God Speaks
Notes
Transcript
“Be Reconciled to God”
Root of Fruit Sin addressed “Unbelief, Pride, Selfishness”
Gathering
Hand Out-Catechism - Reading Plan
Call to Worship
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
Corporate Prayer -
Worship through Song
Scripture Reading
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”) 16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
Worship through Song
Worship through Song
Sermon
Prayer
Introduction
Introduction
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Jesus and the disciples stopped one day and Jesus asked them a question “who do you say that I am? who do you say that I am.
Sit and think about that question. Is there a more important question than that one. Who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus? Who is the man who claimed to be the son of God? The man who turned the world upside down? The man who still turns the world on it head.
Last week we finished up Ephesians and there is a verse that has been resounding in my head all week.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
As Paul waited to stand in court before Caesar he asked for prayer
20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.
He prayed for boldness. Boldness to speak of the gospel and to speak about Jesus. To answer the question that Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say that I am?
This question is the center of all of the Christian faith. It is a question that the lost, reprobate, depraved man seeks to answer truthfully. Oh he will answer but he will answer from his own mind of darkness.
The answer that Peter gave Jesus was
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
How did Peter come to this conclusion:
17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.
It is the Spirit of God that reveals who Jesus is. That he is the Messiah. He is the Savior. That he is fully God and Fully man. That he was sent to save man from the punishment of their sins and to give everlasting life.
Paul would testify as he did to the church at Corinth
16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The message of reconciliation has been given to true believers, compelled by love, we plead “be reconciled to God.”
Last week I claimed that many in religious groups will plead “be reconciled to God”. The issue is that even though they make statements along these lines they fail to answer the first question Jesus asked correctly. “Who do you say that I am?”
And because of this, man has created all sorts of false beliefs and conclusions on how reconciliation happens.
Reconciliation by works. False. No matter how many good things you do on this planet. If you go in “missions” and help your neighbor every time they ask. You can go to church every week. Even every day. You can log prayer time in the units of years and it doesn’t bring you to God a single step. You can sow all of the financial seeds you want. You can give 90% of you wealth to God and you will not gain any better standing with God. You can live piously without ever breaking a worldly rule and you will still have broken the law and will still be found to be a law breaker and guilty before God.
You can surround yourself will massive groups of religious people and they will not help you with God.
Or God doesn’t care about your sin or how you live your life.
26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one may boast in his presence. 30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption 31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
It is the work of the Spirit of God that opens the hearts of men to the reality of Who Jesus was, and is, and is to come. If a man or woman does not come to saving faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, they will never answer the question “Who do you say that I am?” correctly and with then makeup all sorts of theories and beliefs to satisfy the desires of man when it comes to the spiritual world.
Because of the day we live in, which is unique due the the technology that we have. We are bombarded with all sorts of false ideas and partial truths about who Jesus is. So we are going to turn to the book of Hebrews and for probably a better part of a year we will pursue deeper and deeper understanding of who Jesus is.
It is my prayer that this next year will be transformational for any who are willing to explore the Words of God with us.
For the unbeliever, the lost, I hope that the Spirit of God puts a burden on your heart that you are in need if a Savior. That no matter how hard you try be in control and live your life that you are trapped by your sin and cannot overcome it without Jesus. That you come to a saving belief that he died for your sins and took on the wrath of God that you have earned. That you will confess Jesus as your Lord and will believe that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved.
For the true believer it is my hope that your faith will deepen, your understanding of the love of Jesus will grow and you will gain a clearer and more magnificent view of your Lord and savior and through this you will see your life transformed. Confession, repentance, maturity, restoration and growth will be in your life and God will be Glorified through the work of the Spirit.
And for another group that may be here and that is the person who has done church has a works based belief in God. That you believe you are saved but you have not come to the point of saving faith. It is my hope that blinders will be removed and you will see your need for Jesus the same as the lost soul who has never stepped foot in church.
So we come to Hebrews a book of the bible that is very unique in many ways.
A book that was summed up by one commentator as “The Preeminence of Christ” a book that with declare who Jesus is.
The Book of Hebrews
The Book of Hebrews
But before we dig into it we need to spend a little bit of time looking at the context of the book. This is something we should do with every book we read. Most study bibles have a decent section at the beginning of each chapter.
Author?
Author?
The first question that comes up is who wrote it. This has been debated the entirety of the time the letter was written. There are many many theories. Some believe it was Paul, others Luke, or Barnabas or Apollos and many others. But there just isn’t enough evidence and even with the amount of time that people have spent comparing the text to other writings there just isn’t enough evidence to tie it to one person.
There are some things that make this letter unique. Much of the Greek writing would be considered elegant and utilizes many literary techniques that are not found in the same lever at is demonstrated in this letter.
There is not a greeting or a closing that is typical of the writing. There is a lack of references to other people that might help pinpoint the author. But in the end like all scripture it was written by a man who was inspired by the Spirit to record God’s words through his hand.
Most likely it was a person close to the apostles or maybe even one of them. But we may never know.
Audience?
Audience?
Like authorship there isn’t a specific audience like many other letters. There are no references to Gentiles or Struggles with gentile believers so the audience is most likely Jewish. Based on the text the audience had believers and unbelievers in the group and most believe that the audience was outside of Isreal.
Time?
Time?
The temple isn’t mentioned so it was probably before 70 A.D. in the late 60’s but some have suggested as late as 94 A.D.
So we don’t know the author, the audience, or the exact time line. It is almost as if the content of the letter focused so narrow on Jesus that the external information wasn’t added to not to pull attention away from the content of the letter Jesus.
God Spoke
God Spoke
The writer starts directly with a prologue or an overall summary of the whole letter. The first four verses compose this beautiful, simple and deep section of scripture.
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Hebrews is also a book of contracts and we will be digging through these quite often. When we look at the first two verses he is contracting that God Spoke Long ago and in the last days. This was common language for the Jewish people . The long ago refers to the old testament and the ancestors may also be translated as fathers but these refer to how God spoke to mankind.
Throughout the history of the Old Testament we see God reveal himself little by little over the entirety of the OT. God did not reveal himself in entirety to the early patriarchs. Progressive Revelation
He revealed the truth bit by bit as is says by the prophets at different times and in different ways. This is two words coming from the same root word and can be also translated as many portions and in different manners. The OT is composed by many authors in many times. There are different manners of writing. There is narrative, prophecy, poetry, wisdom and more. The way God revealed himself is also different to different people. Moses interacted with God differently than Gideon or David.
As God reveled more and more truth over time. He did not contradict or change what he had previously given. This continued until the full promise of the coming Messiah was given and the final warnings were given in Malachi.
Throughout this entire time God through his spirit was the one at work in the recording of the scriptures.
20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,
God Speaks
God Speaks
In the Old Testament God reveals the promise of a savior by speaking through the prophets and OT writers and in the NT he speaks through one thing, one person. Jesus.
2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
The last days would be a common way the Jews spoke about the time of the messiah. God has completed his revelation by the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. There isn’t any other truth to be found. You cannot go to a new book, or a new scholar or doctor or preacher or pastor. There is Jesus and he is the truth. Jesus is how God speaks to us today.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Peter wrote this:
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated. 11 They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We will continue to explore who Jesus is for the rest of our lives because the world around us will continue to try to redefine him to someone who is “my Jesus”.
Jesus is...
my home boy
elf on the shelf
sugar daddy
fairy god parent
Or is he King / Redeemer / savior / friend / Lord / Master / God / Man / Justifier / Sacrificial Lamb of God
What we think of Jesus effects every part of our lives.
Hebrews: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 2: The Preeminence of Christ (1:2–3)
Someone has said that Jesus Christ came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became Son of Man that we might become sons of God. He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, was reared in obscurity, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which He was born—and that in His childhood. He had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor education in the world’s schools. His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluencial. In infancy He startled a king. In boyhood He puzzled the learned doctors. In manhood He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book and yet all the libraries of the world could not hold the books about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters together. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has. He never practiced medicine and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors have healed broken bodies. This Jesus Christ is the star of astronomy, the rock of geology, the lion and the lamb of zoology, the harmonizer of all discords, and the healer of all diseases. Throughout history great men have come and gone, yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him. Satan could not seduce Him. Death could not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him.
Even what we think about Jesus effects how we come to the Lords Supper.
Prayer
Communion
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Prayer
Song
Closing
Blessing/Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.