February 16, 2025 • 34 mins
In this opening message of NewCity Orlando’s spring sermon series on Hebrews, Pastor of Formation & Mission Benjamin Kandt lays a foundation for understanding the book’s central theme: Jesus over everything. Preaching from Hebrews 1:1–2:4, he highlights seven ways Christ is superior—He is the heir, creator, radiance, imprint, sustainer, savior, and Lord.
Through vivid illustrations, historical context, and deep theological insights, Pastor Benjamin unpacks how the supremacy of Jesus calls us to draw near rather than drift away. He challenges us to see Jesus not merely as useful, but as beautiful—worthy of our highest love and devotion. Drawing on themes of perseverance, worship, and trust, he reminds us that in a world constantly vying for our attention and allegiance, Christ alone is unshakable. Whether you feel close to God or find yourself drifting, this sermon calls you to reorient your heart and life around the One who holds all things together.
Whether you're familiar with Hebrews or exploring it for the first time, this sermon will encourage you to fix your eyes on Christ, who reigns over all.
For more resources, visit newcityorlando.com.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone, this is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City Orlando.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
At New City we believe.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
All of us need all of Jesus for all of life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Good morning, please pray theprayer of illumination with me.
Good morning, please pray theprayer of illumination with me.
Holy Spirit, open our hearts tohear your word and, through
your word, create in our heartsa home for your presence that we
(00:35):
might live for the glory of theFather and the kingdom of his
beloved Son.
Through Jesus Christ, we prayAmen.
Today's scripture comes fromHebrews 1,.
1 through 2 through 4, if Isaid that right Long ago.
At many times and in many ways,god spoke to our fathers by the
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prophets, but in these lastdays he has spoken to us by his
Son, whom he appointed the heirof all things, through whom also
he created the world.
He is the radiance of the gloryof God and the exact imprint of
his nature, and he upholds theuniverse by the word of his
(01:21):
power.
After making purification forsins, he sat down at the right
hand of the majesty on high.
I need to read from my phone.
I'm so sorry it's so small.
Wow, I'm impressed that I gotit that far.
Okay, let's see where I am.
Do you have it?
Oh, I can turn around too.
(01:43):
It.
Oh, I can turn around too.
No, this is getting awkward.
Oh, and a Bible.
I think I'm just going to turn.
This is really funny.
Hi, damien, thanks, let's gofrom.
Where was I Having?
Thank you, okay, having becomeno, no, no, having become as
(02:06):
much superior to angels as thename he has inherited is more
excellent than heirs.
For to which of the angels didGod ever say you are my son.
Today, I have begotten you, oragain, I will be to him a father
and he shall be a son.
And again, when he brings thefirstborn into the world, he
(02:28):
says let all God's angelsworship him.
Of the angels, he says he makeshis angels winds and his
ministers a flame of fire.
But of the son, he says yourthrone, o God, is forever and
ever.
The scepter of uprightness isthe scepter of your kingdom.
(02:49):
You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness.
Therefore, god, your God, hasanointed you with the oil of
gladness beyond your companions.
And you, lord, laid thefoundation of the earth in the
beginning, and the heavens areat the work of your hands.
They will perish, but youremain.
(03:11):
They will all wear out like agarment, like a robe.
You will roll them up Like agarment.
They will be changed, but youare the same and your years will
have no end.
And to which of the angels hashe ever said sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies afootstool for your feet.
(03:33):
Are they not all ministeringspirits sent out to serve for
the sake of those who are toinherit salvation?
Therefore, we must pay muchcloser attention to what we have
heard, lest we drift away fromit.
For since the message declaredby angels proved to be reliable
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and every transgression ordisobedience received a just
retribution, how shall we escapeif we neglect such a great
salvation?
It was declared at first by theLord and it was attested to us
by those who heard, while Godalso bore witness by signs and
(04:17):
wonders and various miracles andby gifts of the Holy Spirit
distributed according to hiswill.
This is God's word you may beseated.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Thank you, rocky, great job.
Well, we begin a sermon seriesthis morning through the book of
Hebrews.
So from today this will take usthrough the end of May, and you
can look behind me and see that.
This image shows that we have apattern of preaching through
(04:54):
New Testament books in thespring, old Testament books in
the fall, and that's why westart a series through the book
of Hebrews today.
We finished Leviticus in lastfall, we're going to start
Numbers this upcoming fall, andHebrews creates a good bridge
between Leviticus and Numbers,which is why we're preaching
through it this spring.
(05:14):
Now, if you're familiar with theministry calendar, that was in
the shape of a diamond.
This is the exact same thing.
It's just somebody in ourcongregation said, hey, I might
have a better way to representthat visually, and they were
right.
And so this is the sameministry calendar, just with a
little bit of a different flairto it.
So why Hebrews?
Well, I want this sermon to bea little bit of an introduction
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to the series and to take up ourtext in Hebrews 1, which
introduces the book as a whole.
So anytime you read a book ofscripture, it's always important
to ask a few questions like whowrote this book?
We don't know, that's theanswer, because it doesn't tell
us, which is a little unique forthe New Testament.
But what we do know is that ithad an author that really
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matters, the Holy Ghost, and sothat's why it's in the canon of
scripture.
Now, who's the audience?
Who's it written to?
We do know something about that.
We know that this book waswritten most likely to some
urban Christians, because theword city and cities shows up a
lot, and so commentators it's alittle conjecture, but think
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that these were probably urbanChristians, much like we are.
The other thing that we know isthat they knew their Bible
because the author of Hebrewscan't help but quote scripture
continually throughout thiswhole book and so they were
probably of Jewish origin andthey knew the Hebrew Bible, what
we would call Genesis throughMalachi.
The other thing we know is thatthey probably lived in a little
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bit of a pluralisticenvironment when they were
experiencing pressure because oftheir faith in Jesus, something
similar to what we experiencedas well, and so, because of that
pressure, there was atemptation to quote drift away.
That's language I get fromHebrews 2, verse 1.
If you look there, it says thislanguage of drift away.
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And the contrast throughout thebook of Hebrews, rather than
drifting away, is the call todraw near, which shows up seven
times throughout the book ofHebrews, which is a perfect
number in scripture.
Does anybody else in here feelthe tendency to drift away from
Jesus?
And the book of Hebrews hassomething to say to you, right?
(07:22):
It's actually helpful to me therealism of this.
Somebody has said drifting doesnot take any effort at all.
Just stop cultivating theknowledge of Christ, and the
current of secularism does therest.
That's where we live.
So the opposite of driftingaway is to draw near.
And I want to summarize the bookof Hebrews in three words.
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The whole book, three words.
I'm a simple man, I like simplesummaries here.
It is Jesus over everything.
That's the book of Hebrews inthree words, and it's a little
bit of a double entendre in thissense.
Jesus over everything, in thathe is Lord over everything.
He's placed over everything,but Jesus over everything in
that he is our highest love.
We prefer him over everything.
He's placed over everything,but Jesus over everything in
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that he is our highest love.
We prefer him over everything.
Jesus over everything.
That's what Hebrews is aboutNow, the way that Hebrews, the
strategy of this book to getyour heart to recognize and to
appreciate Jesus over everything.
It's a little unique.
So in math which, by the way,if I make an illustration, come
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from math, it's a little riskybecause I'm a words guy, but
here it is In math there'ssomething called sets.
In set theory there's a centeredset and a bounded set.
Now, a bounded set is kind oflike a box you know what's in
and what's out.
That's how you decide whatthings are.
A centered set is more like ifyou drew a point on the center
of a piece of paper and youdetermined things based on their
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proximity to the center, eithernear to or away from the center
, if I lost you.
Let me try to make that plain.
Australian shepherds the people,not the dogs.
Australian shepherds often findin the outback that in order to
keep their cattle where theywant them, if they build a fence
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, oftentimes what happens is thecattle will push against the
fence, knock it over and escape.
That's a bounded set they find.
Actually, the better strategyis to dig a well in the center
of their property and the cattledraw near to drink deeply and
they stay where they want themto be.
That's the strategy of the bookof Hebrews.
It's a centered set Becausesome of you in this room this
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morning you belong to Jesus, butyou've been drifting away.
Others of you in this room, youdon't belong to Jesus but you
find yourself strangely drawingnear to him.
Welcome, we're so glad to haveyou, all of you, wherever you
find yourself.
And the strategy of Hebrews andthis sermon series is to dig a
well and to show you that Jesusis better, that he is over
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everything, so you can come withyour parched tongue and slake
your thirst in the middle of theoutback sun.
That's what we're going to bedoing together.
So, if you have a Bible ordevice, get Hebrews 1 in front
of you.
We're going to look at verses 1through 4, really, that's where
we're digging in and we'regoing to see how Jesus is over
everything from Hebrews 1.
(10:12):
And this is in Greek just onesingle sentence verses 1 through
4.
And it's significant becausethis single sentence sets up
themes that will be tracedthroughout the entire book of
Hebrews.
It's almost like a thesisstatement for this whole book.
So look with me at Hebrews,chapter 1, verse 1.
This is what it says.
(10:34):
Long ago, at many times and inmany ways.
God spoke to our fathers by theprophets, but in these last
days he has spoken to us by hisson.
That could be translated in hisson.
Now there's something justessential we can't miss here God
spoke.
God has something to say.
I got into an argument in asports bar with an Eastern
(10:58):
Orthodox monk, as one does, overwhether or not God preferred to
speak or to be silent.
Now I got fired up in thisconversation, so much so that I
had to repent of my demeanor,but I did not repent of my
doctrine.
God loves to speak.
He is a verbal God, he is aloquacious God, he has something
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to say and he's been speakingfor a long time.
That's what the scripture herewants you to see is that God
spoke From Genesis to Revelation.
God is very verbal.
Now, why does he start here?
Well, because this book isreally more of a library of
books.
It's 66 texts.
These texts were written inthree different languages by
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over 40 authors on threedifferent continents In 2,000
years span, all telling onecentral story that Jesus is over
everything.
Now, this book was written inall of life and for all of life.
Some of its authors arefishermen and kings, politicians
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and priests, shepherds andfarmers, murderers and doctors.
Yet in all of scripturesChristians hold this book and
with confidence we say God spokeWith that.
The Bible must be essential,vital for disciple making,
because there's no way to drawnear to Jesus unless you draw
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near to the Jesus portrayed onthe pages of this book.
But look with me at the textagain, verse one.
It says God spoke to ourfathers by the prophets.
But now what's the contrastbeing made here?
But in these last days he hasspoken to us by the prophets.
But now what's the contrastbeing made here?
But in these last days he hasspoken to us by his son.
What is this contrast?
Is it the Old Testament is badand the New Testament is good?
Is that what the author istrying to get at?
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Well, we know that can't be it,because then this author of
Hebrews spends the entire bookquoting the Old Testament to
prove every point that thisauthor is trying to make.
So that would be crazy.
If what he's trying to do isundermine the authority of the
Old Testament and then quote itauthoritatively throughout the
whole book.
So that can't be what's goingon here.
No, the contrast between OldTestament and New Testament is
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the contrast between acorn andoak tree, between moonlight and
sunlight.
It's like growing up in theMidwest.
I would walk down into mybasement and at the bottom of
the steps I'd flip the switch onand it would bring light and
I'd see all the furniture there.
The furniture was there allalong, but not until the light
came could you see it?
That's the Old Testament.
It's all there.
(13:30):
But when Jesus, the light ofthe world, comes, he illumines
everything and you see the OldTestament with new eyes.
That's how the author ofHebrews is going to teach you to
read your Bible.
Now, as we look at the text here, there's this point that's
being made, which is that Jesusis supreme over every prior
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revelation.
Now I want to look at that,because it's almost as if the
author of Hebrews gets caught upand lost in wonder, love and
praise.
In verse two You'll see thisand I'm going to point out.
We're going to walk very slowlythrough these next verses here
because I'm going to point outwhat I'm calling the seven
superiorities of the son.
So I have seven sub points topoint number one.
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Here we go.
The first thing I want to do ispoint out I get that from verse
four.
Here's the word Having becomeas much superior.
There's this language superiorto angels, as the name he has
inherited is more excellent thantheirs.
Now, if you're going to readHebrews one and two, you got to
ask this question why angelsLike?
What's the big deal with angels?
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Well, two things.
In the story of scriptures,whenever angels show up, they
strike awe and fear, even terror, in human beings.
They are exalted beings, and soif Jesus is over everything,
including angels, jesus must becategorically different than a
creature.
The second reason is becausethe angels according to Acts 2
(14:58):
and Galatians 3, the angelsactually had a role in bringing
the old covenant into place, andso Jesus is over everything,
including his new covenant isover the old covenant, and this
stuff's going to get unpackedover the next few weeks here.
But with that, I want to askthis question how is Jesus
better, superior over everything, how?
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What makes him more excellent?
Well, look with me at the textand we're going to see that
Jesus is over everything becausehe's the heir, the creator, the
radiance, the imprint, thesustainer, the savior and the
Lord.
Seven, perfect number.
Here we go.
The heir, verse two.
It says this by his son, whomhe appointed the heir of all
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things.
It's very simple here A soninherits the father's house, not
a servant, and the author ofHebrews tells us in verse 14
that angels are simply servants,but Jesus is the son.
Verse two the firstborn verse 6.
The heir of all things verse 2,that belong to the father's
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house, all that is the father'sbelongs to the son.
But what is this inheritancethat the son receives from the
father?
We have a clue here, because inHebrews 1, 5, the author quotes
Psalm 2, which says you are myson.
Today I have begotten you.
If you read Psalm 2 in itscontext, which is how the New
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Testament's hyperlink with theOld Testament, as you're
supposed to read the OldTestament reference in its
entirety, then you get what'sgoing on.
If you read Psalm 2 and ask thequestion what is this
inheritance that the Fathergives to the Son?
It's you.
You're the inheritance.
Why does that matter?
Because what do you give tosomeone who has everything?
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You give them a people fortheir own possession, who prefer
Jesus over everything.
That's the only thing that thefather could give to the son
that he doesn't already have.
Jesus has the cattle on athousand hills, but what he
wants is a billion surrenderedhearts.
Jesus over everything, thatpreference welling up from the
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inside coming out.
That's what Jesus wants.
How did he get that?
By being fastened to a cross tomake you fascinated by him.
Being fastened to a cross tomake you fascinated by him so
that you could say from theheart I want Jesus over
everything.
So Jesus is over everything asthe heir, but not only as the
heir, but as the creator.
Look again with me at verse 2.
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It says this through whom?
That is Jesus also.
He that is the father createdthe world.
Jesus over everything, becausehe is the creator.
Something again is happeninghere with the way that Hebrews
quotes the Old Testament Inchapter 1, verse 10,.
If you look here, it quotesPsalm 102, our call to worship
this morning.
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And Psalm 102 says this you,lord, laid the foundation of the
earth in the beginning and theheavens are the work of your
hands.
Pause for a moment.
Notice what's happening here.
Jesus is the one who, in thebeginning, created heaven and
earth.
That's what Hebrews.
That's the claim Hebrews ismaking right now.
Jesus is Yahweh, the Godrevealed in the Hebrew Bible.
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That's the point of this text,which means that any religion
that denies the full deity ofJesus Christ, whether it be
Muslims or Mormons, jehovah'sWitnesses or Unitarians does not
know the true and living Godrevealed in Jesus Christ, full
stop.
Because Jesus is overeverything, not only as the
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creator, but also as theradiance.
Look with me at verse three.
Verse three says he is theradiance of the glory of God.
Jesus over everything becausehe is the shining reflection of
God's own glory.
Now, the sun in the sky I'mtalking about the sun gives us
light and life to the world.
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Without the sun, we'd be livingin darkness.
In the same way, the sun S-O-N.
Gives us light and life.
Without it, without him, wewould be in darkness about who
God is, because he's theradiance of God.
He's the bright, shining forthof God.
He's the effulgence of God.
We see who God is in the Son.
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Now it's important to note Jesusis not simply a mirror that
reflects God's glory.
You are that, that's what youare.
You are a mirror that reflectsGod's glory.
Jesus is far more than that.
Jesus is the divine glory, somuch so that angels ought to
worship him.
Look at the text.
It says in Hebrews, 1, verse 6,let all God's to worship him.
Look at the text it says inHebrews, chapter 1, verse 6.
Let all God's angels worshiphim.
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Now there's a little excursushere At the end of the wild ride
.
That is the book of Revelation,chapter 22, verse 8.
The apostle John, who wrote thebook of Revelation, says this
when I heard and saw thesethings, all the things that
happen wrote the book ofRevelation says this when I
heard and saw these things, allthe things that happen in the
book of Revelation, it says, Ifell down to worship at the feet
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of the angel.
That showed them to me.
Bad idea, look what happens.
But the angel said to me youmust not do that.
I am a fellow servant with youand your brothers, the prophets,
and with those who keep thewords of this book.
Then he says worship God.
And yet God, according to ourtext, says to the angels worship
Jesus.
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This is significant becauseright now, in this very moment,
if, if the veil could be pulledback and you could see into the
throne room of God in this verymoment, what you would see would
be these creatures around thethrone of God that were so
glorious and so awesome that youwould be tempted to worship
them.
But if you waited long enoughto look at what they were
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looking at and you followedtheir gaze and you saw the one
seated on the throne.
The Revelation, chapter 4, verse8, says that they never cease
to say to one another, holy,holy.
Cease to say to one another,holy, holy, holy is the Lord,
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god Almighty, who was and who isand who is to come.
Never cease to say.
For thousands of years, they'venot gotten bored of seeing
Jesus and saying holy, holy,holy.
Why are we so bored?
I think it's because we don'tsee his glory.
If we saw him, we would saywhat they say.
We wouldn't be able to helpourselves.
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So what do they see?
What is this glory of God?
One theologian puts it like thisthe glory is the admirable
conjunction of diverseexcellencies.
That's what you were going tosay, too right.
I prefer to just say it likethis the glory of God is what I
would just call paradoxicalpolarities, not much better.
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This is what I mean, though.
Jesus has these virtues thatseem incompatible, but when they
come together into this oneperson, they're combined in such
a way that they're strikinglybeautiful.
Here's what I mean.
Jesus combines the highestmajesty with the greatest
humility in one person.
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Jesus himself is able to jointhe strongest commitment to
justice with astonishing mercyand grace.
Jesus reveals himself with atranscendent self-sufficiency,
yet he has a total dependency onhis heavenly father.
Jesus is surprising to us whenwe see his tenderness without
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weakness, his boldness withoutharshness, his humility without
uncertainty.
Jesus has unbending convictionswith a complete approachability
.
Somehow this man has thisinsistence on truth, yet it's
always bathed in love.
This man has a power withoutinsensitivity, an integrity
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without rigidity, passionwithout prejudice, because this
Jesus is the radiance of theglory of God.
That's what Hebrews wants youto see Now.
Jesus is over everything, notonly because he's the radiance,
but also because he's theimprint.
Look with me at verse 3.
Verse 3 says that he is theexact imprint of his nature.
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If the radiance is thisoutshining, the imprint is his
internal character, which isactually the Greek word for
imprint.
It's the word character fromwhich we get the word character.
Now, when we talk aboutcharacters, we talk about
characters in a play, we talkabout the characters of a
language that are written down,we talk about a person's
character.
What do all three of those havein common?
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Well, they all come from aconcrete process of taking soft
metal and imprinting a mold ontothat soft metal.
You've done this before Ifyou've ever gone to a tourist
attraction and they had thosemachines where you put in a
quarter and a penny and you kindof turn the crank right and it
pops out and it says likewelcome to Mount Rushmore.
And you got the thing right,you imprinted it.
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That's the word character.
Jesus is perfectly imprintedwith the character of God.
He is the exact, the soft metalof the sun's.
Human nature has the being ofGod perfectly imprinted upon it.
That's what the author istrying to get you to see here.
But what does that mean inpractice?
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Well, hebrews 1, 9 quotes Psalm45, and it says this you have
loved righteousness and hatedwickedness.
In other words, the rightthings always made Jesus mad,
sad and glad because his loveswere properly ordered.
Right Discipleship to Jesus islearning from Jesus to love what
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God loves and hate what Godhates.
That's how you grow incharacter.
But Jesus is over everything,not only because he's the
imprint, but also as thesustainer.
Look at verse 3.
It says and he upholds theuniverse by the word of his
power.
Barbara Boyd, the woman whotaught Tim Keller how to read
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the Bible, thank you, barbara.
She has this illustration.
She says if the distance fromthe earth to the sun is 93
million miles, and if it was thethickness of a sheet of paper,
then the distance to the neareststar would be a stack of paper
70 feet high.
The diameter of our galaxywould be a stack 310 miles high,
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and our galaxy is just a speckin the observable universe.
But Hebrews 1.3 says that JesusChrist holds all of that
together with just a single word.
If that's so, is this the kindof person you invite into your
life to be your assistant, toconsult with about?
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You know, a guru on certainlife hacks?
No, in fact, jesus will be manythings to you, but one thing he
will never be is second.
So let me ask you is Jesus yourking or your consultant?
So let me ask you is Jesus yourking or your consultant?
Is Jesus your sustainer or yoursecretary?
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This is important if we'regoing to take Jesus as he is.
There's no middle ground.
But Jesus is not only oursustainer, but he's also our
savior.
Verse 3 says this, after makingpurification for sins.
Now, we might not track withthat, but that almost sounds
like a record scratch.
Everything up to this point hasbeen about Jesus being exalted
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and majestic and transcendent,and yet something just happened
here.
How did Jesus make purificationfor sins?
Well, the God of might andmajesty, the one who's worthy of
angel worship, is betrayed andbeaten, mocked and spat upon,
crucified and killed.
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Melito of Sardis, who was aroundin AD 180, who's probably a
disciple of a disciple of adisciple of Jesus.
Okay, this is the way Melito ofSardis says it.
He who suspended the earth issuspended.
He who fixed the heavens isfixed by nails.
He who fastened all things isfastened to the wood.
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God is murdered.
I don't know if I would havesaid it so audaciously.
God is murdered and yet it'slisted as one of his
excellencies.
You see, because we cannot knowGod except through the cross of
Christ.
The full brilliance of God'sglory has to be refracted
through the lens of the cross.
(27:34):
It's the only way you can knowGod.
Rightly, the heir left hisinheritance so we could share in
it.
The creator was crucified byhis own creatures.
The radiance of God was killedunder a dark sky.
The imprint of God was crushedbeyond resemblance.
The one who holds the universetogether by the word of his
power was holding together theatoms in the arm of the Roman
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soldier as he swung the hammerto pierce the nails through his
arm.
This is the God that we worshipin Jesus Christ.
This is our Savior.
One commentator said this forall his resplendent glory and
dazzling holiness, his supremeuniqueness and otherness, no one
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in human history has ever beenmore approachable than Jesus
Christ.
So draw near, come home to theFather through the Son.
But he's not only our Savior,he's also our Lord.
Verse 3 says this he sat downat the right hand of the majesty
on high.
There's something scandalousabout the idea that the dust of
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earth is now seated on thethrone of heaven.
Your humanity is exalted insovereignty over all galaxies.
That's what it means that Jesussat down at the right hand of
the majesty on high.
You see, if Jesus is overeverything, then it's the death
of what's called thesecular-sacred divide, this
(29:05):
false notion that some thingsreally matter to God.
And then there's the rest oflife.
Like what you're doing rightnow, good on you, you're in the
sacred space, I think right.
But then what you do tomorrow,at this time, it doesn't really
matter.
Jesus over everything is thedeath to that notion, because it
means that when Jesusresurrected and gave his
disciples the commission, hesaid all authority in heaven and
(29:27):
earth belongs to me.
What is accepted from that?
Nothing.
Abraham Kuyper famously put itlike this there is not a square
inch in the whole domain of ourhuman existence over which
Christ, who is sovereign overall, does not cry mine.
He said that as the inauguraladdress when he started the Free
(29:49):
University of Amsterdam in the1800s, and that university was
started for the same reason.
Every university was designed,which is to show how the diverse
disciplines of the arts and thesciences, and math and
engineering and communication,all these different disciplines,
the diverse disciplines, havetheir unity under Jesus as Lord
(30:11):
over all.
That's why universities,universities, were started.
He gives them unity becauseJesus is Lord over all domains
of human existence.
I don't think universities worklike that as much anymore, but
that's how they were started,that's where we get that
language.
(30:32):
And so why does that matter?
Because Jesus is Lord and he'scalling a people to go out into
every sphere and sector ofsociety as disciples of him,
working out his lordship intheir lives and through their
lives, wherever you findyourself tomorrow, at this time.
His lordship in their lives andthrough their lives, wherever
you find yourself tomorrow, atthis time.
That's what we're about at NewCity.
That's what we mean when we saywe call and we form and we send
disciples who make disciples.
(30:52):
It's this, this isn't theend-all, be-all in here.
God has made you, he's calledyou, he's formed you, he's
sending you out into all ofthose places as disciples of
this king, this Lord.
But unless we sincerely believethat Jesus is over everything,
every moment, every place, everyperson, the new city will not
have the unshakable foundationfor mission in all of life.
(31:17):
So with that, why does this allmatter?
It all matters because if we'regoing to avoid drifting away,
we need to find Jesus to bebeautiful and not just useful.
You see, nominal ChristiansChristian in name only find
Jesus useful for getting whatthey really want.
True Christians find Jesusbeautiful in and of himself.
(31:38):
Do you find him beautiful thismorning, like, do you prefer
Jesus over everything thismorning, wherever you find
yourself?
You might ask the question.
I've received this.
How do I respond to this?
The text gives us this reallysimple imperative pay attention,
look with me at chapter 2,verse 1.
(31:58):
It says this, therefore,therefore, okay, in light of
everything I just got done,saying in Hebrews 1.
Therefore, we must pay muchcloser attention to what we have
heard lest we drift away fromit.
For since the message declaredby angels proved to be reliable
and every transgression anddisobedience received a just
(32:19):
retribution, how shall we escapeif we neglect such a great
salvation?
I love the realism of the Bible.
Drifting is not dramatic, it'ssubtle.
It's subtle.
The opposite of drifting, whichresults from quote neglect in
chapter 2, verse 3, is to payattention chapter 2, verse 1.
(32:41):
And this is as much for us hereand now as it was for them
there and then maybe even moreso.
People have argued that we livenow in what's called an
attention economy.
Tristan Harris, the conscienceof Silicon Valley, says that he
calls this an arms race forpeople's attention.
Listen, if you have an app onyour phone that's free, it's
(33:05):
because you're not the customer,you're the product.
Your attention is being boughtand sold.
That's why it's free to you todownload whatever apps you use.
You're being bought and sold bymega companies in this
attention economy.
So when the author of Hebrewssays, pay attention, this is a
big deal.
If you don't take my word.
(33:26):
Or Hebrews, take Qui-Gon Jinn'sword, who said it's a Star Wars
reference.
Your focus determines yourreality.
Listen, if we don't preferJesus over everything, it's
because we neglect to look athim.
If we don't place Jesus overeverything, then we must pay
closer attention.
According to Hebrews, ianMcGilchrist, who might be the
(33:48):
most renowned psychiatrist andneuroscientist, says this the
type of attention you paygoverns what it is you find.
In other words, will we attendto Jesus such that we find him
superior to all else?
That's the question, and that'swhat the rest of this sermon
(34:09):
series is for.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we come to you now,not strong but weak, not
focused but distracted, not withfull attention but with divided
hearts.
Would you draw us to yoursupremacy over all things now?
(34:29):
Would you give us a glimpse?
We want to see what the angelssee.
We want to feel what the angelsfeel as they behold your glory
in the heavenly throne room.
We pray in your name and foryour sake, amen.
Hello everyone, this is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City Orlando.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
At New City we believe.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
All of us need all of Jesus for all of life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Good morning, please pray theprayer of illumination with me.
Good morning, please pray theprayer of illumination with me.
Holy Spirit, open our hearts tohear your word and, through
your word, create in our heartsa home for your presence that we
(00:35):
might live for the glory of theFather and the kingdom of his
beloved Son.
Through Jesus Christ, we prayAmen.
Today's scripture comes fromHebrews 1,.
1 through 2 through 4, if Isaid that right Long ago.
At many times and in many ways,god spoke to our fathers by the
(00:58):
prophets, but in these lastdays he has spoken to us by his
Son, whom he appointed the heirof all things, through whom also
he created the world.
He is the radiance of the gloryof God and the exact imprint of
his nature, and he upholds theuniverse by the word of his
(01:21):
power.
After making purification forsins, he sat down at the right
hand of the majesty on high.
I need to read from my phone.
I'm so sorry it's so small.
Wow, I'm impressed that I gotit that far.
Okay, let's see where I am.
Do you have it?
Oh, I can turn around too.
(01:43):
It.
Oh, I can turn around too.
No, this is getting awkward.
Oh, and a Bible.
I think I'm just going to turn.
This is really funny.
Hi, damien, thanks, let's gofrom.
Where was I Having?
Thank you, okay, having becomeno, no, no, having become as
(02:06):
much superior to angels as thename he has inherited is more
excellent than heirs.
For to which of the angels didGod ever say you are my son.
Today, I have begotten you, oragain, I will be to him a father
and he shall be a son.
And again, when he brings thefirstborn into the world, he
(02:28):
says let all God's angelsworship him.
Of the angels, he says he makeshis angels winds and his
ministers a flame of fire.
But of the son, he says yourthrone, o God, is forever and
ever.
The scepter of uprightness isthe scepter of your kingdom.
(02:49):
You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness.
Therefore, god, your God, hasanointed you with the oil of
gladness beyond your companions.
And you, lord, laid thefoundation of the earth in the
beginning, and the heavens areat the work of your hands.
They will perish, but youremain.
(03:11):
They will all wear out like agarment, like a robe.
You will roll them up Like agarment.
They will be changed, but youare the same and your years will
have no end.
And to which of the angels hashe ever said sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies afootstool for your feet.
(03:33):
Are they not all ministeringspirits sent out to serve for
the sake of those who are toinherit salvation?
Therefore, we must pay muchcloser attention to what we have
heard, lest we drift away fromit.
For since the message declaredby angels proved to be reliable
(03:56):
and every transgression ordisobedience received a just
retribution, how shall we escapeif we neglect such a great
salvation?
It was declared at first by theLord and it was attested to us
by those who heard, while Godalso bore witness by signs and
(04:17):
wonders and various miracles andby gifts of the Holy Spirit
distributed according to hiswill.
This is God's word you may beseated.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Thank you, rocky, great job.
Well, we begin a sermon seriesthis morning through the book of
Hebrews.
So from today this will take usthrough the end of May, and you
can look behind me and see that.
This image shows that we have apattern of preaching through
(04:54):
New Testament books in thespring, old Testament books in
the fall, and that's why westart a series through the book
of Hebrews today.
We finished Leviticus in lastfall, we're going to start
Numbers this upcoming fall, andHebrews creates a good bridge
between Leviticus and Numbers,which is why we're preaching
through it this spring.
(05:14):
Now, if you're familiar with theministry calendar, that was in
the shape of a diamond.
This is the exact same thing.
It's just somebody in ourcongregation said, hey, I might
have a better way to representthat visually, and they were
right.
And so this is the sameministry calendar, just with a
little bit of a different flairto it.
So why Hebrews?
Well, I want this sermon to bea little bit of an introduction
(05:36):
to the series and to take up ourtext in Hebrews 1, which
introduces the book as a whole.
So anytime you read a book ofscripture, it's always important
to ask a few questions like whowrote this book?
We don't know, that's theanswer, because it doesn't tell
us, which is a little unique forthe New Testament.
But what we do know is that ithad an author that really
(05:57):
matters, the Holy Ghost, and sothat's why it's in the canon of
scripture.
Now, who's the audience?
Who's it written to?
We do know something about that.
We know that this book waswritten most likely to some
urban Christians, because theword city and cities shows up a
lot, and so commentators it's alittle conjecture, but think
(06:17):
that these were probably urbanChristians, much like we are.
The other thing that we know isthat they knew their Bible
because the author of Hebrewscan't help but quote scripture
continually throughout thiswhole book and so they were
probably of Jewish origin andthey knew the Hebrew Bible, what
we would call Genesis throughMalachi.
The other thing we know is thatthey probably lived in a little
(06:39):
bit of a pluralisticenvironment when they were
experiencing pressure because oftheir faith in Jesus, something
similar to what we experiencedas well, and so, because of that
pressure, there was atemptation to quote drift away.
That's language I get fromHebrews 2, verse 1.
If you look there, it says thislanguage of drift away.
(07:01):
And the contrast throughout thebook of Hebrews, rather than
drifting away, is the call todraw near, which shows up seven
times throughout the book ofHebrews, which is a perfect
number in scripture.
Does anybody else in here feelthe tendency to drift away from
Jesus?
And the book of Hebrews hassomething to say to you, right?
(07:22):
It's actually helpful to me therealism of this.
Somebody has said drifting doesnot take any effort at all.
Just stop cultivating theknowledge of Christ, and the
current of secularism does therest.
That's where we live.
So the opposite of driftingaway is to draw near.
And I want to summarize the bookof Hebrews in three words.
(07:45):
The whole book, three words.
I'm a simple man, I like simplesummaries here.
It is Jesus over everything.
That's the book of Hebrews inthree words, and it's a little
bit of a double entendre in thissense.
Jesus over everything, in thathe is Lord over everything.
He's placed over everything,but Jesus over everything in
that he is our highest love.
We prefer him over everything.
He's placed over everything,but Jesus over everything in
(08:05):
that he is our highest love.
We prefer him over everything.
Jesus over everything.
That's what Hebrews is aboutNow, the way that Hebrews, the
strategy of this book to getyour heart to recognize and to
appreciate Jesus over everything.
It's a little unique.
So in math which, by the way,if I make an illustration, come
(08:26):
from math, it's a little riskybecause I'm a words guy, but
here it is In math there'ssomething called sets.
In set theory there's a centeredset and a bounded set.
Now, a bounded set is kind oflike a box you know what's in
and what's out.
That's how you decide whatthings are.
A centered set is more like ifyou drew a point on the center
of a piece of paper and youdetermined things based on their
(08:48):
proximity to the center, eithernear to or away from the center
, if I lost you.
Let me try to make that plain.
Australian shepherds the people,not the dogs.
Australian shepherds often findin the outback that in order to
keep their cattle where theywant them, if they build a fence
(09:09):
, oftentimes what happens is thecattle will push against the
fence, knock it over and escape.
That's a bounded set they find.
Actually, the better strategyis to dig a well in the center
of their property and the cattledraw near to drink deeply and
they stay where they want themto be.
That's the strategy of the bookof Hebrews.
It's a centered set Becausesome of you in this room this
(09:31):
morning you belong to Jesus, butyou've been drifting away.
Others of you in this room, youdon't belong to Jesus but you
find yourself strangely drawingnear to him.
Welcome, we're so glad to haveyou, all of you, wherever you
find yourself.
And the strategy of Hebrews andthis sermon series is to dig a
well and to show you that Jesusis better, that he is over
(09:52):
everything, so you can come withyour parched tongue and slake
your thirst in the middle of theoutback sun.
That's what we're going to bedoing together.
So, if you have a Bible ordevice, get Hebrews 1 in front
of you.
We're going to look at verses 1through 4, really, that's where
we're digging in and we'regoing to see how Jesus is over
everything from Hebrews 1.
(10:12):
And this is in Greek just onesingle sentence verses 1 through
4.
And it's significant becausethis single sentence sets up
themes that will be tracedthroughout the entire book of
Hebrews.
It's almost like a thesisstatement for this whole book.
So look with me at Hebrews,chapter 1, verse 1.
This is what it says.
(10:34):
Long ago, at many times and inmany ways.
God spoke to our fathers by theprophets, but in these last
days he has spoken to us by hisson.
That could be translated in hisson.
Now there's something justessential we can't miss here God
spoke.
God has something to say.
I got into an argument in asports bar with an Eastern
(10:58):
Orthodox monk, as one does, overwhether or not God preferred to
speak or to be silent.
Now I got fired up in thisconversation, so much so that I
had to repent of my demeanor,but I did not repent of my
doctrine.
God loves to speak.
He is a verbal God, he is aloquacious God, he has something
(11:20):
to say and he's been speakingfor a long time.
That's what the scripture herewants you to see is that God
spoke From Genesis to Revelation.
God is very verbal.
Now, why does he start here?
Well, because this book isreally more of a library of
books.
It's 66 texts.
These texts were written inthree different languages by
(11:44):
over 40 authors on threedifferent continents In 2,000
years span, all telling onecentral story that Jesus is over
everything.
Now, this book was written inall of life and for all of life.
Some of its authors arefishermen and kings, politicians
(12:05):
and priests, shepherds andfarmers, murderers and doctors.
Yet in all of scripturesChristians hold this book and
with confidence we say God spokeWith that.
The Bible must be essential,vital for disciple making,
because there's no way to drawnear to Jesus unless you draw
(12:26):
near to the Jesus portrayed onthe pages of this book.
But look with me at the textagain, verse one.
It says God spoke to ourfathers by the prophets.
But now what's the contrastbeing made here?
But in these last days he hasspoken to us by the prophets.
But now what's the contrastbeing made here?
But in these last days he hasspoken to us by his son.
What is this contrast?
Is it the Old Testament is badand the New Testament is good?
Is that what the author istrying to get at?
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Well, we know that can't be it,because then this author of
Hebrews spends the entire bookquoting the Old Testament to
prove every point that thisauthor is trying to make.
So that would be crazy.
If what he's trying to do isundermine the authority of the
Old Testament and then quote itauthoritatively throughout the
whole book.
So that can't be what's goingon here.
No, the contrast between OldTestament and New Testament is
(13:09):
the contrast between acorn andoak tree, between moonlight and
sunlight.
It's like growing up in theMidwest.
I would walk down into mybasement and at the bottom of
the steps I'd flip the switch onand it would bring light and
I'd see all the furniture there.
The furniture was there allalong, but not until the light
came could you see it?
That's the Old Testament.
It's all there.
(13:30):
But when Jesus, the light ofthe world, comes, he illumines
everything and you see the OldTestament with new eyes.
That's how the author ofHebrews is going to teach you to
read your Bible.
Now, as we look at the text here, there's this point that's
being made, which is that Jesusis supreme over every prior
(13:52):
revelation.
Now I want to look at that,because it's almost as if the
author of Hebrews gets caught upand lost in wonder, love and
praise.
In verse two You'll see thisand I'm going to point out.
We're going to walk very slowlythrough these next verses here
because I'm going to point outwhat I'm calling the seven
superiorities of the son.
So I have seven sub points topoint number one.
(14:13):
Here we go.
The first thing I want to do ispoint out I get that from verse
four.
Here's the word Having becomeas much superior.
There's this language superiorto angels, as the name he has
inherited is more excellent thantheirs.
Now, if you're going to readHebrews one and two, you got to
ask this question why angelsLike?
What's the big deal with angels?
(14:34):
Well, two things.
In the story of scriptures,whenever angels show up, they
strike awe and fear, even terror, in human beings.
They are exalted beings, and soif Jesus is over everything,
including angels, jesus must becategorically different than a
creature.
The second reason is becausethe angels according to Acts 2
(14:58):
and Galatians 3, the angelsactually had a role in bringing
the old covenant into place, andso Jesus is over everything,
including his new covenant isover the old covenant, and this
stuff's going to get unpackedover the next few weeks here.
But with that, I want to askthis question how is Jesus
better, superior over everything, how?
(15:19):
What makes him more excellent?
Well, look with me at the textand we're going to see that
Jesus is over everything becausehe's the heir, the creator, the
radiance, the imprint, thesustainer, the savior and the
Lord.
Seven, perfect number.
Here we go.
The heir, verse two.
It says this by his son, whomhe appointed the heir of all
(15:41):
things.
It's very simple here A soninherits the father's house, not
a servant, and the author ofHebrews tells us in verse 14
that angels are simply servants,but Jesus is the son.
Verse two the firstborn verse 6.
The heir of all things verse 2,that belong to the father's
(16:01):
house, all that is the father'sbelongs to the son.
But what is this inheritancethat the son receives from the
father?
We have a clue here, because inHebrews 1, 5, the author quotes
Psalm 2, which says you are myson.
Today I have begotten you.
If you read Psalm 2 in itscontext, which is how the New
(16:23):
Testament's hyperlink with theOld Testament, as you're
supposed to read the OldTestament reference in its
entirety, then you get what'sgoing on.
If you read Psalm 2 and ask thequestion what is this
inheritance that the Fathergives to the Son?
It's you.
You're the inheritance.
Why does that matter?
Because what do you give tosomeone who has everything?
(16:46):
You give them a people fortheir own possession, who prefer
Jesus over everything.
That's the only thing that thefather could give to the son
that he doesn't already have.
Jesus has the cattle on athousand hills, but what he
wants is a billion surrenderedhearts.
Jesus over everything, thatpreference welling up from the
(17:09):
inside coming out.
That's what Jesus wants.
How did he get that?
By being fastened to a cross tomake you fascinated by him.
Being fastened to a cross tomake you fascinated by him so
that you could say from theheart I want Jesus over
everything.
So Jesus is over everything asthe heir, but not only as the
heir, but as the creator.
Look again with me at verse 2.
(17:32):
It says this through whom?
That is Jesus also.
He that is the father createdthe world.
Jesus over everything, becausehe is the creator.
Something again is happeninghere with the way that Hebrews
quotes the Old Testament Inchapter 1, verse 10,.
If you look here, it quotesPsalm 102, our call to worship
this morning.
(17:52):
And Psalm 102 says this you,lord, laid the foundation of the
earth in the beginning and theheavens are the work of your
hands.
Pause for a moment.
Notice what's happening here.
Jesus is the one who, in thebeginning, created heaven and
earth.
That's what Hebrews.
That's the claim Hebrews ismaking right now.
Jesus is Yahweh, the Godrevealed in the Hebrew Bible.
(18:16):
That's the point of this text,which means that any religion
that denies the full deity ofJesus Christ, whether it be
Muslims or Mormons, jehovah'sWitnesses or Unitarians does not
know the true and living Godrevealed in Jesus Christ, full
stop.
Because Jesus is overeverything, not only as the
(18:37):
creator, but also as theradiance.
Look with me at verse three.
Verse three says he is theradiance of the glory of God.
Jesus over everything becausehe is the shining reflection of
God's own glory.
Now, the sun in the sky I'mtalking about the sun gives us
light and life to the world.
(18:57):
Without the sun, we'd be livingin darkness.
In the same way, the sun S-O-N.
Gives us light and life.
Without it, without him, wewould be in darkness about who
God is, because he's theradiance of God.
He's the bright, shining forthof God.
He's the effulgence of God.
We see who God is in the Son.
(19:18):
Now it's important to note Jesusis not simply a mirror that
reflects God's glory.
You are that, that's what youare.
You are a mirror that reflectsGod's glory.
Jesus is far more than that.
Jesus is the divine glory, somuch so that angels ought to
worship him.
Look at the text.
It says in Hebrews, 1, verse 6,let all God's to worship him.
Look at the text it says inHebrews, chapter 1, verse 6.
Let all God's angels worshiphim.
(19:41):
Now there's a little excursushere At the end of the wild ride
.
That is the book of Revelation,chapter 22, verse 8.
The apostle John, who wrote thebook of Revelation, says this
when I heard and saw thesethings, all the things that
happen wrote the book ofRevelation says this when I
heard and saw these things, allthe things that happen in the
book of Revelation, it says, Ifell down to worship at the feet
(20:02):
of the angel.
That showed them to me.
Bad idea, look what happens.
But the angel said to me youmust not do that.
I am a fellow servant with youand your brothers, the prophets,
and with those who keep thewords of this book.
Then he says worship God.
And yet God, according to ourtext, says to the angels worship
Jesus.
(20:22):
This is significant becauseright now, in this very moment,
if, if the veil could be pulledback and you could see into the
throne room of God in this verymoment, what you would see would
be these creatures around thethrone of God that were so
glorious and so awesome that youwould be tempted to worship
them.
But if you waited long enoughto look at what they were
(20:44):
looking at and you followedtheir gaze and you saw the one
seated on the throne.
The Revelation, chapter 4, verse8, says that they never cease
to say to one another, holy,holy.
Cease to say to one another,holy, holy, holy is the Lord,
(21:05):
god Almighty, who was and who isand who is to come.
Never cease to say.
For thousands of years, they'venot gotten bored of seeing
Jesus and saying holy, holy,holy.
Why are we so bored?
I think it's because we don'tsee his glory.
If we saw him, we would saywhat they say.
We wouldn't be able to helpourselves.
(21:25):
So what do they see?
What is this glory of God?
One theologian puts it like thisthe glory is the admirable
conjunction of diverseexcellencies.
That's what you were going tosay, too right.
I prefer to just say it likethis the glory of God is what I
would just call paradoxicalpolarities, not much better.
(21:49):
This is what I mean, though.
Jesus has these virtues thatseem incompatible, but when they
come together into this oneperson, they're combined in such
a way that they're strikinglybeautiful.
Here's what I mean.
Jesus combines the highestmajesty with the greatest
humility in one person.
(22:09):
Jesus himself is able to jointhe strongest commitment to
justice with astonishing mercyand grace.
Jesus reveals himself with atranscendent self-sufficiency,
yet he has a total dependency onhis heavenly father.
Jesus is surprising to us whenwe see his tenderness without
(22:30):
weakness, his boldness withoutharshness, his humility without
uncertainty.
Jesus has unbending convictionswith a complete approachability
.
Somehow this man has thisinsistence on truth, yet it's
always bathed in love.
This man has a power withoutinsensitivity, an integrity
(22:52):
without rigidity, passionwithout prejudice, because this
Jesus is the radiance of theglory of God.
That's what Hebrews wants youto see Now.
Jesus is over everything, notonly because he's the radiance,
but also because he's theimprint.
Look with me at verse 3.
Verse 3 says that he is theexact imprint of his nature.
(23:13):
If the radiance is thisoutshining, the imprint is his
internal character, which isactually the Greek word for
imprint.
It's the word character fromwhich we get the word character.
Now, when we talk aboutcharacters, we talk about
characters in a play, we talkabout the characters of a
language that are written down,we talk about a person's
character.
What do all three of those havein common?
(23:36):
Well, they all come from aconcrete process of taking soft
metal and imprinting a mold ontothat soft metal.
You've done this before Ifyou've ever gone to a tourist
attraction and they had thosemachines where you put in a
quarter and a penny and you kindof turn the crank right and it
pops out and it says likewelcome to Mount Rushmore.
And you got the thing right,you imprinted it.
(23:58):
That's the word character.
Jesus is perfectly imprintedwith the character of God.
He is the exact, the soft metalof the sun's.
Human nature has the being ofGod perfectly imprinted upon it.
That's what the author istrying to get you to see here.
But what does that mean inpractice?
(24:19):
Well, hebrews 1, 9 quotes Psalm45, and it says this you have
loved righteousness and hatedwickedness.
In other words, the rightthings always made Jesus mad,
sad and glad because his loveswere properly ordered.
Right Discipleship to Jesus islearning from Jesus to love what
(24:41):
God loves and hate what Godhates.
That's how you grow incharacter.
But Jesus is over everything,not only because he's the
imprint, but also as thesustainer.
Look at verse 3.
It says and he upholds theuniverse by the word of his
power.
Barbara Boyd, the woman whotaught Tim Keller how to read
(25:02):
the Bible, thank you, barbara.
She has this illustration.
She says if the distance fromthe earth to the sun is 93
million miles, and if it was thethickness of a sheet of paper,
then the distance to the neareststar would be a stack of paper
70 feet high.
The diameter of our galaxywould be a stack 310 miles high,
(25:26):
and our galaxy is just a speckin the observable universe.
But Hebrews 1.3 says that JesusChrist holds all of that
together with just a single word.
If that's so, is this the kindof person you invite into your
life to be your assistant, toconsult with about?
(25:47):
You know, a guru on certainlife hacks?
No, in fact, jesus will be manythings to you, but one thing he
will never be is second.
So let me ask you is Jesus yourking or your consultant?
So let me ask you is Jesus yourking or your consultant?
Is Jesus your sustainer or yoursecretary?
(26:09):
This is important if we'regoing to take Jesus as he is.
There's no middle ground.
But Jesus is not only oursustainer, but he's also our
savior.
Verse 3 says this, after makingpurification for sins.
Now, we might not track withthat, but that almost sounds
like a record scratch.
Everything up to this point hasbeen about Jesus being exalted
(26:31):
and majestic and transcendent,and yet something just happened
here.
How did Jesus make purificationfor sins?
Well, the God of might andmajesty, the one who's worthy of
angel worship, is betrayed andbeaten, mocked and spat upon,
crucified and killed.
(26:51):
Melito of Sardis, who was aroundin AD 180, who's probably a
disciple of a disciple of adisciple of Jesus.
Okay, this is the way Melito ofSardis says it.
He who suspended the earth issuspended.
He who fixed the heavens isfixed by nails.
He who fastened all things isfastened to the wood.
(27:13):
God is murdered.
I don't know if I would havesaid it so audaciously.
God is murdered and yet it'slisted as one of his
excellencies.
You see, because we cannot knowGod except through the cross of
Christ.
The full brilliance of God'sglory has to be refracted
through the lens of the cross.
(27:34):
It's the only way you can knowGod.
Rightly, the heir left hisinheritance so we could share in
it.
The creator was crucified byhis own creatures.
The radiance of God was killedunder a dark sky.
The imprint of God was crushedbeyond resemblance.
The one who holds the universetogether by the word of his
power was holding together theatoms in the arm of the Roman
(27:58):
soldier as he swung the hammerto pierce the nails through his
arm.
This is the God that we worshipin Jesus Christ.
This is our Savior.
One commentator said this forall his resplendent glory and
dazzling holiness, his supremeuniqueness and otherness, no one
(28:21):
in human history has ever beenmore approachable than Jesus
Christ.
So draw near, come home to theFather through the Son.
But he's not only our Savior,he's also our Lord.
Verse 3 says this he sat downat the right hand of the majesty
on high.
There's something scandalousabout the idea that the dust of
(28:43):
earth is now seated on thethrone of heaven.
Your humanity is exalted insovereignty over all galaxies.
That's what it means that Jesussat down at the right hand of
the majesty on high.
You see, if Jesus is overeverything, then it's the death
of what's called thesecular-sacred divide, this
(29:05):
false notion that some thingsreally matter to God.
And then there's the rest oflife.
Like what you're doing rightnow, good on you, you're in the
sacred space, I think right.
But then what you do tomorrow,at this time, it doesn't really
matter.
Jesus over everything is thedeath to that notion, because it
means that when Jesusresurrected and gave his
disciples the commission, hesaid all authority in heaven and
(29:27):
earth belongs to me.
What is accepted from that?
Nothing.
Abraham Kuyper famously put itlike this there is not a square
inch in the whole domain of ourhuman existence over which
Christ, who is sovereign overall, does not cry mine.
He said that as the inauguraladdress when he started the Free
(29:49):
University of Amsterdam in the1800s, and that university was
started for the same reason.
Every university was designed,which is to show how the diverse
disciplines of the arts and thesciences, and math and
engineering and communication,all these different disciplines,
the diverse disciplines, havetheir unity under Jesus as Lord
(30:11):
over all.
That's why universities,universities, were started.
He gives them unity becauseJesus is Lord over all domains
of human existence.
I don't think universities worklike that as much anymore, but
that's how they were started,that's where we get that
language.
(30:32):
And so why does that matter?
Because Jesus is Lord and he'scalling a people to go out into
every sphere and sector ofsociety as disciples of him,
working out his lordship intheir lives and through their
lives, wherever you findyourself tomorrow, at this time.
His lordship in their lives andthrough their lives, wherever
you find yourself tomorrow, atthis time.
That's what we're about at NewCity.
That's what we mean when we saywe call and we form and we send
disciples who make disciples.
(30:52):
It's this, this isn't theend-all, be-all in here.
God has made you, he's calledyou, he's formed you, he's
sending you out into all ofthose places as disciples of
this king, this Lord.
But unless we sincerely believethat Jesus is over everything,
every moment, every place, everyperson, the new city will not
have the unshakable foundationfor mission in all of life.
(31:17):
So with that, why does this allmatter?
It all matters because if we'regoing to avoid drifting away,
we need to find Jesus to bebeautiful and not just useful.
You see, nominal ChristiansChristian in name only find
Jesus useful for getting whatthey really want.
True Christians find Jesusbeautiful in and of himself.
(31:38):
Do you find him beautiful thismorning, like, do you prefer
Jesus over everything thismorning, wherever you find
yourself?
You might ask the question.
I've received this.
How do I respond to this?
The text gives us this reallysimple imperative pay attention,
look with me at chapter 2,verse 1.
(31:58):
It says this, therefore,therefore, okay, in light of
everything I just got done,saying in Hebrews 1.
Therefore, we must pay muchcloser attention to what we have
heard lest we drift away fromit.
For since the message declaredby angels proved to be reliable
and every transgression anddisobedience received a just
(32:19):
retribution, how shall we escapeif we neglect such a great
salvation?
I love the realism of the Bible.
Drifting is not dramatic, it'ssubtle.
It's subtle.
The opposite of drifting, whichresults from quote neglect in
chapter 2, verse 3, is to payattention chapter 2, verse 1.
(32:41):
And this is as much for us hereand now as it was for them
there and then maybe even moreso.
People have argued that we livenow in what's called an
attention economy.
Tristan Harris, the conscienceof Silicon Valley, says that he
calls this an arms race forpeople's attention.
Listen, if you have an app onyour phone that's free, it's
(33:05):
because you're not the customer,you're the product.
Your attention is being boughtand sold.
That's why it's free to you todownload whatever apps you use.
You're being bought and sold bymega companies in this
attention economy.
So when the author of Hebrewssays, pay attention, this is a
big deal.
If you don't take my word.
(33:26):
Or Hebrews, take Qui-Gon Jinn'sword, who said it's a Star Wars
reference.
Your focus determines yourreality.
Listen, if we don't preferJesus over everything, it's
because we neglect to look athim.
If we don't place Jesus overeverything, then we must pay
closer attention.
According to Hebrews, ianMcGilchrist, who might be the
(33:48):
most renowned psychiatrist andneuroscientist, says this the
type of attention you paygoverns what it is you find.
In other words, will we attendto Jesus such that we find him
superior to all else?
That's the question, and that'swhat the rest of this sermon
(34:09):
series is for.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we come to you now,not strong but weak, not
focused but distracted, not withfull attention but with divided
hearts.
Would you draw us to yoursupremacy over all things now?
(34:29):
Would you give us a glimpse?
We want to see what the angelssee.
We want to feel what the angelsfeel as they behold your glory
in the heavenly throne room.
We pray in your name and foryour sake, amen.
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