And we will be continuing our journey through the book of Hosea today. And we are going to be picking it up in Hosea chapter 11. And we're going to be looking at just a few verses in here today because it's a marvelous of God's grace that He continued and still continues to show to His people. So we'll pick it up, starting in verse number 1 of Hosea chapter 11, and we'll read through it today, but we're going to be focusing on the first four verses or so. It says, when Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them. They sacrificed on the Balaam and burned incense to graven images. I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms. But they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love, and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid me unto them. He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrians shall be his king, because they refuse to return. And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches and devour them because of their counsels. And my people are bent to backsliding from me, though they call them to the most high. None at all would exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Adamah? How shall I set thee as Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me. My repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man. the Holy One in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord, He shall roar like a lion. When He shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria. And I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord, Ephraim compassed me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit. But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints." And Lord, we just ask that You would bless these Your words this morning. And we do pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. If you look through that, as I just did, and read through it quickly, we see a lot of time covered. We see from the time of the upcoming captivity that they were facing, right to the time of the future promises of deliverance of the nation of Israel in the millennium. What a time that is. We think that we have something here in the states that have happened 200 and some odd years of history. But right here we see God's plan and His purpose for His nation that He would redeem them. In spite of their sins, yet God's will would be they would be redeemed. Oh, what a gracious God we have. What a gracious God they have. And we get to partake in that future blessing and be with the Lord. Behold, he cometh with ten thousands of his saints, coming back to the earth to rule and reign in that millennium. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, let's go to verse number one. We'll cover the rest of that in future times. Verse number one, I think we could stay in verse number one for the next three weeks if we wanted to. Verse number one, When Israel was a child, then I loved them and called my son out of Egypt." What a great passage that is. See, the history of Israel was wrought with God's redemption of them. Let's open our Bibles back to Deuteronomy chapter 4. Exodus chapter 4. number, let's go to 21 here. And the Lord said unto Moses, when thou goest to return unto Egypt, and that thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand, but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. You know the story of of the ten plagues of God with using Moses as its instrument, and Pharaoh's hardening of his heart. But look at verse 22. It says, And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Is my son my firstborn? And I say unto thee, Let my son go, then He may serve me. And if thou refuse to let Him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." So Israel was looked at by God as being His beloved son. And it was God's goal for Israel that they would serve Him. Now they were under the yoke of Pharaoh. If you remember the history, you remember when Joseph was the Pharaoh's number one man there, his Egypt was used to save Israel out of drought, out of their problems there. But when that Pharaoh died, another came along and he became a taskmaster. Working for the post office, sometimes I feel like that with with my job as well. you gotta do this, and oh by the way, you need your own pens and pencils to do things. But it was much more severe with Israel, they were there, and Pharaoh required them to do much, much more, and by the way, you need to make your own bricks to build with. So they were under taskmasters. We look at that as a picture of the law, being slaves under Pharaoh. You know, today, there are many who are slaves under the law. Under the law shows us the yoke and burden that we're under. That discussion I had this morning on the phone, I used my analogy I have with a cookie jar. It says, yep, if you have the law and you tell people they can't do something, their flesh naturally does it. Amen? As I am attracted to ice cream, as everybody knows. Don't eat that ice cream. Makes me even more so. Makes me want to devour more and more. Telling people, don't sin, don't sin, don't sin, will drive people to sin. Unless you have the response. Unless you give them the good news. The answer to that sin is Jesus Christ. came and He paid for that sin, now live in light of that. So Israel was that firstborn son. Now it looks like in Hosea 1 it says they loved them. God has always had this everlasting love for His people. He loved them then, He loves them now. God so loved the world, even, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Amen? That's a promise. Now, you build upon that foundation through biblical doctrine and growing in His Word, but the foundation is Christ. Amen? We continue here. Now we'll go to Exodus chapter 12, and let's see what happened here in God's deliverance. Exodus chapter 12, I won't read the whole chapter even though I'd love to. Exodus chapter 12, let's start with verse number 21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, draw out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. Pascha, the Sacrifice, the Paschal Lamb, and it's basically the same word in the New Testament as well. a bunch of piss off and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your house to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass when ye become to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children say unto you, What mean you by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover." Notice whose Passover it is. It's the Lord's work, the Lord's Passover. "...who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses, and the people bowed their heads and worshipped." And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne upon the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up and get you forth from amongst My people, both you and the children of Israel, and go, serve the Lord as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds as ye have said, and be gone, and bless Me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that He might send them out of the land in haste, for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being brought up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses. And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor and the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians." So we see this promise of God taking His firstborn, promising that He would deliver them. To keep on going, I want to go to Deuteronomy. Now, Deuteronomy chapter number 9, I'm building a legal case here. Deuteronomy chapter number 9, verse number 1 says, Here, O Israel, thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go to the possessed nations greater and mightier than thyselves, cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest and of whom thou hast heard say, who can stand before the children of Anak? Understand therefore this day that the Lord thy God is He which goeth over before thee." Mark that down right there. Mark down, keep in context the work of the Lord and will look at the failures of mankind in trying to follow Him. He which goeth over before thee as a consuming fire, He shall destroy them, and He shall bring them down before thy face. So shalt thou drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord said unto thee. Speak not thou in thy heart after the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me up to possess this land, but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So again, it's not the righteousness of the people, it's God's will, His righteousness, in performing judgment upon the heathens. Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiff-necked people. Remember the bottom line about all of Scripture, it's not about you. It's about the glory of God. It's about God's will and His righteousness. Our righteousness that we have can only be imputed by the righteousness or because of the righteousness of Christ Jesus. So we continue here in chapter 9, stiff-necked people. That's the summary of chapter 9 actually. Remember and forget not how thou provokest the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt until you came into this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord. Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you." Think of what we've been reading in Hosea. The Lord's righteous anger. He would destroy them, but we'll see what he does instead. When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights. I neither did eat bread nor drink water. And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and on them was written according to all the words which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence, for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They are quickly turned aside out of the way in which I commanded them. They have made them a molten image. Furthermore, the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Let me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire, and the two tables of the covenant were in My two hands. And I looked, and behold, he had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made you a molten calf. He had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you. And I took the two tables and cast them out of My two hands and break them before your eyes. And I fell down before the Lord as at the first forty days and forty nights. I did neither eat bread nor drink water because of all your sins which he sinned, and doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him, and I prayed for Aaron at also the same time. And I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust, and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. And at Tibera, and at Massa, and at Tiberath-Hattabah, ye provoked the Lord to wrath. Likewise, when the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you, then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and you believed Him not, nor hearkened to His voice. You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights as I fell down at the first, because the Lord had said He would destroy you. I prayed therefore unto the Lord and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance which Thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness, which Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, looked not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin. Lest the land whence thou brought us out be saved, because the Lord was not able to bring them into this land which He promised them, and because He hated them, and He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. yet they are thy people and thine inheritance which thou broughtest out by the mighty power and by thy stretched out arm." Moses petitioned God because of God's righteousness. He knew the people would have to be judged and tragically he also was judged. God would prevent him from going into the promised land. Which we're going to look at for a second here, as we tie this together. Moses would be prevented to go into the promised land, but then there was one that came after Moses. His name is Jesus, actually. Or Joshua. And that's where we'll turn here, we'll go to Joshua chapter number 1. Joshua chapter 1. We'll start with verse 1 here too. Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people unto the land which I give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before Thee all the days of Thy life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with Thee. I will not fail Thee nor forsake Thee. Be strong and of good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of my mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and be of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest." What a great promise to Joshua. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people Verse number 11, "...pass through the host and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals, for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go and possess the land which the Lord your God hath given you to possess it." And the Reubenites and to the Gadites and a half-tribe of Manasseh spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan, but ye shall pass before your brethren, armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them, until the Lord hath given your brethren rest." Remember that for a second. "...as He hath given you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God giveth them, Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side, Jordan, toward the sun rising. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commanded us, we will do, and with us whoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee. only the Lord thy God be with thee as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto the words and all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage." Now chapter 2 is the story of the spies that went in. Of course everything was so big, it was just Joshua and Caleb that ended up going over. But the rest were dismayed by the big people there, they were afraid. So we're going to bypass chapter 2 and go to chapter number 3. And chapter number 3, just to move things along here, I want to just go to verse 14. says, And it came to pass, when the people removed their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people. And as they that bear the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, for Jordan overfloweth all his banks at the time of harvest. That just proves people that say it was just a little trickle of water that was in the Jordan River at the time, just like those that say the Red Sea when it was crossed was just a little marshland. It was deep, deep water at the time. Verse number 16, that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zeratan, and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, fell and were cut off, and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm in the ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, unto all the people were passed clean over Jordan." So Moses and the law, Moses is a picture of the law. He could not get them. He broke the law. He could not get the people over Jordan, but here is Joshua. Joshua, the same name, Yeshua. Does it sound familiar today? Joshua or Jesus? Who led the Israelites out of Egypt? And who held back the Red Sea? It was Jesus. Who brought the people over the Jordan? Joshua as a type of Jesus. We turn now to the New Testament. Matthew 2, verse 15. which is quoted from Hosea chapter 1. Verse number 13 of Matthew 2 says, And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt. and be thou there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed unto Egypt. And there was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which is spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called out my son." So Matthew takes Hosea 1.1 and prophetically ties Israel being God's son with Jesus being God's son. It ties it in with the rest of the beginning of Matthew chapter 1 which declares Jesus to be the son of David as well. That this indeed was the King to come out of Egypt. Now back, I should have mentioned this back a minute ago, we were in Joshua 3.16 talking about the deliverance of Israel over Jordan, and I can't help but think of the parallel in John 3.16 about God delivering those that would believe from not just the Jordan, not just Egypt, but delivered us from sin and death. What a great parallel that is. Now we'll turn to the book of Hebrews. A couple more places in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 beginning with verse number 1. This is a book I can read over and over and over and over again. Hebrews chapter 4. Let us therefore fear, lest the promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Now remember who Hebrews is addressed to. It's addressed to Hebrews. Most were Hebrew believers, some were not. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them. So us believers, those who have trust, the same gospel was preached to those who didn't believe, but the word preached did not profit them. In other words, they only heard the law, they didn't hear the grace behind the law, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest." Mark that down. I used to like the term, put that in your pipe and smoke it. Put that down. If you believe, believe what? Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, His sufficiency of His death, burial, and resurrection, you have entered into rest. Amen? What a promise that is. Now let's go on here. For we which have believed do enter rest, as He said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. You want to talk about predestination. In election, Jesus Christ was elect and predestined to come and die on the cross from the very foundation of the world. Jesus was God's plan A. Period. He is God's righteousness. He is God's sufficiency. And guess what? He is God as well. Praise the Lord. Now let's go a little further. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, if they shall enter into My rest, seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief." They didn't enter in because of the law, they did not believe. You know why Joshua went into the Promised Land? Because he believed God. You know, Abraham, why was Abraham counted as righteous? Because of what? A great guy he was? And as great as my faithfulness? No! He believed God and was accounted, check that off on your ledger, accounted unto him as righteous. The only way that we have hope for eternal life is trust in the gospel of grace, the gospel of Christ Jesus, and that alone saves us. What we do after salvation is entirely up to you and the work of God. You know, you can be saved and miserable and not follow the Lord, not read His Word. You'll be miserable, I guarantee you. Been there, done that. But a believer who is in the Word of God will find the blessings of the Word of God and he will grow up into that salvation. Remember the analogy that I gave of buying clothes that are too big for a little baby. They're going to outgrow it and in a couple of months I might as well get something for a newborn that will fit a six year old. Amen? We have been given something that we can't even measure. And that's salvation. What are we here for? What do we come to church for? What do we have a Bible for? What do we pray for? What do we do good works for? Is that we can grow up into that. Now physically I have overgrown my shirt. But spiritually, we can keep on growing and growing and growing and growing will never measure up to God's righteousness unless we are saved by grace through faith. That's our only hope. Believing. That's the starting point, that's the finish point, but everywhere in between is about growing in Christ Jesus. I haven't even gotten to the good part here in Hebrews 4, verse 7. Again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time as it is said, Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. Well, that was the problem with Israel. That's the problem with people today. They have hard hearts, hard heads, hard conscience, a seared conscience. They have sin that reigns and are blind to the truth. Look at verse 8. Now, I'm going to read it, and you read along carefully. It says, for if Joshua had given them rest, Most of our Bibles say Jesus. It's one and the same. For if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For He that is entered into His rest Like, I am bound for the promised land. I am bound for the promised land. Boy, that's awful, isn't it? Good words, though. Well, come and stand before me. You've entered into rest, not by your own works. You've entered in by the work of Christ. As Israel entered in over the Jordan, Israel went over the Red Sea, not because of what they did, it was because of God's or Christ's righteousness. That's where we get our rest from. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from His." See, if you try to work your way into heaven, or work your way into salvation, you'll find that you come up well short of the glory of God. All have sinned. Paul tells us in the book of Romans, and come short of the glory of God. You know, just think, if I keep on trying to climb up the ladder to God, there's going to be somebody that's going to do a little better, and somebody a little better. I'm going to find that I'm weighed and found wanted. And that the only answer is that Christ came down. He came down. And He satisfied the wrath of God on our behalf, which we deserved. Now, verse 11. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. I thought you just said it's not about works! Well, how do you know that you're in rest? It's by laboring in the study of God's Word. It's by laboring and knowing God, which we'll see back in Hosea, that it's not really a labor. It's a pleasure. For the Christian who doesn't desire the Word of God or the work of God, it's misery. And there's strife, there's laborings that are unneeded. But the Christian who desires to labor in the Word for those who, like Egypt back in Hosea chapter 10, I mean Israel back in Hosea chapter 10, they used to love to tread out the corn. Christians once loved to do the work of God, but what's happened is the righteousness of man or the unrighteousness of man has gotten in the way. We need to look to Christ alone. We close up here in, well not close, but you know what I mean. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest. That rest. It's not just the seventh day. That rest that we've entered into is a covenant rest that's 24 hour a day, 7 days a week rest. That is the rest for the people of God when you cease from your own works. Believe me, if you try to trust in your own works, you're going to get discouraged. But when you trust in what Christ has done and grow in that, you're going to love the work. You're going to love to minister. You're going to love other people. And even at times when you're going to slap somebody up the side of the head, you're going to learn to love them because of Christ and His finished work. Why should we labor to enter into that rest? Verse 12, a well-known verse that I'm sure most of us know. For, or because, the Word of God is quick and powerful. I'm dull and stupid, let me be honest with you. I'm a bag of rocks that's smarter than I am when it comes to things. But the Word of God is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. And you know what? The Word of God has better access than any instrument of man can have. Look what it does. Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. Yes, God's Word is like a surgical strike upon your heart. Nothing else has access into your heart, onto your mind like the Word of God does. I can't explain it. Don't ask me to explain, but it's miraculous what God does with His Word. The prophet Isaiah says His Word doesn't come back void. His Word does a work whether you believe it or not. Whether you like it or not, His Word has that power. It says, look, unto the joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Ponder that for a second. People around you may not know what you're thinking. People around you may think that you're the nicest thing since sliced apple pie or whatever, but inside the intents of your heart are wicked. Your heart is deceitfully wicked. Who can know it? I'll tell you who can know it. God knows it! We think we can fool God with our righteousness? Forget it! We might be able to fool the people around us, but God, we cannot fool because His Word has that penetrating power. I'm amazed at surgery that's done today. I'm imagining little Amy's not here, my little Amy that's 13, but when she was just weeks old, she had microscopic surgery. Went into the little tiny blood vessels and worked in there. Think of what God's Word can do. Even discerning the thoughts and the intents of the heart. The Word of God knows how calculating we are. How can I get an advantage? Maybe I can pretend I'm a believer so I can get my own way. That's exactly what it's talking about. How we're calculating sinful hearts and minds. Verse number 13, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. See, God knows not just everything. He knows everybody. all of His creation, He knows. Remember, Jesus said He knows the sparrow. He knows everything about a sparrow. He knows everything about the lilies of the field. How too? How He clothed you. He knows it all. He's the only One with His omnipotence that is like that. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." That's pretty graphic when you think of that, is it not? Everything that you're thinking, everything that you're doing, don't worry about the TSA and the airport scanner seeing you naked. God sees it all. He knows all about us and our sin. Let's look at the end of this chapter here. Seeing then, we have a great high priest. See Jesus as priest after the order of Melchizedek in the next chapter. The Prince of Peace. The King of Salem. He's a great high priest. And unlike earthly priests who have all died and have gotten in coffins and are buried, we have a great high priest that has ascended into heaven. So when we say Jesus is alive, He really is! He's a great high priest seated at the right hand of the Father, Seeing that we have such a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. What's your profession? I'm saved. What saved you? The blood of Jesus Christ saved me. It's by grace that I'm saved. Which are all excellent answers. how you have life, you hold fast to that perfection. Don't let that slip out of your mind. This will only be an evangelistic only service in many places, but this is for Christians. We have problems because we tend to prioritize things that affect us physically instead of prioritizing the Gospel and what it has accomplished on our behalf. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. I always think of how I was brought up, how on Saturday afternoon I'd have to go into a dark closet and you could see the guy on the other side. He doesn't care about you. Oh, bless me, Father, for I've sinned because I lied to my mother. Well, son, do 10 Hail Marys and then do better. That's no answer. This guy is every much the sinner as you are. And to come to think of it, probably worse. And he has given you a self-righteous answer. But we have a high priest. But it says, we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Jesus knows your every weakness. He knows also every one of your strengths, which in actuality is all weakness in His eyes. He knows it all. He understands what we go through. After all, He was crucified. What it says right here, it says, He touched, which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Yes, some would say that, oh yeah, God thought, Jesus thought dirty thoughts, as portrayed in some movies. That's a lie right out of the pit of hell. Because Jesus is God. When He was on the earth, demonic activity increased, assaulting Him. Yet He was the only one that could overcome them because He is impeccable. He's the only one that is perfect. After all, He knows your thoughts, He knows your mind, He knows your heart, He even knows your shoe size. And ladies, believe it or not, Jesus knows your age. Amen? He knows it all. We try to hide behind our righteousness, which is no righteousness at all. Yet, without sin. That is key. He took 2 Corinthians 5.21. He took upon Himself our sin. He was made a curse. He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. Yes, He could not sin, but He took yours and my sin. He took it all to the cross of Calvary. Verse number 16, there's another, let us, because of Him being a great high priest, Him knowing all of our infirmities, knowing everything about us, even in spite of that fact, dying on our behalf, look at what we, as we're all clothed today. Verse number 16, let us, Let those who are saved, let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Well, as we just saw in the beginning of the chapter, when is the time of need? Now is the time of need! We are needy! We are weak! We are beggarly! Again, I'd like to hear Joel Osteen say that sometime. We need all of the help we can get. Or at least I do. I'll admit that. But Christ, because of what He's done, Jesus is, I mean, God does not see our frailties. He sees Jesus. We have put on Christ. Just like me, taking off this dingy gray suit, and in its place, putting on a robe of righteousness that only comes through what Christ has done. And that's coming, by the way. Christ, our sufficiency. Trust Him. The only way you can have access to that throne of grace is by believing the good news of the gospel. Believer or non-believer, this is the same promise. You know, I run into people all the time, they say, I just feel too dirty to go to church. I don't feel like I'm right with God, I can't go to church. What excuse is that? Join the club? We're all dirty, rotten scoundrels. Was that a movie? We're all equal. As I like to say often, one thing that unites Christians is that we are all sinners. Amen? Nothing. None of us can look at and see if there's a perfect person on their own merit. But the other thing that keeps Christians together is the fact that we have an incredibly gracious Savior who took that filthiness, that rottenness, and took it to the cross and was crucified for us. This is our only hope. Everything else that you try to trust in will leave you weighed and found want. Will leave you empty. If you think that you can do something to earn something with God, it's going to lead you to be more destitute. Trust the Lord. Trust the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3 says, and lean not on your own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path." Amen? If there's one thing that you need to do, and you do it, we don't have an altar call, we don't call people forward, but if there's anything you've heard today or anytime, wave them out in your own heart. Bring them to the Lord. Oh, by the way, if you have questions about anything, talk to anybody here about them. We're all in this mess together. Amen? We're equal in sinners, but equal in the great salvation we have. Amen? Trust the Lord. Saint or sinner, trust the Lord. He's our only hope. He died for you. He was buried for you, and He rose again for you to show His righteousness, not ours. But just think how it all ties together. Israel is a son. Jesus is the Son of God. And because of what Christ did, we have the power to be the sons of God. Amen?