stay in Hebrews chapter 2. Let
me read you this passage which is kind of a correlative passage
in 2 Peter chapter 3. This second
epistle, beloved, I now write unto you in both which I stir
up your pure minds by way of remembrance. that you may be
mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets
and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and
Savior. Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts,
and this is what they say. Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.
For this, they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word
of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of
the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being
overflowed with water perished. but the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing. that one day is with the Lord
as 1,000 years, and 1,000 years is one day. For the Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness,
but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, According to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Now, in our passage that we're
going to look at, Hebrews chapter 2, I'll start in verse 6, and
there's a phrase I want us to look at. Hebrews chapter 2, starting
in verse 6. But one in a certain place testifies,
saying, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son
of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower
than the angels. Thou crowned him with glory and
honor, and did set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast
put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he
put all in subjection under his feet he left nothing that is
not put under him but now we see not yet all things put under
him 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. What I want to look at is this
last phrase in verse 8. But now, but now, we don't see
everything put under his feet. And this is the challenge for
every believer. Because there's many scoffers
in the last days. He said that in Peter. And they
say, well, where's the promise of his coming? Where is the promise
of his coming? Because everything continues
like it did since the creation. And that's what people say, and
that's what people think. And they think they have time.
Well, I can put off, like King Agrippa, you know, when he heard
trembling, heard Paul, he said, I'll hear of this matter another
day. But you know what? He may not have another day.
Today may be the day of salvation. But this phrase, we see not,
yet all things put under him. This is what each child of God
struggles with. We see not. But as with all things
Christian, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. And it's so difficult because
our children maybe ask us, well, what's going on? What's this
mean? And they see things. And we're to walk by faith. And
we're to instruct them in the faith. Oh, how we wrestle frequently
with this flesh. It is so natural to us to view
things from sight and not so much from faith. And Paul talked
to Timothy about the fight of faith. Every time you wake up,
your eyes are telling you one thing, your heart in the scripture
says something else. says God's not slack concerning
his promise. One day is a thousand years.
It's not how we view things. So Peter was reassuring the brethren,
the elect scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, and Cappadocia,
who he was writing to. He was writing to the believer.
He wasn't writing to people who don't believe. He was writing
to those who believe and assuring them that It's God's on his own. He's on his own time. We don't
we can't judge it according to what we see and what we think
because we're on this earth. We're like a grass as scripture
says we're like a vapor and I know if you're younger and especially
if you're a child, you're like, what's he talking about? I've
got so many years ahead of me. Well, when you Look back at photos
of when everybody was growing up, and now you're looking at
your grandchildren growing up, and you're looking at it from
older eyes, you see, it went by pretty quick. It went by real
quick. Real quick. So what he's saying,
what he's doing here is, even in Hebrews, what is man that
thou art mindful of him? The son of man, that he visits
him. He made man. in his own image, and a little
lower than the angels. But he crowned him with glory
and honor, and he set him over the works of his hands. Everything is subject unto him.
But we see this as the man, the man Christ Jesus, because everything
is subject unto him. Every knee shall bow, and every
tongue confess that he's Lord. So we need to be reminded, yet,
you know, we believers are realists. We look and we say, well, you
know, he's the coming, the coming of the Lord is, you know, that's
been talked about for a long time, a couple thousand years,
probably. And so we, we see things as we're
realists. We understand this happens, that
happens, but we don't judge what we see. We judge what the word
says. So he says, we don't, but now
we don't, we don't see all things under, under him. And we have
a fight of faith, a struggle. We do struggle. What does that
mean? We don't see everything put under
him. Well, I'll give you just some
biblical examples and we'll look at these. And these are brethren
like us with like passions. They had a world that they lived
in. They had a Christ they believed
in and they struggled. Turn with me to Genesis chapter
50. Could have used a bunch of different examples, but for time's
sake Genesis chapter 50, you know the story, you know the
story Joseph He's in Egypt now and he's The second in charge
he's up right under Pharaoh, but he Pharaoh's given him responsibility
for the whole kingdom Joseph's father Visited him there was
a great reunion now Joseph's father is dead verse 15 Genesis
chapter 50 and When Joseph's brethren saw that their father
was dead They said Joseph will peradventure hate us and will
certainly requite us of all the evil which we did Unto him we'll
stop there. What did they do? You remember
the story of Joseph? He had a coat of many colors
his brethren were jealous of him, so they kidnapped him. They put him in a hole in the
ground, left him for dead or worse. He got sold into slavery. He
had many struggles, and then he was imprisoned. That's what
they were thinking. They were looking by sight. They
were looking by sight. It did not look as though God
was in control of his servant, Joseph. But what did Joseph say? Verse 20. This is a man who was
walking by faith. Verse 20. Joseph said, as for
you, you thought evil against me. The actions were evil. It's
obvious. He thought evil against me. He
put me in. If it wasn't for one of the brethren,
they would have probably killed him. But he said, you thought evil
against me, but God meant it unto good. And what God means
to do, he brought it to pass, as it is this day, to save much
people alive. Now therefore, don't fear. Fear
not. I will nourish you and your little
ones, and Joseph comforted his brethren and spake kindly unto
them. Why does the believer speak kindly
to unbelievers or or maybe they were blue i don't know why does
he do that because he walked by faith that they see and we
struggle with not seen everything under subjection of the feet
of christ but we know it is we know it is what a statement that we could
look back in hebrews chapter two and go to verse nine but
we see jesus that's that's that that's the difference Some see
Christ and some don't. Not all men, all men have not
faith. So by faith and God given faith,
not positive attitude, wasn't Joseph's positive attitude. It
wasn't by Joseph's own will or workings, but by and only by
the sovereign grace of God, he could make that statement. You
meant it for evil, but I know that everything's under the feet
of Christ. I know everything is under him. He, Joseph saw
him who was invisible, who is now seated at the right hand
of God, having made full atonement for his sins. He received kindness
at God's hands and therefore he could show kindness to his
brethren. That's the first example. Second example, second Samuel
chapter 23. These are all real struggles,
but faith Wins the day. Faith wins the day. It's like,
you know, basically it's what Bruce has been saying the last
couple of Sundays. We walk in the spirit, not in the flesh.
Though the flesh is there, and that's why the struggle is so
real. Second Samuel 23. I'm sure you're familiar with
this section. These be the last words of David's
last things he said before he's going to perish or he's going
to die. He's going to work to sleep with his fathers, as it
is said. Verse 2 the Spirit of the Lord
spake by me his word was in my mouth the God of Israel verse
3 the Rock of Israel spake to me he that ruleth over man man
men must be just ruling in the fear of God And he shall be as
the light of the morning when the Sun rises even a morning
without clouds as a tender grass springing out of the earth by
clear shining after rain that's the Lord Jesus Christ and this
is what David said Although my house be not so. Although I don't
see everybody under subjection. In a saving way. His family had
not all confessed Christ. His children, one of them tried
to kill him. So he's a realist. I see this. My house is not so
with God. Although it's not so. The flesh
acknowledges that. I'm struggling here, I'm struggling
there. These things are concerning to
the new man. The new man struggles with the
old man, he fights constantly. Although my house be not so with
God, yet, here's the statement of faith, yet he, God, hath made
with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things ensured,
ordered. For this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he
make it not to grow. Although times as I don't see
everything subject under him. I know it is because God has
made an order. He's made a covenant between
him and the sun and I'm included. Through the free and sovereign
grace of God in Christ Jesus, I'm included. So sometimes I
don't see it. Sometimes I wake up and it's
like another day of pain or struggling or difficulty or whatever it
might be, the flesh, although my house be not so. He acknowledged,
Lord, save our children. Save those whom we love, whom
we are close to. Save my neighbor, although it
may not be so. Yet faith says, It's OK, because everything is
under his feet. And there's many scoffers that
say, oh, where do you go to church? Look at a handful of people. Are you really speaking the truth
here? I don't know. You search out what
I say from the scriptures, not what I say from the scriptures.
If it's so, we're accountable. So in his flesh, David saw many
unsavory things, his house, his children, family, not yet quickened,
redeemed. They had not been revealed of
their awful condition before God, deserving damnation. Yet
by faith, he knew, he believed and trusted that everlasting
agreement, covenant between God and his kinsman redeemer, his
kinsman savior, which included himself. the death of the testator,
he saw that he understood that. This agreement is not, it's not
self, it's not a self, it's not a weak decision for Jesus, it's
not anything man-centered, but the ordered, predestined, sure
covenant of God's grace in Christ. This was his absolute confidence. This person, who is the ratifier
of the New Testament, this one in whom salvation comes only
in, by, and through this man, this God-man, this days-man,
this one among a thousand, the ancient one, the Christ. He knew
that. He knew that. This is my last
words. What good last words? You know, you can find, you can
look up Wikipedia or different places and you see the last words
of many famous people, and some of them are really stupid. really
stupid But this guy he was a genius. So what what what is the last
word? He's gonna say? Unfortunately
many people Die as though they had as they had lived without
Christ without hope and without God Luke chapter 24. I know we've been here recently,
but in this lesson in light of these things I want to look at
it a little differently Luke chapter 24 two on the road to Emmaus, these
are two believers on the road to Emmaus, Luke chapter 24, starting in verse 13, and behold,
two of them, that's the disciples, went the same day to a village
called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlong,
and they talked together of all the things which had happened,
death, burial, resurrection of Christ. but their eyes were holding
that they should not know Christ. So then Christ comes among them
and is talking with them. Now we look at the passage, as
I said, we looked at this before, but these two believers at this
point of the conversation, at this point of their journey,
did not see all things under Christ's feet. They didn't see
that. How do I know that? Look at this. Christ said, verse 19, and he
said unto them, what things? And they said unto him concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed, and
word before God, and all the people, and how the chief priests
and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and
have crucified him. Look at this statement here.
But we had trusted, we thought. This is Nahum. Nathan, this is them, we just
talked about that. He thought, I thought the prophet would come
out, clap his hands, and he didn't even go out to see him, he sent
his servant. But that's our problem, in the flesh, we think. We look
around, and we see what's going on politically, economically,
socially, and we get, what's going on? Well, we're seeing
with our eyes, It looks like nothing's subject under him.
It is. This is what the believers, they're
believers. We trusted that it had been he which should have
redeemed Israel. They were looking for a king
right then. And you know that's the truth.
Because the people tried to make him king and he withdrew himself
from it. So these are brethren over speaking. So this is their flesh. We trusted
that it had been him. that should have redeemed Israel.
Got the Romans out, put us back on the map. And beside all this
day, this is the third day since these things were done. And certain
women said that he wasn't there. And what does Christ say? Verse 25.6. Then he said unto
them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken. They've spoken this since Genesis
1. that everything was going to
be subject unto our sovereign reigning monarch's feet. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter in his glory a beginning at Moses
and all the prophets he expanded unto them and all the scriptures
the things concerning himself. But once Christ revealed the
truth to the heart and soul now We see Jesus as Hebrews chapter
2 verse 9. Now we see Jesus. Look and live,
look and believe, look and come unto Him. See Christ suffering,
bleeding and dying on your behalf, doing for you what you could
never do. See Him who has all things under His feet. All things
under His feet. The last example I give, I give
you the Lord Jesus Christ. Most importantly, the whole scheme
beginning from the first of his life humanly to his crucifixion. This was a conquering savior.
mocked, misunderstood, not believed upon, trouble in every corner,
innocent yet found guilty by sinful men, spit upon, bruised,
whipped, belittled, nailed to a tree. How can this man, the
restorer of souls, be and have everything under his feet? We see Jesus. We don't see him
as a weak poor little Jewish person who could get his way
and couldn't do it. No, he must needs go through
Jerusalem. He must needs suffer, bleed and
die, and have lead captivity captive and have victory. And we have victory through what
he's, through his blood for ourselves. And we do see Christ. And so
people, they can say what they want to the newspapers, all these
different things. You ever look at the cash book
journal, we got some really wacko people writing in the religious
section, and they're supposed to be an authority. Every time
this guy puts something in, he's always telling you how much of
an authority he is. This is the stupidest things we ever read,
I've ever read. He's got no clue. Part human,
part divine, all these different things. No, no, just don't say
anything. We see Christ. What did we do
to see Christ? It's all by his free, unmerited,
unasked for grace. Who makes us to differ? Not us,
not us, not the family we're born in, not the color of our
skin. He, and he alone, chooses, picks, redeems whomsoever he
will. We see Jesus, the definitive,
the only revealer of our hearts, the great I am, the giver of
light and life and full pardon. What do you do with Romans chapter
eight? We know it to be true. For all
things work together for good. Now, how could this have just
happened to me? I just, you know, whatever, come
out of the hospital or, you know, just came out of the lawyer's
office and having trouble. How does that work for my good? Well, if you see Christ, everything's
under his subjection. How could David, how could David
say when he's walking and that guy's throwing those stones at
him? He's hitting him. And one of the captains of his
army says, let me go over there and just take off his head. He
says, no, don't do it. God told him to do that. Well,
he saw Christ. He saw that that man was doing
what he was doing for his good. For his good. Now, how do you know that? We
know that by faith. By faith. Not by sight. Not by
sight. Okay, how do we know this? Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us who see Christ, that we should
be called the sons or the daughters of God. Therefore, the world
knows us not because it knew him not. They don't see Christ.
They don't see everything under subjection unto his feet. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God and the daughters of God. And it
does not get up here. This is not yet appear what we
shall be. But we know we look for like
in Hebrews 11. They looked forward. They look
back. They saw Christ that when he
shall appear, we shall be like him. We shall be like him for
we shall see him as he is. How do we know that we see Christ? We see him. Do we really see
it? Do we really believe this? We
can't really very well explain it, this thing of salvation or
this thing of grace or why we're different. We were dead and now
we're alive unto him who loved us and gave himself for us. We
who were born and shapen in sin, who love darkness more than light,
who were all the time out of the way, out of his way, drinking
iniquity like water, says the scriptures. Do we believe that?
Do we see that? And we heard his truth one day.
He caused us to believe, repent, and we're set free. We're set
free. In closing, turn to Hebrews chapter
11. But we see Christ. We see Christ
by faith, and faith is a gift of God. It's not of ourselves. We see not everything under Him.
We sure don't. But now we see not all, yet all
things put under Him. But we know they're there. We
know they're there. Now, faith is the substance.
That word substance means assurance. These are not like the word hope
today, I hope this happens, I hope that. No, hope is a confident,
it's an expectation. We know this to be true because
the word tells us. Again, the emphasis of the word
of God, how important it is to read it, study it, let it have
its way with us. Faith is the substance, it's
the assurance, and that word also is concrete. So it's a concrete,
a solid assurance of things hoped for, the evidence. Now that's
an odd word for the world. We don't see any evidence. Oh,
they go looking for the ark. We may have found it. Or we may
have found Something in Galilee. Are they looking for the Dead
Sea Scrolls? They're looking for something. That's sight,
that's not faith. That word evidence, it's proof. Conviction. We can't explain
it. We just simply tell of Him who
dispenses it, who sovereignly and particularly gives faith.
We talked about in the back there, we tell of who we know, not so
much of what we know. not what we know. Leave it there. God must reveal it and it will
be in his good time, which is the best time, which is the best
time. We desire to see the Lord do
something in this community. I desire desire. I've been desired
for many years. It's going to be in his good
time. This will be in his good time. So We think of how only he can
take a vial and condemn the corrupt person and wash them whiter than
snow. We sing that song, only a sinner
saved by grace. This is my story. To God be the
glory. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. So back in Hebrews, we may not
see everything clearly now. But by and by, faith will win
the day. And we shall see him as he is.
That's just a fight of faith, a struggle of faith. But let us see Christ. But we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor. That's just a contradiction.
The world says it's a contradiction. But the believer knows better.
He had to die that we may live. So let us be confident that we
may not see everything under his feet, but it is. It is totally
under our sovereign's control. He says he turns the heart of
the king. Well, that could be president,
governor, mayor. He turns their heart, whithersoever
he wills. Let us walk by faith on that.
It'll prevent murmuring. It'll prevent complaining. And
I'll tell you what, oh, you all are retired. You don't have anything
to complain about. It's a good thing you don't stay with us
for one day and say, boy, those people are a mess. Yeah, that's
because our eyes are off Christ. But when we see Christ, or as
Bruce says, we come here, gather together here. That's why we
gather together, to see Christ, to worship him. And we pray that
the Lord would do something for us and do something for our children
and do something for our community. To God be the glory. Let us look
to him and him only. Brian, would you close us?