Pastor Derek Allen reminded students to pursue Jesus because He is the perfect revelation of God. Allen recently spoke during a chapel service at the University of Mobile.
As Allen, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Tillman’s Corner, delivered a message out of Hebrews 1, he noted he had been praying for several months leading up to the chapel service and asking the Lord to reveal what he should speak on when he felt led to this passage.
“Today, my task is to point you to Jesus,” Allen told students during the March 11 chapel. “My hope and goal today is that I want to share with you who Jesus is in such a way that you will give your life in absolute pursuit of Him. You are headed into life after graduation, and life is going to get difficult at some point.”
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Throughout the message, Allen encouraged students to fix their eyes on Jesus and pursue Jesus at all costs.
“If you are looking for something worth pursuing, you will only find it in Jesus,” Allen said. “There is no one like Him. In this passage, there are 10 aspects of who Jesus is, and I believe these aspects will compel you if you will listen to the Word of God that there is nothing else worth giving your life in pursuit of.”
’10 aspects of who Jesus is’
Allen shared the first aspect of Jesus’ character mentioned in Hebrews 1 is that He is the perfect revelation of God, and the second aspect is that Jesus is the beloved Son of God.
“That means everything we need to know about God comes together in Jesus,” Allen said. “Anything worth knowing finds its ultimate source in Jesus. God speaks to us through His Son, Jesus. The Son has opened a door that the prophets simply could not open. The door has been opened for us to be adopted sons and daughters of God as we see in John 1:12.”
The third aspect that Allen mentioned is Jesus is the heir of all things.
“God appointed Jesus as the heir of all things,” Allen said. “This is important why Jesus is the Son of God. Only the Son is the heir. Because we are sons and daughters of the most high God, in Jesus Christ, we are also co-heirs with Christ. We have an inheritance that is laid up in Heaven for us, and it is an inheritance that the world can’t get to.
“Just compare inheritances. What will you inherit from fame? What will you inherit from some great career? What will you inherit from all the money in the world or pleasure? You know as well as I do that a clear, close look at all of those things will tell us that inheritance crumbles and it fades away into nothing. But in Christ, because He is the heir of all things and because through what He’s done, He has shared with us as co-heirs. That means you have an inheritance that cannot be touched. If you’re going to have anything worth having, it will only be through Jesus.”
The fourth point Allen addressed is that Jesus is the active agent of creation.
“God appointed Jesus heir of all things through whom He also created the world,” Allen said. “This is really cool. We don’t know this until the New Testament, but the New Testament makes it really clear in John 1, Colossians 1 and here again in Hebrews 1.
“Regardless of when you’re born, when you’re in college, whatever your future looks like, whatever news stories that we can’t even imagine are coming our way, the only way to make sense out of the world around you is knowing the One who created the world around you. Understanding that Jesus is the One who makes the order out of the chaos. If you’re going to understand the world around you, it will only be through Jesus.”
The fifth point that Allen made is that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.
“This is one of my favorite parts of this passage,” Allen said. “I really can’t get over this and how well the author of Hebrews captures who Jesus is. He is the radiance of the glory of God. That word in Greek literally means something that comes from the dawn, something that comes from the sunrise. The author of Hebrews says that’s who Jesus is. If you are going to see the glory of God, it will only be through Jesus.”
The sixth aspect that Allen emphasized is that Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature.
“This is where in Hebrews 1:3 the author presses in on what it means that God came to us in the flesh,” Allen said. “That word in the Greek is character. Jesus is God taking His very character and nature. What would it look like if you were to take the very God of the universe into the clay of humanity? What would He look like? Well, we see it in Jesus. It is everything that means to be God pressed into the humanity in the fully God, fully man of Jesus. That means we see in Jesus exactly what it’s like to live a life sold out to pursuing Him. If you’re going to understand what God expects of you in this life, it will only be through Jesus.”
The seventh aspect that Allen addressed is that Jesus is the One who holds the universe together.
“Jesus upholds the universe by the word of His power,” Allen said. “Why would you give your life to Jesus? Well, if Jesus can take care of making sure the stars in their orbit do what they are supposed to do, I think He can manage my life and He can manage your life. He can hold your life together. He is the One who holds the universe together. If you’re going to have a life that is not falling apart, it will only be through Jesus.”
The eighth aspect that Allen emphasized is that Jesus is the One who made purification for sins.
“This is where it gets really personal and comes right into our lives,” Allen said. “Jesus dives into who we are and where we are, and He makes purification for our sins. The word purification simply means to make clean. Jesus is the One you cannot hide from. When I stand before the Lord, everything is there and you can’t run out of the room. There’s nowhere to go. It’s you and God, and it’s your sin.
“The question comes, ‘Will you be counted as righteous in that moment?’ If you’re honest, you know the answer to that question is no, but Jesus is the One who made purification for sins. Through what Jesus did on the cross, Jesus is the One who actually makes you clean and righteous and holy standing before God. Here’s how redemption and grace and imputed righteous work – that you get the righteous of Christ. That’s what God sees when you stand before Him. If you’re going to be forgiven of sins and be pure and holy, it will only be through Jesus.”
In wrapping up his message with the final two aspects, which Allen described as saving the best points of his message for end, he stated that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and that Jesus is the name above all names.
“When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He ascended to the throne and the Bible says that He is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for you,” Allen noted. “If you know Christ then you have a representative, an advocate beside the Father speaking on your behalf to God Almighty. If you’re going to serve a king worth serving, it will only be Jesus.
“Here’s how great the name of Jesus is, the author of Hebrews doesn’t have to say His name for the first two chapters and eight verses, and we still all know who he’s talking about. The name of Jesus is so great that you don’t have to say it to know who we’re are talking about. If you’re going to live for a name that lasts, it will only be Jesus. There is no greater name you can give your life to. I want to compel you to leave this place committed that the pursuit of your life will be the Lord Jesus Christ.”
As Allen urged students to pursue Jesus.
“I want to compel you to pursue Jesus because Jesus is actually the One who pursued you,” he said. “Jesus pursued you by leaving Heaven, living a perfectly righteous life, dying on the cross, being raised from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father and preparing to return at the command of the Father. The question becomes, ‘Given who Jesus is and all that He’s done, why would you give your life to pursue anything else?’”
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