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1:17Yet sin has left a crimson stain upon it. I look around and I say that we're living in a fallen world. I see things that are out of order. I see sin and decay in the world. And then I look inward and I see sin in my own heart. And it leads me to a very perplexing question: what can wash away my sin? Tell me. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Yes. And as I am pondering that, all of a sudden I am awakened. What a love. What a cost. We stand forgiven at the cross.

2:01And suppose I keep going. Yes, I'm still in this world. I'm forgiven and I'm living in. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, I'm not going to let myself get down on these things because I also read in my hymn book, Jesus shall reign wherever the sun does its successive journeys run. Therefore, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. It's a sermon. You can preach it, anybody. Just with your hymn book, pick it up, you can preach.

2:38Well, that's basically what our author of Hebrews has been doing. We're coming to the end of chapter one. The author has cited six, no, seven texts of Scripture in the first chapter. Six of them are from the Psalms. It's like whoever this. Person like Paul was going around using his hymn book as a preacher. And the power of it all is that people would have known these. These are good songs that people, especially in the synagogues, would have known. And he's doing nothing more largely. I mean, a large part of his messages are coming straight out of his hymn book. And that's why it's very important that we sing good theology in the songs that we sing. Because if nothing else, you have the truth. Well, look at verse 14. We're at the last verse in Hebrews chapter 1. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

4:06Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? He starts this chapter, and look at verse 4, speaking about Christ being much better than the angels, having become as much better than the angels. In other words, his message in chapter 1 is about paying attention. To Jesus, he is far superior than angels. And so far, in chapter 1, he has emphasized the reason why we should pay attention to Jesus is because he is far superior than the angels. Jesus' status demands that we should pay attention to him far more than we should anybody else, even the angelic realms. He is God's Son. He has a better title than they. He is the Creator. He brought things into existence.

5:07He is not going to go out of existence. He is at the right hand of the Father. His preferences are forever. He is forever. His joy is forever. Because of this status, pay attention to Jesus. But what's shocking is how he ends this chapter. The last sentence focuses on the status of those who receive Jesus. Notice that. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? And then the very next verse, for this reason we must pay attention, closer attention to what we have heard. Pay attention.

5:55This last verse speaks about the status of those who will receive. Receive Jesus. They too, make sure you get this, they too share a status superior to that of the angels. An incredible statement. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? It's an incredible statement, and we're going to go slow through it because I don't want to just, I think this verse gets kind of lost in there, but as we just move on through, I think it's good that we take time to think through and pack reverently and humbly, but truthfully, what this text contains and is saying about our status of those who are in Christ. I hope you leave here, if you're a Christian today, I hope you leave here with an extraordinary assessment of the incredible, great dignity that is afforded you by our Lord Jesus Christ. Great dignity. This verse reveals to us who the royal family really is. The royal family of heaven, the royal family of earth, a very dignified, special class of people.

7:30This is the great dignity that belongs to Christians. And who are Christians? Those who have received him. This whole chapter is about paying attention to Jesus, paying attention to Jesus. And the great dignity to those who pay attention and receive who he is. So that's where we're going this morning. I just want to look at this great dignity that is seen in Christians, great dignity bestowed upon Christians. First of all, great dignity is seen in the fact that angels serve them. The great dignity of Christians is seen in who serves them. Who serves them?

8:20Angels serve them. Look at verse 14. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? Angels serve them. There's the great dignity of this special class of humanity. All of 14 is just one big question. It's a rhetorical question. Are they not all ministering spirits? Yes, is the answer. Not only do angels worship Jesus and serve Jesus, they are ministers. To those who receive Jesus. Notice, first of all, they are ministering spirits. They're not ruling spirits, dictatorial spirits. They are ministering spirits. What is a ministering spirit? A spirit who is engaged in holy service. That's what a minister is: someone who is engaged in holy service for God. But notice this word all. Are they not all ministering spirits? This word all encompasses all the angelic orders. Remember, we spent some time as we were looking through the book of Revelation, we looked at angels and who they are. And as we read and survey the scripture, there are all kinds of ranks of Bibles, I mean, of angels in the Bible.

9:58There are cherubim, there are seraphim, there are strong angels, there are harvesting angels, there are preaching angels, there are army angels, the hosts, there are trumpet angels, there are temple angels, there are very strong angels, there are named angels like Gabriel and like Michael, elder angels, no order. That's all of the angelic orders, all of them. No order is accepted in this sweeping statement. Are they not all, all the orders of angelic beings? Are they not all ministering spirits? But this word all does more than just encompass all of the angelic orders. It encompasses every angel within every class, and they are innumerable.

11:02Vast numbers of them. When we see glimpses of them in Revelation or in Daniel, we see myriads and myriads, thousands of thousands. A way to express, there is no way to number them. Infinity. Daniel 7, verse 9. Daniel sees in a vision, he says, like he kept looking until thrones were set up, and the ancient of days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, and its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myriads and myriads were standing before him.

12:01Myriads of myriads standing before him, thousands and thousands attending him. All of those are, all that speaks of a posture of service, attending, standing, waiting to receive orders. All are in a posture to serve. No angel is accepted. Have you ever wondered why, as you read through scriptures, there are so many angels? I mean, there are tons. The numbers are, like I said, they stretch any ability that we have to imagine great numbers than the language that's given.

12:49Well, think about this. If you have a little bitty house, it doesn't take very many people to run that house, does it? But if you have a large estate, the larger and grander and more sophisticated and more far-reaching and more grand an estate, the more numerous those it has to employ. More numerous are the servants, and more numerous are the ranks of those servants. You see, heaven is filled with many tasks. And there are angelic orders that are needed. And certainly in the new heavens, the new earth, the existing earth, there are magnitudes of angelic orders and angels within those orders with tasks, divine tasks.

13:54Oh, I pray that the Lord will open your eyes and see the many who are for you in this angelic gift of servants that our Lord has given to us. So they are ministering spirits, but notice they are also commissioned spirits, and they are commissioned for very specific tasks. Look back at verse 14. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service? There it is. Sent out for service. Literally, the Greek is like they are for service, for holy service. They are sent out. They are assigned. They are attendants waiting for orders, standing. They're not sitting before the Lord. You don't see that picture of angels sitting. They are standing ready for their tasks or specific assignments. And what are those specific tasks? It's just spelled out. Sent out to render service, to provide aid. To provide support. They're not ruling spirits or dictatorial spirits who are out asserting their own wills or running their own program, but they are subordinate spirits who carry out the will of God and the specific tasks that God gives them. They are not kings, but they serve the king.

15:25They are commissioned for specific tasks, not arbitrary whims. They exalt Christ, not themselves. They promote God's program of salvation. They promote God's program of salvation in His people. They are ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. We see examples of this throughout. You remember Elijah? The prophetic ministry is important, is it not? When Elijah was exhausted and discouraged over Jezebel's hardness and unrepentance and unrelenting evil, he took off, ran, and fell asleep. And in 1 Kings 19, it was an angel that was touching him, saying, Get up and eat. You need more strength for the journey.

16:30Prophetic ministry is necessary. You remember way back in Genesis 3, God didn't want humanity to be confirmed in a fallen estate, so what did he do? He blocked the way of the tree of life and stationed an angel there, a cherubim in Genesis 3:24, that guarded the way to keep people from consuming, partaking in the tree of life and their fallen estate. But then, when you get to the end of the Bible in Revelation 21:12, there are angels there at the gate welcoming people into the eternal city, which provides access right into the heart of the city, being the tree of life.

17:20Angels, ministering spirits, supply for the journey, holy orders, ministering spirits, commissioned for a specific task. But it's clearly written in the text there that it is for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. So the great dignity of being a Christian is seen in that angels serve them, but also that they will inherit salvation. The great dignity of those who are going to inherit something. Very supremely beyond the ability of man to communicate an inheritance so great.

18:11Put under one heading: salvation. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? That's the special class of people that the angels serve. Those who are determined by God to receive salvation. You know what an inheritance is? Somebody wants to leave something behind to one of their children. We get that. Or an inheritance, entrust something, to give something, to pass on a blessing. That's the idea of inheritance. And this is the language here. God wants to give something incredible to his people.

19:01Salvation. The word inherit means to acquire, to obtain, to become an heir, to come into the ownership of. And what is it that they are to inherit? Salvation. What is salvation? Salvation speaks of being delivered from something. It speaks of persevering or preservation in something. It speaks of being rescued. You can think about salvation as many dimensions to it. It's a rescue from a state of harm, a state of lack, a state of want, a state of deficiency, a state of want to a state of well-being. That's what salvation is. It's a rescue from one state and transferred into another state. Salvation, what the writer has in mind here is something in an ultimate sense. Salvation is likened to an estate, an estate. It's not just this nebulous thing, it's a whole estate.

20:24It's something that's guaranteed in the present, yet it's something to be received in the future. Yes, there are certain benefits of this salvation that can be enjoyed now, but there is an ultimate day that is in view here. Those who will inherit salvation in its totality. Not just the first down payments of it, but a confirmation in an ultimate sense. So as you think about the Depictions of salvation in Scripture, one of the first ways the scripture lays a foundation for salvation is the Exodus. Salvation is from something. You remember Pharaoh from his tyranny and all that that touched upon. Salvation is from something. It's from sin. It's from the penalty of sin. It's from slavery to sin. It's from death. It's from lack. That is salvation from. We need to be saved from all that. But salvation is also to someone, to someone. Just as in the Exodus, salvation wasn't just about getting away from Pharaoh. It was about coming to God and fellowshipping with Him.

21:46But salvation is not only to someone, to God, it is for something. Salvation is for something. And what was that? To be a kingdom of kings and priests. Think about a whole nation of kings and priests. No wonder that the concept of Melchizedek is going to be large. Someone who merges the two king and priests into one office and then says, all of y'all are going to be kings and priests. But salvation is from something. Salvation is to something. Salvation is for something. And salvation is by someone.

22:28A lamb in heaven. Exodus, a slain lamb. That was the distinction, all pointing to Jesus Christ. So we see that salvation laid out for us in Scripture, from something, to someone, for something, by someone. We also see it prophetically described in the text I read earlier, Revelation 20 and 21. It's being saved, the great white throne judgment is a deliverance of God's people from their enemies. But it's also a salvation to something, an eternal state, preservation in that eternal state.

23:17So, salvation, as the scripture lays it out before us, it's ultimately deliverance from everything that harms the soul and deliverance to a state of being preserved in everything that is good for the soul. That's what salvation is: deliverance from all that harms, deliverance to all that blesses, and continuing in all that blesses forever. That's the picture of salvation. And God's people are the recipients of this great estate of salvation. So imagine a state, okay? Just if you take a moment, you can close your eyes, you don't have to, but take for a moment and just picture the grandest estate you can imagine in your mind.

24:14Okay, you got it? What did you picture? Did you picture a house, a grand house, maybe a grand estate, grand grounds, every detail perfectly tended to, maybe a host of servants and administers of all ranks with great affection for the king and the king's family. Every detail. Well, God's people are the recipients of an estate that God has thought through. A state called heaven. And the angels are the stewards who play a role in ensuring that God's people come in to that possession. That's what this text is saying. They are all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.

25:25And it's guaranteed. How is it guaranteed? Well, it's guaranteed. We can look at objective. And subjective proofs, so how it's guaranteed. Number one, objectively, it is guaranteed by prophetic promise throughout Scripture. It is also objectively guaranteed by the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it's also guaranteed subjectively. That is, we look inside, we see the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in lives around us and even in our own lives. We have an inheritance that is guaranteed. No matter what your view of the grandest estate you can come up with, heaven has so much more than all of those. One commentator said it well, speaking about the valuable state, estate of salvation. It's what he says: the reference to salvation as an inheritance that the elect will receive on Judgment Day ought to be understood in the broadest sense possible. When the elect are in the presence of Christ, they will no more experience death, mourning, crying, or pain. They will enter a blessed and glorious state reserved for them and given to them. For eternity. They shall be with Christ forever. That is the fullness of inherited salvation. And this is why the author is going to repeatedly and strongly call his audience to pay attention to Jesus. The very next verse, chapter 2, verse 1. For this reason, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the words spoken through angels proved unalterable, how much more, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

27:42The question becomes: how? How do angels serve those who will inherit salvation? Well, I gave you a few examples. This could be a whole study, another chapter, another book about the variety of ways that angels serve God's people, those who are going to inherit salvation. Well, I'll just mention a few. As you survey Scripture, you realize angels have a message ministry. They often come to explain, to communicate truth, some sort, or explain truth. You remember in Daniel 9, Gabriel comes to Daniel and says, Daniel, I have come forth to give you insight and understanding. In verse 2, 21, so that you can give heed in verse 23.

28:37Remember, Gabriel also appeared to Zacharias, and he says to him, Your wife Elizabeth is going to have a son, by the way, and you're going to call him John, John the Baptist. And then later in the same, he goes on to say in that same passage, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you to bring this good news. There's Gabriel standing in the presence of God now commissioned to be sent to speak. He goes on, chapter 1, he also comes to who? To Mary. And he says, to Mary.

29:21Behold, you are going to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. So an angel goes as commissioned to announce Christ's birth. But also, you know what? You know, the first proclamation of the gospel is really in Mark 16. This comes from an angel. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right hand, wearing a white robe, and they were amazed. And he said to them, Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He is risen. He is not here.

30:01I can imagine there's a smile on his face. Here is the place where they laid him. Go tell his disciples and tell Peter, he is going ahead of you. It's an angel commissioned with that task. So they have a message ministry. They also have a specific needs ministry. We saw that with Elijah meeting Elijah along the way. There was, remember Jesus after his temptation in Matthew 4:11, after the devil left him, behold, angels came and began to minister to him. Angels, plural. You remember in Acts chapter 12 when Herod had already killed James and he had locked Peter up in prison, was going to do the same thing with him. Peter was in prison. He needed to get out, and guess what shows up?

30:49And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell, and he struck Peter's side and woke him up. Get up, boy. Get up. I love that. They show up. Get up quickly. His chains fell off. And later, when Peter had come to himself in verse 11, he says, This, Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth his angel and rescued me. The Lord, and in that context, Peter is speaking about Jesus. The Lord Jesus sent forth his angel and rescued me.

31:23Throughout Scripture, you see these ministries. They have a guardian ministry, they will bear you up. Psalm 91, verse 12, verse 11. For he will give his angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. So it is for those who trust in God. And this was applied to Jesus. You remember Daniel in chapter 6. Daniel says in verse 22, My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth.

32:01So those who minister in his name are protected by him. In Daniel chapter 12, Michael, the great prince over Israel, the sons of Israel, rises up to protect them. So there are angels who protect nations. In Matthew 18, 10, Jesus says these words, See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones. Who are the little ones? The most vulnerable, the church, most vulnerable society. See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels, plural, in heaven continually see the face of my God, of my Father who is in heaven. You know, I think we need to, one of the things about church life, I think we need to be a little bit more fearful as the dignity that those around us have when we come into this body of believers. Listen, I don't care.

33:13Everyone who has been bought has a great dignity. And don't take that, don't treat that lightly. Even the most vulnerable, they're angels, see the face of God. Christ himself. But angels, we can go on. They have a conducting ministry. Well, I call it a conducting, not like this kind of conducting, but maybe they have that too. But in Scripture, there is a conducting ministry. You remember when the rich man and Lazarus, remember that episode in Luke 16? The poor man died and was carried away by angels, plural, to Abraham's bosom. And this is Christ speaking about this. There is a conducting ministry. What happens when you die? You are in the Lord. You are conducted. There is a team. There are ministers. There are those who are ministers, who are designated to minister on your behalf and conduct you into that place of safety before the Lord.

34:16Angels have a judgment ministry. Remember in Ezekiel 9, verse 1, upon Jerusalem, he cried out and said, draw near, O executioners of the city. Each had a destroying weapon. In his hand. Remember in Revelation 16, the bowl, angels, verse 16, verse 1, chapter 16, verse 1. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go, there's your task, go and pour out on the earth seven bowls of the wrath of God. Angels have a gathering ministry. Jesus tells us that in Matthew 24 and verse 31, and he, the Son of Man, that's himself, will send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one end of the sky to the other. All this is about those who are going to inherit salvation, the king's program, and bringing into fruition the reality and possession of this inheritance of salvation. Even Jesus goes on, Matthew 25, to speaking about angels. But when the Son of Man comes in all his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit.

36:00The kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So, even up into that very last moment, there comes the angels gathering together and standing there through the judgment of the sheep and the goats and granting, being party to that, inheriting the kingdom. But I could go on, as you know, I can. But the point of all this is that angels are ministering spirits, regardless of their rank. From the highest to the lowest ranks, they serve the benefit of you and I, who are inheritors of salvation.

36:50Then Paul makes a startling statement. 1 Corinthians 6:3, Do you not know that we will judge angels? I say all this because it's there truthfully. So, what should we do? Well, we should not seek angels or be enamored by angels or worship angels, but we should appreciate their service. How do we appreciate their service? By exalting Christ as they do. By paying attention to Jesus, as they do, and exalting Christ, as they do. And that's what the author of Hebrews is pressing. Listen, instead of paying attention to angels, and he's going to elaborate on this in chapter 2, because it was the angels that God used to bring forth the Mosaic law.

37:56And he's going to impress them: pay attention to the Son, pay attention to Jesus. Well, there's great dignity of Christians, and the great dignity in being a Christian is seen in who serves you. Angels serve you. Great dignity is also seen in what you will inherit. You will inherit the great estate of salvation in its ultimate sense. As I'm reading this, in this little sentence right there in verse 14, it's evident that the author who pinned these words and the greater author who inspired these words wanted us to come away with the great sense of the dignity that has been granted to us as followers of Jesus and all this given to us by our Lord, His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, angels are spectacular. Beings. And yet, as chapter 1 shows us, Jesus is far superior. Verse 4, he opens this whole chapter. Pay attention to Jesus. He is much more better than the angels.

39:18So the author opens the book by the superiority of Jesus over the angels. He closes this chapter with this thought that we too are superior than the angels. And I say that with humility, but what the plain text says. This last statement to me is just stunning. Not only is Jesus greater than the angels, but so are his people. How can this be? A.W. Pink provided an insightful illustration that I don't know if he realized just how insightful it was, because he wrote at a time when Queen Elizabeth II was an infant.

40:11Now, for those of you who knew, she just recently passed away. She was queen who reigned over 70 years, the longest reigning monarch in British history. Yet before she was Queen Elizabeth, she was Princess Elizabeth. She was the first child of the Duke of York. And A.W. Pink writes these words about her when she was just a wee little baby. He says this: Take the present household of the Duke of York. In it are many servants, honored, trusted, and loved. They are titled ladies and lords of the realm, yet they are serving, ministering to the infant Princess Elizabeth. At present, she is inferior to them in age, strength, wisdom, and attainments, yet she is superior in rank and station. She is of the royal stock, a princess, possibly even heir to the throne. Well, she turned out to be the heir, didn't she? And he goes on to make this analogy. In like manner, the heirs of salvation are now in their stage of their infancy. They are but babes in Christ. This is the period of their minority. The angels far excel us in strength, wisdom, attainments, yet they are our servants. They minister unto us. Why?

42:01Because we are high above them in birth, rank, and station. We are children of God. We are joint heirs with Christ. We have been redeemed with royal blood. Yes, we have been made kings and priests unto God. Oh, how wonderful is our rank. Members of the royal family of heaven. Therefore, we are ministered unto by the holy angels. What a calling is ours. What a provision has divine love made for us. Well, as we reflect on this, we are members of the royal household, and the royal household partakes from the royal table.

42:57So, as I pray, I want to ask the ushers and team to come forward and prepare. Heavenly Father, indeed, as we stand in this text, that really is profoundly insightful into our current status. We are infants, Christ, growing in your ways, passing through this father. World. We are humble among the humble. Father, our bodies are wasting away. Father, we cannot even remember where our keys are from day to day. We see all around us the shortness, our humbleness, our inability to possess anything.

43:56And yet, we see this incredible statement that we are members of this royal household that you have destined us to inherit something so far beyond our ability to even grasp. Father, what a dignity that the angelic ranks and orders of heaven would pay attention to us. Why would you be mindful to give us and prepare for us such a grand estate? Father, we are humbled, and yet this is exactly what your word says to us. So we don't dare not believe it, but thank you for it. Father, prepare our hearts now as we take of the table, the royal table that you've set before us. In Jesus' name, amen. In a moment, they're going to pass out the elements.

45:01As I said, the royal family, what do we do? We eat from the royal table, and all are invited, but only those who have received Jesus are allowed to partake. So, as we pass these out, if you've put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you are part of the table. You are to partake. Who is the royal family? Those who will inherit salvation. Who are the angels? Servants to the royal family. What is salvation? That's the estate that we as the royal family are going to occupy in its full dimensions one day. The estate that is coming is not to be possessed by anyone outside the royal family, nor is it going to be given in its full form to babes within the royal family. But we all must be brought to Christ's likeness, maturity in Christ's likeness, before we can fully possess our inheritance.

46:09We as Christ's family are to share this estate collectively. That is why you must recognize the body of Christ. That is why you must forgive. That is why you must repent and ask for forgiveness and grant it. Because those who do not recognize the body, Of Christ. This is for us. This isn't just for one individual. It's a collective whole. And so we must recognize the body of Christ when we come to the table. You know, there is no lasting future for those whose sins are not forgiven.

46:50If you are not a Christian, you remain under the wrath of God. You are outside the good future that God has in store for humanity. And what's depicted here, what's here emblematically in the elements, is God's provision for your pardon and means to a right relationship with Him. And so you are invited if you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Let today be that day. Repent of your sins. Come to His table and take in by faith what these represent. And then get somebody and share with Him what God is doing in your life.

47:39Let's talk about it. But if you do not eat of His table, you have no future with Him. But for those of us who do, wow, something so incredible is ahead. Something so incredible is already in our possession. So, as the elements are passed, be extremely grateful for the kindness and generosity of our Lord. As we meditate upon thanksgiving and all the things that God has done, put this at the top of your list: kindness and generosity of our Lord.

48:38Glorify your name through me. Psalm 103 concludes: Bless the Lord, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, together. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Amen. Well, thank you again for joining us this morning. It's always a blessing to be with God's people, and we do indeed serve a great God. Hope you can come back this evening at 6 o'clock for our evening service. If you're unable to make it, we pray that all of your hearts will be filled with thankfulness to our God as we go out this week. Make time to express. That thanks appropriately to him. Have a great day. Be blessed.

50:41I'm not sure if I can do it.