Scripture

Moses thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasure of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

Observation

By faith, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He knew that God’s promise of me descendants through Isaac would come true, so he figured that God could raise him from the dead if necessary.

The patriarchs – Isaac, Jacob and Joseph – likewise lived by faith.

Moses parents defied the order of Pharaoh to care for their baby. By faith, Moses rejected all of the comforts, pleasures, and sin of the Egyptian royal family in order to follow the higher vision given to him by the Lord.

By faith, the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea, but the Egyptians drowned .

Application

Do we believe the promises of God and risk our comfortable lifestyle for a higher calling?

Moses turned away from the power and prestige of the Egyptian elite. God commanded him to set the Israelites free and to lead them to the Promised Land. He chose the path of obedience and suffering because there was a great reward that could not be seen in the natural.

Faith means that we put our trust in God, along with our personal desires and ambitions.

When we left our former denomination to plant a new congregation, we did so trusting that God would provide what we needed. A friend said it was the greatest act of faith he had seen. But to us it was not that heroic a step. We knew that God wanted us to do it, and to choose the way of safety and comfort would have made us miserable.

To obey God in faith means that we give up some things, but find a much deeper joy then we could have thought possible.

Prayer

Lord, the way of faith is challenging at times. Thank you for the promise that you will never abandon us when we trust you. Amen.

Scripture

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Observation

By faith Abraham obeyed God and went to another land. He was looking forward to a city designed and built by God.

By faith Sarah was able to conceive and bear a child. She believed that God would keep His promises.

They died still believing the promise, even though they did not receive it. They saw it at a distance. They were looking for a heavenly homeland which God had prepared for them.

Application

Faith is the quality that enables us to see that God is greater than our circumstances. At its heart is the conviction that there is a better place, a heavenly homeland.

God has prepared a place for us. This is not just heaven in the afterlife, but a destiny in this life which we perceive as heavenly because God is in this place.

When we pour out our lives serving God according to His command, then we are in that heavely homeland, enjoying the grace and presence of God.

Faith is practical because it directs our movement and our actions.

When we live in this pattern of faith and obedience, God meets us as He welcomes us as co-workers in His plan of redemption. He is not ashamed to be our God, and He has prepared a city for us.

Prayer

Father God, you are with me as long as I choose to be with you. Thank you for your presence in this life and for that city yet to come. Amen.

Scripture

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

Observation

Faith is confidence that God will fulfil our hopes and certainty about things we cannot yet see. It shows us that God created all things.

By faith Abel brought a better sacrifice than Cain, and by faith Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying. It is impossible to please God without faith.

Noah built his ark by faith. God warned him about things that had never happened before. Noah believed God and was saved in the flood that condemned the rest of the world.

Application

Hebrews 11 is often described as the faith chapter, because it starts with a definition of faith and then travels through the Old Testament to highlight the famous examples of men and women of faith.

We believe that God created everything with a few words of command. He created everything that can be seen out of nothing.

This is an awesome thought. in recent years, science has found more and more things that exist in our universe. All of this just demonstrates that God is infinitely greater than we can imagine.

Some scientists try to have us believe that everything just came from nothing in a “Big Bang.” Then, after things settled down a bit, life created itself with no help from a Creator.

We believe that there is a God who made it all, and that He loves His creation.

Prayer

Lord, the whole of creation sings of your glory. Praise be to God. Amen.

Scripture

Just think how much more the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which makes us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and having insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us .

Observation

If we deliberately and will fully keep sinning after we come into the way of truth, then there is no other sacrifice available to us. Under the law of Moses, those who refused to obey were put to death. How much worse then is the punishment for those who trample on the Lord Jesus.

God has told us that he will take revenge. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

T he people addressed in this letter were ridiculed, beaten, and imprisoned. but they accepted this suffering with joy. They should endure, remembering the great joy that comes when we remain steadfast.

Application

This passage is not about christians who continue to sin after they are saved. Everybody falls, and as we grow in maturity of faith, we learn how to live according to God’s standards for holiness.

This passage is about people who turn their backs on the way of salvation. They once believed but no longer do so. In the context of the letter, it is directly about those who caved in to pressure from the Jews and returned to obeying the law, thus denying salvation by faith in Christ.

It is sad when anybody turns away from the Lord. It is even worse when they are high profile leaders in the christian community. How often have we heard the phrase, “I no longer identify as a christian.”

Jesus himself said that anyone who denies him in this life will find that He denies them at the Judgement.

This is not to say that there is no chance of redemption for such people. But it is very hard to walk away from Jesus and then to try to come back.

Prayer

Lord, please help me to stay true to you all of my life. Amen.

Scripture

And let us not neglect meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is near.

Observation

We can boldly enter the Most Holy place of Heaven because of the blood of Jesus. His death opened a way through the curtain that separated us from God. Let us go then right into God’s presence.

We must hold tightly to hope, encourage one another in love, and keep on meeting together to build one another up.

Application

Meeting together with our brothers and sisters in the Lord is a basic part of Christian living.

God has called us to be a community of faith, a people who witness together and worship together.

How can we love one another, encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens and so on, unless we actually meet together?

The church functions best when all of its members meet together in large groups and small groups. Meeting is great for worship and instruction. The smaller group is best suited for personal ministry, exhortation and fellowship.

Jesus did not minister as a “Lone Ranger” but through a band of followers whom he trained into ministry.

It is in exploring life together that we become mature in our walk with the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for your body, the church. Thank you for all of those brothers and sisters who encourage me regularly. Amen.

Scripture

When sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices

Observation

Christ cancelled the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. God’s will was for us to be made holy by the once for all sacrifice of Christ.

Under the old covenant the priests offered sacrifices again and again. but our High Priest offered himself as a sacrifice. Now he sits at the Father’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be humbled.

Now there is no need for further sacrifices because our sins have been forgiven.

Application

In A.D. 70, God allowed the Roman army to enter Jerusalem and destroy to the ground the Temple. Not one brick remained on top of another as Jesus had prophesied.

God destroyed the Temple because it was obsolete. There was no need for sacrifices any more because the perfect sacrifice had been offered.

Jesus was described as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The sins are gone. All offences are forgiven and guilt removed.

Jesus has taken away my sins forever. There is no need for me to ever offer anything back to God to atone for my sins.

As Jesus said on the cross,”It is finished.” Amen

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for being my perfect sacrifice, the once and for all time offering. Amen.

Scripture

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Observation

The old system with its law and sacrifices was a dim shadow of what was to come. The sacrifices had to be repeated year after year because they could not provide perfect cleansing.

If they did, the sacrifices would have stopped for the worshippers would have been purified once for all time.

Sacrifices did nothing to purify, they just reminded people of their sins. The blood of animals cannot take away sin .

Christ said to God,”You do not want animals or sacrifices for sin, but you have given me a body to offer.”

Application

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was imperfect. It could remind people of their sins. It could cover their sins. But it could do little to purify them from the sinful nature.

We are condemned to sin unless God changes our hearts. The animal sacrifices could not do this. But the sacrifice of Christ does.

The death of Christ on the cross demonstrates to us how much God loves us. He has given Himself up for us.

I see my Saviour on the cross dying for my sin, it makes me realise that sin is a big issue for God.

But His love also convicts me that my sin hurts Him and distresses Him. In my love for God, I do not want to hurt Him, and so my heart is changed.

Not only that, but God has given me the Holy Spirit to help me in my times of trial and temptation.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for taking away my sin and my desire to sin. Amen.

Scripture

Just as each person is destined to die once, and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.

Observation

Christ did not enter into a man-made holy place. He entered into the real one in Heaven.

He did not offer Himself over and over like the High Priest offers sacrifices year after year. No, once for all time, Christ appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death.

Each person dies once, and then faces judgement, so also Christ died once as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He will come again, not to judge sin, but to save those waiting for Him.

Application

Some religions, including the pagan religions often called the New Age Movement, teach that when we die we are reincarnated on this Earth to atone for previous sins.

The Bible says that we live once and die once. We do not come back over and over to work our way up to Heaven.

Jesus paid for our sins. If we put our trust in His sacrifice, then it makes no sense to believe that we will be reincarnated after we die.

We have been born again to a living hope, and this hope is better than being born over and over.

When we believe in Jesus and receive His salvation, then we are promised eternal life. Our bodies, which deteriorate with age and ultimately die, will be replaced with perfect bodies that neither age nor become sick. We will live with God forever.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord what a salvation you give to us in Jesus Christ! Thank you. Amen.

Scripture

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Observation

When someone leaves a will, it is effective only after the person dies. For this reason, the first covenant was put into operation with the blood of an animal.

When Moses read the commandments, he sprinkled the book of the law and the people with the blood of calves and goats. in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and everything used for worship. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

The Tabernacle, and everything in it, had to be purified with the blood of animals. But the real Tabernacle in heaven was purified with a far better sacrifice.

Application

Our salvation was purchased by the shed blood of Christ.

This is something that we can tend to forget in our nice, clean, sanitised worship. Even the celebration of communion, in which we specifically remember the body and blood of our Lord, is very well mannered.

We speak the words of atonement, but the reality rarely affects us.

Jesus Christ died for sinners. He died in a barbaric way, agonising, tortured to death.

The blood of Christ brings us forgiveness because of who He is, and not because we are in any way deserving.

Because of that death, the blood poured out for us, we are now forgiven.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, what suffering you endured for me. Thank you for laying down your life so that I can live for ever. Amen

Scripture

By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Observation

Christ is now the High Priest over all the good things that come from the covenant. He is in the perfect heavenly Tabernacle. He offered His own blood and now lives in the Tabernacle forever.

Under the old covenant, the blood of various animals could cleanse a person from various sins. But Christ has offered His own blood, a perfect sacrifice for all sins.

Christ now mediates a perfect covenant in which we receive an eternal inheritance.

Application

Under the old covenant, a sacrifice was required to cover various sins, even various natural occurrences which made a person “unclean.”

When a person sinned again, a new sacrifice was required because the blood of animals had a limited effectiveness.

But now Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, has offered His own blood to pay for our sins.

Because He is God and is perfectly good, His blood covers every sin. We don’t need to come back to God with a new sacrifice every time we transgress the law. The blood of Jesus covers it all.

While the blood of Christ has the ability to cover every person, we have to apply it to our own lives. If people want to live apart from God, and continue in their own selfish ways, God gives them that option.

To everybody who comes to Him with a repentant heart Jesus grants total forgiveness.

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for paying for my sins. Your death on the cross has set me free from the penalty of sin. Amen.