WEBVTT 00:00:04.098 --> 00:00:06.242 I'm glad we get to hang out together today. 00:00:06.242 --> 00:00:09.740 We're still considering and talking about all this. 00:00:09.810 --> 00:00:11.752 Well, until we run out of the book of Hebrews, 00:00:11.752 --> 00:00:14.056 we're talking about the object of our faith. 00:00:14.056 --> 00:00:16.476 And what's been fun for me, 00:00:16.498 --> 00:00:17.042 in a way, 00:00:17.042 --> 00:00:21.896 is that as we get into the more specific outline of Hebrews, 00:00:21.928 --> 00:00:26.008 I come across those passages like today that I just preached in October 00:00:26.008 --> 00:00:33.264 up and reminding myself of the things that I talked about in October. 00:00:33.392 --> 00:00:34.362 And then last year, 00:00:34.362 --> 00:00:38.608 as we were talking about our discipline and our faith and the disciplines 00:00:38.608 --> 00:00:40.618 of our faith and those kind of things, 00:00:40.618 --> 00:00:41.902 I kind of looked back and I thought, 00:00:41.902 --> 00:00:42.892 you know what? 00:00:42.766 --> 00:00:44.490 There comes the birthday girl. 00:00:46.540 --> 00:00:47.534 Let's sing to her. 00:00:47.534 --> 00:00:54.136 Ready? Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday. 00:00:54.248 --> 00:00:59.484 God bless you happy birthday to you there you go. 00:00:59.522 --> 00:01:00.818 Don't often get interrupt. 00:01:00.632 --> 00:01:01.122 Well, I do. 00:01:01.122 --> 00:01:04.600 Oftentimes I get interrupted when I'm saying something anyway. 00:01:04.690 --> 00:01:05.488 All right, 00:01:05.654 --> 00:01:06.118 but, yeah. 00:01:06.118 --> 00:01:09.088 I look back over the outlines from last year. 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:13.580 And realized how many times I preached on a topic such as. 00:01:13.606 --> 00:01:14.480 Pay attention. 00:01:15.300 --> 00:01:17.010 Who are you listening to? 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:18.950 Who do you trust? 00:01:19.880 --> 00:01:22.378 Well, guess what we're going to talk about today. 00:01:22.378 --> 00:01:23.460 Pay attention. 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:26.714 Who do you listen to and who do you trust? 00:01:26.714 --> 00:01:27.306 All right, 00:01:27.306 --> 00:01:29.242 so that's where we're going today. 00:01:29.242 --> 00:01:30.622 And I just want you to know it. 00:01:30.622 --> 00:01:34.872 Because what we're talking about all throughout the book of Hebrews is 00:01:34.926 --> 00:01:37.668 Jesus. Our concentration, 00:01:37.764 --> 00:01:38.424 our focus, 00:01:38.430 --> 00:01:42.882 our priority is going to be to really consider Jesus and what God has 00:01:42.882 --> 00:01:45.112 accomplished in salvation. 00:01:45.256 --> 00:01:50.322 And that Jesus is not merely what we would refer to as the object of our 00:01:50.322 --> 00:01:51.972 faith. He is our faith. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:58.480 It's where we devote ourselves and where we find our identity. 00:01:59.380 --> 00:02:00.662 I asked last week, 00:02:00.662 --> 00:02:01.542 when people see you, 00:02:01.542 --> 00:02:02.908 do they see Jesus? 00:02:03.084 --> 00:02:05.974 See, that's a question we need to answer every day, 00:02:05.974 --> 00:02:07.318 every day of our lives. 00:02:07.142 --> 00:02:08.684 So let's read Hebrews. 00:02:08.732 --> 00:02:09.322 Chapter two, 00:02:09.322 --> 00:02:10.642 verses one through four. 00:02:10.682 --> 00:02:13.982 And I love it that it starts for this reason. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:15.898 Anytime you see a phrase like that, 00:02:15.898 --> 00:02:16.580 you go, 00:02:16.730 --> 00:02:17.690 for what reason? 00:02:17.690 --> 00:02:18.058 All right, 00:02:18.058 --> 00:02:19.178 so for this reason, 00:02:19.178 --> 00:02:20.788 we must pay attention. 00:02:20.964 --> 00:02:22.650 I circled it. 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.862 We must pay attention all the more to what we have heard. 00:02:26.862 --> 00:02:28.894 So that we will not drift away. 00:02:28.894 --> 00:02:31.928 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding. 00:02:31.928 --> 00:02:35.176 In every transgression of disobedience received a just punishment. 00:02:35.288 --> 00:02:40.060 How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:44.472 This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord. 00:02:44.472 --> 00:02:47.798 And it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 00:02:47.798 --> 00:02:48.742 At the same time, 00:02:48.742 --> 00:02:51.052 God also testified by signs and wonders. 00:02:51.068 --> 00:02:54.698 And various miracles and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit 00:02:54.732 --> 00:02:56.610 according to his will. 00:02:56.980 --> 00:02:57.718 Pray with me. 00:02:57.718 --> 00:02:58.332 All righty, 00:02:58.332 --> 00:03:00.312 Father, we bow and thank you. 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:02.186 Thank you for your word. 00:03:02.186 --> 00:03:02.698 And thank you, 00:03:02.698 --> 00:03:07.220 God, that in repetition, 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.530 we get reminded of the things that you've said. 00:03:12.220 --> 00:03:18.120 God, the things that you have made important to us. 00:03:18.190 --> 00:03:21.820 God, it becomes our task to pay attention, 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:28.172 becomes our task to concentrate and focus on the things that have 00:03:28.226 --> 00:03:30.430 meaning, the things that are important. 00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:37.712 When the world around us is screaming and making so much noise and trying 00:03:37.766 --> 00:03:41.500 to lead us down a path of destruction. 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:45.810 Father, thank you that you call to us, 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:48.630 you speak our name. 00:03:49.480 --> 00:03:50.950 You draw us near. 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:52.042 So God, 00:03:52.042 --> 00:03:54.022 help us to draw near today. 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:56.310 We pray it in Jesus name. 00:03:56.920 --> 00:04:01.904 Amen. I remember sharing this passage back in October, 00:04:01.952 --> 00:04:05.732 and I told y'all the story about my last surfing excursion. 00:04:05.796 --> 00:04:07.390 How many of you remember that? 00:04:07.390 --> 00:04:08.328 Yeah, right. 00:04:08.414 --> 00:04:10.052 It was the one where I drifted. 00:04:10.052 --> 00:04:11.160 I drifted away. 00:04:11.230 --> 00:04:12.712 I drifted from the shore. 00:04:12.712 --> 00:04:14.924 I drifted from friends. 00:04:15.122 --> 00:04:16.392 I drifted, 00:04:16.536 --> 00:04:20.856 and only to turn around and look back and see the shore was like houses 00:04:20.856 --> 00:04:21.516 this big. 00:04:21.426 --> 00:04:22.746 And I was like, 00:04:24.020 --> 00:04:27.244 this surfboard is not a cruise ship. 00:04:27.372 --> 00:04:30.672 So I need to get back close to the shore. 00:04:30.900 --> 00:04:32.940 But when we consider this passage, 00:04:33.020 --> 00:04:34.320 these four verses, 00:04:35.460 --> 00:04:41.556 I see this as kind of one of those pivot passage in what God is trying to 00:04:41.578 --> 00:04:44.352 share with us and show us in the book of Hebrews. 00:04:44.352 --> 00:04:48.490 Because we start out with four verses in the beginning that kind of hold 00:04:48.490 --> 00:04:52.484 to a context that God spoke through prophets. 00:04:52.532 --> 00:04:53.886 And in these last days, 00:04:53.886 --> 00:04:55.438 he spoke through his son. 00:04:55.246 --> 00:04:57.556 And his son is not simply son, 00:04:57.566 --> 00:04:59.668 but he's heir and king, 00:04:59.844 --> 00:05:02.484 and he is the creator and the sustainer. 00:05:02.612 --> 00:05:06.994 And we find out so much in those just two little verses in chapter one 00:05:06.994 --> 00:05:09.084 that tell us who Jesus is. 00:05:09.122 --> 00:05:13.464 And then we find this comparison of the message that God preached 00:05:13.512 --> 00:05:17.792 throughout the Old Testament through prophets and angels and what he has 00:05:17.846 --> 00:05:19.708 spoken through his son Jesus, 00:05:19.804 --> 00:05:21.852 and why that's a priority. 00:05:21.916 --> 00:05:25.570 Why is it that what God has said through the Son, 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:27.882 what the Father and the Son, 00:05:27.882 --> 00:05:28.880 the Holy Spirit, 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:33.030 what the communication that God gives to us? 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:35.264 Folks, I grew up in church, 00:05:35.264 --> 00:05:35.956 okay? 00:05:36.138 --> 00:05:38.016 Yeah, I use the word church. 00:05:38.016 --> 00:05:38.842 Some of you know, 00:05:38.842 --> 00:05:40.644 that comes rare to me. 00:05:40.842 --> 00:05:42.492 I grew up in church. 00:05:42.528 --> 00:05:44.490 I remember sitting where you sit. 00:05:44.490 --> 00:05:45.294 Matter of fact, 00:05:45.294 --> 00:05:48.468 I sat on the back row of the balcony when I was a teenager because that's 00:05:48.468 --> 00:05:50.398 where I could rest my head and fall asleep. 00:05:50.212 --> 00:05:52.852 My parents couldn't tell from the choir loft, 00:05:53.440 --> 00:05:54.546 just so you know. 00:05:54.546 --> 00:05:56.196 But what does that speak? 00:05:56.338 --> 00:05:59.390 That means I'm up there not doing what? 00:06:00.640 --> 00:06:02.220 Paying attention. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:05.624 This is an incredible gift. 00:06:05.672 --> 00:06:10.918 We have to be able to study God's word to come together as the body of 00:06:10.918 --> 00:06:14.710 Christ and to be able to study God's word together and consider those 00:06:14.710 --> 00:06:18.290 things that God considers important for us. 00:06:19.700 --> 00:06:23.990 And how easy is it for us to come in and sit for. 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.578 We've had a lot of new folks come and visit with us over the last few 00:06:27.578 --> 00:06:29.252 weeks, and that's cool. 00:06:29.386 --> 00:06:30.218 And I love it. 00:06:30.218 --> 00:06:30.848 I just tell folks, 00:06:30.848 --> 00:06:31.472 if you gather, 00:06:31.472 --> 00:06:32.292 you the gathering, 00:06:32.292 --> 00:06:33.370 so welcome, 00:06:33.820 --> 00:06:36.130 act like you've been here all along. 00:06:35.854 --> 00:06:37.504 Nobody will know the difference, 00:06:38.060 --> 00:06:39.416 right? I mean, 00:06:39.438 --> 00:06:40.758 you all know that. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:48.030 And so we get done in an hour. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.484 It just moves very quickly around here. 00:06:53.522 --> 00:06:55.920 810 till a little after nine, 00:06:55.990 --> 00:06:59.872 and then we come back at 925 till almost 1030, 00:06:59.926 --> 00:07:02.770 and then 1040 to 1150. 00:07:04.340 --> 00:07:05.702 We get a lot done, 00:07:05.702 --> 00:07:06.370 right? 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:09.386 And I have people, 00:07:09.386 --> 00:07:13.978 a lot of times that I meet and I talk to and I go, 00:07:13.978 --> 00:07:14.362 all right, 00:07:14.362 --> 00:07:17.732 well. And sometimes we talk about what's in the message, 00:07:17.866 --> 00:07:18.842 what's in the text, 00:07:18.842 --> 00:07:20.142 what the Bible says, 00:07:20.142 --> 00:07:21.774 what God wants us to hear. 00:07:21.774 --> 00:07:28.776 And then sometimes the conversation just goes completely to whether or 00:07:28.798 --> 00:07:32.808 not the 49 ers got a coach or. 00:07:32.974 --> 00:07:33.964 I don't know. 00:07:34.078 --> 00:07:36.978 I'm trying not to pay attention to some of that stuff. 00:07:36.706 --> 00:07:38.002 But you see what I mean? 00:07:38.002 --> 00:07:42.168 We can be distracted by the volume, 00:07:42.264 --> 00:07:43.672 and I don't mean the loudness. 00:07:43.672 --> 00:07:49.120 I mean the amount of stuff that goes on in the world around us. 00:07:49.270 --> 00:07:54.550 And it just draws our attention away when what God is saying to us is pay 00:07:54.566 --> 00:07:57.670 attention to what's important, 00:08:00.520 --> 00:08:02.580 pay attention to the priorities. 00:08:04.280 --> 00:08:06.710 See, we live in such a. 00:08:09.020 --> 00:08:10.680 The words affluent. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:16.116 We look around our culture in this nation, 00:08:16.148 --> 00:08:16.542 we go, 00:08:16.542 --> 00:08:17.930 wow, all the stuff. 00:08:18.380 --> 00:08:20.382 People who come here from other places go, 00:08:20.382 --> 00:08:22.124 wow, all the stuff. 00:08:22.322 --> 00:08:28.620 Right. It's very easy for us to be distracted by the stuff or to be 00:08:28.690 --> 00:08:30.056 distracted, quite honestly, 00:08:30.088 --> 00:08:32.510 just by the conversation that's going on. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:34.916 I purposely, 00:08:34.968 --> 00:08:35.958 every Sunday morning, 00:08:35.974 --> 00:08:38.752 just to see what's in the news. 00:08:38.886 --> 00:08:42.186 I'll flip through headlines on this app that I have, 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:47.764 and I just flip through the headlines just to see what the general news 00:08:47.882 --> 00:08:50.470 population is talking about. 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:53.684 Right? All right. 00:08:53.722 --> 00:08:55.642 Are you all ready for the next illness? 00:08:55.344 --> 00:08:58.630 Because they're talking about it just so you know. 00:08:59.660 --> 00:09:03.080 Y'all ready to watch men swim in the women's olympics? 00:09:03.900 --> 00:09:05.400 It's going to court. 00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:07.976 You see, 00:09:08.078 --> 00:09:09.508 if you just read the headlines, 00:09:09.508 --> 00:09:10.302 you sit there and go, 00:09:10.302 --> 00:09:10.962 I mean, 00:09:10.974 --> 00:09:11.644 in Christ, 00:09:11.762 --> 00:09:12.952 when we follow Jesus, 00:09:12.952 --> 00:09:14.754 we read the headlines and go, 00:09:14.754 --> 00:09:15.790 oh, my. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:16.990 Right. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.144 Or do we read the headlines? 00:09:21.192 --> 00:09:23.740 And then that becomes our conversation? 00:09:24.900 --> 00:09:30.210 Rather than Jesus is the center of my being, 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:33.380 he is the focus of who I am, 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:34.944 you see? 00:09:35.142 --> 00:09:38.370 What do you shout in your community. 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:44.080 What do you talk about when you have the opportunity to talk about it? 00:09:44.042 --> 00:09:45.108 For this reason, 00:09:45.194 --> 00:09:47.258 this is what the writer is referring to here, 00:09:47.258 --> 00:09:48.570 because if you go back to the back, 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:49.792 we've talked about Jesus, 00:09:49.792 --> 00:09:50.266 the Son, 00:09:50.266 --> 00:09:53.240 being the last day's message of God, 00:09:53.310 --> 00:09:57.006 that it's through the Son that God has spoken and delivered the message 00:09:57.006 --> 00:09:57.726 of the good news, 00:09:57.726 --> 00:09:58.292 the gospel, 00:09:58.292 --> 00:09:59.764 eternal life and salvation. 00:09:59.892 --> 00:10:05.116 The angels and the prophets are the ones who communicated the covenant of 00:10:05.138 --> 00:10:06.460 the Old Testament. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.260 But they're just messengers. 00:10:10.560 --> 00:10:12.030 They're not the son. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:15.650 We live in a time, 00:10:16.180 --> 00:10:18.348 and we'll call it in certain faith traditions, 00:10:18.348 --> 00:10:19.452 where all of a sudden, 00:10:19.452 --> 00:10:21.238 man, if you can claim the name prophet man, 00:10:21.238 --> 00:10:22.560 you get a pedestal. 00:10:23.780 --> 00:10:24.880 Be careful. 00:10:26.420 --> 00:10:27.574 So when I look at this thing, 00:10:27.574 --> 00:10:27.942 I'm going, 00:10:27.942 --> 00:10:28.134 all right, 00:10:28.134 --> 00:10:28.794 what do we say? 00:10:28.794 --> 00:10:33.156 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are 00:10:33.178 --> 00:10:34.800 going to inherit salvation? 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.162 So that last verse of chapter one, 00:10:37.162 --> 00:10:37.792 verse 14, 00:10:37.856 --> 00:10:38.410 right there, 00:10:38.410 --> 00:10:40.224 is talking about the angels, 00:10:40.352 --> 00:10:42.600 right. And the prophets, 00:10:43.260 --> 00:10:46.798 because what we're about to focus on and understand what God wants us to 00:10:46.798 --> 00:10:49.416 hear more than all of that. 00:10:49.598 --> 00:10:51.348 Now, I want to use this comparison. 00:10:51.348 --> 00:10:52.110 You ready? 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:58.396 What we do in this hour this morning is more important that you hear and 00:10:58.418 --> 00:11:03.000 pay attention than all of that you might read in the newspaper, 00:11:03.160 --> 00:11:06.392 than all of that you might watch on the television, 00:11:06.392 --> 00:11:09.692 than all of that conversation you might have around the, 00:11:09.734 --> 00:11:11.054 what is it now? 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:13.052 They don't have them bottles of water anymore. 00:11:13.052 --> 00:11:13.782 So I mean, 00:11:13.782 --> 00:11:15.468 what, the water cooler? 00:11:15.564 --> 00:11:16.630 I don't know. 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:23.492 But what we talk about in these next 20 minutes is more important than 00:11:23.626 --> 00:11:26.900 anything you can hear going on outside the walls. 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:28.630 All right? 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:30.474 Because that's what he says. 00:11:30.474 --> 00:11:32.312 He says the angels even, 00:11:32.366 --> 00:11:36.478 are they not just ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are 00:11:36.478 --> 00:11:38.244 going to inherit salvation? 00:11:38.372 --> 00:11:39.512 For this reason, 00:11:39.646 --> 00:11:42.456 we need to make sure we're the ones inheriting salvation, 00:11:42.456 --> 00:11:46.190 folks. That's why there's a warning here. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:48.200 That's why there's a warning. 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.000 Don't miss out on the salvation. 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:53.060 That's the point of today's message. 00:11:52.834 --> 00:11:54.144 Don't miss it. 00:11:54.342 --> 00:11:56.876 Don't get distracted by the noise. 00:11:57.068 --> 00:12:03.404 Don't get drawn in or pulled into the cultural conversation that's 00:12:03.452 --> 00:12:10.436 debating what God has already said is false because it's going on out 00:12:10.458 --> 00:12:11.300 there, y'all. 00:12:16.040 --> 00:12:17.030 For this reason, 00:12:17.050 --> 00:12:21.030 we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard. 00:12:21.800 --> 00:12:22.992 That's the gospel. 00:12:23.056 --> 00:12:26.302 Now, because we're going to get to that in this text so that we will not 00:12:26.302 --> 00:12:27.290 drift away. 00:12:28.060 --> 00:12:30.462 It's really easy for us to walk out of this room, 00:12:30.462 --> 00:12:33.918 when we've paid very close and specific attention to what God is saying 00:12:33.918 --> 00:12:38.178 in his word and then get outside of here when this is kind of like a 00:12:38.178 --> 00:12:39.310 stewing pot. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:41.400 We love each other. 00:12:41.266 --> 00:12:42.568 We hug each other's necks, 00:12:42.568 --> 00:12:43.426 we shake hands, 00:12:43.426 --> 00:12:44.572 we welcome people, 00:12:44.706 --> 00:12:48.962 man, this is a place where it just kind of just keeps folding over and 00:12:48.962 --> 00:12:51.116 folding over that we want to be about Jesus, 00:12:51.116 --> 00:12:52.332 we want to talk about Jesus, 00:12:52.332 --> 00:12:53.436 we want to love Jesus, 00:12:53.436 --> 00:12:54.566 we want to love each other. 00:12:54.566 --> 00:12:55.886 And it just keeps. 00:12:55.900 --> 00:12:58.054 We're going to remind you of that. 00:12:58.054 --> 00:13:00.586 But there's a message that the world needs to hear. 00:13:00.586 --> 00:13:03.306 But there's a message that if we're not paying attention to it, 00:13:03.306 --> 00:13:05.350 we'll get distracted by the world. 00:13:08.040 --> 00:13:09.498 I don't want to drift away from that. 00:13:09.498 --> 00:13:10.238 When I walk out of here, 00:13:10.238 --> 00:13:12.062 what should I be talking about? 00:13:12.062 --> 00:13:13.800 Should be talking about Jesus. 00:13:14.300 --> 00:13:16.040 The world needs Jesus. 00:13:18.220 --> 00:13:21.850 I've told this story before because it's always funny to me. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.152 I went to seminary. 00:13:24.216 --> 00:13:32.104 Now, my upper education theological training took place in New Orleans, 00:13:32.152 --> 00:13:34.792 Louisiana. And every time I tell people that, 00:13:34.822 --> 00:13:35.286 they go, 00:13:35.286 --> 00:13:40.160 what? New Orleans Baptist theological Seminary. 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:43.292 It's on Gentilly Boulevard down in New Orleans. 00:13:43.356 --> 00:13:45.728 And it's all right. 00:13:45.814 --> 00:13:47.536 I had a great education, 00:13:47.638 --> 00:13:48.998 made a lot of friends. 00:13:48.998 --> 00:13:49.964 You know, 00:13:50.102 --> 00:13:52.224 I enjoy music of all kinds, 00:13:52.272 --> 00:13:55.386 right? And so jazz music is pretty cool to me. 00:13:55.082 --> 00:13:59.042 And when you got those street bands playing down in the historical 00:13:59.056 --> 00:13:59.764 district here, 00:13:59.802 --> 00:14:00.900 French Quarter, 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:04.804 I'd go and listen down there in the French Quarter, 00:14:04.804 --> 00:14:07.774 and I'd just be listening to music and stuff. 00:14:08.300 --> 00:14:11.270 One day I was standing there listening to music, 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:12.802 and this was back in the old days, 00:14:12.802 --> 00:14:15.634 so it wasn't quite as dangerous as it is now. 00:14:15.634 --> 00:14:17.682 But this guy kind of got up beside me. 00:14:17.682 --> 00:14:18.430 He goes, 00:14:19.760 --> 00:14:23.310 cocaine. And I went, 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:29.024 Jesus, man, 00:14:29.062 --> 00:14:30.130 he was gone. 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:31.078 I mean, 00:14:31.078 --> 00:14:31.638 I looked up, 00:14:31.638 --> 00:14:32.958 that dude was gone. 00:14:36.920 --> 00:14:37.668 You see, 00:14:37.754 --> 00:14:40.394 that's the message the world needs to hear, 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:43.456 Jesus. Quite honestly, 00:14:43.488 --> 00:14:47.120 folks, when we allow ourselves to be drawn into what argument, 00:14:47.280 --> 00:14:54.120 debate over things that the Bible has already said is decided. 00:14:55.900 --> 00:14:57.598 When we get drawn into that, 00:14:57.598 --> 00:14:59.480 folks, that's distraction. 00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:01.342 I mean, 00:15:01.342 --> 00:15:02.766 I'm not going to sit down. 00:15:02.766 --> 00:15:03.262 All right, 00:15:03.262 --> 00:15:05.118 so some of you all can get mad about this. 00:15:04.958 --> 00:15:05.442 You want to, 00:15:05.442 --> 00:15:05.906 but remember, 00:15:05.906 --> 00:15:07.556 you got to forgive me. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.994 I'm not going to sit down and have a debate whether a man's a woman and a 00:15:10.994 --> 00:15:11.984 woman's a man. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:13.380 I'm not. 00:15:13.426 --> 00:15:16.396 Because God already said what is and what isn't. 00:15:17.540 --> 00:15:20.510 I'm not going to have that debate with you. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:23.238 Don't invite me out there to say, 00:15:23.238 --> 00:15:24.944 well, psychologists say, 00:15:25.142 --> 00:15:25.958 because I'm going to say, 00:15:25.958 --> 00:15:27.278 yeah, but God said, 00:15:28.680 --> 00:15:29.946 well, the culture says, 00:15:29.946 --> 00:15:31.190 well, God said, 00:15:31.880 --> 00:15:34.190 I'm just not going to do it. 00:15:34.520 --> 00:15:39.470 And then I'll just grin at you and go because I'm not going to argue, 00:15:39.488 --> 00:15:42.644 not going to argue with you about it because I'm going to pay attention 00:15:42.644 --> 00:15:47.428 to what God has said first before I listen to all that trash. 00:15:47.604 --> 00:15:48.222 And yes, 00:15:48.222 --> 00:15:50.202 you heard me call it trash. 00:15:51.260 --> 00:15:55.224 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding, 00:15:55.272 --> 00:15:57.266 now understand what is he saying there? 00:15:57.266 --> 00:16:01.426 What he's saying there is the legally binding this justice system of God 00:16:01.426 --> 00:16:02.770 means is that the message, 00:16:02.770 --> 00:16:05.798 the covenant that God established with his people throughout the Old 00:16:05.798 --> 00:16:07.164 Testament was legally binding, 00:16:07.212 --> 00:16:10.560 meaning punishable by death if broken. 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:13.942 You understand that's what he's saying right there. 00:16:13.942 --> 00:16:15.430 Because then he goes on to say, 00:16:15.430 --> 00:16:20.420 and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment. 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:31.672 How will we escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation or the 00:16:31.726 --> 00:16:36.120 message of God's salvation that he has presented to us through his son 00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:40.996 Jesus? If the prophets and angels message was legally binding and 00:16:41.038 --> 00:16:42.248 punishable by death, 00:16:42.344 --> 00:16:45.790 then what happens if we ignore what Jesus said? 00:16:47.520 --> 00:16:53.148 See, we got greater promise in the new covenant than they actually 00:16:53.234 --> 00:16:55.360 realized in the old covenant. 00:16:56.260 --> 00:16:56.902 Guess what? 00:16:56.902 --> 00:17:00.524 There's also a greater punishment in the new covenant. 00:17:00.572 --> 00:17:03.744 Because what the new covenant punishment is, 00:17:03.782 --> 00:17:05.200 is spiritual death. 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.350 Remember when, 00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:11.220 remember the encouragement. 00:17:12.040 --> 00:17:15.110 Don't fear those who can merely kill the body. 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.140 Fear the one who can take the soul. 00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:28.680 This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord. 00:17:29.260 --> 00:17:31.992 See, what have we heard? 00:17:32.046 --> 00:17:34.366 Pay attention all the more to what we have heard. 00:17:34.366 --> 00:17:35.122 What have we have heard? 00:17:35.122 --> 00:17:37.640 We've heard what Jesus came preaching. 00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:38.962 We've heard the good news. 00:17:38.962 --> 00:17:39.928 We've heard the gospel. 00:17:39.928 --> 00:17:40.808 We've heard the kingdom, 00:17:40.808 --> 00:17:41.720 we've heard heaven. 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.148 We've heard salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and victory 00:17:45.148 --> 00:17:46.400 through the resurrection. 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:47.810 You see, 00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:55.964 and to minimize that or to somehow make that just one in the list of 00:17:56.022 --> 00:17:57.764 priorities of our lives, 00:17:57.962 --> 00:18:04.900 folks, is to neglect this great salvation. 00:18:06.280 --> 00:18:08.084 Christ preached it. 00:18:08.282 --> 00:18:09.722 And then the writer goes on saying, 00:18:09.722 --> 00:18:13.290 it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 00:18:13.820 --> 00:18:16.228 And what that's referring to is that as Christ preached, 00:18:16.228 --> 00:18:18.196 the apostles went out preaching, 00:18:18.388 --> 00:18:20.920 delivering the message that Christ had delivered. 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.508 I always loved that. 00:18:24.594 --> 00:18:27.058 When I was coming through school and everything, 00:18:27.058 --> 00:18:29.496 everybody talked about Josh McDowell. 00:18:29.688 --> 00:18:31.870 Josh McDowell wrote a book. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:36.016 It was a little evangelism book. 00:18:36.198 --> 00:18:39.740 And chapter three or four was entitled Lord, 00:18:39.820 --> 00:18:41.360 liar or lunatic. 00:18:43.860 --> 00:18:47.636 Jesus is either the Lord who he says he is, 00:18:47.818 --> 00:18:49.220 or he lied, 00:18:50.280 --> 00:18:51.830 or he's just crazy. 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:56.192 See, by faith, 00:18:56.336 --> 00:18:58.272 we trust him as Lord. 00:18:58.416 --> 00:18:59.406 Now we've know, 00:18:59.418 --> 00:19:04.744 I've been using this idea that God is making his case for the messiah to 00:19:04.782 --> 00:19:07.800 the hebrew people through the book of Hebrews. 00:19:08.620 --> 00:19:09.662 And some of you know, 00:19:09.662 --> 00:19:10.376 Strobel's book, 00:19:10.398 --> 00:19:11.346 the case for Christ, 00:19:11.346 --> 00:19:13.326 they made it into a movie. 00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:14.226 You see, 00:19:14.226 --> 00:19:19.356 it's interesting to me that those who are diametrically opposed to the 00:19:19.378 --> 00:19:25.032 message of the gospel undertake to disprove the gospel. 00:19:25.176 --> 00:19:28.902 And then all of a sudden we have this incredible transformation that 00:19:28.902 --> 00:19:29.562 takes place. 00:19:29.366 --> 00:19:32.598 They're trying to prove that Jesus wasn't who he said he was, 00:19:32.598 --> 00:19:33.558 and all of a sudden they're like, 00:19:33.558 --> 00:19:34.214 oh, no, 00:19:34.214 --> 00:19:35.760 I'm following Jesus. 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:38.496 Right? See, 00:19:38.518 --> 00:19:41.130 the world we live in wants to deny Christ. 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:44.538 The world we live in doesn't want to submit and surrender to the 00:19:44.538 --> 00:19:46.804 authority that God has over us. 00:19:46.842 --> 00:19:50.388 They don't want anybody to be able to tell them what they can and can't 00:19:50.388 --> 00:19:50.970 do. 00:19:52.620 --> 00:19:55.610 But God's called us to surrender to him. 00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:01.816 There's a message that God's preached. 00:20:01.928 --> 00:20:05.228 There's confirmation of the message through the folks who have preached 00:20:05.228 --> 00:20:08.560 it. And then God added his own proof. 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:14.940 This is the one that a lot of times I grew up in the, 00:20:15.030 --> 00:20:17.956 went to college in the. 00:20:17.978 --> 00:20:20.100 Remember the tv preacher guys, 00:20:20.170 --> 00:20:20.790 right? 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.630 See, some of you going to get mad now for sure, 00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:32.824 but you remember those guys that got a lot of attention because they 00:20:32.862 --> 00:20:34.040 could do miracles. 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:36.862 Do you know? 00:20:36.862 --> 00:20:39.172 They're not the ones doing the miracle. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:42.460 God's the one that does the supernatural, 00:20:43.040 --> 00:20:44.380 not mankind. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.230 Don't get distracted by the man. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.820 See, that's the caution. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:53.472 God confirmed his own message, 00:20:53.606 --> 00:20:58.812 testified to the message of the gospel by signs and wonders and various 00:20:58.956 --> 00:21:04.080 miracles and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his 00:21:04.150 --> 00:21:05.764 will. Not my will. 00:21:05.802 --> 00:21:06.586 I can't just choose. 00:21:06.586 --> 00:21:08.304 Okay, let's do a miracle. 00:21:08.352 --> 00:21:09.672 I can't do that. 00:21:10.600 --> 00:21:12.228 Only God does that. 00:21:12.394 --> 00:21:16.630 God's the one that has proven himself over and over again. 00:21:19.580 --> 00:21:22.360 See? So let's talk about it a minute. 00:21:24.060 --> 00:21:24.862 Think about it. 00:21:24.862 --> 00:21:27.832 What are some of the things we talk about? 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:31.190 Think of the things that are important to you. 00:21:30.994 --> 00:21:31.816 Hi, parents. 00:21:31.848 --> 00:21:33.828 Do you talk about your children? 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:36.796 Of course you do, 00:21:36.978 --> 00:21:38.360 man, I'm proud. 00:21:38.520 --> 00:21:39.522 I don't got one, 00:21:39.522 --> 00:21:40.620 but I'm proud. 00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:44.962 What else do we talk about? 00:21:44.962 --> 00:21:46.282 Do we talk about, 00:21:47.520 --> 00:21:49.062 I mentioned several weeks ago, 00:21:49.062 --> 00:21:49.702 flower bed, 00:21:49.702 --> 00:21:50.662 even though I don't have any. 00:21:50.662 --> 00:21:50.918 I mean, 00:21:50.918 --> 00:21:51.366 I did, 00:21:51.366 --> 00:21:52.370 but not really. 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:53.318 You know what? 00:21:53.318 --> 00:21:54.102 If it doesn't live, 00:21:54.102 --> 00:21:55.422 it ain't my fault. 00:21:57.080 --> 00:21:59.390 We talk about the things we do. 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.030 We talk about the things we produce. 00:22:02.840 --> 00:22:05.620 We talk about our activities and our hobbies. 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:10.142 And we talk about where we've been and we talk about all kinds of things. 00:22:10.142 --> 00:22:16.584 We talk about our teams and we talk about our workplace and we talk about 00:22:16.622 --> 00:22:17.502 all that stuff. 00:22:17.246 --> 00:22:18.372 And quite honestly, 00:22:18.436 --> 00:22:21.516 talking about those things is not wrong. 00:22:21.618 --> 00:22:25.154 It's not sin to talk about those things unless you get into what the 00:22:25.154 --> 00:22:25.880 Bible calls, 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:27.128 course, jesting, 00:22:27.224 --> 00:22:28.860 because that becomes sin. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:31.624 But, folks, 00:22:31.672 --> 00:22:36.800 do we talk about those things more or less than we talk about Jesus? 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:40.848 See? Wow. 00:22:40.934 --> 00:22:42.914 Does the world need to know, 00:22:43.060 --> 00:22:44.198 and I'll be honest, 00:22:44.198 --> 00:22:45.514 let's go ahead and say this. 00:22:45.514 --> 00:22:49.144 Does the world need to know how great your kids are? 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:51.162 See, I'm being offensive now, 00:22:51.162 --> 00:22:51.750 right? 00:22:52.600 --> 00:22:53.260 Go ahead. 00:22:53.306 --> 00:22:54.330 Y'all can admit it. 00:22:54.330 --> 00:22:55.990 I am offending you. 00:22:57.420 --> 00:22:58.490 Here you go. 00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:00.760 I'll even be more offensive. 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:06.184 There's a statement that a few folks throughout these 40 years of 00:23:06.222 --> 00:23:08.856 ministry, that when people say it, 00:23:08.878 --> 00:23:10.198 I cut them off. 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:12.136 Now, see, 00:23:12.158 --> 00:23:12.958 I'm warning you all, 00:23:12.958 --> 00:23:15.362 so don't ever say this to me because I'm going to cut you off. 00:23:15.362 --> 00:23:16.306 When you do, 00:23:16.306 --> 00:23:17.202 they'll come up and say, 00:23:17.202 --> 00:23:19.310 oh, you'll appreciate this. 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:20.990 And I go, 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:23.070 how do you know? 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.220 You don't know if I'll appreciate it or not, 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:27.920 right? 00:23:28.070 --> 00:23:31.398 Maybe what you're about to share with me is something God wanted you to 00:23:31.398 --> 00:23:32.940 know for your sake, 00:23:33.020 --> 00:23:33.890 for you, 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:38.820 and you need to pay attention to it and you need to act on it. 00:23:38.820 --> 00:23:39.882 But you come up and say, 00:23:39.882 --> 00:23:43.418 well, there was a fellow that used everything he said to me. 00:23:43.418 --> 00:23:45.258 You prefaced it with those words. 00:23:45.258 --> 00:23:46.378 And I finally told him, 00:23:46.378 --> 00:23:46.682 I go, 00:23:46.682 --> 00:23:47.146 well, no, 00:23:47.146 --> 00:23:47.658 not that one. 00:23:47.658 --> 00:23:49.308 I don't appreciate that one. 00:23:48.538 --> 00:23:49.110 Sorry. 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:53.590 See, here's the. 00:23:54.680 --> 00:24:01.964 The point is we need to find a way to talk about Jesus everywhere that we 00:24:02.002 --> 00:24:04.030 are in our lives, 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.430 in our daily walk. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.552 We need to find a way to talk about Jesus with what our coworkers, 00:24:12.552 --> 00:24:13.352 our neighbors, 00:24:13.416 --> 00:24:14.270 our family. 00:24:14.800 --> 00:24:15.538 I tell you what, 00:24:15.538 --> 00:24:19.158 that's the one that really troubles me on a lot of occasions is because I 00:24:19.158 --> 00:24:19.878 have people who will say, 00:24:19.878 --> 00:24:20.118 you know, 00:24:20.118 --> 00:24:23.220 the hardest people to talk about Jesus with your family. 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:24.022 I always go, 00:24:24.022 --> 00:24:25.342 okay, let's find out. 00:24:25.162 --> 00:24:28.790 Why. Do you live it in front of them? 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:31.860 Or do they see something else? 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.020 Now he's gone to Medlin, 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:38.772 right? See, 00:24:38.826 --> 00:24:42.958 if we're living Jesus in front of our family and our coworkers and our 00:24:42.958 --> 00:24:46.090 friends and our neighborhood and wherever we are, 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:51.580 then that is the stepping stone to be able to talk about Jesus, 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.430 live it out. 00:24:55.280 --> 00:24:59.240 And then you get to tell people why you live that way. 00:25:01.760 --> 00:25:06.486 We must pay attention all the more to what we have heard so that we will 00:25:06.486 --> 00:25:07.810 not drift away. 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.040 God has given us salvation. 00:25:12.340 --> 00:25:13.808 Jesus preached the message. 00:25:13.894 --> 00:25:15.716 The apostles preached the message. 00:25:15.818 --> 00:25:17.910 God testified to the message. 00:25:19.800 --> 00:25:22.390 We've got to deliver the message. 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:28.090 Okay? Don't miss it. 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:33.384 Don't miss the salvation that God's given to you and the fact that he 00:25:33.422 --> 00:25:35.402 wants you to give it away. 00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:38.780 Give Jesus to the people in your life. 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:41.820 Give Jesus to the people you run into. 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:44.620 Okay? If you don't know Jesus, 00:25:45.040 --> 00:25:46.258 meet him this morning. 00:25:46.258 --> 00:25:47.804 We'll introduce you. 00:25:48.002 --> 00:25:51.842 You need Jesus more than you need anything else in your life. 00:25:51.490 --> 00:25:52.780 You need Jesus. 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:54.956 Okay. Pray with me. 00:25:54.978 --> 00:25:58.492 Father, I thank you for today and thank you for what you're accomplishing 00:25:58.492 --> 00:25:59.430 and what you're doing. 00:25:59.430 --> 00:25:59.878 I thank you, 00:25:59.878 --> 00:26:05.388 God, that there is a very clear warning in this passage right here. 00:26:05.574 --> 00:26:12.804 God, you're warning us that there are consequences to neglecting our 00:26:12.842 --> 00:26:15.108 salvation. God, 00:26:15.194 --> 00:26:16.844 help us to live it. 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:19.470 God, help us to talk about it. 00:26:20.300 --> 00:26:23.270 God, help us to share it with other people. 00:26:24.060 --> 00:26:28.020 God, I thank you for every person in this room this morning. 00:26:28.140 --> 00:26:32.780 I thank you for those who are listening and paying attention. 00:26:33.280 --> 00:26:33.938 I thank you, 00:26:33.938 --> 00:26:35.042 God, that as we leave here, 00:26:35.042 --> 00:26:41.452 we leave with a commission to go share good news with a world that needs 00:26:41.506 --> 00:26:43.184 it. So, 00:26:43.222 --> 00:26:50.770 God, help us not to be neglectful of what you've done in us and for us, 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:54.190 and help us to go share it with others. 00:26:54.820 --> 00:26:56.464 Jesus shared it, 00:26:56.662 --> 00:26:59.104 the apostles took it and shared it. 00:26:59.302 --> 00:27:02.602 People of the first century took it and shared it. 00:27:02.358 --> 00:27:07.800 The writer of Hebrews explained it for us by your own words, 00:27:07.870 --> 00:27:09.912 God. So, 00:27:09.966 --> 00:27:11.946 God, help us to pay attention, 00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:13.678 help us to live it, 00:27:13.678 --> 00:27:15.086 and we pray it in Jesus name. 00:27:15.086 --> 00:27:15.380 Amen.