INVINCIBLE CHURCH 12-8-24

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
12/8/2024
The Faith - Part 2 – Hebrews 10:7-26
We’ve been talking about who Jesus is and the :> - Belief – Faith – and Trust we have in Him! The Bible says :> - God’s “Grace and Mercy” are miraculous. Jesus is a miracle. The “Good News” of the Gospel is a miracle, and “The Faith” is a miracle!
The process starts with :> - Belief – Faith – and Trust! … Entering a salvation relationship with Jesus is a “one-time” event in the life of a person who makes the decision to submit to Him as “Lord and Savior.” Then the :> - Belief – Faith – and Trust to follow Jesus becomes a continual process and it’s not easy but, we can do it because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us at our salvation!
And it’s only through :> - Bold, confident faith – the promises from God that we can count on 100% and trust in our Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who gives us the “Peace and Power” to “Endure and Thrive” through all the “Challenges and Hardships” that we face in our life on this “Fallen, Sinful” earth!
Let’s look at:
Hebrews 10:7-26 NIV- 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’” 8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
The context for what’s going on at this time is that Jewish Christians were having a hard time understanding the principles of following Jesus and they were thinking about going back to their old “Jewish Orthodox” religious system for :> - Ceremonies – Worship – and Rituals!
They were being :> - Abused – Ridiculed – and Rejected by a lot of people and it made them wonder if following Jesus was really “worth” all the trouble! They were struggling with the idea of giving up everything they “knew” and were really “comfortable” with!
The :> - Mental – Physical – Emotional – Relational – and Financial strain was “frustrating and inconvenient.” So they were all questioning if it was really “worth it.” They started thinking that it would be a lot easier to go back to what they were familiar with.
So, God inspired and instructed Paul to write the book of Hebrews to tell the Jewish Christians back then and to tell us today to keep going! Never “give up” and don’t “go back” to the world’s way of living! As hard as it is sometimes, never “give up!”
If we “fall back” into our worldly ways even if it’s a life of :> - Consistent Religious Practices – High Moral Values – and Good Deeds we are giving up the “greater life” for a “lesser life.” Even if it doesn’t seem like it right now! Because we will stop moving forward in the process of following Jesus.
In verse 7, it says: “Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’” It’s talking about Jesus coming to do what God’s people couldn’t do according to the Old Testament covenant with God.
Even the Old Testament priests failed to meet the holy requirements of a “sovereign and holy” God!
In verse 8, it says: “First, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’—though they were offered in accordance with the law.”
He’s saying they did all the religious :> - Sacrifices – Burnt Offerings – and Rituals, but they did them out of “duty and obligation” instead of from a heart of “love and obedience.” The true heart of worship is out of :> - Love – Joy – and Selfless Generosity, not just “habit and duty.”
In verse 9, it says: “Then he said, ‘Here I am—I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second.” So, the New Testament gives us the record of God’s amazing “promises and principles” for His :> - Grace – Mercy – and Forgiveness in spite of our :> - Selfish – Sinful – Disobedient ways!
Which means every :> - Command – Law – Instruction – and Demand of God that we’ve “broken and disobeyed,” Jesus has “kept and obeyed.” Every bad :> - Mistake – Decision – Action – and Thought we have had or done, Jesus has successfully defeated!
This is part of what makes Him the great “High Priest.” Every other priest had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. But Jesus “was and is” without sin, so there’s no sacrifice necessary to cover something that He doesn’t have—which is sin! This is the reason He could offer Himself for the sins of the world.
So, Jesus has fulfilled and fully satisfied all the :> - Commands – Demands – and Instructions from God. This is “super important” to us because, when we are in a salvation relationship with Jesus, we already have the fulfillment of God’s standard “operating” inside us.
We are still subject to the sins of the flesh as long as we’re in this world, but as far as the justice of God goes, He’s “satisfied and well pleased” with Jesus. Which means, when we are in Jesus, God is “satisfied and well pleased” with us too!
Just like the blood of the sacrifice spread on the doorpost at the Passover in the Old Testament, when God sees the blood of Jesus covering us, He “passes over” condemning us of our sin. We are still “judged and convicted,” but we are not “sentenced” to death because Jesus died in our place.
God sees the sacrifice that Jesus made out of obedience to Him, and God applies it to us. So, it covers the penalty of our sins. It’s how we can have the “guaranteed hope” of going to heaven. Jesus died for all our sins, and that’s how we know we are “getting in.”
It is why verse 10 says: “And by that will, we’ve been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” If we’ve made the decision to submit to Jesus as “Lord and Savior,” our sins are “covered.” It doesn’t mean we’re perfect, but we’re made right with God [righteous].
Then verses 11–13 say: “Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God [that’s God’s place of authority]. Since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”
So, Jesus is at the right hand of God right now, obediently waiting for God to give Him the “go-ahead” to return to earth and place all “worldly systems” under His authority. It’s His millennial kingdom, and He’s going to “run it” God’s way for 1,000 years to prove it’ll work.
It will be the time when all of God’s enemies and those who reject Jesus will be subjected to His “authority and rule.” Verse 14 says: “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” So, by the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been permanently reconciled to God.
It is why a true follower of Jesus can’t lose their salvation. Because when Jesus “takes care” of something, it’s “taken care” of permanently. A true follower of Jesus can’t even “sin” their way out of salvation. But a true follower of Jesus understands the sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation and wants to “please and obey” Him. So, a true follower of Jesus doesn’t want to “take advantage” of God’s “grace and mercy” through Jesus.
Then in verses 15–18, it says: “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, He says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then He adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
God writes His law on our hearts. Just like the physical heart is the “center” of our body, our “spiritual heart” is the “centerpiece” of our soul, which is where God has written His law. It’s God’s standard or “operating system” inside of us.
It’s why we feel “convicted” about the sins we commit when we break God’s laws. Our “spiritual heart” tells our soul to send a signal to our brain that we’ve been disobedient to God’s standard of living. It’s why the Bible tells us to “implant” the Word of God in our heart.
The Holy Spirit is also inside us, and His power is available to help us fulfill God’s standard of living for our life. We can only apply God’s standard to our life through the power of the Holy Spirit, which was made available to us because of what Jesus has already fulfilled in us!
So, the more we grow in faith through the process of following Jesus, the more we become aware of the fact that we can’t meet God’s standard in our own natural power—but we increase in our desire to pursue it! This means that as we mature in Jesus:
Our desire to be obedient increases! If we try to avoid or ignore the signal that our “spiritual heart” sends to our brain, we create two problems. We still have to deal with the sin we are “caught up” in, plus the guilt of the conviction in our heart that we are trying to ignore.
All this brings us to the heart of the New Covenant, which is forgiveness. God forgives and releases us from a debt we could never pay ourselves. He forgives our eternal debt that keeps us separated from Him, and He releases us from our temporary “sin debt” in this life on earth as a true follower of Jesus. It’s all been paid for by Jesus Christ!
Now, in verses 19–25, it says:
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
In the Old Testament, before the priest could enter the Holy of Holies, sacrificial blood had to be spread on the Mercy Seat. For all true followers of Jesus today, His sacrificial blood has been placed on the Mercy Seat for us, which allows us full access to God 24/7, 365 days a year!
So, we are expected to go to God with assurance and confidence because we are not under the same restrictions that people had to deal with in the Old Testament. They couldn’t just approach God “anytime and anywhere” they wanted. We have to remember that!
At the temple, there was a progression of steps: an outer court, a veil, and an inner court. Only the high priest was allowed in the inner court, and he had to be careful how he entered it because it was where the visible (concentrated) “Shekinah glory” of God was located.
These steps, courts, and the veil were removed for us by Jesus Christ through what He did at the cross. So, when we approach God the Father, we can humbly approach Him with boldness and confidence—but not pride and arrogance!
When we approach God with a bold, confident, and positive attitude, our prayer becomes “special and vibrant” to God. We can approach Him this way because the things we’re ashamed of and feel guilty about have already been covered by the blood of Jesus!
Jesus “tore the veil” that separates us from God, so we can go straight to Him with confidence and certainty! We can confess everything to God, and He wants us to be detailed and specific in our prayers because He loves us and wants to remove: the consequences of sin, the results of bad decisions, or the difficult situations that hinder us from serving Him well!
He also tells us in verse 25 to be intentional about gathering regularly in an environment and with people who can encourage us and that we can also encourage! So, it’s church on Sunday for sure, but just as important are the small groups of believers who meet regularly at other places.
This is what God designed the church—the body of Christ—to be. It is what Jesus instructed, commanded, and commissioned us to do! He also tells us to help each other because, many times, it is hard to be a true follower of Jesus.
The strategy God gives us for being a true follower of Jesus is to seek Him first, then work together to fight spiritual battles and overcome the difficult circumstances we face every day.
Then, in verse 26, we find a very serious warning for all who have "ears to hear." This is directed at those who have heard the truth but continue living in a pattern of bad decisions. These individuals: don’t seek God first, don’t listen to others who speak the truth, and don’t gather with God’s people in church.
They just keep living in disobedience, rebellion, and sin. And because they know the truth, they are willfully making intentional decisions to go down a path that leads to destruction!
They are ignoring God and ignoring the true follower of Jesus who are trying to help them understand the truth. This isn’t just about lost people it’s also about believers who develop a defiant spirit. It is like a rebellious teenager who refuses to follow instructions.
There’s a difference between absent-minded disobedience and intentional, continuous rebellion. When disobedience escalates to rebellion, the discipline and forgiveness process becomes much more significant.
But, coming full circle, there’s no doubt that God will keep His promises, even when it feels like He isn’t. Even when it looks like His promises are contradictory, God is always faithful to His Word and promises.
We see this dynamic in the story of the Israelites heading to the Promised Land. What should have taken six weeks from Egypt took them 40 years not because God didn’t keep His promise, but because they refused to follow His will!
When things got hard in the process of following God’s plan, they kept looking back at their life in Egypt, thinking they had it better there. But remember they were slaves to the Egyptians! That life didn’t take faith; it was familiar. Faith was required to trust God in the unknown, in the desert.
Sadly, that generation of Israelites never experienced the Promised Land. It took another generation to get there.
God’s promises for us include deliverance from sin, the development of character, and an eternal destination in heaven. For every true follower of Jesus, there’s a five-part action plan in the process: Confession, Repentance, Salvation, Justification, and Sanctification.
While we’re here on Earth, God isn’t going to skip over our development on the way to our destination in heaven. We have to go through the process, which includes sanctification, discipleship, spiritual development, service, and ministry.
God’s purpose in our development is to change our character—not just our circumstances. This transformation allows the world to see us and wonder how we are at peace in our trials. His primary goal is to make us more like Jesus! What hones us into His image is when we endure and work through the trials and hardships of the process.
This is why the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” The book of Hebrews focuses on two key things concerning salvation: Which are God’s power and God’s plan to save us. The second is our participation in God’s plan for His purpose and pleasure.
So, Jesus tells us to keep following Him in obedience, no matter what! Don’t go back to the old ways of life and for those who may have gone back—He says, “Come home!”
And if you are watching online- As long as you have breath in your body, you're never too far away from God to turn to Jesus for salvation! And if you're a believer who has strayed away, remember: confess, repent, and turn back. He’s waiting with open arms, ready to welcome you home!