Will you please stand with me and take your Bibles to the book of Hebrews. The last line of that song that we just sang, la ultima frase de esta cancion que acabamos de cantar, is a famous line from John Calvin. Es una linea famosa de Juan Calvino. In a prayer that he prayed, en una oracion que oro, Take my heart, Lord, and seal it for you. Tomas mi corazon y sellarlo por ti. Hebrews 3 and verse 1. Hebreos 3 and versicle 1. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the appointed the apostle and high priest of our confession. Hebrews 3, 1. Let's pray. God, you are holy and mighty. It's so good. God, so many times we think in our minds what we need, what we expect, what we desire you to be. We place on you our demands. And we say, God, give me these things, these are right for me. God, we even see in your coming, this was the attitude of the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees. And you sent one and only one. Not like anything we could have imagined. You gave to us a son. Who would take on him sin of us all. Who by him you would heal us. By conquering, killing. Punishing, causing him to suffer. God, as we look this morning. About the sending of Christ. Him as our apostle. God, would it make us the church love him more? In Jesus name I pray, Amen. It's been a fun week in preparing for this. I don't know that I've ever learned more through one verse of Scripture than Hebrews 3.1. And I know you're wondering, when are we going to 3.2? A couple of weeks. There's still a lot left. We've looked over the past few weeks. The three-fold description of the church. The description of the three ways of the church. That we share in a brotherhood. That we are brought and collected together as a group. We share in holiness. That we have an essential holiness because of what Jesus did. And last week, probably my favorite of the description. that we share in a heavenly calling. Que nosotros compartimos o participamos en un llamamiento celestial. That we are mere pilgrims here. Somos peregrinos aquí. And our reality is in the heavens. Y nuestra realidad está en los cielos. It's with Christ. Es con Cristo. We sang this morning. Cantamos esta mañana. My life is hid with Christ on high. Mi vida está escondido con Cristo. That is true of the church. Esa es verdad de la iglesia. We actually started this verse in the middle of the verse. I don't know if you remember, but a month ago, we looked at the imperative here. And that's what comes next in the verse. So, therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, Consider Jesus. Considerar a Jesus. And here we're given this imperative in this text. This is to mark the Christian life. You who have been called out of darkness to light. You have one calling. Your life is one. You only have to worry about one thing. Consider Jesus. You say, yeah, brother, but I gotta eat. Si, hermano, pero tengo que comer. I have to worry about something else. Tengo que preocuparme de algo más. No, no, no. The text says something different. El texto dice algo diferente. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Busca primeramente su reino y su justicia. And everything else will be added unto you. Y todo será añadido. That means he will take care of everything we need. Eso quiere decir que el cuide todo lo que necesitamos. Now don't hear me wrong. I'm not telling you to go quit your job tomorrow. I'm saying don't live for your job tomorrow. You have one calling. Consider the Lord Jesus Christ. When you wake tomorrow, your calling is one. Your calling to consider Jesus is more important than your calling to work in this world. So you should wake up extra early tomorrow to consider Jesus. But after the text, after we preach on considering Jesus, después de predicar de considerar a Jesús, and we look at who is to consider Him, y miramos quién debe considerarlo, the writer tells us how we are to consider Him. El autor nos dice como debemos considerar a el. We sang some songs this morning. Cantamos unas canciones esta mañana that go to that end. Que van a este fin. That you need to think these things about the Lord Jesus Christ. Que debes pensar estas cosas sobre el Señor Jesucristo. So look at our text. Mira nuestro texto. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the apostle. Dice. Now, this is an interesting title given to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the only time in Scripture that Jesus is given the title of Apostle. So we must ask some questions. Number one, why? Why is he called our apostle? And number two, what is meant by that? First, I want to define to you the word apostle. It comes from the Greek word apostolon. It's like a transliteration that we have. Now, this is interesting. Esto es muy interesante. The first use of this word comes before Christ. El primer uso de esta palabra viene antes de Cristo, anywhere from 5 to 1 BC. En un lugar entre 5 y 1 BC. If you grew up in a church like me, you wouldn't think of this word being before Christ. But the first meaning of this word had to do with a relationship with a ship. It used to describe a ship ready to go. And so if you think about it in that way, it's like a letter for us. You've written it out. You've put it in the envelope. You've put the stamp on it. And that is the apostle. Ready to go. But by the time Christ comes, the word and its meaning had shifted a little bit. And it was used of people. And that in two ways, specifically biblically. The first, the primera, is without extraordinary status. Es sin una status extraordinario. So, it's just someone that is a messenger. Solo es alguien que es un mensajero. This is actually the least common use in the New Testament. But it's just simply saying someone who has been sent with a message. You have many today that claim the apostle, that they're apostles. Tienes muchos hoy que dicen, soy apostle. That is not true. No es verdad. And when the word of God speaks in general of apostles, cuando la palabra de Dios habla en general de los apostles, it just means someone who is sent with a message. Solo quiere decir que es alguien mandado con un mensaje. Very few times in the New Testament, muy pocos veces en el Nuevo Testamento, here's one, aquí es uno. In 2 Corinthians 8.23, 2 Corinthians 8.23. As for Titus, he's my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers, apostolon, of the churches for the glory of Christ. En cuanto a Tito, él es mi compañero y colaborador para con nosotros. Y en cuanto a nuestros hermanos, son mensajeros, apostolon. de las iglesias y gloria de Cristo. So they are the messengers of the churches. Ellos son mensajeros de la iglesia. They're the ones who are carrying these letters that we have. Es ellos quienes estaban llevando esas cartas que tenemos. And so you have the first use of this word, tienes el primer uso de esta palabra, as someone, just a simple messenger. Como alguien, un simplemente mensajero. that didn't have any status. So it's not somebody of honor. But the second form, a segundo forma, and the most widely used, the más popular en Nuevo Testamento, is one sent with extraordinary status. Es alguien enviado con un estatus extraordinario. Now, this person comes with authority. Esta persona viene con autoridad. This is someone being sent or commissioned. Este es alguien enviado or encargado. on the authority of another. Someone taken from where they are, and sent for a specific purpose, with a specific message, with the authority of the one who sent them. So when speaking of the apostles, men commissioned by Jesus Christ, and holding the office of apostle, It means they were messengers on the authority of Christ. And we know these men because they had a face-to-face encounter with Christ. And he sent them with the message of the gospel. A great example of this is Paul in Romans 9. Acts 9. One great example of this is Paul in Acts 9, where he's on the road to Damascus. And Christ appears to him. And he says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he sends him with the message of the gospel. And then Paul begins to write his letters. Paul begins to write his letters. I, Paul, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yo, Pablo, Apostle of Señor Jesucristo. In Corinthians, he even defends his apostleship. Aún él defiende su apostolado. Now this is an interesting statistic. Eighty percent of the New Testament use of this word is found in Pauline and Lucan writings. Now, if you hold the position like I do, that Paul wrote Hebrews, that Pablo wrote Hebrews, and Luke translated, and Lucas wrote the Torah. This is a big idea in both of their writings. This is a great idea in the writings of both. especially since the only time this is ever given as a title to Christ is here in the book of Hebrews. Now, I do want to make a comment here. Paul doesn't use the word apostle in a prideful sense. Paul is not saying, look at me, I'm the apostle. Many times he adds a word to that. Like he does in Romans. Paul, a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel. So, we see that Paul is humbling himself. And he's saying that I am not to be the one seen. My apostleship isn't found in me. I'm coming on the authority of Christ. He has been sent by Christ. So we see that this word means someone who is sent. with extraordinary status. But I want you to see the concept of the use of this word. When used of Christ, it is the idea that he sent from the Father. So we have in our text, consider Jesus the Apostle. The one sent from God. El enviado de Dios. So the question is, where does this come from? ¿De dónde viene? Why is it only in Hebrews? ¿Por qué es solamente en Hebreos? I hope when you leave here today, you will say, man, what a great Old Testament doctrine. And I see how Hebrews rests so much on the Old Testament. And I see why he's given the title here. this concept of the one sent. Este concepto del enviado is actually the Old Testament prophecy. De hecho, es la profecía del Antiguo Testamento. Listen to a few verses out of Isaiah. Escucha unos versículos de Isaías. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, He will send them a Savior and a Defender to deliver them. have, when they're under persecution, when they're suffering, He will send one. In Isaiah, another 48, 16. This is prophetic of Christ. Draw near to me. Hear this. From the beginning, I have not spoken in secret. From the time it came to be, I have been there. And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit. Acercáos a mí. Oíd esto. Desde el principio, no hablaré en secreto. I've been sent from God. Speaking of the Messiah. And one more out of Isaiah. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. El Espíritu de Jehová, el Señor, está sobre mí, porque mi unjugo Jehová me ha enviado a predicar buenas nuevas a los abatidos, a vendar a los quebrantados de corazón, And so, you see, the ones who are in bondage, He's going to send one to redeem them. And so, you have this idea in Isaiah, the one who will be sent. When we look at Zechariah 2.8-9, For thus said the Lord of hosts, After His glory sent me. to the nations who plundered you. For He who touches you touches the apple of His eye. Behold, I will shake My hand over them. They shall become plunder for those who serve them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me." Zechariah 2, 8 and 9, because this is what Jehovah of the armies has said, after the glory that he will send me to the nations that have dispossessed you, because he that touched you, touch the girl of your eyes. Because I am here, I raise my hand over them, and I will be a shield to their servants, and you will know that Jehovah sent me from the armies." And so we see Zachariah prophesying about the Christ. God will send one. He will send one to you. One of my favorites, Moses is called to go lead the people out of Egypt. And he says, I can't do it. Send another one. And so we have this concept in the Old Testament formed of the one that would be sent. And they would actually use this phrase. And that means the sent one. And this was a typical language when Christ arrives on the scene. And it means the one who is to come. And this is actually what they would use to refer to the Messiah. So they would say, the one who is to come. They wouldn't always say Christ, but they would just say, the one who is to come. In Luke 7, John the Baptist sends his disciples. Go and ask Him. Jesus, the Jesus, the Christ, Cristo. This is what they told him to ask. Are you the one that is to come? And he used this Greek phrase. And that means, are you the one that is to come? Quien hay de venir? And this is a huge concept in the Gospel of John. Ese es un grande concepto en el Evangelio de Juan. He uses the phrase to speak of Christ in his Gospel 34 times. El usa esta frase, hablar de Cristo en su Evangelio, 34 veces. He, in one place, says this, en un lugar dice así, en 13.6, 13.16, Truly, truly, I say to you. A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. De cierto, de cierto os digo, el siervo no es mayor que su señor, ni el enviado es mayor que el que el envió. And so we see this concept, the one who is to come. Entonces vemos el concepto, el que ha de venir. And so we see Jesus as, you see the nation, ves a nation, the one waiting, esperando, for the one that is to come, por el que hay de venir. So we get to Hebrews 3.1, llegamos a Hebreos 3.1, the apostle, el apostle, the one who is to come. The One sent from God. You've been waiting and here He is. Here is the Apostle of your confession. The One sent from God to you. There are two things that I want us to see that we can grasp. First, I want you to see the authority that Christ has coming as the one sent. He came, not of his own, but sent by the Father. In the prophecy of Micah, in the prophecy of Michael, he says of him like this, And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure. For now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And the strength of the Lord He will take care of us. And so, we see the One that is sent to us, vemos el que es enviado de nosotros, is sent in the strength and the power of God. Está mandado en la fuerza y el poder de Dios. So, I want to bring out four things about the authority of Christ being the sent One. Quiero sacar cuatro cosas sobre la autoridad de Cristo siendo el enviado. Number one, He came as the expression of the Father. We've seen this in John chapter 1 with Brother Edwin. He is the Lagos. He is the expression of God. He is the language of God. He is the exegesis of God. John Calvin said it like this. Christ is what God wanted to say and Christ is how He said it. So we see Christ coming as the expression of the Father. The scriptures tell us that God is invisible. Something that Hebrews points out very incredibly. By faith Moses saw the one who's invisible. So you have God described as invisible. And it means we can't see him. My son Christopher, mi hijo Christopher, many times asks me this. Muchos veces me hace esa pregunta. Dad, what does God look like? Papá, ¿cómo se ve Dios? He's invisible. Es invisible. And then he says, He's Jesus. Y me responde, Él es Jesús. That's the point, ese punto. In 1 Timothy it says 6.16, that no one has ever seen him or will see him. Now sometimes we think on that. And we think, so heaven is going to be lesser. I won't be able to see the one who is invisible. We are told in the scriptures, that we've seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You need to know this, church. And this is what the author of Hebrews is first telling us. Seeing Christ, you've not missed anything of God. Looking in the face of God for all eternity, that you will not miss anything of God. He can never be seen, but Christ is the fullness of the revelation of Him. When we receive Christ, we've seen no less than God. Jesus is the sent expression of God. So first we see on the authority of the Father, that He came to be the expression of the Father. He came from the Father as a shepherd for God's people. So when we look at this word, the Apostle, what does that mean for us? He came on the authority of the Father to reveal who the Father is and to shepherd his people. That is the beauty of Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. He is my pastor. He has set a table for me in the midst of my enemies. Read in Micah 5.4, leemos en Micah 5.4, that he'll come on the strength of the Father to pastor us. Que el viene en la fuerza del Padre para pastorearnos. We see that He continues in the authority of the Father ascending. As the Father has sent me, so I'm sending you. And the same idea, I'm the sent one. And now I'm sending you. You're the messenger now. And so we see that he is the head and we're the body. And cuerpo, he is the one sent from God. El is enviado de Dios, and from that he sends us. El nos envia. So you see that Christ is sent on the authority of God. Vemos que Cristo fue enviado por la autoridad de Dios. But I also want you to see the work of the one sent. But I also want you to see the work of the messenger. So you have two things. Number one, unto us a child is given. And the government of the world will be on his shoulders. We see the one scent is the very one scent from the Father. Emmanuel, God with us. Emmanuel, God with us. but we also see his work. Pero también vemos su obra. He came first to reveal the will of the Father. El vino primero para revelar la voluntad del Padre. He came as the one sent from God to reveal the plan of God. El vino de el enviado de Dios para revelar el plan de Dios. So, he came to say, this is the will of the Father. El vino para decir, esa es la voluntad del Padre. The nation is looking for some other type. La nación está buscando otro tipo. And he comes, y el vino, and he says, no. It's this way. All of the scriptures point to Christ. Who has come from the Father. And to reveal the purpose of God. Second. He came to declare the Father Himself. Él vino para declarar a Padre mismo. He comes to declare the will of God. Él vino para declarar la voluntad de Dios. And he comes to declare God himself. Él viene para declarar Jesús mismo. As Brother Edwin preached a few weeks ago. Como hermano Edwin predicó hace unas semanas. He is the explanation of God. Él es la explicación de Dios. Number three. He came to show God's means of redemption. He came as the one sent. To show what was prophesied through the Old Testament. To say, I am Him. I'm the one they spoke of. He's speaking to his disciples. I must go to Jerusalem. Tengo que ir a Jerusalem. I'm going to die and be rose on the third day. Yo voy a morir y resucitar el tercer día. This is the plan of redemption. Este es el plan de redención. But where I wanted to get to today. Pero donde quería, I got away. Jesus, our Apostle. Jesus, our apostle, the sent one from God. The one all of the prophets in the Old Testament talk about. He's here. And the author of Hebrews says this. Consider Jesus the Apostle of your confession. El Apostle de tu confesión. He's your Apostle. El es tu Apostle. To be the means of God's redemption. Hacer el medio de la redención de Dios. Not only did he come to show the means. No solamente el vino para mostrar los medios. He came to be the means. This is what the author of Hebrews is referring to here. He's the one sent from the Father. I want you to think about it like this. You and I are wicked sinners. Tu y yo somos malvados pecadores. We have a debt with the Father we cannot pay. Tenemos un deuda con el Padre que no podemos pagar. We read in Job, leemos in Hope. Who can give his life as a ransom for another? Quien puede dar su vida en rescate de otro? There's no one. No hay. You and I can't do it. I don't care how much you pray. I don't care how much you come to Sunday school. I don't care how much you give. There's nothing you can do to make a recompense for that. Jesus is the only one sent. So I ask you this morning, church, is He enough? Think about it. From creation. All of the world is waiting for the One who sent. He was sent. They killed Him. We killed Him. He rose from the grave. And He's given to the church. And the writer of Hebrews says, He's your apostle. They say, El is to his apostle. And so I ask you, church, entonces te pregunto, iglesia, is he enough for you? El es suficiente para ti? The disciples of John went to Jesus. Los disciples de Juan fueron a Jesus. Are you the one or should we look for another? Eres el uno o debemos ver otro, buscar otro? This is the theology of most professing Christians today. Esa es la teología de la mayoría de los cristianos que profesan Cristo hoy. Yeah, yeah. Look, I prayed a prayer, and I received Jesus in my heart. Mira, yo oré una oración. Yo recibí a Jesús en mi corazón. But I just need a little bit more. Pero necesito un poco más. I just need something else. Yo necesito algo más. The songs you sang this morning, they were boring. Sorry, they just spoke of Christ. We just don't have anything else. Is he enough? Many in the church want to claim the blessings of the sacrifice of Christ. Muchos en la iglesia quieren tomar la bendición del sacrificio de Cristo. But they don't want to treat Him as the one sent from the Father. Pero no quieren tratar a Él como el uno enviado del Padre. And they're constantly looking for another. Y constantemente están buscando otro. I'm asking you this morning, church, is He enough? I'm asking this morning, Church, is He sufficient? Is He sufficient for you? Is He sufficient for you? Or are you still trying to please men? Are you still trying to fulfill your wildest dreams? Think about this. God promised over and over again that he would send one. He sent him and he's our apostle. The one sent from God. We messed it up. We deserve the judgment of God. For our sin, we deserve to be in hell. But listen to what God did. He took his son, his only son, and he put him forward as a propitiation. Y el lo puso adelante como propiciación, for our sins, por nuestros pecados, so that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in him. Para que el sea justo y quien justifica a el que tiene fe en el. There's no greater gift, no hay mayor regalo, there's not a greater sacrifice, no hay mayor sacrificio. Scriptures tell us, the scripturas nos dice, in him are blessings forevermore. En el son bendiciones para siempre. Is he enough for you? Pero es suficiente para ti? Is Christ all you really want? Cristo es lo que en realidad todo lo que quieres? Or are you looking for another? O estas buscando otro? When you read the Word of God, do you delight in Him? Or you just want it to end? God only had one to send, and He sent Him. I want to get ahead of ourselves. There's some in the book of Hebrews. And what they're doing is they're saying, oh yeah, we believe in Jesus. The sent one of God. I prayed and received him. Sunday ends. And they go back to the world that they live in. And they live like everybody else. And here's what the author of Hebrews writes to them. You're trampling the blood of Christ underfoot. Think of that. You have taken the greatest gift of all. The one sent from God. El enviado de Dios. And you've stomped on him. He has aplastado a él, pisándolo. That's what we do when we say, I think I'll look for another. Eso es lo que hacemos cuando decimos, yo creo que voy a buscar otro. You're a family. Es una familia. You're holy, eres santo. You've been called out of darkness into light. Has sido llamado de las teneblas a la luz. How? Como? Through Jesus Christ, a través de Jesucristo. And the author says, consider him. El autor dice, considerar a el. In what way? In chemoforma. That he is the sent one from God and he's all you'll ever get. Kale is the enviado de Dios y no hay otro. If He's not enough, you need to repent and look to the Lord Jesus Christ, because you've not seen Him. He is the fullness of God. And He's been given to us as a church. One application for the church, and one application for the church. You should cherish Christ like the greatest treasure in the world. He is worthy of everything you have. Let's pray. Gracias por no mandar otro y gracias por mandar él. Dios, ayúdenos como iglesia a ver él como el único suficiente, enviado del Padre para la iglesia. Muéstranos, Dios, que él es nuestro, dado a nosotros como nuestra autoridad, la única suficiente por nuestra vida. In the name of Jesus, we pray.