Four Ways in Which Christ Serves His Followers (Psalm 145:18)
Introduction:
1.In Psalm 145:18, the Bible teaches that the Lord is near to everyone who calls upon Him in truth. 2.Knowing that the Lord is near should motivate us to call upon Him and to take advantage of the service that He provides. 3.In our lesson this evening we are examining passages that remind us of "four ways in which Christ serves His followers."
Discussion:
I.CHRISTMAKESINTERCESSIONFORUS
A.The Bible teaches that Christ intercedes on behalf of His followers in Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25. B.Intercede: to plead or make a petition on behalf of someone else C.To illustrate, see 1 Timothy 2:1. D.When we pray, we pray to the Father through Christ (John 16:23b). E.As we pray, Christ makes intercession in that He pleads on our behalf.
II.CHRISTISOURMEDIATOR
A.The Bible teaches that Christ mediates on our behalf in 1 Timothy 2:5-6. B.Mediator: a go-between, one who reconciles, one who intervenes between two parties to make peace C.To illustrate, Moses mediated on behalf of the Israelites (Numbers 14:11-20). D.Christ, who gave Himself for us, serves as our mediator with the Father.
III.CHRISTISOURADVOCATE
A.The Bible teaches that Christ serves as our advocate in 1 John 2:1-2. B.Advocate: one who pleads another's case before a judge C.To help us appreciate this: 1.John said he wrote certain things to help Christians avoid sin. 2.Unfortunately, we do sin (1:8). D.When we sin we have a very special advocate with the Father. 1.He is called "the righteous." 2.He is "the propitiation for our sins." 3.We are very blessed in that the One who gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins also pleads our cases before the Father.
IV.CHRISTISOURHIGHPRIEST
A.The Bible teaches that Christ serves as our High Priest in Hebrews 3:1. B.(Hebrews 7:26) Christ is a perfect High Priest. C.However, Christ became a man and faced our temptations. 1.Hebrews 2:17-18 2.Hebrews 4:14-16
Conclusion:
1.We have seen from the Scriptures that Jesus: a.makes intercession for us b.is our mediator c.is our advocate d.is our High Priest. 2.The fact that Christ serves us in these four ways should lead us to: a.call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18) b.have the confidence that is expressed in Psalm 116:1-5.