Chasing the Wind

This is our 4th week in the book of Hebrews.

The first week we learned how awesome angels are, learned about our own guardian angel, and that no matter how awesome angels are, Jesus is better than angels. If I recall, Jesus was also better than a Polish hotel, though I might have some wires crossed there.

The second week, Fred taught us how perfect Jesus is and that he was a perfect sacrifice for us, and reminded us that if we want to be part of God’s family, we ought to participate in the family business. And also that Jesus is better than Ann Murray.

Last week, Meredith took us into the third chapter to remind us that Jesus is better, perfect, and eternal and that Jesus is also better than house siding. See, you need to come every week if you want the nitty gritty details about Jesus, we’ve covered it all. Between the hotel, Ann Murray, and house siding, we’ve covered how Jesus is better than any place, person, or thing.

So now we know how awesome Jesus is. Today’s question is – so what? So what if Jesus is so awesome? What does that mean to me? Now that I know how perfect and awesome Jesus is, how does that impact me? What do I do with this information?

I’ll tell you what, God went through an awful amount of trouble to sacrifice His son for it not to mean anything. Jesus’ death isn’t just some sort of historical interesting fact, it has personal implications for you in your life today. Let’s get some historical background first though and turn to the book of Hebrews, Chapter 3.

Hebrews 3:16-19
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

I like this “answer a question with a question” paragraph. First, we’re asked, “Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? “ Of course, the writer is reminding us of the stubbornness of God’s chosen people – God performed miracle after miracle, magnificent miracles like the part of the Red Sea. How did God’s people react? They rebelled. They build golden idols. Even though they had seen and heard God’s word.

Vs 17, “And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?” Angry, provoked. God was angry with those that had heard and seen His miracles, yet who now were rebellious, disobeying God.

When we think of “God is love,” what do we think this love is? That no matter what we do, no matter where we go and no matter how we do it, we expect God to be right there with us. As Dr. Young has been teaching, there are many promises in the bible, and often the promises are conditional. God will do something *if* we do something. The Old Testament is full of what God expects out of His people – faith and obedience. And the Old Testament is full of God providing instruction to His people in order to save them from His own wrath. When you were growing up, did you do things your parents disapproved of? You did it secretly? And you were afraid that if you were caught, your parents would be mad? Why would your parents discipline you? Because your parents believed they knew what was best for you, and punishment helped you see things their way.

God acts much the same way – He knows what is best for you spiritually, and when you do not pay attention, he disciplines us lovingly, and when we don’t listen, his discipline turns to anger because we have provoked him like the Israelites did. Eventually, as we know from the Book of Revelation, God’s patience and discipline finally come to an end, and only wrath remains.

Let’s look at verse 18-19.

Hebrews 3:18-19
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

And now we see why God becomes angry. He’s angry for us, He wants us to come to Him and on His terms, putting aside our selves and our selfish wants and desires. He wants us to enter His rest, but God’s peaceful rest is not possible if we are in rebellion. The Israelites were promised the good news of rest in the land of Canaan, but they did not trust God would actually give it to them.

Hebrews 4:1
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

We see here that the promise of entering God’s rest still stands, but we are cautioned not to fall short of the promised land. The Israelites fell short of the promised land because of their unbelief and lack of faith, and we, too, can fall short of what God has promised for us if we do not trust God will actually provide for us.

What rest are we talking about? I believe the writer of Hebrews is talking about two kinds of rest at the same time. The rest of the Israelites was the promised land of Canaan, and for us the promised land is the salvation and rest we find in Jesus Christ. We are not so stressed out about this life when we know it’s temporal and we have eternal life. But the writer also mentions a Sabbath rest, implying that not only will we have eternal rest, we should also have rest in this life. Let’s look at verse 4:6-10:

Hebrews 4:6-10
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

I think it’s clear that the writer is talking not only about our eternal rest, but also worldly rest. Rest from your own work on the Sabbath. Rest from the weekly stress, household chores, preparing for work, just rest. God rested on the 7th day, and so should we. Don’t put it off; verse 7 says do it today. We can rest by spending quality time with our spouse, taking a nice walk in the park. We can rest by visiting with family. We can rest by fellowshipping with our Christian brothers and sisters that are right here in this room – by the way, lunch today is at Los Cucos.

Hebrews 4:11
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

If we fall by disobedience, how do we become obedient? Before you can become obedient, you must do something first. What is it?

That’s right, you must know what the rules are. You can’t be obedient if you don’t know what you’re supposed to do. When Diane & I were in Europe in July, we rented a car. That was pretty exciting. The French didn’t have the courtesy to put up road signs in English. So we’re driving around and doing our best to obey the traffic laws. Some of the signs are easy to figure out. Some are not.

This one is pretty straightforward, easy to understand.

This one is a bit more difficult. The top line is the speed limit in town, the second line is the speed limit when leaving town, and the bottom line is the speed limit when you are back on the highway.

No airplanes? No spaceships? No, it indicates you have the right of way and there is a cross street coming up.
Trucks are not allowed to pass on the left.
Please do not explode. Exploding vehicles are not permitted. No, it’s hazardous chemicals are not permitted.
Spaceships please use water landing area. No, it’s an indication that you should drive this way if you’re carrying pollutants over water.

Let’s put these two together. If you want to avoid the wrath of the French Police, you must obey the traffic signs. If you want to avoid the wrath of God, you must obey His word. And where do we find His word? Right here, between Genesis and Revelation.

Let’s see what the Word says about the Word.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Word of God is the very breath of God. To be the man that God wants you to be, equip yourself properly. To teach others, to rebuke them when they know they are wrong, to correct them when they don’t know, to train yourself in righteousness., equip yourself with the Word.

2 Peter 1:20-21
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

It is God’s will, not man’s will, that writes Scripture. The Holy Spirit directed prophets to write what God wanted us to know.

John 12:48
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

Jesus adds some ominous words; rejecting His word has consequences. Like the Israelites that rebelled against God, rebelling against Jesus will seal your destination with the end of time arrives.

John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Where do we find Jesus’ teachings? Jesus tells us that if you really are one of his students, you will study and lean what He has to say, holding on to the truth. The truth will set you free from the bondage of sin.

Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

“Living and Active”

The word “living” is from the Hebrews word “zon” which can also mean “quick”. The bible is not a series of dead letters; centuries later, the Word is still changing lives. How could it be dead? As the word of the living God, the Word itself is living.

Something I’ve found interesting in the Old Testament is how God progressively reveals himself through the ages. First with Adam and Eve, then Abraham and Moses, God tells us more and more about him as the ages pass. Why progressively? I think it’s because we have to take baby steps before we can run; we must understand the simple concepts of God before we’re ready for some understanding of the depth of God. Jesus, too, alluded to this; in Mark 14:33-34 it says “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.” The Word itself never changes, but we change based on the Word of God as God progressively reveals Himself to us.

Ever wonder why the book of Revelations predicts the end of the world with God’s wrath and His will victorious, and at the same time we know that the demons know scripture, yet the devil proceeds anyway? Why doesn’t the devil try something different? I think it’s because the devil has no idea what the scripture says, all he can do is quote it. I mean really, if the devil really know Jesus was the Son of God and that Jesus will be victorious in the end times and the devil will be cast into the lake of fire with all the unrepentant evil people, don’t you think the devil would reconsider? I don’t think the devil understands.

Let me give you an example of how living the bible is and how it progressively reveals itself from something that happened to me just last week. I was reading Luke 16, the parable of the shrewd manager. I wasn’t reading it specifically for this lesson, it was just up next on the list of scripture for me to read. See, I have this spreadsheet of scriptures and it’s cross-linked to a calendar of when I’m going to read them… never mind, it’s an engineer sort of thing. Anyway, I read this scripture for the umpteenth time, but this time it clicked, and suddenly I had an example of “living” for this morning’s lesson. God is just amazing that way. Let me show you what I mean, if you want to turn to Luke 16 with me…

Luke 16:1-8
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

” ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
” ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

I’ve read this parable a dozen times, and each time it’s confused me. Maybe it’s made sense to you, but to me I was no comprende. I kept thinking, “this can’t be right. Jesus says it’s ok to be dishonest as long as it’s for your own personal gain? As long as you have a good selfish reason, dishonesty and embezzlement is ok? I mean that can’t be right, but isn’t that what it says?

Let’s look at the next verse that seems unrelated.

Luke 16:9-12
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

Or is it unrelated? Ding. Light bulb over my head. He brings good things to light. These two verses go together. The first part is a worldy example of a shrewd manager and how worldly people think and how worldly people are rewarded. But no where does Jesus say we should be like this, only that we learn from it and apply it to spiritual matters. The next verse that I thought was unrelated says we should waive spiritual debts from one another – if we’re holding something against a brother or a sister, if we’re angry with somebody and if we haven’t actively forgiven them, do so while we are “employed” – I mean “living”. Why? Because our spiritual master – God – will reward that kind of behavior in heaven. In other words, our material possessions are worthless in the long run, but use them in such a way that pleases God. Suddenly this word wasn’t as confusing to me anymore, it’s now an admonishment to remember to store up my treasures in heaven.

The word is not only living, but it is active. The word “active” is the Hebrew word “energes” which also can be translates “powerful.” We get the word “energy” from it. It literally means “at work”. One of the things I’ve learned to rest at is spreading the Word of God – sharing my faith doesn’t mean I have to convert people to faith in Jesus. It’s my job to share, not convert. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit, and if I try to do His work I just get in the way. All I have to do is say what I believe and why I believe it. Scripture will do it’s own work. Isaiah 55:11, the Lord says

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

It’s powerful. It’s not that “the Word plus me” is powerful. The Word is powerful. Period. Jeremiah 23:29,

“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

The Word is penetrating, sharper than any two edged sword. The word *is* the sword, part of the armor of God, according to Ephesians 6:17 which tells us to take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. The Roman short sword was lightweight and deadly because it was sharp on both sides and cut both ways. The Word of God is like a sword that can cut you all the way to the joints and the marrow of your bones, dividing your soul and spirit. It is not possible to read the bible with an open heart and not be convicted. No heart is too hard, no soul is too dark.

Reverend Spurgeon said. “When God wills it, his word can pierce anyone as a certain Mr. Thorpe in the 18th century Bristol found out. Thorpe was a part of a band of men who called themselves, the ‘Hell Fire Club.’ Their reason for existence was to mock and ridicule the work of the famed evangelist, George Whitefield. On one occasion, the ‘Hell-Fire Club’ gathered at a pub for such mockery. Mr. Thorpe offered his brilliant imitation of Whitefield, whom he and his friends called, ‘Mr Squintum’ because of Whitefield eyes. He delivered his sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions as he quoted Scripture and Whitefield’s exposition. Suddenly amidst the laughter he had to sit down for he was pierced through and was converted on the spot. Mr. Thorpe was a thoroughly nasty man, engaged in a nasty action yet the Word of God pierced his heart and changed him in an instant. Mr. Thorpe went on to be a prominent Christian leader in the city of Bristol.”

It’s a living word. It’s an active word. It’s a discerning word, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God sees everything, and when you expose yourself to the word, God lays your soul open.

Hold on to this truth, there are secular “scholars” rewriting history, trying to obscure the history of Jesus, minimize the impact and importance of the bible. People like Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code putting forth some preposterous idea that the bible is a man-made manufactured story book for the sole purpose of subjugating women to a patriarchal society, that it wasn’t Jesus who was holy but Mary Magdelene – don’t you believe a word of it. Why? Because an open heart exposed to the living word of God changes lives. We know that, we can see it with our own eyes, it is a miracle we witness each and every time we see someone give themselves to Christ. We know the truth and the power of the Holy Word because we are witnesses to the work of the Holy Spirit in ourselves and in others. No amount of obfuscation and confusion can ever convince us of a lie when we experience this living, active truth personally. So far I’ve only been able to get close to a few of you, but those who have shared their testimony with me are also proof to me that the book of truth has divided their souls and carved their hearts like a two edged sword. I know who they were before and who they are after and all the worldly lies in books, TV documentaries, and the news can’t convince me that the bible is anything other than what it says it is, the very breath of God written by the Holy Spirit through the hands of holy inspired men.

Gipsy Smith, an English evangelist from early this century, told a story of a man who complained that he had received no inspiration from the bible although he had gone through it several times. Smith replied, “Let it go through you once and then you’ll tell a different story”.