Go to Part 1
In this passage, God is speaking to us through the author of Hebrews. No one is quite sure exactly who wrote the book of Hebrews, but we know that he was likely a leader or pastor writing to a small house church or group of house churches in Rome. The church was probably made up of mostly Jewish people who had become Christians. We do know, because we find this letter in our Bibles that the author speaks the very words of God. God is teaching us, even exhorting us about our need to listen to His voice. This passage contains valuable instruction on how to listen to God so we can hear Him amidst all of the confusion and conflicting messages that come from society, even at Christmastime.
My prayer this Christmas is for us be captured by the amazing reality that God is speaking to us! I pray that He will build in us an earnest longing to hear and obey His voice. If we don’t hear from God this Christmas, all festivities are meaningless.
The first thing we have to do if we’re going to hear God speaking is to remember that God has spoken in the past.It’s kind of like the man whose house was being threatened by rising flood waters. The waters were rising and the city issued evacuation orders. The man refused to go, claiming that He was trusting God to save him. The waters rose and filled the first floor of his house. He was standing at a second story window when a police boat came and told him to get in and be saved. Again he refused, claiming faith in God’s provision. The rising waters finally forced him to the roof of his house. As the waters were about 3 feet from the peak of his house, a rescue helicopter flew in, dropped a rope ladder and urged him to climb up to safety. Again the man refused because he was convinced God would rescue him. The waters finally rose above the man’s house, and swept him away to his death. When he found himself in heaven, facing God almighty, he asked God, “Why didn’t you rescue me when I had so much trust in you?” God answered saying, “Well I sent you an evacuation order, a boat, and a helicopter! What more do you want?”
This man was waiting on a word from God and he died without realizing it had already come. Not only had God’s word of rescue already come, but it had come in many different ways! Verse one serves two similar functions for the author of Hebrews. It is a reminder to his 1st Century Jewish Christian congregation not to neglect God’s word spoken in the Scriptures, what we refer to as the Old Testament. It also emphasizes the fact that God has spoken in many ways as recorded in the Old Testament.
We too must realize the richness of God’s revelation in the Bible. God has spoken to us in many different ways throughout the pages of Scripture, giving us instructions and stories of people living in real-life. These instructions and stories always tell us something about who God is!
- Who can read the account of God’s creation in Genesis 1 and 2 without being amazed at God’s power and majesty?
- How can we tell the story of the exodus, when God delivered His people from the hands of Pharoah, without getting excited about a God who saves and delivers His people?
- Can anyone miss the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God towards the faithless people of Israel as pictured in the attitude of the prophet Hosea toward his wayward wife Gomer?
The Bible is filled with the words of God that make us rejoice, weep, shudder, and wonder at His goodness, grace, wrath, and might.Appeal to the Word of God was extremely important to the author’s arguments concerning Christ. It is impossible to read through the book of Hebrews without being almost overwhelmed at the abundance of OT quotations and allusions. One commentator suggests that there are thirty-one explicit quotations and four more implicit quotations, a minimum of thirty-seven allusions to OT passages, nineteen instances where OT material is summarized and thirteen more where a biblical name or topic is cited without reference to a specific context.” The author grounds everything in Scripture. It must be the same for us today.
If we don’t speak the message from the Word of God, we simply give our opinions and our words lack the power and authority that comes only from the very words of God given to us in the Bible.Go to Part 3
4 comments:
C., I've enjoyed the last two posts. Now here's a practical question:
Given the fact that most in your region have no knowledge of or experience with the Bible, where do you start in your evangelistic encounters?
Hi Todd,
Thanks for the encouragement!
In the predominantly Buddhist context where I live, my starting point in evangelistic encounters is usually with something I see or something a person says. For example, most taxi drivers will have a Buddha statue on their dashboard and other Buddhist charms, etc. hanging from their rear view mirror. I will often ask the driver to explain what those objects are; what they mean; and how they help him. Once the conversation is going, I'll start probing a bit more, trying to get him to ask himself whether or not these things are really helping him or if he really feels peace & contentment.
Almost always, at some point during the conversation, I will be asked about my beliefs or a statement will be made about my Christian religion (it's assumed, if the person has heard about Christianity before). I take the opportunity to talk about how I worship the 'Big boss God' who created the world and everything in it. I then proceed from there...
Thank you, that is helpful.
Because your blog promotes the use of the Bible in evangelism, here is a follow-up question: Are there any particular Scriptures you would go to first in these encounters?
I don't really follow any sort of set pattern for these encounters. Sometimes there are commonalities, as I alluded to in my last comment, but every conversation is different.
Even though I think it's important to strive for flexibility when sharing, I still advocate the importance of mastering one or more basic Gospel outlines, with included Bible verses. If nothing else, this practice provides readily accessible verses on some of the most important topics for evangelistic encounters. One of my favorite outlines is the Two Ways To Live material from Matthias Media (Google 'Two Ways To Live' and click the first choice). I like this material because it starts with God as Creator.
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