The Better Covenant part 4

The Better Covenant part 4

The Danger of Neglect

Hebrews 2:1-4

 

“Therefore” – because of all of the preceding statements / arguments.

 

Hebrews 2:1-4

1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

The importance of the Word of God cannot be downplayed.

The teachings in the Word are matters of life and death.

The dangers of drifting away from them are too grave.

 

Authorized Version: “lest at any time we let them slip” = allowing a ring to slip off our finger and thus losing it.

 

Hebrews 2:1-4

2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,

 

The Law, when it was given included with it swift and sure penatalities for each breech of the law.

For many of the laws the penalty for willful disobedience was death.

All of this was spoken by the angels – or carried to man by the angels.

 

 

The blessing of Moses:

Deuteronomy 33:1-3

1 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 And he said: “The Lord came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them.

3 Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; everyone receives Your words.

 

In the Septuagint that last line in verse 2 is rendered – “At His right hand were angels with Him.”

 

In the New Testament:

Galatians 3:19

“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.”

 

Acts 7:51-53

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,

53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

 

The ritual law was treated as a means as access to God rather than a moral Law which is a way of life.

 

Hebrews 2:1-4

3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

 

This is the first of many warnings of this same kind.

Through the coming of Christ the Word is now fulfilled – although it had been spoken or delivered earlier by the prophets.

 

Jesus coming into Galilee after John’s imprisonment:

Mark 1:14-15

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

 

Jesus in the Synagogue quotes Isaiah then follows with:

Luke 4:18-22

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

Hebrews 2:1-4

4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

 

The witness of the Word was and is followed by the miraculous.

 

(1) Realize the importance of the Word

(2) Check ourselves for areas of neglect

(3) Repent of areas of neglect

(4) Live so as to bear witness to Christ

Loving Others

Recently I was in a meeting where the speaker was talking about “loving people into the Kingdom.” At first this brought back memories to me of years gone by where we, as preachers, were told that we should never mention things like “the blood of Jesus” and “any sort of sin” or it would turn those who were looking for a church family away never to darken the doors of our church again! But as I listened to this brother speak he was not following the “old school” of thought, but he was making a very valid point for the church today. We (both at church and those belonging to the church of Jesus Christ) should be at the forefront of displaying the love God demonstrated toward us by sending His only Son Jesus to die for our sins so that we might enjoy a restored relationship with our heavenly Father.

Loving someone into God’s Kingdom is not about hiding the truth from them. It involves us looking past our pre-conceived judgments at an individual and sharing that same God-Love with them which brought us to Him.

We are called to be witnesses for God. So get out there – show off the love of your God and I really believe others will take notice.

Reach Out

Recently, while checking out some of the “oldies” channels on my satellite radio I ran across an old song just as the group was singing “reach out. . .” and then they went on to sing “I’ll be there. . .” while not promoting the group or their song, there is definitely a message for all of us in it.

During this time of economic chaos there are a lot of people in our world which are feeling the crunch; many are hurting, reeling from the loss of jobs, and the increased costs of goods and services. Evidence of this can be seen in places such as in the sale of repair parts for cars; people are keeping and fixing their vehicles instead of selling them as we have in the past few years. The increased sales in groceries and markets, as families are discovering the cost savings of eating more at home and less out. Lower priced housing sales are booming while those expensive houses with excess space are selling slower. I know that there are a multitude of reasons associated with all of these and other indicators which you see every day, but they all point to a change in lives and lifestyles. As you know change comes hard for most of us and is often accompanied by painful experiences.

All of this leads me to the reason for this post. How will you respond, and more importantly, how will the true Christians respond? Just briefly, here are a few of the ways which I see the Christians and churches responding:

(1) Pray
– the first thing which needs to be done is to pray. Through prayer we can hear the heart of God and find His direction for our lives. It is through prayer we find the specifics of how we are to reach out to those around us who need a hand. It is through prayer that we become sensitive to the leading of Holy Spirit so we can go to the right places and do the right things. Pray for every government leader that you can think of. Nobody wants our cities, states or nation to crumble. But it will ultimately be God who brings healing to our land.

(2) Live
– live a life which is a true reflection of your relationship with the One True God. There is somewhat of a debate amongst the Christian community as to how our actions reflect our relationship with God. We are all still wrapped up in the carnal flesh housing appropriate to this world (got to have a body to hang out in this realm) and that carnality is subject to momentary failure at any time. If the Apostle Paul struggled with always doing what is right, saying (and I paraphrase) The things I want to do, those are the things that I don’t do, and the things that I do not want to do, those are the things that I wind up doing, then he adds, who will deliver me from this body of death! If that was his plight then we also are most certainly subject to making those same kinds of mistakes. However, we cannot allow out carnality to become an excuse for not trying our hardest to live a life which reflects our passion and thankfulness to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who, by the way, always causes us to triumph in His name. Just because we fail does not mean that we have to, sometimes we just blow it. All of that said, we are to live out our lives before the world so that they may see in us the glory of God and when they see the love we have it will direct them towards God. (sorry, that got a little preachy)

(3) Give
– during this time in our lives it is the perfect time to be generous. A couple of reasons, first, there are people around you which need your generosity. If your giving is coupled with your prayer only heaven knows the needs you may be meeting as you give. Secondly, God loves a cheerful giver. Our God is a generous God, who has given to us without measure, so should we give. Give that which you have in excess, and give out of your own hand as well. God challenges us to give in the Book of Malachi and to test Him with our giving. His part – He will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon you which you cannot believe.

 

These are just three simple things which all of us can do to help our friends, those who are about be become our friends, and also those who we will never meet. I have started to hear those who are speaking of this economic time as a rebuke or “lesson” from God. While I believe that the removal of God from many of the affairs within our country has had a defined negative effect on our part of the world, I also believe our part as Christians is not to stand and point a “naughty-naughty” finger at then, but to stand, in the middle of the crises and direct all that we can towards Him.

One last thought. It is during times of crises that some of the greatest revivals have come. There are reports of Muslims, who do not approve of the violence of some of their fellow believers, beginning to question their faith, and in so doing they are opening themselves up to a presentation of the True Gospel. I find it much more useful for God’s people to take the hand of another human, created in the image of God, and lead them towards Him and let His Holy Spirit do His job of convicting of sin.

My prayer is that you will be touched by the heart of God as you have read these thoughts and that you will find your place in Christian service as He speaks to you. If you have questions or comments, just send me an email.

 

Serving Him by Serving You,

Joe Jackson, jr.

Fasting Day 21 – 2/1/2009

 

Adult / Teen Journal

 

February 1, 2009

Day 21. Dressed for the Battle

    Ephesians 6:10-17

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

 

Wake uuuuup! Yes that was your alarm, it is really Sunday morning, and it really time for church. Time to get dressed, Let’s see, take your helmet, breastplate, shoes, belt, sword . . . you get the idea. Now that you have completed (depending on when you actually read this) this prayer and fasting journey, you are expected to report for duty in God’s army. You can even sing the song, you know, the song you used to sing in VBS, “I’m in the Lord’s Army!” You can skip the song if you wish. The result is the same. It is now time to draw yourself up and venture out into the real world where there are good and bad and make a difference. Go out into the world and snatch some dying soul up and introduce them to Jesus. Be bold, because you have now grown up a bit. You have just spent three weeks in the presence of God! When Moses did just a bit more than that he brought back the Ten Commandments. I am not expecting that from you, just to go now and take action on what you have learned from God. Go and make Him proud! Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! Have you heard that somewhere before? Even so – good advise!

 

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

February 1, 2009

Day 21. Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors

Joseph seemed to be the spoiled baby brother, but really God was getting him ready to be a great leader. Joseph has to go through quite a bit to get to where God wants him.

Today’s Puzzle

Fasting Day 20 – 1/31/2009

 

Adult / Teen journal

 

January 31, 2009

Day 20. Walking in increase

    Colossians 1:10-12

10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

 

Have you ever got that piece of junk mail that said something like, “You may have just won a car, or vacation, or a million dollars, scratch here to see if you qualify?” You scratch the secret gold circle only to reveal that indeed you have qualified to perhaps have an outside remote chance that you will possible be lucky enough, to actually be the one person in a billion to have scratched instead of thrown away the only actual prize piece. Maybe it was the fast food game, you have existed on a diet of kids meals for a month now. Carefully collecting the board pieces, you can’t even enjoy your fries until you peel the sticker and see if it is really the one game piece that takes you to super prize nirvana or if you have just won another “free” pie with your next order. Well this is not anything like any of that, but there is a qualifying which must take place for the prize. Knew there was a catch? Verse 10 through the first of verse 12 set up a great prize, it has you mouth watering and then you realize that there is that, “worthy before God” thing floating out there, and you are afraid that your will never be able to live up to that standard and there for your prize will go to some dear saint who lives her life to help orphans in India somewhere, while you are left with your every day pat on the back, “please try again,” kind of blessing from God. Wait, read on! Verse 12 tells you that God has you already qualified; you get to be one of the Grand Prize Winners!!!! Put your picture on the board and call yourself, “Saint
(insert your name here),” because you too are a winner in God’s eternal Kingdom. No, really, I know that sounded a little cheesy, but it’s for real. Read it again and again. Now start believing!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 31, 2009

Day 20. The Little Man

One day Jesus finds a man in a tree watching Him walk by. He asked the man if He could come to his house. When they got there Jesus told the man about whom He was and his life changed forever. Jesus loves to change our lives.

Today’s Puzzle

Fasting Day 19 – 1/30

 

Adult / Teen Journal

 

January 30, 2009

Day 19. The beauty of God’s holiness

    2 Chronicles 20:20-21

20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”

 

This is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible, the worshippers going out in front of the warriors. The instructions are given for the whole nation by King Jehoshaphat in verse 20, but those who could do it were identified in verse 21. Look closely at it; he asked around about those who had a reputation of worship, he “consulted with the people.” “Hey,” he might have said, “Who do you know that is the best of the best when it comes to worshipping?” “I mean, your lives will be hanging in the balance of their ability to worship.” At least that is how I would have consulted the people. He found the “kats” who understood the God of the description, not just understood the description of the God. He found those who could worship when all things were great and when all things were bad.

Oh, Lord, make us today to become those who worship You because we have come to understand the beauty of Your holiness. Those who understand that it is both a fearful and beautiful thing to stand so close to you that Your Beauty overwhelms us and causes praise to erupt from deep within us. Teach us to fight the battles of the Spirit world with the praises of our lips and the promises which You have bestowed upon those who fear You. Yes, Lord, today teach me to worship You in the Beauty of Your Holiness!!!!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 30, 2009

Day 19. Queen Ester

God used a beautiful lady to save the whole Jewish nation. This is a great story. She must have been really pretty!

Today’s Puzzle

Fasting Day 18 – 1/29/2009

 

Adult / Teen Journal

 

January 29, 2009

Day 18. Blessing others

    Isaiah 61:2-3

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

 

It can’t be real. You looked at your calendar twice, it is! It is almost the end of the fast. You are close enough now that you are most likely going to make it. You are surely not going to die, or melt, or have some kind of breakdown. You have learned to handle your feeling of fleshly emptiness without killing your children, spouse, or co-workers. Not quite there yet, but close enough to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is not that proverbial oncoming train. Enough about yourself! What? That is right, enough about you. During an extended time of prayer and fasting it is real easy to get wrapped up in yourself, some of it good, some of it not so good; I will let you sort that out. As you draw this spiritual journey to a close it is now time to find out how your spiritual growth of the last three weeks is supposed to help others. Isaiah suggests that we are to be about the business of lifting up heads, encouraging others, swapping the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness so that God will be glorified. See, the fast, although it has hopefully caused much growth in you in the last 17 days, is not just for you so you can be all grown up. It is also so you can serve your generation. Take some time today and talk to God about this and see what He has in mind for you!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 29, 2009

Day 18. True Friends

Because the crowd where Jesus was healing people was so big one man couldn’t get in to see Him. His friends carried him up on the roof. They made a hole. And then they let him down with ropes to Jesus.

Fasting Day 17 – 1/28/2009

 

Adult / Teen journal

 

January 28, 2009

Day 17. Praise Break

    Psalm 121:1-4

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3    He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

 

Here it is again – another day set aside for the sole purpose of praising and glorifying God. Take time today to close yourself in with just you and your Heavenly Father, praise all over Him. Let Him know how much you really love Him, and just exactly where your heart is toward Him. It might help to read a few of the praise/worship Psalms that King David wrote. Whatever helps – take time to praise and worship today!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 28, 2009

Day 17. The Fiery Furnace

God show how He can do great miracles to protect those who have faith in Him. This story from the Old Testament teaches us to always trust in God.

Today’s Puzzle

Fasting Day 16 – 1/27/2009

 

Adult / Teen Journal

 

January 27, 2009

Day 16. A testimony of pleasing God

    Hebrews 11:39-40

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

 

Local news stations around the United States were on a kick of following the lives of average Americans, and they called it something like, “Everybody has a story.” Some would throw darts and travel to where it would stick, some would look up people in a phonebook, but whatever the method, random citizens became heroes of sorts, for the day, as their tell was told. You see, everybody does have a story. Watch the news. Everyday there is the story of someone who has chosen to make their heritage be one of crime and violence. Others pick up the baton, and run the race of various causes such as building a memorial for those who have lost their lives protecting us from enemies or emergencies. Others legacy will be one of saving whales, owls, endangered species, or even having your dog or cat “fixed” (argument can be made for all cats being somewhat “broken”). See the thing is, all of us leave a story behind. Question then becomes, what is yours? There are those who have died in the pursuit of deeper relationships with God and following after His will whose lives have impacted us here today. It is easy to see how those early Christians laid their lives down for the spread of the Gospel. But what about you? Probable not called to be thrown in with the lions, but you have just as real of a purpose in God’s kingdom as they, just as real of a life following God as they did. Your quest – find it!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 27, 2009

Day 16. The Good Samaritan

Jesus tells a story about a man who has been robbed by bandits. Who will stop and help the man? Jesus shows us all a great lesson about caring for each other and knowing who our neighbor is.

Today’s Puzzle

Fasting Day 15 – 1/26/2009

 

 

Adult / Teen Journal

 

January 26, 2009

Day 15. Mid-fast challenges

    Matthew 6:31-33

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

 

Let me see, it starts with a small serving of cottage cheese, enter a few fresh goldfish crackers, then, rice hamburger helper stuff, little smoky sausages steeped in BBQ sauce, chased down by the biggest piece of chocolate pie, no wait, coconut cream pie you can find, maybe just the pie and a fork . . .wake up!!!!!! Sometimes it just happens, the desire to eat turns into dreams which can almost be tasted. You wake up with your mouth watering, and afraid for a moments pleasure you just ruined the entire fast. What does the author mean, “do not worry,” you have been without for two full week, have another whole week to go and you are not supposed to worry? Maybe you should look for a better meaning from today’s verses. Your life consists of more than what you eat, what you drink, and what you wear. Those, as we discussed earlier, are the food of the walking dead, here called the Gentiles, meaning those who only seek those things are those who are the spiritually unaware, spiritually dead and dying. Anyone can chase after those things which are easy to see. What will bring real life to you is to chase after those things which cannot be seen, those things which are of a spiritual nature. Today is another day to re-focus your attention on the things of God and the pursuit of them. Save the food dreams for a few more days!

 

 

Children’s Journal

 

January 26, 2009

Day 15. The Last Supper

Jesus has one last dinner with His disciples before He dies on the cross for our sins. Some strange things happen at that dinner.

Today’s Puzzle

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