In the Old Testament, only one man could go before God, and that was the High Priest. He was God's chosen man to come into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies! Here is a brief description of that:
“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)
So what is the significance of that for us today? Well when Jesus took our sins to the cross and died on behalf of us the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The tearing was done by God signifying we no longer have to have a man represent us before God. We now have direct access to God anytime we want! We have a new High Priest....Jesus Christ himself! So another name or description for God is:
A Great High Priest-Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Isn't it a comfort to know we serve a God (Jesus) who knows everything we are going through in life because He came himself and dealt with them? It sure is to me. Jesus willing provides the mercy and grace we need because He knows how hard it is for us. Thank you Jesus! I don't want a sinful man like myself as priest, I want the perfect man/God for my priest to represent me before the Father and that's just what I got! Praise the Lord!
My Hope-Psalm 71:5
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
The world teaches us to put our hope in the things of the world that will pass away like relationships, sex, drugs, alcohol, money, and fame. The bible shows us where our hope should be....in God alone. Can you say your hope in in God this morning? When we put our hope in the things of the world it is a hope that we don't know if it will fulfill or not. On the other hand when we put our hope in God, it is a guarantee that is will come to pass. God is a hope that will be fulfilled if we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Look here, see it says "is abundant redemption"....not a hoping it will happen, cause it will!
Psalm 130:7
O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.
This verse kinda sums it up well:
Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.
I want you to see where our hope is:
Colossians 1:5
because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
Our hope is in heaven, not here in this old sin filled world!
The last name I want to look at this morning is this one:
Righteous Judge-2 Timothy 4:8
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Oh brothers and sisters. So many times these days I hear folks say "How can a loving God ____________" and you can fill in the blank with a number of things that question God's judgement. Not good I must say. Now we have many judges in our court systems you may question their decisions but not God. We must remember God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere all at the same time. So what ever He decides is right and we have nothing to say about it....He is God.
One of things that most seem to forget is this....we all deserve hell. We are sinners and sin deserves death and hell. But God in His love, mercy, and grace has offered us a free gift...His Son Jesus to take our place and die for our sins. All we have to do is accept that gift and follow Jesus with our lives for the rest of our days. God the Righteous judge He is gives us a choice, so in reality God does not send people to hell for He has given a way out, man chooses hell by rejecting Jesus as Lord of their lives. Man chooses sin/selfishness over God. What an awesome loving God we serve!
So today we see God is our Great High Priest, Our Hope, and Righteous Judge! God is amazing. If you don't know God or have questions please ask. I would love to talk to you about my God, He has never let me down!
Tom
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