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[192.74 --> 199.14] account, there's only one thing mentioned that is not good. Do you know what it is? Adam being alone. |
[200.60 --> 206.98] Loneliness is a painful reality. We were created for community. Now here's one of the interesting |
[206.98 --> 212.56] ironies of the cultural moment you and I live in. Some 30 years ago, when the internet was still a baby, |
[212.56 --> 217.84] we were told that our technology and our devices and our smartphones and our Zoom meetings, we're |
[217.84 --> 222.68] going to build deeper relationships between people. We're going to be more connected than ever. We're |
[222.68 --> 227.68] going to be closer to each other, even across the world. And here we are some 35 years later after the |
[227.68 --> 234.36] internet was born, and we are most certainly not closer in relationship. In fact, there's a book by |
[234.36 --> 240.06] Sherry Turkle, and the name of the book is Alone Together. And that's how she describes Western society |
[240.06 --> 243.94] with our smartphones and our laptops and all the rest. We are together, but we are alone. |
[244.86 --> 248.84] I read this week an article, and this is an American statistic, but I'm sure it translates, |
[249.76 --> 256.48] that 36% to 40 of all Americans feel loneliness on a daily basis. And here's what's new about that |
[256.48 --> 265.10] stat. 61% of that number is young adults, and another 51% of that number is moms with young kids. |
[265.10 --> 270.04] And what's unique about this stat is they were saying usually in generations previous, |
[270.18 --> 275.04] the loneliness would be experienced among older people, right, who are a bit isolated, less mobility, |
[275.30 --> 280.12] and that was a reality. What's new about our society is that the loneliness is spiking among |
[280.12 --> 284.76] younger people, most notably young adults. And that for me is a red flag, like something is |
[284.76 --> 290.00] unraveling societally, something's not working in our communities, and we need to address it. |
[290.00 --> 296.90] You and I were created for community, and our society is reminding us of that as we try to find |
[296.90 --> 302.74] it through screens when we need it in real bodies and people. We say at every baptism at Hope, and |
[302.74 --> 307.82] maybe you've heard me say it, that we need a village to raise the child. Have you heard that phrase before? |
[308.24 --> 312.34] You say it almost every baptism. And I think what we need to hear this morning is that you and I |
[312.34 --> 319.92] need the village at every stage of life. Whether you're five years old, 15, 25, whether you're single, |
[320.08 --> 329.56] married, or senior, we need the village to flourish, to grow, to mature in Christ, and stay rooted in the |
[329.56 --> 336.94] gospel of Jesus. And that is what this passage is all about. Hebrews 10 is a fascinating passage. Here's why. |
[336.94 --> 342.54] It's a story, really, in the church of people leaving the church. But it's a very different kind |
[342.54 --> 347.28] of church, and the reasons for leaving are quite different than today. The church at the time of |
[347.28 --> 352.54] Hebrews was mostly just a small house church movement. They would have no such thing as a |
[352.54 --> 356.74] building like this with a larger gathering like this. They would be small groups of people meeting |
[356.74 --> 362.86] in homes. But the reality for them was pressure from the Roman society against the gospel of Jesus |
[362.86 --> 369.26] and pressure from the Jewish community from which many people converted into Christianity. |
[370.16 --> 373.80] And so they had family members saying, why you got to be part of this church? They had Roman society, |
[373.80 --> 379.38] which was increasing its persecution against the church. And you can imagine, in that circumstance, |
[379.86 --> 386.42] many believers saying, it's not worth it. It's not worth gathering with other believers. It puts |
[386.42 --> 392.24] tension in my family system. It puts tension in my Greek workplace. I'm just going to leave it alone. |
[392.98 --> 401.46] Keep my distance and play it safe. And can you judge them? It'd be very tempting in even our society |
[401.46 --> 407.50] today. And now comes the writer or writers of Hebrews. We don't know who wrote this book. Some say maybe a |
[407.50 --> 414.46] pastor in one of these communities. And they are giving some deeply encouraging words, encouraging them, |
[414.46 --> 420.58] the church, to hold fast to their faith in Jesus Christ because it's worth the struggle. It's worth the |
[420.58 --> 426.66] work. And in Jesus, they have all things. We'll see it in just a minute. But secondly, the writer or |
[426.66 --> 436.64] writers are saying, hold fast to your community of faith. You need them. They need you. You need to |
[436.64 --> 442.64] encourage them. They need to encourage you towards love and good deeds. You desperately need, even amidst the |
[442.64 --> 450.12] challenges of persecution and segregation, you need the church. Now, one thing that's worth noting, even |
[450.12 --> 454.50] before I read the passage again, is that almost every word in this passage is written in the second |
[454.50 --> 460.42] person plural. What's painful about Canadian English is we don't have a word from that other than you. |
[461.10 --> 465.28] The Americans, though, have got a killer word for the second person plural, and you know what it is? |
[465.28 --> 471.68] Y'all. Any Americans here? That's such a good word. And I so badly wish in our English translations of |
[471.68 --> 476.26] the Bible we had a y'all for the plural of you because this whole passage is written to the community, |
[476.66 --> 482.62] to the y'all. And before I read our first verse again, I want to note that this is, as my brother-in-law |
[482.62 --> 489.56] describes it, the lettuce passage. And he says lettuce because it's framed around three let us phrases. |
[489.56 --> 495.70] The first is in verse 22, where we read, let us draw near to God, an invitation to His presence. |
[496.14 --> 502.08] The second lettuce is let us hold on to hope of Jesus returning, the verse 23. And then the third |
[502.08 --> 508.54] one, which we'll spend most of our time on, is let us spur one another on towards love and good deeds, |
[508.66 --> 517.34] in verse 24. Let me read us again the first section, verse 19. Therefore, brothers and sisters, |
[517.34 --> 523.10] see the y'all already. Since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, |
[523.26 --> 529.26] by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is His body, and since we have a |
[529.26 --> 537.66] great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with sincere hearts and with full |
[537.66 --> 542.16] assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, |
[542.16 --> 548.00] and having our bodies washed with pure water. Do you feel the encouragement there? |
[549.12 --> 555.68] The writer of this passage is just pouring out the invitation into God's presence. And in summary, |
[555.92 --> 558.80] I could preach a whole sermon on these verses, but in summary, the writer is saying, |
[559.36 --> 565.28] because the work of the cross is finished, you and I as followers of Jesus are invited right into |
[565.28 --> 571.80] holiness of God's presence. You have been invited into the depth and the beauty of God's presence, |
[571.80 --> 578.06] and He welcomes you there. You've been cleansed, you've been purified, and you belong. |
[580.58 --> 584.90] Now, I've pastored a hope long enough to know that many of us, when we pray or when we think about |
[584.90 --> 590.02] being silent with God, we struggle to believe, first, He really loves us, and second of all, |
[590.06 --> 594.34] that He's not just disappointed by something or a pattern of life that we have in our lives. |
[594.34 --> 601.72] And this passage reminds us that God is in a good mood, and He delights when His children come into |
[601.72 --> 609.18] His presence. There's an artist by the name of Elizabeth Wong. She focuses a lot on Jesus' |
[609.40 --> 613.82] intercessory ministry in her arts, and I want to show you a piece that she, this is probably 10 years |
[613.82 --> 618.78] old, I think. And I just want to draw your attention to, in the middle, that silhouette in the middle, |
[618.78 --> 622.52] you have what looks like a discouraged believer, right? They're kneeling, maybe in the posture of |
[622.52 --> 627.26] prayer, but maybe also in the sense of defeat. And then you have Jesus, right? Look at this picture |
[627.26 --> 632.78] of Jesus with His arms lifted high into the presence of God, and that line sort of moving from the |
[632.78 --> 640.26] person into God's very presence because of what Jesus did. There's your invitation. Jesus, the high |
[640.26 --> 646.40] priest, saying, come into the presence of my Father. You are cleansed, and you are welcome. |
[646.40 --> 653.48] Now, receive the invitation, church. Believe that you're welcome. That's the first lettuce. |
[654.74 --> 659.10] Now we get to the second lettuce, which is in verse 23, and it's all about hope. |
[660.06 --> 667.80] We read, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And what |
[667.80 --> 672.48] He's mentioning there is that He who promised to Jesus, and He's faithful in that He said He's coming |
[672.48 --> 677.88] back, and He is coming back to heal all things. And a distinctive characteristic of the church |
[677.88 --> 683.36] throughout all ages, it may be true of us, is that the church does not give way to fear. We do not give |
[683.36 --> 688.62] way to discouragement, no matter what goes on in our cities, in our world, but we live with hope. |
[689.98 --> 694.12] And for that reason, I love the name of our church, don't you? It's never going to go out of style. |
[694.12 --> 701.66] We will always need to be a community of hope in a world of despair and isolation, and we hope for |
[701.66 --> 708.66] Jesus' return. There will be a day when politicians and world leaders do not chase after power only to |
[708.66 --> 713.78] abuse it for their own good. There will be a day where you do not hear stories of more wars between |
[713.78 --> 718.82] people, groups, and nations. There will be a day where you do not have to stand in the rain and weep |
[718.82 --> 723.86] as the body of your loved one is lowered into the ground in a casket, because Jesus will have come back. |
[724.56 --> 729.90] And all things will be made new, and sin and death and Satan will once and for all finally |
[729.90 --> 736.98] be done away with, because Jesus is coming. That's where you say amen, by the way. You're with me. |
[737.22 --> 743.70] You've had extra sleep. You should have lots of amens ready. Now we get to the third let us of our |
[743.70 --> 748.44] passage, and this is what we're going to spend a few more minutes on. We've been cleansed and welcomed |
[748.44 --> 754.06] into the presence of God. We're told that Jesus is coming, and while we wait, this is what Hebrews 10 says |
[754.06 --> 762.36] to us, and let us consider how we might spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving |
[762.36 --> 769.68] up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more |
[769.68 --> 779.94] as you see the day of Jesus' return approaching. Isn't that a powerful verse? Let us consider how |
[779.94 --> 786.88] we might spur one another on towards love and good deeds, encouraging one another. And just to give you |
[786.88 --> 791.42] a sense of where we're going is, I'm going to say again, you need the church of Jesus to grow, |
[792.00 --> 799.34] to mature, to foster a love for others and for God, and to fight the battle against sin. In fact, |
[799.36 --> 803.38] I'm going to give you a fairly humorous illustration from a few years ago that's going to make the point |
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