TAKE HEED
Just about every day of our lives we see signs that warn us to take heed. Many times the signs will have the word danger, warning, or caution in them. Sometimes the warning is indicated by flashing lights or by a siren. Many of the warnings can mean the difference between life and death.
One warning sign that we are used to hearing especially around this time of the year is tornado sirens. When we hear them go off, we should prepare, but sometimes people become lax at the warnings because many times nothing happens.
For example, I heard a story about this happening here in
This is one example out of hundreds if not thousands of actual cases where people lost their lives because they did not take heed to the warning signs.
In the Bible, God has given us a lot of warning signs, and many of them start out with “Take Heed” This phrase is used 49 times in the NKJV. Tonight I want to take a look a few of the passages where the phrase “Take Heed” occurs.
Our first one comes from,
1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall.
I remember one preacher who said he had memorized the
Scripture in the event that he ever fell as we stepping down from the pulpit,
but of course this has a much deeper meaning than that. As Paul continues on in
this chapter, he gives examples of how the children of
Even though they lived over 3500 years ago, human nature has not changed much
because people today have the same weaknesses and sins in their life as those
during Moses’ day. When you study about the children of
1 Corinthians 10:14
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Some might say today that
they have no problem with idolatry because they are not worshiping idols, angels,
or anything else other than God, but what some don’t understand is that there
are many forms to idolatry. For instance, Paul says that covetousness is
idolatry in Col. 3:5. Of course, covetousness is a huge problem in
This type of attitude
that many have adopted has been influencing those in the church in several
ways:
1. Since some want to
have their piece of the
2. Since some are working so hard, they are too
tired to make time for God, so they don’t study God’s Word, and they don’t even
find time to pray to God.
3. Since some are working
hard to buy those expensive toys they want, they put the Lord’s church on a
budget because every extra dollar they give to God will take them longer to buy
their new toys.
This is not the attitude
we should have a Christians. Jesus said,
Luke 12:15 Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
Matthew 6:33 "But
seek first the
Will we take heed to the
warning that Jesus Himself has given us and avoid the influence of our society
when it comes to covetousness. Will we continue to put God’s kingdom first in
our lives instead of putting it second, third, or even last?
I want you to listen carefully
to the admonitions of the following Scriptures, which teach against the
covetousness causes.
Hebrews 10:24 And let
us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
KJV
2 Timothy 2:15 Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray
without ceasing, 18 in
everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
2 Corinthians 9:7 So
let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of
necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Peter 3:18 but
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We cannot neglect any of these admonitions and still remain
faithful to the Lord. When we slack off and fail to make these spiritual values
first in our lives, we are setting ourselves up to fall into the same sins as
the children of
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all
these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall.
Another thing we are to take heed to is found in verse 10 in
which we are told not be complainers like the children of
It is obvious that God does not like it, when His people complain and murmur about what He has done for them. While God doesn’t kill us today under the new covenant for our complaining and murmuring, we should not think that God tolerates it because at the final judgment day, we will have to give an account for ever idle word that has slipped from our mouth John 12:48.
So, it is possible that our constant murmuring and complaining about what God has done for us can make us pull up a seat next to liars, fornicators and thieves. So, we need to take heed and stop complaining and develop the attitude expressed by Paul in,
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies,
kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if
anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also
must do. 14 But above
all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
We cannot practice what Paul has taught us here and nit pick our brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot practice this, and be critical or negative about the Lord’s church or toward our elders, and we certainly should not be critical of God. In fact, we should not have negative attitude about our lives or other people in general if we want to live by these principles taught by Paul. Consider what else Paul taught about this in,
Philippians 2:14 Do all
things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of
God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom
you shine as lights in the world, 16
holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that
I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Romans 12:14 Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice,
and weep with those who weep. 16
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil.
Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as
depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
So as Christians, we must learn to live quite and peaceable lives in all goodness and honesty without murmuring and complaining, and we must strive to stay away from covetousness and worldly pride.
If we are guilty of any of these negative sinful attitudes, we need to repent and ask for God’s forgiveness, and do our best to remove these sinful attitudes from our hearts. If we will allow God to help us, we can overcome these non-Christian attitudes by committing ourselves to Him and by seeking His wisdom and help.
The last Scripture we are going to look at this evening that has our phrase take heed comes from Paul wrote to Timothy in,
1 Timothy 4:16 Take
heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you
will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Paul is warning Timothy
to pay careful attention to 2 different things. The first thing he tells him to
do is to take heed of himself. Sometimes as Christians, we start worrying so
much about everyone else and making sure that they are doing what they are
suppose to do that we forget about ourselves.
When it comes to God and
our relationship with Him, it is imperative that we make sure that we are
living our life for God, and that we have the sin out of our life. When we have
our life in order, then we will be more
effective at helping others get their life in order. This is why Paul said,
1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you
not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run
in such a way that you may obtain it.
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown,
but we for an imperishable crown.
26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight:
not as one who beats the air. 27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Paul understood that His
preaching and teaching could save others, while at the same time he could be
lost if he was not living by what he taught. Preachers and teachers of God’s
Word need to understand this because it takes more than proclaiming God’s Word
to make you right with Him, and we need to realize as teachers that we will be
held by higher standard by God as James says,
James 3:1 My
brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a
stricter judgment.
Not only should we make sure that when we teach God’s Word that we are teaching the truth, we must live by what we preach. We better than anyone should know how we should be living our lives. We cannot proclaim to be ignorant of God’s truth as Jesus said,
Luke 6:46 "
But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?
When it comes to reaching out to a fallen brother and trying to get them to change their ways, Paul said,
Galatians 6:1 Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted.
Notice, those who are spiritual
are the ones that are to try and reach out to the sinning brother or sister,
which every Christian should be, and Paul said we should consider ourselves and
make sure we are spiritual enough not to get caught up in the same temptation.
We must learn to recognize our strengths and our weakness and while we work on
those areas we are weak in, we should avoid those things which make us weak.
Another thing we must
take heed to in regards at looking at ourselves, we must not think we are
better than we are or that we are better than anyone else. As Paul said,
Romans 12:3 For I
say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God
has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who
makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not
receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you
had not received it?
When
we learn to have humble attitude about ourselves, it will keep us from
inflating our self-image and from becoming puffed up with vanity and pride.
The
second thing Paul told Timothy to take heed to was the doctrine, and he wants
him and us to continue in that doctrine, which is talking about the Word of
God. The Word of God is power of salvation Rom. 1:16 and it is the Word of God
that will save our souls James 1:21. The only way that you and I can be
guaranteed of a home in heaven is by living our lives by the Word of God
because if we fail to do this, we will not make it to heaven. Jesus said,
Matthew 7:21 "
Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in
that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in
Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Notice
what the writer of Hebrews says,
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore
we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift
away. 2 For if the word
spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just reward, 3
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first
began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
The
writer of Hebrews is teaching us how urgent it is that we wake up and pay
attention to what the Word of God has to say. Otherwise, we can and we will
drift away and there will be no escape from the wrath of God when we neglect
our salvation by not taking heed to God’s Word.
Unfortunately,
there are many today who are not good listeners, and they only hear what they
want to hear, because just like the opposing Jews of the first century, their
hearing is dull and their vision is blurry. The more we develop this attitude,
the harder our hearts will grow and we can get to the point where their grace
God can’t make into our hearts because we have seared our conscience with a hot
iron. So, I hope all of us in this room will take heed to the doctrine of
Christ and continue in it so that we will never neglect our salvation.
As we come to the end of our lesson, I hope that each of us will keep our eyes and ears open to the warning signs that are given to us in the Bible so that we can live a life that will be acceptable before God and so that our souls will be saved in the end.