1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,960 Well, thank you, music team. We appreciate you leading us in 2 00:00:09,970 --> 00:00:13,250 worship this morning. I would like to invite Bradley 3 00:00:13,310 --> 00:00:16,120 Shabir to come up early. We're just going to pray for you 4 00:00:16,190 --> 00:00:18,600 as you bring the message this morning. 5 00:00:19,540 --> 00:00:21,190 Community. Father, we thank you for this 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:22,570 morning. We thank you for the time of 7 00:00:22,580 --> 00:00:25,150 worship that we've had. We thank you for the blessing 8 00:00:25,220 --> 00:00:28,370 that it has been or what joy it brings to our heart to give you 9 00:00:28,380 --> 00:00:30,990 the praise and worship that you deserve. 10 00:00:31,060 --> 00:00:34,530 And Father, we come now and we thank you for Bradley's 11 00:00:34,540 --> 00:00:37,890 willingness to be able to bring the message that you've laid on 12 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:40,410 his heart this morning. We pray that you'll give them 13 00:00:40,420 --> 00:00:43,550 clarity of thought and mind. And Lord, we just bring that 14 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,890 into your hand. Father, we pray that our hearts 15 00:00:45,900 --> 00:00:49,130 will be open. Our hearts will be desiring to 16 00:00:49,140 --> 00:00:53,110 want to hear the word and not just hear it, but apply it and 17 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,120 put it into our lives. So to you we give all praise, to 18 00:00:56,130 --> 00:00:59,030 you we Google things today in Jesus name, Amen. 19 00:00:59,260 --> 00:01:01,760 Brady, thank you so much for being willing to come and share 20 00:01:01,770 --> 00:01:05,790 the word this morning. My pleasure, it really is so 21 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,550 great. Together, together and worship 22 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,270 the Lord together. Many of you probably know me. 23 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,180 I have come here before. I've preached for you before, 24 00:01:15,190 --> 00:01:18,530 but it was a long time ago. So I'll give you a brief little 25 00:01:18,540 --> 00:01:21,370 background to myself. My name is Bradley, as Gavin 26 00:01:21,380 --> 00:01:24,590 mentioned, I'm from Cambridge, just down the road. 27 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,150 I have studied in the States and I went there to do theology. 28 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,110 So that is a bit of my background. 29 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:34,050 But I really, as I said last time, I don't want to dwell too 30 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:36,890 long on who I am. You see, the reason I'm here is 31 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:39,950 to preach the Word of God and to bring us to the Scriptures. 32 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,150 You see, I'm convinced that there can scarcely be a more 33 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:50,360 important question than this Who is Jesus Christ? 34 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:54,160 This is true for all people, but it's especially true for us as 35 00:01:54,170 --> 00:01:58,920 Christians, us as Christians who say that we follow Jesus Christ. 36 00:02:00,190 --> 00:02:04,440 You see, it's always our hope that we should continue to grow 37 00:02:04,450 --> 00:02:08,820 in our knowledge of Jesus Christ and as a result, to growing our 38 00:02:08,830 --> 00:02:13,740 love for him as well. You see, Jesus is not merely the 39 00:02:13,750 --> 00:02:19,280 entry point into Christianity, He's also the sum and substance. 40 00:02:19,350 --> 00:02:23,010 The entirety of it is found in Jesus Christ. 41 00:02:25,290 --> 00:02:29,420 There will never come a day where He is not our greatest 42 00:02:29,470 --> 00:02:32,040 need. You see the most grizzled 43 00:02:32,050 --> 00:02:36,510 veteran of the Christian faith, that veteran who has stood 44 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:41,150 through many battles and trials and temptations, he is no less 45 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,350 in need of Jesus Christ than the newborn babe who has only just 46 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:50,720 entered into the faith. And that is why this morning we 47 00:02:50,730 --> 00:02:53,880 are going to look at a text that talks about Jesus Christ, that 48 00:02:53,890 --> 00:03:00,370 explains who Jesus Christ is. This is the text that focuses on 49 00:03:00,380 --> 00:03:05,000 the person and work of Christ, and I've settled on Hebrews 50 00:03:05,010 --> 00:03:08,860 chapter 1 verses 1 to 4. Before I get to the text, 51 00:03:08,870 --> 00:03:11,750 however, I would like to go to the Lord and prayer once more. 52 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,650 I believe it is vitally important that we cover 53 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:18,630 everything in prayer. So, Lord, we come before you now 54 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,090 as Your people. We come seeking to know You, to 55 00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:25,690 know more of you, to love you, and to worship you. 56 00:03:25,740 --> 00:03:29,680 Lord, there is no greater desire in our hearts, no greater goal 57 00:03:29,690 --> 00:03:32,820 and ambition than to see Your name lifted high in glorified. 58 00:03:33,180 --> 00:03:35,570 Lord, we pray that You would bless us this morning as we look 59 00:03:35,580 --> 00:03:38,570 to Your Word, that You would fill us with Your Spirit, that 60 00:03:38,580 --> 00:03:42,710 we might see and understand, that we might discern correctly 61 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,760 the things in Your Word that are for us. 62 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,250 Lord, let us be encouraged as we look to Jesus Christ, let us be 63 00:03:50,260 --> 00:03:53,430 strengthened and let us find hope in Him. 64 00:03:54,260 --> 00:03:57,190 Lord, we know that we have no grace in need, no grace in need 65 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:58,870 then to come before Jesus Christ. 66 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,970 So bless us this morning as we do that, as we look for you and 67 00:04:02,980 --> 00:04:05,790 seek you in your word. This we pray in your holy name. 68 00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:10,570 Amen. Hebrews one versus 1 to 4. 69 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:15,690 This is the word of the Lord. Long ago, at many times and in 70 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:19,990 many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. 71 00:04:20,220 --> 00:04:25,150 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He 72 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,670 appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He 73 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,100 created the world. He is the radiance of the glory 74 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:38,860 of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the 75 00:04:38,870 --> 00:04:41,290 universe by the word of His power. 76 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:47,510 After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right 77 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,770 hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior 78 00:04:51,780 --> 00:04:56,770 to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than 79 00:04:56,780 --> 00:05:00,790 theirs. Now this really is a beautiful 80 00:05:00,860 --> 00:05:04,950 passage, isn't it, Steven? It's just a cursory glance. 81 00:05:05,020 --> 00:05:09,280 We can see that it's full to the brim with various themes and 82 00:05:09,290 --> 00:05:13,240 various insights into the person and work of Jesus Christ. 83 00:05:13,620 --> 00:05:17,130 Now, before we dive into some of these themes, I'd like to make 84 00:05:17,140 --> 00:05:20,130 some introductory marks just about the structure of this 85 00:05:20,140 --> 00:05:22,720 passage, the structure and the contents. 86 00:05:23,590 --> 00:05:27,580 And to do this, I'm going to introduce to you what I believe 87 00:05:27,590 --> 00:05:31,820 may be some new words, some words you haven't heard before. 88 00:05:31,970 --> 00:05:35,160 And the first word is the word kaasam. 89 00:05:35,230 --> 00:05:37,800 Could I get a quick show of hands who's heard of that word 90 00:05:37,810 --> 00:05:42,010 in the context of Bible studies? Kaasm K. 91 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:43,570 There are a few of you have heard of that. 92 00:05:45,020 --> 00:05:47,750 I see. A chiasm is a poetic device 93 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,650 that's often used in the Bible, especially in the Psalms, to 94 00:05:51,660 --> 00:05:55,490 give structure and order to the thoughts of the writer. 95 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,470 To make a chiasm, the writer, he'd simply make one statement, 96 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,750 followed by another, followed by another, and we'll call it a BC 97 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:07,110 and he drive it as main point. And once he hits that main 98 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,380 point, he'll then exit and reverse order. 99 00:06:09,420 --> 00:06:14,910 So CBA, she makes a couple of statements coming in the one way 100 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:16,890 and then reverse order out the other way. 101 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,430 That's what's called a chiasm. Now the reason I bring this up 102 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:25,210 is that Hebrews chapter 1 verses one to four gives us a beautiful 103 00:06:25,220 --> 00:06:28,050 example of a chiasm in the scriptures. 104 00:06:29,260 --> 00:06:33,860 I have this diagram for us here. Then you can see how the author 105 00:06:33,870 --> 00:06:38,380 orders his thoughts here. See, the point a he begins with 106 00:06:38,390 --> 00:06:40,660 is very similar to the point he exits out. 107 00:06:40,670 --> 00:06:44,370 Jesus is superior to the prophets, and right at the end 108 00:06:44,380 --> 00:06:47,060 there you'll see Jesus superior to the angels. 109 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:50,840 As we go in further, Jesus is air of all things, which 110 00:06:50,850 --> 00:06:54,540 parallels that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. 111 00:06:55,580 --> 00:06:58,730 Jesus is the creator of the world, and that parallels this 112 00:06:58,740 --> 00:07:01,990 idea that Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his 113 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,230 power. And they're right in the middle. 114 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,050 We have this idea that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of 115 00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:10,300 God, the exact imprint of his nature. 116 00:07:11,810 --> 00:07:14,800 Now, the reason this is important is because it helps to 117 00:07:14,810 --> 00:07:17,710 see where the beating heart of this passage lies. 118 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,500 You see, modern writers often take two different approaches. 119 00:07:21,510 --> 00:07:24,310 We'll either start with our main point, and then we'll try to 120 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,410 explain that all. We'll do the explanation up 121 00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:31,120 front and we'll end with that main point, but that's not 122 00:07:31,130 --> 00:07:33,020 what's going on here. This is a Kaiser. 123 00:07:33,030 --> 00:07:36,130 And so we find that main point, the key theme right in the 124 00:07:36,140 --> 00:07:41,920 middle of our passage. Jesus is the radiance of the 125 00:07:41,930 --> 00:07:45,920 glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. 126 00:07:45,970 --> 00:07:49,240 That is the heart of our passage. 127 00:07:50,060 --> 00:07:53,800 Now, the second new word that I'd like to introduce you to, 128 00:07:53,810 --> 00:07:58,230 and this one's even less common. How many of you, again a show of 129 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,500 hands, have heard of this word? Hapax legomenon. 130 00:08:03,530 --> 00:08:07,420 It's a very fancy word, but with a simple meaning. 131 00:08:08,930 --> 00:08:13,020 You see, a hapax legomenon means it's something that occurs only 132 00:08:13,070 --> 00:08:17,280 once, something that occurs only once. 133 00:08:17,290 --> 00:08:20,970 And when we look at this passage, we find a word here 134 00:08:20,980 --> 00:08:25,070 that only occurs one time in the entire Bible. 135 00:08:25,690 --> 00:08:29,420 It's that word radiant. See in this passage where it 136 00:08:29,430 --> 00:08:31,360 says Jesus is the radiance of God. 137 00:08:31,370 --> 00:08:34,659 That is the only time that word is used in the Bible. 138 00:08:34,730 --> 00:08:41,539 It is a happy Axel Gamanon. Now this is more of a curiosity 139 00:08:41,549 --> 00:08:43,460 really. It's not really proper to draw 140 00:08:43,510 --> 00:08:47,200 exegetical conclusions from the fact that the word only occurs 141 00:08:47,210 --> 00:08:52,230 once, but I will make the connection that Jesus Christ is 142 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,150 the only Son of God. He is the only true radiance of 143 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,530 God. So I think it's a happy 144 00:08:58,540 --> 00:09:01,750 coincidence at least that this word that's only used once is 145 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,940 used to describe that glory of Jesus Christ. 146 00:09:05,700 --> 00:09:10,570 I think it's at least fitting to appreciate this particular hapax 147 00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:12,830 legomenon. Now these are the preliminary 148 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:17,730 comments, and they being thus concluded, I'd like to explore 149 00:09:17,740 --> 00:09:22,550 three ways in which this passage shows us how Jesus is the 150 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:29,140 radiance of God's glory. Firstly, Jesus is the final and 151 00:09:29,150 --> 00:09:34,460 greatest word from God. You'll see this idea plainly in 152 00:09:34,470 --> 00:09:39,090 our text. You see, God has long been in 153 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:41,830 the business of revealing Himself to his creatures. 154 00:09:42,950 --> 00:09:45,910 This is who He is. He is a God of revelation. 155 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,730 He's the God of order rather than chaos. 156 00:09:49,740 --> 00:09:53,870 He is a God of wisdom and understanding rather than 157 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:58,870 confusion, and as a result, God created us to know Him. 158 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:06,010 He created us to understand and to order our lives based on 159 00:10:06,060 --> 00:10:08,320 knowledge, and knowledge of Him specifically. 160 00:10:10,450 --> 00:10:14,660 It is a true statement that God's glory is our highest good. 161 00:10:15,450 --> 00:10:21,700 We were created to live and move and have our being in God, in 162 00:10:21,710 --> 00:10:24,790 Him, and therefore in His great love. 163 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,220 God has always been about revealing this glory to us. 164 00:10:29,660 --> 00:10:32,890 In the beginning, when He created Adam, He didn't create 165 00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:35,450 him and leave him alone in that garden. 166 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:38,250 God would come and he would talk with him. 167 00:10:38,260 --> 00:10:41,810 He would reveal himself to him and he gave him commandments to 168 00:10:41,820 --> 00:10:43,990 Adam. Might know how to please God. 169 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:50,990 God revealed Himself to Adam in the Garden after the fall of 170 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,190 mankind into sin. God continued to reveal Himself 171 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:58,150 even as He directed history towards greater and greater 172 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,970 revelation, greater revelation of Himself. 173 00:11:01,020 --> 00:11:05,960 Consider what He said to Abraham and Genesis 12/3. 174 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,270 He said, I will bless those who bless you, and him who 175 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,410 dishonours you I will curse. And then you, all the families 176 00:11:14,420 --> 00:11:17,540 of the earth shall be blessed again. 177 00:11:17,550 --> 00:11:23,520 And Genesis 1817 to 18 the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham 178 00:11:23,530 --> 00:11:27,940 what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become 179 00:11:27,950 --> 00:11:31,690 a great and mighty nation, nation, and all the nations of 180 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:33,400 the earth shall be blessed in him. 181 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,190 See, when we look at these texts and what God's saying to Abraham 182 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,710 is promising a blessing that will come on all the nations, 183 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:47,810 all the peoples through Abraham, and that blessing involves 184 00:11:47,820 --> 00:11:52,150 greater revelation of God, greater revelation of who He is. 185 00:11:53,170 --> 00:11:57,730 God's glory is our highest good, and so when God promises to 186 00:11:57,740 --> 00:12:01,170 bring blessing to the nations, that must necessarily involve 187 00:12:01,180 --> 00:12:04,650 revelation of Himself, revelation of His glory. 188 00:12:06,330 --> 00:12:08,520 This is what God promised to Abraham. 189 00:12:08,770 --> 00:12:12,000 And so we see this pattern continue throughout the entire 190 00:12:12,010 --> 00:12:17,510 Old Testament as history marched on, as Hebrew says, long ago, at 191 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:21,990 many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the 192 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,140 prophets. You see, God is a God who 193 00:12:26,150 --> 00:12:28,510 reveals himself, the God who speaks. 194 00:12:30,070 --> 00:12:33,790 Sometimes he would speak face to face, as he did with Moses. 195 00:12:34,670 --> 00:12:39,220 At other times he would speak in dreams and visions, as you did 196 00:12:39,230 --> 00:12:42,980 with Daniel. And yet other times he'd send 197 00:12:42,990 --> 00:12:47,480 angels to speak on his behalf, and he'd communicate that way. 198 00:12:47,610 --> 00:12:52,830 But whatever the case, he was revealing more of himself, more 199 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,030 of what he's like. The thought does not finish on 200 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:03,960 that note that goes on, but in these last days he has spoken to 201 00:13:03,970 --> 00:13:08,940 us by his son. In these last days he has spoken 202 00:13:08,950 --> 00:13:12,870 by his son. Perhaps you can hear the 203 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:16,000 finality there when he talks about the last days. 204 00:13:17,150 --> 00:13:21,440 See, we are not at present waiting for some further and 205 00:13:21,450 --> 00:13:28,070 greater revelation of God. Jesus Christ is the centrepiece 206 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,950 of God's revelation. He is the centrepiece, the 207 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,790 crowning glory and the final word. 208 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:40,350 All of history points to him. It's driving towards Jesus 209 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,270 Christ. All of God's past revelation 210 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,040 finds its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ. 211 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:55,070 Jesus explained this to his disciples in Matthew 1316 to 17. 212 00:13:56,090 --> 00:13:59,700 He says this to them, But blessed are your eyes for they 213 00:13:59,710 --> 00:14:02,400 see, and your ears for they hear. 214 00:14:02,670 --> 00:14:07,100 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people 215 00:14:07,110 --> 00:14:11,740 longed to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what 216 00:14:11,750 --> 00:14:17,420 you hear but did not hear it. Now let me ask, what was it that 217 00:14:17,430 --> 00:14:24,400 Jesus disciples saw and heard? They saw Jesus Christ, They saw 218 00:14:24,410 --> 00:14:28,180 him. That is what all the prophets 219 00:14:28,650 --> 00:14:33,200 longed to see in here, but that is what they saw Jesus Christ in 220 00:14:33,210 --> 00:14:35,730 the flesh, in person before them. 221 00:14:37,610 --> 00:14:40,350 He is the centrepiece of God's revelation. 222 00:14:41,750 --> 00:14:45,080 Now, the import of all of this is that we should fix our gaze 223 00:14:45,090 --> 00:14:48,420 on Jesus Christ too. We should look to Him. 224 00:14:49,510 --> 00:14:52,470 Let me ask, do you want to know more of God? 225 00:14:53,800 --> 00:15:00,350 Then look to Jesus Christ? Don't seek out strange new 226 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:05,530 revelations, either by the Spirit or by modern prophets, 227 00:15:05,580 --> 00:15:11,200 falsely so-called. Look to the perfect revelation 228 00:15:11,210 --> 00:15:18,260 of God in Jesus Christ. Holy Scripture records for us 229 00:15:18,450 --> 00:15:22,800 His life here on earth, what he did, what he said, what he was 230 00:15:22,810 --> 00:15:26,370 like. It points to Jesus Christ. 231 00:15:26,380 --> 00:15:28,250 So look for Him in the Scriptures. 232 00:15:30,270 --> 00:15:34,800 She revelation through various other means, different prophets, 233 00:15:34,850 --> 00:15:37,700 dreams and visions. It's something that properly 234 00:15:37,710 --> 00:15:40,100 belongs in the past. This is how God spoke to the 235 00:15:40,110 --> 00:15:44,300 fathers in the past, in these last days, in these final days. 236 00:15:44,470 --> 00:15:47,240 He speaks in Jesus Christ, in his Son. 237 00:15:47,250 --> 00:15:50,610 He is spoken finally and authoritatively there. 238 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:57,520 So look to Jesus Christ. In a modern world, there are 239 00:15:57,530 --> 00:16:01,280 many voices. Voices vying for our attention, 240 00:16:01,290 --> 00:16:04,170 voices telling us how to live our lives. 241 00:16:05,970 --> 00:16:08,660 There are voices that are telling us what's important and 242 00:16:08,670 --> 00:16:11,790 what's not. Voices that say these 243 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,360 entertainments are what you should spend your time on, these 244 00:16:15,370 --> 00:16:19,620 loves, these affections you should chase after money or 245 00:16:19,630 --> 00:16:25,630 career, chase after power, pleasure, whatever it might be. 246 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:32,030 There are many voices in the world, but this takes powerfully 247 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,390 challenges, tells us that Jesus Christ is God's final word, the 248 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,100 ultimate revelation. And so rather than listening to 249 00:16:40,110 --> 00:16:44,640 all of these voices, there can often be loud that draw our 250 00:16:44,650 --> 00:16:47,600 attention. Let's listen to Jesus Christ. 251 00:16:47,650 --> 00:16:56,940 Listen to what he says. Secondly, Jesus Christ is God's 252 00:16:56,990 --> 00:17:00,700 anointed heir, and it's the second key point I'd like to 253 00:17:00,710 --> 00:17:05,420 look at here. Jesus Christ is the radiance of 254 00:17:05,430 --> 00:17:09,020 God's glory because he is God's anointed heir. 255 00:17:09,670 --> 00:17:13,750 She, God, is of course, the Creator and ruler of all things. 256 00:17:16,089 --> 00:17:19,680 The castle on 1000 hills belong to God. 257 00:17:19,750 --> 00:17:23,150 The earth and the fullness thereof are His. 258 00:17:24,290 --> 00:17:27,460 He is the Creator of all things and He owns all things. 259 00:17:29,060 --> 00:17:31,590 We also know that He is sovereign over everything in 260 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,610 such a way that not one thing can come to pass without His 261 00:17:35,620 --> 00:17:38,670 willing and knowing. This is who He is. 262 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,850 This is who our God is. And so it shouldn't come as any 263 00:17:42,860 --> 00:17:48,450 surprise then that Jesus Christ, being the outshining of God's 264 00:17:48,460 --> 00:17:51,910 glory, possesses these things as well. 265 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,230 You see Jesus Christ as God's anointed heir. 266 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:03,240 He is the King of Kings, and this is his right twice over, as 267 00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:08,760 you'll see in our text shortly. See, He rules by a double right. 268 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:14,810 On the one hand, as our text says, God created the world 269 00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:19,900 through him and he upholds the universe by his power. 270 00:18:20,430 --> 00:18:22,460 You'll see that in the middle of our text. 271 00:18:22,590 --> 00:18:25,570 CS Creator, everything belongs to him. 272 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,650 Now some people imagine that God created the universe and they 273 00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:33,310 kind of justice set it off by itself in the corner and lead it 274 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:37,690 to tick along by itself. And he's not that interested 275 00:18:37,700 --> 00:18:39,810 with it now. But there can't be further from 276 00:18:39,820 --> 00:18:42,530 the case. You see, Jesus Christ actively 277 00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:46,040 upholds his creation by the will word of his power. 278 00:18:46,100 --> 00:18:48,350 He is intimately involved with it. 279 00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:52,110 He's engaged in the running of creation. 280 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:57,060 He upholds it. In other words, if you were not 281 00:18:57,450 --> 00:19:01,880 actively and intimately involved in maintaining His creation, it 282 00:19:01,890 --> 00:19:05,260 would cease to exist. It would spiral out of control 283 00:19:05,270 --> 00:19:07,470 into utter chaos and destruction. 284 00:19:08,450 --> 00:19:11,100 But Jesus Christ does not allow this. 285 00:19:11,900 --> 00:19:16,220 As such, He is both the Creator and the Upholder of all things. 286 00:19:16,860 --> 00:19:22,000 He has a divine right to rule because He is the Creator. 287 00:19:22,050 --> 00:19:24,780 Because He holds it all together by the word of His power, He has 288 00:19:24,790 --> 00:19:30,360 a divine right to rule. Now, on the other hand, the text 289 00:19:30,370 --> 00:19:35,510 also tells us that Jesus Christ was appointed heir of all 290 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,790 things. He was appointed to rule. 291 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,290 In other words, there is a sense in which he earned the right to 292 00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:47,010 rule and was given that position by his father appointed to it. 293 00:19:47,780 --> 00:19:50,700 Now when we look at the parallel section and the chairs and that 294 00:19:50,710 --> 00:19:53,910 I mentioned before, we begin to see that this appointment was 295 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,950 made after he died and rose again. 296 00:19:57,380 --> 00:20:01,230 It was after making purification for sins that he sat down at the 297 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,810 right hand of the majesty on high. 298 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,830 That is when he was appointed by God to his right hand to reign 299 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,040 and to rule. You see, Jesus life on earth can 300 00:20:12,050 --> 00:20:15,290 be characterised by this word, humiliation. 301 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,730 You see, he gave up his divine rights. 302 00:20:19,780 --> 00:20:24,910 He gave up his authority and power to some extent when he 303 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,540 took on human flesh, The Scriptures say he submitted 304 00:20:29,550 --> 00:20:33,720 himself to God. He was obedient and took on the 305 00:20:33,730 --> 00:20:36,540 form of a servant. He was obedient to the point of 306 00:20:36,550 --> 00:20:39,240 death, and he emptied himself of these things. 307 00:20:40,050 --> 00:20:46,260 She threw his life. He earned a righteousness by 308 00:20:46,270 --> 00:20:50,360 walking perfectly in the law of God, upholding the law of God, 309 00:20:51,290 --> 00:20:57,330 honouring God, glorifying God, and as a result, when God raised 310 00:20:57,340 --> 00:21:01,910 him up, raised him from death, he appointed him to his right 311 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,360 hand, raised him up to rule. And so there is actually a 312 00:21:05,370 --> 00:21:08,700 double right here. Jesus Christ has a right to rule 313 00:21:08,710 --> 00:21:11,320 because God the Father has raised him up and elevated him 314 00:21:11,330 --> 00:21:16,290 and appointed Him to that position, and also because He is 315 00:21:16,300 --> 00:21:18,090 Creator and upholder of all things. 316 00:21:19,310 --> 00:21:21,960 You see, This is why He can say to us disciples in the Great 317 00:21:21,970 --> 00:21:27,200 Commission, He says this, all authority in heaven and on earth 318 00:21:27,210 --> 00:21:31,280 has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples 319 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:35,180 of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of 320 00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:39,060 the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all 321 00:21:39,070 --> 00:21:42,940 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always 322 00:21:43,070 --> 00:21:47,510 to the end of the age. You see, it's based on His 323 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,710 authority that He tells His disciples to go. 324 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,610 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 325 00:21:55,180 --> 00:21:58,590 And He tells them that they're at that point after he's been 326 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,430 raised to life, after he's been seated at the right hand of God. 327 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,820 All authorities now mine, therefore go in and gather the 328 00:22:06,830 --> 00:22:09,360 nations, gather the people, because they are mine. 329 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,430 Jesus Christ is the radiance of God's glory, and that He is the 330 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,600 heir of all things. He is the ruler of all things, 331 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,140 and He rules over all things by a double right. 332 00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:27,060 Now when we think about this, it should be impressed upon us that 333 00:22:27,070 --> 00:22:31,760 the importers to trust and obey. As the famous Him says, trust 334 00:22:31,770 --> 00:22:35,420 and obey. See, the reason this should help 335 00:22:35,430 --> 00:22:39,140 us to trust God, to trust Jesus Christ is because we know that 336 00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:41,010 all things are in the palm of His hand. 337 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,630 Whatever trials or challenges come to our lives, whatever 338 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:51,050 difficulties, these things are sovereignly appointed by God, by 339 00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:56,300 Jesus Christ for our good, that we might come to know Him more, 340 00:22:56,310 --> 00:22:58,310 rely on Him more, trust in Him more. 341 00:22:59,270 --> 00:23:00,520 There are points and for our good. 342 00:23:00,530 --> 00:23:03,830 And so we know that we can trust in Him because He is the 343 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,420 ability, He has the authority to make a real difference. 344 00:23:08,530 --> 00:23:11,400 And of course, knowing that he is king, we should also be eager 345 00:23:11,410 --> 00:23:16,280 to obey his good commandments. Some modern Christians, at least 346 00:23:16,290 --> 00:23:19,680 in some sectors, like to distance themselves from that 347 00:23:19,690 --> 00:23:23,730 word obedience. I think we're under grace. 348 00:23:24,510 --> 00:23:27,240 And because we're under grace, we don't need to worry with the 349 00:23:27,250 --> 00:23:29,020 commandments. We don't need to worry with 350 00:23:29,970 --> 00:23:32,540 honouring God by what we do and say. 351 00:23:33,230 --> 00:23:36,180 But you see, the Scriptures are very clear, a heart that has 352 00:23:36,190 --> 00:23:39,280 been affected by the gospel, that has been changed by the 353 00:23:39,290 --> 00:23:45,590 gospel that is believed in Jesus Christ, that has seen the great 354 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,540 lengths that he has gone to to save us. 355 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,390 That is a heart that is eager to please Jesus Christ, eager to 356 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,190 please God, that is eager to walk in His will and His ways. 357 00:23:59,090 --> 00:24:04,450 Jesus is King of kings. He is the Lord of Lords, so let 358 00:24:04,460 --> 00:24:12,230 us trust Him and let us obey. Now the final thing, the final 359 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,930 point that I would like to make is very simply this. 360 00:24:16,350 --> 00:24:20,450 You see, Jesus is the radiance of God's glory because he is, He 361 00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:22,810 is the exact imprint of his nature. 362 00:24:23,060 --> 00:24:26,670 So this is precisely what the text says, and it's in fact the 363 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,910 single point that I've been labouring to kind of drive it 364 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,120 and show you this morning. He's the radiance of God's glory 365 00:24:34,130 --> 00:24:35,860 and the exact imprint of His nature. 366 00:24:36,710 --> 00:24:41,600 Let me add here that God is by nature God. 367 00:24:42,690 --> 00:24:48,020 That should seem like a very obvious point, but the key thing 368 00:24:48,030 --> 00:24:53,000 is to be an exact imprint, an exact imprint of the nature of 369 00:24:53,010 --> 00:24:56,700 God. Jesus Christ must necessarily be 370 00:24:56,710 --> 00:25:00,620 God as well. This seems to be an unavoidable 371 00:25:00,630 --> 00:25:03,340 conclusion now. At this point, we could easily 372 00:25:03,350 --> 00:25:08,020 become caught up in all the complexities of proper 373 00:25:08,090 --> 00:25:11,390 Trinitarian theology, but I'd like to keep us moving. 374 00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:16,270 See, these complexities are well worth studying, but we certainly 375 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,540 don't have time for that now. Suffice it to say simply that 376 00:25:20,550 --> 00:25:26,940 Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. He is God made man use the 377 00:25:26,950 --> 00:25:32,850 second person of the Trinity. He is entirely uncreated, and he 378 00:25:32,860 --> 00:25:37,110 is Co equal with God the Father, and glory and splendour and 379 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,080 honour. You see, only such a perfect man 380 00:25:40,090 --> 00:25:45,140 as this could be called the exact imprint of God's nature. 381 00:25:46,210 --> 00:25:50,180 And make no mistake, this is precisely who Jesus Christ is. 382 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,190 He is God Incarnate. Additionally, when this verse 383 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,590 speaks about God's nature, it also has in view His perfect and 384 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,990 holy character. In other words, Jesus possesses 385 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,770 all of the character traits of God, and He possesses them in 386 00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:12,040 their exact proportion and balance to one another as well. 387 00:26:14,130 --> 00:26:17,840 Do you want to know what the love of God looks like? 388 00:26:17,970 --> 00:26:21,980 Then look to Jesus Christ. Read the Gospel, see how he 389 00:26:22,030 --> 00:26:25,690 interacted with those around him, how he loved, and 390 00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:30,890 ultimately how he laid down his life for his people, for those 391 00:26:30,950 --> 00:26:36,070 whom he loved. Do you want to know what the 392 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:40,110 justice and severity of God look like? 393 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:46,050 Again, look to Jesus Christ. Look at his righteous anger at 394 00:26:46,060 --> 00:26:49,760 the Pharisees. But when you consider those 395 00:26:49,770 --> 00:26:52,460 things, consider his grace and mercy as well. 396 00:26:52,470 --> 00:26:56,000 Make sure it's a balanced correctly with all of His 397 00:26:56,010 --> 00:27:00,830 attributes there she. One of the key emphasis of this 398 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:05,830 passage is that if we want to know who God is, we can see in 399 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,670 Jesus Christ. We can look to Jesus Christ and 400 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,370 see the radiance, the radiance of their glory, the imprints of 401 00:27:12,380 --> 00:27:15,670 his nature. We can see who God is by looking 402 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:22,210 to Jesus Christ. Part of the perfection of God's 403 00:27:22,220 --> 00:27:25,510 character is the way that all his many perfections come 404 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,620 together. We see this expressed in Jesus 405 00:27:29,630 --> 00:27:32,980 Christ too. You know, many people have a 406 00:27:32,990 --> 00:27:36,960 habit of dividing God. We will tear him to pieces and 407 00:27:36,970 --> 00:27:40,220 say here is his love. Everything that God is can be 408 00:27:40,230 --> 00:27:42,980 summarised in this. We have to hold everything into 409 00:27:42,990 --> 00:27:45,900 scriptural proportion, understanding how all those 410 00:27:45,910 --> 00:27:50,350 perfections fit together to form a perfect hole if we want to 411 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:53,770 understand this, if we want to understand how God's perfections 412 00:27:53,780 --> 00:27:56,550 fit together. Same points as I've been 413 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,600 hammering so far. Look to Jesus Christ. 414 00:27:58,610 --> 00:28:02,210 They are fully expressed there and him. 415 00:28:02,260 --> 00:28:04,280 They're fully expressed in Jesus Christ. 416 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:09,330 You see, in this world today, we often feel like we walk through 417 00:28:09,340 --> 00:28:13,790 dark places. You know, we feel like we walk 418 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,270 through places where there is confusion and chaos. 419 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:21,370 We we cannot see clearly. We cannot see clearly the path 420 00:28:21,380 --> 00:28:23,830 before us, what the future holds. 421 00:28:24,590 --> 00:28:28,770 We cannot see clearly what the truth is in particular 422 00:28:28,780 --> 00:28:34,440 situations, but as we come to Jesus Christ, as we behold His 423 00:28:34,450 --> 00:28:39,330 radiance, as that brightness sheds light on our lives, we 424 00:28:39,340 --> 00:28:45,050 can't have peace and clarity. We come to know who God is, to 425 00:28:45,060 --> 00:28:49,440 know who's grace and mercy and kindness to us. 426 00:28:52,390 --> 00:28:57,860 This is our greatest need. As I began that question, who is 427 00:28:57,870 --> 00:29:01,790 Jesus Christ is so vitally important for us as Christians. 428 00:29:02,550 --> 00:29:06,280 It should be our desire to come to know Him more and to know God 429 00:29:06,370 --> 00:29:13,250 and the radiance of His glory. So that is the note that I'd 430 00:29:13,260 --> 00:29:18,000 like us to finish on. Look to Jesus Christ. 431 00:29:18,010 --> 00:29:21,090 Behold the radiance of God's glory there. 432 00:29:22,930 --> 00:29:26,320 You will find that you are abundantly blessed as you do 433 00:29:26,330 --> 00:29:30,060 that. You'll find that He's able to 434 00:29:30,070 --> 00:29:33,620 help you in your trials and tribulations, that He's able to 435 00:29:33,630 --> 00:29:36,190 strengthen you and your weakness, encourage you. 436 00:29:37,110 --> 00:29:45,710 When there is doubt, look to Jesus Christ, for He is the 437 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,380 radiance of God, the radiance of the glory of God. 438 00:29:50,450 --> 00:29:53,650 Let's pray Lord, we are so thankful. 439 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,870 We're thankful for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 440 00:29:57,620 --> 00:30:01,110 We're thankful that you are fully expressed your glory in 441 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,670 him. Now here's the outshining, the 442 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,690 radiance of that glory, and that when we look to him, when we 443 00:30:07,700 --> 00:30:11,970 look to Jesus Christ, we can clearly see who you are. 444 00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:15,590 We can see your glory, your grace, your kindness, your love, 445 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,190 Your mercy. You can see your justice and all 446 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,880 your many perfections, Lord. We can see them as we behold 447 00:30:23,890 --> 00:30:28,150 Jesus Christ. Lord, we do pray that You would 448 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,450 fill us with a hunger to know Him more, to love Him better, 449 00:30:32,140 --> 00:30:34,750 and to live in the light of His glory. 450 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,650 We desire this not only for ourselves, but also for all of 451 00:30:40,660 --> 00:30:45,520 your people gathered here today, for all of your people in 452 00:30:45,530 --> 00:30:49,440 Hamilton, in New Zealand, and even to the ends of the earth. 453 00:30:49,450 --> 00:30:52,180 We desire that your people should come to know You better, 454 00:30:52,190 --> 00:30:55,920 love You more, and that they might walk in a way that brings 455 00:30:55,930 --> 00:30:58,660 honour and glory and praise to Your name. 456 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,930 Lord, we also desire to see others coming to Jesus Christ 457 00:31:03,260 --> 00:31:05,480 and finding salvation in His name. 458 00:31:06,180 --> 00:31:10,080 Lord, we pray that you would reveal yourself to them, reveal 459 00:31:10,090 --> 00:31:12,980 Jesus Christ as the radiance of your glory. 460 00:31:12,990 --> 00:31:16,960 It's the only way of salvation that more people might come to 461 00:31:16,970 --> 00:31:18,950 you and be saved through His Holy name. 462 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,470 Lord, let Your glory reign to the ends of the earth. 463 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,530 Build Your Kingdom here and equip us as Your people to know 464 00:31:27,540 --> 00:31:31,020 you and to love you the Super and your holy name. 465 00:31:31,090 --> 00:31:31,680 Amen.