Breaking free from our Disappointments

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Good morning, today we are finishing up our series in the book of Hebrews. And we are going to be talking about breaking free from our disappointments..
All of us have been disappointed at some point in our lives. And it starts early on in our lives..
Pam shared this post on FB recently… these kids didn’t get something they wanted—
Mom couldn't fix his cracker!
The muffins didn't come out of the oven cold
Dinner was late
Microwave ate his lunch
She couldn't have more bacon...I feel her Pain… that’s reasonable.
What is disappointment?
The sadness experienced when people or circumstances do not fulfil our expectations.
Disappointment is the gap between our expectation and the actual..or realized...
Psychiatrists have a name for it they call it "The Paris Effect."
In (2015) there was an article in The Wall Street Journal explained: "It was Dr. Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, who first identified the syndrome in the 1980s, which often affects women … who arrive expecting an affluent and friendly European capital where slim, beautiful Parisians walk around smelling of Chanel."
Instead, they find pavements peppered with cigarette butts and aggravated commuters in packed metro trains
A biblical definition of disappointment is found in proverbs— It call disappointment - Hope Deferred - or Hope postponed...
Proverbs 13:12 ESV
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
What about our Personal disappointments?
There are number of reasons that can cause us to be disappointed..some of us don’t have to go to far in our thoughts to find the things that have disappointed us. We can be.
Disappointed by People and Circumstances
Disappointment because of our failure.
Disappointment because we didn’t understanding God’s purpose.
The good news is regardless what is causing your disappointment… You don’t have to stay there..
The book of Hebrews is not written to a group of people who have got it all together…These are people who have been shaken by life. The problems and the difficulties and the sufferings and the persecutions have just shaken them to the core. In every Chapter of Hebrews the author/ preacher is trying to help his readers find ways to face the realities of life without melting down, find ways to stand solid when everything around them is shaking and falling apart.
The author lifts their perspective.. by skilfully makes contrasts between the two covenants — the Old Covenant of Law and New Covenant of Grace..
The author sights one of the biggest Blunders made in Scripture… Esau..
We are told of Esau who was first in line to receive the blessing of the Abraham… the Abrahamic Covenant...but unfortunately Esau despised his Birth Right… Instead of seeing embracing the blessings that God had often him he was not interested in the things of God… And it wasn’t too long before an opportunity came his way to sell out…one day when Esau came home from the hunt --- he was famished and his brother Jacob offered him a bowl of soup in exchanged for the Birth Right… In one moment he made the exchange... He exchanged temporary for the eternal…
Esau did come to his senses and thought he could still get the blessing... but he lost out because the blessing already been given to his brother Jacob... Esau lived with regret and disappointment…
Hebrews 12:17 ESV
For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
He sought the blessing with tears it was too late… Esau missed out on God’s best…
Now —Esau’s life ended with Regret… but this no longer has to be the narrative under the New Covenant…
The narrative of our life can Change because we have come to a different place it’s no longer law but to the Kingdom of Grace.. lets read our text.
Inspiration
Hebrews 12:18–24 ESV
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
How do we break free from our disappointment?

1. Delve into what God offers us in His present Kingdom

Instruction
The scene described in this passage comes from Exodus 19. As the Israelites were camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, God was preparing the nation for receiving his Ten Commandments. God commanded that no one, not even an animal, should touch the mountain under penalty of death…
Verse 18 is a negative propositional sentence You have not come to what can be touched…
When God Spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai it was an awesome Scene.. It was shock and awe kind of experience where God coming down in 4 D and engaging in all the senses.
There was a blazing fire engulfed the top half of the mountain… which symbolized the presence of God … There was a loud trumpet blast that caused the people to tremble… The Israelites feared and begged that Moses be the Lone Mediator -they thought they would die if God spoke to them directly… At Sina God is viewed as one who was distant.. unapproachable.. A God was to feared whom required a mediator..
Sinai is a description of the old covenant - We see the Awesomeness of God… God is a Consuming Fire…Sinai represented an impersonal God who Could not be touched..… The preacher tells us — but you have not come to to this Mountain… If that is where you are standing — you are on the wrong mountain… God is not out to get you.. God is not to be feared in the sense where he is unapproachable.
We have not come to Mt Sinai but to Mount Zion! - we belong to a spiritual spiritual Kingdom.. WE have come to a new community and a new relationship with God, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem---
Hurst writes, “Christians have certainly ‘come’ to it (and ‘received’ it , but only through faith, a faith which grasps the future as though it were the present
Zion was the the center of Jerusalem… the part of the city that capture Davids heart the Mountain that became the site of great temple…The New Temple..
Mount Zion represents a new community and a new relationship with God, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
It is the place where God lives in Glory and invites his people to share in his glory.
Here believers live with God and can worship him without reserve.
In the present Kingdom where Christ now reigns…
Instead of fear and dread....It is a Kingdom that meets us at a deep level… where Sinai distanced us from God… we have been brought near through the blood Christ… In Christ’s kingdom we come boldly to the throne of grace — We have come to the City of the living God where God meet our need in a very real way..
We have Arrived at a Kingdom of God… Eternal Kingdom where Christ Reigns… he has put everything under his feet… and our need meets Christs provision...
The way that we avoid disappointment… Is to know what kind of Kingdom we are in.. The contrasts between Mt. Sinai and Mt Zion help us...Sinai God is at a distance --- At Mt Zion… God is experience personally…
The struggle with disappointments…affect everyone.. doesn’t matter who you are...
Illustration
Celebrity chef, writer, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, wore a tattoo on his arm that read in ancient Greek, "I am certain of nothing," — We got the sad news that committed suicide just a few months ago in June at the age of 61. In an interview for Men's Journal from 2014, Bourdain was asked: What are the benefits of hedonism, and what are the risks?
Bourdain replied, "Look, I understand that inside me there is a greedy, gluttonous, lazy, hippie—you know? I understand that. … there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, and smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons, and old movies. I could easily do that. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy. … I'm aware of my appetites, and I don't let them take charge."
When asked: How should a man handle regret? And what's your biggest regret?
Bourdain replied, "Regret is something you've got to just live with, you can't drink it away. You can't run away from it. You can't trick yourself out of it. You've just got to own it. I've disappointed and hurt people in my life, and that's just something I'm going to have to live with. … You eat that guilt and you live with it. And you own it. You own it for life."
How do we break free from our Disappointments?
Delve into what God offers us in His present Kingdom.
Hebrew Christians no longer lived in the Old Testament dispensation, centred on Mount Sinai, but in the New Testament era, centred on Mount Zion.
We have arrived at a Kingdom that gives us Hope.. a kingdom that meet our greatest innermost needs.
Application
Mt Zion meets our need for Intimacy - we are wired for relationship.. God who is a community himself created us in his image… we are created us for community.....not superficial but real relationships.
Our need for intimacy is the need to know and to be known…Mt Sinai God is to be avoided.. they wanted to shut off his voice.. contrast between impersonal and the personal.. God. W
we have come to Mt. Zion where.
Christ Reign meets our need for Hope..(purpose)
We have hope because we come the city of the Living God. Christianity is all about resurrection… we come to a living God.. who offers abundant life.
Christ Reign meets our need for Our need for lasting Joy (fulfillment)
Picture of angels gathered in festival with all those believers who are now in heaven who are rejoicing…Kingdom of God is marked by celebration...this phrase joyful assembly is a very unusual Greek word that really means an incredibly wild party. It’s very weird for it to be used here. A celebration. A festival. A rejoicing. A wild revelry of joy.
Romans 14:17 ESV
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We have come to Mount Zion where
Our need for Forgiveness has been met through Christ’s atonement...
vrs 24 (we have come) to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
In Christ’s atonement we find the blood which calls, not for vengeance as Abel’s did (Genesis 4:10), but for the full pardon and cleansing
Christ blood able to forgive completely — a better word than the blood of Abel…
. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance; Christ’s blood speaks a “better word,” calling all people to repentance. Christ’s death brought peace and hope. Christ’s blood brought the end of the old covenant and sealed the new one.
T/s We have great hope because when you receive the Kingdom it’s not temporal..but an eternal Kingdom… In this Kingdom we don’t shut our ears but we listen for his voice.
Hebrews 12:25–27 ESV
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
T/s How do we break free from our disappointment?
1. Delve into what God offers us in His present Kingdom

2. Differentiate Between what People say and What God is saying.

We need to be careful to the voices that we Listen too.
Steven Furtick -
The voice you believe will determine the future you experience. Steven Furtick.
Here we have a warning of those who fail to discern the things that are eternal from the things that are temporal…
The reason we should pay attention to Gods word is that his word speaks to the eternal …
The text tell us that there will be a day when things— on earth and in heaven…will be shaken... heavenlyquake… Eschatologically speaking it could refer to Revelations 21 speaks of a new heavens and new earth… earth as we know it will have a radical change…
Heaven and earth alike must be ‘shaken’ in such a way that everything transient, temporary, secondary and second-rate may fall away…
The only thing that remains is God’s Word… endures forever..
Here is the Warning.. that..
If people who refused to listen to Moses found themselves in dire trouble, what will happen if people now refuse to listen to one who is so much greater than Moses?
God is still awesome… Our God is a Consuming fire...
It isn’t that God has stopped being holy. God hasn’t changed a bit… the way we approached Him has changed..
illustration
four or five years ago we were sitting in an overseers meeting and the room began to move… for several seconds… first earthquake I have experienced… When I got home I asked if the family had felt the tremor… It so happened at the exact time the tremor had happened Pam had lost her temper with the children and sent the kids to the room… So..The kids said they thought they felt something but they just assumed it was mom losing it!
Application
We belong to an unshakeable Kingdom… when everything fails Gods Kingdom will continue…with this comes the responsibility of listen..
Hebrews began with the words
Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
God is speaking to us today through His Word and His providential workings in the world.
What is required from those who belong to the New Community is that we are a listening community.
If God shook things at Sinai and those who refused to hear were judged, how much more responsible are we today who have experienced the blessings of the New Covenant!
God today is shaking things. Just have a look our world and you will see that things that we would
He wants to tear down the “scaffolding” and reveal the unshakable realities that are eternal.
When we feel unsure about the future, we can take confidence from these verses. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed. Don’t put your confidence in what will be destroyed; instead, build your life on Christ and his unshakable Kingdom --
When you think about consuming fire…
God reigns over and will destroy everything that is temporary. Everything that is imperfect and bound by time will end. Only the new covenant and those who are part of it will survive
T/s We respond to this Kingdom
Hebrews 12:28–13:7 ESV
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
How do we break free from our disappointment?

3. Determine to live out Kingdom principles from the place of wholeness.

We come to the end of the book of Hebrews and the whole letter has been how God has guided and led his people from the early days of the old covenant through fulfilment in Jesus… We are encouraged that we have better promises… God spoke through prophets --- He now speaks through his Son… and Jesus is greater than Moses and greater than the Priesthood… From Zion we have a different perspective of God and grace… Such knowledge should lead is into living out the Kingdom in real ways… it should impact several areas...
The preacher says therefore we have received a kingdom that can not be shaken…therefore this should cause us to respond…
We are to Worship with Awe
“let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” -
This is corporate collective worship — let us together worship — the phrase let us comes up 14 times in the book of Hebrews…
hebrews 4 Let us strive to enter his rest.
let us hold fast to our confidence
let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace
Heb 6 let us leave elementary doctrines
Heb 10 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (10:22).
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (10:23)
Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deads.
Heb 12 :1 let us lay aside every weight that holds us back
let us run with endurance the race set before us.
LET US OFFER ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP!
We are love those in the fellowship of believers Hebrews 13:1 (ESV)
The early Christians faced persecution and hatred from the world; hopefully, within the church and in the fellowship of believers, they should be able to find love and encouragement. The church ought to be a haven for believers.
Hospitality strangers and prisoners
honor Marriage - the marriage bed… These are hot topics to day… talk about definition of Marriage…
Believers had a responsibility to give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. This would include promises to love continually, to remain faithful in thought, attitude, and action, and to support and provide for each other.
Set free from the love of money - money is never the issue --- it’s been obsessed with money and possessions... Trusting God for provision..
Conclusion.
How do we break free from Disappointments? WE need to start at the right Mountain..
When were in NH last month we got climb up Mount Major..1700 feet above sea level - It took a couple hours to get to the top but then we were rewarded with this amazing view over lake Winopasakee… The view is amazing…
When you see life from this view it changes your perspective…
The author tells us that we have come to Mt Zion the Kingdom of the living God that cannot be shaken and when we embrace this kingdom it leads to a life -
If we are struggling with disappointments.. we are probably lookin on the wrong Mountain… If you are standing on Sinai — you seeing a God who is distant impersonal...
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