Sunday Morning Service 8:30AM - Hebrews 7:11-28 - The Priesthood of Jesus pt 2 - Pastor Ryan Nichols

All right, well, good morning, church family. Glad you're here this morning. I want to invite you to stand with us. We'll pray and we'll get started.

Father, we come before you this morning, God. We give you thanks for another day and we give you praise. Lord, we ask your blessing upon this time. Lord, help us to sit everything aside. Lord, to be able to focus upon you. Lord, to lavish praise upon you. Lord, to give you all honor and glory this morning, God. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. One day every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. I wonder of how you brought deliverance, the exodus of my heart. You found me, held back the waters from my release. Oh, yeah. Praise for how good you are. Lord God, we thank you for who we are. We are called sons and daughters of the mother. We are called sons and daughters of the most high. We give you praise. You, the God of wonders beyond our galaxy, Lord God, we give you praise.

We give you glory. We give you honor. We give you our gratitude this morning, God, for who you are. For how good you are to us, Lord God. For what you've done for us and for the works that you're doing in our lives, Father. God, as Pastor Ryan comes this morning, God, I just pray that you would speak mightily through him, Lord God. Prepare our hearts this morning.

To receive that word. God, condition us. Soften our hearts this morning to receive it. And we love you, Lord, and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Have some fellowship.

Good morning. If you could begin to find your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us. Some things to take note of in your bulletin. A couple of changes on the left-hand side for this week. On Monday night, both men's and women's studies are canceled. And then Thursday, ladies' Bible study is also canceled this week. So, take note of that. A handful of things in the middle section of your bulletin.

A reminder about VBS coming up. Again, that QR code is in there and it is active. So, you can go ahead and get kiddos signed up. We will have another couple of work days coming up soon because VBS is coming really fast. So, we'll be announcing some more work days soon. Ladies, there's a new Joyful Life ladies' Bible study starting up, going over 1 John. All of those sign-up sheets are in the lobby on that side over there.

A reminder, if you've got a kiddo going to Falls Creek Camp, the money and all the registration things are due by May 27th. You can talk to Jared for more details on that. There's a couple of conferences that are coming up, local conferences. One in Wellington, a one-day conference on June the 6th from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. And one in Emporia from June, on June the 11th through June the 13th.

Both of those are free conferences. So, check those out if you have a chance. And then one last thing that's coming up. There is a women's brunch coming up on June the 6th and I'm going to invite mom to come up and share about that. We will be having a women's brunch on June the 6th and it's from 10 a.m. to noon. And it will be at the Gathering Place down on South Summit.

And the parking for that is in the parking lot behind over on First Street. I would like to know how many are coming so we know how much food we need to prepare and how many tables to set up for it. So, there's a sign-up sheet in the back that you can sign up for it. If you're interested in helping with food for this event, because it will be different than our usual women's breakfast, please include your phone number.

And if you don't want to bring food, come anyway and have a good time. And hopefully we'll just have a great time of fellowship together. Thanks.

All right. So, again, all that information is out there in the lobby. So, those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 24. Psalm 24. That's not on. We will be in the New American Standard so that we all sound the same. If you need a copy, it should be one in a row around you.

As you are turning to Psalm 24, if you are able, stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word. I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Jared and the even verses. Psalm 24, a Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face, even Jacob, Selah.

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory, Selah.

And so, Father, we come before You and I thank You that, Lord, You are returning. And Lord, You will come back for Your people and we look forward to that day. And in the meantime, Lord, may You keep our hearts and our minds focused on You. And so, Father, I pray that we would do just that this morning. Lord, that as we get into Your Word, that You would guide our hearts into a deeper,

deeper relationship with You, guide our minds into a deeper understanding of You. And Lord, instruct us on who You are. And so we just pray these things, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 7. Hebrews, chapter 7. Today we come to part 2 of our study entitled, The Priesthood of Jesus.

Last week we were introduced. Well, we were not necessarily introduced. But we were given greater detail about a character that was mentioned earlier in the book of Hebrews. And his name is Melchizedek. Because that Melchizedek, it would be in the order of the priesthood of Melchizedek that Jesus would come along. And so, the first thing that we did is we considered who he is.

And so I want to just give a brief overview of what we talked about. We said that this Melchizedek, which showed up for the first time in Genesis, was, first of all, a king and a priest. Second of all, he was a king of righteousness. And of peace. He was a perpetual priest. And he was a superior priest. Which is why Jesus came in the order of Melchizedek. Because Jesus is a king and a priest.

Jesus is the king of righteousness and of peace. Jesus is a perpetual priest. And Jesus is a superior priest. And those points will be solidified by everything else that he has to say in chapter 7. So, the rest of chapter 7, there's three things that we will look at. We will look at a new priesthood, an unchangeable priesthood, and a fitting priesthood. First, let's read through the rest of the text.

Starting in verse 11, it says this. Now, if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe.

For it is evident that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirements, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect.

And on the other hand there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath, he with an oath through the one who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever. So much more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The former priests on the one hand existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing.

But Jesus on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore he is able to save forever those who draw near to God. Since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.

Because this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men as priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a son made perfect forever. The priesthood of Jesus. So the first thing he tells us is about a new priesthood. And as he tells us about a new priesthood, he tells us first of the necessity.

He says, now, if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek? And not according to the order of Aaron. Why was there a need for a new priesthood? Well, because perfection never came through the Levitical priesthood.

He'll point that out further as he goes on. But let me tell you a couple of reasons why perfection never came through the Levitical priesthood. First of all, perfection never came because man could never keep the law. And that's what he'll discuss in just a moment. He will approach a similar argument that Paul gave in Galatians about man's inability to keep the law.

Only he makes it from a Levitical priesthood stand of things. The Levitical priesthood could never bring perfection, so there was a necessity for a new one because man could never keep the law. But the second reason why the Levitical priesthood could never bring perfection is because the Levitical priesthood was always a shadow pointing to the substance of Jesus. All of the imagery of the priesthood was all fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

And the entire New Testament tells us all about the fulfillment of the priesthood in Jesus Christ. That there was no need for perfection. There was no ability for perfection in that Levitical priesthood because it was always intended to point to the necessity of Jesus. And so he says in verse 11, Now, if perfection was through the priesthood, why was there a need for another priest?

He goes on to say, For when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there also takes place a change of the law. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken of belongs to another tribe, from which no one has ever officiated. For it is evident that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. He says, With the coming of a new priesthood is an entirely new law.

And what he means by that is the priesthood was always supposed to flow through the line of Aaron, particularly through the Levitical tribe. And yet Jesus was not from the Levitical tribe. In other words, his priesthood was not based upon law because he did not come through the tribe that the law said the priests were supposed to come through. Jesus came through the tribe of Judah.

Now, why is that important? Well, because many said, How can Jesus be the high priest if he was not of the priestly tribe? Therefore, it disqualifies Jesus as being the ultimate high priest, which is where this argument comes in from the writer to the Hebrews. He says, No, no, you have to understand the priesthood of Jesus is different. It's according to the order of Melchizedek,

meaning it is not according to the law. It is according to an oath that was made by God. Because there was a changing of the law in this oath that was made, indicating that Jesus would be from this other tribe. He says, And this is clearer still, verse 15, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of physical requirements, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

In other words, what qualifies Jesus to be the high priest is the indestructible life that he had. That's not often one of the things that we look at when you look at a resurrection message. We talk a lot about the fact that forgiveness is forever, that new life comes through the resurrection, but we don't always realize that the priesthood of Jesus was solidified through his indestructible life by the fact that he overcame death. And the fact that he overcame death is what makes him a perfect priest for us.

Because he's a part of a different priesthood, a priesthood that was always intended to last forever. And so he says, It is clear that if another arises, he has to be according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who also had an indestructible life. For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Again, if you like to write in your Bibles, it's a great place to include Psalm 110, verse 4.

Because that's what that is another direct reference to. It's interesting how many times this psalm is referenced in this chapter alone. And as we said last week, Psalm 110 is a messianic psalm. I would actually encourage you to go back and read it because there's a great deal in Psalm 110 about the Messiah. But it finds its ultimate completion here when he says he's a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Because it is according to his indestructible life just like Melchizedek had. He goes on in verse 18 to say, For on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness. For the law made nothing perfect. And on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God inasmuch as it was not without an oath.

For they indeed became priests without an oath, but with an oath through the one who said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The next thing he tells us is that this new priesthood, not only was it necessary, but this new priesthood brought along a better hope. And in telling us about this better hope, he says, For on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and its uselessness.

This new priesthood of Jesus would set aside the law, which said that the priesthood had to come according to Aaron, but it also set aside the law because the law was weak and useless in our lives. Why was the law weak and useless in our lives? Well, because the law had one purpose. The one purpose of the law was to reveal our sin. I love to use this illustration

because I think it's the best one that I can come up with. The law is a whole lot like a thermometer, right? Again, I've shared probably this story before, but my wife is a teacher, and of course I grew up in a home of educators. And one of the things that's fun to talk to educators about is times when kids claim that they are sick. And usually, and I remember my mom doing this growing up,

and my wife tells stories like this too, you can usually tell if a kid's sick by taking their temperature. My wife tells this story, and it's one of my favorites. She said, I had a kid come to me one time, and they were terribly sick, and they felt like they needed to go home. And so she said, well, I'll tell you what, let's do something. Let's check your temperature.

And so she put the thermometer under their arm and checked their temperature, and as soon as she got done checking their temperature, the student said, thank you, I feel so much better. Right? Well, they weren't really sick. They just wanted to go, they just wanted a little bit of attention in their life, right? Because that thermometer has no ability to make you well.

It can only indicate that there's something wrong with your body. That's all that that thermometer can do. After that, that thermometer is useless. You have 103 fever? Great. You should do something about that, right? Now you need to go and do something about it, because that thermometer is useless, and it's weak to change your life. Well, that's what he says here.

Jesus set aside the Old Covenant, not only in its laws and its precepts, but also in its priesthood, because the priesthood of the Old Covenant was insufficient to solve the real problem that man had, which was sin. It could only point to a greater solution, which is found in Jesus. Why? Because notice what it says in the parenthetical statement in verse 19.

For the law made nothing perfect. Now I don't know who that's a word here for this morning, but I bet that's a word for somebody in this room this morning, because you've been trying to make your life perfect through a law. If I can just do more things, if I can just read my Bible a little bit more, if I can just be a little bit better of a person, then I'll really feel good about myself. If I can just do enough works, if my good works can outweigh my bad, then I'll start to have confidence.

And Jesus the entire time is going, no, because no law can ever make you perfect. No law can ever bring about peace in your life. All a law can do is show you your weakness and point you to a greater solution, which is Jesus. You see, real peace comes in our life when we surrender all of our sin to Jesus, when we surrender all of our shame to Him, when we surrender all of our inability to Him, and then we find our peace in Him, because He is the arbiter of a better hope.

He is the priest of a better hope, because the law can never bring perfection into our life. On the other hand, verse 19, there is a bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. You see, all of those things point us to Jesus. And Jesus says, not only do I know that you're weak, but I'm the solution to your weakness. Not only do I know that you've sinned,

but I'm the solution to your sin. Not only do I know that you have failed, but I am the solution for your failure. Now, let me help you draw near to God. Paul, in other writings, says this. I believe it's Romans chapter 8. He says, for what the law could not do in that it was weak through sinful flesh, God did by sending Jesus Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh.

He condemned sin in the flesh that we might become his righteousness. That's what we're told in Scripture. All of these things point us to a solution, and that's Jesus. But Jesus is the better hope. And I would tell this to anybody that's living in any kind of legalism. I don't care what kind of legalism it is, the legalism that comes with Roman Catholicism,

the legalism that comes with seven-day Adventists, the legalism that comes with Mormonism, the legalism that comes with Jehovah's Witness, whatever it is of legalism that you live in, the legalism that comes with the Church of Christ, I'll go ahead and name them all. All of the legalism can ultimately find its peace in going, but Jesus fulfilled it all. I had a guy tell me one time, he came out of the Roman Catholic Church, he said, you want to convert a Roman Catholic? Give them the Bible and show them that Jesus already did it all.

And that's how you do it. That's how you change someone who is caught up in all the legalism of Roman Catholicism. And I've talked to lots of people and they say it's the exact same way. Once they realize that Jesus fulfilled it all and my rest is ultimately in Him, it changes their lives. I remember sitting in my Romans class and there was a, he was a non-traditional student

at the time, he was way older than us. I mean, I think he was at least 24. And I look back at that now and I'm like, wow. We were unduly harsh on older guys at that point in time because we called them older guys. I had a roommate who was 28 years old. That's not true, I also had a roommate that was 45 years old. He would not, I don't know why I'm telling this story,

but I am, he would not sleep in the room. There were six guys all shared a room, right? Like three bunk beds in one room. I am incredibly adaptable to almost all of life. After two years with five other dudes in the same room, one bathroom, right? A lot of other stories I could tell you are completely inappropriate for here. But anyway, we had this guy and he was in his 40s

and he took a sabbatical from his job. He was a civil engineer somewhere in California. And he came and he stayed with us. And for the first two weeks, he slept in the top bunk. And of course, we're all coming in at midnight. None of us are quiet because we're a bunch of 19-year-old dudes, right? This guy legit would not sleep in the room with us. And I remember we'd have dorm meetings every week

and finally one of us goes, bro, where do you sleep at night? Because he was in class every single day. He lived six hours away. We're like, bro, where do you sleep at night? He goes, in my van. I'm like, whoa. We're so loud, you sleep in your van? And he goes, I love you guys, but yes. So anyway, I don't know why I told that story. I was a high school student.

I remember he was really just starting to grasp the idea of grace and what God had done for us. And I'll never forget the light bulb moment that this guy had. I can see his face and look over at him and he raises his hand and he says, Pastor Lambert, are you saying that Jesus did it all? And he goes, you get it. And I remember thinking, huh, what an interesting place

to come to in your life. But I also remember coming to that exact same place in my early 20s where I finally said, Jesus did it all. And that's what he points out here. He says he is the giver of a, he brings a better hope through which we draw near to God because Jesus did it all. And as much as it was not without an oath, because the old priesthood came about without an oath,

but this came with the oath from God that said, the Lord has sworn forever and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. And that brings us to the next section. Well, nope, we got one more thing we gotta finish here. There's a better covenant. Verse 22, so much more also, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. So much so, Jesus has become the guarantee

of a better covenant. Remember the old covenant is you live all blessed. You obey all blessed. You obey me, I will be your God. The new covenant says, I have done this, now follow me. I have blessed you, now you respond by following me. Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant because it is not a covenant based on my ability to perform. It is a covenant based on his faithfulness.

It is a covenant based upon the faithfulness of Christ, not the faithfulness of man. What made the old covenant weak was based on me being faithful. Well, how good is my faithfulness? Well, ask anybody around me. Probably not very good, right? Because I'm a failure. Just like your faithfulness isn't very good. But his faithfulness endures forever. His faithfulness never ends.

And so it's a better covenant because it's based on a better faithfulness because he is the faithful God. So he tells us there's a new priesthood. There was a necessity for a new priesthood. The new priesthood brought a better hope and the new priesthood brought a better covenant. But the second thing he tells us about the priesthood is that it is an unchangeable priesthood.

The former priests, verse 23, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, he is able to save forever. Those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for us. He first of all discusses the former priesthood,

the Aaronic priesthood that came through the Levitical tribe. It existed in greater numbers. What does he mean by that? There were lots of high priests that came through over the years, right? They existed in greater numbers. There was more than just one of them. Why? Because they were prevented by death from continuing. In other words, one dies, you gotta have another one.

There's always gotta be another high priest. So the baton's always being handed off. It's always being handed off to the next one. So it is not an unchangeable, forever priesthood. It is instead a continually changing priesthood. But Jesus, as it says, is not like that. Because Jesus continues forever. See, Jesus defeated death. That's the Jesus continuing forever.

When Jesus came, of course, fully God, fully man, he experienced death for us. But then he overcame death through the resurrection. Therefore, he is not held by death. Therefore, he is a priest forever. And since he is a priest forever, he holds his priesthood permanently. Does it ever feel like the one thing that you can count on in life is change? That the one thing that you can count on in life

is that nothing's ever gonna be the same? Does it ever feel that way to anyone? Or is that just me? For me, it feels like change is a consistent part of my life. Change is a consistent part of the things that I go through in my life, whether it's the fact that I, you know, that my position in life changes, my conditions in life change, my experiences in life change,

the people that I'm around in my life change. There's changes through loss that seem to just take place over and over again, and it feels like change is the only thing that we can count on. Nothing lasts forever. I remember when I was working construction, I had this philosophical thought, which is why I didn't really fit in in construction. I had this philosophical thought one time,

and it was when we were building a pool in Shawnee, Kansas, right? And so in order to build this pool in Shawnee, Kansas, the first thing we had to do was tear down an old school. So we tear down this old school, and we remove all of that, and we clear all that out, and we're back with this fresh piece of land, and we begin constructing this pool structure and all these different kinds of things on it. And I remember, I was reading Ecclesiastes at the time, I think, and I remember thinking, nothing lasts forever, does it?

Everything around us is eventually made to be torn down, and eventually it's going to be torn down, and something else is going to be built there, and then something else is going to be built there, because nothing lasts forever. It's one of those moments in my mid-20s that I had in life, and then I was reminded, except for one thing, one thing lasts forever. This building eventually will be torn down, Calvary Chapel, Ark City may not always exist, but one thing is true, Jesus will last forever, because He is the only permanent in our life. He is the only unchanging thing in our life.

I think I've shared this with you before, but I heard a young man give his testimony at one point in time, and he said, as my Savior, I realized He was the one thing that was never going to fail me. He said, I watched my family fail me, I watched my sport fail me, I watched me fail, and I realized that the only thing in my life that wasn't going to change, the only thing in my life that wasn't going to fail was Jesus, and so I knew that was the only place I could put my trust, and I thought, what a fantastic place to come to at the age of 24 years old, to realize that the only thing in life that's not going to fail you is Jesus. Why? Because He is a priest permanently.

That priesthood will not end. Can you imagine being someone who lived in Israel and you've got to start over again with a brand new high priest, and to realize now the permanent nature of Jesus? And what does that permanent nature of Jesus mean for us? Therefore, since Jesus holds His priesthood permanently, I want you to notice what it says, that He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.

That word forever is a fantastic word. Some of your translations may say to the uttermost, which is my favorite translation of that, although maybe not the most accurate. But the idea is that He is able to save completely and permanently and for eternity. Completely permanently for all of eternity. There was a preacher whose name was Billy Sunday, if you've ever heard of Billy Sunday before.

Billy Sunday was an old baseball player, and Billy Sunday was also an alcoholic before he came to Jesus. He spent a good deal of his earlier life as a drunkard laying in the gutters after he would get drunk and passed out outside of the bar. And then one day God got a hold of his life and he became a brand new creation in Christ, and he gave up alcohol and started becoming one of the strongest evangelists early America had ever seen. And Billy Sunday preached a message on this, and he said, Jesus is not only able to save to the uttermost, He is able to save to the guttermost.

Unfortunately, that's an unfortunate handling of the text. The idea is not that Jesus is able to save to the guttermost, He is able to save to the uttermost. But if you think about it, if He would have changed His wording slightly, He would have been 100% correct in what He said. Because I want to remind you of a verse from the book of Romans that says that where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. That's the much more

abounding grace of God that comes through the priesthood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. So if Billy Sunday wanted to preach this more accurately, he would say, He saves from the guttermost to the uttermost. Because He is able to save eternally all who draw near to God through Him. Do you know that about your salvation today? My heart hurts for people that don't truly have a rest

in their salvation. Gosh, I hope I've done enough. Gosh, I hope I'm good enough. I hope all of my goods outweighed my bad. Well, I got news for you, it's never going to. Because it's not about you doing enough or being good enough or your good outweighing your bad. It's about who your Savior is. If your Savior is in Jesus, then it is a permanent salvation that no one can

ever take away from you. It is a permanent inheritance because He is a permanent Savior. He is a forever Savior. It is an unchangeable priesthood because He is able to save completely, permanently for eternity. From the guttermost to the uttermost. And who does He save? Those who draw near to God through Him. Those who draw near to God through Him. I'm reminded of

the words of Jesus as He was talking to His disciples shortly before His crucifixion. And He said, the way I go, or where I go you know and the way you know. Thomas said unto Him, Lord, we don't know where You're going. How can we know the way? And Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Do you know I actually

heard an incredibly liberal preacher who was so lost that it breaks my heart to think that not only they are this lost, but that they would lead this many people astray who said that's not actually what Jesus meant when He said that. That Jesus didn't actually mean I'm the only way. Because that's way too narrow-minded of a way of Jesus to think. And all I could think as I was listening to this clip from this preacher, all I could think is everyone get out of that church immediately.

Because that person is on their way to hell and they are the Pied Piper leading other people to hell. Because Jesus is the only way. And that's what it says right here. He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him. How do we draw near to God? Well we draw near to God through the presence of Jesus Christ. Through the advocacy of Jesus Christ.

He brings us to Him. We have to remember there are not many roads to God. There is just Christ. There are not many ways to God. There is just Christ. There is an entire generation of people who have been raised to believe that there are many ways to God. There is an entire movement called the Unitarian Cult that tells you there are many ways to God. Which is in such violation of scripture

that it breaks my heart. Because there is one and His name is Jesus. But He is able to save all those who draw near to God through Him. And may I remind us all that it is not through a priest. It is through Christ. That's who we go to God through. He says since He is a priest permanently, He is able to save forever eternally those who draw near to God through Him.

Why? Because He always lives to make intercession for them. He always lives to make intercession. The word intercession means to go before on behalf of another. And that's exactly what Jesus does for us. He is the one who gives intercession for us. He is our advocate, our high priest, our defense lawyer before the Father. Why does Jesus have to constantly intercede

before the Father for us? Well, a couple of different reasons. Number one, because we are weak and we need the strength that comes through the intercession of Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of what Jesus told Peter in the book of Luke shortly before His crucifixion when He knew that Peter was going to deny Him. Do you remember this section of scripture? Jesus looks at Peter and He says,

Peter, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you like wheat. But Peter, I have prayed for you. So when you return, strengthen your brethren. Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus actually prays for you? Jesus is the one who ever lives to make intercession for you. The one and only who intercedes for us before the Father. So not only does He intercede on behalf of us

for our strength, but listen, He intercedes on behalf of us because we have an accuser who accuses us day and night before the Father. That accuser's name is Satan. That's actually one of His terms in scripture that He is the accuser of the brethren. And unfortunately, two things are true. Number one, we give Him lots of ammunition. And number two, sometimes we believe

His accusations. Most of His accusations against us are true because when He says, Lord, they sinned, all we can do is be like, that's true. They're dead. But that's where Jesus comes in with His intercession. But also, sometimes we believe Him when He starts saying, you don't really belong to Jesus. You don't really belong to God. Look at you. How could you

have sinned like that and think that you actually belong to Him? How can you call yourself a Christian when you acted like that? How can you call yourself a Christian when you had that thought in your mind? How can you call yourself a Christian when you treated somebody else like that? And we start believing Him instead of the intercessor. And Jesus is constantly before the Father going, listen,

here's the one thing you have to say. This is Him talking to us, by the way. It's nothing. He'll look this way in just a minute. Listen, this is the one thing that you have to say. I just need you to plead guilty. But not just plead guilty. I'll deal with everything from there. Okay. I'm guilty. He's right. He is. But He's covered in my blood. I've already dealt with it.

Therefore, no accusation can stand before the Father because all accusations have been met with the blood of Jesus Christ. Because He ever lives to make intercession for us. And that's such a beautiful thing that we have in Christ. That He is constantly before the Father interceding for us. Do you know that about your Savior? Do you know that about your High Priest? Do you know that He is your

constant representative to the Father just like He is the constant representative of the Father to us? Because He has an unchangeable priesthood. Well, not only is it a new priesthood, not only is it an unchangeable priesthood, but number three, it is a fitting priesthood. It's a fitting priesthood. Notice what it says in verse 26. For it was fitting for us to have such a High Priest who is

holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily, like those priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men as High Priests who are weak, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever. A more fitting High Priest. First of all, He is a holy High Priest.

Notice what it says. It was fitting for us to have such a High Priest who was holy. First of all, holy. Now this word holy is different than what we usually read in Scripture. The word holy we usually read in Scripture is hagios, which means set apart, and it has to do with the holiness of apartness. This has to do with the holiness that is personal holiness

and sinlessness. Literally, the word means undefiled by sin. That's what makes Him the perfect High Priest, is that He is undefiled by sin. All of the other priests were defiled by sin, which is why they had to make those sacrifices for themselves. But Jesus was holy. It is more fitting for Him to be a High Priest for us because He is, first of all, holy. Second of all, it says He is

innocent and undefiled. The idea is to be harmless and without guile or deceit. Harmless and without guile or deceit. In other words, He is the genuine real deal. He is holy. He is innocent and undefiled. And then number three, He is separate from sinners. What does that mean? Well, it doesn't mean the idea that He separates Himself from us and we can't draw

near to Him. After all, how could He be the one who brings us to the Father if we can't draw near to Him? The idea of separate from sinners is that He is, let me find my definition here, not sharing with their sins. He is not sharing with their sins. That's the idea of separate from sinners. He doesn't share in the sin nature that we all have. And He doesn't share in the sinful activities

that we have all taken part in. And can I say something, brothers and sisters? If your high priest is set apart from sinners, then maybe we should start to live our lives set apart from sin. That if our high priest is holy, that we should begin to live an undefiled life. That if our high priest is innocent and undefiled, that maybe we should live a genuine and authentic, harmless,

without deceit or guile sort of a life. But He is a different kind of high priest because He is a more fitting high priest because He is a holy high priest. And the last thing it says is that He is exalted above the heavens. He goes on to tell us that He made a once for all offering. For who does not, verse 27, need daily, like those priests, to offer up sacrifices

for His own sins and then for the sins of the people? Every day the priests had two jobs. Number one, they had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. Once a year, that was called the Day of Atonement. And daily there were sin sacrifices and fellowship offerings that they would have to make for themselves to make sure that they were undefiled in order to serve as priests.

As a matter of fact, the entire dedication process began with a sacrifice where the blood would be sprinkled on them. And so these priests would every day have to offer sacrifices for their own sins because they were not a holy priesthood like Jesus is a holy priesthood. But then they would begin the process of offering sacrifices for all of the people's sins. I often think how busy the priesthood must have been if everybody that failed in some sort of way had to bring an offering every day to Jesus.

Had to bring an offering every day to the priest and say, man, I screwed up again. Here's this lamb. Will you take care of this for me? It was a very busy job. And then you think about the two really big days a year of sacrifice, the Day of Atonement and Passover, where their entire day was spent in nothing but the slaughtering of animals for sacrifices. But the priesthood of Jesus is different

because He is not like them in that He does not need daily to offer sacrifices for His own sins because He is a holy priesthood. But then also He doesn't need daily to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Why? Because He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. The sacrifice of Jesus was a one-time sacrifice. He is not still up on that cross.

He does not need to be sacrificed every day. It is not a perpetual sacrifice. It was a one-time sacrifice. Where after He completed the sacrifice, the sacrifice was guaranteed through His resurrection from the dead, and now He sits at the right hand of the Father. No longer offering a sacrifice for sin, but an intercession for sinners. Because that sacrifice

was one that was complete. A once-for-all sacrifice. Which is why He is a one-time sacrifice. He is a one-time sacrifice. He is a one-time sacrifice. Which is why if we go back to an old covenant where sacrifices need to be made over and over again, there is no other sacrifice for sins. Because the one He made was once for all. And then He goes on to say, For the law appoints men

as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever. The old covenant was full of men who were weak in their nature and weak in their ability. But the oath that came through God appoints a son who is made perfect or complete forever through His sacrifice on the cross. And so, as we wrap up here this morning I want to wrap up with three points.

We've looked at a lot here in chapter 7 and I want to reiterate a little bit of what we talked about at the end of last week but also bring to a conclusion what we talked about this week. And in so doing, I want to bring up three things. I don't know if they get all that one on. Oh, they did. Look at that. Number one, Jesus is a different priest so it is a better salvation

built on a better hope and a better covenant. Jesus is a different priest so it is a better salvation because it's built on a better hope and on a better covenant. Did you notice the word in there? The word is better. Listen, we have a better hope. We have a better promise. We have a better salvation because it's brought to us through Jesus. And our confidence should be in that better hope.

Our confidence should be in that better covenant. Our confidence should be in that better salvation that is so much more than what the world has to offer and so much more than any religion can offer to us. Because it came through a new priesthood. Number two, Jesus is an unchangeable priest so it is an unchangeable salvation. Jesus is an unchangeable priest

so it is an unchangeable salvation. Do you know that about who you are this morning? Do you know that your salvation in Christ doesn't change based upon your emotions? Do you know that your salvation in Christ does not change based upon your circumstances? That when everything is good and you feel saved, but when everything is not going good and I don't feel saved,

listen, you're still saved on that day too. And it is so easy for us to fluctuate with our emotions and to fluctuate with the circumstances of life and to fluctuate with the difficulties of life. But we have to hold on to the one truth and that is the unchangeable salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. And that's where your faith has to continue to be because your emotions will continue to play tricks on you.

Your emotions will continue to go up and down based upon the weather or the day. But the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ lasts forever because it is unchangeable. And that brings us to number three. Jesus is a permanent priest so it is a forever salvation. Jesus is a permanent priest so it is a forever salvation. The salvation that we have through Jesus Christ

lasts through all of eternity. And listen, we are told in the book of Ephesians that it will take all of eternity for us to understand the grace of God that came through his salvation. And I don't know about you but I am looking forward to all of eternity every day being a new opportunity to grow in the grace of God. Amen. If I could invite the worship team

to come on up. Let me stand. We have talked a lot about who Jesus is and his salvation. And we will continue on with the better ministry of Jesus in chapter eight. But as we wrap up here this morning I have a question for you. Something that I just want you to consider. Where are you in your understanding of who you are in Christ? Only you and Jesus know that.

Only you and Jesus know where your confidence level is in Christ right now. Only you and Jesus know whether you are resting in his salvation or you are working to try to earn your own. But the question that I have for you this morning is this. Between you and Jesus where is your confidence level in your salvation? Perhaps some of you here this morning have never come to Jesus for salvation.

And today is the day that you need to do that. Today is the day that you need to officially put your trust in Jesus and say I am tired of trying to live on my own. I am tired of trying to earn my place in Christ. I am tired of trying to earn a hope and a peace in my life and I just need to surrender to Jesus. But there are some of you in here this morning that you gave your life to Jesus

a long time ago. You asked him to be your savior a long time ago. But you are still trying to earn his love. You still think you are going to be made perfect through some kind of a law that you keep through some kind of a rule that you live by. And rather than living according to the power of grace that comes through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

You are instead living according to the power of your flesh that comes through your own works. And so you live constantly disappointed. You live constantly in failure. And so today as we close in prayer and as we sing this last song I just want to ask you to surrender all of those things to Jesus. Whether it is your life for the first time or whether it is your

righteousness now. So let's all pray together. Father we come to you this morning and Lord we know that you are our righteousness. That you are our hope. That you are our priest who has given us an unchangeable salvation. So Father for those who need to come to know you as their Lord and Savior I pray that during this last song they would pour out their heart to you

and that they would receive the salvation through faith that comes from you. And Father for those that have just lived a life of striving and continue to do so or maybe have slipped back into it. But I pray that this morning would be when they surrender that striving to you. And say no law can make me perfect. Only my unchangeable high priest can do that. So Lord do your work

in our hearts and in our lives. We just lift these things to you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.

God I just thank you that in you Lord God we are made for more. Lord God you have a new life and a new purpose. We ask your blessing upon us as we leave here today Lord God and just move mightily in our lives. We love you Lord. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you.