Alright, let's turn to the book of Hebrews and chapter number two. And we're not moving along very fast, but we're moving along. And you know, we're not going to move along very fast tonight. You know, I sat down and I hand wrote about three or four pages out, just just an outline. And then you start working on the outline and Well, I thought, well, you know, I'm going to get through all of chapter two in one night. And then I started working down through the outline and I think you've got four verses worth of study right there, mainly just two. But we just talked about in chapter number one, we concluded chapter number one, and the writer of Hebrews is He concluded his defense of why Jesus is better than angels. And he gave a lot of reasons why Jesus is better than angels. And I saw another quote today that said, just remember this, that the word angels, it translates, it's messengers. And so the angels are the messengers from God and Jesus is better than them. And so now he's going to challenge his readers with how they should respond to what they've read. How should they respond to what all that he has said about the preeminence of Jesus and how Jesus is better than angels? And that's one of the things that's always important to us, that we want to remember, is when we read the Word of God, we need to think about, well, how am I going to respond to that? You know, the Word of God is just not a, religious book. It is God's letter to us to to challenge us to to love him. I was thinking about while I was cutting the grass today, I was thinking about the gospel and I was thinking about I was thinking about Christianity and I and I was wondering about talking to people about the gospel and how many people could really tell what the gospel is or or what is Christianity. Why are we followers of Jesus? And you know, probably not very many people could answer, well, if you ask, well, what's a Christian? Well, they probably couldn't give you an answer, a right answer. And maybe even some Christians wouldn't give a right answer. And if you get, well, what's the gospel? And I wonder, it's more than a death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Bible is God telling us how to have fellowship with him. He's telling us about how He created this world and put man in it. He created man in His own image and put man in it so that he could fellowship with Him. And I wonder how many people could talk about that and tell why the Gospel is important to that fact. Anyway, I'm chasing a rabbit. My point being, the Bible is God's Word to us, and we should be challenged by it. And so, as we read that Jesus is better than the angels, there needs to be a response to that. And that's what the writer of Hebrews is challenging his readers with. What's your response to what you've just read? And he tells us the very first thing he says in verse number one. Therefore, we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. And so The writer of Hebrews is challenging his readers to listen. You need to give earnest heed to what you've just heard, what you've just read, because there's always a danger of letting things slip. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, tonight, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for our opportunity to study your word. And I pray, Lord, that you will be with your people, open their hearts so that they can hear, God, I pray that you will challenge us with how we respond to what your word says. I'm thinking of Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen. So how should they respond? Well, the very first thing, as I've already said, you'll notice that it says, therefore, the sentence begins with therefore, and remember that the word therefore is a conjunctive adverb, and its purpose is to tie two thoughts together. And so, The writer of Hebrews, he's tying the thoughts of the preeminence of Christ over angels to their response to that teaching. So, therefore, because of what you've just heard, what should you do? You ought to give the more earnest heed. Because of what you've heard about Jesus being better than angels. And he tells them that you ought to give the more earnest heed. And you'll see there in your notes that it says, ought means it is a necessity. And so it's a necessity for us to give heed to what we've read. It's a necessity to give heed to what we've heard. We can't just let it go. We have to pay attention to what God is saying to us. Because what happens? I mean, just think about this. If you tell your child something, Now this is important. I want you to make sure that we'll go for an easy thing. I'm going to be gone for a little while. When I walk out the door, I want you to lock the door behind me. And you're gone for a little while and you come back and you open the door and it's unlocked. And your child didn't give heed to what you said. How do you respond to that? What do you think about that? I mean, this was an important piece of information that you gave him to protect them, and they didn't listen. And so, if that becomes a habit, you know, you begin to say, now listen, you need to pay attention to what I'm saying to you. And if you're like me sometimes, you make sure that they, you know, that they get to where they can hear you real good. But this is what the writer of Hebrews is saying. You ought to It's a necessity that you listen and you give heat to these things. Why? What happens if you don't give heat to something? What happens if you don't pay attention? And you'll see in your notes, I says, if you're a gardener, what happens if you don't give heat to the weeds? I mean, if you just go out and you plant seed in the ground And you know, you say, well, there they go. I'm going to let them grow. What's going to happen? They may grow, but eventually the weeds are going to overtake them and they're not going to produce fruit for you. If you don't give heed to the weeds, the weeds are going to take over. If you don't prune your fruit trees, what happens? Your fruit, your tree doesn't produce fruit the way that it should. Your fruit production will suffer. And so the author of Hebrews is informing them, listen, you need to give heed to this. This is important. This teaching is important. You need to pay attention to this in your life. And you'll notice it says, earnest heed. You ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. And earnest heed means more super abundantly. Williams and his Translation of this says, pay much closer attention to. The need is, for these who are hearing this or reading this letter, is the need is to pay close attention to what they have heard. It's important to pay attention to how they're going to respond to what they heard. And so it's important for us, likewise, to give heed And you know, as I thought about this, I thought about how will this action stand the scrutiny of the law of God? In other words, if we're going to give a heed to our lives and we begin to think about our lives, you know, how often do we really pay attention to what the Bible has to say about something? You know, and it's becoming less and less. that people pay attention to what the scripture says. Like, think about how people are going away from the Bible's teaching on how to raise children. I mean, the Bible gives us some very good teaching about the proper way to raise children, and people have gone away from that. Think about how the Bible has given us good information about how to walk a Christian life. And people have gone away from that. People have gone away from the Bible as being the standard for their life. And so sometimes they don't even pay any attention at all to what's going on in their life and the decisions they're making. And how many times can somebody say, well, I wonder what the Bible says about that? You know, they're not giving heed to their lives. They're not giving heed to the Word of God. When what they should be doing is asking, how will this action that I want to do, I want to do this. How will this action stand the scrutiny of the Law of God? How will this action stand the scrutiny of the Bible? You see, if you don't give heed to what you're doing, if you don't give heed to how the Bible speaks on a topic, What's the end result? You let them slip. In the past, you might have been on fire for the Lord. In the past, you might have had a zeal for the Lord. But because you began to let things slip, you're not as faithful as you once were. You don't have the concern that you used to have. And that's the first thing that goes. You just don't really care as much anymore. And so the writer of Hebrews is challenging these people to pay attention to the word of God and recognize that their lives are going to stand the scrutiny of the law of God and the judgment of God one day. And you need to give heed to what you're hearing because you're going to be accountable for that. And the writer of Hebrews wants his hearers or his readers to understand that. And we need to understand the same thing. One day our lives are going to stand under the scrutiny of God. He's going to trust us. He's going to challenge us. He's going to ask us, how did we live in accordance with His Scripture? So how would our lives measure up to the scrutiny of the Word of God? That's why we need to give heed. We can't just, hey, it don't matter. It's not that big a deal. We can't live like that. We need to give a more earnest heed. And the reason why, at the end of verse number one, less than any time we should let them slip. And as you see in the notes there, in my mind, one of the most difficult things to do is persevere. To continue on doing the right thing. And the easy Example of that is people who are on diets or an exercise program. I'm going to get healthier. I'm going to eat the right things. I'm going to exercise to be healthy. And you know that they start out really good on a period of time, but then as the days and the weeks and the months and the years roll along, They begin to let it slip. And it's not as important as it once was. And the next thing you know, they've gone back to the ways they were before. The same thing is true when it comes to the things of God. I mean, it's difficult in life to persevere. They start out well. But then dedication. You know, they're not as dedicated as they once were. And you can think about people in their Christian lives. You can think about how many people that they started out and they were dedicated and I'm going to make a change in my life. I'm going to do better starting tomorrow and you know maybe they go for a little while and and then they just you know it just loses its value. It's just not as important anymore. Or as it talks about the parable of the sower, you know, you can go and read that and it tells us the cares of this life begins to crowd out the Lord out of people's lives. And before you know it, because they haven't given the more earnest heed, the next thing you know, the things of God are no longer of value. You know, I know I'm preaching to the choir tonight when it comes to this topic because the most faithful generally are at church on Wednesday night. But really, we need to pay attention to this because what happens if all of us begin to let these things slip? Then where are we going to end up? I mean, we know if we can look at the people who don't value Wednesday night church, and they don't value the things of God like we do, And what has happened? They've let it slip. You know, one of the things that I think has happened with the pandemic is it's showing genuine Christians. There have been a lot of people that have played Christianity and it's just not important to them anymore because they had the time away from church. And I thought about Sunday school. I thought about how many people have just begun to let Sunday school go. And they don't give heed to it anymore. And again, I know I'm preaching to the choir, but why is it not as important to them anymore? It's because they don't hold value to it. They don't see value. See, what makes someone persevere? A goal? Or value? Seeing that something has value? If you see that something has value, then you're going to persevere. And so the writer of Hebrews is writing to these early Christians, and he's trying to encourage them not to let things slip. And let's remember about when we're thinking about the word slip. You know, when something slips, it's not an avalanche. You know, when something slips, it's little by little. You can think about holding on to a rope and the rope begins to slip and you're holding on and maybe it slips a 32nd of an inch and I'm losing my grip and maybe it slips a 16th of an inch and I'm still losing my grip and I'm holding on but the next time maybe it's a quarter of an inch. But you're holding on and then You know, maybe it's an inch that goes the next time and you're doing your best. You're holding on for all your work. And then the next thing, you can't hold on even longer. But when it comes to letting things slip, we want to understand that's the way it is. People don't just wake up all of a sudden and say, today I'm done. No, it's little by little. It's day by day. It's time by time. Not giving earnest heed to whatever area they're persevering in, and the next thing you know, they've lost all of their progress. Well, as Christians, we need to make sure that we don't let things slip. And as more and more people are becoming less faithful, we can't let them slip. We can't let these things slip in our lives. Because if we let them slip and we begin to say, it's of no value, what's going to happen to the next generation? So we want to understand how important it is to persevere and do not let things slip. And what will enable us to persevere in the things of God? And I think it's a real love for Christ. I've thought about this so much today. I've thought about why after, you know, however long it's been since 1985, however long that is, why after since 1985 have I continued to value the things of God in my life? And it's because I know what He did for me. I know that He rescued me. I read a quote this week that says, when God saves someone, when He's a lifeguard, He's not just saving someone who is struggling against the tide. No, He goes to the bottom of the ocean and picks up a dead corpse, brings it to the surface, and breathes life into it. He doesn't make someone's life better. He takes someone who is dead and makes them completely new. He gives them life. And I believe this, everyone that has been rescued by Jesus Christ, they will be dedicated to Christ. They will love Him with their whole heart. And really and truthfully, just to be honest with you, If someone is not dedicated to the Lord, if someone is not dedicated to the Lord's house, if someone is letting things slip, my only question is, why are they letting them slip? Why do they not love the Lord? Did they ever love the Lord? That's the question. Listen, this is important because perseverance is difficult. And if you let things slip, that means you devalued that. That that no longer has value to you. The writer of Hebrews is trying to get them to understand, to value the things that they've read about Christ. the things they've heard about Christ, having the preeminence over the angels. Give them value. Value Christ and your relationship to Him. Because if you do not, you'll let Him slip. And that's such a great lesson for us. We need to be careful that we don't let things slip. And we need to value Christ. And he says in verse number 2, So what's the point that he's making here? Why should we give heed? we should give heed because the word spoken by angels received, it was steadfast, and disobedience according to that word brought a just recompense of reward. Now what that's referencing when he says the word spoken by angels, he's talking about the delivery of the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures to the prophets. You have the references there, Deuteronomy chapter number 33, We'll turn back there and we'll see. This helps us to see what the author of Hebrews is talking about. In other words, basically what he's saying is, listen, if God brought the Old Testament saints into judgment because they wouldn't heed his word, what makes us think that he's not going to bring our lives into judgment if we don't take heed to his words? That's the Mark Campbell Hillbilly translation of what he's saying. Deuteronomy 33, verse number 1. And this is a blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them. He shined forth from Mount Paran. And he came with ten thousands of saints. He came with ten thousands of his angels. From his right hand went a fiery law. Yea, he loved the people. All his saints are in thy hand, and they sat down at thy feet. Every one shall receive of thy words. Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jezreel when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. So this is telling us that God, with his angels, came to Moses and delivered to them a law, a law from God. And if you just want to turn over to the book of Acts, In chapter 7, how does Luke in the book of Acts describe this? Acts chapter 7 and verse number 53, this is Stephen accusing his accusers. And he says, verse 52, which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before the coming of the just one of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it." What's he saying? He's saying the angels are the ones that brought the law of God. The angels are the ones that delivered the law of God. And so when the writer of Hebrews said, when the word spoken by angels Well, he's talking about it in the delivery of the Old Testament scriptures when God spoke the Word of God to the children of Israel He used his messengers His angels to deliver that word and so if the word spoken by the angels was steadfast or was held true Every word spoken from Sinai was found to be true And if you're following along in our daily Bible reading, you read today Psalm chapter number 19, verses 7 through 11. And you guys know this. The law of the Lord is perfect. What does it tell us there about the law of God? 19 Mark 9. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, for to be desired are they than gold, gathered in much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb moreover by them as I serve and warn, and in keeping them there is great reward. What is the value That's what we see. The Word of God was steadfast. The Word that the angels delivered was steadfast. It was perfect. It was sure. It was right. It was pure. It's clean. It's righteous. It's true. All the Word of God in the Old Testament that was delivered to the saints is the Word of God and it is pure and righteous and holy And if we just take a general look at the Old Testament, we know that everything that God promised the children of Israel came true, didn't it? Every promise that He made through a prophet came true. And so, the Word of God was steadfast. There's no errors in the Word of God. In the Old Testament Scriptures, every word spoken by the angels was true. And then he says, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. What's he saying? He's saying if you go back and look at the Old Testament, you follow the history from God said, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If you start there, you go all the way through the history of the children of Israel. What happens to someone who is disobedient to the Word of God? When the children of Israel transgress the Law of God, what do you see happening? You see a just recompense of reward. What happened to Adam? He sinned. He died. What happened to Cain? When he slew Abel, he was marked in exile. When you think about lots of things, I mean, it's very easy for us to find examples in the Old Testament of someone going against the law of God and the judgment of God following him. Think about, and I just read this this week, when David numbered the people. I think this was in our daily Bible reading this week. What happened when David numbered the people? If you want to find it, let's go back to the book of Numbers in chapter number 25. Again, we're just looking at Someone transgresses the law of God, there's a just recompense of reward. God promised a reward for sinning. Numbers 20, 25. Verse number one, in Israel, a boat and ship, and the people began to commit whoredoms. Wait a minute. That's another example. What happened when David number of the people, a plague came. That's not in Numbers 24, that's in 2 Samuel somewhere towards the end. But anyway, you know what happened when, if you're listening to my morning devotions, when David numbered the people, a plague came from God and 70,000 people in Israel, 70,000 men in Israel died when David numbered the people. Here, what happened in Numbers 25? Let's read this now. And Israel bowed and shielded, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their God, and the people did eat, and bowed down to their God. And Israel joined himself. Remember what's the commandment? Thou shalt not have no other God before me. And they were told not to go in to women from another country. That was sin against God. And Israel went against God. They joined to Baal Peor. It says, And the angel of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay you every one of his men that were joined unto Baal Peor. And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a midnightish woman to the side of Moses. And inside of all the congregation of the children of Israel who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle, the congregation, And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel, and those that died in the plague were 24,000. So David numbers the people, 70,000 men died. The children of Israel, They sinned going in under Baal Peor. A plague comes and 24,000 people die. Just let me make a little side note here. One of the ways that God brought judgment against sin in the Old Testament was through disease. Let's keep that in mind. 70,000 David. 24,000 here. What happened to the prophecy of Zachariah? The people were not building. I'm not going to get into that. They had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city, and God uses Zachariah to encourage them to work. What's the point here? The author of Hebrews is saying, listen, you need to give heed to the Word of God. You need to give heed unto the things that you've heard. Because what happens if you let them slip? Well, if every sin in the Old Testament received a just recompense reward, what makes us think that we will escape if we neglect to bring salvation? If God judged in the Old Testament, what makes us think we're going to get by free and clear in the New? That's the point the writer of Hebrews is making. Give heed. It's important. Don't let it slip. I got a lot to say, but I don't have time to say it. We'll pick up right there next week. Heavenly Father, I just thank you for this time that we have to be together. And Lord, I just pray that you will encourage us to give heed. Lord, that we don't begin to let things slip. Lord, we thank you that we understand that you are worthy. You're worthy of our dedication. You're worthy of our love. I pray, Lord, that we will love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that we will not let the things of God slip in our lives. We thank you for Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.