Looking Diligently to Not Fail God’s Grace

Looking diligently…. He was exercised there by it. Looking diligently – that is a strong word – looking diligently that you’re getting…. If you’re going to be an architect or if you’re going to be anything, you’re going to be diligent in whatever you’re doing. If you write, if you want something sloppy, or you want to turn out to be any kind of an architect, or any kind of a builder, you’re just going to let things pass up and botch it.

But “looking diligently,” watch your salvation, watch what you are doing, “lest any man fail of the grace of God,” and goes on into the opposite side; “lest any root of bitterness….” (Hebrews 12:15) Now how is this coming about? By some great thing? No, but just a root of bitterness, that’s all. You just got to get bitter about it. All you have to do is turn bitter. And you’ll have it. Because it all works. We know that doctors and people that study into these things say something that is wrong in you, that rankles you, and you can’t come to any conclusion – it all affects your gall bladder. All that works in poison; poison is thrown off.

Anger causes this. It is known, this is absolutely proven. Anger goes off into the system from something that is rankling one. And they muse and it causes murders. It caused Cain to be a murderer. It caused Judas Iscariot to sell the Lord out. All of this, and it never intended to be anything that great. If you could look at it, I would imagine that Cain never intended to kill his brother. Many of the murders that you see, they say, “I never intended to do such thing. All of a sudden, I was taken over, I don’t know what caused me.” And there, the dead one or, there, the terrible things that have been planned.

Be careful. “Looking diligently….” Take account of that bitterness, “lest any man fail.” Can you fail the grace of God? It says so. The grace of God, all that grace He pours out? Can you fail it? You can. It says it. Watch that diligently, that you don’t fail the grace of God. Because the root of bitterness, and then that springs up and it troubles you, and many, not only you, are defiled, but those that are watching your path are defiled.

Then he goes to name it. The writer of the Hebrews goes on to name who is that certain one, which you could put in there ditto, ditto, ditto. And just put the same thing, the same answer: failed the grace of God. Sought to get back and couldn’t. You could put ditto, all the way down, the same thing ditto. When he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. Just the day came, when he was to be blessed, and he wasn’t.

He got careful about it then. He got diligent about it, careful. He carefully, he diligently, he got very diligent about it. And he sought, he got careful and diligent and he sought. And he not only was diligent and sought, but he was seemingly repentant. Tears came, and he got exercised about it, but there was no place, the space was filled up. There was no place; the space was filled. It had been filled, we could say in this case, with his brother that had the blessing. In other cases, whatever the case might be, the space is filled up.

Hold fast, to that which the Lord has given you. Hold fast to the crown…. “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Revelation 3:11) Lest any man – can your crown be taken? Here it is. This was the blessing of being the…. This was the birthright. He hadn’t heard Revelation that we hear John telling us the overcomers, what they’ll get. But his would be the birthright, and that meant everything – to be the blessed – that was everything that you could get, the birthright. In Spanish, primogenitura. And when you say that, it means more to me than even birthright. Because I learned it, and as Paul said, with great price, I paid for this. I paid for all these words, to learn them and to keep them. Primogenitura, the birthright.

And he sold it out, all that God had for him, he sold out. All that God had for him, for then, and for all eternity. And we can remember how he cried, “Father, Father, isn’t there something you can do?”

“Well, I blessed your brother, and he is blessed,” he said. “And he is blessed, because I gave him the birthright.” It was filled, the place was filled. His brother had taken it, for he found no place of repentance. He didn’t have a leg to stand on.

Not a tear would go into any of that which would move God. He couldn’t move God, the tears would be of no avail. “Though he sought it carefully with tears.” (Hebrews 12:17) Wonderful Scripture this, I see it more clearly than I did when I came in here. Praise the Lord.

He had the… So it was set, a very great dealing in this, of the carefulness, of the diligence. Just the words: “looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God.”

And you can just take Samson. Take anybody you want to put in there. Samson, well, was he called? Jeremiah – God said to him that he was called before he was born. Samson was called before he was born. An angel appeared on earth to talk to his mother. What?

An angel appeared to tell Mary that she was to have a child. An angel appeared to the mother of Samson. She thought she would die that she had seen an angel. But it was reasoned out that if she was taught how to raise the child, why was she going to die? She used her mind and the husband used his mind on it anyhow. They found that they could use their minds. And they said, well, we’re not going to die, we wouldn’t be told by the angel. Called of God, announced by an angel, told how to raise the child and all, and then, the failing of the grace of God. Why? Because of his lust.

He was out to appease, satisfy his lustful lower nature. And that lustful lower nature was appeased. He was having a good time of it, whatever his little heart desired, he was carrying it out. There, as we know, lying in the lap of the wicked Delilah. Sold out himself and there grinding out the corn with his eyes put out. What a horrible end for a child that was announced from heaven to be born to serve his generation, and he ended with grinding out the Philistines’ corn, like an animal going ’round and around.

And then with no eyes, finally saying, finally coming to himself, asking the boy next to him to lead him to one of the big pillars because his hair had grown out that much and pull down all of the whole stadium, but he was killed in it. And all the killing of the people, that wasn’t any salvation or glory to God, he just killed people. It was the opening of hell. He just opened hell to take all their souls, opened the way. Because of the failing of the grace of God. What one man can do in God, and what one man can do out of God. And also called of God, ordained God, and sovereignty? What could be more sovereign to have an angel to announce to your parents. Well, he couldn’t say, well, I came of a cursed background, my mother and father were just cursed people, that’s why I’m so into this thing. Look at that.

Blessed parents. And the result. It’s in the man, it’s in the woman, it’s in the will. It’s in the what you’ll do with God, you, personally. Nobody…. There used to be a time Ezekiel said that they say the fathers ate sour grapes so the children’s teeth are set on edge. Like a curse passed down. They said there will be a time that no more this would be that the father can eat all the sour grapes he wants, but the child doesn’t have to be cursed or have his teeth on edge.

We have been saved, we have been taken out of it. And we don’t rest or figure on curses of the family. We have all the promises of God and we don’t refer to that. You could have great parents, but you have to make your grapes or whatever they are.

“Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root (singular) of bitterness spring up and trouble you and thereby many be defiled.” (Hebrews 12:15)

So Esau’s lust led him to be a fornicator, made him to be a profane person, because of the one morsel of meat. All that works in the evil part, into the other side. James said, “Don’t say that God tempts you. You are tempted of your own lusts. And lust, and when it has conceived, brings forth sin, and sin brings forth death.” (James 1:15) The deterioration just goes [click]. Finished. Help us, Lord.