Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Hebrews chapter 12. Our sermon today will be a change from our plan.
!
Preparing to preach the following quote, I always find that I can preach best when I can manage to lie a soak in my text.
I like to get a text and find out its meaning and bearings and so on, and then, after I have bathed in it, I delight to lie down in it and let it soak into me.
It softens me, or hardens me, or does whatever it ought to do to me, and then I can talk about it.
And so this week, the text that had been planned for before us was from John chapter 3, verse 22 through 36, the final kind of recorded testimony of John the Baptist by John the Apostle.
And I have done the work of getting the text and finding out its meaning and bearings, doing that careful work, forming an outline, looking at language.
But I have had a difficult time this week lying a soak in this particular text.
There's another that my mind has gone to again and again and again, not just in this past week, but in the week before that as well.
And so that's the text I would like to preach this morning.
You know, a true thing about all shepherds is that they are also sheep.
And I find sometimes, as the task falls to me to preach, that I also need to be particularly ministered to by the Word.
And maybe it could be considered selfish, perhaps.
But I think this is what I need to hear this morning.
And my hope, then, is that it's also what you need to hear this morning,
and that God will bless our time together in His Word.
And so Hebrews chapter 12, verses 4 through 11 will be our text for today.
And before I read it, I'd like to pray that God would bless our time in it.
God, we thank You for Your Word.
And we recognize that it was written long ago, that it had an original audience,
but that it is a word to us this morning for us to take up and to read and to consider and to believe.
We know that it was written for Your glory, that You would be known.
And it was also written for our good.
And so we ask this morning that You would help us as we take some time to consider it.
that we believe its promises, obey its commands,
that You would move our affections towards You as we look at it,
and we would respond as we should to it.
And we pray this for the glory of Christ.
Amen.
Hebrews 12, beginning in verse 4 and following.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him.
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.
It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons.
For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them.
Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them.
But He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Some time ago, we studied through the book of Hebrews,
and at the very beginning of that study, I read to you a quotation by William Lane,
who's a contemporary, respected New Testament authority,
and he said this of the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews is a delight for the person who loves puzzles.
Its form is unusual, its setting in life is uncertain,
and its argument is unfamiliar.
It invites engagement in the task of defining the undefined.
Undefined are the identity of the writer,
his conceptual background,
the character and location of the community,
addressed the circumstances and date of composition,
the nature of the crisis to which the document is a response,
the literary genre, and the purpose and plan of the work.
Although these undefined issues continue to be addressed and debated vigorously,
no real consensus has been reached.
Lane then goes on to do a very careful work
to give us the probabilities and the likelies in his commentary.
But one matter is without contention.
Lots of contention about this letter,
but one is without it.
The theme of Hebrews is the supremacy and the finality of Jesus Christ.
Christ is greater than, the argument goes,
the angels, priests, the old covenant redemptive economy,
and Christ is the final word.
We need no new revelation.
The original audience of this letter were Hellenistic Jewish Christians,
that's Greek speaking,
that had not seen Jesus,
but had heard the gospel and believed,
and they were located most likely outside of Rome.
They'd most likely been chased out of Rome and were on the outskirts.
They were suffering, the book tells us,
and they would suffer further,
which is a fact that develops the letter's secondary theme,
the necessity of faithful endurance.
We just sang,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,
and in verse 2, the last three lines,
my hope when tides of sorrow rise,
my joy when trials are abounding,
your faithfulness,
my refuge in the night.
And so these original Christians who would have received this letter
had many trials all around them,
and so this secondary theme sets on top of that primary theme
that Christ is supreme and he is final.
The hope, the confidence, the joy that they could have
because of Christ,
even in the midst of their trials.
In the first three verses of chapter 12,
the author uses the metaphor of a race
to encourage these believers, right?
To press on, to press on to the end, right?
After a sweeping Old Testament summary of faithful endurance
in chapter 11,
he writes in Hebrews 12, verse 1 through 3,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself
so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.
And that sets us up for verses 4 through 11, right?
The pressing here of the author is that we would endure faithfully to the end,
even amidst all of the trials that this life will throw at us.
Another Spurgeon quote,
I go through a rotation of these coloring sheets for the kiddos,
so if you haven't seen this one out there,
this is a picture of Charles Spurgeon in a saddle,
riding on the back of a snail.
It's because he once said,
by perseverance, the snail reached the ark.
A bit of a picture of the Christian life, right?
That we press on to the next thing,
and sometimes it feels like applauding.
We want to do this by the grace that God provides faithfully.
We want to press on.
And that's what he's doing in this section of Scripture, right?
And so this will be our outline for this morning,
and I will explain a little bit further
why this text is where my mind has been going.
Number one, we see a correction for faltering endurance.
Number two, a challenge to sustained endurance.
And number three, reasons for sustained endurance.
So we see in verses four through six,
firstly, a correction for faltering endurance.
At the very outset of today's text,
he begins with two corrections.
First, he corrects them with the fact that
while they had suffered,
no one had yet been martyred.
I think he's working here to give them a bit of perspective.
In your struggle against sin, verse four,
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
There seems to be a shift in metaphor here
from the Christian life being described as
the race that is set before us in verse two
to that of a wrestling match with sin.
Truly, the Christian life is one that must be run with endurance.
And it certainly is a struggle against sin.
Now, in verse three of chapter 12,
he has just exhorted them to consider him
who endured from sinners such hostility against himself.
Jesus had shed his blood.
They had not.
It is as if he is saying,
quit being so dramatic.
None of you has died yet.
In your pursuit of Christ,
your master and Lord,
he died,
but you haven't arrived there yet.
And I find this a particularly striking correction
for myself and for the church today.
We have suffered so little
compared to the death of our Lord.
What trials we could list in this room, right?
Don't quite measure up to martyrdom
for the sake of our faith.
If we are considering,
mindfully thinking about him
who endured from sinners
such hostility against himself,
then we also,
the logic follows,
should not grow weary
or faint-hearted.
That's the one correction.
Second,
the author corrects them
because they had failed to remember
and apply the scripture
to their situation.
He says in verse five,
and have you forgotten
the exhortation that addresses you
as sons?
They had forgotten.
So,
he is reminding them.
And ladies,
do not forget that the Bible
was written at a time
when all of the inheritance
of a father
was granted to his sons.
So,
you want to be a son
as the Bible expresses it.
And,
you are.
Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 3,
verse 26,
in Christ Jesus,
you were all sons of God
through faith.
Right?
Inheritors,
that's what you want to see
in that place.
So,
with this in mind,
hear the scripture
that the author of Hebrews
now cites.
He said,
have you forgotten this text?
They had.
So,
he reminds them,
still verse five,
my son,
do not regard lightly
the discipline
of the Lord,
nor be weary
when reproved by him.
for the Lord disciplines
the one he loves
and he chastises
every son
whom he receives.
They had forgotten
the application
of this text.
In verses five and six,
there are
two negative
implications.
Right?
Don't disdain.
Do not regard lightly.
Do not think wrongly
about the discipline
of the Lord.
And,
don't dismay.
Don't be weary
when reproved
by him.
Recognize the place
of suffering
in the life
of a Christian.
Don't disdain.
Don't dismay.
And,
the opposite,
therefore,
the positive implications
can also be found
from those
two verses.
We are to
regard rightly,
to think correctly
about
the discipline
of the Lord
and we are to be
refreshed.
So,
don't disdain.
Don't dismay.
Do regard.
Do refresh.
Or,
be refreshed.
The author wants us
to see that the
challenges that we face
in this world
are for
our
good.
They are given to us
by God's
kind hand.
Every single one of them.
Whatever trial
may come
for the life
of the Christian,
it's given to us
by God's
kind hand.
Why?
It seems like
I could come up
with some better ways
for God to express
kindness
towards me.
Why does God
do it this way?
It's because
He
loves us.
The Lord
disciplines
the one
He
loves.
That's where my mind
was going again
and again
over these past
two weeks.
Of interest,
I've preached this text
before
and I had to
grab the notes
from someplace else.
My study is
displaced right now.
I'll talk a little bit
about why
in a minute.
I had to
do some technological
things I don't
normally do
and I grabbed
these notes
and I pulled
them over
to another place
and I had to
do some formatting
and I did a
control off.
I selected everything
and I went back
to the standard
formatting which
took out all
of my boldfacing.
I like to boldface
the text.
You ever look
at my notes?
It's usually
the only thing
that's boldfaced.
It's just the text
that we're in
and everything else
is indented
and I keep my head
straight in other ways.
But the text,
the text,
and it took
out all of the
boldfacing
of the text
and so this morning
I'm reading through it
and I'm making
some little changes
and I'm re-bolding
the text
and I got to
the top of the
second page
and the only thing
in this entire
set of notes
that didn't
unbold itself,
which is probably
some bizarre
formatting thing
I did the last
time I was doing
this,
but the only thing
that wasn't unbolded
was that phrase
at the top of page
two in my notes.
The Lord
disciplines
the one
he loves
and I cried.
It's where my
mind had been going.
It's what I needed
to see.
The Lord disciplines
the one
he loves.
Why do trials
come into our life?
If you're a Christian,
it's because God
loves you.
Being disciplined
is a sign
that you belong
to God
and that he
is seeking
your
good.
Do you believe
this?
Do you
love
the discipline
of the Lord
the way
that you
ought to?
Or do you
think that you
know better
that the
challenges of
your life,
the things
that seem
to keep
you from
enduring
faithfully
are unfair
and misplaced?
That they
couldn't
possibly
be
kindnesses
from God.
I think
we're all
tempted
to do
that very
thing.
So,
this is my
anecdotal,
this is why
my mind
has been
on this
text.
My life's
just been
really chaotic
lately.
Lately may
not even be
the right term
for the past
five years.
Those of you
who know us
well know
that we
decided to
take on
a big
house
project
where we
built a
house
for my
parents
and now
we're
remodeling
a house
and it's
taking
forever.
And it's
my fault.
I chose
to do
this
thing.
It has
been a
major,
major
task
and it
is making
me go
thin.
I'm just
running on
fumes all
the time.
It's where I
spend any
extra energy
that I have
on working
on this
project.
And I'm
grateful for
it for a
lot of
reasons.
I think
there's a
lot of
good that's
going to
come out
of it.
I don't
doubt
God's
goodness
in it,
but has
it been
a challenge
chugging
away at
this thing,
trying to
get it
done.
So it's a
major area
of my
life that
is just
incomplete.
Things are
just in
pieces right
now.
Even the
home that
I finished,
got a
CO4 so
that my
parents could
move into
it,
is not
really
finished.
My sweet
mom has
just been
opening her
kitchen drawers
without drawer
pulls on it
this entire
time since
the beginning
of January.
because I
still got to
put knobs on
the drawers
down at
their house.
It still
needs to be
painted,
things like
that.
It's not
quite done.
And then
two weeks
ago,
you all
were likely
aware that
the downstairs
of this
church building
flooded.
Septic system
backed up.
We had
remediators
come in
Friday night
and into
Saturday and
rip out two
thirds of the
flooring and
flood cut the
sheet rock
downstairs.
Totally
displaced me out
of my study.
It was maybe
the one place
in my life
that things
were steady
and stable
because it was
the thing I
get to control,
my little zone,
my space that
I got to
hang on to.
And it got
thrown in boxes
and moved to
the other end
of the hall
down here.
And I
frantically
packed up the
things I
thought I
needed most
and set up
a folding
table at
the house
that I'm
trying to
remodel,
which is
pretty chaotic.
So I'm
juggling all
of those
kinds of
things.
We're finding
that we
didn't have
the flood
coverage that
we had hoped
for and
that the
work that's
already been
down there
is being
exorbitantly
charged for.
We're going
to have to
enter into
a whole
issue with
that company
trying to
get that
sorted out
and then to
get it all
put back
together in
some reasonable
amount of
time.
Where we're
living right
now is
being really
kindly provided
for by my
father-in-law.
They're so sweet
to us.
We're living
rent-free,
but we're
living in a
one-bedroom,
one-bath
apartment.
It's 640
square feet.
We've been
there for
five and a
half,
six years.
We've been
making it
work.
Praise God,
there's a lot
of good
things that
have come
out of it.
We've now
been there
long enough
and old
enough that
things are
starting to
fall apart.
So not only
do I have
projects here
and projects
out the other
house,
I have projects
at the place
that's supposed
to be free
and easy.
My father-in-law
did a cool
thing, I think.
It looks really
neat.
He used a
galvanized
tub for the
sink.
The bathroom
sink is this
galvanized
tub and it
looks neat,
but it just
doesn't function
very well.
And we
discovered this
week that it's
rusting through.
It has pinhole
leaks all over
it.
And I tried
to use some
roof flashing
to seal it
up just for
temporary and
it failed.
So the
sink is
leaking, it
needs to be
repaired in
some more
proper way.
That's why I'm
not totally
clean shaven
this morning
because I
really couldn't
use the
sink this
morning when
I got up.
So many
things going
on and on
top of that
for the last
couple of
months I've
discovered,
I've noticed
some, I'll
call it
unexplained
bruising on
my body.
The inside of
my forearms,
the inside of
my biceps,
ribs, wrapping
around onto my
back, up my
back, backs of
my knees and
legs.
And we're
running blood
work and
praise God
the things that
might be popping
into your mind
that it could be
not those
things.
Got a clean
CBC panel
back.
But we're on
this road now
trying to figure
out what in
the world is
going on, why.
I feel okay but
we're just not
sure what's
happening there.
Nothing, nothing
seems settled.
Nothing seems
stable.
On top of that, I
worry about you
guys.
There's so much
going on in the
life of our
church.
I can't disclose
details to you
but I got a
text this morning,
hey we won't be
here, rushing a
toddler to
CHOA, to the
emergency room,
passed out,
blue lips.
I mean, and
praise God, just
before I got
up here, I
prodded for
an update and
everything's fine,
she's doing
well.
Those types of
things, I mean, I
carry them, I
worry about you
guys and there's
so much going on
in the life of
our church.
It's a temptation
to lose hope in
the midst of all
of that.
There's a
temptation to
think it's
unfair, but
God, I'm doing
all the things
I think you've
had me do.
Why does it
have to be so
hard all the
time?
Beloved, if
our faith is
faltering, we
need this
correction.
We need
perspective and
we need the
promises of
God.
The Lord
disciplines the
one he
loves.
Take a phrase
away today, if
you just blank
out everything
else that's
said this
morning.
Let that
sentence just
catch in your
head and in
your heart.
The Lord
disciplines the
one he
loves.
To make the
point just a
little bit
further, I'll
give you one
more text.
This is Psalm
84 and
verse 11.
There it
says,
No good
thing does
he withhold
from those
who walk
uprightly.
good.
So if you
are in
Jesus Christ
this morning,
if you've
repented and
believed in
the person and
work of
Jesus, then
you are
clothed in
his righteousness.
You
therefore walk
uprightly before
God.
And as
such, he
withholds no
good thing
from you.
That is,
your life is
full of
good.
Every
circumstance
that comes
your way,
good.
It's a
good of
God's
defining
because it
is a
good that
is meant
for our
sustained
endurance.
Second
point, the
challenge to
sustained
endurance.
Verse 7
says,
It is for
discipline that
you have to
endure.
The author
has told us
that Jesus
endured,
verse 2,
and it
is imperative
that we
endure.
Culturally, we
tend to have a
negative view
of discipline.
You may have
either never
been disciplined
in your home
or were
possibly
disciplined
with severity.
The word
discipline simply
means to
teach or
instruct.
So you
could read
verse 7,
that first
part, it
is for
instruction
that you
have to
endure.
That means
that discipline
ought to be
viewed as
a positive
thing,
especially that
discipline which
comes from
the Lord.
Additionally,
the discipline
of God for
his children
never involves
his wrath.
Theodore,
I'm going to
spell his
last name
and not
try to
pronounce it,
L-A-E-T-S-C-H.
If you know
who this is
and how to
pronounce that
last name,
please tell me
later.
I want to
say Lech,
but I
don't know.
Theodore,
an Old
Testament
scholar,
put the
point this
way,
quote,
his plans
concerning
his people
are always
thoughts of
good,
of blessing.
Even if
he is obliged
to use
the rod,
it is the
rod not
of wrath,
but the
father's
rod of
chastisement
for their
temporal
and eternal
welfare.
This is not
a single
item of
evil in
his plans
for his
people,
neither in
their motive,
nor in
their conception,
nor in
their revelation,
nor in
their
consummation.
So we
should
endure
our
hardships
as
kindnesses
from God,
as
helpful
discipline.
This
discipline
takes
three
forms.
First,
corrective
discipline.
Sometimes we
need to be
shown the
error of
our ways.
We need
to experience
the temporal
consequence of
our sin to
keep us
mindful of
its eternal
consequence if
we are not
found in
Christ.
An example
of this is
found in
Paul's
letter to
the
Corinthians.
Some of
them were
sick and
some had
died because
of their
abuse of
the Lord's
Supper.
Paul writes
in 1 Corinthians
11,
verse 32,
but when we
are judged
by the
Lord,
we are
disciplined
so that
we may
not be
condemned
along
with the
world.
Discipline
also takes
the form
of preventative
discipline.
Sometimes we
need to be
kept from
sin by
discipline.
An example
of this is
humility God
worked in
Paul,
which he
speaks of
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12
and verse 7,
where he
wrote,
so to
keep me
from becoming
conceited,
because of the
surpassing greatness
of the
revelations,
a thorn was
given me in
the flesh.
We don't
know what
that was,
specifically
what it
was.
He calls
it a
messenger
of Satan
to harass
me to
keep me
from
becoming
conceited,
to prevent
pride in
me because
of the
revelation
of God
shown to
me.
This
thorn
was given
to me.
The third
type of
discipline
that we
see in
the Bible
is
instructive
discipline.
Sometimes
we are
taught
lessons
proactively
through
discipline.
This was
the case
for Job
after enduring
much
suffering,
was neither
corrective
or preventative.
He then
declares,
I heard
of you
by the
hearing
of the
ear.
This is
chapter 42
verse 5.
But now
my eye
sees you.
I had
some
understanding
of you,
but now
I have
beheld
you.
And I
think
God
pushes
at us
in this
way
all
the
time.
We've
come to
the end
of ourselves
thinking
that we
have it
figured out,
thinking
that we
have anything
under
control
that we
would flee
to him,
find our
value,
our worth,
our joy,
our peace
in him.
Through
Job's
suffering
and following
dialogue with
God,
he reached
a new,
more complete
understanding
of God.
Because Job
was doing
well,
God allowed
suffering so
that Job
would do
all the
more often
instructed
through our
hardships.
God says,
good,
keep running,
endure more,
press on.
We must
remember
that the
challenges of
our lives
are discipline
that comes
in one of
these three
forms,
and we
must remember
that it
is loving
and it
is for
our good.
We have
options
when it
comes to
our
understanding
of God.
God
could be
good and
not
sovereign,
hoping that
things work
out for
his people,
or God
could be
sovereign
and not
good,
not enacting
his rule
over the
world to
bring about
the good
of his
people,
or he
could be
both,
and he
is.
And he
is all
the time
sovereign
and good.
James
Moffat
stated in
his commentary
on this
text,
to endure
rightly,
one must
endure
intelligently.
You must
take up
these truths
and know
them that
we might
endure.
Third
point,
and lastly,
reasons
for
sustained
endurance.
We picked
this up
in the
last half
of verse
7 and
on through
verse 11.
The author
gives three
reasons for
sustained
endurance.
Number
one,
a paternal
reason.
Halfway
through verse
7,
God is
treating you
as
sons.
The logic
goes,
if you are
sons,
then you
will receive
discipline.
If you
are not
sons,
then you
will not
receive
discipline.
Because
this is
true,
we should
not regard
lightly the
discipline of
the Lord,
nor be
weary when
reproved
by him,
but should
rather be
encouraged to
press on
by it.
I am
being
taught.
Oh,
it's so good
to be taught
because it
proves that
God loves
me.
Secondly,
we see a
lesser to
greater
reason.
The logic
here goes,
if this
is so,
then this
must be
even
more
so.
He says
in verse
9,
besides this,
we have
had earthly
fathers who
disciplined
us,
and we
respected
them.
Shall
we not
much more
be subject
to the
father of
spirits
and live?
Now,
I recognize
that not
all of
you have
fathers who
disciplined
you or
disciplined
you well.
You may
not have
the type
of respect
for your
fathers that
the author
is here
implying.
If that
is the
case for
you,
I want
you to
know that
he is
speaking
in
generalities
and that
the lesson
he is
teaching
does not
have to
be lost
on you
because
your frame
of reference
is different
from the
one he
is
implying.
So here,
if you
have a
father who
disciplined
you and
you respected
him,
or if
you have
ever
noticed
a
father
who
disciplined
well and
you respected
him,
then how
much
more
should
you
respect
God?
Of course,
the answer
is much,
much
more.
His loving
correction
is always
perfect
and therefore
always
respectable.
We then
see a
sanctifying
reason.
I'll tell you
there were
three,
there was
actually
four.
A
sanctifying
reason.
Verse
10,
they
discipline
us for
a short
time as
it seemed
best to
them,
but he
disciplines
us for
our good
that we
may share
in his
holiness.
God's
discipline is
aimed at
making us
more like
him.
And this is a
great joy for the
Christian heart
that we would put
off the world and
put on and look
more like Christ,
that God would be
exalted in our
lives.
A parallel to
this is Romans
chapter 8,
verse 28 and
29.
Many of you are
very familiar with
verse 28,
and we know that
for those who
love God,
all things work
together for
good, for those
who are called
according to
his purpose.
Every Christian
loves verse 28.
I've not heard
anybody try to
argue against
what verse 28
means, but I
think they missed
some of the
point of it.
I think a lot of
Christians look for
the good, and
there are some
tangible things that
we can touch.
We can see how
particular things
are being produced
out of the good.
I'll go through
an intersection,
there's an accident
in, and I'll be
so thankful for the
delay that I had
earlier, because I
could have been in
the middle of that
accident.
I can see, oh,
that person that
pulled out in front
of me, who was so
annoying because they
were going so slow.
Oh, look at the
good God worked.
I wasn't in this
intersection when
this accident
happened, but we're
constantly doing
that kind of thing,
and the text doesn't
leave us guessing
what the good is.
It doesn't leave us
guessing.
Paul has something
very specific in
mind.
He goes on in
verse 29, for
those whom he
foreknew, he also
predestined to,
here it is, be
conformed to the
image of his
son, that we
would look more
like Christ, in
order that he
might be the
firstborn among
many brothers.
flesh.
So we're being
disciplined for
holiness.
And then
fourth, there's a
joy-filled
reason.
Verse 11, for
the moment all
discipline seems
painful rather than
pleasant, but
later it yields the
peaceful fruit of
righteousness to
those who have
been trained by
it.
The author
recognizes that
there is a
disconnect between
the experience of
this discipline and
the reality of
this discipline.
He notes in
verse 11, it
seems painful.
It doesn't seem
pleasant at all,
but by
implication it
yields
pleasantness,
which he calls
the peaceful
fruit of
righteousness.
Doesn't that
sound wonderful?
in the midst
of trial,
in the midst
of temptation,
we can be
steadied.
We are
steadied by our
loving God as
he trains us
to produce
the peaceful
fruit of
righteousness.
As we don't
forget the
promise that
calls us
sons,
as we remember
that he brings
things into our
life because
he loves
us,
because he
wants us to
look more
like Christ.
We're being
trained to
produce the
peaceful fruit
of righteousness.
Ah,
I want through
any trial that I
experience,
and through any
trial that you
experience,
even the suffering
that Christ
experienced to the
point of death,
to produce this,
right?
Unshakeable,
steadiness,
confidence in the
hope of the
gospel of Jesus
Christ.
So hold up
and hold on.
Regardless of
what you're
walking through
right now,
we have a
loving God who
disciplines us
for the sake
of faithful
endurance.
look to
Christ,
the author
and perfecter
of our
faith.
May we be
those who
declare,
Hebrews 10,
39,
that we are
not of those
who shrink
back and are
destroyed,
but of those
who have faith
and preserve
their souls.
Let's pray
together.
here.