Men Must Stay Focused in Prayer

 

Men Must Stay Focused in Prayer

Spiritual Leadership in the Church Series

1 Tim 2:8

THEME: the church is to conduct its services with order.

RELEVANCE: Devoted men offering church or public (mix congregation) prayer during the services is part of God's order. Approaching Almighty God on behalf of a church is a serious undertaking where a godly man represents an entire assembly. An orderly, reverent, wise, thankful, powerful, honest, and devoted man should approach God on behalf of others. We are NOT calling for perfection, but extreme seriousness should mark occasions of conversation with the Holy Most High!

INTRODUCTION:

Both men and women prayed in the early churches' various meetings (1 Cor. 11:4–5), but the emphasis here is on the men in the congregation. What attitude or disposition should characterize men who engage in public prayer?

MESSAGE:

Our Attitude As We Pray to God (1 Tim. 2:8).

A holy, orderly, reverent, thankful, powerful, and devoted man should approach God on behalf of the church. This is not the time to be routine, relaxed or cool, guessing, respectful of loud people, boring, or merely ceremonial! 

1. Paul Stated Definitely That “Men” Should Pray In The Local Assembly.

a. This Requirement Respects God's Order in the Church.

·       The Subject Of Public Prayer Is Now Resumed, And This Time Our Attention Is Directed To Those Who Should Lead The People Of God In Prayer.

o   Paul’s expressed desire was that the men pray.

o   The word men does not mean mankind in general, but men in contrast to women.  The apostle’s instruction is that public prayer should be led by the men rather than by the women. And it means all the men, not just the pastors. 

·       Undoubtedly Paul Wanted All Christians To Offer Up Prayers For A Widespread Spiritual Awakening Among The Populations And Their Rulers. Yet in the public assembly Paul specified that men (“males”) everywhere are to lead the congregation in prayer.

·       The Expression Everywhere May Be Taken To Mean That Wherever A Mixed Group Of Christians Is Gathered Together For Public Prayer.  In the public service, it is the men and not the women who should lead in this exercise.

b. It is common to find women’s prayer meetings, but not often do we find men’s prayer meetings. If the men do not pray, the local church will not have dedicated leaders to oversee its ministry.

2. It Was Customary For Jewish Men To Pray With Their Arms Extended And Their Hands Open To Heaven. 

a. “Lifting up holy hands.” This Was A Custom Practiced In The Early Church.

o   It revealed the dedication in the lives of those praying.

o   This was a common Old Testament practice (1 Kings 8:22; 2 Chron. 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Pss. 28:2; 141:2; Lam. 2:19).

o   Paintings on the walls of the catacombs in Rome portray this posture.

o   Now there are those who lift up their hands in services today, and they are sometimes criticized for it. There is nothing wrong with lifting up your hands in prayer if it is something you feel you want to do.

o   Our traditional posture of bowing the head, folding the hands, and closing the eyes is nowhere found or commanded in Scripture.

b. Actually, There Are Many Prayer Postures Found In The Bible: standing with outstretched hands (1 Kings 8:22); kneeling (Dan. 6:10); standing (Luke 18:11); sitting (2 Sam. 7:18); bowing the head (Gen. 24:26); lifting the eyes (John 17:1); falling on the ground (Gen. 17:3). 

c. The Important Thing Is Not The Posture Of The Body But The Posture Of The Heart.

3. Paul Stated Three Essentials For Effective Prayer.

a. The First Was “Holy Hands.”

o   Obviously this means a holy life.

o   “Clean hands” was symbolic of a blameless life (2 Sam. 22:21; Ps. 24:4). If we have sin in our lives, we cannot pray and expect God to answer (Ps. 66:18).

o   The hands were to be holy (“devout, undefiled”), signifying an internal cleanness on the part of these spiritual leaders.

o   The emphasis here is not so much on the physical posture of the one praying as on his inward life. His hands should be holy hands. The hands here are figurative of the man’s entire manner of life.

o   Personally, I have always hesitated to do it because I’m not too sure about my hands, whether they are clean or not, clean physically or otherwise. But it means that they are hands dedicated to God’s service. My friend, you ought not to poke up your hands in a meeting if those hands are not used for the service of Christ.

b. Secondly, he should be without wrath.

o   “Without wrath” is the second essential, and requires that we be on good terms with one another.

o   “Without anger” might be what is required. Such prayer leaders must be men of sound relationships, not characterized by anger (“outbursts of temper”).

o   A person who is constantly having trouble with other believers, who is a troublemaker rather than a peacemaker, cannot pray and get answers from God.

o   Broken human relationships affect one’s ability to pray (Matt. 5:22-24; 6:12; 1 Peter 3:7), which would include leading others in prayer.

o   “Without wrath”—all sins have been confessed. You don’t come in prayer with anger in your heart, or a bitter spirit, but with all your sins confessed.

o   This points out the inconsistency of one who is given to displays of temper, rising in the local church to speak to God in behalf of those assembled.

o   When we have anger in the heart, we often have open disagreements with others. Christians should learn to disagree without being disagreeable. We should “do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Phil. 2:14).

c. Thirdly prayer should be without “Doubting.”

o   “Without … doubting.” In Hebrews 11:6 we read: “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

o   When we come to God in prayer, we are to come in faith. One of the reasons I feel that our prayer meetings are not better attended today is that people lack faith. They do not believe that God is going to hear and answer prayer.

o   I do not mean to be irreverent, but I sometimes think that the Lord must yawn during our prayer meetings because they are so boresome. Prayer should be made in our public services by those who have their sins confessed, who come without bitterness in their hearts, and who come in faith, believing that God will hear and answer. It is this kind of prayer that will make a prayer meeting what it ought to be.

o   We should have faith in the ability and willingness of God to hear and answer prayer.

4. Effective Praying Demands These Prerequisites.

Specifically that I be in a right relationship with God (“holy hands”) and with my fellow believers (“without murmurings and disputings”).

a. Jesus taught the same truth (Mark 11:24–26). 

b. If we spent more time preparing to pray and getting our hearts right before God, our prayers would be more effective. 

c. We can summarize these qualifications by saying that a man should exhibit holiness and purity selfward, love and peace manward, and unquestioning faith Godward.

 CONCLUSION: Beloved, we desperately need devoted men offering church or public (mix congregation) prayer during the services as part of God's order. We must have men who view approaching Almighty God as a serious matter where a godly man represents an entire assembly. He must be equipped with an orderly, reverent, wise, thankful, powerful, honest, and devoted attitude as he enters the very presence of God in Jesus' Name. Jesus modeled godly behavior and attitudes as He prayed! Again, the goal is NOT perfection, but extreme seriousness and transparency should mark occasions of conversation with the Holy Most High!

Pray For Your Country!

2Chron 7:11-15

Subject: Prayer

Theme: Our generation of American Christians must desperately cry out to God to save our country from spiritual, moral, economic, and political disaster. If God does not intervene in a gracious and merciful manner, we have no other hope.

Introduction:

There has been a great deal of talk in recent months about our economic crisis in American.  Indeed the collapse of our economy has negatively impacted much of the world.  People are afraid for their future because of the current economic and energy disaster.  Anger, disillusionment, frustration, fear and anxiety are running wild in all sectors of our national life.  While it is true we are in a recession, there is still no need to live in fear and anxiety because our God is much bigger than these challenges, but we must make ‘break-through’ appeals to Him for His help.

Truly we serve an awesome sovereign almighty and righteous God who love us and desires to meet our every need in full accordance with His good will.  He is a prayer hearing God and a prayer answering God and is greatly interested in time with you.  Since God is so good, merciful, loving, and kind, you would think more people would look forward to spending time with Him in prayer.  But the truth is that many people only pray during a crisis, or an emergency.  They have failed to cultivate the holy habit of communion with God because of His greatness and availability to us.  Well, currently we are living in a crisis and we need to cry out to the Lord for His help.  The need is urgent.

What do you pray for regularly?  Is it merely me, myself, and I?  Perhaps you are faithful to pray for your family and a few church members, but do you pray regularly for folk outside of that circle? What will it take for you to pray regularly for your country?  Where does prayer fit into the situation of our nation?  What will it take to motivate you to cry out to God on behalf of your country?

Message:

I.                  The Condition Of Our Nation Is Evidence That We Need To Pray

A.     Think about the many challenges we face as a nation that directly affect our lives.

1.                  The high price and availability of gasoline.  Can we supply our own needs?  Why are we still dependent on foreign oil?  How long will we rely on the oil supply from countries who support terrorism?

2.                  The mortgage and banking financial collapse.  Thousands of people have lost their homes because of a few greedy individuals who influence policy and manipulated the housing market to line their own pockets and fill their own accounts with millions of dollars from average and honest Americans.

3.                  The collapse of the auto industry in America—Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors.  They all have consistently lost market shares to foreign import competitors, they are closing production plants across the nation, and thousands have lost their jobs and pensions.

4.                  Inflation has rocketed through the roof also.  Cost of fuel, food, and fresh produce is soaring by huge percentages.  Currently we are dragging through the remains of a serious recession.  Small businesses, family owned restaurants, markets, and Art museums are closing their doors.  These jobs are evaporating rapidly. 

5.                  Health care cost is still steadily climbing.  The cost of insurance, drugs-prescriptions, medical care is racing upward. The needs for medical care are steadily growing. The Affordable Care Act insanely shifts medical expenses to others through obligatory taxation….

6.                  Weak-cowardly leadership on the state and national levels.  They seem to have no principles, core beliefs, values, or sense of what is good and best for the country.  They do whatever will get them elected or re-elected.  They care more about their reputation in the media, than they do the real issues facing the country.    

7.                  The current war on terror will continue as a protracted conflict.  Many more lives will be sacrificed, and we need real answers, strategies, and resources to sustain it.  At home we live with the constant fear of another successful attack on American soil.  We grow increasingly unpopular with Europe and other parts of the world as we wage this war.

8.                  The value of the dollar on the world markets is far from strong.  It is not competing as vigorously as it has historically on the foreign markets.  The dollars buys less overseas.

9.                  There has been an uptick in the number and magnitude of natural disasters directly affecting our country.  Everything from hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, and mudslides have wreaked havoc on our citizens and costing multi-millions of dollars of damage annually.

10.              Retirement loses from the sluggish stock market have been experienced by people you know well, live near, and work with.

11.              55 million babies have been aborted in our country since abortion was legalized (1973) and backed with federal funding.  People’s ‘rights’ of choice seems to be more important than babies' right to live.

12.              Divorces in our country have steadily escalated over the last four decade with minor declines periodically.  About 40 percent of American marriages end in divorce or a second divorce.

13.              There are more single parent homes in America currently and this is being promoted in the modern media as desirable and preferable to the traditional nuclear family.

14.              Crime and punishment—justice—seems to be displaced by a growing ambition to protect the rights of the guilty criminal, while ignoring the rights of the victims and the innocent. The interpretation of laws and new legislation seem to consistently aid or favor the criminals.

15.              The nuclear threat and potential disaster is a growing and looming threat from places like North Korea who love to draw media attention through new nuclear tests.  Iran is also clearly attempting to build nuclear weapons to use against Israel.  Again there is a growing hatred of America as we attempt to oppose these developments. Even countries we have poured billions of tax dollars into hate us and want to see us destroyed.

16.               America’s Bill of rights freedom of speech is being censored and silenced categorically and systematically.  We are being silenced and this freedom is vanishing in our land. Historically where despots have risen to power and dictators have ruled, the number one priority is always to control and eliminate the freedom of speech.

17.              The movement to redefine marriage is another threat against core Christian values and national strength. Recently the SCOTUS ratified “gay marriage” nationwide. While strange unnatural ‘weddings,’ ‘marriages,’ and ‘couples,’ are being portrayed as victims of civil injustice and inequality, Judeo-Christian morality is being snubbed. God has already defined marriage! Sodomy is still sin.

18.              Illegal immigration is a major problem; millions of unregistered people are currently living and working in America.  Politicians use this issue as a political football during election seasons, but none of them are doing anything meaningful to resolve the real problems of national security.  Economic growth through guest worker programs, and legitimate avenues of pursuing citizenship in our country still stand unresolved after more than thirty years.

19.              An entire ‘Christian denomination’ is accepting and promoting sodomy-homosexuality and even ordaining such individuals to the ministry.  Apparently they follow the values of our declining culture instead of the Scriptures.  The Bible is clear on this.

20.              False Prophets in the land are predicting positive prospects.  Everything is wonderful, prosperous, healthy, positive, and improving in their eyes.  Life is clearly not ‘peaches and cream’ in our country. They mislead thousands who could be concentrating their prayers on revival—a real spiritual awakening sent from God. 

      21.  Teen pregnancies are trending downward, but AIDS, STDs, promiscuity, adultery, and sexual rebellion plague our land as judgments on our ‘lose society.’ Ages 16-19 are when late adolescent boys and girls typically become sexually active. Among 18–19 year-olds, 63% of males and 64% of females reported vaginal sex at least once during their lifetime. One out of every two American girls between the ages of 14-19, has had premarital sex—that’s fifty percent.  One out of every four girls in America is infected with some form of STDs—that is twenty-five percent.
      22. Racial tensions are high, ethnic/interracial trust is gravely degraded, injustice is felt deeply, and respect for authority and law enforcement are extremely low--this condition is more dangerous than nuclear war! 

B.     The reality is that all of these problems should convince any honest person that we are under the judgment of God.  All of these things collectively should convince us of our need to pray for our country.  We have problems bigger then we are and we desperately need God to intervene on our behalf.  We cannot fix these problems on our own.  They scream to us that we are a rapidly deteriorating nation without any hope except God Himself.

II.               Our Condition Moves A Righteous and Just God to Actions of Judgment

A.     2Chronicles 7:12-13—clearly God will undertake to discipline and judge a nation for its national sins and moral failures.  Someone will say, “Surely God will not judge us, we are America…”  This is a statement of pride and error.  Others may say, “A good and loving God will not punish people….”  But, verse 13, is clear, God will confront and judge nations for their sins.

B.     Duet. 8:1, 6, 11-14, 16-20—Morally God must act against our nation.  If he saw fit to judge Israel whom He esteem above all other nations in the earth, then certainly he will deal with America’s sinfulness also. We have deliberately chosen to walk contrary to God’s will in every area of our national life.  I believe God has begun a corrective act of judgment on America.

C.     2Chronicles 7:19-22—If God allowed our nation to come to destruction, what will the rest of the world say?  We would be a symbol of those who forsake their God—“a proverb and a byword among all nations.”

D.     2Chronicles 7:22—in many ways we, as a nation, have forsaken the Lord!

1.      We have abandoned prayer in our homes and education system and adopted a humanistic philosophy.

2.      We resist Bibles and the Ten Commandments in our homes, public schools and in any federal government agency—they are considered hostile because they breed intolerance.

3.      Many have worked hard to remove the influence of Christian beliefs, symbols, and values from public life and policy.  This is the agenda of the ACLU!

4.      Constantly Christian values are attacked and belittled in the media.

5.      As a result, the nation has declined continually since the early sixties!

E.     America has enjoyed huge blessings and massive privileges at the generous hand of God.

1.                  We are individually and personally responsible to God for our economic and spiritual prosperity.

2.                  We are more accountable to God because of the abundance we have enjoyed.

a.       We have the Bible—KJV.

b.      Christian churches who preach the pure unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.

c.       Missionary vigor of the last sixty years is the greatest in Christian history.

d.      Christian periodicals, TV, movies, broadcasts, radio, ect.

e.       The Devil would love to destroy our nation and destroy all of this potential for reaching the world with the Gospel.

F.      The weak and wicked politicians have no answers or solution—stop looking to them.

1.                  They believe in preferences instead of principles.

2.                  They build on sinking sand instead of solid rock principles (Matt. 7:24-27).

3.                  They are more interested in their personal advantage then the welfare of the nation.

4.                  They have no real answers for the challenges confronting us today (Ps. 118:8-9).

5.                  Vote according to Bible principle when electing officials

III.           The Conditions that will Secure the help of God in our Country

2Chron. 7:14, What are the conditions for God to hear us?

A.     God’s People Need to Get Under this Burden and cry out to Him for an awakening, 2Chron. 7:14.

1.      Israel is God’s earthly people, but real Christians are His spiritual children.

2.      We are the “household of faith”

3.      We as believers are a “holy nation”

4.      We are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ

5.      Our nation could be spared “if” enough Christians will understand and fulfill our role.

B.     Humble ourselves before the Lord, 2Chron. 7:14.

1.                  Humility is not weakness, but wisdom

a.                   Prov. 16:18-19 (prideful or humble)

b.                  Prov. 29:23 (Pride or humility)

c.                   Job 35:12-13 (God will not honor pride)

2.                  We cannot handle the mess we are in currently; we desperately need God to intervene!  Do not allow pride to hinder our need to cry out to God.  Do not say, we are Americans and we can handle it….

C.     Pray—Cry out to God on behalf of our Country, 2Chron. 7:14.

1.                  Why are we still praying small selfish prayers?

2.                  What about praying for Godly leadership on the state and national levels?

3.                  What about praying for your country? 2Tim 2:1-8—Intercession?

4.                  What about old fashion revival praying?

a.                   Ps. 34:15-19, Cry out to God, cry out to God; He will deliver the righteous!

b.                  The burden is to be heart-felt, our heart is broken over the condition of our nation.

                                                                                       i.      Pray like you would pray for a loved one who is seriously ill and facing death.

                                                                                     ii.      With all your strength cry out to the only God who can save our nation.

c.                   The circumstances are impossible for man to resolve—we need God’s intervention.

d.                  If you do not like the way things are going, then cry out to God to change it!

D.    We Must Turn From Our Wicked Ways, 2Chron. 7:14.

1.                  Wicked?  Deliberate disobedience or rebellion against God in any form.  Not just murder or adultery, but also a hateful attitude, an unforgiving spirit, gossip, and doubting and questioning God’s Word.  These too are wicked in the eyes of a holy God.

2.                  Repentance is required if God is to hear our cry.

a.                   Confession is not enough!  Confessing all the time is not what God wants.

b.                  Repentance is a change of heart, mind, and attitude, that lead to a change of behavior.  We ultimately stop the wicked practices.

c.                   If God has convicted you of sin, then make a clean break with that sinful practice.  This is turning from our wicked ways.

IV.            God’s Threefold Promise, 2Chron 7:14

A.                      God will hear our prayers

B.                      God will forgive our sins

C.                      God will heal our country

Conclusion:

Every honest Christian will have to admit that our country is in a deadly decline.  We have been going down, down, down, down… There is no evidence at all of our slowing down, much less turning around.  You can make a difference in the future of our nation if you will cry out to God.  Every believer needs to get under this burden—somebody needs to go and get God.  We desperately need Him right now!

Do you really believe this promise? Do you truly love your country?  Do you care about the future of your children and grandchildren?  Do you really love your freedom? Are you willing to get on your knees and cry out to God?  Are you too proud to humble yourself and pray?  Somebody needs to get under a burden and trust God for a mighty spiritual awakening. Will it be you? This generation of American Christians must answer the call to pray for a mighty spiritual awakening and a moral revival.  Someone needs to commit to this ministry on behalf of our nation and future.  Will you be that intercessor?

Pray for your country regularly—weekly have a special time of national prayer. God is our only national hope....

What Makes Christ Such A Great High Priest?

What is it that makes the Lord Jesus Christ so relevant still today? Why should anyone give Him any serious consideration? The short answer consists of a thoughtful contemplation about who He is, what He has done, and what He is still doing at this very moment! Christ is God’s perfect solution for struggling Christians in need of His ministry.

With the words “Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest,” (Heb. 4:14) our needy souls are directed to the Lord Jesus and His current ministry to the redeemed. Many Believers have a good working grasp of Christ’s past work at Calvary as redemptive, substitutionary, sacrificial and completely sufficient payment for all sin. We also seem to have respectable ability when intelligently discussing our Lord’s future ministries and end time events like the rapture, judgment seat of Christ, and His return to the earth to rule the world from Jerusalem. However, we seem woefully lacking in our grasp of Christ’s present ministry. The Bible describes Him as our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:2), and as our High Priest who continually makes intercession for Believers (Heb. 7:25). Through our grand Representative’s intercessions, we have a solid defense with God and are assured of spiritual supplies from Heaven in our hour of need.

Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest not only because he meets a great need among believers, but because of whom He is and what He has accomplished. Israel had many priests and high priests down through the centuries of the tabernacle and temple, but never one like High Priest Jesus Christ. Historically there were good and bad high priests, but Jesus is described as “great.” What makes our High Priest so great?

The Greatness of His Person

First consider the greatness of His Person. Christ’s fitness to serve as Believers’ great high priest is deeply rooted in His complex personage. Notice his description is “Jesus, the Son of God” (Heb. 4:14). Jesus is His human name that emphasizes His humanity. Obviously, He is also “the Son of God;” which portrays His deity (Heb. 4:14). Therefore, our attitude should be marvelously influenced by the fact that Jesus Christ is both God and Man—His Person. The Lord Jesus is a single Person of the triune Godhead, but His personality is comprised of two unmixed natures—divine and human. He essentially knows humanity and is God enough to do something about it. As our Priest, Christ has a 360 degree comprehension of the human plight with its weaknesses, infirmities, and challenges. As God, He is fully capable of addressing any matter with complete competence. His platform for perceiving our challenges is rock-solid perfect because of His first-hand experiential knowledge of life as a human. As God, He is postured to work supernaturally in our lives and through the Holy Spirit. These facts assure us that He is able to understand us and minister to our needs with perfect insight. There is no place we can wander off to emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, or volitionally that Christ has no first-hand appraisal of. Though He never ever committed a single sin, He is fully cognizant of all human difficulties and God's will simultaneously.

Again “Son of God” (Heb. 4:14) affirms the reality that Christ is possessed of a divine nature; therefore, He fully grasps the weight of divine expectations for His people and is capable of functioning as God on our behalf. His knowledge of the divine is complete, and free of any misconceptions. He wields the power of the Most High because He is Himself true God in the fullest sense. He can receive, process, forward, and answer all our prayers and appeals simultaneously without being overwhelmed! Absolutely no one multitasks like Almighty God! Furthermore, as God He can resource His people according to their true spiritual needs most adequately. Dr. Wiersbe (The Bible Exposition Commentary) stated, “In His unique person, Jesus Christ unites Deity and humanity, so that He can bring people to God and bring to people all that God has for them.” No other such ambidextrous personality abides anywhere else in all the universe and no other ever will! The Lord Jesus is consummately and uniquely fitted to serve His Father’s will and our needs as our superior High Priest. Any matter whatsoever, whether pertaining to God or man, regarding our Christian journey He can aid and help us with. There is no point where His expertise reaches its limits or His capability is exhausted. We have a Great High Priest!

The Greatness of His Position

Secondly, consider the greatness of High Priest Christ’s position. Certainly He is in His person altogether glorious because His role as priest is anchored in His very unique natures.  Equally astounding is the reality that His position is similarly fascinating and meaningful to God’s redeemed people. Christ is in Heaven—“that is passed into the heavens” (Heb. 4:14). Jesus, the Savior, literally circumnavigated the atmospheric and stellar heavens and on into the very abode of God when he ascended to His Father two thousand years ago (Acts 1:11). Just before Stephen was stoned to death in Acts chapter eight, He was given ability to see into the very third Heaven being exposed to the glory of God and the Lord Jesus “standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Our Lord then is most exalted and astronomically higher than any other priest ever! William Newell (Hebrews Verse-By-Verse, pg. 141) said, “All earthly priesthood and ceremony and temple are abandoned by God during this dispensation, and that worship is carried on in Heaven alone!” There Christ abides on our behalf as our representative in the awesome Presence of Almighty God. Because of our splendid High Priest, we can enter the incredible Presence of the Most High God to enjoy an audience with Him in prayer, or to worship Him with abandonment before His throne to the end that He is delighted with us (Heb. 9:24; 6:19-20).

Aaron and his successors ministered in the tabernacle and temple precincts; only once a year the high priest entered the holy of holies. In contrast, Jesus Christ has navigated triumphantly through time and space to be in the very presence of God for believers (Heb. 4:14). When He ascended to the Father, Jesus Christ soared through the stratospheric and planetary heavens into the third Heaven where the Most High God resides (2 Cor. 12:2). He is exalted and glorified at the Father’s right hand. Absolutely no honor transcends this throughout the entire universe! Only God can take a place at the right hand of God! Our priest, as God, lives in the presence of the Father; from this position He affords ceaseless intercession and constantly provides aid to His people as we traverse a course of genuine discipleship down here. By His exalted position he guarantees and assures every believer of complete and constant access to the Father!

Christ is likewise enthroned in heaven, and this enthronement speaks of power, and authority. In fact Newell (pg. 141) observed, “The believer has the same blessed rights in the presence of the Father as belong to the Son in Whom he is, and Who “appears before the face of God for him.” Dr. Wiersbe (The Bible Expositor’s Commentary) stated “His throne is “the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16). The mercy seat, the lid on the Ark of the Covenant, was a symbol of God’s throne among ancient Israel (Ex. 25:17–22), but it was impossible to refer to it as “a throne of grace.” Grace does not veil and remove itself from people; it is not interested in hiding itself or being reclusive. Absolutely not, the veil of Herod's Temple was torn in two from the very top to the bottom (Matt. 27:51) immediately after Christ died for our sins. This signified that the way to God was opened wide through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There is a new and living way to God through our risen Lord. This is the grace of God, and grace stoops down low to afford privileges and reaches out to give opportunities to those recognizably undeserving. Grace embraces and lifts the repentant no matter how contemptible we presently are or once were. So, you have blown it again with sinful behaviors and practices and you don’t feel like God desires to hear from you. While it is true that God is not pleased with anyone’s sinful behavior (1 Tim. 2:3-7), but if you have believed on Christ, He wants to hear from you. He still desires fellowship (1 John 1:1-2:2) with you because fellowship with God is what you were made for. God does not need our fellowship, but He knows that we need His! Therefore, through confession and genuine repentance turn to Him and make things right and He will receive you into His fellowship again. Your and my High Priest made all of this possible. 

All of this assures every Believer that we are extremely welcome and wanted in the Presence of God for living, continuing, thriving, even though we are struggling! The common Israelites enjoyed no such privileges as entering the holy precincts of the tabernacle and the earthly temple. Furthermore, the regular priests could proceed no further than the mighty veil dividing the sanctuary from the holy of holies. Privileges of access beyond the veil belonged exclusively to the high priest, and this was permitted only on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). The arrangement was forbidding and foreboding! In contrast, every believer in Christ is invited, and is even heartened, to “come boldly unto the throne of grace”! This in no way implies irreverent attitudes or behavior towards God. But what a great throne it is because the Great High Priest is ministering there to afford believers great access to the Father. Do not miss this all important truth: it is through High Priest Jesus that you and I are extremely welcome in the mind-blowing, heart accelerating, temperature raising Presence of the Most High God! "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). What a mighty Priest we have to avail access to God very God to us.

The Greatness of His Pathos

Thirdly, consider the greatness in His compassion or sympathy--pathos. My family knows my deepest secrets and greatest failures. I trust them with the knowledge of some of the worst things about me. But they still love me, treat me with respect, and have genuinely forgiven me for failures that directly affected them.  I am truly grateful to them. Generally speaking, one thing that helps people trust is the ability to show empathy and ‘understanding.’ Trustworthy friends are honest, transparent, and forgiving as they interact, thus inviting our reciprocations. Subsequently, we can deeply sense their sincerity; therefore, the trust of a companion is earned and a relationship advanced. We freely share our hearts most transparently with them free of any fear of condemnation or judgment. What we afforded in such instances is grace and mercy. To be clear compassion in no way implies sanctioning sin or rebellion in any way. The Lord is both loving and holy, merciful and just! His compassion assures us that He really understand us.  

Likewise, our Priest, the Lord Jesus, is compassionate and sympathetic towards His people. Instead of standing back with a judgmental scowl while doing nothing to aid His hazarded people, He reaches out in mercy and grace to us. No trial is too great, no temptation is too strong, but that Jesus Christ can give the mercy and grace required, when it is needed (Heb. 4:16). Since our Lord is fully familiar with all the struggles and weaknesses of the human experience, He is uniquely fitted to sympathize and empathize with His struggling people. The assistance He provides is given with acute understanding and in the most appropriate measure. He has Himself faced these things and can help believers face them also. His level of compassion is fully informed and readily available.

No one can truly sympathize with another unless he or she has grappled with a similar experience and benefited from it. Our Great High Priest can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities because He was tempted in every area we are currently tempted in. The difference with Him is that He never gave in to any temptation. Walvoord and Zuck (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) observed “One who fully resists temptation can know the extent of its force. Thus the sinless One has a greater capacity for compassion than any sinner could have for a fellow sinner.” God communicated this to assure us that Jesus really knows and understands where you are in life. He has no doubts about where He wants to take us in life pursuant of God's will. Again, in Jesus Christ we have a Great High Priest!