And while the kids are getting their palm branches, everyone else please turn in your book, in your Bible to the book of Hebrews, and you will listen to our text being read. It mistakenly says in the bulletin Matthew, but it's actually Hebrews chapter 10. Good morning. My name is Nick Anders, and as Pastor Mike said, our scripture text comes from the book of Hebrews chapter 10, and this can be found on page 1191 in the Bible beneath the seat in front of you. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 26 through 39. The Bible says if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing, the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the spirit of grace. For we know him who said it is mine to avenge, I will repay, and again the Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. At other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property 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 very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay, but my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. The word of the Lord. It's called the miracle on ice. And those of you who were alive and around in the year 1980 know exactly what I'm talking about. The miracle on ice, the victory of the U.S. hockey team over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. One of the great moments of sports history for sure. Our team from the United States was a bunch of rag tag college students. They had been put together the previous summer by coach Herb Brooks from the University of Minnesota. The Soviet team on the other hand, four time defending gold medal champions. They had already crushed the American team. Ten to three in an exhibition game in Madison Square Gardens just a couple weeks before. The Soviets had not lost an Olympic hockey game since 1968. They were seated first at Lake Placid and everybody expected them to go sailing right all the way through to the gold medal. The U.S. team seated seventh. Their average age was 22. But the team showed sure soon enough the world how good they were because they made it through the opening rounds undefeated. They first tied Sweden and then they beat Czechoslovakia and Norway and Romania and West Germany. But the question on everybody's mind as they saw how things were falling out and they knew that U.S. was going to face Soviet Union. The question on everybody's mind was, would they fade in the home stretch? Would they fade in the home stretch? And you know that's the question that winds all the way through the book of Hebrews. Would these suffering Jewish Christians to whom the book of Hebrews was written fade in the home stretch? Or would they persevere and make it all the way to home and win the battle against discouragement? The question that faces you and me is the same. Will you fade in the home stretch? Or will you persevere and will you make it home? We've been studying the book of Hebrews really all the way since Christmas. We took a five week break to talk about stewardship and now we're back, back to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. And I've called this series Jesus the Crux. That word Crux, kind of an unusual word, but it means that Jesus is the essence or the main point. He's the main point of all of life. He's also the main point of the book of Hebrews. We've been looking at his person and his work all the way through this great book. And this book was written to a group of persecuted Hebrew Christians. Many people think living in Rome, the author says to them, don't let go of your faith. We know it's hard to stand by your convictions. We know it's hard to face the official discrimination that the emperor has placed upon you. But don't let go. Don't turn your back on the Christian faith. Don't trade Jesus in for an inferior savior that cannot truly save. That in a nutshell is the theme of the book of Hebrews. And here in chapter 10 we reach the climax of the book. The author of this book or letter has just said in verses 19 through 25, which we saw about five or six weeks ago. He just said to them, come on guys, come on guys, hold on to the hope you profess. Spur one another on to love and good deeds. Don't give up meeting together. Encourage one another every day and all the more as you see the day approaching. And now here in the text that you heard and read just a few moments ago, the author is going to give his readers and us two things to help us hang on to Jesus. Two things. First, a grim reality and second, a glad reassurance. Let's look both of those things. The grim reality that he's going to give us and then we're going to look at the glad reassurance he's going to give us. First, the grim reality is in verses 26 through 31, the first half of the text. The grim reality is this. Some people who at some point in the past identify themselves as Christians are not going to make it home. And when I say home, I'm talking about heaven, I'm talking about eternal life with Jesus on the new earth. I'll say it again. The author is telling us in this passage that there are some people who at some point in the past identified themselves as Christians are not going to make it home. Some people, I'll put it another way, some people who were externally part of the Christian community are going to do what we hope the Orlando magic don't do, fade in the stretch. Some in the covenant community are not going to make it home. Look with me verses 26 and 27. That's exactly what the author says. Six says, if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left but only a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Some of the most sobering words in all the Bible and that might be troubling for some of you this morning. When you heard those words, it troubled some of you. You may be troubled about yourself. You may be saying, wait a minute, Mike, I sin. And sometimes I sin deliberately, knowingly, willingly. So does this mean there's no hope for me? Does this mean that I'm a Christian now? I know I'm a Christian now. I profess. I believe in Jesus. I love him. I'm following him best I can. Does this mean that if I keep sinning often enough, I will reach a point where the blood of Jesus doesn't cover me anymore and I'll lose my salvation? Short answer no doesn't mean that and I'll explain why in just few moments. Some of you also may be troubled about other people that you know when you hear these words. Maybe troubled about other people in your life, in your circle of influence, your parents perhaps, your children, your friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, roommates, etc. These people once called themselves Christians, but they've apparently moved away from the faith. They've repudiated their former profession. They've turned away from Christ. It appears. So did they lose their salvation? Were they once children of God? When they claimed to be followers of Jesus and now they are no longer children of God, is that what these verses teach? No. The verses teach that they never were born again in the first place. They never belong to Jesus in the first place if they repudiate the faith for their life and go to their grave no longer following after Jesus. They never were born again in the first place. Let me sort of nuance all of that because it's a lot. It's a heavy message. Let's look at it this way and maybe this will help. There are two kinds of sinners, two kinds of sinners, and everybody in the world falls into one or the other of these two camps. There is first of all the sinner like Peter in the Bible. Remember Simon Peter? Remember him? Remember what Simon Peter did when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane and the Roman soldiers showed up and arrested Jesus? Peter and the other disciples went away. They fled. And then later on when Peter was sort of following at a distance, and we're going to talk about all this at the Monty Thursday service, when he had an opportunity to stand up for Jesus and say, yeah, I belong to him. He's my master. He didn't do it. When he had a chance to stand up for Jesus and to profess his allegiance to Jesus, he didn't do it. What did Peter do? He betrayed Jesus. He denied Jesus. He said, I don't even know the guy. Now that's terrible. That was a terrible sin, but what Peter did was he repented. God's Spirit convicted him. He broke his heart, broke over what he had done, and he came back to the Lord and he got back on the path, and he followed Jesus the rest of his days. But then there are sinners like Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot, another one of the twelve disciples. It fits the description here in verse 26. He received the knowledge of the truth, Judas did. My goodness, he sat at the feet of the Savior listening to his teaching for three solid years. Judas Iscariot, what did he do? He betrayed Jesus and turned his back on him. He was a traitor. He turned him over to the authorities and went to his death without repentance, hardened in his sin, hardened rather than softened by his sin. Two different kinds of sinners. Peter was a backslider for lack of a better word. It's kind of an old school word. Peter was a backslider. Judas Iscariot was an apostate. That's the difference between the two groups. Peter's sin, though serious, was a lapse. Judas Iscariot was a decisive and defiant turning of the back to Jesus Christ. And the Bible teaches that that's impossible for the true child of God to do. That decisive and defiant and hardhearted and final and unrepentant attitude toward Christ is impossible for the true child of God to do. If your heart, in other words, has been truly renewed by the Spirit of God, you'll fight your sin. You'll hate your sin. You'll get home one day. You will. That's the Bible's promise. But you'll keep looking to Jesus for grace to repent and turn from that sin. Will you sin? Yes. Will it sometimes be deliberate? Yes. But you'll be softened by the Spirit of God eventually. You may go through seasons of coldness. I do. But God will bring you back and get you home. You may, again, using that word, backslide. You may break God's law knowingly, willingly. God may at times withdraw the sense of His presence from you for a time to chasing you for those kinds of things. But you will eventually find the path again because you can't stand being out of fellowship with God. The child of God cannot stand being out of the path of obedience. First, John 5.18 says that we know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin. That's a promise. The one who is born of God cannot just remain all his life and go to his grave in this hard-hearted, defiant, shake his fist-type posture at his savior because God will woo him back to the path of obedience. But the apostate, the Judas Iscariots of the world, will not respond to their sin that way, but will continue in their path of disobedience. Some of you, unfortunately, know someone who fits this description. Some of you, unfortunately, know someone who appears to be refusing to repent. Someone who is living with a hard heart. Even though sometime in the past they seem to align themselves with Jesus. Many of you know people like that. Some of you even know people who have openly repudiated their faith. I had a friend in college who's conversion was the talk of our Christian fellowship group. But in a very short time she had thrown it all aside and re-engaged even worse in her lifestyle of sin. It happened. And the Hebrew writer says that of those who continue in that way without repentance, the Hebrew writer says that no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire. That person is, according to verse 27, an enemy of God. Some of you know someone like that. Maybe he is a friend that you led to Christ or at least you thought you did. He seemed like a sponge. He was just soaking up the Bible. And he got super involved at church too. But one day you realized you hadn't seen him for a while. So you called and checked on him. And you got a cool reception. He said he didn't want your faith anymore. Or maybe it's a friend of yours who supposedly found Jesus at a Christian concert or on a mission trip or something like that. You met together and studied the Bible with this person. But then she started thinking up excuses to not meet with you again. And finally she told you that it just wasn't working for her anymore. She had moved back in with her boyfriend and please don't call again. Now let's admit right here that no human being is able to judge for sure whether someone has in fact adopted and is a Judas Iscariot. No human being has the ability to judge that someone has committed apostasy finally. As far as you and I know we want to hold out hope for people even those who have seemingly moved away from God because perhaps it is a backsliding stage. And so we pray for that person and we reach out to that person and we think about him or her and do what we can for him or her. But what we can do is warn our friend that if he or she continues to reject Jesus, they are in danger of the three things that are listed there in verse 29. Tramping the son of God underfoot, treating the blood of the covenant as an unholy or common thing and third insulting or despising the Holy Spirit resulting in as it says in that verse punishment. I eat eternal separation from God in hell. You can warn people like that. You may not be able to say, oh, no hope for him, no hope for her. But what you can do is continue to pray and warn and speak and love those people that they come back to the path of obedience. I started thinking about this and I thought how could this maybe be a little more practical for us so that you can look inside your own heart and better assess whether you're moving toward apostasy or as you look at other people as you're concerned and loving toward other people as you see them, how can you recognize the tendency of them moving toward apostasy. And I came up with these five marks, perhaps there are more, but I believe certainly these five are things that ought to alarm us about our own hearts and ought to alarm us about the hearts of other people. Consider these things like red warning lights on your car dashboard. If you see one or more of these things, they're a call back to the Lord, repenting and humbling ourselves. First thing that occurs to me that we should be alarmed about is when there's a proud refusal to acknowledge need for Jesus. When you or someone you know and love has this proud self-sufficient attitude that says, I'm going to pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I don't need God. I don't need your God. I don't need his help that pride and that self-reliance to where he says, I don't need God is an alarm bell going off. Second thing, when you or someone else apparently is moving toward apostasy is when there is a resentment and a self-defense posture when confronted about his sins and mistakes. When someone speaks to you about your life and you take offense and you move away from that and you say, no, I don't want to hear that anymore. Or when someone you know recoils when you lovingly try to reach out and bring them back, that's a warning light on the dashboard. Thirdly, another sign is apathy toward and disregard for God's word, the Bible. You know this person may have five or six copies of the Bible in his home but he never reads it and he doesn't want to read it. Or she doesn't want to hear what God's word has to say about something or you yourself maybe even now as we're studying the Bible want to defend yourself and find some self-righteousness in you. You know, that is a warning light on the dashboard. Fourth sign to be alarmed about is a disdain for the church, the institutional church, the local church. When there is an attitude of, I don't need those people, I don't need to go to church on Sunday morning, it doesn't really, it doesn't matter. And furthermore, I know a lot more than them and they're all hypocrites anyway, you know you've heard all those kinds of things. That is an attitude that might mark an apostate, someone moving toward her remedial unrepentance. And finally, when there is an inordinate affection, we all have love for the world at times but when there is an inordinate and a governing affection for the comforts and pleasures of this world, that too marks someone who may be moving toward apostasy. Think for example of that fifth one of the parable that Jesus told us about this sower and the seed. Remember a farmer was sowing seed and it fell among various kinds of soils and one kind of seed fell among the thorns. And at first the seed grew up and it bore fruit for a time but then the cares of this world, the pleasures and comforts of this world choked out that seed and caused it to be unfruitful. So when you see or when you are yourself inordinately in love with this world and its comforts and its pleasures, that is something that ought to cause you great concern. And unless something changes as we view these five and I'm perhaps you know others but as we view these five things, unless something changes what's going to happen to the people whom the author talks about in here. Verse 31 says everything we need to know it's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. This Jesus who rode in victoriously into Jerusalem as king is a loving savior but toward his enemies he's a raging fire. Ricky's your way some of you know that name Ricky's your way is a British comedian actor TV producer he's the brain behind the successful TV show the office. A few months ago Ricky's your way wrote an essay entitled why I'm an atheist and he says this he wrote I used to believe in God. The Christian one that is I loved Jesus he was my hero more than pop stars more than footballers he was my hero because he was kind and he was kind to everyone he didn't care who you were he loved you what a guy I wanted to be just like him. One day when I was about eight years old my big brother Bob asked why do you believe in God. And I started thinking about it and asking more questions and within an hour I was an atheist wow no God I learned about evolution a theory so simple that only England's greatest genius could have come up with it evolution of plants animals and us with imagination free will love humor. I know I no longer needed a reason for my existence just a reason to live and imagination free will love humor fun music sports beer and pizza are all good enough reasons for living really Ricky really really beer and pizza. Reasons for living how long will that carry a guy see that's the distorted logic of an apostate. Or at least someone who bears the marks but but let's not talk about Ricky your way what about you what about you remember well one of the jobs of a preacher they say is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. And I guess I'm afflicting the comfortable right now I'll get to the comforting part later but I got to afflict the comfortable first. Let me tell you friends you just don't want to fall into the hands of the living God I believe with all my heart that you and I and every human being on the planet has an appointment with destiny. You will face your creator one day I don't know what that's going to look like I cannot paint the picture for you the Bible doesn't do it either. But I believe with all my heart and I'm banking my very life on it that one day we're going to all meet Christ and the Bible calls that day a day of judgment he'll be seated on a great white throne. And somehow or other we're supposed to give an account that day and when that moment comes it won't be good enough to say I tried to live a good life or I was a good dad or I tried hard or something like that that won't go it won't work. All that will matter in that moment is what you did with Jesus when you had the opportunity and you won't be able to say that nobody ever told you. So here's what you need to do here's what you need to do when you look at that list and you say you know what. I think that's me maybe not all five but perhaps several of them I think that's me if that's if that's how you feel if you look at your life and you see something like this going on. If you see yourself drifting away from your profession of faith here's what you need to do run to the cross. Run to Jesus. His grace is bigger than your sin. He died for people like that and worse had Judas Iscariot put his faith in Jesus. He would have died for Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot would be in heaven today because Jesus died for the worst of the worst. And if you look at that list and you say you know that's me run to the cross. Jesus you see fell into the hands of the living God so that you wouldn't have to. Jesus took your blame. God's justice and mercy meet at the cross. He took your punishment that you deserved to put himself and if you put your faith and trust in him he'll cover you and he'll get you home. Without doubt he promises you in John 1028 to give you eternal life and let nobody and nothing snatch you out of his hand. But what you have to do is admit that you're a sinner. Admit your need of grace. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you and commit yourself to follow him best you can. You're going to follow him slipping and falling and stumbling and messing up every single day I certainly do. But you continue to put your hope not in your lack of sin but in your savior who was sinless and who died that you might have life. That's the grim reality that there are some who will not make it home but the glad reassurance is that those who trust in Jesus will. Let's look a little further at this glad reassurance. Now that we've seen the grim reality let's spend the last few minutes on the glad reassurance. I love what the author of Hebrews does in the second part of this text verses 32 through 39. And you know what just as an aside this whole passage that we're looking at today is a beautiful display of the psychology of encouragement. You know what I mean by that? If you're going to encourage somebody and you know everybody in here is in a position of doing that. Everybody in here is either a parent or a boss or a mentor or a team leader and employer, a manager. Somebody who works with students, somebody who disciples other people, a small group leader, whatever you happen to be. You've got a group of people that you can encourage who are around you. And the author of Hebrews models for you how to do it. Sometimes you got to confront and get in people's faces. Other times you need to be soft and warm and complimentary and encouraging. And the author does both. And he ends up being a great encourager. He knows he's gotten in our faces. He's challenged us to examine our hearts and ask ourselves whether we be a Peter or a Judas. Whether we're trusting in Jesus or have turned our backs on Jesus. And so now he's going to encourage us with some uplifting words of comfort. Look at verse 32. He says in verse. Remember those earlier days? Remember when you had your backs up against the wall. And when Peter were ridiculing you because of your faith. And they were throwing you and your friends in prison for Jesus sake. But friends you stood your ground. Do you remember you did that? Well do it again. Keep on the fight. Don't break. Don't fade. You see what he's doing? The first thing the author does to encourage his readers is he takes them back in time. And he reminds them of past victories and past successes. And if you're going to encourage somebody. This is such a good way to do it. Take them back in time and remember. Remind them what they did well. Remind them. Hey, you remember you did that. Remember you pulled through. Remember you were going through a tough time. And you came through it okay. You can do it now too, friend. That's what the author's doing. Look at verse 33. He says sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. And at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. Good job. Verse 34. You sympathize with those in prison and you joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property. Because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. Way to go, he's saying. Scholars think that possibly what the author is referring to when he talks about this great contest. In the face of suffering in verse 32. Some scholars think that it was the expulsion of the Jews from Rome by Emperor Claudius in the year 49 AD. That is being referred to here. 49 AD, the Emperor was Claudius. And what he did was he decided he didn't want Jews and Christians in his city anymore. And so he signed an edict and said Jews and Christians get out of town. And so they did. 40 to 50,000 Jews were evicted from their homes and forced to flee. Nevertheless, the author of Hebrews says that you joyfully endured the confiscation of your property. He's pointing them back to what they did well in order to encourage them against future suffering. And then secondly, he reminds them that rewards await them in the future. That's the second thing he does in verses 35 and 36. He says in verse 35, don't throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you've done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. You need to persevere. That word means to stay cheerful. Stay up. Be patient. Bear up under difficult circumstances. And then finally, he reminds the hearers that time as we know it is going to come to an end one day. And Jesus Christ is going to come back. Verse 37. He says for in just a very little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. Past victories, future reward, second coming, and beyond that, the new heavens and the new earth, the renewal of all things, Jesus making all things new, wiping every tear away. No more mourning, no more crying, death or pain. He reminds his readers of all of those things. And so he says at the end, don't break. Don't give up. Keep going. You're going to make it. I'm looking here at all sorts of trials and adversities. You know, I think it's been noted that in the last few months our church family has been walking through quite a lot of this. A lot of cases of cancer, a lot of deaths of loved ones, unemployment, marriage and family issues and other things. And the word of God to you this day is persevere. Persevere. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't grow so discouraged that you lose hope. But instead, remember what God's done in the past. Don't forget. And think about what rewards lie ahead for the faithful. And beyond that, think about Jesus and the new earth, persevere. I was telling you earlier today about the miracle on ice. Well, as many of you know, the U.S. team went on to beat the Soviets four to three and then won the gold medal game against Finland. But it was that game against the Soviet Union that has gone down in history as one of the greatest moments of all sports history. And before the game, Coach Herb Brooks came into the locker room and he gave his U.S. team a pre-game speech that has been immortalized by Kurt Russell the actor in this movie called Miracle. Take a few moments and let's watch. Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we play them ten times, they might win nine, but not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can't. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team you were born to be hockey player. And you were meant to be here tonight. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. This is your time. Now go out there and take it. Ah, love that. And the reason I show it to you is to draw a little bit of a parallel to the Christian challenge. It is so easy to get discouraged. But God through this text is saying to you and to me, remember who you are. Remember from whence you came. Never lose sight of your identity. We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, he says in verse 39, but of those who believe and are saved. So persevere. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your promise. We've seen a very grim warning. And yet we've also seen wonderful words of encouragement. I pray, Father, today that if there are any here who wonder if perhaps the warning really does fit their case. That they will today by your grace, repent of sin, turn to you, believe in Jesus who loves us. And perhaps Lord, they would even be moved to pray this prayer silently after me. Or Jesus, I know I need you. I know I've been running. I've been a prodigal. And I ask for forgiveness. I confess my sins and believe that you died for me. Give me grace to follow after you with all my heart. Thank you, Father, that you receive into your family people who stumble and fall many times. And yet you take us and keep us safe. We look forward to seeing you one day. Father, in the meantime, help us to persevere. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.