Genesis in Biblical Perspective:
The Gospel of Christ from Genesis –
Melchizedek the Greater?

Genesis 14:17-24

By Dr. Harry Reeder III

This is our 25th study of seeing Christ in the book of Genesis. This is God's Word, it's the truth. Genesis 14:17-24 says

[17] After his (Abram) 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." [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, [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.' [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.

The grass withers, the flower fades, the Word of our God abides forever and by His grace and mercy may this His Word be preached for you.

I love this passage of Scripture. The whole Old Testament is pointing us to the New Covenant and the Mediator, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament comes with a message. How did you get here? It was through creation. How did we fall into sin? The fact that our fall into sin is so great that we're under God's judgments, we're sinners in need of a Savior but our sin is so great we cannot save ourselves. So God gives His Law and His Law points out our sin, our sin nature and that we need a Savior because we can't save ourselves, but God is gracious, merciful and proclaims a Redeemer. God proclaims that He will save His people from their sins and the unfolding of the book of the Old Testament is God's message. There is Abram, a family, a nation through which will come a Redeemer but who is this Redeemer? This Redeemer is called in the Old Testament the Messiah which translated means the One Anointed or the Anointed One. That is referring to three offices of ministry that God put into the Old Testament to point to this Messiah. For those three offices you had to be anointed to enter into them. It was the office of Prophet, the office of Priest and the office of King. In the Old Testament there were a number of prophets but one stood foremost and that was Moses who said "There will come after me a Prophet greater than me." The king who stands great in the Old Testament is King David but he said "The Lord said to my Lord sit at Thy right hand" that the Lord is sending a King of all Kings, one from the line of Judah who would be the Lion of Judah, one greater than David.

What about this matter of Priest? We don't have a priesthood so we believe the priesthood has been accomplished in this Messiah. How could it? Was not the priesthood from Aaron? Was not the priesthood through Levi? Didn't the Law say that only a Levi could be a priest? Jesus is of the tribe of Judah. He is a cousin to a Levite, John the Baptist but He is not a Levite. How could this office of priest be done away with if Christ is not of that line? How could this Levitical priesthood be summed up and all of its duties discharged and now there is an Intercessor, a Sacrifice and a Priest in whom we can rest in just as we rest in Christ who is the One greater than Moses. God has finally spoken in His Son, the Prophet. Just as we rest in Christ the Shepherd King, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, greater than David yet how can the priesthood be done away with?

That's why these few verses I just read are in your Bible. They tell you how, why and to call you to great heights of trust in the supremacy and efficiency of Christ, the Prophet, the King and the Priest who lives forever. I don't want to jump too far ahead so let's look at this passage in Genesis 14. Our transformational truth is that Jesus Christ's supremacy and sufficiency is such that we have not only a great King and final Prophet but we have a perfect Priest who can intercede for us, bring an offering for us because He Himself is worthy to bring it and He Himself is the offering. How do we get there? I would have covered the whole chapter of Genesis 14 but I didn't want to short change these verses because it is so crucial. So we first looked at Genesis 14:1-16 and we were confronted with the Divine narrative of God's unfolding work of redemption and His transforming grace through what He did through Abram. Abram the coward became Abram the brave heart. Abram who just verses before had fled toward Egypt in fear for his life and on the way decided to preserve his life at the expense of his wife's life, reputation and ethical purity. He would lie about her being his sister, put her up for grabs in Pharaoh's house and it didn't matter as long as he preserved his life but God disciplined him and sent him back.

Now this is a different Abram for this Abram in Genesis 14 gets a message about his nephew Lot who had taken the good land into the Valley of Siddim, had pitched his tent near Sodom and then finally in Sodom. What happened? The whole Valley of Siddim was under the control of four kings from the East. The lead King was Chedorlaomer but all four of these kinds were very powerful and all had big empires of the day. One of them was from today's Iraq, today's Iran and two of them were from today's Turkey. These great kings had this alliance together that for twelve years had extracted tribute from all of the cities and the city states in the Valley of Siddim which is now covered over by the Dead Sea because of the judgment of God but in that day it was a rich valley with five prosperous cities dominated by these four kings. Finally they said that was enough of this and they put themselves in a confederation. Its one thing to be a king of a city but it's another to be a king of an empire. The five kings of the cities went against the four kings of the empires. It wasn't much of a match.

Chedorlaomer came in and stomped right through. He went on a rampage all over the Middle East and defeated them. He comes back and wipes out Sodom and Gomorrah taking all of their plunder and their people off into slavery. That meant that Lot and his family were in that group of people. A survivor came and notified Abram of what had happened. Abram sensing the hand of the Lord rose up. Abram was a man of some wealth so he had his own trained servants the Scripture says which numbered 318 men. He then brought in three other family armies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. They united with him.

This group of four family armies went up, found Chedorlaomer and in an ingenious plan divided up their forces, struck this army and somehow defeated them by the hand of the Lord. Upon their defeat they rescued all the people, took back all of the plunder and now are coming back home. This was fast pace, courageous bravery, ingenuity, and strategy. This is stuff good movies are made of and good books are written from but we're only given pieces of it and now we're brought to this moment were it slows down. In Genesis 14, 28 times kings are referred to but now we slow down in a valley and there are three key figures – Abram and two kings. The place is called the Valley of the Kings (Valley of Shaveh). Today there is a large monument there. Way before there was ever a Jerusalem there was a Canaanite town or village called Salem. Just a little southeast of it was a valley. The Canaanite village like the Jerusalem of today is on two mountains and all the mountains that surround it are higher and that's why it's not hard to conquer this city. It has been conquered many times. In that Jerusalem it is surrounded by two valleys and one valley's dissect goes right through it. Coming around the western side all the way to the east is the valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) which is the place where the refuse of the village of Salem and later Jerusalem would go out to from the Dung Gate. That is where they would wash the excrement and the trash out of because everything went downhill into the valley of Hinnom. There it would be set on fire and was always smoldering.

Jesus would use that a thousand years later to tell us about hell, its unending fire and everlasting torment but in that day it was just a valley. From the north coming around the west and uniting with that valley, was another valley, called the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It was the valley through which this town of Salem, Jerusalem, would be overrun time and time again. It emptied out at the bottom into the valley of Hinnom but there was a third valley. When you put three fingers up Jerusalem would be in the middle and these three valleys would join at a point of confluence. That middle valley was called the Tiropian Valley which runs right by what today is called the Wailing Wall. Those three valleys come together at a place where the kings used to meet, called the King's Valley (Valley of Shaveh). That is where Abram meets up with two kings.

The king of Sodom who had survived the battle was there and his name was Bera. The king of Salem was also there and his name is Melchizedek. In the passage I read from Genesis 14 the king of Sodom comes out and there are four things I want you to see from this. The first thing is that he comes out with silence. He doesn't speak. Number two, he comes out empty handed. He has no gift as was the Middle East custom to acknowledge Abram's presence or what he had done. Number three, he is thankless. Abram has just rescued the people of his city and all of the property that had been plundered and there is not one word of gratitude. Number four, he comes with a demand. It's a generous demand but it's still a demand. He says "You give me the people and I'll give you the plunder." In that he is attempting to draw Abram under his control just as he had drawn Lot under his influence.

There was another king there, Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Here I also want to look at four things. First of all when he comes out he brings a royal banquet of bread and wine and he bids Abram to sit with him to fellowship with him around a royal table. Secondly, he comes with a blessing. He says "Blessed be Abram by God most high." That blessing is now being uttered and it's the echo of the blessing that had been uttered to Abram's great, great, great, great, great grandfather whose name was Shem. Noah had given the same blessing on God's behest to Shem. Now here Shem's relative hears the same blessing. The third thing he does is he blesses God. He says "Blessed by God the most high, who possesses everything from heaven to earth." He owns it from pillar to post. Fourthly, he not only acknowledges Abram's willing to battle but he gives the credit to God for the victory. He says "The battle is the Lord's and the victory is the Lord's, blessed be God who has given Abram the victory."

Now we've seen the kings so let's take a look at Abram. There are four things about Abram as well. One, when Abram sees Melchizedek who had first spoken, he immediately bows in worship. He worships God through the mediation of Melchizedek. Secondly, he brings a tithe in his worship of everything. The third thing is he rejects the king of Sodom's attempt to bring him under his influence. When the king of Sodom says "Give me the people and I'll give you the plunder" Abram says "No, I have raised my hand to the God most high. I will not accept thread, a sliver or a strap for my hope is in the God who possesses heaven and earth and I will not have you going through this region saying 'I made Abram rich.' God is my riches and my trust." Abram rejects a king's offer. Fourthly, he takes care of his men. He makes sure they are fed. He says that Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre who have risked all will now get their portion of the plunder. Abram says he'll take nothing but they have a right and they shall have it. What have we now seen here? I want to walk you through five observations from this beautiful text of Scripture. The first observation is who is Melchizedek? I preached on this passage one other time almost twenty years ago and it was when I was pastor at Christ Covenant. In the local newspaper we would advertise the Sunday morning and evening sermon. I had become with the lady who did this for us and after a while I would just call her up and give her the title and she'd put it in the paper. I should have checked her background in the church because I called her up to give her this sermon title from Genesis 14, 'who is Melchizedek?' She said "Say that again." So I repeated it. On Sunday in the Charlotte Observer in the religious section it said "Christ Covenant invites you to worship with them and their pastor is preaching on 'Who is Mel Kiz Edeck?' I could only imagine out of all the millions of people reading this them saying "Where did they get that preacher? Who is Mel Kiz Edeck?" I should have told her that was only one word and not three.

Who is Melchizedek? That is a big question. The Bible is not silent on it. I want you to be forbearing with me to go one thousand years ahead. One thousand years later from this event a king is raised up. He is about to be ordained, anointed and installed. When he is a Psalm is written. When King David was installed Psalm 110 was written about him. Notice that in this Psalm as David is being honored they are looking beyond David to One who is greater than David. How do they do that? Look at verse one. This is a Psalm of David and what does he write? Psalm 110:1 says [1] The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

So as he is now about to sit enthroned he points them beyond himself to God, the Lord, who says to the Lord that is the Son of God "Sit at my right hand until We have won the victory and all of the enemies shall become Your footstool." In his moment of ordination, installation and anointment David looks beyond to One greater than him. As he does that he reaches back to talk about this One coming after him to Genesis 14. Psalm 110:4 says [4] The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." You are forever a priest. There is a King who is coming and it is the Lord Himself. He will not only be a King but also a Priest, a Kingly Priest, a Royal Priest, yet to come from the order of Melchizedek.

Now I want you to fast forward two thousand years from the moment of Genesis 14. There is a writer inspired by the Holy Spirit who will give us a commentary on what Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 is saying. It is the writer of Hebrews and he tells us we have a great Prophet who is Jesus Christ, we have a great King who is Jesus Christ and we have an everlasting Priest who is Jesus Christ. This is explained in Hebrews 7. Without apology but with explanation I'm going to read an extended passage of Scripture here which I normally don't do because this is the Holy Spirit's commentary on Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 for us to understand these Old Testament passages. It actually begins at the end of Hebrews 6 where Jesus has gone ahead of us. How has He done this? Hebrews 6:20 says

[20] where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Now Hebrews 7:1-28 says

[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, [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. [4] See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! [5] And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. [6] But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. [7] It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior (Melchizedek is the superior to Abraham). [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. [9] One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, [10] for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. [11] Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? [12] For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. [13] For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. [14] For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. [15] This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, [16] who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. [17] For it is witnessed of him, (Quote from Psalm 110) "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." [18] For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness [19] (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. [20] And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, [21] but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: (Quotes again from Psalm 110) "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever.'" [22] This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. [23] The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, [24] but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. [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. [26] For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. [27] He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. [28] For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

I know this is not an easy passage but let just try to shuck it down for us here. Jesus does away with the prophet-hood because He is the Word of God finally spoken, greater than Moses. He is the fulfillment of the Kingship because He is the Lord of whom David spoke of, King of Kings and He does away with the Levitical priesthood. We need an intercessor. We need someone to take an offering. We need an offering to be given but He does away with the Levitical priesthood not because He is a Levi but because He is of the order of Melchizedek, a royal Priest, an eternal Priest, a perfect Priest forever.

There is a lot of question about who Melchizedek actually is and some of the rabbis say that Melchizedek is actually Shem, the son of Noah because Shem was alive during some of Abraham's life. Just go back and do the numbers. Can you imagine that Shem was actually living during some of the time of Abraham? There is no evidence at all in the Scripture of that.

Secondly, some would say it's an angelic apparition yet the words are used in an historic sense, a factual sense. All these other kings we can verify that they're historical people so that doesn't seem to hold. Some would say this is a Christophany, a pre- incarnation appearance of Christ that Melchizedek is not a historical figure but it is actually Christ coming as King of Salem, a pre-incarnate ministry. It is usually referred to by the phrase, 'the angel of the Lord' or 'the captain of the Lord's host'. My problem with that is that Hebrews is clear. Melchizedek resembles the Son but he is not the Son.

Some would say that the passage in Hebrews that says "without father, mother or genealogy" does say that but what the writer of Hebrews is using is the fact that Melchizedek appears on the scene. There is no genealogy, no record of his birth or death and so they take that with literary license to further the typology to say this is like Christ, an eternal priesthood. This is a royal Priest, One who is greater. Melchizedek is not the Christ. Melchizedek is pointing to One greater than him and Christ comes now in the order of Melchizedek. So why does He fulfill the Levitical priesthood? The Levites were inferior to Melchizedek. We know they were inferior because Abram bowed and paid tithes to Melchizedek. Who is in the loins of Abraham? It is all the tribes, including the Levites.

When he bowed they bowed. They were the inferiors to the superior. Now Christ has come according to the order of Melchizedek, separated from sinners with His perfect life but yet among them. He is a priest who doesn't need to be replaced because He has an indestructible life. He is a priest who can now enter into the holy of holies. He can bring an offering and the offering is Himself. Because He has come the Law has been changed. I'm not under the Law for there is a new Law of grace, mercy and forgiveness because He came under that Law and redeemed me from that Law.

Now there is a Priest that lives to ever intercede for me, this indestructible Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is a historical figure. He was a type of Christ. Christ is the fulfillment and Christ becomes the royal King Priest that Levites must bow to. He sums them up and now we have a Priest, an offering, a Law of grace. Now we have a Priest who ever lives to intercede for us. I want to do a couple of things here. Abram now becomes a great picture for us as believers. When he comes to Melchizedek there is a beautiful picture of what means for us to come before Christ, the One greater than Melchizedek.

The second thing from the text is you have the integrity of the tithe as an act of worship. I understand that talking about finances is always a challenge but this begs for me to explain a couple of things. In Hebrews 7 it said "Levites bow to Melchizedek because Abram bowed to Melchizedek." Because Abram worshipped in the presence of Melchizedek and bowed then the Levites bowed but when I go back to Genesis 14 where did it say he bowed? Where did it actually use the word worship? It never did. Why? It is because the tithe is synonymous with bowing and worshipping. Some would say that the tithe was just done in the days of Moses yet Abram was 400 years before Moses. Notice that he did not even need to be instructed to do that.

No one told him to pay a tithe. He immediately worshipped and paid the tithe of everything. He didn't have to be instructed. Why would he know this? It is because it goes all the way back to the garden where Abel and Cain come before the Lord. When they come before the Lord Cain brings some of the fruit from the ground but Abel from his occupation as a shepherd brought the first of the flock which is the tithe. The fat portions were the offerings. The tithe is a great study which could be known as the life of living the first fruits as a Christian. The tithe is the first fruit of worship, the first fruit of the week, the Lord's Day, the first fruits of our lives, our witness, and the first fruits of praise to God. Abram brings the tithe.

For many churches today the moment of the offering has become a throw away. Lord willing, you will never hear or see that here. When we pray before the offering we say "We'll worship the Lord with His tithes (for we will not rob Him) and our offerings." It is a glorious moment where we are tangibly laying hold and telling God "You're the Possessor of everything. All that I have you have given to me. I acknowledge it in worship with the first fruits. Here I now bring it before You in worship." This isn't a funding enterprise. It is a worship act before the living God. I would not rob You. I would not withhold from You. There is a moment I love in worship. When that choir has ministered to us during the tithe and the offering, it is when we stand to sing praise as the ushers come and bring your worship to lay it at the feet, not of Melchizedek, but of Christ. O Lord we love You!

Now who is Melchizedek? He is called a king, a priest, a king of peace, king of Salem, the king of righteousness and this is the first time the word priest has been used in your Bible. It is reserved for the moment when Melchizedek makes his appearance. He is the first priest. In his order will come Jesus, the final Priest. The first points us to the final.

The third thing from this text is this is the precursor to the Lord's Supper, a royal banquet. Melchizedek could have just come out and given bread and water but he didn't. He brought the food of royalty – bread and wine. He sat down at a table with fellowship. Here is the precursor of the Lord's Supper, the royal banquet when we assemble with Christ and sit at, not Melchizedek's table, but the One he pointed to. We sit at Lord's Table. We sup with the Lord and oh the riches of royalty for we partake of those elements that proclaim we are forgiven. We are right with God. The body and blood of Christ is the body where He bore our sins and the blood where He washed us clean.

The fourth thing from the text is before Melchizedek there is an unshakeable witness to the world. Where did Abram bow in worship? He bowed in worship before God through Melchizedek. There is another king over there. There was no worship to the king of Sodom. Genesis 13 said that Sodom was exceedingly wicked and the very name of this king, Bara, mean wicked or evil. Abram worships in front of him but more than that this king hadn't given up. When this whole meeting takes place the king of Sodom finally speaks with ten words saying "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." He reaches out to bring him under his dominion with the plunder that he will let him keep. Abram says "No, I will not be owned by you or the world. God owns me. All that I am is God's. In Christ alone is my hope and my victory."

The fifth thing from the text is the believer who has been touched by the Lord and His grace, always takes care of his people. Abram said "I'll take nothing but I'll see to it that Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre get their portion. I'll see to it that my trained men are nourished and fed." A man and his home takes care of his people, his wife and his children. A man or woman who owns a business takes care of their people. Men and women who are believers and have others report to them, don't use people but take care of their people. Honest work equals honest wages. We learn what it means to treat people with dignity. Abram takes care of his people.

I have two takeaways. I couldn't wait to go over this text with you because again I am astounded at God's Word, the integrity, intimacy and unity of it. God's Word is spread out over almost 3,000 years with 40 plus authors and from beginning to end there is this unbelievable integrity of unity and intimacy that is all built around the glory and majesty of our Savior Jesus Christ. Why would you reject this message from God's Word when He has affirmed it as His Word right in front of you with evidence after evidence after evidence? The Lord has affirmed to you and me what was said on the road to Emmaus which was "Beginning with Moses (Genesis, Exodus Leviticus etc) and all the prophets He explained Himself in all the Scriptures." How could we make time for anything ahead of this precious Word of Christ?

I have used this illustration before from my grandmother. At Christmas my grandmother and granddaddy didn't have much, so my grandmother would knit things. She even knitted something for me when I went to college. When I got to college and I was unpacking my suitcase up on the floor where all the football players lived, right on top as I opened my suitcase where my mother put them were the footies my grandmother had knit for me. I will never forget that. She had knit me a sweater but whatever you do if it picks don't pull the pick or the sweater will disappear into one strand of yarn.

That is the way your Bible is. Pick in Genesis. Pick in Psalm 110. Pick it in Hebrews. Pick it in Mark. Pick it in Matthew. Pick it in Deuteronomy. Pick it in Leviticus. Pick it in Numbers where you probably stopped reading through the Bible this year. Wherever you pick it if you go further with the Spirit of God leading you, there is Christ. There is the thread and as one person said "the red thread of redemption." There is the glory of Christ as your Creator, your Redeemer and ever lives to be your Sustainer.

The second takeaway has to do with the future. Will you be in Sodom or in Salem (heaven), the New Jerusalem? We are just a few verses away from where Sodom will be destroyed under the judgment of God. Why would you reside there? There is coming a day when heaven shall come down. There will be a new heavens and a new earth and a New Jerusalem that will not need light for the Lord will be its Light in which there is righteousness and purity. I will be able to live without even the ability to sin and there my Prophet, my Priest, and my King will guide me into all of eternity. There we will be sustained in the joy of the Lord. So where will you be then?

Sodom is cast under eternal judgment for the New Jerusalem. The answer then is now, who is your King? Who is your Prophet, Priest and King? I call you beyond Melchizedek to Christ and He ever lives to uphold you and intercede for you. It says in Genesis 14 that the King of Sodom, the evil one, Bara, came out to meet Abram. He had already come out in Genesis 13 and got whipped. I think there are two types here. We not only have Melchizedek pointing us to Jesus but we have the King of Sodom, the evil one, Bara, telling us about one who would allure us to Sodom. Why would you go to the allurement of sand castles that are washed away? Why not come to Christ for there is a city whose Builder and Maker is God. Let's pray.

Prayer:

Father, I would pray that You would speak to our hearts in these moments. Thank You so much for the privilege to be in Your Word this Lord's Day, in this marvelous text where You by the Spirit of God take this moment in the history of Abram and bring us to the footstool of Jesus. Thank You for Your grace that reached out and took hold of a Canaanite king and made him a priest of Salem. I want to thank You for reaching out and taking hold of me. It is my prayer and plea to You that everyone reading this has rested in Christ, the Prophet, Priest and King, the Mediator, upon whom their life may rest in the Law of forgiveness and grace. Father, if there is one reading this who has not yet given their life to the Savior, may they flee to Christ. Your Word has called them. Your Spirit is calling them. Today is the day of salvation. If you want to receive Christ today say "Oh Lord, I know I'm a sinner. In Christ alone I put my trust today. Let it be said of me that He is my victory." Oh God I plead with You for that. I want none of these under the destruction reserved for Sodom and its inhabitants. I want them with You in the New Jerusalem. If you have prayed this prayer or want to talk with someone please contact us here at Briarwood. We would love to pray with you. May the Good Word of salvation be yours. Now Father, finally, call Your people to rise up. We will worship our Savior. We will bear an unshakeable witness by His grace for our Savior. We will not stand in the world but before the world in our Savior, God who possesses heaven and earth. We'll take care of our people. We will love worship, the Supper of the Lord and the privilege to know right now in heaven is One ever living to intercede for us. It is Jesus our Savior and I pray in His Name, Amen.