Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Good morning again.
At this time any children that would like to go to our children’s ministry can exit right out the back doors and someone will take them to their room and they will have a lesson at their age level.
For the rest of you, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 3.
The last few weeks have been really crazy.
I’ve been inundated with so much going on around us.
There’s so much darkness and it feels like it’s pressing in and to be honest, I sometimes get overwhelmed by it.
Just a few days ago, I was sitting in the office and I was looking at some social media posts and I was just so slammed with the evilness of sin.
I was struck with the pain of seeing people I love walk away from the faith of the Bible.
Every June I am reminded that we have a very real enemy.
Our enemy is not of flesh and blood but we see people doing the bidding of the evil one and it’s easy for us to get distracted by all of the sin, confusion, and false teaching around us.
And one of the most painful things is seeing those who would profess Christ with one side of their mouth, give approval to that which cost Him His life.
It devastates me mentally and emotionally.
I need to be reminded this morning about Jesus.
I need to be reminded of the gospel.
I need to preach the gospel to myself.
So that’s what we are going to do this morning.
We are going to glory in the power of the cross and person and work of Jesus Christ.
It is the gospel and it is the only message that matters for eternity.
Have you ever seen a tightrope walker?
When I was a child there would always be these celebrity circus specials on tv where they would have actors perform circus acts on tv.
It was always a lot of fun to watch your favorite tv stars swing on the trapeze or walk across the tightrope.
Generally there would be a safety net.
Well, four years before I was born, in 1974, a Frenchman named Philippe Petit did something really crazy.
He went out in the middle of the night and stretched a cable between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
The next morning he walked back and forth between the buildings to the awe of the crowds watching below.
The question you have to wonder about these types of stunts is: How did he keep from falling to his death?
If you ask one of these type of performers they will tell you the secret is to keep your eyes on the destination and don’t look down.
Our passage for today would remind us keep our eyes on Jesus to keep from falling.
This brings us to Hebrews chapter 3, verses 1 through 6.
You can follow along as I read.
Hebrews 3:1–6 (ESV)
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,
6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.
And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
PRAY
I. Consider Jesus (v.
1-2a)
Verse one begins with a transition word, therefore.
It’s the author connecting what he is about to say with what he has already written.
He is using it to say that in light of the great salvation provided we should consider Jesus because He is the merciful and faithful high priest that we heard about last week.
He has tasted death for everyone and He alone is the source of our salvation.
The author refers to his audience as holy brothers and tells them that they share in a heavenly calling.
A lot of times in our reading we just breeze right by descriptors like these but the author uses those specific terms for a reason.
He’s communicating an idea about identity and purpose in the people he is addressing.
Holy is used before brothers to make emphasis that the blood of Christ has sanctified and cleansed the church.
It is by the blood of Christ alone that people can be made holy.
So when he says holy brothers he is identifying a new identity and a new family for those in Christ.
The fact that these blood bought brothers and sisters, members of the family of God also have a shared heavenly calling accents that God has acted to rescue a specific group of people, the church.
Jesus makes us what we are.
God transforms us into His people.
It is only believers that compose the church.
There are no holy unbelievers for it is only those who are in Christ who are made holy.
This is so important to understand.
No one shares in this heavenly calling who is unrepentant.
In fact, it’s impossible.
Being part of Christ’s church requires repentance and faith.
This is in keeping with the message that Christ Himself preached here on earth.
Remember that based on chapter 2 verse 10 we know that God intends to bring many sons to glory.
Jesus’ was sent on a mission to bring many sons to glory.
The trajectory or direction of this calling is heavenward.
Heaven is where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and where He calls us from and beckons us to.
This language of calling being used echoes the pilgrimage of the Israelites.
They sought to enter into a divine rest.
This language would have connected specifically with the Jewish Christians reading this as it’s first audience.
Consider Jesus as the scriptures portray Him
This exhortation to consider Jesus carries the idea of meditation.
Thinking on Jesus.
Jesus is the focal point of Christianity.
The person and work of Jesus are the absolute best objects for Christian meditation.
We are to think on Him.
Consider His works and the goodness of His character.
We should glory and be in awe of His sacrifice and the truth that He tasted death so that we could be set free from the fear of death and the power of sin.
When the world looks dark Christian, consider Jesus.
Focus on Him.
Never consider Him outside of the biblical and theological context in which He is presented to us in scripture.
Consider Him rightly according to how the Bible reveals His character.
As the author instructs us to consider Jesus, he continues to identify Jesus in various ways.
Here Jesus is referred to as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
Apostle being used may give us pause at first because that is how we refer to those who had been with Jesus and ministered in the early church.
However, the Greek term that is used here means someone who has been sent or sent one.
Whereas the apostles of the early church were sent out by Jesus, Jesus had been sent by the Father on a mission to rescue the church from sin and death and restore us to the Father.
The text here tells us that Jesus was faithful to the one who appointed Him.
He was faithful in His service to God the Father and stuck to the mission that He was sent to accomplish.
Last week we focused in on Jesus as our high priest who makes atonement for our sin.
The author of Hebrews will continue to unfold this further in the book.
Our Confession refers to a declaration or profession of belief in Jesus.
In scripture we have the earliest Christian confessions recorded.
They include that Jesus is the Christ, that He is Lord, and that He is the Son of God.
These really summarize the early Christian teachings.
Later the author of Hebrews exhort the readers or hearers to hold fast.
II.
Look at Moses in light of Jesus (v.
2b-5)
Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant.
Moses is a key figure in Jewish history and in the Old Testament narrative.
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