Devote your Mind to God’s Truth

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Many of us are being pulled in so many directions with life's challenges and responsibilities. It can be easy to put some areas of our lives on autopilot. But are we still paying attention where it counts? Our text from Hebrews 2, 1-4 challenges us with this. We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. We don't drift in a positive direction, and spiritual drift leads to destruction. Therefore, we must devote ourselves to God's truth, allowing it to inform our decisions and attitudes.

C.S. Lewis pointed out that Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the one thing it cannot be is moderately important. Let's listen in now. This is the third part of a message preached on April 29, 2012 titled Devote Your Mind to God's Truth. We have rebelled against His goodness and His holiness, and His goodness dictate it's a necessary wrath that He removed from Himself that which is contrary to His character and His purpose.

Because He is good, He defines good. What is not in line with His character and purpose cannot be good. And because He is a good and loving God, He necessarily must remove from Himself that which destroys. That's the necessary wrath of God.

Your rescue from the necessary wrath of God comes through reconciliation. Think of it this way. God is like a tank.

Okay? God is like a tank. You know, a Sherman tank.

Tanks destroy things. There is wrath. A tank is there to execute wrath. There is only one way to be rescued from the wrath.

And what is it? Get in the tank. And that's what Jesus did. He got out of the tank. He came to us.

He says, here, take my hand. I'll take you in the tank. The only place where you're going to be safe from the necessary holy wrath of God is in the tank. You might kick the tank and say, not for me.

I don't believe it. You might even kick it and ridicule it and say, that's stupid. But God is also like a tank like this. You ever seen a tank? You ever try to kick a tank? If you kick a tank, who gets hurt? Not the tank. Let's put it that way.

Okay? God is like a tank. So the writer of Hebrews is warning us here this morning, devote your mind to God's truth for your good. Because the message is rescue. The message is rescue through reconciliation. And he started the whole book off that way in chapter one, verses one to three. So if you are not a Christian here this morning, that message is for you.

That so what is for you. You need to be reconciled to God. Jesus came to reconcile you to Himself. And it comes through surrendered faith in Jesus Christ. When you surrender yourself to Him in faith, His righteousness becomes yours and you are the one who is the one who is the one who is the one whose righteousness becomes yours and you get in the tank and you are safe from the wrath of God. That is an awesome message.

Okay Christians, here's the so what for you and me. Therefore we ought to pay the more earnest heed to these things, lest we drift away. Point number one, do not check your brains at the door. You know when you come into a place like a restaurant or even come into any nice place like this, we used to have coat racks out here but don't anymore because it's not cold, you don't need a coat. But you know you come into a place and what you do is you take off your coat and you check it at the door.

You know you go to somebody's house and when it's cold outside, they meet you at the door and they say may I take your coat and they put it on a hanger and they hang it up, something like that. Don't check your brains at the door. When you come into the place, don't check your brains at the door.

What do I mean by that? God's word is given to us not just for our information but for our transformation which means if God's word is going to transform us, we must engage it. We must pay all the more attention furiously, give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard, the revelation that God has given us because remember who's speaking, the awesome and clear message of God is for us. And you know what, here's the challenge and I can identify with this because I've been a Christian for a long time.

I came to Christ when I was 11 years old, almost 11 years old but all my life I've been in a Christian home, all my life I've gone to church. I don't remember a time I've not gone to church. You know what the downside to that can be, not is but can be, is that the things of God and church become commonplace to me.

Folks, that's a danger and you know what happens when they become common because that's the idea of neglect. When things become common to me then yeah whatever, heard that before, it's nice. It's not just nice, it's the infinite inspired word of a living God. When we pursue truth we can't just put ourselves on cruise control. Okay, I'm on my way to heaven, now let's just get on with life.

That's not why God's word is given to us. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, people wish to be settled. You can agree with that, can't you?

You like to be comfortable. People wish to be settled only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them. Hence, my task this morning to stir you up a little bit when it comes to God's word. Because here's an important point, this is C.S. Lewis, okay, Christianity if false is of no importance.

This is what C.S. Lewis said, Christianity if false is of no importance and if true is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.

The one thing it cannot be is moderately important. Oh yeah, the gospel, yeah that's nice. Do you understand what the message is?

It is of infinite importance. So when I say don't check your brains at the door, here's something you know we're going through some transitions here at Grace Bible Church and typically in the church throughout history so much, not just this church but the church, so much of the emphasis and priority has been in the presentation of truth. I'm wanting to change that and that doesn't mean I shouldn't be the best communicator I ought to be when it comes to the word of God.

I want to be a good communicator, I want to become a better communicator. But here's the point, when you come in that door I'm hoping that you don't just come in and say, boy I hope Rich has a really good message today, hope he keeps me awake. I mean some people say that, you know, Rich you're gonna have to do good today to keep me awake.

I'm okay with that. I saw a man fall asleep once listening to John MacArthur, I feel better now. I was sitting right next to the guy, you know, he was his laptop in his lap and he had his thumb on the E and he had a whole screen full of E's. I could be the world's best, most polished communicator and you come in here having checked your brains at the door and leave here and say that was a really nice message, Rich. And what will God's word do for you? It's time that we start transitioning to have high expectations of those who are receiving God's word and engaging God's word. Yes, I want to be a good presenter but are you a good listener? Are you engaging the word of God?

You look the back on the back of your bulletin today there are questions. We have studied, we have started something, you know this, you know, we did sermon-based discussion groups and we're going to be continuing those and long you'll be hearing a lot more about that. But as we get together in groups, discussion groups, the idea is for the word of God to be presented with authority and then you listen for the word of God with expectancy and humility and you study that and you take that in and you absorb it and then we get together in groups and we discuss it and we bring the word of God into our day to day so that God's word actually transforms my life. So that our expectations now are not only for really good presentation of the word of God but our expectation as a church is for really good engagement of the word of God in your life so that God's word comes into your day to day and transforms you into the image of Jesus Christ. That's our transition and that's what the writer of Hebrews is saying.

We ought to devote the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away. It is so easy to come into church and plop yourself down on a chair and veg. Yeah, feed me, feed me, feed me. I can't do that. I'm not here to spoon feed you.

And I want you to become much better. Listen, this is not a castigation, okay? It's not saying, yo, I've been a bunch of lazy nitwits. That's not easy.

It's easy to do. It's easy to sit in church and just, you know how I could prove this? Half an hour after church dismisses today, let me meet you out in the parking lot. What was the message about today? What did you bring away from the message?

What really impacted you that's really going to change your heart and mind and mold you to the name of Jesus Christ? You ever thought of that? Speaking on the phone with somebody up in Pennsylvania. Oh man, somebody in my brother's church up in Pennsylvania. Oh man, his name's Harry. Oh, just an awesome, excellent message.

Yeah, really? What was his message about? Don't check your brains at the door. Because if you check your brains at the door, here's what's going to happen. You'll become vulnerable to ideas that distract you from the preeminence of Christ. And that's the whole purpose of this book, to show the utter futility of any system that does not recognize the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

System of thought, system of ideas, system of philosophy, any religious system that falls short of the supremacy of Christ is futility. And if my day to day, if I am not recognizing and acknowledging the supremacy of Christ in my day to day, I'm drifting. I've been neglectful in the message. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m. you