Stick With Jesus Series

SIMPLY JESUS

STICK WITH JESUS

Hebrews 2:1-4

INTRODUCTION

-My Grandfather was in the Navy in World War 2

-My dad was in the Navy in Vietnam. He brought his best Navy buddy home on leave, he married his sister, so my uncle is a Navy

-And there was one thing that my dad and my grandpa and my uncle loved…was getting back out into the sea.

-We’d go salmon fishing, crabbing, and halibut fishing out in the big pond. Out to the chicken ranch if you know where that is.

-And on one particular day we are out salmon fishing and the engine on our boat just died. Shut down.

-We were far away from land and the way the tides were running we were drifting farther and farther out to sea.

-My dad and uncle got into the engine and tried to fix the problem, but no matter what they did it just wouldn’t start.

-So my dad was forced to make the decision that no Navy man ever wants to make…he had to call the Coast Guard!

-The only alternative was to drift out to sea and be lost…and I think he actually considered that as an option.

-In chapter 6 of Hebrews Jesus is called “the anchor of our souls.”

-And it’s not a coincidence. One of the themes developed early in Hebrews is the warning not to drift away.

-Our passage today, Hebrews 2:1-4 is reminder to those of us who know Jesus to remain firmly fastened to our anchor.

-But it’s also a challenge for us to go after people who are drifting.

CAN CHRISTIANS REALLY DRIFT AWAY? (VERSE 1)

2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

-The warning here is simple; don’t drift away from Christ. There is a lot of discussion among the big brain Christians about this.

-Can Christians drift away from Jesus?

-Can Christians fall away, turn their backs, or stray from Jesus?

-Can we forfeit what we have in Christ?

-This is an easy question to answer. The answer is “yes”.

-Why would the Bible warn us not to drift away if it were impossible to drift away?

-That’s like telling your teenagers, no matter what you do, don’t text people while joy riding in a stolen…spaceship.

-THE BIBLE DOESN’T WARN US ABOUT THINGS THAT CAN’T HAPPEN!

-The minute that we accept this warning in Hebrews, some people freak out and go to doctrinal extremes.

-Some people say you’re questioning the Sovereignty of God!

-Other people panic…we’re all going to lose our salvation.

-I’m not teaching either of these extreme positions today.

-I’m simply accepting at face value what the Bible clearly says.

-Don’t drift away. However it happens, whatever you think it means, whatever the consequences…our warning is don’t do it!

DRIFT AWAY (PARARRHUEO): TO ESCAPE, SLIP YOUR MIND, BE CARRIED AWAY.

-The word drifting in the original language paints a disastrous picture for us.

-It’s used to describe something that escaped.

-This word is used to describe something that slipped your mind.

-It’s used to describe something that has been carried away.

-It pictures a ship that missing a harbor because the wind and currents were too strong to stop.

-And its heart wrenching to envision someone who received the Good News about Jesus, which is the best news you could have, and then lets its slip away.

-A few years ago I was with my parents at a Blazer game.

-As we were driving their my mom began her hand lotion routine.

-She took off her wedding ring and her anniversary ring and set them on her lap, and then proceeded to put on lotion.

-I guess she doesn’t want lotion all over her rings! Girl thing.

-At halftime she realized that she didn’t have her rings on.

-She had last seen them on her lap, before she exited the car.

-So we ran back hoping that several thousand dollar rings were still there. My mother’s anxiety level was very high as she thought about losing those very valuable and highly sentimental rings.

-And we found them on the pavement next to the car.

-Imagine if those rings had slipped away! The feeling of loss.

-That’s how we should respond to the thought of a Christian brother or sister drifting away.

-It’s unbearable to think about a believer slowly abandoning Jesus

-What are they drifting away from specifically?

-Some Bibles say “what we have heard” mine says “the truth.”

-They are drifting away from the Good News message, the message of salvation spoken by God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

-He’s referring back to his opening statement in chapter 1:2

-He’s warning us not to drift from the message God son has spoken to those of us in the last days.