For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; four Scriptures are read prior to the Message. The appointed passages for today are Job 1:1 & Job 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4 & Hebrews 2:1-12; and Mark 10:2-16.
An Eastern Proverb states.....Negligence produces ..... a lot ....of dirt.
As in a house, ... so in the mind, .... only a small amount of dirt .....collects in a day or two, .... but if it goes on for many years, .... it will grow.... into a vast heap ....of refuse.
A more modern reading ....of this Eastern Proverb ....might be like this:
"If you chose to park your vehicle in the garage.... and wait for something good to happen..... Your vehicle .....will just sit .....in the garage.
Safe, yes..... With low mileage,... Yes. ......But nonetheless still parked and unused.
Some .....take their vehicles out of the garage..... only occasionally. Say,.... on Sundays...Yes,.... they blow the dust out of the engine...... They get the motor.... running.
But Sunday afternoon, .... it goes right back into the garage .....for another week.
That car.... Will have low mileage..... that the car salesman can honestly state.... they only drove it ....on Sundays.
In the same fashion.... some keep their boats at the shore, ....waiting at the dock.
They rarely go out, ....but they feel good about knowing ....that the boat is there.
Yet over time .... If they fail to do the proper upkeep and safeguards .....the day will come ....when the boat comes loose....from the moorings.
No longer tethered ........by secure ropes ....it simply drifts away..... and is lost.
The Writer of Hebrews in the first verse of Chapter two shares this warning. BIBLE "For this reason .....we must pay much closer attention ....to what we have heard, .....so that we do not..... drift away ....from it." END Hebrews 2:1
Beloved... we too .....must listen very carefully ....to the truth we have heard, ....or we may also drift... away from it.
Drifting away..... sounds like a good idea ....on the surface.
Remember the old commercial,..... "Calgon, Take me away!" ........O' to drift away ....from all your problems ....in a warm Calgon bath.
Drifting for most.... happens very slowly.
So slow....that often you do not even notice it .....until it is too late.
Have you ever fallen asleep ....in the bathtub, .....only to wake up... swallowing water and coughing.
Even worse,.... have you ever drifted away ....while driving?
I'm not sure if I have, ....but I may have,.... and that alone ....is a freighting thought.
We must be on guard... to keep from drifting. (Pause)
One Saturday.... 4 of us.... junior high kids..... came up with the bright idea .....of buying four of those cheap blue plastic pools..... that were in the shape of a boat and take them down to the river..... for a grand excursion.
We thought..... we would use our hands as paddles..... and just take a short trip ....down the lazy river.
Well the river ...was not that lazy ....and we were under the force of the current .....which took us about a half a mile beyond .....the take out area.
It is not a lot of fun ....dragging a pool ....through the woods .....for another half mile.
Everyone seemed to blame me for this great fiasco ....probably ....because it was my .....grand idea. (Pause)
And that is the warning of today's reading in Hebrews.
Pay attention, .... or you will start .....endlessly drifting .....away.
This is not just a simple warning,..... but a serious .....reminder to us.
In our lives today ....there is so much we are hearing around us .... So much information.
Some of it is true.
And ....Some of it sounds like truth .... Yet it is misleading ....and will slowly pull us away..... from The Truth .....of God's Word.
A slow drift ....from what we know is right .... to the acceptance ....of what we know ....in our hearts ...is wrong.
A slow drift .... Which over time..... We let el-e-vate us ....above God,.... and get swept away ....from the shore.
Will God ....let us drift?
The world is full of testimonies.....Yes, ... He will.
Will He through out lifelines ...to draw us back on course?.... Yes, ....He will.
The First Chapter of Hebrews .....is a declaration .....and a celebration of God's final word .....to the world.
And that final Word .....is Jesus Christ the Son of God.
The writer of Hebrews tells us: BIBLE That The Son of God ...is the heir of all things. Through him He created the worlds, ....he is the radiance of God's glory.... and the exact imprint of God's very being. And He sustains all things by his powerful word, ....he made purification for sins, ....he sat down at the right hand of God's majesty on high. END
In other words, .....God has spoken by his Son ....and this Son is.... (Slow) Creator ....Sustainer ....Owner and Ruler. .....The Redeemer of the world.
There are no commands for us in the First Chapter, but in Chapter Two, .....we go beyond what we must accept, ... what we must believe, ... to something..... as faithful followers of Christ ... that we .....must do.
We believe.....therefore the Hebrew writer tells us .....BIBLE "We must pay much closer attention ....to what we have heard." END
God has spoken by his Son, ....so listen, ... and listen ....very carefully.
(Bold) God has spoken through his Son, .... Yet are we listening to Him?
How does our listening to Jesus ....compare to our listening ....to other things?
We listen to a lot of..... stuff, .... To a lot of noise.
We do not want to miss a program, ...or an article, ....or an episode.
We check the websites regularly ....and make sure ...we do not go too long ....without checking our email .....or our text messages.
We are plugged in ......and satellite connected.
We are connected to Wireless,.... and Hi-Definition.
Yet ....are we ......connected to God.
Jesus is clear.....My people .....are connected to me..... "My sheep ......hear my voice".
When we really want to listen to someone.... or something, ....we get prepared .....and we listen well.
When I was a teenager, ....I could tell you almost every folk group that was on the charts,... their members, ....their songs.... And where they were playing.
I had a radio .....a record..... or a tape....playing...all the time.
And that really puzzled my parents, ......who could not figure out .... why I could not remember ....to just do..... a few simple chores.. around the house.... correctly.
The Truth is ..... I wasn't all that interested ....in doing chores.
I did not listen.... I tuned..... it out.
When we want to listen to something, .....to really hear it,.... to really have it soak in...... We do it.
When we really want to listen to someone....... We do it.......And we pay ....close attention.
So how does this compare ....to our listening to God?
Are we listening to Him? .....Or are we .....drifting away?
Are we making provisions for God's Word .....to permeate .....are very being?
Do we set aside..... a time and place .... devoted to listening?
Do we make time ...for the one ....we call ....our Lord ....and our Savior?
Or is our Bible parked for the week,..... in nice shape, .....with very low miles.
What the Hebrews writer is making clear .... is that in the Christian life ....we must press on .... We must listen ....to God's Word ....for us.
And We cannot treat this.... casually.
We cannot act.... as if we already know all there is to know about God, ..... As If we have nothing to gain ....from listening .....to Jesus.
We cannot treat this .... as something.... optional.
The inspired author of Hebrews tells us .... It is Quote "exceedingly necessary to give heed" .... to Jesus.
Listen to him. ..... Consider him..... Focus on him..... .... Spend time ....with ......him.
"Fix your eyes on Jesus." Keep your boat tethered securely ....to the shore of eternity.
It is not a difficult command; .... it is not a hard thing to do...... unless .... you just do not ......want to do it.
Listening, ...and paying attention ....is something that we do easily ..... when we are truly .....interested.
So are you interested in Jesus? (Pause)
John Lennon started quite a controversy ....in the late 1960's ....when he was quoted as saying that the Beatles .....were more popular .....than Jesus.
People burned Beatles albums .....and demonized him for this comment, ..... but sadly .....he was probably right..... At least .....in the Western World.
He was being asked about the state of the church in England,..... and what he thought about the fact that churches are empty .... yet Beatles concerts ....sold out.... every night.
People in England could tell you everything about John, Paul, George and Ringo,.... but very little ....about.... Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The People ....were not interested.
The people were no longer listening...... They had drifted away .....from God.
Pop culture,.... The things of the world ....were more important.
To so many, ...... Even Today... a three minute popular song .....is more important.... than eternal salvation.
This text from Hebrews ....tells us..... that if we choose not to listen to Jesus ..... and do not consider him ....and fix our eyes on him, ..... then we are neglecting ......a "great salvation."
Why would anyone want to do that?
What great salvation does a news commentator, ...or politician, ....or talk show host ....or a pop star ....have to offer? None.
The Christian life.... is first and foremost ....a life of listening to Jesus, .... considering Jesus,.... fixing the eyes of our heart..... on Jesus.
Everything else ...in the Christian life ....grows out of this.
Without this .... the Christian life ....is simply........ un-livable.
The Hebrews writer tells us: .....Pay close attention to what we have heard: ....if we do not, .... we will ....drift into destruction.
"Drifting" could be translated ....."to float by."
It is what a piece of bark ....or a leaf ....or a dead fish does.... it floats by.
Just do nothing, .... and you ....will float by.
If we do not vigilantly seek Jesus .... we will float by.... we will .....drift away.
If we have no urgency,... no vigilance,.... no time for quite listening .... or considering .... or fixing our eyes on Jesus.
The result will not be .... standing still,..... It will be drifting away.
The Scriptures do not provide for .....standing still.
If you do not listen earnestly to Jesus.... and consider him .... and fix your eyes on him ...., then you will not..... just stand still.
You will digress..... You will float by..... You will drift away. (Pause)
You may be thinking to yourself, ....."This does not apply to me, .....I'm faithfully serving the Lord.
He is talking about backsliding....... I'm not doing that". ....
Well, ....the man's boat ...at the beginning .....did not drift away .....because ....he did something wrong.
It drifted away ....because he did .....nothing at all.
So you have been a Christian .....for a long time.
You attend church,.... read your Bible, ....and say your prayers.
But over time .... a certain amount of..... "going through the motions" ....has entered .....into your spiritual life.
Where have we anchored ......our souls?
Is it on the things of God's Kingdom, .... the kingdom of Heaven?
If it is set on something..... besides Jesus Christ, .....then you are in danger..... of drifting away.
In Christ, ...there is no standing still.
If you can remember a time ....when you were closer to Jesus ....than you are right now;.....then .... You are spiritually drifting.
You are either moving forward in his glory .....in His Salvation, .....or you are drifting away.
O' Beloved it is so glorious ...when we are walking in His will
Be mature in the Faith.
To be mature men and women of the cross.
Set aside time ...to be with the Lord of Lords ....and the King of Kings.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth.... will grow strangely dim,
In the light.... of His glory ....and grace.
Amen and Amen!
Many of the illustrations other then my own were received from other sources which I have miss-placed.
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