1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,400 The world has changed. I feel it in the water, I feel 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,600 it in the earth, a smell it in the air. 3 00:00:09,700 --> 00:00:14,800 Much that once was is lost for none now live who remember? 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,800 It seemed I know what that's from. 5 00:00:18,100 --> 00:00:19,800 Lord of the Rings. We got 1. 6 00:00:19,900 --> 00:00:20,600 Awesome. Alright. 7 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,500 Here's another one. It was the best of times. 8 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:26,800 It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. 9 00:00:26,900 --> 00:00:31,700 It was the age of foolishness but now that one Tell it to 10 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:33,300 cities. All right, last one everybody 11 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:37,500 better get this one a long time ago in a galaxy far. 12 00:00:37,500 --> 00:00:39,600 Far away. We got that Star Wars. 13 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:43,000 No, I love that nice. I don't even like Star Wars so I 14 00:00:43,008 --> 00:00:45,300 think was a good joke. All right, I couldn't get into 15 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:50,100 it, but anyways, those are a few of many, like epic opening lines 16 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:54,700 to either like a movie or a book, write in any good story or 17 00:00:54,700 --> 00:01:00,700 any good book or a speech will seek to draw you in immediately. 18 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,500 And capture your attention from the very first lines, right? 19 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,400 If you do any studying on like speaking, you'll somehow 20 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,300 inevitably end up like at a TED talk because, you know, they're 21 00:01:11,300 --> 00:01:13,700 like that's like the epitome, like this 20 minute talk, right? 22 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:16,100 A TED Talk. And the speaker seeks to like, 23 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:18,100 hook the audience in 30 seconds or less. 24 00:01:18,100 --> 00:01:20,500 I don't know what the stats are. You have, like so much time to 25 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:24,300 draw them in and so they start with something epic and I think 26 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:27,000 we miss it in our context, but the author of the book of 27 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,900 Hebrews does a masterful job in the opening lines. 28 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:33,800 Of his sermon, which is what I believe this is, and we'll look 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,700 at that. In just a moment, he says, long 30 00:01:36,700 --> 00:01:40,600 ago. God spoke to our ancestors by 31 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:45,000 the prophets at different times and in different ways. 32 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:53,700 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his son and I 33 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:56,400 would place these opening lines up there with the others. 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,000 I read earlier. As as the speaker begins this 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,100 eloquent book by drawing Us in and he immediately gets to the 36 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:06,700 heart of his message while rooting it in their ancient 37 00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:09,600 history and it's beautiful. And as we go through the book, 38 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,600 we're going to get to see a lot of eloquence come through. 39 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:17,300 It's a very well-written book. But as beautiful and eloquent, 40 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:22,700 as these words are what they are seeking to point us to is even 41 00:02:22,700 --> 00:02:27,500 more magnificent. And so, my prayer for us is We 42 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:31,000 Begin. This series is that we will be 43 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,100 captured by much more than eloquent words on a page. 44 00:02:35,100 --> 00:02:40,800 I want us to be captured by the final and Living Word, the Son 45 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,900 of God, Jesus, the Messiah because that is who the book of 46 00:02:45,300 --> 00:02:49,000 Who's is all about. So good morning again, church is 47 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,400 always, it's a joy to be gathered with you. 48 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,900 As I said earlier, my name is Joel and I get to serve as one 49 00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:58,400 of the pastor's here but more importantly than that. 50 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,600 I get to just be a member here at who Heating and get to be a 51 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,900 part of what God is doing in our midst, As We join God in his 52 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:07,800 mission of redeeming the world. Through seemingly ordinary. 53 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,600 Local church has gathered all around the world that have been 54 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,100 for the last two thousand years. And so I'm grateful to be a 55 00:03:14,100 --> 00:03:16,400 part. So, like, Said we are beginning. 56 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:22,100 This new series in the book of Hebrews, this book is Rich, it 57 00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:28,100 is saturated with the explicit gospel, message of Jesus work, 58 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:31,200 both in the world around us and in our hearts and in our lives. 59 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,200 And if you've been with new Eden for any length of time, you 60 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,600 know, that we believe every book of the scripture ultimately 61 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,600 points us to Jesus, but sometimes that path to seeing. 62 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,000 Jesus can feel like mining the depths of the ocean to find a 63 00:03:47,008 --> 00:03:49,900 lost treasure, right? And there's something glorious 64 00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:51,700 about that. Something like it's a beautiful 65 00:03:51,700 --> 00:03:53,700 journey to go on. And we see that through 66 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:56,200 different books, like maybe Jonah, or Daniel, some of the 67 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,600 books we've been through. But then you have books, like 68 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,100 Hebrews and it is impossible to miss, it's like, it, just 69 00:04:02,100 --> 00:04:04,400 reaches up and slaps you in the face. 70 00:04:04,700 --> 00:04:09,000 Clearly stating what is true? And Hebrews is actually a great 71 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:12,300 way for us to even understand how do we interpret the Old 72 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:15,900 Testament because Hebrews draws on so much old Estimate 73 00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:18,300 scripture. And so I am excited for us to 74 00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:22,200 enter this journey together as we work through the text both 75 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:23,600 now. And in future weeks, we'll be 76 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:25,400 using the csb version of the scriptures. 77 00:04:25,700 --> 00:04:28,400 You're welcome to bring whatever you're most comfortable with. 78 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,800 Did you read the csb Kelly? Or did I miss something? 79 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Okay, I felt like something was off on that, but maybe I missed 80 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,200 it. So I was looking at the screen 81 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,700 or maybe we put the ESV in the screen. 82 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:41,600 I don't know, something was different, but anyways, so you 83 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,600 are welcome to bring though, whatever as Sarah Beth mentioned 84 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,800 earlier, we do. Do have the csb scripture 85 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,300 notebooks for purchase on the welcome table and that's what 86 00:04:50,300 --> 00:04:51,700 this is. So you can see them, they can 87 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:54,800 just be a helpful tool for you. Again, if money is an issue, 88 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,000 just take one and we'll always have the verses on the screens 89 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,200 behind me. So, today we're covering, what 90 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,700 is the intro to the book? And that is verses 1 through 3 91 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:07,200 of chapter 1. Before we start unpacking, those 92 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,000 few verses, I do want to take a few minutes. 93 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,800 We do this. Every time we go into a book and 94 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,200 we just say hey what's the context? 95 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,300 What is going on? In this book so we can all be on 96 00:05:17,300 --> 00:05:20,200 the same page. So a little bit about Hebrews, 97 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,100 anytime you study a book of the Bible, one of the first 98 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:25,500 questions you need to ask is what kind of literature is it. 99 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,200 You don't interpret poetry the same way. 100 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,300 You might interpret apocalyptic literature or a historical 101 00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:33,000 narrative is so we have to ask what kind of literature is 102 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:36,000 Hebrews. So I think the best lens to read 103 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,600 Hebrews through is as a sermon, okay? 104 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,100 Commentators are in agreement that this book would have been 105 00:05:43,100 --> 00:05:46,600 passed around as other Epistles. Whistles and letters were in the 106 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,000 early church, but most commentators also believe that 107 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,900 Hebrews was primarily written first and foremost, as a sermon 108 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,700 as a homily, something like that. 109 00:05:55,700 --> 00:05:59,100 And many of the churches would have orators who were gifted 110 00:05:59,100 --> 00:06:01,500 that would come up and they would read the letter as a 111 00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:04,000 sermon. If you look at it you kind of 112 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,800 see that he did. There's no pleasantries. 113 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,800 There's no self-introduction he just goes right into intro in 114 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,700 what he's going to talk about. He's setting the stage for what 115 00:06:13,700 --> 00:06:16,800 he's going to communicate through the Of the message. 116 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,300 And so some people say the intros one through four of the 117 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:22,800 csb has a divided that way. Some say it's 1 through 3 we're 118 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,600 kind of taking it one through three but that's the intro to 119 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,200 this sermon. If it were to be read by one of 120 00:06:28,207 --> 00:06:31,800 these orators, it would take about 45 to 50 minutes which is 121 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,800 so if we read through the whole thing, we joked about, that's 122 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,300 what we're just going to do this week is just read through the 123 00:06:35,308 --> 00:06:39,400 whole thing, we're not but about 45 to 50 minutes tournament. 124 00:06:39,900 --> 00:06:43,500 So that makes sense. So what type of literature it is 125 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:46,900 we generally a sermon you can Also look at it as a letter, but 126 00:06:46,900 --> 00:06:49,300 the next question we typically ask is well, who wrote it, 127 00:06:49,300 --> 00:06:50,600 right? That's important for us to know 128 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,700 who's the author of this sermon and the reality is we have no 129 00:06:54,700 --> 00:06:57,600 idea. Like there are not many books of 130 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,400 the Bible where there's like not strong opinions about who wrote 131 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,300 it, but this is like one of them every cut, there's no 132 00:07:03,300 --> 00:07:05,500 commentator. Who's like, I got it figured out 133 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,000 and that tells you that we don't know early on. 134 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,400 There were some traditions that said it was Paul. 135 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:14,700 At this point there I had a hard time finding I think I've found 136 00:07:14,700 --> 00:07:16,900 one or two. Blind biblical scholarship that 137 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,700 still think that Paul wrote this. 138 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:22,800 So most people don't think it was Paul best guesses range. 139 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:27,100 Anywhere from the biblical characters of Apollo's to Luke 140 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,800 to Barnabas everywhere in between, we really don't know. 141 00:07:30,900 --> 00:07:34,700 And so what I think that tells us is it's not that important, 142 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:36,900 the third Century scholar origin. 143 00:07:36,900 --> 00:07:39,000 I think he said it best. He said, as to who wrote the 144 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,100 epistle referencing Hebrews, he says only, God knows the truth, 145 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,100 okay? And it doesn't really matter. 146 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,900 The focal point is not on the character who wrote it, but the 147 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:50,200 character of the one he writes about. 148 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,000 So even though we don't know who wrote it, there are a few 149 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,700 helpful things to note about who it was written to. 150 00:07:55,900 --> 00:07:59,600 So we don't get the audience, the intended audience explicitly 151 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,400 stated in the book, but we get Clues all throughout that. 152 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:07,000 Tell us a general idea. And so the main thing that we 153 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,500 need to understand for context is that the intended audience 154 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:14,300 would have been people who were very familiar with and at one 155 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:20,500 time, Embedded within Judaism, they understood very well. 156 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:24,000 The, the author assumes that these people understand the old 157 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,700 Covenant sacrificial system that they have a deep knowledge of 158 00:08:28,700 --> 00:08:30,900 all these things. And so that tells us the 159 00:08:30,900 --> 00:08:34,600 predominant makeup of the receiving audience were Jewish 160 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,700 converts who have been converted to Christianity, and it could 161 00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:41,400 have included some Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism 162 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,900 previously and then converted to Christianity. 163 00:08:43,900 --> 00:08:47,600 But there is an Option that they understand the old Covenant 164 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,600 system and we'll be looking back at that quite a bit throughout 165 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:51,600 the book. Okay? 166 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,000 And then we got to look at why it was written. 167 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,700 We can see as we go through it will see that. 168 00:08:56,700 --> 00:09:01,200 The purpose of this book was to encourage and cultivate Faith, 169 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,500 among these people who were facing forms of persecution. 170 00:09:05,900 --> 00:09:10,100 Now clearly because he says it explicitly, this persecution had 171 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:14,200 not yet elevated to the point of death but most likely it was 172 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,400 still very real. It included things like economic 173 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:22,800 loss, being cut off from the community being ostracized from 174 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:27,300 family, being mocked and other forms of just cultural pressures 175 00:09:27,300 --> 00:09:30,800 from all sides. I think it's important for us to 176 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:32,800 understand that conversion to Christianity. 177 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,800 During this culture was not just trading one religion for another 178 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,000 see, when Jesus came on the scene, his claims are so radical 179 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,200 that it basically angered everybody. 180 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,400 Okay. if you then begin to follow this Jesus, you were 181 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:54,500 placed in the crosshairs of both the ruling Empire, and the 182 00:09:54,500 --> 00:10:00,100 ruling religious Elite, the claim that Jesus alone was King 183 00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:03,900 angered, the Civil leaders of the day and the claim that Jesus 184 00:10:03,900 --> 00:10:07,700 alone was Savior and not the law and rules not regulations that 185 00:10:07,700 --> 00:10:13,000 angered, the religious leaders of the day Specifically, we need 186 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,600 to understand that some of the leaders of Judaism held 187 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,600 political power and Sway and they would use it to persecute 188 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:21,700 the early church. We even see that with the 189 00:10:21,700 --> 00:10:23,900 Apostle Paul before he was converted. 190 00:10:23,900 --> 00:10:26,000 Okay? And so that's some of what's 191 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,800 going on. And so our preacher is writing 192 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:33,800 this message to the worn-out beat up people of God who are 193 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,000 saying is following Jesus, really worth it. 194 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,100 Like we hear these big men magnificent things about Jesus 195 00:10:41,100 --> 00:10:44,000 having Things underneath his feet but it doesn't really look 196 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,800 like it. That's not the reality staring 197 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,000 me in the face. And so the writer of Hebrews 198 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,600 wants to give this heavenly glimpse of what's going on. 199 00:10:54,700 --> 00:10:57,400 Scattered throughout the book are various warnings against 200 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,100 apostasy and walking away from the faith and those contain, 201 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:04,100 some of the more difficult passages that we will walk 202 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:05,800 through. But it's interesting that the 203 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:10,900 main tact taken is not to call the listeners of this message to 204 00:11:10,900 --> 00:11:13,800 just hang in there. It was a pull yourself up by 205 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,500 your bootstraps. Just get it figured out, rather 206 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,900 the resounding and repeating message that we see is that 207 00:11:19,900 --> 00:11:26,700 Jesus is better. so if the purpose is to encourage these 208 00:11:26,700 --> 00:11:30,900 weary Saints, then the method used by this author is to 209 00:11:30,900 --> 00:11:36,500 proclaim the glories of Jesus and set A Feast for them to come 210 00:11:36,500 --> 00:11:42,200 sit at Jesus has finally and completely done the work that 211 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,900 was needed for salvation and he is trustworthy, you can rest in 212 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:48,900 him and throw your life on his care. 213 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:53,000 And so, simply put the main theme of This Book Is that Jesus 214 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,100 is better. He is greater than fill in the 215 00:11:57,100 --> 00:11:59,900 blank. He is superior. 216 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,800 Okay? That's what our graphic means. 217 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,200 That's the greater than sign like that is cute. 218 00:12:04,300 --> 00:12:05,600 All right, I can put it on a mug. 219 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,100 Go to merchants of the app if you want one. 220 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:09,800 Aw, somebody said all, look at that. 221 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:12,400 Now I'm going to drink out of it. 222 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,800 There's my commercial. But it's beautiful right over 223 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,700 and over and over like it is just this flood where we see the 224 00:12:19,700 --> 00:12:22,300 Magnificent glory and beauty of Jesus. 225 00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:27,500 And the purpose of this is so that whatever hardships The 226 00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:32,600 world may afford, whatever persecutions might lay in store, 227 00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:37,700 whatever Temptations crouched at our door, Jesus is bigger and 228 00:12:37,700 --> 00:12:41,900 better and truer than anything else that this world or any 229 00:12:41,900 --> 00:12:45,900 religion has to offer. Through the book will see that. 230 00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:49,200 Jesus is better than the angels will see that. 231 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,700 He is the true human, the true Adam. 232 00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:53,500 He's better than the prophet Moses. 233 00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:56,300 He's the place of true and final rest. 234 00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:58,600 He is the Fulfillment of The Promise Land. 235 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,000 He is the true high priest. He's the mediator of a new and 236 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 better Covenant, and he's the final sacrifice for sin and will 237 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,300 see so much more. And so all of this would have 238 00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:12,600 encouraged them. But it also holds incredible 239 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:17,800 relevance for you. And for me, as we get tired on 240 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,600 our journey of following Jesus as we get weary and worn out and 241 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:26,200 we Face pressures of the day, the promise of the perseverance 242 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,200 of the Saints is rooted in the finished work of Christ on our 243 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,800 behalf. We live in a world with 244 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:37,400 pressures from both a religious legalistic culture and also a 245 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,300 licentious God denying culture. And so we're at these crosshairs 246 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:45,000 and the message of Hebrews is that in the midst of all, All of 247 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:51,200 this, the better way is Jesus, everything begins and ends with 248 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,600 him, and there is nothing worth more in all the Earth. 249 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,800 So that's a little bit of context for the book of Hebrews. 250 00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:03,800 So, what we're going to do for the rest of our time is, look at 251 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,400 these first three verses of Hebrews chapter 1, again they 252 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,300 stand as the introduction to the text and so they're going to 253 00:14:10,308 --> 00:14:14,300 contain some high-level thoughts and ideas and Concepts that he 254 00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:16,800 will. Unpack throughout the rest of 255 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:17,900 the book. And so we're going to kind of 256 00:14:17,900 --> 00:14:21,200 stay up high level with him. Basically I want to give you 257 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,500 just what the text is which is a flood of magnificent truth about 258 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,100 Jesus and as we work through the book will begin to mind the 259 00:14:29,108 --> 00:14:33,200 depths of what these truths mean in our lives and in the world 260 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,700 around us. So, since it's so good, I want 261 00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:39,900 to read it one more time for us. Long ago. 262 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:46,000 God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times 263 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:50,700 and in different ways. In these last days, he has 264 00:14:50,700 --> 00:14:56,800 spoken to us by his son. God has appointed him, heir of 265 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,200 all things and made the universe through him. 266 00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:06,200 The son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression 267 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:11,300 of his nature sustaining. All Things by his powerful word 268 00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:17,400 after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right 269 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:22,400 hand of the Majesty on high. So we're going to break this 270 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,400 passage down into three different points. 271 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:31,900 The first of which is this the word of the Sun, the word of the 272 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:35,000 sun, Hebrews doesn't mention that the son is Jesus. 273 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,700 He will in chapter two but it's assumed. 274 00:15:38,300 --> 00:15:41,600 And we just came through the Advent season where we spent 275 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,600 time, dwelling on the longing for the promised one who would 276 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,500 come right? We sat and we waited in that 277 00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:53,400 through the prophets, the people of God, Her glimpses of a 278 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:58,200 messiah of a Son of God, who would come, they had even seen 279 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,400 revelations in times past. They'd even heard the audible 280 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,900 voice of God. They had experienced 281 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:09,300 Deliverance, but all of that was only a shadow. 282 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,600 It was a glimpse a foretaste, that was pointing forward to the 283 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:19,300 real thing which was when God himself would come in flesh. 284 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:26,100 And the person of Jesus Christ. And the word of this son is, is 285 00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:31,500 4 and above better than any word of the profits from the past. 286 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,900 Because it is the Eternal Word, the logos the now, the word now 287 00:16:36,900 --> 00:16:41,400 made flesh John 1, in the beginning, was the word and the 288 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,200 Word was with God and the Word was God, and then later in the 289 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,200 in the book, the word became flesh. 290 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:53,900 And dwelt Among Us, this eternal word that had existed with the 291 00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:57,700 father became flesh. When the preacher of Hebrews 292 00:16:57,700 --> 00:17:02,900 says, in these last days, he simply referencing the Advent of 293 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,700 Christ. Paul says that this way in 294 00:17:05,700 --> 00:17:09,599 Galatians chapter 4, he says, when the time came to 295 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:19,300 completion, God sent his son. The word of the sun is here. 296 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,000 Explicitly clear, it has arrived and it's good news. 297 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,200 So, the word of the sun is not only better than the prophets. 298 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:33,700 We also see that it is final, this is it, we're not looking 299 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:38,700 for more Revelation in the sense that there's something better. 300 00:17:39,100 --> 00:17:43,100 The greatest Revelation is here, Jesus is it? 301 00:17:44,100 --> 00:17:48,400 We don't need to look any further as the Apostle Peter 302 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,700 says he says, these are things that Angels long to look into 303 00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:56,200 and inquired about us as what is this Plan of Salvation? 304 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,700 And in Christ, it was all revealed first Peter 1:20. 305 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,400 He Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but 306 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,900 was revealed in these last times for you. 307 00:18:10,900 --> 00:18:13,800 This is the word of God to humanity. 308 00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:18,000 Not only is the word of the sun better than the prophets. 309 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,400 Not only is it final. We also see that it is the word 310 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,500 of this son that created all things. 311 00:18:24,900 --> 00:18:28,600 At the end of verse to our preacher says that God made the 312 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,600 universe through the sun, through him through Jesus. 313 00:18:33,300 --> 00:18:36,600 So our preacher kind of starts with these last days, the Advent 314 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,800 of Christ, the birth of Christ and his his work there and then 315 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:44,100 he kind of zooms backward to the time of creation and shows us 316 00:18:44,100 --> 00:18:50,600 that the sun had already Ways existed with the father, Jesus 317 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,000 was the speaking word at creation that got this whole 318 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,200 thing started. John 1:3, all things were 319 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,800 created through him and apart from him. 320 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:06,800 Not one thing was created that has been created Colossians 1. 321 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,700 For everything was created by Him and heaven and on Earth 322 00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:15,500 visible and invisible Thrones dominions, rulers authorities. 323 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:20,500 He's you name it, all things have been created through him 324 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,900 and for him. The word of this son is powerful 325 00:19:25,100 --> 00:19:29,300 and has created all things, but not only that, the word of this 326 00:19:29,300 --> 00:19:33,800 son sustains, what he created. He is not absent. 327 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:39,000 Verse 3 were told that the sun is sustaining, All Things by his 328 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:44,000 powerful word. Now, I'm not sure how you're 329 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,100 wired. I'm the type that loves to get 330 00:19:47,100 --> 00:19:50,200 things going. But I don't like to always 331 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,900 follow through. Okay, I'm a Creator. 332 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,600 You give me an idea. Like you get me excited about 333 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,300 something like, let's go, like I'll create a graphic for it. 334 00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:01,200 I'll create a spreadsheet, but I don't want to maintain that 335 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:02,900 spreadsheet. Like, let somebody else fill in 336 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:05,100 the data later, you know, throughout the next couple of 337 00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:09,500 years, right, but that's not. Jesus, like he doesn't just get 338 00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:11,900 started and then back away and say good luck humans. 339 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,900 That's not what he does. He's intimately involved and he 340 00:20:16,900 --> 00:20:22,700 sustaining All Things by his powerful word and so right away 341 00:20:22,700 --> 00:20:25,900 in Hebrews, our author gives us this like like we could preach a 342 00:20:25,908 --> 00:20:27,800 whole sermon on each of these things. 343 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:33,000 Tells us of the all powerful word of this sun, but as we keep 344 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,300 reading, we see, not only the word of the sun. 345 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:42,400 We also see the worth of the Sun, we're told at the end of 346 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:50,400 verse 2, That God has appointed Jesus heir of all things. 347 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,400 We don't in our culture, understand this idea of 348 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,100 inheritance that well but the idea here is that the father and 349 00:20:58,100 --> 00:21:02,900 Trust to the Sun, the very things he created, which is all 350 00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:05,800 things. This begins to tell us that the 351 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,300 worth of this son his value is all-encompassing. 352 00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:14,400 The one who was the rightful Heir was the first born son, and 353 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,300 he was given the father's inheritance. 354 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:20,400 But this is no like normal inheritance. 355 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:22,300 This isn't a few thousand dollars. 356 00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:28,600 It's not a car or a house. It is all things like the entire 357 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,300 Cosmos and this son is worth it all. 358 00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:37,500 This book will pull on a ton of Old Testament passages and Psalm 359 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:39,700 2 is one of those and this is what it says. 360 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,700 I will declare the Lord's decree. 361 00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:45,800 He said to me and this is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. 362 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,100 You are my son today. I have become your father. 363 00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:52,000 We're going to see that quoted directly in Hebrews next week 364 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,100 and then it goes on. And says, ask of me and I will 365 00:21:55,100 --> 00:21:59,500 make the nation's your inheritance and the ends of the 366 00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:03,300 Earth, your possession. All the Earth is the Lord's and 367 00:22:03,300 --> 00:22:05,900 the fullness thereof. It's why part of our vision is 368 00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:10,400 to see the entire Earth flooded with the glory of God. 369 00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:15,400 He's worth it all. It's his inheritance and he will 370 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,800 have it. So not only is the worth of the 371 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,800 sun, all encompassing the worth of this sun is gloriously 372 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,300 divine. Well, read verse 3, of our text. 373 00:22:27,300 --> 00:22:30,500 We see that the son is the radiance. 374 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:36,900 This is strong language. The radiance of God's glory. and 375 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:43,700 the exact not close, but the exact expression of his nature, 376 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:50,400 The worth of the sun radiates God's glory and displays God's 377 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,800 character because the sun is one with the father and the spirit 378 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,200 each distinct but making up together the Triune God who 379 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,700 rules over all. And if you want to see the glory 380 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:08,400 of God on full display, you want to see it radiating to the 381 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,000 world. Look at the face of Jesus. 382 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:17,100 Colossians says it this way, that Jesus Bears, God's image in 383 00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:20,600 that. In Christ, the entire fullness 384 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:28,200 of God, was pleased to dwell. The worth of this sun reveals 385 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,300 who God is this word expression that we see in the text. 386 00:23:32,300 --> 00:23:36,300 It literally means character and not like we think it does kind 387 00:23:36,300 --> 00:23:38,900 of lead to the idea of character that we think of. 388 00:23:39,300 --> 00:23:43,500 But it's this idea of a wax seal that has been imprinted or 389 00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:45,700 stamped with the image of a ring. 390 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,000 And Jesus is a perfect representation and exact 391 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:56,100 depiction of who God is, if you want to know who God is, To the 392 00:23:56,100 --> 00:24:01,700 sun that's biblical. He is marvelously glory and 393 00:24:01,700 --> 00:24:06,800 worthy of all praise. You could add up all the wealth 394 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:12,400 of princes and thieves. You could gather together all 395 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,900 the Holdings of the biggest investors in the world. 396 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,400 You could cash out every bank account from the largest to the 397 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,600 least. You could have assembled in one 398 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,700 place to greatest armies that the Earth has ever known. 399 00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:34,800 You could scour the globe, finding the most rare, Treasures 400 00:24:34,900 --> 00:24:41,800 known to man, and you have not even begun to scratch the 401 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,100 surface of the worth of this son. 402 00:24:46,300 --> 00:24:51,500 He is so far and above and greater than anything that our 403 00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:54,400 minds could even begin to comprehend. 404 00:24:57,100 --> 00:24:59,800 Sometimes I'll sit around. I'll just think, like, how much 405 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,700 money is a billion dollars? I don't know if you've ever 406 00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:07,300 tried to like comprehend, like it's a lot more money than you, 407 00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:11,900 probably think it is. One of the things I'll do to 408 00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:15,300 comprehend it is, I'll break it down like how much wealth, you 409 00:25:15,300 --> 00:25:17,000 know, I'll break it down into the our. 410 00:25:17,300 --> 00:25:21,700 So last night I did the math, if someone gave you a thousand 411 00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:23,300 dollars an hour. So think about how much money 412 00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:26,200 you make an hour right now. Okay, not a thousand, I hope 413 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,100 not. If not, we need to talk because 414 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,100 Newton has some neat swing talk about, but if someone gave you a 415 00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:37,200 thousand dollars, an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so 416 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,900 365 days out of the Year thousand dollars. 417 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:44,300 An hour for 100 years you still would not be at a billion 418 00:25:44,300 --> 00:25:47,200 dollars you'd be about 124 million dollars short. 419 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,500 Like that's a lot of money. I'm like how do you even spend 420 00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:54,400 that much money right? But I'm not gonna get into 421 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:59,100 politics anyways, when I really try to like understand how much 422 00:25:59,100 --> 00:26:03,900 money that is, my brain begins to break, but it's the same way. 423 00:26:03,900 --> 00:26:06,400 If you've ever like had someone explain how far apart, like the 424 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:08,300 planets are on the stars and they start with. 425 00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:10,900 Like if it was a piece of paper from here. to the Sun and then 426 00:26:10,900 --> 00:26:18,000 you add your just like I don't like and that's nothing. when 427 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:24,100 compared to the worth of the Sun, His glory radiates and 428 00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:27,200 there is no one who could stand in his presence. 429 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,400 It's like in fact, as I was like pondering on the all powerful 430 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,400 word of the Sun and meditating on the all-encompassing worth of 431 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,200 the sun, I actually begin to wonder how the writer of Hebrews 432 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,900 is taking us to Good News because like the idea of Jesus 433 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,300 might be like all inspiring when we think about his word and his 434 00:26:49,300 --> 00:26:54,300 worth, but in light of who we are, it's actually freaking 435 00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:58,100 terrifying. When we understand like under 436 00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:01,100 the old Covenant, they it was just symbols and types. 437 00:27:01,100 --> 00:27:04,100 These these temples and Tabernacles that represented 438 00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:06,500 God's presence. It wasn't like it represented. 439 00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:10,300 It was a shadow and a type. Even then you couldn't go into 440 00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:13,700 the most holy place. It was one high priest. 441 00:27:13,700 --> 00:27:17,100 Let it go through all these rituals to go just once a year 442 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,400 to offer sacrifice for the people. 443 00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:24,800 The presence of God was unapproachable due to the sin of 444 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:29,900 man. Big, huge picture. 445 00:27:31,100 --> 00:27:34,300 This image we get right in our opening lines but I loved the 446 00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:37,400 writer. Can't go long without giving us 447 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,500 incredible. Hope we saw the word of the Sun, 448 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,900 the worth of the sun. And the, lastly, we see the work 449 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:52,000 of the Sun. What did he come? 450 00:27:53,600 --> 00:28:00,200 To do. at the end of verse 3 of Hebrews chapter 1, we read that 451 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:09,000 after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right 452 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:15,500 hand of the Majesty on high. It is good news that the son 453 00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:21,700 displaced to us the worth of God, but he did not come just 454 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:24,700 for that because they're still still a disconnect if we're 455 00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:30,100 Sinners, he came to do a work that could actually Usher us 456 00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:36,400 into the very presence of God through the purification of sin. 457 00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:39,600 We're told right up front in the book is just going to like flood 458 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,500 us with it and unpack it even more. 459 00:28:41,900 --> 00:28:47,000 But the point here is that Jesus came to do a new creation work 460 00:28:47,300 --> 00:28:51,900 in the hearts of Sinners. And To bring Salvation and this 461 00:28:51,900 --> 00:28:56,600 work is specifically accomplishing what the law never 462 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,100 could. This was impossible under the 463 00:29:00,100 --> 00:29:03,800 old Covenant under the old. Covenant sins could be 464 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:08,800 temporarily covered. They could be momentarily dealt 465 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:15,000 with But they could not be forgiven once and for all 466 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,600 removed as far as the East is from the west. 467 00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:23,500 But that is the work that Jesus came to accomplish with his 468 00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:26,300 life, death, burial and Resurrection. 469 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:31,400 This is the purification for sins and Hebrews will unfold 470 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:35,600 this even more, but the purifying work of the sun came 471 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:44,200 at Great cost to him self. Jesus willingly became man as 472 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:49,600 we'll see next week lower than the Angels humbled himself and 473 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,800 took on flesh. Remember one with the Father, 474 00:29:53,800 --> 00:30:00,000 the radiance of God's glory coming as a baby leaving. 475 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,500 A throne of glory and Perfection and trading. 476 00:30:03,500 --> 00:30:08,100 His Royal crown for a life of poverty, homelessness ridicule 477 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,900 and grief. But with his perfect life, he 478 00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:17,400 becomes the complete, sacrifice the perfect sacrifice, as he 479 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,500 completely obeys and surrenders to his father, he is becoming 480 00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:26,700 the perfect spotless Lamb of God, who is here to take away 481 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:29,300 the sins of the world. And that's where the life of 482 00:30:29,300 --> 00:30:33,700 Jesus was directly headed the entire time to death. 483 00:30:35,100 --> 00:30:39,100 To sacrifice to die and atone for the sins. 484 00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:45,200 Of the world. But he was not willing that any 485 00:30:45,900 --> 00:30:48,700 should perish. And so he set his face like a 486 00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:54,700 flint and took on the fruit of our sin and he takes on himself, 487 00:30:54,700 --> 00:30:58,400 what we the Sinners, the ones who can't even come to the 488 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,000 presence of God, because of our Brokenness. 489 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:07,000 He takes that on himself as he faces the violent urges of a 490 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,600 broken Humanity. As we'll see later in Hebrews, 491 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:15,400 he suffers outside the gate so that he might sanctify his 492 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:21,000 people that's you, if you're in Christ through his own blood and 493 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:25,900 it is the precious shed, blood of Christ that purifies Sinners 494 00:31:25,900 --> 00:31:31,500 and makes us Saints. If you are in Christ, you are a 495 00:31:31,500 --> 00:31:35,600 saint, you are a new creation. It is who you are through the 496 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,600 blood of Christ. It is not like any of the blood 497 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:41,900 under the old Covenant. It is once and for all the final 498 00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:46,100 sacrifice, because this work is final. 499 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:49,900 It's enough. You might think it's not, you 500 00:31:49,900 --> 00:31:53,000 might look at your own sin, and your Brokenness, and think there 501 00:31:53,000 --> 00:32:00,400 is no way, but it is enough. And this work is final. 502 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:07,300 So while on the cross, he cries out, it is finished, there is 503 00:32:07,300 --> 00:32:11,600 now no need for the continued offering of sacrifices and 504 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,500 rituals and just begging God to forgive us. 505 00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:18,500 Please just just let me, you know, go and don't don't hurt 506 00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:20,200 me. That's not it. 507 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,000 We come boldly to the throne of grace is what Hebrews tells us 508 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,900 in the cross. God's people receive. 509 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,600 All the Forgiveness they'll ever need. 510 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:32,900 And we don't like it because it's scandalous. 511 00:32:33,100 --> 00:32:36,200 We want to hold sins over other people's heads because we know 512 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:40,300 we do the same thing to ourselves, but in the cross we 513 00:32:40,300 --> 00:32:42,400 get it all. All the Forgiveness we need. 514 00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:47,500 There are no more sacrifices to be offered. because the once for 515 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:53,000 all final sacrifice of the son is complete, Probably one of my 516 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,600 favorite images from Hebrews at least at this point, is we study 517 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,400 there? Probably more but it's this idea 518 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:01,900 of the son sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on 519 00:33:01,900 --> 00:33:06,000 high. I mean yes sitting by the father 520 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,900 alludes to his kingship and his place is the rightful Heir 521 00:33:08,900 --> 00:33:15,300 that's a piece of it but it also shows that the work is complete. 522 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,700 The old Covenant, there was no chair in the Tabernacle because 523 00:33:19,700 --> 00:33:25,400 the work of the high priest was never done sin was never finally 524 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,200 done away with. But now in Christ, all sin is 525 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,500 wiped away. And the table is set to offer 526 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:37,000 salvation for any. Who would come because he beat 527 00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:41,800 sin, he deals with it, he takes on death and he lays in the 528 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,000 Tomb, but on Easter morning he gets back up out of the grave. 529 00:33:46,500 --> 00:33:49,900 Tops on the heads of head of the serpent and says I've done it. 530 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:57,300 The work is complete. And this Blood pleads, a better 531 00:33:57,300 --> 00:34:02,500 word over us, the word of the sun does, for us, what it did in 532 00:34:02,508 --> 00:34:05,100 the original creation, when he creates all things and he 533 00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:09,100 sustains it. But this time like this big, 534 00:34:09,100 --> 00:34:13,199 huge Cosmos, it is you as the new creation that God has 535 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:16,900 created, as he rips out your old heart and he gives you a new 536 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,699 heart that actually loves him and Longs for him. 537 00:34:19,699 --> 00:34:21,600 And he not only Jesus doesn't work. 538 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,000 This is how we treat salvation like Jesus. 539 00:34:24,100 --> 00:34:27,000 Got it started and then he backs up and says alright don't screw 540 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,800 it up again. That's not it. 541 00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:35,100 Jesus is there intimately involved working even like 542 00:34:35,300 --> 00:34:37,300 sometimes I'm like do I even want you? 543 00:34:37,300 --> 00:34:41,600 God like do I even desire you and it's like, Jesus is still 544 00:34:41,699 --> 00:34:46,199 working and sanctifying me. Is not backed off. 545 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:52,199 He is not uninvolved. And so, for those of us in here, 546 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,300 who don't yet know, Jesus, maybe we have an idea because we do 547 00:34:56,300 --> 00:34:59,400 live in a religious culture, we have an idea. 548 00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:04,900 But we don't yet know him, the invitation of Hebrews is to look 549 00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:08,800 to him and live. And what I encourage you and 550 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,400 plead with you, I don't know what it is. 551 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,200 That's a hurdle for you. Giving your life to Christ. 552 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,300 I don't know what that is. I don't know if it's cultural 553 00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:17,800 pressures. I don't know if it's different 554 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,400 beliefs of Christianity. I don't know if it's baggage or 555 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,100 trauma from the past. Those are all real things and we 556 00:35:23,100 --> 00:35:26,100 want to talk about those and wrestle through those, but I 557 00:35:26,100 --> 00:35:31,700 will say this everything else in this world will let you down. 558 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,900 But when we see the worth of Christ and we see the work, he's 559 00:35:35,900 --> 00:35:39,500 done, everything else just begins to fade into the 560 00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:42,500 background. So the call if you don't know, 561 00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:46,500 Christ has to repent and believe the good news of Jesus, his 562 00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:48,700 life, death, burial and Resurrection. 563 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:54,300 And for those who are the Saints of God, who like we may struggle 564 00:35:54,300 --> 00:35:57,100 with doubts, we may struggle when we look at our lives to 565 00:35:57,100 --> 00:36:00,000 really believe that he is as good as the writer of Hebrews, 566 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,200 says he is, but I want to tell you be encouraged. 567 00:36:04,100 --> 00:36:08,400 It is not about you just hanging on and being faithful enough. 568 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,300 Be encouraged. Your sin has been dealt with. 569 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:16,500 Yes confess, agree with God, we do confession of sin that simply 570 00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:18,900 agreeing with God, when we are made aware of our standard were 571 00:36:18,908 --> 00:36:21,700 like, Zhang, there it is. I agree with you guys. 572 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,300 That's not good. That is taking my eyes off of 573 00:36:24,300 --> 00:36:28,700 you. But you don't have to grovel and 574 00:36:28,700 --> 00:36:33,200 beg and self-flagellating like begging God, please, let me back 575 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:35,800 in your good graces as if you could ever learn that. 576 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,300 Anyways, do you think you can earn like like getting into the 577 00:36:39,300 --> 00:36:42,700 Blazing? Brady n't, presence of God, no 578 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,500 we come on grace alone, and that's what he presents. 579 00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:50,600 You can approach the throne boldly anytime you need it. 580 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:52,800 You don't have a high priest who doesn't understand what it's 581 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:56,500 like to be tempted. He knows, he gets it. 582 00:36:58,300 --> 00:37:00,100 So don't run back to the old way. 583 00:37:00,700 --> 00:37:05,300 Don't turn back to the law. It has zero value in making you 584 00:37:05,300 --> 00:37:08,800 right with God it served its purpose when it pointed you to 585 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,500 Christ. So now we live under the law of 586 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:14,000 love the law of Liberty, as Paul calls it. 587 00:37:14,100 --> 00:37:16,100 Their James. I don't know which one the law 588 00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:20,600 of love not of works. The only work that matters is 589 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,200 the work of the true and better one. 590 00:37:22,300 --> 00:37:27,700 Jesus. And so may Our Lives be filled 591 00:37:27,700 --> 00:37:29,700 with three telling this good news to each other. 592 00:37:30,300 --> 00:37:35,400 So we forget Day in day out. I forget like, I don't know if 593 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:39,800 Jesus is really better than this material thing, or whatever. 594 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,700 Winning a stupid youth basketball game is Jesus really 595 00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:44,100 better than that? Maybe not. 596 00:37:44,100 --> 00:37:50,000 I don't know how can judge me. The point is we forget and we 597 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:55,100 need each other to remind us. That Jesus is better. 598 00:37:56,300 --> 00:37:58,800 He is better than your worst days. 599 00:37:59,900 --> 00:38:04,100 And he's better than your best. He's better than your poverty 600 00:38:04,900 --> 00:38:06,700 and he's better than your wealth. 601 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,500 He's better than your suffering and he's better than your 602 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:13,800 happiness. He's better than your failures 603 00:38:14,700 --> 00:38:19,900 and better than your successes so look to him, his Supreme 604 00:38:19,900 --> 00:38:23,600 Beauty and sacrifice and all who look to him will never be 605 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:29,300 ashamed. All in all Jesus is better.