Proper 22 (B), October 5, 2003

In September of 2000, the British Navy frigate HMS Grafton ran aground as it attempted to depart from the port at Oslo, Norway. Norwegian authorities were hindered in their investigation of the incident when they discovered that the computer system that is supposed to automatically record conversations between ships and the Oslo Vessel Traffic Service had not recorded anything for two years. Like an airplane's voice data recorder, the system is supposed to help investigators find out what happened after an accident at sea. Upon further investigation, officials found nothing wrong with the equipment; it was functioning perfectly. The problem was simple: the recorder had been permanently tuned to the wrong radio channel.

In the opening sentence of the book of Hebrews, the writer declares that God has spoken and that He has perfectly disclosed Himself to humanity. But many of us still don't know Him, many have not heard His voice, and many mistakenly attribute other voices to Him. The problem is simple: if we are to understand what God has said or who God is, we have to be tuned to the right channel.

God speaks.

Our God is a communicating God. According to Hebrews 1:1, He has been communicating for a long time. If we don't hear Him, it's not because He's not talking. In fact, our text says, He has spoken "in many portions and in many ways." Self-disclosure is part of God's nature. In His dealings with the Nation of Israel, God revealed Himself, bit by bit, in a wide variety of miracles, visions, appearances, and object lessons. He also foretold His people that a more complete revelation was coming.

God has spoken — finally — in His Son.

That complete revelation, which was promised as God spoke through the prophets, has now come. We now live in "these Last Days," the days of completion and fulfillment, the days of the promised Messiah, the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ. Jesus, we learn here, was in fact the incarnation of the Eternal God. The Son was the executive of the Godhead in creating the universe and continues to sustain its functions. That eternal-creator-sustainer Son was appointed by the Father to be the heir of all things. To receive that promise, the Son became one of us, a man.

Every human being is created in the image of God. But in the person of Jesus Christ, the image of God is perfected. Jesus told Philip, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." In Jesus, the invisible glory of the Almighty becomes visible; He is "the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature." There is nothing to be known about God that is not revealed in the person of Christ.

"No one comes to the Father," Jesus said, "except through Me." Because God is a man, He not only represents God to us, He represents us before God. In His death and resurrection, He made "purification for sins." Now He is "seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high." He is my Advocate Prince. Because of His mediation, I can now "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace."

May I suggest that if you have trouble hearing from God, if you don't understand who He is or what He requires from you, your problem is simple: you are not giving enough attention to Jesus. All of God's communication culminates in Christ. The Bible that you read, Old Testament and New, is focused on Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells you to point you to Christ, to empower you to obey and imitate Jesus.

Many Christians expect or hope to hear from God but don't expect or hope to become Christ-centered. They seem to think that God is still speaking bit-by-bit. They look to the latest self-proclaimed prophet or try to read their circumstances while giving little effort to knowing and imitating Jesus. But Jesus said this: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

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The sermon brief provided by Doug Searle, Dallas, TX