9/20/2009
Jesus ; Savior and Mediator
Hebrews 2:5-18
Introduction:
Today, there is a lot of talk bout the spiritual.
Unfortunately it concentrates on angels, mediums, reincarnation, meditation, and what Diane Warwick and Oprah have to say about it.
I want to talk a moment and see what God’s word says about angels, what His word says about the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ.
Those struggling to put Jesus first in your life, I want you to put on your listening ears this morning.
Hebrews 2;1-3 Read
If every word that the angels spoke to mankind was binding, and every disobedience has a punishment. How will we ever escape that punishment for our sins if we neglect God’s great plan of salvation?
The book of Hebrews is about Jesus.
Who He was. Who He is. Why He came. Why we need Him.
“For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but shall have ever lasting life.”
That is more than a child’s memory verse, it is the love of God shown to us by Jesus Christ.
Mankind because of sin, has fallen out of a relationship with God. God cannot tolerate sin or be in the presence of sin.
The Bible tells us that there is a gap or space between God and man only Jesus can fill it.
That is the reason that good people without Jesus cannot make heaven, it is not about being good, it is about sin and the fact that God has to deal severely with sin.
God the Father has put everything under Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that is not subject to Him. Everything that we see is under Jesus Christ.
Everything that we cannot see is under Jesus Christ.
You may not understand all the theological jargon, but understand this, what you can see is under Jesus Christ, what you cannot see is subject to Jesus Christ.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in the heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, weather thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together, and he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might reign supreme.” Amen
(V10) “I n bringing many sons to glory it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Why in the world would you even consider that our salvation could come from anyone else but the Son of God who created us and who went through the pain and suffering of being our sacrifice for sin.
The God who created each and every one of us, weather we accept and call Him Lord or not, has come back to recapture our lost souls.
He desires and has provided a way for each one of us to regain that relationship with Him.
The Hebrew writer says this because there were false teachings about angels. There was so much emphasis on angels that they were losing the deity of Christ.
We have to pay attention, be careful, be intentional, to do what we know to do so we don’t drift away.
Nothing will cause you to drift away than to lose focus of Jesus and center on other things.
They were creating their own gods.
One group was worshiping angels.
The other group called doceitist believed Jesus was totally divine. He didn’t feel pain on the cross, he was spiritual, if he walked on the sand, he would not leave a footprint. They robbed Jesus of his humanity.
To understand what Jesus has done, you have to know who He is.
Scripture tells us that Jesus was better than the angels.
Why would the Hebrew writer have to say that?
He is better than angels.
He is the greatest man to ever live.
He is our high priest.
He is the best sacrifice ever given to God.
Jesus is better than anything He is God
He is the bridge for the redemption of mankind.
It is important because until we get that right and understand that- we will always put other things first in our lives.
Until you grasp that with all your heart, you will always struggle with your faith.
I cannot comprehend that Jesus was 100 % God and 100% Man. That is a mystery to me.
I know it has to be true because:
Eye witness accounts recorded and the Word of God tells me so.
My spirit bears witness to God’s spirit that this is true though I do not understand it .
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful hand.
Angels are servants of God. They are created beings.
Angels cannot be worshiped.
The Bible explains how Christ being both God and man fulfilled the purpose of God.
You have the deity of Christ- God. The maker of the universe.
Alpha and Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come. The Almighty
The one the revelator John saw in a vision.-
Like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest; His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace and His voice was like the sound of the rushing wind
The one that told John- Behold, I am alive for ever , and I hold the keys of death and hell.
That’s the deity of Christ
The Son of the living God, the savior of mankind.
He chose to be the bridge between a fallen and sinful world and a perfect an holy God.
He chose to take on humanity so that he would know what we would go through, so that He could get victory over it, so that we could get victory over it. He knows what it is like to be tempted, though he did not sin, so that we could get victory over temptation
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom.
In the Old Testament before Jesus, animal sacrifice had to be made. The blood of the animals was a covering for sin. The high priest would intercede for sins. Jesus by His death and resurrection became the sacrifice and became the high priest interceding for each of us. (14-18)
The Bible tells us that we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness because he has been tempted in every way we are, yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:14-16)
We need to understand both sides of Jesus Christ so we can appreciate salvation.
So that we do not take lightly what Jesus Christ did for mankind.
That we do not neglect our gift.
We need to talk about the cross
Salvation is made complete by Christ suffering on the cross.
He was flesh and bone, his death on the cross was painful, he felt it, he endured it.
By the grace of God tasted death for every one of us.
The cross is central to Christianity.
The cross is central to the life changing power that takes place in the church.
The blood of Christ is the heart of our faith.
No Jesus.
No cross.
No resurrection.
No gospel.
No salvation.
No hope.
We must never neglect the gift of God.
The last thing this morning.
Why we need Jesus, why we need to tell others about Jesus.
God is looking for a few people, a few churches to grasp with all that God has done for us and live and proclaim the good news of Christ.
“Today if you hear his voice, do not harken your hearts”.
For us to realize our savior wants to change our lives and our attitudes toward the things of God.
That nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight, everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Closing:
Can you picture Jesus this morning?
He is by His Spirit this morning drawing you close this morning.
He is speaking to you, are you going to respond?
Scripture says unlike the other high priest, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for our sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Maybe you’re here this morning and you say I know this already.
Maybe you need to be reminded of the Christ that you have given your life too.
Maybe you need a check this morning to make sure you are not drifting away.
Make sure that nothing has taken Jesus place in your life.
Maybe you are here this morning, and you say, I get it
I need to commit my life to Christ. This is why Jesus came, so that He could be the mediator of a new covenant for me, so that I can be assured of heaven and stop having an unstable relationship with Christ.
Listen to me this morning.
That tugging on your heart is the Lord trying to get your attention. “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Throw off everything that hinders.
Throw off that sin this morning.
Fix your eyes on Jesus
The author and finisher of your faith.
In God’s great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you
Altar Call.
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