Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / From the Lesser to the Greater: The Structure of Hebrews and the Superiority of Jesus to the Angels (Hebrews 1:4-14)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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From the Lesser to the Greater: The Structure of Hebrews and the Superiority of Jesus to the Angels (Hebrews 1:4-14)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Take hold of your Bible or the one in the pew
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back there in front of you and open up to. The
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book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter one. We started
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a new sermon series just three Sundays ago on
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this book, and we spent two Sundays on the first
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three verses. Today we will look at verses four
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through 14. Again, Hebrews is New Testament.
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It's following the letters of Paul. just before
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the book of James. And so would you give special
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careful close attention to the reading of God's
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holy word Hebrews 1 4 through 14. Having become
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as much superior to angels as the name he has
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inherited is more excellent than theirs. For
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to which of the angels did God ever say, you
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are my son? Today I've begotten you. Or again,
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I will be to him a father, and he shall be to
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me a son. And again, when he brings the firstborn
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into the world, he says, let all angels, God's
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angels, worship him. Of the angels, he says,
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he makes his angels winds and his ministers a
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flame of fire. But of the Sun he says your throne
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Oh God is forever and ever The scepter of uprightness
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is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved
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righteousness and hated wickedness Therefore
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God your God has anointed you with the oil of
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gladness beyond your companions and You Lord
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laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning
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and the heavens are the work of your hands they
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will perish, but you remain. They will all wear
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out like a garment. Like a robe, you will roll
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them up. Like a garment, they will be changed,
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but you are the same, and your years will have
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no end. And to which of the angels has he ever
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said, sit at my right hand until I make your
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enemies a footstool for your feet? Are they not
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all ministering spirits? sent out to serve for
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the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.
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Friends, this is God's word. Let's pray. Blessed
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Lord, who caused all of holy scripture to be
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written for our learning, would you grant that
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we may in some way hear these words, read them,
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mark them, learn them. and inwardly digest them
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that by patience and the comfort of your word
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we may embrace and ever hold fast to the blessed
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hope of everlasting life which you have given
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us through Christ our Lord in whose name we do
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pray amen. When I was about 10 I started playing
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baseball and I loved it. And I hope you love
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baseball, too. And that year, I played on my
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first Little League baseball team, and we were
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called the Angels after the California Angels.
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Well, that was about 1994. And that same year,
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a movie came out that you may have seen. It was
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called Angels in the Outfield. And to this day,
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Angels in the Outfield is still one of my favorite
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baseball movies. And if you remember the premise
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of the movie, there's a little boy named Roger.
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Roger likes baseball too. But Roger is in foster
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care because his father has given him over to
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the state of California. His father has said
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to him, I can't take care of you. And so Roger
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comes under the care of a sweet older lady named
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Maggie, the foster mother. And one day Roger's
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dad comes to visit him. And Roger says something
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to the effect of, Dad, when are we going to be
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a family again? And his dad responds to him and
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he says, the way I see it, when the angels win
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the pennant. Now that might not mean a lot to
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you, but you should know that in the movie the
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angels are depicted as Being terrible they're
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the worst baseball team in the league and so
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what the dad is essentially saying to his father
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is kid It's not happening. We're never gonna
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be a family now you can understand how that would
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impact a young boy and So that night he lies
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down on his bed. He puts his head on his pillow,
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and he doesn't know what to do He doesn't know
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what he's doing, but he begins to pray. He doesn't
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know how to pray, but he prays. And he prays
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to be reunited with his dad, to be a family again.
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And he prays along the lines, because again,
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he's like 10 years old, just like me at that
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time. He prays along the lines of what his father
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has said to him. And so he prays. Again, this
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is very fictitional. He prays for the angels
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to win the pennant. in order that he and his
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dad would be a family again. How does God respond
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to that prayer? Again, in fiction, God sends
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angels to play for the California Angels baseball
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team, and suddenly the angels are there ministering
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to the baseball players, and they can hit, and
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they can throw, they can pitch, they can run,
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they can field, and all of those things, and
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they become very, very good. Now, We look at
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that and we say, well, actually, when I say it,
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it sounds kind of a silly premise. And indeed,
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it's not theologically accurate. It's made by
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Hollywood. And yet there is some truth in there
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that God does send angels to minister and to
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serve. Look at verse 14. Again, I'll read it.
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Are they not all ministering spirits? Send out
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to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit
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salvation. What I want us to see today is two
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functions of angels and they're created to do
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more but just two functions of angels today.
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One, angels were created to worship God and two,
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angels were created to serve God. And yet at
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the same time, as I say this, please hear me.
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This passage is not firstly about angels. It
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is about Christ. And so here's the main point.
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Christ Jesus is the Son of God and the eternal
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King. And just like the angels, we too are to
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worship and serve. And really, this is kind of
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the pattern of the book that we have seen and
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that we will continue to see that Christ is superior.
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Christ is preeminent. We've already seen that
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Christ Jesus is the better word. He is the better
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prophet, the better priest, the better king.
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Christ we're going to see is greater than Moses.
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Christ Jesus is greater than Joshua the high
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priest. And yes, Christ is greater than the angels.
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For as great as the angels of God are, be it
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as ministering spirits or turning a double play,
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Christ is greater. And verse four shows us where
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this is going. Look there. Having become as much
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superior to angels as the name he has inherited,
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is more excellent than theirs. Christ has the
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more excellent name. And we would all agree with
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that. And perhaps this has something to do with
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what the names of Christ mean. Christ, meaning
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the anointed one that we're actually going to
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see a little further down in the passage or Jesus,
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meaning Yahweh saves. There is greatness in this
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name. But at the same time, I actually think
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the text wants us to see Christ and the name
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being the Son of God, because that's where verse
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five and verse six are going. This is referring
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to His sonship. Christ has the more excellent
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name because He is the Son of God, the Son of
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the Father, and as such He is equal with the
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Father in power and in glory, and therefore Christ
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is to be worshiped. And so here we have that
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function of the angels, that they are to worship
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God, and they are to worship the Son. Look in
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verse six. Let all God's angels worship Him.
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What you're seeing in this portion of Hebrews
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chapter one is that the writer of Hebrews is
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taking you back to all sorts of Old Testament
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scriptures. You can see all of them that is here.
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But verse five and verse six especially seem
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to be pointing to some texts like Deuteronomy
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32 and Psalm 97, making it clear to us that the
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angels were created to worship. That we are not
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to worship the angels. The angels are the ones
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who are doing worshiping. And I want to take
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you to a text that's not recorded here, but I
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think might help us to understand this point.
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Isaiah chapter six. And I think some of you may
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know at least portions of this text, Isaiah six,
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one through three. It reads like this. In the
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year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting
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upon a throne high and lifted up. the train of
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his robe filled the temple above him stood the
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seraphim each had six wings with two he covered
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his face and with two he covered his feet and
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with two he flew and one called to another and
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said holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the
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whole earth is full of his glory And so what
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are the seraphim, these angelic beings, what
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are the seraphim doing in the passage? They are
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worshiping God. R .C. Sproul comments here, they
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are, as it were, the heavenly choir celebrating
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the transcendent majesty of the creator by singing
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of his splendor and saying, holy, holy, holy.
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This should remind us of other places in which
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we see holy holy holy written places like Revelation
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4 and Revelation 5 if you were to study those
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passages what you get and this is metaphorical
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but God it's like God is opening up a window
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whereby we can glimpse up into the heavens and
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see his heavenly worship surrounded by angelic
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beings Let me read some of this for you from
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Revelation 4 and 5. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
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God Almighty who was and is and is to come. Worthy
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is the lamb who was slain to receive power and
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wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory
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and blessing. And then down into chapter 5 verse
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11, to him who sits on the throne and to the
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lamb. be blessing and honor and might forever
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and ever. The angelic host is worshipping the
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lamb who is slain, which obviously is Jesus.
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Yes, it's true, friends. Angels were created
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to worship. And one day we too, united in faith
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to Christ, will join that heavenly choir. But
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we don't have to wait until then, do we? We don't
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have to wait to worship God. We are doing it
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right here and right now. It's such that every
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time, every Lord's Day that we gather for worship,
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we are preparing ourselves for our heavenly home.
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Every time we sing a good hymn or a psalm, We
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are preparing to join that heavenly choir. Every
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time we take the Lord's Supper, we are preparing
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for the marriage supper of the Lamb. And every
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time that we read the Word, or we hear the Word
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read, or we hear it preached, we are preparing
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ourselves to meet the one who has called the
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Word face to face. Every time we do what we are
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doing right now, we are getting ready. for heaven.
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You see, worship is not just something that you
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do. Worship is who you are, and we are worshipers
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of the one true God, the one who is holy, holy,
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holy, and the one who is triune, like the angels
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we have been created to worship. I hope that
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you really thought about the lyrics of Holy,
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Holy, Holy as we sang it. Verse two, all the
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saints adore thee. You are the saints casting
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down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.
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Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before thee,
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which work and art and evermore shall be. That
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is you. And that is me and that is all of the
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heavenly host worshiping Father, Son, and Holy
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Spirit. And yet sometimes people forget who they
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are worshiping. At times in the scriptures people
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have fallen down, not before God, but before
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angels to worship. And yet whenever you see somebody
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bowing down before an angel in worship, you see
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that angel saying, stop, don't do that. Revelation
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19 10, then I, this being John, fell down at
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his, his being the feet of an angel to worship
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him. But he said to me, you must not do that.
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I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers.
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who hold to the testimony of Jesus, worship God.
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The angels are not to be worshiped. The angels
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are to worship, for they are special ministers.
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They're ministers of the Son, but they are not
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the Son. The angels are not God. And so look
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at verse five. To which of the angels has God
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ever said, today you are my son, I've begotten
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you? To which of the angels has God ever said
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that? The implied answer is obvious to none of
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them. And yet we may wonder when it says today,
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what does that mean? When did Christ become the
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son of the father? When did Christ become worthy
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of the worship of angels? Well, there's a simple
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answer to that, always. Christ has always been,
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and he's always been worthy of worship, but there
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does seem to be an emphasis on when, that word
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today or down into verse six, when he brings
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the firstborn into the world. And so really,
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when does Christ become worthy? He's always been,
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but at what point does it become obvious? Well,
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when it says firstborn, perhaps we are to think
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here of the incarnation. What were the angels
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doing when Christ was born? Well, they were the
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ones who announced the birth, weren't they? And
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they were the ones who are worshiping. And so
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perhaps that's in play. However, I also think
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that there's a little more going on here too.
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That possibly this is looking beyond the incarnation.
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This might be looking beyond the birth of Christ,
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because actually as you see that scripture there
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in verse 5, you are my son, today I've begotten
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you, this comes from Psalm 2. Or the next one
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comes from 2 Samuel 7. When the New Testament,
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outside of this passage here, Hebrews, when the
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New Testament uses these scriptures like in Acts
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chapter 13, it's actually talking about the resurrection,
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and the ascension of Jesus. And those texts,
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Old Testament texts, point to a forever king,
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a king that could not be held by death or by
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the grave, a king who ascended to the right hand
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of the Father, where he now rules and reigns
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forever. But he had to go through the cross,
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didn't he? And verse eight shows us why, if you
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look there. Eight and nine, your throne, O God,
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is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness
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is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved
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righteousness and hated wickedness. God loves
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righteousness and hated wickedness, and therefore,
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in order for us to have this righteousness, we
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needed somebody else's. We needed the righteousness
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of Christ. Because prior to our conversion, all
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of our work, all of our efforts are like filthy
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rags. We're totally depraved. And so we need
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Christ's righteousness here because God loves
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it and God hates wickedness. And yet God is a
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just God and therefore all of sin had to be punished.
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But Christ, to quote a commentator, holds out
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that scepter in mercy and grace to his people,
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declaring their pardon. the basis of his costly
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sacrifice and so Christ Jesus goes through the
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cross For us that we might have his righteousness
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and You can see here that he going through all
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of that is anointed with the oil of gladness
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Look at verse 9 Therefore, God your God has anointed
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you with the oil of gladness. This is quoting
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from Psalm 45, which is actually a wedding song,
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which might seem a curious song to choose here.
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But the writer of Hebrews shows us that the full
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interpretation of that song is Jesus, that he
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is the anointed one. And if you keep looking
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there in verse eight, that Christ Jesus is identified
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as God. but also anointed by God. Your throne,
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O God, this says. This is referring to Jesus'
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throne. And so what are we really getting at
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here? We are seeing the relationship of the Father
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to the Son. Jesus is not a lesser God. He is
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again equal in power and glory with the Father.
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And so he is anointed as such. And if you kind
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of know your ancient history, especially Israelite
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history, you know that as new kings were established,
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they were established by anointing. And so Christ
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is anointed and he is the King of all time. But
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also look at the end of verse 9. After it says
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the oil of gladness, it says beyond your companions.
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And so you might think, who are Jesus's companions
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in this passage? Naturally, since I've been talking
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about angels, you might think, well, this is
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referring to angels, that the companions of Christ
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are angels. I actually don't think, I actually
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don't think that's what's going on. Because throughout
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the book of Hebrews, you're actually going to
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see this talk about believers as the brothers
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of Christ. And so because that is true, I think
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that actually what this is doing is talking about
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you. It's talking about you as the companions
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of Christ. It's talking about how Christ is our
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brother and you are his brothers and his sisters.
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You see, what Christ has secured for us among
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many things is family. If you remember my opening
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illustration about Roger, All he wanted was a
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family. And that's what we get in Christ Jesus.
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We are adopted into God's family. And I know
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some of us have had difficult paths, difficult
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families, difficult parents, difficult brothers,
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difficult sisters. We have lost loved ones. What
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we get in Christ Jesus is union with Him and
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adoption into God's family. family. And friends,
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as those who are united to Christ and in God's
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family, we need to be about what Christ is about.
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And Christ, according to this passage, is all
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about uprightness and righteousness, and he hates
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wickedness. And so does that characterize who
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we are? Remember, the angels are sent to serve.
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And so let me ask you, are you serving God? With
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your gifts, your talents, your abilities, your
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lips, your actions, your mind, are you serving
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and are you loving righteousness? Friends, the
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very same things that are ascribed to the angels
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about their functions are also talking about
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us. We were made to worship and we were made
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to serve. But thankfully, God does not leave
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us on our own to figure out how to worship. or
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to figure out how to serve, He has given us His
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infallible, forever Word. And so we should read
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it. We should be in it. We should hear it read
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in order that we would know how to rightly worship
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and to serve. For we, as I said, are like the
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angels in that regard. But there's also something
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else, look in verse 10, not only are we like
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the angels and that we are to worship and serve,
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but we are like the angels and that we are created
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beings. You see the angels were created in verse
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10 and 11 are really getting back to this creator
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created dynamic. Whereas the sun is eternal,
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the angels were created. And this is quoting
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from Psalm 102. And it shows us the angels were
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created and also shows us that Christ is eternal.
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But as I said, we were created to do something
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just like those angels. And so one commentator
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says here, the angels as creatures can function
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only within the limits for which they were created.
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That is to carry out the wishes of their creator.
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Both angels and servants have a very different
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function from the sun. their task is one of service,
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but the son's task now is one of rule. And so
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you see, as great as the angels are, they are
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created beings and they are created with a purpose.
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They are created, yes, for worship, but they
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are created to do something. Look at verse 14.
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They are ministering spirits sent out to serve.
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for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.
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Now, as you look at this, you might say, well,
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how do the angels serve? Well, interestingly
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enough, the writer of Hebrews doesn't tell us
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a lot here, does he? He doesn't go into a big
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long explanation of what it means that the angels
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are sent to serve. And so maybe all we can say
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is that the angels are sent I like how John Owen
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puts this. He says, these blessed angels specially
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minister to the church and have us under their
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constant care. Maybe one day, maybe one day,
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we'll know all of the ways in which the angels
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were protecting or in which the angels were serving.
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But we are largely kept in the dark to that,
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aren't we? And yet I feel like, since I've already
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mentioned angels in the outfield, that the 90s
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were kind of a heyday for fascination with angels.
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I'm sure at other points in history they were.
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But in the 90s, you had some movies and you had
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some shows. Anybody ever watch Touched by an
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Angel before? Yeah, some heads nodding, right?
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There has become a great fascination with angels.
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And there's even become this kind of theology
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of angels in which some people believe that every
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single person has a guardian angel. Now I know
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the biblical text that people use for that. And
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I actually think it doesn't go far enough. For
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occasionally in scripture, we are given a glimpse
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into what angels really do. 2 Kings 6, and if
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you're in the Fellowship Sunday School class,
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you have heard this taught recently. 2 Kings
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6 describes the situation in which Israel and
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Syria are at war. And the Syrians surround an
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Israelite city. I think the city is called Dothan.
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Elisha is there, the prophet, but also Elisha's
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servant. And the servant rises early in the morning.
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And he goes out from where they are staying and
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he sees that the city is surrounded by the Syrians.
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And he is distraught. He's upset. He's scared,
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petrified. And so he runs to Elisha and he says,
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what are we going to do? We are surrounded. And
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Elisha, you got to love him. He says, do not
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be afraid. For those who are with us are more
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than those who are with them. And then the prophet
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prays, O Lord, please open his eyes that he may
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see. And the Lord opens the servant's eyes and
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behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots
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of fire all around Elisha. You see there was
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not just one angel there for each person. There
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was a host of angelic beings. too great to be
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numbered, taking care of God's people. Most of
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us are like Elisha's servant. Sometimes we lack
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trust in God, and certainly we don't seem to
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understand all of the angelic activity going
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on, but friends, it's there. Even if it's behind
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the scenes, Hebrews 13 2 says, do not neglect
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to show hospitality to strangers for thereby
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some have entertained angels unawares. We're
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mostly unaware of what angels are doing. But
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that's indeed how they work. But if you really
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want to understand angels, then I would suggest
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you study the life of Christ. For you remember
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as I've already said the angels were there announcing
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the birth of Jesus and the angels were there
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Worshipping Christ and the angels are there Every
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step of the way with Christ for you might remember
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the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness At
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one point Satan takes Jesus to the temple And
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the scriptures record that Jesus is set on the
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pinnacle of the temple and Satan says to Jesus,
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and this is my paraphrase, throw yourself down.
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Don't you know that the angels will catch you.
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They will not allow your foot to be dashed against
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a rock. Just go ahead Jesus, throw yourself down.
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What does Jesus say? You shall not put the Lord
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your God to the test. And so of course he doesn't
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fall for that. And Luke says that Satan went
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out from there until a more opportune time. But
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as Satan used scripture to try and tempt Jesus,
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he twists the scripture as he says the angels
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are gonna catch you. But that's not the only
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mention of the angels in those passages. For
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Matthew and Mark both say the angels were ministering.
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to Jesus. The angels are right there with Jesus
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in the temptation, in the wilderness, and they
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are with him every step of the way through the
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birth, through the temptation, through the crucifixion,
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through the resurrection and through the ascension,
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where Acts chapter one says, as Jesus was lifted
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up, two men in white robes stood by the disciples
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and said, men of Galilee, Why do you stand looking
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up into heaven? This Jesus who has taken up from
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you into heaven will come in the same way as
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you saw him go into heaven. These angels act
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as the escorts of Jesus up into the heavenly
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places in order that he would sit down at the
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right hand of the Father. Look in verse 13. In
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order that Jesus would sit at the right hand.
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To which angel has God ever given that seat to
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none? It has Jesus' name written all over it.
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Now you might say as I begin to conclude, why
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stress the superiority of Jesus over the angels?
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Isn't that obvious? It seems obvious and yet
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sometimes we look for help in all of the wrong
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places. Sometimes we give our worship to all
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of the wrong things or to all of the wrong people.
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But the angels show us what we really should
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be doing. We should be worshiping Father, Son,
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and Holy Spirit. And we should be serving God
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with everything that we have got. And this is
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indeed the pattern of the book. That Christ is
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greater. Yes, it's true. The angels were sent
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to serve but notice how verse 14 is written They
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are sent and why are they sent? It says to those
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who are to inherit salvation the angels are sent
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for you And the angels do not do so on their
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own accord They are sent by God to you and to
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me But it's true the one who sends is Greater
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than the one who is sent and so this passage
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once again is Reminding us of the preeminence
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of Christ that he is before that he is above
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and he is greater than all of the Created being
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and Jesus right now is at the right hand of the
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father Being worshipped by you and by the angels
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Amen.