in our Bibles this evening to
Hebrews chapter six. Hebrews chapter six and I'll
begin reading in verse nine. But beloved, we are persuaded
better things of you and things that accompany salvation though
we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to
forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward
his name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we desire that every one
of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope
unto the end, that you be not slothful, but followers of them
who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when
God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no
greater, he swore by himself, saying, surely I will bless thee
and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently
endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater,
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed it by an oath. That by two immutable things
in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation. who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth
into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. In those verses that I have just
read, there are a number of messages which are suggested to me. We
read of these two immutable things, God's promise and His oath. We read of a refuge for sinners,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember last Wednesday, we looked
at the passage of scripture, which referred to the Lord Jesus
as the sinner's friend. Here, the sinner's refuge. Also, we see the believer's hope,
which is the anchor of his soul. So I may be coming back again
soon from these verses, bringing a message to us, the Lord willing,
but tonight my message is Jesus, the forerunner. You notice that
in verse 20. Jesus, the forerunner. Whither the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus. Jesus, the forerunner. Now, when we think of a runner
or runners, we think, of course, of those who are running in a
race. And John Gill's comments on this
verse of scripture tell us that Christ was a runner. And part
of his comments are, he has outran and exceeded all others, the
Lord Jesus Christ. As a runner, he had a race to
run. and he has outran all others,
exceeded all others. He is the forerunner. Later in this book of Hebrews,
we know that the writer tells God's children that this pilgrimage
that we are on as we live in this world is a race. It's a
race. If you look over to chapter 12,
Hebrews chapter 12, And verse one, after mentioning
so many of those Old Testament saints and what they had accomplished
by faith, by believing, trusting in God, he says, wherefore seeing
we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
I like to think of a stadium where men are competing, men
or women are competing, running a 100-yard dash or a 440 relay
or something like that, and the stands are just filled with people.
And of course, if it's an international event, those from the country
that their runner is running from, they are very excited,
applauding and clapping, wanting their runner from their country
to win the race, to win the feat. We're encompassed about by so
great a cloud of witnesses. These Old Testament saints, I
don't think we can take that literally, of course. I don't
believe that people in heaven are looking down upon us. Someone
told me the other day that people often say that, well, I believe
he's watching over me, someone who's departed and gone away,
gone into eternity. I believe they're watching over
me." I said, what scripture did they quote for that? Oh, he said,
there is no scripture. Well, no, there's not. Think
about it. This world, this sin-cursed world
and all that we see every day, how could heaven be heaven if
the believers, if the children of God could be looking down
and seeing this race, this world? under the curse and sin abounding
on every hand. Could that be heaven? No, I don't
think so. I know there's no scripture to
back that up. But yet we are told that we are
compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses, and so we
are exhorted to lay aside every weight. When I see that, I think
about those basketball players who put weights on their ankles,
you know, when they're in practice, when they're jumping, so that
when they take the weights off, they can jump higher. Now, of
course, that's literal, but here the apostle is talking about
sin, isn't it? The sin that does so easily beset
us. Let us lay aside any weight that
would hinder us in this race. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us. I see that word patience quite
often here in the book of Hebrews, don't you? Who threw patience,
patience. I'm reminded again of the interpreter's
house where Pilgrim was taken and he saw those two young boys.
Remember one was named Passion, one was named Patience. And passion,
he had to have all of his good things now, now, today. And he got all of his good things,
and he soon wasted all of his good things. Kind of like that
prodigal son who took his inheritance and went into a far country and
misspent his inheritance. That's passion. Patience. Patience was able to wait and
ready to wait till God's time. to give us our good things. And we know that time is yet
to come. Abraham waited with patience.
He was promised a son when he was 75 years old, and now he's
100. That's a lot of patience, isn't
it? Before that son was given, patience. Patience worketh, or
tribulation worketh patience. People sometimes pray for patience
and you want to say, well, oh, do you want tribulation? No,
I don't want any tribulation. Tribulation worketh patience.
But we read a lot in the letter of Hebrews about patience. And
here he tells us we must run with patience. In some races, I'm not that familiar
with the rules of races, but I know in some races, You've
got to stay in your lane. You are assigned a particular
lane. I think some races, after you
make the first turn or so, you can move over or something like
that. But the point I'm wanting to make is you don't choose the
lane you want to run in. They assign you, whoever the
authorities are, whoever's in charge of the race, they assign
the lane that you're going to run in. And God, he's the one
who is assigned the lane that you, that I, am to run in. He, and sometimes the lanes are
very difficult, sometimes they're very hard, but it is the lane
that He has assigned us, and we must with patience run the
race, but notice always while we are running, looking, looking
unto Jesus. Notice that next verse. looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy,
we ought to meditate on these words right here this week, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God." The joy that was set before him. What was that joy? Well, it was a joy of doing his
father's will, wasn't it? Of being able to say, I have
finished the work. Father, I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do. And no doubt the joy also was
that he knew one day he would present everyone that the father
gave unto him, unto his father. and be able to say, Father, here
am I and the children which thou hast given me. And not one, not
one would be lost. Isn't that wonderful? Now back
to our text, Jesus the forerunner. Jesus as the forerunner has entered
within the veil. You notice that word wither.
Verse 20 begins with wither, and it refers back to the veil. It takes us back to the veil. He's entered within the veil. Now, this truth we know is taken
from the tabernacle, because in the tabernacle, there was
more than one veil, but one veil in particular that separated
man from God. Actually, because God's presence
was manifested in that holy of holies, the Shekinah glory between
the cherubim above the mercy seat, and no one could go in
there. That veil, that veil separated
men, sinful men, from a holy God. The Lord Jesus Christ, our
forerunner, He's entered within the veil. Again, here in Hebrews,
turn over to chapter 9. The apostle makes it clear that
these earthly things, that tabernacle, and everything connected with
it, they all had their heavenly reality. These were just shadows. These were just types, but they
all pictured the true tabernacle, that is, heaven itself. Notice
here in chapter 9, I want to just read a few verses, 1 through
3. Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine
service and a worldly sanctuary. That's it, a worldly sanctuary,
that tabernacle. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first, that is, it had two compartments, the first compartment
There was a candlestick, there was a table for the showbread,
and there was a golden altar of incense, although the apostle
doesn't mention that here, but we know it was there. And after
the second veil, the second veil, the first veil was when they
went into the holy place, but the second veil was into the
holy of holies. The second veil, the tabernacle,
which is called the holiest of all. Now skip down to verse seven.
But into the second, second part, the holy of holies, went the
high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which
he offered for himself. and the heirs of the people.
The Holy Ghost, this signifying, notice, that the way into the
holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first
tabernacle was yet standing. And then down to verse 12. Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he, that
is the Lord Jesus Christ, he entered in what? and once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Whither the forerunner has for
us entered. That is, he has entered not into
that tabernacle that Moses set up, that had been gone for years,
for centuries, when the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world,
been replaced by a temple. But no, that was a picture. of
heaven itself, and the Lord Jesus Christ, He's entered into that
most holy place, and He entered there with His blood, having
obtained eternal redemption for us, for His people. Now, the
high priest, think about this, the high priest each year When
that tabernacle was set up and as long as it was standing, the
high priest each year went into the Holy of Holies and he went
in there as a representative. He was a priest, a high priest,
yes, but he was a representative for all the nation of Israel.
The people didn't get to go in there. He went in as their representative
once every year. But listen, he never, that high
priest of old, he never entered into that most holy place as
a forerunner. He didn't do that. He entered
there as a representative. The Lord Jesus Christ has entered
into heaven itself as our great high priest, our representative,
and our forerunner. Our forerunner. Now the second
part of my message and I only have two parts, but the second
part of my message is three purposes of a forerunner. What was the
purpose of a forerunner? Well, first, a forerunner, I'm
talking about from the scriptures, a forerunner carried a message. Now, the best known example that
we have in the scripture is back in 2 Samuel chapter 18. I'm sure
you're familiar with this, but let's turn back here. 2 Samuel
chapter 18. There's a man by the name of
Cushi, and another man by the name of Himes. And 2 Samuel chapter
18. Let me set up what's happening here
in this chapter. David was old. He was an old
man. He'd been king a long time. And he had a wicked son by the
name of Absalom. And Absalom, we know, tried to
steal the kingdom from his father. The father had to flee, had to
run for his life. But they both ended up with two
armies, remember? Absalom, he had a number of people
soldiers who were following him, and David still had loyalists
that were part, made up his army rather. And so eventually they
meet in battle, and God gave the battle to David's army. They defeated Absalom's army. And David had told the commanders,
remember, not to kill Absalom, to deal kindly with his son Absalom. He loved him. He loved his son. But his son was a rebel. And
Joab disobeyed the command of David and killed Absalom. And
so he would send a message back. They wouldn't let David go. That's
important. They wouldn't let David go to
battle. He had always led the troops out to battle, except
that time when he didn't go out to battle and he ended up committing
that sin with Bathsheba. But now, because of his age,
they convinced him, no, you stay here. You're worth 10 of any
one of us. You stay here. We'll go to fight. But he was waiting to hear the
news. What has happened in the battle? Look down in verse 27. Both of these men wanted to run.
Joab, the commander, he chose Cushi. He chose Kushai to run
and tell David, give the message, deliver the message to David. Our army is successful. You deliver the message. But
this man, by the name of Himes, he wanted to run. Even though
Joab told him, no, it's not your turn to run. It's not your day
to run. But he insisted. And so Joab
finally said, well, go ahead and run. You don't have a message,
but you can run. And the thing is, he outran Cusha. Let's read that here, verse 27. And the watchman said, here they
come running. The watchman said, me thinketh
the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaiz,
the son of Zadok. And the king said, he's a good
man and cometh with good tidings. Boy, he was, he was hoping for
the best, wasn't he? He was hoping that his son Absalom
was alive. And Hamas called and said unto
the king, all is well. And he fell down to the earth
upon his face before the king. and said, blessed be the Lord,
thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their
hand against my Lord, the King. And the King said, is the young
man, Absalom, safe? That's all he was concerned about,
really. And Ahimez answered, I don't
know. He didn't use those three words,
but that's what he's saying. He said, when Joab sent the king's
servant, he's talking about himself, and me, thy servant, I saw a
great tumult, but I know not what it was. I saw a bunch of
dust flying and all that, but I don't know what took place.
He had no message. He had no message. And the king
said unto him, turn aside. Turn aside. You don't have a
message. Stand here. And he turned aside and stood
still, and behold, Cushi came. And Cushi said, tidings, my lord
the king, for the lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that
rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi,
is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, the enemies
of my lord the king and all that rise against thee to do thee
hurt be as that young man is." In other words, be dead. All of your enemies be just like
that young man is. Well, he had a message, didn't
he? That's what a forerunner was.
A forerunner carried a message. And the point is that that's
what a forerunner served to do, first of all, to carry a message. And the Lord Jesus Christ Our
forerunner, he has entered behind the veil for us with this message. He has a message. He's not like
a hymnist. I saw a bunch of smoke and a
bunch of dust, but really I don't have, no, no. The Lord Jesus
Christ is our forerunner. He entered heaven with a message. The victory is won. Just his presence there. The
victory is won. Satan is defeated. Sin has been put away. Death is conquered. Just His presence there. Just
like when the scripture says, He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. We don't take that to mean that
He's there right now. praying for us, no, just his
presence there, just his presence there with the wounds still in
his hands, pleads for his people, makes intercession for his people,
and just him coming in there, he came in with this message,
the victory is won. In Ephesians 4, the apostle said,
when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and
gave gifts unto men. Now, most of the writers over
the years that I have read believe that Paul took that from a practice
that the Romans had. When a Roman general would defeat
a foreign army, a foreign country, He would come back to Rome, and
they'd have a big parade for him. I mean, it was a big thing.
And behind his chariot, he'd be in the first chariot. Behind
his chariot would be those that he had defeated, bringing up
the rear, so to speak, in chains, showing that they were defeated. In fact, today in Rome, and I've
never been there, seen pictures of this, and I've been told this,
that in Rome there's an Ark of Triumph dedicated to Titus, and
it shows on that Ark the defeat of the nation of Israel in A.D.
70. It was a big thing for a Roman
general to come home and to be welcomed and recognized as a
conqueror. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he
ascended on high, he led captivity captive. All the host of hell
were defeated. A second thing, a forerunner
opens and prepares the way. You know, John the Baptist was
a forerunner. He was a forerunner of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In Matthew 3 and verse 3 we read,
For this is that which was spoken by the prophet Esaias, saying,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of the Lord, make his path straight. The Lord Jesus is the forerunner,
and as such, he opens the way and he prepares the place for
His people. Think about this. His entering
into heaven, He opens the way for our prayers. Our prayers
may ascend unto the Father. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is the mediator. We couldn't pray to God the Father
if we did not have the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our mediator. When he said whatsoever you shall
ask the Father in my name, it means a whole lot more than just
at the end of your prayer saying in Jesus' name. It means a whole
lot more than that. It means the recognition that
we come to him, come to God only through Jesus Christ. And apart
from his blood, we'd have no access unto the Father. And he
prepares the way. The forerunner opened the way
and he prepared for others to follow him. Remember our Lord's
words in John 14, I go to prepare a place for you. As I looked
at those words, preparing these notes, I recognized or realized
that he spoke those words after after he had already said, in
my father's house are many mansions or dwelling places. He'd already
said that, and then he said, I go to prepare a place for you. Look in Hebrews 10. He opens up the way for our praise. Hebrews chapter 10. And verse 19, having therefore brethren boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. And notice
this by new and living way, the way that the forerunner opened
a new and living way, which he had consecrated for us through
the veil. This is a different veil. That
is to say his flesh. and having a high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full
assurance. One other thing, a forerunner
reserves or occupies a place for others. We're, Lord willing, hope to
go to a graduation, college graduation this week. We've been blessed
to go to several and usually those arenas are packed. And
so one of the family members usually goes ahead and reserves
a whole bank of seats, you know. Puts bulletins and umbrellas
and anything they can to reserve those seats, right? Keep them.
So those that are coming when they get there have a place to
sit and we all sit together. The Lord Jesus Christ, he's reserved
a place for all of his children. RSVP. RSVP for all of his sheep. All of his sheep. I'll read this one last passage. I appreciate your patience. 1 Peter 1, verses three through
five. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy,
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away reserved. Your name is already there. Your name. The place where you're
going to be, it's already reserved in heaven for you. You are kept
by the power of God through faith into salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Jesus is everything, isn't he?
He's everything. As you study the word of God,
you find he's everything. He's our surety. He's our mediator. He's our prophet. He's our priest.
He's our king. He's our husband. We can just go on and on, right?
He's our refuge. He's the bread of life. He's
the water of life. He's everything. I love to see
and speak on these subjects like this. I pray the Lord to bless
it to all of us tonight. Let's stand and we'll be dismissed
in prayer.