Eyes fixed on Jesus. Moving Forward

 Read Hebrews 9

 Only two things are certain—death and taxes, or so the saying goes.

Hebrews reminds us that we are all going to die and we will all face judgment. Two things are certain—death and judgment. Only in America does the previous statement work so well. People in parts of the rest of the world don’t make enough to pay taxes.

What we know as judgment will be considerably better than those who rejected the Lord, but death and judgment are coming.

Speaking of coming, Jesus will come again. This time he will not be here to make a sacrifice for our sins. He did that.

He is coming to claim us. He is coming to bring us the fullness of our salvation. He is coming and there is going to be a big celebration banquet in heaven.

Throughout the book, we have been charged to move forward. Jesus is the only way. Profess him as Lord. Receive his grace by faith.

Pay attention. The Law that came through Moses is still good but it can’t get you to atonement. To move forward in our relationship with God we must embrace grace by faith.

We move forward seeking to know our Great High Priest. Our Priest is already in the most holy place.

We move forward by leaving the sacrifices of old to the past. We embrace the one-time sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

We move forward embracing the covenant of grace that we know and leaving behind the conditional covenant that came in the Sinai.

God’s law is still good and for our own good, but the provisions for atonement have been replaced as obsolete. Jesus is the only way.

Why do I keep using the term moving forward?

Because what lies ahead of us is meeting Jesus. His blood took away our sins and judgment is not something to be dreaded. Jesus has you covered.

But we will stand before Jesus and explain how we lived once we received the grace that came through his blood. What will that look like?

I think that we will answer these questions.

What did you learn from me?

How did you put my words into practice?

How were you known as my disciple? Hopefully, we can answer, by our love.

How were you the salt of the earth?

Where were you the light of the world?

Did you forgive everyone before you left earth?

We are all going to die. We will face judgment. We will live with God forever.

We have passed from death to life when we professed our belief in Jesus.

So our choice is to sit still or move forward.

Our choice is to long for what was or live for what is in store for us.

Our choice is to go back to annual sacrifices or receive the only sacrifice that we will ever need, and be assured that it is more than enough for whatever we have done.

Our choice is to drink milk or eat solid food.

Our choice is to rebuild the foundation of salvation again and again or to build upon it.

If you have been paying attention, you might note that the first option in each choice was not a good choice. It did not move us forward.

If there is one message that I hope you take with you for the rest of your lives, it’s this.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and move forward.

Do not get distracted.

Do not be encumbered by nonessentials.

Move towards him with eyes fixed on the Author and Finisher of our faith. Eyes fixed on the Pioneer and Perfector of our faith. Eyes fixed on our Lord, Savior, and Great High Priest.

Eyes fixed on Jesus. Keep moving forward.

Eyes fixed on Jesus. Keep moving forward.

Eyes fixed on Jesus. Keep moving forward.

Amen. 

In the Order of Melchizedek

 Read Hebrews 7

Remember, the original audience for this message that we call Hebrews was the Hebrew people. These people were enamored and indoctrinated into Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the law that came through him. They desired a Messiah, but they wanted one that fit into their box, their expectations.

Jesus went beyond the expectations of the Hebrew people but because they were so anchored in the ritualistic compliance with the law, they missed the fulfillment of the law and prophecy that came through Jesus.

We don’t fight those same battles. We began knowing God through Jesus and looked back for the beginning of this story of God and his creation. Many of the Hebrew people kept looking back when God was directing them forward.

Let’s get to chapter 7.

Why was Melchizedek not of the Levitical order?

Think about it. Levi was the great-grandson of Abram.  When Abram brought a tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, Levi wasn’t even a glimmer in Abram’s eye.

Abram was concerned about not having one son, hardly thinking about a great-grandson, even though that’s what God promised him many times over.

There are some interesting rabbit trails here.

How did Abram know to give a tenth?  When did he receive that instruction?

How did Abram know that this Melchizedek was a priest? Nobody could trace his earthly lineage.

Here is a question that’s not a rabbit trail. Why is this connection between Jesus and Melchizedek important?

Because God has made us new. We are a new creation. The old creature is gone. Yes, he keeps trying to worm his way back into his old status, but the old is gone. The new is here. We must not wear the clothes of the old self any longer.

We have a new law—the law of love. The old law is no longer effective for atonement. It is still good. It’s from God. It is good.  It was given to us for our own good.

But now we must understand what love fulfills the law means.

And we have a new priest. Did they change the duty roster? Is our regular guy on vacation. I was just getting used to how he would calm down the goat or the lamb before slitting its throat.

There is no more duty roster. Christ is our high priest and that’s forever. He is our Great High Priest now and forever.

Things have changed. We are moving forward. We are building upon the foundation. We are growing in God’s grace.

Things have changed!

Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus has surpassed the law. He is Lord. He is Christ—Messiah. He is Savior. He is God. He lived as a man.

He intercedes for us with the Father.

We don’t need a human priest to make sacrifices for us any longer. We don’t have to wonder if the human priest made the correct sacrifice for his own sins before taking our sacrifice before God.

The only sacrifice that was required for us to be in right standing with God has been made in the blood of Jesus. It is finished!

Now, we move forward into abundant life. We build on the foundation. We drink less formula and eat more solid food.

We practice love in everything that we do.

The sacrifice for our sins has been made so our entire lives may be given as a living sacrifice. Everything that we do must be for God. Yes, our job helps pay the bills. The things that God calls us to do often bring us joy. We know a peace that the world does not, but these are collateral benefits of living for God.

And we have a Great High Priest like the world never experienced before. The closest we ever got was Melchizedek, and he remains something of an enigma.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we are in the process of change, growth, and maturity.

We should consider inertia. A body at rest tends to remain at rest. A body in motion tends to remain in motion. We are to remain in motion as we draw nearer to God through Christ Jesus and the Spirit that lives within us.

We are to become more like him. We are becoming more like him. We are being transformed into the creatures that we were always meant to be.

So, what do we do? Enjoy the ride. Rejoice in the journey. Do everything you can to bring glory to God and enjoy God who has made you right with him.

Do you think that God would do what he has done for us—for sinful humankind—if he didn’t want a wholesome, enjoyable, and profitable relationship with us?

God’s plan is moving forward. We need to get in step.

God is doing new things. We need to get on board.

We are growing. We may stop and rest from time to time but we must grow for the rest of our lives in these bodies.

And for all this that is new, we have a new priest. We have a Great High Priest in the person of Jesus.

We will move forward. We will have trials and tribulations. We will know joy and peace and love. We will suffer.

We will keep the faith and grow in God’s grace. Growth requires us to look forward and move forward having taken the yoke of Jesus, learning from him, and putting his words into practice.

Moving forward requires a target—an aiming point. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and as it so happens, our Great High Priest. He can empathize with us in every way.

He is different from the human priests who served because of their genealogy. He is different from the human priests who had to make sacrifices for their own sins before taking the sacrifices of God’s people before God.

We know that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but until that time, rejoice that we have a new Great High Priest in the person of Jesus.

Let us take everything to him.

Let us do all that we can to please God, but know that even when we fall short, our Great High Priest has us covered.

What do things look like when the curtain of the Temple is torn?  They look like we have direct access to our Great High Priest and God himself.

Let’s spend plenty of time with our Great High Priest every day. Do it with all humility. Come before him in complete confidence.

Amen.