Jehovah Ezer (The Lord My Helper)

by Pastor Idowu Iluyomade

JEHOVAH EZER (THE LORD MY HELPER)

Excerpts of Pastor Idowu Iluyomade's Message at the May 2016 Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, May 1, 2016

 

Bible Text: Hebrews 4:14-16 (Amplified Version)

Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]. For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well- timed help, coming just when we need it.

Our text talks about our LORD Jesus Christ whom verse 14 describes as the Great High Priest. There is a difference between a high priest and a Great High Priest. For example, Aaron was a high priest, but Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest. To understand Christ's role, we need to have a baseline knowledge of what a high priest does.

In the Old Testament (Leviticus 16), a high priest on the Day of Atonement, which is yearly, goes into the holy of holies to pray unto God and make atonement for his own sins and the sins of the nation of Israel, using a bullock and two goats. However, one of the goats was used as the scapegoat and the high priest would place his hands on this goat and pray all his sins and that of the people on the goat after which it is released into the wilderness. The other goat would later be slaughtered as the high priest offers prayers unto God.

When the high priest enters the Holy of holies to make sacrifices, he wears a robe with bells sewn to it and a rope is tied to his feet just in case God strikes him dead while serving there. If God kills the high priest and the people waiting outside don't hear the bells on his robe ringing, they would pull out the priest's dead body with the rope. The high priest, while on earth intercedes on behalf of the people to God that is sitteth in the heavens. 

 

The Great High Priest

However, when our LORD and Master, Jesus Christ came, He did not use a lamb, bullock or goat for this annual sacrifice. Instead, He became the sacrifice. He carried upon Himself all the sins of mankind, died on the Cross for us, passed through into the Heavens and is seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 4:14). With His final breathe, our Great High Priest cried out with a loud voice and He gave up the ghost; immediately, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-53). The veil was 60 ft. high, 30 ft. wide, 6 inches thick, and it took about 300 priests to handle. This miracle marks the end of the era of the high priests that stand between man and God. This implies that the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ has granted you direct access to God; there is no more barrier or separation.

 

He Passed Into The Heavens

Hebrews 4:14 says: " Seeing then that we have a great high priest, THAT IS PASSED INTO THE HEAVENS, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” A high priest intercedes on earth but our Great High Priest has ascended, passed through to the Heavens and is seated beside the One you pray to. Hebrews 7.25 ]AMP[ talks about our Great High Priest. It says "Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf ]with God[."

One of the reasons our Great High Priest is alive is so that He can daily make intercession for us before His Father as we come before the Throne Room. A High Priest seated in the Throne Room next to the One Who is going to judge is more effective than the high priest who uses a goat or an animal to sacrifice and pray on your behalf. Moreover, the high priest or prayer warrior you go to pray on your behalf has never seen God, and is right here on earth with you. But the Great High Priest has already gone ahead of you and can save you to the uttermost. The Great High Priest holds the keys of death and Hell, and all power belongs to Him (Revelation 1:18, Matthew 28:18).

Whatever you believe God for, know that He will do it. Hebrews 10:23 says "...Let us hold fast our confession of faith without wavering." If God says something, He has already done it (1 Thessalonians 5:24), and your unbelief does not nullify His ability to do that which He has promised (Romans 3:3-4, 2 Timothy 2:13).

The Great High Priest Knows and Understands

Verse 15 says "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathise and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted ]knowing exactly how it feels to be human[ in every respect as we are, yet without ]committing any[ sin." The reason we are confident that we will receive answers to our prayers is because we have a Great High Priest who understands and can sympathise with us. It is one thing to preach and it is another to have lived and experienced what you are preaching about. Our Great High Priest has experienced all that we have and could ever go through. In other words, He can identify with us adequately. Because Jesus understands, He can empathise (Isaiah 63:9) with you. He understands grief and sorrow, especially when He lost His cousin, John the Baptist, and when he lost his friend, Lazarus, He wept. He understands shame because He was stripped naked and crucified. He knows what it is to be poor, because for our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich (II Corinthians 8:9). He was despised and betrayed. What is it that you are going through? Know that Jesus Christ understands. The Bible says He was tempted on all fronts but He did not succumb to sin. Have you been offered a short cut or asked to compromise a process? Jesus has been there. For example, Satan offered Him the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; so that there will not be any need to go through the Cross, but He turned it down (Matthew 4:8). Jesus is the only One that can intercede for you and ensure that your tears are wiped away.

Isaiah 53:3-5 ]AMP[ says "He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; and like One from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. But ]in fact[ He has borne our griefs, and He has carried our sorrows and pains; yet we ]ignorantly[ assumed that He was stricken, struck down by God and degraded and humiliated ]by Him[. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness ]our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing[; the punishment ]required[ for our well-being fell on Him, and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed." These verses give an account of what Jesus went through. Are you going through pain? Jesus went through pain, and He knows pain is not palatable. So, from today, don't keep Jesus at arm's length. Don't say Jesus is too holy, He cannot understand or that He would judge you. No! Don’t say Jesus is too powerful to consider your little challenges. Bring all your problems to Him; He understands what you are going through. That is why in Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."

The Throne Of Grace

“Let us then FEARLESSLY and CONFIDENTLY and BOLDLY draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy ]for our failures[ and find grace to help in good time for every need ]appropriate help and well- timed help, coming just when we need it” (Hebrews 4:16 Amplified Version). But you can only draw near to that Throne Room if you are in Christ Jesus and you come through His Blood. The Throne Room of God originally used to be a Throne of Judgment for sinners, but Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins by His blood and was granted access to the Throne. Because God accepted His sacrifice as atonement for our sins, the Throne of Judgment has changed to a Throne of Grace. What gives you boldness is that you are not approaching the throne in your own righteousness or because of your good works, but only by the blood and the finished work of Christ.

At The Throne Of Grace….

1. You receive mercy because you have sinned, ignored God and fallen short of the glory of God in a number of ways (Ephesians 3:11-12, Hebrews 10:19-23, Romans 3:23).

2. You receive grace and favour.

3. You receive grace to HELP in the hour of need.

 

JEHOVAH EZER - THE LORD MY HELPER

Help means God will rally round to support you, He will assist you, and come in aid of you. The Names of God are beautiful for situations and it speaks of His character and attributes. The Name of God you should use in this month of GRACE TO HELP, is JEHOVAH EZER which means 'THE LORD MY HELPER'” (Hebrews 13:5-6, Psalm 33:20). Moses had a son named ELIEZER (Exodus 18:4) and anytime Moses saw his son, He remembered how God delivered him from the sword of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:15), gave him a good wife and put him in Jethro’s house, kept him alive in the wilderness for 40 years and gave him a second chance. ELI means GOD and EZER means HELP. This implies that Moses reflected on past experiences where God had helped him. Before you call on God to help you this month, reflect on past help from God.

In the Bible, we see that each time God helped people; they built an altar, a memorial or something to remind them of God's help. For example, Noah built an altar, Abraham built an altar called 'Jehovah Jireh', Samuel built an altar with gathered stones and called the altar 'Ebenezer', which means 'a stone of help' (1 Samuel 7:12). Also, Jacob built an altar and called it 'Bethel', Joshua collected 12 stones after God's deliverance, and Mariam danced to Moses’s song after God delivered them from the Red Sea. David reflected on past grace by informing King Saul that the same God that helped him overcame the lion and the bear, will deliver him from Goliath. Are there some ‘ELIEZER’ events in your life? Has God done anything for you in the past (1 Samuel 17:34-37)? The same God that helped you in the past will help you in this month of May.

Today, build a wall of remembrance as a firm foundation to stand on, believing God for that which He will do. Psalm 145:4 says " One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts." Let us hand down to our next generation stories of God's faithfulness, truth and help in our hour of need. Psalm 46:1 says "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Men can miss timing, God cannot. If you feel your blessings are too late, know that God can reverse the irreversible, restore and revive dead dreams because He lives outside time and He is always right on time (Psalms 18:10). God is always there; above you with a banner of victory, He surrounds you with a song of deliverance, and underneath, He holds you, so you don't fall.

We see a prayer of help in 2 Chronicles 14:11 which says "...“O LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and the weak; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in and rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You."

In conclusion, your prayer will only be answered if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Are you tired of your situation and you need God to intervene, support and assist you? Surrender to Jesus Christ today. If you are willing to repent and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer right now: LORD Jesus, I come to You, I know I am a sinner, please forgive me my sins. With my mouth, I confess that Jesus Christ is the LORD of my life; with my heart I believe that it is because of me that You came into this world. You died and took away all my sins. Take away my burdens also, write my name in the Book of Life, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and as I approach the Throne of Grace pleading the Blood of Jesus, every request that I have, answer by fire in Jesus Name.