Walk On Nov 24, 2019 by: John Herbert | Series: Misc Audio PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T005_20191124.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Today's message will be complimentary to the Survey of the Bible but will not be part of the study. The full text of today's message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday November 24th 2019 Walk On 1). Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, In our recent studies for the Biblical Survey we have encountered the absolute necessity of not turning away from Him who speaks from heaven because the Scripture says ‘much more’ will we not escape than those who refused Him who spoke on earth, if we do. And contained in this thought of turning away from Him who speaks into a contrary direction, is the inter-relationship between hearing and doing. As we would know it is not enough just to hear what the Lord has spoken to us through His Word concerning His coming Kingdom and the inherited salvation connected to it, we must also take His instruction, that which we have heard, and walk it out in our lives day by day following the direction He has given us – Ro 2:13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And as we do this, we will remember that we are in the process of being child trained by the Lord in order to fulfill His calling in us, taking us from the land of our birth to the land of our calling to adopt us as a firstborn son – Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling…………. Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening [child training] of the Lord, Pr 15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent. 6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble……….9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness. 10 Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die. There is no equivocation in these verses. Dependent upon receiving or not receiving the child training of the Lord, upon hearing what the Lord has spoken from heaven, we can either be a fool and classed as wicked, with the certainty of death for the age to come, or we can be prudent finding ourselves in the ranks of the righteous anticipating much treasure in that Day – Mt 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We can have ears to hear and be rich toward God or become dull of hearing and turn back ultimately to perdition having refused Him who spoke from heaven. It’s really not a difficult choice in the choosing, but again our choice must be accompanied by action so that we may build correctly upon our foundation producing treasures in heaven – 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 2). Now, keeping all this in mind let’s return again to look at the example of the nation of Israel and particularly that which Jeremiah the Prophet recorded concerning them in - Jer 6:16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ As we look at these verses, we will note the Lord’s instruction to His people to ‘stand in the ways and see’. They were to look at the ‘ways’ set before them, to look at the direction they should take. And inevitably there was a choice that had to be made as to which ‘way’ to walk in – Pr 2:10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; And to make the right choice, the Lord told Israel to, ‘ask for the old paths, where the good way is’ – Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. And had they chosen to walk in the good way that God would teach them and instruct them in, ‘Then you will find rest for your souls’. But we see plainly Israel’s response, ‘they said we will not walk in it’. a). So, let’s note that eternally saved Israel heard what the Lord spoke to them about what to do to walk in the good way in order to find rest for their souls. They heard, but they would not walk in it. They would not be doers of the Word. They refused Him who spoke. b). As we continue in the Jeremiah verses, we see that not only did God speak to His adopted firstborn son concerning the good way they should go but also set over them ‘watchmen’ and told the nation to ‘listen for the sound of the trumpet’. c). This imagery of the watchmen and the sounding of the trumpet we can cross-reference with Ezekiel – Eze 33:1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. What we see here is pretty obvious. If disaster was seen to be coming the watchman was to sound the alarm by blowing the trumpet. If those hearing the trumpet ignored it and disaster struck, then their blood was on their own head, there was no one else to blame. But on hearing the trumpet, if the warning was received, and the appropriate action taken then that one’s life would be saved. d). Within the context of the Jeremiah verses the watchmen would be Israel’s pre-exilic prophets, who warned them concerning the disaster that would come in the form of captivity as they continued along the wrong path – Jer 7:23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27 “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. And as we see from both sets of verses from Jeremiah, ‘they said, “We will not listen”.’ And the consequences of refusing Him who spoke we know only too well. The first generation to come out of Egypt perished in the wilderness, coming short of the purpose for their deliverance. Those to whom Jeremiah and the other pre-exilic prophets gave warning were taken into captivity and the generation alive at the Lord’s first advent lost the Kingdom of the Heavens for all time because they refused Him. e). And let’s note again that the first generation, those taken into captivity and the generation of the Lord’s advent were all eternally saved, all heard that which God had spoken, but refused to be doers of the Word - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They were warned constantly but refused to act upon the warnings. And as a result, there is now a generation of Jews bearing the guilt of the previous generations that must endure the most horrific time of persecution that the world will have ever seen – the time of Jacob’s trouble. 3). Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; The same God who spoke in time past on earth to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us from Heaven in the person of Son – Mt 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Heb 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, And this One who speaks from heaven through the living written Word we are to hear and as Israel should have done, we should ask for, ‘the old paths, where the good way is’ that we might ‘find rest’ for our souls – Jn 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 1 Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; Heb 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. And if we go back to where we began this morning, we will realize that we have had the gospel of the glory of Christ preached to us and we have heard His voice speak through the Scriptures, but that which we have heard must be accompanied by action. Our faith to the saving of the soul, that which we have heard and believed, must translate into action so that it may be brought to its goal through our works of faithful obedience – Jas 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And because the saving of the soul is a present on-going process, we will all find ourselves at a different place on the same pathway – Php 3:16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. And if we are in any doubt as to where the good way is, let’s remember - Mt 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. All we have to do is ask and the Lord will grant us the wisdom to know the good way where we will find rest for our souls. And as we hear Him who speaks from heaven, so we will be able to make straight paths for our feet being doers of the Word – straight paths that are the ‘good way’ that we might find rest for our souls – Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. That which is lame, our unbelief can be healed by believing that which God has said and acting upon it thereby making the straight [smooth and even] paths for our feet. And this can only happen one way – Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. And once again, the straight paths we are to make for our feet through our faithful obedience is the ‘good way’ we are to walk in to find rest for our souls. a). So, perhaps we can take a moment to think about how smooth our path is at present by reflecting on just a few examples – Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord………25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, Php 2: 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ……………..14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life……….. 2 Pe 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 4). Acts 20:25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. On his way to Rome and ultimately to his death, Paul stopped at Miletus and called the elders of the Church at Ephesus to come to him and the 3 verses we have just read are part of what he said to them. And we might note that his reference to being ‘innocent of the blood of all men’ echoes Ezekiel and the words recorded there about the watchmen who were to sound the trumpet to warn the hearers of what was about to happen. a). And the reason Paul gave for being innocent of the blood of all men is that he had not ‘shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.’ b). And what we might draw from this for ourselves is that the whole counsel of God has been preached to us all as well – Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ro 2:21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? We know, because we have had it established line upon line, precept upon precept, that the coming of Christ’s Kingdom is an absolute reality. We know that this dispensation is on the cusp of closure and when it does, that we will all appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ where our works of faithful obedience will be judged. And we know the consequences for our success in the race of the faith and the consequences should we fail. And hard though it may be at times to hear the warnings – Ro 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. The warnings and the promises have been declared to us, revealing both the goodness and the severity of God – Ro 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. The warnings themselves are neither negative, nor condemning, unless our heart condemns us because of what we hear. And if our heart condemns us, then God offers us the opportunity for repentance to deal with the unbelief that causes us to limp – 1 Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Perhaps these days we could say in the words of the old hymn, ‘My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…’ And having seen with the eyes of faith the great and precious promises given to us, perhaps this is a good time to make sure we are giving the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, to make sure we are not in the process of becoming dull of hearing, to make sure we are laying aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and progressing from faith to faith so that an entrance will be supplied abundantly to us into our Lord’s Kingdom – 1 Th 2:11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. Php 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. And if we should be foolish enough to choose the wrong path and follow the wrong example, then on our own head be it. We have no excuse. 1 Th 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.25 Brethren, pray for us. A return to the Biblical survey next week – if the Lord is willing. Walk On Nov 24, 2019 Speaker: John Herbert Series: Misc Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T005_20191124.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Today's message will be complimentary to the Survey of the Bible but will not be part of the study. The full text of today's message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday November 24th 2019 Walk On 1). Heb 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, In our recent studies for the Biblical Survey we have encountered the absolute necessity of not turning away from Him who speaks from heaven because the Scripture says ‘much more’ will we not escape than those who refused Him who spoke on earth, if we do. And contained in this thought of turning away from Him who speaks into a contrary direction, is the inter-relationship between hearing and doing. As we would know it is not enough just to hear what the Lord has spoken to us through His Word concerning His coming Kingdom and the inherited salvation connected to it, we must also take His instruction, that which we have heard, and walk it out in our lives day by day following the direction He has given us – Ro 2:13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And as we do this, we will remember that we are in the process of being child trained by the Lord in order to fulfill His calling in us, taking us from the land of our birth to the land of our calling to adopt us as a firstborn son – Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling…………. Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening [child training] of the Lord, Pr 15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent. 6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble……….9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness. 10 Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die. There is no equivocation in these verses. Dependent upon receiving or not receiving the child training of the Lord, upon hearing what the Lord has spoken from heaven, we can either be a fool and classed as wicked, with the certainty of death for the age to come, or we can be prudent finding ourselves in the ranks of the righteous anticipating much treasure in that Day – Mt 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We can have ears to hear and be rich toward God or become dull of hearing and turn back ultimately to perdition having refused Him who spoke from heaven. It’s really not a difficult choice in the choosing, but again our choice must be accompanied by action so that we may build correctly upon our foundation producing treasures in heaven – 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 2). Now, keeping all this in mind let’s return again to look at the example of the nation of Israel and particularly that which Jeremiah the Prophet recorded concerning them in - Jer 6:16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ As we look at these verses, we will note the Lord’s instruction to His people to ‘stand in the ways and see’. They were to look at the ‘ways’ set before them, to look at the direction they should take. And inevitably there was a choice that had to be made as to which ‘way’ to walk in – Pr 2:10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; And to make the right choice, the Lord told Israel to, ‘ask for the old paths, where the good way is’ – Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. And had they chosen to walk in the good way that God would teach them and instruct them in, ‘Then you will find rest for your souls’. But we see plainly Israel’s response, ‘they said we will not walk in it’. a). So, let’s note that eternally saved Israel heard what the Lord spoke to them about what to do to walk in the good way in order to find rest for their souls. They heard, but they would not walk in it. They would not be doers of the Word. They refused Him who spoke. b). As we continue in the Jeremiah verses, we see that not only did God speak to His adopted firstborn son concerning the good way they should go but also set over them ‘watchmen’ and told the nation to ‘listen for the sound of the trumpet’. c). This imagery of the watchmen and the sounding of the trumpet we can cross-reference with Ezekiel – Eze 33:1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. What we see here is pretty obvious. If disaster was seen to be coming the watchman was to sound the alarm by blowing the trumpet. If those hearing the trumpet ignored it and disaster struck, then their blood was on their own head, there was no one else to blame. But on hearing the trumpet, if the warning was received, and the appropriate action taken then that one’s life would be saved. d). Within the context of the Jeremiah verses the watchmen would be Israel’s pre-exilic prophets, who warned them concerning the disaster that would come in the form of captivity as they continued along the wrong path – Jer 7:23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27 “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. And as we see from both sets of verses from Jeremiah, ‘they said, “We will not listen”.’ And the consequences of refusing Him who spoke we know only too well. The first generation to come out of Egypt perished in the wilderness, coming short of the purpose for their deliverance. Those to whom Jeremiah and the other pre-exilic prophets gave warning were taken into captivity and the generation alive at the Lord’s first advent lost the Kingdom of the Heavens for all time because they refused Him. e). And let’s note again that the first generation, those taken into captivity and the generation of the Lord’s advent were all eternally saved, all heard that which God had spoken, but refused to be doers of the Word - Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They were warned constantly but refused to act upon the warnings. And as a result, there is now a generation of Jews bearing the guilt of the previous generations that must endure the most horrific time of persecution that the world will have ever seen – the time of Jacob’s trouble. 3). Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; The same God who spoke in time past on earth to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us from Heaven in the person of Son – Mt 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Heb 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, And this One who speaks from heaven through the living written Word we are to hear and as Israel should have done, we should ask for, ‘the old paths, where the good way is’ that we might ‘find rest’ for our souls – Jn 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 1 Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; Heb 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. And if we go back to where we began this morning, we will realize that we have had the gospel of the glory of Christ preached to us and we have heard His voice speak through the Scriptures, but that which we have heard must be accompanied by action. Our faith to the saving of the soul, that which we have heard and believed, must translate into action so that it may be brought to its goal through our works of faithful obedience – Jas 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And because the saving of the soul is a present on-going process, we will all find ourselves at a different place on the same pathway – Php 3:16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. And if we are in any doubt as to where the good way is, let’s remember - Mt 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. All we have to do is ask and the Lord will grant us the wisdom to know the good way where we will find rest for our souls. And as we hear Him who speaks from heaven, so we will be able to make straight paths for our feet being doers of the Word – straight paths that are the ‘good way’ that we might find rest for our souls – Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. That which is lame, our unbelief can be healed by believing that which God has said and acting upon it thereby making the straight [smooth and even] paths for our feet. And this can only happen one way – Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. And once again, the straight paths we are to make for our feet through our faithful obedience is the ‘good way’ we are to walk in to find rest for our souls. a). So, perhaps we can take a moment to think about how smooth our path is at present by reflecting on just a few examples – Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord………25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, Php 2: 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ……………..14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life……….. 2 Pe 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 4). Acts 20:25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. On his way to Rome and ultimately to his death, Paul stopped at Miletus and called the elders of the Church at Ephesus to come to him and the 3 verses we have just read are part of what he said to them. And we might note that his reference to being ‘innocent of the blood of all men’ echoes Ezekiel and the words recorded there about the watchmen who were to sound the trumpet to warn the hearers of what was about to happen. a). And the reason Paul gave for being innocent of the blood of all men is that he had not ‘shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.’ b). And what we might draw from this for ourselves is that the whole counsel of God has been preached to us all as well – Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ro 2:21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? We know, because we have had it established line upon line, precept upon precept, that the coming of Christ’s Kingdom is an absolute reality. We know that this dispensation is on the cusp of closure and when it does, that we will all appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ where our works of faithful obedience will be judged. And we know the consequences for our success in the race of the faith and the consequences should we fail. And hard though it may be at times to hear the warnings – Ro 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. The warnings and the promises have been declared to us, revealing both the goodness and the severity of God – Ro 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. The warnings themselves are neither negative, nor condemning, unless our heart condemns us because of what we hear. And if our heart condemns us, then God offers us the opportunity for repentance to deal with the unbelief that causes us to limp – 1 Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Perhaps these days we could say in the words of the old hymn, ‘My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…’ And having seen with the eyes of faith the great and precious promises given to us, perhaps this is a good time to make sure we are giving the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, to make sure we are not in the process of becoming dull of hearing, to make sure we are laying aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and progressing from faith to faith so that an entrance will be supplied abundantly to us into our Lord’s Kingdom – 1 Th 2:11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. Php 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. And if we should be foolish enough to choose the wrong path and follow the wrong example, then on our own head be it. We have no excuse. 1 Th 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.25 Brethren, pray for us. A return to the Biblical survey next week – if the Lord is willing.