Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 858. The tune is
David's Harp, 321. Backsliding souls, return to
God. Your faithful God is gracious
still. Leave the false ways ye long
have trod. For God will your backslidings
heal. Hymn 858. Tune David's harp 321. In souls we tender love, The
faith of God is gracious still. Make their false waging numb
and troubled, O God, will you hold their silent tears? Offers this false self-sculpted
pride. This time he should be never
repaid. Our church would be the Christian's
find If things were our own fair ? In preparation of the cross ?
? Am I to confess your truth? ? A firm and steadfast friend she's
held, Though you of atheist fears, ? Of Christ, the precious blood
? ? Cleanses from those ? ? In death he died ? ? And reconciles
them ? Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the first epistle of Peter and chapter
one The First Epistle of Peter, Chapter
One. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the strangers scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the full knowledge of God
the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations. that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not
seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing,
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Searching
what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was
in them did signify when he testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ. and the glory that should follow,
unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto
us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you
by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy
Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire
to look into. Wherefore, gird up the loins
of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that
is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former
lust in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written,
be ye holy, for I and holy. And if ye call on the Father,
who without respect to person judgeth according to every man's
work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. Forasmuch as ye
know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver
and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him
up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope
might be in God, seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying
the truth, through the Spirit, under unfeigned love of the brethren,
see that ye love one another with a pure heart, fervently,
being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all
flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth
for ever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come. We bow before thy glorious majesty. We desire to worship thee in
spirit and in truth. And we desire that the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and
the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, may rest and abide
upon us. O most gracious Lord, without
Thee we can do nothing. Without Thy heavenly power, O
Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall. And it is our desire that we
might know that sovereign divine power of the Holy Ghost in our
hearts. we may be led and taught and
guided and directed by the Spirit of God, and that the word of
truth may be open to our heart and to our understanding. Blessed Spirit of truth, do so
come, we do humbly beseech thee, grant that divine anointing in
the pulpit and in the pew, and the application of thy word unto
our hearts, that we might know the truth, and the truth may
set us free. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst fulfil that wonderful, precious word, for
God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. Lord, we pray that it may be
so, and that we may feel the preciousness of being the sons
and daughters of the Lord God Almighty, truly born again into
that spiritual kingdom and brought to living faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Lord Jesus, we pray that thou
wouldst come and stand in our midst, that we may see thee,
we may behold thee by faith. We've just read together in thy
word concerning the revelation of Jesus Christ. And we pray
that thou wouldst so reveal thyself to us here this afternoon. We do humbly beseech thee that
we may truly worship thee, that thy word may be a living word,
sealed into our hearts, and that thou wouldst meet with us as
we gather round thy table, that we may be of one heart, of one
mind, and that the peace of God that passeth all understanding
may keep our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And as brethren and sisters in Christ, may we truly love each
other, serve each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby
fulfilling the law of Christ. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst so bless us, we do humbly beseech thee, and we pray for
our dear Beloved friends in Holland, we lovingly commend them to thee
and to the word of thy grace and pray that though they are
some distance from us, yet may there be that oneness of heart
and of soul as we gather round thy word and as we gather round
thy table. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst bless our deacons, give wisdom, give grace, give help
in all their responsibilities. and undertake for them, O Lord,
we do pray thee. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst graciously remember us as a church and as a congregation. Remember the little ones, the
children, as they're brought into the sanctuary, and put thy
holy fear in their hearts, an unctuous light to all that's
right, a bar to all that's wrong. while they're in their young
and tender years. And we often think, oh Lord, with thankfulness
for those lovely words of grace. Suffer little children to come
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. Lord, we do cry that thou wouldst
then bless the dear children, bless them with light and understanding,
open their hearts to receive thy word. We pray for our young
friends that they too may know thy rich blessing, thy divine
favour, that they may be brought to living faith in Jesus Christ
and become true followers of thee and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises, that we may see the
fulfilling of that word among us Instead of thy fathers shall
be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
Lord, we do pray that that wonderful word in Zechariah may be fulfilled
among us here and among the churches of God, that the streets of Jerusalem
shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets. O gracious
God, so bless us in the day in which we live, We do humbly beseech
thee and raise up a seed that will call thee the Redeemer blessed,
that will follow on to know the Lord. We do humbly pray thee. O Lord, we do pray for parents
that grace and wisdom may be given to them to bring up their
children in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord. O
Lord, do be gracious unto them. to help them in all their concerns,
and graciously bless them as they gather for divine worship
in the home. Lord, do hear us, we pray, for
thy great namesake. And we do pray that thou, in
thy precious mercy, would graciously remember all in the midst of
the journey of life, and graciously bless them, teach them, lead
them, guide them, those that are wandering away from Thee.
We pray that Thou would draw them back, that Thou would guide
them, O Thou great Jehovah, that Thou would lead them by Thy Spirit.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. Lord, we pray that Thou would
let Thy work appear unto Thy servants and Thy glory unto their
children. deliver us from temptation. Whether
the enemy comes as a roaring lion to devour, or whether he
comes as an angel of light to deceive, we pray to be delivered
from his power and from his influence. We plead that precious promise.
When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him. Remember those of us in
the evening time of life's journey. Prepare us for that great change
which must come. And prepare us, O Lord, for glory. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy Great mercy was, remember this village, send out thy light
and thy truth, graciously gather in precious souls, bless the
word of the Lord distributed, that it may be down to the great
honour, glory and praise of thy great and holy name, that we
may see the prodigals returning, that we may see precious souls
gathered in, that thou wouldst fulfill those wonderful gospel
promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. O Lord, do hear
us, we pray. In heaven, thy holy dwelling
place, and when thou hearest, O Lord, forgive. And oh, most
gracious Lord, remember, we do pray, the little causes of truth
up and down the land. Remember all thy servants as
they labor, in word and doctrine among the churches, and grant
that they may dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable
unto thee, brethren, that the word preached may be in power
in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. And we pray thee,
the great Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the
harvest to build the walls of Jerusalem. O gracious God, Remember
all that are in affliction, and trouble, and trial, and perplexity,
sorrow, sadness, and bereavement. Lord, undertake for each one.
We do humbly beseech of thee. Come and satisfy the hungry soul,
and give the thirsty a drink of the living water of life.
We do humbly beseech thee. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Fill our hearts with gratitude,
with thanksgiving. Thy mercies are new every morning
and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible.
We thank thee, O Lord, for all thy tender mercies, thy loving
kindnesses that have passed before us in the way. We thank thee
for brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus. We thank thee for Jesus
Christ, for that wonderful profound glory of the incarnation of the
Son of God. We thank thee for the holy life
he lived and the holy law he fulfilled and magnified and honoured
and bringing in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where the blood of Jesus Christ was shed that
cleanses from all sin. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily
ascended into heaven and sitted at thy right hand. We have a
great high priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus. the Son of God. Lord, we ask
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1156. The tune is Ridgemouth, 213. what sacred fountain yonder springs,
up from the throne of God, and all new covenant blessings brings,
tis Jesus' precious blood, hymn 1156, tune Ridgemouth 213. ? May God take away the sins ?
? Of mine and mine alone ? ? When all the earth ? ? Till Jesus' rapture sounds ?
? What joy it is to wake on morning's morn ? God bless you, and let my soul
be blessed. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free ? For they are not ye, but precious
stones ? ? But precious stones ? ? But precious stones ? ? Give thanks, my God, the best
? ? And all the rest have set me free ? ? Till Jesus rest ? ? Christ the Lord ? ? Christ the
Lord ? ? Christ the Lord ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the chapter that we read,
the first chapter of the first epistle of Peter, and we'll read
from our text, verses 18, 19 and 20. First epistle of Peter, chapter
1, verses 18, 19 and 20. For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without
blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you. For as much as ye know. In the first epistle of John,
especially in the last chapter, but several times through that
first epistle, the Apostle John uses those words, we know, we
know. And if the Spirit of God is working
in our hearts, there are certain things that we know. That we
know. For one thing in the first epistle
of John, he says, we know that we have passed from death unto
life because we love the brethren. We know this knowledge, See the people of God have a
knowledge, a knowledge given to them, a
knowledge that comes from the inward work of the Spirit in
the heart, a knowledge of themselves and a knowledge of the truth. We have that exhortation here
in the second epistle of Peter, but growing grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but grow in grace
and in the knowledge we know. One of the primary marks of that
work of grace in the heart is that that soul begins to search
the scriptures. They begin to drink in the scriptures. to meditate in the scriptures. That's part of that hungering
and thirsting that we spoke of this morning. Thirsting for knowledge. And
here he says, for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, from
the vain conversation which received by tradition from your fathers.
You know, my beloved friends, all that our fathers give us
is a sinful nature. That's a deeply solemn thing,
isn't it? They give us a sinful nature. We're born in sin, we're shapen
in iniquity. In the churches where they sprinkle
infants, they make a huge thing that the person is born to Christian
parents. And unless they're born to Christian
parents, they won't baptize the baby. It almost seems as if they
think that there's something very special to be born to Christian
parents. Now don't misunderstand me. It
is a very great privilege to be born to Christian parents
and brought up under the word of God. It's a great privilege,
but it doesn't confer upon you anything spiritual. In fact, like I've already said,
it's the opposite. What is conferred on you by your
parents is a sinful nature. Born in sin. Shapen in iniquity. In sin did my mother conceive
me. David knew this very deeply,
very painfully, didn't he, in his own inward experience, for
as much as ye know. How did they know this? Because
they were taught by the Spirit, through the preaching of the
Gospel, through the reading of the Word of God, through the
application of it by the Spirit into their hearts. Ye know that
ye were not redeemed with corruptible things. as silver and gold from
your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers. But, what a but this is, isn't
it? But, with the precious blood
of Christ. That's what redeemed us, nothing
else. It's the only thing that can
redeem us. It's the only thing that can deliver us from sin
and Satan's power. The precious blood of Christ.
You know friends, there's something very precious, very sacred with
blood. And that theme runs right the
way through Holy Scripture. And the Jews were absolutely
forbidden to eat blood. And even in the Acts of the Apostles,
the Christian believer is forbidden to eat blood. And why is that? Because it was
through the precious blood of Jesus Christ that the world should
be redeemed. That the Church of God should
be delivered. It's only through this precious
blood of Christ It doesn't matter where we are in the world. It doesn't matter what the color
of our skin is. It doesn't matter what tribe
we belong to, what language we speak. There's only one place
of salvation. There's only one place of reconciliation
to God, the precious blood And that is why there is this theme that runs right through
scripture concerning blood. It's because that the church
would be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ. You just sung that beautiful
hymn of Joseph Irons. What is that name that speaks
for me in heaven's high courts above? And from the curse has
set me free. It is Jesus' precious blood. But with the precious blood of
Christ. precious. You know when the Israelite
came to the door of the tabernacle, what was presented to them as
they came to the tabernacle under tabernacle worship? That there
was a beast that was tied to the horns of the altar, the blood
of it was taken, that all around The priest's hands were dripping
with blood. The altar was running with blood.
All the vessels of it had blood in it. What did it speak to that Israelite? The Israelite in whom was no
guile, in whom the spirit of the Lord was. What did it say? Without the shedding of blood,
there can be no remission of sins. And that is what all the
way through the Old Testament, the Levitical dispensation is
what it spoke to them of. In fact, to a lesser degree,
the patriarchs between Adam and the giving of the law, they offered
sacrifices. And again, this is what spoke
to them. That without the shed in a blood,
there can be no remission of sins. It pointed to Jesus Christ. On the day of the Passover, when
the children of Israel, when that was first initiated, when
they were in Egypt, and that night the destroying hand of
death would come throughout the land of Egypt. And the Lord said
that they were each to take a lamb to each family. they were to
take the blood of the lamb and they were to paint it on the
side posts and upon the lintel of their houses of the door to
their houses and the lord said when i see
the blood i will pass over you when i see the blood i will pass
over you oh my dear beloved friends the blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleansed us from all sin. From all sin. The efficacy and
the power of that blood. And the efficacy and the power
of that blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, lies here. He is the
Son of God. He's the Eternal Son of the Eternal
Father. I do love those words that are
spoken by the Apostle Paul as he spoke to the
elders at Ephesus when he was on his missionary journeys and
he called for the elders at Ephesus and he says to them concerning the
precious blood. It says in verse 28, take heed
therefore unto yourselves and all the flock over the which
the holy ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church
of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. God's own
blood. That sacred holy human nature
that the Son of God assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary never
had any existence separate to the Son of God. It was his own
personal human nature that he assumed and he still now is in
that human nature at the right hand of the Father. That union
that was made between the divine and the human in the womb of
the Virgin Mary is an indissoluble union that can never ever broken. Even when the Lord Jesus Christ
gave his life for ransom for all, when he died, when he poured
out his soul unto death, when he said, Father into thy hands
I commend my spirit, commended his holy human soul into the
hands of his eternal father and as we read in the epistle of
James the body without the spirit is dead being alone and at that point when he commended
his holy human soul to his father he entered into death. Now friends
I know it's a great mystery but there was never any separation
between the divine and the human In that dead body, in the tomb, for three days and
three nights, is the Son of God. And the hymn writer puts it like
this, the Lord of life experienced death. The Lord Jesus Christ,
he gave his life a ransom for all. He experienced death. And it was true. the pouring
out of his soul unto death, it was through the shedding of his
precious blood that the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed and delivered
the Church of God from all her sin. That sacred precious blood
has delivered the Church from the curse of the law from the
condemning sentence of the law. I think it's in the second chapter
of Paul's epistle to the Galatians and he says there in the last
three verses of that second chapter of Galatians, for I through the
law am dead to the law, but I might live unto God. I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. What a precious truth, isn't
it? who loved me and gave himself for me. It makes us think of
that beautiful word in Jeremiah, yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. For as much as ye know. What
a mercy if we have this knowledge and we have this hope, this knowledge
of the blood of Christ and the preciousness of the blood of
Christ for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with
corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
under the Levitical dispensation a lamb was offered every morning
and every evening. And it had to be a lamb without
blemish. We've spoken of the Passover
lamb, there again, the great emphasis there, it had to be
a lamb without blemish. Why? Because it typified Christ.
And Christ did no sin. That sacrifice, that precious
blood that Jesus shed, was pure, was holy, was spotless. It was only he that could do
that. He's the only perfect man that ever lived on this earth.
He's the only man that has ever fulfilled and honoured and magnified
God's holy righteous law. And he did that on the behalf
of his people. And then having brought in everlasting
righteousness through his holy life, he then offered that holy,
sinless life as a pure, holy, sin-atoning sacrifice unto His
Father. And the Father accepts the whole
Church of God in that precious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It
was our Heavenly Father that laid upon Him the iniquity of
us all. And that is why he suffered and
bled and died and was crucified, because the Father laid upon
him. He imputed onto him our sin. Joseph Hart, he puts it very
beautifully, doesn't he? Our sins were the nails and the
spear, they were. It was our sins that crucified
him. Isaiah puts it, he was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. With his stripes. Oh my beloved
friends, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb,
without blemish and without spot. I've often pointed out to you
that beautiful verse in Psalm 37 verse 37. Mark the perfect man and behold
the upright for the end of that man is peace, is Christ. He's the only perfect man that
has ever lived upon this earth. the perfect man. Behold the upright,
for the end of that man is peace. Peace by his cross as Jesus made
the church's ever-living head. Oh, this precious blood of Christ. We just sung in our hymn, it
will make all heaven to ring with joy. The precious blood
of Christ. We read in Revelation chapter
7 and from verse 13, And one of the elders answered, saying
unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And
whence came they? White robes are the righteousness
of Christ. And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation have washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, the word therefore
is a connecting word, it connects us to the previous statement,
wash their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,
therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day
and night in his temple and he shall sit on the throne, and
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall
the sun light under nor any heat, for the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Just think of where that starts.
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, therefore,
are they before the throne of God. If you and I ever reach
eternal glory and everlasting happiness, it's because of the
blood of Jesus Christ, that precious blood that was shed on Calvary's
tree, that precious blood that cleanses from all sin, that precious
blood that satisfies all the demands of divine justice. That
precious blood which brings glory unto our Eternal Father and reconciles
a poor sinner unto God. It's the precious blood of the
Lamb. Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish
and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. See, it was foreordained. We
spoke this morning about the mercy of the Lord and we just
mentioned that beautiful verse in psalm 103 verse 17 the mercy
of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him it's from everlasting a sinner is justified in christ
from everlasting they're eternally justified they were justified
in that glorious holy life of jesus christ and the death of
Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ when he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification to be declared
to be without sin because of the sufferings and death, the
life of Jesus Christ. What a precious thing that is
and how precious that blood is. One of the reasons the blood
of Christ is so precious is because he's the Son of God,
therefore it gives it infinite worth. But the other reason is,
is because it's holy, it's pure. It was shed for the remission
of sins. That precious blood of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ If I can turn to it, there's a beautiful
word in the Acts of the Apostles and in the chapter 13 and from
verse 38 Acts of the Apostles 13 verse 38 Be it known unto
you therefore men and brethren that through this man as the
man Christ Jesus through this man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified
from all things from which he could not be justified by the
law of Moses. What a beautiful statement of
divine truth. A sinner is justified through
a crucified redeemer, justified by his resurrection from the
dead, Why is that spoken of? The resurrection from the dead
and connected with the justification of the sinner. When Christ rose
from the dead, that is the clear evidence that
he'd atoned for the sins of the church. If one sin had remained
unforgiven, He would have never risen from the dead. But the
glorious fact and truth is that he rose from the dead because
he'd atoned for all those sins that were laid on him. He was numbered among the transgressors. He bared the sin of many, our
Lord Jesus Christ. And when he rose, they're justified. Their sins have been put away.
Their sins have been atoned for. They have. Again that is very beautiful
the way the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians. Corinthians chapter 5 says in verse 17 therefore if
any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed
away behold all things become new and all things are of God
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses
unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation,
now then we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech
you by us, we pray you in Christ's head, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. For as much as ye know that you
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you. that the Lord would give us clear
views of the person of Christ, of who he is, the Eternal Son
of the Eternal Father manifest in the flesh and give us also
to feel the preciousness of his blood that was shed for the remission
of sins. It was shed for the remission
of sins. Doesn't the apostle in the epistle
to the Hebrews and he speaks of the blood and he says there
in chapter 9 verse 11 but Christ being come and high priest of
good things to come by greater and more perfect tabernacle that's
his human nature not made with hands that is say not of this
building neither by the blood of goats and of calves but by
his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained
eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean
sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve The Living God. Precious blood. Precious blood
of Christ. Precious blood of Jesus, the
Son of God. It's a precious blood that is
accepted in heaven on your behalf. It is. It's the glory of the Gospel,
my beloved friends. Nothing in my hand I bring Simply
to thy cross I cling, Foul I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Saviour,
or I die. May the Lord add his blessings.