Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Jesus did not come to earth as the Savior.
so that he could figure it out and find out for himself what we were going through. It's important that he come to earth and be a sympathizing high priest so that we would know he understands. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how Jesus pleads your case before the throne of God.
Now here's doctor Graham with his message. The Christ of Christmas present. Begin finding in your Bibles Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. The scripture says, in fact, in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus is the same yesterday, today.
and forever. Always and forever. Past, present, and future. Jesus is Lord, Lord of life, and Lord of all. At this season of the year, we talk about the advent.
Maybe you're not familiar with the term advent. Um the Advent season or an Advent devotional.
Well, the Advent is actually on the church calendar leading up to Christmas and the opportunity for us to celebrate in Advent, and the word means Appearance. The word advent simply means Appearance. And we're about to see once again in our passage That. The writer of Hebrews points out three appearances of Jesus. Three advent of Jesus.
Three times Christ has appeared, once as prophet, Always as priest and forever as king. He is prophet. He is priest. And he is king. I heard about a family that was taking a trip for Christmas going to see relatives.
So they filled up the SUV, filled the tank full, and They put all the packages carefully in the SUV. The dad even had a playlist so that the Christmas music could be going all the way to their destination, plugged in the GPS so they could know exactly how to get there. Everything was done. Everyone was in the car. They pulled out of the driveway, and about halfway.
Down the block, the mother screamed. We forgot the baby. You just can't. Do that. But I think at Christmas we do it often.
We trim the tree, decorate it. Light the house. We shop till we drop. We go online, Amazon is rolling their trucks, we're maxing out our credit cards. We're going to all kinds of parties.
But so often We forget the baby. We forget the one. About whom Christmas is all about. The Lord Jesus Christ.
So, our purpose in this message series, Jesus, Prophet, Priest, and King, is to keep our focus on Jesus. Don't forget. the baby. Don't forget Jesus.
So beginning in verse 24 of Hebrews chapter 9, for Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, that is, a human temple. Which are copies of the true things. But into heaven itself.
Now to appear, that's our word, appear or appearance, advent. This is really The daily advent of Christ, now to appear, Christ presently to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own. For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world, but as it is, he has appeared once for all. And this is the first appearance for Jesus.
He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages. This is the incarnation to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Jesus was born to die. To sacrifice his life for us. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear for the sins of many, and here's the third time, will appear.
A second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. Jesus is coming again. The next appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ is Christmas future. We'll be talking about that the next time. He comes as priest, he comes as prophet, but one day, and one day soon, he is coming again as king.
It means that God is with us. That's the incarnation. And it means also that God is for us. That's the intercession. Of the Lord Jesus Christ today.
what he is doing Today, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. We learned that the last time. He is the promised one, the prophet, who fully and completely revealed the word of God. He is the word. He proved his words.
By his resurrection, he then ascended into heaven before the eyes of his disciples and disappeared into eternity. To serve as our eternal. High priest. That's what we're learning in Hebrews. That Jesus is superior to the priest.
He's superior to religion. He's superior to the angels. He's superior to Moses and the patriarchs. Jesus is the superior Savior.
So today, the Christ of Christmas is in the midst of the throne of the universe. But the question is. What's he doing? What is Jesus doing now? It's interesting, the sacred books of.
Other religions do not address what their dead leaders have been doing. No one has a clue as to what Muhammad may be doing or Buddha or Zoroaster. All of these dead religious relics from the past. Nobody knows anything about why they're gone or where they have gone. But the New Testament, the Bible, is very clear to tell us what Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, is doing.
And that is that he ever lives. To make intercession, that is, to pray. For us to make intercession for his saints. Though in heaven and on the throne of the universe, He has not forgotten us. You may have forgotten him.
But Jesus Never. Not one time. has forgotten you. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, He knows your name, He knows your need, and He is praying for you, pleading for you. Uh a priest.
A high priest, or really any kind of a priest, is an advocate. providing access Between Men and God, women and God. It's an advocate. As though an attorney, attorney. As the priest.
Our Lord Jesus represents God to man. And he represents Man To God. As the pure and perfect God-man, He is uniquely And totally qualified for this role. As our counselor, Advocate? As our Comforter.
As an earthly, perfect deity. On earth, he was perfect deity, and in heaven, he is also perfect humanity. Because I remind you, as we learned in a message earlier, on Jesus, our high priest, He is our Messiah, He is our man, the God-man in heaven. He is still Touched. By the feelings of our weakness.
And he still understands. And that's what the scripture says. In fact, I want to show you a few more verses about Jesus the high priest. Turn in Hebrews back to chapter 4, verses 14 through 16. Very important.
Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed into the heavens. That's his ascension, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. That is, don't give up, keep persevering, don't ever quit, don't ever go back. Because we have a high priest in heaven for us.
We do not have a high priest, verse 15. A high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. The King James puts it, who is not touched. by the feelings of our infirmities. Very picturesque language.
Here simply to sympathize with our weaknesses. But one who is in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Watch this, verse 16. Let us then, therefore, with confidence draw near. To the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace in time of.
of need. That's the ultimate. Access. Talk about A friend in high places. We have a friend.
Our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, who sticks closer than a brother. He is our man in heaven, our lawyer, our advocate. And he understands what we're going through. He saves us and he sympathizes. With us.
When it says that Jesus understands and sympathizes with us. Jesus did not come to earth as as the Savior so that he could figure it out and find out for himself what we were going through. He already knew that. He knows what is in the heart of man. He knew that in eternity past.
He knew it in his lifetime. Certainly, Jesus did not come to this earth so that he could understand what it was like to be a man, he already knew. But do you know why he came and why he is so important that he understands? It's important that he came to earth and be a sympathizing high priest so that we would know he understands. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, the Christ of Christmas present.
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Now let's get back to today's message, the Christ of Christmas present. When he speaks of weaknesses here, this is not sin because Jesus, though tempted to sin, never sinned. But he's speaking of Weakness, infirmity. Hurt. Pain.
Suffering. Loss. Did Jesus experience suffering and hurt and pain? And loneliness. And loss.
Sure he did. We love the Christmas carols, so many of them are great lyrics and great songs, both new and old. One of our favorites, of course, that we've sung since childhood, many of us, is Away in a Manger. Beautiful song. It was a lullaby song.
Written by a dad for children. But there's a huge mistake in that song, and that mistake is: the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. That's a ridiculous statement. When Jesus was born as a baby, he cried like every other baby. No crying he makes?
Of course, he cried. As a baby, he cried, and even as a man, he cried. When he saw great loss or pain or suffering, he wept over the city of Jerusalem. He wept at the grave of his dear friend Lazarus. He wept.
He suffered. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And anything you're going through in terms of suffering or pain or loss, Jesus has been there, done that.
So our high priest Is not on some distant deity. You're thinking. When Jesus left, he just left us. No, he never left us. He lives for us.
The Bible says Quoting our Lord, I will never. Leave you or forsake you. And it's written in an emphatic. Chapter 7 of Hebrews. Verses 24.
25, 26, but he holds this priesthood. Permanently, the ancient priests, the Old Testament priests, they turned over and over as they died, and there was a succession of priests coming and going. But Jesus is the permanent priest because he continues forever. Consequently, As a result, Don't you love verse 25? Let's say it out loud.
He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Love this. He is able to save To the uttermost. You know what that means?
Oh The way. The old street preacher used to say, He'll save you from the guttermost to the uttermost. All the way home. All the way to heaven. He will save completely.
This is how we can know as believers. Because of the intercession of Christ for us, that Though we may sin and we do, we can never lose our salvation. Because Christ Is interceding. He is praying. For us.
And in praying for us, just as he prayed for his disciples in John 17, you can look it up. In John 17, he prayed that God the Father would keep these from the devil, that he would secure them and grip them in his hand. And in that same prayer, it says, and I pray not only for these, but those who will believe their word. That means you and me.
So Christ is praying. He's praying right now. And he's praying as he prayed for Peter that their faith fail not. Do you believe Jesus always gets his prayers answered? Sure he does.
And because Jesus is praying that you're going to make it, even though you think I'm not going to make it, I fail, I stumble, I fall, I sin. Yet, because of the prayers and the pleading of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going all the way. We are secure in Christ. He is our sympathizing Savior. He is our.
are securing Savior. What a promise. And 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. The Apostle John is reflecting on this truth.
And Here's what he says: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin. You should probably just read that. Because everyone sins. Do Christians sin?
Absolutely. We do sin.
So if you sin We have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ. the righteous. You want to know what Jesus is doing right now? what he's been doing in heaven these past 2,000 years, what he will do until he comes again or takes you home.
He's praying for you, pleading for you. He is your advocate. He is your ally. He is your access into the very presence of God forever. It's not about you.
It's not about what you can do. But the finished work of Christ and the faithful work of Christ. Even when I am not faithful, He is always faithful to me. He will never let us go.
So, going to heaven is not a matter of me holding on to God or just praying that I can hang on faithfully to the end. No. He's holding on to you. He's holding on to me. And he's holding us in prayer.
He's calling us, he's calling our name before the Father. And so. when we sin and the devil comes along. Who's called the accuser? of the brethren.
When Satan comes along and accuses you and shames you. You just tell him you've got an advocate before the Father. Our future is in God's hands. Don't allow Satan to rob you of the joy of knowing that you are saved.
So many people live today in shame. Confess your sin. And when you do, you have an advocate. And when Satan even may come before the throne of God and say, look at that one. Look at that one right there.
Look what she said. Look what he did. Our advocate in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, our heavenly priest, our high priest, says, Father, this one is mine. He belongs to me. Satan can't have him.
That's a good idea. It's something to celebrate this Christmas. It's not about All the presence under the tree is about his presence in our lives forever. That's what this is all about. He is pleading.
He is prey. He is standing for us, standing with us. He is representing us. There is one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ, mediation, is again a legal term.
It's like an advocacy, it's someone that brings people together. This is our high priest. The psalmist said that he is our ever-present help in times of trouble. Before Jesus left to go back to heaven, he looked at his disciples and through his disciples spoke to all of us. He said, I go to prepare a place for you.
He also said, Go into all the world and make disciples. And when I go, I will never leave you or forsake you. He's always near. He's always perpetually present. He's given us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, within us.
And God is with us. And He intercedes. At the throne of God, He is always for us. Too many people don't understand this great truth that God is for you. Because of what Christ has done.
Many people are very lonely. At Christmas.
Some of you are already feeling The hurt, the pain of loved ones lost. of memories of Christmas past together. I don't think you ever get over some of those. memories that or painful regarding the past. Though God can heal our hearts.
Christmas is lonely for some because they're older, and family is gone, and friends are no longer present. Many are in nursing homes or Adult living, senior adult living homes, and no one hardly ever comes to see them. Children have moved away and Taking the grandkids with them, and you don't see the kids that much. There are a lot of lonely people at Christmas. And we do need the human touch.
There's no doubt about that. But know this. Though you may be lonely, you're never alone. He is always for you, always with you. He is ever present.
He is praying. He is pleading. He is with you. He is dear. and he is dear.
He is praying for your concerns. And he is pleading your case. Before the throne of God. Mediator, intercessor, counselor. advocate and ally.
Jesus. Our heavenly priest. our high priest. That is Christmas present. We're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, the Christ of Christmas Present.
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Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Christmas Eve and 1914. And of course. First World War. was uh beginning.
And it had been, I guess, going a year or so. It was a brutal, brutal war. The First World War, maybe the most brutal and murderous. of all time. But it was Christmas Eve in 1914.
And the Germans, some of the German army sent a message over. to suggest A ceasefire for Christmas. The Americans didn't know if it was some kind of a trick. But they chose to Observe The reconciliation. And for one day Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the German army, the American army came together.
They had some fun together. They enjoyed one another. These were the same people that were shooting and killing one another. A day previous. And for at least a brief portion there, The war was put on hold.
The war was ended.
Now God has declared For the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. and eternal armistas. The war is ended. How? The cross, the resurrection, and this intercession where, with one hand, the Lord Jesus Christ takes holy God, and the other hand he takes sinful man, and he brings us together.
So at this Christmas season, we are so grateful. For this peace That God has declared in the Lord Jesus Christ. We now have peace with God. and we can have peace. with one another.
And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember that when you give a gift to PowerPoint, your gift will be doubled by a generous matching grant.
So text the word match to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about what you'll experience at the future Christmas when Jesus returns. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
