In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes that in the past, God spoke to our ancestors in various ways, but in the present time, He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The speaker highlights seven facts about Jesus Christ, including his appointment as the heir of all things and the promise of a glorious kingdom yet to come. The prophets of the Old Testament provided glimpses of this kingdom, where mankind lived in peace and abundance. The speaker also expresses awe and gratitude for God's love and grace, acknowledging that even the articulate King David was left speechless before God's goodness. The sermon concludes with an encouragement to spend time in worship and fellowship with God, growing in our relationship with Him.

Let's turn to the first chapter of Hebrews. There's been quite a bit of discussion as to the authorship of this book of Hebrews, and many different suggestions have been offered by different scholars. Needless to say, we don't know. There was no autograph on it, so we don't know for certain who was the author of the book of Hebrews. It is my own personal opinion that Paul the Apostle was the author. It seems to have a Pauline style. However, that's only my opinion, which is worthless, and it's only what God says that you can put your real confidence in. So, whenever I say something, I like to let you know that's my own thought, and, you know, you can throw it out if you want and say, well, you know, that's just what he thinks, and you should be doing that. You should prove all things and hold fast that which is good. So, for what it's worth, it would seem that Paul was the author to me, but a lot of people see different authorships, and any number. But the author is not so important, because in reality, the Holy Spirit is the author. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. And so, this is a book written, of course, as the title would indicate, to the Hebrews, to the Hebrew believers. Now, in the church in Jerusalem, there remained a strange and interesting adherence by many within the church to the Jewish laws. And, in fact, they were seeking to press the Jewish laws on the Gentiles. And, at times, they would come to the Gentile believers, such as those in Antioch, and they would disrupt the fellowship, declaring to them, unless you are circumcised and you keep the law of Moses, you can't be saved. So, within Jerusalem, there was a mixture of Judaism and Christianity, and they remained Jews in their cultural practices, in their keeping of the cultural aspects of the Jewish law, not eating with Gentiles, the forbidding of eating certain meats, and so forth. This was a continued practice within the church in Jerusalem, going to the temple, going to temple worship. And there were those who had, for a time, embraced Jesus Christ, who were actually going back to offering sacrifices in the temple worship again. And so, the author of the book of Hebrews addresses the issue of Hebrew Christianity and of the danger of turning away from Jesus Christ, and trying to find salvation under the Jewish religious system once again. And so, we'll find the warnings about those who have tasted of the heavenly things, the kingdom to come, who have gone back and tried to offer sacrifices before the priests for sins again, and showing that there is no further sacrifice. Christ is the one once and for all. But, the book begins with the assumption of the existence of God, which is something that is assumed always in the Bible, never sought to be proved. It would be ridiculous for God to try to prove that He exists, even as it would be ridiculous for you to try to prove that you exist. However, sometimes the person is put in that strange position. If your birth was not recorded, then you have a difficult time proving that you exist to the United States government. I mean, you have to go through all kinds of legal hassles to prove that you exist. And so, some people have had that problem of proving their existence. But, it seems rather ridiculous that I would have to try to prove to someone that I'm existing. Here I am. And so, with God, He did not seek to prove He existed. The Bible doesn't seek to prove He existed. God's Word to us, the fact that He gives His Word to us, testifies of His existence. How could He speak to man if He did not exist? And so, the existence of God is assumed. And then, the fact that God has spoken to man is also assumed. Two assumptions. God, who at different times and in different ways spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. So, the acknowledgement that God had spoken different times, different ways. The Bible, the Old Testament, is the record of the different places and the different ways by which God has spoken to man. In the Genesis, we find God speaking to man by angels. There were no prophets in the book of Genesis. But, God was speaking to man through angels. They were the messengers. And the word angel has as its root messenger. God's messengers to man. Then, God began to speak through anointed men, such as Moses. And as the people said to Moses, now look, you go up in the mountain, you get the Word of God, you bring it down to us. We don't want to approach that place. It's terrifying. And we will obey all that God commands you to say to us. And so, God spoke to them through Moses, through Joshua. Then, God spoke to them through the priest. So many times they wanted to know the mind or the will of the Lord. They would come to the priest who would inquire of the Lord through the Urim and the Thummim. And God would speak through the priest. And then, as time progressed, God raised up prophets. And God spoke to the people through the prophets. And so, the Old Testament, the various times, the various ways. Sometimes God spoke to them in very interesting ways. And as Chuck gets into his class on Ezekiel, you'll find some very fascinating ways by which God spoke to man through Ezekiel, lying on one side for a long period of time and then rolling over and lying on his other side. And so, God has spoken various ways, various times. But, in these last days, He has spoken unto us by His own dear Son. Now, God's final revelation was given to man through Jesus Christ. In other words, all that we need to know about God, we can know about Him through Jesus Christ. The revelation of God up until the time of Jesus Christ was often misunderstood and often not complete. Jesus came to bring to man the final, the ultimate message of God, the ultimate understanding of God. So, all that man can or is to know about God can be discovered in and through Jesus Christ, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. Now, His revelation to us through His Son is superior than all of the other revelations. His revelation through the Son is superior than the revelation through angels. And that's what we'll be covering tonight. The first two chapters, the superiority over the Son, of the Son over the angels, and thus of the revelation through the Son than through the angels. In chapter three, He will show us the superiority of God speaking to us through Jesus over that of Moses. For Moses, being a man, was able to lead the people to the land of promise, but he was not able to lead them in. He pointed to the land. He brought them to the land. He could not lead them into the land. The revelation of God through Jesus is superior to that of Joshua, who, though he led them into the land, was not able to bring them into the rest. Chapter four. And then, beginning with chapter five, the superiority of Jesus over the priesthood. And this will carry us through chapter ten. As we see the priesthood of Christ compared to the Levitical priesthood and showing the better covenant, the better way, the better sacrifice through Jesus Christ. The superiority of Christ to the priesthood. And so, God, in different ways, in different times, spoke to our fathers. But, in these last days, He has spoken unto us by His Son, whom, and now we find seven facts declared concerning Jesus Christ. He hath appointed Him heir of all things. God's kingdom is yet to come. A glorious kingdom indeed. Through the prophets, God revealed some of the aspects of His kingdom. He opened little windows, and they looked on ahead into this time warp kind of an experience, and they could see the glories of God's kingdom. An earth in which man lived together in peace. An earth that wasn't cursed by Satan. An earth that wasn't ruined by commerce. But every man could freely take what he needed. Everyone's needs were supplied. Men lived together in love and in harmony. A world in which there were no sick people. No physical impairments. Where the lame would leap for joy. Where the dumb would be singing praises unto God. And the blind would behold the glory of God. And so the prophets saw into this glorious age and this glorious kingdom, of which the Father has ordained to put His Son over this kingdom. And He shall reign as King and Kings and Lord of Lords. And He shall sit upon the throne of David to order it and to establish it in righteousness and in justice from henceforth even forevermore. And the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall perform this. So they foresaw this glorious age that God was going to bring to pass. Christ the heir of all things. And we who are in Christ, adopted as sons through Him, have become joint heirs with Christ. So God has appointed Him heir of all things. Secondly, by whom also He made the worlds. So Jesus Christ was the agent by which God created the worlds, the universe. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And all things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made. Colossians tells us that He was, He made all things. It was by Him and for Him were all things created. And by Him all things are held together. Colossians. And so He is declared here to be the Creator. Next of all, who being the brightness of His glory. In some of the Bibles that you have, you'll find in the notes there, effulgence. But what does effulgence mean? The Greek word literally is a combination of two Greek words. The first being off and the second being shining. He is the off shining of God. Now there is surrounding God a glorious brilliance. The glory of God so bright that man cannot perceive it. Brilliant to see. A light unapproachable by man we are told. This shining forth of God. In heaven we're not going to need any light of the sun or the moon. For the Lamb shall be the light. The glory, the outshining of God through Jesus Christ will light up heaven. There will be just a glow about everything. Everything will just be glowing as you get there. Glowing with the presence of God. The Shekinah of God that lit the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. You remember as they made the tabernacle, as the priest came into the holy place, the outer court. Well actually from the outer court into the holy place as he enters now into the tent itself. This first room, some fifteen by thirty feet. On the right hand side the table of showbread with the twelve loaves of bread, one for each tribe. In front of the curtain, the veil that went into the Holy of Holies was the altar of incense. On the left hand side the seven golden candlesticks representing the Holy Spirit as we find in the book of Revelation. And these seven golden candlesticks lit the holy place. But when he went behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies there was no light in there. There was the Ark of the Covenant and the chair of him but it was lit by the presence of God. Just the glow of God's presence. Now Jesus is the off shining of God. The brightness. Just that off shining of God's glory is there in Christ. And then he is the express image of his person. Jesus said, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He is the express image of his person. And then he said, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He is the express image of his person. Or as we might say today concerning a kid, he's a spitting image of his own man. The express image of God. So he who has the Son has the Father. He who rejects the Son rejects the Father also. He is the express image of the person of God. You cannot love God and hate his Son. You cannot receive God and reject his Son. They come as a package. To have one is to have the other. Read 1 John. You deny the Son you deny the Father. He's the express image of his person. And then he is upholding all things by the word of his power. Now it is interesting to me that in the beginning when God created the universe, he created it by divine fiat. That is, he declared it into existence. And God said, light be and light was. That's literally from the Hebrew. Yahiyar wa Yahiyar. Light be and light was. He spoke it into existence. And God said, let there be a firmament dividing the waters. And God said, let the dry land appear. He spoke these things into existence. And so the worlds were created by the word of his power. But the worlds are also being held together by the word of his power. And as we mentioned this morning, in atomic structure there is an interesting phenomenon. And that is positive clusters or positive charges clustered together in the nucleus of an atom. That's contrary to Coulomb's law of electricity. That tells us that there is a repelling force of positive charges. If you had one tablespoon full of positive charges, just solid positive charges, and you set it at the South Pole and you add another tablespoon full of positive charges and you set it at the North Pole, it would take 30,000 tons of pressure to hold the positive charges at the poles because at that distance the pressure of the repelling force of positive charges would be so great that it would be pushing away from each other and so it would take 30,000 tons of pressure to hold them on the poles. Try and put positive poles together of magnets and you'll find that it takes force to hold them together. You can put them together but you've got to hold them there by force because the natural law of positive charges is that of repelling each other. And yet within the nucleus of an atom, clustered together are these positive charges, defying the law of electricity. Now, we have learned how to upset the balance of the nucleus of an atom and allow the positive charges to follow their natural instinct of repelling and we have the atomic bomb, we have atomic fission. And what we're doing is just upsetting the balance, the structure in the nucleus of an atom and allowing the positive charges to be released and we know the tremendous power that was unleashed when we allowed the positive charges to follow their natural bent in the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, that same power that was released, equal power is necessary to hold those atoms together. So he has created an interesting universe that has a self-destruct mechanism within it. And all that has to happen for this whole universe to just blow in one, they talk about the big bang, but all that has to happen for another big bang to take place in the universe is for him to just let go. It's all being held together by the word of his power. He said, let there be firmament. Let there be dry land. And it appeared and it was there and all he had to say is, let it go. And that force that is holding together the atoms, the positive charges within the nucleus of each atom, if it were released, you'd just have a horrendous bang and the positive charges would be heading out to the vast, infinite edges of space as they'd be pushing away from each other. You really wonder how powerful is the word of God, that he could speak the universe into existence, but just as easily he could speak the universe out of existence. Oh, how awesome is the God that we serve. Jesus Christ, the express image of his person upholding all things by the word of his power. When he by himself purged our sins. It is interesting. We talk about God speaking to man through angels. And even in the new testament, God spoke to men by angels. It was an angel of the Lord that came to Mary and told her that she was going to bear the Messiah. And then during the life of Jesus, the angel spoke, the angels told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. The angel warned Joseph to take the child and flee to Egypt because Herod was going to seek to kill the child. And when Jesus, after he was tempted by the devil, the angels came and ministered unto him. And there in the garden of Gethsemane, the angels ministered unto him. But when he was upon the cross, there were no angels ministering to him. That was a task he had to accomplish by himself. It was significant in the old testament that on the day of atonement, the high priest was the only one who could offer the sacrifices unto God that day. During the regular daily sacrifices, there were different priests that would offer sacrifices unto the Lord. But on the day of atonement, when the sacrifices were to be offered for the sins of the people, the nation, only the high priest could serve that day. He had to do all of the butchering of the some, oh, twenty-seven animals or so forth that were offered that particular day. And then he would have to go alone into the Holy of Holies with the blood of the offering to make atonement for the sins of the people. Significant because Jesus in making atonement for us, had to go it alone. No angels to comfort or succor him there, but alone he bore our sin and our guilt and died in our place. Made atonement for you and for me. And so had by himself purged our sins. And now has sat down with us in the right hand of the majesty on high. So we see Jesus now sitting down at the right hand of God. And we are going to be told in chapter two of his waiting there until all things have been brought in subjection unto him. Now, we begin at this point in chapter one discovering the superiority of God's revelation through Jesus Christ, the superiority of Jesus Christ over the angels. Now, the Jehovah witnesses teach that Jesus Christ was Michael, the Archangel. But here we're going to find out that Jesus is definitely superior to an angelic being. He's not an angelic being elevated to a divine state. He was in the beginning with God and thought it not robbery or something to be grasped to be equal with God. He has co-existed with the Father from the beginning. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Mormons would make him the Lord of the world. They would make him a cherub, the brother of Lucifer, for Lucifer was the anointed cherub and being a brother of Lucifer. When God wanted to redeem the world, he called for these two brothers to offer their plans of redemption. And when they had offered their plans of redemption, the father chose the plan that Jesus offered and it made his brother Lucifer very angry. And so he came down and was determined to disrupt the plan of his brother Jesus through sibling rivalry. But we will learn that Jesus is much higher than Lucifer. In fact, he's not an opposite to Lucifer at all. He's not the good angel in Lucifer, the bad angel or the good brother in Lucifer, the bad brother. And it's terrible to bring Lucifer to that elevation of an opposite of God or an opposite of Jesus. So many times we think of them, you know, God and Satan as opposites. Not at all. They are totally in different categories completely. God, self-existent, eternal creator, whereas Satan is a creation of God and does not come into the same category at all as God. Lucifer would be an opposite to Michael, the archangel, and they're going to be tussling. They've tussled in the past. They tussled at the body of Moses. There was a big dispute between Michael and Lucifer over the body of Moses. Michael didn't bring a railing accusation against him, but just said, the Lord rebuke you. When the angel was sent to Daniel with the message from God and Satan captured the angel and held him captive, Michael came and set him free. That great prince came and he set me free and I've come now to bring you the message, the angel told Daniel. Michael and Satan have come into conflict before and in the book of Revelation, they're going to come into conflict again. Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon and his angels. But Jesus is not the opposite of Satan. Michael would be. Jesus, again, is the express image of the person of God. He is the offshining of the glory of God. He is that which we see of God. And so he was made so much better than the angels as he by, hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, that is, did God say, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Psalms 2 says, 7. God declared of him, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. God could never say that of Lucifer. God would never say that of Michael. It was said only of Jesus Christ. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. The prophecy in 2 Samuel, the seventh chapter of God to David. When David said he wanted to build a house for God and Nathan had to tell David that God wouldn't allow him to build the house because his hands were bloodied with war. But you tell David, he said that I'm going to build him a house and I shall raise up of David a seed and he shall sit upon the throne forever. And I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. God's declaration to David concerning the seed that should rise up from David and reign over the world. With that announcement, David was speechless as he knelt before God. He said, what can I say? I was nothing. I was only a shepherd kid chasing after sheep and you called me to rule over your people. And now you have spoken of the kingdom to come. Oh God, what can I say? And David, probably the most articulate person in the history of man was speechless before the grace and the goodness of God. Oh, it's glorious when God reveals his love and goodness to us to the point that you just become speechless. As Savinor Ola said, worship when it reached, reaches the ultimate words are impossible. God, you're too much. What can David say? And again, and he's making several quotations and it's interesting. This fellow had a tremendous grasp of the old Testament scriptures. And again, when he brings the first begotten into the world, he said, and let all of the angels of God worship him. Now this you won't find in your old Testament, but it is in the Septuagint Virgin version of the old Testament, which was a translation of the Hebrew into the Greek by 70 Hebrew scholars. That's the term Septuagint who wanted the people to be able to have the scriptures in a language they could understand. And so they translated the Hebrew into the Greek after the Babylonian captivity, the return for the Babylonian captivity. It's called the Septuagint Virgin. It's the Greek version of the old Testament. And in Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 43 of the Septuagint, this translation comes from that. And let all of the angels of God worship him. Now he's never said this of any angel before, but of the sun and of the angels. What did God say of angels? He made his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. But under the sun, he saith thy throne, O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Now here's an interesting thing. Psalm 45, six and seven, where God calls Jesus God. Now John calls him God and John says that gospel. Paul calls him God. Thomas called him God, my Lord and my God. And now God calls him God. It's a shame the Jehovah witnesses have such trouble calling him God when Jehovah himself calls him God. Under the sun he saith thy throne, O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom and thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God hath anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy fellows. Going back to verse seven and of his angels, he saith who maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. That is a quotation from Psalm one oh four four. And, uh, it is interesting that we will, uh, talk a little bit more about the angels and, and the, uh, ministry of angels in verse 14. And I'll wait till we get there to bring it up. Verse nine or verse 10 and thou Lord in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands. Quotation from Psalm one oh two, they shall perish, but you remain and they all shall wax old as death a garment and as a vesture shall thou fold them up and they shall be changed. But thou art the same and thy years shall not fail. Talking now about the eternal nature of the sun. Even the universe is going to grow old. The universe is growing old. The universe is gradually in a state of entropy, deterioration. The sun is giving off 1,200,000 tons of mass every second. Given enough time, the sun will flicker out and die. The fire will go out in enough time. The heavens grow old like a garment, but you remain. Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away. My word will never pass away. The universe, the material universe is going to pass away. Seeing then that all these things are going to be dissolved. Speaking of the material universe, what manner of persons ought we to be? If the material universe is going to pass away, dissolve. It's important that we be spiritual men and spiritual women and that our stock be in spiritual things, not in the material things because they will pass. But Lord, you've existed and you shall exist. You're forever. You are the same. Your years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Never said that to any angels. And yet to the sun in Psalm 110, verse one. Speaking of the angels, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs of salvation? Now, the angels are, first of all, ministering spirits. And that first term recognizes their ministry unto God. In Isaiah, as he saw the throne of God, he saw the seraphim as they were worshiping God saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty. In our study in the book of Revelation chapter four, when John saw the heavenly scene, he saw the cherubim around the throne of God saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty. Their first ministry is to God in the worship of God there in the heavenly scene. But God dispatches them to his children to minister to us or to serve us at particular times of need. When in Isaiah, when John saw the seraphim as Isaiah was beholding in chapter six, this scene of the throne of God and the seraphim saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty, as they were declaring the holiness of God, here's Isaiah realizing, yee, I'm a sinful man. Here's the holiness of God. And he realized how unutterably wicked he was. Oh, woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst the people of unclean lips. And God dispatched one of the seraphim with a coal, a live coal from the altar. And he touched the lips of Isaiah and said, now you are clean. So you see, he was a ministering spirit. He was there worshiping God saying, holy, holy, holy. And when Isaiah cries out, Oh, I'm unclean, you know, then God dispatches him to serve man. So the angels exist, first of all, to serve God, but are dispatched to be ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation. Now in Psalms, it said he will give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all of thy ways, to bear thee up lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. So these angels are actually ministering spirits, but God never said to the angels or to any particular angels, let the angels of God worship him. Or did he say to any angel, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstools because they are servants. And Jesus is not there as a servant. He is there reigning and a vast difference over the angels who worship and serve God continually there in the presence of God and Jesus who sits there to be worshiped and to be served reigning there upon the throne. Therefore we ought to take the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip or more literally we should drift away from them. Now God has spoken unto us by his son, the complete revelation, and we have better give the more earnest heed to what God has said through the son than what he said through angels or through prophets or through others. We better give more earnest heed to these things which we have heard, lest at any time we should drift away from them. And that was the danger with the Hebrew believers of drifting away from this position of salvation through the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, going back again to the law to seek to be justified before the Lord. That was the danger of their position. You better take the more earnest heed to these things, which we have heard that you're not drift away from them. For if the word that was spoken by angels who are inferior and inferior revelation, well, the revelation is good, but an inferior medium of revelation, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, then how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and then was confirmed unto us by those that heard him. So let's take the more earnest heed at the things which we have heard, the things which Jesus has taught us concerning salvation, concerning God's plan of salvation for man through faith in Jesus Christ. For it was Jesus who said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved. And this is the condemnation that light came into the world, but they would not come to the light. For men love darkness rather than light for their deeds were evil. And so the finish of that chapter for he that hath the son hath life and he that hath not the son of God hath not life, but the wrath of God abides on him. We better take the more earnest heed to the things which Jesus has spoken to us. For if the words that the angel spoke was steadfast, if it, you know, if what they said was true and it held, their word held, the things are true and they hold true, then how much more the things that were taught us by Jesus Christ. How are we going to escape if we neglect this great salvation? How are you going to be saved? You can't go back to the law. For under the law every transgression receives a just recompense of reward. Under the law you get what's coming to you. That's what the law is all about. But Jesus taught us the grace of God and the forgiveness of our sins through our faith and trust in him. And so we better take the more earnest heed. We better not drift away from this as some of the Jewish Christians were prone to do drifting away from the truth in Christ and seeking again to be justified by the works and the deeds of the law. And so Jesus, first of all, proclaimed this glorious salvation and message of salvation. And then those who heard him, the disciples, confirmed the things to us that Jesus said. And then God also bore them witness, both with signs and wonders and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will. And so the word was first spoken by Jesus, the word of faith, salvation through faith. It was confirmed by the disciples who had heard Jesus. And then God himself confirms the witness with the signs and the wonders and the miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were operated by those apostles who had heard the message from Jesus and declared the message, God proving it now to be true. Yes, they are of God. And here's the proof, the signs, the wonders and the different miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Notice the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will. Again, as Paul talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in first Corinthians chapter 12, he said the Holy Spirit dividing to each man severally as he wills. I cannot buy this, that you have all the gifts of the Spirit. All you need to do is exercise them whenever the need arises. The gifts of the Spirit are operated only as God wills. The Spirit divides them severally as he wills. I don't control the gifts of the Spirit in my life. That is, I can't say, well, this is the gift I'm going to exercise now. It's a work of the Holy Spirit and it remains in the sovereign work of God's Spirit within my life. For unto the angels has he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. The angels aren't going to be ruling the world that is to come. They will still be serving. But one in a certain place testified saying, and of course we know who that one was. It was David, the psalmist. What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him? Now, David was an outdoors man. If any of you fellows are outdoors men, then you'll love David. He was, he was a man's man. Love the outdoors. Great hunter, great sportsman. Spent a lot of nights sleeping under the stars in a time when there was no smog, nor powerful city lights that dimmed your vision of the heavens. But under those black Judean skies lit by the brilliance of the stars and planets and galaxies, he often would look up and as he would look up at the vast universe above his head, he would think how nothing I am. And so in Psalm 8, when I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him? God, who am I that you should even think about me? Have you ever had that overwhelming experience of, of sleeping out up in the mountains or by a stream or out in the desert where you can just, you know, see the Milky Way and you can see just, looks like jillions of stars. And as you begin to contemplate, contemplate the heavens above your head, have you ever had that? I've, I have, this psalm really speaks to me. I've had this experience so many times. As I've considered the heavens, the work of God's fingers and, and these stars and all that God has ordained. And I thought, wow, what am I? This planet Earth is just like a little speck of dust rotating around the sun or revolving around the sun, rotating on its axis out here in a little corner of the Milky Way galaxy. Our sun being one of the billions of stars within the galaxy. Here am I just a little speck of dust on this little speck of dust. I'm so insignificant in the whole world, especially when you get out there in the desert and you know, you hear coyotes over the hill and, and you think you hear rattlers nearby and you're lying there in the cot and all you hear are just the sounds of the desert and the quietness in the sky above your head. And it seems like there's no one for a thousand miles. And you think who am I that God would even think about me? What is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you should visit him? Who am I that God should visit me, that he should come to me, that I could have the privilege of just having God come to me, that I might worship him and talk to him and fellowship with him and feel his presence there. Who am I, God, that you should even be mindful of me or that you should come and visit me? And I feel your presence and your closeness and your nearness. Speaking of man, you made him a little lower than the angels and you crowned him with glory and honor. And you did set him over the works of thy hands. So man was created a little lower than the angels. Angels are ministering spirits. They can take on a bodily form, but they are not restricted by a body as we are restricted by our bodies. You see, our bodies made up of atoms experience the repelling force of atoms when we walk into a wall. You want to know the repelling force of positive charges? Run into the wall. Now, theoretically, you should be able to run right through that wall because there's much more space in that wall than there is solid matter. There's much more space in your body than there is solid matter. In fact, if you would reduce the solid matter of your body to just plain solid matter, you'd be the size of a microscopic speck of dust. You'd weigh the same, but it just collapsed the atoms in your body and you'd be the size of a speck of dust. You're just a bunch of blown up atoms. You see, there's very little matter to the electrons. Two and a half quintillion of them could be lined up single file and only be one inch long. To count them would take you 19 million years counting day and night at the rate of 250 a minute. Very little mass to an electron. There's a little more mass to a proton. Now, the atom being the nucleus of the protons with the electrons revolving around it, the distance at which the electrons revolve around the nucleus of the atom are such that if the proton or the nucleus of the atom was the size of a basketball, if you would blow it up, expand it to the size of a basketball, the electron that is spinning around it would be 3000 miles away. That's how much space there is between the nucleus of the atom and the electrons that revolve around it. So there's more space than there is solid matter. But we have this other problem of the repelling force of positive charges that keep us from passing through the walls. However, it would be possible if you were made up of a different molecular structure to walk right on through that wall and leave it unimpaired. Now, the resurrected body of Jesus evidently was of a different molecular structure because the disciples were all in the room, the doors and all were being shut, and yet Jesus suddenly appeared right in the room with them. Now, according to scientists, it would be perfectly possible for two worlds to coexist at the same time in the same place, both of them passing through each other, both of them unconscious of the other's existence, but just made up of different molecular structures. So there could be another whole world right here. And some, you know, super jet could be flying through here right now, you know, with a lot of passengers on board heading for some continent far away. And there they went and you weren't even aware of it. Now, interesting concept. I like it because I believe that it is true that there are two worlds that coexist side by side, passing through each other. And on our part, we are unconscious of the other's existence, but it is real. There is the world of the spirit and these spirits are all around us. Are they not all ministering spirit sent forth to minister to those that are heirs of salvation? For the most part, we're totally unaware of their presence and yet they are here passing through, passing by, helping, strengthening, ministering. Reaching out and giving the helping hand. They're conscious of our existence, but we're unconscious of theirs. And heaven isn't that far away. I think it's right here only in a different molecular structure. You know, we think, oh, the throne of God must be way, you know, and you get there in the desert at night and you see all this, you know, throne of God must be way. How many millions of light years out there, you know, how far do my prayers have to travel to get to God? And if God dwells at the other end of his universe and I could speed my prayers on a ray of light, it'd take him 12 billion years to get there. And by the time I got my answer, it'd be too late. Paul said concerning God, for in him we live and we move and we have our being. He's all around us. We often are unconscious of his existence because we don't see, but nevertheless he is here. And in him we live, we move, we have our being. We're surrounded by him. He's just in a different molecular structure, passing through, passing by. It's all perfectly scientific. And so God made man a little lower than the angels and he crowned him with glory and honor. And he did set him over the works of his hands. God said to Adam, I give you dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, every moving and creeping thing. Have dominion over them. So God placed man over the works of his hands and he has put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all things in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But what do we see? We see Jesus who also became a man who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. He had to become a man in order to redeem man. He had to become next of kin in order to redeem that which man had forfeited to Satan, the world itself. We see Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. As God, he could not die. He had to become a man, take on the limitations. But we see him now crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. There you have what redemption is all about. The wages of sin is death. But God laid upon him the iniquities of us all and he tasted death for every man. Now this is talking about spiritual death. And as we have told you, the difference between the earthly understanding of death and the spiritual definition of death is that from an earthly standpoint, death is the separation of a man's consciousness from his body. When you are in a terminal state and they connect the EEG probes to your shaved head and they watch the monitor, when the little line goes flat, they say, there is no brain activity. And they'll watch the flat line for 24 hours and then they'll pull the plug. They'll say, he's dead. There is no brain activity for 24 hours. When they pull the plug, they will watch the line because if there is any life at all, even in that state, your brain will start searching for oxygen. And if there's any flutter at all, then they plug the oxygen back in and say, well, you know, not quite gone yet. The brain started searching for oxygen. But when the consciousness has been separated from the body, they say you're dead. Now, from a biblical standpoint, when your consciousness is separated from God, you are dead. The man who lives without the consciousness of God is dead. He's spiritually dead. Jesus tasted of death for every man. You remember on the cross, he cried, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? At that point, when our sins were placed upon him, he suffered the consequence of our sins. Being forsaken of God, he suffered death for us. And so we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Now, because he tasted death for me, I don't have to taste death. I will not taste death. Jesus said, if you live and believe in me, you will never die. I will never die. Oh, you say, you think you're going to live forever? You're going to live forever. You're really nuts now, man. I'm talking of it in a biblical sense. I will never be separated from God. I don't have to be. Jesus took my sins and he tasted death for me that I don't have to taste of that spiritual death. I will never be separated from God. Oh, I'm going to move. My old spirit is going to move out of this old tent one of these days. It's going to move into the new building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And that will be a day of rejoicing and blessing. But I won't die because I'll never be separated from God. Oh, the papers might read Chuck Smith died, but that's because those reporters don't know enough about it. Poor reporting again. They've reported poorly on me many times in the past. I hope that some reporter has enough sense when my spirit moves out of this tent to write in the paper, Chuck Smith moved out of an old worn out tent, raggedy old tent full of holes into a beautiful new mansion, the building of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So Jesus tasted of death for every man, which means you don't have to taste of death. He was forsaken of God so that you won't have to be forsaken of God because he took upon himself your sin and the consequence of your sin, that separation from God. For as the prophet said, God's hand is not short that he cannot say neither is his ear heavy that he cannot hear. But your sins have separated you from God. That is the effect of sin. But Jesus tasted of death for every man for it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things. Notice again the place of Jesus. All things are for him. This is told us in Colossians chapter one. All things were made by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things are held together. Now here again, the same declaration concerning Jesus. All things are by him and all things here it declares are for him and by whom are all things. He is the creator, but he is more than that. He is the object of creation. As when in the book of Revelation, the twenty four elders announcing the worthiness of God to receive the glory offered by the cherubim for thou has created all things and for thy good pleasure they are and were created created by him. Yes, but more than that, I was created for him and your life will never be complete or never be satisfied until you start living for him. As long as you live for yourself, you'll find your life will be empty, meaningless, frustrating, but the minute you start living for him, your life becomes rich and fulfilling. It became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation complete through sufferings. And so there was a work of God being wrought through the sufferings of Christ in Isaiah, the fifty third chapter as he prophesied the sufferings of Jesus for it pleased the father to bruise him. Now here is the captain of our salvation made complete and we'll understand this as we get to the end of the chapter, how he has become complete through his suffering because it is through his suffering that he can understand what it is to experience suffering. How can anyone ever really comfort you at the loss of your dearest friend if they've never lost anybody they know? If they don't know what the grief is of having a child die, how can they comfort you in your death if they don't know what it is to experience it themselves? Those who have been through the experience are those who know what you are feeling. They are able to empathize with you and to really minister to you because they've been there, they know what it's about. They know what it is to have such grief that your stomach aches. They know what it is to have such grief that you feel you can't swallow, you're going to choke to death because of the ache that is there and just hangs there in your throat. Jesus, because he suffered, made complete our captive of our salvation because now he is able to understand and thus to help us when we are in need and trouble. For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one. In other words, we have been made one together with Jesus Christ. That's what the word fellowship means. Coming into fellowship with our Lord. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them his brothers. Oh, if we only realize what Jesus has done for us, suffered, tasted death for us, and now he calls us his brothers. We are one together with him. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brothers in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him and behold, I and the children which God hath given, hath given me." So here, I and the children which God hath given me. Jesus made the way for each of us to come into the presence of God and to become a part of the kingdom of God by tasting death for us, by bearing our sin and our iniquity, by purging us himself from our sins, and now to present us as brothers, joint heirs with him unto the Father, to share together with him the glories of God's eternal kingdom. No wonder David said, what shall I render unto God for all of his benefits unto me? When I think of what Jesus has done for me, what can I do for him? To show my thanksgiving, my appreciation for tasting of death for me, by bearing the guilt of my sin, by taking the penalty that belonged to me, by granting me this glorious privilege of being an heir with him of God's eternal kingdom. What in the world can I render unto God to show my love and appreciation for such things? I feel such a beggar sometimes. I have nothing to offer him. He has done all for me and I have so little to give to him, but all he wants is that I just give him my heart and my life. That means more to him than any bucks that I could ever drop in the plate. Just give me your suck, give me your love, spend some time with me. Turn off your TV and just spend some time with me. That's all he's asking. Fellowship with you. Give me some time. And we even fail there. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, you see I'm made of flesh and blood, this body, made a little Lord of the angels. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. He came in a body of flesh. He shed his blood for my sins. He took on the limitations of a body of flesh. Experienced the same pain of weariness that you experience in a body of flesh. Knew what it was to be tired. Knew what it was to stub his toe. Knew what it was to hit his finger with a hammer. Knew what it was to experience the restrictions and the limitations and the pain and the suffering that we have in a body of flesh and blood. He partook of the same. That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. That is the devil. So Jesus through his death, the word destroy, categorical, put out of business. He who had the power of death. That is the devil. He who brought death to mankind by tempting Eve and Adam. And so Satan has no longer a hold over me because of sin. I have been made righteous through Jesus Christ. Satan then has no more claim upon me as far as death because of my sin. Because Jesus has cleansed me from my unrighteousness and has made me righteous before God. And so through his death he put out of business the one who had the power of death. The claim of death upon me. That is the devil. And he delivered them who through fear of death were all of their lifetime subject to bondage. That is the bondage of sin and the slavery to sin. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took upon himself the seed of Abraham. He became as a man. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brothers that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God to make the reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted he is able to succor them that are tempted. So our great high priest Jesus Christ understands us and that's important. He understands us because he came in a body of flesh and he experienced the limitations in all of this body of flesh. And so he was made like us in order that he might be a merciful. He has mercy upon me. He knows what it is to go through the hassles of life. He knows what it is to be hungry. He knows what it is not to have money for taxes. He knows what it is to be pressed unjustly for taxes by the government. He knows these things that we have experienced, these things that we chafe under. He knows what it's about and thus he is merciful in that he himself has suffered. He is able to also minister to us and to help us when we're tempted. He knows what it is. He has experienced it. The Bible says that God knows our frame. He understands we're but dust. God help us to understand that. So many times we see ourselves with a cape and the S on the chest, you know, super saint able to leap over the buildings with a single bound faster than a speeding bullet. Here I am the super saint, you know. The Bible warns us about that kind of a feeling or attitude. Let a man take heed when he thinks he stands, lest he falls. The only way I stand is he is holding me up. But hey, when he is holding me up, I can't fall. When I consider to have in the work of your fingers. Now, if you get up tomorrow morning at about four o'clock, providing this cloud cover is gone, you go outside over here in the southwestern sky you will see the constellation Orion. And if you'll look at the left shoulder of Orion, you'll see that great star, Betelgeuse, 465,000 miles in diameter. Thank you. Pardon 465 million miles in diameter. I made it much smaller than it is. The sun is 865,000, but 465,000 miles in diameter. Now that means if the sun was in the middle of Betelgeuse and the earth was rotating around it, you'd have 200 million miles to spare inside the thing to get to the edge of it. That star Betelgeuse is estimated to be traveling at a speed of 19 miles per second. Now, what force do you suppose it took to get Betelgeuse into orbit? That large a body, that large a mass, 465 million miles in diameter. What kind of a force and thrust do you suppose got it going that fast? 19 miles a second. Well, David said, when I consider to have in the work of your fingers. So I see God just sort of flicking Betelgeuse out there. But the Bible says underneath of us are the everlasting arms. If God can flick out Betelgeuse with his finger, surely he can hold me up with his arms. I don't have to worry about falling. The eternal God, the creator of the heaven and the earth, holds me. He loves me. I'm his child. He sent his son in order to redeem me from my sin, that he might make me an heir of his eternal kingdom. Oh, that God would grant to us a more complete comprehension of the depth of the riches of love that God extended towards us and continues to extend toward us in and through Jesus Christ our Lord. All that I need is found in him, and he is more than sufficient for the task of preserving me and presenting me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. What does he want from me in return? Just some time spent in communion, fellowshipping together. How little to ask when he has given so much. Shall we pray? Father, we feel much like David as we stand here on our tiptoes and try to catch a glimpse over the fence of the vastness of the riches of the glory grace of God and the love of God towards us. God, we feel so unworthy, so undeserving of all that you've done for us. What is man that you are mindful of him? Who am I, Lord, that you should visit me? And yet you died for me. You rose again. You live for me as you make intercession for me there at the right hand of the Father. You uphold me with the right hand of your power. You keep me day by day. Oh God, my God, how excellent is thy name in all the earth and how I love you tonight. Teach us your ways, Lord, that we might walk in your truth and bring glory unto the praise of thy grace. In Jesus' name, amen. Just a little throw in here. It's an article out of the paper. The scientists are puzzled by a galaxy with the energy of two trillion suns. I like these little things. A galaxy that is only faintly visible from earth by telescope has been found to emit as much energy as two trillion suns. But the source of the energy remains a mystery, astronomers said Monday. The galaxy known as ARP 220 and 300 million light years from the earth was discovered in 1966. Data from an orbiting infrared telescope launched in 1983 has revealed that the galaxy is a rare formation because 99% of its energy is emitted in the form of heat rather than visible light, said Dr. B. Thomas Sofer of the California Institute of Technology. Most of ARP's 220's energy is in the infrared part of the spectrum and the amount of energy it emits makes it one of the most luminous infrared galaxies ever discovered. Sofer also told the National, the Annual Convention of American Astronomical Society, an infrared galaxy is one that emits more energy in the form of heat than light. The Milky Way emits amounts equal in heat and light, so it is not an infrared galaxy. But that's interesting. Two trillion times more energy than the sun. We'll take a visit to ARP 220 one of these days. Check that thing out. You know, that vast universe out there just holds a lot of interesting things that we'll be able to do, you know, to explore and discover. So I said, oh, I don't want to go to heaven, sit on a cloud, twirl my thumbs and play a harp. Well, I'll tell you what, there's going to be a lot more excitement than that. As we discover the vastness of God's love and grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. God bless you. Spend some time with him. Take time to just sit and listen to him. And commune, worship, and fellowship. And thus may you have a very profitable week as you grow in your walk and in your relationship with him.