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- Good Saturday morning, people of faith. We're in Hebrews chapter 10 this morning, and before I read the verse that I'm going to read, let me just remind you a little bit of the context of the book of Hebrews.
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- We don't know the author of Hebrews, although the people who received the letter of Hebrews definitely knew who it was.
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- They had a relationship together, and I'll show that in a little bit. But the Hebrew Christians here were considering forsaking
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- Christ because of impending persecution, and they've just been given the command to meet together, to study one another, to spur one another on to love and good works.
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- And then it goes on in verse 26, where I'll begin reading. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
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- Now, this is likely referring to Numbers chapter 15, and in verse 30, it says, but the person who does anything presumptuously, the idea there is that there were...this
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- is talking about the different sacrifices. There's sacrifices for if you make this mistake and you make that mistake, if this accidentally happens, do this sacrifice, and all these things.
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- But the presumptuous one, the one that goes out and actively rebels and commits a sin, there's not necessarily a sacrifice for that, says whether he is native -born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the
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- Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the
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- Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be completely cut off, his guilt shall be upon him.
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- And so the author of Hebrews here is making an urgent plea to ones who are considering leaving the faith, and I promised that I would show you that these people knew the author.
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- It says down in verse 34, he says, for you had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
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- So the idea was that they were focused so much on the gospel and on bringing compassion to the author of Hebrews that they gave of their own goods, their worldly possessions, knowing that they would receive a greater reward in the future for this.
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- And so with this relationship, he's coming back to these people saying to them, saying to them, look, there's a lot of things you can do, but if you leave
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- Christ, there's nothing left, there's nowhere to go where you can receive the words of life.
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- It reminds me of in John 6, there's the...I've
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- heard some people say it as the anti -church growth program that Jesus gave to the followers there, and so many of them left because they said, this is a hard saying, and Jesus asked the 12, do you want to go away?
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- But Simon Peter, this is in verse 68 now, but Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
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- You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that you are the
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- Christ, the son of the living God. Are these things true of you today?
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- Do you know that Christ is the son of the living God, that he has the words of eternal life?
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- Perhaps in the challenges of this world, the struggles of day -to -day life, the tragedies that happen, unexpected or even expected, people say things, people do things to hurt you, even sometimes people in the church inadvertently or even on purpose might do those things to hurt you.
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- Would you leave Christ for those things, over those things? What about the things of this world that have their allure, the luster, the things that you get from working hard, from working too hard maybe, to chasing after dreams and goals and passions and leaving
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- Christ behind? I pray that these things would not be true of us as people of faith.
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- Let's pray. Heavenly Father, help us to know that your son,
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- Christ, has given us the words of life in his word.
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- Help us to walk faithfully in what we know in Christ.
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- Help us not to turn away, to not turn to the side when troubles come, but to cling more dearly to the son.
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- It's in your son's name that we pray, amen. Have a great day, people of faith.
