Look to Jesus Now

Take your Bibles, if you would, please, and turn to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 7, verses 1 through 10 are our text today, but I want to zoom in on verse 4 and ask that you would do what the text says to do, which is to look to Jesus now. And so today is the day for salvation, and I would like for you to put yourself in the text, and here, like the Hebrew hearers, were to hear the preacher of Hebrews in his plead for them to turn to Jesus no matter where they are.

Perhaps you're an intellect and you know a whole lot, but you do not know Jesus. Turn to Christ today and be saved. Perhaps you do not know a whole lot, and you consider yourself as me, just a common man, speaking to common men. Turn to Christ if you do not know Christ, because the gospel has been presented by God through common men to common men. And perhaps you've been in church all of your life and you're aloof from Christ and you're used to the hymns. You're used to the prayers, you're used to the Scriptures, but yet you've never been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn. That's your responsibility to turn to Christ, to look to Him and to be saved.

Let's read verse 4 together and then we'll unfold some of the passage. In Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 4, it says, "Now observe how great this man was." Pause with me for just a moment of prayer if you would. Lord, as we have read just a phrase of this entire passage, I pray, Lord, that You would do only what You can do. And by the power of Your Holy Spirit that You would convict souls, draw them closer unto You. Like Your Word says in John 6:44, that You can draw them closer to You, unto Yourself. Do that wonderful work we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

So this passage is helping us to see that we need to see, that we need to take notice, that we need to consider this figure that's brought up in chapter 7 who is Melchizedek. And this is a figure who is mysterious in all the Bible. There's only just a few places to where this wonderful figure is mentioned. And yet this figure has been inserted into this great sermon so that you can see Jesus. And so Melchizedek is like Jesus in so many ways. And when you look at His attributes for which the Scriptures put the spotlight on, you are to see Jesus, for that is the complete fulfillment of this passage.

You know, Charles Spurgeon was told by a common man to look to Christ. In 1850, Charles Spurgeon was saved by a regular old guy from the passage in Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22 is simply this. It says, "Turn to me and be saved." And so if you would, turn to Isaiah if you would with me. And let's look at this passage for just a moment in Isaiah chapter 45. And see exactly where Spurgeon responded to this and was saved in 1850, the Prince of Preachers and the man whom has truly, truly made an indent on this entire world by his passionate preaching of the Word of God.

In Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22 it says, "Turn to me and be saved." It means to turn away from something and toward something at the same time. One word with two emphases, okay? When you turn, you're naturally turning away from something and turning towards something. And so the admonition here is to do not no longer engage in sin. Turn away from that. And the encouragement then is to turn toward God. So turn to me and be saved. And so the end of the earth for, "I am God and there is no other." And this name, "I am," is the name Yahweh which was disclosed to Moses in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 which revealed this about His self-existence name, that He is self-existent, self-sufficient and eternally consistent. And so He is the only God. God is God and there is no other. There's no other God other than the Creator God, the one who has created the heavens and the earth and you and me and everything that you see. He is God and He claims that He is God and so you have to deal with this claim that He is God.

And since that He is God and He has disclosed Himself to Moses in the entirety of humanity claiming that He is the only self-existent, eternally consistent and self-sufficient one who has disclosed Himself to Moses, to all the patriarchs, through the prophets, through His incarnation and His son, through the Gospels, through the Word that you have in your hands. He's revealed Himself. He's disclosed Himself. He has opened the door of His house to you to be able to walk in so that you can commune together and fellowship together for eternity. This is incredibly personal. How many of you open your doors and invite just anybody in? You don't do that. It invites you to come and to commune with Him personally. And this is the Creator God.

In Isaiah chapter 45, this claim that God is God is repeated over and over again and I'll just want to skip across the top like, you know, perhaps you skim a rock across a pond and show you in Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord and there is no other besides me. There is no God." And then in verse 6 it says, "That there is no one besides me. I am the Lord and there is no other." And verse 7 talks about the heavens. It talks about the earth and it says, "I, the Lord, have created it." Then as you skip on down to verse 14, "Thus says the Lord," skip down a little bit farther, "there is none else, no other God." You see the repeated theme in Isaiah 45.

And then in verse 18, "For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create a waste place but formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is no other." And then in verse 19 it says simply, "to seek me," in one of the phrases. And then in verse 21, "And there is no other God besides me. There is no one except me. Turn to me and be saved," verse 22, "for I am God and there is no other." And then in verse 23 it says it again a little bit farther down in the verse, "to me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance." The theme of this passage is so clear that God is God and we are to turn to Him and to be saved as He is disclosing Himself to you. How wonderful it is for God to have done this.

Spurgeon looked to Christ and obeyed this verse and he realized that salvation was something that he could not do on his own effort. I don't know any man that has ever lived who has poured out more effort than Charles Spurgeon. He made himself sick because of his effort. He wore himself out and perhaps even died an early death because of his effort. And he, like George Whitfield, would have rather to wear out than rust out. And so they truly, truly pursued God.

The encouragement here is to turn to God, to seek God. They never stopped seeking God. You know God's part is mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26 where He says, "I will give you a new heart." That's God's part. You don't have to worry about that. In Romans 1:16 is also God's part. It says, "For the power of salvation is in the gospel." So He has the power to convert. That's God's part. Your part in Romans 3:23 is to recognize that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And then in Romans 6:23 it says, "For the wages of sin is death." Your part then is to recognize that your payment or your paycheck or your wage for the things that you have done, sins that you've committed, is a sentence to hell for eternity.

And when you recognize that you are dead and your trespasses and sins, you recognize how desperate you are for being saved. But until you recognize that your sin comes with a paycheck, with a wage, with a punishment, it is eternal separation from God, you don't realize the situation that you're in. And so by realizing that you are dead in your trespasses and sins, that you are alive but you have a death sentence looming because of your sin, you've truly violated God's holy law, His holy law, which when you break it comes with a penalty. The penalty has been set, separation from Him forever. You're in a spot. You really, truly need the divine one to step in and do what you cannot do. You don't have enough merit to save yourself. You can't die for your sins. You can't pay God off. You're stuck. You need God to save you.

The only thing that you have to do is to recognize the position that you are in and to cry out to God and to confess Him as Lord and Savior, to believe in your heart that He died on the cross and rose again for your sin, for your sin's punishment, to repent of your sin, to turn to God and be saved like Isaiah 45:50 says, to turn and be saved. Isaiah 45:22 says, turn to me and be saved. How do you do that? Romans 10:9 makes it clear and says if you confess and from the abundance of your heart, if you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that Christ raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

And so this brings an opportunity here to share with you the Doctrine of Conversion. The Doctrine of Conversion is a wonderful doctrine. If I could take just a moment to share with you that the Doctrine of Conversion states this. It's a voluntary change of mind from sin to God. One turn, two emphases, from sin to God. The Doctrine of Conversion helps you to realize that your part is to turn to God. Initially, this is for salvation. Continually, this is for sanctification. Your personal responsibility is to convert, to turn to God. Now, don't worry about regeneration. That's God's part. Your part is to convert, to convert to Christ. Isaiah 45:22, turn to me and be saved. Isaiah 55:6, seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Call upon Christ. Seek the Lord. You know that repenting is happening while one is truly converting.

Jesus said in Luke 13, verse 3, that unless you repent, you will likewise perish. And so repenting is part of converting. It's a simultaneous thing that's happening. God is regenerating. You're converting. You're repenting. And you're turning to Christ. And this is something that is happening on the inside of you that is coming out of you as an expression, a humble expression. And so converting is then also exercising, or you could say, confessing your faith, the faith that God has given you to believe that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life, and only by His substitutionary death on the cross in your place can you be saved. Ephesians 2:8 says this, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." And so that is the pathway to salvation, is through faith. So to exercise, to confess your faith in Christ is the pathway to salvation. John 12:36 says this, "While you have the light, believe in the light."

And then you are, according to the Hebrew author, the preacher here who was preaching to a mixed crowd, a church, a congregation filled with believers and nonbelievers who have family who are saved and not saved. He says in Hebrews 6:18, I want you to turn there and see it with me, "Take hold of the hope." Hebrews 6:18 helps us to see that part, our part, is to take hold. Hebrews 6:18 is so encouraging to be able to see this promise that you are to take hold of this hope. Who else is the hope except for Jesus Christ and Him alone? And so He is the anchor of our soul. This hope we have is an anchor, Hebrews 6:19 says. So Hebrews 6:18 and 19 help you to see, to turn to the hope, the only one who is able to anchor you in stormy times.

Second Thessalonians 2:2 says, "To be not quickly shaken from your composure and be disturbed." If your anchor is Christ and you are anchored in the true gospel, then you are anchored in something that is unshakable, unshakable. In fact, in Hebrews 12, verse 28, it says, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we have made an offer to God." So this unshakable kingdom will reside in you, that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Your part is to turn to Christ and take hold of Him and repent of your sin, convert. This is absolutely amazing. When you recognize your part and God's part, you just simply focus on what you are to do. Convert and be saved. Convert and be saved.

Moving on, point number one in today's message is don't become spiritually lazy. Don't get stuck in a religious rut. Truly, don't become spiritually lazy. And I want to prove that this is an emphasis from the Hebrew preacher here in the text. In Hebrews chapter 5, verses 5 to 11, he's dealing with these spiritually lazy ones. The author introduces Melchizedek here, "But the hearers have become dull of hearing. Look in Hebrews 5:11, if you would, concerning him," that being Melchizedek, "we have much but it's hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing." That knife is no longer sharp. It's not working anymore. It's hard to get into the thick skulls of the Hebrew hearers because they are just dull of hearing. They've heard it before and now they've grown a bit dull. This is agonizing the author because the spirituality of the Hebrews is characterized by slothfulness.

Spiritual slothfulness is almost like as if you are river rafting without a paddle. You're going through life and you are no longer focused on your spiritual life. You're river rafting without a paddle if you are spiritually lazy. And the reason why the Hebrew hearers were spiritually lazy is because, in a loop from crisis, because the Hebrew author here is saying, "I want to tell you about this wonderful figure called Melchizedek. But it's hard because you've become dull of hearing. It's difficult because this is complex and yet at the same time you're not trying to understand, trying to listen. And so the connection between Melchizedek and Christ is something that is being pushed by the Hebrew author. But he can't because they're dull. He can't because they won't. They're not attentive during the message. They're not attentive during the reading of Scripture. They're not trying and they're praying and they're not reading the Scriptures. They're not worshiping. And so he's pulling them back into vibrancy in Christ.

And to connect Melchizedek to Christ simply means to understand who he is, what attributes have been said about him, and then see how Christ is that for us and then how we are to be. This is spiritual layers of understanding and comprehending and then applying. And so let's go outside of spiritual apathy and into diving into the Scriptures and see exactly where the Hebrew author is referencing. Turn with me to Genesis, chapter 14, verse 18. And let's do some spiritual work here and comprehend Christ. Let's take hold of him and work hard and not fall into the spiritual rut that the Hebrew hearers have. They're in danger of falling away. They're not thriving in Christ. They're actually dying and falling away. They've got a problem. That spiritual apathy is their problem. They lack interest. They're indifferent. They're disengaged. They're finding joy elsewhere rather than in Christ.

How many of you have recently turned to the Old Testament to find information about Christ? I mean, this is what the Hebrew author is pushing them to understand. No Christ through the Old Testament. Scriptures, no Christ. Take hold of Christ. True hope is anchored in these unmovable Scriptures in God's Word, no Christ. And so I'm teaching us today to grab a paddle while we're going through this life, kind of like river rafting. There's rapids. There's waterfalls. There's smooth sections. But I guarantee you, even in the smooth sections, you need to paddle to keep yourself going through the middle of the lane so that you don't run up on a rock. This life called river rafting, if you want to utilize that as a metaphor, requires us to be continuously paddling, which I'm trying to say to us today, which is the repetitious paddling through the Scriptures, learning about Christ, digging in, pulling hard to continue in the Word, John 8:31 says. Now is the time to do this.

And so in this text in Genesis chapter 14 verse 18, the Bible ascribes two attributes to this figure called Melchizedek. And you can circle them in verse 18 if you would like so that you can remember where this is. In verse 18 it says, "In Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and now he was a priest of God most high." So king. In Melchizedek, king of Salem, king, circle king. That's the first thing that you see in the text is that he is a king. In this king of Salem, Salem means peace. He's a king of peace. And to him was brought out bread and wine, which is a foreshadowing of the Lord's Supper, if you would like to look into that connection. But more so, the emphasis is upon the next office of the priesthood, and that is now he was a priest. Circle the word priest. Okay? And then we'll talk about these for just a second.

Melchizedek as a king was a supreme ruler. That's what it means to be a king. He subdues evil to himself, and he also subdues his own people to himself. He's a king. He rules over the enemies, and he rules over his own people. He's king. He's sovereign. And so he triumphs. This is what Melchizedek is like. He's a figure like Christ. In Hebrews 7:3 it says that Melchizedek is like Christ. Okay?

And so, now moving on in this verse, not only is Melchizedek a king, but he's also a priest. Now he was a priest of the God most high. In this mediator position, what is it to be a priest is to be a mediator between a holy God and sinful man. You see, to be a sinner in the presence of a holy God is to die. You just can't exist. Sin in your life cannot exist. You cannot be in the presence of an all-powerful, mighty God. It just won't happen. You will not survive a thrice holy God. Holy, holy, holy. Isaiah 6:3. It's the Lord God Almighty. You need a covering. You need Christ. You need someone else's righteousness imputed in you so that you can stand before God covered and holy. You need a mediator. You need Jesus. That's the reason why God sent His son Jesus. You need a mediator.

What is it to be a mediator? Be a priest. A priest is not only a mediator, that's his role. He's a go-between between God and the people. And as this role, then as one who was creating a bridge between God and the people, it was also interceding. What is it to be a priest? It's not only a go-between a mediator, but he is also an interceder, one who intercedes by prayer for you unto God. He's interceding. He's also sacrificing and appeasing God. And so God requires these things, and the priest does these things. Was it... What is it to be a priest? An interceder, one who sacrifices, and also one who teaches the law or teaches God's holy word. And so a priest is one who is teaching God's holy word. And he's also one who is worshiping. The sacrifices were an act of worship. The prayers were an act of worship. The singing are acts of worship. And so the priest in the Old Testament times, or one who is doing all of these things in Melchizedek, was one who was not only a king. But he was also a priest.

Have you ever heard of a king doing these things before? Melchizedek is phenomenal. He is someone to take note of. Psalms 1:10 quotes his name. Hebrews quotes his name. He's rooted in the Old Testament. He's brought up in these specific times throughout history. Thousands of years goes by in between his name being mentioned in the Bible. This is an amazing figure. And so the Hebrew preacher references Melchizedek back here in Genesis 14 to bring them to understand more about Jesus because Melchizedek in chapter 7 is like Christ. This is the whole point of bringing up the subject of Melchizedek. Look with me if you would. In Hebrews 7, back to the text in verse 3. Melchizedek without father, without mother, without genealogy, having either beginning of days nor the end of life, but made like the Son of God. And so speaking of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:3, he is like Christ. So you look to the life of Melchizedek and the attributes that are attributed to him to see what Christ is like.

Now the context in Genesis chapter 14 was simply Abraham who had defeated the kings who captured his nephew Lot and he ran into Melchizedek. Now normally when someone like Abraham, a wealthy, perhaps you could say a king of his own tribe, a patriarch, when there's a victory in battle and they've captured someone, they kind of taunt their enemies and bring them behind and whatnot and there's a celebration and such. And during this glorious moment, Abraham runs into Melchizedek and instead of Abraham wrapping the celebration, this glorious time around him and celebrating his victory by getting Lot back, the defeat of the other kings, he yields to Melchizedek. He passes this glorious moment over to Melchizedek. He passes this wonderful time. Instead of taking all the glory into himself, he points to Melchizedek and even offers him a tithe. And so he's responding with a tenth of his spoils. It's incredible as this text says. Verse 5 in Hebrews chapter 6, "And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have commandment in the law to collect a tenth from the people," that is, "from their brethren although these are descendant from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises."

Okay, so the complexities of this I would like to unravel in a future message. But for today, zeroing in on the fact that the character of Melchizedek is pointing to Christ and all of these verifications in the text are phenomenal. I would encourage you to chase down these references or these allusions in Numbers 18-21 Genesis 14-19 to continue to feast on these truths. But this figure is pointing to Jesus. Melchizedek's name means "king of righteousness." And it's significant because the Hebrew author is connecting Melchizedek to Jesus even from the beginning of the letter when he says that Jesus loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. In Hebrews 1, 8, and 9 it says that, "So you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions." And so Melchizedek being a king of righteousness and yet now you see that Jesus is the king of righteousness.

Point number two in the text I would like for you to know is that Christ is the better king. Christ is the better king. Melchizedek was fantastic. He was amazing, mysterious, wonderful, insightful, and Abraham yielded to him. But Melchizedek points you to Jesus because Jesus is the better king. Being the better king, He gives us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Hebrews 12:28, this kingdom that will be residing inside of you, those who you will be saved, have a kingdom that is steadfast and unmovable inside of you, that is solid.

And when we are truly walking with Christ, we are like Abraham, victorious. We're like Melchizedek, righteous. We are like Christ, steadfast in spirit. So many times when we walk away from our vibrancy in Christ, we get like the Hebrews and start drifting and we become shaken in our faith. And then we're subject to worry and anxiety rather than falling away like the Hebrew hearers were and drifting away from Christ. The admonition is the correction is to not be spiritually lazy but to grab on to your Bibles and to keep reading and to keep learning, to chase these references down and to figure out these hidden truths like treasure because these treasures bring you more joy and more hope and more stability than anything in this world. Nothing compares to Christ, absolutely nothing.

I don't like referring to myself and I would normally say, "But," but I'm not going to say, "But I'm going to keep moving on." There's nothing better than Christ. Leave it at that, the emphasis being on Christ. You can compare the highest of highs in this world. You can compare the funnest things that maybe commercials and vacations can offer, nothing. Nothing can be the best restaurants, the best foods, the best enjoyments. They're all but filthy rags, our righteousness, all the enjoyments of this world. Nothing compares. The joy that we have in Jesus, nothing compares.

And when you really, truly immerse yourself in God's Word and tap into these things, that's the source of joy that I'm talking to you about today. And this joy is not only residual, but it's sustaining. This joy never leaves you. It is so consistent. It's so unmovable. It is dependable. This is Christ who I am sharing with you today. And so respond like the Hebrew preacher is telling the hearers to respond. Respond to understand that Melchizedek is pointing you to Christ. And just like he has gone through every other thing that has tempted the Hebrew hearers to look away from Jesus and not to do that, to look to Jesus, do that too.

Just as the Hebrew author says, "Don't hyper focus on the law. Focus on the Lord of the law, Jesus Christ. Don't focus on angels." Don't we need that reminder in our day where there's this hyper focus on aliens? We need to be reminded, so what about that kind of garbage? It's nothing in compared to Christ. And so when people bring that up, point them to Christ, the one who has created everything visible and invisible, which by the way, there are no aliens. Don't get drawn in. Seek Christ. Draw closer to Jesus Christ. James 4:8 says, "If you will draw near to Him, He will draw an eye back." And that's a promise you can hold on to.

It's not only salvific, but it is relational. And this is something that is our responsibility not only to initially turn to Christ, but keep turning. Every single day when you wake up, it's a decision to either do it your way or God's way, to turn to Jesus. And so Hebrews 7:4 says, "Now turn." Now is the time. Look with the emphasis. Look at the emphasis again. Hebrews 7:4, "Now observe how great this man was." This man, Melchizedek, who was pointing to Jesus, now observe the emphasis of the text, now understand, don't be spiritually lazy, but truly see what the author is trying to say, that Christ is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, the Bible says in chapter 5 verse 6, and that Melchizedek was both the King of righteousness and the King of peace, which you need peace with God because God is not only holy, He's wrathful as well, and if your sins have not been forgiven, the wrath of God abides upon those who have not yet believed. John 3:36, "I hope, I pray, that you are not underneath the wrath of God because it truly does exist."

This shallow pseudo-Christianity that is perpetuated in our world today makes God out to be just love. Yes, God is love, 1 John 4:8 says that, but He's not just love, He's also holy, holy, holy. Now, we're in the Bible, does it say that God is love, love, love, but it does say twice that God is holy, holy, holy, and so the primary attribute of God is holiness, which is the one who makes things pure, the one who purifies. So now is the time to turn to Jesus and understand these things. Understand these things. Christ, He is superior to Judaism. This is what the author essentially is also saying, that Christ is superior to Judaism, and He wants them, point number three, if you're taking notes, keep transitioning to Christianity.

He wants them to keep turning to Christ, not to fall away and get back into their old religious ruts, not to become spiritually apathetic. Keep transitioning to Christianity. Once you're saved, it's not a one and done. Salvation is one and done, but you are not done. You need to continue to work out your own salvation to keep transitioning to true Christianity, because there's a lot to say in this Word of God that you cannot by any means fulfill by the time you die. Your path of sanctification yields more and more fruit and joy as you go. Keep transitioning to spiritual rut or backslide back into the things that you know through laziness or hardships like the Hebrew hearers were doing. Keep transitioning to Christianity.

The Hebrew hearers would easily fall back into just following the law. "I'm just going to appease God for myself and offer a sacrifice, what is it going to cost me? A lamb? Throw it on the altar? Offer it up? Walk away? Do my own thing for the rest of whatever, the week? And I'm the God of my own life because I've appeased God." That doesn't please God. Jesus was the final lamb, the final sacrifice. In Isaiah chapter 53, it is very clear that he was the sacrificial lamb. Isaiah 53:7, "He was oppressed and he was afflicted, and he did not open his mouth like a lamb that has led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before his shearers, he did not open his mouth." Jesus Christ was crucified. He was sacrificed like a lamb. And he replaced in that one act the entire sacrificial system.

And for the Hebrew hearers to get spiritually apathetic and lazy and stop looking to Jesus and start going back into their old religious routines was heresy. It was anti-Christ. It was turning away from Christ. Rather, the author is telling them to turn to Jesus. And might I say to keep turning, keep transitioning. Your old ways die hard. These men who had been so faithful to the Old Testament law in a sinful way because the law kills, they were trying to abide by the law to earn their own salvation, they were not pleasing God. And so the Hebrew preacher here is telling them, "Keep transitioning to Christ. Your old ways died hard. Your patterns of thinking are going to be ingrained for a while until you take that new route over and over and over again. Deny the self and take up the cross and follow Jesus. Reestablish new thinking patterns in your life according to the word of God. Reestablish your emotions. Tell your heart what to feel. Don't listen to your heart. Heart is so untrustworthy. Jeremiah 17:9 says this. Don't follow your heart. Follow the word. Yield, submit, turn to Christ and keep transitioning to Christianity.

By way of interpretation, I would say that it's hard to stop following the Mosaic law and now look to the Lord. That's the emphasis. It's hard. So the Hebrew hearers recognize, "I've been following the law of worshiping in a certain way all my life. This is the way I worship. This is the way I pray. This is the kind of preaching I've been hearing all my life. This is the system that I have been in. And now I got to completely change. You know, I don't believe in that old adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. That's not true. That's a defeated mentality. And so rather, we keep swimming. We keep rowing. We continue in the word, John 8:31, and we keep turning and transitioning to true Christianity.

You could say to yourself, "I understand." Yeah, it's hard to stop saying, "We're sons of Abraham," like the Israelites would do, and start saying, "We're sons of Christ." It's hard to re-establish patterns of thought and phrases in your life. They were used to saying, "We're sons of Abraham," and they were confident in their genealogy rather than confident in Christ. Rather than saying, "We're sons of Abraham," which Jesus despised, He said, "You should say that I'm a son of God, son of God." The application is this, it's hard to give up, perhaps, praying like you have been taught early in a religious life. In Matthew 6, verse 7, you can't say the same things over and over again by repetition and be pleasing to the Lord.

The model prayer is not to be repetitiously said over and over again, like as if if you say it 100 times, you receive a blessing from the Lord. But if you say it 500 times, you receive a really good blessing from the Lord. And if you say it all day long, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, you really get God's attention. That's not how it works. And so the model prayer gives you concepts like, "Hallowed, be Thy name?" To truly honor and esteem and worship God while you're praying. Thank you, God, for Your holiness and Your willingness to share who You are with me and to save me. You're a Savior. Thank you, God, for creating this world. I get to live. I'm alive. Thank you, God, for sending Your son as a rescuing agent to reach me when I could not save myself. Thank you, Jesus. You just continue to hallow His name and lift up God and reduce yourself by necessity. If you're going to turn to God, you're turning away from himself and to God. And so you're going to be like John the Baptist in John chapter 3, verse 30. He says that he must increase and I must decrease. And so in your prayers, if you're truly hallowing God, you are decreasing yourself. You're dying to yourself. You're shredding yourself. You're tearing the self, the flesh down, the self-sufficiency down, and you acknowledge, "I can't, but God, you can." You're lifting up God and His power, and you're acknowledging your weakness. But yet, it is then when you have truly started to pray these concepts. As you go through the Lord's modeled prayer and you model these concepts, you take these concepts for your own and you make them your own, now you're transitioning to true Christianity out of the religious rut, out of the repetitious prayers and into life in Christ.

And so the transitioning is hard, especially for those who have been accustomed to shallow Sundays that are more entertaining rather than worshiping, especially for those who had a diet of milk rather than meat, especially for those who have just been attending and not growing, especially for those who have been a part of a club rather than a true church, especially for those who have been accustomed to elementary teaching like Hebrews chapter 6 says to grow from and into maturity. This American pseudo-Christianity is no Christianity. It'll make you feel comfortable in your sin and like as if heaven is your reward for being a good person, and those are anti-Christ concepts.

The church, by and large, most shallow churches just want you, your money, so that they can build bigger buildings and more glory to themselves. And it's your job then to be discerning to see what thus saith the Lord, what must I do to really, truly see where truth is. John 17:17, it's so clear. It says, "Thy Word is truth." Thy Word is truth. And so we all need to be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17 verse 11 where they tested what was being preached against the Word of God. They didn't just swallow it whole. They took notes. They remembered what was said. They went back to the Scriptures and they verified that it was actually true. And so we all need to be verifiers while we have note-taking tables in here so that you can see for yourself what the Word says, so that you can see for yourself the truth, and you can participate in this digestion process that you can comprehend and then emotionally and volitionally own it and then live it out, this process of eating Scripture and digesting it. It is truly for all people, not just Judaizers, for all people a continuous transitioning to true Christianity.

Believe me, I grew up thinking that I was in the church, the best church, the best way of doing church. All I have simply found out through the years of studying Scripture that there were so many ways in which I grew up in my religion or my way of doing religion or church or loving God that wasn't completely aligned with what the Scriptures actually say. And so now as ones whom we value the sufficiency of the Word of God and we believe it, if we simply and biblically do what the Bible says to please God, it actually is pleasing to God. And it really does mean more life in Christ, and it does. Then our children, and you know I've said it many times and we'll say it over and over again that unfortunately nine out of ten church kids grow up in church and then when they leave the nest or go off to college, they're not in church anymore. Nine out of ten church kids grow up and no longer in church. We've researched and found out what the difference is. We've applied them. One of the main things is simply the sufficiency of Scripture and leaning upon it and actually doing them and not doing so many other things. Good things come at a cost of the great things. So we're doing those things and I am seeing our children thriving in Christ, growing up in Christ. I'm seeing them own their faith. You are too. Isn't this immense joy to be a part of? This is truly us transitioning and growing in Christ together. We're all coming from somewhere and we're all growing in Christ and this is a wonderful pathway together.

And I want to say to you by way of conclusion just a few take-home truths. Number one, think deeply about Christ. Think deeply about Christ. I have only poked the surface of this character called Melchizedek and I think it's hilarious as you go through the book of Hebrews and it's almost as if this figure Melchizedek is something that the author slightly introduces in chapter 5 and verse 6. He mentions his name and then again in verse 7 and then really leans into it. It's almost like you've got to introduce a subject and open the door and get their wheels thinking a little bit and then now we can go a little bit deeper. And so chapter 7 and verse 4 says, "How great this man, Melchizedek, was whose life points to Christ because Christ is the greatest." He's greater than Mary. Listen, some of you have perhaps grown up in a Catholic background and they venerated Mary more than Christ. The transition for prior Catholics is this, is that they would read the Scriptures and see that it's all about Jesus from beginning to end. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the one who has never changed.

In Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8 it says that Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. And Mary has such a wonderful prayer in the Bible that is recorded and it's about Jesus, about God. And so if you're transitioning from maybe it's Catholicism to true Christianity, maybe you're transitioning from Southern Baptist and seeing, "Okay, well, we need not to give a cheap gospel of just believe and be saved and make people feel like that if they just rush into the Baptistry and get wet, that they have somehow been saved." When for the rest of their life their words do not match Christianity, when their life does not match the fruits of the Holy Spirit, when they do not pray, when they do not love God, when they do not love the brethren, when they do not commit themselves faithfully to the church, to hope of the world for which Christ died for, now we have circled back in as Baptist and say, "Okay, it's repent and believe," Mark 1:15, "Repent and believe the gospel." And so we truly lean in on these things and are transitioning to it. All of us are growing in our faith. There's so many backgrounds here. There's Eastern Orthodox, whether it's Hinduism, whether it's Buddhism, whether it's atheism, naturalism, all of these things, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnessism, Islam even, we have people who listen to Beulah Baptist Church who have been converted out of Islam. Isn't that great? And that's a lifelong transition. It truly is.

Don't think that you don't have baggage. Don't think that you're a clean slate to where you can be completely reprogrammed now. We all have to be transitioning to Christianity, and that takes being humble before Christ and recognizing that we're not perfect, but God wants to continue to perfect us as we learn about His holy Word. So think deeply about Christ as you're reading the Scriptures. Point number two, I would say this, is to obey Christ, not traditions. Obey Christ, not tradition. Judaism was Israel's religious downfall, and they had a lot of traditions. And in Colossians 2:8 it says to beware of traditions. We have to really, truly be wise and actually beware of traditions of men. Islam was all about Allah, Buddhism is all about elevating itself, Jehovah's Witnesses is about Antichrist, Mormonism makes you a God, Naturalism makes you nothing, atheism makes society the determiner.

These are all to be watched out for. Instead, look to Christ, look to Jesus. Now the Hebrew author says, now in Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 1, now look to Jesus Christ. And my last point for you is this, in Christ we obtain peace. It's only in Christ do you obtain true peace with God. It is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment, Hebrews 9:27. And so everyone has an appointment that you will not miss and that is once you die, then the judgment. And the one who holds eternity, God, the one who has the gavel in His hand will judge rightly or not, He's going to say to you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Or He'll say, "Depart from me, you doers of iniquity I never knew you."

In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21, it's the saddest words in all the Bible because He's talking to people who go to church, people who are regularly in the synagogue, people who are religious, "Depart from me I never knew you, you doers of iniquity." They were doing things to try and earn their salvation. They were doing things for recognition. They were doing things to prove they were a good person. But you and I know very well that good people do not go to heaven. Saved people go to heaven. If you could be good enough to go to heaven, then why did Jesus die on the cross? Galatians is a book that Paul wrote to make that point very well known that Christ died needlessly if these foolish Galatians could keep the law and earn their way to heaven. And so it applies to us today. If you can check all the religious boxes that perhaps you have made up or perceived and say to God at the end of the day, "I did these things," then the response is going to be, "You're not a human doing, you're a human being. You can't do something to get into heaven." The response is going to be, "I sent Christ to die for you. It's done. You're not a human doing. It's done. Christ died for you once and for all. He was the lamb slain. He was the one who replaced the entire sacrificial system. World history hinges on Jesus, not any other figure. Joseph Smith married, not any other figure, but Jesus Christ. And so turn to Christ now and obtain true, lasting, eternal peace with God.

Right now, according to John 3, verse 36, you could actually believe in everything that I have said and still have the wrath of God abiding upon you for eternity. Those are scary words in John 3:36. Everyone quotes John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, and he gave his one and only son, whoever would believe in him shall not perish." But it is in context in Nicodemus who was told, "You must be born again," and then it is wrapped up with, "You can believe." But I would repeat to you, just like James said to the hearers in Jerusalem in James 2:19, "Even the demons believe and tremble." You can't just believe. Just understand this thing. This is conversion. This is regeneration. This is salvation. You must be born again. You must be converted. You must be resurrected from the dead state. And only Christ can do that. Cry out to him. Seek him while he may be found. Truly believe in the light while you have the light. This is the encouragement. Truly turn to Jesus. Do your part. Convert. Transition. Turn to Jesus. Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near."

Let's pray together. Lord, thank you for this time that we have examined some of this text. And I pray Your continual blessings upon the hearers as they have been the recipients of some of Your word today. God, would You bless the hearing of Your word? Would You bless it in such a way that souls would be saved and souls would be continually sanctified and encouraged to walk closely with You? God, I pray that we would be ones who turn away from the world and cling to You, dear Jesus. Would You save souls for Your glory and would You continue to refine us for Your glory? Lord, it's all about You. None of us, all of You. God, I pray that You would draw people unto Yourself that they might be not only saved, but they would continue to walk with You and be biblically baptized and then belong to the church by way of membership and then as well learn, continually learn and continue in studying their Bible and then going to make disciples. God, we love You and thank You so much. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.