Cease and Desist Vs. Continue and Persist

Hebrews 7:25 AMP 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].

Romans 8:34 KJV Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.

Last night, we discussed the importance of walking in His purpose. Everything we do must be hidden in Christ, directed toward Christ, and ultimately remain within the boundaries of Christ. With this kind of thinking, He becomes our personal Alpha and Omega. He is what we start with. He is what we end with. In Him, we live, we move, and have our very being.

One of the purposes of Christianity is to become His mirror. As we read the Word of God and behold Him, the ultimate goal is to reflect Him. According to 2 Corinthians 3:18, as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into His image from glory to glory. We are also commanded to walk as Jesus walked.

The book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that Christ walked in a priesthood:

Hebrews 7:23–24 AMP The [former successive line of] priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were each prevented by death from continuing [perpetually in office]; but, on the other hand, Jesus holds His priesthood permanently and without change, because He lives on forever.

Christ did not simply have a priesthood; He possesses a perfect and eternal priesthood. In His supernatural ability, He accomplished what human effort and earthly priesthood could never accomplish.

Hebrews 7:27 AMP Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

Now, I have to tread lightly here.

In the Old Testament, countless sacrifices were offered, yet none of them could permanently remove sin. Christ offered Himself once, and His sacrifice was sufficient for eternity.

There is a principle here: what human effort cannot accomplish through endless striving, God can accomplish through surrender and obedience.

Think about Elijah in 1 Kings 18. After repairing the altar, Elijah prayed a simple prayer—and the fire fell. Meanwhile, the prophets of Baal cried out for hours, danced around the altar, and even cut themselves until they bled, yet there was no answer.

They did more, but Elijah had God.

You can do a lot in your own strength and still accomplish nothing. Yet a little surrendered to God can accomplish much. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

This brings us back to sacrifice.

As we aim to sacrifice like Christ, this does not mean we cease and desist from building an altar. Yes, Jesus is the one sacrifice sufficient for our redemption. We do not build an altar in an attempt to pay for our sins. The price has already been paid.

We build an altar to maintain connection.

There is no healthy relationship in your life that can survive without communication. The altar is the place where relationship is maintained.

In modern language, think of it like keeping a TikTok streak with God. A streak continues because you keep showing up. You do not communicate once and then claim an active relationship forever. Prayer and worship are not one-time acts.

Jesus' sacrifice for sin was once for all, but His intercession continues.

That is why Hebrews says that He ever lives to make intercession for us.

His one sacrifice did not eliminate His prayers on our behalf. Instead, His sacrifice opened the door for us to follow Him into a life of continual prayer and intercession.

We pick up our cross daily, even though Jesus physically carried His cross to Calvary on one particular day.

We deny ourselves daily.

We follow Him daily.

We cease and desist from trying to pay the price for our own sins, because Jesus already paid it.

But we continue and persist in prayer so that the fire upon our altar never goes out.

We are seated

with Christ in heavenly places.

If we are seated with Him, we might as well do what He does while we are there.

He intercedes. So we intercede.

He lives before the Father. So we live before the Father.

He maintains the priestly ministry of intercession. So we become a people of prayer.

The sacrifice was once for all.

But the altar must remain burning.

Reflection Questions

1. Have I been trying to accomplish through human effort what can only be accomplished through surrender to Christ?

2. Is my altar consistent, or have I treated prayer and worship like occasional events instead of an ongoing relationship?

3. If I am called to reflect Christ, what would it look like for His life of intercession to become visible through my own prayer life?

Prayer Points

1. Lord, deliver me from striving in my own strength and teach me to accomplish Your will through surrender, obedience, and dependence on You.

2. Father, restore consistency to my altar. Give me grace to seek You continually through prayer, worship, and the Word.

3. Jesus, make me a reflection of You. Teach me to carry Your burden of intercession and keep the fire of prayer burning in my life.

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