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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Great singing. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church in the Wednesday evening Bible study. Thank you for these people coming out here on a Wednesday evening to serve you. I pray that our singing would glorify you, Lord. I pray that you'd bless the service and the preaching come in Jesus name. I pray. Amen. Please turn your song books. Page number two. Twenty four. We're going to sing. There shall be showers of blessing. Page two hundred and twenty four. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. There shall be showers of blessing. This is the promise of love. There shall be seasons refreshing. And from the. To twenty four on the second. There shall be showers of blessing. Precious reviving again. Over the hills and the valleys. Sound of abundance of rain. There shall be showers of blessing. There shall be showers of blessing. There shall be showers of blessing. And the. Oh, Lord. Grant to us now. Oh, man. Now, water of my word. Oh, where's the. Showers of blessing. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the last. There shall be showers of blessing. Oh, that today they might fall. Now, as you. God, we're confessing. Now, as on Jesus, we call. Oh, where's the. Where's the blessing we need. Mercy drops around us are. But for the showers, we. Great singing. Amen. We want to welcome you to the midweek service here at ready Baptist Church. We're glad you're with us. Let's go ahead and take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers will get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, Titus one five for this cause left I.D. and create that thou should have set in order. The things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee. And that's a good verse there, of course, we like that. If you open up your bulletins, you'll see our service times Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. We do invite you to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's day for church Sunday evening service at six p.m. And of course, we're glad you're here for the Wednesday evening Bible study. If you look at our soul winning times, our main sewing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional sewing times on Thursdays and Fridays and Sundays at two p.m. So we, of course, would love you would love for you to come out. On any of those times, if you'd like, we are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infantoids welcome in the service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother, baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed. If you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you on the communication card on the back. You can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course, on Sunday we had the ordination service for Pastor Stuckey. And they are gone, of course. They're on the East Coast spending some time with their family. So be in prayer for them. And then on Sunday night we had Pastor Thompson preach. We had a potluck. Everything went well and everything was good with that. And then, of course, we've got our Bible studies. We are on Sundays setting the book of Numbers. We're calling it Wilderness Wanderings and we're going to be continuing that on Sunday morning. And then tonight we're beginning a brand new book of the Bible. And we're glad that you're with us, of course, as we begin the book of Hebrews. So we'll start that tonight in Hebrews Chapter 1. And if you notice there we have the homeschool group. They've got PE class on Thursday, September 28th at 10 a.m. And then they have a field trip coming up on Tuesday, October 3rd at 10 a.m. Make sure you go by and see my wife if you have not yet got a flyer for the field trip. She has those and see her after the service. And we need you to get the flyer, read it, and RSVP if you're going to come because they need to get that number. We need to be able to get that number and pay for it. Of course, the church pays for it, but we need to know that you're coming and it is a field trip to the Oakland Zoo. So it's a very nice zoo and make sure that you see her after the service. And then there's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service. That's not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of September, for this week, we had Brother David and Miss Victoria Nellitescu's anniversary on September 17th. My son had a birthday, Joel Jimenez, on September 18th. Max Maple, on September 17th. Brother Matt Taylor had a birthday yesterday on September 19th. And then tomorrow, Brother Jacob Sheboyan has a birthday on September 21st. Brother Nate Deakins has a birthday on September 22nd. And Brother Graham and Miss Michelle Scott and Brother Ray and Miss Denise Anderson. Both couples have an anniversary on September 22nd and September 23rd. Praise report, money matters. All of those things are different. Praise report, money matters. All of those things are there for you to look at. Do be in prayer for your church family. We've got several people out sick. I think this afternoon I got maybe four or five different messages from people saying that they weren't feeling well and wouldn't be able to make it. We still have a great turnout tonight. But be praying, of course, for your church family. Everybody gets better. And I think that's it for all of the announcements. So let's go ahead and take our songbooks. And we're going to go to page number 110, page number 110. And we'll sing All the Way My Savior Leads Me as we prepare to receive the offering this evening. Sing it out on the first. All the way my Savior leads me. What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy? Who through life has been my guide? Every peace divine is comfort. Here by faith in Him to dwell. For I know what e'er befall me. Jesus, doeth all things well. For I know what e'er befall me. Here with all things well. 110, sing it out on the second. All the way my Savior leads me. Tears each winding path I tread. Gives me grace for every trial. Feeds me with the living bread. All my weary steps may falter. And my soul hovers may be. Gushing from the walk before me. Oh, a swing of joy I see. Gushing from the walk before me. Oh, a swing of joy I see. Good, sing it out on the last. All the way my Savior leads me. Oh, the fullness of His love. To me, His promise in my Father's house above. When my spirit clothed in water. Weighs its flight to grounds of faith. This my song to endless ages. Jesus, lead me all the way. This my song to endless ages. Jesus, lead me all the way. Amen, good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. We thank you for allowing us to gather together on a Wednesday night. Lord, we pray that you bless the offering, the gift, and the giver. We ask that you meet with us as we take time to pray. And, of course, as we begin this brand new book of the Bible, Lord, I pray that you would bless us as we study this book. And help us to learn and grow as a result. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right. Well, let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets and we'll go through our prayer list tonight. If you did not get a prayer sheet on the way in, raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you get a prayer sheet, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you. And, of course, I want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card. And, of course, on the back of the card there's a place for you to write down requests. And you can mark on there whether it's private or public. If it's private, only I will see it. If it's public, we'll put it on the prayer sheet. If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out. But we usually don't put those on there. We do add them in the order that they are received. And they are removed after a couple of weeks. And I would like you to notice that Miss Krista Ersin has been added to the safe and healthy pregnancies. So, congratulations to her. And, of course, I want you to also be in prayer for one of our requests here is prayer for smooth transition to our future building. I wish I had a little bit of a better announcement to give tonight. But I am scheduled to be signing the closing of the building, purchasing the building tomorrow. But it might get pushed to Friday if there's some issues with the paperwork. It's supposed to be tomorrow, but it might be Friday. So be in prayer for that. Once I sign and we do the wire transfer, our side is done. But we would just be waiting on the other side to sign, which shouldn't be a problem, but everything they do seems to be slow. So just be in prayer for all that. And it seems like everything is moving along in regards to that. So maybe on Sunday I'll have some news to give you, but just be praying in regards to that. And let's go ahead and take these requests. The Lord, I'll pray out loud, and I ask that you would follow along in your mind and in your heart. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family. And we begin with these requests regarding salvation. We pray for Brother Ron. He's praying for his mom and his family's salvation. Also, Miss Natalie, praying for the salvation of her husband and family. Miss Brandy Barrett, praying for Kaylee's salvation. Miss Christine Ortiz, praying for her family's salvation. Miss Dogma, praying for her daughter and her family's salvation. Lord, we ask for all these individuals, and we understand that we can't make anybody get saved. But Lord, we do pray that your Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of these individuals, that you would change their circumstances around to bring them to the place where they would be receptive to the Gospel. And we pray, Lord, that a soul winner would communicate the Gospel clearly to them, that they might be saved. Lord, we also pray for these that have requests regarding family members, friends and family. Miss Nicole Johnson, praying for her aunt, Janiece Scott. And also Miss Brandy Barrett, praying for her brother, Dylan. And Brother Salvador, praying for his family. Lord, we ask for all these individuals, we pray that you'd help them, that you would be with them, that you'd give them wisdom and guidance. And then we pray for these that have health requests, for the Daryl, praying for the healing of his mother, dealing with some health issues. Miss Cricket, praying for healing for Miss Sharon Hack, who suffered a third degree burn on her hand. And Miss Midori, we're praying for healing as she continues to recover from COVID. Miss Celisiana, praying for healing for her grandma, Emma, who's in the hospital. And Miss Christine Ortiz, praying for her sister, Judy's health as she battles cancer. Brother Salvador, praying for his continued health. Miss Dogma, praying for relief of her pain. And of course, we continue to pray for little Uretzi to continue to be healthy and strong. We pray for our missionary, Dave Cabontado's wife, Angel, who's battling with breast cancer. And Lord, we ask for all these individuals, we pray that you'd put your healing hand over them. We pray, Lord, that you would give wisdom to the doctors, nurses dealing with them. Lord, we ask that you'd give them complete recovery. Also pray for all the individuals in our church that are not feeling well, that you'd help them to get healthy and strong and be back to church soon. Lord, we pray for the ladies that are expecting. We pray for Miss Krista Ersin, and Brother Brad Tolson is praying for the health of Krista. And of course, Baby Isaiah during her last month of pregnancy. And we pray for the rest of the ladies in our church that are expecting. Miss Selena, Miss Melody, Miss Victoria, Miss Julissa, Miss Zuniga, Miss Krista. And Lord, we ask that you would please just be with all these ladies. So Lord, we pray that you'd give them healthy pregnancies with no issues, no complications. Lord, we ask that you would help them to have healthy babies. And Lord, we pray that you would just take care of them regarding those things. But we also pray for Miss Christine Ortiz, Brother Salvador, regarding their walk with you, their faith, also their finances. Miss Christine praying to be able to find her own place. Brother Salvador praying for finances and work. Lord, we ask that you would help them with regards to all of these things. Lord, we pray for traveling mercies for Brandon Hagen as he's traveling to Sacramento. And Lord, we pray for these that have unspoken requests. Miss Nicole Johnson, Miss Natalie, Brother Salvador, all having unspoken requests. Miss Dogma having unspoken requests as well. Lord, we ask that you would help these individuals. We pray that you would be with them and that you'd answer their prayers according to your will. Then, Lord, of course, we ask for our church here and our ministries. We pray for the prison ministry and the members of the prison ministry and their families. They can transcribe sermons from us that you continue to use those to help people get saved and help people be discipled, Lord, and growing. And Lord, we pray that you would help us with this building purchase, Lord, and we're coming right to the end. We just pray that everything would work out according to your will and your plan, that we could close soon and get the keys and be able to start transitioning into the new property and getting all the work done that needs to get done. Lord, I ask for all that work. Lord, I pray that you would just help us and help the men in our church that are going to be leading that and guiding that, Lord. Just help us to be able to get that done with no major issues and problems. And Lord, I pray that you would bless them and help them as they work through that. Lord, we ask for, of course, our churches in the Philippines and Manila, Pampanga, Bicol. We pray that you'd keep these locations safe and growing. We pray for Pastor Stuckey and his family, that you'd continue to protect them and help them as they travel on the East Coast. And we pray for our church here in Sacramento, that you'd continue to bless us and help us. Lord, we ask that you'd meet with us tonight as we open up your word and study another portion of scripture together. I pray you would help us to minimize distractions. Lord, I pray that you would help us prepare our hearts. I pray, Lord, that your word would speak to our hearts. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. Please, open up to Hebrews 1. Hebrews chapter 1. If you need a Bible, please put your hand up and I know you can combine being a Bible. Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews 1. We read the entire chapter as our custom. Hebrews 1, beginning in verse number 1. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made of the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, in the expressed image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, 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. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten to the world, he saith, Let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is a scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels that hid at any time, sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word, and for this new Bible study. God, I ask that you please be with us through this whole series. I ask that you be with the pastor tonight to strengthen him and fill him with his spirit. We love you. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Amen. All right. Well, we're there in Hebrews chapter number one. And, of course, tonight we are starting a brand new Wednesday night Bible study in the book of Hebrews. And we're going to be going verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the book of Hebrews. And I always say that the best time to be in church, obviously, every time that we have church, you should be in church. But the best time to be in church is right at the beginning of a brand new Bible study or at the beginning of a brand new sermon series, because you can then just be with us every week. And I hope that you brought maybe a new notebook to be able to take some notes out of the book of Hebrews. If not, of course, on the back of your course of the week there's a place for you to take down some notes. And tonight we are really not going to cover a lot of material in the book of Hebrews as far as going verse by verse. Tonight's sermon will be more of an introductory sermon to the book of Hebrews. And we're going to kind of go through the entire book. And I'm going to show you a lot of things out of the book of Hebrews. But I'd like to begin there, of course, in verse number one. Notice what the Bible says, Hebrews 1, 1. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. And just by way of introduction, let me just point out to you the beauty of the King James Bible here. And just the King James Bible is not just an accurate translation of the Word of God. Of course, we believe it's inspired and preserved and inerrant. But it's also a beautiful translation of the Word of God. And you notice here that the translators, I just want you to notice that the word sundry means various or diverse. The word diverse means different kinds or in various forms. And what the verse is saying is that God, who at different times and in different manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. But they didn't simply say that. They said that, they translated that, but they also said it in a very beautiful way using these different words. God, who at sundry times. The word sundry means various times. And in diverse, meaning different kinds of forms, manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. So this is just one of the many verses throughout the King James Bible that is a beautiful passage. And I think it's worth noting. I'd like to begin tonight, like I said, this sermon will be more of an introductory type sermon. And I'd like to give you three thoughts regarding the book of Hebrews and helping you understand the book of Hebrews. And if you're taking notes, then maybe you can jot these three different points down or different thoughts. I'd like to begin tonight with this idea of the author of the book of Hebrews, the author of the book of Hebrews. And I want you to notice again there the first word in verse number one, God, God. And I want you to notice something that's interesting about the book of Hebrews is that no human author is given. There is no human author who takes credit for the writing of the book of Hebrews. And I'd like you to notice and keep your place there in Hebrews 1. Obviously that will be our text for tonight. But go backwards if you would just to give you some examples. So the book of Philemon, the book of Philemon is just one chapter there. And right before the book of Hebrews, look at verse one. In the ancient world when people would write letters in this ancient time, what they would often do is they would begin the letter with the name of the author. The person who was writing would begin the letter. This should look familiar to you. If you've read the New Testament, Philemon 1.1 says, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, and Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. Go to Titus chapter one. Look at verse one. Just to give you a couple of examples, just flip backwards past the book of Philemon into Titus. Titus 1.1. Notice what it says. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. And we could go on and on. I'm not going to take the time to do it. But those are just a couple of examples. And you should be familiar with the fact that Paul's letters often begin this way. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandments of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. And this is a common way in which letters were written in the ancient world. Let me give you some examples that are not Paul. If you go past the book of Hebrews into the book of James, James chapter one and verse number one, James 1.1. You've got the book of Hebrews just right after Hebrews. You have James. Notice how the letter begins. James 1.1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad greeting. Let me give you another example. Go to 1 Peter chapter one. Just right after the book of James, you've got the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter one. Look at verse one. Notice what it says. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the stranger scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. So I want you to notice and I'm just getting, like I said, we could spend all night doing this, but I want you to notice that there is a pattern throughout the Bible and these letters from the ancient world would often begin with the name of the person, the author, the human writer. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Paul, a servant of God. James, a servant of God. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. This is how the letters would begin. In the ancient world, they would begin with the name of the person that was writing the letter and then they would write the letter and then they would give some sort of salutation at the end to the people that they were writing. They would do it the exact opposite of how we do it in modern times. What we do today is we begin with dear so and so, the person who we're writing the letter to, and then we write the letter and then we end it with sincerely and the name of whoever is writing. I think their way kind of makes more sense because our way, you know, you got to read the whole letter before you figure out who wrote you the letter, but this is something that's common. So here, this book, Hebrews 1, if you go back to Hebrews 1 and verse 1, is different in the sense that there is no human author. There's no Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Paul, a servant of God, no Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. It simply says God, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners. So we see that there is no human author given. And this has been a point of contention, maybe contention is the wrong word, but a point of debate among Christians regarding who wrote the book of Hebrews and who is the author of the book of Hebrews. And I honestly think it matters not because of who it is or who it's not, but because there is a point that is being made here by God. But before I make that point, let me just go ahead and give you my opinion in regards to who wrote the book of Hebrews. And there's lots of different people that have lots of different opinions and people like to argue about these things and you can have a different opinion than mine. I will tell you right up front, this is just my opinion. It's really just an educated guess. I can't prove this to you from the Bible, just like you can't prove to me whoever it is you think wrote the book of Hebrews. But just to give you my thoughts is that it is my opinion that the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. And there's several reasons for that and I'll give some of those tonight throughout the sermon. But let me just point out a few things to you. And I was reminded of this as I was reading through Hebrews just this week, preparing for this Bible study, that one of the reasons I believe, and like I said, your guess is as good as mine and nobody really has a definitive answer, but I've got the mic so I'm just going to tell you what I think. And the reason that I think the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews is because the book of Hebrews, and oftentimes throughout the book, it just sounds like the writings of Paul. And it sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul. Let me just point out a couple examples to you. Go to Hebrews 10 if you want, Hebrews chapter 10. First of all, the book of Hebrews is divided into two sections. The first 10 chapters or so deal with a lot of doctrine and doctrinal arguments being made. And then the last several chapters are just jam-packed with practical application. There's practical stuff in the first 10 chapters as well, but primarily we deal with theology in the first 10 chapters. And then 11, 12, 13, it's just a lot of practical stuff. And that's a very common way that the Apostle Paul would write. If you've ever taken the time to notice, all of the writings of the Apostle Paul are that way. You've got the first part of the book usually, a lot of deep theological insight, and then the last part of the book, a lot of practical stuff. Notice Hebrews 10.34. There's things throughout this book that as I read it, it just sounds to me like the Apostle Paul. For example, Hebrews 10.34, the writer of Hebrews says this, For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance. And I'm not going to have you turn to these other passages, so just you look at the ones in Hebrews and I'll read to you from other passages. Don't worry about turning to them. But there in Hebrews 10.34, the writer of Hebrews said, For ye had compassion of me in my bonds. And just a mentioning of bonds sounds to me a lot like the Apostle Paul. Ephesians 6.20 is just one example where Paul said, For which I am an ambassador in bonds. Here's another example, Hebrews 13.3. You're there in Hebrews 10. Flip over to Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 3. This sounds even more like the Apostle Paul than Hebrews 10.34. In Hebrews 13.3, he said, Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body. So the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 13.3 said, Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them. Well, this sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul in Colossians 4.18, where he says, The salutation by the hand of me, Paul, remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. So in Colossians 4.18, Paul said, Remember my bonds. And then Hebrews 13.3, the writer of Hebrews said, Remember them that are in bonds. In Hebrews 13.4, I want you to notice that the writer of Hebrews brings up the subject of marriage. He says, Marriage is honorable in all. And again, to me, that sounds like the Apostle Paul, because when you think about the writers of the New Testament, Paul dealt extensively with the subject of marriage, where it seems like a lot of the other writers barely bring up the subject of marriage. But Paul, if you remember in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 1 through 13, deals with the subject of marriage. Of course, Ephesians 5, verses 22 through 33 deals extensively with the subject of marriage. Colossians 3.18 through 25 deals with marriage. So Paul, this would be a theme in his letters where he would talk about marriage, and the writer of Hebrews also brings up the subject of marriage. Not only that, but look at verse 5 of Hebrews 13. The writer of Hebrews says, Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. So the writer of Hebrews is exhorting people to not be covetous and to be content. Again, this sounds like Paul, Philippians 4.11. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. How about this? Hebrews chapter 12, look at verse 14. If you flip back to Hebrews 12.14, the writer of Hebrews mentions peace. He says, Follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. The writer of Hebrews is exhorting the audience to follow peace with all men. Well, this sounds a lot like Paul in Romans 12.18 when he says, If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. So as I read the book of Hebrews, it sounds a lot to me like the Apostle Paul. Obviously, it's possible that whoever wrote the book of Hebrews was maybe highly influenced by the Apostle Paul, but it seems like the Apostle Paul, to me, it seems like it might be the writer, the anonymous writer of the book of Hebrews. Let me give you another reason why I think it might be the Apostle Paul. Go back to Hebrews 13 and look at verse number 23, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 23. The writer of Hebrews says this, Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. So again, the writer of Hebrews mentions Timothy, which is something that only the Apostle Paul does in his writings. Paul wrote the books of 1 and 2 Timothy, and whoever this guy is, it sounds like Timothy's with him because he says, Know ye that he says he's in bonds, but he says, Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty. So the idea is that Timothy was in bonds with me, whoever wrote Hebrews, but now he is set at liberty, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. So there's lots of other reasons why people might think it's other people, and again, I don't have a problem with that, but I think that it's the Apostle Paul. It is my opinion that it is the Apostle Paul. It sounds like the Apostle Paul. He mentions Timothy. He talks about a lot of the same similar themes. So those are my two cents, all right? You don't have to listen to any of that if you don't want to, but those are my thoughts regarding why it's the Apostle Paul. There's also a deeper reason as to why I believe the book of Hebrews was written by the Apostle Paul. I'm not going to get into that just right now. I'm going to get into it later on in the sermon because it requires a little more explanation, but let me just say this. It would make sense that the Apostle Paul would write a book like the book of Hebrews, and it would make sense that he would write it anonymously, and I'll get back to that idea later on in the sermon. We'll talk about that here just in a little bit. Let me just say this regarding the authorship of the book of Hebrews. For those of you who like to fight about things and you can't wait until the service is over so you can walk up to me and tell me all the reasons why you think I'm wrong, let me just say this. I will be referring to whoever wrote the author of the book of Hebrews throughout this sermon series. I'll do my best to refer to him as the author of the book of Hebrews and to not refer to him as the Apostle Paul because we honestly don't know. We're not sure who the writer is. Now, if you're wondering why it is, and I'm taking so much time to talk about the authorship of the book of Hebrews, it's because it's actually crucial to the beginning statements of the book because if you go back to Hebrews chapter 1 and verse number 1, I want you to notice that it's not just that the name of the author is missing. It's not just that it doesn't say Paul or Peter or John or whatever. It's that the name of God is there. So where with every other book the human author puts his name, here the human author wants to be anonymous but yet he still puts the name of the author because the whole point of verse number 1 is that God is the author of the book of Hebrews. Notice what he says. He says, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake. The author of the book of Hebrews is making the point that God has spoken, and by the way, not just the book of Hebrews, but notice, in times past, unto the fathers by the prophets. So the writer of the book of Hebrews is actually making this point that throughout the ages and throughout history, God has spoken to his people by the prophets. He's saying in the Old Testament, God spoke by the prophets and he did it at sundry times, he did it at different times and in diverse manners, but God spoke. So I think it's just kind of interesting that the writer of Hebrews not only wants to write anonymously so he does not give his name, but he puts the name of God or the name of God there at the beginning in a way saying, look, it is God who is the author of this letter, the book of Hebrews, but then he says, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets because it is God who is the author of every letter in the Bible, every epistle, every book, holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So when it comes to this idea of the author of the book of Hebrews, for those of us that believe in the inspiration of scripture and preservation of scripture, the honest truth is this, it doesn't really matter because it's God. It is God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Now let me just make this point real quickly and this will actually help us not only tonight in Hebrews, but it will help us in the book of Numbers chapter number 12 on Sunday morning when we are looking at chapter number 12. Now I want you to notice that the Bible says that God spake through the prophets and this is a reference to the Old Testament, that God who at sundry times and in diverse manners, at different times and in different ways, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets. And I want you to remember this or just kind of keep this in your mind and maybe keep it all the way until Sunday morning because we'll talk about it on Sunday morning as well. And it is this idea that in the Old Testament there was these two positions of spiritual leadership. There were the priests and then there were the prophets. There was every once in a while where one person held both positions, they were both priests and prophet, but generally speaking you would have these two positions, one was a priest and one was a prophet. Now I want you to understand that both were those who communicated between men and God, but the priests, just so you kind of have this idea, the priests were the men who represented man and the priests would mediate in the Old Testament between man and God. They would communicate on behalf of men or the nation of Israel for God. The prophets were the representatives of God and they would also communicate between men and God, but the prophets communicated on behalf of God towards men. I hope that makes sense. The priests would communicate on behalf of men to God and God would communicate through the prophets unto men. And this is what we're reading about. God who at sundry times and in diverse manners in time past unto the fathers, in times past unto the fathers, I'm sorry I think I read that wrong, manners he spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets. So we see this idea of the author of the book of Hebrews. There's no human author given. I gave you my opinion. I think it's the Apostle Paul, but the whole point is that God is the author. If you want to know, just like every other book, if you want to know who wrote it, just look at the first word of the first chapter of the first verse and in this case it tells us it's God because God, and that could be the first, every book that Paul wrote, instead of saying Paul, could say God. The book of James could say, instead of saying James, could say God because God is the author of the Bible. So we talk about the author of the book of Hebrews, but secondly tonight I'd like to talk about the audience of the book of Hebrews. The audience of the book of Hebrews and I want you to look at verse number one as well. And like I said, we're going to look at a lot of passages through Hebrews, but as far as like verse by verse study, we're probably going to only get through two verses tonight, alright? But we're going to look at a lot of things and give you a lot of information that I think you'll need. Hebrews 1-1, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past, I want you to notice this little phrase, unto the fathers, unto the fathers. And that little phrase, unto the fathers, we find the audience, the intended audience of the book of Hebrews and as you might guess, it is the people of a Hebrew heritage. He is speaking to people, he's telling them, the people that he's writing to, this author, he's telling them that God spake unto the fathers. His fathers, so whoever is the writer of Hebrews was a Hebrew himself, but he's writing to Hebrew people, which is why the book is called the book of Hebrews. And here's what I want you to understand, the book of Hebrews is written to Christian Hebrew or Jewish believers. It would be Jewish believers in the first century who are the intended audience of the book of Hebrews. You say, why is that? Here's why. Because the book of Hebrews has two major themes and I'm going to go through both of them tonight. Let me give you the first one. The first major theme of the book of Hebrews is this. It is to help New Testament believers transition from the Old Testament. And when I'm talking about the Old Testament, I'm not necessarily talking about the 39 books that we call the Old Testament. We're talking about the Old Covenant, helping New Covenant believers, New Testament believers, transition from the Old Covenant, from the Old Testament into the New Covenant or into the New Testament. The book of Hebrews is the book, unlike any other book in the Bible, that really spells out for us how it is that the Old Testament correlates to the New Testament. How the Old Covenant correlates to the New Covenant. And without the book of Hebrews, we would be really lost and confused. Because we would have this Old Testament book that talks to us about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and the children of Israel, and the nation of Israel, and the southern kingdom, and the northern kingdom. And then all of a sudden, we would be in the first century with the Lord Jesus Christ, 12 apostles, and then a bunch of Gentile believers. And we would be confused as to what does this have to do with that? And the writer of the book of Hebrews writes the book of Hebrews to help us understand and transition and correlate the Old Testament to the New Testament. So I believe that the book of Hebrews should be mandatory study for every Christian. Every Christian should know and understand the book of Hebrews because it will help you understand. Look, have you ever looked at the fact or considered the fact that the Old Testament is a major part of your Bible? It's two-thirds of the Bible. And the book of Hebrews helps you and I understand, as New Testament believers, what it is that we are to do with that Old Testament, and how it correlates, and what it means to us, and what the transition was between the Old and the New Testament. I'd like you to go to the book of Romans, if you would. Romans chapter 9. You've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Keep your place in Hebrews, of course. Go to Romans chapter 9. Let me just give you a couple of information. At the time of the New Testament writing, the nation of Israel, or the people, the descendants of Abraham and Jacob, were actually not referred to as Hebrews. They were referred to as Jews. And I just want to kind of help you understand these terms, Hebrew and Jew. The word Hebrew comes from the name Abraham, which Hebrew is a term of anyone who is a descendant of Abraham. The word Jew describes people who live in an area known as Judea, or Jewry, which is why they're called Jews. In your Bible, as you read the Old Testament, you'll find that when you're reading about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and all these people, you don't ever read or hear the word Jew or Jews in most of the Old Testament. That's why when people refer to Moses, or refer to David, or refer to Joshua, or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, and they refer to them as Jews, it's not really accurate because during that time they were known as Hebrew people. It was the way that the nation of Israel was referred to before the conquest. And I don't really have time to go into all the details, but let me just help you quickly understand this. If you remember, the children of Israel came out of Egypt with Moses, they entered into the promised land with Joshua, they conquered the land, then they were ruled for hundreds of years by judges. After they had judges, they asked for a king, they finally got a king by the name of Saul, then David, then Solomon. Solomon had a son by the name of Rehoboam. If you remember, Rehoboam upset the people pretty much and split the kingdom. And the nation, the United Nations of Israel, became two different nations. The northern kingdom of Israel, which had its capital in Samaria, and the southern kingdom of Judah, which had its capital in Jerusalem. When the northern kingdom was taken over by the Assyrians, conquered by the Assyrians, and the children, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom were dispersed, and they were intermingled with the Assyrians, they became half Jew, half Gentiles, which is why you have in the New Testament the Samaritans in that land. And you have this beef between the Samaritans and the Jews. After the conquest, those ten tribes pretty much disappeared. And then the only tribe that was left was Judea or Judah, and of course you had Levites there and the tribe of Benjamin. And those people became known as Jews or people from Jewry or from Judah. So it's not until after the conquest of the northern kingdom that then you begin to see this term Jews used. And all throughout the New Testament, they're referred to as Jews. So the book of Hebrews is written, and it's called Hebrews because it is a reference to the descendants of Abraham. But just as a disclaimer or just for transparency, at the time of the writing of Hebrews, those people were known as Jews. And they weren't really known as Hebrews, only their language was known as the Hebrew language, which is what it is today. And you say, well then why is it called the book of Hebrews if that wasn't really a term that was used? Well, if you've read the book of Acts, you know that the Jews are the enemy. In the book of Acts, the Jews are the bad guys. They're still the bad guys, by the way. You know, the synagogue of Satan. They're the ones attacking New Testament Christianity and trying to destroy it. So I think that whoever wrote the book of Hebrews, he just didn't want to call it the book of Jews. You know, and I'm thankful for that. I don't think it'd be the same if it was called the book of Jews. So it's called the book of Hebrews because Hebrews encompasses all the descendants of Abraham. Although at the time of the writing of Hebrews in the first century, they're pretty much just known as Jews because the only descendants that are still really calling themselves descendants of Abraham are from Judea or Jewry because after the captivity of the ten tribes, those tribes were dispersed and they're no longer in existence today. The Jews stayed intact because you remember, unlike Assyria, Babylon, when it conquered the southern kingdom of Judah, they didn't disperse the people and they didn't intermingle them. They just took them captive but kept them united. And of course, some stayed in Judea. Some went captive to Babylon. And then, of course, when you're reading Nehemiah, Esther, you've got those of the captivity coming back. But when you have the captivity coming back, those are Jews. They're from Judea, from the southern kingdom of Israel. So hopefully that helps you understand. But I'm bringing all that up to say this. It's called the book of Hebrews because it has an intended audience. Obviously, it's good for all of us. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. We've talked about that already. God who has sundry times and in diverse matters, spake in time, passed unto the fathers by the prophets. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and all scripture is profitable. So it's not just like this is only for Jewish Christians. It's good for all of us to study the book of Hebrews and understand the book of Hebrews. But I want you to get that the person writing this is specifically writing this to try to help Jewish or Hebrew people that are now saved Christians, and they need help understanding how to correlate the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and how to transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Now, all of that also leads me kind of to get back on this idea of authorship real quickly. All of that leads me to say this. That is why, in my mind, it would make sense that the Apostle Paul would not only be the writer of the book of Hebrews, but it would make sense that Paul would write the book of Hebrews and then write it anonymously. You say, why does that make sense? Well, there's a couple things you need to understand about the Apostle Paul. One is this, that Paul loved the descendants, the Hebrew people, or the Jewish people of his time. Notice Romans chapter 9. Of course, we know this is Paul. Romans 9 and verse 1, he says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. Now the reason he's going to say, he's saying, look, I say the truth in Christ and lie not, is because what he's about to say sounds like, you know, are you serious, Paul? And he's pretty much just giving this disclaimer, I'm not lying. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. What does he say, verse 2? He says that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ. What does that mean? He's saying, I wish that I could be damned to hell and accursed from Christ. He said, I wish I could lose my salvation. He said, for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. And his brethren, of course, the reference, the word kinsmen is a reference to like his kin, his family, according to the flesh. And what is he talking about? Look at verse 4, who are Israelites. And Paul literally is saying, if I could lose my salvation, if I could give up my salvation, so that my kinsmen, according to the flesh, would be saved, he said, I'd do it. And that's why he has to make these statements, you know, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. Because I don't know that any of us would say that about anybody. You know, we would say, hey, we can all be saved, you know. But he's making this point, he has such deep love for his nation. Because he grew, obviously, you know, Paul talked about being a Hebrew of the Hebrews and a Pharisee of the Pharisees and all these things. And he loves these people and he wants them to be saved. So Paul loves the Jewish people or the nation of Israel, the Hebrew people, he wants them to be saved. But here's the other thing you need to understand about Paul. And I think you know this because you guys are a smart group. But let me just remind you of it. Go to Acts 21. Acts 21, if you go backwards from Romans, you've got the book of Acts, Acts 21. Not only does Paul love the Hebrew Israelite people or Jewish people as they would be called in his day. Not only does he love them, but Paul also offended the Jewish people more than anyone else. It's interesting because Paul loves them. You could make the argument that Paul loves them more than anyone else loves them. And yet they hated him more than they hated anyone else. You say, why? Because it was Paul who primarily, we just got done preaching through the book of Galatians. So this should be pretty fresh in your mind. It was Paul who primarily, number one, went and took the gospel to the Gentiles. But it's also Paul who then taught the Gentiles, you don't have to keep the Old Testament covenant. You don't have to do the Sabbath. You don't have to do the washings. You don't have to do all those things. And as a result, the Jews, this is why they're following him in the book of Acts. This is why they're stoning him and imprisoning him. They hate him because he's teaching people to forsake Judaism. But even Jewish Christians, keep in mind this is the first centuries of brand new religion and there's a lot of confusion. Look at Acts 21, verse 19. Now you need to understand the context of Acts 21. Paul is a seasoned missionary, church planner. He's already gone through all his missionary journeys. And now he's coming back to Jerusalem, Acts 21, 19. That's the context. And when he had saluted them, this was Paul and his group back in Jerusalem, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. So he gets back to Jerusalem and he starts telling them, like Brother Stuckey, Pastor Stuckey coming to us, telling us about the great works and the things happening in the Philippines. He starts telling them about the things that God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. Look at verse 20. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. So they're in church, this is Christians, in Jerusalem, in Judea. And said unto him, Thou seest, brother. Now notice what they're going to say to him. And this is James, by the way. James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, speaking to Paul. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews? So James is telling Paul, hey, I'm glad you're here. Glad you're in Jerusalem. Do you see how many thousands of Jews, and who are the Jews? These would be Hebrew people, right? Israelite people. He says, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe. So they're not only Jewish people, but they got saved. They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. They're new converts to Christianity that got saved out of Judaism. Notice what he says, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, notice, and they are zealous of the law. The word law there is referring to the Old Testament law or the Old Covenant. And see, James, the pastor here in Jerusalem, he has a problem. And the problem is that he has all these thousands of converts, but they're Jews. And though they're saved, they believe, they're still holding on to that Old Testament law. They're still zealous about the law. Look at verse 21, James is kind of giving Paul the heads up. And they, who's a they? All the thousands of Jewish believers who are still zealous about the Old Testament law. And they are informed of thee. Who's the thee? Paul. That thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. So look, I want you to understand this. Paul, who was a Pharisee, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, who was a Hebrew, an Israelite, all those things, gets saved, goes to the Gentiles, brings them the Gospel, and teaches them you don't have to get circumcised. You don't have to follow the Mosaic law. You don't have to... He teaches all of them in Galatians, in Ephesians, in Philippians. He's telling them those were cardinal ordinances. He's telling them those are things that no longer, they don't apply to you. You are New Testament Christians. But then he goes back to Jerusalem, and there's thousands of Jews there, and I'm not going to take some time to read it, but if you keep reading the chapter, they arrest him, and then he has to go to all these court cases and stuff. He ends up in Rome as a result. So the problem is, Paul ends up getting arrested in Jerusalem, not because of the Jews that were believers, but the other Jews, the ones that were not believers, but even the ones that were believers were still zealous of the law. So it would make sense that Paul would think to himself, the same things that I have been teaching to these Gentiles about not being circumcised, not keeping the old covenant, someone needs to explain this to these Jewish believers. So I think, this is just my opinion, that Paul said, I'm going to write a book called The Book of Hebrews, which is pretty much going to tell these people, these Jewish Christians, that they don't need to be zealous about the Old Testament law. But Paul thought to himself, this is not going to be a New York Times bestseller because they hate me, so maybe I should write this anonymously. So that is my theory to The Book of Hebrews and as to why we have The Book of Hebrews, because there's an audience that was needed in the first century Christianity of a bunch of Jewish believers who were zealous of the law. Paul was like the expert on, you don't need to keep the Old Testament law. He taught it to all the Gentiles, but it didn't get taught very well to the Jewish believers. So someone had to write a letter to them explaining to them how the Old Testament correlates to the New Testament and how New Testament believers don't have to keep the Old Testament law or be zealous of the Old Testament law. So someone, we don't know who, wrote The Book of Hebrews. And I would imagine the fact that it was written anonymously and the content of the letter to me just says, this is Paul. This is so Paul. Paul wrote this book and just didn't want to put his name to it because he knew they'd be mad at him. And they wouldn't even read it. But we have the audience of The Book of Hebrews. What is it? Christian Jews of the first century. Christian Hebrews of the first century. And the content of the book is the transitioning and the correlation between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Alright, so we have number one, the author of The Book of Hebrews. Number two, the audience of The Book of Hebrews. And then let me give you thirdly tonight, the argument of The Book of Hebrews. There's really, like I said, two major themes for The Book of Hebrews. And we can see them there in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2. Like I said, we're only going to get to the first two verses tonight. But I'm going to show you a lot of stuff from Hebrews still in the next ten minutes. The argument of The Book of Hebrews. What are the arguments that are made in this book? First of all, the first argument is this, that Jesus is the end game. That Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament. Notice it again in Hebrews 1 verse 1. God, the author, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. God spake by the prophets. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Look at verse 2. Hath in these last days... By the way, the last days began at the ascension of Christ. The Book of Hebrews was written in the first century, two thousand years ago. And the writer of Hebrews is saying, these are the last days. And we're still in the last days because the last days began at the ascension of Christ. But notice, the writer of Hebrews said, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. Whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. He spake by his Son. He at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, but hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. By the way, I don't have time to develop this, but Jesus is the Word. He's the Word of God. And the idea is this, and what the writer of Hebrews is going to develop over the next 13 chapters is this, that Jesus, because remember, it's written to Jewish believers, Jewish to Hebrew people that are saved. He's trying to explain to them how they correlate the Old Testament to the New Testament. And he begins by saying, look, Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament. The God who spake in times past by the prophets, in the Old Testament by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. Someone said it this way, Jesus is the continuation of the conversation. He's the continuation, the conversation that began in the Old Testament by the prophets is continued in the New Testament by the Son. Someone else said it this way, Jesus is the final word on the matter. Someone else said it this way, the final word is a person, not a proclamation. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. So the argument made is this, that Jesus is the end game. Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament. The whole point of the temple, the whole point of the Levitical priesthood, the whole point of the sacrifice, the whole point of all those things, it was all pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the end game. So the argument of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament. But then there's another argument. This is the one I want to spend a little bit of time on before we finish up tonight. Not only is the argument that Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament, but the major argument of the book of Hebrews, and you may have not noticed this as you read the book of Hebrews, but I'll point it out to you. I'm going to point it out to you right now and then I'll point it out to you as we travel through the book of Hebrews. And it is this, that Jesus is not only the end game of the Old Testament, but Jesus is better. Jesus is better than the Old Testament. See, the writer of the book of Hebrews is writing to Jewish believers, to people who are descendants of Abraham, Hebrew people that are saved, and he's explaining to them how to correlate the Old Testament to the New Testament, how to transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and he's explaining to them that Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament and that Jesus is better than the Old Testament. In fact, there's a theme throughout the book of Hebrews, and the theme is this, Jesus is better. Let me point it out to you real quickly as we finish up tonight. Look at Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 4. The first thing we see is that Jesus is a better messenger. In Hebrews 1, 4, the Bible says this, He is being made, referring to Jesus, so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. And I'm going to preach a whole sermon on the subject of the angels from Hebrews chapter 1. It's mentioned in chapter 1 and chapter 2. But the first thing that's mentioned, that's really tackled in this book, is that Jesus is better than the angels. He is a better messenger. The word angel simply means messenger. He is better than the angels, so being made so much better than the angels. But of course, we are a little lower than the angels, is what Hebrews chapter 2 says. So though Jesus was better than the angels, He took the form of a man and lowered Himself to a little lower than the angels. But the first argument we see is that Jesus is a better messenger, being made so much better than the angels. Look at Hebrews 3 and verse 3. Not only do we see that Jesus is a better messenger, but we see that Jesus is a better moderator. Look at Hebrews 3 and verse 3. For this man, Jesus, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Now remember, these Jewish believers, these brand new Christians that are a bunch of Hebrew descendants, they would esteem Moses very highly. They would see Moses as one of the forefathers of their people, of their nation. They would see Moses as the giver of the law. Moses is often used anonymously with the Old Testament law. He was the one that moderated the law and gave the law to the children of Israel. But the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is better than Moses. Hebrews 3, 3. For this man, referring to Jesus, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses. And as much as he who hath buildeth the house hath more honor than the house. So we see that Jesus is a better messenger, so much better than the angels. We see that he's a better moderator, having more glory than Moses. But I want you to notice, certainly, that Jesus is a better minister. Look at Hebrews 7 and verse 6. Hebrews 7 and verse 6. But he, whose descent is not counted from them, received tithes of Abraham. And this is actually a reference to Melchizedek. And when we get to it, we'll spend a whole sermon on Melchizedek. But Melchizedek is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's an Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we're told, but he, Jesus, the Old Testament appearance of Jesus, Melchizedek, whose descent is not counted from them, received tithes of Abraham. Abraham would be the patriarch, the guy, the guy that started this whole thing. And Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham, notice verse 6, and blessed him. Blessed who? Blessed Abraham. Who blessed Abraham? Melchizedek. Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham. Melchizedek is the Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. He received tithes of Abraham, and then Melchizedek blessed him. Melchizedek blessed Abraham that had the promises, look at verse 7, and without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. What is that telling us? It's telling us that Melchizedek was better than Abraham. Again, this was written to Hebrew believers, who would hold Abraham very highly as the patriarch of the nation of Israel. And the writer of Hebrews says, Melchizedek was better than Abraham, because the less is blessed of the better. Meaning, whoever is better gives the blessing to whoever is lower, not vice versa. So the fact that Melchizedek is blessing Abraham tells you that Melchizedek was better. And of course, Melchizedek speaks to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as the high priest. Look at Hebrews 8 and verse 6. Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 6. But now hath he obtained, referring to Jesus, a more excellent ministry. And again, when we get to it, we'll develop it. But the idea is that the Jews, the nation of Israel, had a ministry, had a priesthood, a Levitical priesthood, but Jesus is a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and he has a more excellent and better ministry than they do. So we see that Jesus is a better messenger, so much better than the angels. We see that Jesus is a better moderator of more glory than Moses. We see that Jesus is a better minister, because he blessed Abraham, and the less is blessed of the better. He received a more excellent ministry. Number 4, go to Hebrews 8, look at verse 6 again. Because not only is he a better minister, but he's a better mediator. Look at Hebrews 8 and 6. But now, have he obtained a more excellent ministry. We talked about that. By whom, by how much, also, he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. What is the writer of Hebrews saying? He's saying, Jesus is the mediator of not just another covenant, a better covenant. A better covenant than the old covenant is the new covenant. A better testament than the old testament is the new testament. Jesus is not only a better messenger being made so much better than the angels, a better moderator being made better than Moses, a better minister being made better than Abraham, but he's a better mediator. He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Go back to Hebrews 7 and 19, look at what it says. Hebrews 7 and 19. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing up of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God. Look at verse 22, same chapter, Hebrews 7 and 22. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. See, he's a better mediator with a better testament. He's a better mediator with a better covenant. He's a better mediator with better promises and bringing in a better hope. And then lastly tonight, go to Hebrews 9. We see that Jesus is a better messenger being made so much better than the angels, a better moderator of more excellent honor than Moses, a better minister who blessed Abraham and the last is blessed of the better, a better mediator, a mediator of a better covenant with better promises, with better hope, with a better testament. And I want you to notice lastly tonight that Jesus has better means. Look at Hebrews 9.23. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. He's referring to the fact, and when we get to it we'll develop it, that all of the tabernacle and the table of shewbread and the lamps and all the things that they had in that Old Testament covenant was mirrored in heaven. But the difference is that in heaven they had better sacrifices than these. Because in the earthly covenant they sacrificed a lamb, but they'd have to keep sacrificing a lamb over and over and over again. But in the heavenly holy of holies Jesus entered as the high priest Melchizedek with the blood of the lamb, his own blood, and he sprinkled it upon the mercy seat and that was a better sacrifice. That was done one time. He did not have to sacrifice like the Old Testament high priest would have to do a sacrifice for his own sins and the sins of his people once a year. Jesus did not have to sacrifice for his own sins because he had no sins and when he sacrificed for our sins it was done once for all. It's a better means of forgiveness. Better than the blood of bulls, better than the blood of goats, better sacrifices than these. Go to Hebrews 12, look at verse 24. Hebrews 12, 24. Notice what the Bible says. And to Jesus, notice it, this is the theme, the mediator of the new covenant, a better covenant, established upon better promises, with a better hope. And to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh, look at it, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. And I don't have time to develop it, I'll preach a whole sermon on it I'm sure when we get to it. But if you remember the blood of Abel cried out. The Bible says in Genesis 4, 10 that the voice, God told Cain, the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. The Bible seems to indicate that blood speaks to God. When the blood of Abel said something, it condemned Cain. The blood of Abel said, murderer, sinner, Cain is a sinner, Cain is guilty, Cain has done this. That was the message of the blood of Abel. But the blood of Jesus, it speaketh better things. Because the blood of Abel and the blood of sinful man says, guilty. The blood of Jesus says, forgiven, says made free, says redemption, says redeemed. So I want you to understand the book of Hebrews. It is a book purposely not given us the author because I believe the author wanted the Hebrews to read it so he didn't want to put his name to it. But it was needed because there was all these Hebrew Jewish believers that were still zealous about the law. And this book was written to those Hebrew believers to help them transition out of the Old Testament into the New Testament. To help them make sense of the correlation between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And the major themes of this book are that Jesus is the end game of the Old Testament. The purpose of the Old Testament was to point us to Jesus. And that Jesus is better. He's a better messenger, a better moderator, a better minister, a better mediator. He's better means. He's better in every way. Can I just share with you one real quick verse, one last verse? Hebrews chapter 2, look at verse 1. I need to leave you with an application. I can't just give you. Theology is good, but you need an application. Why did these Hebrew believers need to know this? Because they were in love, in fact they were in a little too much love with Moses and Abraham. They were a little too enamored with the Old Testament law. And the writer of Hebrews has this concern, Hebrews chapter 2, look at verse 1. Therefore we ought to give the most earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. These people were so enamored with the Jewish culture that they were in danger of letting, not their salvation, but their Christianity. Their New Testament Christianity slipped. So the writer of Hebrews feels the need to tell them, hey that stuff you're trying to go back to, Jesus is better. Now to us as New Testament Gentile believers, we might not have that same, we're not enamored with kosher food. We're not enamored with those things. But there's some things that you and I can get deceived by and put our sights on. And you and I need to remember that the things that might cause us to let them slip, hey Jesus is better. He's better than rock music. He's better than alcohol. He's better than fornication. He's better than drugs. He's better than anything that might cause you to want to go back and let them slip. Know this, Jesus is better. I hope you'll join us over the next several weeks as we study the book of Hebrews together. I think it'll help you fall in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you'll learn and we'll learn together that Jesus is always better. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord we love you. We thank you for this book of Hebrews. I realize we only got through two verses. But I think it was important for us to understand the context of this book. That Jesus is the end game. And Jesus is better. Lord I pray you'd help us remember that. Pray you'd help us Lord to learn this book together. I pray that everybody is here tonight. Make a commitment to be back every Wednesday night as we study the book of Hebrews. And that we would learn to fall in love once again with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he truly is better. In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to remind you that we have soul winning of course at 2 p.m. on Thursday, 2 p.m. on Friday. And 10 a.m. on Saturday. That's our main soul winning time. We'd love for you to join us for that. And don't forget that if you are part of the home school group to see my wife after service. She has the flyers for the field trip. If you need to come to the field trip and be aware of that make sure you go by and see her. And get that from her. If there's anything we can do for you please let us know. Make sure you're back on Sunday morning of course as we continue to study the Bible together. The word of God can change your life. It can transform your life and I hope you're excited to study the Bible together. And we've kind of had a lot of things going on but we're back to just our normal routine. Verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Make sure you're in your place. Be praying for all the church families that aren't feeling well. Hopefully they'll be back on Sunday. If there's anything we can do for you please let us know. We'll have Moses come up and lead us in a final song. Please turn to our song books, page number 277. Page 277, we're going to sing, only trust him. Page 277 and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. Come every... Oh, you know what, let's restart that. I'm sorry about that. On the first. Come every soul by sin. Oppressed there's mercy with the Lord. And he will surely give. That's by trusting in his word. Only trust him, only trust him, only trust him now. He will save you, he will save you, he will save you now. For Jesus shed his precious blood, rich blessings to be sown. Plunge now into the crimson flood that washes white as snow. Only trust him, only trust him, only trust him now. He will save you, he will save you, he will save you now. Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way that leads you into rest. Believe in him without delay, and you are fully blessed. Only trust him, only trust him, only trust him now. He will save you, he will save you, he will save you now. On the last. Come then and join this holy band and on to glory go. To dwell in that celestial land where joys immortal flow. Only trust him, only trust him, only trust him now. He will save you, he will save you, he will save you now. Great singing. Can I please have Brother George close us in a word of prayer? Amen. Amen.