Gtcotr/ss100619
According to the Hebrew calendar, we are in The 7thDay of Awe with the Day of Atonement set to begin at sundown this coming Wednesday evening. Allow me to catch us Gentiles up a little on what God ordered and expected from every one of His children under the Law of Moses. The yearly observances, which we know as Jewish Feasts, were not suggestions in the Bible but rather they were holy and sacred commands. God was not then and is not now a “take it or leave it” kind of God. He was and He is very serious about what we must do in order to please Him. There are definite, non-negotiable requirements for living at peace with God and entering into His heaven when we die.
Under the Law of Moses God required His children to observe a Feast of Trumpets marking God’s New Year, each year. It is believed that New Year’s day commemorates the creation of the universe and celebrates God as the King of all creation. On this day, the 1st day of Tishri on the Hebrew calendar, the Jews believe God writes each name in either one of two books: The Book of Life or The Book of Death, depending on how you have lived during the past year.It can be sobering to realize God is keeping records,and that:
Today, your name is written in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death.
Since Moses, the Rabbis have been teaching that beginning on New Year’s Day, also known as Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah, (Head of the year; The Feast of the Blowing of the Trumpets), everyone has 10 days in which to repent and return to the Lord and do good works as a sign of change, in hopes God will change His mind about them and seal their names in the Book of Life. During those 10 Days of Awe, people have an opportunity to please God and be saved from death.
On the 10th Day of Awe, at sundown, begins The Day of Atonement when God seals the books and either you’re lost, or you’re saved. On that day the High Priest of Israel was required to cast lots between 2 goats to determine which one God would accept as a sacrifice and which one would become the scapegoat. The priest killed the sacrifice and entered into the Holy of Holies to offer the blood to God for the sins of the people whose names were written in the Book of Life. Then the High Priest laid his hands on the scapegoat, confessed all the sins of the people over him, transferring their sins to the goat, and drove the goat out into the desert.
The Day of Atonement is the day on which the children of God were closer to God than at any other time in their lives. As I said earlier, the Day of Atonement for this year will begin at sundown on Wednesday of this week. But right now, according to the Jewish teachings, we are still in the Days of Awe, a time set aside to reconsider our lives, repent of our sins and return to God before it’s too late.
Each year, from Moses to Jesus, God commanded His children to observe this yearly event with all the respect it deserved. These feasts were dress rehearsals and reminders which pointed to the day when Jesus, Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the World, would become both our sacrifice and our scapegoat and subsequently enter into the very throne room of God in the heavenlies and cleanse His followers from their sins.
Under the Law of Moses you had 10 days each year to make up your mind to obey and follow God’s will. Today, you have one life in which to make your decision to believe and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Once the door to this life closes for you, your eternity will be sealed. Today the door is still open and thankfully you still have a chance to be saved.
So, in respect to the current days of awe this year; and to the grace of God which has made a way for us to be delivered from the penalty of death through Jesus Christ our Lord, let’s talk a little this morning about sin. Specifically, “Besetting Sin”.
Hebrews 12
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12 comes on the heels of Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. Hebrews 11 gives such great accounts of the giants of faith in the Bible. Men and women like Rahab and Gideon and David and Samson. Those heroes who won great victories and delivered multitudes because they trusted God and chose to obey Him. These faith giants are inspirations to us all …
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we are also surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight …
It can be difficult to successfully win the race of life when you’re carrying too much. God wants you to unburden yourself and put aside those weights that slow you down and make you inefficient and ineffective in this race. Some of these Weights are heavy burdens of:
1. The Past
a. It doesn’t have to be sin to slow you down … It can just be a weight … Can you imagine running a race carrying a barbell?
b. Hurts; disappointments (in yourself and in others)
c. Losses – whether caused or experienced … heavy weights
d. Regrets – The haunting, “I should or should not have’s”.
2. The Present
a. Distractions
b. If the devil can’t make you bad, he will try to make you busy
c. Some of you are attempting to carry so many worries and concerns that you have no time to sit at the feet of Jesus and enjoy His company … Just like Martha.
d. Heavy minded - Over worked - Under-appreciated - Left behind
3. The Future
a. Proverbs 3:5-7 encourages us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and God will direct our paths.
b. You may have to think ahead but you can only take one step at a time.
c. Don’t allow the future, or fear of the future, to rob you of your peace and joy in the journey.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us …
Beset = hanging around; stand close; well encircled skillfully surrounding
Besetting Sins
These skillfully surrounding sins trip us more easily because they are:
1. Temperamental Sins
a. Anger/Aggression
b. Laziness
c. Selfishness
d. Greed
e. Negativity/Pessimism
f. Gossiping
g. Critical/Judgmental
h. Contentious
2. Occupational Sins
a. Working away from home or with the opposite sex
b. Stealing from or in the workplace
c. Lying; Cheating; Taking Bribes; Insider Information
3. Old Life Sins
a. Premarital or Extramarital Sex
b. Illegal Drugs
c. Racial Prejudice
d. Hatred towards your enemies
4. Circumstantial Sins
a. Lack of money
b. Deteriorating relationships
c. Failing business
Hebrews 12
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Patience = Endurance –
• How can we gain the endurance needed to lose these weights for Jesus and defeat temptations to sin?
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of ourfaith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
