WEBVTT

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 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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! Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

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! Last week we started a series in the book of Hebrews.

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 We were reminded that God speaks to us.

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 That God speaks to us.

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 And through His glorious Son, Jesus, the one who is immeasurably great,

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 so that we would turn our eyes upon Him.

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 So we would fix our eyes on Jesus.

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 And as the writer continues this written sermon to the Hebrews today,

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 he does two things that we're going to notice, okay?

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 First, he begins a comparison.

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 It's going to continue in many ways through the whole book.

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 But he says Jesus is not just great.

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 He's greater than, in this case, angels.

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 That's the first thing.

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 And then secondly, so helpfully, especially if you're like, so what?

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 He's going to tell us so what.

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 He's going to tell us why that matters to us

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 by giving us one of the most sobering warnings

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 and one of the most hopeful warnings in all the Bible.

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 We're going to read the passage as we go this morning.

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 I think it will help us to follow the thought better

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 as the writer quotes a lot of Old Testament scriptures.

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 But first, let's talk about angels for a couple minutes.

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 When I was a kid, way back in the 1900s, as I'm often reminded,

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 most Americans believed in angels.

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 And they were all over the place in popular culture, if you looked for them,

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 even in the outfield, helping their teams win the game, right?

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 What a great movie.

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 Or even making dreams come true for those who got touched by an angel.

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 That ran for many seasons.

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 For many people who said they believed in angels,

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 though it was this sort of cartoonish, tender, childlike figures,

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 you know, with wings and harps on clouds.

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 That's what came to mind for many people when you talked about angels.

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 And perhaps that's part of why, in an increasingly naturalistic culture

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 that we live in, fewer of us these days believe that angels are real.

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 The Bible presents angels as real and as much more fearful and intimidating

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 than tender and cuddly.

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 Billy Graham popularized the story, so you may have heard it,

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 of Pastor John and Mary Payton.

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 19th century Scottish missionaries to the New Hebrides.

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 They were there one night.

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 They realized a local tribe had surrounded the two of them

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 in their mission headquarters.

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 And so they began desperately to pray.

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 They had heard this tribe had gathered with the intent to burn the headquarters

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 and kill them inside it.

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 They prayed and prayed through the night.

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 And when morning came, they went out and discovered the tribe was gone.

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 It was about a year later that the chief of the tribe had become a Christian

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 and was talking one day with John.

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 And Payton asked him about that night

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 and what kept them from carrying out their murderous mission.

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 And the chief said that they couldn't attack

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 because of the army of men in shining garments,

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 withdrawn swords who were all around the headquarters that night.

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 That's a description in stories across continents and different contexts

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 with remarkably similar shining warriors stopping whole armies,

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 rescuing many people, angels over and over.

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 It fits with the biblical image of angels who have to start

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 when they encounter someone who's not supposed to be afraid of them.

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 What do they have to say first?

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 Fear not, right?

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 They're mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible.

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 Angels are created spirits.

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 Both of those are important.

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 They're created spirits, not flesh and blood, people like us.

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 Although they can appear in human form, the Bible says.

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 They are messengers.

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 That's actually what the word means in Hebrew and in Greek.

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 Messengers of God.

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 Like the ones we may think of first announcing the birth of Jesus, right?

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 To Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds.

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 Lots of angels around Christmas.

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 In fact, hosts of angels.

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 Thousands upon thousands the Bible references.

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 Not nearly so rare as we sometimes think.

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 I mean, just think of Elisha's servant, right?

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 He doesn't know anything about angels.

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 And all of a sudden, his eyes are opened and he sees the spiritual reality around him.

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 He is surrounded by angels and chariots of fire.

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 Although some angels are fallen and work against the purposes of God,

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 they were created by God to serve God, to serve his people.

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 Like the time they minister to Jesus after his temptation or free Peter from prison, right?

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 But if some in our day have too low a view of angels,

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 in the time of the Scripture, Jesus' day, some had too high a view.

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 Some Jews at the time had begun worshiping angels.

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 I mean, after all, angels were considered the ones that delivered God's law to his people through Moses.

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 They were key to God's purposes, second only to God in importance and power.

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 So if the writer of this letter wants to talk about the greatness of Jesus,

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 a great place to start is demonstrating that he outranks the angels.

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 And he especially wants to do that by using the Old Testament to make his case

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 so that these Jewish Christian converts will be assured that they're bowing to the right king,

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 that their worship is aimed in the right direction.

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 Notice how he compares, but mostly contrasts, Jesus with angels.

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 Angels are good, but Jesus is great.

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 Let's start reading where the sentence begins in the middle of verse 3.

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 After making purification for sins, he, Jesus,

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 sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high,

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 having become as much superior to angels

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 as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

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 Jesus, the one who reigns at the Father's right hand,

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 is superior to the angels in his very essence.

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 That's what name meant.

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 It could be his name referring to the fact that Jesus is called Lord.

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 Certainly that's true.

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 But I think the context indicates the name he has inherited is Son.

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 Angels are God's servants, but Jesus is God's Son.

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 He turns first to Psalm 2, that great royal psalm that the writer implies is about Jesus.

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 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

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 You are my Son, today I have begotten you?

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 Only to Jesus, right?

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 And by the way, in case you're thrown off by language like,

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 Today I have begotten you as Son, or the name that Jesus has inherited,

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 that does not imply that there was a time when Jesus was not God's Son.

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 Neither of those is saying that.

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 It's actually referring to the day of Jesus' resurrection

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 and his exaltation to God's right hand

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 when he was declared powerfully and publicly to be God's Son.

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 It would be very similar in the culture of Hebrews

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 to a coming-of-age declaration

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 where a father would publicly declare,

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 This is my Son!

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 Not at all implying that he hadn't been for the previous 13 years or whatever.

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 Just that this was a moment where that came to fruition publicly.

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 Further to this point of Jesus' name as Son,

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 the writer references the promises to King David in 2 Samuel 7.

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 Or again,

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 I will be to him a father,

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 and he shall be to me a son, right?

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 The King, the Davidic heir, Messiah, God's Son, right?

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 This is something never referred to an angel.

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 Never a position that an angel holds.

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 Connected to this first distinction,

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 another important contrast is that angels worship

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 while Jesus receives worship.

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 Verse 6, quoting from the Greek of Psalm 97 or Deuteronomy 32,

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 and again, when he brings the firstborn, the Son, into the world,

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 he says,

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 Let all God's angels worship him.

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 You know what happens when people bow down to angels in the Bible?

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 What immediately happens next?

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 Angel says,

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 Stand up.

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 You're confused.

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 Don't worship me.

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 You know what happens when people bow down to Jesus in the Bible?

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 Now, that happens never.

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 He allows it.

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 He doesn't tell them to quit.

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 Angels worship at Jesus' birth.

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 We know that.

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 Glory to God.

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 But they worship Jesus as God throughout the Bible,

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 especially in heaven, Revelation tells us.

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 Similarly, angels are created and commanded.

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 While Jesus creates and commands.

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 Look, angels are really important, right?

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 Verse 7 from Psalm 104.

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 This is a compliment, right?

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 Of the angels, he says,

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 He makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire.

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 Angels move quickly and powerfully in all sorts of places.

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 But, even better than that,

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 verse 8 from Psalm 45,

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 But of the Son, he says,

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 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

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 The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

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 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

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 Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness

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 beyond your companions.

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 Keep going, Psalm 102.

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 And you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning.

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 And the heavens are the work of your hands.

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 They will perish, but you remain.

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 They will all wear out like a garment.

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 Like a robe, you will roll them up.

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 Like a garment, they will be changed.

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 But you are the same.

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 And your years will have no end.

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 Jesus, you're the creator from the beginning,

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 laying the foundations of the earth.

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 But the one who nonetheless outlasts anything in creation that wears out.

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 Right?

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 You ever worn a garment out?

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 You just, holes in it, you can't wear it anymore?

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 Jesus doesn't wear out.

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 He's faithful.

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 You can count on it.

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 He's not changing.

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 And he's directing it all, right?

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 Angels included.

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 He made it, and he directs it for his purposes.

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 Angels have the power of wind and fire.

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 That's very powerful.

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 It's amazing, right?

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 Jesus invented wind and fire.

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 And he directs them.

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 By the word of his power, wind goes and fire appears.

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 Mic drop.

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 No comparison.

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 One more before he gets flagged for piling on to the angels here.

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 To the beloved and often cited Psalm 110.

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 To which of the angels has God ever said,

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 sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?

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 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

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 Jesus is our king.

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 Right?

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 The one to whom every knee will bow.

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 While angels are our servants.

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 While angels are our servants.

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 There's something right about the cultural experiences, visions we have of angels.

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 They're powerfully protecting God's people.

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 We've mentioned stories of that.

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 But they're not the ones that are pulling the strings, that are ruling the roost.

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 No, there's one of those.

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 The son.

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 See, even the Old Testament shows angels are good.

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 But Jesus is great.

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 They're not of the same order.

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 Don't get confused, he says.

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 There's really no comparison.

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 Don't bring Jesus down so that you seem more acceptable in the local synagogue of the day.

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 Because people are getting frustrated with you.

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 Don't bring Jesus down so you keep from attracting attention from Rome.

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 They might be causing you trouble.

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 No, keep him up there.

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 Jesus, utterly unique.

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 The true king worthy of worship as the long promised, finally revealed son of the most high God.

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 As the radiance of the glory of God.

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 The exact imprint of his nature.

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 As the one who paid for sins and reigns at God's right hand over every person, every molecule, every power.

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 Jesus reigns.

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 That's Hebrews 1.

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 That is some high Christology, right?

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 He's putting Jesus up there.

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 It's some glorious truth about who he is that no one else compares to.

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 But thus far, only stating truth, right?

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 It's not telling us a single thing to do.

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 Just telling us who Jesus is.

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 But then we get this really helpful word, therefore.

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 It kicks off chapter 2, right?

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 Something's turning.

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 This is a sermon, right?

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 Now he's going to tell you why it matters.

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 Listen to the warning that I said is one of the most sobering and hopeful in all the Bible.

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 I'm going to read it and talk about it for a few minutes.

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 Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

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 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable,

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 and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,

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 warning, a few years ago, my family was throwing a frisbee at the beach.

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 We love to do that.

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 Well, I love to do that and run down the beach.

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 And this time the frisbee went, and I usually catch it, right?

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 Of course.

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 But this time I got thrilled by a wave, knocked me under, my glasses went flying off,

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 the frisbee landed over there somewhere.

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 By the time I found my glasses, put myself back together, looked around,

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 the frisbee was gone.

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 Later that day, we went for a walk on the beach.

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 It was a long walk, easily more than a mile down from where we started,

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 and we're walking along the beach, and what do we see?

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 Way out there, washing up on the sand.

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 It's our frisbee.

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 We weren't even close to this.

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 How did it get down?

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 You know what happened?

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 That frisbee decided that it hated me and wanted to run as far away from me as possible.

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 Is that what happened?

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 That's not what happened.

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 What happened?

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 What did the frisbee do?

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 Nothing.

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 It had done nothing, and yet it had drifted far away.

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 Drifting happens to ships, too, right?

00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:06.180
 When the anchor is not held securely, the winds might blow your boat anywhere,

00:18:06.780 --> 00:18:08.240
 just because it's sitting there.

00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:13.000
 Drifting happens to people, too, doesn't it?

00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:17.860
 Not only in the ocean when the tide is strong and you've just been relaxing,

00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:21.519
 and all of a sudden you look back up to the shore and realize you can't find your umbrella anywhere.

00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:26.119
 It happens when you're listening to your wife.

00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:26.119


00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:30.000
 She's sharing something important, but the football game is on in the background,

00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:34.420
 and you find you drift off and don't remember what she just said.

00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:36.799
 Sharing for a friend.

00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.919
 It's important to work those ends sometimes for the sake of other people.

00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:46.920
 It happens in relationships, doesn't it?

00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:52.279
 When we drift apart, not because we set out to avoid one another,

00:18:52.820 --> 00:18:56.460
 not because we insisted that we wouldn't talk anymore,

00:18:56.620 --> 00:19:00.740
 but all of a sudden we look up and discover we didn't stay in touch.

00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.420
 We didn't give any attention to one another.

00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:07.259
 And we've drifted apart.

00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:18.340
 See, the danger of drifting is that it happens without your intending for it to happen,

00:19:19.060 --> 00:19:23.600
 and often without your even noticing that it happened.

00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:29.699
 And yet, you still end up far away.

00:19:32.959 --> 00:19:40.699
 I want to remind you this morning that this warning is to people who are in church.

00:19:42.219 --> 00:19:47.279
 They're listening to God's word, listening to this very sermon to the Hebrews.

00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:52.839
 They're so associated with the people of God that they may be facing persecution for it,

00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:58.099
 and considering going back to their previous way of life before following Jesus

00:19:58.099 --> 00:19:59.939
 because it's more comfortable.

00:20:02.199 --> 00:20:03.839
 Y'all, this is a warning.

00:20:04.159 --> 00:20:08.980
 If you are sitting here this morning, it's a warning for you and me.

00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:14.439
 We're prone to wander, aren't we?

00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:20.860
 The warning is, pay attention lest you drift away.

00:20:22.080 --> 00:20:26.820
 Pay much closer attention to what you have heard.

00:20:27.080 --> 00:20:27.779
 What have you heard?

00:20:27.820 --> 00:20:30.080
 You've heard God speaking through his Son.

00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:33.720
 The message of Jesus, the word of God.

00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:38.960
 Pay much closer attention to it lest you drift away from it.

00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:49.140
 Don't neglect such a great salvation.

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:51.920
 Y'all, what do you have to do to neglect something?

00:20:53.900 --> 00:20:54.380
 Nothing.

00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:57.160
 Just like drifting.

00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:04.640
 It's true for most of the people I've talked with over the years who have stopped walking with Jesus,

00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:09.940
 stopped worshiping with his church, stopped following his word.

00:21:10.040 --> 00:21:15.340
 Most of them did not have this moment of rejecting the claims of Christ.

00:21:16.700 --> 00:21:18.000
 Some of them, yes.

00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:20.019
 Most of them, no.

00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:24.120
 Most of them didn't reject Jesus.

00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:27.479
 They neglected Jesus.

00:21:29.399 --> 00:21:31.539
 They drifted away.

00:21:32.179 --> 00:21:33.119
 They didn't embrace heresy.

00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.039
 They didn't commit some gross public sin.

00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:38.979
 They didn't cause an uproar.

00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:42.639
 They didn't do anything.

00:21:44.959 --> 00:21:46.659
 That's all they had to do.

00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:53.359
 They just drifted further and further from Jesus.

00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:58.979
 Drifting is easy for those of us who are prone to wander, isn't it?

00:21:59.439 --> 00:22:01.179
 It can happen anytime, really.

00:22:02.179 --> 00:22:08.439
 Let me just suggest a few times it may commonly happen in our lives.

00:22:09.139 --> 00:22:11.299
 Like maybe when you leave home for college.

00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:14.899
 Perhaps there's already been some drifting.

00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:20.879
 Maybe you grew up in church and you were already kind of checking out and just checking the boxes while you're at home.

00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:27.000
 But you go off to school and so many other things seem important.

00:22:27.299 --> 00:22:30.460
 And old habits and rhythms are broken.

00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:37.319
 And you drift off into new schedules and priorities without paying careful attention to Jesus.

00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:38.759
 It happens.

00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:41.279
 Many of us have been there.

00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:48.240
 It happens when you start to focus on your career and your kids.

00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:50.420
 And especially if this happened at the same time.

00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.819
 And suddenly your weekends are full of good things.

00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:58.899
 Your weeks are full of providing for your family.

00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:01.779
 Your heart is full of ambition.

00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:09.500
 Church for an hour can still happen often enough in that season for many of us.

00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:13.960
 But Jesus moment by moment, day by day gets distant.

00:23:15.899 --> 00:23:16.720
 I'll be honest.

00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.799
 Sometimes the easiest place to drift is in church.

00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:22.500
 Especially if you've been here a while.

00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.339
 Because you can just set the cruise control.

00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:26.500
 And you know how it goes.

00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:32.599
 But in your heart, you're far away from Jesus.

00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:34.779
 We can be people who honor him with our lips.

00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:35.960
 And we know how to do it.

00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:39.059
 But our hearts are far from him.

00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:41.940
 Right among his people.

00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:47.099
 Just like the author of Hebrews is saying.

00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:48.559
 That's who he's talking to.

00:23:52.099 --> 00:23:53.859
 It can also happen later in life.

00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.799
 You can drift when your kids leave home.

00:23:56.959 --> 00:23:59.059
 Or when you're thinking about retirement.

00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:02.759
 And you've done just about everything that the church has for you.

00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:04.740
 I've served in every way possible.

00:24:05.399 --> 00:24:07.859
 Done everything that anybody could ask me to do.

00:24:07.959 --> 00:24:09.679
 And now it's a new season of life.

00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:13.439
 And I'm excitedly making a list of what life's going to be like now.

00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:15.479
 And all of the things that I'm going to get to do.

00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:16.719
 And the places I'll get to go.

00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:18.399
 And I don't reject Jesus.

00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:24.820
 I just honestly don't feel the same need for him that I used to.

00:24:26.320 --> 00:24:28.440
 I mean, you've been doing this a long time now.

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.240
 And so you drift away from church.

00:24:32.340 --> 00:24:36.540
 But you've got lots of good friends still you can talk about Jesus with.

00:24:37.580 --> 00:24:39.320
 And then you drift away from them.

00:24:39.560 --> 00:24:42.320
 But man, you know how to talk to Jesus by yourself.

00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.040
 You and Jesus.

00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:48.079
 Then you eventually just drift away from him too.

00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:55.839
 Encouraging us to drift away is one of Satan's subtle tactics.

00:24:57.019 --> 00:25:02.279
 C.S. Lewis saw it so much that he put it in the mouth of his senior demon in screw tape letters.

00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:06.740
 As he's teaching a younger demon how to attack a professing Christian.

00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:08.799
 This is what he says.

00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:14.779
 Do remember the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the enemy.

00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:17.039
 The enemy in this case is God.

00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.460
 It does not matter how small the sins are.

00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:27.399
 Provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing.

00:25:28.899 --> 00:25:31.680
 Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one.

00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:39.500
 The gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:42.100
 That's drifting, right?

00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:46.019
 The safest road to hell.

00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:54.580
 See, it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you end up far from God, right?

00:25:54.840 --> 00:25:56.920
 Away from the light.

00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:00.640
 Even or especially if you don't realize that's where you are.

00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:07.220
 This is the whole point of Jesus being greater than angels.

00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:09.940
 Now we're back to connect that dot.

00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:16.200
 The law of God, the old covenant, his relationship with his people was delivered by angels, right?

00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:22.920
 And if you disobeyed that message, rejected that word, there were consequences.

00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:25.740
 Like wilderness 40 years.

00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:29.059
 Exile out of the promised land.

00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:30.380
 Defeat in battle.

00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:32.840
 In general, distance from God.

00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:34.840
 Not near Yahweh.

00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:42.259
 And so, the writer makes an argument from the lesser to the greater.

00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:47.660
 Remember, if God takes it seriously when you ignore what he says through his angels.

00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:54.480
 How much more will God take it seriously when you ignore what he says through his son?

00:26:56.359 --> 00:27:00.799
 Remember, he has spoken to us through his son.

00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:06.099
 How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:08.779
 He says, look, see what happened to the Israelites?

00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:11.559
 Who didn't heed the warnings of the angels?

00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:14.859
 Who didn't cry out to Yahweh as their only hope?

00:27:14.899 --> 00:27:19.379
 Who kind of thought they were okay and just coasted along as pretty decent people?

00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.759
 Do you see what happened?

00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:26.779
 No way will we escape if we turn a blind eye, a deaf ear to Jesus.

00:27:27.319 --> 00:27:28.980
 Warning, Southwood.

00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:29.700
 Warning.

00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:34.960
 That's a sobering warning, isn't it?

00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.019
 We'd rather have warned those out there.

00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:40.519
 And he wants to warn those right here.

00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:45.319
 Lest we drift away from it.

00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.559
 How shall we escape if we neglect it?

00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:58.920
 I just want to tell you this morning, it's sobering enough that you should stop and ask yourself honestly if you're drifting.

00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:17.820
 If you feel like you're wandering, drifting slowly away from Jesus, if he feels distant, it's a sobering enough warning that you may need a spouse or a friend or a parent or a grace group leader, elder, pastor, to tell you they see drift.

00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:19.700
 That you can't see.

00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:27.839
 If you're concerned as you read these words, maybe ask someone who loves you.

00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:29.919
 We'd love to talk.

00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:34.100
 It may sound like a scary question to ask.

00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:38.120
 Hey, do you see drift in my life, in my heart?

00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:38.840
 What do you see?

00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:40.740
 That can be scary to ask someone.

00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:48.060
 But I want you to know it's actually a really safe question to ask, especially if you've got this passage open.

00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:53.599
 There is not only a warning here in this passage, but also a welcome.

00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:55.379
 You need to hear that too.

00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:59.220
 It's even more hopeful than the warning is sobering.

00:29:00.259 --> 00:29:04.099
 Listen, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

00:29:04.659 --> 00:29:11.879
 The great salvation, it was declared at first by the Lord and it was attested to us by those who heard.

00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:21.160
 While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:29.400
 See, if you're drifting, the solution is not start swimming harder.

00:29:30.600 --> 00:29:33.700
 Start working your way back against the tide.

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:43.740
 No, the passage says, pay much closer attention to the message God has spoken through his son.

00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:47.860
 To what he calls such a great salvation.

00:29:48.900 --> 00:29:56.799
 That the glorious gospel message of our salvation is not swim faster, try harder, perform better.

00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:02.400
 It's cling desperately to the Savior who has already done those things.

00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:06.900
 What's the salvation declared at first by Jesus, he says?

00:30:09.040 --> 00:30:12.000
 I came to seek and to save the lost.

00:30:12.180 --> 00:30:15.080
 To give my life as a ransom for many.

00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:16.740
 I am the bread of life.

00:30:17.100 --> 00:30:20.519
 He who believes in me will never hunger.

00:30:21.800 --> 00:30:22.740
 I'm the good shepherd.

00:30:23.800 --> 00:30:27.420
 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:29.960
 Even the wandering ones.

00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:33.779
 The sheep, they hear my voice and they follow me.

00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:36.680
 I am the way and the truth and the life.

00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:42.640
 Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

00:30:43.380 --> 00:30:45.640
 Welcome home, Jesus says.

00:30:45.860 --> 00:30:48.000
 I'm a beachcombing Savior.

00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:54.460
 When you're drifting and you're far away, I'm looking for you.

00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:57.740
 I don't just happen upon you.

00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:01.319
 I'm coming out looking for the one who's drifted away.

00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:03.500
 What a great Savior.

00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:05.799
 What a great salvation.

00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:07.700
 Pay attention.

00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:15.519
 It's the same good news, not just from Jesus, but attested to those eyewitnesses who heard.

00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:20.279
 They said things like, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:23.500
 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:30.399
 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul, so we need not drift.

00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:32.740
 What a great salvation.

00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:34.539
 Pay attention.

00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:46.700
 In fact, if you haven't heard enough, God himself bore witness to the truth of Jesus' offer, didn't he?

00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:48.460
 Just think about the things that he did.

00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:50.680
 Blind people are healed.

00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:57.159
 Not because they learned a new technique, but because they cry out to Jesus.

00:31:57.879 --> 00:31:58.319
 Healed.

00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:08.240
 Hungry people are fed, not because they learned to cook really well, but because Jesus prays and blesses the food.

00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:13.799
 And dead people walk out of the grave.

00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:23.439
 Not because they learned the secret to life, but because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:25.319
 What a great salvation.

00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:27.059
 Pay attention.

00:32:27.059 --> 00:32:27.240
 Pay attention.

00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:33.720
 The command to us to do that is so that we don't drift.

00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:37.460
 The command is not to perform better, right?

00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.059
 It's not on you.

00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:44.599
 The command is to pay much closer attention to the one who has performed perfectly.

00:32:45.099 --> 00:32:46.179
 He'll take care of you.

00:32:46.379 --> 00:32:47.240
 He'll change you.

00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:49.879
 He'll make you what you long to be.

00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:55.400
 The word there for paying attention means to obsess over.

00:32:57.020 --> 00:32:59.340
 Seems almost like a negative thing to us.

00:32:59.580 --> 00:33:02.060
 The writer's saying, here's something you can obsess over.

00:33:02.580 --> 00:33:06.500
 Make Jesus your life's obsession.

00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:08.820
 Don't let Jesus out of your sight.

00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:12.700
 Don't stop listening to his message.

00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:15.059
 Y'all, the things of this world.

00:33:15.059 --> 00:33:21.339
 A culture that tells you life is found in possessions or power or pleasure.

00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:26.879
 Even a constant just scroll of mindless distraction.

00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:30.179
 They can grab your attention, can't they?

00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:34.539
 And cause you to miss what you most need to hear.

00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:39.000
 Every moment of every day, what you most need to hear is the voice of Jesus.

00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:50.519
 If you drift off and miss a class or movie or a sermon, there will be another one.

00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:59.720
 But if you miss the salvation provided by Jesus, the relationship that he came to mend,

00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:04.420
 the life he came to give you, there's no other life, friends.

00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:06.559
 Don't miss him.

00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:12.559
 Pay careful attention, much closer attention to the message of Jesus.

00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:16.019
 Keep Jesus in the foreground.

00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:18.659
 That is the clear teaching of Scripture.

00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:22.159
 How?

00:34:22.779 --> 00:34:24.019
 What does that look like?

00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:28.739
 Just some ideas, not biblical commands.

00:34:30.059 --> 00:34:31.599
 Some things that have helped me.

00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:34.099
 You could try one if you like.

00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:40.279
 Very first thing in the morning, read his word and talk to him.

00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.739
 Very first thing.

00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:45.320
 How do you keep Jesus in the forefront?

00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:47.259
 Do life with friends.

00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:49.440
 They might call themselves a grace group.

00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:52.719
 Who talk about Jesus beyond the meeting.

00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:54.940
 Keep him in front of you.

00:34:55.579 --> 00:34:58.400
 Memorize Scripture so it's always on your mind.

00:34:59.940 --> 00:35:00.799
 Here's one you'll like.

00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:02.100
 Confess your sin.

00:35:03.160 --> 00:35:05.200
 Spend some time thinking about that.

00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:07.080
 Focusing on your sin and your struggle.

00:35:07.340 --> 00:35:09.220
 Telling God how you're prone to wander.

00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:10.600
 You know where it's going to lead you?

00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:12.519
 It's going to lead you to the cross of Jesus.

00:35:13.220 --> 00:35:15.700
 In a fresh way, it'll keep him right in front of your mind.

00:35:17.500 --> 00:35:23.019
 Maybe spend some time this afternoon thinking how the thing in your life that you spend the most time doing.

00:35:23.019 --> 00:35:25.860
 Maybe a job or whatever.

00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:28.000
 How's that part of Jesus' kingdom?

00:35:29.219 --> 00:35:32.099
 So that as I find myself in it this week, it's making me think of Jesus.

00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:33.340
 Why am I here with Jesus?

00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:34.920
 How's he here with me?

00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:40.159
 Find someone and explain who Jesus is.

00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:43.940
 Explain his great salvation to someone who doesn't know him.

00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:46.900
 It'll keep him in front of you.

00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:49.840
 It'll actually make you realize how worthy he is.

00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:53.039
 It'll refresh the joy of your salvation.

00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:58.639
 Jesus is so worthy of your first, close, constant attention.

00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:01.880
 Just think.

00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:06.900
 It's amazing to hear stories of how angels protect God's people, isn't it?

00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:08.099
 I just read one.

00:36:08.139 --> 00:36:09.000
 You could read them all day.

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:17.179
 Many of these happen in our lives and we don't even realize how God's protecting us through his angels.

00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:24.320
 How much more does Jesus protect his people?

00:36:25.699 --> 00:36:29.579
 How much more does he love us?

00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:36.039
 How much greater is the salvation you get in relationship with him?

00:36:37.500 --> 00:36:38.780
 It's so great.

00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:42.079
 That he is with us always.

00:36:42.460 --> 00:36:45.000
 Angels, here and there, come and go.

00:36:45.539 --> 00:36:46.760
 Jesus is with us always.

00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:50.599
 This table is here this morning because he wants you to know that.

00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:56.239
 He wants you to see how great this salvation is and what a great savior you have.

00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:02.360
 He sat with his disciples the night he knew he was going to be betrayed.

00:37:02.360 --> 00:37:11.180
 And he took bread and broke it and he gave it to them and said, this is my body given for you.

00:37:11.680 --> 00:37:13.820
 Do this in remembrance of me.

00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:23.920
 In the same way, after supper, he took the cup and said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.

00:37:24.340 --> 00:37:25.880
 Drink from it, all of you.

00:37:26.380 --> 00:37:28.800
 In other words, he said, I know you're sinners.

00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:33.920
 Stay with me and I'm going to take care of it.

00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:36.140
 And he does, doesn't he?

00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:39.780
 His life, his body, his blood.

00:37:41.240 --> 00:37:46.539
 Whenever you eat this bread, whenever you drink this cup, you proclaim his death until he comes.

00:37:46.539 --> 00:37:50.940
 Jesus joins us for this meal.

00:37:51.019 --> 00:37:51.699
 Can you believe that?

00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:59.820
 Jesus joins us by his spirit for this meal so that we will pay close attention to him.

00:38:00.099 --> 00:38:01.460
 He wants to help us with that.

00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:06.079
 He wants us to be able to cry out because of our great need for him.

00:38:06.279 --> 00:38:10.219
 He wants us to be able to come and rejoice because he has met our needs.

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:14.380
 He has died, given his life to give us life.

00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:19.460
 If you see here your great Savior, come and eat with him.

00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:26.760
 If that's not what you see in this bread and wine, if that's not what they mean to you,

00:38:26.860 --> 00:38:30.660
 then I would encourage you this morning, let these elements pass by you.

00:38:31.880 --> 00:38:43.780
 But don't let another day pass without receiving Jesus, without trusting him, receiving his great salvation.

00:38:43.780 --> 00:38:45.560
 It is free to you.

00:38:45.740 --> 00:38:49.200
 He gives it to you freely because he has paid it all.

00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:52.440
 Let's pray and we'll come together with him.

00:38:54.360 --> 00:39:00.519
 Jesus, how good you are to make such provision for people like us.

00:39:01.080 --> 00:39:04.820
 Who need not only to be rescued, but who need to be rescued again.

00:39:05.500 --> 00:39:07.040
 Who need to be called back.

00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:09.699
 Because our hearts get calloused.

00:39:10.300 --> 00:39:11.659
 Our lives get busy.

00:39:12.820 --> 00:39:14.019
 And we drift.

00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:15.139
 And we wander.

00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:18.599
 And you've come again this morning to meet with us.

00:39:18.679 --> 00:39:20.239
 That is so kind of you.

00:39:21.099 --> 00:39:22.400
 You are so gracious.

00:39:23.559 --> 00:39:25.699
 Use this to call our hearts back.

00:39:26.340 --> 00:39:27.500
 We ask in your name.

00:39:28.179 --> 00:39:28.500
 Amen.

00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:28.599
 Amen.

00:39:29.719 --> 00:39:33.360
 For more information, visit us online at southwood.org.

00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:35.760
 Thank you.

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