Bearing Righteousness and Peace

Opening prayer, dedication

Music Ministry

252 Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Give Me Faith

493 It Is Well With My Soul

Word of God -

Hebrews 7:1-10 [Liturgist]

Message: “Bearing Righteousness and Peace”

We are all known for something now and something later, after we have passed away

And our true legacy is what we’ll be known for after God calls us home

For some, our names or nicknames reflect what we know for

We have likely all heard of William Shakespeare's’ Romeo and Juliet

“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”

It speaks to the power, or lack thereof, of names.

A name cannot truly make you into something you are not

But a name sure can

Reinforce how people, including yourself see you

But, a name can’t make a short man tall

However, in our core text today, we see the significance of the name associated with Melchizedek

We have talked about Melchizedek quite a bit, but today I want to dig into his name more

As I was thinking about the meaning of names, I was realized that we are lazy

So many times names are giving because they “sound good”

Thankfully, we don’t ALWAYS live up to the meaning of the name we are given

Take “Kennedy” for example

The Irish root for that name means “misshapen head”

I Like the SOUND of that name,

but clearly most parents wouldn’t be labeling their child with the expectation that they would forever be known as “misshapen head”

It doesn’t even mean that the person truly has a irregular head shape

Perhaps for those named “Joy” it would be nice to assume that the parents either were filled with JOY or they wanted their child to be filled with JOY

So, what of this name “Melchizedek”?

His name has two main parts

“melekh”, which means “king”

followed by the Hebrew “tsedeq” which means “righteousness”.

His very name means that he is the “king of righteousness”

Now let’s re-read Hebrews 7:1(a) [through “God,]

Hebrews 7:1 ESV

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

Let’s start with the word “Salem” (Shelem in Hebrew)

This is related to the Jewish greeting “Shalom” which means peace

For Americans, we say “How are you?” when we greet one another and “Have a nice day” when we leave.

For the Jews, the words are “shalom aleichem” (peace be to you) upon greeting and

“aleichem shalom” (to you, peace) when they say goodbye.

Truly, Shalom refers to a total sense of wellbeing that comes from God’s presence among His people

This man, the “king of righteousness” is also called

“king of Salem”

Oh, and “Salem” means “peace”

“Priest of the Most High God”

That’s OUR God!

That’s the one who met Abraham in Hebrews 7:1

Melchizedek is the first person to ever be identified as a priest in the Old Testament

Serving what was called in Genesis 14, “the God of the most high”,

This is from the story of Abraham defeating a group of kings to rescue his nephew Lot

Then Abraham gave 10% of the spoils from the conquest to Melchizedek (likely because he was a priest)

Melchizedek was righteous and even turned down the 10% offering

Asking for the people, not the money

The High priest Melchizedek was of pure heart, like Jesus

For such an important person it is interesting that the Bible doesn’t give his genealogy

Look back at Hebrews 7:3

Hebrews 7:3 ESV

3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

We don’t know if his name was given at birth or when his name might have been changed

I have come to the conclusion that God wants us to focus on the most important things

Don’t get lost in where Melchizedek came from

His parents and other relatives didn’t qualify him

Don’t even focus on his seminary education

No human training qualified him

Kids, this is true for you too

Never make fun of a person’s name

If others make fun of your name, pray for them to grow up to be more kind

Your given name does NOT make you into something

You are special because GOD made you in His image and He loves you very much

Two things stand out for Melchizedek

First, it was God who prepared, qualified and called Melchizedek to be high priest

Second, there was a legacy created in that Melchizedek will be a high priest forever

That is the very essence of legacy, right?

Something that lasts long after we have passed from our human frailties

This is a key point for us, so we’ll make it a “Takeaway”

Takeaways

Legacies Come from God

At least, “Good” legacies come from God

Melchizedek was revered not because of his family lineage, but because

First, God called him

Second, Melchizedek obeyed God in all humility

We must be imitators of Christ in order to be people of Righteousness and Peace (1 Cor 11:1)

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul imitated Christ and we are to imitate Him as well

That means we should all have the marks of righteousness, peace, humility, the whole package

You can’t help but to think of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, in Phil 2

2 components:

Righteousness

Peace

Peace and humility are cousins

Philippians 2:1–8 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We Believers must be “of one mind” or united in sympathy, affection, joy and love as we humbly serve God

We must be imitators of Christ in order to be people of Righteousness and Peace (1 Cor 11:1)

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Our lives will NOT be easy because of our faith

Instead, the promise is that if we want to fully enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ labor,

then we need to become One with Him in His crucifixion

as in Galatians 2:20 where

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This does not mean we physically get punished and hung on a cross

It means that Jesus did that for us that we might be freed from our sin-debt

We now are connected in a very real sense

It means that when someone verbally attacks God

Then we are being attacked

It means that our names, race or ethnicity don’t matter because we are children of God

So, if any race or ethnic group is attacked then we are all attacked

When you think of social standing and biblical importance even

We certainly read more about Abraham than Melchizedek

Yet Hebrews 7:6 reminds us that it was Abraham who paid tithes to Melchizedek

How is it that the superior, meaning Abraham, would pay tithes to the less Melchizedek?

How is it that the lesser, Melchizedek would bless the more prominent Abraham?

Simple, God’s standards are different than that of the world

Look again at Hebrews 7:8

Hebrews 7:8 ESV

8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

God wants us to focus on the call He placed on Melchizedek to serve as high priest

For Melchizedek to be the example of righteousness and peace in leadership

Remember that Melchizedek has the role of high priest until the ultimate High Priest comes

We know that means Jesus who is our ultimate high priest

You’ll recall this reference from Hebrews 4:14-16

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We will study this aspect more when we continue our study of Hebrews in a couple weeks

For now, it’s important that we come to an understanding on how to use this information in our daily lives

To put it simply, we “BEAR” or hold up the weight of what it means to be God’s children

“God’s Child” is the name we all must live up to

*The better we bear/carry God’s righteousness and peace through our lives

The better we honor our Risen Savior

The better our legacy will be

Because the best legacy of all is the legacy of Jesus Christ

That because of what Jesus did, we have the promise of everlasting life for all who Believe in Him

Amen!

Closing Hymn/Invitation:

#405 My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (1,2,3)

Pastoral Prayer/Benediction