God our Lord and King. Praise the Spirit through Christ's Spirit. He doth us salvation bring. This morning, brothers and sisters, I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the letter to the Hebrews. We'll pick up the reading at the end of chapter four, specifically chapter four, verse 14. Hebrews chapter four, beginning at verse 14. We have here one of these unfortunate chapter breaks. And that's why we're reading at the end of chapter 4, because really this is of one piece, I think, as you'll see. Our text for this morning is verses 1 through 10 of chapter 5. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God. to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. As he says also in another place, you are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek." Here ends the reading of God's word. May I encourage you, by the way, and I encourage all of you, young and old, To have your Bibles open this morning, we're going to follow very carefully the text. So it's important that you have your Bibles in front of you, both this morning and this evening, as you'll see the text opened up in the preaching of the word this morning on this Lord's Day. May the Lord bless this word to our hearts. The grass withers and the flower fails, but the word of our Lord endures forever. Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder what your initial response is to reading the letter to the Hebrews. Does it intimidate you? Does it scare you just a little bit, the language or the imagery? It's steeped in the imagery of the Old Testament, particularly the Old Testament tabernacle and temple, priesthood, sacrifices. And sometimes that Old Testament reference can be a bit overwhelming to the point that people say, well, how do I understand this? And how does a letter like this speak to me today? We don't have a tabernacle or a temple like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. What's the purpose of this letter? What's the purpose of preaching on this this morning, this high priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek? Well, I think it's very helpful in terms of understanding not only our text this morning, but the entire letter. to bear in mind that this letter of Hebrews was initially a sermon. In fact, it's referred to towards the end of the epistle as being a relatively short sermon, 13 chapters, if you can imagine that being a short sermon back in the day. And the reason I mention that is because you have to bear in mind as you read this word that there is a pastoral concern. There is a pastoral focus in this letter. the pastor, the writer, whoever he may have been. We really don't know who the human author was. We know God is ultimately the author of this text. But the human author, we can only speculate. In fact, one church father famously said, who wrote the letter to the Hebrews? God only knows. But he is a pastor at heart. He's sending this sermon, writing this message to a small congregation, perhaps a congregation not much different than this congregation in terms of the size, a house congregation probably in Rome or the vicinity of Rome in the first century. And these Christians, they may have had a background in the Jewish faith, familiar with the Old Testament, familiar with the practices of the temple. They were beginning to face persecution. We read, for example, in chapter 10 that some of them have had their property confiscated. It's hard for us to imagine, I think, with the security we have here, the blessings of living in this country with a Christian heritage. It's hard to imagine what it would be like if you were to leave this service, go home, and find out that your house has been vandalized specifically because you belong to this congregation. because you're identified as a Christian. Some of them were being put in prison. And so chapter 13 also speaks about the need to visit those who are in prison. And that pressure of persecution was beginning to force some of them, at least, to consider whether they should abandon the Christian faith altogether. Was it worth it? Was it worth it? to follow Jesus Christ if this is what it means for us. And so what the pastor does is he appeals to them based upon the history of Old Testament Israel. In particular, in chapters 3 and 4, to the experience of the Israelites as they were traveling on the exodus on the way to the promised land. And in chapter 3 and 4, we read about the Israelites coming, remember, to Canaan, sending out the spies. The majority come back and say, there's no way we can take this land. I know God has promised to give it to us. God has said that time and time again. But the people are giants. We're like grasshoppers. They have these great walls of their city. How can we overcome them? There were only two that said, the Lord has promised us this land. And therefore, we should proceed by faith, not by fear. But as you know, the people listened to the majority. And the Lord said, because you've done this, you're going to now wander in the desert for 40 years until your bodies rot, your carcasses rot in the deserts. And another generation will enter the promised land. And what the pastor does here in Hebrews is says, now listen, you remember that story very well. You remember the outcome of their unbelief. Do not follow. that pattern. And he quotes Psalm 95. You may recall singing that from the Psalter hymnal or the Trinity Psalter hymnals. Psalm 95, after the opening expression of praise, it has the warning, the admonition, do not harden your hearts as that generation did before. Don't be like them, because the consequences will be terrible. So what is the encouragement? There's warning, but there's also encouragement. And I think that's the point of Chapter 5 here. What is the basis of trusting God? Do you struggle with trusting God? What are the occasions in your life that give rise to that distrust or those doubts when they begin to rise to the surface? Maybe in those circumstances where your life seems to be unraveling, falling apart, chronic illness, financial failure, problems in your family, things just haven't worked out like you thought they would. And you ask the question, can God be trusted in all of this? Maybe there's persecution of one form or another, hardship that you're facing simply because you call yourself a Christian. You call Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord. And you begin to wonder in the back of your mind, is it really worth it? How do you counsel someone? How do you speak to someone who wrestles in that way? Well, the pastor here points us and points his audience in the first century to the person of Jesus Christ, particularly Jesus Christ in his role as high priest. That's the basis of trust. You can trust the promises of God because you have, I have, a high priest who ministers in heaven on our behalf, who in every sense is superior to the high priests of the Old Testament. Here's how I want to proceed this morning in our sermon. I think that the simplest way, and you have notes before you as well, but the simplest way to understand verses 1 through 10 is to think of two columns or two categories. There's a contrast or comparison going on in our text this morning between the high priesthood of the Old Testament And first of all, in terms of how was he called to the priesthood, and then secondly, how was he connected to the people? We talk about his solidarity to the people. And then thirdly, the nature of his work. And then you have, in the reverse order, the high priest of the new covenant, Jesus Christ, the heavenly high priest. Why is he superior in terms of his calling, in terms of his solidarity with his people, his connection with us, and then also in terms of his appointment. So let's look at those two comparisons this morning in our text. First of all, the qualifications for the earthly high priest. Verse 1, again, have your Bibles open. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. Perhaps it would be helpful this morning for me to explain for the benefit of our children and young people, especially, why the Bible has this office called priesthood. Why was there the priesthood? Why was there the temple and the tabernacle before that? Well, it all goes back to the consequences of the fall into sin. Prior to the fall into sin, how does God relate to his people? God walks with Adam in the garden as if they were the best of friends. There's this intimacy. There's this closeness. But then when sin enters the scene, what happens? God expels Adam and his wife, Adam and Eve, from the garden and says, don't come back. You come back, you die. And there's now this gap between a holy God and an unholy, stained, polluted, corrupted people. And if you think carefully, the entire Old Testament really is the continuing story of how does a polluted, unholy, tainted people draw near to a God who is perfect in his holiness, who dwells in unapproachable lights. When the people come to Mount Sinai, for example, the Lord says, don't you dare touch that mountain. That mountain is holy. You touch it, you die. Even if your animals touch the mountain, they die. Think of the design of the tabernacle in the temple, the way it was designed. The very central part of the temple was what? The Holy of Holies, which represented God's throne room. But only one person could enter there. That was the high priest. And only one day of the year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And he could only enter there through the blood of the sacrifice. It was a way of the Lord telling his people, an unholy people dare not draw near, that near at least, to God. Because you know there were regulations about who could draw near in the temple. If you were a Gentile, you could only go so far. If you were a woman, you could only go so far. If you had a physical deformity, you could only go so far. In fact, The temple in the first century had a sign, a warning to Gentiles. Anyone going past this point who was a Gentile enters upon the risk of death. And they based that upon the teaching of God's word. And so the message was very clear, was it not? Keep your distance. Don't you dare presume to draw near to a holy God since you are an unholy people. And so the high priest, or the priesthood in general, was meant to bridge the gap. Now, boys and girls, you remember from your catechism lessons, right? What do we call that person who bridges the gap between God and his people? You remember the catechism talks about the mediator, right? The mediator who seeks to bring reconciliation between God and man. That's what the high priest does. But notice, verse 1 says, He is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God to do what? To offer gifts, so there's thanksgiving, but there's also sacrifices for sins. Well, what is the point of the sacrifice? Certain sacrifices were meant to be an expression of atonement, of covering for sin. The wages of sin is death, and blood was the symbol of death. It was the very life of the creature. Blood had to be shed because sin had been committed. So that's the office of the high priest. That's what his calling is. He is there. He exists certainly to teach and to preach. That's what he did. There were other functions he performed. But the essence, the heart of what he did was to stand between God and man in order to bring them together. You remember what happened, for example, during the exodus when the people had rebelled, the Golden Calf incident, you remember, and the Lord was about ready to leave his people. And Moses pleaded, he pleaded with the Lord, do not leave us, because if you leave us, if you will not accompany us on the exodus to the promised land, there's no point in us continuing. That's a profound statement. Moses realized that apart from God dwelling with his people, there was no hope. I don't want to preach a whole other sermon on this issue, but you think about where the Bible leads us at the end. What is the final scene in Revelation chapter 21 and chapter 22? It is God dwelling with men, which really is the fulfillment of the end of the book of Exodus. After the tabernacle is finished, do you remember what happens? Do you know your Bible that well enough to remember what happens in chapter 40 of Exodus? The glory cloud, what we call the Shekinah glory cloud, descends from heaven, which was the representation of the majesty of God. It descends and it fills the whole tabernacle. You know what that means? God dwells among his people. And ultimately, it was a pointer to Jesus Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us. Think of John's prologue in his gospel. And the word became flesh and tabernacled among us, literally is what the text says in the Greek. He tabernacled, he pitched his tent among us. But that's for another sermon and for another day. But notice also not only the office in general, but the solidarity of the high priest with his people. Again, look at your Bibles, verse two. He can deal gently. with the ignorant and wayward. Some sins are not committed deliberately. Some things are done out of ignorance. But some things are done deliberately, the wayward. He can deal gently. Why? Since he himself is beset with weakness. It's a good thing, isn't it, that the high priest in the Old Testament was someone who understood the struggle against sin. Imagine having a high priest or imagine having a pastor who, when you had to deal with your own sinner, he had to talk to you about your sin, would simply berate you. What's wrong with you? Why can't you get your act together? Imagine if your pastor here spoke that way from the pulpit, lords after lords. I suspect that you might begin considering worshiping elsewhere or not worshiping at all. Because what sort of comfort, what sort of consolation is there from someone who simply drives you into the ground, reminding you of what a horrible person you've been because of your sins. But here, the high priest has this connection with his people because he too is a sinner. And he creates an environment where grace can flourish, grace can exist. It reminds me of the story that Paul Tripp tells. I love this story. He tells the story of his brother Ted, who's also a pastor. Ted, who wrote the book Shepherding a Child's Heart, was a pastor in a very small church. But one particular Sunday after the morning service, Ted's in his office. And a very angry, very upset father brings his little boy into the pastor's office. says, Pastor, I've got something terrible to tell you about. And he says to his boy, tell the pastor what you did. And the little boy said, well, when the offering plate went by, I took a dollar bill and I put it in my pocket. And the father, of course, was hoping that by bringing the little boy to the pastor's office, the pastor would give it to him with both barrels. Give it to him good so that he'd be scared straight, as it were. But Ted said to this little boy, you know, I'm so glad that you told me about that. And he proceeded to tell him about the gospel and about forgiveness through Jesus Christ and the need to confess our sins. And the father was open mouth like, wait a minute, I thought, I thought you were going to give it to my son with both barrels. You're going to set him straight in that regard. And here you're talking about grace and forgiveness. But as a result of Ted talking about the gospel, the little boy reached again in his pocket. And in addition to the $1 he pulled out, he pulled out several other dollar bills that he had stolen earlier. In other words, the pastor had created an environment where the boy wanted to confess his wrongdoing. Now, you think about that as a parent. You think about that in the context of worship. Do we not want to create an environment where people can confess their sins without fear of being humiliated, without the fear of being crushed, without the fear of having their sins exposed for all to see and ridiculed? No, we want to create an environment. We want to be a people who are known as Grace URC, literally. People who are full of grace, people who know grace, people who live grace, who preach grace. Verse 3, because of his shortcomings, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. We know, for example, that on the day of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, he began the day by bathing himself and putting on new garments, symbolizing his need for purification. And that happened year after year after year. And the sacrifices he offered for himself, for his own sins, he offers day after day after day. That becomes a very important message here in the letter to the Hebrews. In contrast to Jesus Christ, the Old Testament high priest always has to make sacrifice not only for the people's sins, but for his own sins. But then also. the humility of the High Priest, the Old Testament High Priest. Verse 4, and no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God just as Aaron was. What's the point that the pastor's trying to make there? It's simply this, that one entered the priesthood by God's direction. by God's specific command. No one could simply say, well, you know what? I'd like to hang a shingle out and become a priest. I think that's a pretty good living. And I had a classmate in seminary, or in college, rather, in the pre-SEM program who was in first year Greek with me. And we were talking about going into seminary eventually and going into the ministry. And I asked him what was his motivation for doing so. And his answer was very interesting to me. His father was a pastor. And he said, you know, I kind of like the lifestyle my father has. My father doesn't have to get up early in the morning. He works at home most of the day. He's got a pretty nice life. I think I want to do that. Now, would it surprise you if I told you that this young man never made it beyond seminary? In fact, he dropped out halfway through seminary because he realized that it was not simply the lifestyle he was called to, but something far more profound, something far more weighty And that was the preaching and teaching of the gospel message. But here, we know in the Old Testament, who was qualified to be a high priest or a priest in general? It was only those who were descendants of Aaron, who were the tribe of Levi, right? But that presents a problem then, at least in one sense. If Jesus is going to be our high priest, How do you explain the fact that he's not from the tribe of Levi? Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, right? Well, that brings us to the qualifications for the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ. So we take it in the exact reverse order. And I think that's deliberately structured that way, by the way. Those two columns, you have the reverse order now. So first of all, the humility of Christ, verse 5. Because maybe you're asking the question, why does he make an issue of this, a point of this? So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him. Did you catch that? Jesus functions, Jesus serves as high priest, not first of all because he aspired to it, but because the Father appointed him to that office. And what does he do to bolster that or to prove that? He quotes two passages from the Old Testament Psalms. First of all, from Psalm 2. Psalm 2, if you remember, is a messianic psalm talking about the reign of God's appointed king, who is going to crush the nations. And God is going to ridicule the pagan nations that persecute his anointed one. You know, initially that psalm may have been talking about David or about Solomon, but ultimately we know it was talking about Jesus Christ, great David's greater son, the ultimate king. But here's the question. Maybe you're reading this and you're saying, pastor, this just doesn't make sense to me. What does it mean here in Psalm 2 where the Lord says, you are my son. And notice the ESV has capitalized the word son. So one could say they've made the decision that this is referring to the Messiah. You are my son. Today, I have begotten you. Uh-oh. I thought we believed that the Son of God was the eternal Son of God. We're not Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses believe what? There was a time when the Son was not. That's their little motto they use. What does it mean here? Well, this language is the language of coronation. This is the language that God uses as he is publicly proclaiming to the world that Jesus Christ, by virtue of his death, his resurrection, and particularly because of his ascension into heaven, he is acknowledged as the death-defeating, the Satan-crushing king. That's what it means when it says, Today I have begotten you. It doesn't mean that at that point Jesus then begins to be the Son. No. It means that he is acknowledged as the Son. He is recognized by the world as the Son of God. And if you want further confirmation of that, go back to chapter 1. Chapter 1 really is an extended song of praise to Jesus Christ as the exalted Son. the one who is exalted by virtue of his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. In fact, one could say that the letter to the Hebrews, in many respects, is an extended sermon on the ascension of Jesus Christ. The ascension of Jesus Christ, says the pastor, is the fulfillment of Yom Kippur. I'll explain that in just a moment. But then he also says in another place, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. What do you know about Melchizedek? I had a very interesting discussion last week with several people in our sister congregation in Kansas City. But I thought Melchizedek was this. I thought Melchizedek was that. There's a long and pious history of interpretation that says Melchizedek was not an actual historical figure. He wasn't a real person. He was what is called a Christophany, meaning an appearance of the son of God prior to the incarnation. I don't believe that that's what the text teaches us. I believe the text teaches us that Melchizedek, whom we read about very briefly, I believe in Genesis chapter 12, we read about him very briefly. He was an actual historical figure. What makes him interesting among many other things is that he has the rare combination of being both king, he's king of Salem which later becomes Jerusalem, okay, the city of peace, and he is also priest. He is king and he is priest. Those two offices are combined together and in that way Jesus is a priest of that order like Melchizedek. unlike the priesthood of Levi or the priesthood of Aaron. But he is a priest forever. In what sense? Well, we know in the Old Testament, a priest lived, he was born, he served in the tabernacle or temple, and he died. And guess what? Somebody had to replace him. Read about this in chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter 10 of Hebrews. This is the glory of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament high priest had to be replaced after every generation. And he had to offer sacrifices again and again and again. Jesus Christ, as chapter 7 will tell us in Hebrews, has the power of an indestructible life. He does not receive his priesthood because he's of a line of Aaron or Levi. And that's also why he is like Melchizedek. Now, some people will say, well, wait a minute, doesn't the Bible say that Melchizedek is this person without mother, without father, without beginning or end of days? Doesn't that make him a Christophany? The point of that description about Melchizedek is simply this, that he functions as priest and king, not by virtue of his lineage to Aaron, but simply because he has been appointed to that position. That's the comparison that's being made. So too with Jesus Christ. He receives his office by virtue of his appointment from the Father. I'll move on further. Notice secondly here with the qualifications of the eternal high priest, his connection or his solidarity with the people, verse 7. In the days of his flesh, meaning his earthly ministry, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverence. Now, there's a lot of speculation as to what exactly is being referred to here. Is that referring to Gethsemane, when Jesus cried out so intensely that his sweat was like drops of blood. Is that what's being described here? Or perhaps his agony upon the cross? I think one could say that this is really a description of Jesus' entire earthly ministry. where he would sometimes pray all night long to his father. And the reference here that you ought to think about, just consider this. It may very well be that the pastor here, the author of Hebrews, is thinking about a psalm like Psalm 116. If you go back to Psalm 116, and if you know those words, it's very similar in terms of its language about someone who was in a very difficult predicament, almost almost like facing death and he cries out to God and then there's the transition God hears, God answers, and then the rest of the psalm expresses his thanksgiving. I think a case can be made here that the pastor is thinking of that psalm and Jesus being the ultimate fulfillment of that psalm. But you say, boys and girls, maybe you're saying to yourself, but wait a minute, we know that Jesus died. Why does the text say that God saved him from death? Well, one could say that ultimately God saved him from the ultimate consequences of death. He did not remain in the tomb. He was raised. Again, I'll say more about that tonight when it talks about death. Paul talks about death in Romans 8, not just as physical death, but in its ultimate sense of eternal judgment. He was spared, Jesus was, from the consequences of death through the resurrection. And he was heard because of his reverence. Now, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. How then is Jesus able to sympathize with us? How is that possible? He was perfect. He didn't succumb to sin. He didn't have to make sacrifices for his own sin. And yet, as we read from chapter 4 at the very end, he is compassionate. He is gracious. He will not slap you and push you away if you draw near to him, asking for grace. In fact, just the opposite. The Bible says, because Jesus Christ is the compassionate and merciful high priest, because he understands he's been in your shoes, he's experienced your weakness, You can come boldly to him knowing that he is not going to cast you aside. And didn't his ministry exemplify that in so many respects? I've had this discussion with other people, too, about how we as the church can emulate that. With whom did Jesus associate? He associated with those who were outcasts. And he was criticized for it. Why do you make friends with sinners? Why do you befriend people like that? And people will ask that question in terms of my own ministry. Why would you bother? Why would you waste your time? And part of the answer I give is I think that it really is a reflection of what Christ calls us to be. Not that the gospel is only for the outcasts, but all of us in one sense are outcasts, are we not? But rather than Jesus saying, well, I don't want to dirty my hands with people like that, or like the Pharisee who walks in the temple and says what? Oh, Lord, I thank you. I thank you that I'm not as other men are. And you say, well, but I would never talk that way. Oh, be careful. Be careful. You may not openly say that, but haven't you been tempted as I have been tempted? to think that way when you see other people, certain people? I know I have my problems, but at least I'm not as bad as that person. I wouldn't want to be that person. How different is that from the Pharisee? He learned obedience from what he suffered. In other words, in order for him to be a complete, well-rounded, fully-rounded high priest, he had to undergo the sufferings, the difficulties, he had to learn the obedience of the incarnation. Doesn't mean that there was something deficient about Jesus, but it simply means that was part of what his calling required of him. He had to learn obedience. And he would say time and time again, I've not come to do my own will, I've come to do the will of my father or the will of him who sent me. But then notice verses 9 and 10, that new office described and being made perfect. Perfect here in Hebrews means complete, fully prepared, fully outfitted. So when you see perfect here, don't think of perfect as we often do simply or in that very narrow moral sense. Perfect here means complete. being made complete as high priest, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. So let's circle back by way of conclusion to what I said at the outset about understanding and appreciating this letter to the Hebrews. This is not simply some theological treatise. This is not simply a lesson in biblical theology. As interesting as that may be to many of us, that's really not the point of why this is here. This is a pastoral letter. How do you speak to people who are struggling with whether they want to continue following Jesus Christ if that will be the path to glory ultimately or if it will be the path to their ruin? If they're contemplating abandoning Jesus altogether. Yes, there's warnings. In fact, there are several passages that have stern warnings. Chapter 6, especially, has a stern warning against what happens when people apostatize, when they fall away. But along with that, there is the positive encouragement. You have every reason to trust the promises of God, not by looking within yourself, first of all, but by looking to Jesus Christ, remembering that he is an eternal high priest. He's glorious. He's glorious because he is perfect. He's done all that the father has called him to do. His sacrifice is sufficient for all your needs. In fact, that's going to be the great comparison later on in this epistle between Jesus and the Old Testament priests. There's that phrase that Jesus, that description of Jesus that he sat down. You say, well, why is that a big deal? Well, it means in this letter here that when Jesus gave himself as the one and only sacrifice, it never had to be repeated. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Isn't that a glorious thing? Over against the Old Testament priests who day in and day out, I can only imagine what it must have been like. I try to picture it in my mind what it must have been like going near to the temple and having the smell of of blood, the smell of animal sacrifices daily. I mean, you think of the number of animals that were slaughtered on a daily basis. I'm sure that the aroma around the temple was pungent. It was a vivid reminder of the need for sacrifice, for the covering of sin, repeated over and over again. And in that sense, the high priest or the priests in general could never sit down. Not literally, but it means that their work was never finished. Jesus, by contrast, when he offers that sacrifice once and for all, he sits down. You may be assured because of that work that your sins are covered, that his work is complete in that sense, and that it will never fail you. Even with the hardship, even with persecution, he will not fail you. That's one of the things in the Reformed faith that we stress so much, the completion of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Have you ever walked into a hospital, a Roman Catholic hospital, for example, with an old style chapel? There was one in the first pastorate I served, near the pastorate I served, in Hammond, Indiana, St. Margaret Hospital, an old Roman Catholic hospital. And I would, from time to time, just go into the chapel to remind myself why it is we call ourselves Protestants. Because I walked into this highly ornate chapel. It was a beautiful chapel. But at the very entrance, there was a depiction, a statue of Jesus on the cross, bleeding. Again, a vivid reminder that he's perpetually being sacrificed. That's the essence of Roman Catholic theology. And then you go into the chapel, the sanctuary, and you have all these statues of Mary and the saints. They're there because they're meant to be prayed to. You pray for their intercession. The pastor here says, no, we don't do that. Why? We don't do that because we have a perfect High Priest Jesus Christ. We have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. And He will not push you away. He will not scold you. He understands your weakness. It's not to say that He condones it or He tells you to continue in sin. By no means. But He's not going to push you away. He's going to say, my grace is sufficient for that. My grace is sufficient for that. So turn to him. Believe on him. Trust in him. Rejoice in him that we have a high priest who, when he offered the perfect sacrifice for your sins and mine, he sat down and he now intercedes for you as your brother. Let's pray. Father in heaven. We pray that you would strengthen our faith, that you would build up our trust in you and your promises. We know that in many respects we're not all that