Jesus - Mighty To Save! - [Hebrews 7:23-25]

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where is Jesus right now? Physically, where is Jesus right now?
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What is he doing? Where is he spatially? Some people think, well,
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Jesus is in my heart, that's where he is. Is he there physically? Some people say, well,
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Jesus, where is he? He's walking with me and he's talking with me along life's narrow way.
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Other people think, well, Jesus is spatially or physically in the Eucharist.
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He's in the wine and he's in the bread. Well, I have great news for you this morning.
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Jesus's body is not here today. Jesus's body is not on earth today.
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You say, well, how is that great news? I'm glad you asked. Jesus's body is not here today.
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Jesus's body is at the exalted right hand of God the Father, a place of majesty, a place of dominion, a place of authority, a place of power.
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Jesus is at the right hand of God. I would go so far to say you do not want
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Jesus in a body here today. The ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the
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Father is very, very important. Listen to the Apostles' Creed. On the third day, he rose again from the dead.
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He ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the
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Father Almighty. Our Lord Jesus said in John 14, you have heard me say to you,
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I am going away and I will come to you. If you love me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the
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Father for the Father is greater than I am. Did not Paul the
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Apostle say, my desire in Philippians 1 is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.
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Paul said also in Philippians 3, our citizenship is in heaven and from it, we await a savior, the
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Lord Jesus, who will transform our lowly body. Absent from the body, present with the
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Lord. Jesus, the ascended priest, after he made a perfect sacrifice, ascends as king and he is seated above all rule and power and authority like the son of man that Daniel talks about in Daniel 7.
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Jesus is absent because he's been raised from the dead and he is before the Father in heaven.
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Now here's the good news of that. You say, well, he's not here. How is that good news? He is not with us, he is with the
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Father and he is making intercession and he is our high priest at the right hand of God the
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Father. Now I do not deny that Jesus is in us through the spirit.
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I've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives what? In me.
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I do not deny that the spirit has Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, Ephesians chapter three.
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Romans chapter eight, Christ is in you. And even our Lord Jesus on just before his ascension, he said in Matthew 28, and lo,
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I am with you, what? Always, even to the end of the age. But his body is in heaven and you want it to be there.
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Why? Let's talk about that today. Turn to Hebrews chapter seven. I've been waiting to preach this sermon for 14 days now.
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Did anybody show up last week here? Nobody did, okay. Well, there were no bodies here then last
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Sunday. And so we come to the book of Hebrews and we're gonna talk today about Jesus, the exalted high priest, who in a body is at the right hand of the
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Father. He's coming back in that glorified body, but there's gonna be an advantage for Jesus at the right hand of the
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Father that we're gonna look at today in Hebrews chapter seven, verses 23 through 26.
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But before that, 23 to 25, but before that, I wanna just give you kind of an overview.
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If I had to say to you the theme of Hebrews, I want you to be able to say, we have a high priest.
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There are three offices of Jesus, prophet, priest, and king. He's the Lord of lords as king.
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He's a great prophet telling us about who God is, who's better than Moses, but he's also a priest.
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And priests are simply, and in a summary fashion in the Old Testament, men who make sacrifice and men who pray.
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That's mainly what they do. And so you can think about Jesus as prophet, priest, and king with his three offices and highlighting here the one that Jewish people would probably know about the most and value the most.
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Yes, they want him to be king, that's true. Yes, they like him as prophet, but he needs to be a priest. And this priest lets you have access to God.
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It says in chapter seven, verse 19, remember we looked at this before, he's way better than the
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Aaronic Levitical priests because he allows you access, verse 19.
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But on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God. Remember the comparison?
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The high priest could never get you into the Holy of Holies. He, the high priest, could only go in there once a year.
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But now because of Jesus Christ, that veil has been rent from top to bottom. We have access to God anytime.
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And every time we need access to God as high priest. He's better. And by the way, the language you can't tell in Greek, but it's there.
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It's on one hand and on the other hand. I know we have a few Greek scholars here.
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It's a men and a day, the Greek word men and the Greek word day. On one hand, the Levitical priests, they did this.
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But on the other hand, Jesus is better. And that's what's going on in Hebrews chapter seven. On one hand, on the other hand.
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On one hand, these priests could get you so far but on the other hand, Jesus can draw you near and have you access, have you be granted access to God.
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In 720, do you notice those priests, they just were born into it.
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They didn't get an oath. On one hand, some were born into it. On the other hand, look what it says. And it was not without an oath, verse 20, for those who formally became priests were made such without an oath.
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But this one was made a priest, talking about the Lord Jesus, with an oath by the one who said to him, the
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Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a high priest forever. This makes Jesus, stressing his humanity, the guarantor of a better covenant.
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On one hand, the covenant in the Old Testament was good. On the other hand, the covenant through Jesus is better.
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There's an oath here. And therefore, what the writer of Hebrews is wanting you to do is not just have intellectual kind of agreement.
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Oh, that's nice. And now I can pass Bible classes and Bible tests. And when I go to ordination exam and they say, what's the book about?
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You say, he's a high priest. No, the writer wants you to say, you know what, I can trust in this high priest.
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Instead of trusting in myself, instead of trusting in my own goodness, instead of trusting in rituals and circumcision and baptism and all these other things,
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I'm gonna rest in, I'm gonna trust in, I'm gonna bank my eternal salvation. I know
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I'm sinful, so therefore I'm banking forgiveness. I'm banking I don't have to go to hell. I'm banking heaven on this one person, the
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Lord Jesus. The writer of Hebrews wants you to say this. I'm all in. I almost used a gambling illustration.
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Everything's in. But then I realized I couldn't do that. I'm all in.
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I'm not gonna put my toe in the water. I'm jumping off the dock. I'm trusting.
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I know I'm sinful. My conscience tells me, the word of God tells me, the law tells me I'm condemned.
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But there's one who says, I'll forgive you. I love sinners. I justify ungodly people.
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And I love sinners so much and my son loves them so much, I'll send my son to go live on earth to be the perfect God man.
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And he will be the high priest. And when you have to stand before God on that great day, this is the high priest that will represent you.
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And he has absorbed all your sins, the debt of those sins, and he's given you righteousness.
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And on that day, if you trust in him, you will see the face of God, a face of pleasure and not a face of disdain.
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That's what he wants. It's not just intellectual, although I like the intellectual stimulus. It's, do you trust in this
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Jesus? Are you believing in the gospel? Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? Because if you have, you will be saved.
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And if you haven't, you will be damned. You're damned already. And so everything he writes, he's propelling you to say, do you know what?
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That is true. I believed in the Lord Jesus 22 years ago, and I'm still trusting in him today.
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Even though I fail, even though I sin, even though I fall short, even though I transgress, he is faithful and I'll trust in him.
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And he is the guarantor. Do you see that? We looked at that two weeks ago in verse 22. He's the guarantor of a better covenant.
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He's the surety. In this legal arrangement, he's gonna fulfill everything.
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Really, you could think about this guarantee in two directions. That God is going to guarantee forgiveness, and that he's gonna guarantee to God the
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Father that we are acceptable in him. He's the guarantee. He's the guarantor.
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By the way, this used to be a word. This word used to be used. It used to be a word, and it still is a word.
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I am fired up today, by the way. I need no coffee. I need no monster drink. This was kind of the legal document that if you marry my daughter, this is the dowry involved.
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The father, in this case, bearing legal obligation for payment by saying, my son is good for it.
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He's the guarantor of a greater covenant. We're gonna talk about the covenant more later in chapter eight, but all that to say it is
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God's last will and testament. It is God's covenant. He is the one who says what he will do through the sacrificial death of Christ.
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And so now we come to our passage today, 723 to 25. Let me read it to you, and then we'll have an outline and work through it.
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It is one sentence in the original language, verses 23, 24, and 25. And think, by the way, before I read it, on one hand, on the other hand.
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The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office.
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But he, talking about Jesus, holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever.
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Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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Three simple truths, one truth per verse. Truth number one, Levitical priests died and could not continue in office.
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That was a problem. That's what verse 23 talks about. Former priests, many in number, prevented by death from continuing in office.
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Their time on earth as a priest was temporary. It was short -lived.
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It was here today and God tomorrow, to use our language. It was passing.
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It was imperfect. Instead of being permanent and enduring and long -term, those high priests, they came and they went.
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Matter of fact, Josephus, the Jewish historian said, between Aaron the first high priest and the last high priest in his day, there were 84 of them that he counted.
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One after another after another. And you can see where the author's going. On one hand, this is what the priests were like.
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Born died, born died, born died. And here there's one that lives forever. You can see he's trying to show by comparison that Jesus is greater.
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These were not permanent. Death overcame them. Again, death, that awful thing, no respecter of persons.
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It did not respect the Aaronic priests. One after another, maybe some served two days, maybe some served 30 days, but one after another, replacement process.
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What a stark contrast with the Lord Jesus. Mere mortals on one hand,
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Jesus, the instructable life man on the other, verse 16. For those of you that have been to Moab and Edom with us, you can see on a mountain called
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Mount Hor, H -O -R. That's where Aaron died. That is a good reminder that you've got these priests.
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Can you imagine having a good priest and a good high priest and a faithful high priest? And then before you know it, he dies.
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Then what are you gonna do? Congregation was assembled and they came to Mount Hor and Numbers 20 says, and the
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Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom, let Aaron be gathered to his people for he shall not enter the land that I will give to the people of Israel because you have rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.
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Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up Mount Hor and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son and Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.
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And Moses did as the Lord commanded. And they went up Mount Hor on the side of all the congregation. Moses stripped
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Aaron off his garments off and put them on Eleazar his son and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.
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On one hand, they die, every one of them. But on the other hand, there's gonna be no garments ripped off of the
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Lord Jesus and put on another. Aaron dies,
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Eleazar takes his spot. What happened to Eleazar? I'll give you the answer. Joshua 24 and he died.
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These priests couldn't do the right thing because they were sinful and they couldn't live long enough to keep doing the right thing.
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Spurgeon said, our Lord Jesus is not as Aaron who had to be stripped off the garments on the top of Mount Hor and to die in the
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Mount. Neither is he like any of the sons of Aaron who in due time suffer the infirmities of age and at last bowed their heads to inevitable death.
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Jesus died once but death has no dominion over him. It is witnessed of him that he lives.
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And of course it'd make it very understandable if I told you, of course,
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I'm not a priest, but preachers come and go too. One day you'll bury me. Remember the old
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New England days? If they didn't like you as a pastor, they just buried you out in the cemetery adjacent to the church.
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Back in the old days where cemeteries were adjacent to the church, which probably was a good thing to remind you when you come into a place like this of the eternal nature of what's happening.
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But if they kind of liked you as the pastor, they buried you in the church building. They'd just go over here and over by that Iwana circle and they'd bury me there.
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And if they really loved you, they buried you under the pulpit. But what's true in all those, you died and you were buried.
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And then the next guy comes along. There'll be a next guy, either more conservative or less conservative, et cetera, but there'll be another.
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I'm gonna trust in that kind of replacement system, one after another, after another.
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There's no stability. Change after change, after change. Sounds like to me that the priesthood in the
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Old Testament was a planned obsolescence. And you would be right.
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Planned obsolescence. Product becomes obsolete. I don't know if you know who started in America at least, this idea of planned obsolescence.
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I know you think it's Apple. They have maximized it. But Alfred P.
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Sloan in 1924, worked for General Motors.
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And he said, you know what? The market for cars is too saturated.
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You buy a car, you don't buy another one. So you know what? If we change the model every year, people might wanna buy a new car.
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They're gonna think they've gotta keep up. They're gonna think that they've got to be with the in crowd.
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And Sloan looked at the bicycle industry, and they did that, and he did it to the car industry. He didn't call it planned obsolescence.
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He called it dynamic obsolescence. I just call it money. Henry Ford didn't do it.
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And before you know it, GM passes Ford's sales in 1931. Designed by God, Levitical priest to be obsolete one day.
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Because the real priest would come. There's lots of things you could learn from priests. They give sacrifices, they make intercession.
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They are on behalf of the people. They're mediators, they're advocates. But these died, died, died, died.
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And now he says to the Jewish people in the book of Hebrews, why do you wanna go back to dead priests? When your pastor's dead, he can't help you.
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When the priest is dead, he can't help you. It's just the next guy. So on one hand, these priests come and go and they die.
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Next verse, verse 24 is, on the other hand, this is the second truth. Jesus is a permanent priest.
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He's alive. One was the problem, last verse. This is the solution. But he,
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Jesus, holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever.
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What kind of priest do you want? One that was maybe good, but didn't live long.
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Was really bad, that lived a long time. Or anything in between. Or one who's perfect and holy and spotless and he lives forever and he can always pray for you.
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There's a contrast when you look at Jesus. This is antithetical. The high priestly office of Jesus cannot be terminated even if they kill him because he raises himself from the dead.
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Talk about permanent. The way this language is used in verse 24 to be translated like this, with really emphatic force.
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Jesus has the priesthood permanent. Jesus has the priesthood permanent.
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And that word permanent means inviolable. It means cannot go beyond, can't be replaced.
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Unchangeable is the idea. In contrast to these other mere mortals, the Lord Jesus' priesthood is completely different.
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That means when you're sinning or when you're hurting or when you're in temptation, you can go to the priest who's alive.
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He's not busy, he's alive and he can intercede for you. He lives forever, he can help you at every turn with every problem.
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He remains, he doesn't die. He died once and now he's alive. Which drives us to the third truth and that is he's able to save to the uttermost.
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Here's where the praise come. Here's where I think if you've had your Bible for any length of time, you've highlighted this verse.
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Here's the verse that when you go through trouble, you regularly lay your head down on the pillow of this verse.
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Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. Since he,
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Jesus, always lives to make intercession for them. Now for this verse, we're just gonna look at five words to just make sure we just stop and let it settle in.
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So this is kind of a little outline of this verse. I'm just gonna let you look at five words that will highlight, every word's important, but we'll highlight five words to make you just think, oh yeah, that's the kind of priest
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I have. Why would I go back to a priest that says, oh, you sinned this week?
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Where's your bull? Where's your grain? Where's your lamb? Where's your dove?
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Why would I go back to that priest? I have to bring a lamb to this priest and this priest's probably gonna be dead next week.
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No, no, you don't wanna go back to that priest. This is the kind of priest, Christian, you have. This is the kind of priest that you should say, oh, thank you,
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God, that you have given me. The first word I wanna highlight is the word, if you had to pick one word in all this to highlight first, which one would you pick?
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I get to pick, because I'm preaching today, but which one would you pick? Uttermost, thank you, uttermost.
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Let's look at that word first. Jesus, your high priest, does his work fully and completely, and therefore,
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Christian, you're going to make it to heaven. Every Christian is going to make it to heaven in spite of themselves, in spite of their sin.
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You're gonna make it. Because Jesus, what's the text say? He's able to save to the uttermost.
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Now, I have to get it out of my mind, because it's just there, and I just have to just get it out. This is, you know, when
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I was taught this verse, I was taught this way. Jesus saves the guttermost to the uttermost.
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That's true, but I just wanted to get that out. The point is, he's able to completely save, not partially, not just some of you.
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He is able to take everyone that he's purchased and reunite them to God. In spite of them.
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Now, to the uttermost is two Greek words, all and complete. Matter of fact, you know these two
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Greek words, because we use them regularly in English. All is pan, P -A -N, like it'll all pan out, panoply, panmillennial.
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And the other word complete is telos, like a telescope to see completely. With a telescope, you see completely.
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All complete. Jesus saves all completely. All complete.
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You'll arrive at your final destination. Now, this word is used one other time in the
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New Testament. And listen to the verse where this word is used. Luke 13, 11,
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And behold, there was a woman who had a disabling spirit for 18 years.
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She was bent over and could not fully, that's our word, straighten herself.
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She was bent over, not just kind of when you get old, you're like this. I'm talking about bent all the way over and she could not stand up.
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And it had nothing to do with her physical back. It had to do with the disabling spirit.
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And she was fully bent over and could not fully straighten herself. That's where the word is used.
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And this word to the uttermost can mean completely in a qualitative sense. I think it means that.
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And it means forever in a temporary sense. Completely by quality and forever. And if you put the two together, you could say he absolutely saves.
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He thoroughly saves. He always saves. Now, what's that priest gonna do over here?
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On one hand, this priest, but on the other hand, this priest, which one would you pick? He's gonna save you to the uttermost degree.
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What priest can guarantee you that? Can I guarantee you such a salvation? Could I guarantee that you get to heaven?
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I've had people in my study before, I'm afraid to go to hell, can you help me? And the answer is
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I can point you to scriptures, but I can't get you to heaven. I've heard sermons about men who have gone to deathbeds of blue collar hardened men.
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And those men will grab the pastor's hand with a vice grip and say, I don't wanna go to hell, help me.
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And that pastor says, I can't help you. I can't keep you out of hell. I can't get you into heaven.
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But I'll tell you about one who can. If you're sitting there as a
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Jewish person, hearing this book, the book of Hebrews, written to Hebrews, wouldn't you be thinking, why would
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I go back here? Blood, death, bulls, goats, sinful
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Eli, Aaron dies, why would I go there? I wanna be guaranteed to go to heaven.
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Who here as a thinking person doesn't wanna make sure heaven is for real and heaven is guaranteed?
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And who here could actually say to themselves, I think I can make it on my own. I don't need a savior.
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I don't need anybody else. I will get to heaven on my own. And frankly, that's our society today.
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Almost every person you work with thinks, I can completely save myself. I can utterly save myself.
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I can get myself to the uttermost. Well, then why would Jesus ever come to die if that was the case?
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Sacrifice, year after year after year. You can just tell what the writer wants. Why would
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I go back to bulls and lambs killed? No, don't do that.
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Well, there's another word I wanna look at. It's the word in ESV, those. He's able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.
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Now this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway for emphasis. He doesn't save angels. He could have, but he's not.
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He's not saving animals. He's not saving countries. He's saving sinful men and women who not only sinned before they were saved, but even sinned after they saved, and he still saves those.
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And it doesn't say he saves those who do more good than bad. It doesn't say he saves those who've done a lot of religious things, grew up in church and church membership.
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No, he just saves these who draw near to him, through him. There's another word
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I wanna focus on, and that's the word he. Consequently, he, talking about the
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Lord Jesus, is able to save. Jesus is the only priest who's sinless and who could stand before you and the
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Father. He's the only one through whom God hears prayers. John 14, six, no one comes to the
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Father except through me. And his salvation, friends, is powerful.
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He's able to do it. Take a look. He is able. I love that.
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It's an ongoing thing. This is not an ability that he had and he runs out of gas.
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What if the son ran out of gas by 2018? He doesn't run out of power.
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He's able, and he's always able, and he's always able no matter how much you sin, he has the ability.
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He's powerfully able, always able to save. If you just do a quick highlight through your
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New Testament, there are verses like this that remind you about the ability of our saving Savior.
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Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Gospel. God is able to make all grace abound to you.
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Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we ask or think according to the power that works within us.
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The Lord is able to make him stand. Do not fear those who kill the body but those unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to both destroy soul and body in hell.
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For he himself has been tempted in that which he has suffered. He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
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He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead. And then
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Jude 24, now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy.
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God's able to save you. Yes, you. Yes, me. He can save. He's able.
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How do you receive these benefits? It's word four, near. Draw near is really one
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Greek word, but I said I'd only give you a single word. So I won't draw near, but I'll just say near. How do you get this priest to be your priest?
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It's through faith, through rest. That's what the entire book is talked about, through him, not through animal sacrifices, not through being good, not through baptism, not through good works.
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It's through him. And then the final work, the final word rather is intercession.
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And here's where I wanna camp out for a while. I've been given an authorization by the elders since we didn't have a 45 -minute sermon last week that I can have two today.
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I love indulgences. This last word is intercession.
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And that's what we're gonna look at the rest of our time. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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I've said regularly the last several years in the book of Hebrews that priests do two main things.
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They sacrifice and they pray. They give sacrifice and they make intercession.
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Do you remember this Old Testament passage to emphasize to the priest their prayer time for the 12 tribes of Israel?
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Exodus 28, you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the son of Israel, six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone in order of their birth.
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As a jeweler engraves signets, so you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel.
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You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance.
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For who to remember? The priest for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the
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Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. I'm going to regularly pray for these tribes, for these
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Israelites. But now in a greater way,
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Jesus prays for us. I do not want you to think that Jesus is up there like you've seen some murals overseas, that he's some kind of a feminine person standing before God, pleading that God would save them.
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Remember the text says he's seated at the right hand. He's purged our sins. Atonement has been accomplished.
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And I want you to think of somehow Jesus is up there, you know, trying to get the Father to forgive us when we've been forgiven.
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So then how should we think about this? I think we have a hint. What is this intercession?
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What does it really mean to intercede? Well, chapter two, if you look with me, just to be reminded,
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I think we have a hint of some of the Lord's intercessions. What kind of prayer is
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Jesus praying? Now, it could be that the adversary Satan comes and blames us and he's our advocate.
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I wouldn't deny that. But I think particularly here in the book of Hebrews, what are these intercessions?
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2 .18 to be exact. Hebrews 2 .18, for because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
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I think that gives us a clue. When you're tempted and you're wanting to do something wrongly, you have an intercessor.
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You have the Lord Jesus pleading for you, helping you. I think 4 .16
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also has given us a hint of what this intercession might be. 4 .16,
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let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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When the Christian has any need whatsoever and needs help and needs grace and needs mercy, guess who's there?
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The dead priest that used to like you and used to pray for you. The Lord Jesus is there making intercession.
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I don't know if you get tempted. I don't know if you have trials. I don't know if you think, I can't bear this on my own.
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The Lord is interceding. Remember who's there, your high priest is praying for you. Was it not
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Robert Murray McShane that said, if I could hear Jesus in the next room praying for me, I could withstand a thousand enemies.
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All -encompassing prayer. If you'd like to think about it this way, this is the best theological way to think about it.
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Anything that could keep you from going to heaven, Jesus is there interceding for you. Anything that could possibly deviate you to get saved to the uttermost,
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Jesus is there. Anything that makes you not receive glorification, Jesus is there.
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He's won it all with the cross. He's won it all with his perfect life. It's been confirmed by the resurrection. And then now he's going to make sure by his merits, you get there.
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And if Jesus prayed for his disciples in a really wonderful and sweet and persistent way on earth, would you expect that he now doesn't pray in heaven?
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I would expect the way he prays on earth, he'd pray in heaven. Remember with Simon Peter, Simon, Simon, Simon, Luke 22, behold,
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Satan has demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.
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And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. I'm praying that your faith won't fail.
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Sometimes you think, it feels like my faith is going to fail. Friends, you didn't earn your salvation and you're not going to be able to keep your salvation.
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He's there interceding. John 17, he prays for Christian's preservation and sanctification and unity and hope of heaven.
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He is available without end. What if I'm tempted and I need help and he's busy? What if there are office hours?
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Tuesday and Thursdays are the office hours at BBC. What if it's Wednesday? He continually lives to make intercession.
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I think Paul uses these words in a similar soothing, comforting way in Romans 8.
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What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.
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How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom
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God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ died.
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More than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also what? Interceding for us.
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And this is telegraphed way back in the Old Testament of Isaiah 53. He bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.
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Former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death and continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever.
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Consequently, he's able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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Now I want you to turn your Bible to one final passage, Acts 7. You ask this question, is there ever a time
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Jesus stands in heaven? That's a great question. Let's find out. Over and over and over, we see
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Jesus as seated at the right hand. He sits at the right hand. Why? Because the priest in the temple, no chairs, no comfort seats, no couches, no stools.
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Why? Because people kept sinning, they had to keep slaying. But Jesus, the text says, he sits down.
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His propitiatory work is done. His redeeming work is done. His sin bearing is done.
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It is finished and he sits down. That's the language. It's complete.
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And so when you see in Hebrews and the rest of the New Testament, the emphasis on Jesus sitting at the right hand of the father, it's because his redeeming, atoning work is done.
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But there are occasions that he stands. And here's one of them. Here's maybe the most wonderful.
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That gives you an idea of what this interceding Jesus is like. This is your Jesus, Christian. Now, Acts 7, verse 51,
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Stephen is preaching. And by the way, he is blistering them.
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You would think if you heard this sermon today, that that guy is harsh, he's unloving, and the tone police would be out.
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But the text is going to say he's full of the spirit of God. And he's full of the glory of God. And this is inspired by God.
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This is a biblical right sermon. Biblically right sermon. This is not, he's just too mean and too harsh.
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He's gone overboard. He's full of the Holy Spirit, the text says.
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Well, let's pick it up in Acts 7, 51. He's talked about the history of Israel. He's standing before these people who are essentially re -judging
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Jesus through him. And he preaches, maybe like you've never heard before.
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Verse 51, you stiff neck people, uncircumcised in heart and ears.
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You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
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Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced before the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.
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You who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. Can you not hear
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Stephen talk to these Jews using language from the Old Testament? When the people in the
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Old Testament made that golden calf, they were called what? You stiff neck people.
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He's after them. You're still uncircumcised at heart. You're just like your ancestors.
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You're always resisting the Holy Spirit. Is there ever a prophet your ancestors didn't persecute?
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And they persecute even the righteous one, the innocent one, the Lord Jesus. You are the ones responsible for killing
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Jesus. And they're after Stephen because they think he's against the law.
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And he raises up the law by saying, even angels brought the law. I'm affirming its authority.
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It's from heaven. But you're the ones that killed him. What do you think they're gonna do?
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Oh, that was nice. Can you come back next week? Verse 54, now, when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.
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But he full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God. And Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
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And he said, behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
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He sees the resurrected Jesus standing. It's like he's calling attention to these others to see the glorified
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Jesus. Who receives divine revelations like Stephen? Abraham did,
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Moses did. They were gnashing their teeth.
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That is Old Testament language for we are so fed up with and so full of rage and so full of hostility.
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We've got to grind our teeth. It's using the Old Testament of wicked grinding their teeth with hatred for righteous people.
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Gnashing their teeth. It's using the New Testament for people in hell, gnashing their teeth, weeping.
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And he said, here's what I see. I see heaven opened by the way. It's a passive, that means
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God opened up the heaven. Stephen didn't open up the heaven. It just didn't open up by itself. It opens up,
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God opens it up. So God takes the initiative, takes back the veil. Now Stephen gets to see.
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Stephen's about ready to die. And Stephen is inviting his audience. You all should look at Jesus at the place of honor, at the place of authority.
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And Stephen calls Jesus only what Jesus calls Jesus, the Son of Man. Nobody calls him that, but he calls him that.
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These people, these religious leaders were putting Jesus back on trial again. And now
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Stephen's gonna put them on trial. And what does the text say? Jesus stands.
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How many times does it say it? Twice. Some people say he's standing to welcome him into heaven.
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Could be. Why is he standing? It's not to pay for Stephen's sins. That's been done.
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Listen to what James Montgomery Boyce says. Jesus said in Matthew 10, 32, whoever acknowledges me before men,
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I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. In view of this verse,
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James Montgomery Boyce says, it may be that we have a case of Jesus standing to plead
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Stephen's cause as his advocate. That is, Jesus takes the position of defender and witness before the
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Father's throne. If this is the case, then what Stephen caught a glimpse of was that second and much greater trial in which he was involved.
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Up to this moment, he had only been able to see the earthly trial. He was condemned by the earthly court. But at that moment of his death, he caught a glimpse of the greater heavenly trial in which he is acquitted.
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In this trial, the Lord Jesus took his side, pleaded his case and prevailed.
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Perhaps he said something like this to the Father. Stephen is my follower. He is confessing me.
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I'm going to take him with me into heaven. What a savior.
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Verse 57, they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
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I mean, how ridiculous, how infantile, how asinine.
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They cast him out of the city. Gotta make sure you keep the Old Testament law. Stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named
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Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he sounded just like his savior. He prayed just like his savior.
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He was martyred just like his savior. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Sounds like, Father, into your hands,
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I commit my spirit to me. And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice. Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
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Sounds like, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. Language to me. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
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I mean, on one hand, these people are childish, crazy people.
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Won't even hear plugging their ears, yelling at the top of their voices, rushing him, stoning him, stone after stone after stone as they're backed into the corner, prosecuting
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Jesus again, except this time, through the person of Stephen. And they drag him outside of the camp and with an imperfect tense, stone after stone, rock after rock, pummeling, pummeling, pummeling, pummeling.
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And Jesus has Stephen respond, Lord, receive my spirit, and don't hold this sin against them.
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And Stephen knew Jesus was God. What's the text say? Lord Jesus, the divinity of Jesus, receive my spirit.
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The deity of Christ praying to Jesus. What a great, courageous testimony, but empowered by the son of man who stands interceding for Christians who need help, who need assistance, who need to make sure that no matter what happens, they're going to be at his right hand with him forever.
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Where is Jesus now? He's in heaven interceding for you and you
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Christian are gonna make it there. How about that? Let's pray.
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Thank you, Father, for our time in your word. Hallelujah, what a savior.
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I speak on behalf of these dear people. We admit that if we got saved and then had to get ourselves to heaven, we'd never make it.
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If we had to figure out how to get there, glorify ourselves or live up to your standards, even as Christians, we could never make it.
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But we have a savior who perfectly obeyed, who died for our disobedience and was raised from the dead. And now as ascended into heavens, who intercedes for us, who prays.
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And Father, we know you always hear that prayer and you'll always answer it because our triune God is one.
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And so Father, I thank you for that. I thank you for the Lord Jesus. I thank you that there are prayers that we probably will never know about until heaven, where your son was praying for us, when we were in a tight spot and a tempting spot, you'll be there even on our deathbeds, making sure we get there.
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I thank you for that. And as a pastor, I can't be everywhere at all times, but there's the
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Lord Jesus, who's quite different than we are as leaders here in every way. And we're thankful for that in Jesus' name, amen.