Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, (21) and having a High Priest over the house of God, (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. (23) Let us hold fast the Confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (24) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
The above verses really stuck out to me in this chapter. When we are bold, we are able to step out in faith in a manner that we haven't before. Boldness here means confidence. We are able to move into the Holiest with confidence because we have the blood of Jesus that was shed to tear down the veil, or the barrier that separated from the Presence of the Father. Ephesians 2:28 says:
Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Ephesians 3:10-12 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (11) according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, (12) in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Our faith brings us to a place where we can have confidence in what Jesus did for us. With that confidence we can enter His presence. We are able to draw near to Him because we have been purified and sanctified through the blood He shed. We hold fast to that faith and we confess with our mouths what He has done for us. Chapter 10:23 says:
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering...I think it is easy for us to forget what our confession should be. Remember throughout Joshua we saw many times where the people were told to remember what God had done and where He had brought them out of. We are told here to hold fast to our confession. Why should we do that?
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Not only do we overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, but by the confession of our mouths. Yes, Jesus defeated our enemies once and for all. Yes, he disarmed the principalities and powers. But, we also know that we fight a spiritual battle against these same enemies in our minds. Through the confession of our mouth, we tell all those in the heavenly places where our faith is and by saying out loud with our mouth what Jesus has done for us, it boosts our faith and gives us even more confidence in our walk with Him.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
We know there is power in words. Proverbs says above we can bring life or death with our words. If our words are that powerful, then shouldn't we be careful with what we say? If our words are that powerful, then shouldn't we be shouting from the rooftops the confession of what Christ has done for us?
James 3:8-11 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. (10) Out of the same Mouth Proceed Blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (11) Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James 3:8-11 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. (10) Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (11) Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James takes it one step further and says we cannot bless and curse out of the same mouth. Can't our confessions do that sometimes? For example, "Man, what a horrible day this has turned out to be. Everything that has gone wrong has gone wrong." Well, the Word says
Psalms 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Is it easy every single day to rejoice in a day where it seems like everything just isn't going right? And yet, when we focus our confession on what the Word says, we can rejoice in the day because God made the day. We are awake and alive and able to praise and honor and worship Him. But beyond that, what confession can we make that remembers what God has done for us?
For me, my confession is simple. My savior took me at 18 years old, pregnant with my first child, and redeemed me from the darkness I had settled in. He brought me back to Him. He saved my daughter from a threatening infection at birth. He delivered me from the spirit of addiction. He restored a broken spirit and shattered heart from sexual abuse. He gave me a husband that loves me beyond reason, shows me the grace and love and mercy of Jesus Christ in human form every single day. My Savior has given me eternal life and adopted me and made me an heir to the throne. He loves me unconditionally. He never leaves me. He never forsakes me. Sometimes we thing our confession is only to win others to Christ. But guess what?
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Our confession is also to encourage those believes around us! When we gather together as believers we should be sharing with each other what God has done for us. When I was growing up, it was common place for the pastor to call out to the congregration and ask anyone if they had a testimony they would like to share. Hearing the reports of what God was doing in other believer's lives strengthens us all. Our faith can be bolstered and lifted in a manner that we may not be to accomplish on our own. Sharing with each other is just one way to use our words for life and not for death.
Today, what is your confession? Not just about your salvation, but what is your confession to other believers? What has God done for you that exhort and uplift those around you? Church, we are so quiet with our testimonies? Why are we so quiet when we gather together about what God is doing with us, for us and even through us? Encourage each other today. Encourage other believers. Our testimonies and our confessions are powerful...they overcome with the blood of the lamb. They bring life.
Join the discussion on Facebook.
The above verses really stuck out to me in this chapter. When we are bold, we are able to step out in faith in a manner that we haven't before. Boldness here means confidence. We are able to move into the Holiest with confidence because we have the blood of Jesus that was shed to tear down the veil, or the barrier that separated from the Presence of the Father. Ephesians 2:28 says:
Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Ephesians 3:10-12 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (11) according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, (12) in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Our faith brings us to a place where we can have confidence in what Jesus did for us. With that confidence we can enter His presence. We are able to draw near to Him because we have been purified and sanctified through the blood He shed. We hold fast to that faith and we confess with our mouths what He has done for us. Chapter 10:23 says:
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering...I think it is easy for us to forget what our confession should be. Remember throughout Joshua we saw many times where the people were told to remember what God had done and where He had brought them out of. We are told here to hold fast to our confession. Why should we do that?
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Not only do we overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, but by the confession of our mouths. Yes, Jesus defeated our enemies once and for all. Yes, he disarmed the principalities and powers. But, we also know that we fight a spiritual battle against these same enemies in our minds. Through the confession of our mouth, we tell all those in the heavenly places where our faith is and by saying out loud with our mouth what Jesus has done for us, it boosts our faith and gives us even more confidence in our walk with Him.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
We know there is power in words. Proverbs says above we can bring life or death with our words. If our words are that powerful, then shouldn't we be careful with what we say? If our words are that powerful, then shouldn't we be shouting from the rooftops the confession of what Christ has done for us?
James 3:8-11 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. (10) Out of the same Mouth Proceed Blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (11) Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James 3:8-11 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. (10) Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (11) Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James takes it one step further and says we cannot bless and curse out of the same mouth. Can't our confessions do that sometimes? For example, "Man, what a horrible day this has turned out to be. Everything that has gone wrong has gone wrong." Well, the Word says
Psalms 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Is it easy every single day to rejoice in a day where it seems like everything just isn't going right? And yet, when we focus our confession on what the Word says, we can rejoice in the day because God made the day. We are awake and alive and able to praise and honor and worship Him. But beyond that, what confession can we make that remembers what God has done for us?
For me, my confession is simple. My savior took me at 18 years old, pregnant with my first child, and redeemed me from the darkness I had settled in. He brought me back to Him. He saved my daughter from a threatening infection at birth. He delivered me from the spirit of addiction. He restored a broken spirit and shattered heart from sexual abuse. He gave me a husband that loves me beyond reason, shows me the grace and love and mercy of Jesus Christ in human form every single day. My Savior has given me eternal life and adopted me and made me an heir to the throne. He loves me unconditionally. He never leaves me. He never forsakes me. Sometimes we thing our confession is only to win others to Christ. But guess what?
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Our confession is also to encourage those believes around us! When we gather together as believers we should be sharing with each other what God has done for us. When I was growing up, it was common place for the pastor to call out to the congregration and ask anyone if they had a testimony they would like to share. Hearing the reports of what God was doing in other believer's lives strengthens us all. Our faith can be bolstered and lifted in a manner that we may not be to accomplish on our own. Sharing with each other is just one way to use our words for life and not for death.
Today, what is your confession? Not just about your salvation, but what is your confession to other believers? What has God done for you that exhort and uplift those around you? Church, we are so quiet with our testimonies? Why are we so quiet when we gather together about what God is doing with us, for us and even through us? Encourage each other today. Encourage other believers. Our testimonies and our confessions are powerful...they overcome with the blood of the lamb. They bring life.
Join the discussion on Facebook.
