Morning Message Text: Hebrew 1: 1-4; 2: 5-12
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
3 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.
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Jesus Made Fully Human
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.”In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
Morning Message:
God is constantly doing something new in the lives of his children! We seldom recognize or take notice of the very subtle way that God moves and guides us into new directions. One of the reasons that I believe this happens is that we don’t listen for God’s guidance through the voices of other believers. I am fairly sure that in my twenty or so years of preaching I have never preached from Hebrews. I want you to listen and recognize God at work in this way. Last Sunday, someone who shall remain nameless asked me to someday preach on “glory.” My response was, I will keep that in mind, and I am sure God will bring it up at the right time. My scriptures for today, on this World Communion Sunday, came straight from the suggested texts in the lectionary for this Sunday. Do you know how many times the word glory is mentioned in these readings? Five times. Message received Lord. We are going to talk about glory, but hold on to this thought for today, on this World Communion Sunday, God is calling his church to so much more that just communing together, he is calling us to listen to each other and hear his voice.
What is glory? Let’s start with the definition: Resplendent beauty or magnificence. A state of absolute happiness. The splendor and bliss of heaven. The glory of God is the beauty of his spirit. It is not an aesthetic beauty or a material beauty, but the beauty that emanates from his character, from all that he is. So, we can feel God’s glory spiritually, but that doesn’t satisfy our curiosity. We want to know what glory looks like. God told Moses to hide his face in the cleft in the rock to protect him from the fullness of his glory when he passed by. So as I read scripture I realize that in my human form I cannot fully see the glory of God, but that doesn’t mean that we can not see glimpses of it. The prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God was full of fire and lightning, after which he saw “what looked like a throne, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. What he saw he explained to be like glowing metal and fire and brilliant light. He said it was like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. The human mind cannot fully comprehend God’s glory, all we can do is convert it into what we know.
Psalm 19: 1-4 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech; they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” We would like to see all of God’s glory right now. We don’t like to wait, but God knows what each of us can handle. I think that God might say, look around and appreciate what I have done. Before you seek more of my glory, take a close look at how truly magnificent my creation is. God reveals his glory in the natural world to all men and women, no matter their race, heritage, or location. Have we taken enough time to truly appreciate it?
In the New Testament, the glory of God is revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” From today’s scripture, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Once again this doesn’t satisfy our desire to see God’s glory, but through the grace of God we are assured that because he sent Jesus, we someday can see his glory. We have never seen the face of our Savior; wouldn’t we have loved to be up on that mountain top like
Peter, John, and James and seen the transfiguration of our Savior and a glimpse of God’s glory in his face. Resplendent beauty or magnificence: the glory of God. Do you know what resplendent means? Shining brilliantly. In everything that I have described to you today concerning the glory of God, there is one common occurrence, there is always a shining brilliance.
Psalm 73 verse 24 calls heaven itself “glory.” Sometimes Christians speak of death as being “received unto glory,” a phrase borrowed from this psalm. When the Christian dies, he or she will be taken into God’s presence and surrounded by God’s glory and majesty. In that place, His glory will be seen clearly: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1Corinthians 13: 12). In the future New Jerusalem, the glory of God will be manifest: “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21: 23). The glory of God will one day be felt and seen by His children. Our human eyes cannot withstand the full glory of our God, but one day we will be made perfect, and we will dwell in God’s glory.
Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Before his crucifixion, Jesus called his followers disciples or friends, but never brothers and sisters. The cross changed all of that. When Jesus saw Mary on the day of his resurrection, he told her to “go and tell my brothers” (Matthew 28: 10). By using this term—which the writer of Hebrews includes four times in just a few verses—Jesus shows his willingness to identify with people in their humanity and suffering. This verse challenges believers to consider who they are: members of God’s family. Those who belong to Jesus are brothers and sisters with him and have access to the same glory. God’s glory is inside of every Christian around the world. We are to be one, to commune together, and to share the Glory that God has blessed us with.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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