All right, good. Take your Bibles
and turn with me to Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter
4. We're looking at verse 14 through
16, and then we're going to go into chapter 5 a little bit. And the title of the message
is, The Comfort of Christ, Our Great High Priest. The Comfort
of Christ, Our Great High Priest. The Apostle here says, see, then,
that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens.
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest
that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
help in time of need. I know this. We as believers
in Jesus Christ, we must remember this, that we are but strangers
and pilgrims in this world. We are strangers and pilgrims,
and at times in this life, We become weary. Our faith becomes
low, our love becomes low, the graces of God seem low, and we
get bogged down with the daily tasks of this life. We get wrapped
up in all the cares and problems of this world, and oftentimes,
like the church of Ephesus, we forget our first love. We leave
our first love, we forget the reason that we are here in this
world. And we lose our way. We feel
estranged from God. That's what was taking place
in this church. They were being persecuted. They
were being drawn away by the old religion of the Jews, and
they were being tempted and tested. And Paul here is seeking to encourage
them to hold fast their profession of faith. And so as we As I preach
this tonight to you, my hope and desire is this, that God
would, by His grace, make us to hold fast. Seeing this, that
we have a great High Priest, and that this High Priest is
passed into the heavens, this High Priest is successful. Our
High Priest has accomplished the will of God, accomplished
our salvation. Let us therefore, no matter our
difficulties, no matter our troubles, no matter our trials, let us
hold fast our profession of faith. Hold fast to faith in Christ. Listen, if you are in this life
and you have many troubles, if you're in trouble, if you are
estranged from God, if you feel as though the world is pulling
you away from Him, I pray that God tonight would refresh you,
would give you some comfort and assurance that you might hold
fast to Christ, that you might hear his word and be refreshed. I'll tell you this, this world's
a desert, isn't it? It is a vast wasteland. And I often get weary, and I
need refreshment. I need encouragement, and I know
that you do too. This is why God said to his men,
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Listen, saith the Lord. Speak
comfortably to Jerusalem. What? That her warfare is accomplished. That the Lord hath received double
for all her sins. Where did he receive double for
all our sins? Saying then this, we have a great
high priest. This is where the Lord comforts
His people in this, seeing we have a great high priest, who
is it? Jesus, the Son of God. That is our great high priest. This message of Jesus being our
high priest should give us great comfort, great assurance, and
great joy. Great joy. Seeing then we have,
listen, we have We've had this High Priest from eternity, we
have this High Priest right now, and we shall forever have this
High Priest. He's passed into heaven, Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. Therefore, what? Let us hold
fast. Hold fast to who? Christ! Hold
fast with all that you have, with all that is in you. Lean
hard on Him. fall on him, rest on him. Matter of fact, that's the whole
point of the chapter, is rest. Let us labor to enter into our
rest, what? Seeing we have a great high priest. We have a great high priest. Those of you that are listening
tonight that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior,
listen, He is your great high priest. There are many things concerning
the priesthood of Christ that we could talk about. There's
many things that could comfort us. I want to give us three.
I want to give us three things about this high priest so that
you might have a strong consolation. You know it's God's will for
you to have a strong consolation? Strong consolation, strong comfort,
strong assurance. It is the God, it is God. Paul
said this in Hebrews 6, 17, he said, wherein God willing more
abundantly. What is he willing? To show to
the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it
with an oath that by two immutable things, which is impossible for
God to lie, that we might have what? A strong consolation. Who
have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. Have
you fled to Christ? That's the question, isn't it?
Have you fled to Christ for refuge? Did you pay attention? This fact
that He is your high priest is a strong consolation. It is an impenetrable refuge
for you. And so I've got three things
to say about this priesthood. First of all, I want you to know
this, that Jesus Christ is a qualified high priest. He is a qualified
high priest. Secondly, we are going to see
this, that he is a successful high priest. And thirdly, we
are going to see he is an immutable high priest. So let's look at
these three things. Qualified, successful, and immutable. First, he's qualified. We know this according to the
Word of God, all men need a high priest. All men need a high priest. What
is a high priest? What's the job of a high priest?
Simply this, it is to mediate between God and man concerning
the things of God. Concerning the things of God.
That's the job of a high priest. And God is always determined
to deal with men according to a mediator or representative. He dealt with all men in Adam
as a mediatorial man, a representative man. And when Adam fell, all
of his race fell with him. Even so, Christ was ordained
of God to be a mediator. That's what a high priest is.
He is a mediator between God and man concerning what? The
things of God. The things of God. Look at that
in chapter 5 and verse 1. He said, For every high priest
is taken from among men, is ordained for men, listen, in things pertaining
to God. What things? that he may offer
both gifts and sacrifices for sin. Now, the high priest in
the Old Testament, these were men ordained of God to offer
sacrifices necessary for the sins of the people, listen, according
to the law, according to the law of God. Therefore, by this
precept, we see that all men need a high priest because of
this. All men are sinners. High priests
deal in things and sacrifices for sinners toward God. They offer sacrifices for sinners. And seeing this, that all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, therefore, what
do all sinners need? We need a high priest in order
to offer the acceptable sacrifices that God has required. We are all sinners. We cannot
approach unto God without a mediator, one that stands between us and
God. Now listen, tonight, if you're
here without Christ, if you're without Christ, listen, you are
your own high priest. You are trying to offer your
own sacrifices to appease God. You will try to bring your own
righteousness to God and offer it. You will try to bring your
own works to God and offer it to God for acceptance. And the result of this will be
the eternal justice and damnation of God upon your soul. You have approached God not according
to the mediator, Jesus Christ, but you've come by Moses. You've
come by Mount Sinai. And listen, the problem with
that is you're already under the condemnation of God. You're
already condemned. Therefore, all your offerings,
if you are your high priest, all of your offerings are contemptible
in the nostrils of God. We were just discussing, I was
just preaching that this last week in Isaiah chapter 1. God
says this. He says, Hear the word of the
Lord, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
to me? I am full of burnt offerings, and rams, and fat of beast. I
delight not in the blood of bullocks or lambs. When you appear before
me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts?
You know why? You're not a high priest. You're
not qualified. You're not qualified. I'm here
to tell you of a high priest who's qualified. Your gifts and offerings are
not acceptable because you were not qualified to be a high priest. Therefore, your gifts and offerings
are contemptible. The high priest to God and things
pertaining to God's justice and the satisfaction of God's holy
law, this high priest must be qualified. What are the qualifications?
Jesus Christ, I'm here to tell you, Jesus Christ is the only
qualified high priest that whose sacrifices and gifts are acceptable
to God. He's the only one. Only one.
What are the qualifications? There are two. Look at your text
back in chapter 5 again. Listen to what God says. For
every high priest that's taken from among men is ordained for
men. Ordained of God. In other words,
The only high priest that's qualified is ones ordained. Ones that is
appointed of God. And secondly, he must be taken
from among men. In other words, there are no
angelic high priests. No angel will ever be an acceptable
high priest because a high priest must be taken from among men.
Look at this in verse 4, he said this, No man taketh this honor
to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, so also
Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest. But
he that said unto him, Thou art my son this day, I have begotten
thee. As he saith in another place, Thou art a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. No man in the Levitical priesthood
ever took this honor except God ordained him, like he says Aaron. You know Aaron didn't ordain
him? to be himself, to be a high priest. And Moses didn't ordain
Aaron to be a high priest. In Exodus 28, verse 1, it says,
You see, who did that? God did that. God made them qualified by ordaining
them to be high priests. Now, sinful as Aaron was, and he was, he
was a rascal. He was. Before even Moses got
down, he done made a golden calf and was allowing the children
of Israel to commit fornication in the middle of their camp. Yet God says, Aaron's my man. Aaron's the one. He was made an eye priest. He
didn't take that on himself. Remember, the law was not meant
to save anyone. The law was only to be a shadow.
Aaron, you see, he could never really save anyone. Being a high
priest of the law, he performed the things of the law, but that
was not to save anyone. He was only meant to be a type
and a picture of the only one that's qualified, Jesus Christ. the only truly ordained high
priest that could remove sin. Go to Hebrews 10. Just look at
this real quick. You can hold your place here.
We'll be back over this way in a minute. Hebrews 10 and verse 1, the Scripture
says, For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not
the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices
which were offered year after year continually, make the comers
thereunto perfect. These things in the law concerning
the high priest, they were only a shadow of good things, but
not the image of those things. Jesus, this Levitical priesthood,
was only a type of the priesthood of Christ, and not the very image
of the thing. It was just an image, a picture.
It wasn't the real. And just like Aaron was ordained
of God, But his order was not but Christ
was Jesus was like Aaron ordained of God But his order was not
of the tribe of Levi. What did the scripture say? He
said thou art a priest forever after the order of what Melchizedek
Melchizedek You see that law was only a picture. It was only
a type Aaron was a picture of he was a he was a high priest,
but he wasn't the great high priest Listen, Jesus didn't take this
office on Himself, nor any other office, but He was ordained of
the Father in an eternal covenant to be our High Priest. Is that
not a wonderful thing that God made Him our High Priest? He
said, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. This is
the eternal Son of God, and He said, You will be a High Priest
forever. I'm so thankful He didn't ordain
you. I'm very thankful, and I know this, you are thankful he did
not ordain me or Aaron to be the great high priest,
but he did Christ. Before the worlds were formed,
the eternal Son of God was made our high priest. He was ordained
of God to be the only great high priest, the only one. Psalm 110, that's where that
scripture is from. Psalm 110, verse 4. The Lord
has sworn. The Lord has sworn and will not
repent. What is He swearing? He's swearing
this. Jesus Christ, thou art a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. Jesus, being the wisdom of God,
was set up from the eternal counsel of God to be our high priest. He was set up to be our mediator,
and the Lord has sworn and will not repent in this matter. concerning
our high priest, that he is a priest after the
order of Melchizedek. In other words, he is not a priest
after the law. He is not a high priest of the
law, but a high priest according to the covenant of grace. And what does it mean by Melchizedek?
Well, Melchizedek is a man that has no recorded beginning or
ending in Scripture. Now, we know this, he did have
a beginning, he did have an ending as a man, but in the Scriptures
it gives no record of his beginning or no record of his death. That
is to picture Christ's priesthood, an eternal priesthood that never
had a beginning and it never has an end. Thou art a priest,
how long? Forever after the order of Melchizedek. And this is because he was ordained
of God to be a high priest. He's qualified. He's ordained.
But the second thing is also true. It must be taken from among
men for him to be our high priest. He must also of necessity be
taken from men. Now, listen, Jesus always was,
always is and always will be God. God, very God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So we know
that Christ is always God. Anyone denies this, denies Christ,
denies His salvation, they don't know Him. But also this is true,
if you deny that He's God, then you can't be saved. You don't
know Him, you don't believe on Him. But also this is true, if
you deny His humanity, you're lost. Matter of fact, John says
you're anti-Christ. Any spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, but
is anti-Christ. It's a spirit of anti-Christ.
Why? Because our high priest must
of necessity not only be ordained of God, but must also be taken
from among men in the person of Jesus Christ. Listen, are
he in all the treasures of wisdom? all the treasures of knowledge,
all the treasures of true joy and contentment, all the true
riches of grace and peace. But listen, none of those can
be conveyed to us except our high priest be taken from among
men. That's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians
8, verse 9. He says, For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, that through his poverty you might be made rich." What
does he mean by that? Does that just mean he had money
and then he don't have? He's not talking about money.
He's talking about his humanity. Through his poverty and the condescension
of God the Son becoming a man, that was his poverty. And only
through that poverty could we be made rich in wisdom. Rich in righteousness. Rich in
redemption. Rich in sanctification. Rich
in redemption and righteousness. Even as God made Him to be. Even
as God ordained Him to be our High Priest so that we could
have all these things. He must of necessity become one of us. That through that poverty, we
might be made rich. Back in your text, he says, We
have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are.
How can he be that except to be a man? And this was for your sakes.
This was for your sakes. This great condescension, our
Savior became wholly and completely man. I can't wrap my mind around
that. I just truly believe that. I
know that to be so. Why? Because that's the only
way he could be my high priest. That's the only way he could
intercede for me. Great is the mystery of Godliness. What? God
was manifest in the flesh. So you take comfort this night
to this. Jesus Christ is the only high
priest who is ordained of God, and he is the only high priest
who is taken from man. For what? To save his people. To save us who believe. If you
believe tonight, you take comfort. Your high priest is well qualified.
He's well qualified. Now secondly, we know this. The
high priest, Jesus Christ, our high priest, is successful. What good is a high priest if
he's not successful? That'd be worthless. If we had
a high priest that only made salvation possible, that would
be worthless to us. We need a high priest who actually
accomplishes those gifts and sacrifices that he had to make
those gifts and sacrifices acceptable to God. Every high priest that was ordained
of God to mediate between the people has done so according
to a covenant. Now, right? In the Old Testament,
they were ordained according to a covenant. It was a covenant
of law. Aaron was ordained a priest,
a high priest, according to the covenant of the law. But listen,
Jesus Christ is the mediator and high priest of a much better
covenant. A much better covenant. The Old
Testament priests, they mediated in the covenant of law to God
for man. The job of the high priest was
to offer gifts and sacrifices daily according to the covenant
of the law. But did you notice something
about the job of these high priests? They were never finished. They
were never finished. This covenant, it was because
this covenant was not something that could spiritually remove
sin. It was a carnal covenant. God
made a carnal covenant with the nation of Israel. It was a physical
covenant. It was a covenant that may be
touched. And when God gave that covenant,
He spoke of physical blessings for physical obedience. Israel
obeyed that covenant and they received physical blessings.
That law was never meant in any way to remove sin by the offerings
of these priests. These priests, no matter how
well they did their job, their offerings could never remove
sin. As a matter of fact, Hebrews
10 verse 4 says this, not possible. It was not possible that the
blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. That old covenant
was only meant to show the weakness of human flesh. It was meant to show the inability
of man to please God. It revealed our need of a high
priest, our need of an offering for sin, but by no means could
it ever remove sin. That's why Paul said, therefore,
by the deeds of the law. Now, you just put any deed of
the law you want to, sacrificing, Ten Commandments, you could put
the Dietary Commandments, you could put the Governmental Commandments,
whatever you want to put. By none of the deeds of the law
shall any flesh be justified. Why? For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. When that high priest stood up
there and slit the throat of that animal, you knew this. You
need a high priest, you need a sacrifice, because you are
a sinner and guilty before God. You need that. That's what the
law could show you. But the blood of that animal
never removed sin. They were a priest according
to a covenant that could not take away sin. Oh, but this high
priest. This high priest was a priest
after another covenant. A better covenant. A better covenant. He is a better high priest than
those because he is a priest of a better covenant. He is a
mediator and high priest of an everlasting covenant. An everlasting
covenant. That law was ordained under Moses. It wasn't an eternal covenant.
It's not an eternal covenant. You see anybody sacrificing today?
You see those high priests over there in Jerusalem doing any
of that stuff? Why? That covenant is gone. It is
done away with. But this high priest is after
a better covenant because it was a covenant established before
the world began. The eternal covenant. It is a covenant of grace where
God says, I will be your God, and you shall be my people. It's
a covenant ordained of God, decreed of God, that requires nothing
from His people. It's something God ordained and
purposed, and it's something that only our high priests accomplish. And this is the result of his
covenant. He said this, I will remember
their sins and iniquities no more. Can the law say that? You
find anywhere in the law where it says that? No. This is a new covenant, a covenant
of eternal covenant of grace. Now, the important thing is,
did Christ actually accomplish this covenant? Did he actually
fulfill this covenant? I want you to take comfort tonight,
you that have Christ as your high priest, because Christ has
offered a better gift and a better sacrifice than those high priests. Listen, the gift that he offered
is this, the gift of righteousness. The gift of righteousness and
the sacrifice he offered was himself, his blood. Those Old
Testament priests, they could never take away sin. Why? Because they themselves were
sinners. They themselves were sinners. In Hebrews chapter 5
and verse 3 it says, And by reason hereof he ought as for the people
also himself to offer for sins. You see, that high priest, he
had to go offer for himself first. And then he would offer for the
people. Because he was a fallen son of Adam just like everyone
else. But my high priest was no such
thing. My high priest was without sin. Thus he was able to offer
the gift of righteousness, listen how, by his own obedience. When Jesus came into this world,
he was already righteous. He was already without sin. Why then must he continue in
the flesh? You see, he was making a righteousness. He was earning a righteousness. How? By his own faith. By his
own faith. Paul says this, but now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, listen, which is by the
faith of Jesus Christ. You see, my high priest was making
a righteousness. He was earning a righteousness.
by his obedience, by his own merits, by his own faith, his
own trust in God. He was earning righteousness
as a gift for his people. Was he successful? Romans 5, verse 17, it says,
For if by one man's offense death reigned by one much more, they
which receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one. Who? Jesus Christ, the gift of righteousness. See, that's what he was doing
for his people. And secondly, he not only as
a high priest was to offer gifts, but a sacrifice. Jesus offered
a sacrifice that once and for all satisfied the justice of
God that was against us. The Old Testament priest. I sometimes
try to think of how many sacrifices you think they offered. Minimum
two a day. There was a morning and evening
oblation. If they had nothing else, they had those two. But
then there were people bringing in their offerings. They were
offering these sacrifices, people being cleansed of this and needing
this and wanting this. So they'd have all these gifts
and sacrifices. They had to attend to the tabernacle every single
day. And once a year, the high priest had to offer that sacrifice. Go to Hebrews chapter 9. Look
at this. Hebrews chapter 9. And verse 1 says, Verily the
first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and worldly
sanctuary. Go down to verse... 6, it says,
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest always went
in the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into
the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for, listen, himself, and then the
heirs of the people. The Holy Ghost, what does this
mean? It had a meaning, it had a purpose,
the Holy Ghost thus signifying, thus telling you what it means.
It means this, that the way into the holiness was not yet manifest
while that first tabernacle was standing. In other words, they
didn't quite understand how God could be just and justify the
ungodliness. They knew that that would somehow
be by the Messiah. They believed in the Messiah
that would come and accomplish this, but those pictures were
not yet fully clear, not yet manifest. He said, which was
a figure for the time then present, in which were both offered both
gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect, as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only
in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances,
imposed. Oh, man, that's a law, isn't
it? Imposed. Until when? The time of the Reformation. Until the time of the great high
priest. Until Christ should come and
fulfill these types. I love that great day of atonement.
What a beautiful picture that is. They didn't quite see it,
they didn't quite understand it, but we can. Why? Because
the day of Reformation has come. Scott and I were talking about
this, about how the Old Testament was like shadows and darkness. And now that Christ has come,
it's like the sun is at its zenith. And everything, all the shadows
are done away with. We see them very clearly, what
they were meant for. That old high priest, he would
take that blood of another into the holiest, into the very presence
of God, and sprinkle it on the Ark of the Covenant. He offered
that goat for the sins of the people. But it couldn't do anything. He was just a shadow. He was
to be offered as a type as of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was
to offer himself as our great high priest that is passed into
the heavens with his own blood to make an everlasting atonement
for the sins of his people. I want you to notice the finality
of what Jesus Christ did. Look at verse 11 of chapter 9.
But Christ being come, being sent of God, being qualified
of God, being come an high priest, ordained of God from eternity
for good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle."
What is that tabernacle? It's His body. That's what that
tent pictured in the Old Testament, His body. "...not made with hands,
let us say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
or calves, but by His own blood He entered in..." How many times? God put one finger up. He's right. Once, once, He entered in once
into the holy place. And what did He do? He obtained
something. He got something. That reminds
me of when John sees Him in the book of Revelation when the Lamb
comes up to the throne of God Now nobody else is worthy to
look at the book, much less touch the book, much less take the
book. But when Christ the Lamb offered
Himself, He went to the very throne of God and took it. What did He do? He obtained eternal
redemption. He obtained it. Now go over to
Hebrews chapter 10. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Listen
what the high priest says. He's the high priest said, then
said he, Lo, I come, this is the high priest ordained of God.
Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And when he does this, he does
something. He takes away the first, the old covenant, to establish
the second. By the witch will, the will of
God, the thing He came to do. By the witch will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Christ. What? There's that
word again. Once for all. Once for all. Well, every high priest, standard
daily ministering, often all times the same sacrifices that
can never take away sin. But this man, after he had offered,
there's that number again, one sacrifice, for sin. What did
he do? He sat down. Isn't that what
our text says? Having a great high priest that
is passed into the heavens? What is he doing in heaven? He
is sitting down on the throne of God. He sat down on the right
hand of God expecting something till his enemies be made his
footstool. Why? Because this high priest by his
one offering has perfected forever them that are sanctified. I know this, you and I, we should
have no confidence in ourselves. We should never look to ourselves
for any acceptance of God. You should never depend on any
work that you have ever done, any feeling you have ever felt. But you can depend on this. your
high priest has forever satisfied God's justice against your sin. Let us hold fast our profession
of faith seeing we have right now a successful high priest
who has passed into the heavens Our great high priest has fulfilled
and accomplished the work and will of God, and by his one offering
for sin, he has atoned, he has redeemed, and he has sanctified
every one of his people. That should give you comfort.
And this last thing. You should take comfort in this,
that your high priest is immutable. When He sat down, no one is going
to get Him up. No one's going to take His place.
In the Old Testament, I can imagine the fear of these men in the
Old Testament, couldn't you? They had a good high priest.
He had this high priest that was just faithful. He was one
that loved the people. He desired the glory of God.
And all of a sudden, he died. And they had no idea what his
son was going to be like. They didn't know if they were
going to get a good high priest or an evil high priest. They
didn't know if they was going to get an Aaron or one of his
sons. Remember, his sons, they were
horrible high priests. God killed them, actually. They
didn't know what they're going to get. But you take comfort in this.
Don't you worry about this. Your High Priest never changes. He is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. And the things done by our High
Priest are forever. Because He is eternal, all the
things that God purposed Him to do, all the things He has
done, cannot and will not be undone. I like that, I was reading this
earlier in chapter 4 of Hebrews, in verse 3, he said, For we which
believe do enter into rest. As he said, I have sworn in my
wrath, if they shall enter into my rest. Although the worst were
finished from the foundation of the world. You see, these
things were accomplished, these things were set, they were done,
they were immutable things. This sacrifice that He has offered,
this gift of righteousness that He has given to everyone that
believes is as immutable as He is. He is passed into the heavens,
seated at the right hand of God, immovable. You know what this
means? That your standing before God
is forever the same. And therefore, if Christ is your
high priest, I want you to understand this, the love of God for you is always the same. God cannot love you any more
than he already does. And he will never love you less
than he does. Dear believer, take heart. You
are loved with an everlasting love and underneath are the everlasting
arms. Isn't that comforting? To know
that underneath, you are girded underneath. That you can't go
lower than the arms. The arms are always under you,
no matter how low you go. Your arms are always under you.
They're always sustaining you. You know why? Because your high
priest has finished the work. Your high priest has finished
the work. If you believe in Christ, you should know this,
that His love, His grace, His priesthood is immutable. And I know this, you who are
believers in Christ, we still are children of two natures. We are still children of two
natures. We have the flesh and the spirit. And they are constant
warfare with one another. This is why we feel defeat. This is why we feel such failures. We are. We are failures. We cannot do
what we would. We would be holy, but because
of the flesh, we cannot. The flesh would be totally sin,
but because we are made holy, he cannot. Therefore, we say,
oh, wretched man, that I am who should deliver me from the body
of this death. We are often cast down. But here is your comfort. Comfort your hearts, believer.
that Christ has died for your sins and ever lives now to make
intercession for you. Look at your text. Go back to
there. Read it again. But we have an high priest, qualified,
successful, saying we have a great high priest that has passed into
the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession
and know this. But we have not an high priest
that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmity. was
in all points tempted as we are yet without sin he understands
you are but dust let us therefore what come boldly
to the throne of grace that we may obtain what mercy what child of God does not need
mercy Where do you find mercy? You
find it in a high priest that is touched with the feelings
of your infirmities. You find it in a man that is
qualified to intercede. Whoever liveth to make intercession. Therefore, because we still need
forgiveness, what does John say? If we confess our sins, He, our
High Priest, is faithful. I'm glad He's faithful to forgive
us our sins. But listen, it's not just faithfulness.
He's right. He can forgive your sins without
any imperfection in Himself. Why? He's already paid for them. He can freely forgive them. Be comforted, therefore, believer,
that we have, therefore, open access to God continually. The
veil has been rent. The way has been opened. And
right now you have access to God because we have a high priest
over the house of God. He is right now our Savior, the
head of the church, ruling over his people. Therefore let us
draw near with a pure heart of full assurance of faith, not
wavering." Why? Our high priest is qualified.
God chose him. He became a man so that he might
be a faithful high priest and offer what? Gifts and sacrifices. And he did. And he was a successful
high priest. He offered the gift of righteousness
for his people by his own faithfulness. And he offered the gift of sacrifice
redemption by his own blood. And because he was successful,
he is now seated at the right hand of God so that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Are you in need? You have a great high priest. I pray that God would reveal
this to us. I need to see this so that I
might find rest, labor to enter into his rest. How? See, you
have a great high priest. By faith, God give us such faith
and comfort our hearts that Christ has accomplished all our salvation.