Tag Archives: hebrews 10

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Fully Persuaded

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Only certain people have direct access to the President of the United States. He guards his privacy and is approachable only on his own terms. But you can draw near to the Lord – who is far greater in every way – with only an uplift of your eyes. It’s a wonderful right of entry that cannot be denied to you as a believer. But do you understand what all of this means?

We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19

Think of Jesus’ relationship to His disciples. He was their Master. And yet, right before He went to the cross, He washed their feet. Christ was humble; He had no identity crisis. He knew exactly who He was and where He was going…He knew His purpose on Earth. His humility that night and throughout His life was born of this confidence.

Thirty-one times the New Testament speaks of the confidence you can have…the freedom and the boldness given to you in your relationship through Jesus. Be fully persuaded that you have access to the Lord at any time.

Therefore, let your prayers ascend to Him with intercessions for this nation, for your family and for yourself to have the courage to do and be that which the Lord asks of you.

Recommended Reading: 1 John 3:16-24

Charles Stanley – Trusting God to Keep His Promise

Charles Stanley

Hebrews 10:35-36

Have you ever experienced the bitter sting of a broken promise from a close friend? Few things hurt worse than this kind of betrayal, most likely because it marks the faltering trust between two companions.

For this reason, it is of eternal value to recognize the trustworthiness of almighty God. We serve a God of promises. He pledged a new land for His people, a child to the elderly Abraham, and a Savior for the world. Each of these and many more promises were fulfilled in time, according to His perfect will. Hebrews 10:23 affirms, “He who promised is faithful.”

Sometimes, however, God’s promises are marked with conditions. Although we serve a God of limitless grace and mercy, He often charges us with responsibilities upon which our success will depend. For instance, in today’s passage, we see that confidence, obedience, and endurance are all vital elements in “receiving what has been promised” (Heb. 10:35-36).

This does not mean that we can earn God’s favor with good deeds. In truth, He loves us not for what we do, but because He cannot help loving each of us passionately just as we are.

If we love Him in return, we must take responsibility for what He has called us to do. This is not a maneuver to finagle blessings from Him, but rather an act of humble submission to His will. When we operate from such a standpoint, we are in the perfect position to grab hold of what He wants to give us.

Related Resources

Charles Stanley – Why We Can Trust God

 

Hebrews 10:19-23

In our troubled world, injustice, crime, and dishonesty fill the news. The one constant seems to be change.

By contrast, we have a God whose actions are perfect, whose character is flawless, and who is faithful to keep every promise He’s made. He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). We can have complete confidence in Him because He is . . .

• Omniscient. Our Father knows what is happening with every person at every moment (Luke 12:2-3). His knowledge is complete—no circumstance is hidden from Him; there is no motive or thought process that He does not discern.

• Omnipotent. God has total power over all things; nothing is outside His control. He uses His might to bring about His perfect will. No authority in heaven or on earth can thwart His purposes (Job 42:2; Matt. 19:26).

• Omnipresent. No person or place is outside of God’s presence (Ps. 139:7-12). All space and time is within His sight, and He never overlooks anything or anyone.

• Truthful. God cannot lie—He always speaks truth. We can fully trust His Word and His responses to our prayers.

• Loving. We can also have confidence in the Lord’s intentions, because His character is pure love (Rom. 8:28; 1 John 4:8).

God’s nature is not affected by time, place, people, or circumstances. He never makes a mistake in what He says or does, because His knowledge is perfect, His sovereignty is complete, and all is within His sight. Every promise is guaranteed in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). For all our days, He’s the One we can count on. Hallelujah!

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Just Passing Through

 

All through history people have traveled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles in all manner of transportation. From Abraham and his camels, to the pioneers and their covered wagons, to contemporaries and their rental trucks, all look for a better place to live than where they resided at the time.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Hebrews 11:16

The writer of Hebrews tells about a people looking for a better a place. They endured all kinds of suffering while faithfully clinging to God’s promises. Today, you have an assurance of eternal life in Christ. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

You pray for your country and rightly so (I Timothy 2:1-4). But don’t forget that you’re just passing through. Hebrews 10:25 says to encourage each other all the more when you see The Day approaching. When today’s headlines appear to be taken directly from prophetic scripture, be of good cheer. You are destined for a better place.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 5:1-10

Greg Laurie – The Overcomers

 

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh. —Hebrews 10:19–20

How do we overcome the devil? In the book of Revelation we are introduced to a group of believers who are able to do that: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11)

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. The next time the devil tempts you to think that you are not worthy to approach God, here is what I advise: Agree. Say, “You are right. I am not worthy to approach God. I never was worthy to approach God. I never will be worthy to approach God. My access to God’s presence is not based on my worthiness, it is based on what Christ did for me on the cross.”

Sometimes we get into the mentality as Christians that if we are doing well spiritually, then we can approach God in prayer. If we get up in the morning, read four chapters from the Bible, give thanks for our meals, and share our faith with someone, then we think we can approach God. But if the next day we sleep in and don’t read the Bible, if we forgot to say grace over our meals and didn’t share our faith, then we think we are not worthy to approach Him.

While doing those things is important, the point I am making is this: Your access to God is there unconditionally. If you have done well, then great. Approach God. But if you have sinned, then approach God and say, “Lord, I have sinned. This is why I need the blood of the Lamb.”

The devil always will try to keep you away from the Cross. But the Holy Spirit always will bring you to it.

Charles Spurgeon – A caution to the presumptuous

 

“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25

These strong men sometimes will not use the means of grace, and therefore they fall. There are some persons here, who rarely attend a place of worship; they do not profess to be religious; but I am sure they would be astonished if I were to tell them, that I know some professedly religious people who are accepted in some churches as being true children of God, who yet make it a habit of stopping away from the house of God, because they conceive they are so advanced that they do not want it. You smile at such a thing as that. They boast such deep experience within; they have a volume of sweet sermons at home, and they will stop and read them; they need not go to the house of God, for they are fat and flourishing. They conceit themselves that they have received food enough seven years ago to last them the next ten years. They imagine that old food will feed their souls now. These are your presumptuous men. They are not to be found at the Lord’s table, eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ, in the holy emblems of bread and wine. You do not see them in their closets; you do not find them searching the Scriptures with holy curiosity. They think they stand—they shall never be moved; they fancy that means are intended for weaker Christians; and leaving those means, they fall. They will not have the shoe to put upon the foot, and therefore the flint cuts them; they will not put on the armour, and therefore the enemy wounds them—sometimes well-nigh unto death. In this deep quagmire of neglect of the means, many a proud professor has been smothered.

For meditation: Thomas was absent to his cost (John 20:24,25). Can you always give your “apologies for absence” to the Lord and to your fellow-members with a clear conscience?

Sermon no. 22

12 May (Preached 13 May 1855)

Presidential Prayer Team, J.R. – Upward and Onward

 

George Hayduke published a book in 1980 entitled “Get Even: The Complete Book of Dirty Tricks.” His suggestions for getting revenge ranged from humorous stunts to illegal antics that would surely land the perpetrator in jail. Apparently, though, getting even is something many people consider, because over the intervening 30 years Hayduke has published more than 20 sequels, all containing new, more creative ways to retaliate against those who may have wronged you.

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”…“the Lord will judge his people.” Hebrews 10:30

Other than as a possible source of amusement, reading Hayduke’s books should not be anywhere on your reading list. The time you spend pursuing vengeance is almost always time spent failing to do what the Lord has called you to. You will be treated unfairly – count on it. Before you expend God-given resources on a response, pray about whether He wants you to just forgive, and then move on.

The Lord sees and knows everything, and will balance the books in due time. And as you intercede for your nation’s leaders today, ask God to help them shun vengeance. Pray they would not be fixated on settling old scores, but would look upward and onward as they lead America.

Recommended Reading: Romans 12:9-21

Go . . . and Make Disciples! – Greg Laurie

 

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching—Hebrews 10:24–25

Jesus gave what is known today as the Great Commission, which is to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).

But here is what is often left out of the Great Commission: “Make disciples of all nations.” Listen, every Christian is called to go into the world and make disciples. But I didn’t say that everyone is called to be a preacher. Not everyone is called to be a Paul or a Peter. You might be a behind-the-scenes person. You might be someone whom few people know about, but you are where you are, and you want to do what you do for God’s glory. So we are all called to go and make disciples.

Here is the problem: There are a lot of Christians today that have never done this. They have never even thought about this, much less made an effort to do it. In fact, I actually think there can come a point in your Christian life where you don’t need to go hear more Bible studies. (Now, don’t take that out of context.) What I mean is, there can come a point when you are sitting down and having a meal, and it is time to push away from the table, digest your food, and let it be turned into energy to do something productive.

I love Bible studies. I love teaching the Bible, and I want to help others understand the Bible. But if all you do is listen to Bible studies and never do anything with what you’re learning, then you will be in danger of stagnating.