Live In Light Of Truth

Intro

Good Morning!

It is good to see you today on Palm Sunday!

Last week we continued forward in Hebrews chapter 2 and specifically at why the author is warning the church against turning away.

We are going to look at the second why that is revealed in verse 4.

Reminder of Hebrews 2:1

Hebrews 2:1 CSB

1 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

Me

Trying to use the tiller this weekend. I am no mechanic!

I had to replace the corroborator because I broke it last year.

I got that fixed, but something still wasn’t right.

Changed the governor spring

Took the transmission apart and put new grease in it.

Still wasn’t running so I adjusted the gov spring to bring the rpms up.

Helped, but something still wasn’t right.

I used it until the tines just stopped spinning.

I had to go back to town to get a new belt.

all of the sudden, it worked like it was new.

Even though I had changed and worked on many aspects of the tiller, I knew that something about it wasn’t quite right.

Rather than checking what was easiest to check and what gave me problems last year, I checked everything else.

We

Maybe you have experienced a similar thing with a lawnmower.

You are trying to use it, but something just isn’t quite right.

Letting Kati use the lawnmower as a kid and her cutting to the dirt...

She said she thought it sounded weird...

When a young child or a pet is sick, they can’t tell you what is wrong, but you know something about them is off.

A few months ago, my dad had a couple of show calves in the barn.

They belonged to him, but my niece was showing them.

When we would go feed our horses, we would notice this whistling sound when they were breathing.

I mentioned it to dad and my sister.

After a long while, they figured out that the halters were too tight.

Doctors are taught to start with the obvious.

If they hear the sound of hooves, don’t assume it’s a zebra, it’s probably a horse.

Follow me here, with the tiller, I checked literally everything but the easiest thing to check.

My dad’s cow was wheezing, not because it was sick, but because the halter was too tight.

Often when life gets tough, we need to look at what should be obvious.

The author is writing the church to encourage them to keep the faith.

Last week we talked about his argument that if the angels and the law had to be obeyed or there were consequences, how much greater will the consequences be if we ignore the words of God.

In verse four, he points out, what to me seems the most obvious reason that they shouldn’t turn away.

Hebrews 2:4 CSB

4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

The works of Jesus were proof that he was the messiah.

This was common knowledge!

This passage was written to people who chose to believe that Jesus was the son of God.

They were forgetting the most obvious reasons for their choice to believe in Jesus.

They heard eyewitness testimonies AND the Holy Spirit was living inside them!!!

The author is not giving a warning to those who have rejected the gospel, but rather to those that choose to believe it and then also choose to ignore the leading of God.

We cannot say that we are believers and then ignore the truth.

We MUST live in light of the truth.

This morning we read of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the response of the people as he rode in on the colt.

Luke asking me to explain Jesus cursing the fig tree and how used that to speak to me about this message.

Don’t miss this, I read it in Mark this week. Look at with me, but before we read 12-14, scroll up to vs 8.

Mark 11:8–11 CSB

8 Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven! 11 He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Y’all I didn't plan this! I discovered it this morning when I turned to my daily reading, which is random.

Mark 11:12–14 CSB

12 The next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard it.

The fig tree would have had baby figs on it if it was in leaf and it was common to eat the figs before they were ripe.

The tree appeared from a distance to look healthy, but when examined closely, it was fruitless.

Mark 11:15–21 CSB

15 They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching. 19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city. 20 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Jesus is making a direct comparison between the fig tree and the temple.

The temple looked healthy, but when examined, it was fruitless.

If the church isn’t daily choosing to live in light of the truth, we won’t produce fruit either.

Next week is Easter Sunday and we are going to celebrate together the truth that Jesus died as a final sacrifice for our sins.

Are we going to be like those we just read about and praise Jesus today and then ignore or deny him later in the week when things get difficult or we think his call is too great?

This is the greatest news that has ever been proclaimed.

I don’t think there is anyone here who would say that Christ’s death on the cross isn’t so.

The warning from the author of Hebrews and from Jesus is the same.

We need to live like we believe and respond accordingly.

You respond to this warning in two ways.

You give your attention to Christ.

Everyday. spend time with God. be purposeful about it.

You live in light of truth.

You apply the word to your life. As God speaks, you obey.

We

I think if we are honest, all of us want the people in our lives to know Christ.

There isn’t a knowledge problem.

All of us have grown up in a culture that places us in the place of priority.

This was in one of my devotions Wednesday and he is talking about Jesus praying in the garden right before he is taken into custody.

“You may have to leave the comfort of you bed or you home. You may even have to sacrifice your safety in order to be where Jesus is. Seek to bring every physical desire under control of the Holy Spirit so that nothing will impede your accomplishing what Jesus ask of you.”

I read a new book this week that has rocked my world. It’s by David Platt, Something Needs To Change.

talks about his experience hiking with a missionary through the Himalayan mountains.

He was broken by the extreme level of poverty, suffering, and most of all the complete absence of knowledge of Jesus.

Those same conditions exist right here in Central Louisiana.

If we as a body, will give Jesus our attention, every day, throughout the day, we will see the world as he does.

If we are willing to apply the truth that Jesus speaks into our lives, we will be empowered by Him to meet the needs we see and share the gospel.

This warning to the Hebrews is one for us as well. Don’t let your own desires and comfort take priority over the gospel.

We all experience the temptation to focus on ourselves, but the cost is too high for us to ignore.

There is an obvious solution.

We live in light of the truth.

Let’ read this psalm out loud together and then we will close in prayer.

Psalm 119:9–11 CSB

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. 10 I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. 11 I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.

Questions:

How do you typically deal with difficulties in life?

How has God comforted you during hardships?

Who has God identified in your life that needs to hear the gospel?

What is your biggest hindrance in sharing the gospel?

How does scripture address that fear/challenge?