Okay, so we are back in Hebrews chapter four. Last week we touched on, we finished up in verse 11. I actually want to talk about one more thing in verse 11 and then work through the end of the chapter. Let's pick up, I want to start reading in verse six through the end of the chapter. Let me start over here with Jen. Hebrews chapter four. Chapter four, six? Verse six, yes. He did preach a certain day today, saying through David, after so a long time, this has been said before. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sword and disobedience. Verse 12, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There is no creature hidden from His sight, for all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Verse 15. But we do not have a higher 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, therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Amen. All right, thank you. We talked about the fact that we're striving to enter that rest, but we need work to enter that rest, right? But what I want to talk about this week is that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. I know the writer of Hebrews talks about this a lot, but what is this disobedience that's being talked about here? First of all, the people of Moses' generation, what was their disobedience? Can you say that? Okay. So what about the people that is being written to in Hebrews at that time? What should they avoid? What disobedience should they avoid? Not believing in the promises of the Sabbath for the rest of Christ. Sabbath for the rest of Christ. And before we go on, I was looking up a blue-letter Bible, that word disobedience, what it means. And it's apatheia, right? The word is apatheia, which, where we get our word apathetic, apu, right? And so I was thinking about that, looking at the definition, unbelief or disobedience, disbelief, obstinate, and rebellious. And as we get that word apathy, apathy means indifference, lack of interest, or concern. which also made me think about lukewarm, right? I think about apathy, talk about lukewarm Christians, and that took me to Revelation chapter three. Chapter three, verses 15 to 16. I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. That's how God feels about apathy, right? Being a lukewarm Christian, which means we need to live out our faith, right? We need to not just believe in our minds, but we actually have to live it out. And I think, how can we show that we actually believe what we say we believe? By doing it. By doing it, right. Let's not just be hearers of the word, but doers also, right? Yeah, absolutely. You see it in how you treat people, right? How you actually live your life. And the last thing, I know we've been on verse 11 for a while, We got cut short last week. Anyway, verse 11, let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same They know their mind. The writer of Hebrews knows that they know the Old Testament. They know these stories. They know what disobedience is being talked about, and they're supposed to learn from them, and we're supposed to learn, right? Looking at 2 Timothy 3.15, all scripture is read out by God, and it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 10, verse 11. Another verse that lets us know that we are supposed to learn from what is revealed to us in His Word. All right, I'm actually gonna start in verse six. Now, these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did. and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now, these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of ages has come." So we've got to take what is written, what has been revealed to us, and learn from that, and let that shape how we live our lives. Okay, verse 12. What exactly is this verse saying? How should we understand verse 12? The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There's a lot there. There is, there is. Let's start with the word of God. The Word of God is living and active. What is that Word of God? What are some things? Scripture. Right. The actual Word of God, right? Scripture. What else? I've got a couple of kids from Moana in here. What's John 1-1 say? Jesus. Yeah. And then Jesus. Very good. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So for me, what comes to mind when I read this one is God's Word will never turn away God's people. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. When you're preaching the gospel and sharing the gospel with someone, The spirit is going to do work from the inside. Yes. And I mean, sharper than any two edged sword, it cuts to the heart of those who God has elected, right? Who's God is going to call. And pretty much as a saying, nothing's going to stop this sword from getting it. I mean, the joints, the marrow, uh, discerning the thoughts and the intention of the heart. So that was, I think it's connected. And what he's saying is outward looks aren't going to cut it. You know, you may look like you're a child of a people of God on the outside, but their hearts were the problem. And so God knows that. So, you know, you can't fool him. Nothing's hidden, right? We can fool people, but we can't fool God. He knows all things. His Word applies yesterday, applies today, and it will continue. He's an everlasting, so the word of God is not dead. Very alive in our lives. And really, something Autumn and I were talking about is the fact that you can look at multiple times, okay, oh yeah, I understand what he's saying. Read it another time, you see another side of it, right? You see something else that wasn't revealed to you. And then you hear Pastor preach, wow, I didn't see it like that, right? You see different things, different things are revealed to you, and it really should, if you are in Christ, Let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter two. Actually, don't go there. I'll just read it, sorry. 1 Thessalonians chapter two, verse 13. We also thank God constantly for this, that when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but as it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. So that word of God is at work in us. Also, Jeremiah chapter 24. I'm going to Jeremiah chapter 23. verse nine, that's actually talking about blind prophets, but I'm actually gonna pick up in verse 23. Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not feel heaven and earth? declares the Lord. I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesied lies in the name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesied lies and who prophesied the deceit of their own heart? who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams, that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. "'What has straw in common with wheat?' declares the Lord. "'It's not my word like fire,' declares the Lord, "'and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.'" So when I look at that, it makes me think about the very next part of that verse, talking about how the word of God is looking sharper than any two-edged sword. I'm looking at that imagery, and Jeremiah, he talks about the fact that Ishmael, What does that have to do with it? That fire burns the straw of falsehood. This is from a commentary I was reading. It burns the straw of falsehood and of lies, and it's like a hammer that shatters the sinful heart. And I think it's totally relevant when talking about how the word of God is sharpened in a two-edged sword. And there's something else about that two-edged sword that's interesting. That two-edged sword, It's the word of the Spirit in Ephesians 6, 17. And that double-edged sword is also, that imagery is also used in Revelation 1, 16. All right, it's talking about Jesus. In his right hand, he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun, shining in full strength. All right, so that word, that word, it actually gets to our very heart and our soul and our very beings. Like a commentary said, it can bring you into God's rest or bar you from it. It can usher you into salvation or condemnation. It has the power to change you and can surge and explode your hearts. And it's just that double-edged sword, it cuts both ways. What's a good example in scripture, in our New Testament, of someone who the word of God reached that caused them to make a drastic change in their lives? Paul. Paul, right? Paul, a complete change in his life. Yeah. OK. Marcus, before I move on to that, this came to mind while you were reading. the very victorious revelation of 1211. They conquered him by the lamb and the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives to the point of death. Now, that was very applicable to our time, not just for today, but also a hint of time. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. The blood and the lamb, but also the word of our testimony. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. He talks about the double-edged sword pierces the division of soul and spirit towards the barrel, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. God knows our thoughts. And that sin, that sin that we have, it usually starts with a thought, right? But that sword, too, can be a surgical instrument, right? To cut out the bad pieces. There's a great line in one of Ethan Christian Getty's songs. It's not scripture, but I mean, I think that analogy is perfect. It calls for the sword that makes the wounded whole. That's pretty good imagery right there. It's a healing sword, too. Absolutely. All right, which moves us into verse 13. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him whom we must give an account. All right, what's he saying here, verse 13? Yeah, he judges heart and mind. He knows our intentions, right? I also thought it was interesting. Naked and exposed, the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Brings us back to the garden. Adam Neve. Yeah, naked and exposed. How do you know your name? All right, so now we're going to talk about Jesus as High Priest. This started in Chapter 2, verses 17 and 18, and now we're picking it back up here in Chapter 4, verse 14. It says, then, we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. Verse 15 for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses But one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. All right, so With verses 14 and 15 what point? In verse 15, he's talking about how Christ is fully God before man. Yes, exactly. We can identify that He knows our struggles and our pain because He's been there. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. He's been tempted in every way. He's just like us. You guys are supposed to be, you know it, right? You guys are the ones that are teaching that you can't forget Saturday afternoons. What else, what else do we see here? I think that Jesus' work was made to rep for rest, to give access to the rest, and that Jesus' work was made for comfort, because we see that that's the point, that we may find grace, receive mercy, And so, the concept isn't that the distress goes away, the concept is that the distress goes away. about how, since we can then say we have a high priest, we have a great high priest, right? So not only, so now we can document Hebrews, Jesus is greater, he's better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, His message is better, now he is, the High Priest, he's greater than all the other High Priests. Now, when you think about the fact that he can sympathize with our weaknesses, do you think that the people at this time could sympathize with the other High Priests, that they thought the High Priest sympathized with them, and they could also sympathize with them? Yeah. They lived an awful child life, a high life. They had no money. Right. Yeah. They could totally not sympathize. Different status, different class. Yeah. So how great is it that we have a great high priest who can sympathize with us? The high priest mediated on Earth, but here Jesus is elevated. Not just once a year. Not just once a year. After his cleansing. Absolutely. Absolutely. One sacrifice. One sacrifice. And when he says, hold fast our confession, first of all, what is the message that the writer's trying to get across here? Hold fast our confession. Yeah, absolutely. Fall away from belief, right? Yeah. Right. He just got done warning us about that in chapter 3. All throughout Hebrews he's saying, you know, telling us to persevere. Don't fall away. You don't need to go to another high priest. Don't go back to Judaism. Why would you follow those high priests? You'd have a great high priest. the resurrection, this did happen, the baseline tenets were fulfilled. Romans chapter 10, verses eight through 10 says, we confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord, we believe in our heart, right? So again, as we talked about before, if you truly believe in our heart, our lives are gonna show that, right? And the last thing about him being the great high priest, there's one thing different about him than the others. Those high priests, they had to offer sins for themselves, but Jesus didn't have to do that. Exactly. Yes, they had to. Yeah, there's two sacrifices, for themselves and for the people. Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all. That's it. That's why he is the great high priest.