Okay, so Hebrews chapter 4 starting at verse 14
Therefore since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven Jesus the Son of God
Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses
But we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet. He did not sin
Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need
Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God
To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray since he himself is subject to weakness
This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people and
No one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God just as Aaron was
In the same way Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest
But God said to him you are my son today. I have become your father and
He says in another place you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek
During the days of Jesus life on earth
He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death
And he was heard because of his reverent submission
Some though he was he learned the obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect
He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek
Morning everyone
It is wonderful to be together this morning and to be going through this
Incredible part of scripture, which I hope will be a great encouragement for you as we go into
our new year
Just a couple of things for you to take note of I am going to be away this coming week
So if you need to get hold of anyone at the church, then please
Get hold of either Gary or Eric and their contact details
Are in the newsletter and you'll notice that they're under the title our elders
Which means that Eric after a well
deserved and very long break
Will be serving on our session in that capacity with the gifts that God has given him I
Think that's all I need to say so with that said before we come to the words of God
Let's come to our God and ask for his help this morning. Would you pray with me?
Father we are thankful that you have bought us through
another year that you have gathered us together
That you have grown us that you have conformed us
Father as we've already heard in our confession this morning that there are parts and times when we know that we have not walked in the way
That is pleasing to you but we can testify that you are a God of grace
that you have shown mercy and grace to us continually your children for the sake of Christ
This morning father as we come to your word. We ask that by your spirit
You would give us ears to hear
Hearts to receive and that you would transform us by the work of your Holy Spirit in our midst
We ask for this in Jesus name. Amen
One thing if you do have your Bible with you this morning
Could you please have it open to the passage that we're going through because I'll be referring to it
Quite a bit so it will be helpful for you to have the passage in front of you
Judge if you've ever taken an exam you know how incredibly intense the time has been
How incredibly intense the time leading up to it can feel
Why are exams so stressful?
Because exams determine if you have understood and digested the material correctly
That you have been learning over the semester
It's intense because all the hours of study and planning
Dedication and sacrifice can in a way be fruitless
Because there is a very real risk that you can fail
Well church let me tell you the difference between good advice and good news in this situation
Good advice is okay you have exams coming up they're going to be hard
But if you study as diligently as you can and study as much as humanly possible
You have a real chance of doing well
That's great that's good advice
But what if you study as hard as you can put all the hours in
But then you get to the exam and all the pressure gets to you
What if you forget everything
Well good advice would be don't panic take a deep breath just write everything that you can remember
There's bound to be something in there that will hopefully be worth some kind of mark
And it's so much better than just freaking out and doing nothing
That's good advice
But there is a world of difference between good advice and good news
Let me explain
Good news would be you're in the exam the teacher can see that you don't have anything in you to pass
So they come over to you and they announce to you that they're going to take the exam on your behalf
This my brothers and sisters is indeed this is great news
Now I'm telling you all of this because this is the type of message that our author is saying over and over again in the book written to the Hebrews
And as we'll see this morning this passage that we have before us is no exception
You see the author isn't giving us good advice about how we are to approach God with a set of rules so that maybe just maybe if you're good enough
Well God will let you into heaven one day
No he's telling us the good news that God has come to us in Jesus and that he has taken all that it is to be human and to take his taken our exam on our behalf
And he passed it perfectly freeing us from death and slavery to sin
But not only that the author wants us to see that because of Jesus and what he has done for his people we are welcomed by God to come boldly to him
So why church why would you ever want to reject all of that and go back to the entanglement of sin and its wages
That said would you look with me at verse 14
Our author says therefore since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven Jesus the Son of God let us hold firmly to the faith we profess
Now you might ask yourself here straight off the bat why do we in 21st century Australia still need a great high priest
Well simply put because God is still holy and we are still sinful that's why we need a high priest because of our sin
We read in Genesis that humanity was created to be in the presence of God and in perfect relationship with him
We see this in the first couple of chapters of our Bibles where our first parents were in the presence of God enjoying him in uninterrupted fellowship
But things didn't stay that way for long no we go on to read that through the temptation to be their own gods to make their own rules our first parents rejected God
That's right at that moment in that action to rebel against our creator sin was bought into this world and because sin and holiness can't exist together
Can't cohabit the same space they were cast from God's presence
In other words their sin killed our relationship our friendship with God and you don't have to read Genesis for very long to see the devastating effects that sin had on all people
It brought destruction, pain, carnage and ultimately death and we see this through the whole Bible but this is a thing it wasn't just their problem
No sin has become inherent to the human experience to our human experience however church thank God that's not all we read about in our Bibles
No we also see that God is gracious and merciful and we see that he chose a family and promised from that family to make a nation and bless the world from them
And it was to the nation of Israel that God gave a law so that his holiness might be revealed and our sin our lawlessness shone for what it is
In other words God resurrected friendship with us in his grace in his undeserved favour he came to us
Now we see in the law how we might draw close to God's holiness through the shedding of blood in another in our place
For example we read in Leviticus 1711 for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life
Essentially what this passage is saying is that atonement for sin comes through the blood of a sacrifice
And this has to be done in order to maintain friendship relationship with God
Yet this wasn't something anyone could just do
In fact our author this morning he points that out in our passage in chapter 5 verse 4 he says no one takes this honour on himself but receives it when called by God just as Aaron was
In other words shedding the blood of a sacrifice before God was a ministry given specifically to the priestly family of Aaron who was appointed by God to intercede for sinners intercede means to stand in the place of
Kind of like a lawyer
Now there was a special day of the year called the day of atonement where the high priest was allowed to enter the most holy place in either the tabernacle or the temple to stand before God in his presence
And his role was to take the blood of the sacrifice into the most holiest place in the building and make an offering for all the people so that their sins would be symbolically covered
That's what's on view in chapter 5 verses 1 through 2
We read every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins
He's able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray since he himself is subject to weakness
But I want to point something out for you this morning this system wasn't perfect in a couple of ways
We see the first issue in verse 3
The high priest who represented the people to God who entered the holy of holies with the sacrificed blood symbolically atoning for the sins of the people
Now we notice it here he himself was a sinner and had to offer sacrifices for his own sins before he could offer sacrifices for the sins of other people
That's what our text is getting at there in verse 3
The high priest was himself a sinner and needed forgiveness
And so as a sinner this meant that not only would his sympathy be imperfect but his presence in the holy place with God will notice it
It was limited to just once a year
It also meant that he would die because death is the wages of sin
He would have to be replaced
This means that he could never guarantee an ongoing presence with God to intercede for the people
There's a second problem and it's to do with the blood that was sacrificed
You see Hebrews 10 will go on to tell us that it's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
Why? Because the law is just a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of those realities
It can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year make perfect those who draw near
Otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered?
I don't want anyone to misunderstand me with what's going on this morning
This priesthood was graciously given by God
It's a needed ministry, it was a needed ministry
First Samuel 2.25 a question is asked
If someone sins against the Lord who can intercede for him?
The answer is the priest that God appoints
As it's an intercessory role that has to happen between God and his people
So that relationship, friendship might be maintained
But when saying that, what have we seen this morning?
Under the Old Testament through the Levitical priesthood
It was imperfect, it was incomplete
Why? Why? Because God never meant for that to be the final solution
That was never the plan to be the final solution in regards to our relationship with him
No, it was set up to point forward to something greater, to someone perfect and complete
It was all pointing forward to God's mercy and grace coming in the person of Jesus Christ
And church, that's what our author wants us to focus on here this morning
He wants us to focus on Jesus Christ, our great high priest
It's all about Jesus and his eager to tell us what kind of high priest that we have
Look with me at verse 15, we read, for we don't have a high priest who's unable to empathize with our weaknesses
But we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are
Yet he didn't sin
Now, temptation is an interesting word that is used there because we actually get a glimpse into just how incredibly grim our Lord's temptation was
When he faced the cross, if you have your Bibles, look with me at 7 through to 10
We read, during the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death
And he was heard because of his reverence and submission
Son, though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be a high priest in the order of Mokazatec
It's here that we clearly see that Jesus put his complete trust in his Father while he was being led to the cross to shed his blood for the sins of his people
And it's because of his perfect obedience through every temptation to disobey even when faced with the wrath of God that we have a perfect sacrifice who never gave in to sin
And I want to pause there for a moment because you might be here this morning and thinking to yourself
If Jesus is God and he's able to be tested and tempted, why did he need to learn obedience?
Well, dear one, Chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession is actually incredibly helpful here
It sums up the whole Council of Scripture and it says that God, the eternal Son, really took on human nature and came to dwell with us in the flesh
He really became like us in every way yet his human nature wasn't fallen like ours
This means he had a real human body that had to grow, a real human mind that had to learn and real human emotions that could be tempted and tested
Therefore, his perfect obedience through temptation on our behalf, it wasn't an act
It was real in every way
And the eternal Son of God came to us in that way for a reason
The author has told us in Chapter 2, verse 14 of his book which we actually looked at briefly on Christmas Day
He says, since the children have flesh and blood, he, being Jesus, too, shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death
That is the devil
And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death
For surely it's not angels he helps but Abraham's descendants
For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way
In order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service to God
That he might make atonement for the sins of the people because he himself suffered when he was tempted
So he is able to help those who are being tempted
Simply put brothers and sisters, our author wants us to know that Jesus, he had to take on flesh so that he could be both the perfect sacrifice and the perfect human high priest that we needed
I want to think about that for a moment more
Jesus, the divine Son of God who created the heavens and the earth
Think about this for a moment
He shed his blood for the sin of his people, his innocent blood
This is what gives the sacrifice on the cross its infinite worth
But we all know here this morning that death couldn't hold him down
We've already seen that in chapter 4 verses 14
We read that he passed through the heavens
Which makes us think of the ascension in Christ's resurrected body when he rose through the clouds into the heavenly realms into the presence of God the Father
This means that right now at this very moment he is with God in the heavens, in the holiest place in the universe
And he is pleading our case with his perfect life
Church, I hope that doesn't fly over your heads this morning
I mean think about that for a moment
Jesus didn't take the blood of bulls or goats into the heavenly realms
He didn't even take the blood of a mere man
He took his own precious blood, the blood of the sinless Son of God
Which means when God the Father sees his Son who gave himself for our sin he says that's enough that death's been paid
My righteousness vindicated
Which means he overlooks all our transgression and counts us as his beloved children in Christ
The apostle Paul, he says it like this in Romans 3
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of blood to be received by faith
He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished
He did this to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus
There is one who has taken the exam for you in your place
Incredibly church, this was never planned B
This is always being God's plan for his people to have a perfect sacrifice and eternal high priest
And we see that in verse 10 how our author says that Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek
Let me explain why that's really important and we'll fly over this part
You see in chapter 7 and 8 our author will go on to tell us that this order of Melchizedek is the perfect and eternal priesthood that Jesus was appointed to by God
And that he is the fulfillment of what the entire priestly system was just a shadow of
As before Christ came the holiest place in the temple was only entered into once a year and that by a sinful high priest
But as we know that was just a type of the true holy place in heaven where God dwells
It's in this heavenly temple now where our sinless high priest lives today
And unlike all the other high priests that ever lived and died, Jesus lived and died and rose again from the dead, never to die again
And because Jesus has this indestructible life and internal priesthood, he has immediate access to God in heaven with our interruption
That's why Christians proclaim that it's through Jesus alone that our relationship with God has been permanently restored
It's one of the definitions of the Reformation cry, Christ alone
This is why the whole Old Testament system of priesthood is over
It was only a shadow pointing to the reality that we have in Jesus Christ now
In church we have to be warned
That's what verse 14 is talking about, it's a warning to hold fast to our confession
That confession that's on view here is our faith that God has done everything that is needed to be done in His Son to bring us into that final rest and joy
Church God has made our adoption, our friendship, our relationship with Him possible only because He first came to us
He in His mercy, in His grace has sent us a perfect and final sacrifice in His own Son who is an eternal high priest who really loves and cares for us
And He is alive at this very moment, there is nothing more to do
And this is incredibly, incredibly important to live in light of
Because this good news doesn't just tell us that our great high priest has dealt with our sins
But that he's personally, lovingly involved in our lives today
Personally involved in our struggles as we resist going back to our old way of life
Where we were in bondage to sin, dead in trespasses
It's there in verse 15, I want to read it again
We don't have a high priest who's unable to empathize with our weaknesses
We have one who's been tempted in every way just as we are, yet he didn't sin
You see, because Jesus is alive, because Jesus is in heaven right now
Because Jesus intercedes on behalf of His blood-purchased people
This means that He can offer compassion and help to us because He is shared in what it is to be human
Having been tempted like us in every way
I think it's here that we see the difference between being tempted and giving into temptation, right?
You might be here this morning and thinking, Jesus hasn't gone through what I've gone through
He's never been tempted with the things that I'm tempted with
With drugs, the addiction to pornography
And yes, though the instruments of sin that we deal with in our culture haven't always existed
Sin's essential destructive nature has always been the same
Things like cheating, stealing, murder, lust have always been out to destroy humanity
And the author wants us to know sin was really out to destroy Jesus
Yet as we're told here, He never once sinned
I love how C.S. Lewis helps us here
He once heard someone say, if Jesus never sinned, then he doesn't know what temptation is really like
He lived a sheltered life and is out of touch with how strong temptation can really be
This is what C.S. Lewis had to say
A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means
Well, this is an obvious lie
Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it actually is
A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply doesn't know what it would be like an hour later
This is why bad people in one sense know very little about badness
They've always lived a sheltered life by always giving into it
Christ on the other hand, because he was the only man who never yielded to temptation
Is also the only man who knows to the fullness what temptation really means
The only complete realist
Brothers and sisters, this should bring us incredible comfort when tempted
When tempted with the very real destructive sin that we face
Because our Lord has felt the same urges and temptations like we here have
And He personally knows the battle that sin wages against our soul
Yet He always resisted, He never failed
This means He really can help us when we're tempted to turn to those sinful behaviors
That so easily entangle and destroy us
Or when temptation seems too strong to handle
What do we do with all of this?
What do we practically do with all this wonderful knowledge that we have learned of our God this morning?
Well that's the last point I want to land on as we wrap up
It's there in verse 16
Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence
So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need
Listen carefully to this because this is incredibly important
Every one of us in this room needs help
We are not God
We have needs, we have weaknesses, we have confusion
And we have limitations of all sorts and we need help from God
But every single one of us in this room has something else and that's sin
Therefore we really know at the bottom of our hearts that we don't deserve from God what we really need
So you can feel trapped
You might say I need help to live my life
I need help with my family, my spouse, my children, my loneliness, my job, my health, my finances
I need help but I know I don't deserve the help that I need
So what do we do?
There's two ways to live dear ones
You can try to deny it all and pretend that you don't need help
Or you can try to drown it all and throw your life into a pool of carnal pleasures
Or you can simply give way to the paralysis of despair
Church, God declares something this morning
He declares something in his living and active word over these hopeless conclusions that our flesh draws us into
Jesus Christ became a high priest to shatter that despair
With the hope to rescue a wretch like me
It's true, we all need help
Yes, none of us deserves the help we need but look at what God has told us this morning
Because we have a perfect sacrifice
Because we have a perfect high priest
The throne of God isn't a throne of judgment
It's a throne of grace
And the help that we get at that throne is mercy and grace to help us in our time of need
Grace, undeserved favour to help, not deserved help, gracious help
This is the whole point of Christ's intercessory role on behalf of these people
I'm not here today to give you good advice on this New Year's Eve
I'm here to tell you good news
God planned from eternity past for a saviour, a redeemer, a rescuer, a gracious helper to live perfectly on our behalf
To die in our place and to live forevermore as the high priest of his people
You are not trapped in a hopeless situation that's life from the pit of hell
We all need help, we all don't deserve it, but we can all have it
You and I have it right now
If you will receive and trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and draw near to our heavenly Father through him
So as we end, I just want to ask a few questions
Maybe you're here today and you're stuck in a sin that is causing you to run from your high priest
You're like Adam, you hide behind the proverbial bush trying to cover yourself, ashamed to come out
Maybe pointing fingers at other people
Listen to these words this morning
Run to him
He is for you and not against you because of Jesus, because of the beloved, because you're in Christ
You will find his mercy
Maybe you're here and you're tempted with something every single day
You're fighting, you're hurting, ashamed, feeling tired
Run to him
Brother, sister, run to him, he knows what you're going through
It is his word that tells us you will find mercy and grace
Maybe you're here today and you would say you have no sacrifice for your sin
No high priest, no hope
Well friend, you're not headed towards the throne of grace
You are heading to one of judgment
And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
But this is the good news
There is hope for you and Christ is really being held out to you today
All you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved
If you're not sure how to do that, then please don't leave this place wondering
Come and speak to me after the service
I would love to meet with you and pray with you
Church, let's pray
Father, we are so thankful for the cross
We are so thankful for the life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
That right now as we pray, as right now you are convicting, as you are stirring your people
With the sin that so easily entangles in our own lives
Father, that you have given us grace upon grace, mercy upon mercy
That we are invited to come to you
And so I pray today as we go into our new year, Lord, that your children
Don't look to the things of this world, to the despair, to the hopelessness
But to you
I pray, Father, that this year coming would be a year that we know personally
If we haven't already where we experience and know you
Father, I ask that you would draw your people in closer and closer and in more intimacy in Christ
That we would know who you are so that out of the overflow of our changed hearts
We might proclaim good news to others
This is a work of your spirit and we plead for it and we ask for it in Jesus' name
Amen