Title: Things Believers Fear/Hebrews 4:1~13
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What Believers Fear
Text Bible: Hebrews 4:1~13
Therefore let us fear, lest the promise of entering his rest remains, lest any of you fall short of it (Hebrews 4:1).
Hebrews 4:1-13, the main text, begins with the words, “We are afraid,” and warns that even those who are saved must be careful.
Hebrews 12:15-17 testifies as follows.
“Look and fear that there are none who fall short of the grace of God, and fear that a root of bitterness will sprout up and cause trouble, and many will be defiled by it” (Hebrews 12:15).
“… After that he was sought with tears to inherit the blessing, and had no opportunity to repent” (Hebrews 12:17).
If a person who has received grace through God's great consideration cannot receive it no matter how much they cry and cry and repent, what could be more unfortunate than that?
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become a person who knows how to be afraid so that by always taking good care of yourself while practicing your faith life, you will not grow bitter roots or fail to reach grace.
Over the past week, I have been stuck with a sore throat and a sore throat. That's because you were actually able to work, but your doctor warned you to be careful.
"This cold is not a common cold, so elderly pastors should be especially careful."
We who live with Jesus must be very careful. So Paul warned, "Therefore let him who thinks he is standing take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
If you think about it, you can be vigilant saying that if you believe, everything will go well, so you can live your life in any way you want. But our faith must be thoroughly managed. This is because the devil creeps inside whenever he has a chance. Ephesians 4:27 testifies to this.
"Don't let the devil take a break"
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become a person who is always careful not to let the devil take a break, and that you do not fail and succeed until the end.
Therefore, in this time, we want to receive grace through the word "Things that Believers Fear".
First, what to fear is that there will be some who will not be able to enter eternal rest? (Hebrews 4:1)
Hebrews 4:1 testifies as follows:
“Therefore let us fear, lest the promise of entering his rest remains, lest any of you fall short.”
Last time, a professor said something like this.
"The difference between the scores of those who passed and those who did not pass is only 0.01 points."
How would you feel if you could not enter the resting place because you were not able to enter the resting place because you did not earn 0.01 points even though you worked hard? A score of 0.01 may sound like nothing, but it plays a very important role.
Therefore, we must give up the idea that this is enough. Because if you are conceited, you may not be able to rest because you do not have 0.01 points.
The fact that Jesus was sent into this world was the greatest expression of God's love for the world, and it was God's grace to save the world without destroying it.
In fact, when you first came to church, you did not come out of faith. In some cases, it was recommended by a friend, in other cases, because it was said that I could be cured, and in other cases, the church did so well that I came to the church with a grateful heart for the church.
However, no matter what the motive is, once you come to church, you must gain something. It is faith. Because only those who have this faith have the glory to enter into rest.
To investigate the gunshot death of one of the North Korean defectors last time, police looked at videotapes of suspects depositing money at a bank, as well as videotapes of phone conversations. . In this way, it is now the era of recording each of our actions with a surveillance camera.
However, there has been such a device in the kingdom of heaven for a long time. Therefore, everything you say and do in this world is recorded and recorded. When you come before God, you will see all of your past in the light. How could this not be scary?
Jesus also said about the kingdom of God:
“…whatever a man speaks for nothing, he will be brought to trial on the day of judgment, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:36-37).
In the same way, a single word of ours can make us unhappy. Therefore, are there some who cannot enter into rest? And you have to be careful with your imagination.
Second, what to fear is that even if you have received the gospel of God, will it not be of any benefit and will not harmonize you with your faith? (Heb 4:2)
The most important thing in life of faith is to live a life of faith. A faith that does not waver no matter what adversity may come, this is the faith of five years. Faith that is not influenced by any wind, this is all-weather faith. A belief of great value, this is a valuable faith.
When I was in seminary, one of the professors was Dr. Park Dae-sun. He said this during a lecture.
“Everyone who lives in this world dies. Therefore, the important thing is that when a person dies, if there are many people who regret his death, he is a person who lives happily. On the contrary, if there are many people who say that he died well, he is a person who lives in vain. "
The name "Onesimus" has the meaning of "before useless, now useful."
In fact, how can we have more? Would you like to eat more? He was like a beast who wanted to be satisfied with worldly things. However, after I gained faith, I became a person who cried and pleaded with regret that I could not live according to God's will.
Before Paul came to know Jesus, he boasted of his Roman citizenship, mastery of the law, and having the best education and excellent bloodline.
However, after meeting Jesus, he considered all these things as excrement and confessed that he had nothing to boast about except the cross of Jesus Christ.
In fact, the cross itself was not something to be proud of, but something to be ashamed of. Because the cross was a tool of death in Roman times. But after Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected, the cross became noble.
In this way, if a person who boasted of the gospel of God does not harmonize with his faith, complains, complains, and blames others and acts like a person without faith, then this person cannot be called a believer any more. So James said:
"By this we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the image of God, from the same mouth come praise and curse... How can a fountain bring forth sweet and bitter waters from one hole?" 3:9-11)
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will do your best to become a person who is harmonious with the faith with the Lord while fearing that this will not happen.
Third, what to fear is that there will be those who hear the gospel and disobey and will not be able to enter the eternal kingdom? (Heb 4:6)
The world these days, whether newspapers, radio or TV, is full of articles about the Hanbo incident and other incidents and accidents. However, you do not know how blessed you are to stop all worldly things like this and come to church and listen to the word of God.
Jesus placed great importance on hearing the word of God.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
I talked with him, and all it was about complaining about the church and about the faults of the church members around him. He took the elder's hand and said earnestly.
“I think the elder learned to complain and complain too quickly. When I interviewed for an elder, I was like, 'Why did you accept the office of elder?' When asked, the elder said, 'It is to be loyal to the Lord.' I answered, "After all, you have become a judge of others, so how are you going to bear the judgment the elder will receive?"
If you have any complaints or complaints about the church when you meet at a class meeting, women's mission, or men's mission, please leave the place. Because if you keep hearing such words, you will gradually die spiritually.
“Blessed are those who read and hear the words of this prophecy, and those who keep what is written in them…”
But why do you listen to people? Why do you hear complaints? Why do you hear resentment? Why do you hear disobedience?
Deuteronomy 28:2-6 says this.
“All these blessings will come upon you and come upon you, if you obey the word of the LORD your God. You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field, and the offspring of your own body, and the offspring of your land, and the young of your animals and the young of your sheep. and your basket and your bowl of dough will be blessed; you will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.”
If you obey like this, you will be blessed and good, but why do you become dissatisfied, complaining, arrogant, jealous, irritable, and lazy to disobey? Be a fearful person to prevent this from happening.
Let me give you a conclusion.
God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day, He spoke three words.
① You have blessed this day. ② You made it holy. ③ You have rested.
Therefore, on this day, God has called you to the church to be blessed people who hear the word of God and praise God.
We have to listen to God's word over and over again by attending the Sunday evening service as well as the Sunday evening service and Wednesday evening service. Because the more you hear the word of God, the more you will be blessed.
Nevertheless, there are people who hate to hear the word of God. It is because the ears are blocked as 2 Timothy 4:3 says.
“The hour is coming when people will not be taught sound doctrine, and their ears will be covered up…”