FBCWest 456 | The Preeminence of Jesus
Recorded On: 06/20/2021
Bulletin
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”
Praise and Worship
SCRIPTURE READING – Revelation 5:9 & 10
“Endless Light”
“Resurrecting”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“The Preeminence of Jesus”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Majesty” (Building 429)
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
“To God be the Glory”
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC – By Pru Hungate
Continued Praise and Worship
“Wonder”
“Love is War”
Benediction “Egypt”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
Hebrews 1:3(a) Jesus is the exact representation of the Father
Colossians 1:15 Jesus is the image of the invisible God
Hebrews 1:3(b) Jesus upholds all things by His power
Colossians 1:16 & 17 Jesus created all things and holds them together
Hebrews 1:3(c) Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
We started a new series in the book or Epistle to the.
Hebrews
a shortcut of knowing what the Book of Hebrews is about.
Is simply to say Jesus is greater.
Jesus is greater than anything that you might want to compare him to.
We started out in the first couple verses talking about the that God spoke and their God spoke in former times through his prophets in various Ways and Means an various portions in never gave the whole story to anyone profit. But it said in the last days he gave us his word through Jesus.
And we're going to go back to the second half of verse 2.
Because the writer of Hebrews tends to do lists tends to do things that is greater than we do. So, for instance, if I were to ask you.
What do you think about Jesus? You would say maybe he savior. Maybe he's Lord, maybe he's my buddy. Maybe he's whatever. And we tend to give one or two short reasons of who Jesus is. Not so with the writer of Hebrews. He's going to give us 7.
Characteristics or reasons why we ought to listen to Jesus.
And so looking back a little bit, at first two it says.
Whom he appointed air of all things.
So one of the reasons that we are to listen to Jesus is he's going to own it all.
It is.
It's not yours, it's not mine, it's not sayings. It's not whoever collects the most toys at the end of his life. Jesus is the heir of it all.
So if he's the heir of it all, he owns it all. Then he's someone we are to listen to.
The second reason that the writer of Hebrews gives us is that he also made the world.
So he is an authority on this world and Anjuke whiskey created you.
So we are to listen to him because he's creator.
Then we go to third verse 3 and he is the radiance of his glory.
He's the radiance of his glory.
He's
Jesus is like the sun that gives forth the light of the glory of God.
In the Old Testament, when it talked about that the Chicana glory would descend upon the Tabernacle or the temple, it often came in us in the form of a cloud or a fire.
Jesus is the radiance. It's not just something that you see and observe, he shines forth.
The glory of God. So we are to listen to him because Jesus shines forth that glory.
And.
It says.
The exact representation of his nature.
Now quickly I want you to turn to Colossians chapter one verse 16.
Well 15 first I'm sorry 15 and it says he that being Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. So Jesus is that image of the invisible God. So I want to get your minds to wrap around that.
We get this idea of image sometimes as being like.
Like on a coin or something that the image of George Washington is honored or whatever.
I pretty much can guarantee you on George Washington's works day. He looked better than the coin.
Jesus is the exact representation of the invisible God, so to kind of get you.
Some of you can see there on.
The screen.
That's not my exact representation.
You see the camera. The lens is a little curved, which means it adds about £10. So actually I'm a lot thinner than it appears up there. I'm closer to Arnold Schwarzenegger than I am that OK, and so that is not the exact image of me. And if you're not here and you're watching this message on a on a smart phone or your computer screen, I'm not that little.
That's not the exact image, it is an image of me, but it's not the exact image. So say OK, I got a better one. What if you looked into a mirror?
Even in the most high quality, mirror is not the exact image.
Why?
Because if I use my right hand to brush my teeth.
My image doesn't show my right hand.
Brushing my teeth. It shows exactly so. If I were to turn and look it would be my left hand brushing my teeth.
Because it reflects only.
Straight back, not my true image. It puts my right side.
On my left side and my left side on my right side, it is not the exact image.
Jesus is the exact image of God.
God's invisible. So if you want to know what God looks like, you look at Jesus. You want to know what God is like. You look at Jesus. Jesus is the exact image of God.
Why? Because he is God.
Anna Poles all things by the word.
Of his power.
It says.
That he holds all things, and so if you go back quickly to Colossians again with versa.
16 This is this, for by him all things were created both in the heavens and on the Earth, visible and Invisible, whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities or all things that have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. So what the scriptures tell us is not only did Jesus create everything.
He created.
The season the skies and the stars.
And the atoms that you can't see.
And the air that you can't see except on a smoggy day.
He also created angels and authorities and dominions. All the things that you can see in all the things that you cannot see. Jesus created them. But not only did he create them, and we also often give him credit if you will, for him creating things. But it also says he holds them together.
Even physics will tell you that they're not quite sure why Adam stick together.
They stick together by the power of Jesus.
He holds all things together and that is why we are to listen to him. Not only did he create everything, he holds it together, so when you're falling apart in your life, you can say Jesus hold me together. 'cause that's what you do.
Going back to Hebrews.
And when he made purifications of sins.
The 6th list of what Jesus has done, his characteristic and why we should listen to him because he made purifications of sin meant even though your sins were as scarlet they are now white as snow.
And again, we usually get looking at the wrong direction.
I'll give you an example of this.
You'll hear people say.
Well, so and so is so evil, and I'll let you fill in the blank. It might be somebody who in European history was some bad evil guy or somebody in Asian history or today who some really bad guy or maybe somebody in North America or Africa or South America or Australia. I've covered all the continents except Antarctica and there's not that many people there.
You can think of and you'll hear the words saying well, if that evil terrible person, can he get saved.
'cause we concentrate on the amount of sin.
Rather than effective the amount of purification that Jesus gives us.
He purified sense.
And the real question 'cause it gets off the mark 'cause we always want to say well will he forgive X person?
That you're relevant, does he forgive you?
'cause that's who we're talking about. We're talking about you and we're talking about me.
And the scripture says, you listen to Jesus because he purified your sins.
You are no longer condemned. You're no longer an outcast. You're no longer a Sinner. You're no longer dead, descend but you're alive. You're now a child of God. There are all of these things that you're now because Jesus purified your sins. He didn't just forgive them. He then just push them away. He made you pure.
So we listen to him because he purify's our sins.
And then finally he gives one other reason that we are to listen to him.
He sat down.
At the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Now that you all get different people who will give you different reasons why Jesus sat down.
And some of them are valid, and I'm not here to disagree with them, but I don't think that's the crux if you will.
When you see this, if you have any.
All testament knowledge. This oughta be odd to you.
Because on the day of atonement.
What would happen is this.
The high priest only the high priest only once a year.
What take?
A lamb or a goat.
And sacrifice it.
And take his blood and he would have a rope tide around him with bells on because he was afraid that God would reject the sacrifice.
And his job was to take that blood and place it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant for his sins.
So we'd be there and place the blood on the mercy seat that one time a year, and then he would leave, and then he would. If he survived, then offer another sacrifice and take that blood and place it on the mercy seat for the sins of the people of God.
An if he were successful, he would then leave, say, praise God. I didn't get kills an I'm going to be back one year from now.
But he never hung around in the Holy of Holies because he was an uninvited guest while he was only there for a brief moment to do one thing once a year.
He never.
Stayed.
But Jesus, as our high priest.
Place his blood.
Want he doesn't go back every year he placed it once on that mercy seat in the wheel Tabernacle, Temple of God.
Which caused us to be purified.
And then there will be those who say he sat down because it was finished. His job was complete. And yes, to a certain extent is true. However, there's going to be a time when he's going to get up from there, and he's going to come back not as a sacrificial lamb, but as the lion of Judah.
He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So his job, if you will, is not completely done. His job as far as our forgiveness an hour.
Being made a child of God is done, but his job is not done as far as his kingship.
I think the reason he sat down.
It's kind of. I think it's twofold one.
When I go home.
And I say I want to watch television.
I don't stand there and watch television.
'cause I'm home.
So I sit down.
Sometimes when we have a family meal, there's a particular place that I sit at because that's the place I'm supposed to sit. Other family members have maybe their places where they sit, but that's dad or Papa's place to sit 'cause it's my home. It's my place to sit and so Jesus is God, he's home.
So he's sitting down.
The other reason I believe that he sits down.
He's got.
He sits down at the right hand of God.
'cause he's God.
The son of God.
Who is God?
One of the reasons.
If you will, God determines who sits where.
But he sits at the right hand, showing that he is the express power of God. He is expressed authority of God. So when you are the right hand man or the right hand lady or the right hand, whoever you show that you are well connected and you have some authority, and the scriptures are saying Jesus sat down 'cause he's home and Jesus sat down 'cause he's God because he's connected to God. He's the authority of God. He is the power of God. He is connected to God.
And that's where he belongs.
It's his seat.
So why are we taking a look at?
This letter
'cause I'm so tired of people looking at Jesus as their boyfriend.
What a friend we have in Jesus.
We only call on Jesus when we want something. Jesus is a better Santa Claus. Can Santa Claus only comes once a year. Jesus comes whenever you need him.
We have such a low opinion of who Jesus is.
And we ought to have such a high opinion of who Jesus is, because the opinion is not whether he's high or low is. The fact is he is the creator, he is the sustainer. He is the exact representation of God. He is the one who is the glory of God. He is the one who made purification of our sins and he is the one who sat down at the right hand of God.
Yes, he wants a relationship with you.
He's not interested in listening to a Beatles song. I want to hold your hand.
I want you to recognize who I am, I'm Lord.
I also will call you brother and I also love you and I've given myself for you. And I've told everybody else that you're to love each other the way I have loved you. But he is God.
He's not at my beck and call. I'm at his.
There's Majesty and who Jesus is.
The church has so devalued him.
We even try to get people to be saved by saying, well, just pray this prayer, Jesus come into my life and be my savior. There's nowhere in the scriptures that it says that it says if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord.
Boss
you shall be saved.
But we just want fire insurance.
We don't want a true relationship because their true relationship with Jesus says your God.
Tell me what to do.
As opposed to what we want.
Dear Lord, here's what I want you to do.
And then we Polish it off with in your name.
7.
Characteristics.
Of who Jesus?
Yes.
Not was.
Yes.
Ann is high and lifted up as he is.
And as awesome as he is and the radiance of his who he is and the image of that invisible God who he is.
He still says, come all you are.
Heavy laden and I will give you rest.
He says, come.
This God.
With holy.
Creator High and lifted up.
Says
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but God demonstrated his love towards us. And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
You want to know how much he loves you. Look at the cross.
You want to know how much of a relationship he wants with you. Look at the cross.
But don't cheapen the cross to some Santa Claus expectation.
He's God.
One of my favorite lines in a movie called Rudy.
When Rudy was.
Confused at live and not turning out the way that he thought it should.
Went to his to a priest for.
Solace and wisdom and direction.
And the priest says there are two immutable facts.
There is a God and I'm not him.
We ought to say the same thing. There is a God and I'm not him.
God gets to do what God does.
I follow.
Jesus, who is the son of God, says I look to see what the father is doing and I do that.
If Jesus lived a successful life doing that, maybe we also ought to do that.
And confess that he is Lord.
Because he sat down.
At the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Majesty.
Not just a king and therefore you say, Your Majesty, he is majestic.
The very definition of the word.
He is high, he is lifted up. He is holy, he is majestic.
He sat at the right hand of The Majesty on high. When you look at God, you see Jesus.
So where do we go from here?
Think.
Consistently.
Who Jesus is.
And never cheapen that.
When you find yourself.
Wavering.
But Jesus can't do that well. Why can't he do it? He created all things. He sustains all things.
Well, Jesus wouldn't forgive me. Then you're lessening the fact that he purified for sins that he is God and his blood can.
Sends everyone.
The worst person you know.
The worst person you don't know.
But more importantly, you and me.
And when you say.
I just want to see God.
So.
I see Jesus.
I just saw him.
I just saw His Majesty.
And all God's people said.