Gene Cunningham - January 28, 2003
Hebrews 11
We can only become stronger the more we give away. The more we use our spiritual gift. It’s important that we seek to know what our spiritual gift is. He wants you to know it, because He wants us to love on another that way. Joh 7:17 Heb 2:8-9 We do not see, but we see Jesus. We see chaos and turmoil around us, and struggles within us. We don’t know how God’s will will be fulfilled. Jesus is the central figure of God’s plan and the ultimate focus of the human soul. We may not see His purpose working out, but we can see Jesus. 1pe 1:8 Under trials, we find Jesus is obscured from our sight. We need Him to save us every day. When He seems obscured from sight, we can keep our eyes on Christ by loving Him by turning to the Word and feeding on the riches of His grace. As we feed on the Bible, Jesus nourishes us. We see Jesus. Heb 2:9-18 Three OT quotes: pre-incarnation, incarnation, post-incarnation statements. All people without Christ live in slavery and bondage. One work of Jesus is the liberation of those in slavery. Theme of the book is to fix your eyes on Jesus. Get your eyes off of other things and yourself. In your sin you have an area of strength and weakness. If your area of weakness dominates you will fall and be discouraged. If your area of strength dominates you will be arrogant and fall. Don’t look at yourself or at others. Only Jesus. Never base your life off of someone else’s experience, base it off of Christ. You’ll be inflated or deflated. Comparing is never the issue in the Christian life. Don’t be distracted by circumstances. Those change all the time, Jesus never changes. Our experience has to be built on the security of Jesus Heb 2:9, Heb 3:1, Heb 8:1 Look to the High Priest. The only issue in our relationship with God is the work of our High Priest and our relationship to Him. Heb 11:27, Heb 12:2 Hebrews gives this challenge to fix our eyes on Jesus to these people in a terrible time in history. The important thing is we are living in a time where it is imperative that we lock on to Jesus Christ. Faith without an object has no power. We must direct our faith to Jesus alone. Their entire world as they knew it would cease to exist. The author wrote this to give them what they needed to go through that trial. Jesus is the only one who can sustain you. Look to Jesus. Practical illustration: Luk 21:1-38 focuses more on what was impending in 70AD Eight great benefits of keeping our eyes on Jesus during a time of historical crisis: 1. Luk 21:8 deliver us from deception. Satan will use everything to deceive people. 2. Luk 21:9 deliver from fear. Fear robs the soul of the ability to respond from a standpoint of faith. Faith in Jesus conquers fear. 3. Luk 21:13 everything works for witness. Whatever happens will turn out for an opportunity to tell the world about Jesus. How can we tell the world about Him if we’re not looking to Him? 4. Luk 21:21 flee to the mountains. The focal point of the conflict was Jerusalem. It’s important because it will deliver you from getting caught in religious ruts. It can be devastating. It happens when someone thinks God has to do certain things. Why should we think we are exempt from persecution. Don’t get caught up in a religious rut in their thinking. Spiritual flexibility is important. You need to know when you’re to stand and when you’re to flee. 5. Luk 21:28 The things that cause the world to despair should cause us anticipation of His return. Our redemption is drawing near, looking forward to the blessed hope. Tit 2:13 Keep looking toward His coming. Remember how it’s going to finish. To lift up our heads means an attitude of exultation. Keep your focus on the end of the story 6. Luk 21:34 warning 1th 5: we shouldn’t be surprised by His coming. The cares of this life will wear us down. The carousing is the good time to they can forget what’s going on. Or drinking or drugs to lead to insensibility. How can we keep from being overloaded with the anxieties of this life? Keeping our eyes on Him will deliver us from the deadening affects of anxiety. Mat 6:25-34. What is your anxiety today? Anxiety weighs the soul down, and loses its strength. 7. Luk 21:36 Keeping our eyes on Christ will give us a living prayer life. It will make us worthy. As we partake of Him through His Spirit working through the Word. We reflect who and what He is, a reflection of His character. 8. Luk 21:19 compilation of all these. Keeping our eyes on Jesus will give endurance and maintain control. Not to stay in control of anything but our own soul. It’s not a one shot thing. There will be many battles. Possessing our souls is a battle each day. You’re going to think He’s not coming through as He should. There will be many times like that, but we need to hold fast to our hero. Heb 2:9-18 Seven great undertakings of God in the flesh. Phi 2:5-11 Jesus had to live by faith. He was exercising perfect faith. 1. Heb 2:9Sacrificial death 2. Heb 2:10 His valiant leadership. Captain of our salvation. 3. Heb 2:11 His cleansing work 4. Heb 2:11-13 His love for His family. He is called the Father of Eternity Isa 9:6 5. Heb 2:14 victory over the devil 6. Heb 2:15 liberation of the captives 7. Heb 2:17-18 His merciful and faithful High Priestly role. Faithful to God in every area. Faithful to God, merciful to men. Sacrificial death: we can only see Jesus by the eye of faith. Jesus came into the world to do the will of the Father, which was to go to the cross. His life is the means to the end. Jesus was crowned by the world with thorns, but it anticipated His crown of glory. We need to suffer with Him if we’re to reign with Him. Persecution is the crown of thorns. He was willing to bear our curse, and He did it with dignity. Desire the crown, but the crown in eternity is preceded by the crown of cursing in this life. He tasted death for every man. He completely took death for every man. The Death Jesus took. Death comes in two types. Spiritual and physical. Gen 2:17 Gen 5:5 Spiritual death means separation of soul from God, physical death means separation of soul from the body. Sin and spiritual death are transferred to every person of the human race. Psa 51:5 Gen 5:3 Born a sinner Rom 5:12 Eph 2:1 rom 6:23 spiritual death. Christ on the cross followed the pattern in scripture. Spiritual death, then physical death. Spiritual separation from God Isa 53:10-12 His soul was in such anguish because He was separated psa 22:1 Rev 20:6 Rev 20:10-15 The most important thing we can be doing is to tell the people about Jesus Christ. If we fall in love with Him so much we will be willing to tell people about Him. It is an unreasonable fear to fear evangelism. Spiritual death and physical death results in eternal death. The torment is in the soul. Unbelievers who die physically are referred to as the dead. Saved people are judged by Christ’s work. If you reject you’re judged by your works. Isa 64:6 Chaplains on the Titanic preached the gospel to those stuck on the deck as they were sinking. Is your name in the book of life? People in the lake of fire are no closer to the end as when they began.
Scripture References: Hebrews 2:15, Titus 2:13, Romans 5:12, Hebrews 2:8-9, Philippians 2:5-11, Revelation 20:10-15, Hebrews 12:2, Hebrews 2:14, Luke 21:28, Genesis 5:3, John 7:17, Hebrews 2:9-18, Revelation 20:6, Hebrews 11:27, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 21:21, Psalms 51:5, Luke 21:19, Psalms 22:1, Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 2:11-13, Luke 21:13, Genesis 5:5, Luke 21:36, Isaiah 53:10-12, Hebrews 3:1, Hebrews 2:11, Luke 21:9, Genesis 2:17, Matthew 6:25-34, Romans 6:23, Hebrews 2:9, Hebrews 2:10, Luke 21:8, Hebrews 2:17-18, Luke 21:34, Ephesians 2:1, Hebrews 2:9-18, Hebrews 2:9, Isaiah 64:6, Luke 21:1-38
From Series: "Hebrews (1998)"
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