Wednesday, October
17, 2012, 8:26 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with the song “Here is Your God!” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Hebrews 2:1-4 (NIV 1984):
We must pay more
careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift
away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and
disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore
such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,
was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs,
wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according
to his will.
Careful
Attention
I am sure we have all heard the words, “Pay
Attention!” – or something to that affect -either from a parent, a teacher, or
from someone in authority over us, or perhaps even from our children or
grandchildren, or from a spouse who thought we were not listening to what he or
she had to say. To “pay attention” to someone, or to something said, means to give
careful consideration, thought and response to what is said; to listen
attentively, and to take what we hear into account when making decisions or
when acting (source: Encarta).
God is calling us to pay careful and close
attention to what we have heard, i.e. to the gospel of our salvation. “This
salvation was first announced by the Lord.” This really jumped out at me. If we
are to pay more careful attention to this gospel that was first announced by
the Lord, then it would behoove us to learn more of the gospel the Lord first
announced.
We, who have spent any time at all in church
or in the study of God’s word, have probably heard John 3:16 quoted over and
over again: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” We most likely have also heard Rom. 3:23;
6:23; John 3:3; 14:6; Rom. 10:9-11; and 2 Co. 5:15. These are basic gospel
presentation verses taught in most any evangelistic training classes. We have
heard the words “receive”, “believe,” “Lord” and “Savior” over and over again
to where they are almost commonplace and have lost the weight of their
meanings, or the true meanings of them were never really explained to us in the
first place.
So, I will not attempt to quote all of the words
of Jesus where he used the words “believe”, “receive,” “Lord” or “Savior,” but
rather what I believe the Lord would have me share today are the words Jesus
spoke that give the meaning to the words “believe,” etc. The following words of
Jesus give us the core truths Jesus taught concerning the gospel of our
salvation.
According
to Jesus
Matt.
4:17: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matt.
10:22: “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end
will be saved.”
Matt.
10:37-39: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of
me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and
anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it.” Cf. Matt. 16:25: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for me will find it.”
Matt.
18:3: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Luke
9:23: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me.”
John
3:5-7: “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is
born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives
birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born
again.’”
John
8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John
8:51: “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
John
10:27-28: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of
my hand.”
John
14:15, 23: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” “If anyone loves me,
he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and
make our home with him.”
John
15:18-19: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you
belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not
belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the
world hates you.”
John
16:2: “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when
anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”
The
Core Meaning
The core meaning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, which he first announced, and to which we are to pay careful attention,
thus, is found in these words of Jesus Christ. So, what does it all mean?
First of all Jesus said we must repent of our
sins, which means to turn away from them; to flee (run away from) our lives of
selfish indulgence and sinful desires and practices. If we say we “believe” in
Jesus but we keep living much like we did before, except maybe we cleaned up a
few things, then did we really repent? He said we must die, not physically, but
to our old ways and habits that are not in accord with the teachings of
scripture or conducive to holy living. If we try to hold on to our old lives of
sin, then we will lose our lives for eternity, but if we willingly give up our
old lives of living to please ourselves, and we choose now to live holy lives
pleasing to God, then we will live with God for eternity. So, we must forsake
our lives of sin and selfish pleasures, eradicating them from our lives.
We will be hated. Jesus said it, so it must
be true. If the world, or even the worldly church, does not hate or reject us
for our testimony for Jesus Christ, then we should be asking ourselves “Why?” The
reason the world should hate us is that we don’t belong to the world, for if we
belonged to the world, the world should love us as its own. So, does the world,
including the worldly church, love you or hate you? Are we a part of this world’s
system, and its way of thinking or behaving, and its attitudes, concepts,
philosophies, etc.? Or, are we of Christ’s?
The best way I know to find this out is to
pay attention to what we do and think - our attitudes, actions, and what we
willingly choose to take into your minds every day. Do they reflect Christ or
the world? Jesus said he has chosen us out of the world, and that is why the
world hates us. So, are we worldly or godly? I am not speaking of perfection
here, because none of us are perfect, but I am speaking of our lifestyles. Do
they reflect Christ or the pattern of this world? Listen to the lyrics of the
songs you like, pay attention to the messages and words spoken in your favorite
movies, TV shows or games you play. Pay attention to what you talk about with
your friends or what consumes your thoughts and passions. And, compare them to
the teachings of scripture. Then we need to ask ourselves, “Do these things
reflect Christ or the world?” If the world, then something needs to change.
We must love God above all else, and we must
do what he commands and follow his teachings. If we shrink back in following
the Lord Jesus out of fear of what others think of us, then we are choosing man
over God. If we choose to do what our friends and relatives do, that we know is
not of God, because we want to “fit in” and be liked by them, then we are
choosing people over God. If we choose to accept the standards of our culture
over the standards of scripture, then we are choosing the ways of men over the
ways of God. If we willingly choose to follow the teachings of men over the
teachings of scripture or to follow a religious leader even if confronted with
the fact that he or she is teaching a false gospel, then we are choosing men
over God. Following our Lord Jesus Christ means doing what he says, even if it
costs us our reputations, friendships, family, other relationships or our lives.
If we want to have eternal life with God we
must be born again, and we must change and become like little children. To be “born
again” means to be born of the Spirit of God into a new life, not physically,
but spiritually. The old is gone, the new has come. We don’t put our new lives
on over top of our old lives. We take off our old lives and we begin anew with
wearing our new lives in Christ. We die to our old lives of sin, we are
transformed in mind and heart of the Holy Spirit of God and we put on our new
lives created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness (see Eph.
4:17-24). We change and become like little children in that we have that
child-like trust that believes what God says is true, and we do what he says to
do. We completely abandon ourselves to Jesus Christ to follow him in obedience
and in faithful service wherever he leads us, or to whatever he calls us to do.
“He who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
This is taught all throughout the New Testament. What I take away from this,
and other similar teachings, is that true faith is enduring faith. It is
possible to think you have faith but then the world and the cares of this life
can choke it out (see the Parable of the Sower). Only faith that lasts
(endures) and that reproduces is genuine faith, because true faith takes root
in the life of the believer.
Such
a Great Salvation
The writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, said that we need to pay more careful attention to
what we have heard so that we don’t “drift away.” He also said, “How shall we
escape” (God’s punishment) “if we ignore such a great salvation?”
I would like to present to you that not
everyone who says to God “Lord, Lord” is going to see the kingdom of heaven.
Many will think they have salvation merely because they prayed a prayer or “believed
in” or “received” Christ as Savior, but what they believed was not the truth of
the gospel according to Jesus Christ. If the gospel Jesus first announced is
not the gospel you believed, then make sure today you are believing the true
gospel according to Jesus. It is possible to think we have “believed” and to
not really have trusted in Christ to be our Lord (boss) and Savior (from
slavery to sin). So, we must pay more careful attention to these words of Jesus
Christ by believing what he says and by doing what he says. Then, we can have
the hope and assurance of eternal life with God in heaven.
Here
is Your God! / An Original Work / July 18, 2012
Based off
Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV
You
who bring
good
tidings to Zion,
Lift
up your voice;
raise
with a shout,
And
do not be
afraid
of the people.
Say,
“Here is your God!”
See
how the Lord God
Comes
now with power.
His
arm rules for Him;
His
reward with Him.
He
tends His flock
Just
like a shepherd,
His
lambs in His arms.
Do
you not know?
Have
you not heard?
Has
it not been told you
From
beginning?
Our
Lord sits
Enthroned
above all things.
None
to Him compare.
Lift
up your eyes
And
look to the heavens.
Who
made all of these?
Who
calls them by name?
Because
of His great
Power
and strength,
All
accounted for.
Why
do you say,
“My
way is hidden
From
the Lord, and
My
cause forgotten”?
Do
you not know?
Have
you not heard?
The
Lord, He is your God.
He
will not weary.
He
gives us power.
Those
who trust in Him
Will
renew their strength.
They
will soar on wings
Just
like eagles;
Walk
and do faint not.
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