The Christians Privelege of an Advocate Part 2

Audio: mp3

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

As children of God and as Christians we need our faith to be strong and we need clear vision of what is going on in heaven in the hour of God’s judgment. The people of Laodicea are the people of the judgment. 1 John is appropriate to consider that we have an advocate so we can see clearly what is in heaven for us. So we can make advantageous strides to victory in overcoming within the time of Jacob’s trouble when we wrestle with our sins from the past and the present and those things which are oppressing.

The Privilege of an Advocate Belongs To a Christian

It belongs to those who have received Jesus as the propitiation for the sins of the world. The children of God receive Jesus in the person of His saints. The children of the devil become anti-Christ like Cain became opposed to Abel because of his righteousness. Sometimes in our Christian experience someone who does things right agitates us. If we keep harbouring that we will not have an advocate with the Father. There are people who say they are Christians but are not and do lie. To say you are a Christian and not give your sins to Jesus means He can’t have your case if you do not give our sins over and love them so much and hold them. Once given to Him, they are no longer ours as we have forsaken them. The scripture says he that confesses his sins and forsakes them shall have mercy.

The scripture presupposes that there is a judge because an advocate pleads for another at any bar of adjudicator. If we have an advocate there must be a judge and God is the judge of all. There is also a transgressor because the scripture says if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father. There is also an accuser which is Satan. There are also witnesses which are the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the great cloud of witnesses – the angels. There are also false witnesses also. There is the courtroom and that courtroom is in heaven as we read in Daniel.

The sinner, the transgressor is brought to the court because the law has been broken and the accuser is the first to mention it. Day and night he is there. If someone needs to go to court, unless they ask a lawyer to take his case, there will be none. We ask the question, have you entertained Jesus to be your advocate? Have you asked Jesus to plead you cause? It’s not just about asking but have you revealed your case to Jesus? We can ask someone to plead my cause but if you do not tell them your cause then they cannot plead. We need to go to Jesus and tell Him where the sins lie. What they are, what we have done, what Satan is saying to us in our mind and what we have been accused of. Then after we have revealed our case to Jesus we must commit it to Him and give it over. Then we are to wait on the Lord.

How Jesus Manages His Office as An Advocate

We must thoroughly consider this topic if we would have comfort in the day of trouble and distress of sin. How often is Satan at the bar in revelation; day and night? He does not sleep. His angels are collecting the information. We have sinned and heaven knows many times before we know, in fact every time before we know. What is really in heaven at the moment? The whole Advent faith is established on the judgment hour. The investigative judgement is a judgment that will investigate the cases of individuals.

The Lord said that the soul that sins it must die. Satan is being taken out of heaven, he is being removed from his exalted position and that position and higher has been offered to the sons of men who also have transgressed and Satan is angry. He is angry and is going to make war with the remnant of her seed. We are going to be in this conflict of sins as we have transgressed God’s law and soon it’s too late. That is Satan’s key to break us, to destroy our faith and kill us.

The Judgment is Set and the Books are Opened

We have sinned. So often when we sin we feel that God won’t even talk with us. We feel that God is turned His face from us and that we are without hope. Our faith must pierce those feelings.

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his righteousness.

Here is a soul that says rejoice not against me oh my enemy. I have sinned. It’s not maybe sinned or probably, I have sinned. The conviction comes home. The need of an advocate has been realised. The request to Jesus has been made please take my cause. The cause has been revealed to Jesus. Here is where the issue lies and I’m going to commit it to Jesus. Now I can say I will wait on the Lord, He will hear me. I have sinned but don’t rejoice against me. We commit our case to Jesus and how does Jesus manage the case that has been given to Him?

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

We have committed our case and our sins that we have done and given them to Jesus. Jesus is saying be not afraid I will uphold you. I will plead for you. I will take your cause to the throne.

Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [it] honourable.

Our advocate must uphold his client, brother or the person that has come to him but he must magnify the law also. Christ must confess that which can rightly be charged upon us. If we have sinned, then Christ must say we have sinned. If He says we have not sinned then He is going contrary to what the law is saying and not making it honourable. He cannot hide or lessen our sin as this would not magnify the law. He cannot leave it upon us because we would die. He has to manage it. How does He manage it and magnify the law and uphold His child?

How Does Jesus Manage Our Sins?

If you call sin a sin, you are magnifying the law. Today sin is not called by its right name and we have grey areas where we don’t know whether it is a sin or not as that is what the world has done to us. But sin that is made big magnifies the law. If Jesus our advocate magnifies the law, He is magnifying our problem. He is making it bigger. This is very different to the lawyers of today. They try and work around the law to find a loophole, justify everything without meeting the claims of the law but our advocate manages it with magnifying the law. Sin is exceedingly sinful when our advocate manages it. Here is a comparison of what sin is.

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Sins are debts. You owe money. You owe a life. You are indebted to the law. We have an adversary that is suing us for our debts.

Luke 12:58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, [as thou art] in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. 59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

The scripture is saying, when you are going to court with your adversary be careful and make sure you are delivered from him. Give diligence to it. How many of us are aware of our case in heaven today? How many of us are aware of the intenseness of our debt in heaven? How many of us are aware of the rage of Satan to pursue us for that debt? Satan does not go to God and say this person has wronged me and this person has done this against me, Satan does not bring that case to God. He says they have wronged you. They have wronged the law and they need to pay.

Luke 12:58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, [as thou art] in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him.

Are we in the way? Are we on the way to the culmination of the judgement? Indeed we are. Have you given diligence? Are you aware of the intensity of the court? Satan would like you to be asleep. As we commit our case to God and tell Him, we are to wait not in slumber but we are to wait with expectation. The scripture says my expectation is of thee. We are to expect what is going on in heaven. Jesus has our cases, our debts. Satan is there with a very strong argument with the law backing what he is saying. Jesus is magnifying the law and He is making the debt bigger. He is making it enormous.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to ministFer, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus is there to be our advocate to administer help for us. He is our advocate and to give His life a ransom for many. If you had a debt and were taken to court and entreated a lawyer to take your cause to the court, which lawyer today on earth would not just take your cause but pay the debt for you? None would but we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous who is there to minister for us in the courts and to give His life a ransom for many. He is the advocate and He comes out with the money and pays every last mite with His life. He takes the whole charge, the whole debt upon Himself. Psalm 69 is of Christ and if anyone disputes that it is, study it because the apostle Paul refers to this Psalm as applying it to Christ and so does the apostle John and even Jesus Himself. Jesus is pleading our cause which cause now belongs to Him.

Psalms 69:5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.

He has taken our sin and said they are mine. Now the dispute is no longer with Satan and us but the quarrel is between Satan and Christ. Jesus says leave them alone it is me who you have the complaint with. Who are our sins with? With Him because you gave it to Him and they become His. If someone gives you a present it was theirs and they give it to you and now it belongs to whom? To you. We give our sins to Jesus and He says to God – O God thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee. He is not making the law small is He? He is not saying my sins aren’t that bad, I’m your beloved Son, you can have mercy on me. It’s not the method, that’s not how He manages the cause. He does not lessen the law like Christianity does today. He magnifies the law. He says my sins aren’t hid, they are open. Who is waiting in the court? Who has given the case to the advocate and who is waiting? It is us the client.

Psalms 69:6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

Now He is pleading His own sake, His worthiness. Jesus has said in the New Testament, “which of you can convict me of sin?” and they didn’t say anything. He became sin for us who knew no sin, He did no sin but he took our sin upon Him and so He is saying for my sake let not those people be confounded. He is bringing out His worthiness.

Was Jesus Life Accepted By The Law?

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

The law was witnessing Jesus holy life without blame. Was he not a lamb without spot and without blemish? Did He not encounter every trial and overcome? Indeed He did. So when He pleads before the Father He said, let them not be confounded for my sake. There are two phases for Him to magnify the law. First to call sin by its right name, to adjoin himself with the law and say yes sin is sin you are right law and secondly to live a life that the law required. The law saw it and couldn’t condemn it. That’s why Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus was raised from the dead because He did no sin. He magnifies the law and for us He has paid our debts as He has taken our debt upon Himself and now He uplifts us before the Father.

Psalms 69:6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

He is saying there are these people don’t let them be confounded and ashamed. This is how Jesus Christ manages the office of an advocate. He not only ministers for us but He paid the debt.

Psalms 69:19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries [are] all before thee.

Whose adversaries? They are Jesus adversaries. Jesus is saying the sins are not hid from you. Thou hast known my reproach, you know what I’m going through and you are laying the sins on me. My shame and dishonour and my adversaries are before the throne accusing this brother had done this, this sister had done this and all the accusations are from the foundation of sin. They were there saying this and this were done against the law.

Jesus Is Paying It Out

Psalms 69:6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. 7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

Shame and confusion are the results of what?

Jeremiah 3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

In Psalms 69 He is saying let them be ashamed. Let not guilt be put upon them for my sake.

Psalms 69:7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. 8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.

The advocate is pleading and He is drifting away as it were. I am become a stranger, I am an alien. Who is going to advocate for Him? No one.

Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

That’s our advocate. He upheld the law till He died. The law killed Him. He loved the law so much He didn’t want to bring it into low esteem. He lifted it higher and the higher He lifted it, the more suffering He got. The higher He lifts us the more heaven is amazed. This is how Christ manages the office. Commit your cause unto Christ. Christ is an advocate that can stop the mouth of an adversary. He can please the judge and bring you off safe and sound in the sight of heaven.

Psalms 69:8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.

He was dying out of the land of the living. He made his grave with the wicked. He became an outcast so we may be brought in.

Psalms 69:19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries [are] all before thee. 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 31 [This] also shall please the LORD better than an ox [or] bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

This is will please the judge. This will please the law. This will please heaven. God cannot object to such a managing of a sinner’s case. The law cannot object and Satan cannot object. If you owe a sum of money and that sum of money was paid in full to every last mite, what would you think of the person if they came back to you and said you still owe me? When Christ has forgiven, He has forgiven. Satan cannot talk. Jesus has espoused our quarrel to Himself. He pleads as a husband his bride. Christ has made a connection with those that come to Him. What relation is it?

Ephesians 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

When a child is admonished not to sin and through the deceitfulness of sin they fall into transgression, it is Christ’s hand that sinned. It is the arm, the leg, the ear and so the advocate can plead this is mine, I will pay the debt. It is a member of my body that has done it. It is only the Christians privilege to have an advocate because if you have not received Christ, you are not part of His body. All those that have received Jesus as their Saviour have a privilege of having an advocate that can manage the case and bring us safe and sound quietening the judge and rebuking the adversary. Trust in the Lord, He is incredibly capable of dealing with your sins. You must give them to him. Give over your sins. That means forsake them. The law has witnessed His life and death and has been satisfied. It says He saw the travail of His soul and is satisfied. The law has been satisfied.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

There are two verdicts that come from the judgment seat as those that the advocate pleads for.

Joshua in Court

Joshua is a representative of all God’s people.

Zechariah 3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

What two verdicts came out from the judgment seat in what we just read? Two verdicts, two decisions that the judge had made;

1. Joshua could have new clothes.
2. The other was a rebuke for Satan. Twice.

The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Satan has come bringing you to court. If you have given your sins to Jesus, that means forsaking, if we don’t forsake our sins we’ve not given them to our advocate and if we don’t give them to our advocate, we will die with them. But if we have given our sins to Jesus and opened our cause and said here is where the shoe pinches, this is where it hurts, the advocate manages the cases and produces new garments for His clients and a rebuke for the adversary. If our faith can grasp that Satan is conquered, if we will obey Christ’s requirements in dealing with our sins, we will have mercy and Satan’s mouth will be stopped. I have sinned, I have done wrong but the Lord will deal with it. Confusion is a result of sin.

Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 [He is] near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who [is] mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who [is] he [that] shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

The shame and confusion and guilt and consequence of sin has been removed as Jesus has borne it and paid the amount. We must really take this to heart if we would have comfort in a day of distress for sin. He is near that justifies. Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Resist the devil and he will flee. Why will he flee; because heaven has ordered a rebuke to go forward to him. A double fold rebuke and he runs.

Satan desires to take our case out of the court of heaven and to bring it to court on earth. Satan desires to set up human judges so he can influence the judge. That is what happened in the Catholic Church. They killed righteous people, they were sinners. Jesus took their cause and they were brought before organisational council for a decision as Satan knows when men are judges they make wrong decisions. If you are ever in a case before men fear not, fear God. Fear the judge that can destroy your soul. Do not destroy church organisation councils that bring judgment upon people that are wrong. If Christ is your saviour and you have asked Him to take your cause, if you have opened your cause honestly to Jesus and if you have committed it to Him and are waiting upon Him, pay no attention to man. Satan wants a different court where he will succeed so he tries hard to put us in a condition where men will condemn us.

Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 [He is] near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who [is] mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who [is] he [that] shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. 

Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? [It is] God that justifieth. 34 Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

It is Christ who died for me. Which of you would go and accuse Christ of sinning? None of us, we love Jesus but that is what Satan does. It is Christ that died and hath risen again and is in court for me. He is not just my advocate but He is my ransom also. This is how Jesus manages the office of an advocate for all those that come to Him in faith.

Who Will Manage Your Case?

If our faith is strong on this point, Jacob’s trouble will be easier. Christ has bought us and paid our debt.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Many people would love to have an advocate but in order to have an advocate, that advocate owns you. He has paid your debt in full and you belong to Him and you must glorify Him and live according to His way and if you don’t then you are a thief and you are in debt again but if you will give your life to Jesus, then you are not in debt. Jesus has died your eternal death and you must give Him your life while you are living that you may glorify Him and live for Him. Many people stop short of that. They would love an advocate, they would give up a few sins but they love them too much and they don’t want to live the life that Christ displays in the Spirit of Prophecy.

Our Requirement to Jesus

Jesus has pleaded our cause and has brought us off safe and sound in the sight of heaven and we belong to Him. He is not a harsh but loving person who loves to serve. We would love to be with Him but while we are living in the flesh, there are things we need to understand that we are not our own. Our body is not our own body, it has been brought. God will give us eternal life in His son Jesus Christ. Our faith needs to be strong to know in heaven there is justification but we must commit our life to him from there on.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

That is the reason why he is writing that you don’t sin. Not to tell you that you have an advocate when you sin, but he is writing that you sin not. The main point is for us to cease from sin. While we are ceasing from sin we have an advocate when we do sin. May we praise God for his loving kindness towards us.

Amen.