WEBVTT 00:00:00.820 --> 00:00:07.240 Okay, but we aren't sure who wrote the book of Hebrews, but we have a good idea from internal 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:10.679 evidence why this person wrote this letter. 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:16.120 The writer is aware that the recipients of this letter are facing two grave dangers to 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:16.740 their faith. 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:23.300 They're facing the danger of heresy and that of persecution. 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:30.580 On the one hand, the recipients, probably Jewish Christians, are finding a couple of false 00:00:30.580 --> 00:00:32.200 doctrines enticing. 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:38.820 That angels hold a dignity and position greater than that of Jesus Christ and that old systems 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:44.579 within Judaism, like the priesthood and sacrifices and such, are still valid and ongoing. 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:48.200 Now, if these two things are truer, then Jesus is neither the Lord nor the Savior. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:55.320 On the other hand, these Jewish believers in Jesus had suffered much for their faith. 00:00:55.440 --> 00:01:01.440 And according to the writer of this letter, they seem to be considering quitting the faith 00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:01.900 altogether. 00:01:03.020 --> 00:01:06.579 They are considering quitting the journey. 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:09.140 So this book is full of warnings. 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:10.939 So now go to chapter two. 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.000 I'm going to look at a few of these warnings. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:14.840 Chapter two, verse one. 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:20.420 Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:20.640 it. 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:23.380 Chapter three, verse 12. 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.960 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you 00:01:28.960 --> 00:01:30.520 to fall away from the living God. 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.020 Skip ahead to chapter 10, verse 26. 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:42.719 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.400 sacrifice for sins is left. 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:47.200 And two more chapters ahead. 00:01:47.320 --> 00:01:48.859 Chapter 12, verse 25. 00:01:49.740 --> 00:01:50.680 Yet another warning. 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:54.780 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. 00:01:55.320 --> 00:02:00.100 For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:02.700 we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:08.360 Now, in order to drive home these warnings, the author uses some metaphors. 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:10.939 One metaphor is that of Israel in the wilderness. 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:15.379 Israel was freed from brutal captivity in Egypt. 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:20.659 They were miraculously delivered from Pharaoh's army through the waters of the Red Sea. 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.859 And they sang songs of praise and thanksgiving thereafter. 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:33.620 And before no time at all, their songs were transformed into complaining and grumbling, wishing to go back. 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:38.420 They would say, there we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full in Egypt. 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:42.579 God condemned that generation. 00:02:42.580 --> 00:02:43.580 God condemned that generation. 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:48.140 And the writer of Hebrews compares his readers to Israel in the wilderness. 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.360 And he warns them in chapter 3, verse 16. 00:02:51.360 --> 00:03:21.340 Verse 19. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:30.660 Okay, so who are these warnings for? 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:41.079 The writer of Hebrews makes clear that he is talking to those who have already professed faith in Jesus Christ and have begun to follow him. 00:03:41.579 --> 00:03:43.159 And they are members of his church. 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:47.120 So it's not just the recipients who these warnings are for. 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:47.900 They're for you. 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:48.900 They're for me. 00:03:51.419 --> 00:03:56.000 But I confess, I tend to zoom right past these warnings when I find them in Scripture. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.039 You know, once saved, always saved. 00:04:01.139 --> 00:04:04.159 I believe in the perseverance and preservation of the saints. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:06.759 I'm good. 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:18.139 But, you know, though the Bible is full of such assurances that he who began a good work in you is faithful and will carry it on to the day of completion, to completion of the day of Christ Jesus. 00:04:19.099 --> 00:04:23.839 Those assurances don't make a fiction of the warnings here in Hebrews. 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:30.199 There's a very real danger for those who profess faith to fall into the sin of unbelief. 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:36.860 And if we're honest with ourselves, we can understand the temptation of quitting the journey. 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:44.500 We have wrestled with varying degrees of unbelief at one time or another. 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:54.039 For some of us, our unbelief is like a thick, creeping mist that moves in and out of our thoughts and feelings. 00:04:54.040 --> 00:05:00.340 Some days are sunny, but some days our faith feels muddy and hazy. 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:07.500 And the object of our faith appears almost absent altogether. 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:12.660 Or at the very best, Jesus Christ appears unclear or indiscernible. 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:21.580 For some, our unbelief is like piercing, scorching arrows of doubt lodged in our minds. 00:05:22.080 --> 00:05:26.000 Where we're questioning the basic tenets of the faith we grew up with. 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:28.220 Is the Bible even reliable? 00:05:28.940 --> 00:05:29.820 I don't know anymore. 00:05:30.820 --> 00:05:31.940 Does God really love me? 00:05:32.700 --> 00:05:33.820 I don't know anymore. 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.940 Is there a life after death or a world behind the veil? 00:05:39.340 --> 00:05:40.440 I don't know. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:43.779 Sometimes it feels like this is just all there is. 00:05:45.719 --> 00:05:48.300 Some of us are just fatigued. 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:54.040 Hey, I've been running this Christian race for a long time. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:57.500 For who knows how long. 00:05:57.540 --> 00:05:58.579 And I'm just tired. 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:01.139 And I might just be ready to quit. 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:08.259 I'm tired of being told what I can and can't do with my time, with my finances, with my body. 00:06:08.259 --> 00:06:11.379 You know, that guy over there, he's doing whatever he wants. 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:13.339 And he seems pretty happy. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:16.599 But I, I'm just worn down. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:19.980 Worn down by the demands on me morally. 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:22.899 Worn down by being so different than the culture around me. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:32.459 Worn down by worrying what my neighbors or coworkers might think if they heard or saw what I really believed. 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:35.500 I mean, I think I could just check this whole thing. 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:45.180 Or, you know, I could just modify it to fit my wants and my needs to make it more palatable to me and everybody else. 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:50.139 You know, perhaps your unbelief originates on a horizontal plane. 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:52.120 You know, you love Jesus. 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:53.639 But the church is a bunch of weirdos. 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:56.279 And that's the best case scenario. 00:06:56.479 --> 00:06:58.539 Worst case, they're hypocrites who have hurt me. 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:01.360 And they've hurt the ones that I love. 00:07:01.719 --> 00:07:10.180 And if there were any truth to Christianity that God is love, it would seem that those who follow him would resemble him in that way, in some way. 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:20.579 I think, I think all of us have experienced one of these at some time or the other. 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:22.639 Or perhaps even all of them. 00:07:24.780 --> 00:07:28.639 And all these doubts can feel like a great cloud of accusers. 00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:30.439 Give up, they cry. 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:32.019 Forget God. 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:33.480 Hey, follow your heart. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:41.460 And in church, we feel most authentic when we sing, prone to wander. 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:43.520 Lord, I feel it. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.460 Prone to leave the God I love. 00:07:50.840 --> 00:07:53.000 So the book of Hebrews is for us. 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:55.600 And its warnings are for us. 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:01.960 Fortunately, it is also full of wisdom on how to heed the warnings. 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:09.919 The writer of Hebrews uses another metaphor to encourage us to persevere in our faith. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.939 He's compared the Christian life to that of Israel in the wilderness. 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:21.399 And he also compares it to something that the Apostle Paul liked to use as a metaphor. 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:25.699 And actually something that a lot of writers of this era like to use as a metaphor. 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:28.299 And that's that of athletic competition. 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:32.840 The metaphor is introduced in chapter 10, verse 35. 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:39.360 The writer of the Hebrews writes, 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:59.019 You know, I love that, right? 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.639 Up until here, he's given us a lot of commands. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:05.460 Well, at least in this sermon, you've heard a lot of warnings. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:10.179 But he encourages us by giving to us our identity. 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:13.120 This is what you need to do. 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:14.799 But remember, this is to whom you belong. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:16.120 This is who you are. 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:17.740 You belong to the church. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:18.860 You belong to God's people. 00:09:19.439 --> 00:09:22.240 You belong to all those who have persevered right until the end. 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:27.200 And then the writer introduces what we sometimes call the hall of faith. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:28.720 This is Hebrews chapter 11. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:35.700 These are those from the Old Testament who, through faith, persevered to the end. 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:38.320 I'm going to read a little lengthy passage. 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:40.340 It starts in verse 33. 00:09:41.420 --> 00:09:42.300 This is poetry. 00:09:42.540 --> 00:09:43.259 Listen to this. 00:09:43.259 --> 00:10:03.200 They conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.500 Women received back their dead by resurrection. 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:12.940 Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:18.639 Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. 00:10:19.059 --> 00:10:19.820 They were stoned. 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:21.500 They were sawn into. 00:10:22.299 --> 00:10:23.720 They were killed with the sword. 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:32.039 They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated. 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:35.259 Of whom the world was not worthy. 00:10:36.379 --> 00:10:42.480 Wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:44.419 Brothers and sisters, this is to whom we belong. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:48.879 And then in chapter 12, we read, 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:57.159 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.719 So what does the writer mean? 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.980 That we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:08.820 Now, he's not saying, nor does it say anywhere else in scripture, 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:16.080 that those in heaven are observing what's going on down here, looking at our lives and cheering us on. 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:20.720 You know, like Abraham and David looking down, seeing Dan. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:26.860 Like, oh, Dan, you only did eight hours on your smartphone instead of nine and a half hours. 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:27.920 Good job today, Dan. 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:28.600 Keep it up. 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:33.779 That doesn't sound like paradise to me. 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:35.860 And that's not what's going on here. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:43.340 The writer of Hebrews is simply staying within his metaphor. 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:43.899 Okay? 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:45.540 The metaphor of the race. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:50.480 We are to be encouraged by all the runners who have run the race successfully before us. 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.100 And we are to follow their example. 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:58.820 We read that we too are also to lay aside every weight. 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:05.139 We too are also to lay aside sin which clings so closely. 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:08.419 What does it mean to lay aside every weight? 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:11.460 Well, runners in the ancient Olympics would run naked. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:13.720 Clothes were considered good. 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:18.799 But ultimately, as an athlete, they impeded one's ability to accomplish the goal. 00:12:19.340 --> 00:12:26.080 Likewise, is there anything good that might distract us from the singular purpose of following Jesus? 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:26.759 Yes. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:26.840 Yes. 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:28.040 Yes, there are. 00:12:28.300 --> 00:12:28.920 These are good things. 00:12:29.020 --> 00:12:32.960 Careers, relationships, hobbies, travel, and plenty of other things. 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:33.639 Good things. 00:12:34.180 --> 00:12:41.440 Things created by God can distract us from our goal because we are prone to worship created things instead of the creator. 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.520 Sin, too, is something we are to lay aside. 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:52.840 But some sin clings so closely that we may be unaware of it. 00:12:54.179 --> 00:13:03.620 An imitation of those who have gone before us can serve as a mirror for seeing our blind spots and besetting sins. 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:13.919 In scripture, we see those who have gone before us and their sins in gory, unflattering detail. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:21.099 And we see how they repented and how they set aside their sin, which clung so closely. 00:13:25.079 --> 00:13:25.819 All right. 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:31.899 So we've moved through the first 11 chapters of Hebrews, noting that it's full of warnings, 00:13:32.079 --> 00:13:37.299 but we're encouraged to imitate those who have gone before us. 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:41.659 So let's talk about imitation for a second. 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:46.000 Let's actually talk about discipleship, how we grow. 00:13:47.319 --> 00:13:54.879 There's a three-step pattern that we recognize at Church of the Advent as a pattern of discipleship, a pattern of growth. 00:13:55.199 --> 00:14:00.419 And it's almost identical to a pattern that musicians follow to learn how to play jazz. 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:03.899 Now, the first of those steps you could call information. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:09.319 Now, musicians learning to play jazz, they first learn the basic vocabulary of jazz. 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:12.760 They learn the music theory that's particular to jazz. 00:14:12.920 --> 00:14:15.520 They learn the scales that are particular to jazz. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:19.480 You know, not just like the major and the minor, but the blues scale, the bebop scale, etc. 00:14:20.060 --> 00:14:24.020 They learn the forms that a lot of jazz tunes follow. 00:14:24.540 --> 00:14:27.800 12-bar blues, rhythm changes. 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:40.659 And jazz musicians learn jazz history from its roots as field hollers and work songs on southern plantations to the very unique culture of New Orleans. 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:47.399 And then as it spread up to Mississippi to Kansas City and Chicago, then across to New York and L.A. and around the world, 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:51.719 and we learn all the important artists and what made them unique. 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:59.000 Louis Armstrong, D.C.'s own Duke Ellington, Byrd and Diz, Miles and Coltrane, Mingus and Monk, 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:03.379 all necessary information for a musician learning how to play jazz. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:07.419 Now, Christians, too, acquire and absorb information. 00:15:07.819 --> 00:15:09.240 We're pretty good at it, too, aren't we? 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:16.120 Jesus told his disciples to go, therefore, into all the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:19.840 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:15:20.539 --> 00:15:24.120 Paul, likewise, tells his protege, Timothy, in his first letter to him, 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.860 the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses. 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.419 Teach others, teach and trust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others also. 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:40.599 And as Christians, we learn by reading the Bible, internalizing what it has to say. 00:15:40.699 --> 00:15:44.579 We get information by studying the Ten Commandments. 00:15:44.839 --> 00:15:46.860 We learn our ethics from the Ten Commandments. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:49.439 We learn our worship from the Lord's Prayer. 00:15:49.579 --> 00:15:51.740 We learn our beliefs from the Apostles' Creed. 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:56.159 We learn the history of salvation as it unfolds through the Scriptures. 00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:58.320 We learn the history of the Church through the ages. 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:02.240 To put it concisely, mature disciples have sound doctrine. 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:04.120 That's the first step. 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:05.820 We call that information. 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:11.500 Now, I'm going to skip the second step, which is imitation, and go right to the third step. 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:13.899 The third step you could call improvisation. 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:19.879 Just as jazz musicians take all the basics they've learned and apply it correctly to improvising over a jazz tune, 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.720 Christians take all that they know and apply it to living in the present day. 00:16:24.939 --> 00:16:33.379 I know what vocation is, and this is how I will fulfill my vocation ethically as a Christian in this particularly difficult field. 00:16:33.459 --> 00:16:34.159 That's improvisation. 00:16:35.579 --> 00:16:38.299 I know what the discipline of Sabbath is. 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:44.459 I improvise by knowing how to keep Sabbath with my crazy DC schedule. 00:16:46.219 --> 00:16:54.039 So, the first step or the first pattern or the first step of the pattern of discipleship we see is information. 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:56.839 The third step is improvisation. 00:16:57.439 --> 00:17:04.680 Now, I skipped the second step, fittingly, because I think most of us have a pretty good grasp of steps one and three. 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:07.539 Information comes easily for us enough. 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:13.960 And improvisation comes easily enough, too, being an individualistic culture that we are. 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:19.980 I skipped the second step because I think it's the step most of us tend to skip. 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:24.099 Now, jazz musicians do not skip this step. 00:17:24.159 --> 00:17:25.579 This is the most important step. 00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:31.740 When I was a music student in the 90s studying jazz, way back in the 1990s, 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:40.639 we enjoyed making fun of a certain soprano saxophone player who was very popular on top 40 radio stations back then, 00:17:40.699 --> 00:17:46.379 and we felt probably unfairly disdain for him. 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:57.240 Not because his music was cheesy, which it was, nor because he was classified as a jazz musician at Sam Goody's and Tower Records, 00:17:57.620 --> 00:17:58.800 and he was not a jazz musician. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:04.579 We didn't like the guy because he had a reputation for saying, 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:06.200 it starts and ends with me. 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:09.339 Now, I don't know if that's true or not, and that's why I haven't named him. 00:18:09.899 --> 00:18:10.940 I probably shouldn't name him anyway. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:13.799 But that was his reputation. 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:16.460 It starts and ends with me. 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:20.380 He was reputed to have claimed that he was completely independent of influences, 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.120 that he never patterned his playing on another player, 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:27.039 that he was not indebted at all to any other musician that may have gone before him. 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:31.380 And this struck us as preposterous, because no one learns jazz this way. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:35.720 My teachers had me listen to and transcribe, note for note, 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.079 J.J. Johnson's solo over the blues tune, Billy's Bounce, 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.340 Miles Davis' solo over the tune of So What. 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:47.139 I bought an anthology of Charlie Parker's transcribed solos and learned to play those along with him. 00:18:47.459 --> 00:18:52.819 I mean, how else would a jazz player learn about note selection and space, 00:18:52.919 --> 00:18:55.419 about phrasing and pace, about how to swing? 00:18:55.699 --> 00:18:59.899 You learn improvisation through imitation of those who have done it best. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.240 And you gravitate to certain player styles that you admire, 00:19:03.399 --> 00:19:06.500 and after imitating them, you develop your own voice and style. 00:19:07.659 --> 00:19:11.480 Now, this is exactly how the Bible teaches discipleship. 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:18.059 We don't grow by making our way through the world on our own in isolation. 00:19:19.199 --> 00:19:22.059 It doesn't start and end with us. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:24.559 We imitate others. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.439 We immerse ourselves in Scripture 00:19:29.439 --> 00:19:33.379 and follow patterns of holiness and perseverance 00:19:33.379 --> 00:19:35.619 in others that we see in the Old and New Testaments. 00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:40.539 We familiarize ourselves with the saints of the early church 00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:46.259 who suffered much and died for the faith 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:49.679 and who studied Scriptures diligently 00:19:49.679 --> 00:19:52.459 and preserved the faith for later generations. 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:57.980 And we imitate each other, too. 00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:00.660 At least, I imitate you. 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:04.800 Because when I see Church of the Advent, 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:07.840 I see people living in their vocations 00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:10.040 in a very difficult city, 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.519 doing it faithfully. 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.560 I see people at Church of the Advent 00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:17.400 who extend mercy to those who need it, 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.900 who are passionate about justice 00:20:20.900 --> 00:20:24.320 and speak out on behalf of those 00:20:24.320 --> 00:20:26.900 who are oppressed and marginalized. 00:20:28.120 --> 00:20:32.920 I see you take people into your homes 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:34.460 that need a place to stay. 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:37.280 I see you provide meals for one another 00:20:37.280 --> 00:20:38.820 when things get rough. 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:42.220 You are an example of perseverance. 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:45.040 And I imitate you. 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:51.220 Now, if we're on pilgrimage, 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.940 what is the promised land? 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:55.180 If we're in a race, 00:20:56.139 --> 00:20:58.119 what ultimately is the prize? 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:01.819 If we want to heed the warnings of Hebrews 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:03.359 and stay on target, 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.879 if we want to arrive with the rest of the saints 00:21:05.879 --> 00:21:06.720 at the finish line, 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.639 then the writer of Hebrews gives us the key. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.220 I shy away from saying this is a key or the key, 00:21:13.639 --> 00:21:14.440 but this is the key. 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:17.559 Chapter 12, verse 2. 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:20.099 Fix your eyes on Jesus, 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.279 the founder and perfecter of our faith, 00:21:24.399 --> 00:21:26.059 who for the joy that was set before him 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:27.200 endured the cross, 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.220 despising the shame, 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:32.659 and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:39.299 Jesus had no cloud of witnesses cheering him on. 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:42.700 It was in isolation that he perfectly obeyed his father 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:43.839 on our behalf. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.920 His destination on earth wasn't paradise, 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:49.039 but it was the cross. 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:53.379 It was the shame and the ignominy 00:21:53.379 --> 00:21:55.940 of the cross. 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:57.899 On the cross, 00:21:58.139 --> 00:21:59.639 our sputtering attempts 00:21:59.639 --> 00:22:01.740 to run this race 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:03.220 are replaced 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:05.460 by his unwavering devotion 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.299 to his father. 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:07.180 On the cross, 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.259 our doubts 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:10.519 and our unbelief, 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.559 that punishment they're deserved, 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:14.019 are exchanged 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:15.259 with God's, 00:22:15.639 --> 00:22:17.319 with Jesus's confident 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:18.559 commitment 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.099 to his father. 00:22:20.099 --> 00:22:20.199 father. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.419 We fix our eyes 00:22:23.419 --> 00:22:25.079 on Jesus, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:27.159 beautiful Jesus, 00:22:27.159 --> 00:22:28.459 who died for us, 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:30.039 who struggle with crippling doubt 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:30.819 and unbelief. 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:33.279 We fix our eyes on Jesus, 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:34.980 beautiful Jesus, 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:35.980 for us, 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.059 for us who are tempted 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:38.640 to quit, 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:41.299 for us who are constantly distracted 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:42.599 by all the shiny things 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:43.079 of the world, 00:22:43.620 --> 00:22:45.539 for us to whom sin can sing, 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.339 for us to whom sin can cling 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:50.539 so closely 00:22:50.539 --> 00:22:52.019 and bog us down. 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:55.839 Fix your eyes on Jesus. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:58.359 This is how we heed the warnings. 00:22:58.539 --> 00:22:59.699 This is how we persevere. 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:02.959 Allow yourself 00:23:02.959 --> 00:23:03.459 to be 00:23:03.459 --> 00:23:05.039 allured to him, 00:23:05.859 --> 00:23:07.480 to be wooed by him. 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:09.679 Build time into your life. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.139 Build unhurried time into it 00:23:13.139 --> 00:23:14.000 and wait there 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.079 and let your soul 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:17.240 be re-enchanted. 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:19.579 Stay there until you know 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.299 that Jesus loves you. 00:23:21.619 --> 00:23:22.659 Hear him say, 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:24.980 experience him saying, 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:27.440 all that the Father gives me 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:29.079 will come to me 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:31.000 and whoever comes to me 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:32.500 I will never cast out 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:34.519 for I have come down 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:35.019 from heaven 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:36.460 not to do my own will 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:37.599 but the will of him 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.259 who sent me 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:40.059 that I should lose nothing 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:41.500 of all that he has given me. 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.059 Everyone who looks on the Son, 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:45.839 who fixes their eyes on the Son 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.000 and believes in him 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:48.559 should have eternal life 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:50.180 and I will raise him up 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:50.920 on the last day. 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:54.440 In the name of the Father, 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:55.480 and of the Son, 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:56.500 and of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:57.299 Amen. 00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:58.140 Let's pray. 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:08.880 Lord, we are so distracted. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:08.920 Lord, we are so excited. 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:13.000 This world is so noisy. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:18.640 It is a din, 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:21.340 a cacophony, 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:24.780 both orally and visually, 00:24:26.060 --> 00:24:27.900 but especially spiritually. 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:30.560 We feel tugged in every direction. 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:34.100 Many of us feel like giving up. 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:39.659 So as we fix our eyes on you, Jesus, 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:41.819 would you be faithful 00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:44.039 as we know you are faithful 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:46.459 and show yourself to us, 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.959 reveal to us your beauty, 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:49.039 your glory, 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:50.359 your majesty. 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:52.459 Can we be transfixed by you, Jesus? 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:55.439 Loved and served and healed. 00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:57.959 Can we be transfixed by you, Jesus? 00:24:57.960 --> 00:24:58.160 Jesus, 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:02.279 who lived faithfully and obediently 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:03.380 all the way to the cross 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:04.400 and died for us. 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:07.559 Jesus, can we be transfixed 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:10.980 by you who rose again from the dead 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:12.279 and ascended into heaven 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:14.000 where you sit at the right hand 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:14.500 of the Father? 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:17.519 Can we be transfixed by you 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:19.940 like all of those who have gone before us 00:25:19.940 --> 00:25:21.299 who have been faithful to you? 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:21.779 Thank you. 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:24.180 Thank you for their examples. 00:25:26.399 --> 00:25:28.899 Thank you, most of all, Jesus, 00:25:29.639 --> 00:25:31.839 that even when we doubt 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:32.899 and even when we fail, 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:35.980 you still love and accept us. 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:38.180 Nothing can separate us 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:40.159 from the love of the Father 00:25:40.159 --> 00:25:41.419 because of what you have done for us. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.480 Amen.