Love Language

Transcript

Well as Greg mentioned earlier this morning we begin a new sermon series entitled The Word of God and the People of God. And this morning we will begin by looking at the book of Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 and 3. If you have a, if you don’t have a Bible with you there are Bibles in front of you. You can grab one of those pew Bibles. I don’t know why we call them pew Bibles, we don’t have pews. Seat Bible. You can grab a seat Bible underneath you and the number in that seat Bible is 941, page 941. Hebrews chapter 1. I’ll read and then I’ll pray and then we’ll dive into our text this morning. Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things through

whom he also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Let’s pray. Father as we come to your Word to study your Word, to hear what your Word has to say about your Word, we pray that you would give us the help of the Holy Spirit. We confess that we need eyes to see and we need ears to hear and we need a mind that is helped by the Holy Spirit and we need a heart that is moved by the Holy Spirit if we intend to grow and know and be changed. And so this is where we start this morning, utterly and completely dependent under the authority of your Word to speak to us about your Word. We

A Desperate Cry

pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen. There aren’t many things about my teenage years that I can remember. I can’t know for sure, but I’ve been told it’s because we often subconsciously choose to forget the dark parts of our past, which for me leaves very little room to remember anything, especially in my teenage years. But for some reason floating around in the lost files of my mind I could vividly remember one specific memory during that season of life. I can’t recall the exact time but I remember the exact circumstances that led to that memory and the exact feelings. At that time I wasn’t a Christian. My home was far from a Christian home and given all the abuse and abandonment that I experienced in my home I felt completely alone, afraid, and confused. And though I knew nothing about God and did not believe in God, I was angry with God. I was angry because if by

some chance God actually did exist, why was he so distant both in proximity and in the particulars of these dark circumstances? And here’s what I vividly remember. I remember in the thick of my anger and fear hiding in my closet as a way to escape the chaos that was just beyond my bedroom walls. And in a moment of desperation and depression I called out to the God I knew nothing about but presumed was a God of love and I begged him, God if you’re real would you speak to me? Say something. Say anything. Even a whisper would let me know that you can hear me and that you’re aware of what’s going on in my world and that you care. God if you’re real show yourself to me because if I could somehow see you with my own eyes then I will know that you’re real and that would make me feel

comfortable and safe in the midst of the chaos that was just beyond my bedroom walls. God if you really exist then prove it to me by fixing everything that’s broken in my home right now because everything seems like it’s crushing down on me and I can’t bear it. Truth be told my cry was likely far less articulate than that. I was in fact a teenager, a very foolish teenager. But at least in my memory that’s how it plays out. And listen I know that this cry for God to speak, to show, and to fix is not unique to me in my personal experience with life. It’s not even unique to unbelievers who might have called out to the God they don’t believe in a moment of deep desperation. Even Christians, mature Christians who know God personally, who maybe have followed Jesus for the vast

majority of their lives, at times still cry out in a very similar way for God to speak, to show, and to fix so that they might know that God is there, that he cares, and that he’s doing something about their broken and hard situation. Because in moments of anger and fear and confusion, despite what we believe to be true as believers, we don’t always feel like God is speaking, or showing, or fixing. I have known that cry both as a non-Christian and as a genuine Bible believing Christian, which is why even as Christians we need to know and be reminded that our God is a God who speaks to us, that he reveals himself to us, and that he is a God that is working in the world around us, fixing all that is seemingly broken and beyond repair. Brothers and sisters, as I began to

structure this sermon series on the Word of God, and I started to think through the best way to build a doctrine of Scripture which I think is very important for us to understand in our world, I felt compelled not to start with a defense of Scripture, which would be my natural bent, you know that, and not even start with a robust, systematic theology of Scripture. Instead, I decided to begin with a more practical and comforting reality, a reality that is true for the Christian, that no matter what you feel, no matter what you believe in those dark moments, that God does in fact speak and show and fix broken things. And to illustrate this, I’ve decided to anchor us this morning in the book of Hebrews, chapter 1, verses 1 and 3, because though this passage is mostly preached to accentuate the supremacy of Jesus, I think that this passage also gives us a

The Before Word

clear, coherent, and concise statement on the fact that God is a speaking God. God is not silent, that he is not distant from us, he is not unconcerned about us, and that he is not powerless to help us. And so to move us through our passage this morning, I’ve broken it up into two sections. One section that deals with the past, and the other section that deals with the present, and the way that I’ve broken that up is the before word and the better word. So let’s begin in verse 1 with the before word. Hebrews 1.1. Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke. Now let’s just stop right there for a second. Before we dive too deep into this section, I want you to notice the two most important and significant words in that verse. God spoke. With this, brothers and sisters, we could really

close our Bible, pray, call it a day, and walk away feeling deeply encouraged because of this profound reality that our God is a speaking God. All the other pretend gods in our world, they do not speak. They are silent, non-communicative, empty, impersonal, powerless shells without substance, who can’t even defend themselves, can’t even prove themselves because they don’t speak. And the reason they don’t speak, brothers and sisters, is because they don’t exist. And here, with these two words, it’s made as plain, as simple as possible. God speaks. In fact, if you ever wondered if God existed, all you need to do is look to the fact that God speaks. And if God does speak, then he certainly exists. God is a speaking God. In fact, even before God spoke creation into existence, demonstrating the power of his words, he was a speaking God. Our God is

Trinitarian, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And within the Trinitarian Godhead, there is this relationship where each member of the Trinity perfectly communicates with each other. Kevin Vanhoozer, who is a contemporary theologian, he writes, God in himself enjoys never-ending, fully realized, interpersonal communication. And what that means is this, that God is deeply satisfied in himself and in his communication with himself. There is a perfect relationship within the Trinity, and what makes for a perfect relationship is perfect communication. And married folks, you know relationships break because communication is not perfect. So God has perfect relationship with himself because of perfect communication. But this begs the question, if God is fully satisfied in himself, then why did God speak creation into existence in the first place? He didn’t need to create us, and even if in his kindness he decided to create us, he didn’t need to speak to us. He is God.

He does whatever he pleases. He could have just created us and left us on our own to kind of figure things out, and he would still be good if he did that. But praise be to God, he doesn’t do that. And why? Well, the more God speaks in the storyline of Scripture, the more we understand the why he speaks. We see throughout the pages of God’s Word, he speaks his created humanity into existence, and he speaks to us because he desires his created humanity to know him, to love him, to live with him, and to glorify him. This is why God speaks, and this is also why creation was created. Jonathan Edwards said the great and universal end of God’s creating the world was to communicate himself. God’s purpose for creating us and the world was ultimately, friends, to disclose himself to us, to make his glory known to us in his world. And God uses words to

disclose himself so that we might relate with him. You see, what is fundamentally required to have a relationship is some sort of communication. The opening up of one’s self in the act of speech or language, which by the way could also be sign language. J.I. Packer in his book, Knowing God, he wrote, without God speaking to us, we would not know God. And that knowledge of God that Packer is referring to is not just information about who God is. It’s a knowledge that is intimate, personal, and relational. This is what distinguishes the difference between a relationship and what I often call information ship. And so the medium God uses to disclose himself is the same medium God uses to speak the world into existence. And that’s his words. And here the author of Hebrews, he’s not just making a claim that God uses words or that he speaks. No,

he’s giving us an invitation to look backwards into the storyline of his word to see the various times and the various places and the ways in which God has communicated in the past. Because the way God communicated in the past, though it was good, it’s largely different from the way God speaks to us today. And so the author of Hebrews writes, God spoke long ago at many times and in many ways. And this many times and in many ways that God spoke long ago can simply be explained as media. Okay? Media. Now I know when you hear the word media you think all kinds of crazy things, especially in our social media age. And the last thing you think of when I say media is good, effective, trustworthy communication. In many of our minds media is bad. But the ineffectiveness or trustworthiness of what we hear and see through our media today has nothing to do with media

itself. The problem is not media. The problem has everything to do with the source behind the media. The problem is the bots, the trolls, the misinformation hustlers, and the simply misinformed people. Media itself is not content. It’s a distribution of content. It’s just a medium, which is where we get the word media, of how content is shared. God is trustworthy. So that means that whatever media God chooses to use, God’s content is trustworthy regardless of the media he chooses to use. And creation itself, brothers and sisters, is but one of God’s wonderful media outlets of communication. Though it is more general in what it communicates, it still communicates and discloses God’s content to us. Psalm 19 verses 1 and 4 says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no

speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. So God has spoken to us through the media of creation. And what does that media sound like? Or maybe better stated, what does that media look like for us? Well in the Pacific Northwest, it looks like the beams of sunlight that burst through the Portland parchment skies. It looks like the Oregon coastline where the expansive forest kisses the vast Pacific Ocean. It looks like the Columbia Gorge that leads us like breadcrumbs to the breathtaking splendor of Mount Hood. God speaks through it all, that he exists, that he’s creatively beautiful, and that he is wonderfully benevolent. Romans 1

says, For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. God has painted himself in

creation so that we might know him. Now think about this for a second. The transcendent God of the universe declares his beauty in the skies as an invitation to know God. But you see, there’s a difference between displaying the general realities of God and speaking the specific realities of God. Displaying the glory of God through creation or nature have certain benefits, but general disclosure is not sufficient to shape God’s ultimate desire for his creatures, which is deep relationship. We can know from creation and nature that we are without excuse, that God exists. When we look at Mount Hood, there is no doubt that God exists. When we look at the biological makeup of human beings and the complexities of it, there is no doubt that God exists. But we cannot know through nature or creation how we are to relate with God personally and morally. And so though creation is a form of media, it is a

short-form media. Therefore it’s insufficient in terms of knowing God relationally and morally. So creation is but a tweet of who God is, and we need more of a biography. But God’s creation isn’t the only way that God speaks. There are other forms of media that God has used in the past for communication, and we see those things all throughout the scriptures. Things like visions, dreams, voices, a burning bush, a pillar of fire, those things are types of media. And even though God used those things, they are also short-form media, which means it’s less effective in helping us to fully understand who God is and how we are to relate with him. Yes. So in a more effective and comprehensive means by which God chooses to disclose himself and make himself known so that we might relate with him is by speaking. This gets us closer to God’s full disclosure. So

long ago, God used a variety of short-form media to communicate, but throughout the Old Testament what we see is that God’s normative means of disclosure was verbal communication. And that was primarily through the prophets. So second half of verse 1 says, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke through these prophets specifically to reveal his character, his will, his warning, and his redemption plan for his people. All of the things that God revealed through the words of the prophets, if you think about it, are relationally and morally driven. They reveal his character so that we might know what God is like, namely that he is kind and holy, that he is a God of justice and mercy, and that he is loving and faithful. They reveal his will so that we might live in relational alignment with him, to live according to God’s predetermined pattern for human

flourishing. They reveal God’s warning of judgment as a means of protecting and preserving that relationship that he has with his creatures. And they reveal the promised plan of redemption so that those who are far off relationally because of sin can be brought back into perfect relationship through a perfect redeemer. This was a more effective means of communication than the short form media of long ago. And listen, it’s important for us to understand that the prophets were not simply fortune tellers making predictions about the future. These prophets, they were ordinary people powerfully used by God as agents to speak the very words of God to his people. And here’s what’s crazy. What we see time and time again is that God’s people ignore and disregard God’s words through the prophets. They treat the God who speaks as if God is not speaking to them. God speaks to the prophets, but they continue to refuse to listen. They

continue to rebel. In fact, some of God’s prophets are even killed by the people because they don’t want to hear what they have to say, or they don’t like what God is saying to them. It seems then, at least on the surface, that the prophets, though they use a better media in terms of helping us to know God, it’s still a bit ineffective. The question then is, why would God continue to send the prophets to speak to his people if his people won’t listen? Because of God’s love. Because of God’s unwavering, faithful commitment to preserve his relationship with his creatures. And so, he keeps sending prophets to tell his people that he will restore, he will reconcile, and he will redeem his people to bring them back into relationship with him. He speaks to the prophets because he cares. Because he loves. He speaks even when they don’t want to listen to him speak, which really

The Better Word

just speaks to his consistent goodness and love. But brothers and sisters, God’s greatest expression of love is not in the words that he gives the prophets to speak, but in the words spoken by the Son. And we see that in verse 2 with the better word. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. The writer of Hebrews, no one really knows who he is, emphasizes that we are in the last days. Now, I know when I say the last days, some of you guys freak out a bit, given your upbringing. You might think to yourself, like, left behind, and you know, you might be thinking Mark of the Beast, and it creates a bit of a panic. Don’t let that scare you. What the author of Hebrews means when he says the last days is the days after God fulfilled what the prophets had been pointing to. The promise

of restoration, the promise of reconciliation, the promise of redemption through a perfect Redeemer, and that time has come. The Redeemer is here, so we are in the last days. And so we’ve entered this new age where God’s speaking is better than before. It’s more clear, it’s more tangible, it’s more embodied. It’s a word that is better than Moses, better than Zachariah, better than Daniel, it’s better than Isaiah, it’s better than John the Baptist, it’s better than all the prophets put together, it’s better in every possible way. And that’s because the Son now speaks. There is no need for any other agent or any other media because the Son is our unmediated communication with God. But what is it specifically that makes the Son who speaks a better word than before? Well, the author of Hebrews goes on to give us three reasons why the Son is a better word. And those three

reasons are his power, his presence, and his purchase. So let’s look at the first reason Jesus is a better word, and that is because of his power. Verse 2, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom he also created the world. What we see here is that Jesus is the better word because he is the heir of all things and he is the creator of all things, which means that Jesus has ultimate and supreme authority over everything and everyone in this world. The work that Jesus accomplished in this age warrants all the rights and privileges of this world to Jesus. Everything in this world rightly belongs to him because of what he has done. In Matthew 28, 18, Pastor Greg just read this morning. After Jesus’s resurrection, which is the introduction to the last days, that’s when the last days began, Jesus

gives his great commission to his disciples as an encouragement and a command. Jesus said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, meaning the Father gave all authority to Jesus to rule and reign. This is what the psalmist pointed to in Psalm 2 verses 7 through 12. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. And what is the scope of this authority that’s been given to Jesus? All things. Then what is this authority limited to? Nothing. Jesus has authority over all things and nothing is outside of his authority. This means that everything in our dark world is under his authority. And everything else, war, the stock markets, governments, hedge funds, policies, presidents, your

retirement, your escrow, your city, your school, your children, and you. Especially you. The prized possession of all of God’s creation. He has authority over all. All things in heaven and on earth. That means everything. This is massively encouraging. That not one thing that happens in this world is outside of God’s supreme authority. And even when we feel like this world is out of control, he is working all things together for the good of those who love him. And he can work all those things together. He can work those things because he has authority over all the things that he’s working together. You see how that works? Theologian Abraham Kuyper says this, he says, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine. And that mine, brothers and sisters, includes you. God

says to you this morning, child of God, you are mine. I got you. No one can take me from you. And no one can take you from me. You are locked. You’re mine. You’re his. And he’s exercising absolute authority in this world for his glory and for your good. What a great reality for this better word. Look at the second half of verse three. And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. There’s just more power on display here, which just means he’s sustaining all things. Though Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is not specifically mentioned in the creation account when the world was created by the power of God’s word, this word spoken in creation is identified with the word who became flesh. In fact, in the very beginning of John’s Gospel, what we call the prologue, it says that in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. And the

word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. That is Jesus. And without him, that is Jesus, was not anything made that was made. So Jesus, the word, has authority over all things because he is the creator of all things, and because all things are held together by the word of Jesus. And this means you. He’s holding you together in your personal world, all of your circumstances. Though you might feel sometimes like things are falling apart, that you are falling apart, Jesus is holding everything together. And he’s holding you together, and he’s sustaining you by that same power of his word. So Jesus is a better word because of his power. But secondly, Jesus is a better word because of his presence. Look at verse 3. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. Jesus is the manifestation of

God’s very presence. He’s not simply a reflection of the divine glory of God. But the radiance of it. And it says he is the exact imprint of God. It means that he is the same in essence and nature. In fact, Jesus shows us God as he truly is. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 says, For God who said, Let light shine out of the darkness, was shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. In the face of Jesus Christ, we see God. And what this means is that because Jesus is the very presence of God, we can know certainty. We can know with certainty that God cares and that he is close. And we could take comfort in the fact that God came from heaven to our world in human flesh to be with us

and to move among us. John 1, 14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. In Jesus, we not only see God, but we hear God together. Spurgeon said it this way. Ours is the clearest of all revelations. In Jesus, we see far more of God than in all the teachings of the prophets. God’s presence in Jesus means God with us. Just look at this for a second. In Isaiah 7, 14, the prophet speaks. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. Then in the New Testament, in Luke 1, verse 31, the angel, another agent of God, spoke to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah talked about. He said, And behold, you will conceive in your womb

and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, which means that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. And then in Matthew 28, 20, as Jesus ends his great commission that God has given him all the authority, he ends that great commission by speaking to us, Jesus speaking to us, Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age, Immanuel. The prophet says God will be with us. The angel says God will be with us. And here, Jesus says, I am with you always. Friends, Jesus is better than the prophets because Jesus is God with us. Jesus is unlike the prophets because Jesus is God’s unmediated, full disclosure of himself. He’s not simply a messenger. He is the message that moves among us. And finally, friends, Jesus is a better word because of his purchase. Look at the end of verse 3. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the

right hand of the majesty on high. The prophets spoke, but the prophets couldn’t save. And this, brothers and sisters, is the whole reason Jesus came, to do what the prophets could never do and to fulfill what the prophets promised he would do, purchase our reconciliation and redemption by his blood. He is the better word because of the actions behind his words. Jesus acted in humanity on the cross to bring about redemption and reconciliation. He didn’t just talk a good game. He put his money where his mouth was. Jesus speaks a better and final word on the cross when he says it is finished. The best words humanity will ever know. It is finished. And in those final words spoken by Jesus, the relationship that God always intended to have with his creatures, but was broken because of sin’s curse, has been fixed through the salvation of the son who spoke. It is finished. When God spoke in the garden

that he would send the son to crush the head of the serpent, he did it. When God spoke through the prophets to remind us that the son was coming to crush sin, Satan, and the grave, he did it. The son, the promised redeemer, has come. He has acted and he has spoken. It is finished. And in so doing, he is atoned for our sins. And friends, the invitation to embrace Jesus, to have relationship with Jesus, is given to anyone who would trust and believe that Jesus, the word, is who he says he is. All you got to do is take him by faith and trust him and he can be yours. This is why Jesus came, to die for our sins. The very thing that was separating us from having a good and perfect relationship with God has been fixed in Jesus. And this, friends, is why Jesus sat down at the right hand of

God’s Word for Today

God, because his work is finished. Which means we don’t have to work any more. We don’t have to do all this religious work to get to Jesus. Jesus did all the work necessary. And because he finished the work, because it’s done, he sat down. Brothers and sisters, God speaks through his son and through his word, because the son is the word made flesh. Do you understand that? God fixes broken things in our world, most profoundly the broken relationship between God and man, because he’s making all things new. And God shows himself to us in the humanity of Jesus, where he is the exact imprint of God. God speaks. God shows. And God fixes. And he will come again. And when he comes again, he will speak blessing to his people, but he will also speak judgment to the wicked. And he will show himself in all of his radiant splendor

when he comes from the clouds. And when he comes, he will fix this broken world. He will renovate this world. And until that day, you can hear him, you can see him, and you can be fixed by him through the reading of his word. You can do that. Do you feel unloved, unforgiven, or doubtful whether God is in your midst? Immerse yourself into the gospels where God speaks and shows of his forgiveness, his love, and his sacrifice for you. Are you suffering, walking through dark days? Are you failing to see the purpose for the difficult path that you are on right now? Immerse yourself into the book of Job, where God speaks that there is purpose behind your pain. Have you been betrayed or hurt by members of your family? Immerse yourself in the book of Genesis to see how God uses evil for good. Are you struggling with friendships inside

the church? Has sin fractured your unity with someone in the church? Immerse yourself in the book of Ephesians, where God speaks of the unity of the church and how he purchased it with his own blood and how you are to fight to preserve that unity. Are you confused, need perspective, struggling with difficult decisions? Immerse yourself into the book of Proverbs, where God speaks, giving us wisdom beyond this world. Do you feel like this world is collapsing in on you and all you want to do is run and hide from it? You can’t bear it. It’s increasingly becoming more dark and scary for you. Immerse yourself in the book of Revelation, where God speaks of a coming renovated world where he will make all things new. God wins in Revelation. Are you emotionally broken, feeling weighed down with sorrow and grief? Immerse yourself in the Psalms, where God speaks. Are you struggling with shame? Read Romans, wrestling with anxiety,

read Philippians. Friends, the word of God is not just some random collection of thoughts. It’s not just a reading plan to be completed at the end of the year. It’s God’s very voice intended to help you see him, hear him and know him and be reminded that he’s fixing everything broken in this world, including you. Do you want to grow as a Christian?

Are you stagnant in your Christian life? You need to relentlessly read God’s word. You want to help other Christians grow to greater degrees of faith? Read God’s word together. It’s better than any program or any discipleship strategy. Get together and immerse yourselves in to God’s word. Speak God’s word to one another. Encourage one another with God’s words. They are better than any counselor, better than any philosophical perspective. God’s word is powerful and transcendent. Brothers and sisters, as we move through this sermon series in the next few weeks, learning and dissecting the doctrine of scripture, I’m begging you, don’t just take in information and check it off like, oh, I needed to know that doctrine. Now I’m good. Don’t do that. I want you to see it for what it is. Supernatural, transcendent, powerful, transformative, the very instrument God uses to reconcile humanity, to build you in your

faith and to lead you into deeper devotion and relationship with him. And friends, in order for you to receive the doctrine of scripture that way, you need to start praying now. You need to start praying now. Ask God to prepare your heart as we engage with this supernatural word. It’s like nothing like it in this world. Nothing like it. When people speak it, powerful things happen. And that’s because God is behind it. He backs everything up. So you need to pray that God help you to receive it like that. Not just learn about it, but be mastered by it, encouraged by it, and transformed by it. Amen? So would you commit to doing that this week as we begin to engage with that? Pray every single day and open up your word every single day and say, God, speak to me and prepare my heart for where we are going. Amen? Let’s pray. God, you could have left us

spinning on a ball without hope, without knowledge, without knowing anything, aimlessly wandering. But you speak. You show us. You reveal to us not just how we ought to live, but how you love and how we can love you and be known by you. And we pray, oh God, that you would begin to help us to have an appetite for your word. We pray, God, that your word would be central in our lives as a community, that we would be a people that speak the word to one another, encourage with the word to one another, convict one another with the word, call people to repentance with the word, show people the beauty of your word, show one another how your word testifies of Jesus, how it’s all this grand, wonderful and beautiful storyline of our great Redeemer. God, we pray that you would help us even now stir our affections through the power of your word so that we can be a community

that knows you deeply and loves you deeply and loves each other deeply with the power of your word. We pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus, who is the word made flesh. Amen.