A Message Declared By Angels
Notes
Transcript
Hebrews
Hebrews
Context
God has revealed himself in many ways throughout human history
in these last days he has revealed himself most clearly through Jesus Christ
He is the greatest of everything
Who was present at creation and will be forevermore
God himself
The greatest of everything (Jesus) proclaimed a message
An important message
Therefore...
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
We must pay close attention to this message
This message is reliable and true declared by angels
Angel - angelos - means messenger
Angels are messengers and not God
Unlike man, when God says something it is always so; 100% of the time
EXAMPLE
When, as a parent, you tell your kid to do something or else
Then it comes to the or else and you do not do the or else
God is not like that
When he says the punishment for sin is death; it is death
But Pastor can’t God just show mercy or forgive
Sure; He did show mercy, Adam and Eve were allowed to live
But can’t God just forgive and forget?
How just would it be if a judge kept letting criminals go?
Throughout human history God has punctuated what he declared through people with signs and wonders
The reason for miracles was to add credibility to the one performing the miracle that it was from God
Neglect
Neglect
Pay no attention to
To be unconcerned with
Can you neglect a relationship and expect that relationship to last?
How does that work in...
the aspect of friendship?
A marriage aspect?
A parenting aspect?
It doesn’t work in these relational aspects at all
Neglect is at the root of a lot of broken relationships
The message the angels declared is one of relationship and it too must not be neglected lest it lead to brokenness
For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
Mankind, not Angels
Mankind, not Angels
(Psalm 8:4-6)
Remember angels are messengers
humans are not and never will be angels
They do Gods work but are not to be worshiped as God - there is lots of places in the Bible where angels remind humans not to worship them
There was an angel that tries to be worshipped
Speaking of this present world and in this season; God didn’t subject this to the Angels
That is this message is for us not angels
Salvation is for man
And it is well withing the control of God
All of it
Man as the pinnacle of His creation
Humanity is not the pinnacle because we are great
It is the pinnacle because we are image bearers
We point to a perfect God
That is the only thing great about us
putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Backtrack V8
Man could not be in God’s perfect presence because we are not perfect
So God himself became a man and lived a perfect life for us
In order that we might not taste death
That is; God made a way back into relationship with Him
That way, the only way, is through Jesus Christ
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
Growth
Growth
Discomfort can produce growth or refinement
Gold needs to hit 1800-2100 degrees F to be refined
The mixture of gold and other additives is then heated and melted
When the mixture reaches this temperature, it melts.
The metals in the alloy separate from one another upon melting and the gold sinks to the bottom of the crucible
Its only in this heat that the gold is refined and made pure
The way your muscles get stronger is by first breaking down
You do this by over working them
The tissues are actually stretched and damaged
Your body repairs those broken fiber tissues with satellite cells that divide quickly
This breaking down of fiber tissue is uncomfortable and can be painful
But it produces a larger and stronger muscle
When it comes to spiritual growth
It was through HIS suffering that our lives are made perfect
He takes our sins we take His perfection
We are sanctified through this transaction
That is, set apart
We are set apart as brothers and sisters and together become rightful heirs in the inheritance of heaven
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Because God is a Just God he cannot let sin go unpunished
He said the punishment for sin is death
Death was brought about by sin
Sin is the cause of death; its cyclical
The only way for death to be defeated is to remove sin
The only way to remove sin was to live a perfect life
Jesus did that
The only way for God to remain a Just God was to punish sin
Jesus took that
The only way for this to be a just payment for sinning against an eternal God was for the sacrifice to be eternal; That is God himself
Jesus is that
The message declared by angels and delivered through His Word is this
God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life
Amen! Amen!
Amen! Amen!