The Holy Spirit…Unites us to the exalted Lord Jesus

Good evening and welcome back to our Easter Sunday evening service.

I want to, having been there at the cross on Good Friday, seeing the extent of Jesus' humiliation,

then this morning we thought about the resurrection, his victory over sin and death and the good news of that for us.

I want us to go further still and to consider together our risen and exalted Lord Jesus

and to think about how the Holy Spirit connects us to him as we continue our Holy Spirit series.

So I'm going to begin a reading from Revelation chapter 5, looking at verses 6 and 11.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne,

encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

There is who is seated on the throne.

It's our lamb, Jesus, the lamb who was slain for us and for our salvation.

And here is the song of those who are around the throne.

In a loud voice they sang, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise.

So we want to join in their voice as it were.

We want to give praise and glory and find strength and hope and encouragement from remembering Jesus,

who is seated on the throne of heaven.

And our opening hymn will help us to do that.

We're going to sing together,

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

In the dawning of the King

He the theme of heaven's praises

Robed in frail humanity

In our longing, in our darkness

Now the light of life has come

Look to Christ who condescended

Took on flesh to ransom us

Come behold the wondrous mystery

He the perfect Son of man

In his living, in his suffering

Never trace nor stain of sin

See the true and better Adam

Come to save the hell-bound man

Christ the great and sure fulfillment

Of the law, in him we stand

Come behold the wondrous mystery

Christ the Lord upon the tree

In the stead of ruined sinners

Ames the lamb in victory

See the price of our redemption

See the Father's plan unfold

Bringing many sons to glory

Grace unmeasured love untold

Come behold the wondrous mystery

Slain by death, the God of life

But no grave could ever restrain him

Praise the Lord, he is alive

What a foretaste of deliverance

How unwavering our hope

Christ in power resurrected

As we will be when he comes

Now let's come to God in prayer

Lord our Father, we praise you

Once again for the gift of Jesus

We thank you that he is

The eternal Son of God

And yet in love for us

And in response to our sin

And our need

You established before the world

Was ever made

That Jesus would come

To become one of us

To live with us

To walk a path of suffering

A path of humble obedience

A path of loving service

That would take him to the cross

Where he would give himself

As the ransom price

So that we might be set free

From slavery to sin

So that we might belong to you

Lord we thank you

For the truth of the resurrection

And we thank you

For the hope of new life

That we find by faith in Jesus

And we thank you too

That right now Jesus is ruling and reigning

That he is receiving all the glory

And praise of the angels

And the saints in heaven

And we thank you that

Although churches are not able

To meet together

All around the world

Your people are coming together

To praise Jesus

As Lord and Saviour

Lord we do ask

For us as a church

That you would sustain our hope

In the Lord Jesus

That we would have faith

Despite the fear and uncertainty

That's all around us

As we walk in the valley

Of the shadow of death

Of the shadow of death

Together

We thank you that Jesus

Is that shepherd

Who has gone there before us

Who has gone beyond it for us

And who now walks with us

Through our pain and suffering

Whatever that looks like

Lord we pray in particular

For any who are struggling

With loneliness

Those who are perhaps struggling

With mental health issues

We ask for those who are facing

Economic uncertainty

That you would give them peace

And that they would come to you

And that you would provide

We pray for those who feel

Far from family

And that causes

A measure of pain

Lord we ask that you would

Draw near

Lord for many of us

As we miss the

The simple

But wonderful privilege

Of being able to gather

For public worship

We ask

That you would sustain

Our faith

As we have to meet

Virtually

That this would be a time

Of you dealing

With us

Helping us to

Deal with our sin

Helping us to

Understand and appreciate

More of the gospel

That you would cause us

To place our hope

In no one and nothing else

Other than

In Jesus

Our Lord and Saviour

And faith in him

And we pray that as we

Read our Bibles

As we

Think about

Where Jesus is now

And what he is doing

For his people

That it would give us hope

To have a vision

Of the glory of Jesus

That you would sustain us

In our hope

Now and in this coming week

Now we pray in Jesus name

Amen

So what we are going to do

Is we are going to read

A short passage

A wonderful passage

From the beginning of

The letter to the Hebrews

So we are going to be in

Hebrews chapter 1

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

And we are going to look

At the first four verses

So we are continuing

To think about the Holy Spirit

In a believer's life

And here we are thinking

About how

The Holy Spirit

Unites us

To our

Exalted

Christ

So let's see how

The letter to the Hebrews

Begins

In the past

God spoke to our forefathers

Through the prophets

Through the prophets

At many times

And in various ways

But in these last days

He has spoken to us

By his Son

Whom he appointed

Aire of all things

And through whom

He made the universe

The Son

Is the radiance

Of God's glory

And the exact representation

Of his being

Sustaining all things

By his powerful word

After he had provided

Purification for sins

He sat down

At the right hand

Of the majesty and high

So he became

As much superior

To the angels

As the name

He has inherited

Is superior

To theirs

You and I

And we're very aware

Of this

We need to feel

Connected

Don't we

We're very fortunate

Living in the age

Of technology

That on one hand

We've never been

More connected

You know

Anywhere in the world

People can

Speak to one another

Can

Tune in

To services

And websites

All over the world

But at the same time

We know that we are

Very much disconnected

Virtual

Is replacing

The real

For this season

For so many

Of our relationships

And how we

Interact with one another

And I wonder how

You are

Finding it

There are obviously

Some advantages

But then there are

Some real challenges

And there's nothing

Quite like

Meeting someone

Face to face

There's nothing

Quite like

Personal contact

Is there

We need to feel

Connected

And then you take

That truth

To our journeys

Of faith

And discipleship

We need someone

To walk with us

To encourage us

To pick us up

When we fall

And one of the many

Ways in which

We feel the loss

Of real church

Versus digital church

Is we don't have

That sort of

Immediate

Face to face

Contact with

Brothers and sisters

Who can speak

The truth to us

Who can

Smile, shake a hand

Give us a hug

Just keep us going

But what we do have

Is we have

The Emmanuel promise

We have the promise

Of God

With us

And that's what

I want us to think about

That the Holy Spirit

Is a gift

From the Father

And the Son

Sent to us

Here to connect us

To Christ

And particularly

To connect us

To the risen Christ

And to recognise

That it's this

Exalted Jesus

Who walks

With you and I

On our journeys

Of faith

Now why is that

Such good news?

Well I hope

As we spend a few minutes

In this letter

To the Hebrews

It will help us

To answer that

Because it's going

To show us

Who is Jesus

It's going to teach us

Where is Jesus now?

And it's going to

Answer the question

What is Jesus

Doing now?

And in all of this

We will find hope

For our faith

You and I

Need to remember

That we have

The friend

In the highest places

The one who

Opens the door

Of heaven

For us

And to us

So let's ask

Our first question

Who is Jesus?

When you read

The New Testament

Letters

You discover

They all have

Their different ways

Of beginning

Their different ways

Of introducing

Their themes

Well Hebrews

Begins

With a bang

And really

Big ideas

Giving us

An incredible

Portrait

Of Jesus

In just a few

Short verses

So we are

Introduced

First of all

To Jesus

As the final

And supreme

Revelation

From God

God spoke

To our forefathers

In different ways

And so God

Spoke

To the prophets

And to those

Who wrote

The Old Testament

That was revelation

Then

But now

The climax

Of revelation

Is God sending

His own son

Jesus

So when Jesus

Comes

And he doesn't

Speak like

The other prophets

Saying thus

Says the Lord

He's saying

Truly truly

I say to you

Jesus speaks

To us

As the word

Of God

As the revelation

Of God

The greatest

The supreme

The final revelation

That we need

And then in verse 2

We're also told

That Jesus has been

Appointed heir

Of all things

What are they all

That the author

Is talking about

He's talking about

Things in heaven

Things on the earth

And things under the earth

So we can say

All means all

And the wonderful thing

For us is

To remember

Jesus is our head

Adam had been our head

But by faith

Jesus becomes our head

And what Jesus

Comes to do

As the second Adam

Is he recovers

And restores

All that Adam

Lost for us

Jesus becomes

One of us

To secure for us

Every spiritual

Blessing

And ultimately

To know that

We will enjoy

Life forever

With God

Just as we enjoy

It now

Life with him

Now we also see

That Jesus

Is the maker

Of the universe

Notice it's

Through whom

God through Jesus

Made the universe

So he's distinct

From the father

Through whom

But he's not less

Than the father

And what we discover

Is Jesus

As God's powerful word

Is also

God's agent

Of creation

So all that we

See

Is created

By Jesus

And we're not

Finished there

Verse 3

We're told

The sun

Is the radiance

Of God's glory

So this week

We have been

Enjoying

Some wonderful weather

So let's think

About the sunshine

And sunbeams

So we know

And we're told

From an early age

That you cannot

Look directly

At the sun

It's too bright

It would damage

Our retinas

But we have

I'm sure

Whatever possible

Been seeing

And enjoying

Its light

And its heat

It does

Us good

Doesn't it

Well here

And in the bible

We're told

That the majesty

The glory

The dazzling glory

Of God the father

Is impossible

For us to look on

We can maybe

Think of

God's words

To Moses

Where he said

To Moses

You cannot see

My face

And live

Seeing the majesty

Of God

Is impossible

Until

It shines

In Christ

So John Calvin

Said

So now we can see

The glorious beauty

Of God

In Jesus

Jesus who is

The light of the world

So that God is truly seen

And known in him

And that idea

Continues in verse 3

Jesus is the exact

Representation

Of God's being

Jesus is the stamp

Jesus is a true

Image of God

To see Christ

Is to see

The father's

True character

So when we read

The gospels

And we see

Jesus in his love

In his love

In his patience

For the disciples

In his love

For those who are

Broken and hurting

In his love

For a sinful world

When we hear

His wisdom

When we see

His mercy

And grace

Extending a touch

To the leper

Welcoming

Those who are

Rejected by others

When we see

His power

Over

Sickness

And

Over

Storms

And over

Death

Itself

When we see

His holy

Hatred

Of sin

When we see

Him acting

To save us

We are truly

Seeing

The character

And the saving

Work of God

Jesus said

I do what the

Father

Shows me to do

I say

What the

Father

Says

We are still

Going

Jesus

We are also

Told

Is sustaining

All things

By his

Powerful word

Just imagine

That for a moment

The powerful word

Of Jesus

Sustains

Everything

In the known

Universe

And in the

Unknown universe

So that if

Jesus took

His eyes

Off the ball

For even a

Second

Our universe

Would collapse

Now there is

A wonderful

Picture of the

Power of Jesus

Right there

Sustaining

The whole

Universe

With a word

And then we're

Told what Jesus

Has done

Verse 3 still

He provided

Purification

For sins

He has

On the cross

Removed

Sin

He has

Washed

His people

Clean

From sin

In his

Perfect

Sacrifice

On the cross

What we

Are unable

To do

By ourselves

To be

Righteous

To be

In a

Place

Where we

Can be

Accepted

And welcomed

By God

Jesus

Provides

By grace

And mercy

In shedding

His own

Blood

For us

So we

Have this

Amazing

Portrait

Here

And our

Point

Is that

By faith

The Holy

Spirit

Unites us

To this

Jesus

It's so

Important

To have

A clear

Idea

Of the

Identity

Of Jesus

To understand

His person

And his

Work

For the

Sake of

Our faith

This

This

Jesus

Is the

Lord

Who is

With you

And for

You

This is

Your friend

On the

Journey of

Faith

Today

In all

The struggles

That come

With coronavirus

Don't lose

Sight

Of the

One who

Walks

With you

The one

Who is

For you

Truth is

All of

The Christian

Life

From beginning

To end

Rests

On

The power

And the

Love

And the

Grace

Of Jesus

And being

United to

Him

By faith

We look

To our

Risen

And exalted

Jesus

To hold

Us fast

And as we

Said last

Week

The Holy

Spirit

Who wants

Us to

See the

Glory of

Jesus

Wants to

Keep reminding

Us to

Keep raising

Our eyes

Higher

To see

The glory

Of Jesus

The next

Question we

Want to

Think about

Is where

Is Jesus

Now

And we

Need to go

To the end

Of verse

Three

To see

That

Where we're

Told that

After he

Provided

Purification

For sins

He sat

Down

At the

Right hand

Of the

Majesty

In heaven

Where is

Jesus

Now he

Has now

Been

Received

Into the

Glory of

Heaven

He is

Sitting

With the

Father

On the

Throne

Of the

Universe

This is

The

Climax

Of Jesus

Glory

Being

Revealed

Here he

Is

High

And

Exalted

Receiving

All the

Praise

And glory

Of heaven

As we

Heard

In

Revelation

The

Bible

Gives us

Insight

Into the

Journey

As it

Were

Of Jesus

The

Eternal

Son

Of God

Philippians

2

Great

Place

To go

Jesus

Jesus

Humbled

Himself

By

Becoming

One

Of

Us

He

Humbled

Himself

Still

Further

By

Going

To

Death

On

A

Cross

But

Then

Jesus

Is

Raised

And

Then

Literally

He

Is

Hyper

Exalted

So

He

Has

The

Name

Above

Every

Name

Every

Knee

Will

Bow

And

Every

Tongue

Will

Confess

That

Jesus

Is

Lord

And

So

We

Need

To

Get

This

I

Think

There

Can

Be

For

Us

The

Danger

Of

What

We

Can

Call

A

Frozen

In

Time

Jesus

Maybe

For

Some

Of

Us

Maybe

If

We

We

Associate

Jesus

With

The

Story

Of

Christmas

We

Can

Think

Of

Jesus

The

Baby

In

The

Manger

Or

Maybe

For

Us

We

Tend

To

Always

Think

In

Our

Minds

Of

Our

Humble

Suffering

Saviour

And

It's

Absolutely

True

And

We

Need

The

Reality

That

Jesus

Has

Left

The

Throne

Of

Heaven

To

Come

And

Be

One

Of

Us

And

To

Suffer

And

Die

And

Then

Rise

For

Us

But

We

Also

Need

To

Remember

That

He

Is

Risen

And

Exalted

In

Glory

That

He

Is

Head

Ruling

And

Reigning

For

Us

So

To

Follow

On

From

This

Morning

Is

My

Thinking

About

Jesus

Right

Now

How do

I need

To

Grow

In

My

Understanding

To

Have

Security

In

Our

Faith

To

Have

Confidence

In

Our

Salvation

We

Need

To

Catch

A

Vision

Of

Jesus

Seated

At

The

Father's

Right

Hand

Because

We

Need

To

Understand

What

Jesus

Is

Doing

There

As

He

Sits

On

The

Throne

Of

Heaven

So

That's

The

Last

Thing

To

Think

About

What

Is

Jesus

Doing

Now

And

We're

Going

To

Bring

Together

Two

Different

Ideas

About

Jesus

That

We

Find

In

The

Book

Of

Hebrews

First

Of

All

Jesus

Is

Sitting

As

King

Of

The

Universe

And

King

Over

His

Church

To

Read

On

In

Chapter

One

In

Verse

Eight

God

Says

About

His

Son

Your

Throne

O

God

Will

Last

Forever

And

Ever

And

Righteousness

Will

Be

The

Scepter

Of

Your

Kingdom

A

Prophecy

From

The

Book

Of

Psalms

And

Then

In

Verse

Thirteen

From

Psalm

110

Showing

Jesus

Far

Superior

To

The

Angels

To

Which

Of

The

Angels

Did

God

Ever

Say

Sit

At

My

Right

Hand

Until

I

Make

Your

Enemies

A

Footstool

For

Your

Feet

Of

Course

The

Answer

Is

None

But

The

Father

Has

Given

That

Position

And

That

Glory

To

Jesus

So

Today

A

Jesus

Jesus

Is

Sitting

When

Jesus

Is

Sitting

H

Marianne

And he is on the throne protecting and preserving his church.

And when you think about what we just learned about Jesus, it's good to remember no one and nothing is stronger than Christ and his rule.

No opposition, no isolation, no illness, no virus is stronger.

In Jesus, there is hope and there is security that will not fail.

John Calvin speaking about this truth says this,

The kingdom of Christ is not earthly, but spiritual, so that we can patiently live at present under toil, hunger, cold, contempt, disgrace and other annoyances.

And let's include COVID-19 and all the suffering and frustration and struggle that's with that.

And we can do that. We can patiently live at present in that reality, contented that our king will never abandon us and will supply what we need until the war is over and we enjoy the victory.

Our hope rests in our risen Jesus, now ruling and reigning as king.

He will not leave us and he has that all sufficient power that he gives to us to sustain our faith.

And the Holy Spirit in us keeps us united to Christ and keeps us looking to Christ by faith so that we do not lose heart.

It's a real encouragement for us, isn't it, to think that the one who sits on the throne of the universe is the good shepherd.

That he sits there, the one who loves his sheep, the one who feeds his sheep, the one who protects his sheep, the one who laid down his life for the sheep.

With all of his power and glory, he is sitting there to protect and to preserve his church, you and me, if we are Christians.

Our times are in his hands and that's a really safe and comforting reality when we know who Jesus is.

All things work for your eternal good that come from your loving king.

Nothing will separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus who gave himself to purchase you for God and now holds on to you with that powerful loving grip of grace.

And the work of the Holy Spirit is always to help us to see the glory of Jesus, to unite us, to know that we are united to this Jesus.

To see the glory of the risen and exalted Jesus so that you and I would trust him and trust him more.

So Jesus is sitting as the king who rules, but he's also sitting as the high priest to intercede for us.

I want to read just one verse, one other verse, Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

Therefore, he, that is Jesus, is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them.

When our boys were smaller, one of my favourite kids' Bible books to read, I can't remember what it was called, but it had various.

On each sort of double page, there were scenes from the life of Jesus.

Jesus had just done something miraculous.

And the question as you turned each page is, what's Jesus doing now?

You know, feeding the 5,000, calming a storm, whatever he was doing.

Last page question, what is Jesus doing now?

And the answer, wonderful answer for children to hear, for us to hear, Jesus is praying for you.

Jesus ever lives to intercede for his people.

So the big theme in Hebrews chapters 4 to 10, Jesus is our great high priest.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

So we don't have time to go into that, but Jesus is presented as our Melchizedek.

You might remember Melchizedek from the Abraham story.

He is, Jesus is our priest king, who is now sitting in glory.

He has finished his work of offering sacrifices.

So he came into our world to be our high priest, who would be perfectly pure and sinless,

who would offer a perfect sacrifice, offer his own sinless life in our place,

bearing our sin, taking on himself God's just anger against our sin, against the sin of his people.

He washes us clean of sin.

He removes that guilt and he reconciles his people to God.

So we can be at peace with God through the work of Jesus, our high priest.

So now that work is complete.

So Jesus is sitting on the throne as priest king, having completed that work.

But now what is he doing?

He's representing us to the Father.

He's praying for us.

Jesus is praying for you.

And he's praying for you right now.

When this verse says Jesus is able to save completely, it means Jesus is able to save forever.

Why?

Because he is permanently representing us before his Father.

How does he do that?

Well, Jesus in heaven is still bearing the scars of sacrifice.

And that becomes the basis for his pleading.

Jesus is saying to his Father, welcome them because of my perfect sacrifice.

Welcome them into your love and your grace, to your fellowship, to your family,

because of what I did for them on the cross.

I wonder if you've ever had the frustration or disappointment of being denied access somewhere.

And maybe you forgot a ticket.

You forgot a passport.

Well, you didn't have the right credentials, so you got so far,

but then you came to a closed door and you had no right to go through.

Jesus, your high priest, makes sure you always have access to God's presence.

You always have access to God's grace.

Jesus opens the door so that we can boldly and confidently come to our Father

and to know that he will welcome us.

The Holy Spirit unites us to the risen Christ, and that's so important.

We can be confident to approach God.

You and I can pray in the name of Jesus,

knowing that those prayers will be accepted and perfected and presented to our Father.

He will hear and he will answer in his perfect way.

So we can pray as Jesus prays for us.

We can be confident of God's love today.

When we see who is on the throne, the Father who established Jesus as the high priest,

Jesus the high priest who has finished his sacrificial work

and now is always living to plead our case,

to uphold us, to give us that strength and help that we need.

So today, this Easter Sunday, we can rest.

Despite all that's going on,

despite the fear that we face,

despite the dark cloud that we are under,

we can have joy.

Because by faith, we are united

to the risen and the exalted Jesus.

Now let's close singing one of those psalms that reminds us of Jesus as King.

Psalm 2, verses 1 to 7, and then verse 12.

Psalms 2:1–7

Why do the heathen nations rage?

Why do the peoples glut in vain?

Earth's kings combine in enmity.

Her rulers join against God's reign.

They take their stand against the Lord

Let us break off their chains from us

With their restraints let us be done

The one enthroned in heaven laughs

The Lord on high derides them all

Then he rebukes them in his wrath

His rage and terror on them fall

The Lord has made it known to them

My chosen king I have installed

On Zion, my own holy hill

He is the one whom I have called

The king then solemnly declares

I will proclaim the Lord's decree

Today your father I've become

You are my son

He said to me

Pay homage to the royal son

Lest you in wrath our side are thrust

For swiftly can his anger blaze

Blessed are all who in him trust

And let's close in prayer

Lord God as we look ahead to a new week

We thank you that in the journey of life

And the journey of faith

For us as Christians

We do not walk alone

Even when we are alone

Even when we feel alone

We thank you that you are for us

For us as our king

Ruling, protecting, preserving

You are for us as our high priest

Praying for us

Pleading our case

On the basis of your perfect sacrifice

So that we can know

Our salvation is sure

And certain

Knowing that in Christ

We will one day be with Christ

That we too will live with glorified

Resurrected bodies

And we will see him

And we will enjoy him forever

Lord sustain our hope

And our joy

In knowing and belonging to Jesus

Amen

Take care

And we will see you again

Soon

Amen

This means

How do we know

Rules

Till