Opening Illustration: Glitter in My Hair.  My daughters have this ability to make me do things I don’t want to do. Last year, we were on vacation, and my girls received a “princess makeover”. Well, at the end of the makeover, they get glitter sprinkled on their hair. I don’t know where the idea came from, but I found myself getting peer pressured into my hair getting some glitter on it. It was vacation, so I gave in. Only to find out that the “glitter lady” dumped way more on my head than she was supposed to! Do you know what’s worse than glitter? Nothing! It goes everywhere and never goes away! This glitter completely took over my life for the rest of the day. It was everywhere – and I got some looks from other people that I deserved to get.

There are certain things in life that are like glitter. Their one purpose is to take you over and make you miserable. Those things change the definition of success. They make you believe that what they are promising will get you where you think you want to be, but it never happens. They make you believe that more of – whatever you are chasing – will satisfy you. That if we can consume as much as possible, then we will have lived a good life. But that’s the wrong definition of success. I like how Charles Spurgeon put it:  “If by excessive labor, we die before the average age of man, worn out in the Master’s service, then glory be to God, we shall have so much less of earth and so much more of Heaven… It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed.” -- Charles Spurgeon”. Your job, as a Christ-follower, is to let Jesus consume every part of your life, so that you can pour out your life for Him. The only thing that should take over your life is Jesus.

Today, we are going to look at a passage that shows us what it means for Jesus to start infiltrating our lives. So, here is your challenge as we look at God’s Word: Let Jesus infiltrate every part of your life.  We are in our current Sermon Series: Hebrews.  We are down to the final few weeks. Come expectant every week. Read Hebrews 13:1-8. Pray. 

I want to go ahead and give you a heads up. This sermon is disjointed. What the writer of Hebrews does is pick 4 key areas of our lives and shows us what it means to let Jesus infiltrate them – and there might be one that surprises you. So, we it’s going to feel like we are jumping from topic to topic because that’s why the verses do. Before we read verse one, let me remind you something. It’s important to remember that when we are reading our Bibles, the chapter numbers and verse numbers, as well as the headings were added later on. When the writer of Hebrews wrote this letter he didn’t number every line of his letter. While it’s helpful for us to know where to locate certain parts of a book of the Bible, the downside is that we can lose the flow of the letter.

Last week, we ended with worship. Our response to the unshakable ground we stand on because of the unshakable Jesus is to worship. I mentioned last week that worship includes singing, but it includes a lot more. So where we pick up in chapter 13 is a continuation of that response of worship. All of chapter 13 is a response of worship. The only way to live out what these verses say is through the power of the Holy Spirit. The only way to live out these verses is through a full understanding of the gospel of Jesus. And these verses must be lived out in the context of each other’s lives – which is where we start: Be a church family driven by love for Jesus.

1) Be a church family driven by love for Jesus. (vs. 1-3) As of late, there has been a growing hunger here at TCSH. I know a lot of you are feeling it too because you’ve told me so. It’s been growing since late summer last year. There’s this desire for more of Jesus – a willingness and desire to step into the presence of Jesus. I’ve been hungry for more.

That collective hunger has started to change the culture of our church family. You may not have articulated it, but innately, we all know that we need each other’s hunger. When you see your brother or sister-in-Christ hungry for God, it creates an appetite in you. Have you ever had someone tell you what they are craving to eat and then it hits you too? Chocolate Ice Cream and Peanut Butter gets me every time. Hunger for God is contagious – and we are seeing it as a church. And here’s what’s next for us: When you get a bunch of people together that are all hungry for Jesus, it changes the way we see each other. The Church at Spring Hill was never designed to be a collection of individuals. The Church at Spring Hill is meant to be a church family. The local church is not merely a collection of individuals. The local church is God’s children all running to their Father together. We are to be there for each other. Illustration: Grace Church Bounce House Deflates: One mom after the other was grabbing any kid they could see! It didn’t matter what kid belonged to who, they were all looking out for each other. Encourage each other. Pick up each other.

So, what does that look? What does verse 1 say? ¹Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Do you remember how Jesus described His family in Matthew 12? Jesus is teaching in a crowded room and his mother and brothers are outside the house wanting to talk with Him. When He founds this out, what does he say? ⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. ⁵⁰ Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” Jesus was emphasizing just how important the spiritual bond that exists between us really is. The bond exists – for those of who believe in Jesus – but what does it say we are supposed to do with that bond? Keep on loving each other. If we want to keep on loving each other, then we have to start loving each other. The only way to fulfill the command to keep loving each other is if we start loving each other. A church family is committed to one another. We are called to hold on to a loving commitment to each other. Church has become such a preference-based experience that we forget our calling to each other. We have to be a family that has a love for each other that is driven by Jesus’ love for us and our love for Him. Now, that doesn’t mean everyone in the church is going to be your best friend. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone in the church will be your friend. But it does mean that you can that the person across from the aisle is a soul that loves Jesus – and there is no thicker bond than that. Jesus has to infiltrate our church family – we are going to need each other in the coming days.

he writer of Hebrews gives one more way a church family is driven by love: Love your brothers and sisters, even if it doesn’t benefit you. In verses 2 and 3, both the strangers and the prisoners are most likely referring to Christians. ² Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³ Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Travel was a lot different in biblical times than it is today. Christians relied on other Christians when traveling. There weren’t any Hampton Inns. And Christians would often get thrown into prison because they were Christian. Both of these groups were dependent on their fellow Christians to help them. We need to show care to those who may not return the favor. 

Those first three verses are outwardly focused. We need to make sure that Jesus is infiltrating the relationships around us. Now, the writer of Hebrews makes a quick left turn. He begins to talk about how Jesus should infiltrate our own lives. And he tackles two big struggles that we still face today: The marriage bed and money. Here’s where we go next: Enjoy the gift of your marriage.

2) Enjoy the gift of your marriage. (vs. 4) I stared a lot at verse 4 this week. What does verse 4 say? ⁴ Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. I prayed a lot about verse 4 this week. The more I stared and the more I prayed, the more I felt like it was important to address. Also, the more I stared and prayed, the more I realized that there are 8,000 things we could address in this specific topic. And I can’t address them all. But our job, when we are studying God’s Word, is to look at the context – what is happening around the verse or verses you are reading? And do you remember the context of this verse? Worship. That our response to the unshakable Jesus is to let Him infiltrate every part of our lives, which includes the marriage bed. Now, I think for a lot of Christians, the concepts of the marriage bed and worship do not intersect. (When I say “marriage bed,” you all know what I am talking about right? In know we have all age groups in here, so I’m not trying to force you parents into a Sunday afternoon conversation that you didn’t want to have… yet).

Worship comes from what? Worship is a response to faith in God’s promises. We worship because we believe in the good promises and gifts He’s given to us today and the promises and gifts He will give us in the future. Do you remember Hebrews 11? Faith shows the reality of what we hope for. Faith is contentment in God’s plan. We lack faith – we sin -- when we do not take God for His word and trust in rest in His promises. Let’s put that context into verse 4: The attitudes and the actions of our marriage bed are rooted in the contentment that comes from faith in God’s promises. Now, let’s get practical with this. For some of you, you are getting nervous. And some of you can’t wait for what’s next! Where God has placed physical desires in our lives, God has also given us God-honoring ways for those desires to be fulfilled. God gave us hunger. And God also gave us bacon! (Amen?!) God gave us tiredness. God also gave us sleep. And while not everyone has this, God gave us a desire for physical intimacy and the gift of marriage.

Here’s the problem with the last one: We’ve let the world infiltrate our thinking about the marriage bed. We’ve let the steady drips of a culture that values “self” above all else to change the way we see our marriage bed. What the world describes as spice is actually decay. Because of that, we have a hard time connecting faith, worship, purity, and honor with the marriage bed. The worst perspective we can have with the marriage bed is a selfish perspective. Physical intimacy is not something to take but something to give. The solution is to see the marriage bed as a gift from God. Faith is what allows a husband and wife to enjoy this gift without feeling dirty. Faith is what allows past sins to be forgiven and not carry guilt into the marriage bed. Faith is what allows the marriage bed to be place where desires are met.

Husbands, I want to say two things to you:

1. Have a biblically informed perspective on your marriage bed.
   • If you have no idea what that looks like, email me and I’ll point you in a good direction.
2. Pursue your wife’s heart.
   • If you have no idea what that looks like, email me!
   • Here’s your first step to pursuing your wife’s heart:
     • Take her out to dinner, put your phone on silent and in your pocket, hold her hand, look her in the eye, ask her the question, “How are you doing?” – and then listen to what she says!
   • You can’t lead your wife’s heart until you pursue your wife’s heart.
     • And if you are serious about your marriage bed, then you’ll be serious about leading your wife’s heart.

Ok, some of you can exhale now…You’ve been holding your breath through that entire second point. At some point, we are going to come back and focus on marriage – there’s so much more I want to say. But much like the writer of Hebrews, we change gears to money! Let’s briefly touch on verses 5 and 6. Here’s what we see next: Let God take care of you. 

3) Let God take care of you. (vs. 5-6) Verses 5 and 6 rooted in the same understanding as verse 4, that is the understanding that we must trust in God’s provision and promises. Faith shows the reality of what we hope for. Faith is contentment in God’s plan. And just like it shapes the perspective on our marriage, it also shapes the perspective on money. Look at verses 5: ⁵ Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Why can you be satisfied in what you have? Because you know the character of God. You know you serve a God that will never fail you and will never abandon you. Yes, sin will bring about hurt and pain and loneliness, but God still remains. You can be satisfied with God because you can trust God will satisfy you. In Christ, you have everything you need. There is nothing this world can give you that improves on the satisfaction found in Jesus. 

Two quick things about being satisfied in Christ:

• Being satisfied with what you have doesn’t mean you can’t obtain more.
  • Building wealth isn’t bad.
  • Not trusting with God with the wealth you have is bad.
• Contentment is not an excuse to be lazy.
  • God wants you to work, God wants to provide through your labor.

When you look at Jesus, and say, “You have everything I need,” it produces a confidence. Look at verse 6: ⁶ So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” When life goes up and down, do you go with it? When something goes wrong, does it feel like the end of the world? And then, you’re right back up the next day? Christians don’t live their lives on a pogo stick. Illustration: That one kid in the bounce house. Let me go back to the whole bounce house thing. Do you know my favorite kid in the bounce house? The one laying down. Every other kid is going crazy and there’s the one kid – just chilling in the middle of it. That’s same mindset we should have. The world is going to bounce us around, but we can look around go, “I trust God.” True confidence in Christ creates stability in world of turmoil. 

The challenge of these 8 verses is to see if Jesus is infiltrating every part of our lives. To see if Jesus is in our relationships, to see if Jesus is in our marriage, to see if Jesus is in our money, and finally, to see if Jesus remains as the truth in your life. We end with this: Don’t deviate from the truth that never changes. 

4) Don’t deviate from the truth that never changes. (vs. 7-8) Look at verses 7 and 8: ⁷ Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hear me clearly on this: Jesus should infiltrate your church and your church leaders. If I fail to teach God’s Word, then please go find another church. My job isn’t to bring new ideas to you. My job is to show you God’s truth and how it applies to your life. Here’s why: Jesus never changes. The Gospel never changes. The Word of God never changes. God’s truth never changes.

We have seen the fastest deterioration of our culture in the past 5 years than we’ve ever seen before. But you know what? God’s Word hasn’t changed. Just because our culture is changing doesn’t mean Jesus needs to change. Jesus never needs to be replaced, added to, or taken away from. If you try to latch on to anything other than His truth, you are going to be so far away from Jesus before you can even look up. Illustration: Birthday tradition of releasing a balloon. I have no idea why we have this tradition, but on each of my kids’ birthdays, we release a balloon in the air. I wish I could tell you a cool reason behind it, but we just do it. We sit there and watch the balloon go a bunch of different directions until it is eventually out of sight. The moment you let go of God’s truth is the moment you will become a casualty of where the wind blows, only to soon to be out of sight. Don’t deviate from the truth that never changes.

Here’s the final question: Does Jesus have every part of your life? Our God is a wholistic God. Our God wants every part of you. You need God in every part of your life. For some of you, it’s time to change the definition of success. This world isn’t about consuming as much as you can. It’s about being consumed with Christ.

GOSPEL PRESENTATION

Let’s be a church family that let’s Jesus infiltrate every part of our lives. And let’s live for Jesus, every part of us. As Charles Spurgeon said, “It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus”. Let’s pray.

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