John 20:29 - Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

CHRIST, THE PERFECT SACRIFICE

Ref: KJV, Heb 10:1-18; Scripture Text: Heb 10: 5 -18

AIM: To share with brethren from God’s word on what are we to do for Christ, being the perfect sacrifice for us.

WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS?

1. Good morning everyone. We are indeed encouraged by the brethren from Malaysia and visitors worshiping with us here today. Indeed is a great privilege and blessing for me to be given the opportunity to share the word of God. Today’s lesson will be something that is very close to my heart. It is this event that drawn me nearer to God, It is about Christ sacrifice. The reasons behind such great act. Why God so great and powerful send His only son, Jesus Christ to become man? And why must Jesus die for us?

2. God created man in innocence and gave him dominion over the earth. (Gen 1:28). But Man sinned and immediately lost his dominion. (Rom 3:23) Sin is the transgression of God's law. (1 John 3:4) and wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23). The ultimate curse of man's lost destiny is death. But our God is gracious and patient and wanted all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). As such, God's Ultimate gift for mankind was to let His only Son, Jesus Christ come to die to remove the curse so that man could regain dominion; thus Jesus death was the most important event in History to save man from sin.

3. Join me as we recall this event. Lets go back a few thousand years, now we are in the midst of the crowd on the hill of Golgotha also know as the “skull”. The crowd was chaotic and there were a lot of noise. There were smell of blood. And then, we see our Lord Jesus Christ, hanging on the cross, crucified between two thieves. (During that time, Crucification is described as the most “cruel and unusual” punishment to derive the maximum amount of suffering reserved for those guilty of crimes against the Roman empire). As we observe, our Lord's body on the cross. We saw that there were a lot of blood from the deep wounds due to the many beatings he suffered, his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. There was a crown of thorns over his head. As we look up at his face, we can see in his eyes, the pain and agony he is going through to see the people he loved and helped doing this to him. He was cursed, abused, spet upon, betrayed, beaten and crucified for the people that he loved.

4. At the bottom of the cross, on one side, we see the chief priest, soldiers, scribes mocking and cursing him. On the other hand, there were people like his mother Mary and his disciple John who were in great sadness and were helpless as they saw our beloved Lord and Saviour suffering on the cross for us. After about six hours on the cross, Our Lord's final words were “teleho” or “It is finished” in greek and bowed his head and gave up his life. He deliberately put His head into a position of rest showing that he lay down his life by himself and no one taketh it away from him. This account can be read in John 19. Jesus humbly died on the cross on that day. For who did he die for? It is for you and for me. Why did Jesus has to sacrifice so much for us? He is the Son of God, who is also God and yet brought himself so low to become human (1 John 1:1-3) to save mankind. Why ??

CHRIST SACRIFICE

5. Why did Jesus become man? Jesus become man because to:

a. Be Our substitute. (Read Hebrews 2:9) Since all man have sinned and have fall short of Glory of God and is bound to suffer death and separation from God for eternity. By the grace of God, Jesus tasted death for everyone. Jesus took on the burden of sins upon himself to suffer and die on our behalf so that we will not be separated from God. He died in your place and in my place. He became our substitute.

b. Destroy the power of death. (Read Hebrews 2:14-15)

(1) Humans by nature are flesh and blood but Christ was not. Yet Jesus added to Himself our nature in order that He might die in our place, and that we might take hold of the divine nature that did not belong to us (2 Peter 1:4)

(2) The only way to destroy Satan was to rob him of his weapon, which was death (physical death, spiritual death, eternal death). Satan knew that God required death for us because of sin. Satan wants to hold onto men until we die, because once we are dead the opportunity for salvation is gone forever. Men cannot escape after his death. But God has a weapon even more powerful – which was eternal life and with it Jesus destroyed death.

c. Be our sympathizer. (Read Hebrews 2:17-18) God wants to help man. For this reason, He had to be made in the form of man, so that he can understand what we are going through. Because Jesus Himself suffered when he was tempted, (Mat 4:1-11) He is able to help those who are being tempted". Jesus came to reconcile men to God. He wanted to feel everything we feel so that He could be merciful and understanding, as well as a faithful high priest. He came not only to save us but to sympathise with us and aid those who are tempted.

6. Jesus became man because he wanted to be a substitute to save us, destroy the power of death and sympathise with us. Isn't that great? How thankful and grateful can we be for God's providence and love. But why did Jesus have to die for us?

Why did Jesus Christ have to die for us?.It was because

a. There was a need to shed blood for the remission of soul from sin.

(1) (Read Hebrews 9:22) The word “purged” here means to “kartharizo” in Greek which means to cleanse and purify. Before the new covenant was established by Jesus, the Jews were under the mosaic law which was given by God. And in the mosaic law, God directed that there is a need for blood to be shed for remission of soul from sin.

(2) God told Moses: "For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11).

b. There was a need for a better purer and perfect sacrifice that can cleanse and redeem man's soul from sin. No sacrificial animals' blood was sufficient to do that. So sinful have men become that only a perfect sacrifice could cleanse us of our sins. The blood of Christ, perfect sacrifice, had to be shed for our redemption. Jesus Christ "did not enter by means of the blood of the goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12). This redemption obtained through the blood of Christ, is not temporary or just to cover like the practices in the old testament but it is to fully cleanse us internally (where sin really exist) and redeem us once and for all, forever. (Heb 9:13-14)

c. To establish eternal life. The way to eternal life is through resurrection, but the way to resurrection is through death. So Jesus had to experience death before He could be resurrected and thereby give us life. Jesus dying destroyed death. How? He went into death, through death, and came out on the other side, there by conquering it. As such, Jesus said, because I live, you shall live also. (John 14:19). The resurrection of Jesus Christ provides the believer with eternal life.

7. We have understood that Jesus died for us so that our souls can be purified from our sins by His blood and the hope that we have in Him to have eternal life to be with Jesus and God. On the cross, when our Lord was dying, his final word “teleho” which means it is finished in greek refers to a perfect completion. To the scribes, chief priest and soldiers, Jesus sacrifice was a failure. But to Christ, at his dying moments, His sacrifice for all of us was perfect. Why?

WHY IS JESUS SACRIFICE PERFECT?

8. It reflects God’s eternal will.

a. Christ sacrifice was perfect because it was God’s will all along. In the mind of God, before the world was ever created, He knew the old system would not be perfect. From the beginning He had planned that Jesus would come and die. (Heb 10:5, 7)

b. God could never have been satisfied with animal offerings and He became less satisfied with then as they became a sham and mockery. To many offerers they had come to be meaningless religious ritual, and had nothing to do with obedience or faith. (Heb 10:8)

c. Jesus supreme mission on earth was to do His Father’s will. Over and Over in the gospels, Jesus speaks of His having come to do the Father’s will and only the Father’s will. His was the perfect sacrifice because it was offered in perfect obedience to God. (John 14:31) Even on the cross Jesus was saying, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. (Luke 23:46)

9. It replaces the Old system. God took away the first, the old sacrifices to make way for the second, the new sacrifice. (Heb 10:8-9) God’s focus was always on the second covenant, the superior covenant, the perfect covenant in Jesus Christ.

10. It sanctifies the believer. It sanctifies the believer, makes him holy. The old system had no way of making a man holy. (Heb 10:10) To be sanctified, or make holy (hagiasmos in greek), basically means to be set apart. (1Thess 4:3) . This is also the desire of our Lord. “ You shall be holy, for I am Holy (1 Pet 1:16). This one act, in one moment, provided permanent sanctification for everyone who places his trust in Jesus Christ. (2Pet 1:3-4). On the cross, He sanctified us, set us apart unto Himself, forever holy and dear to Himself and to the Father.

11. It removes sin. Christ’s sacrifice is effective because it removes sin, which the other covenant could never do. (Heb 10:11-12). The new covenant went from daily sacrifices to one sacrifice, from ineffective sacrifices to the one perfect sacrifice.

12. It destroyed His enemies. (Heb 10:13) All the sacrifices in the Old Testament did nothing to get rid of Satan. But when Jesus died on the cross, he destroyed all His enemies. (Heb 2:14) - he conquered devil. (Col 2:14-15) - He disarmed and triumphed over all rulers and authorities of all ages who have rejected and opposed God. He is now waiting until all His enemies bow at His feet. (Phil 2:10).

13. It perfects the saints forever. (Heb 10:14) The death of Jesus Christ removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Savior. We need cleansing when we fall into sin, but we need never fear God’s judgement on us because of our sin. As far as Christ’s sacrifice is concerned, we have already been sanctified and perfected – which is why He had to sacrifice Himself only once. The forgiveness is permanent because the sacrifice is permanent. (Heb 10:18)

14. It fulfills the promise of a new covenant. (Heb 10:15-17) The new sacrifice was perfect because it had to accomplish these things in order for God to fulfill His promises, which cannot be broken.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO FOR JESUS TODAY? LETS ACCEPT CHRIST FOR HIS SACRIFICE FOR US.

15. Love Jesus and Keep his commandments. (John 14:21) “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”.

16. Present our body for the daily service of the Lord's work. “I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service”. (Rom 12:1)

a. That we present our body holy and has a daily sacrifice to face the trials and tribulations of this world to stand up for Christ. To be exemplary Christians to do God’s will just like Jesus Christ.

17. Praise and Pray to God in all things. “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”. (1 Peter 2:5)
a. To always praise and glorify God for his providence and promises and do all things in His name.

INVITATION

18. For Christians who are drifting away, please come back and Repent. (Ps 51:1-4)

19. For those who are not in God's church, you have to obey God , so that he can add you to His Church. There are five steps to follow:

a. First step to Hear the word of God (Rom 10:17), Which you have just heard.

b. Belief in God and Jesus as his son (Heb 11:6)

c. Repent of your sins and determine to change the manner of life according to the will and word of God, (Acts 17:30)

d. Confess that Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of our Life, (Rom 10:10)

e. Be Baptised in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in order to obtain the forgiveness of sins. (Rom 6:3-4)

CONCLUSION

20. In Conclusion, Jesus has gave all things for us so that he can be with us. Are we willing to put away our worries, concern and desires of this world to be with him and the father? Is the sacrifice of Christ for our sake insufficient? Is our heart so hardened, not to hear his plea and calling for us to be him? Do we love Jesus? He has first loved you and me that he has sacrificed Himself for us. Why not we take a first step forward to be with Jesus, walk forward and we will help you.