Better Than the Priesthood

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 5, and I'll get there with just a bit of a ramp as we want to build back up into where we are in Hebrews. The title for today's message is "Better Than the Priesthood." The whole theme of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ. So Christ is above and beyond all things, every person and everything, and Hebrews chapter 5 verses 1 through 9 are our text today.

I want to, first of all, start with you in chapter 1 and kind of by way of review, see where the author is taking us in this wonderful, wonderful book. Hebrews chapter 1, so hold your place in chapter 5 and go with me if you would, chapter 1 verses 1 and 2. Notice that Christ is better than the law. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets and in many portions and in many ways, okay, so Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1, that's a reference to all of what has been accomplished in the Old Testament. Okay, and then in verse 2 it says, "And in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son." And so now everything is fulfilled in Christ and we're focusing upon Jesus. And so Jesus is above and beyond the Old Testament law, especially the covenant, and we'll get to the new covenant soon in Hebrews.

In verse 4 look with me and notice that Christ is above and beyond and better than angels. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 4 says, "Have him become as much better than angels." Okay, so He's better than angels and He has inherited a more excellent name than they. And so not only is He better than angels, His name is above any angelic name. You may have all kinds of different angelic names running through your mind. Christ is better. Not only that because He is also a son. Angels are not a son of God. And then as well, Christ is better because angels worship the Son. The Son doesn't worship angels. And so now you see a case that the author is building. Christ is better. He's supreme.

Okay, and as He goes to move forward, there's a couple other points that are worth noting in that Christ is the Creator. In verse 10, look with me, chapter 1 verse 10, "And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth." And so Christ is the means by which God created the world. In Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 it says, "By Him all things were created." Colossians is most certainly a case for the supremacy of Christ as well. And so Christ is the Creator. Noting that, the Hebrew preacher here notes that. And then also in chapter 2 verse 8, it's another point worth noting that He is the ruler. "You have put all things in subjection under His feet." So Jesus is the ruler of all things. And then in verse 9, He is Savior. "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." So praise the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again for our sin, for the punishment of our sin. So Christ is Creator, ruler, and Savior. This is a case that the author is building here.

I'd like to recognize the fact that we have a family discipleship church, and I'm so thankful that our children are here as well. And if you have highlighters, if you have a circle, a pen to circle something in your Bible, I would like for you to circle chapter 2 verse 13, the word "children." Look with this with me in chapter 2 and verse 13. And obviously this is referring to children of God, but I can't help recognize our children in worship as well and give them something to highlight and something to hang on to because the point is that children trust Jesus. So in chapter 2 verse 13, "And again, I will put my trust in Him." Okay, so the whole point, the whole Bible really, is put your trust in Jesus, and then it goes on to say, "And again, behold, I am the children whom God has given me." So highlight the word "children" and circle that. Now I want you to do that so that you can take home the fact that children need to trust in Jesus and know that He is the Creator, He is the ruler, He is the Savior.

And so now as the author continues to build upon a case for the deity and the supremacy of Christ, in chapter 3 verse 3 you see that Christ is better than Moses. In chapter 3 verse 3 the Bible says, "For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses." So Moses was one who was in the household of God, but the case being in chapter 3 that Jesus is over the household of God. So Moses is greater, he is better, he's worthy of more glory.

Now today's text is going to prove that Christ is better than the priesthood. So continuing with the argument that the preacher Hebrews is setting forth, he's better than the law, better than angels, better than Moses. Now he's better than the entire priesthood. So in chapter 5 verses 1 through 9, we'll kind of go verse by verse through this today, and you should see clearly as great commissioning Christians that Christ has all authority. Okay? The author of Hebrews is building a case and he's going to analyze different points for which people as human beings in their weakness would gravitate toward to make idols out of things or look to perhaps a pope or a person or a pastor or an idol or a thing or something to idolize and actually set that above and beyond Christ. And so the author of Hebrews is grabbing on to his listeners and saying, "Listen, Christ is better than everything in esteem. Christ is better than anything for which you may idolize. Christ and Christ alone is the point of Hebrews." And so Matthew chapter 20 verse 18, Jesus said, "All authority has been given to me." Okay? So Jesus has all authority. Moses doesn't have all authority, nor do angels, nor do prophets, nor do pastors, priests, popes, or any person. No, anything, no person, no anybody greater than Jesus.

So now in chapter 5, let's read verses 1 through 4 and take our time and go through this. Chapter 5 verse 1, "For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." Now it's important to note that this is talking about the priesthood in the Old Testament, and these are men who are priests. Okay? And the comparisons and the contrasts of the Old Testament priesthood to Christ is going to unfold here in just a moment. You're going to see a comparison and a contrast between the Old Testament priesthood and the New Testament Christ as our priest.

Now before I move forward, I'd like to also point out that the author seems to use a chiastic form as well here as he has prior. And what that means is the subjects that he sets forth is almost poetic. It's like God divinely puts in the heart and mind of the men in whom he is authorizing to speak on his behalf to take the subjects and to line them up in such a beautiful way. And so you could think of the subject matters like this right here, point number one, point number two, point number three, and then it being unraveled and then revisited again, point number three, point number two, point number one. So it goes down and then back up by a chiastic form. And so here in chapter five, this is loosely the case. So verses two through three, you will see the first set is just two, being gentleness and calling. And then as you end this, verses five through eight are calling and gentleness. So you have gentleness and then the calling and then the calling and then gentleness. This is the subject matter for which the author is laying forth in general. And now we'll get to the specifics.

"For every high priest in verse one is taken from among men." And so you see that a man has been appointed to be a priest in the Old Testament. So he's appointed on behalf of men in the things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices. These gifts and sacrifices are just simply the priest's work in the tabernacle and in the temple. In Leviticus chapters one through seven, detail these things. Here the emphasis is upon the gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hold your place and turn to Leviticus if you would. Leviticus chapter 16 in verse 27. It's important to note that this preacher of the book of Hebrews is an Old Testament scholar. He really truly knows the Word of God. And so in Leviticus chapter 16 and verse 27, the Bible says this, "But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides and their flesh and their refuse in the fire." This is a passage that is also alluded to in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 11 through 13. And so the preacher of Hebrews is going to revisit this same subject as he's driving these points home. And mothers and fathers, if you get tired of repeating yourself, just think of yourself as being biblical. It's biblical to repeat yourself over and over, and over. You have the same concrete points in the Bible that are being revisited in all kinds of different wonderful ways. And so Leviticus chapter 16 verse 27 is one way to see these sin offerings for which the Old Testament priests are to be doing.

In verse 2 it says, "And he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness." Now this is interesting that the weaknesses of men are noted. Now you see that priests are selected from among men, okay? These priests, according to Leviticus, have specific duties, and they don't decide to do God's work. They're drafted to do God's work. And I want to prove that to you as well in the book of Exodus. Turn with me to Exodus chapter 28 and verse 1. "No priest woke up one day and decided, I'm going to be a priest." God specifically drafted certain men to be priests. And here you see this in Exodus chapter 28 and verse 1. It says, "Then bring near to yourself Aaron, your brother." Okay? So this is a specific selection of Aaron. But then it goes beyond Aaron. It goes to his sons with him from among the sons of Israel to minister as priests. And so Aaron and his line were selected as priests.

Now this is also an important passage for you to note in that they were priests. The next two words are "to Me." In the New American Standard translation, the word "Me" is capitalized. This is a reference to God. And so the priests were ministers to God. They are ministering to the Lord. They minister to God and they also minister on behalf of the people. So you see this is to God. This is important.

Let's go ahead and read before I kind of lean in on that a little bit. And then it notes Aaron's son's names. In verse 2, "You shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother, for God, for the glory, and for beauty. And you shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom that they make Aaron's garments to consider him that he may minister as priests to Me." I'm going to lean in on this subject to Me just for a second. In Exodus chapter 28, not only does it repeat the words "to Me" in these verses, but also in verse 29, "Aaron is to minister before the Lord continually." And so this is very specific as to where the direction of his prayers and service and sacrifices are going. And then as well in verse 30, the last few words are "before the Lord continually." And then as well in verse 35, "It shall be on when he ministers, and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord so that he will not die." See how serious this is. Aaron's life is on the line to be able to do the ministry unto the Lord correctly. And then in verse 38, the last few words again, it's going to be accepted before the Lord. And then as well as you continue on, you'll see in verse 41, "That you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and you shall anoint them and ordain them, and consecrate them, that they shall serve Me as priests." So the priests are to serve God, and they are to be ordained. Not only that, in chapter 29 and verse 1, "Now this is what you shall do to them, to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me." It's important to realize that God appoints men and men affirm these leaders. And that's how it still works today. And it is very interesting that God calls men, but yet at the same time, when there is a calling upon a man to teach the Word of God or to preach the Word of God or to be an elder or a pastor, there is also accompanied with that the recognition of mankind within the church. The church is going to recognize the gifts and also confirm that. So God calls, but men confirm. And they do that by laying on of hands and ordaining them and consecrating them and affirming their leadership.

One of the points for leadership that is important to realize for leaders is that leadership is permissive. So you can't forcibly make anyone yield to your leadership. You are no pastor if you have to tell someone, "I'm the pastor." And you are no leader if you have to tell someone what your title is. Leadership is a matter of humility and permission.

We see today those who dishonor God and take honor to themselves and do this type of ministry in reverse. And in verse 4, go to Hebrews chapter 5 verse 4, and it says, "And no one takes this honor to himself." Speaking of men in the priesthood of the Old Testament here, there's a qualification that the Hebrew preacher is putting down. No man takes this honor to himself. He doesn't in today's vernacular go online, pay fifteen dollars, and print him out as a certificate and say, "I'm an apostle." Or, "I'm a preacher." Or, "I'm a pastor." Or, "I'm a priest." That is backwards. But there are all kinds of those men who are taking this honor to themselves. They're scandalous. They're false prophets and most oftentimes guilty of gross immoralities and robberies. Jim Baker being one who reinstated himself. It's like he...you can't even put into ten hours worth of explanation how bad he was. And then after he is bankrupt and found out to be who he was, he just simply reinstates himself. That is not the biblical pattern. But then as well, you have guys like Jimmy Swaggart, Mike Bickle, which is over the International House of Prayer, Benny Hinn, Ref. Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Todd White, Stephen Vernick, Harry Noble, and even Paula White. These people are so disqualified, but yet at the same time when they are found out, maybe they'll take a time away and then reinstate themselves.

Matthew chapter 7 and verse 15 says, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are savage wolves." And so you see in the Old Testament a precedence in how the priesthood is unto the Lord. God says, "It's to Me, to Me, to Me. Consecrate them to Me that they may serve Me, that they may honor Me and serve Me." But anytime you see self-serving leadership, red flag, red flag, red flag, anytime it's self-serving, self-exalting, anytime they're the heroes of their own stories over, and over, and over again, anytime they are warning your money or warning everything to pointing to them, and they perhaps are the top beneficiaries of a Ponzi scheme. And we even have to be weary of networks and church planting networks and such. It'd be nothing more than a pyramid Ponzi scheme. If they do not serve God but sell God, then beware.

We have a very stern, I would say, correction of shepherds in Ezekiel chapter 34. Turn there if you would. Very stern correction of shepherds. And though there's a difference between priests and pastors in the Old Testament priesthood and today, you have a lot of similarities as well. And as they unfold throughout Scripture, you have these similarities that you can take note of to watch out for. God sternly corrects the selfish shepherds in Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel 34.1 says, "Then the word of the Lord came to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to those shepherds, "Thus says the Lord God, Woe, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flock?" And so you see the contrast there, selfishness versus selflessness. The New Testament application of this is found in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 2, where shepherds are to feed the flock. And so they selflessly give of themselves to feed the flock, to shepherd the flock, to lead the flock. And this is set forth in Old Testament type and shadow.

Now it says as well in verse 4 in Ezekiel 34, "Those who are sickly, you have not strengthened the diseased, you have not healed the broken, you have not bound up the scattered, you have not back, nor have you sought for the lost, but with force and with severity you have dominated them. They were scattered for a lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered." And so that's the end result of selfish shepherds. They get eaten alive by wolves, and those who are wolves in sheep's clothing take advantage of these self-appointed apostates. So these who are taking advantage of God and selling God or profiting from God, they'll have their day at judgment. We don't need to worry about that. We just need to be warned of that to make sure that we're not listening to false prophets or going there or supporting them in any way.

So priests are disqualified for another reason. Back to Hebrews chapter 5 verse 2, "If they are not gentle." One of the things that a priest must be is gentle with the flock. And so in verse 2 it says, "He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness." This is something that the Old Testament priest was supposed to do. He was supposed to know that Hebrews chapter 15 verses 27 through 31 has an offering for sins of ignorance. And there is such a thing as a sin of ignorance. There is plenty of eager people who really try hard and yet through ignorance or lack of knowledge still fall into sin, and sometimes they sin. Well, in the Old Testament there was an offering for that. Now what that means for us is that priests or pastors or ministers are qualified by their ability to deal with people gently. You don't pounce on someone just because they messed up. You gently lead them back into the way the truth in the life. And then so the arrogant ones, the arrogant priests or the arrogant ones today, they're disqualified if they are lacking in gentleness. Why? Because the sheep need to be led and fed, not stepped on, not skinned. One professor said it like this, "You can trim a sheep over, and over, and over again, but you can only skin it one time." And so we're not to skin one another. We're not to take each other's skin off. We have to deal with one another's weaknesses well.

Now these weaknesses are intertwined with our fallen nature. We're all human beings. We're all inclined to sin, and so was even the high priest, a human being who had to offer sacrifices to cover up his own weaknesses. Leviticus chapter 9 verse 8 talks about how even the high priest had to offer an offering for his weaknesses, and no one knows this better than themselves. Look with me in verse 5. As you see, now it's going to transition from the men who are priests to Christ. And this is verified by God who is directly quoted here from this preacher. In verse 5 it says, "So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He said to Him, "You are My Son. Today I have begotten You." So this is a direct quote from Psalm 2.7. And this direct quote proves that Christ is the supreme priest.

And then as well there's another direct quote in verse 6, just as He says also in another passage, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." In Psalm chapter 1.10 verse 4, this is a direct quote again from this preacher. One of the indications that you'd know that this wonderful letter is a sermon as well is because of how verse 6 starts. Look at this, just as He says also in another passage. It's almost like an allusion. Somewhere, somewhere I heard this. I know it's true. It is Scripture. I don't have the chapter and verse memorized because I didn't have chapters and verses back then. It had the scrolls, right? And so He says somewhere back in the Old Testament. This is what it says. So it doesn't take His time to say stop everybody. Let's just pull it out and research and find out where this truly is. And so this is now transitioning to Christ. And I want you to note that Christ is genuine and gentle. So He is the fulfiller of all of these requirements.

In verse 5 it says, "So also Christ." So also Christ did not glorify Himself. And so now in the humanity of Christ, He is the fulfillment of the priesthood and He's better than the Old Testament priesthood, so much better in that now you can hear the contrasts between the two. And the contrasts are these. Christ did not appoint Himself. God appointed Him a priest. And you see that you are My Son. Today I have begotten You. This word begotten means to appoint. It means to install. And then Christ did not honor Himself. He was honored by God. Then you see here as well in chapter 5 verse 6, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." Now this is very interesting. We're not going to do a deep dive into this wonderful figure today because in later chapters you're going to see him come back again in chapter 7 and following over, and over, and over again. But just know for today that this wonderful individual, Melchizedek, is whom Christ is after. He's not after the line of Aaron, not a son or a brother of Aaron. He's not of the line of Aaron. He's not Aaronic. He is Melchizedekian. And so this pre-figure of Christ shows up first of all in Genesis chapter 14 verses 18 to 20. That's where he first appears where Abraham gives him a tenth of his spoils of battle. And then Melchizedek shows back up again in Psalm chapter 1, 10, and verse 4. And this is indicative of the fact that Christ is both a priest and a king. And so now Christ is fulfilling both the priesthood and the kingship of this line for whom only Christ can fulfill. Now since He is a priest forever, this necessitates a resurrection. Since Christ was in human form and yet He is a priest forever, humans don't live forever, humans die. So this necessitates the resurrection. And then upon His ascension, then He would take His rightful place of enthronement. Now this validates or verifies that God begot Him. This is verses 5 and verses 6.

Move with me to verse 7. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 7 says this, "In these days of the flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears through the one able to save Him from death. And He was heard because of His piety or His power." Now the Bible mentions flesh here in regards to Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ had frail weaknesses in His humanity. He has truly felt all of the heartaches that you've ever had. He's had the headaches. He's had the body aches. He's had the apprehensions. He's had all of the strains. He's had all of the pains. He's had it all.

In 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5, the reference of the man, Christ Jesus. So the manhood of Christ, the God-man, the man side of Jesus Christ, He has truly been there, done that. And because He has experienced all of the strains, all the pains, all the punishment of sins, everything, then now He is qualified to deal gently with you in an understanding way. And so now in a chiastic form, if you go back to verse 2, He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided since He Himself also was beset with weakness. Do you see how Christ is better than the Old Testament priesthood, not limited, but yet at the same time qualified? Christ, Your personal priest, Your personal minister, oh He knows and He loves and is capable of ministering to Your specific needs. You say, "What kind of strains has He gone through?" Well, let's just look at the verse. Loud crying and petitions. Oh man, this is indicative of Jesus's intense grief and then prayer. You see it also in Matthew chapter 26 verse 36 where He's praying before He goes to the garden. Jesus truly endured intense grief and at the same time He had a religious piety about Him, a reverence in all of God. His devotion to God was total. Unlike the Old Testament priests who were limited by their human weaknesses, Jesus was not limited to these things. He fulfilled and experienced those, but His commitment to God was complete and total, making Him the one who is better than the priesthood. And so God then answered Jesus's prayer, "Take this cup from Me if You can, remove it from Me, oh Lord." So in Jesus's human side, please, I don't want to go to the cross and nobody wants to be crucified. And Jesus's strain is on display there as He's praying. And just as God did not remove Jesus's death and suffering because of a greater purpose, so does He the same with us. It's important to realize that God is in control even in our sufferings.

Even when we praise, "Lord, take this from me." I don't want the surgery, I don't want this heartache, I don't want everything that we ask for. Don't say, "God didn't answer my prayers." God hears Your prayers and He does answer Your prayers according to what is best. His will will be done. And so as you pray, something like, "Jesus, Lord, take this cross from me, take this cup from me." I don't want to. You follow it up with this, "Nevertheless, Your will be done." Nevertheless, Lord, You are Lord, Your master, Your God, have the confidence that Christ displays here. And so God answers our pleading prayers when we ask Him to remove our pain. He does hear us, but He still employs what's best for us. Essentially, His will will be done.

In verse 8, this is rather interesting because it's a rhyme and a play on words. In verse 8, read it with me, it says, "Although He was a son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered." And so learned obedience from suffering. In the Greek, you would hear it something like this, "No gain, no pain." That would be our adage, but in the Greek, this rhyme or this play on words is very similar to our saying, if you've said it before, "No gain, no pain. No pain, no gain." Got it backwards. And so God did not spare His Son from suffering, and nor should we. This process is a process of learning obedience. And this is really a good parental point as well. Some of you maybe have noticed in our day that parents yield to little too much, and they allow their children to be the boss, and they allow their children to say what's right and wrong, and all of a sudden the parents become the tail and not the head, and the children are just leading their parents around, and they spare them from all the pain that they possibly can. And so if a child cries and doesn't want that, then the parents yield all that they can to try and make sure that the child does not suffer any type of pain or do anything that they want to do.

Listen, if Jesus was not spared the pain from His Father because of being able to learn obedience and be fully qualified as the Savior in the text, nor should we as faithful fathers and parents spare our children from learning through suffering. This is a theology of suffering that kind of needs to be regained in our Christian circles. To be able to say there are some things that God teaches His children through pain that they would not have otherwise. And so yes, when you are a child of God, there is sufferings that are granted to you. In Philippians chapter 1 verse 29, the Bible says that it's not only granted unto you to believe for salvation, but it's also granted for you to suffer. So there are sufferings. There's not just glorious days in Christianity. There's not just, you know, everything is going. My dad would say hunky-dory. There is also some valleys to walk through and to endure. And as you know that, applying that then as you are going through valleys, you simply say to yourself, "Lord, do I have any unconfessed sin before You?" And if you have not been living in open rebellion before God, you've been doing your best to pray and obey and such. Then you have a clear conscience before the Lord. You know that God is guiding you through a difficult time for your betterment. You're going to help you through this. It's not going to harm you. These things are refining fires. And then you see this all throughout Scripture, and it's even demonstrated here in verse 8 with the Lord Jesus Christ. "Although He was a son, He learned obedience from the things in which He suffered."

Christ learned this obedience. Now this just simply means that He went through all of what entails in hardships, all the human weaknesses. Christ experienced all of these things. Christ was sin-free, but He was not free from the struggle. Look with me in chapter 4 verse 15. Hebrews 4.15 spells this out. Chapter 4 verse 15 says, "We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Yes, Christ was tempted, yet without sin. Christ was not one who yielded an ounce to sin. He's sinless, and at the same time He has experienced all of the temptation, all of the pain, all the sufferings.

Romans chapter 5 and verse 19 shows this offset. In chapter 5 and verse 19 it says, "For as though one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many have been made righteous." And so the first man, Adam, who sinned caused all of mankind to then fall into sin's depravity. But by one man's obedience, that being Jesus Christ, His obedience to go to the cross and take on sin's punishment, then He offset that. And so Christ's obedience offsets Adam's disobedience.

In verse 9, chapter 5 verse 9, it says this, "And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." If you circle anything, an important concept here, I think, is the word obey. All throughout the book of Hebrews, the preacher it is those who are obedient are the ones who are truly saved. And this flies in the face of our American culture who say, "Yes, I believe in Christ, I'm going to heaven." Well, belief doesn't necessarily guarantee that you're saved. Your belief then has to be followed by obedience. And the Great Commission, it teaches that Great Commission Christians are not only to go and evangelize, make disciples, and baptize them, but to teach them obedience to God's law. And so teaching obedience is part of the Great Commission. So teaching obedience. But somehow in our culture, we have kind of made it to where being a Great Commission Christian is just being evangelistic and sharing the gospel. And that's just a part of making a disciple. And somehow in our Christian circles, we've capitalized on John 3.16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, He sure believed Himself." There's the "have everlasting life," but separated that from verse 36. And verse 36 qualifies those who believe as ones who are obedient, the ones who obey, but the ones who are disobedient have the wrath of God still abiding upon them. And so you see here that it is very clear, "And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." It's important to recognize that it is the ones whom are obediently walking with Christ who are truly saved.

And as we see this all throughout the Scriptures, you see this connection. In Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26 and 27, you see that not only God gives someone a new heart, but then He causes them to walk in obedience to His law. This is inseparably connected. And as ones continue to walk with Christ, they bear fruit, and the fruit of the believers are on display daily. So from their love of God, you have love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and goodness, and gentleness, and self-control. These fruits flow from a true believer of the true vine through a branch. You're going to have these true fruits. So these things are important for us to be able to recognize that the proof is really in the pudding, and your assurance of your salvation is the fact that you desire to do God's will. You don't want to do your own will. You want to obey Christ. The proof is really in the pudding.

James chapter 2, verse 20 says that like this, "Faith that not works is dead." And so you do not want to have a dead faith. You want to have a faith that's actually been made alive. So the works that you have, what kind of works? What is the Bible talking about? What kind of works? Well, for one thing, you inwardly desire to read God's Word and then to learn more about Jesus. And as you are learning, you have a desire to grow in Him and obey Him. You're starting to pray more. You're starting to love the church more. You're starting to get to know Christians more. You're starting to fellowship with them more and establish relationships that matter in the local church. And the church then would become your center point for life and godliness. So your education is a biblical worldview, and everything starts to come from here. And now this is true for the one whom has been saved. Their attachment to Christ is also the attachment to the local church because the local church is whom Christ died for. The church at large, obviously, but we are just people in a location. And so we are committed, and committed to the local church like a husband is to the wife and a wife is to the wife. And so the dedication is real, and it's rich, intimate.

Now, as we move forward then, you see that obedience is inseparable from true belief. I want to give you two take-home truths to wrap up today. Of all of the truths that can be deduced from this passage, I think two are best for us today. Knowing that God selected and appointed Christ to be tempted and to suffer, and having experienced all of these things fully. Now, He is able to deal gently with us. Point number one in your take-home truth is this. We'll then ask Christ to deal gently with you. Truly. This is a matter of trust. Sometimes we get walls up where we're hurt, and we'll even block out the Lord Jesus Christ in areas that we should not.

If there is an area when you look at yourself in the mirror, when you self-reflect upon your life, when you see the deficiencies, see, just like the priest in the Old Testament had weaknesses, no one knew his weaknesses more than himself. And the same thing for us. No one knows our weaknesses more than we. Perhaps maybe your spouse can point them out better than you can to yourself, but that's a good thing. Nevertheless, ask Christ to gently minister to your weakness. Ask Him to do that. Jesus will minister in the area for which you are weak. See, I understand that it is sometimes a fearful thing. God is powerful, all powerful, and sometimes it's a bit of an apprehensive thing to expose your weaknesses or to ask God to deal with you. I get that. But there's two types of fear in the Bible, and I want to explain these to you. There's a positive fear and a negative fear. And in the text, you will see that He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided. I don't want you to have a misguided fear of God, or perhaps an unknowing fear of God. I want you to have an accurate fear of the Lord, a positive fear.

In Proverbs chapter 1 verse 7, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Why is it the beginning of knowledge? This is important to be able to differentiate between a negative fear. A positive fear of God, you could better say it like this, a high reverence of the Lord, or an amazing amount of oddness of Him and His power. A positive reverence and respect for God is the beginning because you recognize that you are a sinner and you are condemned to hell for eternity without Him saving you. And so it's the beginning to be able to have reverence for Him. Only You can save me, only You can help me. I'm totally depraved, I am helpless without You, Lord, save me. And so it's the beginning of knowledge to be able to set aside the pride and say, "I am a sinner, forgiving of my sin, You sent Your Son to die on the cross to bear my sin's punishment, which I deserved. I deserved to go on the cross, but You did that." Think, that's the starting point of our salvation.

In Psalm 111 verse 10 it says, "Fear leads to understanding." And so the understanding of who God is starts with having an accurate reverence for who God truly is. Now, this is characterized by obedience, and joy, and love. When you have a good fear of God, then this is what it produces. Now, a negative fear. The negative fear causes anxiety, and dread, and stress, and a distance, a debilitating distance between you and the Lord. And this would be more of what I would say is a misguided or an understanding fear.

In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7, the Bible says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear." Okay? And so there is a point now that you mature beyond the beginning stages of Christianity, and yes, you have a high reverence for the Lord, but you no longer fear Him punishing you and going to hell forever. You actually love Him, and you love for Him to lead you, and you trust Him in your weakest areas. The areas that you have been hurt the most in, or the areas for which you are agonizing in, you trust God's gentle hand fully, and you don't fear Him in these areas because 1 John chapter 4 verse 18 says, "Perfect love." 1 John 4, 18, He cast out this fear, this negative fear. And so there's two errors then in your relationship with the Lord. If there's no fear in the beginning, that's a huge error. And you're beginning steps to get to know God, if there's no fear, there's no reverence, that's foolishness. You must realize that you are a sinner and God is holy. You're not, He is. And so there's a mistake with those who would be stuck in their pride and in their foolishness say, "There is no God," or, "I don't want God." And so no fear of God in the beginning is an error. And then another error would be too much fear once you have been maturing, too much fear. And so you should realize then that your sin has been completely covered. You're safe in the arms of God. He has truly got you and you are in His hands. And so there's no need to live in constant fear, only in constant awe of God. Yes, if you sin, you should fear His discipline because He is a Father who does discipline His children. We'll get there in Hebrews chapter 12. But for sure, Christ is our propitiation. That's a theological word that helps us to understand that Jesus took on the wrath of God for us. 1 John chapter 2 verse 2, Jesus is our propitiation. And so we're safe. We don't have to fear God's hammer coming down.

And so truly take home truth number one, ask Christ to deal with you gently. You're weakened by your sufferings. I get it. You're vulnerable. I get it. But Christ can be a God. And the only other point that I would have for you today is point number two, be ministered to by Christ's words. If you want to write it down this way, you can say, "Be in the Bible." But when you are in the Bible, you're not just reading to know God. You're reading with an open word to by God. You have a high priest, Jesus Christ, a personal minister with you always, "Lo, I am with you always." And as you are walking through life with Christ, as you're reading the word, you truly need to read in such a way that it is experiential. Yes, do your word studies. Yes, get the truth out of the text. But beyond knowledge is a true relationship with God. That is love, true love. Wonderful. Experiential. And so as you are ministered to by God, He can take a heart that is full of anxiety and put it at peace. That's good to experience, being put at peace by God. And that comes oftentimes by reading His word.

And when you read something like Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7, it says, "Don't be anxious for anything but by prayer and supplication. Let your request be made known unto the Lord and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." It's wonderful to read that at a timely point in your life when God experientially puts you at peace or strengthens you inwardly like the Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 3 for the Ephesian church. If you have a foe, if you have opposition like Ezra and Nehemiah had, and they go to God in prayer, and then all of a sudden they move from fearing man to being emboldened in who they are in Christ because God is their helper and their shield. He is their caretaker. One area that I want to leave you with in regards to the Word of God shaping your mind, especially when it comes to this the Word of God impacting and ministering to us experientially, is found in Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 12. And this I close with. I want to explain to you Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 12, and how wonderful it is as you study God's Word and how it moves from your head to your heart to your hands, and how you can truly walk with the Lord and be ministered to by Him.

Okay, in Jeremiah 10 and verse 12, the Bible says, "It is He who made the earth." And so let's just pause there and let's do our work in the New American Standard. The word "He" is capitalized. I hope it is in your translation as well. But "It is He who made the earth." The preacher of Hebrews specifies in chapter 1 verse 2 that He made the world. And this is a direct reference to Jesus Christ. Jesus made the world. And we've already quoted Colossians chapter 1 verse 16, and it's Christ who made the world. And so He is the agent for which the world was made. And so now you have Jeremiah the prophet pointing towards the Maker of the world. And so simply right, Jesus above the word "He." It is He. It is Jesus who made the earth. Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 12.

Okay, He made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom. And by His understanding, He stretched out the heavens. This is great to see. Isaiah pointed towards this fact as well in chapter 40 verse 22 that He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. And if you have studied this verse at all, you know that in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, that this was set forth. This is expansion of the universe, and science is catching up to biblical theology as they realize that this is happening. And so when you stumble upon these truths, it becomes like an epiphany, like a dawn dawn you, that man, God really truly has been in control from the beginning, and He is still ruling and reigning. And we are catching up to His wonderful wisdom.

And in verse 13 it says, "When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth, and He makes lightning for the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses." This is a reference as well to the sovereignty of God. And as you truly reflect upon the sole comforting doctrine of the sovereignty of God, in that He gives the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth, and He makes the lightning, and He makes the rain. I mean, even in Psalm 135 verse 7, He controls the evaporation of these small little molecules on the other side of the planet. Science is catching up to the Bible, and they recognize that even the smallest atoms are controlled. They're caused right here in this verse in chapter 13. In verse 13, "He causes." As you reflect upon your life, whether you're in a valley or a mountaintop, or just walking with the Lord, know that He causes all of these things. Even the invisible things, like atoms, which you can't even see, even the invisible things like love, and joy, and peace, patience, these invisible qualities that we have, He controls these things, He guides these things, everything in the heavens and in the earth that's visible and invisible. The spiritual realms, everything. God is in control. And this God offers Himself as a personal minister to you.

So by way of application, know that God is in control, not of just the big things, the cosmos, and the planets, and earth and such, but also of the minute, invisible things that you can't even see. And this God, Jesus Christ, is offering to you to be a personal minister to you. And so the Word of God is God's Word to minister to you. So when you are in the Bible, read it not only intellectually, but read it as well experientially. And you can see here that now, once you know these things, and you walk out at nighttime, you cannot avoid being in awe of our great God and King. When you see the stars and you see everything that He is doing, it brings you to an experiential point of being in awe, and wonder, and wonder of God. And that, my friends, is great. And so allow the Word to shape your mind, allow the Word of God to harness, and guide your emotions, and yield your behavior to Him.

Dear Lord, I pray and I say thank you for today's text. Help us. It is helping us to understand that You are personally invested in us, and You want to minister to us as a high priest. You are better than the Old Testament priesthood who worked on behalf of us. You are personally working with us, and we thank you for that, dear Jesus. If there be one here that You have never granted faith and repentance to, oh God, would You do that? Would You grant them the ability to see You as the only way, the only truth in Your only life, and without You they will never go to heaven? God, would You help anyone here who is not saved to confess that faith that You are Lord, and that God, You raised Your Son from the grave, and He has been ascended now and deceit-ing at the right hand of You and ruling, and reigning on the throne. God, we believe what the word says for salvation and sanctification, and serving You. We believe it and we love You, and we thank you for it. Lord, save souls and draw them closer to You, that they may be saved, and baptized, and then to be able to walk with You and to glorify You and to learn Your word and to make disciples. God, we love You, and it's in Jesus' name that we do pray. Amen.