WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.120 In June 28, 1997, in a letter to the Ocala Star Banner, a man who listed himself as TK 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:30.980 wrote this question to a religious column that was penned by the famous evangelist Billy Graham. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:33.039 And he asked this question, 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:41.859 Dear Dr. Graham, I would believe in God if I could hear him speak to me or something, but it's never happened. 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:50.740 If God is real, why doesn't he just do something to let us know he actually exists instead of staying hidden all the time? 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:54.380 Is faith just a matter of guesswork? 00:00:56.179 --> 00:01:03.460 Now, I would imagine that some of you here this morning have asked similar questions in the past. 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:07.680 Or maybe today you're asking those questions. 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:10.540 Why doesn't God speak to me? 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:15.379 Why doesn't he do something to let me know that he exists? 00:01:15.379 --> 00:01:21.939 And I assume that you're here this morning, all of you, because you have some desire to know God. 00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:25.979 But you're wondering how. 00:01:26.899 --> 00:01:28.679 How does God speak to us? 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:36.280 And the reason why that question is in your hearts may be for various different reasons. 00:01:36.419 --> 00:01:40.340 One, it may be a question that rises from genuine confusion. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:48.100 You hear the many voices in our culture, in our world, saying this is true and that is true and this is from God and that is from God. 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:51.240 And you wonder, which of these is right? 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:52.659 I don't understand. 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:55.560 These all can't be right, it seems. 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:56.640 How do I know? 00:01:58.580 --> 00:02:01.680 Some of you may be asking questions from a very different place. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:03.320 From a place of pain. 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:13.079 The suffering, the hardships that you've experienced in your lives have brought you to a place where you think, where's God in all of this? 00:02:13.799 --> 00:02:15.620 Why does he seem so silent? 00:02:18.079 --> 00:02:24.219 Now, for some of you, these questions may arise more from what I'm calling a place of distance. 00:02:24.859 --> 00:02:26.479 Oh, you've grown up in church. 00:02:26.859 --> 00:02:27.919 You know these things. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.740 You could recite all the Sunday school lessons that you would want. 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:38.100 And yet, over time, God has seemed less and less involved in your everyday life. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:42.719 Less and less relevant to the things that you're investing in every day. 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:45.480 And now, he just seems far off. 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.960 And maybe, you're at a place of crisis. 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:55.620 Maybe you've just moved here. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:57.620 Or maybe you've been here for a long time. 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:11.000 And in the storyline of your life, you've found yourself realizing that to actually believe in God, and specifically to believe in Jesus, is an incredibly costly thing in your life. 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:13.039 And you're wondering whether it's worth it. 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:18.780 You're wondering whether it's worth what it will cost to keep following Jesus. 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:29.400 You're wondering what you will lose in your reputation with your peers, your relationships with your family, your hopes and dreams for your life. 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:36.700 It's TK's question, isn't it, in different forms. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:42.620 If God is real, why doesn't he do something to let us know that he's really there? 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.879 And that brings us to the book of Hebrews and to our text this morning. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:57.519 We're going to begin a series that's going to begin this fall, and it will actually stretch through probably the whole school year, maybe the whole calendar year. 00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:02.979 We're going to be studying this grand book of Hebrews. 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:09.079 And if you want to pull out in your pew Bible, it's page 1001, so that'll be easy to remember. 00:04:09.519 --> 00:04:11.879 Page 1001, the book of Hebrews. 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:18.980 And as you pull it out and find it, let me just give you a brief introduction to this book. 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:25.540 And it will be very brief because of all the books in the New Testament, this is the one we know perhaps the least about. 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:27.240 We don't know who wrote it. 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:33.500 Despite all the ink that's been spilled in the commentaries, we really don't know who wrote it. 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.480 And there's a lot of speculation. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:46.879 And because we don't know who wrote it, we're not sure where it was written from or when it was written exactly or exactly who it was written to. 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:57.960 Although that last question we can learn a little bit more about because as we look at the book, we can see through the exhortations of the writer some of the life situations. 00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:00.720 This book was written to Christians. 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:05.680 And it was written to Christians who knew the Old Testament really well. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:17.600 They were aware of Melchizedek and the priestly sacrifices and the temple and the Aaronic priesthood, which means they may know more than we do today. 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.079 You may be saying, I don't know anything about those things. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:20.680 That's okay. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:22.639 We'll work our way into these things. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:28.879 But the congregation that this letter was written to knew about those things. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:36.980 And they were in a situation where it seems some of their fellow believers were turning away. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:43.639 Rather than persevering in their faith in Christ, they were turning away. 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:45.759 Perhaps turning back to Judaism. 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:55.139 Perhaps doing so because to be under the Jewish umbrella in the Roman Empire protected you from Roman persecution. 00:05:55.139 --> 00:06:07.579 That is to say, they faced a crisis where continuing to follow Christ would be incredibly costly. 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:13.139 It might cost them their job, their standing. 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.979 It might even cost them their very lives. 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:22.640 And in this light, the writer of the Hebrews writes to this congregation. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:24.960 And he has one thing to say. 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:27.200 Don't turn back. 00:06:27.640 --> 00:06:29.340 Don't give up. 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:34.460 Don't turn away from believing in Christ. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:40.340 Because Christ is everything. 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:44.360 And that leads us to his introduction. 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:47.280 It's not a normal letter introduction, is it? 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:55.759 It's an introduction to a book that doesn't give all those niceties that tell us more about the audience or the writer. 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:59.500 He just starts with this grand opening statement. 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.840 This grand opening statement that will comfort the Hebrews. 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:11.299 And I think it will also answer TK's question. 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:14.259 And maybe our question as well. 00:07:14.699 --> 00:07:18.679 So we're going to look this morning at Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. 00:07:19.719 --> 00:07:23.120 So you can look there with me as we read it together. 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:25.039 Hebrews 1, 1 through 4. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:33.200 Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:41.480 But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, 00:07:41.900 --> 00:07:44.480 through whom also he created the world. 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:47.800 He is the exact radiance of the glory of God. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:53.020 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:56.860 He upholds the universe by the word of his power. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:03.699 After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:11.699 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 00:08:12.900 --> 00:08:14.060 Please pray with me. 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:14.100 Amen. 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:14.139 Amen. 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:23.819 Lord, we come this morning with great humility before you. 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:27.620 We long to know you. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.540 We long to hear from you. 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:38.019 God, we want it to be real, not something that we've conjured up or manufactured. 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:43.480 Lord, I pray this morning that you would speak to us by your word, through your spirit. 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:51.659 Lord, help us to see all that you would have us to see about how great Christ is. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.080 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:56.620 Amen. 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:05.200 So the main idea of these four verses, it's really fun when you break it down. 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:10.940 There's actually one central verb in this whole thing in the original language. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:16.080 It's in the second half, or it's in the beginning of verse two. 00:09:16.460 --> 00:09:18.080 The main idea is this. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.080 God has spoken. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:27.420 And he has spoken his final and best word in Jesus. 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:31.599 God has spoken to us. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:36.679 And he has given us his final and best word in Jesus. 00:09:37.339 --> 00:09:41.299 Let's look at these two things, his final and his best word. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:43.740 First of all, God's final word. 00:09:43.819 --> 00:09:45.860 Look with me at verses one and two. 00:09:46.719 --> 00:09:50.079 When you look at these two verses, you see there's an incredible contrast. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:55.500 On one hand, it says God spoke in the past long ago. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:02.000 And he spoke at various times and in various ways or many times in many ways. 00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:04.320 He spoke in a fragmentary nature. 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:10.600 And he spoke to our fathers, that is those who have gone before us. 00:10:12.660 --> 00:10:15.280 And he spoke by the prophets. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.980 He says that's what God had done in the past. 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:22.420 And then he contrasts all of those things. 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:24.180 And he says, but now. 00:10:24.800 --> 00:10:26.060 But, verse two. 00:10:26.420 --> 00:10:28.259 But in these last days. 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:31.759 These days which are the fulfillment of all that's come before. 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:36.300 These days in which we expect to see God's final work happen. 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:42.920 In these last days, God has spoken to us. 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.080 In a single, solitary way. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.139 Not a fragmented one. 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:50.180 But a single way. 00:10:50.520 --> 00:10:54.840 He has spoken to us by his son. 00:10:58.060 --> 00:11:00.720 Friends, this is amazing. 00:11:02.060 --> 00:11:04.840 God has let us know who he is. 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:07.700 And he has done it in Jesus. 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:12.840 Three things that this means for us. 00:11:12.920 --> 00:11:15.280 First is that God is not only knowable. 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:19.840 But he is actively seeking to make himself known in the world. 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.160 This is the great doctrine of revelation. 00:11:23.160 --> 00:11:25.500 That God is a revelatory God. 00:11:25.660 --> 00:11:29.720 It is, as one of my seminary professors called it. 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:32.640 God's gracious self-disclosure. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.379 God doesn't have to make himself known to us. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.059 And yet, he created his world to know him. 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:41.879 And so, he is graciously revealing himself. 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:44.779 Letting us know his nature and his character. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:47.659 So that we can know him. 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:54.439 Secondly, that this gracious self-revelation has happened in history. 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:58.700 It is not just a philosophy that dropped out of the sky. 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:05.680 It is not just something that a man had a dream and imagined. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.660 But that this revelation has happened over time. 00:12:08.920 --> 00:12:11.759 He spoke to the prophets in many times in many ways. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:13.360 He spoke by words. 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:14.800 He spoke by deeds. 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.700 He spoke by delivering his people from Egypt. 00:12:18.900 --> 00:12:21.800 He spoke on Mount Sinai in the giving of the law. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:26.280 He spoke as he brought his people into the promised land and conquered their enemies. 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:30.319 He spoke by raising up David to be their king. 00:12:31.319 --> 00:12:35.939 And he spoke through all of the different and various writings that we have in the Old Testament. 00:12:37.699 --> 00:12:40.799 And all of that was leading up. 00:12:41.839 --> 00:12:43.860 Leading up to something greater. 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:45.980 It had a direction and a hope. 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:54.840 And the final self-disclosure of God is not vague. 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:02.680 The progress of revelation reaches its pinnacle in Jesus Christ. 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:06.219 All the patterns and the types. 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:08.719 All the hints and whispers of a Savior. 00:13:09.219 --> 00:13:12.219 All the references to kings and priests and prophets. 00:13:12.939 --> 00:13:18.659 All the themes of being God's people and God's places under God's blessing. 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:28.279 All of these great themes find their fullest expression in Jesus Christ. 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:34.259 The writer of Hebrews wants us to know that. 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.519 And he's echoing what we read in other places in the New Testament. 00:13:38.079 --> 00:13:40.839 In fact, it's exactly what Jesus himself said. 00:13:41.199 --> 00:13:43.620 Do you remember in Luke 24, 27? 00:13:43.959 --> 00:13:48.679 After he had risen from the dead, he comes alongside some of his disciples who are mourning 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:50.480 because they think he's gone forever. 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.000 They said, we had hoped that this would be the one. 00:13:53.199 --> 00:13:54.120 But he's gone. 00:13:54.120 --> 00:14:02.399 And after talking with them for a while, he says, oh foolish and slow to believe. 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:06.940 Don't you remember that the Son of Man had to die and rise again? 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:11.500 And then he said this, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. 00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:17.600 He interpreted them to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:21.919 Jesus said, all that Old Testament that you know. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:26.079 All the hopes that you have, they're found ultimately in me. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:30.019 And of course, this is what John says at the beginning of his gospel. 00:14:30.459 --> 00:14:33.819 When he talks about the Word who was God and was with God. 00:14:34.079 --> 00:14:38.199 And the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:44.539 We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:49.519 It says, no one has ever seen God, the only God. 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:53.980 But the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.120 So God wants us to know him. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:02.779 And God is active in letting us know this. 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.759 And you know, one of the things that's really helpful about this is that it answers a question 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.439 that all of us have wrestled with, I'm sure, at one point or another in our life. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:13.620 The question of religious epistemology. 00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:16.420 Now, I'm not sure you would have used those terms. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:20.120 But the question of how do we know anything about spiritual things? 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:23.640 And in our world, we have all sorts of answers. 00:15:24.140 --> 00:15:27.100 You listen to late night television gurus. 00:15:27.160 --> 00:15:29.720 You listen to your own experience. 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.300 You listen to various written things. 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:42.259 You spend your life spending your rational energy seeking to understand what God must be like, 00:15:42.359 --> 00:15:45.579 what God could be like, what God should be like. 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:58.180 But what the writer of the Hebrews wants us to see is that the ultimate foundation for us to know God 00:15:58.180 --> 00:16:02.160 doesn't rely on us and our efforts to try to figure it out, 00:16:02.420 --> 00:16:06.400 our efforts to try to somehow grasp our way to God. 00:16:08.139 --> 00:16:12.180 Because God is there and he has revealed himself to us. 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:20.779 What a glorious thing it is that he is revealing himself to us. 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:28.139 It means that even our imperfect knowledge of him, when based on his self-revelation, 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:34.199 is worth more than anything else that we could come up with on our own. 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:39.480 The writer of Hebrews answers the question, how do we know God? 00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:40.440 Look to Jesus. 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:42.860 What has God said to us? 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:43.879 Look to Jesus. 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:46.800 Why hasn't God showed himself to me? 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:49.400 Look to Jesus. 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.980 When we're in a time of pain or a time of distance, we often think, 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.780 why doesn't God speak to me? 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.080 Why is he so silent? 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:06.000 The reality is that he has spoken, not in a subjective and ephemeral manner, 00:17:06.120 --> 00:17:08.400 but God has spoken in an objective manner. 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:13.440 We can always look back to Jesus and know that God is there. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.759 This is good news for us too because it keeps us, 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:25.480 for those of you who are here, particularly in the university, 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:33.279 what you find in an academic exploration of Jesus is lots of people who will often ask a question, 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.339 what must Jesus be like or what should Jesus be like? 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:44.460 Friends, let me just blow up that imagination. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.079 There is only one Jesus that we know anything about, 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:49.940 and it's the one that we know in the Bible. 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:53.980 If we think that Jesus should or ought to be something else, 00:17:53.980 --> 00:18:00.000 then we need to come clean and admit that we're just making a Jesus that we think is right. 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:05.200 And so, when we want to know Jesus, 00:18:05.620 --> 00:18:09.579 it's the Jesus that we have in the Bible that we're to look at. 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:18.599 I was a little nugget that takes a lot more explanation that I can't explore fully. 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:21.480 But I do want to say it. 00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:23.740 This is the good news. 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:26.579 God has spoken to us, and He's spoken to us in Jesus, 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:30.240 and the Jesus that we know is here in the Bible. 00:18:32.620 --> 00:18:35.579 And so, shameless plug, 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:39.539 my invitation is for you to come back week after week after week 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:44.099 because the whole rest of the book of Hebrews is about the glory of this Jesus. 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:51.039 And what an incredible thing God has done for us in Him. 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.639 And my second shameless plug is if you come back in the evening, 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.539 we're looking at the Gospel of Mark, and you know what we're going to study there? 00:18:58.939 --> 00:19:00.199 Who Jesus is. 00:19:01.199 --> 00:19:03.199 So come back in the evening, too. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:11.460 The only way we know God is the Jesus who was and is. 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:19.980 And the writer of Hebrews goes on, and he, thankfully, he is not vague about who this Jesus is. 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:23.100 But he is, in fact, incredibly particular. 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:28.819 He gives glorious and lofty particulars about who this Jesus is. 00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:37.419 This Jesus is not just the final word, but he is the best word that God has spoken. 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:43.599 He is the best word because he is the full expression of God to us. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.740 As we keep looking through this passage, 00:19:46.899 --> 00:19:52.240 three things that I want you to see about how Jesus is God's best word to us. 00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:57.519 First of all, he is God's best word because he is the focal point of all creation. 00:19:58.039 --> 00:19:59.319 Did you see it in verse 2? 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:03.399 Jesus is the one through whom he created the whole world. 00:20:04.659 --> 00:20:09.740 And verse 3, he is the one who upholds the universe by the power of his hand. 00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:16.039 And, going back to verse 2, he is the heir of all things. 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:26.279 The beginning, the middle, and the end of all of creation is about Jesus. 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.420 From him, by him, for him. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.539 Nothing was made apart from him. 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:38.500 There is nothing in this world that is outside of his creative power. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:42.299 And nothing holds together apart from him. 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:45.920 Friends, think about what that means. 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:50.079 The very gravitational force that holds matter together, 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:53.819 that means that this church building doesn't just explode, 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:57.019 is Jesus' power holding it together. 00:20:57.480 --> 00:20:59.700 The very fabric of our society, 00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:03.920 so that it doesn't descend into complete chaos and mayhem, 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:08.279 is because of Jesus holding things together. 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:13.420 The very ability that you have to relate to your family, 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.559 to your friends, and to your peers, 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:20.000 is because Jesus is sustaining this world, 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:23.000 and he is sustaining you in your life. 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:29.900 All things that are continuing on in this world are sustained by Jesus. 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:46.000 Everything in your life is meant to fit in the frame of from, by, and for Jesus Christ. 00:21:46.780 --> 00:21:51.120 Your family, your work, your success, your entertainment, 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:55.039 your health, your pleasure, your money. 00:21:56.959 --> 00:22:08.939 Everything is meant to be framed by this transcendent creator, sustainer, air, Christ. 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:16.539 Some of you have just moved here to start a new season of life. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:18.039 Why are you here? 00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:20.980 Friends, whatever else it is, 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:25.100 Jesus wants you to know that he has brought you here. 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.799 He will sustain you here. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:33.460 And he intends for you to invest your life in a way that will produce something that he will inherit. 00:22:36.659 --> 00:22:40.940 However you think about your work, your career aspirations, your relationships, 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:43.799 think about that. 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:48.259 For some of you, you've lived here for a long time in the New Haven region. 00:22:48.399 --> 00:22:51.599 You've invested here in your life by choice or by not choice, 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:52.859 but you're here. 00:22:54.959 --> 00:22:56.539 Friends, the same thing is true. 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:02.099 Jesus, who created and sustains and inherits the whole world, 00:23:02.179 --> 00:23:03.899 has brought you here for this season. 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:10.379 And the chaos of your life right now is not overwhelming to him. 00:23:13.259 --> 00:23:16.240 The insurmountable issues that you are facing, 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:21.339 the unresolvable problems that you feel, 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:23.219 might bury you. 00:23:24.219 --> 00:23:26.659 None of these are greater than the one who created, 00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:28.299 the one who is sustaining, 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:30.759 the one who will inherit the whole world. 00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:36.699 Jesus is God's best for us because he is the focal point of all creation, 00:23:36.879 --> 00:23:39.519 and therefore everything is for him. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:42.199 Secondly, God's best word is, 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:48.740 Jesus is God's best word for us because he is the fullness of God's revelation. 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:50.639 Look with me at verse 3. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.439 These incredibly rich words. 00:23:53.439 --> 00:23:59.879 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. 00:24:00.379 --> 00:24:02.240 The radiance of the glory. 00:24:02.619 --> 00:24:03.619 What does that mean? 00:24:03.919 --> 00:24:06.199 The closest analogy is like the sun. 00:24:06.699 --> 00:24:09.699 The sun who sends out beams of light, 00:24:10.439 --> 00:24:13.019 not of a different nature, 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:20.480 but the same energy that is the sun is being then sent out so that all other things can be seen by it. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:27.200 Jesus is this radiance of the person of God. 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:31.319 And he is the exact imprint of his nature. 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.779 Now, the imprint of his nature, 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:38.039 the phrase there is used to describe the making of coins in the first century. 00:24:38.159 --> 00:24:39.639 You take a blob of metal, 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:40.839 and you take a print, 00:24:40.919 --> 00:24:42.099 and you stamp it. 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:45.480 And that stamp gives it an imprint. 00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:50.700 And what he's saying here is, 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:55.640 Jesus is the exact imprint of the nature, 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:56.759 the character, 00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:00.440 the very essence of God himself. 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:03.819 He's not just a reflection. 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:06.180 He's not just a mode. 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:11.480 He's not just a spiritual form. 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:14.620 But there is a physical embodiment. 00:25:14.820 --> 00:25:16.480 As the writer of Colossians says, 00:25:16.820 --> 00:25:21.940 the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form in Jesus Christ. 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:27.580 So that if we want to know what God who we cannot see is like, 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:29.480 Hebrews says, 00:25:29.660 --> 00:25:30.840 we can look at Jesus. 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:37.279 Jesus is what the Father is like. 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.299 Jesus is what his nature is like. 00:25:43.179 --> 00:25:45.539 And it means we don't have to look anywhere else. 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:52.899 The exact imprint of his nature means that we don't have to look for something beyond Jesus, 00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:54.579 something more than Jesus, 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:59.079 something older or younger or newer than Jesus 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:01.379 to tell us about who God is. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:07.339 But God in Jesus has shown us everything that we need to know. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.480 And so he is the authority about ultimate things. 00:26:11.659 --> 00:26:13.500 Jesus is the one who shows us. 00:26:16.899 --> 00:26:17.879 So friends, 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:21.579 look at Jesus to see what God is like. 00:26:22.299 --> 00:26:25.379 Look at his compassion for the outcasts, 00:26:25.379 --> 00:26:25.839 the lepers, 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:26.619 the widows, 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:28.399 the despised tax collectors. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.740 See his love for his friends and for his enemies. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.759 Watch him react in righteous anger to pain and suffering and death in his world. 00:26:38.780 --> 00:26:43.660 Watch him command with a word of power the forces of nature around him. 00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:48.040 See Jesus in his patience and his kindness towards his disciples 00:26:48.040 --> 00:26:53.300 when they repeatedly misunderstood him and his teaching 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:54.539 and acted in foolish ways. 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.299 And he's like, 00:26:55.299 --> 00:27:04.099 watch him exert his authority over spiritual powers that stood up against him. 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:11.460 Consider him as he overcomes the curse of sin and death by rising from the dead. 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:14.599 This is Jesus. 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.099 This is God in his human form. 00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:21.099 And when we want to know what God is like, 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:23.279 that is where we look. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:26.759 Finally, 00:27:27.139 --> 00:27:28.919 Jesus is God's best word 00:27:28.919 --> 00:27:30.799 because he is 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:33.099 the finisher of redemption 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:35.619 so that we can draw near to God. 00:27:36.439 --> 00:27:37.259 Look with me 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:38.299 in verse 3, 00:27:38.399 --> 00:27:39.279 the second half. 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:43.220 After making purification for sins, 00:27:43.399 --> 00:27:46.339 he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:53.019 Now we've already said that his audience understood the Old Testament pretty well. 00:27:53.019 --> 00:27:56.599 And when they heard the words purification for sin, 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:59.079 it would have downloaded into their brains 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:01.500 all of these images of the Old Testament, 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:03.220 particularly the temple. 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:08.240 The temple that was built with varying levels of holiness 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:12.440 leading into in the very innermost sanctum of the temple 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:14.160 was the Holy of Holies 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:15.839 where the glory of God 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:19.660 dwelt and manifested in a physical form 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:20.859 in that location. 00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:23.359 But in order to get there, 00:28:23.719 --> 00:28:26.139 there were sacrifices that had to be made 00:28:26.139 --> 00:28:30.059 because the sin and the rebellion of the world, 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:33.659 the ways in which humanity had refused God, 00:28:33.979 --> 00:28:35.119 refused to believe him, 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:36.259 refused to honor him, 00:28:36.659 --> 00:28:37.919 refused to worship him, 00:28:38.399 --> 00:28:42.959 that sin was such a great offense against their creator 00:28:42.959 --> 00:28:46.039 that there had to be a consequence. 00:28:46.719 --> 00:28:49.159 And the consequence of that sin was death. 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:51.580 And so sacrifices had to be made 00:28:51.580 --> 00:28:53.019 and blood had to be spilled 00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:55.860 for one to approach the Holy of Holies. 00:28:57.060 --> 00:28:59.759 And so you see in this whole Old Testament picture 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:02.600 that we'll explore for weeks 00:29:02.600 --> 00:29:05.040 when we get to chapters 8, 9, and 10, 00:29:06.080 --> 00:29:08.840 purification for sins, 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:12.279 the sin that we bear into the outer courtyard of the temple 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:14.240 is covered by blood 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:18.720 so that ultimately at least one, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:19.420 the high priest, 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:23.259 might enter in to the Holy of Holies once a year. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:29.079 The writer of Hebrews will say to us, 00:29:29.139 --> 00:29:31.639 only when our sin is covered 00:29:31.639 --> 00:29:35.639 by the blood of a sufficient sacrifice 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:38.700 can we draw near to God. 00:29:40.420 --> 00:29:42.080 And here it says, 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:43.380 Jesus has done this. 00:29:43.820 --> 00:29:47.380 After he made purification for sins, 00:29:47.780 --> 00:29:50.640 the verb tense is completed action, 00:29:51.080 --> 00:29:53.080 not ongoing, not partial, 00:29:54.020 --> 00:29:55.300 but completed action. 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:58.840 After having made purification for sins, 00:29:59.040 --> 00:30:00.340 he sat down. 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:05.459 He sat down because he had no more work to do 00:30:05.459 --> 00:30:08.939 in doing what had to be done 00:30:08.939 --> 00:30:11.379 so that people like you and me 00:30:11.379 --> 00:30:12.899 could draw near to God. 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:15.939 Later on in the book of Hebrews, 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:18.919 the writer will refer to the priesthood in the temple. 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:21.339 It says Aaron stood in the temple every day 00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:23.459 and the Aaronic priesthood had to offer, 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:26.779 had to offer sacrifices every day. 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:31.700 Because they weren't done. 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:33.779 Because the sacrifices they were offering 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:35.980 weren't complete and weren't sufficient. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:40.740 But Jesus went in once, 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:46.559 said when Christ had offered for all time 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:48.759 a single sacrifice for sins, 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:50.819 he sat down. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.980 Because the work was done. 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:59.559 And friends, what good news this is for us. 00:31:00.860 --> 00:31:03.000 What an incredible thing it is. 00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:07.079 Because maybe you, like me, 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:08.839 wrestle with the question, 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.259 what do I have to do to know God? 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.279 How do I make myself good enough? 00:31:13.339 --> 00:31:15.920 I don't feel good enough to approach God. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:17.900 How can I do that? 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:22.539 How can I go to God with the mess of my life? 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:27.120 And the writer of Hebrews says, 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:28.000 it's finished. 00:31:28.860 --> 00:31:30.599 Jesus has done everything. 00:31:31.860 --> 00:31:35.900 What you are called on is to trust in that work. 00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:39.160 To believe in this Jesus, 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:42.799 who having made purification for sin, 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.360 sat down. 00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:48.699 There is no more sin left to be purified 00:31:48.699 --> 00:31:51.439 because his sacrifice was sufficient 00:31:51.439 --> 00:31:54.559 for all who believe in him. 00:31:57.479 --> 00:31:58.559 Friends, do you see? 00:31:58.699 --> 00:32:01.859 It's in the particularities of this Jesus. 00:32:02.399 --> 00:32:07.219 Jesus who is the from and by and for of creation. 00:32:07.220 --> 00:32:11.839 Jesus who is the exact representation of God. 00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:15.160 Jesus who has made a way 00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:19.640 so that we can draw near to God and know him. 00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:23.980 It's in these particularities 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:26.360 that we find Jesus 00:32:26.360 --> 00:32:29.200 to be a sweet and precious Savior. 00:32:31.300 --> 00:32:33.040 This is his word to the Hebrews. 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:35.020 Don't let go of this Jesus 00:32:35.020 --> 00:32:37.759 because there's nothing else like him. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:39.920 We will see over and over again 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:41.320 as you see in verse 4. 00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:42.960 He's better than the angels. 00:32:43.120 --> 00:32:44.820 This will begin an argument 00:32:44.820 --> 00:32:47.800 where Jesus is better than all sorts of things. 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:51.099 Jesus is greater than all these things. 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:55.339 And he's saying, 00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:57.839 that's why there's nowhere to turn. 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.419 Even though following Christ 00:33:00.419 --> 00:33:02.019 may be incredibly costly, 00:33:03.180 --> 00:33:04.399 he says, don't give up 00:33:04.399 --> 00:33:06.680 because you will only be turning away 00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:09.200 from the one 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:14.079 who truly is the representation of God, 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.480 who truly is God's best 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:19.059 and final word to us. 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:23.200 So if you, too, 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:24.400 are in a place of crisis, 00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:26.000 if you're wondering, 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.019 is it worth it? 00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:30.400 Is it worth it to keep following Christ? 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:33.279 The writer of Hebrews says, 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:34.539 yes. 00:33:35.339 --> 00:33:37.640 He has done the ultimate thing. 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:40.420 He has made access to God possible. 00:33:42.599 --> 00:33:43.759 Don't turn away. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:45.579 Don't give up. 00:33:46.900 --> 00:33:49.180 If you are at a place of distance 00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:52.740 where your questions about where is God 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:56.099 spring from this sense 00:33:56.099 --> 00:33:59.000 that your everyday life has become disconnected, 00:33:59.539 --> 00:34:01.279 see that he is the one who created 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:02.259 and sustains 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:05.400 and for whom everything is. 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:06.680 and therefore, 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:09.579 all the details of your everyday life 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:12.260 are created for him 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:14.079 and by him 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:16.579 and sustained by him. 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:19.019 And so begin to ask him 00:34:19.019 --> 00:34:20.660 to show you that. 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:22.360 Begin to see how 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:24.079 caring for children, 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:26.480 the long hours in the lab, 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:31.880 and the time spent commuting to work, 00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:35.360 the time at your desk at school, 00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:37.320 whatever it is, 00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:39.699 that all of this is meant to be 00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:41.719 within a context of Jesus' 00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:43.559 sovereign reign 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:45.280 in your life. 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:48.820 If your question about God 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:50.199 comes from a place of pain, 00:34:50.199 --> 00:34:55.000 let me assure you, 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:56.199 God is not silent. 00:34:56.399 --> 00:34:57.199 God has spoken. 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:01.839 God has spoken in his son. 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:06.099 He is not far off. 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:07.500 He is near. 00:35:08.779 --> 00:35:10.399 And not only has he spoken 00:35:10.399 --> 00:35:12.119 in revealing his son, 00:35:12.359 --> 00:35:13.699 but that son came 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:15.399 to walk on this earth. 00:35:16.359 --> 00:35:17.099 He came 00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:18.719 to bear 00:35:18.719 --> 00:35:21.360 the trial 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:22.059 of living 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:23.380 in this fallen world. 00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:26.980 And so he knows 00:35:26.980 --> 00:35:27.799 your pain 00:35:27.799 --> 00:35:30.039 because he's experienced it. 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:31.420 He knows 00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:32.279 your suffering 00:35:32.279 --> 00:35:34.559 because he suffered too. 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:40.920 Jesus says, 00:35:41.279 --> 00:35:42.059 I understand 00:35:42.059 --> 00:35:43.179 and I know. 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:48.539 He bore the greatest pain 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:49.619 and the greatest suffering 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:51.099 that the world will ever know 00:35:51.099 --> 00:35:51.739 on the cross 00:35:51.739 --> 00:35:52.379 when he died 00:35:52.379 --> 00:35:53.159 for our sins. 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:55.079 And so he's able 00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:56.139 to comfort us 00:35:56.139 --> 00:35:57.879 in our pain. 00:35:59.339 --> 00:36:00.779 He is not far off. 00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:02.699 He is with you. 00:36:04.879 --> 00:36:05.719 And finally, 00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:08.359 if your questions 00:36:08.359 --> 00:36:09.639 about where is God 00:36:09.639 --> 00:36:10.599 and why haven't I heard 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:10.940 from him 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:12.039 come from genuine, 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:13.480 confusion? 00:36:15.279 --> 00:36:16.400 Where can we find 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:17.139 hope and meaning 00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:17.619 in life? 00:36:17.759 --> 00:36:18.659 Where can we find 00:36:18.659 --> 00:36:19.559 a true word? 00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:23.380 Let me close 00:36:23.380 --> 00:36:24.259 by reading 00:36:24.259 --> 00:36:25.539 Billy Graham's response 00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:26.380 to TK. 00:36:28.759 --> 00:36:29.980 No true faith 00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:30.960 is guesswork, 00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:33.139 nor is it 00:36:33.139 --> 00:36:34.199 merely wishful thinking 00:36:34.199 --> 00:36:35.159 or a vague hope 00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:35.779 which has nothing 00:36:35.779 --> 00:36:36.500 to support it. 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:37.820 Faith in God 00:36:37.820 --> 00:36:38.519 is based on 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:39.579 solid evidence 00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:40.440 because God 00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:41.599 has already 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:42.579 spoken to us. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:43.579 What do I mean? 00:36:43.659 --> 00:36:44.960 Let me use 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:45.539 an illustration. 00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:46.079 One day, 00:36:46.139 --> 00:36:46.720 many years ago, 00:36:46.720 --> 00:36:47.260 I was walking 00:36:47.260 --> 00:36:48.280 with one of my sons 00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:49.320 near our house 00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:50.200 and we accidentally 00:36:50.200 --> 00:36:51.639 kicked an anthill. 00:36:51.940 --> 00:36:52.900 We could see them 00:36:52.900 --> 00:36:53.880 scurrying around, 00:36:53.960 --> 00:36:54.820 no doubt alarmed 00:36:54.820 --> 00:36:55.500 at what had happened 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:55.940 to them. 00:36:56.260 --> 00:36:57.820 My son was very concerned 00:36:57.820 --> 00:36:58.619 because we had 00:36:58.619 --> 00:36:59.340 disturbed them 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:00.360 and expressed the wish 00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:01.380 we could somehow 00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:02.260 tell them 00:37:02.260 --> 00:37:03.500 that we were sorry. 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:04.559 How could we 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:05.780 possibly do that? 00:37:05.780 --> 00:37:06.600 I asked him 00:37:06.600 --> 00:37:08.260 since the gap 00:37:08.260 --> 00:37:08.960 between us 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:09.800 is so great. 00:37:11.120 --> 00:37:12.500 After a few moments, 00:37:13.140 --> 00:37:13.760 he replied 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:14.460 that he supposed 00:37:14.460 --> 00:37:15.320 the only way 00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:16.440 would be for us 00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:18.460 to become ants. 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:21.440 And he was right. 00:37:22.280 --> 00:37:23.120 And I went on 00:37:23.120 --> 00:37:23.880 to remind him 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:24.840 that this is exactly 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:25.960 what God has done 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:26.960 for us. 00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:28.780 How could he ever 00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:29.280 tell us 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:30.160 that he loved us 00:37:30.160 --> 00:37:30.780 and wanted to be 00:37:30.780 --> 00:37:31.340 our friend? 00:37:31.860 --> 00:37:33.120 The only way 00:37:33.120 --> 00:37:34.320 was for him 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:35.660 to become a human being 00:37:35.660 --> 00:37:36.380 like us. 00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:37.940 And that is exactly 00:37:37.940 --> 00:37:38.880 what God did 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:40.000 in Jesus Christ. 00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:41.820 As the Bible says 00:37:41.820 --> 00:37:43.360 in these last days, 00:37:43.460 --> 00:37:44.620 he has spoken to us 00:37:44.620 --> 00:37:45.460 by his son. 00:37:46.640 --> 00:37:48.500 Yes, you can know God. 00:37:49.140 --> 00:37:50.620 For God has spoken to us 00:37:50.620 --> 00:37:51.740 so that we can know him. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:53.140 Don't go through life 00:37:53.140 --> 00:37:54.120 apart from God, 00:37:54.660 --> 00:37:55.760 but open your heart 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:57.100 and life 00:37:57.100 --> 00:37:58.620 to Christ today. 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:02.440 Jesus is God's best 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:03.960 and final word 00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:04.619 for us. 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:05.480 Let's pray. 00:38:13.619 --> 00:38:14.320 Oh God, 00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:14.960 we thank you 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:15.840 that we are not 00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:16.840 left to grasp. 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:18.980 We are not left 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:20.340 to grope in darkness 00:38:20.340 --> 00:38:21.500 hoping that we might 00:38:21.500 --> 00:38:22.500 somehow find you. 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:25.760 Lord, 00:38:25.820 --> 00:38:26.960 as your word says, 00:38:27.280 --> 00:38:28.480 in you we live 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:28.880 and move 00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:29.579 and have our being. 00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:31.139 You are not far 00:38:31.139 --> 00:38:31.759 from us. 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:33.319 And in fact, 00:38:33.359 --> 00:38:34.119 you have revealed 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:35.239 yourself to us. 00:38:35.819 --> 00:38:36.460 You have made 00:38:36.460 --> 00:38:37.339 yourself known 00:38:37.339 --> 00:38:38.739 and you have made 00:38:38.739 --> 00:38:39.460 yourself known 00:38:39.460 --> 00:38:40.440 in the glorious 00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:42.000 and wonderful 00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:43.000 and exalted 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:44.099 person of Christ. 00:38:45.420 --> 00:38:45.679 God, 00:38:45.759 --> 00:38:46.279 I pray 00:38:46.279 --> 00:38:47.679 that today 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:48.679 that would give us 00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:49.299 great hope 00:38:49.299 --> 00:38:51.159 that we can know you 00:38:51.159 --> 00:38:52.819 and that you have spoken. 00:38:53.299 --> 00:38:53.819 Lord, 00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:54.679 and that as we 00:38:54.679 --> 00:38:56.359 leave from this place 00:38:56.359 --> 00:38:57.119 and go into 00:38:57.119 --> 00:38:58.799 our world, 00:38:58.800 --> 00:38:59.940 as we leave 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:00.660 from this place 00:39:00.660 --> 00:39:01.280 and go into 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:02.440 the everyday things 00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:03.100 that we do, 00:39:04.420 --> 00:39:05.480 that our hearts 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:06.160 would be filled 00:39:06.160 --> 00:39:06.860 with the greatness 00:39:06.860 --> 00:39:07.500 of Jesus, 00:39:08.539 --> 00:39:09.440 with confidence 00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:11.460 that because of Jesus 00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:13.000 we know you 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:14.600 and you have spoken. 00:39:15.560 --> 00:39:16.280 We pray this 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:17.019 in Jesus' name. 00:39:17.580 --> 00:39:17.860 Amen. 00:39:17.860 --> 00:39:17.940 Amen. 00:39:20.140 --> 00:39:20.660 Amen. 00:39:20.660 --> 00:39:21.140 Amen. 00:39:21.140 --> 00:39:21.940 Amen. 00:39:21.940 --> 00:39:22.019 Amen. 00:39:22.019 --> 00:39:22.039 Amen. 00:39:22.039 --> 00:39:22.080 Amen. 00:39:22.080 --> 00:39:22.100 Amen. 00:39:22.100 --> 00:39:22.120 Amen. 00:39:22.120 --> 00:39:22.140 Amen.