And last Lord's Day, we began the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. We talked on He Himself purged our sins. And today, the title is, Thou Art the Same. What a wonderful thing to know the Lord Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Over 2,000 years ago, He has not changed. He is the same Savior that saved Paul and that Paul saw on the road to Damascus and saved Peter and all the disciples and everyone who has been saved from that day to this. He's just the same. As we said last time, Paul is the author of Hebrews, we believe. Five reasons. First of all, Paul wrote to the Jews, and this is written to the Jews. And Peter was written to the Jews. And Peter says, according to the wisdom that our brother Paul has given unto you, has written unto you. So Paul had to write to the Jews somewhere. We believe Hebrews is the place. And then the second reason, the style is Paul's. Our brother Timothy set at liberty. That's exactly the way Paul writes. Number three, he knew the saints in Italy. It says in Hebrews 13.4, they of Italy salute you. Well, he was in prison in Rome, Italy, and knew the saints at that time. The fourth reason, he knew something about the bonds. Hebrews 10.34, he had compassion of me and my bonds. So he was a prisoner, like Paul was a prisoner. And then remember them that are in bonds, Hebrews 13.3. And finally, it's the traditional author is Paul. It's in the Old School Bill of Reference Bible, for instance. It's in the traditional Texas Receptus Greek text that Paul is the author. So there's no doubt about it. Let's read verse number 8. And by the way, someone asked about the page numbers in your Bible there. And the page number is 1587. 1587. I put that in the bulletin in case somebody didn't see it. It's there. Let's read verse 8 together. But unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. to the Son. Now, in verse 7 preceding, he's talking to the angels. And all he made the angels were simply ministering spirit servants. But under the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thy throne, O God. The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is clear. Now, in Psalm 45, verse 6, this is a quotation. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever the scepter of thy righteousness. Now, that's where this verse is taken from. And you know, Bishop Westcott, one of the authors of the Westcott North false creed text, in his commentary on Hebrews, takes away the deity of Christ in verse 8. He says, this doesn't mean, thy throne, O God. It means, God is thy throne. Well, that doesn't say the Lord Jesus is God, does it? God is thy throne. No, thy throne, O God, is the correct translation. Westcott has it wrong. And then he says, a scepter of righteousness. The Lord Jesus is not only deity. He's not only God the Son. the Son of God, but also his scepter is that of righteousness. There are many verses that deal with righteousness and righteous standards. There is no unrighteous judgment and government with the Lord Jesus. In Psalm 9, verse 8, it says, He shall judge the world in righteousness. There will be no unjust judges. No judges that will be paid off to have an unjust judgment that we can do today in these courts of our land. In Psalm 11, verse 7, the righteous Lord loveth righteousness. We've got to, if we're saved, if we're born again, we've got to love what the Lord loves. And that's righteousness. And then in Psalm 23, 3, the shepherd's psalm, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. And then in Psalm 45, 7, Thou lovest righteousness. God does love righteousness. In Matthew 6, 33, the Lord Jesus says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And then in Acts 17, 31, the Lord Jesus will judge the world in righteousness. the father, by that man whom he hath ordained. In other words, the Lord Jesus. We're judging in righteousness, no unrighteous judgment with him. He knows all and he will judge rightly. Then in Romans 3.22, the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. God says here in this verse, Romans 3 and verse 22, that righteousness can come upon sinners who trust the Lord Jesus Christ, believe on him and receive him by faith. He makes it available to us and he sees us as righteous. Romans 3.25, to declare his righteousness, that is God's righteousness, for the remission of sins that are past. His righteousness that he might be just and the justifier, then that believeth on Jesus. And so he's righteous, he gives us his righteousness by those who trust in his Son. Then in Romans 4.5, it says to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. And that's the way the Lord saves people. It's not by what anybody does, any works that we can do, any actions of any kind, but he saves those by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in 1 Corinthians 1.30, Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption. The Lord Jesus is made unto every saint, every believer that is saved and is born again, is made unto us righteousness. It's a wonderful thing. And then 2 Timothy 2.22, Paul says to this young preacher, flee youthful lusts and follow after righteousness. God wants those that are saved and born again to follow righteousness. And then in 2 Timothy 3.16, we read it this morning, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Now God does not want the believers to be unrighteous. He does not want us to live in wickedness. If we're saved, if we're born again, He wants us to live, as the Lord Jesus Himself, in a righteous manner and a righteous way. And that's the purpose of the Lord Himself. But the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son. Thy throne is forever and ever. There's no cessation of His eternal judgment and eternal reign. And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Let's read verse 9 together. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And here the Lord Jesus is spoken of. That thou still refers back to the Son, the Lord Jesus. Thou hast loved righteousness. That's what we ought to love. Now there's a whole group of people in this world that do not agree with the next three words and hate iniquity. and hate iniquity. There's a whole group of liberals and modernists and apostates that say we should not hate anything. We should love everything, love everybody, the universal love bug. God says no. He says we're to love righteousness. That's what we're to love. The Word of God and all that's in it that's righteous. But we're to turn our vehement hatred, and that's an emotion just like love is an emotion, our vehement hatred on all iniquity, all sin, of any kind. You know where to start? Right in here with us. Don't start with our neighbor. The flesh is the greatest cesspool of iniquity that you and I carry around, even if we're saved and born again. And we've got to hate the iniquity that's in our flesh, and then the world, and then the devil, and all the things around it. But we're to hate iniquity. Therefore it says, Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. There are various verses on this. You know, when I taught this in a church in this area, general area, about 15, 20 years ago, I don't know how long it's been, in a Sunday school class. I'll tell you, one of those ladies got up in arms, and she said, my, we're not to hate the thing and hate iniquity and so on. This is terrible. I said, ma'am, I'm just teaching the Bible. I'm sorry. She was all huffy and all. You remember that, ma'am. I don't know whether you do or not. She's gone through three husbands. Now she's on her third. I don't mean to say that she's divorced and married. The husbands died off. The first one we knew. The second one we didn't know. She's on her third. It's interesting. But she was angry that I was preaching the word and saying we're supposed to hate iniquity and sin. She didn't like hatred. Oh, excuse me. I guess Bernice knows of whom I'm speaking. Pardon me. I didn't mean to name any names. I didn't read the name. I didn't read. I just identified, I guess. In Psalm 45, verse 7, again, this is quoted from here, Thou lovest righteousness, and hateth iniquity and wickedness. And then in Psalm 97, verse 10, Ye that love the Lord hate evil. They're absolutely mutually exclusive. And it says in the book of 1 John, The Lord is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we walk in the light and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. We've got to love the Lord but were to hate evil. And then it says in Psalm 119, verse 13, I hate vain thoughts. Verse 128, I esteem thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way. This is a hatred again. In Psalm 119, verse 163, I hate and abhor lying. But thy law do I love, the word of God do I love. There is a love and a hate in Scripture throughout. They are balanced. One is right, one is wrong. In Proverbs 8, verse 13, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Not only evil, but pride and arrogancy in the evil way, in the forward mouth. God says, I hate it. He says, we've got to hate it too. And then in 5, verse 13, 5, a righteous man hateth lying. And then in Amos 5, 15, here's the balance again. Hate the evil and love the good. Hate the evil, love the good. That's the Word of God. And the Lord Jesus, in verse 9, exemplifies this. Thou hast loved righteousness. and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee. He is the anointed one. In the Greek, that's Christos. That's the anointed one. In the Hebrew, that's Messiah. That's the anointed one in Hebrew. He is the Messiah anointed. He is the Christ anointed. He is the anointed one. Above thy fellows the oil of gladness. And then there is a reverse of this, sad to say, in Micah chapter 3 and verse 2. Who hate the good. These talk to be a people who hate the good and love the evil. That's the opposite. He's talking about people in Micah's day who hate good, who love evil. Sounds like communism to me. Cutthroat criminality to me. And criminals that hate the good and love the evil. This is a terrible reversal of all that God wants us to do. We should love the good and hate the evil. Let's read verse 10 together. And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. Here is the, still that thou, thou Lord, going right back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Same as in verse 8, unto the Son he saith. Verse 9, thou hast love, writes in verse 10, and thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth. Now, here is the Lord Jesus Christ as the Creator, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. In Genesis 1, 3, it says, And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. The Word said. The Lord Jesus, the name for him is the Word. In John chapter 1, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word is Logos, it's the revelator. He's the one that was there in the creation of the world and the Spirit brooded upon the face of the water. So we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in creation. And he talks about the foundation of the earth. Thou hast in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth. Now what is the foundation? The foundation of a house is underneath the house. The foundation of a building is underneath the building. Now, if the earth has a foundation, I'm wondering if we do not have grounds for believing in geocentricity, which is the earth being the center of the universe, not heliocentricity, the sun being the center of the universe. I realize that both can be used to calculate all the different movements of the heavenly bodies and so on, but talk about foundation. Let's read some of the verses, give you some of the verses about foundations of the earth. You don't have to believe that if you don't want to. You can still go ahead with the popular science of Mars, Sun being the center of the universe. But as I said before, from the pulpit, whenever they go and moon shots are up in the atmospheric heavens and the big space up there, all calculations, the timing, the distances and so on are based upon the fact, at least from their calculations, that the Earth is the center of the universe. Everything goes from Earth. Nothing to do with Sun. And so, they don't believe that the Earth is the center, but all calculations are as if they did believe it, even though they don't. Now, they used to believe that the Earth was the center of the universe, and all of a sudden, in fact, there's a Danish astronomer called Taco Brahe, B-R-A-H-E, Taco Brahe, who was one of the astronomers that really held to this theory of the Earth being the center, but as I say, you take what you want, I'm not dogmatic on that, but Job 38 says, where was thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth? Job 38.6, whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened. Psalm 102, verse 25 and 26, Thou hast laid the foundation of the earth. Psalm 104.5, Who laid the foundations of the earth? Proverbs 8.29, When he appointed the foundations of the earth. Isaiah 24.18, And the foundations of the earth do shake. Isaiah 40.21, Have ye understood from the foundation of the earth? Isaiah 48, 13, Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth. Isaiah 51, 13, And forget us, the Lord thy Maker, who hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. Isaiah 51, 16, And lay the foundations of the earth. Jeremiah 31, 37, If heaven can be measured, and the foundation of the earth searched out beneath. So these are some of the things. Now, you could say, well, foundationist means the beginning of it. Well, that's possible. But it also might mean the foundation is something that is there that's fixed and so on. When Joshua's long day took place in the book of Joshua, he said, Son, stand still. He didn't say, Earth, stop rotating or revolving or whatever. And the sun stood still. Joshua's long day. It's interesting anyway. But in the New Testament, in John 17, 24, He says, the Lord Jesus in his high priestly prayer, he says, thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. So even before the Lord Jesus, the Son of God founded this world and created this world, the Heavenly Father loved the Son even before it ever happened. He's from all eternity past. And then in 1 Peter 1.20, who fairly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these times for you. The Lord Jesus was foreordained before any of the foundation of the world took place. And finally, in Revelation 13.8, all that dwell on the earth are written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. As if He was slain way before Calvary, way before Calvary ever took place. In the Father's eyes, in the Father's viewpoint, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. Now as being a creator. It says, Thou, Lord, from the beginning laid the foundation of the earth. That's being the creator. In John 1.3, we saw that in our 1.30 Bible study, didn't we? All things were made by Him, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And without Him was not anything made that was made. And then in John 1.10, we've memorized that. All those that come to our Bible study time at 1.30 service, our new service we've begun, have memorized John 1.10, 11, and 12. Let's say that together. Show the people that don't come to the 1.30 service. Ready? John 1.10. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. So at one tense, as He was in the world, and the world was made by Him. He laid the foundation of the world. And then in Colossians 1.16, by Him were all things created. By the Lord Jesus Christ. In heaven, in earth, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities of power, all things were created by him and for him, for his benefit. Not for our benefit, but for the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in Revelation 4.11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, speaking to Christ, to receive glory and honor and power. For Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. The Lord Jesus, the Creator, here in this verse 10, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. Now, this is an anthropomorphism, meaning a form like in humans of hands. The Lord doesn't have hands like we do, but we understand what he means. We create things with our hands. But you know, in the Scripture, in Psalm 8, verse 3, the Lord didn't even have to use his whole hands to create this universe. all the billions and billions of stars, and all the billions of animals, and insects, and fish, and so on. It says in Psalm 8, verse 3, When I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers. That's his finger. Job, for the Lord God of heaven and earth, for the Savior. The moon, the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man that thou art mindful of him? For the Son of man that thou visitest him. God who created all. stars, moon, sun, all the universes. Yet he considered us. What is man? Little, tiny speck of dust and sin. What is man? That thou visitest him. The Lord Jesus Christ visited us when he came from heaven's glory and took upon himself the form of man and then took our sins in his own body on the cross of Calvary. and died for us. He visited us and now offers to those who are lost, He offers us life. Eternal life. He offers us salvation. He offers us, and you might ask yourself, do I have salvation? Has He visited me? Well, He's visited and made it possible for you, but if you haven't trusted and received what He's come to do for you, He has not visited you. But the work of thy fingers. Very simple for the Lord to create these things. Let's read verse 11 together. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they shall all wax old, as doth the garment. Talking about they, that is the heavens. Talking about the earth, the foundation of the earth and the heavens. They shall perish. They're not eternal. You know, the naturalistic mind and the naturalistic animal biology and zoology and all the different things that they teach in astronomy and so on say that the matter is eternal. And eternally it will never go away and never pass away. The Lord says, they shall perish. They're going to be changed. This old world, this earth, the heavens are going to be gone. That's what he's saying. But thou remainest. They shall all wax old as doth the garment. The perishing earth, in Psalm 102, verse 25 and verse 27, that's where it's quoted. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. They shall wax old like a garment. That's what he's quoting. Hebrews is quoting that. Psalm 102, 25 to 27. In Matthew 24, 35, the Lord Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. So the Lord Jesus says his words, and we believe the New Testament words are found in our text of the Receptive Greek Testament that underlies our King James Bible. We believe the Old Testament words that the Lord Jesus also, I think, was responsible for writing through the Spirit of God and through the different men. The Old Testament Masoretic Hebrew text that underlies the King James Bible. We believe those are the words that he's talking about. My words shall not pass away. And there's a whole flock of fundamentalist people and schools and universities and seminaries, theological seminaries, that say Jesus was a liar. That's what they're saying. Because they do not believe that the words of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are still with us. They do not believe the words will not pass away. Who are you going to believe? The scholars or Jesus? I'm going to believe the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe that these words are the words that underlie our King James Bible. And you know what they say, the fundamentalists say, and we've been talking about that on our radio program, the five-minute broadcast, as well as the 30-minute broadcast, Dr. Jeffrey Koo from Singapore, The professor there at the Far East Bible College and Seminary has written an excellent critique of this terrible book, From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man. He goes right after these men, Bob Jones University, Central Seminary, Calvary Seminary, Detroit Baptist Seminary, various schools that are fundamentalists in many doctrines, but not in the doctrine of the Bible, because they do not believe the words of God are still with us and are preserved. They simply say the word of God, but not words of God. And by that, they're very clever. The word of God meaning the message only, just a general thought, the idea. Well, if God took the pains to give us verbally inspired words, God breathed words plenarily from Genesis to Revelation, what would you think of a God that would not preserve those very things plenarily, fully, and as to the words, down for the quarters of time? And Dr. Timothy Toh over in Singapore makes this reference. He said it's like the deists. Not the theists, but the deists. The deists say God made the universe and then went away on the journey and fell asleep and let it run by itself. No, God who gave us the words originally has promised to preserve those words for us today of all generations. The Lord Jesus said in heaven, but he said heaven and earth shall pass away. They shall perish. And he repeated it in Mark 13 31. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. He repeated in Luke 21.33, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Probably the only time in scripture where in three different verses, three different passages, identical words are repeated. I hope we get the idea. I wish all of our fundamentalist brethren would get the idea that he means what he says. His words will not pass away, but heaven and earth will pass away. And in 2 Peter 3.10, it says, But the day of the Lord shall come to pass as a thief in the night. in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." This is going to take place. The heaven and earth will pass away. They will be burned up. There's going to be new heavens and a new earth. As it says, they shall perish. They shall wax old as doth a garment. And we've got to realize, and oh, my loving brother, when the world is on fire. Don't you want God's bosom to be your pillow? That's an old hymn that we sing sometimes. But then notice it says, Thou remainest. Now that word, Thou remainest, in verse 11 is similar to verse 12 that I've titled my message this morning, Thou art the same. Thou remainest. Thou art the same. In other words, everything is going to be burned up but not the Lord Jesus Christ. He remains. He's the same. In Psalm 90, verse 2, From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. There is no change in the Lord. In Psalm 93, verse 2, thou art from everlasting. Psalm 106, verse 48, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. In Isaiah 9, verse 6, the Lord Jesus is called, his name should be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. From eternity past to eternity future. And then in Isaiah 26, 4, trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. He remains. And he can give strength everlastingly. No ending. And there is no searching of his understanding. The everlasting God. Isaiah 40, verse 28 also. And in Micah 5, 2, it talks about thou Bethlehem of Judea. It talks about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Micah 5, 2. Out of he shall come forth unto me one that shall be ruler in Israel. Whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting, thou remainest. Everlasting past, everlasting future. You know, the NIV really makes a hatchet job on Micah 5.2. Instead of whose goings forth, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose goings forth have been from old, they say whose origins. As if the Lord Jesus Christ had an origin. Terrible blasphemy of the New International Version. Owned by this Rupert fellow, the biggest pornographer in the world. The NIV. So he doesn't care what these things say. And then the second part of verse 5-2, he says, whose goings have been from of old, from everlasting. Instead of everlasting, the eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ, they change it to from old time. Now, there's a world of difference between simply old time and everlasting. Old time could be last year, could be ten years ago, a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, but not everlasting. The Lord Jesus is everlasting. Romans 16-26. the commandment of the everlasting God. And then Hebrews 13.8, the one that we all love, Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday and today and forever. They shall perish, thou remainest. The Lord Jesus Christ is not going away. The unbelieving apostates wish He'd go away. The communists and thugs and criminals wish He'd go away. All the people that hate Him wish He'd go away. He's not going away. He remains. He's going to continue to remain on through eternity. Let's read verse 12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy ears shall not fail. As a vesture, just a covering, a mantle, a wrapper, thou shalt fold them up. When we finish with the table for the Lord's Supper, the tablecloth, my wife folds them up. I suppose if you don't have a place to hang your garments when you go home, probably fold them up, lay them in the drawer, put them somewhere else or else whatever. This is what he's going to do to the worlds, to the heavens, to this earth. As a vesture shalt thou, referring back to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus in the book of Hebrews is greater than all these things, greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than the law, greater than the old covenant, greater than all these things. And he is the one that Paul is telling these Jews that have come to Christ and are saved He's telling these Jews the greatness of Christ, the greatness of their Messiah, who they crucified on the cross of Calvary. He's showing them, and as a vesture shall thou, the Lord Jesus, fold them up. Now, to fold up the heavens, and to fold up the stars, and to fold up the earth. Think of the power. We do all we can do to fold up these chairs, if we want to fold them up, or fold up our clothes. The powerful Savior, the Lord Jesus, the powerful Savior indeed. And they shall be changed. Yes, new heavens, new earth, but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail. He'll never change. You can count on Him. You know, when I went to a Bible conference in Liberia the first time, Pastor Joe and Mrs. Joe, Tanya Joe, said, you know, he said, You're older. I was younger than I am today. That was back ten years ago. But you know, you sound like my husband. Thank you, Joe. I said, you sound just like Pastor Joe. Fervent, strong, straight. He said, we have noticed that when people from your country come over and they're older, they change. They move. They soften and they just aren't as strong for the Lord as they should be. But you seem to be strong as I am. May the Lord keep me strong. But the Lord Jesus doesn't change either. If we're right, if we're following the Word of God, we have no right to change. The Word of God does not change. We should not change. The Savior doesn't change. Thou art the same. Again, as we said in Psalm 90, verse 2, from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art God. He doesn't change. Thy throne is established. Thou art everlasting. And the everlasting Father, the Lord in everlasting strength. We've said this before where it says, Thou remainest in Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, he's the same in many ways. He's the same in his hatred for sin. Whether it's in us or in the world of others around us, he's hateful of sin. He's the same in his love for righteousness and purity and holiness. He's the same in his forgiveness of sin. He can forgive when we realize we're lost, when we admit to the Lord that we're unsaved, we can't save ourselves, and we're sinners. And when we admit to the Lord that that's true, He's the same. He will save us. He will forgive us when we trust Him and receive Him. He's the same in His gift of eternal life. He said, I give unto them eternal life, those that are saved, and they shall never perish. There's lots of things. He's the same when he says, I will never leave you or forsake you. Once you're on the Savior's vessel, you can smile at the storm, and He will never forsake you, never let you down. The same. You can count on Him. You can pray to Him and ask Him things, and He will listen. He cares for you. He's the high priest, the great high priest. Let's read verse 13 together. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? The angels don't hold a candle to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, the angels are more powerful than we are, human beings, but they're created beings. The Lord Jesus is the creator of the angels, and of the heavens, and of the earth, and all that in them is. Do you realize how many times it says here, to which of the angels, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? The right hand, the Lord Jesus is the favored one of heaven. The favored one of heaven. There's no more favored place with the Father than on his right hand. That's where the honor is. That's where the place of privilege is. That's where the Lord Jesus is. Another thing, you notice the word sit. Sit. Now, he's our great high priest in heaven. And yet he's seated at the Father's right hand. Now, the priests on earth had no chair in the tabernacle. They couldn't sit down. The work was never finished. The Lord Jesus says, it is finished. There's finished work. But the priests on earth, they couldn't have a chair. They couldn't sit in there and just relax and do what they want to do, play cards or whatever. Not that they would do that, but the Lord Jesus sat down. Just a few verses on this. There are 16 places in the Bible in the New Testament that show that the Lord Jesus is on the right hand of God the Father. Mark 16, 19. He sat on the right hand of God. of the four Gospels it has seated on the right hand of God. That's why Mark 16, 9 to 12, the last four verses of Mark, is so important. That's why the modernists and apostates take it out of their Bibles, put footnotes saying it doesn't really belong. Because being out of Westcott and Hort people don't like it. In Luke 20, verse 42, sit thou in my right hand. He's quoting from the Psalms. Luke 22, 69, Son of man, sit on the right hand of the power of God. Acts 2, 32 and 33. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, Acts 2.34, the Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. Acts 7.55, here is the martyr. We mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, the martyr Stephen. And as the martyr Stephen was being slain, he says, I see Jesus standing on the right hand. Now, why did Jesus get off of his seat and stand? because he was waiting for his martyr Stephen, who was a faithful witness to all the things of truth, waiting for him to come to glory. And he stood up. The only place that talks about the right hand, where Jesus is standing, is when the martyr Stephen was there in Acts 7, verse 56. Stephen said, I see heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Romans 8.34, even who is at the right hand of God, Ephesians 1.20, you sat him at the right hand of God in the heavenly places. Colossians 3.1, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Hebrews 1.3, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Hebrews 1.13, that's the one here, sit thou on thy right hand. Hebrews 8.1, on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heavens. Hebrews 10.12, he had one sacrifice for sins and sat down on the right hand of God. His work was finished. When you sit down, you're finished. If you're a teacher, as I was at the School District of Philadelphia for 19 years. The last year, as I've said before, was in high school, Franklin Learning Center. The other 18 years were in junior high school and very difficult. But in the senior high school, that one year I was there before I retired, the principal had a rule about teachers. We in this school have stand-up teaching. We were not permitted to sit down when we taught. Now, all the other schools I've ever been in, the junior high school, we could sit down occasionally and talk and so on and teach. No, not in this school. Stand-up teaching. But when I was finished with the class, I could sit down. And I did. Believe me. I got some good heavy shoes that could enable me to stand up for the four or five periods that I taught, 15-minute periods each, stand-up teaching. Even though the children were doing something and doing work, you still stood up. See, and if he caught you sitting down, there'd be a price to pay, I'm sure. But the Lord Jesus, when he finished his work, sacrificed for sins, sat down on the right hand of God. Then Hebrews 12, 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Then in 1 Peter 3.22, who has gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God. So the Lord Jesus is on the very privileged place of the Father, at the right hand of God. And then it says in this same verse, sit down at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. A footstool is something you put your feet on. That was an expression in ancient days when a conqueror conquered a people. He put his foot on the neck of his conquered person. That showed that he was the victor. And that's what the Lord Jesus says, the victory over all the sin and unrighteousness in this world. In Psalm 110, verse 1, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. This is where this passage is quoted. In Matthew 22, verse 44, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Again, quoting from this Psalm 110. In Mark 12, verse 36. sit down my right hand the Lord said unto my Lord sit down my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool again quoting that and Luke 20 verse 43 until I make thine enemies thy footstool Acts 2.35 until I make thy foes thy footstool and Hebrews 10.13 expecting till his enemies be made his footstool it's a quotation but over and over six different places it's repeated in scripture the Lord Jesus is going to make his enemies his footstool now you say well are the wicked Nations of the world are going to conquer the Lord's people. In the tribulation period of seven years that's going to be on this earth, there's going to be a terrific holocaust. Will anybody be able to conquer the Lord Jesus? No. He will be a victor and he will sit on the right hand until his enemies are made his foes. And they will, as it says in the book of Philippians, every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And the enemies will be the footstool. It's taken for the practice of conquerors, as I said, who placed their feet on the necks of their conquered enemies. And that's what the Lord Jesus is going to be doing. And verse 14, let's read the last verse together. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? He's speaking about not to the angels, he said. Aren't they ministering spirits? Servants. What is their purpose? sent forth to minister or to serve them who shall be heirs of salvation. I'd like to take a few verses to show nine different instances of how the angel of the Lord, which we believe is the Lord Jesus in pre-incarnate state, assisted and ministered to the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Genesis 22.11, Abraham, for instance, the angel of the Lord called him out of heaven. Abraham said, Here am I. And Abraham lifted up his eyes when he was going to sacrifice Isaac. Behold, a ram was caught in the thicket. It was the angel of the Lord that told him, Do not kill thy son. The dagger was raised on Mount Moriah. God told him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. But one of the angels, the angel of the Lord, called out of heaven and said, Do not lay thy hand not upon the lad. And so the ram was caught in the thicket. And then a second instance, the call of Moses. Angels ministered unto Moses. It says in Exodus 3 verse 2, the angel of the Lord appeared to them in a flame of fire in the midst of the bush. Verse 7, the Lord said, and that means the angel of the Lord, I have seen the affliction of thy people. And the next verse, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. And verse 12, Exodus 3 verse 12, certainly I will be with thee. And then in verse And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt. And there's the angel that told Moses that he was going to be with him. And the angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus, we believe in pre-incarnate state, helped and delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. And then Gideon in Judges 6, verse 12, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And then Elijah in 1 Kings 19. An angel touched him. He was sleeping under the juniper tree. Jezebel was chasing him, going to kill him. He was afraid of that woman. I tell you, she was a wicked woman. And an angel touched him. An angel touched him and said unto him, Arise and eat. We have Jezebels in the pulpits today, preaching. And we believe scripturally they've got to be, in order to be pastors and bishops and elders, the husbands of one wife. And that sort of lets them out, doesn't it? Our visitor here, is it Twig? said that he went to Dr. McNair's church, and he wasn't there anymore, and then he went to Brother Gene's church over there. It was the other way around. Oh, the other way around. Gene's church over there, and where is that? Mergingville. Mergingville, yeah. And then he left, and of course, it's sort of gone downhill and so on. And now they have a woman preaching in that school. That's where she is. She's in Samuel Gene's church. That's in Gene's, that's what I mean, in Gene's. Yeah, they have a female preacher. And I see up there on the Presbyterian church as you cross from Collings Avenue, crossing the White Horse Pike on the right hand side, some place and others, but women preachers. Anyway, Elijah was afraid of Jezebel, and an angel touched him, rise and eat. And the angel of the Lord came a second time and said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. The angels helped this man Elijah, this prophet of the Lord. And then King Hezekiah. In 1 2nd Kings 19.34, I will defend this city, to save it for mine own sake, for my servant David's sake. And in the night, the angel of the Lord went and smote the camp of the Assyrians, a hundred, four score and five thousand. When they arose early in the morning, they were all dead corpses. And the angels were ministering unto the saints of the Old Testament. And it says in Psalm 34.7, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. And in Matthew 1.20, Joseph, the foster father of the Lord Jesus, Mary's husband. While he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. So the angel ministered to Joseph. And also in Matthew 2.13, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young child, and flee unto Egypt. They be here those that will bring thee wood again, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. An angel ministering unto the believers And then in the Apostles, Acts 5.18, they laid their hands on the apostles, put them in the common prison, and the angel of the Lord, by night, opened the prison door. Angels are ministers sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. And then Philip, Acts 8.26, the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south, and go thy way from Jerusalem out of Gaza, which is a desert. And Philip was led and told by an angel, and ministered unto him. of the Apostle Peter. In Acts 12, verse 7, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. He was in prison, Peter was. And he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. The angel delivered Peter. You say, do we have guardian angels today? I believe the Scriptures indicate it in verse 14. Are they not ministering spirits? What is their purpose? sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. Last week, Laura said, do you think that that's also maybe before we're saved? Maybe the Lord knows we've got to trust the Lord in a few days, weeks, months, and we'll have an angel helping us? Well, possibly so. Who shall be heirs? But for sure, those that are saved have angels. Now the question is, will God run out of angels? Will He run out of angels? No. He's got thousands and thousands of thousands and tens of thousands. He's all kinds of angels. It's as if to say, well, God ran out of stars, billions of them. Well, God ran out of the sand of the seashore. Thousands, billions, if not trillions of sands. But I'm telling you, though, if you're here and you're lost, you've never trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior. You still are in sin. You don't have an angel, for sure. But one is waiting for you. When you trust him as Savior, you will have an angel sent forth to minister to those who will be heirs of salvation. I don't know how many times I have almost gotten into an accident and I didn't, and I'm wondering, was it an angel of God that directed and protected? I believe it was. We're not trying to be mystical about it, but God says we have ministering spirits who are sent forth to minister, to help, to serve, and possibly protect those who shall be heirs of salvation. What a wonderful God we have. What a wonderful salvation is ours. What a wonderful Savior who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Well, if He's the same, why do we have to modify His message? Why do we have to change what He said? Why do we have to modify with new looks and new talks and new music and new everything else? The old ways, the things are the same. He's the same. Why do we change? And that's where this new look comes in some of our churches. And it's a sad thing to me. The Lord Jesus hasn't changed. Redemption hasn't changed. Sin hasn't changed. And he wants to save those that come to him by faith. And we praise God for the saneness of the Lord Jesus Christ.