Have you had the experience of losing concentration or forgetting names?
It is embarrassing when you are caught out
It is worse when people are not listening to you
There is a world of difference between hearing and listening
Jesus commands people to listen and hear
We need more than intellectual listening
In the book of Hebrews, we are called to listen, to meditate
3:7, 3:20
We are to examine ourselves in light of the Scripture
Where is our trust?
What are we trusting in day-to-day?
The gospel is independent of the times we live in – it does not change and speaks to our circumstances
The writer to the Hebrews is encouraging Jewish Christians
Second generation believers
The temple still remains (for now)
Jesus had not yet returned
Growing persecution
Many of the believers were in danger of letting go of the gospel
Many were in danger of being led astray by false teaching
The writer contrasts the old with the new
The old ways/Testament was temporary
Jesus is the fulfilment of the old
Jesus Christ is better
Jesus Christ is better than anything we can imagine – e.g. angels
We are justified in Him before the Father
He achieves a sacrifice far greater than anything we could bring
A letter of examination, exhortation, encouragement and expectation
Believers live their lives in the light of the gospel
We can struggle to take in the magnitude of the gospel
God spoke in the Old Testament (1:1)
In "various times and various ways" – examples
God’s program of redemption is looking forward to the redemption found in Jesus Christ
God has now spoken to us in Jesus Christ (1:2)
We can come to God through Jesus Christ
We can come to Jesus – the second person of the Trinity
Jesus Christ is supreme over creation – including over angels (Angels were very important to the Jews)
Jesus is the Son of God, the Father’s firstborn, served by the angels
Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person (1:3)
The son radiates His own glory
Jesus was present in creation
Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth
Jesus knows the hearts and minds of men
Jesus is worthy of our worship
Christ died for us – in Him we have salvation
Who will change what Christ has done for us? [No-one]
Jesus sacrifice is perfect and complete
Who is more powerful than Christ? [No-one]
Jesus sits down because His work of atonement is completed
Nothing can be added
It is only of Christ – the anthem of the Church: we cling to the cross
Are we trusting in this sacrifice?
The angels worship Christ
Christ must not be reduced to any less than He is
Whether angels or anything else
Christ is superior to anything we can think of
A solemn warning against quiet neglect (2:1) – examples
The anchor does not move – we move
A reminder of the reality of our position
How much more to neglect the work of Christ
To become complacent
How should we grow in our faith?
12:1-2 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Perseverance is sustained by a deepening view of God/Christ and an ever clearer view of what we are without Him
Encourage one another
Have an honest reckoning
Look to Jesus Christ again
Christ takes joy in presenting us to the Father
Hold fast because you have been saved
In respsonse – obey, live right lives
Jesus Christ is truly God
Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself in obedience and great love
