Be alert and walk the path of heaven

  Hebrews 12:1-29; 6/19/2022; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

  Introduction

The message of Hebrews is to start from the glory of God, enter into the wonder of God,   let us enter into the choice of life, the preparation of rest.  Going back to the renewal of the old and new covenants, knowing that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, the renewal of the law, stepping onto the stage of faith,  and coming to today’s message: “Watch and walk the path of heaven”!  Excuse me, how is the road to heaven?  That’s where today’s message comes from,  let’s look at the first point:

 Fixing our eyes on God, the pioneer and perfecter 

Maybe when we first believe in the Lord, we may feel fresh and curious,  and our enthusiasm for life will increase, and our interest in the interpersonal relationships around us will of course be very different.  However, curiosity and interest do not make people lasting, and they may even stop and unmask? First of all, you are not alone!  Why not say “I am not alone”,  but say “you are not alone”?  This is because when we are struggling with the truth, it is often the second person in the eyes of others, right?  For example, you can believe it, but don’t get caught up in it!  Why do you believe in God and don’t even worship the ancestral tablet?  Also, believing in Jesus must be based on the premise of loving the country, the nation, the party, and the people!  How can you criticize your own country, nation, or tradition? In fact, this is a similar challenge to the early church.  Believers from Jewish backgrounds at that time also faced Jewish criticism, condemnation and rejection!  Paul made it very clear that we are not alone,  we are surrounded by so many witnesses like a cloud!

Second, the cross is at the front.  Maybe some people would say to the early believers,   you are already Israelis and God’s chosen people, why do you still choose Jesus Christ?  As someone said today, we need to be confident in our nationality, culture, and even our system.  In fact, this is a question of stealing concepts, and it has nothing to do with the theme of life. The doctrine of the cross is about the origin, ultimate concern, and life and death of human beings! There is no other answer except for Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  So Paul exhorts us to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, our pioneer and perfecter. Because He has already carried the burdens we are about to carry, and we can cast on Him the burdens that we cannot carry!  Through Him we can cast off the sin that so easily besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us.

Finally, fight against evil.  It’s easy to talk about, but not easy to do, right?    Did you know that the way to the kingdom of heaven is not about lying down!  Jesus said we must put effort!  Burying one thousand taels of silver in the ground is something lazy and wicked people do!   To fight against evil is to look up only, look intently, look up completely, look up only, so that it is possible to underestimate the gains and losses, look down on humiliation, endure all kinds of temporary and light suffering, and escape the sin that haunts us!  Evil thoughts come to visit our hearts and minds every day.  Apart from relying on the Lord to overcome, we have no ability!  So, the secret is to focus more and more on the will of the Lord!  Think what the Lord thinks, act what the Lord does, listen to and live what the Lord says!  Don’t be too focused on how to deal with evil things, not worth the loss!  Only need to focus on the Lord!  Let’s look at the second point:

 

 Blessed to be disciplined by the Lord

A child without parental discipline is pitiful,   because discipline is God’s defined grace for His children!  A person who does not need to be too smart should be able to penetrate this mystery.   First, the mind of the discipline is love. Have you ever wondered why God entrusts the responsibility of raising children to parents instead of grandparents?  Quite simply, it is because God entrusted the responsibility of discipline to parents.  The intergenerational relationship is indeed very close, and it is very close.  However, it cannot replace the discipline of parents for their children.  Who hasn’t been spanked by their father?  If you were not spanked, you might be severely reproached, won’t you?  Parents who do not discipline their children are not responsible parents.  The so-called loving mother bears ruined children.  This is what it means!   If you have not been disciplined by your parents at home, you will not be able to accept the boss’s rebuke when you are at work, and it will be even more difficult to accept the discipline of the church!    Open the Bible and see that all those whom God loves are subject to God’s discipline.

Second, discipline results in benefits.  Paul said: “They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)”  Usually, most children who have been disciplined by their parents  will likely understand their parents’ discipline by the time they become parents themselves.  Even the poor way parents discipline their children can cause harm.  However, there is no need to completely deny the motives and intentions of parents to discipline their children.  What Paul means is that our biological parents discipline us in a way that we can still understand.  Not to mention the Father of all spirits, shouldn’t we receive it and rejoice?

Finally, the purpose of discipline is righteousness.  Leaving aside utilitarianism and practical benefits, Paul says: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)”  In short, being disciplined by God itself is a right thing in God’s sight,   that is, righteousness.  From the feeling, by face, one will feel sad, and unhappy.  However, this is the fastest and best way to improve vitality!   Not just the method, but more importantly, the life. Only when life is honed can it grow and bear the fruit of peace.  Peace is not a feeling, but a satisfaction in the eyes of God.  Only when God is satisfied can we find true peace!  Let’s look at the third point:

 Live with reverence

Believe in Jesus, have eternal life, preach the gospel, and be a witness!  The core of this is to walk with God with reverence!  First, no one can see the Lord without holiness.  Holiness is what God cares about, not only in morality, but also in faith.  Paul said:  “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. (Hebrews 12:16)”  Esau was Jacob’s twin brother.  Growing up, he was afraid that his younger brother would steal his birthright. vDespite all precautions, he still failed to prevent his younger brother Jacob from “snatching” his father’s dying blessing when his father was about to bless him!  In fact, he knew that Isaac loved him, but he was still worried.  He wanted to use a bowl of game soup to protect his father’s blessing!  Therefore, anyone who does not have faith as the driving force of life is no different from adultery in the sight of God.

Second, no one can believe in the Lord unless they obey God’s commands.  Paul said that the Israelites of those days could not inherit the Promised Land because they could not live up to what was commanded to them.  You and I have decided to believe in the Lord today,   can you inherit the blessing of eternal life?  Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15)”  It is possible that someone sacrificed many fattened cattle and sheep, and the fire on the altar was large and vigorous, but he was rebellious in his heart, refused to obey, and lived a life inferior to that of the Gentiles.  Although you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,    you don’t really believe in Him that He rose from the dead.  Can such faith pass God’s judgment?

Finally, no one can be godly without prudence.  Prudence is the attitude of life, Paul said that the blood shed by Jesus Christ is invaluable and speaks more beautifully than the blood of Abel.  Why?  Because the message of Abel’s blood was accusation and curse, and it also became a portrayal of Cain’s life.   God is not to be despised because our God is a consuming fire.  Cain’s willfulness, knowing that he was wrong, and talking back to God, has no intention of repentance.   Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites cast a golden calf at the bottom of the mountain.  When they arrived in the Promised Land, they went to collude with Canaanite idols.  Ananias of the New Testament was rich, but he lied to the Holy Spirit and lost the opportunity to be godly!

 Conclusion

Dear brothers and sisters, walk the heavenly way and be on the alert! If you don’t just look to God and focus on God, then the way to heaven will be difficult!  Difficult paths to heaven cannot be separated from God’s discipline!  Loving God is inseparable from His loving discipline!  To receive God’s discipline is not for immediate benefit, but because it is God’s righteousness.  Holiness, obedience, and godliness are the core values of “be alert and walk the path of heaven”.

Let us pray……

 

Hebrews 12:1-29

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”  21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”