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Psalms 139:1-12 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me
and known me. You know my
sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You
comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it
altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high,
I cannot attain it. Where can I
go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into
heaven, You are there; If I
make my bed in hell, behold, You are
there. If I take the
wings of the morning, And dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your
right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on
me," Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall
not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Father God, thank you for the beauty of the seasons you
create. All we have to do is gaze at our surroundings, and what we see, tells
us there is a high power that man. Give us the wisdom and knowledge to trust
and believe in you. I pray and ask for
this in Jesus name, Amen!
Book of Hebrews 9:11-19 NKJV
This
chapter gives us an understanding of the significance of blood and its atoning
effect on sin and how the Old Covenant and the New Covenant both commenced with
the shedding of blood.
11 But
Christ came as High Priest of
the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made
with hands, that is, not of this creation.
But
Christ came as High Priest of
the good things to come; Paul
is making reference to Jesus being the good things to come. With His High
Priesthood came the gift of Grace through faith. With proper faith in the Cross
comes the expectation of being with Jesus after our physical death. The
offering of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was perfect and only needed to be done
once, reflects the inferiority of all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. No
longer were/are the sacrifices of animals necessary.
With
the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of
this creation; This is
referring to Jesus being our tabernacle. The tabernacle we abide in through
faith. Jesus always was and always will be. He was not made by humans,
therefore is not of this earthly creation. Jesus is not a building that will
perish over time.
12 Not with
the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy
Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Not
with the blood of goats and calves;
We have discussed what this verse says previously. The blood of the animals
that were sacrifices were not holy, therefore the sacrifices had to be repeated
for the atonement of sin. This blood only covered the sin and did nothing to
remove or cleanse the conscience of the person. There was no assurance that the
sin was forgotten.
Life is in the blood,
without blood there is no life. Let’s use a blood transfusion as an analogy for
spiritual life. Animals perish, therefore their blood perishes, but Jesus blood
is eternal because of its purity. A transfusion of animal blood, representing
human acts or works, is only temporary and the results are death, physical and
spiritual, but a transfusion with Jesus blood through faith in the acts of the
Cross result only in one death, that being a physical death. Through faith our
spirit lives for eternity. This is why the animal sacrifices were insufficient
and always had to be repeated because they were of a human nature and not
spiritual. Leviticus 17:11 NLT for the life of the body is in its blood. I have
given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD.
It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification
possible.
But
with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all; Jesus blood is pure and spotless,
without blemish. His blood is therefore holy. Through the shedding of His
perfect blood he entered into the Most Holy Place, Heaven, not made with human
hands and He sits at the right hand of our Father. This act of love only had to
be done once because Jesus was perfect and that is why He said, “It is
finished” when He died on the Cross. John
19:30 So when Jesus had received the
sour wine, He said, "It is finished!"
And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Having
obtained eternal redemption; Through
this act of love for us there is a chance of eternal life in Heaven for all, if
one so desires through repentance. This promise of salvation is now and until
the Second Coming of Christ, the Battle of Armageddon. John 3:14-18 NLT And as Moses lifted up
the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up, 15
so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal
life. 16
"For God loved the world so much that He gave His
one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have
eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the
world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in
Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not
believing in God's one and only Son.
13 For if
the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
Here with this verse and
the next one, Paul is going back to the animal sacrifices and their temporary
effects. Paul proclaims the effect of an external purification, a cleansing
from ritual defilement, but that was as far as it went. Animal sacrifices could
not take away sins.
14 how much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God?
How
much more shall the blood of Christ; Claims
the fact that Jesus is holy therefore His blood is Holy and it has the power to
forgive and forget sin through the eyes of God. Nothing else can or will.
Who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God; In this phrase, we learn Christ did
not die until the Holy Spirit told Him to die, no man took His Life from Him,
He laid it down freely. He could not have offered Himself without spot to God
because God could only accept a perfect Sacrifice. When He died on the Cross,
He took upon Himself the sin penalty of the human race, which was physical
death; inasmuch as His Offering of Himself was Perfect, God accepted it as
payment in full for all sin—past, present, and future, at least for those who
will believe. John
10:17-18 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My
life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me,
but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
Cleanse
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God; This refers to things that we as human
beings think we can do to gain us entry into Heaven. As human beings we like to
believe in ourselves to provide all that we need for life and that is where we
fall short, because we are only thinking of physical life and not spiritual
life here after. Normally we think if we try to abide by the Ten Commandment;
go to church every Sunday and Holy Day; receive communion, be confirmed;
confess our sins to man; be baptized; give money to charities; volunteer our
time to charitable events; etc. we will go to Heaven. Now don’t get me wrong
these things are good to do, but the questions you have to ask yourself is this;
Am I doing it out of love for Jesus, or because someone told you to do it so
you will look good to God? If you are doing these things because someone told
you that good people do these things and it will get you to Heaven, then it is
works. If you are doing it out of love for Jesus because He died on the Cross
in your place, then it is faith that is working in your life. Faith in Jesus is
the only thing that will get one to Heaven. Everything else like religion,
rituals, denominational dogma, etc. is works.
It amazes me when talking
to people when they say that only certain denominations go to Heaven. This is a
pure sign they are living according to the teachings of the religion they
belong to and practicing “works”. If this were the case then, Jesus is made out
to be a liar base on John
3:16 "For God loved the world so much
that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone
who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
These people are living
like the Jewish people of Jesus and the Apostles time. Their faith is in the
laws of the Old Covenant, their religion.
15 And for
this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are
called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
And
for this reason; This
“reason” is referring back to verse 9 concerning the cleansing of our
conscience through faith in the Cross of Christ. Through faith and the Gift of
Grace from God we can have assurance that our sins are forgiven and forgotten.
This is promised through the New Covenant, proclaimed by God. Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, says the
LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah— 32 not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of
Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the
LORD. 33
But this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put
My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God,
and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and
every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
He
is the Mediator of the new covenant; He
is referring to Jesus, and He alone is the mediator because of His purity and
self sacrifice of His pure and spotless blood.
By
means of death; The
death of Jesus was necessary for the atonement of all sin by man and was
necessary if man was to be saved.
For
the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant; This proclaims the fact that the death
of Jesus Christ pertained just as much to those before the Cross as those after
the Cross. His Sacrifice of Himself guaranteed their redemption, and we speak
of all who had died in the Faith like Abraham, Job, David, etc.
That
those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance; This also refers to those who had died
in the Faith before the Cross. They are referred to as “the called.” The reason
their Salvation depended on the Cross was because they understood the scriptures
and were waiting for the Messiah. They believed in Jesus death even before it
took place because of understanding what the animal sacrifices were all about
and what they signified. In offering unblemished animal sacrifices, they were
anticipating Christ's coming and his death for sin.
16 For where
there is a testament, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
This verse and the next
one can leave a reader scratching their head wondering what its meaning is.
There is one key word in these two verses that confuses us, and that word
being, “testament”. If we substitute the word “will” for testament and do a
little rephrasing, it would read like this. “Now when someone leaves a will/testament,
it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.”
Basically what this verse
is saying is this. For a new testament (covenant) to be made it was necessary
for Jesus to die. It was Jesus death and resurrection that started the New
Covenant.
17 For a
testament is in force after men
are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
Again let’s substitute the
word “will” for testament and rephrase it so it makes sense to us. It would
read like this then; “The will/testament goes into effect only after the
person's death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will/testament
cannot be put into effect.” So this verse is simply telling us that the New
Covenant could not start before Jesus death on the Cross for our sins, and the
next verse tells us why.
18 Therefore
not even the first covenant was
dedicated without blood.
The Old Covenant was
started with the shedding of blood, animal blood and the New Covenant was
started with the shedding of blood, Jesus blood. It is the prescribed order of
God that blood of one life be sacrifice to give life to another, eternal life.
19 For when
Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took
the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and
sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
For
when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law; The precepts and laws this verse is
speaking of, represents the Old Covenant, which is commonly referred to as the
“Law of Moses”. Moses presented all the laws of the Old Covenant to the people.
These laws are all recorded in the Book of Leviticus and broken down like this:
1. Laws concerning
sacrifices (Leviticus 1:1-7:38).
2. The Tabernacle service
put into operation (Leviticus 8:1-10:20).
3. Laws concerning purity
and impurity (Leviticus 11:1-15:33).
4. The Great Day of
Atonement (Leviticus Chapter 16).
5. Various Laws (Leviticus 17:1-25:55).
6. Promises and warnings (Leviticus Chapter 26).
7. Valuation and
Redemption (Leviticus Chapter 27).
He
took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and
sprinkled both the book itself and all the people; The last part of this verse tells us
the Old Covenant was consecrated with the blood of sacrificed animals. Exodus 24:6-8 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he
sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in
the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we
will do, and be obedient." 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said,
"This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you
according to all these words."
Colossians
1:16 For
by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23 For
the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe
it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I
am a sinner. I confess my sins to you; I
am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my
sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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