The Gathering Surf City

Hee Haw all right?

So we have begun the new year.

Obviously, this is the third
Sunday of the new year,

and yet it's the second Sunday
of our new topic.

And for some of us,

I mean,

you know,

as we look at this,

this is a review.

But this week,

in the second week,

as we look at the object
of our faith,

really, the question.

Question is,

who do you worship?

What do you worship?

What is the focus of where you
invest your life in yourself?

What is it that's the priority,

the most important thing in your
everyday consideration?

We live in a world that teaches
us to think about us.

Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Look out for number one.

It's all about me,

right? I mean,

that's what the world teaches us.

That's what they're
trying to tell us.

And yet we know as believers,

as followers of Jesus,

that we're not the center
of the universe.

It's not all about us.

And so where is it that we focus?

And then the question
follows as to why.

So, last week we looked at
Hebrews chapter one,

verses one to four.

And I had preached that
back in October.

I preached the fact that God spoke.

We already know God
spoke Hebrews one,

one through four says,

God spoke through the prophets in various
times and in various ways.

But in these latter days,

these last days,

he has spoken to us through his son.

Right?

And then we looked at seven things
that make the son the priority.

I mean,

it's right there in just two
verses when he says,

God has appointed him heir of all things
and made the universe through

him. The sun is the radiance of God's
glory and the exact expression of

his nature,

sustaining all things by
his powerful word.

After making purification for sin,

he sat down at the right hand
of the majesty on high.

See, that's the thing that just
draws our attention to Jesus.

So the object of our worship,

this is our artwork for the year.

If you want a copy,

they got them out at the
welcome desk out there.

Obviously, the cross is this kind
of focal point in history,

this pivot point of all creation.

And then Christ is resurrection,

and sitting down at the right
hand of majesty on high.

And yet the writer of Hebrews.

I used this language last week,

and I'm going to explain it.

But the writer of Hebrews
is making the case,

because the author of Hebrews
has made the case,

and the author of Hebrews is God.

Verse five.

Here we go.

Four, two.

Which of the angels did he ever say,

you are my son.

Today I have become your father.

Or again,

I will be his father,

and he will be my son again when he brings
his first born into the world,

he says,

and let all God's angels
worship him.

And about the angels,

he says,

he makes his angels winds and
his servants a fiery flame.

But to the Son,

this is what he says.

Your throne.

God is forever and ever,

and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.

You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness.

This is why God,

your God,

has anointed you with the oil of
joy beyond your companions.

And in the beginning,

Lord, you established the earth and
the heavens are the works of your

hands.

They will perish,

but you remain.

They will wear out like clothing.

You will roll them up like a cloak,

and they will be changed
like clothing.

But you are the same,

and your years will never end.

Now, to which of the angels
has he ever said,

sit at my right hand till
I make your enemies,

your footstool.

Are they not all ministering spirits
sent out to serve those who are

going to inherit salvation?

All right,

let's pray.

God, we thank you for your word.

And we thank you,

God, that you have given
us evidence.

And yet,

God, it's because you've spoken that
we gather to understand who you are.

How does Jesus pray to know you,

God? We want to know you,

God, because as we know you,

you change us.

The better we get acquainted,

the more God you refine
us and you shape us.

And, God,

truthfully, you grow us up.

So, God,

help us to grow up a little.

This morning,

as we hear your word,

we pray it in Jesus name.

Amen. You know,

no one ever had to convince me
that Jesus is important.

Y'all know that.

I mean,

I don't ever remember having to be
convinced that Jesus is important.

I grew up in a christian home.

My mom and dad,

who are probably watching right now,

because before my sister goes to Calvary
Baptist Church in Williamston to

teach Sunday school,

she goes over to my parents'house and
turns on YouTube so they can watch

us live.

And so,

mom and dad,

good morning.

Good to see you.

No, good for you to see me like it.

All right.

Anyway. But I remember growing up
in a home where Jesus was a.

Remember? You know,

it's funny that this week I was telling
Bobby over here that I had to go

to the DMV one time,

and then I had to go to the Anderson
county tax office one time,

and I'm carrying around this power
of attorney thing and all this.

And quite honestly,

the only difference in what it says
on the power of attorney is one

letter because it says Robert Earl Owings
senior and Robert Earl Owings,

Jr. So the only difference in
the two is the s and the so.

So when I look at this
thing and it's like,

you know what?

I grew up in this home.

And somebody in my week,

this week said,

I said something about
being a pastor.

And he said,

you know,

my father in law has been the pastor
at Harris Baptist Church in

Greenwood for 40 years.

I was like,

Harris, do you know what?

About 56 years ago,

I was a sunbeam in Harris
Baptist Church.

Right? That's how I grew up.

I grew up in a worship setting.

Worship in,

quote, church,

but worship in home.

I mean,

nobody had to convince me that
Jesus was important,

you see.

But Jesus,

as we're talking about it this year,

is the object of our faith.

We worship Jesus.

And so when we start to consider
this and break this down,

we know,

and we're taught all along,

we gather to worship God.

God is God the father,

God the Son,

God the spirit.

You see,

we understand this teaching and what
we have in the word of God.

And so it's Hebrews and particularly
these first four verses that says

God has spoken through his son,

and his son is the one who was at
creation is the sustainer of all

creation. He is the first born.

He is all these things,

and he's the radiance of God's glory
and the exact expression of his

nature. And he sustains everything
by his powerful word.

Why is God having to
make a case here?

Right? I mean,

that's really a question to ask.

Some have said that the book of Hebrews
sounds like a sermon somebody

preached. I mean,

honestly, one of the commentators
said that.

And it may have been,

I mean,

this may have been something that God
inspired and inspired for it to be

written down and somebody
got up and preached it.

Because all of the epistles,

the letters of the New Testament
were shared in open,

congregational form.

I mean,

they would get up and say,

hey, we've got a new
letter from Paul.

Everybody sit down.

And they'd read the
letter from Paul.

So the book of Hebrews is like that.

And yet in the book of Hebrews there
is this unfolding of priority.

So we have the establishment
of the nature of the Son,

and then we've got the second section
of chapter starts talking about the

angels.

One of the great themes of the book
of Hebrews is the superiority of

Christ, the supremacy of Christ,

the priority of Christ.

And what we know is that because
the Old Testament,

the old covenant,

the first covenant,

was communicated through prophets,

but was also communicated through
angels in the Old Testament.

When you go back and start
to look at that,

and that's why,

as God reveals this to us,

he says,

for to which of the angels
did he ever say?

So what we've got here is this comparison
of what God has announced in

the Old Testament and the New.

Or like I told y'all all last week,

the commentator that I've
been reading on this,

the first Testament and the second,

because God communicated a lot of
things to his people and he

communicated through prophets and
he communicated through angels.

But in any sense he said,

for which is the angel?

Did he ever say,

you're my son?

Because to the hebrew people,

and you'll find it in
the Old Testament,

sometimes angels are
called sons of God,

but no specific angel is ever referred
to as the son of God.

See? So he says this,

he says,

you're my son.

Today I have become your father,

or again,

I will be his father and
he will be my son.

He never has said that to
any specific angel,

but he has said it to who?

The Son.

See, the father speaks of the Son.

You know why son's always been son.

Didn't just start one day.

There are those who would
like to teach that,

oh, well,

Jesus was such a fine fella,

God adopted him as a know well.

No, the Son always was.

The Son is the word that God spoke when
creation was formed and the word

became flesh.

Because that's what John one.

One says.

It says in the beginning.

What beginning?

In the beginning of anything
was the word.

The word was with God.

The word was God,

and the word became flesh.

There's Jesus,

you see,

that's all in John chapter one.

Again, this is what God says when he
brings his first born into the

world. He says,

and let all the angels worship him.

Do you know the Bible teaches
us never to worship angels.

Y'all know?

I know people who worship angels.

Watch out.

Some folks in some traditions,

in our culture teach people
to worship angels.

Bible says no,

but God told the angels
to worship the sun.

How about that?

Right? And about the angels,

this is what God says
about the angels.

He makes his angels,

winds and his servants
a fiery flame.

So the messengers of God.

Now this is all about the message.

And the messengers,

the messengers were prophets.

The messenger is the Son,

angels. The definition of the
word angel is messenger.

So about the angels,

he says,

they're winds and fiery flames.

So they are messengers that God speaks
to and sends out to communicate

the message of God.

And then in verse eight,

here you go.

But to the Son this
is what God says.

Your throne God.

So God refers to the Son as God.

And yet there are those who would
say that Jesus isn't divine,

that he was only adopted by God.

Your throne God is forever and ever,

and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.

You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness.

This is why God,

your God,

has anointed you with the
oil of joy beyond your.

So what is God communicating to us
through the writer of Hebrews by

inspiration of the spirit of God.

Jesus is really important,

y'all. He's not just an
add on to your life.

He's not just a membership card
to carry in our pockets.

He's just not membership in church
or some practice of,

quote, religion.

See, Jesus is the focus
of our being.

He's our identity.

When people look at you,

do they see Jesus?

Are you communicating Jesus
to the people around you?

Are you living it out in public
in such a way that people go,

man, when I'm around that person,

that just feels like Jesus
is in the room.

You see?

And then verse ten,

it goes on.

It says,

and in the beginning,

lord, you establish the earth and the
heavens are the works of your

hands. He never said that
about the angels,

but he does say that about the son.

They will perish,

but you remain.

They will wear out like clothing.

You will roll them up like a cloak,

and they will be changed
like clothing.

But you are the same,

and your years will never end.

So what we've got is the father
speaking of the son,

and now we've got the way God
has laid it out for us.

And this is what the father
has said to the son.

Now we know that all the way back
in creation that God had sort of

pointed to redemption.

God had pointed to,

he says,

and the seed of the woman would
crush the head of Satan.

And so God,

they call that the evangelion,

or ev angelion,

however you want to pronounce it.

But anyway,

it was all the way back in Genesis
three that God said,

because of this sin and fall,

there will be redemption.

And then God spoke to who?

God spoke to Abraham.

He said,

abraham, leave your family.

Leave your father.

Go to a land that you have no
idea where you're going.

You'll stop when I tell you to stop,

because out of you I will
make a great nation.

And from you all the nations
will be blessed.

See, that was the covenant promise,

right? And then you got God's that
family from Abraham and Sarah and

Isaac. And it grows into
the twelve tribes.

And they go into famine,

captivity in Egypt,

and they grow into millions and
they come back out of Egypt.

And as they come out of Egypt,

God shapes them into a nation
by their worship.

And I shared this last year that the
thing that made them different from

all the nations around them
was their worship.

Folks, what makes us different from
all the nations around us?

And I don't mean nations,

what makes us as God's people different
from all the other people in this

world? It's our worship.

Who do we worship?

What do we worship?

What is the object of our faith?

Who is the object of our faith?

Because, folks,

if we live in a society,

in a culture that teaches us to worship
ourselves and we give into that,

we got issues.

To put it in a more contemporary
vernacular.

Right? See,

because the world all around
us is worshipping itself.

It's taught to,

it's conditioned to,

it leads us into self worship without
even letting us know that that's

what's going on.

You see,

the father speaks of the Son,

the father speaks to the Son,

the father speaks to the angels,

but he speaks to the Son differently.

And that's what's being
broken down here.

And then in verse 13,

he goes on to say,

now, to which of the angels
has he ever said,

sit at my right hand till I make
your enemies your footstool?

Now, all of these statements
we find in two Samuel,

you find them in psalms,

you find them throughout
the Old Testament.

And so that's why the God,

by inspiration,

pulls these verses to
say to the audience,

to the hearers of this word,

what he's saying is,

says, you've heard these things said
for hundreds of years and now with

Jesus you understand what
was being said.

You understand what.

Now, it points a lot of it.

A lot of these psalm references and
a lot of the Samuel references

actually refer to the establishment
of the davidic kingdom.

The fact that King David would be a king
and he would always for eternity

have a descendant on the
throne of God's people.

Well, one or two things had to
happen for that to happen.

Ready?

That meant God had to keep a descendant
of David successively in line to

be the king over his people
or for eternity.

Now, because that's what it says,

his kingdom would be eternal.

So he either had to keep a physical king
on the throne of Israel for all

of eternity or he had to
have an eternal king.

See, that's how Jesus becomes
the eternal king.

That's the case that's
being made here.

To which of the angels
has he ever said,

okay, you did the work.

Now sit down.

Sit at my right hand until I make
all the enemies of creation.

Your footstool man,

verse 14 is just sort of like a.

Are they not all ministering spirits
sent out to serve those who are

going to inherit the earth?

You see?

What is he saying here?

He's saying there are angel
messengers of God.

We know thousands upon thousands
upon thousands.

There are angel messengers of God.

I mean,

one of them showed up in a field with
a bunch of shepherds and went,

hey, don't be afraid.

Right? I mean,

I always thought to myself,

I thought,

how come every time angel appears,

they go,

fear not.

And I'm like,

yes, sorry,

I'm afraid.

All right.

Something bright,

shiny, glowing,

with a sword standing before me.

Okay, I'm scared.

Because then that way he said,

if you're scared,

say you're scared.

I'm scared.

But the angel says,

fear not because I am telling
you of something incredible.

I am here to bring you
a message from God.

But those angels in the field with the
shepherds were not only giving a

message of God,

they were announcing the
messenger of God,

the supreme messenger,

the superior messenger.

You will find him wrapped
in strips of cloth,

swaddling clothes.

Right? You see,

I never had to be convinced of that.

And likely growing up,

even if you didn't grow up in a christian
home or you didn't grow up with

the influence of Christianity
around you,

right? Somehow in the west,

and particularly in America,

we have the opportunity
to hear about Jesus.

We have that opportunity,

and we likewise have the opportunity
to reject him.

You know why?

Because in our culture,

we're taught not to need him.

I don't need know.

I heard it.

Jesus is a crutch.

You know what the implication of
calling Jesus a crutch is?

Oh, you're so weak,

you need a crutch.

Right? No,

see, the father has
spoken of the son.

The father speaks to the son,

and the father explains right
here in verse 13,

the father speaks Jesus's dominion.

Jesus is son,

he is heir,

he is creator,

he is sustainer,

he is the radiance of God's glory.

You see,

he is the exact expression of the
essence and nature of God.

He is king,

he is priest,

he is God,

and he rules.

Right? We get to move on from
this after this week.

But guess what?

He continues.

The writer continues to share with
us God's message of the warning.

We're just going to keep unfolding
this thing in such a way as to

understand that as we study
this particular book.

Maybe you're like me.

Maybe you grew up in
a christian home,

mom sat you down and read the Bible
to you and shared the gospel,

and you said,

yes, I want Jesus.

And so you accepted Jesus,

right? Maybe you didn't.

Maybe you grew up in a home
where it was like,

all right,

make up your own mind
for your own self.

I know a lot of people like that,

right? Maybe you were anti Jesus.

Maybe it was like,

no, I don't want anything
to do with him.

And yet,

like that song Scott and
morning glory sang,

he sought you out,

and he kept coming,

and he kept coming,

right?

Everybody comes from
a different place.

But the revelation of God
is the same for us all.

You see,

Jesus is the message.

Jesus is the messenger.

Jesus is the object,

the focus priority,

not just of our faith,

but our worship.

Remember, I've told you that the word
worship comes from the word worth.

What is Jesus worth to you?

Do you live your life expressing
his value to you?

Is he the most important
thing to you?

See, the world says no.

Things like,

and I love asking this question.

I mean,

I always ask it when I get into the
walking together conversations.

It's the second question I ask.

It's the most important
thing in your life.

It's a set up.

A lot of people will
say things like,

well, my family,

right? I go,

watch who you bow down to.

Right? And I'm not saying
family is not important.

God gives them a place in
our priority structure,

but they're not the most
important thing.

My kids,

my wife,

some people waywardly will say,

oh, well,

my job.

So what provides for me?

And I go,

whoops. Right?

It's the most important thing to you.

See, if it's not Jesus,

we need to readjust.

Okay? Jesus is the most important
thing to believers,

to those who follow him.

And that's the case of
the book of Hebrews.

And for the writer of Hebrews to break
it down for the hebrew people,

for those first century
christians to say,

you know,

God has communicated since creation.

What prophet wrote the first
five books of the Bible?

Anybody know?

Moses, right?

God communicated through Moses.

See? So when we consider
these things,

we stop and say,

okay, well,

what is it that Jesus said?

What is it that Jesus has done?

These are the things we need
to pay attention to.

Okay? If you don't know
Jesus this morning,

man, we want to tell you about him.

We want to share the gospel with
you and share the good news,

the life changing message
of the death,

burial, resurrection,

the victory that God's
given us in Jesus.

Maybe you know him.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's like
a membership card right.

Maybe you know Jesus.

Question is,

is he the center of your being?

See, that's what God's
calling us to.

Maybe you want to be a
part of the gathering.

I know a couple might.

Yeah. So anyway,

maybe God wants to do something
this morning.

You want to be a part of what God's
doing here at the gathering?

You come on down.

It'll be fine.

Just do what God's calling
you to do.

All right,

let's pray.

Father, thank you for today.

And thank you,

God, that you loved us first.

Thank you,

God, that you've given us an identity
in you through the shed blood of

Jesus Christ.

God, you've proven it.

You've shown it to us.

And yet,

God, for some of us,

growing up this way,

it didn't have to be proven.

God.

It was just that environment
that we grew up in.

But for some,

God, there had to be a case made.

So, God,

I thank you.

I thank you,

God, that you've revealed yourself
and you've spoken.

And now,

God, help us to hear and
help us to respond.

And we give you thanks
for it as we sing,

God, just hear our praise and
we pray it in Jesus name.

Amen.