HEBREWS CHAPTERS 3-4

[Kevin Young]

Happy Memorial Day. Thanks to everyone who joined in the conversation last week. This book is going to change your life. This week we are reading Hebrews Chapters 3 & 4. After you read through the chapters, please post your thoughts, questions, and insights here in this thread. God bless you all.

[peter11star]

I like ch 3 and what it sorta hits on. It is about hearing his voice. Paul refered to what he does as a profession. Meaning that it is his job to be preaching the word of GOD to others. Because we are made new in CHRIST, it is now our job to feed his sheep aka preach the word of GOD and pray for the lost. GOD is gonna tell you who to talk about GOD to. Lets not hearden our hearts to him because he knows his purpose.

Also it is important that we obey his voice because he knows what is good for us. We are given a choice of weather to be like the isrealites of ch 4 in hebrews or be hearers and doers of the word. Our unbelief can cost us his rest.

[sassy1506]

3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

I think a lot of "Christian" musicians start out doing this. But then they hit it big, so they start falling for the world's traps. I'm glad you guys haven't done that.

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”

That's what so many teenagers do today.

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

I heard His voice through Kutless over a year ago. It stayed with me for about a month. Then I went back to being that kid who listened to nothing but Social Distortion and Rancid, wouldn't hesitate to corner kids in the gym and beat the crap out of them, and would constantly lose my temper and start cussing people out.

13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.

Six months after hearing you guys, Social Distortion's still my favorite secular band, but now I listen to you guys all the time. I still threaten to beat people up, but I never follow through (unless it's a sparring match, but I never actually win.) I still lose my temper, but I can usually keep to crap, heck, and freaking. I'm nowhere near close to perfect, but I'm working on getting better.

2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.

We were talking about this at youth group last night. Sort of. I'm thinking about the story from Matthew 15 about the woman who asked Jesus to get the demons out of her daughter. He came for the Jews, but the Gentiles had greater faith. So instead of saving the Jews, he saved us.

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

Obviously this is really important. It's like when I have to go through my lines for this play over and over and over again. We're really thick, and we tend to let the most important things go in one ear and out the other. So by repeating this that much, it better stick with us.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

This is poetic. And very true. Even though double-edged swords aren't usually made with live blades today (I get that this was written a LONG, LONG time ago.) but today, they have machine-sharpening, so it gets a lot sharper. But they tend to sharpen the things people use, which aren't double-edged swords. Sorry, way off subject.

Anyway, This is just an awesome verse. It sounds sorta threatening, but it hits you. You can hide things from everybody else, but not from the One who matters.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

What a great closing.

[kcvearner]

12

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Word is living and active, but He does not change. He penetrates our hearts and will divide even soul from spirit. Worthy is the Lamb!

[Kevin Young]

12Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.* Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13You must warn each other every day, while it is still "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

This verse is very eye-opening to me. It is a great reminder that we need to be constantly looking within ourselves and investigating what is there. Sin is very deceiving. We must be continually examining our hearts and asking ourselves this question... "Is there an area of my heart where I am allowing sin to deceive me?" This is a most important spiritual discipline. I am reminded of the way King David asked the same question in Psalm 139:23-24..... "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

him? 19So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

Sin always starts with unbelief. We are going to see this all through the book of Hebrews. The opposite is also true. Faith and belief is how our relationship with God begins, and leads us to righteousness. If you look back on your life, and in particular your most recent sins and examined the reasons why you sinned; when you get the core of the problem, you always find unbelief and doubt as the birthplace of sin.

  12For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Doesn't this verse inspire you to dive into God's Word with all your heart? It is God's Word that exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. I love that verse 13 reminds us that nothing is hidden from God, and being reminded of that helps me not to act like He is unaware of areas in my life when I approach Him to spend time with Him.

then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hands down, some of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. Look at these amazing promises..... then believe them. Jesus understands our weaknesses. He faced the same testings we face, but He overcame and conquered the temptation. That let's us know that He knows how to beat sin. So what should we do then? Verse 16 says it.... Come boldly to God's throne. Two things we will find there. Number 1 - we will find mercy and forgiveness of our sins. Have you ever felt like you didn't want to pray to God because of your sin and guilt? If yes, then believe this promise. It is at God's throne where we find mercy. So don't be afraid to go there. Go boldly.... and quickly. Don't hesitate. Number 2 - we will find grace to help us in our time of need. Grace is a big word. Some definitions of grace are "unmerited favor," meaning God loves us and we did nothing to deserve it. But that is not the kind of grace that is being talked about here. This grace is a grace that will HELP us. The definition of this grace is "God giving us the supernatural ability to do what we could not do on our own." This grace helps us. Do you need help? Do you need strength to overcome sin? Then God's throne is the place to go. You will not only find mercy there, but you will also find grace that will give you the supernatural ability to overcome your situation. These are amazing promises. Let's believe them.

[Ric]

7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

I once got really into the idea that I was wrong because I didn't go to church on Saturday. After all, Saturday is the 7th day of the week, and "sabbath" means "seventh" if I recall correctly. I felt like I was breaking Commandment 4 all the time. Then I read this verse, and it brought me a lot of relief. Sounds small in the grander scheme of things, but this was something I was really worried about for a long time. Now that I know that Today is the day to enter God's rest, and that the sabbath was made for man and not the other way around, I'm more at peace with going to church on Sundays... and Wednesdays... and any other day that it comes to mind.

Kevin, I couldn't really bring anything more this go-round. But WOW, I love all that you brought up! It's one thing to read, understand, and move on. It's another to read, understand, and believe it enough to try it out. Reminds me of Malachai where God told the people to test Him and see if He wouldn't throw open the windows of heaven and bless them so much that they couldn't hold it all.

[Steph]

4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

I love this verse, and I love the reminder that God made everything.

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

It's easy to forget this, especially when we aren't spending time with God on a regular basis. This verse is kind of convicting for me. It is easy to hide things from others, but no one can hide anything from God.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

How awesome that God, creator of everything, has made a way for us to relate to Him! I love that Jesus went through every human experience, so we actually have someone we can relate to. But he handled everything perfectly since he was without sin, and that gives us a great example to follow. And I love the way you explained these verses, Kevin. Thanks!