If you weren't able to be with us for the worship gathering, you can watch the service here: SERMON
Hebrews 7 is a great passage that helps us to know more about who Christ is as our Great High Priest. In verses 11-28, we see the amazing work of Jesus on our behalf, and tucked away in verses 19 and 25 are an amazing truth that's absolutely central to the Christian experience.
Perfection (11-12)
One of the main things Melchizedek teaches us is that the Priesthood Wasn’t Perfect
The word perfect in this passage refers to salvation.
The priesthood system, necessary though it was, could not bring salvation.
Judaism has been replaced. The old priesthood is obsolete, done, finished.
All the rituals and requirements of the Old Covenant are meaningless!
Another Tribe (13-19)
Verse 15 – …if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
Another priest
Still a priest - but one far better.
The central truth is in verse 19 - The hopelessness of the old system with it’s inability to bring true salvation, has been replaced with that which CAN!!
A priest through whom we draw near to God.
A Better Covenant (20-22)
The New Covenant brings that which the Old could not:
Freedom from guilt -
Freedom from sin
Grace and mercy
Drawing Near to God (19b)
Remember: OT - you couldn’t draw near
God is holy - you are not
The veil is there to prevent it
The whole vibe was “STAY BACK!!”
Our primary participation in Christianity
Our fundamental ambition
Is to draw near to God
John MacArthur says: The fullest expression of faith is to enter into the presence of God in His heavenly Holy of Holies and to fellowship with Him.
We can boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence.
Not only can we - we should - we must.
Steps to Drawing Near
• Disconnect- turn all the “noise” off. Go somewhere quiet. Turn off your phone. Get where there are no distractions.
• Pray - we cannot draw near to anyone relationally without talking to them.
• Listen - to God through His Word. We speak to God in prayer, He speaks to us through His Word.
• Write- whether writing prayers, thoughts in response to His Word, or other things of a spiritual nature, the difference between swirling thoughts in your head and real communion with God could be the discipline of Journaling.
• Worship (worth-ship) — whether it’s listening to worship music, singing along, marveling at His creation, or meditating on a passage of Scripture, worship is an emotional expression of praise to God. (Heart-value)
• Time - We cannot draw near in just a few minutes here or there. Extended, focused, intentional time spent purposefully drawing near is what we need in our frenetic, busy, fast-paced lives.
The Beautiful promise from Hebrews 4:16 – Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Intercession (23-25)
After accomplishing our salvation, Jesus ascended back to Heaven
And sat down at the right hand of the Father where He is actively, intentionally, purposefully praying for you TO DRAW NEAR
The chapter concludes by turning our thoughts back to Jesus:
The Perfect One (26-28)
Te whole point of Melchizedek was that there has always been a plan for something greater than the Levitical priesthood.
Jesus is
holy - incapable fo sin
innocent - never harmed, wronged, or slighted anyone.
undefiled - not a single blemish
separated from sinners - around people but not influenced by them.
(We can’t spend time with anyone w/o influence)
exalted - God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name.
Jesus is Our Great High Priest
The One who brings us to God
I pray you draw near to Him in a powerful way this week!
There are several things that make this a difficult passage to understand and apply to your daily life.
Two of them:
• The Mysteriousness of Melchizedek
• The Priest System - we’re unfamiliar with it
This chapter doesn’t tickle your ears
It comes hard and fast to the mind
But when it gets in, it will feed your soul.
Hebrews 12:2 – fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
Melchizedek helps us understand Jesus as our great and perfect High Priest.
About Melchizedek
1. He was both King and Priest.
He’s on a different level than the typical priest.
Zechariah 6:13 – He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices
Priests weren’t allowed to be King.
Kings weren’t priests.
So being both gets our attention right away.
2. He Blessed Abraham
The one through whom everyone on earth will be blessed is being blessed by Melchizedek.
Verse 7 – without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
No one could possibly be greater than Abraham, yet Melchizedek shows his superiority to not just Abraham, but to the entire Levitical priesthood by blessing Abraham.
3. Righteousness and Peace
In the middle of the wickedness and depravity of the times - Melchizedek stood out as a righteous man. A man at peace with God.
Melchizedek is an example of what it looks like to be without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
He shows us that it is possible to live an upright life in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
(Philippians 2 gives detailed instructions.)
4. Permanence
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 continually.
Levitical priests had to not only be in the Tribe of Levi, but also able to trace their lineage back to Aaron. Melchizedek was superior to the Aaronic priesthood with no genealogy. No records.
Also: all priests were imperfect men, so their sacrificial work was imperfect. Because their priesthood was a limited time frame, it didn’t last. Melchizedek was superior in that his priesthood didn’t have a start/stop timeframe.
The Levitical priesthood was never meant to be perfect or permanent. It always pointed to something greater. Melchizedek's priesthood was a demonstration of something greater while also pointing to something greater still.
It’s not about ancestry or origin. This was a product of divine designation.
Jesus wasn’t from the line of Levi either.
He was from the line of Judah.
5. Melchizedek is Superior
The offering made to Melchizedek is quite significant. It was always the lesser, giving the greater, the blessing of an offering.
The tenth of the spoils was significant amount.
Abraham the patriarch - To be a patriarch was to be at the top of the food chain so to speak. This offering placed Melchizedek higher than even Abraham.
Also, Levitical priests only served the people of Israel while Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God. This is the Universal name for God. Melchizedek is a priest not just for the people of Israel, but for everyone.
What does all this mean?
Jesus is:
Our King and Priest
The Savior of the world.
The Royal One who sits on the throne.
Jesus also brings ultimate
Blessing
As Melchizedek blessed Abraham
Jesus blesses us - in salvation and in daily life.
Righteousness and Peace
Jesus imparts His perfect righteousness to us, bringing peace with God.
His work is:
Permanent!
He made One Sacrifice for all time
His work does not need to be repeated
All that’s left is for us to repent and trust in Him and receive that forgiveness.
Superiority - Jesus is Better
No matter what system, plan or structure you’ve got in place, Jesus is better.
Don’t rely on your own efforts - look to Him.
This week the Hand is really about what you’re putting into the head that will affect the heart.
Assignment this week:
Read these passages and meditate on the five qualities and how they apply to your own life:
Ultimately - this passage is one explanation & applications of
Hebrews 3:1 – … consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession—Jesus
May meditating on these passages deepen your affection for your awesome Savior!
After pouring out a significant amount of ink on his rebuke and warning, the author of Hebrews turns to bring significant encouragement to his audience. As we walk through this passage, we can come to a great confidence in what Christ has done for those of us who are trusting in His name!
The shift is distinct and obvious - he's now speaking to believers in using the term, "beloved." Additionally, he's speaking from a point of being convinced because of the characteristics people are showing that "belong to salvation."
He Sees Real Fruit
There are two elements here:
1. You're all about the Glory of God
2. You serve other Christians.
Drinking Orange Juice for the Glory of God
This article, written by a pastor years ago, frames out a pattern for glorifying God in every detail of your daily life.
1. I will affirm, joyfully, from the word of God, that the color yellow is a gift of God. The sweet taste is a gift of God. The nourishment and the way my body uses it is a gift of God. The sun and the rain that grew the oranges is a gift of God. The trucking and the grocery chain that brought it to me is a gift of God. And the list could go on and on. I will gladly, joyfully, say that out loud. I will feel that.
2. I will lift my heart and voice in prayer, thanking God. And I will do this often so that others can know where all this came from, and how wise and strong and good God is.
3. I will remind myself that I do not deserve this juice. I deserve to be in hell today. And so, I will give thanks that my sins are forgiven and that this pleasure is, in fact, bought for me. This orange-juice pleasure is a blood-bought gift for this child of God on the way to heaven.
4. I will remind myself that this particular pleasure, this taste, this coolness on my tongue, this nourishment, reveals something of God to my senses and my soul that could not be known any other way. That’s why the world was created, because all of it is like a prism, giving us some new sight of the glory of God.
5. Then, I will share this juice, in love, with others at the table; I won’t horde it all.
6. And finally, I will use the strength that it gives me to live for the glory of God.
Whatever you do, you can take this framework and apply it.
Driving to work
Making dinner for the family
Mowing your lawn
Studying your Bible
Changing a diaper
From the most mundane work task
To the most exciting life event
You can glorify Him.
You love the glory of His name.
This is head, heart, & hand in one sentence
Ministering to others: CHALLENGE: Be intentional to minister to someone in some way every day this week.
Do Something specific.
Maybe pray for them (ask how can I…)
Maybe you know of a need they have
Maybe you encourage them intentionally
Maybe do something to relieve pressure
Mow their lawn
Give them a Chick-fil-A gift card
Take them to lunch - buy them coffee
Watch their kids for an evening
Send them a Scripture passage text
Maybe sign up to help in preschool
Maybe offer to teach in SS
Join the choir
Serve in Trail Life
Pray for our students at Camp daily
There are 1,000 other things you can to to minister to someone in the body this week.
Decide to do something daily!!
Capturing and Clinging to Confidence
Biblical discipleship leads to assurance of salvation. Serving others leads to assurance.
Read 2 Peter 1:5-13 and Titus 2:2-13. One of the central elements of the Christian life is to be involved in a biblical, Titus 2 model of discipleship.
God designed the church with the intent that we would be helping one another follow Jesus better.
Contractual Obligation
Abraham was promised that his spiritual children would be as numerous as the stars
That’s us!! And what an incredible promise it was and is.
God made the promise - and He guaranteed it with the authority and solid assurance of His name.
It doesn’t get better than that.
Two Unchangeable Things
Jesus Christ is our Anchor
His virgin birth
sinless life
miraculous Scripture fulfilling ministry
substitutionary death
victorious resurrection
And the fact that He suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God
Is the anchor that will keep you from being tossed and back and forth in the storms of life.
Jesus is the forerunner
He enters now for us - so that when the
Time comes - we’ll be ushered in. He is seated at the right hand of God ready to bring us into heaven andante the Father's presence.
Reject being dull of hearing
Reject thorns and thistles
Press on to maturity
And you can enter into a deep confidence in Christ
To set up the passage, we need to look at the progression and planting in Psalm 1
The progression begins with opening your ears to the wrong voices and culminates with sitting in the seat of the scoffer. A scoffer is someone who sits in condemnation of everything. Once you’re there, it’s really hard to get up from that seat because you become rooted there. Christians are not exempt from this.
Watch the entire sermon here:
https://youtu.be/2-MCWZEmHYA
The Primary Command:
1. Press On To Maturity (vv. 1-2)
Leave the simplicity of the gospel - it’s the foundation you build on, not the place you live.
A Reminder:
2. God Is Sovereign (v. 3)
There is a settled determination to pursue spiritual growth and theological depth. Resources are brought to bear on this.
There is also an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and His permissive will governing all things. Two sides to the same coin: God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility
The Warning:
3. Falling Away
This passage does NOT teach that a true believer can lose their salvation.
Philippians 1:6 – For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
These verses teach that there are many in the church who are fully convinced they’re saved, but they’ve never repented and placed their faith in Christ. In the end, they’ll fall away and wont’ be saved.
The warning is to examine the fruit of your life. Salvation always leads to sanctification. Those who are saved will produce fruit. Read the parable of the soils in Mark 4.
The Evidence:
4. Where’s the Fruit?
Loop back to Psalm 1
Rather than listening to the wrong voices and sitting in the seat of the scoffer, plant yourself by the good streams of living water. It matters who you spend time with and listen to. You will be influenced.
THE HANDS
How To Plant Yourself
by Streams of Living Water
• Read More
• Pray More
the more you read the Bible
the more you’re planting yourself by streams of LIVING water
the more you’ll enjoy God and love Him.
the more you pray, the deeper your communion with Christ will be
God speaks to us through His Word. We speak to Him through prayer.
• Engage More
The Christian life is far more than just a few hours on Sunday morning. We need to engage not just in the worship gathering, but throughout the week. Sunday morning is the icing on the cake from the past week and also the foundation of next week. You’re handed a bag with ingredients and a recipe each Sunday. Bring it back next week for the icing (rinse, wash, repeat).
A CAKE RECIPE:
Monday - read yesterday’s sermon passage
Review the Head, Heart, and Hand of the passage.
Pray for yourself and your family to digest and apply the Scripture.
Tuesday - repeat Monday’s review. Be sure you’re on target with whatever Bible reading plan you’re on (If you need help with one, contact me and I’ll help you find one).
Pray for those you know well in the church. Those in your home group, Sunday school class, or discipleship group. Pray that they can digest and apply the Scripture to their lives. Pray Colossians 1:9-14 for them.
Wednesday - Read last week’s passage and this coming Sunday’s passage together. Look for connections. You might want to go back a few more verses or ahead a few to keep the context and flow of the passage together.
Pray for others in our church. Expand outside of your “usual group” and pray for others. Pray for any specific needs you know of. Pray that the Lord would be at work in our midst.
Thursday - Repeat yesterday’s reading. Continue with your usual reading plan.
Pray for the pastors as they prepare for the service. Thursdays are typically fully devoted to sermon prep for me and I covet everyone’s prayers as I seek the Lord’s direction for the message in my study.
Friday - Read the passage for this coming Sunday. Think about what the major emphasis of the passage could be. (Don’t forget about your own regular reading plan)
Pray for yourself and fellow church members that we would all prepare our hearts for our time together this Sunday morning.
Saturday. - Read the passage a couple of times.
Pray for everyone leading in the service and in Sunday school tomorrow.
Remember: Sunday morning actually begins on Saturday night both spiritually, and practically. What can you do on Saturday to make tomorrow morning’s getting out of the house and to church go smoother?
• Serve More
Everyone is called to serve Christ in the context of their local church in some way. This is not a call to add one more thing to your serving list. If you’re not serving - you need to start NOW (contact a pastor to find the best place to serve). If you’re serving already, the “More” is a call to fine-tune how you serve. You might need to drop one area in order to serve better in another. You might need to switch all together. The idea here is to bring your skills, abilities, passions, and resources together in the best possible mix to most effectively serve Christ in your church. Talk to one of the pastors about this - any of us would be happy to help you think through the best way for you to serve.
The Bottom Line?
Remember the main thrust of this passage:
Press on to Maturity - what are you going to do this week to grow in sanctification and in your knowledge of God?
Falling Away - You can be in the church your whole life, hear all the sermons participate in all the classes and home groups, go on the trips, be a leader, serve on committees, and still be headed to hell…..
You can be right ABOUT the Gospel
And not be right WITH God
When a meal is set before you:
Don’t just taste it. You must chew it and swallow. Just a taste can be sweet, but there’s no real benefit.
Turn away from your self-righteous ways
from self-centered thinking and place your faith in Jesus Christ alone.
The Head must contain the information.
It must move to and affect the Heart.
The evidence - the fruit - is seen in the Hands.
Hosea 10:12 –
Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with lovingkindness;
Break up the unplowed, hard packed soil of your heart - fallow ground,
Indeed, it is time to seek Yahweh
Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.
The call to those who are saved and serving:
Pray this: Lord, show me unplowed, hard-packed soil of my heart
Show me the thorns and thistles in my life
Uproot me from the seat of scoffers and guide me to plant myself by streams of living water and use my life to produce vegetation useful for those for whose sake it was tilled - let my life not just be blessed personally, but also be blessing from to others as well.
I look forward to preparing the icing for your cake next Sunday! It’s my favorite day of the week!!
The main idea in this passage is that Jesus is superior to angels.
There’s always been plenty of misconceptions about angels.
They are spirit beings, winds of mystery, a flaming fire, brightly shining, and fabulous winged creatures. They can assume visible from. When they do, it’s usually terrifying.
They worship and praise God continuously
They communicate God’s message to man
They minister to us - to believers
They’re also God’s agents in judgments
They’ll be quite involved in the 2nd coming
They’re amazing creatures who wield great power and are gathered around God’s eternal throne
They are an army of powerful warriors!
We must always remember the one point of this passage:
1. ONE POINT: Jesus Is Better
The structure of this passage reminds us to be wary of two tendencies we have today:
1. Pragmatism
How will this change my life tomorrow is a good question, but shouldn’t be where we start.
2. Emotionalism
We tend to think that if we were not moved emotionally,“worship wasn’t really that great today….”
While those two things aren’t important, when we notice that the whole first chapter of Hebrews addresses the HEAD, we see where we must start in
How is Jesus Better?
A. His Name & Title
Jesus Christ the Son of God. He is far superior to any other name.
B. His Honor
He is to be worshiped
If you are worshiping anyone or anything else
you are actively participating in idolatry.
C. His Status - The prototokos
The Greek word translated “firstborn” is the word “prototokos” meaning - the preeminent one. The One who inherits everything, to whom all authority is given
Read Colossians 1:15-23 regularly)
Verse 7 - He created the angels. He commands them. He owns them. They serve Him.
Verse 8 probably the most powerful, significant declaration of the deity of Christ in the entire New Testament.
God is declaring that Jesus is on the eternal throne.
D. His Eternality
He always has and always will exist.
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
We think of so many things as eternal, as things that will last for ever. But they’re all nothing.
No matter how permanent, you may think something is.
Jesus is so much more permanent
So much more powerful
So much superior in the existence of who He is
That the tallest, most solid mountains in the world will be rolled up like we roll up an old T-Shirt before we stuff it in the trash.
vv 11-12
Which leads us to
E. His Supreme Position
He is the ultimate authority: seated on the Throne.
The angels - serve at His command. They serve us too.
3. How Do We Respond?
Head - what do you need to know?
Never stop learning about Jesus.
As much as you know, you’ll never arrive and you need to learn more.
Heart - Jesus has to capture both our attention… and our affection.
We must know who He is
In order to love Him as we should.
The more you know about Jesus, the more you’ll love Him. The more you Love Him, the more you’ll want to know about Him.
Hand - this knowledge and this affection should literally affect everything you do every minute of every day.
Train your brain
Engage your heart
And that will guides your hand
Commit yourself to full, comprehensive, RADICAL obedience in every situation.
5 verses earlier in 1:15 – they lifted Jonah up and hurled him into the sea
So which is it? The Sailors? or God?
Yes.
God cast Jonah into the ocean, and He did it using a crew of hardened sailors.
Two verses, sitting essentially side-by-side here show the parallel nature of man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty.
2. Be Honest
Honestly confess your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and your struggles to God.
And he’s acknowledging God’s hand in it.
3. Repentance
This prayer drips with repentance and genuine humility before the Lord.
Jonah acknowledges unequivocally that this is his own fault even though God’s sovereignly brought him here.
The clincher: verse 6 – ...O Yahweh my God.
4. Thanksgiving
Thanklessness is a sin.
We need to overflow with thanksgiving for all we have, rather than overflow with complaining about what we don't have. We're so abundantly blessed,
5. Commitment
Acts 26:20 –that they should repent and turn to God, practicing deeds appropriate to repentance
This is a call to action!
To faithful obedience in all areas, especially evangelism, since that's the primary command/context of Jonah.
How can we say that
we affirm God’s sovereignty,
we’re committed to the truth
we’re living lives of repentance
truly thankful
committed to obedience
If we won’t speak of our own deliverance from death any time we have the chance.
Can we truly say we’re thankful if we won’t tell others the thing we say we’re most thankful for?
Our purposeful pursuit of prayer must include and conclude with this kind of commitment to the Lord..
We must pray purposefully as we pursue being fired up followers of Jesus, radically obedient to a passionate pursuit of knowing Him and making Him known.
Purposeful prayer is one of the indispensable components of living the kind of life we’re called to live as believers.
