A Priest in Heaven, Part 1 – Hebrews 8:1-6

And now, if you will, please turn to Hebrews chapter eight. If you're not there already, and while you are turning there and finding your place there,

I need to clear up some confusion about the word of the day. It was put up on the screen, majesty, and in the bulletin, it's priest. The word of the day for the kids is majesty, not priest.

All right, Hebrews chapter eight, and we'll read together the first two verses, and then we'll open in prayer.

Hebrews chapter eight, beginning of verse one. Now, the main point in what has been said is this. We have such a high priest who has taken his seat to the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the

Lord pitched, not man. Let's bow our heads. Father, we do humbly come before you and ask for grace in understanding your word and appreciating what is revealed in the pages of scripture.

If it were not for your word, we would be lost in terms of what you have done to save us, for we could never know about that.

But you have recorded for us what has happened in Christ dying for us and atoning for our sin and being raised again and being exalted to your right hand, and we pray that you would help us to see the importance of that, the significance of that, and what that has to do with our security and our confidence in you.

Teach our hearts and instruct our minds, we pray, and that you would incline our hearts to you and energize them to serve you and to obey you, and may your word have its effect in our hearts today, we ask in Christ's name, amen.

Amen. Well, we spent a lot of time in the last, been more than weeks, it's been a couple of months that we've been talking about priests and priesthoods and sacrifices and offerings and high priests and all that that entails, and we've looked a little bit in the

Old Testament at some of the allusions from the book of Hebrews, and you may be wondering, so what is the point of all of that?

And the point of this is that it is really, really important that we as Christians understand the significance of what it means to have a high priest, especially a high priest like the

Lord Jesus Christ who does what he has done and continues to do for his people to secure us and to save us and to eventually bring us through to his eternal kingdom and to our glory that he has secured for us because of his death on the cross.

It is an important doctrine to understand that, and just because we're not familiar with what it means to be under a priest or to have a priest and to relate to a priest here on earth, it doesn't mean that it's not significant for us.

It is, in fact, you can see from the book of Hebrews how much time and attention the author of Hebrews gives to this, and we should be thankful for that.

Having a high priest who has done what he has done for us is necessary for salvation. If you are not in Jesus Christ by virtue of repentance and faith in him, you have no high priest, which means you have no mediator between you and God.

You have no one who has offered a sacrifice on your behalf to pay for your sins. You have no one to represent you before the throne of God's justice and his righteousness.

You have no one to plead your case, no one to see you through. You have no mediator at all. And so it is important and significant for us as Christians to understand what it means that we have this high priest who has done all that he has done to provide us for salvation.

Having a priest is necessary for redemption, and the Jews would have understood this because all of their religious life was mediated through a priesthood, through sacrifices overseen by a high priest.

And they wouldn't have been able to think of approaching God or coming to God by themselves or in any way except through a high priest and a sacrifice.

Well, Christ is our high priest and he is our sacrifice. Hebrews chapter seven closes with those truths.

And Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus is not just another high priest, he's a better high priest. In fact, all of chapter seven is intended to establish the superiority and the supremacy of Jesus Christ over everything in the

Old Testament. He's a better priest, he possesses it for a better period of time, that is forever. He does a greater work, he has offered a greater sacrifice.

He is more qualified than the high priests of the Old Testament. Everything he does, everything he is, everything he has provided, everything he offers for us, everything he has promised to do is infinitely, infinitely greater than anything promised or offered or provided under the

Old Covenant in the Old Testament. So what's the point of all of that? Look at Hebrews chapter eight, verse one.

The author answers it. Now, the main point in what has been said is this. We have such a high priest.

I don't think that he intended it to be read like I just read it. We have such a high priest. I think he intends for it to be read like this.

We have such a high priest. Do you understand what that means? This priest who is perfect and excellent, who provides everything, who gives us everything, who secures everything on our behalf, we need a priest who serves perpetually, who never dies, who is qualified because of his indestructible life.

We need a priest who is in the heavens, who has offered a perfect sacrifice, who has done it one time, never to be repeated, never to be added to, somebody who has done something sufficient and has guaranteed it all for us.

That's the kind of priest we have. This is the main point. We have such a high priest. What else could you want?

What else could you need? What else could you contribute? What else could you possibly search for?

We have that in Jesus Christ. That's the emphasis of chapter eight, verse one. We have this high priest.

How marvelous is it that that which we needed, God has provided perfectly and fully, and now there is nothing else that needs to be done to secure salvation, to provide salvation, and to guarantee the salvation of all those whom the

Father has committed to that high priest. Nothing else needs to be done. We have such a high priest.

You see, that's intended to not just state the obvious, but to state the obvious in such a way as to show you the superlative nature, the excellent nature of what it is that we have been given in Jesus Christ.

Could you ask for anything more? And yet people do ask for more all the time, don't they?

We've been given everything, everything we could possibly need. So now we come to chapter eight, and you'll notice that we're starting chapter eight today, and we are.

In chapter eight, though, there is a chapter break here. It really does not mark the beginning of a new subject, but it does mark something of a little bit of a change of focus for the author.

In chapter seven, he's been talking about the supremacy of Jesus Christ and discussing the

Melchizedekian priesthood and how that is greater than the Aaronic priesthood. Talks about the qualifications of Jesus, how that priesthood is greater.

Established by an oath of God, not established by a law that came in and just required a priest to come in and occupy it because of a genealogical descent, is greater in every way.

So everything about the priesthood is greater that Jesus possesses. Everything about Jesus is greater than what was given in the

Old Testament under their priest. And now the question would come up, well, what about the ministry that Jesus has done?

And chapter seven ends with the sacrifice of Jesus being greater. So his priesthood is greater, the priest is greater, the sacrifice he offers is greater.

But what about his current work, what he currently does? And this is the argument of Hebrews chapter eight, the first six verses.

The author wants to demonstrate that what Jesus does now, having taken his seat at the right hand of the Father, that is greater than the work that went on in the tabernacle that the

Old Testament priests were continuing to do. Jesus's current ministry for his people is greater than what the

Aaronic priests do in their ministry for the people of God in the nation of Israel. So even that is greater.

And that's what verses one through six is all about. So it is helpful for us to get a glimpse, at least at this point, of where we're going in chapter eight and what chapter eight is kind of all about.

So I'll give that to you here briefly and kind of give you an outline. Chapter seven compared two priesthoods.

Think of it this way. Chapter seven compared two priesthoods, the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchizedekian priesthood. And in so doing, it really contrasted in some ways two covenants and also the law and the oath and the weakness of the men, the qualifications and the priests and all that.

But the emphasis of chapter seven was a contrast of two priesthoods, the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchizedekian priesthood.

Chapter nine, skipping over chapter eight for a second, chapter nine contrasts two covenants, an old covenant and a new covenant.

Well, inside chapter eight, right there in the middle, between the contrast between two priesthoods and the contrast between two covenants, we have chapter eight as a transition where he begins to talk about the work that the priest does in chapter eight, verses one through six.

But then starting in chapter seven, he begins to address the subject of the covenants. So he's transitioning between the contrast between the two priesthoods and the contrast between the two covenants.

And chapter eight is kind of divided between those two things. So the first six verses deal with Jesus, the supremacy of him in his current work for us as our high priest.

And then the last half of the chapter focuses on those covenants. Look at chapter six, sorry, chapter eight, verse six.

Chapter eight, verse six says, "'He has obtained a more excellent ministry "'as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant "'which has been enacted on better promises.'"

The more excellent ministry, talking about what he does now is better than what the Old Testament priest provided. That's his better ministry.

He mediates a better covenant enacted on better promises. Then beginning at chapter eight, verse seven, you'll notice that long quotation from the

Old Testament. Do you notice it? Beginning in verse seven, actually beginning in verse eight, he quotes from Jeremiah chapter 31 and he finishes the chapter in verse 13 with this.

"'And he said, a new covenant, "'he has made the first, when he said a new covenant, "'he has made the first obsolete, "'but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old "'is ready to disappear.'"

And then chapter nine contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant. So we're looking at the first six verses of chapter eight.

Actually today, truth be told, we're looking at the first verse of chapter eight, but kind of in the context of understanding the point of the first six verses of chapter eight, which is contrasting the ministry of Jesus currently with what was going on at the time the book was written, the ministry of the

Old Testament priests and what they did, their work in the tabernacle. So we see that Jesus, having finished his redemptive work, he has taken a heavenly seat where he performs a heavenly ministry in a heavenly tabernacle.

Those are the three main points of those first six verses. Jesus has taken a heavenly seat, verse one, where he performs a heavenly ministry, verses two through four, in a heavenly tabernacle, verses five and six.

And this makes him a superior priest performing a better ministry, mediating a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

And what is the whole point of the book of Hebrews? Everything we have is better. And there is nothing that will ever come along that will replace what we have, because we have the best that God could possibly offer, the best that God has ever intended to give.

Nothing will come in and replace this. We've been given everything, and you'll see that before we're done here today.

So let's look at this heavenly seat in verse one. Verse one, now the main point in what has been said is this, we have such a high priest.

Now you'll notice that in verse one and verse two, there are two clauses that describe the

Lord Jesus Christ. In verse one, this high priest, we have such a high priest, here's the first clause, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heavens.

That's the first clause that describes him. The second clause is in verse two, he is a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle which the

Lord pitched and not man. So he has taken his seat at the right hand of the majesty in heavens, and he is a minister in that heavenly tabernacle which the

Lord created and not men. And he is there drawing a distinction between the earthly tabernacle and the heavenly tabernacle where Christ now sits.

And the whole point of this is to show that he's been exalted above this, and he has been exalted to the right hand of the majesty in heaven, and he has been given a ministry there.

And that ministry, the author has already alluded to back in chapter seven, it's the ministry of intercession, what he does for us even now.

In securing the blessings that he has purchased for us, in applying them to us, and to ensure that he brings to faith and to salvation all those for whom he has died.

So this is a significant statement when the author says he has taken a seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens because it indicates two things.

Number one, the completeness of his work, and number two, the height or the glory, the extent of his exaltation.

The completeness of his work and the extent of his exaltation. And these two things cannot be separated because he has done what he has done.

He has been given this position at the father's right hand, and he has been exalted above every name in heaven and on earth so that all may bow before him.

He has been given the highest seat, the highest honor, and the greatest glory because of the work that he has done.

So those two things go together, his ministry, his work, and his exaltation. So his work is completed, let's look at that first.

He has taken his seat, verse one says, at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. Now if you remember in Hebrews, this is not the first time we've read about Jesus sitting at the father's right hand, is it?

It's not, in fact, it's not the last time we're gonna read about it because this concept is central throughout the whole book of Hebrews.

Because as I mentioned before, Hebrews could well be considered an exposition of Psalm 110, verse one, which says, the

Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. And the book of Hebrews, no matter where we go in the book of Hebrews, we're not very far from Psalm 110.

Whether we're talking about the Melchizedekian priesthood, Psalm 110, verse four, or whether we're talking about the exaltation of Christ, Psalm 110, verse one, or whether we're talking about his reign and rule as the coming messianic king,

Psalm 110, verses two, three, and four, and all of that, the establishment of that kingdom. No matter where we go in Hebrews, we're not very far from Psalm 110, verses one or verse four.

So the author mentioned the exaltation of Christ seated at the father's right hand back in chapter one, when he said that he,

Christ, is the radiance of the father's glory and the exact representation of his nature. And the author says, when he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Notice the making purification for sins, his work, his ministry of sacrifice, his priestly work, and then seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Those two things go together, Hebrews chapter one, verse three. He also mentions it in Hebrews chapter one, verse 13, where he quotes directly from Psalm 110, verse one.

But to which of the angels has God ever said, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?

And then he mentions it and quotes it here in chapter eight, verse one. Later, in chapter 10, the author references it again.

But he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Notice again, the ministry of Jesus in his priestly work, offering one sacrifice for sins, and he is seated at the father's right hand.

Those two things go together there in Hebrews chapter 10. And then in Hebrews chapter 12, verse two, a familiar passage, he says, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

It's all the way through the book of Hebrews. Five times the author of Hebrews mentions it. It's important to him. Why is it important to him?

Because it signifies him sitting at the father's right hand, signifies the completed work that Jesus has done in his sacrifice as our high priest.

It's not only significant in Hebrews, it's also significant through the rest of the New Testament. Psalm 110, verse one, is the most quoted psalm in all of the

New Testament. It's the most quoted passage in all of the New Testament, from the Old Testament. Psalm 110, verse one, and the exaltation of Jesus are either directly quoted or alluded to over 13 times in the rest of the

New Testament books, outside of the book of Hebrews. Jesus and Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he would quote it on occasion.

He did it on at least two separate occasions that I can remember. He quoted it in stumping the Pharisees when he said to the

Pharisees, if the Messiah is David's son, then how does David call him

Lord when he says the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Jesus quoted that in reference to himself to show that he was greater than David, even though he was

David's son, and therefore he must be the Lord. That was his point. Jesus also quoted it at his trial when he said,

I tell you that a time is coming when you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the majesty in heavens when he comes back.

So he quoted it there. So Jesus used it to refer to himself and it's used in the preaching of the apostles. You read through the book of Acts and you look at their gospel proclamation, they refer to the exaltation of Christ frequently in their presentations of the gospels to the

Jews. And this fact that Jesus is seated at the Father's right hand, it should influence and affect our gospel presentation as well.

You see, when we share the gospel with people, we're not just simply saying, look, Jesus died and he rose again and went back to heaven and he wants you to believe in him.

Part of our gospel presentation must be that this one who died and rose again is seated at the

Father's right hand. Because the fact that he is seated at the Father's right hand is an indication that he is coming again and when he comes again, he is coming with power and with great glory for all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him.

And the Father has committed to him the judgment of all men. And he will speak the word and the dead will come forth, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting damnation.

For when he returns, he returns not as Jesus meek and mild in a manger, he returns as Jesus, the one seated at the

Father's right hand, to whom all power and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. And he will judge the nations.

Paul says in Acts chapter 17, that the Father has appointed him as judge and given proof to all men by raising him from the dead.

Therefore, we are to repent and to believe. See, the impetus for repentance and belief is this realization.

Not that we just have a high priest who was offered a sacrifice, rose again, and went back to heaven, but that we have a high priest who was offered a sacrifice, rose again, gone back to heaven and taken his seat at the right hand of the majesty and the heavens.

And all authority is his. Therefore, repent and believe. Because when he comes back, it is not going to be pretty.

He is going to execute judgment on all evildoers. And if you are not in him and he is not your priest, he will be your executioner.

That is the promise of the New Testament. So if you will not repent and believe, you will face him not as a priest and you will face him not just as a king, but as a king who oversees your eternal destruction and the just wrath of God for sin, which you will not give up.

So that's part of the gospel presentation. He's the exalted one. The apostles referred to it quite frequently.

And he has taken his seat, that is he has sat down at the right hand of the father in majesty in the heavens.

It is a completed work. Now, this is significant to the author of Hebrews because the author of Hebrews has been trying to show, and he will show through chapters nine and 10, that the work that Jesus has done in offering a sacrifice, it's done.

The work that he has done is done, it's completed. One sacrifice for all time, for all sins.

It's one and done. He doesn't repeat it. It's not an ongoing sacrifice. It's not a perpetual sacrifice.

It's not a sacrifice that did a little bit that we need to add something to and to make it better and to improve it or to gussy it up in any way.

It is a one time, one sacrifice, four sins, and it is a completed work. And the best way of demonstrating the completeness of this work is to remind people that having offered that sacrifice for sins, he is exalted to the right hand and he has taken his seat there.

Now, in the Jewish mind, the idea of a priest sitting down was a contradiction in terms. Jews never thought of priests ever sitting down because when a priest went to work, there was no place in the temple and no place in the tabernacle for a priest to sit.

Priests never sat because their work was never done. There was one thing in the tabernacle called the mercy seat but you did not sit down there.

The mercy seat was the top of the Ark of the Covenant where the blood was sprinkled on one day a year, remember from last week, by the high priest on Yom Kippur, the

Day of Atonement. Nobody sat down there. And if a priest dared to step back into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle some blood and then think to himself, it's nice and quiet back here, it's dark back here, the incense is burning, it smells nice and the curtain is here, nobody will know if I just sit down for a moment and take a little nap and rest before I go back out to offer another sacrifice.

Nobody will know. If a priest dared to sit down, he would've been struck dead. It was blasphemous to sit down in the presence of God.

So a priest, in offering all of his sacrificial offerings and his works, never sat down. No priest ever stopped working.

Now, priests did stop working when they stopped being qualified to work, when they reached a certain age or they had a physical disqualification and they could no longer serve as priests, then they would stop, then they would rest.

But they rested, the work never did. As long as they were qualified and called to do that work, it had to go on.

There was always another sacrifice, always another offering, always another animal, always another

Yom Kippur, always another Passover, always more intercession to do.

Never stopped his work. He never sat down. There was nothing, no place in the temple for him to sit down and rest.

The work always went on and the priest always had to do it. And the priest may stop working, but not because the work was done.

See, Jesus has done his work and he has sat down and stopped that work of redemption. Why? Not because he is no longer qualified to do it, not because he has been removed from his office.

He remains a priest perpetually. He has taken a seat at the right hand of the majesty in heavens because the work is done.

There is nothing else that needs to be done to secure your salvation, nothing.

No matter how grievous your sin is, no matter how dark your past is, no matter how much wrath of God you have heaped up upon yourself through your rebellion and your years of disobedience and straying, nothing else needs to be done to secure your salvation.

The sacrifice has been made and it is sufficient to atone for the sins of any and every person who will turn to him no matter what your sin debt is.

That's good news. So having offered that one sacrifice, he has sat down forever, once and done at the

Father's right hand. It speaks of his completed work. Second, it speaks of the majesty that he currently possesses.

Look at the language that's used in verse one. He has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne in the majesty in the heavens.

He is stacking up one superlative on top of another. The right hand was the position of honor and dignity that was given to dignitaries who had that position at the right hand of the throne.

So he has been given the position of right hand, where? At the throne. Of whom? The majesty.

And where's that at? In the heavens. There's almost no other word that the author could throw in there to communicate to us just how highly exalted the

Lord Jesus Christ is in the position that he currently possesses. This speaks of the height of his exaltation and it is connected to his sacrifice.

Remember Philippians chapter two? He took the form of a man and humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Went as low as he could possibly go from the glories of heaven to the most grueling and miserable and humiliating and lowest death possible, even death on a cross.

Therefore what? God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name so that the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that he is

Lord to the glory of God the Father. He has been given that high exalted position because he did such a lowly and demeaning work of offering himself as a sacrifice to save sinners.

And he is the son made perfect forever and because he did that and offered a perfect sacrifice, all authority has been given to him.

That's what he said in Matthew chapter 28. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. He said in John chapter five, the father has committed all judgment to the son.

So this is what the apostles preached. He's the exalted one and because he is exalted, he has all that power.

He has all of that authority and he leverages it and uses it on behalf of his people.

And this is a fulfillment of Psalm 110 verse one. Remember, I've said we're not very far from Psalm 110 no matter where we go in the book of Hebrews because we're talking about Melchizedek all the way through chapter seven.

We kept going back to Psalm 110 verse four. The Lord has sworn and he will not change his mind.

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, right? That's Psalm 110 verse four. Remember how

Psalm 110 verse one begins, speaking of the same person. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

So Psalm 110 promises something. It promises that this one who is the messianic king would do the work of a

Melchizedekian priest. He would be a high priest and he would be given the task or the glory,

I should say, better said. He would be given the glory or the honor of sitting at the Lord's right hand.

So Psalm 110 promised a priest who would be exalted to the right hand of the

Father. That's what Psalm 110 promised. And what has happened with the Lord Jesus Christ? He has fulfilled the promise of Psalm 110, been appointed as a high priest, he has offered that sacrifice, and now he has been exalted to the

Father's right hand. Because see, a Jew may come back and say, well, you say you have a high priest and you say he's after the order of Melchizedek.

But if he's after the order of Melchizedek, then he has to sit at the Father's right hand to fulfill Psalm 110.

And guess what? He sits at the Father's right hand in fulfillment of Psalm 110. So now he is the reigning, ruling, king priest, one who has offered a sacrifice, and because he has offered that sacrifice, he has been exalted to the

Father's right hand. So he's been given the rule in his church, authority over all peoples, authority over life and death, the authority to execute judgment, authority over the heavens and the earth, the rule and the reign over the coming

Messianic kingdom. It has all been committed to him. That's what Hebrews chapter eight verse one means, that he has taken his seat and he has been given that position of power.

He has completed his work and he has been exalted to the highest place possible. I want you to notice three things here that I think should be of encouragement to you as we close.

First one is this. This one who is our king is also a minister. Look at chapter eight verse two.

He is also a minister in the sanctuary. We could go into that, but on a potluck

Sunday, nobody listens to what I say anyway, so there's no point going into verse two, but we'll get to that next week.

This one who is our king is also a minister and the word is servant and it speaks of one who is assigned the task of a public servant, oftentimes used in a religious context of being a religious servant amongst a religious people performing religious duties.

That was the idea behind that word. So this one who is given the position of honor at the father's right hand, he's also a minister in the sanctuary.

Now you and I are used to thinking of kings having servants, but we are not used to thinking of kings being servants, and yet our king who has been given that position of honor, he is what?

He's also a minister. Currently, presently, the Lord Jesus Christ serves his people.

When he asks us to serve him, that's a small ask. Why? Because he sits at the father's right hand having been given that position, and he serves his people, constantly offering things to the father on their behalf, not a sacrifice to redeem us.

That's not what is offered. We'll get into that next week, what he means in verse two or verse three when he says every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it's necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

He currently is offering intercession for us, serving us night and day, perpetually and constantly interceding for us as people.

This priest or this king that we serve, he is also a minister. All the authority that he has been given, it is all leveraged for our benefit.

It's all used and expended for our benefit. Didn't Jesus himself say if you wanna be great in the kingdom, you have to be a servant of all?

That's what he said, right? And he has done that very thing. Who is the greatest one in all of the kingdom?

The Lord Jesus Christ is, and who has offered the greatest service to God? The Lord Jesus Christ has.

He is the one who came to this earth and did the Father's will. He is the one who lived a perfect life and obeyed the law perfectly, never disobeyed the

Father in anything, said all of the Father's words, did all of the Father's actions and works on his behalf, perfectly obeyed the

Father, and then offered himself as a sacrifice for sinners, and now, having been exalted to the Father's right hand, he doesn't just sort of shake his hands like this and say he's done with us.

Now he intercedes for us constantly. Our Lord is a servant, a minister for his people in the true sanctuary, and he does that even now.

This is why the path to greatness in the kingdom of God is the path to service. Second, I want you to notice, or one thing to remember is that he is going to share this throne, this position that he has with us.

Revelation 321 promises this. He who overcomes, I will grant for him to sit down with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne.

That's the promise to the overcomer, that the one who overcomes, the believer, will someday sit on his throne with him.

Now what's that gonna look like? I don't know what that's gonna look like. I have a difficulty even imagining what that's gonna look like.

Is it a massive throne where there's room for countless hundreds of millions of people whom he has redeemed and we all share it together?

And if we're all sitting on the throne, then who or what are we ruling over? Or do we just rotate?

Dave rules for one day with him and sits down and then I get there the next day and then Josh and then Steve and then

Shepley and do we rotate this? I don't know what that is going to look like, but in some way, just because I don't understand how this is gonna play out or what it's gonna look like doesn't mean that I doubt for one minute that the

Lord is gonna fulfill his promise. In some way, in some fashion, in some sense, we are gonna share his throne and sit down with him in glory.

And we are already seated there positionally in the heavens, are we not? Ephesians says this, he has given to us every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.

He has raised us up and seated us on his throne in Christ in the heavenlies. That's our position even now.

Positionally, that is where we sit with him because we are in him. So he represents us as our head, he sits there and positionally, we are with where he is at.

Now that doesn't mean that we exercise that kind of authority and curb stomping demons and affecting the elements and calling out the weather and exercising demons and all that crazy nonsense that happens in some churches, that's not what that means.

But it does mean that positionally, not our use of authority or power here on earth, but positionally, we are seated with him in the heavenly realm.

And I do believe and I know that someday he's gonna share that throne with us. Don't you think that that would be encouraging to first century

Christians who had lost their earthly possessions, that had been kicked out of their Jewish community and been ostracized from their families and their jobs and suffered the loss of all things, don't you think that would encourage them?

To know that even though the world hates me and even though I'm being persecuted and even though I am suffering, someday

I'm gonna sit on the king's throne with him. That's encouraging, isn't it?

Do you remember that? Listen, you and I live in a world that's getting more and more hostile to us by the minute.

We have people running for president in our country who have openly declared war on our worldview and our faith.

And there's gonna come a time possibly if they are given the levers of power that you and I are gonna have to look to the fact that someday we're just gonna sit on the father's throne.

And that's gonna be our hope and stay. It would have been for first century Christians. What an encouragement to realize that if I'm locked in the grip of disease, if my time on this earth is short, if I have received a terminal diagnosis, if I am ostracized by my family and I am hated by my coworkers and the world wants nothing to do with me and everybody in positions of power and influence have declared war on me and their intention is to kill me or to destroy me or to humiliate me or to make me look ridiculous, whatever it is, to realize he has promised to the overcomer that we will sit on his throne.

He'll share it with us. So the fact that he has been exalted to the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens and then he has promised that because he has died to secure that for you and I, he will share it with us.

Man, let that make your heart rejoice. The third thing that I think should be encouraging to you is the realization that if he possesses that position with the father, nothing can stop him from accomplishing what he intends to accomplish concerning you.

I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day. He is able.

He has no lack of power. He has no lack of authority. He doesn't lack control.

Hebrews says he is moving everything. He is upholding all things and moving it all toward its appointed and God -ordained end.

There is nothing in heaven, there is nothing on earth, there is nothing seen or unseen, there is no nation, there is no power, there is no principality, there is no demon, there is no devil, there is no twist in human nature, there is no perversion or corruption of power, there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can keep him from fulfilling and accomplishing his purposes.

If he intends to save you, you are safe and secure whatever ill may come.

I promise you that. Why? Because he who died for your sins and offered himself as an atonement in your stead and who represents you, he sits at the father's right hand where all judgment and all power and all authority has been given to him.

And so Paul says in Romans chapter eight, if God is for us, who can be against us? Who will bring a charge against us?

What demon, what devil, what governing authority can possibly come against us and say, this person is not worthy of eternal life, this person shall not have eternal life for X, Y, or Z reason?

What can possibly come against us? Nothing, the scriptures argue. Why? He has been given the position at the right hand of the father.

And so if he has died for your sins, if he has atoned for you, if he has saved you, there is nothing that can keep him from accomplishing his purposes concerning you.

You are safe and you are secure in him. That is his promise. Nothing on earth and nothing in heaven can thwart his purposes or intentions.

No one can say to him, what have you done? He doesn't need anybody's permission to take you through to heaven.

And so we can say all glory and honor and power be his. In his church, among his people, both now and forever.

Amen? Let's bow our heads. Father, we thank you for your majestic glory and your great grace, your infinite power and wisdom.

Thank you for saving us, thank you for making us secure. Thank you for ensuring our salvation by taking the very one who purchased our redemption and exalting him to your right hand and giving to him the judgment of the nations, the judgment of all people, and all authority in heaven and on earth.

May we gladly bow the knee and give praise and honor and glory to our great king, our

God, and our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. Please stand.

♪ Holy Lord, most holy Lord ♪ ♪

You alone are worth my praise oh holy

Lord ♪ ♪ Most holy Lord with all of my heart

I sing ♪ ♪ Great are you

Lord worthy of praise holy and true ♪ ♪

Great are you Lord most holy Lord most holy

Lord ♪ ♪

I sing great are you

Lord worthy of praise holy and true ♪ ♪

Great are you Lord most holy Lord most holy