So welcome back friends,
We are continuing our study
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in the book of Hebrews
we are in Hebrews Chapter 5.
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And James it is very interesting
that as the Apostle Paul
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is developing the priesthood
of Jesus as a better priesthood
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as a superior priesthood
that we need to tap into and
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understand what's
being, what's taking place in
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the priesthood of Jesus.
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Chapter 4, I don't want to
leave there until we make this
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point and just nail it down.
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It, we are told that because
of the fact that Jesus is our
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priest that He took
our humanity upon Himself,
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He sympathizes with us, He's
tempted in all points like as
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are yet without sin, it's
on that premise that Paul then
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says let us therefore, in
the light of this priesthood,
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in the light of this compassion
in the light of the fact that
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Jesus is our sympathetic high
priest, let us therefore come
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boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain two things,
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James here, mercy and
grace to help in time of need.
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There are two things at
the priesthood of Jesus.
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Is, is giving to us, providing
for us, and they are mercy
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which of course pertains to
our failures, we sin, we fail,
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we fall, and mercy is there.
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At the same time, mercy
has a higher objective in mind.
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Mercy has a higher end in view.
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So mercy for your failures,
for your sins, but help
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grace to help in your
time of need and clearly,
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in the context here, the
time of need is temptation.
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Grace is power!
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Grace is differently power!
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In other words, if you look
at this in a broader context
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of what Paul says in Titus,
He says, "The grace of God,"
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and this is Titus
Chapter 2 verse 11,
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"The grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to
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all men teaching us," verse
12, "that denying ungodliness,
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and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, we should live
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righteously, and
godly, in this present world;
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so grace is power, we
have mercy, and we have power.
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Yeah, you could even simply say
that the mercy, that He gives,
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is the power, because we
perceived His love for us,
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His mercy, His love manifested
in mercy, that forgiveness just
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overcomes our sense
of God's love for us
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and then in the light of His
love for us, we are empowered
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to then, by that same
mercy, by that same grace,
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to be strengthened so that
we can deal effectively with
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temptation in our lives.
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Absolutely, and you look
at this in the context of
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Hebrews Chapter 5, because
what he is going to do now is
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transition out, from this
emphasis on the priesthood and
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and he is going to go, now,
in verse 12, He's going to go,
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or verse 11, to the
condition of God's people.
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He has just emphasized
that Jesus can have compassion
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on us, that Jesus is as
merciful that we can find grace,
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and the reason that he's putting
so much emphases on this is
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because of the condition
of God's people beginning here
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in verse 11, "Of
whom, talking about Christ,
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we have many things to
say, and hard to be uttered,
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it's hard for us to
be tell you these things,
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Why? because you
are dull of hearing.
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Or, verse 12, For when
you ought to be teachers,
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you have need that one
teaches you again what be
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the first principles
of the oracles of God;
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and are need or
become such need of milk,
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and not of strong meat.
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Not that strong
for the word of God.
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for you, it says in verse
13, For every one that uses milk
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is unskillful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe.
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But strong meat,
STRONG MEAT, belongs
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to them that are full of
age, even those who by reason
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of use have their
senses exercised to discern
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both good and evil.
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The believers here have
slipped they have backslidden,
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their struggling, and so he
emphasizes the mercy, the grace,
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the power, the compassion,
in order for them to have
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hope, in order for them
to be encouraged, because of
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their spiritual condition.
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And this is a very, this
is a very practical problem
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with a practical solution.
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The problem is practical, he's
saying spiritually you are weak.
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You are like babes who are
drinking milk when you should
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be eating solid food, in fact,
he says you should be teachers.
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You should be witnessing,
you should be testifying to the
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things of God, but you are not
able to give a powerful witness
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you are not able to
rightly represent your faith,
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you are not even
motivated to do so
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because you are like
babes in the word of God
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and the practical solution
James, is very very clear here
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he says you need to have your
senses, your mind, your heart,
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your eyes, your hearing,
you need to have those senses
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exercised, you need to use them.
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Just like in the physical realm.
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Muscles of the body are
strengthened by use and also
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the spiritual muscles,
if we can use that term,
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Term of the mind, of the heart
are exercised and strengthened
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as we, in a repetitive
sense, delve deeper and deeper
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and deeper, into the
truths of God's word.
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We are strengthened spiritually.
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I will never forget,
Ty, we started working out,
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we started lifting weights,
when we started getting into
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exercise, I was a weakling,
I remember we went to the gym
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and Ty was over there and
he is pumping the bar, you know
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it's got these 45er's on there,
and I am over there pumping
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the bar and there
is nothing on there,
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there's nothing on there!
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Now that was several years
ago and since that time I've
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continued to exercise
and built up strength.
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But if I, if you, if anyone
who is into physical exercise
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jogging, lifting
weights, whatever it is,
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would take a year off, let's
just say you don't exercise
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for a year, and you are use
to running 5 miles, you're use
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to running 10 miles, you
are use to pumping 200 pounds,
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or 300 pounds, and you go back
into that gym after a year off,
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you haven't been
exercising, you go back in
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there, you are not
going to do what you once did,
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your not going to run
as far as you once ran.
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That's right!
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You have to go back and
that's what Paul is saying here,
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don't pressure yourself to
be where you think you ought
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to be, you need to go back
to the milk, you need to start
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all over again, he's not
chiding them, he's not, he's not
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overwhelming them I should
say, he is chiding them a little
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bit but he is not
overwhelming them.
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He is understanding
where they are and saying
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you need milk, you need
to go back to that, don't let
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pride overwhelm you, thinking
you can go in there pump
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200 pounds when you haven't
been working out for a year.
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Right James, you go over
there and just pump the bar and
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just be humble and
don't worry about it, you'll
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get to that later.
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Exactly, exactly and Paul wants
us to understand that there is
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development that should
occur in the Christian life.
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He's saying right now you need
milk because you have become
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negligent in the exercising
use of your senses in the word
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of God, you should be
teachers but you are not.
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But he is saying you need
milk, but please, he's pleading,
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He's saying, but come
on, he's prodding us on,
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He's admonishing us,
saying get into the word
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of God, exercise your
senses, begin to drink that milk
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of the word of God, but
then, in Chapter 6 he says,
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But, therefore, leaving the
discussion of the elementary
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principles of Christ,
let us go on to perfection.
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He is definitely telling
us that we need to move on
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and to develop, to grow,
in our Christian experience
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to move on to the
pondering of the deeper issues
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of the word of God so
that we can represent God
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more fully in the world, not
with arrogance, but definitely
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with a clarity of what the
gospel is about, clear sense,
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of what the gospel is, and
we actually grow, not only in
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our understanding, but we
grow in our ability to clearly
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communicate to our friends,
neighbors, and family members.
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I love this about Paul because
he always saturates admonition
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with grace and with help, you
know 1 Corinthians is a prime
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example, he starts focusing
on the cross and then goes
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goes on and tells them all
the things they need to change,
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things they are doing
wrong, whatever, but it's always
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back to the cross, 1 Corinthians
13, the love Chapter.
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You see the same thing
here, in fact, in Chapter 4 we
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touch on this but in verse
12, he talks about how the word
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of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than
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any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of
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soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow,
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and is a discerner
of the thoughts and
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intents of the heart.
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And I am going too
fast here, but look at this.
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That there is nothing, verse
13, that is not manifest in
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God's sight, all things are
naked and open unto the eyes
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of Him with Whom we have to do.
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God sees everything!
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God knows everything
about us and He still loves us.
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Check this out, God
understands our weaknesses
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and He still loves us.
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He is compassionate towards
us, and yet at the same time
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He encourages us
to get to go further,
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I mean even Eve, okay, she
began to fail in discerning good
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and evil, in her
perfection, before she fell,
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she went to the tree,
she listened to the serpent,
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and now she wasn't sure,
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she wasn't able to
discern between good and evil,
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it could happen to anyone.
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And yet God still came to the
garden, God was still looking
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for them, God still
made promises to them, God
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was still there for them.
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And that is the
picture we see in Hebrews.
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Yeah there is an
incredible balance here, I mean
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verse 12 and 13 of Chapter
4 actually are very startling.
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The word of God cuts deep
and everything about us is
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open before the eyes of God
He knows every thought, every
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feeling, every action
that is done in secret.
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He knows everything, but
what's the next two verses
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Yes, exactly!
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We have a high priest who is
compassionate, He sympathizes,
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He's going to give mercy
for every sin, failure and He is
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going to give grace to help
you in your time of need, so
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actually what we see here
is God saying to us, I know
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everything about
you, and I still love you.
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So don't run away from me,
don't in your exposure before me
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turn from Me in fear, I
want you to come boldly into
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the throne room of
Universe, and partake of mercy
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and in partaking of mercy,
to move on to partake of grace
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to help in every time of need,
to develop spiritually, to grow
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to mature, and to become
powerful witnesses in this world
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Yes, and you know as you
look at Hebrews Chapter 6 as you
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move through this you realize
that there is nothing else God
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can do for us after He reveals
this truth, if we turn away
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from this truth, if we turn
away from this understanding
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Look at these verses, Verse
4 of Hebrews Chapter 6:4 is
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impossible for those who
were once enlightened and have
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tasted of the heavenly gift,
and were made partakers of the
00:10:35.07\00:10:37.86
Holy Ghost, and have
tasted the good word of God.
00:10:37.89\00:10:40.74
The Word of God.
00:10:40.77\00:10:42.49
And the powers of the
world to come if they shall fall
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away to renew them again and
repentance seeing they crucify
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themselves to the Son of God
afresh and put Him to open shame
00:10:47.97\00:10:51.29
There is a natural consequence,
the earth drinks down the water
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produces something, whether
it is good or bad, and Verse 8
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it could produce thorns
and briars and that is going
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to be rejected, but we are
persuaded better things of you.
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In other words this will
follow the Saints, summarize.
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God is giving it
everything He has got.
00:11:04.95\00:11:08.04
He has shown you everything.
00:11:08.07\00:11:10.03
He is showing you that
you are naked before Him.
00:11:10.07\00:11:12.15
He knows where you are,
He knows what you are about,
00:11:12.19\00:11:14.04
He knows what your
thoughts are and He loves you.
00:11:14.08\00:11:15.87
He has compassion towards
you, He has grace towards you,
00:11:15.90\00:11:17.70
He has mercy towards you.
00:11:17.73\00:11:18.70
He is there for you.
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Now if you turn away from that
revelation, if you turn away
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from that understanding
of what God, if you turn away
00:11:23.39\00:11:24.96
from tasting that goodness
of God, what more can God give?
00:11:24.99\00:11:29.04
What more can He reveal to You?
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Beyond that there
is nothing else left.
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I think there is
some motivation here also.
00:11:32.20\00:11:34.41
At least it has
been motivational for me.
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As I see verse 6, of Chapter
6 of Hebrews, where we are told
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that in sin, when we fail
to continue in the Lord and we
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turn from Him, we
crucify the Son of God afresh
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and put Him to open shame.
00:11:52.88\00:11:54.33
That pierces my heart James.
00:11:54.36\00:11:56.27
That motivates me, not
with guilt, but it motivates me
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because I love my Savior
and the idea that I would put
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Him to open shame,
before the on looking Universe,
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after all He has done for
me, that just really ratchets up
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my will power and causes me
to say Lord please, enter my
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life, strengthen me in every
way You can, I don't want to
00:12:15.95\00:12:18.84
dishonor You, I don't want
to put You to shame before the
00:12:18.88\00:12:22.75
Universe, So please Lord nurture
me, grow me up in Yourself,
00:12:22.79\00:12:26.63
and let me develop and move
forward in my Christian faith.
00:12:26.66\00:12:30.84
What a powerful revelation
we are studying here Ty,
00:12:30.87\00:12:33.75
What a powerful revelation
friends and listeners.
00:12:33.78\00:12:36.76
What a powerful revelation we
have here in the book of Hebrews
00:12:36.79\00:12:39.15
of who God is and what He
is like, His compassion, His
00:12:39.18\00:12:42.12
love, His grace, His mercy,
and the encouragement that
00:12:42.15\00:12:45.72
He gives us to not only
except and embrace that,
00:12:45.75\00:12:49.93
but to move on with Him.
00:12:49.96\00:12:51.46
To embrace, not only the
grace, the mercy and the gift
00:12:51.49\00:12:55.20
of salvation, but
also the power and the
00:12:55.24\00:12:57.28
change that he wants
to make in our lives.
00:12:57.31\00:12:59.28
What a full revelation Paul
is giving us here in the book
00:12:59.31\00:13:02.45
of Hebrews, of both the
compassion and the mercy and
00:13:02.48\00:13:05.71
the grace of God as well
as the power of God and the
00:13:05.74\00:13:08.26
influence that God can
have to change us, and don't you
00:13:08.29\00:13:10.80
want that change in your life?
00:13:10.83\00:13:12.22
Don't you want to
have the experience that
00:13:12.25\00:13:14.64
God longs for you to have?
00:13:14.68\00:13:16.27
I pray you do.
00:13:16.30\00:13:17.27
See you next time.
00:13:17.28\00:13:18.25