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Lights of Christmas (Hebrews 2:14-18)
13 Plays4 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 21 December 2025
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Musical Praise and Gratitude
00:00:06
Speaker
Good morning. Thank you so much, Sherry. Appreciate that song and appreciate Tom helping out there with the praise team. And orchestra, thank you all so much for your beautiful music. It's always refreshing when we come in here and we praise Him together.
Jesus as a Merciful High Priest
00:00:22
Speaker
But what better time to do that than christmas time right to exalt the name of jesus above every other name so i'm so excited today we're going to learn one of his names is merciful and faithful high priest it's in our passage that we're going to look at this morning if you would turn with me to hebrews chapter 2 verses 14 through hebrews 18.
00:00:45
Speaker
verse fourteen through eighteen I'm sure that if I asked the children how many days till Christmas, they would know exactly and they could tell us all about it.
Christmas Symbols and Jesus' Identity
00:00:56
Speaker
You know, Christmas has many emblems that point to Christ's first coming.
00:01:01
Speaker
For example, you know, the wise men follow the star, right? Well, Jesus is the star. of Christmas. That's what Josh reminded us of when we began this series on the signs that point to the birth of Christ.
00:01:15
Speaker
But also we looked at the angels and how Jesus is far above the angels. He's the son of God. The angels actually serve him. But you know what he did? He laid all of that aside and he became human. He became man.
00:01:30
Speaker
So how that all happened, he retained his, you know, ah title as the son of God, but also he took on the title son of man and he pulled pulled both of those together. And so even though for a while he was lower than the angels, they knew who he was. And now he's there at the right hand of the father and they serve him.
The Unparalleled Gift of Jesus
00:01:50
Speaker
But last time we looked at the gift, the gift of Jesus. You know, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. If you don't receive another present this Christmas, you've already received the best one ever.
00:02:03
Speaker
It's indescribable when we think about the gift of Jesus Christ. So there's a lot of emblems, signs that remind us of Jesus.
Christ as the Light in John's Gospel
00:02:13
Speaker
But in the Gospel of John, the apostle refers to the arrival of Christ, the first arrival of Christ, to Christ coming with light.
00:02:23
Speaker
And so he mentions in John, the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 4 through 5, he mentions light five times. In verses 4 and 5, and then again in 7 and 8, he says, in him was life,
00:02:37
Speaker
And the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him.
00:02:52
Speaker
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light, the true light, which gives light to everyone who was coming into the world. So what a wonderful blessing it is to know this light personally, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Illuminating the Darkness of Winter
00:03:10
Speaker
Luke also records how John the Baptist's father, Zechariah, prophesied that Jesus would come. And here's what he said in Luke 179. He would come to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
00:03:26
Speaker
Wow, what a wonderful blessing we have that Jesus came into this dark world to bring the light. Even Matthew spoke of Jesus bringing light in Matthew chapter 4, verse 16, as he quotes the prophet Isaiah, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.
00:03:46
Speaker
And for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. You remember whenever Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to the temple to present him to God, there was a man there and God had told him, you're going to see the Messiah before you close your eyes in death.
00:04:06
Speaker
And that man's name was Simeon. And so here's what Simeon said when he held Jesus in his arms. For my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared to the in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
00:04:27
Speaker
It's pretty hard to celebrate Christmas without light. The light of Christmas is like it's a celebration. That's why we display lights to symbolize the glory of Christ that he's entered into this dark world.
00:04:42
Speaker
You know what today is? Today is a very special day in terms of calendar. You know, on our on our calendars, it says that today is the winter solstice in Texas for 2025.
00:04:55
Speaker
It's today. As a matter of fact, it started at 9.03 a.m. this morning while we've been here worshiping the light. do you know that today is the shortest day of the year?
00:05:07
Speaker
And if it's the shortest day in terms of daylight, then it must be the longest, darkest day of the year. But here we are celebrating the light on this day.
00:05:18
Speaker
Every year, Christmas brightens the darkest season of the year with the glad tidings of Jesus. You know, the biblical truths of Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 through 18, where we'll be today, if you want to find your way there, Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 through 18. These verses kind of remind me of when my wife Jody and I would go to the Canadian Rockies when we were serving in Canada. We would often go either to Banff or to Jasper.
00:05:48
Speaker
And I remember how dark it would be because you're surrounded by high trees, high mountains. It's not always a lot of light around. And so it'd be so dark in the shadow of the mountains.
00:05:59
Speaker
But all of that was dispelled by the campfire. All of that was dispelled when I brought out my Coleman lantern and so forth. Well, in a way, if you'll listen to this passage carefully,
00:06:11
Speaker
I believe that the light that is disclosed to us in this passage, it's going to fire your heart and it's going to bring illumination to your soul. Would you stand? I want to read these verses.
Jesus' Entry into Humanity
00:06:23
Speaker
We stand to honor God's word. It's a book like no other book.
00:06:27
Speaker
It's inspired. It's infallible. It's inerrant. The Lord's got so much He wants to continue to say to us through this wonderful book that we have, the Bible. So Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 begins like this. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things.
00:06:51
Speaker
that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
00:07:04
Speaker
For sure, it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect.
00:07:20
Speaker
so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able.
00:07:36
Speaker
to help those who are being tempted. Let's go to the Father and ask him to speak to us through this passage today. Lord, we're getting awfully close to Christmas. We're so excited to celebrate the first coming of your son. We know that you promised someday he's gonna come again, and we're looking forward to that one as well.
00:07:54
Speaker
But today our hearts are so glad as we gather around this passage. I believe that from this passage, we're gonna receive light and we're gonna receive warmth.
00:08:04
Speaker
It's going to warm our hearts. It's going to fire our souls with your light. So speak to us this day as we look into this passage together. We give you the glory of what you will do. In Jesus' name we pray.
00:08:16
Speaker
Amen. Thank you. You may be
Support Against Temptations and Struggles
00:08:19
Speaker
seated. Well, when I was going through this passage, there were like five different lights that stood out to me that I wanted to mention to you. We're going to break it down and go through much more slowly, but let me just kind of give you an overview at the beginning.
00:08:34
Speaker
When Jesus came into this world, guess what happened? He brought light into our struggle with physical limitation. Have you ever struggled with a physical limitation? Have you ever struggled with a loved one who gets sick, who has some kind of illness?
00:08:49
Speaker
And we're wondering, is this it? Is this all there is? All of this physical pain and suffering and so forth? Well, you know what? We're going to see something about that in a moment. But also Jesus not only brought light into our struggle with physical limitation, he brought light into our skirmishes with a spiritual adversary.
00:09:08
Speaker
Have you ever felt like that whenever you try to live for Christ, that there's a spiritual enemy that comes against you, tries to come against your marriage, against your family? and against all your grandkids and so forth. It can be heartbreaking, but when you see what God has revealed to us in this passage, I think you're gonna be glad.
00:09:29
Speaker
Also, the light of Jesus Christ coming into this world, he also entered in and said, you know what? I'm gonna help you when you shudder over your final breath.
00:09:40
Speaker
There's something about death that those who are without Christ feel like it's final. I think that's it. But you know what? It's not it. Our soul goes on throughout eternity. We're either gonna be in heaven or we're gonna be in hell.
00:09:53
Speaker
And God is saying through Christ, I want you to be with me. I want you to be with me in heaven. And so you're gonna see what the Lord does about our fear, our shuddering over that final breath.
00:10:05
Speaker
But also his light made difference in another way. He helps us to be able to stand against continual temptation. Now, you may feel like, okay, if I trust Jesus Christ, I'll never be tempted again.
00:10:19
Speaker
That's not right. You know, those of us who've been on the trail for a while, we're going to tell you it's a lifetime lifelong battle. But you know what? You're not in it alone. We're going to learn in this passage, there's somebody who will help you stand against temptation. It doesn't have to bully you around if you're a believer in Christ.
Dual Nature of Jesus
00:10:37
Speaker
But I guess perhaps best of all, his light takes the shame over biblical ah biblical compromises, moral failures, sin. Whenever we disobey God, what do you do with that?
00:10:51
Speaker
If you don't go to Christ, what do you do with it? You know what happens? That guilt, that shame builds up. It makes us feel miserable on the inside. The angel that appeared to Joseph promised that Jesus would save his people from their sins. He declared his name would also be called Emmanuel.
00:11:13
Speaker
Emmanuel means God with us. So it's like into this broken, dark world, The light came and he's with you. Maybe it feels like it's dark right now, but it's not because he's there with you. He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
00:11:30
Speaker
So I want to go over those five things real quickly and say, okay, Lord, what is Christmas really all about? It's about the light of Christmas coming into our world.
00:11:41
Speaker
First off, I want you to notice in verse 14 and verse 17 that Jesus can relate to our humanity. He can relate to our humanity.
00:11:53
Speaker
Maybe it passed by real quickly when I read through it, but let me read through verse 14 and then verse 17 one more time. Let me emphasize a part of these verses. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things.
00:12:13
Speaker
What same things? Flesh and blood. He said, you know what? I'm going to become a man. I'm going to go through everything you're going through. Verse 17 says, therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, in every respect.
00:12:32
Speaker
You know, if you were to go over to Philippians chapter 2 and read verses 5 through 8, you would be amazed to know what Jesus gave up when he came to relate to us in our humanity.
00:12:45
Speaker
Let me just read a few verses from Philippians 2, verse 5 through 8. It says, "...have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God,
00:12:58
Speaker
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. So in other words, when it came time for him to become a man, he didn't say, no, I'm the son of God. I've always been here for eternity past with you, Father. He didn't do it.
00:13:12
Speaker
He released that. It says, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.
00:13:28
Speaker
Man, I don't think we realize what a great gift we're given that Jesus left so much to come down here so that he could say, I know exactly what it means.
00:13:39
Speaker
He knows what it means. for birth. He knows what it means to be hungry. He knows what it means to thirst. The Bible even tells us he knows what it means to get tired, to be weary, to have fatigue.
00:13:51
Speaker
He knows what it means to have pain. Do you think the nails, do you think they really hurt? Oh yeah, they really hurt. That was painful for him. I think he also knows what it means to be rejected. Have you ever been rejected because you're a Christian?
00:14:05
Speaker
He knows what that's like. Since he was a carpenter, he knows what it's like to work hard. He also knows what it's like to be betrayed. He knows what it's like to perspire, or like we say in Tennessee, sweat.
00:14:18
Speaker
But also, he knows what it's like to bleed. He knew what it was like to be joyful. He knew what it was like to be sorrowful. He knew in the end what it was like to die and to take that final breath.
00:14:30
Speaker
Man, do you realize what you're reading here? I just want to remind you, this is the theological watershed when you look at verse 14, when you look at verse 17.
00:14:41
Speaker
seventeen You see that the one who had always been God became something that he never had been before. That was man. So now, like I said earlier, you've got the son of God also becoming the son of man.
00:14:56
Speaker
So he was 100% God, 100% man. And like all wrapped into one. How? I don't know how.
Triumph Over Death and Darkness
00:15:04
Speaker
All I know is I believe it. But did you notice that he only emphasized in this passage two things about our humanity that Jesus also took on?
00:15:15
Speaker
What does it say? Flesh and blood. Flesh and blood. You know, I got to thinking about that word flesh. And so I went to Answers in Genesis. If you're ever looking for anything that is kind of medical, scientific, or those kind of things, go to Answers in Genesis website.
00:15:35
Speaker
They've got articles written by men and women who follow Christ devoutly. I mean, they're very faithful to biblical truths, and they write about their field of expertise. And so anyway, I read one article called Skin Our Living Armor.
00:15:52
Speaker
Do you know it's the best body armor that we could ever wear? Because of its strength, but also flexibility, but also durability. Do you know that skin repairs itself when you cut yourself?
00:16:04
Speaker
It repairs itself. Skin is the largest organ in your whole body. If you think about it, isn't it interesting that skin is different on the palms of your hands and on the soles of your feet?
00:16:17
Speaker
It's kind of a tougher, tougher layer of skin than, let's say, on your eyelid. That couldn't be skin. Some of you would say, I don't know, I'm getting heavy eyelids right now. Stay awake.
00:16:29
Speaker
I'm going to ask the cameraman to pan the group. No, no, I'm not going to do that. But also looked up blood. You know, there's an Answers in Genesis article called Life is in the Blood.
00:16:43
Speaker
It's a fascinating article. Do you realize that God has made us as human beings and we have 60,000 miles of arteries and veins and capillaries within our body?
00:16:58
Speaker
And blood is like a river of life flowing through the 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and capillaries. And so in 60 seconds, it makes a complete journey.
00:17:12
Speaker
Isn't that amazing? That all through the day, your heart is pumping 1,500 to 2,000 gallons per day. Jesus made all of that.
00:17:23
Speaker
And then Jesus said, you know what? I'm going to go down there. i'm going to know what it's like. to be human. And so he took it all on. And so I just want you to know, no matter what you're going through this Christmas, he knows.
00:17:36
Speaker
He knows exactly what that's like. So that's who he is. Pause for a moment and reflect upon the wonder of an omnipotent creator entering into our struggles with physical limitations.
00:17:49
Speaker
That's amazing to me. Well, let's go to the second thing. I believe also that Jesus was, he defeated the devil. Jesus defeated the devil. look Look at verse 14, for example. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things that through death, you're not gonna believe this, he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil.
00:18:17
Speaker
if you want to look at Revelation 20, verse 10, it'll tell you when the devil will finally be done away with. Revelation 20, 10. I'm considering getting it plaque and putting it my office because, man, he gives me a lot of troubles.
00:18:32
Speaker
But you know what? It says, since therefore. Since therefore is like a term of conclusion. Did you see what was mentioned just before verse 14? At the end of verse 13, he says, behold, I and the children God has given me.
00:18:47
Speaker
He wanted to be able to relate to us. And so he came down here to become a man. But when he entered this dark world, there was an enemy, an enemy of God, the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit. So he had to face that enemy.
00:19:03
Speaker
But you know what he did on the cross? Colossians 2.15 says that he triumphed over all the power of the enemy. Everything that Satan had, he triumphed over that.
00:19:16
Speaker
And so he completely defeated the enemy on the cross. And so one day he's going to dispose of him, but not yet. Not yet, because he wants to see if you're going to follow the devil or you're going to follow him. You're going to follow Jesus you're going to follow a defeated foe named the devil.
00:19:35
Speaker
I like what Warren Worsby says about this. He says, you know what? The devil's not destroyed just yet, but I'll tell you what he is. He's disarmed. He's disarmed. But then what about Stedman? Stedman says, you know what? The devil is not eliminated. We all know he's still around, but he is impotent when it comes to being able to do things against a child of God.
00:19:57
Speaker
So definitely Jesus defeated the devil on the cross, but you know what happened when he was raised from the dead? He overcame not just the devil, he overcame death He overcame death whenever the father raised him from the dead. And the reason the father raised him from the dead is because Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life.
00:20:19
Speaker
He never disobeyed the father, not once. That's why the father says, no, my son doesn't deserve death. He deserves life. And so the devil thought, I've got him now. There he goes, he's dead.
00:20:32
Speaker
But oh, the father raised Jesus from the dead three days later. That's why 1 Corinthians 15, 54 to 57 describes the victory that we have
Deliverance from the Fear of Death
00:20:44
Speaker
in Christ. And the victory is, you know what God did?
00:20:47
Speaker
He took the stinger. He took the sting out of death. So we don't have to be afraid of death anymore. You know, Revelation 12 is what I would call the Bible's last Christmas card.
00:21:00
Speaker
I mean, you can go back to Genesis. You can read all through the Old Testament. There's a lot of Christmas cards. There's a lot of different verses that people put on Christmas cards today, especially getting in the New Testament.
00:21:11
Speaker
But when you get to Revelation chapter 12, that's the last reference to the birth of Christ that I found in the Bible. The last Christmas card is found in Revelation 12. You should go. It refers to Christ's birth.
00:21:25
Speaker
But the context ah around Christ's birth also reminds us of something, spiritual warfare. See, the enemy wanted to destroy Jesus. He wanted to eliminate Jesus, but he couldn't do it.
00:21:37
Speaker
And so it talks about in there, he's compared to a dragon. He's called an ancient serpent. The devil is called the devil and Satan. He's called the deceiver of the world, and he's called the accuser of our brother.
00:21:50
Speaker
Wow, that's incredible. Amen. You know, this life, in this life, we face skirmishes, don't we? With a spiritual adversary. But Revelation 12, 11 says we can overcome him through the blood of the Lamb, through the word of our testimony, you know, by the the word of God.
00:22:11
Speaker
Jesus can relate to our humanity. Jesus has defeated the devil. But let me share with you a third thing, a third light, if you will, that shines now in a dark world.
00:22:22
Speaker
Jesus delivers us from fear. Fear can seem like a dark, dark cloud is around someone. Have you ever been afraid of something? Man, I've had to give the Lord my fear of snakes lots of times.
00:22:35
Speaker
I don't know. Me and snakes don't get along. I mean, it was funny when my brother grabbed the screen door of our house when we were growing up and a snake had coiled around the door and I saw it through his hand. It was just a wiggling like that.
00:22:47
Speaker
And my brother said, yeah, because he scared of him too. But anyway, my dad actually worked in a snake farm, so he knew how to pick them up and stuff. But not me, buddy. I just go ahead chop off that head and we're done with it.
00:23:00
Speaker
But Galatians 5.1 tells us about our freedom. It says, it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
00:23:17
Speaker
You know, fear is mentioned 42 times in the New Testament, 42 times. And yet Jesus said, you know what? I've come to dispel that fear. Perfect love casts out fear, throws it out of our life.
00:23:31
Speaker
You know, the word here ah for deliver is an interesting word because Jesus came to deliver us from the fear of death. He said, deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
00:23:47
Speaker
And I thought, what is he talking about that word deliver? You know what? Whenever you read 2 Timothy 4, 6, he's not talking about, ah the physical death.
00:24:01
Speaker
He's talking about whenever we go to be with the Lord, he said, it's like Paul said, it's the time of my departure has come. So rather than looking at what you're giving up, rather than looking at your physical body and how it's shutting down,
00:24:16
Speaker
He says, know what? I'm departing. It's the same word. He's departing, and it's like a boat that's been tied up to a dock. And you know what's happening whenever someone that's in Christ passes away? Hey, it's not a bad thing.
00:24:30
Speaker
The rope is being untied from the dock. He's setting the mooring rope free, and he's saying, you're on your journey to go and be with the Father. There's nothing bad about that. It's nothing to dread.
00:24:43
Speaker
I'll never forget as a child who had never, never did I hear my dad say he was afraid of one thing. My dad was really a man of courage. But one day I heard my dad say, you know what, I'm afraid. she He told the whole family, we're sitting there having breakfast on a Saturday morning. We had chocolate gravy and biscuits. Some of you are thinking, What? you know But anyway, we had soft those biscuits in that chocolate gravy, and man, I couldn't take another bite because my dad said, you know what, Helen?
00:25:11
Speaker
I'm afraid to die. Maybe there's men here. You're not afraid of a lot of things in life. But something about death, it scares a lot of people, not just men, women as well, students, maybe children.
00:25:23
Speaker
But you know what? We shouldn't be afraid of death. My mom gently and humbly and respectfully said to my dad that day, you know why Jesus came?
Personal Stories of Faith and Comfort
00:25:32
Speaker
He came to deliver those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
00:25:39
Speaker
Don't be afraid. There was an evangelist named Vance Havner, and he and his wife were like inseparable. Her name was Sarah. They were always together. But you know what? It came time for Sarah to go home to be with the Lord.
00:25:53
Speaker
And it was really hard for Vance Havner. They knew it would be because she traveled with him and everything. But somebody one day said, hey, I'm sorry to hear that you lost your wife. And he said, no, I didn't lose her.
00:26:04
Speaker
I know right where she is. And he wrote a poem about it. And I thought it might bless you. Listen to this poem. Death can hide, but not divide.
00:26:15
Speaker
She is but on Christ's other side. She with Christ and Christ with me. United still in Christ are we.
00:26:27
Speaker
So he's saying, you know what? We may be separated physically, but we're not separated spiritually because Christ is with me and she is with Christ. Although that was such a wonderful poem that he wrote.
00:26:39
Speaker
you know, if you think about it, with Christ, men have an endless hope. Hope never ends for the Christian who is in Christ. when christ ah With Christ, endless hope.
00:26:51
Speaker
But without Christ, men have a hopeless end. Man, I encourage you to run to Christ. Great men in the past have ran to Christ. You know, they in the White House, there's a display case containing a Bible.
00:27:05
Speaker
The Bible is really well-worn. It was used by President Abraham Lincoln. It's opened, in the case, it's opened to one of his favorite passages, Psalm 34.
00:27:17
Speaker
And those who've seen it say, you know what? Psalm 34 and verse four has a smudge by it as though he told himself. He pointed to it every time he got afraid and he would go and read Psalm 34. And when he got to verse four, he would put his finger on it.
00:27:34
Speaker
Here's what it says. I sought the Lord and he delivered me from all my fears. What would it be like to have life where you're not afraid?
00:27:45
Speaker
You're not afraid of anything, not even death. I think that's why Jesus came. That's why he came into this world. Jesus came to this earth to so rescue us from the fear of death by offering us peace through his life.
00:28:00
Speaker
He delivers us from fear. He defeated the devil, and he can relate our humanity, but also Jesus is able to do a fourth thing. There's a light that is there.
00:28:11
Speaker
Jesus came as one who is able to help against temptation. I like what a ah scholar from the past, he's no longer with us, he's in glory, but his name's Matthew Henry.
00:28:24
Speaker
Matthew Henry wrote this. Christ didn't take on the nature of angels, so there is no hope for fallen angels. Isn't that amazing? Like the angels had already fallen and been cast out of heaven when Satan was cast out of heaven.
00:28:40
Speaker
And so Jesus could have said, you know what, I want to rescue those angels, so I'm going to take on their nature. Because the the nature of angels and the nature of men and women, boys and girls, totally different.
00:28:52
Speaker
So Jesus said, I want to rescue mankind. And so he took on our nature. He became like a man. And Jesus came to help people of faith like Abraham to be able to deal with temptation.
00:29:07
Speaker
You know, Abraham trusted Christ. He trusted God, what God told him. You know, I like the way that it says he came to help us. You know, verse 16 says, "...for surely it's not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." He can help you. He can help me with temptation.
00:29:33
Speaker
There's two different Greek words used for that one English word, help. Let me break it down for you. Verse 16, the two references to help means to take hold, to grip.
00:29:44
Speaker
Sort of like when Peter said, can I come out there on the waves and walk toward you? I can't believe Jesus, you're walking on the water. And Jesus said, come on. And he starts walking on the water and the wind blew and he got his eyes off Jesus and he began to sink.
00:29:58
Speaker
He said, help me Lord. He reached up his hand. Jesus took him by the hand. That's that idea of help. Whenever you cry out for help and someone takes you by the hand and says, I will not let go.
00:30:12
Speaker
Man, can you imagine the grip that Jesus Christ has? But how about verse 18? there's There's help. What help is there? It's it's a different word. It means to cry.
00:30:23
Speaker
It means to run. So it kind of puts both in there. Somebody's crying for help, but it's just like any mom, any dad in this room. If your son, your grandson, if they fall down, your granddaughter, they fall down, you're there.
00:30:37
Speaker
You go running. And that's the idea. They they cry for help. But the other idea is you come to the aid. That's the word for help. You know it's interesting that word for help is used in Acts 27, 17, not in a way that you would think.
00:30:54
Speaker
In Acts 27, 17, we're with the Apostle Paul and they're kind of being shipwrecked and they're in a storm and all these different things in the boat. It's it's just pulling apart.
00:31:05
Speaker
And so what they did was they had to do something called frapping. Not wrapping. I don't know, my Tennessee accent may be throwing you off. Frapping, not wrapping. But anyway, he's not wrapping a present. He's wrapping the ship.
00:31:19
Speaker
Do you know that I'm told that during ship storms, it can strain the seams of the ship. So on many voyages, what they would do is they would put in their ropes or cables or chain that they would put underneath the hull, bring it up around and tie it off, winch it together.
00:31:39
Speaker
And so that was what was supposed to help hold the ship together. And you know what the word is? It's helps. It's the same word, only it says in the ESV, they use supports to undergird the ship.
00:31:54
Speaker
Supports. You ever need support? Well, it's great because we have a high priest, Jesus, who can empower us to stand against the continual temptations that we face in this life.
00:32:07
Speaker
Let me close with one last one.
Salvation Through Christ's Death
00:32:09
Speaker
I believe that also a light that Jesus lights that nobody else could ever light. Jesus forgives us of sin. I don't know how you're going to take this, but I'm going to go ahead and just throw it out there.
00:32:21
Speaker
See what you think. The birth of Christ itself, the birth of Christ never saved anyone. The birth of Christ never saved anyone, but the death of Christ can save anyone.
00:32:38
Speaker
anyone, the whole the whole world. All they've got to do is turn in repentance and faith and trust in Jesus Christ. That's why you may think, why don't we go to Luke and why don't we learn about the shepherds and why don't we go to Matthew and see the wise men? We do. Lots of years we do.
00:32:58
Speaker
But this year, for some reason on my heart, the Lord said, tell them who the son is today. And so that's why we've come to Hebrews. I wanted to tell you what happened after the manger.
00:33:09
Speaker
Of course, coming to the manger was is miraculous. It was necessary. But so much happened after. And that's what verse 17 is all about.
00:33:20
Speaker
That's why Hebrews was written, to tell us about the supremacy of Jesus Christ. He's not a baby in a manger. No way. I encourage you to say, Lord, I need you to forgive me of my sins.
00:33:33
Speaker
You see, Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. Here it gives a big, long theological word. Maybe it' you've never read this word before, propitiation.
00:33:44
Speaker
He was going to make propitiation for the sins of the people. You know what? A guy named Stephen Cole said, really, when you see propitiation, you need to think of four things.
00:33:56
Speaker
The first thing you need to think of is somebody's been offended. And somebody's saying, i want the offense to go away. I want the offense to be taken away.
00:34:07
Speaker
Secondly, the offense has to be pacified. But then thirdly, the offending person is forgiven, but they're only forgiven after this fourth thing. a sacrifice to make atonement.
00:34:20
Speaker
There had to be a sacrifice for our forgiveness of our sins. And Jesus said, I'll go, I'll go, I'll make that sacrifice. Do you know that in the Bible, it just in Hebrews 13 times, Jesus is called high priest, high priest, high priest. Here he's called merciful and faithful high priest.
00:34:43
Speaker
You know, His justice could not overlook the sin. His love could not be indifferent to the sinner. So get this. Listen closely.
00:34:56
Speaker
When his righteousness, what his righteousness demanded, his love provided. It's so perfect. Don't you see? He's merciful and but he is also faithful.
00:35:10
Speaker
He's merciful toward us, but he's faithful to all God's demands, the Father's demands. So it's a perfect blending of righteousness, holiness, justice, all of those things. But then over on this side, there's grace and mercy and love and forgiveness. And I just think, wow, how could he do that? It just seems impossible.
00:35:34
Speaker
There was something else impossible just off the southern coast of Africa. Off the southern tip of Africa, there's a cape that juts out into the ocean. That area, for for those who were sailors, it had always been known for shipwrecks, for terrible storms, for rough disasters.
00:35:54
Speaker
So people nicknamed that cape down there and the waters around that cape, they nicknamed it the Cape of Storms. But they kept thinking, if we could ever find a way to go through that or around that, we can have trade like we've never seen before.
00:36:10
Speaker
And so there was Portuguese captain that said, you know what, I'm going to push through and I'm going to find the way that all of us are looking for. And so whenever he did it, he successfully made it.
00:36:21
Speaker
It was like he was one of the first. So they renamed the Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope. Sin causes great storms in lives.
00:36:34
Speaker
But you know what? There's a cape of good hope that's available in Christ. So why stay there in the storm that sin created? Why not come to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why not go to the high priest and say, Lord, you made a safe passage for us to go through.
00:36:50
Speaker
Christ's atonement and cleansing brings light into the darkness of our guilt and shame. Man, the Lord is so good.
Reflecting the Light of Christ
00:37:01
Speaker
It's not surprising that Jesus called himself the light of the world.
00:37:04
Speaker
John 8, 12 says, again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
00:37:15
Speaker
That's found in John 8, 12. So that's not surprising because of all those things I've just said. He entered into our struggle of physical limitation. He helped us with that skirmishes that we have with a spiritual adversary.
00:37:27
Speaker
He took away the shuddering that we feel over our final breath. He helps us stand against, you know, continual temptations. He takes away that shame over biblical compromises.
00:37:39
Speaker
So it's no wonder that he would be called the light of the world, right? But it may surprise you something else he said. Let's think about Matthew 5, 14 through 16.
00:37:51
Speaker
Here he says, through sixteen here he says you, and he's pointing to you and me, every one of us, he says, you are the light of the world.
00:38:04
Speaker
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who in heaven.
00:38:23
Speaker
Wow. You know what? That's what you and I have an opportunity to do this Christmas season. We have an opportunity to be the light, to say, you know what? I'm not the light.
00:38:34
Speaker
He's the light. But he brought such light into my dark life. I really want you to experience the light that's found only in Christ. You know, the angel said to the shepherds these words, fear not.
00:38:49
Speaker
For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day Savior who's Christ the Lord.
00:39:01
Speaker
You know what? It was nighttime when they heard those words. It was dark. But those angels and that message, it lit up the place. Maybe today you would say, my heart is lighting up.
00:39:14
Speaker
That's the Holy Spirit. He's trying to tell you the truth of the gospel message. So let's all stand together. I want us to close in a song. We've got a song that we want to give an opportunity for any that need to make a decision for Christ.
00:39:29
Speaker
Maybe there's somebody here and you'd say, boy, if I just had one more chance, one more opportunity to trust Christ, I'd do it. Well, we want to make sure you at least have the opportunity. Perhaps no one comes. That's okay.
00:39:41
Speaker
But I'm not going to just shut it down without giving the opportunity. So come on. If you need Jesus Christ, this is the day. Today's the day of salvation. You can trust him today. So why don't we go the Lord in prayer? Father, thank you so much for this passage of scripture.
00:39:56
Speaker
It really just told us the gospel, but it also told us the gospel starting with Christmas. And so how wonderful is that? I'm so glad you are the light and that you have brought your light into all of our dark hearts.
00:40:10
Speaker
So maybe there's someone here and they're still living in darkness. They don't have to They don't have to We each could bear testimony that if you just turn to Christ, he'll forgive you of your sins. You have to come and be repentant. You have to say, I'm sorry, Lord, but I want to turn toward Christ and follow him until my very last breath.
00:40:30
Speaker
And if we're willing to do that, He will bless us. He will continue to give us His light if we turn in repentance and faith in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:40:47
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.