sf1001 - Why We Need A God Encounter (Hebrews 3 12-13)
Hebrews 3:12-13
Introduction
Judges 2:11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;
God’s People Tend to Depart - Three Steps…
1A. Our Hearts Begin to Shift From Loving God Fully (Deuteronomy 30:11-20)
Serving and obeying God is not impossible (30:11-14).
It is within our reach (30:11-13).
God’s Word is near us (30:14).
We are commanded to: (30:15-16)
Love the Lord
Walk in His ways
Keep His commands
Turning away from God always begins in our hearts (30:17-18).
Turning begins in the heart - small, simple things. (30:17)
Ends in destruction (30:18)
We will choose our path (30:19-20).
This may not be a one-time choice.
This is not salvation, this is sanctification.
We are to…
Ø Love the Lord
Ø Listen to His voice
Ø Hold fast to Him
2A. We Disobey God (Deuteronomy 30:17-18)
It is impossible to love God and not obey Him
John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me…
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word… 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words…
The problem is not obedience, the problem is love. Love will always obey.
Our obedience will demonstrate our love for God.
Do you love others as Christ loves you?
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Do you forgive others so that you may be forgiven?
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Are you known as a praying person?
Luke 19:46 saying to them, It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer…'
Do you tithe and practice justice, mercy, and faith?
Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe… and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Are you actively going to make disciples of the nations, even those around your community? Are you teaching them to practice all Christ commanded?
Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.
Are you witnessing about Christ to the world in power of His Spirit?
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Are you displaying unity with other believers in your church, with other churches, and with Christians in other denominations?
John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
3A. We Turn to Idols (substitutes for God) (Jeremiah 2:2-13)
Anytime we turn to anyone or anything when we should turn to God, we make that person or thing an idol of the heart.
Common idols
Sexual immorality (Ephesians 5:5)
Impurity (Ephesians 5:5)
Greed (Ephesians 5:5)
Trusting in man/flesh or the help of others (Jeremiah 17:5)
Ritual worship and following the teachings of man (Matthew 15:8-9)
Love and devotion to mammon or money (Matthew 6:24)
Relationships with other people (Matthew 10:37)
Self (Luke 9:23-24)
Bible study that doesn’t go from head knowledge to Christ Himself (John 5:39-40)
Materialism, things of the world (1 John 2:15)
Career, job, or work (“what he… does”) (1 John 2:16)
Substitutes for God (Deuteronomy 8:11-17)
Substitutes for God’s presence (Matthew 15:8-9)
We depend on methods and materials rather than God’s Spirit.
We look to emotionalism and pageantry instead of God.
We no longer have a quiet time with God.
Substitutes for God’s Purposes
We allow baptism and the Lord’s Supper to become nothing more that rituals.
We seek to deepen the “fellowship” at the cost of evangelism.
We become self-centered and stop ministering to others.
We do not continue to mature in our faith.
We are not seeing to incorporate others into the membership of the church.
We no longer seek to glorify God in all we do.
Substitutes for God’s Ways
We walk by sight not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).
We affirm self when God says we are to deny self (Luke 9:23).
We exalt self, when God says humble yourself.
We try to save our life, when God says lose your life.
We try to manipulate people to serve, when it says pray for Him to call forth laborers.
We trust in man and his ways instead of God (Jeremiah 17:5).
Application
Where is your Heart?
Matthew 15:8-9 These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
How is your Obedience?
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
Who is your God?
Deuteronomy 30:17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
God’s solution
Revelation 2:4-5 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent.
1. Why do we often allow our hearts to shift?
2. Do you think we can ever get out of the cycle of sin and repentance? Why or why not?
3. What difference should the presence of the Holy Spirit make in the life of a believer regarding his or her obedience?
4. How can we learn to identify a heart shift early in the cycle instead of waiting for God’s discipline or judgment? What are some of the signs?
5. After reading Jeremiah 2:1-13, how do you think God feels when His people choose to forsake Him?
6. How do idols of the heart affect our love relationship with God? What does God expect us to do with idols of the heart and why?
7. What are some ways our church may have turned to substitutes for God, His presence, His purposes, or His ways? What do you sense we may need to do to change our ways?