TUESDAY February 18th
Continuing from the previous devotion, I am not going to go through each of the five words that I recalled the conference speaker using all that time ago but want to consider two of them. Jesus is great as our Advocate and Jesus is great because he is Triumphant. Now, if I manage to find the original recording and find out that I have not remembered the correct words that he used, it doesn’t matter for what I am sharing is equally true, so first is that we have a great Advocate.
Now, quite often we use the word advocate to refer to the activity of the Holy Spirit as Jesus said he would send another one as an Advocate to come alongside us, John 14:26 (NIV), the ESV uses the word ‘Helper’, which was my theme last Sunday morning, but the same disciple who wrote that gospel also wrote three short epistles and he writes in the first ‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ 1 John 2:1.
We have a great Advocate and his name is Jesus, he represents us before the Father, and he is called Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the greatest advocate that this world will ever know and needs to know. The Hebrew writer grasped the wonder of this as we see in the following verses, another way to understand it is that he not only comes along side us to help us, but he also stands alongside his Father who has also become our heavenly Father, to plead on our behalf, to interceded for us:
Hebrews 2:17-18
‘Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.’
Hebrews 7:25
‘Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.’
Hebrews 4:16-17
‘Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’
Today if you have a difficulty, a problem, maybe even feeling alone, helpless, then call out to your great Advocate, he is more than able and more than willing to come alongside you to help you and to carry you through, he is ready to dispense his grace and mercy to help you in your time of need.