Hebrews Ch7v23-Ch8v2

Good morning, everybody.

Could you please open to Hebrews chapter 7.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

! Hebrews chapter 7, and we're going to read from verse 23.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

So if you're using the church Bible there, it's on page 1205.

Hebrews chapter 7, and verse 23.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

Actually, turn over to page 1206.

Oh, thank you, Kevin.

Good man.

Before we read, let's pray and ask for God to help us as we open up his word.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, Lord of lords,

maker of the whole universe,

sustaining it right now by the power of your word,

we've sung already how great you are.

And yet we feel so small

and weak

and fragile.

We have many things burdening us

as we look out into the coming year.

We pray that

by your Holy Spirit, the words that we're just about to read

will be more than just words.

That they be life to us.

Strength, comfort,

encouragement to us.

Speak to us now.

Amen.

Evelyn's going to read it for us.

Thanks, Evelyn.

Hebrews chapter 7, verse 23.

Hebrews 7:23

Now, there have been many of those priests

since death,

prevented them from continuing in office.

But because Jesus lives forever,

he has a permanent priesthood.

Therefore, he is able to save completely

those who come to God through him,

because he always lives to intercede for them.

Such a high priest truly meets our need.

One who is holy,

blameless,

pure,

set apart from sinners,

exalted above the heavens.

Unlike the other high priests,

he does not need to offer sacrifices

day after day,

first for his own sins

and then for the sins of the people.

He sacrificed for their sins

once for all

when he offered himself.

For the law appoints as high priests

men in all their weaknesses.

But the oath,

which came after the law,

appointed the Son,

who has been made perfect forever.

Now, the main point of what we are saying is this.

We do have such a high priest

who sat down at the right hand

of the throne of the majesty in heaven

and who serves in the sanctuary,

the true tabernacle set up by the Lord,

not by a mere human being.

Do you ever wonder,

in the middle of your sin and failures,

am I really forgiven?

When you've messed up

for what seems like the hundredth time,

do you ever ask yourself,

where is Jesus now?

See, for most of us here,

in the back of our minds,

we know, right,

that 2,000 years ago,

Jesus died for our sin.

And he rose again

so that we could be forgiven.

That's the central truth of our faith, right?

But when I've failed,

again and again,

that same sin that I've struggled with for years,

I can't help but feel a vast gulf

between Jesus dying on the cross for me

2,000 years ago

and my on-the-ground reality of sin today.

And I ask,

is Jesus really here with me in this?

I wonder if anyone can relate

to that feeling

and those questions.

You feel the disconnect

between what Jesus did for you back then

and your day-to-day reality of sin,

sadness,

suffering.

But our text today,

it just cuts through all of us

and it drives at the heart

of who Jesus is for you and for me today.

Not just what he did for us way back when,

but what he is doing for us right now in heaven.

Read verse 24 and 25 again with me.

Because Jesus lives forever,

he is a permanent priesthood.

Therefore,

he is able to save completely

those who come to God through him

because he always lives

to intercede for them.

If you are a believer in Christ,

Jesus is interceding for you

right now in heaven.

He is not distant from your situation.

He is all over it.

He is interceding round the clock

for everyone who comes to God

through him.

We are going to explore

Jesus' intercession for us

by answering three questions.

Firstly,

who is it for?

Secondly,

what does it mean?

And third,

why does it matter

for us today?

So first one,

it's brief.

Who is it for?

We just read in verse 25,

Jesus is able to save completely

those who come to God

through him.

Now,

there are lots of ways

that people can

try to come to God,

right?

We can try to come to God

through presenting to him

the good things

that we have done in our lives.

But the Bible is clear

that we can never do

enough good things

in our lives

to meet God's holy standard.

We could try to come to God

through religious practices

like saying your prayers

every day

or attending church

or giving generously to church.

And as good as all that is,

the Bible tells us

that none of these things

are ever enough.

verse 25 tells us

that Jesus

only intercedes

for those who come to God

through him.

Those are the only people

he is able to save

completely

because they trust

not in something

that they've done,

but in Jesus'

perfect work

for them.

He lived

a life of perfect obedience

to God

they couldn't live.

He took the punishment

they deserved

for their sin.

Jesus

only intercedes

for those

who come

to the Father

through faith

in him.

So for those

who are outside

of Christ,

Jesus is not

speaking words

of intercession

on their behalf.

rather,

as the coming judge,

he is speaking words

of condemnation

over them.

Over those

who have

rejected

him.

So,

here's the first question.

It's not

easy to ask

or to think about.

But which words

is Christ speaking

over your life?

Are they words

of intercession?

Or are they words

of condemnation?

We need to be real

about that.

Jesus

only intercedes

for those

who come to God

through faith

in him.

But what does it

mean

that Jesus

intercedes

for believers?

Well,

the word

intercedes

in verse 25,

it means to make

an appeal

for someone.

means advocating

for them,

representing them,

speaking

on their behalf.

Now,

I wonder,

did any of you

ever get in trouble

with a teacher

in school?

Alex is shaking

his head,

and I 100%

don't believe him.

You know,

I think we all

figured out

that teacher

in school

that nobody

wanted

to cross.

You can picture

that teacher

in your mind

right now?

Asaph is pointing

at me.

Well,

I was in my

first year

of secondary school,

and I had figured

out who that

teacher was.

Now,

our school

had a rule,

it was a funny

rule.

No one was

allowed upstairs

at lunchtime.

What did I do?

I followed

my friends

upstairs at

lunchtime.

And who

appeared at

the end

of the corridor?

The teacher

that no one

wanted to cross.

She shouted

from the very

end of this

really long

corridor,

she shouted,

freeze!

And I wish

that had been

my response.

But instead

it was flight.

I panicked.

And I

started power

walking back

to the stairs.

For I knew

that I was

halfway down

the stairs,

and she was

hot on my

heels,

and at this

point,

I knew,

and all my

friends upstairs

knew,

I was well

and truly

goosed.

She was

red with

fury,

probably from

running down

the corridor,

door.

And I

was

guilty.

I got

both

barrels.

I wasn't

spared.

And as I

went home

that evening,

I was sick

with worry,

because I

didn't know

how I could

ever work

with that

teacher again,

or even be

in the same

room as

her.

And here

I was

in first

year.

But my

mum,

she heard

about this,

and she

arranged a

meeting with

this teacher.

And she

interceded for

me.

She appealed

to the

teacher to

show me a

mercy and

forgiveness

that I

did not

deserve.

And here's

what happened.

After serving

the detention,

the teacher

never once

held it

against me

again.

In fact,

we went on

in later

years to

work really

closely

together.

She was

the one

who first

trained me

in public

speaking.

And she

actually became

one of my

favourite teachers

in school.

Now, I

know that

none of

that could

have happened

if my

mum had

not interceded

for me

in that

moment.

And in

an ultimate

sense,

Jesus

intercedes

for guilty

sinners

like you

and me.

God

will

be

not

to

some

irrelevant

figure

like

a

teacher

or a

boss.

No,

he

appeals

to

God

the

Father

before

whom

we

all

stand

condemned.

So,

how does

he

intercede

for us?

How does

he seal

our

pardon?

Well,

to understand

how,

the writer

of this

text in

Hebrews,

he wants

to bring

us back

to the

role of

the priest

in the

Old

Testament

and what

they did

in the

temple.

Now,

the role

of priest

back then

in the

Old

Testament

law

and all

the

practices

that went

with it,

they were

fulfilled

by Jesus.

So,

these

practices,

they no

longer

apply to

us today,

but Jesus

has fulfilled

them and

in verse 24

we read,

he has now

become our

true high

priest

forever.

Okay,

so that's

what he's

doing for

us in

heaven.

So,

we're going

to look

at this

former role

of priest

in the

Old

Testament

to learn

how Jesus,

our true

high priest,

intercedes

for us

now.

Now,

the priest

had two

main roles.

number

one,

they made

sacrifices.

Number

two,

they interceded

for God's

people.

So,

have a look

at verse

26 and

what it

says of

Jesus.

It says,

such a

high priest

truly meets

our need,

one who

is holy,

blameless,

pure,

set apart

from sinners,

exalted

above the

heavens.

Okay,

so that's

setting Jesus

apart from

all the

Old

Testament

priests

who are

sinful

people.

Jesus

was

blameless,

and therefore,

verse 27,

unlike the

other high

priests,

he does

not need

to offer

sacrifices

day after

day,

first for

his own

sins,

and then

for the

sins of

the people.

Why?

He

sacrificed

for their

sins once

for all

when he

offered

himself.

people.

You see,

the priests

made

animal

sacrifices

for their

own sin

and for

the sin

of the

people,

and this

was meant

to point

them forward

to a

once-for-all

sacrifice

someday.

But Jesus,

because he

never sinned,

he could

sacrifice

himself.

He poured

out his

innocent

blood

for our

sin as a

once-for-all

sacrifice.

No more

sacrifices

needed.

So that's

the first

part.

Jesus,

our true

high priest,

made a

once-and-for-all

sacrifice.

Now here's

the second

part,

because the

second part

of the

priest's role

was to

intercede

for the

people.

So,

once a

year,

the high

priest would

go into

the inner

room of

the temple

called the

Holy of

Holies.

That's where

God's

presence

dwelt.

And there,

the high

priest would

sprinkle the

blood of

the sacrificed

animal,

thereby pleading

to God

to forgive

the people

on the

basis of

the innocent

blood that

was shed.

Now how

does that

point us

to Jesus?

Read with

me chapter

8,

verse 1

and 2.

We do

have such

a high

priest,

Jesus,

who sat

down at

the right

hand of

the throne

of the

majesty in

heaven and

who serves

in the

sanctuary,

the true

tabernacle set

up by the

Lord,

not by a

mere human

being.

So Jesus,

after making

his sacrifice

on the

cross,

he entered

into the

presence of

God,

the Father

in heaven.

God's

name.

And there

he serves

in the

sanctuary,

day after

day after

day.

And just

as like in

the Old

Testament,

the priest

served in

an earthly

temple by

presenting the

blood,

so Jesus

now,

in this

heavenly

temple in

heaven,

is presenting

his blood

to the

Father,

showing his

nail-pierced

hands and

feet,

appealing to

the Father

moment by

moment for

the forgiveness

of his

people.

And this

is ongoing

today.

He is

pleading with

the Father,

on the basis

of my blood

shed on the

cross,

forgive their

sin.

that is

what Jesus

is doing

for you

and I

right now

in heaven.

His work

continues.

And it's

not just a

one-time

event.

Maybe the

first day

that you

put your

trust in

Christ.

No,

it's

happening

every single

day since

then,

moment by

moment.

He ever

lives to

intercede

for us.

There's

another

really

helpful

verse on

the screen.

It's from

1 John 2

1 John 2:1

verse 1.

It says,

My dear

children,

I write

this to

you so

that you

will not

sin.

But if

anybody

does sin,

we have

an advocate

with the

Father,

Jesus

Christ,

the

righteous

one.

Right

now in

heaven,

moment by

moment,

Jesus is

appealing to

the Father

for our

forgiveness

on the

basis of

his blood

shed.

And his

request is

granted every

single time

because the

sacrifice he

made is

totally

sufficient for

every sin

of his

people.

That is

amazing news

for you

and for me

if we are

in Christ.

His one

sacrifice

purchased our

forgiveness.

His daily

intercession

applies that

forgiveness to

us.

Let me say

that again.

His one

sacrifice

purchased our

forgiveness.

His daily

intercession

applies that

forgiveness

to us.

I want you

to imagine

a courtroom.

it's not a

perfect analogy

but it may

tell us

something.

Imagine

God the

Father is

the judge

and we

are on

the dock

guilty

of sin

and rebellion

against

God the

Father.

And imagine

that Satan

is the

prosecutor.

Justice

must be

done,

he shouts.

The penalty

for their

rebellion

is separation

from God

forever.

Eternal

death.

And we

are guilty.

And we

could try

to list

off some

things we

did in

our lives

but they

could never

make up

for our

rebellion.

Now I

want you to

imagine Jesus

as a defense

lawyer throwing

open the

doors of

the court.

and he

walks up

the aisle

to God

the Father

and he

shows him

his wounded

hands and

feet saying

they trusted

in me.

I've taken

their sin

and the

sentence

that they

deserved

on the

cross.

Forgive

them for

the sake

of my

blood.

And the

judge

looks at

Christ

and looks

at us

and declares

us pardoned

of all our

sin.

And given

every benefit

that Christ

deserved

freed

and adopted

as children

of the

Father

forever

Satan

dismayed

slinks

away.

But he'll

be back

to accuse

again

no doubt.

And when

he does

Jesus

will be

there

because he

never stops

being our

advocate

before

the judge.

He stays

at the

Father's

side

ever living

to intercede

for us.

His one

sacrifice

purchased

our forgiveness.

His daily

intercession

applies

that

forgiveness

to us

again

and again

and again.

Now why

does all

this matter?

I've got

a couple

suggestions

and four

different ways

that I feel

like this

matters

deeply

in our

lives.

Here's the

first one

that I

propose.

Your

forgiven

status is

no formal

technicality.

It's a

living,

breathing,

reality.

Now I

wonder,

does anyone

here have

a random

qualification

or award

given to

you years

ago?

Maybe back

in the day

you did

like a

night class

in photography

or something

or tea

blending.

Or maybe

you even

spent 13

years learning

Irish.

Maybe.

But if I

were to

ask you

cod is

anam dit,

you'd probably

look at me

like I had

two heads.

you see

technically

you studied

Irish for

13 years

but it's

so far

removed from

your present

reality.

I mean

it's

technically

true

but not

real today.

And

sometimes we

can think

about our

forgiveness

before God

like that,

right?

Technically I'm

forgiven.

It's written

down somewhere

I don't know

in a filing

cabinet in

heaven,

but it

doesn't

feel real

in my

day-to-day

reality of

failing

time and

time again.

We say

yes I know

Jesus died

for my sin

but am I

really

forgiven for

that?

I've

messed up

time and

time again.

Now we

realize from

reading this

passage that

Jesus'

forgiveness is

a living

breathing

reality.

Because

right in

the moment

of our

sin we

have an

advocate in

heaven who

is pleading

to the

father for

us.

There is

nothing distant

or technical

or removed

about that.

That is real

and true and

you can build

your life

upon that.

You are not

just forgiven

in the past.

You are being

forgiven right

now because

Jesus always

lives to

intercede for

you.

Do you

believe it?

Live in

it.

here is

the second

thing.

You are

never

condemned.

We read

this passage

already earlier.

Romans 8

34 says

this.

Paul,

speaking of

those whose

faith is in

Jesus,

he says,

who then is

the one who

condemns?

No one.

Christ

Jesus who

died,

more than

that,

who was

raised to

life,

is at the

right hand

of God

and is

also

interceding

for us.

You see,

the devil

spitfires

condemnation

at us

throughout

the day.

You're

finished.

You're

disgusting.

You've

gone too

far.

You'll

never

come back

from this.

Do you

have those

thoughts?

I do.

They

especially

happen when

we failed

again and

again in

that area

of sin

we've

struggled

with for

years.

But can

you see

Jesus

right now

sitting at

God's

right hand

refuting

every

single

condemnation

the devil

levels at

you?

Satan

screams

condemned.

The

son

declares

forgiven.

And whose

word do

you think

holds the

weight

before God?

if you

belong to

him and

Jesus

presents his

nail

pierced

hands and

feet to

the father

again in

our darkest

moments of

sin and

says I

was condemned

for them.

They are

free.

Remember

you are

never

condemned

because

Christ

ever

lives

to

intercede

for you.

And that

leads to

our next

implication.

You are

completely

saved.

It's in

our struggle

with sin

that we

often wonder

am I

really

saved?

We

naturally

assume that

our salvation

is based on

how well we're

doing in the

Christian life.

But what if

I'm still

struggling with

the same

sin for

decades?

What if

I'm plagued

with doubts

about God,

if he's even

good?

What if

I neglect

scripture and

prayer?

What if

I allow

idols to

become more

important than

God in my

life and I

don't love

Christ like I

once did?

We can

naturally begin

to wonder am

I still in

Christ?

Has my

sin and

foolishness

taken me

away from

him?

Remember

verse 25

Jesus is

able to

save

completely

those who

come to

God through

him because

he always

lives to

intercede for

them.

Jesus doesn't

save half

the way and

you've got to

make the rest

of the way.

He saves

completely.

His one

sacrifice,

purchase our

forgiveness,

his daily

intercession

applies it

to us.

right now

in the middle

of your sin,

your doubts,

idolatry,

wondering,

Jesus is

pleading for

you and

me,

Father,

for the

sake of

my blood,

forgive them

for their

neglectfulness

and their

wandering.

Christ's

intercession

reminds us we

are completely

saved.

No matter

how we may

feel,

and our

feelings go

up and

down,

right?

no matter

how we

feel or

how we

failed,

Jesus ever

lives to

intercede for

us and

therefore we

are completely

saved.

Praise God

for that.

And here's

the last

implication.

You have

Jesus praying

for you in

temptation.

I think we

focus our

whole attention

on how Jesus

pleads to

the Father

for us in

our sin.

Is that

the only

time Jesus

intercedes for

us?

No.

We can

actually find

in Scripture

other examples

of Jesus

interceding for

his people.

Now here's

one in

Luke 22.

This is

interesting.

And Jesus

is speaking

to Simon

Peter before

his death.

And Jesus

says this,

Simon,

Simon,

Satan has

asked to

sift all

of you as

wheat.

But I

have prayed

for you,

Simon,

that your

faith may

not fail.

And when

you have

turned back,

strengthen

your brothers.

You see

that Jesus

was praying

for Simon

Peter here

before his

sin of

betrayal.

And he

intercedes

for us

in our

everyday

weaknesses

and temptations,

praying like he

does.

In John

17,

11,

he says,

this is

Jesus'

words in

his prayer.

He says,

Holy Father,

protect them

by the

power of

your name.

See,

I don't

know what

it is

you're

suffering or

struggling

with in

your life.

It could

be mental

health.

It could

be overwhelming

pressure at

work.

It could

be relationships.

It could

be finance.

And the

temptation is

to despair.

Just give

up.

Curse God.

Walk

away.

Jesus is

praying for

you in

your

temptation.

So you

have the

strength to

withstand.

And even

when we do

fall,

Peter

definitely

did,

it's not

game over,

is it?

Because Jesus

is praying

protection over

you and me

in temptation

and in

failure.

God

is

to

finish.

Let's

return to

the question

we asked

at the

start.

Where is

Jesus now?

In the

middle of

my sin

and suffering.

Is he

doing

anything?

Am I

really

forgiven?

I pray

that we

can all

answer those

questions now

with assurance.

Jesus is at

the right

hand of

the Father.

He sees

everything I

am going

through.

He is

passionately

interceding

for me with

all his

heart,

applying his

forgiveness

in every

moment of

sin.

I am

completely

saved

because his

one sacrifice

purchased my

forgiveness.

His daily

intercession

keeps on

applying it

to me.

He is

boldly

praying

strength

for me

in temptation.

I am

never

condemned

but

completely

safe

in him.

Let's pray.

I wonder

which one

of those

applications

stands out

to you

most.

Maybe

you could

take a

moment,

we could

all take

a moment

to

thank

God

for what

Jesus

is doing

for us

right now

and that

impact

it has

on our

day-to-day

life.

Amen.

Our Lord

Jesus Christ,

sorry for

thinking that

you're

distant

and removed.

Sorry

for so

often

forgetting

what you're

doing for

us right

now in

heaven.

Amen.

Help us

to remember

we are

never

condemned

if we

are in

Christ.

Help us

to remember

we are

completely

saved

and safe.

Help us

to remember

that you're

praying for

us in

temptation,

in weakness,

in failure.

Comfort us

and strengthen

us with this

knowledge as we

go out into

the week,

into the year

ahead,

that when

those questions

arise in

our mind

again,

we can

remember

and we

can see

you there

in our

mind's eye

at the

right hand

of the

Father,

passionately

interceding

for us.

Amen.

Amen.