Brethren, we need to be in a state where we are keeping Christ
before our hearts, our minds, our sight, all the time.
You need to be thinking;
“What comes into my life that challenges that?”
You need to be thinking about dedicated seasons.
Guess what.
You don’t have what happens to Charles Simeon or Jonathan Edwards or Thomas Charles unless your doing what they do.
Which is meditation.
We live in a day where meditation is almost impossible.
We’ve got so many toys.
So much noise.
So many distractions.
I mean, which ones of us here don’t have a cell phone in our pocket?
There was a day when Jonathan Edwards
could ride his horse in the woods to meditate on Christ
and the phone wouldn’t ring.
It’s not a positive thing that you have a cell phone
and you can be reached at anytime.
And that no matter when somebody calls you, you answer.
You ought to have seasons in your life
when you turn that thing off.
You need to have times in your life...
Brethren, look at a week of your life with me.
How much time are you...
Which ones of you are taking a hour
where you say; “I’m gonna go for a walk and
I am going to seek to meditate on the first 4 verses of Hebrews.
And I wanna chew on those.
And I wanna begin to ask questions.
And I wanna to be able to compare scripture with scripture in my mind.
And I wanna think on Christ.
And I wanna think on His Person.
And I wanna think what that means.
Brethren, when you become filled with
a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory
over the glories of Christ.
That’s where health comes from, right?
The joy of the Lord is what?
It’s your strength.
Don’t tell me that people that become
unable to speak
because of an exhilarating glory of Christ.
And then the only words that can come out,
amid tears, and deep heart movement of the truth
of the reality of the Person of Christ.
And all they can say is; “Glory, Glory.”
People like that
they don’t go out and let sin and weight cling to them.
They don’t go out and have to be told to obey
those that have leadership or attend meetings
or be fruitful in their life.
Or to be careful lest they fall away.
People are not headed back to the old country
when they have experienced Christ like that.
But if you’ve...
Listen, this book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear.
You live lives like this and you win this race by things you do.
That’s the reality.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Brethren, people fall out of this race all the time.
They fall out all the time.
Don’t fall out.
There are strong encouragements to hold fast brethren.
You’ve got to give yourself
to filling your mind, your heart, your faith, your knowledge
with Christ.
It has to be a priority.
If you’ve got time to play video games
and to be on your computer
and to be on facebook
and to be writing emails
and to be text messaging
and to be searching and sifting every conceivable thing.
Brethren, weight.
Remember what weight is.
You say; “But I’m looking at sermons.”
Brethren, a sermon on the Internet can become weight
if your not taking time to be with Christ alone,
meditating on His glories.
Not having somebody else regurgitate the whole thing all the time.
You need to be there in the word for yourself.
You need to be praying and walking with Christ for yourself.
Not being spoon fed everything.
It doesn’t matter.
You say; “Well, I watch 3 Paul Washer sermons last night.”
Brethren, that cannot make up for this.
These men found glory by themselves with Christ.
Meditating in the word.
Yes those things may be good but they can become weight.
You say; “ But I got friends. I’m wanting to communicate with them.”
It can become weight.
You’ve got to make sacrifices to be seeing the glories of Christ.
And that and that alone are healing Brethren.
There is no other healing mechanism in the Christian life
but Christ.
And intimacy and glory and beholding and laying hold
and being swept away and filled with joy.
There is no substitute at all.
Brethren, this is the heart and soul of this book of Hebrews.
A strong encouragement.
Hold fast.
And its Him brethren. It’s Him.
The hope we have..
Doesn’t it say that Jesus Christ are hope. 1 Timothy 1:1
He is the hope.
You have no hope outside of Him.
And you need to hold fast.
Holding fast doesn’t mean letting go for all this stuff and weight in your life.
And it clings so easily.
And all you have to do is not make an effort and you’ll just drift.
It’s a fight brethren.
God help us.