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But, here we are. We are coming back to Hebrews, in particular the second half of the book of Hebrews, looking at chapter seven. Now, the book of Hebrews can be an intimidating one because of chapter seven, eight and nine. When you look at these chapters, it looks difficult. It looks very technical. It gives you a lot of facts and because we are not Jews, most of us, we are not familiar with these things. We might be tempted to say, this is too difficult, let's jump shift, let's go on to chapter 10, 11 or whatever. But I want to assure you, as we look at chapter 7, its really quite plain and simple. So, I want to set your heart at rest. If you read before hand, it seems so complicated, it should be clear by the end of our session together.

If you're here today for the first time, and because we've taken a three weeks' break, I'd like to give a simple rundown on what this book of Hebrews is really all about. If there is one word that would summarize Hebrews, what would it be? Hebrews. No, haha.. that would be too simple, right? The one word that summarizes this book is the word 'Greater'. It's right in front of you. The author from the beginning to the end is showing the incomparable worth and majesty of Jesus Christ. He's showing that Jesus is greater than all that has gone before Him. He's greater for example, than the angels. He's greater than Moses. He's greater than Joshua.

Now, the angels are very helpful. They're very useful; they've a purpose and a role to fill. Moses is very important, Joshua is very important. They are good but they're not good enough. None of them could save us from our sins. Someone greater and that is Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us from our sins, He is the only one who can represent us before the holy God. For example, the angels are very important. The Bible tells us that God gave the 10 Commandments through the ministry of the angels. Now the angels of course passed the law to Moses and Moses to the people of Israel, but angels were so critical, they were instrumental in giving of the law, but you know something about the law? The law, though it's a good thing could never save us from our sins.

The law, the Ten Commandments were not given to save us from our sins. That may shock you, for some of you who are new. You say, then, what's the purpose of the law, if the law cannot save us from our sins, what is it for? The Scriptures tell us the law is given to show us our sins, not to save us from our sins. The law is given to reveal sin, but not to remove sin; it has no power to do it. So when God says, 'you shall not kill. You shall not lie. You shall not commit adultery', He's not saying, 'Do these things to be saved,' because He knows none of us could do it.

None of us could obey the law; none of us could obey the way it is supposed to be. So the law is given not to say, oh, here is the instruction manual, how you get yourself saved; but the law is given so that I can see I am very sinful, to see that I have a murderous heart, I have a lustful heart, I have a cheating heart, that I am a sinful man. So the law is given not to remove, but to reveal sin. As we've mentioned it is like a giant X-ray machine. The law is like the X-ray machine passing through our lives. And when we look at the X-ray we see, to our horror, our spiritual disease. If you today are unwell, you go take an x-ray and you see a whopping big growth there or an infection there, what do you do?

Do you go to the X-ray machine and say, X-ray, please save me! Nobody does that. You're silly, you should know that the X-ray cannot remove the problem, it can only reveal the problem and when it reveals to you the problem, you are then advised to go to see the great doctor. The 10 commandments are given to reveal our great spiritual disease that we may turn to Jesus alone who is able to save. So the angels are great. They gave us the law, but, not good enough, they can't save.

Time stamp in audio 0:04:45.6

How about Moses? Moses is a great guy, one of the most famous characters throughout the Bible. He is the one who gave us the tabernacle; the rituals, the sacrifices, the law, but Moses could never save people from their sins. Moses himself had sins to deal with. He was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his own sins. So Moses is good, but not good enough. Joshua is good; Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. But even though Joshua led the people into rest in the Promised Land, there remains a rest for the people of God. He could not bring people into spiritual rest with God. So Joshua is good, but the same story remains, not good enough.

So the book of Hebrews is telling us about the, again, incomparable worth of Jesus Christ. He is so much greater; He is the only one who could save us from our sins. He's the only one who could present us and represent us before God. That's why Christians are called Christians, we follow Christ. That's why this church is about leading generations into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are not here about Moses or Joshua, it's about Jesus. He's the only one who could save.

This week I was with my son in the science Museum and we saw something interesting. It's an exhibit; it probably won't catch your eye. If you have been to the science center, you'll probably be attracted to more mobile dynamic displays. But when I saw this, I thought, this is interesting, what is this all about? So, I took a closer look and this is a Singapore flag, of course and there are some bits and pieces, some fragments here. And it says, this fragment is a portion of a rock from the Taurus Littrow Valley of the moon. So, we have a piece of moon here on Earth, right here in Singapore at Jurong in the Science Center.

And then this flag, what is this all about? 'This flag of your nation was carried to the moon aboard (side of) spacecraft America during the Apollo 17 mission, December 7 to 19, 1972, presented to the people of the Republic of Singapore from the people of the United States of America, Richard Nixon, 1973'. Summary of this display, presented to the people of the Republic of Singapore from or by Richard Nixon. This flag of your nation was carried to the moon and back by Apollo 11, and this fragment of the moon's surface was brought to earth by the crew of that first manned, lunar landing. How cool is that?

No Singaporean, as far as I know, lah, no Singaporean has been to the moon personally, but we were there in a sense, when Neil Armstrong stepped on the surface of the moon. That's why he said, 'That's one small step for a man, but one great or one giant leap for mankind.' He knew that when he stepped on the moon, he was not going them by himself and for himself; he is going there on behalf of humanity. He is our representative. When I saw that I was reminded of the priest who stands in the holy place before God. He doesn't stand there just for himself; he stands there, primarily for the people of Israel. It is clear from his attire. That's what it is meant to be. He has 12 stones, precious stones on the breastplate, he has 12 precious stones on his shoulders, representing he is carrying them, and he is going for them, they are upon his heart.

The great high priest enters the presence of God, representing the people of God and this priest is a picture of Jesus Christ. This is not about Jews or Israel alone, this is a picture that our Savior, Jesus Christ represents us and He's the only one qualified to represent us before the Holy God and the book of Hebrews really displays this priesthood of Jesus powerfully.

(1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV)
For there is one God,
and there is one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all,

We are reminded in 1st Timothy that there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Christ is the only mediator. There is one mediator, no one else, not Moses, not Joshua, not the angels, not Gabriel no Michael, Jesus alone.

Time stamp in audio 0:09:56.6

(Hebrews 2:17 ESV)
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect,so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation
for the sins of the people.

And so the author of the book of Hebrews keeps pressing that point. There's only one priest, Jesus Christ. Chapter 2, he says, “He is our merciful and faithful High Priest.”

(Hebrews 3:1 ESV)
Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

Chapter 3, he again repeats, “He is the apostle and high priest, our representative.”

(Hebrews 4:14 ESV)
Since then we have a great high priest
who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Chapter four, He says, “we have this Great High Priest.”

(Hebrews 5:5 ESV)
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest,but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

Chapter 5, “he says, we have a High Priest.”

So, he's repeating this chapter after chapter after chapter, this is the strong clear message from the writer. This is the key theme of the book of Hebrews; this one who is greater is now our Savior, our High Priest, our Mediator, our representative. Only one, no one else, no one else.

Now, the Jews are a very sharp people. You could appreciate that. Most of the Nobel prizes are won by them. But spiritually, religiously they are also very sharp and probably the author has already known that they will ask this question. Now, you say Jesus is a priest but didn't God say that all priests are to come from the tribe of Levi? Don't you remember that anyone who is outside of the tribe, who try to perform the sacrifices and rites were killed by God! How can you say Jesus is a priest, when he is not from Levi, but he is from? Yes, he is from Judah. So how can Jesus be a priest, He is not from the prescribed tribe.

His father is not a priest, His father is a carpenter and as far as we know He never went to the temple to perform as a priest during His lifetime. So how could you say Jesus is a priest? The author knowing that this might be the objection, argues therefore and presents this reality that most of us are not even aware of, that the priesthood, the representative before God is not limited only to Aaron's line, there is actually another kind of priesthood.

(Hebrews 6:20 ESV)
where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having
become a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.

He says in Hebrews 6:20, Jesus is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, not after the order of Levi or after the order of Aaron, it’s after another order and I know this is where you (say), “What Melchizedek?” In fact, in Chinese (it’s) even worse – 麦基喜德 (“mài  jī  xǐ  dé”) (as it sounds like) 麦香鸡 (“mài xiāng jī” or McChicken). What is 麦基喜德 (“mài  jī  xǐ  dé”)? What is Melchizedek?

I suppose I wouldn't blame you if you don't quite remember this name because He's only mentioned three times in the Bible, one time here, of course, another time in the book of Genesis; 3 verses in Genesis. That's all there is. Three verses- historical record, and then one more verse in Psalm 110. So of course many of us would probably have read it or didn't read it, and forgotten about this Melchizedek, but the author is a diligent student of Scripture. He knows that there is greater purpose, than just a random listing out of this name Melchizedek in the Bible. So Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek?

In Genesis 14, this is the only historical record, meaning, this is the only record that gives us the kind of a description story of what he does. Psalm 110 is a declaration; it's just a statement. Hebrews is the explanation, so this is the only historical record. It says,

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! ”And Abram gave him a tenth of everything." (Genesis 14:18-20 ESV)

If you look at Genesis, you would know that the story is that Abraham had just gone out to war, won against a confederacy of five kings, he is returning home. On his way back he is met by Melchizedek and he's called Melchizedek, and also the king of Salem. What is Salem, we'll learn about that later on, when the Hebrews' author tells us, and Melchizedek king of Salem is also known as the priest of God Most High. So like what we have learnt the last time, he is like the Chinese emperor, remember? The Chinese emperor is 天子 (“tiān zǐ”) or 皇帝 (“huáng dì”). He is both king and priest.

Time stamp in audio 0:15:08.0

He rules China politically and he represents China religiously when he offers sacrifices every once a year, so the Chinese emperor is a royal priest. Melchizedek is also a royal priest, and he says, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. He pronounced a blessing on Abraham, blessed be Abraham, by God Most High, and so on. And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. Tithe- first mention of the tenth in the Scriptures. He gave to Melchizedek a tenth. So clearly, Abraham somehow acknowledged the priesthood of Melchizedek. Doesn't, the Bible doesn't tell us how he knew, when they got to meet, what were the signs- we don't know, but, we are told that Abraham affirmed the priesthood of Melchizedek.

Now the author of Hebrews, then expounds on this. He repeats the story almost to the detail. Notice this is Hebrews 7, which is what we were looking at already. The author says, this Melchizedek, king of Salem. He's called the king of Salem, because he is the king of peace. That's what it means, and affirms the reality that he's the priest, and he blessed Abraham, and that he receives tithe, or the tenth from Abraham. The author adds on one or two more details explaining to us: the name Melchizedek really simply means, king of righteousness, that's all. But you could appreciate that these two names, these two titles are extremely appropriate, because Melchizedek is a picture of Jesus Christ.

His priesthood is like that of Jesus Christ and if he's the royal priest, he is the king of peace and righteousness, that's what Jesus is all about. So, the author continues to explain; now this is interesting, though. This is not written in Genesis, Exodus as a clear statement, this is an argument from silence. Because, he says, this Melchizedek is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest forever. Now, you don't find a statement in Genesis at all, or in Psalms but the author says, Aaron's priesthood had clear genealogies but the priesthood of Melchizedek, does not have a genealogy.

(Hebrews 7:3 ESV)
He is without father or mother or genealogy,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but resembling the Son of God
he continues a priest forever.

Now, there are some people who will look at this verse- He is without father, without mother, without genealogy, and they will say ooh, this Melchizedek must be some alien. He must be some angel, some special immortal being. Ooooh, this is a mystical creature. Well, I suppose you would start to think that way. Wah, he must be some mysterious specter. No, no, no, no, no, he's not. I believe hundred percent, Melchizedek is a man. You say, 'Pastor, are you sure?' I am.

'Why are you so sure?' Because Hebrews 5, verse one: You must have your Bibles, I didn't show it here. Hebrews 5, verse one tells us, every priest- this is the principle of Scripture: every priest must be taken from among men to represent man. By the way, that's why Jesus had to become man, to represent man, so Melchizedek is not an angel, he is not Gabriel disguised as a man. Melchizedek is not Jesus Christ before he became man. Melchizedek is a man. But then how do you explain 'without father, without mother'? Every man has some, except for Adam of course, every one of us has a father, mother.

Well, this is not talking about him as an individual as much as it is about him as a priest- In his priesthood, there is no predecessor and there is no mention of succession, so as far as Biblical records go, he represents a priesthood that lasts forever, that's the point, so don't go all mystical and crazy about guessing what kind of person Melchizedek is. So, what's the point? The point is this: Jesus is a legitimate priest. Yes, He's not from Aaron's line. But that's not important, that's not key, because He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is the real deal. He is our high priest and not only is He the real deal, He's the real priest, but He is part of a greater priesthood.

Time stamp in audio 0:20:16.9

See, the Jews were all very upset after leaving Judaism, they believe in Jesus, they feel jealous of those who are still worshiping in the old Judaistic ways. They are jealous of the fact that they still have Aaron' s priest taking care of the sacrifices. So the author of Hebrews says, don't be jealous of them, the priesthood of Jesus is far greater! You're not losing out for believing in Jesus Christ. You've a great- now, by the way, for those who are very scared, 'Pastor, light up. You've just started intro, lah', No, no, this is not intro; we are deep into the sermon already, so you can rest assured.

(Hebrews 6:20 ESV)

where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is of a greater priesthood. How do you know? Well, to prove that the priesthood of Jesus is greater than the priesthood of Aaron or the Levites, you just need to establish this one fact: Prove Melchizedek is greater than Abraham.

THE GREATER PRIESTHOOD

(Hebrews 7:4 ESV)
See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!

Let me show you why. In verse four, that's what the author goes to do. Now, he says, see, look at this: how great this man was, how great Melchizedek was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, 老祖宗，you know, when you hear 老祖宗, you have to wake up. This one must be a big, big shot. Yes, yes. Abraham is the mister big shot in Jewish history, all right? Look at how great Melchizedek was, that our老祖宗, our patriarch has to give a 10th of the spoil.

(Hebrews 7:6-7 ESV)
But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

Now, it is common sense that the lesser will give to the greater, right?

I mean people give to the king. 'Render to Caesar the things, the things that are Caesar’s'. So, it is common knowledge that the inferior gives to the greater.

(Hebrews 7:9-10 ESV)
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Now, this is not my argument, this is also the argument by the author. He says, this man, this Melchizedek, who does not have his descent from them. He's not from Abraham, he is not from Levi, this Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham. So Abraham gave to Melchizedek and this Melchizedek blessed him; blessed Abraham, who had the promise. So, Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

What is the author saying? Who is 老大 [boss in Chinese]？ Who is 老大between the two of them?  Who is “da lao” [boss in Cantonese? Hey, you all don't know 老大, then who is “da lao”? You don't know tai low, who is, who is … I don't know haha, who is the superior one: Melchizedek, wow, that is something- big shot you know, because Abraham is the patriarch, but Melchizedek is greater.

This is the mathematical formula M > A, alright? Melchizedek greater than Abraham. Now, is there more? Yes, the author goes on to press the point. Now, you may say Abraham bigger, but- maybe Aaron bigger, how? Or, the Levites bigger, how? No, no, no. The logic still presses on in this way. One might even say that Levi himself- by the way; Levi is Abraham's what? Great-grandson,
曾孙, wow！ 四代同堂， I think they didn’t 同堂 but he's the great grand son. How do you know? After Abraham is? Isaac. After Isaac is? Jacob. After Jacob is? The 12 tribes, of which, Levi, is one. So, Levi is the great grandson and he's saying, one might even say that the great-grandson himself who actually receives tithes from these other 12 tribes paid tithes through his great-grandfather Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

So, the logic of the author is saying, Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. Abraham is greater than Levi. Clear? This is the way it works. So, centrally, Melchizedek > Abraham. Abraham is greater than Levi and Levi obviously greater than Aaron. Aaron is one of the descendants of Levi. Why is the priesthood of Jesus superior? Very simple! Jesus' priesthood is after the order of? Melchizedek. So, the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than Aaron. Moreover, think about it. The priesthood of Melchizedek is longer than Aaron's priesthood and thirdly, the priesthood of Melchizedek is forever. So, no wonder, it is a greater priesthood and let me say something more.

Time stamp in audio 0:25:46.1

JESUS >

(Hebrews 7:3 ESV)
He is without father or mother or genealogy,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but resembling the Son of God
he continues a priest forever.

Jesus is greater than Melchizedek. I know this, because in verse three, we are told that Melchizedek; his role as priesthood resembles the Son of God. Notice it is not the Son of God resembles Melchizedek. It is not that Jesus fit himself to Melchizedek, but Melchizedek' s priesthood was designed to fit that of Jesus Christ's. Right after the service in the first session, someone who is a mathematical student says, “Pastor, do you know that great is good, but there's a sign that is very great? Means two of this (>>).” She taught me maths. I said I was never that good in maths anyway. And she's right. Properly it should be Jesus >>> Melchizedek >.. and so on and so forth.

The priesthood of Jesus is so superior to that of Aaron's that you don't have to be jealous, Jews you gave up the land, you gave up the Tabernacle, you gave up those rituals, it's fine. Because, you have a superior priest in Jesus Christ, way superior. So, this is what it's all about. Now, this is like I said, quite technical, because it's really explanation, not so much about practical Christian living in a sense. But here we are, we are not here to just give you facts. I want to encourage you in certain applicatory thoughts. Knowing the greater priesthood of Jesus Christ, it means a few things.

THE GREATER PRIESTHOOD

(Hebrews 4:14 ESV)
Since then we have a great high priest
who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast our confession.

Number one, a direct application of why the book of Hebrews is written, keep holding on to Jesus, because there is no one else like Him. There is no one else like him. The Hebrew Christians were tempted to give up on Christ, give up on their faith, to go back to religion, to go back to their own Judaistic traditions. But the author says, ‘why would you want to do that?’ Moses is good, but he's not good enough. The law is good, but it's not good enough. Don't you go back, but, instead, the Bible says, 'Hold fast. Hold tight.' I'm so scared of Christians who will become complacent, and they take their faith for granted. It's okay, I've grown up in church, I have listened to all the preaching all these years.

Maybe it's time for me to try that faith, try the other religion, explore this and that. Maybe I can find something that will save me. I tell you, there's no one else, who can save you. The Bible is crystal clear, there is one God and one Mediator: Jesus Christ. He is so, so, so, so great, far greater than anyone, that if Jesus can't save, there is no one who would ever be able to save. But Jesus saves. Don't take your faith for granted. Hang in there, hold tight. Keep pressing on, keep believing. This is for your soul, folks, you keep believing, keep holding on to Jesus because He's your Great High Priest. I find also that this consideration of the priesthood of Jesus, a comforting thought. Why? Because I tell you something about you, even though you have believed and you are believing in Jesus right now, today in your life, you're still living in sin, you're not perfect, you are still slipping and falling and doing things that you don't want to do, sinning in your thoughts that you should not be sinning.

Time stamp in audio 0:29:56.9

You are still sinning every day and when you sin, there can be guilt that strikes your heart, there can be fear and there can be a loss of intimacy, because you are ashamed and you and you start to question yourself. Will I lose that salvation? The priesthood of Jesus gives you tremendous assurance, because, well, in verse 25, - I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, I understand.

(Hebrews 7:25 ESV)
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost
those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.

This is verse 25, we are only in verse 10, but I feel, I just can't wait for the end of chapter 7 to come to this main point. The author is giving you all these provisions, drilling, drilling, drilling you with the foundations, they are so clear. He's a high priest, because he wants you to know, because He is a high priest, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since, He always lives to make intercession for them.

The tremendous encouragement in the priesthood of Jesus is that even when I sin today, someone up there is pleading for me! And this someone up there is the Great One, Jesus Christ, who paid a perfect price on the cross and is able to secure my soul. You say, what is He praying about? Is He praying that I'll get my job promotion? Is he praying that my dog will not be sick? Is he praying for superficial things? No, I'm not saying those things are superficial, but, are there deeper things to pray about? Absolutely. You know what He is praying for you today?

John Calvin says the intercession of Christ is a continual application of His death for salvation.

The reason why I am saved and I remain saved is because my Savior is applying His death in prayer to me. You say, pastor, what do you mean? It works like this: you just committed a sin, you just had an adultery, pornography, you were mean to someone. That's a sin. You know what, for that sin, you could die forever in hell. And the devil comes along. Imagine this court scene: the devil come around and says, 'Look, God! Look at John. He just did that, how could you save him? He is guilty!' And we stand there, we're speechless, we are guilty.

(Romans 8:34 ESV)
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—
more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God,who indeed is interceding for us.

But your great High Priest comes, stands before God. He says, 'I agree, he is guilty, he blew it, he sinned, and this is- don't know how many times you've done it already. But God, I paid for that on the cross, I gave my life, for that sin, and I'm pleading on behalf of what I have done, his salvation.'

And, day after day after day after day, our High Priest represents us before God, even as we continue to sin. Oh, does this make you want to sin more? I hope not. The child of God doesn't take this grace for granted; he hates his sin, but, should he sin, there is an advocate for us; there is someone to stand before us. See, that's why the authors, like Paul, he says, 'Who is now to condemn?' Who can condemn the Christian? He can't because it is Christ who died and it is Christ who is interceding for us. We are secured; we have an indestructible hope, eternal security, because of the perfect substitutionary and intercessory work of Jesus Christ. He paid it, and he's applying it, every single day. He is able to save us to the uttermost, to the very day, until the end.

(1 John 2:1 ESV)
My little children, I am writing these things to you
so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.

Wow! 'My little children', the old man, John writes, 'I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin.' Christian living is about holiness, but it is not about perfection, we all know that, he says, 'But if you do sin, if anyone does sin, I want you to know you have an advocate with the father.' I want you to know that Jesus is still for you, and because He's pleading for you, God is for you, Jesus saves you from the holy and righteous wrath of the Father, you know that?

Time stamp in audio 0:34:59.1

And that's why we sing, 'Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea; A great high priest whose name is love Who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart. I know that while in Heaven He stands (That's why He's there now); No tongue can bid me thence depart. (Though sometimes) Satan (would) tempt me to despair. (Look at you, look at the way you sin. Look at) the guilt within, but upward I look, and see him there who made an end of all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.'

The priesthood of Jesus Christ, reminds us, we are saved to the uttermost. If you have believed in Jesus, you are believing in Jesus, you ought to be the person who is most joyful. No one is going to condemn you; no one is going to separate you from the love of God. You're saved to the uttermost because your High Priest pleads for you.

(Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV)
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,
a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.

And in the light of such a confidence, in the light of such assurance: knowing that your future, your eternity is secure in the love of Jesus Christ, then we come back to how this whole section began. This whole section began when the writer is saying; 'Recognize that you have a sure and steadfast anchor for your soul, this hope.'

Because life is going to present itself with many storms. You're going to be swept by the winds and the waves, you're going to be thrown off-balance, you're going to go through tumult and turmoils, but even though you're tossed and turned, you're safely anchored, because you know, you know, at the end of it all, it will be all right. It will not just be all right, it will be magnificent: all the riches in glory God has destined for you, will be yours. Why? Because of your great high priest, who has entered into the holy place on our behalf. It is yours. It is guaranteed, not because you are good, but because Jesus paid it all.

So when you go through the sufferings of life and please don't ever minimize sufferings people go through. They are real, they are painful. But beyond the pain this world brings, there is that joy that it will be all right. My friends, what you need today is a glimpse of Jesus, if you're going through sufferings. You don't need empty promises that say, 'Oh, your cancer will definitely go away'. You don't need that assurance that says, 'Oh, your husband will definitely come back to you,' 'Oh, all the misery will eventually be gone in this lifetime.' No, you don't have such assurances, but you do have this assurance: That everything will be good, at the end of it all.

There will be no more tears and no more sorrow, He will be your God, you will be with God. And this hope, anchors us in the storms of life and that's why, as I reminded you the last time, the early church, when they were martyred, when they were persecuted, they had these two great emblems. They had the emblem of the fish, which is, in its spelling, an acronym for 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior' and of course, the other is the anchor based on Hebrews 6.

What made them continue in difficulty? What made them not give up on their faith? What made them strong in the midst of persecution? Christ and their hope in Him.

The certain hope of our future salvation is an anchor
to steady our souls while we wait on God in present storms.  [Steven Cole]

You're going through a storm of life, wait on God. Because there is a certain hope, there's a future salvation: Let this anchor your soul. My friends, this morning, we endeavor to share no one else, but Jesus Christ; He is my Priest. Can I ask you? Do you have a priest? Do you have a priest? Well, what happened to you if you should die? What would you say? What would your plea be? Would it be "I'm not that bad, I'm not like the thieves or murderers or adulterers”?

Time stamp in audio 0:40:09.3

God will say to you, "I've seen your whole life and I've already said, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. My law was given, not so that you can earn your way to heaven, My law was given so that you may be humbled to the dust, and that you may turn to Jesus, My Son."

My friends, I have a priest in Jesus Christ and I know one day I will stand. I know everything will be good because of Him. Would you have that assurance today? Would you be willing to repent and believe in Jesus? Let Him be your Priest today, I pray.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Before the throne of God, I have a strong and perfect plea, I have, I sing it with all my heart, I rejoice in all my soul, I give thanks with all of my being, and I pray this morning, if you're here today, you might be in church for a long time or you may be new with us today, it doesn't matter; the key here is not how long you have been to services, but: Is Jesus your Priest?

Have you repented and believed upon Him? Would you today, make a choice of faith, to turn, and trust? Maybe some of you today going through hardships are tempted to give up. You say, "I wish I could go back to the past". "Why, I think I do not need Jesus". Oh, Friends, hold fast, would you? Hold tight. Because, if you have known all these things, and you still choose to drift away, it is a scary thought, don't you think? We've looked at that; there remains no more sacrifice. I mean, if you won't have Jesus, you have no hope; there is no one else who is able to save.

There may be doubts that assail you, there may be questions in your mind, but let me say this, from the Scriptures, work at holding on to Christ. Never let Him go. Press on, press on, press on. And if you're going through pains today, I want to encourage you to take a look at Christ. I mean, "The storms are scary. I am tossing, I'm turning, I feel like my world is crashing down on me", but I tell you, Jesus would never crash, He will never crash. He's done it all. You can trust Him. The future, is absolutely guaranteed and secured. Let this be the anchor of your soul.

You might lose your child, you might lose your health, you might lose your job, but you'll never use the eternal glory that is to come, you will never lose intimacy with God, for eternity to come, you'll never lose that inheritance in Christ, that is to come. Let this anchor your heart today.

So, Father we thank You this morning, for Jesus Christ, our suitable, merciful and faithful High Priest. Lord, let Your Words nourish, comfort, convert souls today. May we rejoice in Your Son supremely. So, thank You. We ask all this now in Jesus' Name, we pray, Amen.

 

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