Bethel Lutheran Church - Pastor Luke Bernthal Been There; Done That! ; Hebrews 4: 9 - 16; 2009-11-08 The Bulletin (order of service) Text: Hebrews 4: 9 - 16; 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 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. There are times in life when it’s really important to have someone with experience on your side. Times when it’s really comforting to know that this isn’t the first time this other person has gone through this, even though you never have. For example, when you are undergoing surgery for the first time. It’s good to know that even though you’ve never gone through it before the person who’s about to open you up with a scalpel has done this many times. He’s “Been there; done that.” Let me give you an example from my own life. The summer after I graduated from college my friend and I decided to celebrate by going skydiving. I can tell you that it was very comforting to hear that the instructor, who was going to be strapped to my back as we jumped out of a small airplane from 10,000 feet, had done more than 2,500 jumps, had been an instructor for many years, and had even made instructional videos about how to skydive. Trust me, I was very glad to know that this man had “Been there; done that!” (And I’m still standing here today so the landing must have gone just fine, right?) Even in less “life-threatening” situations—from the person you hire to fix the plumbing in your house, to the mechanic you choose to fix your car, or even the teacher who’s teaching your child how to read—it’s always nice to have someone on your side who has experience. Our text for today gives us some great encouragement and comfort along those same lines. We are reminded that no matter what it is we are going through in this life, no matter what it is we are facing—even if we’ve never gone through it before—Jesus has! He’s Been There; Done That! And as our text also reminds us, He’s done it perfectly for you and me. Verse 15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest [Jesus, the Son of God – v. 14] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Think of how important these words are! Think of how comforting and encouraging it is for us to know this! First of all, it means that Jesus has been through it. Whatever it is you are going through, no matter how painful, fearful—even if you’ve never gone through it before and that “fear of the unknown” is gripping your chest—Jesus has Been there; done that! He has walked in our shoes. He became one of us and lived on this earth. He’s been through what we have; He’s been tempted like us in every way. In fact, He’s been through even more than we have! More pain, more sorrow, more loneliness, and more suffering than we could even imagine! Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah reminded us that God the Father was “pleased” to “bruise Him” to “put Him to grief” and to “make His soul an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10)—our sin! Secondly, our text reminds us that not only has Jesus Been there; done that for us He came out victorious for us! During His whole life on this earth, despite all that He went through He never sinned! Not once! Again, verse 15 says that He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He kept the holy Law of God perfectly for us. That is one of the reasons we are standing there righteous before God’s sight. We have Christ’s perfect righteousness covering us. That is why the writer of Hebrews encourages us with these amazing words: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace!” Boldly! Not because we have deserved it or earned it, but rather because Jesus earned it for us and He, our King, is the one who has invited us to come to Him with all our needs and wants. Remember today, and every day, you are standing before a king—the King of heaven and earth. As the words of our next hymn will remind us, “You are coming to a King, Large petitions with you bring!” (459 v. 2 TLH). If you were in need of a large sum of money and you had an astoundingly wealthy relative whom you knew would give it to you if you asked, would you go to him or her and ask for just a couple of bucks? No your need is great so you’d ask for much! In the same way our needs are great, but Jesus our King is greater! “Come Boldly to the Throne of Grace” and ask for much! Jesus loves to hear and answer our prayers. Our text reminds us that at this “Throne of Grace” we “may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (v. 16). “Mercy” and “grace.” I’ve heard those two words defined in a rather memorable way, “Grace” is getting something you don’t deserve, “mercy” is not getting something you do deserve! We find both at Christ’s “Throne of Grace!” We find “mercy” to help us poor wretched sinners who are so often overwhelmed by our weaknesses and troubles. We also find “grace,” God’s undeserved love in Christ, that has fully forgiven us from our sins. What is your need? Is it sickness? Health problems and pain? Financial concerns? Relationship or family problems? Worries and doubts about the future? Fears? Depression? Anxiety? (All of these?) Come, bring it all to Christ’s “Throne of Grace.” He’s been there before! He’s gone through it before too! He’s Been there; done that! He can sympathize! And He will give you “mercy” enough to ease your suffering and take away your pain. What is your need? Is it a heart burdened with guilt over sins you’ve committed? Are you weary and just plain sick of dealing with that sinful flesh of yours? Come, bring that also to Christ’s “Throne of Grace!” There you will find “grace,” His undeserved love, which washes away all your stains in His blood. His sacrifice on the cross has cleansed you from it all; His suffering has taken away the burden of all your guilt and shame; His death has broken sins power over you. Now, He lives, our triumphant, almighty King, to help us with His “mercy” and strengthen us by His “grace!” Jesus has Been there; done that for all of us. He lived for us—perfectly, without sin. He died for us—innocently, to pay for our sin. He rose again for us—victoriously, so that we will live forever with Him! Let us therefore come to Christ’s throne of grace, humbly, confessing our sins and our unworthiness to stand before our holy God, yet boldly, confident that He has invited us and has promised to hear and answer our prayers and give us His “mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (v. 16). Come to the Mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that Heav’n cannot heal! Amen. (Hymn 531 v. 1 TLH) |