The following is a sermon transcript from our Sunday Service at The Rock Church in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Each week, we gather to worship, learn from God’s Word, and grow together. This transcript is provided as a free resource to encourage and equip you in your walk with Christ. While you’re welcome to read and share this content for personal use, we kindly ask that it not be redistributed or published elsewhere without prior written consent from The Rock Church.
Introduction
The kids are asleep. It’s a Saturday morning. Nothing is planned for the day you step outside with your coffee and look up at that beautiful sky. It’s quiet for just one moment. And in that moment, the question that I have is, where does your attention go? When all the noise settles down, What is it that fills your mind?
Maybe it’s your marriage. It’s your health, your finances, your family, the burdens you’ve been carrying all week long. And if we’re honest, it’s very easy for our hearts to be consumed by these things. Worry, fear, anxiety, distraction. We live constantly pulled in a thousand directions and before long our eyes slowly drift downward toward the temporary things of this world.
But Hebrews 3 shifts our attention upward. Not away from our reality, not away from suffering, but right through it. The writer gives weary believers one clear command. Consider Jesus. Fix your attention on him. And that’s the heart of our passage today.
Looking to Jesus says, means turning your attention away from the world with its many burdens and onto Christ with all his glory. We could summarize it in four ways.
First, while you can try to be faithful in everything you do, there is only one who is perfectly faithful.
Second, while you may think that you are owed the utmost respect and honor, there is one who deserves the highest honor.
Third, while you think you have authority and control, there is only one who has all authority.
And lastly, while you think you’re keeping yourself in the faith, there’s only one. who will keep you all the way to the end.
The focus of this passage is Jesus. He’s perfectly faithful, deserves the highest honor, has all authority, and will keep you all the way until the end. That is the riches of the gospel.
Point 1: Look to Jesus — The One Who Is Perfectly Faithful
Hebrews 3:1–2
And so with that in mind, let’s look to Jesus and who is the one who is perfectly faithful in all his ways. Let’s read that together. In verses 1 to 2.
Therefore. In other words, because of what we learned last time. Because he is our helper, sustainer, keeper. Therefore, listen. Holy brothers. Holy brethren. You who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus. The apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him, to the Father, who appointed him. Just as Moses also was faithful in all of God’s house.
I want you to remember who you are in Christ. Holy brothers with a heavenly calling. Since we are in Christ, we are united to him. We belong to Christ and to one another. But not only that, we are made holy. It’s not because of anything deserving of that status. but that we are truly set apart for God. It’s his favor, his covenant care that rests upon us. And he not only sets us apart, but he’s also setting us apart. This is that process. This is that formation that’s happening of Christ being formed in you day by day. We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another. And his purpose for our lives reaches far beyond this world.
Hebrews tells us that we share in some very important things. In fact, there’s three places, Hebrews 3.14 says, Chapter 6, 4, verse 4, and 12, verse 8. We share in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, and in His loving discipline. Because we are united to Christ, we share both in His sufferings and in His new life. We belong to Him. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are empowered to serve Him. We are being strengthened in the faith. We are sealed for everlasting life. And because we are truly God’s children, He lovingly, graciously, mercifully disciplines us. Correcting us when we wander. Bringing us safely back to Himself.
As we look at verse 1. we’re told that we also share in a heavenly calling. It’s a calling that comes from heaven and leads us to heaven. It’s the greater spiritual reality that we’re trying to get our attention up there. Stop. Too much down here. Come on. Up, up. Look up to where you’re called to. It’s a high calling. It’s a rich calling. It’s a deep hope. But we got to remember that we are pilgrims and sojourners. This world is not our home. We’re just passing through to a better land.
So why? Why do we do this? Why do we live as if this is it? This is the place where home is on this earth. Let me put it to you this way. Is your marriage forever? Is your job forever? Are your circumstances, are they going to last forever? Of course not.
But pastor, I surely want to be faithful. Yes, of course you do. Because you’ve been bought with a price. So glorify God with your body. But also know that every bit of suffering you face is a reminder to look to Christ. He said it for you. You’re waiting for this to be over when he’s saying, I got you right where you are. Stop trying to look ahead. I have placed that suffering right where it is. So that you would look to me. That’s what Jesus is telling us.
Now what would happen if you had no problems? Your marriage is easy. Your job is a dream. And man, your kids listen to you. Every time you tell them to do something. How quickly we forget our need for Jesus. When things in life are perfectly comfortable. Duncan did an amazing job yesterday talking about water. We take it for granted. You see, sometimes the Lord uses our earthly troubles to remind us this world is not our home.
Christian, there’s a greater reality underneath all of your present burdens. Here’s the reality. God, the maker, has made you a partaker of his kingdom. Whoa.
Pastor, that’s not helping me right now. I need something practical, therapeutic. Give me a solution. Sorry, you’ve come to the wrong church. I can only give you Christ now. I can only show you Jesus to give you, to worship, to hold him out to you. Here he is. Behold him. Treasure him. Worship him. Truly, he is enough.
The Lord is taking you on a pilgrimage to a better country. You don’t need to see the whole story. You don’t need to understand all that he’s doing through your hardships. But every burden is teaching you to look away from this world and on to Christ. And because we belong to him, the author says, consider Jesus.
I remember a friend I had years ago, he used to use this phrase in evangelism, consider Jesus. Yeah, you know, you’ve tried a lot of things. Maybe you should try Jesus. Dear Christian, this is not what the text is saying. He’s not telling you to consider Jesus like you’d consider buying a new car. No, actively, attentively, fix your heart, fix your mind, fix it all on Jesus, on the person of Jesus. It’s like Peter, when he was walking, when he was sinking in the water, he didn’t try to go and swim harder. No, he looked back to Jesus.
And that leads us naturally to another question. How shall we consider Jesus? Well, the author tells us, really it’s, we consider Jesus in His humanity, in His mission, and His priesthood. We consider Jesus in all those three things. This is what we talked about last week. It’s that we have a merciful and faithful high priest who did what? who walked with us in our suffering, is walking with us today, isn’t it so much more comforting when you have somebody that is with you?
When you’re walking through something difficult, you’ve probably said this before, I just need someone or that person to be with me right now. I don’t need them to say anything or to do anything. I just need to know that they are with me right now. And that’s what. Hebrews brings us here. We don’t merely receive help from a distance. I’ll be there in a minute. Tell me about it later. I’m busy. No, we have Jesus himself. Even though we don’t see it yet. Everything as it should be, we see him. And what did we learn before? That is enough.
Jesus: The Apostle and High Priest
Now the author of Hebrews tells us, something surprising about Jesus. Look at verse 1. Consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. This is actually the only place in the New Testament where Jesus is called an apostle. Now, when we hear the word apostle, we think the twelve, the disciples, But the word simply means one who is sent. And no one was sent with a greater mission or authority than Jesus himself.
See, Moses was sent. In fact, Exodus 3.10, that Hebrew word is the same one for apostle. Moses was sent, that one, by God to deliver Israel out of slavery. The prophets were sent to speak God’s word to God’s people. But all of that All of them were only shadows pointing to Christ. Jesus is the true and greater apostle. The one sent by the Father to reveal God perfectly and accomplish salvation fully.
And not only that, he’s also our great high priest. You see, Aaron in the Old Testament represented the people before God. Sacrifices, intercession. But Jesus fulfills that office perfectly. As the apostle, Jesus comes from God to us. As the high priest, he goes before God for us.
Think of the role of an ambassador and a defense attorney. It’s perfectly brought together in one person. An ambassador comes representing the king. He speaks on behalf of the king. And he carries with him the message of the kingdom. But the defense attorney, he stands on behalf of who? The guilty. He represents them. He pleads their case. And that’s what makes Jesus so glorious. As an apostle, he’s God’s ambassador sent from heaven, representing the Father perfectly. And as our great high priest, he stands before the Father, not pleading our innocence, but presenting his cross. He speaks to us from God and stands for us before God. No prophet, priest, or king could do both perfectly. But Jesus can.
And that leads us to our phrase here. Our confession. See that in the end of verse 2? Not merely a written confession, but the confession of our faith in Christ. It rests upon the one who is perfect, representative, perfectly faithful in all that he does. He will never fail because his covenant love never fails.
So what does the confession of our faith tell us? God has spoken through his son. Jesus was sent as an apostle and high priest. As one commentator put it, what God proclaims, we profess. We believe. And since God has said it, we believe it.
Listen, Jesus did not fail in any of his appointments to the Father. Only God can do that. Only God can never fail that. Philippians 2.7 says that he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. He didn’t lose his deity, as some people want to say. He set it aside. Can you imagine? Setting aside your deity? Man, that’s humility. He didn’t use it toward his own advantage. He is still faithful as our mediating high priest to the trust that the Father has assigned him. He is forever making intercession for us. Right now, while you sleep.
And Moses was certainly faithful. We see that in Numbers 12, verse 7. He’s well thought of. Not so with my servant Moses. He’s faithful in all my house. In the Old Testament, God’s house… Now this is where commentators disagree. God’s house referred to his people, his dwelling place. Which is it? The tabernacle and the temple pointed to God dwelling with his people. That’s how he did it. He moved with them, dwelt with them. But now through Christ and by the Spirit, God dwells within his church. You are the temple and the Spirit dwells in you.
So Moses was faithful. He was a devoted servant. He obeyed God’s commands to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He interceded for the people. Man, those grumbly, complaining people. Still interceded for him. But Jesus is better than Moses. Remember what he said when the religious leaders asked Jesus? Remember what he said when they were talking to him? Go ahead, destroy this temple and I’ll raise it up in three days. What are you talking about, Jesus? It took us 42 years to raise this thing up, if I got that right number. Not the physical temple of worship, but his body. On the third day, he was raised in resurrection power and he now presides over God’s house, the church. Not a building, but a people.
Point 2: Look to Jesus — The One Who Deserves the Highest Honor
Hebrews 3:3–4
That leads us to our next point as we answer the question, why should we look to Christ as the one superior to Moses? Let’s read together verses three to four.
For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Much more glory. As the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
Counted worthy… I don’t understand. How could Jesus be counted as something he always was? Listen, we’re talking about his humanity. Of course, the Son of God is, was, and always will be worthy. But remember, Jesus came to do something important. Fulfill all righteousness. Obey the law in every way. Luke 2, verse 52 says, Jesus increased. Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. You see that? In his humanity, he grew in wisdom. Knowing the scriptures, but also obeying the scriptures. In his deity, he knew everything. But in his humanity, he grew and he developed. Just like by God’s grace, we grow and we develop. How? In our understanding of God. As we grow, God becomes bigger and all our problems become smaller.
And since we’re in Christ… That very favor that was being applied to Jesus and he was growing in that stature and understanding has been applied to us. What? You understand that? You’ve been made worthy through faith in Christ. Counted worthy. Any accountants here? You’d understand. We’re talking about Christ’s righteousness accounted to us. Yes, in our humanity, we’re not worthy. We know this every day, fighting sin, sometimes falling, but nonetheless, we are his. He is ours.
So how did the father count Jesus as more worthy, more glorious than Moses? You recall? Jesus lived. Jesus died. Jesus rose, raised from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father. That is the glory that we’re talking about. That is the glory that Jesus enjoys right now at the right hand of the Father. Forty days after the resurrection. To emphasize what?
Why don’t we talk about the ascension of Christ? We talk about his burial. We talk about his life. But we don’t talk about his ascension. It’s important. Because it reminds us that he, Jesus, right now is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for you. Would you say that’s important? I would. I would. And this is exactly how we know that he has been counted worthy of more glory. Glory? Yeah, praise, honor. Jesus has been placed at the highest place, receiving the highest honor.
Why compare him to Moses? I don’t understand. Again, the author’s acknowledging that it’s okay to, to give Moses some honor. It’s okay to give leaders in the church honor. But be very careful when you honor them more than you should. Listen, consider the celebrity culture, celebrity pastor culture in America. It’ll make you sick as you see one leader fall after another who is held up here and then goes down to there. We honor these leaders too highly. It’s dangerous. It focuses, the shift of our focus is from Christ to the man. Platforms grow, accountability shrinks, and before long, you see that abuse of power. You see those financial scandals. You see those moral failures. And guess what? It’s often not just the leader. Congregations begin treating the pastor like a spiritual superhero rather than ordinary under-shepherd cleaning up after the sheep.
And notice what the author does next. He compares the builder and the house itself. Of course, the builder gets more praise and honor than the building itself. Nobody goes into a brand new building and praises the architecture. Oh, I’m praising your new carpet here. It’s beautiful. Or praises the intricate structure. I want to take that home with me and set it up as an altar and worship it. Now, in these structures, in these beautiful buildings and designs, the honor and the glory goes to the architect who designed it all.
Don’t miss what the author’s doing here. He’s showing us something important about Christ. He created all things and all things hold together by the word of his power. Now, some of you might be thinking, Pastor, what happened when the Son of God came down from heaven, became a man, how’s he still holding everything together? I mean, he’s stuck in one place at one time. Listen, his deity was and will always be completely intact. Jesus did not cease to become, cease to be God when he became man. The eternal son took on flesh while remaining truly God.
Now, what is this house that Christ is building? It’s his church. Jesus is doing all the prep work. He’s putting all the materials together according to his divine providence and his wonderful grace. The Bible speaks about all the different pieces of this house. Jesus is the chief cornerstone, holding it together. We are the living stones being built up together. Ephesians 2, 19-20 says, You, you, you, Dearly beloved, you in Christ are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on what? The foundation of what? Of the apostles and prophets, the doctrine, the teaching. And Christ Jesus himself being the very cornerstone. holding that thing together.
If he doesn’t hold that building together, it will come down. It’s the word of God that we stand on. It’s the foundation of our doctrine. It must be set firmly. And we’ve laid that rebar. We poured in the concrete. It’s settled now. We got a confession of faith. And I’ll tell you this, it’s strengthened the church. Brothers and sisters, doctrine unites. Doesn’t divide. And we’re continuing to build, build upon what was laid. But we must never forget that Jesus holds the highest honor over his church. It’s not the elders. It’s Christ. It’s his church. It’s not our church.
Yeah, you will be rejected by men. But you are a chosen and precious living stones. You’re being built up into a spiritual house. You are priests offering spiritual sacrifices of your bodies, of your worship, which is what? Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Listen, Moses was not the founder of the house. He didn’t found the temple or the tabernacle or the people of Israel. No, no. He was simply part of it. He played a part in it, just like we do as a living stone. Let’s never get to the place where we honor a man more than we honor Christ. Otherwise, it’s just idolatry. It’s misplaced trust. And this is exactly why honoring Christ above men matters so deeply in the church. This is why we’ve got to build the church upon sound doctrine and Christ, who is the cornerstone. Leaders are going to come and go, but Christ is building his church on this rock. Not Peter, but the rock of his confession, of the teaching. The rock is Christ’s confession. It’s our faith as expressed to us from the apostles and prophets. Moses was just one stone in the house, just like we’re one stone in the church. Living stones. Be encouraged. The Lord is doing a work.
In fact, Ephesians 2.10 tells us that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Guess what? God prepared those works for you beforehand, before the foundations of the world, that we should walk in them. The Christian life is a walk. It’s not a sprint. It’s step by step resting in Christ. Walking in faithful obedience by the power of His Spirit.
Point 3: Look to Jesus — The One Who Holds the Highest Authority
Hebrews 3:5–6a
And that leads us to understand who has the highest authority over the church. It’s Christ. So let’s read that. Verses 5 to 6a. I split the verse in half. You’ll see where. Verses 5 to 6a. Look to Jesus who holds the highest authority over the church.
Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant to testify to the things that were spoken to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house.
Listen, a son is greater than a servant. Pretty obvious. That’s what the author is saying here. Numbers 12, 7 says, Not so with my servant Moses. He was faithful in all my house as a servant. What a man Moses was. Truly. Truly. Scripture says that he was meek and lowly, more than all the people in the face of the earth. That sound familiar? The Lord spoke to him directly, face to face. Not so with the others. They were stuck with the dreams, the visions, the riddles. And yet Moses is just a servant. Can you imagine? A ministering attendant. He’s faithfully discharging all the duties that God has committed to him.
But as Jesus said, what? A servant is not greater than his master. What does that mean? Humility? Submissive discipleship? Shared suffering? Yeah. It’s our calling as believers. But it’s opposite of everything our hearts want. Everything. Everything. Everybody wants power. I want position. I want a platform. I want people to listen to me. I want control. That comes quite naturally. You know the saying, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The New Testament is clear when it comes to this. when it comes to the leadership within the church. Many elders share the burden of shepherding and leading the church. It’s not only healthy, but it’s necessary. The elders, the pastors, are to shepherd, to feed, to care for, to protect the sheep. If one goes down, as one author put it, they’re flying in a V formation. One goes down, the other one just pulls right in and it keeps going.
Moses not only served faithfully, but he bore witness to the coming Messiah. Look closely at verse 5. Moses testified to the things that were spoken later. See that? Moses was a type of Christ. Moses led his people out of slavery and into the wilderness. Jesus leads his people out of the bondage of sin and into the promised land. The Israelites failed in their obedience during the 40 years in the wilderness. But guess what? Jesus perfectly obeyed during his 40 days in the wilderness. Moses was a prophet and leader like no other. He was meek and lowly. Pointing to Jesus, who was meek and lowly. Moses was a shepherd of God’s people and Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Moses interceded for the people. Just like Jesus intercedes for you today.
So don’t count it strange when a leader in the church lets you down. There’s no perfect leader. But there’s a perfect Savior who holds all authority in his church. And he is head of the body. He purchased the church with his own blood. He is the source of all truth in life. Matthew 28 says, 18 to 20 tells us that Jesus holds all authority in heaven on earth. And that authority is not distant. It’s not abstract. It extends even over the household of God.
Moses was faithful in God’s house as a servant, but Christ rules over God’s house as a son. The son’s always greater than the servant. The servant performs a vital task, yes. It’s the son who has all the inheritance. The son is the heir. The servant is at best a temporary employee. John 8.35 says, the slave does not remain in the house forever. Then he says this, the son remains forever.
Here’s the good news. You are a son if you’re in Christ. You’re a co-heir with Christ, adopted family member of God’s family. While you serve Christ in humility and lowliness, one day you will be exalted. 1 John 3 says this, Beloved, we are God’s children right now. And what we will be, what we will be, this body, has not yet appeared. But we know, here’s what we know, that when he appears, we shall be like him. Because we shall see him as he is. Man, let that sink over your heart. We shall be like him. Be encouraged. Jesus holds the highest authority over the church. Don’t worry. He’s faithful over God’s house as a son. Look to him. Worship him. Trust him.
Point 4: Look to Jesus — The One Who Will Keep You to the End
Hebrews 3:6b
And so we’ve been looking to Jesus. The one who’s perfectly faithful in everything. The one who deserves the highest honor. The one who holds the highest authority. And now we look to him. As the one who will keep us all the way to the end. Look to Jesus. Who will keep you all the way to the end. It’s verse 6b. Last point. Author says this.
If indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
There’s that word. If. If. It tells us it’s a conditional statement. But listen, don’t misunderstand this. Your salvation does not rest upon you keeping yourself in the faith. It rests upon Christ who will keep you all the way to the end. But here’s the deal. I would be remiss if I failed to mention that not everybody is going to make it all the way to the end. Not everyone who claims Christ, who says they’re a believer, will make it all the way to the end. The only way we can know if someone is truly born again is if we see them in heaven.
Now, does that mean that we’ll never stumble, that we’ll never fall? Of course we will. But pastor, what about those who fall away from the truth? They deconstruct. 1 John 2.19, familiar verse. They went out from us, but they were not of us. If they had been of us, they would have continued with us. 1689 says that some will fall into grievous sins and continue in them for a time. Why? The world, the flesh, and the devil. These are what we fight against every day. But nonetheless, if they are truly in Christ, they will be preserved through faith in Jesus Christ to the end.
You see, there are two ways to look at this part of the verse. On the one hand, it’s comforting. God’s going to preserve you to the end. But the other hand, it’s a warning. Don’t you think we need warnings? Why? This warning is reminding us that it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Some can say, man, I think I’m a Christian. I’m just, whatever, it’s fine. Jesus, I’m just going to be okay. And then they’re not.
The last chapter we talked about the danger of drift. Listen, you need to press on toward Christ. This is not a passive thing. This is active. But at the same time, you need to know that Christ is faithful to keep you all the way to the end. You see those two things? You’re responsible. God’s going to keep you. They’re both happening together. Know this. Christ is faithful to keep you. He will not lose one of his sheep, but it’s very easy to grow spiritually lazy. Oh, Christ is doing all the work. I don’t need to worry about the corruption that lies within. I’m just going to have a little fun over here. You know, you don’t need to really keep watch. You need to understand that taking the grace of God for granted is not a good thing. Thinking it’s an excuse to go on sinning. Yeah, it’s great. He forgave me. I’m just going to keep on keeping on. No, no, no, no. The grace of God has appeared to all men, teaching us not to sin, teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires. How shameful it is to willfully bring reproach upon the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
Remember this, there’s a difference between running headlong into sin and falling into sin. It’s like a child that’s learning to walk. What happens? They’re bobbing around. They stumble. They fall. Did you ever yell at your kid for doing that? I can’t believe it. What’s wrong with you? You just fell again. Of course not. See, each of us has different struggles, different weaknesses. And we’ve got to know that about each other. And we’ve got to encourage one another. We’ve got to walk in the light. Some of us are… are walking in sin, but they’re not walking in the light. Not telling anybody, not confessing it. You’ve got to be wise with our Christian liberties. considering our weaker brothers and sisters, let us never treat lightly the ordinary means of grace that God has provided for us. They are the means for God to strengthen us. Don’t let it be your habit to just kind of slip away, just slipping away from the fellowship, slipping away from the Lord’s Day worship, slipping away from my time in the Word and prayer. It’s by grace that you’ve been saved. Don’t let sin control you. Sin no longer reigns. Keep putting it to death.
We have, as the author says, a confident and rejoicing hope. Why? The prospect of eternal happiness, everlasting joy in the presence of our King. It’s glorying, boasting, rejoicing. I’m going to heaven. Jesus is coming back soon. Lord, I want to be ready. I want to be fighting sin. I want to be looking to Jesus, the author and the finisher of my faith. He is the captain of my salvation, my elder brother, my mediator, my savior. And he’s provided all that I need for life and godliness.
As one commentator put it, the author of Hebrews has very little time for spiritual individualists. You know what I’m saying. I’m spiritual, not religious. I don’t need the church. I got my own relationship with Jesus. I don’t need people. I just need Jesus. On and on it goes. Bottom line, church life is hard. And even more than that, commitment. You mean become a member of this church? No thanks. Why do I need to be a member? Well, where does it say in the Bible, thou must be a member? I’ll just sit back and watch. Why? Who among us wants to be held accountable for how we live? Who among us wants to someone to speak into our lives and call out our sin? Well, here’s what I know. I need that. And I’m thankful that I got that with Ralph and Duncan. They can call out sin. They can be there in the tough times. And they can encourage me to keep looking to Christ.
Conclusion
So as we close, where does that leave us? We started out on your porch in the back on a Saturday morning. And you were hanging. Quiet time. Looking up in the sky. Thinking about where is my attention right now? Where does my mind go when there’s nothing else going on?
Listen, we have seen Jesus. We have beheld the Son of God. We have seen him as a perfectly faithful, deserving the highest honor, holding the highest authority, keeping us all the way to the end. We’ve learned that looking to Jesus is turning your attention away from this world with its many burdens and onto Christ with all his glory.
So let me ask you this. I’ve got a few questions for you. Have you been measuring your faithfulness against Christ? Have you been demanding honor? You better show me respect. Given it to man too heavily? Have you been trying to take control of your life? I got this. I want it to go this way. Or are you just laying down before the authority of Christ and the rest that he wants to give you? That’s just a few questions. I think you could probably put some more in there, but I’m going to try to be not so heavy.
The application is simple. Look to Jesus. Look to him when your burdens and cares begin to overwhelm you. That’s your body giving you a trigger. Anxiety starts to pop, look up. Depression starts to come, look up. Simple prayer, not long, extended religious prayer. Lord, help! Jesus, I want to see you. I’m anxious, I’m worried, I’m fearful. And he meets you there.
Closing Prayer
So we come to Christ now. Let’s have a time of confession. We’re Reformed Baptists, so we believe that confession is good. Not to a priest, but to Jesus. We also want to receive assurance after we’ve confessed. Some of us confess our sin and think then after that, man, I can’t be a Christian if I did all that. Listen, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ. No one, nothing is going to take you from him if you’re in him. So let’s do that now and let’s receive that assurance that Jesus paid it all and all to him we owe.
Our faithful and merciful high priest, Jesus, we come to you confessing our sin. We come admitting that we have tried to seek out control, honor, respect, We’ve sought to have our lives our way. Lord, would you teach us how good it is to rest in you? Would you teach us how wonderful you are? How merciful and kind you are toward us? Lord, we are being deceived every day by this world, the flesh, and the devil. Give us clarity of mind that we’d find our rest in you. And let’s receive together that wonderful assurance that you’ve paid for all of our sin, the past, the present, and the future, all of it put on the cross, declared not guilty. We want to walk in that power, the power of the gospel. the motivation of grace, and the glory of your name and kingdom. So keep us low, Lord. Humble us. Teach us in our suffering and sorrow to keep looking to you, knowing that you will never let us go. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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