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Introduction: Don’t Stop Believing

Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere.

I suspect many of you have heard the lyrics to the classic song ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ by Journey. It was a minor hit in 1981 and was relatively popular for a few years. But in the last few years, it has gotten a bit of a resurgence. It has become one of the most popular songs in America over the last 15 years. In my opinion, it’s one of the most fun songs to sing, and it’s mostly because of that iconic, powerful line, Don’t Stop Believing.

Although that song is fun to sing, and it’s super sticky and it’s enjoyable, if you examine the lyrics to that song, it’s disappointing because the quality of the lyrics are pretty shallow. The song doesn’t have any real meaning. The guy who wrote the song, Steve Perry, one of the band members, acknowledged this. He was asked about this, and he said, he just came up with that one line many years ago. Don’t stop believing, Hold on to that feeling. He just wanted to come up with a song that had that line in it.

So, one day, Steve Perry got the band together. They jammed out. They did an improv session and started making up words and lyrics until they came up with something that felt like it made sense. So, the lyrics mean nothing. It’s just sort of all over the place. When I listen to that song, Don’t Stop Believing, I hear those lyrics, and I can’t help but want to shout back, Don’t stop believing in what? What is the thing you want me to believe in? What is the object of my belief? What is the focus of my faith?

The song, tragically, doesn’t give us anything. Why do I start the morning talking about Journey? Well, because this morning we’re going to be kicking off a sermon series on the Book of Hebrews, a book written in the New Testament. If you could sum up the Book of Hebrews in one phrase, what is the main exhortation of the Book of Hebrews? That is, don’t stop believing.

But the writer of Hebrews, unlike Steve Perry, makes very clear for us what the object of that belief ought to be. He has a particular person in mind. That is Jesus. The writer of Hebrews wants us to know that Jesus is the one we ought to believe in. More than a dozen times throughout the Book of Hebrews, the writer tells us to look to Jesus. Think about Jesus. Consider Jesus. Put him at the forefront of your mind over and over again. He is to be the object of our affections. He is to be the object of our faith. He is beautiful. When I think about Jesus, his wonderfulness, his bigness. His majesty, his glory. He’s wonderful.

When we think about the Book of Hebrews and we look at the structure, the particular syntax, and the grammar, we realize that this is not a letter written like any other letter in the New Testament. It’s pretty unique. It’s actually a sermon. It appears that the writer of Hebrews wanted to preach a sermon to a particular group of Christians, but he wasn’t near them. So he transcribes a sermon, or maybe he puts a manuscript together, and then takes that and sends it to a particular church near the city of Rome.

The other question people often want to ask is, who wrote the Book of Hebrews? There are only a few candidates. We may not know for sure which of those candidates it is, but we know that the early church knew. The Christians living in the first and second century, they knew precisely who wrote this. There was no confusion, just no one ever wrote it down anywhere in a way that was preserved for us. But it was written down. We can examine letters and essays that were written, so we know for sure that everyone living back then knew who wrote this letter. But none of the documentation that has the actual name has survived over the last 2,000 years.

Sometimes liberal scholars or people who are antagonistic to the gospel would want to say, We don’t even know who wrote that book. They would use that as an excuse to undermine the entire Bible. With all due respect, it’s simply an incoherent position to take. The data simply does not support that position. So the early church knew clearly who wrote this. It’s probably one of three guys. Paul, Barnabas, or Luke. If you want to ask me and talk about it later, I’d be glad to have a conversation. I do have an opinion, I believe it is Luke.

So this sermon is preached by someone under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, written down, and then sent to a small church near the city of Rome. The primary message of this letter is, Jesus is better than anything else. Don’t stop believing in him. The entire message throughout the book of Hebrews is, Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than other people. Jesus is better than the priests. Jesus is better than Melchizedek. Jesus is better than all the Old Testament saints. Jesus is better.

I wouldn’t even say Jesus is best, because best has a particular sort of finiteness to it. Whatever you think the best is, Jesus is even better than that. You may have a low view of Jesus. He’s way better than that. You may be here, and you may love Jesus and be a follower of Jesus. You may have a high view of Jesus, but I want to tell you he’s even better than that. Whatever you think of Jesus, he is better than that.

He is worthy of your belief. He is worthy of your allegiance. The writer of Hebrews would say to you, Don’t stop believing. Why is this the theme of his sermon? The reason that the writer of Hebrews writes this in this way is that he has a particular audience in mind. As you read through the Book of Hebrews, you can pick up on a few things about what this audience is like. He clearly knows the church to which he’s sending this. He knows things about them, and he has them in mind.

This particular group of Christians near the city of Rome were all ethnic Jews. They’re nationally and religiously Jewish. They eventually come to faith in Christ. They embrace the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. So they are these Jewish Christians living amongst mostly pagans. What begins to happen is, they begin to suffer significant persecution. They’re under the threat of being arrested. Several of them have had their houses plundered. A few of them were arrested. Then, members of the church go visit the people in jail. When they came back from visiting their friends in jail, their houses had been broken into, ransacked, and everything was taken from them.

Then, within the church, there starts to be some significant conflict. There are some relational fractures. There’s some sin in the church that is causing people to hurt one another, to not trust one another. It seems that everything is starting to fall apart. There are members of the church who begin to abandon the Christian faith, and they go back to the Jewish religion. The writer of Hebrews, the preacher of this sermon, has them in mind, and he wants them to know, don’t go back to the old ways. The Jewish system of the Old Testament has been rendered obsolete. That Old Covenant is now of no value to you. You can’t get saved under that.

The only way to have your sins forgiven in the Old Covenant was to have animal sacrifices. That’s been done away with. So if you go back to the Old Covenant, there’s no way to be forgiven. Jesus is better than that. I know it’s hard right now. I know what you’re facing is difficult. I know you’re having trouble believing. I know, but Church, don’t stop believing.

Several of them had been ostracized or disenfranchised. They weren’t allowed to participate in certain businesses or certain arenas of society or different industries. You could see why they might want to abandon the Christian faith. But the writer of Hebrews is saying, no, Jesus is better. Everything else is a downgrade. As this church is seemingly falling apart and getting smaller and smaller, he says to them, Don’t stop believing. I know things are hard right now. But I want to remind you of something. If you think about a group of Christians that are in that situation, facing what they’re facing, I don’t know what I would say to them. But the writer of Hebrews starts off saying, I know what you need to hear.

When you’re facing difficulties and troubles in this life, what you don’t need is a motivational speaker giving you three steps on how to have a better life. That’s not what you need. You need to be reminded who Jesus is. Whenever you are facing difficulty in this life, whenever you are facing suffering or hardship or persecution or betrayal, here’s the number one thing you need to be reminded of. Jesus is better.

Thinking about Jesus as better will satisfy your soul. If your soul is aching and hungry, knowing that Jesus is better will satisfy that. Knowing that Jesus is better will inspire you. Knowing that Jesus is better will strengthen you. He wants you to know who Jesus is and what he has done. So together, we’re going to look at the first few verses of Hebrews chapter one and see that Jesus is better. Would you pray with me one more time?

Father in heaven, you are so kind to us. Thank you. Thank you, God. We thank you for the Bible that is without error, this perfect book that reveals you. I’m so thankful for it. God, I pray now as I share with your people in this service, I pray that you would use all we do here to glorify yourself and God. Would you shape us? Would you use the book of Hebrews, this letter, this sermon to shape us, to mold us, to transform us to be the church that you want us to be?

Lastly, God, I ask if there’s anyone in this room this morning who does not know you, if there’s anyone in this room that does not truly believe, may today be the day they believe. Lord, supernaturally give them the ability, give them the faith to put trust wholeheartedly in Christ. I pray, I ask all these things in that matchless name of Jesus.

Amen.

 

Jesus Is In Control

If you have your Bibles, turn to Hebrews 1:1:

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

So in a previous era, the primary way God spoke to his people was through the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi. There are many others. But now, in these last days, that started in the first century and leads up to today, the way God speaks to us is through His Son. Look at the second half of verse two. Then he says this, speaking of Jesus, he is the one who was:

“Appointed the heir of all things.”

Jesus is the heir to everything. He has inherited the universe. He owns it. He owns you. He owns this world. There is no one above Him. He is the Master. Then look at the last clause of verse two with me. Speaking of Jesus again, he says this:

“Through whom also he created the world.”

This is referring to God the Father. God the Father makes everything, the Creator of the world, all things visible and invisible. He does it through Jesus. Jesus was there at the very beginning. The Bible doesn’t give us a clear insight. What does this ‘through’ mean? Bible scholars disagree on precisely what that means. But what we do know is that Jesus was there at the beginning. God the Father is making things, and Jesus is a part of it. Ultimately, everything is given to Jesus. He continues. Look at verse three:

“Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God.”

I think of the word radiance. I can’t help but think of the sun. I lived in Minnesota for six years, where in the wintertime, the sun goes down at 4:05 pm, and then it’s dark for nine months. You forget what the sun is like. For those of you who’ve ever been there in the winter, Seattle’s got similar vibes. So I remember moments walking out on a sunny day and being like, wow, there it is, the big yellow ball. I missed you. You just feel right.

But when you live in a place where the sun is not as vibrant or as prevalent, it seems you love it. The radiance. This is sort of the picture that the writer of Hebrews is giving us. That God has his glory going, and it is through Christ that we feel and experience the power of it. I mean, think about the sun, almost 93 million miles away from us. You feel it. It’s powerful, it’s wonderful, and it’s dangerous.

It’s a great metaphor for who God is: great, powerful, good, brilliant, and if you’re not careful, dangerous. It is through Christ that we experience the radiance of God. Then the writer of Hebrews continues in the next phrase, speaking of Jesus:

“He is the exact imprint of his nature.”

Jesus is the exact imprint of God the Father. He’s made of the same stuff. The substance of the Father, his essence, is the same as Jesus’. He’s implying that Jesus is God. Some people like you to believe that Jesus is not God. He’s a lesser being than God is. He’s above humans, but below the Father. No. In verse 8, God the Father explicitly calls Jesus God. Look at the next part of verse three. It says this, speaking of Jesus again:

“He upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

We read in Colossians, Paul says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. All things were created by him, and all things were created through Him. All things were created for him, and in Him all things hold together. This is remarkable to me. Everything in the universe is held together by Jesus.

The fist that punched him on the day he was crucified, he held it together. The whip that was used to break open his back, he held that whip together. The hands that ripped the beard hair from his face was held together by Jesus. When the Roman soldiers were nailing him to a cross, the muscles that the Roman soldiers used to pull back and to swing down were held together by the one being crucified.

At any moment, he could have said, Stop. Don’t hold together, muscles fall apart. Instantly, that Roman soldier would have fallen apart. He is so merciful that even when we blaspheme him, he allows us to still be held together. He is so merciful to us. He is so kind to us. Church, knowing that Jesus rules the universe, that he is God, that He is in control, that he holds all things together, is a great comfort to those of us who love Him. It’s a great comfort.

To those who don’t believe, it should make you shake in your boots. But for those of us who love Jesus, when we face difficulty in this world, when we face problems, it’s a great comfort.
Church, I think about Bridget, who just lost her father. Death is hard, no matter what the circumstances. I think about Caleb Dalton. We prayed for his home church, First Baptist Cedar Key, a couple of hours away from us. The whole town was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Hundreds of buildings gone. Thousands of people have lost everything and will have to completely start over. Devastating.

Knowing that Jesus is in control is a great comfort in those moments. In this room right now, as I look around, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people in this room. In this room right this moment, some people have dealt with miscarriages, infertility, divorce, betrayal, adultery, cancer, diseases affecting adrenal glands, people who have been fired unjustly from their jobs, strained family relationships, death of loved ones, disappointments, and financial hardship. That’s just what I know about in this room right now.

Church, the writer of Hebrews wants you to know that when you suffer, Jesus sees you and he will be with you. The One who holds the universe together. He is the one who will be with you when you suffer. He has no rival. He has no equal. Now and forever, our God reigns. He is unmatched, and he will harness all of the power of the universe to comfort and help you. He knows every hair on your head, and he longs to be with you.

When we suffer, he helps us. All of this is made possible because of what Jesus did on our behalf. All of us are sinners. Every single one of us has sinned. Every single one of us deserves the full wrath of God. Sin is a poison. It corrupts us. All of us were on God’s bad side. All of us were on the cosmic naughty list. All of us are destined for hell. But Jesus steps in. God the Son steps off his throne in glory and steps into humanity. Can you just think about this? God is on a throne in glory, steps off, and then steps into a baby’s body dependent on a human mother.

I sometimes don’t even want to get off the couch to pick up the remote because it’s too inconvenient. He stepped off his throne in glory, down to be with you. He lived among us. He exposed himself to all the pains of this world. He lived a perfect life, and yet he went to the cross, and his death makes it possible for you to experience God.

 

Conclusion: Jesus Defeats Sin and Death

Now, people have asked, How does the death of Christ do this? The Book of Hebrews has several chunks dealing with that exact question. It’s a big question, but I’ll give you the short answer today. The short answer is that Jesus lived on earth, He was perfect. He was innocent, never sinned. But then, while he was going to the cross, Jesus, God the Father, takes all the sins of humanity, takes them up, and he puts them on Jesus. So Jesus is now guilty of those sins. He is no longer an innocent man.

He is guilty. Not guilty of his own sin, guilty of your sin. He goes to the cross, and this guilty man is brutally murdered at the hands of the Romans. Punished for the sins of humanity. It’s a supernatural, mysterious thing that we don’t fully understand, but God willing, we’ll get to it in the coming months. Jesus suffers the consequences of our actions.

It should have been you on that cross. It should have been me on the cross. That’s a short answer. Jesus, this God man, he does what needs to be done to make it possible for our sins to be punished in a way that we are not punished. That’s the brilliance of the cross: sins are punished, and yet sinners are not. What an incredible opportunity. Jesus does that, but he doesn’t state that. On the third day, on the first day of the week, on that first Easter Sunday morning, God the Father vindicates him, brings him back up from the dead, and then Jesus ascends to heaven.

This is the picture we’re getting in Hebrews chapter 1. Jesus ascends to heaven and walks back into the throne room. The moment when God, who had stepped off the throne, became a man, died a brutal death, was resurrected, and now is coming back into heaven. Can you imagine what that moment might have been like with all of the angels, all of the Old Testament saints, all of the people who have died, who have believed in him, who went before, all there in heaven, cheering him on. Can you imagine this moment?

I got a brief picture of what this might have been like this summer. I was watching a little bit of the closing games of the Olympics. The closing games are remarkable. There’s all this pageantry and pomp and circumstance. Every nation has these elaborate displays and platforms. There are processions and parades. There’s all this stuff happening. I remember watching Katie Ledecky come in, who just dominated the women’s 1500-meter freestyle, come in with her gold medals.

Then Simone Biles walks in with her medals. LeBron James and all the members of Team USA basketball walk in with their medals, and everyone’s just cheering them on. Look at what you’ve accomplished. Everyone’s coming in, and the crowd is cheering them on in this elaborate display. I think that gives us a little hint of what that moment in heaven might have been like.

When Jesus walks in, I can’t help but wonder, were the angels shouting and cheering? Were they singing? Were they just in awe of what he had just accomplished? The God of the universe became a man and made it possible for sin to be punished and for sinners to be saved. Can you imagine what that moment might have been like? Look at Hebrews, verse 3, it says this:

“After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of Majesty on high.”

Jesus walks back in. After having made purification of sins, he sits down at the right hand of the Father, next to majesty, his rightful place. What a triumphant moment that might have been. What an amazing moment. We sang a song this morning, King of Kings. My favorite lyric from that song, I think it captures the sentiment. One of the lyrics says this. ‘For the Lamb had conquered death, and the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe. For the souls of all who’d come to the Father are restored.’

The angels are standing in awe. Now, anyone can come to the Father and be restored. Sin had broken our relationship with the Father. Sin had separated us. But now, because of our King Jesus, because he made purification of sin, it is possible for people to come and be restored to him. The angels they stand in awe. Well done, King Jesus.

I wonder what that moment was like. But if you’re a believer here today, if you’re a follower of Jesus, I want you to know there will come a day when you all have to wonder no more. We won’t be imagining. Because there’s going to come a day we walk into that room, there’s going to come a day where we join the angels and the Old Testament saints and all of our friends in the faith that have gone before us. We will enter into that heavenly throne room, and we will see him seated on his throne at the right hand of majesty. King Jesus, we are here because you made purifications of our sins. He made it possible. The death of Christ made it possible.

 

Communion

That brings us to Communion. For 2,000 years, Christians have been doing this thing called communion. When we do this, we are remembering what Jesus has done. If you are a follower of Christ, you will walk into that throne room one day, and you will experience his glory. You will enjoy him and be satisfied by his glory forever and ever. Because he made the purification of sins.

We’re going to take communion and we’re going to remember Jesus. When you hold the bread and you hold the cup, you’re remembering that Jesus made the purification of sin. Jesus stepped off his throne, entered humanity. He died a vicious death in my place, and then he rose from the dead. Because of that, I can now enjoy God and experience his goodness forever.

Would you know that if you are a follower of Jesus, you are welcome to take communion with us this morning? If you are here and you are not a follower of Jesus, if you’re not, you would say, I’m not sure I’m 100% a follower. I’m glad you’re here. I am ecstatic that you’re in this room. But I would ask you not to take communion this morning. This is for believers only.
When the basket comes by, just let it pass.

But friends, don’t let the moment pass. Instead of taking communion with us today, take Christ instead. Choose to believe on him. I’d love to have a conversation about what it means to follow Jesus. But for those of us who love God, the writer of Hebrews will say to you, don’t stop believing and do this remembering in the one in whom you believe.