Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Hebrews chapter 4 but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Andrew and I work on a lot of scrap iron in our spare time to support our family but sometimes the price varies so much that we have to do other things to survive. Sometimes we sell firewood and other times we help people to remove trees off of their property. Andrew and I have cut down so many trees using chains and ropes that I can’t even begin to count them all. One day a retired sheriff from town stopped by the house and asked me if we could take a look at one of his trees because he was worried it was going to fall close to his garage. He drove us over to his house and showed us one of the biggest maple trees that’s I had ever seen. Andrew and I have felled some monster trees in our lives but this one took the cake. It was close to 4 feet in diameter at the base and stood within six feet of his garage and his trailer house.
Over the next few days Andrew and I slowly cut the arms off the tree and pulled them down with a rope. The last 20 feet of the tree we tied on with a chain and when I cut through the stump andrew slowly pulled it over with the pickup. The tree was absolutely huge and I’m sure if it it fell down it probably could have hurt somebody or something.
When we finally finished, John asked us for a favor. He used a chainsaw all the time because he had a cabin out in the woods and he cut his own firewood. Something was wrong with it. Because we cut so much wood he asked me if I we could take a look at it to figure out why it wasn’t running.
We took it home and over the next few days we had a chance to check it out. It seems that the cylinder had completely seized up and would not move no matter how hard you tried to pull on the rope.
I took the spark plug out and took a hammer and a large tap and gently tapped on the cylinder head to loosen it up. We knew exactly what had happened as the chainsaw roared back to life. I explained to John the next day that the chainsaw had been run without mixing oil in the gas.
Heb 4 1-2 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
There are numerous motors that require oil to be mixed with the gas. If you don’t do that, the motor will burn up and not work properly.
How many of you wives have made a meal and forgot an ingredient only to find out that it turns into a complete flop.
We all make mistakes, and God forgives but in order to enter eternal life in heaven someday, Gods Holy Word must be mixed with faith. Without faith, the motor will seize up. Without faith the cake is gonna fall down.
Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. When you have faith, you trust or believe in something very strongly. The Christian faith centers on beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Christianity entails much more than just hearing God’s word preached. It requires believing in what it says with your heart. It means trusting that God will bring it to pass. If you hear God’s word being taught you must have faith mixed with it in order for it to be a benefit to you.
The Apostle Paul was so thankful to God because the church was filled with faith in the things that he was teaching them.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 – For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
The Apostle Paul wasn’t preaching his own philosophy. He wasn’t preaching his own teachings. He was preaching the things of Jesus Christ that he believed in with his whole heart. He understood that Jesus had died on the cross for his sins and was trying to explain and teach others about God’s mercy and Grace found in Jesus Christ.
The Bereans truly believed in Gods word and it was evident in their lives.
Acts 17:11 – These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so
When you trust in the teachings of holy scriptures, that’s called faith. Through faith the Bible becomes more than just a book, but it is a voice of God to our hearts and our minds.
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God’s word is like gasoline that fuels our hearts but you have to mix it with the oil of the Holy Spirit and faith. Christianity is more than just saying I believe but believing the things that Jesus teaches us.
1 Thessalonians 1:5 – For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance;
You can hear the word of God preached and taught, but if you want to be filled with power you need to be filled with faith in the things that God word teaches us. If the Word of God is Not mingled with faith and trust, it’s like running John’s chainsaw without any oil.
Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
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