Hebrews Chapter 2

Hebrews Chapter 2

vs. 1-4- THE NARROW WAY

- We have been warned before... many times... by Paul and many other authors... Christ Himself warned us... to beware of false teachers and to be careful not to allow ourselves to be led astray.

- Why the constant warning? We've been told time and again to be careful that we're following the right path... Why the repetition?

- Have you ever gone grocery shopping when you were hungry? You start through the aisles... maybe even with a list of all the essential things you need... and the next thing you know, you've loaded the cart up... the chicken looked good... so you got some chicken. And ice cream sounded good. And so did the fish. And there was a new kind of cereal... had to try that. And there was chips. You LOVE potato chips, so you got a couple bags of those. Cheese. Always need cheese. And they had peanut butter on sale! So you got some peanut butter. And tuna. And the list goes on... BUT! you haven't even really started on the things you need on your list... You haven't gotten to the paper towels. Or the cat food. Or the milk. Or the light bulbs. You've been stuck in the food section buying up things that sound good for dinner...

- In our faith... it's easy to get sidetracked... especially when we're hungry. When we feel we need something, we tend to search for it. Even if we don't know what it is. If we don't watch the list... if we don't stay focused on the Word... we can fill up our carts on stuff that's NOT on the list really fast.

- Know Truth. Study it. Learn it. Be ready when you get out in the world.

- Last chapter was talking about Christ being superior to the angels because there were people teaching that the angels should be worshiped right along with Christ.

- If we have looked at the Word... then we know that this is false.

- The author tells us to look at the prophets! "For the message God delivered through the prophets has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished."

- We just went through Hosea. How many times did God tell His people, through the prophets, that judgment was coming? Or that they needed to repent? Or that He still loved them... just come back!

- The word of the prophets always came to pass. Even when the people laughed and scoffed at the prophets... their prophecies always came back around... even if it was 70 years later... or 120... no matter... their words always came to pass... And so the author says, look at the past. How many times did their words come and were ignored by the people? How many times were they ignored? Every disobedience was punished. They weren't empty threats.

- "So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus Himself and then delivered to us by those who heard Him speak? And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose."

- Have you ever heard the saying that "history repeats itself"? There's nothing new under the sun... and the same patterns are repeated over and over again. Great cities rise up... and then fall. Great nations rise up... and then fall. The same mistakes are made over and over again... and not just in politics.

- God is looking to His people and saying "Hey... remember what Israel used to do all the time? How they'd turn away from the words of the prophets and go about their merry way until judgment came? WELL DON'T DO IT AGAIN!"

- God's word is always true... and He never takes back a promise. If there was punishment for sin in the past... there will be punishment for sin in the future...

- The message has been confirmed... PAY ATTENTION!

- There's no need to listen to other teachings. Christ's teaching is the only one that matters... if you start seeking for things you think you need or want outside of the bounds of what Christ taught... you're going to end up heading for judgment and punishment.

- No matter where you hear it or how right it sounds... take every teaching you hear and go back to compare it with the Word. If it matches up, then great! If it doesn't... toss it out. Otherwise... you 'll find yourself filling up your cart with nothings and starving to death in the end.

- Proverbs 19:27

- Psalm 119:113-120

- II Timothy 4:1-8

- Galatians 1:6-10

vs. 5-13- BROTHERS AND SISTERS

- vs. 6-8 are quoted from Psalm 8 which says "O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic Name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of Your strength, silencing Your enemies and all who oppose You. When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers--the moon and the stars You set in place--what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything You made, putting all things under their authority--the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, You majestic Name fills the earth!"

- (The Greek version of that Psalm reads that humans were created a little lower than the angels.)

- When God created man... He put Adam and Eve in charge of everything. He gave them authority over the animals and the fish... all the other creatures. But then... they sinned.

- Genesis 1:26-3:24

- vs. 8 and 9 go on to say "....Now when it says "all things," it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. What we do see is Jesus, Who was given a position, "a little lower than the angels," and because He suffered for us, he is now "crowned with glory and honor...." (Christ was 100% man and 100% God. God's Spirit dwelling in human form. Christ Himself as God, was not lower than the angels... but man is... so Christ humbled Himself, in order to bring about our salvation through his perfect sacrifice.)

- We were given authority over all things... but when sin entered in... everything became imperfect. And in effect... Adam and Eve turned over their authority to Satan. They let Satan become ruler in their place... All of the perfection that God had created, was tainted with sin. But when Christ was made man, became one of us, came and died in our place... that authority is ours again through Him. He broke the power of death, hell, and the grave. No longer does death reign on the earth. Satan is no longer in charge. CHRIST has won the battle for us and He now reigns over everything.

- In our own hearts... there is always a master... we have a choice... to allow Satan to continue his rule in our hearts unchallenged through our sin... or to seek out the redeemer. Seek out the One who can break our chains. He's always there... ready to fight for us if we ask Him.

- Christ died for everyone. Not just a select few. Not just the first disciples. ALL men. Past and present. Anyone can choose to come to Him. "God, for Whom and through Whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that He should make Jesus, through His suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation."

- God didn't have to provide a way for our salvation... but He chose to make a way for all of us. He wants to have us with Him in glory...

- Christ is made into the perfect leader. He has gone through everything that was possible to go through. He was wrongly accused. He was tortured. He was tempted. He died a horrific death. He was alone. He was betrayed. He took on all the sin of the world... and it was so bad... that God had to turn away... His Father turned away from Him in the moment that He needed Him most...

- He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He came solely for the purpose of setting us free through His death. Only through Him could we be saved.

- Through His sacrifice, we have regained our position as children of God. Until Christ came, we had lost our rights as sons and daughters of God through our sin. Through Christ's sacrifice, we have become heirs with Him in glory.

- Luke 10:1-24

- part of Psalm 22 is quoted here... but the whole chapter is about Christ's sacrifice...

- "1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”

9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.

11 Do not stay so far from me,
for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
roaring and tearing into their prey.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.

19 O Lord, do not stay far away!
You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
and from the horns of these wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.

25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.
He rules all the nations.

29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Bow before him, all who are mortal,
all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done."

- I can't help it... that chapter is so... heart wrenching... "My God! Why have you forsaken me!? They mock me! They sneer at me! Don't stay so far away from me in my trouble! God I need you right now! My life is poured out! All my joints are pulled apart! I am in agony! I have no strength left! And I thirst! My tongue is so dry it sticks to my throat. Oh God! Do not stay away from me!" And yet... "I will proclaim Your Name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people."

- KNOWING what He was going to endure... He went anyway. All so that "the poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise Him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to Him. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations."

- He chose to put His trust in God... no matter what...

- John 5:16-47; 18:1-19:42

- I Corinthians 15:25-28

- Philippians 2:6-11

- Romans 8:27-39

- II Timothy 1:8-10

- I John 3:4-10

vs. 14-18- CHRIST THE MAN

- Because we are human... Christ came in human form to be like us. The blood of something else just didn't cut it. Bulls and goats weren't enough. The blood had to be our blood... so Christ became a man. Only by dying could the power of the devil be broken. The author explains that Christ's sacrifice was only for us... not for the angels or anybody else... If He had come to save the angels... He would have had to die as an angel... but He didn't... He died as a human... thereby providing salvation for the human race.

- A quick side note... I thought this was neat... a few years ago I heard a guy teaching from a scientific standpoint. The blood of a child comes from the Father. It never has contact with the mother's blood. Nothing in the body's system connects those two things. Now... where did Christ's blood come from? : ) God had a perfect plan... even down to our own biology and the way things work in our physical bodies. Perfect, holy, righteous blood, for a perfect, holy, righteous sacrifice.

- We couldn't die on our own to break the power... because we didn't have the power to come back and claim our victory.

- Nor could we be our own High Priest. No one could preside over the sacrifice that was necessary to be made... so God came Himself to do it for us. We had to have someone else in place to go before God and ask for our salvation. So now Christ is our High Priest. Our advocate before the throne of God. As High Priest, He offered the perfect sacrifice for our sin... Himself...

- Satan thought that if Christ was dead... that would be the end of it... He fought for Christ's death... but little did he know that Christ was going to defeat death. Death could not hold Him.

- Only through death could He bring us to Life. Even though we still die... that's not the end. The Life He has secured for us is the Everlasting Life after we die in this earthly life. We have hope that this life isn't all there is to things. When we die... it's not the end! It's just the beginning! : ) So don't fear death! There's no reason to fear dying! Christ has conquered it! He reigns supreme!

- Is it still a little scary to think about death? well... it's not like we all have a massive death wish... I mean life here on this earth can be good. There certainly can be a reluctance to think about giving up our families etc...

- I like what Keith Green said though... he said something to the effect that if God took six days to create this earth but has been working on heaven for 2000 years then this earth is a garbage can in comparison to what we're going to have in heaven. I mean think about it... What is there on this earth that could compare? I mean REALLY compare...

- When my pastor died suddenly in 2009, there were a lot of tears... a lot of wonderings why... But in the end... you know...as much as he is missed... and I know that he would have loved to have spent more time with his wife and kids... and I know he loved where he was and what he was doing... I wouldn't ask for him back for anything... cause you know what? He's having the time of his life. He is dwelling in the presence of God with no regrets. No hindrances. Nothing is holding back his praise. He lived his life for that moment when he could enter heaven and be forever with his Jesus.

- As great as this life can be... it doesn't come close to what that one will be like. Are you living this life in preparation for the one to come? You are whether you realize it or not, one way or the other we are preparing for the place we are going to spend all eternity.

- There are still trials in this life... things that we don't understand... things that are hard things to go through... but there is hope even in this life!

- "Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested." God knows exactly where you are.. and what you're going through. He understands more completely than you will ever know...

- When hard things come... go to Christ in prayer... He understands... and He so wants to relieve your worries...

- I John 2:1-6; 4:7-21