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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/christ-the-forerunner/
Hebrews 6. And we'll read verse number 20. Whither the forerunner is for us entered even jesus made an high priest forever after the order of melchizedek. Now go back up for the sake of the context. Verse number 17.
Wherein god willing more abundantly to show onto the earth of promise that you and me the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath. That was an oath that was made to abraham that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for god to lie his word is enough.
And then when he confirms it with an oath there's two immutable things we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which entereth into that within the veil whither the forerunner is for us entered.
Even jesus made an high priest forever after the order of melchizedek. Now the lord will bless to us the reading from his word with what we've been privileged already to listen to. It was genesis 22 just after abraham had confirmed the sincerity of his faith and his devotion to god by not withholding isaac his only son isaac whom he loved but in obedience was willing to lay him there upon the altar that god gave abraham the promise.
And the lord swear unto abraham a number of things including this. In thee and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. Apostle paul writing to the galatians he takes up that point and he focuses in on the singularity of the word seed not seeds as of many but see not merely through isaac but looking down through the centuries of time god had in mind of course the coming into the world of our lord jesus christ the messiah.
And in thee and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. And that's where we come in. We come into the blessing of being linked with christ and the great redemption that he has secured for us he has gone in as we have been hearing within the veil whether the forerunner for us has entered even jesus made an high priest forever after the order of melchizedek.
Another old testament figure from the book of genesis. Now question what is a forerunner. What is a forerunner. Well if you were to go back to the ancient east in the culture of the day the forerunner would relate to one who occupied a high position maybe a governor or a king or whoever but who would be coming into an area.
And as he would approach that area there would be messengers that would go before a man that would run on before and clear the way and announce that the the man of dignity is coming. And so the forerunner would be that person that would go ahead and would prepare the way for the one who is coming.
So in relation to our verse i take it the term is implying that where the lord jesus has gone there will be others that will follow after. Now in his first coming to earth john the baptist served that function.
He was a forerunner in that he went before the lord jesus and prepared the way of the lord in fulfillment of the old testament prophecies not only from isaiah but malachi chapter 3 verse 1. And as matthew writes in chapter 11 he indicates that john fulfilled that prophecy from malachi 3.
For this is he of whom it is written behold i send my messenger before thy face which shall prepare the way before thee. So that was john's john's function to act as a forerunner and to go before to prepare the way before the lord jesus again luke chapter 1 the angel spoke to zacharias john's father and said he shall go before him in the spirit and power of elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the of the just and to make ready a people prepared for the lord.
So john would do two things. John would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and through his ministry there would be stirred up in the hearts of fathers a concern for the spiritual well-being of their children.
And then his ministry would also be directed to the children i take it that's who's referred to the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and thus to make ready a people for the lord. So he would bring back the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.
In other words what john was doing was this. He was gathering out of the nation a people a company who would be by faith anticipating the coming of the messiah believers that were made ready to meet the lord when he would appear in his ministry.
And his first appearing now. That is uh a good ministry for each one of us to be engaged in too isn't it. It's just by the way because the lord is coming again as we've been hearing. And really our function is still that which was given to the disciples in the great commission to go into all the world make disciples of all nations that there will be a people prepared for the lord when he comes.
And that would encourage us in gospel exercise to reach out to loved ones to our children. The hearts of fathers would be stirred up with a spiritual concern for the children. So let me ask each brother here today that his children that are still not saved.
Tell me when it comes time for the prayer meeting. Are you there to pray. To pray for your own children to expect god to save them. It's vital that we pray for them. And so each parent here today we need to be reminded.
We'll just remind ourselves in our own hearts that we need to pray for our children folk around too not just our own children but let's come back to our verse. He has entered beyond the veil. Whether the forerunner has for us entered.
What has he entered. What has he entered. I'm going to suggest two things. He has entered a place and he has entered an office. Our brother has taken us to the slopes of the mount of olives. He led them out as far as tibethany.
And as those disciples gathered around they watched as the lord jesus started to rise and he went up. They watched as who have been reminded. But they weren't the only ones watching that day as obey as her brother suggested too there were angelic beings watching.
They were right there they were present. Now there are all kinds of different angelic beings that we read off in our bibles. There are the cherubim there are the seraphim. And there are other groups as well.
I think they stood by that day. They were involved but no doubt there were multitudes of them that stood by and they watched with wonder as they gazed toward planet earth. And there's a man that rises up through the atmosphere a real man and beyond the atmosphere of earth he rises and he goes up past the cherubim and he goes up still past the seraphim.
And he goes up still higher still until he goes far above all principality and power and might and dominion. And every name that is named not only in this world but in that which is to come and finally arrives at the throne room of god.
That real man in a real body enters into the very presence of the god of eternity. And god recognized him and god saluted him. Thou art my son this day have i begotten thee. And he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
A real man in the glory he has entered within the veil right into the holiest of all. And he has sat down on the throne on the right hand of the majesty on high he has entered a place. But he has also entered an office as our verse reminds us he has been made an high priest forever after the order of melchizedek.
So the lord jesus is in the place for a purpose to function as the high priest high priest of his people to represent his people. And so he is there notice after the order of melchizedek. Now that's interesting.
When we go back to the tabernacle erin the high priest represented his people the people of israel when once a year he would enter into the holiest of all. You remember that erin in his functioning. And as part of his official garments there were given to him garments for glory and beauty.
And part of that vesture involved stones that were upon his shoulders and a breastplate that covered his chest. The stones on his shoulders had the names of the tribes of the children of israel according to their birth reminds us that every believer in the lord jesus christ regardless of degree of spirituality by virtue of the new birth we are carried upon his shoulders.
But then also upon his breast there were those various stones with various degrees of glory if you will and beauty. And the names of the tribes of israel were upon those stones but not according to the order of birth.
So there is also upon the affection of the lord jesus his people. He represents us as his people. And there will be various degrees of glory in the coming kingdom that will be shared by his people. So wherein would enter in change of garments and so on in the procedure of the day of atonement.
And once a year he would enter into the holiest of all. And says our writer the lord jesus has entered within the veil. He's there as our representative. He's there with our interests upon his heart. But notice our verse is telling us that he is there after the order of melchizedek.
Now what does that mean. Who was melchizedek. Who was melchizedek. That's an interesting question. Abraham regarded melchizedek as the priest of the most high god in the days of the patriarch. The priest was the oldest member of the family.
All right. So who was the oldest surviving member of the family of abraham. And you trace it through and you'll find that it is shem. Shem lived right through into the lifetime of jacob. If that is the case shem was a man who came from the other side of judgment.
Wasn't he. And then he is called melchizedek. If that's who it is a man who functioned as the priest of the most high god. So regardless of his identity if it was shem or not that's beside the point. But abraham he was greeted by melchizedek after he returned from conquering the pagan kings.
And we find melchizedek functioning in this way. He blessed the most high god and he blessed abraham. So there's the priesthood after the order of melchizedek. This is what he does. He blesses the most high god and he blessed abraham.
Now the lord jesus is doing that too right now in heaven he is blessing god. In what way he is carrying out the purpose of god. All of god's purposes are focused upon him and in him they are yea and amen.
And as he functions as the agent in that way he is blessing god. And he is blessing men. He's blessing us as his people. And he's functioning as the high priest after the pattern of erin one who is touched with the feeling of our infirmity for he was in all points tempted like as we.
But he is there as well to bless us. And thank god for the ongoing high priestly ministry of the lord jesus christ. The book of hebrews would develop that but you'll notice that the fact that he is there he is there as our forerunner.
And that brings before us the truth that you and i are going to be where he is not. That's the hope that we have here which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast. And it enters into that within the veil whether the forerunner has for us.
And the metaphor has changed. I take it that here we have the thought of the small boat that would carry the anchor within the harbor so the larger ship out in the ocean not so maneuverable now that it has lost way the sails likely have been lifted in those days and so without power is vulnerable.
But the little boat is launched and it carries the anchor into a safe place into a place where it will be sure and it will be steadfast and it will not move so that the the larger ship has got a sure anchoring place now in a very practical way that is what our lord jesus does for us.
We're moving through this world. But we should not be holding on to it. Rather we are linked with one who has entered within the veil. He has entered into the heavenly sphere and there he appears in the presence of god for us.
And he's there as our forerunner because where he is as he said to his disciples that where i am there you may be also now. That's his word for it and his word cannot be broken. And what he says is absolutely sure.
And the fact that he has entered into the very presence of god is the absolute assurance to us that we are going there too. And i'm looking forward to it. I thank god for that night in my own experience when first this little soul of mine was tethered to the anchor that is within the veil that where i am there you may be also and as we have been hearing at any moment brethren sisters that point in the program of god will be arrived at and the lord jesus will rise and will descend through the heavens to arrive in the atmosphere of earth.
He has already gone through that before but the heavens must receive him until the time of the restitution of all things. So he's not coming to planet earth for us initially. He's not coming to touch down on the mount of olives.
Initially he remains in the heavenly sphere until the manifestation as we have been hearing the time of the restitution of all things. But before the hostilities break out in the time of the tribulation the lord is coming to recall heaven's ambassadors and to bring them.
We're going to hear that voice like the voice of the archangel. And when we hear his voice i want to tell you every sheep that belongs to him will recognize his voice. My sheep hear my voice and i know them.
And we will hear his voice and we'll recognize it in an instant of time. I wonder what we'll be doing whenever that happens. Do you ever wonder what you're what you're going to be doing when the lord comes we'll be sitting in the car driving the car standing at the kitchen sink washing a few dishes.
Or if it's in the summertime maybe mowing the grass or bringing in the corn or milking the cows wonder what each one of us will be doing when that moment comes. Voice of the archangel and trump of god.
And out there in the cemetery the dead in christ will rise first. I don't know if they'll have time to greet one another or not. Kind of doubt it. Two old preachers in the old country they went together and they bought two graves side beside there in balamina back in the day.
And as they completed the transaction with whoever was looking after the graveyard they said on when the lord returns and we hear that shout he says you'll come up out of that one and i'll come up out of this one and we'll shake hands.
And then we'll go up to heaven together. I don't know if there'll be time for that or not but i know that we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed thank god for that. And he will transform our bodies so that we are fashioned like onto the body of his glory.
Yeah according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things onto himself. So dear believers that have wasted away through cancer and have died he's able to subdue the cancer and he's able to subdue the death.
And all of that will be reversed. And from death they'll come the body no more ravaged by cancer but in a moment glorify according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things onto himself. And we which are alive and remain will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye the last trump.
And then with those that have just been raised from the dead we'll rise up together the whole company believers the whole church all together for the first time as as we were thinking earlier and so shall we ever be with the lord.
What a tremendous moment that's going to be when we're all gathered around him there in the air. I don't know how many acres or square miles it's going to take to for the people of god from planet earth all to be together surrounding christ him there in the all of us making for him looking to him worshiping him praising him whether the forerunner has for us centered even jesus made an high priest forever after the order of milky it's absolutely sure it's absolutely steadfast.
He's coming again perhaps today but wonderful wouldn't it. But great if even we went before the conference was over to arise from a group of believers and to be with them forever and best of all to be with our risen glorified soon coming lord jesus christ and that eternally the lord bless his word to our hearts.