Pastor Shane did not give me his sermon notes, so our scripture text will not be from John 11, but rather from the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. But before we go to Hebrews chapter one, I want to call your attention to a verse in Hebrews chapter twelve, which summarizes the whole message of Hebrews. The Hebrews were Christians that had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire due to persecution, Not only by their fellow Jews, you recall the Pharisees were not really happy with these people going outside of the boundaries of their government and worshipping Jesus Christ. So, you remember that there was quite a persecution of the Christians at the time of even the life of Jesus on this earth and certainly beyond that. But then, not only the persecution by their fellow Jews, but also the Romans. Christianity was not popular with the Romans. Judaism was okay. Judaism was the accepted religion. You could be a Judaist and believe the Old Testament, and the Romans would pretty much leave you alone. But, if you were a Christian, you were in trouble. Matter of fact, I think it was back in the year 49 that Emperor Claudius expelled all the Christians from Rome because he felt they were a very negative influence. And you all have heard about this famous idol called Nero. 64 A.D. when, of course, the city of Rome burned down to a great extent and All fingers pointed to Nero, who wanted to see some fireworks. And of course, that didn't help Nero's popularity, so he blamed the Christians for setting Rome on fire. So there was a persecution, and quite frankly, the Christians thought, do I really, or do we really want to remain loyal to Jesus Christ? Christianity, you see, to many of these Jews was a bit of a disappointment. The Jews had the expectation of the Messiah, of this king coming from God, this seed of the woman, son of David, and this king would restore the kingdom to Israel. He would be a new David. He would throw out these miserable Romans. He would set up a kingdom and introduce prosperity and peace and joy to the land. But what happened? Jesus came. He was revealed as the Messiah, as the Son of God, but things weren't getting any better. They began to wonder, maybe we ought to go back to Judaism. Maybe we should forget about Christ. and not listen to him, not hear God speaking through him, but maybe we Well, we know that the prophets were history, but maybe we ought to listen to angels. You know, angels are better than men, right? Are they? You know, or not? Okay, well, you're right, because the Bible tells us angels are spirits, are ministering spirits. So, you're right. But they figured, well, angels were higher, so maybe God spoke through angels in the Old Testament once in a while, and we can go ahead and listen to angels. So you need to understand. You know, you and I tend to be a bit critical of people that are not faithful to Jesus Christ, but we've got to kind of enter into their situation and realize where they are. So now. God sends a minister to these Hebrews. And tells them. Don't you ever leave allegiance to Jesus Christ. Follow him. And that argument is developed throughout the entire letter of the Hebrews, and we'll look at just the beginning of that. But first of all, the summary, which we have in chapter 12, begins with a therefore Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, and of course, that goes back to all the heroes of faith that are mentioned that were true to the Word of God and were blessed. Since we are surrounded by so many witnesses, let's lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. We just started a new year. You know, when I was a little kid, maybe about, oh, five or six years old, I can still remember, this was back in the Netherlands, that we had a custom that said the person that wishes somebody else a New Year first gets a special prize. So, in other words, I had sisters and brothers, and I would wake up early on New Year's morning, and I would sneak into their room and say, Happy New Year, before they could say it to me. And if I beat them in saying Happy New Year, they would owe me something like a piece of candy. And of course, I like candy. So then, you know, after you got caught, those people, then you catch your dad and mom, and you sneak into their... Happy New Year, Dad! Ha! I beat ya. Gave you my candy. But you know, we were kind of greedy people, so we'd go next door. And we'd go out and wish people Happy New Year, because we wanted the candy that we get, and of course, if they beat us, I had to give up my candy, and that wasn't a fun, was it? No. So, we looked for blessings. Well, where do we get our real blessings from? Well, we get them from following Jesus. By focusing on him. So let's do that as we now go to our scripture lesson in Hebrews chapter 1. Where the word of God reads like this. Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. And after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, having become as much superior to angels, as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Or again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says that all God's angels worship him. Of the angels, he says, he makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire. But at the sun, he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions and You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment, like a robe. You will roll them up like a garment. They will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will have no end. And to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Tempted to reject Christ. Christianity is not a comfortable faith, is it? I remember a session meeting that we had in one of the congregations in New Zealand, and someone had donated, I think, something like $1,000 to the church, but had designated that for evangelism. So here we were, about six of us, at the church. How are we going to use this $1,000? Well, we talked a bit, you know, let's put an ad in the Yellow Pages or let's put an ad in the paper or do this or the next thing. And then one elder said, you know, I've got an idea. We don't have a very big congregation. Let's buy these light jackets and let's have words printed on them. Which say, on one side, Jesus Christ is my savior and Lord, and on the other side say, Reformed Church of Nelson, New Zealand. Do you think they adopted that? No. You know, we kind of looked at each other a bit embarrassed. Do we really want to wear that jacket out in public? Have everybody know that we love Jesus, our Lord and our Savior? Do we really want to make that public? I can still remember some of the conversation, well, wouldn't that cost too much? You know what we did as a session? We tabled it. You know, if you don't want to make a decision, just table it, right? And you can talk about it next time. Now, why do you think there was that hesitation? Tell me. If the session here determined to provide everybody with a nice, light jacket, an attractive jacket, And put on the lettering, Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord, and on the other side say, Westminster Art and CNA. How many of you have read it? Maybe two or three. What's the matter with you guys? But you've got to see where these Hebrews are coming from, right? If you think it was dangerous here, it would be there. It would be a target for these Romans. You didn't want to confess Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, let's go back. It's okay to believe in God. God is still okay. Even today, in our own culture, it's okay to believe in God, right? I mean, that's still the popular thing to do. But faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin, who suffered and who died under Pontius Pilate, who rose again from the dead on the third day. Do I really want to come across as weird? strikes a chord, doesn't it, in our own culture? So, here are the words of God. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1. Who's speaking? God. Okay? Now, in the past, He spoke to our fathers. And of course, the fathers that he has in mind here are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of these Jews. He spoke to our fathers by means of the prophets. He revealed himself, he told us about himself through the medium of prophets. And of course, as he reveals himself, as he explains himself, as he spoke, you all realize, don't you, that when you open your mouth, people get to know about you? Not only what you hear, but you know who you are too, right? If you don't want to be known, just keep your mouth shut. You know that. So God speaks, he makes himself known. Why? In order that these fathers, in order that these people might not only listen to him, Christianity is not just listening to the Word of God, but it is doing the Word of God. It is obedience to that Word of God. And as you and I hear the Word of God and it fills us and we obey it, then we reveal the glory of God. And not only we find out, that's really a lot of fun, we know how to live and we know why we live. And so, God spoke in the past by means of these prophets. However, in these last days, these days that he's speaking, and by the way, still today, the last days he has spoken to us by his son. Now, you kids know who he's talking about, right? Who's the son? Jesus. At least one person knows it. Very good. He's speaking to us by his son. And what does he want to get across? You've got to now listen, not to the prophets, doesn't mean you have to ignore the Old Testament, but now you have a better revealer of God who will reveal God to you perfectly. Listen to him. Don't go back to the Old Testament, because then you're going back to people who didn't know God perfectly. Today, he speaks to us through his son. And then the writer to the Hebrews gives a bit of a historical review of who the son is and what he has done. It says that he has appointed the son heir of all things. Well, an heir is a person who inherits. Now, you all understand, don't you, that God has created all things, that all things belong to him. There is nothing that is outside of his ownership. Can you think of anything that doesn't belong to God? Anybody here? No, nothing. He controls everything, and to whom has he given it? What does the Bible say? Appointed heir of all things. Who's going to inherit all things? The sun, right? In other words, outside of the sun, what can you get? What can you inherit? Let me try that again, right? Let's say that, you know, there's only a thousand dollars in the whole world, okay? And I get the whole thousand dollars. What's there left for you? Anything? No. So, you see what God is saying? He is going to inherit all things. Consequently, if you want anything at all, you need to believe in Him. You need to have faith in Him. You need to be in His family, in His church. Outside of Him, there is nothing. You won't hear the voice of God outside of Christ. You won't see the glory of God in the world. Outside of faith in Him, there is not only nothing, but rather the opposite of everything that is good, noble, holy, or will give joy. Active cursing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. You know, there is a philosophy, matter of fact, as one professor in evangelical seminary, I hate to say this, but he thought that for unbelievers, when they died, that was simply the end. Nothing there. Annihilation for unbelievers. So, if you were a Christian, yes, you would get blessings, but if you were not a Christian, well, you would simply disappear. Now, the Bible doesn't teach that, does it? It talks about hell, about eternal torment, about suffering. So, not only does Jesus inherit all things and only those in his family are fellow heirs with him, but outside of that inheritance, there is nothing but grief. So, you Hebrews, are you still thinking about dumping Christ? Not only that, through whom also he created the world. Who created the world? Well, God did, but which particular person of the Trinity did the creating? Jesus. We call Jesus the agent of creation. We have the same thing in the first chapter of John, you remember. He created everything. Now, again, we need to think of Hebrews here as being kind of sequential. First of all, he is declared to be the heir of all things. Then he is the one who is powerful, majestic, mighty. He created all things. And then he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. In other words, he reveals God perfectly. You know what Jesus said? He said, you who have seen me have seen who? Anybody know that verse? If you have seen me, whom have you seen? The Father. I am the exact imprint, the exact image of the Father. You want to know the glory of your Father? Look at me. You want to see His love and His mercy and His justice? Look at me. If you want to know who God is, just look at me. I have the exact image of his nature. His nature is as characteristic as being, as goodness, as mercy, as truth, as justice. I see the glory of God. You know, when you think of Jesus' life on this earth and how he ministered and he spoke and he did miracles, and his disciples saw him in all this, they didn't even really know him, did they? We, of course, know the reason for that. Their eyes were still kind of blinded And Jesus has to work to open them over and over again, even after he died. You recall these two guys on the road to Emmaus. He said, Oh, we had hoped that he would be the one to redeem Israel. We thought he might be the one, but no. And then, of course, Jesus opened to them the Scriptures. Okay, then what happened? Well, it says he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Now tell me, would this world hold together without Jesus Christ? What if Jesus... Now, I know that's impossible. Let's say that Jesus simply withdrew his power from creation. And he says, I'm not going to govern it anymore. What would happen? It would fall apart. This building wouldn't be here. No, it is Jesus as the very image of God that governs all things by the word of his power. He upholds it all. Now, you, you Hebrews that are thinking of going back to the Old Testament, you know, this Christianity is kind of hard business. It doesn't give you much satisfaction. Now, tell me, you really want to dump Christ. You do. Yeah, no, you don't. But. Our minister isn't finished yet. He was on to say. after making purification for sins. Now, I have the ESV version here, but that word purification really isn't the best translation. The old King James, I think, had it better when it uses the word purged. And there's a difference, isn't there, between the word purged and purified. By purged, it means you have something bad inside of you. You've got to get rid of it. Our pastor is sick. He's got something bad inside of him, doesn't he? To be healthy, he's got to get rid of it. Let me tell you something. You've got something bad inside of you. You know where it is? I'll tell you. Sin. OK? You've got to get rid of it. Well, let's call the doctor, shall we? You think the local M.D. can give you a pill? No. It is Jesus Christ who purged you from your sin, who cleansed you, who made you clean. And how did he do that? Well, he obeyed God perfectly, didn't he? That's what God requires. You know what happened? He said, I'll put my obedience to your account. And then he died, didn't he? He died for sin. He died our death. I'll put my payment to your account. Call it imputation. And there is no other Savior. Now, you Hebrews, you still thinking about dumping Christ? He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And again, as you go through chapter one, you can see a kind of historical sequence, can't you? Where is Jesus now? Well, he's exalted at the right hand of the throne of God. We read part of the resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15, didn't we? About the life that we have only in Jesus Christ and the race that he ran and the destination of that race. So, again, we go back to that verse in Hebrews 12. It's a real challenge, but I challenge you to do it. Read all through Hebrews and you'll find that all these things develop. Chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. The minister comes hammering at them over and over and over again. Grow up, you guys. You dull-witted people. You dumb people. Are you really thinking of that? You're like babies. You always want milk. Grow up. It's in there. We'll find it in Hebrews. I drank from solid meat? Look at Jesus. the author of our faith. He gave us that desire to know Him, that desire to obey Him. And He perfected our faith. He places before us the joy, the reward. And let me tell you something, congregation, it's fun to be a Christian. As a matter of fact, there's no fun anywhere else. The joy! And yes, did Jesus have an easy time of it? No. He suffered the cross and he despised the shame. And now, you Hebrews, you're suffering. And you're ashamed of being associated with the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But you've got to look beyond that. You've got to look to the joy. And Jesus saw that joy. And congregation, you and I, too, must see that joy, which comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. I'm going to recommend a New Year's resolution. How many of you make resolutions for New Year's? Anybody? You don't? Well, I suppose that's because you break them too quickly, right? Okay. One word. Run. Okay? Maybe in Sunday school afterwards you can make a poster and you put a in big letters, and I'm supposed to put RUN, all right? And then get these refrigerator magnets that your mom and dad get from the local plumber, and wipe out the ad on the magnets, okay? And put that on your refrigerator door. You know, this morning, I was going to count the number of times I was going to be opening the refrigerator door, but I forgot. I count about four or five times anyway. You look at that door so often. I mean, that's the door you open and close most often in the whole house, right? Okay, so there you have it. Your New Year's resolution. Run! And then you might want to put in small letters, run the race. What race? The race of obedience to Jesus Christ. Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Do it! Okay? Believe it. And you know something about the year 2011? You know we have all kinds of guarantees, don't we? You buy my product, you do my thing, and you'll be happy. Well, I'm going to guarantee you something, congregation. If you run that race focused on doing the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, others might make fun of you. Others might ridicule you and think you're weird. But you know something? 2011 will be the greatest year of your life. OK? Ready? Set. Go! Amen. Our Father, we want to thank you for your Word. And we confess that we are so often ashamed of you. Oh, it's easy, O Father, to be in church and to confess Jesus Christ to each other. But it's so much harder when we get to school and do our work. And we confess that we sometimes even hide it. But, O Father, reveal to us the glory of being Christians. Encourage us and bless us as this year we resolve to listen to your Word, to follow Jesus. And, O Father, we thank you that you have promised that we can expect to experience the joy. O Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit that your name might be glorified by each one of us during this coming year. And forgive our sin. Hear us in Jesus' name. Amen.