052 - Ready for Solid Food?

You pick up your Bible and one is more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on the page but it's more than eight.

Join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our own. As we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than watch the baby when he first given material nature trail. He never had anything but milk rolled around the base about you now because it's not soft like with swelling chewing well today were moving on to solid food. Are you ready today. Dorothy and were delayed lighted that you're with us again. Now getting really adds. So last time we're together. We broke off in the middle of chapter 5. It was simply a strange place to break but he got us all ready to talk about a fascinating topic. And so if you let me just one to back a second to where we were in chapter 5, and he introduces the idea of Jesus because he talked a lot about you know, God has his promise of rest force and rest is like an interesting picture for what God's ultimate pasture for us as his sheep in on the wonderful life with God, but he brings in the idea that Jesus is critical to us being able to get to that rest sees critical and so at the end of the last section in Hebrews 5 they know about verse nine he says, and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him being designated by God, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek and and we agreed that in the Jews. We didn't go why and so today we pick up that response to why well I just by way of reminder, you can or skipped over that after he talks that rested then he introduces this idea of Jesus as our high prisoner high priest, so that's as hot as a whole.

I what a priest is and what priest dies and we and we talked the left and he doesn't really explain it much when you've got you got Jewish listeners ignore high priestess, but they're not really sure what the role high priest is to get us into the place of rest with God to just introduces this whole dynamic is Jesus is our high priest got promises rest the promise remains. You don't want to miss it because of this belief, but there's Jesus right there and he doesn't explain so many introduces this character because it out because of who is does this walk on cameo appearance in the life of Abraham in Genesis and there's there's no explanation sinuses and only a couple of other places in Scripture where Melchizedek is even mentioned yet so he he's a very he's a really mysterious and unfortunately you're gonna have to wait till next week because in this section. Today I'm an interpreter.

Melchizedek in this section he stops us right in our track yeah now he's got our interest about milk his neck in Jesus and rest and passion on again. He stopped us and attractions is are you really ready for this because we have a lot to explain but it's a difficult ally.

We want to say hello.

He he stops the four progress Mrs. let's pause for second and so after he says milk is from last week and Stan today.

He says in verse 11. So about this. We have much to say that it's hard hard laying sent you become dull of hearing, sort of talk about that problem. Are you ready for this and are you ready for this listers were to take a day just to kind a step back for second before lunch.

Back in the milk is because it's really great. Well I do talk about why we become dull of hearing, and what the remedy for that is so, so this is pause along with the author and say yeah are we ready for this was just type it and will CM it sounds very confusing to want to read for starting a letter about this about him. We have much to say and it's hard to explain. Since you have become dull of hearing, for though by this time not to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk solid food for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he's a child but solid food is for the mature, those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

I really like the ESV translation us here to you not.

I really dislike about King James every time he says solid food.

Here they translated to meet me, but this is a good translation. I really like this because the contrast is between baby food, baby food, which is predigested and mashed up right and really not bad.

Will you and even I remember we were looking at first Peter allowable garlic church and in first Peter two. He says you need to. You actually need to yearn like newborn to needy to yearn for that pure spiritual milk, so it's not is not bad in the right context, but he's saying you should've gone past that you should be on solid food. Now getting into solid food.

Melchizedek are you on solid food right so that's was challenging us with an and he tells us in his opening section, what keeps us from being able to have become dull of hearing. Now if you are, we would save the state hard of hearing with the edge has gone off your hearing when he missing when you're listening to people talk, you're missing some really subtle cues that would lead you into a deeper understanding more like Jesus says he was ears to hear right here I'm here. Are you is the sound going in, but are you listening is an extra doing something inside because we still use that expression it when anyone you're not the other penetrate the mind or the heart way through and that's, what the writer is he so he's saying you sort of lost your edge on that by now if you just at the timeline for believers really are to be teachers yourselves, but I'm questioning whether were rated into this deeper stuff, you know, should we go back to the basic principles of the oracles of God when Oracle system plural word for logos for his word, but the things that God has to say so doing back to the basics and is nothing wrote basics again the ABCs. The food affects the first things the starting things, but you should be past that now so I'm I got to spend my time right now. He says talking about the ABCs again, or should we go forward and are you ready for going for so this is interesting because that's one things I like about this ESV translation of verse 13 says, everyone who lives on milk is unskilled unskilled word of God. Inexperienced or untried. They've never exercise muscle like an infants like pre-walking baby is inexperienced and walking they've never had exercise those muscles and they don't have the coordination or the strength, but it is a tragedy when past the point where a child should be walking. They simply don't because they'd rather just sit still so know he saying it. Milk is appropriate for babies but there's a point at which in your growth naturally healthy growth will press you past that challenge yourself guilt to go past so I look what he says is an solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment by constant practice. Are you using your mind, are you thinking you're interpreting the word.

Are you wrestling over right chewing on it. Are you actually putting effort into that or is it just in Washington or Washington right and how do you develop a habit right by constant practice tests and practice so he saying if you'd been doing this constantly than what were getting coming to next you would have muscles that are developed to deal right to chew on. So they open the question is single and questions are you ready for this program like the faculty says discernment trained by constant practice that were trained in recognizing the Greek it looks like there were gymnasium right so it's it's really this place were you do this training exercise.

You exercise you so you ready for the season opens a question are you ready for this.

And then he jumps into chapter 6 says well we could go back to the ABCs or we can go forward.

Let's keep thinking because we talk about solid food. So let's press on right leave behind those elementary things, not because they're not important and not because they don't matter right but because you are ready for something that challenges your thinking will challenge you to change the way you live right differently so incoming in the chapter 6 he says okay salty. What, let's go forward and how he says in chapter 6, verse one. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity and not laying again a foundation is not bad stuff but not laying again in what writing here a foundation of number one repentance from dead works number two faith toward God and of instruction about washings, it's number three of laying on of hands. It's number four about the resurrection from the dead December 5 and eternal judgment number 60 those are all good things, and those are things that we are to be versed in an no waste on things we have to understand that's right with those of the basics. That's were we start our walk with Christ and understanding biblically. So we have to have it down. But when I can go back to that today is what he say that when I can flush that out again and there's no reason coming up in second I can go through that again and and so he at this point he saying let's go forward. So verse three and so this will do if God permits. Okay, let's press some.

Let's not be satisfied sitting on our rumps. The right express on 30 and Paul actually speaks about that same idea in Philippians 3 races, I press on to lay that for which God has layer Christ Jesus is laid hold. So there is this foreword fixed on growing up Christ to go forward and so for our benefit. We actually get to understand this Melchizedek mystery is all about is going to go forward but before he gets there. He's going to say you we could go back we could we could do back and talk to Dr. Holmes but you know what that would only serve to convince those who already know this stuff, but they sort of wandered away from it. That would really be the only thing that works here is if we want to make an appeal to someone who doesn't look like the really latched on to the gospel.

So next is going to go and are you missing an uneven best I can be very worthwhile to go back to the ABCs for people who heard it, and I wanted away not going to be real productive anyway so that's why verse four he segues into this ceases look at it. It's impossible. In the case of those who have once been enlightened, like using sure they been enlightened have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away is impossible to restore them again to repentance.

This is a hard passage. It is our this is a hard passage you have to camp here for minute but I tell you he saying is because he's he saying we should go back to the ABCs, but for the case of these people is not gonna change any right so were knocking to go back to the ABCs for their benefit, but is what he tells us about these people.

That's really interesting about you know, and it causes a lot of consternation for people saying what is this me as a believer can lose my salvation like so it's difficult to interpret in wells. It is difficult but we don't really understand because we are not reading this in Greek and we don't have a working understanding that these things that the writer is talking about. These are all things that God has done for those who have accepted his offer of salvation God hasn't done it. So he's going to paint this argument, saying you know if you have received what God has done for you, then it is impossible to become unsafe because you're not going to accidentally fall out of the lifeboat right right right right so these people were exposed to the gospel but like he was in before they went in one ear and out the other didn't really plant like they didn't really latched on right and so in a real sense if he goes back to cover. The ABCs is not going to help the 40 been exposed and he uses a great metaphor when we get to verse seven a really good verse seven you were to chart now.

I'm glad you're usually not for what check she sounds familiar to us, these people for the land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those whose forsake it was cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles. It's worthless and near to being cursed, and it's and is to be burned so saying what these people have the rain or they they had the good stuff from God showered on them and all they produced was weeds and not anything productive. So if we water him again with the ABCs of the fundamentals gospel is just not going to make it and get better. They're going to return more weeks so you know if our if our goal here is to help people learn for themselves how to crack into a passage like this.

There are some things here besides looking up those word meanings in the actual understanding that tenses that are used to describe what God is done for us. If you look at verse 778 there are some things here that actually harken back to the garden. Harking back at creation weeds talking about blessing and cursing. He's talking about thorns and thistles he's talking about cultivation and crops cultivated crop in order to bear fruit right in thorns and thistles first show up in Scriptures as an effect of the fall selling your garden thorns and thistles are the things that are in opposition to fruitfulness and rife health rights. He saying that those for whom that rain has fallen in all that has been produced is the thorns and thistles, that is the opposite of the fruit that God intends evidence that they have not actually participated in the activity of the holy exactly. So if you see someone's been hanging around church for a long time, but they look like a tall weed woman you know porn more gospel and you may not have much effect because they've already heard what you probably are telling him again. So that's was just sitting right here. He says I suspect we could spend our time on the ABCs, but is not can be persuasive on this. People reminds me of the sewer parable that I was going to go ahead. You have different hospitality's of soil right and in the seed falls on and you get weeds and settlement sums die so it's kind of a context of how fertile soil is for the gospel. So he saying these people demonstrate because of the weeds that they become, you know, if we go over the gospel again and secondly different, so I'm looking to go there right now because we can't save them again exact, but it also makes me think of the parable of the wheat and the tender deli Jesus was saying, you know now as we and the tears I weave in the weeds are to grow up together and don't you go trying to pull out the we write that the harvester will come at the right time and take out the week you let them grow up together because we can't tell might look to less like someone is weed so you know those account of the two directions that we in responding to this passage might go we might go around looking at people got is that we know the spine of the gospel of God's not working his life right well maybe not. Maybe you can't car and I see the writer of the letter here is the same and in verse nine that we speak this way you can your guys we feel sure that everything's things that belong to salvation so he's reassuring them even though they might have doubts about their salvation. I'm sure because I see a good crop. I see you. In fact, his good crop is in verse 10, you know, God is not unjust so as to overlook your work in the love that you've shown service Saints as you do so he's basically saying you don't look like a weed.

In fact, you look like something I productive because I'm so love and surveys evidence of salvation right evidence of regeneration.

We talk about that were gonna change the person's choices cannot not. I don't think you guys are. These are these weeds. We just talked about. I think you I think your good material for us to move forward in this mystery about Jesus our high priest, because I think your good material. Let's do it in God's not going overlook the fact that he seeing regenerate kind of outcomes in your life so verse 11 and we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end. What a great picture of that productivity.

That fruitfulness is full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Now he's really winding down and set us up or walking to their heads and look at this mountain yeah okay so there's something here we this passage is all about growing up maturity right and and he's used either mature or maturity a whole bunch of times and then a couple of times here in verse eight, and then in verse 11, he talks about the and what comes from the same root word as maturity as the troll completion and so she's talking about the and of a process becoming all that you are intended to be, so we are going to push on our process not be sluggish, but it is that it's a closing breath.

He has verse 12. That always intrigued me was, you know we want to press on toward that hope which by the way is something you don't see in people who are not regenerate the not pressing on right hope right Christ coming in. All I can stuff soon to become stuck.

But, he says, but you need to be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises and ran right here when he says his word promises. Ding ding ding ding.

He's really he's ringing a gigantic billiard memory talked back in chapter 4. Think it was about the promise of God's rest remains and we can miss it. This is, this promises with this P word promises going be like a thread that moved its way through all the people of Israel central in the next chapter. Very central berries and Jesus is key to this promise happening in Quito the life of Abraham is going be a lot of things. So God promises rest and let's talk about that promise. He says let's talk about that promise.

And if that promise is going to come to fruition. Do you have hope in that promise.

You really understand. He's talking about. So be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises and in you know in just a second. He's going to introduce our prime example of someone who did the Old Testament so easy as this would help which is a couple of times in the next chapter and so probably we should take just a second here talk about hope help because we all think.

I hope I helped write.

Wishful thinking is not that biblical hope is not that it is a concrete expectation that God will do what he said he would do even though I can't see it yet and so he says I want you, the writer says I what you have, to press forward with the same earnestness so that you will have the full assurance of that hope completely it so strongly stated this word hope in Greek means it's it's a full sure is a done deal.

It's a dendrites it's a it's a concrete reality future reality that will happen is just no doubt about it has nothing to do whether you kind of get your emotions tied up in Cisco have to have that hope these is a full assurance so it's like yours is future rent it's going to happen is that you, the fruition is the fulfillment is the Taylor's of God's promise to write us right that's were all headed. That's where everything is all about.

He says I want you to have a full assurance that reality of that future rent is actually there. So if that's your concrete help and don't be sluggish. Yeah right there and be imitators image. Those who through faith and patience and healing God and enduring even when you can't see the reality right inherit the promises and it'll take us several chapters to get there but when he talks about faith later on. And he talks about more people than just an expert from a talk about will say you know they they had this faith, which basically informed them and persuaded them that they can put their trust in that hope and and it will happen in faith is the thing that puts them there is an persuasive sent as opposed to the Israelites came. The promised land and their obstinate, they basically said Lala law fingers in her years, you can can rice snowboarding in our minds up when I can listen but this is that this is exactly opposite.

We have put our trust in the fact that this will happen the way I colloquially tells the people as I say, you know God's God's promise of what he has for us in rest or the day of judgment. All the stuff. Colloquially, I say. It's like there's a day on the cosmic calendar right that's or they got is already taken. A red pen and written his name on there and it will happen and it's never going to change, and there's nothing we can do about here we go, reproaching that so we place our hope on that day because God is written his name on that as well so it's going to happen so so if that's where you're at is a believer in you and you're going with this. Anyone know about this high priest guy in this Melchizedek guy and how Jesus figures into us coming to God's promise of rest and be imitators who do we need to be imitators of to understand the dynamic of placing that full assurance of hope in what's gonna happen. Who is the guy in the next chapter after the next section. In our next getting the other. It's gonna be Abraham. Abraham, the man of faith who the Scripture tells us again and again. Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned he was righteous and couldn't see.

He believed God, and so will dig into that whole lot more next week, but you can think about that we can read ahead if you want. Well, okay, so let me give you passage so Lord talks a great deal Abraham a man of faith and especially from about verses 17 to 22. If you focus on on on those you will come to find out exactly what it was. Abraham believed yielded God from reckoning of righteousness is promise yeah so yeah teaser I'm going to sponsor it. So I just love love love that passage and I love Abraham so Abram and God promised Abraham a solid concrete promise we'll talk about the next week and he put his faith in the promise and said okay and put my hope in what you're saying got a mom aim and my sites in that direction.

He faltered a little bit but but as you look at the narrative, but he places trust in that.

And God said that's good enough for me that's good enough for me and then from that point on he had to exercise patience in order to save. I put my trust in what God can do. I continue to put my trust today and tomorrow. The day after that and what is he putting his trust in the last word in this section right here in verse 12 is from the promise of God.

I think that's what he gets down to it did with the Israelites in the desert, do you believe that what God promised what God said in his word.

Do you believe it will happen or do you say now giving more evidence God and maybe that agreement and in on so God took test with them when they complain in the desert said. I told us to take out their and you're saying I can't. That takes us back into that persuadable frame of mind and heart tonight and you can say that is that hardened unbelief.

Nothing you can do or say will change my mind. That's a hard heart. Yeah so you know are you dull of hearing right how your hearing is listening to God and believing what he says are you willing to put your trust and hope in what he says is coming to fruition. Yeah. So in another way to it's like when you know when I used to live overseas.

I took trains to places and you don't you don't have any confidence were the trains going to take you unless you trust with the sign of the trains yeah but I you know if if you don't trust at that site, you can climb the transit well not really sure they meant there was no figment there you climb on impatiently wait for the arrival of that sense that's what Abraham did and a very large sense. That's what we do as we received God's verbal promises to us for rest and in the process of waiting. That's when we grow up and that's when the maturity begins to take root. When we begin to apply the word of God in the journey from here to there. Until that day when we see God do what he said he would do exactly and how does Jesus figure into this problem as well. This is what's going for the wonderful way but this is a teaser. Let me tickle you with this in the beginning of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. He said for all the promises of God, find their yes in Jesus. What listen that again. It's great for all the promises of God, find their yes in Jesus, so everything got promises to us rest and for life with him and all say yes and the personages how an astonishing statement. Well, you have to come back next time. Look into that is going to tell us exactly how Jesus fits in how Abraham can be a model for Sonoma and how Melchizedek gives us great insight and your high priest, but you gotta start exercising your muscles now grasp so were out of time on Jim and we want you to come back as it gets us.

It's been fun already enjoys again on more than okay