INTRODUCTION: Turn to Hebrews 3 Hebrews 3:1–2 (NKJV) 3 Therefore

______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS

INTRODUCTION: Turn to Hebrews 3 Hebrews 3:1–2 (NKJV) 3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

• The writer of Hebrews is writing to Jews who had received Jesus Christ as Messiah • So He calls their attention to Jesus who is the Apostle and High Priest • An Apostle is someone who is sent and Jesus was sent by God to this world to demonstrate the love of God • He wasn’t sent to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved • Thus throughout the Book of John, Jesus says over and over again that He was sent by God, an apostle, sent by God to the earth • He is also the High Priest of our confessions

Hebrews 2:17 (NKJV) 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

• Throughout the Book of Hebrews, Jesus is referred to as the High Priest • It’s an analogy the Jews would have understood • The High Priest was appointed by God to represent God to the people • He was to speak the Word of God to the people • He was also to represent the people to God • Once a year on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the High Priest would enter the holy of holies to present the sin offering to God on behalf of the people • Thus, as our High Priest Jesus is faithful to represent the Father to us and to represent us to the Father • Moses was faithful to represent God to the people, Jesus is faithful to represent God to us

Hebrews 3:3–6 (NKJV) 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For

HEBREWS © 2018 Holland Davis ______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

• If you remember, Moses had to cover his face after he witnessed the glory of God because the glory faded and Moses didn’t want the people to know • Contrast that to Jesus who is the brightness of the glory of God • Moses was a faithful servant of the house of God • Contrast that to Jesus who is the Son of God and the builder of the house

The point the writer of Hebrews is making is this… • Through Moses came the Word of God to the people • Thus, Moses is highly revered in all of Israel as the great law giver • But someone greater than Moses is here… Jesus is greater • At best Moses was a servant, a faithful servant, but Jesus is a Son • Jesus is the builder of the House of God, thus Jesus is God • But notice vs. 6… the writer of Hebrews says whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end • In other words, we are the house of God… those who believe, hold fast the confidence • Jesus is faithful to care for His house… meaning Jesus is faithful to care for you and I!

Hebrews 3:7–11 (NKJV) 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

• The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 95:7-11 • There are a couple of instances in scripture where Israel provoked God by their unbelief and where Moses provoked God by his rash actions • The first came at Kadesh Barnea, at the border of the promised land HEBREWS © 2018 Holland Davis ______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS

• God promised to give them the land • God promised to go before them and drive out their enemies • They sent spies into the land, in order to find out what they were up against so they could come up with a military strategy to take the land • When the spies returned, 10 men gave an evil report • The land isn’t very good… it eats up it’s inhabitants… it can’t support us • The cities have walls that we can’t conquer • AND… there are giants in the land and their bad report began to inspire the people to rebel against Moses… we can’t take the land! • We want a leader who will take us back to Egypt • But Joshua and Caleb brought back a different report • They saw how huge the grapes were and they said the land is great! • It’s flowing with milk and honey! The possibilities are tremendous! • The people said… but we hear the walls are high… they said not really • We heard there are giants there… they said no problem for us • So they said… our children will be wiped out, we can’t do it! • The people provoked God with their unbelief, not believing that God would do what He said He would do • Thus God said, because you did not believe me, you will not enter the promised land, you will die in the wilderness… all except Joshua and Caleb • They wandered for 40 years until that generation died

But now 40 years later, they are approaching the land again • They came to a place where there was no water… to Horeb • God said to Moses strike the rock and it will give them water • It was believed that Israel had 2.5 million people at this point • Imagine how much water it would take to service that many people? • But the people began to complain about not having enough water and Moses was angry with the people • So he complains to God and God says speak to the rock and it will give them water • But Moses was so mad at them he said… how long do I have to put up with you rebels? And he struck the rock twice • He misrepresented God to the people and as a result God didn’t let him enter the land • God saw their need and He wanted to meet their need

• But Moses was angry and in his anger he represented that God was angry with the people when He wasn’t • He even called the place Meribah which means waters of strife • I believe it’s serious business to be a representative of God • I am careful how I represent Him to the people because if I represent Him as a God of anger and wrath when in fact He is a God of mercy and grace then I will be guilty of misrepresenting Him • I hope I never make you feel that God is angry at you because God loves you • Later on when Moses wanted to enter the Promised Land, God said no • You failed to represent me at the waters of Meribah… what a tremendous price Moses had to pay for misrepresenting God

Hebrews 3:12–15 (NKJV) 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

There are a couple of observations to make • First… the heart is the organ of faith in the Bible • The bowels is where you feel emotion, but faith is in the heart • The writer of Hebrews says beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God • The word evil in the Old Testament means worthless, useless, meaningless • It is useless and weak when it comes to the purposes of God and because it is useless and weak it’s harmful and even dangerous • Thus a heart of unbelief is weak, unable to accomplish God’s purposes and thus it’s harmful and dangerous because a heart of unbelief can never please God and in the case of Moses, kept Him from entering the land • Second, the community of faith has a responsibility for each member • We are to exhort one another daily which means to come alongside of each other and comfort, encourage, call out to obedience • Exhort doesn’t mean to give a hard time or to yell at someone, it means to come alongside them which means you have to be present HEBREWS © 2018 Holland Davis ______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS

• You can’t come alongside someone if you’re not there • We have the ministry of presence and often just our presence is enough to give someone the courage to keep going • Third, the enemy of the believer is unbelief • The deceitfulness of sin is based in unbelief… • I don’t believe God cares, I don’t believe God’s Word, I don’t believe God’s Promise so I believe I’m on my own and I have to make things happen because God isn’t involved • This results in a hardened heart • A heart that is inflexible, stubborn, unwilling to learn, unwilling to yield • The writer of Hebrews quoting from Psalm 95 says… do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion… hear His voice • Wherever you see the word hear in the Hebrew scriptures or the New Testament it implies faith and obedience • I believe God, take Him at His Word and do what He says because I trust Him

Hebrews 3:16–19 (NKJV) 16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

• It’s interesting the generation that saw the power of God delivering them from the hands of the Egyptian army is the same generation that doubted God’s ability to drive out their enemies • It’s true for us today… we believe God can save us, but we don’t believe God can do much else after that and thus we rely on our own power • But our power is weak, useless, evil concerning God’s purposes • Israel could not enter the promised land because of unbelief and many believers do not enter the promises of God because of unbelief

Hebrews 4:1 (NKJV) 4 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

• There are certain things we should fear

• In Galatians Paul refers to those who fall from grace, meaning they are trying to justify themselves by self-righteousness • Here the writer of Hebrews is saying we have the promise of entering His rest • What we should fear is coming short of receiving it • Moses made it all the way to the border, but then missed receiving the promise because of unbelief… that’s what we should fear

Hebrews 4:2–5 (NKJV) 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

This explains how the gospel works • The gospel is preached to everyone, but only those who believe profit from it • The ones who don’t believe don’t profit • God doesn’t choose some for heaven and some for hell • The gospel is to all, but only those who believe enter into the promise of the gospel • But the ones who don’t believe, God says they will not enter into My rest • Rest is for believers and if you are restless, I would challenge you to look for unbelief in your life and that’s where you most likely find your restlessness • That place where you do not trust God or where you put a greater trust or attention on man • Now up to this point, the writer of Hebrews is talking about Israel entering into the rest of God • But at the end of vs 3 to vs. 5 God talks about a different kind of rest, the Sabbath Day rest • This was established from the foundation of the world • God worked 6 days and on the 7th day He rested from all His works • This is the rest of completion, the universe was created, there was nothing left to do and thus God rested from all His works HEBREWS © 2018 Holland Davis ______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS

• Now it’s interesting that in each of the days of creation, you read and it was evening and it was morning, day 1 then day 2 and so on • But when you come to the 7th day, it doesn’t say anything about it coming to an end! • The rabbi’s say it’s because God is still resting, the work is completed, finished • Now when Jesus came, He said He came to do the will of the Father who sent him and to finish His work • God had finished the work of creation • But when man sinned, it was necessary for God to do a work of redemption to save man from destruction and thus Jesus came to finish the work of redemption by offering Himself as a sacrifice • When Jesus died on the cross and cried out… It Is FINISHED! • He is talking about the work to redeem man from the penalty of sin and at the cross this work is finished… there is nothing more we can do to save ourselves… the work is done • I either receive it by faith or I continue trying to save myself by my self- righteousness which is weak, useless, powerless • If I am trying to deliver myself from sin, trying to make myself presentable to God, trying to make myself acceptable or pleasing to God… there is no rest for me

Hebrews 4:6–7 (NKJV) 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

• Jesus brought the message of grace to the Jews first, yet they did not hear His voice • Paul talks about how the Jews never gained righteousness through the law because they sought to become righteous through their works • But the Gentiles gained righteousness because they believed God • The Pharisees were filled with good works, they were the nicest people, they led the most holy lives and appeared to be most pleasing to God and yet they failed… why? Unbelief! • Their hearts were hardened by their self-righteousness

Hebrews 4:8–10 (NKJV) 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

• You will never enter into the rest that God has for you until you stop trying to be holy, righteous, pure, loving, pleasing to God in your own power and strength • The only way you can enter into God’s rest is to cease from all your works… stop trying, give up • Stop trying to make it in your own power • But what if I want to change? That’s good if you want to change… God wants you to change • What do I do? You sit at the feet of Jesus until He sets you free! • You cry out to God and you don’t stop, you don’t move, you don’t get up until He sets you free because whom the Son sets FREE is FREE indeed • Your support system isn’t going to do it • Your will power isn’t going to do it • It’s only when you come to the place where you cease from all your works… then and only then will you enter into the rest of God

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says Hebrews 4:11 (NKJV) 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

• Diligent means to be eager, to have an intense desire to enter that rest • If you don’t, you will fall into the same disobedience Israel did • The giants are too big • I don’t have what I need to make it • I don’t believe that You really want to take care of me Jesus • Don’t fall into the same trap… rather, listen to the Word of God

Hebrews 4:12–13 (NKJV) 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints

HEBREWS © 2018 Holland Davis ______VANTAGE POINT: HEBREWS and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

• The Word of God, the Promises of God are alive, they bring life to all who believe in them • They are powerful to transform us from the inside out, to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ • It’s a two edged sword… it’s able to divide between soul and spirit • The soul and the spirit are so integrated that’s often difficult to tell the difference between an emotional, soulish experience and an encounter with the powerful grace of God • Often people will have these very intense religious experiences that touch their emotions and never change their lives, touch their spirit • I’ve heard people say… the Lord really showed up • Really? What did He do? There were a lot of prophetic words and people were healed, revival broke out! • Really? What happened to the revival during the week? How did it change the city? How did it change the county or the state? • Yes… but it was such a powerful outpouring of the Spirit… the preacher didn’t even have a change to preach • What does that tell you? It was all in the realm of the emotions and the people had a good meeting, but it didn’t really change anything • It’s the Word of God that feeds the spirit • It’s the Word of God that transforms lives • You can only grow as you learn the Word of God and put it into practice • Thus real spiritual growth comes through the Word of God, not through experience • And so the Word of God divides between spirit and emotion, it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart • It exposes the secret motivations of men’s hearts • When the Bible says one thing and people do another… it exposes • No one is safe… God exposes everyone with His Word and whether you like what the preacher says or not doesn’t matter • God is the one to whom we must give account

Hebrews 4:14–16 (NKJV)

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• None of have come close to facing the same intensity of temptation that Jesus face • We all gave in long before we came to that level of intensity • Satan tempts and when you resist, he comes back with greater intensity until you give in to the temptation or give up and cry out to God • Jesus never gave in and so He has compassion on us • He knows how hard it is • Now it’s interesting to note when you and I go through something and we someone having a hard time… we tear them down • Stop being a wimp, stop your whining… not Jesus • He says… you need grace? You need mercy? You need help? Are you going through it? • Come boldly to the throne of grace! • That word boldly means to be honest, straightforward • It’s willing to take action that is risky and dangerous • In other words, it’s willing to do whatever it takes • It doesn’t sugar coat the situation… it lays it out just the way it is • But it also doesn’t allow shame and guilt to twist and distort the truth of who I am in Christ • It looks in the mirror and says in me there dwells no good thing except the Lord Jesus Christ who is my righteousness and it looks every demonic stronghold in the face and says I am not who you say I am • I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus • I am a child of the Most High God and I have come to the throne of grace to get mercy and find grace to help in my time of need • And the Gospel of GRACE mixed with FAITH in my heart releases the power of God in my life to deliver me from every barrier that keeps me from entering into His rest!

NEXT: Hebrews 5-6