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Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to Mountain Baptist Church. Let's take your songbooks and turn to song 309. Song 309 in your songbooks, we'll sing Dare to be a Daniel. And if you would stand, we'll sing song 309. Standing by a purpose, true, heed in God's command. Honor them, the faithful, few are hailed to Daniel's band. Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known. Many mighty men are lost, daring not to stand. Who for God had been a host by joining Daniel's band? Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known. Many giants, great and tall, stalking through the land. Headlong to the earth, but full if met by Daniel's band. Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known. Hold the gospel banner high unto victory. Satan and his host defy and shout for Daniel's band. Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known. All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you God for this beautiful Sunday that you've given us to meet in your house and to hear your word preached. I pray, O Lord, that you would just receive all the honor and glory out of everything that's said and done. For it's in Jesus' name we ask all of it, amen. All right, you may be seated. And we'll sing song 310 in your songbooks. Song 310, we'll sing Footprints of Jesus, song 310. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard the calling, come follow me. And we see where thy footprints falling lead us to thee. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go. Though they lead o'er the cold, dark mountains seeking his sheep or along by Solomon's fountains helping the weak. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go. If they lead through the temple, holy, preaching the word. Or in homes of the poor and lowly, sieve serving the Lord. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go. Then at last when on high he sees us our journey done. We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at his throne. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go. Amen. So welcome to Mount Baptist Church on this Sunday morning, and a beautiful Sunday morning. It is starting to get a little chillier. I know when you step into the building that at the beginning it's a little chilly, but if we turn that heat on, it'll be hot in here. So there's a lot of hot air that roams around in here. I'm not going to say who, but definitely it'll get warm in here. So don't be surprised if it's a little colder and we turn on the air conditioning when we have services and stuff. But just some general church announcements here. We finally have internet. So hopefully the streaming, we have it streaming right now, so hopefully everything goes well with that. But that's definitely been a blessing. We got internet, we got our dumpster, we got the sign guys working on the sign. They must have heard my sermon from last Sunday. So you guys have been like throwing that out at them. But that being said, obviously that's been nice to finally get some of those things together there. Some general church announcements. We did get a hold of locksmith, so we're going to see either we're going to have everything on one key or at least have that area over there where the bathrooms are at on one key. But just remember the ladies restroom does not have a key. And it's a deadbolt lock, so don't let kids get in there by themselves to bolt that thing. So obviously adults, I think, can handle how to get out. But that being said, if you have little kids or whatever, obviously the mother-baby room, we have a bathroom in there. So a lot of the mothers and babies are going to be in there anyway as it is with that. The mother-baby room is for mothers and babies only. So we want to keep that for basically babies and little toddlers. And we've talked about, too, as far as how to maybe do a little separation in there. It's not a hard separation. But basically where you can have an area for the little, little babies and then the area for the ones that are more so running around a little bit more, like a bookshelf thing. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. But I'll let the ladies figure that out because whatever you guys want in there. And so as far as other church announcements, we have the offering box. We did get it attached to the wall back there. So you can give your offering ties anything that you want back there. I think the one thing that we haven't got set up yet is we have our soloing maps. So I think we're going to do it out in the hall. I think it's going to make more sense with the soloing table and everything over there. So we need to get that stuff up. And some general things. I know I kind of said this already, but don't throw any food down the drain because we do not have a disposal here. So we don't want to clog up the drain. Also, when it comes to food, generally the stuff that's out on the table, all that stuff is free game. But some people do bring lunch. And so one thing that I would say to that is market so that people know that that's not like just church food and that that's for you alone. So market with your name on it. And I'll say this, if people stay, we used to provide lunch after the service, but then we just got a little too big for that. So it came to where we were just catering for, we're getting a little bigger now to where it's harder to do that. But I'll say this, everybody's kind of bringing their lunch but if you're ever here and you need lunch, you need something, we'll get you something. So we'll go somewhere and get you something. So we don't want you to go hungry or anything like that. Plus that would be against 1 Corinthians 11. We don't want people to come here and be hungry and then we're eating and they're full and they're hungry. So we'll feed you. We just need to kind of assess that. And I'm talking specifically about people that stay for soul winning because if you're not staying for soul winning, you can go get lunch somewhere, right? You don't have to stay here. But so that being said, I just want to put that out there that some people bring their lunch so we don't want that work environment where people eat everybody's lunch. And I've had that happen to me before. I had a drink in the fridge at work and someone just takes it and you're like, no, that's not yours. But that being said is that I just want to say this. If anybody forgot their lunch or didn't know they were going to be staying or whatever the case may be and they need food, we'll get you food. So just let me know and I'll send brother Dave to go get it. No, we'll find somebody. It doesn't have to be brother Dave. But that's why we hired you. I'm trying to think if there's anything else as far as general stuff as far as search announcements. I know with this new building, things are a little different. We do have a coffee station over there. So the big thing is is to try to keep our kids hands off the coffee cups and all that stuff. But I think Miss Paula did a good job on picking out the type of coffee stand to where it's not just everything out in the open for kids to grab. Service times, that's all normal on here. Sewing times, we have our sewing time at 1 p.m. today. That kind of goes into the whole lunch thing. Some people go out and get lunch. Some people bring lunch. And some people don't go through that sewing time, which is fine. But that's what's going on this afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday is our regional sewing times. And so Tuesday and Wednesday, don't forget about that. Brother Charles leads up the Tuesday time. Brother Richie leads up the Wednesday time. And you really wanna be on the WhatsApp or have their numbers to get in contact with as far as where they're gonna be meeting, what time exactly, and all that. One thing I do wanna do here soon, and maybe we'll do it next weekend. On Sunday, sometimes what we do is we'll do a lady, I guess a lady sewing time, but it's more so like we kind of make a point to where we let the mothers go out. And I'm saying mothers because, you know, obviously it's hard to take a whole family out when you have a bigger family or you just have kids in general. So what we do sometimes is we'll take a Sunday, specifically where I'll stay back and Holly can go, for example. And same thing with any other mothers and stuff like that so that you can have time to where the ladies can go out. That doesn't mean that no men are going, okay, because there's obviously still guys that are gonna go out or that don't have little kids that they have to worry about and stuff like that. But I think we'll tentatively say this coming Sunday, so not this Sunday, but next Sunday, we'll do that. And so, and if you're just like, I'm going, I'm the husband, I'm going anyway, or you're taking your whole family, nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying that this is gonna be a specific time where we kind of dedicate to let the ladies go if they wanna go. So, you know, obviously ladies, you can go anytime during the week and everything, but I know that Sunday's hard to like drag all the kids out soul-winning and all that. So, yeah, so we're gonna try to do that next week. Our chapter memory for the month is Galatians chapter six and 1 John 5, six is our memory verse for the week. This is he that came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and blood, and it is the spirit that beareth witness because the spirit is true. I think that's all one verse. But that is our memory verse for the week. And you know what? We've been doing, I feel like we didn't, like our memory verses are always in 1 John 5. If you get these memory verses done, you're gonna have 1 John 5 memorized. So, because it's like, it seems like I'm like 1 John 5, four, 1 John 5, five, 1 John 5, seven, you know? So we're just gonna go down the line because that chapter is awesome. But no, it's obviously pertinent to what I'm preaching on this morning. Upcoming events, we had the men's prayer meeting on the 29th and we have the harvest party that we're gonna be doing at 4.30, tentatively, on the 30th. So in lieu of Halloween, and you know what? People give you slack, or flack, not slack. They give you flack for having a harvest party. You're like, oh, you know, well, you're just trying to be like the world because they're doing Halloween. It's like, well, first of all, I can do whatever I wanna do because there's liberty in Christ, right? We could have a party every single Sunday if we wanted to and have a harvest party, have whatever season we wanna do. Don't make me preach Romans chapter 14 on you. But that being said, there's nothing wrong with celebrating the harvest. Actually, it's my favorite season, okay? Fall is my favorite season, so if there's any time to celebrate, I think this is the time to celebrate anyway. But we're gonna have some games, we're gonna have some candy, and so it's gonna be a good time for the kids and everything, maybe not for the parents afterwards, after all the candy's dealt out. But so be there if you can for that. And on the back here, we have our birthdays, and today is what? 17th. So, do we have a couple this week? So we have the 21st, 22nd, 26th of next week. So we have Miss Anastasia, birthdays this week. Abby, Abby, how old is Abby? Two. And Abby Racine, that is. And then Lincoln. Where's Lincoln? Lincoln's back there. How old is Lincoln? Lincoln's gotta be, well, he's the same age as Clara, right? So six. So we'll sing happy birthday to all of them. And my parents' anniversary's not yet, so. And pregnancies, on the list here, we have Miss Amanda, Miss Jennifer, Miss Anastasia. Those are coming up here in December. Well, in a couple months. Miss Ruth, and then Miss Catherine, and Miss Ginger. So we have those on the list here, and our list is on there too, but I was told not to put that on there yet, so my bad. I was like, I'm not gonna say it, but then I'm like, everybody's looking at it. So, too late. No, but it's fine. But be in prayer for all of these ladies. But yeah, how many is that? That's seven. And obviously all the babies that have already been born. And so be in prayer for all these ladies, all the babies, all that stuff that's going on there. And that's what I got for announcements. If you have any questions, obviously you can ask me later. And Brother Dave's gonna come. He's gonna sing Happy Birthday to the three birthday people. And then, who's reading this morning? I forgot. Brother Jason's gonna be reading Hebrews chapter seven for us, and, oh, you're gonna sing a song somewhere in there, right? Yeah. All right, take your songbooks and turn to song 311. Song 311, we're saying all for Jesus. But before we do that, we need to sing Happy Birthday. Oh, I forgot already. Anastasia, Lincoln, Abby, all y'all? Okay, y'all wanna stand up? Miss Anastasia, you don't have to stand up with a baby. You don't have to. It's fine. Lincoln, you're gonna stand up, buddy? We gotta sing Happy Birthday to you. I know you're taller than that. You're almost as tall as I am. All right, okay. I will sing Happy Birthday to these three. Ready? Here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, y'all. All right, we'll sing song 311. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. All my being's ransom powers. All my good words and doings. All my days and all my hours. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. All my days and all my hours. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. All my days and all my hours. Let my hands perform his bidding. Let my feet run in his ways. Let my eyes see Jesus only. Let my lips speak forth his praise. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Let my lips speak forth his praise. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Let my lips speak forth his praise. Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus, I've lost sight of all beside. So in vision, looking at the crucified, All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Looking at the crucified. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Looking at the crucified. Oh, what wonder how amazing Jesus, glorious King of Kings. And call me his beloved. Let me rest beneath his wings. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Resting now beneath his wings. All for Jesus, all for Jesus. Resting now beneath his wings. All right, take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter number seven. Hebrews chapter number seven. My brother Jason, read that for us. All right, Hebrews chapter number seven. 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 gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the son of God, abideth the priest continually. Now consider how great this man was unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth part of the spoils. And verily, they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes, but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should rise 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 of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 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. For he testifieth, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For there is verily a disenoling of the commandment, going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did. By the which we draw nigh unto God, and inasmuch as not without an oath, he was made priest. For those priests were 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. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. For this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's. For this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity, but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated forevermore. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for allowing us to gather in your house this morning. I pray that you would bless the service and help us to be identified. I pray that you would fill Pastor Robinson with your Holy Spirit and give him bonus to preach your word. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. So you're there in Hebrews chapter 7, but I want you to hold your finger there because we are definitely going to be in that chapter a lot. Go to 1 John chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5. And notice in verse 6 here, this is our memory verse for the wheat. And notice what it says here in verse 6. It says, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son. So I want to preach a sermon called By Water and Blood. By Water and Blood. And it's specifically on this verse right here where it says that Jesus Christ came by water and blood. And it's specifically stating not by water only. Not by water only. And you may say, well, what is this talking about? Well, I'm going to show you what I believe this is talking about. But first of all, when you think of water and blood and when you think of Jesus, you probably think of a specific event. Go to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. And I believe this pictured something and it shows something that's very true about Jesus. So he didn't come just by water. He came by water and blood. I'm going to explain what I believe that's talking about. And notice what it says in verse 33. It says, but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs. So the story obviously right here is that Jesus just died on the cross and they were going to break the legs of all those that were crucified, but they didn't break Jesus' legs. Notice what it says in verse 34. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record and his record is true. And he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they pierced. So this event right here, there's actually multiple scriptures that were being fulfilled and the fact that they're not going to break any of his bones, but also the fact that they're going to look on him whom they pierced, which is actually a prophecy when he comes in the clouds and they're going to wail because of him. Talking about the second coming and all that. But the thing that you see there is the fact that he sees water and blood coming out when they pierced his side. And listen, nothing in the Bible is accidental, coincidental, or incidental. Meaning this is that incidental meaning like it doesn't have a purpose. I believe that there's a reason why there was blood and water. Now you could look at the biology and the anatomy behind why that happened. I'm not saying that that's not legitimate. But at the same time, do you notice the same wording where it says that after he saw this, it says he that saw it bear record and his record is true. Now we know this is talking about John, the disciple whom Jesus loved is standing there because in chapter 21 it declares to us that that's who wrote these things and witnessed these things and all that. But it says that he that saw it bear record and his record is true and he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe. Notice the wording that it says in 1 John 5 and verse 6. It says this is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only but by water and blood, and it is the spirit that beareth witness because the spirit is true. And then it goes on to say that there's three that bear record in heaven, we know the Trinity. But then it goes on to say in verse 8, it says and there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one. So there's three things that are bearing witness of who? Jesus. The spirit of God, you know, which that spirit is truth, but the water and the blood bear witness of Jesus. And it says if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Why? Because John bear witness of it and he's a man, but God's witness is even greater than that, obviously. So the idea here is that there's something to the witnessing of the fact that he had water and blood, that Jesus had blood, okay? And if you think about it, you know, obviously the Bible talks about this a lot about how we're saved by his blood, but people try to basically talk this away or they even say like, well, it's not about the blood or anything like that, it's not about, it's about his death, okay? But he physically had blood and that's a very important point. And the thing that I want to hit on here, Anna, come back here and sit down. Anna, that's okay, just go sit down, it's all right. So what I want to preach on is the difference between when Jesus would show up in Genesis and in the Old Testament compared to when he came on the scene at Bethlehem's major. Meaning that when Jesus, what's the difference as far as what's the big deal, if you will, about the virgin birth and the fact of, you know, when he would appear and he would actually appear to like Abraham in person, you know, and you would see him physically. And so there's Old Testament or what you may not realize, pre-Old Testament appearances of Jesus. You say, what do you mean by pre-Old Testament? I thought it was just the Old Testament and New Testament. Well, Genesis is pre-Old Testament because the Old Testament is the First Testament or the First Covenant that was made with Israel after they came out of Egypt, which happened in Exodus 19, okay? I mean, technically it started in Exodus 12 when they came up out of Egypt, right? But that being said is that that's when that covenant started. So everything before that was actually before the Old Testament. You know, and some of you are like, mind's blown, right? Oh, you know, like there's something before the Old Testament? Now obviously when we say, you know, we're reading what we call Genesis the Old Testament, okay? There's nothing wrong with that, the reading of the Old Testament. And, you know, I don't think that we need to be nitpicky like that and be like, you know, are you reading the Old Testament? Yeah, I'm reading Genesis. That's not the Old Testament. You know, you don't have to be crazy like that. But the thing that you're going to see here is in Hebrews chapter... I'm sorry, first of all, what I want to show you is what does the water represent and what does the blood represent? So this is what I believe it represents. The water represents that Jesus came in the flesh, okay? Physically in the flesh, but not just in the flesh because that's actually happened before where he would come and he would physically be there and he was, you know, like Abraham would see a man, but it was the Lord. But the difference was is that there wasn't blood with that, okay? He wasn't born into this world and didn't have flesh and blood. He just had flesh, if you will, or he was just physically there. Now to give you a reference on that, go to John chapter 3. John chapter 3, how the water would relate to the flesh, if you will. So in John chapter 3 and verse 5, this is that famous story where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and says, except the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And notice what it says in verse 5 here. And obviously there's people that just twist this out of context and be like, you got to be baptized. No worry in here as I'm talking about baptism, okay? Actually, if you read this, you're going to see exactly what's being said here. It says, Jesus answered verily, verily, I say unto thee, except the man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now if you want to just stop reading and just make up your own interpretation, you can say, well, you got to be baptized. But what does it say in the next verse? That which is born of the what? Flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. So what he's stating here is that Nicodemus is saying, you know, how can I be born again? Can I enter into my mother's womb and the second time he'll be born, you know? And obviously he wasn't getting it, but he's stating here, yeah, you have to be born physically, but you also have to be born spiritually, okay? And being born of the water obviously representing the fact that you have, you know, you're born in a, basically the child's in fluid. It's in water, if you will, in the womb and, you know, the birthing process, which I don't really want to get into right now. But the idea here is that I believe it's talking about the fact that he came physically, but he didn't just come physically, he came also in blood. Now look at Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews chapter 7. Now when you read the book of Hebrews, there's a name that keeps being brought up, Melchizedek. Now Melchizedek only is mentioned twice in the Old Testament. There's the story of Melchizedek, which you're going to see, I'm going to show you, where you actually see Melchizedek on the scene. But you also have the promise that Jesus was going to be after the order of Melchizedek. So you see that in Psalm 110. But this chapter is very important, okay? This chapter shows you how people dealt with God, and I'm talking about like getting right with God as far as physically speaking, and how you would communicate with God and all this different stuff, how they dealt with it before the Old Testament, during the Old Testament, and how we deal with it in the New Testament, okay? This hits all of that in one chapter. And what you're going to see here is that before you had the Levitical priesthood, you had the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek being the priest of God. And you say, well, how in the world does that work? Because that's thousands of years, I think it's like maybe 2,000 years. I'm trying to think how many. It's like 1,500 years or something like that, right? Or 2,000 years. Anyway, hundreds of years of this going on before you get to the Old Testament. And the thing is, is like how could it be Melchizedek through that whole time? Well, what I'm going to show you is that I believe Melchizedek is actually Jesus before the Old Testament, and he was a priest to the Most High God in this time. Now, you don't have to necessarily agree with me on this, but I'm going to show you why I believe that. In verse 1 here, it says, 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 by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace. So we see that we're going to be talking about Melchizedek. Melchizedek literally by interpretation means king of righteousness, okay? So that's what the name means. But then it calls him Melchizedek the king of Salem. Well, Salem obviously means peace because by interpretation he's the king of peace. Can you think of a name or title that's given to Jesus? The Prince of Peace, okay? Now, notice what the Bible says because notice what it says here in verse 3. It's going to tell us something about Melchizedek. Now, I take the Bible literally, and I'm not going to take this loosely. I'm going to take this to the T, okay? It says this. It says, Without father, without mother. It says, Without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually. Now, consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. So in the Old Testament, you would give the tenth of your increase to the Levitical priesthood, right? To the Levites. Before that, it was given to Melchizedek. And Melchizedek here though, it says that he was without father, without mother, and without descent. Having neither beginning of days nor end of life. They're like, well, who is this person? Well, he's made like unto the Son of God. Meaning, this is that I believe this is the Son of God. Now, you say, well, it says like that. Yeah, well, when you read Revelation chapter 1, it's going to say, you're going to see, you know, an appearance and it says, as it were, the Son of Man. You know, it's like, well, it is, okay? Or, like unto the Son of God, it's like, well, it is. And, you know, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are in the fiery furnace, you know what Nebuchadnezzar says? I see a fourth man and he's like unto the Son of God. That's because he is the Son of God, okay? You can say he's like that and still be that, okay? Now, the thing that you have to understand here is that if he doesn't have father or mother, he doesn't have a bloodline. And it even says that without descent. So literally, this man just popped up onto the scene out of nowhere. It's because it's the Lord, okay? That's what I believe. I believe it's the Lord Jesus before you even had the liturgical priesthood. Now, go to Genesis chapter 14 because I want to show you where this actually happens. So, Genesis 14, to get context here, because you're going to be dealing with Sodom here, Lot and a lot of people were taken captive and all this stuff, and Abraham came and saved, well, he really was saving Lot, but in turn, he helped out Sodom, okay? Now, this is before Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, okay? That's chapter 19. But in verse 17, this is after they basically killed all these kings and all this different stuff, and that's why I was talking about in Hebrews chapter 7 that he blessed them when he returned from the slaughtering of the kings, okay? So this is a battle that just happened. Verse 17 here, it says, And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Kidarlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. Okay, so they just won this battle, all this. And notice in verse 18, And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. I want you to notice something there. He says he was the priest of the Most High God, not a priest. He was the priest of the Most High God, and 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 thine hand, and he gave him tithes of all. So in Hebrews chapter 7, it just tells us, hey, you know, Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him tithes, or gave him the tenth of the spoils, and so he's treating, you know, obviously, you know, Melchizedek with reverence. Actually, in Hebrews 7, which we'll get to, it basically says that without contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater. Meaning this is that Abraham was regarded as lesser than Melchizedek, and obviously so, because the Lord is obviously going to always be greater than us, right? I mean, think of John the Baptist. You know, I must decrease, but he must increase, or he must increase, I must decrease. And the thing is, though, when Melchizedek came on the scene, or when he was there, he was physically there, right? Physically there, people could touch him, see him, look like a man, and you could say, well, is he anywhere else? Well, it doesn't say exactly, but there are other places where people see a physical appearance of Jesus. Even in the Old Testament, after the law, you think about the captain of the Lord of Hosts shows up with Joshua, and he says, you know, are you for us or for our adversaries? And he says, nay, which is not a yes or no question, but he's saying, are you for us or for our enemies? And he says, no. You know, I'm the captain of the Lord of the Hosts, meaning this is that you're for me, actually, you know, because it's the Lord, it's Jesus that's there. And he says, you know, take off your shoes for your, you know, you're on holy ground, okay, because you got the Lord standing there. So that being said is that here's the difference between that and Jesus, and when he came on the scene, you know, 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem's major is that he was born of a woman, okay? That's the big difference, is that he actually does have a mother, and he actually does have descent. Melchizedek didn't. Now, let's contrast that, because like I said, you see Melchizedek mentioned, then you see Levitical priesthood, and then you see Jesus, and Jesus is being compared to both Melchizedek and to the Levitical priests. And Jesus is basically a culmination of that, meaning this is that the Levitical priesthood, they have flesh and blood. But they're not God, okay? They have infirmities and they have sin. Melchizedek didn't have sin, and he was physically there, but he didn't have blood. Jesus has all that, meaning he's sinless, he's God, and he has flesh and blood. That's the way it had to be, and what you see is kind of this part, you know, like that Melchizedek couldn't, you know, pay for our sins because, meaning this is that he had not come in the flesh and blood, and become one of us, and I'm gonna get to the verses here, but the thing that I want you to see, go to Exodus chapter 19, like I said, the Levitical priesthood, that's when this started, is this covenant, basically it's being told to them. Like I said, the Old Testament technically started when they put the blood on the doorposts, and they came out of Egypt. That's what the Bible says, is that that's when that first covenant started. Chapter 19, God's telling them this is their covenant, and if they want to be a part of it. But in verse 5 here, it says, These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. So this is the covenant that he's making. He's like, if you do this, and the first covenant, or the Old Testament, was a conditional covenant based off them keeping the commandments, and keeping the ordinances, and doing all that, and obviously they didn't keep it because it's impossible to keep the whole law. It's impossible to actually do all that because we have sinned, but it is a picture of the fact that, you know, the law condemns, the law doesn't actually save anybody. It just shows us that we're sinners and all that, and that man can't do it. That man could not actually save us, and that those priests could actually not actually atone, or be an intercessor, or anything like that for us. Go to Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews chapter 7 verse 5, and we're kind of just going down the line through Hebrew 7, but like I said, when you look at 1 John 5 where it says, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. The reason that that's important, it says not by water only, is because the blood is something that's very specific, it's something that's very important, and it's something that only Jesus, you know, only when Jesus came to the earth, and it says, you know, when Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, that's what we're talking about, flesh and blood, that God was manifest in the flesh. That happened at Bethlehem's major. Okay, so when it says God, you know, greatest mystery of God, God was manifest in the flesh, that's not talking about Melchizedek, although Melchizedek was there physically, and that God would appear physically, and as a man, you know, walk around and talk to people and all that, but that's different than when Jesus came on the scene and he was born of the Virgin Mary, that is a specific thing that happened and had to happen in order to pay for our sins. In Hebrews chapter 7 verse 5 here, dealing with the Levites, it says, And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who received the office of the priesthood. So when we're talking about Israel being a kingdom of priests, that specifically went to the Levites, to the tribe of Levi, so there was no other priests that were going to be outside the tribe of Levi. It says, Have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them, received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. Now, it says that his descent is not counted from them because he has no descent, meaning that obviously it doesn't come from them, and it says, And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. So obviously Abraham is counted less than Melchizedek, so Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and it's not a contradiction because Melchizedek is actually better than Abraham. Now notice in verse 8 here it says, So the big difference between Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood is Melchizedek didn't die. He never died. And by the way, nowhere does it say he did die. You know, like the Levitical priesthood comes in and then he died. No, he just, it says he ever liveth, basically it never says that he stopped living. Actually it says that without beginning of days or end of life, that's still true, because Jesus is obviously still alive, and he, I believe, was Melchizedek in, you know, in that time. But keep reading there. It says in verse 9, Now if you know this, just because you're a Levite doesn't mean you can be a priest. They actually had to be of the line of Aaron, not Moses of Aaron, not of the Kohathites of Aaron, because obviously they were, you know, Moses and Aaron were of the Kohathites, but that doesn't mean that they could be priests just because they're Kohathites. No, they had to be of Aaron. So Aaron's sons, then their sons, then their sons, then their sons, that's how that worked as far as the priesthood goes. But it's basically stating here is that that's not where Jesus came from as far as he didn't come from the Levite line. But the thing is is that the Levitical priesthood, it says that perfection didn't come from that because it couldn't come from that because it failed. God knew it would fail. But everything is in the Bible for a reason and thinking that God does things for a reason, meaning that he shows you, he kind of shows you the blueprint of what's going to happen here. Right? You have Melchizedek who doesn't have blood, right? He just, it's the Lord, right? He's there physically, but he doesn't have a bloodline, if you will. Then you have the Levites who have a bloodline, but they're sinful, right? Jesus comes, born of our Mary, he has a bloodline, he's sinless, and he's God, and he's physically there. And all those things come together, and that's where you have the true priesthood that's going to actually save us. And go to, and the point being is that, you know why the Levites couldn't, you know, actually be intercessors? Because they died. That each high priest would die. Aaron died, his sons died, you know, Eleazar and Ithamar, they died. Well, Nadab and Abihu died first, right? That's another story from another day. But then you have their sons and, you know, going down the line, you know, all those priests, they all die, all the high priests. By the way, Caiaphas and Annas, they're dead, and in hell, but they're dead. But those high priests that were going down the line with that Levitical priesthood, you know what, they all died. And the Bible says in Hebrews 7, 23, and they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. You know why? Because for the wages of sin is death. So they had sin, therefore they couldn't be the intercessor. But Melchizedek couldn't be the intercessor ultimately because he didn't have flesh and blood. Now, Hebrews 2, this is very important to understand here, Hebrews 2 and verse 14. Because great is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in the flesh, but you have to ask yourself why. Why did he have to do it that way? Why couldn't God just forgive us of our sins? Why couldn't he just, you know, why did he have to be born of the Virgin Mary? Because this had to happen. There had to be someone that was one of us in order to die for us. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14, it says, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. So we're talking about Jesus taking part of the same, of what, flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. So why did he become flesh and blood? Why did he become partakers of the same? So that he could deliver us from death. Now, notice in verse 16, very important here, it says, Verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Notice that there's a difference between humans and angels and that Jesus did not take on the nature of angels. That means angels cannot be redeemed. You know, when the angels left their first estate, after they sinned, the Bible says, they're just reserved in the darkness and judgment. But he didn't take on him the nature of angels, he took on him the seed of Abraham. You know what that means is that he has, he's a descendant, right, of Abraham. And I've already hit on this because he's the root and offspring of David, meaning that he's both God who made David, he's both God who made Abraham, but he's also the offspring, meaning he also is basically, he was born of them. Because he's both God and man, and he both, and he has their blood. And verse 17, it says, Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that. So it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that meaning that this is the reason. This is why it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Succor is an old term to mean help. That means is that he had to do this in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest in making reconciliation for the sins of the people. Does that make sense? Melchizedek didn't have flesh and blood. He came by water, but not by water and blood. So that's the difference. And the reason I'm preaching on this is because we probably all had that question, what's the difference between when Jesus shows up in the Old Testament or in Genesis to when he shows up in Bethlehem's Major and Luke 2 or Matthew 1? And the thing is that that's the big difference, is that Melchizedek didn't have blood. Those appearances of Jesus didn't have blood running through his veins at the time. But here we see that that happened. Now go to Galatians chapter 4. Now obviously Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So to God, obviously he had already taken on that role. He had already been partakers of flesh and blood because God's outside of time, okay? So don't get me wrong here and say, well, you're teaching heresy. You mean like in the Old Testament, like he wasn't interceding yet? Obviously Jesus was interceding even in the Old Testament because he's speaking of those things being as though they were and to God that had already happened even though in our timeline it hadn't happened yet, okay? That's another sermon for another day. But at the same time, don't get me wrong. Obviously Jesus was interceding and people were going to heaven by his blood from Adam all the way down the line, okay? But in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4, notice what it says here. It says, but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. Do you see the necessity here that he had to be made of a woman in order to be made under the law, right? In order to redeem them that are under the law. See, the Bible talks about how Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. He's the atonement. He is the payment. But in order for him to do that, he had to be one of us. He had to be partakers of flesh and blood. Now, we're already made in the image of God, right? But, you know what, we're earthly, we're fleshly, you know, like we have flesh and blood and all that. So, notice in Matthew, and you say, well, is this a big deal? Yeah, this is a huge deal. Actually, notice how the New Testament even starts. Go to Matthew 1 and verse 1. Matthew 1 and verse 1. Remember, Melchizedek didn't have descent, didn't have mother or father, right? Father or mother, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither the beginning of days nor end of life. Now, obviously, we know that Jesus is from everlasting, okay? But flesh and blood wise, there was a time, you know, he was born into this world. Okay, that happened. And it says in verse 1 there, Matthew 1, it says the book of the generation of Jesus Christ is the son of David, the son of Abraham. The New Testament literally starts off stating that Jesus is the son of Abraham, the son of David, that this is the generation. You know, this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. And, you know, obviously people will take that too far and say, well, see, Jesus was created and, you know what, he's not God. No, he is God because here's the thing, this is what they all stumbled at. It says when God said, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. He said, how, why is David calling him Lord if he's his son? Because we know that the Bible says that Christ is going to be at the seat of David, that he's going to sit on David's throne, the throne of his father David. But it also says that God says of the fruit of thy loins I will sit upon on thy throne. So the reason that it's, you know, he can say that David's saying my Lord to his son is because Jesus is the root and offspring of David. But don't forget that he's the offspring, okay? And that's the difference between Melchizedek and Jesus, okay? Now, go to Hebrews 4, Hebrews 4. I'll give you another aspect to the advantage, okay? Obviously the advantage is the fact that he saved us from our sins, okay? It's a huge advantage, but there's details there as far as why this is the way it is, okay? And again, we're looking through a glass darkly and I'm showing you points that will, the Bible's telling us like the difference and the Bible's telling us why this matters, okay? But in verse 14 here, Anna, stop pushing on that. In verse 14 it says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that has passed into the heavens Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our verities but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Do you see the difference? See the difference between Melchizedek and Jesus? Because Jesus was made in the likeness of simple flesh, but it says in him is no sin. The Bible says that for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin? So the Bible's very clear that, hey, there's a reason why this had to be because he is our intercessor, but he also understands. He went through every temptation that a normal human being would go through, but he did it without sinning. The Levites didn't do that. There's not one Levitical priest that actually lived their life and went through all these temptations and never sinned because for all of sin, it comes to the glory of God, but there's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that doeth good, no, not one, and there's none that doeth good but one that is God, and the reason that it works with Jesus is because he is God, because he is good, he's the good shepherd. And go to Hebrews 5. Anna, sit over there right now and don't move. Hebrews 5 hits on this as well, and I don't know how far I want to go into this because there's so many verses on this, and I don't want to beat a dead horse here as far as understanding what I'm talking about, but in Hebrews 5, the idea here is that Hebrews is really hitting on the fact that, hey, the Old Testament was not great, meaning that the reason it wasn't great is because he found fault with them, meaning that people have sin and infirmities and they can't do it. Just as much as the law can't save you, you know what, these priests can't make intercession for you, really, and it's only on a physical manner. And I'm not saying that that didn't work. Obviously God ordained it to be that way to where he would use sinful people to do these sacrifices and to make intercession, and God regarded that, but ultimately it was faulty because of man, not because of God and not because of the law, because of man. Hebrews 5 and verse 1, it says, For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way. Notice this. For that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. So the reason that the Levitical priest would have compassion on the person is because he also has infirmities, he also has sins, so he has compassion on that because he knows where they're coming from. Well, it just got done saying that Jesus, you know, we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities because he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin though. So whereas people will sin, but Jesus still knows, he understands, and he can have compassion on that. And verse 3 says, And by reason thereof he ought, as for the people, as also for himself, to offer for sins. The difference is that Jesus doesn't have to offer sins for himself. He's just offering for us. It says, No man taketh his honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Okay, so no one could just say, I'm going to be a priest. No, there had to be, you know, criteria to be met there. And it says, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, to day have I begotten thee, as he saith also in another psalm, I'm sorry, in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So Jesus, you know, obviously it was by an oath that was sworn to him that he would be the priest after the order of Melchizedek, though, and not after the order of Aaron. Because pretty much the only thing that Melchizedek was lacking as far as to actually perform this office on a holistic manner was blood. And notice Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 12. Hebrews chapter 7, verse 12. Hebrews chapter 7, verse 12. So I hope this makes sense. I mean, really this is how simple it is. Melchizedek was physically there. He was the son of God, but he didn't have blood. The Levitical priests, they had blood and they were physically there, but they had sin. Jesus is God, had flesh and blood, and was sinless. Still is sinless and still is the high priest. But that's the difference. And what you see is kind of like this coming together of the physical and the spiritual, and that's where Jesus comes in, where he's bridging that gap, bridging the gap of God and man, which makes sense because there's one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And verse 12 here, and by the way, if you ever have someone that is just stuck on the fact that, oh, we need to keep the Sabbath day and the laws, they can't change. Oh, look at verse 12 here. For the priesthood being changed, there's made a necessity to change also the law. Boom. Actually, I used this out solely one time. Actually, we got some people saved because of this because they were like really gung ho about like, you've got to keep the Sabbath day and you know what? You can't change the law. That's the law. And I said, well, what if I showed you where the Bible says that the law is changed and I showed them this verse and that was like the pivot point where they're like, okay, yeah, you got my interest. But the priesthood being changed, there's made a necessity to change also the law for of whom these things are spoken pertaining to another tribe of which no man gave attendance at the altar. So why is there a change in the law? Well, there has to be because if the priests are all coming through the political priesthood and now it's not, there has to be a change in the law. You know what that means is that the Levitical priesthood is now null and void. And it's been for a long time. So this whole thing about Judaism and like, well, they're still under that covenant. No, that's been done for a long time. Actually, when Jesus died on the cross, that was done. But keep reading here. It says in verse 14, 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. So that's why it's after the order of Melchizedek because you're dealing with Melchizedek, who ever lived at the make intercession, who ever lived and never dies, whereas the Levites, they die. And that's why there's so many of them because they keep dying throughout time. But it says in verse 17, So there are commandments that have been disannulled. The Sabbath day is one of those. These cardinal ordinances and washings and meats and drinks that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, these things are disannulled. And you know why it's disannulled? Because those priests, let me put it this way, if there is a law that requires a Levitical priest to perform that law, it's disannulled. It has to be. Now that doesn't mean that it can't transfer over to Jesus, meaning like if there's a spiritual application as far as like how that would apply to you, meaning Jesus is the high priest. But I'll say this, it no longer goes to the Levites. You can't bring an animal sacrifice to a Levite right now and think that that's going to actually be regarded by God. You know, they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not. That's what the Bible says in Hebrews, chapter 8 actually. But keep reading there, it says in verse 19, it says, But the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God. Which reminds me of the fact that if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture has concluded all under sin that we might all have, that we might all, I'm going to mess that up. I'm going to mess it up bad. And I don't want to do that, it's a good verse. Just bear with me real quick. It says, There we go. So the idea here is that the law doesn't make anything perfect, the law doesn't save anybody, the law just condemns. That that covenant was a covenant of condemnation. Both of the law and the fact that we can't be saved by the law, but also it's condemnation in the fact that those priests cannot actually intercede for you. And that's why in Isaiah it's saying, I looked for someone to intercede, or for an intercessor, but I found none. The idea that, he said, my own right hand brought salvation. Because man can't do it. The whole Old Testament is to show you that. To show you that man can't do it. That you can't do it by the law. You can't do it, you can't be your own priest, you can't intercede, you can't be the mediator to God. No, only Jesus can. But in order for him to do that, he had to become flesh and blood. And I kind of already read that part there. Go down to verse 23. The last thing I want to really hit on here is that this is it. This isn't changing. There's weird dispensational doctrines out there. Actually, all those dispensational doctrines are weird. But there's a bunch of heresy out there when it comes to dispensationalism and the fact that, first of all, they'll say, well, you're saved differently in different dispensations. That's hogwash. The Bible says that it's by faith and it's always been by faith. Abraham believed God and it was imputed on him for righteousness in Genesis 15. David also described the blessedness of the man under whom God imputed righteousness without works in Psalm 22. And then in the New Testament, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but everlasting life. Do you think that's changing? And if you think that's changing, read this verse right here. In verse 23, starting off there, it says, And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. An unchangeable priesthood. Listen, that means that that's going to be there forever. And by the way, isn't that what God swore and said, Thou art a high priest after the order of the Melchizedek forever. And it says this over and over and over again. Thou art a priest forever after the order of the Melchizedek over and over and over and over again because it's unchangeable. And you know what? If the priesthood is unchangeable, that means the Testament is unchangeable as well. That means the Testament is actually everlasting as well. Well, you know what? The Bible actually says that. Go to Hebrews chapter 13. And I had some other verses here, but really I just want to keep this very simple. I want to keep this very simple in the fact that Melchizedek, he came by water. And there was nothing wrong with that. Obviously, that was how God dealt with sin and how people would get things right with God before you had Moses and Aaron and the law. That's how people dealt with God, because they would do sacrifices. Abel brought a sacrifice unto God. And I believe Melchizedek was there. Now, I can't prove that unequivocally, but I believe Melchizedek was there from the very beginning up until you have the Levitical priesthood. And then when Jesus, you know, obviously was born of the Virgin Mary, he takes that role. Now, obviously, Jesus was doing that from the beginning of time as far as being that high priest because God knows what's going to happen in that space of time. God's outside of that. It's as if it already happened. And you know what? He's eternal. But in Hebrews chapter 13, notice what it says in verse 20 here. And time would fail me to show you all the verses on this. Read Hebrews for your homework. After this sermon, read the book of Hebrews, and you're going to see this over and over and over and over again, the same points that I'm making on the difference between the Levitical priesthood and Jesus. And chapter 7 specifically is dealing with not just the Levitical priesthood, but Melchizedek and Jesus and showing you that correlation. And Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20, it says, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. And notice that there's something there. The blood that's applied for this everlasting covenant. Now the everlasting covenant, I believe, is associated with the everlasting gospel, which is associated with everlasting salvation, everlasting life. And this has been from the foundation of the world. But this was accomplished 2,000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross, was buried, rose again the third day, took his blood up to the mercy seat which is in heaven, went through the veil by a new and living way. And it says that the veil was rent, which is his flesh, but his blood was sprinkled on that mercy seat, and that is the everlasting covenant, that is the everlasting testament. He is the everlasting high priest, and he will continue forever, and it will be unchangeable, and nothing will ever touch that. And to think that there's another testament coming? All right, Mormons. The thousand year reign, there's going to be another covenant. Or the Jews are all going to believe on Christ because this is the covenant I made with them. I thought this was the everlasting covenant. I thought this was the unchangeable priesthood. I thought that Jesus was the high priest at the order of Melchizedek forever. But the difference between Melchizedek, the Levites, and Jesus, is that Jesus not only had, you know, that he was God, he was sinless, he was physically there, but he also had the blood. He also had the descent. He also was made like unto us, he was made of the seed of Abraham, and it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest, and thanks pertaining to God that he may make reconciliation for the sins of the people. I mean, the Bible says that his name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. That's what had to happen. So, going full circle in 1 John 5, 6, this is he. Well, first of all, in 1 John 5, 4, what does it say? 1 John 5, 4, it says, Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only, but by water and blood, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. That's why it's important. It wasn't just water, it was water and blood, because he had to do that to make intercession for us. He had to do that to be the high priest, and that's how he paid for our sins. And, you know, people are just like, Oh, you know, you're taken away from the death, your own resurrection, because you're putting all this other... Listen, there's a lot of things that had to happen. Did you know that? There's a lot of things that Jesus had to accomplish in order for us to be saved, and I'm not taking any of it out. Does that mean that people need to understand every bit of that? Did you need to understand how to be saved? No. You need to understand that Jesus is God that died for your sins and rose again the third day, and that that's what pays for your sins, and that alone, and nothing else. It's eternal life. Boom. I mean, you put some Bible verses in there, but, I mean, that's what it takes. But there's a lot of details that are involved in what had to happen and how he accomplished that, and I think that's, you know, a fun truth to know as far as, Well, who's this Melchizedek guy? Now, you can come out of this sermon and say, You know what? I think Melchizedek was just a man, and I think that, you know, it's just basically no one knew where he came from. Right? That's an argument. I mean, people bring up that argument. I'm not here to, like, you know, cast shade on them or anything like that, but some people believe, Well, you know, they just didn't know where he came from, and they don't know whether, you know, when he was born, when he died, or anything like that, but I take it literally when I look at Melchizedek. I take it literally the fact that he didn't have beginning of days, he didn't have father or mother, he didn't have descent, because he was the Son of God there physically. But that's why Jesus had to take on flesh and blood, and that's the difference. So let's end with a word of prayer. I think, Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for your word, and thank you for these deeper truths in the Bible, and, Lord, just to kind of get a glimpse of who you are and what you had to accomplish, and, Lord, just pray that you'd help us to understand it, and ultimately that we'd use it for your glory. And, Lord, I pray that you'd be with us as we go soul-winding today, and I pray that you would be with the fellowship and bring us back at the appointed time. In Jesus Christ's name, amen. So, Brother Dave, we'll come and sing one more song, and we'll be dismissed. All right, take your songbooks and turn to song 314. Song 314. We'll sing More Love to Thee. If you would stand, we'll sing song 314. More love for Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee. Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my earnest plea. More love, O Christ, to Thee. More love to Thee. More love to Thee. Once earthly joy I craved sought peace and rest.