The Priesthood Of All Believers

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another faith-building message by Pastor David Entry. Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the Word of God.

[0:12] May your knowledge of Jesus Christ increase as you listen. Be blessed. The Bible says that we are alive because of His mercies.

[0:23] He has kept us alive because of His mercies. And this morning, guess what? In spite of all that is going on around us, in spite of what is all that is going on in our world, I just want you to remember that God is on your side.

[0:38] God is real and God is here. God is real and God is here. The Scriptures continue to say that they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.

[0:54] Knowing God makes you strong. Knowing God empowers you, enables you to be strong. Your knowledge of God is what determines your mastery in life, the mastery you command, your dominion in life.

[1:12] Your knowledge of God is the determining factor. It's what determines your dominion in life, your mastery in life.

[1:23] How well you can be in control in life. You can be in charge when it comes to life because God created us. He said, let us make man in our own image and our own likeness.

[1:37] Oh, thank you, Jesus. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, the Lord, when He was creating everything, God said, let there be and there was.

[1:48] Then God said, Genesis chapter 1 verse 3, then God said, let there be and there was. Then God said, verse 6, let there be and there was. Verse 9, then God said. So God just kept saying, let there be, let this happen, let this happen.

[2:03] But when it got to the creation of man, God had to call a conference. God organized a conference. He called a conference amongst Himself.

[2:13] God said, let us make. He had to discuss it. He said, now, not just let there be, let us. Let us. So you are a result of a let us.

[2:25] God had a conference. God had a conference within Himself. That God, the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit had a conference, had a meeting, had an agreement.

[2:39] They met to discuss. They came together within God Himself because God is the only self-contained community. All right. So He's a community in Himself.

[2:50] The Greek, the Hebrew word translated in the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. It is Elohim. And Elohim is a plural word.

[3:01] So it can come across like God's, by His God. Okay. So Elohim is God. God created the heavens and the earth.

[3:13] Watch this. This is very important to understand. And the Bible said, God created. The word the Bible used is singular. So like He does.

[3:24] They do. So God used, they does. Okay. So God does. So it's not a plural verb. It's a singular verb, but a plural noun.

[3:38] So in the beginning, God, Elohim is like God. God, but it's not God. It's God, but He is a three-in-one self-contained community. That is why God can be love.

[3:50] Because you can't have love outside of a third party or a second person. So you can't have love. Love must be from one end to the other. So if God is love, what was He loving before everything came?

[4:04] He is love. The Bible says that God is love. So since He is love, that means love could exist within God without other parties.

[4:15] Because God Himself is a self-contained community. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so Bible says that God said, in the beginning, God created.

[4:27] That created is a plural word. God created the heavens and the earth. But when it came to man, he said, let us. Let us. He had a conference. Let us make man in our own image.

[4:39] This is very important. In our own image and in our likeness. And let them have dominion. Let them have dominion over the fish of the air, over the bears of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth.

[4:53] And every creeping thing that created. So God created. When He was. Before He created man. He has defined what man was coming to do. It's first of all. We are creating Him. Listen to this.

[5:04] It's going to. It's going to. It's going to bless you. He created Him. Watch this. In His likeness. So man was created in God's likeness.

[5:14] He was created like God. For what purpose? To represent or reflect God. So that's priest. That's priest. Priest. Priest. Priest. Priest. Priest. Is somebody.

[5:25] Who represents God. Before others. Hallelujah. So God said. Let us make man in our image. Why? Because man has the assignments. The purpose.

[5:36] To represent God. And then let them have dominion. Dominion is rulership and kingship. He. In Revelation chapter 5 verse 9 and 10. He said. You have saved us from all tribes.

[5:47] From all tongues. From all people. And He has made us priests and kings. He has. The 10th says that. When He has made us what? Kings and priests. Kings and priests.

[5:58] So He created us to be kings. Dominion. Priests. To represent. Or to reflect God. Hallelujah. But because of sin. We miss that. But the point here is that.

[6:09] We have been created to have dominion. To rule. And so when. Bible says in verse 28. In Genesis chapter 1. And God. Blessed. Created man. And then blessed them. And He says.

[6:19] And then the Lord blessed them. And He said to them. Be fruitful and multiply. Fill. Fill the earth. And subdue it. Have dominion. Have dominion. Have dominion. You can only have dominion.

[6:31] In the light of God. Because He created us. In His image. In other. To have dominion. But Satan came in. To shatter the image of God. In man. So from that time.

[6:41] We lost a certain level of dominion. Kadaba. So Jesus Christ. Who came to represent. And reflect. Exactly how God created man to be. In fact. When they were about to crucify Him.

[6:53] They told Pontius Palace. Kill Him. Jesus. Pontius Palace. He's not done anything wrong. He said. He said. Bring Him to us. Kill Him. And then Pontius Palace. After questioning Jesus. He brought Jesus.

[7:04] To the people. And He said. Behold the man. I think in John chapter. 18 or 19. He said. Behold the man. He presented Jesus. And He said.

[7:15] He told them. Behold the man. He brought them the man. You want to know. Who a man looks like. The definition of a man. The pure man. The right man.

[7:26] The accurate man. Is encapsulated. In Jesus Christ. So He presented Him to them. And He said. Behold. And then. Then Jesus came out. Wearing the crown of tongues. That's the empirical.

[7:36] Pilate said. Behold the man. In the Greek. Is Eka. Homa. Eka. Homa. Homa. Homa is man. So Eka. The man. This is the man. If you want to know.

[7:48] How man should be. Faultless. Sinless. Because He said. I come. The verse before. He said. Listen. Pilate. And that will be good.

[8:01] I'm bringing him out to you. That you may know. I find no fault. I've sent you. This is real man. He was under my investigation. But as I'm questioning him.

[8:11] I actually felt. Realized that. I was actually being questioned. By his purity. His. His. His cleanliness. His impeccability. He was so impeccable. He was flawless.

[8:23] Christ was flawless. He was sinless. The judge at that time. The highest court. At that time. Representing Pilate. In the world. Political powers. They said.

[8:34] We have examined this guy. We have done. I have. And I find no fault. In him. I just. This man is perfect. They were.

[8:45] As they questioned him. They are questioning him. Was actually. Examining them. They were examining him. By his purity. And his impeccability. Was examining them. So he presented him.

[8:55] And he said. Behold the man. So. We were made to be like Christ. In the. In the garden. To represent him. If we are eating. The. The tree of life. Then we would have just been like Christ.

[9:07] Because. Christ. Is the tree of life. He said. I am the vine. The tree. And he said. That in him. In life. I am the resurrection. In John chapter. Chapter 15. Verse 1.

[9:17] And verse 5. He said. I am the vine. And in John chapter 11. Verse 25. He said. I am the resurrection. And the life. So. If I am the vine. The tree. And I am the life.

[9:27] Then he is the tree. Of life. Hallelujah. Christ. Is the tree of life. Right in the garden. In Genesis chapter 2. Verse 9. He was there. Verse 8 and 9. He was there. The tree of life.

[9:39] Was also there. In the midst of the garden. The tree of life. Oh. I feel like preaching. Hallelujah. I pray someone is grasping something. The tree of life. Oh. The tree of life.

[9:49] Let me calm down. I am getting too excited about the word of God. Amen. It is okay to be excited. The tree of life. Was also in the midst of. He was there. The first.

[10:01] Uh. The first part of the Bible. Genesis. Chapter 1. Christ was there. As the tree of life. In Revelation chapter 22. The tree of life was still there.

[10:12] The tree of life. Verse 1 to 3. The lamb of the throne. And then the tree of life. I think verse 3 or so. It is there. So beginning of the Bible. The tree of life was there.

[10:23] And the end of the Bible. The tree of life was there. Which is Christ. And God. When he created man. He said. Eat this tree of life. Man didn't eat. And Satan entered. And shattered. The image of God.

[10:34] So from that time. We could not represent God. We could not be. The kind of priest. We were supposed to be. From that time. We lost our priesthood status. Ah. We lost our priesthood status.

[10:48] After that. This is introduction. Just to tell you that. We were created to be priests and kings. So. We had. We were supposed to have dominion.

[10:59] That's why man can control so much. But cannot control everything. That's why I know Jesus. When he was with them in the storm. Mark chapter 4. Verse 39. 40. He got up and rebuked the storm.

[11:10] And the guys were confused. They said. What manner of man is this? That even the sea obey him. Or. Is it even. What manner of man is this? That even the wind.

[11:22] And the sea. No. No. No. This is not an ordinary man. Remember. John chapter 19. Verse 5. Behold the man. Eka-Homa. This is the. Man in his original fine state.

[11:34] So he came to be the man for us. So that we can imitate him. And be like him. So being a Christian is like being like Christ. And we grow in day after day.

[11:44] Day after day to become more like him. More like him from our spirits. It spreads into our soul. Into our body. So he's inside our spirit. Spreading. Christ is in me.

[11:55] And he's spreading. Spreading out. From my inner man. Which is my spirit man. Into my soul. And into my body. All the three components. Of my being.

[12:06] And my existence. But it starts from the spirit. If you don't have life in the spirit. You are actually properly dead. That is real death. Real death is being void. Of the life of God.

[12:17] So Ephesians chapter 2. He said we were dead. In our transgressions. Amen. Now. So he created us to have. Now what I'm. Introduction. The point I'm making is that. When you look at all what is going on.

[12:27] There's the truth. That they that know their God. Shall be strong. And do exploits. Your knowledge of God. Your understanding of God. Is what authorizes you. Or gives you dominion.

[12:38] In our days. The more you know God. The more dominion. You will exercise. In the affairs of life. I see you. Exercising dominion. I see you. Exercising power. In Jesus name.

[12:49] Now quickly. Let's just get back to 1st Peter. 1st Peter chapter 2. From verse 5. He also as lively stones. Are built up. A spiritual house. And holy priesthood.

[13:00] To offer up spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God. By Jesus Christ. Wherefore also. It is contained in the scripture. Behold. I lay in Sion.

[13:11] A chief cornerstone. Elect precious. And he that. Believes on him. Shall not become confounded. Unto you. Therefore. Which believe.

[13:21] He is precious. But unto them. That be disobedient. The stone. Which the builders rejected. Or disallowed. The stone. Is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling.

[13:34] And a rock of offense. Even. To them. Which stumbled. At the word. Being disobedient. Where unto also. They were appointed. But ye. Are.

[13:44] A chosen generation. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. A peculiar people. That you should show forth. The praises. Of him. Who has called you.

[13:54] Out of darkness. Into his. Marvelous light. Light. Which in time past. Were not a people. But are now. The people. Of God. Which. Had not.

[14:05] Obtain mercy. But now. Have obtained. Mercy. Here ends. The reading. Of God's. Holy word. Amen. Hallelujah. Well.

[14:16] Priesthood. Of all believers. When you read the text. The text you just read. I always. Sometimes. When it comes to talking about. Jesus Christ. Being the. The stone.

[14:27] It's. It's. You can't just end. The enjoyment. And excitedness. Of that truth. It's. It's such.

[14:38] A blessed truth. An exciting truth. That. We just cannot. End. The enjoyment. Thereof. Now. Let me. Let me. Let me. Let me.

[14:48] Give you. A certain. Little background. To some of these. Things that. In. In those days. In the past. What. What used to happen is. When they are going to build. A. Erect a building.

[14:59] They. They will bring the stones. And the. Chief mason. Will. Will go to the quarry. And make sure the stones are sent. And then. Or the foreman. The. The.

[15:10] Yeah. The chief mason. The chief architect. Or whatever. Send. Make sure the stones are sent. And then. When the stones are sent. They start the building. But what. In a situation.

[15:21] Sometimes situations happen. As they gather the stones. That have been. A pile of stones. That have been brought. They will gather the stones. And say. Okay. This is going to the foundation. This is going here. This is going here. Then.

[15:31] They will. Usually. Sometimes. They came across. They will come across. A certain stone. That looks funny. Awkward. It doesn't fit anywhere in the building. Doesn't. And so. The.

[15:42] The mason. The. Apprentice mason. The mason's working on the project. Ask the foreman. What is this? The foreman. Oh bring. Let me see. What stone is this? I think this is a mistake. They brought this stone.

[15:52] That is not needed. We don't need it in the building. Just flip it. Throw it away. Throw it down the hill. It falls. Off and goes. And then they continue building.

[16:03] Aha. Everything. All these stones fit. All these stones fit. And then here. Here comes a. A. Young lady. A young boy. Gone to fetch water.

[16:15] Or gone. Or riding bicycle. Or riding a scooter. And didn't watch very well. On the path. Stumbles across the stone. That was thrown away. Stumbles across the stone.

[16:27] And falls. And hurts himself. And what's going on? What's going on? Some stone was lying there. And it hurts the boy. Foreman comes. This stone is here. Takes it. And throws it in the bin.

[16:38] In the garbage. Down the steep hill. Into the garbage. This stone. What is it? And it gets rid of. Gotten rid of. It's a rejected stone. Then the chief.

[16:51] Architect and mason. Come. Towards the end of the building. All the pillars have been erected. But there's a certain capstone. That must be put there. To hold the arches. And everything together.

[17:02] So the architect comes. And he says that. We have gotten. The workers say we've gotten to a place. But it's not working well. So the architect said. There's a particular stone.

[17:13] Which was uniquely shaped. Where is it? He said. Oh. Okay. We saw a certain stone. When we started the project. But it wasn't fitting into anything.

[17:25] So it was rejected and thrown away. He said. How? That is the stone that is needed to complete the project. Without that stone. The project can never be completed. The stone that the builders rejected.

[17:38] Oh. Oh. Where is it? Show me where you put it. I can't find it. I can't build it. They said. We threw it down there. And somebody stumbled. It's a stone of stumbling. Oh. It's a stone of stumbling.

[17:48] Stumbling. It's a rock of offense. What is this stone doing here? People never want Jesus. Human beings never want Jesus. Fully humanity never wants Jesus. People just don't want Jesus. What am I going to do with Jesus in this my marriage?

[18:01] You keep building that relationship with that boy. And with that girl. Don't get Jesus in it. The stone that the builders rejected. Has become the chief cornerstone. Oh. Hallelujah. And so. This foreman.

[18:12] This master builder. Will have to descend the hill. Go into the garbage. And start digging. Where is it? Where is it? And then puts his hands in. And grab that stone. And pull the stone out.

[18:23] And say. Ah. This stone is. It's so precious to me. This is the stone I need. To complete that building. Without this stone. This stone. I don't mind. I'll put my hand.

[18:34] I'll stoop down. Put my hand in the garbage. I need the stone. I. I. And he'll bring the stone. And then they'll fit it in the place.

[18:45] Then all the ashes come together. And everything comes up so beautifully. The stone. Which you builders rejected. Has become. Is the stone of stumbling.

[18:57] Is the rock of offense. But it has become. The chief stone of the. Let me read. It's there. It's there. In your. Oh. Somebody shout. Hally. I'm getting very. Very.

[19:07] Very. Very. Excited. It's there. Unto you therefore. Which believe. He is precious. But unto them. Which are disobedient. The stone which the builders disallowed.

[19:17] The same has been. Is we made. Is made. The head corner. Head of the corner. Look at this. Verse 8. And the stone of stumbling. And the rock of offense.

[19:29] They don't even want to see it. Which. Even to them which stumbled at the word. They. They don't want to. They don't want to know. This Jesus. Jesus. This Jesus. Jesus. I'm tired of this.

[19:39] Jesus. That's what they say. I'm tired of this. Jesus. Jesus. Everything. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Everything. Bible. Bible. Bible. Bible. The stone. To them. It's disallowed. It's not important.

[19:51] But to us. He's precious. He's precious. He's just. Oh. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he says. Watch this. Verse. Verse 9. So.

[20:02] We have. The end of verse. Is being disobedient. Where unto also they were appointed. But we. Verse 9. But we are a different category of people.

[20:13] For. As I mentioned. Four things we are. Number one. We are a generation. Number two. We are a priesthood. Does that sound. Like something I said earlier. We are a priesthood. Number three.

[20:24] We are a nation. And then. Number four. We are a peculiar people. We are a priest. We are a generation. We are a priesthood.

[20:37] We are a nation. And we are. A peculiar people. A generation. A generation. Actually means. More.

[20:48] Like a race. We are a race of people. With one. With one descent. You remember. I preached the message. Toleda. Toleda. The generations.

[20:59] Of Christ. We are the generations. Of Christ. We come from Christ. Our lineage. Is from Christ. The man. The perfect man.

[21:11] The perfect man. So we carry this. Perfect. Blood. DNA. The God DNA. Is in us. It makes us. A race of God. We are a generation.

[21:22] Of God. And so it says that. For we are. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A.

[21:32] A. A.

[21:45] A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A.

[22:07] you are a chosen generation. It's like adoption. When a parent wants to adopt a child, in those days sometimes they go to a place where they acquired a few babies and then are children.

[22:20] And then it's okay. I want this one. I want to adopt this one. Now, it was, you see, when you are born to a parent, they don't have a choice. They just had you. That's why God has to naturally put a love in their heart for you.

[22:36] It does not matter how the baby looks like. It doesn't matter. Some people will say, hey, this lady's baby is very strange looking. But to the mother, that's my beautiful, adorable baby.

[22:48] That's my boy. That's my girl. To the father, my pretty, pretty princess. Yeah, because in the sight of the father, this is beautiful. But other people may not see it like that.

[22:59] All right. However, when it comes to adoption, the parents get to choose. We were chosen. God chose us. It's not like we were a chance on him.

[23:11] He went out of his way to choose us into his race. So we are a special race. We are a chosen race. We are the chosen people of God.

[23:24] So ye are, but ye are a chosen generation. Then he goes on to say, a royal priesthood. Oh, oh.

[23:34] That's where the thing is. Look at verse five. Verse five says that, ye as lively stones, are built up, are built up a spiritual house.

[23:46] You are built up a spiritual house. And did you see that? It's coming again. A spiritual house. The New King James, the New King James uses a holy, unholy and a holy is the same, but it's quite easier grammatically to say a holy.

[24:06] Okay. A holy priesthood. Watch this. And I mentioned that holiness has to, comes from the nature of God. It's the nature of God in us that makes us holy. And it's the life of God in us that makes us spiritual.

[24:18] Now, I need you to understand this very importantly, because in those days, God told Israel, God told Israel, do not worship anywhere, but the place I have designated.

[24:30] Unlike these days where people think worship can be anytime, anyhow, any place, any style. You know, your worship doesn't matter whatever you do, wherever you go, wherever you, no, it is very, that mindset is very foreign to the Old Testament concept of worship amongst the people of God.

[24:50] The Old Testament concept of worship amongst the people of God was at a specific place, a chosen place, not you don't choose it, God chooses it, a chosen place, a special place, and in a building.

[25:05] So, so long as David was concerned, the builder, was concerned, that chosen place is Jerusalem. He wanted to build it, but God said, no, you can't build it.

[25:16] And so Solomon came and built it, and he prepared, he gave Solomon all the building materials, prepared it. Solomon built the temple for God. Now, but the temple was ruined, destroyed, and it was rebuilt.

[25:31] So, at the time of Peter, the temple they had was not the original temple of Solomon. However, it was the accepted temple where they were rendering worship.

[25:43] And amongst Jews from Old Testament tradition, you do not worship anywhere, but the designated place. That is why the woman at the well told Jesus, you Jews say, it's on this mountain, we should worship here.

[25:57] But our fathers also say, on that mountain. Because worship was always tied to a particular location, under the Old Testament. And Peter, this is very important. Yeah.

[26:08] He said, our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that it's in Jerusalem. Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where, where one ought to worship. Yeah, that was true.

[26:18] God told them in Deuteronomy, you have to worship in the designated place I choose. But watch this. Peter, having a Jewish background, and a Jewish, being a Jewish man, and a Jewish understanding, knew definitely that worship was always tied to a particular place.

[26:33] So long as the Old Testament principles, were concerned. And so when he was writing, now, Peter moves the thing out. He says that it must be in a building. But this time, ye also as lively stone, are being built into a spiritual house.

[26:47] So, as lively stones, we are being built into a spiritual house. The dynamics change now. But at the time Peter was even saying it, the temple was still in place. It hasn't been destroyed.

[26:58] But he knows, Jesus said, I tell you, not one stone will be left on another. They were looking at the magnificence of the temple, that had been built. And Jesus said, I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another.

[27:10] Because Jesus was predicting and prophesying, how the temple will be destroyed by the occupation. And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things?

[27:23] Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left, shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. So, he said, everything will come down.

[27:34] And it happened in 70 AD. Peter was writing in his epistle in 65 AD. It hadn't just, it hadn't happened yet. With his understanding, he was predicting, and he was pointing the people of God to the fact that, one day, all these things will not be necessary, because the location, a particular location, has moved into a location in the spirit.

[27:59] And now, it has been replaced, watch this, it has been replaced by the believers. So, when we come together in worship, wherever Christians gather, that is the house of God.

[28:10] Wherever Christians gather, wherever Christians assemble, can you imagine, now we are having fellowship live, on YouTube, on Facebook, social media, live fellowship.

[28:22] That's where, and we are still the house of God. We are still the house of God. So, the house of worship, where God has put his name, where God shows up. And so, when people come up in our fellowship, in our worship, they know that, no, this is the house of God.

[28:38] That is why we have to approach it, with certain level of reverence, and distinction, and uniqueness. Not necessarily, trying to make it so much, like the wealth, that we meet, the core, of the core essence, of our worship, of our service, of our gathering.

[28:55] So, he says that, now the thing is spiritual. Then he says that, and you are a holy priesthood. In verse 9, he said, royal priesthood. Here, he said, holy priesthood. Now, holy here, means that, God himself, decided to anoint you, appoint you, and put his appointment, upon you, as a priest.

[29:15] Now, watch this. Now, how about the priesthood? We're talking about the temple, in the Old Testament. But how about the priesthood, in the Old Testament? The priesthood, in the Old Testament, was only dedicated, to Aaron, and his descendants.

[29:29] So, if you are not, a descendant of Aaron, forget it. If you are not, a seed of Aaron, forget it. There is no hope for it.

[29:40] There is no chance, for an English man, to be a priest. There is no chance, for an American woman, to be a priest. There is no chance, for a Japanese man, to be a priest. There is no chance, for an Arabian woman, to be a priest.

[29:53] There is no, forget it. We, it's out of bounds. We cannot be. There is no chance, for an African man, to be a priest. There is no chance, for a, whatever, Russian woman, there is no, you don't have any chance, to be a priest, because you can't, you must be born, in a certain lineage.

[30:09] So, all of us, were excluded. When it comes to priesthood, no, forget it. You, how do you, say you're a priest? No, you can't be a priest. It's just like, I'm, of African descent, originally born, and bred in Ghana, with Ghanaian parents, and I come to United Kingdom, as a migrant, and then I decide, that no, I'm the next in line, for the, for the throne.

[30:33] When Queen Elizabeth goes, Prince Charles, you sit somewhere, and even, will you, I am going to be, is it not, preposterous? Even to be an MP, would be a challenge. Let alone, a prime minister, a minister of state, or a prime minister, and then, let alone, a royal.

[30:50] You will even be a royal, for you to even be, be, an heir to the throne. See, so, for us, we are very far off. We are far off. In fact, Ephesians chapter 2, says that, we are aliens, from the commonwealth of Israel.

[31:04] Ephesians chapter 2, verse 12, in the 12th and 13th, said, we were aliens, aliens from the commonwealth. We were far off. We were far, you who were far off, that at that time, you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, without God in this world.

[31:24] That was our status. But thanks be to Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Hallelujah to the King of Kings. Hallelujah to the Lord of love.

[31:36] Glory to Jesus. Jesus. We were aliens. Far off. But now, the story's changed. But now, the story's changed. But, oh, hallelujah. Thank God. I feel like jumping.

[31:47] Thank God for the bad nows of the scriptures. Thank God for the bad nows. He said, but now, in Christ, you, who were once, far off, you were far off, have been brought near, by the blood of the Lamb.

[32:04] Somebody shout hallelujah. I feel like I'm in real church, standing on behind a puppet. I feel very excited. The word of God just gets me so excited in my inside.

[32:15] Well, let's get back into the text. And so, we are far off. When we talk about priesthood, forget it. We can be priests. We can, you can be a priest.

[32:25] So long as the economy of, or the plan of God is concerned, the law of God, you are disqualified. But guess what? The truth is, so you look at what the Old Testament priests were supposed to be doing.

[32:37] They were offering sacrifices to God. Offering sacrifices to God, and representing God, in the communities. Offering sacrifices.

[32:48] And so, when Genesis created us, Bible said in Genesis created us, I mentioned, for dominion, and for reflection of him, we are made to be kings.

[33:00] So, now, watch me, watch this. We are made to be kings, and priests. Christ came to bring, a restoration of the, original, Genesis, creation intent.

[33:15] I'm about to say something. The purpose of creation, is more important, than just redemption. I'll repeat it, I'll repeat it, I'll make it clear.

[33:27] Okay. The purpose of creation, why did God create us? It's more important, than redemption. Why did he redeem us? Because when he created us for a function, we went off.

[33:41] We missed the mark. So, we were like, a road, a car that was broken down, on the roadside. And we got, the recovery guys, to come, and get the car fixed.

[33:52] So, redemption is, God's recovery program. Redemption is simply, a recovery program for what? So, we can be, reinstated, reinstalled, back onto the Genesis program.

[34:07] So, redemption is a recovery program, by God, to bring us, back on track. I see you, coming back on track.

[34:19] Now, when you become born again, you are restored, back on track. On track to what? The original purpose, of our creation, which is for us, to have dominion, and reflect God. Reflect God as priest, and have dominion, as kings.

[34:31] Let me say that again. To reflect God, as priests, and have dominion, as kings. To reflect God, as priests, and have dominion, as kings. We are in the image, an image is a reflection, it's an expression, of an original.

[34:47] So, he is the original, we are the reflection. So, the priest, to reflect God, in a capacity, as priests, and have dominion, as kings. To reflect God, as priests, and have dominion, as kings, royalty.

[35:04] Royals. Ah, so we are born, again to be royals. Of course, royal, Romans, sorry, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 8, verse 9, I'm sorry, for you are a chosen generation.

[35:19] What? A royal, ah, royal, oh, wait a minute, not just priesthood, but this priesthood is royal. Priesthood has royalty. In the Old Testament, we couldn't be priests.

[35:33] Far be for you, you will be a priest. Far be, because, there's no chance for you. There's no chance for me. But, because of the blood of Christ, being brought in here, and not just brought in here, we all, are priests.

[35:47] We have been, saved, to be priests. We have been built up, a spiritual house, holy priesthood. So, priest, now watch this. So, we have been made as priests. We have been saved as priests.

[35:59] Every believer. In the Old Testament, again, you can never be a king, even now. Now, you can't just be a king. You must be born one. It must be in your line, in your bloodline.

[36:12] You must be born royalty, or you must be born royal, in order to be a king, or to ascend the throne. Number two, in the Old Testament, the priests and the kings, they never had dealings.

[36:27] Let me put it this way. No one person can occupy the offices, because, according to the law, the priesthood was given to, the Levitical tribe.

[36:39] And guess what? The kingship, was given to the tribe of Judah. So, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Judah. Jesus Christ comes from, the tribe of Judah. And Bible says that, of which Moses spoke, nothing about priesthood, according to Hebrews chapter 7, I think verse 14, 14, I believe so, 14, yeah, 13 and 14.

[37:00] It says that, we all know, that Jesus Christ, came from the tribe of Judah, of which tribe, Moses spoke, for it is evident, that our Lord, arose from Judah, of which tribe, Moses, that's the law, Moses means the law of God, spoke nothing, concerning priesthood.

[37:18] So, then how can we say, Jesus is a priest, under the law, and be legitimate, because under the law, he couldn't be a priest. But what they didn't know, was the law, the priesthood depicted, or defined by the law, was a Levitical priesthood.

[37:35] But there was another priesthood, that came before the law, which is called, the Melchizedek priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood. So, is the priesthood according, his priesthood is not according, to the law, because according to the law, you must be a Levite, you must be born, from the Levitical tribe, but this Jesus priesthood, is according to the, Melchizedek order.

[37:57] Melchizedek, is without father, without genealogy. Actually, Abraham met him, and Abraham said, yes sir, I salute you. And without controversy, the lesser is bled, by the greater, verse 8 of Hebrews chapter 7.

[38:09] So, Abraham, actually paid tight to him. What do you do, to his priest? You paid tight to them. So, Abraham paid tight to him, in the Old Testament, paid tight to him, and Bible says, when Abraham paid tight, even the other priest, which was Levi, who was in his lois, by that act, his descendants, who are not born, were also paying tight.

[38:28] So, Levi, even the priesthood, according to the law, submits to the priesthood, of this Melchizedek. Now, Jesus was made, he said, I've made you a priest, Hebrews chapter 5, verse 10.

[38:41] He said, you are priest, after the order, of Melchizedek, not the order, is it? So, called to be, to be a high priest, called by God, as a high priest, according to the order, of Melchizedek.

[38:54] So, the point here is that, you cannot be a priest, without having an order. So, your order must be, from a tribe. So, in the Old Testament, Judah was only, king, royal.

[39:10] So, you can only be a king. That's why Bible says, the angel went to Mary, from, of the house of David. Because, the royalty comes from the house, the line, the line of David, according to Luke chapter 1, verse, yeah, verse 31, he said, and he will, he will give birth to a son, and he will give him the throne, of his father, David, of the house of David.

[39:31] Look at verse 31. Verse 31, the angel told Mary, that, behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name, Jesus. And verse, he will be great, and will be called, the son of the Messiah, and the Lord will give him, the, his, him, the Lord will give him, the throne, of his father, David.

[39:49] So, you have to, come from David's line. So, the point I'm making is, you cannot be, a priest, and at the same time, a king, under the Old Testament, because two different tribes.

[39:59] But now, Christ, we in Christ, we have been made, kings. Hallelujah. Yes, you are a king, in the realm of the Spirit, in the eyes of God.

[40:10] We have been made, kings, and priests. Kings, and priests. Revelation, chapter 5, verse 10, you have made us, kings, and priests. You have made us, you have made us, kings, and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.

[40:24] Hallelujah. Now, going back to 1 Peter, as I, I try to start, rounding things up. Going back to 1 Peter, Bible says that, so, we are, a chosen generation, and a, royal priesthood.

[40:38] We are, a royal priesthood. That means that, all believers, are priests. In those days, I think in the middle, ages, there was something that was being practiced by the then church, which is, which is theological, ecclesiological circles.

[40:53] It's called, um, sacerdotalism. Sacerdotalism was the, the, uh, the act of, okay, I'm a priest. You don't have to come to God.

[41:03] In the Old Testament, it was the same thing. The congregants, the rest of the people were spectators, and the priests do everything. They carry out their functions. They were spectators, spectators.

[41:15] That's, that sacerdotalism. If you have any sacrifice for God, you bring it to the priest, the priest will do it for you. If you have anything to approach to God, even forgiveness of sin, you have to go to a priest, and the priest will, ask for, will ask God for forgiveness for you.

[41:30] Hey! Hey! So, if you don't make it to the priest, in the church building, you are not likely to be forgiven, if you are about to die, and you die in your sense.

[41:42] So, sacerdotalism, is the act of, all things are done, the priesthood activities, spiritual activities, are carried out by, a special elite.

[41:54] It's esoteric, just, especially reserved for, a certain special group of people, and they are the only ones, who are supposed to carry it out, you can't do that. That's sacerdotalism, but that is, that is foreign to the New Testament order.

[42:08] The New Testament order is that, we are all priests. The New Testament order, is that, we are all priests, priests of the most high God. And so, we are not just priests, we are royal priesthood.

[42:20] We are not just, a generation or a race, we are a chosen generation. We are a royal priesthood. Hallelujah! Priesthood of all believers. Priesthood of all believers. Which means, that when we, when it comes to worship, we, it's no, we are not participants, sorry, we are not spectators, we are participants.

[42:39] We participate. We engage, together with the other believers. All of us, get to God together. We are being built together, and we also, together, offer spiritual sacrifices, unto God.

[42:50] We are, that is why Hebrews said, come boldly, before the throne of, how can you come, before the throne of grace, if you are not a priest? The only, in the Old Testament, the only ones who can, come to the throne, of grace, that's, which is, the holiest of holies, were the priests.

[43:07] Nobody was allowed to go there. It's only the priests, to go there. Finally, he said, therefore, because we have a high priest, who has gone there, therefore, come, you can come. Well, what? Hebrews chapter, 4 verse 16.

[43:20] What? You can come, boldly, not timidly, and our friend may be dying. No, he said, boldly. Verse 15 says that, we having a high priest, over the house of God. We have a high priest, who has gone through all, who sympathizes, with our sins, and all that, with our situation, and was tempted.

[43:37] Therefore, let us come boldly. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse, verse 18, 19, 20, it talks about how, we have access, that now, now, where there is, remission of this, there is no longer afraid for sin.

[43:50] Look at verse 19. Therefore, brethren, having boldness, watch this, we have boldness, to enter the holies, by the blood, we can enter the holies of holies. That place, is physically, it was only for the, the priests, and the high priest, that even goes to the holy also.

[44:06] Now, he said, we should have, we have boldness, to enter the holy, by the blood of Jesus, look at it, in a, by a new, and a living way, consecrated by us, through the veil, which is his flesh.

[44:17] When he died on the cross, he consecrated, he, he, he created a new path, a new, and a, not a dead way, but a living way, and, a living way. He created a new, and a living way, by which we can approach God.

[44:30] Hallelujah. And what's the new, and the living way? Being in Christ, by the blood of Christ, we can get access, to the throne of God, because now, we are also priests. We are priests. We can go to God, offer sacrifices, offer prayers.

[44:43] Hallelujah. And hallelujah. The priesthood of all believers. You don't need a special person, to access God for you. You don't need a dead saint, or a living saint.

[44:54] You can go there yourself. Go there. Pick their phone. You have his number. Pick their phone. Call him, and tell him, I'm coming. Speak to God directly. You don't need somebody, to speak to God, on your behalf.

[45:08] Pastor, does that mean, it's wrong to ask somebody, to pray for me? No, I didn't say that. There's nothing wrong, in asking others, to pray for you. But, as they pray, you're also praying.

[45:19] But, there's everything wrong, to think that you are dirty, so you can't get to God. So, someone should get to God, on your behalf. No, that system, is no more in place. No one gets to God, on your behalf.

[45:31] You are a child, come. Now, if you, you think you are not a child, then become a child. Believe in Jesus, and you have access, to the Father. Believe in Jesus, so we all have access, to him, by the blood of Jesus.

[45:43] We all have access. Look, it says, therefore, let us come boldly. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19 again. Therefore, having boldness, to enter the holies, of holy, by the blood, in a new, and a living way, which has consecrated for us, which is his flesh.

[45:56] Look at verse 21. Let, and having a high priest, over the house of God. I like that. We have it, over a high priest, over the house of God. What should we do? Let us draw near. Come near, with a true heart, fully remember, with, with fidelity, sincerity, with humility, and with purity.

[46:15] Let us come. You can come. Why? Because now, you are also coming, in a capacity, as a priest, in your capacity, or as a priest. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

[46:27] Let's come boldly. So now, the priesthood, of all believers, means that, once you are born again, you are, a spiritual priest. in the sight of God, to offer sacrifices to God.

[46:41] And when we gather together, in worship, it's, it's the community of priests, that have come together. We are no longer, spectators, like the Old Testament, the people who wait, and the priest does it. No, we are participants.

[46:53] We all do it together. We, it's a together life, being built up together. We offer it together. That led us, verse 5, of 1 Peter chapter, to the verse 5, that word, you, you also, that word, you, is not talking about, a singular you.

[47:09] It's almost, you guys, you people. Alright? So it's not a singular you, that, hey you, you over there. No, but you people, you guys.

[47:20] Alright? So that you means, we. And guess, the Bible says that, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you can offer, spiritual services, sacrifices, anytime, anywhere, unto God.

[47:33] Hallelujah. Praise God. Let me wrap up, by adding this. So, we are called to offer, spiritual sacrifices. Look at this. Verse 9, and, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.

[47:50] Now, a holy nation, is a community, sanctified, set aside for God himself. We are God's community. God has this community, he has set aside for himself.

[48:01] It's a community, of God's people. It's a community, of God's people. So he says that, we are a holy nation, and then, a nation that is holy.

[48:12] Okay? You are different from other. When God is looking from heaven, he has a people, different from everybody. And if God wants to do it, it's just like, how United Kingdom, has a consulate, called the embassy, of the United Kingdom, in every nation, where United Kingdom, is represented.

[48:31] It's not only UK, here. There are things, if you want to deal, with the UK government, you don't have to, always leave your country, and come. There is a consulate, or an embassy, with an ambassador, you can get to.

[48:43] The church of God, is everywhere. The church of God. We don't have to travel, to Jerusalem. We are everywhere, spiritually. Bible says, we are, you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

[48:56] So, that is where we are. So, any of us, can offer sacrifices, wherever we are, we can come together. Look, in lockdown times, we are still having church. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

[49:07] Satan, you lost. Satan, you lost. You thought you could, lock our worship down. Sorry, may, sorry may, you can, because we are, spiritual house. Ha ha ha ha, nothing physical, can stop us.

[49:18] Nothing physical, can stop us. Why? Because, we are, spiritual house. If you believe, you have a spiritual house, will you shout hallelujah? Shout hallelujah. We certainly, are a spiritual house.

[49:31] We certainly, are a spiritual house. We certainly, are a spiritual house. We certainly, are a spiritual house. Thank, be, thanks be, to God, for making us a spiritual house. So they can't stop us. Now, when we, the fact, I think, let me just throw this in as I end.

[49:51] I may probably pick the other thing. But the fact that, the fact that we are priests, watch this, the fact that we are priests means that we are dedicated to God. The fact that we are, watch this, this is important, the fact that we are a nation, the fact that we are a nation means that, watch this, means that we operate under a law.

[50:13] The law we operate under might not be the same law everybody operates under. This is very important. So we are gaakuda shaindo in kaskitisko. We are governed, we are ruled by the laws of the nation we belong to. I hope somebody is getting what I'm saying. We are ruled by the law of the nation we belong to. Let me just sit away.

[50:38] I go. We are ruled by the law of the nation we belong to. That's it. So we cannot just say we might live amongst people and they might give us laws.

[50:50] Now watch this. The law of the nation we belong to. Remember, we are a holy nation. The law of the nation we belong to, that law demands, according to Romans Romans chapter 13, it demands that we are subject to the law of the land.

[51:11] So the law requires us to pay taxes. The law of the nation, we belong to the holy nation. Okay, are you getting it? The law of the the law of the holy nation requires and demands that we pay taxes in the land we live in, according to the law of the natural land.

[51:34] That is why if they say lockdown, we will obey the law of the natural land because the law of our actual nation instructs us to obey the law of the land we live in.

[51:50] Unless that law begins to conflict with the law of our holy nation, original nation. So our allegiance is to God and the nation of God we belong to.

[52:02] Our allegiance is because we are priests. We can't just behave anyhow. Now, that is why when they instructed in Acts chapter 4, when they instructed Peter and John not to preach again in the name of Jesus, verse 19, he said, judge whether it is right in your sight to obey you or we should obey God.

[52:21] You judge. Peter and John answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God judge. Look at the next verse.

[52:34] For we cannot speak, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen. You can't stop us. God said we should preach. You are saying don't preach. Who should we obey?

[52:45] We will obey God. In fact, it says that we will obey God rather than men. We will obey God. So, if a man, like you live in a house with your wife and your wife or your daughter and they said you cannot worship God, you obey them to where they begin to.

[53:10] That's why, put it back on the screen, Acts chapter 5 verse 29. Peter and the other apostles answered, we ought to obey God rather than men. Why? Because we belong to the nation of God. So, if you are living in a house and now everything, we have to wake up in this house, we wake up, this time we do this, we do this, everything is fine until they say in this house we always offer sacrifices to idols and we don't worship any other God.

[53:34] We don't mention the name of Jesus. If you mention the name of Jesus, we will disown you. Then you say, the kingdom I belong to is higher than any human kingdom. So be it. If you disown me, if you will, so be it.

[53:47] We do everything to avoid confrontation and unnecessary confrontation. But where the rubber hits the road is when people will not budge and they want us to obey their laws and they are making laws, laws that are contrary to the law of the nation.

[54:03] I'm talking about the spiritual nation. We are priests. We are holy royal priesthoods. The law of the nation, the law, in other words, the law of God. They say, oh, the Bible is a cake. Okay, no, the son of the builders rejected.

[54:15] I can understand. No problem. I will attack you for not believing in the Bible. I don't hate you for not believing in the Bible because my law says I should love you. The law of God says I should love you. The law of Christ says we should love you.

[54:25] We should be nice to them. We should help everybody. We should do that. We should obey the law. We do that. But not when the law now begins to conflict the law which is making us obey you. It's very important.

[54:36] We are a holy nation. We are, so it says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people. Let me hit on that again. A peculiar people there means God's own treasure.

[54:48] Last week, I quoted a few scriptures from Exodus 19, 5 and Deuteronomy 7, 14, Deuteronomy 16, verse 2, and stuff like that.

[55:00] It says that therefore, therefore, if you indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be a special treasure to me. Now, above all people. So it's like, it's not like we are just God's people.

[55:11] We actually, we belong, we are treasure to God. We belong to Him. It's like, you have bought a new car, a new phone, or a new gadget, or a new jewelry. This is my treasure.

[55:21] Please, don't go there. This one, you can't touch it, but don't, this is my treasure. Now, we have been reserved unto God Himself as His treasure. God has reserved us as His treasure.

[55:34] That's what we are. We are a treasure in the sight of God. According to Titus chapter 2 verse 14, we are a treasure in the sight of God. We are a treasure in the sight of God.

[55:46] That's what we are. We are a peculiar people. He made us, to save us, purify us, a special people. So, from this time forward, don't let anyone intimidate you and bully you.

[55:59] We are a royal, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are called for, to show forth a holy nation, a peculiar, that we should show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into this marvelous and glorious light.

[56:16] That's who we are. That's who we are. So, there's an assignment to show forth the praises of Him who has called us. Because of my time, I couldn't get on to the verse, finish the verse 9, get to verse 11.

[56:28] But I pray that someone has learned something and has received something. Hallelujah! Glory to Jesus! We are a royal priesthood. We are a royal priesthood. And may God add His blessing to His holy, precious Word in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

[56:46] Thank you for listening. To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Why don't you subscribe to our YouTube channel at Karish Church and subscribe to our podcast so you are always up to date.

[57:02] Be blessed. Be blessed.