Transcript: Jesus Speaks Through Obedience and Faithfulness

Music Music For some time now I have been wanting to bring a message with scripture that has been pressed upon my heart as to how it relates to the depth, the importance and the urgency of one's personal salvation. This scripture is found in Hebrews 12.25 and it says, his will, how much less shall we escape if we reject and turn our backs on him who cautions and admonishes us from heaven. This particular verse is a final warning to the church today, as it was in the day that God spoke to Moses on the mountain. In Hebrews chapter verse 2 and 3 is a parallel scripture that urges us to pay attention to this vital warning. Let's begin in verse 1. Since all of this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past them and slip away. Verse 2. For if the message given through angels, the law spoken by them to Moses, was authentic and proved sure every violation and disobedience received an appropriate, just and adequate penalty. Verse 3. And shall we escape appropriate retribution if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to the great salvation as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever? for it was declared at first by the Lord himself and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard him speak. Verse 3 speaks the same vital warning again. Jesus Christ spoke this warning when he was on the earth and it was the same thing that was spoken from heaven. Jesus was the word of God who issued this dire warning to Moses on the mountain. To refuse Christ means no escape from perdition. His voice shook the earth then, and it will shake the earth again. There was a prophetic word by prophet Haggai, who spoke the word of the Lord, saying in Haggai 2, verse 6, For thus says the Lord of hosts, Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the starry heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land. You see, all things that can be shaken will be removed, and the things that cannot be shaken will remain. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 28, Paul reminds us by saying, therefore by receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe you see by not accepting the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and what and who he says he is brings a fearful pronunciation of death to the one who continually refuses to listen to him. The word is, see that you refuse him not who speaks. The things shaken will be those things that remain of the old man or the old woman. Those things that remain are called sin that people have hung on to like a dear old friend. And this is a solemn but yet comforting matter that is impressed upon the church today especially and that is to hear and heed the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 9 begins by telling when Peter, James and John were led to the mountain with Jesus where God the Father spoke audible words which caused the disciples to fall to their knees and hide their faces due to the great fear they had in hearing the voice of the Almighty. Luke chapter 9 verse 28 beginning in verse 28 about eight days after these teachings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray and as he was praying the appearance of his countenance became altered different and his raiment became dazzling white flashing the brilliance of lightning verse 30 and behold two men were conversing with him Moses and Elijah who appeared in splendor and majesty and brightness and were speaking of his exit from life which he was about to bring to realization in Jerusalem. Now Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep when they fully awoke. They saw his glory, his splendor and majesty and brightness and these two men who stood with him and it occurred as the men were parting from him that Peter said to Jesus, Master it is delightful and good that we are here and let us construct three booths or huts one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah not noticing or knowing what he was saying verse 34 but even as he was saying this a cloud came and began to overshadow them and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear as they entered into the cloud verse 35 then there came a voice out of the cloud saying this is my son, my chosen one, my beloved. Listen to and yield to and obey him. And when the voice had died away Jesus was found there alone and they kept still and told no one at that time of any of these things that they had seen. The bright cloud that overshadowed them was the glory or the divine presence of God and this cloud had great brilliance and great weight which also added to the alarm and the fear that Peter, James and John had when they fell to their knees and buried their faces. The manifestations of the glory of God in this magnitude was unbeknownst to them before. Glory in the Old Testament Hebrew is called kebab, which means weight. And in the New Testament Greek it is pronounced doxa, which carries forth the meaning of God's divine power, his glory and his majesty in the New Testament, and is attributed to Jesus Christ, to whom and in which the New Testament is all about and found in him alone. In John 1, verse 14, the word Christ became flesh, human, incarnate, and tabernacled, fixed his tent of flesh, lived a while among us, and we actually saw his glory, his honor, his majesty. Such glory as an only begotten Son receives from his Father, full of grace, favor, and loving kindness and truth. In Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 17, the scripture says, I always pray to God of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of glory, that he may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into the mysteries and secrets, in the deep and intimate knowledge of him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which he has called you, and how rich is his glorious inheritance in his saints, his set-apart ones. Verse 19, and so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited surpassing greatness of his power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. and also in 1 Corinthians 2.8 None of the rulers of this age or the world perceived and recognized or understood this for if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. And another scripture that we add to this message to confirm what is being said is 2 Thessalonians 2.14-15 It was to this end that he called you through our gospel so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions and instructions which you've been taught by us, whether by our word of mouth or by letter. So as we observe in these scriptures we see that the divine glory means that followers of Christ do not seek glory for themselves but it is found in Jesus Christ our Lord of glory By living faithfully and habitually in Jesus Christ, as we have learned in our last scripture, we may then obtain and share in the glory of our Lord and Savior. and also were warned by Paul when he urges us to stand firm and hold fast to the instructions that we are taught. In other words, do not refuse to believe what you are taught in the Holy Book of Life. Apostle Paul and the others, especially Peter, John, and James, on that day on the mountain when they witnessed Jesus' transformation, they were given the wonderful figurative foretaste of what was to come in revelation of the new covenant in which Jesus was about to make in his death on the cross and his burial and his resurrection. They all had an awesome witness of Jesus Christ's power and glory when he spoke to them. Paul was blinded and knocked off his horse and the others on the mountain with Jesus were enveloped by a bright cloud which signified God's presence and were told by God's almighty commanding voice to obey his son Jesus Christ. Listening to Jesus Christ actually means to be obedient to him. For followers of Jesus today, this means that we will have and maintain a visible acknowledgement and confession of the truth that is found in him alone. Many people are like rabbits. They run every which way and stop and start because they've never learned to be a follower of their Savior. To follow Jesus is a habitual way of life, of listening to him as your teacher and master. The follower of Christ sincerely respects the authority of his teacher because he's come to know him as the Most High God. And yes, God uses his ministers to teach the truth of God, and that is the word of the Lord that they are referring to and always make known that it is Jesus Christ's truth. Amen. That is the truth of Scripture. Psalms chapter 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible, and the writer who was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit throughout these verses was rejoicing in the fact that people who obey God's word wholeheartedly enjoy his blessings. So consequently, he wanted to be more consistently obedient himself. He promised God that he would be more thankful as he continued to learn more about God's word. Dear listener, this tells us the love for God receives expression from our hearts in doing the will of God. Nothing pleases God more than our obedience to his commands out of a grateful heart, full of love to please him. In Psalms 119, beginning in verse 57, the psalmist exclaims the very beginning of the scripture. He starts out with, You are my portion, O Lord. I have promised to keep your words. I entreated your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful and gracious to me according to your promise. I consider my ways and I turn my feet to obey your testimonies. Verse 60 I made haste to delay not to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked have enclosed and ensnared me, I have not forgotten your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you because you have your righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all those who fear, revere, and worship you, and of all who observe and give heed to your precepts. Verse 64. The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy and loving kindness. Teach me your statues. Dear listener, when we have this kind of heart for our loving God and Father and thankfulness for our Savior's sacrifice for our eternal salvation, we come to see that God is all we need and He is our greatest joy in life. With a humble heart and a heart full of love for Jesus Christ, this individual will not be guilty of refusing him who has spoken to him because he or she has held and observed and kept God's word as priority for life and has the reality of their rich inheritance for the better world to come, which is rewarded by their loving God and Father. In the beginning of Psalms 119, verse 57, we saw where the psalmist exclaimed, O Lord, you are my portion. For true and genuine believers in Jesus Christ today, you must know and see beyond the busyness of life that you have a rich and royal inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ because God's fullness is in his Son and if his Son lives in you you have received the portion God has allotted you to see through this journey on earth to your holy destination to the eternal city above. Colossians chapter 2 beginning in verse 9 the word says for in him the whole fullness of the deity of the Godhead continues to dwell in bodily form giving complete expression of the divine nature and you are in him made full and having come to the fullness of life in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and reach full spiritual stature and he is the head and the rule and authority of every angelic principality and power. Verse 11 In him also you were circumcised with circumcision not made with hands but in a spiritual circumcision performed by Christ by stripping off the body of flesh the whole corrupt carnal nature with its passions and lusts. You see, in these verses, where Apostle Paul was addressing the fact that people had come out of the philosophy of the Greeks or the traditions of the Jews, and he was reassuring them, and maybe we could say as well that he was warning them that all that is necessary in securing their salvation is to be found in Jesus Christ alone. So being complete, In Christ is a statement that says there's no need for the purposes of salvation or any aid or a crutch to be derived from popular philosophy or books that express man's imaginations or mental ascent that comes from their senses in which they have written books about. there is completions or filling up of Jesus Christ which leaves no one wanting for anything more in other words everything is complete and found in Christ to enumerate a few things that we've been given in this fullness is wisdom so wisdom as we grow in Christ is needful to guide us so this is part of the fullness Amen. And another is Christ's atonement for our sins. He was the atonement, dear ones, for our sins. And another is the goodness or advantage by which a sinner can be justified. Hallelujah. Justified, not guilty. Praise the Lord. And another is the grace which is needful to sustain us in the midst of trials. and grace to aid us in the duties of life. And in 1 Corinthians, we're going to move on to 1 Corinthians 1, verses 30 and 31. But it is from him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom from God, revealed to us the knowledge of the divine plan of salvation, previously hidden, manifesting itself as our righteousness, thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God, and our consecration making us pure and holy, and our redemption providing our ransom from eternal penalty of sin. Verse 31. So then it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoice in glory, boast and proudly rejoice in glory in the Lord. Hallelujah. We have nothing to glory about in ourselves, precious ones. Can you see that everything is found in Jesus Christ? Our wisdom, our atonement for sin, the goodness by which we are justified, the grace which we need to assist us in the responsibilities of life, all given to us as we live in Jesus Christ. The fullness of Christ belongs to Christ any fullness in us belongs to Christ if you are in Jesus Christ He lives in you And this means you are filled with the Godhead the Father Son and Holy Spirit Dear Church, this is God's way to lead us into the full stature of Christian maturity. Again, Paul is warning the brethren about the wolves that come in with vain philosophies and empty deceit. And let's look at this again. Colossians chapter 2, beginning in verse 8. beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ and I really want you to catch this next part because it's so important in verse 9 for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily verse 10 And you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power, for in him the whole fullness of deity, the Godhead, continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of the divine nature. Verse 10. And you are in him, made full, and having come to the fullness of life in Christ, and you too are filled with the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And reach full spiritual stature. And he is the head of all rule and authority. And every angelic principality and power. In him also you circumcision not made with hands. But in a spiritual circumcision performed by Christ. By stripping off the body of flesh. The whole corrupt carnal nature with its passions and lusts. Verse 10 again says. you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power so Paul is urging his people in that they need to abandon false teachings that they have been holding on to what they had in Christ was completely adequate what we have in Christ today is completely adequate he is the full essence of the deity in whom this fullness permanently resides. Dear Church, this refers to the unique divine essence of God Almighty. Then this is saying this divine quality of God is something that he is willing for other beings to have a share of himself while living in and amongst them. Hallelujah, what a loving God and Father we have and serve. and this fullness of the deity which is the Godhead was present in the fullness Christ bodily formed during his earthly ministry he did not give up his deity when he became man it continued in his resurrected bodily form and in those who live in Christ we are partakers of his fullness hallelujah we have no essential need that Jesus doesn't already supply in his grace and wisdom. Paul said because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, believers who are in union with him are made full, and that means that they share in his fullness. Jesus Christ had to be who he was in order to do what he did for us upon the cross. Glory be to our precious Savior. True believers find their own completion only as they are united to Christ and continue to habitually obey his commands and his precepts. There are many mystery cults who flourished in Paul's time as well in our own time today. They teach that salvation is through enlightenment of self-effort. They say you have everything you need within yourself to accomplish everything you need for happiness in the hereafter. Jesus is totally left out of their equation. And therefore the word tells us that people like this are on the broad way, which is the road to hell. They refuse to believe the one who speaks to them. Their hearts have never been circumcised, which is only found in Jesus Christ. And the spiritual circumcision is done without hands. And Paul tells us in Colossians chapter 2 verse 1 that it is the putting off of the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Jesus Christ. Dear listener, this is a concerted effort on one's part to comply with this command. Putting off the body of sins of the flesh is renouncing the deeds of the flesh and absolutely hating them because they defile the moral character of the individual. In 1 John 3, verses 4-6, we read, Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins. And in him there is no sin. whoever abides in him does not sin and whoever sins has neither seen him or known him you see many people sit in the pews of church every Sunday and have never stopped the sinful practices and activities in their lives God demands that those who belong to him will grow in righteousness and holy moral character which represents their Savior and pattern, Jesus Christ. We go back to what was stated before. That is, Jesus has provided everything we need for victory over sin in our lives. And we read in Psalms 119, verse 57 through 64, the psalmist exclaims, You are my portion, O Lord. I have promised to keep your words. I've entreated your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful and gracious to me according to your promise. I consider my ways. I turn my feet to obey your testimonies. I made haste and delayed not to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked have enclosed and ensnared me, I have not forgotten your law. at midnight I will arise to give thanks to you because of your righteous ordinances I am a companion of all those who fear revere and worship you and of those who observe and give heed to your precepts 64 oh the earth oh Lord is full of your mercy and loving kindness teach me your statues hallelujah what a heart of love you know again I say that when we have this kind of heart for our loving God and Father and are full of thankfulness for our Savior's sacrifice of eternal salvation, we come to see that God is all we need and he becomes our greatest joy in life. Our greatest joy in life. And with this kind of earnest desire in our hearts for the Lord, we will surely never come to the place where we refuse him who speaks to us. he is our portion forever portion here in the Hebrew means my part of the inheritance hallelujah amen and this is my part in the inheritance in God almighty amen in God almighty in the Lord Jesus Christ so with God as our portion as our inheritance this speaks of unspeakable joy beyond measure imagine that Your heart understands the inheritance or part that you have in the Almighty Creator. Did you know that after the psalmist saying that you are my portion, O Lord, he says, I have said that I will keep your words. Well, what he's made here is a vow. He made a solemn oath or promise to God that he would heed and obey the word of God. Does this not tell us this is rather like the horse and carriage example where you can't have one without the other? And this is truly important and is understood there is to be a blessing from God. We can't just say, God is my inheritance, which means my part, and not be active in your salvation process. You see, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are our divine inheritance or our treasure. Every mercy given to us from God that the Lord brings with it, a claim which we ought with holy gratitude recognize as a blessing from our gracious Abba Father in heaven. Every blessing that comes, our Heavenly Papa sent it. Hallelujah let it be said Amen Dear Church living in Christ is our part or our inheritance we are never promised exemption from trials or troubles we know according to the word of God that trials and tribulations bring us closer to God and we know as well that these trials are meant to refine us as pure gold In the smelting or the refinement process of gold the dross comes to the top and is thrown away. The dross was a symbol for the imperfection of sinful Israel. In the smelting process, heat is applied to ore that contains precious metal. This causes the imperfections to separate, leaving only pure metal. Prophet Isaiah warned the nation of Israel that it had become impure and would require purging in this way. So dross represents sin. So God Almighty in his mercy will use trials and tribulations to show us our sins. And in his grace he will help us. He will give us everything we need to remove those things which hinder our spiritual growth in his son Jesus Christ. But we do have our part in this process. It is called surrendering our wills to God's will. He is a holy God. And he only wants holy people who love his righteousness and his holy ways in which he commands. Apostle Paul was one who lived with a trial after he came to Jesus Christ. And it was called a thorn in the flesh. This was given to Paul because he had been given great and awesome knowledge and insight into the secret and intimate things and ways of God. And he was taken up into heaven and shown more awesome things which he says he cannot share. When Paul prayed to God and asked him to remove this painful trial, God told him that his grace was sufficient for him. You see, God's favor, resting upon Paul for the trial, was meant to keep Paul closer to God in the remainder of his life on earth. And remember, Paul wrote most of the New Testament, and he knew what awaited him on the other side of this life on earth. Dear church, believers today have a rich and royal spiritual inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ just as Paul had in his day. And we must remember, to whom much is given, much in return is expected. Paul was obviously given much. He is a wonderful example for us to glean from. And we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that we never be found guilty of refusing to listen to he who speaks to us. Jesus Christ is our life and our all in all. Because we are in him, we have all things necessary that pertain to life and godliness. 1 Peter 1, verses 3 and 4 declare, for his divine power has bestowed upon us all things that are requisite and suited to life and godliness through the full personal knowledge of him who called us by and to his own glory and excellent virtue by means of these he's bestowed upon us his precious and exceedingly great promises that through them you may escape by flight the moral decay the rottenness and corruption that is in the world because of covetousness, lust and greed and become sharers, partakers of the divine nature. Hallelujah. So our riches in Christ are revealed in the word which are the promises and these promises never decrease or fade away. They are eternal divine promises from our almighty God who never lies. we are not required to repay God for the wealth of promises that he has given us and the gracious gift of eternal life no way that we can repay God, Jesus Christ did everything for us we just accept the wonderful gift of his inheritance which he has given us and we rejoice in it and continue to trust him to supply every need that we have Amen God Almighty should be your greatest joy dear listener it should be the Christians greatest joy to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and not only to know him but to love him to hear his voice to obey his will are all necessary to please the one who created and loves you with an undying love praying to him and praising him and fellowshipping with him should be most refreshing and satisfying because this is what pleases him. At the beginning of this message today, our main opening scripture was found in Hebrews 12, verse 25. And this verse declares, See to it that you do not reject him or refuse to listen to and heed him who is speaking to you now. For if they, the Israelites, did not escape when they refused to listen and heed him who warned and divinely instructed them here on earth, revealing with heavenly warnings his will, how much less shall we escape if we reject and turn our backs on him who cautions and admonishes us from heaven. So again, dear listener, this particular verse is a final warning to the church today, as it was in the day that God spoke to Moses on the mountain. In spite of the disobedience of mankind and the ravages of sin that we see in our world today that destroys God's people and his creation, the earth is still full of God's loving kindness. And though we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, God Almighty is our home and his son Jesus Christ is our dwelling place as he lives in us and we in him. Hallelujah, glory to God, praise him. So in the Old Testament, Moses, the man of God, prayed in Psalms chapter 90, verse 1, and declared, Lord, you have been our dwelling place, our refuge in all generations. And in the New Testament, in John chapter 6, verses 56 and 57, Jesus declared, He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood dwells continually in me, and I, like in manner, dwell continually in him. Verse 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live by, through, because of the Father, even so, whoever continues to feed on me, whoever takes me for his food and is nourished by me, shall in turn live through and because of me. The flesh and blood here represents Jesus Christ as the word of God. He was made flesh for us. He shed his blood on the cross so we would be given life in light of his truth. There is life in the blood, the scripture tells us. So when you receive the word of God in your heart, you receive Jesus Christ who is the word of God and truth. We eat his flesh by partaking of the word of God. Jesus said, I am the living bread who has come down from heaven. living in Jesus Christ and having continual fellowship with him is obeying the commands of the truth which we learn and grow in daily this is the new birth process in Matthew chapter 4 verse 4 Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God I am this message today by saying that if you grasp the meaning of this word today and do those things that scripture commands you have and hold the words of eternal life those who refuse to hear him who speaks from above and are disobedient will have fearful and rude awakening at the end of their lives on this earth to refuse Christ means no escape from perdition but as faithful followers of Jesus Christ who are pilgrims and strangers on this earth passing through remember as God is your dwelling place now on this earth and as you are his temple you will have nothing to fear on that day that he calls you home and again I remind you that God spoke from heaven saying, Do not refuse him who speaks to you. Dear ones, always be thankful and delight yourselves in your Lord Jesus Christ and his wonderful sacrifice that he made on the cross just for you personally. .