All right, we're back in Hebrews tonight, chapter two. And I hope to do something tonight that I've not ever done. Really, I hope to go from verse five to verse 18. And get out of chapter two tonight, because we really need to move on. This is our fourth session, and we're still still in chapter two. But you know me, we were never gonna finish anyway. And I had a a conversation with the pastor about that, so we'll probably come back in the wintertime and finish up. Last week, if you remember, if you weren't here last week, sermonaudio.com. I told you I was going to write that down for you, and I told you I would preach or lie. I hadn't done it, but I still do it before we leave, so that's still okay. Sermonaudio.com. Search my name, Walter Swain. There it is, or studies at Valley Creek. And you can pick up last week's study. But what we did is and I'm and again, now I'm taking for granted and assuming that you have read the material pretty good three or four times, chapter one and two, and you're familiar with it. So I'm not going to take the time to read it, except going through it. But last week, we came up on the beginning of chapter two, And as I hate to really say this again, I know I've said it too many times, the original is not written in chapter and verse breakdown. So what the writer did, and we have no idea who that is, what the writer did is he inserted a parenthetical section in the middle of the first part of his writings, which in our Bible comes out to be chapter two, verses one through four. Because if you read the entire two chapters, the subject matter changes dramatically in those four verses. Because he's right in the middle of actually preaching, it seems like a very thorough sermon on the supremacy of Christ. And he just stops in the center of it and puts a warning in. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Now, we went through that last week and I went through it and pretty well said all I wanted to about it, so we won't go through it again. Then he picks up the thought again in verse 5. If you remember chapter 1, he established who Christ is. The deity of Christ. He is the creator. He is the son of God. He is God himself. He is the one who paid the penalty for our sin. The New American Standard says that he upholds all things by the power of his might and that he made purification for sin. So it establishes right up front who we're talking about. Then he goes through the comparison with angels and we kind of took a little background work on that in the first session and you may want to go back and re-listen to that again. But what he's saying is there is no one more superior than Christ. He is God. He is the eternal one. And then he stops and comes in with those four verses saying, look, this one that I'm talking about, that is where salvation is found. And if we neglect that, then there's no hope. There's no hope for us if we neglect the salvation that is found in Christ. And he gives a little indication, and I didn't bring this up last week and I want to do this before we go on. He gives a little indication in verse 3 of who he may be. He says in the latter part of verse 3, Speaking of the salvation, after it was first spoken through the Lord, okay, that's where the gospel originates. Didn't originate with man, it didn't originate with anybody's idea, and nobody came up with it in the 15th century or the first century. When it was first spoken of through the Lord, that's where the gospel starts. That's where life is. That's where light is. That's where understanding and wisdom is. And that's where the gospel starts in the Lord. Then he says, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard. So you get kind of an indication there that he's talking about the apostles who originally heard the gospel from the Lord and then pass it on to the writer, whomever this is. You know, that doesn't really add to the mystery because the writer here never gives any indication who he is. He never talks about anything that could pinpoint him. As a matter of fact, all the Old Testament passages that he uses, and I told you last week, all of them are going to differ from your Bible because they come from the Greek Septuagint, not from the Hebrew language. So there's a little bit of difference, not in meaning or content, but just in wording. He never even tells you who those are. He never says, well, David wrote, or Moses wrote, or whomever. Now, he does talk about Moses in chapter 3, that Christ is even superior to Moses. And you remember where he's talking to Jewish people, so that's very important for them to understand that. So he doesn't even give us an indication of who wrote what. of all the Old Testament quotes that are in here. He never mentions that because his goal is, and it should be the same for us, to understand that the Holy Spirit of God wrote the Scriptures. Paul talks about the Scriptures being God-breathed. If you remember in Genesis, God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And when Jesus rose from the dead and he met the apostles in the upper room, he breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Jesus talked to Nicodemus In John chapter three of the Holy Spirit, the wind blows where it will and you can't tell where it goes, where it comes from and where it goes. So the Holy Spirit is associated with the breath of God. And that's what the author is wanting us to understand that the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. And let me inject something. Okay. And we believe that, right? We believe that is true. Yes. We believe this is God's inerrant Holy Word. So what what I'm saying is, you and I here in this little town in Alabama on this night are sitting here with the very words of the Holy, Almighty God in our hand. Now, you know that that bears meditating on, but and for me to know it bears meditating on. we're holding the very words of God. And the question we have to ask ourselves is, how much time do we spend in it? You know, I did a lot of research, remember last week, on a lot of things. And the great majority of the people that are tied up in all that stuff, the main problem they have is they don't know what the Bible says. It's written so a child mean a seventh grade kid can understand it. That's the only reason I understand. But we're holding the very Word of God. And that's what the author here is implying, without saying it. Because he doesn't identify anybody. But he talks about the Word of God. Well, we move on now he he stops that warning. There are several warnings here. And that's kind of a warning is kind of an invitation is kind of an appeal to the reader. I mean, you know, you've heard the gospel respond. That's the whole thing. If you hear the gospel, respond to it. Don't sit there and just hear it and hear it and hear it and hear it and ignore it. which all of us probably did at some point in our lives before the Holy Spirit opened our heart and we embrace the gospel. But he said, listen to it. And that's what we should do. Now I want to start verse five. And I want to try to get to verse 18. I really do. And I want to do something I don't rarely I rarely do. When I first started preaching. I was just a kid 28 years old. And an old preacher, CP, actually he's who it was, said, don't ever start a sermon off and use a sermon title that's got a question in it. Never title a sermon, entitle a sermon with a question. But that's what I'm gonna do tonight. And I'm pretty well lived by that. But I'm gonna do that tonight. And here's my question to you. And I look y'all, y'all see you from my chair, because y'all are kind of like this, you know, I mean, you know, I mean, and you know, and I know, you know, I know, put stuff out there. But here's, here's what I want you to think about tonight as we go through this. Do you have any idea? how much God loves you? Do we have any idea how much God loves us? Our time together tonight is a conversation. I'll be the only one talking because y'all won't ever say anything but but we're talking about tonight's meant to comfort you. is meant to bring us peace. Jesus said in the upper room to the disciples, he said, peace, I leave with you. My peace, I live with I leave with you. Not as the world does. But not your hearts be trouble. That's what he said to Peter in chapter 14 of john verse one, right? But not your heart be trouble. You believe in God? believe also in me. In my father's house, or many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. And I want us to come I want us to rest in Christ. And I'm gonna show you why. Because he starts off in verse five, and he says, speaking of God, for he did not subject to angels of the world to come concerning which we are speaking. But one testified somewhere saying what is man that you remember him or the son of man that you are concerned with him. That song chapter eight. And that was written by King David. Y'all just listen for some wonderful things. Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth? You have displayed your splendor above the heavens. Then on down, he says, when I consider your heavens and the work of your fingers, the moon, the stars, which you have ordained are humans or what is man? What are humans that you take thought of us and the children of men that you care for them. You've made him a little lower than God. And you crown him with glory and majesty. You make him to rule over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet. And then he goes on and list categories all the animals and things. What are we Lord? that you're mindful of us. I did I use this one time a couple of years ago, and I hope you don't mind me saying it again in a study. The known universe, the observable universe from our earth is 93 billion light years across. It contains scientists think about two trillion galaxies like our Milky Way galaxy, which is probably 100,000 light years across. Each one of those galaxy galaxies contain two to 400 billion stars. You kind of get your mind around that. And that's just what we can observe. Isaiah says, God calls every one of those stars by name. That he weighs the dust of the earth. Or he measures rather the dust of the earth. He weighs the mountains And yet, with all of these things that our Lord has created, he focuses all his attention on us. On this one little blue planet, in the middle of all of this creation, he focuses all his love, all his affection, and all of His grace upon us. Beloved, listen to me. Never ever think that your Lord does not love you beyond what you can imagine. Never think when you go to bed tonight that God is mad at you. Or when you wake up tomorrow morning, and you commit your first sin that you're well aware of. Well, I just made God mad at me. No. Your Lord, your God will never, ever be angry with you. Did you get that? Let that sink in. He will never be angry with you. Yeah, but Walter, you don't know. Never. Why will he never be angry at us? Well, I've seen Walter. I mean, I've seen and he used to get so mad at Israel when they send and he made them walk around for 40 years and and but he's got to be met. No. All the anger that God had toward your sin was spent upon Christ on the cross. Listen, when Jesus said it is finished, he meant what he said. And if you remember what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8 verse 1, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. None. He wrote in Colossians chapter 2 that God has forgiven us all our transgressions. All. A-L-L. That's everything. There's nothing left. All except that favorite sin you have that you have so much trouble with. I ain't pointing at you. I'm just pointing. All except for whatever. No. Romans five, one Paul writes, we now have peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. God is angry at sin. And beyond what popular teaching tells us now, the anger and wrath of God abide on the people outside of Christ every moment of every day. john 336 will tell you that. But when you're in Christ, the war is over. And it's all because of us little, little people. And I mean, let me let me give you some mind going by my notes. I try to use notes. I'm just no good at it. I just it's kind of like my daughter used to walk around with a blanket. And when you watched it, she'd stand in front of the dryer and cry till it got out. I think I write notes down is a security thing or something. but I don't know. I never look at them. Well, I do sometimes. Isaiah chapter 40 verse 22 says this, It is He, God, who sits above the circle of the earth. Where's that at? Solomon says of God in 1 Kings, that creation cannot contain him. And we just got through talking about the 93 billion light years. And that's only all we can see. It's eternal as he is. Yet it can't contain him. And Isaiah goes on to say, and it's, he sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. You know what it's like walking through the yard, grasshopper, little guy, you know, walks around here. If you step on him, you know, no big deal. There's a billion of them around. Not much of a secret a grasshopper can have from you, right? I mean, there he is, just a grasshopper. It's like that's what Isaiah says. He says He reduces rulers to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth meaningless. So, we can seem so insignificant. Yet God has set His affection and His love upon us. and of everything that exists everywhere, He sent to this little insignificant dot His only begotten Son. You know, sometimes I'm reading the Bible, you know, I chuckle at things. not because they're funny, but there are funny things in the Bible, but he sent his son for me, he sent him here. He came here, he was born in a little nothing town. And he grew up in obscurity, nobody knew who he was. John the Baptist was his first cousin. So was john and James, the apostles and they didn't know who he was. They grew up with him and knew him well. And john says in john chapter one, john the baptist says in john chapter one, I didn't recognize. But God told me whoever I see, that the spirit descends on like a dove. That's who he is. God walking around on the ground. We stand on the ground on the planet that God has walked around on Himself. We just don't grasp it. He's in there with his father Joseph learning how to measure a board. the creator of the universe, the one we just read about, that said that Isaiah said stretched the heavens out like a tent curtain. He's watching his father Joseph learn. Okay, this how you do it. He learned how to drive a nail. He learned how to sand the board smooth, which I don't know how to do any of this stuff. Some of you guys may be carpenters and He was a working man. He had calluses on his hands. He didn't call attention to himself. But He came here for us. And not only did He come here for us, it says in the next verse, you have made Him us. This Him is us. A little lower than the angels. We just read that. You have crowned Him with a glory and honor. God has crowned you with glory and honor. You want to know what God thinks of you? Do you want to know what God thinks of you? Read the book and see what He thinks of His Son. Not because we're equal to His Son. Do not think that. That's not what I'm saying. But because we are what we are in ourselves, we're nothing. But in him, Paul says in Romans chapter eight, we're heirs with Christ. What is Christ an heir to everything that God has? We just don't have it right now. in reality, positionally, we are justified by his blood, justified by his grace. That's what God thinks of us in his son. And it says goes on to say, and he appointed him us over the works of his hands. That means the earth. global warming is as bad a heresy as evolution. It comes right out of the pit of hell. Genesis, listen what God says. Now I'm not, I don't mean to talk politics. I'm just saying that just turns the God says this in Genesis chapter one verse 28. God bless them, Adam and Eve. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish, over the birds, over every living thing that moves on the earth, rule over it, manage it. God gave us our planet and he gave us authority over it and he said subdue it. That means to use the resources that it has to better our lives. And to say that it's going to, all the polar ice caps are going to melt and we're all going to drown. the whole world will be covered up with water. And we're all going to drown. That's because people don't believe the Bible. But we do believe it. And I don't believe that that's going to happen. And I believe God gave us charge over his planet. Because, if you go to Genesis, I wrote down the wrong reference. I got it, but I wrote it down wrong. Chapter nine, verse 13, God tells Noah this, I set my bow in the cloud and it shall be for a sign. of a covenant between me and the earth. It shall come about when I bring a cloud over the earth that the bow will be seen in the cloud and I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh and never again shall water become a flood to destroy all flesh. So I hear a guy talking about that that the world's going to melt ice is going to melt and the world's going to be flooded. And I just have a simple question. Have you ever seen a rainbow? Because that's God's promise. We don't have to go to bed tonight fearing that God has given us the privilege. How much does he love us? He's given us this wonderful planet. And he's given us the privilege of taking care of it. Here's what he says in Isaiah chapter 45, verse 18, for those says the Lord, who created the heavens, he is the God who formed the earth and made it, he established it, and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is none else. and he's given it to us to do and to use and not to hold it up like it's some kind of deity. You hear people say, well, God wants us to take care of this. He really wants us to take care of all this and preserve it for ages to come. You know, if you look in Genesis chapter 3, you'll find out one important fact. God cursed this earth. He looked at Adam in the day that they were making him and Eve were making excuses for their sin, you remember, which ultimately they blamed God for. And he said, cursed is the ground for your sake. You know where thorns and thistles and weeds come from? God created them. He put them here. And then none of us ever lived a day in our life and ate our supper that we didn't have to work for it, just like he told Adam. God cursed the earth. because of man's sins, but yet even cursed. And Paul says in Romans chapter eight, that the even creation itself eagerly waits for the redemption of the sons of God. In other words, it will be free from its cursing, just like we will be free from ours. In verse nine, it says, but we do see well, let's go back to our faith for in subjecting to him us, he left nothing that is not subject to us. But now we do not yet see all things that are subjected to us. But we do see him who was made a little lower than the angels, namely Jesus because of suffering of death. crowned him with glory and honor. So by the grace of God, my taste death for everyone. So I got a little ahead of myself a minute ago when I started talking about the Lord Jesus, but I can't think of a better subject to talk about. Did you try to meditate on him all day long? And you know, stuff gets in your way. Because I mean, we have little control over what comes in our mind. You figured that out. I know you figured that out already. But I can't think of a better subject to talk about. He says, we don't see all the secrets of creation. But we do see him who was made a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned him with glory and honor, that by the grace of God, he may taste death for everyone. Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 through 11, says, he set aside his glory You know what that means? He put his privileges aside. And he came here and he was like one of us. God understands everything. His understanding is immutable. He knows there's no way to describe what he knows. But until Jesus entered that garden that night, that he was arrested, he did not practically understand what it was like as a man to face the wrath of God that he created. And it was so It was so devastating to him that it caused his whole body to sweat great drops of blood. He put himself in that position. Verse 17 says, he had to be made like his brethren and all thing so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. He was like us, but he understands us. God understands us as God, but Christ our Savior understands us as a human being. Because he was so hungry on that mountain when Satan was tempting him, that the first thing Satan tempts him with is food. He knows what it's like to be hungry. He was so tired after such a long day and it was so hot and dry and he had sat down on this rock by this well and this woman came up that had never seen him before and the first thing Jesus did was say, give me some water. And when he was hanging on the cross, One of the things he said is, I'm thirsty. The prince of glory, Daniel calls him Messiah the prince, the holy one, the perfect and pure one, is nailed to this unbelievable cross asking for a drink of water. He had not been allowed to have water. He had not eaten since he'd been arrested. Wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom. Wasn't allowed basic decency, and he says, I want water, I'm thirsty. He understands us. Because He's been us. And that's what a Hebrew writer is saying here. that brings us comfort because he understands when we have these problems he was so tired and his time was so demanded upon and he had never no rest that he's in a boat with 12 other men and it's not a ocean liner it is a boat a little boat and it is being knocked to and fro by lightning and by wind and by rain and he's asleep. Who could sleep through that? And they come, Lord, Master, Jesus, save us. So he gets up and he does this. and creation hears its creators voice. And immediately, it's perfectly calm. How could he sleep during that? Because he was so exhausted. But yet, I've heard that called sovereign sleeping. That's supposed to be funny. Boy, I got y'all mesmerized. So he knows. How many times you come home work your feet just killing pull 18 hour day that ain't nothing in the grocery business. Sometime broke down. I'm sure in law enforcement or whatever else business y'all been in. He understands weariness because he's been weary. And he walked up to the grave of Lazarus and he wept. His heart was broken. Not because Lazarus was dead. Because he looked around and he saw hopelessness. The hopelessness of humanity and it just tore his heart out. And he looked at Jerusalem and he wept over it. He understands us because He's been one of us. In this great, vast creation, in this little nothing place that we're at, is so vitally important. And He came here. We didn't discover Him. Because Ephesians chapter 1, Verse 4 said, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. There's never been a time when you haven't been in the heart of God. And when the time was right, you heard the gospel, and you embraced the gospel. Verse 11 of chapter 1 of Ephesians, you heard it, you embraced it, and then you were sealed by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever thought about that? When the time in history was right? You embrace Christ because you heard the gospel. We all know Paul's story, right? Damascus road. Same like, God just said, I gotta do something about this guy. No. Because if we go to Galatians chapter one, Paul said this, he chose me from my mother's womb. And when the time was right, I heard the gospel and embraced it. Chapter one of Galatians, go there and read it. That was Paul's first letter, by the way. And he was mad when he wrote it. Verse 10 says, he was the perfect author of our salvation through sufferings. He didn't come here as a royal king. Remember what he told Pilate? My kingdom is not of this world. And when the Sadducees came to him and said, do we pay taxes to Caesar or not? Remember what the first thing our Lord said? Can I see a coin? Why? Because he didn't have one. He didn't have any money. You ever looked at your checkbook and thought, honey, when is it we got to buy groceries again? Boy, I remember the early days. Bless Dr. Weldon's heart appear he took 10 bucks a month for a lot of times for me. He didn't have anything either. Young man came to him one day and said, I'll follow you anywhere. Jesus said, Birds have nest Fox has a hole but I'm homeless. I don't have anywhere to lay my head. And I don't think at times, as I close out, I'm closing up. I don't think at times we understand as we read the Gospels. When you read them, look at what He has done for us. No wonder Isaiah, in Isaiah 53, no wonder Isaiah calls Him. The man of sorrows acquainted with grief because the whole time he is living this perfect, sinless, pure life. All he is ever doing is catering to other people. finding the New Testament where he says even in the last, even in john 13 through 17, the last few hours before his find where he said, boy, if you only knew the trouble I have. He didn't. He spent the very last few hours he had free before he gave himself over to arrest by the way, They didn't take him. He gave himself over. He spent the last few hours taking care of his disciples, telling them about himself, assuring them of his love, promising them the Holy Spirit, assuring them when they pray to God in his name, he will hear them. Oh, spend some time in those chapters. Spend some time and worship your blessed savior. All of those things he did. And what little bit he had. He had one robe. And they gambled over there. And somebody took it. As far as I know, text doesn't say you ever got it back. People were constantly taking from him. But he was constantly giving. And the greatest thing he gave was himself. You know, everybody that he raised from the dead, every blind person, he healed their eyes. Every deaf person, he gave them hearing. Every crippled person that he healed to walk, every one of those people died. So whatever he gave them was only temple. They died. But beloved, the blood of Christ saves forever. There is no death. These bodies and we're in and I can I mean, y'all are in the same shape I am we're wearing out now. I am I'm 100,000 miles tire on about 95 right now, I think. I don't care. Because he's never gonna leave me. And he's never gonna forsake me. And one last thing. I promise just a couple minutes. Verse 18, for since he himself was tempted. And that which he suffered, he is able to come to the of those who are tempted. We don't we don't we don't we don't have trouble temptation do we? He knows the pressure and not just not just on the mountain now that that if you read that this is the devil left him until an opportune time. You remember the day he asked the guys, Hey, who do people say that I am? And Peter says, you are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. And he said, Oh, good. Are you Peter? And five minutes later, he called him the devil. Because he said, I'm going to Jerusalem, I will be abused and I will be killed. And Peter pulled him aside. And Satan's voice came through him and says, I don't ever happen to you. There's a temptation to shortcut and leave all of us in hell for eternity. It was not possible for Jesus to sin. It's always been a debate. There's no debate about it. He had a holy heart and a holy mind. There were no competing ideologies in his mind. There was nothing in his heart that was even prone to sin. You and I sin because we got it in us that we're prone to it. But not him. How is it real? Because our Lord is an infinite being. in being an infinite being. He understands how infinite temptation is. And if you ever gotten to the point where you thought, well, I'm done with that angle handle trouble out of that anymore. It never stops. It never stopped for him either. But he loves us enough to subject himself to the reality of what real temptation is to a real human being, that when we go to our Lord and say, Lord, help me, it's as though He says, I understand. I know. I was tempted the same with you, just stronger. Even in that, He gives us comfort. How much does he love you? He loves you enough to give you all of himself for our benefit. He didn't die for his own sin. He didn't die to save angels. He died to save sinners like us. Let's have a quick prayer before we quit. Lord, what a wonderful few minutes we've had here. May we're like Paul, oh, the depths and the wonders of the knowledge of God, who could know it all. We pray, Lord, for hearts that worship You. We get to a point to where we just sit back And we worship you with all our heart. We're amazed at the amazing Jesus the Gospels tell us about. How refreshing every time we read them over and over again, He becomes more amazing. Lord, thank you for your love for us. Thank you your love sinners. Thank you that you died for us. And thank you that you live for us. And we have a brother a friend who understands us who can sympathize with our weakness because you've been in the same place we are. You've experienced all the things we have to deal with except without sin. And by that you paid the price for our sin and you sat down at the right hand of the glory on high. May your name be praised. And may we never tire of worshiping you. and never tire of bringing all our burdens unto you, O Lord, who care more for us than we can ever understand. And we pray these things in your holy name. Amen.