WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:04.240 Now, I wonder when the last time was that you 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.460 had one of those kind of cold sweat moments that 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:10.519 makes you stop and pause and just think, what 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:13.820 was I thinking? What was I thinking? How did 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.480 I get into this? It could be that moment when 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:22.519 you press click, buy, and suddenly wonder, was 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:24.969 it a scam? What was I thinking? It could be one 00:00:24.969 --> 00:00:26.910 of those moments where you get that email confirming 00:00:26.910 --> 00:00:30.829 a place on a half marathon or an Ironman. I don't 00:00:30.829 --> 00:00:33.270 know that particular example of that, but I could 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:35.390 imagine the confirmation of the place comes through 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.950 and you go, oh, yikes, what was I thinking? It 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:41.909 could be when you're on a walk in the Lake District 00:00:41.909 --> 00:00:43.469 that was meant to be fun with all your mates 00:00:43.469 --> 00:00:45.750 from the first year and you find yourself being 00:00:45.750 --> 00:00:48.009 led by Tom Mishley saying, no, seriously, it's 00:00:48.009 --> 00:00:50.149 fine. And you're clinging to the cliff edge going. 00:00:50.619 --> 00:00:52.759 What was I thinking? It could be any of those 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:55.179 moments. I had a moment like that, less dramatic, 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:58.960 when Martha, my daughter, had a friend round 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.600 to play. And that wasn't a disaster. That was 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:04.900 fine. But we decided that we'd go to go away 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:06.379 because that'd be like a really fun thing to 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:09.400 do. And it always looks fine from below. It's 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.700 fine from below. And then you get up top and 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:14.599 they clip you in and you're stood there on the 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:17.739 platform. I said, what was I thinking? because 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:19.680 there I am there's the height and it looks so 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.760 much further and all I've got is like this little 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:27.359 piece of metal attaching me to the thing and 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:29.400 it looks so far and I said what was I thinking 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.239 you know particularly as I was responsible now 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:35.200 not just for me but for my daughter and her friend 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:37.200 I was like why couldn't we just have gone bowling 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:41.769 like normal people so we get up We get that moment, 00:01:41.790 --> 00:01:43.810 we feel that fear in all kinds of different ways, 00:01:43.870 --> 00:01:46.409 in all kinds of different moments, but it also 00:01:46.409 --> 00:01:49.950 kind of sets in. As Christians, we have that 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:53.230 cold sweat, what was I thinking kind of moment. 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:58.709 And it could be like a very clear moment in our 00:01:58.709 --> 00:02:02.730 lives, like that moment when we just... We're 00:02:02.730 --> 00:02:05.189 thinking to ourselves as we maybe leave university 00:02:05.189 --> 00:02:07.650 and head into the world of work, like it was 00:02:07.650 --> 00:02:09.590 all fine when I was a student, when I was at 00:02:09.590 --> 00:02:13.030 my student church and things, but now what was 00:02:13.030 --> 00:02:17.229 I thinking? Or we hit that phase of life when 00:02:17.229 --> 00:02:20.210 we go, it was all fine when everything was fine, 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:23.250 but now it's not fine. What was I thinking? I 00:02:23.250 --> 00:02:27.080 was really... Struck by Dan's honesty on Monday 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:28.860 when he shared about that experience of stepping 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:32.780 into such an other strange Muslim context and 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:36.240 thinking, well, kind of all those truths that 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.759 I trusted then still true here today. Now, in 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:44.180 this place, we could be those kind of moments 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:46.259 or it could be just the kind of pattern that 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:49.280 keeps cropping up. It happens when I'm with that 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:52.860 family member. And it suddenly feels like, really? 00:02:53.930 --> 00:02:55.949 Committing myself to Jesus, giving myself to 00:02:55.949 --> 00:02:58.229 his ministry. What was I thinking? It could be 00:02:58.229 --> 00:03:00.370 when I'm with that group of friends or it could 00:03:00.370 --> 00:03:03.050 be as I look at where my friends have got to 00:03:03.050 --> 00:03:05.830 and now where my family is and the choices that 00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:07.870 we've made and think, really, what was I thinking? 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.719 What is this book of Hebrews and this chapter 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:16.919 of Hebrews is written to people like us, people 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.819 like that, people having that same fear, that 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:24.139 same thought. What was I thinking? Because they, 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:25.939 like us, they'd heard about Jesus. They believed 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:29.460 in Jesus. But then the pressure begins to build. 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:33.219 The reality sets in. And a bit like me on that 00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:37.639 platform at GoApe, starting to think, like, will 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:42.229 this hold me? Will this hold me? As I look around 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:45.289 the people I'm responsible for, will this hold 00:03:45.289 --> 00:03:51.770 them? What was I thinking? And it's a question 00:03:51.770 --> 00:03:57.259 that's really the context for this whole. That's 00:03:57.259 --> 00:03:59.419 sort of provoked by this whole book, particularly 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:02.039 by the context of these verses, because throughout 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:04.639 Hebrews, we get that message again and again, 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.120 cling to Jesus, cling to Jesus because there 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.520 is no one greater. And particularly this passage 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:13.280 itself was framed just before and after by that 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:15.960 call to cling to Jesus because he's so much greater. 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.879 You just glance up to two, one to four or glance 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.579 across to three, one to seven, one to six. Those 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:25.060 sort of paragraphs present us with Jesus and 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:27.720 say, cling to Jesus. Look at his greatness. He 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.339 is greater. He is greater than the angels and 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:34.519 greater than the whole mosaic system that those 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:39.019 angels represent. Cling to Jesus because he is 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:43.639 greater. But then it's like the doubt sets in. 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:49.459 Because when I look to Jesus. And when I look 00:04:49.459 --> 00:04:54.550 to myself. All I see is foolishness and all I 00:04:54.550 --> 00:04:58.069 see is frailty. It's a bit like wondering whether 00:04:58.069 --> 00:05:01.870 I clicked on an offer that seemed too good, that 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:05.629 seemed so good, and it turns out to have been 00:05:05.629 --> 00:05:09.689 too good to be true. Because when I look to Jesus, 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:11.129 see that foolishness, when I look to myself, 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:14.529 see that frailty, it's as if my grip on Jesus 00:05:14.529 --> 00:05:17.230 begins to slip and I begin to wonder what was 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:20.029 I thinking? And these verses speak into that 00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:22.490 moment. These verses speak into that fear and 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:27.370 they speak into it saying, look to the crucified 00:05:27.370 --> 00:05:31.550 Jesus. Look to the crucified Jesus, because there 00:05:31.550 --> 00:05:33.889 you will see the truth of who he is. There you 00:05:33.889 --> 00:05:37.459 will see the truth. of who you are as you look 00:05:37.459 --> 00:05:44.220 to jesus crucified you will see jesus the glorious 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:49.939 and loved son and us as his precious beloved 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:57.339 brothers verses five to nine um at the first 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:03.160 chunk of these verses they hold up to us jesus 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:10.199 As the glorious son. And the very place that 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.560 provokes the world's contempt, the various the 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:17.699 very place that the church, these Hebrews, that 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:21.220 we ourselves might find discouragement. That 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:25.939 is the place that Hebrews calls us to look for 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.839 our confidence. That is the place that these 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:32.339 verses call us to look for our comfort and our 00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:36.779 security. Because we say, look, he can't be great. 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:39.300 Just look at the foolishness of him crucified. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.620 And the writer of Hebrew says, he is great. Just 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:50.699 look at his humiliation as he is crucified. See, 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:53.980 verses five to nine, it's as if they teach us 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:57.620 how to see. They teach us how to see so that 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.879 we can recognize the truth that's revealed. in 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.000 the cross and it teaches us how to see by like 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.360 adjusting our vision in verses five to eight 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:09.160 by showing us first of all adam and seeing the 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.480 principle there and showing what is true for 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.660 adam and then turning an eight to nine and saying 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:18.300 now we've learned to see now we've tuned our 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:21.379 vision and sharpened our vision now we can recognize 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:25.819 the truth of jesus so in verses five to eight 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:32.509 we marvel at the fact that salvation or glory, 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:37.029 dominion over the earth was to come to this one 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:40.269 made of dust. What is man that you are mindful 00:07:40.269 --> 00:07:42.170 of him or the son of man that you care for him? 00:07:42.209 --> 00:07:45.089 You made him a little lower than the angels. 00:07:45.110 --> 00:07:48.170 You crowned him with glory and honor, putting 00:07:48.170 --> 00:07:52.529 everything in subjection under his feet. It marvels 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:55.689 at the fact the one who is made lower than the 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:59.660 angels. has had everything placed in subjection 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:03.060 under his feet. And then as we turn from 5 to 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:06.939 8 and look in verses 8 to 9, we see that what 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:12.180 was pictured in Adam and what was squandered 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:17.779 in Adam and spoilt in Adam is truly and gloriously 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:23.560 achieved in Jesus. Verse 9, the one truly made 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:29.620 low. is the one ultimately exalted. We see him 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:32.519 now, who for a little while was made lower than 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:35.279 angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:41.799 honor because of the suffering of death. Jesus 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:46.440 is crowned with glory, not despite, but because 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:51.450 he suffered in the very place of his shame. We 00:08:51.450 --> 00:08:55.090 find the very heart of his glory. Jesus is the 00:08:55.090 --> 00:08:58.889 greater. Jesus is greater than the angels because 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:03.289 he is the glorious son. But where do we see that 00:09:03.289 --> 00:09:06.710 he's the glorious son? We see it in the cross 00:09:06.710 --> 00:09:11.009 of him crucified. I mean, it's a bit of a silly 00:09:11.009 --> 00:09:13.169 example, but you could imagine me with one of 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:15.269 those instructors kind of, no, I didn't do this. 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:17.429 I didn't panic. I held it together. This is what 00:09:17.429 --> 00:09:18.769 I was thinking, you know, because obviously my 00:09:18.769 --> 00:09:20.129 daughter's there. So when they're explaining 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:21.769 here, you'll be fine. I go, yeah, yeah, cool, 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:24.129 cool, cool, cool. But in my head, I'm thinking 00:09:24.129 --> 00:09:27.990 like, how can I be sure? It's just this and a 00:09:27.990 --> 00:09:31.269 little piece of rope. And you can imagine like 00:09:31.269 --> 00:09:33.769 the instructor sighing, okay, another one panicking, 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:38.009 going, you can be sure. Just look at this and 00:09:38.009 --> 00:09:43.429 the piece of rope. Just look at it. Yes, just 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:46.679 look at it. You can imagine them saying. And 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:48.960 so I wonder whether in many ways our struggle 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.299 with faith so often exposes a struggle to see. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:59.460 Not so much what I see or what I don't see, but 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:05.279 how I see. The fact that I've got such a distorted 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.659 vision of greatness and glory means that I don't 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:12.460 recognize the real thing when it's shown to me. 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:17.940 So when I'm wondering and I have those moments, 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:22.179 what have I done when Jesus seems so foolish? 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:28.899 These verses teach us how to see and see that 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:31.240 glory in the cross. Now, our issue here this 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.360 morning may not be at this point that we are 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.799 going to abandon the cross. It might be much 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:41.470 more likely that we will. Just begin to look 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:45.690 away from the cross. Maybe not so much reject 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:50.429 it, but perhaps more likely begin by wrapping 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:55.789 it around in something that makes us feel more 00:10:55.789 --> 00:11:00.470 secure. You know, we find our reassurance in 00:11:00.470 --> 00:11:05.350 something else, something that is more, you know, 00:11:05.350 --> 00:11:09.549 a Jesus who is more respectable to me. A Jesus 00:11:09.549 --> 00:11:12.029 who's more acceptable to those family members 00:11:12.029 --> 00:11:15.129 or friends amongst whom I find it so hard to 00:11:15.129 --> 00:11:18.070 be a Christian. And I don't know, maybe a particular 00:11:18.070 --> 00:11:22.110 challenge for us here at Oak Hill is that danger 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:23.929 of wanting to, when we're faced with the shame 00:11:23.929 --> 00:11:27.149 of the cross, wanting to wrap it around with 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:30.450 the knowledge that we have, with that respectability 00:11:30.450 --> 00:11:33.610 of knowledge that I can maybe there feel that 00:11:33.610 --> 00:11:36.669 strength, the strength of knowing stuff that 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:39.970 then maybe intellectually, people will respect 00:11:39.970 --> 00:11:46.590 or apologetically I can wield. We're tempted 00:11:46.590 --> 00:11:51.250 to wrap the cross round in something more respectable, 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:56.269 something more acceptable. But the cross is the 00:11:56.269 --> 00:12:00.009 place where the greatness of Jesus is made known. 00:12:00.269 --> 00:12:05.029 This is where we see what God is like. This is 00:12:05.029 --> 00:12:12.259 where Jesus is his most. God -like. This is where 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:16.240 Jesus displays his greatness as the true, the 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:22.039 glorious, the much -loved son. And so if I'm 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.679 thinking, what have I done? We're not to look 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:27.799 for something else. We're not to look for something 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.370 more. We're not to wrap the cross. in something 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:34.549 that makes it feel more acceptable. Instead, 00:12:34.950 --> 00:12:38.409 we're to look at the cross and keep looking because 00:12:38.409 --> 00:12:41.470 there we see Jesus for who he is. And that's 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:44.129 what we're going to do in a little while as we 00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:48.490 share communion together. Together, as we look, 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:56.970 as we take, as we taste, as we trust, we will 00:12:56.970 --> 00:12:59.529 know the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:04.820 Given for us. Preserving our body and soul to 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:07.879 everlasting life. At the cross we see Christ 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:14.519 for who he is. And so let's feel ourselves as 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.899 we take the bread and take the wine. Feel ourselves 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:26.710 clinging to Jesus. Jesus crucified. And as we 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:28.909 do that, and as we look to the cross, we find 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:32.409 the cross not simply displaying to us the glory 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:37.149 of who Jesus is. We see the cross displaying 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:40.429 to us the truth of who we are. If we've looked 00:13:40.429 --> 00:13:43.730 to the cross to see Jesus as the true and glorious 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:47.610 son, we look to the cross and see who we are 00:13:47.610 --> 00:13:51.750 as brothers and sisters with him, brothers and 00:13:51.750 --> 00:13:58.899 sisters in him. but you can imagine that again 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:02.519 that sort of feeling of tension like it's one 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:06.899 thing to put it this way to sort of feel that 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:09.240 the carabiner is strong enough or the rope strong 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:12.799 enough but like how securely is it attached to 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:15.840 me yeah i don't just want to tug at it and feel 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.960 that it's strongly on that hook up there on that 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.740 tree or whatever i want to tug at it and feel 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:24.230 that it's hooked firmly to me. And so as the 00:14:24.230 --> 00:14:27.289 writer to the Hebrews presents Jesus in his glory, 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:29.210 you can almost imagine that other question bubbling 00:14:29.210 --> 00:14:32.669 up. Yeah, but what about us? You've taught me 00:14:32.669 --> 00:14:34.549 how to see in the foolishness of the cross, the 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:37.090 glory of Jesus. But what about when I look at 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:40.590 ourselves and see only frailty and weakness in 00:14:40.590 --> 00:14:46.570 me, and to be honest, in those around me? Where 00:14:46.570 --> 00:14:48.809 do I turn for reassurance? And for the Hebrews, 00:14:49.070 --> 00:14:52.730 maybe it was the sacrificial system, the mosaic 00:14:52.730 --> 00:14:55.710 order, those traditions and communities that 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:58.169 they had been part of. For us, it could be our 00:14:58.169 --> 00:15:01.330 work, our abilities or all some kind of social 00:15:01.330 --> 00:15:04.250 status to give us acceptability. But these verses 00:15:04.250 --> 00:15:07.389 say, look to Jesus, look to the cross, because 00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:10.250 there you will see the security of who you are. 00:15:10.289 --> 00:15:15.450 There you will see on the cross. That Jesus has 00:15:15.450 --> 00:15:21.750 bound himself to us. He has bound himself to 00:15:21.750 --> 00:15:25.450 us, clipped himself to us, as it were, as brothers. 00:15:26.549 --> 00:15:29.169 And that he will bring us home. Just look at 00:15:29.169 --> 00:15:31.149 the way he binds himself to us as brothers in 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:37.429 11, sorry, in 10 to 13, verse 10. He's bound 00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:43.590 himself to us in suffering in verse 10. In verse 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:48.870 11, he's shared in our life. In verse 11, he 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:52.809 goes on to call us brothers. He binds himself 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:55.669 to us. And as he does that in verses 10 and 11, 00:15:55.870 --> 00:16:00.529 then onwards in 11 to 13, he makes us his brothers. 00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:04.850 He calls us brothers in verse 11. And then in 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:09.039 verse 12. It's as if he turns and proclaims his 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.740 father to us. So this is what he's saying in 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:14.740 verse 12. I will tell in the midst, sorry, I 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:18.240 will tell of your name in the midst of the congregation. 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.419 I will sing your praise. It's as if amongst us, 00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:25.240 amongst his brothers, he's proclaiming his father. 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:28.100 This is your father who you know and who you 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:31.419 can celebrate with me. And then having proclaimed 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:34.299 the father to the brothers, he then presents 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:37.340 the brothers. To the father saying, verse 13, 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:42.679 behold, I am the children you, the Lord God, 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:49.480 have given to me. He binds us to himself as brothers. 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:56.360 And as he does that, he brings us home. Look 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.120 at that security and certainty of the Lord Jesus 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:06.279 bringing us home. Verse 14 to 15, he has rescued 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.420 us. Since the children share in flesh and blood, 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:12.980 he himself likewise partook of the same things, 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:16.660 that through death he might destroy the one who 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:20.640 has the power of death, that is the devil. He 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:27.480 shared in our humanity to defeat our enemy by 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:33.450 dying in our place. And the one who rescues us, 00:17:33.549 --> 00:17:41.990 keeps us. He shares in our humanity and so rescues 00:17:41.990 --> 00:17:44.829 us, but he shares in our humanity and so can 00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:52.269 sustain and keep us. Verse 16 down to 18. Surely 00:17:52.269 --> 00:17:55.190 it's not angels that he helps, but he helps the 00:17:55.190 --> 00:17:58.109 offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:01.180 made like his brothers in every respect. So that 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:03.880 he might become a merciful and faithful high 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.119 priest in the service of God to make propitiation 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:09.319 for the sins of his people. Because he himself 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:13.339 has suffered when tempted, he is able to help 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:17.509 those who are being tempted. He shares in our 00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:20.569 humanity to save us. He shares in our humanity 00:18:20.569 --> 00:18:25.670 to keep us. He helps us, verse 16. He's merciful 00:18:25.670 --> 00:18:31.569 in verse 17. Verse 18, he is compassionate. At 00:18:31.569 --> 00:18:36.930 the cross, we see the truth that Jesus has bound 00:18:36.930 --> 00:18:48.630 us to himself and will bring us home. You know, 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:51.170 I don't know if you've done stuff like go ape, 00:18:51.269 --> 00:18:53.849 but you find that that thing of no doubt done, 00:18:53.950 --> 00:18:56.369 you know, bungee jumping and up sailing and things 00:18:56.369 --> 00:18:57.730 like that. But, you know, if you've ever had 00:18:57.730 --> 00:18:59.970 that moment where you you find yourself clinging 00:18:59.970 --> 00:19:02.490 hard to the rope or maybe on a roller coaster 00:19:02.490 --> 00:19:06.150 to the to the stuff that's holding you in, you 00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:07.650 find yourself your white knuckles, your hand 00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:10.390 hurts like gripping, holding tight. And it takes 00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:14.450 a little while to realize that it's not me keeping 00:19:14.450 --> 00:19:18.099 myself safe as I cling to the rope. It's the 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:25.640 rope keeping me safe as it is bound to me. I 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:31.480 might be holding tight, but this can carry my 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.660 whole weight. And that's something what these 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:38.220 verses are calling us to know about the Lord 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:42.420 Jesus. It's so easy for me to look for reassurance. 00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:46.069 from the world it's so easy for me to look for 00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:53.329 glory in the world at best doing that is like 00:19:53.329 --> 00:19:59.069 squeezing a rope so hard so hard that your hands 00:19:59.069 --> 00:20:04.349 hurt it's exhausting it's tiring at best when 00:20:04.349 --> 00:20:09.309 we do that it's that exhaustion of clinging in 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:14.880 our own strength at worst When we do that, it's 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:18.619 a bit like slipping off the harness at the top 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:22.599 of the tree and looking for our security somewhere 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:30.279 else. These verses say Jesus can take your weight. 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:35.160 He has bound himself to you and he will bring 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:39.470 you safely home. The cross shows me who Jesus 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:42.529 is. He shows me what he has done and he shows 00:20:42.529 --> 00:20:48.509 me who I am to him. You see, there I see Jesus, 00:20:48.569 --> 00:20:52.250 the glorious son who has made me, who has made 00:20:52.250 --> 00:20:57.990 us to be his brothers and sisters. And so when 00:20:57.990 --> 00:21:01.849 I feel weak, when I look around me and see that 00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:06.920 the church is so frail. I'm to look to the cross 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:11.920 to see him there binding himself to me, calling 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:15.799 me his brother, committing himself to bring me 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:19.920 home. And again, that is what Jesus calls us 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.559 to see in just a moment as we share bread and 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:28.279 wine together. As we come to his body broken, 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:34.680 as we come to his blood shed. There we see the 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.759 truth of who he is. There we see the truth of 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:43.460 who we are. As we look to him, we can then look 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:49.259 up and around and see each other and see brothers 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:53.619 and sisters in Christ. We can see brothers and 00:21:53.619 --> 00:22:01.380 sisters of Christ. Jesus has bound us together. 00:22:02.089 --> 00:22:06.670 as he has bound himself to us as brothers and 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:15.609 sisters who he is bringing home. So in that moment 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:18.789 when the cold sweat sets in and we think to ourselves, 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:20.950 what have we done? What have I done? The call 00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:24.529 is to look to the cross. And here's the thing, 00:22:24.549 --> 00:22:26.609 like after a little while on Go Ape, you'll be 00:22:26.609 --> 00:22:29.390 very pleased to know, I actually began to enjoy 00:22:29.390 --> 00:22:32.430 it. As you begin to kind of let go of the rope, 00:22:32.509 --> 00:22:36.730 as you begin to feel the way it can carry your 00:22:36.730 --> 00:22:40.789 weight, you grow in confidence, you grow in that 00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:44.049 enjoyment. And that is what these verses call 00:22:44.049 --> 00:22:46.410 for us to do. That is what the Lord's Supper 00:22:46.410 --> 00:22:54.250 will call for us to do. To rest in Jesus. To 00:22:54.250 --> 00:22:59.559 entrust ourselves to Jesus. To look to the cross, 00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:02.400 not moving away, not adding to it, not wrapping 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.039 it around in something more respectable or trying 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.119 to replace it with something that seems to us 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:11.299 more secure. Instead, looking to the cross and 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:15.500 knowing there, that is where I see Jesus, the 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:19.539 glorious son. That is where I see how much I 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:23.700 am loved and how safe I am as his dearly loved 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:31.470 brother and sister. Let me pray. Father God, 00:23:31.670 --> 00:23:36.630 thank you so much that the Lord Jesus is not 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:40.470 ashamed to call us brothers. Thank you that he 00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:46.670 is your glorious son. And thank you that he has 00:23:46.670 --> 00:23:50.309 brought us into your loving family. We pray that 00:23:50.309 --> 00:23:53.950 we might know that, trust that, enjoy and rejoice 00:23:53.950 --> 00:23:59.420 in that truth. For his glory. And our blessing 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.759 we pray. Amen.