It is interesting that some people at the turn of the year said that they hadn’t made New Year’s Resolutions. The reason was because of past failure to achieve their goal. They had given up trying. Last week Simon reminded us that without trying you will never achieve anything. Tragic that we no longer resolve to try. The trouble is that it is so easy to start and to fail. We get discouraged. But there are still things that we want to do. The trick is to get outside help this motivation can really help us to achieve what we want. I have found this myself when trying to get slim and get fit. Easier to go swimming or to a class with a friend. On occasions my enthusiasm has waned in my Spiritual life. I have needed a helping hand and an encouraging word, needed someone to walk alongside me. Maybe this is something that you can relate to. In the physical and the spiritual we need a Mr (or Ms) Motivator. Someone to be around us to encourage us – often this can come in different ways (sympathy, enthusiasm, practical help etc). 

In the time of the early church many of the Jewish converts to Christianity started to waver in their faith and were tempted to revert to the Jewish faith.  In the New Testament to these we have a letter that is written to this group of converts. We don’t know who writes the letter but they write it to encourage them to stay the course. They are reminded about the supremacy and uniqueness of Jesus and their place in God’s heart. You can read about this by clicking here. 

He speaks of having confidence in going into the Most Holy Place. They would have understood the reference to the Holy of Holies in the Temple that only the High Priest was allowed to enter on only one day of the year. A way was opened by Jesus. The Most holy place was separated from the Holy place by a curtain. The same curtain that Matthew tells us is torn from top to bottom when Jesus dies on the cross. His death has taken away the separation between humans and God. Jesus thought “we” not “me” when he laid down his life for us.

The writer encourages us to Hold UNSWERVINGLY the hope we profess. I know that I have swerved on occasion when life has battered me or prayers seem unanswered. So the writer asks us to “consider how we may spur one another on… In this short passage there is a lot of “LET US” we need to Think “we” not “me”. 

There’ll be times when you need spurring on. Who are your “training partners” in faith? You need to identify them and be there for each other.
This passage is all about “we” not “me”. We need to spur each other on. 

You may be enthusiastic for God so you are ok but think “we” not “me”.

Consider who around you needs spurring on? We are called to encourage others. In other words give them courage. Who and how can you help? We need people around us who are approachable and honest about struggles. We need to support, challenge and enthuse each other. We need to keep meeting together. How can we help at a distance? Life groups are one way of doing this. Pastoral care should be part of what the groups are about. It sounds grand but it is just about looking after each other. The church should be better at this. This is not the job of the pastoral team or the minister it is about all of us. We should have soul friends who care for each other’s souls. We should have prayer partners who stand alongside us in prayer. 
Imagine what a difference it would make to your life, the life of the church and our community if we all thought “we” not “me”