angels

Sermon Outline

Text: Heb 3:7-19

If you’ve been a Christian for a while, then you probably know the feeling of opening your Bible and expecting to hear from God but nothing happens

• Or, you kneel down to pray and it feels like your prayers don’t even reach the ceiling
• Or, for me, you’re a pastor trying to prepare for a message about hearing the voice of God and I’m waiting for divine inspiration, Tues, Wednesday, days go by, Friday – I’m starting to worry because the inspiration is still not coming, by Saturday night, I’m ready to pull out my hair and quit
• This happens to me all too often
• So if you are complaining that it’s hard to hear God and you think you’re in the minority, join the club
• Many of us struggle to hear the voice of God
• Complain – God, where are you?  Why are you so silent?  You spoke to Moses and Elijah and King David and Apostle Paul, but what happened?
• Did you become mute after the first century?  God suddenly became introverted and shy

Today, I want to talk about hearing the voice of God

• How does God speak?
• When God speaks, what does he say?
• Does He say, go to this grad school or take this job?  He could, but I don’t think that’s the primary thing God says when he speaks

Title: Jesus is the Best and Final Word

• Sub-title: God Still Speaks
• God is always speaking
• He uses the Word of God, he uses people, he uses circumstances

We are starting a new book–Hebrews

• Two ways to preach through the Scripture
• 1) Expositional or 2) topical
• Merge the two – semi-expositional
• High level–today, I want to cover the first 3 chapters but I really have one point, that God still speaks and what does he say, he speaks about Jesus, Jesus is the best and final word
• I still want to be faithful to the text so I’ll start with some observations that may not relate directly to the main point, but I don’t want to skip over them and we’ll end with Jesus being the best, most eloquent, most comprehensive spoken word of God

Key verses for the entire book: Heb 12:1-3

• Author unknown – I’ll refer to him as the author of Hebrews
• He is laying down his argument and I believe the culmination is found in Heb 12:1-3

Heb 1:1-2

• God always speaks to His people but He doesn’t always communicate in the same way at all times
• In history, God spoke in two phases
• 1) By prophets at different times and in different ways
• 2) By His Son
• When did God speak to us by His Son?  In these last days
• When do the last days begin?
• Do we look for signs?  Revelation – war, famines, blood moons?
• Did you know that we’ve been in the last days for over two thousand years?
• We are in the last days right now
• With the appearing of Christ and his life, death, resurrection and ascension, the last days began
• There will be a Last Day
• For now, we have the spoken Word (Jesus), when He returns, we will have the embodied Word

In these last days, God has spoken to us BY HIS SON

• In earlier days, you had prophets speaking all kinds of words in all kinds of ways regarding the coming Messiah, but 2000 years ago, the Word showed up at the doorstep of human history
• God spoke to us by His Son
• Jesus is the best word
• He’s better than anything said about Him in the OT
• Brother Matthew travels for his work quite a bit and I’m sure Ezra misses him
• Brother Matthew can call every night, he can skype or google hangout
• But nothing compares to Matthew knocking on the door and he says, Daddy’s home
• That’s why when God spoke by His Son, it is the BEST word, better than all the words that proceeded him
• Jesus is also the FINAL word
• Phase 1 – God spoke to us by the prophets at different times and in different ways
• Phase 2 – God spoke to us by His Son
• There is no Phase 3
• There is no new revelation, there is no 67th book of the Bible that is going to be added
• Jesus came, God spoke through His Son and there is no better word to come
• Jesus is the best and He’s the FINAL Word

The rest of Heb 1 mentions angels and so real briefly I want to touch on this

• You’ve heard the expression – he’s my guardian angel
• You refer to someone as your guardian angel because he’s your protector, he’s there right when you need him, he’s a gift from the Lord
• In a technical sense, this idea is false
• I think through movies and TV, we’ve picked up this wrong notion that when we die, God is going to pin wings on our backs and we/humans will graduate and become these angelic beings who float through the air and sit atop puffy white clouds with harps in our laps
• They are not deceased family members, they are not Christians who have moved on
• The author makes a similar argument in chapter 3:1-6 [DON’T READ]
• Moses – incredible leader
• Compared to Jesus, Moses is nothing
• Moses was faithful as a servant IN God’s household
• But Jesus was faithful as a Son OVER God’s household
• We don’t worship nor pray to angels or saints or the Pope, or Mother Mary, or Matt Chandler, John Piper, Tim Keller, Sam Storms
• We worship Jesus
• Scripture is clear that angels are a separate species of creature from human beings
• Prior to the creation of man, they had one function–to worship the Lord constantly, perpetually, never ceasing
• Satan was once an angel, but he rebelled and he and a third of the angels were cast down and they became demons
• If you trust in Scripture, you can’t deny that angels and demons are real
• Angels are not deceased family members, they are not Christians who have moved on
• We don’t worship nor pray to angels or deceased saints for that matter or Mother Mary
• Only God–He is the only one who deserve our worship
• The angels main job is to worship him and with the creation of man, God gave them a second job title–Heb 1:14–to minister to us, His chosen

Heb 2:5-8

• I can’t quite wrap my head around this concept but Jesus, who is fully God, when he took on human flesh, and this fleshly nature pulled him downward, to the point that God made Jesus a little lower than the angels
• I don’t know what that means, but as humans, if Jesus was made a little lower than angels due to the fact that he took on human flesh, we are clearly below angels in terms of stature, in rank
• But the point of chapter 1 and 2 is to make the point that because Jesus died on a cross and rose again 3 days later, He was exalted to the highest place
• His name above every other name
• That at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow in heaven (angels), and on earth (humans) and under the earth (demons, too, will one day bow the knee) and every creature–angels, humans, demons–together, we will confess with our mouth that He is Lord

Putting the pieces together

• Heb 1:2 – Jesus is the Creator God, when God spoke, let there be, Jesus and the Holy Spirit carried out the orders and created the universe
• In eternity past, Jesus was God, He was always God and still is fully God
• But for a time when he incarnated and took on human flesh, he descended, he was diminished in his glory, he was outranked by even angels for a short time
• Then, He died on a cross for your sins and mine and he conquered sin and death
• Heb 1:3-4 – after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God and he became restored in his ranking, higher in rank than the angels
• Sat down – it reminds us after a long day, kicking back on the coach
• Jesus after dying and resurrecting, His work was finished
• That’s why on the cross, Jesus’ final words were, It is finished
• Jesus can sit down and rest in His finished work on the cross
• Right now, we, too, are a little lower than the angels
• But like Jesus, one day, we, too, will be raised up
• Why?  Because Jesus is an heir
• For an heir, God says, here’s a throne, sit next to me, everything I have is yours
• And we are co-heirs with Christ
• We are children of God, made in His image
• We are not like angels, they are creation, too, but we are the apple of his eye, his crowning achievement in all creation, His sons and daughters, adopted into His family

This truth is so liberating

• My kids, I pray, would love God and not commit any major crimes and be good to others, but I have no control
• But what does it mean that they are my sons?
• It means, no matter how badly they blow it, if they knock on the door, I’m going to let him in
• No matter how much they mess up their lives, if they come home, I’m going to take them in because they’re my boys
• If a stranger knocks on the door, they may have a stellar resume, but I’m going to say, do I know you?
• For the believer, when you were born again of the Spirit, you entered into God’s family
• You are heirs with Christ
• Christ is our big brother
• We’re family
• When you pray to Him, He’s not going to say, boy, it’s been a while since you prayed, or you haven’t read the bible in a few weeks, sorry, do I know you?
• No, because you’re family, if you knock on the door, He is so happy to see you
• Like the Father of the Prodigal Son, he’s been looking out the window, worrying about you, and then he sees you in a distance and he runs out the door to meet you
• This is the kind of God we have
• Jesus is an heir, which puts him in a superior category compared with angels
• And we are co-heirs with Christ
• He’s our Father, Jesus is our brother, we’re family

Heb 1:3 – “sustaining all things by His powerful word”

Jesus is our Creator, but He’s also our Sustainer

The fact that we have breath in our lungs is because Jesus is sustaining us

Heb 2:1-4

• I’m a multi-tasker, I want to be productive
• I am listening to music, while getting ready to listen to a podcast, while I am working on some web consulting that I do on the side and I am outlining my sermon while cleaning my desk and getting ready to clean the floors as soon as the song that I am listening to ends, and Elijah walks in and then I have to go tackle him because it’s fun and I am attempting, not so successfully, to do this all at the same time
• When I am in one of these multi-tasking modes, I have to admit, there are moments when Jackie is talking to me and I’m nodding my head but I am not really registering what she is saying
• Jackie is pouring out her heart and she sees that I am not registering what she is saying and she says, you’re not listening, are you?
• That’s when I know I’m in trouble
• I close my laptop and then I’m just fumbling for words
• Marriage advice: when your spouse speaks, stop whatever you’re doing and listen, you can’t multi-task while listening
• The author of Hebrews is saying, pay attention to what God is speaking to you
• Even in the past, when angels appeared and they spoke, you have to pay close attention to what God is saying through them
• Otherwise, you will drift away

Usually, people don’t decide to leave God overnight

• No, we drift away, like a twig drifting downstream
• Sin is like a current
• There is no neutral
• If you are not fighting against sin and fighting to pay attention to what God is saying and stay close to him, you will be drifting away
• And days will go by and weeks and months and years and the drifting away has been so gradual, you didn’t even notice how far you’ve gotten from the Lord
• And then one day, you’re going to wake up and say, I don’t need to go to church and then eventually, Christianity, I don’t believe in this stuff anymore

Pay attention to angels, messengers of God, pay attention to obeying God in the small and big decisions

• But again, the purpose of Heb 2 is to remind us that if there is one thing we need to pay attention to, it’s Jesus
• He is the best and final word
• Pay attention to the gospel
• The whole Bible is about the gospel
• If you don’t hear God speaking to us by His Son, then we’ve lost everything
• Why? Because we are neglecting such a great salvation by neglecting our great Savior and Lord.

Heb 2:4

• I generally like the HCSB and think it’s a good translation but they missed it on this one
• First of all, the phrase “At the same time” doesn’t exist in the Greek
• It’s one continuous sentence from v3 to v4
• v3 speaks about how in the past the Lord spoke by His Son and those who heard Him in the first century, various signs and miracles confirmed that God was in fact speaking
• And if you believe that the signs and wonders have ceased, you will translate v4 as God also testified (past tense), God testified back in the first century through signs and wonder and miracles and the distribution of some of the more overtly supernatural gifts from the Holy Spirit
• This is a cessationist interpretation – the supernatural gifts of the Spirit have ceased
• I am a continuationist
• The word for “testify” in Heb 2:4 provides some biblical support for the continuationists
• The word for “testify” is a present participle so it should be translated as “testifying”
• It should read, even now, God testifies, or God is continually testifying through signs and wonders and supernatural gifts that Jesus is the Savior of the world
• This means, I believe, there are prophets today, there are those who in the power of Jesus can heal disease, there are those who speak in tongues and it’s from the Lord and not the devil, there are those who receive words of knowledge, sudden insight that came supernaturally, there are those who can cast out demons
• All of these gifts, I believe, are still in effect

I have seen things in the past few months that have ruined me

• I’m skeptical
• But I’ve met people with prophetic gifts and who exercise gifts of healing
• My own back was healed
• I’m a person of the Book
• I can read about these gifts in Scripture and be open to them
• It’s another thing entirely to witness them with your own eyes
• I’ve been ruined for the ordinary

It’s a good thing to be open to the supernatural gifts

• The Bible says to eagerly desire the gifts, esp. prophecy because prophecy builds up the church
• But there is a downside, that is, God is always speaking, but for those who are chasing after the gifts, we want him to speak in a supernatural way
• Audible voice, dream and then it comes to pass, word of knowledge
• And when those things haven’t come, I noticed that I got discouraged
• Times when God spoke to me (salvation, calling in 1996, missions in 2000, move to LA in 2004, ordination in 2011)

Heb 3:7 to the end talks about hearing the voice of God

• And it’s discouraging to preach about hearing the voice of God when to me, He’s silent often times
• The silence is deafening to me
• The harder I try to hear His voice through some supernatural means, the more discouraged I got
• In Heb 3, the author reminds the reader about Exodus, how God saved his people from slavery in Egypt
• Every day, they should have heard the voice of God shouting to them, I love you! I saved you! Look at how I am providing for you miraculously–manna and quail from heaven, the pillar of fire, the cloud, God’s presence was manifest in such glorious, supernatural ways
• Yet, they did not hear His voice regarding the immensity of their salvation

Last night, Sister Minjoo, Brother DY and Brother David and I served a couple of homeless families through the Family of Promise ministry that FBC has been doing for the past few years

• It’s a great program
• As I shared, I was preparing the sermon in my mind about hearing the voice of God and I had some ideas, but I still waiting for divine inspiration because you kind of need to hear God’s voice esp in a sermon about hearing God’s voice
• As a pastor, it was such a joy for me to see Sister Minjoo playing with a 5 year old named Johnny Ray
• It was such a joy for me to see Brother DY, always the servant, always the first to volunteer

God rebuked me last night as I was listening to little Johnny’s dad

• The father has so little, yet he talked like he was the luckiest man alive
• I thought about myself – I have so much, yet spiritually I’m poor
• God is fair
• How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God – we are holding onto too many things
• To this ex-gang member, salvation is the BEST news – so many times his eyes watered up, he gets it, he’s so thankful, his life is hard
• To me and maybe to others here, perhaps, salvation is alright, just one of many good things in our lives

Heb 3:7 – Holy Spirit reminds us to hear God’s voice

• When you hear the voice of God, what does He say to us?  He tells us He loves us.  To prove it, God gave us the final Word, Jesus Christ.
• Holy Spirit reminds us of what God the Father continually says.  And what did God the Father say?  He says, I love you.  How do we know God loves us?  To prove it, he gives us the best and final Word and His name is Jesus.
• At least for now, I am not a prophet, I don’t hear from God audibly or through visions
• We are not all prophets, but as children, we can all hear the Father’s voice
• As sheep, we can all hear the Good Shepherd’s voice
• What is God saying?
• Look at my Son
• Fix your eyes on Jesus
• Remember your salvation
• Be thankful
• It’s nice if God speaks supernaturally and tells you were to go to school or what job to take, but unless you are a prophet, God seems awfully silent in the smaller decisions of life

But He is not silent when it comes to your salvation

• Each day, today, make it your aim to hear God’s voice regarding your salvation
• Heb 3:13 – sin is deceptive, sin hardens the heart, sin makes you feel deaf to the voice of God
• Instead of being grateful, you complain
• Instead of worshiping God, you feel entitled to getting the best life now
• Heb 3:19 – sin will cause us to drift so far that we will perish in unbelief
• Remember who this happened to?
• Each day, listen as the Holy Spirit blows and as God speaks
• He has spoken by His Son
• Believe that Jesus is God best and final Word regarding His Son