Richvale Community Church
Sunday, June 28, 2026
  • Good morning!
    We are continuing our summer series, Anchored, in the book of Hebrews.
    Today's we looking at – The God Who Helps."
    We live in a culture that tells us we should be able to figure life out on our own.
    We hear things like
    "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
    "Be strong."
    "Don't let anyone see your weakness."
    We praise independence..
    From an early age we're taught that asking for help is a sign of failure.
    But if we're honest, one of the hardest things any of us can do is simply admit that we need help.
    Before GPS, I would rather drive a hundred miles in the wrong direction …
    than stop and ask for directions.
    Unfortunately, I have a couple of stories getting lost…but one that stands out… is when.
    When Pam's mom turned sixty - we living on the East Coast, and our family gathered in Rock port, Massachusetts, to celebrate her…
    We drove several hours to get there—but then spent another three hours trying to find the house!
    ..at this point I was at the risk of anarchy in the car —so we did stop … and ask for directions — and obviously found our way..
    Why are we like that?
    Why do we struggle to admit that we need help..
    Sometimes it simply we think we can figure things out on our own..
    Or. we don't want to burden someone else with our problems.
    The problem with our self sufficiency is that it produces
    Pride
    Tozer said
    Self-will is a close relative of pride.
    A. W. Tozer
    Pride can lead to..
    Shame
    Isolation.
    These are all intertwined together..
    But the Realty is that, every one of us needs help…
    Sometimes we need physical help.
    Sometimes we need emotional help.
    Sometimes we need relational help.
    or financial help
    The worlds says.. God helps those who help themselves..
    The Bible says. …
    “God helps those who cannot help themselves.”
    This is the point that the Preacher of Hebrews makes in chapter 2..
    We need the word of Christ to be active in our life
    he tells us that..
    Sin was the problem.
    Humanity was trapped by sin, enslaved by the fear of death, and unable to save itself.
    So Jesus came on a rescue mission.
    He entered our world.
    Became man
    He became our merciful and faithful High Priest.
    So thst we might be reconciled to the Father…
    God did this for us..
    Hebrews 2:16 ESV
    16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
    He helps off spring of Abraham…
    What is our need?
    There is our need for forgiveness… Our need for reconciliation… Our need peace….. joy.. purpose and Hope in life..
    The question in chapters 3 and 4 is:
    How should we respond to the help Christ provides?

    I. Consider the Help God Has Given

    Have you ever stopped to consider all the people who have helped you get to this point in your life?
    If you were to sit down with a sheet of paper and make a list of everyone who has influenced your journey,
    I wonder how long that list would become.
    Parents.
    Grandparents.
    Teachers.
    Friends.
    Mentors.
    Co-workers.
    Pastors.
    Coaches.
    Neighbors.
    There are probably people on that list you haven't thought about for years.
    Some spoke a word of encouragement just when you needed it.
    Some opened a door of opportunity…
    Some prayed for you when you didn't even know it.
    Others invested in you quietly, expecting nothing in return.
    In our list..
    There is a Missionary with free church.. Steven Spellman who- I met at a EFCA churching planting event… we connected.. He heard my story … and encouraged us to pursue ministry with with EFCA… instrumental in our move to Richvale..
    In our text..
    The writer of Hebrews wants us to think even bigger than the people who have helped us.
    He says, "Consider Jesus."
    Hebrews 3:1–6 ESV
    1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
    Consider Jesus
    The word consider means:
    Fix your attention on him .
    Give Christ our full focus
    — Remember He is writing to the Hebrew Christians being persecuted… tempted to go back Judaism to the law and temple sacrifices. and ..
    — he says focus on Jesus..
    There is lot in this world that calls for our attention
    and we can get distracted — from simplicity of the Gospel..

    So.Why

    Consider Jesus?

    Well ..It comes down our need … and his provision..
    The writer gives us two distinct titles for Jesus..
    He is our Apostle and our High Priest of our confession
    First..

    Jesus Is Our Apostle

    An apostle is one who is sent with authority…like ambassador is sent to a foreign country… He represents our nation ..another land.. Jesus came form heaven
    But ..
    He didn't simply bring God's message—Jesus  embodied  God's message.
    Everything Jesus said, and did, had purpose …
    He came to us to reveal the Father
    But Jesus didn't merely come from heaven to us…as ambassador
    He came as our

    As Our High Priest

    Hebrews 2:17 tells us that He became "a merciful and faithful High Priest"
    In the OT..
    The High Priest represented people before a holy God… they would stand behalf of the whole nation and make sacrifices for sin..
    But Jesus did something no earthly priest could ever do.
    He didn't just offer a sacrifice.
    He became the sacrifice…
    And on the cross He fully satisfied the righteous demands of God's holiness,
    paid the penalty for our sin,
    and opened the way for us to come into God's presence.
    Through Christ we are forgiven,
    justified, adopted into God's family, and welcomed into His presence.
    Jesus as our apostle and priest is both God's revelation and perfector of our Faith..
    Tozer..says.
    The cross is rough, and it is deadly, but it is effective.
    A. W. Tozer
    That is why the writer says,
    "Consider Jesus."
    He is faithful..
    When you we feel distant from God, consider Jesus.
    God is faithful..
    When you feel guilty, consider Jesus.
    When you wonder if God understands your struggle, consider Jesus.
    Why because he faithful..
    Another Reason to Consider Jesus is…
    B. Because He is greater than Moses.
    To a Jewish audience this was a shocking statement.
    Moses was the great deliverer…
    Moses received the Law.
    Moses led Israel through the wilderness.
    Yet Hebrews says Jesus is greater…And he tells us why!

    Moses Was Faithful In The House

    Moses served faithfully.
    God used him mightily.
    But there is a fundamental difference..
    Moses was a servant in God's house. BUT
    Jesus Is Faithful Over The House
    Jesus is the Son.
    the Builder.
    the Owner.
    Moses was part of God's plan. But Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan.
    What makes this particularly significant
    — is the identity of the house itself.
    verse
    Hebrews 3:6 ESV
    6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
    Who is the House?… we are the house..
    Paul tells us the some thing Ephesian 2 —
    Paul says that when we come Christ …we become part of the body of Christ..
    we are fellows citizens and saints — members of God household…
    But it does stop there it talks about building…
    We are built on foundations of the apostles and the prophets….
    We are built being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone Eph 2.22
    Ephesians 2:22 ESV
    22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
    — He is the builder and we are house..
    This cuts through our culture that teaches us that we are independant..
    We are told..
    "Be your own person." "Live your own truth." have you noticed..
    ‘ buildings don't construct themselves.
    Stones don't decide where they belong.
    No brick says, "I've decided I'd rather be part of another wall."
    The Builder determines where every stone belongs.
    Paul says we are being built together in to his building..
    How should we respond to the help Christ provides?
    I. Consider the Help God Has Given

    II. Don't Resist the Help God Offers

    In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005,
    Coast Guard helicopter crews ..
    worked around the clock rescuing people stranded by the floodwaters in New Orleans.
    They rescued dozens of people -
    But on one mission, something surprising happened.
    Although many people were trapped on rooftops,
    they refused to be rescued.
    The crews pleaded with them,
    warning that the floodwaters would remain for a long time and that the conditions were becoming increasingly dangerous.
    But many simply asked for food and water instead.
    They believed they could manage on their own.
    They didn't realize how desperate their situation really was..
    That is exactly the warning the writer of Hebrews gives.
    Hebrews 3:7–19 ESV
    7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ” 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
    The writer now turns to one of the greatest tragedies in Israel's history…
    Where Israel resisted God voice..
    He uses psalms 95.7 as his text…
    and retells the story of the generation that came out of Egypt.
    These people saw:
    The plagues.
    The Red Sea.
    The pillar of fire.
    Manna from heaven.
    They experienced God's help repeatedly.
    Yet they hardened their hearts.
    The writer of Hebrews says..
    "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
    Notice that they didn’t resist God’s power…they had seen God’s power at work — through miraculous deliverances…
    -They resisted God's voice.
    That's why the writer repeats:
    "Today, if you hear His voice..."
    Their problem wasn't lack of evidence…
    It was unwillingness to trust the God they already knew.
    "Most of us don't resist God's help because we doubt His power.
    We resist God's help because we don't like His directions.
    We struggle with the faith part…
    Faith is like the physical heart…when stop believing there is ..This hardening..
    It develops slowly.
    Every act of disobedience.
    Every ignored conviction.
    Every delayed response.
    The heart becomes less sensitive.

    The Tragedy

    The problem wasn't that God failed them.
    The problem was that they refused to trust Him.
    Unbelief kept them from experiencing what God wanted to give them.

    ..here is the blessing

    God's Remedy for the heart …and is exhortation..

    …
    Look at verse 13
    Hebrews 3:13–14 ESV
    13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
    —Encouragement is one of God's means of grace.
    Sometimes God's help comes through:
    A friend.
    A phone call.
    A prayer.
    A word spoken at the right moment.
    —
    Encouragement costs you nothing to give, but it is priceless to receive.
    Unknown
    Words can encourage, discourage, or do nothing..
    How should we respond to the help Christ provides?
    I. Consider the Help God Has Given
    II. Don't Resist the Help God Offers

    III. Enter the Rest God's Help Provides

    Have you ever gone on vacation and come home needing a vacation from your vacation?
    A Gallup survey found that more than half of Americans return from vacation feeling tired instead of refreshed. 
    BRITS boot camp..
    Sometimes what we call “rest” is just a change of location or activity—not true rest.
    Hebrews reminds us that God offers something deeper.
    A Rest that still stands….
    Hebrews 4:1–13 ESV
    1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
    One of the great themes of Hebrews REST..
    For Israel, rest referred to entering the Promised Land.
    God promised to defeat their enemies.
    God promised security.
    God promised blessing.
    But because of unbelief, an entire generation missed it.
    Here is the thing..
    The Promised Land is more than real-estate
    Rest was pointing to something greater.
    A deeper rest.
    A relationship with God.
    Peace with God.
    Confidence before God.
    The privilege of living in God's presence.
    The rest God offers is not merely freedom from problems.
    It is freedom from striving to save ourselves.
    The writer says:
    Hebrews 4:9–12 ESV
    9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
    Why do we need rest so badly?
    John Stott tells us that Rest appears 9 times in this chapter..
    And
    … . the reason this word REST sounds sweet in our ears is because almost nothing characterizes the modern world more than unrest…
    ….Unrest is all around..
    We just have think about what happening AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL.in the middle East…
    We have schools shootings…Look what happened tragedy here at the chico library this past week…
    We live in a restless world…
    The Biblical word rest offers us Hope of peace..
    Whoever enter his rest also ceases from labors.. (as God did)
    That is the promises… but it has to be realized
    vers 11
    Hebrews 4:11 ESV
    11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
    At first glance that sounds strange… to strive means to do something with increasing effort… put your heart into something…
    Rest doesn’t mean inactivity..
    When Joshua conquered the land… there was nothing restful about it…there battles and wars… there were set backes..
    - they had to continually step out in faith..
    They had to strive to enter rest…
    The word strive means to be dilegent — to persever..
    How do you strive to rest?
    The answer is:
    Put your heart into the right things..
    We stop trusting ourselves and begin trusting God..
    We cease relying on our own efforts.
    We rely upon Christ..
    There is this tension of Rest now — being part of God kingdom and…

    Future Rest

    There is also a rest still ahead.
    One day Christ will return.
    Sin will be gone.
    Suffering will end.
    God's people will enjoy His presence forever.
    The rest we experience now is only a foretaste of what is coming…

    Application

    Many of us are exhausted.
    Not just physically.
    Spiritually.
    Trying harder.
    Carrying guilt.
    Living under pressure.
    Trying to prove OURSELVES.
    Jesus says:
    Matthew 11:28 ESV
    28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
    The help Christ gives ultimately leads us into rest.

    Conclusion

    Saint Augustine once said,
    “The sufficiency of my merit is to know that my merit is not sufficient.” Augustine
    In other words,
    Our works without rest is fruitless.
    the beginning of faith is recognizing our need.
    — I have various roles… I am Husband, Father.. Pastor…
    Often in these Roles… trying to hold things together…
    but there is a point that we don’t have control..
    Here what Hebrews is saying..
    We don't come to God because we have everything together—
    we come because we know we need His help.
    In those places of uncertainty…
    “Consider Jesus.”
    Will we trust Him? Or will we harden our hearts?
    The wilderness generation
    saw God’s power.
    They experienced His provision.
    They watched Him deliver them from Egypt.
    But when it came time to trust Him, they resisted His voice.
    The writer of Hebrews says, “Don’t make the same mistake.”
    Consider the help God has already given. Don’t resist
    Enter the rest God provides.
    here is the thing…God loves us so much..
    He is not standing at a distance waiting for us to figure life out on our own.
    He is inviting us today to trust Him, follow Him, and find the rest our souls were created for.
    What you do today is significant… Maybe in the past we resisted … we ignored Gods promptings..
    but you listening today … to what God is saying
    The question is not, “Can God help me?” The question is, “Will I trust the God who has already come to help me?”
    lets pray…

      • Hebrews 2:16ESV

      • Hebrews 3:1–6ESV

      • Ephesians 2:22ESV

      • Hebrews 3:7–19ESV

      • Hebrews 3:13–14ESV

      • Hebrews 4:1–13ESV

      • Hebrews 4:9–12ESV

      • Hebrews 4:11ESV

      • Matthew 11:28ESV

Richvale Community Church
brendenbridges@gmail.com
5308453694
http://richvalechurch.com
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