1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Isn't that good? 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,000 We are so thankful for the music ministry. 4 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Great job everybody. 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,000 If you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews chapter number two. 6 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,000 That's where we're going to be this morning. 7 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Have you ever talked to someone? 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 You're trying to get your point across and you feel like they 9 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000 heard you but they didn't really hear you. 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Anybody ever have that go on? 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,000 You're saying something to them and they heard you but they 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,000 weren't really listening. 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Okay, here's a more introspective question. 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Have you ever been in a situation where someone was telling 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 you something and you heard they were talking but you had no 16 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:52,000 idea what they said? 17 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Who's ever been there? 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,000 Men, this is where you must raise your hand. 19 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:04,000 Because it happens when you're watching TV, right? 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 It happens at my house all the time. 21 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,000 I focus on something. 22 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:08,000 I'm reading something. 23 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,000 I'm studying something or I'm watching something. 24 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:17,000 And my kids or my wife will say something to me and then you 25 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,000 ever do this, you look up and when you look up from what you're 26 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000 paying attention to because you heard them talking, their 27 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,000 face was looking at you like waiting for the answer. 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:32,000 And I'm like, so you have two options at that moment, right? 29 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:37,000 The first option is like, yes, of course. 30 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,000 And then you're in horror when you find out your kids just asked 31 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 for another dog and you just said yes to them, right? 32 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Or you can do the other thing where you don't pretend you just 33 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 acknowledge, yeah, I didn't hear a word you said, sorry. 34 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:59,000 And then you have men, do you ever get the look? 35 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,000 You're not laughing very hard. 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,000 It's painful. 37 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,000 I understand. 38 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Men, you get the look. 39 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,000 Come on. 40 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:06,000 Do you get it? 41 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Okay. 42 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,000 So sometimes that's what happens. 43 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:15,000 You don't give your full attention and because of that, you 44 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,000 miss out and you have to ask them to repeat again. 45 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 And I just want to publicly say to Megan, I'm so sorry because 46 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 this happens to me all the time. 47 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,000 There's so, who agrees? 48 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000 There's a lot that fights for our attention. 49 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 There is so much that fights for our attention today in our 50 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:35,000 culture today. 51 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 It was already bad and then the Internet came along and then we 52 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,000 have these little devices that have the Internet in our pockets 53 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,000 and there's just so many things that can distract us in life from 54 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,000 all kinds of things. 55 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,000 And there's so much that fights for our attention. 56 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Attention has become something that has grown and grown in 57 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 value because there's so much vying for our attention. 58 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Billions of dollars every year are spent to capture your 59 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,000 attention. 60 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Billions, trillions of dollars are made to capture your 61 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,000 attention. 62 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,000 As a speaker, one of the things I want to do is get your 63 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:09,000 attention. 64 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,000 I know that at any given time and any given message, there are 65 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,000 people that are hearing me and people that aren't really 66 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,000 actually listening to what I say. 67 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,000 And you know how I know that? 68 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Because sometimes I sit out there and listen to messages and I 69 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 hear them but I don't necessarily listen. 70 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,000 That's true of all of us, right? 71 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,000 We've all been there. 72 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 The power to focus and listen is an important skill. 73 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000 It helps relationships. 74 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 You want to help your relationships out? 75 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Listen. 76 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:40,000 Don't just hear. 77 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:41,000 Listen. 78 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,000 So many people are just not listened to really almost ever. 79 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Listen. 80 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,000 It helps relationships. 81 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,000 It helps productivity. 82 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,000 It helps with decision making. 83 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 There's so many things competing for our attention that 84 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 listening to and focusing on the right things, the essential 85 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,000 things is so important. 86 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:06,000 It is absolutely key that we focus on the essential few at the 87 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,000 expense of the trivial many. 88 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Let me say that again. 89 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:15,000 It is so important that we focus on the essential few at the 90 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,000 expense of the trivial many rather than focus on the trivial 91 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:24,000 many at the expense of the essential few. 92 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,000 There's not very many things in life that are absolutely 93 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,000 essential. 94 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,000 In our lives, there's so much in our lives that is trivial. 95 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,000 And sometimes the essential is sacrificed on the altar of the 96 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,000 trivial. 97 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,000 In the book of Hebrews, we've learned that God has spoken. 98 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,000 We're in the middle of a series called Jesus is Greater. 99 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 It's a many, many week study walking through the book of 100 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Hebrews and we find ourselves today in Hebrews chapter two 101 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,000 verses one through four. 102 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 That's where we're going to be. 103 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 And to catch you up from what we've been talking about in 104 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000 chapter one, the author of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit himself, 105 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 tells us that God has spoken. 106 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,000 God has spoken. 107 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 We learned that in the past, he spoke to us through the prophets, 108 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,000 through the prophets under the fathers in many portions in the 109 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Old Testament, many ways in the Old Testament. 110 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000 And then we learned that as a better revelation, he sent his 111 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:26,000 son. 112 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,000 He revealed himself through his son. 113 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,000 He's revealed himself through the person of Jesus Christ, that 114 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:37,000 his son is how he has now spoken and his son is a better 115 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,000 revelation. 116 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,000 It's by his son that we're created. 117 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Did you believe that? 118 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 It's by his son, Jesus Christ, that we're created. 119 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,000 It's by his son that we are redeemed. 120 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,000 So as we get to the passage today, Hebrews chapter two, looking 121 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:59,000 at verse one, the Holy Spirit says something really important 122 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 to us, and let me summarize it in this word. 123 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:07,000 The Holy Spirit says, listen, listen. 124 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,000 You get it? 125 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,000 God has spoken through the prophets. 126 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,000 He's spoken through his son. 127 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Listen. 128 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Don't just hear. 129 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 Listen. 130 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,000 God's spake. 131 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,000 God has spoken. 132 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Listen. 133 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000 Now here's why I want you to listen to me today as I walk through 134 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,000 this passage. 135 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:38,000 The Bible tells us that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, 136 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 but against principalities and powers. 137 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000 Namely, there's a spiritual battle going on. 138 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 And I believe with all my heart there's a spiritual battle that 139 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,000 goes on in this room every Sunday morning at 10.30. 140 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,000 Because what gets proclaimed, and I'm not claiming any kind of 141 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:02,000 divine something on me, but as I try to, if all I did was just 142 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,000 read the text of Scripture, there is a spiritual realm that 143 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,000 does not like that. 144 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,000 There's a spiritual realm that's honored by that. 145 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:16,000 And they're at war with each other. 146 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,000 And God has a plan. 147 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,000 God has a purpose for you being here and listening. 148 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Satan has something he wants to go against that plan. 149 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 It's by the sun that we're created. 150 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,000 It's by the sun we're redeemed. 151 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,000 And it's by the sun that we understand who God is, but we also 152 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,000 have an enemy. 153 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:41,000 And the enemy's objective in our lives isn't necessarily to 154 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,000 make us evil. 155 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,000 His objective doesn't have to be to make everyone a wild-eyed, 156 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,000 satanic serial killer. 157 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000 His objective need only be to distract you from what God has 158 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,000 said so you won't obey it. 159 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,000 His objective need only be to get you to hear without 160 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,000 listening. 161 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,000 That's all he has to do. 162 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,000 His objective for those who are saved, those of us who know 163 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 Christ, is to distract us so that others may not hear or listen 164 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,000 to the truth we are supposed to be speaking. 165 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,000 And so my objective for you today is this. 166 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,000 God speaks. 167 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,000 God hath spoken. 168 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,000 Listen up. 169 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 Listen up. 170 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:41,000 Let that truth actually affect the way you live this Christmas. 171 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,000 We should be, here it is, extremely careful. 172 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,000 We should be so careful to listen to God's revelation through 173 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000 His Son for three reasons. 174 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Here's the first reason, reason number one, and we're going to 175 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,000 get this right from the text. 176 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 The first reason, we should be careful to listen to the 177 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,000 revelation that is being proclaimed by God in the person 178 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,000 of Jesus Christ. 179 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,000 We should be so careful to listen to Him because of number 180 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:13,000 one, the first reason, the drift, the drift, the drift. 181 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Let's read the text, Hebrews chapter two verse one says this. 182 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things 183 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:28,000 which we have heard lest at any time we should let them, 184 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,000 what's the next word? 185 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Slip, slip. 186 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,000 Now I want you to pay attention to that first word, therefore. 187 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,000 The word therefore kind of connects what He's already said 188 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,000 to what He's about to say. 189 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 This is what I said, God's spake, God has spoken. 190 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:51,000 So therefore, what God has said is that He's been on the move. 191 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,000 He created the world and then He's been revealing Himself to 192 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,000 the world through Jesus. 193 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000 Like we said, He revealed Himself to the fathers by the 194 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,000 prophets, and these last days He's spoken to us by His Son. 195 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000 His Son is the air of all things, He's the one who created 196 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:07,000 the world. 197 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,000 His Son is greater than the angels, that's what we have 198 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,000 learned the last two weeks. 199 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,000 He's better than the angels because He's the Son, 200 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,000 they're worshipers. 201 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,000 He is the King, they're servants, He's a creator, 202 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:24,000 they're the created, and He is the ruler, they are ministers. 203 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Jesus is coming back. 204 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,000 That's what's happening. 205 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,000 And because God has revealed Himself in the person of His 206 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,000 Son, and because His Son is superior in every way, Jesus is 207 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:40,000 superior in every way to anyone else. 208 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:46,000 Because He is, He's superior to the angels, the author here 209 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,000 tells us to take earnest heed, do you see that? 210 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,000 Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the 211 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,000 things we've heard. 212 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,000 What have we heard? 213 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,000 We've heard about the revelation of Jesus. 214 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,000 The word translated, earnest heed gives the idea of a 215 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:06,000 super abundance of regard and attention. 216 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,000 This is about giving an abundance of focus to the 217 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,000 revelation of God in and through Jesus. 218 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,000 An abundance of focus is not something that I know I give 219 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,000 to very many things. 220 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,000 It's so easy to be focused on the wrong things. 221 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Here he says, you've got to give earnest heed, you've got to 222 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:32,000 be very careful what you allow to come into your eye gate, to 223 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000 what you allow to occupy your mind and your heart as you 224 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,000 hear this revelation. 225 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,000 And he gives the reason why. 226 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000 Why do I need to give an earnest heed to what I've heard, 227 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,000 the revelation of God to the fathers by the prophets, the 228 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,000 revelation of Jesus, who is the author of creation, the 229 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,000 author of our redemption. 230 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,000 He is superior to anyone and everything. 231 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,000 Why do we need to pay attention? 232 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,000 And he gives us the answer right in the first verse of this 233 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:09,000 chapter, lest at any time we should let them slip. 234 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:14,000 The picture here of this word slip is what happens. 235 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,000 It's a nautical term. 236 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:20,000 There's actually two nautical terms. 237 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Let them slip there in verse 1 and later on when he says 238 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:28,000 lest at any time we should let them slip. 239 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,000 He's talking about earnest heed. 240 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000 That means earnest heed and let them slip are the two nautical 241 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,000 terms. 242 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Earnest heed means you get that thing anchored in, pay 243 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:36,000 attention to it. 244 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:41,000 The let them slip means the idea that if you ever tied a 245 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:46,000 boat to a dock, but you don't tie it right and maybe the 246 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,000 thing slips off and what happens to that boat goes away. 247 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,000 Right? 248 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000 The picture can be given of these words of a ship tied to a 249 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,000 dock. 250 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000 The idea is that if you're not secured to the truth of what is 251 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000 revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, his identity and his 252 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:09,000 gospel, the fact that he died and was buried and rose again, 253 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:15,000 that's the revelation that who God has revealed is his son 254 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 and the sinless son of God, 100% God, 100% man, died in the 255 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,000 cross for our sins, was buried, rose again for our sins the 256 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,000 third day, that's the revelation of God in Jesus. 257 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,000 And here he says there will be an opportunity to drift. 258 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,000 If you extend that thinking and that picture all the way and 259 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,000 all of its implications, the person who does not take earnest 260 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,000 heed to stay more to the truth of this gospel will experience 261 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:49,000 a shipwreck, if not in this life, then an eternity. 262 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000 The rest of the paragraph explains why this is so important 263 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:58,000 to avoid, but we must realize that the drift is possible. 264 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,000 You know how the drift is possible? 265 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 You know how you can know the drift is possible? 266 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:08,000 Because there are people that have been in our church or in 267 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,000 gospel preaching churches like this and affirmed everything 268 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:15,000 we're talking about, but they're not here today. 269 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,000 They believe something, they were conviction about something, 270 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,000 but other things came in and they distracted. 271 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,000 Sometimes good things, but they're gone, why? 272 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Because they did not take earnest heed to what God has done. 273 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 Folks, I don't think that there's much more important than 274 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,000 what's happening right here, right now in this church service 275 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,000 today, not because of me, but because of Jesus. 276 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000 Jesus needs to be proclaimed. 277 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,000 In life there can be a tendency to get distracted from what's 278 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,000 essential. 279 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 The trivial seems to outpace the essential in our culture 280 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,000 because we have so much available to us. 281 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,000 Prosperity is a difficult thing to steward because we have so 282 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,000 many options brought to us by our prosperity. 283 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,000 You might say, Pastor Ben, I don't feel very prosperous. 284 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,000 Have you heard of inflation? 285 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Have you heard of the gas prices? 286 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,000 And I agree, things are getting tougher out there, but you know 287 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000 what, we have so much. 288 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,000 We have so much. 289 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 And with that so much comes the opportunity for us to get 290 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:23,000 distracted by so much that does not matter. 291 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,000 Prosperity is this thing that we have to deal with. 292 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 If we're not careful, we'll lose sight of the centrality of the 293 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,000 gospel of Jesus Christ and of our faith. 294 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,000 If we're not careful, the families, the churches, the 295 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:39,000 neighborhoods, the businesses that we steward will get unmoored 296 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:45,000 from the truth of the gospel and we will drift. 297 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,000 It's exactly what Satan wants. 298 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:56,000 He wants us to think that Christmas is about snow and 299 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,000 Santa Claus and elves, and I love all that stuff. 300 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,000 Seriously, I really do. 301 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:06,000 It's so much fun, so much fun, but not at the expense of what 302 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000 Christmas is really all about. 303 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,000 It's about Jesus. 304 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 And if we're not careful, we'll drift. 305 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,000 We'll drift. 306 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,000 And when we drift, then we're in danger of being the man that 307 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Jesus warned us about. 308 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,000 What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses 309 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,000 his own soul? 310 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:30,000 And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 311 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,000 It's an important word. 312 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,000 We must avoid the drift that pulls us out to destructive 313 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,000 waters. 314 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,000 We have to pay earnest heed because the truth of the gospel 315 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:48,000 will drift from our focus so easily. 316 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,000 You know what we've learned in the last couple weeks? 317 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,000 God has ordered all of human history so that you would know 318 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,000 His Son could pay for your sins. 319 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:05,000 He's ordered all of human history to reveal Himself to us 320 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:10,000 so that there would be a redemption for sin. 321 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:18,000 He gave His Son as a sacrifice for you so that you could go to 322 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 heaven. 323 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,000 And the one thing that Satan wants to do is to let you get 324 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,000 distracted and totally miss that point. 325 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:31,000 God has done something incredible and we can't let that get 326 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,000 by us. 327 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,000 We have to be careful of the drift. 328 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,000 So there's three reasons. 329 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,000 Number one, the three reasons we need to pay earnest heed to 330 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,000 what God has revealed through Jesus. 331 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000 Number one, because of the drift. 332 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,000 Number two, because of the penalty. 333 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,000 Because of the penalty. 334 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000 What happens if we miss it? 335 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:55,000 What happens if we let this drift? 336 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Here's what He says, verse two. 337 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast. 338 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000 Now let me pause there. 339 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,000 The word steadfast here means legally binding. 340 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:14,000 If the words that were spoken by angels were legally binding. 341 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Whatever the angels said had to be followed. 342 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,000 What am I talking about? 343 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 Where was the word spoken by angels? 344 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:30,000 We learned in the last couple of weeks that it was when they were 345 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,000 part of revealing the first covenant. 346 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000 The author of Hebrews described in previous revelation as from 347 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,000 the prophets. 348 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,000 Now he's speaking of the same kind of revelation that was 349 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:41,000 mediated by angels. 350 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000 Galatians chapter three, he's already referred to this in the 351 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,000 first chapter. 352 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,000 Galatians chapter three gives us a little bit more insight to 353 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:49,000 this. 354 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,000 Look at Galatians 319, it will be on the screen. 355 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Wherefore then serveth the law, it was added because of 356 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,000 transgression till the seed should come to whom the promise 357 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000 was made and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 358 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000 What does it mean that the law was ordained by angels? 359 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Well, Stephen in the book of Acts gives us a little bit more 360 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:09,000 insight into this. 361 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Acts chapter seven, verse 32. 362 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,000 This is Stephen, the first martyr, one of the first deacons in 363 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,000 the early church. 364 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000 This is what he said to Pharisees that were getting ready to 365 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,000 kill him. 366 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,000 He said, which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? 367 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,000 And they killed those who declared before about the coming of 368 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,000 the righteous one of whom now ye betrayers and murderers have 369 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:32,000 become. 370 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,000 He's saying, God revealed in times past through the prophets and 371 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,000 all that. 372 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,000 And the people that were like you killed them too. 373 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000 And now you're getting ready to kill me. 374 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,000 That's what he's saying. 375 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:49,000 This verse 53, who received the law by arrangement of messengers 376 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000 and did not keep it. 377 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,000 That word messengers, that means angels. 378 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,000 The angels were used to communicate the law even at Mount 379 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,000 Sinai. 380 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,000 Stephen is telling the Jewish authorities that they did not 381 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,000 do what the law said. 382 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,000 So back to our text. 383 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,000 The word that was spoken by angels here refers to the law. 384 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,000 By delivering the message, they show that they agree with that 385 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,000 message. 386 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,000 They are daining that message in that sense. 387 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,000 And here's the point that the author is making. 388 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,000 The law that was brought through the angels and written and 389 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000 articulated by the prophets was binding. 390 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:35,000 If I, maybe your parents have done this before. 391 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Have you parents been in the middle of doing something and 392 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,000 you want one of your kids, you want to give some kind of 393 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000 instruction to them so you send another kid to go tell them 394 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,000 what to do? 395 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,000 Does that usually work out very well? 396 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,000 Not necessarily. 397 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000 Dad, I want you to clean your room. 398 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,000 Right? 399 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,000 How often does that work? 400 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000 Not very often, right? 401 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:01,000 But yeah, what he's saying is, okay, if I do that, if I send one 402 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,000 of my kids to go tell my other kids to do something, I'm going 403 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,000 to tell my other kids to do something, and they rightly appeal 404 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:12,000 to my name in doing it, is that binding on that kid? 405 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000 Does that kid have to obey the word of their brother because I 406 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,000 sent them? 407 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,000 There seems to be disagreement in the congregation. 408 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:30,000 All right, parents, let's, if you send one kid to go tell another 409 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,000 kid what to do, do you want that kid to do it? 410 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,000 Yes? 411 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Okay, it's binding. 412 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000 Not much authority there, right? 413 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 But it's binding. 414 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,000 What the guy's saying is, hey, listen, Jesus is better than 415 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:52,000 the angels, but even if the angels ordained this law to us, 416 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:58,000 and if that was binding, right, that means that this next 417 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,000 phrase is true, it says in verse, the rest of verse 2, 418 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,000 and every transgression and disobedience received a just 419 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,000 recompense of reward. 420 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000 You know what that means? 421 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:16,000 That first law that came to us and even came to us mediated by 422 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,000 angels and men, is Jesus better than angels? 423 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000 Is Jesus better than men? 424 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,000 But even the law that he gave through angels and men, if that 425 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,000 was binding, if we had to do it, Jesus says, or the Roman says, 426 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,000 for all of sin, then come short of the glory of God. 427 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,000 Roman says, the wages of sin is death. 428 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Sin is transgression of the law, and if God gives the law and we 429 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,000 break it, we're bound to that. 430 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,000 And our breaking it means that there's a just recompense of 431 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,000 reward. 432 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:50,000 You know what that means? 433 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000 You do the crime. 434 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,000 You've heard that before, haven't you? 435 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Right. 436 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000 He's making an argument. 437 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,000 God has revealed Jesus. 438 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,000 God's revealed Jesus. 439 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,000 What is the message of Jesus? 440 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,000 He's come to seek and to save that which was lost. 441 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,000 What's the message of Jesus? 442 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,000 Before Abraham was, I am. 443 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,000 I am the father or one. 444 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,000 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 445 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,000 No man comes to the father but by me. 446 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,000 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son 447 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,000 that whosoever believeth in him, in the son, should not perish 448 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,000 but have everlasting life. 449 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,000 What's the message of Jesus? 450 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,000 Repent. 451 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,000 The kingdom of God is at hand. 452 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 What's the message of Jesus? 453 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,000 He's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to 454 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,000 repentance. 455 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:59,000 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe 456 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,000 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 457 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,000 For the heart man believes under righteousness with the mouth 458 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,000 the confession is made unto salvation. 459 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,000 What's the message of Jesus? 460 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,000 God became man. 461 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,000 And he did not give up his divinity but he put on humanity 462 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000 so that he could live a perfect life. 463 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,000 But then he could die the death that you deserved and I deserved 464 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:31,000 so that he could take our sin, take God's wrath, and give us his righteousness. 465 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,000 That's the message of Jesus. 466 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:40,000 But it all starts with this, you're a sinner and so am I. 467 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:44,000 We need a savior. 468 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:49,000 We need a savior because our sin means death. 469 00:24:49,000 --> 00:25:00,000 And he says if what angels said brings some kind of reward for our disobedience. 470 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:09,000 Verse three, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? 471 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Whoever agrees that what God did through Jesus is great. 472 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,000 We do not deserve it. 473 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,000 We couldn't earn it. 474 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,000 We couldn't keep it if we got it and we had to keep it. 475 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000 You know how I know that? 476 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:29,000 My dog. 477 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:36,000 That stupid dog makes me sin all the time. 478 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,000 I can't even be nice to dogs half the time. 479 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,000 I'm kind of, I'm not a jerk Meg. 480 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000 Are you with me? 481 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000 You've already sinned today. 482 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,000 You're like, no I didn't. 483 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,000 Yeah you did. 484 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,000 How do you know? 485 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000 Because you're a human being. 486 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,000 We sin all the time. 487 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,000 All the time. 488 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,000 And that sin when it's finished has a baby. 489 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:09,000 And that baby is called death. 490 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:15,000 Every sin of commission, the things we do that we shouldn't do, 491 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000 and here's the other one that's rough, the sins of omission, 492 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,000 the things we ought to do that we don't do. 493 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:30,000 Every sin receives a just reward. 494 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,000 He's making the case that the law that's mediated by mess and 495 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000 message by angels and men was binding. 496 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,000 Violating the law would have consequences. 497 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,000 And so he says this, here's how you sum it up. 498 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,000 If the angels and men communicated a law that was so binding 499 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,000 that there was just punishment that came from what they proclaim, 500 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:58,000 how do we think we'll escape if we neglect so great a salvation? 501 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:03,000 If God who spoke in times past under the prophets would justly 502 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,000 punish those who ignored the partial revelation given to men and 503 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,000 angels, why do we think we'll escape punishment now that we 504 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:17,000 have seen the full revelation of Christ himself? 505 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,000 Let that lay on you heavy. 506 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,000 If God held them accountable and they didn't exactly know 507 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,000 everything that was going to come, won't he hold us accountable 508 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:35,000 if our redemption is history? 509 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,000 There's a lot of evidence to believe that Jesus is exactly who 510 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,000 he said he was. 511 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,000 How are you going to escape so great a salvation? 512 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,000 How are you going to escape so great a salvation? 513 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,000 How's your neighbor going to escape if God did all of this? 514 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,000 He's the way, the truth, and the life. 515 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,000 No man comes to the Father except through him. 516 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,000 What's amazing is not that there's only one way, 517 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000 what's amazing is that there's any way at all. 518 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,000 We didn't deserve it. 519 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,000 God became man. 520 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,000 That's what Christmas is all about. 521 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 We're over here arguing whether or not Christians should worship, 522 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,000 should celebrate Christmas. 523 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Holy cow. 524 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000 If you don't get a, this is a chance to tell our culture, 525 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,000 Christmas isn't about Santa, it's about Jesus. 526 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,000 Who's glad we get this opportunity? 527 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,000 He became flesh and dwelt among us and we be held as glory 528 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,000 as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. 529 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:48,000 How are we going to escape if we neglect so great a salvation? 530 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,000 He's offering us mercy and grace and truth and peace. 531 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Why do we think it's okay to neglect it? 532 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,000 Why do you think it's okay for us to drift from that truth 533 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,000 and we do drift? 534 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,000 It's so easy to get caught up in so many temporary things 535 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,000 and this has always been Satan's strategy. 536 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,000 Look at Christmas. 537 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,000 The world's consumed with Christmas the registered train work 538 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,000 and not with the Christ of Christmas. 539 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,000 As Pastor Corey mentioned last Sunday night, 540 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,000 the word Christ means anointed one or Messiah. 541 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,000 If we're not careful, we even drift in our celebration of the day. 542 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,000 God became man. 543 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,000 Why? 544 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,000 So that he could shed his blood for our salvation. 545 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,000 There will be consequences to neglecting so great a salvation. 546 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000 God became man. 547 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Let the nations rejoice. 548 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,000 God became man. 549 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,000 He died in our place. 550 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000 God became man. 551 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,000 He knew no sin that he could give us his righteousness. 552 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000 God became man. 553 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000 He will rule and reign forever. 554 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,000 Glory to God in the highest and on earth. 555 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,000 Peace. 556 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,000 Goodwill toward men. 557 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,000 We need to be careful to listen to God's revelation through his son 558 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,000 for three reasons. 559 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,000 Number one, the drift. 560 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,000 Number two, the penalty. 561 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000 How are we going to escape? 562 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000 Here's another one. 563 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,000 Kind of follows logically from that last thing, this penalty. 564 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,000 Number three, the witnesses. 565 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,000 The witnesses. 566 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,000 Read it, verse three. 567 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,000 How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? 568 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,000 Which at the first began to be spoken by who? 569 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000 By the Lord. 570 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000 And was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. 571 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,000 God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders 572 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,000 and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost 573 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,000 according to his own will. 574 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,000 Here's the question. 575 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,000 How shall we neglect, escape? 576 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,000 Escape what? 577 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,000 Penalty. 578 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,000 How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? 579 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,000 The question is posed as we've observed with an assumption 580 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,000 that we understand the inevitability of failure. 581 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,000 The answer here that he is looking for is this. 582 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,000 How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? 583 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000 We won't. 584 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,000 We can't. 585 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,000 That's the answer. 586 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:23,000 We're not going to. 587 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,000 How do you know? 588 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,000 How do I know? 589 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000 There are too many witnesses against us 590 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,000 if we neglect that salvation that he's offered. 591 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:37,000 The case is laid out almost like a case in the courtroom. 592 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,000 The Jews had a very, and we get it in our American, 593 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,000 we used to, get it in our American justice system, 594 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:50,000 this idea of needing witnesses and evidence, right? 595 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:55,000 And the Jews always had to have at least one or two 596 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,000 witnesses to confirm what's being said. 597 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Witnesses that in every part of it, 598 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000 the word may be established. 599 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,000 You can't just bring charge. 600 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000 You ever heard of the term he said, she said? 601 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,000 What is that saying? 602 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,000 There's not any other witnesses to confirm one side or the other. 603 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,000 Here's what he's saying. 604 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:23,000 If you try to go against, if you go into God's courtroom 605 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,000 and you burry up your own righteousness to God, 606 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,000 hey, I'm good enough, I can get to you 607 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,000 some other way than through Jesus. 608 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,000 What the writer of Hebrews is saying is, 609 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:39,000 let me bring some other witnesses to bear. 610 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,000 First, he talks about the angels, right? 611 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,000 We already talked about it. 612 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,000 If the word of angels was steadfast, 613 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:52,000 who knows that the angels speak about Jesus? 614 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,000 Who's heard that in a Christmas story? 615 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:00,000 Who's seen little kids with little wings on and halos 616 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:04,000 talking to little shepherds? 617 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,000 Did the angels speak about Jesus? 618 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,000 Yeah, they do. 619 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,000 But that's not where it ends. 620 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,000 He says in verse 3, so there's the word spoken by angels, 621 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,000 but there's also the word spoken by Christ himself. 622 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000 He says here, how shall we escape 623 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,000 from the great salvation which at first began to be spoken 624 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,000 by the Lord? 625 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,000 First it was by angels. 626 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,000 They gave us the law. 627 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:29,000 We already saw that. 628 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,000 They declared to us the birth of Jesus. 629 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:39,000 In this town is born unto you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. 630 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000 This shall be a sign unto you. 631 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,000 You shall find the babe wrapped in swollen clothes, 632 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,000 lying in a manger, right? 633 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,000 And then suddenly there was with the angel a multitude 634 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,000 of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, 635 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:54,000 glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will to 636 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,000 why is there now on earth peace, good will to more men? 637 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,000 Because God has come to earth, right? 638 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,000 And then it was spoken by the Lord. 639 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,000 Jesus Christ made it clear that he was coming to provide 640 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,000 salvation. 641 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,000 It was declared by him many times and in many ways. 642 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,000 Here's one, John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave 643 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,000 his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him 644 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,000 should not perish but have everlasting life. 645 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,000 For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world 646 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,000 but that the world through him might be saved. 647 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:31,000 He that believeth on him is not condemned. 648 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,000 You might be excited about that today. 649 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth 650 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,000 not is condemned already because he's not believed in the name 651 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000 of the only begotten son of God. 652 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000 And this is the condemnation that the light is coming to the 653 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:51,000 world and men love darkness rather than light because 654 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,000 their deeds are evil. 655 00:34:54,000 --> 00:35:04,000 How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? 656 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,000 Thomas said, Lord, we know that whether thou goest, how can we 657 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:08,000 know the way? 658 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,000 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. 659 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000 No man cometh to the Father but by me. 660 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000 Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father and he 661 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,000 declares that he and he alone is the way to salvation. 662 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000 He's a witness to the salvation and if we deny it, we can't 663 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:21,000 escape. 664 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,000 Angels. 665 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,000 Jesus himself. 666 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,000 What about the apostles? 667 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:30,000 He says here, this great salvation was first began to be 668 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,000 spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that 669 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000 heard him. 670 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:37,000 Heard him. 671 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,000 If you are in Sunday school today, we went through John 672 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,000 chapter one down I think verse 14 or so. 673 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,000 Jesus began calling the disciples. 674 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,000 Right? 675 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:51,000 And some of the disciples started following Jesus because of 676 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,000 the word of John the Baptist. 677 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,000 You remember that from the Sunday school lesson? 678 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,000 And some of them started following John and started 679 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000 following Jesus because John says, behold the Lamb of God 680 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,000 that takes away the son of the world. 681 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,000 John the Baptist had the honor of baptizing Jesus and when 682 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,000 Jesus came up out of the water, there was a voice from 683 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,000 heaven that says, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well 684 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,000 pleased. 685 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,000 And God the Father spoke, the son was there, here comes the 686 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,000 Holy Spirit, landing on him like a dove. 687 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,000 They saw that. 688 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:28,000 Some of those, in fact, when Judas committed suicide and they 689 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:32,000 went to go get another disciple, that was something they were 690 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,000 supposed to do, one of the qualifications of being an 691 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,000 apostle was someone that had seen Jesus from the time that he 692 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,000 was baptized until he ascended into heaven. 693 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,000 So they knew that he was God because of that. 694 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:49,000 They saw it. 695 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,000 There are no apostles today because the scripture says in 696 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000 Acts 1 that their ministry was to be an eyewitness of the 697 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000 first coming ministry death, burial, resurrection of Jesus 698 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:58,000 Christ. 699 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,000 And by the way, one of the best ways we know that what Jesus, 700 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,000 what is claimed about Jesus actually happened is that all of 701 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,000 those guys except for John died a martyr's death. 702 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:17,000 They gave their lives saying Jesus was dead and he rose. 703 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,000 It's a pretty incredible witness. 704 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000 They saw his works. 705 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,000 They saw him die. 706 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:24,000 They saw him rise again. 707 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,000 They deserve the gospel and history. 708 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,000 This is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, for I delivered 709 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,000 unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ 710 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,000 died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was 711 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000 buried, that he rose again the third day according to the 712 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,000 scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, that's Peter, 713 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000 then of the 12, after that he was seen of 500 brethren at once, 714 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,000 of whom the greater part remained under this present, but 715 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,000 some were falling asleep. 716 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:52,000 After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. 717 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:56,000 And last of all, you've seen of me also as one born out of 718 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000 due time, for I'm the least of the apostles, that I'm not 719 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,000 meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church 720 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,000 of God. 721 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,000 How does somebody go from being a Christian serial killer to 722 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,000 writing two thirds in the New Testament? 723 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:14,000 He saw Jesus. 724 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,000 Peter says, we've not followed cunningly defied his fables 725 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,000 when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord 726 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Jesus Christ, but were I witnesses of his majesty, for he 727 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,000 received from God the Father, honor and glory, and there came 728 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:30,000 such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my 729 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,000 beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. 730 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,000 And this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we heard 731 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:41,000 him in the holy mouth, the apostles were I witnesses to the 732 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,000 salvation that God has made available through his son Jesus 733 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,000 Christ. 734 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,000 They even go on to spend time with him after his resurrection 735 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,000 hearing all the scriptures that all the scriptures point into 736 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,000 Christ. 737 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,000 Luke 24 talks about that. 738 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,000 So you have the witness of the angels, you have the witness of 739 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:07,000 the apostles, you have the witness of Jesus himself, what 740 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,000 about the witness of God? 741 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,000 The witness of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, we see that 742 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:14,000 too. 743 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:19,000 He says in verse 3, how shall we escape when we neglect so 744 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,000 great a salvation? 745 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,000 The first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto 746 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,000 us by them that heard him, so you have the angels, you have 747 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:32,000 Christ, you have the apostles, and then God confirmed what the 748 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,000 apostle said, verse 4, God also bearing them witness, who's 749 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,000 God there, God the Father, how? 750 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:46,000 Both with signs and wonders and with diverse miracles. 751 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:50,000 God allowed the apostles to perform miracles because he 752 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:55,000 wanted to substantiate what they said about eye witnessing Jesus 753 00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:00,000 and the way that they could be confirmed as eye witnesses and 754 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,000 as from God is because they would do things like walk up to 755 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,000 that temple gate, the gate called beautiful, and the guy says 756 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,000 hey, give me some money and Peter says silver and gold, I have 757 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,000 none, but what I have give I unto you in the name of Jesus Christ 758 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,000 of Nazareth, rise up and walk. 759 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:21,000 And the guy starts, gets up and runs around and Peter does 760 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:24,000 what any good preacher does when he sees a crowd, hey y'all, 761 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:29,000 come here, let me tell you about something, this Jesus that you 762 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:35,000 crucified, not just 50, 60, 70 days ago, God raised him from 763 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:39,000 the dead and you know it's true. 764 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,000 And now you confirm that I am from God because I was just able 765 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:46,000 to do this in the name of Jesus and so you need to repent and 766 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:50,000 believe and thousands got saved. 767 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,000 Isn't that awesome? 768 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,000 But they couldn't do that, Peter didn't have any power in 769 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,000 himself, you understand that right? 770 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,000 Well what, you understand how messed up Peter was, who here 771 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,000 agrees Peter was messed up? 772 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Yeah, that guy put his foot in his mouth all the time. 773 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,000 There wasn't anything special about Peter but the Holy Ghost. 774 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,000 That's what was special about him and God confirmed his message 775 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,000 through signs and wonders. 776 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:22,000 And who is the ultimate gifting of those signs? 777 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,000 Hey, that happened, Jesus said it was good for me to leave 778 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,000 because if I leave then I'm going to go but then another 779 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,000 comforter will come to you, this Holy Spirit. 780 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:35,000 That's exactly what's talked about here. 781 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,000 We know that the message of the apostles about Jesus was 782 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:41,000 steadfast because God allowed them of his own will to perform 783 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,000 these miracles of the Holy Spirit. 784 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,000 The greatest of these miracles was penning the words of the 785 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,000 Holy Ghost into the Scriptures that we hold in our hands today. 786 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,000 Peter, hey listen, you want a miracle here, I got one in my 787 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,000 hand. 788 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,000 Here it is. 789 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:01,000 God has ordered all of human history, God wrote a book, we get 790 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,000 to think his thoughts after him because he wrote a book. 791 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:08,000 Peter said this, I read it a little earlier, we have not 792 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:13,000 followed cunningly devised fables. 793 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000 We haven't followed cunningly devised fables, we didn't get in 794 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:20,000 a room and come up with a story that's plausible to hoodwink 795 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,000 the rest of human history. 796 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:28,000 We're just a bunch of fishermen, tax collectors, right 797 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:35,000 wingers and left wingers, making Israel great again, 798 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,000 getting taxes for Rome, that's who they were. 799 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,000 Are you with me? 800 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,000 We have not followed a bunch of cunningly devised fables and we 801 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:47,000 may not be the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we 802 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,000 are eyewitnesses of His majesty. 803 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:55,000 He says, verse 17, where you see to the Father, honor and glory 804 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,000 where there came such a voice from Him, excellent glory, this is 805 00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,000 my beloved son, whom I am well pleased. 806 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,000 And this voice which came from heaven we heard and when we were 807 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:07,000 with Him in the holy mount, then He says this, we have also a 808 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:11,000 more sure word of prophecy. 809 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:13,000 We're unto you do well that you take heed unto the light that 810 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:16,000 shined us in a dark place, unto the day dawn and the day star 811 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:17,000 writes in your heart. 812 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:20,000 He's saying, we saw Jesus transfigured, we saw the brightness 813 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,000 of His glory, we heard the voice from heaven but we have a more 814 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:27,000 sure word than that. 815 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:30,000 What's the more sure word? 816 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,000 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is in 817 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,000 a private interpretation, per the prophecy it came not in the 818 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:41,000 old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they 819 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:45,000 were moved by the Holy Ghost. 820 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,000 The message of the whole of scripture, the word of God, 821 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,000 pinned by the Holy Ghost is this, are you ready? 822 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:54,000 Here's the summary of the whole Bible. 823 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,000 Salvation is needed. 824 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,000 Salvation has come. 825 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:02,000 Salvation is needed because of sin. 826 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:03,000 Salvation has come. 827 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,000 Salvation is not an idea. 828 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:11,000 Salvation is a person and that person is Jesus Christ. 829 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:16,000 The theme of this whole message is this, you can't just ignore 830 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,000 what happened. 831 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,000 You can't let it drift. 832 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,000 You have to give urgent heed to this salvation because there's 833 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,000 this tendency to drift. 834 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,000 The scripture has been laid out like evidence in a courtroom. 835 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,000 There's a penalty for neglecting salvation. 836 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:39,000 We know that this salvation is real and true and available 837 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,000 because of the witness of the angels, because of the witness 838 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:47,000 of the apostles, because of the witness of God the Father and 839 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:51,000 of God the Son and of God the Holy Spirit. 840 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:57,000 He has ordered all of human history, the law and the prophets. 841 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:00,000 God hath spake. 842 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,000 God spake. 843 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,000 God hath spoken. 844 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,000 He's spoken through his Son. 845 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:13,000 And here's the question, how shall we escape if we neglect so 846 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:22,000 great salvation? 847 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:31,000 There are some of you, maybe you've been coming for weeks. 848 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:37,000 And the Holy Spirit's been tugging at your heart because you 849 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:41,000 know you're a sinner. 850 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:45,000 And you're starting to believe that this Jesus guy isn't just a 851 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:53,000 character in art or a legend that people talk about. 852 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,000 He's real. 853 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:58,000 He really came. 854 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,000 He really lived. 855 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,000 And there was something incredible about his death. 856 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:06,000 His death seemed to be substitutionary. 857 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,000 And God confirmed that he died for your sins because he rose 858 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,000 him from the dead. 859 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:16,000 And the Bible says that if you put your faith and trust in him 860 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:21,000 for your salvation, your sin can be forgiven. 861 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:24,000 Your sin could be forgiven. 862 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:29,000 The penalties for sin can go away because Jesus took your 863 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:33,000 penalty on the cross. 864 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:38,000 And what I want to tell you is you're not sure about today. 865 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,000 What is your life? 866 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,000 It's the vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away. 867 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:46,000 We may not get to Christmas Day this year. 868 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:50,000 We may not. 869 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,000 Today's the day of salvation. 870 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:59,000 How shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation? 871 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:07,000 And believer, your life is not your own. 872 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,000 Your mouth is not your own. 873 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:15,000 Your feet are not your own. 874 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:21,000 Jesus says, as the Father hath sent me, so send I you. 875 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:27,000 How can your family and your friends and your neighbors, 876 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:33,000 people you don't even know, how shall they escape if we 877 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:37,000 neglect so great a salvation? 878 00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:47,000 Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me this morning? 879 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:50,000 I do not apologize for what I'm about to do. 880 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:57,000 We want to give you an opportunity not to neglect so great a 881 00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:59,000 salvation. 882 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,000 If you're here this morning and you don't know Christ as your 883 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,000 Savior, I want you to know you don't get saved. 884 00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:07,000 You don't get right with God just by walking an aisle. 885 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:09,000 Walking an aisle doesn't do anything. 886 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:13,000 I'm not trying to get you to walk an aisle so that you'll be saved. 887 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:17,000 But I want you to make a decision. 888 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:21,000 If you're here today and you don't know Christ as your Savior, 889 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:25,000 there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. 890 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:29,000 God loves you and we would love to take God's word if you would 891 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:34,000 provide us the opportunity and to show you how you can know for 892 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:37,000 sure that you're saved. 893 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:42,000 That Jesus' death on the cross and His righteousness could be 894 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,000 credited to your account. 895 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:47,000 So if you're here today and you don't know for sure that you're 896 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:52,000 saved, we play this song and we're all going to stand here in 897 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:55,000 just a moment, not yet, but we're all going to stand. 898 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:58,000 And if you would like to know for sure that heaven is your home, 899 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,000 come forward and talk to one of us. 900 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:06,000 Megan's here, Miles, for the Dave, Cory, 901 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:07,000 there are several that are here. 902 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:13,000 We'd love to take God's word and help you know that you're saved. 903 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:18,000 If you're here today, maybe what's touched your heart is this. 904 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:21,000 There are people in my life, maybe even some that I'm about to 905 00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:27,000 interact with at this Christmas season that need Jesus. 906 00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:36,000 And maybe a right response for you is to not let the drift 907 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:42,000 happen in your own life, not to let Jesus and the gospel and 908 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:47,000 salvation be something that happened in your past and be 909 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:50,000 something that maybe, you know, is important on Sunday, 910 00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,000 but the rest of the week isn't, but that maybe, 911 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:57,000 maybe that you would recognize the drift and say, 912 00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:02,000 hey, I need to make my life a little bit more of a light to 913 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:06,000 even those who might be coming over, even during this holiday. 914 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:10,000 People in my life that don't know Christ. 915 00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:14,000 Maybe today you could come forward and you could pray and ask 916 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:21,000 God to help you be the witness in the light you ought to be. 917 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:24,000 I want to give you a chance to respond. 918 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:25,000 I'm going to stand. 919 00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:26,000 I'm going to ask you to stand. 920 00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:27,000 You guys stand. 921 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:29,000 Please stand and I'm going to pray. 922 00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:31,000 And if you need to do business with the Lord, you do it. 923 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:33,000 God, we love you so much. 924 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:36,000 We thank you for this incredible gift of salvation. 925 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:41,000 God, I pray that today you would help us to not neglect 926 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:43,000 so great salvation. 927 00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:44,000 We love you in Jesus' name. 928 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:45,000 Amen. 929 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:47,000 If you need to come, you come. 930 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:52,000 We love you in Jesus' name. 931 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:33,000 See if there be some wicked way in me. 932 00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:59,000 Come, if you need to come, God, your chance. 933 00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:16,000 I pray that you will be the witness in the light you ought to be. 934 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:31,000 Amen. 935 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:50,000 God, we want to say to you right now, thank you for the incredible gift 936 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,000 of salvation through your Son. 937 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,000 Thank you for what it means to us. 938 00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:58,000 Thank you for how it's changed lives even in this room today. 939 00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:02,000 And I pray that you would help us, saved and unsaved, not to neglect 940 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:06,000 the salvation that you so freely given to us in your Son. 941 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:10,000 God, I pray that you would help us to live it out. 942 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,000 And I pray that if there's someone here today that doesn't know you 943 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:16,000 and say, you're even at the end of the service, they come and talk to 944 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:20,000 one of us, let us show them how they can know for sure that their 945 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:21,000 sins are forgiven. 946 00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,000 God, I thank you for your Son. 947 00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:27,000 Thank you that He came a baby, but that He didn't stay a baby. 948 00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:31,000 He lived and died and rose again for our sins. 949 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:32,000 We thank you for that. 950 00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:33,000 We love you. 951 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:36,000 Help us to live for you this week in Jesus' name. 952 00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:40,000 And all God's people said, hey, we're so glad you've been here today. 953 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:44,000 Tonight we have our five o'clock service, a family service. 954 00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:46,000 It is a lot of fun and we learn a lot. 955 00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:49,000 And so we would love to invite you back. 956 00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:52,000 I didn't mention this, but we are doing a Christmas offering. 957 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:57,000 And if God's giving you like a tugging at your heart to give in 958 00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:00,000 some way, to honor Him at Christmas time, we've got some 959 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:02,000 building projects we're doing. 960 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:05,000 And if God leads you to give towards that, we'd love for you to do 961 00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:06,000 that. 962 00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:10,000 And then of course, Christmas Eve service, grab some of those 963 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:11,000 invitations. 964 00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:12,000 Christmas Day service. 965 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:13,000 We'd love to have you back. 966 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:14,000 All right. 967 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:15,000 You're not dismissed your sin. 968 00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:25,000 Have a great day. 969 00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:55,000 Thank you.