I was going to be preaching today out of Hebrews
12, and I will be in a couple of weeks, but I
had been preparing a certain segment of that,
and I felt the Lord put something else in my
heart. It was actually a verse I had read to
open worship last week, and I just felt Him drop
it right into me, and it's actually a couple
of chapters back in Hebrews. And so we're going
to be in Hebrews chapter 10 today. And for some
of you, you might be like, yes, this is going
to be great. Some of you are going to be like,
I don't know about this. This is not who I am.
But I'm just saying what the scripture says.
And in Hebrews 10, 39, it is this passage. And
it says, we, but we. do not belong to those who
shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who
have faith and are saved. But we do not belong
to those who shrink back. Listen, the Jews at
this time were in an intense persecution. They
were facing public and social pressure and shaming.
Financial loss. It wasn't just they were getting
made fun of on Facebook. It was affecting them
financially. They were being imprisoned for their
faith. They were facing some hard things. And
in Hebrews 10, he says, hey, but we're not part
of those who shrink back. And I've known believers
who, as soon as the going gets tough, wait a
minute, maybe this isn't what I wanted. And so
let's take a few moments and just look at the
context of this verse in Hebrews 10. Starting
in verse 34, you suffered long along with those
in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation
of your property. This is what was happening.
Your home could be confiscated. Can you imagine?
It's hard for us and even the wealth of our Western
to get that, I think. Because you knew that you
yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence. It will
be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so
that when you have done the will of God, you
will receive what he has promised. For in just
a little while, We sang it today. He who is coming
will come and will not delay. You know, it feels
like it's delaying, but there's going to come
that moment where you're like, that went really
fast. And but my righteous one will live by faith,
and I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks
back. But we do not belong to those who shrink
back and are destroyed, but to those who have
faith and are saved. I want us to take two things
away from this. And the first thing in this passage
that captures my attention and makes me sit up
is verse 38. I take no pleasure in the one who
shrinks back. I just have all the things in my
life that I desire. It is to know that the pleasure
of the Lord is upon my life. There's no greater
joy than knowing my life is pleasing him. More
than any other circumstantial outcome in my life,
if I know my life has brought pleasure to the
Lord, that is victory. As I was writing this,
I began to think about, just from the top of
my head, some people in the Bible that I think
probably brought pleasure to God because they
weren't shrinkers. And so I think of in 1 Samuel
14, Jonathan, the son of King Saul. This is one
of my favorite accounts in the Old Testament.
In 1 Samuel 14, they had been camped out, all
the soldiers. And one day, I don't know if he
was getting antsy sitting around, but Jonathan
said to his armor bearer, hey, come on. We're
going to go over to the Philistine outpost on
the other side of this pass. He did not tell
his father, King Saul. I think it might be one
of those situations better to ask for forgiveness
later. So I think he's afraid Saul is going to
be like, no, you can't do that, right? And so
he does not tell his father. And verse 6. Now
I'm going to be kind of jumping around in some
of these passages. In verse 6, Jonathan said
to the armor bearer, come, let's go over to the
outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the
Lord will act on our behalf. He doesn't go to
take this knowing that God has sent him. He doesn't
go into it knowing thus. Sayeth the Lord. He
says, perhaps, right? This is just this idea
that started to burn in him. I want to go take
out those uncircumcised men over there. But he
goes on, and here's where we see the source of
his confidence, though. Nothing can hinder the
Lord from saving, whether by many or few. And
so the armor bearer, he has just complete trust
in Jonathan. He says, do all that you have in
mind. Go ahead. I am with you, heart and soul.
He was fully committed to Jonathan in whatever
scheme Jonathan came up with. So Jonathan told
his armor bearer, climb up after me. The Lord
has given. So he did then in the passage ask
the Lord for a sign. He got that sign. So he
said, come on, armor bearer. The Lord has given
them into the hand of Israel. And so in verse
14, it says, in that first attack, Jonathan and
his armor bearer killed these two guys, some
20 men in an area of about half an acre. i love
the zeal of jonathan that says i'm not sitting
around anymore there are some uncircumcised people
over there let's go let's go do something about
it perhaps the lord will save i know that nothing
can hinder god i think that that kind of attitude
pleases the lord In 1 Samuel, just a few chapters
over 17, we have, you all know David and Goliath,
the account of David and Goliath. If you don't,
you should read the whole thing. But here's,
we're summarizing. Here we have the armies of
Israel against the armies of the Philistines,
and Goliath, who's the giant of the man, taunting
them. to come out and fight them. And so David
is the little guy of the family. He's been out
in the hills with the sheep alone, and dad sends
him to take some food to his brothers on the
battlefield. So David shows up at the battlefield.
And there's this description in verse 24 of Goliath
that says, Whenever the Israelites saw the man,
they all fled from him in great fear. This is
the armies of Israel. They were all fleeing from
Goliath in great fear. And so this is what David
arrives on the scene to find. Goliath taunting,
Israel hiding. And I love what David says. Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should
defy the armies of the living God? Who do you
think you are? I love, I'm pretty sure the zeal
of David, this young, passionate, just rises
up. Who is this guy? He's uncircumcised. Why
are you fleeing? He's defying God. And so David
in verse 32 says to King Saul, so he has the
audacity to approach King Saul and say, let no
one lose heart on account of this Philistine.
I'm here. You're serving me. I'll go and fight
him. You, King Saul, none of the armies of Israel
have stood up to him, but I'm here now, so don't
lose heart. I'll go do the battle for you all.
Just like envisioning, like wanting to just flick
this little kid away, right? He's probably not
winning anything from any of the armies of Israel
at this point. But in verse 45, Saul suits him
up or tries to and send him into battle. He's
like, all right. And so David comes to Goliath.
And he says, you come against me with the sword
and the spear and javelin, but I come against
you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands,
and I'll strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day, I will give the carcasses of the
Philistine army to the birds and animals, and
the whole world will know that there is a God
in Israel. Hallelujah. I think that the Lord
found pleasure in the zeal of David, who said,
no, no, no. I'm not going to tolerate any of
this nonsense of defying the living God. Let's
do battle. Let's go to war. I think in the New
Testament, we often read some of these passages
and think, I just don't know about those disciples,
man. I think about in Luke 9, 54, when the religious
leaders were against Jesus. And it says in verse
54 that when the disciples, James and John, saw
that, They saw them being against Jesus. They
asked Jesus, Lord, do you want us to call down
fire from heaven to destroy them? I just envisioned
Jesus rolling his eyes at them. No, just calm
down. But I think that there had to have been
something that might have just delighted Jesus
in their zeal. Yeah, well, we know that Elijah
did it, so why can't we? Why can't we call down
fire? Can we call down fire, Jesus? I'm envisioning
in Matthew 14 the delight of Jesus when they're
in the storm, rowing, the disciples, and Jesus
walks on water. And Peter, which, by the way,
Reminds me, if you haven't checked out Weekday
Faith, be sure to do it, the podcast. But he
says, Peter says, tell me to come to you on the
water. And Jesus, did he say no? No. He said,
come. Come, Peter. And Peter got out of the boat
and began to walk on water. He didn't shrink
back. I think that that brought joy to the heart
of Jesus. I think it brought joy to the heart
of Jesus in Luke 7 when a woman who lived a sinful
life learned that Jesus was eating in the house
of some Pharisees, the religious leaders. And
she had the audacity to come into that house.
with her alabaster jar of perfume, and begin
to weep over the feet of Jesus, washing his feet
and pouring perfume on them. And the Pharisees
rebuke her. Well, no, they actually are in their
mind saying, doesn't Jesus know who this is?
Well, Jesus knows what's in our minds. And he
says, do you see this woman? I came, you didn't
wash my feet. She did with her tears. You didn't
give me a kiss, but she hasn't stopped kissing
my feet since she entered. You did not put oil
on my head, but she poured perfume on my feet.
The audacity to step into this religious home
and do this. She didn't shrink back in intimidation.
of these religious leaders. I think it brings
joy to the heart of Jesus. And you might say,
well, that's not my personality. Now, for some
of you, not being courageous and adventurous
and taking mountains and hills, yeah, let's do
it. Darren and I had this discussion the other
night about, and he's told me this before, when
he gets close to death's door, His plan is to
not recede into the shadows and quietness. His
plan is to buy a ticket to the Middle East and
go preach the gospel. If he gets shot, he gets
shot. Some of us, you know, because he's at the
end, he wants to go out with a bang. I'm telling
on you now. Okay, some of us, though, this is
our kind of personality, too. We're a little
bit more tended toward that. Some of us are a
little more timid. Now, I know this because I
have a grandson, Benjamin. And Benjamin, when
he was a toddler, like, you had to watch out.
If you were swimming, he didn't know how to swim,
and he didn't care if you were standing there
or not. He was going to jump into the pool. Benjamin
is just dying to be a martyr for Jesus. He's
just waiting for the day that he can rise up
and declare Jesus and be martyred for his faith.
This is the kind of kid that he is. No fear.
He jumps in with everything that is in him. That's
part of his personality. But see, what we're
talking about today is not something that is
personality -driven. Well, I'm more adventurous.
I'm more timid and cautious. That's not what
this is about. This is about not shrinking back
in faith. This is about something in you responding.
to the living Christ that lives within you. This
is about a heart that wants nothing more but
to bring pleasure to God. Now, I could see Benjamin
being one of the disciples, James or John, and
saying, yeah, let's call down fire. He would
totally be in for that. The disciples, in all
of their zeal, and Jesus had to bring much correction
in a lot of that zeal, but I've said it before,
almost all of them were martyred for Jesus. When
it's all said and done, it wasn't just a personality
thing. It wasn't just a zealousness. It was a
conviction of faith, and they were martyred for
it. And so today, the greatest driving factor
in not shrinking back is to bring pleasure. This
is, we had a wonderful time of worship today,
but there is no greater action of worship, I
believe, than to press forward, than to step
out and say, I'm not going to be a shrinker.
I think there's no greater act of worship in
the face of difficulty than to remain standing.
to not let your feet slip backwards, but to remain
standing and believing in faith. There's no greater
act of worship, for it brings pleasure to God.
And so that's our first takeaway from our passage,
is the pleasure of the Lord. The second is this.
These aren't ones we keep company with. You know,
we choose. who we keep company with. And I love
that the author of this passage has this basic
assumption of whom he is writing to. I know who
I'm writing to. We are not of those that shrink
back. We are part of this great company that
does not shrink back. This passage, verse 39,
is the last verse in this chapter. Now, we know
that originally there were not chapters and verses,
right, in the Bible. Those we added later. And
so often it's good for you to look at what came
right before or after a chapter. And so after
verse 39 that says, but we do not belong to those
who shrink back and are destroyed. But to those
who have faith and are saved, who is he talking
about? Who are those who have faith and are saved?
Who is he talking about? Well, let's just go
on to the next verse. Chapter 11, verse 1. The
great hall of faith. Now faith is confidence.
in what we hope for, and assurance about what
we do not see. This is what the ancients were
commended for. And so who is he talking about?
He's talking about all of those that had gone
before the ancients. All of those that had been
living under the old covenant. And even in their
partial understanding under the old covenant,
these are men and women who did not shrink back.
But with the partial revelation, the partial
understanding, they stood their ground. These
are the ones of whom we are a part. We are one
body of Christ, whether it is the body sitting
here currently, whether it is the body of the
past or the future, it is one body. And we are
a part of them and they are a part of us. It
is this beautiful, beautiful body. And so he
begins talking about those whom he commends.
And he begins with this foundational faith in
verse 3. By faith, we understand that the universe
was formed at God's command. And catch this,
because this is what is needed for faith, so
that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible. Right? When God formed it all, he formed
it out of material that was already there. And
he could see, oh, I'll pick up this Play -Doh
and make something amazing. No. He created it
from the invisible. And so when you're talking
about faith, your circumstances, It matters not
what you see or don't see. The living God who
lives within you does not need the seen. He is
the substance of the unseen, and that is faith.
When it looks like it doesn't make sense, when
it looks like nothing could change, nothing could
happen, that's where faith kicks in. That's the
moment that we say, I am not shrinking back.
I'm fixing my eyes on the unseen. And so he goes
on. And down in verse 13, he says, all these
people were still living by faith when they died.
Wow, how great would that be to say about you?
that when I died, I died in faith, believing.
They did not receive the things promised. They
only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,
admitting that they were foreigners and strangers
on earth. And people who say such things show
that they are looking for a country of their
own. If they had been thinking of the country
they had left, they would have had opportunity
to return. Instead, they were longing for a better
country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared
a city for them. This is how they stood in faith.
They saw and welcomed from a distance their future
home. They admitted that they were what? strangers
and foreigners on this earth. We spent Advent
talking about being pilgrims, about being sojourners,
that this world is not our own. We are headed
to a heavenly place, a place that he is currently
preparing for us. And here's what I heard the
Holy Spirit drop into my heart. There are some
here that are living nearsighted. To live nearsighted
means that that which is, if you're nearsighted,
that means that you can see clearly what's in
front of you, but everything in the distance
is blurry. And there are some of us living like
that. This world and the things of this world
are very clear to us. We see it. It is our reality.
And your future eternal home is very blurry.
You have no vision for where God wants you to
end up. And then there are those that are farsighted.
That would be me. You're all really blurry through
my reading glasses right now, but I can see my
notes. Right? Did I say that right? Yeah, I'm
nearsighted. No, I'm farsighted. I'm going to
have us all confused by the end. Okay. Farsighted
means you're seeing into the distance. You can
see clearly what is ahead. And right in front
of you is very blurry. This is what God wants
us to be. God wants us living. far -sighted.
And that is what enables us to not shrink back,
right? Because what we are seeing clearly is
the unseen realm. What we are seeing clearly
is our eternal residence. What we are seeing
clearly is heaven above. And this earth, there's
that old song, right, that said, Strangely dim.
We got to become farsighted people. We got to
become farsighted people. This world has to become
blurry to us and have heaven become crystal clear.
These people were all living under the old covenant.
And so the author is provoking them a bit. He's
provoking the Messianic Jews to some jealousy.
Look at how they lived. Look at their faith.
And they lived that under the old covenant. They
lived that never seeing the promise of the Messiah.
come to pass in their life. If they live that
way under the old covenant, we have no excuse.
We have no excuse for shrinking back. But we
do not belong to those who shrink back and are
destroyed. If we move on into Hebrews chapter
12, just another, I'm taking you kind of through
three passages. And we're actually going to be
in this chapter in a couple of weeks. But I want
us to look at the first few verses. Because this
is our strength. And this is why the enemy works
so hard to isolate you and get you to quit meeting
with believers. In Hebrews 12, 1, it says, therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, he just got done in the rest of
chapter 11 listing example after example after
example of people in the Old Testament who did
not shrink back. And so now he's saying, hey,
you're surrounded by these men and women of God.
Since we are, 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, 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 he sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God. Consider him who endured such opposition
from sinners so that you will not grow weary
and lose heart. We're going to be talking about
that verse in a couple of weeks. But what I want
us to get today is that we are not alone. The
one that runs alone is a weak runner. He has
called us to run in community. And there is a
finish line. See, I'm not a runner. I would not
just run with no end in sight. Forget it. I would
be done. If I didn't know there was an end to
the race, I would not be running. In fact, if
I'm running, I can't even fix my eyes on the
end goal. I have to look at the next telephone
pole if I can just get to the next telephone
pole. Oh, victory. I made it to that telephone
pole. If I can just get to the next telephone
pole. Okay, I made it. I need to know there's
end in sight. We are running a race marked out
for us. And there are those that have gone ahead
that have run it for us. And I just believe in
heaven. I think even as we were worshiping today,
and you could just feel the heavens open over
us, I think it's because we join with all of
those that have gone before that are worshiping
in the throne room. And it's this beautiful moment
of corporate worship, not just on earth, but
a corporate worship of those that have gone ahead
that are worshiping around the throne room. And
there is strength and there is power in that
great cloud of witnesses that surround us. It
is their example that causes me to say, they
did it. They didn't. They didn't. And in their
day, they could not come boldly into the throne
room like I can. In their day, the veil was thick,
and there was no going behind that veil. But
I can go behind the veil. I can go into the Holy
of Holies. I can go into the throne room. If
they did it, if they can finish their race and
not shrink back, I can do it. I can do it. There
is strength. And you need one another. You need
people on a Sunday morning to say, you can do
it. You need people to say, come on. I know it's
hard. I've been there. I'm in there. You need
people to help you not shrink back. He didn't
intend us to go it alone. We must not be shrinkers
when the going gets tough. We've had it fairly
easy here. We just don't know what the future
looks like. And so, this morning, I felt a call
of the Holy Spirit that says, I want my people,
I want them to be a little bit out there. I want
them to not be afraid to maybe step out into
some unknown things. I want them to not be afraid
to pray radical prayers. I want them to not be
afraid to, when the Holy Spirit whispers something,
to rise up and do it. He wants us to not shrink
back, but to step out in a boldness. Not only,
listen, not only are we able to go into the throne
room, But we have the Holy Spirit. They did not
have the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A few here
and there, the Holy Spirit would come upon for
something specific. But they did not have the
infilling of the Holy Spirit that we have. No
excuses. No excuses. We've been given everything
we need to not shrink back. To not shrink back.
And so I'm going to ask if the team would come
this morning. We're going to be closing, but
I want to encourage you with these passages.
We read it in Hebrews 10, and it said, In just
a little while, he who is coming will come and
not delay. Throughout Scripture, what we see
is that when he's encouraged, the believers in
hardship. He's doing it through the hope of the
second coming of Christ. He's doing it. He's
putting hope in them. Hey, look to the skies.
He's coming again. He will not delay. Stay the
ground. Stay the course. He's going to come again.
If we continue to read there in Hebrews 12, In
verse 22, after talking about the race, he says,
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. 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, to Jesus, the mediator
of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood
that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
This is our home. This is our reality. This is
what is crystal clear in our gaze. We heard it
prayed this morning. We sang it. But in the Lord's
prayer, and this is a prayer that I pray often,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth.
As it is in heaven. I think that what God is
wanting his church to do is to begin to become
people. See, as a believer, you have access to
heaven. You have access to heaven. You have access
to the throne room. Your neighbor may not, but
you sure do. Your coworker may not have access
to heaven, but you sure do. And so why, why would
we not step up? Why would we shrink back from
being a people that has access to heaven and
thereby are able to partner with God in seeing
heaven on earth? Through you, through me. If
that's what we want, we cannot shrink back. We
cannot shrink back and see your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
That is not for the shrinkers. On earth as it
is in heaven. We live in this moment of time
where we're believing for the fullness and perfection
that will come. And while we wait, we have the
mysteriousness of heaven coming to earth. And
I think he wants to challenge us to just become
a little bit more courageous, a little bit more
bold in releasing heaven on earth. Listen, Jesus
came and he did it. And he left his body on earth.
You and I are his body, his hands and his feet
to release heaven on earth. This is how it comes.
Through you and through me. Not shrinking back.
Stepping up. Saying I have access to heaven.
I have access to heaven. I have access to heaven.
Our verse here at this church is Mark chapter
9 verse 23. All things are possible for one who
believes. All things are possible for one who
believes. We cannot quote that verse and be a
shrinker. We cannot quote that verse. What is
required for this verse? Belief. Faith. We cannot
be a shrinker. And believe that verse. All things
are possible for one who believes. Lord, help
us in our unbelief. Lord, help us in our unbelief.
And so this morning, as we close out today, I
wanted to just do this. Some of you need to listen.
If you can't. Find the courage to step out and
come to an altar in the safety of this place
of believers. That's probably the beginning point
for some of you that have never made your way
to an altar. To find courage and boldness to
step out and say, God. There's been some areas
that I have shrunk back in believing you. There's
areas I've shrunk back in proclaiming you. There's
areas that I have shrunk back because my faith
has not felt strong. But today, I'm declaring,
I'm making the declaration, I will not be a shrinker.
I will not be in the company of those who shrink
back and are destroyed. Today, I make my proclamation
that I'm going to be a part of those ancient
ones who were commended for their faith. And
if when I die, I did not see any of it come to
pass, it's okay. I died in faith, believing.
And that pleases you. And so I've asked Darren
this morning. He wrote a song years ago. And
I asked him to lead in this song. And so I want
to challenge you, because some of you have some
rough stuff happening, and I get that. Some of
you have some life challenges that aren't easy.
That is not the time to shrink back. That is
the time to press in. That is the time to stir
your faith, believing. All things are possible
for the one who believes. All things are possible
for the one. Are all things possible for unbelief?
No. All things are possible for the one who believes.
And so this morning, if life has been challenging,
if things have been difficult, or if you felt
even the pressure of being a Christian in a place
that is not welcoming Christianity, today, the
Holy Spirit wants to encourage you and fill you
and empower you. And you need to access it. You
need to access it. And so if you'll stand this
morning and we're just going to take a moment
to pray. And then as we worship, I want you to
just make your way to the altar and let it be
your first step in not shrinking back. When you
do that, what you are doing is allowing others
to come alongside you and say, we're going to
pray together. We're going to fan your faith
together. We're going to run on this race together.
You weren't supposed to sit and do it alone in
your pew. He wants you with the believers not
shrinking back. Amen? And so, Lord, this morning,
we bring all of our stuff, all of our questions,
all of our disappointments, All of our frustrations,
all of our impatience, we bring it all to you
and we lay it down. And we lay it down in trust
knowing you can handle all of that. You can deal
with all of that, Jesus. But God, what we're
saying today is we want to please you with our
lives. And we want to be of the company of those
that do not shrink back. set our hand, that put
our feet forward and move toward where you are
and move toward what we hear the Father doing.
And we line up our lives to what the Father is
doing. Give us eyes and ears to hear in Jesus'
mighty name, in Jesus' mighty name. Let's just
worship for a few moments. And if that's you,
man, begin to move and take your steps towards
the altar.