Hebrews

Hebrew is chapter 1 verse 1 and through to chapter 2 verse 4.

In the past, god spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. Whom he appointed there of all things, and through whom he also made the universe. The son is the radiance of god's glory, the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

For which of the angels did god ever say? You are my son today, I've become your father, or again. I will be his father, and he will be my son. And again, When god brings his firstborn into the world, he says, let all god's angels worship him. In speaking of the angels, he says, he made, he makes the angels spirits, and his servants' flames of fire.

But about the sun, he says, your throne, o god will last forever and ever, a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore god, your god has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. He also says in the beginning, the lord, lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of his hand. They will perish, but you remain.

They will wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe. Like a garment, they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. To which of the angels did god ever say sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a foot stall for your feet.

Are not all the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit the salvation. We must pay most careful attention therefore to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding and every violation and disobedience received, it's just punishment. How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation which was first announced by the lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

God also testified to it by signs and wonders, various miracles, by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. So reads god's word, keep that open, and Tom's going to help us understand it. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Nice to see you here.

As Pete says, my name is Tom. I'm 1 of the pastors, and, a very warm welcome to you. If it's your first time with us this morning, then it's great to have you, or if you are joining us online, then it's good to have you as well. As Pete said, do keep Hebrews open in front of you and as we come to it now, let's bow our heads and pray. Heavenly father, we do thank you for the superior name.

The name that is above every names. The name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you that he is worthy in a way that no other being is worthy of all praise and honor and glory and power. And we pray this morning that for every single 1 of us here, you would help us to pay the most careful attention. To the message of Jesus so that we may not drift away.

And we ask these things in his name. Oh, man. According to Hebrews 13 verse 22, The book of Hebrews is a brief exportation. Now as attention spans continue to go down, we might argue about the word brief, whether it really is a brief exportation, but an exhortation, it certainly is. The book of Hebrews we're told is a book of strong encouragement, blended with warning, but also encouragement.

And the reason we need it is because of chapter 2 verse 1. We must pay the most careful attention therefore to what we have heard. So that we do not drift away. The book of Hebrews is a brief encouragement. Don't drift away.

Over the summer, me and my family, we went to the Norfolk Coast and, the weather was pretty good, and we spent some time out in the sea, bodyboarding. And, maybe you know what it's like. If you've ever done that, in the sea, you know, you go out there and you're messing around in the waves, And after 20 minutes or so, you look back to where you thought your stuff was, on the beach, where you'd left your towels, and your flip flops, and your bucket and spayed, and all of a sudden someone's taken it. It's gone. Someone's come and pinched your stuff from the shoreline, and then you realize, oh, no, wait.

It's not my stuff that's been nicked. It's me that's moved. And that's how drifting works, isn't it? In the sea? It's often something we don't even realize is happening to us.

We drift slowly, and we drift gradually. Until before we've even known what's happened, we're no longer where we thought we were. Well, in the book of Hebrews, we have a strong encouragement not to drift away. And here's the thing with the original audience, the drift that they were experiencing was not completely unconscious. So when you or I are in the sea, we might drift, and we don't even really know it.

But that would not be exactly true of this first audience. We saw the issue last week. These Christians were coming from a strong Jewish background, but now they were starting to drift away from Jesus. And back into their old religious life. They were beginning to move away from the son of god who was the final and full word of god, and drifting back to the old prophets of god.

They were beginning to move away from Jesus Christ who was the living temple of God and beginning to covet and long for the days of the old brick and mortar temple. They were moving away from the high priest Jesus Christ who'd made them once and right with God for all time, and drifting back in their mind and hearts to the old days of the priests. They were beginning to move back from the last days. To the past days. And here, the issue is broadly the same.

These people we can understand seem to have been moving away from drifting from the son of god, Jesus Christ, to the servants of God, angels. Now, I understand that to a modern audience, that does sound a little bit weird. To us. Maybe you've, in your in your home groups, if you belong to a home group, in the last couple of weeks, you've looked at this and you feel, why all this stuff about angels? I mean, why you know, why is he sort of so labor this thing about angels?

What was the nature of that particular temptation. And in answer to that, we've gotta remember that in the Jewish mind, and we're gonna see this throughout this morning, in the Jewish mind, angels were exalted beings. I mean, in the work that they did on behalf of the throne, that was magnificent work. In their nature, they were truly awesome beings. And in just terms of sheer numbers, they were vast armies.

10000 times 10000 of these wholly powerful angelic beings that winged their way throughout the universe on god's errands. These were might these were mighty, mighty beings. And therefore, we can imagine it was a challenge to this original audience to now understand that Jesus Christ, the flesh and blood man. Who was tempted and crucified and who died and was buried that that man had inherited a name that was far superior even to the name of the greatest angel. I mean, maybe to the original hearers.

At first, the gospel message sounded good. But now, were we really right to think that? Just on reflection? Were we really right to think that? And anyway, don't we need the angels, they might have said?

You know, if god is up there, which he is, And we're down here, which we are, who's gonna go between us? That's what Jacob's ladder was all about. If you remember our previous series, he sees a ladder from heaven and who is ascending and descending on the ladder? It's ain't we need angels because they go between us and god. They brings god's message to us.

They help us to connect with god. If we don't have them, how are we gonna relate to god? Because that's what the apostles had said. 1 Timothy 2 15, there is only 1 mediator between god and man, and it ain't an angel. It's the man Christ Jesus.

But you're beginning to understand why this might have been a temptation for them. To return to Angels was to be at home with the safe and the familiar. Still supernatural, but not so new and not so dangerous. Still true today, isn't it? No 1 will really care in your workplace or in your family, if you are a spiritual person who goes to a spiritual church.

No 1 will mind if you are a bit spiritual. That is neither demanding. Nor exclusive. It's just being spiritual. But if you start saying that Jesus Christ is the 1 and only supreme lord and that his name is the only name under heaven given by which we must be saved, If we embrace that gospel, then we may not be so popular.

And you get that in Hebrews chapter 10. The message of Jesus had brought suffering to this audience. And so maybe they were wondering, as we all can from time to time, is it really worth it? Is it really worth it? Wouldn't I be better off just as a spiritual person?

Rather than as a full blooded Christian person. And so the concern of chapter 1 is not academic. In the mind of God, this was a very real temptation. Pay the most careful attention therefore to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from Jesus or begin to replace Jesus with anything on earth or with anything in heaven. And here's why, verse 4, because Jesus Christ has become as much superior to the angels.

As the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. The word superior is the key verse of this chapter. It means better, greater, more final, more definite. Jesus Christ has the superior name on earth and in heaven. And now the author is gonna prove that point from the scriptures that they know so well.

He's gonna reach all the way back into the old testament into a book they were familiar with To prove that the superior name of Jesus is not some new novel spirituality after all, but rather it is what has always been taught in the very scriptures they claim to love. And just a quick word before we get into it on all these different old testament texts. So it's 1 of the things that jumps most clearly out to you from chapter 1, isn't it? Angel stuff, and loads of Bible Old Testament. There are 7 Old Testament texts quoted in this chapter.

Psalm 2, Psalm a hundred and 4, Psalm 45, Psalm a hundred and 2, psalm a hundred and 10, and they belong to what was 1 major division of the old testament called the writings. Geuteronomy, that comes from another major division called the law, Then you've got 2 samuel and repeated in 1 chronicle 17, and that belongs to a division called the prophets. So those are some of the major divisions in the Old Testament, writings, law, prophets. And according to the Holy Spirit who inspired every 1 of those words, they are all about the lord Jesus Christ. And so friends, when we come to the Old Testament, we mustn't think that the New Testament authors showed up, and they thought, we've got this message about Jesus.

How can we find some texts in the Old Testament onto which we can superimpose a meaning? And make those old testament texts say something about Jesus. That is foreign to biblical Christianity, but rather the point is that this is the Holy Spirit commentary on the words that he inspired, and he says, they're all about Jesus. They really were originally all about Jesus. And so for any preacher to stand up and to say the old testament is not about Jesus, is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit says they're all about Jesus.

And as you can see in the rest of chapter 1, the point of all this old testament is to prove that Jesus is and always has been the superior name. We need to know it so that we don't drift from it. And I think there are 6 at least 7 ways in which Jesus' name is superior, and we're gonna look at all of them. We're gonna run through them pretty quickly, but I think the case builds as all this superior language builds up. So firstly, Jesus Christ has the superior name.

He has a superior name. See that in verse 5. For to which of the angels did god ever say Now he's gonna quote Psalm 2. You are my son. Today, I have become your father or again to Samuel 7.

I will be his father and he will be my son. Now in both the new testament and the old testament, the word angel simply means messenger. That's what it means both in Hebrew and in Greek. It just means messenger. Just messenger.

Now I say I say just But actually, to be a messenger of god was an awesome job. And if you serve as a postman for the king of kings, you are employed in a pretty dignified office. They're not just messengers. They are messengers of the great king. But the name and the job, all it means is messenger.

But of the sun, he says. Verse 5, sum, 2, this great sum. All about the king, the son, the eternal ruler of god, about the son he says. You are my son. Today, I have become your father, and to Samuel 7 originally speaking of David, but looking forward to David's greater son, I will be his father, and he will be my son.

Now the word son there is really being used in 2 unique ways. Firstly, Jesus Christ is god the son. So this is our doctrine of the trinity. Yeah. There's only 1 god, but within 1 god, there are a community of persons, 3 persons, god the father, god the son, and god the Holy Spirit.

And at Christmas time, when god the son binds himself to a human nature, his name is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the eternal god the son. But he is also in the language of Romans 1, the son of god by title. His name is son of god because he's a crowning champion, and he's earned that name. So in Romans 1 verse 3, Paul tells us that the gospel is about the son who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David and who through the spirit of holiness was appointed the son of god in power by his resurrection from the dead.

And so in that context, Jesus Christ is the son because he's god's champion, who died for sin, Rose again, defeated his enemies, saved the people, you Jesus in your resurrection from the dead gain a new name. Son of god in power. God the son in eternity, son of god through his work of salvation. To which of the angels has god ever said. Son.

He has a superior name. Secondly, he has a superior nature. Now in the Bible, angels do have a pretty awesome nature. I'm saying that in the beginning. They do.

Maybe if you think about Isaiah chapter 6, If you're familiar with that scene, when Isaiah is transported into the throne room of god, and all around the throne, he sees these angelic beings who are ablaze with the holiness of god, and they cover their faces, and they cover their feet, and they say holy, holy, holy is the lord almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. And then they go about his work in the world. They had a net they had a nate an on fire nature that was truly awesome. But the scripture says verse 6.

Here we go. And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, let all of these awesome beings worship him. And all of God's angels worship him. Now, by first born, just to be clear, he's not saying that Jesus Christ is a created being, like some of the cults would want to say and argue today. This title of firstborn is again about his status.

So just as a firstborn son today might inherit a family business or a family home or a family name. So the lord Jesus Christ as son inherits. He is 1 who is set to inherit the kingdoms and the glory and the nations. He is an inheritor. That's what it means by first born.

And just look at what the angels are doing in verse 6, quoting deuteronomy, 32. And to quote deuteronomy 32, that really is quite amazing. I've got no time to show you, but if you go back originally, that is about yahweh. That is about the the covenant name of god in the old testament. And yet here, it is freely taken and applied to Jesus Christ.

He is that God. And what do the angels do? They don't ask Jesus to worship them as awesome as they are. Let all god's angels worship the superior nature of the sun. Amazing, isn't it in Revelation 22?

Remember the Apostle John, he's just seen all of these glorious sites about Jesus. And here's what he does. He tells us in his own testimony. I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. That's what we do.

He sees an angel. Who showed him these things, and John's instant reactions to fall on his face and worship the angel. But the angel said to me, don't do that. Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you, and your brothers, the prophets, and with whose words keep the words of this book, worship god.

You worship god. Don't worship us. Don't worship us. Worship god. And so the writer is saying, yeah, angels are awesome in their nature.

But in the presence of the sun, they know who they are. And they know who he is. And so they worship the superior nature. Thirdly, Jesus Christ is superior in time. He's superior in time.

Have a look at verse 7. In speaking of the angels, he says, quoting Psalm a hundred and a hundred and 4. In speaking of the angels, he says, he makes his angel spirits and his servants flames of fire. Now to get this next bit, we need to imagine 2 categories. Okay?

You've got creation, category 1, and you've got the creator category 2. And under creation can go the angels. Verse 7, they are described as flames and spirits. Now, what comes to your mind when you think of those things? Flames and spirits?

Well, in some ways, they're impressive things. A flame and a spirit is is an impressive thing. But I think the point here is that ultimately, these are insubstantial things. A flame is something that is limited by space and time. It cannot be everywhere all the time, and it requires oxygen and fuel to keep it going.

It's limited. And in the same way, you can't really grab hold of a flame. As soon as you try to touch it, it disappears or you try to grab a spirit, or capture a spirit. There's something transient and fleeting about the flame and the spirit. But also, you can put creation under this.

Is creation beautiful and powerful? Yeah. You look at a great mountain or an ocean or a volcano. There's something powerful and substantial about the world that we live in. But in the end, verse 11, look how it's described.

They will perish talking for heavens and the earth, but you remain, they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe and like a garment. They will be changed. It's quite a way of describing creation, isn't it? For all of its beauty, which we love.

In the end, it's like an old garment. You know, it wears out. It gets faded. It's patching up It's got holes in it. And when the time comes, you just think this has seen enough days.

And you just roll it up. You just roll it up like an old garment because it's worn out and it's perishing. That's the argument here. With creation, with all of creation, with you and with me, and with the angels, and with the world that we live in, it's frail. It's frail, and it's subject to decay, and it's fleeting.

But of the sun he says. Whole new category. Move from creation to creator of the sun he says. Verse 8, your throne. Will last forever and ever.

There's something waiting. Right? There's something substantial. We're not dealing with flames and spirits. We're dealing with a golden throne that is bolted to the floor.

And it stays there forever and ever and ever and ever. Of the son he says verse 10, you were there in the beginning in the beginning lord. You laid the foundations of the earth. We saw that last week. And of the sun he says, verse 12, your years will never end.

Friends, the lord Jesus Christ who we know and worship is not bound by time. And he is not subject to decay, and he is not frail as we are frail. He is the eternal, ever, reigning, unchanging. God. Later on, the author will return to this at the end of Hebrews, where he would describe Jesus Christ as the same.

Yesterday, today, today, and forever. He is superior in time. Isn't that good news? Don't you want to worship 1 who is superior in time? You see, I think, and when you think about it, it's true.

Many of our relationships today suffer because of inconsistency, don't they? We're inconsistent people. 1 minute we're grumpy. And the next minute, we're happy. 1 minute, we feel very patient and charitable The next minute we wanna bite each other's heads off, and we're inconsistent.

And that puts strain on our relationships, doesn't it? Inconsistency makes for makes for uncertainty and strain. Brent says nothing of that in Jesus Christ. Nothing. He is the rock of ages steadfast forever yesterday, and today, and forever.

He is the same. And you can trust him. You always know what Jesus you're gonna find. No matter how you feel, you wake up in the morning, he's the same. You chat him on your lunch break, he's the same.

You chat him on your pillow before you go to he's the same. You will find him the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. Same in love, same in power, same in holiness, same in truthfulness. He is the same because he is superior in time to all of creation.

He's also superior for free in his work. Superior in his work. And once again, the purpose of this whole chapter is not to put down angels. That's not why this was written to kind of do them down. Because in the bible, they get some pretty great work to do.

Think about the angel of the lord. Coming to lead the armies of god into battle or to destroy the enemies of god. Great armies of them overnight or to release prisoners or to comfort travelers There's all this kind of good work that they do. But how about our lord Jesus Christ? What is his superior work?

Well, back to verse 10, Psalm 102. In the beginning, you, lord, laid the foundations of the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands. See, it's 1 thing, isn't it to go through the world doing god's work, but to be the maker of those worlds? Puts you into a superior category, doesn't it?

You don't just live in the world doing the work. You formed the worlds by the power of your word. Jesus Christ is that superior worker. 50, he has a superior destiny. Here's the question again in verse 13, and this whole section is really bookended by those 2 questions.

It's there in verse 5 and there in verse 13. To which of the angels did god ever say? Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a foot stall for your feet. Now that's from Psalm a hundred and 10. And if you're interested, Psalm a hundred and 10 is the most quoted Old testament text in the new testament.

Psalm a hundred and 10, more than any other across all the authors is picked on as a Psalm that was about David's lord and god king forever Jesus Christ. Some hundred and 10 is a real favorite of New Testament authors. And notice the destiny of this son. Verse 13, sit at my right hand. Until I make your enemies a foot stall for your feet.

Sometimes we might wonder as we look at the world. What is god doing in the world? You know, what is god up to? Is he is he doing anything? What's his big plan?

Many ways we can answer that, but Psalm 110 tells of a superior destiny. What is God doing in the world? He is right now bringing every enemy and every rival and every rival philosophy, and every evil religion, and every ideology, he is bringing it to bow. That's what he's doing. Under the foot stall of the superior lord Jesus Christ.

That's where history is going. If you wanna be an enemy of god, be an enemy of god, but know you're heading there under the foot stall of the lord Jesus Christ, because every enemy is coming and will be brought down under the heels. Of the Holy Judge and Lord and King Jesus Christ. To which of the angels has God ever said that? Which angel?

Just think of it. Which angel has ever been invited to sit at the place of all authority, god's right hand, to have every enemy bought beneath an angel's feet. The whole point of the repetition is is a preposterous thing. No no angel would be invited to such a destiny. Only Jesus Christ the superior name nature worker superior in time gets that destiny because he suffered and he died and he rose and he rains and he has qualified himself.

For that superior destiny. Lastly, a superior affection. Superior name, nature, work time, destiny, superior affection. Here's verse 14. Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.

It's interesting that because that is perhaps the first description in the letter of you and me. Who are we? We are those who will inherit salvation. And so who are the angels? The angels are those who serve us by pointing us to him.

You might think of that night outside Bethlehem. That we celebrate at Christmas. You know, when the angels appear over the shepherds and fill up the night sky with their glory. And yet what do they say? They say do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the lord. You see that? You see what happens at Christmas?

It's not that Jesus shows up to announce that the angels are coming. The angels are coming. Shepherds. Get ready, that the sky is about to burst forth with their glory. Just look now.

No. The angels come and announce the arrival of the sun, because his name is superior to theirs. And you notice what they're doing these angels. They are serving us by pointing to him. That's their great commission.

To serve those who will inherit salvation, The angel show up at Christmas in service of you and me to point us to Jesus or think of Christ in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. He had no food. He shattered. Is hungry, and the devil is trying to say to him, you can have the kingdoms of the world if you turn away from that cross. And what does Matthew tell us in chapter 4 verse 11?

The devil left him and behold. Angeles came and were ministering to him. What are those angels doing there? What are they doing there? You know what they're doing?

They're serving us by strengthening him for the cross because that's their mission. To serve those who will inherit salvation, they serve us by making sure the savior gets to the cross. Or how about in gethsemane? Luke 22 42. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.

Yet not my will, but yours be done. And then what does Luke record for us? An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And so here is Jesus in that moment of horror and despair, and he's about to go to hell for us on the cross. And who comes to strengthen him, an angel from heaven?

That can't just be an incidental detail, can it? What is that angel doing there? That angel has come to serve us who will inherit salvation by strengthening and ministering to the lord Jesus. So he will go to the cross. That's quite a thought, isn't it?

The great commission of every angel is to serve us who inherit salvation by pointing us to the sun. You see the argument? These angels, they don't wanna sit on the throne. They wanna serve the throne. They don't wanna replace Jesus.

They wanna get our eyes on Jesus. Because they know his name and his work and his nature and his time is superior to every other name. What a mission? And yet for all of that, there is still something about the cross and salvation. That angels will never appreciate.

They can serve us who are gonna inherit it, but they can't sing of it like we can sing of it. We're gonna close this service by singing crowning with many crowns. And in 1 of the verses, the writer says this, crown him the lord of love. Behold his hands inside. Rich wounds, yet visible above in beauty glorified.

No angel in the sky. Can fully bear that sight, but downward bends their burning eye. At mysteries, so bright. Love that. No angel in the sky can fully bear the sight.

They they turn their blazing eyes down, and they look at the cross, and they look at the empty tomb, and they can see the worshiping church and they know there is something glorious in what has happened there, and they know their whole job is to serve that purpose in the world, but they cannot sing as we can sing. Only we can actually sing crown him the lord of love because we are the ones, not they who have redeemed been redeemed by the blood shed on that cross. Only we can sing of it. They can serve us. They can point us to it.

They can turn their burning eyes towards it, but only we can sing of it. Because we have been shown a superior affection. Do you see that? They have served us, but Christ has loved us. Christ has loved us and bled and died for us.

And been raised the third day to set us free so we can sing a song that they can't crown him, lord of love. And then you go back through the passage, and then you reread it in light of the gospel. To which of the angels has ever been called son. Brother or sister, if you've trusted in Jesus, that name has come to you. You have been called, son or daughter, a name that no angel will never receive.

Son or daughter. And where is Jesus Christ seated? Which angel has ever been invited to sit at the right hand? And yet Paul tells us in ephesians too that by faith, you and I are seated where? We're seated with god in the heavenly realms.

We sit there. By virtue of our union with Christ, we sit where they will never be invited to sit in the place of all honor and glory in Christ. At the right hand of god. The angels can serve us, but they have never loved us like that. And so in light of all of this, I want to ask myself, and I wanna ask you, Will you bow to the superior name?

Will you bow to the superior name? You see in many ways, I don't think we are so different from these original hearers. Our temptation may not be exactly their temptation, but I think we share a heart issue with them. This morning, in our catechism, we learned that to be made in god's image is to be made body and soul. We have a body, and we have a soul.

And that is the reason why people across all ages have always reached for something more than earth. If we would just body, we might just long for earth. But to be body and soul means we long for something more than earth to long for something spiritual. And that is why people in every age go after the spiritual. You know?

They build altars, and they burn incense, and they pray to saints, and they search the heavens for signs, or they chase visions, or in our day they might speak of crystal energies of light and peace and presence. Even in secular narratives, you know, you must have watched those documentaries on telly where they're telling you that there is no god and the world came from nothing, but they're reaching for a spiritual meta narrative to kind of put it all in, some spiritual beginning and spiritual end, and something mysterious about who we are. We can't help it because we have a soul that longs for the spiritual. But our problem is that in our sin, we reject the name of the sun for an inferior spirituality. That's what we do.

We say no to the great name because we want something inferior to scratch our spiritual itch. Couple of weekends ago, the elders went away on our annual retreat, and we had Andy Mason, who's the director of commission, come to talk to us. And, 1 of the sessions that he led us through was on spiritual warfare. And he was opening up ephesian 6. And 1 of the things he said to us was to, firstly, be careful ourselves as elders, but also to watch out in the congregation for what he called Christian conspiracy theories.

And by that, he meant that there are people, sometimes a lot of people who are very drawn towards, like the rapture and the millennium and angels and demons and spiritual things, and they love, they love to speculate on spiritual things. But somehow in all of that, the very lord Jesus Christ, the superior name begins to get diminished in their thinking, and he is somehow less exciting than all of the spiritual stuff that might go around him. Now, of course, it's fine for us to have views on those various things. But we have gotta be careful, haven't we? Of spiritual conspiracy theories.

Now, the question is, why is it that we might be drawn to that stuff and not Jesus? And 1 possible answer is because it allows us to speculate without changing. We can speculate. I wonder what it will be like. I wonder how many angels and demons there are and when will be raptured, and will the temple be built, and what will the temple be built, and we can speculate about it.

But actually, that means I don't have to pick up my cross and love my neighbor. I can just speculate about it. I don't have to do business with a flesh and blood name who's come to call me to deny myself and follow him. I can speculate spiritually without sorting out my internet habits. I can just talk about what might happen without loving the neighbor who is right next to me now.

And we prefer that because that sort of spirituality is non threatening. It doesn't demand anything of me. It doesn't say Tom take up your cross, come and love and live. It just says you dream and talk and argue with those who disagree. And so we gotta be careful lest we be drawn, lest we drift away.

Into a Christian spirituality, but it's actually sub Christian because Jesus has been erased right out of the middle. Or We might be drawn towards a type of spirituality, which connects us to something bigger and makes us feel good. But in the end, again, doesn't really require us to repent of our sin. And change. I think for many people, angels or the idea of angels or saints, it it represents something comforting to them and something powerful.

But something that in the end is not is not personal doesn't require any change. It's true, isn't it? You think about it? You know faith in heaven or who doesn't wanna go to heaven? In faith in heaven and a guardian angel, and a kind of guru father in the sky who counsel me when I when I need help.

Those are very soothing. Those are soothing spiritual thoughts, aren't they? And of course, as I said at the beginning, no 1 will mind if you are a spiritual person. In our age. No 1 will mind if you're a spiritual person, but that is not the lord Jesus.

He is the Psalm 102, Psalm 2, Psalm 110, god, man, king, savior. Who calls the world to come out from false spiritual authorities and to submit to him as god. So it's interesting. You don't, I mean, certainly in recent months, there's been talk about this sort of quiet revival. That is taking place.

And apparently churches up and down the country really are reporting a renewed spiritual interest in church and in the gospel message, and particularly amongst young men wanting to know about the gospel of the lord Jesus, and we rejoice in that. But let us pray that that would be more than just an awakening of interest in spirituality, but rather an awakening of interest in the lord Jesus Christ, an interest that would actually lead people to bow before the throne. We don't, in the end, wanna pray for just a spiritual revival, do we? Because a spiritual revival can be as distracting as any other thing, we want to pray for a Christian revival, where people come to embrace and bow before not an angel. But the superior name of the lord Jesus Christ.

And so brothers and sisters, let me ask, are we are we drifting? Are we drifting? I don't know. What do you think? Are we drifting?

Could we be drifting? Drifting from a superior name to a replacement spirituality, which is not what it not what it is. Are we drifting? Because the lord Jesus Christ is the superior name. And so let us trust him, let us bow before him, and let's pray together now.

Let's pray. To which of the angels did God ever say? Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you. That you have the superior name of son. That you are our creator.

You are the eternal god. You are king of kings and lord of lords. That everything else in creation will wear out and perish, but you remain the same, and your years have no end. We thank you that you have loved us in a way that no angel could ever love us. That you have come and bled and died and risen again that we might be made sons and daughters of god.

Lord, Jesus, please help us. We pray to pay the most careful attention. To the message of your gospel that we might not drift away. If there are any here in this room this morning who are beginning to drift, perhaps drawn towards a spirituality, which sounds Christian. But has lost Jesus from the very hearts, we pray that you would bring us back, call us back, help us not to drift.

Keep us riveted to the great name of Jesus we ask. In his name.