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This is our last day, day five together of our look through Hebrews chapter
four. We're going to look at verses 14 to 16 today. We've been talking this week
about entering into God's rest and been focusing in the first verses of this
chapter upon the promises of God.

They didn't in past times enter into the promised land, the writer of Hebrews
says. Because they didn't enter in doesn't mean the promise isn't there anymore.
God has a place of rest, a place of promise for you to enter into.

But these last verses he reminds us that it's not just about God's promise, it's
also about God's presence in our daily lives. To enter into God's rest, you need
to trust in Jesus Christ as your high priest. The picture behind the high priest
is the picture of entering into God's presence.

The truth behind the high priest that Jesus is our high priest is the truth that
you and I can enter into God's presence. In the Old Testament, in the tabernacle
or in the temple, the high priest was the one who brought the people before the
presence of God. That's what would happen once a year.

We'll talk about that more later as we walk through the book of Hebrews as he
went and offered sins for the people. Jesus now is our great high priest. He is
the one who brings us into the presence of God.

What does it mean to be in this place of rest? It means that you are in God's
presence, trusting God's promises. Listen to what verses 14 to 15 have to say
about this.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who's gone through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have
one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. " We
have, these verses tell us, and I love the phrase, a great high priest.

Not just a priest, a high priest. Not just a high priest, but a great high
priest. He is the only great high priest.

Israel had a high priest that served year after year. Jesus is the great high
priest, the final high priest. This opens a discussion, what he talks about here
in verse 14, of Jesus as our high priest that goes from here all the way through
chapter 10.

That's how important this concept is. This truth is in our lives. In the Old
Testament law, God set out a strong system of priesthood with only one high
priest.

The one who offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. The one who was a
mediator in that sense between people and God, based on the law that God had
given. Notice what it says about Jesus in these verses.

Jesus has passed through the heavens, and then notice it also says Jesus has
been tempted in every way, just as we are. You see God and you see man in that.
Jesus passed through the heavens.

He's gone back to sit at the right hand of the throne of God. The priest in the
Old Testament, he would pass through the temple, the place of the presence of
God. Jesus is in heaven.

He is at the place of the presence of God because he is God. But also Jesus has
been tempted as we are. He is man.

Now let me just remind you, a couple of weeks ago we looked at some truths about
temptation, and this is an opportunity to remind ourselves of those truths
because we face temptation every one of us every day of our lives. Remember we
learned a couple of weeks ago, and based on these verses we learned the same
thing. We learned that temptation will always be a part of our lives.

Jesus was perfect, and yet he was tempted. So if I think I can reach some state
of perfection where I won't be tempted, I'm not going to be more perfect than
Jesus. The moment you think I'm above that temptation now, you've got caught up
in pride and you'll fall.

You've seen this happen in your life if you've been a Christian any amount of
time. Never think you're above a temptation because it will always be a part of
our lives. Second truth, it's not a sin to be tempted.

It's a sin to give in to the temptation, but it's not a sin to be tempted. See
here, Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. Erwin Lutzer said, "Temptation is not
a sin, it's a call to battle.

" Don't let Satan fool you into thinking it's a sin. Jesus was tempted, yet he
never sinned. You have a choice.

Truth number three, we all face the same temptations. Jesus says about Jesus,
"He was tempted just as we are. " We all face the same type of temptation, not
exactly the same people, but the same type of temptations.

Temptations towards power and popularity in our lives. Temptations toward
possessions, wanting to have more things in our lives. Temptations toward
pleasures, wanting to have more pleasures, more fun, more sexual pleasure, more
lustful pleasure, more pleasure that revolves around just entertainments,
whatever kind of pleasure is your kind.

Temptation to say, "That's where my needs are going to be met. " If you feel
right now, you're facing a temptation, and you feel like nobody understands what
I'm facing, I want to say to you, Jesus does. Jesus does.

He's been through it. You can talk to him about it. We all face the same
temptations.

And truth number four, there's always a way of escape. Jesus was without sin,
and him who was without sin, we can talk to today, he can show us a way to face
that temptation. He can't make you perfect until you get to heaven.

He won't make you perfect until you get to heaven. That's his choice. We grow
while we're in this world, but we can choose to say no to a temptation.

First Corinthians 10 13 says, "God has provided a way out. " I believe that
verse. He has provided a way out.

That promised way of escape is not based on your willpower or your knowledge of
scripture. It's based on the faithfulness of God. So here's Jesus, our great
high priest.

Here's Jesus who has gone through the heavens, who's been tempted in every way
just as we are. What does that have to do with living in this place of rest in
God's presence? Well verse 16 tells us exactly what it means when it comes to
living in God's rest.

Listen to verse 16. "Let us then, since we have a great high priest who's passed
through the heavens, who's been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
" Verse 16, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

" Because Jesus is our great high priest. We can approach God. We can approach
Jesus with confidence.

Let us approach the throne of grace. I love even the tenths of this verb in the
Greek language. To approach the throne of grace, it's a present tense verb,
which means you keep on approaching.

It's a continual action in your life. You don't just do it once and then you're
done. It's a continual choice.

Continually approach the throne of grace with confidence. That's not born of
pride. "Wow, look at me, God.

I'm such a great Christian. I can come before Jesus. " Who would ever get to
that place?

No, it's based on praise. It's not based on yourself. It's based on Him.

And when you do that, when you do that, there you will find mercy. There you
will find grace. There you will find rest.

As we said earlier this week, all of us need in our lives to come to a place
where for the first time we let go of our work, our trying to get closer to God
based on what we do, and we come to a place of rest. We come to the throne of
grace and we recognize we need His forgiveness, His life. If you don't know
where to turn, cry out for His mercy.

And then in that place of rest that we've come to, we must make the choice day
by day to do exactly what this verse says. Keep approaching the throne of grace
with confidence. One of the reasons people don't live in God's rest is because
they don't feel like they can live in God's presence.

Something you've done, some way that you feel about yourself makes you think,
"Well, that's okay for other Christians, but I'll just live just right outside
of God's presence. Maybe every once in a while I'll dip my toe in, but I won't
be that close because He wouldn't want me that close to Him. Or maybe I don't
want to be that close to Him because of some sin that I'm still considering
leaving a part of my life.

" Approach the throne of grace with confidence. You can be confident that you
can approach Him, not based on what you've done, not based on who you are, but
based on what Jesus has done, based on who Jesus is. He's opened the door for
you and I to approach the throne of grace.

What does it mean to live in this place of rest? It means you are in God's
presence, trusting God's promises. Let's pray together.

Jesus, that's where I want to live. So often I don't live there. I'm focused on
what I want or what I'm thinking or what I need.

Or I'm just focused on some little activity of life and I miss it. I miss who
you are. I miss the fact that even in that little activity, you want to be right
there with me.

Lord, I pray today for myself, for each one of us, that what this verse has just
told us to do, you would, through your Spirit, empower us to do right now in our
minds, in our hearts, in our spirits. Right now, we approach the throne of grace
with confidence. Lord give us your mercy.

Give us the grace that we need to help us in our time of need. Bring us into a
place of your rest, your presence, your promises. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Next week, Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5, we're going to begin to
unpack what it means for you personally, every day in your life, what it means
for you personally, that Jesus is your great high priest.