Calvary Baptist Church - Canyon Texas - David Crump, Pastor

If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39 NIV84)

The Gospel is unstoppable because it is the power of God.

But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:17-20 NIV84)

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord

and against his Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Acts 4:23-28 NIV84)

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:29-31 NIV84)

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:34-39 NIV84)

The Gospel is the power of God.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16, 17 NIV84)

Paul writes to believers in Rome. We have no city like it today. It was the the center of political, philosophical, religious, legal, and military power. It was the capital of the known world.

All the Philosophy, archetecture, culture, military, and government over the civilized world was all consolidated in this one powerful city.

The roman empire's first ruler, octavius augustus, was given the title cesar because it had an aspect of divinity.

In the midst of all that, Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation."

None of that intimidated Paul.

None of that made him apologetic for it's message.

For all the philosophies, military strength, political influence was all the constructs of men, but the Gospel is the word of God, the will of God, and the  power of God.

Everywhere the Gospel was preached, it took hold.

In every society, in the city, in the country, from Roman rulers to slaves, the Gospel was changing lives.

that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. (Colossians 1:6 NIV84)

The Gospel is unstoppable, irrepressible, invincible, unbeatable.

The Gospel will triumph over all the wisdom of men.

The Gospel will outlast all rulers.

The Gospel will go on after the rise and fall of nations.

No matter where it goes, it will be victorious.

It will triumph over every earthly and heavenly foe.

Don't be intimidated to speak about it. Tell about the story of the God who triumphed over sin and darkness in your life and brought freedom to you.

You are looking for the perfect gift. And you do it because up you want to see a smile on your wife or husband or children's faces on Christmas because you love them.

The same is true of God.

He loves us and desired to give us the perfect gift.

But what did we need?

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;

your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

We needed someone to come help us find our way to God.

Isaiah 59:12-16

12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:

13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God,

fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.

15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

V 12 - our sins are many,

testify against us,

Are ever with us,

We acknowledge our iniquities.

V 13 - our sin is against God.

Ultimately all sin is rebellion, treachery, and forsaking God.

David wrote in Psalm 51:4

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Our problem was not just that we got lost along the way and need someone to point us in the right direction. We need someone to make right what we did against our Heavenly Father. We betrayed Him.

V 16 - God looked, but no one could be found.

Isaiah 63:5

I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support;

so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.

Isaiah 51:18 Jerusalem's sons

Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her;

of all the sons she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

Ezekiel 22:30

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

"Someone who would stand before me in the gap" - God is looking for someone who can intercede. The idea is from ancient times when a wall would be built around a city to fortify it. Where there were breaks in the walls, they would put a defender who would stand in the gap of the wall, defending the people behind him.

In the Old Testament, this was the role of a prophet - to stand as an intercessor between God and man.

Psalm 106:23

So he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.

God was looking for someone who could stand in the gap for us. There was no one who could deal with man's sin. No one could intercede on behalf of men to God. No one.

V 16 - so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

So God would do it Himself.

He would be the one who would bear the burden of men's sins.

It would be by His strength.

He Himself would provide an intercessor, someone who would stand in the gap for mankind and stand before God on their behalf.

But men would have to wait. The perfect gift to meet men's needs would come in God's perfect timing.

Isaiah 53:4-6

4Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God, Smitten by him, and afflicted.

5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus came to bear your sins. Give them over to him. He fully and completely takes them away and even the guilt of sin.

He is the perfect gift-the prefect answer to our problem.

He is exactly what we needed to have be washed from our sin.

Isaiah 53:12

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

You need someone to stand in the gap for you.

Or you may need him to stand in the gap for you in a different way,

Do you need him to be your Strength in a time of weakness?

Do you need him to be your shelter in a time that the enemy is attacking?

He truly is the perfect gift. He will stand in the gap on your behalf.

He will protect you and defend you.

We are engaged in a war. It is a war for the lives of men, women, and children.

The outcome of the battle will affect you and your family, the peoples’ lives around you, and future generations for eternity.

There are things you must know – things you cannot be ignorant about or you will be caught unprepared for battle.

1. You must know you are engaged in battle.

1 Peter 5:8-9

– Your enemy looks for someone to devour.

Whether you are ready or not to battle, your enemy is at war with you. If you are not ready, you are an easy target for destruction.

(Example) you and your wife have had a few rough weeks or months or years. Thoughts begin to run through your head "maybe we'd be better off apart. Maybe I could do better. Maybe I deserve better."

These are the whisperings of our enemy. If you are not prepared, you are easy prey. If you don’t recognize this as darkness, you will be tempted to listen. And if you listen long enough you'll start to believe it. If you come to believe it, you'll start to act on it.

Jesus told us to pray “lead me not into temptation” – are you praying for God to lead you away from temptation?

(Example) Whether you are aware or not, your children or grandchildren are under pressure every day from a culture that mocks their faith. Kids who grow up in the church are leaving the church in the college years at record rates.

Are you praying for their faith to endure?

2. You must not cooperate with the enemy.

Ephesians 4:20-27

– Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

– Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 5:3-16

-Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.

-Make the most of every opportunity.

In the book Point Man, Steve Farrar tells of WWII soldiers who came upon a house with loud talking and noise inside. The talk they hear is in English. They discovered inside a group of allied soldiers who had found a stash of liquor. While their comrades fought, they drank, oblivious to the battle going on around them.

You cannot continue to walk in sin. The Lord has delivered you from that darkness. You cannot dabble with the things of the enemy and be effective in the battle. Sin is the realm of our enemy, not the realm of our King.

3. You must know how to prepare for battle.

Ephesians 6:10-18

– We are to take our stand in God’s strength.

– Put on the full armor of God.

– Our struggle is not against people, but against powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

– Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

You cannot go into this battle under your own strength, it is not enough (v 10).

Our battle is against a powerful spiritual foe.

We face this battle as if it were up to us. We act as if we can handle it all. But the truth is human effort is insufficient for this fight.

If you do everything you can under your own strength, you will lose the battle. This war is waged on a spiritual battlefield.

4. You must know the battle is the Lord’s

Romans 8:28-39

There are 3 reasons God will win the victory (v. 34)

1. Christ died for us;

2. He is alive and is seated at the right hand of God, the position of power;

3. He is interceding for us.

God will complete the work that He started at the cross.

His work will be completed in you and me.

Now, take your stand.

• Wake up! You are engaged in battle every day.

• Do not tolerate sin in your life. Seek his kingdom and his righteousness.

• Prepare for the battle everyday by putting on the armor of God.

• Pray, pray, pray – the battle is won by the Lord, not by your strength.

1 Peter 5:8-9

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Ephesians 4:20-27

20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 5:3-16

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Romans 8:28-39

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Imagine if you were given the opportunity to meet God. What would it be like? What would he be like?

Today we’re going to read about people who had the opportunity.

Exodus 19:9-25

v. 9 – “I am going to come to you.” God would be meeting the Israelites. His presence with them.

v. 10 – “consecrate them for two days” – there is always a need for people to be purified before they can be in the presence of God. “wash their clothes.”

v. 11 – “be ready by the third day b/c the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people”!

They were going to see God for themselves!

On the third day this revelation of God would happen – Just like the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.

V. 12 – “Put limits” – in the OT, there were restrictions; people could not be in God’s presence.

Jesus had not put away their sins. They were cleansed, but not purified. God’s plan at redemption, still at a distance.

Not so with the NT; we are purified, sins removed, and there is nothing left to keep us from God’s presence.

“do not go up the mountain” “or you shall be put to death.” People had no right, no authority, no claim to God. Despite their washing, they were still sinners worthy of death in the presence of holy God.

v. 16 – “thunder, lightning, thick cloud, loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.”

v. 18 – “the Lord descended on it in fire” – fire is a sign of the Lord’s presence.

“Smoke billowed up like a furnace.” “The whole mountain trembled violently.”

Exodus 20:18-21

v. 18 – “Thunder, lightning, trumpet, smoke,” so terrified at the ferocity of God, “they stayed at a distance.”

v. 19 – “speak to us yourself, but do not have God speak to us or we will die.” They were so terrified of God’s presence, his holiness and aware of their inability to stand in his presence. They asked Moses, “Mediate for us.” You speak to us.

There would be another mediator between God and man.

There would be another one to speak on God’s behalf to man, and represent man to God.

v. 21 – “the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached”

There would be another prophet who would boldly approach God’s presence.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 a prophecy about another prophet to come.

v. 15 – a prophet like [Moses] one of Abraham’s descendants – a brother.

v. 16 – quoting from Exodus 20 “let us not hear his voice or see his fire anymore or we will die.”

v. 17 – the Lord said, “what they say is good.”

Why is that good? Why is it good that they wanted a mediator?

B/c they needed a mediator, it was the plan of God all along.

Although the people didn’t know it, they were asking for Jesus Christ to mediate for them.

They needed someone who could stand in God’s presence – who could do that?

They needed someone who was able to stand in God’s holiness – who could do that? Only someone who was holy, who never sinned.

They needed someone who could relate to them – who could do that, a man, just like them.

They were asking for Jesus Christ.

They needed him desperately.

That was God’s plan all along – a mediator, redeemer, savior.

v. 18 – God would speak to us through him, and we will listen to him.

v. 19 – “if anyone does not listen… I myself will call him to account.”

Do you know him?

If you know him, do you know your need for him? Do you understand he still sits at the Father’s throne interceding for you? That’s right where I need him.

Mark 6:1-6 People who met God by way of this promised prophet.

v. 3 - Some people from his home town, though, knew his family, knew he grew up as a common laborer in a common family. They could not see him for who he was. They took offense at him.

There are people you know who don’t know Jesus as mediator. It will be a dreadful thing to meet God without Jesus.

v. 6 - “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Their unbelief amazed Jesus.

v. 2-3 – What a difference from facing God alone. Some people were amazed at his teaching. You should be amazed. This was the one who created all this, when he spoke, he spoke as one having authority.

Are you amazed? Or is this all too familiar?

Marvel at this. Meditate on it. In Jesus, we get to meet God.

He is the brother who would stand in the Father’s presence, speak to us on His behalf, and speak to God on our behalf.

Set aside some time today to let the Word of God wash over you. Read it, turn it over in your mind. Let it penetrate your heart and your consciousness.

Matthew 18:21-35

v. 21-22 – Peter must have felt that to forgive someone 7 times was extremely gracious.

v. 23 – A king settling accounts – God

v. 24 – “ten thousand talents” millions of dollars.

How bad was your sin? How big was the debt that had to be paid for your sin?

The size of your sin debt was horrendous and totally beyond your ability to pay.

To understand the size of your sin debt, look at Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

v. 25 – sold to repay the debt – not an uncommon practice – people and their families could be sold into slavery until a debt was repaid. We were sold as a slave to sin.

v. 26 – What did the servant have to pay off his master? Nothing. He resorted to pleading for his life.

v. 27 – Out of pity – He canceled his debt and let him go.

Jesus’ answer reveals that Peter completely missed it.

Jesus was not only telling about how we need to forgive each other, but also in this parable tells about his own work on the cross – that through Jesus’ sacrifice, sinners are forgiven completely.

In the OT, sins were covered over, but in the gospel, sin and guilt are completely removed.

Jesus’ sacrifice is that it brought complete forgiveness.

This was radically different from the OT sacrificial system.

This was separation of sin from sinner.

This was the guilty suddenly being proclaimed not just innocent, but righteous.

By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God forgave you – completely.

v. 28 – the forgiven servant finds a guy that owes him a few bucks and demands that his debt be paid.

Millions of dollars are owed to the king, but only a few bucks are owed to another servant.

Why the contrast?

Every sin you committed is a sin against God.

Psalm 51:3-5

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Sin is not serious just because it’s wrong.

Sin is serious because of whom you have sinned against.

Sin is serious because you have sinned against a ferociously holy God.

People in His presence cower in his sight because they were terrified of his holiness.

He is so completely different from us in this.

He is fearsome in holiness.

And you and I sinned against him.

v. 29-30 – You and I read this and know this isn’t right. This isn’t just.

When you realize how much you’ve been forgiven, you realize how ridiculous it is to hold onto unforgiveness.

When you realize the terrible cost that Jesus paid for your forgiveness, you realize how much you need to forgive.

You can only begin to forgive others by experiencing forgiveness yourself.

Are you holding onto unforgiveness in your heart?

• Are you waiting for someone to come say the words, “I’m sorry” or say it like they mean it.

• Are there people from your past you cannot think about without getting angry?

• Are you having conversations in your head with people?

Are you thinking, “I wish I would have said…” or “the next time I see them, I’m gonna say…”

In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.

When you’re having trouble forgiving, there can be a few things going on:

• You simply are not spending time with the Lord and in His Word and have forgotten the great work of love that Jesus died to bring you complete forgiveness.

Don’t make little of Jesus’ great sacrifice because you forgot the price that was paid for you.

(It is a dangerous thing to make light of the Jesus’ suffering and death.)

• You don’t understand the gospel – you think you’ve earned God’s forgiveness by being an exceptionally good person – better than all the other sinners.

Luke 7:41-47 He Who Is Forgiven Much Loves Much

Which of these two statements applies more to you?

"I am a great sinner."

"Christ is a great savior”

The first statement recognizes how far you and I are from God. It recognizes how sinful we are.

The second statement recognizes the deep love that God has for us demonstrated at the cross and how complete Christ’s work at the cross is.

We run into trouble when we don’t recognize that both are true.

“I am a great sinner, but Christ is a greater savior.”

Luke 6:37-42 Judging others forbidden

Why do we judge other people? – Tim Keller’s story about good and bad lies.

Why are we tempted to remove the speck from our brother’s eye and leave the plank in our own eye?

Because we have a tendency to develop for ourselves a standard by which we live.

We pick and choose from what the Bible teaches and decide these are important and develop our own system of morality. We ignore the stuff we’re not good at.

The natural tendency of the human heart is toward self-justification.

Luke 12:1-3 get rid of hypocrisy. Get rid of thoughts that you are good by what you do.

The only good in you and me is Jesus Christ. (Romans 7) “I know that nothing good lives in me.”

But following your own standards is just as bad as being stuck in sin – both will keep you from the power of the gospel.

Both sin and trying to follow your own standards are really ways of avoiding Jesus as savior.

Your self-justification is your attempt to avoid being completely reliant on Jesus for your goodness.

On one hand, the problem is that your sins have separated you from God.

On the other hand, the other problem is that the standards that you set up for yourself that prove that you’re good separate you from God as well.

If you strive to be good by your own standards, you are really resisting the gospel and setting yourself up as Savior." To "get the gospel" is turn from both sin and self-justification and rely on Jesus' record for a relationship with God.

If you don’t understand that your sin is dark and deep and even your righteousness is like filthy rags to God, then payment of the cross seem trivial and will not transform you.

If you don’t understand that the only way to be “good” is to rely on Christ's completely satisfying life and death, then you will try to deny and repress your own sin – which is hypocrisy.

Our problems come from a failure to apply the gospel in our lives. We have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not “used” the gospel in and on all parts of our life.

Richard Lovelace says that most people’s problems are just a failure to be oriented to the gospel--a failure to grasp and believe it through and through.

Luther says, "The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine....Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually." (Gal.2:14f)

The gospel is not easily comprehended for us. Paul says that the gospel only does its renewing work in us as we understand it in all its truth. All of us, to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not "get" all of it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel. A stage of renewal is always the discovery of a new implication or application of the gospel--seeing more of its truth. This is true for either an individual or a church.

Anything you do that makes you feel like a good person or a more acceptable or lovable person – that is self-righteousness. When you hold up these things and think, “I’m a good person and he/she isn’t.” That is when self-righteousness has a grip on you.

When you think you have to do certain things or God will not be pleased with you – that is self-righteousness. Get rid of it, it will keep you from the grace and power of the gospel to transform you.

When you think of yourself as more spiritual than other people because of what you do – that is self-righteousness. Get rid of it, it will keep you from the grace and power of the gospel to transform you.

When you find yourself comparing yourself to other people and discovering that you’re better than they are, that’s self-righteousness.

“When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12)

But, when you see the distance you are from God because of your great sin – and you see another human being in an even worse sin and you say, “there but by the grace of God go I” – that is Gospel.

When you see how very far you are from the holiness of God and say, “I am a great sinner.” But you also see the great work of forgiveness that God did on the cross of Jesus Christ, and say, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a greater savior.” – that is Gospel.

Hebrews 12:1-3

v. 1 – Witnesses “testifiers” or “martyrs”

What does sin do? It entangles you, keeps you from being able to run the race God has called you to. Throw it off. In fact, throw off anything that entangles you.

“A great cloud of witnesses” – that’s great in number, not that their faith was that great.

Even in imperfect faith, attempts to follow God, He rewarded them.

v. 2 – Fix your eyes on Jesus – He is the supreme witness who already ran the race, endured, persevered and overcame the hardship and suffering.

He is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Our faith began with Jesus, and will complete in him. He is the start and the end of the race.

v. 3 – Jesus suffered far more than we ever will.

Hebrews 2:10

10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Jesus suffering made him the perfect author of our salvation.

Hebrews 5:8-9

8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Jesus was not morally nor spiritually imperfect, but his incarnation was perfected when he suffered.

Jesus suffered to learn perfect obedience and to become the source of our salvation.

Hebrews 2:17-18

17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus suffering made him our perfect substitute, our great help, our compassionate high priest.

Hebrews 4:15

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Jesus willingly suffered to bring our salvation, to be our compassionate high priest.

CELEBRATE THE LORD’S TABLE

Hebrews 12:4-6

v. 5 – Do not lose heart because the Lord disciplines those He loves (6).

Love goes hand-in-hand with discipline.

Culture says love means no discipline.

Bible says if you don’t love your child enough to discipline him, you don’t love him.

v. 6 – Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.

Hebrews 12:7-11

v. 10 – God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

God allows suffering because it has a purifying affect on you.

v. 11 – No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

You do not suffer randomly or needlessly. There is a purpose for your suffering.

Suffering produces righteousness and peace in God’s people.

The promise of God in suffering:

Romans 8:18

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The glory that is coming for us shames the suffering that we face on earth.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

God’s promise for His people, His intent for us, even in suffering is for our good.

Hebrews is a book to Jewish believers at a time of hardship. The writer encourages them to hold firm to their faith, despite their circumstances.

He does this by affirming that Jesus Christ is absolutely supreme and sufficient as the revelation of God and as mediator of God’s grace. He uses the OT to show that Jesus is greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater than the high priesthood, and the sacrificial system.

Ultimately he writes that all prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the new covenant.

As Jesse pointed out last week, the book of Hebrews is full of the words “new,” “better,” and “superior.”

Throughout the OT the Israelites struggled to follow God.

God would work on their behalf, they would follow him for a time, then they would forget him and chase after idols.

Then they would repent, God would forgive them, show them mercy and they would follow Him – but only for a time. (Sound familiar?)

They had the Law; they had the prophets; they had priests, judges and kings, but they couldn’t remain faithful. Their hearts were broken, divided, and fickle.

But in the OT, about 2600 years ago, there was a beautiful prophecy by one of the prophets about a time when God would change their hearts. It’s quoted in our reading today.

Hebrews 8:3-6

v. 4 – as a descendant of the tribe of Judah, Jesus would not have been a priest in by his human birth.

But God appointed him as priest, the mediator between us and God.

v. 6 – The ministry of Jesus is superior to the ministry of the high priest.

He is mediator of a new covenant that is superior to the old one.

It is founded on better promises.

Hebrews 8:7-9 – Prophecy from Jeremiah 31 – the Restoration of Israel

v. 9 – the old covenant had a problem – people could not be faithful, so God turned from them.

Hebrews 8:10-13

v. 10 – “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”

What God wanted His people to do all along will become their own inner principles.

God’s law will become their delight.

We have all struggled to get this. We have all tried to set up rules, boundaries, goals to help us overcome sin or be more disciplined in our spiritual walk, only to fail over and over.

The issue is that external sin is the symptom.

If you treat the symptom and not the disease, it will pop up over and over again.

The issue is deep. Lust, anger, envy, control – they are all idolatry

Your sins show that you do not fully understand or do not fully accept of the Gospel.

The disease is a heart issue.

You can’t discipline yourself out of sin or into spiritual growth.

When I come home, sometimes I’ll cook or do laundry.

When my kids were smaller, when I got home from work, sometimes the kids would have misbehaved all day. I knew it was bad if Brenda was sitting on the front porch when I drove home.

I would discipline the kids and help out in the kitchen – why?

Because of love her. Not because she laid down some rules.

My love for her changed my heart and THAT changed my actions.

God says here, he’ll change our hearts.

You cannot flip a switch and say, “okay, now my heart is fully his.”

You can’t muster it. You need his help, the power of his Spirit to love, pray, serve, read.

Pray, plead, fast, ask to see more of God and to come more fully under his submission and power.

It’s painfully slow, but over months and years, you will see progress.

“I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

God and His people will have intimate fellowship.

v. 11 – “they will all know me.”

God would be known by His people. How?

Jesus “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Heb 1:3)

What would we learn about God? He is merciful, compassionate, loving, fully committed to the will of God.

“I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

God will forever forgive their sins. How?

“[Jesus] sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” (Heb 7:27e)

The goal is not that we would be good at following rules, but that God would remove our sins and change our hearts to love him.

The hope of the Gospel is that faithfulness to follow God flows from a love for God.

1 Peter 1:1-12

vv. 3-5 New birth and new life

vv. 6-9 Joy in the midst of suffering

vv. 10-12 Glory of salvation

v. 3 – “new birth” –Peter (and Jesus) use this radical term to describe what has happened in the life of the believer.

What has happened in the life of the believer is entirely new and different.

It is nothing short of a new life.

There is a decisive change. There is now in the believer a new and divine life.

Why do we have this new life? It is because of Gods’ great mercy.

By Christ’s great sacrifice and the power of God to resurrect him from the dead.

The result of this new birth is hope. Hope is not wishful thinking.

It is in view of the past that gives a certainty to the future. It has in mind the idea of waiting for something expected.

It is a living hope, meaning it is active and will be brought to reality.

It is a living hope, meaning it is made possible by Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

Believers will rise from the dead just as Christ did.

v. 4 – We also have hope of an inheritance.

Christians are said to be heirs and to inherit incredible riches: eternal life, glory with Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation.

Here, Peter is talking about the blessedness and glory of heaven of which the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a foretaste and a promise.

Our inheritance cannot perish – used of a land that was not ravaged by an enemy or beyond the reach of an enemy. It cannot be destroyed. It lasts forever.

Our inheritance can never spoil – it is not polluted or stained by sin; it is beyond the reach of evil and cannot be contaminated by it. It is pure and perfect.

Our inheritance cannot fade – The word was used of withering flowers. Time does not wear on it. Its beauty is does not fade. It remains precious and untouched.

Our inheritance is kept in heaven – It has the idea of being watched over and therefore safe. It is kept under God’s careful and omnipotent watch.

v. 5 Not only is the inheritance guarded by God, but believers too are kept safe.

The term shielded brings to mind a military protection, like people protected against an enemy by the fortified walls of a fort or a detachment of soldiers.

In this case, the protection is not a potentially breachable wall.

The protection here is the limitless power of God.

“Our faith” lays hold of God’s power, and His power strengthens our faith and we are preserved.

Salvation is a term that means rescue or deliverance.

Here it is a spiritual rescue. Peter uses it here to mean our complete and final salvation.

v. 6 “In this” meaning because of the new birth (hope, inheritance, and salvation) we have joy.

“greatly rejoice” is a word that means “to be full of joy,” “overjoyed,” even “leap for joy.”

This is a joy that exists in spite of grief, and that joy is even enhanced by grief.

The NT teaching of the union of suffering and joy is distinct to Christianity and is a contrast to how the world views suffering.

v. 8 – Our joy is inexpressible – human language is unable to adequately describe it. It is supreme joy.

Our joy is glorious – Christian joy has a touch of glory or heaven in the midst of trials.

Our joy is inspired by and is radiant with the glory that is yet to come.

Our joy comes from the fact we’ve been reborn into a living hope and

v. 9 - We are already receiving the goal of our faith: the salvation of our souls.

v. 6 “Trials” is “temptations” (KJV) can mean inward enticements or outward trials.

The word refers to adversities, afflictions, distresses.

Trials are diverse – all kinds (means “many-colored”).

Trials are “for a little while” – only while we live.

“You may have had to suffer” There is a need for trials.

Trials serve a purpose in the life of a believer.

They bring out a genuineness of our faith.

One day our genuine faith will bring praise, honor and glory.

Trials have a purpose in your life. They refine our precious faith.

Refining does away with what is impure, and leaves behind only the precious, pure metal.

This will result in us receiving praise, glory and honor – sharing with our savior his glory.

John 14:15-24

v. 15 – Love for Jesus results in obedience.

Not to be confused with our obedience results in God loving us.

v. 16 – The counselor – paraklete – one who stands beside as in a legal proceeding.

He is given to us as a gift, just like Jesus was a gift to us.

He will be with us forever. Jesus is departing, but the disciples can be comforted that they will not be abandoned.

v. 17 – He is the Spirit of truth – just as Jesus is the truth (v. 6).

“You know him” seems strange, since Jesus has yet to request the Spirit (v. 16; 16:7) and the disciples have not yet received the Spirit.

Jesus says this Paraclete will be in you. He already remains among them (v. 17; in the NIV “lives with you”). The Spirit is not absent before the glorification. Indeed, he is present "without limit" in Jesus (3:34) and must be at work in the disciples in order for them to have the faith and love that Jesus mentions (vv. 12, 15). But the Paraclete has not yet been sent to the disciples and received by them in the new way Jesus is opening up.

v. 18 – Only Jesus visible presence would be gone from them, but He would remain with them.

v. 19 – The phrase before long, comes from the Old Testament (Ps 37:10; 36:10; Is 10:25; 26:20; 29:17; Jer 51:33; 28:33; Hos 1:4; Hag 2:6), where it is used "to express optimistically the shortness of time before God's salvation would come".

“In a little while” – it really is only a matter of a few of days, until the salvation that is the beginning of the fulfillment of all the hopes will come. This salvation is a matter of life: Because I live, you also will live (v. 19). They will live because they will be united to him by the Spirit and thus come to share in the life of him who is resurrection and life.

The disciples would see Jesus – probably refers to his resurrection appearance.

v. 20 - The day referred to is the day of resurrection that inaugurates on earth new form of life, eternal life. The phrase on that day, like the phrase before long, echoes Old Testament hopes, for it is used 111 times in the Prophets to refer to the day of God's great acts of judgment and salvation. Here the salvation is expressed in terms of knowledge and union. The intimacy that exists between the Father and the Son has been the subject of Jesus' revelation. Jesus has called upon the disciples to accept this truth about him in faith (vv. 10-11), and now he promises that after the resurrection the disciples will come to realize it (gnosesthe), they will know it. Like faith, this knowledge is not just an intellectual grasping of a truth. It comes from a participation in the divine reality itself, for it is said they will share in that relationship because they will be in the Son and he in them. Thus, what was just said of the Paraclete (v. 17) is now said of the Son. The Son and the Paraclete will both indwell the disciples, key themes that will be developed in the rest of the farewell discourse.

This indwelling is what will enable them to accomplish the task of doing "greater things" (v. 12). What has been true of Jesus will now be true of them—not that they will become unique sons and daughters of God as Jesus is the "One and Only" (1:14, 18), but rather that they, continuing as creatures, will share in the divine life by being taken up into the Son, just as Jesus took up into himself humanity at his incarnation.

v. 21 - This union is not simply a matter of shared ideas or feelings but of. The love is reciprocal: He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him (v. 21). This verse does not deny the love God has for all shared life his creatures, but rather speaks of the fulfillment of that love in a qualitatively new way for those who are in the Son. Believers are those who "have entered into the same reciprocity of love that unites the Father and the Son"

Jesus says that he himself will love such a disciple and will show himself to him or her (v. 21). Thus, Jesus himself will remain in personal contact with his disciples. He may be departing, but he will remain in relationship with them although the relationship will exist in a new form

v. 23 - If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching (v. 23; or "keep my word," ton logon mou teresei). Jesus is referring not to simply holding onto his teaching, but to actually acting in accordance with it, as he himself has responded to the Father (v. 31). His teaching is not just interesting thoughts about God and the world. Rather, he has revealed God and opened the way to share God's own life. To obey his teaching is to adopt God's pattern of life. But the condition for such obedience is love for Jesus. The commands of Jesus are not a set of rules like a traffic code; they are a description of a pattern of life that reflects God's own life trans-posed into human circumstances. Love for Jesus involves both an attachment to him and a oneness with him and his interests, which naturally leads one to obey him and walk as he walked (1 Jn 2:6). One obeys what one loves. Indeed, our patterns of obedience reveal what we really love.

My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (v. 23). Instead of describing a spectacular theophany, Jesus speaks of dwelling with his disciples. The word for home (mone) is the same used earlier of the "rooms" in the Father's house (v. 2). The future intimacy in heaven will begin already here on earth. The great prophetic hope of a time when God would dwell with his people (Ezek 37:26-27; Zech 2:10) has come to pass in the incarnation and the dwelling Jesus here mentions.