[0:00] We resume public worship of God by singing to His praise verses from Psalm 95.
[0:13] Psalm 95. We can read from verse 3. Psalm 95, reading from verse 3.
[0:50] Psalm 95.
[1:20] Psalm 95.
[1:50] We can sing from verse 5 to the end of the psalm. To Him the spacious sea belongs, for He the same did make.
[2:01] O come and let us worship Him.
[2:38] O come and let us worship Him. Let us begin with all.
[2:54] And all His hand has saved today.
[3:38] If He is His voice will hear. Then harden and look at your heart as in the throne of creation.
[4:03] As in the desert on the day of the church.
[4:17] When He is His voice will hear. When He is His voice will hear. When He is His voice will hear.
[4:30] He is His voice will hear. And did my work in His team. Even for the space of working years.
[4:46] He is His voice will hear. His voice will hear. This race has given me. I said, I said, He is His voice will hear.
[5:03] He is His voice will hear. My ways they do not know.
[5:14] To whom I swear in a rock not care. My rest they should not go.
[5:33] Let us join together in prayer. Eternal and ever blessed God. As we come into your presence.
[5:45] We bless your name for the songs of praise. That we are able to sing. Reminders to us of your interest in this fallen race of man.
[6:03] That you have spoken to our fathers. To our forefathers. And down through the generations. And that you still speak to us.
[6:16] With clarity. And with the intention that we would hear your voice. And that we would act upon what you are teaching us in your word.
[6:33] We pray for the opportunity this evening to have a glimpse of your glory. And we acknowledge that were it to be so.
[6:44] Even a glimpse itself. Would be beyond our ability to bear. Were it not for your own upholding.
[6:57] As we were given that privilege. We know that occasions are recorded for us in your word. When you met with your people.
[7:10] As a people. And you met with individuals who bore your name. And you revealed yourself to them. Still others who had no interest in you.
[7:24] And yet they were given sight of your awesome glory. And they trembled in your presence. You are a holy God.
[7:36] You are high and lifted up. Before whom all this earth must bow at the last.
[7:47] And we acknowledge that. That seems so remote to every one of us. We have extended our years. Beyond the boundaries that you have placed upon me.
[8:02] And yet it is our foolishness that makes us believe that. We will extend our years. And that we do not dare to estimate what the length of our days are.
[8:21] We are told that there is a span of life that marks out the age of man. Three score years and ten.
[8:33] With more strength. The extension of a further decade perhaps. But that is uncertain.
[8:44] And we know that. What we have been given. That we should make. Use of it. While we have the day of opportunity.
[8:55] A day of grace. So as we gather to worship. May the eye of our soul. Gravitate towards. The glory of your great name.
[9:06] Even as it is made known to us. In the person of Jesus Christ. May your spirit. Impress. And self upon our hearts.
[9:18] So that we would be receptive. To the truth concerning Christ. We bring before you our burdens. Our cares and concerns. Ones that we can speak of in public.
[9:32] Others that are hidden from sight. We pray for all who are in need this evening. Here in this place. And beyond its walls.
[9:46] We pray that you would bless us. Out of the riches that are you alone. And that you would strengthen those who are weak.
[9:57] That you would encourage those who are trembling. And fearful. That you would encircle with a sense of your presence. Those who are grieving and sorrowful.
[10:11] We pray for those whose hearts are heavy. By reason of recent bereavement. And we call upon you, O God. To make yourself known in such places.
[10:24] Where there is a dark veil. Drawn over the heart and the mind of those. Who are trying to unravel strange providences.
[10:37] We pray, Lord, for the world in which we live. That knows much of these sorrows. And we pray for these parts of the world.
[10:48] That are embroiled in war. And who have to deal with its aftermath. We see the destruction that is wanting.
[10:59] The terrorizing of individuals by others. The elderly and the frail. And the young are always those who suffer most.
[11:11] And we see the devastation wrought by bomb and by bullet. And even the aftermath that leaves scars on the heart and on the mind.
[11:24] So that they may recover property. They may even recover their physical strength. But the scars that the wickedness that man perpetrates.
[11:39] Are more difficult to resolve. And we pray these before you. Who are suffering from these griefs and pains and sorrows of mind.
[11:55] Remember, Lord, those who govern us. Our King and his family. The various parliaments. In which the rule of law is meant to be observed.
[12:08] And to be enshrined for the good of the populace. And yet too often in recent days. We have seen. How laws have been decreed.
[12:22] That are not to the spiritual good of your people. Or of any people for that matter. Lord. Lord. You are not blind.
[12:33] You are not indifferent to these things. We bring them before you. And we would ask that. In your time. And according to your grace.
[12:45] These harmful enactments are reversed. And that we would once again. Be brought back to your word.
[12:56] And to find our lives. Regulated and ordered by. What your word teaches us. Remember the nations of the earth.
[13:07] Those engaged in peace. Making. And peace keeping. We know that. The grounds for peace. Are often.
[13:18] Seen to be. By many. As if. They. They are. Inevitably. Visible. To the eyes.
[13:29] Of all. Who. Look upon them. But. In the wisdom. That is. The wisdom of the most high. You teach us. That. Not all.
[13:41] Endeavors. Are principled. Or. God honoring. God honoring. And. That. There is. An. Ageless.
[13:52] Wisdom. That sees. The. Purposes. Of the most high. Enacted. And the day will come. When all. Such will be revealed.
[14:03] Even with regard. To. Your. Ancient. People. We pray. Lord. For your. Grace. To.
[14:14] The. The. Proclamation. Of the gospel. Where. Jesus. Christ. Is. Lifted up. And that. Men.
[14:25] And women. Would be drawn. To him. We. Marvel. That he is. The son. Of the most high. God. Who also. Bears.
[14:36] The name. The ancient. Of days. Who. Who. Exists. The right. Of the father. And who. Has always. Been in the bosom.
[14:47] Of the father. We. Give thanks. For the. Wisdom. That allows us. To. Contemplate. Such truths. And for the. Grace.
[14:58] That you. Encourage us. To seek. In order. To understand. These things. In this. Community. Our homes. Our families. Our.
[15:09] Neighboring. Congregations. And communities. May the. Proclamation. Of truth. In our midst. Yield fruit. Even the. The.
[15:20] The souls. Of those. Who are under the word. Of the most high. God. Pour out your spirit. Upon us. To that end. Unify us. In spirit. That we would be as one.
[15:32] In your hand. Help us. To wait upon you. To that end. Bless us. As we sing on. In. With your. Praises. Upon our lips.
[15:43] As we. Read your word. May it always. Be before us. That it is. The word of God. To us. At this particular time. However often.
[15:55] We have. Read this word. And whatever part of it. May be familiar. To us. We do not. We do not. Allow such. Familiarity.
[16:06] To. Do anything. Other than. To encourage us. To see in it. Hidden truths. That have been. Kept from us. Until this very moment.
[16:18] So. By the light of your spirit. May we marvel. At what you have to say. To us even tonight. For give sin. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[16:29] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We can sing from Psalm 68. Psalm 68. Psalm 68. And at verse 5.
[16:42] Singing down to verse 10. Singing down to verse 10. Singing down to verse 10. Because the Lord a father is unto the fatherless.
[16:55] God is the widow's judge within his place of holiness. God doth a solitary set in families. And from bands the chain doth free.
[17:07] But rebels do inhabit parched lands. O God what time thou didst go forth before thy people's face. And when through the great wilderness thy glorious marching was.
[17:21] Then at God's presence shook the earth. Then drops from heaven fell. Then this sign I shook before the Lord the God of Israel.
[17:32] O God thou to thy heritage did send a plenteous rain. Whereby thou when it weary was didst it refresh again.
[17:43] Thy congregation then did make their habitation there. Of thine own goodness for the poor. O God thou didst prepare.
[17:55] Let us sing these verses 5 to 10 of Psalm 68. Because the Lord a father is unto the fatherless. Because the Lord a fatherless.
[18:16] Unto the fatherless. God is the widow's judge within his place of holiness.
[18:38] God does the solitary set.
[18:49] And from his sons from bands. The children's dream. The children's dream.
[19:01] But rebels do in half. It march in lands.
[19:13] O God. O God. What time thou didst go forth. Before thy people's face.
[19:30] And when through the gate. And when through the gate. In wilderness. Thy glory. As the marching walls.
[19:46] Then not God's presence shook the air.
[19:57] Then drops from heaven well. to sign a shoe before the Lord your God of Israel.
[20:17] O God, that to thy heritage it send a plenitude's reign where by the way niggled me and was dead refresh again.
[20:52] Thy congregation ended with the habitation of all thy own goodness.
[21:14] For the prayer, O God, that it's given. Amen. Amen.
[21:24] Amen. I'm going to hear God's word from the New Testament scriptures and the epistle to the Hebrews, reading from chapter 4.
[21:40] Hebrews chapter 4. We can read the whole chapter. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
[22:00] For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. But the world preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
[22:13] For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest.
[22:26] Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
[22:41] And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.
[22:56] Again he limiteth that certain day, saying, In David today, after so long a time, as it is said today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
[23:11] For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
[23:22] For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
[23:42] For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[24:01] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
[24:15] Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[24:26] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin.
[24:40] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[24:52] Amen and be the Lord at his blessing. To this reading of his word unto his name be the praise. Let us sing now Psalm 145, the first version of the psalm.
[25:09] Psalm 145, the first version of the psalm from verse 15 to the end. The eyes of all things wait on thee, the giver of all good, and thou in time convenient bestowst on them their food.
[25:31] Thine hand thou opest liberally, and of thy bounty givest enough to satisfy the need of everything that lives. The Lord is just in all his ways, holy in his works all.
[25:47] God's near to all that call on him, in truth that on him call. He will accomplish the desire of those that do him fear. He also will deliver them, and he their cry will hear.
[26:01] The Lord preserves all who him love, that not condemn and I. But he all those that wicked are will utterly destroy.
[26:14] My mouth the praises of the Lord, to publish these shall never. Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and forever.
[26:24] We can sing these verses, Psalm 145, the first version from verse 15. The eyes of all things wait on thee, the giver of all good.
[26:36] The eyes of all things wait on thee, The giver of all good.
[26:56] And thou in a time convenient, His shoes on them are referred.
[27:10] Thine hand thou openst liberally, And all thy bounty givest, Enough to satisfy the need Of everything that lives.
[27:43] The Lord is just in all his ways, Holy in his works all.
[28:00] God's near to all that call on him, And just that on him come.
[28:17] He will accomplish the desire Of those that do him fear, He also will deliver them, And he then cry will hear, The Lord preserves all those to mere love, That not can them annoy, But he, O Lord, The Lord will utterly destroy,
[29:20] My mouth the precious of the Lord, To publish this shall never.
[29:37] Let all pleasure bless his holy name, Forever and forever.
[29:53] Can we turn to the chapter that we were reading In the New Testament, The epistle to the Hebrews in chapter 4.
[30:08] We can read at verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest That is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, Let us hold fast our profession.
[30:27] For we have not a high priest Which cannot be touched with the feelings Of our infirmities, But was in all points tempted, Like as we are, Yet without sin.
[30:41] Let us therefore come boldly Let us therefore come boldly Into the throne of grace That we may obtain mercy, And find grace to help In time of need.
[30:52] Seeing then that we have a great high priest That is passed into the heavens.
[31:03] There are many passages of the scripture That we can turn to That speak to us of the activities Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[31:22] And probably the epistle before us Is one of these portions of scripture That you find full of Christ.
[31:38] And the reason being Is that it is an epistle, A letter written to those Who have come to faith in Jesus Christ.
[31:54] They have trusted in Christ. But unlike many of the other recipients Of the epistles and the letters That have been written And are contained within the New Testament.
[32:12] These recipients were once Jewish believers. And they lived a life of faith. Which was deeply ingrained In the Old Testament dispensation And all the teachings that it contained.
[32:36] So the writer of the epistle Is writing to Christians. But writing to Christians Who are constantly having to be reminded Of the centrality of Christ Jesus To their lives.
[33:00] And the importance of Him. In many respects that's not all that different To the way every one of us Should be reminded of the centrality of Christ To our Christian lives.
[33:17] If that is indeed the case. But you will understand that. Because of the.
[33:29] Those who are receiving this epistle. You will understand. Why. Much of what is written. Has a particular emphasis. And the words of.
[33:44] Of the text that we're looking at. We are. To understand that they are. They are. Meant to inspire confidence.
[33:56] In someone. Other than themselves. And that. Passion. Is the Lord Jesus.
[34:08] And. When you think about. I've often said it. That we live in a society. That.
[34:19] Has. Gradually. Brought to. Impact upon our thinking. The. Place.
[34:30] Of the. Individual. Within society. And. The. The importance. That is. Put. Upon.
[34:41] Self-reliance. And. That. What matters. And ought to matter. To all of us. Is. Well. What does this mean. For me.
[34:52] Is. That. Is. That. This universe. I'm at the center of it. This world. I'm the most important. Part of it.
[35:03] So. When. When that. Kind of. Teaching. Is. Is. Is. Brought to bear upon you.
[35:14] From. All kinds of direction. I'm not talking. Simply about. Religious teaching. But. In all areas. Of our life.
[35:25] You find. That. Our religion. That encourages you. To depend on someone else. Other than yourself. Is immediately suspect.
[35:36] Maybe that's. Obvious to you. Maybe it's something. That you haven't really. Given any thought to it. But if you think about it. Like that. The Christian. Religion. That focuses on the passion.
[35:47] Of the Lord Jesus. Expects you. To trust him. To trust him. In the world. In the world. In the world.
[35:58] In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world. In the world.
[36:09] Holes alors. IS floppy ahead.protest him. In the world. And die. In the world. In the world. In the world. Label. In the world. Very few.
[36:20] That face. Out Ada. There. What it is. Of what it is. In the world. And the world. Once you. Has done.
[36:30] On him. As you성. It's what it's all done. At the rest of the world. When he says. that we find these words in. A religious people who were so heavily dependent on the expression of their religion being what they themselves did. Their emphasis in religious life was on the outward observation of what they considered to be the requirements of God's law. And they had a peace of mind the more they were able to fulfil what they thought to be sufficient in order for them to please God. Now that lies at the heart of what the apostle is doing here. He's bringing to their attention the various things that may have appeared at the forefront of their thinking. And he is, as it were, removing the weight that they have placed upon them and showing these things to be insignificant in comparison with one person in particular. And that person is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not Moses, not the angels, not the forms of worship that they had fulfilled to the best of their ability. All of these things were done away with by the finished work of a person. That person was the only begotten son of God. And all that he did is sufficient for their redemption, for their salvation. So that lies at the heart of what we are confronted by here.
[38:54] At this very point, verse 14, he is moving on to discuss at length the place that Jesus Christ fulfilled as the great high priest, the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[39:19] Christ. And when he does that, he is immediately comparing it to the priesthood that came before. And the way that that priesthood was of little or no value in comparison to what Jesus had fulfilled in his own life and death. I say little because we can't just dismiss it out of hand. Because God ordained it. God required it. God had used it mightily in the history of the world.
[40:04] God had used it. God had used it mightily in the history of the world. But the time had come when the types and the shadows that spoke of a priesthood and the place that the Lord was going to fulfill by way of that priesthood, they needed to understand how that came about.
[40:26] God had used it.
[40:56] Jesus, that was passed into the Mode.
[41:26] who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, have, is substantial. It is substance where what was possessed by those who went before were types and shadows of the substance.
[41:46] We have this, he says. We have a priesthood. We have a high priest. Not just a high priest.
[41:58] We have a great high priest. And that great high priest has passed into the heavens. So each one of these things are a stepping stone to a greater understanding of what the believer has, as opposed to those who do not believe.
[42:24] Those who are still in the grip of a former way of doing things, or those who have never, ever come to put their trust in Christ as God's way of salvation.
[42:46] We have, as Christians, as believers in Christ, something that those who are still enslaved by the traditions of the Old Testament, or those who are embroiled in Judaism, or anything like that, we have something that they do not have.
[43:13] And the apostle says, yes, you are saying, you have a priesthood. You even have a high priest.
[43:24] But we have a priesthood, a high priesthood, and unlike yours, his role continues.
[43:37] And they could not say that, because it was in the very nature of the former priesthood that those who occupied that office would have to surrender it because of death.
[43:57] They died out of office, and their role came to an end. Also, comparing the priesthood of Christ, or the high priesthood of Christ, and those who previously fulfilled that role, you would have to say that, while it would be wrong to suggest that there was never a person who did not grace that office, there were many who did not.
[44:34] And each and every one of them, because of the fact that they were sinful men, their feelings would often come to light, and their inability to fulfil perfectly the office that they were expected to fulfil, they were incapable of doing that.
[45:00] We go right back to the establishment of the priesthood. Probably you would again have to exercise some caution, because, however, I think that the theologians would say to you that the priesthood is something that was constantly evolving.
[45:26] You have to find the establishment of the priesthood as far as the Levitical law is concerned, beginning with Aaron, the brother of Moses.
[45:38] But there is a priesthood that existed before then, and however structured it was, however informed it was, the fact that sacrifices were offered indicated some level of priesthood.
[45:59] So that going right back to the garden, or just after they had been put out of the garden, you have evidence of some kind of sacrificial system coming into play.
[46:14] It's not explained to us, it's not described to us, other than that in the clothing of the first saints with the skins of dead animals, that there is a suggestion made that there was, at that point, some kind of information imparted to the fallen race of Adam, that God was going to restore them into a relationship with himself by way of blood sacrifice.
[46:50] That invites a lot of discussion. I don't want to go into it. But if we simply look at what we have here, that Christ is spoken of as someone who is a high priest, the office that he fulfills is the office that was once filled by initially Aaron.
[47:19] And that was at God's command. That was as God required it. And we can go to the scripture and we find confirmation that all the detail concerning the role and what it involved, who should fill it, why they should fill it, and what was expected of them, God describes it to us in these early books of the Old Testament.
[47:51] But here in Hebrews, if you go forward to the next chapter, we read there, Every high priest, taken from among men, who is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
[48:13] The apostle is there just interpreting what the scripture in the Old Testament said. that God alone was responsible for establishing this office.
[48:28] It was an office by which fallen sinful men were invited to approach God by way of blood and the blood of sacrifice.
[48:42] That blood of sacrifice was something that taught them that as sinners, they had forfeited the right to life.
[48:53] They were guilty of sinning against God. God had explained to them at the outset that such sin would bring God's displeasure, even death itself, upon them.
[49:08] And by providing for them a sacrifice, he was initially teaching them that a provision was made by God by which the fallen held a serving sinner destined to die would be redeemed from that death according to God's intervention or by way of God's intervention.
[49:37] If you read on in chapter 5 and verse 4, we are told that the office is appointed by God. No man, he says, takes this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron.
[49:55] So he emphasises that the priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood established by God, filled by God's appointment.
[50:08] Nobody was allowed to exercise that role except at God's request or at God's appointment. And even notice the following verse he says, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest but he that said unto him the work my son today have begotten thee.
[50:33] The apostle is insisting that the role that Christ came to fill as the high priest of his people was only his because God appointed it to him.
[50:49] And he was in that respect similar to although not the same as all previous high priests.
[51:02] He was consecrated he was clothed he was washed in the same way in order to fulfill this role that God required to have filled by someone suitable for that role.
[51:24] The insufficiency or the inefficiency of the old dispensation is again highlighted by the fact that every high priest they came to a terminus in their office death insisted upon that they would be replaced by a son their descendant he would be replaced by his son and so on.
[51:57] The Jewish historian Josephus reckons that until the time of the cessation of the Aaronic priesthood that over 80 individuals had fulfilled that office 80 individuals from the time of Aaron until the time that the Aaronic dispensation came to an end with the temple curtain rent in twain.
[52:29] The apostle says that Christ is not akin to them because there was none that occupied his office before him and there are none that will fulfil it after him.
[52:51] his role is described as different unique because of who he is. In chapter 7 it speaks of Melchizedek king of Salem priest of the most high God and it describes this Melchizedek to us but then it says to us about Christ in verse 15 it is yet far more evident for this that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another priest who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life for he testifies thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek now what we know of the priesthood is that they were of the
[53:52] Aaronic dispensation they were descendants of Aaron they were Levitical priests all priests were of the tribe of Levi Jesus was not of that dispensation nor was he of the tribe of Levi the difference had to be established the difference had to be highlighted so that when you read about the emphasis that is placed upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ the uniqueness of the role that he fulfills every opportunity is given to highlight that for you when we read down in chapter 7 he testifies the water priest forever after the order of Melchizedek for there is verily a disanulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof for the law made nothing perfect but the better hope did by the which we draw nigh unto
[55:06] God and so on and then he goes on to describe the difference again the chasm the vast distance that there is between the priesthood of Aaron and his followers and the need that there was for something better wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them for such an high priest became us who is holy harmless and defiled separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens who needeth not daily as those high priests who offer up sacrifice first for his own sins then for the peoples for this he did once when he offered up himself and so on what you are saying is an emphasis on the passion of the
[56:13] Lord Jesus Christ his role and the fulfilment of it and the difference that exists and ever will exist between him and all others who fulfilled that role he did not inherit the priesthood he did not pass it on to anyone he was not a descendant of Aaron or Levi he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek whose greatness not only embraces his uniqueness but also he must understand his ministry we read here that we have a great high priest now where would you go to explore the greatness of that high priest is it simply to say that his greatness is fixed on his person we have to say that it is part of the greatness of
[57:15] God that this is the God man who fulfills an office like no other but the nature of the priesthood and the fulfillment of the priesthood also requires us to understand that this great high priest is one that involves him in doing something that no other can do it involves him in the offering of a sacrifice well you see every other priest offered a sacrifice every other high priest came with sacrifices diligently but this one came with a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and so reconcile us to God and that sacrifice was nothing less than the offering of his own body on the cross to be done again and if you don't believe that this is important ask yourself the question why does the apostle feel the need to labour this point why does he need why does he feel the need to direct you and me to read these words and to think about the passion of the
[58:34] Lord Jesus Christ fulfilling this role in this way if it is not important and he tells us that it is important you go to chapter 9 and verse 11 Christ being come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands and that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us for for for for for for for the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of unheffers sprinkling the unclean sanctify to the purifying of flesh how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offer themselves without spot to God purge your conscience from dead work to sell the living God you see what he is doing he is all the time taking you back to all the practices that were once so prevalent once so important once so essential to the religious life of the people and while he is not dismissive of them he is saying these things had a place but that place is no longer relevant these were shadows these were types these were the things that directed our attention to another that was greater than
[60:18] Aaron greater than Moses neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption where is Christ he is at the right hand of God he is at the right hand of majesty we are told his role as the high priest continues he is the advocate with the father he is the intercessor of his people he is the representative of his people his blood has been shed it has been offered but on the basis of that with the efficacy of that before God he is sure to receive a hearing principle William Cunningham preacher of the church of a former generation he writes the following there are within us at our very best latent dislike of trouble but these things that we see that make our life so so so dependent upon something outside of ourselves so
[61:50] Cunningham says this on the day of atonement the high priest took the sacrifice which implied a confession of sin on the part of those by or for whom they were offered a transference of their sin to their victim and the endurance by the victim of the punishment due to their sin we find all that under the teachings of the book of Leviticus and Numbers describing to you the rules and regulations governing who should come and with what and for what reason but he says a vicarious sacrifice a substitutionary sacrifice is implied by all these things all of these elements must be applied to Christ in the sacrifice once offered of himself the infliction of punishment on the account of the sins of others and that is what you see in the death of
[62:53] Christ on the cross his death was not a death because of his sins they were the sins of his people as the people came with their offerings and they confessed their sins on the head of the animal that was to be slain so the believer by faith rests their hand upon the head of Christ and he says my sins on your head you died on the cross for my sins we cannot overlook or gloss over the fact that that what we have here mentions specifically the passion of the Lord Jesus Jesus the Son of God you could say that's just an extra bit of information no it's an bit of information that is necessary for us to understand how efficacious the offerings are and how efficacious the offering that
[64:05] Christ came with is every offering every day of atonement that was scrupulously observed and the teachings connected with it adhered to they still needed to be repeated year in year out the sinner however faithful he was had to come with his offering and offer the bulls and the goats and the sheep and countless offerings because the inadequacy of the means was evident in that they had to come again and again but Christ he once offered himself his sacrifice was a one off it did not and does not need to be repeated he alone is the holy harmless son of
[65:06] God and that is why Jesus the son of God is emphasized here he didn't pass into the heavens simply because he was Jesus the son of God when he came into this world he was Jesus the son of God he left the heavens as Jesus the son of God but his return to glory his right of access to glory depended upon him fulfilling all righteousness as God had commanded him and entrusted him and as he willingly entered into that covenant obligation that he was under as the sin bearer his deity encourages us to believe that when we do come to him and put our trust in him he is all that we need he is all that we need seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens
[66:12] Jesus the son of God let us hold fast our profession everything that I've said is important everything that speaks of Christ is important but he is saying to us seeing that is your saviour seeing that is your high priest seeing he is the great high priest let us hold fast our profession you profess your faith in him you profess that you have a relationship of faith to him you profess that you believe all that the scripture says about him well hold fast to that because he has gone into glory he has passed into the heavens and what does that mean well the very fact that you need to hold it fast tells you that your profession is always in jeopardy many of the divines that speak of this highlight the fact that while our salvation requires us to put our trust in Christ and that is sufficient for our salvation that does not mean that our salvation will not come under threat in the sense that our testimony and our witness will be will be in some way besmirched the person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ are in a an in a in a in a saleable position and we are invited by the scripture to believe that but you cannot presume because you can always have this element of doubt in your mind that maybe you have not come to Christ as you should that your faith is not all it should be certainly not all that it could be but the believer is encouraged because they believe and because they know that they have a great high priest and because he's at the right hand of the majesty and because he's acting as the great intercessor of his people that as they live and they profess his name in the world that they have one to whom they can come because you see how it goes after this we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities
[69:00] I'm not going to go into that but it it's telling you because of your infirmities because of your sinfulness because of your shortcomings there is someone you can come to and should come to and he knows your need of him most commentators did I say it would say that every believer will have at some point the need to to guard their profession against the challenges that the flesh the world and the devil bring into their experience the world the flesh the flesh the world and the devil I think it's Bishop Ryan who goes into great detail very often he goes into great detail he's an excellent expositor of the human experience the Christian experience and he he says that there are all these elements that mark us out for our as evidences of our sinful inclinations at times we even though a profession would require of us that we be steadfast in it there is a desire at the same time to please men rather than to please God we may fall into behaviours where we do not pray as much as we should we do not read the scripture as much as we should there are times when we we find ourselves succumbing to sinful lusts where we fail to suppress the inclinations of heart that would have us envy others and would have us desire what others possess when we are not satisfied with what God has sinful to provide to us selfish desires forgetfulness of the goodness of God all of these things the rile says there are things that are in the heart of the
[71:35] Christian that they need to go to Christ in order to be recovered from or preserved from succumbing to them the flesh the world the devil I don't need to go into it the human condition being what it is but this is what the apostle is saying we have a great high priest he has passed into the heavens his priesthood has been fulfilled as far as the oblation is concerned as far as the offering is concerned but he is standing at the right hand of God pleading the merits of his own finished work on behalf of those for whom he appears before God and is that not something that should give peace to your soul that you have the ability to hold fast not because of who you are or what you are or your powers of recovery or your powers of resisting temptation but because of who he is and what he has done and continues to do when may
[72:57] God enable us to often come to look at the passion of Jesus Christ we might you know I often think about Christ I suppose in the way that he is so human in the relationships that he has and the privilege that some enjoyed in his company hearing what he had to say listening to his wisdom being encouraged by his words we need to come to him as well as our priest as our high priest as our great high priest and to dwell much upon his finished work upon the sacrifice offered for sin the efficacy of it which we still so much depend on may he encourage us so to do let us pray the Lord of God we give thanks for the risen the exalted
[73:58] Christ the one that is at your right hand before whom the church of the living God prostrate themselves and will find themselves throughout the endless ages of eternity what questions they may have to ask him but all as they gaze upon the glory that is his as the lamb that is in the midst of the throne forgive our sins in him amen we're concluding psalm psalm 86 psalm 86 and verse 10 because the worth exceeding great and works by thee are done which are to be admired and thou art God thyself alone teach me thy way and in thy truth oh Lord then walk will I unite my heart that I thy name may fear continually oh
[75:01] Lord my God with all my heart to thee I will give praise and I the glory will ascribe unto thy name always because thy mercy toward me in greatness doth excel and thou delivered hast my soul out from the lowest hell we sing these verses from verse 10 to 13 because thou art exceeding great and works by thee are done because the world has seen in great and the works by thee are done which are to be admired red and over whom the
[76:36] Lord my God with all my heart today I will give praise And I, the glory word, last gripe unto thy name always.
[77:06] Because thy mercy toward me in a greatness of itself.
[77:24] And thou delivered hast my soul upon the lowest hell.
[77:43] May grace, mercy, and peace be in God the Father, the Son of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all, ever and always. Amen.