Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Oct 08, 2014: Hebrews 1-5 Jesus Is Better
Transcript
- In the book of Hebrews, chapters 1 through 5... And the book of Hebrews is interesting because it's one of those books that we really don't know who wrote it. And there's lots of discussion about who wrote it. If you really want the definitive answer and to find out who really it was that wrote it, you can talk to Jake after the service and he'll give you all the insights and all wisdom that he has. It's unknown also when it was written. It seems that it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. But what's evident from the book is that it was written to Jewish believers. Not just that it was written to Jewish believers, but it was written to Jewish believers who were really tempted to go back to the things of Judaism. They were tempted to go back to the worship at the temple. They were tempted to go back to the sacrifices. And because of, it seems, the persecution and things that were coming against Christians, there was this tendency or this desire to go back because Well, like we could recognize in our own country, right? If you want to follow Islam, there's no persecution. Nobody will care. You can do everything you want. If you want to follow, you know, this religion or that religion, fine, no problem. But you want to follow Christ and mention the name of Jesus, well, now we have a problem. Well, it was the same for them. And so being Christians was harder culturally than it was to be Jew. And so they wanted to kind of relieve that pressure, go back to Judaism. They were tempted by those things. And even the same as, you know, many experience today where there's kind of an allurement to like, like this ancient knowledge and it must be, you know, extra superior. And so they're thinking, you know, going back to Judaism is going to solve some of their problems and be much better for them. And so the purpose of this letter written to these Jewish believers is to explain that the new covenant, what we have in Christ, is far superior to the old covenant. And so it's a reminder of how great we have it in Christ and how great it is what he has done for us. But also in this letter, you'll see that he is warning the people against falling away. And these warnings are pretty dominant throughout the book. And you'll get to see those as we work our way through Hebrews over the next couple of weeks. But we're going to start out this evening in Hebrews chapter 1. And the key verse is verse 8. It says, Here in verses 1 through 4, it tells us that God has spoken to us by His Son. Throughout history, the author of Hebrews says, God has spoken in a variety of ways. He has spoken through prophets and in different ways through different seasons. But now in these last days... There's a change. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. And so now the focus is on Jesus Christ. And that's what the rest of this letter is going to be about. And so we spend some time here in verses 2 and 3 telling us who this son is and how great he is. He says in verse 2 that he has appointed him the heir of all things. And it's also through Jesus that he has made the world. And so we learn here that Jesus is the creator, that Jesus is the heir of all things. Then in verse 3 he says, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better There's a lot of understanding about Jesus that we gain from these verses. He tells us, you know, obviously he's the creator. I mentioned that he is the express image of God. And what that means is you and I are created in the likeness of God. That is, there's a resemblance there. We are created after that pattern. But Jesus is the express image of God. And so he accurately, perfectly, exactly expresses the nature, the character, and the person of God the Father. You and I, humanity, resembles God, but Jesus reveals God because, of course, Jesus is God. And so he starts off right off the bat saying, reminding us of who Jesus is and how great he is. The reality that he is God. In the rest of this chapter, he continues to prove that. In verses 5 through 14, it says, God says the angels are ministering spirits and the son is God whose throne is forever. Throughout the rest of these verses, he is contrasting angels versus Jesus. And He's saying Jesus is not just an angel. He's not just a messenger. He's not just a spiritual being. But he is much higher. In verse 5 he says, For which of the angels, to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten you. And again I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. Jesus has a unique role, a unique position that is higher than that of the angels. In verse 14, he says that the angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation. And so Jesus is superior to the angels. He is the Son of God. We see here in these passages or these verses that he is the object of worship. That angels are commanded to worship Jesus, that he is the creator and that he is at the right hand of God, which means that he is on an equal standing with God. And so Jesus is far superior to any type of angelic being or any other type of messenger that has come before him. Now, the book of Hebrews, because it's written to Jewish believers, has a very strong message. to the Old Testament. And you'll see every chapter has references to the Old Testament. And so I pulled out a couple of key references here in chapter 1 and we'll look at these throughout our chapters together. And so in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 7, again it's talking about the angels being ministers and a flame of fire. It's a quotation from Psalm 104 verse 4. And so he's pointing back to this psalm and using that to support, to show that angels are ministering spirits and that Jesus has something that is far superior. And you can see that in verse 8 and 9 in Hebrews, which quotes from Psalm chapter 45. Where he says, your throne, oh God, is for forever and ever a scepter of righteousness, is the scepter of your kingdom. And so he establishes here right from the very beginning that these things that we have in Christ are far superior to anything else. Because, well, Jesus Christ himself is far superior to anything else. And as they are being tempted to go back, he's using the things that they're going back to to show what they have in Christ is far greater. Well, now we go on to chapter 2 and verse 17 is the key verse. He says, Here in Hebrews chapter 2, we see in verses 1 through 4, a warning. He says, He says, Notice in verse 1, it starts out with a therefore. Now usually we see that and we say, find out what it's there for. But that's appropriate for whenever you're just jumping into a passage and you haven't been studying it ahead. But we've been studying chapter 1, right? And so now when he says therefore, here's what we need to pay attention to. And that is, you cannot learn something without being accountable for it. Going back to chapter 1, Jesus is far superior to angelic beings, to all the ministers and messengers that have come before him. And now you're accountable for that. Now that you know that, here's what you must do. You're accountable because you know that to live a certain way and to do something specific. And what is that? Well, it's to give earnest heed to what you have heard. He says, lest we drift away. You know who Jesus is, so give the more earnest heed. This is the first of many warnings that we'll see throughout the book of Hebrews. He will warn against various things that the people are struggling with. And here he warns them in verses 1 through 4 against drifting away. The idea of drifting away, it's like, you know, a boat out on the water without an anchor, without a motor, but it's just drifting, just going wherever the tide goes. And he warns them against that. Don't just have an aimlessness in your walk, in your life, in your relationship with God, but hold fast and give earnest heed. He goes on in verse 2 to say, If the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him? And so they're honoring the old covenant and the word that was brought forth by Moses and delivered by angels. And they're holding fast to Judaism. And the writer here says, if those things prove steadfast, how much more the things that were brought to us by Jesus Christ. There is sometimes a tendency on our part to kind of water down the warnings of Hebrews. And people get a little bit weird about these warnings because, well, even as we'll get into tomorrow as we head into Hebrews chapter 6, you know, there's It takes us into the old debate about, well, can you lose your salvation once you've got it? Or if you lost your salvation, that means you never had it to begin with. And there's all this confusion and wrestling. And so many times there's a tendency to water down these warnings. But I want to encourage you to not water them down, but to take these things seriously. He included these warnings. God has included these warnings for a purpose, right? Aside from, you know, whatever you might believe doctrinally about, you know, once saved, always saved and that type of thing. These warnings serve a purpose and they are here for our benefit. And so I would encourage you this evening to consider this idea of drifting away. Is there a drifting away that's happening? Or are you giving the more earnest heed? He says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? The idea here is of neglect, that we're just not really paying attention. We're not diligent in our relationship with the Lord, not diligent in hearing from the Lord, and that's a dangerous place to be. He says, how shall we escape? There's going to be some issues. God will deal with us if we neglect salvation. So great a salvation that has been brought to us by Jesus Christ. So continuing on here in Hebrews chapter 2, now verses 5 through 8, we see that God put all in subjection to man. And here he quotes from Psalm chapter 8. What is man that you are mindful of him? And so he talks about humanity for a bit. How God has put all things in subjection to humanity. That is, you know, he gave man dominion over the earth. And he's explaining here that Jesus, well, had to become a man... Because God had appointed man to have dominion over the earth. And so as Jesus, his mission, his objective is to redeem creation, to redeem humanity, he became man to be able to redeem mankind as well as creation and to have dominion over all things. Verses 9 through 15 says, it was fitting for Jesus to be made perfect through sufferings. Verse 9 is an important verse. It says, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the sufferings of death, crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. The author is saying we don't yet see everything subjected to mankind or humanity. We don't see it because of the fall in the garden. We don't see that. But here's what we do see. We see Jesus. We see the promise that one day he will reign on high over this world, over the things that have been created. We see Jesus made a little bit lower than the angels. And that's talking about him existing before, but became man. He became, or was made, a little bit lower than the angels because that's the position of humanity. And so Jesus really did become a man. For the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. The purpose, or the reason why Jesus became a man, was to suffer, to die. And as God, he couldn't experience that. But as man, when he put on humanity, then he was able to suffer and die. And that is so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. But then notice verse 10. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. And so here he says that it was fitting, it was right for Jesus who made all things, it was right for him to be made perfect through sufferings. This idea of perfect is not like what we think of it as in flawless. Like of course Jesus was flawless and sinless, but it's the idea of completion. Jesus could not be our savior without the suffering. And he became the perfect Savior or the complete Savior through the midst of suffering. And because he suffered, he is the Savior. He is able to save. In verse 11 it says, For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Think about that. Those who are sanctified... And the one who sanctifies, that is Jesus and us, are one. And so he's not ashamed to call us brethren. Jesus is one of us. He is God, but he became one of us. He's greater than the angels, but he became one of us to suffer, to die, so that we might be saved. That we might be sanctified. And that means, verse 16 through 18, now he is able to aid those who are tempted. So because Jesus became man, it gives him a unique opportunity, a unique position to be able to minister to us, to help us. In verse 17, it tells us that he had to be made like his brethren so that he could be a faithful and merciful high priest forever. He can be merciful because he understands. In verse 18 it says, For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. Because Jesus suffered, because Jesus experienced temptation, because he experienced the frailty of humanity, he is able then to help us because he experienced it. He knows what it's like. And so he has mercy. He has sympathy because he's experienced it. And so it makes him the perfect high priest. He's able to relate to God because he's sinless, but he's able to relate to us because he experienced suffering and temptation. He is the perfect mediator between God and man. And so he has provided appeasement or propitiation through his sacrifice and he's able to To bridge the gap and bring us to the Father. That's what Jesus has done. He's far greater than the angels, but he has become man. Well, the key Old Testament reference here in chapter 2 is there in verses 6 through 8, which is a quotation of Psalm chapter 8 verses 4 through 6, where the psalmist asks the question, what is man that you are mindful of him? As he looks at the glory of God's creation and wonders... Why did you pay attention to us? Why do you care about us? And the psalmist didn't even have the whole story yet. As you think about who we are and how insignificant we are in all the universe, but then to yet further understand that God became man to redeem us, to offer us forgiveness. It's incredible what he has done and it's incredible what he has done because we are so unworthy and insignificant. Hebrews chapter 3, now verse 12 is the key verse. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. In verses 1 through 6, he explains that Jesus has more glory than Moses. Now again, for a Jew who's tempted to go back to Judaism, Moses is up there, you know, with the best of the best as far as the servants of God are concerned. And so the author of Hebrews says, yes, Moses was faithful in God's house. He was a faithful servant. But then in verse 6 he says, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. And so he puts it in perspective. Moses was a great man. He was a faithful servant in the house of God. But Jesus is the house. And so it's one thing to be a servant of the house, but Jesus is the son over the house. He is at a much higher position than Moses is. And so he is superior, number one, to angels, but he's also superior to Moses. Then in verse 7 through 15, he says, exhort one another daily, lest any of you depart from the living God. And here he quotes from Psalm chapter 95. He's referring back to the time where Israel refused to enter into the promised land. It's referred to as the promised rest. They got to the border. They got to Kadesh Barnea. And they refused to enter in. And the author of Hebrews here uses this as a warning. And so here we get to see the second warning here in the book of Hebrews. It's a warning against an evil and a hardened heart. He says in verse 12, Beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Beware. Have you beware lately? It's something that we need to pay attention to. He's calling us to take a look at this. Pay attention. Don't let this slip by. Don't let it just kind of be casual. But pay attention to this to make sure that there is not in you or in any of us an evil heart present. of unbelief or a hardened heart from the deceitfulness of sin he refers to in verse 13 and so what do we do how do we prevent this type of of change of heart this hardening this this turning away of our hearts well he says in verse 13 but exhort one another daily while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin And so what he calls us to do, and he's speaking not just to individuals, but he's speaking to the group. And that's why he says, exhort one another. And so the best way for us to protect ourselves against this danger of an evil and hardened heart is to exhort one another. And notice that he says, daily. Daily. So exhort one another is that, you know, relationship between one another, that encouragement, that building up of each other. And it works both ways. When I'm building you up, it's also protecting my heart and when you're building me up it's also protecting your heart and as we exchange we're helping each other and it's beneficial for us and so this exhortation that goes back and forth is a necessity for us it's a it's a protection for us against this danger of an evil and a hardened heart But also he says daily. So this is an indication here that this is to go on regularly, continually. Not just once a week or Sundays and Wednesdays. But we're to have relationships where we are building up and being built up each and every day. And that is the best protection that we can have. And so I'd like to encourage you this evening to be a real source of help and strength today. to other believers every day. Beware. Pay attention. There's a real danger here of having an evil heart, a hardened heart. And the best way to prevent that is for you to be a real source of help and strength to other believers every day. Well, continuing on in Hebrews chapter 3, verses 16 through 19 he tells us that israel could not enter god's rest because of unbelief and so because their heart was in this condition they had an evil heart they departed from the living god it then caused them to not be able to experience the things that god had provided for them he he gives us israel the nation israel as an example of why we need these warnings Because as you look back at them, he says, look, they experienced incredible things with God, and yet they still rebelled. They got to see God work. In verse 16, he says, "...for who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses?" Now I know for us going through the Bible in three years, now it's almost been, you know, three years since we've been looking at these things that he's referring back to. But going back to the book of Exodus, remember as Israel is in Egypt and Pharaoh's unwilling to let the people go. And so God brings these 10 plagues against Egypt. And these incredible, miraculous things that God does in bringing these plagues and protecting his people. To the point that in the final one, Pharaoh says, okay, now you can go. They saw these incredible miracles as Moses led them out of Egypt. They saw the incredible miracle of being able to walk across the Red Sea on dry ground and then the armies of Pharaoh be crushed as the water returned upon them. They had all these amazing things happen to them. And yet in verse 17 it says, now with whom was he angry 40 years? Was it not those who sinned whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And so although they experienced all these incredible miracles, they got to see it firsthand, they were right there, yet they rebelled against God. Their hearts were evil. They turned away. They were disobedient. And so God says, they will not enter my rest. And so he says in verse 19, so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief, because of the condition of their hearts. And he uses that as an example to call us to pay attention, to beware, to encourage one another daily. We need that because, well, we can experience great things in God's presence. We can see God work in great ways in our lives. We can watch God do amazing things in our families, in our communities, in our world. And still... Turn away and have the evil hearts of unbelief and be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And that's why we need to beware. That's why we need to exhort and encourage one another daily. Well, a couple Old Testament references here in chapter 3. The first one is in verses 7 through 11. It's a quotation from Psalm chapter 95. And again, the psalmist here is looking back to the time in the wilderness where they refused to enter in. And the psalmist calls us to not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Don't harden your heart. You saw God work. You saw Him do amazing things. Don't let your heart become hard. Protect yourself. And then in Hebrews chapter 3 verses 16 through 19. He quotes and refers back to Numbers chapter 14 verse 2. Which is the account of when they would not enter in. It says that the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them. If only we had died in the land of Egypt. Or if only we had died in this wilderness. They got to the edge of the promised land. And then they heard about the giants that were in the land. And they were too fearful to go forward. And so they decided it would be much better for us to go back to Egypt. And they tried to elect a leader who would take them back to Egypt. They began to complain and grumble. And oh if only we had died in Egypt. That would have been better for us than to die out here. Now again, the point is, these people had seen God work. They'd seen amazing things. They'd seen God provide for them. They've won battles already at God's hand. And yet, they would not enter in. And so they're a warning for us. They're an illustration for us. Don't let your heart become hard. Instead, protect yourself by exhorting one another daily. Hebrews chapter 4, now verse 11 is the key verse. He says, let us be diligent or let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. So again, in verse 1 here, we have a therefore. And so you're learning these truths, you're understanding this information, and now you're accountable for it. He says, therefore, in verse 1, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. Here in verses 1 through 3, he says, we who believe do enter his rest. Israel did not enter in. They got to the border and then they got scared and they wouldn't trust God. Their heart was evil because of unbelief and they turned away. But those who believe do enter in. And do get to experience the rest that God promises. Now as he talks about rest here in Hebrews chapter 3 and 4. Don't think of it like laying down on a couch. It's not that kind of rest. It's not inactivity. But it's activity in faith. It's a rest in God. A trust in God. It's a rest that God provides as he does the work himself. for us. We get to participate in it with him, but he is working on our behalf. And so this isn't talking about heaven. This isn't talking about eternity. This is talking about an abundant life that Jesus promised in John chapter 10. That this idea of rest is really entering into the fullness of life that God has for you. And it's those who believe God Those who trust God, those who rest in God, who get to experience that fullness of life that He has promised for us. And so since that promise remains, he says, let us fear lest any of you come short of it. Pay attention. Again, there's a warning here. Beware. Don't fall short of this rest that God has for you. Verse 2, notice, he says, For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. They heard the gospel too. Now the message for them was appropriate for where they were in the context of God's revelation. And it was about entering into the promised land. But they heard the good news. They heard what God said he was due for them. They heard the gospel just like we heard the gospel. It didn't do anything for them. It wasn't effective for them because it wasn't mixed with faith. They didn't believe. They did not have faith. And so they missed out on what God had for them. And so again, it's an exhortation for us to pay attention to these things. We have God's promises. We have the gospel. We have the good news. But we can miss out on the promises of God if we do not have faith. In verses 4 through 10, he says, "...there remains a rest for the people of God." So we're talking about this entering into the promised land back in Numbers chapter 14. But the author of Hebrews is saying this still applies. This wasn't just about that situation. He says in verse 8, if Joshua had given them rest, then he wouldn't have spoken about another day. When did he speak about another day? Well, he quotes from Psalm chapter 95 verse 7 and 8. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. And he focuses on this word today. There's still a work that God wants to do today. He wants to speak. So don't harden your heart. The command to enter God's rest, his promise of rest, was not just for one generation. And it wasn't just for the generation that followed that generation. But the author of Hebrews is saying that command and that promise are for today. In verse 9 he says, There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. There's a rest for you. There's a promise of a fullness of life that God has for you. And it's, well he says in verse 10, He who has entered his rest has ceased from his works as God did from his. So it's not working in order to try to be saved. acceptable to God. It's not working to try to earn salvation or earn eternity or earn God's blessing. It's a rest because you don't have to work to have God's blessing. You don't have to work to have God's favor. Jesus accomplished everything for us upon the cross. And by faith in Jesus Christ, when we trust in him, we get to experience his rest. We get to experience the blessings of God. We get to experience the favor of God. He relates to us as if we've always been perfect. This rest remains for us, the people of God, if we will enter in by faith, if we will trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. And so he says in verses 11 through 13, be diligent to enter that rest. Verse 11, he says, let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. And then notice, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. And so here we have another warning. Watch out. Be diligent to enter into that rest to make sure that you don't fall into According to the same example of disobedience. Israel was disobedient. And there's a danger that you could follow their example and be disobedient as well. Even though you have far greater revelation. Even though you have great blessings. Even though you have a greater position. There's a danger that you could fall according to disobedience just as they did. And so he says, be diligent. Be diligent. So the warning here is against not entering God's rest. Don't miss out on the great things that God has for you. Don't miss out on what He wants to do. Be diligent. Make sure you hear from Him and you respond as He speaks. Don't just drift, but set a course. And then check your heading and make sure you're still on course. Make sure you're going in the right direction. Continue to stay in contact with God and walk with Him and make sure that you experience what He has for you, that you arrive at where He wants you to be. Verse 12 here is a famous verse about the Word of God. He says, "...the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword." piercing even to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and a lot of times we just pull that verse out boom like this is a great verse about the bible and it is but but notice what happens when you keep it in context in verse 11 he's warning us to be diligent to enter into the rest to to not follow the example of disobedience Then in verse 13, he says, There is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. The whole point about the amazing power of the word of God here in Ephesians 4.12 is that while God's able to discern the motives, the intentions, what's really going on within our hearts. That is that we must be diligent to enter because the Word of God lays us open completely. If I look at your life, I could look at your life and think, yeah, they've entered into the rest of God. Boy, they're really trusting God. They're going forward. Their relationship with God is amazing. And it might be completely opposite. But from the outside, from what I can see, everything looks good. It's hard for us looking at one another to be able to tell if, well, they've entered into the rest of God. You might be doing many outward things that make it seem like you've entered in, but the word of God cuts to the heart. He cuts through all the fluff, the facade, all the fake stuff that we put out, cuts right through all that and lays us open bare. And so God is able to reveal. whether or not we really believe him or not. Whether or not we're really diligent in seeking after him to live to please him. We cannot fool God. We can't trick him. We can't come up with all the excuses that work on the people around us. Well, yeah, I was going to. I meant to. I had great intentions. I wanted to enter in. And we all go, oh, that sounds, well, okay, that sounds pretty good. God says, that's baloney. I know your heart. You're just faking it. You're just pretending. We can't fool God. And so there's a warning here about not entering God's rest. Listen, you're not going to enter God's rest by faking it. There needs to be a real diligence, a real pursuit of God, a real desire to please God, a real desire to know God, a real desire to walk with God. It needs to be for real. And a lot of times what we do is we recognize that it's not for real and so then we fake it. But here's what we need to do. Recognize that it's not for real. and then ask God for help. That's what we need to do. When you recognize, yeah, my heart's not right. I'm not really pursuing God the way that I need to. My heart's not inclined to the Lord and I don't turn to God first and I'm not really desiring. I love the things of this world and I'm pursuing those things. I'm chasing after those things. When we recognize that, don't fake it and just try to cover it up and try to give it some spiritual name so that it sounds good. That's our tendency. But the word of God cuts through all that. So don't think that you can fool God with that. Well, Lord, that's why I pursued this career so that I could get all this money so that then I could tithe. That's what I was going for. I just wanted to tithe a lot. Right. He doesn't fall for that. And so what we need then is when we recognize those issues in our hearts, we need to take our hearts to the Lord and say, God, this is the condition of my heart. I love the things of this life. I love sin. And I want to pursue sin. And I want to fill my life with sin. And I think if I do these things, it's going to fulfill me. And God, I know it's wrong, but this is where I'm at. We must be diligent to trust God to enter into his rest. Be honest with him about our hearts and not try to fake it. We can't get anything past the Lord. Well, continuing here, chapter 4, verses 14 through 16, he says, "...let us come boldly to the throne of grace." Again, recognizing those issues in our hearts, he says in verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. See, Jesus understands. He can sympathize. And so when you recognize your heart's out of line, take it to him, bring it to him. He's a great high priest who can sympathize with us because he knows what it's like. He became man. He experienced humanity. And so verse 16 tells us we can come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We can come boldly to grace, not because we deserve it, not because we've earned it, but because Jesus is a great high priest. And he sympathizes with our weaknesses. He knows what it's like. When do you need mercy and grace? Well, of course, we need it all the time, but especially in our times of failure and especially in our times of weakness. The point is, in those times of weakness, when we tend to run from God and we try to like, okay, I'm going to put myself on timeout. I'll be in the corner here. And then when I feel like I'm ready, okay, then I can come back to God. And here you say, no, no, don't do that. Go to God first. He's a great high priest. He knows what it's like. He sympathizes because he was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. And sometimes we think, you know, well, Jesus really can't relate to us because he was sinless. I like the way that David Guzik explains it. He says, the sinless one knows temptation in a way that we don't because only the one who never gives in to temptation knows the full strength of of temptation sometimes we think jesus you know i mean i know it says he was tempted but he was perfect and sinless and so he doesn't really know temptation like i know temptation but listen we give into temptation and jesus never did and so he got to experience the full strength of it and we never have he knows what it's like he's experienced temptations and struggles that you experience and so you can go to him he's a great high priest who can sympathize with you Well, a couple key references here in Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 4 quotes from Genesis chapter 2 verse 2, which is, as God is creating the heavens and the earth, and then on the seventh day he ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. Notice again, still talking about this rest of God. This rest is not because... He was tired. You know, I've been working for six days and creating all the universe. And so, I've got to catch my breath. That's not why God rested. He rested because the work was finished. And in the same way, we can enter into the rest of God because the work is finished by Jesus on the cross. The work of salvation is complete by Jesus on the cross. And so it's a rest, not because we're tired. It's a rest because the work is done. We don't have to earn favor with God or salvation. We don't have to earn it. We couldn't even if we wanted to. We can rest recognizing that the work is completed. In Hebrews chapter 4 verse 7, again it's a reference to Psalm chapter 95 verse 7 and 8. He says, today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness. Sometimes we wonder why we're not hearing from God. But a lot of times we're not hearing from God because God has spoken to us, but we've hardened our hearts and decided, no, I don't want to do that. Tell me something else. Tell me something I want to hear. Tell me something I'd like to do. But if you want to hear his voice, and if you do hear his voice, if God speaks to your heart, then don't harden your heart. Don't refuse, but obey. Do what God is instructing you or prompting you to do. And if you want to continue to hear the voice of God, that's what you must do. Continue to respond as He speaks. Well, our final chapter this evening is Hebrews chapter 5, verse 1 is the key verse. It says, And verses 1 through 4, he says, And so he's looking back at Aaron and his sons as they became priests. And he says, God did that. Aaron didn't volunteer for that. He didn't sign up. I want that position. He didn't volunteer for that. God said, this is what's going to happen. Aaron's going to be the high priest and his sons are going to be the priest. And then in verses 5 through 11, he says, so also Christ was called by God as high priest. And so in the same way as Aaron was called by God to be the high priest, Jesus is called by God to be the high priest. In verse 10, he says, he's called by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Now I'm not going to get into Melchizedek this evening. We'll be looking at that next Wednesday and in the reading this week, specifically in chapter 7. And so we'll talk more about this guy Melchizedek who is a priest. But Jesus is called by God to be a priest in the same way that Melchizedek or in the same order that Melchizedek was called by God to be priest. But then notice verse 11. He says, "...of whom we have much to say." And it's hard to explain. Since you have become dull of hearing. So he starts talking about Melchizedek, but then he stops and says, you know, we have a lot to say about Melchizedek, but it's really hard to explain this to you because you've become dull of hearing. You're not able to receive all that we could say about Melchizedek, the author says. You're dull. You're not receptive. There's an issue here. This condition of being dull of hearing is not a good thing. He goes on in verses 12 through 14. He says, by this time you ought to be teachers. There's an immaturity that exists among you and it's not good. It causes you to be dull of hearing. You're not able to understand some of the things that you need to understand. He says, by this time you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. It's a perpetual immaturity. You've known about God for a long time. This is a condition that still exists today. You've gone to church for a long time and listen, by this time, you ought to be able to teach others. Going back to Matthew chapter 28, Jesus called us to make disciples. That's a command for every believer. You ought to be able to make disciples. Now, there is an appropriate time of immaturity and that is as a new believer where it's appropriate to not understand everything. It's appropriate to To not be able to teach quite yet. It's appropriate as a new believer. And yet as you grow as a new believer. As you mature. Well then you need to be able to teach others. You need to be able to make disciples. That's a necessity. But many times that growth is stunted. They grow to a certain point. And then you kind of just plateau. You just that's where you. Okay I got this far. And that's good enough. And it puts us in a condition of being dull of hearing. We stop growing. We stop hearing from the Lord. And it's a dangerous place to be. He goes on in verse 13. He says, And so he deals with this issue of immaturity with a illustration of food. He talks about milk and solid food. And he says, you're only partaking of milk. Now, if you think about milk, milk is food that has been processed for you. You get all the nutritional value, but you don't got to cut it up. You don't got to cook it. You don't got to chew it. It's just everything is there for you. It's presented to you. And that's what, of course, babies are fed because that's their capacity. They're not able to process more. They need something that's just brought to them, simple, and they can just receive it. And that's appropriate for a child, for a baby. And it's appropriate for a babe in Christ, a new believer. But the solid food, he says, belongs to those who are of full age. And so there's a contrast here. There's baby food and then there's adult food. There's baby food and then there's real food. And real food takes some work. You got to learn how to handle it. You got to learn how to divide it up and make it, you know, a bite-sized portion. You have to learn how to chew it. Your body learns how to process it and to pull the nutrients from it. In the same way, spiritually speaking, there is this milk and this solid food. And there are some believers who only partake of milk and it's not good. That is, you only partake of what other people deliver to you. So you come to church and you hear Bible studies or you read devotional books that other people wrote when they spent time with God and then wrote what they found. And so other people are going to God and breaking things down and then providing it to you. And if that's all you partake of, Then you will not grow. You will become dull of hearing. And that's an issue within the church. It's an issue for some believers. For many believers. Now it's not that milk is bad. We need to partake of milk. We need to hear from others and receive from God that way. But the issue is when we partake only of milk. And when we partake only of milk. It keeps us in a state of perpetual immaturity. But solid food. It belongs to those who are of full age. solid food is for those who are mature, those who are maturing. And he says there in verse 14, it's those who by reason of use have their senses exercised. The person who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word, but the one who is mature, well, by reason of use, they've become mature. They're not unfamiliar with the things of God. They're not unfamiliar with the Word of God, but they're very familiar with it by reason of use. Because they've used it. Because they've learned it. Because they've studied it. Because they've sought the Lord. Because they've connected with Him. Because they've learned how to hear from Him. And they continue to do it repeatedly. And there's this, by reason of use, continually involving and engaging in the things of God, there comes this maturity and this ability to process things. And to understand and to benefit. Oh yeah, you want to talk about Melchizedek. Man, there's some great valuable lessons there. And the immature person is like... What in the world is he talking about? Melchizedek, who? It's an issue of immaturity. And I want to encourage you this evening... To not just partake of milk. It's great. I don't want to discourage anybody from coming to church. It's part of what God wants us to do. But if this is the only time you open up the word... You're dull of hearing. You need to move past this. You need to grow more than that. And you need to learn to open up the word. You need to learn to walk with God. You need to learn to hear from God yourself. You need to grow up and partake of solid food. God has great things in store for you. And here in the book of Hebrews, he's declaring that Jesus is far better than anything else. And there's much temptation for us to pursue all kinds of other things. So much so that we often will say, I don't have time to read the Bible. I don't have time to seek the Lord. Hey, it's work. It takes some processing. But no, don't neglect the salvation that we have. Don't drift away. Be diligent. Heed the warnings. Pay attention. There's dangers here. You can see God do great things. You can be part of God's great work. You can be attending church and completely miss out on so much that God has for you. Don't do that. Don't be in that place of dull of hearing. But you need to grow. And if you have grown, but you've kind of fallen back to all you get right now is you just get other people hearing from God and sharing with you what they've heard. But you're not hearing from God. Don't stay there. That's a bad place to be. Hear from God. Spend time with God. Seek God. Pursue God. Make your life all about knowing Jesus. Seriously. We sing the songs, you know, be the center, all that. But make it real. Make it about knowing Jesus, walking with Jesus, hearing from Him, obeying Him, glorifying Him. It's going to take some work. Yeah, you're going to have to learn how to cook the meat, chop it, chew it. Your jaw might get tired, especially at first. But hang in there. Learn. Chew on it. Continue to chew on it. Let God speak to you. Don't stay in that place of immaturity. But go on to maturity and experience the fullness of what God has for you. Let's pray. Lord, I pray as we continue to study the book of Hebrews that you would help these things to sink down deep in our hearts. That we would take heed to the warnings. That we would pay attention to the examples and recognize because you are so great. Lord, you deserve our whole hearts. And so Lord, help us to pursue you completely. Holy. Not holding back. Not putting you lower on our priority list than you deserve. But Lord, putting you first. Even if it costs us. Even if there's sacrifice. Even if there's persecution. Lord, that we would put you first. Because what you provide for us is far superior to anything else provided by this world. To anything else provided by any other religion. It's far superior. Because you, being God, became man. To die upon the cross for us. That the work is completed. And so, Lord, help us to trust in you and to really truly walk with you with all of our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.