Warnings from Hebrews
The road of doubt that leads to the ditch of unbelief.
Bryan Crumpler
INTRO:
WE NEED TO LISTEN TO WARNINGS
Illustration of warnings
1. Americans are getting warned to death. Manufactures are growing increasingly wary of being sued when their products are misused, so they are attaching warning labels to hundreds of items.
For example, a Batman outfit bears this caveat: “Parents, please exercise caution—FOR PLAY ONLY. Mask and cape are not protective; cape does not enable user to fly.
2. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: ’We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.’"
Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."
The captain said, "Send: "I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.’"
"I’m a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees."
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: ’I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.’"
Back came the flashing light, "I’m a lighthouse."
We changed course
A WARNING FOR OUR TIME
ILL>"Dr. E.M. Blaiklock, a longtime professor of classics at the University of New Zealand and a noted biblical historian, made the startling statement: ’Of all the centuries, the twentieth is most like the first.’ If that is true, it is evident that twentieth-century Christians should thoroughly understand first-century Christianity. All the New Testament books help us in this regard, but perhaps none so practically as Acts and Hebrews. Preeminently in these two books appear flesh-and-blood believers struggling to overcome the stranglehold of past traditions and adjust to the fresh movements of God in their fast-changing world. Readers of Hebrews in the twentieth century will identify with the first recipients of this letter when they see how they struggled to hold on to their faith in Jesus in the midst of growing world chaos and powerful cultural pressures to return to a more comfortable past."
I. A SOLUMN WARNING (V.7-9,12-15).
“Deceit leads to Doubt and Doubt in turn leads Deliberate Unbelief in turn leads to Disobedience which leads to Deadly Rebellion”
ILL> G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was 19 years old. But then he was attacked by doubts about the Bible. The writings of various scientists and agnostics disturbed him (e.g., Charles Darwin, John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley, and Herbert Spencer). As he read their books and listened to debates, Morgan became more and more perplexed. What did he do? He cancelled all preaching engagements, put all the books in a cupboard and locked the door, and went to the bookstore and bought a new Bible. He said to himself, "I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be--the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself." The result? "That Bible found me!" said Morgan. The new assurance in 1883 gave him the motivation for his preaching and teaching ministry. He devoted himself to the study and preaching of God’s Word
Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any; but keep your doubts to yourself, for I have enough of my own
A. Deceitfulness of Sin Vs 13
B. Doubt (Day of provocation ) vs 8
“to put a question where God has put a period.”
they had Seen the miracles , plagues, red sea
C. Deliberate Unbelief vs 12
Evil heart grows up in you
Unbelief is the path it follows
(I don’t see it that way)
D. Disobedience
“Deceit leads to Doubt and Doubt in turn leads Deliberate Unbelief in turn leads to Disobedience which leads to Deadly Rebellion”
II. A SHAMEFUL TESTIMONY (VS. 10).
A. Grieving the heart of God (v.10a).
1. The Lord can be grieved with our lives.
(Eph 4:30)
a) Grieved by our lack of faith.
b) Grieved with our failure to obey.
c) Grieved with our poor choices.
B. Going astray continually from God (v.10b)
1. Err = ðëáíÜù = to go astray, wander, roam about to go
astray, sin. ; to sever or fall away from the truth.
To be led away into error and sin.
2. The Israelites continually wandered from God.
a) During the wilderness wanderings.
b) After entering the promised land.
3. We are proned to wander from Christ (Isa. 53:6).
C. Growing willingly ignorant of God’s ways (v. 10c). (Rom. 1:25;
Rom. 10:3)
1. Choosing not to know God.
a) He has done all he can to reveal himself to us.
(1) Gave us the Bible.
(2) Gave us his Son.
(3) Gave us His Spirit.
III. A STIFF PENALTY (VS. 11, 16-19).
A. Wrath proclaimed by God (v.11).
1. God proclaimed judgment in his wrath upon the unbelieving
Israelites.
2. God proclaims judgment upon those who refuse to believe
today. (John 3:18).
B. Wandering in the wilderness without direction (vs. 16-17).
1. A lack of faith can be quite costly.
a) It cost Israel as a whole 40 years of
wandering in the desert.
b) It cost those who were faithless their lives
without experiencing God’s promise
C. Weariness without rest (vs. 18-19).
1. The children of Israel experienced weariness in
wandering, without the rest of the promised land.
2. It can cost us weariness in wandering in this life,
full of worry and toil, with no rest.
IV. SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY
Ill> Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin’ Big for Little Reasons, describes one quite night in early spring:
Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon?
It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly -- to take their place in the sky for which God made them -- was sounding in their feathered breast, but they never raised from the water.
The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable.
God has always had a message for those who would listen. He speaks to stir our hearts -- to draw us up to Him. He longs for us to be what we were meant to be in Christ. Our text begins with the words, "as the Holy Spirit says." God is speaking, then and now. Some may hear the voice of God for the first time today and some may hear it again for the first time in a long while; some may be made uncomfortable by the sound of it. Whatever the case, God wants to speak to us and we need to listen. The Lord is trying to call us away from the things of the world that are keeping us from Him.
A. Let us First hear 3.15
B. Let us Fear `4:1 miss out on a promise
C. Let us Faithfully labor 4:11 fall in the same
Take head lest he fall
D. Let us Focus on Exhorting 4:13
ILL> Some years ago a fearful railroad wreck took a dreadful toll of life and limb in an eastern state. A train, loaded with young people returning from school, was stalled on a suburban track because of what is known as a "hot-box." The limited was soon due, but a flagman was sent back to warn the engineer in order to avert a rear-end collision. Thinking all was well, the crowd laughed and chatted while the train-hands worked on in fancied security. Suddenly the whistle of the limited was heard and on came the heavy train and crashed into the local, with horrible effect.
The engineer of the limited saved his own life by jumping, and some days afterwards was hailed into court to account for his part in the calamity. And now a curious discrepancy in testimony occurred. He was asked, "Did you not see the flagman warning you to stop?"
He replied, "I saw him, but he waved a yellow flag. I took it for granted all was well, and so went on, though slowing down."
The flagman was called, "What flag did you wave?"
"A red flag, but he went by me like a shot."
"Are you sure it was red?"
"Absolutely."
Both insisted on the correctness of their testimony, and it was demonstrated that neither was color-blind. Finally the man was asked to produce the flag itself as evidence. After some delay he was able to do so, and then the mystery was explained. It had been red, but it had been exposed to the weather so long that all the red was bleached out, and it was but a dirty yellow!
Oh, the lives eternally wrecked by the yellow gospels of the day -- the bloodless theories of unregenerate men that send their hearers to their doom instead of stopping them on their downward road!
CONCLUSION
MAKE A CHANGE NOW
ILL>For years, the opening of "The Wide World of Sports" television program illustrated "the agony of defeat" with a painful ending to a ski jump. The skier appeared in good form as he headed down the jump, but then, for no apparent reason, he tumbled head over heals off the side of the jump, bouncing off the supporting structure.
What viewers didn’t know was that he chose to fall rather than finish the jump. Why? As he explained later, the jump surface had become too fast, and midway down the ramp, he realized if he completed the jump, he would land on the level ground, beyond the safe sloping landing area, which could have been fatal. As it was, the skier suffered no more than a headache from the tumble.
To change one’s course in life can be a dramatic and sometimes painful undertaking, but change is better than a fatal landing at the end.
