[0:00] Are you ready this morning to worship His holy name? And you know when we say that, the reality is we worship Him in a lot of different ways, don't we? I mean, you think about all the things that are a part of our service on a Sunday morning.
[0:16] And all of those are ways that we worship Him. You know, we come in and what's the first thing you do when you walk through these doors? You greet each other.
[0:26] You talk with each other. You share with each other. Are we worshiping the Lord as we do that? Yes, because it's pleasing to Him. And then we come in and we sit down and we talk about activities of the church that we can pray for and be involved in.
[0:40] Are those ways we worship God? Yes. And then what happens next in our service? We sing. Do we worship God when we sing? Absolutely. And then what do we do?
[0:51] You can look in your bulletin if you're confused. We pray. We take up prayer requests. Are we worshiping God as we do that? Yes, because He says we're to bring our requests to Him.
[1:02] So we're being obedient and we're worshiping Him. The kids' corner. God's Word is being shared there. Is that a way to worship God? Absolutely. We share our praises. Another way to worship God.
[1:14] Now we're looking at the Word. Are we worshiping God as we do that? All these things, folks, are us, our chance, our opportunity to worship God. And even as the message is shared this morning, you have a choice to make.
[1:26] In this time, you can choose to worship God. What else could you choose? Sleep. You could choose to sleep. Sleep. What else?
[1:41] Daydream. Let your mind wander. Go through a list of things you need to accomplish. Put your grocery list together. I don't... There's all kinds of things you can do. It's a choice.
[1:53] And for the next few moments, what is the choice you're going to make? Are you choosing to worship God? Are you choosing to give Him all your heart, all your attention, all your focus? Because, folks, our God is deserving of that and worthy of that.
[2:06] So this morning, if you have your Bibles, we're going to begin. We're going to look in Hebrews this morning. So I'd encourage you to take your Bibles and follow along. Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5.
[2:18] And again, following along in God's Word is a good thing because as Sarah was sharing, you know, His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
[2:29] Sarah was talking all about that light. And this Word is part of that light for us. So we need to have that light with us. She handed out flashlights. So if the power goes out this morning, find a child and you'll be all set.
[2:42] But, you know, as you hand out flashlights, are they useful? Do they serve a purpose? Yeah, I know just last night, Tammy and I were somewhere and we were walking across an area that was dark.
[2:55] And I turned the light on my phone and what do you think I did with it? Did I just do this? She was back here a few steps behind me. Did I just do this? And it's like, you're on your own, dear. What do you think I did?
[3:08] Well, I'm tall. So I held it up like this. And you get it high enough and it lights up a whole area so she could see where she was going. I could see where I was going. But you take that light and you use it and you make sure it shines, not just your path, but help it to shine for those around you.
[3:24] That is what God's Word is for. It's not to be kept to ourselves. This is full of so much wisdom. It is to be shared. This morning, I'm sorry. Let's hold on. Hebrews chapter 5.
[3:35] If you found that, I'm going to ask you to stand as we read God's Word if you're able. Hebrews chapter 5, beginning in verse 12. And this morning, what we're sharing, I'm sure these are verses that many of you have heard, maybe many times.
[3:49] But God's Word is meant to do a lot of things. And one of those things is at times to challenge us in our lives. So are you ready to be challenged this morning? Are you ready to be challenged this morning?
[4:03] Really, are you? Because again, that's a choice. You can say no. It's a choice. Hebrews chapter 5, beginning in verse 12. This is what God shares. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
[4:29] For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
[4:48] Let's pray together. Lord God, thank you again for your presence in this place, for just all the ways that we can worship and praise you. Now, Lord, as we read your Word, I just pray that you'd open it up to our hearts and our minds.
[4:59] I pray that our minds and hearts would be opened up to you, and just that you would help us to gain from this what you want us to gain, that you would step on our toes, that you would challenge us. Lord, that we would grow from this.
[5:10] So, Lord, let your desire and your will be accomplished in each one of us this morning. And we ask and pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. You can be seated this morning.
[5:25] In the first verse we read, and again, these are fairly familiar verses. Probably many of you have heard these before. But in verse 12 that we started with, there are two words in particular.
[5:37] All the words are important, but there's two really that this week as I was reading this and studying this, there's two words that really caught my attention that are important for us. And I think words that we need to make sure we really examine a little bit.
[5:51] The first of those words is, for when, for the... What's the next word? Time. Time is an interesting word, isn't it?
[6:03] It's an interesting word. It's an interesting concept. It's an interesting thing to think about. Because we all live so much of our lives based on time, don't we?
[6:16] Everything about our lives. Isn't it really focused around time? What is your schedule tomorrow? What time are you going to get up?
[6:27] What time do you have to be at work? What time is your lunch? What time will supper be in the evening? What time will you go to bed?
[6:37] Tomorrow's Bible school. You know, I've been asked many times, what time does it start? All those things, our lives are based on time, isn't it? And even on a grander scale, we think about, you know, I was at a funeral this week, and we all have so much what?
[6:55] Time. Whether it's on a day-to-day basis or the scope of our lives, it's all about time. I've heard people say often, oh, I wish there's only 24 hours in a day, right?
[7:09] You can only get so much done because you only have so much time. And really, when you think of your life, you can only get so much done because you only have so much time.
[7:23] So time is a concept and a word that really rules our lives in a lot of ways. But the Bible also has a lot to say about time.
[7:35] You know, I think of the book of Esther, and we're not going to look at the book of Esther, but, you know, there's an expression that comes from the book of Esther that we often use, for such a time as this.
[7:48] In the story of Esther, there was a realization that God had put her in a particular position, in a particular place, at a particular time to accomplish what God wanted.
[8:02] Because as we think about time, here's the ultimate thing we have to understand. Who's in control of it? God. We say we only have 24 hours in a day. Well, who set that up?
[8:14] God. We say we don't know. We only have so much time here on this earth. Who determines that? God. So God is really the controller of this whole time concept, isn't He?
[8:24] Once we are done here on this earth, if you're a believer, if you've accepted Jesus Christ, you have a home in heaven. And guess what? How long are you going to be there? We just sang 10,000 years and then what?
[8:41] Forevermore. And do we have a concept of that? Do you have a concept of forevermore? Why not? Why not? Can you get your mind around forever?
[8:54] Why not? Because we haven't done it yet. What's that? You've got to stay in the day.
[9:05] You've got to stay in the moment. We can't get a concept of forever because it's too big for us, isn't it? I mean, we think of a life, you know, a junior friend passed away a few weeks, a couple weeks ago, and he lived to be 104.
[9:17] What a long, full life. But folks, 100 years? That's a drop in a bucket compared to forever, isn't it? You know, our concept of time is such a limited thing.
[9:29] God's is not. But we think about the book of Esther. We can think about Ecclesiastes chapter 3. And it says there is a time for everything and a purpose for everything.
[9:40] You know, God creates a time and a purpose for each and everything. And the other thing that we can think about as human beings and that we realize is time passes, doesn't it?
[9:51] Doesn't it? Do you have a choice in that? Do you have control of that? Time passes whether we want it to or not.
[10:05] And the reality is in our lives here on this earth, it doesn't just pass. It passes quickly. Sometimes it doesn't seem like that when we're in the midst of a difficulty.
[10:18] It can seem to stretch on. I know I've heard the expression that I think there's a lot of truth to the days can pass slowly, but the years go quickly. And before you know it, time is just passing.
[10:30] And you think the other thing about time is time passes. You know what comes with it? Change, doesn't it? Also something that we don't control. Our lives change whether we want them to or not.
[10:42] Sometimes in ways that are exciting and we look forward to, but sometimes they're in ways that we didn't anticipate and we don't want. But that change comes anyway because nothing stays the same.
[10:54] We see this the most clearly in kids, don't we? You take a 10-year period. You know, for you and I, I'm 55 years old right now. Take 10 years.
[11:04] I was 45. I don't think I've changed in the last 10 years. My kids tell me otherwise. But I don't think I've really changed a whole lot. But you take someone who is...
[11:17] How old are you, Colton? Colton's 10. Has he changed in the last 10 years, do you think? You go back 10 years.
[11:27] What were you 10 years ago, Colton? A baby. An infant. Someone who couldn't do anything on his own. And now look at him. He's sitting in the front row raising his hand, answering questions, sharing all kinds of things.
[11:40] That 10 years was pretty significant, wasn't it? So time changes things whether we want it to or not. We think about vacation Bible school this week. And I was thinking back to some of our first Bible schools.
[11:52] Have things changed for those of you that were here then? Yeah. We didn't have this building. We only had the old chapel. We had a yard out here. And you know what we did? We set up tents. And you know what happened every year?
[12:05] Yeah. It would storm. The wind would blow. The tents would be all crumpled. And we'd have to set them all back up and try to repair them. And it'd be 89 degrees, 90 degrees while we were doing it. Praise God, that's been some good changes.
[12:19] But I look at the kids that were at those Bible schools. They've changed. You know, 15 years ago, some of these kids are grown. They're married. They're having children. They have weddings that they're planning.
[12:32] Right, Adelaide? As time passes, things change. And so do we. And as you look at this verse 12, for when for the time, but I want you then to glance down what it says later on.
[12:47] It says, for when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
[13:03] It talks about you have become this. What does that mean? You have become something. You've changed. This is what you have become over time.
[13:16] Not instantly, but this is what you have become. We are all becoming something. Do we understand that? Again, we can use kids as an example because we understand that.
[13:27] We often talk about, well, I wonder what they are going to become in their life. Right? Are they going to become a teacher when they get older? Are they going to become... Ella's going to be a scientist and an inventor.
[13:38] What are we going to become in our lives? But that's not just for kids. It's also for us as adults. It's also for us as adults.
[13:49] What are you becoming? What are you going to look like a few years from now? And I am not talking about your physical appearance. Don't think about that.
[14:00] It's just depressing. Contrary to opinion, physically, we don't get better with age, do we? We're going to be...
[14:10] Colton says we're going to become wrinkly. Hey, it's the truth, isn't it? We are becoming. We are changing. Spiritually, we are becoming.
[14:21] We are changing. But here's the question. What are we becoming? What are you becoming in life? What are you becoming spiritually? What are you becoming as a Christian?
[14:33] Because there is a danger that it talks about here. Because look at what he is saying about what they are becoming in this verse. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you are become, or this is what you've become over time, you are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
[14:56] What had they become? Babies. Babies. They had become infants spiritually.
[15:08] So what does that really mean? What didn't happen that should happen? They didn't grow. The growth that should happen didn't.
[15:19] And here's the thing. We think about growth physically, and we know that it's going to follow typically a set order of things. You start out as a baby. You're drinking milk.
[15:30] You grow up. You introduce them to foods. They begin to eat. We get taller. We get stronger. We get heavier. We get a lot of things. But we grow. We know that's going to happen. I think of the Benjamin Button movie.
[15:43] How many of you have seen that movie? What happens in that movie? Starts out looking old. He ages backwards. He ages backwards. Does that happen in real life? No.
[15:54] We know growth physically only happens one direction. But here's the thing where that analogy ends. Spiritually, we can go either direction, can't we?
[16:05] Spiritually, we can either grow and become more mature, or there's two other things that can happen. Well, really only one. We can become stagnant and not grow.
[16:20] But here's the thing. We talked about change is always happening. Stagnation really isn't a thing. We don't ever stay in the same place. Because once we stop growing, what happens?
[16:33] Spiritually. We start shrinking. You're either growing or shrinking spiritually. One of the two. You do not stay in the same place. It's like on our vacation, we did some kayaking in a river, and there wasn't much of a current.
[16:46] But if you stop paddling, and you're in a current in any kind of a boat, do you stay in the same spot? What happens? You drift.
[16:57] You are still going in a direction, aren't you? Maybe not the direction you want to go into. Spiritually, if we stop striving to grow, we will not stay in the same spot.
[17:08] We will drift. And it will not be in the direction that God wants us to go. So again, the question is, what are we becoming? Are we in that stagnant state in our life?
[17:19] And you think of stagnation. Is that ever really a good term? Stagnation. When you hear the word stagnant, what comes to mind? Water. Okay.
[17:30] What does that look like? Green. Green. Smelly. On vacation, we are crossing over this, well, it used to be a car bridge, but now it's just a footbridge in a state park.
[17:44] And you could look at the water down below, and guess what? There was no current moving in that water. What do you think it looked like? It's kind of a brown, murky color on top.
[17:56] It was covered in green, what? Algae. Slime. I don't know. Whatever you want to call it. And I was walking with, carrying, I think at the time, my four-year-old granddaughter, Liana.
[18:07] And we looked over the edge, and I said, hey, Liana, you want to go swimming? Guess what she said? No. No, that water's gross. And she was right. That's stagnation.
[18:19] Folks, we can have that same thing happen in our lives spiritually if we're not careful. If we're not continuing to work and to paddle, we will start drifting in the wrong direction.
[18:30] We will become stagnant. We will turn like that water. And do you think that slime on that water got there overnight? No. The water stopped moving.
[18:41] The slime just, algae, we'll call it the technical term. It started growing. Bugs started getting in the water more. You know, it happens over a little bit of time.
[18:51] When we stop paddling and trying to grow spiritually, that sets in immediately. How long does it take water to start to stagnate in August in Ohio if it's sitting still?
[19:07] Not very long, does it? What are we becoming? And what does it mean to be stagnant spiritually in our lives?
[19:18] Well, I wrote down a few things. It means we're the same, that we haven't changed spiritually. That's what it means. So we have to think about our lives. Think about a year ago.
[19:29] Where are you at right now spiritually compared to a year ago? That's the question. How do the two things compare? Is there a difference? Can you say, yeah, I feel like I've grown spiritually?
[19:41] Should we be able to say that? Yes. Because that growth should be constant in our lives. And this is not for a certain age.
[19:53] Is this still the truth if you're nine years old? Is it the truth if you're 90 years old? And everything in between. We need to be growing spiritually.
[20:04] And the other thing that it's talking about here as we look in Hebrews, this lack of growth also means a lack of depth spiritually in our lives. A lack of understanding of God's Word.
[20:18] And how do we gain depth spiritually? How does that happen? Studying the Word. Attending Bible studies.
[20:30] Looking at the Word. Praying for understanding about the Word. Allowing this Word to become more a part of our lives. As that happens, our spiritual depth will become greater.
[20:43] Can we be spiritually shallow? Is that possible? Yeah. Yeah. It is. That's what these people were. They were spiritually shallow. They lacked the depth.
[20:55] And He said, You have need that one teach you again. And here's the kicker where this really gets to be a challenge. As this growth happens, what should we become?
[21:10] This is the whole thing. So listen to this part. If you've been asleep, wake up. If somebody's sleeping next to you, wake them up. They need to hear this part. What is it that we're supposed to become? For when for the time you ought to be teachers.
[21:28] So He was telling them they ought to be teachers. Do you think that's true for you and I? Or is this just for the group He was writing to?
[21:38] It's for all of us. It's for all of us. For when for the time. In other words, there is a time you should get to this point. Talk about what you're becoming.
[21:49] This is something you should become at some point spiritually. For when for the time you ought to be. What does ought to be mean? You should. For when for the time you should be a teacher.
[22:03] As a believer, that is a point that we should strive to get to. To becoming a teacher. And here's the thing. We hear that word and automatically we think Sunday school teacher, Wednesday night teacher, VBS teacher.
[22:19] And is that what it's talking about? Sure. Are there going to be people teaching this week for kids? Yeah. There are going to be people in that classroom, that classroom, out in the youth building too in the basement. There are going to be people teaching.
[22:31] What other ways is teaching happening this week at Bible school? We're going to have craft time going on right over in this area over here. As the kids make crafts, what's going to be going on?
[22:46] Teaching. Their crafts are going to support what they're learning about and tie in. And they're going to be learning by doing that. So that's a way of teaching. They're going to be in the chapel. They're going to be singing. What do you think they're going to be singing about?
[22:59] This isn't a hard question. What are they going to be singing about? Jesus? Is praising Him? Is that a way of teaching children? Is that a way of teaching? Everybody say yes.
[23:12] Okay. There's going to be recreation and games going on out here. Do you think you can teach through that? Yes. They're going to be eating snacks out here and they're going to be talking with the kids. Do you think teaching can happen through that?
[23:24] Yes. And that's just talking about this week at Bible school. What about in your life? Is there teaching that should be going on that's going from you to someone else? Every time you interact with a young person, what do you have an opportunity to do?
[23:39] To teach. To teach. To share with them. A way that the Lord has worked in your life. Direction and guidance for them that is biblical.
[23:50] All those are ways that you teach. It might be a grandchildren. It might be a neighbor kid. It might be an adult. We can teach other adults, can't we? Can't we? Yes.
[24:01] Yes. When for the time you ought to be teachers. Here's what I want you to think about in your life. And this is a challenge. How are you being a teacher right now in your life?
[24:13] Don't answer that, but I want you to think about it. What situations and circumstances in your life right now are you being a teacher? Are you sharing with somebody at work? Are you sharing with an acquaintance that you have?
[24:25] Are you sharing with a neighbor? Who are you sharing with in teaching? Because folks, guess what we ought to be doing? Teaching.
[24:39] We ought to be teaching. And that doesn't mean a formal teaching position. It means sharing the wisdom of God's Word. That's what teaching is all about.
[24:51] And here's the thing. So often we get this idea in our minds, I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy.
[25:01] I'm not smart enough. I'm not equipped. I'm not qualified. Anything else?
[25:13] Strong enough. We come up with all kinds of excuses, don't we? The I'm nots. Who do you think those come from? Do you think it's God telling you?
[25:23] You're not smart enough to do that. You're not qualified enough to do that, so just stop sharing God's Word. Do you think God's going to tell you that? So who do you think it is?
[25:35] But I hear that so often. Well, I'm not qualified. I don't know enough. Do you know that Jesus came? He was the Son of God. That He died for your sins and that He rose again so that you could have forgiveness and have eternal life. If you know that, guess what?
[25:45] You know enough to teach somebody, don't you? But here's the last thing I want us to look at. Look at the last verse we read in verse 14. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use.
[26:05] What is that talking about? Reason of use. Have their senses. What's the next word? Have their senses. This word right here. Exercise.
[26:17] What are those words? Use and exercise. What do those words mean? Action. How do you think we get more comfortable doing this? By doing it.
[26:28] How do you think we get more equipped to do it? By doing it. How do you think we get more comfortable doing it? By doing it. By reason of use. That means we have to be using it.
[26:39] And here's the thing. I believe this saying physically is true. Finish this sentence. If you don't use it, you lose it. Same concept.
[26:52] If you don't use it, you're never going to get to the point you're comfortable with it. Exercised. Well, you know, you take off the D. What is that word? Oh, that's a bad word, right? Exercise.
[27:05] When you hear that word, what comes to your mind? Exercise. Exercise. Workout. Workout. Physical. Workout. What feelings come to your mind when you hear that word? Pain.
[27:19] Sweat. Anything else? How many of you think, I can't wait to exercise? No, sometimes it's hard to get started in because it requires effort.
[27:32] If you don't put any effort in, are you really exercising? No. Exercise requires effort. Folks, our spiritual lives require effort. If you want to grow, if you want to become what God wants you to do, you have to start putting these things into action.
[27:48] You can't just sit on the sidelines and think you're going to get better at something. You get better at it by doing it. You want to play basketball. You get better at it by what? By playing basketball.
[28:00] Do you get better at playing basketball by watching it on TV? You might learn a couple things, but I've watched, and I'm not a big fan anymore.
[28:14] Whole nother discussion. But I've watched NBA basketball games. I prefer college, but I've watched it. So I'm a better player now, right? What would happen if they put me out on the court?
[28:29] In my mind, I could still do it. I'd probably tumble. Why? Because I haven't played basketball for years.
[28:40] This past week, I came out of retirement for our softball team. I showed up at my first softball game this week, and all my skills were right there.
[28:55] Right, Steve? Steve and Corey were there. Rose was there. Ruth. They're going to be probably kind. I wasn't very good. Not that I've ever been that good.
[29:07] But why not? Before I went up there, I made Tammy go out in the driveway and throw the softball back and forth with me. And she had a lot of laughter over it. I had not picked up a softball or a glove in the last...
[29:21] When's the last time we had a church team? 12 years ago? I haven't picked up a bat, a glove, a softball since then. I was rusty. She was throwing me grounders and the ground's further away than it used to be.
[29:36] I wasn't much good. I wasn't thinking of moving side to side. Yeah, side to side. She's going, you've got to move, Chris. I thought I was. It's funny.
[29:47] But that's all because I haven't done it for a long time. I'm rusty. I'm not doing it on a regular basis, so of course I'm not going to be good at it.
[29:58] I've not been exercising myself for that. I've not been using those skills. Folks, spiritually, if we're not exercising ourselves in teaching others, if we're not using that ability God has given us, the same thing is going to happen.
[30:13] It has to be something that's a part of our life that we're using. I told you this morning, sermon I hoped would be a challenge, and I hope it is. What ways ought you to be teaching that you're not?
[30:23] What situations ought you to be teaching that you aren't? I don't want to challenge you with that, but I hope God's Word does. And I hope the Holy Spirit convicts your heart to be a teacher in your life in whatever opportunities God gives you.
[30:38] Be a teacher. Be a teacher. Become more of a teacher of God's Word. This world needs that. Let's pray.
[30:49] Lord God, thank You again for Your Word. I thank You for the wisdom of it. I thank You for the challenge of it. And Lord, I pray that we would not become stagnant, that we would not move backwards in our development spiritually, but I pray that we would become teachers, the teachers that we ought to be, the teachers that You desire that we be.
[31:11] Help us to become the teachers, Lord, that share Your Word with others and the truth of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. Let it sink into our hearts.
[31:23] In Christ's name we pray. Amen. This morning as we close, the altar's open, it always is, but I pray the Lord convicts you in your life to become the teacher that He wants you to be.
[31:35] As we close this morning, I'm just going to ask very quickly, if everyone that's involved in Bible school is a teacher or a helper, if you please come to the front, we're just going to close by having a word of prayer for you. So if you're involved in Bible school, please come up front.
[31:51] Jim didn't have a very far trip to go. You know, these folks have dedicated their week, are going to be giving their time to Bible school, to sharing with kids.
[32:02] And we're just going to have prayer and ask God's blessing on them for the strength and energy that they need. And I'd encourage each one of you out there to be praying for a Bible school and for this group that's up front.
[32:13] But let's bow our heads. Lord God, we thank You again for this morning. I thank You for the opportunity we have this week to share Your message at Bible school. I thank You for the ones that are gathered up front here, Lord, that they are willing to give her their time, to give her their effort, to give her their energy, to give her their patience, all these things, to share Your Word with kids.
[32:32] And I just pray that You'd bless them richly as they do that. Lord, give them the words to speak, give them all the energy and enthusiasm that they need. And Lord, I just pray that this week is also a blessing for them as they have the opportunity to teach and become the teachers that You want them to be.
[32:47] Lord, we just ask Your blessings upon them. Help their weeks to go smoothly outside of Bible school so that they're not distracted. Lord, we just pray that Your hand of blessing would rest upon them and upon our Bible school.
[33:00] Thank You again for all Your goodness. And we ask and pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you all up front. The rest of you be praying for them. Have a wonderful week.
[33:12] And remember, please leave your hymnal on the chair so that we can pick those up. And if you can stay and help pick up chairs, that'd be great. Thank you.