Title: Unmoving Hope / Hebrews 10:19-25
Unmoving hope / Hebrews 10:19-25
An unmoving hope (Hebrews 10:19-25)
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way that he has opened for us through the veil, which is his flesh, and there is a great priest over the house of God, and we was sown in our hearts, realizing the evil of our conscience, and washing our bodies with pure water. Let's come to God with a true heart and complete faith, and the one who promised is faithful. Let us not forsake our meeting together, as is the habit of some, but exhort us, and all the more as we see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:19-25).
The teaching of the Bible is positive. so "… Do” and “… There is a lot of saying, “Don’t do it.” There is no such word as “…you may do it, you may…not do it”. Even in the case of the Ten Commandments, it is divided into “do” and “don’t”. The important thing is to do it. Obedience means “doing” and “don’t do it”.
However, in the human mind, what we are told not to do and not to do is that problems arise and things happen when we try to do it. The important thing is that the obedient were blessed and the disobedient failed, cursed, or collapsed.
In the text we can find four lessons. I hope that we will be able to listen to that lesson and share the grace with you.
1. Jesus is the new and living way.
Verse 20 says, “The way is a new and living way that he opened for us through the veil, and the veil is his flesh.”
The structure of the temple in the Old Testament was divided into the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the temple courtyard (courtyard). The Holy of Holies and the Holy of Holies were separated by a thick curtain (veil), and the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year to offer the sacrifice for atonement with the blood of an animal. No one can enter the Holy of Holies except the high priest.
But on the day Jesus died on the cross, a miracle occurred when the veil of the sanctuary was torn. The text explains that incident as a way for us to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus.
And in verse 20, it says, “That way is a new and living way that you have opened for us through the veil.” The road the high priest entered once a year is the old road. It is a road that must be continued without end and must be entered every year. And that road is a road where you have to kill an animal every year and bring it in with blood. But the way Jesus opened is a new way and a living way. There is no need to kill an animal, no need to bleed. Because Jesus died and shed His blood.
In John 14:6, the Lord said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus is the way to life, the way to life.
There were three paths in ancient Israel. There was a path for kings, where kings and nobles walked, a path for caravans to trade in and out of Egypt, and a path for patriarchs that the chieftains walked. However, neither the king's path nor the merchant's path disappeared, and it was left in ruins. However, the path of faith of the patriarchs who walked according to the will of God remains.
That fact teaches us a great lesson. It is teaching us what kind of path we must follow to survive, which path we must follow to prosper, and which path we must follow to survive.
Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon, which once ruled and conquered the world, have all disappeared. However, Israel, which was afflicted and invaded by them, survives in the middle of the Middle East. Big doesn't mean strong. It's not about staying strong.
The Jews crucified Jesus, killed him, and put him in a tomb. But that Jesus is alive and working today. Because it is a new and living way.
2. It is about coming to God.
Verse 22 says, “Now that we have been sown in our hearts, having realized the evil of our conscience, and have washed our bodies with pure water, let us come to God with a true heart and complete faith.” Now that you believe in Jesus and you have been saved, let's not look sideways, but let us set our hearts and go to God with complete faith.
It is said that the Gyeongbu High-Speed Rail has started a test run, although partially. It is said that it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes between Seoul and Busan. In that amount of time, it is possible to commute between Seoul and Busan.
2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane and successful flight. According to an article contributed by Seoul National University Aerospace Engineering Professor Jeong In-seok to a weekly magazine, the United States is in a hurry to develop a hypersonic airplane that can reach Mach 5-7 (equivalent to 5-7 times the speed of sound). It is said that it has already succeeded in developing an engine and a test flight capable of reaching 7.6 times supersonic speed. At that speed, it is said that Seoul and LA can be covered in an hour. It is expected to be put into practical use around 2040. The era of supersonic speed beyond imagination is unfolding before our eyes.
However, the speed of going to God and the growth of faith is slower than the Gyeongbu Line local train. Even though I go to church for 40-50 years, I go everywhere I want to go and do everything I need to do. Faith does not grow and there is no fruit.
Hebrews 11:6 says, "He who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." In order to come to God, we must believe that God lives. You cannot go to God because you do not believe in God.
Thirty years ago, I had a friend who took a picture of her breasts at a sanitary hospital to study in the United States. He was a healthy friend. A few days later there was a problem with the X-Ray film. A pea-sized dot was revealed on his chest, and he said it looked like pulmonary tuberculosis or a tumor. From that day on, the chest hurts and the fever begins to rise. I couldn't stand the pain, so I tried painkillers, but it didn't work. I was lying on my back in despair and pain. I heard the rumor and went looking for it. I was suspicious that someone who had never had a cold had a problem with their lungs. The friend sighed and wept, saying that everything was over. I asked him to take the film to Seoul National University Hospital for an accurate check-up and have him examine him again and take pictures.
The doctor at Seoul National University Hospital watched the film and suggested we try again. The result was clean. It said that such a phenomenon occurred during the printing process or that it must have been a foreign substance. The important thing is that from that moment on, the pain and fever were gone.
If your heart is weakened, doubts are established, and your faith is shaken, there is nothing you can do. But those who believe and go to God do not need to worry and have no reason to be anxious.
The famous French writer Victor Hugo wrote a novel when he was unknown and sent it to a publishing house. It was meant to read and publish. However, there is no contact from the publisher. Frustrated and curious, Wego wrote a letter to the publisher.
That letter was the shortest letter in the world so far. Inside the letter, only the Chinese character "?" (question mark) was written. How is my work? good or bad Selling well or not?
A few days later, I got a reply from the publisher. It was also the shortest letter in the world. There was only one letter "!" (exclamation point) in the letter. It's amazing, it's selling well, it's awesome! It means. That work is “Les Miserables”.
Who can receive an exclamation from God? They are people who believe, trust, depend on God, and seek Him.
3. Hope must not move.
Verse 23 says, “He who promised is faithful, and hold fast the hope of our faith, without being moved.”
Trees can shake in the wind and rain. But when the roots shake, the tree withers and dies. Likewise, if hope is shaken, life and faith will crumble.
As Japan's economy plummets, it is said that every month, hundreds of people who have lost their jobs or have lost their jobs take their own lives and commit suicide. However, the reasons for their suicide have one thing in common. It says, "This is the end. There is no hope." Without hope, there is no reason to work, no reason to live, no reason to believe. So, a life without hope is a life that is shaken and a life that is falling apart.
Paul said in Colossians 3:1, “Seek the things above.” It means to look up. How's your stomach? Above is the sky. Above is God. That's why Hebrews 12:2 says, "Let us look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."
There are characteristics of people who live with hope. They are generous at heart. It's bold. I look to tomorrow and do not despair easily.
I asked John Wesley. "What would you do if you were to die tonight?"
His response was, "How are you doing? I will preach as scheduled in the morning, meet people as promised, and in the evening I will go home, have dinner, pray with my family, and go to bed. Then I will wake up in heaven the next morning."
Hitler and Stalin are the men who issued the most murder orders in history. Before Stalin died, he was in a coma and woke up briefly. It was "I have become a hopeless being". A few minutes later, he died, full of sorrow and pain. If you do not have hope or are shaken, you will not be able to die comfortably even when you die.
Let's hope. Let's not let that hope falter.
4. We should strive to get together.
In verse 25 it says, "Do not forsake the gathering of people, as is the habit of some, but encourage them, and let us do it all the more as we see the day drawing near."
The early church gathered in one place to pray and received the Holy Spirit. The church is a gathering community. The church is a place where people gather not because of hobbies, entertainment, or people, but because of the Lord and for the Lord.
If there is a person who hates and neglects going to church and gathering at church, and is excited about going out to play, traveling, or exercising, he is neither a person who hates the Lord nor a person who loves the Lord. If we gather at church for the Lord, we must be happy and joyful people to be Christians and people of the Lord.
Just as it is good to meet often, to live together, and to love, it is even better. Living with the Lord and meeting and loving each other should be the Christian life.
Let's love the Lord. Let's not let our hopes waver.
Let's be happy to get together. Let's follow the Lord who is the living way. Amen.