HEBREWS 4:14-16

GOING TO JESUS FOR HELP

November 22, 2015

Todd Chapman

Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV: Jesus the Great High Priest Since then 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 is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

A REVIEW:

The Problem: Some who have embraced Christ will drift away, and a portion of those who drift will be unaware that they have drifted, that they will miss God’s eternal rest.  

The Solution: We must all be diligent about entering God’s rest.  That means we must be devoted to using the primary tool given us by God to assess the genuineness of our faith.  God’s tool is His Word.  

The Solution Continued:  Those of us devoted to using God’s tool, His Word, to assess our faith, understanding God cuts us to our core and reveals what’s actually inside (authentic or inauthentic faith), we wholeheartedly commit to the only reasonable actions.

 

We hold as tightly as we possibly can to Jesus.

  • Recognizing Jesus as our “great high priest”  - (our confession) 
    • God Almighty
    • A human being
    • One who tasted death so we would not have to
    • Founder of our salvation  
    • Made our perfect High Priest through suffering
    • Destroyer of the power of the devil
    • Deliverer of those who were afraid of death
    • Maker of propitiation for us
    • Our help in all circumstances
  • Recognizing He is sympathetic.
    • He cares about our hurts. 
    • He understands, has experienced and endured all our challenges.  
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it not by lying down. A man who gives into the temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation really means - the only complete realist.
                                    C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

We go boldly, fearlessly, unflinchingly, unhesitatingly, into the presence of Jesus, into the immediate presence of God for help.

  • Because of Jesus – we the non-high priests – go before the very throne of God.
  • Because of Jesus – we go boldly, not fearfully (the Word has cut us open, and there is faith!).
  • Because of Jesus – when we go to the throne, we receive grace and mercy and help.


Where would you like to most experience Jesus’ mercy and grace?

Life Group Questions

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

1. How would you summarize 4:11-13?

2. What does the author mean when he tells us Jesus is a “great high priest”?

3. What does it mean that he “passed through the heavens”?

4. What does it mean to “hold fast our confession”?  What is our confession?

5. Why do you think the author emphasizes that Jesus understands our temptations?  Yet never sinned?

6. What is the “throne of grace”?   What does it mean to “draw near” it with confidence?

7. We are to go to the throne of grace to “receive mercy and find grace”.  What does the “mercy’ and “grace” we “receive look like?

8. How would you summarize 4:14-16?

HOW DOES IT APPLY?

1. What practically do you do to “hold fast” your “confession”?

2. Does it feel to you like Jesus really understands your temptations and challenges?  Explain.

3. In what area of your life would you really like to receive more mercy and grace from Jesus?

4. If Jesus gave you more mercy and grace, what would he do, give you?

5. Do you confidently go to Jesus to receive more mercy and grace?  Why or why not?

6. What would encourage you to more confidently approach Jesus?