All right, turn to Deuteronomy
chapter 12. Now, God willing, for next time,
I would have you to consider especially verse 8. Just think about that for next
time. Verse 8. God willing. God willing. But
I want to give you something else this morning. Deuteronomy
chapter 12. Let me read a few verses. Look
at verse 15, notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh
in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Don't
think of that in some wrong way. Just whatever you get hungry
for is what he's talking about. According to the blessing of
the Lord thy God, which he hath given thee, the unclean and the
clean may eat thereof as of the roebuck and as of the heart.
Only ye shall not eat the blood. Ye shall pour it upon the earth
as water. Now also, look at verse 20. He
talks about this again. When the Lord thy God shall enlarge
thy border, as he hath promised thee, thou shalt say, I will
eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh. Thou mayest eat
flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. That's why I said what
I did. If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put
his name there be too far for thee, that is, the central altar,
then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which the Lord
hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy
gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, even as the roebuck and
the hark is eaten. So thou shalt eat them, the unclean
and the clean shall ye eat of them alike, only Only be sure
that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is the life, and
thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. Thou shalt not
eat it, thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. Thou shalt
not eat it that it may go well with thee and with thy children
after thee when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight
of the Lord. Only the holy things which thou
hast and thy vows shalt thou take and go unto the place which
the Lord shall choose. And thou shalt offer thy burnt
offerings and the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord
thy God. and the blood of thy sacrifices
shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God and
thou shalt eat the flesh. Observe and hear all these words
which I command thee that it may go well with thee and with
thy children after thee forever when thou doest that which is
right in the sight of the Lord thy God. Now just a little historical
background briefly so that our minds are brought into the proper
perspective. In Israel, there were clean animals,
that is, animals you could eat legally. And there were unclean
animals, that is, animals you could not eat. Frogs, catfish,
things like that. You didn't eat those things.
Other things, you were allowed to eat. They were clean and unclean.
But that's not what Moses is talking about here when he talks
about clean and unclean. There were clean animals and
unclean animals for diet. But amongst the clean-to-eat
animals, okay, amongst all of the animals, whether they were
wild beasts or whether they were domesticated beasts, amongst
the clean-to-eat animals, there were clean animals for sacrifice,
and then there were other unclean animals for sacrifice. That's
the clean and unclean here he's talking about. other words, there
were certain animals that you could offer for sacrifice. You
did not offer up a heart or a roebuck for sacrifice. You just don't
do it. Now, there's something there,
and you just think about this. Our Lord was not a wild beast
in the forest. He was amongst the people, a
part of the people, Mason the domesticated. You see, and that's
a lot of the rules, the laws here concerning it. But remember,
what we're looking at is clean and unclean for sacrifice. But
all were clean for food that he's talking about here. He wasn't
talking about unclean animals for food. Now, this is the second
category. The second category is the one
that Moses is talking about here in Deuteronomy chapter 12. Now,
the liberty of the central altar. And it did have a liberty there.
Because God is not saying, okay, here's the animals for sacrifice
and you could never eat any of them either. Right? He's saying,
if your soul desires it, you could eat one of these things.
But if it is for a sacrifice, you may still eat the flesh.
Certain parts were for you, the offerer. Certain parts went to
the priest and other parts went to God. And you can find that
all throughout, you know, the rest of the law as it's given.
But this liberty of the central altar allowed the use of these
clean, sacrificial animals as food only. You could have one
just for food, if you so desired. Or it could be used as a sacrifice
to God. And it allowed the use of sacrificially
unclean animals as food only. A harder roebuck, you might say.
But you never offer those things as a sacrifice. But nevertheless,
Here's the point, in all cases, the blood was God's. In all cases,
the blood was God's. And that's just the way it was.
Eat a heart or a roebuck, or you could eat a bullock, but
do not eat the blood of either. If you were using any of them,
clean or unclean, for food only, then you were to pour its blood
out upon the earth. Why? The blood had done its job. That's right. The blood had,
even in that, it's done its job, but you don't eat of it. You
pour it out upon the earth. Why? Because it's the life. Exactly. And that blood kept that animal
alive until that appointed time that God ordained that you could
feast on that beast. Whether it was a clean, sacrificially
clean or not sacrificially clean, the blood nevertheless still
done its job. That's right. Had it not? Now,
it's not mentioned here, but that's what it's done. The blood's
done its job. Secondly, all for a bullock or any other sacrificial
animal. And we might say there were some
exceptions to this domesticated and wild, because you had doves,
but Mason, I still gather these things were kept for those specific
purposes. They didn't just go out in the
woods and try to catch one, you know. But be as it may, I'm not
going into that. There's some things there, but
wiser men than me will have to deal with those. Joe, you could
do that sometime. Offer a bullock or any other sacrificial animal,
but if you offer it as a sacrifice, its blood must go. If you offer
it as a sacrifice, now if you just eat it, then you're gonna
pour its blood out upon the earth. If you're offering that animal
as a sacrifice, the blood must go on the altar with the sacrifice. You see it? Those are the rules.
Those are the rules. So offer a bullock or any other
sacrifice, blood must go on the central altar as an offering
to God. In other words, the blood must
do its job as a sacrifice, it's God's. It's God's. The blood was never for man. Now, it benefited a man or a
woman, but it was offered, never offered, never ever offered to
man. Sadly, this is what false Christianity
does not see. I say in our day, and that's
really for us, that's the only day that matters right now. In
our day, they don't see that. They think that the blood of
Christ was offered to man. or is being offered to man, and
it is never, nowhere taught in scripture. The blood was an offering
to God. It was God's. You don't eat of
it. Now isn't that quite clear from
Deuteronomy 12? And of course it's borne out
all throughout the Old Testament and the law. Why? Because the
blood must do its job as a sacrifice, and its job was to come up before
God as that altar, that centralized, that's where it was, the part
of that beast that was to be burnt was gonna be burnt on that
altar. Now other parts were eaten by the priest or by the offerer
or both, but whatever was on that altar, Joe, it was burnt
and it went up symbolically, figuratively, as a type, as a
shadow, it went up as a sweet savor unto God Almighty. Why? Because the blood's God's. Now
that's my title for this morning. The blood, the blood of the Central
Altar. First of all, the Central Altar
has no value apart from the sacrifice that's on the Central Altar.
It was just another place to burn something. other than the
fact that God had ordained it for the offering of that sacrifice. You don't put a hard robe up
there, but whatever's legally supposed to be there, you put
its blood with it. Isn't that what he says? You
don't eat the blood. Why? Because the blood is the
life. Isn't that what it says in verse
23? Look at it again. Only be sure that thou eat not
the blood. Now this is under any circumstance. Only be sure that thou eat not
the blood, for the blood is the life. And thou mayest not eat
the life with the flesh. Now that's an amazing statement.
As we will see in a little while, God willing. So, first of all,
listen to me now. And you know this. And as Joe
said, it's no new gospel. This is no new message. It's
nothing different. It's the same old, same old.
but oh, how glorious that same O is. I don't mean to belittle
that when I say that. Christ is the central altar.
He is the central altar. Christ is the sacrifice. The
blood is Christ's blood. Now, just for a moment, turn
to 1 John with me, and let's read something that John said.
You know, 1 John chapter five, and listen to what John said.
Remember, as I talk, we're gonna talk about the blood of Christ.
We're not gonna talk about the blood of those beasts. That's
not, they were picturing him. They were pointing toward him,
and the blood was God's. The blood was always offered
to God, never offered to man. And listen to what John wrote,
1 John chapter five, let's begin in verse seven. For there are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And you know what that means.
You know what it's talking about. But look, and there are three
that bear witness in earth. The Spirit, the water, and the
blood. Now you know it's all about Christ's
blood. Look, and these three agree in one. Here's one reason
why, no matter what blood there was, unclean or clean, sacrificially
clean, if you were going to eat it, you poured the blood out
upon the earth. And if you offered it as a sacrifice
to God, that blood had to go on the altar with the sacrifice.
These three agree in one. Here's the point. If we receive
the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is
the witness of God, which you have testified of your son, because
it's the son's blood that we're talking about. All of that was pointing to his
own personal blood. Now look, he that believeth on
the son, You see it? He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. To be an unbeliever is to be
calling in every breath you take, whether you know it or not, you're
calling God a liar. Unbelief is just not the lack
of belief, it is positive disbelief. It's to call God a liar. That's
strong language, but that's God's language through the Apostle
John. have made him a liar, why? And here it is, because he believeth
not the record that God gave of his son. Now that's what I
wanna try to talk about, the blood of the central, the record
about that blood. What does the book say about Christ's blood?
And look, and this is the record that God hath given to us, not
offered. He never offers eternal life
to anybody. It has to be given. Not offered. God ain't offering any of this.
He gives it. This is the record that God has
given to us eternal life. And guess where that life's at?
This life is in his son. Here's the question I asked myself.
Here's the question you should ask yourself. Do I believe the
record? Now we're going to look at what
the record says about the blood. And my question for me, the question
you should ask yourself, anybody else, whoever hears this message,
ask yourself, do I believe this record? Exactly. I'm going to
give you five things and I'll try to move through it fairly
quickly, but I don't want to go through it too quickly. I
want to give you five things and this is scratching the surface.
and I'm not gonna take a great big series and try to deal with
everything is blood dead. But we're gonna look at these
five things. Number one, think about this. God never, as I said, God
never offers life. The life's in the blood. He never
offers life. God don't offer life. God is
the giver of life and I don't care whether it's animal life
or human life. And in this, I don't care if it's celestial life or
terrestrial life. But especially when it comes
to life and blood, God gives it. And God takes it away. It's in His hands. He doesn't
offer life to anybody. God never offers life, God gives
life. And God gives life eternal. And
He gives life even through Christ's blood. But that blood was offered
to who? To God. Here's the first thing
about Christ's blood. Just look at five facts concerning
his blood. The record. Here's the record.
Here's what God says. First of all, Christ's blood is of absolute
uniqueness. Yes, sir. It was different than
any other blood that there's ever been. Amen. And we realize
that from Paul's words to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 and
28, where it says that you feed the church of God. God's put
you over these people. And you feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood. He didn't say it purchased with
Jesus' blood. though that's certainly true, but he wants them to understand
Jesus is God and the blood, the human blood of Jesus is said
to be the very blood of God himself. And he says he purchased the
church. This is the record God gave him.
He says, my son, God Almighty in the flesh purchased the church
with his own blood. Isn't that what he says? That's
the record God gave his son. In other words, the word purchase,
Christ's blood acquired around himself, not just acquired. In
other words, it bought by a payment. The blood was the payment. Purchased
with his own blood. The blood was the money, if you
will. The blood was the payment, but
it's more than just the payment. The word there, purchase, means
to acquire around yourself. To actually buy something, Neil,
and it comes into your possession. You don't buy it just to be out
there and say, well, I own that piece of land way down yonder.
No, if it was a piece of land, you live on the land. It's acquired
around yourself. Now, that's number one. That's
number one. This is unique, but it's not
magical. You hear what I'm saying? The blood offering of Jesus Christ,
Him being both altar, sacrifice, and blood, but the offering of
the blood of Jesus Christ to God Almighty was not magical. It don't have magical properties. It has judicial reckoning. We have sinned against God. God
said, the soul that sinneth it shall die. When you die in this
matter, as a sacrifice, blood must be shed. Never was there
a bloodless offering. Now there were some flower offerings,
but they were in light in lieu of something else. They were
talking about something else. Everything that was to appease God's holiness
had to have blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. But the opposite of that is this,
when Christ shed his blood, there was remission. He purchased past
tense. It's a done deal. The payment
has been made and he has acquired it around himself. He's brought
it into his personal possession. This is the record God gave his
son. So let's consider that blood. Now, let me tell you how, I'm
gonna give you an example of how it's not magical. False religion,
false Christianity really thinks it has some magical property.
Christ offered it. It's available to anybody that
if you'll believe or you'll repent or you'll do both or you'll,
you know, whatever their list is, if you'll do this, then the
blood will do something for you. That is not the record God gave
of his son. This is why that one preacher,
and I know some of you think, Paula got to hear it. If none
other reason, that man said that stupid stuff, just so somebody
else would be a witness that Walter's not nuts. But this is
how they preach. This is what they think about
the blood of Christ. They said, I don't know how red blood can
take black sins and make them white as snow. Because I don't
know how a black cow can eat green grass and give white milk.
That is stupid. That is talking about Jesus Christ's
blood having some magical property, you know? If you could just get
close enough to it and believe in it, Joe, it'll do something
for you. Like a lucky rabbit's foot. And you're right, Mason,
that is blasphemous. That is not the record God gave
to some, that is positive disbelief. That's not just the wrong doctrine.
That's positive, that's calling God a liar. Well, God said life
is in his son. He says about his son's blood
through the apostle Paul, he purchased, acquired around himself
the church with his own blood. So let's look at it. Think about
this first. Now turn to Romans three. Now remember, do I believe
the record God gave of his son? A part of that record is this.
The son purchased some people with his own blood. We're called
the church. And not everybody is a part of
the church. That's just what it is. He said, I lay down my
life for the sheep. When he says things like that, the reason
he says things like that is because he didn't do it for everybody
without exception. He did it for a certain group
of people. And they're called by several
different names or titles. His blood was offered to God
and it paid the price. But now look at this, think about
this. Romans chapter three, let me give you the statement first.
God the Father trusted as propitiation Christ's blood. The Father trusted
the blood. Now look at how he says it. Romans
chapter three, verses 25 and 26. Whom God has set forth, and
you need to really, to be is not right. It's not to be, but
let's read it. Whom God has set forth a propitiation
through faith in his blood. And false Christianity says,
yes, that's right. He set forth Jesus Christ to
be a propitiation if you'll come up with faith in his blood. That's
nothing of what this is talking about. The closest antecedent
to faith, the person, the being who has faith is God. It's God's faith in the son and
his blood that declared him to be eternally, not to be, but
declared him eternally the propitiation. Go back and look at what John
wrote. First John again, chapter three, I think it's chapter four.
He says he is, he's a propitiation. He was as a lamb slain when?
From before the foundation of the world. But now look at it,
look at what it's actually saying. Whom God has set forth a propitiation
through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. Not even the righteousness of
faith, but his own righteousness. God, if God's gonna save anybody,
God's gotta do it right. He's gotta honor right. He has
to do it the right way. He's holy, it must be so. But
look, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that
are past. Now he's talking about us. Now you wanna talk about
us in here, there's us right there. People with sins. For
the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God. God put up with all of that before because of what was
coming in Christ Jesus. or God would have wiped us all
out in the flood, including Noah and his family. Look, to declare, I say, at this
time, his righteousness, that he might be just, and at the
same time, justify someone who believes in Jesus. And who believes
in Jesus? We've all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. He's not talking about, even
there, he's not talking about all the world. All the world has
sin that comes short of God's glory. But he's saying even believers,
we have sin that comes short of God's glory. And believing
doesn't change that one bit. Believing does not purchase the
payment for our unbelief. You don't cancel out your unbelief
with your belief. Sins were canceled out, if you
want to put it that way, by the blood payment of Jesus Christ.
on that cross, why? So that God might be just and
still be a justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. In other
words, if the father, no, since the father trusted his blood, that's something worth trusting
in as well, isn't it? If the father trusted him, How
much more, Joe, should I trust Him? And when we say trust, we
mean just breathe it out, let go and depend on Him. When it
comes to justice, He did it. When it comes to divine satisfaction,
He did it. The payment has been paid. That's the record God gave his
son. So much so that in Ephesians
chapter one, Paul tells us that the father was the one who first
trusted in Christ. He first trusted him. That's
why we know he's worthy to be trusted. He's worthy to be believed. He's worthy, the scripture puts
it this way, to rest in. Just kick back and rest. Yes,
there's a lot of work to do, but not for that. not for justification
before God. The works that we do in this
world, they benefit us here in this world. They're not gaining
up any kind of merit in heaven before God. Merit's already been
wrought, and it's been wrought by the Son, who is both central
altar, who is sacrifice, and his blood is the blood of the
central altar, the blood on the central altar of the sacrifice. That's some blood worth trusting
in. Now here's the third thing. Christ's
blood of redemption redeemed us from sins. Look at Ephesians
chapter one. This is the record that God gave
his son. This is what God says about the blood of his son, which
Mason is God's blood. Ephesians one, verse seven. I
know we love this chapter. Those of us who believe God,
we love this because it's got a lot. This chapter is just chock
full of God. Right? God. But look at, specifically
for our purpose, verse seven. In whom, who's he talking about?
The beloved. The one that we're accepted in.
In whom we have redemption through his blood. And now he explains
what that means. What does it actually do? What
did it do? The forgiveness of sins. according to, now this is according
to the riches of his grace. Now you think about this. God
is the God of all grace. A preacher said this a while
back and I'm paraphrasing, but God is the God of all grace and
God gives grace unto men and women. And he gives grace, Joe,
unto sinful, corrupt, ungodly, unrighteous men and women. He
gives grace to them, right? And you know what? All of that
giving, and he started doing it before the world began. You
know what Paul told Timothy? He saved us and called us with
a holy calling, not according to our works, but his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ before the world began.
So he started giving us grace even back then. And it's continued
all throughout time. And with all that handing out
of grace, Joe, he's still full of grace. He's not depleted of
grace at all. It's not down here to half full
now. I got about a half a tank full of grace to give now. All
this grace that he's dispensing and he's still full of grace
and truth. That's according to the riches
of his grace. It can't be depleted. What if you sin? That's the whole
point. You have sinned. That was our
problem. That's the one thing I don't
have to worry about, and it's the one thing, sadly, I worry
about the most. My sins, as far as God is concerned,
now, not me, but as far as God's concerned, they're gone. They
were dealt with. The price was paid. Justice is
satisfied. Now, that's the record God gave
His Son. That's the record God gave His Son. You see, sins are
not being forgiven, redemptively speaking. Experientially speaking,
yes, they're being forgiven. We experience, Mason, the forgiveness
of sins in time. But our sins were forgiven in
time when Jesus Christ died on that tree. Now how do I have proof of that?
Here's the record God gave his son. Turn to Colossians chapter
two and listen to what the apostle Paul says about this very thing.
Colossians chapter two. and I need to kind of move along
here. Look at it, verse 13. And you, being dead in your sins. When you actually still had your
sins, didn't you? They were in you. And you, being
dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him. Now when was Christ quickened?
One time and one time only. That's after he'd offered up
his own blood, he gave up the ghost, Mason, they put him in
the ground, and God raised him from the dead. having forgiven
you all trespasses. My forgiveness was actually judicially
wrought when Christ shed his blood on that tree. And the resurrection
is a testimony to that fact. Blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which is contrary to us,
and took it out of the way. And here's how I know that's
when it took place. Nailing it to his cross. Oh, Mason, what a glory for a
sinner such as I am. He nailed all of that red to
his cross. It's taken care of. The blood
was poured out right there on the central altar. The very one
who shed the blood had the wrath of God fall on him rather than
falling on them for whom he was dying. The payment was paid. That's something worth hanging
your soul on, ain't it? The eternal destiny of your soul,
if you want to put it that way. There's something worth hanging
your soul on. What? The forgiveness of sins.
I need forgiveness of sins. Not just from way back yonder
before I believed, I'm talking about right now today. Because my sins are ever with
me. But oh, thank God they are no longer with God. As a matter
of fact, the truth is, they were never with God. Because He trusted
in the Son's blood way back yonder. Yeah, we're children of wrath
by nature. That is, we had wrath toward
God. God never had wrath toward His people. That's exactly right.
He always acted in grace toward us. But I'll tell you what, his
holiness was against us. Yes sir. His righteousness was
against us because we were contrary to it. Oh yes. But he took care
of all that. Oh, there's something to hang
your hat on. There's a peg Mason fixed down
in Babylon. There's a peg, right in the midst
of Babylon, but there's a peg that you can hang your coat on.
And you can hang up your harp. It's a horrible thing to know
you're a sinner. It hurts. It frightens you. It scares you. But when you know
God's taken care of that issue, believe Him. Believe the record
He gave of His Son and tell yourself to shut up. Tell your conscience,
conscience, be still! Now, preacher, you don't really
mean that. Oh yeah, I do. Because here's
number four, Christ's blood redeemed the church from our empty way
of life. Yes, sir. Yeah, go back and read
sometimes 1 Peter 1, 18, 19, and 20. Remember, for as much
as you know you're not redeemed, with corruptible things such
as silver and gold from your vain conversation. Your empty
way of life before. You were redeemed even from that.
I'm where I am today even believing God and Mason crying out for
forgiveness in thankfulness that there is forgiveness wrought
by Jesus Christ because his blood was shed to bring this to pass. He didn't just redeem us from
sins, Joe, he did that, but he also redeemed us by his blood
from our empty way of life. That's what it says. Now everybody,
I say everybody, a lot of people talk about, oh, redemption through
his blood, that's right, but you know what it said? To even
be redeemed from your old, empty, vain, corrupt way of life before
that you received by tradition from your fathers. but you're
redeemed out with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without
spot and without blemish. Oh, what a glory. Listen, that
redemption will find its mark. It will meet its goal. It will
have its intent. So much so that, here's what
I said, look at Hebrews chapter nine and listen to what, here's
the record God gave his son concerning his blood. Hebrews nine, verse
11. But Christ, he's talking about
all these meats, animal sacrifices, look at it. You'll see the context.
But Christ being come, not becoming a high priest. No, he came, he
was a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Mason, he was a high priest before
he was ever even made flesh. But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come. by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, let us say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered at once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption. Now, he won't say for us, it's
all right, but he obtained it. In other words, he bought it.
Here, the redemption is his. It's not something he offers
to men, what will you do with my redemption? It's his, he does
what he wants with it. Do you see it? For if the blood
of goats, or bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling
the unclean sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, and he
said those things had results back then, but they were all
on a fleshly, a lower level, but look, how much shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works. That's where you just go, okay? You know what a dead work is?
It's anything you do trying to gain favor with God. That's a
dead work. And leave it alone, because it
stinks. It's a dead work. But he says the blood will take
care of that for you. It'll cause you to say to conscience, shut
up, conscience. I rest in Christ. Even while
your conscience is trying to cry out, you need to do something,
Walter. You need to fix this, Walter. You need to do better,
Walter. When it comes to this, you can't do no better. Yeah,
look, and for this cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament. Now, notice all this is falling
right in place. Of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament,
they which are called, and that's what, what does it mean to be
called? It means you just sit back and somebody else lays hold
of you. That's what it says. They that are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. So much so that he sums it up
this way in chapter 13. Look, verse 20, and look at it. Look at what he's talking about.
You look at the context. He's talking about there was an altar back then.
The people who still eat at that altar today, they have no right
to eat at the altar we eat at. Now look at it, you'll see the
context, but then he, for sake of time, he sums it up. Verse
20, now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the everlasting covenant. Right there, that's
where God trusted the Son's blood. I, I, God the Father said in
this way. I don't know exactly what was
said, Joe, but it's along this line. God the Father said to
the Son, I trust you to get the job done. I trust your blood. You will offer up your blood
to me. Something along that line, Mason. Through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, then look, make you perfect. And then people
come along and say, God don't make anybody do anything. That
same preacher, I've talked to you about the black cow and the
green grass, yeah. He said, my God's a gentleman.
He said, God's a gentleman. He don't make anybody do anything.
Is that not what he said? Some of y'all heard him say that.
That's a lie. Right here he makes us perfect. I'm glad God does
make some people do some things. And here he makes us to be something.
but he also will make us to do some things. Now look, make you
perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that
which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to
whom be glory forever and ever. And Paul says that settles it.
Paul didn't write that word a whole lot, but he says, amen. And he's
not even done writing yet, Joe. He's not using the amen as closing
up the thing. He's saying, so be it. That is
the record God gave his son. You see, his blood, again, it
didn't just make things something possible, it actually has secured
things. Right? All the way down Mason
to even by walking in good works. That's what that says. Doing
what is even well pleasing in God's sight. And that's hard
for me to get a hold of, because I know what I still am by nature.
but it's what God says about it, and what God says about it
matters, not what I think about it. Right? It'll bring service
to God. The blood will bring out service
to God. It'll bring out God-ordained good works. Isn't that what that
says? That's the record God gave his
son. Do you believe that record? Most don't. Sadly, who even profess
to be Christians? Do they? No, they believe it's
like a lucky rabbit's foot. And if you have somehow do this
or that, then the blood will be good. That ain't the record
God gave his son. Here's number five. This blood,
his blood, Christ's blood is superior to, you know all that.
You know that. And I'm gonna throw you a curve
ball, but I'm letting you know the curve ball's coming. Not
so that I can show you how great a curve ball I got, but so you
get used to hitting curve balls. You understand what I'm getting
at? You see, when you practice, them baseball players practice,
Mason, they're hitting it. They don't just get up there
and somebody just throws stuff. They throw all kinds of different
stuff, so they get used to knowing how to hit this weird stuff.
But here's the thing about this. His blood is superior, yes, but
his blood is distinct from all that animal blood. God said,
you don't eat the blood. Back yonder in that Old Testament.
Is that not what he said? Have you ever read John 6? What did
Christ say? If you got life in you, you don't
do it to get life. Those who are living will do
this and it will sustain that life they already have from God.
That's what he's teaching. Go back and look at it, John 6,
52 through 58. He said, he that eats my flesh
and drinks my blood. He said this to a bunch of Jews
and I bet you a lot of them knew Deuteronomy 12. I bet you they
heard that in synagogue. Don't you think? Now the first
thing when he said you eat, I'm the bread of life. You gotta
eat me. That's partake of me. Consume
me. I become the priority. Like food is a priority to a
hungry man. And they say, well, how can this
man go give his flesh to eat? And they were thinking totally
down here on a carnal base, depraved level, wasn't they? And then
he brings up the other. He said, you think that's something?
You're gonna have to drink my blood. Can you imagine what an
offense that was to those self-righteous Jews? He said, but unless you
eat my flesh and drink my blood, you've got no life in me. If God Almighty's breathed spiritual
life into you, you will start feasting on Jesus Christ. And
you'll feast not just upon his flesh, which we've always been
allowed to do. Even legally, you could feast on the flesh,
Mason, but you wouldn't have touched the blood. You wouldn't
have eaten it. Now he's come along and said,
drink it. Amen. Now you talk about being a joint heir with
Jesus Christ, Joe. Yes, sir. You talk about we're his body,
he's the head, we're one with him. Amen. Now here's the thing,
to believe the record, yes, but it's more than mental assent
to the record. That's right. You see what I'm
saying? You see how I try to bring it?
It's more than just mental, okay, I know it's what the book says,
so I believe that. That's good doctrine. Yay, thank you, Jesus. Going on about my life. It ain't
like that. No, you sit down by the grace
of God. No, you're bowed down by the
grace of God. And because you believe the record
God gave of his son, that means he's already given you life,
or you wouldn't have believed that. But if he really give you that
life, you're gonna believe the record in this way, you're gonna
feast on him. You're gonna enjoy him. Not the
same all the time. It's not about that. But you
will feast on him. He said, my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is what? Drink indeed. And anybody who's
ever tasted that and drunk that, they know it. Because you do
that by faith. You do that by trusting His Son. Father, oh, God help us in these
things. Lord, we believe. We believe. And we know we need help for
our unbelief. Oh, God, you help our unbelief.
Thank you for Christ. Help us to rest in him. Help
us to engage in this work, but help us never to work to gain
favor with you. Help us to trust your son. In
Christ's name, amen.