I want to invite everyone else here in the room to join me in the book of Hebrews chapter 1. We're going to start working through this book together. It should be really a wonderful time in God's word. Hebrews 1, 1 to 4 here today. I want to start with a few questions for you. What does the church living, if we were going to say in the last days, need? What does your church need right now? Just thinking about yourself, living in the day and age in which we live, what do you need personally? Any church or any person living in, if we were to just call it the last days, is bound at some point, sooner or later, to find itself a church or a person in a state of distress and desperation. Like, that's going to happen in the world in which we live. And it can happen for any number of reasons. And when it does, a church or the individual members of that church might start grasping for remedies and solutions to the perceived problem. There must be some answer to this problem or the problem in my life. And so if we're to just get real here for a moment, do you feel like your church is in a state of distress or desperation? Or have you ever felt that way here or at another church? Do you feel that maybe you are in your personal life? I mean, you could be fine one day and something happens the next and you are in a state where your whole world blew up and you feel desperate. What's the exact problem in your scenario? And what's the exact need? What does your church, what do you need right now above all else? And if you can pinpoint that need and then turn around and ask the question, okay, well, if there's one thing that your church needs, or there's one thing that you need in your life that would solve the problem, what would that be? You take the biggest problem in your life that's making you feel so desperate, if there was one thing that would fix it all, What would it be? People in churches in distress and desperation have all kinds of ideas about what they think that they need. And the book of Hebrews was addressed to God's church in a time that was probably somewhat distressing, that left God's people feeling desperate. This letter, if we can call it that, unlike other New Testament letters, it doesn't start with an author and recipients and a greeting. or anything like that. We're not given those details, but the title of the book suggests to us that it was written to Hebrews or Jewish Christians. And various details of the book suggest that it was written during the reign of Nero, if you know of anything about him. He didn't make things pleasant for God's people living at that time. And the book continues to bring up this idea of falling away or drifting away or turning back. So you imagine life starts to get difficult for God's people and the temptation is, all right, well if I just walk away from Jesus or the faith or whatever the case may be, my life might get a lot easier. I've got a problem, maybe I can solve it by drifting from Jesus. Life would be a whole lot easier in a world that maybe doesn't like Jesus or is antagonistic to him if I went back to my old life. What should the church do in distress? Well, by default, the church starts looking for something, quick fixes, ways out of whatever problem, when what the church should do and what you ought to do as an individual is to actually, what I need to do instead of looking for this and that, I need to start listening. This book opens by stating that God is one who talks. He is one who speaks. And this book starts by putting all the attention God puts it on his son. right out of the gate. God has spoken to us through his son, Jesus Christ, and the implication is what you and I need to do is we need to open up our ears and listen to what God is telling us through his son, Jesus Christ. God is saying, hear him. Let's jump right in. Hebrews 1, I'll read down through verse 4. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, that's Jesus, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He, Jesus, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purifications for sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is much more excellent than theirs. There are a couple of ways that you really need to see Jesus today. I'm going to highlight two of those. Here's the first way you need to see Jesus. God's son is the climax of God's communication. That's what Jesus, who Jesus is. If you look back at verses one, the two, the first half of verse two, again, it says, long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. So those verses convey, well, God's a communicator. He talks, he conveys things, and he has always been a communicator. For thousands of years, God talked and he spoke and communicated to his people and he revealed himself and he made himself known. God is the communicator par excellence, we could say. But what's interesting is he's done talking. You say, well, what happened? Why did he stop? Did he get offended? Did he get a bee in his bonnet? Like, what's the deal? Did he get tired? Like, he was just saying the same thing to people over and over again, and he got tired of repeating himself? No, nothing like that at all. Verses one to two draw several contrasts that highlight that God has spoken his concluding word, his last word to his last recipients by the very best means possible, and he has done so in a very definitive, clear way. And it's kind of like he's got nothing more to say. If you've said it well, why keep talking? As very imperfect communicators, I don't know if you've ever had this experience. I've had it many times where maybe you said something and it was kind of clear, maybe not crystal clear, but decently clear, and so you decided that you were going to try to make it more clear, and you kept talking, and the more you talk, and the more you talk, the more muddy, and muddy, and muddy, and it just got muddier, and muddier, and muddier, and you're like, it would just would have been helpful if you just would have shut up a long time ago. It doesn't make any sense what you're talking about. Or we talk about digging ourselves into a hole the more that we talk. Well, God shares none of our communication imperfections or blunders like that. He's a perfect communicator, and he has said what he meant to say, and he said it perfectly well. So if God has reached the climax of his communication and nailed it, why keep talking? There's nothing more to say. He said it in his Son, in Jesus Christ. So God has spoken his concluding word. And we see here in these opening verses two eras of communication that are being contrasted. We read about this past era. God says, And it refers to the entirety of the Old Testament era God spoke, all throughout the Old Testament. But that's contrasted with the present era, which is labeled in these verses, in these last days. And that phrase has a ring of finality, and it's a reference basically to the Christian era. Interestingly, it doesn't say that God is speaking to us in the present era, but that he has, that he did. It's already done, past tense. He has spoken to us. He has spoken his concluding word and essentially walked away from the mic. He's also spoken to his last recipients. Two sets of recipients are contrasted in these verses. In the past, we read that God spoke to our fathers. Who's that a reference to? Well, basically everybody in the Old Testament. Old Testament Israel. And in these last days, we read that he's spoken to us. the church, his concluding word to his last recipients, and further, God has spoken by the very best means. Two means or agents of communication are also contrasted here. God communicated by the prophets long ago, right? You read your Old Testament, and chapter by chapter, God keeps talking and talking and talking, often through the prophets. And now, in these last days, we read that he has communicated by his son. And a distinction is being made regarding the quality of the messenger, the agent. Which is better? What if you could hear from a prophet of God? You might think that's really cool, right? Some of those guys in the Old Testament were pretty awesome, like Elijah. Or you think about Moses. What if one of those guys could come to you and show up at your house and, hey, I have something to say to you from God? You'd be like, whoa, wow. I just met Moses. I just met Elijah. That was amazing. And God says, hold on, like, yeah, well, it was. But now I've spoken to you by a son. Which is better, a prophet of God or the son of God? A son is so much better. To hear from a son, the son of God is both spectacular and unrivaled. You cannot beat that. So God has spoken his concluding word to his last recipients by the best means, that God has spoken in a very definitive way. An implied contrast is made about the ways or manner in which God communicated in the Old Testament versus now. God communicated, we read, at many times and in many ways long ago in the Old Testament era. He revealed himself in a variety of ways over a massive period of time, bit by bit. So you had things like visions and dreams and cosmic signs and angelic revelations. I mean, angels were showing up on the scene, speaking on behalf of God. You have prophetic words and events. In the Elijah story, you have this still, small voice. I mean, God was just communicating all kinds of different ways. But it was all rather fragmentary and piecemeal, right? A little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit of communication there, this way, that way. Not, maybe didn't feel like a unified coherent whole. So you get all of the communication in the Old Testament and you're still like, ah, I feel like I'm missing something. This hasn't all come together yet. All the connection points haven't been made and you reach the final chapter of the Old Testament and you're still like, ah, how does this work and what's all this talking about? Many of you are familiar with Charles Dickens, and he had begun a mystery novel called The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but it was left incomplete because Charles Dickens died in 1870. So, you know, Dickens wrote all these novels or whatever, these mysteries. Well, he doesn't finish this one, and everyone's like, oh, how would Charles Dickens finish this book? How do all these pieces in this, how does this storyline come together? Because the main character, Edwin Drood, had disappeared. And Dickens never wrapped it up. He never brought it to resolution. And so everyone's left speculating. It's incomplete. Well, that's kind of the Old Testament. I mean, you read it, and you're like, hey, I feel like this is a story, and it's going somewhere. Man, I don't get it. It's not all piecing together. You've got all these promises, but where's the fulfillment? And you're left going, God must continue to talk. God must continue to speak. And he does. Through the person and work of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when he speaks through Jesus, he speaks loud and clear. God communicated at many times and in many ways in the Old Testament era. But again, a contrast is implied that now God has spoken one way. And that one way is definitive, it's precise, it's unmistakable and clear. God has spoken to us by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So God opens up this book of Hebrews and He says, listen, Whatever it is you've got going on, I am a communicator and I have spoken to you through my son. You need to hear Jesus and his message. You need to hear what his life and death and resurrection says. It's always fun to watch a firework display. And you know how it starts off, right? It's like there's a pop here and a pop there, firework here, firework there. It's red, yellow, green, right? And you're kind of getting one or two at a time, pop, pop, pop, pop. And it always seems spectacular all the way, well, it doesn't always seem spectacular in fireworks shows. I mean, let's just be honest. Some of them just aren't that good. But a lot of times, like for a little kid, it's like his ears are going off. Each one of them's really cool. And it seems so awesome. And it seems so great. Until you reach the end, the culmination, the grand finale, and everything that you've just seen, it's like, oh, that was almost nothing. When you've got all these fireworks going off in the sky at once, and all the pops just exploding, you go, wow, that's amazing. The grand finale is the best part, and there's nothing after it, right? It happens, and it's done. Jesus Christ is the grand finale, we might say, of God's communication to mankind. God's been communicating all along, and it's all going somewhere, and this explosion of communication in Jesus Christ, his son. God has spoken to us. He's spoken to you through Jesus. It was the climax of his communication. So what do we do with that? What do we take away from that? Well, as you read your Bible, let's say from cover to cover. You start in Genesis, and you read to the end. You actually should see it as this is a story that starts, and it's going somewhere, right? Like the whole thing fits together, and it's developing, and it's going to climax with Jesus. There's a continuity between the Old Testament and the New, and they're very tightly bound together. But the past, the Old Testament, gives way. It breaks forth into better things, and that's what the book of Hebrews is talking about. There was all this stuff in the Old Testament, but in Jesus Christ, everything's better. So you need to see the Bible as all together as one. Also, you shouldn't be looking for God to communicate to you through all those ways that you see in the Old Testament. Dreams, visions, angelic messengers, signs in the sky, or anything else like that. Anyone who claims to be a prophet after basically the closing of the scriptures, after we have our Bibles, You know, you should really probably disregard that person, because God says, I've spoken. Listen to my message through Jesus. That's what I've given you. And if you won't listen to what God has to say through his son, the reality is he he actually has nothing more to say. And it might be that you want to look at the Bible and you want to grab it for whatever you can, you know, pick out of it. Oh, this is really good. Some more morality here and some really valuable principles here. But I don't know that I really want Jesus. Well, this whole book is so tightly tied together and it's all pointing to Jesus. You can't just take him out of it and go, well, yeah, but I still have the rest of this stuff. God wrote the whole thing and it's all pointing to Jesus. He is the climax. And so you gotta take it as a package deal. If you won't take Jesus and listen to what God says to him, well, what good is the rest of the book to you? It's really no value other than to just, here's a bunch of moralistic ways you might be able to live your life. The whole story is going to Jesus. These verses should also cause you to embrace God's word, to study the Bible, to seek to apply it, to trust that it is life and true nourishment. These words are from God. He's the one who has spoken them and communicated them. He is a communicating God, and He wants us to know Him. He wants us to hear Him, and He's spoken clearly. One other big way that you need to see Jesus, not just as the climax of God's revelation or communication, but a second way, you need to see Jesus as God's son is exalted above all. God says, look at my son, listen to him, and see him as exalted above all, everything. The remainder of the opening or prologue to this book is consumed with proof or affirmations that Jesus is awesome. that he really is the climax of God's communication, that Jesus, God's Son, is exalted above all. If you jump in the middle of verse 2, it says that God has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." Everything that was just said there was talking about Jesus. The author of the book of Hebrews just listed seven proofs of the greatness and supremacy of the Son of Jesus. And so let's work through those proofs together. Here's the first one God gives us. God's Son, Jesus, is the heir of all things. I mean, that's kind of a big statement. Verse two states that God the Father appointed Jesus the heir of all things. So God placed or put his son as the one rightful heir of everything, literally everything. And that phrase, what it does, it anticipates the future reign of Christ and reminds us of who he is currently. Now this statement seems to be rooted in the Old Testament in Psalm 278 that reads as follows, I will tell of the decree, the Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you, ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. God's saying that's Jesus, it's all his. And this language of an heir and of an inheritance takes us to the thought of an enthronement to which this text will go in just a moment. A second proof about the greatness of Jesus, God's son made the universe. Jesus says, let me tell you about my son. He made the universe. I made the universe through him. Verse two says, through whom also he created the whole world, the universe, not just the physical creation. But time, the laws of nature, and everything else, Jesus is the Father's agent, we might say, of creation. Okay, well, think about that for a moment. It points to the fact that Jesus, he was around from the very beginning. It points to the pre-existence of the Son, that he too, like God the Father, has always been. Jesus was around before any of the stuff we're looking at was. The dirt outside there didn't exist yet. And the Father, through the Son, created the universe. He was before there ever was anything. He's the powerful creator of the universe. So God's just starting to put the highlights on Jesus. He's the heir of all things. He's the creator of the universe. And the act of creation naturally points to another proof of the greatness and supremacy of the Son. Proof number three, God's Son, Jesus, is of divine nature. He's God too. Verse three explains that the sun is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. You might think about the sun and its rays in that verse. Jesus reflects and extends and radiates the glory of God because he too, like the Father, is God. He's called here the exact imprint of his nature. You think about a rubber stamp. My kids have lots of these where they'll take their stamp and put it in the ink pad and then take it over and stamp it on the paper like 300 times. Whatever image is on the bottom of that stamp, when you smack it down on the paper, it's going to be the same thing. Or if you think about coins being minted, whatever is there at the mint in the form, that's exactly what's going to show up on the coin. In both instances, there's an exact correspondence between the two. Whatever was there on the stamp or the form shows up on what it's stamped on. And these verses are saying that, well, that's Jesus. You see God, you see Jesus, they're both God. With great eloquence, the author of Hebrews is saying that Jesus Christ is divine. Jesus is God. The Father and Son are of like nature. And so the Son reveals to us who God is. God the Father doesn't have a body, but Jesus Christ took on flesh and blood, and anyone who sees Jesus has seen the Father. Jesus is God. He has always been God. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, if you sit here and you're like, yeah, I'm a Christian, Then the Bible says that you are adopted into God's family, and so what do you end up being called? You're called a son or a daughter of God. Now, you're not divine, you're not God, but if the divine son of Jesus perfectly reflects and radiates the glory of God, to see Jesus, the God-man, is to see God is like this. He lives like this, he talks like, here's his character. Then if you are a son or daughter of God, then you too should reflect God. And throughout the Christian life, little bit by little bit by little bit, you should reflect him more and more and more and more. And by God's grace and with his help, that can happen. Because if you are a Christian, then the Holy Spirit of God actually lives within you, dwells within you, and can change and transform you from the inside out, little bit by little bit, so that you start to look more like Jesus. Isn't that awesome? Also, as we're talking about proofs here, here's another one. The Son of God who created the universe is actively involved in it. Here's the next proof. God's Son upholds all things by His powerful word. These are big statements. Verse 3 says the Son, He upholds the universe. by the word of his power. The deist conceives of God as some kind of divine watchmaker. Basically, so God created the universe, and then like a watchmaker, he wound it up, wound and wound and wound and wound and wound, and then he just let it go. Let the clock run, and he walked away completely uninvolved. Just let the universe run by itself. But that's not what the Bible teaches about God and the universe. Jesus is said to be actively upholding or sustaining the universe. It's telling us that God is right there involved in it. Or so you might go, oh, okay, so sort of like Atlas, holding up the world on his shoulders, on his back. No, even that idea falls short. Jesus is actively involved in his creation, meaning that he's governing it. He's bringing everything to his desired expected ends. He's directing the whole universe somewhere. And verse three explains that Jesus the Son does this by the word of his power. We read that God spoke the universe into existence. He literally brought it into existence by the word of his mouth. He spoke it and it was. And by that same powerful word, he upholds the universe. Here is one who has ultimate power. You know, you may sit here today and at times feel like your personal life and world is spiraling out of control. Anybody ever felt like that? I mean, a lot of times we don't, but then we do. And it's just like, man, nothing is going as it should. I'm not in control of anything. This could go sideways and bad a million ways or just all kinds of ways. My world is falling apart. I'm horrified. When you feel like your world or your personal life is spiraling out of control like that, verses like this, they really become a foundation for you to rest your life and your feelings and your emotions and everything else on. Because Jesus not only created the world, he's also governing it. He's right there in the middle of it, bringing his eternal plans into the realm of time. We might say, you know, he really is in the captain's chair. He is at the helm. And no matter how crazy the storm gets, you can rest assured that Jesus really is in control. He's in control of your life. Another proof of the greatness of Jesus is that God's son, Jesus, made purification for sins. Verse three speaks of Jesus making purification for sins. That's the language. Remember, this is written to Hebrews, Jewish Christians, with this massive Jewish background, with the sacrificial system and slaughtering animals all the time. And so this language would have taken these Hebrew readers back to that Old Testament system. But now we're reading that it's the Son, it's Jesus who purifies and cleanses from sin. They're thinking in the Old Testament priest, they're thinking lamb after lamb, goat after goat, bull after bull, after a bull that's sacrificed on the altar and the temple and the tabernacle and all that, and God is saying, it's my Son who does all of that. It's my son, it's Jesus who makes purification for sins. Everything you read in the Old Testament, everything you did, all of that pointed to him. He's the one that did that, does that. It is the Son of God who purifies and cleanses from sin. And we go, how? Well, think back to the Old Testament. It was all pointing that direction. Well, Jesus died on the cross. He shed his blood to atone for sin. John the Baptist called him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus, the final perfect Lamb, came to be sacrificed. to provide cleansing and purification for sins. Jesus, you might think of him this way, he is the final priest. Okay, the Old Testament had priest after priest after priest after priest, and those guys all died off, and then another one would just come right along, right? Jesus is the last priest, and he offers up the very last sacrifice, and it is a lamb, right? But it's not an actual lamb, the lamb is himself. He is the lamb. and he offers himself up on the cross. The Father is saying, Jesus makes purification for sin. The Bible describes Christ's work, you might think of it kind of in two really kind of big scenes. The first scene is down, and the next one is up. His humiliation followed by his exaltation. So what's wrapped up in what might be referred to as the humiliation of Jesus? Well, it starts with the fact that he took on flesh and blood. The theological word for it is incarnation, right? Jesus has always been, he's always existed, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Heaven for eternity in perfect harmony. And then at a point in time, God the Son descends to earth, takes on flesh and blood, just like the flesh and blood that you have. He humbled himself to do that and come and live here. And you think about these downward steps. Okay, so he takes on flesh and blood, leaves the glories of heaven, comes here, flesh and blood, and then he dies on the cross for sins, and then he's buried. He's completely humbled himself and all those downward steps are then followed by upward steps of exaltation. Like what? What are those steps? Well, his resurrection from the grave, from the dead three days later. And then it just keeps, the steps just keep going up. He then ascends up into heaven, but then there's more. He sits down. Step number three, at the Father's right hand. And then this fourth massive step, his second coming. He will come again to rule and reign and judge. He is king. And it's that third step of Christ's exaltation. that the author of Hebrews zeroes in on next, we read that after making purifications for sin, what did Jesus do? He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, that's God the Father. And the text connects these two ideas, purification for sin and ascending into heaven and sitting down, they're linked and tied together, they're very much correlated and linked. The son's rule commences or begins after he makes purification for sins. And just like that here in Hebrews, with the turn of a phrase, the author of the book of Hebrews turns our attention to the fact that Jesus is not only God's final priest, he's God's final king. It actually started with kind of this prophetic role. He's the last prophet. He's the last priest. He's God's final king. The next proof about the greatness of Jesus, God's son sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus is exalted above all and enthroned. God's right hand is a place of power, authority, distinction, and rule. And further, we read that Jesus is sitting there. He's seated. As Hebrews talks about the Old Testament priests, it talks about how they stood in the presence of God on behalf of the people. They weren't sitting, they were standing. There were no chairs in the Old Testament temple or tabernacle because the Old Testament priests never sat down. Why didn't they sit down in there? Because there was always need to offer another sacrifice. So they stood in the presence of God. Not for Jesus. He makes one sacrifice. He ascends up into heaven and he sits. It's done. Jesus is seated and enthroned, ruling and reigning as king. Calvin said that the statement that Christ was seated at the right hand of God is equivalent to saying that he was installed in the government of heaven and earth and formally admitted to possession of the administration committed to him and not only admitted for once, but to continue until he descend to judgment. He's reigning. He is the king and his reign will just continue to manifest itself, especially when he returns. And one final proof in these verses about the greatness of Jesus. God's son, we read, is superior to angels. And we'll pick up that theme next time. But if you look at verse four, it says, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. What's that all about? Well, we'll get into that a lot next time we look at Hebrews. But the remainder of chapter one will flesh that out in great detail that he's superior to angels. But the word angel, what does it mean? An angel is a messenger. And all throughout the Old Testament, angels are serving as messengers of God. They were also the mediators of the Old Covenant. And here we have Jesus, the final perfect messenger. He has the title, the Son of God, and he comes as a superior mediator with a superior covenant. He's descended, he's humbled himself, come all the way to earth, and he died and rose again, and he's returned to the heavens. He is most excellent in every way. He's exalted above all in his enthronement. He is Lord and King. There's nothing above him. God has spoken to us through his son who is the climax of God's communication and who is exalted above all. So if we just kind of go through the flow so far, we found Jesus is the culmination of all the Old Testament prophets. He's the final prophet. He's the culmination of all the Old Testament priests, final priests. He's the culmination of all the Old Testament kings, final king. There will be no other prophet, no other priest, no other king serving in this kind of role. So what do we do with all that? Well, here are a few applicational thoughts for you. Starting with the idea that Jesus is the final, the climax of God's revelation, prophet. What should you do? Well, you should listen to the message of Jesus. The great and final prophet. Everyone's in search for truth, right? Where do we find it? We can find it over here, we can find it over there. Well, you have God's truth in Jesus. He is the final and fullest revelation of God. And God is inviting you, he's telling you what you must do is you must listen to me through the person and work of my son. Listen to what I have to say to you through him, through the gospel. And as you make decisions and live your daily life, prioritize the teachings of Jesus and all that his person and work teach. If we are Christians, Jesus followers, who see Jesus as enthroned, that we're gonna go to his word and, okay, what has Jesus said? What is he taught? What is he demonstrated in his life and his death? And how do these grand realities of the gospel shape the way I think, the way that I view myself, the way that I view life, the way that I live, the way that I prioritize everything? If Jesus is the great and final prophet, then listen to the message of Jesus. Here's another applicational thought. Rest in the work of Jesus. the great and final priest. We've read that Jesus provided purification for sins, for your sins, and now he's ascended up into heaven and he's sat down at the right hand of God. He's not standing like the Old Testament priests. He's taken his seat. Salvation, your salvation, is complete in him. What should that do for you? Well, that has the power to do amazing things for you. That can give you assurance and wipe away your guilt that, okay, if you're gonna have salvation, it's entirely wrapped up in the one who's sat down in the heavens. Your salvation is not wrapped up in your performance or you needing to run around and stand up and do this or that. Your salvation is entirely wrapped up in the one who has taken his seat. And so if you're sitting here today, as often the case for people, maybe you've trusted Christ as your Savior, and constantly these thoughts pop up in your mind, like, ah, man, I'm not living so good. And maybe, I don't know, like maybe God would love me more if I did better, or I don't know, am I saved, am I not saved? Because look, I haven't performed so well today. In the Bible, the gospel constantly tells us, well, look at Jesus. Does he seem frantic? Does he seem like he's working really, really hard today to bring it all together to make sure you have salvation? No, like he did his work, right? He provided purification for your sins. He died, he was buried, he rose, he ascended, he sat. It's done. And if you're all worried about the security of your salvation, or you're one to tend to really doubt with assurance of your salvation, you're looking in the wrong place. You're looking at you. And you need to look at the one who's sat down very calmly, very much ruling and reigning in complete control, and you need to come to the realization that salvation is 100% Him and not you at all. It's entirely by grace, not by words. And on that note, if you've been spending your life trying to figure out how you could be right with God, and that's involved you doing this and you doing that and performing and just trying to earn your way to heaven, the Bible proclaims to you Jesus Christ. And just like we've read here in Hebrews, God says, I have spoken through my son. Hear what I'm telling you through him. And what God is telling you through his son is you need to lay down your pride and you need to lay down your good works because you actually don't have any and you can't earn your way to heaven. And you need to put your trust in the work of Jesus. And that could be very simply crying out to God in prayer, saying, okay, God, I'm a sinner, and Jesus died to purify me from my sins. That's amazing news. And he did everything. It's not Jesus plus what I can do, it's just Jesus and what he did, and I see that. So God, I'm a sinner, and will you save me through Jesus' work? And will you give me eternal life, and will you forgive me and cleanse me and make me one of your sons? Jesus is that good, and he will do that for you. So why not just ask him? Jesus, will you save me? He died to save you. Another applicational point would be to trust in the sovereignty of Jesus, the great and final king. Think about what we've seen. We've seen that Jesus is the creator and sustainer of the universe. That is power, but not just power, it's involvement. God may be cosmic and massive and amazing, this is the Jesus that we're talking about, but for as amazing and huge and powerful as he is, we see him right there in the middle of everything. Very much involved in the world and in your life, he's the heir of all things, the sovereign and throne king. And so when life gets crazy, you need to trust him in times of uncertainty and fear. Jesus is way bigger than all of that. And he invites you to rely on him, confident that he's in control. And remember that Jesus is greater than any of the challenges you are facing right now. Everything that seems big in your life, it's below the feet of Jesus. Another applicational point, worship Jesus above all. He is the great prophet, priest, and king. God just said, here's my son, elevated above all. So that's where he should be in your life. Since Jesus is exalted above all, superior to angels and anything you could possibly imagine, well, that means he deserves your worship and he deserves your devotion and he deserves your life. And what we tend to do is, well, we kind of replace him with something else. We replace him and his worship with other things. So take a look at your priorities and your values. and ask honest questions about those and make sure that Christ holds the highest place in your heart. God says that Jesus is this big and this awesome. Is he like that in my heart and life? Jeremiah 2.13 provides an Old Testament example of this kind of thing gone wrong. Jeremiah writes, my people, this is God speaking, my people have committed two evils. One, they've forsaken me, the fountain of living water. And two, they've hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. We turn to other things, thinking that they will satisfy us. And Jesus is here to say, I'm the only thing, I'm the only one who could ever satisfy you. Also, think about why you come to church on a Sunday. Maybe you think that we've gathered for you. No offense, but we haven't. We've gathered to worship the one who is far superior to any of us. We've gathered for him. and live your life for Jesus. We should all be living a Christ-centered life. Your faith, your practices, the way that you live, it should all revolve around Jesus. Not the traditions of man. If you look at a bunch of traditions and that does not line up with what God has spoken to us through his son, that's not good. You can't base your life on traditions of man or vain, dead, lifeless religion and all these other things or worldly philosophies and trends. Your beliefs and practices should line up with what the Bible says and teaches about Jesus. God puts everything there, the spotlight there. Jesus is the climax of God's communication. He's exalted above all. So what does this demand of us? These truths demand that we look to and listen to God's son. Maybe you're in distress and desperation today, and you're hungry for answers, and you're desperate, and you need help right now. Whatever your solution is, if it's void of Jesus, you've missed it. And that's never gonna satisfy you, never ultimately solve the problem. What's the one thing that's the answer? It's for you to hear what God is saying to you through His Son, Jesus Christ, His exalted Son. So are you listening to what the person and work of Jesus has to say or what the gospel has to say? Are you desperate for that? Are you sitting there going, yeah, I'm desperate and I'm needy and I need answers and I need solutions and God help me see it in your son. Help me see it in the gospel. Our church needs Jesus, you need Jesus, that's what we all need. And so God says to us, listen to him, listen to my son, hear him.