Our High Priest
Hebrews - Lent • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 29:52
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· 23 viewsBased on Hebrews 3:1-6. Jesus is our High Priest and holds a higher position than Moses. Even though Moses was faithful and served God well, Jesus is fully supreme!
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Opening prayer, dedication
Music ministry
#271 Standing on the Promises (1,2,4)
Before the Throne of God Above
Holy is Our God
Word of God - Hebrews 3:1-6
Message: “Our High Priest”
I have to admit that I like a warm welcome
I love to see eyes light up and get wide
I love to see a smile
I love to feel the energy of excitement when friends and family get together
I sometimes wonder if these are all casualties of our time
Things that will never be the same
NO emoji will ever match up to that feeling of seeing someone walk into the room
No amount of technology can make you feel as loved and appreciated as a physical handshake or hug, right?
None of these things transmit to online services, right?
Yet, there are times when people must be apart and they connect how they can for the moment
Which is certainly better than not connecting at all
In this first part of our core text today, in Hebrews 3:1 (a) we see how the author truly takes out all the stops
to convey warm and heartfelt connection with these Jewish Believers in Christ [stop at Holy “Brothers”]
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
Some translations say “holy brothers and sisters”
When you entered the building at Grace today
Did you see dear friends and family
or did you see “holy brothers and sisters?”
The term “holy brothers” is both
A statement of the way the author looks at the audience of the letter
AND an invitation for everyone to actually BE holy brothers
To live up to both the “holy” and “brother” label is not a simple matter
Therefore, I say to you, “Welcome, holy brothers & Sisters”
Feel the love that comes from my heart
We gather as a family of faith
People who are described in the second part of Hebrews 3:1
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
WE share in a Heavenly calling
Do YOU confess Jesus as YOUR High priest?
Great, now let’s consider Jesus together
Some of you are anticipating that I will talk about the word “Therefore” in Hebrews 3, and I don’t want to disappoint
What is the “Therefore” there fore?
Well, holy brothers and sisters,
Because of all Jesus endured
Leaving Heaven and becoming less than angels
Because Jesus suffered and died
Because Jesus came to save each of YOU
Because of all of that
We have a Heavenly calling
Recall from Hebrews 2:10
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
We, who answered that calling
We BELIEVE in Jesus and are called to be TOGETHER as brothers and sisters in faith
Takeaways
1. Be TOGETHER
There is a sense of connection or commonality where Hebrews 3:1 says “you who SHARE”
And I don’t think that the author was thinking of us being Facebook friends
No, the connection is deeper than that for sure
Together in faith as brothers and sisters ain Faith, yes
Also together and unified in our essential beliefs
Which is the confession or declaration of our beliefs
We are called to be united, or together, in our belief that Jesus was the apostle,
Which means Jesus was SENT
More importantly that Jesus was SENT to be our High Priest
And that Jesus remains at the center of our confession of faith
That Jesus is Our Lord and Savior
The High Priest that is now higher than Moses and higher than angels
Jesus atoned for or paid for all our sin
That Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father with EVERYTHING subject to Him alone
Now I want to look at Hebrews 3:2
2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.
Moses was held in extremely high regard by the Jews
Moses was known as being a faithful man
Moses was obedient to God and Moses remained faithful
The word we read as “faithful” was [pistos] in the original Greek
πιστός (pistos). adj. trustworthy, faithful; trusting, believing. Describes a person or thing as characterized by trustworthiness or belief.
It certainly seems to me that “faithful” does not describe the culture today
It would be easier to cite examples of lack of faithfulness
Friends who turn on each other
Relationships destroyed by infidelity
Friends who don’t have your best interest at heart
Employers who take advantage of employees
Even employees who change jobs for the slightest raise
Or change churches because they don’t like something or other
A “Faithful” person is a trustworthy person
Someone who remains committed to the cause
Someone who perseveres, even at great personal expense
Takeaways
1. Be Together
2. Be Faithful
As we look at the first two takeaways
That we should be together and be faithful
I realize that so far we are describing our dog
Always wanting to be with us
Always ready to serve us by accepting and giving unconditional love
These descriptors are also very true of Moses and more so of Jesus
If you look at the story of Moses, when God spoke to him through the burning bush in Exodus 3, you would see
God calling Moses to lead His people out of Egypt
to remove them from their slavery
There was no promise it would be easy
Moses felt like he was not qualified, he did stutter
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Who am I?
Kids, and really all of us
Have you ever felt like you SHOULD do something, but you just didn’t think YOU could do it?
If God tells you to do something, if it is the RIGHT thing to do, then God will make it possible
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Moses set an example through all the trials of the journey that God would be faithful and stay with Moses
Even to the point of dividing the Red sea so that Moses and his people could escape
That is the kind of dedication and faithfulness we are each supposed to demonstrate
That is the kind of friend we are supposed to be
That is the kind of Christian was are supposed to be
Show me a mountain too tall for you and I’ll show you Our God who is taller
If God wants me to climb the mountain, then I know He’ll make it possible
As faithful as Moses was
Moses was NOT as faithful or as powerful as Jesus
And Jesus deserved more glory than Moses
This was clearly used in Hebrews 3:3 because of the high regard the Jewish audience had for moses
3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
This can be used as a reminder for us as well
Takeaways
1. Be Together
2. Be Faithful
3. All Glory to God
Being a part of a church family is VERY important
We NEED fellowship
We NEED godly counsel
We NEED biblically sound teaching
These are contained in the purpose statement of Grace Church
And we constantly refocus ourselves to provide these things
But, the point of these ministry realities is not that WE might be better
No, the point is that we are to give all glory to God
Only when we acknowledge that God is the builder of this house of worship can we honor Him correctly
We are faithful only when we can be trusted to keep God and the Kingdom of God first in our thoughts and actions
Only when we honestly act as a servant of God is God fully glorified
To put it simply
Jesus is the highest revelation of God to mankind
THEREFORE, Jesus is at the center of our faith
And Jesus is expecting us to gather around Him TOGETHER,
not in isolation
Instead, we gather as holy brothers and sisters with common belief in Jesus
Isn’t that at the core of why we gather on Sundays?
Hebrews 10:24 from Floyd’s devotional
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
To worship God collectively as a fellowship of Believers
And to encourage fellow Believers next to us in their faith?
I want to pull these pieces together in a single picture
Hebrews 3:3 talks about Jesus being our High priest, higher than Moses
Just as the builder of a house is more worthy of glory than the house itself
Hebrews 3:4 clearly says God builds EVERYTHING
4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
Hebrews 3:5 says that Moses, which by extension includes all of us who are Believers,
all of us are to be faithful in ALL things
Just as Moses was to God and Jesus
So, the people of God’s church are to be faithful servants to God
That’s not easy, but it is ordained by God
And whatever God calls us to do, God will make possible
How do we know this?
Look at the final verse again in Hebrews 3:6
6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
God is always faithful, meaning God can be depended upon
If we remain faithful to God and serve God’s purpose
Then TOGETHER we will prevail,
Not necessarily in our personal issue with someone
but the Kingdom of God will prevail
That is where we place our confidence and have our hope
That the High priest, Jesus will prevail as He claims
Sunday is the Lord’s Day,
not the pastor’s day
not the day to listen to the music ministry
The Lord’s Day is when we celebrate that we don’t have to go to the Lord THROUGH a earthly priest
Today is the day we individually choose to come TOGETHER to praise God directly
Without any intermediary
The Lord’s Day is a Day to celebrate that Jesus is THE High Priest,
sitting at the right hand of God the Father
Who, along with the Holy Spirit
To provide everything we could ever need
Jesus is our High Priest
our advocate
Our Savior
All praise and glory to God!
AMEN
Closing Hymn/Invitation:
#428 I Need Thee Every Hour
Pastoral prayer/Benediction