Some time ago, when I was looking up job descriptions for various positions in the church, I cam across these:
PASTOR: Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. More powerful than a locomotive. Faster than a speeding bullet. Walks on water. Makes policy with God.
ELDER: Able to leap short buildings in a single bound. As powerful as a switch engine. Just as fast as a speeding bullet. Walks on water if the sea is calm. Talks with God.
WORSHIP LEADER: Leaps short buildings with a running start. Almost as powerful as a switch engine. Faster than a speeding BB. Walks on water if he knows where the stumps are. Is occasionally addressed by God.
YOUTH LEADER: Runs into small buildings. Recognizes locomotives 2 out of 3 times. Uses a squirt gun. Knows how to use the water fountain. Mumbles to himself.
CHURCH SECRETARY: Lifts buildings to walk under them. Kicks locomotives off the track. Catches speeding bullets in her teeth. Freezes water with a single glance. When God speaks she says, “May I ask who is calling?” (Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 1.)
Now, we know who really runs the church. No, just kidding. But it does bring up an interesting question: What do people look for in a spiritual leader? What do they expect, especially when life gets hard and they need some help?
Well, there is no spiritual leader that can provide the support that Jesus can. As much as I, your pastor, really care about you and want to help, there is no one greater than our Lord. So, if you come to me, I’m just going to point you to Him.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews 4, Hebrews 4, where we see how great a help Jesus really is.
Hebrews 4:14 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. (ESV)
When life gets hard and you feel like quitting, DON’T. If you are following Jesus, just hang in there!
PERSEVERE.
Hold fast your confession. Don’t give up your faith, because Jesus is the Son of God.
You see, Jesus is not only your Priest – the one who cares for you and goes to God on your behalf; and Jesus is not only your HIGH Priest – the head of all priests; Jesus is your GREAT High Priest! No other priest in the Bible was ever called “GREAT” – only Jesus. And that’s because He far surpassed any High Priest in Israel’s history.
You see, only the High Priest could enter the holiest place in Israel’s Temple. It was called the holy of holies, and it was separated from the rest of the temple by at thick curtain. It contained the Ark of God, the place where God chose to reveal His presence, so no one dared to even look at it, much less be in the same room with it. It was too dangerous! Some of those who had touched the Ark in the past didn’t live to talk about it.
So only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, and only once a year, and only with the blood of an animal sacrifice to cover for his own sins and the sins of the Israelite people. Even then, the other priests tied a rope around his waist long enough for the other end of it to stick out from under the curtain. That way, if the High Priest died while in God’s presence, the other priests could pull him out without having to risk their own lives. Being a High Priest in Israel was an awesome responsibility and an awesome privilege.
However, Jesus has done much better than that. He didn’t go into a man-made temple on earth; He went into Heaven itself. And He didn’t bring with Him the blood of an animal sacrifice; He brought His own shed blood. And He didn’t go to an Ark which only represented God’s presence; He went into the very presence of God Himself.
Jesus truly is THE Great High Priest, because He is the Son of God Himself, going into the very presence of God Himself, bringing His own shed blood to cover for the sins of the whole world, not just the Israelite people. Jesus truly is THE Great High Priest, and He is YOUR Great High Priest if you are depending on Him.
So don’t quit. Hold fast your confession. Hang on to your faith.
In a Bible study called It Had to Be a Monday, Jill Briscoe writes about the death of a Christian friend. During the funeral visitation, the deceased man's wife and sister stood by the casket, greeting people. The sister kept motioning to her brother's body, saying to each person who came to greet her, “There he is. There he is.”
After some time, when the wife could stand it no longer, she turned to her sister-in-law and, in love, said, “If I believed, ‘there he is,’ I would be miserable.” Then she added, “Do you know what enables me to get through this day? What gets me through is that I know the truth: ‘THERE HE ISN'T.’” (Jill Briscoe, It Had to Be a Monday; www.PreachingToday.com)
His soul is in the very presence of God Himself, because he trusted in the Son of God, who died for Him and rose again. My dear friend, that assurance is yours too if you have trusted Christ with your life.
So when life gets hard and you feel like quitting, DON’T. Instead, hold fast to your confession; persevere, because Jesus is the Son of God. Then…
PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE.
Come boldly to Christ with your need. Don’t be afraid to approach the throne of grace, because Jesus suffers with you.
Hebrews 4:15 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. (ESV)
Jesus is not only the Son of God, He is the God who suffers with you and me. The word for “sympathize” literally means “to suffer together with,” so Jesus suffers when you suffer. He has experienced every weakness, every pain, and every temptation you have experienced, except that He never sinned.
That means His temptations went far beyond any temptation you or I have ever faced. Our temptations never get all that strong, because we tend to give into them too soon. It’s like putting your hand over a flame. As soon as you do, you’re tempted to remove it, which you do very quickly before it burns you. Jesus never gave into any temptation, so He experienced the full burn of every temptation until His life was consumed on the cross.
A lot of people often question “WHY?” when they go through times of pain, but God does not seem to be in the business of answering that question. Philosophers and theologians try to answer the “why” question, but their answers are often unsatisfactory. In fact, they usually try to get God off the hook for the problem of pain. God, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be interested in getting off the hook. Rather, His answer to the problem of pain is not to get OFF the hook at all, but to impale himself ON the hook of human pain, suffering with you in the midst of your pain. (adapted from Philip Ryken, When Trouble Comes, Crossway, 2016, pages 95-96; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus is the God who suffers with us, because when it comes right down to it, we don’t really want an answer to the question “why”; we want a person, someone to walk with us through the pain, and Jesus is that person.
In an article for the Christian Standard magazine some time ago (2007), Matt Proctor wrote about how his 5-year-old, Carl, and his 3-year-old, Conrad, loved it when he dressed like them. They would put on jeans and a blue T-shirt and then ask him to put on jeans and a blue T-shirt. When he did, they said, “Look, Dad – same, same!”
When Matt played living room football with his boys, Conrad (his 3-year-old) would not let him play standing – so big and scary. Instead he insisted that Matt get on his knees. Then, when Matt was down at eye-level, Conrad put his hand on his dad’s shoulder and said, “There. See, Dad – same, same.”
That summer, Matt scraped his leg working on his house. When Conrad fell and scraped his leg, he pointed at his dad’s scab along with his own and said, “Hey, Dad – same, same.”
Here's the point… God himself has felt what we feel. When He became a man, He got down at eye-level and experienced what it's like to be tired and discouraged… He knows what it's like to hurt and bleed. On the cross, Jesus experienced the pain of loss, separated from His Father for the first time in all eternity.
In your pain, you may be tempted to say, “God, you have no idea what I'm going through. You have no idea how bad I'm hurting.” But God can respond, “Yes, I do.” He can point to your wounds and then to his own and say, “Look: same, same… I know how you feel. I have been there, and I am with you now. I care, and I can help.” (Matt Proctor, “Carols for Any Season of Suffering,” Christian Standard magazine, 12-23-07; www. PreachingToday.com)
Jesus is the God who suffers with you in your pain, so don’t be afraid to go to Him for help. In fact, come boldly to Christ with your need. Pray with the confidence that He really cares.
Hebrews 4:16 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. (ESV)
I like the way Nancy Spiegelberg expressed it: “Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You with my empty cup uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known You better I’d have come running with a bucket” (Erwin Lutzer, Failure: The Back Door to Success, p.117).
In your time of need, don’t crawl to the Lord with a tiny little cup; come running with a bucket, because He wants to fill it with all the mercy and grace you need.
When life gets hard and you feel like quitting, DON’T. Instead, persevere in your confession of faith, because Jesus is the Son of God; then pray with confidence, because Jesus suffers with you. Finally, when life gets hard…
OBEY WITH CONVICTION.
Follow Jesus in the full assurance of faith. Do what He says, because you believe in who He is.
First, Jesus has the authority to serve as your High Priest forever, because God appointed Him to that exalted position.
Hebrews 5:1-4 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. (ESV)
A High Priest cannot appoint himself to that position. God has to appoint him; God has to call him to serve, just as he called Aaron, Israel’s first High Priest. God called him to offer sacrifices for sins and to deal gently with the sinner.
That’s what the priests in Jesus’ day were supposed to do, but when they caught a woman committing adultery, they wanted to stone her. They brought her to Jesus and told Him, “The law says, ‘Stone her!’” But Jesus said, “Let Him who is without sin cast the first stone.” They knew they were all sinners. In fact, as eyewitnesses to the act of adultery, they were complicit in that very act, so they all walked away one-by-one. Then the One, the only One, who had a right to condemn her said, “Where are they? Did no on condemn you? And she replied, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I… Go and… sin no more” (John 8:1-11).
Jesus was doing what the priests should have done. He was dealing gently with the sinner, and He’ll do the same for you. So don’t be afraid to go to Him no matter how badly you have sinned. Don’t be afraid to admit your sin and find forgiveness. Jesus won’t excuse your sin, but He won’t condemn you either. Instead, He’ll deal gently with you, urging you not to sin any more.
That’s what God called the High Priest to do, and that’s what God called Jesus, the Messiah, to do, as well.
Hebrews 5:5-6 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (ESV)
These are quotes from two Messianic Psalms. The first on is from Psalm 2, where God appoints the Messiah as King. The second is from Psalm 110, where God appoints the Messiah as Priest forever! God appointed Jesus to His position as High Priest, so He has the authority to serve in that capacity.
More than that, Jesus has the ability to save forever, as well, because He suffered on your behalf.
Hebrews 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (ESV)
This is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he sweat great drops of blood as he agonized in prayer. He was facing the cross, crying out to His Heavenly Father, who was able to save Him from death, or better OUT OF death.
“And He was heard”, the Bible says right here. In other words, God answered Jesus’ prayer and granted His request, but how can that be if Jesus ended up dying on the cross? Well, Jesus did die, but God saved Him OUT OF death. That is to say, God raised Jesus from the dead! But first Jesus had to suffer that horrible death. Why?
Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. (ESV)
In the original Greek, it says, “He learned THE obedience through what He suffered.” In other words, Jesus experienced the ULTIMATE obedience. He obeyed God to the point of death, even death on a cross. It was absolutely necessary if He was going to become our complete or perfect Savior.
Hebrews 5:9-10 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)
The eternal priest becomes the source of eternal salvation! Through His ultimate obedience on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Now, he grants eternal life to anyone who puts their trust in Him. Jesus has the ability to save you forever, because he suffered and died for you on the cross.
In her book The God Who Hung on the Cross, journalist Ellen Vaughn tells the gripping story of how the Gospel came to a small village in Cambodia. In September 1999 Pastor Tuy Seng (not his real name) traveled to Kampong Thom Province in northern Cambodia. Throughout that isolated area, most of the villagers were Buddhists or spiritists. Very few had even heard of Christianity.
But much to Seng's surprise, when he arrived in one small, rural village, the people warmly embraced him and his message about Jesus. When he asked the villagers about their openness to the gospel, an old woman shuffled forward, bowed, and grasped Seng's hands as she said, “We have been waiting for you for twenty years.” And then she told him the story of the mysterious God who had hung on the cross.
In the 1970s the Khmer Rouge, the brutal, Communist-led regime, took over Cambodia, destroying everything in its path. When the soldiers finally descended on this rural, northern village in 1979, they immediately rounded up the villagers and forced them to start digging their own graves. After the villagers had finished digging, they prepared themselves to die. Some screamed to Buddha, others screamed to demon spirits or to their ancestors.
One of the women started to cry for help based on a childhood memory—a story her mother told her about a God who had hung on a cross. The woman prayed to that unknown God on a cross. Surely, if this God had known suffering, he would have compassion on their plight.
Suddenly, her solitary cry became one great wail as the entire village started praying to the God who had suffered and hung on a cross. As they continued facing their own graves, the wailing slowly turned to a quiet crying. There was an eerie silence in the muggy jungle air. Slowly, as they dared to turn around and face their captors, they discovered that the soldiers were gone.
As the old woman finished telling this story, she told Pastor Seng that ever since that humid day from 20 years ago the villagers had been waiting, waiting for someone to come and share the rest of the story about the God who had hung on a cross. (Doris I. Rosser & Ellen Vaughn, The God Who Hung on the Cross, Zondervan, 2003, pp. 35-37; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus had saved them from the Khmer Rouge for a time. Now, He could save them for all eternity after they heard the rest of the story and put their trust in Him.
Jesus has the authority to serve forever as your High Priest, and Jesus has the ability to save forever as your Complete Savior.
There can only be one response, and that’s to obey Him. Follow Him and do what He says.
Verse 9 says, “He became the source of eternal salvation to all who OBEY him.” That’s the obedience of faith, because your behavior always reflects what you believe. If you truly trust Jesus with your life, you will let Him have full control of your life.
John Ortberg suggests that it’s like driving a car. He says it was a “scary day” when he and his wife took their first child home from the hospital. He put her in the car seat in the back of the car, then got in the front seat to drive. She was so small even the baby seat was way too big. Ortberg says, “She looked so fragile to me that I drove home on the freeway going 35 miles per hour with the hazard lights flashing the whole time.” That first day, with his new baby girl in the car, was a scary day for him.
The next “scary day” for him was when she turned 16. That’s when he when handed her the keys. That’s when she moved from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. Up until then, HE was in control. He chose the destination. He chose the route. He chose the speed; but when he gave her the keys, SHE was in control. If he trusted her to drive the car, he had to let her take control.
A lot of people find Jesus handy to have IN the car as long as he's in the passenger seat. After all, they might require his services. If they have a problem, it’s nice to have Jesus around to take care of the problem, but they’re not so sure they want Jesus to drive. That’s because they don’t really believe in Him. They don’t trust Him enough to be in control. (John Ortberg, True Freedom, sermon on www.PreachingToday.com)
Have you invited Jesus to come IN to your life, but you don’t let Him choose the destination; you don’t let Him choose the route; you don’t let Him choose the speed. Then don’t kid yourself. You haven’t really trusted Him with your life. What you need to do is truly trust Him and give Him the keys. Believe in Him enough to let Him take control of your life. Have enough faith in Him to follow and obey Him.
After all, you’re not turning your life over to some 16-year-old kid. You’re turning your life over to the One who has the authority to serve forever as your High Priest and the ability to save forever as your Complete Savior.
So when life gets hard and you feel like quitting, DON’T. Instead, persevere in your confession of faith, because Jesus is the Son of God. Pray with confidence, because Jesus suffers with you. And then Obey with conviction, because you truly believe that Jesus is your Complete Savior.
And if you don’t truly believe, I invite you to trust Christ with your life right now. Turn the keys over to Him and let Him drive from now on. Find your hope in Christ alone, not in your own efforts.
