WEBVTT 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:01.870 You. 00:00:03.920 --> 00:00:05.768 We are in Hebrews, 00:00:05.864 --> 00:00:06.924 chapter two, 00:00:07.042 --> 00:00:09.256 and this is our artwork. 00:00:09.368 --> 00:00:10.162 Just so you know. 00:00:10.162 --> 00:00:11.058 If you hadn't got one, 00:00:11.058 --> 00:00:14.594 you can get them out at the welcome desk out there and keep it on your 00:00:14.594 --> 00:00:17.234 refrigerator. Make it a bookmark in your bible. 00:00:18.080 --> 00:00:19.730 But we titled this year. 00:00:19.570 --> 00:00:20.658 I guess I titled it. 00:00:20.658 --> 00:00:23.440 I didn't ask anybody if I could or not, 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:25.592 but I titled it the object of our faith. 00:00:25.592 --> 00:00:31.556 Because is we gather here for a reason I've already shared with you. 00:00:31.578 --> 00:00:33.178 We don't gather because we have to. 00:00:33.178 --> 00:00:35.158 We gather because we get to. 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:39.924 And I honestly have this conversation on a fairly regular basis where 00:00:39.962 --> 00:00:42.602 people will say something along the lines of, 00:00:42.714 --> 00:00:44.692 well, I don't have to go to church to be a Christian. 00:00:44.692 --> 00:00:45.384 I go, 00:00:45.502 --> 00:00:46.490 you're right, 00:00:47.180 --> 00:00:48.570 you don't have to. 00:00:48.940 --> 00:00:49.902 But the fact is, 00:00:49.902 --> 00:00:51.646 when we're part of the family of God, 00:00:51.646 --> 00:00:52.750 the body of Christ, 00:00:52.750 --> 00:00:54.008 this gathering of saints, 00:00:54.008 --> 00:00:55.528 or fellowship of believers, 00:00:55.624 --> 00:00:58.380 it should be that we want to gather. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.176 We want to come together for encouragement. 00:01:01.176 --> 00:01:04.354 We want to come together for the fellowship that we get to enjoy. 00:01:04.226 --> 00:01:07.122 We want to come together for the celebration of it all. 00:01:07.122 --> 00:01:08.392 I've always told folks, 00:01:08.392 --> 00:01:08.802 I mean, 00:01:08.802 --> 00:01:11.068 years ago when the gathering was first birthed, 00:01:11.068 --> 00:01:11.398 I said, 00:01:11.398 --> 00:01:12.070 you know what? 00:01:12.070 --> 00:01:13.878 If you show up on a Sunday and don't have fun, 00:01:13.878 --> 00:01:16.340 I don't blame you for not coming back, 00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:21.604 because we want to come and enjoy our time together in this place of 00:01:21.642 --> 00:01:25.210 worship, and we want to be able to enjoy the people that we're around. 00:01:25.210 --> 00:01:27.786 And I hope you take that chaos time when we say, 00:01:27.786 --> 00:01:33.416 go and greet people and say hi to people and some folks that come in that 00:01:33.438 --> 00:01:33.742 are new, 00:01:33.742 --> 00:01:34.078 and I say, 00:01:34.078 --> 00:01:35.422 look, just act like you've been here. 00:01:35.422 --> 00:01:37.072 Nobody will know the difference. 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:38.410 It's okay. 00:01:39.820 --> 00:01:42.776 But we gather for the purpose of worship. 00:01:42.808 --> 00:01:47.132 And I've told you that the word worship comes from this idea of 00:01:47.186 --> 00:01:52.510 Worthship. We gather to declare God's Worth in our lives. 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:54.796 He's important to us. 00:01:54.978 --> 00:02:00.336 It's important that we acknowledge and honor and exalt and seek in our 00:02:00.358 --> 00:02:01.532 lives to bring him glory. 00:02:01.532 --> 00:02:06.188 So this idea of the object of our face sounds like some sort of English 00:02:06.188 --> 00:02:08.732 lesson, prepositional phrase or something, 00:02:08.806 --> 00:02:14.212 but the truth of it is that worshipping God is the focus of our lives. 00:02:14.266 --> 00:02:16.208 We don't just worship for an hour on Sunday. 00:02:16.208 --> 00:02:17.876 We worship every day, 00:02:17.978 --> 00:02:18.906 all day long. 00:02:18.906 --> 00:02:23.784 So you've really got to be challenged in the attitudes and choices and 00:02:23.822 --> 00:02:25.142 actions of your life. 00:02:25.038 --> 00:02:28.120 Is my life a testimony of worship? 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:30.788 Because it really draws down in the picture. 00:02:30.788 --> 00:02:32.318 We've got the cross over here, 00:02:32.318 --> 00:02:34.568 and we've got Christ in the clouds. 00:02:34.568 --> 00:02:38.002 And that kind of is where chapter two of Hebrews is going to be going, 00:02:38.002 --> 00:02:43.148 because in chapter one we get this emphasis of the deity of Christ, 00:02:43.314 --> 00:02:47.798 and we see the name Christ used over and over again in chapter one and 00:02:47.798 --> 00:02:52.976 how he is the message of God following the message that came through the 00:02:52.998 --> 00:02:56.172 prophets. And if you were a Hebrew, 00:02:56.236 --> 00:02:56.822 reading this, 00:02:56.822 --> 00:03:01.428 you would understand that what God is revealing in chapter one is that 00:03:01.514 --> 00:03:05.760 all those things I said to you throughout Samuel and Psalms and Daniel 00:03:05.760 --> 00:03:09.060 and all the prophetic books were all pointing to Jesus, 00:03:09.480 --> 00:03:14.148 and they would understand the prophetic writings that David referenced 00:03:14.164 --> 00:03:15.838 through the Psalms and those kind of things. 00:03:15.662 --> 00:03:17.312 So they would understand that, 00:03:17.326 --> 00:03:17.902 guess what? 00:03:17.902 --> 00:03:19.320 There is a Messiah. 00:03:20.140 --> 00:03:21.332 And from the Greek, 00:03:21.332 --> 00:03:22.868 after we get over into the New Testament, 00:03:22.868 --> 00:03:24.188 there is the Christos, 00:03:24.248 --> 00:03:25.032 the Christos, 00:03:25.096 --> 00:03:26.812 the Christ that would come, 00:03:26.866 --> 00:03:30.110 and he would be the salvation of God's people. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:32.642 Then as we get into chapter two, 00:03:32.642 --> 00:03:34.326 there's this warning to start out with. 00:03:34.326 --> 00:03:35.520 Don't neglect, 00:03:36.180 --> 00:03:41.184 don't make light of the salvation that God has given you. 00:03:41.302 --> 00:03:42.690 So guess what? 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:45.570 Congratulations, you're here. 00:03:46.100 --> 00:03:46.678 See? Well, 00:03:46.678 --> 00:03:47.702 who am I preaching to? 00:03:47.702 --> 00:03:50.672 I'm actually preaching to the ones who aren't here. 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:52.432 They might be on camera, 00:03:52.432 --> 00:03:52.922 I don't know. 00:03:52.922 --> 00:03:53.750 But anyway, 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:55.482 so here's my point. 00:03:55.482 --> 00:03:56.458 The warning is, 00:03:56.458 --> 00:03:58.180 don't take it lightly. 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:01.190 What God has given us, 00:04:01.640 --> 00:04:03.856 don't neglect the salvation. 00:04:03.968 --> 00:04:04.298 Really? 00:04:04.346 --> 00:04:06.564 That's not just this salvation. 00:04:06.612 --> 00:04:07.272 Okay, great. 00:04:07.326 --> 00:04:09.566 I've got an insurance policy against hell. 00:04:09.566 --> 00:04:10.948 I get to go to heaven. 00:04:10.948 --> 00:04:11.768 Wooo! 00:04:11.944 --> 00:04:19.132 No, don't neglect Jesus in your life every day. 00:04:19.266 --> 00:04:23.132 Acknowledge Jesus in your life every day. 00:04:23.186 --> 00:04:27.052 Consider the fact that Jesus is our savior, 00:04:27.116 --> 00:04:27.868 our Lord. 00:04:27.964 --> 00:04:30.486 And we're going to get into the conversation in chapter two, 00:04:30.486 --> 00:04:34.160 where chapter one emphasizes the deity of the Christ, 00:04:34.230 --> 00:04:40.000 but it's chapter two that acknowledges and really highlights the humanity 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:41.360 of Jesus. 00:04:41.520 --> 00:04:44.682 So after the warning in the beginning of chapter two, 00:04:44.682 --> 00:04:46.858 then we get to chapter verse five. 00:04:46.666 --> 00:04:47.632 This is how it reads. 00:04:47.632 --> 00:04:48.470 It says, 00:04:49.320 --> 00:04:53.872 for he has not subjected to the angels of the world to come that we're 00:04:53.872 --> 00:04:54.548 talking about. 00:04:54.634 --> 00:04:57.476 But someone somewhere has testified, 00:04:57.588 --> 00:04:59.662 what is man that you remember him, 00:04:59.662 --> 00:05:02.190 or the son of man that you care for him? 00:05:02.190 --> 00:05:04.882 You made him lower than the angels for a short time. 00:05:04.882 --> 00:05:08.482 You crowned him with glory and honor and subjected everything under his 00:05:08.482 --> 00:05:11.612 feet, for in subjecting everything to him, 00:05:11.666 --> 00:05:15.884 he left nothing that is not subject to him as it is. 00:05:15.922 --> 00:05:18.928 We do not yet see everything subjected to him, 00:05:19.094 --> 00:05:23.638 but we do see Jesus made lower than the angels for a short time, 00:05:23.638 --> 00:05:24.812 so that by God's grace, 00:05:24.812 --> 00:05:29.780 he might taste death for everyone crowned with glory and honor because he 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:31.328 suffered death. 00:05:31.424 --> 00:05:32.346 Let's pray together. 00:05:32.346 --> 00:05:33.666 God, we thank you. 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:35.738 Thank you, 00:05:35.738 --> 00:05:38.048 God, that you have spoken to us. 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:43.342 What we concentrated on in chapter one was that you have spoken through 00:05:43.342 --> 00:05:43.870 your son, 00:05:43.870 --> 00:05:44.628 Jesus. 00:05:44.804 --> 00:05:46.264 You've spoken to us. 00:05:46.382 --> 00:05:51.332 And that which you have spoken to us is salvation and life and your love 00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:52.162 and God, 00:05:52.162 --> 00:05:53.858 that you have spoken to us, 00:05:53.858 --> 00:05:55.176 as we'll see in this passage, 00:05:55.176 --> 00:05:58.030 your grace to us. 00:05:59.200 --> 00:06:01.180 God help us to see it. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:04.128 God help us to recognize it. 00:06:04.294 --> 00:06:09.516 God help us to prioritize it in our lives and help us to live it in Jesus 00:06:09.516 --> 00:06:09.936 name. 00:06:10.038 --> 00:06:12.304 Amen. Again, 00:06:12.422 --> 00:06:14.080 I started considering, 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:16.810 as I was preparing for this morning, 00:06:16.854 --> 00:06:18.144 all the things, 00:06:18.342 --> 00:06:22.500 all the gifts that have been given to me in my life. 00:06:22.650 --> 00:06:24.170 I've shared a few of them. 00:06:24.170 --> 00:06:25.380 The go cart, 00:06:25.960 --> 00:06:26.752 the wheelo. 00:06:26.816 --> 00:06:29.786 You all like those kind of stories and things. 00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:30.970 And yet, 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:34.788 outside of Sunday school class and answering like a first grader, 00:06:34.788 --> 00:06:40.456 I started trying to consider what was the greatest thing gift anybody 00:06:40.558 --> 00:06:41.742 ever presented to me. 00:06:41.742 --> 00:06:46.418 What's the thing that I guess I would say I just appreciated the most in 00:06:46.418 --> 00:06:47.010 my life. 00:06:47.010 --> 00:06:48.104 And quite honestly, 00:06:48.152 --> 00:06:49.538 thinking back through the years, 00:06:49.538 --> 00:06:52.450 I couldn't name just one thing that I thought, 00:06:52.450 --> 00:06:58.716 man, that was just the greatest thing anybody ever gave to mean, 00:06:58.738 --> 00:06:59.330 you know, 00:06:59.330 --> 00:06:59.862 we're in. 00:06:59.862 --> 00:07:01.462 Let's go ahead and say it. 00:07:01.462 --> 00:07:04.432 We're sitting in Church where we'd all say Jesus, 00:07:04.476 --> 00:07:04.806 right? 00:07:04.806 --> 00:07:07.050 That's the greatest gift I've ever been given. 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:09.152 And then I started thinking in a different angle, 00:07:09.152 --> 00:07:15.350 what's the best thing that I could say anybody ever did for me, 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.450 right? The greatest thing that anybody ever said, 00:07:19.900 --> 00:07:23.130 here, I'm going to do this for you. 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:29.988 I can say for me sometimes it might be a meal, 00:07:30.084 --> 00:07:33.636 right? But now you can have a meal anytime. 00:07:33.828 --> 00:07:37.282 I'll tell you all what the greatest gift that was ever done for me, 00:07:37.282 --> 00:07:37.950 all right, 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:40.642 let's see. 00:07:40.642 --> 00:07:44.156 It would have been in March of 1993, 00:07:44.338 --> 00:07:45.070 right? 00:07:47.200 --> 00:07:49.650 Angie and I had been dating about six months, 00:07:49.650 --> 00:07:53.478 right? And we'd talked about life and where we go from here and all that 00:07:53.478 --> 00:07:53.958 sort of thing. 00:07:53.958 --> 00:07:56.928 So I took her back to my home church, 00:07:56.980 --> 00:08:00.304 Cali self Memorial Baptist Church in Greenwood, 00:08:00.352 --> 00:08:01.460 South Carolina. 00:08:02.200 --> 00:08:03.402 And nobody was there, 00:08:03.402 --> 00:08:06.042 so I'd gotten the key from the pastor. 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:09.652 It was march the 18th, 00:08:09.716 --> 00:08:14.580 1993, the day after March 18, 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:15.864 day after St. 00:08:15.902 --> 00:08:16.970 Patrick's Day. 00:08:17.580 --> 00:08:19.890 I got memory for things like that. 00:08:21.260 --> 00:08:22.478 So we walked in, 00:08:22.478 --> 00:08:25.076 and the place was kind of all dark moonlight, 00:08:25.076 --> 00:08:25.502 I guess, 00:08:25.502 --> 00:08:27.186 shining in from the windows and such. 00:08:27.186 --> 00:08:30.156 And so we sat down on the front row, 00:08:30.168 --> 00:08:30.722 and of course, 00:08:30.722 --> 00:08:31.928 I got down on one knee, 00:08:31.928 --> 00:08:32.738 and I said, 00:08:32.738 --> 00:08:34.256 will you marry me? 00:08:34.438 --> 00:08:35.200 She said, 00:08:35.270 --> 00:08:37.970 yes, man. 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:40.006 So in this life, 00:08:40.006 --> 00:08:40.940 on this earth, 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:45.248 greatest thing anybody ever did for me right there. 00:08:45.414 --> 00:08:46.582 That she said yes. 00:08:46.582 --> 00:08:47.494 She could have said, 00:08:47.494 --> 00:08:49.144 have you lost your mind? 00:08:49.400 --> 00:08:49.898 I mean, 00:08:49.898 --> 00:08:50.888 she could have. 00:08:50.986 --> 00:08:54.544 She'd seen what a youth pastor does and all that sort of thing. 00:08:54.282 --> 00:08:54.698 It's like, 00:08:54.698 --> 00:08:55.590 oh, my. 00:08:56.280 --> 00:09:03.256 But I began to think when we are warned in chapter two not to take 00:09:03.358 --> 00:09:05.188 lightly, not to neglect, 00:09:05.284 --> 00:09:10.344 not to make small of or little of the salvation that God has given us, 00:09:10.382 --> 00:09:14.364 what is it that God has done for us? 00:09:14.402 --> 00:09:15.922 Now think about who we are first, 00:09:15.922 --> 00:09:16.258 all right? 00:09:16.258 --> 00:09:19.522 Because that's what this passage is going to deal with as we work into 00:09:19.522 --> 00:09:20.590 chapter two. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:24.610 God created everything we see, 00:09:25.300 --> 00:09:27.184 and then God created man, 00:09:27.302 --> 00:09:28.720 created woman, 00:09:29.300 --> 00:09:36.480 breathed life into them and gave them dominion over his creation. 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:39.194 Right? What do you mean? 00:09:39.194 --> 00:09:45.076 He put his earth under the control of man, 00:09:45.178 --> 00:09:46.180 mankind. 00:09:48.540 --> 00:09:50.810 Right? And what did they do? 00:09:53.180 --> 00:09:54.650 What did they do? 00:09:56.300 --> 00:09:56.958 Okay, yeah, 00:09:56.958 --> 00:09:58.212 we can say they sinned, 00:09:58.212 --> 00:09:59.320 they failed, 00:09:59.740 --> 00:10:07.260 they rejected and rebelled against the God of this universe. 00:10:09.920 --> 00:10:10.636 Go ahead. 00:10:10.738 --> 00:10:11.202 I mean, 00:10:11.202 --> 00:10:11.762 think about it, 00:10:11.762 --> 00:10:12.082 all right? 00:10:12.082 --> 00:10:16.856 Let's say somebody's offering you this incredible opportunity and gift. 00:10:16.888 --> 00:10:17.478 What are you going to do, 00:10:17.478 --> 00:10:18.798 spit in their face? 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:21.010 Listen to these words, 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:24.278 because the warning is not to take it lightly. 00:10:24.092 --> 00:10:24.998 But then he says this, 00:10:24.998 --> 00:10:26.764 for he's not subjected to angels, 00:10:26.764 --> 00:10:27.706 the world to come. 00:10:27.706 --> 00:10:30.384 Now. So in the Old Testament, 00:10:30.432 --> 00:10:35.412 we see in deuteronomy and other places that the angels did have certain 00:10:35.466 --> 00:10:37.988 authority over cities and different things. 00:10:38.074 --> 00:10:39.316 Throughout the Old Testament, 00:10:39.316 --> 00:10:43.108 angels were given some authority in God's creation, 00:10:43.284 --> 00:10:47.850 but angels have no authority over the world to come, 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:50.520 the heavenly world, 00:10:50.590 --> 00:10:51.704 the heavenly kingdom, 00:10:51.752 --> 00:10:57.128 the spiritual world that God has already established, 00:10:57.224 --> 00:10:58.030 you see? 00:10:59.280 --> 00:11:01.928 And so when we see in the first chapter, 00:11:01.928 --> 00:11:02.482 God saying, 00:11:02.482 --> 00:11:02.802 all right, 00:11:02.802 --> 00:11:03.410 the Christ, 00:11:03.410 --> 00:11:03.986 the son, 00:11:03.986 --> 00:11:04.860 the heir, 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:06.754 all of those things. 00:11:06.626 --> 00:11:07.698 And then in chapter three, 00:11:07.698 --> 00:11:08.002 he says, 00:11:08.002 --> 00:11:08.812 do not forsake, 00:11:08.812 --> 00:11:11.744 do not neglect this salvation given to you, 00:11:11.782 --> 00:11:14.900 for he is not subjected to the angels of the world to come. 00:11:14.900 --> 00:11:18.860 So there are a lot of people that like to worship creation. 00:11:19.880 --> 00:11:22.760 They like to worship the things of this earth. 00:11:22.760 --> 00:11:23.258 I mean, 00:11:23.258 --> 00:11:25.306 we see shrines around us all the time, 00:11:25.306 --> 00:11:26.070 don't we? 00:11:26.760 --> 00:11:27.242 I mean, 00:11:27.242 --> 00:11:29.364 every time I mention it on the island, 00:11:29.364 --> 00:11:31.130 people get mad at me. 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:33.892 But where I came from in the mountains, 00:11:33.892 --> 00:11:35.240 people worship trees, 00:11:36.060 --> 00:11:39.690 and then I moved to the beach and people worship turtles. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:43.538 See, every time I mention that, 00:11:43.538 --> 00:11:44.482 people get mad at me. 00:11:44.482 --> 00:11:45.528 But anyhow, 00:11:45.704 --> 00:11:46.924 sorry. No, 00:11:46.962 --> 00:11:48.510 I'm not all right. 00:11:49.520 --> 00:11:54.530 What is it that God intends to do with this creation that he gave 00:11:55.380 --> 00:11:58.080 dominion of to mankind? 00:11:58.580 --> 00:12:03.344 There will be the redemption of this creation as there will be a 00:12:03.382 --> 00:12:04.956 redemption of mankind, 00:12:05.068 --> 00:12:12.896 and God will reunite both the created kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. 00:12:12.928 --> 00:12:13.750 All right? 00:12:14.280 --> 00:12:15.002 So he says, 00:12:15.002 --> 00:12:16.368 for he is not subjected to angels, 00:12:16.368 --> 00:12:17.482 the world to come, 00:12:17.482 --> 00:12:18.442 that we're talking about. 00:12:18.442 --> 00:12:19.008 But somewhere, 00:12:19.008 --> 00:12:20.160 somewhere has testified, 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.122 and that comes from psalm eight. 00:12:22.122 --> 00:12:23.758 And these verses come from psalm eight. 00:12:23.758 --> 00:12:27.768 And it's not that God didn't know who put it down, 00:12:27.934 --> 00:12:28.964 but what he's saying. 00:12:28.782 --> 00:12:30.238 He's not emphasizing who wrote it down. 00:12:30.238 --> 00:12:31.748 He's emphasizing what he wrote. 00:12:31.748 --> 00:12:33.048 What is man, 00:12:33.214 --> 00:12:34.450 that you remember him. 00:12:34.450 --> 00:12:36.834 This is the same man that spit in your face. 00:12:36.834 --> 00:12:41.852 What is man or mankind that you would even think about him after what he 00:12:41.906 --> 00:12:42.722 did to you, 00:12:42.722 --> 00:12:45.836 God, after he rejected you, 00:12:45.858 --> 00:12:46.998 after he neglected you, 00:12:46.998 --> 00:12:48.438 after he rebelled against you. 00:12:48.262 --> 00:12:50.684 Why would you even think about mankind? 00:12:50.732 --> 00:12:53.814 And then he invokes a messianic phrase when he says, 00:12:53.814 --> 00:12:55.570 or the son of man, 00:12:56.040 --> 00:12:57.830 that you care for him. 00:12:58.520 --> 00:13:00.560 God, in our rebellion, 00:13:00.640 --> 00:13:03.430 you still love us. 00:13:04.280 --> 00:13:08.900 You still care for us even when we rejected you, 00:13:08.970 --> 00:13:10.008 even when today. 00:13:10.094 --> 00:13:11.210 Now, guess what? 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:13.908 Let's go ahead and make the commitment. 00:13:13.908 --> 00:13:14.702 Don't raise your hand, 00:13:14.702 --> 00:13:16.352 because then it'd be bad. 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:20.310 Everybody going to go out and be sinless today, 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.668 probably not, 00:13:22.834 --> 00:13:25.630 right? And yet, 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.660 you see, 00:13:27.810 --> 00:13:30.412 that's what God's told us to be, 00:13:30.466 --> 00:13:32.380 holy, like he's holy. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.872 And we know we're part of this humanity that rebelled and rejected God, 00:13:37.926 --> 00:13:42.770 and so we're going to seek ourself and sin is this result of self, 00:13:43.380 --> 00:13:45.410 this desire for self. 00:13:46.020 --> 00:13:47.062 And that's what he's saying. 00:13:47.062 --> 00:13:47.382 He says, 00:13:47.382 --> 00:13:47.862 what is man, 00:13:47.862 --> 00:13:48.758 that you would remember him, 00:13:48.758 --> 00:13:50.506 or the son of man that you care for him? 00:13:50.506 --> 00:13:51.530 And then he says this, 00:13:51.530 --> 00:13:52.928 after the son of man reverence, 00:13:52.928 --> 00:13:53.258 he said, 00:13:53.258 --> 00:13:56.840 you made him lower than the angels for a short time. 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:57.500 So God, 00:13:57.546 --> 00:13:58.794 in his prophetic writing here, 00:13:58.794 --> 00:14:02.372 and song's already telling us there's a time when we will be elevated 00:14:02.372 --> 00:14:03.700 above the angels. 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:05.690 But the son of man, 00:14:06.220 --> 00:14:09.912 you made him lower than the angels for a short time. 00:14:09.966 --> 00:14:10.990 So the son of man. 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:12.310 So here we go. 00:14:12.338 --> 00:14:14.466 We're kind of looking back to chapter one. 00:14:14.466 --> 00:14:15.010 The Christ, 00:14:15.010 --> 00:14:15.736 the deity, 00:14:15.848 --> 00:14:17.230 God the son, 00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:22.120 was made lower as humanity. 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.840 So he is fully God and fully man. 00:14:24.706 --> 00:14:27.046 You made him lower than the angels for a short time, 00:14:27.046 --> 00:14:31.856 or you crowned him with glory and honor and subjected everything under 00:14:31.878 --> 00:14:32.268 his feet. 00:14:32.268 --> 00:14:34.928 So we see in this little psalm eight, 00:14:35.014 --> 00:14:36.022 verses four to six, 00:14:36.022 --> 00:14:42.964 we see this acknowledgment that God is revealing to us that Christ on 00:14:43.002 --> 00:14:49.690 high left a place of glory to be made like us. 00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:53.316 But then he was restored to glory, 00:14:53.508 --> 00:14:54.062 you see? 00:14:54.062 --> 00:14:57.930 So the son of God became the man. 00:15:00.540 --> 00:15:01.182 You see, 00:15:01.182 --> 00:15:04.568 humans were given this dominion over God's creation and we failed. 00:15:04.568 --> 00:15:10.652 So Christ became the man who would succeed in dominion and have 00:15:10.706 --> 00:15:12.830 everything subjected to him. 00:15:14.020 --> 00:15:16.652 The Christ Christ Jesus, 00:15:16.716 --> 00:15:20.016 he became human to do what humanity could not do. 00:15:21.540 --> 00:15:23.622 So when you see verse seven there, 00:15:23.622 --> 00:15:27.734 you made him lower a little lower for a little while because we're going 00:15:27.734 --> 00:15:32.202 to see how this is translated from the Hebrew because if you go back and 00:15:32.202 --> 00:15:33.296 read psalm, 00:15:33.328 --> 00:15:34.164 chapter eight, 00:15:34.202 --> 00:15:35.082 verses four to six, 00:15:35.082 --> 00:15:38.052 you're going to see some different wording and stuff. 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:40.906 Remember, I've always said that translation is an art form, 00:15:40.906 --> 00:15:42.226 not an exact science. 00:15:42.132 --> 00:15:45.358 And so when you start to understand that the communication God is 00:15:45.358 --> 00:15:48.552 revealing right here is that the Christ became man, 00:15:48.686 --> 00:15:49.496 fully man, 00:15:49.598 --> 00:15:52.082 subjected to the same things we're subjected to. 00:15:52.082 --> 00:15:56.140 And yet he succeeded where we cannot, 00:15:56.560 --> 00:15:58.888 but he succeeded on our behalf. 00:15:58.984 --> 00:16:00.722 And when we get on into chapter two, 00:16:00.722 --> 00:16:07.664 we're going to see something there that it should be so dear to us that 00:16:07.702 --> 00:16:13.824 we wouldn't neglect or belittle or reject the salvation that God's given 00:16:13.862 --> 00:16:14.278 us. I mean, 00:16:14.278 --> 00:16:17.722 he goes on to the point where he know Jesus calls us brothers and 00:16:17.722 --> 00:16:19.670 sisters. Wow. 00:16:20.520 --> 00:16:24.474 I think that's one of the reasons some of you might have grown up in one 00:16:24.474 --> 00:16:28.104 of those churches where everybody was brother this and sister that, 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.516 right? I think I have to admit, 00:16:32.628 --> 00:16:36.766 in seminary you'd walk down the hall in the dormitory or in the class 00:16:36.766 --> 00:16:37.422 building or whatever, 00:16:37.422 --> 00:16:37.838 and they'd go, 00:16:37.838 --> 00:16:38.680 hey, brother, 00:16:40.300 --> 00:16:41.618 I always look at them and go, 00:16:41.618 --> 00:16:42.938 I don't know you. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.562 It's almost an excuse not to know somebody's name, 00:16:48.562 --> 00:16:49.122 right? Hey, 00:16:49.122 --> 00:16:51.612 brother, sorry, 00:16:51.746 --> 00:16:52.844 that's just me. 00:16:52.962 --> 00:16:58.192 But in Daniel chapter seven we see this reference to the son of man. 00:16:58.246 --> 00:16:59.212 And in the vision, 00:16:59.212 --> 00:17:01.648 this messianic vision that Daniel has, 00:17:01.734 --> 00:17:04.726 he sees the son of man approaching the throne of God. 00:17:04.726 --> 00:17:05.318 Guess what? 00:17:05.142 --> 00:17:06.758 We can't approach the son of God. 00:17:06.758 --> 00:17:09.232 The son of man is a reference to humanity. 00:17:09.232 --> 00:17:12.682 But the son of man in Daniel's vision is approaching the throne of God 00:17:12.682 --> 00:17:18.020 and is given dominion over everything in the universe. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:23.182 So what we're seeing in Daniel seven is this reference to the Son of man 00:17:23.182 --> 00:17:27.544 who is crowned with glory and honor and everything is subjected under his 00:17:27.582 --> 00:17:28.280 feet. 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:36.296 To understand what God is showing us in Hebrews is really important to 00:17:36.318 --> 00:17:37.096 understand. See, 00:17:37.118 --> 00:17:38.258 this is the way I've looked at it. 00:17:38.258 --> 00:17:39.272 Now this is my Bible. 00:17:39.272 --> 00:17:39.602 All right, 00:17:39.602 --> 00:17:40.792 well, this is my preaching Bible. 00:17:40.792 --> 00:17:41.410 I have many, 00:17:41.410 --> 00:17:44.684 but this is the one that stays right here all the time. 00:17:44.260 --> 00:17:45.760 There's an old Testament, 00:17:47.860 --> 00:17:48.736 let's see, 00:17:48.838 --> 00:17:51.220 I'll find the end of it here in a minute. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:53.730 It ends with that Malachi book. 00:17:55.140 --> 00:17:56.458 You all know which one I'm talking about, 00:17:56.458 --> 00:18:00.224 right? That's a very old preacher joke, 00:18:00.272 --> 00:18:03.860 but talks about the italian prophet Malachi. 00:18:04.840 --> 00:18:06.522 That's the Old Testament right there, 00:18:06.522 --> 00:18:08.608 and that's the New Testament right there. 00:18:08.250 --> 00:18:09.716 Here's what I want you all to realize. 00:18:09.716 --> 00:18:14.890 Hebrews is the binding that brings them together, 00:18:15.260 --> 00:18:16.910 the old and the new. 00:18:17.340 --> 00:18:22.984 The book of Hebrews is what explains all of Jesus in the Old Testament 00:18:23.112 --> 00:18:27.324 and reveals the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation in the New 00:18:27.362 --> 00:18:29.618 Testament. So when we're looking at this, 00:18:29.618 --> 00:18:33.320 we see all the prophecies of the messiah, 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:35.362 and then in Hebrews we see God going, 00:18:35.362 --> 00:18:36.908 see? I told you, 00:18:37.074 --> 00:18:39.942 I told you that's what I was going to do. 00:18:39.558 --> 00:18:41.798 I told you I was going to accomplish this. 00:18:41.798 --> 00:18:43.382 I told you this was going to happen. 00:18:43.382 --> 00:18:44.940 And then all of a sudden we see Jesus, 00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:46.924 who was perfect in humanity, 00:18:47.052 --> 00:18:48.022 the perfect man. 00:18:48.022 --> 00:18:51.018 That's why I've always said there's no excuse to say I'm only human 00:18:51.018 --> 00:18:52.896 because the perfect human is Jesus. 00:18:52.896 --> 00:18:54.042 So you can't say, 00:18:54.042 --> 00:18:58.020 well, I'm only human because the example of humanity is Christ himself, 00:18:59.340 --> 00:19:00.330 you see? 00:19:02.060 --> 00:19:03.630 So what is man's place? 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:05.182 Man's place in creation is, 00:19:05.182 --> 00:19:08.164 yes, we were given dominion over God's creation, 00:19:08.212 --> 00:19:09.156 and we failed. 00:19:09.156 --> 00:19:15.580 And so we are subject to a dominion that was handed off to Satan. 00:19:16.080 --> 00:19:18.018 Want to know why there's sin in the world? 00:19:17.810 --> 00:19:18.402 Here you go. 00:19:18.402 --> 00:19:20.052 Do what you want to. 00:19:20.320 --> 00:19:21.970 That's what was going on. 00:19:24.560 --> 00:19:27.302 So when we start to look at all this and we see this son of man 00:19:27.302 --> 00:19:28.844 reference, we know that Jesus, 00:19:28.844 --> 00:19:32.736 that's the term that Jesus used for himself most often, 00:19:32.838 --> 00:19:33.526 son of man, 00:19:33.526 --> 00:19:38.016 because he was emphasizing his own humanity as apart from his deity. 00:19:38.208 --> 00:19:40.188 And yet he could still say, 00:19:40.600 --> 00:19:41.670 be still, 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:44.710 and the waves would listen to him. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:46.230 How about that? 00:19:46.298 --> 00:19:46.950 See? 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.048 And then in verse second part of verse eight, 00:19:52.074 --> 00:19:52.382 he says, 00:19:52.382 --> 00:19:54.142 for in subjecting everything to him, 00:19:54.142 --> 00:19:57.726 he left nothing that is not subject to him as it is. 00:19:57.726 --> 00:20:00.696 We do not yet see everything subjected to him. 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:03.744 So we don't see the redemption of creation. 00:20:03.812 --> 00:20:09.868 We don't see yet how God will reunite the spiritual and the earthly as it 00:20:09.874 --> 00:20:12.242 is. We do not yet see everything subjected to him. 00:20:12.002 --> 00:20:13.576 But we do see Jesus. 00:20:13.576 --> 00:20:14.888 Now in the book of Hebrews, 00:20:14.888 --> 00:20:18.518 this is the first time that the name Jesus is used, 00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:19.718 because up till now, 00:20:19.718 --> 00:20:21.368 all we see is Christ. 00:20:21.540 --> 00:20:22.454 You know why? 00:20:22.454 --> 00:20:25.516 Because up till now God has been emphasizing his deity, 00:20:25.516 --> 00:20:28.832 and now he's going to emphasize his humanity and Jesus, 00:20:28.896 --> 00:20:31.136 which the name means God's salvation, 00:20:31.248 --> 00:20:32.148 you see, 00:20:32.314 --> 00:20:35.066 made lower than the angels for a short time. 00:20:35.066 --> 00:20:37.136 So that by God's grace, 00:20:37.248 --> 00:20:40.330 he might taste death for everyone. 00:20:41.820 --> 00:20:43.428 Crowned with glory and honor. 00:20:43.428 --> 00:20:45.160 Because he suffered death. 00:20:45.820 --> 00:20:47.822 Why? Because he suffered death for us. 00:20:47.822 --> 00:20:50.148 And then in the resurrection, 00:20:50.324 --> 00:20:54.140 he sat down at the right hand of majesty. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:55.656 God the Father, 00:20:55.656 --> 00:20:56.386 God the son, 00:20:56.386 --> 00:20:58.780 God the spirit on the throne. 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:01.986 So when I looked at this all week long. 00:21:01.986 --> 00:21:03.906 I kept thinking about the gift thing. 00:21:03.906 --> 00:21:04.914 And I kept seeing this, 00:21:04.914 --> 00:21:05.586 and I kept thinking, 00:21:05.586 --> 00:21:06.194 guess what? 00:21:06.194 --> 00:21:08.504 I grew up in a christian home. 00:21:08.498 --> 00:21:11.062 A lot of you probably grew up in a christian home. 00:21:11.062 --> 00:21:12.268 It might have been Baptist, 00:21:12.268 --> 00:21:12.678 like me. 00:21:12.678 --> 00:21:13.676 It might have been Catholic. 00:21:13.676 --> 00:21:14.790 It might have been something else. 00:21:14.790 --> 00:21:18.202 So these are the things that you've heard most of your life, 00:21:18.202 --> 00:21:19.898 if not all of your life. 00:21:19.674 --> 00:21:23.844 And so it's not a grand leap for us to say, 00:21:23.882 --> 00:21:26.128 yes, Jesus was in heaven. 00:21:26.304 --> 00:21:28.474 Jesus came to earth as a man. 00:21:28.474 --> 00:21:30.454 And jesus went back to heaven. 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:32.872 Yay. I can believe that. 00:21:33.006 --> 00:21:33.982 But for some people, 00:21:33.982 --> 00:21:36.292 it's a huge leap to say what? 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:40.890 God became a man? 00:21:41.580 --> 00:21:44.620 Well, that's what Hebrews is explaining throughout. 00:21:45.280 --> 00:21:46.978 So what Hebrews is showing us. 00:21:46.978 --> 00:21:48.066 And then we're going to get over, 00:21:48.066 --> 00:21:49.048 farther into Hebrews. 00:21:49.048 --> 00:21:52.258 Where we see where God really indicts the jewish people. 00:21:52.066 --> 00:21:52.482 To say, 00:21:52.482 --> 00:21:54.482 look, I offer to be your God, 00:21:54.482 --> 00:21:56.224 and you rejected me. 00:21:56.422 --> 00:21:56.982 You see, 00:21:56.982 --> 00:22:00.282 mankind has rejected God over and over and over again. 00:22:00.326 --> 00:22:02.678 And so the warning of the beginning of chapter two is, 00:22:02.678 --> 00:22:07.570 don't you reject the salvation God's given you. 00:22:09.320 --> 00:22:11.386 What are you going to do with that salvation Today, 00:22:11.386 --> 00:22:13.876 y'all? I mean, 00:22:13.898 --> 00:22:15.322 when you leave this room? 00:22:15.034 --> 00:22:15.818 See, I told you. 00:22:15.818 --> 00:22:18.458 You already get a congratulations because you're here. 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:23.260 But what will you do with that salvation when you walk out of here? 00:22:23.260 --> 00:22:27.550 Will you still live a life that acknowledges what God's done for you? 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:29.450 You see, 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:31.182 it's kind of funny. 00:22:30.932 --> 00:22:32.238 People give me stuff all the time. 00:22:32.238 --> 00:22:33.228 Y'all know that. 00:22:33.580 --> 00:22:34.490 I remember, 00:22:35.520 --> 00:22:36.962 I'll just share this little story. 00:22:36.962 --> 00:22:37.952 Because it's funny. 00:22:37.992 --> 00:22:40.178 How many of y'all live in Onslow county. 00:22:40.008 --> 00:22:42.354 And know folks that go to Dixon high School, 00:22:42.354 --> 00:22:43.928 right? There's folks go to Dixon. 00:22:43.928 --> 00:22:45.362 Jack used to coach up there, 00:22:45.362 --> 00:22:48.588 right? And then there's a lot of people at the gathering. 00:22:48.588 --> 00:22:51.606 That have family and all that go to Topsail high school, 00:22:51.606 --> 00:22:52.210 right? 00:22:52.580 --> 00:22:53.900 Well, one Friday night, 00:22:53.974 --> 00:22:55.294 once upon a time, 00:22:56.020 --> 00:23:00.230 when I was announcing football games at Dixon High School. 00:23:00.840 --> 00:23:03.220 Man, I was picking on Topsail folks. 00:23:03.560 --> 00:23:05.530 I was giving them a hard time. 00:23:05.530 --> 00:23:07.658 Now, they were scoring a lot of touchdowns. 00:23:07.658 --> 00:23:08.950 I'll admit that. 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:10.992 So every time Dixon. 00:23:10.992 --> 00:23:11.258 I mean, 00:23:11.258 --> 00:23:12.756 Topsail, would score a touchdown. 00:23:12.756 --> 00:23:13.416 I'd go. 00:23:13.518 --> 00:23:17.160 And it's a touchdown for the Topsail pirates. 00:23:20.620 --> 00:23:24.818 And I was doing it in a microphone so everybody could hear it, 00:23:24.818 --> 00:23:27.820 right? And then when Dixon would do something, 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:29.352 I'd bark really loud, 00:23:29.416 --> 00:23:33.020 right? So that Sunday morning, 00:23:33.090 --> 00:23:34.712 I walk into worship, 00:23:34.776 --> 00:23:37.014 right? And I'm stepping up onto the platform. 00:23:37.014 --> 00:23:40.370 And as I walk up onto the platform right here, 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:42.928 placed in a place of. 00:23:43.014 --> 00:23:45.654 It was put in a place of prominence, 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.950 was a topsil pirate ball cap. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.924 It was a mean. 00:23:55.962 --> 00:23:57.282 I don't have anything. 00:23:57.560 --> 00:24:00.052 I don't announce football games at Dixon anymore. 00:24:00.052 --> 00:24:00.712 Michael does. 00:24:00.766 --> 00:24:04.456 But my confession is, 00:24:04.478 --> 00:24:07.118 I have no idea where that hat is. 00:24:11.020 --> 00:24:12.174 Kind of tells you, 00:24:12.174 --> 00:24:13.164 I don't know, 00:24:13.202 --> 00:24:14.364 that I actually. 00:24:14.482 --> 00:24:17.240 What? Valued it very highly. 00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:19.836 Right. You understand what I'm saying? 00:24:20.018 --> 00:24:21.784 I translate that a minute. 00:24:21.912 --> 00:24:23.186 You get out there in the world, 00:24:23.186 --> 00:24:23.950 out there, 00:24:24.580 --> 00:24:28.480 do you live the gift that God's actually given you, 00:24:28.550 --> 00:24:29.388 the salvation, 00:24:29.484 --> 00:24:30.086 the life, 00:24:30.086 --> 00:24:30.812 the abundance, 00:24:30.876 --> 00:24:33.520 the eternity that God's handed you, 00:24:33.590 --> 00:24:38.390 or does it become something less than what it actually is? 00:24:40.760 --> 00:24:43.220 See, do you take it for granted? 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:44.346 You see, 00:24:44.346 --> 00:24:47.264 God is showing us throughout the book of Hebrews, 00:24:47.264 --> 00:24:49.904 and we're doing the slow walk through Hebrews. 00:24:49.952 --> 00:24:53.214 And I'm not as good at it as some of the people I listen to and some of 00:24:53.214 --> 00:24:54.590 the people I read about it. 00:24:54.590 --> 00:24:56.414 But here's what I want you to know. 00:24:56.414 --> 00:25:02.876 The enormity of what God has done on our behalf cannot be minimized in 00:25:02.898 --> 00:25:04.878 the way we live our lives. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.962 To take this salvation that God has given us and to just kind of say, 00:25:10.962 --> 00:25:11.442 oh, yeah, 00:25:11.442 --> 00:25:12.152 I'm a Christian. 00:25:12.152 --> 00:25:14.336 I got my card, 00:25:14.438 --> 00:25:21.392 see? And instead go out there and live like Jesus lives in. 00:25:21.446 --> 00:25:25.200 You show the world Jesus. 00:25:26.360 --> 00:25:27.270 You see, 00:25:28.120 --> 00:25:31.750 I grew up in a christian home. 00:25:33.080 --> 00:25:35.152 My mom and dad taught me Jesus. 00:25:35.152 --> 00:25:36.368 My mom and dad prayed. 00:25:36.368 --> 00:25:38.416 My mom and dad taught me to pray. 00:25:38.416 --> 00:25:40.490 My mom and dad read the Bible to me. 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:41.492 But I have to admit, 00:25:41.492 --> 00:25:43.758 it was really easy to come out of that home, 00:25:43.758 --> 00:25:50.520 to come out of the church I grew up in and make very light of my faith. 00:25:52.540 --> 00:25:52.978 I mean, 00:25:52.978 --> 00:25:55.470 I'm just confession ready. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:57.378 I'm just giving it to you. 00:25:57.378 --> 00:26:04.430 It's easy for us to put Jesus on the back burner in the world we live in 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.162 and for all that he did for us. 00:26:08.162 --> 00:26:08.578 And we go, 00:26:08.578 --> 00:26:09.862 well, what he was, 00:26:09.862 --> 00:26:11.318 God, what was a big deal to him. 00:26:11.318 --> 00:26:12.620 Yeah, you take the beating, 00:26:12.620 --> 00:26:15.792 then you hang on the cross then, 00:26:15.846 --> 00:26:19.216 because that's what he took death for us. 00:26:19.238 --> 00:26:20.458 That's why it says that. 00:26:20.458 --> 00:26:21.050 He said. 00:26:21.050 --> 00:26:21.658 But we do. 00:26:21.658 --> 00:26:23.898 See, Jesus made lower than the angels for a short time. 00:26:23.898 --> 00:26:25.680 So that by God's grace. 00:26:25.760 --> 00:26:29.004 Because God gave us what we didn't deserve. 00:26:29.152 --> 00:26:32.010 He might taste death for everyone. 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:34.890 He died in our place, 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:36.920 took our death. 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:39.166 I've told this story before, 00:26:39.166 --> 00:26:42.140 and I've got just enough time to tell it again. 00:26:42.140 --> 00:26:43.726 Went to Columbia Bible College, 00:26:43.726 --> 00:26:46.460 which is now called Columbia International University. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.562 If you've heard this story, 00:26:48.562 --> 00:26:49.704 just put your fingers in your ears. 00:26:49.704 --> 00:26:51.684 I'll be done in a minute. 00:26:52.080 --> 00:26:53.096 There was a trio. 00:26:53.096 --> 00:26:55.406 They used to sing in chapel services. 00:26:55.520 --> 00:26:58.160 Man, they had some of the greatest harmony. 00:26:58.236 --> 00:26:58.960 Three students. 00:26:59.030 --> 00:26:59.798 And they would get up there, 00:26:59.798 --> 00:27:00.102 and, man, 00:27:00.102 --> 00:27:02.252 they'd do acapella songs with trios. 00:27:02.396 --> 00:27:04.460 Know, just this incredible. 00:27:04.620 --> 00:27:05.270 We all. 00:27:05.270 --> 00:27:08.570 Everybody knew who they were and all that sort of. 00:27:08.074 --> 00:27:12.304 Well, Columbia Bible college bordered the broad river in Columbia, 00:27:12.352 --> 00:27:13.380 South Carolina. 00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:14.986 These three kids, 00:27:14.986 --> 00:27:18.282 they love to hike and fish and do all that kind of stuff. 00:27:18.282 --> 00:27:22.448 So they took it on themselves one time to go down to the broad river. 00:27:22.448 --> 00:27:24.266 And they crossed at a little shallow place. 00:27:24.266 --> 00:27:27.678 To go over to the island that was kind of just offshore in the middle of 00:27:27.678 --> 00:27:28.238 the river. 00:27:28.068 --> 00:27:30.718 To do some fishing and hanging out and that sort of thing. 00:27:30.718 --> 00:27:32.702 And they walked down the island a little ways. 00:27:32.702 --> 00:27:34.468 And they were going to come back to the main shore. 00:27:34.468 --> 00:27:35.832 Down on the lower end of the island. 00:27:35.832 --> 00:27:39.618 And it was deeper down there than it was at the northern. 00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:41.380 The upper end of the island. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:42.338 So they said, 00:27:42.338 --> 00:27:43.698 well, we'll just swim across. 00:27:43.698 --> 00:27:45.154 So they start swimming across. 00:27:45.154 --> 00:27:49.490 And one of them was pretty much weaker than the others. 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:52.422 He couldn't swim like they could. 00:27:52.182 --> 00:27:52.822 Man, those two, 00:27:52.822 --> 00:27:53.532 they were swimming, 00:27:53.532 --> 00:27:54.624 swimming. Look back. 00:27:54.662 --> 00:27:57.090 And their friend was not making it. 00:27:57.860 --> 00:28:01.684 And one of them knew he wasn't going to make it. 00:28:01.882 --> 00:28:04.522 So he turned around to go help him. 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:06.624 And he helped him and pushed him and helped. 00:28:06.624 --> 00:28:07.578 Pushed him and pushed him, 00:28:07.578 --> 00:28:07.978 pushed him. 00:28:07.978 --> 00:28:11.044 And when he finally got to the other side of the river. 00:28:11.044 --> 00:28:15.636 And the weaker student crawled up the bank of the river, 00:28:15.668 --> 00:28:16.730 he looked back, 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:22.040 and his friend was gone with the current in the river. 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:23.190 And he died. 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.220 He drowned. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.180 What gift did he give him? 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:31.630 Gave him life. 00:28:33.540 --> 00:28:36.690 No greater love is there than this. 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:41.650 Except a man lay down his life for his friends. 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:45.254 Jesus laid down his life for you. 00:28:45.158 --> 00:28:49.620 I don't tell that story to poke your emotions. 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:56.710 I tell you that story so that you'll realize what Jesus did for us. 00:28:57.640 --> 00:29:01.050 Don't take it lightly when you leave this place. 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:04.050 It's not a check in the box. 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:06.500 I went to church. 00:29:06.612 --> 00:29:08.120 Yay. No. 00:29:08.190 --> 00:29:09.310 Go out there and live, 00:29:09.310 --> 00:29:12.340 Jesus, to your family and your friends. 00:29:12.510 --> 00:29:15.256 Okay? If you don't know Jesus, 00:29:15.448 --> 00:29:17.428 let us introduce you to him. 00:29:17.378 --> 00:29:18.328 All righty. 00:29:18.504 --> 00:29:19.362 You need to know, 00:29:19.362 --> 00:29:22.642 Jesus. You need to know what he's done for you. 00:29:22.642 --> 00:29:23.320 All righty. 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:24.242 Pray with me. 00:29:24.018 --> 00:29:25.668 God, thank you for today. 00:29:25.760 --> 00:29:26.258 Thank you, 00:29:26.258 --> 00:29:28.946 God. The message of your word is so clear. 00:29:28.946 --> 00:29:30.188 It's so real. 00:29:30.354 --> 00:29:31.272 It's alive. 00:29:31.336 --> 00:29:31.826 And, God, 00:29:31.826 --> 00:29:32.738 we can know it, 00:29:32.738 --> 00:29:34.034 and we can live it. 00:29:34.034 --> 00:29:35.666 God help us to do so. 00:29:35.666 --> 00:29:37.646 We pray it in Jesus name. 00:29:37.690 --> 00:29:38.080 Amen.