If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in Hebrews chapter seven. Hebrews seven, and beginning
in verse 23. And they truly were many priests,
now this is talking about the Old Testament priests, because
they were not suffered to continue by reason of death, even the
Old Testament high priests. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest
became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens. Who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then
for the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated forevermore. My title, Paul, is An Unchangeable
Priesthood. But first I wanna say this, man,
Specifically, no man can approach unto God by himself and live,
and live. Now this is a fact of the scriptures. Even Job, in the book of Job,
it says he longed for a daisman, one who could approach God and
be accepted, and could approach man and not be defiled. That's the job of the high priest. The very first time the word
priest is used in the scriptures, in the Bible, okay, it's referring
to Melchizedek, the king of Salem in Genesis 14 and verse 18. It
says he was a priest of the most high God. Now we learn of him
more through the scripture and I'm gonna talk a little bit about
him. But what it does tell us is that he blessed Abram. And Hebrew seven verse seven
tells us, the less is blessed of the better. Melchizedek was
greater than Abram. Jesus Christ is called the high
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. That is a blessed thought to
have. Because I must have a high priest. I need someone to go between
myself and God, who can approach God and be accepted, and who
can approach me and not be defiled. We have that in Jesus Christ.
I need one to be between myself and God. to appease an angry
God and raise up an ungodly sinner. And here's the thing, you need
one to represent you. And to represent you, not only,
to God. To God, a perfect, holy, righteous
God. And you need him to present you,
what is it? Faultless before the throne. And we have such a high priest
in Jesus Christ, the righteous. And that is a comforting thought
to me. But I'm gonna begin in verse
24 with these three words. But this man, this man, who is
it? The man Christ Jesus. The writer
of Hebrews is very clear. We are told plainly that Jesus
Christ is our and the great high priest of all believers. Hebrews three and verse one puts
it this way. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of
our profession, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus. Hebrews 4 and verse
14 puts it this way, seeing then, we, believers, have, have a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God. And he says, let us hold fast
our profession. Again, what you said last time,
don't hold fast to your profession, hold fast your profession. continue,
and then continue some more. What, this man, behold this man,
the God man, is our great high priest. He is our daisman between
God and man. He is our daisman. We have a
great high priest. And he, this man, can bring us
to God, and here's the key word, acceptably. We are accepted in
the beloved. We are accepted by God in him,
in him, not in yourself. No, no, don't think that you
have anything now, even as a believer, to merit We don't, we don't, except Jesus
Christ, our great high priest. He, this man, can and does bring
us to God. And we are accepted in him and
in him alone. But it says, but this man, because
he continues, ever. I like that, ever. You understand? Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ
is blessed evermore, evermore. He is God-blessed evermore. He
is Lord, he is King ever, ever. I like that. What's that mean?
That means he continues, he continues. Ah, I like that, that's good
stuff. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords evermore. ever, forever. Understand, very
plainly, of his kingdom, there is no end. He's not ever gonna
stop being king of kings and lord of lords. Working in his good time, what? What's he work in his good time?
All of his good pleasure. Our Lord is in the heavens. He
hath done and now is doing whatsoever he hath pleased. And because he continues forever
of his priesthood, there is no end. What's it say? But this
man, because he continueth ever, has an unchangeable priesthood. That's what he has. He's our
great high priest and he will always be our great high priest. Why? He lives evermore, evermore. Because here's the thing, his
priesthood never changes. It's what that means, it's unchangeable. There's no variation, there's
no end to it, it's always the truth. And do you know why his
priesthood never changes? Now we're gonna get really deep
and theological here, okay? His priesthood never changes
because it doesn't need to change. It's perfect. It's perfect. Oh my. His priesthood doesn't
need to change. This man, our great high priest,
brings us to God, what? By his offering and sacrifice
that he offered presented to the Father and was accepted. And we, as believers, the elect
of God, are in Him. And if the Son has accepted,
God has accepted us in Him. I know some people have this
weird idea, and I was one of them at one time. God accepts
good people. God saves good people. No, he
saves ungodly sinners. And he doesn't save them by making
them good, he saves them by his son being good. His son being
perfect, and his son being our great high priest, and his priesthood,
unchangeable priesthood presents us to God through the blood of
his son. Through the blood of his son.
His offering, because here's the thing, He brings us to God
in himself. But God says, sin must be punished. Ah, our great high priest says,
sin has been punished in me. That's what he says. Sin has
been punished in him. God said the soul that sins,
what? Shall surely die. And our great high priest says,
I died. I was buried. and I resurrected
the third day. What? What? Rose again victorious
over death, hell, and the grave. And here's the thing. He has
an unchangeable priesthood because here, Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever. He never changes. There's no
reason for perfection to change. Excuse me. He is the same yesterday,
today, and forever, and put a period right there. There's no exceptions,
no nothing. He always has been unchangeable. He's our great high priest. And
he always will be our great high priest. He is. What'd he say? He will never
leave thee. nor forsake thee. What's that
word? Never. Never. And I mean by that,
never. That's what it means. Never. What's that mean? Unchangeable. Unchangeable. He's unchangeable
in name, he's unchangeable in thought, he's unchangeable in
word, he's unchangeable in deed and in truth. And here it is,
he is unchangeable in his very nature. Jesus Christ is God. He always has been God, he is
God now, and he always will be God. And he has an unchangeable
priesthood between God and men. And that's what we need. Again, there's no need for a
change. How can there be a change from
the perfect offering of the son to the father? How can there be a change in
the results of that which is eternal life given to those given
to him by the father? He has an unchangeable priesthood. Then it says in verse 25, wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost. Who? that come unto God by him, by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He has an unchangeable priesthood.
Ah. Wherefore, because of his unchangeable
priesthood, he is able to save. What? To the uttermost. To the
uttermost. To the full end of salvation. He promised everyone that cometh
to me, cometh to the Father by me, him I will raise up at the
last day, save to the uttermost. Why? How? He ever liveth, he
lives forever to make intercession for them. Them that come to God,
how? By him, by him. How does anyone come to God? I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father
except by me. You understand? If you have come
to God, it's because of the work of Jesus Christ. It's because
of the work of your great high priest. It's his work, all of
it. and he is an unchangeable high
priest with an unchangeable priesthood. The intercession, here's the
thing, he ever liveth to make intercession for them. The intercession
of Jesus Christ is also perfect. You understand? That's what I,
you know, these people who wanna be saved and lost and saved and
lost and saved and lost. Is Jesus' intercession not good
enough? You wanna say that? I'm not gonna
say it. It embarrasses me that I might even think it. By his
grace, I won't say it because he ever lives to make intercession
for those that came to God by him. All that the Father has given
me, I'm not losing a thing. I have not lost anything, and
I will not lose anything, and I did say, accept the son of
perdition, but that was before I ordained. He's never lost one of his people. He will never lose one of his
people. He has an unchangeable priesthood. He is our great high priest. Oh. For such a high priest became
us, who is what? harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. That's our
great high priest. What a great high priest we have. What a great high priest we've
been given, been given. He's holy without sin, harmless,
which means without guile. without guile, there's no deceit
or trickery in the words of Jesus Christ. There's plenty in men's,
there's plenty in men's, but none in him, none in him. Undefiled,
what's that mean? That means unsoiled, totally
clean, totally clean. Higher than the heavens, our
great high priest. What's it say then? For the law
maketh men high priests which have infirmity, but the word
of the oath, which was since the law maketh the son who is
consecrated forevermore. Understand, our great high priest
was not made our great high priest by the law. There were high priests
made by the law, not Jesus Christ. He was made by an oath, it says.
made that by an oath. So what's this oath? Well, as
he saith also in another place, this is Hebrews five and six,
thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Verse
10 of chapter five of Hebrews, called of God and high priest
after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6.20, whether the forerunner
for us entered even Jesus, made an high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. Are you sensing a theme here?
There's two more. Hebrews 7.17 and 7.21, for he
testifieth thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Verse 21, which For those priests were made without an oath, but
this with an oath by him that said unto him, the Lord swear
and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. Okay? Where's all that come from? Well, it comes from Psalms 110.
If you want to turn there. 110 verse four. Almost quoted
it word for word. The Lord has sworn and will not
repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. Now who is the Lord speaking
to here? Look back in verse one. This is a Psalm of David, Psalm
110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The Lord said unto my Lord. Who did David call his Lord?
Jesus Christ asked that question. He said, how then did David,
what did he say? David in the spirit called him Lord. Testifying that this psalm was
written under the spirit of God through David. Who testified
of it? Jesus Christ. Our great high
priest. This is a Messianic psalm. A psalm of the Messiah. A psalm
of the anointed one. The Christ of God. This is a
psalm of Jesus Christ. God manifests in the flesh. He's
the Lord. The Lord said unto my Lord. What's
that mean? David's saying he's my Lord and
my God. He's my Lord and my God. And
he is now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. What? And he is expecting, what? His enemies to be made his footstool. Oh, I like that. Oh. Look at the next verse, verse
two. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. And here's this statement. Rule
thou, rule thou in the midst of who? Thine enemies. That's what Jesus Christ is doing
right now. He is ruling in the midst of the enemies. They don't
know that he rules. Walter said that on TV this morning.
They don't know that he rules, but that don't stop him from
ruling. He rules in the midst of his enemies. Matter of fact,
in Psalm 23, he says, you make a table for me in the middle
of the enemies. He'll feed you, he'll feed his
sheep, he'll feed his people in the middle of a mess, in the
midst of your enemies. He's ruling, he's reigning, he's
running. He is our great high priest.
Oh, I like that. And he is ruling in the midst
of his enemies. They are under his feet, whether
they know it or not. And look at this, can't leave
this part out. Verse three, thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. Oh, I like that. What's that mean? That means
that his people are willing in the day of his power. Because here's the thing, it
is his will and his power that matter, that matter. He's our
great high priest. He's got an unchangeable priesthood,
you understand? He stands between us and God. And not only that, he stands
in front of us, between God and us. Oh, it is his power and his
will that matter. What's it say? The Lord has sworn
and will not repent. His son, what do they call it? I remember Henry saying it the
first time I ever heard, David's greater son. That's what some
people call him. The Lord said unto my Lord, is
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now first thing,
that's the definition of a fact, okay? You know the definition
of a fact? Thus saith the Lord. That's a fact. Anything else,
from us is definitely suspect. But thus saith the Lord, he is
a pie priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, just
a little bit about Melchizedek we know. He was without father,
without mother, he was without beginning of days, and he was
without end of days. Where'd he go? We don't know. Our Lord Jesus Christ, our great
high priest, has an unchangeable priesthood. What? Without end
of days. Without end of days. Because
our Lord, our great high priest, did not just make a way to God,
he came to earth to be the way to God. The way, the truth, and
the life. And no man cometh unto the Father
except by him. By him. What? And him that comes,
I will never, never cast out. Never. I will raise them up at
the last day. I will. Doesn't matter at that
last day whether you're dead or alive. The dead in Christ are gonna
rise first, but then those that are alive and remain, they're
gonna be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Oh,
then this mortal is gonna put on immortality. This corruption's
gonna put on incorruption. You know why? He ever liveth
to make intercession for us, for us. He has an unchangeable
priesthood. Here's some things I wanna tell
you. I'd like for you to understand. Our great high priest gives us
spiritual, eternal life. Our great high priest gives us
his faith, which he is the author and the finisher of. And our
great high priest gives us his gospel. Our great high priest gives us
his power to believe on him and to believe him. And our great
high priest gives us his understanding. What does it say in 1 Corinthians?
We have the mind of Christ. That's the understanding. He's
given it to us. And our great high priest gives
us our understanding of the scriptures. But here it is, our great high
priest ever lives to make intercession for each and every one of his
people. You understand, we can't fail
because he does it. It's not that we're good, it's
not that we're keeping ourselves, although you need to walk, and
you will walk. He's making intercession for
you. He makes intercession. He has an unchangeable priesthood. Isaac Watts wrote this. I'm gonna
close with this. In vain we seek for peace with
God by methods of our own. Jesus, there's nothing but thy
blood can bring us near the throne. Here all ancient types agree,
the altar and the lamb, the prophets in their vision see salvation
through his name. Tis by thy death we live, O Lord,
tis on thyself we rest. Forever be thy love adored, thy
name forever blessed. I like that, I like that. He
has an unchangeable priesthood. He's our high priest. That's
why I had that song today. He beneath the spirit ceiling
stands, the great high priest with God. He stands. He makes intercession for his
people. And his intercession is just
as perfect as he is. Our Heavenly Father, thank you
again for this time. Wish we could gather together
in your name to try to worship you in spirit and in truth. Be
with Paul and Walter as they come to speak. Be with all those
who are all with physical problems and ailments. Help us, Lord,
to not lose focus on thee. Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes
upon thee. Our hearts stay. And if we wander,
bring us back. And thank you, Lord, for all
you've done through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose
name we pray.