How to Find Help in Time of Need [Video & Audio]
All have us experienced those times when we cry out for help in time of need!
During our move from Mankato to Scandia, Minnesota, I experienced one of those times. I was driving back to Mankato with my 1990 Ford F150 pickup for a final load of items from our garage when my truck spun out on the interstate highway I35. I was right at the division between 35W and 35E north of the Twin Cities when I totally lost control of my vehicle.
I didn’t have time to compose a polished prayer. I simply cried out, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!,” as the truck was spinning around on the busy highway. Somehow I landed in the median between 35W and 35E in a bank of snow. I got out and put the truck in 4-wheel drive, but it would not budge, as the snow was up to the frame all around.
Being late for a very important appointment in Mankato, which I had scheduled to coincide with my plans to haul garage items, I did not have time to wait for a tow truck. So once again I prayed. This time I used a few more words, which I do not remember, but in essence I said, “Help Lord!”
Suddenly I looked up and there was a man at the window. I rolled down the window and said, “Are you an angel?” He did not answer, but said, “I don’t know if I can pull you out with my SUV, but we can give it a try.” He had a long strap used for towing in the back of his vehicle, which he hooked to the frame of my truck. He told me to turn my wheels to the right, put it in gear, and give it the gas when he started to pull. The truck immediately came out of the snow, and I was on my way to Mankato.
I left the truck in 4-wheel drive all the way through the cities and made it just in time to have my appointment in Mankato. That is grace to help in time of need!
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How to Find Grace to Help in Time of Need
How do you obtain help in time of need. By coming to the throne of grace. It’s not by your works of righteousness. It’s not by the church you attend or your family heritage. It’s because you have a high priest over the house of God, who has gone before you with His own blood to make a way for you to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was in every sense tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16, MEV)
The King James Version says “come boldly.” I like that!
We have a Great High Priest, who knows what it is like to be human, who is at the throne making intercession for you. You may be facing a great time of need with your health, your finances, your family, or your mental wellbeing, but I’ve come to tell you that there is help for you at the throne of grace.
Obtaining Mercy and Grace to Help in Time of Need
Hebrews explains the Old Testament sacrificial system, which is a picture or a figure of the true system of access to God in heaven. I’ve been reading Leviticus, and finding myself so thankful that we do not live under that system.
Last week, on our video, we did a calculation of the amount of blood of cattle, sheep and goats shed for the dediation of Solomans Temple. There were 1.2 million quarts of blood spilled, which was still inadequate to take away sins. However, Jesus’ blood, a mere 5-6 quarts, was sufficient to take away the sins of the whole world. (Jn 1:29) Imagine the cost of all those animals. That was the price that they had to pay just to cover sins. But Jesus paid the total price for us to remove all of our sins, and gave it to us as a free gift. Like the old chorus:
He paid a debt He did not owe.
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song.
Amazing grace all day song.
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.
Our High Priest is in Heaven for Us!
But Christ, when He came as a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies so that the flesh is purified, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-14, MEV)
It’s good to have someone on your side. When you need help in time of need, you can feel very alone. And it’s also easy to feel that you are not good enough to receive from God, and to feel the weight of your sins. But Jesus is in heaven itself appearing in the presence of God FOR US.
He knows what it is to be cold, hungry, sick, in pain, betrayed, and tempted. He is aware of the human condition. We may think, God, how can you relate to my need? But Jesus can. He’s been there and done that.
For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, which are patterned after the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. (Hebrews 9:24, MEV)
Jesus is Pleading Your Case
My little children, I am writing these things to you, so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1John 2:1-2, MEV)
Jesus is our advocate or lawyer. When we confess our sin and come before God, Jesus is saying to the Father, “Father, here comes Tom again. You remember Tom. My blood was shed for Tom. He is your child, Father. He is a joint heir of all I have.”
So, you see, Jesus is effectively fulfiliing His priestly ministry FOR YOU and for me!
In the Old Testament, it took an entire tribe to care for the tabernacle. 22,000 men of the tribe of Levi were set apart for the service of the tabernacle and all the sacrifices. They stayed closest to the tabernacle and guarded the presence of God. Under that system, no one could come into the most holy place, where God was, except the high priest. He could only enter once per year on the day of atonement to offer the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people. But now, our High Priest has done it all for you!
Come Boldly to Find Grace to Help in Time of Need
He has shed His blood and offered it in heaven. He has made a way for you to come into the very presence of God and receive help in time of need. No wonder He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” O glory to God! What a wonderful Gospel! What a glorious Savior! What a great High Priest we have in the presence of God for us! Let us come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy grace to help in time of need. Amen.
Pray this prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for Jesus. I believe He died for me and rose again. I confess Jesus is Lord of my life and I will follow Him. Thank you for access to the throne of grace where I can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
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