APRIL 30th, 2023 PASTOR DON PIEPER
5 Jewels From Hebrews HEBREWS 2:14-3:6; 8:1-6; 10:19-25
“IT JUST GETS BETTER & BETTER”
(Dressed in hooded sweatshirt, jeans and hiking boots and sitting with a cup of “brew”...)
Ahh...., nothing like a cup of hot brew to start the day. My mojo! (Looking up and noticing everyone) Oh! There you are! I was wondering when you might show up. It's good to see you. I was starting to wonder if you might've gotten lost again. Not that I would ever suggest that you may be a bit directionally challenged – at least not any more than I am – but let's face it, you are.
Remember that hike in the mountains we went on a while back? You sure got lost that day. Our group split up to look for firewood for our campsite and you decided to go exploring. The trees were so dense that you lost your way and wound up wandering all day.
It was late in the day, you later told me, when you finally came across a trail, but you were so disoriented you weren't sure which way you should go on it. And then, as the day's light waning, you saw a clearing with a campfire, and sitting on a stump was this odd old guy. He looked a bit ill kept – and had this wild look in his eye. Remember? “This day just gets better and better”, you said.
“It does, doesn't it!” he replied. That was awkward. Don't you hate it when you mutter something to yourself, and someone hears you and responds? Awkward!
“Join me!” he said. You weren't sure about that. Out there, deep in the mountains, just you and him - it didn't seem entirely safe. Who was this mysterious old goat, anyway?
He told you his name and that he ran a bistro. What was his name: Bartimaus? Bartholemew?
Barnabas? Bart Simpson. You weren't sure. Doesn't matter. He was an enigma, that's for sure.
He asked you where you were headed, as if that was any of his business. You told him you were trying to find your friends' campsite. Then he asked you if you were lost. Not sure you wanted to answer that. What if you were, what was that to him? And you weren't sure you were actually lost. After all, you had found the trail you were on, even if you weren't sure where it was headed exactly.
You shrugged. He grinned. “There's a lot of trails in these here mountains,” he said. “You could walk for days, switching back and forth 'tween 'em, and never find the one that leads you to where you want to go. It's kind of like that in life, too, ain't it, laddie?”
“Excuse me?” you asked.
“You're excused”, he replied “My point is this: There are some people who seek to take their lead from mystical forces. It's one thing to use the stars to find your way at sea; but it's another matter to look to the stars to tell you who you are or tell your future. It's one thing to believe that angels and demons are real; it's another thing to try to communicate with them or worship them, or to consult crystals.... There's a much better way to chart your course in life.”
He sure was talkative old coot, wasn't he? But what was this old geezer getting at?
“There are some who put all their energy into trying to impress others, when ultimately there is only one whose opinion truly matters. There are some who live as though there's no tomorrow but when tomorrow does come, and it looks to be the last one, they're terrified of what's to come. So many seem to travel such a trail but there's a trail that is completely free of such fear.”
“Wait a minute” you protest. “You're talking about God, aren't you? I believe in God. My parents raised me in the faith. I'm on the right path. I'm a good guy. I obey all the commandments!”
“Yes, and that's good, but you were raised to believe that by keeping them as you understood them you were winning God's favor, that by doing certain religious things, at least occasionally, you were dotting the eye and crossing the tee on God's contract that would insure your salvation. But my boy, that's the old covenant way. God has come up with a better way, one that gets better & better!”
“How do you mean?” you asked. “God doesn't want us to keep his laws?”
“Of course, He does, but by doing so we do not impress him, nor by doing them as a kind of religious duty can we prove ourselves better than others. God's Son showed that no one keeps them as God intended. No one! We all fall short - every day!” (Romans 3:23)
That pushed a button. Remember? You'd assumed all good people were going to heaven but this guy made it sound like there were no truly good people, that we're all messed up!
“You're right - we are! The Old way just reveals how flawed we all are. We need a new brew, a new deal, and Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.” (Hebrews 7:22)
Now you were scratching your head, and it wasn't just because you hadn't showered in several days, it was because this guy was making your brain itch. How does Jesus guarantee that its better?
“Because he offered himself as a payoff for all the willful things we've done. Say you dis-cover that when you got back to your car that the engine has died. Seeing that you're stuck and in a bad way I offer you mine but on the way down the mountain you crash my car. Who would you say is responsible for paying for its repair? It would be your responsibility, right? But what if I forgave you the thousands of dollars required to fix my car? You'd be off the hook but someone would still have to foot the bill. That someone would be me. That's what Jesus did. He foots the bill. That's the new covenant, the new deal, so that when we appear in court one day, on the flip side of eternity, our bill is paid. We're invited in to the party not because we're so good but because he's so good and he's saying in effect, 'he may have wrecked my car, your honor, hurt people I love, damaged my creation, acting selfishly, but he's with me...'
In the old days, a priest would offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, sacrifices that could never cover all their sins, and only those for a short season, but now Jesus, as our high priest, offers himself, a sacrifice that covers all our sins, for all time. He's a much better high priest. In this way, his ministry of reconciliation is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. It just gets better and better! (Hebrews 8:6)
That struck a chord, didn't it? He was saying that even though Jesus got you, he was for you.
“That's right, my boy. And the implications are marvelous. For one thing, it means you can live your life fearlessly. Though night comes, and the darkness is foreboding, you never need fear the darkness of death ever again. He has set you free from living in slavery to the fear of dying. (Hebrews 2:15)
Secondly, Jesus has given you access to God. Like the temple curtain that was torn in two at the moment of Jesus' death, the curtain that separated people from the holy of holies, (the presence of God), Jesus has given you access, not only when you die, but here and now! When you pray or praise God, he hears not only your voice but that of the Spirit of His Son, Jesus! (Hebrews 2:19)
Third, this gives you a hope more powerful than words can ever convey. No loss in this life can ever rob you of this. Even though God gets you, and how flawed you are, he's 100% for you! In faith, you grasp hold of the hand that's grasping yours, so that you won't waver as you cling to hope! (Hebrews 2:23)
Fourth, knowing how much he loves you frees you up to not be concerned about trying to impress others or win their approval. It frees you up to pass on his love by radically, joyfully loving on those God puts you in your path, motivated by his love, to motivate others to be loving as well! (Hebrews 2:24)
And fifth, all of this plays out best when living and worshipping in community. As it is written: 'Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another!' (Hebrews 10:25)
It's like the young man whose new faith, and excitement for God, began to wane over time. He told his grandpa about it, seeking an explanation. His grandpa silently got up and went to the fire place and removed a white-hot coal from the fire and put it on the mantel place. They both watched as the coal slowly went red and then black. He then returned it to the fire where it soon went white hot again. His grandson got it. He was the coal who'd removed himself from the fire...”
And with that, as you later told me, the old man got up and stoked the fire. Then handing you an extra sleeping bag, he crawled into his own and went to sleep. You spent the next hour or two mulling over the things he'd said. You realized how you'd put yourself at risk when you wandered away from your friends to pursue your own adventure. You recalled his words that “it was by Jesus' death and resurrection that Jesus opened a new and life-giving wayto live your life”. (Hebrews 10:20)
When you returned the next day to our camp, having turned around and headed the other way on the trail you'd been on, you were so different. When you told us about your conversation by the campfire, I asked who this guy was, what kind of work he did. Do you remember what you said? You told me he ran some kind of bistro, a coffeehouse cleverly named, He Brews!
And we both agreed, it just keeps getting better and better!