Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

For some reason the human brain has a fundamental problem.

The brain is a complex organ.

The brain does so many lifesaving things.

The brain helps doctors save lives.

The brain enables musicians and artists to compose and create stunning and inspiring artwork.

The brain enables engineers to create complex and lifesaving projects.

The brain allows us to think and use our common sense that might not be quite as common as we think that it is!

The brain is important but it has a fundamental problem… Sometimes we get a wire or two crossed in our filing system and we lose our on much needed information.

Our problem is that we often forget things of all shapes and sizes.

Back in 2014 there was a report from the BBC that said this, "A wealthy man has come forward to claim a luxury boat that has been floating in a Swedish harbor for at least two years."

Apparently the boat's Norwegian owner was going to sell the boat a few years ago, and then—oops!

— it just slipped his mind.

The vessel is valued at about $108,000.

Eventually, police issued a Facebook appeal for any information about its owner.

The appeal was picked up by Norwegian media, and the wealthy owner was finally prompted to come forward and claim the luxury boat.

He explained the reason he hasn't used it for two years: He forgot about it.

You and I will probably never be able to forget about a $100,000 item of any shape or size, much less a boat floating at sea, that belongs to us!

That seems like such an expensive and costly possession to simply forget about… Yet, if you’re a Christian you are tempted to forget about the cost of your salvation each and every day.

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the busyness of this life that we fail to remember the victory that has been won for us on the cross of Calvary!

We’re tempted to forget and we’re prone to wander.

What is the solution to this problem?

We need to be reminded daily of what our God has done.

We’re without excuse, we can’t claim ignorance, we know what the Bible tells us… what we all need are people in our lives who are dedicated enough to help encourage us to trust in Jesus and follow Him each day of our lives.

This is one of the reasons why corporate worship matters so much - each time we gather, we worship through fellowship, singing songs, prayer, and the teaching of the Word.

I’m not sure about you, but I look forward to this gathering each week because I leave here feeling encouraged when I worship with my church family!

This is what we need if we’re going to avoid the ever present danger of forgetfulness.

In this second warning passage in Hebrews - Hebrews 3:7-19 - the preacher of Hebrews will address the danger of people seeing the power of God and knowing His faithfulness yet, failing to truly have faith in the God of the Bible.

The warning of forgetting what God has done and what our responsibility is today - to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

Let’s study from God’s Word and be challenged and encouraged this morning.

The reasons that the Israelites had issues entering the land and holding the land is because they failed to remember what their God had done.

Likewise, we will have problems in this life if we fail to remember our God and consider what He has done for sinners!

When we hear His Word but fail to respond to Jesus, the results will be disastrous as we slide into the temptation of unbelief.

See to it today that you do not harden your heart against God’s Word.

Let’s pray and ask Him to open our eyes and hearts to see His Word like never before.

Consequences for Not Considering Jesus: Divine Punishment (7-11)

One of the greatest problems in our world is that people think that they are guaranteed tomorrow and, as a result, put off important things today.

Have you ever done this?

I’ll get to that important thing tomorrow because I have something else to do today.

We have to prioritize things in life because we only have 24 hours each day and believe it or not, we do need sleep!

But there is a temptation to put things off because we have a sense of entitlement about ourselves and our age.

Albert Mohler shared a story once of a guest lecturer who visited his classroom and was talking about Church History, especially in the 1500s-1600s and shared this observation, “Young men will never understand people like Martin Luther because you go to bed every night confident you will wake up healthy in the morning.

In Luther’s day people thought that every day could be their last.

They had no antibiotics, no medicine, sickness and death came swiftly… Luther went to bed terrified as a young man because he recognized that God was holy and he was sinful and he was afraid that one day he’d go to sleep and wake up in hell.”

Friends, the consequence for not considering Jesus today is that you are deserving of eternal punishment from God.

This is the consequence we all deserve and the only hope that we have to avoid such a fate is the righteousness of Jesus Christ being credited to our account by grace through faith.

The only hope that we have to avoid the punishment that we deserve is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ - yet, so many people think that they have more time and they put it off for later down the line.

The preacher of Hebrews shares that if this is you, then today you need to get to business because if you don’t your heart might get hardened just like it did for the ancient Israelites.

Where the Bible speaks, God speaks.

To reject God’s Word is to reject God!

Last week the preacher of Hebrews began comparing and contrasting Jesus and Moses to prove the point that Jesus is the greater deliverer of His people - even greater than Moses.

This week we transition from the deliver of the people to the people who themselves are delivered.

Think about the Israelite people who were led out of Egypt by Moses.

Think of all the ways that God had provided for them.

They were enslaved for 400 years and had grown greatly in number.

They cried out to God for deliverance and God sent Moses to tell Pharoah to let God’s people go.

Pharoah refused because we read that his heart was hardened for a time according to Exodus 7:14… so what does God do?

God demonstrates His presence and His power on behalf of His people.

God sends 9 plagues and the Egyptian people are impacted negatively but the Israelites are unharmed.

Finally, God prepares to send a 10th and final plague but this one is different and He requires the Israelites to do something.

They are required to put blood on the doorpost of their houses so that the Angel of the Lord will passover their house.

Any house without this blood will experience a devastating loss: the loss of their firstborn son.

What happens?

God comes through on His promise and Pharoah’s stance softens and he lets the people go.

God provides for the people in the wilderness as He guides them with a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire.

He provides them with food.

He provides them with materials and animals whenever they left Egypt.

The people get to the Red Sea and they might be tempted to think that God finally dropped the ball and is going to fail them… but God once again comes through and delivers them as they walk across the Red Sea on dry ground and the Egyptian chariots are destroyed.

The people receive the law from God, they worship God in the tabernacle, God provides food and water.

You get the point, don’t you?

God provides for His people!

Yet, whenever the Israelites got to the edge of the promised land they get a little afraid because there were giants in the land that God had promised them.

How absurd is this!?

The Israelites heard God’s promise, yet they rebelled, sinned, were disobedient, and demonstrated unbelief in their God.

The Egyptians were the most powerful people in the world at this time and God led them out of slavery.

God parted the Red Sea.

God gave them food from heaven.

God led them through the wilderness.

He gave them His law and a promise.

Yet, whenever they were on the door of their promised place, they doubt that their God will come through because of the giants in the land!

What a shame - God’s people tested Him instead of trusting in Him!

They saw God do wonderful things for 40 years but they still hardened their hearts and doubted God’s power.

Verse 10 tells us that they always went astray in their hearts.

This wasn’t just a one time occurence where they disobeyed… they disobeyed and they continued to walk in disobedience as they did what was right in their own eyes and hearts.

They saw God move but they didn’t learn from God’s actions.

They didn’t know God’s ways and, as a result, they didn’t truly know God!

The result of rejecting to follow God’s way and learning from God’s Word is a consequence.

For the people of Israel, the punishment they received for not trusting in God was not entering the promised land.

They would wander through the wilderness for 40 more years and an entire generation would die off simply because they failed to trust in God’s power and promise!

There is a consequence whenever we fail to trust in God.

What does that consequence look like in our world?

What did it look like for the audience of the preacher in Hebrews?

If you and I fail to consider Jesus.

If we fail to accept His Word.

If we don’t pay attention to Him and we drift away from Who He is then we too will not enter His rest.

Rest in this passage of Scripture is not sleep - any Sunday afternoon nap fans?

Don’t ask a parent with a young child if they get to enjoy their Sunday afternoon nap because there is no such thing as rest in that season of life!

Naps are great!

Rest is wonderful for our health!

But the rest that God promises His people is not so much a place as it is a person.