Warning signs of drifting away
Hebrews 2:1 therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away
I believe that warning comes before we Drift away and leave God; We don't just drift away; People don't just Drift away overnight it happens subtly ( repeat) But God so graciously uses his Holy Spirit to warn us And protect us from a fall. He always sends a warning as in the case of Jonah and the city of Nineveh.
Or like Peter Luke 22:31-32 ... Simon, Simon the devil desires to sift you like wheat
In the first phrase of the verse, Heb 2:1 The word translated earnest heed, Is the Greek word Prosecho, And it means to anchor a ship or a boat . Jesus is warning Peter brace yourself peter ! trucha! Heads Up!
Notice too, The last word of the verse , The Greek word is Pararrhueo, or drift So the writer here is saying that we ought, To carefully anchor ourselves To the things we have heard least at any time we find ourselves drifting away
There were Before and during the days of Jesus three symbols used by the early church a fish a boat and an Anchor But the most common symbol was The Anchor.
In early Christian drawings and literature the anchor is seen or used more than the fish or the boat
And the anchor although not popular to us as a symbol today, Is still a concept that is vital for us ; See most of us are not in danger of plunging into a life of Sin, from one day to the Next...
The Danger is drifting away almost unnoticeably...
It could be because of busyness,(B.U.S.Y Being under Satans Yoke)… or it could be because of a carnal appetite that was never dealt with.
Sometimes it is neglect.( to be careless of)
Usually drifting is not planned . If you’ve ever steered a boat, you know that if you do not deliberately keep it on course, you will drift with the currents. The stronger the current, the more you have to give constant attention to keep the boat on course.
Since we live in the strong current of this evil world, we all are prone to drift with the culture.... Simple neglect of our salvation while we attend to other things will do the trick nicely.
The Greek word “Earnest heed ” (2:1) is used in the parable Jesus told about the king who invited guests to his son’s wedding party: Mt 22:5 “they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business”.
There’s nothing sinful about farms and businesses—un- less they cause you to neglect the king’s invitation! Or The Kings Business
Someone put it this way: “What must I do to be lost? Nothing!” Just drift through life, paying attention to other things.
The antidote to drifting away is paying attention. Phil 2:12 Work out your salvation with fear and trembling stay Anchored; Stay Focused!
But I believe the primary reason For People like you and i to DRIFT away Is ...
FAMILIARITY: Its been said That “Familiarity Breeds contempt” its when your walk with God loses its Wonder, its when we take Our Salvation for Granted… we forget where We Came From
We start believing that We've heard it all... And then Christianity becomes monotonous and Routine And then believe it or not even boring...You used to sit in the Front now you sit in the Back always on your Cell Phone
Church is The Same, Same songs , Same Message you no longer come to church expecting now all you do is Critique .....
There are signs that we can see that we are beginning to drift away Some things will start to happen...
“Familiarity also breeds complacency.”
Loss of focus: The desires of your heart begin to change you Start to develop a hunger for Worldly things as opposed to Godly things...we would rather hear worldly music than Christian
1Kings 11:1-4 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Edomites,(Self Gratification) Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
(There is a danger for drifting when we start getting wrapped up in worldly conversations in the break room , you don’t read your Bible anymore not just in the break room. But at home..)
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.there was a War going on in his Heart!
You See if the enemy can't get us to fall into some sort of sin or getting high His next move is to get us off focus?..
Prov.29:18 Where there is no Vision ( focus) the people ( cast off restraint)
Gal 5:7-9 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.
A little leaven , leavens the whole lump The warning is driven home Dont Compromise!
2. Misdirected Priorities: We become more concerned about ourselves than others Including God!
Matt 22:37-39 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
God is not A God in need of love that He commands us to Love Him He’s not hungry and dying for our Love , its us that are dying for love, we are the ones that are desperate for Love and acceptance and we tend to look for it in the wrong places and with the wrong People ....
So God is saying Love me because I’m the only one who will love you without destroying you .. God wants us to love Him only because He knows every other love will burn us, leave us empty and unfulfilled.....
Matt.6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, And his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you........ By this all men will know that you're my disciples that you have love one for another...
3. Loss of passion: You no longer have a passionate love for God, His Word or Ministry e.g The things of God
“The Thrill is Gone”
Do you remember when you couldn't put the Bible down and couldn't wait to get to church to pray, But now everything feels like a chore, We're losing Our passion!
4. Loss of Discipline: You don't Pray anymore or Pray very little, Don't study Gods Word anymore Paul says That we are to Live by the Spirit You can't live by the Spirit if you are far from the spirit we Start to make excuses for our lack of prayer...
Than we forsake The Fellowship we pull away from church attendance , And convince ourselves that God understands... Our spiritual Disciplines are our Lifeline its our Oxygen without Prayer, The Word and Fellowship we will Become Shipwrecked (Stranded and Stuck) !...
5. LOSS OF COMMITMENT: Your church attendance becomes less important to you... Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a matter of some ….. Also we don't desire to commit to Anything! “ I think I’m gonna sit my self down!!!
6. You no longer respond to alter calls. When you don't respond to the calling of the Lord to get your life in order these are signs that we have pride in our life. The Bible says that pride goes before destruction And a haughty spirit before A fall… The Sin of Sodom didn’t start off as Pride….
Eze 16:49…Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy , They got misdirected by the Blessings of God and those sins lead to the other Sin … But first it was complacancey , the desire for Ease, only want to take care of self not care about the needs of others anymore….
7. A Critical Spirit. A “critical spirit,” is an obsessive attitude of criticism and fault-finding, which seeks to tear others down — The person with a critical spirit usually dwells on the negative, seeks for flaws rather than good.
They’re a complainer, usually always upset, and generally have a problem or a complaint about something.
They often have little control over their tongue, their temper, and have tendencies for gossip and slander, which Paul said were sins “worthy of death”
Rom. 1:29-32 “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips
30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Rev.2:2-5... I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! (Shipwrecked)… Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
And here we have our remedy for Drifting away.
Remember therefore from whence thou hast fallen(drifted) and repent And do the first works Or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candlestick Out of his place except thou repent..
What were you doing when you were on fire for the Lord?
Remember how it felt to have the cutting-edge When you were passionate When your walk was vibrant Do you remember how it used to be when you had it last
Rev.2:5 Repent. Repent means to change direction And do what you did back then You might say I went to church all the time if so then go again start coming to church quit missing church get yourself involved...
I used to pray early in the morning now I don't do it anymore if that's the case then get up early in the morning again and start praying you will see a great difference in your life...
I used to sing all the time if that's the case than start singing again while you're driving in your car while you're in the shower just start singing sing my brother sing my sister.
Remember how you were amazed by the goodness of the Lord... Remember where you came from don't lose the wonder of God in your life And you will see the cutting-edge and the passion return to your life...
Remember if the enemy cant get us to backslide then he will try to make us forget how we felt when we were Lost!
Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises,he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
