0:00 Welcome once again to Words of Life. We've been studying through the Bible. We have now reached the last verses of Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews 4 and verse 14. 0:26 Here we read about Jesus Christ as our great high priest who has passed through the heavens. There are three heavens. One is the heavens that we can see, the 0:43 sun, moon, and stars. And then beyond that, right up on top is the third heaven where God lives. Between that is the second heaven 1:04 or the heavenlies where Satan and his demons are. He was cast out of the third heaven. But not to hell. 1:24 Ephesians 6:12 says he is in the heavenlies. Revelation, we read that one day he'll be thrown down to earth, Revelation 12. Then in chapter 20, he'll be cast into 1:42 the lake of fire. So, Jesus went through the heavens to the third heaven. And he is our high priest at the right hand of the Father. When Jesus went back to heaven, 2:03 he went back with an experience as a man. Though God being God, we could he could sympathize with us as human beings. Yet 2:22 we could not understand that he would be able to sympathize if he had not come and been tempted like us. It's only when we have gone through some sorrow that we can help another person 2:40 who's gone through that sorrow. See, for example, if someone has lost their only child, I'm sure I can go and comfort them. But someone who has lost an only child 2:59 will be able to understand that much better and they will be able to receive greater sympathy from that person than from me. Better than me. 3:22 Although God could understand our struggles and sympathize with us. When he came as a man and was tempted like us, he says here in verse 15, he can sympathize with our weakness. He knows what a struggle it is to 3:45 overcome temptation because he was tempted like us. It says he was tempted exactly as we are yet without sin. So, we have someone 4:04 who faced every temptation that we face in our life. Um He didn't face every circumstance. He did not face angry drivers on a road. 4:27 He did not have a drunken father. Circumstances were all different for him like they are for all of us. But we are all tempted in the same way even though we don't have the same circumstance. I never had a drunken father, but I face 4:50 the same temptations that anybody else who has a drunken father faces. Because we have the same flesh. And God allowed Jesus to be tempted 5:07 in all points just like us. Now, we don't have to analyze that because it's impossible for us to analyze. We believe that Christ died for our 5:25 sins. We don't analyze it. We believe God's word is true when it says Jesus was tempted exactly like us. But he did not sin. Which means he felt the pull of 5:43 temptation and he overcame it. He overcame through the power of the Holy Spirit. He overcame because the grace of God was upon him like it says in Luke 2:40. Romans 6:14 says if the grace is upon 6:02 us, we will also overcome sin. And since he has overcome, he says let us therefore, Hebrews 4:16, draw near to the throne of grace that we can receive mercy from God for 6:22 our past failures and find grace to help us in our time of need. Mercy and grace are two different things. Mercy refers to forgiveness of our past 6:41 sins. Grace is God's help to help us when we are tempted. So, mercy relates to the past and grace to the future. We can say mercy is a part of grace. 7:02 Like it says we have forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. So, the forgiveness of sins that mercy is a part of grace. It's like one room in this massive mansion called grace. And all that people had in the Old 7:24 Testament was mercy. Grace came through Jesus Christ as we read in John 1. Something new came which man did not have before. Grace is the ability to help us to 7:43 overcome sin. Luke 2:40 says Jesus had it. And now he offers it to us. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of grace. The spirit that communicates grace to us. 8:02 It says here when we are tempted, let's go to the throne of grace and get mercy first and ask for grace to help us in the moment we are tempted. It's something like Peter when he was sinking in the water, he said, "Lord, 8:21 save me." The Lord stretched out his hand and saved him immediately. And that is what God will do for anyone who says, "Lord, save me." So, this high priest, we read in chapter 8:39 5. It says here just like the Old Testament high priests were taken from among men, and because he is himself beset with weakness, he can guide those who are misguided. No one can take this honor unto himself 9:01 except the one who's called of God, verse 4. He says even Jesus humbled himself and though he was God, he did not take this honor unto himself. Submitted to his Father who said, 9:19 "Today you are my son. I have begotten you." You are a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a priest who came and 9:36 met Abraham in Genesis chapter 14. There was another priesthood that God appointed, priesthood of Levi, after the law was given. But Melchizedek came before that. 10:00 He was not appointed by any man. He was a priest of God. And uh he came and blessed Abraham. Protected him. And we read here that Jesus Christ is called a priest after that order. Then it tells us that when Jesus was on 10:23 the earth not just on the last day when he was in Gethsemane but in the days of his flesh he offered up prayer and supplication with loud crying and tears to the one 10:40 who was able to save him from death. So that means that Jesus prayed with loud crying and tears throughout his earthly days. It says here not in the last day of his 10:58 flesh but in the days of his flesh. Why did he pray with loud crying and tears? See, prayers and tears are a sign of weakness. People cry because they're weak. 11:21 They cry for help. And prayer is also a cry for help. We pray loudly and cry loudly when we are desperate for help. Where do you see a woman desperately 11:43 going and asking a governor or chief minister, "Please help me."? Weeping and crying. She she must be in some desperate need. You don't normally see strong men crying 12:03 like that. But it says Jesus prayed with loud crying and tears. And what was the substance of his request? Father, save me from spiritual death. It can't be physical death because Jesus 12:25 has never prayed to be saved from physical death. And even martyrs have never prayed they should be saved from physical death. That's one reason. And the other is it says here his prayer 12:42 was heard. If he was praying to be saved from physical death, then his prayer was not heard. There are only two types of deaths. Physical and spiritual. 13:01 So it's obvious that Jesus prayed to be saved from spiritual death. The Bible says sin when it is finished brings death. So Jesus was saying there should not even be a smell of spiritual death in me. I want to remain in spiritual life all 13:24 the time. And for that he had to pray with loud crying and tears. Because the pressure of temptation was so strong. I believe that Jesus was tempted much 13:42 more than we are. And I can prove that to you. See, for example, we who have lived in India in very dirty surroundings we are used to a certain amount of dirt. We are used to cockroaches and lizards 14:02 in our houses. We don't get shocked when we see that. But if we see a dirty toilet in a bus stand or something, we may shrink back. But a person from a slum who's lived 14:23 dirtier than us, he won't even shrink back from there. That's not a problem for him but it is a problem for us. Now think of someone who has come from some Western country where they've lived 14:41 at a very high standard of hygiene. Now people have never seen a cockroach or a lizard inside their house at any time in their life. Imagine if they come to one of our 14:57 houses and see cockroaches and lizards. They'll find it more difficult than us to live there. Because their standard is so high. Now apply that to Jesus coming to this earth from heaven. 15:16 We are born here. We are used to this sin. We have committed so many sins in our life that we have become familiar with sin. So we are like people who got scorpions and snakes and lizards crawling all over and 15:34 we are not bothered. Jesus came from such a pure background. Any small thought of sin is a terrible thing. For him temptation was much stronger. 16:00 than for us. And he didn't even want to smell of it. That's why he prayed with loud crying and tears. There are very few Christians who pray with crying for freedom from sin. In fact, there are very few Christians 16:22 who even after their sin weep and pray and ask God to forgive them. And that is why there are very few Christians who live in victory over sin. Now it says Jesus prayed with loud 16:40 crying and tears. It shows how serious he was not displeasing the Father in any area. And although he was a son, it says in verse 8 in all those temptations he had to learn obedience. And all that he suffered 17:04 just like a person coming from a hygienic surrounding suffers if he has to live in a dirty room. Jesus suffered a lot just by living on this earth. Because sin was all over. 17:25 And here he suffered and he learned to obey the Father in everything. And thus having been made perfect means he completed his education. That means he was tempted in every point and thus he completed his education. When he said it is finished 17:49 all temptations were finished. And finally on the cross all our punishment for our sin was also finished. He had completed that education. And now he has become a professor in the 18:07 same college to teach obedience to other people. One who has gone in the same way overcome everything and now can tell us how we can overcome. Now he couldn't tell us that unless he had the same 18:26 body like ours and was tempted like us. And he says concerning this we verse 11, it's very hard to explain but there's a lot that we want to say but we can't say it to you because you're dull of hearing. Because the time has come and you should 18:50 have been teachers but you're not teachers, you're still drinking milk. See, babes are not those who are not accustomed verse 13 to the word of righteousness. Babes are only accustomed to the word of 19:08 forgiveness. They don't know what it is to live a righteous holy life. Solid food verse 14 is for the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. We can never become mature if we don't 19:36 have a desire to become mature. Babes are also compared in chapter 6 verse 1 to those who lay a foundation for a house and don't build the rest of the house. But 19:57 mature people are those who build the superstructure also. He says we must go beyond the elementary teaching about Christ, verse one of 6 chapter 6. Press on to maturity. What is the elementary teaching about 20:20 Christ? Repentance, faith, baptisms in water and the Holy Spirit, laying on of hands, that is spiritual gifts, and the final judgment where we are 20:40 raised from the dead. Those who believe in all this, we can say have laid a foundation. But beyond this, we have to press on to maturity, build the superstructure. So it's important that all of us go 21:00 beyond the simple message of forgiveness of sins and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And if we don't do this, the great danger is that we shall backslide. You can't stand still in the Christian 21:19 life. Why the press on or go down? It's like an airplane. You know an airplane can't stand still in the sky. If it's not moving forward, it's coming down. So we got to press on to perfection. 21:44 And it says in verse four onwards, it's impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance. Yeah, it speaks about people losing 22:09 their salvation. These are definitely believers. They tasted the heavenly gift. They all partake of the Holy Spirit. New Testament believers. They tasted the word of God. 22:27 And then they fall away. Now, some people says believers can never fall away. It's because they don't believe the Bible. And a lot of people are being deceived by that teaching. You see, if you fall away and you remain in that condition, 22:46 then it is impossible to renew you again to repentance. Because as long as you're in that position, you're crucifying the Son of God a second time. You're despising the forgiveness of sins which he purchased on the cross. 23:07 And you're like ground that receives the blessing or rain of God and instead of producing fruit, produces thorns and thistles, verse eight. But he says, I don't believe that that will happen to you. We believe better things about you 23:25 in verse nine. Because you have cared for God's saints and I believe that you want to please him. And then he encourages them not to be sluggish, verse 12, but 23:44 to add patience to their faith in order to inherit the promises. And he takes the example of Abraham. For God gave him a promise, saying, "I'll bless you. I'll multiply 24:02 you." But it took him 25 years to get the son through whom that promise would be fulfilled. He patiently waited, verse 15. Faith was not enough. He needed patience as well. And he says God swore to him and 24:22 promised, "In the same way, God has promised us also." It is impossible for God to lie, verse 18. So we can have a strong encouragement that the God who fulfilled that promise 24:41 to Abraham will fulfill the promise to us also. And our hope, he says, is like an anchor that we have dropped inside the most holy place, inside the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner. 25:07 Uh so, let's follow his example. God bless you. Welcome once again to Words of Life. In our study through the Bible, we have reached 25:23 the last verse of Hebrews chapter 6. Here we read that Jesus has entered within the veil as a forerunner for us. The veil refers to the veil between the 25:45 holy place and the most holy place in the temple. And the most holy place was the place where God dwelt in Old Testament time. No one could go there. 26:05 Because of this veil. And we read in Hebrews 10 verse 20 that this veil symbolized man's flesh. That's what hindered man from fellowship with God. So this flesh needs to be crucified. 26:27 And Jesus died on the cross, that veil was rent in two. God condemned sin in the flesh, as we read in Romans 8:3. The veil was torn from the top to the bottom. It's not a work of man. 26:47 It's the work of God. God condemned sin in the flesh of Christ when he hung on the cross. And that opened the way for us to come straight so into the most holy place 27:05 to meet with our Father face to face. So we are told that Jesus entered there as a forerunner. There are many titles of Jesus in scripture. He's the way, the truth, and the life. 27:28 He's the resurrection and the life. He's the light of the world. He's the door. He's the good shepherd. He's the savior. He's the Lord. And most Christians know all these titles of Jesus. But very few know this one, forerunner. 27:52 And if you're born again, this is probably the most important title of Jesus that you need to know. Forerunner means one who is running a race in front of you. And that is one of the great themes of 28:11 Hebrews. That Jesus ran exactly the same race you are running in front of you. And so we can follow him inside the veil. 28:29 If we walk the same way he walked, that is taking up the cross and denying ourselves, we can fellowship with the Father. See, every time we are tempted, we are faced with a choice. Do you want to please yourself, 28:47 or do you want to please God? If you choose to please yourself, you stay this side of the veil and you cannot have fellowship with God. But if you choose to deny yourself, 29:06 that is walking the way Jesus went, then you go through the veil and you have fellowship with God. And you know him face to face. And when you know him, you become strong. So this is the way that Jesus has opened 29:23 for us. And it's called a new and living way. And Jesus is also called here a high priest after the order of Melchisedec. In chapter 7, we will read more about 29:42 that. Melchisedec was a king and a priest. See, he was the only person in the Old Testament who was a king and a priest. There was a law in Israel that no king could be a priest and no priest could be 30:01 a king. When Saul tried to be a priest, he lost the kingdom. When Uzziah tried to be a priest, King Uzziah tried to be a priest, he got leprosy. But long before the law, here was this 30:24 man Melchizedek who was a king and a priest. And he came and blessed Abraham. And he is a forerunner, he is a type of Christ. And he says in verse three that he is 30:46 like the Son of God in the sense there's no record of his genealogy in the book of Genesis. If you read the book of Genesis, you can see the genealogy of every single person there right up to the 31:04 right up to Adam. Every important person. But Melchizedek, there's no record of his genealogy. And that is why it says there's no 31:22 record of his father and mother. And in that sense, he's like the Son of God who lived from eternity. And these two priesthoods, priesthood of Melchizedek and the priesthood of Levi are contrasted in 31:39 this chapter. The writer is trying to prove that the priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the priesthood of Levi. And he's saying 31:59 in verse 11 that perfection could not come through the Levitical priesthood. And he says Jesus did not come from the tribe of Levi. Verse 14, he came from the tribe of Judah. And he says there's a complete change 32:20 now in the way God selects priests. Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is the high priest. Then we who are his disciples are junior priests 32:39 of the order after the order of Melchizedek. You know, many people say Melchizedek took tithes from Abraham. And that's true, it's written here, too. That he received tithes from Abraham. 33:04 Um in chapter 7, we read that verse 4, Abraham gave 10th of all his that he had to this man. But the big difference between him and 33:20 the tribes of tribe of Levi was the Levites asked people to give them tithes. It was a law. Thou shalt give thy tithes to the Levites. God commanded it. 33:42 And they were there to collect it. They lived off that. They would not have been able to live without it. But Melchizedek didn't need any tithe, he was a king. And there was no law, God did not 34:03 command Abraham to give a tithe. And Melchizedek never asked for a tithe. It was like us Abraham honoring a servant of God by giving him a gift. And Melchizedek received it 34:24 as a rev servant and representative of God. And so there's a vast difference I got a pretty between the priesthood of Melchizedek and the priesthood of Levi. Today when a preacher asks people to 34:42 give money, you tell me, is he following Melchizedek or Levi? It's so clear. Melchizedek never asked anybody for money. So, to say that we are the priesthood of Melchizedek and to ask people for money 35:01 is a contradiction. When you ask people for money, you're in the priesthood of Levi. You're an old covenant preacher, not a new covenant preacher. A new covenant servant of God can 35:24 receive gifts from people. But the difference is this. Like Melchizedek, he doesn't depend on those gifts. And he does not ask for them. So, that is the difference. 35:43 There are very few people today who live by the principle of Melchizedek. When preachers ask and ask and beg for money, they're following the tribe of Levi. Jesus received gifts, we read in Luke 36:01 chapter 8. That's why Judas Iscariot had a bag of money. But Jesus never asked anybody for money. He was not of the tribe of Levi. He is not of the uh priesthood of Levi. 36:19 He was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. The other thing it says here is that the priesthood of Levi was a physical thing. 7:16, it says it was on the basis of a 36:36 law of physical requirement. That means that you had to be born into the Levitical tribe in order to be a priest. But the priesthood of Melchizedek, 36:55 it says in verse 16, it's according to the power of an indestructible life. Jesus had a life that could conquer death. Not just physical death, any type of death. spiritual death. 37:15 Could conquer depression, conquer temptation, conquer bitterness, anxiety, everything. indestructible life. And it says here that is the basis of the priesthood of Melchizedek. Not physical requirements. 37:38 So, when people become priests and leaders today, on the basis of physical requirements, you get a Bible college degree and you become a pastor. That's a physical requirement. 37:56 That's the priesthood of Levi. The priesthood of Melchizedek is is on the basis of a life that cannot be destroyed. And there are no physical requirements there. And it goes on to say about Jesus 38:17 that he's able to save to the uttermost, verse 25, those who draw near to God because he always lives to pray for them. Here it says that Jesus prays for us day 38:36 and night. You got to put this in contrast with what we read in Revelation 12 about Satan who accuses God's people in Revelation 12:10 day and night. Hebrews 7:25 and Revelation 12:10. 39:06 It's like this. When there's a fault in a believer, as soon as Satan sees that, he accuses that person to God. See, that is your child. God, that is your child. See how he is getting angry now. 39:25 See how he's lusting with his eyes. Jesus sees the same thing. And he prays for that person. Oh, Father, he's your child. I shed my blood for him. Forgive him and help him to overcome 39:44 that. him and help him to overcome that. If you understand this, it's a great help in time of temptation. If you fall into sin, at that very moment, you know what happens? Satan is there accusing. 40:04 Jesus is there interceding. Recognize this really makes you take sin seriously. Lord, I don't want the devil to bring a shame to your your name because of me. I want to honor you. 40:26 In chapter 8, we read here about how the new covenant is better than the old covenant. It says in chapter 7 verse 18, "The former commandment was set aside because of its weakness and 40:44 uselessness." It's not that the law was totally useless. It says in 7:19, "It could not make anyone perfect." And that's why it was useless. 41:05 produce a good external life. It could not make anyone perfect in his conscience. It could not lead people to victory over sin. It could not lead people to partake of God's nature. And therefore, it was useless. 41:26 says, "God has made a new covenant." And Jesus is called in verse 6 of chapter 8, the mediator of a better covenant. And then it says, "If the first covenant 41:46 had been without fault, there would be no need for a second." I believe this is one of the most important truths that Christians in our day need to understand. God has established a new covenant with 42:04 man. abolished the old covenant. The old covenant was struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle in your own strength to try In the new covenant, God says, "I will help 42:23 you to keep my commandment." You know, it's like supposing you have to a small child has to draw a very complicated scenery. And it is impossible. He can hardly even draw a man, leave 42:43 alone a scenery. Supposing his father is a perfect artist. He says to his child, "Just yield your hand into mine. And I will draw this scenery with your 43:06 hand." And at the end of it, you see such a beautiful scenery drawn by this little child. And you ask this child, "How did you do this?" Oh, he says, "I just my hand to my 43:29 daddy. And he did it all through me." And him, "Well, how is this one or two places it came out bad?" Oh, that's where I held my hand stiff and I would not yield to my daddy to 43:48 what he wanted to And I I wanted to do something myself. in the picture is spoiled. 44:07 You know, that is how it is in our life. This is the new covenant. where God holds us and makes us do his will. It's not automatic. And then when I take a pencil and I draw something, the pencil will yield to me 100%. But if I hold my child's hand, 44:24 it may not yield to me 100%. between new covenant and old. In the old covenant, it was thou shalt, thou shalt, thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt not. What is he saying in Hebrews 8? 44:43 "I will make a new covenant," he says in verse 8. And it's described in verses 10 to 12 of Hebrews 8. There's not a single word of thou Here it is. 45:06 I will, I will, I will, I will. Notice it comes four times in verse 10 alone. And twice in verse 12. That is the difference between old covenant and new covenant. Old covenant is thou shalt, thou shalt, 45:27 thou shalt not, thou shalt not. New covenant is God says, "I will, I will, I will." In the law, man was struggling to try and live up to God's standard. Even today, many believers when they 45:48 read the Sermon on the Mount, they try to keep it and they can't keep it. some other commandment of Jesus. You can't keep it. You can read the New Testament and try to live according to the spirit of the Old Testament. How 46:03 are we to live in the new covenant? Allow God to write his law in our heart and mind. He says, "I will forgive all your iniquities." Hebrews 8:12. "I will not remember them." 46:25 In the Old Testament, they used to pray, "Oh God, don't remember my iniquities against me." But there was no guarantee Every time sacrifices were offered, there was again a remembrance of those sins brought But now, 46:45 something wonderful. God says, "I will not remember any of your sins." confess. God says, "I will not remember it anymore." Anything that you have confessed to God, God will never reveal it in time or 47:02 eternity to anybody. And he does not even remember it in his relationship with you. That is the first part of the new covenant you got to be absolutely sure of. The other thing he says in verse 11, 47:23 "You will know me as personally." That is as father. In the Old Testament, you couldn't know God personally. But now, even the least person, Hebrews 8:11, can know me personally. Just like 47:44 person could walk into the most holy place and see God face to face. All shall know me. From the the second part of is our sins blotted out. without any memory of it. 48:01 Second, knowing God as father. is where verse 10 where God writes his nature into our mind and our heart. When he says, into their mind, I'll write them in their heart." That means he will give us the desire to 48:22 do his will. desire to do God's will. He will give us the ability to do God's will. That I read in Philippians 2:13, 48:41 to will and to do his good pleasure. Testament, some people had the desire to do God's will. They could do something on the outside. They could do something on the outside. 49:40 God who looks at the heart saw the heart was just full of sin. But in the new covenant God says, "I will give you a desire and the ability to keep my will." Just like he wrote on the tablets of stone. 49:59 Now he writes on the tablet of our mind and heart. And thus he has made the old covenant obsolete, Hebrews 8:13. And that old covenant has now disappeared. And we must today live in 50:16 the new covenant. May God help you.
