God- Not as distant as He seems

Grant Todd

Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Hebrews 4:16

Prayer

0 ratings

· 2 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Openning Story

Have you ever had a friend say these words: CAN I JUST BE REAL ABOUT SOMETHING REAL QUICK?

When I was growing up I used to LOVE summertime for a lot of reasons. A little break from school, vacation time, and I loved spending time with my friends. One of my favorite ways to hang with friends in the summer was a good sleepover. There is just something about a good sleepover that helps you get to know people. You just spend a ton of time together.

In college I lived in this house that had a ton of extra room so we could have friends come and hang a lot.

Awkward

fun

tired

Real

This is what was said...

Well I want to take it there this morning So I have a question for everyone here...

Can I be real about something real quick...?

Look, I dont mean to get too real too quick, but can I just be honest about something…?

Sometimes it just feels like God is far away.

Can I be honest about something else?

Well, SOMETIMES, praying can be hard.

Can I be honest about something else real quick?

Well, SOMETIMES, It feels like it is hard to get close to Jesus.

Now I know we dont always feel this way, but from time to time these are those questions that float through our minds that can be hard to ask.

intro

This letter was written to people who believe in God. They knew a TON about the Bible, but there was something missing. They didn’t know a whole lot about Jesus. They knew some of the great stories of God creating the world, they knew that God did some cool stuff like freeing Israel from slavery in Egypt. They knew that God parted the red sea and people walked through to safety. They knew that God provided those people with food by causing sweet bread to rain from the sky. They knew a lot of things, but they didn't know much about Jesus. That was kind of sad because you can know so much about God, but Jesus is the only way to Him. It does not Matter how often they went to church or read the Bible or whatever, if they didn't know Jesus they would die and be separated from Him forever in a place called Hell. To help them know what they were missing, God had someone write a letter to these people.

The Letter called HEBREWS has one single focus. it is simple. TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHO JESUS IS, so they can KNOW HIM and not just about Him.

Hebrews 4:14–16 NIV

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, 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 empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16

Have you ever had a friend say this phrase to you “hey, can I be honest with you about something?”

or “hey, Can I just be real about something real quick?”

Can I be real about something real quick...?

Look, I dont mean to get too real too quick, but can I just be honest about something…?

Sometimes it just feels like God is far away.

Can I be honest about something else?

Well, SOMETIMES, praying can be hard.

Can I be honest about something else real quick?

Well, SOMETIMES, It feels like it is hard to get close to Jesus.

Now I know we dont always feel this way, but from time to time these are those questions that float through our minds that can be hard to ask.

Hebrews 4:14–16 NIV

Verse 14

or “hey, Can I just be real about something real quick?”

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

High priest- The high priest was someone who went to Go on behalf of people. There was a high priest who stepped into God’s presence ONCE A YEAR to go to God on behalf of the rest of the world. The priest would speak to God and offer sacrifices for other people.

God’s word in Hebrews tells us that we dont have to feel all that far away from God. He says that Jesus is actually our high priest. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. God is not trying to tell us just that we have someone who is going to do a great Job. This is NOT like their old priest is gone and there is a new guy taking his place, Jesus. the perfect son of God and He is going to do a great job, be there on time every morning and work really hard. THAT IS NOT WHY THIS IS A BIG DEAL!!! (I used to think that ill be honest)

THIS IS A BIG DEAL BECAUSE that Jesus is the almighty son of God. So instead of us telling some dude our prayers and Him lifting them up to God, this means that we have a direct line of connection to God the father through His son Jesus. SO when we pray and ask for help, Jesus takes our prayers to His father and they send the Holy Spirit to give us strength, they make miracles happen so that we would have everything we need.

Verse 15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet He did not sin.

Empathize with our weakness- Not only do we have direct access to God, but there is something else AMAZING ABOUT JESUS BEING OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST now. Verse 15 says that Jesus is able to empathize with our weakness. That means that He feels our hurt. We are reminded here that Jesus came to Earth, and had a really hard life.

that means he feels our pain.

when we are struggling with temptation, Hew as tempted too

When we need help, He had times on Earth where He needed to pray to the Father

When we feel tired or weak, He did too, but He was without sin.

Verse 16

Let us then approach God’s throne of Grace with Confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

So with all this in mind, what do we do? how should we respond now that we realize that we have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ. now that we have the perfect son of God who goes to the Father and feels our pain. What do we do?

Verse 16 says that should approach him with confidence so that we will receive mercy and grace to help us in our time or need.

Challenge

Try praying something that you want AND God wants.

There are some things that God really enjoys. Did you know that? You may have known that already, but I want to share with you 3 quick things that God enjoys.

Did you know that God really enjoys answering prayer?

Did you know that God really enjoys doing miracles?

Did you know that God Enjoys proving His promises that He makes in HIs word?

These are just a few of the many things that God enjoys, But He will never do one of these things without the other. God will never give you what you ask for in prayer IF YOU ASK FOR SOMETHING THAT IS AGAINST HIS WORD.

So here is my challenge to you this week. I want you to think of something in your life that you need help with. This may be a sin, it may be a friend, it may be disobedience, it may be something your doing that you just know you need to stop but you feel like you need help. It may be something you know you need to start, but you cant and you need help. I want you to think of that thing right now and I want you to think of how you need to give it to God.