Through Jesus

All of the Christian life can be summed up with two words: “through Jesus” Without Jesus we can do nothing. With Jesus we can do all things. That’s what we’ve learned throughout this letter to the Hebrews. This has been an extraordinary book.
In chapter one, we learned that… Through Jesus came God’s final Word to man. God wanted to communicate to us in the best way possible, so He sent His Son to be one of us, to show us what God is like and communicate the Fathers will to us. Through Jesus we can now know God.

From chapter two, we learned that… Through Jesus came God’s help for us when we were sinners. When Jesus died for us, he did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He defeated death and removed God’s wrath against us.

From chapter three, we learned that… Through Jesus came our entrance into God’s household. As our great high priest, Jesus has not just made atonement for our sins, He’s brought us into God’s family.

Also from chapter three, we learned that… Through Jesus God gives us rest from trying to prove ourselves by our works. Through Jesus God not only forgives us but accepts us totally so we can enter His rest…

From chapter four, we learned that… Through Jesus we have a high priest who is able to empathize with anything we are going through, because He walked in our shoes.

Then in chapter five, we learned that… Through Jesus comes our salvation. He is the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, For all who trust in Him.

Then in chapter seven, we learned that…Through Jesus our salvation is secure forever. Because Jesus is our perfect High priest, seated at the right hand of the Father, He is the One who guarantees our salvation forever.

Then in chapter eight, we learned that… Through Jesus we have access to the Father forever. It is by Jesus and through His blood, that we are declared righteous. And it is Jesus who brings us into fellowship with the Father.

In other words, every blessing that is ours has come through Jesus. And now as the writer concludes, he’s reminding us that since everything we need for life and salvation comes through Jesus, now everything in our life can be lived through Jesus. In other words, as we run the race of faith set before us, God wants us to live by faith through Jesus. And in our passage this morning, he spells that out for us. So, if you brought your Bible today, let me encourage you to open it to Hebrews 13:15-19 where he spells out four ways a life of faith is a life lived through Jesus. And the first way is this:

1. Through Jesus always be praising God Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. Hebrews 13:15 I want you to note something right off the start here. He is using sacrificial language to describe how we are to live a life of faith through Jesus. Sacrifice was extremely important for a Jew. It was God’s provision for cleansing of sin under the Old Covenant. Many Christian Jews were now wondering if God required any kind of sacrifice under the New Covenant. After all, this letter spells out that Jesus has done it. He offered the one and only sacrifice for sin that is needed. But since these Jews were used to many kinds of sacrifices, perhaps God would have them continue to make some kind of sacrifices themselves. So, here the writer spells out the sacrifices God desires of us. He exhorts us to continually offer up to God a sacrifice of our praise.

Scripture says our sacrifice of praise is through Jesus. We do not offer a sacrifice of praise in our own names or our own power, but through Jesus. He’s the mediator. We only bring an acceptable sacrifice of praise to the Father if we offer it through His Son.

And so, he spells out what this sacrifice of praise entails: the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. This is a quote from Hosea 14:2, which speaks of God’s people offering Him “the calves of our lips.” The reference is to sacrificial offerings, and our lips are seen as altars upon which our hearts give worship to the Lord.

Perhaps you never thought of the words you speak in this way. Your mouth is an altar, and your words are the offering. And every word you speak is to be a sacrifice of praise to God. This is not just about our singing praise songs on Sunday mornings. A sacrifice of praise encompasses every manner of our speaking, all of which either confesses or denies His name. Through our speech, our whole attitude is revealed with devastating accuracy. As Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). In other words, what is in your heart will come out your mouth; and what God wants to come out of our mouths ought to be the kind of words that will bring praise to Him.

So, let me ask you: In your conversations, do your words honor Christ? Are your words critical and judgmental or are they encouraging and gracious? Are they kind and righteous or are they harsh and wicked? This is one of the key things I continually taught my students as a youth pastor. Students had a way of making themselves feel better by putting down others. So, this was a key Scripture for us: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 Proverbs says it this way: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 or The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18 Our words can be powerful weapons of hurt and destruction, or they can be words of healing or encouragement.

They reveal what’s in your heart. So, this is a call to let Jesus transform your words, transform your conversations; to let the Holy Spirit transform the fruit of your lips, so that whatever it is you say, whether it’s a conversation with a loved one, a banker, or a foul-tempered neighbor – it’s to let your conversation be seasoned with grace, so that your words bring praise to God. Your mouth is the altar, and what come from your lips is the offering that you bring forth from your heart to God.

This is the first thing we need to do through Jesus. Bring a sacrifice of praise to God with the fruit of our lips. Looks look at the next thing we are called to do through him…

2. Through Jesus always be helping others
Verse 16 turns to practical deeds of love and kindness, and especially to generosity with our material wealth: “do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” This includes an eagerness to act kindly toward others, and to work for the spiritual and temporal benefit of other people. It especially speaks of a readiness to show generosity to those in need, to give freely of our wealth because we know that this pleases and glorifies God.

Again, the motivation behind doing good works is not so you can feel good about yourself, but so you can bring praise to God. As Jesus said to His followers in the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16. Think of it this way: In living out your faith, let Jesus listen through your ears, let Jesus serve through your hands, and let Jesus move your heart to help those in need. This is one of the reasons God did a work in you when He saved you, why He gave you a new heart and a new power to live this new life. The Apostle Paul said it this way: ”For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 We are not to neglect this new ability God gave us when He made us new people in Christ. This new ability is to let Christ’s life pour out of you to help those in need through works of service, acts of kindness and love. Such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Along with this, we are also to be people who share what we have with others. This is a reminder to be generous to those in need – that your wallet is not just your wallet. Again, think of your wallet as an altar – and the money in it as an opportunity to worship God by giving to help others. The idea is to give freely of your wealth because you know that when you do, you will please God. Again, you probably can’t do this on your own. That’s why you need Jesus – so that through Him you can give generously to help others. Think of it this way. When you remember what Jesus gave up to help you, this frees you to give up your money to help others. And when you share with someone through Jesus, this is a form of worshiping God. Your generosity not only reveals your faith, but it also reveals that you love others more than you love your money.

That’s why we need to share through Jesus. For if it’s just you who’s going to share, you’re going to have all kinds of reasons not to share. But when you look at how Jesus sacrificed to help meet your greatest need, then it will be easier for you to sacrifice to help someone in need. That’s the idea. Generosity of spirit, the kind that moves you to help others begins when you realize all God did by sharing His Son with you. So then, when you share with others with Jesus working through you, your generosity will help others and will please God. Always helping others is the second way we are to live out our faith. Here’s a third way…

3. Through Jesus always be responsive to your leaders
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Hebrews 13:17
Here, the writer of Hebrews gives a command to God’s people to listen to and receive the teaching of those who are commissioned to teach. We are not instructed to do so because our leaders are smarter, but because God knows what His people need – teachers. That’s the meaning behind this command to obey. This command calls God’s people to receive the teaching of God’s Word and put it into practice.

In other words. God has determined that His Word be conveyed by human voice. Teachers are just human instruments that set forth God’s divine Word. And when we teach in accordance with God’s Word, our teaching is to be taken seriously. Why? Because the Word we teach is not our word, but God’s. So, to obey our teaching is to obey God. And to submit to your teacher’s authority is not to yield to your leaders as some kind of cultic authority, but to yield to the authority of God’s Word. And when you do, when you put yourself under the authority of your teacher, you’re really not submitting to them, but you are submitting to God. And this act of submission is an act of worship that pleases God.

Now, I would be the first to say, that this command has been abused by many pastors and teachers over the years. When a pastor forgets that any authority he has, has been given from God, such power can go to his head. There is only one true shepherd of the flock, and that is Jesus. Us teachers are simply messengers who’ve been entrusted by God to speak His Word. This is a solemn calling. It’s a privilege I take very seriously. Why? The text tells me why: “They keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.”

The leaders mentioned in Hebrews watch over the souls of God’s people. We understand that we are gifted by God for teaching His Word and that any authority we have comes from Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Therefore, as under shepherds of Jesus Christ, we must give an account to the Chief Shepherd. We are called to not teach the Word for our benefit, but for yours.

This is why the writer says to the effect that such teachers of the Word of God, often lie awake at night – that is what the verb “keeping watch” literally means. We lie awake pondering how we might effectively impart God’s Word so that we help you grow in the faith, because we must give an account to Christ for the care of your souls. This is why I can never mail it in as a Pastor. This is why I work hard and pray hard in preparing to preach God’s Word. Because as God’s people, you deserve to hear God’s Word as He desires you to hear it. So, you might receive it and put it into practice in your life.

That’s why anyone sitting here today is commanded to submit to the authority of the preaching of God’s Word. So that you receive the teaching of your pastor as a message to you from God. And that’s why the writer now adds these words: Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

So then, through Jesus as your respond to the teaching the Word of God and obey it, you are obeying God – and that will be of great benefit for you. That’s the third way we are to live out our faith through Jesus. Now, the final way:

4. Through Jesus always be praying for your pastor
Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon. Hebrews 13:18-19 What the writer is saying, is “please pray that I might be faithful, serving God with a clean conscience and living honorably as an example to the others.” What I like about this command to pray is that it’s in the middle tense. Since this command is in the middle voice, it’s saying, that when you pray for your leaders, you’re benefiting yourself. Whenever you respond to a middle voice, whatever God asks of you, will benefit you when you do it. So, through Jesus, pray for your leaders. Pray for me that I will have a clear conscience and always desire to live honorably in every way.

Pastor Richard Phillips reminds us of the importance for God’s people to pray for their pastors: “If you do not pray for these things regularly for your pastors, then you fail to realize both their importance for the church and the frailty of their sinful nature, which like yours is flesh in all its weakness. We need to pray for the protection of our leaders, both from spiritual attack and the normal dangers of life in this world.” In other words, the effectiveness of me as your pastor, is dependent on you as you pray. And I know, I need your prayers. In fact, I truly appreciate those who pray for me on a regular basis. I truly appreciate those who pray with me before the service, and those who pray for me in your prayer closet. I could not do what God has called me to do without your prayers. So, thank you for praying for me. Pray for your leaders through Jesus, and this too will benefit your walk of faith.

So this is what the Christian life really comes down to Jesus. God wants us to live by faith through Jesus. Without Jesus, we can’t do it. Be with Jesus working in us and living through us we can live this life of faith. So let us surrender our lives to Jesus. Let us receive God’s Word today and submit to Him, so we might live through Jesus.

To let Jesus work through us to help our conversations bring praise to God.

To let Jesus work in us to help us do good deeds and share generously to those in need.

To let Jesus work in us to help us receive God’s Word and surrender to His authority.

And to let Jesus work through us so we will lift up our leaders in prayer.

For when we allow Jesus to live through us, we will run the race marked out for us! And that’s the whole message of this letter. It’s all about letting Jesus live through you by faith. As Paul wrote to the Galatians: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 So, let’s surrender to Jesus; let’s die to self and so that we let Jesus live through us by faith.

And as we do, may this closing prayer from the book of Hebrews be our prayer every day as we seek to live by faith through Jesus. Let us pray:

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21