Shiloh Bible Church
Hebrews 1:1-2a
Can You Hear Me Now?
Introduction
“Did I get any mail?” [Walk over to mailbox prop and look inside for a letter.]
Many of us growing up can remember how excited we were when we received a letter. Most letters were addressed to our parents. But do you remember how excited you would get when you received a letter addressed to you? There was something exciting about receiving mail—even if it was “junk mail.”
Have you ever waited for any important letter? Maybe you were waiting to hear from an employer that he had hired you. Or maybe you waited to hear from a college that you had been accepted. Or maybe you were just waiting for a letter from that certain special someone in your life. How good it was to find out that you had mail.
Even in our day of e-mails, fax machines, and text messaging, the postal service is still a popular way of getting a message from here to there.
Now, we have people here at Shiloh that have worked for or are working for the US Postal Service—Dick Casey, Joe Yachimowski, Jeff Dressel, Rodney Leighow, Kris Neidig.
You know, last year the US Postal Service delivered 208 billion pieces of mail to 137 million households. That’s a lot of mail! I’m amazed at how very few of it gets lost. The mail always seems to get through somehow.
The Farley Post Office building in New York City has these words inscribed on it: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” That motto was actually used in ancient times to describe the Persian couriers in 500BC. The Persians had a vast postal system that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to India—a distance of over 1600 miles. They built relay stations every 14 miles for the swift transfer of men and horses. The couriers who carried the messages were so speedy that they could travel the distance in a week.
Now, our modern day couriers—the letter carriers of the Postal Service—are still making their appointed rounds despite snow, rain, heat, or other elements. They are determined to see that you get your mail. They want you to be able to say, “I’ve got mail.”
But the Postal Service is not the only one who is concerned about getting a message to you. God sought to get a message to you as well. Please turn with me in your Bible to the book of Hebrews—Hebrews chapter 1.
We are just starting out on our study of this fascinating letter in the New Testament. Last week we discovered that the author wrote this letter to encourage a congregation of Hebrew Christians who were facing persecution. Because of their suffering, they were tempted to abandon their Christian faith and return to their former Jewish religion. So the writer of Hebrews encourages them to not to do this, but rather to move forward in their relationship with Christ. Because Jesus Christ is far better than anyone or anything they’ve experienced.
Now, the book of Hebrews begins by describing God’s communication to man. And we know one way that God has communicated to us is …
1. THROUGH CREATION
Listen to what David wrote in Psalm 19:1-4: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
David tells us that God communicates to us through His creation. And what does His creation tell us about Him? Well, when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, stars, and planets, what does that tell you about God?—Doesn’t it tell you that the One who created all of this is great and powerful and majestic? Doesn’t it also tell you that He is a God of intelligence, design, and order?
One night Rich Myers—our Youth Director—and I were outside. It was a clear night. And we were able to pick out the North Star, the Big Dipper, the Pleiades. And we began to joke about how all this happened “by chance.”
Show the pennies numbered 1-10.] Suppose I numbered 10 pennies from 1 to 10 and placed them in my pocket. Then I put my hand in my pocket and pull out a penny. The chances of me pulling out the penny with the number 1 on it are 1 in 10. Suppose I place that penny back in my pocket and mix the pennies around. I again put my hand in my pocket. The chances of me pulling out the penny with the number 2 on it would be 1 in 100. The chances of repeating the same procedure and coming up with the penny with the number 3 on it would be 1 in 1,000. To do so with all of them—1 through 10 in order—would be 1 in 10 billion!
You say, “Wow! That would be incredible!” But those odds are child’s play compared to the odds of the universe coming about by chance. The order and intricacy of the universe is astounding.
British astrophysicist Paul Davies wrote: “There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all … It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe. …The impression of design is overwhelming.”
Alan Sandage—winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy—said: “I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.”
And so it is! “The heavens declare the glory of God.” God has communicated to us through His creation. He has demonstrated His might, magnificence, and majesty.
But God has not stopped there. God has communicated to man beyond what we see in creation. The writer of Hebrews tells us that God has also communicated to us …
2. THROUGH THE PROPHETS
We read in Hebrews 1:1: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.”
God has revealed Himself to us through the prophets of the Old Testament. Now, we learn from Hebrews 1:1 that God’s revelation through the prophets was …
· Proportional
It says, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.”
God spoke “many times”—not all at once. The Old Testament revelation was written over a period of 1,500 years by more than 40 writers. So, God spoke many times.
And God spoke in “various ways.” Sometimes He communicated to His prophets through a dream—as He did to Daniel; or a vision—as He did to Ezekiel; or a burning bush—as He did to Moses.
So, God’s revelation was proportional. It was also …
· Progressive
God spoke “many times and in various ways.” And as He did, He kept giving additional revelation to man. God did not keep repeating Himself. He gave additional instruction and information to man, building of previous revelation.
So, God’s revelation was proportional and progressive. But God’s revelation was also …
· Partial
God spoke through the prophets. And as wonderful as those messages were, they were fragmented and lacking. It wasn’t God’s last word to man.
God’s full and final communication to man came …
3. THROUGH HIS SON
Look at verse 2: “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
God has spoken to us by His Son. You got mail! You’ve gotten some new mail from God. A special Mailman has delivered a special message from God to you. This message is …
· Final
The writer of Hebrews says “in these last days”—that is, the last days of revelation—the final revelation.
You’ll remember in John 4 that Jesus met a woman at a well in Samaria. Jesus began a conversation with her about spiritual things. And the woman told Jesus, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
The Jews and Samaritans understood that the Messiah would come. And when He did He would give them final revelation—the final message from God.
Not only is this revelation final, but it is also …
· Full
“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” And His message is the full and complete revelation of God.
Listen to what Jesus told His apostles in John 16:12-14: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
So, Jesus told His apostles that they would receive and record His full and final message through the inspiration of the Spirit of God. And that message is the New Testament—which is centered on God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The 4 gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. The book of Acts tells about the spread of the gospel of Jesus. The epistles amplify and explain the work of Christ. And the book of Revelation reveals that Jesus will return one day to establish His kingdom on earth.
From beginning to end, the New Testament is about Jesus Christ. When we read the words of the New Testament, we are hearing God’s voice. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
Ingmar Bergman is a celebrated Swedish filmmaker. He tells the story of how one day he was listening to the works of classical composer Igor Stravinsky. As he was listening to the music, he began to daydream about a 19th-century cathedral. He said that he found himself wandering around the great building and then finally standing before a picture of Christ. Realizing the importance of the icon, Bergman said to it, “Speak to me! I will not leave this cathedral until you speak to me!” But of course the picture didn’t speak. That same year—1963—Bergman produced a film entitled The Silence. The movie is about characters who despair of ever finding God because He is silent.
But Bergman’s problem was that he was looking in the wrong place. God is not silent. God speaks volumes. But His voice is not found in an icon in a cathedral. Rather, His voice is heard in the words of the New Testament. The New Testament is God’s full and final revelation.
Do you want to hear the voice of God?—Then read the words of the New Testament! Do you want to know what God is saying to you today?—Then read the words of Christ!
Augustine said, “When the Scriptures speak, God speaks.”
Conclusion
There are only two kinds of people who hear God’s Word—those who are not His children and those who are.
Perhaps you are not a child of God. You have been attending Shiloh, but you have yet to place your faith in Christ as Savior. I would like to give you this challenge: Read through the book of Hebrews and continue to come here to Shiloh to study this book with us on Sunday mornings. And as you do, sincerely pray the essence of Bergman’s prayer: “Speak to me, Lord. Please speak to me.” And I am confident that God will answer your prayer. He will reveal to you His Son Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
Perhaps you are a Christian already. I want to challenge you with the thought that the book of Hebrews is an extremely practical book. And I encourage you to read through it and to study it with us. And as you do, say to God: “Speak to me, Lord. Please speak to me.” And I believe that God will lead you into a deeper and richer fellowship with Him as He reveals to you the supremacy and superiority of His Son.
Let’s pray.
