JESUS IS GREATER THAN

Transcription

1 JESUS IS GREATER THAN THE HIGH PRIEST CHAPTER 4 FACILITATOR S NOTE Chapter fur has many things t cnsider. REST! D yu want rest? All f us d. Unfrtunately, the Israelites missed ut n their rest due t disbedience. In this chapter, the Hebrew authr addresses this rest and its availability t the faithful shuld they live by faith thrugh the Wrd f Gd. Here, we learn the pwer f Gd s Wrd and its ability t read us as much (if nt mre) than we read it. The Wrd expses us fr wh we really are and leads us t Christ, ur great High Priest. This High Priest is greater than any priest wh ever lived. Why? Because He never dies and is the nly ne wh can prvide the prper sacrifice/atnement fr sins. As ppsed t High Priests in the past wh were the nly nes allwed t enter the presence f Gd n behalf f the peple, Jesus has destryed any and all barriers t Gd in rder t bring us near His thrne f grace. WOW! Praise Jesus! Enjy this study f hpe. IMPORTANT: As always, we encurage yu t begin preparing fr each lessn by cmmitting the class and the teaching t Gd in prayer. After this, we encurage yu t dig int nt nly the specific chapter in Hebrews fr this week (Chapter 4), but als the bk f Hebrews as a whle and the Scriptures at large. As yu mve thrugh yur readings, jt dwn any thughts that cme t yu and particular passages that stand ut and speak t yu. We assure yu that these will cme int play as yu facilitate this discussin. It is ONLY AFTER DOING THESE THINGS that yu shuld apprach this lessn plan and perhaps use it as a guide. Yur grup is different than all the rest and s yur lessns shuld be adapted accrdingly. PRAYER Begin yur time with a prayer thanking Gd fr the gift f His Sn, Jesus, and His eternal plan f salvatin made pssible thrugh Him.

2 FOCUS The Sabbath Rest is available t the faithful and bedient. WARNING: Flee frm Disbedience. The Wrd f Gd is living, active, and pwerful! Recgnize that JESUS IS GREATER THAN any earthly High Priest. LESSON Discussin Starters (OPTIONAL) D yu struggle with finding rest in ur hurried lives? In what ways t d yu typically find rest? Have yu ever cnsidered that ur lack f rest culd be due t unbelief and disbedience? Is rest available even in busied and hurried lives? Hw? Hw much time (n average) d yu spend the Gd s Wrd each week? When yu study Gd s Wrd, hw des it make yu feel? Why? D yu think yu study Gd s Wrd mre fr infrmatin, r frmatin? Explain. Hw des it make yu feel t knw that we have a High Priest that can sympathize with us in ur weakness and temptatins? D yu struggle believing this? FROM GOD S WORD 4:1-10 Key Pints Gd prmised lng ag that the Israelites wuld find rest in the Prmised Land if they wuld remain faithful and bedient. That prmise still stands, but what rest is available t us? Heaven In Gd s presence (the eternal Prmised Land) frever! The authr encurages his readers t fear the Lrd in rder t enter that rest. The Fear f the Lrd brings us int a reverent state befre Gd. Knwing ur place befre Him and knwing He is Gd and we are nt! Withut fear, we will nt enter His rest. The Israelites did nt prperly fear Gd. In fact, they had the gspel ( gd news ) preached t them as well. Their gspel was Gd s prmised deliverance frm physical slavery in Egypt, a cvenant between them and Gd establishing them as His peple in special relatinship with Him, and the hpe f entering the Prmised Land f rest in Canaan. Our gspel? Gd has prmised t deliver us frm spiritual slavery with a cvenant establishing us as His peple (the church)

3 in special relatinship with Him with the hpe f entering His eternal rest with Him in heaven. Why did the Wrd (gspel) fail the Israelites in verse 2? Because they did nt have faith as a cmmunity in what they heard preached t them. D we? What rests des the Hebrew authr refer t? Sabbath Rest (4:4) Canaan Rest (4:8) Eternal Rest (4:9-10) Which rest remains fr us and hw can we enter it (vv )? Eternal Rest, and faithful bedience t Gd and ur Lrd Jesus Christ is hw we will enter that rest that was bught fr us by ur great High Priest. Frm what yu have bserved in Hebrews thus far, hw wuld yu describe the faith that is required t receive Gd's rest? Psst It s nt rigid bservance/bedience t Gd s rules, but a heart fully devted t Gd. It is ut f devtin and lve that ne will hnr Gd s cmmands. Fr Discussin Hw d yu picture the Eternal Rest? Hw did the Israelites refuse t receive their rest? It wasn t just disbedience. It was mre the hardness f heart as said in verse 7. D we harden ur hearts in disbedience tward Gd tday? Hw? What can we d? 4:11-13 Key Pints The authr encurages his readers t strive t enter that Eternal Rest. Hw? THE WORD OF GOD Hw des the authr describe the Wrd f Gd in verse 12? Living, nt dead (as sme wuld claim tday) Active, nt drmant r useless Sharp, nt dull, bring, uninteresting Piercing, nt silent r weak The Wrd f Gd expses us fr wh we really are. Perhaps that is why we have ften avided it (except fr in times f need) in the past. Perhaps we are afraid f what it will expse and hw it will push us t change. The interesting thing is that n living creature is hidden frm THE WORD (verse 13) but instead all are naked and expsed in Gd s eyes as Christians. We cannt hide wh we truly are frm Gd, the High Priest, Jesus Christ, and the Hly Spirit.

4 Infrmatinal vs. Frmatinal Reading f Gd s Wrd We must begin t see Gd s Wrd with different eyes. Nt as a textbk. Nt as wrds n a page, but wrds in ur hearts. We have t see Scripture as mre than infrmatinal, but mre frmatinal. As the Wrd dwells in us, it begins t shape us frm inside ut. But if it des nt take up residence in ur hearts, then it is simply infrmatin in ur heads that may nly be ccasinally accessed and used. When the Wrd is nt in ur hearts, THE WORD (JESUS) is nt in ur hearts. When we are Biblically illiterate, we are Gd/Jesus/Spirit illiterate. We dn t wrship the Wrd, we wrship THE WORD. Hwever, we cme t knw THE WORD thrugh the Wrd. Fr this t happen, we must apprach it differently then we have in the past. We can t apprach it as the teachers f the Law did. We have t apprach it frmatinally instead f infrmatinally. Fr Discussin The wrd f Gd that judges ur thughts and attitudes described in verses hlds the specific prmise f Gd s Eternal Rest. Hw can Gd s Wrd expse the cnditin f yur heart t yu? 4:14-16 (cntinued next week in Chapter 5) Key Pints The authr tells his readers t hld fast t their cnfessin f Jesus Christ as the Sn f Gd since Jesus is als ur great High Priest (v. 14). This is the same High Priest wh sees us fr wh we really are and t whm we must give accunt, but wh als has passed thrugh the heavens and has been tempted in everyway n ur accunt. This Jesus (Sn f Gd, Judge, High Priest), is able t sympathize with us in ur weakness and understands temptatin (thugh is sinless) (v. 15). Hw des this make yu feel? It is nly by this High Priest that we can have cnfidence and draw near t Gd s presence withut any barrier (namely ur sin) standing in ur way. It is by grace and mercy that we can stand befre Gd and enter int relatinship with Him (v. 16). THAT IS GOOD NEWS!!! Fr Discussin Have yu fund that sme f yur persnal experiences have helped yu understand anther persn better? Hw/Why? When yu are tempted, des it make any difference at all knwing that Jesus was tempted t? MORE ON THIS DISCUSSION NEXT WEEK

5 REFLECTION Gd rested frm His wrk n the 7 th day (Sabbath). D we understand the imprtance f Sabbath tday? Why r why nt? Is taking Sabbath still imprtant t Gd? What des it mean t yu t rest frm yur wrk? Why d we struggle with bedience t Gd? What relatinship (yes, I said relatinship ) d yu have with Scripture (Gd s Wrd)? Hw wuld yu like t change r deepen that relatinship? D we have cnfidence t apprach the thrne f grace r d we still struggle with feeling unwrthy? Explain. PRAYER LESSON OUTLINE Here are the lessns we will be studying the weeks t cme. INTRODUCTION (January 5) JESUS IS GREATER THAN Angelic Beings Chapter 1 (January 12) JESUS IS GREATER THAN Angelic Beings Chapter 1 (January 19) JESUS IS GREATER THAN But Still Human Chapter 2 (January 26) JESUS IS GREATER THAN Mses Chapter 3 (February 2) JESUS IS GREATER THAN The High Priest Chapter 4 (February 9) JESUS IS GREATER THAN The High Priest Chapter 5 (February 16) THEREFORE, Dn t Fall Away Chapter 6 (February 23) JESUS IS GREATER THAN Melchizedek Chapter 7 (March 2) JESUS IS GREATER THAN The Law Chapter 8 (March 9) JESUS IS GREATER THAN The Tabernacle Chapter 9 (March 16) JESUS IS GREATER THAN Sacrifices Chapter 10 (March 23) THEREFORE, Have Faith Chapter 11 (March 30) THEREFORE, Stand Firm Chapter 12 (April 6) THEREFORE, Offer Acceptable Sacrifices Chapter 13 (April 13) CONCLUSION (April 27)