serve him forever. This is longer than any Olympic ceremony as it lasts into eternity. 

This “Son of Man” with “Clouds” is spoken by Yeshua and recorded in each synoptic Gospel (Matt. 24:30, Mark 13.26, Luke 21.27)

Of interest to me in this scene of Daniel and in this verse 1 of Hebrews 12 is the use of the term “cloud.” Compare that with Acts chapter 1 and you will see why I pause. There, in Luke’s account we read “And after He had said these things, Yeshua was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (Acts 1.9) 

The ascension into heaven which followed the death and resurrection of our Messiah was accompanied by a cloud. Just a bit of meteorology you wonder? Not at all. The cloud in Acts 1 is the same as in Daniel 7, and here. The cloud is the saints of the Older Testament who went up with Yeshua having waited since their own days for the substance of the Son of Man to make the way. They had died in faith, awaiting that day, and after He took the keys of death and hell from the Devil, he opened the way, once for all. Thus, the long list of 19 from Hebrews 11, the saints of the Older Testament, were the cloud in which our Messiah rode and rose. Victory won. Saints welcomed. 

Now which team are you on?

By the way, remember we read that the angels told the disciples there in chapter one of Acts, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Acts 1.11 Does that mean saints will accompany Yeshua when he returns to establish his kingdom? You betcha! Look at Revelation chapter 1: “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So, it is to be. Amen.” (Revelation 1.7, 1 Thessalonians. 4.17)

In other words, the accompanying clouds in the ascension are duplicated in the return. The clouds are people; and specifically, the clouds are the believers. Obviously not every reference in the Bible to clouds are people, but don’t miss when the reference is clear. 

So now, the cloud of witnesses are cheering us on, they are there for a major reason. To help us both in identification with other Jews from the past, and as colleagues who have fought the good fight. They are Jewish believers in the Hope of Israel, Messiah Yeshua. And they made it, thus, SO CAN WE! It’s the cloud of encouragement.

We are called to follow Yeshua, and to be joined in this army, this Hall of Faith, this comradery of fellowship. We can endure to the end. Remember Yeshua taught “he that endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt. 10.22, 24.12) That could be read as a dangling wish list, but I read it as an encouragement—he that trusts the Lord and believes will endure to the end. Remember those elementary principles, those opening lessons (Heb. 6.1-2) starts with repentance and faith and includes eternal judgment. We don’t need to fear; we belong to the Lord!

One final item about this cloud. They are not really watching us from heaven. Their testimony is that they are a cloud of witnesses. That’s the Greek word transliterated as ‘martyr.’ In other words, they made it to the end. They died in faith. They died for the faith. Their death and their faith speak loudly to us to keep on keeping on, and thus we shall do.

Now I return to the 11 directives of chapter 12.

1)     Let us lay aside entanglements and sins (a soft commandment including the author)

A runner trains and you might see this at the Fitness First or other places. Using heavy weights, we exercise and push ourselves to a limit and then one more. I think of the baseball season, which is ending in the US just now, with four teams left, vying for a chance to be in the World Series. When a batsman warms up in the ‘on-deck’ circle, he will usually use extra weights on his bat, or even an extra bat. Then when he enters the batter’s box, he only takes his one bat with him. He is able to swing it faster and stronger, due to his warm-up. That’s how I see the author’s use of letting go of stuff that might have been useful previously. But now we are told to let go of two things. Entanglements and sins. 

Not everything which is a distraction is a sin, but it also must be let go if we are to go on in the Lord. I remember Moishe Rosen used to say that we often do the good instead of the best, as it doesn’t cost us as much. That may be what the author has in mind. 

Laying aside sins—that’s another and a clearer story. Sins trip us up. You see that in the story of Cain and Abel. God even warned Cain, “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Gen. 4.7)

Sin, seen as biting at our heels, is destined to trip us up. God says to lay it aside. Walk away. Surrender to the Lord. More on that later.

This sin, (singular) however is one thing. Unbelief. Not listening to the Lord. And not complying. 

2)     Let us run with endurance (another soft one)

Here again we have an Olympic scene. A runner in the marathon, or even here in City to Surf, has to compete well. And it’s not only the sprint, in fact, the sprint is not in view at all here. It’s the long-distance run which the author highlights. Why? Because the messianic life is about staying the course and finishing well. Hence the phrase in verse 2, that Yeshua is the instigator, the author, the alpha, the aleph… AND… he’s the perfecter, the finisher, the omega, the TAV of our faith. This is the long-haul. This is not a propeller flight from Sydney to Newcastle. This is the long haul from Sydney to Houston, 17 hours in the air, until you arrive. It feels interminable, but it will reach the end, and you will be declared the winner, along with the rest of your teammates and colleagues in ministry. Amen?

Running with endurance means continuity, until the job is done. The Latin word is sustentia, to sustain. I love that pedal on the piano which takes a note or chord and sustains it for as long as I hold my foot on the pedal. God is saying the finish line is up ahead, and you will get there, because of Yeshua, as he is the one who sustains us. 

How do we get there? By fixing our eyes on Yeshua. Not by striving after more mitzvot. Not by religious activity. Not by more prayers or more tithing or more singing. Not by rallying others to join us in our religion. The way to finish is to fix our eyes on the one who DID finish. 

I get asked with regularity how I’m able to still be here after nearly 50 years of walking with the Lord, and my answer is always similar—keep my eyes on Yeshua and his word. He’s the living Word. The Bible is the written word. Fix your eyes there. Keep your fingers in the pages of this book. His word will keep us. His life will keep us. He will keep us! 

3)     Consider Yeshua who endured

Next we are assigned the command to consider Yeshua. That’s what our mind gets to do in this life. Ponder. Reflect. Take time away from the newscasts. Don’t check your social media feed, perhaps even now, turn away. Consider means to think again and again. The Greek word is ‘analogizomai’ to cause to analyse the words, or the thing. That doesn’t happen in a moment; it takes extra time. Turn your eyes upon Yeshua and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

The author reminds the reader to listen to the advice of the Proverbs (3.11-12) that a father who loves a child will discipline that child. And any child who does not experience such discipline may not be a natural child at all, but rather a bastard. 

In other words, if you are a member of the family, and you belong, you will experience pain and suffering and others will want to help you endure. We are not alone.

4)     Strengthen the hands/ knees [Bring others along]

This seems an odd phrase to use when we are talking about sin and collegiality. Unless you remember Job and his friends in their famous story. There in chapter 4, we read the words of Eliphaz the Temanite. 

 “If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? but who can refrain from speaking? Behold you have admonished many, and you have strengthened weak hands. Your words have helped the tottering to stand, and you have strengthened feeble knees, but now it has come to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?” (Job 4.1-8)

 

            Job’s friend tells us that what Job used to do was to encourage people, and he did it by sharing God’s word with them. That, Eliphaz says, was ‘strengthening weak hands and feeble knees.”

Thus, I see the author here telling us that we are to bring others along in this faith. Now, please, hear me well. That’s what I’m trying to do with this class. That’s what I’m trying to do with my staff. That’s what they are trying to do with those of you in the D-Groups, AND, buckle your seat belt, that’s what you are going to try to do with those in YOUR D-Groups. Learn, focus on Yeshua, take these things on board, and then turn and bring others along. Messianic Judaism is not a private or individual sport; it’s a team sport.  

5)     Pursue peace with all people [Compare modern argumentativeness in conversations about politics and/ or sport]

Pursue is not the same as seek. Seeking seems pretty useful when you have lost a coin or your mobile phone. But pursue is a stronger term and I think of those people who spend hours and days searching for a missing elder who has gone missing in the Blue Mountains or the child James O’Reilly who went missing for 12 hours in September south of Perth (https://www.facebook.com/9NewsSydney/videos/615925945760258). His wandering into the bush caused neighbours and police to pursue and eventually little Jimmy came home. That kind of pursuit or the police pursuing a White Bronco in June 1994, remind us that nothing should get in the way. It’s ‘all in’ for the pursuers. That’s the relentless demeanour the author wants for the saints reading this letter. 

Pursue peace… don’t give up. Don’t relax. Give it 100%. And what are we to pursue? Peace with all people. Not only those with whom we agree, but all people. Godly people and those who are not yet belonging to the Lord. Sounds like Paul who wrote in Romans 14, “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” (14.19)

Peace matters. Live it.

6)     Pursue sanctification [sounds individual]

For many people, peace and holiness are distinct and almost completely disjoint, but they flow from the author’s pen with ease. What links peace and sanctification? These objects of the verb to pursue are the result of something Yeshua has already done. They are not religious activities alone by individuals. 

Lane says it this way, “Within the community of faith, there is to be no separation of peace and holiness. If “peace” binds the community together as the achievement of Christ, “holiness” is that quality which identifies the community as the possession of Christ.”

Here’s another item to help us with ‘sanctification.’ 

Again, from Lane, “In koine Greek, nouns ending in -μος describe action. Consequently, it is commonly asserted that τὸν ἁγιασμόν, “the holiness,” in v 14b, as the direct object of the main verb διώκετε, “pursue,” expresses the process of sanctification, not the positional state or fact of sanctification”

God wants us to chase after him! That will get us to ‘see God’ as pure in heart. And we need to bring each other along, not in works of righteousness which we have done, but responding in love to the grace and mercy he extends to us in the beloved. What follow are commands:7, 8) and 9) See to it that no one comes short [bring others along], that no root of bitterness arises and that no godless person remains in the community. 

We find a clause used three times. Me tis, it is. Each of the μή τις clauses becomes progressively longer and more complex. These things we are to see in our personal and corporate D-Group life. By the way, the author didn’t know about computers and the sphere of influence would have been house congregations where these rules for life would have been read and manifest. 

So first, no one comes short. (command 7) That is, bring others along. Be submissive to each other. Listen to one another. As I said from Proverbs 10, be teachable, from one another. 

Secondly, (command 8) don’t let any root of bitterness [between saints] take hold. If you have something that annoys you about a brother, use Matthew 18:15 ff to describe for you your plan of action. That’s peace and holiness merged. 

Third in this section (command 9) is See to it that no godless “Esau-type” person remains in your community. This is a tough one. We want everyone to remain and participate. We don’t want to appear to be Holy Joe or Holy Joan. The phrase from Isaiah about being ‘holier than thou’ echoes at this point and we don’t want anyone to call us that. So to safeguard our gossamer reputation, we fail to confront sinners, even in our community. And yet, we have to guard the others from this “Esau-type” personae. 

Verse 17 reminds us that Esau was a phony in his apparent repentance. Real repentance changes the person; Esau merely had regrets about what he lost. 

Verses 18 to 24 remind us historically that we are not at Sinai any longer. This theme of the better mountain reflects the 2^nd theme of this letter. Verse 22 says we have come to the better mountain. Sinai had fear and gloom. Sinai caused people terror and separation from the Lord. But at the new mountain, the better one, we have angels and the City of God, actually the city of the Living God, which is better than a dead one. We have come to a roster of heavenly beings including those we just listed in the last chapter, and to God himself. Yes, we approached and arrived at God, Judge of all who has welcomed us! We have been accompanied by saints whose spirits are made perfect, to Yeshua, and to his blood, again reflecting an earlier Yom Kippur theme, speaks better than the blood of Abel. Why is it better? Abel’s blood spoke of revenge; the blood of Yeshua shouts mercy and grace.

10)  See to it that you don’t refuse the one who is speaking (again the audible is highlighted)

I love that the author again reminds us of the spoken word. The Lord who spoke in the Scripture, and who now has finally spoken his ultimate word (Heb. 1.1-3) has given me words to say and in the spirit of that conversation, I’m speaking with you (all). This chain-delivery system of divine information is useful to us listening in those days AND IN THESE DAYS. Don’t you agree?

The theme of “Listen up!” has significance. It’s not that everything we say matters, but when we are speaking God’s words to each other, we need to “sh’ma” for sure. 

Verse 25 also has another kal v’chomer phrasing, God didn’t let others escape who merely heard human words, now, buckle your seatbelt, this time it’s going to cost you more than before. Don’t refuse the speaker. 

11)  Let us show gratitude (the final soft command) 

The final command, another soft one, again involves everyone reading the letter along with the author. If you get it, that the Lord is the author of your faith, that he will sustain you to the end, that he is the one who produces peace and holiness, then what can you possibly say, except to say Thank you? If God be for us, Paul wrote, who can be against us?

The word for ‘show’ is ECHO, let thanksgiving echo in your heart and come out your lips. The psalmist said, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will continually be in my mouth.” (34.1) We who know Messiah ought to proclaim him when we are alone and to others when we are not. 

Dear friends, the point today is to help you hear God’s word again, and to live it out, with others in each of your circumstances of life.   You are not alone and it’s because the Messiah has settled the situation with God once for all. This whole arrangement is better. Our job is to receive his love and grace. And to stay the course…to keep meeting together. Some of you are wrong to think you can make it on your own.  None of us is alone on an island. We need others to survive and to thrive. Maybe that’s one of the great lessons of COVID-19. We thought we could make it on our own. Not true. You cannot. And thank God for zoom and other online methods of sharing life. Our own D-Groups highlight that weekly. 

If you’ve never received Yeshua as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to do so now. Right where you are. Receive him who gave his life for you. Say a prayer of thanks. Say a prayer like “I need you, Lord Yeshua” … he loves to give to you of his life. 

If you want to write me with a question, I’m happy to try to answer. Just write me at the address on the screen, it’s bob@jewsforjesus.org.au and I’ll give it a go.

Until next week, when we will meet again to share about chapter 13, the final chapter in this great letter, and learn what a disciplined life of the believers who have come to the New Mountain actually looks like and how we will finally ‘make it’, until then, Shabbat shalom.

 

 

Actual text:

Heb. 12:1   Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²¹fixing our eyes on Jesus, the ^2aauthor and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Heb. 12:3   For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary ^1band lose heart. ⁴ You have not yet resisted ^1bto the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; ⁵ and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, 

            “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, 

            NOR ^bFAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

^{6           a}FOR THOSE ^bWHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, 

            AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you endure; ^aGod deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline, ^aof which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we had ¹earthly fathers to discipline us, and we ^arespected them; shall we not much rather be subject to ^bthe Father of ²spirits, and ^clive? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, ^aso that we may share His holiness. ¹¹ All discipline ^afor the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the ^bpeaceful fruit of righteousness.

 

Heb. 12:12   Therefore, ^1astrengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, ¹³ and ^amake straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather ^bbe healed.

 

Heb. 12:14   ^aPursue peace with all men, and the ^bsanctification without which no one will ^csee the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one ^acomes short of the grace of God; that no ^broot of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be ^cdefiled; ¹⁶ that there be no ^aimmoral or ^bgodless person like Esau, ^cwho sold his own birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that even afterwards, ^awhen he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

 

Heb. 12:18   ^aFor you have not come to ^ba mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, ¹⁹ and to the ^ablast of a trumpet and the ^bsound of words which sound was such that those who heard ^cbegged that no further word be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not bear the command, “^aIF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” ²¹ And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “^aI AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.” ²² But ^ayou have come to Mount Zion and to ^bthe city of ^cthe living God, ^dthe heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^emyriads of ¹angels, ²³ to the general assembly and ^achurch of the firstborn who ^bare enrolled in heaven, and to God, ^cthe Judge of all, and to the ^dspirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the ^amediator of a new covenant, and to the ^bsprinkled blood, which speaks better than ^cthe blood of Abel.

 

Heb. 12:25   ^aSee to it that you do not refuse Him who is ^bspeaking. For ^cif those did not escape when they ^drefused him who ^ewarned them on earth, ¹much less will we escape who turn away from Him who ^ewarns from heaven. ²⁶And ^aHis voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “^bYET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” ²⁷ This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes ^athe removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸Therefore, since we receive a ^akingdom which cannot be shaken, let us ¹show gratitude, by which we may ^boffer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; ²⁹ for ^aour God is a consuming fire.

 

 

Bibliography

Allen, Ronald, Lord of Song, Multnomah Press, Portland, 1985.

Jacob, Alex, The case for Enlargement Theology, Glory to Glory, Walden, UK, 2010.

Ladd, George E., A Theology of the New Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1974. (Pages 571 – 587)

Lane, William L, Word Biblical Commentary Series, Hebrews.

Vine, W.E., An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Revell, Old Tappan, NJ, 1966.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Confident. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs,1982.

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D-Groups for this week

1)              Tuesday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)              Monday 10 am Sydney time, led by Rebekah Bronn

3)              Thursday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s almost time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?