I want you to imagine that it’s your 80th birthday. What do you have today that you want to still be holding onto that day? How many of you hope you’re still holding onto the same job you currently have on that day? How many of you think you’ll still be using your current phone then? How many of you believe you will be anxious that day about the things that are causing anxiety for you today? And how many of you simply hope that you have the same number of teeth on that day that you have today?

While I don’t know how far away 80 is for you, I think it’s a number for most of us that can help us see beyond what we’re giving our time to in this season or even the things that we’re worried about right now. I am not assuming that I will still be holding onto most of what I have today when I’m 80. But there are a few things present in my life today that I want to be present on that day. And if that’s true, then it really matters what I do with those things between now and then.

We think a lot about starting things. I mean, here we are sitting in the very neighborhood where so many businesses have been launched. And here at Epic, we talk a lot about starting your faith journey with Jesus. In fact, if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, I think the best thing you can do today is to start one. But I actually don’t want to talk about starting anything today. What I’m interested in is whether or not we’re going to finish well. Specifically, will you and I finish this race called life, while still holding onto our faith?

Are you going to keep your faith in Jesus to the very end of your life?

Are you on a trajectory of echoing these words from Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7?

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

How are we going to keep our faith until the very end? This is what I want to talk about today in a message I’m calling, “Will You Hold On?”

Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The entire book of Hebrews is all about how Jesus is superior to everything and everyone. It’s also about how to persevere in your faith. And this passage tells you how to keep your faith in Jesus, all the way until the very end.

If you want to hold onto your faith until the very end, stay close to Jesus and to those who are committed to staying close to Jesus.

When we are in the midst of great circumstances and everything in our lives is up and to the right, it can lead us to believe that our faith is so strong. Maybe our faith is strong in these seasons; but what is our faith in? I am so grateful for the seasons of life when I get everything I want, but my lived experience tells me these seasons aren’t the norm. I am desperate for a God who is worth trusting in every season and a God who is able to carry me through whatever is coming my way.

If you’re going to go the distance with Jesus, you will need to access everything He’s given you access to.

I don’t know about you, but my level of confidence tends to be all over the place. It can depend on how I’m feeling. It can be determined by how competent I am in the thing I’m attempting to do. One of the great lessons we will need to learn if we’re going to hold onto our faith is this one – we must transfer the source of our confidence from ourselves to Jesus.

Verse 19 says “we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place”. If you and I are going to have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place, the very presence of God, where will we get that kind of confidence? Maybe we need to have 3 perfect, sinless days in a row and then we can have that confidence. Perhaps we need to stop struggling with some temptation before we can have that confidence.

The source of our confidence to enter the presence of God comes through the access Jesus gave us through His body and His blood.

Jesus earned my way into the very presence of God. This means, I don’t have to earn it. It means my moral record isn’t keeping me from God or getting me to God. Verse 21 tells us that Jesus is “the great priest over the house of God.” The Jewish Christians were well acquainted with a system that involved the high priest going into the holy of holies once a year. But now, through Jesus, we’ve been given direct access to the presence of God at any moment every single day. Then the text includes three exhortations and here’s the first one – “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

What keeps you away from the presence of God?

Your performance? Your sin? Your shame? If Jesus has washed our sin away to bring us to God, why do we stay away from God? Do you know that it wasn’t our performance that got us into a good standing with God in the first place? And it’s not our performance that’s going to keep us in a good standing with God. It’s the performance of Jesus that got us there and it’s Jesus who will keep us there.

If Jesus paid the highest price so we could draw near to God, how much do you think it breaks His heart when we choose to keep our distance?

Full assurance that faith brings. Jesus wants us to trust Him. While Jesus meets us in our doubts, He loves seeing our faith – in who He is and in what He has done and for what He will do.

The exhortation is this – let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Another way to say this is to let us hold fast to our faith. This is about being steadfast because of the hope we have in Christ.

And here’s why we can hold on forever to our hope in Christ – because Jesus is faithful. Jesus isn’t like the person who changes when you change. Jesus isn’t the one who walks away from His promises. Jesus doesn’t get rid of you when you age out or when He’s no longer getting the best out of you. He is faithful.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

So, we can count on Jesus. But do we have the kind of Christian community we can count on and one that can count on us? This is where the text goes next. It’s the third exhortation – let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Who is stirring up your faith? Whose faith are you stirring up?

How do we do this for each other? It comes down to frequency, depth, and what we’re bringing into this community. It’s clear that some people had stopped meeting together with the rest of the church or they were doing it less frequently.

If your goal is lifelong faith in Jesus, then you want to make gathering with His church a frequent habit.

What is your church habit? But showing up won’t be enough if you stay anonymous or on the surface. What is the depth of your attachment to others in this church community? Are you known? Are you giving of yourself in some way? Are you keeping things surface-level or are you committed to spurring others on and being spurred on?

We’re told that we should be encouraging others.

Are you encouraging others or discouraging others when it comes to their faith in Jesus?

Kids. Friends. Spouse. Others here.

“Scripture assumes that Christian growth is a group project.” -Matt Chandler, Becoming Like Jesus

“We encourage everyone in the Epic community to be a part of a small group community. And as you are stepping into these communities, consider not only what you will get from the group, but how you can give to the group. Even if you are not leading in your small group, there are so many ways you can serve your small group community…”

Are you frequently accessing what Jesus has given you access to?

Presence of God.

Community of God’s People.

“A community is, in part, a group of people organized around a common story.” -David Brooks, The Second Mountain

The gospel of Jesus is our common story and it goes like this. God created human beings in His own image. We have rebelled against God and chosen our own way. Our sin put us at odds with God. We could not make ourselves righteous. But God wanted us to live in His presence forever. So he decided He would take on flesh and pay the penalty for our sin through the crucifixion of Jesus. And now anyone who puts their full trust in Jesus can be cleansed from sin and given access to the presence of God. There is no better story to live in than this one and it’s true. Are you living in this story? Do you want to?

Faith in Jesus.

Baptism – it’s an outward display of the cleansing that’s taken place inside of us by Jesus.

Groups.