1. Tonight being New Year's Eve, I would like to end the year with a message of encouragement from God's Word.
2. In the epistle to the Hebrews we find three indispensable things.
3. First, there is the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 says, "without shedding of blood is no remission."
4. Secondly, there is faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, that without faith it is impossible to please God.
5. And thirdly, there is holiness. Hebrews 12:14 says, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."
6. Of course there are other indispensable things in the Christian life. There is the Bible, the Word of God. Our Lord said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).
7. The Word of God is indispensable.
8. There is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It is dispensable!
9. That is why our Lord said to His disciples, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
10. That is why the apostle Paul said, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
11. Zechariah 4:6 says, "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
12. There is prayer. Our Lord said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). For the Christian, prayer is like breathing. It is indispensable. "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17).
13. There is the church. The local church is indispensable. Christians who are not involved in a good local church are weak, unstable, and spiritually immature.
14. First Timothy 3:15 says, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
15. These are all indispensable, but our time is limited, and we preachers like our three-point outlines, so tonight we will look at the three indispensable things referred to in the book of Hebrews.

I. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

1. The first indispensable thing referred to in the book of Hebrews is the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 says, "without (the) shedding of blood (there) is no remission."
2. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, no pardon, no salvation, and no justification. Romans 5:9 says we are justified by his blood.
3. Hebrews 13:12 says we are sanctified through the blood of Jesus.
4. Revelation 12:11 says we have victory over sin through the blood of Christ. And victory over Satan through the blood of Christ.
5. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
6. First Peter 1:19 says we have been redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
7. The blood of Christ is indispensable. I have heard some Christians say that we are not redeemed with Christ's blood. They say the blood isn't what is important -- it is our Lord's death that is important.
8. But they are wrong about that because both are important. Hebrews 9:22 says, "without (the) shedding of blood (there) is no remission." ).
9. We have been redeemed with the incorruptible blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, not with anything connected with this transient, corruptible world, such as silver or gold (I Peter 1:18).
10. We were redeemed by the blood of God Himself. The apostle Paul said to the elders of Ephesus, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).
11. This sounds strange to some people because God is a Spirit, and spirits do not have blood. But Jesus Christ is both God and man, and He died on the cross for our sins.
12. Spurgeon said, "Morality will keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Christ to keep you out of hell!"
13. Revelation 1:5 says, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."
14. The great evangelist R.A. Torrey said, "There are some today who are trying to devise a theology that leaves out the blood of Christ. Poor fools! Christianity without atoning blood is a Christianity without mercy for the sinner, without settled peace for the conscience, without genuine forgiveness, without justification, without cleansing, without boldness in approaching God, without power. It is not Christianity, but the devil's own counterfeit. If we would know fullness and power in Christian life and service, we must first of all know the power of the blood of Christ, for it is that which brings us pardon, justification, and boldness in our approach to God. We cannot know the power of the Spirit unless we first know the power of the blood. We certainly cannot know the power of prayer unless we know the power of that blood by which alone we can approach unto God."
15. In other words, the blood of Christ is indispensable!

II. FAITH (HEBREWS 11:6)

1. Hebrews 11 is the great faith chapter. Faith is described as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (11:1). "Substance" means "foundation."
2. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
   Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
3. The composer of that great hymn, John Rippon, was a Baptist pastor in England. "How Firm a Foundation" has endured as one of the most popular hymns of all time. This hymn was sung at the fun­er­als of Amer­i­can pres­i­dents An­drew Jack­son, The­o­dore Roo­se­velt, and Wood­row Wil­son. It was the fa­vo­rite hymn of General Ro­bert E. Lee, and it was sung at his fun­er­al.
4. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
   Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
5. Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
   O glorious victory, that overcomes the world. (John H. Yates)
6. Faith purifies and instructs the mind.
7. Faith softens and stirs the heart.
8. Faith strengthens and controls the will. (from W.H. Griffith Thomas)
9. Faith is also described as "the evidence of things not seen" (11:1). It is not a case of sincerity of belief. Many lost sinners are sincere, but they are sincerely wrong.
10. It is not a case of sincerity of belief, but of the truth of what is believed. The Greek word translated "evidence" means "conviction" (Scofield margin).
11. Though we do not see God or heaven, faith gives us this conviction that God is real, and heaven is real.
12. And hell is real!
13. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, "Faith gives substance or reality to our hopes and puts to the test the things we do not see" (Let Us Go On).
14. Spurgeon said, "A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”
15. After referring to the great faith of Abel, and Enoch, the author of this epistle (Paul?) pauses to emphasize the absolute necessity of faith if we want to please God (11:6).
16. Unlike the atheists and agnostics and skeptics and other unbelievers, we must believe that God exists (11:6).
17. Twice the Psalmist says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1; 53:1).
18. We must not only believe that God exists, we must also believe "that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (11:6).
19. Are you diligently seeking Him?
20. Are you diligently serving Him?
21. Are you diligently worshiping Him?
22. Are you diligently praying to Him?
23. Are you diligently seeking to win souls for Him?

III. HOLINESS (12:14)

1. We are to "follow (pursue) peace with all men," and we are to follow (pursue) holiness, "without which no man shall see the Lord" (12:14).
2. Holiness (sanctification) has three aspects. The moment a person gets saved, he or she is sanctified.
3. Hebrews 12:10 says that we are partakers of God's holiness.
4. This holiness is referred to as "positional sanctification."
5. Back in Hebrews 3:1, the author of this epistle (Paul?) addresses the recipients of his epistle as "holy brethren."
6. All true Christians are "holy brethren." Positionally.
7. But unfortunately some saints are not very saintly. Their conduct is not in keeping with their calling.
8. Therefore, we are to "follow (pursue) holiness" (12:14); that as Christians, we are to actively pursue sanctification. This we call "progressive sanctification."
9. First Peter 1:15 and 16 says, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."
10. That is why we are told to "put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth" (Col. 3:8).
11. Second Corinthians 7:1 says, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
12. James 4:8 says, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
13. It has been said that "pursuing practical sanctification is the proof that we possess positional sanctification" (John Phillips, Exploring Hebrews).
14. The third aspect of sanctification is glorification, when we get to heaven. We have been delivered from the penalty of sin, and the power of sin, and some day from the very presence of sin.
15. Unfortunately, holiness is not being preached much these days. In fact, most preachers do not preach it because they themselves are not very holy.
16. In fact, many are very worldly. Holiness and worldliness do not go together. Billy Sunday said, "People talk about a worldly Christian. What? Might as well speak of a heavenly devil."
17. I do not know why any Christian can be baffled or bothered by this command -- "follow...holiness" (12:14). They can easily appreciate what it means to pursue peace (12:14a).
18. They know what it means to pursue wealth or happiness.
19. If they were sick or overweight or depressed, and a doctor gave them instructions or a diet and exercise plan or medicine, they could pursue after that.
20. But something that God says is indispensable -- "without which no man shall see the Lord" -- this they chafe at.

CONCLUSION :

1. F.B. Meyer said there are certain very important conditions to be observed in order for us to follow after holiness.
2. First, he said we should "give self no quarter," and this is because self is always asserting itself.
3. He said we need "holy sensitiveness" because when a man is full of self he cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit.
4. Secondly -- "Yield to God" (cf. Romans 12:1, 2).
5. Thirdly, F.B. Meyer said following after holiness takes self-discipline and watchfulness and habitual diligence (cf. Hebrews 12:15a).
6. He said, "Follow after holiness as men pursue pleasure; as the athlete runs for the prize; as the votary of fashion follows in the wake of the crowd" (The Way Into the Holiest).