Well, I hope that you've enjoyed our time together
in the carols of the Christ. Today we are going
to look once more at this theme that arises from
the book of Psalms as we think about those songs,
those hymns that point to the Messiah, the Lord
Jesus Christ. I suppose most of us are familiar
with the little statement that says, it's not
what you know, but it's what? Whom you know.
That's the thing that counts. Yesterday, I think
the Vikings must have known somebody. in the
last two minutes of the game. They had friends
in high places somewhere. I'm not quite sure
where. Today we're going to find out that you
and I, as those who have trusted in Jesus Christ,
have a friend who is in high places. It's not
so much what we know, although that's important,
but it's the one that we know that really matters.
And that is Jesus Christ, who is exalted to the
highest place. And as we're going to see this
morning is also welcomed into the holiest place.
The study that we have conducted in the Psalms
has introduced us to some of the biblical themes
concerning Christ, his attribution, that he is
God, his identification, his incarnation, and
his exaltation. Today we're going to look at
his intercession. which reveals his present ministry
to us. The holy infant of the manger, the dying
savior of the cross, the risen victor at the
tomb, is also the high priest in the heavenly
sanctuary. Would you open your Bible, please,
to Psalm 110 as we begin reading with verse 1
of this highly significant messianic psalm. Psalm
110. The Lord says to my Lord, writes David,
sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies
a footstool for thy feet. The Lord will stretch
forth thy strong scepter from Zion, saying, rule
in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people will
volunteer freely in the day of thy power. In
holy array from the womb of the dawn, the youth
are to thee as the dew. The Lord has sworn and
will not change his mind. Thou art a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek." Notice
that David begins by speaking about one who is
on the throne. His Lord, Yahweh says to... David's
Lord, that is his descendant, the Messiah. You
sit at my right hand. I will make your enemies
a footstool for you. He is the king. But this
one who is given the position of royalty is also
given the position of priest in this last verse
that we've read. I'm going to ask you now to
turn to Hebrews, chapter 5, as we see the New
Testament authentication of this as a messianic
theme. Hebrews chapter 5, and I'm going to pick
up the reading here in verse 5, where it says,
so also Christ did not glorify himself so as
to become a priest, high priest. But he who said
to him, thou art my son, today I have begotten
thee, also in another passage says, thou art
a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the days of his flesh, he offered up both
prayers and supplications with loud crying and
tears to the one able to save him from death.
And he was hurt because of his piety. Although
he was a son, he learned obedience from the things
which he suffered. And having been made perfect,
he became to all those who obey him the source
of eternal salvation. Verse 10, being designated
by God as a high priest according to the order
of Melchizedek. It may be difficult for some
of us to grasp the significant role of a priest.
In our culture either we have no image to relate
to it in a positive way or perhaps because of
our own religious background we have a negative
image of a priest. But it is very important that
we learn what a priest is and allow the truth
of that to change our lives because Messiah is
appointed as the high priest before God for his
people. Messiah is appointed as the high priest
before God on behalf of his people. What the
Lord Jesus Christ is doing right now in heaven
is significant to every true follower of his.
It is a wonderful thing to have one who represents
you before God. And that brings to us the first
thing I want to talk about and that is our Lord's
priestly purpose. What is the role of a priest?
A priest acts as a mediator, as one who is between
God and man. And he does service to God and before
God on behalf of those whom he, the priest, represents.
Now God himself established the priesthood under
the old covenant of the law given through Moses.
The lead priest or the high priest and his associates
were to offer sacrifices for the sins of the
people. And they were also to offer other sacrifices
and offerings of thanks and praise to God, which
of course God richly deserved because of the
blessings. that he poured upon his people in
faithfulness to them. Our high priest, after
offering himself as the ultimate and final sacrifice
to take away sins, rose from the grave to take
up his priestly work. You need to notice that.
That the one who is our high priest was himself
first. the sacrifice. He was offered as the once
for all sacrifice for our sins. And having paid
the ultimate price for us, he then was raised
from the dead by the glory and the power of God
to assume his priesthood. By him, We gain access
into the presence of God The story is told of
an elderly gentleman who sat outside the White
House many years ago He was obviously very poor
his clothes were threadbare. He was covered with
dust He was crying and a little boy came by and
saw him sitting there and asked him what his
problem was the man said that his son had been
guilty of a crime in the Army. Apparently he
had deserted his post, and he was to be shot
for it. And he had come to ask the president
for clemency, that the president might pardon
his son, that the guards on the White House lawn
would not let the man near the building in order
to see the president. The young boy said, well,
the president is my father. You come with me."
And so he took this older man by the hand and
led him into the presence of the president in
the White House, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln heard
the man's story and because of the details of
what had happened, determined that his son should
be pardoned and granted him the clemency. You
see, he was able to gain access into the White
House because of the actions of the son of the
president. You and I have access not to the White
House but to the very throne room of God because
of what God's son has done for us. And his presence
in the heavenly sanctuary now is a perpetual
reminder of his propitiation. That means his
satisfying sacrifice. which He offered on our
behalf. It is important when we think about this
to realize that God is not angry with us and
needs to be reminded that He's been appeased
already so He doesn't strike at us. God is not
angry at us and Jesus is not there to thwart
His anger. God is delighted with us because He
sees us, having trusted Christ, as in Christ.
identified with Christ. Is Jesus there then because
God may forget where we are? No. But Jesus is
there perpetually as a visible representation
of what the blessed triune God has done in love
for our redemption. He is not there because God
may get angry at us. He is not there because
God is going to forget us. He is simply there
as a visible representation of the amazing grace
and love of God demonstrated in his death. That
is the purpose of our priest. To give us access
into the presence of God and to represent us
before God. I'd like for us to think a moment
about his prerequisites as a priest. Because
Jesus perfectly meets all of the qualifications
to be named as a high priest. In the likeness,
or after the order of, Melchizedek. You say,
Melchizedek. But if you've read your Bible, as
most of you have, you know who Melchizedek is.
He is a mysterious figure that is mentioned just
a few times in the Bible. We see him mentioned
in Genesis chapter 14 historically. We see him
mentioned in Psalm 110 and then again in the
book of Hebrews. Turn with me in Hebrews to chapter
7, verse 1, where the writer of Hebrews reminds
us of just the scant details regarding Melchizedek.
He says, for this Melchizedek, king of Salem,
priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he
was returning from the slaughter of the kings
and blessed him. Blessed Abraham. You remember
the story of how Abram's nephew Lot got caught
up in a skirmish there in the valley of salt
in the Dead Sea area, as we know it today, and
as a result was taken away as a prisoner. And
so Abram and his men went after those who had
taken him prisoner and defeated them and took
their spoils. And as they were coming back, to
the land of Canaan, this one Melchizedek came
out of the city of Salem, which we know today
as Jeru Salem, the city of Jerusalem as it was
in those days, in Abraham's day. And he met Abram
and blessed him. And Abram gave to him a tithe,
a 10 % of all that he had gained in this battle.
Now it tells us here that this Melchizedek was
the king. of Salem, but he was also the priest
of the Most High God. He had a dual role. He
was a king -priest. That is very significant
to remember. You say, where did he get his priesthood?
We don't really know the answer to that. He knew
the true God. Now remember, this is in a day
of tremendous apostasy in the world. God had
reached down the midst of Ur and the Chaldees
and had called out an idolater by the name of
Abram to follow him. And Abram had done that
in obedience and faith to God and left his kindred
and followed the Lord. But at the very same time,
God was working in this city of Salem and this
man Melchizedek knew him and was appointed by
God as a priest unto the Lord. Now there are
some wonderful parallels between this Melchizedek,
historically, and Jesus Christ who is said now
to be the high priest after the order or the
likeness of Melchizedek. The first one is his
commission. Melchizedek was appointed by God.
Exactly when? We don't know. But the Lord Jesus
Christ likewise has been appointed by God. with
an oath as we have read in both Hebrews and Psalm
110. God with an oath, he swore that Messiah
would be a priest in the order of Melchizedek
forever. And so he received his commission from
God just as did this Melchizedek of old. Secondly,
there's the parallel of the character of the
two. King of Salem means King of Shalom. What
does Shalom mean? Peace. Not peace just merely
in the absence of warfare, but the peace that
means abundance and prosperity because of the
absence of conflict. And so Melchizedek is called
the King of Peace, and he is also the King of
Righteousness. And so our Lord Jesus Christ is
the King of Righteousness, ultimately, the one
in whom there is no sin. And he is the King of
Peace, the Prince of Peace, as Isaiah called
him. And so in character, there is a parallel
between Melchizedek of old and Christ. But then
there's a third and very significant parallel,
and that is in the continuance of the priesthood.
In order to be in the order of Melchizedek, you
have to have an unending priesthood. That was
never possible with Aaron and his descendants.
They had a problem. They died. Whether good or
bad, high priest, they died. And so their priesthood
ended. You say, well, didn't Melchizedek die?
Well, yes. Of course, he had to have died. But...
What is pointed out in scripture is that there's
no record of that. There's no record of his birth
and where he came from There's no record of his
ending his priesthood And so in that sense says
the writer of Hebrews Jesus has is in the order
of Melchizedek his priesthood is unending he
had no beginning Jesus didn't the eternal son
He has no ending he has been raised from the
dead and by the power of of an indestructible
life, that is an immortal life. He is forever
a priest. And so his continuous priesthood is
another parallel between Melchizedek and Christ.
Jesus is like Melchizedek in these three important
ways and meets all the qualifications that we
have in scripture for this priesthood. Jesus
could not be a priest. after the order of Aaron
because Jesus was not of the right tribe. He
was not a Levi. He was of the tribe of Judah.
The scripture says nothing about a priest under
the Old Covenant from another tribe than Levi.
But the scripture does not put any sort of qualification
in tribe around the one who would be a priest
after the order of Melchizedek. He simply receives
his appointment from God, as did the Lord Jesus.
And so he meets the prerequisites of being a
high priest in this special order of priesthood.
Now, when this priesthood was established by
Jesus, the order of Melchizedek, the old priesthood
of Aaron and the tribe of Levi and all of the
sacrifices that went with it were set aside.
They became obsolete, no longer needed because
a greater priesthood based upon a greater covenant
with better promises has now been established
through Jesus. So we think about our high priest
and we think about his purpose as our mediator,
the one who intercedes between us and God. We
think of his prerequisite. But thirdly, I'd like
for us to think about his petitions. All of his
work, past, present, and future, is aimed toward
the destiny of his chosen people. His work is
geared toward our destiny. And in John chapter
17, we have some insight as to how our high priest
prays. on our behalf. John 17, as you know, is
the true Lord's Prayer. It is the prayer that
He prayed before His crucifixion and yet as though
that were already past and as though He were
again ready to enter into the presence of the
Father. Now let's turn to John chapter 17 and
notice what Jesus prays for. We're going to find
three petitions especially that I want to point
out this morning that deal with the destiny of
the people that God has given to him. Notice
in verse 9 he says, I ask on their behalf, who?
The ones the Father had given him. I do not ask,
he says, on behalf of the world, but of those
whom thou hast given me. Let your eye fall down
to verse 20, where he says, I do not ask in behalf
of these alone, but for those also who believe
in me through their word. So Jesus makes it clear
that he's praying not only for that generation,
but for every succeeding generation, right down
to our very day. These petitions are valid. Now,
what are the petitions that he asks? In verse
11, we see the first one I want to point to.
He says in the middle of the verse, Holy Father,
keep them in thy name. Petition number one, Father,
keep them. The word keep means to guard, guard
them from loss. Father, hold them fast. Father,
watch over and preserve them. That's how Jesus
is praying. Someone asked me the question, do
you believe in eternal security? How can one
not believe in eternal security when the Son
of God Himself has prayed that we'll be kept?
The prayer that Jesus prays keeps us. And of
course, there are many other reasons for believing
in it, but this is just one, and a significant
one. He prays in verse 15, I do not ask thee
to take them out of the world, but to keep them
from the evil. And whether you understand that
as evil personified, as in the evil one, Satan,
which would be true enough. or in the sense of
the influence and the malignant attack of evil
in the world against the believer is still the
same thought. Father, preserve them from the
evil, the evil that is at work in the world.
We have a high priest who prays for us to be
kept. It's wonderful to know that. at various
stations in life. It's wonderful to know, for
example, when you have reared your children to
the best of your strength and knowledge and wisdom
by God's grace and you ship them off to college.
Or a child gets married and they leave your home
and they're gone from under your influence. And
you say, well, will he or will she remain faithful
to God? Well, the fact is that all of us have
ups and downs, don't we? But you know why we
don't have to be afraid for our children who
have professed faith in Jesus Christ? It's because
the Son of God has prayed for them, too, that
the Father would keep them. And He will. What
wonderful security we have. A little girl was
asked one time if Satan ever tempted her to do
wrong. She said, oh, yes, the devil does try
to get to me. He knocks at the door of my heart.
But I just say, Jesus, please go to the door
for me. And he will. He will keep us from the
evil that is at work, the malignant evil that
is in the world. There's a second petition that
we see in verse 17. He says, sanctify them in
thy truth. Thy word is truth. Titian number two,
father, sanctify them. To be sanctified means
to be set apart for God's special purpose and
use. And I believe in the context of John, in
John chapter 17, he is really saying this, father,
Sanctify them, set them apart for your use in
the world. Father, as you have sent me into the
world, I am sending them into the world. And
so, Father, I pray that you will set them apart
for that special purpose, that they might represent
us in the world and proclaim the gospel. You
and I don't have to be afraid in our witnessing,
although that's a normal tendency on the part
of any of us. Our Lord is with us, and He has
prayed for us, that God would set us apart and
equip us and make us sufficient for the work
that God calls us to do as His ambassadors and
His witnesses. Robert Murray McShane once remarked,
If I could hear Christ praying for me in the
next room, I would not fear a million enemies.
Yet the distance makes no difference because
He is praying for me. Remember that this week
and into the new year as you set goals perhaps
and people you want to talk with and witness
to? The Lord Jesus is praying for you. Sanctify
them in the truth, that is the Word. the truth
about God, sanctify them in this. He tells us
the result will be oneness and then witness to
the world in verses 20 and 21. So the second
petition is, Father, sanctify them, set them
apart for your special purpose. And third, verse
24, Father, I desire that they also whom thou
has given me be with me where I am. Petition
number three. Father, bring them. Father, bring
them home to me, so that they may behold the
glory that you have given me. Let them see the
love that you had for me before the foundation
of the world. Father, bring them. The Lord Jesus
is praying that for you and me. And someday it's
going to happen. Now we like to think that it's
going to happen in the rapture. And I really
think it will for our generation. But I also
know this, that there have been people who are
now dead who have thought the same thing. None
of us look forward. to the experience of dying
if we're in our right minds. That thought of
not being able to get our breath or being in
pain or the crush of an accident or however death
might come to us is not something we dwell on.
It is hard for us to imagine our own mortality.
But if the Lord Jesus doesn't come and we are
taken in death, let us remember that though we
do not look forward to the experience in dying,
we don't have to be afraid of the results of
it. Because Jesus has already prayed, Father,
bring them to me. And so when that moment comes,
whether in death or in the rapture, the prayer
of Jesus must be answered. And we will leave
our circumstances at the moment, whatever they
be a hospital bed, or driving down the road,
or sitting behind a desk, or working in the yard,
or shoveling snow. We will leave behind our circumstances
of the moment and be ushered into glory. And
we will be able to know things and see things
in that moment that now our minds cannot possibly
begin to imagine. Because our High Priest has
prayed, Father, bring them. And the result of
that is that we will behold His glory. I'd like
for you to turn back to Hebrews as we close and
look in the second chapter. As you know, the
book of Hebrews is a book that's all about the
priesthood. That is the central theme of this
book. And so we've only just touched it. And
I hope it's a book that you have read and meditated
upon as you get to know Jesus. But in chapter
2, I want us to look finally at verse 17 where
it says, He, our Savior, the author of our salvation,
our great high priest, he had to be made like
his brethren in all things, that he might become
a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God. Our high priest is here characterized
with two adjectives, merciful and faithful. He
is merciful in the sense that he is actively
compassionate. Jesus is not indifferent to your
circumstances and to your life, to what you're
passing through now. He is not ignorant about
it. He is actively, compassionately, mercifully
involved. And he is also described here as faithful.
That is, he will never fail you. We may boldly
say, the Lord is my what? Helper. I will not
fear what man can do to me. The Lord is faithful.
He is our helper. He comes to our aid. In fact,
in chapter four, he says, let us therefore draw
near the throne with confidence. That we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in the time
of need He comes to our aid in our tests So that
God's will Will surely be realized God's purpose
in our lives will be realized Now here's the
amazing thing to me we talked about the priesthood
of Jesus But it's this that we too are called
royal priests. Jesus is a royal priest, a royal
high priest. We who are saved by his grace are
called a royal priesthood. Remember 1 Peter 2
verse 9, you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood. We are part of royalty. the family
of the king. At the same time, we serve as priests.
Now, how should that affect our lives in 1998?
That's my closing question. How should it affect
your life and mine that we are a royal priesthood?
Well, it ought to cause us to reevaluate our
prayer lives at the very minimum. You ought to
help us see how significant it is that God has
given us the privilege of praying in the name
of Jesus. As you face the new year, let me just
throw a couple of things out for your thought
and prayer and, I hope, decision. Number one,
if your prayer life is in a bit of disarray,
get it reorganized. Now that sounds mechanical.
And I don't mean for it to be that because a
prayer life has to be a relationship. But at
the same time, there has to be some basic pattern
or organization to it. And so, determine between
now and the start of the new year that you're
going to look at your life and get your prayer
life prioritized. And get things in order so
that you are serving the Lord as a royal priest
in the New Year. That's pretty simple to do.
The second one requires a little more legwork
and may push you a little more out of your comfort
zone. But it will be wonderfully effective. And
it can even help fulfill the prayer of Jesus
in John 17 about sanctifying them and sending
us into the world of God's gospel. How about
going to your neighbors? Maybe the ones on either
side of you or to the neighbors in your block.
Even those you don't know, which is probably
a lot of them, feel like our neighborhood. Knock
on the door and say, hi, I'm Joe. I'm down the
street here. And I don't know you, but I would
like to know if there's anything I can pray for
you about. Do you have some need in your life?
Is there something that you would like for me
to remember before God? I'd like to pray for
you. And you don't have to hand them a Jesus
video, though you can do that. You don't have
to hand them the four spiritual laws at that
point. That's wonderful if you want to. But just
in a very non -threatening way, take that step
of saying, I want to pray for you. And just see
what God may do in your neighborhood. See what
happens. In that relationship between your neighbor
and yourself, if your neighbor knows that you
are remembering to pray for him, it will absolutely
change and transform the dynamic of your neighborhood.
It will open doors of opportunities for you to
minister in deeper ways, witnessing to them,
like you can't imagine, just by being a royal
priest and praying for others. As we get into
the new year, as we think about what it holds
for us in the providence of God, let's determine
that because Jesus has made us a part of this
priesthood that he holds, that we will function
as royal priests in service to the Lord. Let's
pray together. I just wonder if you would be
willing to respond and say, pastor, I am going
to take some steps in my prayer life. You don't
have the opportunity now to identify what that
might be. But will you by the uplifted hand say,
pastor, I see my role as a royal priest. And
I want to fulfill that role. And God helping
me, I'm going to enter the new year in a particular
way and function as a royal priest. Will you
just hit your hand? It may be a new commitment
or a reaffirmation of commitment. Thank you.
Just keep them up for a moment, if you would.
I'm blessed with that. Thank you very much. How
many of you can say, pastor, right now I am functioning
that way? That is. That's something that's ongoing
in my life. Would you just lift your hand? OK,
God bless you. Amen. Now, for those in between,
what about you? If you're not functioning that
way now, and you can't decide to be a priest
after the order of Melchizedek, after our great
high priest, what are you going to do? What is
the spirit of God saying to you? Are you part
of the priesthood? Are you a royal priest? Think
about it. Think about it. Think about what God
wants you to do. Sweet hour of prayer. Sweet
hour of prayer. Lord, as we head into the new
year, we don't want to sing about prayer only.
We want to be prayers. We want to function as
Jesus has shared this role for us to function
in. And so I pray that you will help us to be
excited about who we are and what we're called
to become, and to use the power prayer interceding
for others saved and lost alike that you might
unleash your power your presence in their lives
as well as in ours like we've never seen before
may that be the blessed result because we have
studied this morning about our great high priest
that's his name that I offer these words Thank
you.