And maybe, I don't know whether
the rest of you here from down in the southern part of the area, Walter said something to me about
maybe next Sunday as well. They what, Chad? On vacation. Down south. All right. All right, I'm going
to go on a vacation one of these days. I want to turn again this morning
to Hebrews, the ninth chapter, and beginning at the 23rd verse.
Now, you can't be getting tired of Hebrews, because I've skipped. Clear through it. But these things are important,
or God would not have placed them in this book. Now, it's
difficult. Extremely so and preachers don't
preach about the book of Hebrews. They just leave it alone it's
a good deal like the the Genealogies in the Old Testament nobody ever
preaches on that But that would be difficult wouldn't it the
big gaps? Although one time did I tell
you this story about the old Baptist preacher I? Never had
an outline like, well, I've got some things written down here,
but half of the time you could read it after I'm done and you
wouldn't recognize it. This old Baptist preacher, he
said that he just took his Bible and preached. Somebody said,
I can give you a scripture you can't preach from. Well, he said,
all right, let's try it. He said, I want you to preach
about the bigots. And he said, well, all right,
I can do that. Come up and he had a message.
And it was entitled, Nothing But Names. And he was talking
about churches with names on the roll. Nothing but names. That's all there was there, just
names. I think that's valid. I think it's valid. All right,
I'm going to turn again to Hebrews 9.23. It was therefore necessary. that the pattern, the patterns
of things in the heavens should be purified with these. Now I'll
get to that. But the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these. Let me just stop and do it right
now. The red heifer, the goats, the bullocks, the lambs, he says
that it's necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens,
now That struck me when I read it, the pattern of things in
heaven. He's not talking about the earthly tabernacle. Is he? Not hardly. I mean, if that tabernacle
that he's talking about in heaven, the one that we know about, is
on earth. And was built with human hands
under the direction of God, through Moses. That's where it came from. And every item in that tabernacle
has a significance. Because it points toward the
Lord Jesus Christ. This book centers in Him. Old
and New Testament both. One woman said, I won't name
this, but one woman said, I think Ellen heard this or somebody
in my family heard this, I don't remember who it was. uh... that this woman said that she
just could hardly read the old testament because it was a violent
this is a violent world let me tell you that it's a violent
world that we live in and god exercises judgment and when he
does men say it's violent but it is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living god That's a fearful thing. So he's talking about sacrifice
here, that these things themselves, but the heavenly things themselves,
with a better sacrifice than these. For Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures
of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us, nor yet that he should offer himself,
often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year
with the blood of others. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now, once at the end of the
world, in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto man
once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many. That word ought to be marked.
And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation. Now, we've seen some things in
the last few weeks. We probably don't remember them,
but we've seen them. I've mentioned them. And the
thing I'm going to do right now is to go through these things
as rapidly as I can. of what we have seen. We have
seen that God speaks only through his Son. Now, I'm not going to
quote scripture on any of them that I know of, because it'll
take too long, but He speaks only through His Son,
Jesus Christ. And He, Christ, is greater than
the angels, no matter what the ministry of the angels might
be. I mean, angels are assigned different ministries. Earl, you
believe in angels? I sure do. You've got one if
you're a child of God. Maybe at times you have more
than one if it's a real hard fight. You might have more than
one now people joke a lot about angels And they take little plaster
statues and set them out in their garden and on their front porch,
and this is nonsense We don't worship angels nor do we reverence
angels But he's saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is greater
than any angel that ever existed and God speaks through him. Because
God has given him, that is his son, a people and an everlasting
kingdom, we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things
which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
There I'm doing what I said I wasn't going to do. I'm quoting. And this is true. He has granted
his people an everlasting kingdom. And because of our citizenship,
we ought to heed what God says. Now I'm not saying that you walk
a straight line every hour, every minute of every hour of every
day of every week of every month of every year for a lifetime.
Now that is not what I'm saying, because all of us walk the line
like this. And that's on a daily basis. That's why Christ died, because
we couldn't do it ourselves. So, God has given him a people
and a kingdom that is everlasting. Now, there, well, let me not
stop there. I'll go on and I'll take care
of that later. We should give heed because of who Christ is. Hebrews 2, 7 and 8. We need,
we should heed his voice because of what he did. That's listed
in Hebrews 2, 9 through 18. Now, we should heed because it
is addressed to holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.
Now, this is to whom this book is addressed. These are called upon to consider
the apostle and high priest of their profession, Hebrews 3 and
1 and 2. The reason Israel was set aside
and a warning to all is also found in that same passage. Number seven, there is a rest
for the people of God, Hebrews 4, 1 through 16. A short description
of the priesthood of Christ is also there. A priest after the
order of Melchizedek, Hebrews 5, all the whole chapter. Number
9, and I'll get back to Hebrews 6. I said I was going to skip
it, and I'm doing it. There's more details of the priesthood
of Christ. Read those chapters. There's
no way that any preacher, whoever it be, can cover it in 40 minutes
on Sunday morning unless he takes a lifetime to do it. Now, Christ is the surety of
a better covenant. Hebrews 7, verses 18 through
28. What does that mean? That means
Christ went on my note for righteousness. That's what it means you go surety
for a man, and he fails what happens you pay Now Christ went surety for us
and we can't pay He did He did He's the sure he's the surety
of a better covenant than the Old Testament Which was law? Hebrews 7, 18 through 28. A better
covenant founded upon better promises. Hebrews 8, 1 through
13. Now, I did note this down because
I knew I couldn't remember it all. The ministry of the high
priest, you look at that same chapter, chapter 8 and verses
22 and 23. But notice particularly verse
23. It was therefore necessary, now
I'm done with my list. It was therefore necessary that
the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with
these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices. Now you go back to, what is it? Verse 12, Paul writes, neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he is entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained, past tense,
he did it, it's already done, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. And do you know what he did when
he returned? Having obtained eternal redemption for us, he
sat down. Because there was no more work
to do. It was done. Now if people want to hate us
for that, let them go. There's nothing I can do about
it. Nor anyone else. Now, the high priest of Israel,
through that blood, the blood of the sacrifice, came before
God. And he is the only one. You know that? Nobody was with
him. He was alone, and the little bells on the end of his road
kept tinkling while he did the service in the Holy of Holies,
and the pomegranates were around the rim of his garment. I've said this, I know, a hundred
times, maybe more. You've heard it, and I'm going
to say it again. The pomegranates, what is a pomegranate? It's a
fruit, and I don't like pomegranates. But nevertheless, Greta loves
them, I think. But pomegranates are a fruit
filled with seeds. I mean, that's just about all
there is to that thing, are black seeds or dark brown. But those
seeds are surrounded by a red liquid. Type it out yourself. You've
got the seed of the church in the blood of Christ. The pomegranates were there,
even in the Holy of Holies. The bells tinkling? Preacher,
what were they? They told the people outside
of that Holy of Holies that this man's still alive. He's still
living. He's not dead, because he entered
into the presence of God. But he carried with him the blood
of the sacrifice. And there's no way that any man
is going to see God apart from the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. That's it. The blood of the Old
Testament was a type, and it was merely a shadow of that which
was to be done in the person of Christ. But these offerings weren't enough
to keep, keep, the word is keep, that's the key word. Those offerings
were not enough to keep men in fellowship with God. Not even the high priest of Israel.
He could not remain there in the Holy of Holies. He could
not remain in the presence of God. He could not. He couldn't
even speak one word behind that veil. Not once. All that he could do was swing
a can of incense, offer the blood, And swing a
can of incense. You've seen it. Joe's seen a
lot of it. Swinging the cans of incense
and the smoke going up. Well, they get that from the
Old Testament. That's what the high priest did. Because the
blood of the sacrifice that he had presented on the mercy seat,
that blood, typifying the blood of Christ,
was a sweet savor unto God. A sweet smell. That's what it
was. Why do you preach about stuff
like that? I'm trying to emphasize the fact that in the Old Testament
and the New Testament, Christ is the center. I have a man that
asks me every time I turn around. I'm getting an email from him
that says, how were the people in the Old Testament saved? They were saved the same way
we are, by the grace of God through blood. With them, it was the
blood of the sacrifice. With us, it's the blood of the
sacrifice. Only the sacrifice was Christ. That's a shadow, that incense. It's a shadow, as is the blood,
a sweet savor, which someday, in the future, Christ was to
be before God, a sweet savor. And the death of Christ died. When he died, it was as a sweet
savor before God. And then he sprinkled the blood,
Leviticus 17 11, he sprinkled the blood of that
laid down life of the sacrifice. He sprinkled the blood, listen to the end, and the life
is in the blood, by the way. Leviticus 17 11 for the life
of the flesh is in the blood. That's what it says And I have
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
souls For it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul
That blood which at that time in the Old Testament was spilled
Mason by the high priest It was spilled by him pointed to the
blood of Christ which was not spilled and But it was shed. Now, people say that's nitpicking.
No, it isn't. To be spilt means that somebody
else had a hand in it. Somebody did it to him. Well,
Earl, didn't I know? For this purpose came I into
the world. That's what he said. I came into the world to be crucified.
And he knew it. There's an old hymn that we used
to sing. But I think it's the second verse that says, though
Satan should buffet, though trials shall come, let this blessed
assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate
and has shed his own blood for my soul. Hear these words of Isaiah. Isaiah
50 and verse 6, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks
to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from
shame and spitting. How was that written 750 years
before Christ appeared in the halls of Pilate? Except by the
revelation of God. the words of Paul in Galatians
chapter 1 and verse 4 he said who gave himself for our sins but he gave himself for our sins
for a reason that he might deliver us from this present evil world
oh I don't like that preaching about the evil world all the
time you better like it You better see it as it is. Let me tell
you something, these theological libertines are going to lead
the masses into the judgment of God very shortly. They're going to do it. Already, Mason told me this yesterday,
already a man has been arrested in Canada and put in jail Because
of what, Mason? Of hate speech. Yeah, he was
quoting the Bible. And he was quoting the Bible
when he was arrested. So this book is full of hate
speech, according to the Canadians. And their law supports that.
John Farrin came in here and told me, asked me one morning
if I was prepared to go to jail. Because any comment about the
sexual deviance, and I don't need to go any further, these
homosexuals the federal government and the society around us is
trying to brainwash us into accepting these people as normal the bible
says that the curse of god is on them that's what the scripture
says now if we go to jail for that I want you all to come and
visit But you can't stop. And if it happened in Canada,
Mason and I were in agreement, it can happen here. It can happen
here. The Bible being hate, words of
hate. There's nothing in this book
but love. Even in judgment, it was done in love. And Christ
said about the Israelites, when he looked down on them, he said,
How oft would I have gathered you as a hen doth her chicks,
but ye would not. You wouldn't have it. You wouldn't
have it. Who gave himself for our sins
that he might deliver us from this present evil world according
to the will of God and our Father. Now our Lord Jesus Christ, in
speaking of his own life, He said, no man, in John 10 and
verse 18, he said, no man taketh it from me. No man spills my
blood. No man taketh my life from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received
from my Father. Now all of these ceremonies,
everything about the tabernacle has come to pass. It's passed
away. I said all of these ceremonies.
I don't care whether you're sacrificing a snicker bar for God's sake
or a lamb. Sacrifice is unacceptable. So
take all of the season of lint and wad it up like a piece of
waste paper and throw it into the trash. It has no meaning. Whatsoever
so far as scripture is concerned. It's ceremonial Now that would
be shocking to some people a statement like that would just cause the
hair to stand up on their head Nevertheless, it's true That's
a true statement We talked about well he sacrificed
a lot for the Lord I've heard that statement time and again
I He just sacrificed a lot. You have not yet resisted unto
blood. No. I better hurry. But these ceremonies
have no meaning. Now that reality has come. And
by reality, I mean the person of Jesus Christ. Joe was saying
this morning, I know him. And I know some other things.
These things are written that ye may know that ye have eternal
life. And they are they which testify
of me. That's what God says. That I believe. Am I always conscious
of that fact? I fear not. I was talking to
Elizabeth in uni coming up the road to church this morning,
and I mentioned the fact that We get the wrong focus, like
I said last Sunday. We get focused upon something
else. And there are a lot of things for us to get focused
on. The good of the children. Is that a proper thing to be
concerned about? Of course! But we don't focus even on our
children to the elimination of our sight of Jesus Christ. We're
not supposed to at least. Is that better? Sometimes we
do. Sometimes we do. Our focus gets
off. And it happens to me, and it
happens to you. But God is faithful. And I don't know which of the
preachers said it this morning, but nevertheless, that's just
as true as can be, that we are to work out our own salvation. For it is God that worketh in
you both to will and to do his good pleasure. And that being
the case, I don't have a thing to worry about. He's not going to fail. Listen to what Christ said. But
the hour cometh, and now is, when true worshipers shall worship
the Father, how? In spirit and in truth, not by
ceremonies of any kind, not of any kind. For the Father,
the Father seeketh such to worship him. Listen to the words of Peter. He said, Forasmuch as ye know
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things of silver
and gold from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your
fathers. Vain behavior. What was the behavior that was
vain? The offerings of sacrifice and all of the ceremonial worship
of the Old Testament. You're not redeemed with these
things Peter said but with the precious blood of Christ as of
a lamb without blemish and without spot Who verily this lamb who? The Lamb of God John said behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world The blood
of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, but
was manifest in these last times For you he was shown He was brought into the public
eye there on that awful place called Golgotha, where Christ
was raised up, rejected of men, and abandoned by God. Oh, Earl,
that's a strong statement. That's the truth. He was abandoned
of God. Why was that? Because he was
sin incarnate instead of God incarnate. Who by him for you who by him
do believe in God that raised him from the dead and gave him
glory that your faith and your hope might be in God and not
in some ceremonial work and Ceremonial work can be anything it can be
getting up and dressing and going to church and I don't think I have ever in
the 60 years that I've been trying to preach, I don't think I have
ever asked a person to be baptized. No, that's just the truth. I've
never said to anyone, well, aren't you going to be baptized? Or you ought to be baptized. No, I haven't. Because so many
people take it for ceremony, rather than that for which it
is, a confession of Christ publicly. Well, Earl, you're saying that
baptism is necessary to salvation. That's what I'm saying. That's
what I'm saying. You ought to do it, because Christ
said to. But other than that, that's what
it is, a confession before men. Let me say this. that those that
shy away from the blood of Christ, and there are many of them that
do it right today, what with all of our gymnasiums and basketball
teams and softball teams and swimming teams and all kind of
teams and movies. One, going to Salem to the doctor
with Uni and Ellen, we go by a church that has a new movie
on the board every Sunday. For every Sunday, they have a
new movie listed on their bulletin board that's
going to be shown, evidently, either that day or some other
day during the week. Every time we've passed it, it's
been there. Ellen got to laughing one day.
She said, well, that has nothing to do with Christianity or anything
else, but there was. But listen. to verse 18 again
whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated purified that's
dedicated means purified without without blood you know that's
kind of a convoluted sentence that may need translation without the blood there was no sacrifice in the
old covenant that was dedicated or purified. Had to be blood. Had to be blood. See verse 22. And almost all things are by
the law cleansed, purged by the blood. And without the shedding
of blood there is no remission. You ignore the blood of Christ
and you're lost. Period. Any man professes to be a preacher and Preaches a gospel apart from
or even ignoring the blood of Christ is worthless Worthless
Somebody ought to gag him What can wash away my sin Nothing
but the blood of Jesus Now we used to sing these old songs And I heard another one this
morning on Leshear's program, trust and obey. For there's no
other way to be happy in Jesus than trust and obey. We used
to sing these songs. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes
me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. This is the blood of the everlasting
covenant. And apart from that blood, no one No one can count themselves to
be a child of God, can be, quote, saved, unquote. This is all contained
in this one book of Hebrews. I wish there were a way, I was
thinking about that again this morning, I wish there was a way
that I could make it real, but I don't know
how other than by word. Apart from the blood of Christ,
no man shall see God except in judgment. That's all. Old Homer wrote a Hebrew wrote
a hymn that I've often quoted and I'll one verse or part of
a verse. He wrote, I dreamed that the
great judgment morning had dawned and the trumpet had blown. I dreamed that the nations were
gathered for judgment before the white throne. And oh, what
a weeping and wailing when the lost were told of their fate.
They cried for the rocks and the mountains. They prayed, but
their prayer was too late. Christ now appears in the presence
of God for us. The blood of the sacrifice was
the price, his price, of entry into the presence of God as a
man. Now you think about that. He
walked into the presence of God as a man of flesh and bone. Because of his own sacrifice. That's a tremendous thought. And he appeared there for us. The blood of the sacrifice was
the paid price of entry into the presence of God. And
now a man, and I should say the man, flesh and bone man is now in
the presence of God for all believers. He's the forerunner. He carried
with him the price of our redemption. He's the complete substitute.
Redemption of the soul, the purchase price for sinners. He's the one
who became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. His death is past. His victory
is complete. And He's now seated at the right
hand of God making intercession for all sinners that have been
saved by grace. Christ not only prays for us
in John 17, He prays for us at the very throne of God. Our Father,
we're grateful this morning for your blessing, your goodness
to us, and for leadership that gathers us here from Sunday to
Sunday. We give thanks for this group and for the witness to
the saving grace and power of God. We pray that you would lead
us and that you would bless us together. And remember, we pray
together for those of our number that are ill. We think of Roy.
with his surgery, ask that you'd give him strength and help in
this hour of need. And may we all trust fully in
the power of God to do unto the uttermost for his people. For we pray it in Christ's name,
amen. By the way, Roy is groggy. He was operated.