Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Folks in our church right now that are going through some very difficult seasons and things.
Some had surgery this week, and hope that you'll be mindful to keep them in your prayers. And let's be faithful to be a church that helps bear each other's burden. Sure do love you. Thank you for a wonderful Easter, by the way. We were packed out.
We, best count we have, we were somewhere in the 740s on Sunday morning. And so a good crowd on Sunday morning. And if you're back and you were visiting, thank you for being here today. We don't take that lightly. We appreciate it, and we're very grateful for you.
Hebrews chapter 1, we are winding down. with our series on the king. is coming. We have walked through Genesis all the way to Revelation probably five times during this series. And today we're just going to camp out in just this chapter of Hebrews chapter 1.
We want to bring things into context A little bit. We obviously have been doing a series on the fact that it was prophesied that the king would come. We dealt with the promise that the king would come. And then, obviously, we see that the king came, that the king died, that he was buried, that the king rose again, defeated death, hell, and the grave. And we now obviously know by the promise of God's word that the king is coming back.
And that's the whole point of what we're that should change your life. Our thought every morning of life should be the king could come today. And that would dictate how you think, how you live, the decisions you make. I know that sounds great. It's probably not what most of us do regularly, like we should, but that's exactly how it should be done.
That is our hope. That is our doctrine. That is everything we believe. That we do not believe the king has left us here stranded. We believe the king is coming back.
And that changes everything. That's what makes us different. From all other religious beliefs and all other things and claims to afterlife and all those things. We serve a risen Savior, a risen King. It's what changes everything.
But we want to look at Hebrews chapter 1, and we want to get a little bit of our doctrine here, and let's line things up and coincide them together. Brother Frank was able to read verses 1 through 3, and so we want to jump right into it this morning. Our subject is seated on. The throne, number one, in Hebrews chapter one. I want you to notice as we begin in verse one, I want you to see the king.
Who spoke? The king Who spoke? And before I even dig into this real quick, you better thank God. that he loved us enough to speak to us. We wouldn't have anything to talk about today.
We would have no reason to be in church and we would have no hope. If the king hadn't spoken, notice verse 1: God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the Prophets, the king who spoke. And I'm here to tell you today: you and I serve a king that had something to say, and you and I serve a king that made sure that you and I get to read and to see and to hear what he said. I don't think you're getting what I'm jiving this morning yet so far. You need to understand this.
Listen to me. Church is not about you listening to my stories. Church is not about you listening to my life experiences and everything that I've learned. And I want to give a little antidote here and a little antidote there. Listen to me.
We are here to hear what the king spoke. Thank God we serve a king that spoke. And this passage gives us great instruction on this. Notice, if you would, the Bible contains 66 books.
Now, I want you to understand your Bible here this morning a little bit.
Now, it was written in two sections. You know it as the Old Testament and the New Testament. We would call it the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And the Old Testament describes things before Jesus came. Literally, we have given you passages showing that Jesus was coming.
And the New Testament deals with the new covenant that Jesus brought. Not the covenant, obviously, of law and guilt and obligation and all those things, but we now have a new covenant, a covenant of grace that came through the blood of Jesus Christ.
So we have 66 books. It's separated into two different sections. The Bible is not arranged chronologically.
Now, you can get a chronological Bible that will take you through chronologically. It'll jump from passages and books and different things. But the Bible is not putting it in. Together, the canon of scripture is not put together chronologically, it's put together by subjects. It starts off with history books, then it begins with the literature books, and then it goes into the prophets.
All right, and then it goes from there to the New Testament, to the gospels, and then from the gospels to the epistles. And the epistles are letters that were written and through men that the Holy Spirit inspired through that. You have to understand how the Bible is put together. The reason there's so much confusion is because sometimes people will take something from a history book and try to equate it to something in the Gospels. You got to understand the context of the Bible, how it's put together.
And God made sure that you and I have His word, that we're able to hear His Word, that we're able to read His Word. And in times past, He spoke to us through the prophets. That means this: that He used two different things: revelation and inspiration. Revelation is the revealing of previously. Unknown truth.
And the Bible is full of revelation. That's where we get our truth: through the Bible. Inspiration is God deciding to somehow record that truth, to preserve it for you and I.
So we have in our hands how God spoke. God spoke through inspiration and He speaks through preservation. You and I get to read His truth because He decided to preserve His truth. We are revealed. It was inspired by God, revealed by God, preserved by God.
Can I have an amen this morning?
So that means this: God revealed himself in many ways. He revealed himself through creation, he revealed himself through conscience, he reveals himself through history. God spoke through a donkey in the Old Testament. I have a lot I'd like to say to that. God spoke through a burning bush.
God revealed himself. God communicated in a lot of different ways. And according to Hebrews chapter 1, that in times past, God spoke to us through the prophets. God revealed himself in many ways, but mostly and mainly. And now God reveals himself through scripture.
2 Peter chapter 1, verse 19. Look at this verse on the screen. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. That's what the word of God is. Until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation.
There's nothing in the Bible that only one person has the key to be able to understand that. Notice what it also says. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
So this This verse teaches us that the Bible did not originate with humans. The Bible did not originate with man. The Bible is not understood only because a man can understand it. What we know here is that men of God recorded the word of God because the Holy Spirit inspired it. And that means this: that God literally breathed His Word for us.
You say, listen, what do you mean inspiration, preacher? Notice this verse. Look at 2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. What does this inspiration mean?
You and I would use the word inspiration differently at times, and this is a different word altogether, Greek word here. We would say that, you know what, that's a beautiful picture that you painted. And we would say, well, I was inspired by nature. That means I was motivated. I was moved.
That's not what we're talking about here when all scripture was given by inspiration of God. This is a Greek word that literally means air breathing in, intake of air. It literally means God breathed His word through holy men of God, and they wrote as they were inspired by God. Listen to me, you have to understand something. God used 40 different men from a variety of backgrounds over a time span of 1,500 years.
1,500 years, a span of 1,500 years, is our canon of scripture that it was written. It was written on three different continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. It was written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Yet the entire book completely agrees and has been validated time and again through history, through archaeology, through science.
Now, if you and I asked 10 authors, To individually write their viewpoint on just one controversial subject. you would come up with a wide range of conflicting opinions. Let me go further than that. If you got all of our church staff here at Kirwan Baptist Church and you asked us about a particular subject. And you asked all of us to write our thoughts on it, guess what?
None of us would 100% agree totally with everything that we said. And yet. 1,500-year span, 40 different people, and many were not even alive when the other people were alive. 40 different individuals, 1,500 years, three different continents, three different languages, and yet the Bible covers hundreds of controversial subjects by many different writers, and the book always agrees with itself. There can only be one reason for this.
Because God. Spoke. In diverse manners. I want you to know something today. You and I serve a king that spoke.
And we have his word. Let me put it this way. If I had an envelope and I came to you today And I said, listen. God delivered this to me. He wanted me to give this to you just for you to read today.
It's a personal note from him. You would say, Well, I don't believe that. That's just hypothetical. Would that be important to you if it really did come? Yeah, well, guess what?
This is what you and I have every day of our life. We have a personal word, listen to King. Spoke. Secondly, in this passage. I want you to notice, number one, the king who spoke, number two.
the king who speaks. You see, God didn't just have something to say and he's done. Listen to me. Now I'm not talking about revelation of Scripture. I'm talking about God speaking to you through...
His finished scripture. Notice what Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 says, hath in these last days.
So we know how God put together the canon of scripture through prophets, through signs, through all kinds of things. But guess what, dear friend? That's done. That's history. The canon of scripture is complete.
God no longer speaks those ways. God has now chosen in these last days to speak unto us by his son.
So that means this. We don't just serve a king who spoke, we serve a king who still speaks. That means just look at me, dear friend, what you need to hear from me today if you don't hear anything else in this passage. We have a king that's coming back. The king is coming.
But you have to understand, he has something for you today, and he has something for you every day. God wants to speak to you through his word. You don't have to wait till you get here on a Sunday morning. You don't have to wait till a Sunday night. You don't have to just make it to a Wednesday evening.
God wants to speak to you every day, anytime you want it. You can get into His Word because He speaks to us through His Son. By the way, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word. The Bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions.
I think I might say that again. Thank you, Nick. You say, did you write it? Let's just for let's just say I did, okay? It says the author's unknown, not now.
The Bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions. Martin Luther said this: The Bible is alive, it speaks to me. It has feet that run after me, and it has hands that lay hold on me. You know, the more you read the Bible, the more you're going to love the author. He's got a lot he wants to say.
Some of you are sitting here this morning, and you've got some turmoil in your life, you've got some chaos, you've got some confusion. You need some answers.
Some of you have some future that you're facing and You're very uncertain about it. Look at me, dear friend. Why in the world would you want to face that? without hearing. Yeah.
What the king has to say to you. About it. Scripture is not only a record of what God has said. It is a springboard for what God will do in you. It is a weapon for what God will do through you.
It is a catapult for what God can do around you. And it is the key for what God can do with you. I did write that one. Not as many amens on that one. You can tell I wrote that one.
The king who spoke. And as thankful as you and I need to be that the king spoke, let me tell you something else we ought to be even more thankful that he's still talking. You got some questions today. He's got something to say. Why don't you get in the word?
Why don't you find out what he has to say? Quit going through it alone. Quit trying to make it on your own. Quit trying to figure things out. Get into God's word.
The king has something to say. I want you to notice, number three, in this passage in verse two, we see not only the king who spoke. and the king who speaks, but we see the king who is sovereign. Look at verse 2. whom he, speaking of the son, whom he hath appointed heir.
That word air means possessor, it means owner. It means that Jesus is the owner. Yeah. He's sovereign. He rules.
Look at verse 8. But unto the sun he saith, thy throne, O God. Unto the sun he saith, thy throne, O God, is for. Ever And ever. He's sovereign.
You need to know something. He was sovereign when he spoke. He's sovereign when he's speaking. He's sovereign when he's going to speak again. They're are keen.
It's in control. Yeah. You say, yeah, but look at the news, look at the stock market, look at the tariffs. Our king is still in control. I hate to tell you, I didn't look to the tariffs to meet my needs anyway before.
I'm not going to look to tariffs or no tariffs to meet my needs after. My king is sovereign. I want you to notice, number four. In verse 2, we see the king who started it all. Not only is he appointed heir of all things.
But notice verse 2: by whom also? Jesus the Son. made the worlds. He started it all. He made where you're standing, where you're sitting.
God created it all, the air you breathe. The trees you see. Everywhere we live, the solar system that we're in, gravity, all, listen, our King made it all. Look, if you would, at verse 10 on the screen here for you. And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth.
And the heavens are the works of the heavens. of thine hands. Everything you and I see in our solar system and in the heavens, that's just artwork that our king made. He was here before we were here. He was here before it all started.
He was here. He's the one that gave it its start. He's the one that created. He's the one that spoke. He's the one that's still speaking.
He's sovereign. He's on the throne. That's our king. Not only that, I want you to notice verse 3, we see the king who shines. Notice what it says about Jesus, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person.
What does this mean? It means the brightness of God's glory. This means Jesus perfectly shines out or reveals God's true nature. Jesus is not reflecting God like a mirror, he is the radiance itself. He is the light that you see.
Do you understand that? Listen, an artist can paint a picture and you say, boy, that looks just like this person, but that's not that person. You see, Jesus isn't just a reflection of God, He is God. He is the brightness of the glory. He is the glory of the glory.
is what this means. The express image of his person. What does this mean? It means that Jesus is the perfect, exact expression of God's nature and character. This Greek word means a stamp or an imprint.
It means that our king Is God. I want you to notice also in verse 3, we see the king who sustains. And upholding all things. by the word of his power. You know, while you were sleeping last night, well, while some of you were sleeping last night.
While I was sitting up contemplating, while some of you were sleeping last night. You know, the earth was still rotating. Stars are still out there. Sun and Moon still doing their jobs. Life goes on.
Birds were being fed. Animals are being taken care of. Do hit the grass. Are you looking at me? Do you understand?
Listen, we just did church in the park. And just something like that, look at all the manwork that had to go into it. How would you like to operate the entire? known galaxy. Do you know that God upholds everything?
He runs it all. He sustains it all. Look at me. Not even by physically working or doing anything. Yeah, that's right.
Just by his word.
So get this. The king who spoke, what did he speak? His word. The king who still speaks, how does he still speak? Through his word.
We are told in this passage what the power of his word is. His word runs our entire solar system. His word sustains everything. If it's that powerful. Don't you think you ought to read it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. You have to understand is the king who sustains. And it's all done by His Word. I want you to notice next in verse 3, we see the king. who saves.
He upholds all things by the word of his power. Notice this at verse 3: when he had by himself. Perched. Our sins.
Now I want you to notice first by himself. Yeah, right. Right. Nobody else. By himself means there's no other way to heaven.
By himself means if you're here this morning and you would say, Preacher, I don't know that I'm on my way to heaven. I do want you to know what that means is there's no other way for you to get saved except through Jesus. Because nobody and nothing else purged your sins but him. By himself. No one else.
There's no other way, there's no other king, there's no other person, there's no other God, there's no other religion. He by himself Notice this word, purged. This is a word that means purify. It means that when you and I put our faith and trust in our King, Not only are we forgiven of the sins we've committed. But those sins are purged.
They're purified. It's what we call justified. It means this: that in the eyes of God the Father, when I have been saved and I put my faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. God doesn't just see a man that had past sins. He sees an individual with no sin.
Because they've been purged. Purified. By Him. I want you to notice this when he had by himself purged our Sins. Our sins.
You know that little phrase, our sins, means we're all sinners? Yeah. Amen. He didn't just say he purged your sin. I'm not just saying here today that Jesus died for your sin.
I'm saying Jesus died for our sin. All have sinned. and come short. of the glory of God. But we had a king who spoke, a king who speaks.
A king who's sovereign. who sustains, but guess what? Really wouldn't do us a whole lot of good. As wonderful as that is. If he wasn't a king who saves.
Can I ask you something? What good would it do that we serve a king that sustains if we can't be saved? There would be nothing to sustain. What good would it be that our king spoke? If he can't save us, why would we want to read what he has to say?
I mean, listen to me different. We would say, hey, we have a king that still speaks, but why would he still speak if there's no hope of heaven, if there's no hope beyond the grave, if he hadn't saved us? Everything hinges on this. We have a king that left his throne to come to earth, to die, to be buried, to rise again, to ascend back to the throne. And he did it so that you and I.
can be saved. What you notice last this morning? They've had a busy month.
So surprise, surprise, you're going to get out early today. You like me again now? Don't need as much grace as you thought, do you?
Some of you are like, thank God for that stint, thank God for that, okay. If this wasn't my last point, this is going to be the last point. I'm going to tell you that right now. Look at verse 3. This king who Spoke who speaks.
who sustains, who shines, who saves Lotus verse 3. Sat down. On the right hand. of the majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels.
As he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name. Than they.
Now get the picture. Jesus rises from the throne. He humbles himself. and becomes obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He leaves a heavenly throne and he is born in a lowly Manger.
He lives here on earth, this sin-cursed earth, a man who knew no sin. He comes, he lives. He grows, he learns. Even at 12 years old, he's confounding them in the temple, but it wasn't his time yet. And imagine through all those years, his teenage years, and every one of us would look back and say, Look at the mistakes you made when you were a teenager.
Look at the sins you committed. All through these teenage years, we're not told much about Jesus Christ. But don't you doubt one minute that Satan unleashed everything he had to tempt Jesus with everything he possibly could? Because all it would take is for Jesus to sin one time, and he would no longer be the king who could save. But he left his throne to come and go through this 33 and a half years.
He's taken into captivity. He's mocked, he's scourged. He's ridiculed not because of sins he's committed. But because he's never committed a sin. He is chosen above a common criminal like Barabbas.
To be crucified, he's hung on a cross. He's thrown in a grave that he didn't even own. And he walked out of that grave three days later. The king who left his throne now is the king who defeated death. Hell and the grave.
And he decides, I'm going to go back to where I need to be, and that's on the throne, but I'm not going to leave you comfortless. I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit of God. By the way, the same Holy Spirit that moved by God and inspired men to write His Word.
So, if you want to learn how to figure out the Bible and understand the Bible, listen, you need the Holy Spirit's help. He's the one that wrote it. Right, yeah. And you have him living inside of you. God the Spirit.
As he ascended back into heaven. He left us a promise. And that promise is this, I fulfilled my promise to come.
Now I'm giving you another promise. I'm coming back. And as the disciples watched, and Jesus ascended back into heaven. The Bible here says exactly what happened. He walked right back up to the throne.
that he left for you and for me. And he sat down. And that's where he's been. ever since. You say, Well, what's next?
The king. Yeah. Everything we've been through, everything we've learned in this whole deal, listen to me. You've got to understand. He is seated.
and ready. He is seated on the side of the city. On his throne, which means he's the king. And he's ready. to come back.
for you and for me. Are you ready? Are you ready? Let's bow our heads, close our eyes today. Thank you for listening today, Lord.
I love you and I've done what you've asked me to do today.
Okay. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. Can I ask you something today if you're here and you'd say, preacher, I'm not 100% sure. That I'm on my way to heaven. Preacher, I would love it if you'd pray for me today.
Anyone like that? Raise your hand up quickly and write back down. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? Preacher, pray for me.
Thank you. I appreciate that. Anyone else, preacher, pray for me? I see that hand. Thank you, ma'am.
Anyone else, preacher, pray for me? I'm not 100% sure. I appreciate your honesty, and for those that raised your hands, I want you to know we love you, we appreciate you, and we're here for you. And I would never embarrass you. And that tells me if there are some that raised their hand, some should have or could have, but.
probably were a little bit too intimidated to do so, and I understand. Dear friend, I want you to know, let me help you right now. I want to make salvation as simple as Jesus has made it. First, it's the fact that you have to understand and admit and believe you're a sinner. And by that means you can't save yourself, that you've got no hope if you leave it up to you.
Second, it's a matter of you believing what the Bible says: that Jesus did come, that He. Died on the cross for our sins, that he was buried, that he rose again. And he did it for you.
So it's you understanding who you are, believing who he is. You say, Well, preacher, I want to get this salvation thing settled.
Well, dear friend, right where you sit, you can. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirwood Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192.
or via the web. At Kerwin Baptist Church.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kirwan Broadcast today. God bless you.
