Much Needed Grace, Part 8

If you have your Bible, Hebrews chapter 4, verses 14 to 16 Now this is important for us to realize the significance of much needed grace Over, let me see, 30 years ago, alright, I was a part of a church, a really big church in Southern California, and had the blessed opportunity of preaching through the book of Hebrews, with the main pastor in that church And believe it or not, when we did the book of Hebrews, we preached through Hebrews 3, verse number 7, through Hebrews 4, verse number 16, in two weeks This is our 18th sermon on that same section, 30 years later

Now, my only conclusion is that as I get older, I get slower. I don't know But we have been in this section for 18 weeks It's a warning section It's the second warning in the book of Hebrews And the warning is given, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the day of provocation in the wilderness And the writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 95, a psalm written by David, written a thousand years earlier than Hebrews Because David, in his day, was concerned about the hardness of people's hearts, was concerned that they don't follow in the footsteps of their forefathers

So now, a thousand years later, the writer of Hebrews is going to quote David, because as he speaks to this Jewish audience, he doesn't want them to do what the nation of Israel was in danger of doing a thousand years earlier, and that during the time of Moses, they actually did do They hardened their hearts to the truth of the living God And so we spent time looking at this, examining what the writer of Hebrews says Because God forbid that any of us, 2000 years later from the book of Hebrews, would be in danger of hardening our hearts to the truth of God's holy word

This is a warning, a warning that was given in David's day, 3000 years ago, in the writer of Hebrews' day, 2000 years ago, and is relevant to today, because we need to understand the implications of hardening your heart So we have spent 18 weeks looking at this second warning in the book of Hebrews, just simply because we want you to understand the implications of not coming to faith in Jesus Christ And so the writer, as he speaks about this warning, it's all been negative up to this point, to verse number 14 If you don't come to saving faith, this is what's going to happen

You're going to be like your forefathers, and you're going to die in unbelief Because that's the reason they didn't enter into Canaan rest And now that Christ has come, the Messiah, and Calvary has taken place, there is a Calvary rest that is a continual rest that you can be a part of if you embrace Jesus Christ as your Messiah Now remember, the writer of Hebrews is talking to people, some of which were committed to the Christ But there were others who were curious about the Christ, but not committed to the Christ

There were those who were convinced about the Christ, but still not committed to the Christ So he is getting them to understand the necessity of embracing Christ as their Messiah He wants them to understand the implications of what happens if you don't, but now he's going to give you the implications of what happens when you do He's going to end the warning section with an invitation, and with that invitation comes a motivation to respond to that invitation

You see, he was writing and speaking to Jewish people who, like their forefathers, had turned from Egypt, but never totally embraced the living God That's why they died in the wilderness in unbelief They had left Egypt externally, but they never left Egypt internally There are a lot of people today in the church who have turned their back on their sinful lifestyle, and they have left that sinful lifestyle externally, but they have never embraced the Christ, so as to turn internally, to be transformed on the inside out And maybe that's you today, I don't know

There are a lot of people who come to church, and they look like they have turned from their sinful lifestyle, but on the inside, they truly have not been transformed So, the writer of Hebrews wants these people to understand the importance of saving grace He wants them to understand how much grace is needed in their lives, and so he tells them, listen, in verse 11, Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience Don't be like your forefathers Don't harden your hearts Don't fall away from the living God

Don't come to a place where you are convinced and even curious about the Christ, but never totally commit yourself to the Christ Remember what John said in his gospel In John chapter 2, verse 23 Now, when Christ was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many, not some, but many believed in his name, observing the signs which he was doing But Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men, and because he did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man

There were many Jews in the days of Jesus who believed in his name, who were convinced of his name, but Jesus wasn't entrusting himself to them because he knew what was inside of them Externally, they believed, but internally, they did not Big difference Big difference And that's why the warning passage is so significant There are five of them in the book of Hebrews We won't spend 18 weeks on each of them, but we have on this one, because it's a long one, but it speaks so much, it is so relevant to all of us today

Because there are a multitude of people in the church who on the outside, they might look like they have turned from their sin, and they are even convinced that Jesus is God That Jesus is the Messiah But they've never embraced him and given their life to him, so as to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow him daily The writer of Hebrews knows that, that's why he says, therefore be diligent into that rest Embrace the Christ Come now, while grace is still available, because if you don't, you'll die, like your forefathers did, in unbelief

The sword, the sword of the word of the Lord, which is a sword of division, will become a sword of destruction, and you will be separated from the living God forever But now as he comes to the end of the warning, his tone changes Now you come to embrace the Messiah, not because of what will happen if you don't, but because of what will happen when you do And so he gives this invitation, and that invitation is followed by a motivation as to why you should embrace Jesus Christ as the Messiah

Hebrews 4, verse number 14 says, therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things, as we are yet without sin Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need So here's the invitation The invitation simply states, listen, let us hold fast, and let us come confidently, come boldly before the throne of grace

Let us hold on to what we know to be true, and therefore then come boldly before the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need Hold fast He has said this before Earlier in chapter 3, he said this in verse number 6, Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm unto the end In other words, we are a part of the house of God if we persevere, if we hold fast

He says down in verse number 14, we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end How do you know that you are a partaker of the Christ? How do you know that Christ is in you? The illustration all through scripture is the illustration of perseverance The predetermining work of God is made obvious through those who persevere to the end, to those who hold on to their confession That's the way it's always been

Paul said it this way, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15, he says these words, 1 Corinthians 15, verse number 1, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand So the gospel I preached, you received, you stand, by which also you are saved if, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believe in vain Even Paul gives a warning Even Paul says, listen, this is the gospel I preached You have received that gospel You stand firm in that gospel You are saved through that gospel

But the way you know the assurance of that salvation is seen in the fact that you hold fast, you are committed to the truth of the word of God

Paul would say it again in the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter 1, verse 21, And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he who has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach, if, if you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister

Christ would say it in Matthew chapter 10, verse 22, It is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved So all throughout scripture, book of Hebrews, Corinthians, Colossians, Christ's words, and many more places, the issue of the assurance of salvation is seen in holding fast your confession firm unto the end

Now why is that significant? Why is that so important? Because you see, these Jewish readers, listeners, were people who had turned their back on Judaism, okay? But they had never turned their back on Judaism toward the true and living God to embrace him as their Savior, as their Messiah, as their great high priest So they have not come all the way to the throne of grace. A lot of people like that. A lot of people in the church like that Jesus, at the outset of his ministry, would talk about how the gospel would be presented and received during the kingdom age

He gave a parable called the parable of the sower and the soil And in Matthew chapter 13, this is what our Lord has said, Hear the parable of the sower When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy

Yet, he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away Immediately he apostatizes the faith Immediately he turns his back on that which he said he once believed He turns away from that which he had received with joy, because when persecution comes because of the truth of the word of God, he falls away Jesus gave a warning He said some seed will fall on stony ground, and Satan will come and snatch it away, but others will fall on rocky places

And there will be people who receive the word with joy, great excitement, great enthusiasm They want to embrace Jesus There were many people in Jesus's day who were so excited about what Jesus was doing that they embraced him They got in the Jesus bandwagon really fast But when persecution came because of the word, when they were ostracized from their families, when they were unsynagogued, they fell away and went back to their old lifestyle

And then it says this, and the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful In other words, here's somebody else who receives the word They hear it, they receive it, they embrace it, but because of the deceitfulness of riches, because the cares of this world overtakes them, chokes out the word, they too fall away They too don't continue on They too will not persevere, hold fast their confession firm to the end

And then it says this, and the one on whom the seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some 60 and some 30 In other words, there is another one who hears the word of God He embraces that word And as a result of that, there is fruit that comes forth, some a hundred, some 60 and some 30 fold Now, why is that important? Because if I live in the land of Israel and I understand agriculture, which they all did, they knew that a bumper crop was tenfold Tenfold, that's a bumper crop

But Jesus doesn't use tenfold He uses 160 and 30 to let you know that those who embrace Christ as Messiah, who receive the word, there is fruit so overwhelming that there's never a question about who they belong to Very important So Jesus, at the outset of his ministry, giving the kingdom parables, talks about how the word of God is going to be sown in the kingdom of age, kingdom age There will be a majority of people who jump on the Jesus bandwagon and receive the word At least externally, there is a turning, but internally, there's not a transformation

And you know that because when persecution comes because of the word, or because of the deceitfulness of riches, or because of the cares of this world, choke out the word of God, they turn from the truth, they defrock the faith, and they turn their back on God, they walk away from the church, and they no longer want to be a part of what's going on with Christianity That's why John says in 1 John 2, 19, they went out from us for they were not truly of us, for if they would have been of us, they would have remained with us In other words, they were not truly committed to the gospel of the Christ

It doesn't mean that you don't sin once you come to Christ, you do But no one who comes to Christ will ever finally and fully fall away from the Christ Oh, they'll sin Peter sinned He turned his back on the Christ He denied the Christ, and all of us at one time or another had denied the Christ, but it was never final, and it was never fully See? Because there's always forgiveness, and those who know Christ embrace the forgiving work of the Christ, because they understand the priesthood of Christ So the invitation is given He gives an invitation

You got to hold fast your confession, and then you got to come all the way to the great high priest You got to come all the way to the throne of God You got to come and embrace him as you recite, because mercy is available, grace is attainable, therefore you got to come That's the invitation Everything up to this point was negative Now it's all positive This is why you got to come, because you got a great high priest That's why And you need the priesthood of Christ This gets so rich as you understand the priesthood of Christ So that's the invitation

Now he's going to give you the motivation, okay? And there are three motivating factors behind the invitation, okay? Number one is this Because of the priestly priority of Christ Number two, not just because of the priestly priority, but because of the impeccable identity of Christ And number three, because of the magnificent ministry of the Christ This is so good. I mean, this is like unbelievably good This is why you got to come to Christ This is why you need to embrace the Christ, because of his priestly priority We need to grasp this Listen to what it says

Hebrews chapter 4, verse number 14, therefore, based on what all that I just said, and all the negativity surrounding what happens if you don't come, therefore you need to come You need to hold fast your confession You need hold on to what you believe to be true Embrace the Messiah Give your heart to him and come boldly, confidently to the throne of grace This is so incredibly rich Therefore, since we have a great high priest, no high priest was ever called great in Israel's economy Not one No one was ever called great, but Jesus was called the great high priest

Why? Because there was no weakness in him There was no sin in him He is absolutely impeccable And therefore, he says, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Now remember, remember the priestly priority of Christ is seen when in John 17, 4, he says, I have finished the work which you have given me to do. I have finished the work He is saying that on the eve of the crucifixion, knowing that the hour is imminent, the hour used seven times in the gospel of John referring always to the crucifixion And so earlier in John 17 talks about that hour

Now he's going to say, I have accomplished the work that you've given me to do. I have finished my priestly priority, my priestly work In Philippians chapter 2, it says that Christ has been highly exalted and given a name above every name, that the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father Now remember, Christ has provided redemption through his priestly ministry He's made that available to you and me The priest's job is to be able to bring man to God Man is locked in a sin God is locked in holiness

How does sinful man get to a holy God? The only way that can happen is to a mediator, a mediator who fully knows man because he is man and fully knows God because he is God And that mediator, that one mediator between man and God is the man, Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2 verse number 5 Now every year on the day of atonement, Yom Kippur, that high priest would go in and would offer sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the people Every year He would go in, sprinkle blood on that stained, crusted mercy seat after hundreds of thousands of sacrifices have been offered year after year after year

It would go in and make sacrifice for the sake of the people of Israel That's what he did But Jesus, Jesus made one sacrifice and through his one sacrifice, perfected forever all those who believe in him Now, understand this Therefore, since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, so what? What difference does that make? It makes all the difference in the world Why? Because the Bible says this in Hebrews chapter 1 verse number 3

When he, that is Christ, made purification of sins, that's a priestly work, okay? He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, signifying his accomplished work He sat down There are no chairs in the temple of God There's a mercy seat, but no one dares to sit on the mercy seat There are no chairs because the work of sacrifices was never done And so when that priest would go in to offer sacrifices, he would go through the outer court into the holy place, into the holy of holies, and he would offer sacrifices And when he was done, he had to get out

He couldn't stay any longer than the day of atonement If he did, he died And the only way he was able to go into the presence of God, the holy of holies, is because of the grace of God that would allow that priest to go in and make that sacrifice on behalf of the sins of the people of Israel But Jesus, when he made his sacrifice on Calvary's mountain, he then passed through the heavens and sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high He didn't go into the heavens and the Lord God of Israel say, okay, you got 24 hours You got to get out of here You're done

No, he sat down because his priestly work had been accomplished and that priestly work accomplished atonement for the sins of his people Such a magnificent work because you need to understand the importance of the priestly work of Messiah Everything about the priest's work on Yom Kippur is located in the book of Leviticus, the 16th chapter If you want to read that, you begin to understand the implications that are there But it says this in Hebrews 12, 24, to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel Wow

What does that mean? In other words, remember Abel, he's the first one listed in Hebrews 11 in the hall of faith And when Abel made his sacrifice, his sacrifice that was given in faith did not atone for his sins, nor did it atone for the sins of the people of Israel But Jesus, when he made his sacrifice, it atoned for all the sins of those who came to saving faith in Jesus Christ You see the blood of Abel or the sacrifice of Abel that he offered would only relieve God's wrath, but the sacrifice of Christ removes God's wrath That's the difference

And so therefore, the sprinkling of the blood of Christ atones for the sin of man And it removes that stain It removes the consequences of sin It says over in 1 Peter 1 verse number 2, we're elected according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ Wow So important to understand that You see, because of all the sacrifices that were offered year after year after year, the thousands, the hundreds of thousands of animals that were sacrificed, none of them removed sin None of them did

But Jesus, one sacrifice, does that That's the difference That's why we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, has sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, because his work is now accomplished His work is now complete Listen to what it says in the book of Hebrews, the seventh chapter, because the priestly ministry of Christ is the supreme emphasis of the book of Hebrews Remember, Hebrews is about the sufficiency and supremacy of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord

Why is he supreme? And why is he sufficient? Because of his priestly sacrifice, his priestly priority that provides redemption for you and me So the book of Hebrews emphasizes the priestly ministry of Christ And chapter 7 through 9 especially emphasizes that priestly ministry That's why in chapter 1, it speaks of it in verse number 3, when he sat down In chapter 2, it speaks of it in verse number 17, therefore he had to be made like his brethren and all things that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people

So in chapter 1, it talks about it Chapter 2, it talks about it Chapter 3, verse number 1, he is called, consider Christ the apostle and high priest of our confession Now again, in chapter 4, verse number 14, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens And then when you come to chapter 7, chapter 7, verse 11, every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins

But he, Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet For by one offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified Through one offering And then it says, I'm sorry, that was chapter 10, verse 11, my bad Chapter 7, verse number 25, it says it this way, therefore he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them

For it's fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this he did once for all when he offered up himself Do you understand this? Every priest who had to go in and make atonement for the sins of Israel had to first go in and make atonement for his sins, go back, repeat what he just did, so that he is now qualified to make atonement for the sins of the people

But Jesus, who was sinless, Jesus, who is spotless, undefiled, who knew no sin, offered up one sacrifice in order to remove sins, not just cover man's sins So important Chapter 8, verse number 1, we have such a high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens Why has he sat down? Because the work is complete Ever talk to your children, you're making a move, or you're doing work around the house, and they want to sit down, you say, no, no, no, you can't sit down, work is not done yet, get back up, finish your work, then you can sit down

Say it to my kids all the time, don't sit down, finish your work Christ, he could sit down because he finished his work Listen to this, Hebrews chapter 9, verse number 24, for Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us He appears there for us

Chapter 9, verse 11, but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling, those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God See that? All throughout the book of Hebrews, there is this supreme emphasis on the priestly ministry of Christ

You see, God set in order from the very beginning that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins, right? From the very beginning when Adam and Eve sinned and God killed the animals, okay, blood was shed because of their sin, okay, and they were covered with those animal skins, right, to symbolize the covering of what the shedding of blood would accomplish And all throughout the Old Testament, that would be emphasized

And all throughout the book of Exodus, with the shedding of the blood of the lamb, put on the doorpost of Israel's household so that they could exit Egypt, and they would be required to celebrate that Passover every year, because in the succeeding years to come, they would always be reminded that through the shedding of the blood of the lamb, there would be atonement made for sins

Even through the book of Genesis, before that, when Abraham went to offer Isaac up on a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, where God said He would provide Himself as a lamb, because He would be the one who would be sacrificed Even in Isaiah 53, when the Messiah, the servant of God, would go as a lamb to the slaughter, that would lead John the Baptist to say, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world As I told you earlier during our prayer time, nobody ever questioned what John said Nobody ever scratched their head about what John was saying

No one was ever baffled by what John said, because they all knew about the sacrificial lamb that would be slain for the sins of the world They knew that Now the writer of Hebrews says, We have this priest, this great high priest, who came and has offered up his life as a sacrifice once for your sin Now he is sat down There is no need for any more sacrifice Right after the book of Hebrews was written, 70 AD, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed It was obliterated And there has not been a sacrifice for sins since then

So if you ever ask a Jew, Well, if you can only receive forgiveness through the shedding of blood, why is it you guys don't have sacrifices anymore? They don't really have an answer for that We do We know the answer Book of Hebrews It gives us the answer It talks about the priestly ministry of Christ The ministry of Christ was his priority because he wanted to bring sinful man to God And the only way to bring sinful man to God was through himself. I am the way, the truth, and life

No man gets to the Father but by me. I'm the only way. I am mediator between man and God. I am the man, Christ Jesus The only way to the Father is to the Son Now listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you Any religion, any religion, whether Judaism, Catholicism, or Paganism, that has a priesthood is blasphemous You know why? Because it says that the one atoning sacrifice is not sufficient You still need a priest to get to God An earthly priest And you don't Because you have a great high priest That says in the book of Hebrews, now you can come confidently, come boldly to the throne

Because of Jesus Christ who was the mediator between God and man, he is the great high priest Now you get access to the throne of God. I don't need an earthly priest to give me access You know why? Ask the question Why? Because we are a priesthood That's why We are a royal priesthood, 1 Peter 2, 9 We don't have a priesthood in Christianity We are the priesthood in Christianity We are a royal priesthood, 1 Peter 2, 9 Revelation 1, verses 5 and 6 To the sacrifice of Christ who loves us, he has made us a kingdom and a priesthood to his God Wow! We don't need to have a priesthood

We don't need a priest Because we are the priesthood Why? Because we have a great high priest who has commissioned us as a priesthood in God's economy What magnificence is that? The priority of that ministry is so important Now, what did Israel know? Did they know this? Of course they did The book of Zechariah, 6th chapter, says this, Thus says the Lord of Hosts, verse 12, Behold a man whose name is Branch Branch, right? The name for the Messiah Behold a man, there's a man whose name is Branch For he will branch out from where he is And he will build the temple of the Lord

In other words, the Messiah is going to build the temple of the Lord You think Solomon had a great temple? Oh, he did Do you think when the Jews build the temple for the Antichrist, it's going to be great? Oh, yes, it will But nothing compared to the temple that the Messiah himself, the Branch, is going to build Yes, it is he who will build the temple of the Lord, for he will bear the honor and sit and rule on his throne In other words, this man who is the Branch is going to sit on his throne He's going to be a king Going to be king Thus, he will be a priest on his throne Now, wait a minute

Never in Israel's economy could a king perform a priestly duty except the Messiah, the Branch Anybody, any king who tried to perform a priestly act was disciplined severely by God because that was reserved for one and one only, the Messiah, the King of Israel And so it says, thus he will be a priest on his throne and the council of peace will be between the two offices What offices? The priesthood and the kingship of the Messiah The Old Testament taught, just in two verses, the Messiah is going to be a man But the Messiah will also be the king, the son of David

And not only will he be king, he will be a priest on his throne He will be the only way to God, the Father He's it So the writer of Hebrews gives us motivation He gives it, hold on to what you got Don't lose it Come boldly, confidently to the throne of grace Why? How can you do that? Because of the priestly priority of Christ, who through one sacrifice made atonement possible so that now you are free to enter into the holy place That's why at the crucifixion of the Messiah, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom

Can you imagine being a priest on the day of atonement during the crucifixion of Christ? Right? The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and you're in there, and you're doing your priestly duty, and you're doing your sacrifice, and you're sprinkling on the mercy seat And all of a sudden, that veil that reached to the top to the bottom was torn in two and came tumbling down Why did that happen? To prove that the one sacrifice on Calvary's mountain paved the way for you to enter into the presence of the living God We don't need an earthly priest to do that

We have a great high priest who's already accomplished that Let's pray Father, we thank you for today What a great joy it is for us to spend time in the word And although there's so much to cover, we are blessed to be able to know that you are a great high priest For that, we are grateful For that, we will praise you For that, Lord, we believe, helping others to understand how it is they truly come to the Father It's through the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord We thank you in Jesus' name Amen.