Greater - Sermon 3 - Logos Sermons

GREATER

SERMON 3

THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING

OR

BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER, BELIEVERS SHOULD STRIVE FOR MATURITY

INTRODUCTION:

I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO TAKE YOUR COPY OF GOD’S WORD AND TURN WITH ME TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS, CHAPTER 5.

THE TITLE OF THE SERIES THAT WE ARE IN IS “GREATER” AND THIS MORNING, I WANT TO PREACH ON THE TOPIC, BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER, BELIEVERS SHOULD STRIVE FOR MATURITY.

AN ALTERNATE TITLE FOR THE SERMON MIGHT BE “THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING.”

SO LET’S READ VERSES 11 THROUGH 14 AND SPEND OUR TIME TALKING ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY.

READ

PRAY

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION ABOUT SOMETHING, AND HAD TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS…

IF I TRIED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU, YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND…

THIS IS KIND OF HOW THE WRITER OF HEBREWS IS TALKING TO HIS AUDIENCE HERE.

IN VERSES 1 THROUGH 10, HE IS EXPLAINING THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS TO THESE BELIEVERS, BUT THEN HE PAUSES, BECAUSE HE REALIZES SOMETHING ABOUT HIS AUDIENCE…

HE REALIZES THAT THEY ARE UNWILLING TO MATURE SPIRITUALLY.

DID YOU GET THAT?

HE REALIZES THAT THEY ARE UNWILLING TO MATURE SPIRITUALLY…

LISTEN TO WHAT ONE PREACHER SAYS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM…

SO WHY IS IT, IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AS IN THE FIRST, THAT SO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE NOT ONLY EAGER TO STAY WITH A DIET OF MILK, BUT ACTUALLY GET CROSS AT THE SUGGESTION THAT THEY SHOULD BE EATING SOMETHING MORE SUBSTANTIAL?

THIS IS A QUESTION THAT HAS PUZZLED AND BOTHERED ME FOR YEARS. IN MY OWN COUNTRY I MEET A SETTLED PREJUDICE, EVEN AMONG PEOPLE WHO ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT IN OTHER AREAS, WHO WORK IN DEMANDING PROFESSIONS, WHO READ SERIOUS NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES AND WHO WOULD BE ASHAMED NOT TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE WORLD, [THESE SAME PEOPLE ARE] ARE AGAINST MAKING ANY EFFORT AT ALL TO LEARN WHAT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS ALL ABOUT.

I WANT US TO LOOK AT THREE THINGS THAT JUMP OUT OF THIS PASSAGE AT US THIS MORNING AS WE THINK ABOUT THE ISSUE OF SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY AND THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING.

HE GIVES HIS DIAGNOSIS. (V11)

HE GIVES HIS DIAGNOSIS. (V11) LOOK AT VERSE 11.

1. HE GIVES HIS DIAGNOSIS. (V11)

HE GIVES HIS DIAGNOSIS. (V11) LOOK AT VERSE 11.

LOOK AT VERSE 11.

i. YOU HAVE BECOME DULL OF HEARING.

1. KJV – DULL OF HEARING

THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE AND LIVE OUT – BY THE WAY, THAT’S WHAT SCRIPTURE IS TYPICALLY COMMUNICATING WHEN IT USES THE WORD “HEAR” – THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO “HEAR” THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL LED THE WRITER OF HEBREWS TO BELIEVE THAT THEY LACKED SPIRITUAL MATURITY. WHEN HE SPEAKS HERE OF BEING “SLOW TO UNDERSTAND,” HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE TENDENCY TO READ THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AND HEAR THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE BUT SOMEHOW “BLOCK OUT” THOSE TRUTHS. ONE PERSON COMPARED IT TO HIGHWAY NOISE OR MUSIC IN A DENTIST’S OFFICE.

i. WE HEAR IT…WE KNOW IT’S THERE…BUT WE HAVE BECOME SO DESENSITIZED TO IT THAT IT NO LONGER REGISTERS WITH US.

ii. AND IT CAN ACTUALLY BE A DANGER TO US IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. THINK ABOUT HIGHWAY NOISE FOR EXAMPLE.

2. IF WE BECOME SO ACCUSTOMED TO BLOCKING OUT THE CONSTANT DIN OF THE TRAFFIC AROUND US, LIKE PEOPLE BLOWING THEIR HORNS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN A HORN BLOWS BECAUSE OF DANGER, WE ARE LIKELY TO IGNORE THAT AS WELL.

3. IT’S LIKE THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF.

4. WHEN THE WOLF ACTUALLY SHOWED UP, NO ONE BELIEVED HIM, BECAUSE THEY HAD BECOME DULL OF HEARING HIS CONSTANT CRIES.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE LIVES OF MANY BELIEVERS TODAY.

i. THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL HAVE BECOME BACKGROUND NOISE IN OUR LIVES, AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF THEIR IMPACT.

ii. THERE IS NO FRUIT-BEARING, BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME DULL OF HEARING.

SO DULL HEARING, OR BEING SLOW TO UNDERSTAND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A PERSON’S EARS…IT IS A HEART ISSUE. AND THIS IS THE DIAGNOSIS OF THE WRITER HERE IN . BUT NOTICE NEXT THAT HE GIVES THE SYMPTOMS THAT LED HIM TO THE DIAGNOSIS.

HE POINTS TO THE SYMPTOMS. (V12-13). THEIR LACK OF MATURITY CONFIRMS THE DIAGNOSIS IN VERSE 11.

HE POINTS TO THE SYMPTOMS. (V12-13).

THEIR LACK OF MATURITY CONFIRMS THE DIAGNOSIS IN VERSE 11.

i. THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO SYMPTOMS LISTED HERE.

ii. AND THESE ARE SYMPTOMS THAT ARE JUST AS PREVALENT TODAY IN THE CHURCH.

iii. THE FIRST ONE IS A LACK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION…

1. LOOK AT VERSE 12

2. IT SAYS THERE THAT BY NOW, THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOME LEARNING THAT HAS TAKEN ROOT IN THEIR LIVES.

3. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE WRITER OF HEBREWS POINTS TO THE MOST BASIC PRINCIPLE RELATED TO MATURITY – THE ABILITY TO TEACH OTHERS.

4. NOW, WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME OUTSIDE THE SPIRITUAL REALM.

5. HOW MANY OF YOU CAN THINK OF THINGS THAT YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR PARENTS?

6. OR FROM SOME IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE?

7. MOST ALL OF US CAN.

8. REMEMBER WHAT I READ AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MESSAGE, HOW WE ARE EMBARRASSED IF WE HAVEN’T “LEARNED” THE FUNDAMENTALS OF OUR VOCATION, OR IF WE DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT “INFORMATION” RELATED TO OUR FAVORITE SPORT OR TEAM?

9. THAT’S WHAT THE WRITER IS TALKING ABOUT HERE.

10. HE’S BASICALLY SAYING…YOU ARE STILL LEARNING YOUR ABC’S, WHEN YOU NEED TO BE READING WHOLE BOOKS.

11. YOU’RE JUST NOW LEARNING TO COUNT TO 10 WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DOING ALGEBRA.

12. YOU SHOULD BE PASSING THE TRUTHS THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THE GOSPEL ON TO OTHERS, BUT YOU STILL HAVEN’T LEARNED THE BASIC TRUTHS YOURSELF.

13. THAT PHRASE “BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOD’S REVELATION” IS TRANSLATED FROM A GREEK WORD THAT MEANS – THE RUDIMENTARY CONCEPTS, OR THE LOWEST ORDER OF UNDERSTANDING.

14. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE CLAIMED TO BE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS FOR MANY YEARS STILL HAVE NO GRASP OF THE RUDIMENTARY CONCEPTS OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.

15. SO IN VERSE 12, HE POINTS OUT A LACK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION.

iv. AND THEN IN VERSE 13, HE POINTS OUT THAT IT IS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT THEY WERE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN.

1. HE CALLS THEM “INFANTS” BECAUSE THEY ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN MILK, AND THEY REFUSE TO MOVE ON TO THE MEATIER ISSUES OF THE GOSPEL.

2. THINGS THAT REQUIRE SACRIFICE AND OBEDIENCE.

3. THINGS THAT CALL FOR THE DYING OF SELF, AND LIVING FOR CHRIST.

4. THINGS THAT THE LOST WORLD SEES AND RECOGNIZES AS COMING ONLY FROM GOD, AND DESIRES TO HAVE THAT!

AND SO HE SAYS THAT THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING IS CONFIRMED BY THE SYMPTOMS OF A LACK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION AND THE FACT THAT THEY ARE STILL DRINKING MILK.

HE THEN SPELLS OUT THE REMEDY. (V14) THE OBVIOUS QUESTION, WHEN SOME DISEASE OF THE BODY IS FOUND IS, “HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE?” SO HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING? SIMPLY PUT, THE REMEDY IS TO TAKE IN THE MILK OF THE WORD, AND PROGRESS TO THE MEAT OF THE WORD. BUT LET’S THINK ABOUT HOW WE TAKE IN MILK.

HE THEN SPELLS OUT THE REMEDY. (V14)

HE THEN SPELLS OUT THE REMEDY. (V14) THE OBVIOUS QUESTION, WHEN SOME DISEASE OF THE BODY IS FOUND IS, “HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE?” SO HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING? SIMPLY PUT, THE REMEDY IS TO TAKE IN THE MILK OF THE WORD, AND PROGRESS TO THE MEAT OF THE WORD. BUT LET’S THINK ABOUT HOW WE TAKE IN MILK.

THE OBVIOUS QUESTION, WHEN SOME DISEASE OF THE BODY IS FOUND IS, “HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE?” SO HOW DO WE GET RID OF THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING? SIMPLY PUT, THE REMEDY IS TO TAKE IN THE MILK OF THE WORD, AND PROGRESS TO THE MEAT OF THE WORD. BUT LET’S THINK ABOUT HOW WE TAKE IN MILK.

i. WE BEGIN, AS NEWBORNS, WITH…A BOTTLE.

ii. WE THEN PROGRESS TO…A SIPPY CUP.

iii. WE THEN ARE READY TO TAKE ON…A BIG BOY CUP.

iv. BUT INTERSPERSED IN THIS PROCESS OF LEARNING HOW TO DEAL WITH MILK, WE ALSO INTRODUCE SOLID FOOD.

v. IN BETWEEN THE BOTTLE AND THE SIPPY CUP, WE START TO INTRODUCE BABY FOOD.

vi. IN BETWEEN THE SIPPY CUP AND THE BIG BOY CUP, OUR FOOD CHOICES GET A LITTLE MORE COMPLEX.

vii. UNTIL FINALLY WE ARE ABLE TO HANDLE SOLID FOOD.

CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF YOU GAVE A BABY A BIG BOY CUP TO DRINK FROM?

i. FIRST OF ALL, THEY WOULD NOT RECEIVE THE NECESSARY NUTRITION, BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT INGEST IT.

ii. BUT THEY WOULD ALSO MAKE A TERRIBLE MESS OF THINGS.

iii. BUT YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT SOUNDS EVEN WORSE?

iv. AN ADULT DRINKING FROM A BOTTLE…

THAT’S JUST UNSETTLING… YET THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BELIEVERS REFUSE TO INGEST THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL…

THAT’S JUST UNSETTLING… YET THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BELIEVERS REFUSE TO INGEST THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL… LOOK AT VERSE 14 – BUT SOLID FOOD IS FOR THE MATURE – FOR THOSE WHO’S SENSES HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH TODAY IS THAT SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE HAS LED MANY TO ACCEPT ANY TEACHING THAT COMES THEIR WAY. BECAUSE THEY HAVE BECOME DULL OF HEARING, THEY ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. AND SO WE HAVE MANY DISCONNECTED, SPIRITUALLY UNEDUCATED BELIEVERS IN THE CHURCH TODAY. IT’S NO WONDER WE HAVE DIFFICULTY MEETING BUDGET, OR FILLING ALL THE POSITIONS NEEDED, OR GETTING ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR MISSIONS… BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING.

THE GOSPEL… LOOK AT VERSE 14 – BUT SOLID FOOD IS FOR THE MATURE – FOR THOSE WHO’S SENSES HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH TODAY IS THAT SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE HAS LED MANY TO ACCEPT ANY TEACHING THAT COMES THEIR WAY. BECAUSE THEY HAVE BECOME DULL OF HEARING, THEY ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. AND SO WE HAVE MANY DISCONNECTED, SPIRITUALLY UNEDUCATED BELIEVERS IN THE CHURCH TODAY. IT’S NO WONDER WE HAVE DIFFICULTY MEETING BUDGET, OR FILLING ALL THE POSITIONS NEEDED, OR GETTING ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR MISSIONS… BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING.

LOOK AT VERSE 14 – BUT SOLID FOOD IS FOR THE MATURE – FOR THOSE WHO’S SENSES HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH TODAY IS THAT SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE HAS LED MANY TO ACCEPT ANY TEACHING THAT COMES THEIR WAY.

BECAUSE SOME HAVE BECOME DULL OF HEARING, THEY ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

AND SO WE HAVE MANY DISCONNECTED, SPIRITUALLY UNEDUCATED BELIEVERS IN THE CHURCH TODAY.

IT’S NO WONDER WE HAVE DIFFICULTY MEETING BUDGET, OR FILLING ALL THE POSITIONS NEEDED, OR GETTING ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR MISSIONS… BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE OF DULL HEARING.

CONCLUSION:

SO MAYBE THIS MORNING, YOU ARE HERE AND YOU NEED TO RESPOND TO THE MOVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR OWN HEART.

MAYBE YOU HAVE BEEN DULL OF HEARING, AND YOU WOULD SAY THIS MORNING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO COMMIT TO GO DEEPER IN YOUR UNDERSTAND OF BIBLICAL TRUTH.

AND YOU NEED TO RESPOND TO THE MESSAGE.

YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO RESPOND IN REPENTANCE AND RENEW YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO COME FORWARD DURING THE INVITATION.

OR MAYBE YOU ARE HERE THIS MORNING AND YOU HAVE NEVER RECEIVED CHRIST BY FAITH AND COMMITTED YOUR LIFE TO HIM.

CHRIST WENT TO THE CROSS AND TOOK YOUR SINS UPON HIMSELF SO THAT YOU MIGHT BE REDEEMED FROM THE PENALTY OF SIN AND RECONCILED TO GOD.

AND HE WILL SAVE YOU TODAY, IF YOU WILL RESPOND TO HIS INVITATION.

IF YOU NEED TO BE SAVED THIS MORNING, OR IF YOU HAVE RECENTLY BEEN SAVED AND YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT PUBLIC, I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO COME FORWARD DURING THE INVITATION.

MAYBE YOU ARE HERE THIS MORNING AND YOU SENSE IN YOUR SPIRIT THAT THE LORD WOULD HAVE YOU TO UNITE WITH THIS BODY OF BELIEVERS. WE BELIEVE STRONGLY IN THE IMPORTANCE OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP HERE AND WE ACCEPT MEMBERS THROUGH SALVATION AND BAPTISM, THROUGH TRANSFER OF LETTER FROM ANOTHER SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH, OR THROUGH STATEMENT OF FAITH, PROVIDED YOU HAVE BEEN SCRIPTURALLY BAPTIZED.

MAYBE THIS MORNING, THIS IS WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO. IF SO, I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO COME FORWARD DURING THE INVITATION.

OR YOU MAY BE HERE AND YOU FEEL THAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO A SPECIFIC PLACE OF SERVICE. WE WANT TO WALK THROUGH THIS DECISION WITH YOU AND CELEBRATE GOD’S MOVING IN YOUR LIFE.

IF THIS IS YOU, I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO COME FORWARD DURING THE INVITATION.