and all the priests, the tabernacle,
the temple, the sacrifices, and his great grace, great grace
and condescension in taking upon himself our nature. We pick it up in Hebrews 2, verse
16. He took on himself, verily, truly,
he took not on himself the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of
Abraham. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh, who thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, and took upon
himself the form of a servant. and was made in the likeness
of sinful flesh and became obedient unto death, evil, evil, the humiliation
and death of a cross. Why? Well, verse 17, because
in all things, in all things, in being made flesh and becoming
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh and being born of a
woman, in being brought up as a child,
as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground, having no
farm or comeliness, in enduring every temptation
and hunger and thirst and weariness and pain, in laboring for a living, working
with his hands, earning his bread with the sweat of his brow in
a carpenter's shop. In all things, in obedience to
the law of his God, in all things, none of it could be bypassed
or skipped. He had to suffer and be tested
and tempted in all points of the law. yet without sin. And in all things,
it behooved him. It was necessary. It was essential. It became him. It could not be
avoided. It became him to be made just
like his brethren, like them, that he, in order
that he might a merciful and faithful high priest. You see,
if you'll turn over one page to Hebrews 5, verse 1 says, Every priest taken
from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he might offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin, who can
have compassion on the ignorant because of his own ignorance,
his own sin. and on them that are out of the
way. For he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason
hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself to offer
for sin. And no man takes this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, so also
Christ did not glorify himself to be made a high priest. But
he that said to him, You're my son, this day have I begotten
you, as he said also in another place, You're a priest after
the order of Melchizedek. Christ was made a high priest
by the Father. He sent his Son into the world.
And this was all essential and necessary and behooved him to
be made just. He had to be taken from among
the brethren and ordained and appointed and set apart by the
Father as a high priest in things pertaining to God to make Hebrews
2, verse 17, reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered, he suffered, being tempted, tested,
in all points, like as we are, he's able to succor, to comfort,
enter into the heartache and sorrow of them that You won't
walk any path our Lord didn't walk. You won't bear any burden
he didn't bear. You won't endure any trial he
hasn't already endured. You won't know any sorrow or
suffering he hasn't borne. Wherefore, there we pick up verse
1, chapter 3, wherefore, holy brethren, There's not a believer
in here that would call himself a holy brethren. Let Paul call
us that, but never let anybody ever call himself holy. You wouldn't
dare do that because you know we're not holy by birth, we're
not holy by nature, we're not holy by practice, we're not holy
by behavior, we're not holy in our thoughts. But I'll tell you
because in Christ In Christ, our sins are paid for. Our sins
are covered. Our sins are put away. Our sins
are pardoned. To be remembered no more. Therefore,
in God's sight, in Christ, we're holy brethren. They call that fella in Rome,
Holy Father. There's just one Holy Father.
Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed in John 17, Holy Father. And I'll tell you this, holy
brethren are those who are in Christ. If you're in Christ,
you're holy brethren. All right. Holy brethren. Let me read you this over here
in Colossians. It says, verse 20, having made
peace, through the blood of his cross, to reconcile all things
to himself. By him I say whether things in
earth or heaven, and you that were one time alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable. in his sight. So that's all right. If Paul, because we're in Christ,
chooses to call us holy brethren, that's fine, because we are in
Christ. A holy nation. A royal priesthood. All right. Partakers of a heavenly
calling. Oh, my. This is the effectual
calling. The old-timers used to call it
the effectual call. They used to illustrate it this
way. An old hen goes across the barnyard clucking, clucking,
clucking, and nobody really pays any attention to her clucking.
And then the hawk swoops overhead, and she gives a certain sound,
and her little biddies run under her wing. That's the effectual
call. The effectual call. Almighty
God's Word is preached, and His prophets go forth, and His Gospels
proclaimed, and nobody pays much attention. But I tell you, when
a man preaches under the fire of God's Spirit, and God is pleased
to call through His Word, and open the heart, open the ears,
open the eyes of a sinner, that effectual call will bring them,
bring them to Him, under His wing. about it. It's like when David was going
to honor old Mephibosheth, the cripple. He said, is any of the
house of Saul still living? Old Ziba spoke up and said, yes,
there's a boy called Mephibosheth, but he's lame in both his legs
and he's living down there in Lodebar, the house of no pasture. David said, go fetch him. Fetch
him. When David said fetch him, he
meant fetch him. That's fetching grace. And when
the Heavenly Father, whom he foreknew, he fetched. He called. Whom he called, he
justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. He called whom he called, he
glorified. He'll fetch them. That's what
he's talking about here. Holy brethren, partakers of a
heavenly calling. It came from heaven. It's a call
to heaven. And it's a call abundant in heavenly
blessings. I want you to do something. I want
you to consider this person, this man I've been talking about. Consider, what's this word consider? Think on him. What think ye of
Christ? Whose son is he? I want you to
take a good look at him. This one who hath all preeminent,
this excellent one, this one greater than the angels and greater
than Moses, this one, he's called the Son. Unto the Son, he said,
thy throne, O God, is forever. I want you to consider him. Don't
be taken up with your servants. Don't be taken up with the servants.
Don't be taken up with his people. I don't like this preacher. I
like that preacher. I like Paul. I like Apollos.
I like Cephas. I like... Don't be taken up with
his people. I want you to consider him. Think
on him. Take a good look at him. Don't
be taken up with his ordinances. Argue about how deep the water
is supposed to be. Argue about the elements. Arguing
about who started the church. Virgin said, one time I hear
men arguing about where sin came from. He said, I know it's here,
I want to get rid of it. When there's a burglar in the
house, don't sit around arguing about how he got in, get him
out. Consider him, consider the apostle. What's an apostle? One center
of God with God's message. And God who spoke to our fathers
by the prophets has spoken to us by his son, the messenger
of the covenant. He's the last messenger. There's
not going to be another one. He's the apostle. He's the apostle. He's sent of God. He's appointed
the apostle. He's the messenger of the covenant.
He came not only to declare the gospel, but to secure it and
to perfect it. and to fulfill it and to accomplish
it by his life and his death. And he's not only the apostle,
he's the high priest of our profession. He's the one and the only one
who can enter the holiest, not made with hands, but heaven itself,
not with the blood of animals, but with his own blood, not to
typify redemption, but to accomplish it, to obtain Eternal redemption. I want you to consider Him. I want you to think on Him. I
want your mind and your heart to be focused entirely on Him. Turn to the book of Hebrews a
minute. Not Hebrew, but Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53. I heard a message years ago that
impressed me. so greatly from Isaiah 53. And the preacher told us to underscore
the word he and him in these first few verses especially. Verse 2 says, he shall grow up
before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground.
He hath no form nor comeliness. When we shall see him, there's
no beauty we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of
men. a man of sorrows acquainted with
grief. We hear as it were our faces from him. He was despised
and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. We did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we're healed. All right, verse 3, verse 3, For
this man, this man, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
and as much as he who hath builted the house hath more honor than
the house. Every house is built by someone.
that he that built all things is God. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is worthy of more honor than Moses, as the builder of the
house is more honored than the house. Our Lord said, I'll build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I want you to notice verse 5. And all of these Israelites They
said, we have Moses, Moses. Paul knew that. That's the reason
he talked so much about Moses here. But he said Moses was faithful
in all of, it's not Moses' house, it's God's house. But Moses was
faithful as a servant. He was a servant. He was the
Lord's servant. And he did what God called him
to do. God raised him up and God sent him to Israel. He was
God's servant. But I want you to notice the
last line of verse 5. For a testimony of those things
which were to be spoken after. Have you ever thought about this? When you mention Moses, people
think of one or two things. They think, first of all, of
the Exodus, Moses leading the children out of Egypt. That's
the first thing you think of. The second thing you think of
when you think of Moses is Moses coming down off that mountain
with those tables of stone. He went up there and got the
Ten Commandments and came down the mountain holding them. And
the people were dancing about the calf and Moses broke them. Moses led him to the brink of
the promised land. God took him up on a mountain.
He died. Joshua took him on in the promised land. That's generally
what people think of Moses. But this last phrase here in
chapter 5 said Moses was faithful in his house, a servant of God,
a faithful servant of God, for a testimony of those things which
were to come, which were to be spoken of. main cause for existing
and being called in sin of God was not just to bring Israel
out of Egypt, not just to get a set of commandments and laws,
but to set forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which
would be accomplished. Let me show you something over
here in John. John chapter Chapter 5. And this, the Jews, they honored
Moses. They revered Moses. They talked of Moses. They claimed
a knowledge of Moses and a knowledge of Moses' doings. But they didn't
know Moses. They didn't believe Moses. He
Christ said in John 5, 46, had you believed Moses, you would
have believed me. He wrote of me. That's what, that was Moses service,
writing of Christ. All the way through Genesis and
Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy, all of these.
When Moses went up on the mountain, he didn't just get 10 commandments. He stayed up there a long time.
He got the plans for the tabernacle. He got all of the words from
God about the priesthood. about Ava and Ava's dress, the
building of the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, the holy place,
the furniture, the art, the mercy seat, all of these things, the
gospel of Christ, the burnt offerings, the sin offering, the Sabbath
day, all of this was given to Moses and he wrote it in these
first five books of the Bible. And folks that dwell on Moses
and think about him just leading the people out, being a general
of some sort, and dividing a sea, and doing all of these things,
they miss Moses. Christ said in verse 46 of John
5, had you believed Moses, you'd have believed me. He wrote of
me. Turn to the book of Luke, chapter
24. And our Lord Jesus Christ had
risen from the grave, risen from the tomb, and He appeared to
several disciples, but He appeared to these two on the road to Emmaus.
Now these are disciples, these are men that have followed Him
and listened to Him and sat under His teaching. And He said to
them in verse 25 of Luke 24, O fools and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expanded unto
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." That's
what Moses did. Moses wrote of Christ. Moses
preached Christ. Moses preached the gospel of
these people. They didn't receive it. It wasn't mixed with faith
in them that heard it, but they heard it from Moses. Look down
at verse 44. Now he's talking to a larger
group of his disciples. He said to them, these are the
words which I spake unto you while I was with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses. That's not the Ten Commandments.
That's in the words of Moses. And in the Prophets and in the
Psalms, Moses wrote some of the Psalms. Did you know that? Concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures. That's what he's
saying here in Hebrews 3 about Moses. Verse 5, Moses was faithful
in all his house as a servant for a testimony, for a witness. for a proclaimer of those things
which were to be revealed after he's gone." Faithful preacher. That's another way to look at
Moses, isn't it? That's the way we've got to look at Moses if
we're going to understand his ministry. But verse 6, what's this? But
Christ, thank God for Moses, Moses is a servant, but Christ
is a son. Moses is a servant, Christ is
a master. Moses is a servant, Christ is
the builder. Moses and all those people over
there were part of the house, he's the builder of the house.
Listen, but Christ as a son over his house, whose house are we? If we hold fast the confidence
and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end, We're his house. Turn with me to 1 Peter, chapter
2. The house of God is not this
building in which we meet this morning. This building is not a church.
It's a building in which the church meets. He said, I'll build my church.
He's talking about his people. His people. Here in 1 Peter chapter
2, verse 4, to whom coming? This is talking
about the Lord Jesus. Verse 3 says, if you have so
tasted, so be you tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom
coming? As unto a living stone, the chief cornerstone, the tried
stone. Oh, disallowed indeed of men.
Yeah, men rejected him. He came in his own, his own,
received him not. He was in the world, the world
knew him not. Disallowed indeed of men, rejected of men, but
chosen of God and precious. He's the chief cornerstone. Listen
now, you also, as living stones, lively living stones, are built
up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. Not like the Levitical
priesthood that offered animal sacrifices, but we offer up spiritual
sacrifices. Praise, thanksgiving, adoration,
worship, glory to God. We offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God. Our prayers are acceptable. How? By Jesus Christ. Our praise is
acceptable, how? By Jesus Christ. He's the high
praise. He's the one in whom we're accepted.
Wherefore also is contained in the scriptures, behold I lay
in Zion, that's true Israel, the church. I lay a chief cornerstone,
that's Christ, elect and precious. He that believeth on him will
never be confounded. He'll never be put to shame.
And unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. Unto
them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed,
the same is made a head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense, even to them that stumble at the word,
being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But
you, your chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him
who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now
let me show you something back here in Hebrews 3 verse 6. Christ is the son over his house.
He's the builder of the house. The house is a spiritual house.
The house is a temple. The house is the temple in which
God dwells, in which his glory is manifested. It's his redeemed
people from every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue unto heaven. And
there are stones, living stones, that are put in this living temple
by our Lord Jesus Christ himself. He's the chief cornerstone. But
here it says, whose house are we? If we hold fast the confidence
and rejoicing of the whole firmament to the end. Look at verse 14. We are partakers of Christ if
we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Now, my friends, listen to me.
These words are not to be considered as a condition of sonship. That's not why I'm in the temple.
because I continue in the temple. That's not why God took this
stone, hewed it out of the rock, out of the pit, and put it in
his holy temple. He didn't put it there because
it had qualities that would keep it there. That's not why. It's not a condition. And this doesn't indicate that
true stones could fall out. or two sons could fall away.
This is written to distinguish between genuine stones and imitation
stones. Genuine children and imitation
children. Here's what it's saying. You
are not my sons because you continue in the faith. You continue in
the faith because you're my sons. You're not a living stone because
you last. You last because you're a living
stone. You're not put in the temple
of my God because he saw some perfection in you and some perseverance
in you and some stickability in you. He made you that way. and your stickability and your
perseverance and your continuance in that building indicate that
you're a living star. Understand that? I hear people say, well, Christ
is a son over his house, whose house we are, if we hold out. Let me tell you something. You
will hold out if you're a son. You will continue in the faith
if you are a son. If he hewed you out of the rock
and out of the pit and brought you from the quarry by his own
hand and put you in his temple, you'll be there from now on. That's what that says. It's not
a condition of sonship, it's the evidence of sonship. Understand? All right, wherefore? Now, I
want you to watch something here. This is a quotation from Psalm
95, 7 through 11. Wherefore? A lot of people have a problem reading the Scriptures
because they haven't been taught how to read the Scriptures, especially
the writings of Paul. Paul uses parentheses. This is
a parentheses here. You see it? It's wherefore parentheses. And for the next several verses,
there's a quote that he picks up from Psalm 95, verse 7 through
11, talking about those typical people, those unbelieving Jews,
unbelieving Jews. And he says in verse 7, wherefore,
now skip the parenthesis, go down to verse 12, take heed,
brethren, lest there be found in you an evil heart of unbelief
in departing from the living God." Take heed, brethren. Take heed to yourself, because
a lot of people back in the Old Testament professed to know Him,
who didn't know Him, and He tells you about Him in this parenthesis.
He says in verse 7, as the Holy Ghost say it today, if you'll
hear His voice, Israel heard His voice, but they didn't believe
Him. They heard his prophet, but they
didn't believe him. Verse 8, harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
They hardened their hearts. They hardened their hearts. God
spoke to them. God performed great works before
them, and they hardened their hearts. You say, but we're born
with hard hearts. I know it. There's a hardness
of heart with which we're born. And there's a hardness of heart
that's acquired through refusing to hear. Did
you know that? There's a thing called being
gospel-hardened. I know there's a hardness of
heart that we are born with. But there's a hardness of heart
that's acquired through a continual handling of spiritual things
and not heeding them. A friend of mine, who's going
to be a nurse, told me that they took her for
the first time into an operating room, and she fainted. They had
to give her something to bring her to. She couldn't stand the
sight of blood. Some of those old-time nurses
in there laughed at her. They'd seen so much blood, they
were used to it. Hardness acquired. This little girl was not without
hardness of heart in many areas, but she still had a tender, still
had a tender feeling for folks. And I believe some of these old
Jews were around the blood so long. The animals, Cecil, killed,
sacrificed, cut up. They acquired a hardness of heart.
Could that happen? Take heed, brethren. Take heed. Don't become indifferent and
callous and hard. It's acquired. I've heard that
before. Did you really? Did you really? Verse 9 says,
Your fathers tested me and proved me. They saw my works forty years.
These folks not only heard God, They not only became hardened
to the Word of God, but they tried God through their complaints
and murmuring, even when they saw His greatest works. Therefore,
verse 10, I was grieved with that generation, and I said,
finally I said, they always air in their hearts, they have not
known my way, so I swear in my wrath they'll not enter into
my rest. leave him alone, he's turned
to his idols." That's what he said finally. God is long-suffering
and patient. Watch to these people. Forty
years, he said, I put up with them. And by now I said, cut
them off. Now, wherefore take heed, brethren,
You see, my friends, unbelief makes the Word of God unprofitable. The Word did not profit them
not being mixed with faith. Unbelief shuts out the mercy
of God in Christ. He that believeth not, the wrath
of God abideth on him. Unbelief makes it impossible
to come to God. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and the reward of them that diligently seek him.
Unbelief closes the door of prayer. He said, let that man ask in
faith nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like the sea. Don't let that man think he'll
receive anything of God. Unbelief sets up other gods as
reason and human wisdom and philosophy, and unbelief robs us of peace. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace. What are we going to do about
it? Well, look at verse 13. I'll let you go. Exhort one another. Exhort one another. What's the
word exhort mean? Encourage one another. Instruct
one another. Comfort one another. Tell me
the old, old story, for I forget so soon. The early dew of morning
fades away at noon. old, old story over and over
again. Exhort me, encourage me, instruct
me, don't leave me alone. Pray for me. Exhort one another
how? By worshiping together, by praying
together, by praising God together. Let us not forsake the assembling
of ourselves together. Exhort one another about preaching
and teaching and studying the Scripture. Exhort one another
by talking with one another about divine things and little less
about trivial things. Exhort one another by warning
one another when we see signs of hardness of heart and indifference. And do it, verse 13, while it's
called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness
of sin. Sin is deceitful. Promise is
what it can't provide. Promise is what it can't provide. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence, steadfast
to the end. I want to read you something
on this verse that Mr. Spurgeon said years ago, years
ago. I read it years ago. I took it
out of some of my old notes. We are made partakers of Christ
if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
He said, I've heard preachers say, he who once believes on
Christ shall finally be saved. Now, I don't deny the truth of
that statement. Paul said to the Philippian jailer,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But
I would prefer to say in this day, he who truly believes on Christ
shall by the grace of God continue to believe on Christ and shall
be saved. For there is much talk today
of faith and believing and so little evidence of it being done.
If a person becomes an unbeliever, he'll perish regardless of what
he did before. If a person loses interest in
the gospel, in spiritual things, and becomes taken up with the
world, he'll perish, whatever his profession or position. If
a person does not continue in the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the gospel of his righteousness, his precious blood,
he'll perish, whatever his profession or whatever his position was
at one time. So we're made partakers of Christ
if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast, unmovable,
firm. die in the faith. But how can
you do otherwise if you've tasted of Christ? How could you do otherwise? How could you exchange life for
death? How could you exchange light
for darkness? How could you exchange the breath
of God for the foulness of the world? You couldn't.