Hebrews 4:14-16

Friends, there's a feast downstairs waiting for us

after the service, but we have a feast first here in God's Word.

So I hope you will join with me.

If you want to pull out your Bibles, you can turn the page.

I think it's 1001.

It's in your bulletin.

It's the book of Hebrews chapter 4,

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

which is where we'll be looking this morning.

I've been thinking a lot about people in need.

I got a text message email late last night,

and yes, I was still awake,

late last night from some friends

who were serving with the State Department over in Asia,

saying that their third child seems to want to come early,

but is coming slowly.

They'd been in the hospital for over 36 hours.

The delivery was not progressing.

They were struggling with language issues,

and they asked for us to pray.

I thought, what a difficult situation to be in,

in a foreign country not speaking the language

of those who are caring for you

in such an important time.

I've been reading and thinking much about the Philippines

and what people there are facing day to day.

No food, no shelter.

The grief of loss of family members.

If you haven't educated yourself

on how terrible the situation is, you should,

so that you can pray, so that you can know.

I've also been reading,

this is a book by a woman named Johnny Erickson Tata.

If you're not familiar with her,

she is an author and speaker.

Her life story talks about how when she was 17,

she suffered a spinal cord injury

and was paralyzed from the neck down,

and she has lived with that for 40 years.

The remarkable thing about this book

is that it's not talking about that.

She says, I've kind of gotten accustomed to that,

and at least I've learned how to live with that.

But in the last couple of years,

I've started to experience debilitating pain,

pain that won't go away,

pain that the medicine can only dull.

And then in the postscript of the book,

she mentions,

oh, friends, will you join with me?

I was just diagnosed with cancer.

We'll hear from her later,

but I've been thinking about people in need.

Obviously, the things that I've mentioned

are more extreme cases,

but maybe you felt in need,

like I have this week.

I know that this week,

I have been overwhelmed by the tasks

that I think I ought to get done.

and simply wanting to do my work well,

care for my family,

walk with Jesus,

and I felt completely overwhelmed

and unable to do those things.

You may be facing

all sorts of

crises or challenges,

places where you realize,

I need help.

Friends, whether they're big or small,

that's real.

It's a real issue.

And you know,

I don't know if you're like me,

but I don't like being there.

I don't like being needy.

I like to be self-sufficient.

I like the American dream

of the self-made man.

I can pull myself up by the bootstraps.

I can handle anything.

I don't like to have to need

someone else.

It makes me feel vulnerable.

And it's confusing

and bewildering.

We wonder,

who will help us?

Is there someone out there

who will?

We wonder,

does anyone care

about the things that

I'm facing

that are greater than me,

that are bigger than me?

And you know,

the funny thing about it

is that if you're a Christian,

it's almost more challenging,

isn't it,

sometimes,

when you face those

times of need.

Because you realize

that we believe in a God

who made the universe.

We believe in a God

who says He's sovereign

over everything.

Not only that,

we believe that He's a God

who loves.

And so when we find ourselves

in a time of need,

we wonder,

does God really care?

We wonder,

is He really able

to help us?

Friends,

there's good news.

Our passage today

points us

to how we answer

those questions.

Points us to one

who meets us

in that time of need

in deep and profound

and wonderful ways.

So if you want to read

with me,

we're going to look at

Hebrews chapter 4,

Hebrews 4:14–16

verses 14 through 16.

I'm going to read

the passage together

and then we'll pray.

since then we have

a great high priest

who has passed

through the heavens,

Jesus,

the Son of God.

Let us hold fast

our confession.

We do not have

a high priest

who is unable

to sympathize

with our weaknesses,

but one who

in every respect

has been tempted

as we are,

yet without sin.

Let us then

with confidence

draw near

to the throne of grace

that we may receive mercy

and find grace

to help

in time

of need.

Please pray with me.

God, we confess

this morning

that we are needy

and it's hard

to confess that

at times.

Lord, we don't like it

and yet it is true.

So, Lord,

we come to you

as needy people

this morning.

Needy for your help,

needy for your guidance,

needy for your presence,

most of all,

needy for your salvation.

God, we pray

this morning

that you would help us.

Help us see you

and know

that you are there

and that you do care.

We pray these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know,

as we look at this passage,

I want to remind you

if you have not been with us,

then this will be

a quick overview

and if you have been with us,

this will be a review

of where we've been so far.

Hebrews 1-4

because this passage

is kind of a hinge

and all that's come before

has been setting up

what the writer

of the Hebrews

really wants to say.

In some ways,

the core of his argument

is in chapters 5-10

and these chapters,

chapters 1-4

are kind of setting up

and do you remember

what we've seen?

We've seen Jesus.

Jesus,

who is the one

greater than the angels

as the one

who has come

to finally show us

what God is really like.

He is a greater revelation

than all the revelation

that the angels have had.

And in fact,

he is the one

whom God will make

all of his enemies

a footstool

as he sits enthroned

in the heaven.

This glorious picture

of a great Jesus

over all.

He's greater than Moses

if you remember.

We've seen that

he's a greater representative

of God's people.

He's a greater leader

of God's people.

And then we see

in chapter 2

how this great Jesus

has condescended

for a moment

to identify with us

in our humanity.

He has come down

and took on flesh and blood

for us

so that he might

do for us

the very thing

that we most need

to die

a death

that we deserved

so that we might live

by faith in him.

And then chapter 3

picks up these grand themes again

and says,

so we have this great Jesus.

And do you know

what else he's done?

He's created for us

a Sabbath rest.

He's given us

in our salvation

a rest

from striving for God

to accept us

as we are.

Striving to try

to prove ourselves

that we're good enough

in the world

that our lives

are worth something

by what we do.

We have rest from that

because we have

acceptance in Christ.

We have not only that

but we have real peace

to know that

our lives are held

in the hands

of a sovereign one

who has brought us

into his kingdom

that cannot be shaken

and cannot be moved.

And interlaced

in all of these

exalted pictures

of Jesus

have been these warnings.

Don't lose sight of it.

Don't drift away from it.

Don't neglect it.

Consider him.

Don't harden your hearts

against this exalted Jesus

and all that he's done.

And here in this passage

in this hinge passage

he picks up

a particular theme

the theme that

Jesus is our high priest.

And if you have your Bibles

look with me back

in chapters 2 and 3

because we've seen this

twice already.

He's laced it in there.

2.17

He says

Therefore he

that is Jesus

had to be made

like his brothers

in every respect

so that he might become

a merciful

and faithful

high priest

in the service of God

to make a propitiation

that is a sacrifice

that takes away wrath

a propitiation

for the sins

of the people.

And then in 3.1

he picks it up again

Therefore holy brothers

you who share

in the heavenly calling

consider Jesus

the apostle

and high priest

of our confession.

And he just kind of

laced that vocabulary

in there

without doing

very much with it.

And now at the end

of chapter 4

he's picking up

that theme

and he's launching us

and what we'll see

is 5 and 6

is all about

the nature

of his priesthood

and 7

or 5, 6, 7

yeah

6, 7, 8

anyway

sorry

as we keep going

between 5 and 10

we'll get both

the nature

of his priesthood

and

the work

of his priesthood

for us.

But

since we're not

going to preach

the whole next

five chapters today

let me give you

a summary

what does it mean

what does it mean

that Jesus

is our high priest

well this

there are a few things

there are lots of things

you can spend

five chapters on it

good heavens

but there are a few things

that he points out

here now

that are very important

the first thing

is that

he is a high priest

who has gone

into the heavens

and what does that mean

what does that picture mean

well I think

what the writer of Hebrews

is doing

is he's picking up

a picture

from the Old Testament

in the Old Testament

there was a temple

and that temple

had

had

sections

and the

the further you went

into the temple

from the courtyard

of the Gentiles

to the courtyard

of the Jews

to inside the temple

in the holy place

to the most holy place

you were drawing

nearer and nearer

and nearer

to the presence

of God

among his people

but there were

fewer and fewer

people who could

go there

and the high priest

in fact

according to Leviticus 16

was the one

who would go

into the very

the most holy place

the holy of holies

once a year

only once

and he would go in

with a sacrifice

for his own sin

and he would go in

for a sacrifice

for the people

of God

and what

the writer of Hebrews

is saying is

do you remember

all this imagery

some of you

may be not

familiar with it

but this picture

is this one

who could go

all the way in

to the very place

where the glory

of God

dwelt among his people

and what the writer

of Hebrews

is saying is

Jesus has done

that for us

in a heavenly way

not on the earthly

temple

with the blood

of goats

and sheep

and doves

not with the goats

of animals

did he go in

but he went

this is the argument

that will come

he went into

a heavenly temple

into the very presence

of God himself

if you don't believe me

Hebrews 1.8

says this

now the point

in

what we are saying

is this

we have such

a high priest

one who is seated

at the right hand

of the throne

of the majesty

in heaven

so that's where

he's gone to

and then 9.24

says this

Christ has entered

not into holy places

made with hands

which are copies

of true things

but into heaven

itself

now to appear

in the presence

of God

on our behalf

and so when

he holds up

this picture

of Jesus

the high priest

he's saying

this is the one

who can take us

into the very presence

of God himself

this is the one

who can get us

in there

and

if you're reading this

for the first time

and you're going

okay

he says

we have a great high priest

who passed through the heavens

okay who is that

he clarifies it

he says it's Jesus

Jesus

Jesus

the name of the one

the name that means

the one who saves

Jesus

the man

who was born of Mary

and yet also

the son of God

and again

he will unpack

all of the significance

of these names

but what he's saying

is this high priest

is uniquely

situated

to do

this unique work

of restoring

access to God

for his people

so that's the first thing

we learn about

Jesus as a high priest

this morning

is that he's gone

into the heavens

and he's made a way

for us

we will see

later in Hebrews

in chapter 12

it will describe

Jesus

as the author

of our faith

in many of our translations

but this author

also means

the one who is initiated

or even

the champion

the one who has

gone before us

so that he might

bring us

in his train

in his victorious

train behind us

he has made

the way

through

and he is bringing

us with him

secondly

in verse 15

the writer of Hebrews

says

Jesus

is a high priest

who is able

to sympathize

with us

in our weakness

it says

he was tempted

in every way

just as we are

yet without sin

this is a part

of his humanity

as he took

on flesh

and blood

that he would

experience

the weakness

of humanity

our human frailty

our need

for food

and clothing

and sleep

our lack

of knowledge

about all things

everywhere

Jesus submitted

himself

to taking

on human flesh

so that he might

sympathize with us

in our weakness

it says

that he was

tempted

in every way

just as we are

I want to think

about that

for a few minutes

this morning

what does it mean

that he was

tempted

James tells us

that a temptation

is like

a juicy

worm

on a hook

that is pulled

in front of

the trout

hiding in the fish

hiding in the weeds

and that meal

that is coming

by

looks so enticing

so desirable

so juicy

that we bite

and we fall

into sin

when we take

hold of that

which we ought

not to do

and it pulls

us away

that is what

temptation

biblically

that is what

the dynamic

of temptation

is

there is

something out

there and it

looks good

but it is not

and when we

act on it

when we respond

to it

we sin

and Jesus

says

the writer of

Hebrews says

that Jesus

felt the power

of the temptation

like we did

yet he never

bit

how is that

possible

I'm wondering

if some of you

are thinking that

I know I thought

that as I've

studied this past

how is it possible

that Jesus knows

the things that

I'm tempted

by

he's never

seen an Oreo

cookie

how is it

possible that

he could be

tempted as

we are

well

it's one of

the reasons

why we read

Matthew 4

this morning

because when

we look back

at the story

of Jesus

temptation

in the wilderness

at the beginning

of his ministry

do you remember

what happened

after 40 days

of fasting

Satan showed

up

and here

the Son of God

having just been

baptized

having just had

this divine

acclamation

of this is my

son

listen to him

this is the one

whom I've sent

right after that

he goes off

in the wilderness

and Satan

comes

and what he does

is he says

if you're the

Son of God

why don't you

use that

for your own

good

rather than

submitting to

God and his

plan for you

why don't you

choose

something that

looks really

good

in fact it

might even be

something that you

think God has

promised you

but you're

going to accomplish

it outside

of God's

plan

for you

the question

when temptation

faces us

fundamentally

is usually

this

do we trust

God

or do we

do it

ourselves

wasn't this

the very

temptation

that came

that Satan

brought first

into the

Garden of Eden

at the beginning

did God

really say

this

do you

think he

really has

your good

at heart

no do it

yourself

take hold

of that

fruit

become like

God

yourself

friends

this is the

very core

of temptation

and Jesus

faced it

much greater

than we

did

because a

temptation

is a

temptation

only when

it has

actual

attractiveness

to us

Jesus

probably

isn't

tempted

by an

Oreo

cookie

even if

he saw

one

it just

wouldn't be

a temptation

for him

to find

his solace

and his

comfort

and his

hope

in an

Oreo

cookie

okay

but

Satan

came

and he

tempted him

with the

things

that Jesus

cared about

the most

the things

that were

dearest

to his

heart

and

by

analogy

a

temptation

is only

as powerful

when it

has the

force to

potentially

move you

somewhere

so if

you're a

beach ball

on the

beach

and a

wave

comes in

it doesn't

take a

very big

wave

to knock

that beach

ball

across the

beach

does it

but once

you've

been

blown

by that

wave

once

you've

been

pushed

you've

given

in

you've

succumbed

to the

force

of the

temptation

and it

no longer

now there's

no longer

temptation

you've

just been

overcome

by it

but imagine

if you

were a

soccer ball

and then

a bowling

ball

the waves

have to

get bigger

don't they

to actually

have the

power to

move you

Jesus is

the rock

of Gibraltar

imagine

the waves

it would

take

to have

the power

to potentially

move him

when it

says that

he was

tempted

in every

way

as we

are

we must

recognize

that

Jesus

was

tempted

at a

profound

level

that we

will never

experience

to not

trust

God

and to

do it

his own

way

so Jesus

does

know

our

temptations

he knows

when you're

angry

at your

kids

because

they're

not

doing

what

you've

asked

them

to

do

and you've

lost sight

of trusting

God's plan

for you

and your

patient

correction

discipline

instruction

of your

children

he actually

knows

when pornography

seems like a

pretty good way

to find comfort

and solace

in your loneliness

and in your

desire

when you

don't trust

God to

provide for

you

you don't

trust God

to meet

you

in intimacy

he understands

when

faithfulness

to Christ

seems to

hinder

your career

path

your way

up the

ladder

he understands

the power

of the

temptation

to not

trust

God

that

following

him

will

actually

result

in good

he

understands

the

temptation

to be

silent

about

your

faith

because

you

long

to be

accepted

by your

school

friends

by your

boss

at work

by the

academy

when you

don't

trust

that

God

will

protect

and

provide

for

his

own

when

they

are

faithful

to

him

he

understands

the

temptation

to be

a workaholic

to burn

the midnight

oil

and the

6am

oil

and the

noon

oil

and the

3pm

oil

and the

6pm

oil

and all

the oil

you've

got

the oil

that your

friends

have

too

because

you're

desperate

to succeed

desperate

to get

ahead

whether

it's

getting

into

that

college

or

getting

that

promotion

or

getting

that

fellowship

whatever

it is

not

trusting

that

God

will

enable

you

to

do

work

sufficient

for

his

plan

for

your

life

and

that

the

outcome

of

your

work

is

his

gracious

gift

to

you

so

Jesus

does

sympathize

he

feels

as we

do

in our

weakness

friends

he

feels

it

most

because

we

know

Greg

will

unpack

this

much

more

but

he

will

feel

it

most

when

he

comes

on

his

knees

before

the

father

in

the

garden

of

gethsemane

says

father

is there

another

way

is there

another

way

to

accomplish

your

plan

but

not

my

will

but

yours

be

done

he

sees

the

temptation

and

you

know

he

asks

for

freedom

from

the

suffering

and

the

consequences

he

says

God

if

there's

another

way

please

but

at

the

end

he

says

your

will

be

done

I

will

trust

you

and

so

he

is

able

to

give

us

strength

in

our

time

of

need

not

to

turn

away

but

to

turn

to

him

because

I

don't

know

what

your

neediness

is

this

morning

I

don't

know

what

your

challenges

are

this

morning

and

I

can't

say

I

understand

but

I

know

who

does

and

therefore

therefore

the writer

of Hebrews

goes on

and he

says

there are

two

things

that we

ought

to do

in

light

of

this

first

of

all

we

are

to

hold

fast

to

our

confession

remember

in the

context

of the

book

the

Hebrews

were

surrounded

or in

some

kind

of

context

where

people

were

tempted

to

turn

away

to

say

Jesus

isn't

the way

to

God

he

isn't

the

Savior

there's

another

way

to

do

it

because

following

Jesus

was going

to be

really costly

for them

it might

have been

martyrdom

and so

the writer

says

let us

hold fast

to our

confession

hold fast

to our

confession

this

Jesus

is

Lord

this

Jesus

is

the

Son

of

God

this

Jesus

is

the

exact

representation

of his

likeness

and the

radiance

of his

glory

this

Jesus

has

made

satisfaction

for our

sins

and has

sat

down

at the

right

hand

of the

Father

this

Jesus

is

our

captain

our

Lord

our

hope

our

champion

that

is

what

we

confess

the

Puritan

John

Owen

says

that

this

confession

of our

faith

has

two

parts

one

is

the

submission

of our

heart

it

makes us

ask the

question

is there

anything

this

morning

that you

have not

bowed

to the

rulership

of Christ

in your

life

is there

something

that you

are prizing

something

you are

cherishing

something

you are

loving

more than

Christ

himself

is it

a relationship

is it

a career

it is

is it

being

thought

well of

by others

is it

food

is it

being

cool

whatever

it is

is there

something

there that

you have

not yet

submitted

to

Christ

is there

some area

of your

life where

you are

not willing

to say

he is

the

Lord

he is

my

champion

and my

captain

and I

will

allow

him

to

lead

me

in

this

is there

a part

of your

life

where

you are

trying

to be

God

rather

than

submitting

to

him

the

second

part

John

Owen

says

is that

it is

not only

the

submission

of our

hearts

but it is

the

profession

of our

lips

this might

be a good

litmus test

do the

people

around you

know

that you

follow

Jesus

now look

we can be

obnoxious

about that

let's not

be

that is

just a

pain

it is

really

annoying

that is

not

helpful

but gosh

they ought

to know

that Jesus

is your

hope

they ought

to know

that Jesus

is your

life

they ought

to know

that following

him and

serving him

and worshipping

him is what

your whole

life is about

and in fact

it is him

that you go

to daily

for help

because you

need him

so desperately

friends

let us

loose

our lips

to speak

of him

I told

you I'd

come back

to

Johnny

I'm

going to

read to

you a

paragraph

in her

book

I want

you to

look like

I want

you to

see what

it looks

like for

her to

hold fast

to her

confession

of faith

in the

face of

the trials

she's

facing

she says

yes I

pray that

my pain

might be

removed

that it

might cease

but more

so I

pray for

the strength

to bear

it

for the

grace

to benefit

from it

and the

devotion to

offer it

up to

God

as a

sacrifice

of praise

my strength

in prayer

these days

is scant

I'll confess

that

so for all

the concentration

I can muster

in prayer

I must not

dissipate it

in seeking

physical blessings

only

rather

I must

spend a good

portion of it

seeking spiritual

growth and

praying for

Christ's kingdom

to go forth

into this dark

world

for such

prayers

are a way

for me to

know God

and to know

him deeper

higher

richer

wider

and fuller

much fuller

than if I

comfortably

cruised

through life

in my

wheelchair

she's

continued

to look

to Jesus

and she

believes

that he

is the

one who

can help

her

and so

she confesses

that

she

does

ask

for help

she

asks

that her

circumstances

might change

but that

is not

her ultimate

goal

her ultimate

goal

is to

trust in

and exalt

this one

that she

serves

the second

exhortation

is in

verse 16

of our

passage this

morning

look with me

again

let us

then with

confidence

draw near

to the

throne of

grace

that we

may receive

mercy

and find

grace to

help

in time

of need

friends

remember

in the

temple

only one

man

could go

into the

holy of

holies

only one

man could

go once

a year

and he

went

trembling

because

he knew

he had

sin on

his hands

and that

he had

to make

an offering

in fact

they tied

a rope

around him

because if

he went

in and

the offering

was not

acceptable

to God

he would

die

and no

one

could go

in to

get him

so they

pulled

him out

with a

rope

there's no

record that

that ever

happened

but

they tied

a rope

around his

ankle

so they

could pull

his body

out

if the

glory

of God

fell upon

him

in judgment

in that

and now

because we

have a

great high

priest

who has

gone

before us

who has

made a

way for

us

now we

can approach

not the

mercy seat

that needs

to be

covered

with blood

that has

been satisfied

by Christ

and stick

around for

the next

couple of

months

and you'll

see how

rich and

true that

is as we

explore that

but it's

a throne

of grace

and we

go before

the God

of the

universe

and he's

saying I

am here

to give

you grace

that is

undeserved

favor

help

mercy

that is

why I'm

here

and friends

certainly

this refers

to the

mercy and

grace

of salvation

that Christ

died for

sinners like

you and

me and

rose from

the dead

so that we

might be

forgiven

of that

sin

and receive

the grace

of new

life and

forgiveness