HEBREWS 1:1-3

                            "PORTRAITS OF CHRIST"

 

INTRO: I really admire those blessed skill to paint or draw! SB/CM Those who can take canvas & make it come to life.

A.)    Incredible talent - (I don't have it- STICK FIGURES ) my kids 

 

B.)    Equally impressive to me are those who paint with a pen.  Writers who illustrate a scene or story, using  descriptive words

1.) Make you feel like you are right there. You know the person they are

   talking about!!!!  - LUCADO

 

C) Here in book of Hebrews the writer - describe for us the greatest Person who ever lived: Our Lord Jesus Christ.--- 

 

Now we noted in our study last time that Hebrews was written to Jewish people who had converted to Christ

A)But their Conversion was a COSTLY ONE! – They were blackballed by their leaders /  ostracized from their families/ cut off from Worship/

 

B) They were stripped of everything that they held dear - All their lives they had had access to the sacred places.  

1) But Now they could have no part in those God-ordained services.

 

C) Plus they were being persecuted by Romans – even though at this point we are told they had not yet resisted unto blood – it was coming

1)   Countless millions would lose their lives

 

D) We are given a description of what they were currently enduring in Heb. 10:32,33 32Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong. 33Sometimes you were hurt and attacked before crowds of people, and sometimes you shared with those who were being treated that way.

 

 

My Point is this these were not lightweight believers

A)This wasn’t some flippant backsliding that was taking place / they were not wishy washy in their commitment, they knew it was ALL or NOTHING

 

B) Their Lives were an example of COUNTING THE COST – and because of what they were up against some were DISCOURAGED

 

C) Now all of us at different points & times in our walks have to Count the Cost of what it really means to Be a Follower of Christ

1)   What it means to make a stand & not be shy

 

D) And all of us at one time or another have experienced BOUTS W/  discouragement .

1) For some it has been – the reminder of the weakness of our flesh – failure

Over whelming feeling of   I will never get this right – give up

 

E) Other times it comes thru a situation of surprise – Something didn’t turn out the way you thought it would or Should have .

1)   Doubt & Discouragement sets in

 

F) Sometimes it is God’s timing in things – Delays we perceive as denials

1) Discouragement sets in TEMPTED to question HIS HEART

 

Well Hebrews has been given to us by God to remind us of the need to get our eyes off of OURSELVES / off of the SITUATION

A)And to see JESUS / hear –JESUS

 

B) And so to these Jews who were being stripped of everything they had held so dear – because of their faith in Christ

1)    The Lord proceeds to CONTRAST all of those things – Rituals etc- to Christ  to reveal those were the Shadows but now you have – real thing

 

C) Away – come home – Shadow – Honey real thing

1)   Now Wed. begin to look at this Contrast – v. 4-14 – ANGELS 

Better than the Angels & why

But before He gets into this contrast He starts by giving us this description of Christ –

A)An Incredible Portrait where Christ is held up like a great Jewel in the Sunlight of God’s Revelation

 

B) And as the light shines on His Jewel seven facets flash w/ gleaming Brilliance !!

     1.)     HIS POSSESSION:   Heir of all things

     2.)     HIS CREATORSHIP:  Creator of the world/ AGES

     3.)     HIS RADIANCE:  Brightness of God's glory

     4.)     HIS BEING:  Express image of His person

     5.)     HIS ADMINISTRATION: Upholds all things word of His

     6.)     HIS SACRIFICE:  He by himself purged our sins

     7.)     HIS EXALTATION: He sat down majesty on high!

 

C) So Before He begins the Contrast – the FATHER wants us to see His SON in His glorious  splendor

1)Like a painter who is painting a picture of a man – in great detail so that we see His strong Chin / Bright eyes/ Big Hands / Bulging Muscles /

 

D) And we watch as He goes along – being captured by the Presence the Power the Beauty & the dignity of this man

1)   And once the man is done He is RADIANT – the portrait could stand alone but then he begins to paint the empty canvas  around the man

 

E) He puts the man in a room – there is a desk / a chair / flowers in a vase

1)    But is all BACKGROUND –It all points to the man / We gain insight into His taste/ His occupation 

 

e) Everything is seen in light of the man & Connected to the man / only adds to our understanding of Who He is / What He does/ Likes

 

F) That is what the Father is doing in this book – He begins w/ this seven fold Description this Portrait of His Son

1)   Everything from here on out is seen in light of this / FOUNDATION

Now one last note before we jump in – Why 7 Descriptions ? We know there are over 100 names & Portraits of Christ in scripture –

A)Why 7 & Why these 7 ? Two reasons  / 1st – 7 is the number of Completion – Complete Description & Picture of Christ

 

B) He is lifted up here / We see His Deity / His Power / His Radiance / His Atoning work / And the Glorious End of His Work /

 

C) 2nd reason is I think these 7 descriptions are just what any discouraged believer needs to see of Christ

1)   In order to keep on going in their faith / In  order to not give up

 

FREDICK THE GREAT –Czar of Russia/ General/ counting you for 10,000

 

D) Question how big is Christ

 

Consider 3 today – the remainder next Sunday

A)1st – He is the HEIR OF ALL THINGS 

 

B) A person's inheritance is according to the Father's Possession

1)   This was a Huge thing in Jewish Culture – Elder Brothers responsibility to fairly divide the inheritance

 

C) A man was measured by His worth – ( it would play a part in who He would marry / standing in the community – what His kids would do later)

 

So to those who were on the verge of losing everything for their decision to follow Christ –

A)The Father wanted them to understand that His Son their Savior is the Heir of all things /  Heir of all God's possessions

 

B) Even the Psalms predicted that He would one day be the heir to all that God possesses. “Psa. 2 Messianic

You are My Son,8 Ask of Me, and I will give You  The nations for Your inheritance,  And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

C) Think about all that Includes / The Nations / the World – All of heaven all of the Earth – BEYOUND OUR COMPREHENSION

 

 

In Rev. 5, God is pictured sitting on a throne, with a scroll in His hand.

The scroll is the title deed to the earth and all that is in it.

A)It is the Title deed for the Heir, the One who has the right to take the earth. It has seven Seals upon it !!!

 

B) In New Testament times Roman law required that a will had to be sealed seven times, to protect it from tampering.

 1) As you rolled it up, you sealed it every turn  for seven times. –Official

 

C)Angels cried out Who is Worthy ….. ? No one/   John Wept – Don’t cry – Lion ….. John Looked saw a Lamb -  THE HEIR

 

D)The Fall / man forfeited the earth over to Satan – but  Jesus came & bought it back – Price paid was His Blood !!!

 

Now in Chapter 6 of Rev. the first sealed is opened / the Tribulation begins

A)That is the first step in Christ’s taking back the earth, which is rightfully His.

 

B)One by one Christ unrolls the seals. As each seal is broken, He takes further possession and control of His inheritance.

  1)Finally, the 7th seal is opened & there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever’” the earth is His

 

C)Jesus comes again to lay hold of His Inheritance !!!!

1)  He is the Heir of all things!

 

 

 

Now when someone inherits an Estate – given many things – but some are more valuable to them than others

A)It might be a Special family picture / piece of Jewelry / the house he grew up in / the farm he worked w/ his father on

 

B) And He would be satisfied w/ that one thing – it is a Treasure to Him

1)   The rest is like icing on the Cake !!!

 

C) When Christ redeemed the World – there was one treasure in it that He desired – YOU & ME !!!!!

 1) Jesus described this : Matt. 13:44 “ the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 

D) We were that Treasure that Jesus came to Purchase

1)   But in Romans 8:16,17 we are told that He not only purchased us but He

     has made us Co-heirs with Him!  / All He has is ours too!!!

 

E) Rev. 21:7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things.”

1)   The richest, man who ever lived could not say that all things were his,

      but the poorest Christian who ever lived can say that.

 

Heb. 1:14 heirs of Salvation

Heb. 6:14 Heirs of the Promise

Titus 3;7 Heirs according to the Hope of eternal life

James 2:5 heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to them that love him;”

 

It is beyond comprehension – all that this inheritance includes

1 Cor. 2:9 eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

 

A) That is the Question do You Love Him / are you in His company !!

 Psalmist –Psa.16:5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

Psa. 73:26 My flesh & my heart fail;  But God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever.        Best & all He gives us Himself

So to those who Had lost everything for their faith in Christ / the Father first reveals His Son as the Heir of all things

A)Pt.  everything they would lose – because of embracing Christ – would be gained in a greater sense – because of their relationship w/ Christ

 

B)They Lost access to earthly temple – they gained – Heavenly one

They were unable to communicate w/ physical Priest / Heavenly Priest

 

C) They were cut off from their families / but they became a part of the family of God

 

 

#2 - Consider HIS CREATORSHIP; through whom made world!

A.)    The term world usually is Cosmos / But  here it is different word with broader meaning - not just material world; but the ages

 

B)Translation: Jesus not only responsible creation physical earth, but time, space, energy, matter!

  1) All of History – HIS/ STORY  /  Laid out the ages as well as the World

 

Consider vastness of our universe:  Sun is 865,000 miles in diameter we could put 1.3 million earths inside sun - room left 4.3 million moons

A)But the next nearest star Alpha Centuri;  5 times larger than sun     

 

B) The Sun is  93 million miles from earth

     1.)     The light that illuminates our days takes about eight minutes to reach

           us from the sun, traveling at a speed of 186,000 miles per second.

 

What if the sun were closer?  On Venus the next-closest planet to the sun,. The surface temperature of Venus averages about 875 degrees.

A) What if the sun were further away? On Mars, the farthest planet from the

       sun, the mercury dips to about minus 200.

1)   The folks in Minnesota ought to count their blessings

 

C) Did you know that the moon, too, is obviously positioned very strategically for our sakes? / 

  1)If it were just a little bit closer Miami would be under water for twelve hours each day due to the moon's increased gravitational pull on the Atlantic

 

D)And when the tide came in, it would rush like a tidal wave./

     So the heavens declare the glory of God / a Order / a Design

  1) John 1:3 "Apart from Him nothing came into being came into being."   

 

Jesus, our hero, is the Creator!  Created all - sustains it all - upholds all things word of His power!

A.)    His administration: Holds all in the span of His hand!

 

B.)    Word upholding: signifies to carry or support/ Done by His Word !!!!

     1.)     Not sweating - not tired; not aching - muscles -                       

 

"Young man, if you can tell me something that JESUS can do, I'll give you a big shiny apple." Thoughtfully the boy replied, "Sir, if you can tell me something JESUS can't do, I'll give you a whole box of apples."

 

C) Can you imagine what would happen if Jesus Christ relinquished His sustaining power over the laws of the universe?

1)   If He suspended the law of gravity only for a brief moment, we would all perish, We would go out of existence. / Fly off into Space

 

Consider, for example, what instant destruction would happen if the earth’s rotation slowed down just a little.

A)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  farther away we would freeze.

 

B) 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.

C) If the moon did not retain its exact distance from the earth the ocean tides would inundate the land completely, twice a day.

 

D)How does the universe stay in this kind of fantastically delicate balance? Jesus Christ sustains and monitors all its movements and inter-workings.       

   1) Christ, the preeminent Power, maintains it all by His Word !!!!

 

Listen if He can do that He can take care of you!

A.)   Handle your problems: Uphold you -

 

B) The Father wants us to see Just How Big / Great / Mighty His Son is !!!

    

C) Growing up loved -  B.Ball –– AIA – Dr. J -  Jesus is Huge

1)   Guys, He is big!  Bigger than your problem!

 

D) Phil 1:6 - He begun good work ... complete it

2.) Jude 24:  He is able to keep from falling!

 

He upholds the worlds by His word – He laid out the ages according to His perfect plan

A)He has a perfect plan for your life & my life as well.

 

B) Sometimes I wonder about my hip – why? But lessons learned already invaluable

 1) Met people – relationships established / plant seed – saved – all worth it

 

C) We need to see Him more & Worry Less .

 

Murray – Why does the Father so describe His Son & Why important ?

The more the soul is filled w/ the glory of Christ / the more confidence we will have to count upon him to do a supernatural work in us