WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.870 Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience. 00:00:02.988 --> 00:00:03.918 Day 62. 00:00:04.055 --> 00:00:08.675 And so dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with 00:00:08.680 --> 00:00:13.415 those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be 00:00:13.420 --> 00:00:18.965 God's messenger and high priest, for he was faithful to God who appointed him 00:00:19.415 --> 00:00:23.435 just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God's entire house. 00:00:24.245 --> 00:00:27.215 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses. 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:31.610 Just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house 00:00:31.610 --> 00:00:37.610 itself for every house as a builder, but the one who built everything is God. 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:41.630 Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant. 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:45.950 His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:50.780 But Christ as the son is in charge of God's entire house. 00:00:51.650 --> 00:00:55.910 And we are God's house if we keep our courage and remain 00:00:55.910 --> 00:00:57.680 confident in our hope in Christ. 00:00:58.430 --> 00:01:03.950 That is why the Holy Spirit says today, when you hear his voice, don't harden 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:08.510 your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the 00:01:08.510 --> 00:01:14.360 wilderness there, your ancestors tested and tried my patients, even though 00:01:14.360 --> 00:01:16.760 they saw my miracles for 40 years. 00:01:17.375 --> 00:01:22.205 So I was angry with them and I said, their hearts always turn away from me. 00:01:22.535 --> 00:01:24.545 They refuse to do what I tell them. 00:01:25.205 --> 00:01:27.035 So in my anger, I took an oath. 00:01:27.545 --> 00:01:30.185 They will never enter my place of rest. 00:01:31.565 --> 00:01:32.525 Be careful then. 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:36.065 Dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are 00:01:36.065 --> 00:01:40.115 not evil and unbelieving turning you away from the living God. 00:01:41.045 --> 00:01:44.435 You must warn each other every day while it is still today. 00:01:44.885 --> 00:01:50.195 So that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God for if we 00:01:50.195 --> 00:01:55.715 are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we 00:01:55.720 --> 00:01:58.055 will share in awe that belongs to Christ. 00:01:58.895 --> 00:02:04.295 Remember what it says today when you hear his voice, don't harden your 00:02:04.295 --> 00:02:09.725 hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, and who was it who rebelled against 00:02:09.725 --> 00:02:11.945 God even though they heard his voice. 00:02:12.230 --> 00:02:17.900 It wasn't at the people Moses let out of Egypt, and who made God angry for 40 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:23.690 years, wasn't at the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness and 00:02:23.690 --> 00:02:27.200 to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter. 00:02:27.205 --> 00:02:30.650 His rest wasn't at the people who disobeyed him. 00:02:31.670 --> 00:02:36.410 So we see that because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter his rest. 00:02:38.450 --> 00:02:41.450 God's promise of entering his rest still stands. 00:02:42.095 --> 00:02:45.935 So we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it 00:02:46.685 --> 00:02:49.295 for this good news that God has prepared. 00:02:49.295 --> 00:02:53.825 This rest has been announced to us just as it was to them, but it did them 00:02:53.825 --> 00:02:58.985 no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God for 00:02:58.985 --> 00:03:01.295 only we who believe can enter his rest. 00:03:01.835 --> 00:03:05.615 As for the others, God said in my anger, I took an oath. 00:03:06.005 --> 00:03:07.985 They will never enter my place of rest. 00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:14.090 Even though this rest has been ready since he made the world, we know it is ready 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:17.300 because of the place in the scriptures where it mentions the seventh day. 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:21.530 On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:26.990 But in the other passage, God said, they will never enter my place of rest. 00:03:28.100 --> 00:03:30.560 So God's rest is there for people to enter. 00:03:31.190 --> 00:03:34.070 But those who first heard this good news, failed to enter 00:03:34.310 --> 00:03:35.870 because they disobeyed God. 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:41.270 So God said another time for entering his rest and that time is today. 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:45.020 God announced this through David much later, and the words already 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:49.640 quoted today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.850 Now, if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken 00:03:55.850 --> 00:03:58.040 about another day of rest Still to come. 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:02.480 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 00:04:03.365 --> 00:04:08.195 For all who have entered into God's rest, have rested from their labors just 00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:10.505 as God did after creating the world. 00:04:11.315 --> 00:04:14.285 So let us do our best to enter that rest. 00:04:15.005 --> 00:04:21.155 But if we disobey God as the people of Israel did, we will fall for the 00:04:21.155 --> 00:04:23.765 word of God is alive and powerful. 00:04:24.365 --> 00:04:28.625 It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul 00:04:28.625 --> 00:04:31.595 and spirit between joint and marrow. 00:04:32.315 --> 00:04:35.045 It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 00:04:35.705 --> 00:04:36.335 Nothing at all. 00:04:36.335 --> 00:04:38.255 Creation is hidden from God. 00:04:38.855 --> 00:04:42.875 Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he's the 00:04:42.875 --> 00:04:44.555 one to whom we are accountable. 00:04:47.255 --> 00:04:50.675 So then since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, 00:04:51.185 --> 00:04:55.415 Jesus, the son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 00:04:56.495 --> 00:05:00.545 This high priest of ours understands our weaknesses for he faced 00:05:00.545 --> 00:05:02.345 all of the same testings we do. 00:05:02.885 --> 00:05:04.175 Yet he did not sin. 00:05:05.015 --> 00:05:08.345 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. 00:05:08.825 --> 00:05:12.635 There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to 00:05:12.635 --> 00:05:14.075 help us when we need it Most. 00:05:15.215 --> 00:05:19.145 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people 00:05:19.145 --> 00:05:20.465 in their dealings with God. 00:05:21.095 --> 00:05:25.325 He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 00:05:25.910 --> 00:05:30.740 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.140 himself is subject to the same weaknesses. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:38.180 That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. 00:05:38.960 --> 00:05:42.830 And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. 00:05:43.310 --> 00:05:47.120 He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. 00:05:48.020 --> 00:05:52.220 That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become high priest. 00:05:52.520 --> 00:05:57.770 No, he was chosen by God who said to him, you are my son. 00:05:58.250 --> 00:06:00.050 Today I have become your father. 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:05.180 And in another passage, God said to him, you are a priest forever. 00:06:05.330 --> 00:06:11.000 In the order of Melchizedek, while Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:16.160 pleadings with a loud cry and tears to the one who could rescue him from death. 00:06:16.895 --> 00:06:20.345 And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 00:06:20.975 --> 00:06:24.065 Even though Jesus was God's son, he learned obedience 00:06:24.065 --> 00:06:25.205 from the things he suffered. 00:06:25.835 --> 00:06:30.515 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect high priest and he became the 00:06:30.515 --> 00:06:35.495 source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him, and God designated him to 00:06:35.495 --> 00:06:38.285 be a high priest in the order of Melek. 00:06:39.845 --> 00:06:42.095 There is much more we would like to say about this. 00:06:42.530 --> 00:06:46.220 But it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:47.840 dull and don't seem to listen. 00:06:48.530 --> 00:06:52.310 You have been believers so long now that you want to be teaching others. 00:06:53.030 --> 00:06:57.230 Instead, you need someone to teach you again, the basic things about God's word. 00:06:57.890 --> 00:07:01.310 You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 00:07:01.970 --> 00:07:05.000 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:06.290 know how to do what is right. 00:07:07.115 --> 00:07:10.775 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training 00:07:10.775 --> 00:07:14.135 have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. 00:07:15.275 --> 00:07:19.355 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. 00:07:20.015 --> 00:07:23.645 Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. 00:07:24.365 --> 00:07:27.275 Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance 00:07:27.545 --> 00:07:30.965 of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 00:07:31.610 --> 00:07:34.250 You don't need further instruction about baptisms. 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:40.130 The laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment, and 00:07:40.130 --> 00:07:45.380 so God willing, we will move forward to further understanding for it is 00:07:45.380 --> 00:07:50.120 impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened, those 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:54.650 who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit who 00:07:54.650 --> 00:07:59.180 have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come. 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:01.520 And who then turn away from God. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.240 It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance. 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:09.230 By rejecting the son of God, they themselves are nailing 00:08:09.230 --> 00:08:13.310 him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame. 00:08:14.390 --> 00:08:18.680 When the ground soaks up, the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:20.300 It has God's blessing. 00:08:21.020 --> 00:08:24.440 But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.800 The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. 00:08:28.760 --> 00:08:32.300 Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really 00:08:32.300 --> 00:08:33.710 don't believe it applies to you. 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:37.250 We are confident that you are meant for better things. 00:08:37.430 --> 00:08:41.450 Things that come with salvation for God is not unjust. 00:08:42.020 --> 00:08:45.200 He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have 00:08:45.205 --> 00:08:49.340 shown your love to him by caring for other believers as you still do. 00:08:50.510 --> 00:08:54.110 Our great desire is that he will keep on loving others as long his life 00:08:54.110 --> 00:08:57.980 lasts in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 00:08:59.030 --> 00:09:02.660 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. 00:09:03.350 --> 00:09:07.370 Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit 00:09:07.375 --> 00:09:13.010 God's promises because of their faith and endurance, for example. 00:09:13.565 --> 00:09:18.425 There was God's promise to Abraham since there was no one greater to swear by. 00:09:18.635 --> 00:09:24.575 God took an oath in his own name saying, I will certainly bless you and I will 00:09:24.575 --> 00:09:27.065 multiply your descendants beyond number. 00:09:28.265 --> 00:09:31.605 Then Abraham waited patiently and he received what God had promised. 00:09:32.755 --> 00:09:36.335 Now, when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves 00:09:36.335 --> 00:09:40.115 to hold them to it, and without any question that oath is binding. 00:09:40.925 --> 00:09:44.375 God also bound himself with an oath so that those who received 00:09:44.375 --> 00:09:47.975 the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 00:09:48.695 --> 00:09:51.665 So God has given both his promise and his oath. 00:09:52.535 --> 00:09:57.005 These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. 00:09:57.725 --> 00:10:02.405 Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we 00:10:02.405 --> 00:10:04.475 hold to the hope that lies before us. 00:10:05.165 --> 00:10:09.035 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. 00:10:09.455 --> 00:10:12.995 It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary. 00:10:13.535 --> 00:10:15.635 Jesus has already gone in there for us. 00:10:16.265 --> 00:10:20.435 He has become our eternal high priest in the order of Melek. 00:10:21.935 --> 00:10:26.765 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God most 00:10:26.770 --> 00:10:31.085 high when Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the 00:10:31.085 --> 00:10:33.995 kings, Melek met him and blessed him. 00:10:34.805 --> 00:10:39.215 Then Abraham took a 10th of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melek. 00:10:39.935 --> 00:10:46.445 The name Melek means king of justice, and King of Salem means king of peace. 00:10:47.195 --> 00:10:50.525 There was no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors. 00:10:50.855 --> 00:10:52.835 No beginning or end to his life. 00:10:53.315 --> 00:10:57.215 He remains a priest forever resembling the son of God. 00:10:58.205 --> 00:11:00.725 Consider then how great this melek was. 00:11:01.490 --> 00:11:05.900 Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him 00:11:05.900 --> 00:11:07.640 a 10th of what he had taken in battle. 00:11:08.660 --> 00:11:12.080 Now, the law of Moses required that the priests who are descendants of 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.890 Levi must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who 00:11:15.890 --> 00:11:17.510 were also descendants of Abraham. 00:11:18.170 --> 00:11:22.130 But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tent 00:11:22.160 --> 00:11:27.350 from Abraham, and Melek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had 00:11:27.350 --> 00:11:29.390 already received the promises of God. 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:34.520 Without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is 00:11:34.520 --> 00:11:36.230 greater than the one who is blessed. 00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:40.040 The priests who collect tithes are men who die. 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:44.780 So melek is greater than they are because we are told that he lives on. 00:11:45.380 --> 00:11:49.250 In addition, we might even say that these Levites, the ones who collect the 00:11:49.250 --> 00:11:54.410 tithe, paid a tithe to Melek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him. 00:11:55.235 --> 00:11:58.835 For, although Levi wasn't born yet, the seed from which he came 00:11:58.835 --> 00:12:02.885 was in Abraham's body when Melek collected the tithe from him. 00:12:03.815 --> 00:12:07.775 So if the priesthood of Levi then, which the law was based, could have 00:12:07.775 --> 00:12:09.995 achieved the perfection, God intended. 00:12:10.565 --> 00:12:14.525 Why did God need to establish a different priesthood with a priest 00:12:14.525 --> 00:12:18.335 in the order of Melek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron? 00:12:19.355 --> 00:12:24.035 And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permitted. 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:28.820 For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe whose members 00:12:28.820 --> 00:12:30.920 have never served at the altar as priests. 00:12:31.670 --> 00:12:36.350 What I mean is our Lord came from the tribe of Judah and Moses never 00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:38.240 mentioned priests coming from that tribe. 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.830 This change has been made very clear since a different priest who 00:12:42.835 --> 00:12:44.900 was like Melchizedek has appeared. 00:12:45.635 --> 00:12:50.075 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging 00:12:50.075 --> 00:12:54.515 to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 00:12:55.145 --> 00:12:59.405 And the Psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, you are a priest 00:12:59.405 --> 00:13:01.985 forever in the order of Melek. 00:13:03.035 --> 00:13:03.545 Yes. 00:13:03.845 --> 00:13:07.205 The old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it 00:13:07.205 --> 00:13:09.875 was weak and useless for the law. 00:13:09.875 --> 00:13:11.465 Never made anything perfect. 00:13:12.380 --> 00:13:16.760 But now we have confidence and a better hope through which we draw near to God. 00:13:18.020 --> 00:13:20.960 This new system was established with a solemn oath. 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:25.250 Aaron's descendants became priests without such an oath, but there 00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:27.020 was an oath regarding Jesus. 00:13:27.650 --> 00:13:33.140 For God said to him, the Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow. 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:37.520 You are a priest forever because of this oath. 00:13:37.850 --> 00:13:41.300 Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God. 00:13:42.260 --> 00:13:45.530 There were many priests under the old system for death, prevented 00:13:45.530 --> 00:13:46.940 them from remaining in office. 00:13:47.660 --> 00:13:51.710 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 00:13:52.550 --> 00:13:57.080 Therefore, he is able once and forever to save those who come to God. 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:01.700 Through him, he lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 00:14:02.660 --> 00:14:06.500 He's the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:09.170 blameless, unstained by sin. 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:12.320 He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:14.150 highest place of honor in heaven. 00:14:15.020 --> 00:14:19.670 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:23.990 They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:28.490 But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the 00:14:28.490 --> 00:14:30.260 sacrifice for the people's sins. 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:34.640 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. 00:14:35.270 --> 00:14:40.460 But after the law was given, God appointed his son with an oath, and his son has 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:42.800 been made the perfect high priest forever. 00:14:44.390 --> 00:14:47.270 This concludes today's Immer reading experience. 00:14:47.390 --> 00:14:48.620 Thank you for joining us.