How Do We Neglect So Great Salvation?

TITLE: How Do We Neglect So Great Salvation?

TEXT: Hebrews 2:1-3

PREACHER: James Reynolds, Sr.

I. Neglecting the Assembling of Ourselves Together

Hebrews 10:25 direct admonition to gather together and to an elevated frequency as we approach the end.

If we are to maintain a relationship to God that is pleasing to him we must gather together.

“I voted to close the church. I should have gone and could have gone but did not go last Sunday. I voted to close the church.”

People are so faithful to their jobs and unfaithful to church.

Billy Sunday ---“In this town a church burst on fire and this well known atheist was rushing to get to the church and a neighbor saw him and cried out to him. “My, this is strange. This is the first time I have ever seen you run to the church. Well, This is the first time I have ever seen a church on fire!”

II. Neglecting the Bible

God’s Word is a precious book. Over years I have watched people read for ours and ours the works of fiction and romance, but hardly ever see them reading their Bible.

Deut. 8:3 Man does not live by bread only but by every word …

How will you know every word except by reading, studying, memorizing. Do we have an obligation to read the Bible? YES. Because we have salvation there are requirements upon us and in order to maintain our relationship with God we must KNOW His Word and therefore MUST spend time in learning what He is saying.

Sunday to Sunday, Wednesday to Wednesday is not enough. You need to spend time in the Word of God. This is so necessary. Try going from Sunday to Sunday without eating natural food. If you used the natural like you did the spiritual you would get awfully thin.

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

How do you hide God’s Word? Get it in my heart? Study it! Read it! Memorize it! His delight is in the law of the Lord! He delighted in it because he had gotten it in his heart! If we do not get the word into our heart we are NEGLECTING our salvation.

**Colossians 3:16 **

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

RICHLY You can never get too much …RICHLY….but you can get too little!

In All WISDOM-UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

Seek, study, if you don’t understand find someone that does understand

TEACHING-getting it in my heart to the extent that I am equipped to teach others.

ADMONITION-Encouraging, strengthening, helping up, and even correction

III. Neglecting Prayer

How many prayed for one hour at least today?

Matt. 26:41Mt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mt 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Mt 26:46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

This is no time for the church to be asleep.

Prayer should not be a hard time for you. COMMUNION with Christ? Difficult? Not when you fall in love!

Before marrying my wife I would work al day and travel 60-70 miles to see my wife. And so I would be able to see her in the morning, I would instead of driving home just go down the school parking lot and sleep in my car.

Lu 18:1 ¶ And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

AlL PRAYER – intercession, walking, working, driving, kneeling, standing, praise, thanksgiving….

If neglect prayer, we are neglecting so great salvation.

In Midway Maine a man testified about an angel visiting to him and giving him a message but said himself…”Well, I don’t’ know how much you would care to believe, I have prayed for 3 months.”

1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

When was the last time your prayed?

When was the last time you should have been praying?

Without CEASING

IV. Neglecting to Witness

How long has it been since you have witnessed for Christ.

Is witnessing important?

Isaiah 43:10

If we are not his witnesses, Who is?

With all this controversial issues surrounding us, the Christians need to be His WITNESSES.

The effort of the Jehovah Witnesses ought to be a spur to the Believer. IF we have the truth and the Christ and we have something to offer to people, how is it we are out worked by those who have nothing to offer to people of true value?

You can neglect this great salvation by NOT WITNESSING.

If we do not witness for Him, He will not witness for us.

Matthew 10:33

Not witnessing for the Lord, is denying Him! We will not be accepted before the father if Jesus does not speak up for us. We cannot make it on our own merit.

If Christ is in our heart, the mail man should know about him, the insurance man should know about him! Do you have insurance? No, but I do have ASSURANCE. Well what is that? …(Opportunity to witness!)

Do not leave the knocking on doors exclusively to the JW’s and Mormans.

Ac 22:15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

–those that want to hear, don’t want to hear, the rebellious, ALL

V. Neglecting to Worship

John 4:24 MUST WORSHIP

We so often come and sing and NEVER even WORSHIP! God inhabits the praises of His people.

WORSHIP & PRAISE HIM in the morning, in the noon time, when the sun goes down!

MORNING --Happy, positive, optimistic times, new beginnings, hope filled

NOONTIME -- heat of the day, testing, difficult
NIGHT --tired time, dark, weary, unknown

Psalm 150Ps 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Is anyone out of breath? Praise Him! Exalt Him! EVERYTHING THAT HATH BREATH.

Well, I don’t feel like it. ???

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

That is the time to offer the SACRIFICE of praise, God will honor that!

VI. Neglecting to Pay Tithes

I was on the Cape for a year and half and at the end of my tenure, I felt like preachcing on tithes. Just before the message one of the deacons stood of testifying he gave 150 dollars to missions. Every week they gave me exactly 25 dollars. One week they exceeded the usual amount and gave me 31 dollars and ------cents.

Hear I am preaching on tithing, I never even got off the platform and they came to me. Bro Reynolds We can’t pay you our tithes, we are sending them to A.A. Allen, and we are sending them to missions.

You cannot pay our tithes anywhere but into the storehouse where you are being fed.