The Danger Of Drifting

For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; four Scriptures are read prior to the Message. The appointed passages for today are Job 1:1 & Job 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4 & Hebrews 2:1-12; and Mark 10:2-16.

An Eastern Proverb states.....Negligence produces ..... a lot ....of dirt.

As in a house, ... so in the mind, .... only a small amount of dirt .....collects in a day or two, .... but if it goes on for many years, .... it will grow.... into a vast heap ....of refuse.

A more modern reading ....of this Eastern Proverb ....might be like this:

"If you chose to park your vehicle in the garage.... and wait for something good to happen..... Your vehicle .....will just sit .....in the garage.

Safe, yes..... With low mileage,... Yes. ......But nonetheless still parked and unused.

Some .....take their vehicles out of the garage..... only occasionally. Say,.... on Sundays...Yes,.... they blow the dust out of the engine...... They get the motor.... running.

But Sunday afternoon, .... it goes right back into the garage .....for another week.

That car.... Will have low mileage..... that the car salesman can honestly state.... they only drove it ....on Sundays.

In the same fashion.... some keep their boats at the shore, ....waiting at the dock.

They rarely go out, ....but they feel good about knowing ....that the boat is there.

Yet over time .... If they fail to do the proper upkeep and safeguards .....the day will come ....when the boat comes loose....from the moorings.

No longer tethered ........by secure ropes ....it simply drifts away..... and is lost.

The Writer of Hebrews in the first verse of Chapter two shares this warning. BIBLE "For this reason .....we must pay much closer attention ....to what we have heard, .....so that we do not..... drift away ....from it." END Hebrews 2:1

Beloved... we too .....must listen very carefully ....to the truth we have heard, ....or we may also drift... away from it.

Drifting away..... sounds like a good idea ....on the surface.

Remember the old commercial,..... "Calgon, Take me away!" ........O' to drift away ....from all your problems ....in a warm Calgon bath.

Drifting for most.... happens very slowly.

So slow....that often you do not even notice it .....until it is too late.

Have you ever fallen asleep ....in the bathtub, .....only to wake up... swallowing water and coughing.

Even worse,.... have you ever drifted away ....while driving?

I'm not sure if I have, ....but I may have,.... and that alone ....is a freighting thought.

We must be on guard... to keep from drifting. (Pause)

One Saturday.... 4 of us.... junior high kids..... came up with the bright idea .....of buying four of those cheap blue plastic pools..... that were in the shape of a boat and take them down to the river..... for a grand excursion.

We thought..... we would use our hands as paddles..... and just take a short trip ....down the lazy river.

Well the river ...was not that lazy ....and we were under the force of the current .....which took us about a half a mile beyond .....the take out area.

It is not a lot of fun ....dragging a pool ....through the woods .....for another half mile.

Everyone seemed to blame me for this great fiasco ....probably ....because it was my .....grand idea. (Pause)

And that is the warning of today's reading in Hebrews.

Pay attention, .... or you will start .....endlessly drifting .....away.

This is not just a simple warning,..... but a serious .....reminder to us.

In our lives today ....there is so much we are hearing around us .... So much information.

Some of it is true.

And ....Some of it sounds like truth .... Yet it is misleading ....and will slowly pull us away..... from The Truth .....of God's Word.

A slow drift ....from what we know is right .... to the acceptance ....of what we know ....in our hearts ...is wrong.

A slow drift .... Which over time..... We let el-e-vate us ....above God,.... and get swept away ....from the shore.

Will God ....let us drift?

The world is full of testimonies.....Yes, ... He will.

Will He through out lifelines ...to draw us back on course?.... Yes, ....He will.

The First Chapter of Hebrews .....is a declaration .....and a celebration of God's final word .....to the world.

And that final Word .....is Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The writer of Hebrews tells us: BIBLE That The Son of God ...is the heir of all things. Through him He created the worlds, ....he is the radiance of God's glory.... and the exact imprint of God's very being. And He sustains all things by his powerful word, ....he made purification for sins, ....he sat down at the right hand of God's majesty on high. END

In other words, .....God has spoken by his Son ....and this Son is.... (Slow) Creator ....Sustainer ....Owner and Ruler. .....The Redeemer of the world.