Derek Grier - They Kept On
We're gonna do a little bit of moving around and then we're gonna stabilize back in Hebrews 6. And of all the passages the Lord could have given me on this day, I was really surprised by this one. But verse 10 begins, I just love the first three words, "For God is," "God is," "God is". "But for God is not unjust". People may be unjust. Circumstances, at times, may be unjust. Our world is certainly sometimes cruel and unjust. But if we're gonna have longevity with God, we must stop confusing God's will with everything that happens in life.
You see, we're no longer in the Garden of Eden past. We're not yet fully in the kingdom to come. And I'm convinced that God, in his mercy, allows the devil to give us a little bit of hell on earth just so we know better not to go there. James 4:4 says it this way. He says, "Do you not know," it's kind of like a duh moment in scripture, "that friendship with the world is enmity with God". So according to scripture, there's a conflict between God and the things going on in our world. So when bad things happen, why do we who say we believe the scriptures, those who say they pay attention to the words of Christ, blame God as if there's no other forces at play in our world? You see, a good athlete expects opposition from the other team.
What would you think of a 250-pound football player crying his eyes out in the locker room, refusing to come back out on the field again because there's too much opposition? What I found in my life is if you never bump into the devil it's because you're both going in the same direction. Pay attention to what I'm preaching this morning. Jesus said it this way in John 15:18. He said, "If the world hates you, it already hated me". So what he's saying is, "Whatever the world throws at you, recognize you aren't the first". He said, "It already hated me before what hated you".
So first thing's recognize you're not the first. But the second thing is to recognize you're in good company. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for life on earth without his physical presence. And he's not, you know, painting some pretty picture. He's telling the whole truth, nothing but the truth. And he's saying faith is a contact sport. And what Jesus is saying to us today is, "Stop crying in the locker room like something strange happened to you on the field. Put back on your helmet of salvation, your shoulder pads of righteousness, cleats of peace, and don't come off the field until you win".
Stop hating the players and learn the game. Learn the game. Don't hate the play. Learn, learn. Learn the game. Hebrew 6:10, "For God is not unjust". This concept of justice did not originate with human beings. It's a divine instinct that was implanted into the hearts of all God's image bearers. We were created in his image and his likeness. So with that came a sense of justice and injustice. I recognize that it's very popular to say, you know, "I have my own truth," but it's funny. The moment folks that say that feel mistreated, they react like there's a one-fits-all standard of fair treatment.
So if there's no truth, how can we argue about what's right? Martin Luther King said this, he said, "The arc of the moral universe may be long, but it's bent toward justice". You see, if we reject God's mercy in this life, all that's left is justice in the next. So as for me and my house, I choose mercy. I choose grace, I choose forgiveness. And I could read, and I'm gonna get to the next part, but I'm stuck here. "For God is not unjust". Tie a ribbon around your finger, tattoo it across your chest. "God is not unjust". The world may be evil. What happened may be wrong. Life can really hurt. But God is good all the time.
I know you heard me say this already, but one more time. "For God is not unjust". But then he gets specific here, "to forget". The psalmist says, in chapter 27, "Though my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord will hold me close". Your spouse may have left you. Your friends may have stopped calling you. Your chirrins may have stopped visiting you. Your church may no longer welcome you, but God, but God. But God is not unjust to forget. God may delay, but he will never forget your work. You know, payday may not come next week. Payday may not come next month. But I've been around long enough, know payday's coming. God always repays. It may take six months, a year, 10 years, but God is faithful.
And this concept of justice he placed in us so that we can recognize his own. "For God is not unjust to forget your work". You see, God is willing to forget your sins, he'll forget your mistakes, but he'll not forget your work "and labor of love". How many of y'all remember Mom's cooking? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was Mom's cooking really better than everyone else's? Okay, see, okay, okay, okay. And I better say yes, right? Okay. Okay. Or was it really the love she put in that food after a long day when her feet were tired, her back was hurting. All that love she put into that meal is really what made her cooking taste like no one's else.
You see, nothing good in this world is accomplished without passion, without love. And what you see here is a labor of love. We work hard, we fight hard, but there's passion and there's fire in our hearts because we're moving toward a higher purpose and we have a higher aim. The "labor of love, which you have shown toward his name". And if you're new in this room, I'm a line-by-line preacher. So if you don't learn anything else, you gonna learn the Bible by the time you get outta here every Sunday. But it was love that they showed this Hebrew church his name.
You know, if you really love God, you won't just feel it, you'll show it. "In that you have ministered to the saints". One of the chief ways we show our love and our dedication to God is by serving others. You see, God himself has no need. He owes no one anything. He's so complete in himself, in eternity, he wasn't lonely because God the Father loved the Son and the Holy Spirit was the expression of love between them. He could have existed for all of time just by himself, complete and fully satisfied.
But there was something in the nature and character of God that said, "This life in me is so good, I gotta create some things to share it with". Hence, come you and I. You see, God's love, again, is so complete, he can't be added to, he can only be given back to. The way we bless a God that has everything is by blessing those he loves who don't have anything. And this has been the commitment of this church. This is why we are here.
And then it continues. "And do," "and do," present tense, "minister". The writer here is cautioning the reader because this church had been at it for a long time and he was warning them about resting on their laurels. Thank God for the past, but yesterday's home runs won't win today's games. "And do minister". This is not about bricks and mortar, it's not about the color of the carpet or the size of the foyer. The purpose of Grace Church has been and will be to reach the lost, empower the hurting, assimilate the lonely, and lead a desperate world for Jesus Christ.
You see, salvation is completely a work of the Holy Spirit, but sharing his word is the work of every Christian. This is why we come together, because sympathy is never a substitute for action. In verse 11, "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence". Now the book of Hebrews was written to a group of folks that had been beat up, and over time, their faith started to fade. They felt like giving up. So the writer here is encouraging them to stay in the fight. You see, death is not the greatest loss in life, but what you let die in you while you live, that's the greatest loss. "And we desire that each one of you," not just a few, but everyone "show the same," what? "Diligence," you can't get where you going without some diligence and perseverance. Grace Church, I only have one trick up my sleeve.
I've learned to hang on. If I speak well today, it's because I kept speaking when I didn't speak so well. If I lead well today, it's only because I found a thousand ways that didn't work and I just kind of ran outta options. If I live well today, it's because of that one I follow. I don't come to God with my merits. I just come to one as one that wants to keep on holding on. He says, "We want you to show the same diligence to the full," not half tank full, "full assurance of hope until the end".
And what you find out is if you get the wind knocked out of you enough times, you start backing down and giving in. And the writer here wants to breathe some assurance back into this church. You know, we can't change the things that have already happened to us, but I can refuse to be reduced by them. "To the full". "To the full". "To the full". A dab will not do. The problem in many of our lives is what we're satisfied with, what we settle for. But the writer is saying, by the Holy Spirit, you need to seek that full assurance, that fullness until it overflows, until the end.
You know, you've heard this before. It's not where you start, it's where you, what? Finish. A woman had just finished milking a cow and she sat the bucket down and as she turned her back, two frogs fell into the bucket. Both of the frogs tried to jump to freedom, but the edge of the bucket was too high and too steep for the frogs to get out.
So after a while, the first frog got tired and he thought it was useless to do all this jumping. So he, in a short period of time, just sank to the bottom and drowned. The second frog also felt discouraged but he didn't stop jumping. And eventually, his persistence churns some of the milk into butter. And from the now hardened surface of the milk, the frog was able to leap out. A winner is just a loser that keeps on trying. Keeps on trying. Verse 12, "That you do not become sluggish".
You see the problem here. They were giving up. They didn't feel like getting out of bed. Too much trouble. Not doing this Jesus thing, not driving to church anymore. You know what? I'll just stay at home and I'll catch it when I catch it. I'm not serving no more, I'm not giving no more. I'm not sacrificing. It's gonna be about my life and my vision and my dreams. And I'ma watch the television. I'ma get some motivational speakers, you know, to speak into my life and make it all about me, us three no more.
But I wanna talk to you for a moment about these hallowed grounds on which we now stand. That you do not become weary in well-doing, fatigued, tired, worn out, spent. Before construction, we found out about 150 years ago, slaves slept on these very grounds. And they died doing the extremely dangerous work of producing charcoal in the state of Virginia.
Under the place you're seated right now, they slept on the dirt each night without pillows, poorly clad. They didn't have blankets or coats. And each night they prayed for a better day. Their backs were often beaten. Parts of their faces and their bodies were burned from their work. Their voices were raspy from the daily smoke. But they kept on. "That you do not become sluggish". Each night, they asked God if their hardship would ever end. I can imagine the Holy Spirit saying the same thing then that he said now. "I know it's tough right now, but trouble won't last always".