Do Not Drift

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to Hebrews chapter 2 and now that we have gone through Hebrews chapter 1 I'm excited to open up chapter 2 to us today and the title to today's message is Do Not Drift. Do not drift and this is an important message for you to listen for yourself. So do not let yourself listen to today's message for someone else, which is the habit of some. It's easy to think of other people and wish they would have heard this message. They would have benefited from it. No, no, no, no, no listen for your own benefit. We're all guilty of that sometimes and so do not drift. Today's message I'll read to you Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 through 4 here in just a moment and by way of introduction, opening up chapter 2 we're going to see an explanation of the purpose of his writing. The writing of Hebrews has a purpose and he opens up with this warning.

Now the Christians have buckled under trials rather than bucking up and remaining bold in the faith. We need to make sure that we do not drift from Christ under trial and buckle in our faith. We need to remain bold. They've folded rather than remained faithful and they have also drifted rather than being disciplined in their faith and so now this letter is to reestablish their diminished faith. They are retreating rather than striving forward and now their instability can be exchanged for stability. This is the purpose behind why Hebrews has been written not only to establish the fact that Christ is better. Christ is better and He's more superior than the law. He's more superior than angels, more superior than Moses, more superior than all of the priests combined. He's more superior than the old covenant and He's more superior than the tabernacle and He is most certainly superior over our life. That is an overarching conception of what Hebrews says.

And now as we dive into some of the push behind the scenes I want you to know that the author today is telling these drifting Christians to stop it, get back into your faithfulness in Christ and continue in the Word. And so Christ in is going to be emboldened inside of their hearts and minds. They're going to have their faith re-firmed or reestablished. It's going to take some sound doctrine in the text today. It's going to take some common logic as well like drifting is not beneficial. It's actually depressing. It's going to take some reminding. The text is going to tell the audience I've heard this before and then it's going to take not only some reminding but some comparisons. He's comparison Christ to angels and then even perhaps a threat of being punished because of drifting. There's a penalty involved with this.

And so if you would read with me in Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 through 4 and let's take a close look at the text together. It says in Hebrews 2:1 For this reason, now the reason that has been established is that Christ is better. Period. Fill in the blank. And as the author goes through all the different reasons throughout the entire book of Hebrews. The main idea here is Christ is better and He is better. Since this is the case we must pay much closer attention. And so for this reason that Christ is better, we must. The idea behind must here is actually that you owe. So you are indebted and you must pay. And so for this reason we must pay and so on your account there needs to be a reduction. You must pay and so something is reducing and something like Christ is increasing. You must pay much closer attention to what we have heard. This word attention is going to help us to understand that we must give heed. That we must really heed what is being said. And so all of who we are needs to come into alignment and heed these warnings. And so for this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard.

And at this point you should ask what was heard. Well from the Hebrew ears, if you are thinking culturally for the audience of the Hebrews, the Hebrews would have heard this word here in connection to their commonly known Shema in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4 is the Shema. It says Hear O Israel the Lord is one and so Hear O Israel the Lord is one and commanded to love Him with all of your heart and soul mind and strength. This is what they would have heard when the word hear is said. And so they are according to Hebrew thought to pay very close attention. And to truly hear means not only just to listen but it also means to obey. And so the Shema is not just a calling to know that God is one. But it is also to obey in that you love Him with all of your heart and all of your soul and all of your might. You see we don't have this distinction. We somehow have a distinction in the English language that listening is one thing and obeying is another. But it's one concept in Hebrew and so hearing with the ears. Yes, but the Hebrew idea is obedience. To hear in Hebrew is to heed and that in this text is very evident to them. And so when they hear this they're hearing not just understand that you need to pay attention but they are hearing that they must do something as well. And so this is hearing and heeding in verse 1.

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard. Now what has been heard? Well, it is the Gospel in chapter 1 that has been established through the Lord Jesus Christ in Chapter 1 verse 1. God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets and in many portions and in many ways in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son and whom He appointed heir of all things. Through whom also He made the world and He is the radiance of His glory in the exact representation of His nature. This is the deity of Christ and He upholds all things by the Word of His power. And when He had made purification for sins. That's the crucifixion, the death and burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He had made purification for sins He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And so now His work on the cross is finished and it is done and He is on throne ruling and reigning and so now you have the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as what has been heard. Okay, this what's been heard. And so we got to pay close attention to that and so that we do not drift away from it. Don't drift away from the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not drift away from Jesus Christ.

For verse 2 for if the Word spoken through angels provided proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty. How will we escape? This is referring to the law being delivered to the people through angels. In Galatians chapter 3 verse 19 it testifies to the fact that the angels delivered the law. And so God used His angels as a means to be able to deliver the Old Testament law and this has been delivered and this has been proved unalterable. Obviously God's Word is solid. It's stable. It's unalterable. It's perfect and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty. How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation after it was at the time first spoken through the Lord. It was confirmed to us by those who heard. So now let me walk through this a little bit slower with you.

In verse 3 you have a question. How will you escape? This is sometimes you can look at maybe building a case in Scripture. Here is a stacked case for a just penalty. If you drift away from Christ and it's rather sobering when you really see it and so walk with me through verse 3. How will you escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Okay the salvation in Jesus Christ. Alright, after it was first spoken through the Lord. Okay, so the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken. Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1, 2, and 3 He has spoken through His Word. Now He can through His Son you have this case. It's delivered to you. Okay, and then is also confirmed to us by those who heard. Who was it that those who heard? Well the apostles are the eyewitnesses perhaps that are referenced here in the text. And so now you not only have Jesus Christ who is delivering His Word, but you also have eye witnesses who have heard. In verse 4 and then now you have God. God also testifying with them. So now you have another stacked element. God plus the eyewitnesses the apostles plus the Lord Jesus Christ now adding to this case. Both by signs another element and wonders another element and by various miracles another element testifying and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will and so here in the text you have Jesus plus the apostles plus God plus the signs plus the wonders plus the miracles and plus the gifts that have been distributed by the Holy Spirit all of these are the Gospel has been delivered to the people in all of these ways and just one is enough to condemn you. Just one is enough to seal the case to make sure that you have a just penalty. So this is the case of the Gospel. So this is rather stern when it comes to this warning.

And so how will you escape or how will you be saved from God repaying you a just penalty if you drift away from His Son, how will you escape? You have all of this stacked against you. So this is a warning. It's very important for us to realize in the first person, think of this sermon today in your life especially in the first person. In the first person, in the first person, in the first person, in the first person, in the first person. Today in your life, especially going through the next year. How will I remain faithful to Christ and not drift away from Him in His Word? Hear this but hear this in a way that you do not drift. This is supremely important and so do not drift. The title for today's message point number one do not drift. Pretty simple. But let's work on it today on how not to drift and so this is encouragement to continue in Christ and it's a main idea found in Hebrew. And so I want you to make sure that you do not ever slip and fall away from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And before we get going just by way of understanding I want to trace this theme through the entire book of Hebrews and I'm not going to account to you every point for which we are encouraged not to drift away from Jesus but I'm just going to rattle off just a few to show you that the scope of this idea of not drifting away from Jesus is all the way through the 13 chapters in Hebrews. In chapter 2 verse 1 we've read already to not drift, don't drift away from Christ. In chapter 3 verse 12 do not fall away or depart from God. In chapter 3 verse 13 do not be hardened against God, don't let your heart be hardened against the Lord. In chapter 6 verse 18 take hold of the hope that is in Christ. And then in chapter 10 verse 25 keep assembling together. These encouragements to stay in the fold keep worshiping as an assembly. Remain faithful to worship God together as a church. And not only that in chapter 12 verse 3 do not grow weary. We are to work really hard and making sure that we do not respond to our feeble feelings and that we focus on the Word of God and remain faithful and not allow ourselves to grow weary. And so yes, you are to remain faithful even while you're weary because we have a God who's in control and we're pressing forward and we discipline ourselves for the purposes of godliness.

In chapter 12 and verse 5 it says don't faint from God's discipline and so God as a faithful Father will discipline His children when they need to be disciplined. None of us are perfect. We're all going to get out of alignment once in a while and God will correct us. Hopefully you yield to the curved part of the staff that can lovingly correct you and if you don't God also has the rod. So the rod and the staff are built in to be able to shepherd us as sheep in God's way. He can do those things and so don't faint underneath God's discipline if He has to strike you with the rod. Don't faint if He has to guide you, don't be shattered. Just be guided by God. In chapter 3 verse 9 don't believe the bad doctrines, don't believe bad doctrines. Don't believe that we're to continue in the faith and not drift away from solid doctrine. In chapter 13 and verse 9 be strengthened by the grace of God and then in chapter 13 and verse 15 keep praising God and then in chapter 13 verse 16 keep loving one another.

Our fervent love for one another is to be one that is you put it into action and it's to be passionate love. We're to meet one another's needs, help one another. We got to get outside of ourselves and get inside of other people's lives and be hospitable and be loving and be kind and might I say as well that road goes both ways. You have to accept people's love and can't be independent. You really truly have to let people in. The church has to be the church and so the Holy Spirit of God has gifted each of you uniquely and not any of us have all of the gifts and the reason why God has designed it that way is so that we will meet one another's needs and this promotes the unity and we meet one another's needs both physically and spiritually and emotionally and mentally. All of these wonderful things happen but you have to let people in and then you have to also give and serve and so do these things. Keep loving one another. Chapter 13 verse 16 and then as well chapter 13 and verse 18. Submit to those who oversee your soul. This is part of being a member of a local church. God has ordained elders to be the ones who will give an account for your soul and so your job is to submit to the eldership and the eldership's job is to make sure they do the best they possibly can because they're going to give an account at the end of the day for the sheep to the Lord.

And so this is a theme that runs all the way through Hebrews on do not drift. You know the Colossians were faced with similar threats of drifting from Judaism. They were faced with the theological ideas of Jewish circumcision. They were also faced with human tradition even Sabbath observance, food regulations, festival participations, angel worship, recidivism. All of this was kind of wrapped up in this idea called Gnosticism that would be reaching its tentacles into the church at Colossae. And the same is true for every church. There's going to be heresies. They're not new. They're just repackaged in every way trying to creep in. But the admonition here is do not drift. Don't get away from the Bible or anything that will take you away from a pure and simple faith in Jesus Christ.

Let me tell you if you're always craving the next thing that's new you'll fall for a heresy. If you're not satisfied with Christ, then you will easily fall into some big fad that's happening. Let me tell you just walk with Jesus. Be consistent in your faith and don't drift off of that path. It's not a mundane faith. It is the faithfulness of walking that yields the results. If you're trying to run, maybe you'll fall. If you don't walk and you're stubborn if you go to the left or to the right maybe you're falling for something that's creeping into the church. We just continue in the Word of God. Do not drift.

You know, I call it cattywampus sometimes if we get away from Christ you get a little sideways we get cattywampus. That's a good old-fashioned word. Some of you like my old words like this last time we kind of talked about being whacked and some weeks before that skedaddle and in some weeks before that we talked about being bamboozled. These are good words and we live in a day where good words are going by the wayside and we're not using and learning these good words. I want to encourage you to utilize this good word from the 1800s and think of yourself saying straight with Jesus and walking with Christ and not getting sideways with Christ, not getting cattywampus.

Okay sheep that get cattywampus tend to kind of hold things up and they, they, they, veer off the path and this simply just means to get out of sorts. You're getting out of sorts. Don't get out of sorts with the Lord. Don't get cattywampus with Christ. Stay in alignment with Christ, be humble, be a follower of Christ. Submit to His ways and His Word and don't get cattywampus. Don't allow pride to creep in. Don't become an individual that separates yourself from Christ, from this fold and so in verse one this instruction starts off with do not. For this reason was make closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not. In the Greek this means not ever.

Don't ever get cattywampus with Christ. Don't ever get sideways with Jesus. Don't ever stray away from the Word. Don't ever do that. This speaks of your foundational commitment to the Word of God and to Christ. Acts chapter 5 and verse 29 leans on this foundation, this foundational commitment. In Acts chapter 5 if you would turn there I want you to see this resolve. We all need inner resolve. And if you wait until the battle to develop your resolve guess what will not be there? Your resolve. Resolve starts before the battles. Your foundation being developed starts before the battle. Your faith being strengthened needs to be strengthened before the battle.

In Acts chapter 5 and verse 29, Peter and the apostles answered. We must obey God. You see their resolve. We must obey God and as they have already resolved in their heart and soul that they're going to obey God rather than men whether it be the traditions of men, whether it be circumcision, would be asceticism, whether it be angel worship, whether it be adherence to the Old Testament law over the Lord. Whatever the case may be they've already resolved in their heart to be able to say no and no to mankind or worldliness and yes to staying strong in Christ.

Now in verse 39 the Bible says but if it is of God you will not be able to overthrow them or else you may be even found fighting against God. Your strength is the foundation that you have in God and even when enemies come up against you they will be fighting against God. When you are on your foundation in Christ you need not to get in the flesh and fight and you need not to worry you just simply remain faithful. Don't drift away from Christ. Do not get off of your foundation, especially getting off of your foundation in Christ to perhaps fight with them in the area of maybe psychology or the areas, you know that that they would have the definitions defined. You stay on your biblical worldview and remain faithful to Christ. Promise you it'll be just fine when you do that. The opposition will be found fighting against the Lord.

Now this is the advice from Gamaliel a rabbi and he told them I don't persecute these guys because if they are walking with the Lord you're going to find yourself fighting against the Lord. That was good advice. But I'm saying to us today the same advice. Just stay on your foundation of faith. Remain faithful. If you are with God, no one can overthrow what God wants to do. So do not drift. Do not fall away from this foundation. This is instruction. It's a command now. This word drift, do not drift in the Greek. It conveys the idea of gliding. It's almost like as if you were paddling upstream but now you have put your paddle down and you're just drifting, you're just gliding. The worldly circumstances are taking you downhill so you're flowing downstream. You're not swimming anymore. You're not striving for Christ.

You know that Christianity is not a drifting downstream. We're not going with the worldly flow here. We are really truly training our minds in righteousness. We're training our character in righteousness. We're striving against the world. We are truly working hard in this. See this idea drift means also to slip, to slip downward, not to strive upward any longer. Might I add this to you who you hang around obviously makes a big difference as to who you become. You really need good strong believers in your inner circle and you need good strong believers around you and your family and your friends. This impacts you. This helps you to stay striving in the right direction, but if you surround yourself with a lot of those who are lost then eventually they will impact you. Nobody is above this. I don't care if, if, you're a pastor or if you're a person. You're a prayer warrior doesn't matter who you are. Bad company corrupts good character. First Corinthians 15:33 says so. And so you need to obey the Bible and remain close inside of a flock and remain close inside of Christ in His Words that you do not drift.

Christ is given these things for our own safety. Oftentimes it's a shame. I see it all the time. I tremble at this when I see our young ones go off to college. It's, it's, it's, a trepidatious feeling inside of my soul because I know they're going to be away from their home church. They may not find another church. They may not have the same circle of friends and accountability. They may get away from reading their Bible. They may get out of their Bible study group. They may they may not be in their in the routine and then over time they start to drift. It's terrible. It's harsh on people who love them in the church. You don't want people to end up pregnant. You don't want people to end up ruining their lives.

Young people can make decisions so quickly. So quickly that'll affect them for the rest of their lives. And so listen to me you have to make sure that you do not drift. These things are for you today. Take charge in this area textually. The one drifting is no longer listening. Look with me back in Hebrew so I want you to see this for yourself. If you're drifting you're not listening because the Hebrew idea for listening or hearing is to listen and obey. And so you're no longer obeying. You're no longer striving. For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift.

If you're paying attention if you're obeying what you have heard you're not drifting. But if you're drifting you're no longer listening. You're no longer listening to the Word of God. You're no longer listening to your inner circle of a family and friends who have your faith in mind. You're no longer obeying Christ. You're drifting and you're going to see in the text today that this comes with a very severe penalty. The penalties are not defined. Okay but the penalties I promise you are more than you would ever be willing to pay.

If you could look into your own future and say I'm willing to do this sin because of how fun it is. I'm willing to do that. Well, if you could see just a little bit farther how much you would actually have to pay for those sinful actions, I guarantee you'd stop in your tracks and you would never go down that road. I'm telling you the payment for your sin is more severe than you would ever be willing to pay. And you have to buy faith, believe that and discipline yourself now so that you'll fall into Satan's traps. And so textually the one who is drifting is no longer listening to what they have heard about the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Drifters are paying attention and listening to something other than the foundation they've learned in their faith. Listen to me. Every time I pick up in conversation of something that isn't quite right, every time I pick up on something that compromises their foundation of faith, every time I get just a just a little inkling of perhaps it's I don't know evolutionary theory or just an inkling of philosophy from the world just an inkling of you know tolerating sin just a little compromise. You know where it's the source is? It's nine times out of ten. It's something they're listening to. It starts with a podcast starts with a movie starts with friends. It starts in the ears and works its way down and becomes part of who they are and then they live it out.

Listen and obey Jesus. The Word of God so the Israelites their eyes. They started looking more at the angels rather than the one who created the angels all the way through Hebrews their minds. They started to drift and think more about the angels than they did about Christ. Their hearts felt and their emotions longed and they loved more for angels than they did for Christ and Israel's heart they drifted towards angelology or the doctrine of angels and thinking more about them.

Listen if you take your concordance and you look up the word angels, you're going to see pages and pages of how God used angels all throughout the Bible, Old Testament, New Testament. You name it angels have been used over and over and over and over and over again. Powerful they are. They're God's messengers and means their servants. But when you set your heart and your mind on something other than Christ and Christ alone, He sets your affections. When you drift just a little bit. Let me tell you that's dangerous ground. It's dangerous ground.

And the book of Hebrews is going to go through more than just angels. It's going to go through all kinds of other subjects we've named already. You know the first theologian and pastor to write commentary on the entire Bible was John Gill and he was by all estimations a Hebrew expert and he says that they heard these Gospel truths preached to him and they even heard these Gospel truths by those who saw Christ in person. And to hear it in Hebrew culturally means to apply it and so I've done my own research but trusted scholars also verify that this what I'm saying to you today is true.

If you hear and listen, then you're right with Christ. But just to hear and to not listen or obey it then you're not right with Christ. You're drifting and by the end of today's message you're going to see that this is a very dangerous place because it brings a due penalty. So pay attention. Pay attention to what you have heard. You've all heard the Gospel. You've all read the Gospel. You've all had this said to you in this phrase. Pay attention is in the superlative degree.

There's no greater revelation than what you have received and you know now you have no greater responsibility than to obey Jesus Christ. So do not be an unprofitable hearer. Be profitable and be humble here with intentions to heed. Hear the Word preached. Hear the the Word as you read it with intentions to personally obey it. Don't hear it thinking about someone else. Boy they would really do well to listen to this message or they would really do well to read this verse. Don't hear for others. Be a profitable hearer with intentions to obey what you're learning right away.

In this text there is what's commonly understood as a metaphor of leaky vessels. Leaky vessels. This is the metaphor thought to be used here by the author and so do not let valuable content just leak through you and fall to the ground and be wasted instead. Strain the content be a good Berean believer. Take in the content strain it refine it and apply it to your life and then you will be one who is a profitable hearer.

So point number one is do not drift. Point number two is drifting has penalties. Drifting has penalties. In verse number two it says for if the Word spoken through angels proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty a payment. How will we escape? In Acts chapter seven in verse 53 it records Israel's prior disobedience to the law even though the law was given to them by angels it was ordained by angels and then in verse 51 it accurately calls Israel stiff-necked, uncircumcised which is to be unsaved.

And so the imagery here for one who disobeys the law that was delivered by angels is being stiff-necked, being stubborn and being even unsaved. In verse 52 it accurately calls Israel persecutors of the prophets and so if we do not listen to what the prophet said we're actually persecuting them or betrayers of them and we're murderers and we're disobedient to God's law. In Acts chapter seven in verses 51 to 60 I want to read it to you so that you get the idea yourself.

In Acts chapter seven and verse 51 and following it says you men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who were previously announced the coming of the righteous one whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You who received the law ordained by angels and yet did not keep it. Now when they heard this they were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and he said behold I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

But they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse and when they had driven him out of the city they began stoning him and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of the young man named Saul and they went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said Lord Jesus received my spirit and then falling on his knees he cried out with a loud voice Lord. Do not hold the sin against them. Having said this he fell asleep.

You know, it's not uncommon for the false religious crowd to accuse and attack the righteous. It's very common. Steven was stoned by those who were in sin and rebelling against the Word of God, the very ones who were proclaiming to be right with God and following the law. It was stoned by them and so nothing has really changed. Most often the one representing righteousness today often gets rebuked or even attacked with stones, sometimes verbal emotional stones. And so nothing has changed. And so the admonition here today in the text is don't be that. Don't drift away from Jesus. Don't drift away from the Word of God. Don't become so pious in your own estimation so prideful and I walk with God beat my chest like I know what's right.

You know, the Hebrews would stand up in Jerusalem and on a clear day see all the way to Lebanon and point at the snow-covered mountains in Lebanon and it would pridefully say My heart is as pure as the snow-capped mountains in Lebanon and that wasn't true. It wasn't true. They weren't right with Jesus. They weren't right with the Lord. And if we think that we're ever above reproach forever not able to be corrected we're not able to be humble before the Lord you could drift into being such. Oh don't drift from the Lord. It's not wise. Proverbs 18:1 says he who separates himself seeks his own desire. It's not wise. Don't separate yourself from the Word of God. Don't separate yourself from eldership. Don't separate yourself from your Bible study group. Separate yourself from the flock. Separate yourself from Christians. Swim in this life. Be one who is striving upstream. Keep rowing.

Keep doing just because we take blows in this world so what. Just because we go through these little things in life called sufferings, you know, it's granted, right? You know, it's granted not just that you would believe but that you would suffer. Read your Bible. Philippians chapter one verse 29 is granted God grants you not only the ability to believe and to be saved but also what comes with that is sufferings. And so who of us would run from our sufferings? Get cattywampus with Christ who run away from him get sideways with the Lord. Don't do that. That's unwise. Don't separate yourself.

And as well the opposite is true. Desiring God is wise. Running with Him. Proverbs 18:10 says the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe. It's wise to run with the Lord Jesus. Jesus didn't make it easy on His disciples to run with Him and nor is Christianity easy today. Designed to be difficult the cost of discipleship is a real thing and this is not easy believeism. The Bible is preaching and so seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and keep seeking the kingdom of God in His righteousness and purpose yourself to seek first the kingdom of God in His righteousness. That's Matthew 6:33. It's got to be memorized. It's got to be resolved inside of your heart to continue in Christ no matter what.

People aren't perfect. The church is not going to remain perfect at all times. We enjoy such a wonderful season of unity now, but it's not to say that troublesome waters might come. But it's okay. Continue in Christ. You just do what you know is right and the Lord will handle the rest. I want you to be ready to do every good deed. Titus chapter 3 verse 1 says so be ready for every good deed. If there's an opportunity to do something good especially when it comes to being hospitable or serving your brother or serving the church then do it. Be ready for every good deed. Titus 3:1 and then in Second Timothy 4 or 5 it says to be sober and all things and endure hardship. Endure hardship, you know that you're called to endure hardship as a good Christian soldier.

You view yourself as a Christian. You simultaneously need to read to have an estimation inside of your heart and soul that you are a Christian soldier and no soldier thinks that it's never going to get shot at. No soldier thinks he's going to get through this war-like life without having a grenade thrown at them. No, no soldier has this euphoric utopian false view of Christianity. And so don't drift away from Christ even when hardships happen. You're granted not only to believe but also to suffer. So continue in the things that you have learned. Second Timothy 3:14 says continue in the things that you have learned. First Corinthians 15:58 says be steadfast, be unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

And so we discipline ourselves to do what's right and we do not drift no matter what happens. First Timothy 4:7 says to discipline yourself for the purposes of godliness. First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 13 and following says live in peace with one another. We urge you brethren. Admonish the unruly. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one repays one another with evil for evil. But always seek after that which is good for one another and for people. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing and everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. First Thessalonians 5:14 to 18.

And my last point is this that neglecting Christ is a great offense. Point number three neglecting Christ is a great offense. Your salvation. It's great. Jesus Christ. Great. The Holy Spirit and His gifts to you. Great. The prophet's. Great. The eyewitnesses the apostles. Great. The law delivered by the angels. Great. All of this makes it that if you drift away from all of these great things then it means that you have created that you have made a great offense which comes with a great penalty.

So the salvation was great thus their neglect is great and shameful. Their neglect of the Word and of the things that they have heard was a further condemnation because of all of these things stacked. Now you think to yourself. What are the angels? Why was it such a big deal for angels in Hebrews chapter one? Well, not only did God use angels to deliver the law to Mount Sinai, but also there was ten thousand holy angels from God that delivered the Word in Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 2. There's an unnumbered amount of angels that are amazing and now Christ is better than all of these angels. So how much more binding is the Word of Christ? Hebrews chapter one and verses one and two has moved from the Old Testament law to the New Testament Lord. How much greater now that you have the Lord Jesus Christ? How much greater of an offense is it to fall away from Jesus and so therefore neglecting Christ is a great offense.

Back in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 4 it says also. So God also condemns drifting because of all of these signs and wonders and miracles and gifts and this is an allusion to Exodus chapter 7 verses 3 through 5 when Pharaoh didn't listen. Pharaoh didn't listen. He did not obey. God was reaching him and he refused. Don't drift toward being like Pharaoh.

Take home truths for you as I wrap up today. Number one is that drifting is of great danger. Drifting is of great danger. The Gospel is great. The author of the Gospel is great. The cost of the Gospel is great the countless confirmations of it are great. The promises of the Gospel are great. The price of it is great and the difficulties in getting it to you are great. Think of those who sacrificially served and delivered Gospel tracts and preached the Gospel to you. Think of the effort that has gone into it's been great. And time is valuable and all of the effort now the great amount of effort that has come to spread in the Gospel. Therefore all of this greatness means that drifting from Jesus the great Shepherd is to reduce all of this greatness by your actions.

It is to reduce the greatness of the Gospel to drift from Jesus is to care less about the cost that Christ paid for the Gospel. To ignore the promises of the Gospel. If you're drifting you're ignoring and if you're drifting it's also to despise the blood that was shed on the cross which comes with not only a great offense, but a great price. How can you escape such, such a payment unto you a just payment of punishment. And so drifting is a great danger. And so this is a strict warning for Christians. Do not drift because our actions really do matter. Our words carry a lot of weight. Don't drift in word or indeed.

Point number two heed the Holy Scriptures and we talked about how this word heed means to attend to, to be diligent in to take heed to, to be active in it. This also means to retain what we've heard and so you can't just be a hearer and then a forgetter. You need to know yourself in such a way that when you hear something that's valuable, you need to know how to retain it. There are those in Psalm chapter 78 that were so foolish in that they heard and knew the Gospel and did not teach their children nor their grandchildren.

I want you to listen to Psalm 78 verses 1 to 10. Listen, this is the same word. Here in Hebrew it means to listen and obey and so the author of this particular Psalm is calling Israel to turn your ears and the word picture is actually like a hook in the ear or a hook in the nose. It's being pulled pulling their attention. Hear, O Israel. My people this instruction incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old. The reason why they're dark sayings of old is because they are in the dark. They have not heard them. They have not been being repeated anymore. But he's going to utter his mouth in these same parables that need to be heralded the explanation of who God is and how they can be saved.

In verse 3 of Psalm 78 we have heard and known and our fathers have told us but we will not conceal them from their children. But tell them to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel which He commanded our fathers that they should teach their children and teach their children and their children. But the generation to come might know even the children yet to be unborn that they may arise and tell them to their children and that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God. But keep His commandments and not be like their fathers a stubborn and rebellious generation a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God. The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows and yet they turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law.

Psalm 78 gives the illustration of Ephraim and these. This tribe though they were equipped with bows though they had what it took to go into battle they turned like turkeys and ran. They weren't bold. They were feeble in their faith. They weren't prepared. They weren't teaching their children about God. They weren't standing for His righteousness and it showed up on the day of battle because they ran and you see that this tribe is no more. They did not keep the law of the Lord and they did not tell their children the Gospel and so every father here is responsible to teach their children about God and the rest of all of Psalm 78 recounts the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea in the wilderness experience because of their stubbornness.

If they would have not been so stubborn, they would not have had to have been in the wilderness for so long. And so for you if you stay with Christ you won't have to be in the wilderness very long. You can learn from the wilderness. You can mature from the trials in life. God will see you through and the things that come against you can help you and not harm you if you're walking with the Lord. This is important to heed the Scriptures. Psalm 78 is an example of those who did not heed the Scriptures and now my last point is this.

Moderate your pace. Thing is very important for us especially as we're looking at a new year to moderate our pace. Keep a moderate pace in life. We're called to walk with Christ. We're called to walk and we can walk a whole lot farther than we can run. And a lot of times in a busy season of running the rat race of life we have so many things back to back to back. You got Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas New Year's Valentine St. Patrick Mother's Day Fourth of July and finish day. And the events and the things just kind of go and go and go and go and go.

And if you are caught up in the rat race of life and going from one thing to the next next to the next I'm not sure if in your spirit you're walking with Christ. If we're constantly reacting to the tyranny of the urgency then how can we do what's most important if we're constantly reacting? You see our American culture is almost custom designed by Satan to make you drift to keep you away from what's most important. And so you have to discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness and the reason why we talked about calendaring Christ a few Sundays ago is because we need to put on our calendar the things that are going to add up for godliness.

How are we going to memorize Scripture? How are we going to worship Jesus? How are we going to learn in our Bible study groups? How are we going to become a teacher of the Word of God and not just a learner? How are we going to mature in our faith? Ask the right questions and get your life going in the right direction. Therefore you will not drift. But if you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time. But if you're aiming at maturing in righteousness and maturing in Christ and fathers and mothers are are taking this life and they're saying this is what we're going to do.

We are Christians. We're going to row in this direction and yes, it means saying no to a lot of good things because there are distractions to the great things. And so being busy sometimes as being too busy. I'm just reminded as well that Jesus walked everywhere He went and He got everything accomplished that God had for Him to do. And the same for you in your life. If you walk with Christ and take it slow and make right choices and discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness, guarantee you that everything that God has for you as His will for your life will happen. You just walk with Him. Don't drift. Stay close to Christ.

If you know this is true for your life praise God. If you do not know Christ I'm telling you you need Jesus. Do not harden your hearts against Him. Respond to the Gospel call to repent and believe the Gospel. If you do not know Jesus personally if he's not saved you I want you to repent of your sin. Repent of your adulteries. Repent of your adulteries. Repent of everything and just turn your position towards Jesus and run to Jesus. He's saying to you come to me all you who are heavy laden and heavy laden means that you're burdened and weighed down by the things of this world the insufficiencies of this world are just robbing you of your joy and your soul is heavy.

If you need rest in Christ run to Jesus. Repent and turn and confess your sins and believe in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross in your place. You see for Christians there's a penalty for drifting away from Jesus. But for non-Christians or not being in Christ there's an eternal penalty of being in Hell forever. Jesus doesn't want that. God doesn't want that. He wishes that every man would repent and believe the Gospel and I pray that you would as well.

Let's pray together. Lord, thank You so much. We believe Your Word is true and we want to be disciplined so that we do not drift especially this upcoming year. May we develop the resolve inside of us to be purposed in our heart not to fall away from You in any way and in fact look up the real things that make for us godly people. We want to be honoring to You Lord. We love You so much. Thank You for Hebrews and what it means to us and how it's encouraging us in our faith. We pray for our loved ones that You would help them as well. We pray for our friends and our neighbors and those who were lost around us here Jesus. I pray that those who have never tasted Your goodness and followed You that they would that they forsake all the worldliness around them and turn from their wicked ways and believe that You died on the cross and rose again for those who repent of their sins and place their faith and trust in You. Believe the Gospel and be saved. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.