back to index2019-07-14 The Warning of Apostasy Pt. 3
00:00:00.000 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 3 verses 12 through 19. 00:00:16.320 |
Take care brethren that there not be in any one of you an evil unbelieving heart that 00:00:22.480 |
But encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called today so that none 00:00:26.520 |
of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 00:00:29.760 |
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance 00:00:35.040 |
While it is said today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as when they provoked 00:00:43.000 |
Indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 00:00:48.760 |
Was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 00:00:52.480 |
And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest but to those who were disobedient? 00:00:58.260 |
So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. 00:01:06.360 |
Gracious Father we thank you for your patience. 00:01:17.240 |
We pray Father that your word would speak to us. 00:01:22.680 |
That we would be willing Father God not only to listen but to apply all that you give. 00:01:27.720 |
We pray that what you have intended with these words that in our generation Lord God that 00:01:32.880 |
we would heed it, that we would apply it, and that we would be sanctified. 00:01:37.680 |
And so we entrust this time to you that your name may be exalted in Jesus name we pray. 00:01:42.800 |
You know in the last few months I've been visiting the doctors quite a bit. 00:01:50.560 |
Again not necessarily because something specifically is wrong but because our church changed insurance 00:01:55.440 |
from HMO to PPO so I had to find new doctors and every time you visit a doctor they do 00:02:01.960 |
You know whatever it may be just a routine checkup and they first they weigh you and 00:02:08.000 |
And then so they go off that information and they ask a few questions and then if the questions 00:02:12.960 |
come back and there's anything concerning they'll ask you to do blood tests. 00:02:17.040 |
And then if the blood test comes back and then they see some problems from that they'll 00:02:20.280 |
give diagnosis and ask you to visit other doctors and go see a specialist in certain 00:02:25.280 |
And it's almost true of any doctor you go to no matter even if you have a stubbed toe 00:02:28.240 |
you'll go in they'll weigh you and then they'll take your blood pressure. 00:02:31.840 |
Just to kind of examine that there might be something that points to something and that's 00:02:36.720 |
usually what I experience when we go to the doctors. 00:02:41.240 |
Well the text that we're looking at the whole book of Hebrews is really the author is like 00:02:46.280 |
a physician who's carefully examining this church to see where they're going astray. 00:02:52.040 |
We have seen and you'll continue to see there is no specific doctrine that they are rejecting 00:02:59.120 |
Their primary problem was their Christian life with the pressure that was coming from 00:03:03.320 |
the world was starting to get to them and so they were slowly beginning to drift back 00:03:09.520 |
Now to them because their old life was Judaism that's what they were struggling with and 00:03:13.840 |
that's why the author systematically puts the supremacy of Christ in every chapter that 00:03:18.960 |
he's above the angels above Moses above the high priest above the sacrificial system above 00:03:25.640 |
But his what he is doing is carefully examining this church to see what is causing this drift 00:03:33.380 |
and ultimately to warn them that if they don't catch themselves from this drift that eventually 00:03:39.040 |
they're going to find they may find that they don't really have faith at all. 00:03:43.120 |
And then it warns in the at the end of it says because of their unbelief that they did 00:03:49.760 |
Now chapter 3 ends with this warning it started this section in chapter 3 began with this 00:03:55.560 |
warning and then it ends with this warning with a nation of Israel. 00:03:59.920 |
Verse 16 for who provoked him when they had heard indeed did not all those who came out 00:04:06.160 |
of Egypt led by Moses in other words they were exposed to all that God had for them. 00:04:12.360 |
They ate miraculous food and then when that wasn't enough God gave them quail God opened 00:04:18.360 |
up the ground and gave them fountains of water. 00:04:21.680 |
They were the ones who walked through the Red Sea and saw God's power. 00:04:26.400 |
They saw all that God had done but at the end their behavior provoked him. 00:04:32.240 |
Verse 17 and with whom was he angry for 40 years. 00:04:36.760 |
Was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness. 00:04:42.480 |
This was characteristics of this group for 40 years. 00:04:45.200 |
They were constantly grumbling before God and to whom did he swear that they would not 00:04:49.200 |
enter their his rest but to those who are disobedient. 00:04:53.320 |
Even though they were Israelites even though they were even though they were God's covenant 00:04:56.920 |
people that their constant grumbling before God caused them to fall away. 00:05:03.760 |
So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. 00:05:08.080 |
It is a small small things that we see in our life that if we're not careful that causes 00:05:16.680 |
So this text that we're looking at this morning I'm going to divide it into three parts where 00:05:20.040 |
he encourages us and warns us about this drifting toward apostasy. 00:05:25.600 |
So there's three encouragement one to take care. 00:05:29.560 |
We're going to spend most of our time on that and then two to encourage one another and 00:05:35.780 |
So to take care to encourage and to persevere. 00:05:42.600 |
This warning against apostasy he says take care brethren that there not be any of you 00:05:47.360 |
evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 00:05:50.560 |
The word take care literally is blepo which means to look. 00:05:58.320 |
So those of you who are optonomist and you know that that's where the word comes from. 00:06:01.280 |
It basically means to take a careful look in the King James version just says to take 00:06:08.440 |
New King James it says to beware and I.B. it says to see to it. 00:06:15.780 |
I think that Chinese character for be careful kind of captures that idea. 00:06:20.780 |
Those of you guys who know Chinese I know probably half the room probably know some 00:06:24.320 |
Chinese and the Chinese word for be careful is Xiao Xing. 00:06:28.400 |
In the service I said Xiao Xin and then I got rebuked by a bunch of people. 00:06:39.240 |
So why would be careful like if you go to a bathroom saying be careful they'll say Xiao 00:06:46.280 |
So when I first learned of this word like why would the Chinese word for be careful 00:06:55.240 |
And I probably could have just asked anybody at our church but I googled it. 00:06:59.880 |
And basically the idea behind it is the heart meaning to take care. 00:07:11.800 |
That's basically what it means to be careful. 00:07:13.600 |
That's a literal word for be careful in Chinese. 00:07:19.440 |
That's exactly the idea behind this word blepo in Greek. 00:07:29.760 |
Because often times it is the small things that we kind of sweep under the rug. 00:07:37.120 |
You could think about all the things that the Holy Spirit could have used as an example 00:07:47.240 |
There were period in Israel's history where they sacrificed their own children. 00:07:55.680 |
I mean you could say if you look at the totality of Israel's history the 40 years out in the 00:08:01.080 |
desert was probably the highlight of Israel's history. 00:08:08.560 |
It wasn't until they went into the promised land where the outright idol worship began 00:08:15.960 |
But all throughout scripture it is the time in Israel's history in the 40 years out in 00:08:21.480 |
the desert is used and highlighted, repeated over and over again as an example and a warning 00:08:29.720 |
But the primary problem with the nation of Israel is a constant discontent with God. 00:08:36.400 |
That if they were thirsty they were hungry and if they were hungry they didn't have meat. 00:08:45.200 |
That it didn't take much from the very beginning, even before they were delivered, there was 00:08:51.280 |
Even after they came out of the Red Sea and they would break out into worship just a few 00:08:56.840 |
They would break out into grumbling, "Why did he bring us out here? 00:08:59.120 |
Moses goes up into the mountains, he doesn't come down soon enough." 00:09:02.440 |
And then they break out and they make golden calves and begin to worship it. 00:09:07.520 |
Out of all the things that God could have chosen as an example, as a warning against 00:09:13.800 |
Israel's apostasy, it was what seems innocuous at first look. 00:09:25.700 |
And the reason why is because the root of rebellion started with that. 00:09:32.520 |
The reason why they went after idols and worshipped other gods, it started out with a discontent 00:09:37.600 |
and unbelief in their heart that was expressed through their grumbling. 00:09:41.680 |
Isn't that exactly what Jesus says in Matthew 5, 27 and 28? 00:09:45.040 |
You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." 00:09:48.600 |
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed 00:09:56.360 |
Now the Bible is not saying that the person who actually committed adultery versus somebody 00:10:00.840 |
who's struggling with lust is equally sinful. 00:10:05.400 |
And what he is saying is that small root of lustful thoughts and lustful look that you 00:10:13.040 |
compromise and say, "Well, it's not a big deal because I didn't commit the physical 00:10:20.580 |
And that's why that is highlighted again in James chapter 4, 1 through 2. 00:10:24.720 |
Watch what he says, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you is not the 00:10:27.960 |
source of your pleasures that wage war in your members. 00:10:32.720 |
You lust and you do not have, so you commit," what? 00:10:43.800 |
He said it is this desire that you have that is unmet, that's frustrated, which is causing 00:10:52.940 |
And then when you get frustrated enough and it bears enough fruit, not only does it cause 00:10:56.840 |
conflict, it says the root of murder is this envy. 00:11:01.560 |
You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 00:11:06.720 |
And the reason why people cannot ask is because they know that the desires of their heart 00:11:18.680 |
In fact, if you look at the Ten Commandments, it starts out by saying, "Thou shalt not have 00:11:25.480 |
I use the King James Version because it has more authority. 00:11:27.800 |
At least it sounds more authoritative than "Don't do this." 00:11:32.560 |
That's the way I memorized it when I was young. 00:11:34.040 |
"Thou shalt not have any other gods before me." 00:11:37.240 |
But if you look at the Ten Commandments, why did the Israelites struggle with idolatry? 00:11:45.520 |
After all that God has done for them, after everything that they saw from God, why would 00:11:51.160 |
they in their right mind, when they got into the land of Canaanites, did they constantly 00:12:04.720 |
When God didn't provide the rain and they got frustrated, when they looked at the Canaanites 00:12:09.160 |
or the people of the land and they seemed like they were doing fine and they were having 00:12:12.600 |
many children, they began to worship Asherah. 00:12:16.080 |
They began to worship Baal because they were the gods of fertility. 00:12:20.520 |
So if God is not going to answer, then I'll go this path. 00:12:28.940 |
They saw what other people had and they wanted it, and so if God wasn't going to give it 00:12:39.980 |
The defilement of the First Commandment is a small root of coveting in their heart that 00:12:44.520 |
they are allowed to continue to percolate and to grow in their hearts. 00:12:48.680 |
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any other graven image." 00:12:53.600 |
That Second Commandment basically is worshiping God, but then worshiping Him in the way you 00:12:58.920 |
Creating a God in your own image and worshiping Him. 00:13:02.480 |
Why do you think that the health and wealth gospel is so popular around the world? 00:13:09.580 |
They supposedly have the same gospel, and yet they believe that if you believe in Jesus 00:13:16.400 |
Christ that God's going to make you healthy and wealthy. 00:13:19.680 |
Why is this false gospel so popular around the world? 00:13:30.780 |
They read the same scripture, but it's not the Jesus of the Bible. 00:13:34.000 |
At the root of the defilement of the Second Commandment is coveting. 00:13:39.560 |
They want Jesus to give them what they want, and if they don't, they'll create another 00:13:45.600 |
"Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain." 00:13:49.520 |
Every single one of these commandments, the root cause is because of a desire of their 00:13:55.400 |
Today, we only think of it as saying, "God something," and using it as a curse. 00:14:00.200 |
But really, the application of verse 3, the prohibition of verse 3 is not using the Lord's 00:14:05.400 |
name and pursuing things and giving credit and saying that this is for God. 00:14:12.720 |
And the perfect example of that is in the Middle Ages, the Christian Crusades. 00:14:18.040 |
They're angered by what the Muslims did, and they're going to retaliate. 00:14:21.680 |
And so they went there, and they did exactly, you know, like committed some horrendous acts 00:14:35.320 |
Just like James says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," coveting someone else's wife. 00:14:40.240 |
"Thou shalt not steal," coveting what other people have. 00:14:45.000 |
Again, in James chapter 2, "Thou shalt not covet." 00:14:48.360 |
In the end, all of the Ten Commandments ultimately point to the rebellion of Adam and Eve. 00:14:56.600 |
God gave them everything, created them for the purpose of worshiping God and giving credit 00:15:01.280 |
Instead, they saw God's glory and said, "I want some." 00:15:13.160 |
It may seem small and insignificant, but you and I live in a generation where coveting 00:15:24.440 |
We have phones, and we look at our social media, we are constantly bombarded by other 00:15:35.380 |
You don't put your failures, or you don't put when you had a hard time with something 00:15:42.300 |
You highlight the best parts of your life, whatever that may be. 00:15:45.920 |
And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. 00:15:47.520 |
I'm not saying that responsible Christians put all the bad things and complain. 00:15:57.600 |
And so we're constantly on our phones, on the tip of our finger, looking at the world. 00:16:04.760 |
We're not even talking about Orange County, looking at the world of things that we could 00:16:12.080 |
We look at other people having birthday parties and say, "How come I'm not invited to that?" 00:16:16.080 |
We look at other people moving into their new homes and say, "Oh, how come my house 00:16:21.760 |
And we are constantly bombarded and feeding ourselves with coveting in our hearts. 00:16:26.280 |
And so we have spiritually saying that we need to look for eternal things, but on a 00:16:32.440 |
day-to-day basis, we are filling ourselves with the things that have nothing to do with 00:16:36.760 |
1 Peter 2, 11 says, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly 00:16:51.480 |
If we don't first and foremost acknowledge and understand and embrace our identity as 00:16:57.280 |
aliens and strangers in this world, that sometimes will lead us into wanting, like, "I want to 00:17:04.680 |
I don't want to be an alien and stranger in my work. 00:17:09.000 |
I don't want to be an alien and stranger at my school or even in my home." 00:17:14.320 |
And so, because we want to belong, we begin to covet what they have. 00:17:23.480 |
But he says, not realizing that these desires that we are feeding ourselves is waging war 00:17:29.400 |
against our soul, and oftentimes we're not even aware how it is eroding us. 00:17:39.320 |
We become numb to the unholy things of this world, not realizing there's a spiritual battle, 00:17:44.360 |
not outside with satanic things, but inwardly with our own desires. 00:17:48.640 |
In Psalm chapter 1, verse 4, it says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the 00:17:55.920 |
The counsel of the wicked is constantly feeding us what you should want. 00:18:07.200 |
And so we are constantly being fed the ideologies and the principles of this world. 00:18:12.480 |
But he said, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor 00:18:19.320 |
An individual who gives in to the constant coveting of what he sees, he or she sees, 00:18:24.760 |
he eventually is going to stand with the sinners. 00:18:29.280 |
So standing with sinners basically means that you're not going to look any different. 00:18:34.200 |
It starts with our thoughts and our desires, then eventually you begin to be identified 00:18:39.080 |
with them, and then the final conclusion is that you nor stand in the way of sinners, 00:18:50.160 |
And so there's this progression of sin, and it begins with desire. 00:18:55.040 |
And this desire that is unmet, and that was the root of Israel's sin. 00:19:05.320 |
So when God didn't provide, they began to grumble. 00:19:12.200 |
They were hoping that God would worship them. 00:19:15.120 |
John chapter 139 verse 23, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. 00:19:22.720 |
See if there's any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." 00:19:27.000 |
When was the last time you truly prayed this prayer before God? 00:19:31.440 |
I mean you can pray even now, you can pray it, but when was the last time you really 00:19:46.360 |
Or have I just swept these things under the rug? 00:19:53.040 |
Israel's apostasy, the warning of Israel's apostasy, wasn't their idolatry, wasn't their 00:20:01.000 |
child sacrifice, wasn't the defaulting of the temple. 00:20:03.920 |
It was just their constant discontent with what God gave them. 00:20:10.720 |
Watch out for these things so that you do not fall into evil and unbelieving hearts." 00:20:17.880 |
The word for evil is "pernea," and where we get the word "pornography." 00:20:22.280 |
And the word literally means "to be corrupt." 00:20:26.040 |
And this grumbling that they kept on doing before God, he says it was evil, it was corrupt, 00:20:31.960 |
because God created the lips of man for the praise of his glory. 00:20:37.160 |
And instead of praising him, all that came out of his mouth was complaining how God didn't 00:20:45.860 |
And so therefore, he calls it evil because it was corrupt. 00:20:50.520 |
And this corruption ultimately is a revelation of unbelief. 00:20:58.440 |
Unbelief is what caused them to not see what it is that they had in Christ. 00:21:05.580 |
The result of what seems to be innocent, if it is not checked, it leads to evil. 00:21:12.880 |
It leads to hardening of heart and eventually unbelief. 00:21:17.640 |
Praising God is not something that you can do because of your strong will. 00:21:22.960 |
It says in Hebrews 11, 6, it says, "And without faith, it is impossible to please him." 00:21:30.120 |
This is not something that you determine to do and say, "You know what? 00:21:37.720 |
He says, "If you don't have faith, no amount of determination, no amount of will, no amount 00:21:48.560 |
Because what God desires more than anything else is worship. 00:21:52.640 |
And worship is not something that you choose to do and say, "You know what? 00:21:55.400 |
I'm just going to change and be a different person." 00:21:57.280 |
He says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must 00:22:05.680 |
So if you look at other translations, they may say, "He who comes to God must first believe 00:22:12.880 |
But I think the correct translation is the NASB where he says, "He who comes to God must 00:22:20.440 |
And I believe that this is directly related to the "I am" statements that Jesus made in 00:22:25.280 |
the book of John, where in every circumstance, they were depending on the leadership, they 00:22:30.560 |
were depending on the gate, they were depending on whoever else, and Jesus continued to say 00:22:42.120 |
He says, "I am the resurrection and the life." 00:22:44.880 |
Well if you go, what's going to happen to us? 00:22:55.840 |
And that's exactly what the author of Hebrews has been telling them all the way up to chapter 00:23:02.240 |
That everything that you have confidence for, everything that you're putting your hopes 00:23:05.920 |
for, he says, "If you do not first believe that he is, there is no way to please him." 00:23:15.160 |
Our life is a constant revelation of what it is that we value and believe. 00:23:22.360 |
Not our attendance on Sunday, because, you know, this is hard. 00:23:26.680 |
The hard part of doing church in Orange County, California, again, this is not unique to Orange 00:23:33.400 |
County, but I believe that this is happening even in China, or it was, where it's comfortable. 00:23:41.960 |
This is a great place to come if you're lonely. 00:23:47.640 |
Maybe you like playing baseball in high school and you miss it. 00:23:54.320 |
Maybe you tried out for the football team and you didn't make it, but you're a superstar 00:24:01.360 |
You have an opportunity to practice your gift here. 00:24:07.840 |
It's a place for you to play with children here. 00:24:10.840 |
I'm not saying that people's motives are just purely not good, but there's a lot of reasons 00:24:18.400 |
why just even non-Christians would want to participate in the fellowship of the church. 00:24:26.280 |
But the primary reason why you and I are gathered here together is for His worship. 00:24:33.420 |
If you and I, and every single one of us, whether you have Facebook or not, we live 00:24:38.160 |
in a part of the world where covening is rampant. 00:24:40.960 |
And when I say covenant, I'm not talking about the world inside of us. 00:24:44.360 |
Every time we turn on the TV, even on the radio, we are being sold the next big thing. 00:24:52.320 |
And if you have 8 for 10 months, you have trash. 00:25:01.180 |
What is it that the church can possibly give that can compete with all of that? 00:25:10.060 |
I mean, plenty of people go to bars and hang out and make great friends over there. 00:25:17.800 |
I mean, just give yourself to your family and make money and whatever that purpose is. 00:25:23.960 |
What is it that the church can offer that can compete with that? 00:25:29.520 |
I mean, if I believe that I can give the best sermon and be so articulate that I can convince 00:25:37.240 |
a group of people every single week to forsake their life and give it to Christ, I mean, 00:25:43.640 |
I should be a billionaire by now if I have the ability to do that. 00:25:49.400 |
The only thing that the church has that can compete with the rest of the world is Christ. 00:25:56.920 |
Only when you gaze upon Christ, only when you are falling in love with Christ, only 00:26:00.880 |
those who believe that Christ is will look at the rest of the world and say, "That's 00:26:14.400 |
It is impossible to please God without faith, for he who comes to God must first believe 00:26:17.720 |
that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." 00:26:25.840 |
Not your business, not your work, not your family, not your wife, not your children, 00:26:33.320 |
So he says to take a look, take a careful look, examine, "shaoshing," small heart. 00:26:41.200 |
Examine the things that naturally causes us to drift. 00:26:43.360 |
Secondly, he says, "To encourage one another day after day, as long as it is called today, 00:26:48.040 |
so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." 00:26:51.160 |
The word for encourage, "parakaleo," to call, to aid, to help, to comfort, to encourage, 00:27:00.080 |
The way we use the word encourage, typically, at least in our generation, encourage, we 00:27:04.520 |
naturally think when somebody feels uplifted. 00:27:09.840 |
Encouraging means like no matter what you do, he never comes down on you. 00:27:13.120 |
He's like, "You always feel good when you're around that person." 00:27:30.460 |
In Hebrews 10, 24-25, he says, "And let us consider how to stimulate," that word literally 00:27:36.240 |
means to provoke one another on toward love and good deeds. 00:27:40.960 |
Not forsaking our own, assembling together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one 00:27:44.240 |
another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 00:27:49.880 |
Not only are we to examine ourselves carefully, we are to be in a part of a community where 00:27:54.760 |
we are provoking one another on toward love and good deeds. 00:27:59.480 |
If we're not careful, we can easily provoke one another on toward worldliness. 00:28:09.200 |
Somebody buys a nice house, somebody buys a nice car, somebody has great travel, and 00:28:12.720 |
then we look at that as part of our community and say, "Oh, I want that." 00:28:17.520 |
And inside of a church where Christ is supposed to be at the center, he's only centered by 00:28:22.080 |
name, but there's no true fellowship going on. 00:28:26.240 |
Typically, when we evaluate ourselves, we think, "Oh, I should pray more." 00:28:32.240 |
I get some Bible because I get some teaching, and maybe I attend Bible studies, so I get 00:28:38.160 |
Evangelism, you know, I should share a little bit with my friends. 00:28:42.160 |
But one of the things that are truly lacking in the church is fellowship. 00:28:48.340 |
We deceive ourselves often if we're not careful to think we're having fellowship because I 00:28:53.200 |
got together with my friends and went and watched a movie. 00:28:58.120 |
We got together and made dumplings on Saturday. 00:29:01.440 |
And so therefore, we have plenty of fellowship. 00:29:03.380 |
But the word fellowship means provoking, provoking on toward God, partnering together with someone. 00:29:10.880 |
So the question is, when was the last time you were provoked by somebody on toward love 00:29:19.280 |
When was the last time that because of that person, you were provoked? 00:29:28.280 |
Just kind of like, you know, when we think of provoked in a negative way, you're provoked 00:29:37.620 |
When was the last time you were provoked by somebody on toward love and good deeds? 00:29:41.520 |
And the other question is, when was the last time you provoked somebody because of you? 00:29:47.260 |
Somebody decided to follow their life in Christ and drop what they were doing and say, "You 00:29:52.520 |
Or to really like, "I want to love Christ like you love Christ." 00:29:57.740 |
When was the last time somebody was provoked by you? 00:30:01.520 |
See, we can easily fool ourselves to think that we have fellowship because we're surrounded 00:30:11.680 |
And let me ask you, you know, we have friends that we hang out with all the time, right? 00:30:19.240 |
When was the last time you guys sat down and really prayed for each other? 00:30:23.680 |
Not because it was prayer time, not because it was meal time, but because your hunger 00:30:31.000 |
When was the last time that your conversation, your community that you belong to provoked 00:30:38.720 |
And if you can't say that that's how your friendships are described, you're not running 00:30:48.080 |
You have community with those people, but they're not your partners. 00:30:53.820 |
In fact, when you have a lot of Christians where there's no provoking going on, it actually 00:31:00.620 |
does more harm than good because it deceives us to think that fellowship is happening when 00:31:10.720 |
Now, I'm not saying provoking means like we're always examining each other and say, "Hey, 00:31:19.080 |
First and foremost, we need to examine ourselves. 00:31:22.760 |
But our attitude should be in the context of community that we are constantly encouraging 00:31:28.640 |
each other because that's the way God designed it. 00:31:30.400 |
Second Timothy chapter 2, 22-23, "Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, 00:31:35.120 |
faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 00:31:40.880 |
For whatever the reason, we desire true fellowship and provoking when we first become a Christian. 00:31:46.720 |
We look for churches, small groups, mentors, but for whatever the reason, after we've been 00:31:50.920 |
a Christian for a period, we no longer need it. 00:31:57.720 |
I've known this, and we have a tendency to be spiritually lax when it comes to fellowship. 00:32:02.840 |
Well, God designed it that we are to run together, to encourage one another, not only to examine 00:32:09.240 |
ourselves but to encourage other people, to provoke one another as long as it is called 00:32:23.480 |
When he says today, when the Bible oftentimes uses time, it is used as God's ordained period. 00:32:30.640 |
So when he says, "As long as it is called today," this ordained period, when God's calling 00:32:35.680 |
you, His kindness is calling you, that is ordained today. 00:32:43.560 |
If you hear God's voice today, God is being gracious. 00:32:50.200 |
Even when He rebukes, even when He disciplines, it is the grace of God that leads us to repentance. 00:32:56.400 |
Anyone who is outside of the grace of God has no interest in the Word, has no interest 00:33:07.560 |
He doesn't care if his joy does not come from God. 00:33:10.920 |
But those who hear, and that's why Jesus kept on saying, "He who has ears, let him hear." 00:33:16.760 |
That's exactly what it's saying, "If it is called today." 00:33:20.200 |
If God is being gracious today, do not harden your heart with deceitfulness of sin. 00:33:28.760 |
You know this passage, Proverbs 24, 33, 34, "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little 00:33:36.120 |
Then your poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man." 00:33:41.600 |
We oftentimes use that for physical laziness. 00:33:45.040 |
That if you're lazy physically, you're going to have poverty. 00:33:54.960 |
You know, some of us are very diligent when it comes to physical things. 00:33:59.640 |
Go to the gym, work out, eat right, you're great at work, but when it comes to spiritual 00:34:10.240 |
And you see yourself drifting, but it's kind of like, "Heard it and done it." 00:34:14.680 |
And then you allow yourself to continue to drift. 00:34:18.640 |
Even the word for sin, even the word for sin can sound innocuous, hamartion. 00:34:26.640 |
The primary word in the Bible that describes sin is hamartion. 00:34:30.960 |
The word hamartion basically means to miss the mark. 00:34:34.520 |
It doesn't sound that bad because there's other words, wickedness, licentiousness, rebellion, 00:34:41.840 |
I mean, there's plenty of words that describe sin, but the predominant word to describe 00:34:49.960 |
It doesn't sound that bad because hamartion basically sounds like you tried to make an 00:34:55.200 |
effort and you didn't get an A. You didn't get an A. I mean, B is not bad. 00:35:08.240 |
So hamartion doesn't sound that bad, but the reason why hamartion is the primary word for 00:35:13.360 |
sin is because that little deviation from what God has desired is what caused the rebellion. 00:35:22.240 |
That's what caused the sin of mankind to live under the dominion of death. 00:35:29.040 |
And on the surface, it seems like it's just a mistake. 00:35:33.120 |
And that little mistake that we sweep under the rug, that we excuse, is the thing that 00:35:38.440 |
continues to trip us up and ultimately leads to rebellion against God. 00:35:44.400 |
There's a reason why Israel's grumbling against God is used primarily to warn Israel, warn 00:35:59.800 |
Don't use the Lord's name in vain, saying, "Okay, I won't say God whatever anymore." 00:36:08.760 |
And if we're not careful, we can think, like, "Why take care of all of that?" 00:36:15.400 |
All the while, the coveting in our hearts is rampant. 00:36:20.240 |
The discord, the discontent, which is causing all kinds of conflicts. 00:36:26.560 |
And our heart has become so dry and distant from God that the Word of God no longer makes 00:36:33.960 |
All the while, thinking that we're good because we've done this. 00:36:40.080 |
Oh, sorry, it's Jeremiah 17, 9 through 10, says, "The heart is more deceitful than all 00:36:49.600 |
I test the mind, even to give each man according to his ways, according to the results of his 00:36:54.720 |
Now, notice here, he says his heart is sick, but what does God search? 00:37:10.720 |
And it is inward rebellion against God that eventually gets expressed outwardly. 00:37:16.200 |
And that's why he says, "Shawshin," small heart. 00:37:25.680 |
Second Thessalonians 2, 8 through 12, "Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the 00:37:29.160 |
Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his 00:37:34.440 |
That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power 00:37:38.920 |
and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who 00:37:46.800 |
Sin always deceives, no matter how small it is. 00:37:53.120 |
The Bible says that damnation will come to those who live in deception. 00:38:01.280 |
He says, again, "Because they did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved, 00:38:06.040 |
for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence, so that they will believe 00:38:17.840 |
That's how it's described in Romans chapter 1, because they love the darkness. 00:38:25.800 |
They will believe what is false, "in order that they all may be judged who did not believe 00:38:42.920 |
The Christianity that we see in America has drifted so far away that if you are an average 00:38:52.080 |
Christian, you may not know the Lord, if you're not careful. 00:38:59.440 |
We need to know our faith is genuine according to the plumb line, the word of God, not your 00:39:04.520 |
friends, not the community, not this church, and not the leaders. 00:39:13.440 |
That's why he says, third and finally, to persevere, "For we have become partakers of 00:39:18.080 |
Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end." 00:39:22.840 |
When he says, "if we hold fast," he's not saying that salvation is by works, that if 00:39:32.000 |
He says, "If your confession and your assurance that you started with is what you have now, 00:39:39.200 |
and that this assurance, this genuine faith, is what you will have in the future." 00:39:44.200 |
No one can have assurance of salvation based upon ten years ago. 00:39:50.760 |
I had genuine faith then, even though there's no evidence of it today. 00:39:59.120 |
Perseverance is the final test of assurance of salvation. 00:40:05.420 |
And that's why the Bible continues to ask us, demand us, and warns us to examine yourselves. 00:40:13.560 |
And as you examine, to encourage, and in encouraging, to persevere. 00:40:19.380 |
Remember the height from which you had fallen, repent, and redo the things that you did at 00:40:24.800 |
And that is the challenge that you and I are living in. 00:40:28.600 |
You may be the best Christian among your friends, and still be far off from God. 00:40:37.240 |
You may be, you may know the Bible better than anybody else that you know in your life, 00:40:42.680 |
and still be way, way, way from the center of God's will. 00:40:55.340 |
It's to reiterate the warning that is given to us. 00:40:57.560 |
Just like if we went to a doctor and he's examining us carefully, that we do not drift 00:41:02.360 |
toward the world, allowing our hearts, and then eventually, other than the fact that 00:41:08.920 |
we go to church and we're active, there is no true evidence. 00:41:14.560 |
It is impossible to please him without faith, and he who comes to God must first believe 00:41:19.240 |
that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. 00:41:43.320 |
Again, and I know that you've heard this enough, that for many of you, it's old. 00:41:58.120 |
We were there yesterday with the salt and pepper people, and some in their 50s, and 00:42:02.680 |
some about to hit their 60s, and a bunch of them just turning 40s, and you think about 00:42:07.800 |
how quickly the 20s went, and you think about the 30s, it's like, blur, 40, you don't even 00:42:17.720 |
It just goes by so quick, and so I can imagine what the 50s are going to feel like, like 00:42:25.360 |
It goes by so quick that if we're not careful, if we're not anchored in Christ, and we just 00:42:31.720 |
kind of drift along because the current is taking us that direction, you're going to 00:42:36.960 |
find yourself decades later waking up thinking, "What did I do with my life?" 00:42:47.720 |
I pray that every single one of us recognizes what it is that we have in Christ, that we 00:42:53.920 |
would praise Him, love Him, follow Him, and proclaim Him to the best of our ability during