Is it worth it?
Hebrews 1-2
Why be a follower of Jesus? Is it worth devoting our lives to a man who lived 2000
years ago? The author of Hebrews begins with a simple prescription for dealing with
doubts like these: "We must pay more careful attention." But why? Amidst all
the religious options around us, what makes Jesus worth paying attention to?
1. What He has done (1: 1-2)
2. Who He is. (1: 4 ff)
3. The consequences of ignoring Him ( 2:2-3)
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Remember when you learned to drive? All the things you had to pay attention to and
how nerve wracking it could be? Especially if you learned to drive a stick shift.
You're concentrating on getting your foot on the clutch, moving the gear shift
-- all seems to be going well until you hear a yell from beside you. Pay attention to the
road!
I have a terrible time keeping my attention focussed in grocery stores. If you meet
me in a grocery store, there's a good chance I'll be standing in an aisle with a
blank look on my face muttering to myself, "now what was I here for?". If I don't
have a list I have to repeat my list over and over again or I'm sunk. Malls are even
worse. Carol has learned that its dangerous to take me into a Mall. Takes about
5 minutes for my eyes to glaze over. Within ten minutes I turn into a dishrag.
There are so many distractions -- so much stimulus that I lose focus, become distracted, and
begin to drift.
The problem -- spiritual distraction resulting in drift. Spiritual Attention Deficit
Disorder.
The Hebrews situation. A deep religious identity crisis. They were Jews who had
become Christians -- and at first there was little conflict. But now the Jewish
people were divided. The lines were drawn starkly between Jewish and Christian communities. They loved their Jewish roots -- the temple, the priesthood, the ritual. It had
deep meaning and attachment for them. Now they were facing pressure. It was no
longer so easy to be Jewish and Christian at the same time -- opposition was strong.
It was natural to begin to doubt. What if we've been wrong about Jesus? Could it all
have been a mistake?
What was it we were here for? Now why were we doing this?
And you know what happens when people lose sight of the purpose of things -- when
they're pulled in many different directions? They get demoralized and discouraged.
This was happening with the Hebrews. We know from later on in the book that a
number of them had lost interest in meeting together. They had forgotten the point of it
all. Their lives were becoming fragmented.
The whole of the book of Hebrews addresses this problem -- the problem of spiritual
drift.
As we read, look for the exhortations -- these are the key to the author's point.
Turn with me to Hebrews 1:1 - 2:5 -- that will be on p ______ in your pew Bibles.
The our first prescription for spiritual drift -- pay attention to what you have heard.
Draw your attention back to what is important. Get back to the basics. Reset
your spiritual compass.
So right from the beginning of the book the author of Hebrews sets out to separate
what is important from what is peripheral -- to show us where our attention should
be focussed. Well, you're all pretty bright. You can probably guess the answer.
If you need a hint -- begins with a J.
The whole point of the book of Hebrews is to get our eyes off of lesser things and
onto Jesus. But why? What makes Jesus worth paying attention to? Friends from
other religious traditions frequently complain -- why do you Christians make so much
of Jesus. If you would not be so preoccupied with Jesus we could get along great -- fellow
God-seekers and all of that. That was exactly the kind of pressure the Hebrew Christians
were under -- and the author of Hebrews sets out to convince them that Jesus really IS worthy of their attention, their devotion, their very lives.
1. What He has done (1: 1-2)
What did Jesus do that stands out -- what would make him worthy of our devotion?
Everything!
revealed God completely and perfectly
made the universe
sustains all things by his powerful word
provided purification for sins
2. Who He is. (1: 4 ff)
radiance of God's glory, exact representation of his being
superior to the angels, object of their worship
heir of all things, exalted by God
everlasting ruler
unchanging
3. The consequences of ignoring Him ( 2:2-3)
if the message spoken by the angels was binding, and every violation received its
just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?
OT example of punishment.
This week there will be countless things clamoring for your attention -- people, products,
tasks, ideas, activities. Many of these things will be good and worthwhile.
But whether you call yourself a Christian or not, there will be only one truly worthy focus of your attention . Pull your attention back to Jesus and the other demands
on your attention will fall into their proper places -- allow your attention to wander
and you will begin to drift aimlessly. Are you tired of drifting spiritually? If
you are suffering from spiritual drift, this is the time to address the problem:
"We must more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not
drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation
and disobedience recieved its just punishment, how shall we ignore so great a salvation?"
Next week, more on keeping focussed.