Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Hebrews 10:26-39. The presence of Christ empowers us to suffer well together. Lector: Noelle Quillo
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Hebrews 10:26-39. The presence of Christ empowers us to suffer well together.
Lector: Noelle Quillo
This has been a difficult week.
I echo all that was prayed a few moments ago for the many affected by this week’s shootings.
I’m left asking why this young man did what he did.
I’m asking why does this keep happening
I’m asking why we didn’t hear about the shooting in W. Louisville the week before.
I’m asking why the issue of guns in America has become so polarizing/contentious.
It’s not a pastor’s job to tell you who to vote for. That’s not what I’m doing.
I’m troubled by the far left’s strategy of combating intolerance and bigotry with intolerance and bigotry.
I’m troubled by the far right’s strategy of combating government overreach with fascism and authoritarianism.
I’m troubled by how unseen, unheard the reasonable middle is in our great country.
But our trust is not in horses or chariots, as the Psalmist tells us, but in the Lord.
At the same time, as we’ll see in a few weeks, the life of faith is both inward and outward.
Faith is inward confidence that produces external action. So, what are we to do?
We believe our best church program is our people living as Christians.
We want to be deeply formed, which means growing in how we think about issues
After the school shooting in Nashville, I read
When Thoughts and Prayers are Not Enough
Thoughts and prayers are good, and we’ll keep praying.
How does faith compel us to act on this issue, though?
This was written by a sister in Christ who survived a school shooting.
Shares her story, how it affected her faith, and concrete changes we can make.
Saying take all the guns is inadequate because the hearts of men are twisted.
Leaving guns in hands moved by twisted hearts is ludicrous, because they will murder more and more people.
We cannot settle for simplistic answers or party lines.
We must become a people who address these issues with the complexity necessary
Thoughts, prayers, and action. I plead with you to read it, reflect, and act.
Understand the complexity, learn what has worked in other places, then make your voice heard. The church cannot remain silent.
While we wait for change, we are Still faced with the reality of suffering today.
Suffering is unavoidable in life, even around joyous events.
I was an hour away from my wife when she called me crying
She was at her last appointment before the birth of our first son.
Doctors feared she had preeclampsia. Had to Emergency-induce.
I flew to the hospital. Called my mom sobbing. “I missed it I missed it I missed it.”
Would Allison make it? Would baby be OK? Awful experience.
But…a little bag of fluids, a little rest, and I drove her home still pregnant.
The next Sunday we met Booker face to face..
I remember everything about the day, the labor, carrying him into the waiting room.
I remember how brave and steady Allison was. Entirely magical.
I remember the long recovery after, the fears and joys. I see it like a movie in my mind.
Cora was born on Ash Wednesday 15 months later.
I remember the show we were watching minutes before her birth.
I remember the nurse shouting “OH MY! I SEE THE HEAD!”
I remember Cora’s struggles with jaundice and colic, the suitcase of lights we had to put her in, how tired we were for months after.
I don’t remember when Salem was born.
Booker on a Sunday. Cora on a Wednesday. Salem on a January.
I confirmed with my wife…she doesn’t either.
Mostly, I remember how delighted we were to have him.
Booker was born with a hole in his heart. Cora had cysts on her brain.
Salem had signs of tethered cord and spina bifida.
Each pregnancy and birth was scary, but we were less afraid every time.
The joy of bringing each of them home was the same. Filled to overflowing.
The events leading to that joy became foggier with each child, and foggier as the years go by.
Maybe because I’m dad, or was tired. Maybe.
But we became acquainted with the pattern of most pregnancies: suffering then joy.
Overtime, the pain of suffering will fade, but the joy of glory is eternal.
To put it in Bible language: Crucifixion leads to resurrection. GF leads to Easter.
The text this morning is scary, and it’s about suffering.
The point is not to scare us, though. It’s to encourage us to suffer like Christians.
Text begins again with dear friends. Context is loving relationship.
To his dear friends, the preacher gives a warning:
if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.
-Hebrews 10:26
The preacher has in mind here a specific sin called “apostasy”
Apostasy is the deliberate rejection of Jesus as the great high priest who offered himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins.
It’s not a bad night…even if the night was really bad.
Apostasy is to say “JESUS IS NOT LORD.”
The preacher describes apostasy as trampling on the Son of God, treating his most precious blood as if it were common and holy, an insult to the Holy Spirit.
This is a painful thing to watch, and we often respond poorly when we see it.
Hear the invitation, though:
“I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.”
-Hebrews 10:30
Apostasy is God’s department, not ours. It’s his job to respond to it.
It is not our job to condemn or pay back apostates.
Maybe it feels like someone is getting away with something to you.
But listen to this terrifying verse:
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
-Hebrews 10:31
When someone commits apostasy, they have fallen into the hands of the living God.
We leave them there. We leave revenge and judgement to God.
How does apostasy happen, though? Knowing this will help us guard against it…
Earlier, we learned that a life worth living is a life immersed in the people of God
Faith is about relationships, and relationships equip us to suffer well.
The doorway to apostasy swings on the hinge of suffering, which is why the preacher does not tell us we respond with condemnation, but instead talks about pain.
Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.
-Hebrews 10:32
He talks about public ridicule, beatings, imprisonment, and theft. Suffering.
Every. Single. Time. I’ve dealt with apostasy it has been due to suffering.
No one questions the Bible because of how happy they are.
No one doubts the resurrection because of how many prayers were answered.
So here’s a formula to consider:
Suffering + isolation = doubt
Suffering + doubt = despair
Suffering + despair = apostasy
If we do not suffer well, it will drive us into isolation.
If the suffering continues in isolation, it leads to doubt.
It’s not a sin to doubt! But it’s catastrophic to doubt alone.
If suffering continues while we doubt, we descend into despair.
And despair born of suffering produces apostasy.
A life worth living is a life immersed in the people of God.
Tragedies like what we’ve suffered this week will tempt us to isolate, then doubt, then despair. Oh the double dangers of our suffering…we must be on guard.
Look at v. 34 with me:
You suffered along with [them]…you knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
-Hebrews 10:34
All the “You’s” here are PLURAL. He’s saying YOU GUYS, dear brothers and sisters.
They suffered together, could feel its effects
It was the community’s pain, not an individual’s
The invitation is to immerse ourselves in God’s people to such a degree that we experience one another’s suffering.
The Preacher shows us the power of presence in our sufferings next:
Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.
-Hebrews 10:35
Suffering is endured primarily through presence.
The presence of christ empowers us to suffer well, and the easiest place to find the presence of Christ is in your brothers and sisters.
We need to be with each other more than we need answers and explanations.
Ours is not to condemn or judge, but to show up and to wait together.
And there is something very specific we get to do during the waiting.
We don’t wish it away, and we don’t explain it away.
Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!…For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.
-Hebrews 10:35, 37-38
Do you see what the Preacher is doing here?
Suffering leads to glory. He points them through their suffering to where it’s headed.
Don’t let this pain isolate you. Don’t doubt alone. Don’t give in to despair..
That’s what we do during the waiting.
We Show up for each other. Patiently, repeatedly, and we bring encouragement.
Suffer well, brother, for joy comes in the morning. Die well, sister, for resurrection is coming. It looks something like this:
Suffering + presence = patience
Suffering + patience = endurance
Suffering + endurance = joy
When you’re a scared new parent, older parents bring reassurance, right?
The pain and uncertainty of pregnancy is worth it because of the reward.
This is a living parable of our shared lives with Christ.
The suffering is worth it, because of the great reward waiting for us.
By the third child, we were not so scared because we had gone through it before, and we knew the joy awaiting us.
When we suffer together, those who have gone before us are able to say “this is what’s waiting for you”, “this is how we got through this”, or “I’m here with you.”
When we suffer together, we learn we are not alone.
Not the only one who has faced this pain, this loss, this mistake.
Suffering well requires suffering together.
Suffering together requires endurance.
Endurance requires encouragement.
And encouragement leads to our great reward.
So I leave you with one question: how would we suffer today if we knew our resurrection was tomorrow?
Hold on, Christian. Suffering always comes before glory.
Hold on, Christian. Good Friday always comes before Easter.
Hold on, Christian:
We are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
Hebrews 10:39
Let’s pray.