Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore,
since 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 cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One
who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without
sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of
grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
This last Sunday, I had the
privilege of attending another Sunday Worship Service with my father at his
church and hearing Pastor Herk’s blessed message on fervent prayer. He preached
that God encourages us to pray in the spirit. But, the democratic ideals on the
secular equality of all peoples seems to denigrate thoughts of God. Rather than
the high and holy almighty Creator that He is, we’ve seemed to have brought Him
down to earth and made Him sort of chummy. Instead of the all-consuming fire,
He is just a compassionate friend. With a “User Friendly” Deity, we have come
to de-emphasize the role of priests.
The Patriarch Abraham wrote
in Exodus
19:5-6 that God said, “Now
then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you
shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the
earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.” In this sense, in the modern church, a priest
is a person who is set apart or consecrated to the ministry of the gospel; a
kingdom worker in the mission field of the world for God’s purposes. A priest
bridges the gulf between holiness and sin. And the Bible tells us that Jesus
Christ is our great High Priest. The Christian church is the body of Believers
with Christ as the head.
The God of the Bible is
great, awesome and exalted. “Therefore
let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.” Praise,
honor, glory and adoration be to our Lord God Almighty. Our heavenly Father is
with eyes too pure to look on evil; un-defiled with perfect wrath for sin and
transgressors. “Let me bend your ear, I have something important to pass along
to you. Incline it so that you can hear me.” We all would like to bend the ear
of someone powerful, one who could take action and institute improvements. That
is why the frequently repeated commands to pray will stir our soul. I hope that
we have better ear to bend than God’s ear. God is all-seeing, all-knowing,
ever-present and no one can stop or escape His all-powerful hand. He is in
control of all things.
.What Right do we have as
sinners to stand before a just and holy God and ask anything? But, God wants us
to bend His ear and talk in pray to Him. Christianity, instead of eliminating,
provides the ultimate priest in Jesus Christ, who encourages us to pray
fervently. Where do we find the faith to bend the ear of Almighty God of
Heaven? We find it in the High Priesthood of Jesus. Pastor Herk gave us six
ways that we can and should pray fervently. (1) We must pray fervently because
Jesus is our mediator, stands between us and God. We honor God’s provision of
Jesus by risking the chance of fervent prayer. Sin repulses God, so He provided
the Messiah Jesus Christ to stand between us and Him as our High Priest. Prayer
honors the choice of the Father and the work of His Son.
Let’s continue Pastor Herk’s
message of bending God’s ear with fervent prayer in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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