Sunday Morning Worship Service - The Mystery of Messiah

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning and welcome to faith evangelical free church we're so glad to see you guys here this morning if you would stand with me we're going to sing together is he worthy [Music] do you feel the love we do up [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's all creation it is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] his name is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] all day [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] amen what a way to begin our worship together as we come to worship our great god and as we reflect together on jesus our priest king this morning what he has done what he has accomplished for us to save a people to redeem a people for himself that's what we're doing this morning as we gather and we're going to be in the book of hebrews quite a bit as the author sees how all these things that god has been doing and promising through the ages find their fulfillment in christ so hear our call to worship from hebrews 10 19-25 therefore brothers since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of jesus by the new and living way that is open for us through the curtain that is through his flesh and since we have a great priest over the house of god let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near church let's spur one another on to love and good deeds as we worship our great god and savior jesus christ together [Music] [Applause] he became sin who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness [Music] [Music] love so amazing jesus messiah [Music] from heaven [Music] so amazing love so amazing jesus [Music] a rescue for saturn [Music] jesus messiah [Music] is [Music] [Music] jesus messiah [Music] he met [Music] [Applause] jesus messiah [Music] jesus messiah [Music] rejoice the lord is [Music] [Applause] [Music] i swear [Music] [Music] rejoice [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] let's pray together heavenly father we thank you that our hope is not of this world it's not in anything that we have power over but lord our hope is in you when the world falls apart when it seems like everything is broken there is still hope because you are still on the throne thank you that you have given us that hope and that your promises never fail in your name we pray amen please take a moment to greet one another [Applause] uh [Applause] [Music] um yes [Applause] it's [Applause] i hey [Applause] crazy [Applause] emily okay let's come back together please continue this warm fellowship after the service and in the meantime we're going to prepare to come to the communion table i want to remind everyone the way we're going to do that is through these individual cups still those were available on the table on the way in if you need one of these one of our ushers will be happy to bring them in for you so simply just raise your hand if anyone needs one of these for us to be able to observe this together as we've already talked about we're reflecting this whole worship service on in a way what god has done for us in christ through his ministry a ministry that is both one of a king and a priest we're going to look at that mystery together in just a little bit but for now we're reflecting on that through the lens particularly of what the communion table reminds us why do we do this why do we come together in this way to come to the table together it's because jesus instituted this this was his idea to come and be reminded and to actually confess our faith together by partaking what is it we're confessing what is the bread in the cup what do those things represent hear this again from the book of hebrews chapter 9. the author says otherwise christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world but instead he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself just as people are destined to die once and after that to face judgment so christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many and he will appear a second time not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him do you hear how the author is helping us understand jesus served in one sense as a priest for us his sacrifice the sacrifice of his own body for us what did that do it did away with sin by the sacrifice of himself christ sacrificed himself to take away the sins of many and yet also so at communion we remember that act we remember what christ did in his first coming for us and paul says that when we come together to celebrate communion we're actually proclaiming the lord's death until he comes christ is going to return and when he returns it's not to bear sin anymore that's already done it's to come and be the reigning conquering king who comes to judge the world and to save those that are his and restore all things we remember all of that by these simple acts of doing what jesus instructed us to do on the night that he was betrayed when he was with his disciples at the table he took bread and he gave it to them and he said this bread represents my body given for you and after the supper he took the cup and he poured it out before them giving thanks and saying this cup represents the new covenant in my blood for the forgiveness of sins so as often as you gather do this in remembrance of me and that's what we're doing when we come to the table we're remembering what he's done and we're confessing together we believe this we trust in this for our salvation and so i want to remind you as we come to the table that anyone and everyone who has placed their faith in christ who has said yes i believe this i trust him and him alone for my salvation you are welcome at this table it's the lord's table that he set forth for any and all who would believe if you're here and you maybe do not yet believe you're looking in on christianity you're looking in on these things but your heart is not there yet we would just ask you to refrain from taking because to take the bread in the cup is an act of faith it actually is a confession that says i do believe this so to not believe it to not be there yet that would be not appropriate to say yes i'm taking this bread and cup to represent what christ has done for me okay so we're going to prepare ourselves now to take the bread in the cup i'm going to invite mike young up to pray for the bread our gracious father we thank you for this bread that we're about to take part in which reminds us that it is the broken body of christ who broke who allowed himself to be broken on our behalf and as pastor ryan has said we take this in so doing we proclaim the death of our lord and we also proclaim that he's coming again but in the meantime we also remember that jesus called himself the bread of life and it was in the breaking of bread that his disciples recognized him after his resurrection paul says that no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as christ does the body because we are members of his body and so as we take part in this this feast this celebration we're also reminded that jesus is nourishing us spiritually that he is caring for us and even more he is cherishing us and is looking forward to that day when his bride he can present his bride holy and blameless without spot or wrinkle or any such thing may the lord hasten that day for us in christ's name we pray amen amen let's prepare to take the bread together jesus gave us this gave it as a gift he said this is my body given for you let's take and eat together i'm now going to ask kelvin wiebe to come up and lead us in prayer for the cup dear lord you alone are worthy of all honor and praise we are not we fall way short of our own expectations of our fellow believers expectations and most of all of your expectations for us we are not worthy we fall on our face before you lord you are the pure and spotless lamb who sacrificed for us so we come here to put our hands on that lamb to transfer our sin onto you and it's through your blood and this cup which we remember today that we can have true salvation unity with you so pray your blessing on this cup today as we take we remember the blood spilled on our behalf to make us white and your let's prepare to take the cup remember too that this too was a gift the most precious gift of christ's blood shed on the cross as a sacrifice for us that we might be made whole let's take and drink together amen we want to take some time now to come before the throne of grace with our prayers petitions our praises so we are now officially in the season of lent this is the first sunday of lent and last week pastor ryan encouraged us to participate in that long tradition in whatever way we we find beneficial the easter season the holy week is actually the first holiday that the christian church ever celebrated came well before any celebration of christmas but this time of lent was also a time of preparation for new converts to prepare for baptism and so it was a time of instruction of repentance of self-reflection and of spiritual disciplines and by the way if you wanted to participate in that long tradition of baptism in during holy week speak to one of the pastors i'm sure they would be willing to consider that so keep that in mind there's much that we can be praying for i think we could be praying that um that god would meet with each of us during this this time of lent we can also be praying uh we were all right in the forefront of all of our minds is what's been going on in ukraine and we have many other things that are going on within our family at this point i'll let them turn off the audio so we can talk in a little bit more specifics [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] father we thank you that you hear all our prayers and even though even while you're here with us you are everywhere you are with each of those people that we've just prayed for father we we would ask that you would restrain evil that you would cause good and justice to flourish and peace that you would make it so that people can live for you and glorify jesus christ in peace throughout the world father we we look forward to that day when jesus christ will return again and set all things right and and rule us with justice and with holiness so we give you the praise we give you the glory and we look to you for all these answers we can't do any of it ourselves so we trust in you we ask these things in christ's name and for his eternal glory amen amen as you've heard multiple times already this morning this is the first sunday of lent and our church has a tradition of of learning a new song during the season of lent and singing it each week so we're going to present to you this morning our lenten song for this year it's christ the true and better we're gonna let you guys stay seated and listen to it but it's fairly simple to catch on to it so we encourage you to sing with us as you can this is christ the true and better [Music] [Applause] christ the story is the glory hallelujah [Music] in the garden [Music] [Applause] rising crushed us [Music] [Music] [Music] there's salvation [Music] [Applause] [Music] the story is [Music] see the water forever [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] he will be [Music] from is to end [Music] at this time children's church may be dismissed so good morning um our scripture reading today is from psalm 110 a psalm of david the lord says to my lord sit at my right hand until i make your enemies your footstool the lord sends forth from zion your mighty scepter rule in the midst of your enemies your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power in holy garments from the womb of the morning the dew of your mouth of your youth will be yours the lord has sworn and will not change his mind you are a priest forever after the order of melchizedek the lord is at your right hand he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath he will execute judgment among the nations filling them with corpses he will shatter chiefs over the white earth he will drink from the brook by the way therefore he will lift up his head this is the word of god let's go to god in prayer as we turn to his word father we ask for your help now as we open your word we long to hear from you use me your servant speak through me give us years to hear and may we respond as we should to your life-giving word we pray this in christ's name amen amen well it doesn't take longer than a moment's glance at today's headlines to realize that there is a lot of anxiety about our world right now the escalating crisis in ukraine and the humanitarian fallout from russian aggression is just one part of that picture from economic inflation to enduring global poverty to the movies we watch and the way our personal stories are filled with tragedy and disappointment one thing seems clear we all need and desire a savior but then the question becomes what kind of savior can actually address all the deep brokenness that exists out there and in here and this is where we need to be honest that when we look to god's word for the answer which we should that's a good impulse we have to acknowledge that some of the ways the bible presents things about the sort of savior that we need don't exactly resonate on first pass sometimes for instance how many of us can truly say that as americans we resonate with the idea that what we need is a king who reigns over us and provides justice guidance and protection i mean our country cut its teeth in rebelling against kings george iii of england to be specific and so we have a deep-seated aversion to kingship in many ways or perhaps even more foreign to our mindset would be the idea that we need and long for a priest someone whose role it is to be an intermediary between two parties that otherwise wouldn't be able to come together a mediator i mean let's be honest how many folks around acton do you imagine walking around amidst their disappointments or frustrations about the world and thinking themselves you know what i really need is someone who can intercede on my behalf before almighty god someone who understands my frailty and can mediate between me and the one who made me i'm betting that number is pretty low and yet the bible speaks with amazing insight about the human condition across the ages and if we listen long enough for the competing static to die down we realize god's word is spot on in terms of spelling out what we actually need in a savior now the biblical answer for what kind of savior we need develops over the long haul over the whole biblical story it actually builds around a promise regarding a messiah who would come a term that when translated from the hebrew means an anointed one christ is our translation of that a set apart savior raised up to rescue god's people in a way that no one else could and we said at the beginning of our sermon series in the psalms that these cries of god's people these songs that make up the hymn book of israel and the church are not a hiatus in the biblical story they're actually a continuation of it we're saying the psalms contribute to the larger biblical story they advance the plot and one way we know that is by recognizing that the psalms are quoted more times in the new testament than any other old testament book and today we're going to hear from the psalm quoted more than all the other psalms in fact we can go further psalm 110 is quoted in the new testament more than any other chapter of the entire old testament did you don't miss that when when the apostles were seeking to articulate the thing that was happening in christ in his coming and his work and its implications for the world they went to psalm 110 more than anywhere else to make sense of these realities and to show that this was god's blue plant for salvation all along so something about what we find in this psalm is crucial to understanding the whole and what we find here more than anything else is some critical revelation about the nature of the messiah the savior that israel needed that we needed indeed what we find in psalm 110 is essentially a great mystery regarding this messiah a mystery that involves how this savior will be more than a man but not less and how he will simultaneously be both a king and a priest and so i hope this morning we will walk away from this pivotal song one that may be a bit confusing on a first reading if you found yourself scratching your head on some parts of the psalm you're not alone in that but can i want us to see this crucial insight amidst it we need a savior who is both god and man priest and king i want to say that again we need a savior who is both god and man priest and king and we'll see that today by first considering the mystery as it's presented in psalm 110 and its old testament backdrop and then by seeing how the mystery of the messiah is ultimately revealed in the new testament so let's begin with the mystery of messiah considered in the text of psalm 110. this psalm is recognized or categorized as a royal psalm meaning that it was a song sung by god's people the content of which clearly centers on the king of israel and the promises that have been given to that king on behalf of god's people and so we shouldn't overlook the very simple title of david a psalm this psalm was penned by david the king himself who in second samuel 7 was given some unbelievable promises about there being an heir on his throne forever and ever now to understand how this psalm picks up the mystery of messiah and becomes so important in the new testament we need to focus in on the two oracles two proclamations that david wrote in this psalm one in verse one and the other in verse four the psalm begins with the first of these oracles verse one the lord says to my lord sit at my right hand until i make your enemies your footstool now we need to ask who is speaking here okay the first lord that we encounter the one that's in all caps but small font is the way our translations designate the divine name yahweh okay so this is god himself speaking and god is speaking to someone the next lord that we encounter which is the hebrew word adonai which means lord so we need to ask to whom is god saying come and sit at my right hand until your enemies have been subdued and utterly defeated because whoever it is there is no question that person is sitting in an incredibly exalted state sitting at god's right hand is the loftiest position of authority imaginable and this position is what makes it clear that the mystery of the messiah the savior involves a king a king greater than david ever was or that israel ever saw rain and this is parsed out in the rest of the psalm apart from verse 4 the other oracle we're going to look at in a second the rest of the song is dedicated to fleshing out the kind of rule and reign that will characterize this exalted figure that god has invited to sit at his direct right hand we actually don't have time to look at all those wonderful details but i would encourage you to go back this week and read psalm 110 and look at how the psalm breaks down so that basically verses two and three describe this king's reign over god's people while verses five to seven describe the king's victory over his enemies those are the two things we see his reign over his people his victory over his enemies now i'll be honest there are a few obscure details here it's easy to get lost in those i don't want us to miss the forest for the trees here okay those little details what's the brook and you know what's going on with the womb in the morning and you know all that kind of stuff those aren't the things the new testament authors got excited about what they got excited about is what they heard in verse 1 and verse 4. we can note four things in summary that are very clear here about this king number one he rules without question over his people who willingly rally to him in the great day of battle number two he is a vibrant and vigorous king ever refreshed and ready for the difficult task of fighting and ruling number three this king and his conquest occurs on a global scale crushing rebellious kings and judging the nations with complete justice and four that despite his evident humanity it seems not only that god is with him but that there begins to be almost no distinction between the king and god himself which of course is quite stunning and all of this should leave us asking the all-important question who is this guy who is this king that is fully human drinking from a brook along the way out of thirst presumably and yet incredibly lofty fully confident that his victory over the kings of the earth is secure and ruling not just from israel's throne but from the throne room of heaven who is this and see this very question was on the hearts and minds of the people in that day but also in jesus own day and jesus himself actually takes us into exploring the mystery we see that in several places one of them is mark chapter 12 verses 35 to 37. it says there and as jesus taught in the temple he said how can the scribes say that the christ is the son of david christ is messiah remember okay david himself in the holy spirit declared now he's quoting psalm 110 1 the lord said to my lord sit at my right hand until i put your enemies under your feet david himself calls him lord so how is he his son and the great throng heard him gladly now mark reflects on the fact that many heard it gladly the scribes and pharisees didn't know how to respond to this right jesus kind of this was the last in fact it's right on the heel is heading into holy week this is happening or in the midst of holy week okay so jesus helps us to make this important connection this psalm is speaking very clearly about the anticipated messiah the christ and what the jews of that day understood without a doubt was that the promised messiah would be a son of david right he would be an heir to the davidic throne that would be reestablished everyone knew that that's the assumption at work here and it's the one that jesus wants to probe a little bit he wants them and us to enter deeper into the mystery of who the messiah will be and here's what jesus is trying to get them to wrestle with how can david who is the author of our psalm call the man to whom yahweh is speaking and saying come rule at my right hand how can david call him his lord that is lord over david now see we don't really get the problem intuitively largely because of our cultural context which for better or worse my vote is it's for worse the really important people in our society are often the younger people okay as evidence think about every magazine cover or super bowl commercial you've ever seen who's trying to be used as an influencer in our culture young faces young vigorous youth right but see in many other cultures in the world and throughout history including ancient israel it was no surprise the older people that were the most valued respected revered and this assumption their day led them to have a default mode of saying that a distant descendant of david right his great great great great great great great grandson would have to be inferior to david himself by the sheer virtue of him being a son a grandson many many generations later right and yet jesus draws attention to a mystery here's david speaking about the promised messiah who is known to be one of david's sons and david is calling him his lord showing that he is actually greater than david the son is greater than the father in this case which in the ancient world just didn't compute and ultimately what we see jesus doing is indirectly posing the question how can the messiah be merely a human descendant of david of israel's greatest king it seems that he has to be more but not less than a man more but not less than a son of david who's able to rule on the davidic throne are you following because we're now going to head deeper into the mystery presented in psalm 110 are you ready okay i promise you the payoff is worth it but we got to do some work to unpack what's going on here what is this instruction what is the apostle saw in this psalm that was so important for putting things together okay we've seen from oracle 1 this promised savior will be a king who's going to be more than merely a human descendant of david and now we turn to verse 4 and the second oracle in this psalm honestly also hugely important understanding the mystery of the messiah let's look at that verse 4 the lord has sworn and will not change his mind and now he's speaking to the same savior king you are a priest forever after the order of melchizedek now we need to recognize that to the original hearers this second oracle would have seemed staggeringly out of place here the rest of the psalm focuses on the messiah as king rallying and ruling over god's people while triumphantly conquering his enemies right and now all of a sudden we get this piece about a priest now to the ears of an ancient israelite this was very odd you see they knew as david knew when he originally penned it that you had to keep kings and priests separated you see like oil and water they didn't mix because in the mosaic law it was clear that only descendants of levi were eligible to serve as priests and as it comes to be found out only descendants of judah were eligible to rule on the throne so a priest couldn't be a king and a king couldn't be a priest so verse 4 might have sounded something like me beginning to talk about how the next mayor of boston needs to be a shrewd business person who can cut city costs and make ruthlessly tough decisions regardless of how people feel but then right in the middle of my talk i say something like oh but of course he must be someone of the people filled with compassion and empathy and exhil exhibiting a strong social conscience right it could sound like where'd that come from this sounds like a mixed message right but here it is a statement making clear that this messiah that yahweh is speaking to will be a priest in some way and of course it isn't just spoken here this is actually more than a proclamation this is a divine oath and in case you're wondering there's no stronger statement all of scripture than that an oath especially made by god himself cannot be revoked and just in case we forgot the text adds and the lord will not change his mind right so this is a sure thing if there ever was a sure thing and so to enter in this part of the mystery we then need to ask what it would mean that the messiah is declared to be a priest forever in the order of melchizedek now for those of you who are scrolling right now through your mental rolodex of biblical figures don't be surprised if he doesn't come up as readily as abraham or moses in fact melchizedek is a very obscure figure in scripture showing up in only three books of the bible and yet we see him standing the very center of this incredibly important oath that god is making to the messiah so who in the world is he to see that look with me all the way back to genesis 14 verses 17 to 20 they're going to be on the screen the biblical story is really just getting going with god's call of abram he's not even abraham yet when we hear about this little skirmish that abram's a part of okay and here's what the text says after abram's return from the defeat of trudeau lemaire and the kings who were with him the king of sodom went out to meet him at the valley of shava that is the king's valley and melchizedek king of salem brought out bread and wine he was priest of god most high and he blessed him and said blessed be abram by god most high possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be god most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand and abram gave him a tenth of everything now once again we encounter something very strange here for the for one thing verse 21 which follows picks right up with the king of sale of sodom and the story is right on its way so we don't need this description of this mysterious figure and abram's interaction with him to forward the story at all so good readers are scratching their head at this point and asking why is this figure even here in the first place and good readers are also scratching their heads and going who in the world is this melchizedek guy and they'd primarily be asking that because he isn't introduced like everyone else is in the book of genesis which is with some kind of genealogy and explanation of where he comes from and who his people are we have hardly any information about him instead we get the first priest ever mentioned in scripture just plopped on the scene the briefest of interactions with abram with absolutely no explanation and then the text just moves on that's my old professor d.a carson would say that that's just bizarre and in fact in the entire rest of the old testament melchizedek only shows up here in psalm 110 and once again he's still a figure shrouded in mystery what in the world would it mean for the messiah to be a priest forever in the order of melchizedek well the old testament leaves us hanging on that question with expectations about a mysterious messiah who who will be the savior ramping up but never being resolved and at the risk of losing all momentum on building up the mystery i i want to pause right here and ask the question that may very well be on your mind as we're tracking through all this biblical material which is you know how much does this really matter what's the payoff here wow we're getting into the the depths of kisa who and it's a good question if the only reason that we would be pursuing this is to be able to answer the bible characters for 400 alex um that probably wouldn't be worth much it actually would be more like an 800 or a thousand dollar question or maybe a daily double but either way if that's what it's about answering a bible trivia question that's not worth it but see we have to remember we said that sometimes the scriptures present things about the kind of savior we need that don't originally don't initially resonate with us that we don't initially get we have to do some unpacking and some work to ask well what but what's that about okay ancient israel was longing for a savior and we long for one two right and the bible is saying melchizedek this figure somehow connects to that longing to that sense of what we need but we say the beginning if we're honest we're gonna admit that we need a longer savior who's more than a man but not less and can be both a king over us and a priest interceding for us and i think it's critical to see that it's a two-fold longing that we have for the kind of savior that deep down we know we need a king and a priest together one conversation i had with a church small group a few years back made this very clear to me the conversation began with a question that i want you to think about too the question was where do we see a need and a longing for a savior manifesting in our own lives in our church community and in our society okay where do we see that that need that longing showing up we started by talking about how we all saw very clear the need for a savior who is a king one who we can follow with confidence and know ultimately will be powerful enough to rescue us from the destructive forces of this fallen world that we know are many one person said quite tenderly i long for someone to come who can make everything okay again someone else said they saw the need for a king in their workplace longing for a boss who actually oversaw with true wisdom who judged justly who made decisions with full integrity another area quickly identified was the political realm where slogans like leadership with integrity are often just hollow lines and soft soap but then the conversation turned to recognizing that we actually long for more than just a king we long for a savior who is also a priest one who can make us pure and sympathize with us in our weakness and intercede on our behalf with compassion and so our conversation turned to where we saw the need for a priest an intercessor a mediator people mention that we live in a world where there is so much guilt so much need for reconciliation and for a restored relationship with god and with others a sister in our group recognized that when individual people or a whole community are in a time of crisis they often call upon someone they deem to be a spiritual leader even if they aren't necessarily spiritual or religious people because they're they're longing for someone who can meet them in that place of deeper need one who actually as one counselor put it enters into the coffin with them and then lovingly and tenderly invites them back out a brother recognized how this was especially needed amidst racial discord in our country and world our ethnic differences in the mounting racial tension manifesting in america alone cries out for the need for a mediator one who can intercede between two parties and call for mutual repentance and forgiveness in light of the cross where do you see that need in your own heart in our church family in our broader community in our country and in our world it doesn't take much time to reflect on each of those areas to recognize the need and the need is for a priest not just a king but a priest who fully knows us and fully loves us a mediator who has seen an experience at all that we can empathize with and that emphasizes with us whatever brokenness we experience all this reflection should help us to see the bible is amazingly insightful in parsing out our hearts and knowing what we truly need in our deeply longing for a savior who is both a king and a priest powerful yet tender just yet compassionate sovereign yet one of us ruling yet leading from below from the coffin as it were and it's really only if we're at the point of recognizing the truth and and that truth and the depth of that need and longing that we're going to care that the mystery of messiah that set forth in the old testament is gloriously revealed in the new if we don't see that need i mean it's bible trivia but if we do oh it it matters so much for indeed only one person in all of human history has fit the bill of being this kind of savior and he's the only one who ever will do you know him he is the one that the apostles proclaimed on the day of pentecost spelling out the mystery that jesus himself had called his hearers to ponder out in reflecting on psalm 110. listen to peter's proclamation in acts 2 32-36 this jesus god raised up and of that we are all witnesses being therefore exalted at the right hand of god and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing for david did not ascend in the heavens but he himself says here's psalm 110 the lord said to my lord sit at my right hand until i make your enemies your footstool here's the conclusion let all the house of israel therefore know for certain that god has made him both lord and christ this jesus whom you crucified do you see do you see the dots that peter is connecting here the mystery that he's putting together he's going back to the same text jesus did oracle number one in psalm 110 and saying we have found the one that david called his lord the one who yahweh invited to sit in his gloriously exalted right hand we found the messiah and he is indeed lord of all and in jesus the long promised invitation spoken a thousand years before jesus came became a reality in his resurrection and ascension to heaven and to the right hand of god as the messiah who is a great king lofty beyond comparison the apostles would go on to proclaim that jesus is the exalted savior who is greater than david whose enemies will indeed be subdued as a footstool for his feet and who as revelation 19 portrays it will one day return in power to judge the earth with justice leading a willing army of his people and his angels as king of kings and lord of lords but but that's only half the story it's only half the mystery for what we saw in psalm 110 was the mystery the messiah wouldn't be just a king in david's line he'd also be a priest forever in the order of melchizedek a savior is a king and a priest so important and this is why we need to turn to the book of hebrews again the only other book in the bible where we see melchizedek appear and when he does we shouldn't be surprised that the author of hebrews is making connection after connection to jesus as our savior priest now again we're just going to scratch the surface here i encourage you to go back this week with your family or small group whoever read all the wonderful details about jesus as this priest in the order of melchizedek from hebrews chapter seven okay and you'll keep on reading i guarantee you you'll get caught up in it and you'll be in eight nine ten but the big idea is that the author of hebrews in light of christ understands melchizedek as a type a forerunner a shadow of what was to come namely jesus the one whose beginning of days which goes back to eternity past right and end of life which was reversed in resurrection glory shows he has the capacity to remain a priest forever forever jesus is the one who is the true and better priest king jesus is the one who is the true and better king of righteousness that's what melchizedek means king of righteousness and jesus the true and better king of peace that's what king of salem means right jesus the one who shows that the levitical priesthood is ultimately bankrupt but that a priest from the tribe of judah in the order not of levi but of melchizedek is the only one who has the power to save and then in hebrews 7 23-28 we hear the culmination of his argument okay tune in here because this is part of the payoff the author says the former priests right those in the tribe of levi were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office but he jesus holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever consequently he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to god through him since he always lives to make intercession for them for it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest holy innocent unstained separated from sinners exalted above the heavens he has no need like those other high priests to offer sacrifices daily first for zone sins then for all the people since he did this once for all when he offered himself up for the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests listen but the word of the oath which came later than the law appoints a son who has been made perfect forever did you hear it did you see it jesus is the savior that we really need and long for in part because he's the only priest that can truly meet our need being holy and pure and appointed as a priest before god forever making intercession for us always as he points again and again to the sacrifice he made in our stead and it's surety this is good news faith church this is the gospel we've arrived at it through the lens of melchizedek the priest that shows up in genesis 14. see then the author of hebrews wants to remind us the power of this priesthood on our behalf comes because he is a king as well right look at this hebrews 8 1-2 goes on now the point and what we're saying is this okay here's the payoff we have such a high priest one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the lord set up not man right the tabernacle that was there the temple the priesthood the sacrifices they were all going to pass from the scene because they all pointed to the temple the tent the priesthood the sacrifice that we always needed or again we see the same king priest emphasis hebrews 10 11-14 every priest stands daily to service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins right the fact that this had to be ongoing was always showing this is never going to resolve the issue but when christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for his sins that's the cross right he sat down at the right hand of god waiting from that time until his enemy should be made a footstool for his feet why by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified now that is power unimaginable in any other place a priest who offers up a sacrifice once for all that does the work of purifying his people from all sin forever and ever these verses make it abundantly clear we have a high priest all right but unlike any of the others ours is one who sits down in power at the right hand of god his work of making purification is finished once for all it never has to be repeated ever again now he serves as a king priest before god interceding before god on our behalf in light of the sacrifice of his cross that he keeps pointing back to even as he's seated on high above every other power imaginable this is glorious stuff if we can take it in if we can bring the static down and go this is the way the world is this is reality this is what we need this is our hope and glory think about this meditate upon this that jesus has offered up once for all the necessary sacrifice for our sins it's over and done it's paid for it's complete and we remember it every time we come back to the table every time we look at an empty cross we remember it we know it he's our perfect high priest as we often sing together he lives and pleads for us but he's also our perfect king living forever and reigning on high at god's right hand as he awaits the promise of psalm 110 that one day all his enemies they've already been defeated right but it's going to come to completion the enemies will be set at his feet judgment will be complete justice will be complete he is a reigning king as we often sing together he is to be crowned with many crowns the lion who is a slain lamb for us sitting upon the throne so the final question i want to leave us with is where are you longing for a king today one who rules with power and justice where do you see that need just manifesting in your life in our society in our world it's all over but where do you see it most and where do you sense deep down inside that we need a priest today as well one who intercedes with compassion and mercy please don't misunderstand i'm not talking about a priest of the church you all know that right the priest we need is the high priest jesus christ the only mediator god's word says between god and man right that's the priest we need brothers and sisters if you are still searching or you know of people who are still searching for the savior guess what you can call off the search we can call off a search we can call back the search party we can stop scouring the headlines or or hoping the next election cycle will bring him to us there's no need for that he's already been found we already know he says he's already been revealed the mystery of the messiah the anointed savior that the world including you and me so badly needed has been revealed a savior has come who is more than a man but not less and serves as both a king over us and a priest for us and this is good news jesus the great prophet priest and king is the revealing of every mystery of the word his life his teaching his death his resurrection they make us whole and acceptable before god because of his sacrifice and constant pleading on our behalf ruling over us in providing us his people with the protection and guidance we need all the way until as the ancient creed says he comes again in power to judge the living and the dead which he will one day and in the meantime church this is our hope and this is what we have to offer the world and say amidst the sadness amidst the brokenness you see it don't you we know the answer we know the hope we know the solution we've been graced to be given that hope and that understanding and called to go forth and live in light of it and share it with anyone who the spirit would give ears to hear that we found him we found the savior we know who he is and we know what a glorious savior he is so we long and pray and ask of our great high priest come lord jesus come quickly and god's people said amen let's pray lord jesus you are our great high priest your word reminds us that these things these mysteries long hidden are now revealed in you your glorious crosswork for us your work as a great high priest and as the sacrifice itself and your rule and reign as a king returning to judge the nations to save us to save your people to make the world right the lord we do long for that day we cry out how long o lord and we cry out come lord jesus hasten the day of your return that all things will be made right and in the meantime help us or to be ambassadors to this wonderful mystery this wonderful message the good news of what you've done father in in sending a priest king for us in our salvation may we live in light of it may we sing in light of it today in christ's name amen [Music] [Applause] please [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] whose name is [Music] is [Music] sinful soul is counting free for god the justice that is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] christ my savior and my god with christ my savior and my god himself [Music] [Applause] my savior and my god if you'd like prayer after the service one of the pastors or other elders will be available up front for prayer we do look to jesus as our great high priest the one who sacrificed himself and intercedes for us and as our king and ultimately conquering king hear the benediction revelations 5 11-14 then i looked and heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and i heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshiped let's go honoring jesus as our lord and king [Music] you

Channel: Faith Ev Free Church, Acton MA

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Id: jSb7NmH62Qw

Length: 93min 51sec (5631 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 06 2022