Good evening. I'd like to say what a privilege
it is that our pastors asked me to speak on this subject.
It's again about the blood. Very, very briefly. Very brief.
So, if you would, turn with me to Genesis chapter 2 and verse
7. When people think about blood,
mention blood, they obviously think about the blood that courses
through our bodies and our veins, and rightfully so. That's obviously
the first thing that comes to mind. But nobody ever really
considers the symbolic or spiritual meaning behind the blood. I want
to read to you two definitions out of Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
Number one, the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries,
and veins of a vertebrate animal carry nourishment and oxygen
to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body. That's what we think of. Right?
Common sense. Number two. One word. Life, blood. One word. Life, blood. Semicolon, life. The spiritual. Let's read Genesis
2 in verse 7. And the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life. And man became a living soul. In order to live, Adam had to
have blood. Yes, the Lord breathed life into
him and he became a soul, but however, he had to have blood
lest he die. I know some of you remember this
several years back. Jim and Linda, my in-laws, were
in a terrible accident on I-77. Linda, she wouldn't mind me saying
this, I know, but she bore the brunt of that accident. She was
badly injured, badly injured. And through the course of injury
and surgery, she lost a good deal of blood. She was pale and
weak and just didn't look good. And so they gave her a couple
of pints of blood and she pepped back up. She looked like she
was more alive. Her color returned, and she was
much better. And she made a comment about that that I never forgot.
And she said, talk about the life being in the blood. And I don't think she quite grasped
what she had said. Think about that. Talk about
the life being in the blood. The word blood is mentioned 439
times in the scriptures according to Strong's concordance. I'm
pretty sure I counted right. In the Old Testament, blood is
mentioned the most in the book of Leviticus or the book of the
Levites, 86 times. All of which directly reference
animal sacrifice. The Levitical law laid down for
the priesthood again and again and again Never ceasing. And how many times, as Marvin
said, just how many gallons of blood and pounds of flesh over
the centuries was shed? No effect. Didn't have any effect
to take away sin. In the New Testament, it's mentioned
101 times. But unlike Leviticus, it really
only talks about one sacrifice. I know it mentions the Old Testament.
But that's really just in context, a reminder and a comparison.
The remainder speak and refer to only one again and again and
again. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 5. Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, he saith, Sacrifice an offering, thou wouldst not.
or he did not desire, had no pleasure in that sacrifice. But
a body hast thou prepared me." Now think about that. The Lord
had to have a body. He had to have a body just like
any other man when he came into this world. And you know what
that body had to have to live? Blood. That's right. Just like
Adam, he had to have blood to live. in burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the
volume of the book, it is written of me, to do thy will, O God,
above when he said, Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings,
and offering for sin, thou wouldst not, neither hast pleasure therein,
which are offered by the law." Leviticus. Then said he, lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish a second, by the which, well, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The same blood that flowed through
Adam's veins flowed through our Lord's veins. Physical, liquid
blood, absolutely, with one stark contrast. When Adam died, there
was no effect. His blood returned right back
to the earth. Just dust, as was promised under the curse. That
was fulfilled. When Christ died, his blood ran
down to the ground from his wounds as he hung on the cross, just
like the two malefactors on either side of him. Nobody could really
discern that. People stood around and saw three
guys on the crosses and said, oh, these guys are dying. They
didn't know any better. From outwardly, that's how it
appeared. Would it not to you? Sure. With one difference. When his blood was shed, many
lived. And do you know why? Because
his blood was pure. not begotten of by man, but by
God Himself. Yes, Christ had a bloodline.
He did. We're told that all through the Scriptures, laid out over
the centuries. But when it came right down to
it, a body was prepared, and He begat Himself, and His blood
was pure. It is finished, He cried, and
that's how it was finished. Turn with me to Revelation 5,
verse 5. Revelation chapter 5 and verse
5. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not. Behold, the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo,
in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain." Anybody
who hunts or raises any kind of animals, if you slaughter
any animal, what's involved? Blood. And a lot of it. As it
had been slain. Having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the
earth, and he came and took the book out of the right hand of
Him that sat upon the throne, here Christ comes and takes the
book of life from the Lord Himself. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them, harps and golden vials,
full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof, for Thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by what? Thy blood. out of every kindred
and tongue and people and nation, and has made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." The only
discussion about sacrifice now is this event right here. I know
the sacrifice or the crucifixion took place. Everybody witnessed
that. Well, lots of people did. Can't be disputed. But here,
the Lord is presented as worthy. Worthy to take the book. and
to claim His redeemed people by His blood right here. Why? Because it's pure. And that pleased the Lord. Bulls
and goats and oxen never were pure and never will be. In Exodus
chapter 12 verse 7, speaking of the blood of the lamb, it
says this, And they shall take of the blood and strike it on
the two side posts and on the upper door posts of the houses
wherein they shall eat. They're commanded here that after
the blood is put on the doorpost to consume that lamb through
the night and nothing would be left by morning. Verse 13 says
this, And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses
where you are. And when I see the blood, I will
pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy
you when I smite the land of Egypt. And you know what Egypt
is? That's sin. And what's God gonna do? He's
going to smite sin with one exception. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. First Corinthians chapter 15
and verse 45 says this. And so it is written, the first
man Adam was made a living soul. That's true. We just read that.
The last Adam was made a quickening spirit or a life giving spirit. How'd that happen? Through the
blood. I'm going to read this to you.
Listen to Matthew 26. You don't have to turn, but if you want
to. Matthew 26, verse 27. And he took the cup and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, or
all of you drink of it. For this is my blood of the New
Testament, or covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
or the forgiveness of sins. And Mark 14 says this in verse
23, And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he
gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said unto
them, This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed
for many. And lastly, Luke 22 and 19. Now
listen, And he took the bread, and gave thanks, and break it.
and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for
you. Do this in remembrance of me." Our pastor's about to speak
on that in a few seconds. But here they partook of the
body, just like in Exodus. They ate the lamb. Did they not?
Right here. Likewise, also the cup after
the supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood,
which is shed for you. Old believer, old sinner, Will
you receive the blood tonight? Will you ask for remission or
forgiveness of your sin? It is said in the same verses
that they sang a hymn and departed. Before I was ever asked to speak
about this, my favorite hymn is 222. There is a fountain filled
with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath
that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Lose all their guilty
stains. It bears repeating again. Our
Lord commanded, do this in remembrance of me, and soon we'll set at
the table. Thank you very much. Thank you, Fred. We often read this passage of
Scripture. In a few minutes, I'll read it
again. Lord willing, and it's 1 Corinthians
11, 24, the Lord administering his supper. It says, when he
had given thanks, he break it and said, take, eat. This is
my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. When Adam took, of the fruit,
forbidden by God, in the garden, God's Word, God's promise, was
brought to fruition. He said, in the day that thou
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Adam and Eve ate, and die
they did, spiritually, immediately, Spiritual death passed upon them. Morally, they were dead. Adam lived over 900 years. Adam died spiritually in the
garden. And now, spiritual death has
passed upon every human being born into this world. Now, that event right there put
man in a desperate plight as it comes to man's ability to
do anything about it. Man now is hopelessly lost in
himself. He can do nothing. What is it going to take for
man to have any hope whatsoever, this is what it's going to take.
A man of the same nature, but without sin. It's going to have
to be a man found in the lineage of the first man. He's going
to have to be born in the lineage of Adam. It's going to have to
be a man born of a woman. It's going to have to be a man
like that to reconcile mankind back to God. And he's going to
have to do for mankind what mankind could not do. Obey God. only Almighty God can provide
such a man. God Almighty must take upon Himself
the nature of humanity and as a man, a man just like me or
you, A man is going to have to satisfy every demand for righteousness. Now, if you want to know what
it's going to take to satisfy God, here's what it's going to
have to take. You cannot offend in one point, in word, in thought,
in deed, it's going to take that righteousness to stand before
God. Not only are you going to have
to have a man that can satisfy every demand for righteousness
by his obedience, he's also going to have to establish righteousness
by satisfying the demand of the law for justice. Now listen,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For me to
have any hope, here's what it's going to take. I've got to have
perfect righteousness. I have to have the righteousness
of God. And it's got to be mine, really
mine. I have to be holy. And I have to have my sin debt
paid. Now here's the hope that we have,
right here, Job 33, 24. Then He's gracious unto him and
saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found
a ransom. How long do you think God found
a ransom? He always found a ransom. Brother
Fred said, speaking of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world, Now, for mankind to have a hope, Almighty God is
going to have to become a man, take upon himself flesh, God
in human flesh. And for mankind to have a hope,
God the Father is going to have to choose out of every... And for the sake of time, I would
turn to these passages. I've turned to them before. You've
read them. He's going to have to choose. This right here is
in Revelation 5. He's going to have to choose
out of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue a people,
a remnant, to whom He's going to show mercy. And He's going
to have to put them in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be and
has always been their representative. And He shall answer for them.
He is the surety. As I've told you before, for
the remnant to have a hope, Almighty God placing them in the Lord
Jesus Christ is going to deal with the Lord Jesus Christ only.
Whatever he does, that's the hope of those in him. He will
look not again for satisfaction to the law in the sheep. He will
not look again for satisfaction to the demand of the law for
justice to the sheep. He will not. We couldn't satisfy
it. We would forever be in hell if
we had to deal with Almighty God based on justice before God's
law. We've sinned against an eternal
God, and I'm telling you, I can walk that aisle until I can't
walk anymore. I can come down here and I can
pray on this piece of carpet, if you want to call it a mourner's
bench or whatever you want to call it, I can stay right there
until I die. And it will not make one bit
of difference. It will not. I have not satisfied
God's justice and law. Almighty God must become a man. The Lord said, this is my body.
This body was promised by God. Isaiah 7.14, Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and call his name Immanuel, that is, God with us. His body was sent. It was promised by God and it
was sent by God. The Lord Jesus Christ says, The
same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent
me. His body was a precious body. One that was holy in its conception. And it was conceived, now you
listen, I'm going to read you a scripture and I'm going to
tell you what this scripture is going to say. He came into
this world conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, for
a particular people. He came for those that the Father
had chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. That's
who He came for. Listen to this and tell me if
that's not what it says. Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to
take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins." Who did he come for? He came for
his people. Who did he die for? He died for
his people. When the angel told Mary, that
she was going to bear a son. He was going to be called the
son of the highest. The Lord God would give unto
him the throne of his father David. He told her that he would
reign over the house of Jacob forever. Man, I tell you what,
I'd like to stay right here for a minute. I won't. When he says,
I'm going to reign over the house of Jacob, I can't go past this. You remember when the Lord told
Jacob, He was wrestling with him. And the man, it says, it
was the Lord Jesus, and wrestled with him. And he said, as Jacob,
he said, what's your name? Jacob. Liar, trickster, supplanter,
huckster. Right here. Right here. And the
Lord said, not anymore. Your name is Israel. A prince
with God. He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall
be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said
to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, the power of
the highest shall overshadow thee. And therefore also that,
always this just as amazing title here, that holy thing, that is,
that sacred one not made by human means, that holy thing. which
is born of thee shall be called the Son of God." His body was
a real body. You see this right here? That's
flesh. That's flesh. That's exactly
what His body was. It was flesh. John 1.1, In the
beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God,
and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld
His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. His body, in His body, He was
faithful. He was a faithful body. The Lord
said, from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well
pleased. His body was one willingly given and sacrificed for the
sins of His people. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. for the sheep. Being found in
fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. His body was incorruptible. Acts 2, 23-27, Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of it." For David, Let me just tell you this real quickly.
David penned these words. These are the words of the heavenly
David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to them and tell me if
this is not the Lord Jesus Christ speaking. For David speaking
concerning him, this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of the
Father. David speaketh concerning him,
I foresaw the Lord always before my face. For he is on my right
hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, that
is, in the grave. Neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption. The body in which he was raised
from the dead was the same body in which he died. After his resurrection, he told
his disciples when they thought that they had seen a spirit,
he said, why are you troubled? Why do thoughts arise in your
hearts? Behold my hands and my feet that
it is I myself." He said, it's me. It's really me. Handle me and see for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones as you see me hath. And this body right
now is seated in glory. There's a man The God-man sitting
on the throne of God. There's a man in glory answering
right now for all of his sheep. The scripture says, who being
the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person
and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
majesty on high. And in closing, this body, it's
an accepted body. Scripture says this body is coming
back. It was accepted by the Father.
He ascended into heaven. And that body in which He went
into heaven is the same body the disciples watched Him ascend
into heaven. And here's what the two men on
the Mount of Olives, said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into heaven. But there's one thing that I
want to say before I quit concerning His body before we eat of the
bread and drink of the cup. concerning us, His people, being
with Him. 1 John 3, 2 declares, And it
doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He
shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is. Job, under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, says, and though after my skin, worms destroy
this body. Now listen, if the Lord doesn't
return before we die, we're going to die. And we're going to go
back to the dust. But when the trump of God sounds,
the dead in Christ are going to rise first. And then Paul
said, we which are alive and remain shall meet them in the
air. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord. This body that was sown in corruption
is going to be raised in incorruption. And I don't understand all of
it, but I can tell you that that's the way it's going to be. But
it's still going to be this body. but it's not going to be with
sin anymore. It's going to be in a glorified
body. And this is what Job said, ìThough
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold,
and not another, though my reins be consumed within me.î the glorious
body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to ask the
men if they'll come forward at this time.