1. The great coach Vince Lombardi said, "Fatigue makes cowards out of us all."
2. Neglect can cause fatigue such as: Poor eating habits-Poor sleeping habits-Poor exercise habits
3. When we’re tired we just kind of drift along
4. Hebrews 2:1-4 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
I. Drifting Can Happen When We Don’t Pay Attention (v. 1)
In January 2007, the Washington Post did an experiment to test what people see. They arranged for a young man named Joshua Bell to play music at the Metro station. By most measures, he was nondescript--wearing jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money and began to play. For the next 45 minutes, Bell played Mozart and Schubert as over 1,000 people streamed by, most hardly taking notice. If they had paid attention, they might have recognized the young man for the world-renowned violinist he is. They also might have noted the violin he played--a rare Stradivarius worth over $3 million. Just three days earlier, Joshua Bell sold out Boston Symphony Hall, with ordinary seats going for $100. In the subway, Bell garnered about $32 from the 27 people who stopped long enough to give a donation.
A. We Have a Reliable Message Focused on Jesus – Pay Attention!
1. Greater than Angels
2. Greater than prophets
3. How MUCH MORE important is what Jesus says?
B. The Meaning of Salvation
1. Differs from person to person. For some, it’s a rescue from risk; for some, it’s a release from stress; for some, it’s having provision during the periods of famine as we read in Genesis 45:7, Joseph declared to his brothers. During the period of Judges, as we read in Judges 15:13, ‘the victory over battles were seen as Salvation’
2. But now, for all of us, it’s redemption from the grave sinful situations.
C. Drifting from the Message Can Happen
1. When the message seems out of place
2. When we have become so accustomed to it that we don’t apply it where we are
II. Drifting Can Happen Through Neglect – (v. 3) 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
[GTMO Longusta Story
A. It is "great salvation" because it offers:
1. Forgiveness of sins
2. The transformation of character by providing power over sin – Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
3. The assurance of God's fatherly presence
4. A clear and peaceful conscience and glorious hope of eternity.
B. It Is Not GREAT if We Neglect and Drift from It
In Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Kathleen Norris recounts the story of a South Dakota rancher and his bride who received an expensive Bible as a wedding gift from his grandfather. They wrote a thank-you note and stowed the Bible away on a closet shelf.
As time passed, the grandfather repeatedly asked the couple how they liked the Bible. The rancher was confused as to how to respond. Hadn’t he already expressed his appreciation? But the grandfather persisted. Eventually, the young man dug out the gift. As he leafed through it, $20 bills fluttered out, 66 in all—one at the beginning of Genesis and in each succeeding book.
While the rancher had left a monetary treasure waiting to be discovered, he had also left something even more valuable untouched between those pages: spiritual riches. All because he had not opened the Book.
Ephesians 3:8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.
"Americans revere the Bible," says pollster George Gallup, Jr., "but, by and large, they don’t read it." Statistics say that 92 percent of all Americans have at least three Bibles in their homes. Perhaps like the South Dakota rancher, yours is secreted away in a closet. And like him, you don’t suspect that there’s a fortune hidden within its pages.
III. Drifting Can Happen When We Miss the Affirmation of the HS (v. 4) 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
A. HS Affirmations of the Great Message:
1. Shavuot – Acts 2 (and Acts 2:38)
2. Samaritans – Acts 8
3. Cornelius – Acts 10
B. HS Still Affirms – Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
1. The Word He Inspired (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
2. His Seal – 2 Corinthians 1:22 (God) . . . has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
3. Able to address him as, “Abba.” Galatians 4:6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
1. There is a sense of urgency in this text. It doesn’t just say “pay attention,” it says “must pay much closer attention.”
2. This is not something for when you get around to it, this is God mercifully saying again what He consistently says through the Bible, “Do it now, because now is what you have for certain.”
3. Jude 20-21 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
