Top 4 Reasons to be in Church # 3

“Cool Experiences”-Heb. 12:18-29

        You may have heard of the mother who rebuked her boy for not attending church willingly. She admonished him, “You go to the movies for entertainment, and you go down to Freddy’s house and have a nice time. Now don’t you think it is only right that once a week you should go to God’s House, just for one hour?”

            The boy thought it over and said, “But, Mom, what would you think if you were invited to somebody’s house and every time you went, the fellow was never there!”

            I think some people have quit attending worship services because they think God is not there.

            I remember that the entertainer and singer Pat Boone, wrote an autobiography back in the late 1960s or early 1970s. In it, he talked about attending worship services at a church in the Los Angeles area.

            His life was so drained spiritually, and the sermons to him were so boring, that he had to do all sorts of tricks to try to stay awake. One of them was to stretch his feet and legs out under the pew in front of him, and hold them in the air. He would not let them touch the ground. All of this to stay awake!

            When I was in eighth grade, one of the great Sundays of my life was returning from summer vacation and finding out that the elders had wanted me and another young man to go out in the foyer during the sermon and tabulate the Sunday morning’s attendance. We had a big board on the wall in our foyer with everybody’s name on it. People had to put a golf tee in a hole by their name if they were present for worship that morning.

            I still remember thinking, “I am free! I am free!” because I got to miss a portion of the sermon. It was amazing how diligent and thorough eighth-graders can be when it means legitimately missing part of the sermon time.

            I wish we could see is happening during worship. I wish our minds could see all that is going on. I hope this passage in Hebrews can help us get a grasp on that. My dream would be for everyone to look forward to coming together in public worship and assembly.

            I am convicted that there are folks in this church in Hebrews who have had the exact same struggle. According to chapter ten, some have quit attending. In this passage, the Preacher addresses issues that the church and Christians are having to deal with.

            Some of these Christians did not want to listen to the word of God anymore. Some of these folks were getting tired. Some of these people were getting bored, so he addresses those issues.

            To do so, he offers A TALE OF TWO ENCOUNTERS:

                        The first took place in the material realm;

                        the second in the invisible realm.

             Each description tells of two mountains. The first occurred in the material world—on Mt. Sinai—when God brought the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt. Here is how he recalled it. Look at Hebrews 12:18…18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” NLT

            This was an event that had taken place 1000 years before. It was a real event in a real-time and history.

            The second encounter is just as real. It is invisible, and it took place every Sunday. It continues to do so until this day. Look at verse 22: 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, NIV 1984

            The Preacher is saying: “Draw near to the second mountain.”

            What I understand him to tell these people is this, “Whenever you get together, you are entering into the very realm of God.”

What happens when the church gets together for worship?

                        First of all, We meet God.

            As we read, at Mount Sinai, when God's people were standing at the base of the mountain, they could hear the thunder. They could feel the mountain shake. They could see the lightening.

            I will readily admit that in our assemblies today there are no flashes of lightning; no thunder is being heard, they are no bells and no whistles. But this Preacher says, “It is never more real than now. You are in the presence of God.”

A TALE OF TWO ENCOUNTERS

            The first was marked by fear;

              the second by celebration and worship.

21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, NIV 1984

            Do you see a contrast between 21-22?

            Remember, he is telling them why they should be looking forward and focused and excited about being in the presence of God. This was a big deal.

            I remember when my mother took me down to the TV station, Channel 3, in Shreveport, and I was hoping to get to meet Bozo the clown. I was so excited, I was going to a real-life television station. I just knew I was going to see, meet, and spend time with Bozo the clown.

            Alas, it was on a Saturday. Hardly anyone was at the station. Bozo the clown was nowhere to be found. I took it rather hard. Looking back, I'm sure a lot of people were wondering why a junior in high school was so upset that he did not get to me Bozo the clown.

            Okay, maybe my dating on the story is off a decade or so, but here is my point: during that time in my life, I was more excited about getting to be in the presence of Bozo the clown, then I was about being in the presence of God.

            You might be thinking, “How frivolous!” And you would be right. I hope I have outgrown that. I know there a lot of people who have not. They are a lot more excited about going into the presence of the frivolous, than they are about going into the presence of God.

            If you have been with us throughout this series, you have noticed that there are passages that alternate between the reverence of God and the confidence to go into the presence of God. For example, 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, NIV 1984

            This is important. If we're not careful, we tend to focus on our own instinctive way of responding to God.

            Another word summarizing this understanding is confidence. Not confidence placed in our work, but confidence placed in Jesus’ work. Throughout Hebrews, fear and confidence alternate: they make up two sides of the same coin.

                            The Preacher of Hebrews has alternated between

confidence and fear before God:

Fear                                                                        Confidence

            4:12-13                                                            4:14-16

            6:4-8                                                                        6:9-12

10:19-25

10:26-31                                                            10:32-36

            12:18-29                                                            12:18-29

            Some of us instinctively respond to God with reverence and awe; however, we do not have the ability to appreciate Christ's work, Christ’s affection, and Christ’s fellowship: 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” For others of us, it is the opposite. Notice verse 22:  22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, NIV 1984

            Express your worship to God in a way consistent with your temperament and calling, and don’t judge God’s other servants.

            I remember one time we had a guy that led our communion thoughts, and he said, “Take a moment as we share the bread and tell your neighbor what God has done for you this week.”

            Well, a fellow jumped on him in the foyer after service and chewed him out in front of everybody around. How dare he violate the worship service by doing something irreverent!

            That fellow is no longer with us, and I ache for the guy because the book of Hebrews is missing from his Bible; he is missing a significant portion of the rest of the Bible as well.

            He's pulling a “Thomas Jefferson.” Did you know Thomas Jefferson cut out all of the miracles of Jesus out of his Bible? They did not fit his belief system. Likewise, our former member was cutting out all of the things that did not fit his belief system.

            He cut out Exodus 24 and the story of the meal God had with Moses and the elders. He cut the fellowship offering out of Leviticus 3; he cut out a bunch of the Psalms.

            Here is the gist of the pre-cross celebration: God did not kill us, yea!

            Our friend cut out passages of the New Testament, including Hebrews. He overlooked Heb. 9:1-10:18. Remember:

            Reverence and joy are two sides of the same coin—how we relate to God.

            It is precisely because of the holiness of God and the work of Jesus that we are motivated to joyfully gather.

            Now… I know this is difficult for some people. There is a lot of church growth material out there that says you cannot have a community that is too far apart on the spectrum. And if you notice, a lot of these congregations that are written about as congregations that are growing are in fact, swelling. That is to say, they are not adding fruit to the Kingdom. They instead add people from other churches. Nevertheless, there seems to be a restricted view of how to do things. Furthermore, everybody buys into that view.

            That method appears to be the most successful, but is that the call of God? Am I being idealistic to think that it would be nice to have a community that could stretch as far as it can on things that are negotiable, and do so with love and respect for people? And while Christians in the body of Christ are loving and respecting each other, they are allowed to be authentic, and each embraces the authenticity of the other. Is this a naïve vision?

            It is hard to live in community. It is hard live in a family. There are always things in families that you view differently. You feel as though you are out of your comfort zone; however, you have got to embrace that fact… and move on.

            It is the same in spiritual families.

            Wrapping this up, it's especially this way in this thing called the worship assembly. You got some who are inclined toward the point on the spectrum of joyful worship, for which they are gifted. Others are inclined toward the other end of the spectrum—reverential worship (their gifted in that area as well.)

            In the church, you lean toward that for which you are gifted. You do what you are good at. Others do what they are good out. You can have both.

            In the assembly, it is the community that expresses worship before God, is not one individual. We compensate for each other. So don't lose that important dynamic in Hebrews.

           

What Happens in the public worship of the church?

            1. We meet God.

            2. We encounter and those spiritual beings who have run the race before us.

           

            Look at verse 23–23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. NLT           

            I have previously written that I like this teaching. He's made us think about others present in the assembly: Abraham, Moses, and others. Consequently, in the worship assembly, we have a little bit of heaven. We have come into the heavenly world. Better yet, the heavenly world has come into our midst.

            Here is a second theme in this section of Hebrews–we encounter angels and those spiritual beings who have run the race before us. We looked at this earlier in chapter twelve, verse 1–the cloud of witnesses. According to verse 22–when we gather together and worship… we are in the world of angels. We can't see them; he understands that. But they are present.

            Folks, he does not promise this access if I ignore the worship assembly on Sunday and take off to the woods by myself. We are so individualistic in our culture, that for a number of Christians, time alone in the woods would be a perfectly acceptable alternative. However, the world of the Bible was a world of community. In our world, we have made individuality an idol.

            If I shun you in order to go off into the woods by myself to be with God, there no promise that I would have access to these angels and those who have gone on before us.

            This letter was not written to a church like Shiloh Road; it was written to a little house church… or to a series of little house churches. They did not meet in impressive buildings. The preaching might very well have been bad, the singing might have been bad, people may have had to stretch out their legs to stay awake during the sermon, there were no bells and whistles that were making the people want to go. Perhaps some of them were asking themselves, “Should I go to church or should I stay home.”

            Nothing their eyes saw at the assembly was impressive. It may have been even dreary. Yet, look at this image that the Preacher gives them of what is happening: 25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

            You don't think this was going to give them a charge? He was telling them, “You think you are in your little house church where the singing is bad and the preaching is bad. But no, you are meeting with the household of faith. You are joining God and the angels and those who have gone on before you.” It did not look like that, but he was telling them to get in touch with the “real” reality.

            I think of that and I think about how many people today are going to church buildings, and the key question in their minds as they leave will be, “Did I like the worship service.” They will have missed it all, because they could not see who was really there.

            This reminds me of a movie you may have enjoyed seeing, “Field of Dreams.” Remember, Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a farmer who builds a baseball field on his farm.

            A voice had told him, “If you build it, he will come.” Indeed, Shoeless Joe Jackson comes and brings along his friends from the past.

            One afternoon, Ray and his family sit in the stands and enjoy a game. If you remember, no one else can see the players except for Ray’s immediate family.

            Ray’s brother-in-law and his mother-in-law arrive, and they can’t see what's happening out on the diamond. They get quite upset with Ray and his family.

            It bothers them that Ray’s family can see something they cannot see. They just don't get it, and they do not react well.

            God is calling us to see what the world can't see. Typically, the world is not going to react well. Nevertheless, we choose to see what God wants us to see. There is blessing from that. Just as Ray and his family were blessed by what they saw, so too are we.

            The last part of this passage is … A Call To Worship (Heb. 12:28)—

            Invest in the unseen

28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. NLT

            The Preacher calls us to invest in the unseen.

            Remember in Hebrews eleven, verse 1, what his definition of faith was? Faith is the substance of all things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.             That is a big theme in this letter. There is a world above ours; it transcends ours; you cannot see it, feel it, touch it, hear it, or smell it. But it is more real than what you do see, feel, touch, hear, or smell.

            Invest in what you cannot see. They had been investing in the world around them. They had been investing in what they could see. Sometimes it is because they were attracted to what they wanted; something that meant more to them than the Kingdom did.

            This guy has consistently devalued worldly possessions, worldly citizenship, and worldly status. He has said: if you invest in the world, then you will lose like Esau did.

            He said to them, and he says to us—invest in the heavenly world.

            It is easy to look at Esau, today, and think “Wow! What a dummy.” But folks, there are people who do this every day. Some of them, sadly, are Christians. They go for what they can see.

            Have you noticed how many times he says we have an unshakable kingdom? They were surrounded by a world that was shaky.

            How about you? Have you got an IRA that is shaky? An investment?  

            He gives them hope in an unshakable kingdom… and in a lasting city.

            Earlier, we addressed one extreme concerning the way we approach the Father, now here is a reminder of another extreme.

            There are an abundance of passages that talk about the need to hold reverence for God. Many in our culture view God like Aladdin. Make a wish!

            Consequently, they have excised passages regarding the holiness of God from their Bibles. God is not a genie!           

            Albert Einstein said something that fits this subject well, “He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead.”

            When we as Christians gather together before God, we should do so with a sense of wonder.

            In the worship assembly, God comes to dwell among us.

A Call To Worship (Heb. 12:28)

            Invest in the unseen and if we do…

            we will be grateful worshippers.

            If we invest in the unseen, we will be thankful. When we go before God with other Christians, we should definitely be shaken out of the “automatic pilot” mode.

       28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

29 For our God is a devouring fire.

            If we could really see what is happening in the worship assembly, would it not motivate us to more easily pay attention to what a guy is praying? Would it not be easier to focus at the Lord’s Table? How would it not impact our singing?

            Would we not be more grateful?

            Some of our members live in the Chapel Hill School District. Last Fall, Chapel Hill won the state championship in football. This was a big deal.

            This Spring, the people at Chapel Hill got so excited because their football team won the state championship, they had a special assembly where they offered championship rings to the players.

            People were grateful. They showed their gratitude in various ways. Some with their voices, some with hugs, some with tears, some with smiles, some with clapping… but they were all grateful.

            Imagine people in the presence of that team ignoring them, or being bored with the team, or feeling apathetic toward the team. Can you imagine?

            What is it like for God when he says, “Here is something that I would appreciate: A loving look… all of your voice in praise… your enthusiasm… your reverence…”

            Do you forget what he desires from you?

            I know Romans 12:1-2 talks about daily worship. I am all for that. Indeed, I think the product of what we do in assembly ideally reflects what we have been supplying the world in daily worship throughout the week.

            Still, the weekly assembly helps us recalibrate our daily walk.

            I lived several years in cotton farming country. Long ago, there was a time when people would plow the ground with push plows. One fellow was asked how he plowed his rows so straight, and he said, “I just look at a point as far ahead as I can see. I position my plow toward it, and I head in that direction.”

            The worship service is, in a lot of ways, like old time plowing. We look at what is ahead—unseen—and we encourage each other to head in that direction.             

            By the grace of God, these actions help our lives to be straight.

Thanks Dr. James Thompson and David DeSilva.

           

Top 4 Reasons to be in Church… Reason # 2

For Who Is There–Heb. 10:32-12:3

           Everybody has heroes. One I have is Jim Elliot. Jim graduated from Wheaton College in the 1950s, and he quickly discovered a vocation in the missionary life.

            The field he chose was the unexplored frontiers of Ecuador in Latin America. Not content with bringing the Gospel to the civilized people of the country, he and his four companions flew their MAF Piper plane to the lands of the savage Auca tribe.

            Their first landing led to their tragic massacre on a remote beach in South America, but out of that seemingly senseless tragedy comes a powerful testimony of the call of God and the impact that call has on the life of people.

            When Elliot and his teammates were martyred, a reader wrote a letter to the editor to TIME Magazine,

Letter to the editor in Time Magazine February 13, 1956

“Promoting Christianity”

Sir:

We have been reading about the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador [Jan. 23]. These young men were very fine people. However, let's look at the Indians' side of the story. The Aucas are well known to be Stone Age people, they hate all strangers, and don't want anyone coming into their territory. Why go in? These people have lived this way for hundreds of years, and I am sure the Lord must be interested in them just as they are. Let's use all our efforts to improve our own country and stay out of the jungles of Ecuador—I am sure it will cause the Auca Indians to give thanks to whatever God they believe in.

DAVID P. LEAS

Villa Nova, Pa.

            Do you hear the question? Why should such brilliant men waste so much talent and go to a foreign country for mission work? He could SEE so much that needed to be done here in the U.S.

            Jim Elliot’s widow wrote a letter to the TIME editor in reply.

Letter to the editor in Time Magazine March 12, 1956

Sir: Mr. David P. Leas' letter [about the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador—Feb. 13]: "Why go into Auca territory?" I answer in the words my husband wrote in his last letter to his parents: "Ours is to preach the gospel to every creature . . ." Mr. Leas is sure that the Lord must be interested in the Aucas "just as they are." God is interested in all mankind just as he is—so interested, in fact, that He sent His Son to die for him. The only trouble is that the Auca doesn't know that yet. The five men intended that they should. "Stay out of the jungles of Ecuador?" Not until every creature has had the chance to hear. I, for one, am staying.

MRS. P. JAMES ELLIOT Shandia, Ecuador

Now, here are more words, originally from Jim Elliot’s journal, and written in that letter to his parents:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot

            Jim Elliot saw something few around him in his day and age could see. He viewed things from God’s perspective.

            It has always been this way. The majority cannot see; God’s people can.

            As we have heard in Hebrews, the world could not see. Yet, they were trying to press the Christians into their mold, which was poorly shaped. God wanted his people to be poured into the mold of Jesus. God designated one group to do that—the church. Other groups might have helped, but they were not THE ONE picked by God. That was the church.

            There are a lot of people today, even Christian people, who prefer other groups to mold them. That is why many are not in worship services on Sunday.

            It is hard to follow a God you cannot see with your eyes. When you try to follow Jesus, there is always pushback from other groups—and that pushback hurts.

            In a sense, you could say that all suffering is relative. Pushback from the world hurts, no matter where you are in life.

            The temptation is to do something to eliminate the pushback, and that something is contrary to the will of Jesus. Pushback leads to the denial of Jesus, instead of the affirmation of him.

            Now, you know better than I what that pushback is in your life.

            It may be your family is mad because you quit dating that guy who is taking you away from Jesus.

            It may be rejection from your friends. Perhaps, when they see your commitment to Jesus, they your Thursday night Bridge game hold hostage to test you. If you don't do what they want, they will not invite you anymore.

            For others of you, it may be a derisive laugh. For some, it may be a withering glance from a friend. The point is that you have people all around who are trying to fit you into their mold.

            You must see what you cannot see. Yet, that is the challenge. It’s hard.

            I have told you before about the early stages of our campus ministry in Argentina. It was going well, but it was tough for those students, because Christianity was so radical for their culture. It was a secular European culture, and Christianity was a thing of the past. For these students, to leave their old lives behind and follow Jesus was a courageous act to take.

            One girl in particular was vivacious and cute and was quite an evangelist for us. We would host Saturday night Bible studies and fellowships in our home, and this Christian girl invited a friend of hers, who was very much in the world.             After they left our house, this non-Christian friend told her, in effect, “I don't understand what you are doing. They are a bunch of losers.”

            She invited her to go out and see a bunch of “winners”… those who were partying all night at her favorite nightclubs. Our Christian girl took her up on her offer.

            She did see. She did see people, excitement, fun, and affirmation.

            Before long, she abandoned her Christian community to join her non-Christian friend’s community.

            The world’s community began to fit her into their mold. It was a very sad thing. Her life changed for the worse. All because she pursued what she could see.           

To boil of this down to one sentence:

Christians are called to see the unseen.

            We are accustomed to this in other fields. During the time of the Hebrews’, people would get sick from things they could not see. Today, thanks to microscopes, we can see them. But we cannot see bacteria and other things that cause ailments with the naked eye.

            Do you use the Internet? Can you see it? I put my faith in the power of the Internet, even though I have never seen it.

            When you were young, your parents tried to share with you their faith in electricity. They tried to convince you of its power. They attempted to convince you that the power of electricity could be found in a wall socket. But you and your rational belief system rejected this teaching from your parents. You were like “Doubting Thomas”—“Until I feel the power, I will not believe.”

            Then, one day, you put your fingers in that wall socket. At the moment, maybe with fear, trepidation, and tears in your eyes, you came forward while your parents stood and sang.

            To this day, you live in faith that there is power in that wall socket. You cannot see it, but you believe it is there.

            Expand this conversation to the spiritual world. You and I cannot see it with our eyes, but God is telling us over and over again to see what we cannot see.

            Hebrews chapter twelve tells us that we base our lives upon this spiritual sight. But that is risky. This Preacher recognizes that. That's why he challenges them and encourages them by saying these words–you are called to be faithful to Jesus. After all, Jesus was faithful to you.

            Actually, I wish the translations for “faith” in the book of Hebrews read “faithfulness,” or “faithful,” because those are better translations.

            Here is what faithfulness is: you know there is a hope even though you can't see it, and, you live by it.

            He is not talking about simply saying, “I believe….” Rather, faithfulness means saying, “I believe” and living a life that really and truly reflects that belief. That is what this whole section is about. That is the better life. You notice he says that that is what these heroes were commended for.

            I like the way one translation phrases verse 32, Remember the past, when you first learned the truth. You endured a lot of hardship and pain (Heb. 10:32.) He says, “You endured.” They were running a marathon, not a sprint. Jesus endured. In Christianity, you stick it out.

            According to this preacher, faith is a place to stand. It is not based upon feelings. Trust me, those in Hebrews who were in the assembly were not compelled to testify each week, “Here is what the Lord did for me.” (I know for some Christians today, a long time has passed since they have met with God’s people, ready to share their testimony of what God has done for them.)

            That is not to say that the Lord was not giving the Christians in Hebrews something to testify about, nor Christians today. Chapter eleven is about people who could not physically see the Lord working in their lives. Yet, if you look at verse two of chapter 11, the better translation goes like this: For by [faith--trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report (Heb. 11:2.) AMP

            Their lives were a testimony to what God was doing in the world.

            Make no mistake about it, those times when you don't feel like you can say, "Here is what the Lord has done for me,” you may be indeed writing your very best testimony. You just cannot see it. All of the feedback you're getting, from those outside in the world, may be telling you that you're doing the wrong thing or the foolish thing. But you ultimately play for an audience of one--God.

            Do you notice what he points to as an example of seeing and the unseen? It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God's command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen (Heb. 11:3.) NCV

            It is the creation. God saw nothing, and then he created something. God enjoys creating something out of what, to us, is nothing. God can likewise take the experiences in the lives of His people, and pull something out of what appears to be a hopeless situation.

            A recent movie that has come out is called OCTOBER BABY. The talk it generated mainly centered on the story’s main character—a high school girl whose mother attempted to abort her birth… and the abortion failed.

            There are many elements to the movie’s plot. There are many themes including forgiveness and reconciliation. However, I think one of the most powerful components of this movie comes in the final credits.

            The actress who portrays the girl’s mother had an abortion over two decades ago. During the closing credits, she offers her testimony to God and his healing power. Our God forgives and heals—even those who abort children.

            Reflecting on that, I could not help but think how much I would love for Shiloh to become known as a place where women and men who participate in the abortion of children can come and find forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and redemption.

             A lot of people cannot see that. They look and see only what their eyes tell them they can see. This is unfortunate. You cannot see the forgiveness God offers, but it is out there and it is available.

            Like events are the back-story to this passage: the creative work of God changing people’s lives and giving healing and hope. So often these stories surge from avenues, nooks, and crannies where people cannot see them.

            In chapter eleven, you have people who could see. If you have been with me in this look at Hebrews, you might remember that earlier, we looked at those who were not heroes in the story of Israel. They were in chapters three and four. Here, in chapter eleven, we're looking at the heroes. In Chapter eleven, you have this preacher encouraging his readers by pointing out what seems to be random acts of faithfulness.

            Earlier, remember, he talked about the wilderness generation who was guilty of unfaithfulness. These heroes in chapter eleven are "guilty" of faithfulness. They endured.           

            Look at verse six: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

            He is talking to people who are wavering. He wants them to earnestly seek God. We sing this song called “Step by Step”. In it we sing the phrase, “I will seek you in the morning.”

            I think about that song when I look at this verse. The people who were the heroes of faith seek God even when they cannot see.

            Who is an example of this? How about Noah?  

            God told him to act upon things that he could not see, and he did. He preached and taught, tradition says for 120 years, while he constructed the Ark. Just building the Ark was an act of testimony. Talk about sensory preaching!

            I’m sure people kept asking Noah, “So how’s the ship going to get off the ground?”

            Poor Noah had to reply, “I don’t know. God is going to take care out that.”

            Seeing the unseen.

            This preacher is trying to encourage these Christian in Hebrews, because they keep asking themselves, “What is wrong with us? We are so out of step with everybody else.” He is saying, "The rest of the world does not know what is real. You know what is real."

            This guy spends a lot of time on Abraham and his grandchildren.

          He wants to talk to them about alienation. Read through here sometime and note how many times he uses verbs of movement. One is where the text says that Abraham went out.

            Rabbinic tradition says that Abraham was an idol worshiper living in Mesopotamia, and I believe that. God called him out of that land. Mesopotamia was a good culture, a civilized culture for the time; they had an ancient form of the postal system and lots of other goodies.

            Some preachers have imagined that after Abraham left, some of his old buddies would sit around telling stories into their old age. They would say things like, “Yeah, Abraham was a good guy. He had a lot going for him. And then he started hearing voices. He said they were voices of God…” They would shake their heads, and you could see they were thinking, “What a shame. So much talent wasted. I wonder whatever happened to him.”

            Question, give me a single name of anyone else who lived in Mesopotamia during that time. But the entire world knows Abraham's name. And they know it because he saw what they could not see. He was faithful to God and lived out that vision. These people were like links in the chain of God, and they were content to simply be links.

            Look at verse eight, 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. NIV 1984

         Look at verse 10, 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. NIV 1984   

          He was looking to a city he could not see, yet he was faithful.            

            Could Abraham see you? Obviously, not literally. But God told him he would have so many descendants, one could not count them. This is a guy who was old–he was even older than I am! Yet Abraham lived his life faithfully, and now he has too many descendants to count.

            Look at verse 13, 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. NIV 1984

            These people were following a God who was preparing a city for them in which they would not live while in their human skin. They couldn't see it with their eyes, but they could see it with their souls.

            Folks, there are a lot of people in Scripture who lived out the faith and were strangers to the culture. Whether you and I like it or not, we have to make a decision; do we want it bad enough to be willing to be a stranger to this culture?

            Who is the audience we're playing for? Is it for those around us in our culture, or is it God? They did not see with their eyes, but they saw with their souls.

            I cannot help but think of a quote by Helen Keller; writers have written plays and movies about her, because as a young child, she lost her sight and her hearing. She learned to live a full life. She wrote, “If the blind put their hand in God's, they find their way more surely than those who have no faith or purpose.” Do you hear what she is saying?

            What about Moses? What about the “Prince of Egypt?” He rejected the Egyptian culture.  Verse 25 says that he would rather suffer mistreatment than the king. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. NIV 1984

         he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. NIV 1984

         He persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Can you see what no one in this culture can see?

            Rahab is in here. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. NIV 1984

         Rahab was inside one of the most fortified cities in all of civilization at that time. From what her eyes told her, the safe bet was to stay there. This ragtag band of wandering pilgrims on the outside, with weapons that did not even contain iron, should not have been any match for the fortified Jericho. But she put her faith in him whom everyone else around her could not see.

           

Look at verses 39 to 40 :

 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. NIV 1984

Are we willing to sacrifice, to trade-in, all that this world has to offer, for what is behind the door of that which is to come? Are we willing to play for the audience of one–God—and that be enough? That is what is being laid out in here in this list.

            If you are sitting there, and you know you are a flawed human being—what the Bible calls a sinner—be of good cheer. Even if you have a little bit of faith, if it is in God, a little faith will go a long way. Now, I hope that will inspire you to faithfulness. Please allow this church to provide you the Christ mold to grow in Christ's image. But let's just start with helping you get that little, teeny, tiny bit of faith-in God.  How about we look again at verse 40–40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. NIV 1984

            No matter what this culture offers—even if it is good—it will never match up to what is to come. There are some who enjoy the blessings of this country, and they live lives that are defeated, depressed and hurting, because they have forgotten that they are spiritual beings. They are putting their faith in what they see.

            They're listening to those around them in the world. They are putting their faith in what they see.

            There are others who have it bad, and they know they have it bad. They must be careful to remember that they too are spiritual beings. And as bad as it seems, there are things ahead in Christ that are better.

            So, what do we do with this information? Let the Preacher here in Hebrews get practical and tell us…

How To See the Unseen:

1. Go to church.

            You may be asking, “Mark, why do you say that?” Because all of this is in the context of the worship assembly. We saw this in Chapter ten, we see it again in a chapter twelve–1 Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us (Heb. 12:1.) CEV

            A couple weeks ago, we talked about how the Christian journey is like a race. And it can get tough. We get tired. People boo us. Yet, there are those in the stands who are cheering us on.

            These folks in Hebrews have not been assembling together much. Part of it could have been they did not have a nice building like ours; they had a small number of people, simply meeting in homes. The singing might have been bad. So he tells them–“when you meet, it is not just you yourselves, it is not just those whom you see with your eyes. There are all of these heroes of faith and others who have gone on before you who are present. And they are encouraging you. They are cheering you on. You are part of this spiritual family that goes on for eternity. They are there with you.”

            I am not sure if this was symbolic or if it was literal. I don't want to be too sentimental about this, but I think this is literal.

            It is hard for me not to be sentimental, or least emotional, because I believe this. I believe when we gather in the assembly, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit come to meet with us. I believe the angels of heaven join us. But that’s not all.

            I believe my dad is with us. I think my brother is with us. My grandfather, who was a kind, sweet man, and godly man—an elder in the church for many years—I believe he is with us. I believe your loved ones who have died in the faith are with you in your assemblies.

            You cannot see them, but neither can you see radio waves. However, you can hear the sounds the radio waves bring. The waves are there.

            Can you see the spiritual beings in the assembly? No, but you can appreciate their presence.

            Warning. I cannot give you any reason to believe that when you are walking in the woods by yourself praying to God, those spiritual beings are with you. There is no scriptural account of that. But you see this Scriptural hope about the worship assembly of the Saints.

            Why go to church? That's what were asking.

            There are a lot of answers to that question; one answer--because of who is there.           

            From the first line of this letter, the preacher has dealt with the question, “Is it worth it to be a Christian?” They were in house churches and in bad situations.

            Today, there are people all over the world who are sitting in bad situations in worship services. They may be in dysfunctional churches. They may be in boring churches. They may be in churches where the demographics all around them are changing, and that is creating tremendous tension. And they are discouraged from meeting. This preacher would say, “No, you're focusing on what your eyes can see. Focus on what your eyes cannot see. When you meet, think about who is there.”

            How do you see what you cannot see? Here is his answer (and we can do this!)

2. Fix our eyes on Jesus.

2 We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God's throne! 3So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners (Heb. 12:2-3.) CEV

         We fix our eyes on Jesus. Then we won't get discouraged and give up. How do we do that? Get into the Word. Read the Bible. Study the Bible. Meditate on the Word: because the Bible points to Jesus.

            Get around Jesus in skin. Where is he? The church. But the church is imperfect! I know. Imagine God trusting his incredible mission of bringing people into the Kingdom, and molding them into the image of Jesus--and choosing human beings as his instruments to do that! But he does.

            We use all of our resources to fix our eyes on Jesus.

            Dementia is a terrible thing. I heard a story several years ago from Tommy Nelson about a Christian lady, who loved the Lord, and memorized a lot of scriptures to honor him as well to encourage herself. She grew older, and a number the Scriptures began to leave her. She had one favorite verse, Second Timothy 1:12b, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to keep what I have entrusted to him until that day.”

            As she grew older in life, she lost all verses, except that one verse. In the last few days of her life, she lay on her deathbed, and even that verse had left her. Except for one word–“him.” And she would constantly recite it, “him, him, him.”

            That is a good word to remember. If you distill all of the Bible, that is what you distill it to–Him. All of the Bible points to the Father’s Son, His words, His purpose, and His salvation.

            Whenever Marco Polo came back from China, it is said that many mocked him for what he saw. They scoffed at him until the end of his days, yet he died with the assurance that someday, everybody would discover, what he had discovered and knew for certain--there was something on the other side. Indeed, the world did find out. There is something on the other side.

            What we have read is that the world will scoff at us. The world has scoffed at the foolishness of our beliefs. But we have a certainty. When we die, we die in faith. We knowing that some day, the entire world will know there is something on the other side.

Thanks James Thompson and David DeSilva.