Matt's Messages - God's Son

“God’s Son”
Celebration Sunday
Outdoor Worship Celebration
August 28, 2005
Hebrews 1:1-3

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (NIV)

Would you open your Bibles with me to the Book of Hebrews, chapter 1? Hebrews chapter 1. We don’t have Pew Bibles out here in what Blair Murray has been calling the “Tent of Meeting.” So, if you don’t have your own Bible, please look over someone else’s shoulder at Hebrews chapter 1.

Last week, we finished the book of Exodus and skimmed over six chapters. Today, we are going to just read three verses. Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3.

They are the introduction to the book and the introduction to the author’s first argument that Jesus is superior to the angels (that’s picked up in verse 4). We’re not going to get that far and get into his argument today.

We are only going to read the first three verses. Hebrews 1:1-3. Let’s read.

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

Let’s pray together.

[prayer]

Today is Celebration Sunday 2005.

And we have a lot to celebrate!

God has been faithful to this church for 113 years. We are growing. We have exciting things happening in our ministries. We have new people coming to visit and to join us. We have a good reputation in the community. We are praying for a second ministry staff person and a possible church plant in Philipsburg.

We have a lot to celebrate.

The Ark Park has been used by countless kids over the last five years since we dedicated in to the Lord on August 27th in the year 2000.

Now, we look out at a brand-new paved parking lot and sports court. We need to pray that God would fill these new ministry tools with cars and athletes that need to be brought to a love-relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have a lot to celebrate.

And the most important thing that we need to celebrate on August 28, 2005 is the Person Who is the reason that we exist.

The most important thing for us to celebrate on Celebration Sunday is the Person Who not only gave us all these good gifts but is Himself the greatest gift of all.

The most important thing for us to celebrate on Celebration Sunday is the Person Who would be worthy of our celebration even if we had not even one of these blessings that we are celebrating today.

The most important thing for us to celebrate is the most important Person in the universe:

“God’s Son.”

God’s One and Only Son–the Lord Jesus Christ.

On Celebration Sunday 2005, we need to celebrate God’s Son.

And I as thought about what passage of Scripture to do this in, my mind ran right to Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 through 3.

These verses are a celebration of God’s Son. In just three short verses, there is a powerful celebration of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. These verses draw you to and focus you up on Jesus.

Let’s get into them right now. If you want to take notes, there is a place to do that right inside the back cover of your bulletin. I have three things I want to point out to you about God’s Son.

#1. GOD’S SON IS GOD’S WORD. V.1 again.

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...” Pause there.

There are two distinct era’s in God’s progressive revelation of Himself and His will.

There is (v.1) “in the past.” And there is (v.2), “In these last days.”

God speaks. Isn’t that good news?! God wouldn’t have to speak.

But God speaks. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways...”

What does He mean? Anyone?

God spoke in the Old Testament at many times and in many ways. What were some of the ways? [Burning bush, smoking fire pot, direct words, law, history, proverbs, prophets, etc.]

But there has been a change. All of that revelation, all of that speaking, has been completed and fulfilled and superceded by a superior, confirming, wonderful, complete and fresh and powerful new way of speaking. V.2

“...in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...”

God’s Son is God’s Word.
Jesus is God speaking to us.

Application? Listen to Him.

Jesus is God speaking to us. We need to listen to Him.

When God wanted to tell us Who He is and what He wants and what He has planned for us, He did it by not just any means. He did it by speaking through His very own Son.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

“The Word” was God’s Son.

Listen to Him.

Are you listening to Jesus? Is the revelation of God through the Son (which is what the New Testament is, really) the primary basis for which you interpret your life?

We are all interpreting our lives, do you know that?

We are all interpreting what is going on all the time. We are always thinking. We are always making sense of things. We are always interpreting our world.

What role does the revelation of God through the Son of God play in your interpretation of your life?

Are you listening to Jesus?

He is God speaking to you.

God’s Son is God’s Word.

That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?

#2. GOD’S SON IS GOD’S HEIR. H-E-I-R. Not oxygen or atmosphere but inheritor. God’s Son is God’s Heir. V.2

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things...”

God’s Son is God’s Heir.

Heir of all things.

All things belong to Jesus. All things were made for Jesus. All things are moving towards Jesus.

God’s Son is God’s Heir.

Psalm 2. God says, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” And the King says, “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”

And the Lord Jesus fulfills that Psalm. He asked! And the Lord makes the nations His inheritance. The ends of the earth are His possession.

God’s Son is God’s Heir.

Application? Live for Him.

You belong to Him. Live for Him.

Do you think of yourself as belonging to someone?

Do you think of yourself as someone’s inheritance, someone’s possession?

You belong to God’s Son. Live for Him.

What a difference it would make if we consciously thought about our actions bringing honor or dishonor on our owner!

If we thought of ourselves as Christ’s possessions.

What do you have to do this week? What decisions do you need to make? What choices will you be facing? Some of them, you know, many you do not know.

Can you make a commitment right here and right now to live for the Heir of all things? For His glory. For His fame. For His pleasure. As His possession.

God’s Son is God’s Heir.

That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?

#3. GOD’S SON IS GOD’S TOOL.

I didn’t know what one word to use to sum up the next phrase. God’s Son is God’s Creational Tool. V.2 again.

“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

“Through whom he made the universe.”

God’s Son is God’s Creational Tool.

John chapter 1 again. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

God’s Son is God’s Tool for Creating.

I don’t know how that worked. I don’t know how it is that God’s Son was the means by which God created all things. But that’s what it says right here.

And it says in Colossians 1 as well.

“By [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (1:16)

Do you remember my list for this verse when we went through Colossians?

Wind. That’s invisible. Wood? That’s visible.

Metal? Stars! Hot. Cold. Wet. Moist. Fire. Nuclear Fission. Atomic Particles. Brain Cells. Mountains. Weather. Blood Vessels. Continents. Snow. Mice. Microbes. Blue Whales. Tomatoes. Eggs. Galaxies. Moons. Meteors. Tidal Waves. Northern Lights. Dirt. Milk. The Big Dipper. Softness. Scratchiness. Lukewarmness. Humanity. Grasshoppers. Gender. Sexuality. Light Waves. E=MC2. Gorillas. Giraffes. Deserts. Palm Trees. Mexican Jumping Beans. Caves. Windstorms. Ponds. Fresh Air. Falling Leaves. Corn Cobs. The Milky Way. Combustion. Eyelashes. Uranium. The Smell of Skunks. The Color Purple. The very Fabric of Reality.

“Through whom he made the universe.”

God’s Son is God’s Tool for Creation.

And more than that (jump down to v.3), it says that God’s Son is, “sustaining all things by His powerful word.”

He is not just God’s tool for creating but God’s tool for sustaining all things!

Everything in the world would bust apart if it wasn’t for Jesus’ word!

One author (John MacArthur, Hebrews, pg.17) writes this, “Consider what instant destruction would happen if the earth’s rotation slowed down just a little. The sun has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If it were any closer to us we would burn up; if it were any farther away we would freeze. Our globe is tilted on an exact angle of 23 degrees, providing us with four seasons. If it were not so tilted, vapors from the oceans would move north and south and develop into monstrous continents of ice. If the moon did not retain its exact distance from the earth the ocean tides would inundate the land completely, twice a day. After the first flooding, of course, the others would not matter as far as we would be concerned. If the ocean floors were merely a few feet deeper than they are, the carbon dioxide and oxygen balance of the earth’s atmosphere would be completely upset, and no animal or plant life could exist. If the atmosphere did not remain at its present density, but thinned out even a little, many of the meteors which now harmlessly burn up when they hit the atmosphere would constantly bombard us. We would have to live underground or in meteor-proof buildings. How does the universe stay in this kind of fantastically delicate balance? Jesus Christ sustains and monitors all its movements and inter-workings. Christ, the preimenent Power, maintains it all.”

Wow!

God’s Son is God’s Tool for Creating and for Sustaining All Things.

Application: Marvel at Him!

The creation that we are enjoying outside today exists to raise our attention to the marvel of God’s Son’s Power!

You feel that breeze? You see those trees over there? You see that blue sky that was all dark and grey and rainy yesterday?

All of this was created and is sustained by Jesus Christ.

Marvel at Him!

God’s Son is God’s Tool for Creating and for Sustaining All Things.

That’s something to celebrate isn’t it?

#4. (We’re getting even more amazing here.) GOD’S SON IS GOD’S RADIANCE. V.3

“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

God’s Son is God’s Radiance.

What does He mean?

He means that Jesus Christ shines God to us. He relates to God like the beams of the sun relate to the sun.

They are one with the sun. And they shine the sun to us.

He is the extension of the glory of God to us.

“The Son is the radiance of the God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”

Do you want to know what God is? Look at Jesus. He is the image of God. He is a xerox copy.

But better than that, He is the beam of the sun of God’s glory!

Wow!

Application? Worship Him.

Jesus is God!

Worship Him.

Jesus is God streaming down to us in radiance!

Worship Him!

As Long as I Have Breath I Will Praise You
As Long as My Heart Beats, I Will Sing
As Long as Life Flows Through My Veins, I Will Bless Your Name!

Worship Him.

God’s Son is God’s Radiance.

That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?

#5. GOD’S SON IS GOD’S SACRIFICE. V.3 again.

“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

The phrase is in that last sentence, “After he had provided purification for sins.”

God’s Son acted as priest and made purification for the sins of His people.

Remember all that we learned about priests, last month, back in Exodus?

Jesus acted as a priest, presenting a sacrifice to atone for the sins of God’s people.

What was that sacrifice?

Bulls and goats? Sheep and lamb? Rams? Bread wave offering? No.

1 Peter 1:18, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy Is Your Name
Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy Is Your Name

God’s Son is God’s Sacrifice for Sins.

Application: Trust in Him.

You need to be purified from your sins. We all do.

We are all sinners deserving God’s wrath.

But Christ has made purification for our sins. With the most precious commodity in the universe–His own blood!

And for those who put their trust in Him, we can be purified.

That’s what was going on at the Cross.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:24-25)

If you trust Him.

You have to turn from your way of doing life.
You have to turn from trying to do it on your own.
You have to turn from trying to earn your way into God’s favor.

And you have to trust solely in Him and His perfect sacrifice, His finished work.

God’s Son is God’s Sacrifice making purification for those who trust in Him.

Have you done that?

Have you put your faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life?

If you have not, I invite you to do that today. Make that the greatest reason for us to celebrate Jesus on this Celebration Sunday by putting your trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for your purification.

I invite today, right where you are, to admit to God your need of cleansing and ask Him to cleanse you because of what Jesus has done on your behalf. Declare to Him your trust in His CrossWork and His sacrifice. And He will save you now.

God’s Son is God’s Sacrifice making purification for those who put their trust in Him.

Isn’t that a great reason to celebrate?

#6 (and last). GOD’S SON IS GOD’S CO-RULER. Last sentence of verse 3 again.

“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

He sat down at God’s right hand!

That means two things. First, He was finished with His work. There was no more work that needed to be done. He sat. He was done. It was finished.

And second, it means that He is ruling beside the Father. Co-regent. Co-ruler. The place of honor in the whole of God’s Kingdom is God’s right-hand. And Jesus sits there in majesty and glory and honor as God’s co-ruler.

There is no question in the universe where Jesus is in relation to God. There is no estrangement over sin. There is no misunderstanding between them. No power-struggle. No problems between God the Father and God the Son.

They are perfectly in-sync and together. Jesus sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

God’s Son is God’s Co-Ruler.

Application: Thank Him.

Do you have to work for your salvation. No. Jesus sat down.
Do you have to earn your way to God? No. Jesus sat down.

It is finished. Thank Him.

Do you know what Jesus is doing there at the right hand of God?

He is praying. He is interceding for you.

Thank Him.

He is also ruling the universe in such a way that all things that happen will be for His glory and your good.

That’s something to celebrate!

Thank Him.

Thank God’s Co-Ruler.

Thank Jesus that He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

God’s Son is God’s Co-Ruler. Thank Him for it.

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [God’s Word. Listen to Him.], whom he appointed heir of all things [God’s Heir. Live for Him.], and through whom he made the universe [God’s Tool. Marvel at Him!]. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being [God’s Radiance. Worship Him!], sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins [God’s Sacrifice. Trust in Him], he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven [God’s Co-Ruler. Thank Him].”

Thank Him. And sing, Great Is Thy Faithfulness unto me!