Brethren, we need to be in a state where we are keeping Christ before our hearts, our minds, our sight, all the time. You need to be thinking. What comes into my life that challenges that? You need to be thinking about dedicated seasons. Guess what? You don’t have what happens to Charles Simeon or Jonathan Edwards or Thomas Charles unless you’re doing what they do, which is meditation. We live in a day where meditation is almost impossible. We’ve got so many toys. So much noise. So many distractions. I mean, which ones of us here don’t have a cell phone in our pocket?
There was a day when Jonathan Edwards could ride his horse in the woods to meditate on Christ and the phone wouldn’t ring. It’s not a positive thing that you have a cell phone and you can be reached at any time. And that no matter when somebody calls you, you answer. You ought to have seasons in your life when you turn that thing off. You need to have times in your life…
Brethren, look at a week of your life with me. Which ones of you are taking an hour where you say I’m going to go for a walk and I am going to seek to meditate on the first 4 verses of Hebrews. And I want to chew on those. And I want to begin to ask questions. And I want to be able to compare Scripture with Scripture in my mind. And I want to think on Christ. And I want to think on His Person. And I want to think what that means. Brethren, when you become filled with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory over the glories of Christ. That’s where health comes from, right? The joy of the Lord is what? It’s your strength. Don’t tell me that people that become unable to speak because of an exhilarating glory of Christ. And then the only words that can come out, amid tears, and deep heart movement of the truth of the reality of the Person of Christ. And all they can say is: Glory, Glory. People like that they don’t go out and let sin and weight cling to them. They don’t go out and have to be told to obey those that have leadership or attend meetings or be fruitful in their life. Or to be careful lest they fall away. People are not headed back to the old country when they have experienced Christ like that.
Listen, this book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear. You live lives like this and you win this race by things you do. That’s the reality. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Brethren, people fall out of this race all the time. They fall out all the time. Don’t fall out. There are strong encouragements to hold fast brethren. You’ve got to give yourself to filling your mind, your heart, your faith, your knowledge with Christ. It has to be a priority. If you’ve got time to play video games and to be on your computer and to be on facebook and to be writing emails and to be text messaging and to be searching and sifting every conceivable thing. Brethren, weight. Remember what weight is.
You say: but I’m looking at sermons. Brethren, a sermon on the Internet can become weight if you’re not taking time to be with Christ alone, meditating on His glories. Not having somebody else regurgitate the whole thing all the time. You need to be there in the Word for yourself. You need to be praying and walking with Christ for yourself. Not being spoon fed everything. It doesn’t matter. You say, well, I watched 3 Paul Washer sermons last night. Brethren, that cannot make up for this. These men found glory by themselves with Christ. Meditating in the word. Yes, those things may be good but they can become weight.
You say, but I’ve got friends. Im wanting to communicate with them. It can become weight. You’ve got to make sacrifices to be seeing the glories of Christ. And that and that alone are healing, brethren. There is no other healing mechanism in the Christian life but Christ. And intimacy and glory and beholding and laying hold and being swept away and filled with joy. There is no substitute at all.
Brethren, this is the heart and soul of this book of Hebrews. A strong encouragement. Hold fast. And its Him brethren. It’s Him. The hope we have, doesn’t it say that Jesus Christ is our hope. 1 Timothy 1:1 He is the hope. You have no hope outside of Him. And you need to hold fast. Holding fast doesn’t mean letting go for all this stuff and weight in your life. And it clings so easily. And all you have to do is not make an effort and you’ll just drift. It’s a fight brethren. God help us.
