Considering The High Priest of our Confession Pt 1

We are people of the Word of God. Let's take out the Word of God that in our age in our generation is so easily accessible. We can all have our own copies and multiple copies, digital copies, print copies. Open the copy that you have with you today to Hebrews, the third chapter. Hebrews chapter three, as we continue to preach, from one side of Hebrews to the other, verse by verse, line, by line, precept by precept as God would have us understand His Word, and follow along, as I read chapter three, beginning in verse one:

"3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." (Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

Let's pray. Lord God, as we look into your Word, we thank You for it. Lord, you condescended to write. Lord, You have spoken and You have written, You've recorded Your words, You have handed them down through the ages, You preserve them by Your mighty power, and You've given us great access to Your word. May this day, Your word that You have told us be as powerful. May it do a work in each life and heart that we might understand more than we did before we walked in today, Lord, that we might add that to our testimony and our confidence that Jesus Christ is who He is and what He is and what He does. That we might stand firm in the age You've given us to walk in. Lord, help us now as we turn our hearts to the learning of Your word. Make us true disciples who would follow our High Priest, Jesus, all the way to the throne, Your throne, oh God. In Jesus name, we ask it. Amen.

Well, accordingly with our text we are considering that the High Priest of our confession is exactly what Hebrews 3:1 is asking us to do, therefore holy brethren, the hagioi, the brothers of Christ, the partakers of the heavenly calling, having been called into this family, haven't been made one with the Son, the children whom God has given him.

Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. Evangelicals are not very good as priests. Ever since 1517, the Reformation, Martin Luther and for the Roman Catholic Church, priests are anathema. Because of such a great adulteration of God's Word and the making of priests that are not the priests that should be, and even replacing the High Priest with the earthly priests. There tends to be an overreaction to the idea of a priest, and even the necessity of one and it can leave a hole in the evangelical mind, in our thinking, and even in what we confess. Consider the Apostle, that means the One appointed by God and High Priest of our confession, what we confess together, unified in the homologia of Christ. What are we saying when we confess His high priestly office? And do we embrace it as a necessity given that we have so abruptly and unnecessarily made the break from the Roman Catholic Church some hundreds of years ago. We tend to over react, don't we? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We're not gonna fall for that again. You're not going to wheedle some human priests and some works of righteousness into our life again. But wait a minute. That not cannot be to the exclusion of the one High Priest, to whom we should have all been looking, even when it was called the Roman Catholic Church. This is the Priest they need to look to. This is the Priest we need to look to. And we need to understand who He is, and what He does, and why that's important so that we can confess that as part of what we believe about Jesus. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins sacrificially. But then as a High Priest, he offers Himself and offered His own blood on our behalf before the throne of God. Our entrance into the presence of the Most Holies of God is via the High Priest, Jesus.

In Hebrews 3-9 we are going to be studying the high priestly work of Jesus Christ, the position. And I pray by the end of it that we will have a body of knowledge that we confess together unifiedly, if that's even a word. But I can make up some of my own, can't I? In the unity that we then hold on to, that gives us stability, and confidence in our age, I pray that that will be the result. In chapter 3 we are finding Christ the High Priest, and faithfulness. A High Priest who is faithful and then who will lead us to faithfulness as well.  So there is a connection to our confession and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, our Priest, to be a part of our confession. We believe that Jesus Christ is the High Priest. And we confess He is faithful. Why? Because these words will demand that of us. There is a connection then with faithfulness and obedience, even the obedience of the High Priest, Jesus, associated with service. And then Sonship.

Hang on, here we go. The writer of Hebrews is answering the question "just who is our High Priest? This Christ Jesus. And what does He do? Well, He is faithful. Our High Priest was faithful over His own house, He was faithful over His own house as Moses was faithful over his house. Listen again to the words of chapter 3. "Therefore, holy brother, and partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him Who appointed him. As Moses also was faithful in all his house." He was faithful as Moses was faithful. Let's take up Moses first. Well, what does this mean that Moses was faithful over his house? Simply stated, Moses obeyed God. Moses obeyed God that he was faithful and faithfully obedient. If you'd like you may turn in your Bibles to the Old Testament, for as soon as we mentioned Moses, and as soon as we mentioned High Priest as well, we must need to anchor them in the Old Testament, and the truth that is there.

In Numbers, the 12th chapter, we find that there's a little bit of problem in the family of Moses. A sibling rivalry has sprung to the surface. Now I know that doesn't happen in any of your families, but you know families where that exists. And there was a problem with Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. Notice chapter 12, verse one. "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of the Ethiopian woman he had married. He had married an Ethiopian woman. In case you didn't figure it out the first time she's an Ethiopian woman. And then again, in case you didn't get it, this is the problem. So, she's an Ethiopian. Now, what's the problem? And one of the things we should not do is to be modern in our thinking.

There is a historical context to Ethiopia, in Numbers chapter 12, that we do not share in 2022. When we say Ethiopia, well, we think starving people. If you're like me, I grew up thinking we need to save food, so that we can send it to the Ethiopians who are starving. They are in such a poor, horribly run country, that they can't take care of themselves. And so if we read that into this text, we would say, well, they don't like her because she is of a lower status. Wrong! The Ethiopia of the Old Testament was a mighty land. There was even an Ethiopian eunuch who kept the Treasury for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, who was very rich and very powerful, whom Philip will share the gospel to in the New Testament. Most likely, this infighting wasn't because he married below his station, but that he married above his station, and was putting on airs with that Ethiopian wife he had. At least that's how infighting usually goes in families. I can explain it more because I know you wouldn't understand? Of course, you understand. The littlest of things become the biggest of things, and the rivalry comes up. They spoke against Moses, because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. You know, that woman? Yeah, that's the one. He married her. "And they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?' Now we have a challenge over who's speaking. And who has the highest position. Is Moses putting on airs and bossing us. Anybody who comes from a family of more than one child understands that that's a problem. Every child who has had more than one or two brothers and sisters has had to go through the 'You're not the boss of me' problem. And here we are with the adults, Miriam, Aaron and Moses. And by the way, Moses had a kind of cushy upbringing. Remember, Miriam and Aaron, they got to stay slaves. Moses they pushed down in a nice reed basket. And he was raised by Pharaoh's daughter. He had the easy way. And now he gets to be boss of us?! And he married an Ethiopian woman?! Can you see it now? Yeah, it's fairly common. And it's fairly ugly, just as it is when we do such. "And they said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses, has He not spoken through us also?" Which of course He had. Aaron was the mouthpiece of Moses. But notice these last four or five words here, "and the Lord heard it", that you remind us all that God hears everything, even these little quibbling fights that we have, and He doesn't take them lightly, especially when we're dealing with those who handle the Word of God. The ones God has appointed.

Back to verse three. "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who are on the face of the earth." He must have been an amazing man. I read those words, and I know that's not me. I read those words. And I know I don't think I've ever met anybody like that. I've met some humble people. But listen, this man was very humble, more than all men who are on the face of the earth. So even though he is being accused of being high and mighty by his own siblings, he's very humble. These are God's comments. One may not say this about oneself, that I am humble. Let somebody else, as the Proverbs say, "let another's mouth and not your own lips praise you." And Moses never praised himself for humility. God did that in his text. And then verse 4, "and suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, come out, you three to the tabernacle of meeting. So the three came out." And by the way, the tabernacle was called the tabernacle of meeting, because that is where all of Israel was to go to meet, not with one another, but to meet with the Lord. The Lord was there, they were going there to meet with the Lord. "Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam to Him. And they both went forward. Then He said, 'Hear now My words, if there's a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision. And I speak to him in a dream." Here's what I want you to pay attention to. These are God's words about Moses. "Not so with my servant, Moses. He is faithful. He is faithful in all my house." There's no one like him. He's the most humble and he's the most faithful. And how do we know this? He says, I speak with him face to face, Even plainly and not in dark sayings. And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then are you not afraid to speak against my servant, Moses?" He was faithful. God spoke to him. To carry on with this, "So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them. And when e cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Marian was struck leprous, as white as snow." Because leprosy was unclean, she was commanded outside of the camp for seven days. But before this, Moses intercedes on her behalf and asked the Lord, to save her, to deliver her. Did I mention Moses was humble? Did I mention Moses was faithful. He faithfully ministered to the house over which God had placed him, Israel, and interceded on their behalf. Even his own lousy brother and sister, who are jealous. I could speak on the family right now. But I won't think about myself and just make an application. That's for free.

Back to Hebrews, we find that Moses was faithful, Over all his house most clearly articulated in numbers where we just read. And he is the comparative to Christ. Here is Moses, who gave us God's Law, Whose law was followed by the House of Israel. The 'house' has a meaning. I believe the house here of Moses is composed of Israelites, but not just that. Also of Old Testament believers and even those who would proselytize themselves to Israel and become part of Israel, by belief in the one true God. That is the house over which Moses was faithful. And Moses was a steward of the house of God. He was even a servant as God had called him in Numbers, and will be referred to here later in Hebrews. A steward over God's housekeeping care of what was God's, and how did he keep care over what's God's? He faithfully did it God's way, which also equals obediently. He obediently, by the word of God, spoke to the people of God's house. Exactly what God told him to say, and then demanded that they do it. He was faithful. Even when they cried. And if you've read your Old Testament, you know, Israel cried a lot. As soon as God delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and brought them across the desert, and they faced a body of water that they couldn't cross, the Red Sea, they started to cry. You brought us out here to kill us. And then when they're wandering in the wilderness, and they ran out of water, they come to Moses and cried, You brought us here to kill us. They complained incessantly. God gave them manna to eat in the wilderness, day by day, and so they complain that they didn't have meat. Then He gave them quail. And they rebelled against Moses, God's faithful one. Yet he was faithful through all of it. Bar one instance. When they'd so exasperated him, he didn't obey the Word of God, in speaking to the rock for water, he struck the rock, like he had done previously. And God punished him with a greater punishment than all the rest, he did not get to go into the promised land. That's the responsibility of leadership. That scares me actually. He was faithful, even when they were faithless.

Moses obediently taught what God had said. In Deuteronomy, 4:5-6, let me read this. It says, "Surely I have taught you the statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me." That's faithfulness. "That you should act according to them in the land you go to possess." Therefore he admonishes them, "be careful to observe them for this as your wisdom, and you're understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." A people that have the word of God, who live the Word of God, as He commanded it will have a testimony among the nations. A testimony was what they were supposed to be developing by faithfully obeying the words that Moses had faithfully delivered. Moses was faithful and he becomes the example and yet now Christ is put in juxtaposition with Moses, and honored. In verse two, again, of Hebrews, chapter three, he says, "Jesus, Who was faithful to Him Who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house." there is a faithfulness of Jesus Christ, He was faithful as interesting construction here, because it's a present participle. This was faithful as we have translated, it has the idea of an ongoing work. He was faithful and He continues to be faithful. You see the work of Moses ended when he died. But the work of Jesus began when He rose from the dead. His high priestly work continues on even today, as we will study as we go through Hebrews. We need to confess what is true about our High Priest, that He has an ongoing faithfulness, of obedience, even to God the Father, who He serves, and we whom He represents to God the Father, He is faithful.

The problem with priests, not only in our thinking, as I referenced when we look back at the Roman Catholic Church, and we see the adulteration and the bringing in of priests and causing them not to marry etc, which is totally against what the Bible says. If you want that clear, just read First Timothy, chapter four. There was a problem with Israel's thinking about priests as well, that they weren't always faithful, where they want you to go back in your Bibles again to the Old Testament. And we'll relook at a few places here, but one in particular, right now, First Samuel chapter two. Many of you know the prophet, the priest, Samuel. He was a faithful priest. But when Samuel came to be a priest, he was offered by his mother who had been barren and God had blessed her and gave her a child and she offered this child, Samuel to the Lord. The overseer of the temple and the high priest of the time was Eli. Eli had some really, really, really, really, really corrupt sons who were priests. Let's look at First Samuel 2:12. "Now the sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord." So rather than doing what they were supposed to do, 'take the offering of meat after it was boiled and offer it', instead they would come up to the people as they were offering their sacrifices, and they would demand raw meat. And they would demand it before the fat was taken off. The priests were to eat the meat after it was boiled, and they decided they wanted barbecue. You might understand that I like barbecued meat way better than boiled meat. So too did these two sons of Eli. But what they did by breaking the law of Moses, the law of God, as they represented people to God in their ministry was, they caused the people to sin, because they ruined the honor of their own office. Look at verse 17. "Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord" listen to how God describes the results. "for men abhorred the offering of the Lord." So when the priests themselves break the law that God gave them about how to offer to God, and steal from God, even their own sacrifices, before they're allowed to offer it, it causes the people to rebel against God, it causes the people to not want to come to temple and do it because they're going to be corrupted.

Why are so many people not in church today? What is it that the world says about the church? What accusation have you heard over and over again, in your Christian life, about church? Many people will tell you, I don't go because churches are filled with hypocrites. Because one thing is clear, people on the outside clearly know what we're supposed to be doing. So everybody tells you, they're ignorant. They are not. They know what we should be doing. We're not being faithful as we should be. The same thing was happening in Israel, those priests were not being faithful. They were not doing it right. And the people were noticing it. And even more than that, they were sexually immoral. And it caused the people to abhor God. Because from the priests, they assume that God is like that. We must understand that when the Church of God in our day and age doesn't do it the way God said to do it, we don't love one another as the Excelsior pinnacle of what it means to be in Christ and how the world will know us. So they call us hypocrites. How can we know God loves you or believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because He loves you, when we can't see that you love one another? We're hypocrites and deserve the label unless we're faithful. We'll get to that next week.

This week, the faithfulness is so easy for us to jettison the priestly ministry as useless. It is so easy for Israel to jettison the priestly ministry as a prurient and corrupt because it was so often in First Samuel chapter two. Again, let me just give you a couple of lowlights not highlights. In verses 22-24. "Now Eli was very old and he heard everything his sons did in all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So he said to them, Why do you do such things, for I hear of these evil deeds of yours. No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the LORD’s people is not good." Every minister that falls into sexual sin, causes the world to abhor the church. Just like these priests falling in, and pursuing sexual sin caused the people to abhor God's temple. Eli says no, my son's for, it is not good. A good report I hear you make, but the Lord's people transgress. He says this "If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the LORD, who will intercede for them?” That was a good and righteous thing to say. But there's another part of this verse. I paraphrase. Nevertheless, they did not heed the voice of their father because the Lord desired to kill them, to make them an example for all time of what God does to bad priests.

But then a man of God came to Eli, and said to him in verse 27, Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28. I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. 29. Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’ I do not have time now to read the rest of this. Later today you should read the punishment on this house, the house of Eli for their sin, and how God will later kill these two sons for their evil. This is the history of Israel, and it is easy to see the unfaithfulness of priests.

But there is a faithful priest. Moses was faithful in all his house, but he was not perfect. But there is a perfect High Priest. There is One who was faithful in every aspect of His ministry, as a High Priest, a Priest, we need to look up to, a priest, we need to lead us to God again. For he and all of His ministry, was faithful, recorded in John are these faithful sayings about Jesus, Jesus Himself said, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." That's called being faithful. "This is the will of My Father who sent Me that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but would raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." He did the will of God, and we can trust the will of God. And we can confess we have a High Priest, who is faithful, that will raise us up at the last day. In John chapter seven, I read again, "If anyone wills to do His will, He shall know concerning that doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak of My own authority." This was said by Jesus when he was speaking to the Jews in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles. They were wondering what authority He spoke on. In verse 18, of John seven, he says, "Jesus says this, 'He who speaks for himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent him is true. No unrighteousness is in him. Hang on to that and remember this from Hebrews three. A High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, Who was faithful to Him Who appointed Him. God sent the Son, God appointed the Son to the position of High Priest. He gave Jesus that special calling, and He seeks glory for the Father, not his own.

So He goes on to say back in John seven, "but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" Jesus exposed their sin of rebellion. In John 8:25 when the Pharisees are challenging him and asking, "Who are you? And why can you speak like this?" 28. "Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, "and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things." 29. "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." He was faithful. At the end of his ministry, He prays to God the Father, before He goes to the cross, John 17:4 "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5. "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

And that segues very nicely to Hebrews chapter three, where we see that a greater glory and honor is due to Jesus, the great high priest, even more than Moses. In Hebrews 3:3 says, "For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant. He is faithful as a servant over his own house, as a servant even over his own house. Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses. In all of Israel's history, the one who stands out highest and most paramount is Moses, the law giver, the great deliverer from Egypt, and again and again, he was mentioned and he is revered, and he has looked up to, but this one, Jesus is worthy of more glory, because He is not the one who is a steward or a servant in the house, but He is the one who built the house.

Even Hebrews, this book that we began reminded us that Jesus is the Creator God, along with God the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus is a creator. We have learned that He created not just the heavens and the earth, but he also made the time periods of verse to Chapter One of Hebrews. God who is speaking, spoke through some of these last days. It says this was His last day spoken to us by his Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom Jesus His Son, He made the worlds, the eons and the time. In John, we find in that book the that beginning of all things were made through Him. Speaking of Jesus, in Colossians, chapter one, if you want to look it up later, verse 16, it says of Jesus for by him all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are on earth. And that would include the house of any man and the house of God. It is this Jesus who will later say of His Church, His own house, he will say, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." He is worthy of greater honors, worthy of greater glory, because he actually built the house. He doesn't just oversee it. A greater honor to God the builder than to the steward Moses. Jesus will be a High Priest, faithful and worthy of more glory and honor, for He will not only hold this high priestly capacity, but he will hold the positions that were always separated in Israel, that of King and that of High Priest, and it will be joined together in Christ.

The prophet Zachariah, using the symbolism of his day of the high priest, Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest. Let me just read it to the symbology of combining those two offices into one in the future Christ. In Zachariah six, verse 11. The prophet speaks and says, "Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; " and right there every Israelites antenna would go up. It would go up because they know their own history, that there have been times when kings had attempted to take over the ministry of a high priests in the temple, and we're punished for it. And were chastened for it because it wasn't their position. And they would say, Wait a minute. Make a crown and set it on the head of the high priest? Verse 12, Zachariah 6 "Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; 13. Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both." ' And right there, you have to realize that this is a connective to all the others who had come before all the priests, all the kings who could not bear the weight of the glory of either of those offices. For every king, even the good ones, even David, failed. Even Moses failed. Even the great ones failed. They couldn't bear the weight of the glory. But this one, the Branch, the one that is coming, is able to bear the weight of the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And He shall be a priest on his throne, a High Priest and King combined together, the perfect combination of religion and politics.

Yes, God does not see a separation in the future kingdom of God of church and state, He will have a combination, can I have an amen? And it shall be right and just and good. But man cannot bear the weight of that glory. We sin in it. And the Council of peace shall be between them both. There won't be contention against King and High Priest. There won't be manipulation to gain more power, it will all be held by Christ perfectly. Today, as we see the posturing of Russia, the movements of China, with Taiwan and Hong Kong in their sights.

Is not peace something you're interested in? If perhaps you're too young to consider this, God may make you aware of what war really is. So that you desire this High Priest who deserves more glory than Moses. He is faithful and worthy of more glory than Moses.

Now letter B, He has a servant, a Son over His own house. Back to Hebrews chapter three. Look at verse five. "And Moses, indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterwards. But Christ as a Son over His own house whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoice in the hope firm to the end."

There's a servant son contrast placed here, that Jesus Christ is worthy of more glory, because He's the creator builder of the house, but He's worthy of more glory as well, because Moses was a servant, a steward, but Jesus is a Son. And as a son, he did serve as a servant, yet he holds the position of son, and only one has been called that by God, Jesus the Christ. It truly was an honor for Moses to be a servant in God's house and over God's house. Moses himself is honored in Scripture, in Exodus, if you want to go back and count them in Exodus 35:35. Through chapter 40. 22 references are made to Moses faithfulness. In Exodus 40, alone, there are eight references to his obedience in everything that God commanded of him, Moses obeyed God. So faithfulness and obedience are synonymous. Moses as a servant, as a term of dignity and freedom, a highest condition of service, yet still a servant, not a son.

The Hebrews that are reading this, and we who read this today need to see Moses as a servant, who is pointing to the Son, Jesus Christ. Old Testament and New Testament, Moses and Christ. You need the beginning to see the purpose fulfilled in the plan and purposes of God today in Christ. You'll never understand Hebrews in the New Testament without reading your Old Testament. Jesus Himself will confront the disbelievers in His own house Israel, saying "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Wherever the Hebrews are called upon to see Jesus as higher and greater as a son, and a servant than Moses, and we are as well as a son over his own house. What's his own house part? What is it? I believe this is a house composed of Christians. And how do I know that? Well, let's go back to Hebrews 3:6. "But Christ as a Son over His own house", here we have it. Who is His house? We are. Whose house are we? The Son's. What's the house look like? It looks like you. He bought us. He's building a house with building blocks. You mean putting all you block heads together? I mean, God bless your little square heads. I mean, hearts. Oh, I messed that one up.

He's building us a house. We are His house. It's composed of the faithful Christians. How do I know they're faithful? There's an if there's an IF. A lot of people say they're Christians, right? I'm a Christian, I believe. Although it's getting less and less that that's a social construct that you want to attach to your name. It doesn't seem to have as much status as it used to. But listen, We are His house if we hold fast to the confidence. If we hold fast to the confidence we have to be faithful in His confidence. What did we read over here? The High Priest of our confession, what we confess as true and right, is our confidence. If we fail to believe that any longer we've lost our confession, we've lost confidence. That's why we need to realize our High Priest is faithful and never lose confidence in Him. Even though time goes on.

Where is this Jesus? He said he's coming again. Just this week, I had a guy tell me over the meat counter at Town and Country foods. Oh, yeah. You guys have been saying he's going to set up His kingdom forever. I said, No, not forever. But it will be a long time and with the Lord 1000 years is as one day and one day is as 1000 years. So it's only been a couple days. I thought it was highly amusing. I'm not sure he thought the same, but that can undermine your confidence. Obedience is faithfulness. What you confess and believe is faithfulness. Jesus said in Matthew 10, "and you will be hated by all for my namesake."

Who wants to be a Christian now? Raise your hands. Listen," but he who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus also said "In this world you will have tribulation." He said "Fear not. I've overcome the world." We seem to want the Kingdom now. Rather than confessing the Kingdom coming through Christ, the High Priest in Galatians, Paul admonishes us along with these Hebrews, I would say where he says, "and let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Put your love in the due season. You know that means hurry up and wait. That's what that means. Not yet. It's near but it's not here. Don't lose heart, faithful confidence. In Hebrews chapter 3, just a little farther. I'll highlight it now. We'll expose it later. On another Sunday.

In Hebrews 3:14. It says "For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence, steadfast to the end, The reality of being a true believer is, you never give up. You never give up. You never give up. Because our confidence is not in us. It's not in the faithfulness of men around us. It's not in the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters, however faithful they may be. It is not in our pastors, no matter how gloriously they may be able to hold forth that Word, that Word of God. Our confidence is that our High Priest, Christ Jesus. He is who we confess. The name First Baptist Church will fly away if you fly up in the rapture and it will burn off if you go down. But your confession will determine which way do you fly! And how you have lived. Faithful and confident.

If we hold the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. The idea there is to hold fast to the rejoicing of hope. It is not all easy just to endure. You could have just complained all the way to the end. "I hate this. This stinks. This is horrible." How could God allow us to do that? You'd find a lot of company with the Israelites in the wilderness, I think. But God expects something else from people of faith. And it's truly a mark of having been regenerated, because nobody can wait through all this tribulation, that has been guaranteed you with rejoicing, unless your hearts have been changed. And your hope is fixed on glories to come, Faithful, faithful rejoicing of hope.

In Romans 5, let me just give you a few here and I might abbreviate some of these. I looked at the clock, which I shouldn't do, but I did. The Romans 5:1 Paul says, "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Now pay attention here through Whom also we have access by faith into His Grace, in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Christians are rejoicers. What does that mean? You know, rejoicing? I don't even know if we understand what real joy is. I think it's been kind of hijacked by the world. What is this joy thing, this rejoicing? I mean, is it the ecstatic loss of bodily control and the happy dance that we see, is that what it is? So we have to run around and jump up and down and do the hippie shake, shake, you know, be spastic or something? Is that what he's talking about? No, never! Is God one of the external expressions of the internal reality? God is a God of what happens inside you.

I believe rejoicing, and this is my definition, is the buoyant, that means it always stays on top of the water, the buoyant assurance in the promises of God, as though already completely fulfilled. The buoyant assurance and the promises of God as though already completely fulfilled, that crests the peak and the peaks of danger. And weathers the troves of depression. It's rejoicing, the rejoicing of hope.

Peter said this in first Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope. Through the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead. If we remain faithful, we have a faithful High Priest, who is faithful over all His house, and we can trust Him to lead us as He desires to the ultimate rest.

Let's pray. Father God, thank You for Your Son, Your appointed One. The High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who now we confess was faithful and all His house is faithful over us. For He is faithful to You as a Son and a Servant. Lord, let our confidence be firmly placed in Him and let our rejoicing be in the promises which He will deliver faithfully, for they are your promises. We pray this to be a reality that will keep us afloat until we die, or You come to get us. In Jesus' High Priestly name we ask it, Amen.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai