For around 30 years after we moved into this building, I think for actually quite a long time before as well,
our church secretary or correspondent was Mr David Eard.
David Eard was the father of David Eard, who is now an elder in the church here.
And one of the duties of the church correspondent was that every Sunday at the end of the breaking of bread service,
which in those days was the one everyone attended, he would bring us the intimations, the notices.
And it's fair to say that Mr Eard had a unique style of doing it, what he sometimes lacked in brevity,
certainly made up for in warmth and wit.
But sometimes he had a more difficult duty to perform.
When someone who was a member of the church had passed away, a mystery was informing us about their death.
And in just a few sentences, he needed to sum up what had characterised their life.
And he had a wording that he used very often.
I'm not sure if he always used it, but certainly he used it very often.
And he would say, she loved the Lord, she loved the Word, and she loved the assembling of God's people.
She loved the Lord, she loved the Word, and she loved the assembling of God's people.
And in a sense, that said it all, there would, of course, be a funeral service,
and someone, quite often my father, would pay more of a personal tribute about the individual's character.
But actually, when you've said what Mr Eard said, you have probably given as high accommodation
of someone's involvement in the church as you could.
They loved the Lord, they loved the Word, and they loved God's people.
And in Hebrews chapter 10, in this passage we've read, there are three exhortations that the writer brings to us.
And they are about the Lord, the Word, and the Lord's people.
So in verse 22, the writer says,
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.
Our relationship with the Lord.
Verse 23, he says,
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we possess, for he who promised is faithful.
God's promises, his word.
And then from verse 24, he says,
Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.
God's people.
I want to look very briefly at these three relationships this evening,
and what the writer to the Hebrews has to say about them.
But before that, just a little bit of background and the earlier verses that we read.
Quite a few of the New Testament letters can quite conveniently be divided into two sections.
There's a doctrinal section which takes up usually about half the letter, sometimes a bit more.
And then there's a practical section which comes after it.
And the doctrinal sections always have practical implications, and the practical sections include great doctrine.
But I think it's a valid differentiation to make in many of the letters.
And often in the middle, there's a kind of linking passage that links the two sections together,
that closes off one and that introduces the other.
So for instance, in Romans, Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, Paul says,
Therefore, looking back, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.
Or in Colossians chapter 3, Paul writes,
Since then, and again looking back,
Since then you have been raised with Christ,
set your heart on things above where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
And in both cases, he then goes on to some very practical instructions for the Christians.
And I think in the book of Hebrews, this is that linking passage.
It takes what the writer has been bringing us in the early part of the book,
particularly from chapter 4 onwards,
and it links it into the latter part of the book,
which is full of exhortations and also of examples that we should follow.
And this little passage, towards the end of chapter 10,
links the two together, summarizes one, and prepares us for the other.
So what does the writer say?
So looking back, the writer says two things.
First of all, he says we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Christ,
Jesus.
And then he says we have a great high priest over the house of God.
We have access to God's presence,
and we have someone who stands before God and who represents us to him.
Now the picture, of course, is from the Old Testament,
and it is of the tabernacle or later of the temple.
And within the tabernacle and the temple,
there was an area which was called the Holy of Holies,
or the most holy place, the writer calls it here.
And only one person, the high priest, could go into that area
and only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
The normal people, even the normal priests,
would never get to see inside the most holy place.
That is where the presence of God was,
within the camp of the Israelites,
or within the temple of the Israelites.
And only one person could go in,
only once a year,
and only having followed various rituals
to make sure he was in the right condition to go there.
And the writer here is saying,
that was the old position.
But the new position is that all of us
can go into the presence of God.
That barrier, that curtain that used to be there,
has gone.
And if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus,
if he is our great high priest,
then we have access into the very presence of God.
And the reason for that is the two things
we'll be thinking about later on
as we take communion together.
It's the blood and the body of the Lord Jesus.
So before the priest went in,
the animal had to be sacrificed,
his blood had to be sprinkled,
and the reparation for sin had to be made.
The writer says,
we can enter the most holy place,
not through the blood of animals,
as the high priest used to,
but through the blood of the Lord Jesus,
through the sacrifice that he made for us
when he died on the cross.
And he says,
the curtain that used to be there is gone.
Now you remember,
at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus,
the curtain in the temple
that separates the most holy place
from the holy place was torn in two.
That barrier to entrance to God had gone.
And the writer here says,
the barrier is still gone for us as well.
And what is represented by that
is the body of the Lord Jesus,
which was figuratively,
or literally in many ways,
torn apart for us.
When the Lord Jesus' body
was nailed to the cross,
when he took our sins on himself.
That is what opened up
the way of access to God.
Jesus, who stands between us and God,
has given us access
into the presence of God.
So the writer says,
we have a new and living way
open for us.
New and as it was previously unavailable,
those who didn't know Jesus,
as those who had come before,
even the believing Jews,
they couldn't come
in the way that we can.
It's new.
And it's living.
It's real.
It's active.
And it is based on a saviour
who has died
and has risen again.
What a wonderful privilege it is
that we can come
into the presence
of the most holy God
without fear
through the blood
of the Lord Jesus.
Alongside that,
the writer says,
we also have a great priest
over the house of God.
What is the function of the priest?
It is to make sacrifices.
It is to represent men
before God.
And we, of course,
are a kingdom of priests
that we can come directly
into God's presence
and intercede for others
to him.
But the Lord Jesus
is the great priest
or the great high priest,
the one who stands
before the Father
and as the hymn said,
the song we listened to earlier said,
whoever lives
and pleads for us.
And we have someone
in the very presence of God
who is our representative there,
who is our high priest
and who is presenting
his own sacrifice to God
as the basis
on which we can come
into the presence of God.
And these two descriptions
very succinctly sum up
what's gone before
in the book of Hebrews.
And of course,
there's lots more there,
but in terms of a summary,
these two really sum it up.
The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
greater than the sacrifices
in the Old Testament.
The priesthood of the Lord Jesus
greater than the priesthoods
in the Old Testament.
And so the writer says,
given that,
given what we've thought about,
given what's gone before,
given what we know
about our position before God,
here are three things
to think about.
Here are three things
that as Christians
should mark us.
And the first of these
is verse 22,
let us draw near to God
with a sincere heart
and full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled
to cleanse us
from a guilty conscience
and having our bodies washed
with pure water.
So this is about our relationship
with the Lord
and it is characterized
by faith.
By the faith that we have
in the Lord Jesus
and the confidence
that that gives us
to come into the presence
of God.
And we can come without fear,
knowing that the Lord Jesus
has taken all our sin
on himself
and that God,
on that basis,
is happy to accept us,
to accept us indeed
as his children
and to have us come freely
into his presence
to bring our praise,
our thanksgiving,
our confessions
and our requests to him.
And we can come with confidence.
We can come with the full assurance
of faith,
says the writer,
as we come with sincere hearts.
But he also says something
about our condition,
our confidence
and our condition
as we come.
He says,
having our hearts sprinkled
to cleanse us
from a guilty conscience
and having our bodies
washed
with pure water.
Now I think the immediate reference
in this verse
is to the Old Testament.
It is to the fact
that the blood
had to be sprinkled
and the priest
had to go through
the ritual
of cleansing,
of washing himself
in the exact form
stipulated
before he had come
into the presence
of God.
But perhaps it is appropriate
for us to look at it
in a similar kind of way
to the way we looked
at John 13
a couple of weeks ago
in terms of us
being made clean.
And our hearts
have been cleansed
by the blood
of the Lord Jesus
by his sacrifice
for us.
And that's been symbolized
for many,
if not all of us,
by going through
the waters of baptism.
Our bodies in that sense
being washed.
And baptism
is a representation
of something
that's happened
internally
and is showing
to the world
that we are different.
And perhaps the writer,
at least as a secondary thought
in these verses,
is thinking about
the cleansing internal
of our hearts
and the way
that is represented
when we are baptized.
But the key thing
is we come to God,
we come to him
in faith,
and we come to him
with real confidence.
Then in verse 23,
the writer moves on,
we've got a second exhortation,
let us hold
unswervingly
to the hope
we profess
for he who promised
is faithful.
And I've characterized
that as being
about God's word,
God's promises
to us.
And the key thing
that should mark us
as we think about them
is hope.
That we know
that our God
is faithful,
that he is reliable,
that he keeps
his promise.
And so when we come
to him,
we come with a confidence
that he holds us
in our hands
and that he will do
whatever is best
for us.
we should hold
unswervingly,
it says.
That's quite a strong word
that's used,
the adverb there,
unswervingly.
We should have a firm
and steadfast hope
and faith
in the Lord Jesus.
Doesn't mean
we'll never have doubts?
I think probably
all of us
at times
have doubts.
But nevertheless,
our faith,
our hope
in the Lord Jesus
should be something
that sustains us
through the hard times
as well as
through the easy times.
And certainly
the last few months
for all of us
in differing ways
have been
very hard.
And I hope
for all of us
that something
of the hope
that we have
in the Lord Jesus
and our knowledge
of him
has been able
to sustain
and strengthen us.
Knowing that
whatever may happen
in our world,
we are in his hands.
He is ultimately
in control.
And we have this
marvellous hope in him,
not just for this world
and looking for things
to get better,
but beyond this world
we have the hope
of eternal life
through the Lord Jesus.
And we should be aiming
to hold unswervingly
to that hope
and in the most
difficult times
lay hold of it
as the thing
that helps us through
as we think about
our relationship
with the Lord Jesus.
our relationship
with the word
characterised by hope.
And then finally
in verses 24 and 25
there is our relationship
with God's people
and I would suggest
that that is characterised
by love.
So the writer says
let us consider
how we may spur
one another on
towards love
and good deeds.
Notice the main verb here.
This writer doesn't say
let us spur
one another on.
That's true,
we should be spurring
one another on,
we should be encouraging
one another.
But the writer says
let us consider
how we may spur
one another on.
I think consider
is an adequate
translation here
but perhaps it doesn't
get across the full force
of what the writer
is saying.
And I found
a couple of paraphrases
quite helpful in this.
the Passion Translation
says that we should
discover creative ways
to spur one another on.
The message says
let's see how inventive
we can be.
Now there are paraphrases
that are going beyond
what the original text says
but I think they get
something of the flavour
of it.
We should be
consciously thinking
how can I best
encourage my Christian
brothers and sisters
in their walk
with the Lord Jesus.
How can I
take every opportunity
to support them
and to give them
encouragement
to keep going
and to follow Jesus
and to love one another
and to do good
in our world.
And perhaps at times
we have a bit of a kind of
one size fits all
mentality
in terms of how we think
people should be acting.
But we should be looking
as a church
of what is appropriate
for us
but also for individuals
as we come alongside them
and we seek to encourage them
in their faith.
Can we consider
what are the things
that are going to be
most effective
in building them up
in the Lord Jesus.
And of course
we will point them
to his word
we may well be reading
God's word with them
and encouraging them
through that
but doing it
not on a kind of
rote basis
this is what you do
if you're a Christian
rather thinking through
well what is it
that people need
what is this going
to most encourage them
spur them on
and let's think
how we can do that.
I think over the last few months
a good number of people
in this church
have been very good
at doing that
at thinking about
the needs of
particular individuals
and at looking
to meet these needs
and to encourage them
in their faith
and in their walk
with the Lord Jesus.
And all of us
should have that
as our goal
that we work together
that we serve together
that we encourage
one another
in our faith.
And then the last verse
verse 25
I suspect
I didn't discuss
with Graham and Nasser
but I suspect
this may be the verse
that particularly determined
that this would be
the passage
we looked at
this evening.
Let us not give up
meeting together
as some are in the habit
of doing
but let us encourage
one another
and all the more
as you see
the day approaching.
Let us not give up
meeting together.
There's an awful lot
you can do
by phone
or by Zoom
as we've discovered
over the last few months
but equally
there's an awful lot
you can't do
remotely.
Being able to sit
with someone
presumably distance
at the moment
to talk things through
to see
their reactions
and their body language
and how they're feeling
and how things are going
and to have a much more
in-depth
conversation with them
than you can
over the phone.
When things are
a bit more relaxed
than they are now
to be able to put your hand
around the shoulder
of a brother or sister
who is struggling
as you encourage them
in their faith.
To be able to pray together
as we meet together.
And we need as Christians
to recognise
we're not just
a collection
of solitary individuals
worshipping Jesus
and serving him.
Rather we're the church
of the Lord Jesus
that meets
at Brunsfield
and we have responsibilities
towards one another
that can only really
be fully discharged
in person
when we see
one another.
And we're wonderful,
won't it,
when we're all able
to be back together
as a church
and to share together
in the way
that we've been used to
in the past.
But I think there's
a real encouragement there
as we are able to
over the coming weeks.
To meet together
whether it's outside
or whether it's in houses
to be distanced
to meet together
and to be able
to share together
the things
of the Lord Jesus.
Particularly to look
for those who perhaps
need that word
of encouragement
and whether they're
feeling a bit down
or whether they're
perhaps slipping away
a bit in their
Christian faith.
But to encourage them
and to strengthen them
in the Lord Jesus.
What is the final incentive
for that?
The writer says
all the more
as you see
the day approaching.
The Lord is coming back.
We don't know
when it will be.
It could be
very soon.
And the writer says
that is a real incentive
for us to encourage
and strengthen
one another
in our faith
and in our walk
with the Lord Jesus.
It's a real incentive
not to absent ourselves
from meetings
of God's people
but where we can
where it's appropriate
and I realize
for everyone
it's not for everyone
it's not appropriate
at the moment
to meet like this
but where we can
to meet with others
and to encourage
one another
and strengthen
one another
in our faith.
So three relationships.
A relationship
with the Lord
that should be
characterized
by our faith
in him
and thinking
about our access
to God the Father.
Let's make good use
of the access
that the Lord Jesus
has given us.
A relationship
with the word
characterized
by our hope
and by the certainty
of God's promises
and strengthening us
through difficult times.
And a relationship
with each other
characterized by love
and bringing
mutual support
and encouragement
in walking
with the Lord Jesus.
It may be able
to be said
of all of us
he loves the Lord
he loves the word
and he loves
the gatherings
of God's people.
Let me pray briefly.
Father we thank you
for your word
to us this evening.
We thank you
for the writer
to the Hebrews
and the great concern
he had for those
he wrote to.
People were going
through difficult times
and we thank you
it is still relevant
to us today
that we need to
remember that we have
access into your presence
through the Lord Jesus
and what a wonderful
privilege that is.
That we need to
cling on to the hope
that we have
steadfastly
as we go through
life's trials
and that we need
to consider
how we can best
encourage
and strengthen
one another
in our faith
in our love
in our works.
Help us to learn
these lessons
we pray
and be with us now
as in a few minutes
we come together
to share
the communion
to share the Lord's Supper
may we do it
in a way that is
worthy of our Saviour.
We give you thanks
in Jesus name.
Amen.