PRAISE AND GLORY TO THE HIGH PRIEST
Hebrews 4:14-5:10
THE WORK OF THE HIGH PRIEST
4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
WHAT JESUS DID
Jesus is our High Priest, who paved the way to our heavenly existence.
Our High Priest has sympathy for us
He endured the pain of sin for all mankind.
High Priest sits in heaven making intercessions for us
WHAT WE MUST DO
Hold firm to our Faith
Approach the throne of grace with confidence
THE RESULTS
May receive Mercy
Find grace to help in time of need
THE SELECTION OF THE HIGH PRIEST
V5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Every believer has been given the ministry of reconciliation. We must humbly present
ourselves to the Lord asking for forgiveness of our sins. Through the mercy of our Lord
Jesus was are made clean again. Just as the priest of the Old Testament prayed
for the Nation of Israel, we must pray for those around us and ourselves.
We Should never see ourselves as better than or more righteous than others,
for we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God. We should see ourselves in the
light of the righteousness of Jesus as filthy rags not worthy of redemption. But by
His Grace and Mercy receive continuous washing made clean before the Father.
THE ETERNITY OF THE HIGH PRIEST
V:4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
\”You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.\”
6 And he says in another place,
\”You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.\”
As Aaron was called by God to be the priest of Israel, every believer was called
to be a disciple of Jesus, our High Priest. According to Ephesians 1:4 we
chose to be in the body of Christ before the foundation of the earth. No one
can come to Jesus unless he is dawned by the Father (John 6:44). We glorify the
Father through our service, He will glorify us.
Jesus our Lord and Savior is our High priest forever. Each believer must
be humble at His feet for our prayers to be heard. There is no better place to be than
at the feet of Jesus. Because Jesus is our High Priest we have eternal life
with Him.
THE PRAYERS OF THE HIGH PRIEST
V:7 During the days of Jesus\’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
Jesus gave us an example of what our prayer life should be. Jesus came to the
Father not on His behalf, but for those He served. The Greek word for
petition means favor. Jesus comes to the Father to provide mercy for our sins
and grace for our lives. We also know that He prayed for His strength while
He walked on earth. He came down from Heaven with the mission to die for
our sins and was not bothered by the rejection of His people or their lies and
deceptions. He was determined to Glorify the Father for our sins.
Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, \”My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.\”
Jesus knew He was going to the cross to bear the sins of the world. He knew it
would be a terrible ordeal. His prayer was that the Father would see Him
through it.
You and I must go to the Father knowing that He will see us through that
which troubles us. We should pray to the Father for strength to endure
so we may please Him.
Because Jesus submitted Himself to the Father\’s will, His prayers were heard.
We learn the value and the rewards of obedience when we submit ourselves
to the Father\’s will.
THE PERFECTION OF THE HIGH PRIEST
V:9 And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Our perfection is made through our endurance of trials and tribulations.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Our obedience to God guarantees our eternal life with the High Priest.
We have been blessed by the Father to live this journey with all the troubles
before us to be perfected through our faith in Jesus. We are the light of the
world with the purpose of drawing others to Christ.
THANK GOD FOR OUR HIGH PRIEST
Rev. M. Mitchell
