"The God Who Speaks" Hebrews 1:1–4

Hebrews 1, verses 1 to 12.

Hebrews 1:1–12

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

! But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,

and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high,

having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

You are my Son, today I have begotten you.

Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

Let all God's angels worship him.

Of the angels, he says, he makes his angels winds,

and his ministers a flame of fire.

But of the Son, he says,

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

And you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain.

They will all wear out like a garment.

Like a robe, you will roll them up.

Like a garment, they will be changed.

But you are the same, and your years will have no end.

A bit of an introduction.

In 2016, Martin Scorsese, he directed a film, released a film called Silence.

It's about two Jesuit priests, one named Rodriguez, the other Garupe.

They came from Portugal, and they traveled to 17th century Japan

to find their mentor, Ferreira.

Ferreira, and Ferreira had been rumored to have been a missionary in Japan

only to apostatize, to leave the faith, to renounce Jesus.

And when they arrive, they find a small but faithful Christian community in Japan,

and these lay people are overjoyed to have these two priests visit them

and to minister to them.

And it isn't long before the authorities, who are very hostile towards the Christian faith,

learn of their arrival.

And instead of hunting the priests, they do something pretty brilliant.

They go after the lay people, and they persecute them,

hoping to cause a lot of consternation and a lot of frustration and pain

within these two priests,

so that they would apostatize and then completely crush the hearts

and the faith of the faithful laity that follow them.

Rodriguez, who is the main character, he's played by Andrew Garfield,

he faces such inner turmoil.

On one hand, he wants to spare the Christian community

the suffering and the torture and the pain.

And on the other hand, he refuses to apostatize.

And this greatest turmoil is his frustration with God for being silent,

hence the name of the film.

If God were really there and really cared,

why not strengthen Rodriguez with a word or encouragement?

Why not rescue the people?

Why not provide him with direction, with confirmation,

that this suffering will pass or that it is not in vain?

And in the end, Rodriguez apostatizes.

And it's only then, in Scorsese's film,

the book by the same name,

I don't think takes such liberties as Scorsese,

but only when Rodriguez apostatizes

will he then hear the voice of what is presumably Christ.

And Christ says, it is okay.

And to apostatize, there is an icon of Jesus

that he was to step on.

He says, okay, step on me.

It's going to be okay.

And the way it's communicated in the movie,

it's as if Jesus isn't just okay with it,

but it's somehow akin to Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross.

It's a great movie.

I'm not sure the message is super great, okay?

But the movie itself is beautiful.

I commend it to you.

It's also not for the faint of heart.

So be warned.

But it brings up a really interesting point.

The apparent silence of God is something

that 17th century priests don't just suffer with,

but we suffer with as well.

We want to hear God speak.

His silence can be a barrier to our faith.

If only God would speak to me,

I could believe or I wouldn't have doubt.

If only he would make clear his will for my life,

I'd follow him.

It can also be a barrier to our hope.

We need to know that God is with us in our circumstances.

When they are difficult and when faith is costly,

we need to know that he is there.

And it would go a great length for him to just say,

I'm here.

Sometimes it is hard to believe and hope

when it feels like we are praying.

Like I said in my prayer,

like I prayed,

it's hard to believe and hope

when we're praying to a ceiling

and four walls.

Hebrews is a really remarkable book.

The opening that we'll spend time in,

verses one to four,

is so theologically dense

in terms of displaying who Christ is

and what he is about.

And it's written,

we don't know the author,

but it's written what a lot of scholars believe

is to a small, fledgling Jewish community

in and around Rome

in anywhere between 60 and 70 AD.

And this community,

they were facing some very real oppression

by the authorities.

And they needed to know and be assured

that Christ truly was the long-awaited Messiah

and that this Christian faith is worthy

of holding on to

even, even, even

when their lives hang in the balance.

You see, the scary thing about God's silence

or apparent silence

is that it is less about whether God is speaking

to us,

but actually whether he cares about us.

For speaking is itself an act of kindness.

Listen, harsh words hurt,

but what I would suggest hurts more

is a cold apathy

that gives us a silent treatment.

This is what hurts more than harsh words.

Not to say that harsh words don't cut,

but when you know that somebody

doesn't care enough to even acknowledge you,

that is the difficulty.

So this is the big question

in the letter of the Hebrews,

and it's a big question for us today.

Does God speak?

Does he care?

Does he know?

Is he with us?

So this Christmas Eve,

we're turning to these opening verses.

We're going to take a look at Hebrews 1, verse 4.

Hebrews 1:4

And what's interesting is that

I didn't just randomly pick this.

We had just finished up last Sunday

a four-part Advent series

in the Songs for the Savior.

There are four songs in Luke 1 and 2.

They're lovely, beautiful, Christmassy songs.

But Hebrews 1 is the assigned epistle reading

for Christmas Day in the Book of Common Prayer.

And if you read it,

it doesn't seem very Christmassy.

However, when we think about

what happened on Christmas Day,

it's in fact the most perfect text

to speak about,

to dwell upon,

to meditate on.

So, we're going to look at two points

this morning,

in verses just 1 to 4.

We're not going to read verses 5 to 12,

just verses 1 to 4.

And we're going to look at words in the past

and the word in the present.

So, if you have your Bible,

it's a bit of a long intro.

Stick with me.

We're going to look at verse 1

for our first point,

words from the past.

Long ago at many times

and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers

by the prophets.

This letter opens up

with a strong affirmation

of God's interaction with mankind

throughout the ages

and throughout time and space.

It establishes that God

is the one who has spoken.

Right off the bat,

it's this affirmation

that God is neither silent nor absent.

The Bible consistently records

God's interactions with mankind

from our earliest moments

through our darkest times.

God has spoken primarily

through chosen leaders and prophets,

and he's communicated in various ways

throughout centuries,

through signs,

through words,

visitations,

symbols,

acts,

writings.

He has spoken in valleys,

he has spoken on mountains,

in cities,

in desert places.

He has spoken to the poor

and to the rich,

to the young

and to the old,

to women,

to men,

to those with great power

and to those of lowly estate.

If you remember

our songs of the Savior,

we have a song

that Mary bursts forth

called the Magnificat.

I magnify the Lord.

Mary is this poor servant girl,

nobody from nowheresville.

The next one we look at

is the Benedictus,

which is the song of Zechariah.

He is this high priest,

priest in the priestly class.

He is like an elite in society.

God is speaking to everybody in between.

And the way he speaks

is always in the common tongue

to common people,

ensuring that his words are clear.

Sometimes in symbols,

sometimes it's hard to understand,

but always clear.

So God speaks,

not to everybody,

but for everyone.

He has made himself known,

and that is recorded for us

in the words of Scripture,

both for posterity,

proof that he has indeed spoken,

but more importantly,

so that his words can be widely shared,

read, and understood.

His words are public and deliberate.

God speaks.

He speaks.

He's a speaking God.

Since his first words to humanity,

he has consistently spoken,

revealing more and more

of his plan for mankind,

more and more of his character,

of who he is.

What does that mean for us?

I think simply put,

it means that God,

the one true God,

is a caring God.

He's the one who makes the initiative.

He's the one who speaks.

He will not allow his creation

to wallow in their despair,

to experience divine silence.

He will not allow that to happen.

For that is hopelessness,

and God will not let his people

to remain hopeless.

His plan is always to bless,

and to redeem,

and to forgive,

and to purify,

and to share,

and to love,

to right the wrongs,

to confront injustice and evil,

to dispel the darkness

once and for all.

And yet the darkness persisted.

Darkness continues.

God's people heard his words.

Here's one of the reasons

why it persists,

the darkness does.

God's people heard his words,

but did not heed his words.

The blame for the darkness

that befell us

was then placed on the God

who spoke words of hope

and deliverance,

and we have said,

you have abandoned us.

You are silent.

We are quick to pass blame.

In fact,

if you're familiar at all

with the biblical story,

the first instance

of sin entering the world

becomes a bit of a blame game.

This is kind of the way

things work with human beings.

And of course,

if we are feeling the darkness,

it's our own fault.

What are we going to do?

Of course,

we're going to blame God.

We heard his words,

but we did not heed his words.

And even worse,

we claim that he was silent.

And in doing so,

the human race

treated with contempt

this God of love.

So what would God do?

He had spoken long ago

in many times

and in many ways,

the author of Hebrews

tells us right off the bat.

He's spoken to fathers,

to prophets,

and everybody in between.

He speaks continually,

and yet we hear,

but we don't heed.

So the question is,

what will God do?

Maybe some of you

remember actual arcades.

One of the biggest joys

was going to this mall

near my grandparents' house

when I was six or seven.

I'd get a big,

fat pocket full of quarters,

and one of the worst things

that could happen

was I ran out of quarters.

Game over.

Is this what's happening to us?

Okay?

Have we ran out of quarters

in a divine sense?

We have heard,

but we have not heeded.

Let's get to our second point,

and let's look at verses two to four.

But in these last days,

he has spoken to us

by his Son,

whom he appointed

the heir of all things,

through whom also

he created the world.

He, the Son,

is the radiance

of the glory of God

and the exact imprint

of his nature,

and he upholds the universe

by the word of his power.

After making purifications

for sins,

he sat down

at the right hand

of the majesty on high,

having become

as much superior

to angels

as the name

he has inherited

is more excellent

than theirs.

Like I said

at the beginning,

there's Colossians chapter one,

maybe John chapter one.

These are the high,

high, high, high, high points

of what the Bible says

about Jesus.

Here we are

in Hebrews chapter one.

So we see

God has spoken

a whole lot

over centuries

to many people.

We heard,

but we didn't heed.

And instead of

getting a big fat game over,

God sends his Son

to speak.

He has spoken again.

And this time,

it's once and for all.

He did not stop speaking

because we thought

he was silent.

He has given us

a revelation

of himself

so that there is

nothing more

to be learned

about who he is

or what he will do.

He has given

a final revelation.

There's nothing more

that he can share

either that he's willing

to share

or that we could

potentially understand.

But God in his kindness

reveals everything

through his Son.

He has self-disclosed

himself to us.

We'll talk about this

very shortly.

But he takes the initiative

to do this.

Okay?

We do not

somehow

mentally ascend

up to God

to understand him.

He

self-discloses

himself to us

in our tongue

in a way that we can

understand.

But through his Son.

There's a lot

to unpack here.

Okay?

A whole bunch.

But I'm going to

try to draw your attention

in a succinct way

to three key points.

The first.

God has spoken

to our need

to know our place.

To situate ourselves

in this world.

And to know that

we have meaning.

That we matter.

And that we have purpose.

God has spoken

through his Son.

The divine word.

Who spoke creation

into existence.

Including us.

We're going to look at

John 1 tomorrow.

He is the one

who sustains the world

in its existence.

So he doesn't just

create.

And then kind of

the classic

example is

like a watchmaker

who sets the dial

and leaves the watch

to do its thing.

No.

He not only creates

but he sustains.

How?

I mean these are mysteries.

These are high, high

things to think about.

But the scriptures

affirm that he doesn't

just create

but he holds us together.

And it means that

the entire universe,

the entire cosmos

is not some impersonal

or endless void

that just came about

by happenstance

but was crafted

with divine hands

with divine intention.

Which means

you being a part

of that creation

means your existence

isn't the result

of just chance

but is ordained

by the creator

of the creator

God himself.

The only one

who is not created.

The uncreated creator.

It is a gift of God.

An act of creation

from his choice

not his necessity

and this is a big part

of it.

Okay?

If God had to create us

for some divine reason

because he was lacking

something

so he had to create

so that he could

then be fulfilled

then his creation

would not be

a self-giving

an act of kindness

and love.

It would be self-serving.

But that's not the case.

He does so

not out of necessity

but out of love.

And he creates

and he sustains

all things

because he so desires

and has done so

with incredible precision

and beauty.

And he says

of all of mankind

that when he created us

that we are very good.

It's a remarkable thing

to think about.

Okay?

That God creates

he sustains

he says of us

that we're really good

that speaks to us

to have this divine

purpose

and meaning.

Whether you feel it

or not

friends

I'd encourage you

just to consider it.

Consider how this is

this is a better word

than just this idea

that we are

the product

of

billions of years

of chance.

Now I'm not somehow

suggesting that

you have to believe

that the world

was created

in six literal days

or this was symbolic

I'm not even going there

but that there is

a creator behind

everything

as opposed to

this is all by chance

and therefore

you're just a

really wonderful

coincidence

that was just

splurted into creation.

You were created

with intention

and beauty

and love

and truth.

I want this

to be true.

I'd suggest

for you as well

that you want

it to be true

that you want

your very essence

to matter

to a creator

and I would also

suggest that it is

more hopeful reality

than any other option.

The second thing

that verses

two and four

tell us

is that God

speaks to our desire

for transcendence

so that

we know

that we are

known by God

himself

and we actually

have the opportunity

to know him.

How does he do this?

Well

continues on

in scripture

that he

in our text

that he reveals

his radiance

and glory

to us

in Christ.

In short

it means that

God is perfectly

reflected in his son

and he does so

for our

sakes.

God

the father

and God

the son

share the exact

same essence.

Christ bears

the very character

of the father

as a stamp

bears its imprint

on the wax

it is pressed upon.

However

however

we need to be careful

not to push that analogy

too far

for a stamp

and the wax

are distinct

while the son

and the father

they are one.

Which is to say

that God

did not have to

reveal himself

perfectly

in his son

for us to behold

but he has

and that again

speaks to

the fulfilling

of our need

to transcend

and touch

the divine

to have

an encounter

with eternity.

Throughout the

Old Testament

God has

been 100%

inaccessible

to humanity

in this type

of way.

He is perfect

and holy

the scriptures

say that we are not

and therefore

we have no business

being in his presence

with no hope

of knowing him.

In fact

throughout the Old Testament

it is said

that if a man

or woman

were to see God

they would be undone

yet in Christ

mankind

was not undone

but remade.

And through

this one man

sinful man

had the privilege

of being in God's

presence forever

when he had no right

to do so.

All of our hopes

all of our desires

to again

connect with eternity

to transcend

this world

to touch the divine

all of them

were accomplished

in Christ

completely apart

from us.

And then finally

in addition to God

speaking to

our need

to know

our place

and that we matter

in this world

and speaks to our desire

for transcendence

he also

and finally

speaks to our

deep sense

of being

free from guilt

to be

cleansed from our sin

to have our

to have our

iniquities

atoned for.

The reality

and feeling

that we are

tarnished

and unworthy

of love

is a real one.

Maybe you feel it now

maybe you don't

but at some point

at some time

in your life

you will feel

the weight

of darkness

and sin.

You will.

You will.

Things you

will say

or have said

things you

have thought

or will think

acts that you

have done

or will do

they cause

a deep stain

and this kind of

stain does not

come out in the wash.

Our frustration

with doing the things

we know we shouldn't do

and doing the things

we know we should do

it's very real

and knowing

that there is

no health

in us

as the prayer book

tells us

prayer book also

in morning prayer

it will say

that we are

miserable offenders

if you're honest

when you're feeling

the weight

of the things

that you have done

I'll say this

if you allow yourself

to feel the weight

of the things

you have done

if you will not

just quickly dull it

with entertainment

or distraction

but if you feel

the weight

of your sin

of your brokenness

you will realize

that indeed

you truly are

a miserable offender

and that you lack

goodness

truth and beauty

against God's

own righteous laws

and righteous ways

you have transgressed

the pain of severed

relationships

and disappointments

as you get older

they inevitably

get stacked

and stacked

and stacked

and stacked

until they're

completely overwhelming

we will go

to great lengths

to soothe

our consciences

but to no

lasting avail

so when God

he speaks

through his son

who makes

purification

for our sins

it is not just

that God

makes atonement

for the sins

that we have done

but he cleanses us

so that we are

white as snow

something again

that he takes

the initiative to do

that we don't

and he speaks

to our very need

of being cleansed

and not only that

Hebrews 1 says

after he did all this

he then ascended

to the right hand

of the majesty

on high

and sat down

what does this mean?

you sit down

after you've completed

the work you've done

okay

after you've completed

the work you've done

you don't sit down

maybe you take a break

okay but in terms

of this language

you sit down

because you're done

there's no more

left to do

and this is what

the author of Hebrews

is drawing our attention to

so that Christ

he deals with our sin

he purifies us

in the most complete

and full

way that

that could have

possibly been done

the job is finished

and friends

his work is completed

I'll wrap this up

in conclusion

is God silent?

okay

is Scorsese's

film

actual

like an actual

proper

depiction

of who God is?

I just want to say

not a chance

okay

not a chance

he has spoken

so very loudly

through his son

who speaks so fully

and perfectly

revealing who God is

and what he is about

however

however

okay

there is

a degree

of where we take this

by faith

and even then

God helps us out

to do that

okay

we don't hear

we don't have a time machine

we can't go back

and even if we did

I bet you we wouldn't believe

because we are

like I said last Sunday

we are inoculated

against the things of God

often times

so we ask

God for help

to believe

and I'm telling you

God has spoken

through his son

in the most loud

most unmistakable

way possible

and this was his

initiative

not ours

and doesn't that speak

to how loving God is?

how does God

communicate his love

for us?

it is through

the incarnation

it is through

the Christ child

being born

in Bethlehem

to the Virgin Mary

and again

this is God

breaking through

the author of life

breaking into the story

he is writing

purely

purely

because he loves us

and he desires

to speak to us

while wrestling

with the Christian faith

C.S. Lewis writes

in the second to last chapter

of his autobiography

spiritual autobiography

surprised by joy

about how

this is even possible

and why

this is the only

true way

we could ever

hear God speak

and this is what he says

by the way

this is from

the second last chapter

chapter 14

it's called

Checkmate

I think it's a brilliant

title for a chapter

of a man coming to faith

a man wrestling with God

but this is what he says

anyways

quote

even if my own philosophy

were true

how could the initiative

lie on my side

my own analogy

as I now

first perceived

suggested the opposite

and here he gives an example

if Shakespeare and Hamlet

could ever meet

it must be Shakespeare's doing

Hamlet could initiate nothing

Shakespeare in principle

could make himself

appear as the author

within the play

and write a dialogue

between Hamlet

and himself

the Shakespeare

within the play

would of course

be at once Shakespeare

and one of Shakespeare's

creatures

it would bear

some analogy

to the incarnation

for in these last days

God has spoken to us

entering his creation

yet remaining fully God

he visited us

took on our flesh

lived a very

fully human life

died a very

fully human death

completely undeserved

and he rose

from the grave

conquering death

and ascended to heaven

to make a place

for us

that we may be

by his help

when we put our faith

in him

and hear again

sweet words

spoken over us

enter into the joy

of your master

friends

God speaks

he speaks

at the incarnation

and what he speaks

is grace

upon grace

love upon love

to us

in his son

Jesus Christ

let's pray

father we thank you

that even though

sometimes it feels

like you are silent

you

you speak

and you have spoken

in such an incredible

universe

altering way

through your son

Lord help us

to have ears

to hear

enliven our faith

help us

to be

like the man

in the gospels

who says

I believe

help my unbelief

and let us put

our faith

and trust

and hope

in your son

who has spoken

a far better word

than any word

that has ever spoken

and Lord

help us

by your spirit's help

to endure

to the end

so that we may hear

at the end of the age

the sweet words

enter your master's rest

we pray all of this

in the name of the father

the son

and the holy spirit

amen

we will respond

to God's word

by

as