Sermon
07 "God’s Son Is More Glorious Than God’s Servant" Hebrews 3:1-6 | Thursday, October 1, 2026
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Hebrews chapter 3. If you found your
Hebrews 3 chapter mention
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place, if you'll stand in honor of God's
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word, we'll read it together. Hebrews
Hebrews 3 chapter mention
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chapter 3. Our text this night this
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evening will come uh from verses 1
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through verse 6. It's been a couple
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weeks since we've been here. So, I'll
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just remind you and there'll be a little
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bit of tiein here as we move into
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chapter 3 to chapters 1 and two. But the
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author here is establishing the
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greatness the glory of Jesus the son of
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God uh over the angels in particular in
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the last chap uh two chapters that we've
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seen and then uh toward the second half
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of chapter 2 we saw that uh about the
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condescension of the son of god how he
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came from um how he came down from um
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heaven as the son of god and became
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robed in human flesh. Um, we're in
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Hebrews, so let's put the slide up
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there. Everyone's gonna continue staring
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at it, distracted. So, let's get the
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Hebrews on up there. There we go. All
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right. And my clock restarted. So, that
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means that none of that time just passed
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in real life. So, I do have a clock. If
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it goes long, it's because the clock's
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not up there, which has happened the
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last two Sundays. So, that's why we've
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had hourlong messages. Anyways, chapter
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two, the condescension of the son of
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God. He became a man to share in our
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sufferings, to know our experiences,
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to make us his brethren, to bring us to
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glory. We saw in chapter 2, he uh came
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to sanctify us. He came to defeat the
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devil who holds the power of death and
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deliver us from the fear of death. And
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he came, of course, to serve as our
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faithful high priest. He made
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reconciliation
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for our sins, brought us closer to God,
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and for that we give him praise and
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thanks. The reason why I review that is
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because chapter 3 starts with the word
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wherefor. And so this is directly
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connected to what he has said in
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chapters uh one and two. And so they're
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tied in here and we'll see how just that
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is. So Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1.
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Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of
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the heavenly calling, consider, there's
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the command to us tonight. We need to
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consider
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something particular about Jesus Christ.
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He says, "Consider the apostle and high
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priest of our profession, Christ Jesus,
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who was faithful to him that appointed
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him, as also Moses was faithful in all
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his house. For this man was counted
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worthy of more glory than Moses, in as
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much as he who hath builded the house
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hath more honor than the house. For
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every house is builded by some man, but
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he that built all things is God. And
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Moses verily was faithful in all his
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house as a servant, for a testimony of
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those things which were to be spoken
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after. But Christ as a son over his own
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house, whose house are we if we hold
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fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
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the hope firm unto the end. The title of
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our message tonight is God's son is more
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glorious than God's servant. God's son
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is more glorious than God's servant. May
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God bless his word. You can be seated
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and we'll explain this passage.
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Who is the greatest of all time? Who is
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the greatest of all time? In some
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contexts,
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uh the answer to that question is
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somewhat debatable. Who is the greatest
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actor of all time? We're probably gonna
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have different opinions on that. Uh, who
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is the greatest president of all time?
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Some might say George Washington. Just
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go with the first one. There hasn't been
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a great one since, right? Or you might
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say Ronald Reagan, or you you might say
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uh um, you know, some president of
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oldtime past, Abraham Lincoln, or
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something like that. But people are
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going to debate. Everybody's going to
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have their opinion on it. Uh, when you
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ask who is the greatest basketball
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player of all time, it typically comes
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down to a contested debate between
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Michael Jordan and LeBron James. And
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this group in here, I am confident,
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would all say Michael Jordan. Pretty
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sure because Luke's not here. He might
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say he's that generation that doesn't
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know Michael Jordan. My daughter knows
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it's Michael Jordan because she's been
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taught correctly.
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So, there are some contexts where the
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the greatest of all time can be debated.
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But then there are certain contexts
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where the debate is settled. To be
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honest,
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there's no debate that Wayne Gretzky is
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the best hockey player of all time. Even
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the greatest ones of our generation have
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not come close to the statistics that he
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put up, including an over 80 goals in
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one season. the it's it's it's amazing
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if you get to 50 goals and he went over
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80 goals in one season. Just remarkable.
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He's the best hockey player of all time.
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Although I'm a fan of Peyton Manning and
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John Elway, I cannot allow my orange
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colored glasses to keep me from
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admitting that Tom Brady is probably
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unequivocally the best quarterback of
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all time. As much as it pains me to say
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that,
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um, it's difficult to deny that Lionel
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Messi is the greatest soccer player of
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all time. There might be some who debate
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that, but the vast majority would say
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that Messi is. And then Jack Nicholas,
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the greatest golfer of all time. Tiger
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Woods was on track, but he didn't quite
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make it there. Uh, and then perhaps that
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Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight
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boxer of all time. Those are those are
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ones that where the debate is really
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settled. There's not a whole lot of
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debate surrounded surrounding it. Well,
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I want to say to you tonight that there
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is no debate that the title of the
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greatest leader of God's people is Jesus
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Christ. He is the greatest. The Bible
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sets forth some great leaders. leaders
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like Abraham,
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Joseph.
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Of course, you have kings like David,
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Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah. They were for
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the most part good kings and they were
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great leaders in some of the best times
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of Israel's history. And yet, they each
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had their shortcomings. But rising to
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the top of the greatest leaders of
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Israel. If we set aside Jesus Christ,
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probably every one of us would say
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Moses. That Moses was the greatest
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leader for Israel. Think about it. We've
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studied this in Exodus, Leviticus, and
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Numbers. See if any of these things ring
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a bell that he stood before Pharaoh
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during the plagues. God see God work
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miraculously in that way. He led Israel
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through the Passover.
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through the Red Sea on dry ground and
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onto Mount Si. He was able to go up into
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Mount Si into the cloud of God's glory
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and he was able to see a portion of
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God's glory and he lived. He ate with
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the elders of Israel in a fellowship
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meal before God in Mount Si.
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He received the law of God directly from
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his mouth. He went into the tabernacle
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when the cloud of God's glory descended
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on it and the glory of God was present
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in it. God personally called Moses my
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servant six times and he is mentioned
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throughout scripture over 41 times as
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the servant of the Lord. And throughout
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the Bible he is upheld as highly exalted
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and glorious in the sight of God's
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people. Moses is certainly
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great.
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And that is the appeal for the believers
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that this letter is written to
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that while they are facing persecution
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for identifying with Jesus Christ, they
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were not facing persecution while
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identifying with Moses. And so their
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propensity here is to shrink back from
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Jesus and go toward Moses once again.
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But here the author of Hebrews settles
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the debate once and for all that God's
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son is more glorious than God's servant.
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This text calls us to consider
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why Christ is more glorious than Moses
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was. And the reason that that matters is
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because how you view the glory of God's
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son will affect how you respond to him
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and what he says. Isn't that what we've
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seen Hebrews about? God said that he
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hath in these last days spoken unto us
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by his son. And so the whole message is
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a call for them to hear, to heed, to
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hold fast to the son of God. And this
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argument now shifts to the fact that the
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son is more glorious than the servant.
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And so I want to show you here first of
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all why Christ is more glorious than
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Moses. But then I want to show you by
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way of application how we should respond
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to him in light of his glory. I want you
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to notice first of all with me that
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God's son is the appointed apostle and
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high priest of our profession. That's
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what we see in verse one. And verse one
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is really a transitional uh statement
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here that summarizes where we've been in
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Hebrews, but then points us forward to
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where we're going uh in Hebrews. Notice
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this with me. First of all, it says in
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verse one, "Wherefore, holy brethren,
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partakers of the heavenly calling." Now,
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think about this for a minute. Holy
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brethren, partakers of the heavenly
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calling. This points us back to chapter
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2, what we were just looking at a couple
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of weeks ago, when it says that Jesus is
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not ashamed to call us brethren. It says
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that he has sanctified us. That means
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that he's made us holy. And so you have
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this idea that because of the sufferings
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of Christ, we who have placed our faith
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in him have become holy brethren with
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Jesus. That means we are brothers and
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sisters together. That's why
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occasionally you might hear me call
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someone brother so and so. You hear
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somebody say sister so and so. It's just
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a way of communicating that we are
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family in Jesus Christ. That's what it
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calls us here. We're brethren who are
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made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ.
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And then notice it says that we are
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partakers of the heavenly calling. The
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heavenly calling takes us back to
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chapter 2 10 where it says that Jesus
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Christ is the captain of our salvation
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and that he is bringing many sons to
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glory. That speaks of the heavenly glory
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that we will one day share with Jesus
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Christ in heaven with God. And so you
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can see right off the bat that he is
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summarizing
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who we have become through the
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suffering, the death and resurrection of
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Jesus Christ. We have become a holy
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family of God and we are partakers of a
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heavenly calling. But then notice what
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he says to us. Consider
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consider that we need to think
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reflectively
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on something here particularly
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about Jesus. Why? Because how we think
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about Jesus will ultimately shape the
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direction we go. these believers, uh,
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these Hebrew believers that are facing
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persecution, if they don't think Jesus
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is on the same level as Moses,
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then why would they stick with Jesus
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when it's bringing persecution instead
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of going back to Moses where there was
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no persecution? And so, how they view
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Jesus makes an impact on the direction
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that they will go here. Here I want to
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say the same thing to you that if you
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don't think that Jesus is more glorious
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than a man then you will go for that man
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and follow that teacher and follow that
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philosopher or that professor in college
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you will follow them if you don't think
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Jesus is more glorious than them. That
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is the matter that he wants to settle
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here. Who is Jesus? Notice first of all
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it says that he is the apostle
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and high priest of our profession. Now
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we see the word apostle. We think of the
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twel apostles. We think of the apostle
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Paul. Let's think about their ministry
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for a moment. What was their role in
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that apostolic office? They were
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authorized and commissioned by Jesus to
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carry his message to the nations to
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fulfill his purposes of expanding his
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kingdom. That's what an apostle does.
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But here Jesus is called an apostle.
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Who has authority over Jesus?
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No one but the father. Though Jesus is
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equal with God, he submits himself to
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the plans and the purposes of his
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father. And so, uh, when it says that
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he's the apostle, what it means is he is
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the one that God has authorized to go on
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his behalf to fulfill his purposes and
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carry his message. That is what Jesus
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has done. And what we notice is that
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that is exactly what he has done
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according to chapter 2. What we have
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studied remember it said that God made
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him Jesus a little lower than the angels
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for what reason? The suffering of death
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that he might bring many sons to glory.
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And so what that means is if we are holy
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brethren and if we are partakers of the
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heavenly calling, does that not then
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mean that Jesus fulfilled his mission?
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That if that was why he was sent, if he
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became lower than the angels to suffer
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for our sin and to bring us to glory
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through his death and resurrection, then
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if we are holy brethren, we are
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partakers of the heavenly calling,
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Christ has done everything the father
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sent him to do. He has carried the
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message of God. Now that's key because
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what do we remember from the first two
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verses of this letter that the God who
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spoke in past times in a variety of ways
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by the mouths of the prophets has spoken
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to us in these last days by his son. And
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so what that means is that Jesus is the
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divinelyapp appointed messenger of God.
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He establishes that he's the apostle of
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God. He came to fulfill God's purpose
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and to carry God's message. So in other
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words, he is the mouthpiece of God.
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Isn't that what uh the first four verses
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of Hebrews told us? That he is the
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express image of his person that God has
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spoken by his son. And so Jesus is the
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apostle. But then it says he's also the
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high priest. This was introduced at the
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end of chapter 2 when it talks about how
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Jesus uh condescended, took on human
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flesh, was made lower than the angels
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for the suffering of death. It tells us
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in verses 17 and 18 that the specific
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reason he did that was to make
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reconciliation for sins. Make
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reconciliation is a word that means to
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uh remove the enmity or the hostility
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that stands in the way.
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your sin stands between you and God.
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It's it's just like if somebody does you
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wrong and there's friction in your
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relationship. It's the same thing
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between you and God. Our wrongdoing, our
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offenses against him leave enmity and
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hostility between us, which is why we
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can't enter God's presence. It's why we
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can't commune in fellowship with him in
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our sin. The high priest must come pay
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the price of death, remove our sin, and
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thereby become our merciful and faithful
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high priest. The one who goes between us
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and God on our behalf. That's who Jesus
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is. But notice it says that he's the
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apostle and high priest of our
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profession.
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Profession there is not talking about
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what you do for a living. This is a word
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that means to say the same thing
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together. It's got all of that involved.
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You might hear how there are confessions
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of faith. Our our statement of faith is
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another way to say that. If you go on
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our website, you look at our statement
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of faith. It is initially born from the
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New Hampshire Baptist confession of the
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1600s. That confession is a systematized
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way of communicating our theology. what
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we believe about God and about Jesus
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Christ. My mind goes to the lyrics to
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the song of the saints. This we believe
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that we have a savior, Jesus the Christ
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for our sin crucified. Yes, we believe
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that on the third morning, God was the
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stone for he rose back to life. Forever
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he reigns. Let his praise fill the sky.
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Glory to God the Father. Glory to Christ
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the risen one. All hail the king with
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heaven sing hallelujah. Amen. That's a
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statement of faith.
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He says that Jesus is the apostle
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and the high priest of our profession.
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He is the object
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of our faith. That's what this is
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saying. We confess that he is the one
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sent from God to pay the price for our
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sin to accomplish redemption and send
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the message into the far reaches of the
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world. That that is who we believe Jesus
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is. But what in particular
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do we need to consider
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about him? Look at verse number two.
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Who was faithful to him that appointed
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him. Who is that? That's God the Father.
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He appointed him the apostle and high
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priest of our profession. But notice it
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says, "As also Moses was faithful in all
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his house." And so initially here, it's
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as if the author is placing Jesus and
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Moses on the same level in terms of
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glory. That's how this initially uh uh
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is seen here. And his point is really
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understood in in recognizing that he is
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quoting from scripture here where it
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says that Moses was faithful in all his
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house. You know what this takes us back
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to? Numbers 12. Do you remember what
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happened there? No. Let me remind you.
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In Numbers chapter 12, Niriam and Aaron
Numbers 12 chapter mention
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had beef with Moses about his Ethiopian
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wife, right? Is that ringing a bell? So,
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what did they do? The Bible says they
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came and they spoke against him. You
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remember what God did? No. Let me remind
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you. God called all three of them to the
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tabernacle. I don't know about you, that
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doesn't sound good. God says, "All
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right, we're going to have a meeting.
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Let's get you three together. You ever
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have done that with your kids? Let's get
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you all together. we're going to sit
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down and settle this once and for all.
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He brings Moses and Miriam and Aaron to
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the tabernacle and he he speaks to Aaron
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and Miriam and he tells them, "When I
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speak to a prophet, I'm going to speak
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to them in visions and in dreams."
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But then he said, "But my servant Moses
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is not." So
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with him I will speak mouthto mouth or
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face to face as we might say it. With
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him I will speak plainly not in dark
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speeches.
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And he says that how he says he beholds
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my similitude my my likeness.
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What is that talking about? When God
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showed him his glory,
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he says, "That's who Moses is.
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Moses is not an average man. He's not an
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average prophet. He is my servant to
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whom I speak plainly, face to face, to
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whom I show my glory." That's who Moses
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is. And it's in that context that he
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says that he refers to Moses as being
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faithful in all my house. This is what
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it says in Numbers 12:6. Moses is
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faithful. in all my house. So think
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about this for a moment. That is set in
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the context
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when God has spoken to his people by his
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servant [clears throat] Moses.
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He's spoken to them. What are they
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doing? Speaking against him.
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Who made you a judge over us? That's
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what they said to him. And so what
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they're doing is they are rejecting
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God's word from the mouth of Moses. Now,
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how about that contextual setting when
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it's quoted here in Hebrews? Because God
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is saying now through this author that
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his son is now his mouthpiece. He's no
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longer speaking by his servant Moses. He
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is speaking by his son Jesus.
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And if you do not listen to him, this is
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where he's going in this chapter. We're
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going to see it uh not next week, but
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the week after. He's going there in this
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chapter that that the generation in the
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wilderness fell because they did not
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believe what Moses said and they did not
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obey what Moses said. And so in this
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context from Numbers 12 when he says
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that Jesus is faithful just as Moses was
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faithful in all my house, he's warning
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them that you need to consider
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what he has to say.
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You need to listen. You need to heed my
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word from my son. Why? He's faithful in
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all mine house. And so at this point, it
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seems like he's he's putting uh Jesus
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and Moses on this same level of glory.
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But what we find next is that he's very
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quick to uh display that that Jesus
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transcends Moses in glory. And he does
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so by demonstrating the difference in
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their rank. Let's see if we can follow
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the logic here. Would you look at verse
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number three? He says, "For this man,"
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speaking of Jesus,
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"was counted worthy of more glory."
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Question, who counted him worthy of more
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glory?
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His father did.
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His father did not just say that my son
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is on the same level as Moses, but no,
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my son is more glorious than Moses. God
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counted him more worthy of glory than
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Moses. How so?
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in as much as he who hath builded the
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house hath more honor than the house.
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What's going on here is he's stating his
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case that Christ is worthy of more glory
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than Moses by using the illustration of
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building a house. Now, when we are out
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canvasing as a church, I've often been
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struck by the beauty and the design of
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some of these multi-million dollar
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houses uh that we come across. Whether
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uh we're talking about the materials
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that are used, the architectural style
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or the rooftop decks and and the the
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large walls of picture windows that peer
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out at the flat irons. I mean, they're
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just beautiful at times. Could you
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imagine what it'd be like sitting in one
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of those homes eating dinner around the
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table looking out seeing the sunset over
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the flat irons and just like it is a
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beautiful house. But let me ask you,
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where does the glory of that house
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really belong
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to the wood structure
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to the stones there as if this house
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came into being all by itself?
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Or does the glory go to the master
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tradesmen who put those stones in place?
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Who aligned that framing perfectly plum
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and square?
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But how about even more glory goes to
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the one who had the ingenuity, the
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vision, and the mind to draw out these
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plans to see this is the way the house
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needs to sit so that it looks directly
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at those mountains so they can enjoy a
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beautiful dinner on their rooftop deck
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taking in the glory of the sunset. the
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the the real glory belongs to the
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architect, the builder of that house.
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That is the argument that the author is
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making here about the glory of Jesus. He
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says that he is worthy of more glory by
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this simple fact. Moses
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is part of the house,
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but Jesus is the builder of the house.
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Because what we notice at the end of
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verse two, it says Moses was faithful in
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all his house. In other words, picture a
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house. Moses is in the house. Moses is
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of the house. Moses is part of the
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house. But Jesus is the one who is the
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builder of the house. Therefore, he is
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more glorious than the man who is a part
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of the house. That's that's his point
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here. But then notice the glory of
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Christ's deity in verse four. It says,
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"For every house is builded by some man,
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but he that built all things is God. Who
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has been described as the builder?"
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The son. Now in verse four, who is
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described as the builder? God. You know
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what that means? The son is God. Isn't
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that what we saw in chapter one? That he
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is the express image of God's person
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that God made the worlds by him. Is that
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not what it said? Look back. I don't
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think you believe me. Look back at
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chapter one verse uh number three uh
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verse number two, excuse me. says, "Hath
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of these last days spoken unto us by his
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son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
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things, by whom also he made the worlds,
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who being the brightness of his glory
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and the express image of his person, and
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upholding all things by the word of his
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power." That is who Jesus is. That while
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he is the son of God, he also wields all
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of the power and divine person of God.
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And so Moses is a man
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But Jesus is God. And so you can see the
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what he's establishing here that while
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Jesus was just as faithful as Moses was,
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the reality is Moses was faithful in
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God's house. He was a part of God's
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house. But Jesus is the builder of God's
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house. And that makes him more glorious
-
than Moses.
-
And so because of who we have become in
-
Christ, holy brethren, partakers of the
-
heavenly calling, we need to consider
-
Jesus worthy of more glory than Moses
-
because first of all, he's the builder
-
of God's house. But then we notice
-
number two that God's son is also the
-
appointed ruler over God's house. these
-
these prepositions and adverbial
-
phrases, these are very key to
-
understanding his point in these texts.
-
You'll notice a lot of uh Moses is in
-
God's house. He's in God's house, but
-
Jesus is over God's house. There's a
-
difference between being in something
-
and being over something. If you are in
-
an airplane, you're just flying. If you
-
are flying the airplane, you are over
-
it. You are the captain. You are in
-
charge. There's a difference there
-
between the pilot and a passenger, is
-
there not? And that's the argument that
-
he's making here. There's a difference
-
between a servant
-
and a son. Let's see it together. Look
-
at verse number five. It says, "And
-
Moses verily truly was faithful." Look
-
at this. In all his house. So there it
-
is again. Moses is inside of the house
-
of God. But notice how as a servant.
-
As a servant. And so Moses is a servant
-
of God. But I want to point out here
-
that this particular word translated
-
servant is not what you would typically
-
find translated servant, which is a word
-
that refers to a household slave, which
-
would be a low status, a low rank in the
-
household estate of a rich master.
-
That's the word dulos. That's the most
-
common word translated servant or slave.
-
This is a is is the word therapon
-
which is a servant of nobility,
-
a servant of high ranking. And so what
-
he's doing here is he's not diminishing
-
who Moses is. He's actually raising the
-
level of Moses's glory. That he was not
-
a standard slave. He was a ranking
-
authoritative slave. He was like the
-
right hand of the master. He was the one
-
to whom all the other servants in the
-
household answered to. That's who the
-
therap was. The duloses, if I can say it
-
that way, answered to the therap. And so
-
if you get the picture here, you have
-
the nation of Israel and the nation as a
-
whole are the servants
-
of God. But Moses is my servant as God
-
calls him. He is the the right-hand man
-
of God at this point to whom all of
-
Israel answers. That's his point here.
-
Moses is a servant. So the question then
-
is what role is Moses serving here as
-
the highest ranking servant. Notice that
-
it says for he's he's been appointed a
-
servant for this purpose for a testimony
-
of those things which were to be spoken
-
after. Notice again that word spoken.
-
That is one of the most key words in
-
this entire book because it's all about
-
how God has spoken to us by his son. And
-
so he says that Moses came to speak and
-
to testify of things that would be
-
spoken after him. What is this referring
-
to? Deuteronomy 18:1 18 says this. God
-
says this to Moses. I will raise them up
-
a prophet from among their brethren like
-
unto thee, and will put my words in his
-
mouth, and he shall speak unto them all
-
that I shall command him. And it shall
-
come to pass that whoever will not
-
hearken unto my words, which he shall
-
speak in my name, I will require it of
-
him. You know what God was telling
-
Moses? I'm going to raise up another man
-
from the nation of Israel who's going to
-
serve in a sense like you have. He's
-
going to be like you. As I have put my
-
words in your mouth, I'm going to put my
-
words in his mouth.
-
And just as if they have not listened to
-
you, I will require it of them. If they
-
will not listen to him, I will require
-
it of them. And so that's what he's
-
saying. Moses served this role
-
of pointing them forward to another
-
prophet who would come, another who
-
would speak the words of God. This is
-
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ is
-
what the book of Acts would tell us.
-
That's interpreted to speak of the
-
prophet, priest, and king Jesus Christ.
-
And and so those are the words that
-
Moses pinned that God would raise up a
-
prophet speaking of his son Jesus. And
-
so Moses was appointed to serve in God's
-
house to testify of what Jesus, his son,
-
would say.
-
And so that's who Moses is. He is a
-
servant, a high ranking servant in God's
-
house. But notice what it says of Christ
-
in verse six. but Christ
-
as a son
-
over his house. You see the difference
-
there?
-
The son. This takes us back to chapter
-
one. We just read a minute ago, so we
-
don't need to go back, but it speaks of
-
how God appointed his son the heir of
-
all things. So in this economy, you have
-
the rich, wealthy master who owns it
-
all. He appoints his son to be his heir.
-
And in that world, the heir for more for
-
all intents and purposes carries the
-
full authority and controlling stake
-
over all that belongs to his father. He
-
shares like equal control over it
-
because when his father dies, it's going
-
to become his. Now, God cannot die. And
-
so, that's where every illustration with
-
God falls short because he's infinite.
-
But the point the author is making here
-
is that God has already appointed who
-
his heir is and that is his son. His son
-
is the heir of all things. Which means
-
this everything God has belongs to the
-
son. Everything in the father's house
-
belongs to the son. And therefore Jesus
-
is not like Moses in the sense of being
-
a servant in God's house. He is a son
-
over God's house.
-
You know what that means? That Jesus is
-
not only the builder of God's house, he
-
is also the God-appointed ruler of God's
-
house. So then the question is,
-
what is the house? That's the one
-
question that hasn't been answered yet
-
by this text until now. What does it say
-
there in verse six? Whose house are we?
-
Whose house are we? Who is the we? Holy
-
brethren, partakers of the heavenly
-
calling. That is those who put their
-
faith and trust in the Lord Jesus
-
Christ. You become a part of God's
-
house. In other words, the house that he
-
is speaking of in this text is not a
-
building.
-
It is a group of people.
-
It is his household of faith. to which
-
by the way Moses also belonged the
-
household of faith. See nobody was saved
-
if we put it that way. Nobody was saved
-
simply because they were a Jew.
-
Being a part of Israel did not mean you
-
were automatically born again. You
-
shared in the covenant blessings, but
-
you too had to put your faith in the
-
redemptive promises and purposes of God
-
to come in the person of Jesus Christ.
-
They were saved then the same way that
-
we are saved now. They looked forward to
-
the Savior by faith through the
-
sacrifices that they offered. We look to
-
the Savior who's already come as
-
portrayed by the sacrifices that they
-
offered. That's the difference. The
-
cross stands in the middle of God's
-
redemptive timeline. You're either
-
looking by faith to the cross or you're
-
looking by faith from the cross. But
-
either way, we all come to God through
-
faith in Jesus Christ. And what Hebrews
-
has told us is when you believe on the
-
son of God, when you hear his voice,
-
when you heed his word and trust him by
-
faith,
-
he is not ashamed to call you brethren.
-
Isn't that what we saw in chapter 2 11?
-
You can check it out yourself. He's not
-
ashamed to call them brethren. He's he's
-
bringing many sons to glory. Sons there,
-
the children of God. That is what Jesus
-
is doing. And so what he says here is
-
that you
-
become a part of God's household
-
by faith. You belong to that household.
-
But notice there
-
the one condition.
-
What does he say?
-
If
-
we hold fast, if we hold fast to the
-
confidence of and rejoicing of the hope
-
firm unto the end. The confidence here,
-
it's a word that means frankness or
-
outspokenenness.
-
It would be the opposite of being
-
ashamed of Christ because that's what's
-
going on in their lives right now is is
-
because the persecution they're
-
experiencing under Christ, they are
-
becoming ashamed of him. They are
-
shrinking back and they are turning over
-
to Moses. Holding fast to the confidence
-
means I don't care what I'm facing here.
-
I stand with Jesus openly, publicly,
-
frankly. I belong to him. And then the
-
rejoicing there is a word that means to
-
to boast or to to take pride in. And not
-
in like a sinful way, but the idea is
-
this. Like if my wife was up here and I
-
put my arm around here and said, "This
-
is my wife
-
taking pride in her." That's the idea
-
that it's communicating. I if if firm
-
unto the end,
-
you have your arm around Christ and you
-
say, "He's my savior.
-
The son is the one to whom I belong. I
-
am He's not ashamed to call me his
-
brother. I'm not ashamed to call him my
-
lord and my savior. That's what he's
-
talking about here. That if you hold
-
fast to your confidence and your
-
rejoicing in the hope, what is the hope?
-
Being brought to glory through Christ.
-
That's the hope. And so, do you get what
-
he's saying here? that if you belong to
-
God's household,
-
you are going to persevere in your faith
-
no matter what to the very end.
-
The perseverance of the saints is a
-
biblical doctrine.
-
Not in the sense that you can ever lose
-
your salvation,
-
but in the sense that if your faith was
-
saving faith in Jesus Christ, that
-
saving faith will also be keeping faith
-
to the very end. That you will not lose
-
your faith in Jesus Christ if you are
-
genuinely born again. If you genuinely
-
belong to him, because notice the
-
language that it says here in this text.
-
It does not say whose house we can be
-
if we hold firm to the end. Is that what
-
it says? Whose house we can be? That as
-
if it leaves it up in the air like we
-
don't really know, but if you hang on
-
until the end, then you you can be. No,
-
it says whose house are we? That's a
-
present reality
-
that if you hold firm to the end, here's
-
what it proves. You are
-
right now a member of God's household.
-
That's what it means. And so then
-
the what what's going and because this
-
is where people get tripped up. We're
-
going to run into this throughout
-
Hebrews.
-
The whole point of Hebrews I I just
-
remember, you know, growing up and and
-
we would talk to people about salvation
-
and I remember several people in my my
-
life saying something like this. Now,
-
you're so secure in your salvation
-
that even if you didn't want to be saved
-
anymore, and even if you walked away
-
from your faith in Christ, you would
-
still be saved.
-
Hebrews
-
would be very contentious with you in
-
saying that
-
because the only assurance that you have
-
of salvation
-
is if your faith remains in Christ all
-
the way to the end.
-
Because what is he calling them to do?
-
Consider.
-
You need to consider something. Why?
-
Because they are in danger of shrinking
-
back away from their faith in Christ.
-
And what he says, you shrink back away
-
from your faith in Christ and you turn
-
from your faith in Christ. He's going to
-
say this later in in chapter six that
-
for those who have tasted of the
-
heavenly gift, those who have come so
-
close, those who have played the role,
-
those who have taken communion, those
-
who have been faithful in church, when
-
they fall away, it's impossible to renew
-
them again under repentance.
-
Why? Because it was all right there and
-
they turned away.
-
And so, we're going to come across
-
constant warnings. And I want to make it
-
crystal clear from the start that what
-
Hebrews is not teaching is that if you
-
genuinely got saved and then you lose
-
your faith later on that that you lost
-
your salvation. That's not what Hebrews
-
teaches. Hebrews teaches that those who
-
who genuinely trusted in Jesus Christ,
-
those who were genuinely born again,
-
those who genuinely received the Holy
-
Spirit, they will remain faithful until
-
the end. And so he's just calling them
-
to this fact. If you don't, what
-
assurance do you have?
-
And this is in keeping with some of the
-
things that Jesus said. Let me quote the
-
verses so that I don't mess them up
-
here. But in Matthew chapter uh 10:22,
-
Jesus said this, "And ye shall be hated
-
of all men for my name's sake.
-
Follow me and you'll be hated by all."
-
That's what Jesus told his disciples.
-
But then he said this, "But he that
-
endureth to the end
-
shall be saved." That's what Jesus said.
-
That if you endure the hatred and the
-
spite and the rejection of men and you
-
remain steadfast to my name, you will be
-
saved. Why? Their faith remains all the
-
way through. In Matthew chap 24 verse 12
-
and 13 speaking of the end of of the
-
days uh the end of this age he says
-
because iniquity shall abound the love
-
of many shall wax cold but he that shall
-
endure unto the end shall be saved. And
-
so Jesus said this but let's also think
-
about this for a moment. this because
-
this is probably something that maybe
-
has puzzled you over time. When Jesus
-
talks about the wheat and the tears that
-
it's a parable that when he returns, he
-
is going to separate the wheat from the
-
tears and the tears will be burned up in
-
the oven. Okay? So, we tears is the the
-
the the thorns and the thistles. They
-
all grow in the same field here. And
-
what Jesus is going to do is he's going
-
to separate them. And they're all people
-
in the same field. They're all people in
-
the same church. But we're going to come
-
to the end of time when Jesus returns.
-
And he is going to separate those who
-
were genuine believers from those who
-
were nominal believers. They claimed
-
Christ, but they turned away from their
-
faith. Or or maybe they were even
-
claiming Christ to the very end, but
-
their faith in Jesus was not real real.
-
And so Jesus is going to do that. He
-
gives the parable of the the sheep and
-
goats judgment that sheep and goats
-
generally are in the same flock, but
-
they're different. And Jesus says at the
-
end, I am going to separate them and my
-
sheep hear my voice, but the goats will
-
be turned away.
-
But then also
-
um Jesus speaks of um how uh there will
-
be some who come to him and say Lord
-
Lord but I will say depart from me I
-
never knew you.
-
This is what Jesus is talking about is
-
what the author of Hebrews is saying
-
here. That there are going to be some
-
who at one point in their life claimed
-
and professed faith in Jesus Christ,
-
but they're not going to endure to the
-
end. They're going to turn away from
-
Christ. Whether it's because someone
-
hurt them, someone betrayed them, or
-
because of a failure on their part, or a
-
moral failure. Or it might be that they
-
come to a place where where they they
-
just give up on church altogether
-
because of a hard circumstance in their
-
lives. Listen, that they're turning away
-
from Christ doesn't indicate they lost
-
their salvation. It indicates they never
-
had it in the first place. Because
-
that's what John says in 1 John chapter
1 John 4 chapter mention
-
4. When when that that church was
-
struggling with, well, we have these
-
people who were stalwarts in our church,
-
but now they're they're gone. John said
-
to them, "They went out from us that it
-
might be manifest that they were not of
-
us."
-
Ultimately, in the end, God brings to
-
light what's in the darkness.
-
He brings to light whether or not
-
someone's faith is real. And that is the
-
idea of tribulation and trials. It
-
purges us and purifies us in our faith
-
so that we might know, are we genuinely
-
believers? That's where they're at right
-
now. They're persecuted. They're weak.
-
They're feeble in faith. And the author
-
is saying, "Listen, this is how glorious
-
Christ is, even compared to someone as
-
glorious as Moses. And you're you're in
-
danger of turning away from Christ and
-
turning back to Moses." But he says, "I
-
want you to know Jesus is more glorious
-
than him." And if you needed to heed
-
what Moses said, how much more do you
-
need to heed what Jesus said? Because
-
Moses was God's servant, but Jesus is
-
God's son. Moses was in God's house, but
-
Jesus is over God's house. Because he is
-
more glorious. You need to consider
-
his glory. Why?
-
How you view Jesus
-
will determine which direction you go.
-
It'll determine whether you go to him or
-
whether you run from him.
-
And so what this what this text is
-
getting across is that Christ is worthy
-
of more glory than Moses because he is
-
the builder and ruler over God's house.
-
That is what the point of the text is.
-
Now here's the question. What difference
-
does that make in our lives today? What
-
difference does that make? The fact that
-
Christ is more glorious than Moses.
-
Here's the difference that it makes.
-
Because Christ is more glorious than
-
Moses,
-
we
-
should give him glory with our lives.
-
Because God has given him the glory.
-
Because God has counted him more
-
glorious. We too must count him more
-
glorious. Therefore, we must give him
-
glory with our lives. Now, here's the
-
question, and we're almost done here.
-
How do we glorify the son as God has
-
glorified him? I think the call of the
-
text is pretty clear and it's really
-
twofold. Number one, you glorify him
-
with your faith. You glorify him with
-
your faith.
-
First of all, the call is to trust Jesus
-
Christ as your personal savior.
-
The call is to see him as the apostle
-
and high priest of the Christian faith,
-
the divine messenger of God, the divine
-
priest of God who reconciles us back to
-
God. It starts with putting your faith
-
in Jesus Christ. And if you have not yet
-
done so, I would encourage you to
-
tonight. There's no greater way to give
-
glory to Christ that belongs to him than
-
accepting his payment for your sin on
-
the cross.
-
But then number two, if you are saved,
-
if you are a believer in Jesus Christ,
-
then how you give glory to God, to Jesus
-
is by continuing to stand fast in your
-
faith no matter what you face in life.
-
It's when you It's when you're linking
-
arms with Jesus and you're saying, "Even
-
through the medical crisis I'm dealing
-
with right now, even through the
-
financial stress, even through through
-
the direct persecution that I'm facing
-
in my life, he's my Savior. He's my
-
Lord. He's my King. I'm not going
-
anywhere from him. I'm holding fast to
-
him." You know what that shows to others
-
when they see you holding fast to Christ
-
in a challenging time in your life? That
-
he's also worthy for me to trust in him
-
and to hold fast to him no matter what I
-
face in my life.
-
My mind goes back to a young lady that
-
was a student at Heartland. I believe
-
that she was friends with Ivonne uh and
-
his circle of friends. Her name is Dalia
-
Johnson. But she was young, young young
-
lady, 19-year-old girl, student at H
-
Heartland Baptist Bible College,
-
training for ministry, diagnosed with a
-
severe case of cancer that took her life
-
in just a matter of a few months. I
-
mean, just just tragic thing. But I
-
remember I had no idea who she was, but
-
I remember following her journey on
-
Facebook and she through all the pain,
-
she always had a smile. She always gave
-
glory to God. She depended and trusted
-
and spoke of his sustaining grace
-
through that deep trial in her life. And
-
I guarantee you that there were many
-
other people who as a result of that
-
looked at her story and said, "I'm not
-
going through anything close to what
-
she's going through. And if she can
-
trust him, if she can hold fast to her
-
faith, then why can't I?"
-
You can be that kind of testimony to
-
others who are going through the ringer.
-
So I want I want to challenge and
-
encourage you. whatever you might be
-
going through, the best way you can give
-
glory to God and to Jesus Christ is by
-
continuing to hold fast to him no matter
-
what you are facing. And so, number one,
-
you give glory to God or glory to Christ
-
through your faith. But then number two,
-
you give glory to Christ through your
-
obedience.
-
Through your obedience. Once again,
-
think of that context of Numbers chapter
Numbers 12 chapter mention
-
12.
-
God was telling Miriam and Aaron,
-
"My servant Moses is faithful in all my
-
house. I speak to him face to face. I
-
put my words in his mouth. He's seen my
-
glory."
-
Moses is glorious. Why was he telling
-
him that? Well, he asked them a
-
question. Why were you not afraid to
-
speak against him?
-
You know, he's calling them to
-
submission and obedience to his
-
authority.
-
And if God is using that example here,
-
the Holy Spirit is using that example to
-
speak of Jesus,
-
then doesn't that mean that the son of
-
God is worthy of more obedience than the
-
servant of God? Isn't the one who is
-
over the house more worthy of obedience
-
than the one who is in the house?
-
We give glory to Christ by conforming
-
our lives to his word and his
-
commandments. by giving heed to what he
-
says and who he is.
-
Because when when people some people may
-
see you as a radical, they may see you
-
as being too harsh, too strict in your
-
stances. They may hear a message like on
-
Sunday from Daniel when we talked about
-
not defiling yourself like it's just
-
food. I mean, what's the big deal here?
-
You you might experience some of that.
-
But here's the reality. Your obedience
-
to Christ demonstrates to others that
-
he's so glorious to you, that he's
-
worthy of even radical changes in your
-
life.
-
That he's so good and he's done so much
-
for you, that he's worthy of your full
-
submission.
-
That you would not only confess your
-
faith in him as savior, but that you
-
would confess your submission to him as
-
Lord. As Lord.
-
He is the son God appointed over his
-
house. It means that as a church,
-
everyone who lives in the house answers
-
to him.
-
Every brother and sister in Christ,
-
we as a church as a whole answer to the
-
son of God. Why? God made him the
-
builder and the ruler over his entire
-
household. Colossians chapter 1 verse 18
-
says this of Jesus, "And He is the head
-
of the body, the church. Who is the
-
beginning? The firstborn from the dead,
-
that in all things he might have the
-
preeeminence.
-
Preeminence means first rank.
-
Isn't that who the author of Hebrews
-
says God counted Jesus to be supreme in
-
rank? And so if we're going to give
-
glory to him that God has given to him,
-
number one, We need to give him our
-
faith in salvation
-
and in every circumstance of life. But
-
then also if we're going to give glory
-
to him that God has given to him, then
-
we need to bring our life into full
-
obedience and submission to him.
-
He's more glorious as the son of God
-
than the servants of God was. And
-
therefore, he's worthy that we would
-
glorify him with our lives. So let's do
-
just that. Give him our faith. Give him
-
our obedience. And shine his glory to
-
the world that needs him. Let's pray.
-
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the
-
time in your word. And I thank you for
-
displaying for us tonight the greatness
-
of Christ's glory and his majesty.
-
And I pray that you would help us to
-
really take this message to heart, to
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see him worthy of more glory, not just
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than Moses, [music] but than everything
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else. In the Jewish perspective here,
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Moses was the right-hand man of God.
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There was no one above [music] him until
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Christ came and we saw him in all of his
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[music] glory. And so now that we know
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and consider
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Christ more glorious than all, would you
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help us to give him our faith and our
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obedience? In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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Let's give a few moments here to respond
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to what we've heard tonight. I encourage
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you to just lay your heart down and
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[music] surrender both in faith and in
-
obedience to Christ.
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>> [music]
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[music]
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>> Heavenly Father, we want to thank you
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again for the time together. Thank you
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for your word, for its precious truth. I
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pray that you would send us with your
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strength and your grace and the renewal
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of your word and of your spirit that we
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might give glory to Christ in every area
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of our lives. I pray that you'd bring us
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back on Sunday refreshed and ready to
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worship you and to seek your face
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together. We ask these things in [music]
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Jesus name. Dave.