Well, I've been thinking for
some time about coming back to the Epistle to the Hebrews, but
I thought, oh, it's not very long ago that I preached on this. It was actually 2011 when I've
looked back through all of my records, so it's quite some time
ago. And as I did when we returned to Revelation, I felt the days
were so needful times to be reminded of that message. And here again,
you see, the message that we need to hear, above all else,
is Christ, and Christ alone, and Christ in everything. That
verse in Colossians, isn't it, Christ is all and in all, and
nowhere is Christ set forth more clearly than in the epistle to
the Hebrews. So that's where I want to come
to this morning. I just want to look at the first
three verses this morning, but probably by way of a fairly long
introduction, because I feel that we're dealing with such
profound subjects, such profound ideas here. I've called this
message, Almighty God Hiding in Plain Sight. You might think,
what a strange title. How's he come up with that title?
Well, it's a message, it's a phrase, this hiding in plain sight is
a phrase that we hear frequently in the news. I heard it just
the other day again about the case of an evil police officer
who whilst he was in his police uniform,
captured a young woman and raped and murdered her, and he's serving
a whole life sentence at the moment. If I was anything to
do with the justice system of this country, he'd be serving
more than that. But it's said that all the time,
as a serving police officer, there was this evil man hiding
in plain sight. Couldn't see him. All we saw
was a police officer. The victim only saw a police
officer who she thought would help her. He was evil. He was
hiding in plain sight. But I'm going to apply the same
idea to Almighty God. Almighty God, hiding in plain
sight. By nature, all of us, every single
one of us, every person that's ever lived, we're all poor. We're all poverty-stricken people,
without God and without hope in the world. You look in the
news, it's awards season, isn't it, in the Hollywood industry? the music industry, it's always
the Brits, the Oscars, all of these things coming one after
another, and oh, don't they think they're so wonderful. And doesn't
the world around in general that has little look at them with
envy? Oh, I wish, oh, if only I was
famous, if only I were like that. Do you know that they are utterly
poverty-stricken? They're without God. The richest
the most impressive looking. You young people, get this message
on board. By nature, everyone, I don't
care how smart they look to this world, they're all without God
and without hope in this world. of empty lives. Their empty lives
are only given meaning by material indulgence. Isn't that exactly
what God said by Jeremiah in chapter 2 and verse 13? He said,
my people, and you could apply it to people in general, not
just the Israelites of his day. my people have committed two
evils they have forsaken me who god and what is god he says he
is the fountain of living waters wouldn't you want to experience
the fountain of living waters. And instead, what have they done?
They've hewed out, they've carved out for themselves cisterns.
Cisterns are tanks that are meant to hold water, but these are
broken cisterns that can hold no water. Isn't that not what
this world does all of the time? Hewing out cisterns, broken cisterns. But Christ is the answer to my
every need, as that old song says. Christ is the answer. He
is, as 1 Corinthians 1.30 says, he is wisdom from God. Do you
not want wisdom from God? What is the meaning of this life?
Wisdom from God. Christ is wisdom from God. Don't
you need righteousness? For God is righteous and holy.
He is the righteousness of his people. Don't we need holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord? He is our sanctification,
holiness before God. And He is our redemption, our
payment. from the bondage of sin, he has
paid it himself by being made that curse for us. He is our
redemption before God. He is all and in all, yet so
few seek and find him. Find him. Look for him. Find
him. Where is he? Is he hiding? He's
hiding in plain sight. Paul said to the Athenians on
Mars Hill in Acts 17 verse 27, He's talking about that unknown
God that they had a statue to amongst all of their other idols.
But he said they didn't know who he was. He was unknown. Paul
said, I declare him to you. And he said that people should
seek the Lord if happily, if perhaps they might feel after
him and find him. Listen, though he be not far
from every one of us. He's not far from you. He's not
far from me this morning. Here he is, hiding in plain sight. Come now, confess your hopeless
condition. Confess that however, like Nebuchadnezzar
was so proud of what he'd done, but God brought him to know he
was nothing, nothing. He was worse than the least.
He was a worm compared with God. God in heaven, confess your hopeless
condition, call on God to open your eyes, to reveal Christ,
which is to have God revealed to you, to save your immortal
soul, to save it from sin, to save it from judgment to come,
just judgment, to feed you with heavenly bread of life. He is
that bread which came down from heaven. All scripture speaks
of him. You know, he said to the Jews,
the Pharisees in Jerusalem, in John 5, 39, he said, you search
the scriptures. They were so keen to search their
scriptures. For in them, you think you have
eternal life. Yes, that's right. You will find
eternal life in the scriptures. He said, these scriptures are
the scriptures that speak of me. Let me underline that. Luke
24, Luke 24 at verse 27, the risen Lord Jesus Christ with
the disciples, the despondent disciples on the road to Emmaus,
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, the scriptures, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures, what? the things
concerning himself. You go to the average church
that calls itself Christian today, and if they bother preaching
the scriptures at all, all they will try to do is to tell you
how you ought to be living and how you haven't been living aright.
What Jesus did to his disciples was he comforted them with this.
he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
himself. Verse 44, when he met with them
in the upper room, just before the end of Luke's gospel, he
said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, before he went to the cross, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written, what things? The
things written in the law of Moses, in the Old Testament Scriptures,
in the prophets, in the Psalms, What was written in the Old Testament
prophets, in Moses and the Psalms? The things concerning me, he
said. Jesus said this book is about
him. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures. Oh, that he might
open our understanding this morning, that we might understand the
scriptures. He alone, Christ, is the way to God. He said it
himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to
the Father but by me. You won't find God any other
way. But how can we, mortal, earthbound creatures, know anything
about the things of eternity? Answer, only if God speaks. If God sends his messenger, Malachi
chapter three, verse one, the messenger of the covenant. Behold,
he shall come, says the Lord of hosts, the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in. If God sends his messenger, the
messenger of the covenant, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is God himself, if he comes from heaven, knowing about the things
of eternity, all about the things of eternity, how does he know?
His father told him all things. He is, he said, I and my father
are one. John 8, 23. He says there about His origins. He said unto them, ye are from
beneath. You're just from this world.
I am from above. I am from above, from heaven.
Ye are of this world. I am not of this world. Do we
not need to listen to Him? Because as James says, every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down
from the Father of lights. Has God spoken to you? Has he? Has he spoken to you? Is he maybe
now speaking to you? Can you hear anything beyond
the voice of a sinner, this sinner? Beyond the sound of the wind
in the trees? Those who seek are promised that
they will find. Jesus said it. Seek and ye shall
find. Seek God and you will find him.
Knock and it will be opened to you. The truth, the world lies
in darkness. The world lies in its material
delusion. Without God and without hope
in this world. But Jesus said, Do you want to
know God? Seek and you will find. Knock
and it will be opened. Will he move your soul? As that
hymn says, he moved my, I sought the Lord and afterward I knew.
He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me. Will he move your
soul to seek him? There was a Samaritan woman in
John chapter four who was found of Christ. Oh, she found him,
but she was found of him. And she went and told her neighbours.
She had this encounter with this man, just a man asking for a
drink by a well while his disciples went to buy some food. And she
spoke with him for quite some time. You can read it in John's
Gospel, chapter four. And when she's had this experience
of speaking with this man who is God, she went and told her
neighbours. She went and told the village,
come, see a man. which told me all things that
ever I did. I say to you this morning, listening
to me, if you've never known God, if you've never known anything
of God, come, see a man which told me all things that I ever
did. Is not this the Christ? Is this
not the promised Messiah of God? Where is he? He's hiding in plain
sight. He's hiding in plain sight. A
man, a real man, a man there is, we sing that hymn, a man
there is, a real man, a real man, in whom, as Paul told the
Colossians, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Can you
comprehend that? If you tell me you can, then
please tell me how, because I can't. I can't get my head around that.
It's as Charles Wesley wrote in that hymn, God contracted
to a span, the span of an infant. There is a man in heaven who
is God. Get your head around that. There is a man in heaven who
is God, and God is manifest as a man. If you would know God,
God is manifest as a man. Show us the Father and that will
suffice us, said Philip. Philip, have I been so long with
you and you have not seen me? He who has seen me has seen the
Father. I and my Father are one. No man,
says John, has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who
is in the bosom of the Father He has made him known. He has
declared him. He has manifested him. God is
a man. God, God, who created all things. God is a man who is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. That's been such a comfort to
me and to Christine in recent weeks. You don't know what to
pray for us, you ought. Am I praying beyond God's will?
Ah, We're very infirm, but God is touched. Our God in Christ
is touched. He is a man who is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. He is called in the scriptures,
the friend of sinners. The friend of sinners. I call
you no longer servants, I call you my friends. But yet he is
the infinite God. The infinite God who has the
capacity to meet the needs of every single one of that multitude
whom He loved from before the beginning of time. This life
only has meaning, only has purpose, in knowing Him. In John 17, verse
3, before He went to the cross, He said this in His prayer, this
is life eternal. This is life eternal. What? That
they may, the people may know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent, because that's the way
we know God, is through Jesus Christ. In him alone is truth. Will you arrogantly continue
as so many do? Isaiah 28 talks about this, a
refuge of lies. So many people, religious or
irreligious, but they live their lives with a philosophy which
is nothing more than a refuge of lies. Or will you get down
in the dust Get down in the dust and wait on the Lord to speak
peace to your soul, to speak truth to your soul. Why do I
want us to come to Hebrews? Christ is clearly portrayed as
the fulfillment of all scripture. Don't worry, I'm not saying that
one bit of Scripture is to be neglected because of the other
bits that are clearer. It's all Scripture is profitable,
as Paul wrote to Timothy. All is profitable. But this epistle,
particularly, is the best commentary that there is on the Old Testament,
by far, the best commentary that there is. So that's why I want
to come here, to show that Christ is all and is in all. to answer all of our needs. What is portrayed here answers
all our needs as sinners, helpless sinners condemned to hell. So
I've got three points then. God has spoken, first of all.
He's spoken to us and he's spoken words of accomplished redemption. Just in these first three verses,
God You know, people make a lot of arguments that this epistle
wasn't written by the Apostle Paul. I'm happy to go along with
what the translators of the King James said. I think it was. They say he didn't put his name
at the start of this, because he did at the start of every
other epistle, he put his name. Does that matter? He's writing
a commentary on the Old Testament. He's writing a book. He says
he begins with God. Where does the story begin? It
begins with God, who at sundry times, different times, and in
different manners, various ways, spoke in time past. God has spoken. To 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. Do you know when I read
those words, I just find it overwhelming.
You know when God said to Moses when he was in the burning bush,
when Moses had fled, and Moses saw a bush that was burning yet
was not consumed, and he came near to see what it was, and
God said to him, Moses, take your shoes off your feet, for
the ground on which you stand is holy ground. Do you not feel
when you read these words that these are holy words? This is
holy ground. Think of this, this is what life
is ultimately all about. God has spoken, this is the first
point, the unknowable sovereign of the universe has spoken to
some people, not to everyone. God is hiding in plain sight.
He hasn't spoken to everyone. The sovereign of the universe
has spoken to some people. The infinite God. The inexplicable
God. The source of life. In him was
life and the life was the light of men. The source of life has
spoken. When did he speak? at various
times in the past. It says it there, at various
times in the past he spoke. To whom? To the patriarchs, to
the fathers, by the prophets, to the patriarchs. Who does he
mean? All of those that were in that line from Adam that understood
the gospel, that understood the way to the tree of life, the
way to acceptance with God, being only by the blood redemption
to be accomplished by the promised seed of the woman who was Christ.
the patriarchs, to Seth, to Enoch, to Noah, to Shem, to Abram, to
Isaac, to Jacob, and so on, to Moses, to Joshua, to Gideon,
to Samuel, to David, to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
He spoke to these people by the prophets, to Simeon waiting in
the temple, to Anna, the prophetess, waiting for the Christ to come.
He spoke to these in the past. By whom? The prophets, the prophets,
God's anointed messengers, God's appointed messengers. What about? What was the message? Answer?
The message was this. How God justifies sinners. Remember last time, two weeks
ago, we were thinking about justification. What is it? It's to be shown
to have no sin for which to be accountable. God justifies sinners
when his justice demands retribution. It's all about that. And then
now? What about now? In the past he
spoke by the prophets, but now, in these last days, these last
days began at the time of Christ and will go on till he comes
again. We're in the last days, but we have been for the last
2,000 years. In these last days, God has spoken
by His Son. By His Son, another prophet? Well, yes, He is a prophet, but
no, altogether different. The Son is excellent above all
others. The Son is better than all others. There is none greater or higher. He is God the Son. He is equal
with the Father. We'll see soon in later chapters
how for a little while He was made lower than the angels for
the suffering of death to accomplish redemption. But He is God the
Son. Firstly, He is God's Word that
speaks and reveals God. He's spoken to us by His Son,
whom He's appointed heir of all things, by whom He made the worlds.
He reveals God to us. The prophets all spoke in types
and pictures pointing to Christ. Now, he has spoken with finality
in only one way, by his son, God himself. has spoken by his
Son. There's a finality about it.
His voice is the voice of God to your soul. The words that
he has spoken is that firm foundation, ye saints of the Lord. He's spoken,
it's in his word. Only he has the words of eternal
life. Do you remember when in John
chapter 6 when there was a great following of Jesus. The crowds
flocked to him. The Jews were rather upset about
it. The pharisaical leaders were upset about it. But the crowds
were flocking to him and he fed 5,000 and more and such a phenomenal
miracle and the crowds wanted more and more of this. Oh, here
is the man. who's going to save us from this Roman occupation
that we're living under. He is going to bring us such
material benefits. Look how he's fed us. And Jesus
started to preach his gospel. And do you know what was the
key thing about his gospel? You examine the gospels that
are around and about in the name of Christianity, and do they
pass this test? Are they the truth that God has
revealed? of sovereign grace. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Is
it the gospel of particular redemption, limited atonement? Who did Christ
die for? Who did Christ come to redeem
from the curse of the law? Answer, his people. the innumerable
multitude that the Father loved from before the beginning of
time, but them and them alone. That's the gospel of grace. That's it. He is the one who
comes with that. And as Jesus started to preach
that, They said, the eager followers who were looking for another
feeding of the 5,000, the eager followers said when they heard
his doctrine and really heard it, they said, this is a hard
saying. Who can tolerate this? Who can
stand this? And from that moment, many went away. And he said to
the 12 that were remaining there with him, he said, Will you also
go away? And it was Peter that said to
him, to whom shall we go, Lord? Peter didn't say, I don't find
that a hard saying. Peter said, to whom shall we
go? You know, there's the flesh still
thinks like all these others going away. To whom shall we
go? You alone have the words of eternal life. Had you not
better stop and listen? He is unique. He is unique. He is the source of life. He
is the Word made flesh, the eternal Word of God made flesh. In Him
was life, and the life was the light of men. He was in the beginning
with God, and He was God. He is the one who reveals God.
Secondly, He is God's heir. Look, verse two, He has appointed
Him heir of all things, all things in this creation. are the things
that belong to Christ, for he is the heir. John 3.35, the Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands. So
he is sovereign over everything. He is sovereign. This man, this
man meek and mild, in whom there is no comeliness that we should
desire him, this one who didn't impress the religious leaders
when he walked this earth. They treated him with contempt. They looked on him with contempt.
He is sovereign over everything. As was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar
in our reading, none can stay his hand. or say to him, what
doest thou? Nebuchadnezzar said, this God
who is revealed in Christ, whether he knew that at that time, I
don't know, but this God who is revealed in Christ can do
whatever he will, for he is sovereign. In Matthew 28, verse 18, Jesus
said, all power is given unto me. He said in John 17, verse
two, the Father has given To Jesus Christ, power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as the Father
gave him. Is that not sovereign grace and
particular redemption? He is God's heir. Heir of all
things is this man, his son, by whom he spoke. the one who
is all and in all, the one whom we must have. He is God the creator. This is so important. Look, verse
two, the end of it. By whom also he made the worlds. You know, when you think of economy
of words and profundity of meaning, there are few phrases of four
or five words that carry more clout than that. By whom? By whom? By the Son, by the Lord
Jesus Christ, by God the Son. God made the worlds. God created the universe. John 1 verse 3, all things were
made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. The Jehovah's Witnesses, we haven't
seen them fortunately for a long time, but they used to come knocking
on our door and telling us that the Lord Jesus Christ was the
first created being, the first being that was made by God. I'm
afraid that John 1 verse 3, no I'm not afraid, I'm very glad,
John 1 3 scotches that erroneous evil, wicked idea, because it
says, all things were made by Christ, and without Christ was
not anything made that was made. If Christ was made, then he couldn't
have been made, because nothing was made without Christ. In Colossians
1 16, all things were created by him and for him. It says exactly the same there.
that in all things He, Christ, might have the preeminence. God
has given Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, a name which is above
every name. What is His name? In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In Revelation 19, you see him there. His name is on him, on
his majestic white stallion, victorious at the end of time.
And the name is the Word of God. The Word of God. In the beginning
was the Word. Psalm 138 verse 2, it says, that God has magnified his word
above all his name. This is our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is God, supreme, revealed to man. This uniquely displays
the brightness of God's glory. Verse three, he is the brightness
of the glory of God. show us the Father, this meek
and mild, ordinary man that was unimpressive to the power-hungry
world around. And Jesus said to Philip, just
look at me, be with me, because he who has seen me has seen the
Father, because he is the express image of his person. No man has
seen God at any time, but this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, portrays
the express image of the Godhead. In him dwells the fullness of
the Godhead. He now upholds all things by
the word of his power. Do you know I find that so profound?
That really is so profound. He now upholds the laws of what
we call physics that hold everything together, the forces that hold
the atoms and the molecules and the matter in its place, and
it's actively by him at this time. If you believe that, if
God the Spirit reveals that to you, you will not have the slightest
difficulty in believing the scriptures concerning the miracles that
he performed. How did he make five loaves and two fishes into
enough food to feed 5,000 men plus their families and gather
up 12 baskets of the leftovers? How did he do that? Because he
upholds all things by the word of his power. Show us the Father
and it sufficeth us. Philip, have I been so long with
you and you have not seen me? He who has seen me. has seen
the Father. He actively upholds the physical
laws of this world, this universe, by that same word which said
in the beginning, let there be light. That was Christ that said,
let there be light. Colossians 1.17 says, he is before
all things. and in him all things consist. That's saying exactly the same
as upholding all things by the word of his power. He, as Colossians
again says, Colossians 1.15, he is the image of the invisible
God. You can't see God, but Christ
is the image of him. In verse 19 of Colossians chapter
1, it says that in him all fullness dwells, the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. God says from heaven, and he
was heard several times in the earthly ministry of Christ, this
is my beloved son. And people heard that voice from
heaven. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear
ye him. Listen to him. Ought you not
to listen to him? This is our God revealed. God
has spoken. And then it says, God has spoken
to us. Verse two, in these last days
he's spoken unto us by his son. He's spoken to us, not to all
men without exception, but to those he calls. Those to whom
he gives ears to hear, for not all people have ears to hear
the truth of God. Those to whom by his Spirit he
brings spiritual life, the new birth, and gives faith to believe
him. How do I know I'm amongst this
number? I believe him. Those he calls
his sheep, his sheep, who he says, he is the good shepherd. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. That's who he speaks to. That's
the us that he speaks to, his sheep. Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. The rest of the world went on
its way towards eternal destruction. Abram heard God's call in an
idolatrous society in Ur of the Chaldees. Abraham heard that
call because God in sovereign grace called Abram. The many
sons that he will bring to glory, hear that call. That's in chapter
two of Hebrews, verse 10. Bringing many sons to glory.
He's going to bring many sons to glory. And they are the ones
to whom God speaks by his son. In Matthew 11, verse 27, Jesus
says this. No man knoweth the son, but the
father. Yeah, I get that. Neither knoweth
any man the Father save the Son. Yes, I know that. The Father
is invisible to me. I cannot see him. But... If Christ
should reveal him, I'll see him, listen what it says, and he to
whomsoever the Son will reveal him. What did we see in John
17 earlier? He's given, Christ has power
over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father
gives to him. Why is God hiding in plain sight? Why is he hiding? in plain sight,
because He, in sovereign grace, reveals the hidden mystery of
saving grace in His Son to His sheep. They are the us who hear
and believe and follow. Let me ask you, are you hearing
anything? Are you hearing anything? Can
you hear anything at all? Maybe you can, but you don't
know what to do. You know when the young Samuel
was given to Eli to serve in the tabernacle in the start of
1 Samuel. And the young Samuel heard the
voice of the Lord, and he thought it was Eli calling him. And two
or three times he went to Eli and said, no, no, no, I didn't
call you, my son. Go back to sleep, go back to
your bed. And then Eli perceived it was the Lord speaking to him.
And he said, next time you hear it, say this, speak, Lord, for
thy servant heareth. Is he speaking to you? Say this. This is the prayer. Whoever you
are, this is it. You know, when everybody else
is going about their pointless worldly existence, which will
end in destruction, for there is no hope in it. Say this. Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening. If it please you, speak truth
to my soul, speak words of accomplished redemption. We'll finish with
this. Look what it says. I'm just going to look at a phrase
in verse 3. He upholds 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. This is the
message. God has spoken to us. What message? Words of accomplished redemption. Christ, the glorious revelation
of the hidden God, is now, verse three, sat down. I put an article
by Don Faulkner in the bulletin. Read that, very good. He's sat
down, which means that he's completed his work. He has purged our sins. He's taken them away. He's removed
them. We're completely cleansed from
them if we're in him. There are no sins left to be
paid for, to be punished. He has justified his people by
removing our sins. The Bible is God's message to
his sheep, that he has paid their ransom price from the bondage
of sin, which we're all in by nature, so that when we leave
this life, in the flesh, as we will, that when we leave this
life, that very day when we leave this life, which we all must,
sooner or later, that very day, He promises us we will be with
him in paradise. Is that not a life filled with
rich meaning? Hallelujah.