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And the Bible reads, For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, souls for himself to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death, and was hurt in that he feared, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him, called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull appearing. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that won't teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. The strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Let's pray. Thank you Heavenly Father for the King James Bible, dear God. Thank you for this church you have given us, and we thank you for our pastor, dear Lord. Please bless him as he preaches your word unto us tonight, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Okay, we're continuing this evening with our Bible study of the book of Hebrews, and we're in chapter five tonight. I'm going to cover just a little bit towards the latter end of chapter four, the last three verses. I'm just going to include it with chapter five and our Bible study tonight. Now in chapter five we're continuing with the stop and the theme that Jesus Christ is superior to pretty much every system of the Old Testament. Of course we cover the fact that he's superior to the prophets, he's superior to the angels. We see that in chapter three it basically talks about him being superior to Moses. And we know that Moses was that Old Testament mediator of that old covenant. And of course Jesus Christ represents the New Testament, which according to the book of Hebrews is a better testament established upon better promises with a better mediator. And we see that in chapter three the reason he is a better mediator is because of the fact that the mediator of the Old Testament, known as Moses, could not bring all the Israelites to the promised land. As godly as he was, and as a great leader and a great general as he was, a lot of them still died in the wilderness. So there's plenty of Israelites that perished in the wilderness and in fact he wasn't able to bring himself into the promised land due to his disobedience. Whereas the new covenant, Jesus Christ is capable of bringing everyone who believes on him to heaven to give them eternal life and he shall not lose anybody. The Bible says, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And that is very strong proof of why he's superior to Moses. Moses was a great man, a great godly man, but just not as great as Jesus Christ. And of course in chapter four we saw the symbolism there with going into the promised land being likened unto rest. And we see that the children of Israel were not able to enter in because of unbelief. And in the New Testament that symbolically represents salvation. And so we know that that Sabbath that God commanded people to keep in the Old Testament or even the rest that he gives them by going into the promised land, it represents, symbolically represents believing on Jesus Christ and entering into his rest. Resting from what? From our labors, from our works. We no longer have to labor for salvation, work for salvation. The Bible says that it's not of works lest any man should boast. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law the Bible says. Essentially showing us that there are no works involved with salvation. And in fact you know the Bible says in Romans 11 verse 6, it tells us, and if by grace then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. So the way that you can make the grace of God null and void unto yourself, and obviously I'm speaking generally here, we know that all of us are saved as far as we know. To those outside, the way you can make it null and void is by adding works to your salvation. Of course you can't be saved by works and so the Bible is clearly showing us that and that's what chapter 4 is about. Now we're going to get into chapter 5 where we see that the writer of the book of Hebrews is implying that Jesus Christ is a superior high priest. And if you were to think about just briefly who is one of the most famous high priests of the Old Testament, it would be Aaron, right? Which is Moses' brother. And so not only is Jesus superior to that general and that mediator of the Old Testament, he's also superior to his brother who is essentially the first high priest of that Old Testament as well. Now Aaron isn't mentioned other than the fact that he's called in chapter 5 and verse 4, but really you can apply this to all high priests of the Old Testament, but we're going to apply it to Aaron because he is the first one. And it's very interesting if you think about the fact that when you read the story of Aaron, we see that towards the latter end of his life, because of his disobedience, he's stripped of his garments. And in fact what does God tell Moses? Strip Aaron of his garments and give them to Eleazar and of course Aaron ends up dying. And Aaron of course is that high priest whereas Jesus Christ, because of his obedience, as we're going to see here in Hebrews chapter 5, he remains the high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek and instead of being stripped of his garments, he puts on the garment of flesh. He becomes flesh. The word of God is made flesh, he dwells among us and so we see that that's one of the reasons why he's superior. Now let's get into chapter 5 here, actually just previous to chapter 5, the last three verses of chapter 4, we're going to look at the fact that Jesus went beyond the veil. Look at chapter 4 and verse 14, it says, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus is the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. So when you look at the Old Testament high priest, he was the only one that was designated to go beyond the veil into the holiest of all to make atonement for the people on the mercy seat. And so he was designated to do that and of course I'm talking about Aaron here, we know that there's many other high priests that came after him, but specifically Aaron was the only one designated to fulfill that office. So even the other priests that were under him, they were not allowed to go past the veil into the holiest of all because they would die if they did. And in fact even Aaron, before he could enter into that veil, he had to make atonement for himself because he's a sinner like everyone else. And what we're looking at here is the fact that Jesus Christ, because he's a great high priest, not only did he go through the veil, he went beyond the veil and passed into the heavens the Bible says. So you have Aaron who went beyond the veil and went into the holiest of all, but we have Jesus Christ who not only went beyond the veil of this earthly tabernacle that the Bible is talking about, he went beyond that, passed into the heavens as it says in verse 14, Jesus the son of God let us hold fast our profession, referring to the fact that when Jesus Christ died, his soul after it went to hell for three days and three nights, when he ascended up to be at the right hand of the father, he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat in the tabernacle in heaven. So even though Aaron fulfilled that responsibility once a year, Jesus Christ only had to do it once. So this is why he's great. Why? Because of the fact that Jesus Christ went into that spiritual tabernacle, went beyond the veil, and even went as far as to go into heaven and he's still there today advocating for us on a daily basis and in fact the Bible tells us, little children these things write out unto you that you sin not and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Because if we were to just briefly give a brief description of what the high priests were to do in the Old Testament, aside from the fact that they were to offer sacrifices, they were basically the person who went to God on the behalf of the people of God. Right? That was their job. They were to go to God on the behalf of the people, well that's what Jesus Christ is doing for us today. He goes to the father on our behalf, he is our advocate, the Bible says that he ever liveth to make intercessions for the saints. The Bible tells us that he that searcheth the hearts knoweth the mind of the spirit seen that he ever liveth to make intercessions for the saints according to the will of God, Romans chapter 8. And so we, the blessing that we have in the New Testament is that we don't have this earthly high priest that is essentially stricken with the infirmity of sin where he has to make sacrifices for himself and he is going to eventually pass off the scene and the baton needs to be passed on to his descendant. No we have a priest after the order of Melchizedek which lasts forever, who is constantly interceding on our behalf. He's praying for us that our faith fail not. He's constantly defending us against the accusations of Satan. We know that Satan is the accuser of the brethren but every time he accuses us we have that advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous and this is why he is that, not just high priest, he's that great high priest. He's constantly praying for us. That is his job, that is his intercessory ministry that he has in heaven at the right hand of the father and this is why the office of the high priest of the New Testament is far more superior than the office of the high priest of the old. And so we see that there and in fact when you read the Old Testament regarding people going to the tabernacle they would go with a lot of fear because of the fact that one little slip up, you forget to get cleansed or something, you forget to offer a sacrifice, I mean you're dead. You're automatically dead, you know people are always like I just want to see the glory of God. If you would see the glory of God you would just disintegrate, you'd just drop dead. You know all these liberal songs out there talking about show us your glory, glory this and glory that, you would die if you saw the glory of God because the glory of God equals the holiness of God and this is why it's constantly being emphasized in the Old Testament that no one can see the face of God and live, it's referring to that glory, that holiness. And so there are certain stipulations that were required in the Old Testament to approach the tabernacle for the high priest to go through the veil to make a sacrifice where the glory of God was and they had to do it a certain way so that they wouldn't die. And in fact if there was a high priest that went in there and was not properly cleansed, they would tie a bell to him just in case if he just dropped dead you would hear that bell ring, you know kind of go off in the tent and it's like okay he died let's pull him out. And that's how crazy it was back then. I mean talk about scary right? If a high priest ever went in there drunk for example, I mean God would strike him dead as soon as he entered into the holiest of all. Now compare that to the New Testament where it says towards the latter end of, look at verse 16, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. So we don't have to go to an earthly tabernacle, we don't have to go beyond the veil because the veil represents the body of Jesus Christ that he essentially gave on the cross and we essentially spiritually go into that holiest of all through prayer. And this is why in the New Testament we're considered to be the royal priesthood. Because we don't have to go to a specific geographical location to commune with God or to be forgiven of our sins, to be absolved of our transgressions so that the high priest can make intercessions for us once a year. We can pray right now! You can pray in your car, you can pray in your room, you know if you're a saved person you can pray no matter where you are and guess what, you can come boldly unto the throne of grace. What does that mean, confidently? Obviously when we approach God in prayer we should have reverence and fear but the Bible says that we can couple that with boldness and confidence, why? Because we have a great high priest who's made that available to us. And so that should motivate us to pray. That should motivate us to commune with God through prayer and commune with God when we're in our vehicles, when we're in our offices or homes or jobs or whatever it may be because of the fact that we have that VIP type of access to the throne of God and we can ask God for help and the Bible says that we can ask God for wisdom. He will not abrade us but will impart wisdom unto us liberally the Bible says. And so this is another reason why the New Testament is a better testament. And we don't have to wear a bell around our waist in case we pray and we die and someone has to pull us out of our prayer closet in case that happens because at the end of the day the wrath of God essentially was poured upon the Lord Jesus Christ when he died on the cross. And so that is very much important and this is why he is a superior high priest and not to talk down on the high priest of the Old Testament but in comparison it is inferior. Aaron died dishonorably unfortunately and Eliezer took over after him and every single priest that took, high priest that took over after the one that came before them died. They were all fallible men who were wracked with sin, they could not escape the wages of sin of their flesh, they would eventually die. Whereas the order of Melchizedek which is a subject that we are going to get into in the next couple of weeks is something that is forever and that is the ministry of Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 1 of Hebrews 5 it says for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men and things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity and by reason here of he ought as for the people so also for himself to offer for sins. So here in the beginning of Hebrews chapter 5 we have a concise description of what the Old Testament high priest would do. It says in verse 1 that he would offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. So we see there that obviously in the Old Testament people would bring a bullock and animal to atone for their specific sins but then there is other cases where they would just bring a free will offering just as a means of giving thanks unto the Lord. And the person responsible for butchering that animal and putting that on the mercy seat was the high priest. He was the only one designated to go into the holiest of all to do so. And it says in verse 2 that he had compassion on the ignorant. So this is why it's important that a high priest was chosen among the people by God is because of the fact that Aaron was a man of like passions. And so when you have a man of like passions who suffers like you do, suffers like me, they are tempted like everyone else, he has compassion on people. And this is showing us that as the priesthood we should also have compassion on those who are essentially ignorant and not think to ourselves well we're so much better than people who are not Christians and people who are not saved that we should have compassion on the ignorant. And when it says ignorance they're ignorant of salvation, they're ignorant of the ways of God, they're ignorant of how beneficial Christianity could be to their lives. And so you should never have this superiority complex where you think yourself to be better than someone else because you're a Christian, because you're safe. See we know that we're better off because we have eternal life, because we're going to heaven, but that should always be coupled with the level of compassion recognizing that were it not for the grace of God you would be in that same position as well. And so it says that the high priest would have compassion on the ignorant, and look what it goes on to say, and on them that are out of the way. So when the high priest would offer these sacrifices, he knew that the people he was servicing were people who were ignorant of the scriptures, they were ignorant of the ways of God, and he was dealing with people who were backslidden, you know there was backslidden people back in those days as well. And so you know often if you're not careful you can become cold hearted to the sheep and the flock who have gone astray, but it's important for us as Christians to exercise love and compassion and be a Christian who prays for those who are backslidden or have gone out of the way that God would work in their hearts and in their lives so that they can be restored. You know one of the greatest joys as a pastor is to see someone who is out of the, you know they're out of the way, they're astray, but then they get restored, they get back on fire, they start going to church, they start sowing, they start reading their Bibles, that's a wonderful thing. And so God is showing us here that the high priest had that responsibility to have that sort of attitude towards those who were ignorant of the way of salvation or just ignorant of the scriptures, they were out of the way, and it says why he was like that. It says for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. You know before you think yourself to be something you know all high and mighty, you're also compassed with infirmity. You're not sinless, you're not perfect, you know you may have a couple ducks in order and yes you're serving the Lord but you know what at the end of the day you're still compassed with infirmity, that infirmity known as sin. And so you know we shouldn't have this hyper spiritual attitude where we think that we're better than everyone else because of the fact that we're saved or that we're Christians or because we know the word of God because at the end of the day you know, oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death. And so the high priest of the Old Testament was compassed with infirmity, he was compassed with sin and this is going somewhere with this okay because obviously the comparison that's going to be made here is with Jesus Christ and it says in verse 3, and by reason here of he ought as for the people so also for himself to offer for sins. So just as much as he was offering atonement for the people, he also had to do it for himself. And let me read to you from Leviticus chapter 16 verse 5, it says and he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel, two kids, of the goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering and Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering which is for himself and make an atonement for himself and for his house the Bible says. So the Old Testament priest had compassion on those he was atoning for, he had compassion on those who went astray and he also had to atone for himself as well. Now in Hebrews 4 verse 15 it says that we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was tempted in all points, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. So Jesus Christ like Aaron of the Old Testament was also allowed himself to become passed with infirmities. Why? Because the Bible says that he had made him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And this is the beauty of Jesus Christ taking on humanity, right? Adding humanity to his deity so he can suffer like us and feel pain like we do and feel some of the deepest emotions that mankind has ever felt because that way he can be tempted in all points like as we are. And the Bible tells us that it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren and it says in verse 18 of chapter 2 for in that he himself had suffered being tempted he is able to succor them that are tempted. And so God made himself, fashioned himself like a man and felt the pains of a man in order to save man. And this is what the Bible refers to towards the latter end of chapter 5 as being perfected. It's not referring to like he wasn't perfect before or he wasn't sinless before, it's referring to that completion where the resurrection completed that work of salvation where he became the author and the captain of our salvation. The Bible tells us in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 3 he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. You know what, a lot of Christians experience a lot of grief, right? People just in general. But let's just focus on Christians. Christians will, can, will and have experienced very deep grief in their life. But let me say this is that there is no level of grief that you have experienced that the Lord Jesus Christ has not also experienced. No matter how you think to yourself, well I've been in the deepest pit of depression, of discouragement, well I felt forsaken, you know what Jesus Christ has felt that already. And in fact he was in the pit because his soul went to hell for 3 days and 3 nights. And he said, Father, Father, why hast thou forsaken me? I mean, God the Father turned his back on Jesus Christ and that is the greatest extent of being forsaken. You know we, nothing can separate us from the love of God. So even though your family might forsake you, your BFF might forsake you, your parents or whoever it may be, if you're a Christian, you'll never be forsaken of God. I mean God said, I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. And that nothing can separate us from the love of God. You know, the Bible tells us, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. And so, you know, and of course that's through Jesus Christ, but Jesus on the other hand, he did feel that level of being forsaken and that level of grief and sorrow. And so it goes on to say, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. So even though the high priest of the Old Testament felt a level of infirmity and sorrow and grief, the level of sorrow and grief that Jesus experienced was far greater than the priest of the Old Testament because he bore the sins of the whole world. And he paid for them as though he's the one who committed them. I mean, think about that because, you know, he's suffering for the sins of man. And so this is just a reminder to you and a reminder to me that when you go through a trial, a difficulty, a season of sadness and sorrow, you know, he is nigh unto them, the Bible says, who are of a broken heart and of a contrite spirit. And the Bible clearly tells us that when we experience those seasons, that is the time that we could fellowship with the Lord the best. The Bible talks about the fellowship of his suffering. And often Jesus Christ, you know, not often, all the time, loves to fellowship with his people when they're in deep grief and sorrow and sadness because he knows where you're going through. You know, he knows how that feels. And so that is important there. Let me read to you from 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 24 says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. And so the high priest of the Old Testament, Aaron, had compassion on his brethren, he had compassion on the ignorant, he had compassion on those who were led astray and in like manner Jesus Christ has done the same. And you know, Jesus Christ, you know, has witnessed countless Christians throughout history go astray and backslide and you know what, not a single one of them is forgotten before God. You know, since the time that our church started, seven years ago or so, a lot of people have backslidden during that time and quite frankly, maybe some of us have already forgotten about some of them. Maybe they don't cross our minds as often, maybe it doesn't cross my mind as often but you know who's always thinking about them is the Lord Jesus Christ because he's acquainted and he has compassion on those who have gone astray. Now obviously we understand that if someone's backslidden and they are involved in unrepentant sin they cannot be restored unless they want to be, unless they want to repent and get right with God. At which point we can restore them back into the fold, they have to adhere to biblical standards and biblical laws. But that's not to say that God does not have compassion on them, okay. And so don't allow yourself to be a cold-hearted Christian where you know, you hate sin so much to the point that you begin to become cold-hearted towards the brother or the sister who's involved in that sin. You know we should pray for those individuals, we should pray that God would work in their hearts and restore them and have compassion as the high priest did, okay. And of course Jesus Christ being the high priest still does that. Look at verse number four, it says in verse number four, and no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. And he saith also in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So the similarities continue in these next couple verses regarding the high priest of the Old Testament and our great high priest in the New. How? Well we saw that the great high priest that we have in the New Testament offered himself as a sacrifice, not only that but he had compassion on those who were ignorant and those who have gone astray. He allowed himself to be compassed with infirmity because he himself bore our own sins on his own body in the tree. But also he didn't take the honor of being the high priest upon himself, God called him to be the high priest. God sent his son. The Bible says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, you understand? And so just as in the Old Testament, people couldn't just volunteer and be like yeah I'll be the high priest. I'm looking to change vocations here, you know, and I've been trying to look for something new and exciting or something like that, I'll volunteer, you can't volunteer to be the high priest. It doesn't work that way. That honor isn't something you take upon yourself, you have to be called of God in the Old Testament to be the high priest, okay? And so in like manner, Jesus Christ did not glorify himself, God the Father glorified him and called him and sent him to be that high priest. Now let me explain the priesthood of the Old Testament briefly so that we have a good understanding of how that system worked, okay, in that Old Covenant. In the Old Testament, you had, you know, as I mentioned, not just anybody could be the priest and in fact amongst the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, the only ones designated to either be the priest, the high priest, or even work in the activities of the tabernacle itself were the tribe of Levi, okay, the Levites, which is why it's referred to as the Levitical priesthood, okay? So they were the only ones designated to participate in that work, but even amongst the Levites, not everyone could be a priest and not everyone could be a high priest, okay? They still have to be called. So every priest and high priest was a Levite, but not every Levite was a high priest, you understand what I'm saying? Now within that tribe of Levi, you had three particular families that were involved in the day-to-day labors of the tabernacle. You had the Gershonites, you had the Mararites, and then you had the Kohathites, okay? These are the three families that are descendants of Levi, you understand? And each of these had responsibilities that were designated to them regarding the tabernacle. For example, the Gershonites were responsible for setting up the tent and they were to set up the curtains and they were responsible for a lot of the outward appearance of that physical tabernacle of the Old Testament. So every day they had to set that up when they would travel and if they stayed in a particular area, Gershonites, you know, they'd come out and they'd set up the tent on the outside. Then you had the Mararites who were responsible for, I think it was like the boards and the pillars and a lot of the, I can't remember, the poles that would go through the, what is the, what's the word I'm looking for, the rings, what would they call them? It's slipping my mind right now. Does anybody know? Do you guys study the Bible or what? Nobody studies the Bible. I can't remember what it's called either so don't feel bad. The sockets. Come on, guys. Come on. That was easy. You know, they're in charge of a lot of those particular details of the tabernacle. And then you have like the Kohathites. And the Kohathites were more so responsible for all of the instruments and everything that went within the temple, or within the tabernacle. For example, you had the altar, you had the table with the showbread, you had the Ark of the Covenant. They were responsible for that. And so collectively, these families that stem from Levi were in charge of all these things. But even within those three families, the only ones who were allowed to be priests or high priests were from the Kohathites. So God said only those of Kohathites can be priests or high priests. But even then, no one from the Kohathites could just be like, well I'll just be a priest. You had to be called by God in order to do so. So even if there was a Kohathite who wanted to do it and just kind of made themself a priest, it didn't work that way. And in fact, let me give you an example. There's a guy named Korah, okay? And Korah was from the Kohathites. And you know, what happened to Korah? The earth ate him up alive, and he died a very dishonorable death, even though he was of the Kohathites. And you know, you have other examples throughout the Bible of people performing the duties of a priest, even though they were not allowed to. For example, Saul. And Saul, of course, he wasn't even of Levi. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. And him being a king kind of made him think that he was above the rules. So then he offered the incense, I think it was the incense or the sacrifice, he performed the duties of a priest, and that was essentially the marker that led to his downfall later on. Okay? You know, you have Uzzah, Para-Uzzah, right? And he's from the tribe of Judah. And when they're transporting the card with the Ark of the Covenant, it was falling over and he just put his hand out to make sure they didn't fall, and then he just immediately died. It sounds to me like God is very serious about who's a priest and who's not, okay? Who carries out the duties of a priest and who does not. And so they had to be called specifically of God, the high priest as well as the priest, they had to come from the family of the Kohathites, and it wasn't like, I can volunteer, I'm called of God, like God had to specifically call them. And one of the reasons that's important is because no Catholic priest has been called by God. And that earthly office does not exist today, okay? And if you think about it, the entire Catholic church with their priesthood is a display of the rejection of the high priest of the New Testament. Because of the fact that only specific people are designated to be the priests in the Catholic church, whereas the Bible says that people who are saved are a part of the royal priesthood. And in fact, this entire room is filled with people who are more priests than those priests in the Catholic church. That are more qualified according to the Bible. So if that priesthood of the Old Testament were to have continued into the New Testament, it would be a display of a complete rejection of that New Covenant Testament, that order of Melchizedek, because it's been completely changed, you understand what I'm saying? And so that is what the priesthood is all about. So you have the tribe of Levi, within the tribe of Levi, you have those three families, but even within those three families, those are the coethites who are only the ones designated to carry out the office of a priest and the high priest, and you have to be called. Now in the New Testament, it's a little different, right? Because in the New Testament, the great high priest is Jesus Christ, not Aaron. And in fact, Jesus Christ is not from the tribe of Levi, he's from the tribe of Judah. And the priesthood that serves, quote unquote, just within the spiritual tabernacle, so to speak, are from a spiritual house, okay? And in fact, go if you went to 1 Peter chapter two, 1 Peter chapter two, let's look at the New Testament priesthood, which according to the book of Hebrews is superior to the Old Testament priesthood. Look at 1 Peter two, verse five, ye, and this is addressing New Testament believers, okay? People who have believed on Jesus Christ. That's who the letter, the epistle is designated to, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. So not a house of Mararai, not a house of the coethites, not the house of the Gershonites, it's a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. So in the New Testament, you don't have to be physically descended from a particular family to be a part of the royal priesthood. You don't have to be from Aaron's house, from the coethites, you don't even have to be from the tribe of Levi. You say, who do I have to be from? You just have to believe on Jesus Christ. And automatically you're in. Look at verse nine, it says in verse number nine, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, the Bible says. And so this is what we would commonly refer to as the royal priesthood of the New Testament, made up of all believers in Jesus Christ. And if you look at the Old Testament priests, of course, some of the responsibilities were that they had to teach the Word of God. So it wasn't that they were just offering sacrifices, they were also responsible for teaching God's people the laws of God, and guess what, we are also responsible for that as well. When we go out and preach the gospel, we get people saved, we're teaching them the Word of God. And even aside from that, as individuals we're responsible to impart knowledge and wisdom of God's Word to others, right? And the Old Testament priests were responsible for offering sacrifices. But in the New Testament, that particular activity is null and void because Jesus Christ has already sacrificed himself. So now we offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, that's why it's important for you to sing in church, amen? And thank the Lord and praise God in personal prayer. But how about this, you know, there's also a personal sacrifice that we make, right? The Bible says that we basically offer ourselves up as a sacrifice. The Bible says that we die daily, okay? You know, the Bible tells us, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, your body's a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. You know, the reasonable service for the priests of the Old Testament was to participate in the offerings of those sacrifices. Well, the reasonable service for us today is to offer ourselves up on a daily basis, to take up our cross and follow Him, to obey the Lord. This is the sacrifice that we are to offer. So we don't need to be a butcher in the New Testament of animals, we just gotta mortify the deeds of the body, according to Colossians chapter three, and die to self. And so that is important, and the Bible says here that we're to show forth His marvelous light, be a good testimony, live a Christian life, live a life that's pleasing unto the Lord. That is what the royal priesthood is all about. And so as great as the priesthood was of that Old Testament, it was inferior compared to what we have today, okay? What we have today is far greater, it only requires our faith in Jesus Christ, and you're automatically initiated into that Levitical priesthood, that New Testament priesthood. And we don't need the tabernacle, because guess what? We are the tabernacle. The Bible talks about our bodies being that tabernacle, and you say, well, you know, in the Old Testament though, there is that tabernacle where the Lord would descend upon the tabernacle. Well, the Bible says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. So we have that glory within us, the kingdom of God is within you, the Bible says. And you say, yeah, but you know, there's a transfer of, you know, regarding the house of God, it was the tabernacle in the wilderness, but then it transferred to be in the temple. Well, the Bible also says, you are the temple of the Holy Ghost, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. And so we don't need a physical tabernacle, a physical temple to meet in, you know, so to speak, to commune with God, we can just do it anywhere, because we're a walking tabernacle. We are a walking temple, and when you commune with God, you've got to offer that sacrifice of dying to self, and you can commune with him. Now, obviously, one of the major changes of the New Testament is that the house of God, aside from being our physical bodies, God has also instituted the church, okay? The local New Testament church, and we have a lot of people today that undermine the visible local New Testament church and claim, we don't have to go to church, no, yes you do. The Bible says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, and it's just kind of funny how that's worded, you know, it's like, don't forsake the assembly, you know, just like some people, it's just like calling out to some people. So I wonder, like, when people don't go to church, and they don't want to go to church, they don't want to participate in church, but they read Hebrews 10, what do they do? They're like, oh man, I'm the manner. I am the some is. I am that person, because that's who it's referring to. And you know, Jesus Christ commanded us to go to church, he gave his life for the church, and no, the church is not a universal church either, okay? You look at the stipulations and the way a local New Testament church is supposed to be ordered, it wouldn't fit a universal church. How do you execute discipline in a universal church? Doesn't happen, okay? And this is not a sermon on what a church is, but it's important to make that distinction there that the house of God in the New Testament is a physical church, and I'm not saying the building either, okay? Obviously we know that we're the church, but when we meet together, we are having a church service, that's what church is. And this doesn't mean that if you meet up with your buddies at some Starbucks having a Bible study, that that's a church service. Doesn't work that way because church, according to the Bible, has leadership, certain rules that need to be designated, and there needs to be an ordained pastor leading that flock, okay? Not just some dude who thinks he knows a lot about the Bible, understand what I'm saying? And we'll talk about house church another day, but I digress, okay? So he's getting across here the fact that Jesus Christ did not glorify himself, he didn't appoint himself, he submitted unto the will of the Father to be sent, and God glorified him to be that glorious high priest that we have today. So the order of Melchizedek predates the Levitical priesthood, because Melchizedek showed up in Genesis prior to the Levitical law being instituted, and he supersedes the Levitical law as well, the Levitical priesthood. So he's before it and he's after it because of the fact that there is no beginning and there is no end, you know, he is forever. And so that priesthood has always existed, it's just this little period of time known as the, you know, the law where the Levitical law was being instituted that that took place. But you know, the laws of God have always existed in heaven according to the Bible, and they supersede the conclusion of the Levitical law as well, which is why we have the law of God written in our hearts, okay? Now let's read on here, look at verse number seven. It says, who in the days of his flesh, this is referring to Jesus, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard and that he feared. Now this is obviously referring to the Garden of Gethsemane, and this is showing us here that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not God the Father, because he's offering up prayers and supplications with strong cryings unto him that was able to save him from death. Who is the him there is referring to God the Father, because God the Father, if Jesus Christ asked for it, could have saved his son, could have saved him from the clutches of the Jews and of the Romans, and could have saved him because of the fact that he always hears his son. That's what it says there, it was heard in that he feared. Now this is also referring to the fact that Jesus Christ embodied himself in humanity. We see that he asked God the Father, if it be possible, let this cut pass from me, right? And then he says, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will, showing us that there are two different wills there, you have the will of God the Father, and then you have the will of God the Son, and in fact, the will of God the Son is clearly expressed in the fact that he wants the cup to pass from him. And so this would not make sense if Jesus Christ was God the Father. We know that Jesus Christ is God, as much as the Holy Spirit is God, as much as God the Father is God, but at the end of the day, there are different operations there. Different authorities, there are three different people, as clearly indicated by their separate wills. You understand? He says in verse 8, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. Now I want to explain this here, because I remember reading this as a new Christian and it kind of like rubbed me the wrong way a little bit, it's just kind of like, what does that mean? Like, he learned obedience, you know, this is Jesus, like how does he just learn obedience? Because in my mind, it's like, obedience is learned from the position of disobedience. But that's only true for people like us, who are sinners. What this is referring to is, he experienced obedience in human flesh. Because if you think about it, you know, God never had to obey anybody, right? You know, God, the Godhead, never had anybody over him, telling him what to do, he's always telling everybody else what to do. So when he, when the word of God was made flesh, he subjected himself to be ruled, right? And he learned obedience in that manner. He learned obedience, really, by his suffering. Now go to Philippians chapter 2, if you would, Philippians chapter 2, and I'm going to read to you from Romans chapter 5 verse 19, it says, for as by one man's disobedience many would make sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. So obviously we see that the obedience that's being referred to here is not just the obedience of, that he learned from suffering, but also the obedience that he took upon him from the instructions of his father. He is obeying the will of his father, that's what it's referred to. Look at Philippians chapter 2, in verse number 7, it says, but made himself of no reputation, referring to Jesus Christ here, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So this isn't a transition, this isn't obedience from a position of disobedience, this is simply obedience to the command of God to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, that's what it's referring to there. So when it says there, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, the fact that he was willing to die on the cross, the fact that he was willing to be scourged, and spat upon, and mocked, and have those afflictions done upon him, is an expression of his obedience to the cup that his father wanted him to have. Does that make sense to everybody? He goes on to say in verse number 9, go back to Hebrews chapter 5, it says in verse 9, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Now what is that perfection referring to? Because when we think of that word perfect, automatically we think like sinless, which we obviously know that Jesus Christ is sinless, but this isn't saying like, you know, he became sinless or something. Because Jesus Christ has always been sinless, he's God, he's deity. Perfected in the Bible is often used synonymously with the term complete. So the work of Jesus Christ was completed when? When he resurrected. So when he was crucified on the cross, that was important, but the Bible says that he was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification. So if Jesus Christ only died for our sins, it would mean nothing to us, it wouldn't do anything for us. If Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, and he died for us and never resurrected, it would mean absolutely, we wouldn't have no Christianity. Because Christianity, the staple of Christian doctrine is the resurrection. And so he became that author of salvation once the resurrection took place. Now obviously we know that in eternity past, from the perspective of eternity, all these things have already taken place. And in fact the Bible talks about that the Lamb of God was sacrificed before the foundation of the world. Because from the perspective of eternity, you know eternity is a spectrum, or is a panoramic view so to speak of history, a lot of these things have already taken place. You think of Revelation 7 for example, when John is looking at those who have been raptured, he sees a great multitude which no man can number, and guess what, you're among them if you're saved. So he might have taken a peek at you then, because of the fact that from eternity, it's like a spectrum of history that has already taken place. We're stuck within the realm of time, so it's hard for us to understand that. But Jesus Christ came into the realm of time to live a life of 33 years, to be crucified, and once he was resurrected, once the blood was already sprinkled on the mercy seat, he was perfected in the sense that the work has been complete. It is finished is what he said at the cross, but the completion of that work is when he resurrected. And it says there he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. So let me clarify some things regarding that. Because it says he's the author of salvation, and another passage that uses that terminology is Hebrews 11, or Hebrews 12 excuse me, that says that he's the author and finisher of our faith. Now the term author can simply refer to like he's the origin of our salvation, he's the originator of our salvation, but it can also just be referred to author the way we would see it today, as like an author of a book. Because if you think about it, what is that book called? The Lamb's Book of Life. And the book of life, which is also referred to as the Lamb's Book of Life, records all the individuals who not only are saved, but Lord willing will get saved one day. And of course, unless that's of course, you know, they die without Christ, then their names are blotted out, or they become a reprobate, their names are blotted out. And this is why it says he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. So if you, and obey him is referring to obeying the gospel, okay, to get saved. So if you believe in the gospel for salvation, your name is permanently embedded in the book of life and it will never be blotted out. Because the book of life, you know, a lot of people have this misconception that once you get saved, God writes your name in the book of life. Like oh, okay, she did it, okay, all right, he did it, all right. I was wondering if they were gonna, you know, and then he writes it down. But really the way it works, according to the Bible, is that everyone's name starts off in the book of life. It already starts off, there's no mention of people being written in the book of life once they get saved, it just means that they won't be blotted out anymore. Or it states that it won't be blotted out anymore. So everyone starts off in the book of life because God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So God obviously loves the world and he wants people to be saved even to the point that he just leaves everyone's name there until the time of death without Christ or previous to that when they become a reprobate two-fold more child of hell, they are blotted out of the book of life. But in either case, you know, the people outside of that who get saved that believe on Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ now becomes the author of their salvation. They're in his novel, so to speak, right? They're in his book and you'll never be taken out, okay? And so that's a wonderful thing. All right, look at verse number, where are we at here, verse number, verse number 10. It says here, called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek, which is the subject that we're gonna look further into in chapter seven. Now here's the funny thing, okay, here's the funny thing about this chapter. Because if you've been bored up until this point, these last couple of verses are for you. Because he's like, you know, the apostle Paul is like writing about this stuff and he's like called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek and then he just stops talking about that, right? And you kind of wonder like when he's writing this, like how does he know that there might be some people who are just bored of this particular subject? But he says in verse 11, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seen you are dull of hearing. So he's like, you know, he's about to jump into the subject of Melchizedek and he's like I have a lot of things to say about Melchizedek and we'll see that in chapter seven. And a lot of it's kind of hard to explain, especially over the fact that you're just dull of hearing. In other words, you're just bored about hearing this stuff, okay? And then he just switches gears. Now he's not just doing it on a whim, because I believe what he's doing here is he's explaining the dangers of apostasy. Now we obviously know that Christians who are saved can grow bored of the Bible. They can grow bored of doctrine, of the word of God, and they need the word of God to kind of rekindle that fire, okay? Quicken down me according to thy word, that's what the Bible says, bring me back to life according to thy word. But what the Bible's going to warn us about next week in Hebrews chapter six is reprobation, okay, and more specifically, apostasizing. And you've got to keep in mind that he's writing to who? The Hebrews. So if the Hebrews, unto whom were committed to the oracles of God, you know, God chose them to bring forth the word of God, God chose that nation to write the majority of what we have in the Old Testament, and he specifically chose that nation to put his name there, if they're tired of hearing the word of God, it could be that you're dealing with the generation of Hebrews who have grown apostate. Now it's possible that he might be referred to specifically because of the time period that we're in, he might be referring to these Hellenistic Jews, because if you look throughout history, you know, Hellenism is something that was very popular from the third century after the fourth century BC because of Alexander the Great, where he permeated Greek throughout the known world, and people were speaking Greek, and they became overly obsessed with Greek culture, and there was a lot of Jews who became Hellenistic. You know, when the Bible talks about the Grecians, in the book of Acts, it's referring to these Hellenistic Jews who essentially adopted a lot of Greek culture into Judaism, okay? And so, you know, Hellenistic Jews are basically apostate Jews, is what it's referring to. So if you have the book of Hebrews that's written in what language? Greek, you know, it's possible that he's addressing maybe some of those people in this particular epistle, and he's explaining to them, like, if you're dull of listening to doctrine about Jesus Christ and how he's Melchizedek, well, here's problem number one. You need to, you know, be taught again. Or here's problem number two, like we're going to look at in Hebrews chapter six, you're probably not even saved, is what he's going to tell them, okay? Because what does it mean to be dull of hearing? Go to Matthew chapter 13, if you would, Matthew chapter 13. Now in its most practical sense, we could say dull of hearing is when someone just gets bored. And again, Christians can become that way. But if you're to look at the concept of being dull of hearing in the Bible, it means apostasy. Okay, look at Matthew 13, verse 13, it says, Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they see and see not in hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest that any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. So he's saying, you know, this people, referring to the Jews, he said they've grown dull of hearing, because I'm teaching them this stuff, and it's just kind of going over their heads. I mean Jesus Christ was right there, he came into his own, and his own received him not. He's saying that what Isaiah is talking about is apostasy, okay. And not only that, but in John chapter 12, here in Matthew 13, he says, you've closed your eyes, you've closed your ears. Well in John chapter 12, he switches it and says that they have closed their eyes, you know, or excuse me, that God has closed their eyes. And that is the sequence of how reparation works, my friends. It first starts off with someone closing their ears, closing their heart, closing their eyes, to the point where God says, well I'll just do you a favor and do it for you. So that you can just become a reprobate, because you're getting all this biblical information about salvation, you're getting all this biblical knowledge, and you're just constantly rejecting it, you're going to apostatize, you're going to be reprobate, okay. Go back to Hebrews chapter 5. So he says, man, you're dull of hearing, and obviously these Hebrews, they know what he's implying there. They're not just like, what is that supposed to mean? They know what that means. And you know, you would think that the audience that's reading this or that's hearing this is kind of offended. They're just like, man, why is he saying that? Well, look at verse 12, for when for the time he ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. Ouch. He's like, yeah, well because of the fact that you should be teaching others, and being a light to people, and teaching others, but it looks like, you know, you need to go back to your infant stage of a Christian, and you need someone to give you milk instead of the sirloin steak of the sermon. You need to talk about, like, you need to be taught the basics of Christianity, because Melchizedek apparently is boring to you, okay? That's what he means there. And you can see why he would say that if they are saved, it's because of the fact that new Christians aren't really interested about Melchizedek. I mean, probably some of you in here, you're like, I just got off of work, you know. The subject of Melchizedek probably doesn't interest a whole lot of people. But it is an important doctrine, though. And it should pique the interest of Christians, because it's in the Bible. And it has to do with Jesus. And if it's inspired by God, and it has to do with our Savior, we should be interested in it. But you know, a new Christian doesn't really have the discipline to make themselves interested in the doctrines of God, right? And so they have to, they need the banger of a sermon, they need people hanging from the chandeliers and doing all kinds of wild stuff to keep their attention. Whereas someone who eats strong meat is capable of consuming the nutrients of God's Word, no matter from what book it is, and they can walk away saying, you know, I learned something, I needed that. Or even if I feel like I didn't need it, personally for me, I want the information of the Bible. You understand? And this is why he's telling them, you don't, you need milk and not strong meat. He says in verse 13, for everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe, meaning he's a baby. But strong meat belonging to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So remember at the beginning of the book of Hebrews, I said that, you know, it seems as though this book is being addressed to Hebrews that might be saved or unsaved? It's like to both, right? Because he mentions certain things, it's just kind of making you wonder, you know, okay here he's saying brethren, but other aspects is like, he's almost questioning their salvation. Well, this thought is still continued here because in this particular passage, you can see how this can be directed towards safe people. And this is a reminder we need today, man, as a church, that you should not be bored with the word of God. You know, what consumes your mind? The Bible or Taylor Swift? The Bible or, you know, what is it, not the World Cup, the Super Bowl? You know, what's on your mind? What gets you going? Is it the word of God that you have more knowledge of? Or the latest Republican news? Who's voting for who or what? You know, if you're minding earthly things, then it's no wonder why you're bored with the Bible. You know, if you're just looking to finish up your Bible reading just so you can get to your favorite podcast and hear about the latest conspiracy theory or something like that or get on the news, there's an issue there. You have need of milk and not of strong meat, and that's probably why you're bored. And that's probably why, by the way, you're probably not getting a whole lot of strong meat from your own Bible reading. You know, you can't, when you're digging for gold, you're not going to just get the first layer and get it automatically. The gold is only designated for people who are willing to put in the work to dig as deep as possible. And if you're only being a surface level Christian with your Bible reading, that's what you're going to get. You're just going to get just dirt sometimes, just the basics of Christianity, and that's it. But you know what, God has so much more in the Bible to teach you. God has silver and gold and precious stones and a lot of precious knowledge to impart into you, but it requires for you to actually be interested in the Bible. Never become the type of Christian where things outside of the Bible interest you more. Your hobbies interest you more than the Word of God. And obviously we go through seasons where it changes and it fluctuates, but for the most part, we should have passion for the Bible. The thing that you should look forward to when you wake up in the morning, aside from coffee, is the Bible, right? Or whenever it is that you read the Bible, you're excited about reading the Word of God. And as those who are excited and passionate about reading the Word of God, that's who God ends up showing a lot of knowledge to. I've esteemed the words of thy mouth more than my necessary foods, the Bible says. And I'm not saying to be ignorant about the world in which we live, I'm saying priorities here. And I never want God to tell me, you're a babe in Christ because you need the milk of the Word, because apparently the succulent ribeye of God's Word isn't juicy for you enough. You're more interested in the chicken tenders than you are in the picanha. Does anybody know what picanha is? See? If you don't know what picanha is, it's because you're too busy eating chicken tenders. Picanha's that good meat. Ribeye, you know, what else is there? Huh? New York, I guess. Waigu, I haven't had that but I heard it's good. This could be likened unto the Word of God, because that's what the Word of God likens it unto. And you may think to yourself, well I already read through the Bible, I know everything there is to know. Okay. All right, sure. I'm not trying to convince those people. More meat for me. And so the warning that he's giving here is don't be skillful in the word of righteousness. And sometimes people only apply this to pastors, but you know, it doesn't say anything about pastors here. Because every Christian is supposed to be a teacher of God's word, and obviously not from the pulpit, but you're teaching someone the Bible. Be skillful in the word of righteousness. Have an appetite for the word of God. Don't let your ears become dull of hearing. And if you find yourself just constantly being dull of hearing and you just don't care about the Bible, then next week is just for you. Hebrew 6. And so what is the passage telling us here? Well, he's trying to teach us about Melchizedek and the high priest, which should be an interesting topic to us because it is a parallel to our great high priest Jesus Christ. But then he's going to hit us with, you know, if you're dull of hearing it might be because you are, you've allowed your heart to become gross with the things of this world, or to your apostate. And in either case, he's still going to go into chapter 7 thereafter and talk about Melchizedek. But whether you understand is really based upon one of the two there. And so that's it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the teachings of the Bible, Lord. And obviously as Christians, it takes us a lifetime to learn the Bible and the intricacies and the details of the word of God, and help us to continue to develop an appetite for the Bible, Lord, that we would esteem it above everything else. And obviously no one here, myself included, has esteemed it perfectly, Lord. There are days where our hearts are not in it as it should be. But in those times, may we remain disciplined to read it anyways until the desire returns. And I pray that you'd help us, Lord, to enjoy, yes, the milk of the word, but have an appetite and a hunger for the meat of the word as well. We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We turn to your psalm, folks, to Psalm number 66 at Calvary. Psalm number 66. Psalm number 66 on that first verse. Years I spent in vanity and pride, carrying out my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me that God on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Heart in there was multiplied to me. My burning soul found liberty at Calvary. By God's word at last my sin I learned. Then I tremble that the law hides firm. Till my guilty soul in glory turn to Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Heart in there was multiplied to me. There my burning soul found liberty at Calvary. Oh, the love the Jews of Asians planned. Oh, the grace that brought it down to men. Oh, the mighty God the God is fair at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Heart in there was multiplied to me. My burning soul found liberty at Calvary. Now I've given the Jesus everything. Now I gladly own Him as my King. Now my rapture soul can only sing at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Heart in there was multiplied to me. There my burning soul found liberty at Calvary. Great singing. You're dismissed.