[ Congregation singing ]

>> Today we are blessed
with a wonderful gift from God,

the Bible.

This book is
God's living Word.

In its pages, we are told,
"For the Word of God is living

and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword."

It is in this book of books
that we find the answers

to all of men's questions
and need.

This morning, your area
Churches of Christ

welcome you to a program

committed to that perfect
law of liberty...



...as we present
"The Living Word."

[ Singing continues ]



Now, here is your host,
Ray Sullins.

>> Consider this great work

that is before us
as followers of God.

As Jesus said,
"The harvest truly is plentiful,

but the laborers are few.

Therefore,
pray the Lord of harvest

to send out laborers
into the harvest."

Will you accept
this challenge today

to be a true laborer of God?

And what a privilege
it is this morning as laborers

to join together in the study
of God's living Word.

And we're happy
that you have chosen this day

to give this time
to your Creator.

And may we each do
our part this time

to do all things
acceptable in His sight

and according
to His perfect will,

that as we are found
pleasing in His sight,

we'll receive the blessings
of not only today,

but the blessings eternal.

Now, as we begin our offering
to God this day,

will you bow with me
before His throne in prayer?

Our God and Father in Heaven,

we are so thankful
for another day of life

and the blessings of it.

And, Father, we ask
that You will help us today

and every day to shine
as lights in this world

that others might know
You through us,

and that ultimately
we might be able to be found

not only
in Your sight acceptable,

but that we might help others
to do so as well.

And Father, we thank You
for the gift of Jesus,

and we know only through Christ

do we have the opportunity to be
blessed today and eternally.

And Father, again, we thank You
for that greatest of all gifts

and be with us at this time
that we might do all in spirit

and truth to lift up
and praise Your name

in everything.

In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.

It's now time to start our songs
of praise this morning.

The first hymn of the day
focuses our attention

on the greatest sacrifice
that God ever gave us.

And furthermore, it teaches us
about our need to be those

who believe
that God is the one who gave us

His son Jesus.

So won't you join in with
the congregation at this time

as we sing together
"A Hill Called Mount Calvary"?

>>  There are things
as we travel 

 This earth's shifting sands 

 That transcend
all the reason of man 

 But the things that matter
the most in this world 

 They can never be held
in our hand 

 I believe in
a hill called Mount Calv'ry 

 I'll believe
whatever the cost 

 And when time has surrendered and Earth is no more 

 I'll still cling
to that old rugged cross 

 I believe that the Christ
who was slain on the cross 

 Has the power
to change lives today 

 For He changed me completely 

 A new life is mine 

 That is why
by the cross I will stay 

 I believe in
a hill called Mount Calv'ry 

 I'll believe
whatever the cost 

 And when time has surrendered and Earth is no more 

 I'll still cling to
that old rugged cross 

 I believe that this life
with its great mysteries 

 Surely someday
will come to an end 

 But faith will conquer
the darkness and death 

 And will lead me
to last to my Friend 

 I believe
in a hill called Mount Calv'ry 

 I'll believe
whatever the cost 

 And when time has surrendered and Earth is no more 

 I'll still cling
to that old rugged cross 

>> One of the greatest works
of a child of God

is to proclaim the message
of Jesus Christ

to a lost and dying world.

In fact, the Bible is full
of the commands and examples

that teach us
this very doctrine.

You might remember with me
what Jesus said in Matthew 28,

where we read,
"Go therefore

and make disciples
of all nations,

baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe

all things
that I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age."

Again, in Mark chapter 16,
beginning in verse 15, we read,

"Go into all the world

and preach the gospel to
every creature.

He who believes
and is baptized will be saved,

but he who does not believe
will be condemned."

In both of these texts,
Jesus is clearly instructing us

as followers to understand
our duty

to carry the Gospel of Christ
to the whole world.

He even specifies
in these verses that we are

to go to every nation
and to every creature.

One of the greatest examples

that we have
in the New Testament

concerning this type of work
is found in Luke chapter 8.

There we read
the Parable of the Sower.

In this parable, we are told
that there was a sower

and the sower
was sowing the seed

and there were also
different kinds of soils.

As the story goes,
we are also told many things

concerning the text,
even there from verse 11.

And we understand then that the
sower is the follower of God,

that the seed
is the Word of God,

and that the soil
are those of this world

who need to hear the Word of God
and receive it and obey.

I hope you're beginning
to see the importance,

then, of the work of you
and I as fellow Christians.

We are to be those
who are taking the Word of God

to the world

that others might hear it
and receive and obey it.

Then it is up to the soil,
or the hearer itself, to receive

and to respond in a positive way
or to reject God.

The question we must ask

is are we sowing the seed
of the kingdom for our God?

Finally, let me remind you
of a statement

that is also found back
in Matthew 28.

As we read there,
the very promise of Jesus:

"And lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age."

Wow, what a promise.
What a blessing from God.

Because He has told us
that He is with us each

and every step of the way.

Praise be to God
for this glorious truth,

and may it motivate us
to do the will of God

and to reach the lost

and dying world
with the precious

and saving message
of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today we will begin a new series
of study which is entitled

"The Better Things
from the Book of Hebrews."

Our specific topic this morning
is better than the angels.

So stay with us in a few minutes

and we will return
for this study from God's Word.

As far as our guest speaker
of the day,

we're happy to again have
Brother Trey Sullins with us.

Brother Trey is a full time
instructor at the Bible

Institute of Missouri.

He's also one of the ministers

at the Kansas
Expressway Church of Christ.

And we thank him
for joining us today

to lead us in the main study
from God's Word.

But for now,

let's join together in
the second hymn of the morning.

The name of the song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

>>  I have decided
to follow Jesus 

 I have decided
to follow Jesus 

 I have decided
to follow Jesus 

 No turning back,
no turning back 

 Though none go with me,
I still will follow 

 Though none go with me,
I still will follow 

 Though none go with me,
I still will follow 

 No turning back,
no turning back 

 My cross I'll carry
till I see Jesus 

 My cross I'll carry
till I see Jesus 

 My cross I'll carry
till I see Jesus 

 No turning back,
I'll follow Him 

>> Good morning and thank you
so much for joining in again

with us on this program.
It's a great opportunity

always to be able to worship
our God on this Lord's Day

and be able to study
from His Word,

as we're going to do now
at this time.

We're starting a new series
even this morning,

and we're so thankful
that we can do that

and our God has
given us opportunity to.

And we're going to be
looking at the better things

that we have today
from the Book of Hebrews.

And so we'll be taking one idea
from each chapter

all the way
through the book of Hebrews

to see how we today,
under the Law of Christ,

have it so much better than it's
ever been in times or ages past.

And so we're going to be
beginning there

right in Hebrews chapter one,
and in Hebrews chapter one

if you start with me
there in this text,

we see pretty much
right off the bat in the book

how we find a better Savior,

a better one that we're going to
be looking at and studying.

Now, the book of Hebrews

primarily covers
that very thing --

how we have it better today
than it's been in the past

and looks at mainly
Jesus the Christ,

and then also looks at the law
that we have to follow today.

And so looking there
in Hebrews chapter one,

notice we're missing
a lot of the context here

in verses one
through three

because we're not studying
those things this morning,

but it starts to talk about
how there was one who came.

Jesus -- or God used to speak
to mankind through the prophets

but now today
speaks to us through His son.

And so we find there
in verse four

that very son
of whom He's talking,

that is Jesus the Christ,

it says this: "Having become
so much better

than the angels
as He has by inheritance

obtained a more excellent name
than they."

The first thing
we want to discuss

is how Jesus the Christ
is better even than the angels.

Now the idea of angels

is something that's sort of
fascinated us as people,

even culturally
for thousands of years.

There's all sorts of ideas
that have been made

about what angels are
and how they move and interact.

Even in our fantasy
and science fiction type media,

we see lots of ideas
where angels have been taken

to be all kinds of things.

Biblically speaking,
we understand angels

very simply from what we know,
as is what God has revealed.

Basically,
they're the servants of God

and we don't really know
too much else

beyond they're servants of God

who live in
a spiritual existence outside of

this physical existence
in which we live.

And that's all the Bible
reveals to us.

But what we do understand
from this

is that Jesus is better
even than they.

And so we want to see
how that is explained throughout

this first chapter
of the Book of Hebrews.

If you'll jump down there
to verse seven,

Hebrews chapter one,
verse seven,

and notice the first idea
that we want to look at.

It says,
"And of the angels," he says,

"who makes His angels spirits

and His ministers
a flame of fire?"

The thing here about angels
that we understand is that

Jesus or God created the angels.

They were made.
They are created beings.

And we can see that
in a lot of different places.

But we'll just look
at one of these, for example,

in Psalm 145 or the 145th Psalm.

Or, rather, 148th Psalm.

And if you'll look with me there
in the first five verses,

it says in verse
one of Psalm 148,

"Praise the Lord, praise the Lord from the heavens.

Praise Him in the heights,
praise Him, all His angels

praise Him, all His hosts,

praise Him, Sun and Moon,

praise Him,
all ye stars of light.

Praise Him,
you heavens of heavens

and you waters
above the heavens."

Now you might have noticed
there verse two mentions

"Praise Him, all His angels."
Now we'll read verse five.

"Let them praise
the name of the Lord,

for He commanded
and they were created."

This tells us
that all these things

that's in this list
of praising God

was made, things
that were created,

and thereby the angels
also are nothing

but created beings
from this context.

And they serve God
in a capacity,

and that's what we'll be
looking at a little bit later.

But what's so powerful
about this idea is that

while the angels
were created beings --

remember we're looking at how
Jesus is better than they --

well, the angels
were created beings,

but what do we understand
about God

even looking there, or rather
Jesus looking there

at John chapter one?

It says, "In
the beginning was the Word

and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning
with God.

All things
were made through Him,

and without Him,
nothing was made that was made."

We even find there
in the book of First Peter

how it talks about
this very same idea about

Jesus the Christ and how

He is a being
that was not created.

So the angels were created.
They had to be made.

But Jesus is God. He just
is, just like God the Father.

He didn't have to be made.
And so you can certainly see

why He's better
even than those angels,

because while they had
to be made,

He didn't need to be created.

He is already and was already
in existence in that time.

And as John continues
to explain,

not only was He already there,

but He created even and was
an active part of that creation,

even of this physical life
and of the spiritual realm

and those things
that are outside.

And the Bible shows us
that in much detail

throughout its various pages.

Now, what a powerful concept
that is,

because Jesus the Christ
is the one

whom we serve as Christians.
We wear His name even.

If you're baptized into
Christ, you are a Christian.

A Christian is one wearing
the name of Christ,

wearing the name of Jesus
the Savior,

Jesus the all-powerful,
non-created being.

He just is,
just like God the Father.

Now that's an incredible thing.

We have the opportunity to serve
even Jesus the Christ.

And think about
something else --

that Jesus was not created,

He just is, and yet

He died for those that were
created, for us, for His people.

And that's a pretty, pretty
important thing to remember,

that if we as God's people,
want to be right with Him,

we have to live according to
that standard that He set forth.

He sent His son who made us
and then who died for us.

And we ought to be thankful
for that opportunity

that we have to come
through Him --

or to Him through the avenue
that He has provided unto us.

So Jesus was the Creator,
the angels were the created.

And that's why we find
even in this passage,

it talks about
in the very next verse.

"But to the Son He says" --

this is Hebrews chapter one
and verse eight.

"But to the Son He says,

'Your throne,
O God, is forever and ever.

A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of Your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness.

Therefore, God
Your God has anointed you

with the oil of gladness
more than your companions."

And so we find here that another
idea about these angels versus

Jesus the Christ
is that the angels are spirits.

The angels are angelic beings,
as we call them.

They're spiritual beings.

They exist outside
of this physical realm.

While Jesus the Christ
is those things also,

they are simply ministers.

They are simply servants of God
and of the Father and of Jesus

the Christ and the Holy Spirit.

But Jesus, as we find throughout
the Scriptures,

notice again, "Your throne,
O God, is forever and ever.

A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of Your kingdom."

He is the master.

So while they are just servants,
while they are just ministers,

and what that word
means is servants,

He is the master.

Now how great is that
when we're thinking about

Jesus being greater
even than these angels?

They are servants.
He's the master.

Certainly the master is greater
than his servants

as far as the book of Hebrews
is trying to explain to us here.

And so then again,

we find something
really powerful to think about,

that He who is the master
even of the angels

died for us as His people.

I want to look at First Peter,
chapter three, verse 22,

because there's a great
verse here in this chapter

which shows us something
about this very Jesus.

Notice what it says, First Peter, chapter three, verse 22.

"Who has gone into heaven

and is at the right hand of God,
angels and authorities

and powers having been
made subject to Him."

So the timeline
would go something like

Jesus made all the things
that are made,

including those angels.

He came to this earth
and He died for us,

and now He's back in heaven.

And that sacrifice was given
so that we can come to Him.

And as He's back in heaven,
this verse explains to us

that even those angels
are subject to Him.

Notice again,
they are the ministers

performing the will of God
in whatever capacity they do,

and He is the master.
They're subjects.

Now, just like us, we're subject
to Jesus the Christ,

but we serve directly
the master.

You see, that's how God saw fit
to design the system.

He could have designed it
in such a way

where we serve these angels
and worshiped the angels.

But He didn't because
they too are similar to us

in that they were created.

So we serve God Almighty.

We worship God Almighty.
Not the angels, but the Creator.

Now how neat is that,
that we as God's people

have such an opportunity
to go directly to Him?

And that's one thing
we'll be seeing

throughout this whole
"Better" series

is that we can come
straight to God.

We don't need to go through
any other spiritual beings

but straight to God the Father, the God the Son,

the Holy Spirit,
because He's given us

that opportunity to do that
as His loved people.

Another thing to see here,
as we look at this very passage

and we've already read here
how these angels are spirits,

and primarily we looked at
how they are spirits

and Jesus is the master.

But we can also think
about something else

from this very same context --

how they are spirits
and Jesus is God.

Now what a great difference
that is, right?

In the same way or in a similar
way as we are created beings,

as we are what God has designed
and put into existence,

angels are what God has designed
and put into existence.

Jesus the Christ
is the Son of God.

Remember when we read there
in John chapter one,

verse one, it says

"He was
in the beginning with God."

He didn't need to be made.
He just was. He just is.

That old statement that the
Old Testament has quite a bit

and you find there being
mentioned a lot of times,

even in Moses' day to people
who needed to know who God was,

God would say, "I am that I am."

And the point is, He is.
He's the eternally existent One.

When you try to describe
who God is,

what more can you say than
He just is?

He exists. He's all things.

Whereas we have a point in time
where we didn't exist,

we had to be made,

God just is --
the great I Am.

Now that opportunity
that we have then

to serve Him from this
is so great as well.

While the spirits,
the angels serve Him,

and while we are creatures
being made by God,

we also have that great
opportunity to serve Him,

to fulfill His will,
to do as He says.

You might notice with me again
here from Hebrews chapter one,

in verse five,

"For to which of the angels
did He ever say,

'You are My son,
today I have begotten you'?"

You see, Jesus is so much better
than the angels

in these three ways
that we've been speaking

and Hebrews
begins to explain it more.

How many of the angels
did He ever say,

You are My son?

And even to us, He doesn't say
"You are My sons and daughters"

in the same way that He does to
Jesus the Christ.

Now, First John,
the book,

explains that we can be
the children of God.

But as First John, chapter five
and verse 20 explains,

and even in several other places
throughout the New Testament,

that serving the living God,
being born of God,

means that you are obedient
to His will,

that you really do serve Him as
He tells us to.

If you read with me
there first John,

chapter five
and verse 20, it says,

"And we know that the Son of God
has come

and has given us
an understanding,

that we may know
Him who is true,

and we are in Him who is true,
in His Son, Jesus Christ."

Now, notice this last statement.

The subject of this verse
is Jesus Christ.

And then he says this:

"This is the true God
and eternal life."

So we, as God's people,
as the book of

First John explains again,
in so many other places,

have that opportunity
to be children of God,

not in the same capacity
that Jesus is the Son of God,

but to be children of God
who are born of God.

Meaning we've been baptized
into the name of Christ.

We are obedient servants of Him
and we serve Him every day.

How much better, then,

is our Savior Jesus the Christ even than the angels?

>>  My hope is built
on nothing less 

 Than Jesus' blood
and righteousness 

 I dare not trust
the sweetest frame 

 But wholly lean
on Jesus' Name 

 On Christ the solid Rock
I stand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

 When darkness veils
His lovely face 

 I rest on
His unchanging grace 

 In every high
and stormy gale 

 My anchor holds
within the veil 

 On Christ the solid Rock
I stand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

 When He shall come
with trumpet sound 

 Oh may I then
in Him be found 

 Dressed in
His righteousness alone 

 Faultless to stand
before the throne 

 On Christ the solid Rock
I stand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

 All other ground
is sinking sand 

>> Let me thank you again
for choosing to be with us today

for "The Living Word" program.

I hope and trust
that our time together

has been a benefit to us all,

as well as something
that God has been pleased with.

And let me invite you to join us
every Lord's Day morning at 7:30

as we give this time
to our Creator.

But for now, let me ask if you
have any questions or comments

about today's lesson,
maybe like a free transcript

or a free CD
or DVD of the program,

or possibly we could assist you
with free Bible materials

or free
Bible correspondence courses.

No matter what your need is,

please feel free to contact us
at the following address --

The Living Word

2540 N. Kansas Expressway,

Springfield, Missouri, 65803.

And many of these items are
also available on our website.

That address,
TheLivingWordProgram.com.

Or if you prefer,
you may call us

at (417)869-2284.

How blessed we are to have

a Savior who is above
all other things

and who is greater
even than the angels.

Truly, our Lord is God

and a part
of the Blessed Godhead.

Therefore, thanks be to God

for this rich and wonderful
blessing from our Creator.

>> Our prayer is to help
the world know more

about God
through this television program.

"The Living Word" has been brought to you

under the oversight
of the elders

of the Kansas Expressway
Church of Christ

in Springfield, Missouri,
with the assistance

of the following area
Churches of Christ.

>>  And save the lost 

 Give me the Bible,
holy message shining 

 Thy light shall guide me
in the narrow way 

 Precept and promise,
law and love combining 

 Till night shall vanish
in eternal day