BY GREG CRUM
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
Access to the Father: what an undervalued, overlooked privilege in our times! Modern believers live in an age in which we have always had a way to communicate with God. We have his written Word to know His thoughts and desires. We have an ever-ready line of communication from our spirits to the Father of all spirits through the working of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. These are blessings of a magnitude that our finite minds can’t fully comprehend, blessings that peoples of ancient times would have given everything they owned for. Yet, we so often take them for granted.
As we pass Thanksgiving and enter this Christmas season, I encourage you to cherish and utilize even more the ability Jesus provided us to be able to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” and obtain from God the mercy and grace that meets every need!
Friends, you do realize what a wonderful Savior we have, right? Of all the heroes of men, there has only been one that could rightfully hold the title of King of kings, Lord of lords, and Redeemer of all mankind—that’s our Jesus! All others fall short; it’s not even close really. That’s why Colossians 1:18 declares that in all things Jesus should have the “preeminence,” or in other words, first place.
Sadly, that’s not Jesus’ position in many hearts and minds. The devil has worked overtime down through the years spreading “fake news” about Jesus, doing all he can to soil the good name and amazing deeds of the Hero of all times. So many have taken the bait to the point that they don’t even believe Jesus existed (despite the overwhelming evidence he did). They rob themselves of the victorious life Jesus desires to gift them. Jesus truly is the Savior of all mankind, but they reject this only avenue of salvation and keep themselves from enjoying life more abundantly.
We need to help these people, right? What can we do? Well, we can help these people become “Gos-pilled” and see things the way they really are. We can let them know who Jesus is according to the Scriptures, who he said he was, and, importantly, who our daily lives say he is in us.
So, who is Jesus really? That’s what we’ve been investigating the last several weeks. We’ve looked into the Word of God and taken note in particular of who Jesus himself said he was. This testimony is the evidence that will stand the test of time and that should form the foundation of our personal beliefs about Jesus.
Now, the last couple of weeks we’ve taken the time to understand what Jesus meant when he declared that he was the “Way.” Among other things we’ve come to understand that it means he’s our way out of sin and destruction and our way forward toward a better life.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is our way out and forward, and still so much more than that. In addition, Jesus is our way up. Colossians 3:1-4 encourages us to set our attention (affection) on things above, not on earthly things. It’s a plea that would bring us so much more peace on this earth if we would only heed it! All our doubts and fears would vanish if we would get our eyes off of each other and onto our Heavenly Father. How can we do this? A purposeful walk with Jesus is the only way I know how. A walk with Jesus is a life of focus on the greater reality, on God’s eternal Kingdom, and on our position with Him. Jesus is our only way up to a higher standard of living.
Jesus is our way out, our way forward, our way up, and finally, and perhaps most importantly, Jesus is our way to access the Father, who is greater and more to be desired than all the blessings He provides. John 14:6 states that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We have access to the God of the Universe through the Way that is Jesus. Because Jesus is the Way, forever and beyond, we have an “open door” policy with our Creator. We have the “in” that frees us from seeking favors from men. Now there’s a throne of grace always available to us to find grace to help in our times of need!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.