If you would, turn to Hebrews
chapter 2. And I want to read verses 9 to 12. Hebrews chapter 2, beginning
in verse 9. But we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, should taste
death for every man. For it became him for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, and by, excuse me, in bringing
many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church will I sing praise
unto thee. Now I've entitled this message,
But we see Jesus. See, it's a little Christmas-y.
We, those who believe in Christ, those who know Christ, have been
given gifts. Now the most precious gift we
have been given is Him. Him. Self. Jesus Christ. The son of God has been given
to his people, not just for his people. That's true also. The
only reason he can be given and is given to his people is because
he gave himself for his people. But we also have been given his
word, the word of the word of God, the gospel, the gospel of
God's dear son, the gospel of Christ, This chapter, chapter two of
Hebrews, starts with the word therefore. I'm gonna back up
just a little bit. You're right, Walter. It's tough
to preach from Hebrews without including some stuff because
it goes line upon line, line upon line, line upon line. This
chapter starts with the word therefore. We ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any
time we should let them slip. Talking about what we have heard,
the word of God. Now the reason that word therefore
is there, and that's why it's there, so you have to look to
see why it's therefore, is because of Hebrews chapter one and verse
two. Well, verse one, God who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days, what? Spoken
to us by son. Whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Now it goes on from
there, but the rest of that is comparing Christ to the angels,
and guess what? Christ is better than the angels. Then it comes to say, therefore
we ought to pay the more earnest heed to the things we have heard.
And it's the things we have heard from him which were confirmed
to us by his apostles. That's what it goes on to say.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at first
began to be spoken by the Lord? Now that is not Ignoring the
word of the prophets But he's talking about where God has now
in these last times spoken to us by his son he took away the
first that he may establish the second and Those are the words
of the Lord that he's speaking of here and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard him We need to give the more earnest
heed to the things we have heard of the Son of God. They were
first spoken by Christ Jesus, and they were confirmed to us
by those that heard him. John chapter 17, the words of
Christ himself, in what is called his high priestly prayer to the
Father. He said, neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
words. That's us. We believe because
of the words of the apostles that are written down. And they have confirmed unto
us the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? That they all may be one. Just as the Father and the Son
are one, those that believe are one in the sun. That's a gift
from God that cannot be equaled on this planet. And we need to
hold these things, and that word, the more earnest heave, super
abundantly in your mind. We are to hold these things,
give the more earnest heave, lest at any time we let them
slip. We're still fallible men. Hold them in your mind super
abundantly. Now that's the introduction,
now we start. Verse nine, these first four
words are four of the most glorious words I've read lately. But we see Jesus. You know where that comes from?
That comes from a miracle of grace in you. That's right up there with, you
know, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus. Of God, who put you in Christ
Jesus, what? But we see Jesus. If you are
included in this statement, These are four extremely gracious words. Because at the time this was
written, Jesus is not on the earth. It says that. Verse three of chapter one, who
being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his
person, God manifests in the flesh. and upholding all things
by what? The word of his power. When he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. That's where he is. But we see
Jesus. We see Jesus. And here's the
Christmas part of the message. We don't see him in a manger. We do not see Jesus in a manger.
I know, we passed one on the way here. There's a nice nativity
scene in front of somebody's house. And right next to it was
Santa's sleigh with the reindeer. You can say mixed metaphors. People don't know what they're
doing. That's what it is. Because we see Jesus, he is seated
at the right hand of the majesty on high. We don't see him in
a manger. And I will go so far as to say
this, I said it on the radio. We don't worship Jesus Christ
in a manger. Two reasons. Here's the Christmas
message. Two reasons. We weren't there
and he's not there. And it's just exactly the same
as I don't worship Christ on a cross. Because I wasn't there
and he's not there anymore either. He is seated at the right hand
of the majesty on high. He is right here now in our midst. Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there I am. I am is here. The I am is here. That's the
Christmas message. And if you don't get that part,
you can have as many manger scenes and Christmas plays as you want.
And I will watch the Charlie Brown Christmas. I mean, I can't
help it. I like the Charlie Brown Christmas.
I like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Because bumbles bounce. But that's not where I worship.
That's not what I am worshiping. Don't blame Jesus for the season.
No, if you want to, you can blame Mattel or Xbox. or Samsung now, it doesn't matter. The worship of the Lord Jesus
Christ is where he is now, not where he was. Now where he was
is very important, and we celebrate his birth, his incarnation, his
life, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension. We celebrate it every Sunday.
You have to remember it every day. but we celebrate it every
Sunday. And this is the blessing that
we have been given. If we know Christ, we, but we
see Jesus. And I'll tell you this, our seeing
of Jesus is not natural. It's not. Proverbs 20 and verse
12 says this, the hearing ear and the seeing eye The Lord hath
made even both of them. Now, does that mean physical
or spiritual? Yes. Yes, it does. If you can see
physically, if you can hear physically, that's a gift from God. But if
you can see spiritually, if you hear and understand with your
heart, that is a gift from God. Natural man cannot understand
the things of the Spirit of God. And ain't nothing I can say make
that not true. Nothing anyone else says can
make that not true. Neither can he know them, and
we're talking about ability, for they're spiritually discerned. But we see Jesus. It's not a
natural act to believe Christ. It's not an act of a natural
man to believe Christ. Now then, we have some examples.
There was a man born blind, and Jesus gave him sight, physical
sight, physical sight. Then later, this is in John chapter
nine. I'm gonna turn there for just
a minute. John chapter nine, let me get
to the right book. And I believe verse 34 is what
I got written down here. John chapter nine, verse 34. This is after the man had been
blind from birth. He'd gone to the Pharisees and
had a little difference of opinion with them. And this is the words
of them to him. The Pharisees told him, they
answered and said unto him, thou wast altogether born in sins,
and thus thou teach us. And they cast him, whom Jesus
Christ had given sight, physical sight, they cast him out. Welcome to religion. This is what happens by religion
and by religious people when you exalt Jesus in their sight
too high. But what happens when you exalt
Jesus? What happens when you say that
he gives you sight, they'll cast you out, but he won't leave you
there. Because if he gives you sight,
He's gonna give you someone to see. Jesus heard that they had cast
him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, dost thou
believe on the Son of God? See, this is where it is. This
is where it is. Sight's nothing unless you believe
on the Son of God. And he answered and said, who
is he, Lord? Who is he, Lord? What did Paul
the Apostle say when he got knocked off his donkey? He said, Paul,
Paul, why persecutest thou me? He said, who are you, Lord? A
Pharisee of Pharisees, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. What chance does
this blind guy have? Well, he had no chance at all,
but he had the grace of God working for him. Jesus said unto him,
thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. If God gives you sight, he's
gonna reveal himself to you. You're gonna see him. But we
see Jesus. It's not natural. And he said,
Lord, I believe. And not only that, he worshipped
him. He worshipped him. He worshipped
him. But we see Jesus is to worship
him. See, you can't preach God too
high. You can't preach Jesus too high. There's no way to over-exalt
the Lord of glory. It's not possible. But the problem in most places
is they don't even try. They're too busy talking about
man to worry about exalting Christ. And everybody knows Jesus. Come
forward, pray the prayer, accept Him as your personal Lord and
Savior, or accept Him as your Savior and then make Him your
Lord later. No, no, no. You're gonna start with Him,
seeing Him, or you haven't started at all. And you're not gonna
see Him until He opens your eyes. But when He opens your eyes,
you will see Him. See, it's not but that we see,
but we see doctrine. I said it a while back, no, who
you know will dictate what you know. It's not what you know
dictating who you know. I believe in sound doctrine.
I try to preach sound doctrine. I love sound doctrine. The logic
and the methodology of Hebrews just blows me away. I mean, you
get this one right after the other, these wonderful statements,
and you get to this, but we see Jesus. But doctrine didn't save me.
Doctrine's not gonna keep me. Doctrine's not gonna give me
eternal life. But if I see Jesus, I see Jesus. If you see Jesus, you have eternal
life. That's the graciousness of God. Who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory
and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man. Three words, who was made. See, this is one other
part where I thought it might be a nice Christmas message.
Because please understand what the scripture is saying. And
I wanna state the negative part of this first, before I get started. Where it says three, who was
made, okay? God was not made. The Lord was not made. Yahweh was not made. Adonai was not made. Elohim was not made. But we see Jesus. Jesus was made. Jesus was made. The scriptures are clear. And
this is supposed to be the reason for the season. It's not, but
this is supposed to be it. Because I don't want you to blame
Jesus for the circus we have around us. That's man-made and
completely corporation-driven. Because yes, a virgin did conceive. Yes, a child was born. But also yes, a son was given. He didn't stay a child. He didn't
stay a child. That son was given, that son
was gonna grow to a full age. Jesus was made. God was not made, God is eternal,
and Jesus was made. Now how can you say that? Don't
you say Jesus is God? Yes, I do. And I wholeheartedly
believe that. I am without hope if Jesus is
not God. But here you have the dichotomy.
You have God, man, and you have the God-man. He is both 100%
God and 100% man, and sure it adds up to 200%, but you know,
the math is God's, not mine. He's either God or he's not.
And he's either man or he's not, and he's both. Jesus was made and we see Jesus Galatians 4 put it this way But
when the fullness of time was come God Sent for his son his
son What's to say next made of a
woman Jesus was made and Jesus is his son. Made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law. Why? Why? That we might receive
the adoption of sons. And I love that. Because you are sons. Because
you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your
hearts, crying what? Abba, Father. But we see Jesus. Now what do you have to do with
that? Absolutely nothing other than you have received it the
spirit of his son. There's only one way to see Jesus
and that is to receive the adoption of sons. A child was born. His son was
sent forth made of a woman, made under the law. He is the God
man. Earl used to say what the Adam
Kedmon, the God man. Jesus was made. There's a statement
in here, I think I quoted it a couple days ago, or a couple
weeks ago, where it says, when Jesus was 12 years old, I remember
30 some years ago, hearing Mahan pointing out that, Walter, and
he's exactly right. It doesn't say when our Lord
was 12 years old, because our Lord was never 12 years old,
but Jesus was. and he confounded the doctors.
And he told his mother, he said, wish ye not that I be about my
father's business. But he held his peace and he
went on and he obeyed his parents. Jesus was 12 years old, but he's
not anymore. Jesus was a babe in a manger,
but he's not anymore. Jesus was on the cross. But, when he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. People are looking for Jesus
in the wrong places. Because they don't believe the
book. They don't believe his word. They don't understand that
his word has been confirmed to us by his apostles. and they
will not have this man to, what? Rain over them. And that's the
reason for the season, if you want one. Will you have this
man rain over you? Because, hey, it says it in the
beginning, when they're talking about the, guess who's coming?
The king is coming. That babe in a manger was the
king of glory. And guess what? He's no longer
there, but he's still the king of glory. But we see Jesus. And if you don't see him as king,
you don't see him at all. Oh, I believe Jesus. I'll make him
my Lord later. You ain't gonna make him nothing.
You can just take that and stick it somewhere else because you're
full of it. That's all that is. You're full
of yourself. Because if you see Jesus, you're going to what?
Worship Him. That blind man worshiped Him.
When Isaiah saw Him high and lifted up in the temple, and
I believe that was Christ. He said, holy, holy, holy, the
angels cried out. What happened? He said, Isaiah
said, woe is me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean
lips. Now this bunch around us would
have you saying, whoopee, I see Jesus. No, you see Jesus, you're
gonna bow. You're gonna bow. And if you
do not bow in worship to the Son of God here, you're gonna
do it later. But it ain't the same thing.
Because if you see Jesus, you will bow to the Lord. He came
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption of sons. And in him, we see not only Jesus,
we see the Father. Why? Because ye are sons. Right now, if you believe Christ,
you are the sons or daughters of God. You have been brought
into the knowledge that you're in God's family. I didn't say
you've been brought into the family because you was already
there. That's that whole before the
foundation of the world stuff. You're a child of God before
you become a son of God. That's the spirit of adoption. But the
only ones who see are the ones who have been brought in and
are in Christ now. And if he has brought you in,
you see Jesus. A child was born, a son was given,
but you will not see Jesus until you receive the adoption. And you will see Jesus when you
receive the adoption. He's not gonna give you eyes
and leave you out there looking. He may leave you looking for
a while. He didn't go see this blind guy until the Pharisees
threw him out. Now you don't think Christ didn't
know where he was. Come on now. Christ knew exactly
where he was. He knew exactly what he was going
through. And he sent him there for that exact purpose. and his
apostles recorded it for us so that we'd know. This may not
be a bang thing. Light comes, sight comes. But
that don't mean you're gonna see Jesus right away. But you
will. You will. He will reveal himself
to you in the same manner he revealed himself to this blind
man. A man who had been blind from
birth. I love that thought. He was made. Let me stop this thing. So it
doesn't beep Walter. That was a good place to stop. This is the strange thing here.
One of the strange things that caught me, he was made a little
lower than the angels. Now he just spent the first chapter.
saying how being made so much better than the angels. Verse
four. You can't preach Hebrews without backing up something.
It just doesn't work. As he hath obtained, excuse me, as he hath
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than them. That's
Hebrews one and verse four. Being made so much better than
the angels. Then he says what? Who was made a little lower than
the angels. Now the absolute creator of all
things Who made angels? You understand? It says here,
was made a little lower than the angels. But he's already
said he's better than the angels. He didn't come for the angels.
That's what we're talking about here. There are fallen angels,
and they're gonna stay fallen. Those who rebelled, Jesus Christ
did not come for them, those angels. But here, where it says
he was made a little lower than the angels, he tells us why.
What? For the suffering of death. He was made a little lower than
the angels. Now, not in power. He walked on the water, he healed
the sick, he opened blind eyes. He healed the lame, he raised
the dead. physically physically he spoke and it was done while
he was here he said to that storm peace be still and guess what
it stopped he quickened the spiritually
dead just like the father quickens whom he will I quicken whom I
will. While he was on this earth, he
was not made lower than the angels in power. He was not made lower
than the angels in authority. I told him when they come to
get him, he said, don't fight. Don't you know, I call 12 legions
angels. And if he called them, they's
coming. And when he came, they, if he called them, they would
have come and it would have been over. But he was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death. When he had
by himself purged our sins, he sat down. He spoke and demons obeyed. He was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. He was made of a woman,
made under the law, what? For the suffering of death. To
redeem them that are under the law. And the redemption price
was the death of the Son of God. The penalty of sin is death.
There is no other penalty. Now, and maybe reaping somewhere
what you sowed, that ain't the penalty of death. That ain't
the penalty for sin. That's a consequence of what
you've done. That's a whole nother sermon. The penalty of sin is death. And man could not pay the penalty,
but the God-man could. And the God-man did. See, the problem is man Any man besides this man, this
God man, is not even an acceptable offering for his own sin. If you would offer yourself to
God and kill yourself, it's not good enough. Because the first
thing it'll teach you in that Old Testament about the Passover
lamp is that A, it's without blemish and B, it's without spot.
And it's got to stay that way for 14 days and we can't make
it 14 minutes. We're not an acceptable sacrifice
for anything. You couldn't sacrifice a man
to save a hamster. It's the way it is. He came. made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, because
he is God manifest in the flesh. And his life was absolutely perfect
in the will of the father. From beginning to the end at
his hanging on the cross, when his father forsook him, he laid
on him our iniquity. He made him to be sin for us. But he himself was not a sinner.
See, there's a difference between sin being laid on you. There's
a difference between being made sin and being a sinner. We sin
because we're sinners. We're not sinners because we
sin. See, people get the source wrong.
Oh, I'm a sinner because I sin. You sin because you're a sinner,
just the same as me. I'm no better, but by God, the
God-man was better. He was perfectly without spot
and without blemish, and he offered himself to God. He was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. What? Crowned with glory and honor. I gotta stop, my gosh. Oh, it
started late, didn't we? That he, by the grace of God,
should taste death for every man. He tasted death, by the
grace of God, for Jews and Gentiles. Now this letter's to the Hebrews.
This letter's to Jews. But he wasn't saying Christ only
died for the Jews. Now I know what people wanna
say, they wanna say, oh, Christ tasted death for every man. And
they mean every single individual in the world that ever was and
ever has been, and that's not true. But he did taste death
for every man. Of every kindred, of every tribe,
of every tongue, of every nation under the heaven. And I just
said Jew and Gentile because that's everybody. That's all
kinds. Because you're either Jewish
or you're not. That's what Gentile means, not Jewish. That was the great revelation
of Nicodemus. In this manner, God so loved
the world that he was gonna give his only begotten son. And that's
the world, Jew and Gentile. Not everybody in it, Jew and
Gentile. Bond and free, rich or poor,
barbarian or Scythian. I don't even know what a Scythian
is, but they get mentioned a lot. He tasted death by the grace
of God. Isaiah put it this way, my righteous
servant shall justify many. And you know what that means?
My righteous servant justified, because now we're looking back
at it, many. Why, how is this possible? For
he shall bear their iniquities. Not one more, not one less. That
many he bore their iniquities. And that's what this is saying
here. He tasted death for all kinds of men. For it became him for whom all
things and by whom all things in bringing many sons unto glory
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. By his stripes we are healed. And he that sanctified, he that sanctifies, and they
that are sanctified are one. How do you see Jesus? If you're one. If you're in him,
you'll see him. We see Jesus. That's the question. Do we see
Jesus? Do you see Jesus? Do I see Jesus? He was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. Call his name Jesus. That was
the Advent message I did this morning on the radio. The angel
came to Joseph and said, call his name Jesus. Why? For he shall
save his people from their sins. And if he saved you from your
sins, he's gonna give you sight and you're gonna see him. And
you're gonna believe him and you're gonna bow to him. And if he doesn't give you that,
you won't. I hope he has. I hope he will. It ain't over yet. Believe him. Call upon him. Bow to him. This is what we are
to do. You can't know God without bowing
to God. And if you know God, you're gonna bow to him. That's the way it works. Because
He is the God, not only the God of all glory, He is the God of
all grace. And He has given us His Son,
whom we see by His grace. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for this time, this place. Lord, most of all thankful for
you. You sent your Son. our Lord Jesus Christ. And you
gave him to us and gave him for us and continue to give all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. Thank you, Lord. In his name we pray. Amen.