Today, we’re continuing a new series on prophecy that will lead us into our Christmas day service. And today we’re looking at the most beautiful scripture which is so appropriate for us right now. Not just because of Christmas, but because of what’s happening in the world around us. It speaks of another kind of match, a deathmatch battle between good and evil that’s been raging since the dawn of time, but one which was also won before it even began.

Prophecy and it’s fulfilment reveals God, His power and His love in the most wonderful way. Looking back we can trace God’s predictions through the Bible across millennia and marvel at the precision with which they have been fulfilled. This leads us to look forward to the prophecies which have yet to be fulfilled, primarily those concerning the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly there has never been a shortage of unbiblical predictions that contradict Scripture and still manage to find a large and willing audience on social and other forms of media. What does the Bible teach about prophecy and how are we to understand it’s place now? Thankfully, by God’s grace the answer is in God’s Word, especially in the letter to the Corinthians.

The prophets searched and for it. The Apostles revealed it, and the angels long to look into it. Peter knows all about it, the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Peter knew from bitter-sweet experience that God’s grace has great power to sustain us through difficult times. He tells how the Holy Spirit predicted the suffering and glories of Jesus which will bring about and perfect God’s eternal plan of saving His children and restoring us to Himself.

The Lord Jesus told us to remember Him by breaking bread at His Table. Who can come to the Table, How do we celebrate the Table? When can we, and where can we celebrate the Lord’s Table, and most importantly, why do we come to the Lord’s Table? The Scriptures show us that we must look backward and remember Jesus, look forward to eating and drinking in the Kingdom with Him, look inward and confess our sin and need for Him, and then look outward at those who are one with us in the celebration of the Table. This helps us to be grateful for Him and everything He has done, and respond in gratitude which is why it’s also called the Cup of Blessing or Thanksgiving.

What does water baptism do? Does it save us? Does it impart a spiritual benefit? These questions have divided believers for centuries. The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Bible alone, to the glory of God alone. Baptism cannot save - only faith can, but can baptism impart some sort of protection or spiritual blessing? 1 Corinthians 7:14 is often cited as proof of this kind of blessing that is imparted to infants by baptism. Is that a valid interpretation, or is it something else that imparts a spiritual blessing or covering to our children until they can make a faith declaration for themselves?

Times change and churches change, we are experiencing those changes right now, but what should never change about the Church? How can the Church be separated from the world, committed to God and pleasing to Him? The Hebrew Church was being taught to worship God without the Temple, the altar and a High Priest that they had been excluded from. The author ends his instructions to the Hebrew Church with three keys to committing to to God and pleasing Him despite changing times. If we obey these instructions the Church will be powerful and pleasing to God no matter what the circumstances.

Times change and churches change, we are experiencing those changes right now, but what should never change about the Church? How can the Church be separated from the world, committed to God and pleasing to Him? The Hebrew Church was being taught to worship God without the Temple, the altar and a High Priest that they had been excluded from. The author ends his instructions to the Hebrew Church with three keys to committing to to God and pleasing Him despite changing times. If we obey these instructions the Church will be powerful and pleasing to God no matter what the circumstances.

Nobody likes being excluded, there is a deep human need to belong and be appreciated. To be included though, to enter into belonging somewhere, we have to leave somewhere else. Exclusion is necessary for proper inclusion. A husband leaves his father and mother and becomes one flesh with his wife. He forsakes all other women, leaves them so that he can be devoted to his wife. Remember, when the world excludes us for the sake of Jesus, we aren’t just leaving the world, we’re being included in the Kingdom.

We’re all looking for ways to cope in the days of pandemic, isolation, economic pressure, anxiety and loss. There’s no shortage of those selling their own formulas for overcoming these challenges, many of them centre on “inner strength”. If we have inner strength we will weather these storms and prosper - but is that true, and what is inner strength. Is it unshakeable self-belief and prioritisation of our selves which will elevate us above the struggles of this world? The Scripture shows us a different way, a powerful way that carries us through trouble - and takes others with us. True Inner strength does not come from us, and is not focused on us, yet it has the power to give us hope, purpose, victory and peace.

The author is concluding chapter 12 with a crescendo. He’s telling the Hebrews to listen to the words of our Lord Jesus because our world and earthly things will be shaken until there is nothing left! He’s calling his audience to focus on a new, unshakable Kingdom. And that’s how we end Hebrews 12 today. It’s the last warning from the book… There is a final chapter, chapter 13, which is an epilogue of the book, so today we cover the book’s last warning.

If you’ve ever struggled to picture God, or battled to comprehend how He loves you, then here is an image of Him. Jesus called the little children to come to Him, He picked them up, embraced them and loved them. He blessed them and prayed over them. He was indignant with anyone who tried to prevent them from coming to Him. Jesus tells us that if we have seen Him, we’ve seen the Father. No wonder parents brought their children to Jesus, they wanted the best for their children. They wanted Jesus to bless them. The best gift that they and any parent can give to their child is to give them to Jesus, and then to do everything they can to help them to know and love Him. Everything else we can give them will fade away, but a relationship with God is forever.

How can we take care of our mental health in times of crisis? The Christians who first heard the letter to the Hebrews were struggling with that and were being tempted to choose the Old Covenant of Moses over the New Covenant secured by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. The Old Covenant was fading fast and even the Temple was about to be destroyed. We are in a similar position. We are tempted to choose a Covenant with the world, which is fading fast, over the same New Covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant may have be more tangible, but through it God was less accessible. The world is the same. The New Covenant may not be realised with by our senses right now, but it is every bit as real, and makes God completely accessible to all who believe, now and forever. This is the foundation for the Christian’s mental health and fortitude.

Endurance athletes know all about “hitting the wall”. It’s a dangerous (but avoidable) state of exhaustion which can mean the end of the race or worse. Hebrews 12:12-17 warns believers about spiritual exhaustion and how to avoid or overcome this. God loves and disciplines His children to keep them from harm. The worst possible harm we can experience is to drift away from Him and miss out on the free gift of eternal life and a restored relationship with Him. God warns the people of the early Hebrew Church that they are showing signs of getting tired and falling away from Him forever. He encourages them, and shows them that they can get through these tough times by trust, obedience and perseverance.

Life can be hard. We are all dealing with suffering of some kind and sometimes it gets too much. The Christians to whom the letter of Hebrews was first written were having a hard time. It was getting too much and they were tempted to give up their faith to try and take the pain away. But giving up our faith to get rid of the pain is like holding our breath hoping it will make running easier. Everyone suffers, whether we have faith in Christ or not - but only those who trust in Christ Jesus have a guaranteed purpose to suffering, and the assurance that He suffers with us as He uses everything for His good purpose, and ours.

An endurance race is a beautiful battle of mind, body and will and to finish it takes endurance. That’s how we arrive at Hebrews 12 this morning. As we’ve learnt, the Christians the author is addressing are Jews and they are struggling in their journey. He’s comparing the Christian Journey to an endurance race. They have just joined the race and there are great difficulties. The author is telling them, hold on a sec guys… This is not a 100-meter sprint, hold on… There is more to the race than what you can see in front of and around you. This is a long race and it takes endurance.

Do you ever wonder if Christianity is too hard? Do you ever feel like quitting? Maybe it’s all a little confusing at times? Maybe you struggle to come to terms with the life and lot God has dealt you. Sometimes we feel like the standard, our goals, are just too high. That no matter how hard we try, sometimes we just feel like we’re losing. In this week’s passage, we see the author of Hebrews highlight the heroes of faith, to inspire the Jews he’s writing to, to keep pushing. He uses the heroes to highlight that according to our worldly understanding, there are winners and losers as a result of faith. But when we look at things from God’s perspective there are no winners or losers in faith. When we respond to God’s faithfulness with faith, God sees all of us as heroes, regardless of the outcomes and circumstances we find ourselves in.

Faiths grows in times of crisis, but it doesn’t just grow in individuals but also in those who witness the words and actions of the faithful. In our current difficult times we have probably often thought about our need for more faith. What we see in Hebrews 11 is not only the faith of individuals, but also how faith travels and grows from one generation to the next and from one community to another. What if we stopped asking “how can I have more faith” and started thinking about how we can strengthen and encourage each other as God gives us faith and adds to it as we exercise it.

Let go and let God. How many times have you heard, or thought about these words. When things are tough we notice advice and teachings, some are true, but many are not. It can be hard to tell the difference when teachings look or sound right and only deviate slightly. Letting go and letting God is almost right, but to bring balance and keep it from leading us astray we need to add “get going”.

Today, we see the author of Hebrews addressing the Jews who are having a hard time believing. They heard the word of God and they witnessed the life of Jesus second hand. They knew in their hearts that what they heard was true. But because of the suffering and persecution they were facing, they could not come to grips with it. They saw God’s works, His plan and His salvation from afar, but they could not believe it. The author is imploring the Jews to believe as Joshua did.