with me back over to Hebrews
12. I want to bring a message of
comfort this morning. I have a message of warning. I have a message of great warning,
but this is also a message of encouragement and comfort. We're
going to consider a few things. We're going to take just a minute
and consider a few things. And our starting point and our
ending point is right here in verse 3. Hebrews 12 verse 3. It says, for consider him. Consider Him. Just consider Him. Just ponder Him. Aren't you so
thankful the Lord has ordained worship services? To just leave
all that mess for just a minute and come into this place and
ponder Him. Aren't you so glad for that?
I love how whenever our Lord came into this world and And
the angel came and was telling how the savior would come, how
he would be born. The wise men came and told what
was revealed to them. And it keeps saying, Mary pondered
all these things in her heart. I love that. And that's what
we're doing. We're just pondering these things, considering these
things. Verse three says for consider
him. that endured such contradiction,
such gainsaying, such opposition, such rebellion, such strife. Just consider, just enter into
the fact of who He is and that He came and as soon as He got
here, He immediately spent all of his time enduring such contradiction,
such strife, rebellion. Verse 3 says, of or from sinners. What sinners? Who did that to
him? It was you and it was me. It was every human soul. that is on this earth. Every
soul rebelled against him in opposition and in strife. We
all have come forth from our mother's wombs in rebellion and
in strife. It's our nature. Now, because
of that, we need to consider some things. We desperately need
to consider some things. This word mentions Many things
that people ought to consider. I went through the scripture
and I found just a few, I jotted down a few that I want us to
honestly take a moment and consider. Honestly, let's take a moment
and just think about these things. The title of the message is Consider. Consider. There are some things
in this world that are worth considering. I told you just
a minute ago, I wanted to tell the Bible study to the whole
world. I want to tell this one too. There are some things that are
worth considering. None of them are as important
as these things. None of them. By God's mercy
to us, the longer we live in this life and see the vanity
of it, the more convinced we are of that. We start out, I'm
not so sure. I hear an old man stand up and
say that and he just sounds like an old man to me. But then you
go through this life and you start to realize none of these
things are worth considering. None of
these things are worth considering compared to these things. We, as a people, will ponder
things. It's what we do. I ponder things
and I know you do too. We will ponder things that we
believe are vitally important to our life. If we are convinced
in the heart, now this is important, We'll ponder it. We will consider
it. We believe certain things to
be very significant in our life and we will ponder those things. Kids come of age and probably
one of the first things they really need to start pondering
is college. Am I going to go to college? Which college am
I going to go to? Career. What am I going to spend
my life on this earth doing? Marriage. Don't you think it's
important to ponder marriage? Don't you think it's important
to really sit down and let's consider this before we jump
into this. We will ponder the things that
mean the most to us if we believe they have the biggest impact
on us. May God cause us to ponder this. I couldn't help but think
of our children. And so that's why when they're
all back, I'm going to repeat all this. Now, honestly, I couldn't
help but think of these children. We have children here and we have a variety of ages. And
I wanted to tell them if you're old enough to know what the word
consider means. I want our children to consider. all of our children and I want
us along with them to consider these things. It is extremely
important to me that our children, our teenagers, our young adults,
our not so young adults really consider these things. The first
one is in Deuteronomy 4. Turn with me over to Deuteronomy
chapter 4. Deuteronomy 4, verse 39, it says,
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart,
that the Lord, He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath
there is none else. You know, the fear of the Lord
truly is the beginning of wisdom. It really is. Man naturally has
no fear for God. He'll fear spiders and things
like that, but not God Almighty. If there is honestly one thing
that I desire for my children and your children and all of
us To know with them, it's this, the Lord, He is God. In heaven above and upon the earth
beneath, there is none else. There's none else. To know that
is to know I'm not God. I'm not my own God. There is none else. I'm not a
free moral agent. I'm not in control of me. I'm not in control of me. I don't
have a free will. I have a God that I have to answer
to. That's so important. That is so important. Lord, please
don't let our children grow up and leave our homes without being
convinced of the fact that they have a God that they have to
answer to. Come the end of this life on
earth, we all have a God we have to answer to. Don't turn over
there, but in Isaiah 40, God told Isaiah, He said, I want
you to comfort my people. Isaiah said, how do I do that? God said, you start right here.
Cry unto them, behold your God. Behold your God. You tell them
about the God who made everything. and owns everything and made
them and owns them and can do whatever he wants with them because
he's God. He is God. You tell them about
the God who kills and makes alive. The God who
wounds and the God who heals. You tell them about the God who
none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest thou? None. You tell them about the God that
they have never heard of. People have never heard of this
God. Never heard of Him. The God who is God. The God who is not trying to
be God. I was standing in line at the
store yesterday and there was a young boy in front of me with
a t-shirt on that clearly his church had made and it was a
quote of scripture that was not the scripture. And I read it,
it was on his back, he was standing in front of me and I read it
and I thought, they have no idea who God is. They've never heard
of this God. They've never heard of the true
God. Tell them about the God with
whom we have to do. The God who is not just God if
we want Him to be God. Not just God if we let Him be
God. The God who is God whether we want Him to be God or not.
Whether we let Him be God or not. Tell them that true wisdom
is to consider this in their own heart. The Lord, He is God. He's God. Now, let's take a second
and consider this. Who is the Lord? The Lord, He is God. Well, who
is the Lord? Hold your place right here in
Deuteronomy. We're going to turn to a couple of scriptures, but
just keep this spot right here. Hold your place there in Deuteronomy
and go over to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3 verse 13 says,
and Moses said unto God, behold, when I come unto the children
of Israel and shall say unto them, the Lord God of your fathers
has sent me unto you and they shall say to me, what is his
name? What shall I say unto them? And
God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto
you. The Lord Jehovah is I am. Verse 15 says, and God said,
moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham. Abraham's God. That's who the
Lord is. That's who I AM is. Abraham's God, alright? I AM
is Abraham's God. Alright, now look with me at
John chapter 8. John chapter 8. Verse 56, Our Lord said, Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before
Abraham was, I am. I am. Alright, now turn back
to John 5, a few more pages back to John 5. Jesus Christ said in verse 46,
John 5 verse 46, for had you believed Moses, You would have believed Me, for
He wrote of Me." Now, we're all holding our place in Deuteronomy,
aren't we? Who wrote the book of Deuteronomy? Moses. Moses did. Let's all consider
this. The Lord, He is God in heaven
above. And upon the earth beneath, there's
none else. There's none else. He said, if
you've seen me, you've seen the Father. All right, let's go back to Deuteronomy
and let's consider the next thing. This time go to Deuteronomy 32.
Deuteronomy chapter 32. Verse 29. Oh, that they were wise. That
they understood this. That they would consider their
latter end. People consider today. People consider the week. People
consider the next five years, they ask each other this question,
where do you see yourself in five years? They'll ponder that. None of them say when that question
is asked, standing before the judgment throne of God. None of them say that. Oh, that
they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider
their latter end. There is not a soul on this earth
that is going to be able to get out of having to stand before
the judgment of God. You would be hard pressed though,
to find a soul on this earth. Who's that concerned about it?
Are you concerned about standing before the judgment of God? No,
not really. Not really. Men and women are not concerned
because they don't have any idea that every molecule of their
being is filled with a loathsome disease called sin. And it's something God hates.
Everything that we naturally are is something God hates. People
think God doesn't hate anybody. Everything that we naturally
are is something that God hates. He will not allow it to be anywhere
near Him. He must and He will destroy it. But you tell men and women that
they're about to go meet God and they're not that concerned
about it. It's because they're blind to that sin. They think
a few little deeds that they've done, you know, Pretty well covers
all their sin. They don't realize it's what
they are, what they are. It's like dropping off a load
of cows at the slaughterhouse. Don't go in there. It's the slaughterhouse. Oh, it'll be fine. The farmer
loves me. He's been feeding me a lot lately.
He just keeps feeding me and feeding me. Oh, He loves me. He's blessed. Oh, I've been so
blessed lately. He gave me my own stall. I just
sit right there in my own stall. He just keeps feeding me and
feeding me. I get so stuffed. He just keeps feeding me and
feeding me. Oh, it's going to be fine. It's
going to be fine. Line us up. Let's go on in. That's
what it's like. Let's take a second and just
consider this. I honestly can appreciate any accomplishment
that a man or a woman attains in this life. I want people to
do well. I want everybody to succeed in
their careers. I want kids to go to college.
I want them to get a degree, get a good job, provide for your
family. You know, we have things we want
to do. All those things are wonderful. But on that last day, Last week we were in the verses
before the one that we're using for a text this morning and the
writer said, the apostle said, make sure you lay aside every
weight, every hindrance that stands in between you and that
man, you and hearing that man, you and worshiping that man,
because the last day is coming upon you so fast And eternity is so long. It's
so long. And I am all for whatever accomplishment
a man or a woman can attain in this life, but on the last day,
none of them will matter. If a, if a person goes to college
or doesn't go to college, it won't make a bit of difference.
If a person makes a million dollars a year or ten thousand dollars
a year, it won't make a bit of difference. If he ate filet all
his life or bologna all his life, it won't make a bit of difference.
If he has a hundred acres of land or lives in a cardboard
box, it won't make a bit of difference. It won't make a bit of difference.
On the last day, only one thing will matter. He that hath the
Son. He that with every molecule of
His being has bowed down before the Son and begged the Son for
mercy. He that has only one hope and
one attainment. He that is clinging to and trusting
in and pleading one thing before God, just one thing, and that
is the blood and the righteous works of Christ alone. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. The wrath of God will abide on
him. You know, if we want to see something of what the wrath
of God is, look at the cross. I don't want to endure that.
I don't want to endure that. It all hinges on Christ. Our
hope and our standing before God is totally dependent on Christ. Therefore, I want us to consider
this. Alright, turn with me over to
1 Samuel 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. Verse 24 says, only fear the Lord and serve
Him in truth with all your heart for consider how great things
He has done for you. Just take a minute and you just
ponder how great things He's done for you. Do you know what
He did? He did not allow me to just run
up to the throne of God in my ignorance and in my sin. That's
what people are doing. They're so proud of themselves,
they're so proud of their religion, they're so proud of the fact
that they go to church, and they're so ready to run right up to the
throne of God and see how happy He is with them. How did I fare? What grade did I get on my test?
Jesus Christ, I tell you what great thing He did for me. He
stopped me. He stopped my pride. He stopped
my arrogance. I by nature am so proud and so
arrogant. And He stopped me. And He opened
my eyes. And He showed me what I was.
And He gave me a Good look at myself. He showed me my soul
damning sin. What great things. What do you
mean great things? I mean great things. He showed
me my soul. I got a good look at my soul
damning sin. Listen to these great things.
These are great things the Lord did. He broke me. What a great thing. He stripped
me. He emptied me. Oh, how it's so
wonderful when a person just cries out saying, I'm just empty
and broken. Are you serious? That's wonderful. He caused me to abhor myself,
I mean hate myself. And then He pointed me to Christ.
He opened my eyes to see that Christ made Himself to be everything
that I was, everything I abhor about myself. He opened my eyes to see that
Christ made Himself to be. Everything that was damning me,
everything, every molecule of my being, he showed it to me
on him. I saw it on him. He showed me
all my sin laid on him. You see that sin? You remember
those sins? Those haunting sins, every one
of them were laid on him. I just wish they'd go away. I
just wish they'd go away. I wish they'd go away. This is
a great thing. God's spirit comes and says,
they're all taken away, away. They're all taken away. He revealed to me how God broke
him. God stripped him. These are great things. God emptied
him as he stood before the judgment throne. He had all the sins of his people
on him. Let's consider the fact that
if God gave Christ to us, if we have Christ, God judged us
in him. Do you ever, does it ever just
strike you that our judgments already over? I used to wonder
when I stand before God, what am I going to say? What am I
going to say? And then it hit me. My judgment is over. It's
already past. It's already over. I was judged in him in Christ. Our judgment is finished. If
God is satisfied with him, he satisfied with us in him. totally
satisfied, great things the Lord has done for us, showed us our
need of Christ. And he revealed to us that Christ
is all and we're nothing. If we have him, we have it all.
And if we don't have him, we have nothing. Nothing. Now, for our comforts, I'm going
to be quick. I'll wrap it up. Let's consider
this. If God has given Christ to us,
and placed us in Him. If Christ satisfied God's justice
for us and if we are secure, if it's finished, I mean finished,
and we're secure and safe and redeemed and cleansed and accepted
in Him through His blood, then let's consider this. Go with
me to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12 verse 24. It says, consider the Ravens. Let's take just a minute and
consider the Ravens for they neither sow nor reap, which neither
have storehouse nor barn and God feedeth them. How much more
are you better than the fowls? And which of you with taking
thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not
able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for
the rest? Consider the lilies, how they
grow, they toil not, they spin not. And yet I say unto you that
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothed the grass which is today in the field and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe
you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what you shall
eat or what you shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind,
for all these things do the nations of the world seek after. And
your Father knoweth that you have need of these things. but
rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall
be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it
is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." If God has given you to Christ,
and given Christ to you, be not dismayed, whate'er betide, God
will take care of you. Just consider that. Beneath His
wings of love abide, God will take care of you. Consider the
fact that in Christ, and that's where every good and sweet promise
from God is, it's in Christ. It's always in Christ. But consider
the fact that in Christ, God has loved you with an everlasting
love. In Christ, He will not leave
you. He cannot leave you. You're in
Christ, Christ is God. Consider the fact that he knows
exactly what you need. Just consider that he knows exactly
what you need. As a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Consider the fact that
in Christ we are a purchased possession, a peculiar treasure
to God. A peculiar treasure to God. And
consider the fact that as Ecclesiastes 3 says, what God does is forever. It's absolutely forever. His
promises to his people will never be undone. Never be taken back. Never. The salvation that Christ
accomplished will never be unaccomplished. Never. If we have been accepted
in him, we'll never be rejected. When Christ said it is finished,
he meant forever. It is forever finished. You know, considering these things, in sincerity, just taking a minute
to ponder these things. This is what will give God's
people some comfort, some rest, some peace, some encouragement,
some strength. And that's what Hebrews 12 verse
3 was saying. All right, we're going to close
with this. Go back to the text. Hebrews 12. Verse 1 said, Wherefore, seeing
we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God. For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be
wearied and faint in your minds." Just consider him. Just keep
looking to him. Just stay on him. Just keep running
to that finish line, which is him. Keep your eyes, your minds,
your heart on Him. And it will strengthen your eyes,
mind, heart. All of it. It will encourage
us. It will comfort us. And whatever it is we run into
the rest of our days on this earth, keep our minds on Him.
Hearts will be fully blessed. Perfect peace and rest. Alright,
let's all stand together and turn with me if you would to