Intro: This
morning we did something that has become kind of a “Taboo” thing to do in many
Churches TODAY
A)What was that?
We sang some songs about the Blood of Christ
B)It has been said that Christianity is a “Bloody
Religion” because
we talk & sing about the Blood of Jesus
1)In many Churches & in Church seminars today –
they say – Don’t talk about or sing about the Blood
– The Unchurched Can’t Relate
C)A friend of mine – sister in law – was singing in a band at a Popular Church out in Palm
Desert area – Dinner w/ the Pastor
1)
Guidelines
– Don’t get the crowd Dancing – Etc. this Pastor – Don’t sing songs or talk
about the Blood – offends people / turn off
D) This gals mother was there – Laid into him – W/out the Blood we don’t have anything to sing about – RIGHT ON!!!!!
E) Although some today consider it offensive – Peter calls it the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST READ V.17-21
This
morning we are going to break some rules OF Popular church Culture today – sang
about the Blood - / going to talk about the Blood
A)We saw in our study last week where Peter gave THE Exhortation to Be Holy
Hope that Peter had been talking about in the Preceding verses
1) For that Reason: because –
Elect / Living Hope / Inheritance / Rejoice in trials / so great a Salvation
- BE HOLY
C) In verses 17-21 Peter gives 2 more reasons – 1st because there is a Judgment
/ 2nd because been redeemed by the Precious blood of Christ
1) 1st
we will look at Briefly – 2nd spend the majority of our time on
1st
– Because there is a Judgment : Not for our sins (Cleansed) but for our service / works/ REWARDS/ done right heart / right motives /
1Cor.3:12
Now if anyone builds
on this foundation with gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each one’s work will become
clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire;
A)That which is done w/ the right motives /right heart is gold
silver & Precious Stones – that w/ stands the fire
B) That which is done from the wrong motives / heart is the wood Hay
& Stubble that gets burned in the fire !!!!
C) Now Peter makes note of the fact
we are sojourners here – we are just passing thru this world is not our
home
1) But what we do here for the Lord is going to affect our capacity to
enjoy heaven / our responsibility in the kingdom
D)So Peter says conduct yourself here in a way that reveals a healthy respect for that Judgment
1) That is the first Motivation for living Holy lives / But the 2nd is even
Better – You have been redeemed – by the Blood of Christ
For
the rest of our time this morning I want us to Consider why the Blood of Jesus
is so Precious & So Powerful
A)First of all the Blood is Precious because of who it
belongs to – It is the Blood of Christ
B) Jesus is the Lamb of God that was w/out spot or blemish – no mark of impurity w/ in Him / Perfect & Pure / Righteous & true / Blood of God
C) A lot of precaution is used in testing donated Blood –
1) Today there is such a concern about – getting blood that is tainted
HIV or some other Disease
D) His
blood which is a life flow to us – untainted and w/out flaw it flows freely to
us and is a perfect match for our healing
So first of all it is precious
because of who it belongs to it is the Lord’s
2nd it is precious
because of its usefulness to us
A)Starving man in the desert – what is more precious a
suitcase full of 10 million dollars or
a Loaf of bread & some water
B) The Blood is Precious to us because it is useful to us in 1,000 ways but –
Today if time I want to consider 7
#1 It is Precious because of it’s redeeming Power Peter says that we
were not redeemed by corruptible things – silver or gold
A)But by the
Precious Blood of Christ – the Sacrificial lamb w/out spot or Blemish who was
Foreordained to before the Foundation of the World /
B)The word redeem means to set free by paying a Price /
a ransom
B) The Law was our Tyrant and our Master – and with it
came a curse upon everyone who was unable to Keep it
1) So each & everyone of us was under the curse of the law & doomed
Gal.3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of
the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who hangs on a tree”)
C) The law had a dreadful curse; it threatened that
whosoever should violate one of its precepts, should die:
1) The fear of this
curse, inflicted a continual dread on those who
were under it; they knew they had disobeyed it
D) They were doomed
to death & Destruction
1)But “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for
us.”
Now we are not under the law, but under grace, and consequently “We
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear,
but we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,“Abba,
Father.”
A)We go from being Slaves to Sons / those who were Cursed
to those who are Richly blessed / those who lived in fear to being those who
are free
A father and son who worked for months to build a toy
sailboat. Every night when he came home from work the man and his boy would
disappear into the garage for hours.
When it was finished, they traveled to a nearby lake for the boat's trial run. Before launching it the father tied a string to its stern to keep it from sailing too far. The boat performed beautifully, but before long a motorboat crossing the lake cut the string, and the sailboat drifted out of sight on the large lake.
They Both Looked feverishly for the
boat, but it was lost – so sad !!!
A few weeks later as the boy was walking home from school he passed his favorite toy store and was amazed to see his toy sailboat in the window…..
The store owner explained that
he had found the boat while on a fishing trip. "You
may be its maker," he said, "but as a finder I am its legal owner.
You may have it back--for fifty dollars."
The Boy worked hard for Months …… he joyfully walked into the toy store and handed the owner fifty dollars in exchange for his sailboat.
It was the happiest day of his
life. As he left the store he held the boat up to the sunlight. Its colors
gleamed as though newly painted. "I made
you, but I lost you," he said. "Now I've bought you back. That makes
you twice mine, and twice mine is mine forever."
Jesus made you & He has Redeemed
you – Twice His …forever
#2 The Blood is Precious because it is
the Blood of the Atonement
A)Atonement = AT-ONE –MENT
B) And we are told in Lev.17:11 – that it is the Blood that
makes atonement for the soul
1)
Lev. W/out the shedding of
blood there was no remission of Sin
C) God never forgave sin apart from the shedding of Blood (requirement)
1) So sacrifices were continually being offered to atone for the sins of the
people
D) See the O.T. – word for Atonement – merely meant covering – the sins were covered by the Blood
1) Always needed another sacrifice / sinner was still separated – just covered
E) N.T. = AT-ONE-MENT
Nothing could bring AT-ONE-MENT w/ God
A)I Can make sacrifices; I Can
mortify my body; I Can be
baptized; I Can receive
sacraments;
B)I Can pray until my knees grow
hard with kneeling; I Can read devout words until I know them by heart; I Can
celebrate masses;
C) I
Can worship in one language or in fifty languages; but I can never be at one w/
God, except by blood; & that blood, is
the precious blood of Christ.”
D)Now - The Blood of Christ – Brings AT-ONE-MENT – only way
1) So that we who were afar off have been brought near by the Blood of Jesus Christ
He left his Father's throne
above, So free, so infinite his grace!
Emptied himself of all but love, And bled for Adam's helpless
race.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
#3 Blood is Precious because it cleanses us from Sin !!!
A)1 John 1:7 The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin
B) Sin has a directly defiling
affect upon a person – the world’s worst & deadly disease – It is always – FATAL
C) But there is a fountain filled w/ Blood that flows from the Saviors veins and no matter how great the offense
1) No matter how many, nor how
deeply-seated our offenses may
be, the blood cries,
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
D) It is the song of heaven, — “We have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
In a single moment those who
were black as hell become white as heaven,
through the application of the
blood of sprinkling; for all sin disappears as
soon as the blood falls on the
conscience. That which the blood of bulls
and of goats could not do, the
blood of Jesus effectually accomplishes
cleansing from all sin. CHS
E)Cleanses our Conscience - Guilt -
Hebrews 9:14 The Blood of Christ has cleansed our
Conscience from dead works to serve the Living God !!!!!!
Charles
Finney was preaching in a great revival in Detroit. After the service one night
a man said "I want you to come home w/ me, …….
Don't go - but he went.
When
they got to the man's house,/ the man
locked the door, and pulled a revolver from his pocket. He said - "Don't be afraid, Mr. Finney. I am not going to shoot
you. I heard you preach tonight about the Lord Jesus Christ. This
revolver has killed four men. Is there any hope for a man like that?"
Mr.
Finney replied, "The blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanses us from all sin"
The
man answered - "You don't understand, Mr. Finney.
Down below this apartment where you are sitting there is a saloon. I have
helped send men down the road to hell; I have helped
men to rob their own children of food and milk. Is there any hope for a
man who would run a saloon?"
Finney replied, The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from
all sin
The man continued, I have been a gambler all my life. I have spent my life taking
money from people illegally. I there any hope for a man like that?"Mr.
Finney said, "The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin
The
man persisted. "Across the street there is a wife I have abused, a little
girl who is disfigured. One night I came home from gambling and drinking in a drunken stupor.
The child ran to put her arms around me and I pushed her away from me. She hit
the heater and is terribly disfigured. Is there any hope for a man like that?
Soon
thereafter Mr. Finney left. The next morning the man stumbled across the
street. He had not slept; he had prayed all night. When he got into the house
he stumbled up to his room.
In
a little while his wife said to the little girl - "Tell
your daddy it's time for breakfast"
She
went upstairs and said, "Mama says it's
time for breakfast"
The
man said, "Maggie darling, I don't want any
breakfast this morning.
She
ran back downstairs and said, "Mama, Daddy said
he did not want any breakfast this morning and he called me darling."
The
mother said, You made a mistake; you heard him wrong. Go back up there and tell
him it's time for breakfast.
In
a moment the man came down, took his wife in his arms and his little girl on
his knee. "O wife, he wept, I have sinned
against you like few men have ever sinned against anyone, but last night I
heard the preacher preach. I heard about Jesus and about the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus has
cleansed me from all my sin. You have a new husband. Daughter, you have a new
daddy."
A.) Not a bone would be broken - why always a
perpetual flow of blood available
for our sins!! Continues to Cleanse us
– Ask Forgiveness
B) Feet washed the part of us that continues to
come in contact w/ the World
#4 The
Blood is Precious because it Provides a Way of Access into the throne of God
A)Heb.10 :19 Therefore,
brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
B) The Veil was rent – when the blood was shed - / Went from No Access to Now Come Boldly !!!!
2let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water.
#5 The Blood is Precious to us because it sets us apart
A)There are only two types of People today – those who
are covered by the Blood and those who are not
B) Egypt at PASSOVER
C) The Blood was the
Distinguishing mark & still is
1) Not going to Church / not keeping the golden rule / not being religious
D) The thing that matters most to God is this: IS YOUR LIFE COVERED BY THE BLOOD !!!!!!
# 6
The Blood is Precious because it is the Blood of the New Covenant.
A)Passover – UPPER ROOM
matt.26:28For this
is My blood of the £new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins
B) New Covenant. - / Old Do / New Done - New ministry of the Spirit w/ in our hearts
C) Heb. 13:20 the Blood of the everlasting Covenant.
#7
The Blood is Precious because thru it we are made overcomers
A)Rev. 12:11 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
He that fights with the precious blood of
Jesus, fights with a weapon that will cut through soul and spirit, joints and
marrow, a weapon that makes hell
tremble, makes
heaven subservient, and earth obedient to the will of
the men who can
wield it. The blood of Jesus! sin dies at its presence,
death ceases to
be death: hell itself would be dried up if that blood could
operate there. The blood of
Jesus! heaven’s gates are opened; bars of iron
are pushed back.
The blood of Jesus! my doubts and fears flee, my troubles
and disasters
disappear. The blood of Jesus! shall I not go on conquering
and to conquer
so long as I can plead that! In heaven this shall be the
choice jewel which
shall glitter upon the head of Jesus — that he gives to
his people
“Victory, victory, through the blood of the Lamb.”
III. Who is the Power & usefulness of this Precious
Blood Available to ?
V.21 – Whoever believes in the One who has risen from
the Dead !!!!
As
you travel along I-10 in Louisiana there is a large billboard which catches
your eye. It stands high above the city just as you start up the Mississippi
River bridge. On it is a picture of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross of
Calvary, head bowed. The caption underneath says in
bold letters, "It's Your Move!"
What a powerful thought. God has already taken the initiative in salvation. Christ
died for you. Now--it's your move!
One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck
behind her that was driving uncomfortably close. She stepped on the gas to gain
some distance from the truck, but when she sped up the truck did too. The
faster she drove, the faster drove the truck.
Now scared, she exited the freeway. But the
truck stayed with her. The woman then turned up a main street, hoping to lose
her pursuer in traffic. But the truck ran a red light and continued the chase.
Reaching the point
of panic, the woman whipped her car into a service station and bolted
out of her auto screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his truck and
ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man
hidden in the backseat.
The woman was running from the wrong person.
From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted a would-be rapist in the woman's car. The chase was not
his effort to harm her but to save her even at the cost of his own safety.
Likewise, many people run from God's provision of atonement on the
cross, fearing what He might do to them. But His plans are for good not
evil--to rescue us from the hidden sins that endanger our lives.