Good evening and welcome back to our Easter Sunday evening service.
I want to, having been there at the cross on Good Friday, seeing the extent of Jesus' humiliation,
then this morning we thought about the resurrection, his victory over sin and death and the good news of that for us.
I want us to go further still and to consider together our risen and exalted Lord Jesus
and to think about how the Holy Spirit connects us to him as we continue our Holy Spirit series.
So I'm going to begin a reading from Revelation chapter 5, looking at verses 6 and 11.
Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne,
encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
There is who is seated on the throne.
It's our lamb, Jesus, the lamb who was slain for us and for our salvation.
And here is the song of those who are around the throne.
In a loud voice they sang, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise.
So we want to join in their voice as it were.
We want to give praise and glory and find strength and hope and encouragement from remembering Jesus,
who is seated on the throne of heaven.
And our opening hymn will help us to do that.
We're going to sing together,
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
In the dawning of the King
He the theme of heaven's praises
Robed in frail humanity
In our longing, in our darkness
Now the light of life has come
Look to Christ who condescended
Took on flesh to ransom us
Come behold the wondrous mystery
He the perfect Son of man
In his living, in his suffering
Never trace nor stain of sin
See the true and better Adam
Come to save the hell-bound man
Christ the great and sure fulfillment
Of the law, in him we stand
Come behold the wondrous mystery
Christ the Lord upon the tree
In the stead of ruined sinners
Ames the lamb in victory
See the price of our redemption
See the Father's plan unfold
Bringing many sons to glory
Grace unmeasured love untold
Come behold the wondrous mystery
Slain by death, the God of life
But no grave could ever restrain him
Praise the Lord, he is alive
What a foretaste of deliverance
How unwavering our hope
Christ in power resurrected
As we will be when he comes
Now let's come to God in prayer
Lord our Father, we praise you
Once again for the gift of Jesus
We thank you that he is
The eternal Son of God
And yet in love for us
And in response to our sin
And our need
You established before the world
Was ever made
That Jesus would come
To become one of us
To live with us
To walk a path of suffering
A path of humble obedience
A path of loving service
That would take him to the cross
Where he would give himself
As the ransom price
So that we might be set free
From slavery to sin
So that we might belong to you
Lord we thank you
For the truth of the resurrection
And we thank you
For the hope of new life
That we find by faith in Jesus
And we thank you too
That right now Jesus is ruling and reigning
That he is receiving all the glory
And praise of the angels
And the saints in heaven
And we thank you that
Although churches are not able
To meet together
All around the world
Your people are coming together
To praise Jesus
As Lord and Saviour
Lord we do ask
For us as a church
That you would sustain our hope
In the Lord Jesus
That we would have faith
Despite the fear and uncertainty
That's all around us
As we walk in the valley
Of the shadow of death
Together
We thank you that Jesus
Is that shepherd
Who has gone there before us
Who has gone beyond it for us
And who now walks with us
Through our pain and suffering
Whatever that looks like
Lord we pray in particular
For any who are struggling
With loneliness
Those who are perhaps struggling
With mental health issues
We ask for those who are facing
Economic uncertainty
That you would give them peace
And that they would come to you
And that you would provide
We pray for those who feel
Far from family
And that causes
A measure of pain
Lord we ask that you would
Draw near
Lord for many of us
As we miss the
The simple
But wonderful privilege
Of being able to gather
For public worship
We ask
That you would sustain
Our faith
As we have to meet
Virtually
That this would be a time
Of you dealing
With us
Helping us to
Deal with our sin
Helping us to
Understand and appreciate
More of the gospel
That you would cause us
To place our hope
In no one and nothing else
Other than
In Jesus
Our Lord and Saviour
And faith in him
And we pray that as we
Read our Bibles
As we
Think about
Where Jesus is now
And what he is doing
For his people
That it would give us hope
To have a vision
Of the glory of Jesus
That you would sustain us
In our hope
Now and in this coming week
Now we pray in Jesus name
Amen
So what we are going to do
Is we are going to read
A short passage
A wonderful passage
From the beginning of
The letter to the Hebrews
So we are going to be in
Hebrews chapter 1
And we are going to look
At the first four verses
So we are continuing
To think about the Holy Spirit
In a believer's life
And here we are thinking
About how
The Holy Spirit
Unites us
To our
Exalted
Christ
So let's see how
The letter to the Hebrews
Begins
In the past
God spoke to our forefathers
Through the prophets
At many times
And in various ways
But in these last days
He has spoken to us
By his Son
Whom he appointed
Aire of all things
And through whom
He made the universe
The Son
Is the radiance
Of God's glory
And the exact representation
Of his being
Sustaining all things
By his powerful word
After he had provided
Purification for sins
He sat down
At the right hand
Of the majesty and high
So he became
As much superior
To the angels
As the name
He has inherited
Is superior
To theirs
You and I
And we're very aware
Of this
We need to feel
Connected
Don't we
We're very fortunate
Living in the age
Of technology
That on one hand
We've never been
More connected
You know
Anywhere in the world
People can
Speak to one another
Can
Tune in
To services
And websites
All over the world
But at the same time
We know that we are
Very much disconnected
Virtual
Is replacing
The real
For this season
For so many
Of our relationships
And how we
Interact with one another
And I wonder how
You are
Finding it
There are obviously
Some advantages
But then there are
Some real challenges
And there's nothing
Quite like
Meeting someone
Face to face
There's nothing
Quite like
Personal contact
Is there
We need to feel
Connected
And then you take
That truth
To our journeys
Of faith
And discipleship
We need someone
To walk with us
To encourage us
To pick us up
When we fall
And one of the many
Ways in which
We feel the loss
Of real church
Versus digital church
Is we don't have
That sort of
Immediate
Face to face
Contact with
Brothers and sisters
Who can speak
The truth to us
Who can
Smile, shake a hand
Give us a hug
Just keep us going
But what we do have
Is we have
The Emmanuel promise
We have the promise
Of God
With us
And that's what
I want us to think about
That the Holy Spirit
Is a gift
From the Father
And the Son
Sent to us
Here to connect us
To Christ
And particularly
To connect us
To the risen Christ
And to recognise
That it's this
Exalted Jesus
Who walks
With you and I
On our journeys
Of faith
Now why is that
Such good news?
Well I hope
As we spend a few minutes
In this letter
To the Hebrews
It will help us
To answer that
Because it's going
To show us
Who is Jesus
It's going to teach us
Where is Jesus now?
And it's going to
Answer the question
What is Jesus
Doing now?
And in all of this
We will find hope
For our faith
You and I
Need to remember
That we have
The friend
In the highest places
The one who
Opens the door
Of heaven
For us
And to us
So let's ask
Our first question
Who is Jesus?
When you read
The New Testament
Letters
You discover
They all have
Their different ways
Of beginning
Their different ways
Of introducing
Their themes
Well Hebrews
Begins
With a bang
And really
Big ideas
Giving us
An incredible
Portrait
Of Jesus
In just a few
Short verses
So we are
Introduced
First of all
To Jesus
As the final
And supreme
Revelation
From God
God spoke
To our forefathers
In different ways
And so God
Spoke
To the prophets
And to those
Who wrote
The Old Testament
That was revelation
Then
But now
The climax
Of revelation
Is God sending
His own son
Jesus
So when Jesus
Comes
And he doesn't
Speak like
The other prophets
Saying thus
Says the Lord
He's saying
Truly truly
I say to you
Jesus speaks
To us
As the word
Of God
As the revelation
Of God
The greatest
The supreme
The final revelation
That we need
And then in verse 2
We're also told
That Jesus has been
Appointed heir
Of all things
What are they all
That the author
Is talking about
He's talking about
Things in heaven
Things on the earth
And things under the earth
So we can say
All means all
And the wonderful thing
For us is
To remember
Jesus is our head
Adam had been our head
But by faith
Jesus becomes our head
And what Jesus
Comes to do
As the second Adam
Is he recovers
And restores
All that Adam
Lost for us
Jesus becomes
One of us
To secure for us
Every spiritual
Blessing
And ultimately
To know that
We will enjoy
Life forever
With God
Just as we enjoy
It now
Life with him
Now we also see
That Jesus
Is the maker
Of the universe
Notice it's
Through whom
God through Jesus
Made the universe
So he's distinct
From the father
Through whom
But he's not less
Than the father
And what we discover
Is Jesus
As God's powerful word
Is also
God's agent
Of creation
So all that we
See
Is created
By Jesus
And we're not
Finished there
Verse 3
We're told
The sun
Is the radiance
Of God's glory
So this week
We have been
Enjoying
Some wonderful weather
So let's think
About the sunshine
And sunbeams
So we know
And we're told
From an early age
That you cannot
Look directly
At the sun
It's too bright
It would damage
Our retinas
But we have
I'm sure
Whatever possible
Been seeing
And enjoying
Its light
And its heat
It does
Us good
Doesn't it
Well here
And in the bible
We're told
That the majesty
The glory
The dazzling glory
Of God the father
Is impossible
For us to look on
We can maybe
Think of
God's words
To Moses
Where he said
To Moses
You cannot see
My face
And live
Seeing the majesty
Of God
Is impossible
Until
It shines
In Christ
So John Calvin
Said
So now we can see
The glorious beauty
Of God
In Jesus
Jesus who is
The light of the world
So that God is truly seen
And known in him
And that idea
Continues in verse 3
Jesus is the exact
Representation
Of God's being
Jesus is the stamp
Jesus is a true
Image of God
To see Christ
Is to see
The father's
True character
So when we read
The gospels
And we see
Jesus in his love
In his love
In his patience
For the disciples
In his love
For those who are
Broken and hurting
In his love
For a sinful world
When we hear
His wisdom
When we see
His mercy
And grace
Extending a touch
To the leper
Welcoming
Those who are
Rejected by others
When we see
His power
Over
Sickness
And
Over
Storms
And over
Death
Itself
When we see
His holy
Hatred
Of sin
When we see
Him acting
To save us
We are truly
Seeing
The character
And the saving
Work of God
Jesus said
I do what the
Father
Shows me to do
I say
What the
Father
Says
We are still
Going
Jesus
We are also
Told
Is sustaining
All things
By his
Powerful word
Just imagine
That for a moment
The powerful word
Of Jesus
Sustains
Everything
In the known
Universe
And in the
Unknown universe
So that if
Jesus took
His eyes
Off the ball
For even a
Second
Our universe
Would collapse
Now there is
A wonderful
Picture of the
Power of Jesus
Right there
Sustaining
The whole
Universe
With a word
And then we're
Told what Jesus
Has done
Verse 3 still
He provided
Purification
For sins
He has
On the cross
Removed
Sin
He has
Washed
His people
Clean
From sin
In his
Perfect
Sacrifice
On the cross
What we
Are unable
To do
By ourselves
To be
Righteous
To be
In a
Place
Where we
Can be
Accepted
And welcomed
By God
Jesus
Provides
By grace
And mercy
In shedding
His own
Blood
For us
So we
Have this
Amazing
Portrait
Here
And our
Point
Is that
By faith
The Holy
Spirit
Unites us
To this
Jesus
It's so
Important
To have
A clear
Idea
Of the
Identity
Of Jesus
To understand
His person
And his
Work
For the
Sake of
Our faith
This
Jesus
Is the
Lord
Who is
With you
And for
You
This is
Your friend
On the
Journey of
Faith
Today
In all
The struggles
That come
With coronavirus
Don't lose
Sight
Of the
One who
Walks
With you
The one
Who is
For you
Truth is
All of
The Christian
Life
From beginning
To end
Rests
On
The power
And the
Love
And the
Grace
Of Jesus
And being
United to
Him
By faith
We look
To our
Risen
And exalted
Jesus
To hold
Us fast
And as we
Said last
Week
The Holy
Spirit
Who wants
Us to
See the
Glory of
Jesus
Wants to
Keep reminding
Us to
Keep raising
Our eyes
Higher
To see
The glory
Of Jesus
The next
Question we
Want to
Think about
Is where
Is Jesus
Now
And we
Need to go
To the end
Of verse
Three
To see
That
Where we're
Told that
After he
Provided
Purification
For sins
He sat
Down
At the
Right hand
Of the
Majesty
In heaven
Where is
Jesus
Now he
Has now
Been
Received
Into the
Glory of
Heaven
He is
Sitting
With the
Father
On the
Throne
Of the
Universe
This is
The
Climax
Of Jesus
Glory
Being
Revealed
Here he
Is
High
And
Exalted
Receiving
All the
Praise
And glory
Of heaven
As we
Heard
In
Revelation
The
Bible
Gives us
Insight
Into the
Journey
As it
Were
Of Jesus
The
Eternal
Son
Of God
Philippians
2
Great
Place
To go
Jesus
Humbled
Himself
By
Becoming
One
Of
Us
He
Humbled
Himself
Still
Further
By
Going
To
Death
On
A
Cross
But
Then
Jesus
Is
Raised
And
Then
Literally
He
Is
Hyper
Exalted
So
He
Has
The
Name
Above
Every
Name
Every
Knee
Will
Bow
And
Every
Tongue
Will
Confess
That
Jesus
Is
Lord
And
So
We
Need
To
Get
This
I
Think
There
Can
Be
For
Us
The
Danger
Of
What
We
Can
Call
A
Frozen
In
Time
Jesus
Maybe
For
Some
Of
Us
Maybe
If
We
Associate
Jesus
With
The
Story
Of
Christmas
We
Can
Think
Of
Jesus
The
Baby
In
The
Manger
Or
Maybe
For
Us
We
Tend
To
Always
Think
In
Our
Minds
Of
Our
Humble
Suffering
Saviour
And
It's
Absolutely
True
And
We
Need
The
Reality
That
Jesus
Has
Left
The
Throne
Of
Heaven
To
Come
And
Be
One
Of
Us
And
To
Suffer
And
Die
And
Then
Rise
For
Us
But
We
Also
Need
To
Remember
That
He
Is
Risen
And
Exalted
In
Glory
That
He
Is
Head
Ruling
And
Reigning
For
Us
So
To
Follow
On
From
This
Morning
Is
My
Thinking
About
Jesus
Right
Now
How do
I need
To
Grow
In
My
Understanding
To
Have
Security
In
Our
Faith
To
Have
Confidence
In
Our
Salvation
We
Need
To
Catch
A
Vision
Of
Jesus
Seated
At
The
Father's
Right
Hand
Because
We
Need
To
Understand
What
Jesus
Is
Doing
There
As
He
Sits
On
The
Throne
Of
Heaven
So
That's
The
Last
Thing
To
Think
About
What
Is
Jesus
Doing
Now
And
We're
Going
To
Bring
Together
Two
Different
Ideas
About
Jesus
That
We
Find
In
The
Book
Of
Hebrews
First
Of
All
Jesus
Is
Sitting
As
King
Of
The
Universe
And
King
Over
His
Church
To
Read
On
In
Chapter
One
In
Verse
Eight
God
Says
About
His
Son
Your
Throne
O
God
Will
Last
Forever
And
Ever
And
Righteousness
Will
Be
The
Scepter
Of
Your
Kingdom
A
Prophecy
From
The
Book
Of
Psalms
And
Then
In
Verse
Thirteen
From
Psalm
110
Showing
Jesus
Far
Superior
To
The
Angels
To
Which
Of
The
Angels
Did
God
Ever
Say
Sit
At
My
Right
Hand
Until
I
Make
Your
Enemies
A
Footstool
For
Your
Feet
Of
Course
The
Answer
Is
None
But
The
Father
Has
Given
That
Position
And
That
Glory
To
Jesus
So
Today
A
Jesus
Is
Sitting
When
Jesus
Is
Sitting
H
Marianne
And he is on the throne protecting and preserving his church.
And when you think about what we just learned about Jesus, it's good to remember no one and nothing is stronger than Christ and his rule.
No opposition, no isolation, no illness, no virus is stronger.
In Jesus, there is hope and there is security that will not fail.
John Calvin speaking about this truth says this,
The kingdom of Christ is not earthly, but spiritual, so that we can patiently live at present under toil, hunger, cold, contempt, disgrace and other annoyances.
And let's include COVID-19 and all the suffering and frustration and struggle that's with that.
And we can do that. We can patiently live at present in that reality, contented that our king will never abandon us and will supply what we need until the war is over and we enjoy the victory.
Our hope rests in our risen Jesus, now ruling and reigning as king.
He will not leave us and he has that all sufficient power that he gives to us to sustain our faith.
And the Holy Spirit in us keeps us united to Christ and keeps us looking to Christ by faith so that we do not lose heart.
It's a real encouragement for us, isn't it, to think that the one who sits on the throne of the universe is the good shepherd.
That he sits there, the one who loves his sheep, the one who feeds his sheep, the one who protects his sheep, the one who laid down his life for the sheep.
With all of his power and glory, he is sitting there to protect and to preserve his church, you and me, if we are Christians.
Our times are in his hands and that's a really safe and comforting reality when we know who Jesus is.
All things work for your eternal good that come from your loving king.
Nothing will separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus who gave himself to purchase you for God and now holds on to you with that powerful loving grip of grace.
And the work of the Holy Spirit is always to help us to see the glory of Jesus, to unite us, to know that we are united to this Jesus.
To see the glory of the risen and exalted Jesus so that you and I would trust him and trust him more.
So Jesus is sitting as the king who rules, but he's also sitting as the high priest to intercede for us.
I want to read just one verse, one other verse, Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25.
Therefore, he, that is Jesus, is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them.
When our boys were smaller, one of my favourite kids' Bible books to read, I can't remember what it was called, but it had various.
On each sort of double page, there were scenes from the life of Jesus.
Jesus had just done something miraculous.
And the question as you turned each page is, what's Jesus doing now?
You know, feeding the 5,000, calming a storm, whatever he was doing.
Last page question, what is Jesus doing now?
And the answer, wonderful answer for children to hear, for us to hear, Jesus is praying for you.
Jesus ever lives to intercede for his people.
So the big theme in Hebrews chapters 4 to 10, Jesus is our great high priest.
So we don't have time to go into that, but Jesus is presented as our Melchizedek.
You might remember Melchizedek from the Abraham story.
He is, Jesus is our priest king, who is now sitting in glory.
He has finished his work of offering sacrifices.
So he came into our world to be our high priest, who would be perfectly pure and sinless,
who would offer a perfect sacrifice, offer his own sinless life in our place,
bearing our sin, taking on himself God's just anger against our sin, against the sin of his people.
He washes us clean of sin.
He removes that guilt and he reconciles his people to God.
So we can be at peace with God through the work of Jesus, our high priest.
So now that work is complete.
So Jesus is sitting on the throne as priest king, having completed that work.
But now what is he doing?
He's representing us to the Father.
He's praying for us.
Jesus is praying for you.
And he's praying for you right now.
When this verse says Jesus is able to save completely, it means Jesus is able to save forever.
Why?
Because he is permanently representing us before his Father.
How does he do that?
Well, Jesus in heaven is still bearing the scars of sacrifice.
And that becomes the basis for his pleading.
Jesus is saying to his Father, welcome them because of my perfect sacrifice.
Welcome them into your love and your grace, to your fellowship, to your family,
because of what I did for them on the cross.
I wonder if you've ever had the frustration or disappointment of being denied access somewhere.
And maybe you forgot a ticket.
You forgot a passport.
Well, you didn't have the right credentials, so you got so far,
but then you came to a closed door and you had no right to go through.
Jesus, your high priest, makes sure you always have access to God's presence.
You always have access to God's grace.
Jesus opens the door so that we can boldly and confidently come to our Father
and to know that he will welcome us.
The Holy Spirit unites us to the risen Christ, and that's so important.
We can be confident to approach God.
You and I can pray in the name of Jesus,
knowing that those prayers will be accepted and perfected and presented to our Father.
He will hear and he will answer in his perfect way.
So we can pray as Jesus prays for us.
We can be confident of God's love today.
When we see who is on the throne, the Father who established Jesus as the high priest,
Jesus the high priest who has finished his sacrificial work
and now is always living to plead our case,
to uphold us, to give us that strength and help that we need.
So today, this Easter Sunday, we can rest.
Despite all that's going on,
despite the fear that we face,
despite the dark cloud that we are under,
we can have joy.
Because by faith, we are united
to the risen and the exalted Jesus.
Now let's close singing one of those psalms that reminds us of Jesus as King.
Psalm 2, verses 1 to 7, and then verse 12.
Why do the heathen nations rage?
Why do the peoples glut in vain?
Earth's kings combine in enmity.
Her rulers join against God's reign.
They take their stand against the Lord
Let us break off their chains from us
With their restraints let us be done
The one enthroned in heaven laughs
The Lord on high derides them all
Then he rebukes them in his wrath
His rage and terror on them fall
The Lord has made it known to them
My chosen king I have installed
On Zion, my own holy hill
He is the one whom I have called
The king then solemnly declares
I will proclaim the Lord's decree
Today your father I've become
You are my son
He said to me
Pay homage to the royal son
Lest you in wrath our side are thrust
For swiftly can his anger blaze
Blessed are all who in him trust
And let's close in prayer
Lord God as we look ahead to a new week
We thank you that in the journey of life
And the journey of faith
For us as Christians
We do not walk alone
Even when we are alone
Even when we feel alone
We thank you that you are for us
For us as our king
Ruling, protecting, preserving
You are for us as our high priest
Praying for us
Pleading our case
On the basis of your perfect sacrifice
So that we can know
Our salvation is sure
And certain
Knowing that in Christ
We will one day be with Christ
That we too will live with glorified
Resurrected bodies
And we will see him
And we will enjoy him forever
Lord sustain our hope
And our joy
In knowing and belonging to Jesus
Amen
Take care
And we will see you again
Soon
Amen
This means
How do we know
Rules
Till