We're in the book of Hebrews.
We're in chapter 2. And we've been looking at the
writer's definition, the writer's revelation of a better sacrifice. One who was made so much better
than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they. as we read in verse 4 of chapter
1. In chapter 1 verse 2 it says, In these last days has spoken
unto us by his Son, speaking of God who spoke by the fathers
in the Old Testament, who has spoken to us by his Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, whom he also made the
world. So we've been looking at Christ as our better sacrifice. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ
is a better faith than the faith we once had. The world, we love
to have faith in, well, I made a decision. I came to the front
of the church and prayed the prayer. I got in the waters of
baptism. The world loves to put their
faith in something of their own sacrifice, but our Savior is
better than that. He's done it for us. He's fulfilled
all the law for you and I. He's covered all of salvation
for you and I, for His people. Now we have come to verse 9 of
chapter 2. Actually, we covered verse 9
a little bit last week, but I want to go back and read it again,
because we're going to look at verse 10 this morning. And in
doing so, we need to read verse 9. And I'll tell you why. Actually,
look at verse 10 first. It says, for it. For. The word for. That's referring
us to something we just read. So what did we just read? What
I just told you a moment ago, but here in verse 9, we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. Now remember, a spirit cannot
die. You know, when this flesh dies,
The spirit will go on to either be in hell or heaven. That's
the only two places there are. We're going to go on to hell
or we're going to go on to heaven. The spirit cannot die. And God
is spirit. So Jesus had to become flesh
so that he might die. That's what that's talking about.
For the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he,
by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Now notice
the word there, for. It's important in verse 10. For it became him. This is a
connecting word that connects us between Hebrews 10 and 9.
Hebrews 10 is what has been discussed in the previous verses. There
the Holy Spirit sits before us. The excellence and the glory
of our Lord. And then in verse 9 he tells
us that Christ was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death that he by grace of God should taste death
for every man. Now, I prefer the King James
Version to the other translations. Now I'm not going to sit here
and say that all the other translations are wrong, because the King James
has some errors in it also. In Hebrews 2.9 the words every
man simply goes contrary to what all the scriptures teach. Our
Lord teaches us in Ephesians that there is a chosen people
who are predestinated from before the world to be called out of
darkness. That predestinated people would be contrary if the
words every man there means that every man that ever walked this
earth. So we know that that's not what that's talking about.
Might it be better translated for every son of God? Referring
to all of those who belong to the Son? Brother Don Fortner
writes this, he says, a far better reading would be every son. Both
the original language and the context that we're about to read
will show this. To the Jews, Of that day, the
death of Christ on the cross as the sinner's substitute was
a stumbling block. Isn't that funny? That's the
same stumbling block that goes on today. Christ and Him crucified
for the sinner's substitute is a stumbling block. It's a rock
of offense. So when the inspired writer of
Hebrews mentions this, he immediately declares the necessity for it
in our text. This is the connection In this
10th verse of Hebrews 2, He is declaring to you and I the necessity
of Christ's suffering and death. Now let's go on with that. For
it became Him, verse 10, Hebrews 2, For it became Him, for whom
are all things, and by whom are all things in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings. God has purposed the salvation
of his people. But the declaration of that purpose
is meaningless until we are assured that God, who has purposed our
salvation, is able to perform it. If we are not convinced by
God himself that Jesus Christ accomplished what he set out
to do, we'll never understand that. Isn't that what we used
to walk in before the Lord called us out of darkness? Isn't that
the way we used to walk? We didn't understand any of this.
Oh, many people had heard about Jesus and about Him dying on
the cross, but how many of us didn't know that it was for us?
Until the Lord did a work in our hearts, cutting out that
old stony heart that said, I will not have this one to rule over
me, and giving us a new heart to love Him. Therefore, we are first assured
that the Lord our God, who is determined to bring us to glory,
is that one for whom all things it says, and by whom are all
things. Very clearly it states for us
right there that He is. He is the one who will deliver
us, and by Him we shall be delivered. This is a declaration of God's
total universal sovereignty. He declares that all the works
were done by Him, the very One whom are all things, verse 10, for whom are all things, and
by whom are all things, This is the declaration of God's total
universal sovereignty. This is the description of the
triune God. But it is also particularly a
description of God the Father who made His Son perfect through
the suffering of death and bringing many sons unto glory. The Lord
our God is glorious in His absolute sovereignty. You and I would
have nothing less than God and his sovereign will over us. We
love the idea, or the teachings, the doctrines of election, don't
we? Because we know that if God left us to ourselves, we would
have never chosen him. We have to be chosen by him,
or we'd go about our way in this world with some false religion,
running ourselves into hell through the works of our damnation. This
is what sets Him apart from all His creatures. He's glorious
in His absolute sovereignty. It distinguishes Him from all
of the gods that men have invented. He who is God rules everything
absolutely. All things are for Him to do
His bidding, to accomplish His purpose, to set forth His glory. All things are for Him because
all things are by Him in their origin. in their perservation,
in their purpose, and all things are by Him. That's what the Scripture
tells us there. This is what the Scriptures tell
us universally. Look over at Romans 8.28. You
know these verses well, but I want you to read it in your own mind.
In Romans 8.28. This is the sovereign God of
all things. This is why He can tell us in
Romans 8.28, and we know Paul says that, but you and I
say that also, don't we? We know. I know for a fact. I know for a fact. I may have
to be reminded many a time, but I know for a fact that my God
has said these words, all things work together for good to them
that love God. To them who are called according
to his purpose. Let's look at another one over
in Romans 11. Turn to Romans 11. We're considering the scriptures,
declaring our Lord to be sovereign over everything. In Romans 11,
verse 36, we read this, For of him, and through him, and to
him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Another one, if you would, turn
over to 2 Corinthians, continue to the right. 2 Corinthians 5,
look at verse 18, all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us, given
to us the ministry of reconciliation. It says all things are of God. We're talking about a sovereign
God over all things. Now one more if you would. Look
over at Ephesians chapter 1. Continue to the right. We've got Galatians and Ephesians
chapter 1. Look at verse 11 with me. Speaking of our Lord and His
sovereignty, in whom, speaking of Jesus Christ, in whom also
we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11.
He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. So we
see, and this will be the subject of God's everlasting praise if
you want to look over Revelation 4 with me. This will be to the praise of
our Lord throughout eternity. His sovereignty. His ruling over
all that is. We call Him God because He is
God. Not a God. He is THE God. Sovereign ruler over all that
is. In chapter 4 of Revelation, we read in verse 11, Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou
hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and
were created." Wait a minute, John. Are you saying that evil
will glorify our Lord? Are you saying that? Exactly. God's Word says that
right there. Everything, everything will glorify
the Lord Jesus Christ. Is He the author of sin? Is He
the author? Is He the one who brought sin
into the world? Absolutely not. Sin was brought
by man, but it was by the determinate counsel of the Lord Jesus Christ
that all things come to pass. By the purpose of God that all
things happen. When we consider that, We can
look at the wickedness of 9-11. We're getting close to that anniversary,
aren't we? That day's coming up here in
just another month, where we're going to be reminded of the evil
and the wickedness that came into this country and attacked
our country. Many, many religious men that day said, that's God's
judgment against the United States for our wickedness. It may be
the judgment against the United States, but it's not the judgment
against God's people. Our judgment was laid on our
Savior. That's how it's for our good. Who knows how many people the
Lord used that incident to bring unto himself. We don't. We don't
know what goes on in all the world. Our world is full of communications
that we never dreamed of before, but it still doesn't open the
door for us to know everything like God does. Our assurance
is exactly that, is that God rules over everything. Back in
our text in Hebrews. For it became Him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
suffering." This is the declaration of God's greatness. As our sovereign
ruler over all things that are, it gives us the assurance of
His ability to save us. In the matter of salvation, we
need one for whom all things, and by whom all things, it speaks
of. Because no one else can save.
Who can create us anew, but the creator of all it is? Who can
keep us from falling, but the preserver of all things, the
one who holds all things up by his hands? Who can save us from
the many perils that we face in this world, but the ruler
of all of those things that bring peril? If we ever are brought
to glory, it must be by that God, by the One whom are all
things. If you and I enter into glory,
it will be by the work of Him for whom all things are. Now
it says there, it's talking about bringing many sons unto glory.
As the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea,
through the wilderness, over the Jordan, and into the land
of Canaan, so he will bring each of his children to paradise,
to the land of milk and honey. our ultimate destination. We're
just on a journey, folks. We're sojourners in this world,
passing through. This is not our home. People
say, well, this is my home. This world is
not our home. This world is just a place where
we're passing through, like Abraham living in a tent. For a short
period of time, our home is in heaven. God's people Those who
were chosen in Christ before the world was, our home is in
heaven. That's what we're on our way
to. Is the journey tough? Yes. Imagine how tough it was
for them and the Jews in Israel at the time to go through what
they were going through, to be brought out into the desert where
there was no food. Yet the Lord provided for them,
didn't He? As the Lord brought out Israel of Egypt, so will
He bring each and every one by the hand of His grace for whom
He died. Our ultimate destination is God's glory, His eternal glory. And not one of God's elect will
fail to attain it. It says in Scripture, not a hoof
shall be left behind. That was speaking of the people
of Israel, delivering them from Egypt. Not a hoof shall be left
behind. Not one true believer in the
Lord Jesus Christ will fail to attain a perfect and complete
salvation at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Wherefore
God gives grace, wherever God gives grace, He will give glory,
and not by degrees. There are those who teach that
you can receive higher trophies, higher blessings. If you do something on earth,
you'll get this in heaven. God's people know that we get
Christ. And if you have Christ, you have
everything. There are no degrees. There are
no one's going to have this and the other's going to have that.
Roger, you and I are going to have everything. Everything. All that is, is going to be ours. If He gave His only begotten
Son to lay down His life for us, how shall He not give us
everything else there is? A man by the name of John Blanchard,
he wrote this, he says, Heaven is not a conditional reward,
but a consummate relationship. It's a relationship with Christ.
It's being in the presence of Christ. Our Holy Spirit uses
here the word glory interchangeably with the word heaven. Heaven
is a glorious place. Countless books have been written
about it. We sing hymns about it. We preach sermons about it.
But really, we know nothing little about it, do we? We just know
that the Lord says it's a blissful place. In 1 Corinthians 2.9 we
read these words, So we can see by God's word right here, we
see a glimpse through a glass darkly of what heaven might be like. But it is so much more than what
we see through the writing of the scriptures, and there's a
day coming. There's a day coming. Have you thought much about what
are the saints doing in heaven? Have you ever wondered about
much of what they're doing? What do they do in heaven, I wonder?
Do they fly around between different worlds, maybe? Bill and I were
big fans of Star Wars and Harleys. So we had fun with it once in
a while. Maybe we get Harleys that fly around through all the
stars. Wouldn't that be cool? Have you ever thought about what
we do when we get to heaven? I can tell you this. This is
for sure. This is without a doubt. And why do I know? Because it
comes from the Word of God. Listen to what it says in Revelation
22, verses 3 and 4. And there shall be no more curse. That means no more sin. What
are we doing in heaven? We're not sinning. Does that
give a hallelujah from anybody? Bill, right now, stands with
the Lord Jesus, or whatever he's doing, and he has no more sin. Oh, what a bliss that will be
when I won't have to put up with the things that this body, this
mind, this flesh continues to do daily. This mind cannot consider
life without sin. That's all I've known. That's all we've known, exactly.
Amen, brother. Exactly. And there shall be no
more curse. But the throne of God and the
Lamb shall be in it. I don't know if he's standing,
I don't know if he's sitting, I don't know if he's singing,
but there's no more sin in him, and he's with Christ, the Lord. And his servants shall serve
him. There you go. What is it we'll
be doing in heaven? We'll be serving our Lord perfectly,
just like he is. And they shall see His face,
and His name shall be in their foreheads. They cast their crowns
at His feet. They sing praises to Him. They
adore His grace. And they make known the principalities
and powers and the manifold wisdom of God and redemption. In that
glorious place, with all of its glorious pursuits, there are
glorious pleasures. There we will understand the
meaning of David's words where he wrote in Psalm 611, Thou wilt
show me the path of life. That means that he'll show us
the whole path of our life and all the goodness that came from
it. What we see now is sorrows and troubles. We'll see the truth,
the wisdom behind God in drawing us and bringing us through those
troubles of that life. And we'll see it for our good.
There'll be no tears, remember? So you're not going to look back
on something and say, oh man, it's so hard to go through. It
is. But you won't see it as hard. You'll see God's purpose in it. His perfect, righteous purpose
for each and every one of us. Let's go on. That will show me
the path of life. This is Psalm 1611. In thy presence
is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures
forevermore. In heaven we shall live. Did
you ever try to imagine the pleasures of God, what they must be? What is that which is called
the joy of the Lord? What is the infinite satisfaction
of our eternal God? What can be the bliss of him
who is blessed of God? I can only imagine such things
with my puny little brain, yet I know this, this very joy, this
bliss, this peace, this satisfaction, and what we shall enter into
glory with when our master says to each and every one of his
ransomed ones, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over
a few things, I will make thee ruler over many. Enter thou into the joy of the
Lord." The joy of the Lord, enter in. A man by the name of Christum
wrote these words, he says, If one man should suffer all the
sorrows of all the saints in the world, yet they are not worth
one hour's of glory in heaven. Paul wrote this in Romans 8.18,
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. A.W. Pink wrote, one breath of
paradise will extinguish all the adverse winds we experienced
on earth. Folks, we're going to glory.
Heaven is a place of glorious pleasures. C.S. Lewis put it
this way, he said, joy is the serious business of heaven. There'll be no regrets. There's going to be no remorseful
tears. You won't have second thoughts, Lord should I do this?
We'll know the Lord's will for what it is, very plainly. No lost causes, no sorrows. It
is written in Revelation 21, for God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former
things are passed away. And God will glorify his people
in this glorious place with its glorious pursuits and its glorious
pleasures, them who shall inhabit them who shall be inhabited by
the glorious persons of Jesus Christ. Listen to what it says
in Hebrews 12, 22-24. But ye are come unto Mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, and the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels. to the General Assembly
of the Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the
blood of the sprinkling that speaketh of better things than
able. God is there. Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Christ the Lamb is there. The
holy angels are there. The spirits of just men, made
perfect, are there. All the saints of God shall be
glorious. Kings, priests unto God, arrayed
in the king's holy garments, as God himself is holy. Glorious,
as Christ himself is glorious. Well, does the writer of Hebrews
use this word when he speaks of heaven? Glory. Heaven is glory. Amen?