The writer of Hebrews is making a strong point in today's verse that we must hold fast to
that confession like glue, not only because we have the potential to be weak, but because we have an enemy who possesses a powerful glue remover.
“We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right
with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”
Romans 10:10-11
(NCV)
The enemy uses our minds to work against us to try and convince
us that Jesus will not perform, nor will He be there for us when we need Him
the most. That has always been the enemy’s tactic to cast doubt so that we are
overcome by worry and fear.
It takes minimal effort for the enemy to make us
turn our focus away from Jesus and draw our attention on everything else but
our confession of hope.
It is when we see our circumstances before us, which
seem daunting or unsurmountable that our profession of “Jesus is Lord of all”
builds us up to recognize that we serve the God of the impossible, and He can
do anything.
Those of us who have been Christians for more than
fifteen minutes realize that our confession means everything.
“My dear friends, you have always obeyed God when I was
with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you.
Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling…”
Philippians 2:12
(NCV)
Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear and
trembling (not because we need
to be afraid or fearful of God), this is a reverential fear (respect) that is due God for who He is.
The Greek word
trómos is translated “trembling,” it has an interesting definition - “it is used to describe the anxiety of one who
distrusts his own ability completely to meet all requirements, but religiously does
his utmost to fulfill his duty.” It
describes the utmost reverence and respect for God. It also realizes at the
same time that we do not have within us the capacity to meet all the
requirements that God demands, so we lean heavily upon Jesus to be what we
cannot be, upright in God’s eyes. Paul says this in the next verse:
“…because God is working in you to help you want to do
and be able to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13
(NCV)
Paul is saying In the verse above that God is the one
that gives you the desire and means to do what pleases Him; we present our bodies
as an empty vessel, and then He fills it with Himself. If it were about us just
attempting to please God on our own, we would never measure up to what He
requires on our own without Jesus.
One thing that does pleases God is us
preferring one another, which means we always look for God’s best in each
other. If we can be an encouragement to someone else, we fulfill the purposes
of God to demonstrate love and affection to one another, which can, in turn,
rub off on others and encourage them to do the same things to more people with
whom they come in contact with. It can be passed on to others.
The ‘good
works’ that Paul mentions
comes from this love and affection that God puts in our hearts for one another,
not just something we think up and do on our own. Like I said earlier: "God gives us the desire and
the means to accomplish what pleases Him."
“So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you
meet together, one person has a song, and another has a teaching. Another has a
new truth from God. Another speaks in a different language, and another person
interprets that language. The purpose of all these things should be to help the
church grow strong.”
1 Corinthians 14:26 (NCV)
When it comes to us meeting up together, it has become a
hotbed of controversy, with social distancing being the current norm in our
society. Paul saw meeting together of most importance to make room for the
Holy Spirit to minister to us through the gifts God has given us.
The purpose
is to mature and grow the Church body to become more dependent upon Jesus
through the lives of our fellow believers. No one person has everything they
need to become fully developed in Christ apart from other brothers and sisters
of faith. The Lord has designed His body to become interdependent to create the
mature body of Christ; each person is an essential part of that body to make up
the whole.
So whether meeting together is through physical meetings,
letters, phone calls, or zoom meetings, it is about sharing your portion of
Christ that we may grow up together into the fullness of Christ, we can’t do it without
each other.
“When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like
lightning flashing from the east to the west.”
Matthew 24:27 (NCV)
The day of the Lord's return is rapidly approaching, so we must continue to
communicate with one another and share our portion of Christ so that we are all
are hearing what the Lord is saying to each of us individually and corporately.
One of the things I have been sensing recently is there is a sound
from heaven that previously could only be heard in heaven and is now beginning to be heard among God’s people. It is a sound of praise beyond anything that we have
yet experienced, for it is the victory sound of the lamb of God Himself.
It is
a sound that can be sung and carried on the voices of believers who hear these
sounds from heaven. It is a song that resonates in the spirit of those who hear
it; it declares that our Lord is coming and is even at the door.
“Then I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of
raging water and the noise of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like the
music played by harpists. They were singing a new song in front of the throne,
the four living creatures, and the leaders. Only the 144,000 people who had
been bought on earth could learn the song.”
Revelation 14:2-3
(GW)
I find it exciting to know that this is the song of the redeemed, and all who know the sounds of heaven will usher in the kingdom age with their songs from heaven.
We need to gather together and share our hearts and our songs.
We need to gather together and share our hearts and our songs.
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
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