Hebrews
Chapter One
Message Three
God Has Spoken In His Son!
Heb 1
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? KJV
We have already discussed together the amazing truth that God has spoken to mankind and that He did it through some amazing men, revealing incredible things. We have talked about how amazing it is that God has spoken to us at all, given the fact that we, as a race, have disregarded most of what He had to say.
We have spoken of the incredible longsuffering, mercy, patience and kindness that God has extended toward our race and toward us personally in that He has continued to deal with us even though we have not faithfully and carefully obeyed what He has spoken to us.
You know, it seems to me that this should break our hearts, first for ourselves and then for those around us. How could we have not noticed that God was speaking? And then, when we knew it, how could we have lived all these years not paying close attention to what He has said?
How could we have looked at God's word to us as a boring, difficult, demanding set of rules and regulations instead of a miraculous and gracious condescension of God to us to give us a way not to perish but to have eternal life?
I pointed out in the last message that the Old Testament is a completely sufficient revelation whereby a man might come into right relationship with God. Jesus Himself said the same thing.
John 5:39
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. KJV
How could we ever have thought that anything else was more interesting or important to us than the Word of God? How could we let it lie unused for days, weeks, or even months?
God has spoken to us. He has told us the truth about ourselves, our condition, and the consequences of going on in that state. He has told us the truth about Himself, about His provision for our sins, and how we ought to respond to Him.
It is a huge and wicked thing to disregard the words of our Creator. It is a huge and wicked thing to have done it in the past and not corrected it. It is a huge and wicked thing to go forward knowing that we have disregarded Him and not make the effort to gain a full and deep appreciation of what He has done.
I. The Devotional Truth of this text.
Now we move forward in the record of God's speaking to us. He has spoken to us in His Son!
Now many people fall prey to the temptation to seek first to doctrinally dissect this passage, proving that Jesus either is or is not True Deity, the very Essence of God Himself.
But, in all reality, one cannot appreciate the doctrine here until he is absolutely awed, bowled over, and overwhelmed with the notion that God has spoken to us in the Person of His Son.
A person can get the doctrine right and totally miss the spirit of this passage of Scripture.
A. Our lives are 'rented' from God.
Jesus pointed out the absurdity of disregarding the son of a powerful man.
Matt 21:33-44
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. KJV
The story points out the utter wickedness of taking advantage of a landowner who has lent out his land to someone. One of the obvious elements of this story is often missed. Those who were occupying the vineyard of the landowner were making a living and supporting their families by the use of his land. They were able to live and survive because someone else had allowed them the used what he had lent them.
The allusion here is not difficult. The landowner is God. The 'husbandmen' are unbelieving Israelites who refused to render back to God devotion, faith, and worship out of gratitude for His provision. They had miserably treated His prophets, those whom He had sent to them. The parable makes the point that they had physically mistreated them, but the real point is that they disregarded THE WORD OF THE LORD that had been sent through them.
He also speaks of how they physically misused the son, but the same point is being made. The 'son,' of course, is Jesus Christ. The 'renters' rejected THE WORD OF THE LORD that He had brought to them. Jesus is looking at the way that the Jews are rejecting Him in the present but also looking forward to the way that they will kill Him to be rid of Him.
The question raised by the story is this. How should the 'husbandmen,' the 'renters,' treat the messengers of the landowner when they come? How should they treat the son of the landowner?
The point is that we are all renters in God's world. Our rent is to love, adore, believe, worship and serve the God of heaven. This is what all of His spokesmen have called us to do. That is what the Son has called us to do.
It is true that if those husbandmen had heeded the words of the messengers and the Son, they would not have killed them. But it is not enough simply not to kill them. The point is that we hear what they have to say. If we do not kill them but we disregard the message, the effect is the same.
God has given us a wonderful world in which to live. He has given us life itself. He has given us family, possessions, and the opportunity to make our lives full and rich in the world that He has 'rented' to us.
Then He has sent us messengers, even His Own Son, to remind us that we owe 'rent' to God. But no one will pay rent unless he stands in awe of what he has been 'lent' and of the One Who has 'lent' it to him.
B. What 'rent' does He demand?
The first and greatest part of our 'rent' is to love God above all things and to do all that we do as a token of appreciation to Him. Unless we do that, unless we heed the words of the messengers that He has sent, we are little different from the wicked husbandmen in our story.
Look around you. God has given you a comfortable home, a family that loves you, a wonderful building in which to worship Him comfortably. He has allowed you to use His creation to make a profit for yourself and purchase the air conditioned automobile that you drove to church. Every breath you take, every beat of your heart, the ability to see, feel, and reason, all are wonderful gifts of a gracious God.
Tell me truthfully, is His 'rent' too high? Is it not the epitome of wickedness to take all this, treat it as our own, and refuse to pay rent?
Heb 6:7-8
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. KJV
Tell me this. If you planted a garden, cultivated and watered it, and it produced thorns and briars, would you continue to water and cultivate it? Would you treat it the same as if it had brought forth wonderful vegetables and fruits? Of course not! You would dig up the thorns and briars, burn them, and start over.
What will God do to men who use His vineyard and refuse to pay rent? Will He continue indefinitely to allow them to live on it and do as they please? Will He let me do that? Will He let you?
C. So...what do we do?
Rom 13:11-14
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. KJV
Our rent is long past due. Our continuing refusal to pay it is only increasing the discipline or judgment of God that is going to fall on us.
Let us begin to pay up.
First of all, let us honestly consider what we owe.
What do you think that we owe to the One Who has 'given us life and breath and all things"?
Then let us consider how we have misused this life that God has given us.
And let us begin today to render back to God what is due Him.
Matt 22:16-21
16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. KJV
First of all, let me ask you, What on earth is Jesus talking about with the image on the coin? He said, that the coin, because it bore the image of Caesar, belonged to Caesar and should be returned to him. But what is the application?
Gen 1:26-28
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. KJV
Since man bears the image of God, he should render back to God himself. "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
So what should we do?
Let us begin by acknowledging that we have acquired a great debt.
"Lord, I have not paid my rent. I have lived many days without loving, adoring, honoring and obeying you as I ought. I have misused this wealth that you have given me, I have misused my body, I have misused my time, and I have misused my mind. Please forgive me and given me now the grace that I need to begin to repay you."
Then, let us consider how we ought to repay Him.
What He has set as the price of our existence upon His world and the use of it is devotion and obedience to Him. Where do we find the details of that? In the WORDS THAT HE HAS SPOKEN TO US. Those men who came as His spokesmen have laid out exactly what it means to love and serve Him. Let us commit to read His word so that we can pay what we owe.
Finally, let us give serious thought to the fact that we must have His help for us to repay Him.
"Lord, I am a deadbeat. I have not paid my debts. I want to pay them but I know what I am in my heart. I will think on these truths and go right back to live as usual unless you help me. Please, I pray, take charge of my heart. I give myself to you as a servant, since I cannot pay what I owe. Give me the grace, I pray, to serve you as I ought, as a faithful and diligent servant."
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;