• You remember the famous “wax on, wax off” movie?
• Miyagi: Now, ready? Daniel: Yeah, I guess so.
• Miyagi: [sighs] Daniel-san, must talk. [they both kneel]
• Miyagi: Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later
• [makes squish gesture]
• Miyagi: get squish just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do "yes" or karate do "no." You karate do "guess so,"
• [makes squish gesture]
• Miyagi: just like grape. Understand? Daniel: Yeah, I understand.
• Miyagi: Now, ready? Daniel: Yeah, I'm ready.
• The entire wax on wax off scene is getting ready before the game.
Gen 14:17-20 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself."
Gen 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,
Gen 14:23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'
Gen 14:24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."
• There is a lot of controversy in this passage.
• Theologians, preachers and bible students through the ages have argued about this passage.
• Abram just whooped “Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him” and rescued the king of Salem and his boys.
• He brought back every captive and every possession that was taken.
• The king of Salem shows up, and his name is Melchizedek.
• He brings out wine and bread for the fighters, you remember, Abram’s 318 fighting shepherds.
• Sounds like a high school football team, kinda. I digress.
• What we are told about Melchizedek is that he was a priest of our God.
• Melchizedek blesses Abram. He says, “"Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"
• Then Abram does something never done before. He gives Melchizedek a tithe.
• He gave the priest of the Most High God 1/10th of everything Abram captured back.
• Melchizedek tried to receive only the persons rescued, but told Abram to keep the booty.
• (OK, gang. Booty means possessions captured).
• Abram then makes a speech.
• “I made a promise to God not to keep anything but what my men ate. No, keep it and give the other kings what belongs to them.”
• Then, boom, Melchizedek almost completely disappears from scripture.
• He appeared out of nowhere and almost vanishes with the same mysterious secrets.
• Only mentioned once in the Psalms, not mentioned by any prophet, in the Gospel, not in the early instructions to the Church, and only in one other book, the book of Hebrews.
• On a simple reading, there doesn’t seem to be much controversial in it.
• However, if you look at the details, there are lots of questions.
• First off, who was this Melchizedek?
• Where was the Salem he was king over?
• If Abram was the first Jew, the father of the Israeli nation, what was Melchizedek’s nationality and heritage?
• Now, let me show you the controversy.
• Salem is believed to be the first community of what later became Jeru-salem.
• That is almost agreed upon, although some will argue that. (Some will argue anything).
• Many Jewish writers and Christian theologians believe this is Shem, son of Noah.
• Shem was alive at this time. If you look at his age and when Abram did this, it is possible.
• We can’t know for certain, but Shem is a form of the word Salem.
• Shem was blessed and the forefather of all these tribes and nations, since he was one of three sons that came out of the ark with his wife. The other two sons moved away after the Tower of Babel.
• Others say that this is Christ in an appearance in the Old Testament.
• Why would they say that?
• First, he was the first priest of the most high God, as it states in Genesis.
• Psa 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
• See, years later, priests came from the tribe of Levi, so Aaron, the brother of Jesus was the first established priests, and His lineage took that role ever since.
• But Melchizedek predated that by many, many years. About 2000 BC.
• Aaron, Moses and the Law established Israel’s priesthood through God’s direction around 800 years later.
• But 1200 years after Moses, Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecy.
• See, He wasn’t from the tribe of Levi. He was of the tribe of Judah, as was prophesied.
• The Psalmes said in Psalms 110:4 said that Jesus was a priest after Melchizedek, not after Aaron.
• You see, the priests of Aaron’s lineage were not kings.
• Melchizedek was the king of Salem and Jesus is the King of Glory.
• So second, him being a king, many thought it to be Jesus.
• King of Salem means King of Peace. Melchizedek means “My King is Righteous.”
• Christian Bible students turn to Hebrews, the only New Testament book that mentions Melchizedek.
• Hebrews 5:6 simply quotes Psalms 110:4, and it is stated again in verse 10, that Jesus alone was a priest in the order of Melchizedek.
• Hebrews 6:20 repeats that theme.
• However, Hebrews 7, the only other passage that addresses it, goes into detail that we do not see anywhere else.
• Heb 7:1-3 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 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.
• The Hebrew writer obviously did not believe Mel to be the son of Noah, Shem.
• He conceded that we really don’t know where Mel came from, and we have no record of his demise.
• In this, He is much like Jesus, at least. “made much like unto him” or resembling him.
• Melchizedek is obviously a picture of Jesus to Abram in this story. That is the key.
• Heb 7:4-7 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 5 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: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
• The Hebrew writer says, “Consider this, Abraham, that great man, gave a tithe to Mel. How great must he have been.
• You see, the Hebrew priests (sons of Levi) took tithes because the law told the people to give them.
• Now, this is a case where a Hebrew gave tithes through a Hebrew.
• Not so with Abram and Melchizedek. We have no proof that they were of the same nationality.
• Also, a greater man blesses a lesser man (such as a father blessing a son), and as great as a Abraham was, Melchizedek was in a position to bless him.
• Heb 7:11-12 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 Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
• The argument goes on, if the Hebrew priesthood of the Levites was good, why would someone have to come in a priesthood that predates them? Why not just come from the lineage of Levi?
• Because there was a need to change.
• You see, we needed a Priest King. That is Jesus.
• We are after Him, not after the law.
• 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
• See, that phrase, “a royal priesthood” is actually pulled out of Exodus 19:6.
• Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
• A kingdom of priests, a kingdom where everyone was a priest, having direct access to the throne room in Heaven without going through another man.
• Heb 4:15-16 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.
• So we were freed from the law so we could receive a heritage that preceded the law.
• Rom 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
• OK, I can’t answer all the questions this passage raises, but I want us to look at some applications before we close.
• Whether Melchizedek was Jesus Christ in a pre-birth appearance in the Old Testament, or not, He represents the priesthood and kingship of Melchizedek in our lives, and He did in Abram’s life.
1. Jesus Christ today pronounces blessings upon our lives from His place in the Throne Room.
• The text said Melchizedek blessed Abram.
• Our King and Priest is now seated in the throne room next to the Father.
• Do you know what He is doing?
• Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
• Are your ears burning? Somebody’s talking about you.
• God the Father and God the Son are talking about you right now.
• Making intercession for you means placing requests, asking great things, stating blessings on you.
• Jesus would do that for you? Yes. Not only would He, He does that every hour of every day.
• If that doesn’t encourage you in your Christian walk, something is wrong.
• If that doesn’t just light your fire, your wood is wet.
2. We should, like Abram, make a pledge to God to have only in life what He assigns us.
• One of the biggest problems Christians today fight is the wanton desires for what the world offers.
• Always wanting, wanting, coveting, never satisfied with what God has assigned.
• This is a trick of the devil.
• 1Ti 6:6-10 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
• Abram said, “No, I made a vow to God to just be satisfied with what God gave me. I made a vow that, if I am rich, God gave it to me. Not anything or anyone else.
3. We should use what God sends our way to do His work.
• Then Abram said, “I will just take what my men ate doing the work.”
• The only purpose Abram saw in material possessions is to do God’s work.
• He could have been greedy when someone offered him additional wealth, servants, livestock…
• But his focus was on the work of God and what God had supplied.
• There is no better time in anyone’s life than right now to commit to God’s battle.
• Many times we give God our hearts, we offer Him everything we have at this moment, but we forget to give Him the future.
• What made Abram so strong in that moment?
• He already fought that battle and determined how he was going to respond.
• Listen, many of us need to meet with God and fight our heart battles now.
• If we wait, we will be weak when the moment comes.
• We will waver, we will likely fall.
• Like Abram, we need to be able to say, “Oh, I’ve already determined what my decision is.”
• When you find yourself alone in that passionate situation and the temptations are strong, you need to have already made up your mind, “Sex is for marriage. I want the best marriage, and I can’t have it if I give my purity away.”
• When your friends offer you that pill, that joint, you can stand alone if you have determined before hand that you are not going to risk throwing your life away.
• Battles are won in the planning room. Commitments are made before the battles.
• This is a clear illustration of how this works, not when the heat of the battle, in the height of temptation.
• Win your life battles tonight. Not only give Him your life, give Him your future.
• That’s what practice is for. Coach Fostell and Coach Corley try to put you in every situation they can.
• They don’t want you thinking when you are running down the court with the ball with somebody running ahead of you on the wing.
• They want you to automatically know where to throw the ball, where to move, how to attack without moving out of position to defend.
• They want those decisions made ahead of time. The decisions made, they want you to just react in accordance of what you have already decided.
• That is what Abram did. He told God, “Father, what you supply is enough for me. Decision made.”
• That’s what God wants you to do with your future. Every day, determine to walk with Him.
• Determine that He is enough. Determine that His blessings on your life are enough.
• Joseph
His master's (Potiphar) wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
— Genesis 39:7
And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
• Joseph had been sold by his brothers, sold again into slavery in Egypt.
• However, the trials in his life brought him to a point of decision.
• He was chased by an attractive woman and he had already determined to have no part in it. He ran. Joseph, you did good.
• 2Ti 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
