[0:00] Hebrews chapter 3. Let me start off.
[0:20] Well, let's have a word prayer first, and I'll start off with a question. Dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the time to be together this morning, Lord, and to look at your word. Father, we pray that you would just open our hearts and our minds to hear what you have for us today, Lord.
[0:36] We're going to talk about things concerning being faithful. And Lord, may we be faithful to you, faithful to what you called us to do, faithful in living according to your word, faithful in so many different areas of our life, Lord, that people might look at us, and one of the things they think of is being faithful.
[0:55] Lord, I pray that you would just bless now as we look at this passage of Scripture. Help us to understand. In Jesus' name, amen. Question for you.
[1:07] I'm going to give you a multiple choice question. Okay? Who in our society has the best reputation for faithfulness? Multiple choice.
[1:20] That's not one of the choices. Who in our society has the best reputation for faithfulness? Bible-believing Christians? Political candidates?
[1:32] Dogs? Dogs. Who has the best reputation for faithfulness? Dogs. Everybody's going, dogs.
[1:43] Okay, so dogs. So then what can dogs teach us about faithfulness? Huh? Good results come when you're faithful.
[1:56] Good results come when you're faithful. You get rewarded for faithfulness. Okay? What else? What else? Dogs always seem to forget anything bad done to them.
[2:08] They just, they're unconditionally forgiving most of the time. I mean, like they're beaten a lot. Okay. They're unconditionally forgiving. Conditional. Okay. They're faithful and loyal to the one they love.
[2:20] They're faithful and loyal to the one they love. I like that. Which kind of goes along with my next question. What kind of attitude promotes faithfulness? Loyalty is one of them.
[2:31] Okay. So, all of Christian living revolves around faithfulness. If we're going to be the type of Christian we should be, if we're going to be honoring to God the way we should be, if we're going to have a reputation for godly living, it involves faithfulness.
[2:52] We have to learn how to be faithful. Christ is presented as a faithful high priest. He's presented as the one who deserves all of our praise, all of our worship, everything about us should be pointed toward him.
[3:12] And we should be faithful to him because of what he's done for us. Take Hebrews chapter 3. Look with me. We'll look at the first seven verses.
[3:23] Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
[3:41] For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house.
[3:53] For every house is built by some man, but he that built it all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.
[4:09] But Christ, as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
[4:21] Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith today, if thou shalt hear my voice, harden not your hearts. Let's stop there. Moses is pictured here as being faithful.
[4:35] He's the picture of faithfulness. But he's not to be exalted above God, above Jesus. Jesus is even more faithful. Moses is presented as being a faithful servant of God.
[4:49] Jesus is presented as being faithful son of God. Moses was faithful. Moses did what God asked him to do. God let Moses be in charge.
[5:02] Let him lead because of his faithfulness. However, Israel was disobedient. Moses was faithful, but Israel was disobedient.
[5:13] And their lack of faithfulness of the nation happened because people refused to believe and to obey.
[5:24] So here in this first thing, he gives us pictures of faithfulness. Pictures of faithfulness in verses 1 through 6 there. As a writer of Hebrews, he's trying to persuade us that we need to be faithful to God.
[5:40] And he gives us two examples, Moses and Jesus. The picture of Moses appeals to the Jews. This book is written to the Hebrews. So writing to the Hebrews, he's going to give Moses as a picture for them to understand of what faithfulness is all about.
[5:59] Moses was the great leader. Led them out of Egypt. Led them to the promised land. Moses was highly regarded in the history of Israel. Remember, there were times when Jesus was talking with the Jewish leaders.
[6:16] And they would refer back to Moses said this. And Moses did this. And Moses, they held Moses in high regard. But Jesus was even more impressive in his faithfulness.
[6:28] And the fact that he was faithful to God in a higher position. What did he say there? He said, talked about the fact that he had created the world. He was the builder of the house, it says.
[6:43] So this chapter, chapter 3, he's leading into talking about faithfulness. And that faithfulness is going to be talked about in the rest of chapter 3 and into chapter 4. Look at chapter 3, verse 1 again.
[6:55] He says, Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, we're called to be the children of God. Believers have a holy calling from God.
[7:07] And it's not the result of our goodness. It's the result of God's gift to us. Because of what Jesus Christ did for us. And because of us following Jesus, we have a holy calling on our life.
[7:21] They're holy because Christ imputed righteousness to us. We are holy because when we get saved, we put on the righteousness of Christ.
[7:35] You know, what does the Bible tell us in John 1.12 about we become the sons of God, the children of God. Jesus was the son of God.
[7:47] He had a much higher calling than even Moses did. Because of that calling, we have been called brothers and sisters in Christ.
[7:59] When we come to Christ, we become brothers and sisters. We're partakers of the salvation he's given to us. Hold your finger there in Hebrews and go with me to Romans chapter 4.
[8:11] Romans chapter 4.
[8:28] How's that? Is that better? All right. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4.
[8:41] Now get there. There it is. Romans chapter 4. Look at verse 6. Beginning at verse 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.
[9:04] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. He says, God has imputed righteousness to us.
[9:16] God has given us Christ's righteousness. He will not impute sin to us. Our sin has been taken away. Our sin is put as far as the east is from the west. I'm going to talk about this a little bit in the morning service today.
[9:28] So, how do we get a righteous standing before a holy God? We accept Jesus Christ, the Savior.
[9:40] We ask him to come into our life. Jesus is holy God. So, if I want to get a holy standing before the Holy Father, I have a standing because of the holiness of Jesus Christ.
[9:53] It comes into my life. And the writer of Hebrews is challenging them to consider Christ Jesus, he says. Look back in Hebrews chapter 3 again.
[10:08] Hebrews chapter 3. Verse 1 again. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.
[10:23] He's the apostle and he's the high priest. See, as the apostle, Christ represents God to humans. Remember the apostles?
[10:35] They were the ones who gave us the things of the word of God. They were the ones who gave us the things that God wanted us to have and to know. Excuse me. So, Christ as the apostle is from God speaking to us.
[10:50] And then he's called the high priest. So, he represents us to God. So, everything happens in Jesus. He's one mediator between God and man. He speaks to us as God.
[11:04] He speaks to the Father as our high priest. Notice in verse 2. Who was faithful to him that appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
[11:19] He was faithful to him that appointed him. How many times do we read in the gospels in particular about the fact that Jesus came to fulfill the will of the Father?
[11:31] He was faithful to doing what God had called him to do. He was faithful in doing the work of salvation. He was faithful in representing the Father to mankind.
[11:44] So, he was faithful in all of those different things. Just as Moses was faithful as a servant when he served Israel and he served God and represented God to the people, Jesus represented God to us.
[11:59] He is God, but he represented God to us. how important was that relationship where God speaks to us, where God interacts with us.
[12:14] Excuse me. Hold your finger there in Hebrews again and go with me all the way to Numbers. Numbers chapter 12. Numbers chapter 12, beginning at verse 6.
[12:31] And he said, Hear now my words, if there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream.
[12:45] My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.
[13:00] And the similitude of the Lord will he behold. Wherefore, then, were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
[13:14] What did he say there? What extraordinary privilege did God give to Moses because he was faithful in all mine house. He spoke to him mouth to mouth.
[13:29] He says, the Bible says, no man has seen God at any time, but he says, Moses has seen the similitude. Moses has seen God represented here on earth where God was speaking to him.
[13:42] They were carrying on a conversation. He says, the prophets, visions, dreams, I will give to them so that they know my will and what they're supposed to say to the people.
[13:54] But Moses, I will speak to face, not face to face, but mouth to mouth, they carried on conversation. Think about that for a second. Moses had that kind of relationship with God that he would be able to do that.
[14:10] But again, Jesus had an even higher status. Look at back in Hebrews, chapter 3, look at verses 3 and 4. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, insomuch that he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house.
[14:31] For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. So, Moses was faithful in all the house. He says, God says, he was faithful in my house.
[14:43] He took care of everything. But he says, Jesus is the builder of the house. You know, we look at houses, it's easy to drive around here and see the cottages that people have, right?
[15:00] There are different cottages different than mine. But, you see the cottages and things that people have, and you're just, wow. But think about the person who actually built the thing.
[15:13] who got the design and put that on paper so that people could build that thing. He says, the designer, you know, houses are great, but how many awards go to houses?
[15:25] And how many awards go to architects? And he says, look, here's Jesus. Moses did a good job of being faithful to the house, but Jesus is the builder of the house.
[15:38] Jesus deserves more. You know, as faithful as Moses was, he's no match for Jesus. Moses, essentially, is the servant. Jesus is the son.
[15:50] Remember. Look at verses 5 and 6 there in Hebrews. 5 and 6. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things of which are spoken after.
[16:04] But Christ, as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
[16:14] He says, look, well, actually, let me ask you, what's he showing there? What's the contrast between Moses and Jesus? I've kind of mentioned a little bit already. Moses is a servant.
[16:29] He's faithful as a servant in the house, but Jesus is the son. Jesus designed the house. Jesus built the house. Jesus is the son that owns the house.
[16:41] And a lot of times we think of people like that, the kids, they're going to be a royal pain, aren't they? That's kind of the attitude we have.
[16:52] They've got those rich people and they've got all these big houses and the sons and kids, daughters. Jesus was not like that. Jesus was the designer, the builder, the occupant, but he had mercy and grace to show to us, to allow us in.
[17:15] Jesus is the blueprint. Yep. Good. Moses served God faithfully. And within the system that God had established, Moses was very faithful.
[17:27] He did whatever God had called him to do. He showed obedience to God and what God had for him, just like a servant. should. He's an outstanding example of faithfulness, but he was not as great as Jesus, because Jesus is the builder.
[17:50] And what the writer here is trying to do is get them, they're Hebrews. So Moses, like I said, is a big deal. But don't get so caught up in Moses that you miss Jesus.
[18:04] don't get so caught up in what Moses did and what he's Moses is worthy of esteem. Moses was a great leader. Moses did the things that God asked him to do.
[18:16] But Jesus is God. We need to make sure our focus is on him. we need to remember that we're part of a house that Jesus is building.
[18:31] We're part of a church that Jesus is building. And he says, look, as Jesus is building this, we get to remember we're part of his household. We're under his control.
[18:42] We need to be obedient to him. We need to be confident in him. Too often we kind of waver back and forth, you know, is this what God wants?
[18:56] Is this not what God wants? We kind of go back and forth and stuff. He says, be faithful and follow God whatever he has for us. We're to rejoice in him.
[19:07] We're to share his glory. Again, hold your finger there. Go with me to 1 Peter. Just a few pages over. 1 Peter. Chapter 2.
[19:22] 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2 says, we're beginning at verse 20. Verse 20. For what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
[19:40] But if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called.
[19:52] Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.
[20:03] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. What did Jesus teach us about suffering unjustly?
[20:20] What did Jesus teach us about facing things that maybe you weren't responsible for? How do we handle those things? Well, when Jesus went to the cross, what was his reaction?
[20:38] forgive them, for they know not what they do. Forgive them. What did he even say to the other thief who was up there who definitely was a sinner?
[20:51] Today thou shall be with me in paradise because he trusted in Christ. So, the faithfulness that we have. They're giving pictures of faithfulness here in Hebrews chapter 3.
[21:04] Moses and Jesus. now he's going to show them the flip side. Look at me at verse 7. Verse 7 says, Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, saw my works forty years.
[21:33] Wherefore, I was grieved with that generation and said, they do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.
[21:44] So, I swear in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. He's going to show them some patterns of unbelief now. A pattern of unbelief.
[21:56] Moses and Jesus, faithful, obedient, did what God asked them to do. What happens when we don't? What happens when we have unbelief? What's going to happen then?
[22:08] Again, I'll get you moving around today. It's a Bible study, so hold your finger there. Go with me to Psalm 95. Psalm 95.
[22:27] It's interesting that in Hebrews 3, those were verses 7 through 11. Psalm 95. Look at verses 7 through 11.
[22:40] For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, saw my work.
[22:56] Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, if this people do err in their heart, they have not known my ways, unto whom I swear in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest.
[23:09] So the writer of Hebrews is quoting from Psalm 95, and he's talking about the children of Israel, talking about the children of Israel when they sinned by not going into the promised land, by not trusting and not obeying what God had done.
[23:32] They had unbelief in their life. It's all taken from Numbers chapter 13 and 14. Because Israel refused to trust God, they didn't go into the promised land.
[23:47] The people failed to know God's blessing on their life because of disobedience. They didn't get to understand what God had for them.
[24:00] He said, they're not going to get the rest that I had planned for them in this promised land. They are going to wander for 40 years in the wilderness. He's recalling what Israel did and that this pattern of unbelief continues on even to Jesus' day and continues on even to today.
[24:21] There's a pattern of unbelief that we do not trust God in the way that we should. if we were to take a look at our lives, just privately and look at your life and be honest with yourself, do you trust God in everything?
[24:40] Have you followed him with everything he has wanted you to do? It's a sad reminder about the life that we can wind up living because we do not follow him.
[24:55] And in verses 12 and on, he's going to talk about that. We're not going to there yet, but he will talk some more about that and what happened with them. Go with me again.
[25:07] I'm going to move you around again. Hold your finger in Hebrews. Go with me to Numbers 14. I said he was talking about some of this from Numbers 14, 13 and 14.
[25:22] Numbers chapter 14, the beginning of verse 1. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night.
[25:34] And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would God that we had died in this wilderness?
[25:49] And therefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey. Were it not better for us to return unto Egypt?
[26:00] And they said one to another, let us make a captain, and let us return unto Egypt. What are they doing? They're rebelling against God. They're rebelling against Moses.
[26:12] They're going, no, we don't want to do it your way. How often do we do that? No, God, I'm not going to do it your way. I've got my own plan.
[26:24] I've got my own way of doing things. Look down at verse 9. Moses and Aaron, what was their answer? Verse 9, only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us.
[26:40] Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. What's he basically saying? Bring it down to something I say over and over and over again.
[26:53] Trust God. Trust God. See, they were afraid. They saw the circumstances.
[27:03] They saw things. He says, you know what? Trust God. Watch what he's going to do. See how he's going to take care of this. They were trying to come up with alternatives, and their best alternative was, let's go back to Egypt and be slaves there again.
[27:18] That's not a good alternative. That's not helping you in any way whatsoever to move forward. We often do the same thing. Well, let's go back to this, or let's go back to that, or let's, and he says, no, no, we're not going to do that.
[27:35] God says, keep moving forward. Keep going. Trust me. I'll take care of things. He told the Israelites to enter Canaan and to claim the land.
[27:46] They refused. They hardened their hearts, he says. Because they refused to act in faith, because they refused to obey God and his promises, they wind up 40 years wandering around the wilderness.
[28:03] around only Joshua and Caleb two out of two or three million are going to make it into the promised land because they trusted God, because they believed God.
[28:18] Israel's unbelief wound up with it being a tragic decision because they're all going to die in that wilderness, wandering around. I always think about about it.
[28:30] People say, you know, people who've done things there in those countries say to go from the Red Sea to the promised land walking should have taken about a week.
[28:44] They spent 40 years in that small space going around in circles basically. how often when we don't trust God do we wind up going around in circles, not getting God's blessing on our life?
[29:04] He says, look, follow God. He, he, yeah, okay, whatever that was. Because they continued to doubt God, because they refused to obey, because they complained about the things that he gave to them.
[29:23] He fed them for 40 years. Because of all that, what happened? They did not get to go in. We do the same thing.
[29:38] God takes care of us, God meets our needs, God helps us, and we complain. How does trusting God and obeying God, affect our attitude in everyday life?
[29:57] If I learn to trust God and obey God, my outlook on life is so much better. When I learn to trust him and obey him, I'm going to do what he asked me to do. I'm going to follow what he has for me.
[30:10] These people, though, had a persistent pattern of disobedience, unfaithfulness, they closed themselves off from the best that God had for them.
[30:25] So what do I take away from this today? Trust God, follow him no matter what. If I want God's best in my life, I'm going to keep my focus on him, looking under Jesus.
[30:38] I'm going to keep my focus on him and see what he's going to do and how he is going to help me and take care of me. So if you want to learn something from this passage today, learn that.
[30:49] Keep your focus on him. Trust him. It's also encouraging to see that the two who believed God were thankful were rewarded. Yes.
[31:00] And the rest didn't get that reward. Yep. The two who trusted, the two who trusted and believed, Caleb and Joshua, they got the reward. They got to go into the land.
[31:12] They got to see what God had for them. They got to have their remember, Caleb, I want that mountain. Okay.
[31:24] Go get it. It's yours. See, when we trust God, so much is given to us. And there's that little song that one of the college group sang, take another lap around that sign I tell you where you're looking.
[31:38] Yep. So, all right. Let's have a word of prayer. Do you have your father? Do you have a word of prayer? Do you have a word of