LET US GO ON

Hebrews 6:1-3 

Introduction: You cannot have a true salad without lettuce.  The summer I was ten years old, we stay with my Grandmother and Grandfather Moore.  They were simple folks in the mountains of West Virginia.  My Granddad only had his garden one-year plowed with a tractor and that was that year when I was ten.  His health did not allow him to get the horses ready for the plowing as he did in years past.  That summer is one of the plainest in my childhood memories.  I remember the meals my Grandmother made.  She was a country cook.  She made those big breakfasts, the ones that stuck to your ribs.  I did not work in the garden that year.  But we had food from that garden daily.  I remember eating fresh pinto and cranberry beans almost daily.  My Granddad and Grandmother would take that fresh lettuce and put it in the middle of the plate and put fresh beans over them and cut fresh onions and tomatoes over that.  Well, some people thought we were poor.  I guess we were but when I was ten, those thought never enter my mind at meal times.  That fresh lettuce still sticks in my mind with it that being over forty years later.          

      Many precious truths are found throughout the book of Hebrews. They are fresh truths that need to be cultivated regularly by the believer.  There is twelve of these truths are found with these two words in front of them:  "Let us".  Let us look at eleven of them quickly.  But I will deal with the only of them that is found in our text.  Let us turn to each of these passages.  These would a great thing to underline so you can find them in times of troubles and trials.

Hebrews 4:1 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”

Hebrews 4:11 “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised”

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

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”

Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear”

Hebrews 13:13 “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”

Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

  In our text verse, we find the truth of "Let us go on unto perfection".   Now you and I both know that this word "perfection" is not meaning that you will be perfect or without sin as some may teach.  This word means coming into full maturity like fruit does in its season.  No one really likes green peaches.  Why, Jan would go out of business trying to sell green peaches.  No one really likes green strawberries.  They want them to become perfect or fully mature. 

  In verse two, we find some doctrines, which are important but should move passed early in the Christian life.  They are doctrines like baptisms.  This should include the baptism of the Holy Spirit like Jesus told us that He would do for us.

      The laying on hands is that separating folks for the service of Christ like was done to Paul and Barnabas in the Book of Acts 13:3.  Then the next two doctrines should give no true believer problems. They are the resurrection and the eternal judgment that awaits every lost man, woman, boy and girl who do not take Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. 

 What the apostle Paul is trying to tell us is this: "Let us go on".  Too many people are forever looking in the past.  Most of the time we only see the misery and mistakes when we look back.  Very few people are really majoring on the majors.  They major on the minors.  Listen closely to the call of this verse: "Let us go on".  Those words imply a forward motion.  They imply a fellowship movement.  They also imply a fighter’s mentality. 

      It is time for us to take heed to the scriptural command of our Lord and Saviour: "Let us go on".  It is my desire to give you some thoughts to help encourage you as the Lord encouraged me.

I.  RUTS IN THE WAY OF GOING ON

      A rut is a grave with both ends kicked out.  What are some of these ruts? 

A. It may be the rut of Circumstances

                        1. It could be the circumstances of discouragement.

                a. You may be discouraged with self.  Self has a nasty habit of rising up and giving you a hard time and thus discouraging yourself.

                b. You may be discouraged with your spiritual growth or the lack of spiritual growth.  Few people understand this discouragement than a pastor does.  He sees the problems.  He gives the solutions and yet his scriptural advice is discarded like it is not really the right way.  Then when all else fails, some may try it and finds it works.  Yet this is not spiritual growth.  This is putting a Band-Aid over a bullet wound.

                c. You may be discouraged over family.  Your family may be against you.  They may not be all you want them to be.  Sometimes we set higher standards for them than we ourselves are willing to do.  It is a fact that each generation is weaker spiritually than the previous generation unless God is allowed to do a real work in that person's life.  But over all the spirituality and morals for the next generation is worse than the previous generation.  This fact in itself will discourage people over their family.

      What bothers me is seeing children going astray with parents who are not living right themselves who think they are spiritual giants so to speak and the parents bemoaning the fact that their children are going astray.  It is almost like the advice my stepfather gave me about cigarettes.  He said "son, don't start smoking.  It is a nasty habit."  Before I could point out the cigarette in his mouth, he said this:  "Do as I said not as I do."  That is a double standard.  Thanks be unto God, I never got that habit but no thanks to my stepdad.  

      Families have a nasty way of discouraging you.  But there are times that we just see the bad and forget the things that our children are doing well.  But that is human nature though.        

       d.  You may get discouraged over finances.   What really gripe me are people who get discouraged over their finances, yet will go out to dinner on a regular basis.  They have to have the best for their automobiles.  Then they get into financial trouble and expect someone to bail him or her out.  This ought not to be so.  Yes, my family has problems with money at times and still do at times.  But we are refusing to give into the discouragement factor of the issue.  Yes, we will tithe even if we have pressing needs in our home.

                e.  You may get discouraged over the church.  It may not be growing.  Some people only get discouraged over the church on Sundays. I will share some reasons why I refuse to allow Satan to discourage me over this church shortly.

             2.  It may be the circumstances of despair.  You can get despair over not know which way to turn. 

             3.  It could be the circumstances of disease.  Certain diseases have built in them that factor of hopelessness.  Heart disease is one.  Some many others could be named.  There is no one pill and the disease is gone.

             4.  It could be the circumstances of the devil.  He is constantly fighting with your flesh to defeat you.  He is constantly fiddling with your mind to discourage you over some small matter.  Paul said it best when he penned these words "Neither give place to the devil." Your mind is the battlefield.  The battle is first won or lost in the mind.

     B.  It could be the rut of crisis.  Have you ever seen a time when people seem to be going from one crisis to another?  There seems not to be a time of the mountain top time with God or it so short you did not get an opportunity to enjoy it.  It could be a crisis of some crippling damage.  It may be crippling damage to your dreams.  It may be a crippling damage to your desires.  It may be a crippling damage to your delights.  Whatever the crisis, you fall into a rut with it.

     C.  It may be the rut of corruption.  Our country is corrupt. We see corrupt of our possessions.  Whatever you may have will evidently see some type of corruption.

            Whatever ruts you may find yourself in, I have good news for you. 

II.   REASONS FOR GOING ON

      A.  JESUS IS STILL LORD.

      He is still as powerful as He was two thousand years ago.  He can still work in our lives.  He still knows all.  He knows our hurts and pains.  He knows about the circumstances, crisises, corruption, and carnality.  He knows our motives.  He knows our hearts.  He is still present.  He is not sitting at the right hand of the Father wringing His hands in despair.  He knows the answers to our problems.  He is here with us in these days of the ruts.

      B.  THE WAR IS NOT WON. John 9:3-4

“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

1. There are still victories to be won.  We live in victory.               

                     1^st John 5:4

                   “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

2. There are souls to be won. There are plenty of people who need to be won to Jesus Christ.
3. There are new heights to be climbed.            
4. There are still missionaries to be supported.  God has blessed America.  America gives more to missions than most other countries.  As the church grows, so ought our missions giving and as long as I am pastor, it will.

     C.  The prize will be worth it. Philippians 3:13-14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

III.  REWARD OF GOING ON.

      A.  What is being said is that one-day will be reward enough for going on.

                           Matthew 25:21

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

      He will say those words, if we will go on to greater victories, heights and joys for Him.  That is the motive for doing all that we do: FOR HIM who saved us from our sins.  We don't work in order to be saved.  We do all because we are saved.  We do it for His honor and glory.  Any other reason is carnality and will face the test of fire and burn up.

      B.  What will be satisfying to Him will be reward for going on.

                           1^st Corinthians 3:11-15

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

      God will not judge the size of work but the sort of our works for Him.  What satisfies Him is work that is like gold, silver, and precious stones.  These stand the test of fire.

      C.  Who may be saved will be reward enough for going on.

      Over thirty some years ago, a man took his family to the mountains of West Virginia three times to start a church in Pocahontas County.  It was on that third time he went that a young man was saved.  Later, God called him to preach.  Years later, he is pastoring a church in Smithfield, NC.  Brother Gail told me several times, he is glad he went back that third time and started Grace Baptist Church.  I am glad too.  I may have never heard the gospel if he had not done so.  That is a temporal reward for going on.  

      There was a song that was popular in the eighties that should be an encouragement to you and I today.  It was named "Thank you for giving to the Lord.  Let me give you the words.  "I dreamed I was in heaven you there too.  A man came up to you and said "Friend, you may not know me now," But wait, you used to teach my Sunday School when I was only eight.  And every week you say a prayer before the class would start.  And one day when you said that prayer, I asked Jesus in my heart.”  The chorus goes like this:  "Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed.  Thank you for giving the Lord, I am so glad you gave.”

      Then another man stood before you and said, “Remember the time a missionary came to your church and his pictures made you cry?  You did not have much money, but you gave it anyway. Jesus took the gift you gave and that's why I'm here today.”  "Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving the Lord, I am so glad you gave."   One by one they came, as far as the eye could see; each life somehow touched by your generosity.  Little things that you had done, sacrifices made; unnoticed on earth in heaven now proclaim.  And I know up in heaven you're not supposed to cry, But I am almost sure there were tears in your eyes.  As Jesus took your hand and you stood before the Lord, He said. My child, look around you, for great is your reward." "Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed.  Thank you for giving the Lord, I am so glad you gave."

       That sums up well the rewards for going on.  

Conclusion:  Why should we be discouraged when we have such a plain command from the Lord to go?  David was faced with the lost of his family from the hands of the enemy and was facing death at the hands of his men for the lost of their families. But it is important to see what David did in response of these crisises.  1^st Samuel 30:6 tells us "but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God".  There is the secret for going on.  It is by encouraging ourselves in the Lord.

  Today let move forward and not sit in despair, discouragement and depression.  Let us go on.  Let’s dedicate ourselves once again to the task of building this church for the glory of God.  Let’s dedicate ourselves 100% to the Lord and go forward in our Christian lives for the Lord.