I want to read from the beginning in the Epistle to the Hebrews. We will read tonight from Hebrews 2 as far as the first verse of Hebrews 3.
For this cause we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them.
For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard;
God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.For not unto angels did He subject the world to come, whereof we speak.
But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man, that Thou visitest him?
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour,
And didst set him over the works of Thy hands:
Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.For in that He subjected all things unto him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him.
But we behold Him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man.For it became Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying,I will declare Thy name unto My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation will I sing Thy praise.And again,
I will put My trust in Him.
And again,
Behold, I and the children which God hath given Me.
Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death He might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
For verily not to angels doth He give help, but He giveth help to the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore it behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus.
Lord, we do thank You for what You have recorded. We do thank You that You disclose to us so much that is in Your heart, and so much to which You are devoted.
We thank You that You have indicated how jealous You are concerning us, how concerned for us, and reminded us of how often You visit us in view of Your thoughts and purpose toward us. O Lord, it is incredible.
But, Lord, we thank You that it is so, and it does inspire us to give attention to what You have written and to what You mean by what You have shown us. We trust that tonight You are going to quicken us to hear, to listen, to learn, to receive, to rejoice, to be lifted and inspired by that which You bring to us here tonight.
We thank You, Lord. O bless Your Word, and let it not be the word of man, but Your Word, we pray, for Your name’s sake. Amen.
You already know, I suppose, that it is proposed that we give attention to the Epistle to the Hebrews during these three evenings that we are together. You would be quite justified in thinking, “How impossible to give adequate attention to this epistle in three evenings.”
Well, that is quite true. It is presumptuous, in a way, to launch into any kind of study of this epistle with such limited time. But the Lord may be able to pack in something that will inspire and lift us and keep us on course.
I have been impressed of late with how unique this epistle is. It is so different from any of the other epistles which we have. How precious they are—the letters of Peter, the letters of Paul, the letters of John. Yet this one is perhaps supreme among them all: unique and different.
Why? Why?
Because, in the first place, there is so much of the Old Testament brought into this epistle—more than we find in any other. Have you thought of that? Why is there so much of the Old Testament crammed into this epistle?
Some people, of course, may find it a bit dry and difficult because there is such reference to the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the priesthood, and so on. But this is one of the things that makes the epistle unique and different.
Another feature is how much history is brought in here, unlike the other epistles. In the other letters, we have quite a lot of teaching and application, of course—inevitably—but not so much historical record whereby we are able to learn.
Another thing that makes this epistle different and unique is the many alarms that are sounded. Of course, we do get practical application of the teaching in other letters. For example, three chapters in Ephesians are given to teaching, and three chapters are given to practical application. We are not always so ready to listen to the application.
But there it is invariably in the other epistles: faithful application of the doctrine or teaching that is provided. Here, not less, but rather more, there are warnings—alarm signals—more prevalent than in some of the others.
This epistle is also unique in that there is reference to the many sacrifices, with emphasis particularly upon the one. For example, the first verses of Hebrews 10 are very wonderful. Here we have reference to the many sacrifices, but only to lead us to the importance of the one offering.
Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law),
then hath He said, Lo, I am come to do Thy will.
He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.
By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
but He, when He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
henceforth expecting till His enemies be made the footstool of His feet.
For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
How tremendous the one offering is when set against, or in the light of, the many sacrifices.
At the dedication of the temple, you may remember, Solomon—or the people—offered twenty-two thousand sheep and one hundred and twenty bulls. How awful it must have been: blood everywhere, thousands of animals, so many offerings. You say, “Well, that is nauseating.” But what was the purpose?
Well, one thing the many offerings underlined was the sinfulness of sin. Do you not think so? The sinfulness of sin was underlined by those offerings. But also, the value of the blood.
But by one offering—by one offering—all has been provided for. By one offering, He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
Perfected—what does that mean? In other words, sanctified. And what does that mean? Set apart. Secured and set apart for God for all time.
When you think about those five offerings at the beginning of Leviticus—you know there are five offerings. What is the first? Come on, you do a bit of work. What is the first? The burnt offering. The meal offering. No, no, I am wrong—the peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering.
What was covered by those five offerings? Why five offerings? Because there was so much to be fulfilled in the one that it was necessary for it to be spread out, as it were, over five.
The burnt offering celebrates the devotion—the utter, complete devotion—of the Son to the Father:
Lo, I am come to do Thy will, O God,
As it is written of Me.
The meal offering speaks of the perfections of Christ. There is no reference to blood in that offering, but to the perfections of Christ, as brought out particularly in the Gospel of Luke. Luke says, as it were, “Behold the Man.” See the Man at prayer; see the Man in ministry; see the Man crucified—the Man, the perfection of the Man.
I was travelling on a train in India some years ago, and I gave a tract—a gospel booklet, Deliverance from Sin—to a young man sitting next to me. I did not say anything; I let him read it. Sometimes, you know, we give something away and then interrupt their opportunity to read it.
But he read it through, and then he said, “How could the death of one benefit many?” Well, that is a problem, is it not? How could the death of one benefit so many? I said to him, “It depends upon the one. Who is the one?”
You see, the meal offering expresses and illustrates the perfection of the Man. It had to be a devoted Man; it had to be a perfect Man in whom was no sin.
The peace offering speaks of making peace. But then there is the sin offering. You see, three sweet-savour offerings and two sin sacrifices. I suppose you know all about those Levitical offerings—you should do, anyway. They are a wonderful outline of what was in the one sacrifice.
So this is the precious thing about the Epistle to the Hebrews: the many are mentioned, but the one stands out as supreme and all-embracing, fulfilling the idea and thought of the many.
Then also, in Hebrews, we have many priests. What a succession of priests—from Aaron’s consecration and his sons right through to New Testament times. Many priests, but death overtook them. That is why there had to be many: death overtook them and terminated their ministry.
But in Hebrews, it is the one—the one Priest, in the power of an endless life, after the order of Melchizedek, King-Priest. That makes Hebrews significant.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews there are the two churches. Did you ever know there are two churches in the Bible? Yes, there are. There is the Old Testament church, and there is the New Testament church.
The church in the wilderness is found in Acts 7:38. It is the ecclesia. You see, in Acts 7:38, Stephen is speaking about the people of God in the wilderness. Your Bible may say “the congregation,” or some translations may say “the church,” but whichever you have, whether church or congregation, it is the Greek ecclesia: the called-out company, the church in the wilderness.
We have that in the Epistle to the Hebrews: the church in the wilderness failing—failing. That is the sad reference to the church in the wilderness, how it failed.
But there is the other church, the present-day church: the church of the firstborn sons, in Hebrews 12.
But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
The church of the firstborn sons. Now, that is a significant reference—a significant title for the church of our day.
You know, the firstborn had an inheritance in view. To be the firstborn was a tremendous privilege. I am a twin. My brother was half an hour before me, so he has a right more than I have. Of course, the inheritance is long decided, because that has been gone a long time. But anyway, the firstborn has a birthright—a particular birthright.
The church of the firstborn ones, of which you and I are members, has a peculiar right and privileged future. So there are the two churches in Hebrews. That makes it significant and unique.
Then there is another thing. There are two places mentioned for the church and for the individual—for you and I as individuals, and for the church. Do you know what they are? Come on now, tell me. What are the two places to which the believer has a right, and to which the church also has a right?
Within the veil—within the veil is one. So much in Hebrews really builds up to that, does it not? Within the veil.
But what is the other place?
Of course, we had better read about within the veil. Hebrews 10, verse 19, speaks about the rent curtain giving access by a new way into the holiest of all.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
by the way which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;
and having a great Priest over the house of God;
let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for He is faithful that promised:
and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;
not forsaking our own assembling together.
Within the veil: that is a place to which we individually, as believers, are entitled, and to which the church also, as the body of firstborn ones, is entitled.
What is the other place? That is right: outside the camp. That is another place which belongs to us, and belongs to the church—outside the camp.
Not so nice, is it? Of course not. But it is very much a part of God’s purpose being fulfilled and of His bringing us into the fullness of His plan: outside the camp.
We read about that in Hebrews 13.
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp.
Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered without the gate.
Now, that was really some of His agony: cursed of God, outside, cast outside—outside all that religious system that had built up. That was the price He paid in order to deal with sin.
Let us therefore go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.
So our place is with Him outside the camp. Those two places we should regard as privilege. We may not so readily accept the latter as privilege, but our Lord said about His disciples in Luke 9:23 that this was the place for us—with Him outside.
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Anyone who wishes to come after Me—come out to Me. Take up your cross and come out to Me.
Following Him has a wonderful objective and a wonderful reward, but it begins with true identification with Him outside the camp, outside the gate.
We are not dealing with that just now. I am only saying that this is a characteristic or a feature of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It distinguishes Hebrews from the other epistles, and that is the thing that impresses me. That is what has made me think and pray and feel that I had something to share with you.
But now, let us establish four things. We cannot adequately deal with this wonderful epistle in three nights, but if we can establish four things, we may be able to go back to the Word ourselves and gather much that is precious.
Now, those four are quite distinct, and I think it is important for us to get hold of them. Then we have stepping stones into the preciousness of this epistle.
What is the subject? We are told what the subject is in Hebrews 2:5.
For not unto angels did He subject the world to come, whereof we speak.
“Whereof we speak”—that indicates surely the subject of this epistle. What is it? The world to come. The world to come, or the age to come, or the day to come, we might say.
There are two distinct days in the history of our God with the men of this planet. One is man’s day, and the other is God’s day—the Lord’s Day.
At present, it is our day. But how soon it may be His day. He must have His day, surely. We have had our day; we are having our day still. He must have His day, and there is so much in the Word about His day: the day of the Lord.
That is another term for this—the age to come, the world to come.
Perhaps we do not hear enough about the world to come. We get so occupied with this time, with this world. We are confronted and continually oppressed by its pressures, its opinions, its ways, and its power. The age to come, the world to come—do we really think enough about it? Do we pay attention to what Scripture says about it?
I was telling you, Mac, this evening that in a little provincial town in our country called Kidderminster, there is a monument in the square. It is a monument to a man named Richard Baxter.
Richard Baxter was one of the old saints of the old days—a great man. He had a membership in his church of three thousand. It was said of him that he was in doubt of the eternal destiny of only six of his three thousand members. That is staggering, is it not? In doubt of the eternal destiny of only six of his three thousand members.
I thought, “Ooh, he must have been a good shepherd. He knew all his sheep.” Yes, but how could two thousand nine hundred and ninety-four have come to such a clear, certain position regarding the future?
So I read some of his sermons. I did not read them all—I could not—but I read some of his sermons. They were all about the world to come: the world to come, the world to come. How do we get ready for the future? How are we fit for the day of the Lord if we have not given attention to that day which is to come and prepared suitably?
The subject of this epistle is the world to come. Surely that not only makes it interesting, but demands our attention.
But what is the theme of this letter? The theme is in Hebrews 2:10: bringing many sons to glory.
For it became Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
What a major task, but what a glorious task: bringing many sons to glory.
Not babies—not babies. We all begin our Christian life as babies, do we not? As children. That is where life begins. But He is not bringing babies to heaven, not bringing babies to glory; He is bringing many sons to glory.
Now, you will realise what that implies. If you do not, we may learn about it as we go on. There is a difference between children and sons.
But that is the theme of this epistle: bringing many sons to glory. What glory? The glory of the world to come.
What glory! Have you not read about the age to come and the wonders, glories, and splendours of the world to come? Give attention in Scripture to what it tells us about the day of the Lord—the age to come.
The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Lord will rule in righteousness, and there will be peace. He will be known in all the earth in worship, and all the animals will be reconciled to one another—the age to come, the wonders of the age to come.
Bringing many sons to the glory of the world to come. We cannot imagine it.
Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not,
And which entered not into the heart of man,
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love Him.
But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit.
The theme of this epistle is bringing many sons to glory. That was the exercise, that was the concern, of our Lord: “Father, that they may see; that they may share My glory.”
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:14 that we are called by the gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. When I read that—perhaps ten years after I was born of God—I had a purpose for living, a purpose for holiness: called by the gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, that is the theme. What is the glory that He has, to which He is bringing us, or desires to bring us?
It is the most holy place. It is to be as near to the Father as it is possible to be. It is to know God as He really is and to have intercourse—communion—with Him in the freedom that belongs to a new dimension in our spiritual knowledge and experience.
What is the subject of the letter? The world to come—the age to come. And what is the theme? Bringing many sons to glory.
Now, to whom is this epistle written? We learn that from Hebrews 3:1: “Holy brethren.”
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus.
Here we are regarded as sons—potential sons, anyway—holy brethren.
This reminded me that the main emphasis and message of this epistle is to those who have gone some distance in spiritual Christian experience. Because “holy brethren” surely implies that, does it not? They have gone some way in Christian experience, but evidently not all the way yet. That is why this epistle is directed to holy brethren.
If we read the first two chapters of Hebrews, then we can understand that word which begins the third chapter: “Therefore.” It speaks about the great salvation not to be neglected, and the great future which He has been specially equipped to secure for us and bring us into.
For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Wonderful, when the Lord says, “My brother, My brother.”
I will declare Thy name unto My brethren.
Behold, I and the children whom God hath given Me.
I used to find it difficult to understand those words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, where he speaks about “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” His inheritance in the saints. It is difficult to understand how there can be anything for God in us, is it not?
But when He has deposited so much, there is something from Him in you and me—if the adversary does not steal it.
Holy brethren indicates some advance, some experience in the Christian life, but not the end. Holiness is not the end. There is something more.
I was thinking only yesterday, I think it was, what was the purpose of all the discipline that Job experienced? When he was declared by the Lord to be a righteous man, why all that which followed?
Somebody suggested it was to make the righteous man a holy man. But I had another thought yesterday. All the discipline, all the agony, all the suffering that Job experienced was surely to give him maturity—to bring him to maturity, experience more than he had experienced.
So that at the end he could say:
I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear;
But now mine eye seeth Thee.
He saw something more. He knew something more at the end. All that discipline was not lost. It was not just something to be endured and got through, got rid of. It was something that he gained by.
There is a lot of reference in this epistle to discipline. Why? Because it is sons who are going to come to glory, not babies.
So the letter is addressed to holy brethren—those who are on the way, but who have not completed their course yet. Because their course is not completed, there is still some danger.
As the church of the Old Testament failed, so the people of God in the Old Testament are quoted in these early chapters—Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4. The history is used to illustrate dangers that are still besetting us, and which may result in our missing the mark, falling short of the eternal purpose of God.
We should take heed.
Fourthly, what is the message of this epistle? It is expressed, I believe, if we want to put it in a few words—though of course it is spread throughout the whole letter—in Hebrews 4:1.
Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.
Let us fear lest we should seem to have come short.
Or in Hebrews 6:1:
Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.
Press on to maturity. Press on. Maturity is what matters.
We do not gain maturity in the first days, or perhaps the first years, of our Christian experience.
You know, there are two perfections in Scripture. There is the perfection of the baby when it is born: everything is there—five fingers, five toes, ears, eyes, and so on.
I suppose the first question of most mothers might be—I do not know, because I am not a mother—after the birth of the baby: “Is it all right? Is it all right?” That means, “Is it complete? Has it got everything that should be there?”
Well, there is a perfection at birth, just as there is a perfection for you and me when we are born of God. If we were taken immediately to heaven, there is a perfection that satisfies God because it is His perfection communicated to us.
But there is a perfection, too, that comes with the passing of time, with maturing and development. What does development take us to reach? The climax of our growth—about forty years, is it not? We may gain a little more wisdom later on, but there is a perfection when you have some manhood, womanhood.
So, in Christian experience, there is perfection at the beginning because all that is of Him—perfect as He is—is put to our credit. But the Lord leaves us here in order to perfect us into manhood, womanhood, maturity, and stature.
Now here, in Hebrews 3:1, which perhaps is our key—our starting point in our study of the letter—we have an indication that having begun in holiness does not mean security.
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
If everything were secure automatically, then there would be no need to receive or hear such an exhortation. But holy brethren, holy brethren, you are a target. You are a target of the adversary.
There are still within you weaknesses that may surface and result in your missing the mark, falling short, not attaining unto the glory that is to be revealed when He shall come.
Holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus.
The Apostle Paul is one who expounds the heavenly calling. He refers to it in Philippians 3, where he tells us about his exercises.
Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul was not sure of really attaining to that for which the Lord had laid His hand upon him. So he was still reaching forward, realising the necessity to keep his own body in subjection, lest, having preached to others, he should himself be disqualified in the end.
He views Christian experience, as we know so well, as participating in a race or in the games.
We have just had what we call the World Olympics in Barcelona. They originated in the region of Mount Olympus in Greece, and in the beginning there were only those who were born Greeks who could participate in those Olympics. Birth determined participation in the race.
Birth determines, indeed, our participation in any exercise toward the glory that is to be revealed, into which the blessed Lord would bring us. But it requires exercise also.
There are two wondrous things, wonderful things, God’s grace offers to us all. One is a gift: the gift of life, for which we do nothing except offer an empty hand to receive the gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But once we have the gift, there is now a future—a glorious future—for us. It is a prize, though. It is that we might have part in the first resurrection and reign with Christ during His thousand-year reign, the millennial period, the age to come.
That is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in Philippians. He says in Philippians 3:11, “That I may attain to the resurrection from the dead,” or “the resurrection out from among the dead,” as it may more literally be rendered.
Paul never had any doubt about his resurrection, but he was not sure about participating in this first resurrection. So he was stretching forward in order to gain that prize.
We read in Revelation that there are those who are going to miss the age to come—that is, the millennial rule of our Lord—because they did not have part in the first resurrection.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.
The out-resurrection from the dead—that is about which Paul is speaking and reaching forward. The prize is twofold, no doubt: part in that resurrection, and to sit with Christ in His throne—to rule with Christ.
If this is before us, then surely such a destiny determines our behaviour, does it not?
I believed when I was a young Christian that I should be holy, but somehow I did not have any idea why, except that God is holy and I must be holy.
But when Hebrews tells us, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord,” that sets us on course, surely, for holiness. But not holiness only: maturity, gaining all we can in preparation for the privilege and responsibility of reigning with Christ in His millennial kingdom.
We sometimes say, “Well, wonderful to be a child of God, wonderful to be an heir of God, wonderful to be a prince or a princess.” But we must be sure whether we are going to attain to that throne and that glory to which we are called by the gospel.
That is what Hebrews is all about. It is about bringing many sons to glory, realising that many have run but have not completed their course.
Israel came out of the wilderness; only two of the first generation entered the land. Even those who entered, conquered, and possessed did not fully possess. That is what we read here in Hebrews. They never reached the rest.
They shall not enter into My rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience,
He again defineth a certain day, Today, saying in David so long a time afterward, even as hath been said before,
Today if ye shall hear His voice,
Harden not your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken afterward of another day.
So even Joshua, where it does say in the Book of Joshua that they conquered the land, still had pockets of resistance. There still remained those who were of the enemy. Though they may have been subdued and subjected to servitude, nevertheless they did not fully conquer. There remained something lacking.
There can still be in you and in me, brothers and sisters, those elements that really hinder our going on, growing up, treading down the enemy, and fully possessing our inheritance.
We are not to neglect so great a salvation. We are not to despise our birthright, as Esau did, and sell it.
There are temptations. There are sideways and byways into which you and I can get spiritually, which will trap us, misguide us, and get us off course, so that we do not attain to that to which we have been called.
That is why this letter to the Hebrews is both precious and solemn.
So many people find it difficult to understand some of these portions in Hebrews. We will not have time to deal with all of them, or adequately even with some of them. But realise what it is all about. It is all about finishing our course.
Paul says in Philippians that he had not yet attained. He was not yet sure of the prize—that was the upward calling, the high calling, the out-resurrection from the dead, to reign with Christ.
He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne.
Some say, “Oh, well, I am not interested in sitting on thrones.” Aren’t you? “I am not interested in being a king or reigning with Christ. I am satisfied if I get to heaven.”
Well, all right. But if you want to please the Lord, if you want to satisfy Him, you will say, “What He proposes, I will not be satisfied without. I must have what He proposes, because I love Him, because I owe so much to Him. I want to satisfy Him.”
It is not that I may choose something less and say, “Well, I am in the kingdom. That is enough.” But you are called to reign, called to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I do not remember which year it was, but when Meg and I were in India, our Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip came to India and Pakistan. We were invited to the reception in Madras. That did not mean sitting down at a banquet with the Queen and the Prince. It just meant that, in the boat club, we had opportunity just to see them and be greeted.
Well, I was not in Madras; I was in Pakistan. But the Queen and the Duke came to Pakistan too. So I thought, “Well, at least I shall have a chance to see the Queen, and the Queen will see me.”
So I went and stood on the side of the road where they were coming from the airport to the city of Rawalpindi. I was the only European, and there were not too many Indians. So I thought, “Surely the Queen will see me.” And when she came by, she looked the other way.
But I am a citizen of the kingdom. I am still a British subject, but I am not very privileged. I do not have much standing with Her Majesty.
But the Lord wants us to have standing with Him. He wants us to be of His privy council. This is what He has called us to. This is what He has provided for. It is for this that He suffered—suffered death, the death of the cross.
Should you and I be indifferent to our inheritance? Should we be like Esau, despise our birthright, and sell it for something less? Should we be caught up with the attractions—apparent attractions—and rewards of this life, and miss the supreme goal and purpose of God in the world to come?
I am not for doing that. Are you?
So let us give heed, and let us realise that Hebrews is a message for today.
When we were praying in the room before we came here, one brother prayed that today we might hear His voice. That was the Lord’s desire, and that is the Lord’s complaint: that people do not hear.
We are living at a time, you know, when there is a lot of noise. But we get used to it, and we do not really hear it.
We are in a time when there is a lot of speech which we could understand. We are hearing it, but we are not listening. Some people have their radio going all the time. They are hearing, but they are not listening. Some people have their television going all day long. They are seeing, but they are not looking.
This is characteristic of our time, and we must beware lest we do not hear what He wants to say to us today.
Today, if you hear His voice, hearken and respond.
Let us give ourselves and commit ourselves to know more fully the will of God for our lives—not now only, but for the future. Let us have appetite and ambition for the career of the future.
A young Indian man said to me one day, “I do not see why I cannot do this and that.” He was an officer in the Indian army, and he was referring to the things that were done in the officers’ mess: the drink, the dance, and all the other things. He said, “I do not see why I cannot have these things.”
Then he said, “When I was studying for my B.A., I had something to work for. When I had my B.A., I worked for my M.A., and I got my M.A. I had something to work for.”
I said, “Now, if you are a child of God, you have something to work for. You have a prize before you. If you were chosen to be one of Britain’s viceroys of India, you would say, ‘Hmm, that is worthwhile.’ And if the King said, ‘Well, to be My viceroy, you have to put in a bit of work. You have to show yourself suited and equipped,’ you would say, ‘Oh yes, that is reasonable enough.’”
So it is if we are called to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ—if we are called to sit with Him in His throne and share with Him in His responsibilities in the age to come.
What an unspeakable privilege. But what preparation must be made; what maturity must be attained, so that we may give Him the pleasure of seeing the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
Well, I suppose that is enough for now. Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we have to admit that we have seen but the outskirts of Your ways, and we have heard but a whisper of You. But, Lord, thank You that You have begun to open our eyes by Your Word and by Your Spirit, bringing us into its truth. We thank You.
O, we thank You that You have given us a purpose: to live, and to live on the highest plane; to attain unto manhood in spiritual things; to maturity, to likeness, and conformity to Your dear Self.
Lord, You have given us sufficient incentive, encouragement, and inspiration that we do now reach forward and say, “O Lord, do not let us miss the way. Do not let us be sidetracked. Do not let us get caught up with the trivial things of this world.”
Do not let us be beguiled or seduced by the things that seem permissible, but which are not helpful or productive of godliness, nearness to God, and progress in the experience of Yourself, we do pray.
O Lord, let not Your Word be in vain. Let not the treasures that are here in Your Word—the warnings, the advice, and the provisions—miscarry or fail to serve the purpose of Your heart: perfectness, holiness, and the fear of the Lord, making us suited for the future to which You are calling us.
Lord, show us our destiny if we are the children of God, and let our destiny influence our behaviour now—our attention to You and to Your Word. We pray, O Lord, hear us, for Your name’s sake. Amen.