There’s a Stirring


And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works… 

(Hebrews 10:24) ESV

            Are you a runner? I hate running.

            When I was in college, running was becoming popular. A number of friends who were running loved telling me about their wonderful experiences.

            They recounted to me how running helped them to clarify their thinking. Running sharpened their focus.

            I listened and thought, “This sounds great!” So I tried running. Sure enough, it helped clarify my thinking. It sharpened my focus. What I began focusing on was this, “I have only 1 mile 337 yards and 2 feet to go. I have only 1 mile 337 yards and 1 foot to go. I have only 1 mile 337 yards to go. I have only 1 mile 336 yards and 2 feet to go…”           

            I became discouraged. Fortunately, my friends lifted my spirits. They said, “You've got to run long enough to experience the ‘runner's high.’ After you run a certain length, your body begins to create chemicals, and you feel good.”

            I found their words very motivational. I thought to myself, “I need to run farther.” And so I did. Sure enough, my body began to release chemicals. First, those chemicals began talking to me. Next, those chemicals began screaming to me, “Are you crazy! Stop right now! If you don't, we are going to hurt you.” Indeed, the chemicals made me feel pain.

            Next, my friends told me, “You've got to stay with it. Here is what was happening--you were hitting the wall.”

            “Okay,” I said, “tell me more about hitting the wall.”

            “When we run a marathon, there comes a point when we hit the wall. But we just run through it. And then we finish the race.”

            “Okay, at what point do you hit the wall?” I asked.

            “About 18 miles.”

            That's when I decided I was not going to even approach the wall. I retired from running.

            Unfortunately, a lot of people today are retiring from Christianity because they are, spiritually speaking, hitting the wall.

            I have seen new Christians who were college students and so excited for the Lord. Then one of them would hit the spiritual wall and become discouraged. He would quit attending the Bible studies or worship services.

            Someone close to him would then hit the spiritual wall and become discouraged. His attendance would become sporadic. Next, the entire group, if not careful, would grow discouraged and hit the spiritual wall.

            Have you ever hit the spiritual wall? Maybe you thought your mission in life was to do A. And you find out that, no, it was to do B. You hit the wall.

            Maybe you have given your life to Jesus, and your spouse has not—and you have hit the spiritual wall.

            Maybe you decided to take God seriously at your work. You decided to truly honor your boss, because you recognized you were not just serving him, but you were serving the Lord. You believed everything was going to go great, but it did not. Instead, you lost your job. Perhaps you lost your job because of your faith in Jesus… and you hit the spiritual wall.

            If you have hit the spiritual wall, would it encourage you to know that people in Scripture faced the same challenge? You find an example of those facing these kinds of issues in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews, you find people who are serious, initially, about following Jesus; they're excited about following Jesus, but then they hit the spiritual wall. Some get discouraged; some even fall away. The going definitely gets tough.

            I've done it before myself. When we lived in Argentina, we did mission work there. Some of us enjoyed working with college students. We made some impact.

            The second year, the church was blossoming and we were very pleased with it. Judy and I were hosting a Bible study on Saturday nights in our home, and a number of college students attended.

            Judy and I left for furlough for two months. When we arrived back, two new Christians, who were vibrant students, had abandoned their faith. Other students became discouraged and became very sporadic in their activities of faith. Before long, I hit a spiritual wall and became very discouraged.

            I think about these things reflecting upon the New Testament, especially since the imagery of running and racing is found a few times there, including in the book of Hebrews.

WHY THE LETTER?

Honor and Shame

            Hebrews is not just a letter, it is basically a sermon written by a preacher. The people who received this letter had heard about Jesus, were baptized into Jesus, and had changed because of Jesus. But the society around them did not respond well.

            These new Christians had rejected the values of their culture. Society said, “Worship many gods. Show tolerance. It’s okay if you do this Christianity thing. But come to the feasts honoring our gods, too.”

            The Christians said, “No.”

            Consequently, the friends of these Christians felt hurt, insulted, angry; therefore, society said, “Fine. You can do things differently from the way we do things, but we are going to penalize you for that.”

            The preacher knew that many of the Christians were feeling shame because there were people in their culture, who wanted to marginalize the Christians.

            Marginalize: take a sheet of old-fashioned notebook paper. Notice on the side a red line that runs vertically up and down the page. This line is called a margin.

            Many times, a teacher will put negative criticism to the left of that margin. The teacher will separate those negative remarks from the rest of the text, which lies to the right of the margin. In fact, the majority of the material lies to the right of the margin.

            Society pushes those whom they seek to ostracize to the opposite side of the margin. This is called marginalizing. It is as if society is saying, “We're going put you on the other side of the margin. The rest of us will stay over here, but we are going to put you odd fellows over there.”

             Remember the financier Bernie Madoff? At one time he was part of the beautiful people in American culture. Then he was arrested for his scandalous crimes. Shortly thereafter, Bernie Madoff became a pariah. Complete strangers, his friends, even the American culture heaped great shame upon him. They placed him in the margin of society. They marginalized him.

            In his case, Bernie Madoff deserved this censure from society. But these Christians in the book of Hebrews had, at one time, behaved in a manner well pleasing unto God. Nevertheless, society turned on them. Society did not shower honor upon the Christians; instead, society viewed them as meriting shame.

            Anytime you offer your life to Jesus, you run the risk of having society, your peer group, or your friends marginalize you.

            There is a reason why this letter was written:

            32 Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever (Heb. 10:32-34.) NLT

             Many family members had been killed. Others had their property taken away. Still others suffered from insults, scorn, and abuse. So these Christians began going along with society to get along with society.

            Back in the day (of Hebrews), there were people who said, “Look, we’re not trying to create trouble. Just come to our feasts honoring Cesar, and we will come to yours honoring your Christ. All we ask is that you not be an atheist.” (To them, an atheist was one who did not worship Caesar.) “You can worship all the other gods you want to worship, as long as you worship Caesar.”

            Early on, many of the Christians had made a faith decision; they had decided to not worship Caesar. With their words and actions, they had announced, “Only Jesus is Lord.” That's when people in their social world became angry.

            The culture began to put pressure on these Christians to accept their ways. If that didn’t work, they would try a variety of means to get Christians back into line:

            Have you ever made decision in your faith to honor Christ and have it “backfire” on you? You were enjoying a good standing in your peer group, but then because you took a stand on faith, your peer group became offended by it.

            That happens a lot with young people. A girl offers her life to Christ, and friends ask, “Are you serious?”

            I have known and read of Christians who have lost their jobs because of becoming Christians or because of taking faith stands.

            You can join a lot of communities, but at some point the church will prove to be fundamentally different. Many of these groups are intrinsically good.

            Look at Christian colleges and universities. They have much in common with the church. But at some point, they deviate. The ultimate mission of the Christian college or university has a connection with academics. Throughout history, the church will have equipped many Christians to serve Jesus forever, who will not have college educations.

            Homeschooling is a great community, but it is a community ultimately distinct from the church.

            Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators, and other organizations are wonderful, but they are not the church.

            Your local public school, I'm sure, is a fine organization, yet it is not the church.

            Your local chapter of the Lions Club, Kiwanis club, Shriners, and the Daughters of the American Revolution are all marvelous groups, but they are not the church.

            At some point, there will be a deviation. Periodically, you and I are faced with this question: which group, which community will take priority?

            That is what happened with the Christians and the church in Hebrews. At some point, members began pulling away from the church and becoming more faithful to the various organizations of their society. The pain grew to be more than they wanted to bear.

            May I offer you a recent example of how someone who maintains a faith in Jesus can inflame societal passions? Look at the star quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow. Granted, there is an entire spectrum of opinion regarding Tim Tebow. Some people love the quarterback and don't care about his religion; others hate his quarterbacking and do like his religion. Some people worship Tim Tebow instead of Jesus.

            Included in that mix, are people who know that faith in Jesus is the driving force in Tim Tebow’s life—a fact he does not try to hide—and this makes these people very angry. In essence, their attitude is this, “If you will join us in celebrating our gods, we will join you in celebrating Jesus.” To which, Tim Tebow replies, “I cannot do that. I love you, but I cannot do that.” Then, the fangs come out of those who reject Jesus.           

            Recently, I read an article about a gentleman who was doing a profile in a national magazine about Tim Tebow. He was following the quarterback all over the country, literally, in order to get background for his story.

            This individual interviewed the father of one of the children that Tim Tebow ministers to through his public service organization. (This charity, funded by Tebow, flies in children and their families to meet with Tebow before and after his ballgames. These children are always facing adversity; in some cases, they're battling life-threatening illnesses. Tebow puts the families up in first-class hotels, and organizes opportunities to meet and greet various athletes and officials in the Denver Bronco organization.)

            The reporter asked the father his opinion on Tebow. The father responded like this: I am not a Christian, but I don't get it. We have athletes who create so many problems in our society, and here is a guy who lives right, is genuine and sincere. He is doing so much good. Why are they (his critics) targeting him?

            For some, Tebow is a perceived threat because of his faith in Jesus, so they are trying to push him away; they are seeking to marginalize him.

The result?

            In Hebrews, when like actions occurred:

            Some of the Christians drifted away.

            Some fell away.

            Some quit coming to church.

            Some saw the tangible things the world had to offer and sold out heaven to receive it. That’s why the preacher said, 16Watch out for immoral and ungodly people like Esau, who sold his future blessing for only one meal. 17You know how he later wanted it back. But there was nothing he could do to change things, even though he begged his father and cried. (Heb. 12:16-17.) CEV

HOW WILL THE PREACHER RESPOND?

            How would you respond? Would you do something spectacular? In Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis’ searing critique of United States’ Christianity in the 1920s, churches and revivalists would put on shows and circuses to attract the people. Will the preacher recommend that to the Hebrews?

            Will he tell them their problem is the music? Instead of vocal music only, they need to go instrumental? Instead of piano only, they need to go praise band? Instead of old hymns, they need to sing only new songs, or vice versa?

            Will he tell them to fire their preacher? Their staff? Their elders?

            He will do none of that. He will, though respond in two ways:

He will be tough.

                                                            1. In chapter 2, he warns them not to drift away.

2. In chapter 4, he reminds them that many of the children of Israel did not make it to the promise land.

3. In chapter 5, he says: I wanted to get deep with you, but you guys are a bunch of spiritual babies.

4. In chapter 6, he says: Fall away, and you crucify the Son of God all over again.

5. In chapter 10, he says: Let me tell what happens to people who quit going to church.

6. In chapter 12, he says: I know the people around you are giving you a hard time about your faith, but who would you rather turn against? Them or the holy God of Mt. Sinai who made the people tremble because they were so afraid?

He will be tender, too.

1. 2:17 He says that Jesus has been made like his brothers in every way....

2. 4:14-16...Jesus has gone through what we have, so now we can approach the throne of grace.

3. Chapter 11, he inspires them to look to the roll call of heroes.

4. Chapter 12:1 he says, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...”

            Regarding that last point, some of these Christians were getting pressure to not attend worship services. They were made to feel there was something better to accomplish with their time on Sunday. Every Sunday, Christians in the United States face the same challenges.

            In the book of Hebrews, some Christians thought about their small assemblies in their house churches and grew discouraged. The preacher addressed this in Chapter 12, proclaiming to them (if I may paraphrase): I know you feel lonely and afraid in your little houses for your Sunday worship service. Yet you need to remember this: you are not alone. There is a multitude of those who have gone on before you who are with you.

            Here is how it reads in the NCV text: 1 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up (Heb. 12:1b.)

            I do believe they were truly with them in spirit. Remember the end of “Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi [Episode Six]”? The good guys have won the battle between good and evil, and everyone is celebrating (especially the Ewoks!)

            Hans Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker are happy and excited. And then, unbeknownst to them, looking on is Anakin Skywalker, Luke's dad, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who have gone on before them.

            That's the idea in Hebrews chapter twelve. Without intending to be sentimental, today, when the church gathers in assembly, I believe Abraham is here, Isaac is here, Jacob is here… and so is my grandfather, so is my father, and so those other loved ones who gone on before us in Christ. And if you have had someone go on before you in the faith, he or she is present in the assembly with you as well.

            Again, this preacher is trying to help them understand this to encourage them. He is telling them, “When you've gathered together there are wonderful things going on that you cannot see. All of these people are pulling for you.”

            Above all else, this preacher is calling the Christians back to Jesus.

            Like any good preacher, this one offers a challenge. How do you live this out? Here is his application: “You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming” (Heb. 10:25.) NCV

            You have probably heard this quote a lot out of context, but this is in context. He is challenging them and encouraging them. He knows, that since aunt Gertrude was martyred because of her faith, and cousin Bertrand died because of his faith, more and more of the Christians have grown discouraged saying, “I don't think I will go to the worship assembly this week at Bill's house.”

            They have hit a spiritual wall.

            So the preacher says to them, “No, you need to ‘go to church.’ You need to be there. You need to be there because, hopefully, all week, you've been worshiping the Father. All week, you've been looking up to Jesus. You need to partake of the Lord's Supper together. You need to get together, look up at God, and you need to look at each other. Indeed, you need encourage each other. Your faith is the most important thing in this world, because your spirit is going to last forever. This activity will be the most important thing you do this week.”

            Make no mistake; God understood that those Christians were potentially setting themselves up to be put to death. Indeed, some would lose their lives for having made the decision to attend the worship assembly. Yet, he is telling them, “Attending the assembly is more important than even your own life.”

            This reality raises the question, if loss of life is not a good reason to miss the assembly, what is a good reason?

            Certainly, many of those outside the body of Christ today think that notion is silly. And, a growing number of people within the body of Christ believe that notion is silly as well. To these Christians, the assembly is something to be used; if the worship assembly does not serve them in a given week, it is to be discarded for something else more useful.

            However, Hebrews reveals how strongly God feels about the Christians in Hebrews assembling together. Therefore, we must take these instructions seriously.

            Now, in total fairness, this passage is strictly talking about the Sunday assembly of the Saints. This is not talking about a Wednesday night prayer meeting. It is not talking about a Tuesday morning Bible study. Hebrews is talking about that one assembly each Sunday around the table.

            God calls them to assemble together. He has empowered them with Holy Spirit. They as a group have all they need to live out the Christian life, but something is missing.

            Here’s a way to illustrate this: you can do this at home.

            Take a glass, put a measured amount of instant tea (I like Nestea, myself) in the bottom of the glass. Fill the glass with water. Drink it.           

            Question: does this taste good?

            No. Something is lacking.

            You have to get a spoon, place the spoon inside the water, and use that spoon to stir up the powdered tea in the water. After stirring, you got yourself a terrific glass of tea.

            Look at Hebrews 10:24 again, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…  

            God has empowered you with everything you need to live the Christian life—except for one thing. You need to be stirred up. The Holy Spirit is living inside of you, but you weekly need to gather with God’s community and be stirred up. Likewise, you need to use the Holy Spirit God gave you to stir other Christians up. Together, you’ve got mutual encouragement to face whatever this world has to offer.

             Go and stir up your brothers and sisters in Christ.

            [My view on Hebrews has been primarily shaped by two sources. The most important was Dr. James Thompson, who taught a short course on HEBREWS in May 2002, at ACU. I was blessed to literally sit at his left at that course’s table. The other was a commentary called Perseverance in Gratitude by David A. DeSilva.]