We MUST Pay Close Attention
Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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Salvation is Given!!
Salvation is Given!!
Those of us who have accepted Christ throw around terms that are uniquely ours.
This is to the detriment of the many who have yet to see the work of Christ as His work for them.
Be careful using our exclusive language...
— “I’m saved!”
— “I’m a Believer..”
— “I’ve accepted the Lord, have you?”
— “When did you get saved?”
Our words around “salvation” are confusing, to most people.
Yes we want the world to know that we are in a relationship with Jesus.
That we have accepted Christ as Savior and our Lord.
We have a future and that future is not in a grave here on earth.
Our future is found with Jesus. If we die before he comes back we will be resurrected with him.
We will rein for 1000 years with Him as he returns to earth for the Millenium.
The refusal to enter into a relationship with him means that at the return of Christ on “that” day… means judgement and in eternity a dwelling place “shoel.” The GRAVE!!!
“When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
That’s what the whole thing is about… The Bible, specifically the Book of Hebrews was written to a group of people, Jews who had questions and about believing in Christ… who was now NOT with them.
When reading the book… and I encourage you to read the book. It is pretty short and can easily be done in 1-2 settings.
The Big Idea of Hebrews
Hebrews has a relevant message for the Christian church today.
The epistle calls is to take our faith seriously, to grow in our faith… To expand our knowledge of God and Jesus.
We also want to be in communion or agreement with other believers whenever possible.
If the Gospel is preached by Grace through Faith we are co-laborers with other “believers” It doesn’t matter if you are
— Christian Reformed
— Lutheran
— Catholic
— Nazarene
— Assemblies of God
If the Gospel, by Grace Through Faith Alone, is Preached, it does not matter a whiff what group you worship with, you are part of the “family of God.”
Part of being in a large group including all different flavors of followers allows us to live a life without FEAR!!!
Being part of larger group of faithful followers allows us to
FIGHT FOR OUR WORLD… WAR AGAINST THE POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES THAT CURRENTLY RULE THIS WORLD!!+
Beg God to give you the weapons necessary to fight this battle.
Open the Word, open your Bible… Find your way to the Book of Ephesians and put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD!!!
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
We are not doing a study of the Book of Ephesians.
The Bible speaks to our needs, our wants, our weapons and how to use them.
I do want to take just a bit of time and look at V.18.
Prayer along with Faith is the engine that drives our continuing relationship with Christ. Never sitting still ALWAYS moving and growing.
Beginning today and continuing, at the end of the service if you’d like prayer come to the front and just have a seat and you will be prayed over.
We will be converting the old music room, stage left. Into a place for prayer.
So… We have this GREAT Faith that Christ earned for us on the cross, NOW WHAT?
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
— Be alert, be present, be alive, be active in your faith.
— I have a question… Does coming to church help you not to drift? Sometimes… is an answer I heard this week
— “Sometimes” especially when it is really hectic we fall back into our worldly ways… not relying on God but instead we have promoted ourselves to being God.
— Here is what Jesus said about “spiritual drift”
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
Jesus has clearly identified and spoken loudly against “Spiritual Drift.”
2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
These 3 verses gives the opening and introduction of the rest of the Book of Hebrews.
First we must “Hear”
Then we must “respond”
There is also a “warning”
There also is a warning… Of the dangers if we chooses to reject or neglect, the Gospel, the great deliverance and the benefits that come from the “Good News.”
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.
The Author here is explaining that Angels will not rule the world to come. Ultimately, man will find his way to glory through a relationship with Christ.
6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
This passage among many that we will be taking a look at closely
V.6
6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?
This scripture is an application of man’s role in the world. It is a direct quote from Psalm 8.
Psalm 8:3–8 (ESV)
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
In addition to the physical world and humankind, God also created spiritual creatures called angels.
— The universe is material,
— while angels are immaterial;
— human beings have both body and spirit, while angels have only spirit.
The hierarchy of beings ranges from God to angels to human beings to animals to inanimate matter.
Angels are beneath God, and humans are a little lower than the angels
while all creatures are below them
Mankind has been given dominion and position over a large part of what God has created.
God has...
God has assigned man a very high position… He is the most honored creature in all of creation
Here is how God has created a “culture of greatness” in Christ.
God made him a little lower than the Angels, for awhile.
God crowned him with Glory and Honor.
God put everything under his feet.
Hebrews 2:7–8 (ESV)
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
The whole passage is a re-creation of Ps8.
You… [God] made Jesus just a bit lower, but only for a little while.
In Philippians 2, Paul describes how Jesus willingly gave up part of his “God-ness” by pouring it out.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
As a result of Christ’s work on earth… He now sits at God’s right hand he sits enthroned, and “crowned with glory and honor.”
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
I am still in awe of what Christ did for me. I was as Paul said, the chief sinner. But yet while I was still just happily sinning away, Jesus came and died for me. I didn’t ask him for that nor did I even know that he did it for me.
But he did… happily at the end of my days here on earth, I am Heaven bound!!!
Jesus, who became man; Jesus, who was made “a little lower than the angels”; Jesus, who endured death—this Jesus has been raised to the place of highest exaltation, and reigns there until all opposition to his sovereignty comes to an end.
So What? We have read the scripture and placed Jesus where he was destined from the beginning.
We also see how much respect that God has for man.
Do we deserve it? — OF COURSE NOT
Do we earn it? — OF COURSE NOT
WE DESERVE DEATH BUT INSTEAD GOD GIVES US LIFE… A LIFE TO BE LIVED ABUNDANTLY!!
Jesus was raised from the dead and now rests, interceding for us to the Father in Heaven whom he shares the throne room.
We are so used to making and calling Jesus our Bro’ and friend and our companion that these ideas are foreign to us.
Jesus is and always has been the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
He is due our Worship. our Praise and our Everlasting Love.
So… Fortunately we have a brother who has experienced everything that we have.
God the Father literally gave Jesus the keys to the kingdom.
He loves us enough to not smote us. He loves us enough to promise we are His forever and ever.
And finally
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
This Jesus is our Lord and Savior, This Jesus is the image of the invisible God… God assigned to Jesus to be the FIRSTBORN of all Creation.
He is further due all the praise and honor we can muster… Thank You Jesus for saving us.
We will continue next week with the last part of Chapter 2 and we will have communion.