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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Let Us Look to Jesus to Finish What He Started

The Roman armies continuously persecuted both Jews and Christians, and soon the Roman armies would fiercely attack Jerusalem.

Soon unimaginable hunger would grip thousands.

Soon the temple at Jerusalem would be in flames.

And believers needed a message of encouragement, a message of hope that would take them through the challenges ahead.

Because in 70 AD, Titus and the Roman armies would come down and attack that city viciously.

In 65 AD, the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews.

Now, I know that some scholars aren't sure who wrote Hebrews, but the evidence in my mind is that Paul wrote it.

So shortly before Jerusalem was in flames, Paul writes Hebrews.

Because he knows that the temple at Jerusalem is going to be destroyed.

He knows that Jewish Christians still had some reverence for that temple.

Now the theme of the book of Hebrews is this, the sacrifice of Christ is far better than the sacrifice of bulls and goats.

Secondly, the priesthood of Christ is far better than the earthly priesthood.

Thirdly, the heavenly sanctuary is far better than the earthly sanctuary.

So all of this is the result of the resurrection of Christ.

So Paul's whole intent in the book of Hebrews is to direct us from earth to heaven.

It's to direct us to the fact that Christ is alive, the tomb is empty, Our high priest lives.

And Paul does this in 14 lettuce statements.

Not lettuce that you serve on sandwiches.

It is let us statements, 14 let us statements.

And in 14 let us statements, in the book of Hebrews, Paul sets out the power of the resurrection.

We are going to look at 7 of those today because these lettuce statements were given to inspire a group of people that would face challenges.

So these letter statements reveals the eternal truth of how the resurrection of Christ impacts us.

Now the first letter statement shows us that the resurrected Christ or resurrected power provides the strength for us to hold fast to the 1 who's faithfully holding fast to us.

The text, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14 and 15.

Hebrews the fourth chapter, as we study the first of 7 of the 14 let us statements.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest.

The tomb is empty, Christ is alive, we have a great high priest who's passed through the heavens.

Jesus the Son of God first let us statement, read it with me please, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted like we are yet without sin.

The first let us statement says, let us do what?

It means to seize or to persevere or to endure or cling tenaciously as for one's life.

In other words, let us hold fast to Jesus.

Let us hold fast to the truth of God's Word.

You see, life at times is like a roller coaster with its sharp curves, rapidly descending falls, and dizzying heights.

And you better cling on to Christ or else with every ounce of energy you have if you're on the roller coaster of life.

You know, life at times is like a bucking Bronco in the rodeo of life.

If you don't hang on to Christ, you are soon in this rodeo of life, going to be thrown off and have your face in the dirt.

Life at times is like a white water rafting, with the rapids raging and the rafts being tossed.

And if you're on the rapids of life and you don't hold on to Christ, you can end up on the rocks, shattered and bruised very, very quickly.

But our text tells us not only to hold fast, but it also tells us why we can hold fast.

You see, Jesus, the divine Son of God, the risen Christ, understands our needs.

He's experienced loss as we have experienced it.

And in this earthly life, Jesus has experienced every temptation, every loss that we possibly have ever gone through.

And now he's our resurrected Lord, our living savior, our heavenly high priest.

And as we go to Hebrews 10, verse 23, the text tells us why and how we can hold fast.

It says, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

We hold fast to him, but he is holding fast to us.

You see, the reason we can hold fast to Jesus is because Jesus holds fast to us.

Now, wavering is the opposite of holding fast.

It's a weak faith that's up today and down tomorrow.

Holding fast is a commitment that says, I'll never let go to Jesus, because Jesus will never let go to me.

Holding fast is a commitment to never give up, never surrender to the temptation of Satan, to never let doubts destroy our faith, never to be overwhelmed by life's challenges, never to let go of the truths that Christ has revealed in his word.

When I'm so weak, how is it possible to hold so fast?

When my faith at times is wavering, how can I hold fast?

When I vacillate so much, how can I hold fast?

I can hold fast knowing that Jesus is holding me fast.

I can hold fast because my text says that he is holding fast to me.

There is a wonderful hymn that's written by Abraham Habershon.

And the story of that hymn is quite remarkable.

We sing a modern version of the hymn that says, he will hold me fast.

You remember that hymn, he will hold me fast?

There's a modern version, but the ancient version comes when an evangelist by the name of Wilbur Chapman was holding meetings, large meetings, and his pianist was a man by the name of Mr.

And he remembered this great woman of faith, a woman of scripture.

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Let Us Look to Jesus to Finish What He Started

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