Hebrews chapter two. I gotta tell you, I'm so loving this study in Hebrews that all the while I was down in Ecuador in a hotel, I was thinking about this, just thinking about what's coming up, what we're talking about. I'm really enjoying this. I hope it's a blessing to you as well. Let's start reading in Hebrews chapter two, starting at verse 10. Hebrews two, verse 10. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which reason he's not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brethren. In the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise, and again, I will put my trust in him, and again, behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For surely he does not give help to angels. but he gives help to the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession." And we'll stop there. Quick review, because this is a very thought-out lesson the writer of Hebrews here is giving us. First of all, verse 10, he said, it was fitting for this God. The argument probably was from their Hebrew family and friends that it's ridiculous to think that God would become a man. It's ridiculous to think that God would suffer and die on a cross. It's ridiculous. Well, in verse 10, he says, no, it isn't. It's just like God to do just that. It's just like this God to rescue fallen sinners through his own suffering. That's just the kind of thing God would do if you understand who God is. Secondly, I think it goes on to say that the motivation for this, we often talk, why would God do such a thing? Why would God leave all the comforts and glories of heaven? Why would Jesus come down here as a peasant only to die on a cross? Why would he choose to do that? Well, I have on your sheet there. Jesus, the true eternal Son of God, and the elect who are chosen by God to be sons and daughters through adoption in Christ. Remember, we saw that in Ephesians chapter one. Both come from one. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, and we who are the elect chosen sons and daughters of God all come from the same source, God. It's God who chose us to be brothers and sisters of Christ. They're all one divine family, and Jesus loves us as his own brothers and sisters. Jesus humiliated himself and submitted to the cross because he was rescuing his adopted family. That's what he says there in those verses. That's why he's not ashamed to call us brothers. That's why he's not ashamed to come to us and sing in the congregation, because he loves us. As he said in John 17 to his father as he was praying, Father, they were yours. You chose them. You gave them to me, and I've told them all about you. I've brought them to you. So that's why he's doing this. That's the motivation, because we're chosen family. We're adopted family. We don't deserve that. That's not because we're wonderful. God just in eternity past just chose to elect many, many, many of us to be adopted into his family. And then he sent Jesus, who came willingly, to do just that, to bring us into his family. As it says there, to lead many sons back to glory. Number three, a new sheep. To do that, because this was what Jesus was doing, because Jesus was to rescue God's chosen adopted sons and daughters, he did what was necessary to save us. Again, a new sheep. Because the children, that's Jesus' adopted brethren, are human, Jesus took to himself human flesh. And as one of us, he destroyed Satan's dominion over us by dying for us. God having chosen to adopt us, now he has to do something about our sin. That's what Jesus came for, to take care of that problem, to take our sin on himself. Number four, and this is still reviewed, the death of death and death of Christ, verses 14 and 15 tell us Satan had us captive. Satan had us under his dominion. The fear and the effects of death had us in slavery. But it says here Jesus used Satan's mightiest weapon against him, that was death. The worst thing Satan can do is kill someone. Jesus took death itself and defeated Satan with it. Dean? When you said he became human, that was that phrase, a little lower than the angels? Yeah. He became a little like we are. We're lower than the angels. He became like one of us. That's why it says down in verse 16, he doesn't give help to angels. He didn't become an angel. He became a human. He became a man. And he used Satan's own weapon against him by dying himself. for sin. Number five, therefore, this starts verse 17 through and following. Because Jesus would lead God's sons back to their created glory. That's back in verse five through nine. Remember, we're created, David said in Psalm 8, to have dominion over the world, to be God's glorious created vice regents. But we've fallen from that in a big way. Therefore, because Jesus would be the captain or the pioneer who lead many sons to glory, that's verse 10. That's God's intention. Jesus came to be our pioneer, our leader. He came to lead God's chosen sons and daughters back to God. Because God has graciously chosen to adopt billions of lost men and women, that's verses 11 through 13, brethren. And again, remember that in your mind. That's telling us there that because we're chosen to be sons and daughters of God, we're brethren of Jesus Christ. He's our elder brother. And it says there how Jesus, it uses the Psalms, he'd walk up and put his arm around you and sing hallelujah to God for his rescued brothers and sisters. It's a neat thought, it really is. Because these chosen human adoptees are all under the dominion of Satan and death, we saw that in verse 14 and 15, because God desires to take hold of lost men and women and not angels, that's verse 16, therefore, as we saw last time, last couple of weeks, he himself, verse 14, he himself likewise partook because the children are flesh and blood. He himself became flesh and blood. It says in verse 14, he partook of our humanity so that through death, he came to die. Jesus became a man for the express purpose of dying for our sins. And in verse 17, we spent a lot of time on, it says there, he had to be made like his brethren in all respects. He was fully human in every way. He was truly God as well. God and man together. That's that mystery of the incarnation. But he had to do that. He couldn't save us unless he became a man. He had to be the God-man. So as man, he could represent us to God. As God, he could come back to man. Or as it says in verse 17, the great high priest. He had to do this. That goes back to verse 10. It was just fitting, this God, to do this. He had to this had to happen it was all leading up to this So that verse 17 says he might become a merciful and faithful high priest now The rest of the book of Hebrews is gonna bring up this theme of high priest over and over. This is a big thing here He just touches on it Now, they knew what a high priest was. The high priest was the chief priest in Israel. He was probably the most important person in Israel next to the king, even probably more so than the king. He's the one who represented the people before God. And he's the one whom God came to to speak to the people, the high priest. Jesus, it says, is our merciful and faithful high priest. He's the one who, because he's God, can represent God, who because he's man, can represent man. He's our high priest, he's our go-between. It also says in verse 17 that he might make propitiation. That's a big theological term I think you need to learn. Propitiation, if your Bible doesn't say that, it's a bad translation. Some of your Bibles might say he made atonement or expiation. The word propitiate, propitiate means to take away wrath. And that brings us to that whole issue of God hates sin. Therefore, God hates sinners. God is angry with sin every day, the Psalm says. We had a big problem. We've offended him. We've angered him. Our sin is an offense to him. Our sin is like a poke in the eye, a fist in the face to God. But Jesus took away that wrath by experiencing it. He paid what we deserve. God rightfully deserves to stomp us into hell because of what we've done. Jesus stood in our place and he was stopped by God's wrath instead of us. That's what propitiate means. A lot of your modern theologians don't like that word because it means, well, God is angry with us. Well, God isn't really angry. We're not really that bad. Yeah, we are. And God is that holy. Propitiate means just that. So now let's come to where we are now. Verse 18. Let's read verse 18 again. Four. Since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he's able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. He kind of pulls us all together here at the end here, why he's saying all of this. Again, note the word for. This all calls back to what I've just said to you, for. Because Jesus willingly became human for us, so that he could die for us. Because while he was here, he suffered. He suffered physically, he suffered mentally, he suffered temptation. That's what this verse is talking about, terrible temptation. Because he did all that, because he partook of the same, verse 14 says, there was an ancient heresy called docetism that taught that Jesus wasn't really human, he just kind of appeared to be. It's interesting how the early heresies didn't have any trouble believing he was God. They had problems believing he was man. And docetism was something like, even though he looked like a little baby, he really wasn't. He was actually God in there running the universe, just looking like a baby. No, he was a baby. When Jesus was one year old, he had the intellect, the emotions, and the abilities of a one-year-old. Now, how do you explain that with God? I don't know. When he was a 12-year-old boy in the temple, he had the emotions and the intellect and the understanding of a 12-year-old boy. He wasn't God pretending to be human. He was fully human. Because we sometimes think, and I would sometimes wonder about this, how hard could it be for him to resist temptation? He's God. That's not how it was. He was fully human. That's why you see him sometimes tired and weak and sweating. Jesus would ask questions, even in the garden. We'll get to that in a minute. He was fully human. He was also fully God. Now how that mixes, we can't know. That's one of those mysteries. But he was fully human, not just God pretending to be sort of human. So he says there, again, notice verse 18. Again, since he himself was tempted in that which he had suffered. Here's one place where the NASS, sort of a backwards translation. Literally in the Greek, it should read, he was tempted in which he suffered. Or he suffered, he literally, he suffered in his temptations, is what the word's saying here. The key word here is temptations. He suffered horribly in temptation, is what it's saying. He knows what it is to be tempted horribly. Now remember, this is being written to Hebrew Christians who are being tempted, who are suffering horribly. And the temptation is to turn away from Christ, to turn back to the relative safety of Judaism. Because as soon as they confess Christ, their world fell apart. They're being tempted to go back. Well, he says here, Jesus himself suffered horribly through his temptations, but he remained faithful. Let's break that apart. Literally, he suffered in his temptations. In the Greek, he suffered of his own doing. The Greek verb there means he chose to do this. He didn't suffer temptation because he was evil. Sometimes you and I are tempted because Satan knows he can probably get us in some of these things. He knows our weak spots. He knows our evil. He'll tempt you to do more of it. Jesus suffered under temptation because he chose to. He chose to come here and face these temptations, to face this kind of suffering. It was his own will that he did this. He chose it. Now, again, some think, well, temptation for Jesus had to be easy. He's God. That's not how it was. He lived as a fully human being who had to learn to trust God, who had to learn to rely on God, who had to learn to pray, who had to learn to say no, which he did every single time. He had to learn these things, like we do, but without sin. So the question there is on your sheet. How hard were Jesus's temptations? How hard was he tempted? Because he says there, he suffered in the things in which he was tempted. He suffered greatly is the point here. In fact, he'll mention several times through the book about Jesus suffering and learning through these things and suffering. So how hard was he tempted? Well, some thoughts there on your sheet. Only the sinless one could know the full force of temptation. Think about that. You and I are tempted all the time. Remember, it's never a sin to be tempted. It's always a sin to give in to that temptation. Satan will throw temptations at us all the time. I believe that's what Paul refers to in Ephesians 6, those fiery darts. You ever sit in church and all of a sudden, bazing, this thought flies into your head, where'd that come from? Satan does that. Our own wicked hearts do that. We're tempted. These things just pop up out of nowhere sometimes. Temptation. Only, but we, when Satan tempts us, most of us, he'll tempt us, he'll hit us, he'll tempt us, and eventually we give in, we fall. He never did. Only a sinless one would know the full force of temptation. It's like shooting someone, hoping they'll drop, but they don't drop, so you just keep shooting them and shooting them and shooting them, waiting for them to drop. But he never drops, so you just keep shooting them. That kind of thing. I mentioned this last time. Picture two bridges. The first bridge collapses the first time a heavy load is placed on it. It just collapses under a very heavy truck. The second bridge stands firm for years, even though many heavy loads have passed over it. Which bridge endured more stress? Well, the second one did. Which bridge bore the heavier load? We eventually collapse. Satan can get us if he really tries hard. Again, Christians do not fall away from the Lord. Christians fight sin. Christians work hard. The New Testament's full of all these reminders to fight and strive and struggle and work and work hard at this. But eventually we all fall somewhere or other. He never did. But Satan kept hammering him and hammering him and hammering him over these things. And of course, being sinless, being perfect, temptation would be a whole lot more despicable to him than it would be to us. Satan tempts us to lie or to lust. We're used to that. He came from heaven. He was sinlessly perfect. These things would be offensive to him, wouldn't they? This kind of temptation, Satan's foul breath breathing down his neck all the time would be awfully offensive to him. A quote there from Philip Hughes says, he knew the full force of temptation in a manner that we who have not withstood it to the end can never know, could not know. He knew temptation in a way you and I never will. Remember, he's taking our place. He's the second Adam. He's doing everything for us. We get tempted and we fail. He got tempted way more than we ever do, and he succeeded. He said no every single time. He never once gave in to sin's temptation. Some verses in Hebrews, chapter four, verse 15. Chapter four, verse 15. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. Jesus knows exactly what we go through, why? but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. Jesus knows exactly what it is to say no to lust, to anger, to lying, to whatever, the things that grab us all the time. Because he fought it daily all his life. We don't have a high priest who can't relate. God in heaven has never been tempted. Not that that makes him inferior. It doesn't. It just makes him pure and holy. He's never been tempted. But his son who came to earth as a man was tempted over and over and over again. Look at chapter 5, verse 7. Hebrews 5, verse 7. In the days of his flesh, meaning when he was here among us as human, he offered up both prayers and supplications and others, with loud crying and tears to the one able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his piety or his holiness. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered and had been made perfect. He became to all those who obeyed him the source of eternal salvation. How do you and I learn obedience? Oh, God, help me. You ever do that? Oh, God, help me. You ever been there? You're being tempted. Oh, Lord, please help me now. Or you're going through a hard time or a struggle or some challenge or something's going real wrong in your life. Oh, Lord, help me. That's how he did it. That's how we should do it. He cried out and said there were loud crying and supplications in his suffering. Don't ever think God is some aloof being who, he's wonderful, he's great, he's incredible, yet he really doesn't know anything about me. He became one of us, and he suffered the worst of what we suffer in temptation. It's hard to imagine that, isn't it? Now, remember I mentioned, these Hebrews that he's writing to here are being tempted to turn away. Some apparently already have. They're being tempted because of their physical persecution, because of how hard their life is. It was so much easier back when I was just practicing Judaism, that maybe I should just go back. In fact, notice chapter three, verse 12. It says, take care, brethren, that there not be any one of you, brethren, an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. This is what he's talking about. He's heard that these Christians are struggling. And some of them are talking about or thinking about following the bad example of others who've turned back. So he's writing this to tell them, look, you have a high priest who you can run to, who can sympathize with you, who can help you. That's the point of all of this. Don't turn back. Just as they were tempted to turn back, so was Jesus. Again, on your sheet there. Jesus, we read in the Gospels, all through his life was being tempted. Don't go to the cross. Don't do this. Do you think of how? What's on your sheet? It's easy enough. First of all, remember in the wilderness, Matthew 4, Luke 4, it's on your sheet. By Satan, remember Satan said to him, all these, meaning all these kingdoms of the world, I will give to you, how? Forget about going to the cross. Just bow down to me. You're here to be the king. You're here to be God's reigning son. I'll give you all of this, and you don't have to go to the cross for it. Just bow down to me, and it's all yours. And Satan could have done that. There's that temptation. You don't have to go through all this suffering, Jesus. Remember that same temptation in the wilderness? Remember, Luke says the spirit drove him into the wilderness, drove him out there to learn suffering, to learn prayer, like we do, like we have to. He's out there starving. He's out there in the heat. He's out there neglecting his body. He's weak. Remember what Satan says, you're the son of God. Turn these stones into bread and feed yourself. Jesus could have done that like that. But that's not what he was out there to do. He was out there obeying his father by learning endurance. Well, here's Satan says to him, look, you don't have to go to the cross. Just bow down to me. I'll give you all this stuff. They'll all fall at your feet. They'll love you. He does that now, by the way, to lots of people. He has that authority. by his own family, the next one on your sheet there. In Mark 3, 21, it says, when his family heard all the commotion that Jesus was making, they went out to seize him. And they were saying, he's out of his mind. His own family tried to keep him from being Messiah. He's crazy. They came to save him from himself. By the way, when it says his family, you think Mary was there among them? Doesn't say that. It's hard to imagine her not being there. But either way, his brothers showed up, his half-brothers, tried to take him away. They tried to seize him. Jesus, you're going to get yourself killed. Come on back home. Trying to stop him from this Messiah nonsense. Next, you know this one, his best friend Peter. Of all the apostles, it appears he loved Peter the most. Now, it says he loved John. He did. He dearly loved John. But Peter was his favorite. Matthew 16, when Jesus told him how he's gonna be crucified, handed over to the Gentiles, remember what Peter said? Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, far be it from you, Lord, this will never happen to you. His best friends are telling him, you're never gonna, you will never go to the cross. You're too good for that. You're too wonderful for that. Remember what Jesus does? He turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You're a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. It seems like every place he went, he was getting these, don't go to the cross, don't go to the cross. There's other ways to do this. Don't do it. His best friend there is saying, Lord, this is never going to happen to you. We'll never let that happen to you. Notice there, he calls him Satan, because Satan tried the same thing earlier out in the wilderness. You don't have to go to the cross. There's other ways to accomplish these kind of things. Don't do it. His own human weakness. I believe I'm getting this right in Matthew 14, remember, in the garden. It's just before he's about to be arrested. He prays, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. The other verses say, if it possible. My dear Father, I love you, Father, please. There's some other way. That's his humanity talking. That's his frailty talking. He knows what he's about to go through. Lord, I want to do this, but is there some other way? That wasn't sinful to do that. It's just in his weakness, in his humanity, and some of that probably even in his deity, knowing what's coming up. But again, there's this thought, is there some other way to do this besides going to the cross? Of course, there wasn't. And Jesus was always the obedient servant, not my will, but yours. And a father, you say I'll do this, I'll do this. He wasn't refusing to do anything. He was just asking. prayer. And of course, his intense pain. Luke 23 39, while he's on a cross, one of the criminals who were hanging with him was hurling abuse saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself! Don't you think he thought that? You know he has the power to stop this. Wouldn't you think, he'd be thinking, I could stop this. I could make them stop beating me. I could make them stop whipping me. I could get off this cross. But the pain, you have to know, was mind-numbingly, unimaginably horrible. Dean? He's hitting in the car, probably. Yes. The angel's down. The Pharisees, you're the son of God. Save yourself. Where do you think that's coming from? That's Satan saying, get off that cross. You're the son of God. Just like Satan said back in the wilderness, what are you starving for? You're the son of God. Turn these stones into bread. Feed yourself. You're the son of God. Get off that cross. Why are you putting up with this? And don't you think that would hit a nerve somewhere? Yeah, I could. I could stop this right now. Remember when he offered him wine mixed with myrrh? Myrrh is a narcotic. As soon as he tasted it, he said, no, no, no. He refused any kind of painkiller. That's amazing, isn't it? But again, even on a cross, he's being tempted. Imagine the guy next to him. You're the Messiah, Satan, get off that cross. You can do it. Of course, he's mocking him. And I can just imagine Satan whispering in his ear, why are you putting up with this? Just get yourself off that cross. Make them stop hurting you. But he didn't. As Dean mentioned, he said in the garden, he could call all those angels. He could call all those angels. But he said, no, sit, stay, leave me alone. He chose this. He endured it. But it's hard to imagine the kind of temptation that was. We run from pain every time it comes near us. We do whatever we can to get out of difficulty. If I had the power to never have pain again, believe me, I'd use it. He chose to not use it. That's temptation. He knows temptation. He knows it hard. These Hebrew believers, again, because of their intense suffering, were going through some of the same thing. Look, just turn back. Forget this Christ stuff of it. You can believe in Christ as a prophet. That'd be fine. They'd probably accept that. Just this Messiah stuff, this Son of God stuff. Go back into Judaism where you won't be so persecuted. Saying, look, you're Messiah. Jesus himself suffered terribly under his temptations. Therefore, that's the rest of the verse. Since he himself was tempted or suffered in that which he was tempted, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. He is able. In other words, in him you have all you need to endure whatever it is you're suffering right now. He's able to help you. He's able to save you. Don't think you can't go to him. The word able there means qualified. He's sufficient. He's fully equipped. He's been there, done that, more than you and I can ever imagine. He's been there, he knows. But notice what it says there. He's able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. I love the Greek here. It says he's literally able to run to the cry of those who are tempted. That's why I'm asking, did you ever do that? Oh, Lord, help me. You ever do that? I hope you do. I do it a lot. I'm not bragging. I need it a lot. Some temptation hits you. Oh, Lord, help me. Help me. I don't want to do this. or if some difficulty's coming up or some, whatever it is, Lord, please help me. He's able to run to the cry of those who call to him and do something about it to help you, to give you strength, to get you through it. That's what it's saying here. Again, look at Hebrews 4, 15. Let's read the rest of that passage. We saw it earlier. Let's read the whole thing. Hebrews 4, verse 15 again. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace and help in the time of need. That's a verse you ought to memorize. Because we have a high priest. who really loves us, who knows exactly what you're going through, more so than you do, who's been there, who's done that, who has suffered and cried out to God. You have a high priest who can hear you, who knows what you're talking about. Therefore, he says, when you're in trouble, run to him, run to the throne of grace. That's God's throne. Right now, God the Father is sitting right next to your high priest who's been through all of this, Dean. He said he'd never leave us. Never leave us. Never leave us. Cry out to Jesus, Lord, help me. I need strength now. Lord, my faith is wavering. Lord, I'm not sure if I can resist this. Lord, help me. He says, run to him. Go to the throne of grace and prayer and ask for help. And it says there, you have help and mercy in your time of need. That's telling us. There's nothing a Christian can face that he can't get through. There's nothing you're ever going to face that you cannot make it through, even martyrdom. There's nothing you're ever going to face as a Christian that you cannot face successfully. There's no temptation you can come across that you could not successfully get past. The fact that we fall to sin so often is our fault, not his. There's no temptation you can't resist. Oh, Lord, help me. Please, Lord, help me now. That's what it's telling us. Turn to Hebrews chapter six, verse 19. This is the theme of Hebrews to these suffering Christians, that you have a high priest, you have a savior who loves you, who cares you, and who can and will help you if you call to him. Hebrews six, verse 19. This hope we have as an anchor for the soul. Get that, an anchor for the soul. In other words, you can anchor your soul. You know what an anchor does? It keeps a ship from drifting. The hope we have in Christ should so anchor your soul, he says, a hope both sure and steadfast, and one which enters within the veil into the most holy place, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. That we'll get to. But he said, you have an anchor. It's Jesus. Your soul can be secure if you just trust in Him. You can be secure from fear, from temptation, from all these things. He's all you need to face life. That's what it's telling us here. Turn to 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians chapter one. Acts, Romans, Corinthians. 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 Paul mentioned something about suffering 2nd Corinthians 1 verse 3. I Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions, that we'll be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. For if we are afflicted, it's for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it's for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same suffering which we also suffer." He's saying there Christ has suffered terribly so that he's now able to comfort us. And Paul says we suffer too with him, but we now can comfort you as well with the comfort we got from Christ. It's all about when you go through something, you're able to comfort those who are going through it. Did you ever have that? I see it all the time. Someone loses a child or something. I've been there. I've talked to people. I've never lost a child. I can't tell them I know what they're feeling. I don't. But someone who has been there can. Jesus has been there. He's done this. He's been through this. And Paul is saying here, we're comforted by him who suffered in our sufferings. That's the point of what he's saying here. So the question, when you're facing suffering or facing temptation, do you cry out to Jesus or just tough it on your own? He says here, he's able to help those who cry out to him. Lord, help me. She's 100 years old now. I guess January should be 101. I go to home, pray for her. You introduced me to her. Yeah, I met her. She gave me a picture of the Bible. I read there about prayer. She underlined it. It's a sin not to pray. If you're a Christian, it's a sin not to pray. Pray all day long. This is telling us to be depending on Christ. Don't depend on your own strength. Beware when you stand lest you fall, the Bible says. Cry out to him, Lord, I need you. Lord, I can't face this. Lord, help me. If you don't help me, but it's telling us here, he comes to the aid of those who do that. That means you're depending on him. God helps the humble. Resist the proud. Call out to him. 1 Corinthians 10, 13 is a promise. Again, another verse you should memorize. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. In other words, you will be tempted. But God, who loves you, God who has you in his hand, will never allow you to be tempted with more than you can handle. God knows the limit. There are some temptations I'd never be able to stand for. They'd take me out like a... But God knows that. God will never allow you to face anything that you can't handle. It says that. God's faithful. But with the temptation will provide a way of escape so that you will be able to endure it. That's telling us God superintends your life. Christ loves you. Nothing comes into your life but what He allows. So if you face struggle, if you face suffering, if you face temptation, everyone does. There's a way of escape. You can never say, I couldn't help it. I just had to sin. I just had to. I couldn't. You can't say that, not if you're a Christian. Matthew 6, 13, remember Jesus taught us to pray daily. Do not lead us into temptation, meaning, because every day you're going to face temptation. Lord, deliver us, literally in the Greek, deliver us from the evil one. Every day, Lord, today, Lord, deliver me from him. Didn't he say, you have not because you ask not? You have not because you ask not, good quote, good verse. This is telling us that he's there for us. Call out to him, pray for him. So then, He's telling us in all of this, he became human for us because he loves us. We're his adopted brethren, and he loves us. He endured all this suffering of temptation for us. He didn't have to do any of that. For us, in our place, so he could be our faithful high priest. What about it? How then do we resist the temptation to turn back? You know, Satan is doing that every day of your life. Today, he's trying to figure out a way to get you to turn away from Christ. Now, obviously, he can't take you from God. Remember, Jesus said, no one plucks him out of my hand, no one. But he's going to try to get you to stop praying, stop reading your Bible, stop coming to church, stop witnessing, stop living for him. That's what he wants. Turn away. Turn back. Turn into the world. There's so much on TV that's fun to watch. There's so much else you could do than this Jesus stuff. You know he's doing that. He's doing it in my life. How do we resist the temptation to turn away? The next verse. The chapter verses in your Bible are not inspired. In fact, some of them are actually wrong. Here's one. Chapter 3, verse 1. Therefore, because Jesus is a faithful high priest, because he's suffered terribly under temptation more than we ever will, therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. Here's what you need to do. Here's how. you resist all of the devil's attempts to get you to turn away. Notice what he says, therefore. In other words, because of all he's just said here, because Jesus, our high priest, has suffered all that we do, but with greater intensity, he's able to help us when we cry to him, therefore, consider Jesus. Therefore, fill your mind with Jesus Christ. Let's work through this first. First of all, those he says are holy brethren. He starts out by reminding them who they are in Christ. Holy brethren. The word holy always means set apart. You've been chosen by God, you've been set apart, you're holy. You are special if you're in Christ. You are his special, redeemed, redeemed, chosen people. unlike all of the race of humanity, you are his special holy brethren, chosen by God, set apart by God, set apart from the sinful world. Again, back in chapter two, note verse 11. For both he who sanctifies, that means set apart, both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one father. Therefore, for this reason, he's not ashamed to call them brethren because God has set you apart from the rest of humanity. He's chosen you. He's adopted you. He's set his electing love upon you. You're separate from the rest of the world, and Jesus has come for us. That's that prayer in John 17. Father, they were yours. You gave them to me, and I've given them your word. Holy brethren. Notice the next phrase. Partakers of a heavenly calling. That's a neat phrase. That's what I need to think about. You've been called by heaven. Do you realize that? If you're a Christian, do you? This is a doctrine of election. Exactly right. God has called you. God has called you. The phone rings. Hello, who is it? Heaven calling. Is Rick there? You've been called by heaven. God reached out of heaven and called you. Do you realize that? The reason you're a Christian today, think of how you got here. Somehow the gospel came to you, didn't it? Somehow, someway, you heard the truth about Jesus Christ. And God himself was calling you through that gospel, through the power of his spirit. When I got saved, I came to Christ because I wanted to. I've read the scriptures, and I chose him. I called out to him. But I only did that because long before this, God was calling God was working in my life. God was moving me to that spot where I would read his word, believe his word, and call out to him. I had the profound choice. I didn't find him. He found me. He just walked into my life that summer. There you are. Or as John says in 1 John, we love him because he first loved us. He says here, partakers of a heavenly calling. That's cool. You've been called by heaven. That's that verse you go back in Hebrews 2 verse 10. It was fitting for him, through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory. They're sons because they're chosen to be sons, sons and daughters. I've chosen these to be my adopted children. Now I'm going to send the captain of their salvation down to lead them all back to glory. It's a heavenly calling. Come here. Come from where you are to where I am. Jesus is going to lead you. Hebrews speaks of, in Hebrews 6, 4, of those who have tasted of the heavenly gift. In chapter 11, verse 16, it says, we are looking for a heavenly city, a heavenly country. When you're called by God, you reject this country. I'm not part of a heavenly country. And of course, he even speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem. As Jesus says on your sheet here, John 15, 16, you did not choose me. but I chose you. You got that? You'd be clear on that. Yes, we chose him. If you came to Christ, there was probably a day in your life when you chose to accept him, to believe in him. I understand why you did that, because he had already chosen you. Jesus said, you didn't choose me. I chose you. I called you. And he says there, you didn't choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would bear fruit. that your fruit will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give to you. This is all about him. Hebrew says he's the author and the finisher of our faith. He started this. He's going to finish it. You've been called by heaven. Heaven has called you. That's a neat thought. And again, why is he telling them this? He's saying, don't turn back, brethren. Don't give up, brethren. Don't get despondent, brethren. You've been called. God set his love upon you. You don't deserve that. You never will. You never could. I'm sure for eternity we're going to be wondering, how in the world, why am I even here? It's because of his love, his choice, his call. You've been called. So what he's doing here, he applies this first by reminding them of who they truly are in Christ. You are chosen. You're called. You're set apart. You've been sought out. That's that parable of the lost sheep. There's a 99 sheep and one gets away. The shepherd doesn't go after, that sheep doesn't become his sheep when he finds it. He goes out after that sheep because it's his. My lost sheep, I must, as Jesus said in John 10, I have other sheep who I must bring in. They're my sheep, they're out there scattered, but I'm gonna bring them in. They're all gonna get called. The sheep hear my voice and they follow me. That's what he says there, heavenly calling. That's a neat thought. Remind yourself of that often, if you're saved. I've been chosen. I've been called. Christ came to me, however he did it. And I'm sure if you think back, if you're honest, to the day you got saved, you can recognize God was working in your life long before that day, wasn't he? He was bringing you there. He was wooing you. He was drawing you, because he was calling you. It's a neat thought. So he says there in verse three, therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider Jesus. Just consider Jesus. You're in trouble, you're suffering, it's hard. But stop and think who he is. There's a lot in this consider Jesus. The word consider means fix your mind. In Luke 12, 24, remember Jesus said consider the ravens? how they don't toil or spin or all that kind of, who feeds the raven. He's saying there, stop and think a minute. Just watch the birds. Study them for a while and learn something from them. He's saying the same thing. Stop and think about who Jesus is and what he's done for you. Just stop and think. Here you get that whole aspect that Christianity is a thinking religion. You don't just let go and let God turn off your mind and leap into dark, blind faith. Christianity involves some thought. Think who Jesus is. Turn to Hebrews 12. He ends the book with this exhortation. Hebrews 12, verse 1. Hebrews 12, verse 1. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, he's talking about chapter 11, about all the heroes of the faith that have gone before us. Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and sin which so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance to the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God. Picture us running a race. And you're getting tired, and you're about to wear out, and you don't think you can make it. He says, first of all, stop and think of all your brothers and sisters who ran this race before you. And he mentions there David, and Samuel, and Moses, and all these people who, through faith, did all these amazing things. They're running with you. Think of them. But he says, fix your eyes on the goal, Jesus Christ. Don't say that phrase. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He started this, he wrote this story. And the finisher, he's the one who's gonna write the final chapter of your life. Fix your eyes on him and then run, run the race. That's cool stuff. This is supposed to put like wind under your wings, give you strength for this battle. Fix your eyes on Jesus. That means think this through, what he's told you here all through chapter one and two, who Jesus is, what he has done. He's his faithful high priest. He's paid for your sins. He suffered through temptation. Everything you ever do, he's just said to you that if you call out to him, he'll hear you, he'll help you, he'll strengthen you. Fill your mind with that stuff and then run. You can do it through him. That's all the strength we need. On your sheet, Colossians three, one and two. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is. See that the right hand of God, here's that phrase, sets your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. Get your eyes off this. Fix your thought on Him, Christ. I have your sheet here. The secret to living a faithful Christian life, facing hardship and temptation, is to be a serious students of Jesus Christ. Now hear that again. You hear this all the time, that there's a secret to living this way, and secret to this, and secret, all these books are about how to live the Christian life. Here's how to live the Christian life. You fill your head with Jesus Christ. You fill your thought life with who he is. You believe what the scriptures say, and you know him well. Be a serious student of Jesus Christ, who He is, and who is He. He's God the Son who became a little lower than the angels for us. He's the one who took on human flesh for us. He's the one who endured all of Satan's temptations in our place. He's the one who endured all the hardships of life that we suffer and a thousand times more. He's the one who died on the cross to pay for our sins and make propitiation for our sins. He's the one who's now our faithful high priest raised at God's right hand. He's right now praying for you, concerned for you, looking to help you. That's who he is. What He has done, I've just mentioned a whole bunch of those things. And even probably as important as all of this, and who we are in Him. Do you realize if you're in Christ who you are? Where you are? If you think thoughts like that enough, I think every day you ought to get up and just consider the cross. What He did for me on that cross. Picture Him hanging there on that cross. Realize who this is. What he's doing there, what that's done for me. And we are this holy brethren. We are this called, chosen people. We are those, Jesus says, are in my hand and no one's gonna pluck them out of my hand. Dean. He's up there interceding for us. Exactly right. And if he's our lawyer, as Paul says in Romans 8, then who's gonna lay any charge against God's elect? Who could possibly do it? Who could possibly take us away from the love of God, Paul says, who? Satan, the world, no. If you think thoughts like that enough, and I found this by experience. Again, I don't have this mastered. This lessons to me as much as anyone here. This gives you strength. This encourages you. This makes temptation weaker. This makes facing problems easier. I'm sure if you could know all the many martyrs of the faith and all those in the past who've gone through so many struggles, this is how they do it. You wonder sometimes how these men and women face some of the things they faced. Because they knew Jesus. Because they love Jesus. Because they know who he is and what he's done for them. I have your sheet there. We need to be Christological scholars. Doesn't matter what else you know in this life. Maybe you don't know much at all. But if you don't know who Christ is, what he did, and who you are in him, you don't know anything. There are far too many ignorant Christians today, Warren. What he did was not that he followed the law perfectly. Perfectly. That was the basis of his suffering. Yes. You know how hard that is for a man to do that? It's impossible. Yeah. I can't love the Lord my God with all my heart and soul and strength. He did. He did. That's comforting to think about that. Because sometimes you get discouraged. Oh Lord, I blew it again or I did it again. But you've got to think. But my substitute did it for me. I was an evil rebellious 12-year-old. Welcome to the club. Yes, brother. He wasn't. He was a perfect 12-year-old. He was a perfect teenager. He loved God enough. He loved his parents enough. He loved his neighbor enough. He never gave in to any of that, yet he was tempted to. He, for me, I remember as David Morris said, I am not a lawbreaker, because in my substitute, I am perfect before my God. It's his works, not mine. It's his record, not mine. The test I can't pass, he took for me and got 100, and I get his grade. That's encouraging, isn't it? Sometimes you feel like, oh, Lord, why do you even bother me? Lord, I'm such an unworthy servant. And I am. But in my substitute, I am beloved. In my substitute, I am celebrated, because Jesus is. I'm in Christ. That should encourage. That should get you a little excited. That's good news. That's preaching the gospel to yourself. That's reminding yourself who Jesus is. Sometimes you feel like such a loser. Man, I do. I was down in Ecuador thinking, what am I doing here? But I realized, remember, my Savior, my Savior has done it all. God is satisfied with me because of him. God's not disgusted with you. God's not disappointed in you. You're in Christ. You smell like his son. And God goes, oh, I love you. Or as we see there in Hebrews 2, Jesus puts his arm around you. Oh, Father, hallelujah for this one. That's true. That's true. If you could remind yourself of these truths, think what an effect it would have on your Christian walk. There's no benefit to being ignorant. And sadly, there's far too many in the churches today who are absolutely ignorant. If you'd ask the average churchgoer, what did Jesus have to say? Love your neighbor. Do not judge. That's what they tell you. What did Jesus do on that cross? Why did he do that? What did that mean? How did that apply to you? Most people couldn't tell you. They don't know. Who are you now in Christ? Think of it. It's sad. We need to be Christological scholars, majoring in everything Jesus. Jesus should be your obsession. He should be your hobby. He should be your, that goal you pursue. That's Paul said, that I might know him. Who knew him better than the Apostle Paul? Yet Paul said, my goal is that I might know him. Know him better, know him more. That's what church is all about. Hopefully, you learn more about Christ. Some thoughts. Let me close. Letter A. Jesus became one of us. so he could suffer like us, suffer with us, and suffer for us, so he could help us, and so we could relate to him, not as some impersonal God who is nothing like us, but as a near friend who truly knows what we are going through, truly sympathizes with us, and is willing and able to help us. He is our elder brother. It should be natural for you, Jesus, help me. I'm the baby of 17. I've always had older brothers and sisters. Now, of course, in youthful pride, you never ask your brother to help you at all. But you should be able to say to your older brother, help me. I can't do this. Help me. That's what we're talking about here. Jesus can. Jesus knows. Jesus has been there. Let her be. It's just like God, that's verse 210, to do these things as he has a deep desire to be among us. See that? All through the scripture, it gets us back in the garden. God was with Adam and Eve in the garden. That's always been his desire. Communion. with his creatures. Of course, sin has broken that, but it's always been his desire. That's been restored now through Jesus Christ. That's why it says here, Jesus, we're his brethren. He walks into the congregation, puts his arm around us, and goes, hallelujah, praise the Lord. God with us. Read Revelation 21. It's always what his desire is. Let me see. Jesus suffered and struggled for us more than we can know or imagine. None of us were ever tempted like he was. And not because it was easy for him because he was God. He was fully human. He suffered temptation as a human being, but the perfect human being. He did for us what we can't do. All the guilt I've accrued by giving into temptation, he paid for by never giving into it. His record is now mine. In Christ, I've never given into sin in Christ. That's my record. Letter D. In Christ, there is truly no situation we can't endure, no temptation we can't resist. That's 1 Corinthians 10, 13. No temptation will ever undertake you. In Christ, you can't resist. You never have to give in. We do, but you never have to. These Hebrews have no reason to turn back. They think they do. Satan's lying to them, but they have no reason to give up on Christ. They can make it through this somehow. They have no reason to turn back. That's what the writer here is trying to tell them. You have Christ. Letter E. The ignorant Christian is in great danger and an easy target for Satan. That's why when someone gets saved, other Christians need to come around them and mentor them, help them in this newfound faith. That's why, for example, I saw it firsthand for the first time down here in Ecuador. These are churches. But they don't have a lot of resources. The only book they really have is the Bible. They need someone helpful to go down there and teach them things they don't know. The ignorant Christian is in great danger. And Satan's goal is to keep you ignorant. Yeah, exactly right. We need that. Satan's goal is to keep you stupid. That you don't know much about, oh, I go to church. I believe in Jesus, but I don't know much about him. That's great danger in that. Letter F, do you have a deep knowledge of who Jesus is? And if not, why not? What's going on? Do you have a good understanding of who Jesus is? If I'd ask you to write out a short paragraph, tell me who Jesus is, could you do it? If I ask you to write out a short paragraph, what did Jesus accomplish on that cross, could you do it? If I ask you to write out a short paragraph, what does that mean for you? What are you in Christ? Could you do it biblically? You should be able to. A deep knowledge, a deep knowledge of who Jesus is, what he accomplished for you. Do you realize how saved you are if you're in Christ, how safe you are? That's something to rejoice over. LetterG, if you have a deep knowledge of who you are in Christ, Do you have any idea how loved you are? All of chapter two is telling you how loved you are, that Jesus, God himself, he had to be made like his brethren. Why? Because he loves these brethren and he wants to save them. Do you realize how loved you are? Again, close with it. It's on your sheet there, Ephesians 1, Paul's prayer. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayer, here's what Paul prays for, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you this spirit of wisdom and of revelation known as in the knowledge of him. Not to know all about prophecy, new world order, and Antichrist, and that stuff may be important, and it has its place. Paul's prayer is that God may himself give you an intimate knowledge of who he is. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance and his saints. Notice this, what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe? Paul's prayer, you might know that. You might truly know who God is. You might truly know how much he loves you, the hope he's called you to, and how amazingly powerful he is to help you. That should be every Christian's prayer. Lord, make that true in my life. Consider Jesus. And I'll look at chapter three and he'll flesh that out. Any quick questions or thoughts before we close? Warren? I just get really excited when I think about Pastor Paul's Sermon on immutability. Yeah. He can't change. We are just substitutes. Aye, the Lord change not. Jesus Christ is saying yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You're saved now, you're going to be saved forever. I love that. Dean? That's why God gave us the armor of God. Yes, to defend ourselves. The helmet of salvation to protect your head. Yeah, Tom will get to that eventually. You're right. That's all good stuff. Anybody else? Let's close in prayer. Oh, Father, what a treasure your word is. Lord, thank you for writing these things to us. Thank you for allowing us to know your love. And Lord, we marvel at our Savior. We marvel at Jesus Christ and what he was willing to go through for us. Lord, he didn't need to do any of that. Lord, he suffered terribly in our place. He suffered the sufferings of temptation, Lord, all of his life in ways we can't imagine, Lord. He truly went through the ringer for us, and Lord, we thank you that he is now ascended to heaven. He is our high priest, interceding for us, an ever-present help in a time of need. Lord, help us to believe that. Help us, Lord, to consider him. Lord, help us, Lord, to empty our minds of all the foolishness that the world throws at us, Lord, and help us, Lord, to center on him, to understand who he is, what he did on that cross for us, Lord, and who we are in him, Lord. Help us, Lord, to major in these things. Lord, encourage your people by these truths, Lord. Help us, Lord, to have a joy in our heart, a love in our heart, a steadfastness, Lord, that the world can't shake us from. Lord, these things are true, and we need to believe them, Lord. As Warren said, you never change, so these things are always true, so Lord, please. Help us to believe this. Help us, Lord, to live as if these things are true. Make it true in our lives. Lord, give us the hearing ear and the obedient heart to walk in a way that is truly biblical, to know that we are loved and cherished. We are called. We are chosen. We are adored by our Savior. So therefore, Lord, we are safe. Help us, Lord, to believe that. Help us, Lord, to be eager to share this gospel of this great salvation, of this great freedom with others. But again, Lord, may all the glory go back to you. And Lord, we thank you for doing this for us. Well, we don't deserve it, we never will, but Lord, we are grateful.