THE CROWD AND THE COMMITTED

(INTRO) A PASTORS HEART: WARNING & ENCOURAGEMENT

[1]WELCOME: Good morning Church. If you’re new with us this morning, my name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone along with Joe and the other elders. We’re glad to be able to be worshipping with you. Last fall we started a…

SERIES: called Anchored, based on the book in our bibles called Hebrews. We took a break for Christmas and we’re jumping back into it. While this letter is one of the few letters in the bible that we’re not sure who wrote it, we do know quite a bit about them from what they wrote. [2]First of all, they had a pastors heart. You can tell that they love the people that they are writing to. They are committed to them and want to see them live abundant lives. Also, as a pastor, they are concerned with some of the things that they’re hearing are going on in the church. He knows some of them are thinking about going back to their old lives. He knows that some of them think they’re farther along than they really are. And he wants what’s best for them. As a pastor, a lot of what we’re going to look at today has also been on my heart. I believe that both the pastor writing to the Hebrews back then, and as a pastor speaking to you this morning, there are 3 groups of people that need to hear from God’s heart. So, if you’re listening this morning, hopefully like Joe talked about last week, that you’ll hear what God wants to say to you. The three groups that are being addressed in God’s word are…[3]

· THE CROWD, THE COMFORTABLE, AND THE COMMITTED: This morning, I’d like to invite you to turn to [4][Hebrews 6:1-12]. You can follow along with sermon notes in our app, or by scanning the qr code on the screen. I’m going to pray, and then we’re going to jump in.

(TEACH/APP) CROWD, COMFORTABLE, COMMITTED (God)

[5]THIS IS THE THIRD WARNING SECTION IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS. As we’ve mentioned in the past, sometimes we want to skip over these parts of the bible because they’re uncomfortable. We want to get to the parts that talk about God’s love. The problem with skipping them is that even the warnings we’re given in Scripture are given to us because God loves us. He’s the good father who hates to see us turn away from him and experience the consequences of sin. He loves us and hates to see when we are hurt by the sin of others. Like a parent who yells at their kid before they run into traffic or off a cliff, the strong tone is to get our attention and keep us from destruction. So, the author and pastor of Hebrews starts by addressing a group of people that In [6][verses 4-6] The author talks about a group of people who have experienced the light of the truth of God, they have tasted the gift of what it means for God to love us and make a way for us to be with him, they’ve experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, and have believed God’s word and his promises about the future. Yet they’ve fallen away. They quit running the race. They stepped off the path of Jesus and turned away. This is one of the most difficult passages in the book of Hebrews and even the New Testament, because we’re left asking, who are these people? Where they unbelievers? Where they Christians at one point and then lost their salvation? Can that happen? Before we tackle those questions, I want to look at the various ways that people responded to Jesus while he was here on earth. The first group is the often referred to in the gospels as…[7]

THE CROWD: [John 6]. Here’s what you need to know about when the gospels refer to the crowd. While it may say things like the crowd was amazed, the crowd was in awe, the crowd praised God, the crowd is not necessarily a positive description. The crowd is not committed to Jesus. For example, in John 6 we see Jesus doing a miracle and feeding a crowd of 5,000 people with the lunch of a little boy that he offers to Jesus. They crowd loves it and is amazed, but it says they want to make him King. They love someone who will feed them, provide for them, teach them, but ultimately, they want him to deal with the romans and make their lives better. So in the middle of the night he and his disciples sneak off to the other side of the lake. People wake up and go looking for him and find him again. But Jesus says this. [8][Jn. 6:26-27] You’re not here because you’re convinced that I’m God’s son, you’re here for what you can get from me. Food, a solution to your Rome problem. Then in [35-37] Jesus says…[9] Your deepest need is for me. I’ll fulfill your hunger. Taste life with me. It’s better than earthly bread. I’m God and I’ll meet all your needs. Come to me and you’ll never be cast out of God’s presence. But the people grumble. Isn’t this Joseph’s son. His dad isn’t God. Then Jesus ups the ante and says [v.51] Alright Jesus, eat your flesh. That’s weird. I like the bread. I like this group of people you’re gathering. I like the idea of you solving my problems and dealing with Rome. The healings are awesome. But I’m not interested in this weird mystical stuff. Then in [10][v.66] it says, “after this, many of his discples turned back and no longer walked with him.” They’re around Jesus. They like Jesus. The think he’s a good teacher. He’s meeting their needs. They love the idea of the Messiah. But at the end of the day, being around Jesus and his people is not the same as belonging to Jesus and his people. Probably one of the most sobering things I can think that Jesus ever saying was in [11][Matt 7:21-23] Jesus, look at the powerful ways that I’ve served you. I’ve committed my whole life to ministry and serving. And Jesus says I never KNEW you. The most important word in that phrase is KNEW you. Knowing=deep intimate relationship with someone. Spending time with them, loving them for who they are, knowing what they desire and then showing your love for them by doing it. Here is my deep concern for the church today…[12]

o THERE WILL PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF THE CROWD THAT NEVER BECOME DISCIPLES: They like the music, it makes them feel good. They enjoy the messages because it helps them make their lives better. They love the community because they feel like they belong and are wanted. They enjoy serving because they experience a sense of purpose. But when it gets hard or a pandemic hits, Jesus simply wasn’t the reason they were there. I used to go to church. Now I mostly watch online. Now I watch every couple weeks. I don’t remember the last time I met with God’s people. Or I came to church after I had this major crisis, and I loved what I heard, the people were great to me. But as my life got better, I just wasn’t as interested in it as much. Yea, I still believe, but I’m not really involved. I have watched, loved, and cared for so many people like this, then been confused and heartbroken as they seem to “no longer walk with Jesus.” I’m afraid they’re going to hear Jesus say, I never knew you. I think this is the group that the author of Hebrews is talking about. They have been in community, tasted it’s goodness, professed that Jesus is Lord, found purpose in serving, but never fully surrendered everything to him. The author says, if you truly see the lengths that Jesus went to show his love and to save you, and you decide He’s not worth giving everything up for, then there’s nothing else that can be done for you. Turn your back on him forever, and not even the cross can save you. Now, before I move on, if you find yourself scared right now, or scared for someone you know and love, please hear me…

o AS LONG AS WE’RE STILL BREATHING, HIS EMBRACE IS STILL AVAILABLE. [13] The man who was nailed to a cross right next to Jesus is proof of that. His entire life had been one of rebellion. Yet he turned to Jesus and asked him to take mercy on him. He didn’t earn it, he didn’t deserve it, he simply knew who to turn to. It’s never too late to come back. But as Pastors, both the writer of Hebrews and I don’t simply want you to be forgiven and get to heaven. We want you to have what Jesus promised in [14][Jn. 10:10]. Abundant life, or as Eugene Peterson said it “real life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” And one of the reasons that we don’t experience that kind of life, is because we can slide into the next group…[15]

· THE COMFORTABLE: At the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6 the author mentions that people should be further along in their faith by now. They started well, with love and zeal, and were committed to Jesus. But for several reasons, they quit growing. He mentions needing to be fed milk. My son’s birthday was this past week and he turned 10 years old. Facebook showed me pictures of when he was born. I remember the joys of getting bottles ready, all the 10,000 pieces that needed to be assembled and then process of sitting there and holding the milk bottle as he ate. Was it fun? Not really. But it was normal because he couldn’t feed himself. And I did it because I love him and wanted him to grow. He’s been on this earth 10 years now. He’s now able to go to the fridge, pull out some chicken tenders and pop them in the air fryer. He’s a little more independent. I’m glad he can keep himself alive. Are chicken tenders and peanut butter sandwiches more substantial and able to keep him alive. Yep. Should that be all he eats? No, he still needs help learning that there are foods that are good for him that he doesn’t love. There are foods he hasn’t even become aware of that are even richer and more satisfying. The writer is saying, over time we need someone to teach us what we can’t teach ourselves, then as we grow, we start to learn how to go deeper on our own. [16]Over time we move from being taught, to teaching ourselves, then to teaching others. Then the author continues to talk about how they should also be able to move beyond the basics. [17]He mentions repenting “repentance from dead works.” This is a pretty common place that we all get stuck in. We give our lives to Jesus and we’re excited about what Jesus had done in our lives. We start serving in church out of joy and gratitude. But at some point, our reasons for serving can get muddy. Yes, we still love Jesus, but we can struggle with feeling like we’re letting Jesus down. We feel like we need to serve more and better for him to be happy with us. We begin trying to earn his approval and be good enough to receive grace. Additionally, we can get judgmental towards others who weren’t serving like us, or judgmental about people who are criticizing our service. It’s how we feel better about ourselves by looking down on others and ignoring the frustration or problems in our own hearts. We need help understanding the love of God that isn’t dependent on our efforts. We need help understanding why we feel so inadequate or so critical of others. [18]It’s sometimes more comfortable to stay in our unhealthy patterns, than it is to try to work with God to change them. The author of Hebrews is saying, for some of you, you’ve grown and learned a lot. You know about the laying on of hands, and the end times. You know the right things, but you’re still trying to earn God’s love and forgiveness by doing the right things. You’re stuck in a phase of your journey. You’ve got a lot of knowledge, you know how to serve well, but you got stuck in the transformation of your heart. You started well, keep going, move on. Don’t get comfortable, stay the course and be part of the…[19]

· THE COMMITTED: Now, you may be wondering this morning, am I part of the crowd, am I too comfortable where I’m at in my journey. How do I know if I’m part of the committed? The writer of Hebrews says, let me give you an illustration. Your life will look like one of two different fields. Both have received plenty of rain to make sure it was watered and had what it needed to grow. Both have been planted with the word of God. Yet one of them doesn’t grow fruit. Instead, it is filled with thorns and thistles. Maybe a good word for a person like this would be “prickly”. Constantly hurting others, or constantly feeling hurt by others. Nothing you can eat or offer to others. What is produced from that field will end up in the fire. This process of burning is to get rid of what grew before it and hopefully fertilize the soil so it can be productive. The idea is that what looks like a good field should produce good fruit. If it doesn’t produce fruit, drastic action needs to be taken to make sure it doesn’t stay barren. However, those who are committed to Jesus, their life will produce fruit. I love that it says that the fruit will be “useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated.” Eugene Peterson says, “produces an abundance…for its gardener.” The fruit is for God. God uses the fruit in our life, to show just how good he is. An abundance of fruit shows what the gardener is capable of. The land is fruitful. Additionally, God uses the fruit to feed and bless others. [20]Simply put, when we commit ourselves completely to Jesus, surrender to him, and walk with him, let him work in us, our lives show just how amazing God is to the world and how powerful he is that he can completely transform us. OUR LIVES BECOME BEAUTIFUL LIKE GOD HIMSELF AND A BLESSING TO OTHERS. It’s important to remember that when a metaphor is used in the bible, the author is assuming you’ll know the other places that metaphor is used so that it can be truly understood. So, when we hear the language of producing fruit, as followers of Jesus we would jump back to Jesus’ teaching about…

(JC) ABIDING IN THE VINE (JC)

IN JOHN 15… Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death. He’s telling them that he’s going to die and not be physically present with them. However, in chapter [21][14:15-17] He tells them that they will have another helper, just like him that will be with them forever. The Holy Spirit, God’s presence will come and live inside us. Then right after this, he talks to them about how to bear fruit. He says [22-23][Jn. 15:1-5] Jesus says, abide with me. Abide can mean “stay connected” to me like a branch to a vine, like a branch to a tree. I’ve heard it said that, if you walk up to a bunch of grapes on a vine or an apple hanging from a tree, you don’t lean in close and hear it saying, “must get better, must grow, must be a good apple.” No, it simply grows into what it’s supposed to be because it’s connected to the source that gives it everything it needs. Not through effort, but by resting in and depending on the source. Later on, Paul took this metaphor and ran with it. In [24-25][Gal 5:22-26] Paul says if you’re connecting to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, if each day you wake up and are trying to let the Holy Spirit guide you through your day, then you’ll produce fruit. Paul says, want to know what the life of someone committed to Jesus will look like? He says it is a life filled with

· FRUIT: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL. It’s not so much about I don’t do these bad things so I’m a good Christian. It’s more like, look at the good things that God is doing in my heart that causes me to live in a beautiful relationship with God and others. [26]I’m on a Eugene Peterson kick so I’m going to quote him. He says: love is a deep “affection for others”, Joy is “an exuberance about life”, Peace is “serenity” or being at ease even in the chaos. Patience is “a willingness to stick with things” especially people. Kindness is “a sense of compassion in the heart.” Doing what is best for people because you genuinely care about them, not just tolerate them. Goodness is “a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people.” It’s the ability to see the world and people as God sees them. Faithfulness is “finding ourselves in loyal commitments” not giving up on people and sticking it out no matter how hard. Gentleness is “not needing to force our way in life” because we honor other’s choices and trust God with the future. Self-control is “being able to marshal and direct our energies wisely” and not impulsively make decisions based on our feelings or reacting to the world but letting God’s Spirit control us. So, if we honestly look at our lives, and the fruit, anybody there yet? Totally nailed this list? Yep, been doing that since last Monday! The point of this list is to do two things. The first is to look at our lives and say, wow, I see some of those things happening in me. There’s no way I could have done that on my own. Glory to God. The other is to say, wow, I have a really long ways to go. Jesus, I need your help. Then try harder! Do better!

· No. These are supernatural gifts. We can’t make then grow. We have to continually surrender and ask for God to give us these abilities each day. CONNECTING AND ABIDING WITH JESUS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WHAT PRODUCES FRUIT IN US. That’s why we talk about practices of Jesus and habits that help us surrender and be led by the Spirit like silence and solitude and prayer. We wake up every day and say, Holy Spirit, help me. I can’t do this on my own power. We carve out time to be silent and listen for the voice of the Spirit. We pray, God I’m struggling with this person, this situation. We sit quietly for the Spirit to say, I know you’re angry, upset, anxious, about (fill in the blank). I love you! Stop trying to earn my love. Do you trust me? I can handle this. Here’s how I want you to respond. Let me help you deal with this situation. [27]The author of Hebrews says, I have great hope for you, I know that you’re committed because “your work and the love that you have shown for [God’s] name in serving the saints.” The way we can be sure that we’re committed to God, is by how committed and loving we are to God’s people.

· We have to go beyond simply being part of the crowd. We can’t be satisfied with getting some of our needs met by Jesus or liking community and a sense of purpose. We need to be aware that getting comfortable in our faith is a sign of stagnation and being stuck. That being uncomfortable is often a sign that Jesus is taking you beyond where you are and growing you. And we can’t do this on our own, we do it through moment by moment, day by day, year after year, running to Jesus. [28]Committing ourselves to the one who was so committed to us that he died for us.Depending on the same Holy Spirit that enabled Jesus to bear fruit. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in us and will help transform us and live the kind of fruit-filled life that Jesus did. And it will show up in the way we love each other and this world. Let’s pray!