Well, I feel as one who has arisen
from the dead. You know, for the past couple
of days, I have been laid pretty low. And it's a blessing, really, to have
such times as that. Because then it makes you to
appreciate when you're not in that situation and you're going
on day by day with your normal activities and feeling as though
you desire to do things. But the Lord's faithful in the
midst of all of these things and so I'm still not 100% over that, but I'm certainly
way beyond where I was. We're looking in Hebrews, and Hebrews 2 last week and more
or less finish that up. It's hard to say you ever finish
going through a book because you can go back tomorrow and
go back through the same thing that you went through today and
see things that you didn't see then. But of course Paul's writings
here to the Hebrews is his purpose in this is to magnify Christ
and show the Hebrews having been steeped in the law of Moses and
all of the things pertaining to that. He would show to them
the preeminence of Christ. Now there are a lot of people
that believe that the Old Testament is a end unto itself, that it
is just as important as the New Testament is. And insofar as
it is the Word of God, that is true. But it's impossible that
a man can come to a full understanding of what's in the Old Testament
until he comes to the New Testament. So we can say that the New Testament
is a commentary on the Old Testament. Because without the New Testament,
we would be in as much darkness as they were in. But the Lord
has shown us his salvation. Now he hinted at it in the Old
Testament. He painted pictures of it. but
it's in Christ that it came to be, to be manifest. And that's what he is trying
to, or is setting forth here before the Hebrews, that, you
know, while all of that stuff in the past has had its benefit
and it has brought us to the place where it is, but he says,
now God, who at sundry times, in diverse manners, spake in
time past by the prophets unto our fathers, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son. And so we don't need to go to
the Old Testament to find the revelation of God. Now the revelation
of Christ is in the Old Testament. They couldn't see it. I mean
the greatest scholars of the time, the Pharisees, they never
saw Christ as he was. Now they saw what they thought
was Christ. And the Lord said to them, Search the Scriptures,
for in them ye think ye have eternal life. But he said, They
are they which testify of me. Now that was blasphemous insofar
as they were concerned that a man would say that the Scripture
spoke of him. but that's because they didn't
know who he was. And by the grace of God, we've
been shown who he is, and that's how, as Paul writes to the Hebrews,
he's telling them. And so he says, wherefore, holy
brethren, this is the third chapter, wherefore, holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling, Consider the apostle and high priest of
our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that
appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch
as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house.
For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things
is God. And Moses verily was faithful
in all his house as a servant for testimony of those things
which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a son over his
own house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end? Wherefore,
as the Holy Ghost saith today, if you will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my works 40 years. Wherefore, I was grieved with
that generation, and said, they do always err in their heart,
and they have not known my ways. So I swear in my wrath, they
shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God. But exhort one another daily
while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. While it is said today, if you
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
For some, when they had heard, did provoke, howbeit not all
that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved
40 years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believe not? So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. Now we must understand that whenever
the gospel is preached, there are often men who receive it
with joy, as the parable of the soul shows. They grow up, they say, oh man,
this is great, man, we're gonna go. But then after a time, various
things happen and they fall away. And so what Paul's saying here
is, You know, here, let's consider Christ. He's our high priest. And we shall obtain that which
he has purchased for us if we hold on to it. What'd he say?
He said, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the
hope firm to the end. Now does that mean then that
it's incumbent upon men and in their own power to keep themselves
in the family of God? Of course not. You didn't get
in the family of God by your own power and you're not going
to be kept. by your own power. For it is God that worketh in
us, both willing to do of his good pleasure, and he will keep
that which he has made his own. And so he says, he's writing
to them as brethren in the Lord, knowing that there are perhaps
some among them who or kind of toying with the idea, well, you
know, maybe this, all of this, maybe we'll go back to Moses.
Maybe, you know, it's often true that men revert to the things
that they have been done in their past. You know, people oftentimes,
as they grow older, they desire to move back to where they grew
up. And of course, usually when they get back there, it's not
what it was because nothing's the same. But nonetheless, there
is that desire for men to return home. And that same thing holds
true when men have been taught certain things in their childhood
or maybe haven't been taught anything. But whatever, they
desire to revert back to that. That's just natural. That's the
way of humanity. But Paul's exhorting the believers.
He's saying, we're not like that. He said, this is our standing. He said, consider the apostle
and high priest of our profession. Now who's he writing to? Partakers
of the heavenly calling. Now there are those who, by the
grace of God, have been able to believe. Not spuriously. Because you see, if a man has
been called to believe, he will believe. Not today, not tomorrow,
but he will believe. See, belief is not a thing that
has a time frame on it. It's that which is continual. Because it is that which is wrought
by God, true faith. And so he says, consider the
apostle, that is the ambassador, that one sent from God. That's
what he said there in the first chapter. and the high priest
of our profession. Now, one thing that was important
in the minds of the Hebrews was the high priest, because they
knew that that high priest had to make an offering for their
sins once every year when he went in to the Holy of Holies.
And so he's saying to them, we don't need these priests. We're
talking about the high priest of our profession, which is Jesus
Christ. It is not those priests which
we have looked at in times past, but now we see him. He is our
high priest, who was faithful to him that appointed him, even
as Moses was faithful in all his house. See, he's not denigrating
Moses. He's not saying that Moses isn't
worth anything. He's saying Moses was faithful.
You see, Moses was a good man, if you wanna talk about good
men. Moses was sent by God. Moses was blessed by God. He
was one who the Lord used mightily. We don't disregard Moses. We
don't speak ill of Moses. But he said he was faithful in
all his house. For this man, who's he speaking
about, about Jesus Christ, is worthy of more glory than Moses.
See, Jesus Christ, he's saying he has more glory than Moses
had. He didn't say Moses didn't have
some glory, but he said Christ is worthy of more glory. Why?
Because insomuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor
than the house. And so it is, every house is
built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And
so the Lord Jesus Christ has built his own house. Moses came
along and occupied the house that God made. But you see Christ,
being the creator of all things, he made all things according
to the good pleasure of his will. And he has created a kingdom
and made a kingdom that fadeth not away, that is from the beginning. Now, it's often hard for people
to comprehend this, if I should say such a thing, but the New
Testament actually precedes the Old Testament insofar as the
truth of God. I mean, when Christ came into
the world, he merely manifested himself, but he is, as the scripture
says, that lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world.
The world was created in order that the glory of God would be
manifested in Jesus Christ. And so the Old Testament was
written with that in mind. It wasn't an end unto itself.
The Lord didn't just say, well, you know, I've got a people down
here on earth, the Jews, I'm gonna make them my own people,
and then I'm gonna, they're gonna become my people in the earth,
and I'm gonna teach them the law and all these things. And
then he maybe made a different arrangement. He said, well, but
now I'm going to send this man, Jesus, into the world. No, he
determined to send Christ into the world. And the unfolding
of Christ being sent into the world began in the Old Testament. It was not being able to be seen
until such time as he came. And now we see him. And that's
what he says here. Consider this man who has more
glory than Moses. Moses verily was faithful as
a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be
spoken after." All the things that Moses said were actually
written for our sake. in other words they didn't have
any end unto themselves and the scripture says that the prophets
they understood that those things that they spoke were not for
the time but for the time to come and so it is that the lord
has privileged his people greatly in giving us uh... his word as
he has and moses barely was faithful
for testimony of those things which was spoken after But Christ
was a son as a son over his own house. Now Moses spoke what he
was taught. Christ was the teacher. See, Christ taught Moses. And
he didn't need someone to teach him. He didn't have to learn.
I mean, when he went to the temple and he reasoned with those Pharisees
out of the scriptures, I mean, did he, was he taking the scriptures
home at night and studying the scriptures? I mean, people didn't
have a scroll, you know, they didn't have these things were
in the temple. I mean, did he pour over these documents to
find out what the truth of God was? No, he knew what the truth
of God was because he was the truth of God. And so he came,
not as one bringing testimony of those things which will be
spoken after, but he came speaking the truth at the present moment,
that this is the truth. But Christ as a son over his
own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence
and rejoicing of the hope, firm to the end. Now if we abandon
that, if we turn our back on Jesus Christ, What do we have
left? I mean, there's nothing. He's
saying, look, here it is. This is the spokesman of God. He has been sent into the world.
He's our prophet. He's our priest. He's our redeemer. He's our sanctification. He's
our righteousness. And if we move from that, what's
left? We don't have anything. That's
what he says. He said, Wherefore, as the Holy
Ghost saith, Today, if ye will hear his voice. Now who can hear
his voice? Those whom the Lord is pleased
to give ears to hear. And we do hear his voice. And
he said, Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Well, why do we need to be exhorted in such a fashion as that if
we're going to believe anyway? Well, we're gonna believe because
He makes us to believe, but nonetheless, we are exhorted to believe. See, it's one thing for a man
to be elected unto salvation. It's another thing for him to
believe unto salvation. And there is a difference between
those two. The outcome's the same, but the
one does not go without the other, because all of those whom the
Lord has appointed unto salvation shall obtain salvation in Jesus
Christ through believing in Him. And so he says don't move away
from it because harden not your hearts as in the provocation
in the day of temptation in the wilderness when your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works. He said you know this
is the picture that you've seen that they moved away from that
which God had told them. But he said, don't be like that.
He said, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, saw my works 40
years, they knew what I was. Wherefore I was grieved with
that generation, and said they do always err in their heart,
and they have not known my ways. So I swear in my wrath that they
shall not enter into my rest. So the Lord didn't remember the
people that came out of Egypt. None of them went into the promised
land, did he? They all died in the wilderness.
There wasn't any that came out of Egypt other than Caleb and
Joshua that went into the promised land. Even Moses, he didn't get
in there. So the Lord would show the superiority
of Christ even in that. He says here, They did not enter
into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. Now, do we not exhort
one another with that? I mean, do you want me to tell
you, well, just go ahead and believe anything you want to?
It won't matter. If you're of the elect, I mean,
you gonna make it in? Just believe anything you want
to. No, of course not. Because that
would be a complete denial of what we believe. See, that's
not to believe. To believe is to believe. And
so he says, Here, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any
of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living
God. Be careful, lest you be turned aside, but exhort one
another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is a deceiver, promises
much, gives little, gives nothing really. And so it is. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. Now that's just the same thing
he said up there. If we hold fast the confidence
and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Now does that mean
that we're going to stand here and be in fear that we're going
to turn aside? No, but we need to be mindful
that there is within our heart an evil heart of unbelief that
will turn aside. And so we cast ourselves on the
mercy of God daily and say, Oh Lord, keep me. You hold me. That's our profession. See, I'm
holding on to my profession even when I'm confessing my own weakness,
even when I'm confessing my unbelief. As those said, Lord, I said,
I believe, help thou mine unbelief. I mean, we want to believe, but
we know ourselves to be unable to believe. And so we do exhort
one another. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end, not enough to begin. Now, I was raised, as many of
you were, in a tradition that taught that, well, once a man
comes and he makes a decision, and he puts his name on the dotted
line, and he's joined up, and he's in, it doesn't make any
difference then what happens after that. Well, there's an
element of truth in that insofar as if indeed that man is a child
of God. But the element of truth or the
error that overweighs the element of truth that's in that is that
it does not set forth the fact that those who begin to believe
will continue to believe. Because it's the same work of
God that begins salvation in a man that carries it through
to the end. While it is said today, if you'll
hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,
as they did in those times of the provocation. Harden not your
heart. Let your heart be soft before
God. Make my heart soft, Lord. My
heart's hard, but help me, I need you. For some, when they had
heard, see, they heard, They did provoke, albeit not all that
came out of Egypt by Moses, but with whom was he grieved 40 years. Was it not with them that he'd
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believe not. So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. And that's essentially the only
reason that a man will not enter into the kingdom of God. It's because of unbelief. Now
it is indeed true that men are cast away from the presence of
God because of sin. But if a man perishes, it will
be because he did not believe in Jesus Christ. Because if a
man does indeed believe, falls upon his face before God in seeking
mercy, he shall indeed be received in. But those who do not, they
have no hope. It doesn't make any difference
what they might believe, what they might think they believe. It
doesn't make any difference what they've been taught if they've
not heard the word of God. See, hearing the word of God
in the heart's different than hearing it in the ear. May the
Lord give us a mind to hear it in the ear as well as the heart
that we might not be those that turn aside.