Herbert W Armstrong

   One of the most real proofs of whether God exists of whether the Holy Bible really is the inspired word of God of whether the Bible carries authority is answered prayer. Very few professing Christians ever get a real and a direct answer to their prayers. They ask as you read in the book of James, but they receive not. And there are reasons and one important reason, not the only reason, but one important reason is that they do not realize that Jesus Christ is really living today. That Christ this very instant occupies a present office that he is very much on the job in that office night and day. That office is our present 20th-century High Priest after the resurrection of Christ, he ascended to heaven to the very throne of God, the Father where he has been ever since.

   But my friends, why did you ever ask yourself that question? Why did Christ rise up in the air enter into a cloud that enveloped him and then continue right on ascending up to the very throne of God in heaven. Why, why has he remained in heaven at the right hand of God for more than 1900 years? What did he go there for? Why does he need to be there? Why isn't he back here on earth or why isn't he someplace else? Listen, my friends. If you don't know, you'd better listen and open your Bible and begin to look into these things a little more because it's quite important to you. Why did Christ need to remain up in heaven more than 19 centuries? And if he is soon going to come back to this earth again, as prophecy says, well, why, what's he coming for? You've heard a lot of sermons about the second coming of Christ? But did you ever hear anyone explain why, what he's coming for? What is the purpose of his coming? These are questions, we need to be looking into.

   Jesus Christ needed to go to heaven in order to work out God's purpose here below God's purpose in your life and mine, it had something to do with you and with your life right now. Yes, I think it's time you began to know something about it. It was needful for Christ to go to the Father's throne in heaven for two principal reasons. First to get for himself, the kingdom which he had already qualified to rule while he was here on this earth, 1900 years ago. The kingdom that shall become a world-ruling kingdom ruling over all the nations of the earth. And also, he went in order to be your High Priest to be right there at the very throne of God interceding for you. He is our intercessor. He is the one we need to come to for interceding with God, the Father, not anyone else, not any dead saints, not any woman, not anyone else but Jesus Christ. He is the mediator between man and God and he is our present High Priest. Do you know what that office means, my friends? He's there interceding for you when you're up against it, when you're in real need, when you're overwhelmed with some emergency or a fear or an insurmountable problem when you're sick, when you're in trouble, when you're in sin, which is all of the time and less or until you do come to the very Holy Throne of Grace.

   And so I started in the preceding program of this everyday series, going through one of the most important books in your Bible, the Priesthood book, which is the book of Hebrews. Now, I think that a very fitting text for every single message as we go through this book for the entire book. As a matter of fact, this really sounds the dominant keynote of the entire book is the last three verses of the fourth chapter of Hebrews (Hebrews 4:14-16). Let me read it to you once again as I did to close the preceding program, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens. That's why he went there for Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast. Our profession for we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. I wonder if you realize how much you have suffered and how many troubles and trials you have carried and tried to work yourself through needlessly when if you had only come to that Throne of Grace, as this passage says that I just read if you only realized and really believed and really knew that Jesus is living that he's there now and that he's listening and that he will hear and that there will be an answer.

   Oh, how many trials and troubles and everything you could have avoided. What a shame that the skeptics and the doubters don't know the practical value of that passage I just read to you in your Bible. What a pity that even the most professing Christians don't seem to know it.

   My friends. This is something that's practical. It's something that works. I know I put it to the test. Not just once, not twice but hundreds of times. Yes. Many, hundreds of times. I've gone to that Throne of Grace interceding for hundreds upon hundreds of you listeners. Many of you have written me and I have gone to that Throne of Grace for you and I've interceded there for you and Christ who is there, has himself interceded with the Father for my request for you. And hundreds of you listeners have received the answer. You know what I'm talking about because you have received the answer. Hundreds of you and you have learned that this Throne of Grace is real, that Christ is there, that Christ is active. He's alive and he is active and on the job right now this minute night and day in your behalf.

   I want to tell you my friends that's mighty important. That's something that you need every day. That's something that you need in solving your problems and helping you over all the rough spots in your life. Oh, I tell you what needless pains we often carry and what sorrows and all that sort of thing. You remember the old hymn because we don't take it to the Eternal God in prayer. Yes, that's true.

   Well, now let's get back into this book of Hebrews, I just got started. The preceding program, I want to make a little more headway if we can in this present broadcast. So once again, now the first two verses, the first chapter, open your own Bible, read this, Hebrews the first chapter and the first two verses (Hebrews 1:1-2), in many and various ways, God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he created the world.

   Now, I want you to notice a few things there in times of old, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets, but beginning with Moses, one of those prophets, the things that God spoke to the people were committed gradually to writing. And now that's all committed to writing in these last days, he's spoken to us by not the Son, but a Son in the King James, the authorized version, it says the Son. But you will notice that the word the is in Italic, which means that it was not in the original Hebrew language as the Apostle Paul wrote it. I mean in the Greek language because this is the New Testament, this was written in the Greek language. And the Apostle Paul used an expression that didn't have the equivalent of the word his. In fact, it was just understood that it was a Son, not the Son or his Son, but a Son, because Jesus Christ, my friends is a divine Son of God by a resurrection from the dead. But he is the firstborn of many brethren. And we too are to become born sons of God and brothers of his and joint co-heirs with him. And he is the heir of all things we're going to see right here. And so he is the first of these sons. That's why in the correct translation as it is in most other translations, it is a Son and not the Son. I commented on that in the preceding program.

   Now men have always rejected that word of God. Christ is the Word. He is the living Word and the Bible is the written word. And Christ is the real author of it all inspiring men apostles and prophets to write it. Now, the men stoned the prophets of old back in the days of the fathers as he speaks of, in other words, the Old Testament Times, they crucified the Son Jesus Christ, but it was committed to writing and this word has persisted and it has survived every attempt to stamp it out. And one of the ways in which this very word, this living word of God defies the skeptics, the doubters, the atheists is answered prayer, this throne of grace, this priesthood that is a living reality, this very moment, of course, one of the conditions to receiving any help at that throne of Grace is that you believe whatsoever is not of faith is of sin. And according to your faith, be it unto you, the Doubter is never going to get anything because whatever he sows he's reaping and he's sowing doubt and he's going to reap uncertainty too.

   But those of us who know and those of us who believe, who have put it to the practical test, we know that this thing is real because we've seen the answer. We've seen it come in so many, many different ways. We've seen it come this way that way, the other way in so many, many times in so many ways that it is completely beyond any possibility of just coincidence or something that just happened.

   Well, here's Christ, the Son and heir of all things. Notice that in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son. He was the living Word. But now that's committed to writing and we have the written word, this Son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he created the world.

   Now you turn back here in Ephesians, the third chapter and the ninth verse (Ephesians 3:9), it speaks of God here who created all things by Jesus Christ. And in John's Gospel, the Gospel of John, or as some people call it St. John, you read in the beginning was the Word or Lagos. That is Christ. He is the Word of God and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning with God, all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men.

   Now, in the 14th verse (John 1:14), this Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It was Jesus Christ. Now this starts out here in the first of Hebrews showing us how great Christ is. We need to know the importance of our High Priest. We need to know something of his powers. We need to know of his greatness. We need to know of his ability. Then we need to know something also of his humanity. We need to know that he was tempted in all points like we, that he understands that he knows our weaknesses, that he knows every besetting sin, that he knows every infirmity. And he knows every handicap. He knows our shortcomings. He knows our weaknesses and he has sympathy because he's lived here in the human flesh. He's lived among us and he knows what it is to be persecuted. He knows what it is to have trials and troubles. Yes, he knows what it is to have them spit in his face and nail him up to a cross and stab his side with a spear and give him gall and vinegar to drink when he's thirsty. He knows he knows enough and he has compassion but my friends, he has all power and so it is showing us here how great he is.

   Now first, it is revealed how tremendously great notice, first, he is the heir of all things. And now as we read on into verse three (Hebrews 1:3 RSV), now he reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of God's nature, upholding the universe by his word of power, upholding the universe by his word of power. Or as it is in the Moffit translation, he sustains the universe with his word of power. Just think of that. That is Christ it's speaking of, your High Priest who is there just waiting for you to come to him for help when you need it. Why don't you go? Why don't you get it? It's a practical thing. I'm telling you, it works. Why don't you really believe it and put it to the test?

   Well, it isn't a thing just to put to the test, you've got to believe. But if you believe my friends, you never, never be let down. God has never let me down. He doesn't always answer the way we want. He doesn't give us what we want. He has promised to supply every need. And sometimes we don't understand what our needs are. We think we need something we don't and he isn't going to supply those things. And then again, as James said over here, I was quoting it a while ago, but I didn't read it to you as James says that you know that you ask and you receive not. That's in the fourth chapter of James, the book of James near the end of your New Testament in your Bible. And it's verse three (James 4:3), you ask and you receive not. And here's one reason because you ask amiss that you may consume it on your own lusts. So a lot of people just lust for something and they expect God to, to give them what they lust for. Well, he isn't going to answer that kind of a prayer.

   Now, the very foundation, the very basis of getting answer to prayer is to realize that God has made many, many promises, precious promises as we read of in the Bible. Your Bible is full of thousands of promises that God has made for you, of things that he has promised he will do. But always there are conditions. Now, one condition is that you obey him, you have to surrender yourself to him and obey him implicitly. Now, I know that God has answered many prayers of people that haven't completely surrendered. They're not obeying him in every way because they don't have all the knowledge yet. They haven't come to see or to know or to understand some of these things.

   Well, God takes that into consideration into account. God looks on the heart and I know that there are many people that while they don't have all the knowledge, they are obeying God as far as they know and they're sincere in it. And as long as they are in that condition and not rejecting any of God's knowledge and not disobeying. I know of many people that have had many astonishing answers to prayer.

   And I've known of people like that who will then stumble on some knowledge in the Bible that they're doing something they shouldn't do or that there's something they ought to do that God commands that they don't want to do. And the people that they have been having friendship with and fellowship with, even in churches, we might say, and that they value these people are not doing that way.

   And then they say, well, I see the Bible says that, but then, you know, I think I should go along with these people that I've been going along with. They're good people. And like, a minister told me one time on a very important point. He admitted when I had gone to him, I was troubled about something I had gone to a number of ministers and it's something that some ministers believe one way and some another and denominations are somewhat divided.

   Now, I'm not going to mention the point right now because I don't want to pass any reflection on anybody. But this was a very important point to me. It was something that I had to know as to whether it was even vital to my salvation and eternal life. And I had consulted a number of ministers. This was before I was really converted. But when I was studying and I was willing to make a complete surrender to God, but I had to have the knowledge of just what did he require on this particular point.

   Well, two ministers I had gone to, of two different church denominations were in the affirmative that I should do this particular thing. Then I went to another that belonged to a denomination that didn't believe in doing this particular thing. And he argued and argued that I shouldn't do it. But I had already studied it very thoroughly in the Bible, even in those early days. And I had only been studying the Bible, even looking into it about six months at that time.

   And well, as fast as this minister would bring up something, I would point it out to him the Bible and he had to admit I was right. And finally, he said, well, he said, I'll tell you, I'll have to confess that this has troubled me all my life. He said it troubled me in the early years of coming into the ministry. He said as to whether I could come into this denomination and support this doctrine because frankly, I didn't believe that it was just what the Bible says.

   It was the way the Bible speaks, but it's what my church denomination says. And he said, well, I tell you what I did. He said, I looked at all the holy men in this church why there's some great men, great preachers there and why, certainly those men must have had the Holy Spirit. They're such wonderful men. And I looked at those men and I said, well, if those men can have the spirit of God the way they have, if those men can be so holy and so righteous as they appear to be, and they can believe this way.

   Why so can I? And so he said, I've all my life now, this man was an elderly man. Now, he'd been in the ministry a good many years. And so he said all my life, I've gone along. I just followed those men. Listen, I'm speaking to a lot of ministers, a lot of you and a lot of you have never been quite satisfied just like this man wasn't and he confessed it. It was a pitiful confession. You know, your Bible says, put not your trust in men. We're told not to follow men, not to believe men, not the traditions of men, but the word of God, we must follow and believe every word of God.

   And oh, I tell you, my heart just leaped for joy when I get letters as I've been having a few of them lately and even a personal contact with one minister, ministers and churches that are coming to see light, they didn't have before. It may be even like that their particular church or denomination doesn't have, but they step out on it and they're ready to receive it and believe in the word of God and follow God rather than following man.

   I tell you my friends, Christ is the head of his church. And if Christ is not the head of your church, and if you're not able to repent and to follow the word of God, and if it isn't based on the Bible as the authoritative word of God, there must be something wrong with it. One minister wrote me that he had come to the place he just couldn't talk to people about their spiritual condition anymore. He had so many doubts and misgivings in his own mind and his own heart that he couldn't do it.

   You know, I'm just reminded of a man that came to me one time and that he had gotten married, his wife had some money, but he came to me. He was ashamed to let his wife support him and he told me that his wife had enough money to support them. But he said he just had too much pride to let her do that. And he said he wanted a job and he said, do you know of a vacant pastorate somewhere that I could get a job?

   Well, I said, I only know of one vacant pastorate. I do know of one. But I said, you know, uh that's such and such a denomination and you, but because they don't believe the same doctrines that your denomination believes. Oh, well, now he says Mr. Armstrong or Brother Armstrong, I guess he called me. He said, now, now that won't make any difference. He said, I've got to get a job and support my wife. He says I'll preach anything to tell me.

   Well, you know, I never did tell that man where that vacant pasture it was. I thought if a man was willing to preach anything other men told him, even against his own conviction, knowing it wasn't the truth of God at all. If he's going to follow man and not God, he's, he's no minister, he's a false shepherd.

   So I don't know whether his wife is still supporting him or whether he ever found a job. I don't know what happened to him from that time on, but I had no confidence in him whatsoever. He's a nice-looking man. Very nice man in every way. Yes, he had Polish. He had education. He had a lot of things that I guess that a lot of people think they need and a pastor. But the one thing that a pastor needs, he didn't have, he didn't have real sincerity and honesty and he didn't have the word of God.

   Oh, I tell you, it's precious and it's worth even giving your life for. And I want to tell you my friends that millions of real Christians have given their lives for this word of God and the testimony that they held the very testimony of Christ that is in your Bible. That's how precious this Bible is. Millions have given up their lives rather than give up the word and the truth of the Bible.

   What does it mean to you in your life today? What kind of an age are we living in? We're pretty careless about it today, aren't we? We don't seem to believe God anymore. We don't believe he means what he says. We have lost the knowledge of the real authority of this word. Well, now listen, Christ reflects the glory of God.

   Do you know very much about that glory? And he bears the very stamp of God's nature upholding the universe by the word of his power when he had made purification for sins as he did on Calvary's cross when he paid for your sins and mine in our stead. Then it says he sat down at the very right hand of the Majesty on high. Why? Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.

   Now, did you notice these points here? Christ is the heir of all things. He is the brightness of God's glory. He is the express image of his Father's person. Let me read that in the King James translation that third verse (Hebrews 1:3-4), who being the brightness of his or God's glory, the express image of his person of the Father's person upholding all things by the word of his power the whole universe when he had by himself, purged our sins. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels. Oh, I tell you, that's wonderful if you just get it. And how wonderful is Christ, our High Priest, 50 purged our sins. 60. Now is in his present office, our High Priest, he's at the right hand of God. He is the one to intercede for us with God and he is higher than angels.

   Now, verse five and verse eight (Hebrews 1:5, 8), he is very God, verse five. Now, for unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee. Angels are not begotten of God and born of God. Angels have been created by God. But Jesus as a human man was begotten of God. Jesus had the spirit of God within him as you and I may receive the spirit of God and then by a resurrection, he was born a divine Son of God. Now he was born a human Son of God by the virgin Mary and by a divine miracle in a way that no other man has ever been born human, but he was by resurrection of the dead after he died on Calvary's cross. He was then born a divine Son of God and very God by a resurrection from the dead just as you and I can be because he's the firstborn of many brethren. He is the first fruits of God's redemption and God's salvation. And we are to be fellow heirs, co-heirs with him on an even level of the same plane as Jesus Christ. If your mind can possibly grasp and contain that great truth, that is so immense. I doubt if your minds can even understand it. Listen Psalm 2:7), thou art and my Son this day have I begotten thee again. he didn't say that to any angel. They are created beings. Again, I will be to him, a Father and he shall be to me, a Son, a real Son of God just as you and I can be, we can be begotten of God by the very spirit of God entering into us, the very nature of God coming into us, his very life until we can be born of him. Then again, the sixth verse (Hebrews 1:6-8). And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, now, when he brought him into the world as the first begotten and then the only begotten Son of God in that way, he saith and let the angels of God worship him, my friends. He is very God. Because if you worship anyone less than God that is breaking the very first commandment and the most colossal sin of all. And it says here, let the angels, even the angels worship him. He is God and of the angels he said, who maketh his angels spirits and his ministers, a flame of fire but unto the Son, he saith thy throne. O God. The Father says this to Christ and calls him God is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

   Well, we're going to have to break off there. Now, listen, my friends write in for our booklet, Why Were You BORN? Why Were You BORN? You know, are you someone who really matters to anyone? Are you someone who really matters for instance, to God? I should think everyone would want to be. Well, is there any purpose for human life? Does life after all have real meaning that you may never have realized you need to know. And I think you will have an eye-opening experience. If you read this book, Why Were You BORN? You know, there is a reason why humanity was put on this earth. Why Were You BORN? Now, there's another companion booklet that sounds something like it is totally different. And that is, Just what do you mean... Born Again? Don't be too sure that you know, the true answer is not only surprising, it's startling. It's the most important truth that you could possibly know. And it's made so plain, so clear in this booklet that you will understand this booklet, Just what do you mean... Born Again?

   Now, there's the one, Why Were You BORN? The other is on being born again. These booklets are priceless my friends and yet, well, they are priceless. There's no price on them but uh they're beyond the price because they're free. Just send then your request to me, Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 in Pasadena, California. That's Herbert W Armstrong Post Office Box 111 in Pasadena, California. So until next time, goodbye friends.

   You have heard the World Tomorrow with Herbert W Armstrong sponsored by the worldwide church of God for literature offered on this program, send your requests along with the call letters of this station to Herbert W Armstrong Box 111 Pasadena, California. 91123 Herbert W Arms Post Office Box 111 Pasadena California 91123.