Hello friends, and
welcome to, Pillars of Faith.
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What a blessing it
is to study God's Word.
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This is the first part or
first sermon in a series of five
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given by Pastor C.A. Murray.
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We want to welcome you.
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You may be listening via
the internet, or the radio,
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watching via television.
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However you are,
thank you for joining us.
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We appreciate again
you tuning in to 3ABN.
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We're coming to you
from the 3ABN Worship Center
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here in Thompsonville,
Illinois or West Frankfort.
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We're kind of
right on the edge between
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Thompsonville
and West Frankfort.
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But what a privilege
it is, like I mentioned,
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to study God's Word.
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And I always
appreciate Pastor C.A. Murray.
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He and I have worked
together here at 3ABN
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for a number of
years, and his office door
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is just down from mine.
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And it's always nice to go into
his office and just sit down,
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and he always has a
word of encouragement,
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something to
share from God's Word.
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You know, a neat thing
about Pastor C.A. too is that
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he has a love for souls.
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You know, God has put a
special calling on his life.
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He's been a pastor, been
in the ministry for 42 years
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or over 42 years.
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And I don't know how
many of you know this,
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but Pastor C.A.,
he can roller skate,
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and he can roller skate good.
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Also, I've seen
him play basketball.
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He enjoys having a great time.
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He and his wife, Irma, are
just really special people.
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You know, you can enjoy all
the great things about someone,
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and we here at 3ABN
don't want to just lift up
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people on a pedestal,
but God has placed him
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as a special instrument
here at 3ABN to minister
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to not only those of us
here at 3ABN, but to those
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around the world.
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And we just appreciate
he and his wife very much.
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Now the series that
he is bringing to us,
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this is again the first
part in a series of five,
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and it's called, Walk This Way.
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That's the title of
his series, Walk This Way.
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And today's
sermon is, Stay This Way.
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I'm looking forward
to hearing the message
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brought to us by
Pastor C.A. Murray.
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But before he comes out and
breaks the Word of God to us,
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let's open in a word of prayer.
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Father in heaven, Lord,
we're grateful for this day
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that You have blessed us with.
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We're grateful for life,
for health, for strength.
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We're thankful for Pastor
C.A. Murray and the calling
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that You have
placed on his life.
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I know he has ministered
to hundreds, thousands,
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maybe millions of
people around this world.
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And Father, here in this
life we may not be able to meet
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every person that we minister
to, but I know in heaven
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someday, so long as
we're faithful to You,
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we'll be able to meet them.
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Lord, just pour
Your Spirit through him
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to us today.
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And it's easy to walk away
from a sermon and just say,
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"Wow, Pastor C.A.
preached a great sermon,"
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but Father, You have
given him words today
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to speak to us.
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So may we not only
be hearers of the Word,
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but also doers of the Word.
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We again thank You, we love You,
we thank You for Jesus Christ
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and the gift of salvation.
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And in Jesus'
name we pray, amen.
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And we do welcome
you to, Pillars of Faith;
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Walk This Way.
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The title of this particular
message is, Stay This Way.
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I got the title years ago
when I was in the seminary.
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I heard a rather cute
story of a fellow who worked
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in a large corporation.
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And he had a very,
though we may say menial job,
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he was just sweeping
floors and tidying up
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at the end of the day.
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But evidently, he did such
a fine job that the president
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of the corporation
asked him to come to his house
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so that he could
meet him, shake his hand,
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have dinner with him, and
give him a very special reward.
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And this fellow had never been
in the presence of such opulence
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or such grandeur, and he really
didn't know how to behave.
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When he knocked on the door
the butler came to the door,
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and he announced
his name, and he said,
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"I'm here to see the president."
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And the butler, of
course, said, "Walk this way."
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And having never been in
opulence before, a rich house,
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he thought that was the
way he was supposed to walk.
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So he, of
course, walked this way.
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An old story that I
heard in the seminary.
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And so I wanted to use
that as the title of our series,
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because we're going to
talk about the way to walk.
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But having said that, we
know that Jesus is the way.
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And so today we want to
wrestle with, "stay this way."
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Turn with me, if you
will, to the book of Hebrews.
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The book of Hebrews is
going to be the focus of our
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attention for this
particular sitting.
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Hebrews 1:1
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Hebrews 1:1
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Stay This Way.
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Allow me once again to pray
before we go into God's Word
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so that we may be assured
of His presence and power
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as we seek to mine the
gold hidden in His Word.
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Father God, we do praise You.
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We thank You for being such
a good God and a gracious God.
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Thank You, Lord, for
the power of Your Word.
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Thank You for
those men and women who,
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under the unction of
the Holy Spirit, wrote words
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of truth and wisdom.
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And thank You for
an opportunity to study
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that truth and that wisdom.
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Teach us today,
be the Instructor.
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And we thank You,
Father, in Jesus' name, amen.
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I'm in Hebrews 1:1 reading
from the New King James Version.
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The Bible says,
"God, who at various times
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and in various ways spoke
in times past to the fathers
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by the prophets, has in
these last days spoken to us
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by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things,
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through whom also
He made the worlds;
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who being the brightness of
His glory and the express image
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of His person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power,
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when He had by
Himself purged our sins,
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sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high,
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having become so much
better than the angels,
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as He has by
inheritance obtained a more
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excellent name than they."
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It is no coincidence that
we have this particular opening
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to the book of Hebrews.
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It's a powerful
opening and a powerful word.
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And it is no coincidence
that Paul, in his writing
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to the Hebrews,
Hebrew Christians, that is,
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writes and begins
his writing this way.
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We are looking at,
brothers and sisters,
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an apologetic for a
fledgling nascent faith.
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Paul is trying
to defend an idea.
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And we're going to talk
about that in just a little bit.
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He's trying to defend an
idea, but also he is giving us
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the pedigree, if you
will, of its founder.
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So it's a defense, it's also
a recitation of the pedigree
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of who Jesus is, and
it forms the foundation
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for everything that
Paul is trying to say.
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Paul is trying to
make a defense of his faith
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and those who may be called
to suffer for their faith.
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And as we will find
out in just a little bit,
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maybe even question the
legitimacy of their faith.
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I have often thought
how tough it must have been,
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how difficult it must
have been, to be a Christian
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in the early centuries.
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Being a Christian in the
early centuries was no picnic.
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First century, second century,
even third and fourth centuries,
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Christians faced
unimaginable challenges,
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unimaginable difficulties.
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Their life could be
forfeited for their faith.
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Certainly their liberty,
their freedom, their family,
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all forfeited for their faith.
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And so one did not
elect to become a Christian
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unless you really
believed in who Jesus was
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and the faith He established.
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And that's why Paul began his
letter to the Hebrews like this.
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God, who at various times spoke
to us through the prophets,
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now chooses to
speak to us through Jesus,
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because from now on
it's all about Jesus.
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So if you're risking your life,
if you're risking your faith,
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if you're risking your
family, Paul wants you to know
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that Christ is worth the risk.
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And so he begins his
letter to Hebrew Christians
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with this apologetic,
this defense, of the new faith
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and the
pedigree of its founders.
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The Jews did not want Jewish
Christians worshiping with them.
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They did not want
Jewish Christians in the
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temples and synagogues.
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They weren't really welcoming
to this new faith within a faith
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or faith
superimposed upon a faith.
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And in about 96 AD, as I recall,
it was the Jewish community
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that made the first real
moves to separate themselves
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from the Jewish Christians.
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Many have thought in the past
it was the Jewish Christians
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who sort of moved away from
the classic Jewish community,
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but history really tells us
that it was the Jewish community
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that really kicked the Jewish
Christians out of their faith
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towards the end
of the first century.
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They added some language
to a reading that we call,
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the Amidah; good history.
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The Amidah was a
series of readings, blessings,
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that were done in
the synagogue service.
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Around about 96 AD in
a place called Jamnia,
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the Pharisaic
community which really had taken
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control of Judaism added what's
called, the Birkat haMinim.
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A very impressive
word which simply means,
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the blessing
against the heretics.
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And it wasn't
really a blessings at all.
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It was a series of curses that
were said as part of the service
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against the hated Christians
who were, up until that time,
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embedded in the
Jewish community.
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All worshiping together,
all going to synagogue together,
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all going to temple together.
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Everyone sort of embedded
and nobody knew who they were.
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And so the Pharisaic community
added this Birkat haMinim
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to smoke out the Christians.
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It was their idea to get the
Christians out of the synagogue
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for any number of reasons.
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And the reason the
Christians had to leave
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is because anybody
could be asked to recite
00:12:08.82\00:12:12.79
this Birkat haMinim.
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So no true follower of Christ
would ever pronounce a curse
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on his own faith.
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So slowly but surely the
Christians began to divorce
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themselves from the
synagogues and from the temples
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because they didn't
want to be forced to recite
00:12:30.41\00:12:33.55
the Birkat haMinim.
00:12:33.58\00:12:34.98
But it's important to note that
it was not the Jewish Christians
00:12:36.12\00:12:41.89
moving away from Judaism,
because the Jewish Christians
00:12:41.92\00:12:46.49
did not see Christianity
as a repudiation of Judaism.
00:12:46.53\00:12:52.63
They saw it as an
evolution of Judaism.
00:12:53.10\00:12:56.91
The Jewish Christian saw Judaism
merging into Christianity,
00:12:57.24\00:13:02.88
not Christianity
replacing Judaism.
00:13:03.11\00:13:06.72
For them, it was a natural
evolution of their faith.
00:13:06.75\00:13:10.49
The Jewish community
was looking for a Messiah.
00:13:10.52\00:13:13.32
To the Jewish Christians,
Jesus was the Messiah.
00:13:13.42\00:13:16.36
So it wasn't one
over against the other.
00:13:16.39\00:13:19.23
It was the natural
evolution of Judaism.
00:13:19.26\00:13:22.23
"You're looking for a Messiah.
00:13:22.33\00:13:23.87
Hey, we found that
Messiah, and His name is Jesus."
00:13:23.90\00:13:27.87
But for the Jewish community,
they felt that this new faith
00:13:27.90\00:13:32.81
was an alien faith.
00:13:33.11\00:13:35.24
And they didn't want
Christians as part of their
00:13:35.28\00:13:37.78
synagogue worship.
00:13:37.81\00:13:39.15
More than that, they
didn't want Jewish Christians
00:13:39.18\00:13:44.25
proselytizing Jews.
00:13:44.29\00:13:47.19
They didn't want Jewish
Christians taking Jews aside
00:13:47.59\00:13:52.83
and sharing their new
found faith with them.
00:13:52.93\00:13:55.50
They didn't want the witnessing.
00:13:55.53\00:13:57.17
They didn't want Jewish
converts to Christianity.
00:13:57.20\00:14:01.77
So the Jews, dare I say, kicked
out the Jewish Christians.
00:14:01.80\00:14:06.84
You've got to remember
that in the early church,
00:14:07.71\00:14:10.08
the early church really
was predominately Jewish.
00:14:11.78\00:14:15.68
It was overwhelmingly Jewish.
00:14:15.72\00:14:17.82
Not exclusively, but
certainly overwhelmingly Jewish.
00:14:17.85\00:14:22.59
The first
evangelists were Jewish.
00:14:22.69\00:14:26.06
There is some
argument about Doctor Luke,
00:14:26.39\00:14:30.13
but it is certain that Matthew,
Mark, John, Peter, and Paul
00:14:30.67\00:14:36.71
were all Jewish
followers of the Messiah.
00:14:37.04\00:14:40.58
Some people say Luke
was a Jewish follower,
00:14:40.88\00:14:43.28
some say he was a non-Jew,
00:14:43.31\00:14:44.91
some say he was a diaspora
Jew living outside of Palestine.
00:14:44.95\00:14:48.32
We're not really sure.
00:14:48.35\00:14:49.68
But Matthew, Mark,
and John certainly were.
00:14:50.22\00:14:53.69
Paul certainly was,
Peter certainly was.
00:14:53.72\00:14:56.09
And so the basis, the
heart of the early church,
00:14:56.12\00:15:01.06
was made up of Jews who
had converted to Christianity.
00:15:01.10\00:15:05.97
And the first mission
projects were done to Jews.
00:15:06.17\00:15:10.64
Then of course it spread
out to the Gentile world.
00:15:10.67\00:15:13.38
And the Jewish community
despised, to put it nicely,
00:15:14.88\00:15:21.08
this new sect.
00:15:21.12\00:15:22.45
Let's look at a powerful text.
00:15:22.48\00:15:23.82
I'm in John 15:24.
00:15:23.85\00:15:26.86
John 15, I'll
turn to it in my Bible.
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.56
John 15, in the
book of John, chapter 15,
00:15:29.66\00:15:34.76
and we'll take a
look at verse 24.
00:15:34.86\00:15:39.60
John 15:24
00:15:41.57\00:15:44.14
The Word of God says, the
Bible says, "If I had done
00:15:47.41\00:15:50.65
among them the works
which no one else did,
00:15:50.95\00:15:54.78
they would have no
sin; but now they have seen
00:15:54.98\00:15:59.99
and also hated
both Me and My Father.
00:16:00.02\00:16:04.16
But this happened that
the word might be fulfilled
00:16:04.76\00:16:08.06
which is written in their law,
00:16:08.10\00:16:10.23
'They hated Me
without a cause.'"
00:16:10.27\00:16:14.60
It's a very powerful
text that John is reciting,
00:16:15.07\00:16:17.94
the words of the
sentiments of Christ there.
00:16:18.17\00:16:21.28
"They hated Me without a cause."
00:16:21.31\00:16:24.85
Now you've got to remember,
this is written towards the
00:16:25.65\00:16:27.72
close of the first century.
00:16:27.75\00:16:29.18
This is written some 60
years after the death of Jesus.
00:16:29.22\00:16:33.66
It was no picnic, no
picnic, being a Christian
00:16:34.96\00:16:39.96
even in the time of the
end of the first century.
00:16:40.46\00:16:46.43
It was no easy thing
to be a child of God,
00:16:46.74\00:16:51.37
to be a follower of
Christ, in these days.
00:16:51.67\00:16:55.54
Even the term, the
original term, "Christian,"
00:16:55.58\00:16:59.11
was a derogatory term.
00:16:59.51\00:17:02.02
The Christians
embraced it soon after.
00:17:02.25\00:17:04.35
But it was
originally meant to be a slur.
00:17:04.45\00:17:07.22
It was a derogatory
term, a negative term.
00:17:07.26\00:17:09.62
A put down, if you please.
00:17:09.66\00:17:11.89
In Act 26:28, we have the
story of Paul's famous defense
00:17:12.23\00:17:17.73
of his faith before Agrippa.
00:17:17.87\00:17:20.20
Festus shouts, "All this
study has made you crazy."
00:17:20.87\00:17:24.97
Paul is defending his faith.
00:17:25.01\00:17:27.31
He's defending Jesus
who died and rose again.
00:17:27.34\00:17:31.18
And to these alien Roman
minds, it sounds a little nuts.
00:17:31.28\00:17:35.98
It sounds a little cuckoo.
00:17:36.75\00:17:38.12
It sounds a little off
that these things that Paul
00:17:38.42\00:17:44.86
was saying could actually be.
00:17:44.89\00:17:46.43
"You've lost
your mind," he said.
00:17:46.53\00:17:49.23
But Paul's appeal to
Agrippa was a sincere one.
00:17:50.80\00:17:54.34
Now the King James
records Agrippa's statement
00:17:54.54\00:17:57.97
in these words...
00:17:58.31\00:17:59.64
I'm reading in
the New King James,
00:17:59.67\00:18:01.28
"You almost persuade
me to be a Christian."
00:18:01.38\00:18:05.48
Now the translation
makes it sound like,
00:18:06.28\00:18:08.85
"Hey man, you almost got me.
00:18:08.95\00:18:10.79
I'm almost there.
You almost persuaded me."
00:18:10.99\00:18:13.72
But really when you
look at the Greek construct,
00:18:13.76\00:18:17.09
that is not what
Agrippa is saying at all.
00:18:17.19\00:18:20.93
That's not
Agrippa's sentiment at all.
00:18:23.16\00:18:25.53
Agrippa is saying
something really different.
00:18:25.83\00:18:29.40
I translate it
now reading the NIV.
00:18:29.67\00:18:32.67
"Agrippa says to Paul, 'Do you
think that in such a short time
00:18:34.14\00:18:40.58
you can persuade me
to be a Christian?'"
00:18:40.78\00:18:43.59
That's a little closer to
the sentiment that Agrippa had
00:18:44.25\00:18:49.39
in listening to Paul's defense.
00:18:49.56\00:18:51.59
"You're not going to make me a
Christian with such a few words.
00:18:52.26\00:18:54.73
You're not going to blow
my mind with just a few words.
00:18:55.23\00:18:58.43
Don't think that
you've got the ability
00:18:58.80\00:19:01.74
in just a few minutes to
turn me into one of them."
00:19:01.84\00:19:05.17
Agrippa's telling the
truth of the sentiment
00:19:05.44\00:19:07.58
of the majority of people who
were outside of Christianity.
00:19:07.61\00:19:10.95
To be a Christian
meant to risk your position,
00:19:10.98\00:19:14.55
your life, your
family, your job.
00:19:14.65\00:19:17.79
And Agrippa is saying,
"No, no, no, no, no, Paul.
00:19:17.82\00:19:19.99
You're not going to
make me a Christian with just
00:19:20.02\00:19:22.69
a few cute little words.
00:19:22.72\00:19:24.06
That's not going to happen."
00:19:24.09\00:19:26.39
Reading in the
International Standard Version,
00:19:26.90\00:19:29.56
"Can you so quickly persuade
me to become a Christian?"
00:19:29.96\00:19:34.07
Or the English
Revised Version, the ERV,
00:19:35.30\00:19:38.21
"With but little
persuasion you think you would
00:19:38.77\00:19:42.64
make me a Christian?"
00:19:42.68\00:19:44.45
Or the Living Version,
"Do you think that you can
00:19:45.01\00:19:48.98
persuade me to be a
Christian so quickly?"
00:19:49.02\00:19:52.85
So you see the almost
disdain in Agrippa's voice.
00:19:53.09\00:19:56.32
He's not saying, "You
almost made me a Christian."
00:19:56.36\00:19:58.79
No, no, he's saying,
"That couple of words,
00:19:58.89\00:20:02.13
that's not going to
make me a Christian.
00:20:02.16\00:20:03.90
I'm not going to give up my
position, my family, my friends,
00:20:03.93\00:20:07.24
my job, my standing in
society under the influence of
00:20:07.34\00:20:12.07
a few words like that.
00:20:12.11\00:20:13.48
It's going to take a
little bit more if you want to
00:20:13.51\00:20:15.44
make me one of them."
00:20:15.48\00:20:17.45
Because becoming one of
them made you an outcast
00:20:17.58\00:20:21.12
in society.
00:20:21.15\00:20:22.62
So you see the little nuance,
the almost sarcastic slant,
00:20:22.65\00:20:26.62
that Agrippa is
putting on his words.
00:20:26.65\00:20:28.22
"Do you think that in such a
few words you're going to get me
00:20:28.26\00:20:31.49
to become one of them,
to jeopardize all I have
00:20:31.69\00:20:34.96
to become part
of this hated sect?
00:20:35.00\00:20:36.97
No, no, that's
not going to happen."
00:20:37.00\00:20:39.67
So walking that way, Christ's
way, in the first century
00:20:40.94\00:20:47.64
was no easy thing.
00:20:47.94\00:20:50.41
You know, I just
say this, though,
00:20:50.45\00:20:51.91
because walking with
Jesus at the risk of your life
00:20:52.98\00:21:01.66
kept the church pure.
00:21:02.52\00:21:05.39
You see, when there is a price
to be paid for doing something,
00:21:06.36\00:21:12.97
you don't do that unless
you're ready to pay the price.
00:21:13.67\00:21:19.17
If becoming a
Christian costs you something,
00:21:21.28\00:21:27.62
you don't become a
Christian unless you're willing
00:21:28.72\00:21:33.66
to pay the cost.
00:21:33.96\00:21:35.29
And that kept the church pure.
00:21:36.26\00:21:39.46
Because only true
believers became Christians.
00:21:39.76\00:21:45.33
Because they realized
that becoming a Christian
00:21:46.00\00:21:48.57
could cost them their life.
00:21:48.67\00:21:50.01
Well nowadays it
ain't necessarily so.
00:21:50.04\00:21:53.48
Anybody can profess Christ,
00:21:53.81\00:21:56.58
and there's no real
cost to professing Christ.
00:21:57.15\00:22:01.98
In fact, you've
got a lot of preachers
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.62
who spend an awful
lot of time telling people
00:22:04.72\00:22:07.06
it's easy to be a Christian.
00:22:08.32\00:22:09.96
Just love Jesus, and
that's all you've got to do.
00:22:10.56\00:22:14.76
Christ talks about, "People
come to Me with their lips,
00:22:16.30\00:22:19.93
but their heart is far from Me.
00:22:20.30\00:22:22.60
You only value the
things that cost you something.
00:22:23.10\00:22:27.88
If it costs you something,
you have respect for it.
00:22:28.31\00:22:33.42
I was in Nashville
just a little bit ago,
00:22:33.45\00:22:35.82
and we were working on
one of the new projects.
00:22:36.02\00:22:40.56
And I noticed a man who was
very careful with his cello.
00:22:40.82\00:22:46.43
In fact, during the sessions he
would never put his cello down,
00:22:46.46\00:22:50.27
he would never rest
his cello on the ground,
00:22:50.30\00:22:52.77
He always put it
back in the case.
00:22:53.10\00:22:55.87
And I noticed he was so
concerned about this instrument.
00:22:56.30\00:23:02.44
And so I asked him, I said,
"Hey man, I noticed that cello
00:23:03.35\00:23:05.98
never gets on the
ground, you never lay it down,
00:23:06.01\00:23:08.18
not even on a chair.
00:23:08.22\00:23:09.55
Every time you're not playing,
the cello is back in the case."
00:23:09.58\00:23:12.65
He said to me, "This
cello was made in 1755."
00:23:13.56\00:23:19.83
He said, "There's only
one or two in the world.
00:23:20.66\00:23:23.50
And it is insured
for two million dollars."
00:23:23.73\00:23:28.17
Now I guess if I had a
two million dollar cello,
00:23:29.44\00:23:32.64
I'd put it back in
the case every time too.
00:23:32.67\00:23:34.71
You see, those things
that cost you something,
00:23:34.74\00:23:37.75
that are worth a lot
to you, you take care of.
00:23:37.78\00:23:40.75
And so the Christian
church in the early days
00:23:40.78\00:23:44.42
was pure because you only
joined it if you were willing
00:23:44.52\00:23:48.59
to die for Jesus.
00:23:48.62\00:23:49.99
And the church was
strong and it was pure.
00:23:50.83\00:23:53.66
So walking this way can
be, and in the early centuries
00:23:54.33\00:23:58.83
certainly was, a
lonely road of earthly sorrow
00:23:58.87\00:24:03.41
and death by pagan Rome
for the first four centuries
00:24:03.44\00:24:08.88
after Christ died.
00:24:08.91\00:24:10.35
And really, over the
next 1200 plus years,
00:24:10.68\00:24:16.72
pagan Rome, papal
Rome, saw to it that
00:24:18.69\00:24:24.09
Christianity suffered.
00:24:24.13\00:24:26.39
And so the question on the
lips and in the hearts of many,
00:24:27.03\00:24:30.90
particularly Jewish Christians,
and perhaps it is on our
00:24:30.93\00:24:35.04
lips and in our hearts
today, "Is it worth it?"
00:24:35.07\00:24:39.31
And I guess that's the
question that every Christian
00:24:40.84\00:24:44.61
must ask themselves.
00:24:45.21\00:24:47.72
Is it worth it?
00:24:48.95\00:24:50.29
Is it worth the risk of
my life to follow Jesus?
00:24:51.22\00:24:55.06
Is it worth the risk
of my job to follow Jesus?
00:24:56.22\00:25:00.36
Is it worth risking my
standing in the community
00:25:01.30\00:25:04.70
to follow Jesus?
00:25:04.73\00:25:06.07
What if people think I'm weird?
00:25:06.10\00:25:07.60
What if people
think I'm out of touch?
00:25:07.64\00:25:09.64
What if people think,
like Agrippa or Festus thought
00:25:09.74\00:25:12.97
of Paul, that I've lost my mind?
00:25:13.01\00:25:15.51
Is it worth it?
00:25:15.54\00:25:16.88
And back in these
early days when Christianity,
00:25:16.91\00:25:19.88
if it did not
guarantee your death,
00:25:19.91\00:25:23.35
it certainly put you
at the risk of death,
00:25:23.55\00:25:26.25
the early Christians
had to ask themselves,
00:25:26.59\00:25:29.66
particularly Jewish
Christians, "Is it worth it?"
00:25:29.69\00:25:33.40
The Jews thought they
were too Christian to be Jews,
00:25:34.40\00:25:38.50
the Christians too
Jewish to be Christians,
00:25:38.70\00:25:43.10
so they're
wondering, "Is it worth it?"
00:25:44.17\00:25:46.17
And it is to this group
of people that Paul addresses
00:25:46.21\00:25:52.38
his letter to
the Jewish Christian.
00:25:52.71\00:25:56.28
There was pressure
to go back into Judaism.
00:25:57.15\00:26:01.36
It was familiar,
it was the old way.
00:26:01.62\00:26:05.16
And Paul's weapon
against that pressure
00:26:05.86\00:26:10.40
was the insistence
that Jesus was the way.
00:26:11.03\00:26:15.87
And that you should
not only walk this way,
00:26:16.27\00:26:19.94
but also stay this way.
00:26:20.38\00:26:23.68
And it's interesting, because
00:26:23.71\00:26:25.05
when you look at
the book of John...
00:26:25.08\00:26:26.41
And we're going
to talk about this
00:26:26.45\00:26:27.78
in one of our other sermons.
00:26:27.82\00:26:29.15
When you look at the book
of John, what you'll find is
00:26:29.92\00:26:32.12
that John carries the
same burden as Paul does,
00:26:32.15\00:26:35.89
but approaches it a
little bit different.
00:26:36.52\00:26:38.63
Paul is saying to
the Hebrew Christians,
00:26:38.73\00:26:41.10
"You've begun to walk this way.
00:26:41.60\00:26:44.47
Now what you've got
to do is stay this way,
00:26:44.87\00:26:48.70
even though there's
pressure to go back the old way
00:26:48.90\00:26:53.44
or some other way."
00:26:53.58\00:26:55.71
And that is the burden
of the book of Hebrews.
00:26:55.74\00:26:58.75
So now when we read Hebrews 1:1,
it makes a little more sense
00:26:58.78\00:27:04.75
when we see what Paul
is doing in Hebrews 1:1.
00:27:04.79\00:27:11.43
"God, who at various
times and in various ways
00:27:11.46\00:27:15.03
spoke in times past to
the fathers by the prophets,
00:27:15.23\00:27:18.87
has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son,
00:27:19.10\00:27:25.17
whom He has appointed
heir of all things..."
00:27:25.47\00:27:28.51
We are, you and I, the
early Christians along with us,
00:27:28.54\00:27:33.28
along with Christians of
all ages, are the inheritance
00:27:33.31\00:27:37.92
of Jesus Christ.
00:27:38.02\00:27:39.35
What does He get
for all of His troubles?
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.42
He gets you and He gets me.
00:27:41.62\00:27:43.99
And thank God
He's glad to get it.
00:27:44.03\00:27:46.96
Died to save us.
00:27:47.16\00:27:49.36
So Paul is starting
out his book by saying,
00:27:49.40\00:27:51.97
in the last days
it's all about Jesus.
00:27:52.00\00:27:56.50
So the question that is
on the lips and in the heart
00:27:57.04\00:28:00.41
of particularly the
Jewish Christians of those days
00:28:00.44\00:28:03.75
and many Christians of
our day, "Is it worth it?
00:28:03.78\00:28:08.12
Is it worth the sacrifice?"
00:28:08.72\00:28:11.15
Paul will tell you, "Oh
yes, it most definitely is."
00:28:12.42\00:28:17.46
So there's pressure
now for the Jews to return.
00:28:19.06\00:28:21.93
And I want to go back
to that for just a minute.
00:28:21.96\00:28:23.90
There's pressure to go back
into Judaism because Judaism
00:28:24.17\00:28:28.00
is the old way, it
is the familiar way.
00:28:28.04\00:28:31.67
So the book of Hebrews
is written particularly
00:28:32.44\00:28:36.95
to Hebrew Christians.
00:28:36.98\00:28:38.55
When you see Hebrews,
it's Hebrew Christians.
00:28:38.58\00:28:41.55
These are those who
are culturally Hebrews
00:28:41.65\00:28:48.82
but who have, maybe
I'll use the term, graduated
00:28:49.32\00:28:54.66
to Christianity, but who are,
because of their outcast state,
00:28:54.96\00:29:02.10
they are considering returning
back to their Jewish roots.
00:29:03.07\00:29:10.58
And Paul is saying,
"You've walked this way,
00:29:10.98\00:29:15.42
stay this way."
00:29:16.32\00:29:18.29
Because they're
thinking in their minds...
00:29:18.82\00:29:20.66
And we do this kind of thing.
00:29:20.69\00:29:22.02
You know, you get
very pragmatic about life.
00:29:22.06\00:29:24.03
"You know,
Judaism wasn't so bad."
00:29:25.33\00:29:29.43
You know how we
can revise history.
00:29:30.47\00:29:32.80
When the children of
Israel were out in the desert
00:29:32.83\00:29:34.84
and starving, and it was hot
in the day and cold at night,
00:29:35.27\00:29:40.48
and they're thinking
back to their days in Egypt,
00:29:40.91\00:29:46.31
and they're
thinking, "You know...
00:29:47.25\00:29:48.65
...Egyptian life wasn't so bad."
00:29:51.79\00:29:53.66
You tend to revise history.
00:29:55.06\00:29:56.39
They forgot all about
the whips and the taskmasters
00:29:56.59\00:29:58.99
and the bricks without straw.
00:29:59.03\00:30:02.03
"Eh, it wasn't so bad."
00:30:02.80\00:30:04.13
Well it was so bad.
00:30:04.17\00:30:05.50
And now the Jewish
Christians are saying,
00:30:05.73\00:30:07.80
"Maybe we ought to
go back to the old ways.
00:30:08.84\00:30:12.34
Maybe we ought to...
00:30:14.34\00:30:16.01
You know, that
Jewish stuff wasn't so bad.
00:30:16.95\00:30:20.52
We worshiped together,
00:30:22.98\00:30:24.35
their faith is the
basis for our faith.
00:30:25.39\00:30:28.92
Maybe we ought to just go back."
00:30:30.03\00:30:33.23
Because in their
minds, remember, they weren't
00:30:34.13\00:30:37.07
replacing Judaism.
00:30:37.27\00:30:39.93
It was just an
evolution of Judaism.
00:30:40.57\00:30:43.30
So it's easy, when you still see
Judaism as legitimate, to say,
00:30:43.91\00:30:49.04
"Well maybe we ought to just
go back to the familiar ways.
00:30:49.08\00:30:52.51
Maybe we ought to just,
we're Jewish Christians,
00:30:52.55\00:30:55.62
maybe we ought to just
drop the Christian part
00:30:55.65\00:30:58.69
and go back to the Jewish part.
00:30:59.29\00:31:02.76
We could save
ourselves a lot of grief,
00:31:04.03\00:31:05.99
save ourselves a
lot of heartache,
00:31:07.06\00:31:08.93
save ourselves extermination,
00:31:09.90\00:31:12.63
not to mention
torture and death."
00:31:14.04\00:31:17.17
And so it may have seemed
reasonable in the first century,
00:31:18.37\00:31:26.55
and in the following
centuries, to do that.
00:31:26.98\00:31:31.15
We got along with
our Jewish brothers.
00:31:31.49\00:31:33.39
And for a while they did.
00:31:33.99\00:31:35.92
Then of course, as
I mentioned before,
00:31:36.83\00:31:38.59
the Jewish Christian break came.
00:31:38.63\00:31:41.26
They became at
odds with each other
00:31:41.30\00:31:43.47
and they had to part company,
and certainly part worship ways
00:31:43.73\00:31:48.90
and separate one from the other.
00:31:50.57\00:31:54.14
So this, then, is the scenario
that we had back in those days.
00:31:55.84\00:32:02.52
The Jews,
because of nationalism,
00:32:03.45\00:32:06.09
and the Christians, because
of the spread of the gospel,
00:32:06.89\00:32:09.82
and the Gentiles and the
fervor; and fewer and fewer
00:32:10.03\00:32:14.70
Christians now are coming
from the ranks of Judaism.
00:32:14.73\00:32:18.60
As the church began to
grow, fewer and fewer of the
00:32:18.63\00:32:23.27
new Christians are Jews.
00:32:23.30\00:32:24.87
So they really have less in
common with their Jewish roots.
00:32:24.91\00:32:28.71
And so affiliations and
backgrounds begin to shred.
00:32:29.11\00:32:32.48
They begin to separate.
00:32:32.51\00:32:33.85
And we see the tension
as addressed in Acts 15.
00:32:33.88\00:32:37.55
So turn with me to Acts 15.
00:32:37.59\00:32:39.55
I'll show you
something very interesting.
00:32:39.59\00:32:40.92
This gives us a peek
into the separation ethic
00:32:40.96\00:32:48.73
that began to exist
in the early church.
00:32:49.03\00:32:51.70
I'm in Acts 15, and I
think I want to pick it up...
00:32:51.73\00:32:55.80
Acts 15, we're looking
at the Jerusalem council.
00:33:01.21\00:33:04.51
Ah, here we go.
00:33:08.38\00:33:09.72
I'm in verse 6,
the Jerusalem council.
00:33:14.12\00:33:17.09
"Now the apostles
and elders came together
00:33:17.13\00:33:19.33
to consider the matter."
00:33:19.36\00:33:21.00
You had Jewish
believers and Jewish Christians
00:33:21.43\00:33:28.77
who were trying to
make the new Christians
00:33:28.80\00:33:31.67
go through the old
Jewish rites and ceremonies
00:33:32.21\00:33:35.04
before they could be
accepted into the church.
00:33:35.08\00:33:37.05
Now when the church
was particularly populated
00:33:37.08\00:33:39.51
with former Jews
was not a hard thing.
00:33:39.55\00:33:43.08
But as Gentiles became
prevalent in the church,
00:33:43.12\00:33:47.82
they saw no need to go
through those rites which were
00:33:47.86\00:33:52.93
particularly valuable
to the Jewish community.
00:33:52.96\00:33:55.96
So a controversy arose and
the head council in Jerusalem
00:33:56.53\00:34:03.00
began to address and
redress that council.
00:34:03.20\00:34:05.27
Here are the words,
"Now the apostles and elders
00:34:05.31\00:34:07.18
came together to
consider the matter.
00:34:07.21\00:34:09.14
And when there
had been much dispute,
00:34:09.48\00:34:12.78
Peter rose up and said
to them, 'Men and brethren,
00:34:13.05\00:34:17.49
you know that a good
while ago God chose among us,
00:34:18.05\00:34:21.99
that by my mouth the
Gentiles should hear the word
00:34:22.19\00:34:25.39
of the gospel and believe.
00:34:25.49\00:34:27.50
So God, who knows the
heart, acknowledged them
00:34:27.63\00:34:30.80
by giving them
the Holy Spirit...'"
00:34:30.83\00:34:32.57
So first of all, he's justifying
the fact that Gentiles
00:34:32.60\00:34:35.37
need to be and are
part of the family of God.
00:34:35.40\00:34:38.27
"Got the same Spirit that
we have, the same Holy Spirit.
00:34:38.94\00:34:42.24
And God has called us
to take the gospel to them.
00:34:42.41\00:34:47.18
So He gave them the Holy
Spirit, just as He did to us."
00:34:47.65\00:34:51.52
I'm in verse 9.
00:34:51.55\00:34:52.89
"...and made no distinction
between us and them..."
00:34:53.05\00:34:57.16
So Jew, Gentile; once you
come into the Christian faith,
00:34:57.19\00:35:01.50
you're all the same.
00:35:01.66\00:35:03.30
"...no distinction
between us and them,
00:35:03.33\00:35:05.87
purifying their hearts by faith.
00:35:05.97\00:35:08.57
Now therefore, why do you
test God by putting a yoke
00:35:08.77\00:35:14.11
on the neck of the disciples
which neither our fathers
00:35:14.14\00:35:17.68
nor we were able to bear?"
00:35:18.11\00:35:19.95
I think that's
kind of interesting.
00:35:20.08\00:35:21.42
He's saying, "Why do you
have to put stuff on them.
00:35:21.45\00:35:22.78
We couldn't even handle
it when it was put on us.
00:35:22.82\00:35:24.85
Why would we put it on them?"
00:35:24.89\00:35:26.32
"But we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:35:26.99\00:35:31.99
we shall be saved in
the same manner as they."
00:35:32.19\00:35:37.23
Very, very important.
00:35:37.27\00:35:38.60
You don't get saved
under a special dispensation,
00:35:38.63\00:35:40.97
you don't get saved
under a special set of rules.
00:35:41.10\00:35:43.51
We all get saved the
same way by the same Person.
00:35:43.54\00:35:46.61
And that is the
Man, Christ Jesus.
00:35:46.64\00:35:48.81
"Then all the multitude
kept silent and listened as
00:35:48.94\00:35:52.85
Barnabas and Paul declared
how many miracles and wonders
00:35:52.88\00:35:56.89
God had worked through
them among the Gentiles."
00:35:56.99\00:36:01.16
So, we see that God was
working through the Gentiles,
00:36:01.19\00:36:06.86
as He was
through the Christians.
00:36:06.90\00:36:08.46
And this tension,
though solved here in Acts 15,
00:36:08.70\00:36:15.54
really simmered for a
time, and the Christian church
00:36:15.67\00:36:19.67
and the Jewish church
had, as a said before,
00:36:19.71\00:36:21.84
had to part company.
00:36:21.88\00:36:23.21
The question is, "Should we make
the Christians, in short, Jews?
00:36:23.24\00:36:28.35
Should we make them
jump through Jewish hoops,
00:36:28.85\00:36:32.32
or should we let the
Christians come to Jesus,
00:36:32.52\00:36:36.12
come to Christ, through
the aid of the Holy Spirit
00:36:36.36\00:36:39.36
just like we all have to do?"
00:36:39.39\00:36:40.96
The answer, of course,
came out of the mouth of James,
00:36:41.00\00:36:43.93
co-signed by Peter and Paul.
00:36:43.97\00:36:45.37
"Therefore I judge," he
said, "that we should not
00:36:45.40\00:36:49.24
trouble those from among the
Gentiles who are turning to God,
00:36:49.27\00:36:53.21
but that we write to
them to abstain from things
00:36:53.98\00:36:57.08
polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality,
00:36:57.11\00:37:01.22
from things
strangled, and from blood."
00:37:01.25\00:37:04.15
Add to that the
keeping of the commandments,
00:37:04.89\00:37:07.96
which is alluded to
in the following line.
00:37:08.32\00:37:11.16
And that's sufficient.
00:37:11.29\00:37:12.63
In other words, he's saying,
00:37:12.66\00:37:14.00
"Let's just give
them basic things.
00:37:14.03\00:37:15.56
They don't have to
jump through Jewish hoops,
00:37:15.60\00:37:17.27
they don't have to
become surrogate Jews.
00:37:17.37\00:37:19.37
They just have to love
Jesus and keep some basic things
00:37:19.40\00:37:22.84
that separate them
from the world and from the
00:37:22.87\00:37:25.37
pagan community, and
they will be accepted by God."
00:37:25.41\00:37:28.34
Now even with this decree in
the Jerusalem council at about
00:37:28.38\00:37:33.42
AD 50, the divisions increased.
00:37:33.62\00:37:38.02
And so 45 years later,
the Jewish community says,
00:37:38.05\00:37:41.62
"Bye, bye," to the
Christian community,
00:37:41.66\00:37:43.59
and the Christian community
takes off to spread the gospel
00:37:43.63\00:37:46.96
throughout the
known part of the world.
00:37:47.26\00:37:50.70
The Romans were cracking
down on what they termed,
00:37:51.83\00:37:55.34
illicit religion.
00:37:55.37\00:37:56.81
Judaism was not
particularly adored by Rome.
00:37:57.67\00:38:02.44
They weren't that crazy
about Judaism themselves.
00:38:02.48\00:38:05.15
But at least it was what the
Romans called, a licit religion.
00:38:05.61\00:38:10.49
You've heard of illicit.
00:38:10.52\00:38:11.85
Well the Romans called
certain religions, licit.
00:38:11.89\00:38:14.62
In other words, they were legal
to exist within the empire.
00:38:14.66\00:38:17.76
Judaism was a licit or legal
protected religion by Roman law.
00:38:18.19\00:38:24.93
You remember Paul was a Jew.
00:38:24.97\00:38:27.34
And before Paul could be
sentenced, he had the right
00:38:27.44\00:38:31.44
to appeal to Rome.
00:38:31.64\00:38:34.38
His religion was at least legal,
00:38:35.04\00:38:38.55
though not in
particular favored.
00:38:38.58\00:38:41.05
Judaism was licit,
Christianity was illicit.
00:38:41.68\00:38:46.99
Christians were soon
to be judged as outlaws.
00:38:47.79\00:38:52.89
And so this
weighed on the minds of
00:38:53.09\00:38:54.76
the Hebrew Christians also.
00:38:54.80\00:38:56.16
"We can go back to Judaism
00:38:56.93\00:38:59.30
and enjoy a certain
amount of protection,
00:38:59.93\00:39:02.87
or we can go into Christianity
which is an outlaw religion."
00:39:04.94\00:39:11.35
And that was another subtle
pressure to go back to something
00:39:12.15\00:39:14.95
that they were
familiar with, that they knew.
00:39:14.98\00:39:17.59
The Hebrew Christians
also realized that Jews
00:39:18.22\00:39:21.72
were God's chosen people.
00:39:21.76\00:39:23.56
Christians didn't
have that pedigree.
00:39:24.46\00:39:26.66
So Hebrews wasn't particularly
an evangelistic work,
00:39:27.13\00:39:31.40
in its broadest sense.
00:39:31.67\00:39:33.27
The book of Hebrews was for
those who were trying to decide
00:39:33.47\00:39:37.91
if they wanted
to become Christians
00:39:38.11\00:39:40.51
and remain Christians.
00:39:40.54\00:39:42.44
It was written for people
who were having second thoughts
00:39:42.74\00:39:46.82
about staying in Christianity,
00:39:47.15\00:39:50.65
about staying in the
Way and following Jesus.
00:39:50.69\00:39:54.26
And that's why we
call it, Stay This Way.
00:39:54.36\00:39:56.73
Because Paul's
burden, his message is,
00:39:56.76\00:39:59.66
"You've begun this
way, stay this way.
00:39:59.69\00:40:03.70
And don't have second thoughts,
because Jesus is the way."
00:40:03.93\00:40:08.34
People like you and me who
struggle with doubt sometimes,
00:40:09.10\00:40:12.51
that's why Hebrews
is a good book to read.
00:40:12.54\00:40:14.54
Hebrews is a good
book to give some study to.
00:40:14.94\00:40:17.38
Even the very
first verse, as we said,
00:40:17.48\00:40:19.51
sets the premise
for this entire book.
00:40:19.55\00:40:21.38
So when you read it, you
are hit with several things
00:40:21.42\00:40:24.69
that I call, the super things.
00:40:24.82\00:40:26.89
Super themes, I call them.
00:40:27.06\00:40:29.32
One, Hebrews will establish
for you that among all the men,
00:40:29.36\00:40:35.40
women, boys, and girls
ever born on this planet,
00:40:35.93\00:40:41.07
Jesus is unique.
00:40:41.57\00:40:44.24
So when you give your life to
Jesus, you are following someone
00:40:44.94\00:40:50.45
for whom there is no equal,
and certainly no superior.
00:40:50.58\00:40:56.55
Christ is unique.
00:40:57.25\00:40:59.39
And that's what Paul is
saying at the very beginning.
00:40:59.42\00:41:02.56
He's unique.
00:41:03.32\00:41:04.66
What you see was
created through Him.
00:41:04.89\00:41:07.96
What you are is
created through Him.
00:41:08.26\00:41:11.73
What will be,
created through Him.
00:41:11.97\00:41:14.87
He is unique.
00:41:14.90\00:41:16.24
He is unequaled, unparalleled,
in the history of the world.
00:41:16.27\00:41:20.98
Christ is supreme.
00:41:21.01\00:41:22.74
Regardless of the list you have,
regardless of the God you serve,
00:41:23.08\00:41:27.88
regardless of what you
think about what's going on
00:41:27.98\00:41:31.65
in heaven or on
earth, Jesus is supreme.
00:41:31.69\00:41:36.83
None greater, none
more deserving of worship.
00:41:37.13\00:41:40.33
He is unique and He is supreme.
00:41:40.76\00:41:44.30
There is none like Him.
00:41:44.70\00:41:46.17
There are no copies, no clones.
00:41:46.37\00:41:48.47
Christ is unique.
00:41:48.80\00:41:50.24
Only one, one only.
00:41:50.84\00:41:53.38
And He is supreme.
00:41:53.41\00:41:55.51
Number three, and this
is very, very important.
00:41:56.38\00:41:59.55
"You pick the
category," Paul says.
00:42:00.65\00:42:04.85
You pick the category.
00:42:04.89\00:42:07.22
Priest... He's supreme.
00:42:08.72\00:42:12.09
Sacrifice... He is supreme.
00:42:12.96\00:42:16.53
Teacher... He is supreme.
00:42:17.30\00:42:20.40
Example for us... He is supreme.
00:42:21.24\00:42:26.88
And Christians,
particularly Hebrew Christians,
00:42:27.21\00:42:29.51
could relate to that.
00:42:29.54\00:42:30.88
They knew what it was
to have their sacrifices
00:42:30.91\00:42:34.88
taken to the
presence of God by a priest.
00:42:34.98\00:42:38.02
So Paul is saying, that
priest and those sacrifices
00:42:38.82\00:42:43.36
could never really
do the work for you.
00:42:43.39\00:42:47.00
But this new
Priest, this supreme Priest,
00:42:47.03\00:42:51.27
this supreme sacrifice
named Jesus can do it all.
00:42:51.30\00:42:56.07
Indeed, has done it all.
00:42:56.10\00:42:59.04
As sacrifice, He is supreme.
00:42:59.57\00:43:02.24
You knew what it was to
offer a lamb, or a bullock,
00:43:02.51\00:43:05.75
or a ram, or a dove.
00:43:05.78\00:43:07.35
You knew what that was.
00:43:07.38\00:43:08.82
You knew that those
were given for your sins.
00:43:08.85\00:43:13.72
Well this unique,
supreme being called Jesus
00:43:14.12\00:43:19.06
gave His life for your sins.
00:43:19.36\00:43:22.26
And so Paul acculturates,
he cloaks his words
00:43:22.30\00:43:27.14
in language that the Hebrew
Christians could understand.
00:43:27.24\00:43:30.84
Teacher or rabbi...
00:43:31.47\00:43:33.17
We've had teachers,
we've had good teachers.
00:43:33.78\00:43:35.94
We've had people who
were experts in the law.
00:43:35.98\00:43:38.65
But nobody spoke like Jesus.
00:43:39.08\00:43:41.98
Nobody talked like Jesus.
00:43:42.08\00:43:44.12
Jesus is the unique Teacher.
00:43:44.22\00:43:46.55
He is also the supreme Teacher.
00:43:46.65\00:43:49.26
But more than that,
the words that He spoke
00:43:49.29\00:43:52.63
were unique and supreme.
00:43:52.66\00:43:54.86
They were one of a kind
words, and they were words above
00:43:55.00\00:43:59.80
all other words.
00:43:59.90\00:44:01.24
You remember, the Bible
says of those listening to Him,
00:44:01.27\00:44:03.41
"Never a man spoke like this."
00:44:03.44\00:44:04.87
Because He spoke with authority.
00:44:04.91\00:44:08.04
As example,
Christ is our example.
00:44:09.91\00:44:14.02
He's the vine, John 15.
00:44:14.32\00:44:16.79
We're going to talk about
that in an upcoming sermon.
00:44:16.82\00:44:18.65
We are the
branches, He is our example.
00:44:19.05\00:44:21.22
These things which were
done, were done aforetime
00:44:21.32\00:44:24.59
that they may be examples to us.
00:44:24.63\00:44:26.80
Christ is our example.
00:44:26.83\00:44:28.60
We tend to look at others.
00:44:28.63\00:44:31.37
We tend to look around.
00:44:31.40\00:44:33.57
We tend to example
ourselves or pattern ourselves
00:44:33.74\00:44:37.67
after others that we see.
00:44:37.71\00:44:39.61
But Paul is letting us
know in the book of Hebrews that
00:44:39.77\00:44:44.38
there's only one real
example that you need to
00:44:44.51\00:44:48.58
line yourself up with.
00:44:48.62\00:44:50.02
Don't line
yourself up with the pastor,
00:44:50.29\00:44:52.45
or the conference president,
or the deacon, or the elder,
00:44:52.49\00:44:55.72
or any good man or woman
that you may see in church.
00:44:55.86\00:44:59.69
The person you need
to compare yourself to,
00:44:59.79\00:45:03.33
the real example, is Jesus.
00:45:03.37\00:45:06.23
Now I'll tell you something.
00:45:06.27\00:45:07.60
It is interesting that
when you compare yourself
00:45:08.20\00:45:11.57
with other individuals,
most people will always find
00:45:11.61\00:45:14.58
a reason or rationale to
come out better than somebody.
00:45:14.61\00:45:18.21
"Well, they sing better than I,
00:45:18.25\00:45:19.71
but I preacher
better than them."
00:45:19.75\00:45:21.28
"Well, they dress better than I,
but I'm thinner than they are."
00:45:21.58\00:45:24.92
"Well, they look better than
I, but at least I'm taller."
00:45:25.02\00:45:27.19
You always find some kind of
way to make yourself feel good,
00:45:27.22\00:45:29.92
until, until, you look at Jesus.
00:45:29.96\00:45:33.96
When you look at
Jesus, you see yourself
00:45:34.93\00:45:38.83
as you really are.
00:45:38.87\00:45:41.07
For there is nothing in
you that supersedes the majesty
00:45:41.34\00:45:46.24
and power of Jesus.
00:45:46.47\00:45:48.64
So He becomes our example.
00:45:49.48\00:45:51.48
If you want to know
what to do, do as Jesus did.
00:45:52.08\00:45:57.75
If you want to know what
to say, speak as Jesus spoke.
00:45:58.05\00:46:03.16
If you want to know how
to act, act like Jesus acted.
00:46:03.63\00:46:08.86
And you'll be
doing the right thing.
00:46:09.06\00:46:10.40
So Christ is
our eternal example.
00:46:10.43\00:46:14.74
And Paul puts that very
plainly in the book of Hebrews.
00:46:15.27\00:46:19.77
He is our example.
00:46:19.81\00:46:21.78
He is also the Restorer.
00:46:21.88\00:46:23.45
Your life has been torn apart,
your life has been trying,
00:46:24.11\00:46:26.65
your life has been made rubbish,
00:46:26.68\00:46:29.45
Jesus can reclaim
what you have lost.
00:46:29.65\00:46:34.06
He is the Restorer.
00:46:34.09\00:46:37.29
If you think you've gone too
far and you've gone too fast,
00:46:37.76\00:46:41.16
I'm here to tell you,
Paul is here to tell you,
00:46:41.26\00:46:44.03
the book of Hebrews
is here to tell you,
00:46:44.07\00:46:46.00
that Christ can restore.
00:46:46.03\00:46:48.70
Paul also says He is our Judge.
00:46:49.80\00:46:52.01
He's going to be the
one who's judging your case.
00:46:52.87\00:46:55.68
And isn't it nice that
your Judge in also your Lawyer?
00:46:55.71\00:47:03.99
And when your lawyer is
your judge, you can't lose
00:47:04.39\00:47:08.86
for winning.
00:47:08.89\00:47:10.23
When the judge is on your side,
and the attorney's on your side,
00:47:10.93\00:47:15.46
you've pretty much got it made.
00:47:16.23\00:47:18.00
If the judge is rooting for you,
00:47:18.27\00:47:20.44
if the judge is
pitching for you,
00:47:20.47\00:47:23.14
if the judge is on your side,
00:47:23.17\00:47:25.24
you know you're going
to get a positive outcome.
00:47:25.27\00:47:29.01
So Christ is
Judge, He's Restorer,
00:47:29.04\00:47:33.08
lastly He's Arbiter.
00:47:33.75\00:47:35.08
He's going to look at your
case and He's going to give you
00:47:35.12\00:47:37.89
a fair ruling.
00:47:37.92\00:47:40.06
All of this is packed
into the book of Hebrews.
00:47:40.42\00:47:44.99
Paul wants the
Hebrew Christians to know,
00:47:45.99\00:47:49.00
"Stay this way,
for this is right way."
00:47:49.76\00:47:56.00
That point is still
valid and worth emphasis
00:47:56.71\00:48:00.98
some 2000 years
later in our day.
00:48:01.01\00:48:04.61
He's not just another
prophet, although He is.
00:48:05.28\00:48:08.72
He's not just another
guru, although He is a leader.
00:48:08.95\00:48:13.62
He's not just some shaman,
or even some social engineer,
00:48:13.79\00:48:19.53
or Utopian cult leader.
00:48:19.56\00:48:22.36
He is the mighty
God, Paul is saying.
00:48:22.66\00:48:26.67
A thousand times no, He's
not just an ordinary person.
00:48:27.17\00:48:32.37
He is a unique person.
00:48:32.41\00:48:34.28
Paul came out of
the gate swinging.
00:48:34.41\00:48:36.11
He's armed, and
dare I say dangerous.
00:48:36.21\00:48:39.71
And I say it again,
"God, who at various times
00:48:39.75\00:48:42.25
and in various ways spoke
in times past to the fathers
00:48:42.35\00:48:46.42
by the prophets,
has in these last days,
00:48:46.45\00:48:51.06
when He speaks to us, He
speaks to us by His Son."
00:48:51.26\00:48:54.66
You remember back in, was
it Mark, where the disciples
00:48:54.70\00:48:59.40
asked Jesus,
"Show us the Father."
00:48:59.43\00:49:02.10
And they said it suffices, just
give us some clue of who He was.
00:49:02.80\00:49:07.54
And Jesus said, "Have
I been so long with you
00:49:07.58\00:49:10.51
that you don't know that
when you're looking at Me
00:49:10.55\00:49:13.01
you're looking at the Father?
00:49:13.05\00:49:14.45
When you're looking at My
acts, you're looking at the
00:49:14.48\00:49:17.42
acts of the Father.
00:49:17.45\00:49:18.79
When you're listening to
My words, you're listening
00:49:18.82\00:49:20.59
to the words of the Father.
00:49:20.62\00:49:22.26
When you see how I love,
you're looking and experiencing
00:49:22.32\00:49:25.29
the love of the Father."
00:49:25.33\00:49:27.10
So God has spoken to
us, He connects to us,
00:49:27.86\00:49:31.63
through His Son
Jesus in these last days.
00:49:31.80\00:49:36.27
And then he
establishes, as I said before,
00:49:36.57\00:49:39.34
the Son's pedigree.
00:49:39.37\00:49:40.71
"...to whom He has
appointed heir of all things,
00:49:40.74\00:49:43.75
through whom also
He made the worlds;
00:49:44.08\00:49:46.58
the brightness of His glory and
the express image of His person,
00:49:46.61\00:49:51.52
upholding all things by
the word of His power..."
00:49:51.55\00:49:56.29
You and I live, ladies
and gentlemen, because Christ
00:49:56.32\00:49:59.73
died and lives again.
00:50:00.06\00:50:02.60
And as Paul says, He is
sitting down at the right
00:50:02.63\00:50:07.20
hand of the Father
so that we can enjoy
00:50:07.27\00:50:10.27
the benefits of His sacrifice.
00:50:10.31\00:50:13.98
Sitting at God's
right hand on high.
00:50:14.34\00:50:18.11
That's why they go back.
00:50:18.31\00:50:20.92
Because God has given them...
00:50:21.12\00:50:22.95
That's why they
should not go back, rather.
00:50:22.98\00:50:24.95
Because God has given
them something better.
00:50:25.05\00:50:27.32
You see this over and over
again in the book of Hebrews.
00:50:27.36\00:50:29.26
It's really wonderful,
this something better.
00:50:29.29\00:50:31.39
God provides something better.
00:50:31.43\00:50:33.50
God provides a better way.
00:50:33.53\00:50:35.33
God provides a better sacrifice.
00:50:35.36\00:50:37.40
God provides a better example.
00:50:37.53\00:50:39.57
God provides even
a better covenant.
00:50:39.60\00:50:42.24
Not a different covenant,
but a stronger covenant.
00:50:42.27\00:50:45.81
Because this one is
based on the works of Jesus,
00:50:45.84\00:50:48.54
and through the
power of the Holy Spirit
00:50:48.64\00:50:50.35
is implanted in the heart.
00:50:50.38\00:50:52.58
Let's tap the
brake for a moment,
00:50:54.42\00:50:56.08
just put the light on
for something for a moment.
00:50:56.12\00:50:57.99
I want to show you something.
00:50:58.15\00:50:59.65
I gave you Hebrews 1:1...
00:51:00.79\00:51:02.82
...as an affirmation
of what Paul is saying.
00:51:06.90\00:51:09.80
Let's just go through and
take a look at this better way
00:51:09.83\00:51:14.77
that Paul comes back
to over and over again.
00:51:15.37\00:51:18.17
Hebrews 1:1; let's
look at Hebrews 2:3.
00:51:18.67\00:51:21.18
Paul says to the
Hebrew Christians,
00:51:22.41\00:51:24.61
"...how shall we escape if
we neglect so great a salvation,
00:51:24.65\00:51:29.05
which was first begun
to be spoken by the Lord,
00:51:29.28\00:51:32.82
and was confirmed to us
by those who heard Him..."
00:51:32.85\00:51:37.96
So again he's saying, "If you
neglect what Jesus is saying,
00:51:37.99\00:51:41.50
if you turn your back
on what Jesus is doing,
00:51:41.53\00:51:44.03
if you cast away who
Jesus is, you can't escape.
00:51:44.07\00:51:48.40
You've got to stay this way."
00:51:48.44\00:51:50.97
Hebrews 5:9
00:51:51.37\00:51:53.17
"And having been
perfected, He became the author
00:51:54.14\00:51:57.51
of eternal
salvation to all who obey Him,
00:51:57.55\00:52:01.42
called by God as High
Priest 'according to the
00:52:01.45\00:52:05.09
order of Melchizedek...'"
00:52:05.12\00:52:06.69
Again Paul comes back to
this idea that He's perfected,
00:52:06.72\00:52:12.49
He's the author of eternal
salvation to all who obey Him,
00:52:12.53\00:52:16.63
called by God as High Priest.
00:52:16.83\00:52:20.20
Again, we see the power of
Jesus, the majesty of Jesus,
00:52:20.24\00:52:23.77
the pedigree,
dare I say, of Jesus.
00:52:23.81\00:52:26.54
This is why Paul says,
"You need to stay with Him
00:52:26.57\00:52:29.74
because He's
your new High Priest,
00:52:29.78\00:52:31.91
He's your sacrifice.
00:52:32.01\00:52:33.42
He's got salvation, and
there is salvation in no other."
00:52:33.52\00:52:38.02
So you can see how
important this would be
00:52:38.05\00:52:40.46
to a group of people who
are thinking, "Maybe this
00:52:40.49\00:52:43.26
Christianity thing is not
what it's cracked up to be."
00:52:43.29\00:52:46.90
Paul is saying, "Oh no,
you've got a new High Priest
00:52:47.00\00:52:50.47
who's the author of eternal
salvation, who's going to
00:52:50.67\00:52:54.60
do for you what
none other can do."
00:52:54.64\00:52:57.04
I take you down to Hebrews 9:28.
00:52:57.07\00:53:00.68
"...so Christ was offered
once to bear the sins of many.
00:53:01.64\00:53:06.11
To those who eagerly
wait for Him, He will appear
00:53:06.35\00:53:09.92
a second time, apart
from sin, for salvation."
00:53:09.95\00:53:14.72
Paul makes a very important
point in the book of Hebrews.
00:53:14.76\00:53:17.89
He says, "You remember
those sacrifices that took place
00:53:18.09\00:53:20.40
every morning, every evening?
00:53:20.43\00:53:21.80
You remember how those
sacrifices went every morning,
00:53:22.20\00:53:24.27
you had to slay a lamb?
00:53:24.30\00:53:25.63
Every morning you had to
00:53:25.67\00:53:27.00
slit the throat
and collect the blood.
00:53:27.04\00:53:29.47
Remember how
that went on and on?
00:53:29.50\00:53:31.44
That stuff could never
really take care of your sins.
00:53:31.47\00:53:35.48
It was done in faith
that Jesus would come one day
00:53:35.51\00:53:40.28
and be the ultimate sacrifice."
00:53:40.32\00:53:43.35
So he says,
Christ was offered once.
00:53:43.49\00:53:46.92
Only once.
00:53:47.89\00:53:49.22
You only need once.
00:53:49.56\00:53:50.89
Because it was
the perfect sacrifice.
00:53:51.43\00:53:55.03
Those sacrifices
took place daily.
00:53:55.13\00:53:57.13
Every morning, every evening.
00:53:57.17\00:53:58.50
Well Christ did it one time.
00:53:58.67\00:54:00.60
And that once was better
than all of those millions
00:54:00.64\00:54:04.24
of sacrifices that took
place over thousands of years.
00:54:04.27\00:54:07.88
Christ did it once.
00:54:08.74\00:54:10.11
He died for sin.
00:54:10.88\00:54:12.71
But when you see
Him the next time,
00:54:12.75\00:54:14.88
He will be apart from
sin, He will supersede sin,
00:54:15.02\00:54:18.75
He will destroy sin, and
He will come for salvation.
00:54:18.85\00:54:23.96
Hebrews 10:29
00:54:24.76\00:54:26.70
Referring to Moses' law,
"How much worse punishment,
00:54:28.80\00:54:33.40
do you suppose,
will he be thought worthy
00:54:33.44\00:54:37.27
who has trampled the
Son of God underfoot,
00:54:37.31\00:54:39.97
counted the blood of
the covenant by which he was
00:54:40.01\00:54:42.98
sanctified a common thing, and
insulted the Spirit of grace?"
00:54:43.01\00:54:47.18
This comes at the end of a
long and powerful soliloquy
00:54:47.22\00:54:50.35
by Paul in the book of Hebrews.
00:54:50.39\00:54:53.36
He's saying,
"God has done so much.
00:54:53.39\00:54:56.02
Even those who were
condemned by the Mosaic law
00:54:56.62\00:55:00.63
at the testimony
of one or two people,
00:55:00.90\00:55:03.47
how much worse is it
going to be for those of you
00:55:03.70\00:55:07.50
who reject the love of
God, and the Son of God,
00:55:07.54\00:55:12.97
and the work of God, and
the blood of the covenant
00:55:13.01\00:55:16.44
which sanctifies us, and
you insult the Spirit of grace?"
00:55:16.68\00:55:20.22
Paul is making a
very, very strong argument
00:55:20.25\00:55:22.58
that you put yourself
in jeopardy when you turn
00:55:22.72\00:55:26.15
your back on Jesus,
and everything that Jesus
00:55:26.19\00:55:28.56
is trying to do, to go
back to an old way of works
00:55:28.59\00:55:31.56
which cannot save
you and cannot help you.
00:55:31.59\00:55:34.20
If they were punished
for rejecting Moses' law,
00:55:34.23\00:55:38.17
how much more
punishment will you receive...
00:55:38.50\00:55:41.20
And that, of course,
is eternal damnation.
00:55:41.70\00:55:43.74
...for rejecting what Jesus has
done on the cross of Calvary?
00:55:43.77\00:55:47.91
Hebrews 12:25
00:55:47.94\00:55:49.64
"See to it that you do
not refuse Him who speaks.
00:55:50.05\00:55:54.08
For if they did not escape who
refused Him who spoke on earth,
00:55:54.58\00:55:58.55
much more..."
00:55:58.59\00:55:59.92
We see that over and
over again in Hebrews.
00:55:59.95\00:56:01.69
"...much more..."
Christ did it much more.
00:56:01.72\00:56:03.73
"...shall we not escape
if we turn away from Him
00:56:03.76\00:56:06.43
who speaks from heaven..."
00:56:06.46\00:56:08.46
Paul is speaking plain.
00:56:08.90\00:56:10.23
"You've got words that priests
and prophets spoke here on earth
00:56:10.93\00:56:14.04
but now Jesus is speaking
to you through the Holy Spirit
00:56:14.07\00:56:16.94
from the courts of glory.
00:56:16.97\00:56:18.41
Don't turn your
back on the words of God.
00:56:18.44\00:56:20.61
Because not only is
Christ the real deal,
00:56:20.64\00:56:24.45
He's having you to
walk in the real way."
00:56:24.85\00:56:28.25
Then I submit to you
Hebrews 11:13 and 11:39.
00:56:28.52\00:56:33.22
Time is going to run
out, and we don't have time to
00:56:33.99\00:56:36.09
go through all those text.
00:56:36.12\00:56:37.46
And I don't have time to
take it back to Isaiah 30:21.
00:56:37.93\00:56:42.73
But the message is clear
for the Hebrew Christians
00:56:42.83\00:56:47.84
and for those of us
who follow Christ today.
00:56:48.10\00:56:50.44
Jesus said,
"There is only one way.
00:56:51.07\00:56:54.41
I am the way, the
truth, and the life.
00:56:54.81\00:56:58.65
No man, no
woman, no boy, no girl,
00:56:59.11\00:57:04.75
comes to the Father but by Me.
00:57:04.95\00:57:09.22
And having found the
way, walk in that way
00:57:09.66\00:57:14.46
and stay in that way."
00:57:14.50\00:57:17.57