SOUNDING
OUT:
Give More Earnest Heed (Part 3 of 3)
In the last two newsletters we looked
at the warning in Hebrews 2:1 to give the more earnest
heed to the Word we have heard and the reasons God gave
for the warning in Hebrews 2:2 and 3. This week we will
look at the great extent to which God went to confirm
His Word. He never leaves Himself without witness (Acts
14:17).
Hebrews
2:4:
God also bearing [them] witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
God
added witness upon witness. He did this by signs and
wonders and various kinds of miracles, and spiritual
gifts of the Holy Spirit, which He gives to the church.
All this was according to God’s own will. He confirmed
His Word by supernatural demonstrations of power —
because He willed to do so. He gives spiritual gifts
and works miracles and signs as it pleases Him.
“This salvation,” it says, “...was
confirmed to us by those who heard him.” I think
about what Paul says in Galatians chapter one.
Galatians
1:11,12:
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received
it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
Regarding
the gospel, he says, “I want you to know, brothers,
that the gospel I preach is not something that man made
up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught
it; rather, I received it by revelation.” Paul’s
testifying to the truth that his message was from God.
He reported it as a reliable witness.
Hebrews keeps piling on reasons why we’re
not to neglect what we have heard. He says it’s
more important, it’s spoken by the Lord, it’s
reported and confirmed by God. God testified to it.
God confirmed the message and the messenger,
and continues to confirm it by the gifts of the Holy
Spirit that are distributed according to His will. Now
that’s a loaded phrase, it’s not my phrase;
it’s the Bible’s phrase. The gifts of the
Holy Spirit are gifts that are distributed according
to God’s will.
These verses are like warning lights on the dashboard
of our soul. Don’t neglect salvation in the sense
that you ignore it and you don’t manifest the
gift God has given you. Salvation is something that
we need to take care of. We need to stay strong in our
commitment to God. We need to continue to grow in Christ.
If we ignore what’s available, we will not be
able to escape.
II
Peter 1:1-4:
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
to them that have obtained like precious faith with
us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus
our Lord,
3 According as his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that
hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust.
We
escape the corruption that is in the world by partaking
of God’s divine nature. We get born-again and
then find out what we have. You know, this is the time
of year that for many of us, we need to remind ourselves
of the danger of slipping. For those of us that live
in the north, where there’s freezing rain, or
where there’s ice, we know what it’s like
to slip and fall in the physical sense. But what this
passage does for us no matter what the atmosphere is
like where we live, is it reminds us of the fact that
there are other ways in which we slip.
Ours is not the first generation to face the
challenge, but that doesn’t excuse us from listening
to this passage. It says, “We must pay more careful
attention, therefore, to what we’ve heard, so
that we do not drift away.”
Life has its distractions, we get busy, and before
you know it, we’ve drifted from God. That’s
why I’m glad Jesus Christ is our anchor. Our mooring
is secure. This reminds me of the instruction we’re
given to be doers of the word, not only hearers.
James
1:21-25:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the
word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer
of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner
of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Doing
God’s Word insures that we do not neglect it.
We are going to give heed to something. We should ask
ourselves whether we want to give heed to God’s
Word or someone else’s word. Acts 8 juxtaposes
the genuine and the counterfeit in Samaria. Acts 8:5-13
presents Philip the Evangelist destroying the works
of the adversary. It demonstrates the genuine prevailing
over the counterfeit.
A. Vs 5a - Philip
B. Vs 5b - His message
C. Vs 6a - Heed given
D. Vs 6b, 7 - Reason they gave heed
E. Vs 8 - Result: Philip’s genuine sphere of
influence increased
A. Vs 9a - Simon
B. Vs 9b - His message
C. Vs 10, 11a - Heed given
D. Vs 11b - Reason they gave heed
E. Vs 12,13 - Result: Simon’s counterfeit sphere
of influence negated
Like Bob Dylan sang, “You Got To Serve
Somebody.” We decide whom we serve by whose words
we give heed to. Let’s cleave to the words that
bring salvation and manifest it to all.
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