Greatest in the beginning: Greatest forever

PNP: God has revealed his redemptive plan through in two major ways in history.

Intro

The “who’s the greatest” debate

Impersonal comparisons

Jordan/LeBron, Tyson/Ali/Mayweather, Brady/Montana

Chevy/Ford, BBQ

Lifestyle debate

vegan/nonvegan, City/country

Personal

Christian/nonchristian

atheist, new age, muslim etc.

These people may claim what they believe is superior but they are wrong. Its Christ. The Author of Hebrews is approaching a similar sitiaution “who’s better”

Background

The author is unknown

written to Jewish Christians with great knowledge about Jewish tradition

informs on superiority of Christ and how to view the OT through Christ

state PNP

Illustration

Think of something that did not go the way you planned and see how God worked in it

Judges 7 and Gideon’s army of 300

State PNP and that the takeway for this is the sovereignity of christ

God revealed his redemptive plan through the prophets

God has always worked throughout history

Many times

Delivered from Egypt

Deuteronomy 7:8

English Standard Version Chapter 7

but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt

II. delivered from Chaldeans

Isaiah 48:20

English Standard Version Chapter 48

Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,

declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,

send it out to the end of the earth;

say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

b. Many ways

Joel 2:28, Numbers 12:6-8

English Standard Version Chapter 2

And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

dreams

Daniel 7:15

English Standard Version Chapter 7

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things.

Directly

Exodus 20:1

English Standard Version Chapter 20

And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

other

numbers 22- donkey

2. God has revealed His ultimate redemptive plan in Christ

“long ago” and “these last days” shows that Jesus was and is preeminent from beginning to end

Christ is the heir of all things

Daniel 7:14 (14  And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.)

Jesus rules over Heaven and his followers receive heaven

Universe was made through Him (John 1:3)

English Standard Version Chapter 1

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made

Christ was and is at the beginning and end and can not be discounted

he is God

repeat pnp

God has revealed himself in these two ways throughout history and through that we see the superiority of Christ in everything

application

God is in full control and nothing is out of his grasp

you can take comfort that God works all things to His glory

even in the depths of suffering Christ is glorified

Gospel

even in these dark moments we can trust Christ who has power over the grave

only in faith in CHirst and Him doing a work in you can you be saved

closing appeals

do you know christ is better than everything

do you know that God has everything under control

do you know that even in the beginning he had a payment for your sins