[0:00] Welcome to our service this morning. Special welcome to any who may be listening with us.
[0:12] As we come before God in worship, we pray his blessing on his word in particular. We can begin by singing to God's praise from Psalm 40.
[0:23] Psalm 40, and we're going to sing from verse 5 to verse 9. Psalm 40 from verse 5.
[0:38] O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. Thy gracious thoughts to us were far above all thoughts are gone. In order none can reckon them to thee.
[0:53] The more than can be numbered are. No sacrifice nor offering didst thou at all desire. Mine ears thou bored. Sin offering thou and burnt didst not require.
[1:08] Then to the Lord these were my words. I come, behold and see. Within the volume of the book it written is of me. To do thy will I take delight.
[1:20] O thou my God that art. Yea, that most holy law of thine I have within my heart. Within the congregation great I righteousness did preach.
[1:33] Lo, thou dost know, O Lord, that I refrain not my speech. And so on. You can sing these verses 5 through to 9 of Psalm 40.
[1:45] O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done.
[2:12] Thy gracious songs to us, Lord God. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done.
[2:27] O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done. O Lord my God, for many of the wonders thou hast done.
[2:40] To hear them give them And speak of them My own name or The coming of the night No sacrifice On all things This love has all desired My years of worship All things I And burn this all
[3:41] Revive Then to the Lord Is where my word I come behold And wanna keep Within the Wonder The The top The murder and render this all-wee.
[4:23] To you, thy bread, I take it high, O thou, my God, I, The apple's holy of all night, I hope within my heart.
[4:59] Within the congregation, High righteousness will be, Though love does go, O Lord, thou, my have Represeth on my feet.
[5:37] Let us join together in prayer. Ever blessed God as we come before you with words of praise upon our lips.
[5:51] We give thanks that in these words we can identify one who is greater than any one of us for whom these words are most pertinent.
[6:12] One who can speak these words and speak of the experiences that these words bring before us in a way that mere man cannot.
[6:25] However elevated the position the psalmist had as one who was able to speak of many things under the hand of God.
[6:36] There was but one who had the intimate fellowship of God as God and yet who became man and experienced the griefs and the sorrows of this world.
[6:56] And in so doing fulfilled all righteousness. We bless you and thank you for the many ways in which these marvels are brought before us in the scriptures of the Old Testament.
[7:11] And that are again brought to our attention in the words of the New Testament. Sometimes the Old bringing before us truths that are declared in the New and the New opening arise to the significance of what was contained in the Old.
[7:37] But that is not something that should surprise us. And we give thanks to you that you have opened the eyes of our understanding to see how the one pen is responsible for all these words.
[7:55] Your word is the word of life. It is the word of truth. Because you are both life and truth. And whatever vehicle you use to communicate the truth to us.
[8:08] Whoever your servants were. Whether they were such as Moses of old. That great prophet of the Old Testament. Or the apostle.
[8:20] That great apostle of the New, Paul. Each one was enabled by your grace to speak the truth of God. And we give thanks that you are such a God.
[8:33] Who has used the weaknesses and the frailties of men and women throughout the generations. And despite them.
[8:45] And even harnessing them. The good things as well as the bad. Or the bad things as well as the good. That you were able to reveal truth concerning yourself as a God who is great.
[8:59] A God who is mighty. A God who is wise. A God who doeth all things well. So as we gather in your name today. Around your word and under your word.
[9:10] We pray that it would be blessed to us. Whatever our need may be. Maybe our greatest need is unknown to us. We are but creatures on the scene of time.
[9:23] Progressing who knows where. And we may have our plans. We may have our purposes. We may have endeavours that we expect to come to some kind of fruition.
[9:38] That would be our delight. And yet. These plans may sometimes. Be overthrown. In a twinkling. Our lives may even be cut short.
[9:52] And all the endeavours. Who will have come to nothing. We pray that whatever it is. That we are engaged in. That at the heart of these things.
[10:03] Would be our God. And the Saviour Christ Jesus. That we would live. To his glory. That we would desire to be found. Numbered amongst his people.
[10:14] Collectively. Who will one day. Be as one. In his presence. Reflecting his glory. And portraying.
[10:26] Even one to the other. The glories of his goodness and his grace. In all our lives. We pray your blessing. Upon your word to that end.
[10:37] That you would encourage your people. That you would strengthen the resolve to persevere. Even in the face of open hostility. And overt contradictions to the life that they live here in this world.
[10:51] We bless you and thank you. That even though this is the kind of world that we live in. That this is the world that has always been this way.
[11:03] Ever since the fall of man. That there is nothing new under the sun. These oppositions and these testings and trials that those who bore your name in the world.
[11:16] Have always had to encounter. And no matter how optimistic we may seem. As to the progress that is made within humanity.
[11:27] Such optimism is often proved false. We pray that you would encourage us. To see the truth. Concerning the wickedness that lies within the heart of man.
[11:41] That would not have us believe anything other. That there is one remedy for it. Even the salvation that Christ the Lord has secured for his people.
[11:53] May we look to him then. And be encouraged by him. To continue with him. And to seek his blessing. As he continues to uphold us.
[12:04] And direct our paths. All the days of our life. Remember those who have yet to come to a saving knowledge offer. Pour your spirit out upon us.
[12:14] To that end. That the eyes of the blind would be opened. That the ears of the deaf would be unstopped. That the tongue that is bound would be loosed. That they may place and magnify your name.
[12:28] In a way that they have never been able to do so. Hitherto. So encourage us. By enabling us to see. That you are working still amongst the children of men.
[12:41] That you have not turned your back upon us. That you are not straightened. So that you cannot save. Your arm is still the all-powerful. All-mighty arm of God.
[12:52] The same God yesterday, today and forever. May your spirit be at work amongst us. May the truth that is yours. Penetrate stony hearts.
[13:03] And even as we look upon these cliffs. That are before us. By the roadside here. We see hard rock.
[13:14] That would seemingly be incapable of yielding any fruit. And yet in the cracks and the crevices. There is sufficient soil for all manner of growth.
[13:26] To secure a roof place. And to grow. And we see that so often. An awesome sight.
[13:36] In the midst of such hardness. In the midst of such barrenness. In the midst of such seeming resistance. That life is found.
[13:48] And so it is in the spiritual realm. Even in our own day and generation. In our own country and beyond. We bless you and thank you. That there are evidences. That the God of heaven is still mighty.
[14:00] To save to the uttermost. And we pray that you would. Encourage us by these thoughts. Remember our nation. Remember those who govern us. In the various parliaments.
[14:11] We commit them to you. And pray for mercy. That they may turn to God. And seek wisdom from on high. Bless our Queen. We give thanks for the longevity of her reign.
[14:23] We pray that as we even see. The frailty that is overtaking her. That she may be upheld. Especially within her soul. That she may know the God of all graces and portion.
[14:35] The Christ of God as her saviour. We pray for our family. We ask that you would draw them to yourself. And that the eyes of their understanding.
[14:47] That they may see the God of heaven. As the King of kings. As God over all. We pray that you would remember the nations of the earth. Especially where there are problems of great measure.
[15:02] We think of the Ukraine in its conflict. We think of other parts of the world. That know similar tragedies. Where nations rising up against nations.
[15:15] Where there is civil war. Where there is discord. Where there is enmity. Where there is enmity. In the sphere of relationships. Creeds and beliefs.
[15:28] That are against each other. We see that so often. And it is so sad. And often the cause of Christ. Is maligned. Because it is seen.
[15:41] By some. Who cannot see what is before them. And that many of the turmoils in the world. Are down to the struggles that there is.
[15:55] Between faiths. And how wrong that is. It is the word of the truth that tells us. That the God of heaven is the God of peace. That you are the God of love.
[16:06] That you are the God who has opened the way of life. And all who seek to usurp your truth. By. Arraining their lives to.
[16:21] What are. But sham. Understandings of the truth. Says to us. We pray for mercy. We pray for grace. To help in times of all need.
[16:32] We ask your blessing upon our congregation. We pray for all members of it. All the adherents of it. All who attend. God's house. All who do not attend.
[16:43] We pray for them. As we think of ourselves. We think of those who do not darken. The door of your house. Even though the privileges. Are open to them.
[16:54] As it is to us. We pray that you would touch their lives. Open their eyes. And draw them. Ever closer to. A saving relationship with Christ. Remember the sick.
[17:05] Remember those who are. Suffering from the frailties of old age. Those confined to their homes. Those who are. Being cared for in the hospital. Or in care homes for the elderly.
[17:17] Think of those who are in hospice. And who are suffering from terminal illness. We bless you and thank you for these places of. Of care. And we pray that you would.
[17:29] Encourage the hands of those who are. Engaged in it. Whether it is in. These places or within the home. Those who have taken the responsibility. Of.
[17:42] Caring for others. When they are able. We bless you for them. So hear our prayers. Continue to watch over us each one. Cleanse from every sin.
[17:52] We ask all. In the name of Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Amen. We are going to hear God's word. As we have it in the New Testament scriptures.
[18:05] We are reading from the epistle to the Hebrews. And we are reading chapter 7. We can read the whole chapter. Hebrews chapter 7.
[18:15] Hebrews chapter 8. For this Melchizedek king of Salem. And priest of the most high God. Who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings.
[18:25] And blessed him. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all. First being by interpretation king of righteousness. And after that also king of Salem.
[18:38] Which is king of peace. Without father. Without mother. Without descent. Having neither beginning of days. Nor end of life. But made like unto the son of God.
[18:50] Abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was. Unto whom even the patriarch Abraham. Gave the tenth of the spoils.
[19:01] And verily they. That are of the sons of Levi. Who receive the office of the priesthood. Have a commandment. To take tithes of the people.
[19:11] According to the law. That is of their brethren. Though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them.
[19:22] Received tithes of Abraham. And blessed him that had the promises. Without all contradiction. The less is blessed of the better. And here when that die receive tithes.
[19:36] But there he receiveth them. Of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say. Levi also who receiveth tithes.
[19:48] Pay tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father. When Melchizedek met him. If therefore perfection. Were by the Levitical priesthood.
[20:01] For under it the people received the law. What further need was there. That another priest should rise. After the order of Melchizedek. And not be called after the order of Aaron.
[20:15] For the priesthood being changed. That is made of necessity. A change also. Of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken.
[20:26] Pertaineth to another tribe. Of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. Of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
[20:40] And it is yet far more evident. For that. After the similitude of Melchizedek. There arises. Another priest. Who is made.
[20:51] Not after the law of a carnal commandment. But after the power. Of an endless life. For he testifieth. What a priest forever. After the order of Melchizedek.
[21:02] For there is verily. A disannulling of the commandment. Going before. For the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect.
[21:16] But the bringing in of a better hope did. By the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath. He was made priest.
[21:27] For those priests were made without an oath. But this. With an oath by him that said unto him. The Lord swear and will not repent.
[21:38] Thou art a priest forever. After the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus. Made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests.
[21:49] Because they were not suffered to continue. By reason of death. But this man. Because he continueth ever. Hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the othermost.
[22:04] That come unto God by him. Seeing he ever liveth. To make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us.
[22:15] Who is holy. Harmless. Undefiled. Separate from sinners. And made higher than the heavens. Who needeth not daily as those high priests.
[22:26] To offer up sacrifice. First for his own sins. And then for the peoples. For this he did once. When he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests.
[22:38] Which have infirmity. But the word of the oath. Which was since the law. Maketh a son. Who was consecrated. Forever more.
[22:51] So on down with the Lord. At his blessing. To a reading of his word. And to his name. Be the praise. Well boys and girls.
[23:03] Before you go out to Sunday school. Just a quick word. The very first psalm. That we have in the book of psalms.
[23:15] In the psalms that we sing. Psalm 1. It is sometimes called. The psalm of the two ways. Somebody gave it that name.
[23:28] Because it describes to us. Two lifestyles. Two ways. Upon which. The psalm of the two ways.
[23:38] The psalm of the two ways. The way of the godly. And the way of the wicked. I was thinking of that.
[23:49] And some of you will have noticed. I wasn't here last week. Maybe you didn't notice. Some of you did. Maybe perhaps. Somebody else was here. But.
[23:59] But. I began thinking of it like this. It's so important for us. To know. That we're on the right way. And that we're following the right road.
[24:13] And I. And my wife. Went away to the mainland. And. We haven't really been. On the mainland much. Over the last number of years. And we haven't been.
[24:25] As far as Glasgow. For. Four or five years. Perhaps. Certainly. Three or four anyway. And if you're driving on a road. That you're. Not familiar with.
[24:36] It's so easy for you to get. Get things wrong. And that's what I discovered. First of all. I was glad. That. When I was traveling.
[24:47] Beyond Glasgow. That I had somebody else. Driving. Who knew the road. Makes all the difference. If you're on a road. And you don't know it. That somebody else.
[24:58] Is doing the driving. Especially when it comes to. Motorways. And. Such like. So that's the first thing. I would say to you. It's always good.
[25:09] To. Follow. The guidance. Of somebody. Who knows the road. It's a simple. Message. Make sure.
[25:21] That. You follow. The instruction. Of somebody. Who knows the road. The second thing is. It's so easy. To go. Off the road.
[25:33] That you're supposed to be on. Which is what I discovered. The day I was coming home. I knew. The road. So I thought. And I knew that.
[25:45] When I was leaving. The home we were staying in. I would need to join the motorway. And. Almost immediately after. Joining the motorway.
[25:56] I needed to cross. Three. Or four lanes. And. I thought I had done that. And I cut across.
[26:08] Two lanes. Or the. The. Lane at the side. Which is just. If you have a breakdown. Then you have the.
[26:19] First lane. And you have a second lane. Then you have a third lane. And a fourth lane. And in this case. A fifth lane. So I thought I'd. Done my. What I was expected to do.
[26:31] But. As I was just. On that road. For. Not as many as. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. And the traffic. Well. It's not like going to Stornway.
[26:43] But the next sign I saw. In front of me. Right away. Was the sign for Carlisle. I didn't want to go to Carlisle. I wanted to go to Stirling. And.
[26:55] I knew. At once. That I was on the wrong road. And. What do you do. When you're on the wrong road. Well. At least.
[27:05] If you know you're on the wrong road. You can. Come off the road. And go back. And. Then come round again. And find the right road.
[27:18] Now there's a lesson there. For us. In. Our lives as well. Sometimes. We may think. That we're on the right road.
[27:28] Or we may think. That we know the way. To the right road. And. We find out. That we're on the wrong road. What do we do. Do we carry on.
[27:39] On the wrong road. No. We shouldn't anyway. As soon as we discover. That we're on the wrong road. We're able to turn round. And go back.
[27:51] Until we find the right road. And it's the same. As. We discover. In our lives. There are times. When we take.
[28:02] A wrong turning. We find ourselves. Going the wrong way. Following the wrong road. And we're not. Committed to that. We don't have.
[28:14] To continue. Doing that. We can always. Leave it. And find our way. To the road. That is the right way. Where do we find. The right road.
[28:25] Well. The Bible. That tells us about. The two roads. The two ways. The way of. God's people.
[28:35] And the ways of the wicked. Is the place. That we go to. To find. The right answer. To find. Where the way is taking us.
[28:47] Sometimes. When we're. On the. Motorway. Or in the. Places. Where we don't know. Even in towns. We'll. We'll. Use. Sat.
[28:57] Nav. We'll put in the details. And we'll say. Well. This is where I want to go. And I put this in. And. It'll get me. To where I want to go. Sometimes.
[29:11] We're not good. At reading maps. And sometimes. We're not good. At putting the right. Information. Into our sat navs. We had some friends. Who were with us. Where we were. And.
[29:22] They were staying in Leeds. And Leeds. Was seven miles away. From where we were. And. They wanted to get. To where we were. And. They put the detail.
[29:33] Into their sat nav. Or so they thought. And. The. The place. That was seven miles away. Took them. Fourteen miles.
[29:43] To find it. They went on a fourteen mile. Round trip. Now was sat nav wrong. Or were they wrong. Sometimes. What we depend on.
[29:55] Can put us wrong. But when we look. To God's word. When we look. For. The direction. To be on. God's word.
[30:05] Will never set us wrong. God's word. Will always put us. On the right road. Road. And that right road. Is a road. That will always lead. To himself.
[30:17] And will always. Keep him. With himself. On the road. With us. I hope. That. All that. Makes sense. To you. That you will know. Sing this.
[30:28] Psalm. To yourself. That man. Hath perfect. Blessedness. Who walketh. At us. We have. These words. Of the bible. To keep us right.
[30:39] I hope. That every one of us. Will know that. As you go out. Now. To Sunday school. We're going to sing. Some verses. From Psalm 45. Psalm 45.
[30:52] And we're going to sing. From the beginning. The second version. From the beginning. To. Verse 5. My heart. Inditing is.
[31:02] Good matter. In a song. I speak. The things. That I have made. Which to the king. Belong. My tongue. Shall be as quick. As honor. To indict. As is the pen.
[31:13] Of any scribe. That uses. Fast. To write. Thou art fairest. Of all men. Grace. In thy lips. Doth flow. And therefore. Blessings evermore.
[31:24] On thee. Doth God. Bestow. Thy sword. Good on thy thigh. Thou. That art most. Of might. Appear. In dreadful majesty. And in thy glory.
[31:35] Bright. For meekness. Truth. And right. Right prosperously. In state. Thy right hand. Shall teach. To thee. Things terrible. And great.
[31:46] Thy shafts. Shall pierce their hearts. That foes are to the king. Whereby. Into subjection. The people. Thou shalt bring. These verses.
[31:57] My heart. Inditing is. Good mother.
[32:12] nya song. I speak. of grace.
[32:23] The light of it which to the King belongs.
[32:34] My tongue shall be a square in honor to make mine.
[32:50] H puree in frield, only shy that you've lost one's inteuanity.
[33:07] Thou fierest of old men, Christ in thine lives of God, And if our flesh is evermore, On thee God God bestow.
[33:41] Thy sword cured on thy thine, Thou light our wounds of mine, Up here in dreadful majesty, And in thy glory blind.
[34:12] For me, Jesus, I'm right, Dry trust, the sea is dead, On thy right hand shall face to thee, Things better but not great.
[34:48] Thy shouts shall cure their hearts, The blows are to the gate, Where my angels of creation, The people are shining.
[35:20] We can turn to the chapter that we read together In the epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 7, And we're going to read again.
[35:40] We can read at verse 24, Chapter 7, verse 24, But this man, because he continueth ever, Hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[35:55] Wherefore he is able also to save them To the uttermost that come unto God by him, Seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
[36:06] For such an high priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, Separate from sinners, And made higher than the heavens, Who needeth not daily as those priests Who offer up sacrifice, First for his own sins, And then for the people's.
[36:27] For this he did once, When he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests, Which have infirmity. But the word of the oath, Which was since the law, Maketh a son, Who is consecrated forevermore.
[36:47] But particularly the words of verse 26, Although we can't really separate these words From the whole of the passage.
[36:58] For such an high priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, Separate from sinners, And made higher than the heavens.
[37:12] The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ Is the saviour of sinners. It specifically says that he is The saviour of elect sinners.
[37:28] Those of us who were taught From the shorter catechism, Are reminded there that God elected some.
[37:39] It doesn't say all, But some to everlasting life. And he, that is Christ, Undertakes to save them On his terms.
[37:54] And by his own method. And the scriptures refer to God's grace, The covenant of grace.
[38:07] It speaks of it in terms of covenant, Because it reminds us That this is something that God has undertaken to do.
[38:17] He is committed to it. He is promised. He has promised to do this thing. To be a saviour to those who need saving.
[38:31] And it speaks to us of his mercy. And his grace. Because it reminds us that Unlike what many people believe, The scripture tells us that It is all of grace, What God does.
[38:53] He has not entrusted our salvation To ourselves. He has not Said Through his word Go on and save yourselves.
[39:07] Go on and do something That will please me. And that's the way Many people like to think. That's what they like to believe. That by their endeavours And by their doing Something That God will be pleased with them.
[39:28] But The whole terminology Of God's way of salvation Speaks of mercy Speaks of grace Speaks of salvation By the hand Of someone Other than ourselves.
[39:43] And that someone Is The person Of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Suppose Therein lies The beauty And the mystery Of the gospel.
[39:59] God The son The second person Of the Holy Trinity God father God son God Holy spirit One God And God The son Becomes man At the same time Retaining All the elements Of that Godhead That divinity That All that marks A person Out as God He retained All these things And at the same time In order to be A redeemer In order to be A saviour He became man He Is God And he is man And that That was Essential In order For him To be A saviour I suppose This is very Complicated To some Of you But If you Read the Scripture Often enough You will Find that These Truths Are Stated Repeatedly Maybe
[40:59] Not in the One Sitting As it Were You find That these Truths Are brought Home to Us Again And again In different Ways In different Forms Just reminding Us of The fact That God Has purpose To save Some That he has Purpose to save Some through His son Jesus Christ The way that he Ordained by which That salvation Was possible Was through All that came To be true About that son That he became Man And that he Continues to be God and man In one person Forever And in this Chapter that we Read even These things Are mentioned Albeit Very briefly And The The interest That you and I Should have In the Passion of
[42:00] Jesus Christ Should Be there Because of All that he Is As the Redeemer of His people All that he Is as the Saviour of His people And because Of the Care that God took In ensuring That this Salvation This redemption This Deliverance From the Consequences Of sin Which is in The life of All men and Women That every Base should Be covered Every area Of life Should be Should be Covered by What Christ Came to be And what Christ came To do And what Christ Actually Has done And continues To do Now when we Read the Scriptures We are reminded By theologians Of the fact That Jesus As the Saviour of Sinners
[43:00] As the Redeemer of Sinners He had to Fulfill Various Roles He was As Redeemer He was a Prophet He is a Priest And a King And all Of these Offices All of these Roles Were fulfilled By ordinary Men Throughout the Length and Breadth of Time We have Prophets We have Priests We have Kings And whatever They were Expected To do In these Roles As God Highlighted The excellencies Of these Roles They all Pointed Towards The Passion Of the Lord Jesus Christ There are Many Prophets That you Can Identify In the Scripture And Some of Them Were good Some of Them Were less So Some Had
[44:00] Glaring Faults And yet They fulfilled The role Of prophet Now Essentially What a Prophet Did Was He spoke To men Mankind On behalf Of God He He spoke The truth Of God Into their Situation The role Of prophet Was fulfilled From the Earliest Times So that The purposes Of God For humanity Were revealed Piece by Piece Through his Servants The prophets And they Spoke of God To men And women And spoke Of the truth Of God To men And women The kings That eventually Came to Serve within The nation Of Israel But were In the world God Initially To his People Was their King Israel
[45:00] Was a Theocracy Israel Was Unique In the sense That their King was God Their king Was Jehovah Their king Was God Alone And they Served That God They Obeyed That God They Lived As his As his People But they Wanted to be Like others So eventually They had a King of their Own And the story Of Saul Anointed As king But The rule Of God The rule Of the ruler Was brought Home to us Through the Typology Of scripture And the Way that Is fulfilled In the Person of A king What does He do And what He is Meant to Accomplish And then Finally the Third one Which we're Looking at Briefly today The role Of a priest The priest The priesthood Was all Important In Israel Of old It began
[46:02] Before Israel Existed It began With the Two brothers Cain and Abel A priesthood Was established This offering Of sacrifices The understanding That sin Had caused An offence To God And that there Was a need For that sin To be dealt With And one Brother understood That better Than the other One brother Understood that It needed to Be the shedding Of blood Because sin Necessity To death The day You sin God said To her first Parents Is the day That you die And so The first Initial Revelations Of the need For a priesthood Came To the fore But God Established a Priesthood And the priest Was somebody Who acted On behalf Of the people To God He spoke To God On behalf Of the people He identified
[47:04] The need Of the people Who sinned And the way That that sin Needed to be Confessed And forsaken And repented Of and so on Now Christ Uniquely Fulfils All of these Offices As the prophet He reveals To us The entirety Of God's word He explains It to us He identifies To us The nature Of God And the need That there is For sinful Men and women To be reconciled To God He explains The word Remember Remember When he Met The two Men On the Way To Emmaus After The resurrection They didn't Understand Although they Had the word Of God They didn't Understand The fullness Of that word And Christ In his role At that moment As the priest
[48:05] Even though you Think this role As priest Has come to An end When he Offered a Sacrifice On the cross And when He Himself Was the Sacrifice And the Priest who Offered it Yet he is Continuing his Role as priest In explaining To them Beginning with The prophets Explaining to Them Who Christ Was And what Christ was In the world To do And what They were As those Who needed Christ And as King He We are Taught In this Shorter Categate He Reigns Over As he Rules Over As he Restrains And conquers All his And our Enemies In his Life And in his Death He dealt With the Power of Death He dealt With the Power of The devil He dealt With the Power of The grave And he Did that On behalf Of his People
[49:05] He Rules Over the Powers of Darkness By his Life And by His Death But in His priesthood Which is Which is The role That he Fulfilled Most perfectly We have A description Of what Needed to Be true Often How he Needed to Come Why he Needed to Come What he Needed to Do When he Came And it Was all To do With sin And here We are In this Chapter we Are given An example Of the Difference That there Is between Christ the Priest and Every other Priest that Came before Us It's all About the Priesthood of The Lord Jesus His role As the Mediator One One Who Stands Between God And Man One Who
[50:05] Became A once For all Sacrifice For sin And because No other Could Could offer Such a Sacrifice No other Sacrifice Could be Considered As efficacious As powerful As mighty As the Sacrifice That he Offered He had To be The one And only Offerer Offered As the Great High Priest He speaks To God On behalf Of his People And even There we Have discussion Amongst the Theologians You're talking They say About A person Who is One With God He is Father Son And Holy Spirit There is A unity Within The Trinity God Knows What The Mind Of God Is The mind Of the Son The mind Of the Father The mind Of the
[51:05] Spirit They're All one There is No need For the Father To Seek An Explanation From the Son Or the Son From the Holy Spirit Because They have One Mind They have One Purpose There's A unity That we Cannot Begin To To Understand So why Was there A need For a Speech Why did God The Son Need to Speak To God The Father On behalf Of his People So the Word Speak Or speech Might be Considered By some As misleading But the Fact is That God Gave to His Son A unique Role And that Role Involved Him In becoming One with His people And that Role Involved Him In dying Their death On the Cross And that Role Involved Him Who had
[52:06] No sin Becoming Sin And these Few words That we're Looking at Today Remind us Of that The word Of our Text Text Belongs As they do In a part That is a Wider Context That I Suppose That allows us To explore Different things In different Measured Discovering Wonders About the Passion And I Hope That he Is a Passion That is Awesome In your Side These Words Of our Text Today Are a Favorite Word For myself I quote These words Often Because they Come before Me As words That speak To us In a Way That Reminds Us Of who Christ Is And what Was True Of him Someone Who is Holy Harmless Undefiled Separate From Sinners And God Made him
[53:06] So For us God Made him So For us And Then he Says He made Him Higher Than the Heavens So I Want to Explore Very Briefly These Words Even Though I'm sure Many are Drawn to This Picture That we're Given Of the Uniqueness Of his Office By The Similarity There is To Melchicity This Mysterious Character Who Was A Priest Of The Most High God And Christ Conforms To him Than he Does More To him Than he Does The Priesthood Of Aaron But that's For another Day Something that You can Meditate On or Think About But it's The Picture That God Gives To us In order To Establish Jesus Christ As This One And Only Priest The Great High Priest Of God And
[54:07] The Great High Priest Of His People The Only Priest That we Need Apply To Well we Are told First of All that Such A High Priest Became Us What that Means Simply is This That although There are Many Things That we Have Already Alluded To and Touched On That's All we've Done We've Just Touched On And Mentioned Them In The Passing There's So Many Things There That are A Mystery To All of These Things Are Necessary And They're Necessary Because God Saw That God Saw The Necessity Of Them And The More You Explore Them And The More You Identify Them And The More You Isolate Them And Delve Into The Truth That Is There The More You Discover How Wise God Is In
[55:08] The Provision That He Has Made For Us In The Person Of Jesus Christ So That There Is Nothing Lacking In The Salvation That He Has Fulfilled On Behalf Of His People When A Person Becomes A Christian And They Experience The Power Of Christ In Their Life There There There There Can There There Is Jesus Has Not Dealt With This Jesus Has Not Understood That This Is The Kind Of Person That I Am There Is A Lacky There There Is A Chink In My Arm There Is A Need There That God Has Not Met In The Passion Of Jesus And The Truth Is That That Is Completely Wrong God We Are Told That This Is The High Priest That We Need
[56:08] And That He Is Christ And Christ Is All We Need And No More We Can't We Can't Go Into The Detail Of It But Sufficient If We Just Refer To This Passage You Will Notice That There Were Frailties Mentioned On The Part Of Those Other Priests Those Others Who Occupied The Office Of Priest Over The Centuries There Were Frailties There Were Sins There Were Shortcomings There Were Things They Did They Shouldn't There Were Things They Did They Had No Right To Do There Were Things They Should Do That They Did Not Do And Occasionally Some Were Worse Than Others You Know The Priesthood Of The Sons Of Eli It's A Corrupt Priesthood It's An Example
[57:08] To You Of How Depraved Man Is And If A Person Who Is Depraved Depraved Occupies An Depraved That Depraved Occupies That God Has Ordained And God Has Directed To Be Fulfilled In A Certain Way Then It Doesn't Destroy The Office But It Highlights The Necessity There Is For The Person Occupying The Office To Be As God Commands Them To Be And Over The Centuries There Were Many Priests Who Did Not Do As They Should And God Has Appointed His Son In Order To To Invest The Office With The Glory That Only His Son Possessed Aaron And All His Descendants Even Though
[58:08] God Endowed Them With Grace Necessary To Fulfill Their Role Because They Were Sinful They Sometimes Did Not Do As They Could Or As They Should Sometimes Their Ministries Were Defective Their Imperfections Varied From Passion To Passion It Varied By Degree But Without Exception We Are Taught That Every Single One Of These Priests Would Die Out Of Their Office Would Come To An End With Death Christ Is Unique In The Sense That There Were No Discrepancies In The Way He Carried Out His Offers There Were No Shortcomings There Were No Are Of His Ministry As The Priest Of God That He Did Not Fulfill And Execute
[59:08] As Required Nor Was Death Allowed To Prevent Them From Continuing In That Office Because We See Here That In Verse 25 Or 24 This Man Because He Continueth Ever Has An Unchangeable Priesthood For He Is Able To Save Them To The Other Most Are Come To God By Him Seeing He Ever Liveth To Make Intercession For Them It Describes To Us An Ever Lasting Priesthood That Christ Alone Fulfils He Has And This Is All Important Because The Last Part Of The Verse Which We'll Come To He Is Made Higher Than The Heavens Which Tells Us That Jesus Priesthood Did Not Cease When He Parted From This World That
[60:09] Continues And We'll Explain How That Is So So Christ Has A Unique Priesthood He Has All The Qualities That Make Sure That That Priesthood All That Is Involved In It The Giving Of His Life As The Sacrifice For Sin The The Ability To Do That Because He Is God's Son The Ability To To Endure God's Judgment Upon His Passion Because He Is Himself Divine All Of These Things Are Contained Within This Picture What Ensure That Is That He Is As Suitable As God Maintains Him To Be Well He Tells Us That He Is Holy He Tells Us That He Is Holy Do You Know What Holiness Is I
[61:09] Was Looking Up What Some Some People Are Talking About When They Talk About Holiness And Immediately They Begin To Speak About Our Human Experience Of Holiness What Holiness Involves For A Believer The Requirement That There Is For A Believer To Be Holy The Emphasis That The Bible Places Upon The Believer's Holiness I Don't Want To Explain What The Word Holy I Think You've Got An Idea Of What Holy Means It Means If You Want To Understand What It Means Derivatively It Comes From What God Is God In His Being Is Holy He Is He Is Set Apart He Is
[62:10] Unique In His Holiness All Other Experiences Of Holiness Comes Through God It Comes From God It Is Something That God Enables Us To Be And I Think If We Don't Understand This Then We're Going To Have Problems With The Idea Of What Holiness Is I Think One Text That Came To Mind Is How It Speaks To Us Of God's Holiness Being Such That When The Angels Who Are Holy Because They Have Not Experienced Sin Are In The Presence Of The God Who Is Their Creator Because Angels Are Created Beings Even Though They're Holy Created Beings They Are Still Created And When They Are In The
[63:10] Presence Of Their Creator What Is Said Of Them Deveil Their Faces They Are In The Presence Of Uncreated Holiness When They Are In The Presence Of God Now We We Find It Difficult To Understand How Truly Unique That Is I Have Remembered And I Remembered You Know Preachers Who Are Spoken Of Because Of Their Sanctified Lives Holy Lives The Likes Of John Wesley Or Or Robert Murray McJane And Biographies Written By
[64:10] Others Not Autobiographies Biographies Those Who Knew Them Those Who Were Familiar With Them These People Are Holy People They Lived Their Lives For God They Were Devoted To God They Worshipped God And Their Time Was Spent Almost Universally Committed To God's Service And Yet Every Person That You Can Identify Who Has Such Comments Made About Them Have Almost To A Man Confessed Their Lack Of Holiness Robert Robert Murray McJane's Book Book Of His Own Heart When He Looked Into It He Saw A Seething Morass Of Putrefaction This is Somebody That Men
[65:10] Considered To Be Holy Those Who Knew Them Those Who Talked To Them Those Who Saw Their Lives And Considered To Be Holy These Men Themselves Because Of The Fact That They Were Sinners They Were Considered Considered Themselves To Be Anything But But God Provided A Priest Who Was Holy And The Only Way That You Could Say He Was Holy Was By Saying That He Was One With God Time Is Racing But I Want To Emphasize That Jesus When He Was Born He Was Born In A Way That Marked Him Out As Unique In His Birth And It Is Described When He Was In The Room Of The Virgin Mary That Holy
[66:10] Thing That She Was Carrying Identified By The Holy Spirit Created In Her By The Holy Spirit Marking Him Out In This Immaculate Conception That This Marked Him Out In His Holiness He Is Harmless We Are Told He Is Free From Any Desire To Return Evil For Evil Remember The Words Of The Prophet Isaiah He He Was Oppressed The Prophet Says And He Was Afflicted Yet He Opened Not His Mouth He Was Harmless He Went About Doing Good He Did Not He Never Showed A Vindictive Spirit He Never Responded To The Wrongs That Were Done In A Malicious Way Harmless And Undefiled
[67:11] Undefiled He Was Living In A World That Was Corrupt He Was Born Into This World He Was Born Into A World That Saw Sin And Experienced Sin At Every Level The Kings Of The Day Were Immoral And Because Of Their Immorality They Sought His Death There Was Selfishness There Was Self Seeking All Around Him But He Was Undefiled He Was Not Polluted By This World Perhaps You Bought Yourself A New Piece Of Clothing You Got A Special Occasion You Bought Yourself A Dress Or A Suit And You Wore It For The First Time And You Gone To Your Party To Your Wedding Whatever
[68:11] It Is How Long Does It Take For That Brand New Piece Of Clothing Not To Be Touched By The World In Which You Live It Will Somehow Come And Brush Against Dirt Somewhere Accidentally Allowed Allowed To To To To Be Polluted With The Sins Of Others He Was Separate From Sinners Principal Emeritus Don't McLeod Has Written About Christ On The Cross
[69:12] And He Says Something Very Important About Which I Suppose Challenges Us When We Think About It The Sinless Christ Died Then He Says It Is A Great Pity That We Are So Little Conscious Of The Anomalousness Of That That He Who Knew No Sin Should Die He Who Knew No Sin Should Die He Who Had Never Sinned Should Receive The Wages Of Sin The Only Perfect Innocent In The Universe Should Be The Greatest Sufferer In The Universe The Holy Harmless Undefiled One Separate From Sinners And Yet He Became Associated With The Sins
[70:12] Of His People So That He Bore Them In His Body To The Tree Of The Cross The Only One Able To Do That The Only One Able To Answer The Charges God Made Against Mankind Finally He Was Made Higher Than The Heavens What Is The Significance Of That What Is The Significance Of Christ Being Made Higher Than The Heaven Suppose Some See The Significance In Him Being Born He Was Made For A Time A Little Lower Than The Angels We Are Taught For A Time He Became Man For A Time He Became One Of Us Sun crois
[71:13] To fulfill the role of priest. We are taught. That he ascended up. Into heaven. That he is at the right hand of God. Is he sitting at the right hand of God.
[71:27] Silent. Well he may be. Some people say. All he does is present himself. In the presence of his father. With the nail prints in his hands.
[71:38] And his feet. With the piercing of the sword. Or spear in his side. And God says. I know my son. That you did all that was asked of you.
[71:49] You don't need to tell me. I see you as you are. You are the one. Who is the mediator. Of my people. And your death.
[72:00] You won't speak of your death. You don't need to tell me. And yet that is what he does. We are told. He intercedes for his people.
[72:11] The people of God. Are indebted. To the intercession of Christ. Every day. They live their life. Here in this world. God. Hears.
[72:22] The Christ. Pleading the merits. Of his death. On their behalf. And they are glad. If all they had. Was all their own doing.
[72:33] If all they had. Was all their own obedience. If all they had. Was every good thing. That they did. All betide them. But they know.
[72:44] There is somebody. Whose obedience. Is perfect. Whose death. Was. A fulfilling death. In the sense. That he died. The death. Of his people.
[72:54] Do you grasp. The promise. The promise. That was made. That he shall. Appear. The second time.
[73:04] Without sin. Unto salvation. He's going to come again. The same priest. He's going to come. And every eye shall see him.
[73:16] Do your eyes. Scan the horizon. For his coming. Because the same Christ. Who is priest. Who is prophet. Who is king. Will be the judge. Of his own.
[73:28] And all who are in the world. The one who bore your sins. Will come. To judge the world. For their sins. Well.
[73:40] You read this chapter again. Read it. Meditate upon it. If you don't know this Christ. For yourself. If you've been confused. By all you've heard about him.
[73:53] Read it again. Read it again. On your knees. Give God. The glory. By saying. Help me. To see this Christ. With eyes. That will.
[74:05] See him. As he is. The great high priest. Of his people. None like him. Let us pray. Most merciful God.
[74:16] We give thanks. For the mystery. That there is in Christ. If we take the mystery. Out of the gospel. We do you. At this service. But we give thanks.
[74:26] That there is nothing. In that mystery. That will keep us. From seeing. The glory. Of your son. As he is. The great intercessor. And mediator.
[74:36] Of his people. Bless us. We pray in his name. Pour out your spirit. Upon us. That we may. Be able to. See him for ourselves.
[74:47] Forgive us. In his name. Amen. I'm going to. Conclude singing. A psalm.
[74:59] Which is. The psalm. Of the. High priest. Psalm. Proposed by David. But speaks about. The Christ.
[75:11] Of whom. We have been speaking. Psalm 110. We'll sing. From verse 3. To the end. A willing people. In thy day of power.
[75:21] Shall come to thee. In holy beauties. From morn swarm. Thy youth. Like you. Shall be. The Lord himself. Hath made an oath. And will repent him. Never. Of the order.
[75:32] Of Melchizedek. Thou art. A priest forever. And so on. To the end. Verses 3. To 7. A willing people. In thy day of power. Shall come.
[75:43] To thee. A willing people. In thy day.
[75:56] All power. Shall come. To thee. voor千 zisis 88.
[76:18] As andenウels. The Lord himself hath made I know, and will repent him never.
[76:38] Of the order of majesty, thy heart of praise forever.
[76:55] The glorious and mighty Lord, that is of thy right hand.
[77:13] Shall in his day all fall shine through, things unto him with sun.
[77:31] He shall not mark the healer's God, he shall live on his day.
[77:49] The gracious and mighty Lord, that is of thy right hand.
[78:07] The proof of one and in the way, with angels of hymn supply.
[78:24] And for this was in high of me, shall live in heaven on high.
[78:45] May we grace, mission, and peace be God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest in the night. I pray you all, never, always. Amen.