A Living Wa

Greg Widrick

A Living Way and a Way of Living • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Hebrews 10:19–25

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Introduction

Welcome thank leadership here for sharing the pulpit this morning! and description of who I am, family, my church.

If you have a Bible, and I hope you do, turn to Hebrews 10 this morning

The title of my message this morning is A Living Way and a Way of Living

When I travel, I like to have a road map and a plan of how I want to get there. Sometimes it doesn’t work out as perfect as I had planned. Weather, accidents, traffic, construction all can get in the way of my roadmap! This morning I want to lay out for you the roadmap of this message, with the intent that I am going to allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt that plan if or when He sees fit!

The road map is this. I want to look at how Jesus is our Living Way and 3 specific commands that the author of Hebrews is giving to his readers that show us how, because of Jesus, that Living Way becomes a way of living!

So with that said lets all stand together in honor of the reading of Gods Word this morning!

Hebrews 10:19–25 (ESV)

In March of 2020 we all experienced a totally new way of living! That was when our country and lives were pretty much shut down because of this new virus called COVID 19.

Each and everyone of us, whether we liked it or not, had to adapt in some aspect to this new way of living with uncertainty. We were not allowed to do certain things, we were not allowed to go to restaurant or public places, people all across the world began wearing masks for the first time.

It was a new way of living. Now I can say with confidence that I’m glad that is starting to get put behind us, but for a while we didn’t know when or IF this was going to be over.

Most of us were forced to live very differently than we did before.

In our text today, the author of Hebrews, makes it VERY clear that a person who is going to claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, WILL BE DIFFERENT AND WILL LIVE DIFFERENT.

That Our lives are changed when we find ourselves living a new way!

How does all this play out?

Well in our text that we read this morning, it starts right off in vs 19 with the word “therefore”.

And, when we see the word therefore, we need to understand what it is THERE FOR!

This word is a transition! In the original language it means “so then” You see up to this point the author has been establishing something throughout his writing

In chapters 1 and 2 we see that Jesus is supreme and has superiority over the angels

In Chapters 3-4 we see that Jesus is superior to Moses and Joshua

Then in Chapters 4-10 the author shows his readers how Jesus is superior to the high priest and any of the sacrifices that can be given.

It is said in chapter 8 that Jesus is the great high priest that is seated at the right hand of the father

So in light of all this building up of who Jesus is, showing how this Jesus is not only superior in authority to everyone else who came before and after him, but also was the perfect sacrifice and now the great high priest, the author makes a transition.

This transition IS VITAL to us! Because from this point on the book moves from head knowledge to ACTION!

So essentially what this little word therefore is saying is “NOW THAT THE CRUCIAL POINTS OF WHO JESUS IS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, HERE IS WHAT YOU DO WITH IT!

Church, there is so much in that little word therefore for us today!

Because if we in our own personal lives don’t have a therefore put in it, we will only ever have a head knowledge of Jesus

I’m not bashing have a head knowledge of Jesus, but it HAS TO GO DEEPER!

There needs to be action taken BECAUSE of that knowledge!

And the author of Hebrews knows that as well.

So after that word therefore, we see our first, and what I believe is the most crucial of points in this message, and that is that Jesus is our

1. Living Way

I am going to read vs 19-21 to you out loud and I want you to catch all the temple imagery that is found in here

Hebrews 10:19–21 (ESV)

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

Did you catch them all? Holy places, curtain, high priest, house of God

All of this points back to the temple worship that these readers would have known so well!

You see, in the temple worship structure only once a year the high priest would go into the holy of holies, the place in the temple where the physical presence of God was residing, to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel.

Now to do this, there were strict requirements and rules that the high priest needed to make sure happened. If time Read Leviticus 16, if not have them read it themselves.

Now remember in the established way of doing this , ONLY the high priest is allowed to go behind that curtain! UNTIL NOW!

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

Because of the AMAZING sacrifice of Jesus we not only can enter the holy place of God, but we can have complete confidence or boldness when doing so!

Because of JESUS! This NEW AND LIVING WAY!

Now this word “new” in the Greek, “prosphatos”, doesn’t actually mean what we think of as new.

Differences between a brand new car and a “new” used car. My van was a “new“ car to us, but it wasn’t new at all. 32,000 miles on it. Work Truck. Brand NEW, I put the only miles on it.

This word “prosphatos” actually gives the idea of something that is brand new but then was FRESHLY KILLED!

This new and living way came because Jesus, a new person (none like him before or after), was freshly killed, to offer a completely new way to access the father!

The text goes on at the end of vs 20 and then into 21 telling us this!

That he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

The high priest needed to pass through a heavy curtain, 30’ high and wide with a thickness of about 4”.

This seperated the people from the presence of God.

Jesus replaced the curtain with his sacrifice.

No longer did only one person get to go behind the curtain to speak with God, but because of this freshly killed savior, we ALL have the ability to do so!

Church this concept is the GOSPEL! Jesus, the perfect sinless one was freshly killed on our behalf to offer us a new and LIVING way to the father!

Do you know this Jesus? Has HIS blood been applied to your sins? Because if not the rest of this sermon is NOT going to work.

You see if you are not redeemed by the blood of Jesus and a believer, then trying to live as a believer, will only produce a works based salvation that will leave you being the most moral person in hell. Read again!

Friends, this new and living way is not just a good idea, but it is the ONLY way. If your here today and are not a follower of Jesus, I urge you to make that of the highest priority!

Now, to those of us that have surrendered their lives to the love and Lordship of Jesus, we know that with that surrender comes action.

Right! We don’t encounter Jesus and nothing changes.

So what are those things that change in our lives because of this new and living way?

How does this affect our everyday life?

You see, knowing Jesus as the Living Way will also change our Way of Living

Something will be different in us that DIRECTLY effects our daily life.

The first way we see in this text, is that it effects our way of living because we

1. Desire Fellowship With God

Hebrews 10:22 (ESV)

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

As believers walking in a new and living way, we not only have access to God, but we DESIRE IT!

The phrase ”let us draw near” is actually 1 word in the Greek language, but it is a verb that is in the present tense, first person

which means it is an action that ONLY we can do and is in a constant state of being, meaning it is always happening.

In fact to illustrate what this word means, turn to Mark 6:30-34

The same greek root word is used in this text.

Mark 6:30–34 (ESV)

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Vs 33 is exactly what is meant by drawing near to God in Hebrews 10:22.

It is the picture of us running to be with Jesus!

We draw near to God because we desire to have intimate fellowship with Him

The picture of the crowds running to get there ahead of Jesus just to hear him and be with him, is a beautiful picture of our desire to spend time with God!

A non believer will not have that desire. In fact it doesn’t take long to see that their desire is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE!

They run FROM God!

There seems to be a consistent push from secular society to remove God and His Word from everything they can.

They want nothing to do with Him, but not believers!

We want MORE of God and our deep desire is to be closer to him!

Now, What separates us from the non believer? Why do we desire intimacy with God and they don’t?

Our text tells us because we have our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Church, because of Jesus blood, and only because of that, we can desire to be with God.

Our sin Has been dealt with, and God can see us, in His Son, as pure.

In Genesis 3 we see an account of the effects of sin on a persons relationship to God.

Explain. They HID from God. They didn’t want intimate, deep relationship with their creator! Sin had caused a separation, in Romans 5 Paul tells us that the separation from God has come to ALL men! But that through Jesus that desire to have communion with God can be restored

So brothers and sisters, yes it is easy to get frustrated with the world and their rejection of God, but I ask you today, What do you expect?

A non believer is predisposed to run from God. It’s a natural response to a holy God when our sin right there!

But as believers, we desire a deep fellowship with God, and when He shows us something that we need to change in our lives; pride, jealousy, hatred, fear, anger, a lack of trust in Him, or whatever it may be, our response is to RUN TO our loving Father and change those things

So our way of living is changed because we Desire Fellowship with God

The second effect that following this new and living way has on our way of living is we

2. Have Hope

Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

C.S. Lewis said this “ Hope is a continual looking forward to the eternal world” I LIKE THAT!

Church, we live in a day and age where it is VERY evident who has hope and who doesn’t.

Now, this point flows directly from the previous one.

Because we desire and have fellowship with God, we have hope!

Now this hope that we have is VERY different than any other hope that is out there!

If your hope was in your Bank account or job, the last couple of years has effected that hope ALOT!

If your hope is in your political leaders, then I’m sorry to say that you are going to VERY DISAPPOINTED! Even if you voted for them!

If your hope is in the freedom we have here in this country, then where will it be if it is ever taken away?

Even if your hope is in your pastors, you will be disappointed! Now I dearly love Roland, Mike, and Micah! But even they can’t provide a hope that is lasting!

When times are tough, people begin to look anywhere for relief. Apparently, many Americans are looking toward state lotteries. “Twenty-five of 42 states with lotteries have experienced higher sales of scratch-off and daily lottery games since July 2008, according to Scientific Games.” We are gambling millions of dollars on the hope that we can hit the jackpot and end our financial concerns.

So how do we measure what is worth putting our hope and trust in?

The question you need to do is ask yourself WHO is the one offering the hope and HOW do they guarantee it?

When it comes to earthly hope, there is no one or no way that they can guarantee hope.

Everything that this life offers us is empty and flawed.

The ONLY HOPE THAT WE HAVE THAT WILL NOT DISAPPOINT US IS JESUS!

The one who is offering hope to us is PERFECT And trustworthy! And The guarantee is straight from The one who CANNOT break His promises

In fact the verse says for he who promised is faithful.!

So when Jesus says in John 14:1-4

John 14:1–4 (ESV)

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

He means it and will keep that promise!

Brothers and Sisters, there is NO ONE on this PLANET that should have MORE HOPE THAN US!!

It is the essence of who we are and why we live the way we do!

And in actuality this word hope truly means EXPECTATION!

We live with an expectation that this isn’t all there is!

Paul addressed this in

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 (ESV)

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Church there is a hope that goes beyond this life! IF WE TRULY BELIEVE THIS IT WILL RADICALLY CHANGE HOW WE LIVE!

We will move from fear to faith, from hatred to love, from worrying to confidence, and most of all from uncertainty to expectation!

A person walking in the new and living way will have a way of living that desires fellowship with God, Has hope, and Lastly

3. Desires Fellowship With the Body

The writer of Hebrews says this in Hebrews 10:24-25

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Now, just as we saw earlier, there is a connection to each of these points.

The first way of living starts with a desire for intimacy with God, then because of the intimacy we have, we have hope, and because we have intimacy with God and a hope that is secure, we desire to be with other people that share those same things!

These verses have 3 commands in them

1. To Stir Each Other Up

This phrase is a very interesting one, if translated literally it means to stimulate strongly or incite a riot.

That’s the kind of intensity that is meant when we are to stir each other up, but its not used as a negative connotation.

In fact, we are told to stir each other up to love and good works!

In other words, as a BODY of believers here, you are to incite a riot in this church of love and good works towards each other.

Now, please don‘t take what I said literally! Im sure the leadership here wont ever let me back if you start a literal riot!

But the analogy is there! When someone incites a riot they provoke each other with a PASSION and a UNITY for the same cause.

Such is true in the church! How are you doing at loving your brothers and sisters? How are you doing at doing good works for each other?

The command is clear, if we are going to live in community with each other, then we have a responsibility to each other to love, A CHOICE, each other and to SERVE each other.

The second command is also very clear

2. Meet Together

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some

A father was showing his young son through a church building when they came to a plaque on the wall. Curious, the little boy asked, “Daddy, what’s that for?” His father replied, “Oh, that’s a memorial to those who died in the service.” The little boy said, “Which service, Daddy, the morning or the evening?”

People have a thousand reasons to stay away from church. This is not a new problem.

The early Jewish church had had a fall-off in attendance due to persecution, apostasy, and arrogance.

Today we can find every reason under the sun to stay home from the gathering together!

Tired, watch it online, worship isn’t that good, pastor isn‘t that good, visiting pastor isn’t that good, to nice out, to nasty out, you NAME IT!

We can find all sorts of excuses, UNTIL we read Gods Word and it says NOT TO NEGLECT TO MEET TOGETHER!

Brothers and sisters, there is no other place that I would rather be on Sunday than right here!

As we looked at before the, the only way to stir each other up to love and good works is to be present at church! You can’t do that if your not here.

There is a concept out there that you can be a Christian and not go to church.

Maybe ill get in trouble for this but, when I read scripture and read in the Old Testament how God designed a tabernacle and temple for people to gather together to worship, and when I read in the New Testament of a synagogue built for people to gather together and to worship, and when I read in the epistles that were written to groups of believers who gathered together to worship, and when I read in those epistles that we are not to forsake the meeting together, I DONT SEE HOW YOU CAN CALL YOURSELF A CHRISTIAN A BLATANTLY DISOBEY GODS WORD!

There is to much in the inspired, inerrant Word of God, for me to think someone can do this on purpose!

Church, we don’t do this because its fun, although it may be

We don’t do this because our friends or family is here, although they may be

We don’t do this because we are supposed to, although we are

WE DO THIS BECAUSE GOD SAYS TO!!

And it is out of a love a submission to Him that we come to worship and glorify HIS name and to serve and love each other within the body

That’s why we meet together. Lets not neglect this!

The 3 command is

3. To Encourage Each Other

Friends, the day is coming, when Jesus will return. Until that point we are called to encourage each other.

We are called to build each other up. Be there for each other.

Roman soldiers. One person with a weak and beaten up shield, move him to the back and the rest surround him to protect

That’s what we are to do. Encourage each other!

Do it audibly, tell someone you are there for them.

Do it subtly, send some flowers anonymously

Do it in deed, help someone in the church who is struggling

Do it in words, write someone a letter to encourage them

A Sunday school class was concerned about one member’s mother, who was in the hospital. The teacher suggested that each child sign a get-well card to send the mother and write a Bible verse after his name. The children all started thumbing through their Bibles, looking for verses. One little boy opened his Bible and made his selection—Matthew 5:26: “Truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.”

As cute and funny as that is, take the time to brighten someone’s day.

It’s hard out there, friends, lets be a church here that is a reprieve from that

Conclusion

To wrap all this up, this message has been completely linear today.

It all followed a specific order.

1. You have to be part of the New and Living Way!

2. If you are then you will Desire Fellowship With God

3. Then you will Have Hope

4. Finally because of all the other pieces in place, you will Desire Fellowship With the Body

But It all starts with Jesus! HE is the reason for everything!

Pray

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