[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$ft2fgqn2ga1gh":3},{"_creationTime":4,"_id":5,"apple_episode_id":6,"artwork_text":7,"artwork_text_model":8,"audio_url":9,"content_type":10,"created_at":11,"description":12,"display_title":13,"duration":14,"episode_date":15,"id":16,"image_url":17,"link":18,"pub_date":15,"slug":19,"source":20,"speaker":21,"title":13,"transcript":22,"updated_at":31,"video_aspect":32,"video_id":33,"video_url":34,"chunks":35,"sections":1298,"transcript_status":1299,"topics":1300,"related":1301,"service":1302},1792512033250.1533,"k171d745j5mq7vmd7zf0fgafks8gmcpy","1000797283206","","gpt-4o-mini","https:\u002F\u002Fanchor.fm\u002Fs\u002Fed0ce78c\u002Fpodcast\u002Fplay\u002F127785027\u002Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-9-20%2F5cc4c337-3138-18a4-ca95-14ace8f0322e.mp3","sermon",1792512033250,"Hebrews 2:1-4","Fall Revival Night 1- Stephen Burrell","00:44:10",1792510816000,"242ec35a-a2c8-4e95-b14b-2314d0aca151","https:\u002F\u002Fd3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net\u002Fstaging\u002Fpodcast_uploaded_nologo\u002F39670459\u002F39670459-1699893998550-46508ee44691e.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasters.spotify.com\u002Fpod\u002Fshow\u002Fpleasant-grove-baptist\u002Fepisodes\u002FFall-Revival-Night-1--Stephen-Burrell-e3qq6k3","fall-revival-night-1-stephen-burrell","anchor","Pastor James Safrit",{"_creationTime":23,"_id":24,"created_at":25,"language":26,"model":27,"sermon_id":16,"source":28,"text":29,"updated_at":25,"word_count":30},1792513383843.174,"jx7ekjvkfrpgvwpd41x1jnxcss8gmrna",1792513383843,"en","whisper-large-v3-turbo","whisper-local","Thank you for listening to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Sermon Audio. For more information, please visit our website, pgbcronda.com, or visit on all social media platforms. We have some stories, and I was thinking, you know, if you would like to really get some dirt on James for the right price, for the right price, I will tell you some stories. That's right. Take your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 2, Hebrews chapter 2 tonight, and it is good to be here. It's wonderful to be in Wilkes County, and this is a beautiful part of the state. I've always loved this part of the state. I grew up in Salisbury. I live in Georgia now, and came up here every once in a while to the cattle sale on Mondays, and when I was a teenager, I loved to do that, and I just always admired this part of the country, and so it's good to be back here, and especially at this beautiful time of the year, and it's really just an honor to be here tonight. I did everything in my life two years after James. I was born two years after him, and answered the call to preach two years after him, went to college two years after him, got married two years after him. The only thing I beat him to was being a senior pastor. I've been a senior pastor for eight years in Georgia, and you've been here for, what, about three years, right, James? And so I had to one-up him somehow, and the only other thing he can, you know, he's got that melodious singing voice besides that, but it is good to be here. It's good to see him and good to see Allison. My wife taught Brody when he was in pre-K, all right, and so she molded Brody into the young man he is today, and so you can blame her for that. I wish she was here. I wish she was here to meet you all, and I know she would love that very much, but I'm thankful for James. I'll be honest with you, though. I don't know if I'd be standing behind a pulpit today if it wasn't for James, say for it. You know, James and I grew up in that church together, and I don't know how many of the young people who were in that church are still even attending church faithfully, and I don't know of any others besides me and James and John that are in the ministry, but James was always like a rock. I mean, you know, James, when he puts his mind to something, you're not going to change it, and somebody told me tonight, James doesn't change for anybody, and that's true, and that made a big difference in my life as a teenager, and I appreciate his influence on me. I've tried to weed out the bad influence, but I've kept the good, but it's really an honor to be here, and I'm thankful for Allison. You know, they say that a pastor's wife is like the third verse of a hymn in a Baptist hymnal, okay? The third verse is that verse you always skip, right? And so pastor's wives, they just get skipped over, and yet they're so important and so crucial, and I know she does a lot here around the church and supports him in great ways, and so I just thank you, James, for the invitation, and Allison, it's just wonderful to reconnect with you. If you have your Bibles open tonight to Hebrews chapter 2, I'm going to do something a little different as far as maybe a revival speaker, and every message that I preach this week will be from Hebrews chapter 2, every single one of them, and because if you're like me, you have a one-track mind, and so I can't just bounce around. I've got to focus on one thing or I get easily distracted, and so this week, we're going to look at Hebrews chapter 2, so I'm going to give you some homework, okay? And if you'll do your homework, I promise you there's no reward, okay? But there may be a great reward in heaven, but here's your homework, and I think all of us can do that. Tonight before you go to bed, would you do this for me? Would you read Hebrews chapter 2? And then tomorrow night before you go to bed, read Hebrews chapter 2, and the night after that, read Hebrews chapter 2, and I believe that your spiritual walk will be greatly improved just by reading it, much less by my preaching of it. I did mention the subject of distraction. Before we read the text, how many of you would agree tonight we live in a distracted age? How many of you would agree tonight we live in an age of shortening attention spans? And you know, I thought it was just a problem with my kids. I really did. My kids are, as James already mentioned, I have an 11-year-old daughter, an 8-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter. And I actually, my parents live in Salisbury, and I pastor in Georgia now, and so I was bringing my, I brought my kids with me on this trip and took them to spend some time with their grandparents. And, buddy, I tell you, on that drive, I said pay attention or stop or listen to me like 70 times. And I thought, boy, these kids these days, they just have a short attention span. But you know, the other day I was at a church service, and I was, for one time, the guy not doing the preaching. And that preacher got about four minutes into his sermon, and I was like, man, I hope this guy wraps up quick. And I couldn't pay attention. I thought about everything. I looked at the ceiling tiles. I counted the lights in the room, you know, and I realized, I don't have an attention span anymore. It's a good thing I'm the preacher, because otherwise, I'd be bored to death in church. We live in an age of shortening attention spans, don't we? And, you know, we can afford to let our attention drift from some things. But really, the theme of Hebrews chapter 2 is that there is one thing that we can't afford to ever let our attention drift away from, and that is the glory, the beauty, and the splendor of the person and work of Jesus Christ. And that's what revival is all about. It's getting our attention refocused on the ultimate priority, and it, of course, is Jesus. So if you have revivals open to Hebrews chapter 2, look with me at verse 1. The Bible says in verse 1 of Hebrews chapter 2, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip, let them drift away from us, is what that means. He says in verse 2, for if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, the question is posed there, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? In verse number 3, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. If God will help me for a few minutes, I just want to bring a message on this thought, simply, the danger of drifting, the danger of drifting. Can we pray together and ask God at this time to bless the study of his word. Our Father, this evening, our brother Cody here has already taken us in worship to the throne room of God, and he has focused our attention on Jesus Christ. He's reminded us of his worthiness. He's reminded us of the redemption found only in his blood. And I pray that as I open the word of God this evening and bring the message that I would just continue that theme. Because God, if we can just fix our eyes on Jesus, if we can just look unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, if we can be enraptured by his beauty and captured by his greatness, God, our lives will be immeasurably better because of it. We will be revived. And Lord, a revived church is the hope of a dying world, a world that's on its way to a Christless eternity in hell apart from you. And so would you help me tonight as I feebly try to preach this, your word, to these, your people, in a way that would honor and glorify Christ and edify them. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. This particular chapter of the Bible, and of course we know that the chapter and verse division are not inspired. When you read the book of Hebrews, you're reading a letter. And so when you read that word, therefore, you see the very beginning of this chapter in verse number one, you need to understand that what is being built on here is the context of the preceding chapter. And what Hebrews chapter one is, is it is a wonderful description of all that is worthy and all that is wonderful concerning Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, Hebrews chapter one begins with this incredible statement, one of the most incredible statements in all the Bible about the person of Jesus Christ. And it says in Hebrews chapter one and verse one that God in different times and in different ways spake in time past under the fathers by the prophets. In other words, over the eons of biblical history under the old covenant in time past, God communicated to people through the prophets. And there was always a medium, there was always a man who sort of bridged the gap and spanned the distance between people and the voice of God. God communicated to his people through prophets. Think of Moses and think of Elijah and think of Jeremiah and men like that. But then Hebrews chapter one in verse number two makes an incredible statement. It says there this God who in times past spoke to our fathers in different ways and specifically by the prophets. It says there that our God has spoken unto us in these last days by his son. In other words, God's last form of communication, God's last word, God's last message to a watching world is the person of his son Jesus Christ. You see, under the old covenant in the Old Testament when God wanted to get a message across, he sent his prophet. He sent Moses to Pharaoh. He sent Elijah and Elisha and Jeremiah to the children of Israel. But God, when he wanted to get the most important message across, the message that the entirety of the Old Testament was building up to, he didn't send a human prophet. He didn't communicate through a human means or a medium. When God wanted to get his final message across, he communicated to us, he spoke to us by none other than his son and our savior, Jesus Christ. So God, in times past, spoke at different times and in different ways by the prophets, but in these last days, these crucial days before time is swallowed up by eternity, God's speaking, but he's spoken to us in the person of his son. And then, Hebrews chapter 1 begins just describing Jesus in the most amazing ways. Describes Jesus as the brightness of God's glory, as the express image of God's person. It says about Jesus this, it says in Hebrews chapter 1 in the first three verses that Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power. Do you realize that everything in the created universe is held together by an unbelievable and imperceptible force and that force is not, it's a mystery to science, but it's not a mystery to the person who believes the book that's sitting on this pulpit today, the force that's holding it all together is Jesus Christ. By the way, can I just pause there for a second tonight and make this brief introductory application? And that is that if Jesus can hold everything together, if he's upholding all of the universe with all of its complexity and all of its diversity, if he's upholding all of that by the word of his power, don't you think he can hold your life together? Don't you think he can keep your marriage together? Don't you think he can keep your children following the straight and narrow way? Don't you think he can solve the issues and the problems of your life? Wouldn't you agree with that this evening? And so in Hebrews chapter 1, the Bible not only declares that Jesus is God's final word on everything and not only describes him in these amazing ways as the one who's upholding all the world by his power, but you know, Hebrews chapter 1, go back and read it if you have some time, it contains no commands. Hebrews chapter 1 doesn't tell you to do anything. It just describes Jesus in every possible way. It's like the writer of Hebrews, whoever he was, decided to take all that he could unearth in language under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course, and use it to describe Jesus in the best way. And after describing Jesus in all of his resplendent glory, Hebrews chapter 2 begins with therefore. In other words, having described Jesus this way, this is what you should do. And what does he say you must do? He says, therefore, in verse number 1 of chapter 2, we ought to give the more earnest heed. That just simply means we ought to pay attention. We ought to zero our focus. And zero our focus on what? Zero our focus on Jesus Christ. Why is this so important? He goes on to say in verse number 1, he says, lest at any time we should let them slip. We should drift away from them. I want us to see a couple of things tonight from these verses and I promise you I won't keep you for a very long time. First of all, I'd like you to see here as he warns about this drifting, I want you to see the inclusive potential for drifting. The inclusive potential for drifting. That word slip or drift in verse number 1, it's the Greek word para-ruomen and it's an interesting word. It's the only time this particular Greek word appears in the New Testament because it's the only time that this word appears in the New Testament. There's no other words to compare it to. But it is a compound word, para, meaning by or beside, and ruomen, which means to float. And it is a nautical term. It's a term that means and describes and would picture in the mind's eye of the person living in the time of the book of Hebrews, it would picture a boat that is unanchored and that is just drifting away with the tide. What the writer of Hebrews says there is this. He uses the personal pronoun we multiple times in verse 1. He says, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. And what he's saying is this. Like a boat that has no anchor drifts aimlessly in the current. If we are not careful to pay attention to Jesus, if we are not careful to maintain an enraptured vision of Jesus, if we are not careful to cast our eyes on Him and fix our gaze on Him and just be enthralled by Him at all times, if we're not careful to do that, we, like a boat that is without an anchor drifts in the current, we will drift away. And you know, the world as we know it is all drifting. To be honest with you tonight, it's all drifting to, and I'm not saying this to be melodramatic, but it's drifting to hell. The world is on its way to judgment and destruction apart from God. And what that means is a couple of things. First of all, you know, I'm not under any illusion that because a person is in a church building on a Monday night, that that automatically means that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are on their way to heaven. Just because you're here on a Monday night does not mean you've believed the gospel unto salvation. My preacher used to say growing up, James' preacher used to say growing up, that being in the church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than being in a garage makes you a car. You see, faith is not just something we possess. Faith is something that we must, it's not just something we profess, it's something we must possess personally for ourselves. There has to be an understanding in your heart that there is a new birth, there has been a regeneration, old things have passed away, all things have become new because through faith in the gospel, the Holy Spirit has moved in and begun a transformative work in your heart. I'm not talking about sinless perfection, I'm not talking about some second manifestation of grace that just allows us to live a sinless existence. I'm not talking about not stumbling and falling, but you ought to be able to know and have an assurance in your heart that because you've believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, because you've looked to the cross of Calvary and said, that which Jesus has done, his crucified body, the empty tomb, that is for me. There ought to be some knowledge and assurance in your heart that because of that you've been born again into the family of God and something real and deep has transpired in your life and there's been a change. And if you're not careful, you'll come to church, you'll attend the services, you'll sing the songs, you'll partake of the elements of the communion table, you'll put some money in the offering plate, you'll participate in all the activities of the church, you'll bring crock pots to the potluck and you'll do all those wonderful things and you'll do that for an entire lifetime and you'll just drift through and drift through and drift through. And again, I'm not trying to be melodramatic tonight, but there are a lot of people, countless thousands, perhaps even millions of people who have done exactly that and at the end of their life breathed their last breath and drifted right into a crisis eternity in that place that the Bible calls hell just because they never really in a believing way paid attention to Jesus. How many of you ever heard the name Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Would you raise your hand? They called Spurgeon the Prince of Preachers. Charles Haddon Spurgeon lived in, of course, the country of England and particularly in the city of London and various places. But Spurgeon grew up in an Anglican household. He grew up in a strict Puritan household and his family attended the Anglican services there every Sunday. But when Spurgeon was about 15 years old, he began to realize that he had religion, but there was something that was missing. There was some piece of the puzzle that he didn't have. There was an affection for Christ that was missing in his heart. There was a nearness to Jesus and a longing for Jesus that he just didn't possess. And he became anxious about it. He began to search for it, but he didn't really know where to look. A particular night, it was Sunday evening if I recall the story correctly, young Spurgeon was going to make his way to the church that he attended and his family attended every Lord's Day. But in between where he lived and where that church was, he walked out the door and realized he was in the midst of a snowstorm. And I know y'all love a good snowstorm, okay? But he found himself called in a pretty bad snowstorm. And as he began to make his way to the church, he realized that the storm was too bad and he wasn't going to make it. And so he turned off and he went into the closest church to him, which was a little primitive Methodist church. And wouldn't you know it, the preacher didn't even show up that night because of the snow. There was just a handful of people, maybe four or five people in that church and one of the laymen, probably kind of the head deacon of that church, when he realized the preacher wasn't going to show up, decided he would preach the sermon. He took the Bible and he went to Isaiah chapter 40. I believe it's verse number 12 or 20. I can't recall the exact reference. He went to Isaiah chapter 40 and he read a verse. Look unto me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved. And then that preacher, because he didn't know what to do, he just yelled for about 10 minutes, look to Jesus, look to Jesus and be saved. Look to Christ and be saved. He pointed to the fact that in the wilderness the children of Israel were being bitten by the serpents because of their rebellion and their sin and their unbelief. And of course, Moses lifted up in that wilderness a serpent on a pole and the children of Israel were told if they would just cast their eyes on that serpent, if they would just look to that serpent, they would be healed of its venom and not die. And of course, the Bible tells us and Jesus said just as Moses lifted the serpent up in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. And Spurgeon there in that moment, there in that church house finally put two and two together. That layman, that unlettered preacher, that man who had no training and public speaking just pointed to that young man and said, look to Jesus, young man, and live. And it all came together. And he realized though he had been christened and though he had been confirmed and though he had partaken of the elements of the communion table, he did not have a real relationship with Jesus Christ. He was just drifting but that night it all changed. And he believed the gospel into salvation and was gloriously saved. Maybe you're here tonight and that's you. Individually, you're just drifting, you're just drifting, you're just going through the motions of religion but you don't have the transformative power of the gospel. You've never been born again. Beloved, can I just say to you what that preacher said to young Spurgeon that night? Look to Jesus tonight and live. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Rid yourself of religious pride. Overcome whatever obstacle might be in your mind and in your heart that's keeping you from making that true profession of faith, believing the gospel unto salvation and do it tonight. Do it before this day ends. There's another application you can make out of that first verse and that's this. You know, there are many of us who are true believers who have believed the gospel unto salvation. But buddy, we're just spiritually drifting as well. Perhaps like the church at Ephesus, we've lost our first love. Perhaps like the church at Ephesus, there was once an intimacy and a closeness and affection in our relationship with Jesus. But you know, the fact of the matter is just like a fire is prone to go out, the nearness and the closeness of our relationship with Jesus Christ is prone to wane, isn't it? How many of you would be honest tonight and say there's been a time in my life when I was closer to Jesus than I am right now? Would anybody testify to that? There was a time in my life I was closer and nearer to Jesus than I am right now. Well listen, what that means is that there's been some drift. There's been some slow, sometimes imperceptible, sometimes, you know, unobservable drift away from affection and nearness to Jesus Christ and maybe tonight, maybe tonight is the night you say, you know what, I'm going to cast my gaze on Jesus once again, I'm going to pay close attention to Him because I can't afford to simply keep on drifting away. And if the writer of the book of Hebrews says this is a possibility for me, this is something that I can do when he says lest we let them slip, if it was a possibility for Him, then certainly it's a possibility for you and I to drift away from nearness and focus on Christ. Which leads me to a second observation here and that is this, not only do I see the inclusive potential for drifting, but number two, I want you to notice with me the incurred punishment for drifting. The incurred punishment for drifting. In verse number two, he says some things that are very interesting here. He says, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. In other words, he says, if the punishment for neglecting the Old Testament law was so great, then how can we escape if we neglect the revelation that Jesus has made to us today? That phrase there, the word spoken by angels, it's a reference to the Old Testament law, to the covenant. In Galatians 3.19, the Bible states there that the Old Testament law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. In Acts chapter 7.53, it says that the Old Testament law was received by the disposition of angels. And so what he is referring to here is he's talking about that Old Testament law. And he's saying that Old Testament law that God gave to our fathers by the prophets, if you broke that law, there were tangible, obvious punishments. And you can read the whole Old Testament and learn about some of those punishments. If you're like me, you start your Bible reading in January and you get about to Leviticus, and buddy, enthusiasm starts to wane, doesn't it? You get into, obviously, the genealogies and stuff, but you start reading about some of those punishments, and you do this, and you get stoned, and you do this, and you get set out of the tabernacle, and there's this long list of punishments there. And the writer of Hebrews says this, he says, if the word of God came to our fathers through the prophets, and they didn't pay attention to that word and faced punishment, how much greater will our punishment be if we have not received the word through some Old Testament prophet, but God has spoken to us by his son? If we neglect the son, if we drift away from the son, we're drifting away from something much, much worse than simply that Old Testament law, all those old covenant laws. We're drifting away from the very person of Jesus Christ, the one that all of those laws pointed to, the one that all of those laws promised would come. And there are punishments to be incurred, and I think what's so interesting here is this, the word in, I use the King James, and in the King James, I love the word that's used to describe this drifting. In verse 2, he uses the word there, neglect. He says, how shall we escape punishment if we neglect so great a salvation, so great a word that's been spoken? Are you aware tonight of the price of neglect? I don't know if James remembers this. Matter of fact, because I'm two years behind him, this took place when I was 16, so he may have already been at Bible college by this time. But when I was 16, I got my very first car. How many of you understand when you're 16 getting your first car? It's really an amazing rite of passage. We were talking tonight at supper about how poor we both were, so it was quite a feat to get your first car. My first car cost me absolutely nothing. But it's not because, you know, I was given it by a parent or something like that. In Rowan County where I grew up, we used to haul hay. Me and Tony Rupert and a bunch of guys from the church, we'd haul hay for a farmer out there in Woodleaf in Cleveland, and we did it every year. And I can't remember exactly what he paid us, but it wasn't much, like $20 a day, and they cooked supper for us. But I've always been kind of an industrious person looking for different ways to make money, and so I was always out there hauling hay in the summer. And in that farmer's barn, he had a 1992 Ford Taurus that had been there for years and years. And every year when I would go out there to haul hay at 13 and 14 and 15, I'd see that Taurus in the barn. And finally, one day, I asked him, I said, hey, what are you going to do with that car? And he said, well, if you can get it out of there, you can have it. All right, so there was my first car. And I loved that car. It was blue all over. The outside was blue. The inside was blue. The seats were blue. The dash was blue. The steering wheel was blue. It was awesome. It had no air condition. The heater core leaked. And every morning when I got up to leave, I would check the gas and fill up the oil because it leaked oil and water all over my parents' driveway. But I discovered in getting that car the price of neglect. Every hose was dry rotting. It had all kinds of problems. And I tinkered with that car and I worked on that car. And from the time I started driving it, got it running at 16, I drove that car for I think four or five months. And it broke down on me at least 20 times. And every time it broke down, I came to the realization, you know, neglect has a price. You know, we think we can just park something somewhere and that neglect won't cost us nothing. But neglect is always costly. If a husband and wife neglect the relationship of the marriage, if they stop focusing on the priority of that marriage, don't you agree with me that that neglect will be costly? If a parent neglects a relationship with a child or a child neglects a relationship with a parent, don't you understand that you can't just leave that relationship there and then return to it as if nothing happened? There's a price to that neglect. I've stood in many a funeral service. I've stood beside many an open grave as we were getting ready to lay someone to rest where a daughter or a son had on their face a look of incredible regret as they mourn the fact that they won't have another moment with that parent. They neglected that relationship. They allowed something to sever it and they walked away from it and they said to me, Brother Stephen, I just wish I could talk to my mom one more time. I just wish I could talk to my dad one more time. There's always a price to pay when something is neglected and especially a relationship. And if it is costly to neglect a relationship with a husband or wife, if it's costly to neglect the relationship between a parent or child, how much more expensive do you think the cost is when we neglect our relationship with Jesus Christ? Will we just sort of let it be casual? Will we just sort of let it be something that we don't focus on? Unintentionally is the word I'm looking for. I don't think the devil likes this point, okay? Is that this mic you think it's doing? I don't know what's going out. But anyways, I don't think the devil likes this point, so I'm just going to bear down on it. How about that? If you want to back there, Brody, if you just give me this mic, that'll be fine. That'll be fine. I'm going to cut this mic off and I'll just stand still with my ADD self, all right? But if you, listen to me quickly now, if you suffer the price of neglect as it relates to a human relationship, like a husband and a wife, a parent and a child, how much more costly do you think it is to neglect your relationship with Jesus Christ? Now let me ask you this. When was the last time you made a serious investment in your relationship with Jesus? Jesus Christ, doesn't it? You know what it means to be a disciple? It means to pay a price. Jesus said, if any man would be my disciple, first of all, let him deny himself. That's a sacrifice. Let him take this cross. You know, in the New Testament, when a man was seen carrying a cross, you knew one thing about that man. He was on his way to die. When he saw a man carrying a cross, he was on his way to die. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means there's things in our lives that have to die. Personal ambitions we have to die to. Personal desires and habits we have to die to. Ultimately, that self and that pride and that arrogancy, that love of self has to die. We're going to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. These are all prices that we must pay in order to have that relationship with Jesus, to be called one of his disciples. And if we're not willing to pay those prices, if we allow that to be neglected, the price is far worse. I don't believe you can lose your salvation, but I do believe this. I do believe, even for the believer, there's a cost associated with neglecting nearness and closeness to Jesus Christ. There's a cost to it as it relates to the local church. Churches lose their effectiveness. They stop seeing lost souls saved. They stop seeing the baptismal waters stirred. There's no longer a spirit of revival in the church when we lose our intimate, affectionate, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't let yourself drift. Moving on, number three, and finally tonight, we've seen the inclusive potential for drifting and the incurred punishment for drifting. But thirdly and finally, I want you to see the individualized prescription for drifting. How do we avoid drifting? Again, in our text, in verse number three, or verse number one, rather, going back to the very beginning, he says, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard and seen. We ought to pay closer attention to the things that we have heard and seen. How do we avoid drifting? How do we avoid the price associated with neglect? Well, the writer of Hebrews says, we only do that by paying closer attention. I'll give you one final illustration, and I'm done. There was a couple of years when, after I graduated from Bible College, where I lived there in Rowan County, and my dad's in the construction business, and I worked with him, and I was kind of a volunteer youth director at my home church during that time, and just sort of in between ministries. And I've always been a deer hunter. As a matter of fact, it was a great sacrifice for me to come down here this week, because in Georgia, where I live, rifle season opened on Saturday. And I thought, James, you're obviously not a deer hunter to invite me to a revival meeting this week. But anyways, I forgive you for that, James. Pray for me. I appreciate that. But we all have a cross to bear, as I just preached, okay? And so I got off work a little early one day, and it was the rut. I mean, it was peak of deer season. And there was a little piece of public land there along the banks of High Rock Lake where Rowan County and Stanley County and Davis County all come together. There used to be a huge piece of public land that was owned by Alcoa. And there was one little sliver that people kind of overlooked, and I knew about it. And it was really close to where we were working on a house on the lake. And so, buddy, I kind of bugged my dad. Dad, can we wrap this job up? I think this can wait till tomorrow. And I wanted to get out there at just that prime hour when the sun was setting. And sure enough, my dad finally conceded. And, man, I jumped in my Jeep, and I made haste and got there to that hunting spot. And I was in a hurry. And when you're in a hurry, you make mistakes, don't you? And I pulled up to that hunting spot, and I threw all my coveralls, and I grabbed my 7-millimeter Magnum, and I didn't even worry about my climbing stand or anything like that. I just went straight in the woods, and I knew where I was going. There was this one spot where there was some thick planted pines, and it kind of rolled over into a hardwood bottom, and it overlooked Panther Creek. And if you're a deer hunter, you know that deer love those edges. They love it where it transitions from planted pines to a hardwood bottom, and there were still a few acorns falling and all of that. And I just, it just had that feeling. You know that, if you're a deer hunter, you know there's just times you just feel like this is a good time to kill a deer, and that's what it felt like. And I rushed out there to that spot, and I climbed up, and I sat down, and I was looking over that bottom, and I hadn't been there five minutes, and I looked up, and there was a buck. And it wasn't a big buck, but it was big to me. And so I clicked the safety off that 7 mag, and I looked down there at that deer, and he was just slipping through the trees, and I just had a minute, and I shouldn't have done it. I really didn't have a great shot, and I just squeezed off that shot. Boom! Wow! 7 millimeter popped, and I saw him run. And then he kind of slowed back down, like I didn't really hit him, and then he ran a little bit, and then he was gone. And so I got up, and I thought, boy, it's getting dark real quick, and I just got to find that first blood. If you've ever killed a deer, you know what I'm talking about. And I got up there, and I started looking for first blood, and I didn't find it. And so I started just walking in the direction that that deer went, and I walked, and I walked, and I walked, and I wasn't paying attention at all to my surroundings. And then it got dark. And it started getting dark. I started feeling around my pockets, and I realized I had no light. I mean, I had no flashlight at all. I had a phone, and I had about 12% battery on that phone, and I had no clue where I was. I didn't know which direction the road was. I didn't, I mean, I had just, you know, in a panic looking for this deer, had paid no attention to my surroundings, had paid no attention to where I was going, paid no attention when I got out of the car and made sure I had that flashlight. And, buddy, it got dark. And I don't know if you ever been in a situation like that, but we had one child at the time, and one on the way. It was right before I moved to Georgia, and I thought, man, my wife's about to raise two orphans. I'm going to be lost out here, and they're never going to find me. And so what I just started doing was making circles, and bigger circles, bigger circles, and finally I came out up on the road there, Panther Creek Road, and I didn't know which way to go. I didn't know which way my car was, so I went right at first, and I walked about half a mile that went up, ah, probably going the wrong way, so I turned around and walked back, and I eventually walked down that road until I found my Jeep. And it all happened. It all took place, because in the excitement of the moment, with that distraction of that buck out there in front of me, with that hunger to get out there in the hunt, because of that distraction, I didn't pay attention. And I started the message by saying, don't you agree with me tonight, that we live in a distracted age. We're distracted by these phones, we're distracted by current events, and we're distracted by elections, and everything in this entire world is competing for your attention. Can I just rant for one minute? I know I'm waxing long, but I've got three minutes to the hour, okay? Can I just rant for a second? I would love to pump gas in peace. You know, you go to the gas pump, and there's a TV on the gas pump that advertises to you. I hate that. I really hate that. I want to find the person that did that, and I pray that the fleas of a thousand camels infest that man's armpits. I'm telling you, I hate, I hate that, that everything is competing for your attention. You can't look at anything without being advertised to. In a world where everything is competing for your attention, it's more important than ever before for us to take more earnest heed, pay closer attention to Jesus. And that means worship him sincerely. That means when someone like Brother Cody is leading worship, you really focus on the lyrics. It's easy to focus on the one leading the worship. Sometimes it's hard to focus on the one that's being worshiped. You know, I had a lady come to my church one time, and she said, preacher, I just want you to know I didn't like the worship today. And I was kind of smart out about it, and I said, well, honey, that's okay, you weren't the one we was worshiping, okay? You know, the worship wasn't for you. It was for Christ. He was the one we were worshiping. And, you know, it's easy for us to get distracted by the style of the worship and our favorite song, and why did we skip the third verse and all of that stuff. And the fact of the matter is those are just tools of the enemy to distract us from the main thing, which is focusing on Jesus. It's all part of his plan to keep us drifting, because if he can keep us drifting, he can lead us towards that consequence and that punishment for drifting, and he can keep us away from the sweetness of a relationship with Jesus Christ that we ought to have. It takes intentionality to pay attention when the preacher's preaching. I know, I listen, when I sit where you're sitting, when I sit where you're sitting, it's work for me to listen to a preacher preach, I've got to really focus. But if I really believe the Bible, and I really want to know what the Bible says and how it applies to my life, I understand I've got to pay attention to that. I have to pay attention in my Bible reading. I can read the Bible like a robot. I use the King James because I've used it my entire life. I've used it since I was, my mom, I read it to me in her womb. I mean, it's all I've ever used. But, you know, sometimes I can just read it, and I can read two or three chapters and get done and think, man, what did I just read? I can't remember a single thing. Why? Because I didn't pay attention. And this book is all about Jesus, and so if you're going to pay attention to Jesus, you don't have to pay attention to this book. So if you don't get anything else from the message tonight, just walk away with this. If you want to avoid the price of neglect, and if you want to keep yourself from drifting, then you have to discipline yourself to pay attention to Jesus in the worship, in the preaching, in your personal Bible study, in your prayer life. If you're like me, you pray for 30 seconds, and then you're like, okay, I don't know what to say now. Anybody else like that? Okay, discipline yourself to pray, to linger in prayer, to stay with Jesus in prayer. You know, just rush into the throne room of God and spit out a bunch of requests and say, all right, Lord, help Aunt Irma to, you know, get over her, you know, arthritis and stuff like that, and help me to get a job and, you know, fix the flat tire in my car and all of that, and just run in with a list of needs. You can pray for all those things, but spend some time in your prayer just focusing on Jesus, thinking about the attributes of God, thinking about the price of redemption. And, beloved, tonight, if you'll do that, if you'll do that, you'll avoid the consequences of neglect, and you will escape the consequences of drifting. If you want to drift, this is what you do, nothing. If you just do nothing tonight, you'll just keep drifting. If you don't want to drift, pay attention. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. If I could get the instrumentalists to come and we'd just have a moment of reflection, I'm not going to ask you to do anything. I'm not going to ask you to leave your seat. If you want to, you can do that. But I'm not going to ask you to do anything except for this, be obedient to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. You know, maybe you're here tonight, and you're a good churchgoer. You can be a good Baptist and not be a true follower of Jesus Christ. You can be a good Baptist and not be faithful to the Lord. You can be a good Baptist and not have a home in heaven one day. Maybe you're here tonight and you've played a game for a long time. You've drifted for a long time. And in your heart of hearts, I'm not going to ask you to raise a hand or identify yourself, but in your heart of hearts, you'd say, Brother Stephen, I don't want to play games anymore. I want to have a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Right there where you're sitting, you can look to Jesus, believe the gospel and salvation, realize you're a sinner, realize there's a penalty and a price to be paid for sin, realize Jesus already paid that penalty. He already took that price upon himself, has to forgive you of your sins, come into your heart and save you. Believe that he died on the cross for your sins, was buried and rose again the third day. The Bible says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day of salvation. If you've never trusted Christ as Savior, don't drift any longer. Trust Christ today. Maybe you're here this evening and you know Jesus as your personal Savior. You're sure and certain if you died today, you'd go to heaven. And thank God for that. And you ought to just take a moment and just thank Jesus for saving your soul. But if you're here tonight and you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you'd admit, you'd admit to yourself and you'd admit to God, who already knows your heart, that that you've drifted a little bit. You don't get excited about the word of God as much as you used to. You don't get excited about the praise and the worship of God as you used to. When you start to think about the blood of Calvary, when you start to think about the empty tube, when you start to think about the high cost of your pardon from sin, it doesn't stir your soul anymore. Lord, if you're here tonight and that describes you, I'd invite you to do this this evening. I'd invite you, I'd beg you. Be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and ask the Lord to do whatever it takes to get your attention focused again on Christ so that you can say what this writer of Hebrew later says. And he's looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We can't afford the price of neglect. I beg you tonight to respond. Father, I thank you for this day. I thank you for the opportunity to preach to these dear people. I don't know them, but you do. And I pray that you'll do with the message what I couldn't do. I feebly tried to preach it, but I ask tonight that you would seal the word in the hearts of these, your people, apply it to their lives as only you know how they need it. And if you'll do that, I'll be very grateful for it in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you again for taking your time to listen to the sermon audio of Pleasant Grove. Please subscribe to get our latest sermons each week.",8514,1792512503753,1.7777777777777777,"IaqfFUy3KkQ","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=IaqfFUy3KkQ",[36,63,88,115,134,154,182,207,227,249,271,292,317,339,360,386,410,434,455,475,495,526,550,575,593,624,645,663,681,698,719,739,775,804,825,854,887,918,940,963,986,1003,1024,1052,1073,1099,1125,1146,1170,1185,1212,1236,1264,1282],{"chunk_index":37,"end_sec":38,"seg_offsets":39,"seg_starts":50,"start_sec":51,"text":62},0,54.94,[37,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49],71,93,119,174,349,363,456,538,580,604,[51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61],5.14,9.08,10.38,11.82,20.06,31.48,32.22,37.18,40.96,43.68,44.9,"Thank you for listening to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Sermon Audio. For more information, please visit our website, pgbcronda.com, or visit on all social media platforms. We have some stories, and I was thinking, you know, if you would like to really get some dirt on James for the right price, for the right price, I will tell you some stories. That's right. Take your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 2, Hebrews chapter 2 tonight, and it is good to be here. It's wonderful to be in Wilkes County, and this is a beautiful part of the state. I've always loved this part of the state. I grew up in Salisbury. I live in Georgia now, and came up here every once in a while to the cattle sale on Mondays, and when I was a teenager, I loved to do that, and I just always admired this part of the",{"chunk_index":64,"end_sec":65,"seg_offsets":66,"seg_starts":76,"start_sec":38,"text":87},1,95.72,[37,67,68,69,70,71,72,49,73,74,75],144,195,350,406,525,561,656,683,729,[38,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86],61.32,63.94,71.88,74.36,79.94,82.32,85.1,88.2,89.86,92.2,"country, and so it's good to be back here, and especially at this beautiful time of the year, and it's really just an honor to be here tonight. I did everything in my life two years after James. I was born two years after him, and answered the call to preach two years after him, went to college two years after him, got married two years after him. The only thing I beat him to was being a senior pastor. I've been a senior pastor for eight years in Georgia, and you've been here for, what, about three years, right, James? And so I had to one-up him somehow, and the only other thing he can, you know, he's got that melodious singing voice besides that, but it is good to be here. It's good to see him and good to see Allison. My wife taught Brody when he was in pre-K,",{"chunk_index":89,"end_sec":90,"seg_offsets":91,"seg_starts":102,"start_sec":103,"text":114},2,135.92,[37,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101],67,102,123,202,230,263,353,522,609,643,[103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113],96.24,100.6,102.78,103.7,108.4,110.14,111.76,116.32,125.8,130.54,132.76,"all right, and so she molded Brody into the young man he is today, and so you can blame her for that. I wish she was here. I wish she was here to meet you all, and I know she would love that very much, but I'm thankful for James. I'll be honest with you, though. I don't know if I'd be standing behind a pulpit today if it wasn't for James, say for it. You know, James and I grew up in that church together, and I don't know how many of the young people who were in that church are still even attending church faithfully, and I don't know of any others besides me and James and John that are in the ministry, but James was always like a rock. I mean, you know, James, when he puts his mind to something, you're not going to change it,",{"chunk_index":116,"end_sec":117,"seg_offsets":118,"seg_starts":125,"start_sec":126,"text":133},3,179.98,[37,119,120,121,122,123,124],176,309,410,464,666,749,[126,127,128,129,130,131,132],136.52,145.66,153.56,159.4,163.04,172.18,175.62,"and somebody told me tonight, James doesn't change for anybody, and that's true, and that made a big difference in my life as a teenager, and I appreciate his influence on me. I've tried to weed out the bad influence, but I've kept the good, but it's really an honor to be here, and I'm thankful for Allison. You know, they say that a pastor's wife is like the third verse of a hymn in a Baptist hymnal, okay? The third verse is that verse you always skip, right? And so pastor's wives, they just get skipped over, and yet they're so important and so crucial, and I know she does a lot here around the church and supports him in great ways, and so I just thank you, James, for the invitation, and Allison, it's just wonderful to reconnect with you. If you have your Bibles open tonight to Hebrews chapter 2, I'm going to do something a little different",{"chunk_index":135,"end_sec":136,"seg_offsets":137,"seg_starts":144,"start_sec":145,"text":153},4,230.12,[37,138,139,140,122,141,142,143],200,228,393,568,624,658,[145,146,147,148,149,150,151,152],180.54,194.96,196.52,205.68,210.2,215.52,217.72,219.46,"as far as maybe a revival speaker, and every message that I preach this week will be from Hebrews chapter 2, every single one of them, and because if you're like me, you have a one-track mind, and so I can't just bounce around. I've got to focus on one thing or I get easily distracted, and so this week, we're going to look at Hebrews chapter 2, so I'm going to give you some homework, okay? And if you'll do your homework, I promise you there's no reward, okay? But there may be a great reward in heaven, but here's your homework, and I think all of us can do that. Tonight before you go to bed, would you do this for me? Would you read Hebrews chapter 2? And then tomorrow night before you go to bed, read Hebrews chapter 2, and the night after that, read Hebrews chapter 2, and I believe that your spiritual walk will be greatly improved just by reading it, much less by",{"chunk_index":155,"end_sec":156,"seg_offsets":157,"seg_starts":169,"start_sec":136,"text":181},5,278.98,[37,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168],20,62,152,237,297,311,324,430,446,628,727,[136,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180],231.64,235.24,239.76,245.2,247.88,249.2,250.82,256.24,258.1,267.96,275.44,"my preaching of it. I did mention the subject of distraction. Before we read the text, how many of you would agree tonight we live in a distracted age? How many of you would agree tonight we live in an age of shortening attention spans? And you know, I thought it was just a problem with my kids. I really did. My kids are, as James already mentioned, I have an 11-year-old daughter, an 8-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter. And I actually, my parents live in Salisbury, and I pastor in Georgia now, and so I was bringing my, I brought my kids with me on this trip and took them to spend some time with their grandparents. And, buddy, I tell you, on that drive, I said pay attention or stop or listen to me like 70 times. And I thought, boy, these kids these days, they just have a short attention span.",{"chunk_index":183,"end_sec":184,"seg_offsets":185,"seg_starts":195,"start_sec":196,"text":206},6,323.42,[37,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194],113,224,254,282,313,413,501,560,634,[196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205],279.2,285.06,289.56,290.6,291.82,293.44,297.86,302.1,307.06,311.64,"But you know, the other day I was at a church service, and I was, for one time, the guy not doing the preaching. And that preacher got about four minutes into his sermon, and I was like, man, I hope this guy wraps up quick. And I couldn't pay attention. I thought about everything. I looked at the ceiling tiles. I counted the lights in the room, you know, and I realized, I don't have an attention span anymore. It's a good thing I'm the preacher, because otherwise, I'd be bored to death in church. We live in an age of shortening attention spans, don't we? And, you know, we can afford to let our attention drift from some things. But really, the theme of Hebrews chapter 2 is that there is one thing that we can't afford to ever let our attention drift away from, and that is the glory, the beauty, and the splendor of the person and",{"chunk_index":208,"end_sec":209,"seg_offsets":210,"seg_starts":217,"start_sec":184,"text":226},7,379.4,[37,211,212,160,139,213,214,215,216],22,60,287,452,599,684,[184,218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225],324.82,326.94,332.9,336.7,340.72,352.78,363.66,371.28,"work of Jesus Christ. And that's what revival is all about. It's getting our attention refocused on the ultimate priority, and it, of course, is Jesus. So if you have revivals open to Hebrews chapter 2, look with me at verse 1. The Bible says in verse 1 of Hebrews chapter 2, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip, let them drift away from us, is what that means. He says in verse 2, for if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, the question is posed there, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? In verse number 3, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.",{"chunk_index":228,"end_sec":229,"seg_offsets":230,"seg_starts":238,"start_sec":239,"text":248},8,428.1,[37,42,231,232,233,234,235,236,237],143,221,328,378,414,474,590,[239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247],379.76,385.52,387.34,392.72,398.98,402.62,404.96,408.94,415.58,"If God will help me for a few minutes, I just want to bring a message on this thought, simply, the danger of drifting, the danger of drifting. Can we pray together and ask God at this time to bless the study of his word. Our Father, this evening, our brother Cody here has already taken us in worship to the throne room of God, and he has focused our attention on Jesus Christ. He's reminded us of his worthiness. He's reminded us of the redemption found only in his blood. And I pray that as I open the word of God this evening and bring the message that I would just continue that theme. Because God, if we can just fix our eyes on Jesus, if we can just look unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, if we can be enraptured by his beauty and captured by his greatness,",{"chunk_index":250,"end_sec":251,"seg_offsets":252,"seg_starts":260,"start_sec":261,"text":270},9,472.34,[37,253,254,255,256,70,257,258,259],58,78,210,370,412,526,586,[261,262,263,264,265,266,267,268,269],428.56,431.9,433.42,441,449.48,451.76,453.76,459.48,462.1,"God, our lives will be immeasurably better because of it. We will be revived. And Lord, a revived church is the hope of a dying world, a world that's on its way to a Christless eternity in hell apart from you. And so would you help me tonight as I feebly try to preach this, your word, to these, your people, in a way that would honor and glorify Christ and edify them. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. This particular chapter of the Bible, and of course we know that the chapter and verse division are not inspired. When you read the book of Hebrews, you're reading a letter. And so when you read that word, therefore, you see the very beginning of this chapter in verse number one, you need to understand that what is being built on here is the context of the preceding chapter.",{"chunk_index":272,"end_sec":273,"seg_offsets":274,"seg_starts":281,"start_sec":282,"text":291},10,533.66,[37,275,276,46,277,278,143,279,280],139,303,472,592,736,785,[282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290],472.66,483.4,491.8,502.18,503.52,512.94,519.34,525.58,528.62,"And what Hebrews chapter one is, is it is a wonderful description of all that is worthy and all that is wonderful concerning Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, Hebrews chapter one begins with this incredible statement, one of the most incredible statements in all the Bible about the person of Jesus Christ. And it says in Hebrews chapter one and verse one that God in different times and in different ways spake in time past under the fathers by the prophets. In other words, over the eons of biblical history under the old covenant in time past, God communicated to people through the prophets. And there was always a medium, there was always a man who sort of bridged the gap and spanned the distance between people and the voice of God. God communicated to his people through prophets. Think of Moses and think of Elijah and think of Jeremiah and men like that.",{"chunk_index":293,"end_sec":294,"seg_offsets":295,"seg_starts":305,"start_sec":306,"text":316},11,593,[37,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,303,304],80,194,271,338,416,531,557,623,792,[306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315],533.92,538.54,546.18,553.08,559.42,566.3,572.12,574.44,579.38,589.44,"But then Hebrews chapter one in verse number two makes an incredible statement. It says there this God who in times past spoke to our fathers in different ways and specifically by the prophets. It says there that our God has spoken unto us in these last days by his son. In other words, God's last form of communication, God's last word, God's last message to a watching world is the person of his son Jesus Christ. You see, under the old covenant in the Old Testament when God wanted to get a message across, he sent his prophet. He sent Moses to Pharaoh. He sent Elijah and Elisha and Jeremiah to the children of Israel. But God, when he wanted to get the most important message across, the message that the entirety of the Old Testament was building up to, he didn't send a human prophet. He didn't communicate through a human means or a medium.",{"chunk_index":318,"end_sec":319,"seg_offsets":320,"seg_starts":328,"start_sec":329,"text":338},12,655.52,[37,321,67,322,323,324,325,326,327],49,255,379,462,550,673,687,[329,330,331,332,333,334,335,336,337],593.3,596.88,603.5,610.72,619.76,625.32,631.34,639.66,640.94,"When God wanted to get his final message across, he communicated to us, he spoke to us by none other than his son and our savior, Jesus Christ. So God, in times past, spoke at different times and in different ways by the prophets, but in these last days, these crucial days before time is swallowed up by eternity, God's speaking, but he's spoken to us in the person of his son. And then, Hebrews chapter 1 begins just describing Jesus in the most amazing ways. Describes Jesus as the brightness of God's glory, as the express image of God's person. It says about Jesus this, it says in Hebrews chapter 1 in the first three verses that Jesus upholds all things by the word of his power. Do you realize that everything in the created universe is held together by an unbelievable and imperceptible force and that force is not, it's a mystery to science, but it's not a mystery to the person who believes the book",{"chunk_index":340,"end_sec":341,"seg_offsets":342,"seg_starts":350,"start_sec":319,"text":359},13,707.24,[37,343,344,70,345,346,347,348,349],95,197,448,500,581,652,695,[319,351,352,353,354,355,356,357,358],661.48,666.86,678.26,680.24,682.22,686.98,690.66,692.8,"that's sitting on this pulpit today, the force that's holding it all together is Jesus Christ. By the way, can I just pause there for a second tonight and make this brief introductory application? And that is that if Jesus can hold everything together, if he's upholding all of the universe with all of its complexity and all of its diversity, if he's upholding all of that by the word of his power, don't you think he can hold your life together? Don't you think he can keep your marriage together? Don't you think he can keep your children following the straight and narrow way? Don't you think he can solve the issues and the problems of your life? Wouldn't you agree with that this evening? And so in Hebrews chapter 1, the Bible not only declares that Jesus is God's final word on everything and not only describes him in these amazing ways as the one who's upholding all the world by his power, but",{"chunk_index":361,"end_sec":362,"seg_offsets":363,"seg_starts":373,"start_sec":341,"text":385},14,758.38,[37,364,365,68,140,366,367,368,369,370,371,372],97,148,453,494,571,605,697,747,775,[341,374,375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384],713.66,716.72,720.3,732.32,736.52,738.72,743.68,745.88,751.32,754.88,756.98,"you know, Hebrews chapter 1, go back and read it if you have some time, it contains no commands. Hebrews chapter 1 doesn't tell you to do anything. It just describes Jesus in every possible way. It's like the writer of Hebrews, whoever he was, decided to take all that he could unearth in language under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course, and use it to describe Jesus in the best way. And after describing Jesus in all of his resplendent glory, Hebrews chapter 2 begins with therefore. In other words, having described Jesus this way, this is what you should do. And what does he say you must do? He says, therefore, in verse number 1 of chapter 2, we ought to give the more earnest heed. That just simply means we ought to pay attention. We ought to zero our focus. And zero our focus on what?",{"chunk_index":387,"end_sec":388,"seg_offsets":389,"seg_starts":397,"start_sec":398,"text":409},15,811.22,[37,390,253,391,392,162,393,394,141,395,396],32,146,178,425,463,715,756,[398,399,400,401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408],758.88,761.48,763.16,769.04,771.78,777.68,786.22,789.4,796,806.22,808.6,"Zero our focus on Jesus Christ. Why is this so important? He goes on to say in verse number 1, he says, lest at any time we should let them slip. We should drift away from them. I want us to see a couple of things tonight from these verses and I promise you I won't keep you for a very long time. First of all, I'd like you to see here as he warns about this drifting, I want you to see the inclusive potential for drifting. The inclusive potential for drifting. That word slip or drift in verse number 1, it's the Greek word para-ruomen and it's an interesting word. It's the only time this particular Greek word appears in the New Testament because it's the only time that this word appears in the New Testament. There's no other words to compare it to. But it is a compound word, para,",{"chunk_index":411,"end_sec":412,"seg_offsets":413,"seg_starts":421,"start_sec":422,"text":433},16,871.16,[37,211,414,415,213,416,44,417,418,419,420],56,83,302,408,533,563,627,[422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432],811.58,813.6,816.66,818.94,833.58,835.26,838.14,843.14,850.52,852.38,857.74,"meaning by or beside, and ruomen, which means to float. And it is a nautical term. It's a term that means and describes and would picture in the mind's eye of the person living in the time of the book of Hebrews, it would picture a boat that is unanchored and that is just drifting away with the tide. What the writer of Hebrews says there is this. He uses the personal pronoun we multiple times in verse 1. He says, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. And what he's saying is this. Like a boat that has no anchor drifts aimlessly in the current. If we are not careful to pay attention to Jesus, if we are not careful to maintain an enraptured vision of Jesus, if we are not careful to cast our eyes on Him and fix our gaze on Him and",{"chunk_index":435,"end_sec":436,"seg_offsets":437,"seg_starts":444,"start_sec":412,"text":454},17,932.16,[37,438,439,440,441,442,345,324,74,443],158,213,310,337,405,783,[412,445,446,447,448,449,450,451,452,453],881.7,885.5,891.04,893.12,898.94,901.66,903.22,916.24,922.08,"just be enthralled by Him at all times, if we're not careful to do that, we, like a boat that is without an anchor drifts in the current, we will drift away. And you know, the world as we know it is all drifting. To be honest with you tonight, it's all drifting to, and I'm not saying this to be melodramatic, but it's drifting to hell. The world is on its way to judgment and destruction apart from God. And what that means is a couple of things. First of all, you know, I'm not under any illusion that because a person is in a church building on a Monday night, that that automatically means that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are on their way to heaven. Just because you're here on a Monday night does not mean you've believed the gospel unto salvation. My preacher used to say growing up, James' preacher used to say growing up, that being in the church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than being in a garage makes you a car.",{"chunk_index":456,"end_sec":457,"seg_offsets":458,"seg_starts":465,"start_sec":466,"text":474},18,983.06,[37,321,459,460,461,462,463,464],82,175,280,449,597,646,[466,467,468,469,470,471,472,473],932.58,936.42,938.62,943.42,950.5,959.58,968.22,971.42,"You see, faith is not just something we possess. Faith is something that we must, it's not just something we profess, it's something we must possess personally for ourselves. There has to be an understanding in your heart that there is a new birth, there has been a regeneration, old things have passed away, all things have become new because through faith in the gospel, the Holy Spirit has moved in and begun a transformative work in your heart. I'm not talking about sinless perfection, I'm not talking about some second manifestation of grace that just allows us to live a sinless existence. I'm not talking about not stumbling and falling, but you ought to be able to know and have an assurance in your heart that because you've believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, because you've looked to the cross of Calvary and said, that which Jesus has done, his",{"chunk_index":476,"end_sec":477,"seg_offsets":478,"seg_starts":485,"start_sec":457,"text":494},19,1028.86,[37,390,479,480,120,481,482,483,484],48,259,547,705,759,790,[457,486,487,488,489,490,491,492,493],985.56,986.8,998.38,1000.98,1011.76,1020.04,1022.7,1024.64,"crucified body, the empty tomb, that is for me. There ought to be some knowledge and assurance in your heart that because of that you've been born again into the family of God and something real and deep has transpired in your life and there's been a change. And if you're not careful, you'll come to church, you'll attend the services, you'll sing the songs, you'll partake of the elements of the communion table, you'll put some money in the offering plate, you'll participate in all the activities of the church, you'll bring crock pots to the potluck and you'll do all those wonderful things and you'll do that for an entire lifetime and you'll just drift through and drift through and drift through. And again, I'm not trying to be melodramatic tonight, but there are a lot of people, countless thousands, perhaps even millions of people who have done exactly that",{"chunk_index":158,"end_sec":496,"seg_offsets":497,"seg_starts":509,"start_sec":510,"text":525},1085.4,[37,498,414,499,500,501,502,503,256,504,505,420,506,507,508],29,137,212,273,300,346,473,520,711,753,809,[510,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,519,520,521,522,523,524],1029.46,1031.54,1033.34,1038.08,1044.22,1046.7,1047.42,1050.06,1052.4,1058.76,1062,1069.52,1075.68,1078.08,1081.14,"and at the end of their life breathed their last breath and drifted right into a crisis eternity in that place that the Bible calls hell just because they never really in a believing way paid attention to Jesus. How many of you ever heard the name Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Would you raise your hand? They called Spurgeon the Prince of Preachers. Charles Haddon Spurgeon lived in, of course, the country of England and particularly in the city of London and various places. But Spurgeon grew up in an Anglican household. He grew up in a strict Puritan household and his family attended the Anglican services there every Sunday. But when Spurgeon was about 15 years old, he began to realize that he had religion, but there was something that was missing. There was some piece of the puzzle that he didn't have. There was an affection for Christ that was missing in his heart.",{"chunk_index":527,"end_sec":528,"seg_offsets":529,"seg_starts":537,"start_sec":538,"text":549},21,1135.22,[37,415,530,531,532,533,192,481,534,535,536],115,183,258,372,602,720,741,[538,539,540,541,542,543,544,545,546,547,548],1085.66,1090.88,1094.14,1097.42,1103.6,1110.52,1117.18,1120.46,1123.76,1129.08,1130.64,"There was a nearness to Jesus and a longing for Jesus that he just didn't possess. And he became anxious about it. He began to search for it, but he didn't really know where to look. A particular night, it was Sunday evening if I recall the story correctly, young Spurgeon was going to make his way to the church that he attended and his family attended every Lord's Day. But in between where he lived and where that church was, he walked out the door and realized he was in the midst of a snowstorm. And I know y'all love a good snowstorm, okay? But he found himself called in a pretty bad snowstorm. And as he began to make his way to the church, he realized that the storm was too bad and he wasn't going to make it. And so he turned off and he went into the closest church to him, which was a little primitive Methodist church.",{"chunk_index":211,"end_sec":551,"seg_offsets":552,"seg_starts":562,"start_sec":563,"text":574},1182.78,[37,553,276,554,555,556,557,558,559,560,561],91,331,383,421,457,507,562,701,730,[563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573],1135.58,1139.94,1149.52,1151.58,1154.18,1156.3,1158.54,1161.04,1164.96,1172.34,1174.3,"And wouldn't you know it, the preacher didn't even show up that night because of the snow. There was just a handful of people, maybe four or five people in that church and one of the laymen, probably kind of the head deacon of that church, when he realized the preacher wasn't going to show up, decided he would preach the sermon. He took the Bible and he went to Isaiah chapter 40. I believe it's verse number 12 or 20. I can't recall the exact reference. He went to Isaiah chapter 40 and he read a verse. Look unto me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved. And then that preacher, because he didn't know what to do, he just yelled for about 10 minutes, look to Jesus, look to Jesus and be saved. Look to Christ and be saved. He pointed to the fact that in the wilderness the children of Israel were being bitten by the serpents because of their rebellion and their sin and their unbelief.",{"chunk_index":576,"end_sec":577,"seg_offsets":578,"seg_starts":584,"start_sec":585,"text":592},23,1232.16,[37,579,580,140,581,582,583],205,247,489,654,680,[585,586,587,588,589,590,591],1182.86,1194.22,1198.06,1206.3,1211.96,1221.26,1222.84,"And of course, Moses lifted up in that wilderness a serpent on a pole and the children of Israel were told if they would just cast their eyes on that serpent, if they would just look to that serpent, they would be healed of its venom and not die. And of course, the Bible tells us and Jesus said just as Moses lifted the serpent up in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. And Spurgeon there in that moment, there in that church house finally put two and two together. That layman, that unlettered preacher, that man who had no training and public speaking just pointed to that young man and said, look to Jesus, young man, and live. And it all came together. And he realized though he had been christened and though he had been confirmed and though he had partaken of the elements of the communion table, he did not have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.",{"chunk_index":594,"end_sec":595,"seg_offsets":596,"seg_starts":609,"start_sec":610,"text":623},24,1280.66,[37,597,598,599,600,601,602,603,604,605,606,607,608],52,120,162,329,359,444,476,523,556,740,768,850,[610,611,612,613,614,615,616,617,618,619,620,621,622],1232.36,1235.16,1238.72,1241.14,1248.24,1250.38,1253.24,1255.14,1258.38,1260.42,1269.52,1273.08,1276.86,"He was just drifting but that night it all changed. And he believed the gospel into salvation and was gloriously saved. Maybe you're here tonight and that's you. Individually, you're just drifting, you're just drifting, you're just going through the motions of religion but you don't have the transformative power of the gospel. You've never been born again. Beloved, can I just say to you what that preacher said to young Spurgeon that night? Look to Jesus tonight and live. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Rid yourself of religious pride. Overcome whatever obstacle might be in your mind and in your heart that's keeping you from making that true profession of faith, believing the gospel unto salvation and do it tonight. Do it before this day ends. There's another application you can make out of that first verse and that's this. You know, there are many of us who are true believers who have believed the gospel unto salvation.",{"chunk_index":625,"end_sec":626,"seg_offsets":627,"seg_starts":633,"start_sec":634,"text":644},25,1332.82,[37,597,530,628,235,629,630,582,631,632],240,541,572,716,786,[634,635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643],1281,1284.56,1288.24,1296.18,1306.9,1312.42,1314.12,1318.38,1322,1327.4,"But buddy, we're just spiritually drifting as well. Perhaps like the church at Ephesus, we've lost our first love. Perhaps like the church at Ephesus, there was once an intimacy and a closeness and affection in our relationship with Jesus. But you know, the fact of the matter is just like a fire is prone to go out, the nearness and the closeness of our relationship with Jesus Christ is prone to wane, isn't it? How many of you would be honest tonight and say there's been a time in my life when I was closer to Jesus than I am right now? Would anybody testify to that? There was a time in my life I was closer and nearer to Jesus than I am right now. Well listen, what that means is that there's been some drift. There's been some slow, sometimes imperceptible, sometimes, you know, unobservable drift away from affection and nearness to Jesus Christ and maybe tonight,",{"chunk_index":646,"end_sec":647,"seg_offsets":648,"seg_starts":654,"start_sec":655,"text":662},26,1389.9,[37,297,649,650,651,652,653],386,468,669,707,780,[655,656,657,658,659,660,661],1333.16,1345.66,1356.58,1362.5,1373.22,1376.22,1380.04,"maybe tonight is the night you say, you know what, I'm going to cast my gaze on Jesus once again, I'm going to pay close attention to Him because I can't afford to simply keep on drifting away. And if the writer of the book of Hebrews says this is a possibility for me, this is something that I can do when he says lest we let them slip, if it was a possibility for Him, then certainly it's a possibility for you and I to drift away from nearness and focus on Christ. Which leads me to a second observation here and that is this, not only do I see the inclusive potential for drifting, but number two, I want you to notice with me the incurred punishment for drifting. The incurred punishment for drifting. In verse number two, he says some things that are very interesting here. He says, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward.",{"chunk_index":664,"end_sec":665,"seg_offsets":666,"seg_starts":671,"start_sec":672,"text":680},27,1445.48,[37,667,668,669,670,259,395,279],179,285,404,504,[672,673,674,675,676,677,678,679],1390.14,1405.62,1412.26,1419.9,1426.12,1431.12,1439.84,1441.14,"In other words, he says, if the punishment for neglecting the Old Testament law was so great, then how can we escape if we neglect the revelation that Jesus has made to us today? That phrase there, the word spoken by angels, it's a reference to the Old Testament law, to the covenant. In Galatians 3.19, the Bible states there that the Old Testament law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. In Acts chapter 7.53, it says that the Old Testament law was received by the disposition of angels. And so what he is referring to here is he's talking about that Old Testament law. And he's saying that Old Testament law that God gave to our fathers by the prophets, if you broke that law, there were tangible, obvious punishments. And you can read the whole Old Testament and learn about some of those punishments.",{"chunk_index":682,"end_sec":683,"seg_offsets":684,"seg_starts":689,"start_sec":690,"text":697},28,1501.46,[37,553,685,686,687,559,688],141,358,390,708,[690,691,692,693,694,695,696],1445.7,1450.62,1453.76,1464.88,1467.72,1478.82,1488.56,"If you're like me, you start your Bible reading in January and you get about to Leviticus, and buddy, enthusiasm starts to wane, doesn't it? You get into, obviously, the genealogies and stuff, but you start reading about some of those punishments, and you do this, and you get stoned, and you do this, and you get set out of the tabernacle, and there's this long list of punishments there. And the writer of Hebrews says this, he says, if the word of God came to our fathers through the prophets, and they didn't pay attention to that word and faced punishment, how much greater will our punishment be if we have not received the word through some Old Testament prophet, but God has spoken to us by his son? If we neglect the son, if we drift away from the son, we're drifting away from something much, much worse than simply that Old Testament law, all those old covenant laws.",{"chunk_index":498,"end_sec":699,"seg_offsets":700,"seg_starts":708,"start_sec":709,"text":718},1554.34,[37,701,702,703,704,705,193,706,707],153,167,356,401,513,598,738,[709,710,711,712,713,714,715,716,717],1501.62,1512.4,1514.34,1526.08,1529.86,1538.68,1542.32,1544.26,1551.54,"We're drifting away from the very person of Jesus Christ, the one that all of those laws pointed to, the one that all of those laws promised would come. And there are punishments to be incurred, and I think what's so interesting here is this, the word in, I use the King James, and in the King James, I love the word that's used to describe this drifting. In verse 2, he uses the word there, neglect. He says, how shall we escape punishment if we neglect so great a salvation, so great a word that's been spoken? Are you aware tonight of the price of neglect? I don't know if James remembers this. Matter of fact, because I'm two years behind him, this took place when I was 16, so he may have already been at Bible college by this time. But when I was 16, I got my very first car.",{"chunk_index":720,"end_sec":721,"seg_offsets":722,"seg_starts":729,"start_sec":699,"text":738},30,1598.98,[37,723,724,725,726,727,140,47,728],66,106,215,256,339,651,[699,730,731,732,733,734,735,736,737],1557.12,1559.14,1564.92,1568.32,1574.36,1577.14,1584.86,1590.1,"How many of you understand when you're 16 getting your first car? It's really an amazing rite of passage. We were talking tonight at supper about how poor we both were, so it was quite a feat to get your first car. My first car cost me absolutely nothing. But it's not because, you know, I was given it by a parent or something like that. In Rowan County where I grew up, we used to haul hay. Me and Tony Rupert and a bunch of guys from the church, we'd haul hay for a farmer out there in Woodleaf in Cleveland, and we did it every year. And I can't remember exactly what he paid us, but it wasn't much, like $20 a day, and they cooked supper for us. But I've always been kind of an industrious person looking for different ways to make money, and so I was always out there hauling hay in the summer.",{"chunk_index":740,"end_sec":741,"seg_offsets":742,"seg_starts":756,"start_sec":757,"text":774},31,1640.64,[37,743,744,745,746,747,748,749,750,751,752,99,753,754,278,755,123],94,201,289,357,395,417,439,461,482,503,551,567,616,[757,758,759,760,761,762,763,764,765,766,767,768,769,770,771,772,773],1599.18,1605.72,1612.68,1616.46,1618.92,1620.82,1621.96,1623.08,1624.1,1625.16,1625.8,1626.62,1627.58,1628.56,1629.6,1631.1,1635.56,"And in that farmer's barn, he had a 1992 Ford Taurus that had been there for years and years. And every year when I would go out there to haul hay at 13 and 14 and 15, I'd see that Taurus in the barn. And finally, one day, I asked him, I said, hey, what are you going to do with that car? And he said, well, if you can get it out of there, you can have it. All right, so there was my first car. And I loved that car. It was blue all over. The outside was blue. The inside was blue. The seats were blue. The dash was blue. The steering wheel was blue. It was awesome. It had no air condition. The heater core leaked. And every morning when I got up to leave, I would check the gas and fill up the oil because it leaked oil and water all over my parents' driveway.",{"chunk_index":390,"end_sec":776,"seg_offsets":777,"seg_starts":789,"start_sec":790,"text":803},1699.44,[37,778,779,780,781,782,783,784,785,786,629,787,788],59,87,117,172,234,284,327,415,511,661,719,[790,791,792,793,794,795,796,797,798,799,800,801,802],1641.5,1646.44,1648.42,1650.14,1652.34,1656.16,1658.96,1661.42,1666.74,1672.12,1674.76,1683.22,1686.08,"But I discovered in getting that car the price of neglect. Every hose was dry rotting. It had all kinds of problems. And I tinkered with that car and I worked on that car. And from the time I started driving it, got it running at 16, I drove that car for I think four or five months. And it broke down on me at least 20 times. And every time it broke down, I came to the realization, you know, neglect has a price. You know, we think we can just park something somewhere and that neglect won't cost us nothing. But neglect is always costly. If a husband and wife neglect the relationship of the marriage, if they stop focusing on the priority of that marriage, don't you agree with me that that neglect will be costly? If a parent neglects a relationship with a child or a child neglects a relationship with a parent, don't you understand that you can't just leave that relationship there and then return to it as if nothing happened?",{"chunk_index":805,"end_sec":806,"seg_offsets":807,"seg_starts":813,"start_sec":814,"text":824},33,1752.56,[37,805,40,808,809,727,810,629,811,812],267,305,491,630,770,[814,815,816,817,818,819,820,821,822,823],1699.62,1701.98,1704.44,1717.14,1719.3,1721.02,1727.54,1730.32,1736.64,1745.88,"There's a price to that neglect. I've stood in many a funeral service. I've stood beside many an open grave as we were getting ready to lay someone to rest where a daughter or a son had on their face a look of incredible regret as they mourn the fact that they won't have another moment with that parent. They neglected that relationship. They allowed something to sever it and they walked away from it and they said to me, Brother Stephen, I just wish I could talk to my mom one more time. I just wish I could talk to my dad one more time. There's always a price to pay when something is neglected and especially a relationship. And if it is costly to neglect a relationship with a husband or wife, if it's costly to neglect the relationship between a parent or child, how much more expensive do you think the cost is when we neglect our relationship with Jesus Christ?",{"chunk_index":826,"end_sec":827,"seg_offsets":828,"seg_starts":838,"start_sec":839,"text":853},34,1801.86,[37,829,830,831,344,832,808,833,834,557,236,835,836,837],39,104,149,236,360,376,559,611,671,[839,840,841,842,843,844,845,846,847,848,849,850,851,852],1753.28,1756.26,1761.1,1763.06,1765.94,1767.58,1768.7,1771.76,1773.22,1777.12,1778.7,1784.82,1791.44,1795.52,"Will we just sort of let it be casual? Will we just sort of let it be something that we don't focus on? Unintentionally is the word I'm looking for. I don't think the devil likes this point, okay? Is that this mic you think it's doing? I don't know what's going out. But anyways, I don't think the devil likes this point, so I'm just going to bear down on it. How about that? If you want to back there, Brody, if you just give me this mic, that'll be fine. That'll be fine. I'm going to cut this mic off and I'll just stand still with my ADD self, all right? But if you, listen to me quickly now, if you suffer the price of neglect as it relates to a human relationship, like a husband and a wife, a parent and a child, how much more costly do you think it is to neglect your relationship with Jesus Christ?",{"chunk_index":855,"end_sec":856,"seg_offsets":857,"seg_starts":868,"start_sec":869,"text":886},35,1853.1,[37,625,858,499,392,859,860,783,861,600,862,863,864,99,865,866,867],111,203,248,304,361,434,460,607,645,692,[869,870,871,872,873,874,875,876,877,878,879,880,881,882,883,884,885],1802.1,1803.46,1810.6,1812.74,1814.26,1816.7,1819.18,1821.52,1823.32,1825.18,1828.5,1832.6,1835.26,1838.38,1842.5,1845.78,1848.38,"Now let me ask you this. When was the last time you made a serious investment in your relationship with Jesus? Jesus Christ, doesn't it? You know what it means to be a disciple? It means to pay a price. Jesus said, if any man would be my disciple, first of all, let him deny himself. That's a sacrifice. Let him take this cross. You know, in the New Testament, when a man was seen carrying a cross, you knew one thing about that man. He was on his way to die. When he saw a man carrying a cross, he was on his way to die. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means there's things in our lives that have to die. Personal ambitions we have to die to. Personal desires and habits we have to die to. Ultimately, that self and that pride and that arrogancy, that love of self has to die.",{"chunk_index":888,"end_sec":889,"seg_offsets":890,"seg_starts":902,"start_sec":903,"text":917},36,1908.56,[37,625,891,892,893,894,324,895,896,897,898,899,900,901],51,171,275,343,518,553,588,635,714,771,797,[903,904,905,906,907,908,909,910,911,912,913,914,915,916],1853.2,1854.24,1855.44,1861.54,1868.24,1871.48,1880.1,1883.36,1885.08,1886.7,1889.06,1894.42,1898.08,1901.38,"We're going to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. These are all prices that we must pay in order to have that relationship with Jesus, to be called one of his disciples. And if we're not willing to pay those prices, if we allow that to be neglected, the price is far worse. I don't believe you can lose your salvation, but I do believe this. I do believe, even for the believer, there's a cost associated with neglecting nearness and closeness to Jesus Christ. There's a cost to it as it relates to the local church. Churches lose their effectiveness. They stop seeing lost souls saved. They stop seeing the baptismal waters stirred. There's no longer a spirit of revival in the church when we lose our intimate, affectionate, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't let yourself drift. Moving on, number three, and finally tonight, we've seen the inclusive potential for drifting and the incurred punishment for drifting.",{"chunk_index":919,"end_sec":920,"seg_offsets":921,"seg_starts":928,"start_sec":929,"text":939},37,1961,[37,922,530,164,923,924,925,926,927,865],89,400,426,477,537,555,[929,930,931,932,933,934,935,936,937,938],1909.1,1914.86,1917.24,1930.68,1935.44,1937.74,1941.5,1945.66,1947.14,1950.46,"But thirdly and finally, I want you to see the individualized prescription for drifting. How do we avoid drifting? Again, in our text, in verse number three, or verse number one, rather, going back to the very beginning, he says, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard and seen. We ought to pay closer attention to the things that we have heard and seen. How do we avoid drifting? How do we avoid the price associated with neglect? Well, the writer of Hebrews says, we only do that by paying closer attention. I'll give you one final illustration, and I'm done. There was a couple of years when, after I graduated from Bible College, where I lived there in Rowan County, and my dad's in the construction business, and I worked with him, and I was kind of a volunteer youth",{"chunk_index":941,"end_sec":942,"seg_offsets":943,"seg_starts":950,"start_sec":920,"text":962},38,2005.32,[37,944,945,946,947,533,300,948,345,558,949,100],85,121,142,270,429,573,[920,951,952,953,954,955,956,957,958,959,960,961],1965.18,1967.02,1968.26,1974.28,1979.82,1982.72,1983.52,1984.46,1988.18,1992,1994.02,"director at my home church during that time, and just sort of in between ministries. And I've always been a deer hunter. As a matter of fact, it was a great sacrifice for me to come down here this week, because in Georgia, where I live, rifle season opened on Saturday. And I thought, James, you're obviously not a deer hunter to invite me to a revival meeting this week. But anyways, I forgive you for that, James. Pray for me. I appreciate that. But we all have a cross to bear, as I just preached, okay? And so I got off work a little early one day, and it was the rut. I mean, it was peak of deer season. And there was a little piece of public land there along the banks of High Rock Lake where Rowan County and Stanley County and Davis County all come together.",{"chunk_index":829,"end_sec":964,"seg_offsets":965,"seg_starts":972,"start_sec":973,"text":985},2043.92,[37,966,967,139,968,969,970,785,557,629,419,971],70,155,268,298,335,621,[973,974,975,976,977,978,979,980,981,982,983,984],2005.54,2008.78,2012.48,2015.56,2018.16,2019.38,2020.94,2025,2027.18,2032.32,2033.5,2035.56,"There used to be a huge piece of public land that was owned by Alcoa. And there was one little sliver that people kind of overlooked, and I knew about it. And it was really close to where we were working on a house on the lake. And so, buddy, I kind of bugged my dad. Dad, can we wrap this job up? I think this can wait till tomorrow. And I wanted to get out there at just that prime hour when the sun was setting. And sure enough, my dad finally conceded. And, man, I jumped in my Jeep, and I made haste and got there to that hunting spot. And I was in a hurry. And when you're in a hurry, you make mistakes, don't you? And I pulled up to that hunting spot, and I threw all my coveralls, and I grabbed my 7-millimeter Magnum, and I didn't even worry about my climbing stand or anything like that.",{"chunk_index":987,"end_sec":988,"seg_offsets":989,"seg_starts":993,"start_sec":994,"text":1002},40,2079.28,[37,990,922,725,991,785,366,992],65,281,606,[994,995,996,997,998,999,1000,1001],2043.94,2046.7,2048.4,2054.32,2056.88,2063.46,2065.44,2071.32,"I just went straight in the woods, and I knew where I was going. There was this one spot where there was some thick planted pines, and it kind of rolled over into a hardwood bottom, and it overlooked Panther Creek. And if you're a deer hunter, you know that deer love those edges. They love it where it transitions from planted pines to a hardwood bottom, and there were still a few acorns falling and all of that. And I just, it just had that feeling. You know that, if you're a deer hunter, you know there's just times you just feel like this is a good time to kill a deer, and that's what it felt like. And I rushed out there to that spot, and I climbed up, and I sat down, and I was looking over that bottom, and I hadn't been there five minutes, and I looked up, and there was a buck.",{"chunk_index":1004,"end_sec":1005,"seg_offsets":1006,"seg_starts":1012,"start_sec":1013,"text":1023},41,2113.1,[37,479,1007,1008,809,440,69,1009,1010,1011],229,299,470,578,641,[1013,1014,1015,1016,1017,1018,1019,1020,1021,1022],2079.4,2081.56,2089.7,2093.3,2093.84,2094.32,2097.2,2103.02,2107.58,2110.16,"And it wasn't a big buck, but it was big to me. And so I clicked the safety off that 7 mag, and I looked down there at that deer, and he was just slipping through the trees, and I just had a minute, and I shouldn't have done it. I really didn't have a great shot, and I just squeezed off that shot. Boom! Wow! 7 millimeter popped, and I saw him run. And then he kind of slowed back down, like I didn't really hit him, and then he ran a little bit, and then he was gone. And so I got up, and I thought, boy, it's getting dark real quick, and I just got to find that first blood. If you've ever killed a deer, you know what I'm talking about. And I got up there, and I started looking for first blood, and I didn't find it.",{"chunk_index":1025,"end_sec":1026,"seg_offsets":1027,"seg_starts":1037,"start_sec":1038,"text":1051},42,2158.24,[37,702,1028,1029,1030,1031,441,1032,1033,1034,216,1035,1036],189,218,286,322,411,455,615,696,721,[1038,1039,1040,1041,1042,1043,1044,1045,1046,1047,1048,1049,1050],2113.72,2121.74,2123.5,2124.7,2130.22,2131.62,2132.54,2137.34,2139.6,2148.46,2151.18,2152.18,2153.28,"And so I started just walking in the direction that that deer went, and I walked, and I walked, and I walked, and I wasn't paying attention at all to my surroundings. And then it got dark. And it started getting dark. I started feeling around my pockets, and I realized I had no light. I mean, I had no flashlight at all. I had a phone, and I had about 12% battery on that phone, and I had no clue where I was. I didn't know which direction the road was. I didn't, I mean, I had just, you know, in a panic looking for this deer, had paid no attention to my surroundings, had paid no attention to where I was going, paid no attention when I got out of the car and made sure I had that flashlight. And, buddy, it got dark. And I don't know if you ever been in a situation like that, but we had one child at the time, and one on the way.",{"chunk_index":1053,"end_sec":1054,"seg_offsets":1055,"seg_starts":1062,"start_sec":1063,"text":1072},43,2199.6,[37,1056,1057,1029,1058,1059,294,1060,1061],98,165,354,548,614,735,[1063,1064,1065,1066,1067,1068,1069,1070,1071],2158.36,2162,2165.24,2167.96,2175.3,2183.2,2186.96,2188.38,2195.2,"It was right before I moved to Georgia, and I thought, man, my wife's about to raise two orphans. I'm going to be lost out here, and they're never going to find me. And so what I just started doing was making circles, and bigger circles, bigger circles, and finally I came out up on the road there, Panther Creek Road, and I didn't know which way to go. I didn't know which way my car was, so I went right at first, and I walked about half a mile that went up, ah, probably going the wrong way, so I turned around and walked back, and I eventually walked down that road until I found my Jeep. And it all happened. It all took place, because in the excitement of the moment, with that distraction of that buck out there in front of me, with that hunger to get out there in the hunt, because of that distraction, I didn't pay attention.",{"chunk_index":1074,"end_sec":1075,"seg_offsets":1076,"seg_starts":1084,"start_sec":1085,"text":1098},44,2252.22,[37,830,1077,1078,440,1079,121,1080,1081,1082,1083,216,900],198,278,380,445,536,549,569,[1085,1086,1087,1088,1089,1090,1091,1092,1093,1094,1095,1096,1097],2200.88,2205.6,2212.6,2217.92,2219.54,2223.52,2225.08,2227.38,2233,2234.04,2235.14,2241.2,2247.4,"And I started the message by saying, don't you agree with me tonight, that we live in a distracted age. We're distracted by these phones, we're distracted by current events, and we're distracted by elections, and everything in this entire world is competing for your attention. Can I just rant for one minute? I know I'm waxing long, but I've got three minutes to the hour, okay? Can I just rant for a second? I would love to pump gas in peace. You know, you go to the gas pump, and there's a TV on the gas pump that advertises to you. I hate that. I really hate that. I want to find the person that did that, and I pray that the fleas of a thousand camels infest that man's armpits. I'm telling you, I hate, I hate that, that everything is competing for your attention. You can't look at anything without being advertised to.",{"chunk_index":1100,"end_sec":1101,"seg_offsets":1102,"seg_starts":1109,"start_sec":1110,"text":1124},45,2305.68,[37,1103,1104,744,97,1105,503,121,1106,706,1107,560,535,1108],61,163,295,542,663,755,[1110,1111,1112,1113,1114,1115,1116,1117,1118,1119,1120,1121,1122,1123],2253.72,2257.72,2265.72,2268.48,2271.46,2273.86,2276.84,2279.92,2285.32,2288.84,2291.52,2292.9,2293.98,2297.22,"In a world where everything is competing for your attention, it's more important than ever before for us to take more earnest heed, pay closer attention to Jesus. And that means worship him sincerely. That means when someone like Brother Cody is leading worship, you really focus on the lyrics. It's easy to focus on the one leading the worship. Sometimes it's hard to focus on the one that's being worshiped. You know, I had a lady come to my church one time, and she said, preacher, I just want you to know I didn't like the worship today. And I was kind of smart out about it, and I said, well, honey, that's okay, you weren't the one we was worshiping, okay? You know, the worship wasn't for you. It was for Christ. He was the one we were worshiping. And, you know, it's easy for us to get distracted by the style of the worship and our favorite song, and why did we skip the third verse and all of that stuff.",{"chunk_index":1126,"end_sec":1127,"seg_offsets":1128,"seg_starts":1135,"start_sec":1136,"text":1145},46,2352.36,[37,1129,460,1130,1131,1132,278,1133,1134],128,211,387,459,618,778,[1136,1137,1138,1139,1140,1141,1142,1143,1144],2306.54,2311.94,2316.62,2318.6,2329.02,2333.36,2341.4,2343,2350.38,"And the fact of the matter is those are just tools of the enemy to distract us from the main thing, which is focusing on Jesus. It's all part of his plan to keep us drifting, because if he can keep us drifting, he can lead us towards that consequence and that punishment for drifting, and he can keep us away from the sweetness of a relationship with Jesus Christ that we ought to have. It takes intentionality to pay attention when the preacher's preaching. I know, I listen, when I sit where you're sitting, when I sit where you're sitting, it's work for me to listen to a preacher preach, I've got to really focus. But if I really believe the Bible, and I really want to know what the Bible says and how it applies to my life, I understand I've got to pay attention to that. I have to pay attention in my Bible reading.",{"chunk_index":1147,"end_sec":1148,"seg_offsets":1149,"seg_starts":1155,"start_sec":1156,"text":1169},47,2392.44,[37,855,41,1150,1028,1031,1151,833,1152,99,1153,1154,279],156,355,392,608,699,[1156,1157,1158,1159,1160,1161,1162,1163,1164,1165,1166,1167,1168],2352.86,2355.7,2358.62,2361.98,2363.24,2369.62,2371.24,2371.38,2373.12,2378.6,2382.14,2387.52,2390.52,"I can read the Bible like a robot. I use the King James because I've used it my entire life. I've used it since I was, my mom, I read it to me in her womb. I mean, it's all I've ever used. But, you know, sometimes I can just read it, and I can read two or three chapters and get done and think, man, what did I just read? I can't remember a single thing. Why? Because I didn't pay attention. And this book is all about Jesus, and so if you're going to pay attention to Jesus, you don't have to pay attention to this book. So if you don't get anything else from the message tonight, just walk away with this. If you want to avoid the price of neglect, and if you want to keep yourself from drifting, then you have to discipline yourself to pay attention to Jesus in the worship,",{"chunk_index":479,"end_sec":1171,"seg_offsets":1172,"seg_starts":1175,"start_sec":1176,"text":1184},2434.56,[37,456,1173,892,68,991,748,1174],69,595,[1176,1177,1178,1179,1180,1181,1182,1183],2392.9,2394.02,2396.5,2402.28,2403.52,2408.62,2416.7,2426.56,"in the preaching, in your personal Bible study, in your prayer life. If you're like me, you pray for 30 seconds, and then you're like, okay, I don't know what to say now. Anybody else like that? Okay, discipline yourself to pray, to linger in prayer, to stay with Jesus in prayer. You know, just rush into the throne room of God and spit out a bunch of requests and say, all right, Lord, help Aunt Irma to, you know, get over her, you know, arthritis and stuff like that, and help me to get a job and, you know, fix the flat tire in my car and all of that, and just run in with a list of needs. You can pray for all those things, but spend some time in your prayer just focusing on Jesus, thinking about the attributes of God, thinking about the price of redemption.",{"chunk_index":321,"end_sec":1186,"seg_offsets":1187,"seg_starts":1196,"start_sec":1197,"text":1211},2484.42,[37,1188,701,579,1189,1190,1191,1192,1193,505,896,1194,1195,75],103,264,292,307,347,475,662,717,[1197,1198,1199,1200,1201,1202,1203,1204,1205,1206,1207,1208,1209,1210],2435.12,2440.84,2444.76,2448.86,2451.34,2452.82,2453.78,2455.3,2462.64,2464.14,2465.34,2474.58,2478.48,2480.02,"And, beloved, tonight, if you'll do that, if you'll do that, you'll avoid the consequences of neglect, and you will escape the consequences of drifting. If you want to drift, this is what you do, nothing. If you just do nothing tonight, you'll just keep drifting. If you don't want to drift, pay attention. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. If I could get the instrumentalists to come and we'd just have a moment of reflection, I'm not going to ask you to do anything. I'm not going to ask you to leave your seat. If you want to, you can do that. But I'm not going to ask you to do anything except for this, be obedient to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. You know, maybe you're here tonight, and you're a good churchgoer. You can be a good Baptist and not be a true follower of Jesus Christ.",{"chunk_index":1213,"end_sec":1214,"seg_offsets":1215,"seg_starts":1223,"start_sec":1224,"text":1235},50,2527.34,[37,778,1216,1217,187,1218,1219,1193,1220,1221,1222],124,192,373,409,649,690,731,[1224,1225,1226,1227,1228,1229,1230,1231,1232,1233,1234],2486.22,2489.78,2493.42,2495.9,2498.94,2504.54,2507.72,2512.26,2519.88,2522.18,2524.9,"You can be a good Baptist and not be faithful to the Lord. You can be a good Baptist and not have a home in heaven one day. Maybe you're here tonight and you've played a game for a long time. You've drifted for a long time. And in your heart of hearts, I'm not going to ask you to raise a hand or identify yourself, but in your heart of hearts, you'd say, Brother Stephen, I don't want to play games anymore. I want to have a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Right there where you're sitting, you can look to Jesus, believe the gospel and salvation, realize you're a sinner, realize there's a penalty and a price to be paid for sin, realize Jesus already paid that penalty. He already took that price upon himself, has to forgive you of your sins, come into your heart and save you.",{"chunk_index":891,"end_sec":1237,"seg_offsets":1238,"seg_starts":1249,"start_sec":1250,"text":1263},2576.22,[37,1239,1240,667,232,1241,1242,1243,1244,1245,1246,1247,1248],90,140,245,265,340,403,427,506,709,777,[1250,1251,1252,1253,1254,1255,1256,1257,1258,1259,1260,1261,1262],2527.54,2531.12,2533.52,2534.84,2537.5,2539.66,2541.96,2545.16,2547.78,2549.6,2554.04,2566.56,2570.98,"Believe that he died on the cross for your sins, was buried and rose again the third day. The Bible says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day of salvation. If you've never trusted Christ as Savior, don't drift any longer. Trust Christ today. Maybe you're here this evening and you know Jesus as your personal Savior. You're sure and certain if you died today, you'd go to heaven. And thank God for that. And you ought to just take a moment and just thank Jesus for saving your soul. But if you're here tonight and you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you'd admit, you'd admit to yourself and you'd admit to God, who already knows your heart, that that you've drifted a little bit. You don't get excited about the word of God as much as you used to. You don't get excited about the praise and the worship of God as you used to.",{"chunk_index":597,"end_sec":1265,"seg_offsets":1266,"seg_starts":1270,"start_sec":1271,"text":1281},2621.78,[37,95,1105,164,1267,259,142,582,1268,1269],519,688,752,[1271,1272,1273,1274,1275,1276,1277,1278,1279,1280],2577.42,2587.5,2592.62,2595.18,2606.64,2611.48,2614.14,2616.36,2618.2,2620.52,"When you start to think about the blood of Calvary, when you start to think about the empty tube, when you start to think about the high cost of your pardon from sin, it doesn't stir your soul anymore. Lord, if you're here tonight and that describes you, I'd invite you to do this this evening. I'd invite you, I'd beg you. Be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and ask the Lord to do whatever it takes to get your attention focused again on Christ so that you can say what this writer of Hebrew later says. And he's looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We can't afford the price of neglect. I beg you tonight to respond. Father, I thank you for this day. I thank you for the opportunity to preach to these dear people. I don't know them, but you do.",{"chunk_index":1283,"end_sec":1284,"seg_offsets":1285,"seg_starts":1290,"start_sec":1291,"text":1297},53,2648.44,[37,1286,1287,416,1288,1289],63,235,308,394,[1291,1292,1293,1294,1295,1296],2622.1,2624.84,2634.88,2638.94,2640.54,2645.34,"And I pray that you'll do with the message what I couldn't do. I feebly tried to preach it, but I ask tonight that you would seal the word in the hearts of these, your people, apply it to their lives as only you know how they need it. And if you'll do that, I'll be very grateful for it in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you again for taking your time to listen to the sermon audio of Pleasant Grove. Please subscribe to get our latest sermons each week.",[],"ready",[],[],null]