Introduction:
Because of My Confidence in Jesus... (Hebrews 10:19-25):
- I can Draw Near to Him in Faith . (Heb 10:19-22)
- I can Hold Fast to His Word in Hope . (Heb 10:23)
- I can Build Up His People in Love . (Heb 10:24-25)
- By stirring others up to Holy and Selfless Living . (Heb 10:24)
Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another.
- By refusing to Neglect My Church Family . (Heb 10:25a)
- By choosing to Be an Encourager Instead of a Critic . (Heb 10:25b)
Proverbs 27:6 - Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
- By stirring others up to Holy and Selfless Living . (Heb 10:24)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:03-01:08
It may come as a complete and utter shock to all of you, but I wasn't exactly a ladies man in middle school and high school.
01:10-01:11
I'm just as shocked as you are, right?
01:12-01:16
I would have crushes on girls, but they wouldn't have crushes on me.
01:16-01:22
I never once received a note from a girl in class or passed one of those notes with the check mark boxes.
01:22-01:23
You know what I'm talking about, right?
01:23-01:24
I have a picture for you if you don't remember that.
01:25-01:27
I like you a lot, do you like me back?
01:27-01:29
Yes, no, or the worst option, maybe.
01:31-01:35
I just always assumed the answer was gonna be no, so I just saved myself some time and paper.
01:36-01:39
My main issue was confidence.
01:39-01:46
I wasn't confident in who I was, I wasn't confident in my ability to talk to a girl without putting my big foot in my mouth.
01:47-01:49
So I went into college without ever having a girlfriend.
01:50-01:55
Now looking back, I'm very thankful for that in retrospect, but didn't feel great at the time.
01:55-02:00
And during my junior year of college, where I met my wife Kate, and I liked her right off the bat.
02:01-02:05
But I wasn't confident in how she felt about me.
02:06-02:10
Thankfully, she texted my friend Billy and told him that she had a crush on me.
02:11-02:14
And like a good friend, he actually shared the text message with me and showed me.
02:15-02:18
And I'll never forget how I felt in that moment as long as I live.
02:18-02:22
I felt a huge rush of confidence.
02:22-02:30
I felt like Rocky Balboa in the first movie, he's ascending those steps with his arms up, or in Rocky Ford, he ascends the mountain, you know what I'm talking about, right?
02:31-02:32
Drago, Drago!
02:33-02:38
Maybe not that intense, but I still felt a sense of confidence.
02:38-02:45
And I felt in that moment, I can actually ask her out on a date, I can actually talk to her, I can do this.
02:47-02:49
You ever had a moment like that in your life?
02:50-02:56
That eye of the tiger moment when you realize I can actually do something that I never thought I could do before.
02:57-03:09
Maybe it had to do with a romantic situation like me, or maybe it had to do with a huge project at work that you never thought you could accomplish on your own, but someone swooped in at the last minute to offer you the assistance that you needed.
03:09-03:11
You realize, I can do this, I can pull this off.
03:12-03:15
Or maybe you bit off more than you could chew with a household project.
03:16-03:18
And you're like, how am I ever gonna get this done?
03:18-03:26
But then, you find the exact right YouTube video to exactly what you need done, and you're filled with a rush of confidence.
03:27-03:30
In these moments you feel, I can do this, this is possible.
03:32-03:44
This morning I hope and pray that we are all filled with a similar confidence in regard to the Christian life, and living in obedience to who God has called us to be, and what he has called us to do.
03:45-03:50
To be clear, I'm not saying that you can do this on your own, in your own power, because you cannot.
03:51-03:55
I don't want you to be puffed up with a self-centered pride in yourself and your own ability.
03:55-03:59
That's not gonna get you very far and you're gonna fall flat on your face.
04:00-04:08
Instead, I want you to be filled with a rock-solid confidence in Jesus Christ and what he has already done for you.
04:08-04:10
He lived the perfect life you couldn't live.
04:11-04:15
He died on the cross to save you from the power and penalty of sin.
04:15-04:24
He rose again to give you new life and he has given you the Holy Spirit to live within you, to empower you, to live the Christian life.
04:25-04:33
As followers of Christ, we shouldn't lead lives of prideful independence, but we also shouldn't lead lives of defeat either.
04:34-04:45
In Hebrews 10, verses 19 through 25, we are called to lead lives of confident obedience that are powered by the person and work of Jesus Christ.
04:46-04:57
Without Him, we can accomplish nothing of value, but with Him, we can accomplish awesome things for His glory, other people's good, and our own personal development.
04:58-05:09
So let's read the first few verses of our passage this morning and begin to unpack what confidence in Jesus can embolden us to think, to say, and to do.
05:10-05:11
Verses 19 through 22.
05:12-05:23
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh.
05:24-05:39
And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
05:40-05:46
So we're outlining for this morning, because of my confidence in Jesus, I can draw near to him in faith.
05:46-05:51
I can draw near to him in faith.
05:53-06:02
You know, over the past two months or so, we've talked a lot about the tabernacle, the temple, and the reality that Jesus is the great and final high priest.
06:02-06:05
And if you've been here every single week, you might be thinking, "Okay, Pastor Taylor.
06:05-06:07
"Okay, Pastor Jeff, I get it, I get it.
06:08-06:15
"You don't need to keep repeating it over and over again." Well, the author of Hebrews repeats it over again, So obviously we need to hear it.
06:16-06:25
This is awesome and glorious truth that should have blow us away and draw us to our knees and worship every single time that we hear it.
06:27-06:36
As a refresher, there was a veil, there was a curtain in the tabernacle and later the temple that separated the holy place from the most holy place of the holy of holies.
06:37-06:38
And what was in the holy of holies?
06:39-06:41
The Ark of the Covenant.
06:41-06:46
And on the mercy seat of the Ark was where God's glory dwelled for years.
06:47-06:53
And once a year, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.
06:54-07:01
This thick curtain represented the massive divide between a holy God and imperfect humanity.
07:02-07:05
Sin bars us from a relationship with God.
07:05-07:11
And we need someone to go through that curtain in our place and on our behalf.
07:12-07:17
For years, it was the high priest who represented the people of Israel before their God.
07:18-07:25
But no matter how many times the various high priests went through that curtain, it still stayed up whenever they left.
07:27-07:36
But when Jesus Christ, the great and final high priest, died upon the cross, the heavy veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
07:39-07:46
As Jesus' flesh was torn apart, So was the dividing curtain that kept us from God.
07:47-07:52
The blood of animals allowed the high priest to go in quickly into the presence of God.
07:52-08:02
They need to make a hasty exit, while the perfect blood of Jesus permanently opened up the way for those who place their faith and trust in him.
08:03-08:08
The high priest had to pass through a cloth curtain to enter into the earthly holy of holies.
08:09-08:17
while we pass through the curtain of Jesus' torn flesh to enter into the heavenly holy of holies, into the presence of God forever.
08:19-08:31
That old way is dead, it's gone, but we're told in this passage that Jesus opened up a new and living way in himself that can never ever be closed.
08:33-08:48
In light of this, the author of Hebrews strongly urges us to 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.
08:49-08:54
The priests had to constantly wash themselves in the service of the tabernacle and the temple.
08:54-08:58
They would sprinkle animal blood on things as a sign of cleansing.
08:58-09:03
But this cleansing by water and by animal blood was symbolic and external.
09:03-09:11
It couldn't really solve the problem of our hearts, the problem of our sin, but the blood of Jesus poured out changes everything.
09:12-09:17
We have been sprinkled and washed clean from every sinful blemish.
09:19-09:31
Our distorted consciences that were bent towards Satan, sin, self, and shame have been righted and we are now new creations with new hearts, new affections, new desires.
09:33-09:42
All of these awesome truths should motivate us drawn near to God with full assurance, with full confidence, whenever and wherever.
09:43-09:47
Do you truly believe that God wants to hear from you?
09:48-09:53
Do you truly believe that God wants to show you amazing things in his word?
09:53-09:54
How about this?
09:55-10:00
Do you truly believe that God wants to help you when you struggle?
10:00-10:01
Do you really believe that?
10:04-10:09
You know, sometimes I'll carry out a chore at home, hoping that my wife will notice and give me husband points.
10:10-10:13
I'm not gonna raise your hand, husbands, to ask if you know what I'm talking about.
10:13-10:16
I don't wanna get you in trouble, so I'll jump on that grenade for you.
10:16-10:16
We all do it.
10:17-10:23
After I finish a chore, I'll present my work to my wife, where I'll get the thumbs up or the dreaded thumbs down.
10:24-10:30
And sometimes I don't do the exact chore in the way it's supposed to be done, and so Kate has to redo it, right?
10:31-10:34
She has to clean up my cleanup job.
10:35-10:38
I was thinking this past week, how often we try to do that with God.
10:39-10:52
We try to clean up his cleanup job by internally beating ourselves up, by trying to earn his approval, by trying to impress other people around us with our good deeds and our good behavior.
10:55-11:03
The difference between my cleanup jobs around the house and God's cleanup job of our hearts is that his work is immaculate and flawless.
11:03-11:08
It cannot be improved upon, it cannot be added to, it cannot be cleaned up.
11:09-11:12
What can we possibly add to what he has already done?
11:14-11:20
As Pastor Jeff has preached over the past two Sundays, we don't need to live in shame any longer.
11:20-11:27
We don't need to try to clean ourselves up so that we can go to God in prayer, go to him in his word, and spend time with his people on Sunday morning.
11:28-11:30
Please listen to me and get this.
11:31-11:39
If you are in Christ, then you are already clean and there is nothing, nothing you can do to change that.
11:40-11:40
Nothing.
11:41-11:45
Stop trying to clean up God's already perfect cleanup job.
11:47-11:50
I know all of us in this room struggle with that, myself included.
11:51-11:54
When you mess up, don't run away from God in shame.
11:54-11:57
Instead, run to him with confidence and assurance.
11:58-12:05
When you struggle with doubt and fear, don't keep these things bottled up, but bring them to God because he wants to help you.
12:06-12:09
When you feel alone, don't wallow in your isolation.
12:10-12:19
Instead, turn to your loving Father, turn to your big brother Jesus, and turn to the Holy Spirit who offers you limitless comfort and guidance.
12:22-12:27
Because of my confidence in Jesus, number two, I can hold fast to his word and hope.
12:27-12:31
I can hold fast to his word and hope.
12:36-12:37
Let's read verse 23 together.
12:39-12:48
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
12:49-12:56
You know, by God's providence, throughout the book of Hebrews, I keep getting assigned all the passages that have to do with holding fast.
12:57-13:00
I kept thinking, what am I gonna say about this that I haven't said before?
13:01-13:05
But then I was reminded by God, Taylor, I'm trying to teach you something right now.
13:06-13:11
I'm trying to remind you of something right now and God's doing the same exact thing for you.
13:11-13:16
We need these helpful reminders when life is brutally hard and we feel like giving up.
13:18-13:25
Do you ever just have those weeks where it feels like life is just getting gut shot after gut shot and you're not given a chance to actually catch your breath.
13:26-13:35
In these moments, we need to remember that we have an unbreakable hope that can never, ever be stolen away from us, that can never, ever be ruined by our enemy.
13:37-13:44
You'll notice in this verse that the motivation for holding fast to what we believe is confidence in our God, who is always faithful to us.
13:45-13:47
God has never broken one of his promises.
13:48-13:50
He's never gone back on what he said he would do.
13:51-13:59
God's not a dishonest used car salesman who sweet talks us with false promises, but then bails as soon as we sign the dotted line or stuck with a lemon.
14:00-14:02
That's not who he is.
14:03-14:12
Throughout the Bible, we are bombarded with example after example and historical account after historical account of the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God.
14:13-14:17
God promises to Noah that the flood will come.
14:17-14:23
And it took over 100 years for the flood to come, but it finally came.
14:23-14:28
Do you ever think Noah had a hard time over the course of those 120 years of, like, is this actually gonna happen?
14:30-14:40
Or as we talked about last month, God promised Abraham, when he's an old man, that his wife who couldn't give birth will one day give birth to a miracle child.
14:41-14:47
It took 25 years, and God still kept his promise.
14:47-14:57
He promised Moses that he would deliver his people from slavery in Egypt and he performed awesome miracles that no one had ever seen before to make this happen.
14:58-15:05
He promised his people a land to dwell in and success in their conquest.
15:05-15:14
And it took a long, long, long time because of their disobedience and sin, but God followed through on his word.
15:16-15:22
All throughout the New Testament, we see prophecy after prophecy that point forward to the coming Messiah.
15:23-15:31
And at the exact right time in human history, God sent his one and only son to fulfill every single last one.
15:32-15:38
If the Lord did all of that in the past, why wouldn't we think that he'll come through for us right now?
15:39-15:45
If God did all of that in the past, why would we think that he won't follow through on his promises in the future?
15:46-15:48
Our God is faithful even when we're faithless.
15:49-15:53
Our God is unwavering even when we constantly waver.
15:54-15:59
He holds fast to us, and he gives us the ability to hold fast to him.
16:01-16:04
Let's not be like a plastic bag that's blown around on a windy day.
16:06-16:14
Instead, let us be firmly rooted redwoods that will not waver in the midst of the storms of life and the winds of circumstance.
16:15-16:20
Because of what Jesus has done for you, you don't have to give yourself over to doubt.
16:21-16:24
You don't have to let anxiety and fear control you.
16:24-16:31
You can hold fast to the word and hope and with unswerving confidence because you serve a God who is forever faithful.
16:33-16:38
You know, this past week I was thinking a lot about my favorite part of the book, Pilgrim's Progress.
16:38-16:41
And Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory, it's a metaphor for the Christian life.
16:41-16:45
The main character, Christian, is traveling in this world to heaven.
16:46-16:48
He's traveling on this path of light.
16:48-16:54
And at one point he wanders off the path and he gets stuck in Doubting Castle by the giant of despair.
16:54-16:56
And the giant shows him all these bones.
16:56-16:58
Here are all the people who died before you.
16:58-17:00
You're never gonna make it out of here.
17:01-17:05
And he's stuck in this prison cell of despair and hopelessness.
17:05-17:06
And he doesn't feel like he can get out.
17:08-17:13
And then at one point he realizes, Wait, I've had the key of promise with me the entire time.
17:14-17:16
I can walk out of here whenever I want to.
17:17-17:19
And he unlocks the doors and he walks free.
17:20-17:22
If you're a follower of Christ, you can do that too.
17:23-17:28
Some of you right now are in that doubting castle and you're held slave by despair.
17:28-17:30
You don't have to do that anymore.
17:31-17:38
You can walk free and you can unlock those doors with the key of God's promises that he gives to us in his word.
17:40-17:44
You can walk free and hold fast to God's word and hope.
17:46-17:51
Finally, because of my confidence in Jesus, I can build up his people in love.
17:52-17:55
I can build up his people in love.
18:00-18:10
The author of Hebrews pivots a bit from focusing on our personal walk with the Lord to how our confidence in Christ should impact our relationships with other believers.
18:11-18:18
In verses 24 through 25, he has a lot to say about his church and our personal involvement in the local body of Christ.
18:20-18:26
You know, it's very popular in 2023 to say, I love Jesus, but I hate the church.
18:27-18:32
Who's ever heard someone said that, or maybe even said that yourself in the past?
18:33-18:37
There are many such reasons for hatred of the church, but let me list a few of the most popular ones.
18:38-18:45
First, many have had many horrible experiences at a church or multiple churches in the past.
18:46-18:50
They experienced emotional, spiritual, physical, or even sexual abuse.
18:51-18:55
A leader or many leaders failed them in a key way and traumatized them.
18:57-19:06
Maybe a church in their past was extremely legalistic and put unrealistic expectations upon them that held them captive and they never knew true freedom in Jesus Christ.
19:08-19:12
If any of these examples are a part of your story, my heart goes out to you.
19:13-19:22
I'm so sorry that you had to go through any of those experiences, but I am so thankful that you are here worshiping with God's people this morning.
19:22-19:24
Praise the Lord for that.
19:26-19:30
Secondly, many view the church as too hypocritical and flawed to be a part of.
19:31-19:38
You turn on the news, you go on YouTube, you see so many examples of pastoral moral failures or abuse of power.
19:39-19:45
So many people who call themselves Christians in the church are prone to backstabbing, gossip, being judgmental.
19:45-19:49
And people think, why would I put myself into a situation where I could be let down?
19:50-19:54
Why put myself in a situation where I'll be betrayed and hurt?
19:55-19:55
I'm not doing that.
19:57-20:03
Or thirdly, and to put it bluntly, a lot of people do not see the value in being a part of a church.
20:04-20:09
They think, well, I can read the Bible on my own, I have some Christian friends, I can just call them whenever I'm struggling.
20:10-20:12
What's the point in joining a church?
20:14-20:17
Well, the answers to these objections are the testimony of God's word.
20:18-20:24
You know, Pastor Jeff always points out to me, a massive chunk of the New Testament is written to churches and pastors of churches.
20:24-20:26
That's a pretty big hint, isn't it?
20:27-20:35
The Bible is so clear that Jesus loves his church, which is constantly referred to as his bride and his body.
20:35-20:39
Christ is the groom and head of the church.
20:40-20:45
Imagine if you told me, Taylor, you're a great guy, I really like you, I just can't stand your wife.
20:45-20:47
I don't wanna be around her for even one second.
20:48-20:49
I hope we can still be friends.
20:51-20:53
Let me ask you, will our friendship get very far?
20:54-20:56
Our future as buddies doesn't look great.
20:57-21:03
Or what if you said, Taylor, your head is okay, but I can't stand the sight of the rest of you.
21:03-21:08
So whenever we talk from now on, I'm just gonna hold my hand out so I can just see your head.
21:10-21:12
That's gonna make for a really awkward lunch, isn't it?
21:13-21:15
These are ridiculous examples, aren't they?
21:15-21:27
But how more ridiculous is it to say that you can love Jesus and want nothing to do with his bride that he loves with a love that is immeasurable and unfathomable.
21:27-21:35
It's even more ridiculous to assert that you can love Jesus but want nothing to do with his body that he sacrificed everything for.
21:36-21:40
Jesus suffered, he bled, and he died to build his church.
21:41-21:49
And as infinite wisdom, God has chosen to advance his kingdom, to spread the message of the gospel through the ministry of the local church.
21:50-21:53
Harvest, we're plan A, there is no plan B.
21:54-21:57
This is God's will for us.
21:58-22:05
In light of these scriptural realities, how can each and every one of us serve and build up the church in love?
22:07-22:12
Well, the author of Hebrews lists three different yet concrete ways in verses 24 through 25.
22:13-22:14
Let's read that together.
22:15-22:29
And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, 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.
22:30-22:33
So how can I build up God's people in love?
22:33-22:37
Letter A, by stirring others up to holy and selfless living.
22:40-22:43
By stirring others up to holy and selfless living.
22:45-22:47
You know, Christianity is not a solo sport.
22:48-22:51
You're not meant to be a spiritual island unto yourself.
22:52-22:58
You cannot be who God has called you to do and do what he has called you to do on your own.
22:59-23:05
You need mature Christians pouring into you and you need to be pouring into them as well.
23:06-23:09
Solomon speaks this in Proverbs 27, 17.
23:09-23:13
Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another.
23:15-23:23
You will be a dull blade in God's armory if you don't allow other people to sharpen you, and if you don't sharpen them in return.
23:24-23:33
One of the greatest ways to accomplish this mutual sharpening is stirring one another's up to good works, as we're told in verse 24.
23:33-23:37
And the Greek word for stir up can also be translated as provoke.
23:38-23:42
And very often it's used in a negative way to provoke someone to anger and annoyance.
23:43-23:46
But he turns that word on its head He uses it in the positive.
23:46-23:55
And he's saying, hey, instead of being someone who provokes others to being annoyed and angry, be a person who provokes other people to be godly.
23:57-23:58
Is that a description of you?
23:59-24:02
Is that a description of me?
24:03-24:06
I don't know about you, but it's so easy to be focused on myself.
24:07-24:09
It's so easy to be focused on my schedule and I want.
24:10-24:13
It takes no time and attention to be selfish.
24:14-24:17
It takes intentionality and accountability to be selfless.
24:18-24:24
We need to constantly remind each other to take our eyes off of ourselves and glue them onto Jesus.
24:25-24:33
We need to constantly provoke each other to be godly, to provoke each other to do what God has called us to do.
24:35-24:40
So throughout this upcoming week, think of ways that you can stir others up to love and good works.
24:41-24:50
Maybe this involves being in your small group encouraging each other and sharing names of people in your life that you need to be praying for, encouraging and sharing the gospel with.
24:50-24:58
Check in with each other about these people and be praying for them constantly and asking for those doors of opportunity that you can walk through.
24:59-25:04
Speaking of small groups, you can have times where you discuss how you can serve the community outside these church walls.
25:05-25:11
Maybe you have a passion for a particular ministry or people and God's calling you, hey, spearhead that.
25:12-25:15
Talk to your small group leader and form a service project.
25:15-25:18
That's a way to stir one another up to love and good works.
25:19-25:23
Or maybe you need someone in this church who's a close friend to keep you accountable.
25:24-25:33
You know God's calling you to be an ambassador for Christ in your neighborhood and where you work, but it's so easy to forget, and you need a friend calling you, texting you helpful scriptures and reminders.
25:36-25:39
We need to be doing this together, or we're not gonna do it at all.
25:40-25:43
Let us serve the Lord as one body.
25:44-25:48
Secondly, how can I build up God's people in love?
25:48-25:51
By refusing to neglect my church family.
25:51-25:54
By refusing to neglect my church family.
25:59-26:05
The writer of this epistle goes on to say that we shouldn't neglect to meet together as is the habit of some.
26:06-26:08
So church absence isn't a new trend.
26:09-26:10
It's gone back to the very beginning.
26:11-26:14
Many scholars debate over why there were some who were neglecting to me.
26:15-26:16
We have to remember the context.
26:16-26:18
This letter is written to Jewish Christians.
26:19-26:27
Maybe some of them were having a hard time getting out of that mode of going to synagogue on Saturday to transitioning to worshiping with God's people on Sunday.
26:27-26:32
They were worried about being cast out by their family and their friends and losing their status.
26:33-26:36
Intense persecution was happening to Christians at this time.
26:36-26:42
So maybe there were some who were worried, If I go to gather with those people, I might be imprisoned.
26:43-26:45
I might be put to death.
26:46-26:54
Whatever the reasons may be, there were people in the early church who made an intentional choice not to gather with other believers.
26:54-26:59
They made a choice not to worship and to fellowship and take part in the Lord's Supper.
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They didn't just miss a few gatherings here and there, but this was a consistent habit that they gave themselves over to.
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They chose to value safety and comfort and status over obedience to God's word.
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You know, we live in a day of extreme business when there are a million different things vying for our attention.
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And more often than not, it's not bad and sinful things, but good and beneficial things.
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Work can be really stressful.
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Maybe you have a lot of deadlines right now and you feel very crushed by.
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The older your kids get, the more stuff they sign up for, dance, extracurriculars, musicals, sports, and that affects your schedule big time.
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If you're not careful, dedication to your church family can be squeezed out and taken off the list of priorities.
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To be clear, I'm not saying you can never miss a Sunday.
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I'm not saying you should feel guilt-ridden whenever you go on vacation.
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I don't want you to feel that way.
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There are times where life gets in the way.
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Maybe you have elderly parents that you need to take care of and it takes up a lot of your time and attention.
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Maybe you have a job that takes you around the country for travel.
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Maybe you're dealing with an illness in your family or in your own body.
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I don't want you to view church attendance as a legalistic task that increases or decreases God's love for you.
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But I do want you to firmly believe that it is honoring to God and nourishing to your soul to be around his people on a consistent basis.
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It is vital for your spiritual health to be in fellowship with other Christians, to sit under biblical preaching, to worship the Lord, to offer up prayers to Him in a corporate setting, to take part in the Lord's Supper, and to witness the baptism to those who have given their lives to Christ.
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What we do on Sunday morning is not a helpful seminar.
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It's not an exciting pep rally.
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This is a biblically commanded time.
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We come together in unity with one heart, one mind, one voice to worship Almighty God and the Savior of our souls.
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This is a God-ordained time.
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We come together around the truths of the word to be encouraged, to be challenged, to be convicted, to be equipped to do the work of the ministry.
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As great as sleeping in, playing a round of golf, or hiking on a Sunday morning may feel, these things are not substitutes for gathering with God's people.
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These things cannot give you the blessing and the rest that is found in a room like this.
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Now some of you may be thinking right now, well I'm doing pretty good, I barely ever miss a Sunday, so I'm all good.
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Well don't pat yourself on the back too hard just yet.
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The goal isn't just consistent attendance.
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The goal is intentional presence.
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Let me say that again.
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The goal isn't just consistent attendance.
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The goal is intentional presence.
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You can be here in a seat right now, but not really be here.
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You can sing to the Lord, you can sing a song, but not really think about what you're singing, or really think about the one that you're singing to.
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A sermon can go in one ear, and quickly exit out the other, instead of taking root in your mind, migrating down to your heart, and changing how you live.
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You can show up to small group every single week, but not really be there and not truly engage.
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You can serve in the AV booth, on the hospitality team, with the kids.
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You can be physically present, but not truly be present because your heart's not really in it.
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When we gather together, the Lord wants us to be fully engaged and dialed in.
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He wants our minds to be attentive.
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He wants our hearts to be receptive.
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He wants our hands and feet to be ready to serve.
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The goal is intentional presence.
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Finally, how can I build up God's people?
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This is a big one.
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By choosing to be an encourager instead of a critic.
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By choosing to be an encourager instead of a critic.
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So the author of Hebrews wraps up by telling us to encourage one another and all the more as the day is drawing near.
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In other words, Jesus is coming soon So stop wasting time on being a critic who tears down and choose to be an encourager who builds up.
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I'm not saying that we just tell each other light and fluffy things and make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, that we stroke each other's egos and make each other feel great.
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Going back to the book of Proverbs, in Proverbs 27, six, we are told, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend "and profuse are the kisses of an enemy." You can tear someone down by telling them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
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The word for encourage, this verse, can also be translated as exhort, which is urging someone to do something, urging someone to not do something.
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Encouraging someone can include speaking compassionate and wise words into their heart.
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It can also include urging them away from doing something that is destructive to them.
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The purpose of encouragement is to strengthen someone and not to weaken them.
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You see God at work in someone's life, so you call out that success and you speak the truth into them.
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You see someone lacking in some way, you come alongside them and you train them, you equip them.
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You see a believer living with a blind spot or living in sin, you come alongside them and graciously confront them.
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And you offer them your help to mature and to grow.
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These are the goals and methods of the encourager.
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On the other end of the spectrum is the critic who enjoys pointing out the flaws in other people.
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This is the person who loves to pick apart ministries that aren't perfect.
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They love to send those really long, long, long, long emails.
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Over the course of ministry, I've received many of those long, long, long emails.
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They'll give you your scathing opinions, but they won't lift a finger to help you.
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They won't lift a finger to make those changes that they call for.
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A critic will happily call out your flaws, but they will do nothing to help you.
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They will do nothing to help you mature and grow.
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The goal of the critic is to build themselves up by tearing you down.
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And that's not helpful for anybody, especially for the critic himself or herself.
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By trying to build yourself up at the expense of others, you only seek to knock yourself down.
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That was the way of the Pharisees.
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They said horrible things to keep people down, while Jesus said hard things to raise them up.
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That is the key difference, to strengthen and not to weaken.
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I beg every single person in this room, please choose to be an encourager and not a critic.
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Not just for the sake of your family, not just for the sake of your friends, Not just for the sake of this church, but for the sake of your own soul.
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There is nothing more miserable than being a person who wants to build themselves up at the expense of others.
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There is no joy in that.
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There is no life in that.
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If that's you this morning, please get out of that.
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Ask the Lord for help.
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I don't want that for your life and neither does God.
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Choose to be like your Savior instead of like the Pharisees who opposed Him at every step.
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The return of Jesus is drawing near.
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Let's not waste any more time slinging mud and pushing each other down.
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Instead, let's use this time to build each other up, to encourage each other and pull one another up.
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Church, are we gonna dedicate ourselves to this?
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Amen.
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So as we close, let me remind us one final time that God wants us to be filled with confidence.
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Not godly confidence, sorry, not worldly confidence, but godly confidence.
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Listen to that one.
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Not confidence in ourselves, in our own ability, in our own goodness, but confidence in Christ.
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Confidence in his infinite ability.
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Confidence in his perfect righteousness.
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Because of Jesus and what he has done for us, we can now draw near to him in faith.
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We can hold fast to his word and truth, and we can build one another up in love.
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Let us choose to live in and out of the victory that has been purchased for us.
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Let's pray.
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Lord, we come to you and we thank you that you've given us so many helpful reminders in your word, Lord, when we get off track.
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Lord, it's so easy to lead lives of prideful independence where we feel like we don't need anybody.
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Or on the other end of the spectrum, Lord, to lead lives of powerless defeat, where we feel like we can't accomplish anything.
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Where I pray we'd find that biblical healthy middle, where we find confidence in your Son and what he has done for us, Lord, that you have so many awesome works laid ahead of us that you want us to walk in.
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Would help us to approach them with boldness and assurance and with excitement instead of shrinking back.
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Lord, I pray that we would live in and out of that victory that you have given us.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Hebrews 10:19-25
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What are some examples of how the Lord has proven Himself trustworthy and faithful throughout Scripture? How has He proven Himself trustworthy and faithful in your own life?
How can we stir one another up to love and good works? How can we serve together as a small group?
What does intentional presence look like as you worship or serve on Sunday morning and participate in a small group?
How do you find yourself being a critic instead of an encourager? Who is the Lord calling you to specifically encourage right now?
Breakout
Pray for one another.