Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson

Bible Text: Hebrews 1 | Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson

I am told that Billy Burke was a famous actress in years gone by …..PHOTO
While enjoying a transatlantic ocean trip
She noticed a gentleman at the next table,
He was suffering from a bad head cold.
‘Are you uncomfortable’, she asked
The man nodded
‘Then’, she continued, ‘I will tell you what to do about it ‘
Go back to your stateroom
drink lots of orange juice, take two aspirin
Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find
Sweat the cold out.
I know what I am talking about
I am Billie Burke from Hollywood.’

The man smiled kindly and said,
‘Thanks , I’m Dr Wm. Mayo from the Mayo clinic.’ …..PHOTO

Illustrating, you really do need to know who you are talking to
And what is more, what you are talking about
Which is exactly the situation we fin in Hebrews.

Question : What is the author writing about in this book
After all Hebrews is one of the more difficult books
In the NT to understand
Implying of course we need a level of intelligence,
Knowledge, we need to be informed
to really know what the Book is about.

Then again, I am always keen to find what it means to me personally
What can I gain,
what difference does reading this make in my life
plus as a teaching Pastor I always wanted to discover
in any passage or Book the varieties of meaning
the various applications for the life of a congregation.
So what do we have here that we need to know.

If you recall the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2
The birth of the Church
The day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Took place right in the heart of the Jewish world, Jerusalem.
There in that city, that Pentecost Day
Over 3000 people, became followers of Jesus Christ
And as though that was not enough, we read
That new, fresh believers were being added every day.

This had to be galling for the Jewish authorities and leaders
They found themselves facing a real crisis.
Imagine how they felt ?
After everything that they had done to Jesus
Believing that by His death on a Roman Cross
They had rid themselves of him
Here they were facing a crisis they never expected
That they were losing good, solid, faithful devoted Jews
From out of their synagogues,
Who had placed their undying faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
This had to be for them the unkindest cut of all.
As though that was not bad enough,
This new found faith was so infectious, these numbers grew.

As you read these chapters
You do learn quickly that he is writing to these Jewish Christians
Trying to get them to stand firm
Under the pressure they are experiencing from these Jewish Leaders
Who have been infiltrating the Church
Seeking to turn these converts back to their Old Time Religion.

Let me put it this way
And hopefully simply.
These authorities have been trying to get their point across
That their Jewish tradition,
their Jewish teaching
And the history of their Jewish faith
Far outweighs anything that Jesus could bring to the table.

Imagine balances, where you weigh one thing against the other
They maintained on one side was a condemned criminal, Jesus
To be balanced against MOSES, that great Leader
Who brought to them the Law with its 10 Commandments
Not satisfied with that,
They add to their side of the scale their sacrificial system
With the animals blood shed in the temple
To rid them of their sins on a frequent basis,
And for good measure they then added the High Priest
Who only once each year,
Could approach God in the Holy of Holies,
then not content , they went even further
there was the covenant that God had made with only one people
The Jews
Then finally for good measure, they added
The Jewish belief in Angels
Admitting that at the very least Jesus might have been an angel
That if they accepted that
They would be welcomed back into the Jewish faith
And could return to the Synagogue.

Now I am convinced in their exalted opinion
That with All of that tradition, teaching and history
Loaded against all they could see was a bloodied body.
No contest !

Then we begin to read the Book of Hebrews
A Book that sets itself up
to warn and teach against these infiltrators
Promoting in every verse and every chapter
That in each one of these instances
Put forward by the Jewish authorities, they fail
Jesus is Superior
It is a word that occurs throughout the book
Or as we might say in our language Jesus is THE BEST
Beyond all others – Jesus is the best
Better than all the rest.
So let us see, if the author is correct.

So let us begin in Chapter One

In the past God spoke to our fore fathers thru’ the prophets
At many times and in various ways,
But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son,
Whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom
He made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory,
And the exact representation of His being,
Sustaining all things by His powerful Word.
After He had provided purification for our sins,
He sat down at the right hand side
Of the Majesty in heaven.
If we spend a moment or two dwelling on these first 4 verses,
Which in my humble opinion that having penned them
This author could have set his pen down.
He has in these verses done enough to convince me
That Jesus is Superior
And let me show you what I mean by that.

We read there that ‘ in the past God spoke’
Have you ever wished that God would just speak to you
In a moment of desperation
You so wished to hear His voice
And tell you what you should do next,
In what direction your life should have gone
What partner you should have chosen
All these kinds of things
And here we discover that God has been speaking all along
In spite of what we think God is not silent
God is not withdrawn, not uncommunicative.

There are two distinct phases of God’s communication
That is described here…phase 1 ….’before the Son’
And the second phase….’after the Son’
Underscoring that our God speaks
He is a person to be listened to, understood,
Enjoyed and obeyed.

Before His Son he spoke through prophets at various times
And in a variety of ways
Which tells me that if I find it hard to get anything out of Leviticus
I might hear him clearly in Proverbs
And if I find Hosea, or Zechariah hard to handle,
There is always the Book of Psalms
Where I might hear him speak to me personally.

So we are rebuked in saying that God is silent.
He is not
That is like saying there are no islands around Vancouver Island
Only because I cannot see any from Aspen Road.

Now, the writer maintains that God’s communication
Got even better
There’s that word again , better, superior
Why do I feel free to say God communicating through His Son
Is better, superior
Simply because He sent His Son into the world !

First He spoke through the prophets in a whole variety of ways
And in different seasons,
But in these last days He sent His Son to be His voice.
This is where we part company with many other faiths
Including Islam
Who claim that Jesus is only a prophet.
Not at all !
Jesus is the Son of God
Who is not only now the heir of all things
But it was through Him not only this world
And all that is in it
But the whole Universe was created.

Now in this Chapter the author is weighing Jesus
Over and against Angels
And in this introduction even if your knowledge
And understanding of Angels is negligible
We must know right from the get go
That Angels are created beings
And could not have created the Universe.

Nor were they God’s Son.
Only Jesus was the exact representation of the Being of God
Because in the beginning was the Word
And the Word was with God
And the Word was God.
Inseparable.
And as John wrote, ‘ we have seen His Glory’
And that Glory was the exact representation
And exact copy of the Father in Heaven.

It is after all only a few weeks ago
That we were Hark the Heralding of Angels happily
As we know from the Christmas story
their presence has such a powerful effect
That invariably the first words out of their mouths were
‘fear not’
As they came to Herald the News, coming as Messengers
To announce the arrival that the Saviour was born
Who is Christ the Lord !

For you and for me however, there is one sure thing
That angels cannot do
That only Jesus can do
No one else on earth could ever approach trying to do,
And it was for this reason Jesus was sent to earth
As we read
When He Made Purification for Sins
Which tells me three things right here
1. There is a person here…..”He” …….
2. There is a problem here…..” For sins”
3. Had provided purification …past tense

Never forget there is a person here.
Jesus is real .
He is the One who laid down His life.
Jesus loves, thinks, feels, wills
and even today in heaven has a body.

FOR SINS – that is the problem here
Sin that has to be dealt with
And that is what we are about to begin acutely remembering
Throughout Lent into and especially Holy Week
That the problem of sin has been dealt with.

Some time ago in conversation with someone
Who was wrestling with some personal problems
She Asked me if I thought she was guilty
And as much as I did not want to add to her problems
I told her that I was not here to judge her
All I could do was tell her that Jesus was the guilt remover
The sin eraser
The person who took upon Himself the shame
The guilt
And even the penalty of it all.

And that is what this phrase means
It is over………………………..Finally, It is Done.
It is Finished .
How do I know that ?
Because we read
After He had provided purification for our sins
He sat down at the right hand side of the Majesty in heaven

Jesus sat down after His ascension because His work was done
Finished
Satisfactorily carried out.
After all, what earthly father
Would allow his son to sit with him
If the chores the Father set were not complete.
Verse 4.
So He became as much superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs

Near the city of San Jose dos Campos, Brazil
Is a remarkable facility.
20 years ago, the Brazilian Government
Turned over a prison to 2 Christians
The institute was given a new name, Humaitia it was called …….PHOTO And the prison was to be run on Christian principles
And with the exception of 2 full time staff
All work was done by inmates.
Families outside the prison adopted an inmate
To work with during and after their prison term was complete.

Chuck Colson, a fomer aide to President Nixon
And after Chuck became a Christian
He founded the now world wide ministry
Prison Fellowship International and visited that prison
And made this report.

‘When I visited the prison , I found the inmates smiling
Particularly the murderer who held the keys,
Opened the gates and let me in.
Wherever I walked I saw men at peace.
I saw clean living areas and people working industriously
The walls were decorated with Biblical verses .

Later my guide escorted me to the notorious prison cell
Once used for torture
Today he told me that the whole block now
Only housed one inmate.
We reached the end of a long concrete corridor,
he placed the key in the lock,
are you sure you want to go in

‘Of Course, was Chuck Colson’s reply
I have visited isolation cells all over the world
Then slowly he swung open the massive door
And I saw that prisoner in that punishment cell.
It was a beautifully carved large crucifix carved by the inmates
The prisoner in isolation was Jesus
Hanging on a cross
The guide said softly….He is doing time for the rest of us.

Angels could not do that for you
Only Jesus,

The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with Glory now .

Bible Text: John 1:14-18 , John 2: 1-11 | Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson

As many of you likely already know
My own Mother passed away two years ago
At the end of October 2013,
4 mths after we arrived back in Canada from Scotland
I was 70 at the time.
She was in her 100th. Year
And I rather think it was her idea to stick around
For as long as she could
To find out if I would ever mature.

All that to tell you that in all my 72 years
I have only lived with a woman who was not a mother for 2 years.
And just in case your minds are racing
Let put it to rest to tell you
That these were the two years after Christine and I were married
And before Derek was born.
Consequently, I have lived with a Mother for 70 years
And I have to tell you what I have discovered
Is that there is a special tie
A unique bond between Mothers and sons.

I have felt it – As well as witness it
As I am convinced there was between Jesus and His mother, Mary.

To-day we join them, mother and son
as they attend a wedding in the small hamlet of Cana in Galilee
When we enter the story,
The wedding had obviously taken place
And we do not know if we are still in the middle of the meal
Or that could be over
And it is now party time, with dancing and celebration
guests milling around, and sharing time
As you do at weddings most often
With family members and friends
You only see at weddings and funerals.

Then the wine ran out
And it was only when this catastrophe took place
That Mary comes into the picture.
Now I have to admit had this happened in our day
And Mary commented on the source of wine having run dry
We would think Mary had a problem.

After she pointed out to Jesus the lack of wine
He says something to her that is very strange.
He calls her ‘ Dear woman, why do you involve me,
My time has not yet come.’

At first reading it really is a surprise
To read of Jesus speaking to His Mother this way
It us, it is a surprising response
Not in itself disrespectful, but certainly abrupt
and not the way we would expect Jesus to talk to her.

If we examine the words, ‘ why do you involve me ?’
We could be excused for thinking
That it is possible Jesus did not want to be bothered
He was enjoying himself
Yet on further examination
We discover that these exact Greek words in this question
Are used another 5 times in the NT
And every time they are used
They are spoken by demons to Jesus.

One example of this is found in Mt. 8:29
And when we see them used elsewhere
it is the same every time these words are used
Where each time Jesus is trying to intrude
Trying to gatecrash their domain
And trying to exert control
And they use these same exact words basically saying,
“We do not want you here
You are intruding, you are pressing in here
This is not your territory “
As Jesus speaks these words to Mary
It is no different
The Son is telling the Mother
Mom, you are treading on territory that is not yours
This is not your business; this is not your concern,
This is not your area of influence.
This is my domain.

You might ask me to-day, WHY THE STIFF ARM ?
Well if we look at the Scripture in this exchange closely
I have to ask myself why Jesus did not just say
‘ OK Mom, I see the problem, I’ll handle it’
Because that is exactly what he did
Jesus went ahead and changed water into wine
Very good wine at that – He did perform the miracle
So why the fuss ?

I have to ask you….. who of us at some time in our life
Exasperated at a Mother’s insistence
Have heard ourselves say, ‘ OK, Mom, you win
Because it’s you, I will go and get it done for you ‘
But Jesus,
If you are going to agree with your Mother
And do exactly what she had in her mind
Then why not simply go ahead and do it.
Without the fuss.

So, why the stiff arm ? Here is what I think.
I believe at this point
Jesus is doing something that had he not
There might have been no Calvary’s cross
Consequently no redemption
No salvation
This early in John’s narrative of the ministry of Jesus
here we find the Master making it abundantly clear to his Mother
Probably in full view of his disciples
Jesus wants Mary to know
That because they have a unique physical relationship on earth
Gives her no advantage whatsoever
To guide His unique ministry.

It is as though Jesus turns a key in his relationship
In the light of His Father mission
and the shadow of the finale of the cross
Of course it is true, that hour of self- sacrifice has not yet come
But already its demand is upon Him.
That demand requires that all previous relationships
Especially the close ones have to be revised

In another place, on another day
He did the same with his own siblings
When some people called out to Jesus
When he was speaking in a house,
‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you’
Jesus answered them
‘Who are my mother and brothers ?’
And as Jesus looked around at those who were listening
He said, ‘ Here are my Mother and brothers.’

What is Jesus saying ?
The family of Jesus is quite simply , His followers
faith filled followers
people like you and I
Not brothers, sister or even a precious Mother
But dedicated, devoted followers
Who have a saving, fellowship relationship with Jesus.

The one sure thing that guided Jesus
During his earth bound ministry
And that was made very clear in all gospels
It was His Father’s will alone that guided Him.
I am sure you are familiar with the passage
Where Jesus states, ‘ I do nothing on my own authority
But speak just as the Father taught me.’ John 5: 17-19

The miracles of Jesus are not at his Mother’s disposal
Nor at Peter’s or even John’s, or Paul
Or anyone else for that matter
Jesus operates entirely at the Father’s call,
He and the Father are one,
They have but one will.

Now I know you have another question for me
And it is likely this….
WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THIS INFORMATION
How does it impact us
How does it help us.

Well, one of the ways we can be helped
is to take a good close look at Mary
We can learn from her.

Here in this setting we see her approach Jesus
Totally as His Mother
Mary recognises the problem with the wine
And as she has his ear, mentions it to Jesus
Then she gets this reproach.
No longer will she have his ear, in His ministry, His Mission
And especially in His journey to and on the cross
But what we do know from here in Cana
And in many places in the gospels and even at the cross
Mary responds with faith and as a result is honoured.

With Jesus we cannot influence him with good works
Or Long service, Or pedigree
Or even a bright education,
Not even good standing in the community
That will not cut it.
It is clear from this exchange between Mother and Son
That any weight of influence upon Him that she might have had
had no special standing
it bore no weight .

That is why I believe that the Holy Spirit included this little exchange
To inform the readers
In previous generations as well as in our day
That Jesus is declaring right up front
That the pathway to His favour
comes to Him in one way
And one way only and that is through personal faith in Him.
He cannot be influenced any other way
As the Bible tells us in Timothy
‘There is one mediator between God and man
And that is Christ Jesus’

Not through your parents,
no matter how faithful and devoted they were
Not through a sibling, or a special friend
Who have served the Church
Could have been as a missionary, a pastor, or simply at a Food Bank
Or even your spouse
We cannot influence Jesus through other people
Nor through acts of service,
Or even gifts of money,

Of course conversely
Your parents could have been the most ungodly people you ever knew
Same with your spouse
You could have found them lying, cheating, good for nothing
And God’s love is such
that does not hinder you from the favour of Jesus,
or even from the full blessing of Him
We stand alone, on our own before Him.
Where the only thing that matters is your living faith in who He is
And what He did at Calvary for you.

Part of the Glory of Jesus is this radical freedom
from family bonds, ties and partiality.
The fullest Glory we see in Jesus
is settled in His radical allegiance to His Father.

I believe that in this passage we see the first hint
Of Jesus’ full surrender to His Father
Jesus yielded fully, submitted totally to His Father.
In the familiar passage in Philippians, we read
‘ he emptied himself, made Himself nothing,
taking on the very nature of servant….
Humbled Himself, became obedient to death,
Even death on a cross.’
Jesus surrendered to God
Even though He knew where His life would take Him
To be rejected of men, eventually lead to a cross.

To surrender today is decidedly ‘ not cool’
Especially living in a military town
We do not want to admit defeat, forfeit a game
Yield to a stronger opponent
Today we are taught never to give up or give in
Winning is everything
We are the captain of our own ship
We plough our own furrow
We advance under our own steam.
Consequently surrender is unthinkable.

But my friends surrendering to God is the heart of worship
It is the heart of service
Your surrender to Him
My surrender to Him to be our natural response
to the fiery outrageous, merciful love of God.

This act of personal surrender of Jesus to the Father
Is modelled for us throughout the NT
In the church we have used different names for it
Often it is called consecration, or making Jesus Lord,
Or taking up your cross
Or even dying to self.
Basically it is saying, I Surrender to you

It does not matter one iota what we call it,
What matters is that we do it, each one of us.
Simply because the Lord God wants all of your life
All of my life
95per cent is not enough – all of it.

The English writer C.S. Lewis once wrote
‘The more we let God take us over ,
The more truly ourselves we become- because He made us.
It is when I turn to Jesus
And I give myself up to Him
That I first become to be really who I am.’

One of the early verses in John’s Gospel, chapter 1
Often shared in the season of Advent……..v14
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
We have seen His Glory,
The Glory of the One and Only
Who came from the Father , full of Grace and Truth.

It is these five words at the heart of that verse,
‘We have seen His Glory,
That I believe sets John out on a journey to write this Gospel.
The disciples have seen His Glory
And they are so eager to share it with others
They have this singular desire
for us who come after them
To catch what they caught
To see what they saw,
The Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ

As I close this morning,
I want to leave you with two things,
The first is this
that Glory that was seen by these disciples in the man, Jesus
began with his single minded consistency
His steadiness,
His total focus that He came from the Father
His reliability
His total dependence upon His Father
That He belonged to the Father
That He had come from the Father
That alone He would fully obey the Father’s will
That in everything He did on earth would bring Glory to the Father

The other lesson to take away this day
Is much more personal
As we leave this morning
And go out into the week that lies ahead
Remember this
That Jesus is swayed
only by those who despair of pedigree,

and through their surrender to Him
rely and trust and depend only upon His Grace.

Bible Text: 2 Chronicles 15:1-4; 2 Chronicles 15:10-15, Matthew 6:31-34 | Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson

Bible Text: John 8:1-12, Luke 19:1-10 | Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson

Bible Text: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, Luke 11:1-13 | Preacher: Rev. Roy Cowieson