Pay More Careful Attention
12-2-04

In the message "A Divided Kingdom" we saw how Solomon's divided heart - his lack of complete devotion to God - eventually led to the division of the kingdom of Israel. We were then encouraged to continually draw closer to our Heavenly Father and prevent the kingdom of God within us from becoming divided in the sense of rebellion and lack of pure worship.

When we consider our closeness to God, we tend to look at our priorities and schedules. Closeness to our Heavenly Father requires a certain amount of dedicated time; we cannot expect to hear His direction if we don't spend time learning to recognize His voice and make the effort to turn off the competing inputs so we can truly listen. And once we have set aside those times to hear God through prayer, preaching or reading of His Word, we are encouraged in the very strongest of terms to pay close attention to what we hear.

Hebrews 2:1
"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

It will do no good to make adjustments to our schedule - to give God more priority - if we don't become disciplined students of His Word. We can fill our time with good preaching and quality books, but if we don't do as the Bereans who "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11), we will be easily swayed and subject to Spiritual drift. As disciplined students we must maintain an excitement for the things God has done as well as for the promises He has made for our future through every letter of His Word.

God has given us a wonderful gift. Through inspiration of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of many different writers, God has dictated a love letter which calls us into fellowship through Jesus Christ - we call His letter the Bible. In His absolutely authoritative and essential letter, God has revealed the fullness of His character and established a set of unchanging truths. A deep belief and understanding of these truths will push aside fears, erase lingering doubts, and instill a new sense of hope.

We need not allow our kingdom to be divided; we need not drift away. The Spirit has made our hearts receptive and hungry for God's Word. We must now submit to His leading and become as the workman who "correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Let's give Him the total devotion of our heart as we pray, read, and listen to His Word; and as we hear, let's maintain a great excitement and always pay more careful attention.

Have A Great Day!