The Blood of Jesus part 1

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We're going to take these next several weeks to talk about the blood of Jesus. Now, I know that probably most of us in this room, if I was to ask questions about Passion Week, if I was to ask questions about the story of the crucifixion, I think we're all pretty familiar, and I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but Jesus rises from the dead. Okay? I'm just going to tell you that right now. Um, he's victorious, right? But we're going to focus in for a few weeks specifically on the blood of Jesus and the significance of the sacrifice that he has made for you and for me and what that and what that implies in our lives both today and in the future. Okay? So for tonight, for sake of title, I've titled tonight's message One Perfect Sacrifice. One perfect sacrifice. Sacrifice in simple terms, very simple terms here, is a life for a life. A life for a life, right? And I want you to get that in your mind for a moment. The Bible teaches us that life is in the blood. Have you ever cut your finger and a little red substance starts pouring out your finger? Right? When you're a kid, did you ever get a bloody nose? Have those experiences, right? That's what we're talking about. That blood, the Bible teaches us that life is in the blood. Leviticus 17, 14 says, the life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I've said to the people of Israel, you must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood. So whenever, so whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community. So we understand this truth, the life is in the blood. Last year at Men's Retreat, we were catching these monstrous trout. I mean, I'm not even lying. They were so big, and they made me for whatever reason, I had to cut their heads off and gut them out. And those silly fish, they bleed. They have blood. It's true, it's in there. But life is in the blood. But the Bible also teaches us that the penalty for sin, can anybody tell me what it is? It's death, right? The penalty for sin is death. Now, is that like if you commit like a major sin? That's all sin, right? All sin. The Bible teaches us this. In Romans 6 23, it says, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Okay? So a sacrifice is necessary. In other words, a life for a life is necessary to pay the price for our sins. Because I don't know about you, but have you any of you ever wondered like why, why did God require a sacrifice, right? Why, why this reason? I, you know, what I can tell you is the Bible, again, it teaches us that life is in the blood. And it says the penalty for sin is death. And in Hebrews here, in Hebrews 9 22, it says, in fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything, this was referring to the articles that were inside the original tabernacle as well as the temple, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. In other words, without a life for a life, there is no forgiveness of your sin and mine. That's a true principle that we have to understand. So let me tell you what I what I want you to hear tonight. What I want you to hear tonight is this Jesus willingly laid down his life as a sacrificial death to satisfy the wrath of Almighty God for our sins. You see, God is a just and righteous God, and he requires that if you do not obey his laws and his commands and his instruction, just like in Adam and Eve when he said, Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And what did he say would happen to them if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? They would die, right? The principle there is that they would die. So, so God had this purpose behind his reasoning. I'm just, I am holy, I am set apart, I am, I am enthroned above all, and I have created you and I have designed you to follow in line with my commands. But when we don't, that that is sin, and the wages of that sin for you and I is death. But praise be to God, Jesus willingly laid down his life as a sacrificial death to satisfy the wrath of Almighty God for our sins. First thing I want to talk to you about tonight is this his blood was given voluntarily. His blood was given voluntarily. John 10, 11, Jesus says these all familiar, powerful words. I am the good shepherd. Isn't that awesome? I love that. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. You see, Jesus was speaking again to an audience. They understood this concept, right? As a shepherd, you had the responsibility of making sure that your sheep were safe. You had to fend off lions and bears and wolves. You had to fend off robbers and thieves, and you had to put your life on the line for the safety and the security of the sheep. And Jesus is using this same analogy. He says, but but here's the truth. He says, I am the good shepherd. And he says, and I sacrifice my life for the sheep. So voluntary is an important word for us to wrestle with, right? Because voluntary means something that you do because you want to. You see, I want us to understand something tonight. A life had to be paid for a life. And Jesus, he it wasn't because he had to that he gave his blood for you and me. It was that he wanted to. John 10, 17 says this the Father loves me because I sacrificed my life so I may take it back up again. No one can take it from me. You see, I know that, I know that Pilate and Herod and the leaders of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all those in authority in Israel, they thought they had taken Jesus' life, but what they didn't understand is that Jesus willingly laid down his life for the church. No one can take it from me, the scripture says. I sacrifice it voluntarily, for I have the authority to lay it down, and when I want to, and when I want to, and also to take it up again, for this is what my father has commanded. Church, I don't know. There is no other deity, there is no other organization, there is no other plan of hope in the world, in all of history, in all of creation, other than the plan that I need you to understand that there is a God in heaven who loves his creation, and he sent his son, and his son willingly bled and died for you and for me. His blood was given voluntarily. The second thing I want to talk to you about tonight. You guys doing okay? You seem real serious. Maybe, maybe we shouldn't have told you about the business meeting. Maybe, maybe that's the problem. You guys are in business mode or something. I don't know. All right. The second thing I want to talk to you about tonight is his blood paid the price. His blood paid the price. Now, I I've shared this story before, but I think it works pretty well in this analogy. Um, this was when my wife and I and Isaac and Caleb, we had first moved over here to Monmouth Independence, and it was uh December of 24, and uh we quickly uh discovered that we had an affection uh for the Westside uh family cafe and saloon or something like that. I don't know. Um I mean it's a restaurant, it's a saloon, I you know, it's something. I it's you know, but but it's got lots of space and the food's okay. And um we decided to go out there one evening and enjoy a meal, and and uh, you know, how many of you have ever sold your house and then bought a house and then moved? I mean, it's expensive, right? And and and we were we were there because we were exhausted, and it wasn't because we had the extra money to buy food, but it was just because we were there and we were tired and we got this meal and we had a great time of fellowship together. And when the bill came due, the waitress walked over and said, It's been taken care of. The price has been paid in full. What a blessing that was to us that night as a family when some generous Samaritan, you know, loving Samaritan came by and said, I'm gonna take care of this family and bless them by covering their meal. I want you to understand something. Jesus' blood paid the full price for you and me. It didn't just pay it for the past, it didn't just pay it for the present, it also paid it for the future. Jesus' blood paid the price for you and for me for all time. Romans 8, listen to this. This is good news, church. Romans 8, 1 says, So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Can I just share a little secret with you tonight? Next time the devil comes whispering in your ear, condemning you for the crimes, the things that you have done, you better tell him to leave because you have to say, I belong to Christ Jesus, and because I belong to Christ Jesus, guess what? I don't stand condemned, I stand redeemed. That's what the Bible tells us. He says that so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Now listen, it gets even better. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Isn't that awesome? He broke something inside of us, something that had a hold of us, and he broke it, and he's fixing it. Why? Because he wants us to live a life for him. So the law of Moses in verse 3 was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. I love this. He sent his son in a body like the bodies that we sinners have. In other words, Jesus took on a body, not right now, Chris, he took on a body just like you and me, but it was a sinless body, but it resembled our bodies. And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirements of the law would be fully satisfied for us. We with no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit. Now, some of you real intelligent ones in the room, you're thinking, well, I don't understand. If he paid the price in full for me, then why are there still consequences for sin? Well, that's a great question. I'm glad you asked that tonight. There are consequences for sin because there's a law of sowing and reaping. Sometimes you've sown something, and even though you've been forgiven, guess what? You're still gonna reap the consequences of those decisions, right? We live in a fallen world, so guess what? There is sin happening all around us. So sometimes bad things happen to good people, right? All sorts of reasons. But what you and I need to understand is that Jesus' blood has paid the price for us. Church, we stand redeemed. Church, you don't have to live in shame any longer. Church, there are things I've done in my life that I regret, but guess what? I don't have to walk in that shame. I don't have to walk in that regret. I don't have to wallow in sorrow. I get to stand firm in my foundation of Christ and knowing that he's washed me in his blood, that his perfect sacrifice has made me redeemed, just like you here tonight. But listen to this. Oh, excuse me, Ephesians 1.7. Ooh, I love this because we like talking about people that are rich, right? But God's got more. But his blood is a complete sacrifice. His blood is a complete sacrifice. Let me just take a let me just pause for a moment and give you a little bit of a backdrop here. We're not gonna go there tonight, but you can write it down in your notes. If you write down Leviticus, Leviticus is a great read. I mean, if you're having trouble sleeping or something, open up to Leviticus and start reading it, and you will be counting sheep in no time. No, it's it's very informative. It's just not it's just not as interesting as some of the other stories or heroes of the Bible. But Leviticus offers some amazing truth that we need. But Leviticus chapter 16 talks about the the annual sacrifice or atonement that the people of Israel were required to make. Now, this is significant. Why? Because they built a tabernacle, right? And this tabernacle had had several locations within it. The outer courts, the holy, the holy place, and then it had the most holy place, which was in the in the inside. And nobody was allowed on the very inside, except one time a year, the high priest was allowed one time a year to go into the most holy place and to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Now they brought two goats. First of all, the high priest had to put on his garb. He would take a bowl and sacrifice a bull to first deal with his sins, cover over his sins, and then they presented two goats. They cast lots, one of the goats got to live, the other goat had to, you know, he had to go bye-bye. And um, but this the one goat that lived was the scapegoat, and they would confess the sins of the people upon the scapegoat, and they would appoint an individual who would take that scapegoat out into the wilderness. Okay? Now the other goat was sacrificed, and blood from that goat was then taken in to the most holy place where atonement was made for the sins of the people. So I just I want you to have this picture here for a moment. But every single year, time after time, again and again, all through Israel's history, they had to do this every single year, over and over again. But I want you to understand something. The blood that Jesus shed on Calvary, the blood that he poured out for you and me, the perfect spotless Lamb of God that was slain for the sins of the world, he does not have to be sacrificed over and over again. He did it once, he did it right, and he did not enter into the Holy of Holies on earth. He entered into the Holy of Holies with God Almighty in heaven. Okay, so his blood is a complete sacrifice. Hebrews 9 11 says this. So Christ has now become the high priest, no longer Aaron or his descendants, right? But but Jesus, over all good things that have come, he has entered that greater, more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world, with his own blood, not the blood of goats and calves. He entered the most holy place once and for all time and secured our redemption forever. Oh, that's good, church. It's complete, it's paid for, it's voluntary, right? Hebrews 9, 25 and 26 says this, and he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth, who enters the most holy place year after year with the blood of animals. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again ever since the world began. But now, once and for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice, a life for a life, his blood given in exchange for our blood. No longer the blood of goats and lambs and bulls, that only covered over temporarily the wrath and judgment of God, but rather a blood that completely and utterly washed away your sin and mine, past, present, future, paid the price in full, and was given voluntarily. Why? Because he loves you and he loves me. Jesus willingly laid down his life as a sacrificial death to satisfy the wrath of Almighty God for our sins. So, what do we want to do with this? Right? That's a lot, right? Whoa, right? God did that for me. Yeah. God did that for you. God did that for your kids. God did that for your co-workers, God did that for people all around Oregon, regardless of their beliefs, regardless of their political affiliation. God did that for people in other nations. God did that for every tribe and tongue. God has done that for all mankind because his desire is to have relationship with them. So what do we do with that tonight? What do we practice? What is what is something that you and I can begin to faithfully do to live this out, knowing what Jesus has willingly done for each and every one of us? We are called to be a living sacrifice. We are called to be a living sacrifice. Romans 12, 1 says, and so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all that he has done for you. Let them be a living and a holy sacrifice, the kind that he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. I mean, if God's standing before us, what do what do we say when we begin to understand this this perfect sacrifice that was made on our behalves? Right? Isn't it awesome that instead God says, I don't want you to, I don't, you, I'm not asking you to die for your sin, but I'm asking in turn that you would live away from sin, that you would live your life for me as a sacrifice to me. Isn't that a beautiful picture, church? That's what he wants us to do, right? Do you know every week when we we talk about our mission and vision as a church, that's why we talk about it. Why? Because he wants us to be daily devoted followers of him. He wants us to be all in for him. Not just a church on Sunday, but but every day of the week and every every facet, every room, every compartment of our lives, he wants us to live that way for him. So here's a couple things to think about. Live devoted to loving and serving and following Jesus. Now, I know that when we got a band up here and they're raising their voices and the guitar's playing and the pianos and the cajon and oh man, and that crown's down. Woo, that's a great song. You know what I'm saying? Like it's just powerful. But like in those moments, right, it's sometimes we're like, oh, it's hard, it's easy to raise our voices. But what are we doing outside of the walls of the church to bring glory to his name? What are we doing Monday through Saturday to be a living sacrifice, right? What are we doing on our school campus that separates us from our friends, that separates us from culture and demonstrates that we are a living sacrifice, that we're willing to speak up and to speak the truth in love. We got to live devoted to loving and serving and following Jesus. Another thing that we got to do is we gotta honor Jesus in every area of our lives. Church, you'll never go wrong creating an environment, an environment of honor. Students in the room, start by honoring your parents. The Bible says if you honor your parents, that there is a promise that God has for you. If you will honor, but honor your parents. Honoring your parents is a great way to learn how to honor the Lord. And for those of us who are adults in the room, guess what? We need to honor one another. We need to honor Jesus. We need to honor, stop, stop dissing your boss and start honoring your boss. You know what? We need to start honoring the people that are around us that we do life with. Create a culture, an environment of honor, and you will bring glory and praise unto the name of Jesus. Church, we got to also learn to live dead to sin. Now, until Jesus comes, until he splits that eastern sky, until he calls us to come home with him for all eternity, we're still gonna struggle. Why? Because we're we're wrestling with the sin nature, right? Paul talked about this, right? The sin nature wants us to do this, but the spirit of God wants us to do this. So we're we're torn at times. But as we continue to pursue him and live for him, we're gonna find that we're living more and more dead to sin every day. That's the call of God. I promise you, you won't be perfect, right? We're called to practice. Keep practicing, keep repenting, keep obeying, keep living for him, right? Why? Because his blood has done it all for you and for me. I'm gonna invite our worship team to come back tonight. These altars are gonna be open here in front of me. We'll have some prayer uh leaders available over to my right, over here, to your left, to my right. And this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna come face to face with the fact that the blood of Jesus was given voluntarily. Jesus voluntarily laid down his life. Jesus paid the full price for past, present, and future sin. And Jesus, his sacrifice, his blood was complete. It completed it in full for you and for me. And I want to encourage you tonight, if you can honestly tell yourself, you're not living as a living sacrifice unto God. Come find your space at this altar. Come get some prayer from our prayer partners, but let's do some business with God. Will you stand with me tonight?