Don’t Give Up, Jesus Is Better!

Well, good morning, everyone, how are you today? Great to see you, if we didn't have the privilege of meeting yet, my name is Paul. I have the privilege of serving as a support to our pastor these days, and it's my pleasure to do that. Your pastor is on vacation today, well-deserved vacation, pray for him, amen? So we're thankful for our pastor, aren't you? Hey, so look around, because these are all the really spiritual people who come out on a holiday weekend to church, come on. Just kidding, if you're watching online from the shore, Poconos, we're just jealous, that's all. But we're glad you joined us anyway, we're glad you're with us today. Now, it reminds me, this weekend reminds me of the little boy that was walking around with his grandfather at the memorial, and he was looking at all the names, he said, yes, son, he said, these are all the names of the men and women who died in service. Little boy got kinda quiet and pondered for a minute and said, well, Grandpa, was it the 8 a.m. and the 9.30 service? Oh, come on, somebody, that's a little funny. It'll come to you, just let it marinate for a minute. Turn to somebody and say, thank God for dad jokes, go ahead. All right, stand with me real quick. So pastor has given me the assignment and the privilege of actually kicking off a brand new series today.

So we're gonna be studying through the book of Hebrews, and so grab your Bible or the app on your phone or device and go to Hebrews chapter one, we're gonna do our best to talk a little bit about Hebrews chapter one today. How many of you know we could spend five weeks on chapter one, but we're not going to? And so we'll do our best today to get through this. Can we just open our hearts to the Lord and just ask him to speak to us, would you do that? So Lord, thank you, thank you for your word. And we pray, Lord, that you'd speak to us today and let us Lord hear what the spirit is saying. And we give you thanks for it in Jesus name, everybody said, you can be seated. Well, for those of you who are following Jesus and given your life to him, how many of you have discovered that life isn't as easy or fun as you thought it would be after you trusted Christ? Anybody in the room? Yeah, I think most people's expectation is, and sometimes us preachers make it sound this way, that once you give your life to Jesus, everything is just rosy and wonderful. Brother, do me a favor, there's a cough drop laying there on the seat right there, bring it, thank you, I appreciate it, I forgot to pop that in my mouth and I'm already feeling it, come on somebody. I learned to talk with cough drops in my mouth a long time ago, all right.

So anyway, what was I saying? Yes, sometimes people's expectations are that everything is gonna be wonderful, I'm gonna have financial blessing, all of my relationships are gonna be perfect, I'll never argue with my spouse again, can I get an amen? And yet how many of you know that life can actually become more difficult and complicated sometimes after you give your life to Jesus? Now, why is that? Well, for two reasons, and thank you, brother, appreciate it, come on, give him a hand, he's doing great. Well, two reasons that's true, one is that we live in a fallen, rebellious, wicked world system that Satan is constantly inspiring and we live in that current, we live in the current of the world pushing against us all the time, can I get an amen? And the other reason is that the kingdom of God is not primarily, primarily being the key word, it's not primarily a kingdom of physical material issues, it is a spiritual kingdom, the work of the Holy Spirit within the spirit and the heart of every person that gives their life to Jesus. And so the abundant life that Christ came to give doesn't necessarily mean a bigger house, a newer car, health all the time, are you depressed yet? I'm not trying to make you depressed. How many of you know what I'm talking about?

Sometimes the pressures of life or the pain and the problems that we go through or the persecution and ridicule we face or how many of you ever just get discouraged with yourself? You get discouraged, you're just not living up to all you know, can I get an amen in the room? So giving our life to Jesus and having abundant life is not necessarily about physical material things, that's why Romans 14, Paul wrote like this. In Romans 14, 17, he says, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, it's not part of it. and having a great celebration all the time and all the physical stuff. No, he says the kingdom is righteousness, living right in the sight of God, peace, inner peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. As we follow Jesus and we obey and listen and trust him, we have righteousness. We begin to grow in righteousness and we enjoy inner peace and joy. And that's why Paul could say in Philippians chapter three, even though he had at one point been stoned and left for dead, he wrote in Philippians three, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But the key is trusting Christ who strengthens me. And I don't know about you, but sometimes you've kind of feel like giving up. Anybody in the room, don't raise your hand.

Anybody in the room besides me ever felt like just giving up and going back to your old lifestyle? Just all the pressure and temptation and problems. I'd almost bet almost everybody at some point may have felt a little like that. Well, if you felt like that, here's the point. You're in great company because that's exactly what's going on with the people who received this letter, the book of Hebrews. They were a group of Jewish believers who had been persecuted and ridiculed. And they'd even had some of their material possessions taken from them for one reason, they were trusting Christ. They hadn't done anything wrong. All they did was switch from Judaism as was known in the day from trying to live by the law to trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And their friends and family ridiculed and persecuted and confiscated, some of them even ended up in prison. You can see that in Romans chapter 10. And in Romans chapter 10, the Hebrew writer writes them and basically says, hey, don't give up. Don't throw in the towel. Don't throw away your confidence. Remember how you endured through those times. Don't give up, you need to persevere. You need to keep trusting Christ now so that you can receive all that he has for you. Listen to me, here's what I know. The abundant life that Jesus wants you to know

and experience, the fullness of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit requires persevering trust in Jesus. It means continuing to trust Jesus, not just to get us to heaven, but trusting Jesus in our relationships, trusting Jesus in our finances, trusting Jesus with our sexuality, trusting Jesus with our sicknesses, trusting Jesus with our heartaches, trusting Jesus in the nitty gritty of life. It means we keep trusting Jesus no matter what's going on and sometimes that hard, but if we will make the effort to trust the Lord, righteousness, peace and joy flows in and through our hearts and we experience the contentment that only Jesus can give no matter what's happening. If you look around the world, you're gonna notice everybody has problems. I don't care who it is. It's so good because Jesus is better. There's the theme for our series over this next few weeks. Jesus is better. Jesus is better. Why is Jesus better? Chapter one gives us three simple reasons why Jesus is better. Look at verse one. It says in verse one of that text, in the past, God spoke to our ancestors

through the prophets at many times and in various ways. So he's saying in the past, God spoke. He used men and the Jewish people believed and were convinced that angels helped to bring the message through those men, but just regular fallen men who were prophets. God spoke to us in the Hebrew scriptures, he says in the past, but look at what he says. But in these last days, and the last days began with the birth of Jesus because Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the promises. All of the pictures of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the person of Jesus. In these last days, he says, God has spoken to us by his son. I'm not big on the whole repeat thing, but would you say this with me? God has spoken to us. Let's say it. God has spoken to us. He has spoken. Would you make it personal? God has spoken to me. God has spoken to me. How has he spoken to you? Through his son, Jesus Christ. God has spoken. Are you listening? He's already spoken. You see what this text is saying?

It's telling us that Jesus is better because of who he is. He's not just a human prophet. He's not even just an angel. All of those are created beings. No, no, no. Jesus is better because he is God himself, the son of God in a human body who came into the world to give us the full revelation, the full understanding, the full knowledge of who God is. It goes on in that text and it says, he is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of his being, his nature. That's verse three. The radiance of God's glory. How many of you felt and were impacted by the radiance of the sun this week? I don't know about you, but me and the brother in back with the glasses back there, we have to wear a hat when it's like this because our head gets burned real, real quick. Are you with me? I am impacted by the sun. Amen? Well, if I trust in Jesus, he is the radiance. He is the one who radiates the character of God to me. He radiates the ways of God to me. He radiates the knowledge of God to me and the thoughts of life and what life is about and how life works. Jesus came to radiate the character,

the values of God to me. He is God himself. And being God, he shows me exactly what God is like. You remember on the night he was betrayed, Jesus was with the disciples and Philip says, well, Lord, just show us the father and that'll be great. And how did Jesus respond? You remember? If you have seen me, this is John 14. Everybody ever read the gospels? John chapter 14, if you've seen me, Jesus said, you've seen God. You've seen God if you've seen me. Here's the point. When you read through the gospels, pay attention to how Jesus treated people. Pay attention to what he valued and what he disdained. Pay attention to who he is and what he does because everything that Jesus is, everything that God is, is revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know how he thinks about people who sin. We know he thinks about people who are sick and broken. We know he thinks about people who are in need. We know how God feels and how he responds because Jesus showed us that. And if we will go to the gospels, God has spoken to us. God has spoken to you. God has spoken to you. God has already spoken to you.

He's revealed himself to you. He's revealed his heart to you. He's revealed his nature to you. He's revealed his will to you. If you'll stink and take time to read it and pay attention to it, God has spoken to you. And he spoke to you through his son, not just some prophet somewhere, even though that was true in the Old Testament. And we grow from that. And who you listen to is critical. I mean, think about it. If you're being beaten up by some strong bully or thief, who's more helpful? Who do you listen to? Superman or your 98-year-old grandmother? Pretty clear choice. Can I get an amen? If you had cancer and needed surgery, God forbid, who would you turn to? The best cancer surgeon in town who was known for his success? Or would you turn to your local auto mechanic who fixes your car so well? Or how about this? You need financial advice. You need to know what to do with your finances so you can grow them. Do you go to the guy who's been successful finance counselor

who not only successful himself, but help others? Or do you go to the guy who bankrupted his businesses and living homeless on the street? You say, pastor, that's so silly. It's so obvious to me. You would never do those silly illustrations. Yes, that's the point. You listen to social media. You listen to TV. You listen to the media. You listen to Hollywood stars. You listen to people who are supposed to be somebody and you're not listening to God who's spoken to you through his son, Jesus Christ. Where are you gonna go? Who are you gonna listen to? I suggest you ought to listen to Jesus because he is God and he's spoken, hallelujah. Oh, come on, somebody. How many of you know I can't do this again? I'm gonna be in trouble over the next two. I'm too old for this, come on. Lord, here we go. Yeah, you listen to the person who's qualified. I don't know about you, but I am so sick of the chatter. Come on, somebody. I need to pay attention to what Jesus is saying because he reveals God fully to me. He is the full message of God to me. Colossians 2 says,

in Christ, all the fullness of God lives in bodily form. John says, no one's seen God, but Jesus has made him known to us. Jesus said, you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Listen, don't miss this. Here's the point. God wants you to know him. He wants you to know him. He wants you to know his heart. He wants you to know him in a personal way, not about him. He doesn't want you to do religious stuff. He wants you to know him in a very personal real way and Jesus came so that you can have a personal knowledge and relationship with him on a daily basis. We're just, my in-laws were visiting, we were chatting and thinking about our life, you know, and looking back and one of the things that came to my mind was a point in time where I was praying and the Lord spoke to me very, the Lord spoke to me clearly about a few things as I pastored the church but there's one instance where a gentleman was presenting himself as a trained counselor, doctor of psychology and the Lord spoke to me clearly one day in prayer and just said, he is not what he's presenting himself to be. Just like that. Well, it turned out long story short, after doing some research, the guy was lying and his own wife didn't know the truth. Listen, if I hadn't been listening to Jesus,

I would have referred people to a guy who had zero training in counseling. Are you with me? God wants you to know him. God's got some stuff to say to you, to keep you out of trouble, to guide you into good places but you gotta pay attention. You gotta listen and he's better, he's better because he's God, the radiance of God. He's better because he's the heir of all things it says in this verse. In verse number two, he says, he's the heir of all things. In other words, all of the universe belongs to Jesus and finds its ultimate purpose and meaning in Jesus. He is the ultimate destiny. That's why holding anything back from him or ignoring the Lord or refusing to listen, it's so foolish. We're headed toward him, he possesses us. He is our destiny and we are moving his direction. All of earth is moving that way and as his followers, the Bible says, we're actually joint heirs with Jesus. We will possess and rule with him in the eternal kingdom. Wow, nobody else can do that for you. It says not only that, he's the creator. Verse two, he created all things. John chapter one, everything that was made was made through Jesus. Nothing that exists came into existence except through Christ and in this text in Hebrews,

and it says, he is the creator of all things. It's referring not just to physical things. It's referring to physical, but more than that. There are two different words in the Greek that could be translated, we're a cosmos and aionos. It is aionos here and aionos has to do with time and space and direction. And what the Bible is saying is, in the next verse it says, he's the sustainer of all things. The idea of that word is not just keeping it all together. Aren't you glad Jesus keeps it all together? How many of you know if the earth was tilted just a little bit more than it is, we'd all burn up or we'd all freeze depending on which way it was tilted. Jesus keeps the earth exactly where it needs to be. So you and I don't get burned to death. Come on, somebody. And he sustains everything. But the idea of that word is not just maintaining, but of carrying it forward to its ultimate destiny. See, Jesus is the one who made you, who created you in your mother's womb. He knit you together. Young people, you are you because Jesus wanted you to have the gifts and the personality that you have. And Jesus wants to make you the best you can be. He's not wanting to make you Taylor Swift or what's he says, Kelty. He's not wanting to make you somebody else. He wants you to be you, to be the best you

because he knit you together. He's got plans for you. He's got you in his mind and heart and he wants to grow you into who you were made to be. And he will because he is a creator and the sustainer who carries all things toward its ultimate conclusion. Ephesians one, he's the God who makes all things work together according to his plan and purpose. He'll fulfill his purpose for you. If you'll listen, you keep trusting him in those areas where you're not inclined to trust him. Oh Jesus, I trust you take me to heaven. Oh Jesus, I trust you help me to make a good decision in this relationship I'm in. Help me in this financial situation. Help me to trust you, Lord. Help me to search your word and listen because you've spoken, the creator, the sustainer. And it says in this text and later in chapter one, it says that Jesus is better because he's the king of God's righteous and eternal kingdom. Look at chapter one, verse eight. But about the son, God says, God is speaking here. God says about Jesus, your throne, oh God. Father God calls Jesus, God. Is Jesus God? God said he is, good enough for me. Your throne, oh God, will last forever and ever. A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom

because you love righteousness and justice. In other words, Jesus is the ultimate king who is coming and every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Taylor Swift's knee will bow and confess. Nick, watch these faces. Jonas' knee will bow and tongue confess. And Donald Trump will bow and confess. And everybody, I don't care who, every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God because Jesus is God. He's the ultimate ruler. He's gonna make things right and he's gonna get rid of everything wrong. And he's gonna make righteousness and justice for eternity. And you and I who follow him and trust him, if we don't give up, we don't throw in the towel, we will reign with him forever and ever on a earth that is new and void of all of the junk that we have now. Oh boy, oh boy, I'm in trouble. Come on, let's get back here. Jesus is better because of who he is. He's not just better because of who he is though. And number two, he's better because of what he has done and what he is doing. In verse three, it says, later in that verse, it says, after he provided purification for sins. You know what, I am so glad it says what it says there because it didn't say, it didn't just say

after he provided forgiveness for sins. I said, after he provided purification, I don't know about you, but I need more than forgiveness. I need to confess my sin and knowing he's faithful and just to forgive me of my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness that God is working on me, he's gonna keep working on me and bring me into the place where I begin to jettison more and more as the radiance of his glory fills my heart. He begins to radiate injustice within me, radiate out prejudice and radiate out lust and radiate out greed and radiate selfishness out of me and teach me how to love the way he loved. He begins to radiate through me because he is the one who will bring that kind of kingdom to bear in my heart. Come on, somebody, I don't have the power to do it. I need forgiveness, how about you? But bless God, I need more than forgiveness. And when I trusted Jesus, three things happened. I got saved, I have been saved, that's justification. I'm right with God, hallelujah, no condemnation in Christ. But I not only have been saved, I'm being saved. That's sanctification, he's cleaning me up little by little. Come on, somebody, and bless God, I will be saved. I will be glorified and like Christ for eternity. And all of that is because Jesus has done it. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice. He became the sacrifice.

He took my sin and my punishment so that I could have his righteousness and acceptance before the Father. And then he sat down next to the Father. And as he sits down next to the Father, he intercedes for you. He says, yes, they belong to me. Yes, they're my righteous child. Yes, Father, you can listen to them. You can hear their prayer because they are mine. And he intercedes for you before the Father as he sits there next to him. And you begin to pray sometimes, not even knowing how to pray, but you begin to pray because you're trusting Christ and the Holy Spirit is working with you and you're trying to fumble and bumble and Jesus is making that prayer perfect. The Holy Spirit's whispering it into the Lord's ears and Jesus to the Father. And the Lord says, yes, yes, yes, because they belong to Jesus. Jesus is better. No one else can make you righteous and acceptable before the Lord. When I was a young man and first moved here, we had a real wealthy gentleman that we knew that was over in Philadelphia. Very wealthy, successful businessman. He invited me to play golf at his fancy golf club.

Fancy. Come on somebody. Snooty. Are you with me? And being a boy from Southern Missouri, fancy and snooty just didn't fit who I was. Are you with me? And I had my shorts on and my t-shirt. And when I showed up, he looked at me and said, you can't go in like that. And he went into the clubhouse and he bought me some shorts and a shirt with a collar. Fancy. Logo. Are you with me? Fancy. Nice. And then I could go play golf because of the clothes he provided. I couldn't go in in my own clothes. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Remember Jesus told that story. You can try to get in with your own robe of righteousness, but nobody gets in because no one will be declared righteous in the sight of God by good works or keeping the law. It's what the Bible says. No, no one can come to the father except through me, Jesus said. You got to be clothed in the righteous robe that I will give you. And as you trust Christ, he's better because he is the one who makes you acceptable. He's the one that makes your prayers effective. He's the one who enables you to pray. He's the one who answers your prayers. He's the one who will guide your life. Come on, somebody. He's better because of who he is. He's better because he's what he's done and is doing. And he's better lastly because he's what he's going to do. It says later on in this text, Hebrews chapter one, it says it like this. Chapter one, verse 10, God also says about Jesus in the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain. They will wear out like a garment. Look at this. You will roll them up like a robe and they'll be changed. Just like you roll up your pajamas or nightclub and you throw them aside and you get all dialed up and dressed so you can come to church. There's coming a day when Jesus Christ is going to roll up all of creation and the Bible says it will burn up in fervent heat and then he will bring in a new heaven and a new earth free from all sin and wickedness for eternity. That's where this thing's going. That's where this is headed. Jesus, the eternal king of God's kingdom, he's going to bring world history to a conclusion. Jesus is better because he is the ultimate destiny of all people and all things. So how do we respond? Here's the bottom line. How should I respond then to this truth today? Well, Hebrews two verse one tells us here it's a, here it is. We must pay the most careful attention therefore to what we have heard so that we don't drift away. There's the conclusion. If God has spoken, if God has clearly spoken through the prophets,

if God has spoken through his son, who's the culmination, the fulfillment of everything he wants to say to me, I must pay more careful attention. So I don't what run away, jump away, decide to wait. So I don't drift away. It's actually in the Greek. It's a picture of tying up a ship so that the current doesn't take it off somewhere. And here's what I know. Listen to me, dear ones. No one drifts toward godliness. No one drifts into a closer relationship with Jesus. No one drifts into a more personal faith or growth. No one drifts toward all that God has for them. No, no, no. You got to secure it. And that's that last point to fill in there. Secure the abundant life that Jesus wants to give you by continuing to trust him, not just for your ultimate salvation, but in your daily life, the struggles, the heartaches, the hurts. Go to Jesus. We sang, I let a hymn sing last week, and we sang that old song. What a friend we have in Jesus. Oh, what a privilege to carry everything to him in prayer. Oh, what a needless pain we bear all because we don't carry. everything to Him in prayer. Pay attention. He says, don't neglect the Word. Listen, read, soak it up, think about it. Turn the stinking TV off for a little bit. Stop listening to the world and listen to God and what He's got to say. Can I get an amen? Amen, amen. Well, I don't have time to fill in those, to tell you the whole story. I'll just summarize it quickly and we'll quit. Go home and read 1 Kings 18. So there's a wicked king, led Israel in idolatry. God sent the prophet Elijah to confront him. So they gathered all the false prophets of Baal and Asherah, the god and goddess of physical financial success and fertility and sexuality.

And so success and sex were the gods they were worshiping. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Gathered all the prophets and the bottom line was, he said, listen, you guys, you build an altar and make a sacrifice. You call on the name of Baal. I'll build an altar and make a sacrifice and I'll call on the name of God, Jehovah. And the God that answers the fire, that's God. And they all agreed to it. The prophets of Baal, they spent all day long crying and screaming and dancing and chatting and saying, let it rise, let it rise, let it rise, let it rise, let it fall, come on, let it fall, let it fall, let it fall, let it fall, let it fall. Not one spark. They cut themselves. Yeah, go read it. It's crazy. Nothing. And then Elijah, when it was his turn, he said, all right, here's what we're gonna do. I want you to dig a trench around this altar that I just repaired, the altar of the Lord. I repaired the altar of the Lord. I'm gonna dig a trench around. I want you to pour water all over it. They poured water all over it, soaked it, the ditch was full of water. Elijah said, Lord, let the people know

that I've done what you told me to do and consume this sacrifice. And the fire of God fell, not only took the sacrifice, it took the stones, it took the dirt, it took the water, left that place completely bare. And all the people fell down and said, the Lord is God, the Lord is God. And then they killed the prophets of Baal and Asher. Why? Here's your points on those last thing. I'll just say them and we'll quit. Number one, make a decision. Decide to trust the Lord alone. It doesn't mean you don't use practical common sense or go to doctors or counselors. That's not what we're saying, but ultimately you're trusting the Lord. I'm gonna trust the Lord. I'm not gonna trust Hollywood. I'm not gonna trust something else. I'm gonna trust what the Lord says. Number two, build up the altar. Build up the altar of the Lord. Pray, learn how to pray. Spend time, get alone and pray and learn to pray. Learn to talk to God, learn to listen to Him. Read the Word of God, build up the altar. Number three, determine. Determined that you're gonna do what God says even when it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Even pouring water over sacrifice makes no sense, but that's what the Lord told him to do. And so Elijah did it and then God answered. And number four, devote yourself to the mission of turning people's hearts back to the Lord. I wish I had time to read all those texts, I don't. I hope that you'll read it. I hope you'll look at it and let the Lord speak to you. And if you will, He will, I promise you today. Church, the Lord loves you more than you can comprehend. He wants to fulfill His purpose for you. Pay attention to what He's already said. Can I get an amen? Let's stand together, the Lord bless you. So Lord, thank you today for your Word and your truth. We give you praise. I wonder if there's anyone in the room today you've not yet given your life to Jesus and you're ready right now today to surrender your life to Christ, accept Him as your Savior, as your leader and give your life to Him so that He can bring you into the destiny that He has for you. If that's you this morning, while heads are bowed and eyes are closed, would you just shoot a hand up real quick and then you can put it right back down and say, pray for me, pastor. I wanna trust Christ today. Go ahead, put your hand up, thank you in the back.

I see that today. Hey, someone else today, thank you, God bless you. Thank you, God bless you. Thank you, God bless you. I see in the middle here, someone over here. Yes, thank you. In the back there, I see you, brother. Somebody else today, I wanna trust Christ. Anyone else this morning? I'm tired of trusting Hollywood. Tired of trusting Taylor. Tired of trusting Instagram. I wanna trust Jesus. Anyone else this morning before we close? Come on, it's your time. One, two, three, anyone else? All right, let's pray this prayer together. Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus. Jesus, thank you for coming. Thank you for taking my death and punishment so that I could have your righteousness and acceptance. Thank you for that trait. And now I give my life to Jesus, believing that you're the son of God, raised from the dead, my savior and my master. And I ask you to fill me with your spirit and fulfill your purpose for me. In Jesus' name, amen.