Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Worthy of More Glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Worthy of More Glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Would you take your Bibles then and open up to
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the New Testament book of Hebrews? Hebrews chapter
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3 verses 1 through 6. We're continuing our sermon
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series through this book. And I want to remind
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you, as you're turning there, as you're finding
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your seats of what the book of Hebrews does,
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it makes a lot of comparisons, a lot of contrasts.
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And we have seen thus far that Jesus is greater
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than all of his creation. And we are reminded
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that all things were made through Jesus. And
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this same sort of greater theme continues now
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into chapter three. Would you follow along with
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me? Verses one through six. Therefore, holy brothers,
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you who share in a heavenly calling, consider
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Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
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who is faithful to him who appointed him, just
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as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.
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For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory
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than Moses, as much more glory as the builder
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of a house has more honor than the house itself.
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For every house is built by someone, but the
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builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful
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in all God's house as a servant to testify to
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the things that were to be spoken later. But
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Christ is faithful over God's house as a son,
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and we are his house if indeed We hold fast our
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confidence and our boasting and our hope. This
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is God's word. Let us pray. Father, we do thank
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you for the book of Hebrews. And as we dive into
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this text, certainly, Lord, we may have questions.
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And so I ask, Lord, that you would open up our
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hearts and our minds, that you would grant us
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understanding. and that we would rightly rejoice
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glory in the God man, Jesus Christ, in whose
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name we pray. Amen. Hypothetically speaking,
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let us say that you had to tell the story of
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the Bible to someone, but you could only do so
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using four biblical individuals. Could you do
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that? And whom would you use to tell the story
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of Scripture in what we might say is the Mount
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Rushmore of biblical individuals? Take a moment,
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think about it. Who do you believe is absolutely
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essential for telling the story of Holy Scripture?
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Your minds may be going to Abraham. You may be
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thinking about David. Perhaps you're thinking
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of Mary. And what about the Apostle Paul? Who
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is on your Mount Rushmore? Certainly we know
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Jesus is there and He is above the mountain.
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But within your list, did you have Moses? If
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you didn't, you're probably wondering how do
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I get Moses in there? Moses is great. Everybody
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loves Moses. Moses the one who got the Israelites
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out of Egypt as he followed the Lord's call upon
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his life. And he did those plagues and he got
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them across the Red Sea walking on dry ground
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with the Egyptians pursuing them. This is Moses
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in the Song of Moses in Exodus 15. This is Moses
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on Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments and the
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Mosaic Covenant. This is Moses in the burning
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bush. This is Moses with Elijah at the Mount
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of Transfiguration. What's not to love about
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Moses? When it comes to first place in Scripture,
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we might be tempted to put Moses there, but what
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verses 1 through 6 do is to have us, yes, consider
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Moses, but the text says consider Christ. So
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remember how the book of Hebrews does things,
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how Jesus is said to be greater than the angels
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and Jesus is the greater prophet, priest and
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king. And here we have another comparison, this
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with Moses. Yes, Jesus is greater than Moses.
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After all, Moses is a type of Christ. Not the
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other way around. And so two points to consider
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today. One, Jesus is the builder of the house
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and Jesus is the son. Before we cover those two
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points, I just want to share some introductions
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and some comparisons that are here. First of
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all, notice the audience of verse one. Therefore,
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holy brothers, right, saints, K people have been
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redeemed. We must remember the main problem of
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this, that the writer of Hebrews is writing to
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some portion of people that are considering returning
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to the old covenant. They're considering turning
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their backs on Jesus. But notice what the writer
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does. He reminds them, he reminds true believers
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of their place in Christ. He reminds them of
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their heavenly calling. In verse one, he reminds
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them of their status, that if you are in Christ,
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you are made holy by Him. In this way, the writer
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of Hebrews acts as a good biblical counselor.
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He says, consider Jesus. This is a word for them
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because. What's going on? We've already talked
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about this as the writer of Hebrews is addressing
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a people who were, yes, considering going back
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to the old way. But the reason that they were
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considering going back was because of persecution,
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because of troubles brought on by their Christian
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faith. And so what does he tell them? Don't go
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backwards go forwards and that even when you
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are you are depressed You are downcast you are
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pursued at every angle by people who hate you
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because of your faith Remember the gospel The
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writer could have said remember that before the
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world hated you it hated Jesus and so consider
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again Jesus as the Apostle and the high priest
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of our confession, he's saying, and he's saying
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this to you too, lift your gaze above your current
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problems, above your current situation, and see
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that Jesus, he is at the right hand of the Father
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right now making intercession for you, and he
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is where your true home is. And you only have
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salvation in His name. And so do not turn your
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backs upon Jesus. I heard one other preacher
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saying it like this. If everybody in your environment
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everybody in your sphere, everybody within your
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friend group or your family, if they all turn
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their backs on Jesus, don't you do it. Don't
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do it. It is a terrible, horrific mistake because
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we must remember what Jesus has done and he has
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done something that Moses could not do and Abraham
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could not do and David could not do, the Apostle
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Paul could not do, Mary could not do. And you
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can't do it, and your neighbor can't do it, and
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your friend can't do it, and your mother can't
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do it. No one can do it. Jesus laid down His
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life so that you would have life. And in His
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name alone, there is everlasting life. And yet,
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as clear as that is, I know within our text there
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might be some things that maybe confuse us. And
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so I hope to be able to help look in verse 1,
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as Jesus is called the apostle. Now when we hear
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the word apostle, our minds naturally go to,
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well, you know, the apostles. So why is Jesus
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called an apostle here? What does the word apostle
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mean? It means one who is sent. And is it not
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true? that Jesus was sent by the Father. Isn't
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it true that Jesus comes to do all of the Father's
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will? Yes, it is. And so once again, we see the
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connection between the Father and the Son. As
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a matter of fact, verses three and four tell
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us very plainly that Jesus is God. Imagine hearing
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that. as somebody who is tempted to go back to
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the old covenant to abandon Jesus, to be reminded
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that Jesus is one with the Father, that Jesus
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is God. And he is the high priest of our confession.
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And really what the writer is doing then, he
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is laying the groundwork for what's to come.
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Because as we consider that Jesus is called an
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apostle and that Jesus is our great high priest,
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Was Moses a great high priest? Certainly Moses
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did much priestly activity and certainly we remember
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Aaron in this way too, but Aaron and Moses cannot
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cannot compare to Jesus and what he does as our
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great high priest and yet at the same time as
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I say this the writer of Hebrews does have a
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very high view of Moses he does the writer of
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Hebrews says that both are worthy of glory and
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both are faithful just as Moses is faithful in
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all God's house but Jesus is greater and at the
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same time this does not diminish the faithfulness
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of Moses actually it elevates it just because
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Jesus is worthy of more glory does not diminish
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the work that God did through Moses not at all
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I like to think of it like this. Have you ever
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heard of an athlete who accomplishes something
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great and it puts him in the conversation with
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other greats and someone will say, you know,
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no one else has done that since Mickey Mantle
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or Babe Ruth or Willie Mays. And sometimes the
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athlete will say something like it is just a
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privilege to be mentioned in the same conversation
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as those men. Moses is in the conversation. But
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how so? Well, look in verse five. Moses was faithful
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in all God's house as a servant to do what? To
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testify to the things that were to be spoken
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later. And so what are the things to be spoken
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later? What is this talking about? The ministry
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of Moses testifies to that of Jesus. And I can
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prove it to you. John 5, 46 says, for if you
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believed Moses, you would believe me, because
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he wrote about me. Rick Phillips says, Moses'
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ministry was not in conflict with Christ, but
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Moses was a servant whose labor was part of Christ's
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ultimate work. And so you see Moses' ministry
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points us ahead to Jesus. And so let's look at
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these two points now. One, that Jesus is the
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builder. And secondly, that Jesus is the son.
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It says that both are common in faithfulness,
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both are worthy of glory. But look in verse three,
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because verse three sets them apart. Because
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they're both faithful, but one's greater. How
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so? Well, It uses an analogy of a house, of a
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building, and Scripture actually does that quite
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often here. And so you see it again, and we should
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be reminded of the promise that was made to David.
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If you remember 2 Samuel chapter 7, the Davidic
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covenant, what does God promise to David? He
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promises one who's going to come and build his
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house. Now, the immediate fulfillment is certainly
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that God did provide David a son to build the
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house, the temple. He provided Solomon, right?
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But the Davidic covenant points beyond Solomon.
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The Davidic covenant points us all the way to
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the forever, eternal, promised King. And this
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is easy to see, that Jesus is worthy of more
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glory like a builder is worthy of more than the
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house itself. And so once again, Christ is the
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builder, Moses is the house. And as such, Christ
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is worthy of more glory and more honor for more
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reasons than we can possibly count, but specifically
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here for building his people. Because there's
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nobody else who could do it. Perhaps your minds
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are thinking of Psalm 127, how that Psalm begins,
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unless the Lord builds the house, those who build
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it labor in vain. Christ must be the builder
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of the house. And Jesus, you have a better house.
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Christ is the builder or the house collapses.
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Perhaps you remember what Jesus has to say about
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the house that's built on the rock versus the
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house that's built on the sand. And here we also
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may remember Jesus' promise to build. It's in
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Matthew 16. It happens at Caesarea Philippi.
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It is there that Jesus asks his disciples, Who
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do you say that I am? And what does Peter say?
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He says you are the Christ. What does Christ
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mean? It means the anointed one. This is getting
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at the promises of scripture. Peter is acknowledging
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that Jesus was is the promised one throughout
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redemptive history to save God's people from
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their sins and so Peter says you are the Christ
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but notice something special here as You look
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at verse 6 But Christ is faithful This is the
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first usage of the word Christ within the book
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of Hebrews and so maybe possibly The writer of
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Hebrews is reflecting on that confession by Peter.
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You are the Christ. One commentator says here,
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perhaps Christ is used for the first time here
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because of the contrast between the great figure
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of the old covenant, Moses, and the expected
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figure associated with the new covenant, the
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Messiah. And as such, as Jesus is the Christ,
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friends, he is still building his church. He
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is still building his church and he promised
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the gates of hell will not prevail. Perhaps you
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remember 1st Peter 2, 9 through 10. But you are
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a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
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a people for his own possession, that you may
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proclaim the excellencies of him who called you
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out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once
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you were not a people, but now you are God's
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people. Once you had not received mercy, but
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now you have received mercy. Christ is building
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his church. Christ is building his people. And
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you, believer, who are committed to the work
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and the worship of this church, you are living
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proof. This church is living proof and all of
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the churches that are being planted across the
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world are living proof Jesus is still building
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his church and the gates of hell will not prevail
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and Yet sadly Church membership has gone by the
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wayside these days We recognize Jesus is so committed
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to his church that he established the church
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and he died for the church. And yet there are
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so many who call themselves Christians who do
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not commit to the church at all. They won't commit
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to the work and the worship of the church. People
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won't commit to evangelism. People won't commit
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to Bible study together. People won't commit
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to tithing. People won't commit to worship. But
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friends, this is our chief end to glorify God.
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And we do so when we gather like this in worship.
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Because again, Christ is worthy. But not only
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is he worthy as the builder of the church, Christ
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Jesus is worthy as the Son. And so let's consider
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the second point. considering the place of Moses
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and Jesus in the household. What the writer of
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Hebrews is doing really is doing apologetics.
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And by apologetics I don't mean saying you're
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sorry. The writer is making a defense for Christ.
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and making a defense for the new covenant. And
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he gives us his reasoning that as Moses was faithful
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as a servant in God's household, Christ is faithful
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as a son. And so you see, both Moses and Jesus
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are faithful, but there is only one begotten
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and one beloved son. I already referred a couple
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of Sundays ago to Jesus. the Mount of Transfiguration,
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but I'm going to use it again because it illustrates
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this perfectly you remember Matthew 17 and Mark
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9 and Luke 9 Jesus takes his disciples three
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of them Peter James and John they're on this
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mountain and appearing before them is who else
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but Moses and Elijah right and Peter says Lord,
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it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will
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make three tents, three tabernacles here, one
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for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. But
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friends, there are problems with Peter's wish,
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one of them being that he seems to place Jesus
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on the same level of glory as Elijah and Moses.
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But then he is interrupted. in his speech, because
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there is a voice coming from the cloud that says,
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this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased,
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echoing the words of Jesus' baptism. Now on some
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level, I think we can understand why Peter went
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there. Because as Moses is on the Mount of Transfiguration,
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there is only one other time that an event remotely
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close to that has ever happened. yes it was with
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Moses on Mount Sinai as he was shining just like
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Jesus is shining on the Mount of Transfiguration
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and so you can see why Peter expresses his wish
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because Moses is there but friends that's that
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event is not chiefly about Moses and it's not
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about Elijah it's about Jesus Because that voice
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comes through saying this is my beloved son,
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but then the voice from Yahweh says Listen to
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him Not listen to Moses not listen to Elijah
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listen to him and To use the words from our passage
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today. We might say consider him But friends
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that is man's chief problem, isn't it? people
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who go through all of life Never considering
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Jesus, the problem be it idolatry, and that we
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place our trust elsewhere, we give our worship
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elsewhere, but again, verse four, Jesus is God,
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not Moses, and not Elijah, and not any other
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biblical individual, not any individual that
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you know today, not your best friend, not your
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boss, not your mom, not your dad, it is Christ
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alone. And Christ has been promised ever since
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the fall to be this Son. For you remember Genesis
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chapter 3, the promise of such a Son to bruise
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the head of the serpent. You see, yes, Moses
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did incredible things, not to diminish that at
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all. Moses was successful over Pharaoh, but Jesus
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is successful over the devil. You see Christ
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has a greater enemy and Christ promises a greater
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salvation and Christ promises a greater promised
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land. But how does he do it? How does he do it?
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Do you remember in John chapter two when Jesus
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is talking to the Jewish people and he said destroy
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this temple and in three days I will raise it
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up and the people are like Are you kidding me?
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It took 46 years for us to build this temple.
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And you're gonna raise it in three days, but
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friends, we of course know the answer. He was
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talking about the temple of his body. He was
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talking about resurrection. How is it possible
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that he brings us into the greater promised land?
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It's possible because of the death and the resurrection.
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You see the problem? If I can go back yet again
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to Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, the
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problem, the real problem with Peter is when
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he says, hey, let's just stay right here and
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we'll make these tabernacles is that he was attempting
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to get to the glory without the cross. All glory,
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no cross. But Jesus was sent to lay down his
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life for us. But friends, he didn't stay there.
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because He arose on the third day and He atoned
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for all of your sins, all of them. And proving
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that He is greater, He was raised. And in Him
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we also will be raised. Death does not have the
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final say. And so in light of that fact, friends,
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we need to press on. Look at verse six. We need
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to hold fast. and we are his house, if indeed
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we hold fast our confidence and are boasting
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in our hope. We have already seen the writer
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of Hebrews laying out his defense, but now comes
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the instruction. As Christ is over the house,
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The writer tells these brothers and sisters,
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you belong to that house only if you hold on
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to the confidence and your hope in Christ Jesus.
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But notice, he's not just telling them that.
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He's not just pointing fingers at them. He's
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also pointing his fingers at himself. We are
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his house. If indeed we hold fast our confession
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and are boasting in our hope, he is preaching
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the gospel to himself. Friends, we got to do
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that too. We got to do that too. How shall we
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hold fast if we don't preach the gospel to ourselves?
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And if we don't have others speaking the gospel
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into our lives? He groups himself into this.
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He says we have to hold fast. We have to persevere.
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You see, when it comes down to it, what these
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people were thinking about doing is no longer
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trusting in Jesus, but trusting in Moses, attempting
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to avoid persecution. But friends, that doesn't
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guarantee very much. And it certainly does not
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guarantee a heavenly calling. There is no hope
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in that. And so let me ask you, where's your
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hope today? Where is your hope? Oftentimes we
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use the word hope rather nebulously or hopelessly.
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When we talk about hope today, we usually mean
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wishful thinking. I hope you have a great day.
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I hope Clemson wins the game. But friends, there's
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no guarantee in these things. But the hope that
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is offered in Christ is real gospel hope, and
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you can be sure of it. Because Christ is the
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son and Christ is the builder He is he is these
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things and because he is you can not only have
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hope you can boast in it according to verse 6
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And yet as I begin to close I understand how
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verse 6 may perplex us Because it's conditional
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isn't it if we hold fast If we hold fast I know
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how we feel about that. Sometimes we might wish
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the text to say, Jesus is holding fast to you.
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Like somehow, some way, the only way that we
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can keep from apostasy is to hold on by our fingertips.
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I was listening to a song just the other day
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that puts this in a way that I really like. You
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may have heard this song, When I Fear My Faith
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Will Fail. Christ will hold me fast. When the
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tempter would prevail, he will hold me fast.
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I could never keep my hold through life's fearful
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path, for my love is often cold. He must hold
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me fast, for my Savior loves me so. He will hold
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me fast. Friends we look at this verse 6 and
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we might say why couldn't the writer have given
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us a song like that? He will hold me fast And
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so why is this so conditional why is there that
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word if It sounds like the writer is not a very
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good Presbyterian But friends, that's not true
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Because holding fast is what we do by faith We
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are called to exhibit our faith and called to
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exhibit our faith at all times You are called
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to exhibit your faith when you face that diagnosis
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You are called to face that even when you lose
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a loved one You are called to faithful living
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when you don't get that promotion or when your
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kids don't like you You are called to faith at
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all times even should persecution come your way.
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But friends, as you wonder about that word if,
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am I holding on tight enough? Consider this,
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faith doesn't come from you. Faith is not generated
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by you. Faith comes from God, for it is by grace
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that you have been saved through faith. It is
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not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, and
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he has given you faith, And He has given you
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the means to grow in your faith. So do not neglect
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these things. And furthermore, within our passage,
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as we wonder about this word, if am I holding
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on? Haven't you seen so far the faithfulness
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of Christ? It is firstly about the faithfulness
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of Christ before it's ever about your faithfulness.
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And so, yes, friends, we can cling to Him in
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faith. as he holds on tight to us. And so maybe
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you are going through a difficult time. Maybe
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you do need this encouragement. Friends, remember
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the promises of scripture. Remember the covenants.
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Remember the promise of the son, the builder
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of the house who was crucified but also raised.
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Christ has kept his promises. God keeps his covenants.
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And this is enough. This is enough for us to
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continue hanging on knowing that he is hanging
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on to us remember the faithfulness of Christ
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in all things and how God has bestowed upon you
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faith and He will get you through let's pray