June 10, 2021 PAY CLOSE ATTENTION
Hebrews 2:1, 3:12-13, 5:11 “for this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” “Take care brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing.”
We must guard against drifting spiritually. Often, familiarity leads to a loss of passion and even leads to carelessness. Often, I can be reading from God’s word and I can come to a passage I am very familiar with and I find myself giving very little attention to what I am reading-because I am familiar with it. I can read, but yet not let what I read penetrate my heart, soul, spirit and mind. No one can deny that we live in a culture of busyness and are bombarded with things that would distract us and draw our attention away from the truly important issues. Paul wrote the book of Hebrews as a warning and correction to the Jewish believers who were turning away from the truth of the gospel-back to living according to the old covenant; they were forgetting the instructions that Paul had given concerning life under the new covenant. In Paul’s warning to these believers, he used such statements as ‘pay closer attention,’ ‘lest we drift away from it,’ ‘take care brethren,’ ‘falling away,’ ‘hardened by the deceitfulness of sin,’ and ‘you have become dull of hearing.’ Reading God’s word is not like reading any other book; only in the bible do we read the words of God. God’s word is super-natural; it penetrates our soul, mind and Spirit; it is not based on worldly wisdom but on the wisdom of God; it is truth; it never fails and every word that God speaks comes to pass; it addresses and reveals the intentions of the heart; His words lead to life; and in His word, we learn of our identity in Him; the truth of His word takes us out of mere humanity and joins us to Himself where the super-natural becomes natural, yet it gives practical instructions for daily living and how we are to conduct ourselves. When His word is heard and obeyed, one is able to experience life as God designed; any life that is not based on the truth of God’s word is a counterfeit to real life. Jesus came to set man free from the power of sin and death; He came to give us life, and in His word, He reveals the way to experience life to the fullest. This being true, we certainly must pay close attention to what He has said and not allow ourselves to become dull of hearing. The quickest way to become dull of hearing is not to read His word and not to do what He says; our obedience to the words of God is essential if we are to live as He intended and if we are to hear His voice.
Philippians 4:9 “These things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Matthew 7:24, 26 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.” “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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