Hebrews 9:22-28

Hebrews 9:22-28 The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. We who trust in Jesus Christ are at this very moment vicariously present with God through Jesus' cleansing work on the cross. Because of Christ's sacrifice, our preordained privilege is our presence in the blood cleansed heavenly tabernacle. As the Bible clearly states, the redeemed body of Christ is part of this heavenly tabernacle, for we are one with him and therefore known by God because we are in Jesus Christ. Being in the presence of God through Jesus Christ, we can come boldly to the throne of grace. Neither Satan nor any other demonic force can prevent God from hearing our prayers as in the days of Daniel, for Jesus Christ has broken down the partition between us and God. Since we are in Christ, his voice is our voice. With Christ in control of our lives, we desire to do the will of the Father, to bring glory to him. When we do not know how to pray or even what we should pray, the Holy Spirit brings our petitions to God, expressing Christ's will for us to the Father. We might go wrong in our desires or petitions, but as we yield to the Spirit, He knows the eternal needs of our souls, helps our fleshly weaknesses, and gives us power to accept God's will and not our own. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26)

Truly, we will someday see the throne of God and understand the significance of our salvation. When we pass through the shadow of death, we will each experience the second coming of Christ, and we will behold the presence of God and worship him forever. Until then, the just will live completely by faith. Every step we take, every request we make of God is through faith in Christ, and by faith we know God hears us, loves us, and desires to do good to us. On this side of the veil that separates us from eternity, we Christians are as little children, trusting completely in their parents' loving plans for them. Christians must always come to God in this attitude of faith and trust, believing that the Holy Spirit brings our requests to God through Jesus Christ's cleansing blood. Our petitions do reach the Father's ears; however, as God's children we know He is in control, and we may not receive the answers we want. When He appears to be silent or says no to our prayers, we may falter or question whether He really heard us. But the believer with enduring faith and complete trust knows that God always hears, always knows what we need. Knowing this, we believe He has plans to strengthen us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us.

Christians sometimes think it is the answered prayers that strengthen our faith. Answered prayers do encourage us and reveal God to unbelievers, but if our faith is based on getting what we want, then like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we will only believe God and trust him as long as prayers are answered. If we run out of water or get tired of the daily bread supplied by God, we will probably grumble again and question the reality of God in our lives. Enduring faith, unswerving faith, stands with or without water, whether or not we know where God is leading. This "quit yourself like a man" faith in God steadfastly perseveres and continues through the vicissitudes of life, believing that the Spirit of God is working in us. As soldiers of the cross, armed with divine determination, we faithfully believe in God whether or not life is easy, whether or not God gives the answers we want. People who lack such unswerving faith will quickly build a golden calf when they face God's silence or feel He is not present with them anymore. Enduring faith is not based on some visceral sense that God is alive. With hope and trust in Jesus Christ based on the truth, we know He is right now in heaven presenting our lives and our requests to the Father. We know the Holy Spirit works through the good and the bad of life, developing a lasting faith, a faith that will allow us to declare with our final breaths: HE LIVES IN ME AND I IN HIM, AND BECAUSE OF CHRIST, I WILL LIVE FOREVER. Praise God, this is the faith that overcomes the world; this is the faith of the redeemed, the chosen, God's beloved!