Oh, what wonderful words in these
hymns. Absolutely amazing. Full of rich, rich with the gospel
of grace. Now we've been looking in the
book of Jeremiah a lot longer than I originally intended to
be here in the book of Jeremiah. And we were looking in chapter
33. Chapter 33. And the book of Jeremiah is quite heavy, it's heavy going
if you sit down to read it because it's all about judgment on Judah,
on Israel it's all about judgment for sins, sins of idolatry, sins
of spiritual fornication and adultery and condemnation, you're
going to be taken away into captive page after page after page of
condemnation and judgment is pronounced but then there are
these pinnacles of salvation that stand out and we saw one
that suddenly turned around in chapter thirty three condemnations
being pronounced on those who are sinners judah jerusalem israel
and then it turns around and there's salvation and healing
and cleansing and all of these things and we get down to verse
35 that a branch of righteousness is coming to grow up into David
and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land
and in those days shall Judah be saved promise In those days
shall Jerusalem dwell safely, promise. And this is the name
wherewith she, not he, she shall be called. She, the bride of
Christ, the church, his people. He calls his people like when
a man marries a woman in the traditional marriage ceremony,
the woman, the bride, takes the name of the man. She's called
with his name, and this is the name that she, the bride of Christ,
shall be called with his, her husband's name, the Lord our
righteousness. follow holiness, righteousness,
without which no man shall see the Lord. This is the name with
which she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. And then
we saw last week a promise that there would always be a king
in Israel. There would always be a king,
such a benign king, such a wise king over these people. And now
I want to turn your attention this week to verse 18. Neither
shall the priests, the Levites, want a man before me to offer
burnt offerings and to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifice
continually. So condemnation on Jerusalem,
the symbolical people of God for their sin. For the people
of God including you and I, if we're the people of God, all
the people of God have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God. But all those people have been
justified in the Lord Jesus Christ and declared righteous in Him.
God's justice requires absolute perfection when judged against
the law. You know, it's not So many legalists
in orthodox churches today, do you know what they do? They make
such a claim to be the people who stand for the law of God
and encourage the people to obey the law of God. They invent their
own law of God. They make it up themselves. They
twist it and they don't keep the law that God gave by Moses. They don't do that. they'd be
having the Sabbath day on a Saturday and they'd be picking up stones
and stoning people that went out and picked up some sticks
if they did what the law says. They don't keep the law. Absolutely
not. They just don't do it. As Peter
said at the Council of Jerusalem about whether the Gentile believers
should be compelled to keep the law of God. He said, you know
as well as I do that neither our fathers nor we could keep
it. We can't in the flesh. It's weak through the flesh.
God's justice requires absolute perfection, and he requires a
penalty to pay the sin debt. For how shall a man be just with
God? It requires a penalty to be paid. But in the midst of pronouncing
judgment, In the midst of pronouncing condemnation and exile, there's
this promise of amazing hope. She shall be called the Lord
our righteousness. She shall always have a king
on the throne of Zion. She shall always have a priest
to offer sacrifices. Neither shall the priests, the
Levites, want a man before me to offer burnt offerings and
to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifice continually.
Let me remind you, I know we covered this, we're going to
spend most of our time in Hebrews this morning, and I know we covered
it when we were looking at that book some little time ago, but
let me remind you, what are priests for? What are priests for? Priests are mediators between
God and man. Between man who are sinners and
God who is absolute holiness. God cannot look upon sin. He
is a purer eyes than to behold iniquity, he says to Habakkuk.
Priests need qualifications to serve. We read in Exodus chapter
18 part of the qualification, the things they had to do. They
had to be only those that God specified. They had to be Levites. What, all Levites? No. He said
Aaron, your brother. He's a Levite. Aaron, your brother,
he and his sons, they will be priests. They will occupy that
office of priest for me. It was the Levitical Aaronic
priesthood. They had to be qualified. Did
you notice how precise the instructions were? You see, for a priest to
be qualified to be a priest, to stand between you and me,
sinners, and a holy God, well they need personal holiness,
don't they? They need acceptability. They
need something to offer, something acceptable to offer. And the
Exodus instructions throughout it and throughout the books of
Moses are very clear, very precise. The Levites, Aaron and his sons,
the preparations, the washings, the offerings for their own sin,
to get them ready so that they could stand between an offended
God and sinners who have caused the offense. All of these things,
they needed the elaborate robes, the beautiful robes, the gorgeous
ornate robes, all speaking of the gorgeous righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Elaborate robes to cover their
nakedness. An accurate symbol of acceptable
sin payment, which was the animal sacrifices, the animal blood.
They had the holy of holies in the tabernacle that they carried
with them. And nobody was allowed to go in there, but one only,
the high priest on the day of atonement, with an acceptable
sacrifice. He couldn't just breeze in as
he felt like it. Only on that one specified day,
one occasion, once a year, with the blood of an animal sacrifice,
and not just any, but exactly as God had said. And there was
such suspense when he went in. This is what priests are for,
to stand between sinners and a holy God. Now, religion all
around us today, false religion, has its priests, and people revere
their priests. And even if they don't call them
priests in so many circles, the minister is revered as if he
is the priest of the people. But they're fallen sinful men,
and women, very largely, in false religion these days. going to
stand between you and a wholly offended God? Are they fit? All of the scandals that we keep
hearing in the news all the time, the disgraceful scandals that
we hear, of those that in the eyes of the world and worldly
religion were supposed to be qualified to stand between sinners
and a wholly offended God and we find out that they themselves
are utterly, utterly fallen, utterly without qualification
to stand before God. They're priests in the legal
line of things. They try to be priests in the,
they try to mimic the instructions of the books of Moses. They dress
up, even in the Anglican church, they dress up in their ornate
robes for different occasions with their sashes and all of
these things. They have their altar rail and an altar and all
of these things to try and keep the people from the holy presence
of God. All trying to pretend to mimic the Old Testament instructions. a legal priesthood with legal
priests, but in every respect, they contravene the law that
they're supposed to be trying to portray and trying to mimic. They're just making it up for
themselves as they go along. Now, how is this promise fulfilled? How is this promise to Jeremiah
fulfilled? In the Old Testament, there were two orders of priest.
There was the Levitical one that we've just been looking at, but
there was also the one that came much before that, which was the
Order of Melchizedek. You remember Melchizedek? Priest
of God. He was Abraham's priest. 430
odd years before Moses instituted the Levitical priesthood, God
instituted it via Moses. Abraham had a priest. He was
Abraham's priest. He was priest of God. Genesis
14 verses 18, 19. And Melchizedek, this was when
Abraham went out to rescue Lot. And he went out and fought the
battles with the kings of the plain around Sodom and Gomorrah
at that time. And as he was coming back from
his victory where he'd rescued Lot, Melchizedek, this mysterious
person Melchizedek, met him. Melchizedek, king of Salem, that's
king of peace, brought forth bread and wine. Bread and wine,
communion. What we celebrate today with
communion in these things, this do as oft as ye drink it, this
do as oft as ye eat it, bread and wine in remembrance of me,
the body broken and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he
was the priest of the Most High God, and he blessed him. He,
Melchizedek, blessed Abraham and said, Blessed be Abram, of
the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. Abraham
needed a priest for fellowship with God, and there wasn't a
Levitical priesthood until 400 plus years later. And then the
Levitical one came along, and it was all temporary pictures,
strict instructions as to what they were to do, strict penalties. The Levites were to carry the
Ark of God on poles on their shoulders. Oh, they forgot about
that. They put it on a cart, and Uzzah
stretched out his hand to steady it so it didn't fall off. Very,
very sincere. God struck him dead. God struck
him dead. Strict penalties. Because you
cannot play games with the law and justice of God. You cannot. You cannot make it up as you
go along. You cannot. There was the the
Passover. There was the Day of Atonement.
There were all those things which were picturing eternal heavenly
truth. In the Day of Atonement there
was the two goats. There was one to be killed to
pay the sin debt, symbolically, of the people. The sins were
placed on its head and it was slain to pay the sin debt of
the people. And the other one, the sins were
placed on its head by the priest, symbolically, and it was driven
away into the wilderness. because God takes away the sins
of his people and drives them away and remembers them no more,
puts them on Christ and takes them away. There was the temple,
or the tabernacle as it was before the permanent temple was built,
there was the holiest place, there were the altars, there
was the incense, but all of that ceased that all of that, all
of it ceased for many years during the captivity that Jeremiah prophesied
about. So how is this prophecy going
to be fulfilled? Neither shall the priests or
Levites want to... There were no priests or Levites
in Jerusalem, in the temple, offering sacrifices for 70 years.
You know, we saw when we looked at Nehemiah and Ezra, how they
were trying to re-institute the keeping of the law and of the
ceremonies. And it stopped for a long time.
And it was ended forever in A.D. 70, when the Romans destroyed
Jerusalem, as it then was. So did God get this promise wrong?
How is Jeremiah 33 verse 18 fulfilled for us? How is it fulfilled for
all of God's people? Old Testament and New Testament.
All of God's people. The promise stands in God's word. God doesn't break his promises. not even on account of man's
waywardness. God keeps his promises. Neither
shall the priests, the Levites, want a man before me to offer
burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice
continually. The people of God is represented
by Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel. Sinners, unable to stand in the
presence of God, but yet God has promised That's us. God has
promised you will always have an acceptable priest representing
you in the holiest place with acceptable offerings. How does
he do that? How has he achieved that? Now,
turn over to the book of Hebrews, to chapter 6, and you know what's the best
commentary on the Bible? The very best commentary is the
Bible itself. It really is. Everything else
that man writes, it's helpful. There are very helpful things
that are written. But the scriptures are the best
commentary on themselves. Look at chapter 6 and start at
verse 19. And we're just going to read
with comment a lot of this. So stick with me. Have your Bibles
open. Stick with me. Okay, you say,
He's got out of preparing a proper sermon, because I'm just going
to read the scriptures. That's what I'm going to do. I make
no apology. I can't think of a clearer and better way of explaining
how the promise of God through Jeremiah in chapter 33, 18 is
fulfilled. Verse 19, which hope? We have
a hope. We have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast, it's absolutely fixed, and which entereth
into that within the veil. Think what he's saying. We have
a hope that we can go into that holiest place of all where nobody
dare go for being struck dead. Whether the forerunner is for
us entered. Who's the forerunner? Even Jesus. Now, this is how it's fulfilled. He is made an high priest forever. You will never want, never want.
But his is not a Levitical priesthood. His is after the order of Melchizedek. the order of Melchizedek. Let's
just read through these chapters. Chapter 7. For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation
king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, so Melech
is king and Sedeq is justice, he's king of righteousness and
king of peace, and look at the description of him, without father. without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like
unto the Son of God, abideth the priest continually. You see,
I think this is a mysterious revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ in his priestly office. And this is how the promise via
Jeremiah is fulfilled. Now consider how great this man
Melchizedek was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the
tenth of the spoils. See, he's a great person. And Abraham gave a tenth of the
spoils of the battle to him. And verily, they that are the
sons of Levi, who received the office of the priesthood, have
a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the
law, that is of their brethren, though they come out of the loins
of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them, received
tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. You
see, the Levites were set up and the people were told you
must give a tenth of what you have to support the Levites,
the priests. That's why the Levites didn't get any inheritance in
the land. But no, not Melchizedek. It was Abraham. Levi paid tithes
to Melchizedek in the loins of Abraham, or so it seems. And
without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive
tithes, but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed
that he liveth." This is a priest who lives forever, Melchizedek.
He never dies. His office never comes to an
end. And as I may so say, Levi also, this is the point I just
made, also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he
was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. If
therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, but
the implication is that it isn't, for under it the people received
the law, What further need was there that another priest should
rise after the order of Melchizedek? Did not that Levitical priesthood
make everything perfect? No, it was deficient. There was
a need for another priest after the order of Melchizedek, and
not be called after the order of Aaron. For the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of
the law. You know, the law given by Moses,
it's changed. so that now we're not under law
but we're under grace we're under the royal law we're under the
law of christ for he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth
to another tribe of which no man gave attendance at the altar
must be Levi must be the sons of Aaron but not this priest
after the order of Melchizedek he comes from Judah verse fourteen
it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah of which tribe Moses
spoke nothing concerning priesthood and it is yet far more evident
for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth
another priest, one like Melchizedek, one like this picture given in
the Old Testament of the priest of God, there ariseth another
who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but
after the power of an endless life. He has life, in him is
life. In him is light, in him is the
life of God. For he testifieth, thou art a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. That's quoting
the Psalms, Psalm 110, verse four. The father saying to the
son, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before,
for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect, the law just declared what the justice and righteousness
of God was. But it didn't make anything perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we draw near
unto God. And inasmuch as not without an
oath, he was made priest. For these priests, the Levitical
priests, were made without an oath, but this, with an oath,
by him that said to him, the Lord swear and will not repent.
So God swore of Christ's priesthood that he would be a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek, and thereby fulfill the promise
that we have, that there will always be one who is fit to stand
between the holiness, the unapproachable light of the holy God, and us
who are sinners. Verse 22, by so much was Jesus
made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests,
because they were not suffered to continue. Why? Because they
were men, they were fallen men, and they died by reason of death.
But this man, our Lord Jesus Christ, priest after the order
of Melchizedek, because he continues forever, he has an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever lives to make intercession for them. Is this not how God
has fulfilled his promise via Jeremiah to his people that there
will always be a priest? We have a high priest. Such a
high priest became us. He's appropriate for us. He's
holy. He's harmless. Not like these
fallen Levitical priests and modern false religion priests.
He's holy, harmless, undefiled. He's separate from sinners. He's
made higher than the heavens. He doesn't need daily, as those
high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, he who
knew no sin. He who knew no sin. Harmless,
undefiled. And then for the peoples, 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, the
promise of God, which was since the law, makes the son who is
consecrated for evermore. Now, of the things we have spoken,
this is the sum. We have such an high priest,
who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty
on high, a minister of the sanctuary, of the holy place, and of the
true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." What's
the true tabernacle that the Lord pitched? It's the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. the church, which he loved. He
gave himself for it. It's built out of living stones,
as Ephesians chapter 2 tells us. It's built out of living
stones, made into a holy temple of God. You, as we were seeing
in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 earlier, you are bought with a price.
You are not your own. You are Members, you are the
temple of the living God. You who are members of Christ,
you are the temple of the living God. This is the minister of
the sanctuary. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
high priest of that true tabernacle which the Lord pitched. For every
priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it
is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. The priest must come with an
acceptable sacrifice. They must have gifts to offer
to satisfy justice. our high priest, our Lord Jesus
Christ, it's necessary that he has something also to offer.
What does he have? He has his humanity, he has his
body, he has his soul, he has his body to be broken, his blood
to be shed, to pay that infinite price of the sins of his people. This man, this person, this holy
person, has somewhat also to offer. If he were on earth, He
should not be a priest. He wouldn't be a priest after
the order of Levi, seeing that there are priests that offer
gifts according to the law from then up to A.D. 70, who serve
unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was
admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle.
For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to
the pattern showed thee in the map. Moses was told, you must
make it exactly as the instructions are given. The robes and the
washings and everything that they had to do must be exactly
as you were told in the pattern showed thee on the mount. But
now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, the high priest that
God promised that we now have. By how much also he is the mediator
of a better covenant, a covenant of grace and not of works. which
was established on better promises. Why? Because these are the promises
of God, who cannot lie or change. The promises of the law were
based on man. Do you notice, time and time
again in the Old Testament, when the law is given, and what do
the people say straight away? Yes, we will do this, not realizing
you cannot do it, for it's weak through the flesh. You cannot
do it. Joshua tells them, are you going
to keep this? And they say, yes, we will. And
he says, you don't know yourselves. you're weak, you will sin, you
will fall. But no, this covenant is not
based on the promise which depends on any respect whatever on the
flesh, on the fallen flesh. It depends entirely on Christ. If the first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been found for the second.
It was not faultless. It was faulty because it couldn't
save. For finding fault with them,
he said, Behold, the days come, said the Lord, when I shall make
a new covenant with the house of Israel. a newly revealed covenant. And it's revealed in Jeremiah
in chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31
to 34. This is what this is quoting. Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. That was the
covenant of works given at Sinai, the law. Because they continued
not in my covenant. Of course they didn't. It was
weak through the flesh. And I regarded them not, said
the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws
into their minds, gospel precepts, into their minds, and write them
on their hearts, gospel precepts. And I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people. holy, an imparted holy nature. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord, for they shall all know me personally, knowing God, from
the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember
no more. In that he said, A new covenant
he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth
old is ready to vanish away, and it did in A.D. 70. Now he
goes on in Hebrews chapter 9 to show how those pictures of the
Levitical priesthood and the temple compared to the reality
that is in heaven. Look at verse 11 of chapter 9. But, see, he's gone through all
of the symbols, the rod that budded and all aspects of the
tabernacle. And then he says in verse 11,
but Christ, being come an high priest, of good things to come
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
not a tent carried through the wilderness, not even a stone
temple that was as ornate as Solomon's temple was in Jerusalem,
nor even the one that replaced it, no, a more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
because it's one that's made with living stones, the Church
of Christ, and nor is it nor is it sanctified with the blood
of bulls and goats and calves but by his own blood. Our high priest is our perfect
sacrifice before God. Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own
blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained
eternal redemption for us. He has obtained eternal redemption
for his people. It is finished. That's why I put the article
on the back of the bulletin this week by Dan Parks. It is finished means it is finished. And it was a good sermon this
week as well on that very subject. It is finished. Everybody who doesn't preach
that gospel preaches one which is distorted, and says, God has
done so much, but there's a bit more for you to do. You've been
got to this point here, but you need to be motivated to do a
bit more. You'll lose out at the judgment
seat of Christ when you stand there. No, He has done this. He has purchased it perfectly,
forever, with His own blood. He's obtained eternal redemption
for His people. The blood of bulls and goats,
the ashes of an heifer, they couldn't do it, but the blood
of Christ does. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? Not serving idols, but serving
the living God. Now, time is skipping on. Turn over to chapter 10, Hebrews
chapter 10. Verse one, for the law of the
Levitical priesthood, that is, having a shadow, having a picture,
a representation an image of the good things to come, of the
reality to come. And not the very image of the
things can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year
continually, talking of the Day of Atonement and all the other
sacrifices, it cannot make the comers thereunto perfect, because
the blood of bulls and goats doesn't pay the price of human
sin. If it did, they would have ceased to be offered because
the sins would have been paid for. It would have been purged.
In those sacrifices there is a remembrance made again every
year. It isn't possible, verse 4, for
the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. It is not possible. It doesn't do it. It doesn't
pay the price. It's not a currency which is
acceptable. It's monopoly money. you know
which which you know what it means it represents is a picture
but you can't go down to the shops and purchase anything with
monopoly money you play a game and it's just a representation
that's what the Levitical priesthood was and all of those animal sacrifices
they were just a picture but God has fulfilled his promise
to his people that there is a perpetual priest standing in heaven for
us, doing that which we need, standing before him in our Lord
Jesus Christ and everything that he has done. And in him, in him,
we are sanctified. Verse 10, by the which will we
are sanctified, made holy, through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. It is finished. He's done it
all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering, oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. Modern
preaching, and it's always been the case, down the centuries,
erroneous preaching, has always mixed a bit of what we have to
do with that which Christ himself has finished. This man, our Lord
Jesus Christ, our priest, after the order of Melchizedek, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down. That's a picture of it being
finished, absolutely complete. From henceforth, for verse 14,
for by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified
by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified
so that Paul writes to the Colossians chapter 2 verse 9 you are complete
in him and he means that just as much as Christ meant it is
finished when he finished the work of salvation his people
are complete you're lacking nothing you're lacking no good works
whatsoever you're complete in him in respect of salvation,
you are complete in him. Once only. And so, verse 18,
there is no more offering. Now, where remission of these
is, because Christ has actually borne the sins and guilt of his
people, there is no more offering for sin, for he's accomplished
it. Now what's the consequence of that? What's the consequence
of the promise that God made to his people by Jeremiah? Having
called them the name that they're called, she is called the Lord
our righteousness. And having promised them a king
who is the most benign and good king to rule over them, he promises
a priest. And the consequence of that,
the consequence of it, verse 19, is having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. that which
the people of God, the symbolical people could never do for fear
of being struck dead in the Levitical order, only the high priest once
a year could go into that holy of holies and not be struck dead.
But now in him we have boldness, confidence, qualification, Assurance
to enter into that holy place. How? By the blood of Jesus. That's
how. That's how you go in there. By
the blood of Jesus into the holiest place of all. We have a high
priest over the house of God, so therefore let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith. No, we have a high
priest over the house of God. That's how it's fulfilled. Beware
of slipping from this focus. The following verses, we won't
go into them now, verses 23 to 31, is a warning to beware of
slipping from this focus on the truth of Christ and his priesthood,
of forsaking fellowship together. But where does this leave God's
people? Now this I'm going to close with,
pretty quick. We have a priest, as God promised
through Jeremiah. We have a priest who meets every
elect sinner's need. Do you hear what I said? Be careful
about that. We have a priest who meets, has
met in full, every elect sinner's need. There is nothing left to
be added or provided. As Christ's bride, bearing his
name, which is the Lord our righteousness, we are made what he is. For he
who knew no sin was made sin for us. He took our sins, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And we're kings
and priests with him. That's where it leaves us. We're
kings and priests with him. His people are made kings and
priests with him. 1 Peter says this, 1 Peter chapter
1, verses 5 and 9, let me read them to you. Talking about Christ,
to whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious, ye also, you people, as lively
stones, are built up a spiritual house, the temple of God, the
church of God, You all, you all believers, you all are a holy
priesthood. He shall not want for a priest.
He shall not want for a priest to offer acceptable sacrifices,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And then he goes on in verse
9 and he says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
and holy nation. a peculiar people that you should
show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light. We have boldness to enter the
holiest place as priests of God with an acceptable sacrifice
which then could only happen once in a picture, once a year,
but now because of Christ we have that access into the holiest
of all. We have a priest, we are made
priests in him. What shall we be? Revelation
chapter 1, verses 5 and 6. And from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and
the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and what has he
done with us? And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father. To him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5 verse 10. He has made us unto our God kings
and priests and we shall reign on the earth. The promise was
this, neither shall the priests, the Levites want a man before
me to offer burnt offerings and to kindle meat offerings and
to do sacrifice continually. What a blessing to know that
in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have such an high priest. Amen.