Hebrews 12: 12-17
Don’t Give Up, Hold On

ILL. Joni Erickson Tada. This is from Chuck Swindoll and he was speaking at a Christian Book sellers banquet in 1981. HE was sitting up there thinking “there are more qualified people than I here, people that can do a better job and all the things all of us may do. Then the spotlight hit Joni who was to sing. Chuck’s spirit was strengthened as he thought of her pilgrimage since 1967 when she broke her neck, has no feeling from her shoulders down. She has had numerous surgeries, A broken romance, dreams died. No more swimming or horseback riding (her great loves) and not even a stroll EVER again. But here she sat, radiant, remarkable, a rare woman who had chosen not to quit (She sang It is Well With my Soul). Joni was and is doing with her life what we and they are to do with ours, trust God and keep on going.In our passage which we just read, we see three areas.I. A Plea to Edify… 12-13II. A Pursuit of Excellence…14-15aIII. And in 15b-17 A Poor ExampleLook at verses 12-13Therefore, a conclusion here, therefore, since we have so much to be encouraged about, since we have so many examples to encourage us then we are able to (LOOK AT IT) Strengthen the weak hands

This comes from Isaiah 35:3 (Turn there)

( Isa 35:3-4 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.

See? What he is saying is NOT strengthen your hands but encourage others. In the light of the future promise of God and in light of the examples we have, LIFT UP feeble hands, help those who are weak, help those who are weak and look at verse 13 (probably a quote of ( Pro 4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. ) The limb which is lame is a fence sitter, one who hasn’t chosen to follow Christ, one still undecided. So encouraging him so he doesn’t make a decision to reject Christ, To apostatize. Get YOUR act together so as to be a good example, don’t be beaten down in trials, rather show Christ’s spirit of endurance and build up others, encourage others to come to Christ, don’t let them be Dislocated but rather, mended. Not separated from Christ, but joined to Christ.So verses 12-13 are an exhortation to look to the examples and be encouraged and then to encourage others.Now I have a question.Do you deal with your hardship, persecution, pressure in such a way as to encourage others? Not by saying “Oh. It’s alright” Because it isn’t, rather “God has gotten me through this and he will help you through it too.”So we see a Plea to Edify, now in verses 14-15 A Pursuit of Excellence.( 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; A pursuit is required here. First he says pursue peace with all men.Pursuit is not jus lollygagging along, but speed on with drive, put to flight. This is a dedicated pursuit. This is in the imperative mood in Greek, a command to be obeyed and it is present tense which means it is continuous action. So continually be actively pursuing two things.1. Peace with all men (Rom 12:18) The term here means freedom from war, public peace agreement, a state of peace and safety. With fellow believers? NO but with ALL men. But throughout this whole section we have seen just the opposite. We see people getting on their case, persecuting them. There is a state of war, right? Why don’t they do everything in their power to avoid this lack of peace? Here is why.To do so would be to deny Christ and who he is. Their troubles came because of standing for Christ. So he isn’t saying we can tolerate falsehood or evil, he isn’t saying compromise, but he is talking of flexibility. Pursue peace (Rom 12:18) as much as is possible for your part. But it is not to be possible for you to go back, to turn away from teaching or from God. Just do all that is loving and kind and right and God will take care of the rest. (Not like Kansas Church)Live peaceably. There are some issues within Christianity that may never be resolved. Some feel as if name calling and finger pointing will help, but GOD wants us to be unified, to show loving concern. Teach where we differ but do so in such a manner that at the end of the day we are still brothers and sisters. Don’t let personal viewpoints divide (heresy). Don’t raise a ruckus, James says , by promoting your own position and refusing to accept the other’s position. There is a second thing we are to be diligently and continually pursuing, Holiness. Sanctification, being in a place where our life is clean before God and sold in service to God, dedicated to God. And here in Hebrews 12:14 this holiness and pursuing peace with all men go hand in hand. (as well as in 1 Peter and 1 John). Verse 15 is plain that we do not want bitterness to spring up.You can pursue peace by not retaliating in persecution. YOU can pursue holiness by trusting God to come through to keep his promise. Now in verse 15 we see something else that God requires of us in trial.Look at A POOR EXAMPLE.First that no one fails to come to Christ, you live real so this doesn’t happen (real good). Maybe the one who is persecuting you, attacking you, is looking NOT for your knowledge of truth but your reaction in truth. Respond kindly so no one uses you as an excuse to reject God’s truth.

Secondly, Don’t YOU get bitter over these trials and troubles because lack of forgiveness brings bitterness and that really causes trouble. Don’t blame others or God n your trial ( Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: ) Rather, trust God because even though he seems so far away, His promises are true.

The third thing to avoid here is immorality. The term in the original is “Pornos”, a fornicator (that was used of a male who sold himself) and he likens it to Esau.

Esau might not have been immoral in the physical sense, rather he was a person who lived for NOW with no thought to the future. Self was his idol and what he felt and wanted now was his only thought. 33 Miles recorded a song that has haunted me. Many relationships are dying because one or both of the party wanted to be fulfilled NOW, to have MY needs met. No thought for the future. Listen to these lyrics:

( He never thought he cared so much about the minute hand Until he started praying for, a second chance If he could only do it all again He'd trade the long nights that he spent behind his desk For all he missed He tells his wife "I wish that this moment in this room was not me dying, but just spending a little time with you."

You only get just one time around You only get one shot at this One chance, to find out The one thing that you don't wanna miss One day when it's all said and done I hope you see that it was enough, this One ride, one try, one life... To love....

She never thought she cared so much about those little hands That held on tight the day she left
Til she was scared to death Sitting all alone on a hotel bed, the end of the road The sun had set on her big plans To feel young again She picks up the phone, dials the number, hears that little voice
That's haunted every single mile, since she made that choice

You only get just one time around You only get one shot at this One chance, to find out The one thing that you don't wanna miss One day when it's all said and done I hope you see that it was enough, this One ride, one try, one life... To love......

( http://www.33milesonline.com/ )

Does that grip your heart? Oh God help us to make choices based on what is best for God’s glory and his Kingdom. Trust him enough to do it his way. To work out the relationship, to trust God enough to communicate your dissatisfaction but with a view to enduring.Esau sold his birthright. This week in my devotions I read this

Esau's Birthright
In ancient times, the birthright was a very important and sacred thing. It belonged to the firstborn. The family name and titles were to pass along to the eldest son. He would also receive a chief portion of the inheritance. But it was more than just a title to the physical assets of a family. It was also a spiritual position, and in the case of the people of God, God would lead the family through patriarchs, or fathers (Hebrews 1:1-2). Additionally, in the special case of Esau and Jacob, that meant the one to whom belonged the birthright was the one through who the covenant promise made to their grandfather, Abraham, would be realized. Ultimately, the Messiah would come through the holder of the birthright and bless the nations of the earth. Esau was the firstborn, and the birthright was his. But like many, he failed to appreciate its value and sacredness.

Had had not received it, he had refused it. Esau was hungry and his momentary need , his desire for instant gratification led him to throw away the future for a mere bowl of soup. He sold his faith in the future promise to meet a Present physical need, want, desire, sold it cheap to the lowest bidder.

Knowing the promise to be true he still chose to go the other way. HE convinced himself it was OK, he probably felt justified and it wasn’t until that cold morning after, later when he would have changed his mind it was too late, the birthright was sold, he couldn’t legally inherit Isaac’s blessing. There was no way Esau could get what would have been his otherwise.

We know that Esau came and was sorry later, but Isaac couldn’t change his mind legally. And the point to them is this: If you see one who is teetering on the edge of accepting Christ, don’t let them make a decision against Christ because if they know the facts, have been convinced by the Spirit and yet choose to reject, to not accept Christ then God has no further say so in the matter. There is only one way to salvation and that is through surrender to Jesus Christ. The warning here is “don’t put it off.” If you have been convicted by the Holy Spirit accept him now. Do not delay. Do not sell your birthright, trust Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross in payment of your sins for salvation.

(F.B. Meyer Daily Devotions)Whatever excuse you have been counting on, however your good deeds seem to stack up…don’t count on any of that. Turn your eyes toward Jesus and accept his forgiveness for your sins.Rom 3:23Rom 6:235:810: 9-10

Do it now.