WEBVTT 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.260 Turn in your Bibles this morning to Hebrews chapter 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:19.600 five. We're gonna look at the last few verses 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.000 of chapter five and then the first three verses 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:29.460 of chapter six this morning. As I was thinking 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:33.079 about how to just begin the message this morning 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:35.960 in full course in light of Mother's Day, it dawned 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:39.299 on me and I think this is true. I can speak for 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:43.100 moms out there. I believe it's every mother's... 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:47.570 desire to see her children grow up to become 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:50.210 mature adults. Moms, wouldn't you agree? Isn't 00:00:50.210 --> 00:00:51.990 that what you'd like to see? Your children grow 00:00:51.990 --> 00:00:54.450 up to become mature adults. I mean, we even talk 00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:56.670 about the fact, you know, we're not really raising 00:00:56.670 --> 00:00:58.869 children. We're raising adults, right? We're 00:00:58.869 --> 00:01:04.670 trying to get them through that young years so 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:07.730 that they can do well as they become adults. 00:01:09.129 --> 00:01:11.829 And again, I think that's true for us as parents 00:01:11.829 --> 00:01:15.370 in general. We can't wait for the firsts in our 00:01:15.370 --> 00:01:18.370 children's lives, right? We want to hear them 00:01:18.370 --> 00:01:20.969 speak their first word. And dads, of course, 00:01:21.010 --> 00:01:23.349 you want that to be dada, right? And moms, mama, 00:01:23.510 --> 00:01:27.049 we want our kids to speak their first word. We 00:01:27.049 --> 00:01:29.549 can't wait for them to cut their first tooth. 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:31.209 And then, of course, we want that to be over 00:01:31.209 --> 00:01:35.370 with, right, all the teething. We can't wait. 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:40.189 to watch them and to video them taking their 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:44.909 first step, all of these things, a progression, 00:01:46.629 --> 00:01:50.230 an advancement in this life that has been brought 00:01:50.230 --> 00:01:53.109 into the world. You know, there's a verse of 00:01:53.109 --> 00:01:59.069 scripture in 3 John, verse four, where it says, 00:01:59.189 --> 00:02:01.709 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children 00:02:01.709 --> 00:02:06.180 are walking. You're supposed to laugh at that 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:08.659 point. Because that's not the end of the verse, 00:02:08.860 --> 00:02:12.340 right? He says, I have no greater joy than to 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:14.259 hear that my children are walking in the truth. 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.180 But again, first, I have no greater joy than 00:02:18.180 --> 00:02:21.879 to hear that my children are walking. God did 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:27.020 not call me to be a comedian, I will say. We 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:31.219 not only desire, but we also delight in the growth. 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:35.500 I mean, we celebrate birthdays, and we often 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:39.800 have marks that we put on the wall of our door 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:44.039 frames, you know, chronicling the growth of our 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:48.479 kids, and we celebrate that. I know that there 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.699 are times that we speak of not wanting our little 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:53.979 ones or that we want our little ones to remain 00:02:53.979 --> 00:02:55.979 little for a little bit longer, right? I hear 00:02:55.979 --> 00:02:59.620 parents say that. But the reality is, if our 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:05.490 kids didn't grow, It would discourage us. It 00:03:05.490 --> 00:03:09.270 would disturb us. We want them to grow physically, 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:13.310 mentally. Again, we want them to become mature 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:16.129 adults. And I guess what we're going to see today 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:18.870 is that our Heavenly Father feels the same way 00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:22.509 about us as His children. He wants us to grow. 00:03:23.169 --> 00:03:26.189 He doesn't want us to remain babes in Christ 00:03:26.189 --> 00:03:29.710 throughout all of our lifetime. And that's what's 00:03:29.710 --> 00:03:32.530 being recorded for us here at the end of chapter 00:03:32.530 --> 00:03:34.349 five and the beginning of chapter six. So we 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:36.849 wanna read these verses together, beginning in 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:41.569 verse 11 of Hebrews chapter five. And of course, 00:03:41.569 --> 00:03:46.090 the writer is about to take the next several 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:50.889 chapters in this book, in this letter, to explain 00:03:50.889 --> 00:03:54.169 the high priesthood of Jesus as being one after 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:58.050 the order of Melchizedek. And Neil kind of got 00:03:58.050 --> 00:04:01.430 us off to a good start last week talking about 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:05.789 the nature of the high priesthood of Jesus in 00:04:05.789 --> 00:04:08.090 the sense that it is much like the high priesthood 00:04:08.090 --> 00:04:11.110 of Melchizedek and that Jesus is not only priest, 00:04:11.229 --> 00:04:16.050 but he's also king. Melchizedek was a king, priest, 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:19.839 Jesus. not only our high priest, but is our king. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.620 So we'll kind of start with that fundamental 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:24.439 introduction, but there's gonna be much, much 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:28.160 more as we move along. And of course, the writer 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.579 begins to talk about that in verse 11. And he 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:37.620 says about this, about this Melchizedekian priesthood, 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:40.360 all right, about this, we have much to say. And 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:44.199 it's hard to explain since you have become dull 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:46.870 of hearing. For though by this time you ought 00:04:46.870 --> 00:04:49.350 to be teachers, you need someone to teach you 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:51.889 again the basic principles of the oracles of 00:04:51.889 --> 00:04:56.329 God. You need milk, not solid food or meat as 00:04:56.329 --> 00:04:59.350 the old King James Bible said. For everyone who 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:02.129 lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness 00:05:02.129 --> 00:05:05.910 since he is a child. But solid food is for the 00:05:05.910 --> 00:05:09.449 mature, for those who have their powers of discernment 00:05:09.449 --> 00:05:13.790 trained by constant practice to distinguish good 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:16.889 from evil. Therefore, let us leave the elementary 00:05:16.889 --> 00:05:20.089 doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not 00:05:20.089 --> 00:05:22.389 laying again a foundation of repentance from 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:25.910 dead works and of faith toward God and of instruction 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:28.589 about washings and the laying on of hands, the 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:30.649 resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:35.490 And he says, and this we will do if God permits. 00:05:35.589 --> 00:05:37.810 So let's pray together this morning as we look. 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:41.459 at this passage of scripture together. Father, 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:46.459 we do pray that you would help us to grasp the 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:50.180 teaching of scripture. And Lord, we understand, 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:54.180 we acknowledge in our own lives that there are 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:56.660 portions of scripture that are indeed hard to 00:05:56.660 --> 00:06:00.360 explain, hard to understand. They demand effort 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:10.329 on our part, mental effort. You ask us. to think 00:06:10.329 --> 00:06:14.970 about you, about ourselves, about others, about 00:06:14.970 --> 00:06:19.329 the gospel. And I pray that you would give us 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:23.250 the strength to do that. And of course, Father, 00:06:23.290 --> 00:06:29.149 we simply acknowledge that this is your desire 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:33.529 for us, again, not to remain children, but to 00:06:33.529 --> 00:06:36.970 become mature adults in our understanding of 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:40.129 you. and what the word of God says. So today, 00:06:40.329 --> 00:06:44.529 Father, help us as we take that next step in 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:47.889 our advancement toward maturity. And we will 00:06:47.889 --> 00:06:50.970 give you praise and honor and glory for it all. 00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:55.149 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. And of course, 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:58.990 it goes without saying that the first step toward 00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:04.329 becoming a mature Christian is that initial step. 00:07:04.930 --> 00:07:07.529 of believing upon the name of Jesus, receiving 00:07:07.529 --> 00:07:10.550 him as Savior and Lord. And so I trust that if 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:13.250 you've not done that, that today, what a better 00:07:13.250 --> 00:07:16.829 day than Mother's Day to receive Christ as Savior 00:07:16.829 --> 00:07:18.850 and Lord. No greater gift you could give your 00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:23.389 Christian mom than to come to Christ today. But 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:25.509 we're gonna look at two things in this text. 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:27.550 It's pretty neatly divided between those last 00:07:27.550 --> 00:07:31.430 few verses in chapter five that speak of Christian 00:07:31.430 --> 00:07:35.259 apathy. Or spiritual apathy really would be a 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:37.759 better word for it. And then the next three verses 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:41.439 of the beginning of chapter six speak of spiritual 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.879 advancement. And of course, our lives are not 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.600 to be characterized by spiritual apathy, right? 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:50.779 But rather, spiritual advancement. So I want 00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:53.240 you to be thinking about that today, asking yourself 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:57.160 that question, is my life advancing? Am I progressing 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.579 in my understanding of God, the things of God? 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.839 You should be. You know, we had a discussion 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.800 this morning in our life group and we ended up 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.540 talking about life in eternity, life upon the 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.819 new earth. The question was raised about whether 00:08:13.819 --> 00:08:16.139 or not in heaven we'd really get to sit down 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:19.620 and talk with Old Testament saints, Abraham, 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:24.879 Moses, David. Would we really be able to talk 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:27.509 to those? And of course, we believe yes, absolutely 00:08:27.509 --> 00:08:31.110 we'll be able to spend time talking with those 00:08:31.110 --> 00:08:33.669 people. And I believe that even upon the new 00:08:33.669 --> 00:08:36.210 earth, even in eternity, we're gonna continue 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:38.289 to grow in our understanding of who God is. God 00:08:38.289 --> 00:08:41.549 is infinite, right? We are never going to be 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:46.039 able to exhaust. the knowledge of God. And I 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:48.519 think that through all eternity, one of the joys 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:51.720 of our life upon the new earth is going to be 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:54.659 learning more and more about God and the people 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:57.379 of God and the creation of God. It's going to 00:08:57.379 --> 00:09:00.759 go on throughout all eternity and for all time. 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:07.100 But now, in this present world, we have to be 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:08.600 careful. We have to be warned. We have to be 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:12.159 encouraged not to allow our lives to be spiritually 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.440 So the writer says, I've got much to say about 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.620 this whole idea of Jesus being a high priest 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:23.220 after the order of Melchizedek, but it's hard 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:30.779 to explain. And when I taught this verse on Wednesday 00:09:30.779 --> 00:09:33.360 nights, I remember sharing that I'm glad those 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:36.519 words are there in scripture. Do you often find 00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:38.659 that scripture is hard to understand, hard to 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:42.279 explain? I know I do. There are some things that 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.840 are relatively simple, but much of scripture 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:50.639 is difficult to understand. And as a pastor who 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.919 seeks to stand before a congregation and expound 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:57.320 the word of God, even more difficult once you 00:09:57.320 --> 00:09:59.679 have a semblance of an understanding to then 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:03.559 explain what the text is saying. And the writer 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:06.879 of Hebrews is expressing the very same. thought, 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:09.639 what I want to share with you is going to be 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.100 difficult. It's going to be hard for me to explain. 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:18.179 And again, it comforts me to know that this one 00:10:18.179 --> 00:10:20.620 writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:22.879 is having this issue in his life. But then he 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.340 goes on and he says, the reason that it's going 00:10:25.340 --> 00:10:28.879 to be hard to explain is because you've become 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:33.049 dull of hearing. It wasn't just the difficulty 00:10:33.049 --> 00:10:35.950 of the concept of Jesus being a high priest after 00:10:35.950 --> 00:10:38.809 the order of Melchizedek, but it was the spiritual 00:10:38.809 --> 00:10:42.269 apathy of the people to whom he sought to impart 00:10:42.269 --> 00:10:51.490 this truth. There was indeed a problem and this 00:10:51.490 --> 00:10:54.169 hard to explain concept was going to be made 00:10:54.169 --> 00:10:59.340 even harder to explain. Well, Again, because 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:04.419 of this whole idea of spiritual apathy, they 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:13.159 had become dull of hearing. So two reasons. Some 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:15.840 biblical truths are simply hard to understand. 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:18.700 We have to go back over them time and time again. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:20.659 We have to refresh ourselves. We have to remind 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:24.279 ourselves of these great truths and how we are 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.340 to apply them. to our lives, and certainly this 00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:29.659 whole idea of Jesus being a high priest after 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:31.899 the order of Melchizedek is one of those hard 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:35.500 to explain concepts. You know, most people love 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.440 to talk about Melchizedek, right? He's kind of 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:41.340 a mysterious person in scripture. We want to 00:11:41.340 --> 00:11:43.139 know more about him, and I think the reason that 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:45.299 we have this infatuation with Melchizedek is 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:47.220 because of that passage of scripture that says 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:48.799 that he didn't have a beginning, he didn't have 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:53.340 an end. And I think all that means to us today, 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:55.259 or should mean to us today, is that his birth 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:58.240 simply wasn't recorded. His death wasn't recorded. 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:00.639 I believe Melchizedek was a real man. I mean, 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.580 Abraham met him, paid tithes to Melchizedek. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.179 But we have this infatuation with these mysterious 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:12.720 characters of scripture, and again, often, because 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:15.940 of the difficulty of explaining these concepts. 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:18.179 We want to hear as much as we can about them. 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:20.360 The second reason, of course, that the readers 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:23.679 of Hebrews, the ones who would listen to this 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:25.840 letter read, we're gonna have a difficult time, 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:28.419 was because of their own spiritual immaturity. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.480 And we just have to face the reality, church, 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:33.600 that sometimes that's the reason. It's not just 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.340 that scripture can be difficult, but sometimes 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:40.490 it's because we just will not do our part. Things 00:12:40.490 --> 00:12:44.470 become difficult that shouldn't be so difficult. 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:50.269 He's simply saying, look church, you've been 00:12:50.269 --> 00:12:52.309 sitting under the preaching and teaching of God's 00:12:52.309 --> 00:12:56.450 word long enough that you should be able to teach 00:12:56.450 --> 00:13:00.350 others. But they were still in need of being 00:13:00.350 --> 00:13:02.230 taught, and not just being taught, but being 00:13:02.230 --> 00:13:05.759 taught. The ABCs, you ought to be able to teach 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:08.159 others, but you need someone to teach you again 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:13.220 the basic principles of the oracles of God. Basic 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:15.940 principles. Again, those words could be translated 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:19.799 the ABCs. They should have been reading on their 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:23.340 own, but they were still having to be taught 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:26.759 the ABCs. They weren't where they should be at 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:34.000 this time in their Christian lives. a medical 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:37.019 term. It was relatively new to me. I think I've 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:39.059 heard of it, but I've never really thought about 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:41.620 it too much. But it's a medical term, failure 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.960 to thrive. Have you heard of that? And it speaks 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.659 of a condition wherein children do not develop 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:51.379 or grow physically at the expected rate. You 00:13:51.379 --> 00:13:54.519 know, new parents, they take their kids to the 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:56.980 doctor for those wellness checks after the baby's 00:13:56.980 --> 00:13:59.000 born, and they come back and they tell you, well, 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:02.120 you know, my child was in the 85th percentile. 00:14:02.190 --> 00:14:04.529 of such and such for their height or their weight 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:06.970 or the circumference of their head. All these 00:14:06.970 --> 00:14:10.730 measurements are taken. Children who are experiencing 00:14:10.730 --> 00:14:14.549 failure to thrive are those who are in the bottom 00:14:14.549 --> 00:14:17.529 measurements. They're not progressing as they 00:14:17.529 --> 00:14:19.789 should. They're not growing as they should. They're 00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:23.330 not advancing as they should. The medical community 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:26.309 calls that failure to thrive. And the interesting 00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:29.669 thing, there are several causes for failure to 00:14:29.669 --> 00:14:33.620 thrive. But the most common cause of failure 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:40.940 to thrive is malnourishment. Simply an insufficient 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:46.159 caloric intake, and thus the child falls behind 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.720 other children its age in the physical growth 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:51.720 categories that I just mentioned, height, weight, 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:55.519 head circumference. What the writer of Hebrews 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:59.419 is saying to us is that failure to thrive is 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:02.309 something that's taking place in the church. 00:15:02.409 --> 00:15:04.509 It's a condition that afflicted church members 00:15:04.509 --> 00:15:08.950 to whom he was writing. And I believe it afflicts 00:15:08.950 --> 00:15:13.129 church members today. Failure to thrive. And 00:15:13.129 --> 00:15:15.470 again, what we need to note here is that the 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:19.429 most common cause is self -infliction. It's just 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:23.289 the neglect of proper nutrition. We're not feeding 00:15:23.289 --> 00:15:25.809 on the word of God the way that we should. We're 00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:30.169 not spending time in God's word. as we ought 00:15:30.169 --> 00:15:37.649 to. And so we are malnourished spiritually and 00:15:37.649 --> 00:15:42.990 thus dull of hearing. What we should be able 00:15:42.990 --> 00:15:48.350 to understand, we are often not because we simply 00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:50.750 have chosen not to feed on the word of God and 00:15:50.750 --> 00:15:54.029 grow as we should in our knowledge and understanding. 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.039 of the word. So the condition, failure to thrive, 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:01.159 the condition, you've become dull of hearing. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.620 Again, those words, dull of hearing, it's really 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:09.539 not speaking about the ability to hear as we 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:14.000 often talk about it. If you were with us in church, 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:17.460 you would hear about hearing and hearing aids 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:19.899 all the time in the church office. We talk about 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:25.480 that a lot in there. It seems that some of us 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:28.480 older staff members are becoming dull of hearing, 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:30.200 but that's not really what this dull of hearing 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:34.480 is talking about. This dull of hearing means 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:40.100 to have no push, no drive, seemingly no motivation 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:43.769 to advance spiritually. To advance in maturity, 00:16:43.970 --> 00:16:45.830 to advance in my knowledge and understanding 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:48.730 of the Word of God is the context in which this 00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:52.889 phrase is being used. We were taught just a few 00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:56.490 verses earlier in our study that we're to strive 00:16:56.490 --> 00:16:59.190 after the things of God, right? We're to strive 00:16:59.190 --> 00:17:01.769 after this rest that God has provided for us. 00:17:01.889 --> 00:17:04.690 We're to strive after righteousness. Well, one 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:07.150 who has become dull of hearing, there's no striving 00:17:07.150 --> 00:17:10.210 in that life. They have no desire whatsoever 00:17:10.210 --> 00:17:14.819 to strive. for the things of God. There is no 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:20.259 pressing on in that life, as Paul says in Philippians 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:23.279 312, to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:27.480 has taken hold of me. So all I can do this morning 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.619 is to simply ask you to search your own heart, 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:33.079 to allow the Word of God, the Spirit of God, 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:36.819 to search your heart. Is your life characterized 00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:42.880 by an ever -forward, pushing, pressing on, striving 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:47.599 toward the things of God. Or have you just decided 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:49.480 to pull off the side of the road and park for 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:56.799 a while? It's what a lot of people do. Dull of 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:01.519 hearing, no motivation, no drive. It implies 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.140 that these people had become lazy, perhaps even 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:07.200 bored with the word of God. Let me ask you a 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.380 question today. Does the word of God bore you? 00:18:15.169 --> 00:18:17.089 One of the things that I found to be true in 00:18:17.089 --> 00:18:23.750 my own devotional life is when I fail to engage 00:18:23.750 --> 00:18:26.049 the Word of God on a regular basis the way that 00:18:26.049 --> 00:18:29.829 I should, it becomes increasingly difficult to 00:18:29.829 --> 00:18:33.150 do that. It's as if the Word of God doesn't hold 00:18:33.150 --> 00:18:36.190 the same interest as it once did. And I think 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:38.250 we can all understand that because we've probably 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.819 all been there. But when I... When I determine 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:43.019 every day to spend time in the Word of God, praying 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:45.640 over God's Word, searching God's Word, reading 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:48.839 God's Word, memorizing God's Word, whatever you 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.500 choose to do, then the more that you do that, 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:55.799 it's as if God just multiplies that desire within 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:58.480 you. You can't wait to get back to it the next 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:03.579 day. That's what we're talking about here. This 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.039 whole condition of being dull of hearing was 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:10.259 a self -inflicted problem. They had neglected 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:14.140 the word of God. They had become apathetic. Again, 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:19.059 perhaps even bored. I would love to stand up 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:21.059 here and say I can't imagine anybody being bored 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.359 with the word of God, but I can't imagine that. 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:27.740 We should never be bored with the word of God. 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:29.460 And if you're bored with God's word, you need 00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:31.500 to pray and you need to get into God's word. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:37.059 You need to ask God to revitalize your interest. 00:19:37.450 --> 00:19:41.829 in him and in the things of God. Proverbs 19, 00:19:41.829 --> 00:19:45.109 24 is a verse that I've highlighted dozens of 00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:50.470 times in various Bibles and translation. But 00:19:50.470 --> 00:19:56.549 it pictures one who is too lazy to even feed 00:19:56.549 --> 00:19:59.009 themselves on the nourishment that is right before 00:19:59.009 --> 00:20:01.970 them. Of course the word that the Bible uses 00:20:01.970 --> 00:20:05.190 for this kind of person is a sluggard. You've 00:20:05.190 --> 00:20:07.009 heard that word, you've read that word in scripture, 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:11.289 the sluggard. We could say the dull of hearing, 00:20:12.329 --> 00:20:16.089 the spiritually apathetic. But the verse says 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:19.569 this, the sluggard buries his hand in the dish 00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:22.029 and will not even bring it back to his mouth. 00:20:22.990 --> 00:20:25.609 That's what we're talking about. The nourishment's 00:20:25.609 --> 00:20:27.809 right there in front of you. It's been prepared. 00:20:29.170 --> 00:20:35.160 It's hot, ready to eat. Got your spoon. that 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.119 you won't even bring the food back to your mouth. 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:40.140 That's a slugger. And let me tell you, if you 00:20:40.140 --> 00:20:42.359 identify with a slugger, that's not a good thing, 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.279 by the way. That is not a word that you want 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:48.519 to be referred to as a slugger. But that's what 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:54.599 was happening among these early Christians. They 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.160 had simply allowed themselves to fall into spiritual 00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:02.109 apathy, neglecting. the things that would have 00:21:02.109 --> 00:21:04.829 strengthened them to resist the temptation that 00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:07.549 they were being faced with, would have given 00:21:07.549 --> 00:21:12.109 them wisdom to face the difficulties that were 00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:14.069 now presenting themselves as a result of their 00:21:14.069 --> 00:21:18.069 newfound faith in Christ. And so because of their 00:21:18.069 --> 00:21:20.849 spiritual apathy, because of their dullness of 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:23.769 hearing, they were no longer or they weren't 00:21:23.769 --> 00:21:27.970 feeding on the solid food, the meat of the Bible, 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:31.619 but rather they were simply satisfying themselves 00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:34.279 with milk. And again, you can just think of an 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:38.460 infant, right? I mean, when we first begin to 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:41.319 feed our children from a bottle, I mean, they 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:43.160 won't even hold the bottle themselves. Talk about 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:44.859 a first, remember that first night, your baby 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:47.759 reached up and held the bottle for himself? That's 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:51.940 a pretty great night. But before that, you have 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:54.440 to hold the bottle for him. You prepare the milk, 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:57.619 you warm it, you get it all ready, and then you 00:21:57.619 --> 00:21:59.819 have to hold that bottle. That's kind of what's 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:02.059 being pictured here. You need milk, the scripture 00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:05.000 says, and not solid food. For everyone who lives 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.000 on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:11.799 The reason that the writer of this letter was 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:14.140 gonna have such a difficult time explaining the 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:16.779 concepts surrounding the high priesthood of Jesus 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:19.000 is that these people to whom he was writing, 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:24.039 many of them had chosen to live on milk. And 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:28.079 they just weren't able to have. Solid food, they 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:32.700 couldn't stomach it. It was too difficult. You 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:36.559 have to choose solid food. Milk just goes right 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:43.759 down. You have to prepare and eat solid food, 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:50.279 milk. Not so much trouble with milk. But those 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:54.480 who refuse to move on, to advance in their spiritual 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:58.710 life, to the nourishment of the solid food, the 00:22:58.710 --> 00:23:01.150 meat of scripture. The Bible says they're not 00:23:01.150 --> 00:23:09.009 able, well, they cannot handle the word of God. 00:23:09.069 --> 00:23:11.549 They are unskilled in the word of righteousness. 00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:17.549 Of course, 2 Timothy 2 .15, the verse upon which 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:23.130 our Awana Club's motto is based, these spiritual 00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:26.279 apathetic people They don't know how to rightly 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:30.680 handle the word of truth. They are not, as it 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:32.660 says a little later in that letter, 2 Timothy 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:35.940 3 .17, they are not complete, they are not equipped 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:39.880 for every good work. God has given us his word 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:43.339 and he has commanded us to engage in that word 00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:46.420 so that we might be complete, so that we might 00:23:46.420 --> 00:23:49.180 be able to do that which he has created us to 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:53.859 do, called us to do. But for these people, these 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.099 spiritually apathetic people, when trouble comes, 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:58.640 and it had come, they didn't know what to do. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:02.599 They weren't prepared to deal with it. When temptation 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:06.400 arises, they were not discerning enough because 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:08.420 of their lack of understanding of the scriptures 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:11.019 to even recognize what they were being tempted 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:14.720 with and thus to resist it. They were in trouble. 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:19.829 They were, again, unskilled in the words. of 00:24:19.829 --> 00:24:22.509 righteousness and we need to be a skilled people, 00:24:22.509 --> 00:24:25.869 you know. Again, Neil often talks about this 00:24:25.869 --> 00:24:29.009 church being a big word church. We need to know 00:24:29.009 --> 00:24:30.650 the big words, we need to understand the big 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:32.190 words, we need to understand the big pictures, 00:24:32.309 --> 00:24:38.210 the big context, the big issues. In scripture, 00:24:38.970 --> 00:24:41.150 God has given us his word so that we can know 00:24:41.150 --> 00:24:46.049 him. And yet, because we choose to live on milk, 00:24:46.349 --> 00:24:49.609 we find ourselves. unskilled in the word of righteousness. 00:24:49.769 --> 00:24:52.049 Paul says to the Ephesians that we must grow 00:24:52.049 --> 00:24:55.250 up in order that we may no longer be children, 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:58.450 because children are tossed to and fro by the 00:24:58.450 --> 00:25:00.730 waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, 00:25:00.950 --> 00:25:03.609 by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful 00:25:03.609 --> 00:25:06.720 schemes. It is amazing to me and really discouraging 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:09.599 at times when I see people who have been a part 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.119 of this church or some other church for a long, 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.380 long time and yet they find themselves deceived 00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:18.420 by some false doctrine that they heard on television 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:23.019 or heard from some new preacher. It's discouraging. 00:25:24.779 --> 00:25:31.240 It's amazing to me the things that Christians 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:34.480 that ought to know better embrace. simply because 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:38.339 they haven't availed themselves of the word of 00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:42.319 God. We wanna grow up into maturity. We don't 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:45.160 wanna remain children. Children are gonna find 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:52.160 themselves in trouble, deceived by the falsehoods 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.480 that are so prevalent in our world today. So 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.539 how do we overcome this? What's the cure to this 00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:01.119 spiritual apathy? Well, he says, In verse 14, 00:26:01.460 --> 00:26:03.660 solid food is for the mature, for those who have 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:06.640 their powers of discernment trained by constant 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.960 practice. There's the two words you need to key 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:16.019 in on, constant practice. You and I will never 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:18.339 reach the point that we no longer need to look 00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:21.559 to God's word. We will never get to the point 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:24.859 that we know all that we need to know about one 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:28.200 of the books or any of the books. about one of 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:30.500 the doctrines or any of the doctrines. We will 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:32.940 always need to know more, to understand more, 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.059 and the reality is we can through the constant 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:39.380 practice of applying God's word to our lives. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:41.140 It's one of the greatest things that I believe 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:44.940 we've done with our life groups. Taking the sermon 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:48.059 as a context for our meeting together and then 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:50.380 talking about how we can apply what we heard 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:52.819 Sunday morning to our lives. Let me tell you, 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:55.829 that's what we ought to always be doing. How 00:26:55.829 --> 00:26:58.630 can we apply what we have heard, what God has 00:26:58.630 --> 00:27:03.170 shown us to our lives? And that's the way to 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:05.509 overcome spiritual apathy. That's the cure for 00:27:05.509 --> 00:27:08.190 it. Constant practice, and in so doing, we are 00:27:08.190 --> 00:27:12.789 able, again, to become skilled in the word of 00:27:12.789 --> 00:27:15.569 righteousness. We are able to distinguish good 00:27:15.569 --> 00:27:20.710 from evil. So just as James reminds us, we must 00:27:20.710 --> 00:27:23.710 not only be hearers of the word, but doers of 00:27:23.710 --> 00:27:26.190 the word, right? We hear the word of God and 00:27:26.190 --> 00:27:29.430 now we are to put the word of God to work in 00:27:29.430 --> 00:27:31.490 our lives. This is the way James says it in chapter 00:27:31.490 --> 00:27:34.690 one, verses 23 through 25. He says, for anyone 00:27:34.690 --> 00:27:37.369 who is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's 00:27:37.369 --> 00:27:39.549 like a man who looks intently at his natural 00:27:39.549 --> 00:27:42.609 face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and 00:27:42.609 --> 00:27:45.930 he goes away and at once he forgets what he's 00:27:45.930 --> 00:27:49.609 like. In other words, the word of God speaks 00:27:49.609 --> 00:27:51.829 to our condition, where we are, where we need 00:27:51.829 --> 00:27:54.109 to be. But when we're not looking in the word 00:27:54.109 --> 00:27:56.069 of God, at least not looking at it regularly, 00:27:56.170 --> 00:28:00.470 we forget. But we need to be the one who looks 00:28:00.470 --> 00:28:02.930 into the perfect law of God, the law of liberty, 00:28:03.390 --> 00:28:07.710 and perseveres. Being no hearer who forgets, 00:28:07.809 --> 00:28:12.990 but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his 00:28:12.990 --> 00:28:16.470 doing. So the cure for spiritual apathy is engagement 00:28:16.470 --> 00:28:20.930 in the word of God and constant practice in discerning 00:28:20.930 --> 00:28:31.349 good. from evil. Don't remain spiritually apathetic. 00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:37.970 You don't have to. Get back on the road. Pull 00:28:37.970 --> 00:28:44.000 that car back into drive. and move forward. That's 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.079 what we're looking at. That's what he encourages 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.799 here in chapter six, those first three verses. 00:28:47.900 --> 00:28:50.059 Spiritual advancement. That's what we wanna be 00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:52.220 doing. There's no neutral in the Christian life. 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.519 You're either moving forward or you're falling 00:28:54.519 --> 00:29:00.079 behind. He says, therefore let us leave the elementary 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:02.980 doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity. Go 00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:07.640 on to maturity. Again, it's a decision we need 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:13.630 to make. I'm gonna grow up. And again, these 00:29:13.630 --> 00:29:16.210 words imply effort. It demands effort on your 00:29:16.210 --> 00:29:17.930 part if you're gonna grow up, if you're gonna 00:29:17.930 --> 00:29:20.970 go on to maturity, if you're gonna advance to 00:29:20.970 --> 00:29:26.930 become a spiritually mature adult. So let me 00:29:26.930 --> 00:29:30.109 just ask you the question. Are you making an 00:29:30.109 --> 00:29:37.269 effort? Are you doing the Word of God or just 00:29:37.269 --> 00:29:41.089 hearing the Word of God? Have you become one 00:29:41.089 --> 00:29:46.000 who constantly practices, discerning good from 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.640 evil, that's where we should be. So, let's leave 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:53.579 the elementary doctrine of Christ. And again, 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:55.579 that doesn't mean that we forget those things. 00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:58.859 It just means that we move on from them. Many 00:29:58.859 --> 00:30:01.460 people can't tell you any more about their relationship 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:05.079 with God than their salvation experience. Let 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.259 me tell you, your salvation experience was the 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:09.839 beginning of your walk with the Lord. You should 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.339 be moving on from that. We'll never forget that. 00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:15.740 It's that moment that we came to know Christ 00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:18.079 as Savior and Lord that puts us on the road. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:20.880 But now we need to move on. We need to move on 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.940 down the road where we don't abandon those elementary 00:30:23.940 --> 00:30:26.299 principles of the gospel, but we build upon them. 00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:31.079 We grow up from there. And look what he says, 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:35.799 not laying again a foundation of repentance and 00:30:35.799 --> 00:30:38.619 from dead works. faith toward God, instructions 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:41.019 about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection 00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:44.440 of the dead, and eternal judgment. We move on 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:46.380 from that. We don't lay that foundation again. 00:30:46.380 --> 00:30:49.019 Now we're gonna build upon that foundation. In 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:53.180 other words, the foundation has been laid. And 00:30:53.180 --> 00:30:55.920 he gives us, just real quickly, I'll talk about 00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:00.920 these issues that are listed for us here. It's 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:08.120 really three sets of two, three pairs of... spiritual 00:31:08.120 --> 00:31:10.660 doctrine or issues. Repentance from dead works 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:13.559 and faith toward God. Again, repentance and faith. 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:17.599 Those are basic and elementary teachings of the 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.880 gospel, right? When we come to Christ, we repent. 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:23.740 We turn from our sin and we believe upon the 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:26.599 name of Jesus. Repentance and faith. And let 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:31.660 me just say this. The writer is telling his readers 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:37.940 that these were things that were first Written 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:39.980 in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:44.539 these principles were there as well. You don't 00:31:44.539 --> 00:31:46.579 have to read far in the Old Testament to find 00:31:46.579 --> 00:31:49.160 out that God's people were to repent of their 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.700 sin. They were to turn from their sin and return 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:55.279 to Him. Faith was an important issue under the 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:58.279 Old Covenant. The scripture says Abraham believed 00:31:58.279 --> 00:32:01.000 God and it was credited to him or accounted to 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:04.240 him as righteousness. So this first... couplet, 00:32:04.380 --> 00:32:07.180 repentance from dead works and faith toward God. 00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:10.839 That's talking about the beginning of salvation, 00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:13.700 turning from our sin and repentance, turning 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:18.279 to Christ in belief for salvation. And then instructions 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:21.079 and washings and laying on of hands, maybe not 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:23.420 as clear as we would like it to be. But these 00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:25.980 two are Old Testament concepts that are expanded 00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:29.079 in the New Testament. And basically for our purposes 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:32.829 here today, These things are talking about our 00:32:32.829 --> 00:32:36.190 entrance into and then our ability to participate 00:32:36.190 --> 00:32:43.170 within the body of Christ. In Jesus, we are clothed 00:32:43.170 --> 00:32:46.109 in his righteousness. We are made fit for service 00:32:46.109 --> 00:32:50.359 to God. The laying on of hands there was something 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:54.160 that was done under the old covenant when one 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.740 was being sent out for some service. And the 00:32:56.740 --> 00:32:59.539 implication there was that what was being done 00:32:59.539 --> 00:33:03.059 was that the Holy Spirit was being imparted to 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:04.759 these people. And of course, the Holy Spirit 00:33:04.759 --> 00:33:06.819 isn't just imparted to us. The Holy Spirit comes 00:33:06.819 --> 00:33:11.039 to indwell us. Why do I know that you can go 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:13.000 on to spiritual maturity? Because you have the 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.940 Holy Spirit of God in you that will enable you. 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:20.359 to do that. So this couplet talking about that, 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.460 our entrance into the body of Christ and then 00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:26.259 the enabling power of the Spirit of God within 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:33.220 us that will generate our power and service to 00:33:33.220 --> 00:33:35.579 the Lord. And then resurrection from the dead 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.180 and eternal judgment. Again, Old Testament concepts 00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:41.359 that are expanded upon in the New Testament. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.420 Fundamental issues that the New Testament clarifies. 00:33:48.690 --> 00:33:51.369 I guess if we wanna talk about that first couplet, 00:33:51.589 --> 00:33:53.630 repentance from dead works and faith toward God, 00:33:53.670 --> 00:33:56.069 if we're talking about justification there, and 00:33:56.069 --> 00:33:58.069 then if we're talking about instructions and 00:33:58.069 --> 00:33:59.710 washing the laying on of hands, we could be talking 00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:02.250 about our sanctification. Well, this last couplet 00:34:02.250 --> 00:34:05.829 talks about our glorification, resurrection from 00:34:05.829 --> 00:34:09.909 the dead and the eternal judgment. We're all 00:34:09.909 --> 00:34:11.429 looking forward to that, right? To the return 00:34:11.429 --> 00:34:15.269 of Christ. We know that in Jesus, because he 00:34:15.269 --> 00:34:17.789 has been raised, we will be raised. We know that 00:34:17.789 --> 00:34:20.730 what awaits us in eternity is a new heaven and 00:34:20.730 --> 00:34:22.869 a new earth where we're gonna live in our resurrected 00:34:22.869 --> 00:34:24.909 body for all time with our brothers and sisters 00:34:24.909 --> 00:34:28.570 in Christ. It's gonna be a wonderful thing. These 00:34:28.570 --> 00:34:31.269 are the elementary principles, the ABCs of the 00:34:31.269 --> 00:34:33.510 scripture, which we should have a firm grasp 00:34:33.510 --> 00:34:36.289 of in our lives as Christians and that we should 00:34:36.289 --> 00:34:37.869 build upon. That's what the writer of Hebrews 00:34:37.869 --> 00:34:41.420 is saying. These fundamental doctrines. should 00:34:41.420 --> 00:34:44.219 be firmly grasped by everyone who claims the 00:34:44.219 --> 00:34:46.260 name of Christ, and then we should be advancing 00:34:46.260 --> 00:34:48.159 in our knowledge and understanding of scripture 00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:50.820 from there. And of course, I love the last verse 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:52.659 that we're looking at, verse three, and this 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:56.159 we will do if God permits. Do you think God wants 00:34:56.159 --> 00:34:58.400 you to move on into maturity as a Christian? 00:34:58.699 --> 00:35:00.420 Absolutely, he does. Do you think he's gonna 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:02.559 help you to do that? Well, absolutely, he does. 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.619 As a matter of fact, we've already said he indwells 00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:08.800 us through the person of the Holy Spirit who 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:14.380 does what? who guides us into all truth. So a 00:35:14.380 --> 00:35:18.079 Christian, there's no reason, no valid excuse 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:22.099 to remain a spiritual infant. You have the Spirit 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:27.460 of God within you who will guide you into all 00:35:27.460 --> 00:35:31.179 truth. So there's the choice this morning, spiritual 00:35:31.179 --> 00:35:36.300 apathy or spiritual advancement. Of course, my 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:38.440 prayer for you and for myself is that we will 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:40.739 choose spiritual advancement, that we will go 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:43.519 on with Jesus, that we will grow from this point 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:45.980 forward, that each and every day of our lives 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:48.139 and right on through this life and into eternity, 00:35:48.260 --> 00:35:50.300 we will continue to grow in our understanding 00:35:50.300 --> 00:35:53.900 of God's word, of what God says about himself, 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:57.619 what he says about us. That's a decision that 00:35:57.619 --> 00:36:00.760 you have to make. Don't become dull of hearing. 00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:03.900 Don't neglect the nourishment of the Word of 00:36:03.900 --> 00:36:07.960 God that's right here in front of you, but engage 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:11.159 with the scriptures each and every day.