[0:00] to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7. You know, as a pastor of a local church, you get asked to do a lot of things and you get involved in a lot of things. And I've got this spot on my wrist that's really bothering me.
[0:11] My watch is hitting and it's driving me nuts. And I thought, I've been trying to figure out what I did to myself. Now, when I go work, one thing you need to know, finesse is kind of not in the vocabulary that you describe Billy Joe with, okay?
[0:24] I kind of go all in. I was joking with my wife as more. I said, you know, one of the adjectives you think of when you think of me is quiet. And she started laughing like, yeah, right. I don't do anything quietly. I don't do anything easy. So every time I work, I end up bleeding.
[0:36] And I don't know why it just happens that way. So I was like, well, I did something. I've got this spot on my wrist. And I'm thankful for that time of fellowship because I saw my brother in the balcony stand up and I remembered where that spot came from.
[0:50] Just as a warning, never buy a vehicle from a mailman. Because pastors get asked to come use cutoff saws and you remove things that probably were put on by the factory.
[1:02] And that piece of metal is hot when it comes off. So brother, I burnt that wrist. Remember how I told you it was hot? Our mailman, local mailman, had bought a new vehicle and we were trying to get some pieces off of it. And when you, you know, cut those things off, that metal is hot.
[1:15] So I just made a little mental note to myself, like never buying a vehicle from a mailman. They have to drive from the wrong side of the vehicle and to get their leg across, modifications have got to be made. So good to see you, brother.
[1:27] Thankful I remember now where that came from. But it's okay. It's just one of those scars of the ministry. But take your Bibles. We're in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7. We're going to be looking at its entirety this morning.
[1:38] And it's a really deep passage, a really exciting passage for us to get into. As a matter of fact, this is the passage in which the author of Hebrews in the fifth chapter was saying it's for the mature.
[1:48] This is the one that he was looking ahead and saying, I can't wait to talk about this. But before we get to Hebrews 7, we had to go through Hebrews 6. And now we are here at this point that he has been really working towards for the last few chapters and really working towards as kind of the central focus of the book of Hebrews.
[2:07] And he is putting it out there for us to see and to understand and really exalting the position of Christ. If you remember, the overall theme for the book of Hebrews is Jesus is better or Jesus is greater.
[2:21] And really, he is greater than anything that anyone is trusting in. In particular, he is greater than any hope or expectation that the Jewish people would have been looking for when the author of the book of Hebrews wrote this letter.
[2:35] Because he is writing to Hebrew individuals who are considering Christianity, if you will. They've heard the truth of Christ. They've heard the reality of the testimony of his disciples and the believers and the followers.
[2:47] And they are saying, well, Jesus sounds good. It sounds awesome. It sounds like maybe I need to dedicate and commit my life to Jesus Christ. But on the other side of that, there was their heritage or the historical aspect of their life.
[3:00] Well, what about the Jewish faith? What about Judaism? What about all the law and the Levites and the priests and all the sacrifices? What do I do then? What do I do with this?
[3:11] And the author here is lifting up Jesus, saying he's better than anything you have ever trusted in. Now, that's the truth to the audience in particular. But the truth to everyone throughout history that has application is that no matter what it is we're trusting in, no matter what it is we're relying on, Jesus is greater.
[3:33] And he uses probably the greatest nation of interacting with the Lord God in history to show us that, how God had a particular people, gave them a particular commandment, gave them a particular law, and said, this is what it takes to live before me.
[3:51] And then he puts Jesus Christ up beside them and said, but other than that, he is greater. So Hebrews chapter 7 is where we're at this morning. If you are physically able and desire to do so, would you stand with me as we read the word of God together in Hebrews chapter 7.
[4:07] It says, He remains a priest perpetually.
[4:39] Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who received the priest's office have commandment in the law to collect a tenth from the people that is from their brethren, although they are descendants from Abraham.
[4:56] But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
[5:07] In this case, mortal men receive tithes, but in that case, one receives them of whom it is witness that he lives on. And so to speak, through Abraham, even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
[5:23] Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be designated according to the order of Aaron.
[5:36] For when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe from which no one has officiated at the altar.
[5:48] For it is evident that our Lord was descendant from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clear still if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.
[6:10] For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand there is a setting aside of a formal commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect.
[6:23] And on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath, but he with an oath through the one who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever.
[6:42] So much more, also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The former priests on the one hand existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priests to it permanently.
[6:58] Therefore he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.
[7:25] because this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.
[7:39] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much. Lord, you've given us this great day and you've given us an opportunity to read your word. And Lord, as we have read it and heard it, Lord, our heart cry now is that you would be present to help us to understand it.
[7:56] Lord, may it be so much more than words on a page or may it be so much more than something we hear. But God, may it be the very truth of the revelation of who you are and what you are doing and may it grip our hearts and minds in such a way that it radically transforms our lives.
[8:14] Lord, may we draw closer to you through the truth which we see and Lord, may we stand amazed at your greatness through the application it has in our life. Lord, in all things we exalt you and we lift you on high and we say, oh Lord, you be magnified and you alone and we ask it all in Jesus' name.
[8:31] Amen. You may be seated. After reading such a chapter, it is okay just to take a deep breath and go, whew. You know, as coaching young kids in baseball and coaching them in coach pitch baseball, there's a lot of pressure put on the coach.
[8:48] I always say that I think I have thrown my arm out making this little motion here more than I ever did throwing it hard baseball whenever I was playing at my own level because trying to throw that ball at the right spot and really throw it into the kid's bat so that they can get a hit is one of the hardest things that I have ever done coaching.
[9:07] But every now and then, you know, I'll get to that place where in our league you got six pitches and that kid will sit there and just watch every pitch go by and I'm like, man, you're putting a lot of pressure on your coach here, right? Because now we got one pitch and we've got a hit and if it's a bad one, we mess up.
[9:19] So I'll look at that kid and I'll say, just take a deep breath, just breathe and let's just hit this thing. And when we come to hard portions of scripture, it's the same way. It's every now and then we need to step back and just take a deep breath and say, God has thrown a lot on us but he expects us to understand its truth and to take that truth and apply it to our life.
[9:37] And this morning, I want you to see that we have a priest of a greater order. The priest of a greater order. We have said this over and over again, but the oldest book in scripture is the book of Job.
[9:51] And Job is writing really from the difficulties of his life. The book of Job is a great book. I love that book. It's not an easy book. I didn't say it was an easy book. It's not even a pleasant book. But what the book of Job does is it completely dismisses this thought that God blesses those who do right and curses those who do wrong.
[10:09] It completely dismisses that. We call that the name it and claim it or the prosperity theology or whatever you want to say because Job in his righteousness still suffered.
[10:20] And in his suffering, he cried out from the depths of that suffering with a heart cry of all man. And I don't think it's coincidental that it is found in the oldest book of scripture. And that heart cry is this.
[10:31] I wish that someone could stand between me and God. Job had lived his life in the greatest sense of righteousness which he could. He was offering offerings and sacrifices and making atonement for presumptuous sins.
[10:45] He was doing it in case his children sinned and he would do it routinely and he was feeding the hungry and he was clothing the naked and he was ministering to the poor. Yet he still went into the greatest depths of suffering that we have recorded in scripture.
[11:00] And from that suffering, Job cried out and said, I need someone to stand in the gap. He realized in his own weakness that the best he could do would never satisfy his longing to be right with God.
[11:15] And that heart cry which we find in the book of Job resonates throughout scripture that man needs someone to stand in the gap because of man's sin nature, because of the things which we have done which are a rebellion against a holy God, we are no longer welcomed into the presence of God, yet we long to be in that presence.
[11:38] As a matter of fact, we were created to be in that presence. Genesis chapter 3 gives us the whole purpose, statement for man's creation. And when we read in Genesis 3, actually it's in Genesis 2, it says that God put him in the garden and told him to keep it and to tend it.
[11:54] And it seems like we think man was tended to till the land and to maintain the garden. That's not what God is saying. God says, obey me and live in faithful relationship with me. Man was created to walk in obedience and relationship with holy God.
[12:10] We're recreated to live in communion with him. It is what the book of Ecclesiastes says, the eternity that is set in the heart of every man.
[12:20] It is crying out, saying, I am made for something more than this. Yet in that intended purpose, we also realize we cannot do it on our own, so we need someone to bridge the gap.
[12:33] God begins to do this with the nation of Israel. Now stay with me. All this has application, right? And he begins to show us what this looks like through his chosen people, the nation of Israel.
[12:43] And he appoints for them an order and a priesthood and all these people who would stand in the gap. If you are with me on Sunday nights, you know that when God called them out of Egypt and into the promised land on the way he told them that he would make them a nation of priests, his intended purpose was that they would be a nation of priests who would stand in the gap for the rest of the world.
[13:07] But their rebellion and failure to follow him completely led to them becoming a nation with priests. That's a big difference, right? Now they would be a nation with priests in their midst that would be a picture to the world of this is what it looks like when man has access to God through an individual.
[13:25] Now, this shows us, stay with me, I know I'm running a long trail, but this trail takes us somewhere. That God has appointed man a way.
[13:36] For the first time in history when God chose Abraham, Abraham out of the land of the earth of Chaldeans and he appointed Abraham a great nation and he called them out of Egypt. For the first time in history, all those years later, Job's desire is met because now Aaron stands in the gap.
[13:58] And the descendants of Aaron would be those who stood in the gap between man and his sin and God and his holiness. Yet we understand when we read the Old Testament, I don't know if you figured this out yet or not, but if you come back tonight, we're going to open up Numbers and when we read in the book of Numbers, we're going to read about Aaron dying in the book of Numbers.
[14:23] Hebrews, the one who was standing in the gap dies and his son Eleazar fills his place and there's always this next person, this next person, this next person. So it's limited and we'll get to that in just a moment.
[14:34] But God is showing us what it looks like. And now, here in the book of Hebrews, he shows us there is a better order or a greater order of priests, one that will stand in the gap for all men.
[14:50] And he goes to this obscure passage of Melchizedek. So I want you to see this morning that we have in Jesus a priest of a greater order.
[15:03] Number one, we see the historicity of it or the historical fact of it. He says, for this Melchizedek. Now, who is this Melchizedek? What is amazing to me?
[15:14] Now, maybe you don't get as excited about this, but I do. When you open up Genesis chapter 14, you find in verses 17 through 20, the whole historical record we have of Melchizedek.
[15:26] Genesis 14, verses 17 through 20, talk to us about Melchizedek. And then there is one other reference to him in the Old Testament, and it is in Psalms 110, verse 4.
[15:37] So in all of Scripture outside of the book of Hebrews, there are a grand total of five verses that talk of Melchizedek. if we were to be opening up our passage of Scripture and we were to be opening up our Bible and we were to start in the book of Genesis and we were to read it like any other book, we would be reading Genesis chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, and we'd get all the way to Genesis 14 and we would read those four verses in Genesis 14 and we would think, well, that was an odd occurrence.
[16:04] I wonder why it was there. And then we would be prone to forget it because immediately after reading Genesis we would go into the book of Exodus and then we would go into Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy and then we would read, read, read, and we'd finally get to Psalm 110 and we'd say, well, there's his name again.
[16:17] I wonder why it's there. And then we would forget about it because then we would get into Proverbs and the Song of Solomon or Ecclesiastes and we'd start getting all these books of prophecy and we would think, well, those obscure passages really have no place.
[16:29] It is not until we get near the end of the New Testament and we open up the book of Hebrews that we find out why God put this obscure person in history in his book. I agree with John MacArthur that it shows us that this is proof that God wrote the Bible.
[16:45] This, its author, he moved through the hand of man but it is God himself who is the author of scripture because who else would put little gems like this that would have their fulfillment? Think about this.
[16:55] When he is mentioned in Genesis, some 1,000 years transpire in history before he is ever mentioned again in the book of Psalms and then another 1,000 plus years transpire before he is mentioned again in the book of Hebrews.
[17:11] Yet, it is a very clear picture of what the author is giving us. It is almost like, and that is not almost, it is absolutely like the whole reason Melchizedek exists is so that the author of Hebrews can show us the order of priesthood we have in Jesus Christ.
[17:27] And we stand amazed there because what we're looking at is the historical figure of Melchizedek. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of all the spoils, was first of all by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
[17:52] Now we're looking at the historical person, Melchizedek. It says that he was the king of Salem. Now let's just go a little deeper in this. Salem is the Old Testament name for Jerusalem.
[18:07] Now where was it when Jesus said that he would stand and reign? That would be Jerusalem, right? Where was it that when Abraham offered up Isaac and said, in the mount of the Lord it will be provided?
[18:25] That was Temple Mount, which later becomes Jerusalem. So where was it that Melchizedek was the king of? Jerusalem. Or Salem.
[18:38] So we begin to see that God is not coincidental in anything that he does. And we're just looking at the historical aspect of this order. Now Abraham, the story goes like this and we don't have a long time to get into it, but just so you understand it, Lot goes down to Sodom and Gomorrah because it looks good down there.
[18:54] The land is lush and green and he goes down there. Abraham is sojourning in his land and then he gets word that Lot has been taken captive by Charlemagne and some bunch of other kings. Okay, so Abraham does what the righteous always do.
[19:06] He goes and defends his kinfolk, right? He gets a little upset and I love the fact that five kings couldn't defeat these four kings and the five kings fell before the four kings and they fell into the tar pit so Abraham said, well I'll take care of it.
[19:17] And he gets the servants from his house and then he just goes and he defeats the four kings. It's an amazing picture, right? And he comes back and Lot, he's bringing Lot back and on his way back from his victory as he's coming back all of a sudden we meet Melchizedek who just appears and he offers him bread and wine and then it's this amazing picture because we don't know where he came from and we don't even know why he came out but he came here and he is historically the king of Salem but he is also introduced for us as the priest of the most high God.
[19:48] So what does this tell us? God always got his man in history, right? He's a priest just so we settle this down, okay? Because this is just an amazing truth.
[20:01] One of the arguments against the loving kindness of God is the fact that God appointed his people to go into Canaan and completely annihilate and destroy the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Jebusites all the ites, right?
[20:15] Doesn't God appear mean? Well, right smack dab in the middle of the land of Canaan is a city named Salem and in Salem there was a priest of the most high God named Melchizedek and then Abraham journeyed around that land proclaiming the greatness and the name of God and then 400 years later God used his people as instruments of judgment because of the Canaanites rejection of him because historically Melchizedek had been there.
[20:50] They had the opportunity to hear. They had the opportunity to repent and they did not. But what we see here is this man meets Abraham and Abraham gives him a portion thereof and he is a historical person and it says that he's a priest.
[21:08] So now all of a sudden we are introduced to an order of priesthood that precedes the Levites. The cry that oh I wish there was a man who would stand between me and God.
[21:21] God says I've got my man. He's the king of Salem who is the priest of the most high God. And he introduces us to him through an encounter with Abraham.
[21:33] So now we move on. Now Job was from when Job wrote his scripture let's just get a little deeper in this text. When Job wrote his scripture Job was probably from the area which we refer to as Ur or Mesopotamia.
[21:47] And his heart cry was I wish that someone would stand in the gap. God called a man from Ur named Abram and found the man who stood in the gap. Melchizedek. Okay? So now we move on.
[21:58] Not only is it there the historical fact there is the superiority of this order. Is Melchizedek really greater than Levi? Because this is what the author is telling us.
[22:09] This is what the author is pointing us to Jesus is a priest according to that order and he is greater than Levi. How do we know it? It says this because Abraham met him and immediately gave him a tenth or a tithe of all of his spoils.
[22:24] Now what's amazing about the passage is that Melchizedek did not ask for it. Abraham met him and the immediate response of Abraham was to give him a tenth of everything.
[22:39] And then what's even more amazing is that Melchizedek didn't say no I don't deserve that you keep it. He took it. Why? Because he knew he was greater than Abraham.
[22:50] And then he blessed Abraham. And as the scripture tells us here in the book of Hebrews surely the one who blesses is greater than the one who is blessed.
[23:02] And since Levi was still in the loins so to say of Abraham because he wasn't born yet Levi who is commanded to take the tithes paid a tithe.
[23:15] So we see this he is greater than Abraham because he blesses Abraham and the superior always blesses the inferior. Now this is Jewish train of thought so stay with me and sometimes it's not our train of thought and I know it's going to get a little confusing but I want you to stay with me.
[23:30] And Abraham just willingly gave him a tithe. Now Abraham has already proved himself to be the strongest and greatest man living in that region. Right? He's already defeated the kings that nobody else could defeat.
[23:41] He's already arose victorious and he's coming back with all these spoils and in the moment he meets Melchizedek he gives him a tenth. Now he is recognizing the fact that he is inferior to Melchizedek who is greater than him.
[23:54] Now not only is there this that but look at what it says in verse 3 this is the Jewish line of thought that starts kind of messing with our American minds. It says that he is without father without mother without genealogy having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like the son of God he remains a priest perpetually.
[24:15] He said well somebody had to be his parents. Right. But in Jewish thought if your genealogy was not recorded in scripture if it did not say when you were born and to whom you were born and when you died then you were considered eternal.
[24:33] He says we don't know who his parents were and we don't know when he died so it is a priesthood that is perpetual. Now really the weight of the argument here is pointed towards the tribe of Levi because the Levites had a right to the priesthood based solely upon their heritage.
[24:53] Right. because of whose children they were. Eleazar became priest because he was the children or the child of Aaron. Eleazar's son will become priest because he is the child of Eleazar.
[25:05] He can always point back and say I have a right to this position because of who my parents are. And it would always come to a place where it stops. What the author of Hebrews is showing us is that Melchizedek was a priest not because of who his parents were but because of who he was.
[25:26] He did not inherit this position he was given this position. And since he did not inherit it he did not pass it on.
[25:39] The position he holds is perpetual. He didn't give it to his descendants. He didn't give it to the people that followed him. It was given to him and to him alone. So he is superior in that his priesthood does not pass down.
[25:53] It stays with him. It's perpetually his. Now I know that's deep but we also see this in the priest how it is described. Levites are typically described as priests of the Lord.
[26:07] Capital L capital O capital R capital D. The Lord being a name for Yahweh. Yahweh is the covenant name of God. And that's in particular that is important because in particular it means that that is the God of Israel.
[26:20] Yahweh is the God of Israel. And the Levites are the priest of Yahweh. So that means that they only serve inside the nation of Israel.
[26:31] Right? Because they are serving in particular to the God of Israel which is Yahweh. Now we also know this God is the God of all the world but he is the covenant God of Israel and they are described as the priest of Yahweh.
[26:46] Melchizedek is introduced to us as the priest of the Lord God Most High. That is El Elyon. El Elyon is the name of God which means the God over all other gods.
[27:00] The great God who is not only God of Israel he is the God of the world. He is the God of all nations. So what we see here is Melchizedek is a priest of the international world where the Levites were the priests of the particular world of the nation of Israel.
[27:15] His domain was larger. Now I know this is all the facts and the details. Now let's get down to the application. There's a historical aspect. That's why he is superior because he serves a position greater.
[27:27] Now here's the question. Was it needed? So look at the necessity of it. Was it needed? Do we really need a priest from a different order?
[27:39] And that's what the author is giving here to the Hebrew people. He says is this something we even need? We have the Levites. The Levites are doing it for us. But look at what he says. Verse 11.
[27:50] Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood from the basis of it, the people received the law. What further need was there for another priest to arise? So his question is, if we are made perfect through the Levites, we don't need another one, right?
[28:06] If the law makes us perfect, then we don't need another priest. priesthood if we can become perfect through our obedience to the law, if we can do things right and be acceptable before God, if we can follow to the best of our ability and do everything God has commanded us to do, then leave us alone, everything is okay.
[28:25] We would call that a works based salvation. If I could do enough, if I could work enough, if I could do it to the best of my ability, if God would be pleased because I did enough good and didn't do too much bad, then I would not need a priest to stand in the gap.
[28:42] And here he is writing, he said, if perfection could come through the law, then we wouldn't need it. But we go on down, look at what it says. He says here, that in verse 19, for the law made nothing perfect.
[29:00] The law made nothing perfect. The nation of Israel were giving the greatest standard of living to any other nation in all the world.
[29:10] We call that the law of Moses, or the law of God found in the Old Testament. And here the author tells us the law makes nothing perfect. He's going to flesh that out in the rest of Hebrews because it shows us none of us can be cleansed on the inside through an outward act of obedience.
[29:35] If it was possible to be made perfect through the law or through our obedience or through our actions then we would not need another priest.
[29:47] But since the law makes no man perfect and since the law is weak even in what it offers us because it says that there were a multitude of priests because they were limited by death.
[30:01] They kept dying. And then you have this great picture. In the law of God if you sinned and I think it was Warren Wearsby he painted the picture so good and I love the painting of it.
[30:14] He said imagine you met a stranger and you were going to pay the sacrifices for your sins and as you were going down the road you had two goats. You were carrying two goats and a bull as the Old Testament refers to it as a bullock.
[30:25] So you had two goats and a bull. And a stranger asked what are you doing? He will take the sacrificial goat he will slay it and he'll take its blood and he'll put it before the altar and he'll offer that goat on the altar and then he'll give the other goat to an individual who will lead it out to the wilderness and then it will get lost and it will be representative of my sins being removed from me and my sins being cleansed of the blood that's a scape goat right?
[31:01] And the gentleman looks at and says well what about this bull? Why do you have this bull? That's the best looking bull I have ever seen. He said oh well the bull is for the priest because before the priest can offer my sacrifices for my sins he has to offer this bull for his sin.
[31:21] He said oh so a goat pays for your sin but you have to give this great bull to pay for his sin well yes because see the priest holds an office that is closer to God and since he walks closer to God his sins bear more responsibility and more consequences and he must atone for his sin with this bull before he can atone with my sin or for my sin with my goat and then you go out and you do it again and you come back with two goats and a bull and it was limited and it would never ever make you perfect you say well I don't walk around leading goats and bulls and I'm so thankful you don't I'm glad you don't bring those to me okay but some of us walk around in our own righteousness and our own actions and think well if I do this and this and this then surely God is pleased with me but the reality is is we will never offer enough goats and bulls for God to ever ever ever be pleased with us and by the way I know it sounds kind of harsh but most of what we offer to God is nothing but a big bull anyway it's never perfect it's never right and if you're trusting in an individual much like that person leading the goat and bull to that
[32:40] Levite you may get there and the Levite you went to yesterday may have died so now you're trusting in the perfection of another individual because it says that there were a multitude of them because they were limited by death they kept dying they kept dying and every year you'd come back and it may be another one and we're like wait I need someone who is consistent someone I can go to someone I can trust in someone that I know knows my weaknesses and yet can stand in the gap for me here we begin to see the fourth and final thing the opportunity we have in this great order the opportunity we have it says here that Jesus has come not as one of a multitude of priests but as a particular priest now the author makes an emphasis and he goes and references Psalm 110 Psalm 110 is a psalm of
[33:42] David okay now David is the author of a multitude of psalms but David is also the originator of one of the greatest systems of priesthood ever known to man the priesthood was at its zenith during the days of David's reign over the nation of Israel he had priests appointed to this and priests appointed to that and the tabernacle was existing he hadn't built the temple yet because he didn't build the temple Solomon did but what David did was organize the priesthood right he had singers and musicians and he had all the Levites in the right place and everybody was going in an order and he had all the priests and all the Levites serving in an order that we see even coming about during the days of Zacharias when Zacharias goes into the temple still following the order which David set up and at its zenith when the priesthood was working the best David penned Psalm 110 in Psalm 110 it says then the Lord said to my Lord by the way that's a verse which Jesus references and says if the son of man is to descend from David then why did David call him his
[34:43] Lord because if you read Psalm 110 the very first verse says then the Lord Yahweh said to my Lord Adonai and that is a picture of God the father and Jesus the son right so it's the Lord said to my Lord set at my right hand until I put your enemies under you so it opens up with a reference to the kingship or the kingly position of Jesus and then in verse four it says for the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek so God makes a promise through David when the priesthood was working at its best that there would be another priest arise from a different order and it is this opportunity that we have in Jesus for one it is not one that is passed down based upon family lineage it is one that is rooted in the very promise of God and God says that he would not change his mind the
[35:43] Lord has sworn and will not change his mind you are a priest forever he is the forever eternal priest and the opportunity is this it says in verse 19 and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God this is the better hope we have we're not trusting in man we're not trusting in their efforts we're not trusting in someone who's changing year after year after year we're trusting in the one who's going to hold his position forever it also tells us in verse 22 so much more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant he is the guarantee here is the opportunity we have we have the opportunity to live at peace with a holy God and the guarantee that it can happen is Jesus himself he is the guarantee it says that he continues forever and he holds his priesthood permanently therefore I love verse 25 if you don't hear anything else please hear verse 25 okay I know
[36:48] I've said a lot and I'm wrapping up so don't tone it tone me out now verse 25 therefore he that is the one who holds his place forever is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them here is the opportunity we've been talking about this over and over again it is the eternal security of the saints through Jesus I've said all that I've said so far just to say this in Jesus Christ we have a person who can bring us to a holy God forever the word forever is completely he completely saves us and perfectly redeems us you say well what's the guarantee he can he himself is the guarantee and it says that he is the guarantee because of the testimony of an indestructible life he lives forever more he completely saves he completely redeems he completely fills the gap that Job was crying out for it says that he lives daily to intercede for us in Jesus
[38:11] Christ we have a priest that is not going to change he knows our every weakness he knows our every failings he knows where we messed up last year he knows where we messed up yesterday he is still in the same position he was 2000 years ago and he will be there for all of eternity he was making intercession for me the night I accepted him as my Lord and Savior and he is still making intercession for me now 20 years later he will be making intercession for me until he blows that trumpet has the angel sound that trumpet and I meet him in the air the priest that I had when I came to Christ is the same priest that I will have when I meet Christ he is the one who is constantly in his presence he is the guarantee of the better hope which I possess of eternal life in the presence of a holy God he is the man who stands in the gap and there will never be another he is constantly interceding for me and he is constantly interceding for you friend listen to me we don't trust in a Levite we don't trust in Aaron we don't trust in any man to bring us we have a priest of a different order who has the testimony of an indestructible life he will never fail you he will never forsake you and he will never leave you the Bible says that he is appointed to stand in the gap for you and he will stand in the gap for you for all of eternity that is the priest we have all of the other things all of the other details and all the stuff that makes our mind smoke is all for this purpose to show us in
[39:38] Jesus Christ we have what our heart cry is oh that someone would stand in the gap he has called me to be the pastor of this church but I will only be the pastor of this church as long as he leaves me here but we have one who stands in the gap forever and that is Jesus Christ he's the one we need we don't need any other we don't need any man we don't need any individual we don't need our efforts and our works because he is able to save completely those who draw near to the father through him you want to know how you're completely saved go through Jesus Christ any other way is a partial failing forgiveness he is the only complete salvation we have let's pray lord I thank you for this day and I thank you for allowing us the opportunity to gather together lord we realize there are deep truths that we have looked at this morning but lord I pray that in all of that we would not get lost in the facts and the details but lord that we would see you lifted up and magnified and exalted we thank you for the position you hold and lord we thank you for the place that you will hold for all of eternity thank you for being our complete and perfect savior and thank you for being the priest who stands in the gap and we ask it all in
[41:03] Jesus name amen detain Thank you.
[42:04] Thank you.
[42:34] Thank you.
[43:04] Thank you.
[43:34] Thank you.