Transcript
Read the book of Hebrews, I think you will profit a great deal from the book, from the discussions of this book if you are familiar, once again, with its contents.
Now tonight I ask you to turn again to the first chapter of the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 6. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 6. Hebrews 1 reading at verse 6.
But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’
And of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.’
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.’
Now we come over to Hebrews chapter three and verse 1.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.
Now will you come down to verse 14.
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
And one more verse found toward the end of the Epistle in chapter 12 and verse 28.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Now come back to Hebrews chapter 1. When Friday last October, police officer Robert Parrish of Clinton, New Jersey, responded to a silent alarm at the T and A tavern. Going along with him on this call was Mac, his off-duty companion and his on-duty partner.
Mac, however, was only two years old, which is not too surprising considering that Mac was a member of the Trenton K-9 unit. He was a black and tan German Shepherd. When they arrived at the tavern, Robert Parrish took Mac inside for an inspection of the premises, and Mac led him to a doorway to the cellar which was closed but not locked.
They went down together into the cellar, but as Parrish reached for the light switch to turn the lights on, suddenly a knife-wielding seventeen-year-old teenager leaped out from behind a partition. Instantly Mac was on him but was slashed for his trouble. Mac hardly knew he had been hit, and he moved in again for a second attack.
By this time Parrish had been able to draw his gun, and he disarmed the young teenager, but Mac was seriously hurt. He was rushed to an animal hospital, and there on an operating table Mac died while his partner embraced him, with his blue uniform soaked in blood.
Later, with his voice breaking frequently, Robert Parrish told police, “In my opinion Mac died so that I would get a chance.” The sergeant who was in charge of the K-9 unit explained that Mac and the police officer were very close. They lived together and everything, he said. And then he added, “If it hadn’t been the dog, it would have been the officer. If it hadn’t been the dog, it would have been the officer.”
Now that’s a very touching story, and I suspect that every dog lover in my audience tonight knows exactly how Robert Parrish felt when Mac died. But whether it’s a story about a man and his dog or about two friends or about two brothers, one of the most beautiful things, one of the most lovely subjects in all of human life and experience is the subject of partnership, companionship, and loyalty.
And tonight I would like to confront you with what I really believe is one of the most exciting truths in the entire New Testament. And the truth is this, that you and I are invited into partnership with the Son of God. Now please notice what I did not say. I did not say that we are invited into the family of God, and I did not say that we are invited to possess eternal life.
Of course it is wonderfully true that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And Jesus, as we learned this morning, when He came into the world by Himself purged our sins, so that by one simple act of trust and faith in Him we could possess eternal life. We can be members of the family of God, and we can be perfectly, completely sure that we will live forever with God.
But I’m not talking about that tonight. I am talking about partnership and companionship with Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Now I suspect that every parent in my audience tonight will admit that one of your main concerns for your children is their companions. And particularly when your children reach teenage, you are very concerned that they have the right kind of companions, the kinds who will not lead them astray, who would be good for them.
And there is probably not a parent living who has not at some time or other wished that they could choose their children’s companions. And it makes sense that when God the Father chooses companions for His Son, that He would wish to choose the best possible companions that He could find. And maybe we might suspect that in choosing companions for His Son, God would choose the angels. After all, where could God find better companions for His Son than in the angels?
Then here is a surprise. The angels are not the companions of Jesus Christ. In this chapter one and verse eight the writer reminds us that when God brings his firstborn back into the world, when Jesus returns in power and in glory, all of the angels of God will worship Him. And we were informed that they are the servants of God. He makes His angels winds and His ministers His servants of flame of fire.
The angels worship and serve, but there is a great gulf fixed between the role of the angels and the role of the Son. While the angels worship and serve, the Son rules forever and forever. And in verse eight, drawing upon the lovely words of Psalm 45, the writer brings before us the very words of God to His Son. God speaking to Jesus Christ and saying, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
What splendid words. What amazing words. God speaking to Jesus Christ and calling Him God, promising to Him a throne that will last forever, putting in His hands a scepter with which He shall rule righteously. That is truly amazing. There were the most beautiful pieces of music that has ever come from the heart and mind of man, it seems to me, is that oratorio which we know as Handel’s Messiah. And the most famous part of Handel’s Messiah is undoubtedly the Hallelujah Chorus.And therefore we could translate Hebrews 3:1, “Therefore, holy brethren, partners in the heavenly calling, companions in the heavenly calling.” And in Hebrews chapter 12 at the very climax of the Epistle the writer says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” What are we receiving? A kingdom that cannot be shaken? Yes we are. Why? Because Jesus Christ is receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
His throne is forever and ever. And because He is receiving that kingdom, so are we. Then there be any such thing as a Christian who listens to those words who is not moved to the depths of his being to think of it? Companions and partners with the King? Do you realize that in this auditorium tonight there could be a couple hundred kings and queens? I don’t know how to count an audience, maybe three hundred, four hundred. Isn’t that amazing? Partners of the King.
You say, “Zane, what’s the catch? There’s got to be a catch somewhere.” Yeah, I have to confess it. There is what might be described as a catch. And in Hebrews chapter three and verse 14 we read these words, “For we have become partakers of Christ.” There that word is again the word that is translated “companions” in Hebrews 1:9. “We have become companions, partners of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”
You see, as we were saying this morning, the book of Hebrews was written to Christians who were tempted to give up. They were tempted to stop going to church and stop assembling themselves together. They were tempted to turn their back on their Christian faith and on their commitment to God in Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews says, “Please don’t do that. Please don’t do that. Because if you cast away your Christian confidence you will be throwing away your partnership with the King.”
Then we have become partners with Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. About two years ago last January Ronald Reagan had just been inaugurated, and he was busy filling all of the positions in his new administration. And do you know that during those days I was not back in my apartment in Dallas, Texas, hovering over the telephone waiting for a call from Washington inviting me to participate in the Reagan administration?
Ronald Reagan doesn’t know Zane Hodges from a hole in the wall. And even if he did I don’t think he would appoint me to anything, because you see I’ve never worked for Ronald Reagan. Now if you’re talking about James Baker or Edwin Meese or Michael Deaver or Bill Clark, then you’re talking about people who have offices in the White House, who have positions of responsibility in the administration. And the reason they do is because they knew Ronald Reagan before he became president, and they worked for him.
But I’ll confess something else. When Reagan didn’t call I didn’t shed any tears. You know, if Reagan is elected next year his administration will only last for eight years, and I’m just not interested in a position in a government that’s only going to last eight years. You know what I’m interested in? I am interested in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. I am interested in a post in government that will go on and on and on forever.
And when I die I hope that when Jesus Christ comes back in all of his power and glory and sets up his eternal throne in this earth, I hope He’ll have a post in His government for Zane Hodges. Then I’ll admit something to you. I’m not absolutely sure about that. I’m not absolutely sure. Now don’t misunderstand me. I am absolutely sure that I’m a Christian. I am absolutely sure that I possess eternal life, that I will live forever in the presence of Jesus Christ.
But partnership with Jesus Christ is something you have to hold on to. I’m His partner right now. In fact at this very moment I am working for the future King right up here on this platform. But I’ve got to keep on working right to the end. You see it was Jesus who said in Revelation chapter 2,
He who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he shall shatter them as the vessels of a potter are shattered, even as I have received from My Father.
The overcomer, says Jesus, will rule the nations. And in Revelation chapter 3 Jesus said,
To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne.
I am My Father’s partner in His throne, and the victorious Christian will be My partner in Mine. And it was Paul who said,
If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
And dear Christian friend tonight, if you are a Christian by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will always be a Christian. You will always possess eternal life. You can be absolutely sure of living forever with Jesus Christ. But partnership with the King is something that you have to hold on to. For we have become partakers, partners, companions of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end.
There’s a very lovely story about a young woman in the state of Maine who was in love with a sailor. And one night as she and her boyfriend were together and he was preparing to sail away the next day, she made a promise to him. She promised that every night while he was gone until he returned she would put a light in her window. The next morning her sailor friend got on board his ship and sailed away and was never heard from again.
And you know what that woman did? She put a light in her window every night for fifty years until the day she died. That’s loyalty. That’s commitment. My Christian friends, our Lord Jesus Christ has left the world, but it’s only temporary. His Father has said to Him,
Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.
And someday He is coming back to set up His kingdom, to triumph over His enemies.
And His partners in that day will be those who have been faithful to Him, who have kept His works to the end. Or to put it very simply, the partners of the King are those who have kept their lights burning. The songwriter was right when he wrote, “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Give me oil in my lamp, I pray. Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Keep me burning till the break of day.”
Christian friend, if your light is always burning for Jesus Christ, you will always be the partner of the King. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and with godly fear.
Shall we pray? What can we say to our Father, that You have called us into partnership with Your glorious Son? We are staggered by the greatness of this invitation, and we come to Thee seeking the grace that we need from Your hand to continue steadfastly and to keep our lights burning for Him. Help us to do this and to share in the power and authority and glory of His kingdom forever. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.