Sunday Evening Worship Service
by Nathan Whitley
May 16, 2021 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Genesis 14:18-20, Hebrews 7:14-16, Hebrews 7:21-22, Hebrews 7:3, Psalms 110:4, Hebrews 7:4, Romans 1:17, Hebrews 5:8-9, Romans 5:1, Isaiah 32:17, Psalms 85:10, Hebrews 10:5

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nathan-whitley--sunday-evening-worship-service-171
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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come on and put your hands together in this house if you know something happens when you begin to call on the name of jesus [Music] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] today come on your breakthrough is right here and it starts with your praise come on the mountains [Music] let's go oh [Music] is [Music] come on tonight [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] do you believe that your breakthrough is within your reach can you believe your prayer being answered is it is this within listen jesus walked into the synagogue i think it was mark chapter number two and there was a man with a withered hand and he looked at that man he said stretch forth thine hand because your miracle is within your reach now listen how can a man with a withered hand reach you see you have to use what you got listen my prayer might be withered my faith might be withered but somebody just needs to reach with what you've got because your breakthrough i wish somebody would lipsy focus a little bit more somebody lift him up just a little bit [Music] [Music] it's just within your east one more prayers one more prayer one more step of faith [Music] one more time would you clap your hands unto the lord and give him a shout i believe it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here you can start making your way back to your seat but as you're going back to your seat we have another to be baptized tonight in the name of jesus christ at the conclusion of service i don't know how many weeks in a row we've been baptizing people but if you've not been baptized in the name of jesus christ what hinders you here is water that is the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved and what a what a word we heard this morning if you are not here maybe you are serving somewhere else on this campus go to facebook go to our youtube page and watch today's sermon the sound of silence pastor anthony just it was like trying to drink from a fire hose just so much uh that was there and we need to go back and listen to that again because there was that was rich rich today so i give pastor anthony pastor mccool pastor pastor mccool sister jamie there in north carolina with pastor george acres and sister acres celebrating i think their 33rd church anniversary so they are there ministering this weekend we miss them but we are praying for them praying for a safe return hope they have plenty of gas in north carolina for them to get home and so we pray for them and i give honor to bishop mccool and sister mccool and all of our leaders and our elders we give you honor tonight let's go to the book of genesis and then we're going to turn over to the new testament to the book of hebrews now i'm going to give you something tonight that you're probably going to think what in the world is he how is he going to get there from here what is this going to be about tonight but if you'll just stick with me for a few moments i won't be long tonight i don't have a whole lot of notes so if i stick to it i should be pretty short but go with me to genesis chapter number 14 and then we're gonna turn over to hebrews chapter number seven and we'll probably stay in chapter seven of hebrews for the remainder of the evening but genesis 14 we're going to begin reading at number 18. in melchizedek king of salem someone say salem brought forth bread and wine and he was the priest of the most high god he blessed him speaking of abraham and said blessed be abram of the most high god possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be the most high god which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand and he abraham gave him tithes of all so go to hebrews chapter number 7. now we read the old testament through the lens of jesus christ in the new testament so what new testament authors and writers would do is they would build their foundation from something in the old testament and illuminate it through jesus christ to give us a fuller revelation of who he is so hebrews 7 verses 14 through 16 is going to give us just a little bit more understanding of what we just read verse number 14 of hebrews 7 for it is evident that our lord sprang out of judah of which tribe moses spake nothing concerning priesthood and it is yet far more evident for that after the similitude of melchizedek there ariseth another priest who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life skip down to verse number 21 and 22 for those priests are made without an oath but this with an oath by him that said unto him the lord swear and will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order of melchizedek by so much was jesus made a surety of a better testament genesis 14 and 18 said that melchizedek came to abraham and he brought forth bread and wine tonight i want to preach teach on this subject the king's bread and wine the king's bread and wine why don't you pray with me just for a few more moments father we thank you for your word it's a lamp and to our feet to light into our path but god we thank you for the amazing revelation of your word the unfolding drama of redemption from genesis to revelation whereas all of history hangs on the truth that you have come to fulfill all the law and the prophets and i pray lord that we would see tonight what you can do for us those who are weary those who are discouraged those who need some energy in their spirit i pray god that we would see and find that in you in jesus name we pray and everyone said amen why don't you clap your hands again tonight unto the lord [Applause] the king's bread and wine everybody everybody likes a good minute a good mystery the important parts of a good mystery include clues and questions answers speculation and solutions mystery envelopes the bible character melchizedek he appears seemingly out of nowhere and then suddenly disappears i when i first moved here to knoxville can you believe we're going on 11 years since i've moved here when i first moved here a great bible student stopped me after a service one night and she quizzed me on who is melchizedek questions like this arise when we get to this character was he a real person was his appearance to to abraham simply a theophany which is an appearance of jesus in the old testament part of the mystery surrounding melchizedek is due to the writer of hebrews statement in hebrews 7 and 3 without father without mother without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like unto the son of god abideth a priest continually what does that mean that sounds pretty interesting that sounds like a mystery how does one not have a mother or a father no beginning of days no end of life who is this mysterious man melchizedek well i believe melchizedek was a real person and despite his similar characteristics of jesus i do not believe that he was simply a theophany of jesus but his cameo in genesis is packed with significance and worthy of our study this evening in genesis 14 a dispute among several kings resulted in a war in the jordan valley where lot abraham's nephew was living in sodom a coalition of kings invaded sodom and the surrounding areas and they took lot captive one person escaped and they went and told abraham of the news abraham gathered his trained men and went to battle with the kings who invaded sodom freeing lot and recovering those cities the king of sodom and melchizedek king of salem met abraham at his return home time and space don't permit us the ability to to talk about the king of sodom at this moment but the meeting of melchizedek and abraham is an amazing meeting in history abraham the man of faith and melchizedek we're intrigued aren't we when great influential men and women meet each other i think of winston churchill and franklin d roosevelt and their meetings and their encounters during world war ii to be a fly on the wall at those meetings and encounters the influential life of abraham is important throughout the rest of genesis and scripture melchizedek's life is briefly just simply mentioned here in genesis 14 he shows up and then he disappears though given a short introduction he'll be he will very well be an important person a thousand years later when the psalmist says the lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order of melchizedek psalm 110 is the most quoted chapter of psalms in the new testament only seven verses and this is the most quoted psalm in the new testament then a thousand years after psalm 110 was written the writer of hebrews said now consider how great this man was speaking of melchizedek unto whom even the patriarch abraham gave the tenth of the spoils and let me just pause there for a moment that even before the law was given through moses that people were tithing to those who are in the priesthood that it predates the law and those who would say well that was simply for the law can i tell you that it predated the law and that tithing though it is mentioned there is still important here today because the superior blesses the inferior the writer of hebrews tells us while much of abraham's life of faith is recorded and recounted on throughout the bible melchizedek has a small cameo but he makes a giant impact small cameo a giant impact you know you don't need a spotlight to be influential you don't need a spotlight to be influential you don't have to have volumes of books written about you to make a difference you can simply to show up in history for a short moment of time and make a difference in someone's life scripture says that melchizedek was a priest of the most high god this is significant for a few reasons first he was a servant of the lord in a rather in a rather godless region the people of the jordan valley were anything but worshipers of jehovah for melchizedek to be considered godly at that time and in this place gives us reason to believe that he was a man of faith can i tell you this this evening people who live contrary to their surrounding culture are considered to be counter-cultural isn't it amazing that the church has become counter-cultural we are now the outcasts of society living in opposition to the culture that surrounds us melchizedek was a man of faith in a faithless world if you're going to make any impact upon the world then you must not be like the world i say it again you didn't hear me i don't think if you're going to make any impact upon the world you can't be like the world you have to be different from the world you have to stand out from the crowd dress like the world talk like the world live like the world go to the things that the world go to we live differently even though we're not giving we're not giving any details of melchizedek's conversion how did he know of the lord it's so mysterious how could he be a a priest under the most high god how could he even do that without there being somebody telling him and who was that someone who told him where did he come from can i tell you something you don't need a pulpit to make a difference in someone's life i don't know who taught melchizedek i don't know who who who told him of the lord that a nameless character how did he come to know the lord our god can i tell you you can make a difference without a spotlight and a pulpit i know i've said that once before i want to say it again listen if you want to be influential be influential from the back door to this place right here if you're looking for i'm going to go ahead and preach a little while now if you need a microphone and a pulpit and a title and a position to be influential that's not a ministry you're looking for you're looking to perform melchizedek was not looking to perform he was a man of faith and being a man of faith he's a man of righteousness for paul says in romans 1 7 17 the righteous live by faith the writer of hebrews even interprets his name melchizedek it means king of righteousness righteousness brothers and sisters means to live according to god's law that's how you stand out from a crowd is to believe this book and obey it to stand out in the crowd is to know this book and apply this book to your life that's what righteousness means righteousness means to live and obey according to god's law melchizedek lived by a higher law than that of his surrounding people one writer said this righteousness exalts a nation but sin condemns any people righteousness exalts a nation do you see the connection between melchizedek and jesus now jesus is the king of righteousness he is superior to melchizedek because the righteousness of humanity is simply filthy rags we cannot claim our own righteousness as any good what righteousness we have has been given to us imputed to us from the perfect righteousness of jesus christ because jesus brothers and sisters perfectly obeyed god's word the writer of hebrews says this hebrews 5 8 through 9 though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them who obey him righteousness is imputed to us because jesus was perfectly righteous someone said amen i'm going somewhere i'm i know i'm going slow but we'll end fast i promise but here he is the king of righteousness melchizedek the second interesting reason to melchizedek's priesthood is that he is not from the levitical priesthood obviously levi hadn't been born yet abraham was the father of isaac then there's jacob and then jacob's 12 sons and then there is levi through whom would come the levitical and aaronic priesthood and that was still about 500 years in the future from this moment in genesis 14. this is this is significant because melchizedek's priesthood is not based upon lineage or inheritance let me just stop there and add this note too you know you don't have to come from a preacher's home to be a preacher you know you don't have to come from a godly home to be godly because what you have to do is say i'm living by a higher law there's something within me there's something that god is doing within me and god can start you can be a first generation preacher you can be a first generation apostolic we put a lot of great emphasis well i'm third generation fourth generation fifth generation i'm 100 generation apostolic that's fantastic but you know what's even greater being the first generation and getting a revelation of who jesus christ is and i'm the first one god can start something in me it's not based upon who your daddy is or who your mother is it's getting your mind made up that i'm going to live for the lord no matter my circumstance that's how you live counter cultural that's significant that the priesthood this was a priesthood that was all his own it wasn't levitical priesthood the writer of hebrews draws this conclusion this is significance because jesus doesn't come from levi he doesn't come from the old testament line of priesthood that was set up through the mosaic law this is what the writer says of hebrews if therefore perfection whereby the levitical priesthood for under it the people received the law what further need was there that another priesthood arise after the order of melchizedek and not be called after the order of aaron for the priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also in the law i feel the holy ghost tonight for he of whom these things are spoken pertaining to another tribe of which no man gave a tenant at the altar for it is evident that our lord spring out of judah of which try moses spake nothing concerning priesthood but it did speak of a kingship and it is yet far more evident for that after the similitude of melchizedek there arises another priest who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life for he testifieth thou art a priest forever after the order of melchizedek for there is verily a disannoying of the commandment going before for the weakness and the unprofitableness thereof so jesus didn't come through the line of levi but he came in the similitude of melchizedek now it doesn't say that he came from melchizedek's priesthood but he is a similitude it looks like that it's looks like that because it's not the levitical priesthood and this is also important that the writer of hebrews draws this out he says without mother without father without descent he's not saying that he is to have a mother or does not have a father it's mean there's no record of it and so taking that example he says jesus who is forever he's the ancient of days he's the rock of ages he's the alpha and the omega he is he didn't have a beginning he is the beginning and he is the end so he is a priesthood forever after the similitude or the order of melchizedek because because the levitical priesthood meant that they had humanity they couldn't do it forever meaning that there was a beginning of a time when they would serve at the priesthood in the altar in the tabernacle or the temple and then there would be a time when they would have to stop who said death they would die and so what would happen is somebody else would take his place somebody else would take his place do you know i was in israel about four years ago and i was there and we we celebrated uh the feast of booths while we were there we went to the wailing wall there in the old city and it was the most amazing moment of my entire life to see thousands of jews coming to that place to worship and they someone whispered to me and they said the levite the cohen is here and i ask the question what do you mean he's here they said that ever since the old testament and even through the new testament and throughout history they have still been training priests and there is a priest here who comes from the tribe of levi and if he dies guess what this person whispered in my ear there's another one hidden somewhere that they are training because one of these days there will be a temple one of these days there will be a new temple and they have a priesthood it might not be today it might not be tomorrow but they're because there is a inheritance but if they die someone takes their place that's why jesus could not come through the levitical priesthood because he is eternal meaning he has a superior sacrifice to that of the levitical sacrifices those sacrifices bulls and goats were temporary they could never take away sins and the priesthood was temporary and they could never represent humanity before god forever and represent god to humanity forever so jesus who came through the tribe of judah came as a priest after the order of melchizedek because he offered a superior sacrifice that ever is being given to god through his shed blood it's greater than bulls and goats it's greater than the levitical priesthood and i wish somebody was hearing me right my god my god this book brothers and sisters this book is amazing to me i don't know how anybody could make this stuff up and they pull it all together and everything has a shadow and the writer says these things being a shadow but christ is the substance meaning in the old testament they were worshiping a shadow it was simply an image but when jesus come he came to bring the light he wasn't the shadow he was the light and you and i brother and sisters we have the real thing we don't need a priest being trained right now to [Applause] for we have a high priest whoever lives to make intercession for us what does that mean that means that jesus right now is in heaven praying for you he is in heaven praying for you robert mcshane one of the greatest missionaries said this if i can hear christ praying for me in the next room i would not fear a million enemies yet the distance makes no difference he is praying for me brothers and sisters can i tell you you might have missed your prayer time yesterday but jesus has been praying for you since the moment that he ascended from the mount of olives he's praying what do you have to fear when you know that jesus is praying for you what are you so worried about no he's praying for you he's what do you have to fear what do you have to worry about your prayers can be so withered and faithless but i want you to know that he's never missed a prayer day he's never missed a prayer hour he's never missed a prayer minute he's been praying for you he's been praying for me he's been praying for you what do you have to fear knowing that christ is praying for you my lord have mercy that's what he's doing right now notice this too melchizedek are y'all are y'all getting fired up as i am right now this book this book amazes me this book amazes me notice that melchizedek is said to be king of salem salem would later be called jerusalem melchizedek king of salem they added jeru later to salem we get the word shalom from this word and shalom means peace melchizedek king [Music] of peace jesus said my peace i give to you he gives us peace that passes all understanding one writer called him the prince of peace but there's two types of peace in the bible i'm going somewhere there's two types of peace in the bible there is subjective peace and then there is objective peace subjective peace is a sort of tranquility of mind it is a peace in your mind and a peace in your spirit knowing that god a sovereign god is in control i have peace i have the peace of god that is subjective something like right now could be worrying you and someone over here have the same thing going on and there there's no worry whatsoever because that type of peace is subjective what worries you and gives you uh sleepless nights may not give somebody else a sleepless night but when you have peace of god and you know that he's in control and that i don't have to worry about the future because i know what he's done in history that's peace of god but then there is objective peace and that is relational peace this is peace with god romans 5 and 1 says this therefore being justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ what does that mean this is not the peace of god this is peace with god don't we all want peace with god but that implies that we previously did not have peace with him that we are at once enemies with god that we were at war with god brother whitley i've never been at war with god well your sin caused you to be at war with god your sin caused enmity and strife in your relationship with god but yet through the sacrifice of jesus christ we have peace but i want you to notice this that melchizedek we can i can i could teach on this for weeks but look at this the writer says of hebrews that being called first of all king of righteousness king of peace notice that righteousness comes before peace we've got conferences we've got protests we've got legislation let there be peace just give peace a chance but you want to know how to have peace in this world is to have righteousness isaiah 32 and 17 says this find it real quick that the works of righteousness is peace or one translation says the effects of righteousness is peace meaning that when you are righteous you have peace but notice that we don't have righteousness unless it was given to us through jesus so he paid the price through his life he shed his blood so we could have peace with god so our righteousness that is given to us produces peace with him one writer says this in psalms righteousness and peace have kissed mercy and truth have come together because you can't have peace without righteousness you cannot have peace without righteousness and you cannot have righteousness without jesus but this is how he is superior to melchizedek i'm drawing to a close i'm trying promise because that jesus is the king of righteousness and he is the king of peace he is king of kings he is the merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to god to make reconciliation for the sins of the people musicians if you want to get ready going back to genesis 14 we have one to get baptized and they're going to start getting ready to get baptized here in just a moment but please listen to me as i draw to a conclusion let's look at this again from genesis 14 18 through 20. melchizedek king of salem peace brought forth bread and wine he was the priest of the most high god he blessed him and said blessed be abram of the most high god possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be the most high god which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand melchizedek meets abraham coming back from battle and he gives him bread and wine the king priest he is both king and priest let me just pause and bookmark that that in the old testament a levitical priest could not be king and a king could not be a priest king uzziah tried to do priestly work and the lord smote him with leprosy but here is melchizedek king priest of peace and righteousness with bread and wine stand with me abraham just came back from a battle weary blood stained exhausted worn out melchizedek meets him listen to me bread and wine do you see it do you see it yet the writer of hebrews said a body has thou prepared for me jesus looked at his disciples the night before his arrest the night of his arrest and the night before his crucifixion in an upper room he sits with them [Music] and says here eat this bread [Music] for it is my body [Music] broken for you then he said this and he passed them the cup and he said drink for this is my blood [Music] which is a testament that is shed for the renewal for the cleansing of the world here the king from which the tribe of judah would produce the monarchy for israel jesus comes from the king he's a priest after the order of melchizedek forever he looks at his [Music] fearful anxious disciples and says here's bread here's why abraham you're tired you're wore out your battle weary here's some bread and here's some wine beloved are you weary with fighting against god's call and beckoning come and partake of the king's bread and wine do you need the peace of god come and eat the kings bread and wine do you need peace with god come and eat the bread and drink the wine do you need a righteousness that only can come from god then come and partake of the king's bread and wine do you need cleansing in your soul and come and partake of the bread and the wine of the king you might be wore out tired we come through a year of fear and anxiety and anxiousness we have fought every day we are we are tossed to and fro between arguments do this or not do that be a part of this and not be a part of that up down this way that way and we're just anybody else feel that way just stretch don't know what to do [Music] you're wore out maybe you've been fighting a spiritual battle in your in your heart in your family and you're just know what you need tonight is the king's bread and wine would you close your eyes and would you begin to pray for a moment that we have a high priest that can relate to our weaknesses and to our temptations and right now he wants to take the drooping hands that hang low the weak knees and give you some strength you know what you need tonight is the king's bread and wine and how you do that is through faith saying lord fill me once again with your spirit with your peace with your love is there anybody who would just step out of their pew maybe you need some peace in your mind peace in your heart you need the peace of god maybe maybe you've been wrestling with conviction in your soul over some things you've been doing and you're fighting against it you know you can have peace with god through the king's bread and wine maybe you need the holy ghost maybe you've been searching you've been seeking can i tell you he wants to give you his spirit and his spirit will give you peace that passes all understanding maybe there's somebody just tired fighting all the things we've been fighting and going through and you just need some rest jesus said come come my burden is is lights come take my yoke upon you let me have your burdens let me have your worries would you just begin to pray there's the the spirit is moving at this moment we've got one to be baptized here in just a few moments but i wonder if somebody can lift up their hands as they begin to sing and partake of the king's blood and his wife separated the breach was far too wide but from the far side of the chasm you held me in your sight so you you made a way across the great divide left behind heaven's throne to build it here inside and there at the cross you paid the debt i owed broke my chains freed my soul for the first time thank you jesus [Music] his blood can be applied [Music] brought tonight from the darkness into [Music] glorious [Music] there is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Music] um thank you jesus [Music] this is jason jason has was brought here by the hook's family he realized his need to be baptized in the name of jesus got to talk to him wednesday and this morning and he is going to partake of that that bread and that wine tonight let's pray with him right now father in the name of jesus lord we thank you for the work that you've been doing in jason's life but god it's only the start it's only in the beginning and i pray that your hand would be upon him and i pray that your spirit would fill him tonight and god change him make him a new creation to do great things for you in jesus name reporting all right jason on the profession of your faith and obedience to the word of god i now baptize you in the name of the lord jesus christ for the remission of your sins thank you jesus you have [Music] one more time one more time thank you jesus [Music] would you give jesus praise would you give him thanksgiving tonight thank him [Music] i'm thankful i'm thankful for the king's bread and wine aren't you i'm thankful for that in jesus name listen brothers and sisters we are in revival we are in revival here at first apostolic church keep bringing people keep witnessing keep testifying of the goodness of jesus and we're going to continue to see people's lives changed through the king's bread and wine one more time i want you to clap your hands with the lord thank you for what he's done today amen don't forget all the great things happening here at first apostolic church at apostolic christian school and i love that we get to do this again but you are dismissed from right where you are fellowship tech meeting tuesday night if you are interested make sure you get signed up with brother dairy brother justin or bless on the bus we'll see you all wednesday night for