Mediator

Always Easter  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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It is always Easter because Jesus is our Mediator between God and man

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The Message of Easter is the Gospel

A gospel is an announcement of good news. In particular, the Gospel is the announcement that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have brought about salvation for Israel and the world. Does the gospel make a difference? To put it simply, yes, without a doubt!
A well-known preacher of the United States was asked to say a few words to a gathering in an open-air meeting. At the close of his address an atheist stepped up to him and challenged him to a debate, assuring him that he would bear all the expense of renting the hall and advertising.
The preacher responded, “I accept on one condition: When you bring with you fifty people who have been helped by your philosophy, I am ready. I will bring you hundreds who will testify to the transformation this Gospel has wrought in their lives.”
Needless to say, the challenger departed somewhat humiliated.
Only the true gospel can produce the fruit of changed lives. No false religion or false god can bring about the love, peace, security, and salvation that the gospel can and does produce.[1]
What I will share today, next week, and on Easter, if believed, will change lives not just for today but for eternity.

Always Easter

Maybe it is because we are coming out of 2020, a year when we didn’t get a chance to celebrate Easter together. Or maybe it is because of the reminder of winter we had just a month ago; but, I am excited about Spring this year. I’ve always said that Fall is my favorite time of the year but I’m beginning to lean towards Spring. It is inevitable. It couldn’t be prevented. And life is worth celebrating.
As mentioned in the intro video, in the middle of Spring is Easter. We should never take the meaning of Easter for granted. Chocolate bunnies, pastels, and colored eggs are only decorations. The foundation of Easter is the plan of redemption in the person of Jesus. Who is this Jesus? Exactly what did Jesus do that was so significant that it changed the entire world? What does it mean to me personally? As we begin to examine these questions, we will find the Gospel at its core.
In the ancient book of Job, we see a man who becomes desperate for God. In the 3rd chapter he cries out,
Job 3:32-35 “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot. [2]
“If only there were someone”. That is the good news! There is, and his name is Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Our Mediator

The heart of God’s plan of salvation centers on the office (position) and function (abilities) of a mediator who could bridge the gap between an offended God and helpless, sinful humanity.[3] This is the reason for Jesus Christ. He becomes the mediator.
The qualifications to be a mediator between man and God are steep. In fact, only one could meet those qualifications because
1. He must be God and to represent mankind,
2. He must be a man.
Only Jesus Christ through the virgin birth, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was able to meet those qualifications.

Why Do We Need a Mediator?

There are sticky times in life when you need a mediator. Sometimes a relationship can become so volatile that a mediator is needed to step between and help individuals communicate and understand what each party is trying to say. In legal situations, a mediator or lawyer can help understand contracts between parties or help those accused understand their rights and be represented fairly.
In a much larger case, mankind through Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God. This removed them from the Garden of Eden and from a direct relationship with God, but God already had a plan to restore the relationship. Philip Ryken writes:
One of the most painful effects of sin is that it separates us from God. Adam and Eve experienced this in the Garden of Eden. As soon as they sinned, there was a breach in their intimate friendship with God. They could no longer walk with Him in the cool of the day; indeed, they felt the overwhelming urge to run and hide. This is because they were alienated from God by their sin. In the end, they had to be banished from the garden altogether.”

The High Priest

One of the ways that we can understand the beauty of God’s plan of salvation is to look at the OT tabernacle and the work of the High Priest. Beginning in the wilderness, God told Moses how to create a place where His glory would rest in the middle of the people. It is beautiful to realize the visual of the tabernacle in the middle of the 12 tribes of Israel. When they were camped, the image from above looked like a cross with the tabernacle in the center.
In the center of the camp was the tabernacle. It was separated into 3 different parts – the outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant resided. This was the place where God resided and was the place that only the High Priest could access. However, the high priest had restrictions. The high priest could only go into the Holy of Holies on very special occasions. For the majority of the year the high priest and other priests were busy in the outer courts and the inner court with sacrificing animals, keeping the incense and the lamps burning, and maintaining the shewbread.

Jesus Became Our High Priest

As Christian we ought to always be aware of the great blessing that we have to have constant access to God through the Spirit of God that lives in us. This was provided by the life and death of Jesus.
Hebrews 2:14–18 NIV
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Several things happened on the day of Christ’s crucifixion. One of those things can be completely overlooked unless you understand what we just described. The Gospel of Mark is the most concise of the Gospels, he doesn’t leave it out. It is that important!
Mark 15:38 NIV
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Matthew’s account adds more detail
Matthew 27:51 NIV
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
Paul makes it crystal clear in the book of Hebrews
Hebrews 10:19–20 NIV
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
It is odd that the word ‘enter’ comes from the word entrée (main dish). It also means freedom of access. The realization that we have freedom of access to God is a priceless treasure that we have because of our Mediator, Jesus Christ.

He is Forever Interceding for Us

His work as our Mediator is an ongoing work. Last week I enjoyed reading a verse with my community group. Psalm 139, verse 17 says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!” (NIV) God has my back! He has your back!
Romans 8:31–34 NIV
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Back when I was in language training at the Presidio of Monterrey at the Defense Language Institute, I found out that my best friend went toe to toe with the acting platoon sergeant who wanted to take rank from me because I didn’t read the company bulletin board at lunch time.
· The board contained information about PT and other trainings.
· We were required to read it once a day.
· Most lived in the barracks, but I lived in an apartment with Cindy just a block away from the classroom
When Jeff heard that the platoon sergeant was going off and threatening to take a rank from me he intervened, a E4 against an E7. That was a big deal to me.
How much bigger a deal it is that we have a Mediator who is ever interceding for us in Heaven!

Be Confident to Enter

An unidentified man tells a story about his own boyhood and meeting the famous preacher, D.L. Moody:
Moody was visiting my father. He had left his satchel and umbrella at the home of the elder Mr. McCormick, and he asked me if I would walk over and get them for him. I was more than glad to go. On the way home, while carrying the satchel on the end of the umbrella (and I had the umbrella poised over my shoulder) I stumbled and broke the umbrella! I was greatly disturbed by the accident and felt so guilty I knew not what to do. I was afraid. Finally, I thought, "I will tell mother; she can tell father, and father can tell Mr. Moody." Crushed with the burden, I hurried home and told mother. She, of course, was sympathetic, and told father; and father broke the news to Mr. Moody. "So, you broke my umbrella," said Mr. Moody (rather sternly, I thought); "come here a minute." Fearfully I went to him. He said, "When you broke my umbrella, you became frightened and ashamed, didn't you? Then you thought. if I tell mother or father, they can go between me and Mr. Moody and straighten things up. Now that your father has straightened things up, you can come to me. Now, my lad, that is the way it is with all of us; we are sinners—afraid of God. But God has provided a Mediator—Someone to go between us and Him—and it is Jesus. You must come to God through Jesus. He died for us and is the Way to God. I am glad this happened; I am going to tell my audiences about this, and turn them to Christ, our Mediator!" And he did. —Gospel Herald.[4]
It is ALWAYS EASTER because you have a mediator, intercessor, and advocate in Heaven.
Ephesians 2:18 NIV
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Ephesians 3:12 NIV
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Always Easter

I wish I had a t-shirt to hand out to you today that said, “ALWAYS EASTER”! We have an amazing message to share with others. Job cried out, “If only there was someone!” There is! His name is Jesus.
Hebrews 9:15 NIV
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
The only thing left is to believe it and walk in it. It is life to those who are lost and joy to those who believe.
[1] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2001). Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (p. 26). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[2] The New International Version. (2011). (Job 9:32–35). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[3] Duffield, G. P., & Van Cleave, N. M. (2016). Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (Revised & Updated, Vol. 1, p. 170). Los Angeles, CA: Foursquare Media.
[4] Moreillustration.com. Accessed March 17, 2021
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