January 19, 2025 - Attentive to the Gospel | Hebrews 2:1-4

Everyone that are with me, doesn't Hebrews chapter 2 that is our passage this morning.

Get this nice thick manuscript for us today. I look back at last week's message. It was 49 minutes. 36 seconds. And who knows where we're going to end up today? I'm just kidding in Spanish.

Hebrews chapter 2, just two. Just remind us about last week, we got through Hebrews chapter 1 and today it's just for versus as opposed to last week's 14 vs, this week's doesn't have a lot of prophetic allusions in it so that will that will certainly Focus us a little bit more. But if you remember last week, what we learned and chapter one was that the message of Christ is greater than that which was given by the Angels. Another words that which was given when the when the law was given at Sinai we learned in Acts and it was Galatians 6 as well maybe Galatians I came to a passage, it wasn't Galatians but we can go back and look obviously that That the law at Sinai the law of Moses was was mediated, meaning deliver to Moses By Angels? And because Christ is greater than it. Usually is an a more excellent. Then there's his message is also more excellent than theirs and so it is a superior message and it shows us the supremacy of Christ and supremacy of Christ over all things it. So Hebrews chapter 2 is building off that you'll notice it starts right out when first one there for. So we're looking at beavers, chapter 2, verses 1, through 4. So we must pay closer. Attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared By Angels, proved to be reliable and every transgression or Disobedience, received a just retribution house, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord and it was a tested To Us by those who heard while also bore Witness by signs and wonders and various Miracles and buy gifts of the holy spirit distributed, according to his will. That's our passage for today, following obviously hard on the heels of chapter 1 Christ is supreme. His message is superior than the Angels is superior than the law of Moses. And therefore, we must pay attention. Let's pray and ask the spirit of God to guide us this morning. Heavenly Father, you are the source of all wisdom and Truth. Lord, Jesus Christ. You are the Living Word, made flesh, and holy spirit. You are a Lord and teacher and guide. We pray this morning that you would open our hearts and minds of the encounter your word that we made. Sure it we might even hear your voice. Understand your will and be transformed by your grace Empower us to live Faithfully in response to your word. As we seek to follow you, we ask all this through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. I meant. So looking at this today, passage at want to just Begin by asking you some basic questions. How often do you pick up your phone to check one notification and end up scrolling for 30 minutes? Never cuz you don't have a phone maybe that but that's the way it works, right? I know you do as a general, lising after I started praying and found yourself planning dinner or mentally rearranging the furniture in the living room. When someone is talking to you, do you find yourself mentally rehearsing, what you're going to say next?

Can you recall a time when you tried to read the Bible and realize you just read the same verse five times without actually understanding it. Have you ever sat in a sermon nodded in agreement and immediately forgotten? What the message was about? As soon as you left no judgment, I agree there's no judgment. We've all been there for that was my greatest fear when I was in my twenties, shake the hand, the pastor wonderful message. Thank you so much faster and my greatest fear was he would ask me what I liked about the sermon. So Microsoft did a study on human attention spans. And so in 2050 and 2000, the human attention span was 15 seconds in 2021. It was eight seconds and just put us on the prospective in the animal kingdom. A goldfish, has an attention span of nine seconds. So we are we have attention spans that are shorter now than a goldfish. Have you ever watched your goldfish? Any fish swimming around in this tank. You realize that's not a very long time at all. How would your life be different if you study the scriptures? The way you studied the stats of your favorite sports teams? It's interesting, right? You know, so and so's batting average or all the different stats, but if I said, you know what, the significance of Galatians chapter to you, you might not feel answer that. What if you spent the same amount of time in prayer or reflection on the gospel that you did on your favorite TV series? Why is it so easy to sit in binge-watched war came out like we were in the season 3 and we have to buy the DVD sets back before things were streamed live on TV and we saw it was like just to play the next one. Why is it that? It's like that for those things but when it comes to prayer, It's a lot different to be. Like, if we removed every distraction, at least the ones within our control, that kept us, from living the life Jesus calls us to live. What would that be like? And I asked you it because I asked you that question, because I think we can imagine it just a little bit what it might be like, until this morning, that are big idea. Comes right off this, that we should remove everything that distracts us from the gospel for this. The faithful message of our salvation. Remove everything that distract you brothers and sisters on the message of the Gospel, where does the faithful message of your salvation? I think that's a good encapsulation of Hebrews, chapter 2, verses, 1 through 4. So let's get right into with right into it, with chapter of, with appointing, a one looking, just at first one alone Hebrews 2:1. It says, therefore I said this in the introduction, just a moment ago because this message came came directly from the Lord himself and is superior to the prophets and angels. The writer of Hebrews who I believe is a policy, says we must that means we are obliged to maybe even less of an obligation. It is a necessity it is necessary that we pay much closer attention to what Christ has set. Another words it is necessary that we are more Earnest and what price is Proclaim to us. You know, I have the Patriots play at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and this place will be 25% lower on Sunday. Field of the priority is set and focus. Their someone's paying much closer attention to the Patriots that day, right? Then they are morning Worship in and hearing God's word and being a part of that and being. In the Lord,

The attentiveness needs to be sincere and it is it is unnecessary attentiveness. We need to be more Earnest to what we have heard. That is the message of the Gospel, the message of our Salvation through the cross, that Jesus proclaimed. And why is it necessary that we pay attention? Because if we do not, we just might drift away from it. It says, at the end of verse 1, So we are called to pay greater attention in a world that is filled with so much distraction in a world, where your attention span is less than a goldfish where my attention span is probably even less than that. If I'm honest. We must pay closer attention. You must be much more sincere and our attentiveness to the message that Christ has preached to us. Because we do not, we just might drift away from it. The image here is somewhere that's within reach of a life, preserver, but is being swept along past it. The message of the Gospel is the life preserver to which, we must fix our eyes on the list. We lose sight, unless we lose sight of it, and be swept past, it is why we do not forsake gathering together, as as the habit of some, of this is why we belong to Bible Fellowship, groups. And bible studies is why we use our gifts to build up the body of Believers in the local church because we are endeavoring not to lose sight of our sure and steady anchor who hold us fast our Lord Jesus Christ know the ebb and flow of the tide pools, hard to keep us from the best news. Anyone could ever hear the Lord himself calls us to pay close attention to be more attentive to the message that he is given. Greater attention is needed from every one of us. It is not getting easier to live for Christ in this world. No matter where we look things, tug against our ability to focus, our attention on the gospel of Christ. And so we need to be more intentional greater attention and attentiveness is required. It is a necessity, might I say it is demanded of us as followers of Christ, the demands of task for projects at work can leave us with little time to remind ourselves of the Gospel. Some workplace culture has can even lead us to prioritize. Success and adopt behaviors, and ways of thinking that are contrary. The gossip to the gospel greater attentiveness is needed at home. When you finally crash at the end of the long day and I have those more frequently now that I would like to admit, you may be tempted to overindulge and binge-watch your favorite TV series because you just do another thing. It's not possible. Maybe you have Financial struggles or frequently fighting with your spouse. Maybe you've discovered, your kids are the bad influence among their friends, the pressures and circumstances of Life compete for our attention to the gospel, no matter where we are or what we face each day, we must pay closer attention. The writer of Hebrews is calling us to account because the world in which they live, had different distractions, had different things, leading them astray. They were, they were no less powerful and the call, then it was no more meaningful than it is. Today, it is of the utmost importance that we have greater attentiveness to the message of the Lord. Because the message that we have heard is the Salvation of the Lord is what he has given. Us is the Salvation of the Lord, is our only hope I want to look at vs24, but what I'm going to do is versus 2 through 4. Does a really interesting thing verse 3 is kind of the hinge on which, maybe two panels of vs2 and for swing on. And so I'm going to start out by looking at the hinge versus 3. But I'm going to walk through verses 2 through 4 twice, one time focusing on verse three and then the second time focusing focusing on.

So the salvation of the Lord is our only only hope and nothing is more important to a believer in Christ than the Lord himself and the message that he has proclaimed to us. There the very words of life, I said it in my prayer this morning that he is the source of our life and he has life in himself. Therefore, he's able to give it to us, Hebrews 22 through. Forces were sent the message, meaning the giving of the law to Moses on syenite, was declared By Angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or Disobedience received a just retribution. How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This is a rhetorical question, it implies a negative answer. How shall we escape? If we neglect such a great salvation? The implication is clear. We will not Escape, you will not Escape. If neglect, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a message of Salvation that is for You. There Is No Escape apart from Jesus Christ. The salvation of and through Christ is our only source of Hope apart from him, no escape from the final judgment is possible. I agree with the Apostle Peter Who wrote in 1st Peter 4:17. He said it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will the outcome for those who do not obey? What will the outcome? What will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? There's a way that we could answer. This is a parallel to this in Luke chapter 19 in the parallels. What pewter saying here in chapter 4 first, Peter judgment, and Luke. 19 begins in the parable of the noble ruler and or the parable of the mine has And Luke 19 begins with a noble, ruler returns to learn of what his servants did with a mine. Has he provided they are judged first and then speaking to those who refused to see him to serve him, excuse me, the noble ruler says, and Luke 19:27, but as for these enemies of mine, they need to find out who those enemies are. They're the ones who did not want me to Reign Over them. Bring them here and slaughter them before me. Now, it sounds like pretty harsh language there, that Jesus is using, but, isn't that what we see in the revelation of John, and me and The Apocalypse of John. We studied finished up late last year. Was it late last year? Last spring? I can't remember what it was, but we just recently finished up 42 sermons on the Book of Revelation. And we saw that there was a lot of judgment going on in that, and the judgment is here as well. It is clear and Luke 19, it is clear and 1st, Peter 4 is as clear. In today's, passage those who neglect, the salvation of the Lord will perish in the Judgment. They will go to Eternal death and Punishment. Acts 4:12 tells us why is because there is no salvation and anyone else, or maybe I'll read the passage the way it's actually written. And there is salvation in no one else, but there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That name is the name of Jesus Christ. His name is more, excellent and higher and more is is a far more Supreme than any other name.

The message of the Gospel, it continues in verse 3 of, Hebrews chapter 2 was declared at first by the Lord and it was a tested To Us by those who heard. Well God, also bore Witness by signs and wonders and various Miracles and buy gifts of the holy spirit distributed according to, as well. Let me remind you of another place where Jesus makes it clear that Salve the Salvation he provides is our only hope, John 14:6 Jesus says to his disciples. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. This is the thing that you can talk to your your friends and in family about Jesus Christ, and they're all happy with you about it. I assume one was talking to you about this recently that they are talking to their family members about Christ. And as soon as they encourage them to put their trust in Christ than their family members start getting angry, And part of the reason. Is that what really rubs against us in? Western culture, is the idea that Jesus is the only way we're all. Okay, well, I'm okay, but the world is okay, with there, being multiple Pathways for salvation with your Hindu, or Muslim War, Hari, Krishna or whatever you are. As long as you do it Faithfully World tells you, then you're going to go to heaven, because God will be faithful to you. But the truth is that there is one way Christians, do not believe there are multiple ways to God. There is one way in which we are saved, and that is through the name of Jesus Christ. He is the way of Salvation exclusively. There's no other hope for us, apart from him.

Where was I? The world offers you hope for your own self justification. If you are a victim, this is so popular today. If you are a victim you find your sense of worth and being marginalized and letting other people know, just how you're suffering. It is not a replacement for True. Redemption, your friends on Facebook will validate you but you remain dead in your sins and in desperate need of a savior. Another way that we find Hope in self-justification by comparing ourselves to others. I'm not as bad as that person, we say. So God must justify me. And we look at especially easy ones like Hitler and Pol Pot. And Mussolini we have all kinds of different but I'm nowhere near that bad so I'm good. But in this, we also remain dead in our sins and we are just as much in need of a savior, is the other guy? Yet another means of trying to save ourselves as through more moral therapeutic, deism. Sadly, this is what most Evangelical parents believe for their children. These days, they reduce the salvation of their children to making good choices. Having a positive, self-esteem and emotional wellness and a general belief. In God, this is not the gospel. That is devoid of the Cross. Their savior is still themselves, and sin is a matter of psychology and not a matter of the heart, and there is no personal responsibility for send before a holy God. Moral therapeutic, deism will not save anyone there just as much in need of a savior as the other guy. Another all-too-common means of self-defense justification is escapism and its many forms turning to substances and addiction to check out from the things in life.

Checking out from the things. Are you in telling us to turn to Christ? We have struggles in this life. Those struggles are intended to turn you to Christ. Not attended to turn to drugs and other addictions.

Relationships were entertainment. Provide endless distraction from the guilt of sin, their addictions, and people turn to those things as well. You cannot escape the Living. God, who is omnipotent? And omnipresent, Jeremiah, 16 17 there. The Lord says my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me. Nor is there a Nick Woody concealed from my eyes, you can escape and you can run but you cannot hide your sin. You cannot hide your heart from the one. Who knows all things. Others put their trust in science with a hope for a future that leads. Showtime where death is finally cured. Want me to trust in the occult and Pagan religions. They put their trust in moralism. Legalism consumerism materialism, you know if you're having a bad day and going shopping makes you feel better. Then you just put your trust in your shopping habit and the joy of spending money and getting something new when you should have placed that trust on the Lord Jesus Christ. So you can find it idles, you can find ways of avoiding the reality. That Christ is the only way.

And God's word is clear, the Salvation proclaimed by the Lord is our only hope and this message that he proclaimed is reliable. The gospel messages of the last Point, you're like, oh, thank God. I can't take it anymore. The gospel message is reliable.

Inverse to Apollo's. Give up, gives the first reason to justify his call for greater attentiveness to the message Jesus proclaims. He says, we're since the message declared By Angels, I just remember the law of Moses. Proved to be reliable. Meaning confirmed Beyond doubt. It is further further Evidence by the true that every transgression or Disobedience received a just retribution. The message given by the Angels proved reliable. The second reason to justify a policy is called to Greater attentiveness to the message of the Gospel. Is it declaration being first by the Lord? It was a testament To Us by those who heard those worthy. Eyewitnesses to Jesus's life. His ministry death and Resurrection. These are the apostles but it could have been view. Even those who are alive and traveling with Jesus that were maybe part of what might be called. The disciples were the discipleship group.

There's forces while. Also bore Witness by signs and wonders, and various Miracles and buy gifts of the holy spirit distributed, according to his will. So apologize, argument is essentially this, we can trust the message of the gospel because the law of Moses proved trustworthy and the message of Jesus is greater than the law of Moses because they are the ones that brought it. And the third reason is that it was verified by the apostles and even more than this because a fourth reason, Jesus's message was confirmed by God, through signs and wonders and miracles and gifts that the Holy Spirit poured out on the church. This is the attestation of God and it is his clear? Sufficient in inerrant word, it'll maybe some seek a more reliable attestation of the reliability of the Gospel apart from scripture, maybe they think that a more trustworthy or unbiased sources out there for them to find. Though, some might see seek or think that a more reliable and trustworthy Source can be found, scripture comes by the ultimate authority of God and that Authority is inherent in his word. John frame said this. He he says, scripture is the word of God, and Only God Can attest the word of God. There is no higher authority, sufficient to a test, God's own authority. But if scripture is his word, The same way, the same may be said of scripture, there is no other authority high enough to a test scripture to prove that it has Authority. So we are able to join with a polished by the authority of God's and by the authority of God and herent in his word and a test. That the gospel is reliable because it is what God has revealed in his word. And you might say that this is a circular argument and you would be absolutely right. But it is necessary for healer argument on the account of the fact that it is the revelation of God. There's no higher authority in the entire Cosmos to which you could appeal. To find a greater Authority. There's nothing, there's nothing else you can turn to God, has revealed his word and has Authority. It is true because he says it's true, and it's true because it's his word is his word because he said, it can get the circular argument but there's no other authority to appeal to we can appeal to God. And we can peel to his word and that is it. History can infer it there in a witness of the spirit in the life of the believer. Confirms it experience. Can discern it. Our minds can reason it. But what makes the gospel reliable is the testimony at a station of God through his word. It is authoritative. Clear, sufficient, inerrant and inspired. 2nd Timothy 3 16 through 17, a firm's us to us even further. It says all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness. That the man of God, may be complete equipped for every good work. The gospel message proclaimed by Christ is reliable because its source is God alone. So what do you what can you do? So that you do not neglect such a great salvation as its proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The first thing I would say is that you should actively engage in the message of Salvation. Through the regular reading of scripture committing to attend Sunday services. In person to hear the word of God, preached and seeking understanding of the good news of Jesus. Christ it is it is it could be a lifetime Pursuit. To say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the message of Salvation is this way more to it, than that, to say that Christ died on the cross and your place and mine forgiveness for the Forgiveness of our sins. That is a great definition. That is probably the minimum definition but it is more than that. Is almost an inexhaustible Pursuit. So I encourage you actively engaged in understanding the gospel, what it is and its implications for your life acknowledge. The second thing is God and how it shows you, how desperately you need a savior, ask the Lord, to search your heart, and repent of your sin because he is faithful and just to forgive you. And unrepentant Believe In Christ and his victory over sin at the cross, Surrender Your self-sufficiency to an all sufficient savior. And do not delay as Paul 7-second repeating six behold. Now is the favorable time behold now is the day of salvation.

you seen in this morning, Passage The critical call to pay closer attention to the message of Salvation that God has graciously provided us and our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. Apollo's warns us of the Peril of spiritual drift a danger as real today as it was then. And just as the current of a river can silently and calmly even pull a boat away from safety, the distractions and demands of Life can cause us to drift from the gospel. If we are not vigilant, But we're not without hope we have hope in this world because of the Salvation. We have in Jesus Christ. It's not just a Salvation that we gain and then lose the Salvation. We have through Christ is secure, it is attested by his life is death. In his resurrection, confirmed by the testimony of the Apostles and validated by the mighty works of God himself. And the gifts of the Spirit, The Salvation is our anchor holding us permits life challenges, but the question remains, Will we respond to the greatness of this salvation or will we neglect it? Will we remove the distractions that pull us away and fix our that Ed pull us away from fixing our eyes on Jesus. To neglect. The Salvation is to miss the greatest gift ever offered. And to drift away is to, is to Forfeit Eternal hope, yet to embrace, it is to find life purpose and the joy of knowing god. And while in this contemporary culture, that sounds like just such a small thing, it is the greatest thing in all the universe. So I heard you today behold now is the favorable time behold now is the day of salvation and with you for the gospel a hundred times or for the first time, do not let this moment pass without responding remove everything that distracts you from the gospel for it is the faithful message of your salvation. It is ours has been given to us by the Lord himself out of love. But it's not neglected. Let's pray. Gracious. Father we thank you for the greatness of the Salvation we have in Jesus. Forgive us for the ways that we have been distracted. For the times, we have drifted. Lord, I pray that you would anchor each and every one of us myself included in your truth and strengthen this by your spirit to live for you more fully today than we did yesterday. More fully tomorrow. Then we do today. Maybe not neglect this gift, but cherish it and Proclaim it for the sake of your kingdom. And in the Name of Christ, Our Savior, and all of God's people said, amen,