1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,860 I believe that this passage and what it teaches is one of the most beautiful passages in all 2 00:00:11,860 --> 00:00:12,860 of scripture. 3 00:00:12,860 --> 00:00:18,120 It's a very assuring passage, at least to me it is, and perhaps it will be assuring 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:23,080 and bring some comfort and encouragement to all of us today. 5 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:31,040 Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25, Hebrews kind of toward the end of your Bible, toward the end 6 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,640 of the New Testament. 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,240 Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25. 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,640 We'll read through the text then we'll pray. 9 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:50,280 Therefore, he is always able to save those who come to God through him, since he always 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,760 lives to intercede for them. 11 00:00:53,760 --> 00:01:00,360 For this is the kind of high priest we need, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from 12 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,840 sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 13 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:09,920 He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day as high priests do, first for their own 14 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,520 sins, then for those of the people. 15 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,960 He did this once for all when he offered himself. 16 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:22,600 For the law appoints as high priest men who are weak, but the promise of the oath which 17 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:28,080 came after the law appoints a son who has been perfected forever. 18 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:29,080 Let's pray. 19 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:34,240 Father God, we come to you for, we thank you dear Lord for these good words. 20 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:35,280 We thank you for this day. 21 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,600 We thank you for letting us have the freedom to come here. 22 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:44,120 And I pray dear Lord that you would just be with us this morning as we study these words, 23 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,600 as we think about what they say, I pray God that your Holy Spirit would help us to be 24 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,680 free from the worries of the world and the thoughts of the world and the stresses of 25 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:53,680 the world. 26 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,640 And I pray today that we would just listen to you for just a few minutes. 27 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,120 I pray God that you would hide me behind the cross, that you would help me to preach and 28 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,960 teach in a way that brings glory and honor to you. 29 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,840 That you take away any pride or fear I have this morning dear Lord. 30 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,600 We are totally dependent on you dear Lord. 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,440 Me to preach and all of us to hear God. 32 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:14,840 We want to understand your word. 33 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:15,840 We want to know your word. 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,080 And I pray that we would listen to you today and that you would move among us. 35 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,920 And I ask these things in Jesus name, amen. 36 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:30,600 We have seen over the last few weeks that the author of Hebrews has really focused on 37 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,880 this character of Melchizedek. 38 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:38,520 And he focuses on the character of Melchizedek to make a comparison, to make a point about 39 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,560 who Jesus is. 40 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:47,360 And the point that he is making is that Jesus has established a better priesthood. 41 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,560 That Jesus is a better high priest than all who came before him. 42 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,760 In the Old Testament there was a priesthood and there was a law and there were sacrifices 43 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:57,260 to sin. 44 00:02:57,260 --> 00:03:02,040 But the author of Hebrews says that God has provided a better way. 45 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,840 That the Old Testament way was good for a time. 46 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,720 But it was only good until Jesus came onto the scene. 47 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:16,560 And so what he's told us in chapter 7 is that Jesus has established a new priesthood. 48 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,960 With a change of the priesthood, there is a change of the law. 49 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,200 And the author of Hebrews wants us to know that, look, there is a better high priest 50 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,380 that we serve and he is a priest who serves forever. 51 00:03:29,380 --> 00:03:34,720 And that priest who is being spoken about in these passages that we read today is none 52 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:36,800 other than Jesus Christ. 53 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:41,560 He has established a priesthood that is forever. 54 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:46,960 And here as we've seen in these verses, Jesus is unique as our high priest. 55 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:53,000 He's uniquely qualified to be a high priest unlike any who has come before him. 56 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:54,040 Why? 57 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,200 Because Hebrews tells us that those priests who have come before were men. 58 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,460 And as men they were weak. 59 00:04:01,460 --> 00:04:03,960 As you and I are weak today. 60 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:04,960 They had flaws. 61 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,720 They were sinful men, even the best of them were sinful men. 62 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,160 And even though they offered sacrifices for the people, they had to continually offer 63 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,600 those sacrifices. 64 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,520 And the sacrifices also covered the priest because the priest had sinned. 65 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:25,400 But God wanted to establish a new covenant and a new priesthood. 66 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,160 And that's what the author of Hebrews has been trying to tell us and will continue to 67 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,820 tell us on into chapter 8. 68 00:04:31,820 --> 00:04:37,680 God is trying to establish this new priesthood and establish this new covenant that comes 69 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,600 through Jesus Christ who is uniquely qualified. 70 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:42,600 Why? 71 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,940 Because Jesus is without sin. 72 00:04:45,940 --> 00:04:48,760 And that's what we see in the passage that we look at today. 73 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,700 That Jesus was unlike those other priests. 74 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:54,600 That he was separated from sinners. 75 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,800 So you and I, we have this problem and that is that we sin. 76 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,040 And sometimes we just don't want to and we struggle with it every day. 77 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,200 There's this fight and these struggles and these temptations. 78 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:11,880 And sometimes we overcome them by the power of God and other times we simply, we just 79 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:13,200 cave. 80 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,320 We just fail. 81 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,180 We sin. 82 00:05:17,180 --> 00:05:21,880 But praise the Lord for Jesus Christ who is unlike us in every way. 83 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:23,960 Where we are unfaithful, Jesus is faithful. 84 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,640 Where we are sinners, Jesus is perfect. 85 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,440 Where we are unholy, Jesus is holy. 86 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,720 And the author of Hebrews reminds us of this significant point. 87 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,000 That Jesus is great. 88 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,600 That Jesus is the Son of God. 89 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,640 That Jesus is perfect in every way. 90 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:49,960 And Jesus did not come to offer sacrifices of animals, but Jesus came himself to be our 91 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:51,560 sacrifice. 92 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:56,520 And so the high priesthood of Jesus is unique in so many ways. 93 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:57,520 One he is sinless. 94 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,320 Two, he is the Son of God. 95 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,600 Three, he doesn't offer sacrifices of animals. 96 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,040 He offers sacrifice and offered a sacrifice of himself. 97 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:13,760 Again, he's not a priest that is going to be overtaken by another priest one day. 98 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:21,040 No, when Jesus came, he established the one and only priesthood that will be forever. 99 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,920 So the author of Hebrews has spent a lot of chapter seven making this point for us and 100 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:32,040 showing us the greatness of Jesus and his priesthood and that it lasts forever. 101 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:37,200 But what we're going to focus on is just one little part of this passage today. 102 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:45,600 In verse 25, it says, therefore, he is always able to save those who come to God through 103 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:46,600 him. 104 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,920 He's always able to save those. 105 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,520 He continually is able to save those. 106 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:56,800 He's constantly interceding for us as we see in the rest of this passage here. 107 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:03,080 It says he always lives to intercede for them. 108 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,120 Now Jesus came to be our Savior to save us from what? 109 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,920 To save us from our sin and the consequences of those sins. 110 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:17,040 And so that's why we needed someone like Jesus who was unlike us in every way, who was perfect 111 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,800 in every way that we are not and sinless in every way that we are not. 112 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:27,160 So that when he made his sacrifice, it would atone for our sins so that we could receive 113 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:35,440 salvation so that we can rest in that salvation today and that we can know that Jesus always 114 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,080 lives to intercede for us. 115 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,360 He continually intercedes for us. 116 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,600 Now Jesus interceded for us when he came and he gave his life on a cross so that we could 117 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:47,920 be forgiven. 118 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,680 Our sins were atoned for in that moment. 119 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:57,680 And we can be rest assured today that when we come to Jesus Christ and we ask for forgiveness 120 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:03,960 and we put our faith in him, he is faithful to forgive us of our sins. 121 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,760 We can hold on to that today with everything that is within us and know that that is the 122 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,400 power and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 123 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,080 Our sins have been forgiven. 124 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,040 They have been atoned for through Jesus Christ. 125 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:23,880 But what else does it say in this passage that he always lives to intercede for us? 126 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,080 What does it mean to intercede for someone? 127 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:31,240 Well, we see some good examples of that in the Old Testament. 128 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,760 One really good example of that is found in Exodus chapter 32. 129 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:36,960 Now you can read it this week. 130 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:37,960 It's a good chapter. 131 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,280 Well, maybe it's a bad chapter, but it's good in some sense. 132 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,040 It's a bad chapter and here's what's going on. 133 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,960 God's people had just pretty much abandoned God. 134 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,360 Now, they had been in slavery. 135 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:52,360 Moses had come in. 136 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,240 God had sent Moses and delivered them out of slavery. 137 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,960 And you would think that they would say, praise God. 138 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:00,760 He has brought us out of slavery. 139 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:06,760 He has delivered us and we are on the way to a land that God is going to give us, a 140 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:08,440 blessed land. 141 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,080 But instead, they get out of slavery. 142 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:12,400 Things are kind of tough. 143 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:13,440 It's difficult. 144 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:18,720 They're making their journey on the way to the promised land and they begin to complain 145 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:24,040 and they begin to kind of doubt God and give up on God and they take their gold jewelry 146 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,120 and they melt it down and they form it into a gold cap and they say, this is our God who 147 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,720 brought us out of Egypt. 148 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:32,720 Wait a minute. 149 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:34,760 They just made that God with their hands. 150 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:36,300 Well, that's a problem there. 151 00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:39,100 We don't want a God that we can make with their hands. 152 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:44,000 So they begin to worship this God that they made instead of worshiping the God who had 153 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:49,400 brought the plagues on the Egyptians, who had done these great works, who had delivered 154 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,560 them and helped them to cross through the Red Sea. 155 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:57,160 And yet, just so quickly, things got difficult that they were ready to give up on God. 156 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,880 Now, there's a good sermon in there too for us today. 157 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:05,160 Do we ever fall into that trap that God has been so good to us and so quickly we're ready 158 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:09,520 to give up on God and abandon him and say, oh, woe is me and try to find strength and 159 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,640 comfort and deliverance in some other form? 160 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:16,160 Well, when the Israelites did this, you can imagine that God was angry. 161 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,320 So what God said to Moses was he said, look, I'm about to destroy him. 162 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:21,800 I'm angry with him. 163 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,560 I'm about to destroy him for what they have done. 164 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:27,480 But listen to what the scripture says. 165 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:38,000 Exodus chapter 32 verse 11, but Moses interceded with the Lord, his God. 166 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,000 Moses interceded. 167 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,000 What did he do? 168 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,640 He came and he made an argument for them. 169 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:47,840 Now, they were horrible, sinful people who had just rebelled against God. 170 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,080 And Moses knew they weren't worth much. 171 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:55,280 But nonetheless, God says they deserve punishment and I'm going to destroy them. 172 00:10:55,280 --> 00:11:01,200 But Moses interceded or some of your translations may say he pleaded with God. 173 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:02,960 God have mercy on them. 174 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,120 God do not destroy them. 175 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,080 God spare them. 176 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,480 God let it be known that you are a good God, that you have delivered these people and you 177 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,600 didn't deliver them out just to destroy them, but you delivered them out to bring them into 178 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,680 the promised land to be your people. 179 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:23,100 And Moses spoke up for the people who were sinful and horrible and rebellious. 180 00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:26,680 And what does the scripture say in verse 14, Exodus 32, 14? 181 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:34,080 So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he said he would bring on his people. 182 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:40,440 So God was ready to destroy the people, but yet Moses came onto the scene and interceded 183 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,060 for them. 184 00:11:42,060 --> 00:11:48,160 We see another good example of this in Numbers chapter 21, similar story, same song, different 185 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:49,160 verse. 186 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:50,680 God's people are complaining. 187 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:52,320 Things ain't going the way they want them to be. 188 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,360 They're not happy with the food that they're eating. 189 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,120 And so they begin to complain and grumble. 190 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:58,120 What does God do? 191 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:59,440 God brings punishment on them. 192 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:00,680 All right, you don't want me. 193 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:02,280 All right, well, so be it. 194 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:03,280 Have it your way. 195 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:08,160 So God brings punishment on them and sends serpents and serpents begin to bite the people 196 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:09,440 and they begin to die. 197 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,500 Well, all of a sudden they realize, oh, we made a mistake. 198 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:17,400 And so they go to Moses and they say, Moses, we have messed up. 199 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,920 You need to go to God on our behalf. 200 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,720 We see that in Numbers 21, verse 7. 201 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,720 Then the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned by speaking against the Lord and 202 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,920 against you. 203 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:35,440 Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us. 204 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,440 And Moses interceded for the people. 205 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,000 We're kind of getting an idea here of what intercession looks like. 206 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:49,160 That is, in both of these examples, we see people who are sinful in every way and deserving 207 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,640 of God's destruction, deserving of God's wrath. 208 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:58,560 But yet there is one who comes before God and he pleads on their behalf and says, God, 209 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:00,640 would you have mercy on them? 210 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,520 God, would you not bring destruction on them? 211 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,880 God, would you deliver them in the midst of their sinfulness? 212 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:13,580 So Moses goes before the Lord and he intercedes for the people. 213 00:13:13,580 --> 00:13:14,580 And here's what God does. 214 00:13:14,580 --> 00:13:20,080 He says, I want you to take a pole and I want you to take a bronze snake and I want you 215 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:25,920 to stand it up there and all the people who will look to the bronze snake on the pole 216 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,200 will be healed. 217 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:35,480 God offered the people in that instance a way to be healed, a way to be delivered. 218 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:40,160 And even in that story, way back in the Old Testament, there's a hint there of what is 219 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,680 to come in Jesus Christ. 220 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:47,440 There's a hint there that for you and I who are sinners, who have rebelled against God, 221 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:52,840 and we might not want to admit it, but we are just as rotten as the Israelites and we 222 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:58,920 complain, and we grumble, and we rebel against God, and we turn against God, and we need 223 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:00,520 to be delivered. 224 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,640 And where will our deliverance come from if not from God? 225 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,080 We are doomed to die as those who were bit by the serpents. 226 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,360 But God provided a way of escape. 227 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:11,920 God provided a way out. 228 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:16,640 And He said, look to the snake on the pole and you will be saved. 229 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,200 And here we see something even better than that when we come to Jesus Christ in the New 230 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,560 Testament. 231 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,960 That there was one who was nailed to the cross, that there was one whose blood was shed for 232 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:31,080 us, and that one who hung on the cross who gave his life for us, he is the one that we 233 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:32,460 look to today. 234 00:14:32,460 --> 00:14:37,960 We don't look to a snake on a pole, we look to the Son of God who was nailed to a cross 235 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,740 for our sins, and that's where our deliverance comes from. 236 00:14:41,740 --> 00:14:46,280 But look, the people in the story, they recognized that they had sinned. 237 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,840 They went to Moses and they said, we have sinned. 238 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:54,520 They went to the one who could intercede, and they acknowledged their sin, and they 239 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:59,560 called out to God for help, and God offered them a way of deliverance. 240 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:05,920 And here in our passage today, we see that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our intercessor, 241 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,960 the one that we have access to God through Jesus Christ, that we come to the one who 242 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:17,120 gave his life on our behalf so that our sins could be forgiven, so that we put our faith 243 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:23,240 in Jesus Christ, and that he pleads for us, that he intercedes for us, that he says, Father, 244 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:24,240 this one is mine. 245 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,760 Father, this one is deserving of death. 246 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:28,680 This one is deserving of wrath. 247 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,900 But God, I have given my life so that their sins could be covered. 248 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:39,240 And what a beautiful truth today that we see that Jesus has interceded for us, and he lives 249 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:44,000 to intercede for us if we would come to him. 250 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,000 See another beautiful Old Testament example, 2 Chronicles chapter 30. 251 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,520 You can read these this week. 252 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:52,600 These are good stories. 253 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,160 There was a king of Judah. 254 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,280 His name was Hezekiah. 255 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,320 He was a good king, one of the few good kings. 256 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,440 Now, Israel never had a good king, the northern ten tribes. 257 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:06,400 The southern tribes that were known as Judah, they had a handful of good kings, and Hezekiah 258 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:07,920 was one of those good kings. 259 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:10,680 Now, the northern tribes of Israel were a mess. 260 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,680 They had just quit all of God's laws. 261 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,240 There were not many people that were serving him. 262 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,920 Things were very difficult, and God sent the Assyrians in and destroyed them. 263 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:25,920 But about the same time that God sent the Assyrians in to destroy the northern ten tribes 264 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:30,560 is about when Hezekiah became the king in Judah. 265 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,360 And Hezekiah did something that was good and godly and right. 266 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:40,680 Hezekiah recognized that God's people had abandoned the ways of God. 267 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:42,840 The temple was in bad shape. 268 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,400 The people weren't doing what God told them to do. 269 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,080 The priests and the Levites, they weren't serving God. 270 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,080 They weren't offering the sacrifices and doing the things that they should have done. 271 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,720 And Hezekiah became king, and he said, we got to change this up, which is why we see 272 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,080 Judah last a little bit longer than the northern ten tribes. 273 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,760 They did have a couple of good kings, and God was patient with them for a little while. 274 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,120 And one of those good kings was Hezekiah. 275 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:11,000 So what he does is, he says, we're going to get the temple back in order. 276 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,800 So he gets the people together and he says, look, we got to get things straight. 277 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:15,480 We got to get things cleaned up. 278 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,800 You priests, you Levites, you got to start doing what you need to do. 279 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:20,600 You need to get yourself clean. 280 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:24,320 You need to make sure you're ritually clean so you can start offering the sacrifices and 281 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,420 doing the things that need to be done. 282 00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:29,800 And he sent word all around the whole area. 283 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,640 And he said, all right, all of God's people, listen up. 284 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,160 We're getting back on track. 285 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,020 We're getting the temple back in shape. 286 00:17:36,020 --> 00:17:39,200 We're getting the Levites and the priests back together. 287 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:40,280 Everybody come. 288 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,400 We are going to celebrate the Passover. 289 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,320 Now, God's people had been neglecting all these things that he had told them to do. 290 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:51,960 But Hezekiah came in and he said, we're going to get back on track and do what God calls 291 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:53,720 us to do. 292 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,560 And so all the people came in and began to come and they began to gather around. 293 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:02,720 They began to come to the temple and they began to partake of the Passover, except there 294 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:03,720 was a problem. 295 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,040 Well, they were ritually unclean. 296 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,760 And there were a lot of things in the scripture that would make the people unclean. 297 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,920 Even the priests and the Levites, a lot of them were unclean. 298 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:18,520 But nonetheless, these people were coming with the right heart to come back to try to 299 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,400 do what God told them to do. 300 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:28,880 And in 2 Chronicles chapter 30 verse 18, it says this, a large number of the people, 301 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:34,560 many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ritually unclean. 302 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:39,280 Yet they had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. 303 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:47,280 But Hezekiah had interceded for them saying, may the good Lord provide atonement on behalf 304 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:54,720 of whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even 305 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,560 though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary. 306 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:04,960 So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 307 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,520 Now Hezekiah knew that there were certain commands and certain things that people were 308 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:12,020 supposed to do before they could partake of the Passover meal. 309 00:19:12,020 --> 00:19:16,000 But he also knew that the people, they were coming and they were coming to seek God, but 310 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,100 they had been so long without doing these things. 311 00:19:18,100 --> 00:19:21,120 Maybe some of them didn't even know about it or maybe they had forgotten or maybe the 312 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,400 priest just weren't doing a good job of teaching the people and they didn't know the word of 313 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,380 God and they came and they partook of the Passover and they were unclean. 314 00:19:29,380 --> 00:19:33,600 But Hezekiah stepped up and said, look, even though this ain't right, God, even though 315 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:39,280 this isn't the way that things are supposed to be, it says that Hezekiah interceded for 316 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:44,800 them and he went to the Lord and he says, God, we're unclean, we're rebellious, we're 317 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:49,720 not who we should be, but God, would you make atonement for the people? 318 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:54,240 Even though we're not doing what the law says, even though we're wrong in that way, God, 319 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,360 would you make atonement for the people? 320 00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:58,360 And what does it say? 321 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:05,440 It says that God heard Hezekiah's request and he healed them. 322 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,520 This is a good glimpse, a good example that there's something better than the law. 323 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:10,520 What is that? 324 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:16,300 And that is that atonement doesn't come by the law, that atonement comes through God. 325 00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:20,960 It is God alone who provides atonement for us today. 326 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:28,840 And that atonement came, in the case of Hezekiah, through an intercessor. 327 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,080 And so it comes for us today. 328 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,960 God atones for our sins today through what Jesus Christ has come. 329 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:44,060 And Jesus is not only our atonement, but Jesus is the one who intercedes for us on our behalf. 330 00:20:44,060 --> 00:20:48,560 We are just like the Israelites that we see in all these examples. 331 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:55,160 We are sinful men and women who rebel against God and we needed one who would come, who 332 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,080 was perfect in every way. 333 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,320 And the book of Hebrews says that one is Jesus Christ. 334 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,600 He's established a better priest to it. 335 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:08,900 And as our high priest, He is atoned for our sins and He intercedes for us. 336 00:21:08,900 --> 00:21:14,480 Because even as followers of Jesus Christ, sometimes we still sin. 337 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,680 And the Old Testament gives us all these examples, but even in the Old Testament it's pointing 338 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:20,400 us forward to Jesus Christ. 339 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:26,920 At the end of Isaiah chapter 52, we are introduced to a section that's often referred to as the 340 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:28,800 suffering servant. 341 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:35,080 And it's a prophecy that's pointing us forward to one who's going to come, a servant of God. 342 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,640 And guess who that servant of God is? 343 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:39,160 It's Jesus Christ. 344 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:45,440 And we get into Isaiah chapter 53 and it's pointing us to Jesus Christ who's the suffering 345 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:52,520 servant who's going to come and be obedient to the Father and give His life on the cross 346 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,160 for sinful people, for you and I. 347 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:05,400 And in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12 it says this, Yet He bore the sin of many and interceded 348 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:12,480 for the rebels, even in the Old Testament we see this idea of one who would come and 349 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,120 intercede for us. 350 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:20,040 We see these beautiful examples of Moses and of Hezekiah, of what it means for one to step 351 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:26,000 up for somebody, to argue on behalf of somebody, to plead on behalf of somebody, to make a 352 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,320 case on behalf of somebody. 353 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,840 And Jesus Christ is our intercessor. 354 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:37,560 Now we need to realize when we talk about Jesus Christ being our intercessor, when we 355 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:43,880 looked at those first two examples we saw some commonality there and that was the people 356 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,820 sin and God was ready to destroy them. 357 00:22:46,820 --> 00:22:51,440 Now I won't pretend that there are not days perhaps that we don't sin greatly that God 358 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,080 is not angry with us. 359 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:58,740 There probably are some days in which we sin and continue in sin that perhaps God is angry 360 00:22:58,740 --> 00:22:59,800 with us. 361 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:06,200 But I think we need to be careful not to kind of paint this picture that, okay, God is always 362 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:11,080 angry with us and so therefore Jesus is having to sit there beside Him saying, okay God give 363 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:12,920 him a break, don't destroy him today. 364 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:18,640 I don't think that that's an accurate depiction necessarily of what this intercession means. 365 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:25,320 Now certainly God does get angry with us perhaps from time to time and certainly Jesus does 366 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,300 intercede for us. 367 00:23:27,300 --> 00:23:32,800 But we do see in Revelation chapter 12 verse 10 that there is an accuser that accuses the 368 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:37,960 brothers night and day the scripture says and that accuser is none other than the serpent, 369 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,960 the devil, Satan, Revelation 12 tells us. 370 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,360 And it says that that one who wants to accuse his brothers night and day, night and day 371 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:48,640 is thrown into the lake of fire. 372 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,680 He's thrown out of heaven and eventually thrown into the lake of fire and those who he wants 373 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,640 to accuse are those who follow Jesus Christ. 374 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:03,200 And in that passage it says this, it says the accuser is thrown out and it says he is 375 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:10,880 overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony of the believers. 376 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,200 So if Satan is constantly ever before the throne trying to accuse us in whatever way 377 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,360 that may take place, I don't know how that looks like, I don't know how Satan and God 378 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:25,560 may interact but in whatever way that Satan is accusing us we need to remember today that 379 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,360 we have an intercessor in Jesus Christ. 380 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:33,840 While Satan is saying God they are guilty, they are evil, they deserve death, Jesus says 381 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:39,960 I have died for them Father, let my blood cover their sins so that they may be forgiven. 382 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,280 And that is where we find comfort and strength today. 383 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,680 That we overcome the accuser today. 384 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:51,320 The accuser doesn't only accuse us before God but he accuses us before us. 385 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:56,520 There may be sins in your life today and the devil is just hounding you about those things 386 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:01,080 and he's accusing you about those things, things maybe that you did 10, 15, 20 years 387 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:05,280 ago and he's saying you remember that thing you did, you remember how evil you are. 388 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:10,920 Well Satan wants to get us down, he wants to accuse us, he wants to discourage us. 389 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,880 So we overcome his accusations by knowing that we are not defined by our sins of the 390 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:24,400 past if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ because those sins have been forgiven. 391 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:31,100 And so Jesus didn't just atone and intercede for us that day on the cross but Hebrews tells 392 00:25:31,100 --> 00:25:35,160 us that he lives to intercede for us. 393 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:42,240 Romans chapter 33 tells us something very similar, Romans chapter 8 verse 33 says, 394 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:46,140 Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? 395 00:25:46,140 --> 00:25:48,800 God is the one who justifies. 396 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,200 Who is the one who condemns? 397 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,460 Christ Jesus is the one who died but even more has been raised. 398 00:25:56,460 --> 00:26:02,680 He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 399 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,280 So even if we are condemned by the devil, even if there are sins in our past, even if 400 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:15,040 there are sins before us today, Jesus Christ died to cover those sins and Jesus Christ 401 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:21,440 has been raised and Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God to do what Paul says, 402 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,440 to intercede for us. 403 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,080 Jesus hadn't forgotten about you today. 404 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,000 Life may be difficult for you today. 405 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:35,880 It may be hard, there may be temptations before you and sins before you, sins of your past 406 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,840 that come to your mind but we need to know today that Jesus Christ has covered those 407 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:47,640 sins, that Jesus is in our corner today, that Jesus intercedes for us. 408 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:48,940 What does that look like? 409 00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:50,920 How does Jesus intercede for us today? 410 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,040 Well I don't really know the answer to that. 411 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:57,680 I don't know what that intercession looks like for us today as Jesus is seated at the 412 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,560 right hand of God. 413 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,600 But maybe scripture gives us a little idea. 414 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:08,680 We see a couple of passages that may point to what this intercession looks like. 415 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:13,520 One is Luke chapter 22 verse 32. 416 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:20,160 Luke chapter 22 verse 32, Jesus speaking here, excuse me we'll start in verse 31. 417 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:26,960 Simon, Simon, look out, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for 418 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:34,720 you that your faith may not fail and when you have turned back strengthen your brothers. 419 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:38,400 Now think about this for a second. 420 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,080 Jesus said Peter, Satan wants to sift you. 421 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,680 You're fixing to go through a really hard time but what did Jesus tell him? 422 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:51,280 Jesus says but I have prayed for you. 423 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:54,280 What Jesus is saying there is I have interceded. 424 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,880 I'm interceding for you Peter. 425 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:58,560 Look you're going to fail Peter. 426 00:27:58,560 --> 00:27:59,840 He didn't acknowledge that. 427 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:04,560 But when you turn back, when you've been restored, Peter you're going to deny me. 428 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:08,560 But when you come back, when you realize the error of your ways and you repent and you 429 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:15,120 seek me and you come back to me, restore your brothers, Peter I have prayed for you. 430 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:22,200 Now what a powerful and beautiful passage that Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior 431 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:26,160 of the world prayed for Peter. 432 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:27,720 That's kind of a crazy thing to think about. 433 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,960 We pray to God and we think okay we're praying to God. 434 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,000 We're grateful for who Jesus is. 435 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,360 But Jesus prays to the Father. 436 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:39,440 We see it time and again in the scripture and on some occasions we see examples like 437 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:44,440 this where Jesus prays for his followers. 438 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,880 John chapter 17, another good example of this. 439 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,160 John chapter 17 verse 11. 440 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:53,320 Jesus speaking here. 441 00:28:53,320 --> 00:29:00,080 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to you. 442 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:06,600 Holy Father protect them by your name that you have given me so that they may be one 443 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,040 as we are one. 444 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:15,240 Now here Jesus is approaching the end of his life and in John chapter 17 Jesus is praying 445 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:16,400 to the Father. 446 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:20,080 And in this particular verse he's praying for his apostles. 447 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:21,080 He's praying for them. 448 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,120 And what does he say? 449 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,200 He says Father protect them. 450 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,360 Again we see this beautiful example of Jesus praying for his followers. 451 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,760 That he's interceding for his followers. 452 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,480 That he's lifting them up before the Father. 453 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:41,720 That God would be with them and protect them and help them because he knew that it's difficult 454 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:42,840 in this world. 455 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,080 He knew that they were going to have to stay in this world. 456 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:49,360 And he says I don't pray God that you would take them out of this world, but that you 457 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:52,400 would be with them while they are in this world. 458 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:57,120 Now there are probably some of us today and we're ready to be out of this world, but yet 459 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:58,840 we are in this world. 460 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,760 We're here right now because God has placed us here right now. 461 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,400 And so we don't want to pray that God would take us out of the world, but that God would 462 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,680 give us the strength, the very strength that Jesus prayed for. 463 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,200 And in this passage Jesus prayed for his 12 apostles. 464 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:20,000 But in the next passage as we read a little further down in John chapter 17 verse 20, 465 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,000 listen to what he says. 466 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:28,760 He says I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their 467 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:29,760 message. 468 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,040 That's you and I. 469 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:42,380 What a beautiful verse that Jesus Christ before he gave his life on a cross, that Jesus prayed 470 00:30:42,380 --> 00:30:43,640 for you and I. 471 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:48,160 Those of us who would hear the gospel message that would start with his apostles and that 472 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,560 would spread throughout and eventually make it all the way to Liberty, Mississippi in 473 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:58,480 2024 so that we can hear this gospel truth and live by it, that Jesus says I not only 474 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,200 pray for my apostles that I've trained that I'm sending out, but I pray for those who 475 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,980 will hear the word and trust in me. 476 00:31:06,980 --> 00:31:12,900 What a beautiful passage today to know that Jesus has prayed for us. 477 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:19,080 And so when we see in Hebrews that Jesus intercedes for us, perhaps this is part of what that 478 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,300 intercession looks like. 479 00:31:21,300 --> 00:31:26,120 Perhaps Jesus is still praying for us and lifting us up before the Father today. 480 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:31,000 I don't know what that intercession looks like, but I know that Jesus is interceding 481 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,080 for us. 482 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:36,160 And I know that Jesus while he was on earth prayed for those who were his. 483 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:41,280 I know that the accuser constantly accuses us, but I know that we have victory over the 484 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:45,760 accuser by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. 485 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,920 And what is our testimony? 486 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:53,080 Our testimony is that we have put faith and trust in Jesus Christ and that he is the Savior 487 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,940 of our life and our sins have been forgiven. 488 00:31:56,940 --> 00:32:01,420 But today if you haven't put your faith in Jesus Christ, you have no testimony. 489 00:32:01,420 --> 00:32:05,860 Your testimony is only what you've done in this world which isn't much. 490 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:07,920 We need a better testimony. 491 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:13,920 We need to know that we can be delivered by someone greater than us and that someone is 492 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:18,080 Jesus Christ and Christ alone. 493 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:24,400 First John chapter 2 verse 1 says that Jesus is an advocate for us, that Jesus speaks up 494 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:25,560 for us. 495 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,960 The scripture says that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. 496 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:36,260 There's a separation for you and I today between us and God if we've not come to Jesus Christ. 497 00:32:36,260 --> 00:32:38,600 It's our sin that separates us. 498 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:43,320 Here's God who is perfect, who is holy in every way and then here you and I that are 499 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,600 sinful and rebellious and rotten in every way. 500 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:52,040 And so there has to be a way for us to be able to gain a relationship with God and the 501 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,380 only way that we can obtain a relationship with God, the only way that we go to heaven, 502 00:32:56,380 --> 00:33:02,000 the only way that we can find favor with God and be made righteous is through the righteousness 503 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,160 of Jesus Christ. 504 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,840 The righteousness of Jesus Christ is our mediator. 505 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:08,840 He is the one who bridges the gap. 506 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,680 He is the one who suffers the wrath of God and who suffers death for you and I so that 507 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,440 our sins can be forgiven today. 508 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:21,560 He is the one who has atoned for us and he is the one who intercedes for us today if 509 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,280 we have put our faith and trust in him. 510 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,720 Whatever you may be going through today, if you're a child of God, if you put your faith 511 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:34,880 in Jesus Christ then may we find encouragement in knowing that Jesus Christ intercedes for 512 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:40,880 us today, that we have not been forgotten, that we have not been abandoned. 513 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:46,320 But Jesus did the work on the cross and even today seated at the right hand of God, Jesus 514 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,960 lives to intercede for you and I. 515 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:53,040 Now one day we won't need that intercession anymore. 516 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:58,180 One day those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will all be in eternity 517 00:33:58,180 --> 00:33:59,800 with Jesus Christ. 518 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:05,920 There will be no more sins to intercede for but today, but today we need the intercession. 519 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:11,360 We need the intercession of Jesus Christ and we need to intercede for one another. 520 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:12,800 We need to pray for one another. 521 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:17,080 When we say to somebody, I'm going to be praying for you, what we're saying is I'm going to 522 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:18,240 intercede for you. 523 00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:19,960 I'm going to speak up for you. 524 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:24,160 I'm going to go to God on your behalf. 525 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,240 We need to be faithful to pray for people. 526 00:34:26,240 --> 00:34:32,240 When people are struggling we need to intercede sometimes for those people we know who perhaps 527 00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:35,840 they're rebelling against God and denying who Jesus Christ is. 528 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:36,840 We need to intercede. 529 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:38,480 God have mercy on them. 530 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:42,800 In the same way that Moses interceded and God had mercy on the people so we need to 531 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,720 intercede for those around us today. 532 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:51,220 Maybe today you're here and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 533 00:34:51,220 --> 00:34:54,520 Maybe your sins have not been atoned for and I can assure you they have not if you've 534 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,440 not put your faith in Jesus. 535 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:03,640 But Jesus Christ has come to be the perfect and sinless lamb to be shed for us today so 536 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:09,720 that our sins could be forgiven, that our sins would be atoned for and that he would 537 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:12,840 intercede for those who are his. 538 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,120 I pray today that if you don't know Jesus Christ you would. 539 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:20,900 I pray today that if you do know Jesus Christ you'd be encouraged to know that he intercedes 540 00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:22,560 for you today. 541 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:23,560 Let's pray. 542 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,440 Father God we come to you, we thank you for these good words. 543 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,800 We thank you for your mercy and for your grace dear Lord. 544 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:36,280 We see it in these Old Testament passages we look at with Moses and with Hezekiah but 545 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:39,440 dear Lord we see it in our own life. 546 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:44,440 We see that same type of rebelliousness that we have dear Lord. 547 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:49,280 We see that your mercy is great and your grace is greater. 548 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,880 Dear Lord maybe there are some today that see that and know that. 549 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,600 But God maybe there are others today that need to be reminded of that. 550 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,360 Maybe we've just failed to see your mercy dear Lord. 551 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,200 I pray that we wouldn't fail to see it dear Lord. 552 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,280 You're good to us God. 553 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:10,120 You don't give us what we deserve and so often you give us what we don't deserve. 554 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:15,740 And so God I pray that you would help us today to seek you with all of our heart. 555 00:36:15,740 --> 00:36:19,400 God sometimes we may say I'll get my life cleaned up and then I'll come to you. 556 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,600 But dear Lord we cannot clean up our life. 557 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,800 We're like the people that came before Hezekiah at the temple. 558 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:29,760 They were doing the best they could but dear Lord they were unclean. 559 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:34,720 But God their heart was right and dear Lord you atone for them. 560 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:40,120 So God maybe there are some today and they're just they're tired of living in their sin. 561 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:41,960 They're trying to clean up their life on their own. 562 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,480 But God I pray today that they'd stop trying to do it on their own. 563 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:51,440 That today is unclean and as sinful as they may be that they just God with all their heart 564 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:57,120 would come to you today and repent that you would atone for them and heal them dear Lord 565 00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:59,880 as only you can. 566 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:02,960 God I pray for those today that do not know Jesus Christ. 567 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:06,380 That they put their faith and trust in Him. 568 00:37:06,380 --> 00:37:09,120 God I pray for those today who are yours. 569 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:12,940 That we are ever reminded that Jesus cares for us. 570 00:37:12,940 --> 00:37:14,960 That His work didn't end on the cross. 571 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:18,620 Yes He's seated at the right hand of God. 572 00:37:18,620 --> 00:37:20,840 His work of sacrifice is completed. 573 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:22,560 His work of atonement is completed. 574 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:27,560 But God your word tells us that He lives to intercede even today. 575 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:31,560 So God we don't know exactly what that looks like but God we see the we see the love of 576 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:35,960 Jesus and how He prayed for us even in John chapter 17. 577 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:40,060 And God we thank you that Jesus intercedes for us today. 578 00:37:40,060 --> 00:37:41,760 We thank you that He is on our side. 579 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,880 God I pray God that if there are some who are struggling today that they would find 580 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,840 comfort and strength in your word and in Jesus Christ to know that He loves them today. 581 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,200 That they are not abandoned. 582 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,320 That they are not forgotten dear Lord. 583 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,240 Sometimes it feels that way in the midst of our struggles. 584 00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:02,560 But dear Lord I pray today that you would remind these sitting here that you love them. 585 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:04,840 That Jesus loves them. 586 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,960 That He gave His life on the cross for them dear Lord. 587 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:12,200 So I pray that we find strength and encouragement in your word. 588 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:16,080 And I ask these things in Jesus name. 589 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:43,120 Amen.