CALL TO CONFESSION

Hebrews 4:14-16

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Heavenly Father, Help us to come before you with reverence and joy—not with fear or pride. Give us a holy confidence, knowing you are our faithful, covenant-keeping God. We trust that because of your promise, you will never abandon or reject us.

Forgive us, Lord, for we have not been faithful followers. We confess that our hearts do not always match the words we speak in worship. We have used your name carelessly. We have taken your kindness for granted while continuing to sin. We have chased after things that harm us, and we have ignored your greatest mercies. We admit that we are unfit to direct our own steps or choose what is best for ourselves.

Lord Jesus, You walked the path of perfect obedience in our place. Though we are weak and inconsistent, you never change. Because you are the same yesterday, today, and forever, our faltering faith finds a steady resting place in your strength and love. Jesus, we thank you.

Holy Spirit, Without your help, we would hide from you in shame. Thank you for giving us the faith—whether great or small—to enter your presence today. Please continue your work in us. Strengthen our weak faith until it is bold in your power. Make us rich in faith and steady in our hope. Lord, increase our faith. In Christ’s name, Amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

Hebrews 7:23-25

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 

24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

• We have had a wonderful year of encouragement from the book of Acts, as we’ve seen how the gospel has continued to progress after Jesus’ ascension, starting in Jerusalem and spreading to Judea, to Samaria, and even now to the ends of the earth.
• We’ve seen Acts filled with the encouraging stories of the apostles and the early church and their example of being spirit filled witnesses to the lost, to the jews, and then to the gentiles.
• And it seems like every step along the way we’ve been encouraged to be bold in our proclamation of the gospel, because Jesus has been and still is building his church!
• Just like a builder builds a house, Jesus is building his church!
• And from our passage today, I want us to consider the builder of the church universal--Jesus.
• I want us to look to Jesus, the son and builder of the house and be encouraged that our perseverance in our faith is evidence of the hope we have in him.

Hebrews 3:1-6

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Therefore, 

• Leading up to this passage in the first 2 chapters of Hebrews, the author puts forth an incredible argument for the supremacy of Christ over everything. 
• In Hebrews chapter 1 we see Jesus is greater than the prophets and the angels.
• He is the son of God, heir of all things, the one through whom the whole world was created!
• He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature, the one who upholds the universe by the word of his power!
• And who, after making purification for sins, is now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high!
• In Hebrews chapter 2 we see him crowned with glory, and with honor, everything in subjection to him, because he accomplished our salvation through his suffering on the cross!
• And now the author says “Therefore,”! 
• Therefore, because of all these great and glorious truths of chapters 1 and 2, therefore holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus!

Who Is To Consider Jesus

holy brothers, 

• And notice who is called to consider Jesus? Those who:
• Are Holy
• Are brothers (and sisters)
• Share in a heavenly calling
• Being holy is an identity we share if we are in Christ.
• How can we be holy if we know that we’ve sinned, we continue to sin?
• We are Holy because God has called us, saved us, is sanctifying us, the holy spirit is at work in us, and He uses our lives for his great and glorious plans, for our good and for his glory! 
• 2 Tim 1:9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”
• Maybe you're sitting there and you don’t feel holy this morning. So let me remind you that in Christ you’ve been given that identity. Be reminded this morning that he is working out a process of sanctification in your life! 
• Those who believe are both holy and set apart to the Lord, and also are in the process of being made holy as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to conform us more and more to be like Christ.
• Maybe you don’t feel holy because you are justifying your sin.
• That is taking a low view of the significance of your sin! Your sin is indeed an offense before God but if you are in Christ then you ARE holy and therefore you should see sin as something to cast away because the very One who saved you and called you is holy and did so from his own purpose and grace!
• And those who have a holy identity should consider Jesus.
• He calls them not just holy but holy brothers, members of the household of God.
• If you have trusted in Christ, then be reminded today that you are a member of the family of God and therefore, consider Jesus and look upon him!
• This spiritual family you are a part of is not insignificant. We all love our families and our extended families. I am blessed to have many of my family here today! And I love them dearly, I am so thankful for them.
• But I am also family with all who have likewise trusted in Christ! We are brothers and sisters in the household of faith! Joined together in Christ! This is why as we consider Christ and look to him, we must not forsake gathering together as a family of faith!

you who share in a heavenly calling, 

• That faith is what we share and hold in common. We read here that we share in a heavenly calling!
• An effectual calling that God has done in calling us and drawing us to himself that we might receive the free gift of salvation!
• This isn’t a calling we place upon ourselves. This isn’t a calling we inherit from our parents or is given to us by the church. It’s a calling from the Lord.
• 2 Peter 1:3 reminds us of this where Peter writes “3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”
• Our call out of darkness and into light, our hearts being opened to the gospel and our reception of so great a salvation is a calling for his own glory and excellence!
• We are no longer citizens of this world, we are called now with a heavenly calling, as citizens of heaven, and we are passing through this world to that glorious place!
• Church, as you consider Jesus and look to him, remember that the very reason you do so is that there is a divine, heavenly calling you have, that you share with your brothers and sisters in Christ!
• We look forward to a heavenly home that awaits us in glory. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom! 
• So why do we get so focused on lesser callings? Our careers, our occupations. Our hobbies, our pursuits. 
• These are earthly callings. They are temporary. Some are necessary for this life, but do we live as if they are our greatest calling, or do we perform them with recognition that our highest calling is a heavenly one, an eternal one?
• I think back to how we saw in our study of the book of Acts that Paul was a tent maker. We know he made tents. But that wasn’t his primary purpose. It was a means of making a living. But his life was lived with his primary, his heavenly calling in mind - to be a chosen instrument of the Lord to carry his name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
• And for you likewise then, given that you are holy, you have been made holy, and given that you are brothers and sisters in Christ, and given the heavenly calling you share, given all that:

Consider Jesus The Apostle of Our Confession

consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 

• Consider Jesus! Look at him! Focus your eyes, your thoughts, and your lives on him every day! As we come into the new year, consider Jesus and look to him every day!
• Look to Him who is the apostle and high priest of our confession!
• You might find it strange that Jesus is called an Apostle.
• And why does the writer of this letter connect the terms ‘apostle’ and ‘high priest’ together in how holy brothers who share a heavenly calling are to consider Jesus?
• John 20:21 Jesus says “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
• The Father sent Jesus. He is sent by the Father, he witnesses the Father to us, he shows us the Father. He bears the rights, the power, and the authority of the Father who sent him to us.
• And so Jesus is given here the title of the apostle of our confession as he was sent from heaven from the Father down to earth for us.

Consider Jesus The High Priest of Our Confession

• But he is also the high priest of our confession. A high priest goes on our behalf, representing us before God and interceding for us. Jesus is our high priest!
• Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
• Because Jesus is the Christ, he holds the office of both apostle and high priest. The witness from God to us, and the one who advocates to the Father for us.
• He is both an apostle bearing witness of the Father to us and he is our great high priest representing us, interceding for us, to the Father!
• So therefore consider him! Look to him! Because he is our apostle. Because he is our high priest.
• Church, take pause in your hectic lives, busy schedules, day to day and year to year activities, and consider Jesus! Focus your thoughts and dwell upon him! 
• Consider the love he has shown you, the immense grace and mercy he has poured out upon you, remember the sacrifice he has made for you, be overwhelmed by the richness of his excellencies, and be amazed that he witnesses the Father to us, and pleads our case to the Father, even now, and throughout our lives!
• Remember that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, who points to his sacrifice on the cross as evidence of our pardon!
• What should we see when we look at him that gives us confidence and hope?

Jesus Was Faithful Just as Moses Was Faithful

2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.

• To answer that, the writer here lays out in the next couple verses a comparison of Jesus to Moses and his conclusion is that for as great as Moses was, as faithful as Moses was, as glorified as Moses was, Jesus was even more so! 
• Jesus is superior, and Jesus ranks higher and greater than Moses, and this isn’t to diminish Moses in any sense but to exalt Christ!
• The writer starts with a comparison of their faithfulness.
• Verse 2 [Jesus] who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
• The audience this letter was written to would have had a high high view of Moses.
• Moses spoke to the people on God’s behalf, he spoke directly with God at the burning bush, up on Mount Sinai, and at other times. 
• That is an incredible relationship for a man to have with the Lord.
• This is what the Lord himself says of Moses in Numbers 12:6-8 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord.
• What an unbelievable statement to be made from God about a man! To describe him as faithful in all my house!
• That speaks to the character, the meekness of Moses and his love and faithfulness to the Lord!
• And the writer in Hebrews references that faithfulness, in comparing Jesus to Moses, saying that Jesus was faithful to his Father, the one who appointed him heir of all things, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
• Jesus was obedient and faithful to the Father, as he came to earth, died on the cross, rose triumphant and faithfully completed all that the Father had appointed for him to do to accomplish our salvation!

It’s God’s House

• Now what does the writer mean by referring to God’s house? We saw that term used in both the Numbers passage regarding Moses and now referenced here as well.
• It’s referring to the people of God. This isn’t a physical house. It’s not the temple many Jewish readers might have pictured. In fact, the temple hadn’t been built yet while Moses was alive. It’s referring to God’s house, and that is God’s people.
• Moses was faithful to God in his care and love for God’s people, Israel.
• Likewise, Jesus was faithful to his Father in his sacrificial love and care for God’s people, the church.
• The apostle Paul likewise uses the term for God’s people as the “household of God” in 1 Timothy 3, which "is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth."
• How dare we ever take lightly or take for granted the church?
• It is the church of the living God! The people of God! A pillar and buttress of the truth in a dark and sinful world that wars against all that is good and holy, so then how can we take that household for granted!?
• Praise God Jesus didn’t take the church for granted! He was faithful to his Father who appointed him to complete all that was necessary for our salvation, just as Moses was faithful in all of God’s house.
• The writer, having compared Jesus and Moses in their faithfulness, goes on to contrast them in two significant ways.

Jesus is the Builder of the House But Moses was a part of the house

3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 

• The first way Jesus is contrasted is that he is counted worthy of more glory than Moses because he is the Builder of the house.
• While Moses ranked pretty high up there on the list of prophets, the glory that shone from his face after entering the presence of the Lord was but a reflection of His glory. 
• Moses wasn’t the builder of the house. He was a part of the house, God's people.
• He reflected the glory of his Lord, but Christ, he is the Lord! Jesus is the builder of the house, and therefore counted worthy of more glory than Moses!
• A magnificent house is impressive. But we don’t attribute its impressiveness to itself. It didn’t build itself. We attribute it to the skillful builder who, piece by piece, brick by brick, stone by stone, built the house up into something magnificent and wonderful.
• 1 Peter 2:5 “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house”
• Moses was a living stone in the spiritual house. Jesus was the builder.
• Jesus can build the house because he is God. In verse 4 we’re told that every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
• Moses wasn’t the builder, God was. Moses simply pointed ahead towards the one who would come, the Savior of the world, the true builder of a spiritual house, the people of God.
• Notice in verse 5 it says Moses was to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.
• He testified to the coming Savior, but Jesus, he was that Savior!
• Therefore, Jesus is counted worthy of more glory than Moses!
• The apostle John recalls that glory with amazement, "we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth!” (John 1:14)

Jesus is a son in the house, Moses was a servant in the house

5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.

• Jesus is contrasted as a Son in the house, whereas Moses, was a servant in the house.
• If you are invited to Buckingham palace or some other stately residence, and you are so honored that when you show up you bring a nice gift with you. And the butler or caretaker, though holding a dignified position within the household, would not be the recipient of the gift you brought. Their responsibility is to take you into the house and present you to the son of the house, who holds a greater honor and authority than the butler or caretaker.
• Jesus said, no servant is greater than his master.
• And so Jesus as the son of the house is greater than Moses, a servant in the house.
• Moses as a prophet of the Lord was surely a man to be respected and honored. But even more so is Jesus! 
• Jesus is the Son of God, the heir of all things. He is the one who was humbled to come to earth as a baby, born in the likeness of man, to die on a wooden cross and rise again securing salvation for the household of God, making us co-heirs with him of eternal life!
• And he is the one God has now exalted, he is the one who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, he is the one who has been given the name above all other names, he is the Lord!
• Moses, as a servant, looked ahead to Christ, the Son. His life was lived faithfully because it was lived for the Son, even before he had come!
• Hebrews 11:24-26 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
• Moses had an eternal perspective. And that is the eternal perspective you and I are to share as well as we look back on Christ who came for us!

There Is Only One House

• There is only one house referenced here in this passage. One people of God, spanning all history. 
• In the Old Testament, Moses and the people of God were his people, his house, looking forward to the coming promised Messiah, the Christ who would accomplish their salvation once and for all.
• And now in the New Testament, continuing on now and till Christ returns, we too are part of that same house! The people of God, the church, who now look back to the promised Messiah, Christ our savior, who did accomplish our salvation once and for all!
• If you are in Christ, you are connected to Moses, to the prophets, as members of the same household, because of the one who was greater than Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the one house!
• The promise made to Abraham concerning his descendants, is being fulfilled even now, including all of us who are in Christ.
• Galatians 5:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. 

This is God’s house

• There is only one house in scripture, and that is God’s house. And you're either in the house or you're not.
• Eph 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 
• Previously we weren’t in God’s house. We were strangers, aliens, lost in our sin and darkness. We were all born in this condition. But once we trusted in Christ, and repented of our sin and turned to him for salvation alone, then we are now saints and members of the house of God!
• And as such we are connected to the other members of the household of God.
• The whole house, the whole structure, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and having Christ Jesus himself the cornerstone of the house, we are all being joined together, not separately, but being built together into a dwelling place for God.
• That's a profound and amazing statement there! The Holy Spirit lives in the church of God, his people, joined together, being built up together!
• So as you reflect on that, then how do we view our fellow members in Christ?
• In love and thankfulness for them?
• Do you desire to be with them and long to be with them, and be built together with them?
• Do you have a love for your local church, for the members of the body to which you are joined?

Application For Our Local Household of Faith

• The membership covenant many of you have made, reflects the same language of Hebrews concerning the household of God where it states:
• “Membership at SENT CHURCH is participation in a family, a microcosm of the universal household of God. All members are united to Christ and thus to each other.”
• This participation in the local church and in unity together is shown in several ways which our members have committed to. 
• Members of Sent Church, you have committed to participation in this microcosm of the household as follows from the membership covenant:
• “To steward the resources God has given them, including time, talents, spiritual gifts and finances. This includes regular financial giving to build up the local body, service and participation in community that is sacrificial, cheerful and voluntary”
• Our members have committed to steward their resources, their time, and their gifts for this local household of faith in sacrificial, cheerful, and voluntary ways.
• And as we come to the end of the year, and reflect upon it, and upon the coming year, here are some ways for you to personally reflect on your own participation to those you are being built up with:
• Are you thankful and likewise committed to the church family you have here?
• Are you giving financially to your local church, regularly, sacrificially, cheerfully, and voluntarily? 
• Remember that while this is a commitment all our members have made to our local church, it’s primarily a weekly expression of worship when we gather together. 
• Biblical giving portrays our giving as an act of worship, but our tendency is more about protecting our resources rather than responding to the Giver of all resources with a generous heart. 
• I want to thank those who have faithfully given throughout the year and encourage those who haven’t yet to examine your hearts and trust the Lord completely in your giving and your commitment to your local church. 
• Are you serving faithfully?
• Our members here at Sent Church have committed to serving their fellow members of the household of faith.
• I am so thankful for all here who serve within Sent Church. Your faithfulness in this area is so important to your church family.
• Many times we don’t consider our time in this context that the household of faith is to be prioritized because of the supremacy of the One we are joined together with.
• We are his house, being built up together by God himself. When we don’t lean into it, support it, or prioritize our time for it, we demonstrate that we have a low view of his house.

Those of His House

6b And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

• If you have trusted Christ, then you are a part of the house he is the Builder and Son of.
• Stop and think of the identity that confers on you!
• You too are co-heirs with Christ the Son, and look forward to one day being united with him in glory!
• But have you trusted in Christ? Are you a member of his house? Have you placed all your confidence in him, or are still confused by thoughts of different ways to get to heaven? 
• Maybe you think you're not all that bad. That you don’t need salvation. The Bible says our hearts are desperately wicked, every one of us, and deserving of death for our sins.
• Maybe you recognize your sin, but you’ve heard that if you do enough good works you can enter heaven. The Bible says that it’s by grace you have been saved, through faith. And that not of yourselves, not of your own works, lest any of you should boast that you did enough to get to heaven.
• Maybe you’ve heard you just need to be religious, to attend church and give money to a church, perform certain prayers, and that’s all it takes, you’ll get into heaven. The Bible says that’s not true. It says that you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in him with all your heart and then you will be saved! The Bible also says there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved!
• Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me! You are saved, you are a member of the house, if your sins are forgiven because you have accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as the only means for your debt to be paid and you have trusted in him for that payment!

The Evidence We’re In His House

• But, then it says here “if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
• So is that saying that it’s up to us to hold onto our salvation? Is that saying we can lose our salvation if we lose our confidence?
• Not at all, and this is good news for us!
• Rather, this is saying that we are his house, and that our faith is real, if it’s evidenced by us persevering in following Christ. We aren’t a part of the household of God because he is in our grasp and as long as we don’t let go we’re good.
• Instead we’re a part of the household of God because of his own mercy and grace, and our continuing on in the faith is the evidence of the household which we belong to!
• 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
• For the Hebrew readers of this letter, returning to the law was evidence that they had never truly turned to Christ in the first place. 
• But for the one who has genuine faith, it will be evident by faithful perseverance.
• Continuing on in our faith, faithfully bearing fruit in our lives, those are evidence of our faith, and so are connected to but are not the means of our salvation.
• In Matt 10:22 as Jesus speaks of the trials and hardships and persecution that will come for those who follow him, he says “ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” It’s not the enduring of the trial that saves though, the one who endures shows that he is saved by his enduring!
• God is the one who holds us fast. That's encouraging!
• 1 Thess 5:24 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
• This should fill us with hope! Hope for the future because it is Christ who will keep us and present us to the Father!
• This should bring us confidence! This isn't prideful boasting in our confident membership in the household of God though.
• It’s a hope and confidence that’s based on what Christ has done for us, not what we have done ourselves!

Closing

• The encouragement here is this: we are his house, evidenced by not drifting away, not falling to the side, but holding fast the confidence and hope we have because the Builder of the house is God himself, Christ the Son as the chief cornerstone, and his house will stand eternally.
• As you reflect on this year, and as you look to the next, go into the new year with this perspective: "Therefore, since Jesus is greater than the prophets, greater than the angels, greater than Moses himself, consider him! Look to him! The Apostle and High Priest of our confession!"
• Fix your eyes upon him and see him worthy of all glory and honor, far more than Moses, because Jesus is the builder of the house, Jesus is the son of the house, and we are his house.
• Let your faith be evident this year shown by your faithful perseverance in the faith, as people encouraged by the hope and the confidence you have, knowing that you are part of the household of God and he will keep you to the end and never let you go.
• And therefore, live as people of action, bold in your proclamation of the gospel to the lost, and united in your devotion, care, kindness, and love to the members of your local household of faith, to whom you are connected together and being built up together in Christ.
• May he receive glory from your lives, more glory than Moses, and all glory in heaven and on earth now, until he comes again and forevermore.

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?