Jump Start # 3117

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue after peace with all men, and after the sanctification without which no one will see God.”

Our verse today is packed with three important principles. First, God wants us to be a people of peace. Peace, not just among us or within our fellowship, but with all. These words sound familiar to the Romans passage, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Peace is to be pursued. Chase it. Find it. Embrace it. Second, we must strive for sanctification or holiness. God wants us to be a holy people. Peter tells us that we are to be holy like He is. Third, we can see the face of God. Revelation 22 makes that promise. But to do that, we must embrace peace and holiness. We must stop pushing each other’s buttons. We must not kick the hornet’s nest on social media. Stop looking for a dog fight and begin building bridges to unite people.

There are so many thoughts that we could explore from this one passage. But there is even a much larger picture for us to see. Our verse is one of a series of  absolutes found in Hebrews.

• It is impossible to come to repentance if we crucify Christ to ourselves (Heb 6:4)
• It is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18)
• It is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sins (Heb 10:4)
• It is impossible to please God if we do not have faith (Heb 11:6)
• It is impossible to see God if we do not have peace and holiness (Heb 12:4)

There have been times in history where people have said things were impossible, only to find out that they were wrong. At one time it was thought  that is was impossible for humans to fly. Some even boasted, “If God wanted man to fly he would have put wings on his arms.” The Wright brothers and others proved the impossible was possible. It was believed for a long time that it was impossible to go to the moon. Neil Armstrong proved that was wrong. It was tragically thought that the Titanic was impossible to sink. Hundreds went to their death that cold April night, long ago.

But there is something special about these Hebrew absolutes.

First, it is God who says that it is impossible. God is always right. And, if God said it can’t be done, it can’t be done. These principles are Heaven based and from the perspective of God.

Second, these things involve the character of God and the nature of eternity. A person can live without faith and try to prove that it is possible to please God without faith, but that person will find out too late that he was wrong. Climbing mountains, sailing seas and rocketing towards the moon are one thing, but they are not eternal. Once we cross the doorway to death, there is no coming back. There is no changing our minds. There is no do overs.

Third, these divine absolutes establish a priority with God. These are important. If we mess these things up, we destroy our eternity. We ought to put an emphasis upon these things. These absolutes ought to be near the top of the list for us.

Fourth, the opposites of these absolutes bring great hope and promise to us. It is possible to repent and be forgiven if we come to Christ. Since God cannot lie, what He says remains true. Always. The blood of animals cannot take away our sins, but the blood of Jesus did. If we believe, we can please God. We can put a smile on the face of God. If we pursue peace and holiness, we can see God. We CAN. It’s possible.

There are things that we understand are physically impossible for many of us. I cannot swim the English Chanel. I know I can’t. I’d not make it. I know I can’t climb Mt. Everest. I wouldn’t try. I know I can’t. I can’t drive a golf ball 400 yards. Even with the wind at my back, I just can’t do that. Physical abilities limits us. Age limits us. Knowledge limits us. The amount of money we have can limit us. But these eternal principles are not bound by age, physical ability or finances. You can please God. You can see God’s face. You can do right once again. It is possible.

Divine Absolutes—they are there for a reason.

Roger

Jump Start # 1047

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

  This passage tells us three things:

• Peace and sanctification—pursue it. Chase it. Go after it. Find it. Peace means getting along with others. It is not compromising convictions, looking the other way at wrongs, but not being so pushy, opinionated, stubborn that you cause trouble with everyone. Some folks are like sandpaper. They are hard to get along with and they pride themselves in being that way. Not God’s people. They want peace. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peace makers.” Many enjoy peace. Everyone wants peace. God’s people help MAKE peace. Sometimes, to have peace, a person must just keep their mouth closed. That’s hard for some. They always have to have the last word, and that final word, too often is a dig that irritates things. Pursue peace. Being a senior citizen doesn’t grant you the right to be a grump. Pursue peace.

• Sanctification means holiness. God is holy. We are to be holy. Holy in thought. Holy in behavior. Pursue holiness. That starts with thinking pure thoughts. Impure is not always sexual. Impure can be just mean and ugly things about others. When a conversation begins, “I probably shouldn’t say this…” Well then don’t. Pursue sanctification. Don’t blend in, be transformed. Don’t conform, pursue holiness.

• Without which—without peace…without sanctification, no one will see the Lord. Seeing Jesus. To see Jesus, you must be in Heaven, that’s where He’s at. Revelation promises that “we will see His face.” Without peace, there is no Heaven. Without sanctification, Heaven’s not going to happen.

I love that expression, “see the Lord.” Can you imagine? Jesus, the one you have studied for years. Jesus, the one that you can quote His words. Jesus, the theme of all those hymns you sang. Jesus, the one you’ve tried to imitate and follow. Jesus, the one you love. Jesus, the one you’ve talked to every day. See Him. See Jesus.

See Jesus. Everything will be alright once we see Jesus. All those questions really won’t matter that much once you see Jesus. All the sorrow we have carried won’t matter, once we see Jesus. The trials of our journey won’t matter much, once we see Jesus.

Seeing Jesus is our motivation. Seeing Jesus is what we are after. If we can only make it to see Jesus. It doesn’t matter how lonely we are, we will see Jesus. It doesn’t matter how hard things have been, soon we will see Jesus.

Seeing Jesus takes the fear out of death. Seeing Jesus makes us want to rush through this world so we can be with Him. Seeing Jesus will keep our priorities in check. Seeing Jesus thrills us and makes worship come alive.

Isaiah cried, in his vision, My eyes have seen the king. John, in Revelation, fell like a dead man, when He turned and saw Jesus. The Lord who has blessed you all these years. The Lord who has answered so many of your prayers. The Lord who has led you and opened doors for you. The Lord who has loved you and thought of you so often. The Lord who forgave you and gave you another chance. The Lord who invites you to dwell with Him forever. It is the Lord that we will see.

That thought makes the day seem that much brighter. It pushes us that much more. Seeing Jesus. Without peace and sanctification, it cannot happen. So work on my relationships. So work on my heart. We have an invitation to see the Lord, we do not want to miss that.

Roger