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[0:00] And turn to Hebrews 2, 5-9. As you turn to the passage, I would like to give a quick introduction to Hebrews 2,! It says, But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with suffering, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, sometimes being partners with those so treated.

[0:43] For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession than an abiding one. God, in the book of Hebrews, He is using the author to exhort and encourage a small church on how majestic the Lord is.

[1:02] And He wants the church to know that Jesus Christ is grander. He is more supreme. He is more marvelous than all other things. In this book, we're reminded of Colossians 1.

[1:16] He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Therefore, those who pay attention to King Jesus, and those who take refuge in Him will receive the blessings of the Son, and those who do not will drift away, as we see last week.

[1:30] So, this is important as we approach Hebrews 2, 5-9. Let's keep this in mind. Pray with me as we seek God's Spirit to help us understand the text. Lord, we thank You that You are the God who speaks and has spoken.

[1:42] We thank You that You have revealed Your Son. And Lord, today I ask that You teach us more and more about Jesus Christ and how marvelous He is. And Lord, how we can find a refuge in Him. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

[1:54] Perfect. So, in the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we see the scene where Peter and his army is fighting the witch and her army.

[2:06] And it's at a point where you see Peter and his army is overwhelmed. They're in a place where they're exhausted. You know the end is coming. They're about to be crushed and destroyed. But then, out of nowhere, you see, it's built up, but you see Aslan come.

[2:20] And as Aslan comes, hope is restored in the people. And as hope is restored, eventually Peter and his army overcomes the witch and her army through Aslan. And I bring up this introduction to relate to the Hebrew Christians.

[2:31] They are enduring great suffering. They, at this point, are not to the point of death, but have been afflicted in every way, but not crushed. They are not perplexed, but not driven to despair.

[2:44] They are persecuted, but not forsaken. And in this point, they're struck down, but not destroyed. It is here, these believers are struggling to endure and persevere in their relationship with God.

[2:55] And that's the setting that the author of Hebrews gives them, this beautiful truth. The author of Hebrews encourages these storm-beaten Christians that God has given an original purpose to man.

[3:07] Although man suffered loss of that purpose through the tragedy of sin, God has brought about an everlasting hope in the better Adam. So today, I hope that you would glean from the text that Jesus Christ is the better Adam, the second Adam, who has tasted death for man and has raised man up to glory with him.

[3:26] That we're saved through him and are secured in him, ultimately, is what I believe the text today is telling us about who Jesus Christ is and what he's done for us. So, let's read Hebrews 2, 5-9.

[3:38] Now, it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, what is man that you were mindful of him, or the son of man that you cared for him?

[3:51] You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now, in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside of his control.

[4:02] But at the present time, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him, who for a little while was made lower than angels, namely, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that, by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone.

[4:19] In today's passage, we are going to go through four points. Point number one is that man is the crown of creation. Point number two is that man has lost his crown.

[4:35] Point number three is, Jesus Christ is the second Adam who has restored man through his death. And point number four is, Jesus Christ is the reigning king and secures a great salvation for man.

[4:51] Number one, man is the crown of creation. Verse five says, now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

[5:03] It is important to note this word, subjection, or subjected. It's used three times in this one passage, five through nine. So obviously, it has an important role to play. This word, subjected, it communicates some sense of hierarchy.

[5:17] In ancient Greek, it was used a military term to rank under. So, this idea that's being portrayed is that God is not subjecting the world to come, the heavenly dwelling to angels.

[5:28] They're not going to rule in this world to come, but that man's going to rule. And that's what we see here in the first few verses of the text. Also, we see fulfilled in Christ. There is this royal language that depicts that man will inherit salvation in a great inheritance.

[5:44] So, we also see in the text that the next phrase is that the world to come. This phrase literally means an earthly inhabitation, and to come is looking forward.

[5:54] So, he's saying there's this earthly habitation to come of which he is speaking. This term is really looking forward to a heavenly dwelling, a beautiful and glorious security that is expected that they have coming before them as they persevere, make it through this time of hardship.

[6:14] Lastly, the last phrase in this first verse we have is of which we're speaking. And this is kind of like, you're a little shocked at this moment because it reveals something to the reader at this point in time.

[6:26] It reveals that what the writer so far has been talking about is stuff to come, that is looking forward. So, I believe in this passage as we trek through Hebrews and we understand who Jesus Christ is, that he's talking about who Christ presently is, but also looking forward to what's coming, what our salvation looks like.

[6:48] It's a great salvation to come. So, I think in the context of the book of Hebrews what we've discovered so far and we've learned so far is that it's all talking about what we have to look forward to. And at this point in time, now we're here and the Hebrew Christians are suffering and again, he wants not to anchor their hope in this world, but he wants to anchor it in the world to come.

[7:05] So, as we trek through Hebrews and learn about these wonderful things that the author is telling us about, we need to let the author direct us and carry us along to see what we have to come.

[7:19] The writer picks back up on this glorious world to come throughout the book. So, note some important things he says in this book. He speaks of an everlasting Sabbath rest, an eternal redemption, a sure and steadfast anchor of our soul, a permanent priesthood, a better and abiding possession, a city that has foundations, a better and heavenly country, a city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

[7:49] So, what we see is that throughout this book, the author wants the audience and these Hebrew Christians to understand that there is hope to come amidst their affliction and their suffering and the losing of their home and the persecution they experience, that there is an everlasting hope in Christ that is so much better than the present things they are experiencing in this world.

[8:07] So, I encourage you guys as we spend time in the text today and as we move forward that we should let, we should linger before the text and believe in this coming reality. And the more we linger and the more we believe, the greater our hope and joy will be because ultimately we are those who walk not by sight but by faith towards the everlasting kingdom, the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

[8:27] So, ultimately the first verse is telling us a really important reality that we see the world to come does not belong to angels but it belongs to man. And what we'll see in this few verses is that man was originally the crown of creation and man will be restored and inherit and heavily habitation to come.

[8:50] Verse 6 through 8 in the text is actually a quotation from Psalm 8. Instead of spending time right here, I'm actually one to take us to Psalm 8 so we can understand what the author meant in Psalm 8 and how we can understand it in Hebrews.

[9:02] So if you will, take a copy of God's Word and turn to Psalm 8 with me. We'll read verse 1 through 6. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

[9:18] You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the adventure. When I look at your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you care for him?

[9:36] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor and given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet.

[9:48] And considering Psalm 8, what we see is the sheer greatness and majesty of God. This Psalm is celebrating in who God is. The author at the beginning is just saying, O majestic is your name.

[9:59] Just celebrating in who God's character is. And then he has a moment where he talks about the puny small human. What is man that you're mindful of him? In the Bible, oftentimes man is mentioned as a drop in the bucket.

[10:13] The Bible says the nations are a drop in the bucket. And in reality, if we look at the vast greatness of the universe, this question makes so much sense. What is man? When we look at how big the universe is and how great God is, this reality is like we really are small in a physical sense.

[10:30] But the author goes on to tell how important man is to God and how precious man is to God. One thing, before we move on to that, I want to really consider how vast God is and how vast his creation is.

[10:44] The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth to praise God, to give him glory. So in that, have y'all ever hiked a mountain? Or if you're going over a Blenton Mountain driving, and you stop and you look over the expanse of the mountain and you see how great it is.

[11:00] And I don't know if it's just me, but when I sit there and see how big creation is, I think just how small I am. There's a humble feeling, a humiliation that comes upon me because I'm just amazed by just who God is and how wonderful his creation is.

[11:14] Some really great facts about the universe that just really continues to discuss how vast God is by how he created the world. Fact number one, talk about how big the universe is.

[11:25] The earth is tiny in comparison with the rest of the universe. It could fit into the sun 1.3 million times. When we think of the vastness of the universe, there are more stars in the universe than grains of salt on all the beaches.

[11:39] That's at least a billion trillion. And according to recent discoveries from the Hubble telescope, there are hundreds of billions of galaxies across the universe.

[11:52] So again, the universe is massive and the question we have to ask ourselves is why? Why did God create a universe this big? And what we see in Psalm 91 is that the heavens and the earth proclaim the glory of God.

[12:05] When we consider God's hand and his handiwork, we should be in awe by how great he is. But then, it should amaze us that how much he cares for man and how he created us.

[12:18] So if you will, take your copy of God's word and turn to Genesis 1. And I want to go back to God's original intent in creation and show you just how much God cares for man and then the commission he's given man.

[12:32] starting in verse 26.

[12:51] And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

[13:03] So God created man in his own image and the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves.

[13:20] So when we get to Genesis 1, we see a beautiful structure that just adds to this account in verse 26 through 28. When we come to Genesis 1, starting with day 1, God says, God says, God speaks, and then God says it is good.

[13:35] So in verse 1 or verse 3, we say, and God said, in verse, and then in verse 6, I think, yeah.

[13:53] Anyways, God said, and then God said it was good. And we see this day 1, and God speaks, and then he said it was good. Day 2, day 3, 4, 5, and then he gets to day 6.

[14:06] He creates animals, and God says it was good. But then, God decides to fashion man in his own image, and then he gave them dominion.

[14:16] There are so many great things in this passage that I'm tempted to linger over and want to spend time discussing. That man is the prophet, priest, and king of creation, and other things along those lines.

[14:27] But our text doesn't give way for that time. But one thing we do need to see is that God created man in his image to represent him well in this creation. And that God gave man dominion over this creation.

[14:39] And after God created man, after God gave man his purpose, God then said creation was very good. It wasn't until creation wasn't complete or very good until once man crowned creation.

[14:52] Until man completed creation. This word very good, the word very is a word of emphasis, an adjective that means exceedingly or great.

[15:03] It's trying to emphasize just how great, how pleasing this creation was that God has made. And I think the purpose that this is communicating with the God spoke and it was good to where it was very good is that creation was made ultimately to praise God and man crowned creation to praise God and serve as his creature king and queens.

[15:24] That they're supposed to function and operate under God's lordship and honor God. And I think that's what Psalm 8 is getting at. That he created them lower than angels and gave them glory and honor and crowned them.

[15:36] This idea that man and woman will reign in creation and spread God's presence and glory in creation. But in that we see that God deeply cares for human beings.

[15:48] Out of all creation he chose us. Small, weak humans and made us in his image to represent him throughout all creation. He chose to set his love upon us. In Exodus 19 God calls his people his personal treasure.

[16:02] That out of all the things he's made his personal treasure is his people. It's kind of like a very carefully crafted ring that shines beautifully but the gem that shines the most is his people.

[16:14] So I want you to consider the sheer weight that this means to the current Hebrew Christians who are suffering. And even consider what it means to us that we have a God who deeply values his children and has set his love upon us from creation to new creation.

[16:30] Isaiah 40 25-26 says, To whom then will you compare me? That should be like him, says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these, who brings out their host by number, calling them by name, by greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

[16:49] In our lives, when things get heavy, when we feel the weight of suffering, when we feel the deep effects of sin, when we feel a deep sadness or an anxious stirring in our hearts during those times that it is hard, let us remember that we have not been forsaken.

[17:07] We are not people who are forsaken, but we remember deeply because not one is missing. God cares so deeply about us that he created us in a personal way and ultimately sent a savior to die for us. So I think it's very deep as we get right here to remember that wonderful truth that God has not forgotten us, that the one who upholds creation still deeply cares and remembers us day to day.

[17:29] This brings to our second point. man has lost the crown of new creation. So God created man in his image, set him in this wonderful garden to rule and have dominion over the earth, but something tragic happened, something that changed everything.

[17:46] But before we get there, I want to remind you of Hebrews. It says, now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. This is verse 8. At the present, we do not see everything in subjection to him.

[17:58] So what we see is after Psalm 8 is quoted, after God is emphasizing his purpose in creation, he then says nothing was left outside of man's control. But then he goes, he shifts.

[18:09] This moment when he says nothing was left outside of man's control, there's a moment of, but this doesn't seem right, it doesn't seem like everything's under control. But then the next sentence in Hebrews says, at present, we do not see everything in subjection to him.

[18:26] So just the, he almost answers it, because like when you're reading the text, you're like, this doesn't seem like everything's under the control of man right now. And then he says the present, it isn't, pretty much. Because we had something tragic happen, that in the garden, in Genesis 3, we see that the serpent came into God's creation, and man and woman were ruling over creation, and God gave him good commands to follow.

[18:49] And they were supposed to honor him well, and love him, and serve him, and be his personal treasure. But through the attacks of Satan, who deceived man and woman, they chose not to honor God.

[19:01] What did they do? They chose to sin and rebel against their king, against the God who created them. And at this moment, what we see is that humanity is forever changed.

[19:12] When Adam and Eve rebelled against the almighty God, they ultimately lost their crown for now, and sin was corrupted. Isn't it interesting, the effects and experiences we experience under sin?

[19:25] We experience what it's like to hate God and love ourselves. We understand the idol of self better than anyone else. Since Adam and Eve rebelled against God, creation has totally been corrupted.

[19:37] All of creation was totally corrupted. The creation began to experience corruption of sin. Romans 8 says creation is subjected to corruption and fertility, and that is longing for the sons of God to be raised up and be restored to its original state.

[19:52] We see that the physical human bodies experience pain, and we suffer through our physical experiences, and we will ultimately die. We also see that spiritually, man is in bondage to sin.

[20:07] We are under lifelong slavery in our natural state, and we desire our fleshly desires. Naturally, man hates God. It cannot do anything in his natural state.

[20:18] this is a problem, a major problem. The Bible says all have sinned and fought short of the glory of God, and this sin deserves a punishment.

[20:29] It deserves death. Romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is death. So what we see here in our natural state, we would all stand before an everlasting God, and we would be silent and judged for us and for all these things we've done wrong.

[20:47] But this also, this part of the passage in Hebrews, it also brings us to a different sense of when we look at sin, we feel this heavy and deep experience of this world.

[20:59] We see the devastation of nature, and we see the depravity of man. We start to experience wrongness, like this is not how it should be. The more we're in this world, the more we see how pervasive sin is.

[21:13] Panama City and destruction, we see shootings throughout the country feeling totally helpless. We see the murder of babies in our felt with despair, and then we see our own heart and selfish thoughts, and we hate it.

[21:26] So, obviously, there's something wrong, there's something at the present that's not right with creation, and how all things have been subjected. Man's lost a crown, and right now, the rule of this world is not man.

[21:38] It's angels. Ultimately, it's Satan. He's the ruler of this world, the upsurper. Right now, we see humanity in rebellion to God, and we see Satan leading humanity to destruction.

[21:49] It is here that I hope you can feel the weight of this massive problem, and it's here that we should feel despair, and it should be evident that we are in need of help.

[22:01] We are desperate. But, that's not all. Although we are sinners, and we deserve the justice of God, isn't it a beautiful thing that God has loved us and sent a son for us?

[22:12] So, this brings us to our third point. Jesus is the second Adam who has restored man through his death. If you go back to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9 says, Hebrews 2, 9, parallels with Psalm 8.

[22:49] We see that man was made lower than angels and crowned of glory and honor. Everything was put in subjection under him. In Hebrews 2, 9, we see that Christ was made lower than angels, and then he was crowned with glory and honor.

[23:03] And then 1 Corinthians 15 tells everything was subjected to him. What we see here is that although man was a crown of creation, and the man rebelled against God and lost his crown, ultimately Psalm 8 is talking about man in his original state and looking forward to the son of man, to the one who's going to fill Psalm 8, who's going to bring about the new heavens and new earth, and ultimately save man from this depravity, this wrongness that we are experiencing.

[23:30] So we see that sin is deeply corrupted reality, and things are not subjected to man, but we see that Christ in his fulfillment is going to bring all things in subjection to him.

[23:47] Hebrews 2.9 ultimately helps us better understand Hebrews 1. You guys remember the phrase, pure occasions for sin, and he sat down at the right hand of the majesty. I think ultimately that Hebrews 1 was our introduction, and the rest of the book is going to exposit or explain more about who God is, about his nature, and his roles, and how he functions.

[24:11] And here I think that verse 9 is explaining more about the one who purified us, who came as the lamb of God, and the one who sat down at the right hand, that is now the king.

[24:23] So as we finish this passage and walk through this last bit of text, we will observe more into Jesus' humiliation, and then we'll get into his exaltation. We're going to walk through text to understand how Jesus is the better Adam, who has tasted death for us, that he experienced death on our behalf.

[24:40] And then we'll understand more how he is the reigning king, and how by him we are secure, and we have everlasting hope. So, in Philippians 2, verse 4-8 says, let each of us not look to his own interests, but the interests of others.

[24:55] Having this mind among ourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he is in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in likeness of man, and being found in human form.

[25:09] He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. So we have, as we go back to our last point, is this massive problem. The weight of sin, the problem that God is holy and just, and man is sinful and deserves God's just wrath.

[25:27] And as we talked about, this is a massive problem, and if we don't have a redemption, we're in a desperate state. So how can this be resolved? And I think Philippians 2 and Hebrews 2 both answer this question for us.

[25:40] It can be resolved by a God who is rich in mercy, a God who demonstrated his love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. This God who created the world, and in whom all things exist, and who holds together all things, subjected himself to sinful flesh.

[26:01] He brought himself lower than angels, and put himself in sinful flesh, so that we might find redemption. Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, willfully and obediently took the form of a servant, and was found in the human form.

[26:18] He never endured sin. He lived perfectly, and endured the fullness of temptation. And 2 Corinthians 5-21 reminds us that he became sin. He who was not sin, became sin, endured the just punishment of sin.

[26:33] This makes us ask another question. For what? Why would someone do this? Why would the eternal Son of God become man? And this should be a deep question to us, because it doesn't make sense.

[26:45] God is God deeply loves his children and deeply cares for us. For our sake, he who did not know sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.

[26:59] It is for those who believe, Jesus subjected himself to sinful flesh and became sin, endured the just of God for our sake, so that we might be righteous. So, brothers and sisters, remember that you have not been forgotten or forsaken in your earthly toils, but remember, we know this, that we see him who remembered us, who subjected himself to sinful flesh, endured the weight of temptation and sin for our sake.

[27:27] This should warm and stir our hearts. We should be amazed that the God of the universe sent his Son because he loved us, and he deeply cares for us. And let's talk more about the word death, or taste of death.

[27:41] This idea of taste it is an experience. When you eat something, there's a taste. You experience it, you feel it. And when it says that Christ tasted death, it's saying that he experienced death, that although he did not deserve this death, Jesus tasted it for our sake.

[27:59] And ultimately he tasted death so we could have life. Since Christ tasted death, we are now resurrected with resurrection life, and we can now taste the goodness of God. 1 Peter 2, 2-3 says, like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that you may grow into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

[28:20] So because Lord Jesus has died for us, we can now really live and grow into our salvation, knowing and tasting that God is actually good. This is a reality in our lives, that he is good and he's also good to us, and he deeply cares for us.

[28:35] Therefore, let us remember that before the marvelous grace of our Savior and almighty justice of God that he lavished upon his son, if we are harboring any sins in our hearts this morning, we need to turn from these sins and turn to God.

[28:52] We need to repent from our sins and turn to God who sent his son for us, that deeply cares for us. We need to turn from our rebellion. And ultimately, if there is anyone here that does not know God, there is anyone here that does not have a relationship with God and has no evidence of God in their lives, this truth needs to be wrestled with.

[29:09] We need to wrestle the good news of Jesus Christ. Deeply consider eternity. Where are you going? Why are you here? But also, we need to deeply consider what would happen if you died.

[29:19] And ultimately, if you don't know Christ, one day you're going to die and you have to face this reality. So, I plead with you now, today is a favorable time. Now is the day of salvation. God has made every day and now is the right time if this is something you're wrestling with.

[29:33] But ultimately, we do need to stop and think the wondrous thing that Jesus Christ has suffered for us. And in him, we find salvation. But the good news of the gospel does not stop at the life and death of Jesus.

[29:48] He not only lived as the Lamb of God, but he also rose from the dead and conquered death. And the Son of God was raised by the almighty power of God from the dead. And what does Hebrews 1 say?

[29:59] He took a seat at the right hand of the majesty on high. So this brings us to our last point in the text. Jesus Christ is the reigning king and secures a great salvation from man. Hebrews 2 9 continues to say, Jesus is crowned of glory and honor because of the sufferings of death.

[30:17] This brings us back to psalm 8. In this psalm 8, man is crowned of glory and honor and everything is put in subjection to him. Now Jesus Christ is crowned of glory and honor. In 1 Corinthians 15 27 says that God has subjected all things under his feet.

[30:31] the original intention of man is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. And Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection on our behalf.

[30:43] Now that Jesus sits at the right hand of God and reigns of God, we can better understand this passage and understand Philippians 2, the last part of it. therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[31:07] So at the present time, presently where we're at now, we see Jesus who willfully subject himself from heavenly glories to sinful flesh. For our sake he did this, and he has now been restored to his rightful place as his son.

[31:23] At this point, it reminds us of chapter 1 and how Jesus' name as the son is greater than the angels. Jesus' throne is forever and ever, and his scepter is the uprightness, and he loves righteousness and despises wickedness.

[31:37] This also reminds that Jesus has inherited this heavenly glory as the son and the firstborn from the dead. So what does this mean to us? Why does it matter that Jesus suffered and was crowned of glory and honor since he already that before he suffered?

[31:51] What this means is answering the text. It says, so that by the grace of God, he may taste death for everyone. Jesus' work, this great salvation we have spoken thus far, not only saves us from our sins, but it's also our security in this heavenly home, this eternal dwelling to come.

[32:12] Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God. He is restoring to us a beautiful crown in the new heavens and new earth. the scripture has informed us that we are crucified with Christ in his death and we will be raised with him in his resurrection life.

[32:28] He is the resurrection. So in closing, can you turn your Bibles to Ephesians 2? starting in verse 4?

[32:52] But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he has loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised up with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ.

[33:18] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of work so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared before us, that we may walk in them.

[33:33] Isn't it beautiful that God cares about man from creation to new creation, that he has set his love on a people and treasured us and has sent his son to die for us and ultimately will be raised with his son. The beauty of Ephesians 2 should warm our hearts that we were crucified with him, our sins were placard on him in his death, and now since he's conquered death we're going to be raised with him, and our security isn't in things that change, things that can be destroyed, but things that are indestructible, and it's in something secure, ultimately in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

[34:06] In the Lord's Supper this morning, Francis talked on suffering and suffering for Christ. He says, Christians participate in Christ's sufferings, and I was thinking about that and I just wanted to continue the phrase with this term, I think it flowed really beautifully, that Christians participate in Christ's suffering, and they will participate in Christ as he is in glory too.

[34:27] Not only do we participate in his sufferings, we participate in his glory, because the Bible says that we are co-heirs with Christ. Therefore, as these Hebrew believers are in this afflicted time and struggling with their lives, and experiencing deep sorrow and pain, this is the truth that I believe the Hebrews are trying to tell them, that although things are hard, that God had a purpose for man, and although man lost that purpose, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the better man, the second Adam, who tasted death for him, that by this better man, Jesus Christ, we have walked from our sins to life, we've been resurrected, we were dead, and now we're alive.

[35:07] But then he also goes on to say that we have a security based in this new heaven, new earth, that we are not those who walk looking at this physical present reality in this suffering and say, I'm forsaken, I'm destroyed.

[35:20] No, we are those who walk for the heavenly reality, that we are considering that this momentary and light affliction is building for us in a heavenly way to glory.

[35:31]  That's our hope and that's our reality today as we linger before Hebrews 2. So let's pray.