Thank you, sir. It's a special
privilege and Blessing to have my pastor here
once again. Everyone in here knows him, Pastor
Henry Mahan, 13th Street Baptist Church in Asheville, Kentucky.
We're glad to have you. I'm glad to be here. I appreciate
you having the service on Tuesday night because we We're not certain
that we would be here tomorrow. Let's open our Bibles again to
the book of Hebrews chapter 1. Now, this book of Hebrews is
especially important to believers for several reasons. I love Hebrews. I love to teach Hebrews. I love
to read Hebrews. I feel like it's one of the most
important epistles in the New Testament, and for many reasons,
but primarily for two reasons. Number one, the book of Hebrews
does more to bring together the Old Testament and the New Testament
than any other book in the Bible. The Old Testament and the New
Testament. The Old Testament, someone said,
is the New Testament concealed in promises and prophecies and
pictures and patterns and types, and the New Testament is the
Old Testament revealed, and the book of Hebrews does more to
reveal the Old Testament, I think, than any other single book. The book of Hebrews takes the
law, the tabernacle, with all of its services and ceremonies,
the priesthood, the sacrifices, the types, and just thoroughly
sets them forth in Christ, explains them and reveals them more than
any other single epistle. And then I get this, and listen
carefully. Now remember that the book of
Hebrews, if you want to study the Old Testament and its full
revelation in the New, study the book of Hebrews. You want
to see that old tabernacle, what it meant, all the priesthood
and sacrifices right here in Hebrews. Then secondly, the book
of Hebrews shows the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how clearly, how clearly
he is set forth, especially in his glory and excellency above
anything that's gone before and anything that'll follow after. Back in 1952, was when this charismatic movement
really began to get a full head of steam. Some of us had only
recently come into the gospel of God's grace, 1950 and then
51, 52, and this gifts of the Spirit and baptism of the Holy
Ghost and And speaking in other tongues and all the gifts of
Corinthians made inroads into the grace movement amongst the
men that were very dear to me and very precious to me. And
many of us were exposed to that thing because it was sweeping
the country. And what they used to say was
this, we've had the message and not the power. It's a subtle thing. It's a subtle
thing. You've got the message of the
gospel, but you don't have the power. You've got Paul's message,
but not Paul's power. Paul's gifts and so forth, you
know. So some fellows began to look
for it, and they came to Brother B.B. Carwell. Ed, did you ever
know B.B. Carwell? He was a precious giant. You knew him, Paul. He came to him and said, Brother
Caldwell, you need the gifts, you need the baptism of the Holy
Ghost, you need to speak in tongues, you need this experience. Well,
he said, you boys think I'm saved, don't you? They said, yes sir,
we believe you're saved. He said, that's all I need. To
know Christ is all I need. Anything better than Christ. Now listen. That old man was
smart. He said, anything that's better
than Christ is not of God. Anything, if I've got Christ,
and in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're
complete in Him. He said, anything that eclipses
Christ, You ever seen the sun and an eclipse? Well, if anything
eclipses Christ, God's not in it. That's darkness. You want
to run as far as you can away from it. And that's what Hebrews
shows us is His excellency and glory above Moses, above the
tabernacle, above the angels, above the priesthood, above the
sacrifices. You name it, and he's greater.
Let me show you that. Turn to Hebrews 3, verse 3. Talks about this man, this man. When we talk about this man,
we're talking about this man. We're talking about the man of
whom Pilate said, the man. And he says in Hebrews 3, Talking
about Moses, verse 2 says, Hebrews 3, 2, Who was faithful to him
that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
But this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch
as he who built the house hath more honor than the house. This
man Moses' time, you know, served his day, served his Lord, accomplished
his purpose. But this man, but this man. Look at, look at Hebrews 7, Hebrews
7, 23. Now watch this. This is, this
book, this is, it's the theme of this book. In Hebrews 7, verse
20, 23. And they truly were many preached,
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death,
but this man. Now, I want you to look at this
man. See that? But this man, because he continueth
ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. See, that's what it's about.
It's about this man. This man. Look, if you will, at Hebrews
8-3. I crossed the page there. For every high priest is ordained
of God to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it's of necessity that
this man have somewhat thought. And bless your heart, those old
high priests, they came with animal blood, they came with
their incense, they came with their purified water, and he,
with his own precious blood, better sacrifices, and the water
that flowed from his side. This man, They had something
to offer, but it was typical. Couldn't put away one stain.
Couldn't save a sinner. Couldn't save a flea. But this
man, he has a blood sacrifice that'll perfect forever those
for whom it's offered. This man. One more. Let me show
you Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10. This, this thrills
me. This is what this book's all
about. It's all the way through. See, I've started the person.
In verse 11, Hebrews 10, And every priest standeth daily,
ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sin. But this man, see what I'm talking
about? But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of
God. Now, who wants to go back to
Moses? That's foolish. Who wants to go back to the tithes?
Who wants to go back and resurrect the Sabbath day and start paying
tithes and doing all these things to appease the Holy God, when
this man has done all that God commands and requires and that
we need? That's what this book's all about.
Oh, let's go back to chapter 1, verse 1. God God, who at sundry times, special
times, many times, various times, and in different ways and manners,
Hebrews 1-1, spake in time past unto the fathers, but the prophets.
God spoke. Sometimes He was silent. Many
times He was silent. Sometimes He spoke. And when
He spoke to the fathers, He spoke to the prophets. And when he
spoke to the fathers through the prophets, he spoke about
Christ. That's what our Lord, that's
what God spoke to the fathers about through the prophets is
Christ. Took an old man named Abraham
out one night. Abraham was 80, almost 80 years
of age. Well, I'd say we're down there
in the tent. They'd been married a long, long time. About 80 years old, and they
had no children. Never had had children. And God
took Abraham out on the stars one night, and He said, Look
up. Abraham looked up. You have to
go to the Yucatan to see a sky like Abraham saw. without any
pollution or smog or fog or anything else. You can see a zillion stars
up there. I mean, whatever a zillion is,
that's what I mean, it was up there in Nepal. They're just,
they're just clusters up, just this sign. And God said, Abraham,
that's how many seeds you're going to have. And that old man
said, I don't even have a son. I don't even have a son. And
God said, that servant in your house will not be your heir,
but your heir will come forth from your own bowels, a miracle
child, a special child. Isaac. And Abraham right then
was looking at Christ Jesus, the miracle of God's grace. And he brought him forth from
the womb of a virgin. And then another time when that
boy Isaac was up so big, I guess in his middle teens, probably,
probably Jennifer's age there, 14, 15 years of age, God told
Abraham to take that boy, your only son, whom you love, and take him up on Mount Moriah
and sacrifice him as a burnt offering to me. It's a three-day
journey to Mount Moriah. And Abraham got some help and
some horses and his bull and started. And God never said another
word to him for three days and nights, while he camped out at
night and as he made his way toward that mountain to sacrifice
his son. But Abraham believed God. And
God told him that he was going to have a seed, father of many
nations, that's the stars of the sky and the sands of the
seashore. And he believed. If he sacrificed that boy, God
would raise him from the dead. In fact, in his mind, he had
already sacrificed him. And he'd already risen, been
risen from the dead. And so he started up that mountain,
and the boy said, Father, here's the fire, and here's the wood,
and where's the lamb? God spoke to Abraham. He said,
My son, God will provide himself a lamb. He'll be the lamb provided. He'll provide the lamb for himself.
He'll be a sacrifice to him of himself. And he went up there
and he bound that boy and put him on the altar and raised the
knife. And God said, Don't touch the
lamb. He looked behind him, there was a ram caught in the thicket,
and he took Isaac off that altar, put that ram in his place, flew
in. Substitution. Sacrifice. Abraham, Christ said, he saw
my day. He saw my day looking at the
star. He saw my day looking at that
ram and that boy taken off that altar and the ram in his place.
And he rejoiced his heart. He was glad. God spoke to our
father through the prophet. Moses, I could just stand here
all night and talk about how God spoke. Moses, I'll come through
at midnight, slay the firstborn. Now, you take a lamb without
spot or blemish, first thing of the flock, put it up and observe
it, slay it, roast its body with fire, eat the flesh, a lamb for
a house, put the blood on the door, and when I come through
and I see the blood, I pass over you. Somebody said one time there
was death in every Egyptian home where there was no blood. There
was death in every home where there was blood, too. the death of the Lamb, not the
death of the Son. That's right. There was death
in every home. There was a Lamb for every house,
and every house had a death, a substitute, dying in the place
of the Son. And I'm telling you this, God's
going to judge this world, and the soul that's in it's going
to die. Were you going to die a preacher? No. My substitute
died in my place, and in your place. And that's the only reason
you're not going to die. But there's death for sin. Sin,
when it's finished, brings forth death. And our substitute. God spoke to Moses. And Moses
then wrote of me, Christ said. God spoke to Jonah in the belly
of the fish. Salvations of the Lord. You're
not going to get out there without me. You're not going to get out
of there. He said, to see me, it was closed
about me, the iron bars spread. I'm a dead man without His grace. And, oh, Jonas, the salvations
of the Lord. He said, I'll look once again
toward the holy temple. Was he looking at a temple? No,
he was looking at a mercy seat in that temple. Every time Daniel
or any of them played, played towards Jerusalem, toward the
temple, they were playing toward the mercy seat. The perpetuation. They weren't praying toward a—they
weren't out of worship, or they weren't praying towards a temple.
They were praying toward an atonement. Isn't that right, Pop? And old
Jonah said, I'll look. How could a lady even know which
direction Jerusalem was? But in his eyes, he was looking
that way. And God had that fish spit him
out on the ground. And that's the resurrection.
As our Lord said, as Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the fish, so shall the son of man be in the heart
of the earth and raised. And he's the first forgotten
from the dead on his because. He spoke to our fathers. We could
go on and on, but let's look at the next line. He hath, verse
two, in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. I was down
in Florida, Doris and I, two or three years ago, vacation.
We went over to hear Brother L.R. Shelton, Jr. in Pensacola,
and he's preached from this. And he had six points in his
message. And these are the six points.
I want you to watch them. It was such a blessing to me.
God spoke to us by His Son. Who is this Son? Who is this
by whom God speaks to us? I won't tell you who he is. And
I'll tell you, the importance of the message depends on the
importance of the messenger. He's the last messenger to. God
spoke to our fathers by the prophets. He hath in these last days spoken
to us by son. I want number one. His son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things. He's the heir. We're
joined heirs with Christ. We're not the heirs. He's the
heir. And we have what we have because of our union with Him.
If you want a young girl who's in poverty and has nothing and
marries a very wealthy man, what he has is hers. Why? By union
with Him. And that's the reason you and
I are heirs of God, because we're married to Christ. He's the heir. And everything God has for the
sinners in Christ, and it's ours by union with Christ, and that
union is affected by faith. And that faith's the gift of
God. He's the heir. What's secondly? By whom he made
the worlds. The Word of God. He made the
world. Christ made all things. Everything's
His by creation. Everything's His by decree. Everything's
His by death. He died that He might be Lord.
He owns everything. He's not going to be Lord. He's
Lord. He's not going to be—we're not living in a parenthesis.
Christ is King. Well, what's the next line? Verse
number 3. Verse 3, "...who being the brightness
of His glory." You want to see the glory of God? God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, where? In
the face of Jesus Christ. There's the glory of God. Not
the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It's not a second work of grace.
It's not something that happens down the road after you're saved
and get rid of all of the flesh, you know. It's when you see Christ. That's when you see the glory
of God. And the more you see of Christ, the more you see God's
glory. That's right. That's right. He's the brightness of His glory. And then it says, He's the express—I
think that word is exact. He's the exact image of His person. The disciples said to the Lord,
Well, show us the Father. Show us the Father, and we'll
be satisfied. Our Lord said, Philip, have I
been so long time with you and you don't know me? He that has
seen me has seen the Father. I'm a Father of one. He's the
exact image of the Father. Listen, under us a son, a child
is born, a son is given, and the government shall be on his
shoulders. and his name shall be called
Wonderful." Wonderful. You remember when Manoah and
his wife, when the angel of the Lord told them that they would
have a son by the name of Samson, and he would judge Israel, and
Manoah wanted to offer a sacrifice, and the angel of the Lord told
them to offer the sacrifice to God? And they asked him his name,
and he said, Why do you ask my name, seeing it's wonderful,
wonderful? And when that sacrifice was being
burned and the smoke ascending to heaven, that angel got in
the smoke and ascended to heaven. That was Christ. You say, Oh,
it was an angel. Oh, no angel would have gotten
in that sacrifice. No angel would have had anything
to do with that sacrifice, let alone get in it. and ascend to
heaven in the clouds. That was Christ. Wonderful. Isn't
he wonderful? Counselor? All these preachers
are counselors today. I hear—you see these TV phones
that say, here's our number, call us, we'll counsel you. Don't
do it. He's your counselor. He's all
the counselor you need. That's right. You'll be as bad
off as they are if you call them. He's our—He's wonderful, He's
counselor, He's the mighty God, He's the everlasting Father,
He's the Prince of Peace. He is. That's right. Oh, the exact image of His person. And listen, and He upholds all
things by the word of His power. By Him all things are held together. By Him all things consist. And
listen, when He had by Himself That means several things. Number
one, it means he didn't have any help. By himself, purged
our sin, he walked the winepress of God's wrath alone. The royal
bath in which souls, black souls are washed white was drawn from
the veins of the Son of God, and no blood of noble confessors
or martyrs or Puritans or anybody else entered that stream. Christ
by himself. by himself. Well, one of the
disciples said, I'll go with you. I'll drink the cup you're
drinking of. No, I'm by myself. And then here's the second meaning,
by himself, by the sacrifice of himself, by the offering of
himself, he purged Isaiah. You believe in purgatory, preacher?
Yes, sir. Calvary's cross. That's my purgatory. That's where all my sins were
purged. That's where they were all paid
for. That's where they were all put away. That's where they no
more existed. He purged our sins. Literally,
actually, eternally, unchangeably, purged our sins by Himself. That's right. But he sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty of God. I'm telling you this, a man doesn't
sit down until he's finished his work. That's the reason in
that old tabernacle and temple, there was all kind of furniture,
but no chairs, no benches and no seats. Those priests never
sat down, John. Never. There wasn't a seat in
the tabernacle or outside. They were always sacrificing,
morning, noon, and night. Every year, over and over. When
our Lord came and by one offering perfected forever all them that
are sanctified, He ascended to heaven and sat down. He said,
I finished the work you gave me to do. There's nothing left
to do. He entered into His rest. Why don't we quit our laboring
and enter into His rest? Trust Him. Rest in Him. Oh, I believe we ought to witness
and preach and send missionaries and do all these things and preach
people of the gospel, but in here, we're sitting down. We're
resting. We're trusting in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Enter Him and rest. As far as
salvation is concerned, there's not one single thing in this
world for me to It's finished. He said that. Now watch this.
I'm going to show you this. Well, here I read a song. I want
you to listen to this. Listen to this poem. This says
it right here. The true Messiah now appears. The tides are all withdrawn. So flies the shadows and the
stars before the morning sun. When the sun comes out, The stars
are gone. The shadows are gone. All you
see is the sun. And Christ, all of these promises
and pictures and patterns and types, He fulfilled them and
put them aside. They're all withdrawn. No more
need of bleeding lambs, nor kid, nor bullet slain. Incense and
spices or whatever name will all be burnt in vain. Aaron must
lay his robes away, his miter and his rest, when God himself
comes to earth to be our offering and our priest. He took our mortal
flesh to show the wonders of his love. For us he gave his
life below, and for us he prays above." He's my high priest. I have a high priest. Jesus Christ
the righteous. And verse 4, this is what I want
you to look at. There's one word in verse 4,
one word that gives us great confidence and faith in our Lord
Jesus, great comfort and rest in looking to Him for all things,
great hope and expectation. I want to see if you can pick
out this one word. Verse 4, being made so much better. than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Better. They're better. And I want to
show you this. We've got a few more minutes,
but running through this book, I want to show you that word,
better. He's better than the angel. He's better. We read about the angels of the
Lord in Scripture. who appeared to the prophets,
who brought God's messages to the prophets, and men stood in
awe and fear of the angels. Remember, John on the Isle of
Patmos always worshiped an angel. Remember when he fell down to
an angel's feet and would worship him? And the angel said, Don't
say that you don't do that, he said. You worship God, our Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm but a messenger. I'm but
a minister. I'm but a servant like you are.
We're in awe of angels. I know that. And people today
say, well, boy, I tell you, I'd sure like for an angel to come
visit me with a message. Now wait a minute. We got something
better than angels. Better. Here's what it is. Christians say, better than a
visit from an angel, a vision, a dream, or a visit. And I can
prove that in the Scriptures. Turn with me to 2 Peter 1. I
want you to look at this. 2 Peter 1, and I preached this
message, and my wife Doris was especially blessed, she told
me afterwards, by this one point right here. You remember when
the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, went up on the Mount
of Transfiguration with Christ? Moses and Elijah appeared and
talked to Him. Now he is deceased at Jerusalem.
They talk to him about his death. Moses, the Law, Elijah the Prophets,
the Law, the Prophets, and Christ. That's a summit meeting, isn't
it? The Law, the Prophets, and Christ. Talk about his death.
And the disciples saw that, and then Moses and Elijah disappeared,
and they saw Christ only in his robe. The Scripture says, glistened
with glory. And old Peter said, let's just
stay right here. Let's build three tabernacles
and just don't leave this place. But Peter found out there's something
better than that. He sure did. Look here at 2 Peter
1 verse 17. For he received from God the
Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased, and this voice which came from heaven we heard when
we were with him in that holy mountain. But we have also a
more sure word of prophecy, wherein do you do well that you take
heed, as unto a light that shoneth in a dark place, until the day
dawn and the day star rise in your hearts. What is this more
sure word of prophecy? Knowing this first, No prophecy
of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, but the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as it were moved by the Holy Ghost." This is better than angels. The Word of Christ, the Word
of God, is better than a vision. It's better than being on a Mount
of Transfiguration. I'll tell you why. There's some
things happened in my life back yonder 30, 40, 50 years ago that
are awful hazy to me right now. And I even wondered if they really
happened. That's right. The longer, the more time passes,
the more foggy it becomes. But this never becomes foggy. It always says just what it says.
It's the same yesterday, today, and forever, because you can't
separate the incarnate world and the written world. And you
have your choice. Let's see, was he really there? This is really him. This is unchangeable,
infallible, inerrant, verbally inspired word. Better than angels. Christ is better. That's right.
Look, who's something else? Turn to Hebrews 7. This is such
a, the word better again. Hebrews 7, verse 19. Hebrews 7, verse 19. They all
made nothing perfect. But to bring in a better hope
to him. Who's that better hope? Hebrews 7 and 19. That's Christ.
"...by the which we draw now unto God. And inasmuch as not
without an oath he was made a priest, for those priests were made without
an oath. But this man, with an oath, by
him that said unto him, The Lord swear and will not repent, you're
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. By so much was
Jesus made a surety of a better covenant." better than the covenant
made with Moses, better than the law. They truly were many
priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death. But this man, because he continued
ever, hath an unchanging priesthood, a better hope, and a better covenant. You know, we read about those
Old Testament priests. I can just see Aaron with that
miter. That must have been awesome.
Holiness to the Lord. You know how they dressed him
up? Had on those priestly garments, white linen, the gold, and the
twelve tribes of Israel on his breastplate, and here he goes
into the Holy of Holies with the blood, and the people must
have been standing in awe and fear. Awesome. Awesome. Going in, and that shekinah glory
of God, the cloud covering the mercy seat, we got a better priest. They
were many, Him, He was one. They were men, He's the God-man. They lived and died, He lives
forever. They ministered on earth, He
ministers in the presence of God. They brought the blood of
an animal, He brought His own blood. Their sacrifices never
put away one sin. He has by one sacrifice put them
all away. Isn't that something? We've got
a better covenant. That's the reason Paul said to
the Galatians, oh foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you? Why do
you want to go back to the law? Don't let anybody sneak in here
and bring these idols and bondage back for you. Christ is a better
hope and a better covenant. And look here at Hebrews 8 verse
6. But now has he obtained a more
excellent ministry by how much also he's the mediator of a better
covenant established on better promises. You know what God promised Israel?
Canaan. You know what we have in Christ? Heaven. You know what he gave
Israel? A land of milk and honey. You
know what he gave us? A land of eternal glory. You
know, he promised Israel peace with their neighbors if they
kept the law and did what he told them. What's he giving us?
Peace with God. That's a better promise. My goodness. He told Israel, he said, you
better walk straight, live right, keep the law, do the sacrifices,
and I'll give you prosperity. Now, I'll give you greats and
bigs. It takes two fellows to carry them on their shoulders
and all these things. But he gives us spiritual blessing in
Christ. And today's preachers are coming
back to those old promises—prosperity and jobs and health and wealth
and welfare and all this sort of thing on earth. and they're
neglecting the better promises. Justification, sanctification,
spiritual blessings in Christ. We just, we got something better.
Let them play with those things. Don't, don't you, when I became
a man, I put away childish things. Don't play with cars anymore,
simply. We drive them. Yes, you know. I mean, why go
back to that stuff? We got better promises. better
promises. And you know why we have better
promises? Look at Hebrews 9, because we
got a better sacrifice. Oh boy, look at Hebrews 9, and
I'll quit, verse 19. When Moses had spoken every precept
to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of
calves and goats with water scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled.
He sprinkled the book, he sprinkled the people, saying, This is the
blood of the testament, the covenant, which God hath enjoined unto
you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle, he sprinkled
all the vessels, and almost everything around he sprinkled with blood."
Nearly everything, everything. "'Cause all things under the
law are purged with blood. Without the shedding of blood
there's no remission, and it was therefore necessary that
the pictures and the patterns and the types of things in heaven
should be purified with animal blood. But the heavenly things,
those people whose names are in the book of life, the heavenly
things—justification, sanctification, righteousness before God—the
heavenly things are purified with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into
the holy place made with hands, which is a figure of the truth,
but into heaven itself. Now it appeared in the presence
of God. Oh boy, he's better than the
angel. He brings us a better hope, a
better cover, better promises, a better sacrifice. He's better. all fulfilled in him. Now, he
says in chapter 2, and I've got to give you this, chapter 2,
verse 1, Therefore we shall give the more earnest heed to the
things which we've heard. Shouldn't we? Lest at any time
we let them slip, slip, run out like a leaky vessel. For if the
words spoken by angels, ministers, prophets back in the Old Testament
were steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just,
recompensive reward, how are we going to escape if we neglect
so great salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the
Lord and was confirmed by them that heard him?" I pray God will
bless you. that message to your heart. Thank you both. Let's get that sheet out of the back
of your song book and we'll sing some bleed-in days. Good song. Just sing after that great message. I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking Can't get any better than that. That's what
I think. Let's sing that. Stand with me.
We'll sing the first and last verses. Complete in Thee, no work of
mine may take dear Lord the place of Thine. Thy blood hath pardoned
all for me, and I am now complete in Thee. Yes, justified O blessed
Thou, and sanctified of salvation wrong, Thy blood hath hardened
not for me, and glorified I too shall be. Dear Savior, when before
Thy bar All tribes and tongues assembled arms, Among Thy chosen
will I be, At Thy right hand complete in Thee. Yea, justified, O blessed Thou,
and sanctify salvation wrong. Thy blood hath pardoned not for
me, and only Thine I too shall be." You're listening. Very good, very good. Okay. you Okay.