The CHALLENGE of CHOOSING FULL DISCLOSURE-II
—Hebrews 4:12-14
Attention:
I saw a billboard yesterday that said:
Need Help? Call Jesus.
1-800-555-HELP
I was impressed. But out of curiosity I called.
10 minutes later a Mexican named Hey-sus drove up with his tow truck.
Hey-sus’ Full Disclosure would have prevented the caller’s situation.
Likewise, Full Disclosure regarding Spiritual matters is vital to our situation.
The writer to the Hebrews set before his audience a deeper/further consideration of a Full Disclosure of the truth regarding their Christian confession.
Christians, tempted by tradition, are encouraged toward a deeper/further consideration of a Full Disclosure.
What challenges do Christians, tempted toward tradition(traditionists), face in the consideration of a Full Disclosure?
6 Challenges traditionists must face in their confession of a Full Disclosure.
Last time we found that...
The challenge of choosing Full Disclosure is accepting the...
1—LIFE of the word(:12a)
2—ACTIVITY of the Word(:12b)
3—INCISION of the Word(:12c)
Continuing that thought we will see that...
4—The challenge of choosing Full Disclosure is accepting the...
COMPREHENSIVENESS of the Word(:13a)
Explanation:(:13a) Unlimited/Nothing exempt
:13—“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked & open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Because of the searching & separating nature of God’s word(:12), there is thus “no” aspect of any created thing which is capable of being “hidden” from the scrutiny of God & His understanding.
The very existence & scheme/system of life itself is comprehended & encompassed by God in His word. There is absolutely nothing of God’s creation of which He is ignorant. He is aware of its every aspect.
Man’s vain, failed & failing attempts to describe & disseminate the purposes of life & how to bring it about, thru his various philosophies, are ultimately frustrated as they stray from God’s design, even as that design has been given permission to have fallen into sin.
“Creature/Creation”—ktisiv—1) The act of founding, establishing, building etc.—1a) The act of creating, creation, 1b) Creation i.e. thing created— 1b1) Of individual things, beings, a creature, a creation—1b1a) Anything created, 1b1b) After a rabbinical usage (by which a man converted from idolatry to Judaism was called), 1b1c) The sum or aggregate of things created, 1c) Institution, ordinance. Strong—Original formation (properly, The act; by implication, The thing, literally or figuratively):-- Building, creation, creature, ordinance.
“Hidden”—afanhv—Not manifest, hidden. The negation of—fainw—(Not apparent), That which is not manifest.
“Sight”—enwpion—1)In the presence of, before—1a) Of occupied place: in that place which is before, or over against, opposite, any one & towards which another turns his eyes.
Argumentation:
Ps. 50:10 -12—“For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, & all its fullness.”
Ps. 104:24-30—“O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions-- This great & wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small & great. There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there. These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die & return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.”
Job chapt. 38-41—Job is asked if he has knowledge of the intricacies of the creature/creation—generally hidden to man—which God knows intimately as He has created, sustains & maintains them.
Job 38:19-20—God asks Job—““Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home?” 38:24—“By what way is light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?” 38:31-36—““Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’? Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?” 39:26-27—““Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south? Does the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high?” 40:15-19—““Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword.”
—We cannot dealve into the far reaches of the workings of God’s creation, yet God deals with these things daily from their creation! Nothing is missed or passed over.
Lu 12:6-7—““Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Illustration:
Slums in Calcutta, India/Horrid place/People do Monstrous things to others there/Yet God knows every heartach/Not the smallest of them escapes His notice/COMPREHENSIVENESS of the Word
Border Wars TV show on History channel/US Border Patrol agents at various locations at our land & sea borders/Inspect every vehicle for contraband(illegal immigrants, drugs, products, etc.)/Use multiplicity of tools to examine the vehicles/Always a line at official border crossings/Agents asking questions—Paperwork(Passports, Import visas, etc)—Mirrors—Dogs—vehicular X-ray machines—Helicopters—Agents using with military search technologies/Orders to stop all contraband!/COMPREHENSIVENESS of the Word
Application:
? You chosen the COMPREHENSIVENESS of God’s word?
?Does Your Confession meet the challenge of Full Disclosure?
5—The challenge of choosing Full Disclosure is accepting the...
EXPOSURE of the Word (:13b)
Explanation:(:13b) by Sight/Exposive/Exposure
:13—“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked & open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Thereby all things are, to God, completely uncovered & “open” to His eyes’ inspection.
“Naked”—gumnov—1) Properly—1a) Unclad, without clothing, the naked body, 1b) Ill clad, 1c) Clad in undergarments only (the outer garments or cloak being laid aside), 1d) Of the soul, whose garment is the body, stripped of the body, without a body; 2) metaph.—2a) Naked, i.e. open, lay bare, 2b) Only, mere, bare, i.e. Mere grain not the plant itself. Strong—Nude (absolute or relative, literal or figurative):-- Naked.
“Open”—trachlizw—1) To seize & twist the neck or throat—1a) Of combatants who handle thus their antagonist; 2) To bend back the neck of a victim to be slain, to lay bare or expose by bending back; 3) To lay bare, uncover, expose; 4) Laid bare, laid open, made manifest to one. Strong—To seize by the throat or neck, i.e. To expose the gullet of a victim for killing (generally, to lay bare):-- Opened.
“Eyes”—ofyalmov—1) The eye; 2) metaph. The eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing.
Argumentation:
Ps. 69:5—“O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You.”
Jn. 3:18-20—““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
Job 24:13—““There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.”
Num. 32:20-23—(To the 1/2 tribe of Gad & Reuben)—“Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, “& all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, “& the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you may return & be blameless before the LORD & before Israel; & this land shall be your possession before the LORD. But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; & be sure your sin will find you out.”
1Cor. 4:5—“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness & reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”
Eph 5:11-13—“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.”
Illustration:
In a county court of law/What is stated in the Law Books is brought to bear upon the person accused/Judges-Lawyers-Plaintiffs-Defendants-Bailiffs-Policemen-Witnesses, etc.A sincere attempt to expose the truth/The Word found them out/EXPOSURE of the Word
Application:
? You chosen the EXPOSURE of God’s word?
?Does Your Confession meet the challenge of Full Disclosure?
6—The challenge of choosing Full Disclosure is accepting the...
ACCOUNTABILITY of the Word(:13c)
Explanation:(:13c) Compellingly/Answerable
:13—“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked & open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
God is the One to whom we must all give word regarding His findings. Every person is answerable to God personally!
What you believe in your heart may never come out before men, but you will give testimony to your heart of hearts before God one day! In fact, He knows our sins before we commit them!
“Give Account”—logov—N. NSM—1) Of speech—1a) A word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea, 1b) What someone has said—1b1) A word, 1b2) The sayings of God, 1b3) decree, mandate or order, 1b4) Of the moral precepts given by God, 1b5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets, 1b6) What is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim,--1c) Discourse—1c1) The act of speaking, speech, 1c2) The faculty of speech, skill & practice in speaking, 1c3) A kind or style of speaking, 1c4) A continuous speaking discourse - instruction,--1d) Doctrine, teaching, 1e) Anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative, 1f) Matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law, 1g) The thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed.
Argumentation:
2Cor. 5:9-10—“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Rom. 14:9-12—“For to this end Christ died & rose & lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead & the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
1Pet. 4:3-5—“For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, & abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living & the dead.”
Rom. 2:11-12—“For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law[According to their limited knowledge of God] will also perish without law, & as many as have sinned in the law[According to their ample knowledge of God] will be judged by the law”.....“in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
Rev. 20:11-15—“Then I saw a great white throne & Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth & the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small & great, standing before God, & books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, & Death & Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death & Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
1Cor. 15:56 -57—“The sting of death is sin, & the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
*Php. 2:10-11—“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, & of those on earth, & of those under the earth, & that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Acts 3:22-23—““For Moses truly said to the fathers[Deut. 18:18-19], ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’”
Illustration:
Taco Bell in Vidalia, GA(1995-1997)/New manager/Portion size suffered horribly/Where’s the beef?/We complained to the manager, owner, then Corporate because their guidelines were being violated/ACCOUNTABILITY of the Word
Suppose the boss of a furniture store goes away on vacation/The word he leaves with you is simply ‘Maintain the vision’/Next day—Open the store late—No deliveries made/Staff tests out the chairs & sofas/ACCOUNTABILITY of the Word
Your supervisor leaves the area/Do you maintain his-her word OR enter your own mode so the work slows down or is less efficient/Play on the computer & pretend to be working?/ACCOUNTABILITY of the Word
Application:
? You chosen the ACCOUNTABILITY of God’s word?
?Does Your Confession meet the challenge of Full Disclosure?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Need Help? Call Jesus...not Hey-sus!
Action:
The challenge of choosing Full Disclosure is accepting the...
4—COMPREHENSIVENESS of the Word(:13a)
5—EXPOSURE of the Word (:13b)
6—ACCOUNTABILITY of the Word(:13c)
1—LIFE of the word(:12a)
2—ACTIVITY/ Power of the Word(:12b)
3—INCISION of the Word(:12c)
Presented 09/12/2010pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
