No long introduction here. I will cut right to the chase. I want to encourage you, with the same encouragement that God has given me.
I know you are tired. I am too. But God has called you to a very special ministry, in these last days.
“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”
Hebrews 3:1
It is a very special ministry—and it is vitally important.
It is vitally important, because what you have to offer people is literally a matter of life and death.
Do I sound melodramatic? I’m not trying to be. This is very, very serious. And it is a distinct and very high honor to be chosen, to carry out this mission.
(Just a side note here. “Profession” in this verse means, “an acknowledgement of the truth.” If you have not yet acknowledged the truth by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Savior, I implore you to please stop reading and do that right now. You can read the three “red button” articles at the top of the home page of this website, to better understand who Jesus really is.)
As a born again believer, you have been chosen to carry out your mission by the High Priest of your profession, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you don’t need to worry about your ability to do this.
We know that we can count on Him to provide His ministers with everything we need for our mission. He has promised us that.
We don’t need to feel embarrassed that we aren’t measuring up, or that we don’t have what it takes to perform our mission. We know from many, many instances in His word, that He gives us the ability, when we ask.
And we don’t even need to feel ashamed, if there is some sin that threatens to get in the way between us and our ministry.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJV)
Our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, was tempted in every way—He understands. Everything. We can come boldly to His throne and grab onto His mercy. His grace helps us in our times of need—grace for ourselves, and also for those times when we are ministering to others.
So, what exactly is this ministry? To find out, we need to go to back to the beginning of faith itself, in the book of Genesis. Abram (soon to be called, “Abraham”) is approached by a very mysterious figure.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he (Abram) gave him (Melchizedek) a tithe of all.
Genesis 14:18-20 (NKJV, parentheses mine)
Melchizedek appeared in the Bible—and probably also to Abram—out of nowhere. There is no genealogy recorded for him at all, unlike other important people in scripture. His name comes from two Hebrew words that mean, “King of Righteousness.”
He was called a King of Salem (Jerusalem,) but certainly exhibited more than earthly authority, as he was also called “the priest of God Most High.” This is noteworthy, as this was the first figure in scripture to be called a priest. He demonstrated this Godly authority in that he was able to bless Abram with a priestly blessing, and declare that God had delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand.
This authority was acknowledged by Abram, when he gave Melchizedek a “tithe” (one tenth) of all he had. (This act is, by the way, a demonstration of tithing, before the law was instituted…but I digress.) 🙂
Anyway, in my opinion, the mysterious appearance of this figure is very likely a “Christophany”—a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Not all Bible scholars agree with this theory, but I feel it is backed up beautifully by the verse below, where Paul mentions the lack of genealogical record as to his origins, and refers to him as “made like the Son of God” and “a priest continually (forever.)”
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all,
first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”
Hebrews 7:1-3 (NKJV)
Let’s take a close look at the ministry of this “priest of the Most High God” in Genesis. What I find very remarkable is how, when he met Abram, he presented him with bread and wine.
When Jesus spent time with His disciples at “the Last Supper,” it was actually a Passover feast that the Jews kept every year, as commanded. As Jesus broke the bread for the disciples, saying “take, eat; this is my body,” and passed the cup of wine, saying “this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many,” it was as if Jesus’ was declaring to them,
“My children, I am the new Passover! I am the Bread of Life, and the Lamb without blemish—about to be sacrificed, for you. Receive into yourself everything I am, and everything I have. If you receive me, there is no need to keep the requirements of the law from now on. We will have a new covenant! Just continue to break bread and drink the cup—in remembrance of me.”
Since we see Melchizedek (a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ) presenting bread and wine to Abram…we see a highly symbolic and prophetically significant priestly action. It’s astounding! Long before His earthly life…long before His death, burial and resurrection…and long before he declared Himself as the new Passover…Christ Jesus, through the figure of Melchizedek, presented Himself to Abram!
Let that one sink in! Wowza yowza! And this—my dear, fellow called one—is where everything comes full circle:
“And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),
by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”
Hebrews 7:20-22(NKJV)
Paul expounds further in this chapter of Hebrews, and actually quotes a psalm in this verse above. This psalm Paul quotes is a Messianic one—a prophetic declaration that the Lord Himself has made, with an oath—that Christ Jesus is a priest forever, “according to the order of Melchizedek.”
I know—it hurts my head too! But stay with me! We can’t expect our human minds to comprehend this astounding, supernatural structure of Christ’s priesthood, but there it is. We will understand it all in eternity. For now, just believe it!
Now read this verse from First Peter!
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
1 Peter 2:9
Do you see what I am seeing? Does this make you excited, chosen one? We—you and I, and all believers around the world—are part of the royal priesthood. And specifically, putting two and two together—seeing that Jesus is our High Priest forever—we are of the priesthood of the order of Melchizedek!
Okay, so what does this mean, exactly? What does Melchizedek have to do with us? What does this have to do with our calling?
It all boils down to those elements—the bread, and the wine. The Elements of who He is. The Life. The Sacrifice. The Redemption.
The offer of reconciliation to those everywhere, all around us, who are separated from Him.
This is what we are called to do.
Wherever you go, and whatever you do—please, if it’s the last thing you do—come with me, and let’s present Christ Jesus as an offering to this dark and broken world.
Present Christ with Mercy
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
Hebrews 2:17 (NKJV)
The Lord Jesus, our faithful High Priest, came down to earth as a human being so that He could literally put Himself in our shoes. As God who made propitiation (became the sacrifice) for our sins, and as God who humbled Himself to the lowest status, His mercy toward us is ever enduring. Endless. Transcending all human comprehension.
In other words, it doesn’t make sense, because it is so undeserved.
Therefore, shouldn’t we allow His mercy to extend through ourselves, to this world?
I’m not lecturing you here, believe me. Sadly, I have realized so many times when I have forgotten this myself! But we are living in a time where it is crucial that we don’t go out the door in the morning, before we have prayed and asked the Lord to extend His mercy, to everyone we come into contact with, through our actions, words and attitudes.
What are you doing for the Lord? Do you clean the church? Do it with mercy. Attend the parking lot? Do it with mercy. Teach in Sunday school, or children’s church? Do it with mercy.
And what about the rest of our lives? Our stressful jobs, with those annoying people around us—mercy! That guy who is driving like an idiot, and whom you really want to flip off—mercy!
“Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.”
Micah 7:18
Oh God, you pardoned us…and delighted in mercy toward us. Please God, let us do everything with mercy toward others! Please God, extend Your mercy through us, to those around us.
This isn’t simply about us pleasing God. This is what we are called to do, as priests, in the Order of Melchizedek. Mercy is serious business, and it is not optional.
Because to many we encounter, our ministry is a matter of life or death.
Christ Jesus made reconciliation for us to God, and in mercy, we do the same for others—presenting those elements of Christ Jesus. Becoming a living display and message of the power of God’s love, and His offer of reconciliation to them, for them to have relationship with him.
This is what He died for! Mercy!
Present Christ with Good Works that are Alive
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26
Having faith and never doing anything about it, is like holding a seed in your hand but never planting it. A seed of faith that never has the opportunity to blossom into life, in the soil of another person’s heart.
To do good works, in the attitude of mercy that we must have, is to be actively compassionate. True faith is alive, and an alive faith results in action. Faith without action is still faith, but it accomplishes nothing.
As priests of the Most High God, we are called to action. But our good works toward others shouldn’t be empty actions, to put a notch on our own spiritual belts, or to check our “done-something-for-the-Lord” box in our daily agendas.
It is imperative that our good works be initiated and powered by the love and compassion of Christ.
As we present Jesus to those who need Him, our compassion is not to be human pity—which accomplishes nothing but a feel-good-feeling in our own hearts—but the actual compassion of Christ flowing through us. Our motives should be His motives.
How do we know for sure that our motives are lining up with His?
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him,
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40(NKJV)
Jesus summed up the entire Jewish law—which was vast, complicated, and rife with opportunity to become self-serving—with these two, simple and clear commandments.
Love God with all of your being, and love your neighbor just as if he were yourself. Everything we could ever do to follow and to please our Lord hang on just these two commandments. In fact, I think it’s just about impossible to not please God in any moment that we are doing these two things.
If you read Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in chapter 10 of Luke, it is clear that He is telling all of us—rather than trying to figure out who is our neighbor—that WE are to BE the neighbor. If we walk through life with the attitude of always being the neighbor, then our neighbor becomes anyone we encounter who is in need of help—and most of all, hope.
So in our priesthood, we present Jesus to a lost and dying world. Our neighbors. And we do it in Love.
The kind of Love that we must ask God for, because this kind of Love can only come from Him.
Present Him Responsibly
“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet,
so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
Hebrews 12:11-13
The Lord disciplines us when we sin, and when we need an attitude adjustment. It’s never fun. It’s usually painful.
But it’s for our own—and others’—good, when that correction produces the fruit of righteousness within us. It’s only the Lord’s righteousness that gives us the privilege ministering to others. Having “been there, done that,” we can encourage those who may feel stuck in their sin, depressed, and weak—exhorting them to lift their hands in praise to the Lord for what they do have, and to stand on their faith in Him.
It is our utmost responsibility to keep close tabs on our own journeys—to keep our path straight, staying in God’s word—making sure our feet stay on that narrow path of the Lord’s will for our lives.
As we do that, we are able to lift up others along the road—those in the body of Christ who are “dislocated.” Maybe they are discouraged, ashamed, injured, or have just given up. But for whatever reason, they have stopped running, and are laying on the sidelines of the race.
With a humble, merciful attitude, we are able to say to them, in compassion,
“Come on brother, sister…let me help you up now.
I’ve been where you are…
Let me show you how I learned to walk again, when I was down.
Let’s take some steps together…Come on, walk with me…
Stay on the path…go this way….Stay strong…please don’t give up….
I’m with you…God’s with you…Keep leaning…keep trusting….
See? You’ve got this! God’s got this! Keep going…keep going….
Now…run….RUN!….”
We are called into the priesthood of the Most High God. We are a kingdom of priests in the order of Melchizedek.
And this is serious business. We are in the final minutes of the final hour of this age, before the Lord Jesus returns.
What will we do?
We will take our calling seriously, keeping our own walks close to God, staying in His Word, the Holy Bible, in obedience and submission to His will.
We will present to those around us, who are outside the Body, with the offer of reconciliation—in our attitudes, words and actions—presenting that wonderful Bread of everlasting Life, and that precious, life-giving blood of the new covenant.
We will present to those around us, who are within the Body but dislocated, loving and non-judgemental encouragement and help in time of need—getting them back up on their feet.
We will allow our faith to produce action. We will do good works initiated by, motivated by, and empowered by the mercy and compassion of Christ.
We will do it all while following that law of love.
Will we fail sometimes? Of course we will. It’s just overwhelming without Jesus.
And so we will look at Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith—and come boldly to His throne to find grace whenever we need help. Knowing that we can depend on Him to give us everything we need to keep presenting…keep working, keep doing, keep offering…keep loving.
We are to carry out all of His priestly duties in His power, as He actually performs them through us.
“And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come,
not according to the law of a fleshly commandment,
but according to the power of an endless life.”
Hebrews 7:15-16(NKJV)
The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave—in the power of an endless life. He remains the Great High Priest forever—in the power of an endless life.
He has indwelled us and fills us—His church, His priesthood—with the power of an endless life.
I am tired, and you are tired. But we can do this.
We can do this—not by our own strength—but in the power of an endless life.
Let’s do this together.
Let’s make a tremendous, final effort for the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.