If you would, turn to Hebrews
chapter one. Hebrews chapter one. I just wanna
read the first four verses. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Who, being the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. Being made so much better than
the angels as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they Stop right there Title is where is Jesus now? Where's Jesus now Now, I personally think these
four verses here, the first four verses of the book of Hebrews,
are among the most glorious four verses anywhere in the scripture.
Because they show the Old Testament and the New Testament and the
relationship together. They show the Father and the
Son. These four verses, they show who Jesus really is. In the Father's sight. My sight,
your sight, doesn't really matter. But in the Father's sight, it
matters, always. They show forth the power of
God and they show forth the power of his Son. They show forth the
work of the Son of God in redemption And they tell us where Jesus
Christ is right now. The reason I bring this up is
because some people want to fixate on the past. They want to talk about Jesus,
but they want to talk about Jesus the baby in a manger. Some want
to fixate on what he did, on his healing. Oh, he healed the
sick, he'd give blind eyes sight, did all kind of many wonderful
things. Some want to fixate on the miracles he performed. Don't
you know he changed water into grape juice? I'm being sarcastic, yes. He
did change water into wine, and that's what it says. And if you've
got a problem with wine, you've got a problem. You don't change scripture to
meet your expectations or your rules. I don't care who you are. By God's grace, I'm not gonna
do it. By God's grace, I'm not gonna hear it. Some want to focus on Jesus as
a great teacher, but they don't believe what he taught. They
won't teach what he taught. I can't preach that. If I did,
it would split the church. Or more importantly, it would
split my church. Don't worry about it. The truth of God has never split
God's church. The funny thing is, the odd thing
is, no one except believers want to focus on this one absolute
scriptural fact. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. They'll dance all the way around
everything. They'll use the words. Oh, Jesus
is God, but. And they'll put anything in there
they want. But you have to do something. But you need this
in addition to Jesus. But, no, there is no but. Jesus Christ is Lord. And that's
what these four verses here teach. And I'm talking about religion.
I'm not talking about the secular world. I got nothing for the
secular world. Might have something for a secular
person, but only if God's done something for them. They call
it Christianity, but they don't want to focus on Christ Jesus.
He's God manifest in the flesh. They rarely, if ever, speak of
him as God. And even rarer, they don't speak
of him as where he is. They want to talk about where
he was, what he did. Now, where he was and what he
did is extremely important. But it's not everything. Because
right now, in this place, in what is it, 2017 now, if I remember
to write the date down correctly. Where Jesus Christ is, is where
we have to deal with him. And it's where we have to know
him. And I want you to know where
he is and why I think that's important. This scripture starts off with
God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times
past unto the fathers by the prophets. What do we know here? God has always spoken. Read it in Genesis, he spoke
to the first man. Read on in the Old Testament,
he spoke to us, spoke to his people. It says, spake in times
past, what? Unto the fathers by the prophets. He gave a message for them to
give to his people. It doesn't say, this is the negative
part, that God has always spoken to all men. He spoke unto his chosen people. In the past, it says here. So
when this writer of Hebrews wrote this, he's talking about the
past before him. The Old Testament, basically. But this now is not the past. He says, hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the worlds. The Son had come. Things are different now. Very
carefully, let me make this point clear. Very carefully, the message
has not changed. Things are different. But the
message has not changed. The message is exactly the same
as it was, and it's the same as it always has been. Love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all
thy strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the words
of Jesus Christ, taking the whole of the Old Testament, all the
commandments in the Old Testament. whittled them down to two. Because
if you love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, thy strength,
and thy heart, you're going to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, you can't do it, but he could. We can't do it, but he did. That's all of the commandments
condensed into two. The message hasn't changed. What
has changed is the Lord spoke from heaven and said, this is
my well beloved son. Hear ye him. That's what he said. And that's
what he meant. In these last days, the son has
spoken to us in a very real way. And I thought about how to say
this, and I hope this is coherent. In a very real way, the words
of Jesus Christ supersede the words of the prophets and the
types and the shadows that were in the Old Testament. Because
the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Jesus Christ
quoted the Old Testament and spoke about it. The apostles
who wrote the epistles quoted the Old Testament and spoke about
it in relationship to who? The Son whom the Father had sent. The types are done away with. The shadows are in the past. The reality came. Jesus Christ
was the fulfillment, the anti-type, the completion of all the types
that were in the Old Testament of every sacrifice in that tabernacle. Doesn't matter whether it's the
tabernacle in the wilderness, the tabernacle in Jerusalem, the
veil, the vessels, everything pointed to the son whom the father
sent. And he has came and the time
for shadows and types. gone because the truth came in person. There are no more lambs to be
sacrificed because the Lamb of God came. There is no more blood to be
shed because His blood was shed. who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself what purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. That word his there at the beginning,
who being the brightness of his glory Interpolated you can leave
it out and I like to leave that out when I read that Jesus Christ
is the brightness of glory He is glory and the express image
of his person If you have seen Jesus Christ you have seen the
father He said that himself if you've seen me you've seen the
father and No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Have I
been with you so long you don't know? If you've seen me, you've
seen the Father. I and my Father are one. He is Lord. He is the brightness
of glory and the express image of his person and he upholds
what all things by the word of his power. And that word of his power, Walter,
there is Rima. Our Lord spoke the worlds into
being with his own voice. Jesus Christ, I'm convinced of
this, Jesus Christ was the one at the beginning in Genesis 1-1
who said, let there be light, and there was light. And you're right, Mason. That
was before he made the sun and the moon. He wasn't talking about
the sun and the moon, he was talking about light. He's the brightness of glory. He is the light. And he upholds
all things by the word of his power. What does it say? Everything
was made by him. and for him and by him all things
consist. Why? How? He upholds them with
the word of his power. The son of God's power. There's no power without the
son of God. The father's given everything to him. It's been
given that excellent inheritance. Then he says this, because here's the question I
asked, where's Jesus Christ now? And I got three things, this
is the first one. First and foremost, he is on
his throne. He sat down at the right hand
of the majesty on high. After he had purged our sins
by himself, he sat down. That was the work that the father
had given to do while he was on this earth. After he purged our sins by himself. Why does, why did, I still think
Paul wrote this. Why does the writer of Hebrews
say that? By himself. By himself. Did he know that
for the next 2,000 years, men were gonna be trying to claim
credit for it? I think he might have known it, if he'd have thought
the world would have lasted another 2,000 years, because I'm gonna
tell you this, in this very same time, people were trying to take
credit for everything else that God does. They may not say that they purged
their own sins, but they say they helped. Well, I had to believe. No, it's the power of God that
works in you to believe. You can't believe on your own
because men have not faith naturally. Paul states it plainly, all men
have not faith. Therefore we are persecuted why
because they are faithless First and foremost The Son of
God is on his throne Jesus Christ God manifests in the flesh this
man Christ Jesus is on his throne Just as prophesied in the Old
Testament Psalms 110, I want to look at
that for just a minute. Psalms 110, in verse one. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou, rule thou in the midst
of thine enemies. And you can't go without reading
this. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. In the beauties of holiness from
the womb of the morning, thou hast the due of thy youth. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand. Jesus Christ quoted that in the
New Testament. In Matthew 22 and 42 through
46. And he quoted it to religious people. saying, what think ye of Christ?
He's talking to the Pharisees. Whose son is he? They say unto
him, the son of David. He saith unto them, how then
doth David in spirit call him Lord? Saying the Lord said unto
my Lord sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies
thy footstool if David then call him Lord, how is he his son and
No man was able to answer him a word neither durst any man
from that day forth ask him any more questions. I That's a perfect illustration
of, you know, I don't have to interpret scripture. Christ did
it for us. Jesus Christ is Lord and he is
on the throne that was prophesied in the Old Testament. It is his
throne prophesied and prepared for him. And I can tell you this,
he was on it before he came. Isaiah saw him in the temple
on a throne high lifted up. I spoke about that a couple of
weeks ago. Psalms 115 verse three tells
us that our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. That's where he was. And that's
where he is now. That's where he returned to upon
his ascension and after purging our sins by himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is on his
throne right now. Second thing. I want to turn to Matthew chapter
18. Matthew 18 and verse 20. Four, where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of him. Where's Jesus now? I believe
he's right here. Just as he said. Our Lord Jesus
Christ never lied. Never spoke a false truth, a
half truth. He said where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in their midst. Because I mean he is right here
and by that right now in this building with us. Jesus Christ has promised to
be with his people and Specifically when they are
gathered together in his name Gathered together the assembly
Don't forsake it Do not forsake the assembly of yourselves together
as the manner of some is. And even more now as we see the
day approaching. It's important for the people
of God to gather. It's important to gather to hear
His word proclaimed, preached. It's just as important for that
as it is to believe it. He has promised that he would
be with us where two or three are gathered in his name. We gather because we know him. The sheep follow the good shepherd. They gather sometimes to see
him, to bring in another lost sheep. That's another thing he does
while he's here. other sheep I have, them I must bring." And
he does. And he calls his sheep by name
and they follow him and they gather together in his name. It's important. It's good for
you, it's good for me that we're here. And if you don't think it is,
you don't know You may not get it quite as well. I mean, I understand,
I didn't. But it's gotten to the point
now where if I miss a Sunday because I'm sick or something
else, I feel bad about it. If we miss one because of the
weather, I feel bad about it. Because I want to gather with
the people of God. Yes, my wife and I have each
other at home, but it's still not the same thing. It's not the same thing as the
assembly. Henry pointed that out in that
message. There's a specialness. There's a thing to public worship
more than private worship. Because we are to worship privately
also. When you pray, go in your closet.
Don't let the left hand know what the right hand's doing.
You know, when you give alms, there is private things. But public worship is important
and he himself promised, I will be with you. The other place he is, even when
you're not assembled together, this is actually part of this
with us. He's actually, in us. It is Christ in you, the hope
of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Thirdly, the third thing, is
He is everywhere. Psalms 139 and verses five to
10 show us God is everywhere. And Jesus Christ is God. Whither shall I go to flee from
thy presence? If I go to hell, thou art there.
If I ascend up, thou art there. It doesn't matter where you are. He is there. No, he upholds says in Hebrews,
he upholds what? All things by the word of his
power. He made the worlds by his voice
and he upholds all things by the work of word of his power
and by him, all things consist. I know it says thy spirit, but
what it says there after that is, whether shall I flee from
thy presence? There is no way to escape the
presence of Jesus Christ. Now I've said it before and I'm
gonna say it again. Those who are known of Christ,
Those who have been brought in by Christ, bringing many sons
to glory, are known as being, called as being, in Christ. Now you'd think, naturally, the
opposite of being in Christ would be out of Christ. But that's
not what the scripture says. The scripture says you're either
in Christ or you are without Christ. And it is a totally different
word. because in a very real way, in
a very real sense, bolstered and affirmed here in Hebrews
1, the Son who made all the worlds, the Son who upholds everything
by His power, the Son whose presence we cannot flee from, no one can
flee from. In a true sense, there is no
way to be outside of Christ because everything was created by Him
and for Him and by Him all things consist and that's everything. He is everywhere. Now, I believe it is certainly vital
to know who Jesus Christ is. But also, I believe, with that, we need to know where he is. Because where he is is completely
and totally tied to what he is doing. Our Lord sat down on the right
hand of the majesty on high, showing forth the complete redemption
that he had purchased and he had offered to God. There's no
more redemption to be made. There's no more redemption to
be given. The redemption is done. But we see Jesus. Why? because he has given life
to those whom he has redeemed. And now he is giving life to
those whom he has redeemed and he shall continue on giving life
to those whom he has redeemed. We see him, we see him in his
word, we see him in his people. We see Him in our hearts and
minds. And we see Him in this world.
And we also see Him when we see that the world doesn't see Him.
Because the world does not see Christ. They don't know where
He is. They don't know what He is doing.
They don't know what He has done. And he's here with us. He's here in us and he is on
the throne right now. What's he doing? He's ruling. And he's reigning in this present
world. That's what it means to be on
the throne. You don't sit on the king's throne.
Only the king sits on his throne. Now he may give chairs to others
and it talks about that. But nobody sits on the king's
throne except the king. Because even when he's here with
us, even when he's here in you, if you believe him, he's still
on the throne. It's the king of glory that liveth
in every one of his people. They used to have a saying in
the old days, when they had kings, that the life of the king was
the life of the country. Even close to what it is with
Jesus Christ, but it's the same thing His life is our life His
life has been given to us. He has given himself to us And
he's still on the throne Because When he's here with us
the only one who can keep us is is the Lord, not the Savior,
although He is a Savior. It's only the Lord that can keep
His people. It's only the Lord who saves. Salvation is of the Lord. He will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. That's His promise. Yes, He is
here with us. Yes, He is bringing in His sheep.
Yes, He is everywhere upholding everything. And yes, He is on
His throne. Believe Him. Trust Him. Praise God for Him. Because here's
the point. Here's the point. If you don't
know Him as Lord, You don't know him because that's who he is. The essence of God, the brightness
of glory, the express image of his person. If you don't know
that person, you don't know him. Now how well you know, I'm not
gonna go into it. We're not saved by knowledge,
but we're saved by this one here. And he will reveal himself to
you through his word. He's promised that also. Because if you don't know him
as Lord, you don't know him. That's who he is. That's always
who he is. Our heavenly father. We're thankful
again, this time, this place, but most of all, thankful for
you. You sent your son to us. You
sent your son for us. He came to fulfill your will. Thank you, Lord, for all that
you've done and all that you do and all that you shall do.
In Christ's name we pray.