B) The writer builds his case by showing that all the Jewish Leaders of old / all the Sacrifices & Festivals & Rituals were all pointing to JESUS
1)
Those
were the Shadows / the Pictures – but He is the real thing
C) In light of that He says in Ch.2:1
1Therefore we must
give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
A)
It Can happen on a ship when someone forgets to chart the winds, & the
tides or forget to secure anchor at night
- boat drifts past harbor into storm
B)
Similar thing happens – when surfing or out in the water at the beach – when
there is a subtle undertow – under current
1)
You
go into the water – Land mark – Blue Beach Chair – or Life guard tower – take
your eyes off the Land mark – How Drift so far
C)
The same is true Spiritually – there is an undertow in this world – unseen
current that has as it’s goal to take us miles away from Christ – land mark
1) Which
is why we are told in Heb.12 – Run laying aside the
Weights & the Sin – things which so easily entangle us – Run w/ endurance
fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author & Finisher of our Faith
Idea
of Fixing our eyes – Don’t take your eyes off of Him – Every corner every
Mt./….obstacle – is seen w/ Him in view – Our leader / Strength
A)So that we Chart the winds of Circumstance & the tides of turbulence that can come into our lives – from an Eternal & Heavenly perspective
B) And in the Night Hrs – we are making sure that our Lives are Anchored Deeply into Christ & His ability to see us thru the Storms
C) But Notice
drifting that occurs is directly related to not giving earnest heed to the word
of God –
1) Earnest
heed – to give heed to more abundantly – lit. to
hold the mind to
1)
Knowing what I believe & why ?
Understanding who my savior is and what it means to be found in Him
A.) V.3 - How escape if neglect so great a salvation:
B) Word neglect means to sit passively by /
or to make light of something – under appreciate
1) Really a description of apathy
or complacency
C)How does this happen? Begins when in my heart I fail to realize how
great salvation is: what
saved from; saved unto
C) That leads to my heart
becoming dull spiritually - which results in
becoming spiritually malnourished, - not eating
word
1.) No fellowship in my life - things of God slip on my priority list.
Sensitivity to spirit diminishes
D) The lack of nourishment, leads to becoming weak, first big storm
comes leaves me crippled
spiritually/ Ship wrecked & in need of major repair
Now as we turn our attention to the book of 1
Peter – Peter has been writing about this Great Salvation
A)Begins in v.2 –Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God ….
v.3 Born again to a Living Hope – thru Resurrection (Active & working)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places in Christ,
B) A hope that includes an
v.4,5 inheritance that is incorruptible & undefiled and that does not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are Kept ….
C) That hope serves as an Anchor
to our souls that allows us to rejoice in the
mist of
the Trials and suffering that we can encounter in this life –
1) As
we understand how the Lord is using them to
Strengthen in our faith in the Lord -
& Deepen
our love for the Lord v.6-9
Now
the reasons that Christians neglect their Salvation here in the states differs
from those the book of Hebrews was addressed to!
A)Most of us have not had to deal w/ the Pressure of
our Families threatening to disown us for believing in Christ
B)No Our reasons for neglecting our salvation – which leads to our drifting from the Lord & not staying anchored into Him or His Word !!
1) Are things like – being Distracted by the cares & the responsibilities of this Life ( So much to do – so little time – Walks suffer )
C) Constant Battle – our walks our own personal time
w/ the Lord can become 3rd or 4th on our Priority list
D)Others neglect their salvation by Pursuing after
temporal things
thinking what really need is more money – better car / bigger house
1) More
FUN – Buy toys
Another
way in which we neglect our salvation is by not applying the resources that are
ours in Christ
A)In 1864 at the age of 30 Hetty Green inherited her fathers fortune of 1 million dollars
B) She bought Civil War bonds & in a short time became a Multimillionaire
Yet she lived like a Pauper
C) When her son was injured in a sledding accident, Hetty tried to get free treatment at a Clinic –she was denied- when ….recognized
D) She decided to treat the wound herself The injury to her sons leg – became infected & his leg had to be amputated
1) all because she didn’t want to pay ( Worlds worst miser)
E) She had all the resources necessary but didn’t use them
1) At her death – her Estate was worth 100 million dollars
I wonder how often do we do a
similar thing by seeking to handle the Challenges & the affairs in our
lives in our own Strength & Ingenuity A)We fail to realize the
wealth of our redemption & we live like spiritual Paupers or Orphans
–focusing on the limited resources of the flesh
B) I wonder how often we or our families have had to suffer unnecessarily because of our Spiritual Neglect !!!!
C) And as we come to v.10-12 – Peter gives us some good reasons why we shouldn’t neglect our Salvation - Read v.10-12
Peter
begins by telling us that the Prophets of old who wrote the scriptures searched
diligently about the grace that was to come
A)That ref. To the grace – is directly related to the
Salvation that was to come thru the Messiah they wrote about
B)The
phrase – searched diligently –
describes a miner – who is looking intently for gold dust in a pan of sand
1) They were looking intently into this salvation that was to come / seeking to learn as much as they could about this Messiah
C) But there was something they didn’t quite understand about this Messiah that was to come –
1) The
Lord showed them that He was going to reign in Glory / but that He was also going to suffer
D)They
saw the sufferings of the Messiah,& also the glory that would follow;
but they could not fully understand
the connection between the two.
The Old Testament
believers looked ahead by faith and saw, as it were, two mountain peaks: Mount Calvary, where Messiah suffered
A)Mount Olivet, where He will return in glory (Zech.
14:4).
B)What
they couldn’t see was the “valley” in
between, (Gap at least a 2000 yrs) / Church
would be Born
the present age of the
church.)
1) They didn’t understand it
C)But Peter says we do
– We understand what they failed to realize that in order for us to be
Partakers of His Glory
1) In order for us to enjoy the Blessings of our inheritance – HE HAD TO DIE – TO PAY THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS
So first we shouldn’t neglect our Salvation because of
the example of the prophets of old –
A)who even though they didn’t fully understand – they
searched diligently concerning the grace that was to come
B) We realize the price that was Paid -We
understand what had to take place in order for us to be partakers of Glory
C) We realize the Sacrifice that God made / the Love that
He displayed in sending His Son ( We know that it was
the only way – Redeem us )
D) It was hidden from them but it has been revealed to us – whom the
Lord has commissioned to be Messengers of this Glorious Good news
1) There is Salvation for the world – available in Christ !!!
E) The Saints of the O.T. searched diligently into these things – looking for understanding – Longing to see Fulfilled – ( One Reason – not Neglect)
Another is found in the last Phrase of v.12 / which is where I want to spend the rest of our time this morning/
A)Now That word DESIRE is a strong one – it means a Passionate desire – intense desire
B) It is used by Christ in expressing his wish to eat the Passover – HE LONGED to eat that meal w/ them! (Lk22:15);
1)of the prodigal's desire to satisfy his hunger with the husks (Lk15:16);
C) The Phrase – look
into – ( means to stoop sideways )
it is used of Peter & John Stooping to look down into the empty tomb of
Jesus
1)
It
conveys the idea of bending forward – stretching out
the neck to look into – something
D) That is what Peter says is going on w/ the Angels
– they are on the edge of their seats – straining
their necks – w/ intense longing
1)
To
see this salvation that God has made available to us – they are radically
interested in what is going on – how playing out !!!
A)1st they saw Lucifer rebel & get
CAST out of heaven – along w/ 1/3 of their fellow Angelic beings
B) Then they saw this creature man that God had made –
rebel and consequently get cast out of the garden of Eden
C) They noticed that no provision was made for the
fallen angels – when they fell from their first Estate – God left them w/ out hope forever
1)
There
is no mercy for the fallen angels / they wait for that day when they will
receive the full recompense of their Rebellion
CHS Amazing to think
about in light of the Sovereignty of God – that when God had made both men
& angels and both had sinned That
He passed by the Greater sinners & took the lesser ones
They watched as God reached out to man – told Eve of
that which was going to come forth from the seed of a woman to Crush Satan /
Bruise
A)They watched the plan unfold as the Lord called a
man by the name of Abe – to come and follow Him / old age have a Son
C) Thru Abraham –God was going to start a new –
nationality – Hebrews
1)
The followers of Yaweh – from Abe seed –would come this one who was to be
the Messiah the Savor of the world
D) They watched as the Lord sent two Angels to the
City of Sodom & Gomorrah to get His servant Lot out of the city
1)
Before
– he destroyed the cities – in what would be a preview of what He would do to a
World that – would reject His love
They witnessed the Lord – giving instructions to
Moses concerning the building of the Ark – Upon it – Mercy seat
A)Perpetual picture of their Curiosity &
Amazement at God’s plan of Salvation – for on the Mercy seat – two Angels –
wings / heads
B) Looking down upon that very spot where the Blood of
the Sacrifice was sprinkled by the Priest on the day of atonement
C) They watched as God the Son – Jesus was –sent to
fulfill the Mission – that He would Lower Himself to the point of being a baby
D) They watched as some of their fellow Angels were
sent to go & sing Praises to a group of Shepherds in the field
1) Might have even wondered – Is this the gig
they were practicing for all those yrs
They watched as Jesus came to His own – Dwelt among
the people that He had made – but His own did not receive Him / despised /
rejected
A)And then they watched in horror as – He carried
the Cross – up that Hill called Calvary outside of the city of Jerusalem
B) They watched as He was
nailed to that cross – they watched as He cried out My God ……..
1)
God’s
plan of redemption was accomplished / the price was paid
Sinners became saints /
Enemies…. Friends / orphans …Children
A)That is to say, there is
joy in God’s heart, and the angels can see it
They stand in God’s presence, and they can see that God is
glad;
B)And they share in His
Gladness/ at those who embrace God’s gift
of Love
1)where our Savior represents the shepherd calling together his
friends and
his neighbors, and saying to them,
“Rejoice with me;
for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
Spurgeon : Angels take a deep interest in the
gospel because they observe God’s interest in it. That for which God cares,
angels care for at once. That
which grieves the Holy Spirit, must be
grievous to holy angels, too; and
that which
gladdens the heart of God must also make glad the spirits that
bow adoringly around his throne.
So the angels have been intently watching – stooping
– down straining the neck watching the Plan of God unfold
A)I think they continue to watch & wonder How we
can neglect so great a Salvation / how we can take it for Granted
B) How we can so easily become distracted by things that become our passion / our Priorities / instead of Following Christ
1)
Instead
of Serving Christ
C) They watch & wonder at how we can not walk in
the resources that God has made available to us ( help
us w/ our responsibilities)
D) How we who have this living hope can become so
swayed by the circumstances around us instead of remaining Anchored in Christ
And they watch as the Lord continues to shower upon
us His grace / continues to put up w/ our doubting
A)Continues to be patient w/ our stubbornness –
B) I think they Marvel in amazement – at why we don’t surrender ourselves completely to His love
& grace & Leading
1) Use us
– Lord have a PLAN B
The Angels are watching: They are watching US here
today to see if there will be any sinners who give their lives to the Lord
A)Watching to see – how people are going to respond
to the invitation
B) So Peter gives us some good reasons why – we shouldn’t neglect our
salvation – we shouldn’t take it for granted
1)
The
Prophets studied – didn’t fully understand
2) But we do / been commissioned to Preach
2)
The Angels are intently watching –
C) So in light of that we have to ask ourselves what
are we doing ? -
1)
Are
we searching the scriptures in order to
understand a little more of
the Love that God has for us
D)Are we mining the truths
of His word –digging beneath the surface -seeking to make them our own
1) Do we
passionately w/ intensity approach the things of the Lord
E) Are we seeking opportunities
to Proclaim His Glorious Truth to those around us
1)
Are
we walking in the reality of the resources that
– God has made
abundantly available – to us
A)After the angels appeared to them – notice what
they did
15So it was, when the angels had gone away
from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go
to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made
known to us.” 16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the Babe lying in a manger. 17Now when they had seen Him, they
made £widely known the
saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18And all those
who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But
Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20Then
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that
they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
1st
– They quickly went and searched for the Child – Found = found him
after a fierce search –
C) There wasn’t any delay – their attitude – wasn’t
– lets check that out tomorrow – they went right away – w/ haste – to find him
1)
And
they didn’t quit until they did !!!
D) One of the biggest reasons for spiritual drifting – for not
being where we maybe should be spiritually is this right here
1)
So often our tendency is to say – I know I need to do that / I know I
need to take care of that – but I will do it tomorrow
E) Lord I will deal w/ that – tonight – hungry now – Lord I will take care of that at the women’s retreat
1)
Don’t
put off today – what the Lord is speaking to your Heart
2nd
v.17 – After they had seen Him – they made widely known – what was told to them
– the message – Savior had come (reaction marveled)
A)How we need to follow their example – share this
great message – make it widely known in our circles
of Influence
B) Hopefully to everyone who knows us – it is clear
that we are about Jesus – always talking about Jesus ( Know where we stand what
we are about)
3rd
v.20 They went on their way rejoicing !!! – They got a taste of the Salvation
of God –
A)Worship should mark our lives
B) Those 3 things are good marks of the person who
is giving heed to their salvation – Searching – know
1)
Talking
2)
Praising
C)
Now if you are here today – have not received this salvation – it is available
today – Angels are watching / waiting
1)
God
Loves you – sent His Son / free sin / penalty / Power – captive / the guilt /
the frustration
D) Extends that to you – Commitment – Follow –Christ
Maybe you are here today – Christian – but you
realize that you have been neglecting your salvation
A)You have – been distracted – allowed things to get in the way – have caused you to drift – no longer anchored in Christ
B) The tides of Turbulence / the winds of circumstance
have blown you off course
1)
You
have been affected by the undertow of the world – Looked up one day wondered –
How did I get way over here ? Distracted / Distant
C) Listen – don’t say
tomorrow - make it right today !!!!
1) Burdens you are carrying –
put in his hands right now
D)Compromise allowed in – Repent – turn – Lord in my
heart right now I am putting that away – throwing it out – then – follow thru
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