Pay Attention!
We must pay 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 received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:1-4)
It was almost 1:00 AM when Dr. Leo Winters, a highly skilled surgeon, received an urgent telephone call from the hospital. He anticipated the reason for the early morning phone call even before he picked up the receiver – someone was in trouble and he was needed at the hospital. It was a scenario he had faced many times before, and this time was no different. The doctor on the other end of the phone told him that a small child had been badly mangled in an accident and without immediate help he had little chance to survive. Dr. Winters was called because he was the most qualified surgeon to help save this child's life. Since time was of the essence, the doctor decided to take the quickest way to the hospital, which was through the most dangerous neighborhood in the city. At first he hesitated when he thought about having to drive through its darkened streets in the middle of the night. But with the life of a child hanging in the balance he decided it was worth the risk. When he pulled up at a stop light he was stunned when his car door was yanked opened and a man wearing a gray hat and dressed in a dirty gray flannel shirt started screaming at him. “I've got to have your car right now!” the man demanded as he grabbed the doctor and jerked him out of the car. Winters tried to explain the gravity of the situation, who he was, and that he was rushing to the hospital to save a child's life. But the man paid no attention. The doctor was left standing on the street as the stranger sped off in his car. It took Winters over an hour to find a telephone, call a taxi, and get to the hospital. He was almost breathless when he arrived, only to learn that it was too late. The child had died only moments before he got there. “His dad got here a few minutes before the child died,” the nurse informed him. “He is in the chapel. Go see him. He is awfully confused. He couldn't understand why you never came.” Without saying a word the doctor went straight to the chapel where he found a man weeping over the loss of his child. The man was wearing a dirty gray flannel shirt. A gray hat lay beside him on the pew. It was the same frantic man who had pulled him out of his car.
The irony in this story is only shadowed by its tragedy. If only the father had paid attention to what the doctor was saying, his child might have lived. Not paying attention always has negative consequences on our lives. Sometimes the consequences are small – like the child who doesn’t pass the test because he didn’t pay attention during class. Sometimes the consequences are much greater, like we see in the story above. That’s why the writer of Hebrews gives us the command to pay more careful attention to what we have heard.
Now what’s interesting in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that up to this point in the book, we are not given even one single command to heed. We are not told to do anything at all in chapter one. The opening statement of the book of Hebrews says, In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” God has spoken. That is the message of Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter two gives us our first command. What’s the command? “Pay attention to what God has said!”
So what has God said? As you read through chapter one you’ll find that everything God wants to say to us, He says through Jesus Christ. Chapter one says that Jesus is the heir of all things (v. 2), He made the world (v. 2), He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature (v. 3), He upholds all things by the word of his power (v. 3), He provided purification for sins (v. 3), He sat down at the right hand of God's majesty (v. 3) and He is greater than any angel (v. 4) He is the Mighty God (v. 8). The message of chapter one is God has spoken by his Son, and this Son is Creator and Sustainer and Owner and Ruler and Redeemer of the world.
Then the author says, “Because Jesus is all this and more; “Pay Close Attention.” There is an urgency to his command. “Listen to this message very, very carefully!” Don’t let the message of what God has said through Jesus go in one ear and out the other. Stop and think about what it means to you personally. Stop and analyze what God has said. Let it sink deep into your soul and penetrate your heart. Don’t give half-hearted consideration to this message – because it is not like any other message you have ever heard. God is speaking to you personally through Jesus Christ. He is revealing His mind and His heart and His intent towards you. His mercy, His love, His grace, His justice, His purity, His anger towards sin, and His everlasting love for the sinner are all known through what is said through the Living Word of Christ.
Don’t ignore what God is saying to you. When we really want to listen to something we make special arrangements. If we want to listen to music we purchase expensive equipment that helps us hear every nuance of the sound. If we want to hear the news we turn on our televisions or radios and try to avoid all other distractions so we can concentrate on what is being said. If someone interrupts or starts making noise, we’ll say, “Can you please keep it down? I’m trying to pay attention to this!” We make special provisions to listen carefully. We protect the time we have to listen carefully. The question is this; “Is paying attention to what God is saying as important as the latest pop song or most recent newscast?” No matter how catchy the tune – today’s pop song will be replaced with a different one tomorrow. No matter how earth shaking the broadcast seems today – it will be “old news” by tomorrow morning. Perhaps the greatest need of our world is to turn off the noise of the world and turn up the volume of what God is saying to us.
Pay Attention. Hear God’s heart-cry coming to you through Jesus Christ. Don’t be so caught up in the clamor of this world and your own thought patterns that you miss what God is saying to you through Jesus. Take some time today to pay careful attention. Push the “mute” button on your life for a few moments. Open up a Bible and ask God to speak. I promise that you’ll hear the still small voice of the Gentle Shepherd as you read and pay careful attention to His Word.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
It was almost 1:00 AM when Dr. Leo Winters, a highly skilled surgeon, received an urgent telephone call from the hospital. He anticipated the reason for the early morning phone call even before he picked up the receiver – someone was in trouble and he was needed at the hospital. It was a scenario he had faced many times before, and this time was no different. The doctor on the other end of the phone told him that a small child had been badly mangled in an accident and without immediate help he had little chance to survive. Dr. Winters was called because he was the most qualified surgeon to help save this child's life. Since time was of the essence, the doctor decided to take the quickest way to the hospital, which was through the most dangerous neighborhood in the city. At first he hesitated when he thought about having to drive through its darkened streets in the middle of the night. But with the life of a child hanging in the balance he decided it was worth the risk. When he pulled up at a stop light he was stunned when his car door was yanked opened and a man wearing a gray hat and dressed in a dirty gray flannel shirt started screaming at him. “I've got to have your car right now!” the man demanded as he grabbed the doctor and jerked him out of the car. Winters tried to explain the gravity of the situation, who he was, and that he was rushing to the hospital to save a child's life. But the man paid no attention. The doctor was left standing on the street as the stranger sped off in his car. It took Winters over an hour to find a telephone, call a taxi, and get to the hospital. He was almost breathless when he arrived, only to learn that it was too late. The child had died only moments before he got there. “His dad got here a few minutes before the child died,” the nurse informed him. “He is in the chapel. Go see him. He is awfully confused. He couldn't understand why you never came.” Without saying a word the doctor went straight to the chapel where he found a man weeping over the loss of his child. The man was wearing a dirty gray flannel shirt. A gray hat lay beside him on the pew. It was the same frantic man who had pulled him out of his car.
The irony in this story is only shadowed by its tragedy. If only the father had paid attention to what the doctor was saying, his child might have lived. Not paying attention always has negative consequences on our lives. Sometimes the consequences are small – like the child who doesn’t pass the test because he didn’t pay attention during class. Sometimes the consequences are much greater, like we see in the story above. That’s why the writer of Hebrews gives us the command to pay more careful attention to what we have heard.
Now what’s interesting in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that up to this point in the book, we are not given even one single command to heed. We are not told to do anything at all in chapter one. The opening statement of the book of Hebrews says, In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” God has spoken. That is the message of Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter two gives us our first command. What’s the command? “Pay attention to what God has said!”
So what has God said? As you read through chapter one you’ll find that everything God wants to say to us, He says through Jesus Christ. Chapter one says that Jesus is the heir of all things (v. 2), He made the world (v. 2), He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature (v. 3), He upholds all things by the word of his power (v. 3), He provided purification for sins (v. 3), He sat down at the right hand of God's majesty (v. 3) and He is greater than any angel (v. 4) He is the Mighty God (v. 8). The message of chapter one is God has spoken by his Son, and this Son is Creator and Sustainer and Owner and Ruler and Redeemer of the world.
Then the author says, “Because Jesus is all this and more; “Pay Close Attention.” There is an urgency to his command. “Listen to this message very, very carefully!” Don’t let the message of what God has said through Jesus go in one ear and out the other. Stop and think about what it means to you personally. Stop and analyze what God has said. Let it sink deep into your soul and penetrate your heart. Don’t give half-hearted consideration to this message – because it is not like any other message you have ever heard. God is speaking to you personally through Jesus Christ. He is revealing His mind and His heart and His intent towards you. His mercy, His love, His grace, His justice, His purity, His anger towards sin, and His everlasting love for the sinner are all known through what is said through the Living Word of Christ.
Don’t ignore what God is saying to you. When we really want to listen to something we make special arrangements. If we want to listen to music we purchase expensive equipment that helps us hear every nuance of the sound. If we want to hear the news we turn on our televisions or radios and try to avoid all other distractions so we can concentrate on what is being said. If someone interrupts or starts making noise, we’ll say, “Can you please keep it down? I’m trying to pay attention to this!” We make special provisions to listen carefully. We protect the time we have to listen carefully. The question is this; “Is paying attention to what God is saying as important as the latest pop song or most recent newscast?” No matter how catchy the tune – today’s pop song will be replaced with a different one tomorrow. No matter how earth shaking the broadcast seems today – it will be “old news” by tomorrow morning. Perhaps the greatest need of our world is to turn off the noise of the world and turn up the volume of what God is saying to us.
Pay Attention. Hear God’s heart-cry coming to you through Jesus Christ. Don’t be so caught up in the clamor of this world and your own thought patterns that you miss what God is saying to you through Jesus. Take some time today to pay careful attention. Push the “mute” button on your life for a few moments. Open up a Bible and ask God to speak. I promise that you’ll hear the still small voice of the Gentle Shepherd as you read and pay careful attention to His Word.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
posted by Larry | 4:42 PM
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